New video clips

I love my new little camera--okay, it's not new anymore, but it's fabulous! The images I get from it are great, but the video--fantastic! And so easy to edit and post! Hopefully Jackson will be able to look back on these someday and see how funny he was....

This clip is from early in the week. I had bought some beef jerky, and Jackson wanted some. I thought it might feel good on his gums and he has the sharpest teeth--so what the heck! He LOVED it! Ate it like a pro!!




This little teaser! I was eating a PopTart and Jackson wanted a bite-he took the whole thing from me! And then wouldn't give it back!!

Happy 26th Birthday!

Oh! This week/weekend has been so great! I really have my husband and my parents to thank for it. Here's what went down:


Thursday, Adam took the afternoon off of work! I handed Jackson over and went to the nail salon for a mani/pedi, then came home and worked in the office all afternoon! I'm pretty much caught up with work (only minor things here and there, but this week, I'm pretty much off! Yeah!)

Friday, we had MOPS in the morning and then I dropped Jackson off at Grandma Netty's and headed to the salon to get my hair cut and colored--it has been about 3 weeks overdue! Yikes! When I was done, stopped by Clinique to pick up some powder and pre-order for free gift time! Then on to pick up little man and get home to see Adam!


Saturday morning, I plan on staying in my jammy jams, picking up the house slowly, sleeping in and cuddling with Jack while Daddy was at work (not planning on leaving the house til about 3:00ish) NOPE! Adam walks in the door at 10:45 and says "You have 20 minutes to shower and get out the door, drop Jackson at your mom's and get to Massage Envy--now move!" What? I'm unloading the dishwasher here buddy--chill out! I'll get to you when all the forks are put away! Apparently, my cell phone died in the middle of the night--battery dead. Adam had tried to book me a massage earlier in the week, but they were booked, but I guess they called him at the last minute with a cancelation and since I wasn't answering my phone for him to let me know, he had to come all the way home from the office and then run back to the office! Ahh! So I hurried and threw some clothes on--no shower, no makeup--and run out the door. Jackson is still in his jammies and with bed head that is sticking straight up--oh well!

I get to the massage place, which this one I had never been to, I typically go to South Shore Spa (love them!) but Adam would never have known that, and ME was cheaper, so what the heck. Well, my masseus is a 69 year old lady that freaking TALKED THE ENTIRE TIME! I know all about her freaking divorce and 42 year old son that's she's put through 9 years of college, etc etc etc and the Chinese man she's learning all her techniques from....she got all the knots out of my back, but come on!! But I did enjoy it, I felt much better afterwards! Thank you Honey!

So I get home, not knowing that Adam wanted to get the hell out of town in a HURRY! Here's a tip people: don't rush me! I don't like being rushed! Especially when it involves packing! Keep that in mind if you travel with me! Thanks! So Adam's on my butt that, "we have to leave", "throw some clothes in a bag"--"do you really need that?" "How many shoes are you taking?" "Can I take this bag to the car yet?" On and on and on...I'm so irritated at this point. So what do I do--yell at him! Of course. Here he is doing something nice for me and I get mad and pissy. Good Lord....

We FINALLY get on the road--after getting mad because anything I want to take is wrinkled, which would require ironing, which requires time, and apparently, I didn't have any. So, to make me happier, Adam stops and gets me a Fresh Fruit Slush at Sonic! Ahh! Thanks Honey!

We get to the hotel--the Crowne Plaza downtown! It's so nice! They have Tempurpedic (Posturpedic as Adam calls them) mattresses and they even provide a sleep packet with a CD, mask, lavender spray--so cool! We hurry and check-in, then head to the Aquarium Downtown (we thought we'd kill some time--which I didn't have earlier--and walk around down there since we'd never been!) We took the shuttle down and took some pics of each other and the scenery. Then we walked along the bayou on the way back. We also found out about the Duck Races--which we will be attending with Jackson! Fun!

So we get back to the hotel and I have SOO MUCH TIME TO GET READY!! YEAH!! Full hair and makeup, here we come! And going out makeup at that! Adam freaks a little when I wear dark eye makeup--he doesn't like it. But tonight was my night, and I was wearing and fun little dress and heals and big Texas hair--and DARK eyes! (dark for me anyway!)

We met up with our friends, Jeff and Alicia for dinner. Then, on to Howl at the Moon! It's a dueling piano bar in Midtown--so awesome! Great music, good drinks, lots of dancing! My 3 favorite girls--Rachel, Elizabeth, and Lindsey--were there! Adam had planned the evening ahead of time and called them! I was so happy to see them and so glad it was a small intimate birthday. The girls all came with gifts too! (which I had told Adam no gifts!) VS lotion and wash from Liz, a cutie top and Love Spell bag from Rachel, and a bottle of wine from Lindsey called "Bitch"! I freaking loved it! It's a really pretty bottle too--I'm saving it for our next girls night at my house (October 19th, 2nd Annual Wine Chocolate Friendship--be there!) I had SOO MUCH FUN!! Basically, at the bar, you pay to request songs and they get people on stage and embarrass them...and I told Adam there was no way in hell I was going up there, so save your freaking money. Well, my BFFs got in on the scheme. In college, my sorority did a skit/dance to Sweet Home Alabama. I was in the front row during rush and I had my own little way of doing the dance. To this day, it's "my" dance and I do it every time we go out. My friends make fun, I don't care! I have a booty and I'll stick it out if I want to! HA! So, the song come one and I am bombarded by all 3 of them, pushing me to the stage. Well, I got up there, on my own, by myself, and danced my little dance--and Adam got it all of video. But it was fun!!

We closed the bar down, said goodnight to the manager (who is one of Elizabeth's client for KHOU) and had her drive us to our hotel--where we CRASHED! I was so tired! But, I had a blast, and I don't get to do that too often (2 weekends in a row for us, that's a record!)

We got up the next morning and had breakfast at the hotel--then HOME TO SEE MY BABY! When I got there, Jackson had a present for me--a Little Tykes Elmo camera (really for him)! And we had a repeat of Aunt Tacey's birthday--I got a Chi (the generic from Sally's that's about 1/2 the price and wonderful!) Straightner and a Magic Bullet (as seen on TV) blender! Grandma Jane came down and we had steaks and salad and strawberry cake! It was a great weekend. Thank you Adam for planning such a great mini-getaway! I love those one day trips! And I love you! (but it is nice to come home to the little guy, huh?!)

I made a slideshow, b/c there are just too many pics to post! Enjoy! I made them a little funkier than usual--to keep with the theme of Party Like A Rock Star! As I did....

Keys {6 new posts! Scroll Down!}

Jackson has an obsession with keys--he always wants to hold them. He knows that when you go bye bye, you have to have keys. He likes to make the car honk when you push the lock button and make the loud siren when you push the red button (our poor neighbors!) But, he has never played with the keys "in" the car. GG Jane lets him play in her car, Grandpa Scott lets him play in his car and in his truck, and he makes all the car noises when he playing, but yesterday, Grandpa Scott showed him how to put the kek in the ignition--lovely! He knows now that when you put the key in, the radio comes on! He spent a LONG time playing in the car--very entertained.

Water Hose

Today, when we got home from my birthday bash weekend, Jackson wanted to help Grandpa wash his car. It all started when we pulled into the driveway and Grandpa had just brought out the "2 bucket system" with the bubbles in the one bucket. Jackson slowly walked over and wanted to touch those bubbles so bad! But, he was fully dressed, and we were going to eat dinner soon. But about 5 minutes later, I caved and stripped him down to his "white trashiness" for the front yard neighbors to see! He helped wash with the scrubber, then would go and rinse the scrubber, then grabbed the hose and sprayed Grandpa! He was sneaky about it too--he would be pointing it at the car and Daddy would say "Get Grandpa!" and he would turn on a dime and shoot him! We were sitting in the garage--but when I saw that, I bolted for the front of the garage with the camera, out of the waterworks! Jackson started getting a little fussy, and Grandma Netty asked "Is it time for a nap?"--with that, Jackson turned, shook his head and sprayed my mom, as if to say "Hell no lady! I'm not taking a nap! You can't make me!" and then, giggled his ass off! He thought he was so funny!

Bedtime Giggles

On Friday night, we put Jackson to sleep and we thought he was out. Really. had not heard a peep for about 30 minutes. Then, all of a sudden, my little man starts to giggle....and giggle...and giggle. No one is in there, no one is around--so I thought he must have been "talking" to his animals in his crib (he does that sometimes) but no. Adam and I went in and he was just standing--giggling. So I say, "Does Jack Jack need some more milk?" Do you know what his response was? "DUH!" And them just started laughing hysterically again!! So when I repeated the story to Adam, who is in the kitchen at this point getting the milk, I said "Duh!" just the same way Jackson did--he falls over laughing again, and then keeps repeating it! This video was shot in the dark, after Adam came back with the milk--we're just standing there watching him laugh his ass off! Mind you--it's 10:30 at night!

Tantrum Videos

As much as I'd like to think that my precious little angel baby is perfect and never gets mad or fussy or throws tantrums, the reality is, we live with a devil sometimes! Here is the proof!

We've gotten Jackson pretty well trained now that if he wants a bink, he only gets it at naptime, and only if he asks for it. We have them in the top drawer of his dresser, and when he wakes up, he hands it to me and I turn and put it in the drawer (so he's seen me put it there lots of times) Evidently, this morning, he wanted it NOW!




In this one, Jackson and I were watching Guiding Light, and apparently he just really wanted the cord from the back of the DVD/VCR to plug it in somewhere...he whipped that cord!

Straw Fight

Last Thursday, after Jackson's eye appointment, we headed back to our house to meet up with the grandmas for lunch. They hung out at the house for a bit, then we decided to go to the Magnolia Creek Golf Course for lunch--they have fantastic club sandwiches and hamburgers! We sat down and Jackson really wanted a drink of Grandma Netty's tea--but he wouldn't share once he got a hold of the straw! Little brat!! (check out the video below!)

Eye Doctor

When I was preggers, I had an eye checkup. While I was their, the ladies were telling me to make sure I brought the baby in for an eye exam when he was 11 months old. I have never heard of a baby going to the eye doctor, but our optometrist is part of a program called InfantSee, and the exam before the age of 12 months is free. Well, 12 months with Jackson came and went and I forgot all about it until my little monster broke my glasses in half the other night and I had to take them in for repair! While there, we set the appointment up for the next day. Basically, they test them for amblyopia (lazy eye) and after dilating their eyes (yup, drops in the eye) can check their current vision to make sure they are on course. After talking to Grandma Netty about it, she reminded me that amblyopia is what Aunt Tacey had, and they didn't discover it til Kindergarten (then had to do all the patching and therapy). If they can catch it before the age of 2, it's easily treated with simple therapy; if they catch it after the age of 4 (the standard pre-K screening is almost too long to wait) it's harder to treat; and by the age of 9, it's incurable. (okay, enough about my soapbox! Take your kids to the eye doctor!! It's as important as vaccines!)

So Jackson and I waited in the play room at Dr. Newhouse's office, then flirted with the front desk ladies before we headed back to the exam room. Jackson sat on my lap while they covered both eyes with the wand, then shined the light in his eyes (he really liked that part), then, the hard part: putting the drops in. I held him and leaned him back while the nurse lady QUICKLY pried open his right eye and squirted! He was pretty stunned! Worse then when he gets shots! Then, for the left side, he knew what was coming! He squinted his eyes so hard shut that we literally had to pull his lid up just to get it open enough! But after all that, he gave the nurse a hug. Then, we had to wait in the playroom again until his eyes were fully dilated. That got boring after 10 minutes or so, so we decided to try on the glasses! He thought it was pretty funny--I thought he looked so cute! When Dr. Newhouse checked his vision, he was right on target. So, nothing big to report--he can see very well! Now, go call your eye doctor and get an appointment!

The other Jackson

This past weekend, the family headed to El Campo 1)for a wedding and 2)a photo shoot. We got to town LATE on Friday, then I was up early to shoot Baby Addyson and her family. We got dressed and ready to leave by 1:30 for the Motal/Hensley wedding. Funny thing, Jackson has a name twin too! Jackson Motal (who is my brother-in-laws age) lived with Adam's family for a while back in the day. I knew nothing about him when I named my son, but, he is pretty good looking so Jackson has some shoes to fill! Him and Laura got married at St. Philip's, so we were all dressed up and ready for the party to start! Jackson was pretty good in church, until the Gold Fish ran out and the milk was all gone, then he wanted to run around! So I took him in the back and he played with another little girl, Riley, until the ceremony was over.

At the reception, they had a Zydeco band--Jack LOVED them! He was waving and shaking it, then would run up to the stage just to stare! There were a bunch of little girls running around with pretty bows on the backs of their dresses and all Jackson wanted to do was pull on their bows! Little bully!

I let him wander most of the night--he would take off and walk between groups of people and look up at them to see if he knew any of them. Uncle Clint always seemed to be exactly where Jackson was--not sure who was following who, but Jack never was scared because he could usually see Clint and he was fine. He LOVES his Uncle Clint and Aunt Rickie--they are pees in a pod! Rickie can usually take him away from us without him going into hysterics, and she always knows just when to bring him back! Mother's instinct, huh? Marley and Jackson matched at the wedding--both in red, white and black! So cute! They sat at this table for about 15 minutes, just chatting with each other, by themselves. Jackson I think felt like a big boy--he did whatever Marley did! Uh-oh! Watch out! I think they look like they are scheming in some of those pics! Jackson started doing his "Who's the Man?" flexing at the wedding--Rickie and I nearly pissed ourselves--more about "Who's the Man?" later! He also go to see Miss Alicia--and even gave her a kiss! So sweet! We'll have to get together for lunch now that she lives so close!

We all thought something was funny, and apparently, Jackson did not!

After the wedding, Jackson got jammies and bedtime with Grandma and Grandpa, and Mommy and Daddy hit Muldoons for the first time in MONTHS! Mommy had a few too many bourbon and diets and was pretty tipsy when we left! We left early the next morning for Adam to do a Solstice Rally Scavenger Hunt with my dad! Too fun! Good weekend!

New Vocabulary overnight

This week has marked a lot of new words for Jackson:

I asked him last week, "Jackson, did you poo poo? We need to change your diaper!" and with that, he ran in and got a diaper out of the cabinet, looked up at me and said "Diaper?!" plain as day!

Mom and Aunt Tacey babysat during a photo shoot, and when I came back, Jackson knew where his belly button, Aunt Tacey's belly button, Grandma's belly button, and even my belly button was! And, he would point to his and say, "beyee button"!

At lunch on Monday, in his highchair at our house, I said, "Do you like that turkey?" Plain as day, "Turkey?! Turkey?!"

Today, two new words: in the car, I said "Jackson, don't take your shoe off!" and he looked right up at me and said "shooooo?!"

And then while eating cereal during our Oprah watching time, Grandma gave Jackson a piece of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and I said "tell grandma Thank You", looked at both of us, grinned, and said "Thank You!"

Favorite Time of Year

This weekend and this week, Houston got a slight cold front. It took away the humidity and the mugginess, and it took me back to my youth in Wichita on Westfield Drive. I remember this time of year vividly. It was when school started, then the days would get really long, so I'd be in bed when the sun was still out. The crisp, CLEAN air...it also meant fall cleaning at our house. When Mom would open all the windows, then clean the screens and that cool air would make it's way through the clean house (mom's house is always immaculate, as most of you know!) It would mean that the mauve blinds in the house would clap, and that smell (which I could smell this week) would fill the house. The smell of fresh cut grass and fabric softner! I love it! But everything changes with the wind. THIS is my favorite time of year.

New shiny slippers...

I had a founders meeting yesterday morning for a new networking group (there are 3 of us that have started a Female Business Owners group! We are so excited! Anyone from this area that would like to join us, and owns a professional business, please email me!) So Jackson got to spend the morning with Grandma Netty. When we got there, she had a suprise--a toy puppy dog in a crate that came with a brush, food, a water bowl. It is so cute! Jackson loves to see doggy's--he points and says, "dog, dog" and then "squeaks" arf arf! So it was ver appropriate to get him a (toy) puppy! When I got home, I walked in to see Jackson in his shirt, no pants, and bright red slippers! The first thing Jack did was point down to his new shoes and go "Look! Look!" He loves them! He would not take them off! We'd say, "Where are your new slippers?" and he's squat down and touch them! And, he loved the way they sounded on the wood floors and tile. He spent most of the afternoon shuffling his feet along the floor, going in circles around the dining room table in the formal dining room! We really didn't have to watch him because we could hear him!





That night, Grandpa Scott let Jackson get in his car. He let him push all of the buttons and turn the lights on and off and the hazards on and off. Check out his face when he figured out how to turn the headlights on! He was in there for a long time, just playing like he was driving--he makes the car noises and everything!

Astros Game

On Tuesay, one of my best friends, Sean, invited us to go to the 'stros/Cubs game. He's a huge cubs fan, while we are obviously Astros fans. He got some free tickets, so we decided to take Jackson and make a family night of it. The seats were awesome! We were up in the club house! It was a great game, and although Jackson would not sit in the seats with us, it actually was a great inconvenience, because the best thing happened. Jackson met Drayton McLane (click on his name to read about him!). If you are not from Houston, you have no clue who I am talking about. Mr. McLane owns the Astros Organization. And, I love his name! At one point in the pregnancy, I told Adam we should name him Drayton McLane Babcock (although my godmothers grandson is Drayton and we wanted to stick with a family connect for the middle name...) but I think it's the most elegant name! So Jackson and I were in the clubhouse running around playing baseball with another little boy. Jackson had the bat, when we looked up and saw Mr. McLane walking down the stairs from his office. I grabbed Jack and said, "Can you say hi to Mr. McLane?" Jackson started waving, and Drayton grabbed Jackson's hand, shook it, and said "Are you going to be a ball player? I could save alot of money if I hired you right now!" I was ecstatic! And stupid ass Mommy left her camera in the diaper bag with Daddy at the seats! Bummer!

Jackson also got to meet/see Junction Jack, the jackrabbit mascot. He was scared shitless of him! Cried and clung to Daddy--I thought it was kinda funny! Bad Mommy! So Daddy bought Jackson a little wooden Craig Biggio Edition bat--I think it was more for Daddy than Jackson! The game went into extra innings, so we left about 11:00 and little Jack did not go to sleep til almost 12:30! Can you say overstimulated!!