Mr. Independent

I think it's pretty clear at this point that Jackson is a strong-willed child who is intent on doing things on his own and at his own pace - the FAST pace! He is daily pressing towards independence and is very obviously determined to learn new things firsthand, viewing his surroundings through an explorer's eye. His daily exploration route includes the bookshelf where he ritually knocks down the Mark Driscoll framed photo (a white elephant gift, in case you're wondering) and pulls the Disney photo album off the shelf, flipping through all of its pages. He literally does this at least once each day and doesn't seem to get bored of it.
Sometimes he has some fun with the shoes parked under the bookshelf as well.
He's also a prime example of the fact that we are sinful from birth. We're having to tell him "No!"...a lot! Jackson's favorite "go to" items in our house are the very things that he is not supposed to touch...like the diaper pail, the guitar, the oven, the computer, the basket that holds Daddy's golf magazines......and Mommy's photo boxes.Oh, and I can't forget to include the bathroom. This little guy loves to get his hands on the toilet, the tub, the toilet paper...anything within reach.
He is never happy when we tell him no and pull him away from his prize.
He walks more than crawls now and I especially love his method of walking down the hallway, using the walls for moral support.
Jackson is also gaining his independence at meal times. He loves squishing banana chunks through his fingers or slices of avocado but we're still working hard to encourage him to use his "chompers" to chew before swallowing sometimes. Here's a look at him eating some banana puffs. It's trickier than you might think since the puffs stick to his fingers better than his tongue.

It's only a matter of time before he's golfing on his own too.