12 days....

12 days in Oklahoma
11 days until the moving trucks come
10 work days left
10 days until Jackson turns 1
6 days until Justin's Graduation
7 days until our going away party/Jackson's 1st birthday party/Justin's graduation party

To quote Ferris Bueller: Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it. That's exactly how I feel about the last month. I've literally been making myself physically sick with worry about everything I have to get done for work before it's time for our Oklahoma adventure to end. It's a horrible feeling, but I feel like I can't enjoy the last few days I have here b/c I have so much to be done. Time just hit me like a ton of bricks and now I'm scrambling to finish it all on top of enjoying my son and all the neat things he's doing now.

Jackson turns 1 very shortly and I just can't believe how incredibly lucky I am to have a son like him. He's absolutely wonderful in every way. He makes me laugh all the time, even when I'm trying to discipline him b/c one look at his big blue eyes and I'm total mush. His new tricks include pointing at things, standing by himself, saying hi more, and also pushing buttons all the time. When he points at things, it just really cracks me up b/c he points with his pointer finger and also his thumb too! Just adorable. He can point out any cow that he sees in books and on the tv. He just loves cows. Speaking of tv, he is finally trying to watch some. He watches Mickey Mouse Playhouse every morning before I go to work, but only for about 10 minutes. He still doesn't like it very much, but he gets drawn into Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Playhouse from time to time. He can also now stand by himself...even though he doesn't like that much either. He doesn't like to do it unless he's holding a toy of some kind. He just started that on Friday, but he doesn't do it consistently. We'll see how long it takes him before he wants to do it all the time. As for saying hi, that's still a little inconsistent too, but it's so cute when he does it b/c he waves with his whole arm. He only says hi to people he really knows and really likes. He's not big on saying goodbye yet by waving. Silly little guy! Last but not least, he's discovered how to turn on and off the table. What a booger! He does it all the time! We're trying to teach him no, but he doesn't like no yet. We'll see how well discipline goes. I have a feeling that he's going to be one of those kids that does things his way and he won't like to do it our way....a lot like his daddy. He does it at swim lessons b/c he doesn't like to duplicate what the instructor does and he has never replicated anything I do like sticking my tongue out at him when he was a baby. That worries me b/c I won't him to be able to follow directions and follow the rules! I don't want him to be a defiant kid :0( We'll see!

I'm so excited and nervous about the move...mostly for Jackson's sake. I'm excited to start a new adventure, but sad b/c I'll be starting over again and not knowing anyone. Will I make friends? Will I get a job? I really hope so! More importantly, will we find friends for Jackson? I'm hoping that the move goes smoothly and that we don't have very many hitches in the process. I'm also hoping that our house is done sooner than later b/c I want to be in my home and be able to get into a routine for Jackson as soon as possible. For now, I just need to focus on getting my work done and before our parents get here so I can stop to enjoy the last few days in Oklahoma. Looking forward to next weekend, I'll have my family here and Justin will be graduating. Congrats to my hubby by the way...he's just amazing! He's worked so hard for the last 4 years and he's graduating! Just wonderful :0) May is such a wonderful month for us...our 2 year anniversary on the 17th, moving on the 14th, Justin's graduation on the 8th, and Jackson's birthday on the 11th. Amazing.

Tales of a Swimmer in the Making

Hi everyone!

I thought I'd blog about Jackson's latest adventure into swimming. I'll start with his swim lesson 1 week ago and also his 1st swim lesson. Let's just say after this 1st lesson, I wasn't so sure that I'd have a swimmer on my hands. As soon as we hit the water, I immediately felt his grip around my neck tighten, so much so I wasn't sure if he was ever going to let go. Jackson totally redefined the words death grip at his 1st swim lesson. I'm not sure how his grip couldn't gotten any tighter on my neck, but it did from time to time as he panicked about little things. He also whimpered and cried just about the whole time. No matter what I did to calm him, he wasn't about to have it. Poor kid! I thought for sure he'd love swimming, but after the first lesson, I just thought that swimming was going to be like pulling his hair out for him! Of course, the class just had to have a chain reaction to my son's sheer terror. So as the boy next to him heard Jackson's whimpers, he started in and then the next kid and so on and so forth until the whole class was crying by the end of the lesson. It also didn't help that one of the stupid lifeguards decided to use the very loud and very noisy diving board to show off. Scared the crap out of the kids and my normally quiet self almost reamed him a new one, but he stopped before my patience level was all but gone. I felt horrible for the teacher b/c she just couldn't make any of them happy! She didn't seem to mind though and she kept her cool. She seemed used to it probably :0)

So as our 2nd lesson approached, I decided to give swimming another go. I was hoping that he liked it a little more the 2nd time around and that he would loosen up a little bit. LUCKILY, he did! It took him about 10 minutes, but he finally loosened up and even smiled and giggled a little bit. It was awesome! I could dunk him without him being so fearful and I also was able to get him to kick a little bit and float a little bit by himself (I had my hands under him and he let his arms let go of my neck). It was precious and I was so relieved! Phew...I hope he continues to like it b/c I really don't want him to be scared of the water. We are going to be living for a few weeks right across from a pool at our apartment complex before our house is finished, so I want to be able to take him every day. Can't wait!

So, we're in the home stretch folks. This is the last few weeks of our Oklahoman adventure. We're both excited and scared, but I think more excited than scared. We literally have just a few days less than a month. Our house is coming right along and I think it'll be ready sooner than we expected so we can move in and close sooner. We close on this house on April 30th, so just a few more weeks of home ownership of our 1st house. Kinda strange to think about, but such is life! Right now, I'm just trying to spend time with my growing boy, finish up stuff for my current job, and try not to worry to much about not getting an interview yet in South Carolina. I'm hoping to hear within the next few weeks though about interviewing down there. As for my current job, I've finished my sub plans and now I'm working on getting the rest of the little things done, so I don't leave the library in utter disarray for the next person. As for my little man, he's doing great! I think he's getting bigger and taller and I think he'll be walking soon. He can take a few steps before he goes kersplat, but not a whole lot on his own...thank goodness. It's hard enough keeping up with him while he's crawling all over the place. Right now, I think he's working on getting his 2 top teeth in b/c he's back to biting everything including me! He bit me so hard this morning that he left teeth marks! OUCH! Other than that, he's just reading up a storm and playing with all his toys and talking and dancing and singing. He still doesn't say mama yet, but hopefully soon :0) He sure is a happy little man. His 1st birthday will be next month and we're having a big party. If you didn't get an invite, let me know! It's going to be a ton of fun and I can't wait to celebrate so many exciting things happening. Stay tuned for what will come next...

Hoppy Easter!

Happy Easter all!

Jackson's 1st Easter...goodness! I think I'll start with his trip to the Easter bunny. Last Wednesday, my friend Sara and I took our kidlets to visit the Easter bunny at the mall. Her son, Rowan, is a few weeks younger than Jackson and they just absolutely love each other. Best buddies for life! Anyway, I thought Jackson would love the Easter bunny b/c he loves everyone. He smiles at almost anyone at anytime, but he wasn't so much a fan of the Easter bunny. Jackson and Rowan took their pictures together and Jackson just kept turning around to look at the Easter bunny and then he'd look at me like, "SAVE ME MOMMY!" It was precious. Rowan on the other hand, was ALL SMILES! I could've bet money that it would've been the other way around, but if I've learned anything about being a mommy it's that you need to expect the unexpected! Just one of those memories I won't forget...wish Justin could've been there, but so glad Sara and I got to share that together!

Now, as for Easter...it was a pretty good day...minus the fact that Jackson is teething AND having allergy problems AND had a cold. The poor kid had a pretty rough weekend between runny noses and wanting to walk 100% of the time and not wanting to eat...he just had a grumpus weekend. BUT on Easter Sunday, he had a good day I think. He woke up chipper and happy and so we brought his basket full of goodies. There was some candy in there, but no he didn't eat any of it, but he did really like his new book and his new bunny. He kept giving the bunny kisses on the nose...PRICELESS! He also loved taking his Easter eggs out of the basket, banging them together, and then putting them right back in the basket. Other than that, he just really had a good time playing and walking along all the furniture. Before bedtime, he took his momma and daddy for a walk. Justin and I let him walk us around the block. He's getting really good at walking and is even taking 2 or 3 steps on his own before he falls face forward. He loves holding our fingers and exploring the house. We are going to be in some serious trouble when he starts to walk on his own! Hopefully, he'll wait a few more weeks though. He wears us out right now as it is.

Gosh, the time is just zipping by and I'm just hanging on for the ride. Jackson continues to surprise me and blow me away with all the new things he's learning. He says dada consistently when he sees Justin and it just makes me so jealous b/c he refuses to say mama. Breaks my heart a little each time he says it to Justin :0( But I'm glad he loves his daddy so much! He does say UH OH now and it's awesome. You'll have to check out the video on my facebook. Just fantastical! Other than that and the walking, he's just getting to be a big boy. He's eating more and more adult food, but I don't know when he'll be completely off the baby food. I think I'm secretly a little scared to put him on adult food b/c I won't know when enough will be enough for him. I finally figured out how much is enough for him with the baby food just in time for him to switch to adult food! The feeding thing is just tough! Jackson goes for his 1st swim lesson this weekend, so I'll post pics of that next weekend or soon after that!

As for the big Gerbers, we're just getting ready for the big move. My main focus is to get a job in SC and to get ready to leave my current job. There are 4 1/2 openings in the schools district I want to work in, but only 2 for elementary school. I am warming to the idea of working in a middle school, but I'm still worried! BUT I'm really just hoping to get an interview with a school within the district. I've sent out resumes to everyone and now I'm just waiting to hear if I'll get interviewed. Part of me really wants to work so I won't be friendless in a new place, but part of me wants to stay home with Jackson. Pray for me...mostly for God to give me patience! Never been very good with that :0) Justin's main focus is to finish his senior project and also to get the house ready to be packed and sold. He's also trying to get everything as pre-prepared as he can for when we get to SC. We're both so stressed and we feel like the pressure is on. There's only about 6 weeks left here and while we're looking forward to moving, there is just so much to be done. I'm trying to not fully commit myself to full fledge worry mode though....at least not yet! Stay tuned to see how long my non-full fledged worrywartness lasts :0) Love ya'll!