We celebrated Easter with all of the cousins and many of the grandparents yesterday. Jackson woke up to a basket full of stuff, and wanted to “ofen it” all without paying any attention to the next item :) I think the clear winners were the two chuggington interactive trains to add to his set, and the aquadoodle, which he is obsessed with already. He calls it painting and spends a minimum of 20 minutes per session drawing on the mat - which is an eternity in the attention span of a toddler. Here are some photos from our day:
I sure do love a kid in a bowtie!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Love,
The cutest, messy-haired, one-eyed Love Bandit
Giving Thanks.
We spent Thanksgiving with my dad and his lady this year, and as usual it was glory. We ate a lot of turkey and far too many sides, watched football (boo), and enjoyed togetherness, because that is what its all about - right? There was a lot of this going on with the littles:
It was gorgeous outside (no coats required! Abby took it so far as to only wear a single shoe) so there was a great deal of exploring the forest. Abby had dirt all over her face and nose :)
Mama Bails loved on Jackson (and yes, his mom does rock!)
So did Papa Carson :)
There was more love for the Lawn Jockey today
I took some photos of Bailey, and learned (again) that she is the perfect combination of sweet & sassy:
I also learned that Carson & Bails would be the most adorable child couple….if they weren’t brother & sister of course. Instead, I see how she looks up to her big brother, and though he brushes her away and says that she is gross, I can still see his shy smile - he feels her adoration too.
I tried to take some photos of Carson, Bailey, & Abby for Ang:
Mostly, they turned into this:
Jackson saw all of the fun, and got jealous, so he photo bombed them. Notice his hand around Carson’s neck, he was totally including himself in the family photo. Papa Carson also made his re-apperance in the top left, and maybe I am weird, but I look at this shot of him and see visions of his future, and the children he might have one day. Amazing.
I don’t think there is any question that I am most thankful for all of these little people. The keep me on my toes, teach me, let me know how it feels to grow up, all the while showing me what it is like to be young and carefree. They are the greatest.
First Christmas = Winning.
Someone was ridiculously spoiled yesterday. Santa was good to him. We were good to him. My family was good to him. Zac’s family was good to him. We ate a LOT.He got some really amazing and thoughtful gifts. He got a cd which had a bunch of songs, all with his name in them “my name is Jackson, my name is Jackson, J - A- CK- S-O-N!” A book with his and all of his friends’ and family’s name in it “Auntie Angie loves Jackson. Carson, Bailey & Abby love Jackson…” And the clear winner was this amazing bench:
It not only turns into a step-stool, but also has his name on it. And the names come out for use as blocks (!!!)
(He has also decided that standing up is appropriate in all circumstances, and does so on his own. Too big.) Now please excuse me while I bombard you with photos:
I hope your weekend was as special as ours!
Merry Christmas Eve, friends!
On a Lighter Note…
My last post was sad. Really sad. We still miss our dog, but I don’t want to spread sadness this time of year, so instead I will spread cheer and talk about much lighter things. Today is Grandpa Clay’s birthday! Happy birthday Grandpa!
We are pretty stoked about celebrating his birthday and Christmas this weekend and can’t wait for the festivities to begin! Today, though, we had other festivities to attend, such as my work holiday celebration. We had a staff lunch and cookie exchange, and the best part? Babies were invited!
These are the 2011 VIU Babies (Left to Right) Alex B., 3 months; Diego D., 6 months; Ben K., 7 months; Jackson K., 8 months! Jackson brought gifts for all of his friends, but acted like a bully. He was grabbing faces and stealing pacifiers. I told him that bullying isn’t nice, but he told me that he is the oldest and that he needs to teach those babies how to grow up already. Rude.
This is BJ and his gorgeous daughter Jessica. We love her. 
Jackson was passed around by all the men (pictured above with Kola and below with Yanal). There is nothing sweeter than seeing grown men get excited over a baby!
We had a good time. Especially Jackson (photographic evidence provided below):
Here is a staff photo (babies included):
We have a lot of wonderful traditions planned for this weekend, and I personally can’t wait to give Jackson his first Christmas. It’s hard to believe that last year at this time I was just 25 weeks pregnant, had just found out that he was, in fact, a ‘he,’ and was busy daydreaming all day about what he would be like, who he would look like, and every other thing that an expectant mother dreams of. Fast forward 12 short months and here he is, better than I could have imagined in my wildest dreams. You are it, kid.
We hope you all have a happy, healthy, and joy-filled weekend, no matter what holidays you might celebrate each year. And as always, in the spirit of being a copycat, here is my Friday Phone Dump:
Gumdrop Square!
Our town puts on all sorts of festivals and events throughout the year on Main Street. In the summer, they have concerts on the green, First Friday, which is a street festival where shops stay open late and/or run specials, and there are parades, and a New Year’s festival, and more. But around the holidays they start hosting ‘Gumdrop Square.’ This is a festival just for kids, where you can pick out gifts for mommy and daddy with the elves, and visit Santa Claus himself! I thought that this would be the perfect place to have Jackson meet the big old guy for the first time, so we gathered some of his favorite cousins, all of his (local) Grandmas and got in line.
Luckily, my grandmother got there early and stood in line, so we didn’t have to wait too long - it was pretty chilly out this evening. Out of all of the kids, Bailey was the most excited:
She told me that she spent the entire day styling her hair for Santa this evening.
Once you get inside the building it is a wonderland for the little ones, there are Christmas trees everywhere, each one put up by a different local business, windows to peer through where you might catch a glimpse of santa’s elves or a nutcracker, and the big man himself….Santa.
Out of all 4 kids, Bailey and Jackson were the only ones who sat on Santa’s lap. Abby burst into tears at the sight of him, and Carson just was not interested. Here are the photos I was able to snap in the chaos:
And while I wasn’t thrilled that our Santa didn’t have a real beard, I couldn’t have been happier with Jackson’s reaction to him and the photo the ladies at Gumdrop square snapped on the two of them:
Overall, this was the most fun we have had all week! We stayed close to home for the most part, though we did go look at a house on Tuesday (I want it. My head hurts just thinking of selling this one and buying that one.), and I worked a full day on Thursday, which was actually a welcome change of pace and adult interaction! (Don’t think you’ll catch me doing that all the time, though!) In other news, my big giant baby turns 8 months old tomorrow and I am not quite sure how we got here so quickly. And also, how in the world is Christmas only one week away?!!!?
In the spirit of copying others’ brilliant ideas, here is my Friday Phone Dump. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and get all of your shopping/wrapping/holiday preparing done. I know I won’t…
NOT Charlie Brown’s Tree!
It isn’t much of a secret that in years past I have been something of a grinch. (Seriously, I would rather be waterboarded than tortured by listening to awful Christmas music). Something about having a little one has really changed my tune this year. I have been so into the holidays that I even went so far as to make these stockings for us. Zac and I did get a tree last year, but it really just stood in our living room with lights only on it. This year, I thought we would go all out for our little man. On Sunday we set out to the Boy Scouts tree sale. While I think it would be grand to go to a tree farm, sipping hot cocoa, and cut down our own tree, I think it is better to support such a great organization as the Boy Scouts, and can only imagine us volunteering there one day with our little boy scout.
J doesn’t look too thrilled in the photo to the right.
I like giant trees. We went with a Frasier Fir, 9 feet! It definitely takes up some space. We rushed home to decorate the tree and here is the finished product:
I couldn’t even fit the entire tree in the frame. There is a 3 foot tall baby cage gate surrounding the thing.
Here are a few of my favorite ornaments:
ZAC’S baby’s first christmas ornament! Thank you Susan and Clay for keeping it and giving it to us, so special!
I made these beauties with some clear bulbs and acrylic paint. Easy.
Clear bulb + our wedding invitation. Awesome. Also a great gift for people who were recently married!
This is my fav! I made this with Jax a couple weeks ago and have been anxiously awaiting to hang it! Seriously, if you are looking for a really great craft to complete with kids, you should do this. I posted full instructions and the recipe for the dough here.
Grateful.
That I could spend the day with all of these sweet people!
I think its safe to say that this little piece of love is the thing I am most grateful for this year. This time last year, I was around 20 weeks pregnant, and he was just an imagination - I hadn’t yet found out that he was a boy, and was feeling good with my little bump that finally couldn’t be confused for someone who was just gaining weight. This year he has gone far above and beyond any imagination or expectation I could have possibly dreamed up in my little mind. He is love.
Sweet Carson.
This is Maddie, my sister’s 4 month old little girl. All dressed up for Christmas Thanksgiving.
Bails is showing off her school projects. The person she is pointing to is her depiction of me. The top left is Grandma, followed by Abby, Maddie, and Jackson the egg. I love the imagination of a 4 year old.
I made these festive centerpieces.
Dancing to the Hokey Pokey with Miss Vicky.
And dancing with his sister.
While Abby cuddles with her Nana
But who could leave out the delicious first Thanksgiving dinner my main squeeze feasted on. It was serious business.
And if you cant tell by the glassy eyes and tired expression, my boy is pretty sick today with a deep, chesty cough, a raspy voice, and a sick visit at the pediatrician scheduled for tomorrow. Fingers crossed for no croup.
I hope each one of you had as great of a day as we did, and that you have just as many things to be thankful for this year and in all years to come!
