Most of my hours right now feel like they are spent being a broken record of “mommy words”.  “Say please”, “thank you”, “say,  yes, mommy”,”sorry daddy”. After we came back from our trip to the US, Jackson had mastered hollering out for what he wanted and had gotten quite a demanding attitude. He wasn’t being nasty it was just the most effective way to get attention in a talking crowd and have 4 people run for a cracker!  Our first week back we worked on “please” which he learned quickly and now uses all of the time. “Thank you” he has known for quite some time. “Sorry” is just too abstract at the moment although it would serve him well! He has gotten into hitting over the past  few weeks and although he falls into the depths of despair when he is scolded he hasn’t figured out using “sorry”! The other thing we can’t wait for Jackson to say is “I love you”. That would erase a multitude of sins! We will have to post for sure when we hear that one!

Jackson…18 months old, wearing a big t-shirt (while mommy hunted for pants) and bear slippers. Running around the house with his special push toy from Nana!

Jackson is amazing us with his ability to learn and transfer his knowledge. 18 months is such a crazy age of learning and exploration. He has been on a constant incline with increasing skills but 18 months and the weeks leading up to it recently have been like an explosion for him.  His little brain does not slow down! This morning I was talking to my mom and he wanted to talk, he immediately started asking for the dog. It amazes me that he remembers to associate my mom with also getting to see the dog on skype. The other day Jackson was fussing for lunch and I was bustling around getting everyone’s food. Seth said, “let’s just eat” (implying let’s not try to pray over this 18 month olds fussing), Jackson chimed in with “no, pray!!!” and reached for our hands to pray. He is learning his ABC’s and 123’s and he is at the point where we can say where is the whatever and he will point or go out on a hunt for the item. He is trying to sing along with songs on Elmo.  Another fun thing is that Jackson is truely becoming bilingual! Seth will ask him where things are in Spanish that we know he says the word for in English and he will point to it. He is switching between languages really quickly which is amazing to watch. He now says “vamanos” for “let’s go”!  I have been using the phrase “not yet” pretty frequently because he has now figured out that when mommy says we are going to do something it might not mean right away. He is by the door and ready to go once he hears the word! This weekend I said “are you ready for your nap?, he replied “YET!” in a harsh voice.  He didn’t get the “not” part but I knew exactly what he meant. He is no genius but he impresses us!

Just smiling!

Anyhow, teaching the “please” and “thank you’s” is a hard job! Congrats to those of you that survived the toddler years and successfully raised thankful, pleasant kids!   I have to say my friend’s Annie and Sean did a wonderful job with this! I would spend time with Evan, Maddie and Gilly any day!

Thank you all for your birthday wishes! I had a great birthday! Seth took me out to dinner on Sat night at a swanky restaurant here in Bogota. And then we went for dessert at a little bakery that we love. We had one of their amazing cookies and hot chocolate. The hot chocolate is literally that..melted chocolate! It was so rich that we asked for a little thing of steamed milk to be able to drink it! Yesterday Seth and Jackson had a little birthday cake and sang to me. They had made me a birthday card which was so sweet! The best part of the day was that Seth got up with Jackson and let me sleep in! It was such a treat!

Dinner at Criterion

If you ever come to Bogota we will take you to Rauch! They make the best cookies we have ever had!!

Making a wish!

Anyhow, thanks for the birthday wishes! I am feeling old but also feeling blessed by so many wonderful friends and family!

Today is Kristen’s 27th birthday.  In general, not all that significant of one.  But very significant for me.

Since we got married over 3 years ago, we have not celebrated one of her birthdays together on her actual birth day.  For our first one together, she was in Houston.  For the second, we were in DC and I had to go away for a few days of training.  For hers last year, she was in Houston again.

But this year, we’re celebrating it together.  And Jackson and I are thankful.

Kristen is an amazing wife and mother and deserves a lot more showering of fancy food and gifts than she actually gets.

I think of Proverbs 31.  Here are a only a few verses that exemplify Kristen:

-She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family

-She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy

-She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come

-She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness

Jack and I are blessed to have such a wonderful woman in our lives.  She truly is worth “far more than rubies” (or “emeralds” here in Colombia).

Saturday we had some new friends over for a “potluck brunch”. Whenever new people arrive in Seth’s section we try to have a get together so we can meet new friends. In particular friends with kiddos.

Here are a few pictures…

Doesn’t it make it look like Seth was watching all of the kids!!

Jackson and Ella enjoying the ball popper…they were taking turns having the air blow up in their faces

Katie and Ronan. We are so happy that Katie is here safe and sound. Her mom had to med-evac a few months ago with pre-eclampsia! Katie made her debut early but is doing beautifully!

more friends

again, Seth being super daddy, holding not one but two 18 month olds!

Other happenings,

Our side view mirror got stolen off the car yesterday in broad daylight while I was with Jackson in his jardin. How annoying! We got the name of a guy that sells rear view mirrors, we are going to buy ours back from him!

Jackson turns 18 months old on Friday! Time flies!! I can NOT believe that he is more of a toddler than he is a baby.

Seth is pumped about LOST starting tonight and I am excited that my wii fitness coach dvd arrived today! Jackson is excited because his Christmas gift box arrived. All of his Christmas gifts were in a box we mailed from the states. It appeared it had gotten lost. Much to our delight it was found yesterday!

Those are the happenings! Nothing too exciting!