Mommy & Jack Date

Earlier in the week I mentioned to Jesse that I wanted to go out with just Jackson this weekend.  It's been well over a year since I've been able to give my full focus on solely Jackson.  During the end of the pregnancy I couldn't even lift Jackson or care for him by myself.  Ever since the babies were born, strangers constantly make Jack feel like an afterthought when we are in public. 

He's really matured a lot in the past few months with potty training, preschool, and becoming more independent.  I really wanted give him individual time.

We all had a rough start to our morning with a power outage and little sleep.  Amelia was up screaming for no known reason from 1-3 a.m.  The power outage prevented me from being able to pump. Jesse didn't get his much needed coffee.  And Jackson couldn't have his usual breakfast and TV.  Everyone was grumpy.

While I went to the garage to pump in the van, Jackson followed me and sat in the passenger side. He said, "Mommy, we go on an adventure today?"  Jesse and the babies were all sleeping and Jackson and I were getting restless.  Those things combined were definite causes for a Mommy/Jack date.  We headed out around 11 a.m. for our "adventure".



I decided to take him out to eat at a non fast food restaurant.  We originally drove to Denny's but we couldn't even get in the door it was so crowded. Our next stop was Cracker Barrel, which also had a wait. I was hesitant about making Jackson wait since he was getting a bit antsy already, but the store offered plenty of entertainment that quickly passed the time.  I thought it was precious that Jackson picked out dresses and cowgirl boots for Amelia and Maddie.  He also wanted a firetruck and carried it around the entire time.  (Of course, I had no intentions of buying anything since I hate making unnecessary purchases.)

When our name was called, Jackson sat down and began playing with the classic puzzle.  I tried to teach him how to play, but he just wanted to make patterns.  He was also concerned that there was a peg missing and kept looking around the table and floor to try and find it.

Jackson goes through days where he barely eats and days where he cannot get enough.  Today was definitely an insatiable appetite day!  He devoured an entire grilled cheese, a biscuit with jelly, whole apple, and bites of my mashed potatoes, green beans, and mac-n-cheese.

Our lunch conversation revolved around our favorite things we did throughout the week.  I'm always impressed with how reflective and articulate Jackson can be.  When I pick him up from preschool he'll ask, "What you and babies do while I at school?" After we discussed our highlights from the week he asked me what I thought each of the babies' favorite parts were.  Here's what we decided:

• Mommy-watching planes take-off while eating lunch
• Jackson-"driving the fire truck at the museum" and "dressing up like Uncle Skoshe"
• James-riding in the new stroller with Amelia, playing at the library
• Amelia-looking in the mirror at museum
• Maddie-riding the tractor at the museum

Just when I thought our date was perfect and I went to pay the bill, Jackson freaked out because we were leaving his fire truck (again, no way was I going to buy a $12 fire truck when he has one exactly like it at home).  I ended up having to carry him out of Cracker Barrel crying hysterically.

Thank God he calmed down fairly quickly in the car and was laughing before we got home. I guess it was all-encompassing of typical toddler moods.  Still, I'm so glad I got to spend a few hours alone with Jackson to talk, eat, and play together.