But here she is, all 8 pounds 13 ounces and 22 inches of her. And as you can tell, big brother is (mostly) smitten by her.

there is a drawback – notice the last time i blogged? february. know what month it is? well in oregon you wouldn’t based on the weather, but i’ll let you in on a secret, it’s august and that’s pathetic. i apologize to everyone who has decided to not let their lives be consumed by facebook since you don’t know what’s going on in my life (the only place i update anything including pics). back to the drawback- an old college student said “ooh another baby, please do a baby blog” UGH, what?! again? i thought child number two was supposed to be neglected. fewer pics, wears her brother’s clothes so you can’t tell who it really is even if she made it in a pic, has two handmade afghans to the fifteen the first born had…you get my drift. so now i’m forced, and i mean that completely, forced to blog for this kiddo to make it fair. and yes, i will likely be just as bad as with jackson, actually, possibly worse since now there is a jackson. but i will do my best so this kiddo doesn’t become the poor neglected baby of the family. ha.

but i start tomorrow…

His 18 month check up was last week and the doctor was thoroughly impressed with him (what a great feeling to leave the doctor’s office with). He is a whopping 27.14 lbs (75th percentile) and 34.4 in (95th percentile). She said, and I quote “he is a very smart boy who is very advanced for his age”…and mommy and daddy were overly proud! Yay, our little guy knows more animals, animal sounds, people’s names, and can identify Target and Starbucks (and coffee) than the average 19 month old. Probably shouldn’t be proud of that, but I am!

The added excitement came last week as Jackson told daddy “pee pee” pointing to the appropriate location on his body So Chris put him on the toilet, and he went! Whoa. And did the same again later! To top it off, he and I went to Nordstrom this after to try on shoes (they are the best for shoe fittings for kiddos)…and he’s grown another full shoe size since November! He’s now a 7.5 (pretty sure the average 3 year old isn’t wearing that size). Look out Big & Tall, here we come!

All that to say, we are obviously first time parents and overly thrilled with his accomplishments and growth! Although I must admit, even for me, the shopper, it’s keep me on my toes to keep this kiddo outfitted!

Three months without a blog? That has got to be a record for me!! I really started to feel guilty with all the Christmas card comments about enjoying watching Jackson grow up by following my blog. Oopsies. I guess time stood still for us for awhile! So here’s a quick (no really it’s not at all quick) recap….

November was a busy month with our bi-annual trip to Hawaii. Jackson lovedit! What could be better for a little munchkin than running around in the sun and playing in the sand and water. Especially since his mommy saved him from being stung by a jellyfish by taking it for herself…we now refer to the jellyfish in our Einstein book from Great Grandma and Grandpa as “ouch”. Grandma Trautman joined us for the last week of the trip making it more fun for everyone (especially Daddy since he actually got a break from the kiddo while I was working).

We ended our month in Seattle with the whole Robertson clan (minus three!). Grandma and Papa Robertson and Uncle Joel came up to visit and we headed to Seattle for Thanksgiving. It was such a fun trip with everyone…Jackson couldn’t have had more fun!

December, hmm well I think it was just as busy as November! I don’t remember much except for Christmas, of course! We spent a week in Moses Lake with the Trautman family for Christmas. It was a very busy, fun, and exhausting week with so many people! Auntie (DR) Liz had tonselitus and Seth and Alona got engaged! What a week. Jackson loved spending time with his cousins, playing with Shadow the ‘meow, meow’, and enjoying all the rest of the animals. He determined Madison was his favorite cousin on this trip and always wanted to know what she was doing and tried sharing everything with her!

At the end of the month and for the celebration of the New Year, we headed to California. I realize I am partial to this trip since it’s my home and family. But what a great trip! Jackson did incredibly well for not being home for two weeks and did I mention his molars were coming in? He enjoyed some extra special time with Grandma Robertson and Great-Grandma Gomes allowing mom and dad to go to two movies while we were there!!

Well back to reality and rainy Portland! Jackson spent his first few days away from me and went to Moses Lake with dad while Chris had work to do. It was a little traumatic letting him go, but the freedom was great! Two weeks later he hasn’t quite gotten over the separation, so no plans for leaving again anytime in the future!

He is a complete joy in this current stage…as long as we aren’t dealing with naps, we won’t get started on that conversation. I have so much fun listening to him repeat everything I say, yes everything, it hilarious! He has been enjoying play time with all his buddies and loves to stand by the fridge and name everyone in the pictures. My favorites are when he points to the “beebee” and says “Unoool” Which in his language in “Sunol” (with a very long “unol”), my cousin Trina’s little girl. But he has all his buddies and cousins down; he even pointed to a picture of my Grandpa Gomes holding me and said “papa”.

We are loving this kid dearly and for those wanting to know, NO, we are in absolutely no hurry to add to the count! He is about all my weary soul can handle these days! For now, we pray for more sunny days to get out of the house to play and for naptimes to run smoothly again. Thank God for bedtime!

Over the last few months Jackson has continued to change. He has developed quite the personality, there is no doubt that he is his own person, except when he’s confused for Chris as a child! He is into everything–walking didn’t change this too much, it’s the climbing that did it! I have caught him standing on the back of his fire engine trying to open the bathroom door, pull decorations off my windowsill, and climb up the back of the couch. Oh this is just the beginning! He has taken his first tumble down our long staircase and survived without an injury and without gaining a healthy fear of the stairs! He loves to play and read books. He’s not too picky about play, but if he can throw things, he’s stoked. In fact, that’s how he fell down the stairs was by standing at the top throwing things down and losing his balance. oops. He is so good with kids his age and at his level. When we picked him up from the church nursery this morning we watched him playing and having such a blast! He’s still learning what to do with those behind him and the bigger kids who don’t like him taking his toys or don’t want to share with him!
His vocabulary is ever increasing. There isn’t much that he won’t try to say although his annunciation isn’t too developed yet. He has decided “hot”, in an exaggerated way, is his favorite word.

He loves to give hugs in kisses. In fact, if you tell him to be nice, immediately the object receives a kiss. He will follow after kids and animals (stuffed or living) to give them kisses. What a sweetie!
Mostly, he keeps me on my toes! I’ve been told by many people that my years raising him will keep me closer to the Lord than ever, continuing calling on Him for guidance with this active little one. I pray that it is true since I know the Lord is faithful and am so thankful for this precious little one! Plus, if he continues to be just like his daddy, we’ll be set!

Oops! So I just noticed I never posted this blog since I had more work to do with it. A month later, I don’t care anymore, so here it is! What a treat for me to come back and look a the pics from family and such a fun trip! Miss you guys!