Fun Filled Weekend

This weekend we went to Longview to visit Mumsey and then to Carthage to see Grandma and Grandpa. We had lots of fun!

Cleaning off Mumsey's porch.



Hanging out with Grandpa.



We went to Grandpa's farm and Jackson got to see the cows for the first time.

Checking out the tomatoes with Grandpa.

Courtney and cousin Alex.

Jackson enjoyed sitting on every piece of equipment.

Next, we all took turns shooting guns. I have to admit that it scares me to death but there is no point in having a gun if you don't know how to shoot it!

Resting after a long day of fun.

After a good night's sleep we spent some time by the lake. Jackson did not enjoy the life jacket at first but soon got used to it and didn't fuss at all.

Jackson was very interested in the boat and wanted to get in so Grandpa took him for his very first boat ride. He cried at first but once they returned he wanted to get back in.

Alex chillin' with his mommy.

Jackson enjoyed touching the minnows.

All in a day's work!

We really enjoyed our visits this weekend. Since Jackson is growing up in the city I sure am glad he has somewhere to go spend a little time in the country.

I Knew It Was Only A Matter of Time...

Last night, about 20 minutes after we put Jackson to bed, we heard him screaming over the monitor. When we went into his room to check on him, we discovered that he climbed out of his crib and was on the floor crying. One of his cars had fallen though the slats and he was trying to get to it. I'm pretty sure he used the two boxes of books that he loves to sleep with to climb on top of to get out of the crib. Usually when he drops his cars he fusses until one of us comes in to give it back to him. I guess last night he took matters into his own hands. So, tonight when we put him to bed we took the books and some of the toys out of the crib and only left stuffed animals.



Completely unrelated, here's Jackson in mommy's shoes. Nice legs, huh?

And here he is building during bath time.

Have a great evening!

Two Years Old!

Jackson is two! I haven't done an update on what he's up to in a long time. So, here goes:

Sleeping:

• He is really into stalling in the evenings now! Oh my goodness. He used to be SO easy but now he is just much too busy to go to bed. He wants to read a million books, pick tons of stuff out to take to bed, and then rock before getting into bed. Then once he's in bed we have to get him to actually lay down! Once we leave we can hear him playing with all of his "stuff" before falling asleep. Tonight he has a car, a train car with a monkey in it, several plastic animals, several stuffed animals, an Elmo book, and two box sets of books. How he sleeps in there I have no idea!!!
• He is sleeping from about 7:30 - 6:45/7:00. He does sleep well through the night thank goodness!

School

• He's still doing great at school and LOVES his teachers. We love them too. He is learning so much and loves his little friends.

Church

• He stays with us until after communion and then we have to take him to the nursery. Otherwise he is just way to wild. He goes to Bible class and sings songs while Laine and I go to class.

Play

• OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE, OUTSIDE! This boy lives for the outside. Most mornings the first thing he says is "outside." I have to show him that it is still dark. Also, in the evenings after school we spend the majority of the time outside. He loves being outdoors! I try very hard to take him on walks so that I can get exercise too but he just does not agree with the stroller ride. He wants to walk himself and stop to look at and touch everything.
• DIRT, DIRT, DIRT. Another thing he loves is dirt! He is so into it these days and has it under his fingernails because we cannot keep them clean.
• When indoors he loves to read, build with his Legos (duplos), push his cars around, run around the house saying "outside," pull everything out of the cabinets, chase the cat, and watch Sesame Street.

Eating

• Sometimes he won't eat a thing and other times he amazes us with what he will eat. The other night he had two bites of an apple and 1/2 of a cookie for dinner. That was it. Some nights he won't touch pizza and others he will eat an entire piece. I know this is normal so I am trying not to let it get to me. The problem I have is that he won't eat a thing and then at bed time he says, "eat, eat, eat."
• He is pretty picky and will often taste something but will spit it out. We have lots of spitting food out around here.
• MESSY! He loves to make a mess with his food. Cleaning up after dinner is a major ordeal.

Talking

• This is an area where we continue to be amazed. I think he is probably just an average kid, learning things at an average pace. But since he's our first, everything is just so exciting to us. It is absolutely such a miracle the way they learn and pick up stuff! He has so many words I cannot list them. He is saying lots of 2-3 word phrases these days. Things like: Daddy at home, Mommy at work, buses coming, thank you mommy, shoes on, tummy hurts, baby in there (referring to my tummy), mommy's big truck, go fast daddy, etc.
• He is starting to learn his colors. He always gets red and blue right and sometimes gets green, purple, and yellow.
• He loves to tell someone that has upset him, "sad, sad!"
• He enjoys so many of his friends and family and when we tell him we are going to visit them or they are coming to the house he talks about it non stop.

Being a Toddler

• Oh my...I can tell the next year or two is going to be a little trying. He wants to be SO independent. Doing EVERYTHING himself. It takes a lot of patience doing just about anything because he wants it done his way and cannot understand when that just can't happen. He has some major crying fits when things do not go as HE has planned.
• Weekday mornings have been a little difficult because he just wants to take it easy instead of getting dressed and out the door. We have had some yucky fits. I look forward to next year when I'm home and have a little more time in the mornings to take it easy. He does much better on the weekends when we aren't in a rush.

Health

• Jackson has not had any ear infections this year! I really was not happy about the tubes but oh my they have made a difference. At the beginning of May it will be one year since he's had the tubes and not one ear infection.
• He has also had less colds this year. Don't get me wrong, he's had lots of colds but last year he basically had a cold from November - June.
• He's had a few viruses this year. Several where he got a high temperature and no other symptoms. And a few stomach bugs.

Sweetness

• He is still such a sweet boy. I do not get hugs and kisses the way I used to because he's so busy but he sure does love his mommy when he's hurt, sad, or tired. I soak up every hug and kiss I can!

I think that's it for now. We are so blessed to have this little boy in our lives and hope we are the kind of parents that raise him to be a good person. One that loves his country, his God, and his fellow man. If I accomplish that with my kids I will consider my life a success! We enjoyed his 2nd birthday celebrations (see pictures below) and look forward to many more!

Birthday Fun

We had lots of fun this weekend celebrating Jackson's birthday.


Here he is at school with his friends. I made cupcakes with little dinosaur sprinkles on top.




On Saturday, we went to Chuck E Cheese's. He's still a little young for most of the games but he enjoyed the kiddie rides.

On Sunday, we celebrated with G, Dada, Kaley, Brooks, and Aunt Anne. Jackson is becoming very comfortable around everyone and really enjoys it when he gets to see them.

Jackson LOVES Elmo right now and is very much into opening presents. He understands that there is a fun treasure in each box/bag! The funny part was that he would get so excited when he would pull a toy out of a bag but when he pulled out some clothes he just dropped them on the floor. That cracked us up because he is such a typical kid! Of course, mom and dad love the clothes because that means less shopping for us!

Singing happy birthday.

Eating cake with his cousins.

The boys!

Trying to get a quick picture while Jackson was held hostage in his chair.

One of Jackson's favorite gifts - a lawnmower!

My How Time Flies

Two years ago - I was already in love with this boy!

One year ago - first birthday.

Today- such a BIG boy!

We have some fun birthday plans for this weekend and will post pictures soon. We are so thankful for two years with this sweet boy. Love him SO much! He is getting so big and learning new things every day. Just today I had on a shirt that had my school name on it. He was touching the name and I said, "what is that?" And he said, "ABC's." He knew it was letters! I'll share more about what he is learning soon....

It's a...

BOY! We are so excited that Jackson is going to have a baby brother soon!!! I cannot tell you how much I look forward to my boys playing together. I hope they will be good buddies!

Everything looked good. The baby's belly was measuring 20 weeks and I'm only 18 weeks and 2 days. She said that probably meant he just had a growth spurt. So, he is averaging 19 weeks right now. I wonder if he will be a big boy???

The placenta was "low lying." She said that was nothing to be too concerned about. They will do another sonogram around 26 weeks to look at it to see if it has moved.

We are very thankful that everything went well today and continue to pray for a healthy baby boy!

Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter. We went to church with G and Dada and then ate lunch at Babes. After that we went to Brooks and Kaley's house to nap and hunt more eggs!

Hunting eggs at home before church.

Hunting eggs at Brooks and Kaley's house.

G and Dada with the grandkids.

After hunting eggs and playing inside we went outside to play and Jackson enjoyed watching this roly poly. After that, it was time to head home.

This is a picture from yesterday. While I was at the gym, Jackson and Daddy watched Formula 1 Racing. Jackson enjoys watching cars go fast and when we accelerate in our car he always says, "fast."