our quotable kid: Jackson quotes from 2012

I always thought I'd be one of those moms who wrote down the first word and all of the funny phrases that came out of my child's mouth. I bought a pocket-size moleskin journal for that very purpose before Jackson was even born and I kept it in the diaper bag for...well, forever. But sadly, two and a half years later there are very few things written in the journal because once you become pregnant, you fore-go a large section of your brain and while you hope to recover it one day, that day never seems to arrive. Maybe there's still hope.

Alas, I have to rely on the text messages of Jackson quotes that I've sent to my Mom in Florida and that still remain in my outbox...or the posts I've put on Facebook and hope that somehow technology never fails me as my memory always and inevitably does. In an effort to immortalize the funny and cute words of our firstborn, I'm going to publish a small collection here and hope that this is not the last of such posts. We'll see how I do once there are two chatterboxes running around...

Anyhow, here are some of the funny/cute/memorable phrases or conversations we've heard our Jackson Cole utter over the past year:

While bowling for the first time without bumpers, each gutter ball resulted in an eruption of clapping, jumping for joy, cheers, and "I almost maked it!"

In his sleep, Jackson shouted (at Dan) "Ouch, you pulled my Bieber hair!"

Irritated with Jackson's stall tactics one night, I finally told him no more talking. The next morning, the first words out of his mouth were "Mommy, can I talk now?"

From his seat on his froggy potty, Jackson poured over the story of Moses in his Jesus Storybook Bible. "Mommy, was Pharaoh a mean guy?"
Me: "He was a pretty mean guy. He didn't love God and wouldn't let the people go."
Jackson: "Maybe he needed a nap. That's why he was mean. I think he needed a nap."

Jackson was getting pretty excited about Christmas and kept asking me if it was Tuesday yet. One night at the kitchen table we were going over what day of the week it STILL was.
Jackson: "Mommy, is it Tuesday yet?"
Me: "No, it's still Wednesday. That's why Daddy went to Proxy."
Jackson (pointing): "Is it still Wednesday in the living room or is it Thursday?"

Jackson was stoked to be helping Dan with the Christmas tree this year. Of course, he was convinced that the task required a screwdriver. "Daddy, I need a tool!" While Dan set up the tree stand, Jackson got busy, all the while chanting "This is how I work" repeatedly as he tweaked each tree branch with the screwdriver.

While eating dinner Jackson casually asked me "Mommy, is Tom Cruise good? Did he help Val Kilmer?" (He had seen a few minutes of a Top Gun flight scene with Dan the day before.)

Jackson: "Mommy, what are you doing?"
Me: "I'm doing a load of laundry."
Jackson (with lots of enthusiasm): "Well, you're just doing a really great job!"

Jackson: "I want my Baby Emma and I want another baby. Can you have another one, Mommy?"
Me: "We'll pray to Jesus for another baby and if He says yes, then we will have another one."
Jackson (clearly dissatisfied with my answer, shouted to Dan in the other room): "Daddy! Can we have another baby?"
Dan (from other room): "Okay, sure."
Jackson: "He said yes! Can you cook it, Mommy?"

Jackson: "Mommy, where's Ben at?"
Me: "Well, he's either at home with Becky or he's still on his way home from work."
Jackson: (holding imaginary cell phone up to his ear): "Ben! Are you home from work yet?" (then to me) "I think he is home. I called him. I brought my phone in my pocket."

When I asked Jackson if he wanted butter on his pumpkin bread, his response was "I don't want butter. It makes me too sad."

Each Tuesday morning I drop off Jackson in the church nursery while I go to women's Bible study and each time I pick him up I get the tattle-tale report. "So-and-so pushed me!" or "Mommy, nobody pushed me today!" One morning I told him that it was my turn to serve in the nursery and I was going to be in his class that day. His response had me stumped for a second, "Mommy, are you going to get pushed?"
Me: "What do you mean, baby?"
Jackson: "Are my friends going to push you?"

Jackson (holding up Dan's tape measure to my legs): "Mommy, let me see how tall you are."
Me (lifting the tape above my head): "How tall does it say I am?"
Jackson: "Pretty tall."

"I don't want any jammies! I'm just gonna run away!"

Jackson (on the floor playing with his toy jeep): "Oh no! Mommy, I'm hit! Can you come to my rescue?"
I lifted the plastic jeep off his hand and all was well again.

As I snuggled with Jackson before putting him to bed one night he asked me, "Mommy...when My Baby (that's how he refers to her) is born, can I have it?"

"When I was born, I saw King David play golf."

Prior to finding out the sex of baby #2 one day as I lifted Jackson from his crib after a nap, Jackson said in exasperation "I want a sister and a brother and a baby! Mommy, you need to pick one!"

One night as we were finishing up our dinner, I asked Jackson if he wanted to get down and play for a little while. He sighed and said "It's getting kinda late. I should go to bed." 

Me: "Jackson, your baby sister's name is going to be Emma Jane. You can call the baby 'Baby' or 'Emma Jane' or 'Emma'."
Jackson (thinking for a moment first): "I'll call it Justin."

Jackson (amid the wildflowers at Mount Rainier): "Mmm...they smell nummy! Smells like a potato!"

While driving one day we saw an obese man walking down the sidewalk along the street. "Mommy, what's his name? He's bouncing!"

When little friend Adeline was sick one day, I asked Jackson if he wanted to draw a picture for her. "I'll draw her a back hoe! That'll make her feel better. And I'll draw her a forklift. And a prince." Once his picture was complete, he looked up at me and announced "Now she feels better!"

Jackson didn't want to go with us to the farmer's market one Saturday.
Dan: "But we're going to get you a mini donut."
Jackson: "I want a super giant donut. Those are my favorite!"

One of our favorite parts of the day comes when Jackson awakes from the night or from his nap time, stands up in his crib, and shouts at the top of his lungs "I'M AWAKE!"....and if I take too long to respond to "Mommy, come and get me!" then I'll eventually hear "Jill Blankenship! I'M AWAKE!!!" 

I asked Jackson how his mosquito bite was feeling one morning. He responded with a stoic "It's not doing too good."

Jackson was starting to become restless on a long road trip so Dan reminded him that the park we would stop at shortly had a big slide. "I need a little one" was his response.

Passing a golf course on our way home from church one day, Jackson explained to me "Jackson goes to a golf course at home. Daddy goes to a golf course outside."

Thanks to Daddy Dan's influence, Jackson blames his "toots" on outside sources. For example, "That was a squeaky floor, Mommy!"

Jackson grabbed his pair of long underwear from a pile of clean laundry and announced "We're going to the snow!" as he ran from the room with them.

Driving through traffic, a taxi drove by us. "That was my taxi! It's taking me to a toy store!"

Spotting a skateboarder on the street, "Dude! I totally should've brought my board!"


Standing over the toilet bowl mid-flush, "Bye-bye, poo-poos! See you later! Have fun in the sewer!" 

Jackson noticed the UPS store next to our local grocer for the first time. "Somebody but UPS on that building, Mommy! That's so silly! Ha ha!"

Accustomed to my question of "How was your nap?" upon Jackson waking up each afternoon, he started waking up and simply shouting "Good nap! Good nap!" until I came to rescue him from his crib.

a potty tune (clean version, of course)

Jackson was multi-tasking as usual from his seat on the throne so I grabbed the camera to catch this sight on film. After all, it won't be long before he grows up and stops singing and reading on the potty. Or will he never outgrow that?

ho ho ho

Today we began a new family tradition. Hmm...I should probably let Dan know that, huh?

The last two Christmases I wanted to take Jackson to visit Santa but I didn't want to wait in a long line at the mall, spend a huge wad of cash on the pro photos, and then find out that not only did Santa scare the june bugs out of Jackson but that the pro photos sucked royally and were a total waste of money. That being the case, I've been on the hunt for a place with a good looking Santa Clause that would allow me to take my own photos. And this year...ding! ding! ding! we had a winner!

I spotted a jolly St. Nick in the Facebook photos of some friends who'd gone to pick out their Christmas tree at a U-cut tree lot about an hour away and I immediately knew that I had to take Jackson there. So today we did just that.

We bundled Jackson up in his new, red Christmas sweater and drove to Christmas Creek Tree Farm in North Bend. On the way there, Dan explained to Jackson that when you visit Santa you tell him what you want for Christmas. Jackson said he was going to ask Santa for a candy cane and a set of golf clubs. Dan was proud, of course.

The place turned out to be a gold mine of pure Christmas fun! Free hay rides, yummy and ENORMOUS cookies for just $2, hot coffee & cocoa aplenty, a blazing fire pit to warm your hands at, and the best part -- a DIY Santa pics venue with seriously the best Santa Clause ever. I mean, this guy was good. He looked the part, sounded the part, and was great with each of the kids.

Jackson enjoyed the whole experience as much as I did. He munched on his GIANT sprinkle-covered sugar cookie while we waited in the long Santa line. 

We wiped away the last of the crumbs just in time for Jackson to climb into Santa's lap and chat with him. They enjoyed a tiny bit of small talk before Santa asked Jackson what he wanted for Christmas. Jackson's eyes had already fixated on the giant bucket of red and white candy canes located on the table next to Santa's chair. His immediate response was to point and say "I want one of those!"

Santa complied and handed Jackson a candy cane.

With the candy in hand, Jackson said "I think I want to go see my Mom now." And just like that, it was over.

We enjoyed a few more minutes playing around the tree lot and taking a few photos as Jackson "hid" among the trees.

Finally back in the car and on our way home, Jackson assessed the Santa situation with regret. "He didn't say 'Ho, ho, ho!' and I didn't ask him for my golf clubs and he didn't give me any."

more Jackson videos

Jackson was absolutely convinced that he was making the perfect fishy face.

"Timbers" is still an all-time favorite activity in our house. You'll see Jackson flying off our bed's headboard at least once a day, if not many, many more. Here he is doing a leg drop...

Jackson, infatuated with his Fireman Sam DVD from Grandmama, has created his very own fireman training regimen obstacle course that he puts Dan and me through as often as we'll allow him to. Here's a peak:

  

Hope you enjoyed this insight into A Day in the Life of a Blankenship!

Watch Me Grow

 

The results are in!

The polls closed this morning and the final count was:

Girl - 45 votes
Boy - 27 votes

72 people voted and guess what...

The majority of them were absolutely right.

Dan noted the evidence before the ultrasound tech spoke the words. We're having a baby GIRL!

This morning when we were getting ready to leave the house, I told Jackson that we were going to the hospital to see the baby and find out if baby was a boy or girl and he responded with a matter-of-fact "It's a sister." Once his hunch was confirmed during the ultrasound, his response to our excitement in telling him that he's going to have a sister was a simple "Yea" (as if he's already known for months and we're finally catching on.)

Needless to say, Jill has already gone shopping - with a LOT of constraint! Two adorable baby girl dresses are awaiting our baby girl's arrival already...and the hunt for all things pink is soon to ensue.

Dan told Jackson right away that he now has 2 things in life to worry about: his little sister and golf.

We didn't waste any time in teaching Jackson what to tell all the other little boys. Play the video to hear his new mantra.


Up until today, Jackson has insisted that our baby's name is Baby. Boy or girl, it's been Baby. Anyone who offered any other suggestion met with a stern protest from Jackson. "It's name is Baby!" Today as we were leaving the ultrasound appointment and walking to the car he said, "Momma, I wanna name the baby sister Friend." I thought that was the cutest thing ever. And then a few hours later he told a huge group of our friends that we should name the baby Ostrich. Sorry, Jackson, but I think Mommy and Daddy will be in charge of the name.

We're super excited about welcoming a baby girl into our household and it looks like she'll definitely be adding a lot more excitement to the family. This baby girl is a dancer! She has squirmed, wiggled, danced, jumped, waved, and kicked during every ultrasound. And we've had more than the usual amount of ultrasounds due to the fact that her wiggles have forced the doctor to do ultrasounds during routine office visits just to track her down for a heart rate read. We thought Jackson moved a lot in my belly, but this little girl has him beat! And if Jackson's pre-birth movement was any indication of the active toddler we now have before us then we're really in for it with this baby girl.

God is good and we're so very blessed! Bring on the pink!

Fun at The Fair

I'm not sure if we go to the Puyallup Fair each year for the rides and exhibits or if we just go for the piping hot, butter & jam-filled Fischer scones that are sold by the dozens throughout the premises. I'm thinking that Dan's mostly motivated by the latter. Either way, today we made our annual trek to the busy mecca of all things deep-fried. The scents of cotton candy, kettle corn, and sawdust filled the air as we pressed through crowded masses en route to prize-winning piggies and other livestock, hand-crafted goods, the world's largest pumpkin, and of course made a few stops at the rides since Jackson is old enough now to enjoy a few spins in a miniature helicopter or race car.

Here's a photo journal of our visit:

 

 

 

The first ride of the night was the giant slide. Unfortunately the auto-focus picked up a passer-by at the last second and I spent the bulk of Dan and Jackson's descent trying to regain focus. Oh well, at least Jackson's first fair ride is somewhat documented (even it if does give one a headache to watch it).

Next stop was the animal barns. {Note to the ladies: stay away from animal barns while pregnant. I know I'm allergic to dogs when (and only when) I'm pregnant, but it seems that all other animals also make my eyes burn and tear up while my hormones are raging.}

 

Jackson got a little irritated with the livestock when we visited the prize-winning horses, cows, and pigs, etc. This mostly out-of-focus video below is a small sample of Jackson trying fruitlessly to get the cows to "Moo" like all of his animal books say they do. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Here's some video of our speed racer:

 

 

 

 

 

 And don't worry...nobody was injured. Jackson loves to meet and greet the folks who keep us safe and he had a blast exploring the inside of this ambulance pictured below.

 

We're already looking forward to a visit to the Fair next year...with two kids in tow!