So Much is Happening!

2010 is already bringing many new happenings to the Mueller/Gaalswyk house. They mostly pertain to Jackson, of course, but they are fun and exciting none-the-less.

Jackson is officially teething. He has one lower central incisor peeking it's little, poky head through his gum. And today, his second one has just about plowed it's way through the gum line to join it's partner in crime. It is really relieving to actually see these teeth come through. Jackson has been quite cranky (which is not the baby he normally is), fussing loudly in the evenings with no consolation but continual movement. I finally broke down and gave him Tylenol last night for the first time. He seemed much more comfortable after that. I have read that once babies start teething, you can expect about one tooth per month. Yikes! I better gear myself up for this one :)

Another fun fact, is that the little stinkweed has learned to feed himself. It came all at once today. I have been working with him for two weeks, and he really has not been interested in doing the work. It was almost as if he was saying "mom, it is way easier if you just do it for me...why should I learn?". He was simply LAZY about feeding himself. He would push and shove Cheerios and pears around his tray like it was his job, and I would clean up after each meal like it was mine (and it was :)). Each time Mark or I would put his hand close to a food candidate, he would stubbornly pull his hand back in the opposite direction. It was a battle.

But today was different. Today, I vigorously worked with him to show him how 'fun' it was to feed himself. He caught on and is doing great! He is enjoying the new freedom so much now, that when I tried to feed him his vegetables this evening, he got really cranky until I let him eat on his own. I am noticing some very 'strong-willed' tendencies coming out of this little boy......they MUST be from his father.

And fun fact number 3: Well, this one is not about Jackson, but rather about some recent happenings in our life. On Sunday morning, we woke to frozen pipes (the ones that lead to our kitchen faucet). After much thought, deliberation, and perseverance, we (i say 'we' lightly...it was mostly Mark) finally got the pipes thawed. This is great, right? WRONG!!!! About 15 minutes after the water came rushing through the faucet, I finally asked Mark what that noise was that I could hear (not coming from the faucet).

He said "what noise?".

I said, "I think there is a noise coming from down there" pointing to the kitchen floor.

We both got on our hands and knees and put our ears to the floor. The next few minutes are a blur. Mark went into the garage to see what was going on. I finished feeding Jackson. I cleaned up his mess, and Mark still hadn't come back into the kitchen to tell me what he found. So I went in search of him. What I found, was a garage full of water. It looked like it was raining cats and dogs from our ceiling! He had definitely 'found' the noise! It seems that after our pipes froze, they also burst. Seeing the drenched garage, and Mark standing in amongst the chaos, I found myself laughing (and saying "oh _ my_ gosh"). How crazy is this?! We now have to re-sheet rock and insulate half of our garage! Yikes! Although this really does stink, there is nothing we could do about it. We really are not in an uproar, we are just a little bummed to be putting the time into the garage instead of our basement.