Just Say Julie

I read a blog post this week that really ruffled my feathers. In it, the author insinuated that working mothers did not love their children as much or invest as much time in their children as stay at home moms. Needless to say, as a working mom I was pretty angry about the whole thing. So I did what any sane person would do and took the matter to Twitter where I found my righteous indignation to be well matched. I felt better knowing that others agreed with my viewpoint but I was still upset about the post and bothered that it had gotten to me so much. That really got me thinking. Did I really want to be a stay at home mom? Was that why this was eating at me? Do I really feel like there was truth to the thought that I wasn't investing in my child or that I was letting someone else raise him or that I didn't love him to my fullest? The answer is no to all of the above. There is no doubt that I love Jackson with all my heart. Anyone who sees us together knows that. Nor is ther...

Dear Jackson, Two years ago you entered this world in your own stubborn way after a couple of long, tiring days for your daddy and me.  At that moment, my life changed and it has remained that way ever since.  I never realized you were the missing piece of the puzzle I had waited 34 years to plug into my life.  Not a day goes by that I am not amazed by you.  You surprise me all the time with things you know that I didn't teach but you learned somewhere.  And I am so excited to see what is in store for you next. I will say that not every day is a picnic.  Some days you are very much 2 years old and that is the only way to describe your behavior.  Some days you are my sweet boy who gives me kisses and wants to snuggle.  Either way you are still my baby and I wouldn't trade you for the world.  I want to cherish all these moments because I know they won't last for long. Right now you love Cars and Memo but Elmo is still your buddy.  Pu...

Last week was a crazy week for us.  Chris had signed up for a training course out of town so I spent the week alone with the boys shuttling everyone back and forth and trying to keep my sanity while maintaining the house and getting everyone fed.  It was a long week and I was happy when Friday evening rolled around and Chris arrived home.  I really don't think I could handle a husband who travels all the time for work.  One week was enough for me so I don't envy those who frequently have to deal with the absence of a second set of hands at home.  I told Chris when he got home that he had missed a lot during the week because Little Man was suddenly talking more and more of a daredevil than before he left.  Also, we had another big change happen last week. Wednesday morning I walked into daycare and Jackson's teacher told me the director was wanting to meet with about moving Jackson up.  I was a little surprised by this because I had already received a...

I feel like I have said it at every age but I am really loving Jackson at 18 months. I am really starting to see the person my son is going to become one day. He has learned so much the last 6 months that he never ceases to amaze me with what he knows now. Just last night he pointed to his sippy cup and said Elmo to acknowledge who was on his cup. That was the first time he has pointed out something instead of just saying random words. I wanted to make sure I captured some of the things he has done because these are moments I don't want to forget. During our Christmas trip, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for dinner. I handed him a fork just to calm him down and was surprised that not only did he know how to use it but he could. That has really changed meal time for us because J wants to fed himself exclusively now. That can be fun and frustrating at time. Another fun thing he has done is learn some simple sign language to be able to communicate with us easier. His language devel...

Jackson is working on his molars right now and I swear those things are going to be the death of us.  Teething has turned my happy baby into a fussy, clingy mess.  And I'm secretly happy for it.  You see, even though it was exhausting at times, I got my snuggly baby back at least for this weekend.  Now that Jackson is a toddler, he no longer wants to snuggle with me.  Bedtime consists of a sippy cup of milk and then straight to bed where he will either go right to sleep or fuss until he falls asleep.  I try to snuggle a bit and get him to settle down but he has no interest in it and squirms until I put him down or take him to his room.  Sunday morning Jackson fell asleep in my lap and I didn't want to move because I already miss all the times that he fell asleep on me and I just loved holding him.  I look at him now and I see him growing up so fast right before my eyes.  He isn't my tiny baby anymore.  He is curious and into everything. ...

A couple of months ago (before his birthday), I received an email of baby tips for my toddler and I refused to believe that Jackson could be considered a toddler at that point. He wasn't walking yet. He wasn't a year old yet. In my mind, Jackson was still very much a baby. Chris disagreed with me. I even went to Twitter with the question of how to determine if my baby was in fact a toddler. Most agreed that I was OK to still consider him a baby. (He will always be my baby.) Well, that is all changed since my two criteria for defining a toddler have now been met. I first started getting reports of steps from daycare about 2 weeks ago. Then I saw 4 steps myself that Saturday morning as J shuffled toward me. He would have gone further but Maverick created a roadblock by laying on the floor in front of the couch where I was sitting. Since then, we have seen a few tentative steps here and there. Not enough to call him a full on walker yet but we know we are just on t...

At 8:10 AM on July 20th, I tweeted, "Y'all, my baby is one today.  I cannot even process this thought!"  Later Chris pointed out that Jackson wasn't officially 1 until 10:33 that evening but still.  Jackson is 1!  He is a toddler, not a baby.  He is standing on his own and trying to walk.  So of course we had to celebrate this occasion, not once but twice.  We were in Alabama on Jackson's actual birthday so we had a party there with some of my family and our close friends. (Remind me to never again plan an out of town birthday party, particularly one that involves assistance from my mom and aunt.) My great aunt and uncle with my mom and me Jackson with our neighbor Jackson and my dad Jackson with my brother and nephew The smash cake with Larry and Bob candle The decorated high chair Jackson really just wanted the candle He wasn't so sure about the icing or the cake  The weekend after Jackson's bir...

Jackson turns one in 16 days.  I have been in the throws of party planning for a couple of months now.  I rted down one path with the party theme but changed my mind about half way through after seeing how Jackson reacted to the characters on Veggie Tales.  So instead of "The New Sheriff in Town" theme I started out with, we are going for a Veggie Tales theme.  I got lucky because I found a lot of the decorations on the Veggie Tales website and they were on sale at the time.  But I have been struggling with coming up with the perfect cake.  My internet searches uncovered a lot of ugly Veggie Tales cakes.  You would be surprised how bad people can make a cucumber and a tomato look.  And then I found it!  Wilton makes a Larry and Bob cake pan that comes with instructions on how to decorate it.  Perfect! Or so you would think.  The pan is discontinued.  So I started a quest to find this cake pan.  I found it on eBay...

Something happened today that I haven't experienced before: a tearful daycare drop off. Even from his tiny days, Jackson has easily gone to his teacher in the mornings without so much as a whimper. This was so reassuring to me as I struggled with having to put my baby in daycare even though I knew I had no choice but to be a working mom. But things have changed and now we are dealing with separation anxiety full force at the worst possible time. See, my company decided to try a 4/10 schedule for the summer to allow the employees to have more time with their families. So on top of my 45 minute commute, I am working 10 hour days. The schedule change hasn't been terrible but it means I get home about 30 minutes before Jackson is ready to go to sleep. On the days Chris takes him to daycare, that little time at night is the only time he sees me. I'm not quite sure how that equates to more time with my family. So Jackson misses me. That is both a good and bad thing. Good bec...

I feel like my last post was a little gripe-y so I wanted to share some pictures from San Antonio.  Despite the heat, we had an enjoyable time.  It was nice to get away for a few days and spend some time as a family. I was so excited to stop at the Buc-ee's in New Braunfels.  I have had a long love for Buc-ee's despite never actually having been to one.  I completely geeked out in the parking lot and was totally amazed with the place. We will definitely be back. Jackson and me with Buc-ee the Beaver (not a chipmunk).  The sun was really bright where we were standing. And, yes, the gas was $3.09 on Friday and $3.05 on Sunday. Crazy!   Jackson and me on the Riverboat Cruise.  We could not get this kid to look at the camera all weekend.    A tired little boy up past his bedtime having dinner at The Rainforest Cafe.   Our hotel was across the street from the Alamo so of course we were there when it opened on Saturday morn...

We don't travel a lot.  The last time we took a trip that didn't involve visiting my family in Alabama was our trip to Gatlinburg to get married 2 years ago.  Chris's work schedule makes it difficult to take vacations despite having a ton of time off and I'm still recovering from taking time off last year to have a baby.  So we fit in trips when we have the time off without having to take it.  With my company implementing 4 10 hour days for the summer, we decided to take advantage of my 3 day weekends and get out of town for a few days.  Next time I think that is a great idea, someone smack me. Not that we didn't enjoy our time away but I wouldn't say it was the fun relaxing weekend we had been hoping for.  We decided to go to San Antonio for the weekend since it's an easy hour and a half drive from here.  I booked the room in April since I was able to get a great deal on a place right in the heart of downtown.  We were set to go.  The clos...

Since birth, Jackson has been a healthy eater.  I have never had problems getting him to take a bottle and he hasn't turned down most of the purees we have tried to feed him.  On the eating front, he has done really well until recently.  He is still eating well as long as we are feeding him the level 2 foods or the basic level 3s.  But if we try to introduce something new, we are meeting with a lot of resistance and issues.  I know a child has to be introduced to a new food numerous times before the accept it but I'm having a hard time figuring out how to proceed from here. We have reached the point where we need to work on the transition from baby food to table food.  And this is where I am struggling.  I just can't seem to figure out how to make finger foods work.  I don't know what to give him and what little we have tried, has not gone well.  We have been giving him the baby puffs to some success but I know we can't make full meals off ...

I have been asked by a couple of different people recently for suggestions on baby registries so I decided I would share some of my favorite products for those who are expecting and might want to know. Ultimate Crib Sheet - A friend suggested this to me when I was pregnant otherwise I never would have tried one and boy am I glad I did.  Having this has made changing Jackson's bed so much easier than having to remove the crib sheet and the mattress pad if we have an accident. Sleep Sacks - I know most babies like to be swaddled at the early stage but mine did not.  Almost as soon as we came home from the hospital, he wanted his arms free and, luckily, he would sleep that way.  The sleep sacks have been a lifesaver for us when a blanket just wouldn't work anymore since Jackson moved around to much.  I have bought most of the ones we have from Zulily when they have offered them at a discount rate.  The shipping takes forever but the price is usually pretty g...

Jackson turned 9 months old on Friday.  We also had his 9 month checkup that afternoon.  I now understand why everyone kept commenting on how big he was while we were in Alabama.  Little stinker weighed in at 21 lbs 5 oz (78 percentile) and 28 3/4 inches tall (68 percentile).  I guess he is on the big side although he doesn't seem that way to me since I have seen the natural progression of his growth.  I was pretty shocked at how many people said something about him being "a big boy." Someone actually said they thought he was at least a year old. The last month has brought about a lot of change around our house.  Jackson has mastered both the belly on the floor and belly off the floor crawling.  He prefers belly on the floor because he can move faster and this is his method of traveling when he is trying to run away from us.  The living room has turned into a sort of baby playpen. We block off the hall way with one of the dog gates and use the ...

I mentioned in an early post that I was going home to attend J-Day at my college since I was being installed as Treasurer of our Alumni Association.  I guess a little background might be helpful here.  My college was a Southern Baptist women's college.  Since we don't have a sports team to have a homecoming for, we have J-Day which is our reunion weekend.  It's a lot of fun to see ladies from the various years gather together to celebrate their school.  Needless to say, Jackson was a hit over the weekend with everyone thinking my sweet boy was the most adorable thing ever. Jackson sitting on the seal in Jewett Hall.   More than once I had to tell Jackson, "Let's not eat the antiques." All dressed up at the Golden Club Banquet wearing his "My Mama is a Judson Girl" bib.    We had to sneak out of the banquet since someone got a little fussy.   Mom and Jackson during the Business Meeting. He was so good until he started gr...

My trip to Alabama kept me from being able to post an update for Jackson's first Easter.  We managed to cram a ton of stuff into the weekend included 2 Easter egg hunts, a birthday party, and a stop by trade days in downtown Round Rock.  Here are a few pictures from the weekend. Meeting the Easter Bunny for the first time. I don't think he knew what to think.  "Hunting" for eggs at the baby friendly Easter egg hunt at Baby Earth.  Plastic eggs are tasty!  Checking out his Easter basket.  All dressed up for church. 

• Jackson was an angel on the flights. He slept through most of each flight and only fussed a little bit right before landing in Mobile. • It's a good thing he was an angel on the planes because he was the devil yesterday. I have never seen my child so cranky. I can't help but blame the 3 teeth that are trying to cut right now. • He screamed the entire 30 minute drive from my parents' house to see my dad at work. He never does that and is normally great in the car. Only to turn into my sweet baby the second we got out of the car. • My mother apparently thinks I have forgotten how to drive around my hometown since she proceeded to give me directions to the high school I attended for 4 years and the hospital my dad has worked at since I was 9 months old. • I have not forgotten. I just don't take the routes she would therefore they must be wrong. Six years away does not erase 28 of living in the same town. • Rice cereal is magic. Call me a bad parent if you mus...

I feel like a lot of my posts have been pretty down recently so I thought I would post something more cheerful. One of the things I love the most about living in Texas is bluebonnets in the spring.  There is nothing like the first spotting of bluebonnets each year to put a smile on my face.   So of course we had to find an opportunity to take some pictures for Jackson's first spring.  Jackson really didn't seem to enjoy having his picture taken but I think we got some good shots of him.

Way back during the summer shortly after I had Jackson I received a phone call from my mom one night telling me that I had been nominated to be Treasurer of my college's Alumni Board for the next 2 years.  The conversation went something like this: Mom: "You are going to get a call from Carol May asking if you want to be treasurer of the Alumni Board. Tell her you'll do it." Me: "OK" Basically, I am fortunate enough to be friends with the current president of our board (I've known her most of my life) and she nominated me for the position despite the fact I live 3 states away from the school.  And since my mother will look for any excuse she can find to get Jackson me home, this was perfect for her because I would have to make at least 2 trips home a year for the next 2 years.  Over time I started to get more and more excited about the idea. My school is getting ready to celebrate it's 175th anniversary and I will be on the board for that event...

Jackson turned 8 months old on Tuesday.  With the 8 month mark, we are experiencing lots of changes around here.  First, my baby is mobile. (Words that strike fear into the hearts of mothers everywhere.)  He hasn't quite mastered the belly off the floor crawl but he has the Army low crawl down pat. (My brother would say it's actually the high crawl because his head is off the floor but who needs to be technical?) And man, can he scoot when he wants to.  I put him down with his toys in the living room and 2 seconds later he is in the kitchen.  We have started blocking the exits to the living room to still allow him to crawl but not escape.  J is not a fan of this at all and will scream bloody murder once he realizes he can't get past the ottoman that's wedged between the chair and the fireplace. Secondly, J has figured out how to push himself up into a sitting position.  This has been great because he is able to sit and play with his toys and keep h...