I went on a date today....

with my oldest son!

Today I decided to have some one on one time with Jackson. I thought a "Mommy and Me Day" would be good for him. Since Garrett's arrival, Jackson still gets plenty of attention and has never shown an ounce of jealously. However, I know there are many moments when I can't give Jackson the attention he would like to have because I am taking care of Garrett. ("Mom hold Bubba anymore" does occasionally come out of his mouth though...)

I had a hair appointment scheduled for today, so my mom was planning on watching both boys, but her job got cut in half when I decided to take Jackson with me. So, she got to have one on one time with Garrett instead. (Which now that I'm thinking about it, it was probably nice that her and Garrett had some bonding time. She took care of Jackson when I was teaching, so her and Jackson got lots of bonding time.)

Jackson and I started our day with going to my hair appointment. I was only getting my hair cut, so it didn't take long. He did great! Then we went to North Park. I got to use the little single stroller. Wow....that thing is light! First, we had lunch which was rather easy with one child. It was at this point I realized how much Jackson was enjoying our day just by the way he would look at me and smile. We had a nice conversation (if that is what you would call it ) over lunch. Then we did some shopping, he danced in dressing rooms, he would say "No, Mom" to things that I would try on, we saw Christmas decorations and "Ho Ho Trees" at the mall, and then headed home.

I truly feel like he enjoyed his one on one time. Tonight his attitude towards me just seemed refreshed....I can't think of another word. He was more patient with Garrett and I both and in a wonderful mood. I have always known that one on one time outside of the home is important, but I just have trouble leaving one child behind. However, after seeing how happy he was today, I am really going to try to do it more often.