Jackson's 1st birthday a huge success!!!!

Well looking back a month ago, Scott and I were a bit worried that we wouldn't be able to have Jackson's 1st birthday party at our house being that it is on the small side. We really wanted to have a huge blow out with all of our friends and family to celebrate his big day. But since Jackson decided to be born in the winter that became pretty much out of the question. We knew we had to scale back so we did some brainstorming and decided that if we can get our basement in tip top shape, do some big purging and rearranging we could probably pull it off with just our closest family. We decided to only invite all of the grandparents, my sister and her family, and Jackson's best friend Nathan and his mommy and daddy, Adrianne and Matt. Just those people alone we had a total of 25 people (including kids and us!) *Phew*! Everyone helped out and brought a little something to contribute to our meals. Things went so smoothly- aside from our kitchen fuses blowing 4 times. Of course it was the fuse that controlled our oven, microwave, fridge and coffee pot! Go figure. But after some finagling and a bit of patience dinner came out smoothly and super delicious! Thank you everyone who pitched in. You were a HUGE help!

After dinner Jackson opened all of his presents and boy did he make out! He got tons of cool new clothes, some great new books to read, and lots of fun new toys. He has already played with each and every one and loves them all! Jackson also got a bunch of new Baby Einstein DVD’s, and is thrilled to watch something new. So far his favorites are Baby Neptune and Baby Wordsworth. Auntie Bonnie, Uncle Neil and the girls got him this cool blanket from the Taggies line. If any of you know Jackson you will understand how much he LOVES this blanket. He is a tag addict- if it has a tag it is a favorite. This blanket is not only super snuggly, but it has a ton of tags on it- lots to rub, hold onto and comfort himself with. He has slept with it every day since. Thank you! We also wanted to thank all of you for the wonderful savings bonds and additions to his College Advantage Funds. These are incredibly special gifts and at this rate Jackson will have a full choice of college’s to go to! It means a lot that you are all helping his future grow.

After some more playing and visiting we all had plenty of time for our food to digest a bit and it was cake time!!! This is the big part Mommy and Daddy were waiting for. We got a Cassata cake for us adults and Jackson got his very own chocolate cake with vanilla frosting to smash into. At first he wasn't so sure as to what to do with it. But after a little help he was right in it. Too cute! I am uploading all of his birthday pictures so be sure to check back often. Thank you Adrianne for being my picture girl so I could pay attention to Jackson and company and not have a camera in my face the whole time. If anyone else has some digital pictures from his party please send them our way and I will post them here online for everyone to see. You can email them to me at amie.kanengeiser@gmail.com

Thank you everyone for the fabulous company and wonderful time! We are so thrilled that we were able to pull this day off without a hitch. We had a fantastic time and hope you all did too. I am sorry we couldn't invite everyone to this party but we are definitely looking forward to having another bash once the weather turns nice (if that ever happens- don't know about you all but we have over a foot and a half of snow out there and it is still falling!!) Can't wait to do it all again!

One year ago today....

It is so hard to believe that already one whole year has gone by! Just one year ago today we were in the hospital well into labor. I write this at 10:15pm. By this time I do not really remember too much... labor was a bit fuzzy at this point. I do believe I was given a second dose of my epidural, and I think we were trying to rest a bit. What I do remember was that the show 24 was on. We were trying so hard to watch it (we are MAJOR 24 junkies- thanks mom and dad!) but I was so uncomfortable I made Scott turn the volume almost off. The poor guy had to watch it reading lips ...hahahaha, sorry babe! We thought things would really get moving at this point, I was dilating and all was good. But then Jackson started not reacting well to the Pitosin so they had to take me off it and give me oxygen. But when I was off Pitosin, the contractions slowed waaaayyyyyy down, which meant my labor slowed way down. So we played with the back and forth thing for what felt like forever. The rest is a bit foggy but I know it was hard. Honestly the hardest thing I have ever done. But then finally in just 10 more hours our sweet little man was born.

When I would talk to other mom's about childbirth and if it really is so terrible; all would say you forget how bad it is after you have your beautiful child to hold. I thought this was all crap. Yeah right! How could a person really forget something so awful?! But you know what, they were right. Yes, it was hard; yes I know it was painful. But was it so bad I wouldn't do it again? Nope. I honestly can't even describe the pain or tell you truthfully what it was like. God created something truly amazing in us Mom's. A blinder of sorts. He just kind of put a fog around us during that time to make it OK, and then he gave us the most beautiful love story we will ever live.

Thank you God for blessing us with the most beautiful, handsome, fun, crazy, wild, happy, most cuddly little boy in the world! We love you Jackson- and welcome to one amazing year of life!!! I can't wait to see all of the years to come.

Jackson gave Mommy a broken toe!

This morning Jackson and I were over at my neighbor Laura's house for a little play date with another girlfriend and her children. About 10 minutes into getting there Jackson, walking into the kitchen to show me his prize- a very heavy children's toy, promptly dropped it to the floor and it landed squarely on my second toe. Instantly I felt the pain shoot up my foot. The instant pain actually brought me to my knees and I had to sit down right away. I have broken a toe two other times in my life, so I knew that is what happened without even looking at it. Laura gave me an icepack and we just hung out for a bit- I was just hoping that I was wrong and that the pain would eventually subside.

Once it was time for Jackson's nap, we headed back home. But since there was quite a bit of snow outside I wore my winter lace-up boots. It was excruciating! As soon as I got home I investigated- sure enough, my toe is swollen, bruised and no pressure can be put on it. Unfortunately there is really nothing that can be done for a broken toe unless it is misaligned. I just buddy taped it, took some Motrin and hope it won’t cause me too much pain tonight at work! Wish me luck- OUCH!

The pains of being a theething tot!

Jackson is growing up fast and with it comes more teeth. He has two more teeth coming in (the ones on either side of his 2 front teeth). They are giving him so much trouble- our poor little man! He has a boogery nose, a cough from the drainage and icky mouth pain. All of this leads to wakeful nights and crabby days. He just has so much trouble teething. Sophie's teeth pretty much just pop in and you hardly know that they were coming until they are already there. Not our little guy. They give him such a hard time! I wish I could take his discomfort away! Thankfully Infants Motrin works wonderfully. Best part is that it lasts 8 hours, unlike Tylenol, which is only 4-6. It doesn't relieve all of his pain, but it definitely helps. I think the worst part (for me) is the runny nose. I constantly have to wipe it and he hates it! I am sure it is making his little nose tender so all I can do is rub a little Vaseline there at night to help soothe it. I just hope these teeth come through already so he can get some relief!

The uncomfortableness has also made him much more clingy with me. He wants to be held all the time and doesn't like it when I leave the room. On one hand it makes for a difficult day if I need to get things done around the house. But on the other hand I get a snuggle buddy again. He was so busy with this new independence of walking he had no interest of sitting on your lap for more then a couple of seconds. Now we will sit together and read stories, watch shows or just sing songs. I definitely like this part of teething! Also one of the best things is he is starting to call me "Mom" again. That was his first word and I used to hear it all the time. Then he learned "Dada" and everything else went out the window. EVERYTHING became "Dada". I no longer heard Mom, or Mama anymore. I have to admit it made me a little sad- even though I knew it was just a phase. Well this week, he has finally started calling me "Mom" again. Yay!

The other good news is that Jackson is being a bit more agreeable when it comes to eating. He is enjoying his baby food again and also his oatmeal. Not as much as before, and I need to distract him with finger foods so he feels in control. But it is defiantly easier on all of us! Phew! I don't think I am ready for him to grow up so fast yet!

Joy of eating....

So Jackson has always been a wonderful eater. He loves to try new things, and has had quite an appetite for almost anything. He loves variety, and there isn't a whole lot that he doesn't like. But as of lately he has been trying my patients at mealtime. He is wanting to become more in control of his food, which means that if it is something he can feed himself, HE has to be the one doing the feeding. If I give him a spoonful or a bite from my fingers, he spits it out so he can do it himself. I am excited for him, but at the same time this leads to a VERY LONG mealtime. Patients is key. I can't be in a hurry and try to rush him. These textures and tastes are new and fun and he wants to take his time exploring them.

I like to watch Jackson playing with his food, exploring the textures and consistencies. And sometimes he even eats those things with their fabulous textures and consistencies, but the exploration is just as important as the eating - I try not to lose sight of that.

We are now at that point where baby food is B-O-R-I-N-G. And to be honest I don't blame him. The food is quite bland and the texture is pretty much always the same. So now Jackson is for the most part, eating what we are eating. What used to be his most favorite meal of the day, his breakfast of oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon, and a jar of fruit he now spits out like it is dirt. So I have had to try out other things in its place. His new favorite breakfast is scrambled egg with cheese and peanut butter and jelly toast. Dinnertime was quite trying yesterday. He didn't want anything I was giving him. Most everything was getting the off-the-tray-and-onto-the-floor treatment. So mommy had to put away his old favorites of baby food and make the real deal. I scrambled through my fridge and pantry and quickly came up with an alternate. And he loved it. His new dinner consisted of Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes, fresh Sweet Peas, and Macaroni and Cheese. All of which he had to feed himself. Needles to say, dinner was VERY messy. But he loved it. I guess this will save us money from having to buy jarred baby food! We will just use that extra money for stain remover...hahahaha.

Like they say, until they’re one, it’s just for fun. What happens after they’re one is I suppose, anyone’s guess. Since we are alomst there we shall see soon enough!

Jackson's 1st Sleepover Away from Mommy and Daddy!

What a fantastic day yesterday was! We had a lot of plans for our Thursday, but it was going to be a lot of fun!

While growing up I had a girlfriend named Hannah. She was a wonderful friend, we did lots together like any good girlfriends do; play at each others houses- which included sleepovers of course, went to church with each other’s families, shared secrets, all that good stuff. We were close for a number of years and then in high school I transferred to Lutheran West, Hannah stayed at Berea High and we gradually lost touch. No real falling out, just two girls doing different things at different schools. Well thanks to a silly website called MySpace, we got back in touch after many years apart. The Internet is such a wonderful tool! We discovered that we had both just gotten married quite recently and also we were both pregnant at the same time! How exciting! Another girlfriend to share the joys of motherhood with! Well, unfortunately about a month or so after getting back in touch, Hannah and her husband Tim had to move to North Carolina for his job. Back to emailing, I guess! And email we did! We tried to get together over Christmas, but with all of the hustle and bustle (and Hannah's knee surgery!) timing just didn't work out. So when Tim had to go out of town in January, Hannah and TJ (their adorable little boy) decided to come back to Ohio to visit some family, of course I jumped at the opportunity to visit! This time we were going to make it work!!!

On Thursday Jackson and I met Adrianne (no Nathan unfortunately, he was in school) over at Hannah’s moms’ house for a play date. It was such a lovely afternoon! Although it has been so many years since we had last seen each other, it was like no time had passed. We caught up on what is new in our lives, talked a lot about our kids and just enjoyed being together again. TJ and Jackson had so much fun together. They are both walking now, so it was so cute watching them get into stuff and play with all the fun toys. TJ is 14 months old, just a little bit older then Jackson (so I am sure he learned a thing or two from him!) I am so looking forward to when they are in town again- only this time we will have to plan for a day when Nathan can join us too! Lucky for us, Hannah, Tim and TJ will be moving back to Ohio- but not for a few more years. So we will have to rely on email and phone to stay in touch until then. So worth it! I have posted pictures from our playdate in the Baby Albums section. Check them out!


For my birthday, Scott got us tickets to see a truly incredible show. It was Patty Griffin, Emmy Lou Harris, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller performing at the Allen Theater at Playhouse Square. We thought we would take this opportunity for Jackson to have his very first sleepover away from Mommy and Daddy! We took him over to my mom and dad’s for the night while us parents went out for a night on the town.

Scott and I had so much fun! We went for dinner before hand at the Hanna Restaurant in the Hanna Building and then off to the show. We had 4th row seats- AMAZING! The 4 musicians all sat on the stage, surrounded by their guitars and each took turns singing one of their songs while the rest of the group backed them up. It was such a special performance- definitely one I will never forget. After the 2 ½ hour (!) show, Scott and I went up to the stage to see if one of the roadies would give us a set list or something. But even better- Buddy Miller came out to collect some of his things. Scott called to him “Hey Buddy! Can we have a guitar pick, it’s her birthday?!” He said sure and gave us one of the picks he used to play that night and then he even signed our program! It was so cool! What a special night!

The next day after SLEEPING IN (something we haven’t done in a very long time!) I went over to my parents to pick up the little man. He had such a fun time! He ate super good for my mom. She even got him into Whole Milk from a bottle. This is something we have been working on for a little while now. I am so proud of him! Now I feel so good about doing this again from time to time. I very much remember how special it was for me when I was growing up to spend the night at my Grandma’s. I am happy Jackson will get to enjoy this too. So huge success for all of us! Go Kanengeiser Family! :)

Happy Birthday Mommy

This weekend I celebrated my 29th birthday- wow, time flies! Hard to believe that I am that grown up already :) The morning of my birthday Jackson woke us up nice and early because he was so excited to give me my birthday gifts. And they were very cool at that! Jackson got me some awesome kitchen stuff- a cool knife sharpener for my Santouko, a new red spoonula (I use my old one constantly and it is getting beat) and also the new Cat Cora cookbook. She is one of my favorite chefs on Iron Chef America on Food Network and her recipes are so cool. I can't wait to try them out! In her book Cat was talking about her 8month old son. She said that she wants to encourage his pallet so he will be open to new tastes as he grows. She puts cinnamon and nutmeg into his cereal in the morning. I thought I would give it a try and added it to Jackson's oatmeal. He loved it! This might be a good trick to get him to eat his squash too...hmmmmm.

Then in the afternoon I went to the salon for some pampering. I got a fun new haircut and also highlights. They turned out so pretty! I haven't colored my hair since my wedding- so I was wayyyyyyyyyy overdue. Plus the fact that Jackson turned my hair brown when I had him, I have been dying to get some dimension to it! It was a wonderful relaxing way to spend my afternoon.

That night we dropped Jackson off at Sandy and Don's so he could get Grammy and Pop time and Mommy and Daddy could go hang out with Bonnie and Neil without having to worry about trying to get him to bed (he doesn't really like to sleep at their house- too much fun going on there!) Bonnie made a yummy bruscetta and we got this delicious bbq for dinner. We decided to have our own wine tasting at home instead of going out and got to try some really great wines (a few not so good ones too, but that is part of the fun!) Bonnie and Neil also got me an adorable apron and this super cool necklace. It is called "Teething Bling". Babies who like to tug on mommies’ jewelry inspired teething Bling. It is made from the same material as many teething toys so it is safe for curious babies to handle and chew. Plus it is super cute looking too. I love it! And I am sure Jackson will too! No more worries about beads going flying! I have added their website to my "Favorite Links" page if any of you are interested in them.
Thanks again Bonnie and Neil, it was such a fun night!

On Thursday Jackson is having his very first sleepover away from Mommy and Daddy. For my birthday Scott got me tickets to go see one of my favorite musicians, Patty Griffin. She is touring with Emmylou Harris, Shawn Colvin and Buddy Miller so it will be an outstanding concert. We can't wait! To make it even better the concert is at Playhouse Square, so we are doing dinner before hand at the Hanna Building. It should be a very special night. I hope Jackson will have fun too being a big boy! I will be sure to tell you all about it after we get back.