Bubbie's 1st Bath

Maybe it was that fact that we were new parents and we had no idea what we were doing.  Sure I had bathed a gazillion kids during my nanny years, but those kids were always able to sit up on their own and somewhat follow directions.  This was a new challenge and much harder than I had ever imagined.  After all, how hard could bathing a wet, slippery, crying baby who can't even hold his head up be?

Now that, that's over, we can finally relax!

So with that said, I waited longer to bath Bubbie this time.  (Bubbie is JV's nickname him.)  With Goose, we attempted that first bath on day 3, with Bubbie, I waited until day 13 which had the bonus of me being a little more stable both physically and emotionally.  The one factor I didn't think about was BV's work travel which meant that Bubbie's first bath was up to me....Alone...


Well, with the help of his big brother of course!  Maybe it was the fact that I've since learned to bathe a baby or that I was much calmer this time around, or the fact that he has a best big brother to help entertain him, but Bubbie's first bath was smoother and an overall success!

 

While I don't want to be that mom that compares her kids to one another, I'm constantly finding myself comparing the differences between my two boys.  That's normal right?  While having two kids is no walk in the park I have to say that I'm glad we are all a little more relaxed this time around.

1st Time on the Ice

After having no luck finding an ice rink in the Maple Grove area that was open before 4pm on a weekday I decided to look for one closer to Jackson and my school.  Through a website, I stumbled onto George Enloe Park.  I picked this one because the website stated that it had a sledding hill in addition to an ice rink.  I figured that if ice skating was a bust, we still had something fun to do. 

Before heading over I called the used children's store in hopes of finding some ice skates.  I guess I waited too late because they were all sold out.  Then I remembered my classmate telling me that she put all 3 of her boys on the ice in their tennis shoes 1st before having them balance on skates.  So that's exactly what we did!

 

 JV fell 3 times before making it to the actual rink, but he would roll over and say, "I do it." while picking himself up.

 With some encouragement he made it all the way around the rink.

 He really liked when we sang "The Wheels on the Bus." and pretended to drive the bus.

 And this is the reason for the helmet!  Yes, it was quite a fall, but the helmet did it's job and JV didn't even whine.

 

After skating for 30 mins or so we changed shoes, grabbed the sled and headed to the hill.  That hill would have really impressed BV.  Unfortunately I left the camera in the car so I have no pictures, but we will defiantly have to go back.  JV and I went together the 1st couple of times, but then he wanted to sled by himself.  "Just me." he would say.  So off he went.

 

Lastly we stopped by the playground on the walk by the park.  With the combination of a skating rink, warming house, sledding hill, and 2 playgrounds I would rate this as one of my favorite winter parks!

1st Haircut

In early Sept. I had planned to take Jackson for his 1st haircut after his nap.  But on this day, he decided he wasn't going to nap at the regular time so I took him after lunch.  When we got there he wasn't so sure about sitting in the big chair all by himself.  The stylist helped me brib him by giving him his 1st lollie pop!

Still not quite sure about this whole experience.

Mohawk!

The funniest part of this whole experience was that Jackson refused to sit up so the pictures stop here.  Eventually I had Jackson sit in my lab so that they could cut the back of his head. 

He wasn't happy about the situation, but he didn't completely melt down either.  Overall it was a good first haircut.

Happy 1st Birthday Jackson!

     For Jackson's 1st birthday, Brent and I decided to have a small family birthday party.  We held off on buying the party materials until we were in North Carolina.  I was certain that we would find little boy or 1st birthday party supplies easily, but I was proven wrong. 

     There are tons of cartoon characters and baby boys items, but no1st birthday party supplies.  After searching high and low, we finally found some cute animal themed supplies at Party City.  Then having no luck on a cake to match, we bought a Wilton cake pan in the shape of a #1 at AC Moore and called it a day.

     After setting up the party supplies and decorating the cake, family and friends joined us in celebrating Jackson's 1st birthday.  We began the celebration with a little playtime!



Papa Larry with Jackson and friend Layton



Jackson flirting with the girls

Just like old times

Grandma Jackie with our newest friend, Anna Elizabeth

     Next, he ate one of his favorite meals, hot dogs, followed by reading birthday cards and opening presents.

In preparation for the cake smash, everyone put on their festive birthday hats!

  

Grandma Vaughan made this very cool cupcake cake.  You can't tell by the pictures, but the cake was bigger than Jackson's head!

 He wasn't quite sure what to do at 1st, so I gave him a little taste and before I could get out of the way ...

 ...he was covered in chocolate!

 

Happy 1st Birthday Jackson!

1st Family Vacation

We took our 1st family vacation July 1-3, 2011 to Duluth, MN.  Since Jackson is not fond of car rides over 10 mins, and that's pushing it, we decided to leave right before Jackson's bedtime Friday night.  He slept almost the entire time.

Brent had mentioned that he wanted to go to the Glensheen Mansion (pictured on the left), so on Saturday morning we bought tickets to tour the estate.

Glensheen sits on 7.6 acres of land on Lake Superior no less, and has 38 rooms!  The house remains decorated the same as it was when the Congdon's lived there and while it was interesting to see how other people lived, it was the 7.6 acres that impressed us.

Naturally, we headed towards the old boat dock and pier.  A storm had destroyed the pier many years ago and the boat house was off limits but quiet impressive.  We were told that the top of the boat house is where they would sunbathe and that they had bands play during outdoor dinner parties.

The picture above and below were taken beside the boat house which you can't see.

Reaching for the leaves while we wait for our tour to begin.

Saturday evening we had dinner at Fitger's.  While our table didn't have a view of Lake Superior, we were seated in the 'family area', (seriously, there were all infants and toddlers on the 2nd floor!) so it really didn't matter if Jackson was a little loud. 

After dinner we walked outside and caught this picture of the lighthouse reflecting the light on Lake Superior:

Sunday morning we headed to the tourist area of town.  There were lots of things going on there.  Ships coming into harbor, the rising and lower of the bridge, dogs and kids running around, families riding the horse and buggy, seagulls being feed, and much much more!

Cargo ship coming into harbor.

The bridge is at full height. 

Watching to see if the ship makes it under the bridge.

 

Watching the bridge being lowered.

 

I have a feeling that Jackson is going to like boats just as much as his dad does!

The next 3 pictures are moments between father and son.

As the day began to warm up, we decided to find a shady, grassy place to eat our ice cream and let Jackson play.  We ended up resting and playing here for several hours!

 

When we were planning this trip I told Brent that I wanted to go swimming there, but that was before I learned that the AVG. temperature is 40 degrees!  Even so, I was determined to get in.

Jackson isn't so sure about getting his feet wet.



The rocks are cold too dad!



I believe this seagull, and many others, were after Jackson's dinner.  A little too close for comfort!

Jackson learned to stand on his own while we were in Duluth.  He was walking to me and then to Brent after dinner.  Then he started to get brave.  Before we knew it he was letting go and standing for a good 5 seconds before laughing and falling to the ground.  I was able to catch these shots of him standing:

If anyone was looking for a nice family vacation spot, I would highly recommend Duluth, MN.  There is plenty to do for all age groups!



Mama Rach