Finally a new post!

Who knew that 3 months could pass by so fast? I'll try to be better at updating this! Get some popcorn and settle back in a comfy chair because there is a lot in this one...it's been a busy quarter with the Kiddie Park (several times), Easter, surgery, Elmo and pooltime!

One of Jackson's favorite things to do lately is read books. Sometimes we'll walk into a room and find Jackson reading on the floor or reading in his room. The promise of more books at bedtime is how I get Jackson to brush his teeth decently at night, and he usually has 2-3 books in his arms when he lays down to go to sleep. Reese and Jenna let Jackson borrow the Red Hat, Green Hat book by Sandra Boynton. Jackson loves this one. He now reads it to us!

My family came up for a short visit on Memorial Day. Jackson and Reese are so cute together! I love it when they hold each other's hands. He was excited to see her. Notice his shirt - he picked it out by himself. He brought it to me and said "I want to be Pete!".

Our neighborhood pool had just opened, so we all took a short walk down to the pool. Jackson thinks this is the way to travel all of the time now.Dad was in a bit of a hurry to get into the pool....like your shirt, Dad!

We all had so much fun playing in the pool. Jackson and Reese went from one person to the other. Reese was a pro at swimming and loved to lay down and get her hair wet. Jackson's still not too sure about the whole water on your head thing yet.After swimming, we had a quick cookout before going up to the Kiddie Park. Jackson and Reese really seemed to enjoy cooking together in the kitchen and then sitting down to enjoy their meals.Jackson and Reese waiting patiently for their turn. This is the cutest pic!This is usually Jackson's favorite ride. Reese isn't quite sure what to think yet. I think this one was her favorite, too, by the end of the night. I'm not too sure who had more fun - Jackson and Reese or the rest of us watching them have so much fun! Snow cone and popcorn break. Jackson's trying to get Reese to try the snow cone. As I was uploading the pictures today, Jackson saw this one and said that he wanted to race with Reese. He told me he was telling her to go and drive! This is such a cute, tiny Ferris Wheel. At first, Reese was content to sit opposite Jackson...but towards the end, she kept trying to sit by Jackson. Each time she would move, the balance of the car would move, and they'd be a little lopsided. Jackson kept moving to try to go to the other side, and Reese continued to follow him. When it was time to get off, Jackson was so sweet and put his arm around Reese to help take care of her.Jackson's first ride on the roller coaster (note the long sleeves - this was the first weekend and it was actually chilly! Weather sure does change quickly around here!). Tom's parents came up to celebrate Mother's Day, so we decided to take them up to the Kiddie Park, too!

Here's a brief collection of videos from our time at the Kiddie Park (so far) this year. We're becoming regulars!

In May we also took Jackson to the aquarium. He liked Nemo and the sharks the most of all of the fish....but he REALLY liked the ramps leading to the shark tank. I don't know how many times we made the circle so that he could go up and down. Jackson's becoming quite the planner. We're learning that when Jackson is really quiet, we need to go looking for him. He left behind the evidence....this chair frequently seems to end up either in front of his dresser, the living room by the TV or in our room so that he can reach whatever he wants. What wipes?? I'm starting to become slightly concerned that Jackson is going to grow up with OCD. He hates to be dirty. He absolutely loves wipes! It's hard to believe Jackson's almost 3. He's certainly able to do a lot more things on his own. I had told Jackson that he couldn't have any Fruit Loops right then as a snack. 5 minutes later, he took matters into his own hands. I had a vision of what it's going to be like in a couple of years. Tom was away on one of his consulting trips, and I was busy getting ready in my room, thinking Jackson was asleep in his bed. As I was walking out of my room, I heard voices. At first, I was a little concerned....until I saw that Jackson had turned on the TV and was walking from the kitchen holding the box of "popcarts" for his breakfast. This is going to be what Saturday mornings are like in just a year or two, I'm sure!

Jackson is also really into dressing up like a cowboy. His red hat is now his "cowboy hat". His cowboy boots go so well with his outfit.

Not even three years old and already reading the paper. He takes after his dad - only likes the ads. Notice which one he picked out on his own...he studied this one pretty good. Jackson's school had an Easter party with an Easter Egg Hunt. I'm pleased to say that this year I actually remembered to bring eggs that were already filled with candy (that I bought myself with my own money....rather than having to borrow money to buy Starburst from the vending machine). When it was time for the hunt, all of the kids tore off to find the eggs. Jackson's first egg was a soccer ball egg, which totally enthralled Jackson - he forgot to go look for more eggs until they were almost all gone! He was pretty proud of that 1 egg, though!

Jackson and Nash are so fun to watch together. Jackson looks to Nash for everything. I love watching Jackson watch Nash while they're eating snacks. I have never heard Jackson be so vocal at school - he was one of the loudest ones in the room!

For Easter, we all went to Stillwater. Before we dyed Easter eggs, Jackson had to get one more kiss in. He's such an affectionate little guy!

Notice how many of us started the egg-dyeing process....within about 30 minutes, Dad was the only one left. Jenna had to take Reese home to bed shortly after (she was still a little too young for it) and Jackson needed some help upstairs.

Jackson is hard at work. He actually got into it this year, especially coloring. Mom had a great idea and used whisks as the egg holders for the dyeing. It worked really well.

Happy Easter!

Jackson and Reese had so much fun in the first Easter egg hunt so we did another one with plastic eggs. They are so cute together!

I don't know why, but Jackson crosses his fingers all the time. Maybe here he was wishing for some more eggs?

Towards the end of the evening, Jackson and Reese were playing together in the grass. Jackson would shake his head back and forth really fast, and Reese would copy him. Then, they'd both fall back into the grass, and they'd take turns helping each other up!

This is one of my favorite spots to be - on the floor with Jackson climbing all over me. I love being Jackson's personal jungle gym.

Happy Birthday, Mommy! For my birthday, we took Jackson to see Elmo and Sesame Street. The dollar in his hand is his "ticket" to get into the show.

Jackson seemed shy "meeting" Elmo. We let him pick out one souvenir, and he picked the Elmo and friends soccer ball. He was relieved, I think, to see that the Count was not included on the ball.

Almost ready for the big show! Look - there's Elmo!!
But wait, who's that with him? Not the Count!! I can't look!
Jackson spent over 1/2 of the show on our laps. He was much more scared of the Count (and the other characters) than I thought he'd be. I guess he didn't expect them to be so big!

All of the excitement wore him out...he fell asleep in the car on the way home.

Jackson is starting to pick out his own clothes. He was adamant that he wear his gray socks with this outfit.

While we were in the waiting room at the dr's office (another ear infection), I looked down and saw something a little strange. He must have done this in the car on the way to the dr's office, because I know they weren't that way before we left!

Well, if you've read this far, I guess I can share with you this next video. This isn't my finest mommy moment, but it is kind of funny. Don't worry, Jackson wasn't hurt at all. The sound you hear is the bag....not his head!

Spring Is Here!

As much as I love winter, I am glad spring is finally here! While Tom was in Nashville, Jackson and I spent some time at the park. He just loves the park, especially the slides. He also had a lot of fun on the swings. Before long, the baby swings will be too small for you, Jackson! I can't believe how much you've grown. It seems like just yesterday that I was worried that you'd fall out of the baby swing!

Jackson is a huge fan of glasses, which also includes swimming goggles. He found these on the shelf in my closet and decided that they were the "must-have" accessory for his church outfit. Thanks be to God for such a sweet little boy!

I'm not quite sure how appliances do this, but our washer and dryer decided to quit at about the same time. The dryer had been going out slowly for the last 2-3 months (each load took around 3 hours to dry and the timer completely quit). We were trying to wash our comforter over last weekend, which was to be the first of MANY loads. Suddenly, we heard a really bad sound, and the washer completely stopped agitating. We decided it wasn't worth it to have a service call and just went out to buy new ones. We still laugh at ourselves because we didn't research it at all. We also told ourself that we didn't need anything fancy - just the basics. As you can see - that didn't last long....

Jackson started Amazing Athletes earlier this year, and he absolutely loves it. His favorite sport is soccer. Tom got him his own mini soccer ball, and we bring it everywhere. (We even had to bring it in the car to hold on our Spring Break trip). He is so cute kicking the ball. I cannot wait until he starts playing on a team. I'm really looking forward to being a soccer mom at the fields on Saturday mornings!

I love this picture of Jackson and Tom cuddling on the couch reading together. Jackson is reading along.

I'm not quite sure why Jackson has this on his head. I came out in the living room, and found Jackson sitting here waiting to be found - apparently, he was hiding underneath the towel.

Road trip! For Spring Break, we made a quick trip over to Hot Springs to see John, Betty, and Ryan (plus Gramma and Papa). In the short time we were there, we had a full trip - lots of swimming, eating, horses, running, hiking, climbing and even more running! Jackson was pretty tired by the time we got home. We had such a good time. We missed you, Johnnie and Reese! We really hope you get to feeling better soon, Jenna.

Not even out of the QT parking lot, and he's already propped his feet up on the chair and opened up the strawberries. Jackson sure knows how to travel.
Jackson absolutely loved swimming in the hotel pool. You can't tell here, but the water was absolutely freezing! We ended up swimming three times in the short time we were there. We'll definitely be doing swimming lessons this spring/summer.
Jackson's new creation - ketchup on salad. He loved it. Actually, this was my mom's salad, and she let him have a few bites. Before she knew it, he had slyly pulled the salad plate in front of him so that it was all his! Thanks for "sharing", Gramma!After dinner, we went back to John and Betty's house. We had fun watching Jackson play with all of their toys - Betty just kept going back to the closet bring back more and more! He really had fun kicking the soccer ball around the living room. He then practices his acting by pretending to lift the extremely heavy soccer ball. He's so dramatic! Betty also taught him lots of new things, especially how to make the action figures fight with each other! You're such a good influence, Betty! When he woke up the next morning, he immediately made Buzz and Woody fight with each other.

The next day, we decided to fit in a little rock climbing and a hike before going to the races. Jackson was still a little small to do the climbing on his own - maybe next year!

Family pictures from the "summit"

Rock climbing with Papa.

It was so good to see you, Uncle John and Betty! Thanks for coming out with us to go rock climbing, hiking on our 7-mile hike, winning at the races and eating the best Italian food!
Hmm...are we all related? Even Jackson got in on the action!
What?? I can't hear you! He does this a lot lately....I'm trying not to take it personal.
Thumbs up!
We made it to the top (again)!
Starting off on Jackson's first 7 mile hike.
Going off the trail with Uncle John taking the lead.
Jackson wanted Papa to carry him back from the hike - I love listening to his giggle.

Here they come! I don't think he could have leaned out anymore without being on the track!
Horsies!! Jackson absolutely loved them this year.
Jackson quickly learned how to cheer on the horses. Watch how excited he gets! After the very first race when they went by him, he immediately shouted "Do it again! Do it again!"

Is it real? Wait...never mind. That's what you do with gold, not dollar bills...

I love the look of pure joy on his face. I sure wish I had his energy. I think Jackson must have run a mile during the day running back and forth to this wall. One of the spectators watching Jackson actually raced him one time, and then gave him a quarter when Jackson beat him. Jackson was pretty proud of it and had to put it in his pocket for safe keeping.
Look at that form!
Taking a breather in between runs.
Jackson's winning tickets.

Is this going to be Jenna and me when we get older??

Jackson's sharing some of his racing tips...
A quick hug for Ms. BeeBee.

Cheering on Dad's winning exacta - way to go, Dad!!

Betty won the award for most races with Jackson. Can you come home with us, Betty??Jackson kept pretending that he was stuck. Here you can see Jackson and Betty slowly wading through the sticky concrete. Jackson soon decided he wanted to race again. When he wanted to race, he'd crouch down and say "Ready, set...GO!" and run like the wind.

Doing the bunny hop in between races - thank you for being such a good sport, Betty! Really, can you come live with us?

We had such a great day at the races!
For those who are wondering, we are standing in front of the BEST Italian Restaurant - Little Italy in Glenwood, AR. Papa highly recommends the Salmon ModoMio (I did that just so you'd remember for next time, Dad), though we'll have to take his word for it - he wouldn't share!
It was so good to see you, John and Betty (or Unc and BeeBee). We'll be back!