Jackson vs. Roseola

This was by far the hardest week I have ever had with Jackson. On Tuesday, from what seemed like out of nowhere, Jackson developed a pretty high fever and was extremely whiny and clingy. He didn't know what he wanted- wanted to be held, and then wanted nothing to do with you, hitting and screaming, then playing and kissing. He had really no appetite and hasn’t even wanted much of his bottles. It was a huge and pretty scary roller coaster. At first I thought that maybe he was just teething but he was just getting more and more demanding and angry which isn't like him at all. He is usually so loving and tender. But whatever was bothering him was affecting him so badly that he couldn't express it in words so he just got extremely frustrated.

On Thursday we had his 18 month Well Baby Check Up so I just figured I would bring him in there and ask Dr. Biglow about what in the heck could be wrong with him. Since he didn't have any other signs of illness, like coughing, sneezing, etc. she said that he probably just had a viral infection of some kind and to just keeping doing what we have been with keeping him comfortable and giving him his Motrin every 6 hours to keep his fever down. She said that he very well could have Roseola which is a viral infection that consists of a high fever lasting 3-5 days and then as soon as the fever breaks they develop a light pink rash that starts in their torso and then can spread to their arms, legs and face. It isn't itchy and shouldn't bother the child. The good news is that once the rash breaks out they will be better in just a day or two. We just had to wait it out and see what happens.

Well yesterday was a very testing day on how good of a mommy I really could be. Jackson hasn't been napping well, only about an hour a day when normally he sleeps 2-3 hours. He wakes up still tired, and completely angry and crying. There was nothing I could do to calm him down. On Thursday he did the same thing but I was able to take him outside and after an hour of crying he finally calmed down and we sat outside in our bare feet and ate O's and drank juice. But unfortunately yesterday was a rainy mess. No going outside for us. It took me 2 hours and lots of tears (I must admit in both of us) to finally calm him down. I know that I would need to try and keep it together because me getting upset would only make things worse on his end. I also know not to take it personally but after a week of crying, whining, restlessness and then bouts of rage in between it was hard to understand that it wasn't just me and that all of a sudden my child now hates me. But the thing is that as soon as he would finally calm down and the Motrin would kick in he was Mr. Love Bug again, hugging and kissing me. I am not one that recovers so quickly from frustration and tears, so we were both on one big huge emotional roller coaster!

Well thankfully this morning Jackson woke up seeming more himself. Scott let me sleep in so I could recover after such a difficult day and working that night (what an amazing husband!). Once I woke up though around 9:00, Jackson started getting cranky again. I couldn't help but wonder yet again "Is it me?!". But after having some calming quiet time with Daddy on the chair Scott noticed a rash that was beginning to develop all over Jackson tummy and back. After a little bit it started spreading to his face and neck. Well sure enough our Little Man does indeed have a case of Roseola. What a relief to finally know what in the heck is wrong with our sweet baby. The best news is that we are now in the final stages of the infection. The rash can last anywhere from a few hours to a couple days but he should be back to his silly self by hopefully Monday-- My sanity depends on it!

Labor Day Weekend

This past Labor Day weekend was a big one for all of us- especially Little Man. On Saturday we had Neil's cousin, Johnny's wedding. This was a big deal because all of our usual babysitters were going to be busy. My parents and Bonnie and Neil were all going to the same wedding and Sandy and Don were leaving for their vacation the day before. So we all were going to be very brave and all of the kids (Anna and Sophie and Jackson) were to be babysat by Tesa, Neil's 15-year-old cousin. Now, Tesa has watched Anna and Sophie many times, but it was going to be the first time for Little Man. We were only in Lakewood so if anything were to happen we could run over there ASAP, so we were feeling pretty good about the whole thing. And boy am I glad we did. Jackson was so good! He had a blast with Tesa and the girls. Since he is so comfortable with the Stenger's house and with both of the girls being there with him things went really well. I guess it was a little difficult getting the babies to bed, but we figured it would be that way. But Tesa handled it all very well, and when we all got home the babies were all happy and sound asleep in their beds like angels. It is such a good feeling knowing that we now have another babysitter if we needed one in a pinch.

On Sunday, after Jackson's nap, we met up with a few of the other Kanengeiser's out at Rick and Judy's house to go to the Geauga County Fair. What a blast this was! Unfortunately Judy wasn't able to join us due to a twisted knee, but Uncle Bob, Aunt Deb and even Sara who is was in town from Toledo University (!) , Grandma K, and Aunt Peggy (Judy's sister) along with Rick and our crew, we were a pretty good bunch! From what I learned, this fair is the longest running fair in the country! And boy, is it a lovely one! We all had a blast- Jackson especially. I knew he would enjoy the people watching and all the animals but I wouldn't have guessed he liked it this much! It was so cool seeing all these animals up close and being able to touch all the farm animals too. Little Man got such a kick out of touching the cows and goats. It was so cute! Plus we all shared Fair French fries with ketchup and malt vinegar- one of all our guilty favorites! Jackson’s new favorite thing lately by the way is ketchup. Yummy, does he gobble that stuff up!!!

Another pretty special thing for Jackson was he got to ride rides! OK, one ride. But he rode it three times! He was only old enough to ride the merry-go-round, but oh my goodness did he love it! I could have died just watching the look of joy and hearing the squeals from him! First he rode it with Daddy, and then we wandered around the fair a bit. When we came back to the merry-go-round he rode it one more time with me and then with Grandpa right after because he loved it so much he didn’t want to get off! We have wonderful pictures from it but they will be coming later because they are in print form. I need to upload them to the computer so check back soon! This really was a fantastic day!

On Monday, Labor Day, we all headed over to my parents house to celebrate my dad’s birthday. It was a perfect afternoon- the weather was beautiful, excellent company and great festiveness all around. It got pretty warm by late afternoon so my parents pulled out the sprinkler and we let the kids go crazy and play in the water. Usually Sophie and Anna are the daredevils, flying through the water and dipping their faces in it while Jackson stays off to the edges and just lets the mist hit him- but not today. Today he was super brave and ran right into the water, put his head and hands right in it, and just had tons of fun! I was so proud of him!

Over all it was a super busy weekend. But it was a really great one with lots of family time and lots of fun experiences.

Planes, trains and automobiles....

Jackson has all of a sudden gotten so big! Lately I have been in just such amazement at all of his accomplishments and changes. You can now hold a real conversation with him and he will talk to you back in real words. I love it! It is seriously so cool that he can now ask us questions and when we do so, he answers them back!

He also has taken to cleaning up- especially when what he has messed up is something he is not supposed to touch. It will all of a sudden get very quiet in the house. Hmmmm…I wonder what Jackson is getting into. All you have to do is walk within eyesight of him and he jumps up and in a flurry starts putting away whatever it is he has pulled apart (for example pulling out all of the diapers from the diaper basket, emptying his drawers, pulling apart the Kleenex box- yes, every single Kleenex was out of the box by the way…. etc.) It is pretty funny and very hard to not laugh at times. It is so darn cute. Although I can’t say the Kleenex box was too cute….

Another new "Big Boy" things as of lately- we have retired the highchair! Jackson now sits at the table like a big boy, in a brand new booster seat! He loves it! Jackson's spot at the table is the seat next to the window. It is so exciting here! Thank goodness we moved onto a pretty busy street because Jackson's love for cars, trucks and anything with wheels makes eating dinner very fun! He is so busy looking at the trucks, cars and always wishing for a tractor, he hardly notices when you sneak in a bite of food he wasn't always so interested in before :) Sneaky Mommy.... hahahaha. The other day we got to see a bulldozer drive on our street (they are doing construction up the road). Jackson just about fell out of his chair over enthusiasm! And then clear as day Jackson said "Momma Bulldozer!" Now it was my turn to just about fall out of my chair! I think he surprised himself with that word because he got his proud little grin he gets when he does something new and cool. It was very cute. Then today at breakfast we saw a woman get pulled over for speeding, turns out she had a suspended license so they had to call a tow truck- so we got to see a police car with flashing lights and a tow truck pull a car away. A very exciting breakfast to say the least. Jackson could hardly contain himself!

So definitely as of lately Jackson's new favorite things are tractors, cars, trucks and especially heavy machinery. He is such a boy. On walks we have to stop and look at everything. For a gift when Jackson was born we received a huge book called "My Big Truck Book. For Kids Who Love Trucks!" It has become the ultimate favorite. We have to look at this at least 20 times a day. Who would have known this mommy would become so knowledgeable on trucks and their names! But I can now tell you the difference between an "Excavator", a "Backhoe Loader", a "Telephone Line Repair Truck", "Combine Harvester" and oh, so much more! Lucky, lucky me! It will be very easy shopping for Christmas and birthdays this year for sure!

Here are a few new words Jackson has also started using regularly:
Shower
Pizza
Car
Gate
Up
Down
Please (not always when it is supposed to be used, but he has learn the word at least!)
Sha-poo (shampoo)
Spoon
kiss
bike
He also says Kitty now instead of itty

So that takes his total up to 93 words at 18 months old- not bad! Keep up the good work little man!

The Death and Rebirth of "Tag"

I did a very bad thing a few weeks ago.....

I was giving Jackson his bedtime bottle. He must have had a bit of an air bubble in his tummy because he ended up getting sick all over the two of us. No big deal, this has happened before. We just strip all down and throw everything in the washer to get nice and fresh again. So I did just like I always do. It was late so I just let it go while we went to bed and I figured I would throw it in the drier when we woke up. Well that next morning I went down to take care of everything and I looked in the drier and what did I see? Everything had turned orange- including Tag. Tag, if you didn't know is Jackson's precious baby blue blanket. You have seen it in millions of his pictures. He loooooves this thing. Love is probably an understatement. He carries it everywhere, he sleeps with it every night, it soothes him while having a bottle- basically it is his best friend next to Scott and me.

When I saw his special blanket I instantly broke into tears. I felt terrible! It turns out the shirt I was wearing that night had red dye that bled onto everything else. I instantly put stain remover on Tag, and put him back into the washer two more times to try and get the red dye out. But unfortunately it didn't work. All it did was turn Tag this horribly ugly shade of dirty flesh.

So onto a Tag hunt we were! First stop was Target. They had blue thermal Gerber blankets, but not the same light blue color of Tag. I picked one of them up just incase that was all I could find, hoping that the color wouldn't matter too much. I brought it home, washed it so it would smell like Tag- but Jackson isn't dumb. He didn't buy it for an instant that this dark blue blanket was his special Tag. Ok, next stop was Kmart. No Gerber blankets what so ever here. Oh boy, I was running out of options!

And then a light when on in my head- Baby's R Us!!! They just had to have it! So I gave them a call and the nice lady on the phone assured me they had a baby blue thermal Gerber brand blanket in stock in their store. The Messiah Chorus started playing in my head- Hallelujah, Hallelujah!!!! So in the car we went as fast as we could, just incase there was a huge rush of mom's running out to buy baby blue colored blankets! Over to the bedding department we ran and there on the bottom shelf, just waiting patiently for us, was a beautiful, brand new baby blue Gerber thermal blanket. As soon as Jackson saw it in the shopping cart he started calling "Tag, Tag!" Yay, I think this is going to work!

We came home; I put Jackson down for a nap and got to work on our new Tag. Now you see the reason we have named this blanket Tag is because the best part of it, according to Jackson, is the silky tag that he has rubbed down to almost nothing. I must admit I was getting a little nervous because the tag was indeed getting a bit ratty. What was I going to do if it got rubbed to nothing at all?! So while Jackson was sleeping I washed and dried the blanket and then cut the special old tag off of the now dirty flesh colored blanket and sewed it onto the new beautiful blanket. Now, Tag has not only the special old tag on it, but also a brand new one he can start breaking in. After it was finished I draped him over the arm of the chair in the living room waiting patiently for Jackson to wake up and see him. I crossed my fingers and held my breath that this new Tag would be as good as the old trusty blanket.

The moment Jackson waked into other room, the first thing he saw was Tag, went running for him and calling out "Tag, Tag, Tag!!" Just like finding a long lost friend. It worked!!!! Time for the Halleluiah chorus again! Tag has been reborn! Yayayyayayay!

I have now learned a very important lesson. Always, always, always separate reds from baby blues in the washing machine. No mater how many times you have washed something before, it could possibly run onto something very important.

Ok, I need to run. We have to go to Baby's R Us to get a back up baby blue thermal Blanket just incase ANYTHING happens to Tag again!

Where's Jackson's Belly? *updated with more words*

Jackson did the cutest thing a few weeks ago. I just about died from cuteness overload.....

Jackson was walking around the house eating Cherios and playing. When all of a sudden he didn't want them anymore and he threw his handful all over the floor. I said "Oh no Jackson. We don't throw food! Pick them up, put them in your belly." So he walks over to them, picks the Cherios up, pulls up his shirt and sticks them in his bellybutton. Just like I told him. Literally :) Too cute!

So the last time I posted a word list it was back in May. Since then the words are coming faster and more frequent. We have a new one almost every day. Here is an updated list (that I am sure I will have to add too as I think of more.)

Mama
Daddy (sometimes he will call Scott Dada, but not too often anymore)
Papa (this is my dad)
Mimi (this is my mom)
Bon Bon (Auntie Bonnie)
Anna
AhEee (I think this is Sophie. He says this when he sees a picture of her or sees her in person)
Pop (this is what he calls Don)
GiGi (this is what he calls Irene, Don's mom and also he used to call my grandmother this)
Isss (Memphis, our cat)
Ra Ra (Ringo, our other cat)
Pup (for Alex, Bonnie and Neil's dog. Everyone calls him this so Jackson picked this up instead of his real name)
Hop (this is Jackson's stuffed bunny)
Tag (this is Jackson's beloved blue blanket that you have seen in many of his pictures)
Cocoa (This is my old teddy bear that I had as a child. Jackson now plays with it.)
Pete (this is our next door neighbor. For some reason he picked up on his name and says it whenever he sees him or if we are outside by his house!)
Abby (Grammy and Pop's kitty)
Jesus

cheese
cracker
bottle
hata(hotdog)
peas
cracker
WaWa and as of lately he says Water too.
bite (as in "I want a bite")
bowboo (blueberry)
peach
Puff (these are airey snacks from Gerber's called Puff's)
cooka (cookie)

ball (definately Jackson's favorite word or thing!)
buh ball (football)
shoe
sock
sta (star)
tractor
pane (airplane)
aside (outside)
puter (computer- he just said this for the first time this morning!)
gol (golf. He has a set of golf clubs and balls, and knows what they are called)
block
keys
bah-oo (balloon)
cock (yes, we know what you are thinking... But this word means Clock!)

Poop and Pee Pee (he tells us when he has done both of these- especially Poop! Lucky us. Pretty soon we will have to get a potty chair for him to start looking at and getting used to!)
Pee Pee (this also means his little "boy part" He likes to point it out to us while changing his diaper or in the bathtub or when running around naked!)

itty (kitty)
bir (bird)
fish
bee
baah (he says this for both lamb and cow)
dee (deer)
E-I-E-I-O (he sings this when his Baby McDonald is on)
buffalo (Grammy and Pop brought him a stuffed buffalo home from their trip to South Dakota and he learned the word right away)
Pooh (Winnie the Pooh)

Tada!
All Gah! (all gone. This is Jackson's first two word sentence!)
All Dah! (all done)
Mah (More)
Bye Bye!
Hi!
Night Night
This/ Look at This/ What's This (uses these three a lot. Each distinctively sound different. Seems to know the difference)
Yes (When you ask him if he wants something he says "Yes Yes Yes!")
Ah-oh! (He says this when something falls, or he drops something, when a show is over and the credits are on, etc.)
caca (this means yucky. He learned this word from Auntie Bon Bon)

beads(the kids have these Mardi Gras beads they like to wear to play dress up)
baby
book
box
sha (show, as in a movie. We call his Baby Einstein movie's "shows")
puddle (puzzle)
Awww (this is what we call hugs in our house)
boo boo (this is all bruises, cuts, etc.)
teacha (teacher. He learned this word from the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear. The teacher page is his favorite- go figure!))
cork

too ha (toothbrush. This is one of his other new words. Yes we know this seems like a strange word to learn. But him and Sophie are obsessed with toothbrushes and brushing their teeth. I guess there are worse things!)

Blue (for Blue's Clue's, the TV show. It is Jackson's favorite and he will ask for it by name)

Blue Book (his Blue's Clue's book)

So, so far this is 82 words! You go little man, that is amazing! I want to say that this is all of them, but I am sure I am leaving something out! I will add more if I think of any. Also, if anyone else can think of any, be sure to let me know and I will add them too!

First touch at stardome....

So as many of you know the wedding we went to in July in Scotland was for one of my girlfriends', Marisa who married a Scottish Musician, Stuart. He is the lead singer and visionary of the band Belle and Sebastian. While we were visiting, Marisa and Stuart gave us a t-shirt for Jackson that is brand new for the band. It wasn't even available for purchase as of yet. They wanted us to take it home and take some pictures of Jackson in it so he could be the model for it on their band website! How cool is that?! Welllll...... go check out our little model, it is published!! Yayay! And I must say he looks awfully cute! And yes we know he isn't smiling. Jackson told us it wouldn't be cool and wanted to use his "Indie Kid Face".... :p I have uploaded the pics from the "Photo Shoot", Take One and Take Two. As you will see it is difficult to get a picture of a 17 month old smiling and standing face first so I could get a good view of his t-shirt!!!

While you are there, take a few minutes and look around the website. www.belleandsebastian.com
If you aren't familiar with them, check out the band a bit. They are fantastic!

This is the link to Jackson's page. Click on his photo like you are choosing to purchase it and you can see it bigger.
www.belleandsebastianshop.com

Thank you Marisa and Stuart for choosing our little Jackson to be your model. If you ever need his assistance in the future you know where to find him :)

We Love and Miss You Grandma Trapp!

I know, I know, it has been absolutely forever since we last updated anything on this website and we are so sorry! Life in the Kanengeiser family has been very busy. One of the main reasons for not getting on here as of lately is because of the passing on my grandmother Klara Trapp. After Christmas her health started declining and moved into a nursing home for more care then we could provide to her. About a month or so ago she had a stroke and things seemed to move very fast after that. On Thursday, the 10th, the nursing home called my parents to tell them that her health was failing and we all came to be with her and help give her and each other strength. My parents stayed by her bedside along with my Uncle Allen and Aunt Joanne for the next four days. On Sunday, July 13th she passed away peacefully with my parents and Aunt and Uncle by her side, praying with her and singing her favorite hymns. If you knew my grandmother, you would have known she wouldn't have wanted to go any other way.

Grandma was a kind soul and brought joy to all who knew her. She is now, after 28 years apart, with her husband, and also her Mother and father and 10 brothers and sisters. We all take peace in knowing she is happy and with God. She waited her whole life-94 years(!) to see him, and we can only imagine the joy she has now being with him forever more.

On Tuesday my parents, Bonnie, Anna and myself (Neil and Scott stayed home with the babies) took a trip up to Ludington, Michigan for Grandma' burial. My Aunt Joann and Uncle Allen also drove up. She spent many of her years there and that is also where my grandfather is buried. Instead of moving him home to Ohio, she wanted to be with him there. It was a wonderful trip and really meant a lot to spend this time together as a family, remember all the fun times we shared and fond memories of Grandma up here at the lake.

Thank you to everyone who supported all of us during this difficult time, for all of your cards and prayers, and warm words. It means a lot to our whole family.