Elmo Elation & Kisses for Jesus

This weekend we had planned to go to Tulsa and bless my sister Megan's new baby. (Ben is the only priesthood holder in my family.) Unfortunately, with Jackson's recent contagious chicken pox rash, we decided we should probably postpone for next month. This actually works out great because it means we will get to be with our families on Halloween.

Anyway, because we didn't go to Tulsa and since it is opening weekend for bow hunting, Ben decided to go to the cabin with his new SUV, so Jack and I are alone. I actually enjoy it a little when Ben is gone. Don't get me wrong, I miss him like crazy, but it nice to have some room in the full-size bed we share and get caught up on housework I don't do when he is here.

Jack and I have a great time together when it is just the 2 of us. We rocked out and clapped to YMCA in the car while we were running errands. We sang and danced to Disney songs in the playroom. We also had a lot of learning time. We practiced some new words (Jack is quite the sound mimic these days.), we read stories, I tried to teach him some new tricks. Good times.

Some of the highlights are as follows:

Last night when I was putting Jackson to bed, we stopped in front of our family picture and said goodnight to Daddy. Then we stopped in front of a picture of Jesus. I was trying to get him to say Jesus, but all I got was Jah-Jee. However, when I picked the picture up from the table and Jackson could see it more closely, he got this big smile on his face, similar to the face he makes when he sees Daddy or Mommy in a pic, and he pointed to Jesus. Then he leaned in and kissed the picture of Jesus! We have been trying to get him to kiss us, but he will only do it for Ben, not me, and only after a few practice tries. He blows kisses all the time, but actually laying one on you is a different story. I was so touched and happy in that moment, I just wondered all night if he can really still remember who Jesus is and at what point do we lose our memories of Heavenly Father and Jesus? When we are given a body? Or does it slowly fade away before we can speak, and we have be be taught of them? I'd like to think he really does know who Jesus is, that it may just be a little foggy at this point.

Today when we were picking up a few things at Wal-mart, we passed the checkout lines and high above one of the lines was an Elmo balloon. It happened to be the exact balloon Jackson got for his birthday. He was so excited. This kid LOVES Elmo! I didn't even notice Elmo until he started squealing and squirming and clapping and pointing to it. We continued on in our shopping and I had forgotten all about Elmo until it was time to check out. I happened to pick that line as the shortest and again, Jackson started clapping and squealing and pointing up above us. At first I thought he liked one of the commercials on the Wal-mart TVs, but I looked up, and there was Elmo again! He was elated until we completed our transaction and left the store. It was a really cute moment. Everyone around us was watching him and giggling.