The Sickness

Well, I think it's waining, but the whining quotient has definitely gone up. The daycare lady said he did pretty well being back today, but we sometimes think she'd say that no matter how he behaved (right, Deb?). I was talking with my friend Shawn today about the interesting dichotomy of being annoyed with the whining/clinginess of sick little babes while feeling so bad for them at the same time. Jackson went to the doctor on Wednesday and was not officially diagnosed with anything, but was given lots of medicine anyway. Oddly enough, he was in a better mood before he got the medicine and has not been himself lately. Oh, and although I hate to admit it, it turns out Curt was partially right about not taking him in when I initially wanted to. His situation was far from an emergency, and it really would have cost us an arm and a leg. My mommy instinct was kicking in because I knew he was experiencing pain on some level, or at least discomfort, but we were better off to just bring him in the next morning like we did. Shh, don't tell Curt I admitted he was partially right. :)

Sick Day :(

Today Jackson had to stay home with Daddy for his first real sick day - not a milestone I was looking forward to. Then again, we're lucky that this is the first time! He shared germs with his cousin this weekend and ended up with her yuckiness. It seems worse than a cold after he first wakes up, and his breath can get pretty wheezy and he coughs pretty hard. His body is warm, but his temp is not that high. It's hard to know whether to take him in or leave him be. I don't know how much they would be able to help him at his age, and his demeanor, though more worn-out, is still generally good. Now, on top of all that, I think he might have pink eye! Of course Curt the Calm says he's fine and that I worry too much - which is probably true - but on the other hand I think he's overly lax about some parenting issues. We debate and seem to go round and round in circles and it can be so frustrating! It helps to know that we are not alone in our parenting struggles, and I always know that both of us have Jackson's best interest at heart, no matter what. Hopefully my sunshine boy is back to his old self in no time.

Dave and Buster's

On Saturday we headed down to Curt's parents' house in Zimmerman for another family outing. Every year for the past 6 years now, we've gathered together in the winter for a family weekend filled with food, games, and good times. We like to take Craig & Eileen out for dinner to show our appreciation for all they do for us, and it's the only time all year where we all go out together. Each of their five children takes a turn choosing where we go; this year it was Sheila's turn, the eldest, and she picked an awesome new place! At least it's new to me. Dave and Buster's is a restaurant/bar/gaming facility in Maple Grove. They had all different kinds of games, from arcade to casino to even carnival, with some random stuff in between. The crowd was very eclectic (think arcade, carnival, casino... random...) and it seemed that there were children and babies everywhere! I even saw my cousin there... with her child and baby. Although it was a tad spendy and in the end we just went home with lame prizes, we did get a deal with dinner (delicious! wide menu variety and awesome dessert!) which included some gaming money. Overall I thought it was definitely worth it to have so much fun doing something different! Everyone participated and was entertained. If you have a birthday or some other event coming up that calls for celebration, try Dave 'N Busters for a memorable night of something new! I heard the under-18 crowd gets kicked out at some point, too, so it'd be a more grown-up atmosphere in which to celebrate. :) Thanks to the Wojo clan for another fun weekend!

Weather Day! :)

Today I celebrate for all the children who are experiencing that all-too-rare bliss upon waking in the morning to find that they get to remain in bed for as long as they want. Wasn't that just the best feeling in the world back in the day?! Oh, the memories... I also celebrate selfishly: the weather outside is sure frightful, but I find it delightful that I did not have to report to work!!! Too bad our agency isn't giving it to us for free, though. :( Although most of our sites are closed, our agency did not officially shut down for some lame reason. At least I am one of the teachers and not some office worker who had to haul her poor frozen ass in to work today! Or any of you who had to do the same... sorry! Our jobs can be tough at times (understatement), but this is definitely one of the perks. Staying home to cuddle and play with Jackson is a huge pick-me-up!

Random Thoughts

Let me first just say that I have yet to open my book and get any reading done this weekend. I thought it would be important for you to know that you, my loyal readers, come first. Did you notice that it's been just a week since my last post? Pretty good for this girl! But just knowing that you are checking for more frequent updates makes me feel guilty enough to post twice in one day (Sledding Party is below).

The title of today's post makes me think of "Deep Thoughts" from SNL. Remember, the one with the voice-over and the picture of a babbling brook or a hiking trail or some other nature picture meant to make viewers conjure their own images of serenity, just so we could laugh at the goofball?! "And now... Deep Thoughts. By Jack Handey." Here's a classic: "The face of a child can say it all, especially the mouth part of the face." And a fond look back at childhood memories:

The memories of my family outings are still a source of strength to me. I remember we'd all pile into the car - I forget what kind it was - and drive and drive. I'm not sure where we'd go, but I think there were some trees there. The smell of something was strong in the air as we played whatever sport we played. I remember a bigger, older guy we called "Dad." We'd eat some stuff, or not, and then I think we went home. I guess some things never leave you.

Haha, those are great. I wish they'd revive him. They'd earn back this viewer! I'm pretty sure he was a writer for the show. Google "deep thoughts by Jack Handey" if you want to read more.

Jackson is 11 months old today! Last year at this time I was just praying that he'd be born early. No such luck there, as it turned out. It's crazy to think that he'll be one year old next month! My goodness.

I was enjoying some Quattro Formaggio-flavored Thin Triscuits with today's lunch when I noticed that below the title it said, "Natural Flavor with Other Natural Flavors." I have been seeing that blip more and more lately. Doesn't that seem ridiculously redundant? I don't think "Quattro Formaggio" is a natural flavor. It just means four cheese. So, sure, natural flavors from the four cheeses, but do they really need to tell us that there are others as well? It would suffice to label the crackers as a naturally flavored snack. It just sounds so corny in my head when I read it, not to mention looking ridiculous on the box. I'm just glad to discover that there is at least some small amount of goodness in this overly-processed product that I happily consume! Okay, so I'm really a nerd. You should not be surprised by now! Let me know of any other silly-sounding notations you fellow geeks come across. :)

Sledding Party

The gang hanging out at the hill. Ben was
often one of the sled pushers.

Last weekend we had the pleasure of attending the first annual Beaudoin sledding party at Grandpa's farm in the good ol' town of Bock. We have had sledding parties in the past, but now that we no longer gather as a clan for Christmas, and since it was so much fun, the consensus this year was to make the sledding party an annual event. (I was hoping to blog about it last weekend, but I asked for more varied pictures, which no one had. I didn't have the camera out/ in my own hands enough.) As usual at the farm there were also plenty of non-Beaudoins around - the more, the merrier! I hope they had as much fun as we did. :)

Between Mom and Dad, friends Chuck and Meline, and us kids, the hill on the north side of the barn was prepared over the two weekends after Christmas (the first time would have done it but of course it had to snow that week). The guys drove four-wheelers with plows down to clear the snow, piling some up at the top of the hill, and then pulled old car hoods down to make it sleeker and flatter; us kids packed in the snow with shovels and did lots of test runs with the sleds. Sadie had a ball helping! And by "helping," I mean barreling down the hill with each sled and attempting to jump aboard, barking the whole way.

At the sledding party, Craig and Dawn being pushed on
the toboggan by Meline. Sadie's ready to go!

The weather was a little frightful on Saturday, windy with a chill in the air and eventual freezing rain, but us hardy Minnesotans had a blast nonetheless. It helped that the barn blocked the elements for the most part. :) Even Grandpa ventured out once or twice! It was fun to watch him watching us enjoying ourselves at his place. We hit the hill for a good 5 hours that afternoon, cruising down on toboggans, disk sleds, and regular sleds, and cruising back up the hill on or behind 4-wheelers. Not having to climb the long, somewhat steep hill after each descent was a great idea and probably the best part of the day! The bonfire was ablaze as we warmed our bodies with hot cider, cocoa, hot dogs, and chili, among other things, and what excellent chili it was, Ryla! Mmm...

Due to the grim forecast for the evening we were missing several families this year, and Jackson was not one for being out in the cold (even for a little bit), so we've already got something to look forward to next year! Here's hoping everyone can make it next time.

Uncle Craig on an early afternoon ride

Driving down in the 4-wheeler lane to pick up some sledders

The Holidays

Hello everyone! It's me, Jackson! Since my mommy's so tired of writing really long updates every time she posts a new blog because she's such an infrequent (aka bad) blogger, and I love to type on the keyboard when I can manage to sneak into the computer room, I thought I'd be nice and help out this time. :)

My family hopes you all had a wonderful holiday season! We sure did. I had lots of fun celebrating my first Christmas with our families. We were busy going from place to place, but I tried my best to be a good boy for Mommy and Daddy. First we went to Grandma & Grandpa Wojo's for a few days. My cousin Madelyn and I had lots of presents under the tree! Here's me playing with Grandpa, Madelyn, uncle Matt, and one of my cool new toys:

And here's Daddy trying to help me open a book. I look grumpy because I wanted to do it all by myself!Next we went to Grandma & Grandpa Beaudoin's house for a couple days for even more Christmas! I asked Mommy if she had any pictures to share, but she said they're all on Auntie Brea's camera, so we'll have to wait and add those on later. After we celebrated, we went up to Great Grandpa Beaudoin's house to get ready for the sledding party we would have the next weekend. Mommy thought it would be fun for me to ride around the yard in the sled, but I was scared! I watched all the grown-ups get the great big hill ready and practice sledding. They looked like they were having fun, but I was cold and ready to go inside to visit Great Grandpa. We also went there the next day so they could go sledding even more, but I was pretty exhausted from all the Christmases, the food, and the presents, so I slept the whole way home.
I was definitely excited when I woke up to see that I was back home again with just my parents and no other people! I kept looking all around my whole house, laughing and smiling and hugging Mommy. By the time New Year's Day was here, though, I was ready for some more celebrating and more visitors. Grandma Paula's family came to our house for a late Christmas celebration and I got to open more presents! Since it's pretty hard to hold on to a water bottle and open a gift at the same time, my cousin Natalie gave me some help:

It was a really neat firetruck with firefighters! It lights up, makes noises, and moves all by itself when you push a button (which I love to do). I had lots of fun with this one all weekend!

Two of my great aunties also got me presents and helped me open them. The toy animals were neat, and Mommy liked my pretty new sweaters.

My favorite part about Christmas wasn't the gifts, but the ribbons, wrapping paper, and boxes I got to play with at the end! All the people kept watching me and then they laughed when I chose the paper instead of the toys. Just look at all that! What's not to love?

I made sure to say thank you and tell everyone how excited I was. So that's the story of my first Christmas! I think Mommy and Daddy were pretty proud watching me, because they kept smiling at each other and at the other grown-ups. I know when I get to be a bigger boy there'll be lots of important stuff to learn about Christmas, but for now I'm having fun being little and playing with paper and boxes!