The Turner's - sjturner

So, since I last posted, A LOT has happened!  Scott started a new job at a new hospital (yes, again!) on May 23.  He's now at Emory University Hospital and it's a great fit for everyone!  We closed on the house in Birmingham and the new house in Marietta the first week of June and made a mad dash to get as much as possible situated before Bailey arrived.  We got Jackson's room and the nursery put together and most of the other rooms at least half way unpacked and organized.  Most importantly, Bailey arrived on June 25!  Once again, I woke up in the middle of the night pretty sure that it was time and sure enough it was!  We had MeMe and Grandpa meet us at the hospital around 5:00am to pick Jackson up, but by that time, he was wide awake and there was no way he was missing out on all the action!  Apparently, he spent the morning telling everyone how his baby sister was going to get out of my tummy.  Believe it or not, delivering her was even easier than Jackson's delivery (which I wasn't sure was possible), but I couldn't be more grateful for!  She was born at 1:25 in the afternoon and weighed 6 lb 12 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long.  She looks JUST LIKE her big brother!

I've been a total slacker since the last post, but it's for good reason...we're 7 months pregnant (probably should have found time to mention that on here before now), it was the holidays, we rented an apartment in Atlanta to be together as a family again, our house FINALLY went under contract (or as I like to say, we gave it to some Doctor from South Carolina) and we've been looking for a house in Atlanta, which we finally found and put a contract on!  

Sorry it's been a while (well, I guess 4 months is more than a while), but we've been busy!  Scott took a job in Atlanta with Piedmont Heart Institute, so we put the house on the market and we are back and forth between Birmingham and Atlanta every week.  So far, it hasn't been too bad, although I wouldn't miss I-20 if I didn't drive on it for a very long time.  Hopefully, something will happen after the holidays and we can live together as a family again.  Luckily, Jackson is awesome in the car.  He hardly even naps on the trips anymore and chats and keeps me company.  Unfortunately, that means we listen to a lot of Toddler Tunes, which I only recommend in small (very small) doses!  Jackson is also potty trained since the last time I updated this, which is the greatest thing ever...at least to a mom of a 2 year old!  I was a little nervous about the long car rides, but we rarely have to stop more than once and he's surprisingly good at telling me in plenty of time to stop.  Speaking of Jackson telling me things....there isn't much he can't say these days.  He's pretty much figured out how to communicate anything and everything, and he will negotiate deals to get what he wants.  In a lot of ways, it was nicer when he couldn't talk because I could pretend that I didn't know what he wanted (like every toy you pass in the store), but now he tells me over and over exactly what he wants...and how it will make him happy and how he'll be a good boy if he gets it.  He even told me yesterday that he'd show me...it was east...you just put it in the cart and we take it to the nice lady and pay for it and then we can take it home and play with it.  He pretty much thinks he has it all figured out!  We are excited about Christmas because he "understands" Santa this year and is all excited to see what he brings and he likes helping me shop for other people's presents.  He's definitely gone from my baby boy to my little buddy!

Well, everyone went back to school and left us all alone!  We're making it...we just have the zoo and the pool all to ourselves!  It's not all play though, we have a lot going on...or at least we will soon.  Scott starts a new job next month...in Atlanta!  We put the house on the market and have been looking at areas in Atlanta.  Luckily, he'll be staying at my parents and we'll be visiting a lot until the house sells and we can find something over there.  

We've been having way too much fun to take time to update the website!  We went to the beach for a wedding and Jackson thought it was the greatest thing to have his whole family (almost) there.  Both sets of grandparents, all of his aunts and uncles and both of his cousins and even Avery's grandparents!  Regardless of our numbers, he still ran us all ragged!  His batteries just keep on going!  He had a blast playing in the sand and pool with Avery and Maddox and riding the "train" (which is really just a gold cart that takes you around the neighborhood).  He was the ring bearer in the wedding, and didn't make it all the way down the aisle, but he sure looked cute trying!
Since the beach we've been making a routine out of going to the pool and the zoo.  He loves his "shark" (the new water wings) and jumps in and swims around all by himself.  When the lifeguards blow the whistle for adult swim, he tells everyone we have to "get out, then blow whistle again and get back in!"  He's kindof like a tape recording these days.  Everything I've randomly been telling him for the 2 years he couldn't speak, he now tells me on a regular basis.  And anyone we see gets a full narrative of what we are currently doing or did earlier.  We've also become regulars at the zoo.  It's pretty hot, so I'm grateful that it's not too big of a zoo.  Jackson still thinks it's great though.  He loves to laugh at the gorillas and feed the giraffes.  He will tell you all about the white tiger that is a "lazy bum" because it's sprawled out asleep everytime we go.  The orange tiger put on a real nice show the first time we went, although I'm pretty sure it was trying to figure out a way to bust through the glass and eat Jackson and Maddox for lunch. 
I'm going to get around to posting a bunch of pictures from our adventures at the beach, zoo and splash pad soon...when we're not having so much fun!

Oh, and Jackson now has a big boy room!  He loves to show off his new big bed...he's pretty proud, despite the fact that he doesn't actually sleep in it.  That's a work in progress :)

Before it got too hot outside, we decided that we really needed some more outdoor space for Jackson to play in.  Our backyard was pretty much a very long, very steep cliff with a whole bunch of overgrown junk.  Last week, Mr. Rex brought over all kinds of cool tractors (or at least that's what Jackson called them) and started making a big mess!  He cleared out a bunch of space and built a little dirt road to bring all the dirt in on.  All in all, we brought in 60 loads of dirt (a lot less than what we thought we were going to need), a bunch of topsoil and 5 palettes of sod.  A week and a half later, we have a brand new backyard!  When you see the pictures, do not panic...we are putting up a fence of some sort hopefully soon. 

I'm pretty sure Jackson thought we got him a parade of dump trucks for his birthday.  He was fascinated.  Needless to say, he skipped his naps and spent most of everyday on the deck waving at Mr. Rex every time he drove by.  Rex was sweet to wave back...every single time.  When work stopped everyday, Jackson liked to go check out the progress which mostly consisted of running around in the dirt and throwing rocks at the "tractors".  We got some really cute pictures of Jackson playing around the Trac Ho (however you spell that).

Mother Nature couldn't stop us!  Jackson's Jump & Play party was a HUGE success despite the severe thunderstorms and tornado warnings!  We blew up a bouncehouse in the family room and put a ballpit full of 400 balls on the deck!  The kids had a great time and the parents seemed happy to have some entertainment on a dreary day.  Baby Tucker made his first public appearance and of course Maddox, Avery, Justin and Whit were in attendance.  Audrey, Hannah Grace and Sophie Harris, Jackson's girlfriends from school, came and so did Carr (Jackson + Carr = TROUBLE) and Riley and Payton!  Riley, Payton and their Mommy were sweet enough to let us borrow their bouncehouse and I'm pretty sure Riley and Payton now want it as a permanent fixture in their living room (sorry Stacy).  Everyone was so sweet to bring Jackson such fun presents and he can't wait to have everyone back over to play!

Our friend and old neighbor, Kim, outdid herself on Jackson's cake.  It was a work of art and I was almost sad to see it cut up (but then I ate a piece and was happy to cut myself another slice).  Elmo, Burt and Ernie looked like they just walked off the set of Sesame Street...until Jackson ate them.  We did get a picture of them when he was finished and Elmo must have tasted the best because there isn't much left of him at all! 

Once the party was over, the real party planning started!  Scott thought we were just straightening the house back up and had no idea how helpful he was being.  He suggested that he, my bro-in-laws and dad go to Best Buy and "look around."  Rarely, do we look around Best Buy without coming home with something (and that something is usually expensive).  When the girls said we were tired, they even offered to bring us back dinner.  While they were out looking at iPads and having a beer, Scott had no idea that our house was being converted into a casino!  Scott came in the door with what he thought were "way too many wings for the 8 of us" to find 35 of our friends and family wishing him a happy 30th birthday!  He was totally surprised!  He admitted that he had no idea and even if he had suspected anything, he never thought I'd be crazy enough to try to have two parties in one day!  Everyone had a great time hanging out and playing poker and blackjack. 

All in all, it was a crazy hectic weekend, but luckily we have the most amazing family and friends that helped up pull it all off!  I'll admit that I'm a little worn out today, but it was worth it to see the looks on both Jackson's and Scott's faces.  I'd do just about anything for these boys!

You can tell Jackson has had spring fever because now that it's finally nice outside, I can't keep him in the house.  Last week, Jackson and I went to the beach with my parents (our Spring Break) and aside from the 3 hour nap each day, we were on the go.  He kept us busy on walks, blowing bubbles, building sandcastles, watching for parasailers (he thought they were big balloons), helicopters and airplanes, and of course swimming in the pool.  One afternoon, he wouldn't even wait for me to put him in his bathing suit...he walked right down the steps and said "Meme, big splash" and jumped right in the pool in his clothes.  Luckily, Meme was in the pool to catch him!  I was worried last year when he hated the sand so much (like mother, like son) but it only took about a day before he was running around and and playing in it. 

We had so much fun just playing and relaxing and are so glad that it's finally playground and swimming pool weather!  Now that I think about it...the playground and swimming pool are anything but relaxing for anyone with a 2 year old, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I've been a slacker and so far, we've had a pretty eventful 2010.  Jackson is more energetic than ever and is growing up so fast.  He's quite the copycat these days and repeats EVERYTHING you say.  One of his new favorite things is to watch music videos on YouTube.  He knows the lyrics to several Black Eyed Peas songs and recognizes Carlos Santana and Jay Z as soon as a song comes on.  He especially likes to watch Michael Jackson music videos and try to kick and do the moonwalk like him. 

On a less fun note, we found out (the hard way) that Jackson is severely allergic to cashews, he had a double ear infection AND broke his collarbone...all in about 2 weeks.  Luckily, he's made a full recovery and wasn't too phased by the whole thing.  This week we had his Valentine's Party at school which was fun because I'm now one of the room moms and got to help out. 

It's been snowing for a couple of hours today and Jackson loves to play in it!  I thought he'd be a little hesitant, but he ran right in and started throwing snowballs at me and Courtney.  He wasn't a big fan of having to come back inside, but I assured him once all of his clothes were dry and he'd had a nap, we could go back out and play.

We were having some technical difficulties with the video camera, but it's finally all fixed and you can see all the fun we've been having.  My favorites are "Boys Night" and "Jackson & Avery."

There's never a dull moment around here these days and it's about to get even more crazy!  Donna goes back to work next week and Jackson is so excited (we'll see if that lasts) that we'll be taking care of Avery until May.  He's quite the little helper already...he walks around pointing to the swing and pack & play telling me that they are for Avery (also known as "A") when she sleeps.  He loves to try to hold her (and tell me she's heavy), feed her bottles, and his favorite feature is her bubble blowing skills.

We also went to Atlanta for Christmas where Jackson found no shortage of people willing to give him attention.  He did NOT like Mommy and Daddy playing football in the Turkey Bowl, especially when they got tackled (which happened quite a bit despite being a two hand touch game). 

We had so much fun having all the munchkins over for Halloween!  We had a giraffe (Jackson), 2 puppy dogs (Maddox and Justin) and a ballerina (Avery).  Jackson and Maddox went trick or treating to a couple of houses and I think they liked it.  Luckily, they were nice neighbors who let Jackson ring the doorbell over and over again.  They have both been trained to pick out the candy that Mom and Dad like best! 

I can't believe it...Jackson is getting so big!  He 18 months old and every week goes by faster than the last.  He literally learns something new every few hours and it's just crazy to watch!  We made a list of everything he's saying and it's almost 75 words!  That doesn't even include anyone's names or all of the animal noises he makes.  He is into EVERYTHING!  He loves to love on and help his baby cousins and friends.  He's determined to teach Maddox how to crawl...he's so close!

So, I used to not mind it when he had to have shots (of course I felt bad that it burt him, but it didn't make me upset because I know that he gets over them really quickly), but today was bad.  He had his 18 month checkup and after he showed off all of his tricks to the doctor he had to have 4 shots.  It was just like normal (flirting with the nurse right up until the needle entered the leg) except then he looked right at me and kept saying "No, Mama".  His poor little feelings were hurt and it made me sad.  The whole way home, he kept touching his legs saying shots....another word to add to the list.

Sorry I've been a slacker, but a lot's been going on!  I started back to work (part-time) and Jackson started "school."  He's going to Noah's Park and he absolutely loves it!  His teachers, Mrs. Gwyn and Mrs. Latunya, are wonderful and they say he is the life of the class.  It is amazing to see how quickly he is learning things these days.  I attached some pictures from his first week at school...it was a little tiring at first but now he comes home with PLENTY of energy.

We try to play as much as we can on the weekends to make up for the time we don't have together during the week anymore.  Jackson loves his swimming pool and going to the playground.  He also did much better on our second trip to the beach.  As long as he has his crocs on, he'll get down and play in the sand.  He played in the ocean and even ate crab legs, but his favorite is still just running around getting in and out of the pool.

We are also counting the days until Avery arrives...any week now!  We had so much fun throwing a shower for Donna and seeing all the pretty pink things she got.  Jackson says that he is more than happy to test out some of those toys to make sure they're safe for Avery!

We took Jackson to the Beach for the first time to Gammy & Grandpa's new beach house.  He wasn't such a fan of the actual beach, but I was the mean mommy who plopped him in the sand and took pictures anyways.  He liked sitting under the umbrella and watching the ocean (the big waa-waa) as long as he didn't have to touch the sand.  You can't keep him out of the pool though...he probably went swimming 4-5 times a day and loved every minute of it.  We (well, Courtney) finally got him in the ocean on the fourth day and he did really good.  GrandNan (my grandmother) took him on walks around the lake in the afternoon and he fed the ducks a lot.  We rented bikes with a seat on the back and he liked that too.  He even got to stay up late to see fire works and watch Daddy fish off the jetty.  It was a great trip...he even did really well in the car, so hopefully we can do it again soon!

Last week was so much fun!  Shelley and Anna Beth were in town so we took the little ones swimming EVERY day...sometimes even twice a day!  Jackson has mastered blowing kisses and gives them out to just about everyone, but mostly to the cute little girls in the baby pool. 
Father's Day was great...Scott loved the photo book that Jackson gave him and we spent the day at the Turner's.  Jackson splashed around in the little pool and Maddox even went swimming for the first time.  Mr. Turner was jealous, so he got in too...it was a crowded little pool to say the least!

We just found out Donna and Gigs are having a baby girl!  I am so excited to start making cute little dresses! 

Jackson is officially walking anywhere and everywhere!  The only problem is he's a little sneaky and sometimes wanders off to see what's going on in other rooms.  It's kindof like playing hide & seek all the time around here.  Luckily, he usually leaves a trail of whatever he happens to be carrying around.

He is also a little ball of energy!  I call him my very own little hurricane :)  To see what I mean watch the new videos I uploaded.  Just as I was about to put him to bed one night, he got his second wind and decided it was time to play.  The video is of the last couple of minutes...this went on for about 30-45 minutes.  He worked up quite a sweat and I thought his little heart was going to jump out of his chest when he was done.  Needless to say, he slept great!

Can you believe it's already been a whole year?!  I cannot believe how fast it has gone by.  It is truly amazing to see how much Jackson has grown and learned in such a short amount of time.  This last week, he has become so much more confident and just stands up and takes off walking across the room after whatever he wants.  He has even more energy than before (something I didn't know was possible) and plays until he works up a sweat and his heart feels like it's going to jump out of his chest.
He says MaMa (with a very demanding tone), DaDa, ball, bottle, more, yeah, light (kindof), nana (banana) and Bubba, which is what he calls animals.  He copies whatever noise we make (his favorite is "Oooooo" and was even singing part of a song on the radio the other day.
He is the greatest blessing we could have ever asked for and we're so grateful that you can all share in this fun and craziness with us!

Jackson took his first two steps yesterday afternoon!  We were out on the new deck and when Mr. Turner (Poppy) put him down, he took two steps on his own towards me!  I'm trying to catch it on video, but he just isn't cooperating.

when I wake up with hair like this!  Also, Mom was looking at pictures of me when I was little and couldn't believe how big my bathrobe used to be and now it barely fits over my belly.  I'm growing like a weed!

Sorry I've been such a slacker about updating this....we stay pretty busy these days!  First of all, THANK YOU for all of Jackson's Christmas presents.  I'm sorry for not sending out real thank you's, but he is enjoying all of the toys, clothes and books.

Two weeks ago, Jackson could barely crawl and now he's already sick of it.  He crawls himself over to whatever he can get his hands on and stands himself up about a hundred times a day.  The good news is that it wears him out and he sleeps like a champ!  I posted a video of him pulling himself up by the couch.  He gets so proud of himself, it's funny.

Sorry for so many updates, but it's been a very busy week.  Tonight Jackson said his first word, "Da Da"!  Unfortunately, Jackson and I are in Atlanta, so Scott wasn't here to hear it :(  It is truly unbelievable how fast they learn!

It's been a busy week.  Jackson has both bottom teeth, so hopefully we have a little break from teething.  Last week, he started feeding himself his own bottles and figured out how to get himself up on his knees.  Thursday afternoon he started crawling and now we can't keep him in one place.  That lasted two and a half whole days until he figured out how to pull himself up on things today.  He stood himself up 5 or 6 times times this afternoon and actually even let go and stood on his own for a few seconds.  Needless to say, life has changed in the last few days...and it will never be the same again.  We'll get some videos of all the new developments up soon.

Jackson has his first tooth coming in.  We can feel it, but he won't let us see it.  It feels like the second one is close to coming in also, so that should be fun.  He is so close to crawling.  It's more of a creep right now, but he can make his way across a room...especially if it's to get an ornament off the Christmas tree.  We just continue to be amazed at how much he learns and does each day.  He is such a blessing in our lives.

We just wanted to thank everyone for coming to Jackson's Baptism and making it so special.  Jackson was so good during Mass and looked so handsome in his gown (which Daddy and Uncle Blake insisted was NOT called a dress).  Father Bill gave a very sweet homily and talked a lot about Jackson.  When Father Bill did the blessing of his ears and mouth, he tried to chew on his finger a little :)  

 Jackson had so much fun tailgating and seeing everyone at the game this weekend!  He did so good!  He was a little fussy at first...I think the noise was a little overwhelming, but he settled down and slept though a good bit of the first half.  He loved the jumbotron...figures!  Unfortunately, the wrong Tigers won, but we still had fun.

 Jackson is now eating cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner....and it is pretty messy! 

 He can roll over!  No more napping in the big bed or on the couch for Little Man!  He only goes from his back to his tummy, but it's only a matter of time!

 Jackson is a little fish!  He absolutely loves swimming.  I can't wait until he's 6 months old and we can start mommy and me swim lessons.