FOOOOOOOOOOOOOD.

Greatest day of the year party. Hangin with Uncle Gribas and Bob.

Emmitts NEW favorite chair. It twirls!

"Greatest day of the year" breakfast, biscuts and gravy!

Grandma Jo trying to contain the monkey in the bath. He only wants to stand and walk around. The grandparents are mortified. Kevin and I gave up. Guess who runs this house?

Bathtime fishing gear

Grandma Jo brushing Emmitt's teeth for the first time. He freakin LOVES to have his teeth brushed, especially if you brush your teeth with him.

Grandma Jo love at Christmas dinner.

Christmas dinner. Emmitt did amazing. He sat in this chair for 2 1/2 hours. Ate like a horse. 1 hour past his bedtime and not a whine! He is SO cool!

We provided Emmitt with lots of entertainment during his Christmas dinner, it worked.

Kevin and his wonderful Mama

Grandma Jo was instrumental in keeping Emmitt a star throughout Christmas dinner!

Thanks for the Puzzle Aunt Sara. It is possessed and makes the animal noises when nobody is in the room. I finally put it outside for awhile because it freaks me out. I think I should just remove the batteries.

what's that you got dada?

Oh, these veggies shake, rattle, and roll.

Great stocking stuffers Aunt Sara and Grandma Connie!

Let the festivities begin! He really wasn't that into it. Can you tell?

Christmas numero uno!

Grandma Jo learned the wrestle monster moves! I think Emmitt was enjoying himself. Thanks Jo, you did a wonderful job rolling around with Emmitt!

Emmitt Checking out Uncle Gribas. Sometimes he is scared, sometimes he is a silent observer.

Emmitt is 11 months 2 weeks old- Cuter than ever! Not sure about his weight but if I had to guess I would say it is somewhere around 20lbs. He is not a very big guy. He is all muscle, no fat. So sweet! He is wearing 9-12 months clothing, starting to outgrow the 9 month stuff.

Emmitt is amazing. I know you have heard it all before...but it is true. So what has amazing Emmitt been up to. Well, he loves to imitate. He observes how you play with a toy and then tries to imitate it. He has a profound love of books. He picks out a book, not just any book, he really thinks about which book he wants and then brings it to you. As you open the book, Emmitt gets this look of pure joy on his face and then shivers with excitement. It is the sweetest thing you have ever seen. What is hilarious about it though, is that he doesn't necessarily want you to read the whole book, but instead has favorite pages he wants you to turn to. What else has he been up to? He has continued his adventures in walking. He impresses everyone with his ability to almost run. He takes HUGE steps. He is the star of his Gymboree classes (mostly because none of the other 11 month old - and often older- babies can get around like he does). The staff gasp at his ability to snap his fingers, climb up the slides, clap, say "I don't know" when asked where Gymbo the clown is, stay focused on one goal, and walk to whatever it is he really wants in the room(mostly to climb the stairs that are not part of the class- only Emmitt). For me this is a two fold situation. On the one hand I am so amazed and proud of Emmitt's abilities, on the other hand I spend most of my time trying to get Emmitt to stay in one place, not walk over to the plastic bin filled with "Gymbo the clowns" and cry, watching the other babies stare in amazement at the teachers while sitting in one place! I finally bought Emmitt a real pair of shoes. He had been wearing Robeeze (leather moccasin type shoes). But, after going to REI with my dad yesterday and watching Emmitt basically run through the entire store I decided it was time.(OK, they were also half off- that ones for you Jo) It was pretty hillariouse at first, when I put on the first pair of shoes he started walking like a cat with something stuck to it's feet. After a while though, he got the hang of it and I have to say looks pretty freakin cute in shoes. What else, what else. Emmitt is now more opinionated than ever. I think we have definitely headed into toddlerhood. Emmitt whines for what he wants (sometimes for hours), he gets mad at me and attempts to hit my face, kicks at me, and makes it very clear when he is mad by having a mini temper tantrum. The flip side of this is that he is also more loving. I can get him to snuggle me before taking off for the day. He smiles all the time, laughs at the funnest things, finds humor in himself, is independent, strong, and intelligent. If you can't tell I love this guy. Sorry the pictures are not better this go around. For some reason I had a lot of blurred pictures over Christmas and some videos would not upload. Anyways, enjoy!

Oh' and I take back my promise of a Holiday letter or card. I simply don't have the time or energy. I knew I would regret that statement. Maybe next year. Consider this your holiday greeting from the Jacksons.

Love to you all. Thank you for your support and love. It is wonderful sharing Emmitts life with you. Thank you for tuning in and giving positive feedback about the blog and our sweetheart. Emmitt is truly wonderful and has changed our life in so many amazing ways. I hope you all get a chance to meet him soon. XOXO

sweet baby boy. He looks a little bald here, but Oh so cute!

Our friend Mira took some family pictures as a baby gift. Thanks Mira!

can you tell he loves this! This kid needs a yard!

pushing toys in Sara and Jim's great yard- Emmitt Loved this

Getting close to Hannah bear

"wow, did you know they have a refrigerator too"

He is still making the "Ghost" face.

"Your beard is so fuzzy"

"Grandpa Bob, I love this sweatshirt"

"aye, dios mio" (not sure if that is how this should be spelled)

again, "I don't know"

"I don't know"

"ok, I'll just eat whatever you are cooking instead"

"grandma connie, will you let me touch the hot stove"

"I just gained 4 lbs"

The dogs on guard.

"yummmmm. Food at Aunt Sara's house tastes goooooooooooood"

"stop taking pictures of me"

This is one of Emmitts imitation looks. I think there is a video of him making the sound. I don't know how to write the way it sounds.

yummmmmmmmmm

Walkin

He matches his dump truck

Go WYO

Emmitt- 11 months on the 20th, 18lbs 4 ounces- 100% cute (ok, I am a cheese ball- the x-mas kind, now I am a bigger cheese ball)

It has been a LONG month in our house! Emmitt has either been puking, pooping, coughing, or teething. The poor guy can't catch a break(okay, what I really mean is that Mom and dad can't catch a break). It all started after Thanksgiving. I got the flu, then a few days later Emmitt got the flu, and of course then Kevin got the flu! Laundry was at an all time high! Then, Emmitt started breaking in about 3 teeth (this has been an ongoing process). Just our luck the FDA took off the shelf the Teething tablets we had been relying on and Emmitt was quite fond of. To end the month Emmitt and I took a trip to Colorado and on our last night there Emmitt developed quite a cough. It developed over the next 12 hours until it got quite scary, a bit of labored breathing, and we took him into the pediatricians office. The diagnosis was croup! Poor, poor baby. Now, all is much better (except the tooth Emmitt was breaking in last night). Hopefully we can finish the year healthy! I won't hold my breath though. Okay, enough complaining. What is E up to these days? Well, he has mastered many of the talents he has been working on, imitation, "I don't know", Ut oh (don't know how to spell that), throwing things, saying "ick", shaking his head in "no" (only sometimes does he know he is saying "NO"), saying "Momma", and raising his hands up when you say "how big is Emmitt". He still loves to play hide and seek and "where is Emmitt". That is the game he plays in which he puts a blanket, towel, diaper, napkin etc. on his head and you say "where is Emmitt? Where is Emmitt?" and he removes the item and you say "there he is!". It is all very cute. Most of the photos are from our trip to Colorado. You will see Emmitt eating in many of them. His cousins enjoy eating very much. They pull out their highchairs several times a day for a snack (much to Sara's dismay). So, Emmitt jumped on the bandwagon and started eating like a horse. The first day he enjoyed Chicken Tika. Can you believe that? He had a great time in Colorado. At first he was a little overwhelmed by the boys and dogs, but soon he settled in and just started to prepare himself for a dog kiss, tail whack, or cousin Holden push down. Holden was not always so found of Emmitt. I think he was a bit jealous of Emmitt stealing Papa (g-pa Bob) time. The dogs, however, LOVED emmitt. They followed him around certain he would be dropping food along the way, which he usually was. I decided we need a dog to clean up after Emmitt eats. We are preparing for x-mas with g-ma Jo. Looking forward to her visit. Then it will be on to Emmitt's first birthday! I cannot believe how fast this year has gone. My baby is definitely moved on to toddlerhood. It is wonderful, but I do miss that snuggly little baby at times. Guess we'll have to have another someday (don't get any ideas we are NOT pregnant or planning to be anytime soon). For now it is the joy of my life to watch Emmitt learn, love, laugh, play, and even not sleep. Merry X-mas. We love you all. I promise to send out a holiday card at some point in the next few weeks. (hope I don't regret that promise!) Enjoy the pics and video!

waking up is hard to do

Kevin sporting Emmitt toy jewelery

The wonder of snow!

The cutest jammies Ever. We think he looks like an old man in his union suit

Emmitt and Katherine

It's snowing!

Grandpa Larry!

Prebath nakedness

Yes, he still loves to dig in the fridge. I have started this kid on many bad habits. This is just one of them.

Kevin giving Emmitt the LOVE MONSTER. Emmitt loves this from his dad.

Oh' meal time. A good opportunity to take pictures of E getting down and dirty. He is also pretty funny during meal time and has lately taken to throwing his food and everything else.

Eatin shoes

Every morning Kevin makes "Emmitt play land". He has been doing this for several months now. I just finally decided to take a picture. Just one of the MANY really wonderful things Kevin does for Emmitt.

Emmitt is a man on the move these days. Since the last blog post he has perfected his walking abilities so much that he forgets he needs to concentrate on walking and falls a lot! He looks like a bruiser, his forehead covered in bumps and bruises from hitting edges of tables, walls, toys, ect. He has had a few really painful falls, but mostly recovers quickly and flashes a sweet Emmitt smile. In the past 2 weeks he has also had several other accomplishments these include saying "Mama" while reaching out for me. This was obviously a super moment for me. He has learned to snap his fingers. I know you say "what? How could a 10 month old learn how to snap his fingers?" Well, that is what we said. At first we thought the nanny must have been working on this talent with him. However, I asked her yesterday and she denies that she had anything to do with the snapping. SO, I guess Emmitt just picked this up from our random dance and sing sessions (which occurs often in this house). He is clearly a genius! At least that is the only explanation we can come up with. Either way, it is super cute. He will do it on demand, but really does it when music plays. Along with snapping he has learned to shrug his shoulders in a "I don't know" gesture, I think he called the cat an "at", he imitates everything we do, and seems to be quite proud of himself. I think rightfully so! Over the past two weeks Emmitt has also been cutting new teeth. When he is finished he will have 4 more toofers! I can't believe it, that is half a smiles worth. Emmitt continues to enjoy food. He prefers to eat whatever you are eating and if he has to eat by himself, he mostly wants fruit. These include bananas, mangos, pears, and Honeydew. He LOVES honeydew. He grunts and yells when he sees it coming out of the fridge. Emmitt had a visit from his Grandpa Larry over Thanksgiving. He quite enjoyed showing off his talents to Larry and his friend Katherine. I think they all enjoyed their time together. During the week it snowed in Seattle, so Emmitt had his first experience with snow. He had the typical Emmitt response which was to look up, smile, and study the snow coming down. Emmitt continues to be a super star in this house. He is full of energy, laughs all the time, and has begun to whine relentlessly when he wants something he can't have. I am sure this trait is par for the course over the next...oh' lets see 20 years. We are amazed by Emmitt daily and his sponge like brain. Can't wait to see what ability he surprises us with next! Until next time, Happy Holidays!

There are lots of videos. Some might not be that great. It gets to be hard to sort through them all and then remember which to post. So, I just post a bunch, good or bad. enjoy!