Basic Car Seat Safety

It's a little bit terrifying to me, that people take the safety of their children for granted. Lately i've noticed a lot of people buckling their children into their car seats, with the shoulder straps sliding off of their shoulders, or loose, with a fluffy winter coat on, and with the chest clip down at tummy level. (sadly, car seats are used improperly 85% of the time)
There are some very basic car seat safety rules that we all should follow. I would only recommend following these guidelines, if you DON'T want your child to be seriously injured in a car accident, or ejected from their car seat.
When in a rear facing car seat:
-A 5 point harness is preferred, keep chest clip at armpit level and NOT on the neck or tummy.
-Harness strap slots should be at or BELOW the shoulders when rear facing, and at or ABOVE the shoulders when forward facing.
-You should only be able to fit 1 finger between the collar bone and the car seat strap. If you can fit more than 1 finger it is TOO LOOSE. 
-Car seat straps should not be loosened to accomodate a winter coat, which can compress in the event of a car accident, causing the child to be ejected from their seat, or at the very least, they will flop around in the seat.Here is a link, that shows how much looser car seat straps are, when worn with a winter coat. To test your own coat you can do the same thing, put the child in the car seat with the coat, and tighten the straps. Then remove the child and coat, put them back in the seat, to see how loose the straps are. 
-Newborns and infants should have a 45 degree maximum recline.
-You Must use a tether strap to anchor a forward facing seat. If your car does not have an anchor, you must have on installed.

We always use our car seat properly. Jackson never wears a winter coat in his car seat, and we live in Canada, where it sometimes gets very cold. I warm the car up before putting him in. He wears a sweater (thin fleece ones are awesome, very warm, and not puffy at all), and mittens and a hat, we wrap him up in a warm blanket to carry him out to the car. After putting him in his seat, we tuck the blanket in around him. It might be more work, but he's worth it. 

Puppy Wisdom

This is so true. (click to enlarge)

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/ss198/kaelahscloset/stuff/tumblr_kwttvbp7Z01qzegup.jpg

An Early Birthday Present

Jackson received an early birthday gift from his Uncle Kevin.

A shiny green wagon. With big rubber tires.

The kind of wagon you can pull through mud.

The kind of wagon you can use to pull around your dog, your best buddy, or a bunch of cool rocks.

This is the kind of toy a little boy will play with forever.

If Jackson could talk, i'm pretty sure he'd tell his uncle Kevin he is the bestest Uncle ever.

(Ok, Jman seriously needs a haircut, he's got a whole hobbit/elf thing going on)

Pinterest Loves

Oh damn. This pantry is hawt.

Funny, that's what i do when i'm sad too!

SO LOVE! This is what i want for my laundry room. To replace the supper classy curtain : )

This is FanFreakingTastic!

I can't wait for Jackson to color Winston (our lab x huskey) Payback for the ridic shedding!

All pictures from Pinterest.

Peace out.

Bath Time!

Jackson hearts his bath. He mostly likes to read his bath books, eat bubbles, and splash like a maniac. It is his special time with Daddy at night. (When Daddy is home in time). I love bath time, because, as you can see, it is so darn cute. I love his crazy hair. In 7 days, this little man will be 1. He's getting a haircut on his birthday party day (not on his bday, daddy can't come during the week). He'll look like a big man, and I'll be sad, but we'll eat some cake and snuggle, and I'll be better.

Now that Jackson only drinks from sippy cups, bath time is an essential part of his bedtime routine, it helps him wind down. When he was three months old, we started a bed time routine, bath time around 6:30, nursing, then bed. When he started eating, it was dinner, bath, nursing and bed. I know that for him a bedtime routine that is consistent is key to him sleeping. If we aren't home, he usually has a bath and gets into his jammies wherever we are, and goes straight to bed when we get home. We've almost never wavered from his routine, and now that he's (almost) 1, we don't have to be quite as stringent about it.

The next bedtime obstacle is the sookie (soother). I hate anyone having vices, and I'd rather my little man know how to sooth himself without it (i know a lot of people wait until their child is 2, but i don't see any reason to prolong it, and i'm seriously over trying to find the sookie that he's chucked out of the crib at night). Crazy part is, he only uses it initially to fall asleep. Around 10pm at night, he throws the sookie out of the crib, and doesn't need it for the rest of the night. We're down to one sookie, they've all been lost somehow or another, so once this one is gone, no more sookies. I think it would have been a lot easier to kick, when he was at home with me everyday, but now that I'm working a few days a week, he's at a babysitter/grandmas/aunts house. I suppose i just feel bad if someone else has to be a part of the weaning process, not just for them, but for him. Hopefully he loses the last sookie on a Friday, that way i have 4 days at home with him to try and kick the habit before he's with someone else. Ya hear that Jman, we're going to kick this habit soon. Momma will be your SA sponsor (sookies anonymous)

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Jackson Walking

He's officially walking. He's getting better at it every minute. In a few days he'll be running around the house. It is so much fun, but is truly the first real step towards being a "boy". I'm taking this time to get in all the snuggles he'll allow, which isn't many. Apparently racing around the house carrying his toys, is way more fun than snuggling momma.

Another Lovely I Had to Share

I Don't Want to Forget

Your absolutely infectious smile.
Your awesome laugh that always brightens my soul.
The way you make everyone love you. Just by being you.
Your little boy rough and tumble ways.
Your ridiculous long kisses, only for momma.
Your big round belly.
Your little toddling steps. 
The way you "dance". Bopping your head, waving your arms.
Your cuddles and coos, as you fall asleep on momma, not even making it to your crib. Being a baby is tiring work.

The Mr. Sings: Part 2

You tube won't put them in the same post. Here's his second song of the night. Pretty damn good if i do say so myself.

The Mr. Sings

This Saturday evening we headed out to Flyers Cafe for open mic night. It is also a fundraiser for the food bank in town (which is in desperate need of supplies)Using my new Flip camera, i took a few videos, of Marcus preforming, as well as his brother Zach playing alongside him. This is one talented family, and i'm sure Jackson will follow in their footsteps and be musically inclined. Both of his Grandfathers play guitar (and a couple of other instruments), Marcus plays guitar and sings, 3 of his uncles play guitar (and a couple of other instruments), one auntie plays guitar, and one plays sax. My father also played guitar, and i have his vintage guitar that will one day be Jacksons (it is a 67' Telecaster so it will definitely not be his first guitar)Ohhhhh i can't wait to one day here my little man play and sing, it chokes me up just thinking about it.

(scroll to the bottom of my blog to pause the music player-so you can hear Marcus sing lol)

Truths for Mature Humans

This was too funny not to share:

TRUTHS FOR MATURE HUMANS

1. Part of a best friend’s job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

2. Nothing hurts more than that moment during an argument when you realize you’re wrong.

3. I totally take back all those times I didn’t want to nap when I was younger.

4. There is great need for a sarcasm font.

5. How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

6. Was learning cursive really necessary?

7. Google Maps really needs to start their directions on #5. I’m pretty sure I know how to get out of myneighborhood.

8. Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

9. I can’t remember the last time I wasn’t at least kind of tired.

10. Bad decisions make good stories.

11. You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren’t going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.

12. Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don’t want to have to restart my collection … again.

13. I’m always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.

14. “Do not machine wash or tumble dry” means I will never wash this — ever.

15. I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Bugger!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to an answering machine. What did you do after I didn’t answer? Drop the phone and run away?

16. I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste!

17. I keep some people’s phone numbers in my cell phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

18. I think the freezer deserves a light as well. 

19. Sometimes, I’ll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the heck was going on when I first saw it.

20. I would rather try to carry ten over-loaded plastic bags in each hand than take two trips to bring in mygroceries.

21. The only time I look forward to a red light is when I’m trying to finish a text.

22. I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

23. How many times is it appropriate to say “What?” before you just nod and smile because you still didn’thear or understand a word they said?

24. I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at thefront. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!

25. Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

26. Is it just me or do high school kids get dumber and dumber every year?

27. There’s no worse feeling than that millisecond you’re sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

28. As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what my mode oftransportation, I always hate bicyclists.

29. Sometimes I’ll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

30. Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cellphone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey – but I bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from three feet away. In about 1.7 seconds. Eyes closed. First time, every time.

(Source:www.macinations.net )

High Fives & Clapping Cuteness!

Jackson has learned to high five and clap in the past couple of weeks!

It is the cutest thing ever! He also claps anytime someone says "Yayyyyy". It kills me every time.

He also allllllmost can say "Up". He just sort of says "Uuuuuuuu". He wants up a lot, so i can see him learning this quickly. 

Another awesome milestone, almost exclusively drinking from a sippy cup. He's been using one during the day for a while, and i ran out of bottle liners (we use the drop ins bottles) so i thought i'd see how he did with it before bed. He was so tired and falling asleep that he didn't drink much, but he still drank a bit, so that's progress (even with a bottle he's so tired after his bath, he pushes it away, he just wants his bed). I plan to give him more milk during the day, so he doesn't NEED to drink a bunch before bed to meet the daily requirements. It's not like I'm making a big deal about "weaning" him from bottles, as he's only 11 months old, but if he'll drink from a cup, i don't see any reason not to let him. Now his sookie, that will be a real "weaning" process, he loves using it when he falls asleep. We'll tackle that on a weekend, i know there will definitely be some sleep loss.

Five Simple Rules

Flip Video & Smiley Jackson

I was lucky enough to get a Flip video camera for my birthday! Expect many videos of my little man, because he's just so darn cute right now. His personality is really starting to show. (Sorry the video is a bit dark)

A Letter to My Little Man

To Jackson, 
It's only been 11 months, and i truly feel like you've been in my life forever, but somehow it doesn't seem like a lifetime will hold enough days for me to spend with you. Your ever changing and growing personality and spirit are the most magical things i have ever experienced, and i will cherish every second of every day with you. You are the funniest person i have ever met. You make me laugh all day long. You are also such a sweet little man, always giving your momma big slobbery kisses. I love watching you grow and change, but i hate to see the baby slowly slipping away, and being replaced by a little boy. I promise to do my best to be present in every moment, no distractions. Life can wait when i'm with you.
Love you more than there are stars in the sky,
 Your Momma

A Lovely Poem

Starlings In Winter

-Mary Oliver

Chunky and noisy, 
but with stars in their black feathers, 
they spring from the telephone wire
and instantly 
they are acrobats
in the freezing wind.
And now, in the theater of air, 
they swing over buildings, 
dipping and rising; 
they float like one stippled star
that opens, 
becomes for a moment fragmented, 
then closes again; 
and you watch
and you try
but you simply can’t imagine 
how they do it
with no articulated instruction, no pause, 
only the silent confirmation
that they are this notable thing, 
this wheel of many parts, that can rise and spin
over and over again, 
full of gorgeous life. 
Ah, world, what lessons you prepare for us, 
even in the leafless winter, 
even in the ashy city.
I am thinking now
of grief, and of getting past it; 
I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground, 
I feel my heart
pumping hard. I want 
to think again of dangerous and noble things.
I want to be light and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful and afraid of nothing, 
as though I had wings.

Jackson at 11 Months

Jackson Graeme is 11 months old.

He is turning more into a little boy with every passing minute, and grows more energetic and silly every day. He is the biggest ham, and LOVES to make people laugh. The only time he isn't smiling is when he's tired. 
Recently he's learned to clap, high five, kiss with his mouth closed, get down from the couch, and say uh-oh (he also may say daddy, but it's hard to tell). He will still only take a few steps, and prefers crawling (probably because he can crawl at lightning speed) I can tell we are going to have our hands full once he fully masters climbing and walking, he's such a rough and tumble boy, and an adventurer, afraid of nothing (he will already use smaller toys to climb on top of his bookshelf and the coffee table.)
This age is absolutely amazing, he's such a little sponge, taking everything in, and trying to copy everything he sees others doing. He's also fascinated with other children now (more so with tackling them and touching their face than anything else.)
He almost exclusively feeds himself table food, and has tried all of the "allergenic" foods with no problem (he really liked peanut butter).His favorite foods are; avocado on toast, bananas, squash, sweet potato, and eggs with cheddar. 
At 11 months old he weighs 21.5lbs, and is approximately 27.5-28inches tall (it's impossible to measure him). Still a short guy for his age, but built like a linebacker.
It is hard to get a good picture of him now. He never stops. Today he was zooming around in his little car he got for Christmas from his auntie. I can't believe he'll be ONE in a month! ONE! As in a TODDLER!
For the next month you can find me doing nothing but hugging and kissing my little man until he's sick of me. He's so dang cute i can't stand it.

Pinterest-Inspiration

This website is an awesome source for inspiration. Only look if you have hours to spare.