The Case for Jackson

Here we are, just a few short months from welcoming our second little boy, and we've decided to change his name. It's funny how things like this develop, and I wish there was some extraordinary story behind it all. But to be honest, Jimmy and I were sitting on the couch one night when Jimmy suggested the name Jack. I knew in that instant that Ethan wasn't the perfect name, Jack was. Even better, we decided on Jackson, with Jack being the shortened version.

In our family, we are big on shortening names. Little Jimmy has been called Jim Jim, Jimbo, and little Jimmy when his real name is James. Same goes for big Jimmy. I'm frequently called Jess, my brothers, Jake and Dan, and Jimmy's siblings, Jacq and Max. Everyone has a shortened version and it was bugging us just a bit that we couldn't shorten Ethan at all. Not that I didn't love the name, nor did I change it due to a lack of being able to shorten it, but something about it just wasn't right. It's a great name, but it didn't fit the little boy growing ever so rapidly in my belly. Now, Jackson Ellis, that's a fit. And, thus, we have continued the "J" naming tradition in the Fraser family. We are now: Jimmy, Jessica, Jimmy and Jackson.

I can't help but laugh about the name change because as much as I thought Ethan was the final choice, it was as if I knew we would eventually change it. But, despite my gut instinct, I ordered letters from Pottery Barn Kids and hung the name "Ethan" over the crib in the nursery. The next day, we changed the name.

In little Jimmy updates, he had his first run-in with a battle wound while playing. During church, a little girl, not too much older than him, waddled over and began gently touching his feet and then became enraptured with his face. Before I could politely take the little girl's hand away from his cheek, she pinched it hard between her fingers and got a little of his skin. The small nick on his left cheek bled for a bit and surprisingly left Jimmy unfazed. She then took her pointer finger and stuck it right in his mouth and he bit down hard. She was much more taken aback by the bite than he was the scratch and it was in that instant the little girl's mom swooped in and picked her up. Kids move so fast it's sometimes hard to prevent little injuries like this from happening. We have been working with Jimmy on biting and when he does it to one of us or a family member, we say, "Ow!" and proceed to show him a nicer way of playing. I know it's hard for the little guy because he's working on cutting two more teeth (numbers 7 & 8) but we are fearful baby Jackson will not tolerate his brother's biting habits as well as we do. Suggestions from fellow parents on how to stop the biting are always welcome! :)