Spring is coming!

The weather was great this weekend, so we took advantage of it by playing outside. I'm happy to report that Jackson loves riding his bike and is really good at it, so no late night bike training sessions here! After a good bike ride and a trip on the scooter, Jackson decided he wanted to pull all of his nap buddies around in his wagon. As he was pulling them on the sidewalks, he'd exclaim, "They're so happy! They're having fun!"

Our attention span doesn't last too long, so 5 minutes later (or 1-2 trips to and from the neighbor's house), we had to switch to the truck. Jackson is still a little scared of this and wants someone by his side at all times. He finally started going down the sidewalk and into the neighbor's driveway when he got scared and told Tom, "I'm going to crash into the door!" Here Tom is trying to explain that Jackson just needs to turn his steering wheel to get back to the sidewalk. Looks simple, right?

Ummmm.....No. Jackson decided that it would be much easier to push it and physically turn it using his brute strength.

Finally Tom convinced Jackson to get back in the car. Tom steered the truck while Jackson pressed the gas pedal. Somehow I don't think this is what the manufacturers intended for this toy! On the bright side, I don't think we'll have to worry about Jackson begging to drive our car anytime soon....or hopefully within the next 13 years.

Next he tried his smaller vehicle, but he's getting too big for it. Jackson doesn't seem to understand why it suddenly got so much smaller!

Once he got tired of that, we moved back to the wagon. Only this time Jackson wanted to ride with his nap buddies, too.

Since he hadn't ridden his small trike yet, he decided his nap buddies should get a front row seat to watch him ride it around the driveway. I love the focus and deliberate placement of each of his friends that he's showing here!

A little while later, he rearranged them so that they each got a different view. Once he got them the way he wanted them, he said "Mommy, take a picture of me!" .

He decided to try the truck one more time that night. He said Woody, Buzz and Jessie wanted to come, too. Aren't they so cute sitting there in the seat with him?

We had another big first this week - Jackson's first soccer practice! We went to Academy this weekend to get him some cleats and some shinguards. We also picked up a water bottle (Thanks for remembering, Tom!) so that he could actually have something to drink at practice. We kind of felt like it was the first day of school - what should he wear to the first practice? Is it going to be a full practice or more of a get-to-know the coach and team with a little bit of kicking the ball thrown in? Should he wear tennis shoes or cleats? Does he need to wear his shin guards? Where is the field? So many questions....no one to answer them. (OK, we were prepared for that last question. We drove to find it the night before. See, we really are treating it like the first day of school!)

We did what any prepared parent would do - we brought it all with us! (and yes, even though I don't have treats in the car and I don't carry puffs in my purse with a sippy, I do count myself in this crowd for at least one night!)

He was so excited to go to practice. He told all of his friends and his teachers that day that he was going to play soccer. He told me "Holden will be so happy." Apparently Holden really likes soccer, too! Jackson picked out his shirt special for this great day. But with all of the new things going on, Jackson was most excited about......his water bottle.

When practice started, Jackson jumped right into the crowd. It was so cute watching him with the other kids and the coach. Jackson is definitely a pleaser. You could always count on him being right in front of the coach when the team came together for a talk. Here is he stretching as far as he can to get ready to practice.

Next it was time for some drills. I was surprised how good Jackson was with his footwork (look at me talking like I actually know something about soccer - it sounded good, though, didn't it?).

Patiently waiting his turn to knock down the bowling pins (aka orange cones) with his ball.

1/4 of the practice was spent like this:

Next they practiced kicking the ball up and down the field. Jackson was really fast.

Here's a video of Jackson and his teammates practicing kicking the ball into the goal. It was really windy, so I apologize for the noisiness of the video!

About halfway through the practice, the coach had them scrimmage - 4 against 4. There were only a few issues:

1. No one knew each other, and had no clue who was on their team (do 3 and 4 year olds really understand the concept of "team" any way?).
2. Rules.....who needs rules?
3. The goal they were aiming for was the one directly in front of them....even if it was on the next field (or two) over.

Jackson was really fast and could easily catch up to the pack, but he didn't seem to want to get into the crowd to try to get the ball. He got bumped a couple of times, which he didn't like. He got pushed down 3 times, which he REALLY didn't like. The last time he got pushed down, he started bawling, and it took us about 5 minutes to get him to stop. Fortunately, we had the water bottle handy, and he went back to his coach to tell him that he had 2 drinks. Not 1, but 2! When we asked him after practice how he liked it, he just kept saying that people hit him and knocked him down. I'm not sure how well this is all going to go. We tried to keep telling him that he was ok, and that getting bumped or knocked down was going to happen - everyone is going for the ball, and sometimes people get in the way! So stay tuned...not too sure how this one will turn out!

I've posted all of these pictures in an online photo gallery. Hopefully if you click this link, you'll be able to download any pictures that you want on to your own computer.

https://picasaweb.google.com/TMCGILLEN?authkey=Gv1sRgCPuwi7K1np-t7AE

Minnesota Trip part II

On Sunday morning after the wedding, we drove up to Minneapolis for a little mini-vacation. We figured since we were so close, we couldn't miss going to the Mall of America and visiting the Minnesota Children's Museum.

I forgot how big the Mall of America really is. And how big the amusement park inside the mall is! They had changed all of the characters since the last time I was there - probably 20 years ago! Camp Snoopy has now become the Nickelodeon Universe. Jackson was so excited when he first saw some of his favorite characters - the Backyardigans!

The first ride he went on was Blue's Skidoo. We were expecting this one to be a little quicker than it actually was. Jackson did like getting to sit on Blue, though.

After Blue's Skidoo, Jackson decided he wanted to drive a truck. Fortunately, the Monster Big Rigs were right down the aisle! Each seat had its own little horn to press throughout the ride. Jackson really got into both driving and honking the horn, as you can tell here.

Most of the rides were designed for kids a bit older than Jackson. We weren't quite sure how he would do in the dark, but then we thought back to his excitement over laser tag and figured he could handle it. He was all in once he heard that he got to shoot a laser gun again! I love this picture of the two of them in their little car.

He doesn't look too scared!

Next he wanted to ride the bumper cars. These were designed for younger kids with a set height limit, so he had to do it on his own. We were a little nervous how he would do by himself, since he has had difficulty driving his own toy cars at home. He was excited to sit in his own car, especially since there was a cute little girl in the car next to him. Notice his cute smile to her in the picture below. I have a feeling he's going to be quite the charmer!

Here's a video of Jackson driving his bumper car all by himself. He did really great in the beginning. Unfortunately, the spot where he finished in the video is pretty much where he ended up the rest of the ride! He had trouble figuring out how to turn the wheel all the way while also pressing down on the pedal. We still have at least another year before he's ready for this one!

After the bumper cars, we finished up the rides at Nickelodeon Universe with the hot air balloons. This ride was lots of fun. We went pretty fast in the air and had a lovely breeze blowing through our hair and on our faces - it actually felt like we were flying through the air!

Next up was Lego Land. The models they had created there were pretty incredible. Jackson was really enamored with the helicopter flying above the store until he saw Woody.

They had an area with 4 tables that kids could play with the Legos. Jackson really got into it until a mom arrived with her twins about a year younger than Jackson. As soon as we saw them, Tom leaned over and said to me, "they look like they are going to be future bullies." He was totally right (except for the future part). As soon as they got to the table, one of them came over and just started hitting Jackson. To Jackson's credit, he didn't hit back and just looked at us like "what is going on here?". The mom of the kids didn't say anything other than pulling him back on his side. Less than a minute later, the kid again was hitting Jackson. Then the other kid began knocking over Jackson's tower. Tom and I couldn't believe that the mom didn't once tell the kids "no" or take them away for a timeout. We have no doubt why the kids were acting so poorly - their mom gave them absolutely no boundaries or sense of what was right or wrong! Jackson was getting upset and so possessive of his legos that we decided it was time to move on. We were so proud of Jackson for not hitting back!

Because Jackson had so much fun playing with the Legos (at least before those two kids came), we decided he could pick out some legos to take home. We found out quickly that Legos are so expensive! We spent $100 on three sets of Legos plus the Lego board. However, they have proven to be quite the hit. Legos were the first thing he wanted to play with when we got back to the hotel, and we've played with them for at least an hour every day since! Tom and I actually have fun getting to build things, too.

While at the Mall of America, we had to make a quick stop at Nordstrom Rack. There were 2 1/2 ROWS of cute shoes. How was I ever going to pick?? I narrowed it down and found 4 (yes - 4!) pairs of shoes - 1 pair of high heels, two flats and pair of black strappy sandals. I was in heaven. They even have 4 sales a year just dedicated to large size shoes. Someday, I am going to find out when they are and go to the nearest one (either Dallas or St. Louis) for a weekend trip. It was awesome.

Jackson didn't get a nap that day, and all of the excitement over the past two days was catching up to him, so we headed back to the hotel to rest. We had fun playing Legos in the hotel while eating a Minneapolis brand pizza. Yum!

The next morning, we went to St. Paul for a quick visit to the Minnesota Children's Museum before getting back in the car to head home. Minnesota sure knows how to do Childrens Museums! It made our Kaleidoscope seem extremely amateurish by comparison.

The first room was focused on art and letting the kids become part of the famous paintings. Jackson had fun pretending to cook and eat in this scene.

Who doesn't want to pretend to be Mona Lisa?

In the same room, they had also set up a tent with a cot and a fire pit. I don't know how they did it, but the fire pit actually smelled like a real campfire! One of the activities in the tent was to shine a light and pick out the different leaves laying on top of the tent from the shadows. It all looked pretty real.

The next room was set up to look like a little community, complete with restaurants/diners, a doctors office, art gallery, shoe store, houses, grocery store and a post office. In one little area, they had little cubbies for various professions within a community, each of which had a costume that the kids could put on as they played in the city. Jackson quickly grabbed the postman's uniform and set off to deliver mail throughout the city.

Jackson showed no fear and went up to several parents and museum volunteers to deliver mail to them.

They even had a play bus, complete with real bus seats, an official bus steering wheel and a digital map in the windows that would change pictures as if you were really driving by.

After playing mail carrier, Jackson decided to try being a fireman. I think the boots came up to his hips!

Next he decided to cook in the restaurant. He made a yummy dish from potatoes, rice and orange juice.

In the upstairs room, it was all about science and how things work. Here Jackson was a construction worker and got to play with a mini crane that actually worked when you moved the levers.

Jackson loves bubbles, so he was pretty excited to make some monster bubbles in the water area.

It was getting close to time to leave, so we tried to make a quick spot in the Habitots area designed for kids 6 months - 4 years old. Jackson loved the slides - especially when he realized he could pretend to be a beaver in the beaver dam.

Checking to make sure his tail made it down, too. Yep, it did!

If you are ever in the Twin Cities area with your kids, make time to go to the Children's Museum. It is pretty incredible! We probably could have spent at least 2 more hours there, but unfortunately, it was time to get on the road to head home. Jackson did pretty good in the car. Dill pickle chips helped pass the time for Jackson. He LOVES them! We were glad to finally get home, though. Jackson didn't want to miss costume day at school on Wednesday. He dressed up as Woody and told everyone he passed by that he was "Woody the Cowboy Sheriff". So cute!

Congratulations Stephanie and Corey!

Congrats Stephanie and Corey! We're glad to welcome Corey to the family officially after 6 years. I love this picture of them sharing a little moment between them. They look so happy!

And here we are - still happy after almost ten years!
My dad couldn't resist....while Mike and Taryn were taking pictures of their family, he couldn't help but pop in for a quick hello. I'm sure they were pleasantly surprised when they saw this one! Mom - can't you control him? :)
Wow, Mom, that yoga really does lengthen you! I think the shoes helped a bit, too (only a bit though). I found some really cute shoes (at Payless!) right before the wedding that I decided to wear. I didn't think they looked that tall in the store, but when I wore them at the wedding, I realized I was at least 5" taller! Mom wanted to see what it was like to be as tall as my dad...it's a good look, Mom!What a great looking family!

Grandma had fun watching Jackson, and Jackson enjoyed being with his great grandma. At the rehearsal dinner, he would come up and tap her on the shoulder to tell her a secret or show her his small cars.
Stephanie and Corey's wedding was pure Scottish, complete with a Scottish band to play in the bride. Stephanie had quite the entrance as she walked down the aisle!
After the wedding, Stephanie and Corey came down to greet each guest as they exited their pew. It was such a thoughtful way to spend a little bit of time with each person. I teared up when they first came down to greet and hug their parents. I teared up even more when I realized we all got to hug them!
The reception was in a beautiful room in Mankato. It was a full sit-down dinner. Jackson particularly liked the "snack bar" aka the candy table. Notice his plate his full of goldfish, m&ms and brite crawlers. Steph sure knew what he liked!
Jackson really got into the tapping of the glasses to make Steph and Corey kiss. My mom kept egging him on and encouraged Jackson to try it at home with me and Tom.

Jackson sure loves his Papa! I think the feeling is mutual.

More butter.....more butter please. I haven't seen Jackson focus this hard in a while. He has the Caldwell tongue sticking out during times of immense concentration. I'm embarrassed to say that Jackson loves butter so much that he will eat it all by itself. Please tell me that this is a phase and other kids do it too.

Corey's mom and sister made the wedding cake as well as the cakes placed on each table as the centerpiece. After dinner, each table was able to cut into their own cake rather than waiting in line. What a great idea! The cake was really good, too. So impressed!

Jackson's favorite part of the wedding was the dancing. I don't know where he found this love of dancing - definitely not from me or Tom! He does have quite the rhythm, though, which definitely is from Tom. Enjoy!

The night before after the rehearsal dinner, we all went across the street from the hotel and went to Wow. It was a great place with arcade games, miniature golf, bowling and laser tag. Jackson had a blast! One of Jackson's favorites was the driving game. He actually drove by himself and did pretty well. You can see how focused he was as reflected in the steering wheel below.

He also had a lot of fun riding the motorcycle. He had a little bit of help from his daddy. I think they both enjoyed it!
Jackson also challenged Papa to a few air hockey games. He was actually pretty coordinated!
After we all played several games on our own, the entire family got together to play a game of laser tag. We weren't quite sure how Jackson would do since the game is played mostly in the dark. I worried for nothing. He was so into the game. We had a full group playing, and so I figured that he could just go around with me and Tom without his own vest and laser gun. We were totally mistaken. Once he saw the vests, he had to have his own. The vest was almost as tall as he was - it came at least down to his knees. He put it on so proudly. Once inside, he and Tom went everywhere together. He loved getting people! As the game was over and we all walked into the vest room, Jackson kept saying over and over again "I'm good with my gun!" Ahhh - nothing makes a mom feel prouder than hearing her son say that! (I'm totally being sarcastic in case it doesn't read that way on paper). When we got the statistics back at the end, we saw that Jackson actually had hit 18 people - quite an achievement for a 3 year old considering the coordination it takes to both hold the laser gun and get other people's targets!

We split the 11 hour drive into two days on the way up there. When Paul learned that I was going up to his old stomping grounds, he gave me lots of tips on where to stop for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We ate breakfast in Des Moines at the Iowa Machine Shed. It was so good and tasted just like Iowa home cooking.
The inside of the store was decorated like an Iowa farm. Jackson immediately ran over to this tractor as soon as he saw it. Guess he is a farm boy at heart after all...
Paul recommended that we order some cinnamon rolls while at the restaurant. The waitress looked at us funny when we said we wanted two rolls to go. Boy where we surprised when she came out with these! They are each as big as Jackson's head!
I had another fine mommy moment during our short trip. Just before we pulled into the hotel in Iowa, we realized that we had forgotten Jackson's coat. And it was 20 degrees outside with at least a foot of snow on the ground. So while everyone else was getting ready for the rehearsal, we went shopping at a sporting goods place. It actually worked out really well - Jackson got a super nice coat for way less than we ever could have bought in Oklahoma, plus he also got a spring coat and ski pants. We are now prepared for another wintery winter here in Oklahoma - bring it on!

Watch for other posts coming soon detailing the remainder of our trip. We packed a lot into 4 days!