We had a great weekend!

We had a really nice weekend! We saw Aunt Chris, Uncle Scott, cousins Megan, Katie and Amanda and Mr. and Mrs McKeel. We do not get to see them very often because of the distance between us, so it was great to see everyone.

The 3 cousins had a good time with Jack. Amanda shared her toys, and Megan and Katie followed him around everywhere he went and were excellent babysitters! We would really like to see them more often, I think the kids would really enjoy each other. Mr. and Mrs. McKeel have been extremely supportive of Jack and his adoption. They actually had a picture of him on the fridge - which kind of teared me up a bit. They also treated us to lunch at a pretty cool place (thanks!) that had a lot of history behind it. Bill is a history nerd so he loved the story and has mentioned it several times since.

On the way home, we had promised Jackson a trip to Build a Bear. He loved it! He picked out a monkey and a Washington Capitals hockey outfit. Since he brought the monkey home, he has carried it everywhere. Long term rewards now = Build a Bear outfits for monkey (yeah, his name is monkey)!

1st school photo!

Here is a 'picture of a picture' of Jackson's first school photo. We had no idea he had pictures that day or we would have dressed him to the beach theme! Grandma/Grandpa and Nana/Papa - don't worry, yours is in the mail.

Do we have a kisser?

Jackson kissed a little girl goodbye at school yesterday! What is in store for us when he is a teenager?!!! Ha!!!

Million dollar question - have we turned the corner?

Jackson has had a wonderful week! Starting Sunday afternoon, his behavior did a complete turn around and he seems back to 'normal'. Normal for our wonderful son is a typical, ornery 2 year old that has a streak of more ornery! Tomorrow on the way home from school Bill will stop at the store and Jackson gets to pick out a balloon for his good behavior. Jack has actually been looking forward to this all week. Next week, we are going to set shorter term/daily/simple rewards for good behavior and see how that works.

Monday I took Jack to the Pediatrician because his eyes seem irritated and guess what? Pink eye (although past the contagious stage)! Poor little guy, as if he hasn't had enough poking around on his eyes. He is getting antibiotic drops now. Seems pink eye is running rampant in his classroom. He was excellent at the doctor other than some simple anxiety. He is up in weight to 27.5 lbs and even though he has had a runny nose and cough, his lungs were clear and he is healthy as usual. We are thankful he is starting to put on more weight.

My lower right jaw has been bothering me so I finally went to the dentist today. Of course, I have a cracked tooth and had to have a crown. It took 2 doctors to numb me and about 2 hrs of poking with needles. Finally they were able to grind down my tooth and put a temporary crown on. I go back in a few weeks to get a permanent crown. Bla.

Bill is enjoying his job. He actually gets to speak to adults now, and seems to be happy about that. Today he got his first paycheck and I am sure if I sneak up on him right now, he will be holding his paycheck smiling from ear to ear. I think he would like to go spend it on beer and wings, but it all goes to school! Poor Bill...maybe wings next week!

2 full weeks of Bill working and Jackson in school - check!

Well, we continue to struggle a bit on week two as well. But the good news first! NO morning tears at drop off! When we walk into the building, we always put his stuff (backpack/lunch/snack/etc) up on a shelf specific to his class. It seems that was creating some anxiety so now we just carry them all the way down to come and play & put them up on the way out. Not sure if this is the real reason - but I am going with it!

The program Jackson is in is from 9:30am - 1:00pm. Its academic in nature and they actually switch subjects throughout the day. From 7:30am - 9:30am and from 1:00pm - 5:00pm they have 'come and play' and 'stay and play'. We are very pleased with the 9:30am - 1:00pm classes and his teacher Ms. Julie. We would prefer not to leave Jackson in the before/after programs but it is necessary right now given our work schedule.

So this brings us to the 'bad news'. Monday Jackson came home with scratches on the left side of his face. I called Tuesday, and nobody knew where they came from. Stay and play said it happened in class, class said it must have happened in come and play and come and play didn't see anything. Then, on Tuesday he bit a little boy in come and play. He didn't break the skin or leave any marks, but they still had to write up an incident report. They have a 3 times & you are out bite policy.

Friday, I was out in the field and my phone rang, it was his teacher. Apparently, Jackson has been hitting himself in the face and scratching himself too. The Teacher tried to get him to stop and that actually resulted in more scratching. She thinks that the scratches from Monday were self inflicted now. Apparently, he was just sitting there at the table with his peers and he started to hit himself. Again at 1pm nap time, he started to hit himself in the face.

Yesterday morning started off pretty rough, so we had him take an early nap then when to a couple of my work sites out in the field and went to lunch together. I had a crew using a back hoe and digging a hole. Jack was IN LOVE with this process. He thought it was the best thing he had ever seen in his entire life!!!! Then we went to Sams and bought some bulk items we have been low on. J doesn't like being in the cart, he wants to run - run- run like a crazy all over the store.

Today we went to Kohls and it was not a good time. I think he is just testing boundaries and is generally overwhelmed. We are concerned, but hope it will even out. So far school has taught him LOTS of words, how to hit, lick, spit and bite. We are practicing "hands to yourself" with him, and patience for us. Right now, Bill and Jackson took a bike ride. When they get back, we will play in the yard and maybe play some Hockey!

1st full week of school and work - Check!

My boys dressed the same (it was an accident!)

Jackson found Daddy's old Lacrosse helmet

The favorite part of making a special treat, licking the spoon!

Bill started his full time job last Monday, and actually seems to be enjoying work. They are doing lots of testing and he is doing very well. He missed the adult conversation and general camaraderie. His company has a gym, so he also plans to start to hit the gym on a regular basis.

Jackson completed his first full week of school and is EXHAUSTED. Exhausted in an understatement actually. I drop him off in the morning, and Bill picks him up around 5pm. From 5pm - 7pm he just sobs hysterically until we read/rock/go night night. We just feel so sorry for him right now. What an adjustment. We hope this week will be better.

This weekend has been tough, Jackson has had poor behavior (again, an understatement). We are hoping that it is due to the adjustment and learning some boundaries. Keep your fingers crossed.