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!

Parachute Jumping, Cowboys, Doctors and Super Why - all in a month's work

Busy couple of weeks! Jackson's imagination is full steam ahead, so we're never too sure what is going to walk out of his room!

While Tom was busy at an evening concert and weekend classes (only 1 more class left!), Jackson and I spent some time in Stillwater. On Saturday morning, Jackson and Papa were busy playing with Buzz Lightyear when Papa had the great idea to build Buzz a parachute. I was quite impressed with the contraption they built! Styrafoam and pipe cleaners - there's nothing you can't do with it! Jackson had a blast watching Buzz Lightyear fly through the air.

After several trips down the stairs, Buzz Lightyear needed more room to fly. Papa took Jackson up on the new deck to try out the parachute outside. It was so fun to watch both of them playing together!

Jackson loves playing with Reese. Every once in a while, they'll call each other up on the phone. My heart melts when I hear them talk to each other. Jackson was so happy when he learned that we were spending the day with Reese. He also was excited about going to a basketball game. I don't know that he got the concept though, because he kept telling people that he was going to go play basketball with his Papa and Pamma....mommy was just going to watch. It was kind of sad going to the basketball game, though. The crowd was so different! You can tell by all of the empty seats just how different it is from when we went to school there. Fortunately though, it was much easier to get 6 seats together!

I've got a secret - I love you so so so so much! This is one of my favorite things that Jackson is doing right now. Usually totally out the blue, Jackson will come up to you to tell you a secret. Usually it's "I love you so so so so much" or "You're my best buddy I ever saw". Either way, it's the best part of my day. We love you so so so much, Jackson! Here Jackson is getting a secret from Pamma. Jackson really liked the popcorn at the game. It seemed to perk him up a bit. Reese had popcorn for the first time, too. She liked it a lot! She actually moved up to sit by me because Johnnie was eating "her" popcorn!
Jackson went to his second birthday party last weekend (a joint party for Julia and Holden). It was a cute theme (a book party), and they held it in a meeting room at a library. Jackson was totally excited that there were books on the tables. I actually had a hard time getting him to get up to go play with the other kids doing Musical Chairs! He was so happy when he realized that he was able to take a SpiderMan book home as a gift. He know knows all about Peter Parker. :) Here is Jackson playing "Pin the Hat on the Cat".
One night after work, Tom and I decided that we would have a Jackson night. First, Jackson and I went to the Borders store closing sale in south Tulsa to pick up some books. Jackson LOVED the bookstore. He kept asking if he could take a different book home. And then he found the best thing of all - a SuperWhy puzzle! By the end of the evening, he had books stacked under each arm. It was so cute watching him hold all of his "prizes". After the book store, we met Tom at Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. Chuck E. Cheese sure has changed in the last 25 years. Over 1/2 the rides didn't work (but did take your coins) and the pizza was awful! Jackson seemed to have fun, though. I was relieved, though, when we asked him what his favorite part of the day was that night, and Jackson replied, "Doing the SuperWhy puzzle with Daddy!". Since putting it together that night, he has re-done it at least 6 times. He loves it.
Jackson got his medical degree since my last post (it has been a long time, I know!). We're lucky that our doctor now makes house calls.
I'm still confused what reflexes Tom has in his jaw....but Jackson is the one who went to medical school. I'm sure he knows what he's doing. Probably a new technique he learned!

Had another "good mom" moment this week - actually a couple!

1. Jackson's first question when I go to pick him up at school is "do you have a treat for me?" Usually I don't....after all, they're treats! But on this day he told Ms. Angelique that I didn't have a treat for him, so she proceeds to give him some snacks from their snack drawer to eat in the car. As we go through the halls, he tells everyone passing by that mommy didn't have a treat for him but Ms. Angelique gave him fruit snacks. Mommy fail.

2. Another day when picking him up (sensing a trend here....my best parenting skills show up at daycare), my shoes were REALLY hurting me. I could barely walk down the stairs back to our car, much less go the dark way (and go twice as far). So at the top of the stairs, I decided Jackson and I would have a race (and really, it was quite a fair race!). He would go the dark way, I would go down the stairs and we'd see who wins. He thought that was a great idea and off he went...or so I thought. I made it down the stairs and was looking for him. One of the other afternoon teachers said that Jackson was at the top of the stairs looking for me. Oops. That idea backfired. I walked back up and he was walking back down, pouting because I didn't let him go the dark way. He cheered up when I said he could still go and that I would wait for him at the bottom. He got excited and took off. Another child walking by when I was waiting said "I wonder where Jackson's mom was..." Oops. Mommy fail again. (And for the record, Jackson made it back down just fine on his own. In fact, he asks to do it pretty much every day now.)

3. Another afternoon when I picked him up, one of the teachers told me that Jackson had been scratching or pinching the other boys at school. The teachers seemed just as shocked as I was - Jackson is a good kid and he doesn't do things like that! I eventually got most of the story in the car on the way home. Apparently they were playing superheroes and bad guys. Jackson was a superhero getting a bad guy....and got a little too into the role. We had a very long talk about how we treat other people. Jackson felt really bad about it and was sad. He kept saying "I want to go home." On the bright side, he learned another technique to handle a situation when others are doing things that aren't nice. The next morning when I quizzed him what to do when someone is chasing or hitting him, he quickly replied, "I say No, I don't like that. And then WALK AWAY! And go near a teacher." When I picked him up, the first thing he told me was how he told Cort "No, I don't like that!" and then walked away when Cort was chasing him. I was proud of him. He definitely learned something from that experience!

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day! Jackson seemed to really enjoy it this year. He loved getting the Valentine's from his class (especially the treats) and learned to draw hearts.

Here Jackson is opening up his card from Pama and Papa:
It was a great card, complete with 3D glasses that you could use to see Buzz and Woody running out to greet you! In fact, it was a such a great card that he actually received three of them! Pama and Papa, Johnnie, Reese and Casey, and Tom and I each picked out the exact same card for Jackson! Guess we all know what he really likes! We all had a great laugh over that one.

Jackson had fun at his Valentine's party at school. Tom took over the making of Jackson's Valentine's day box with Jackson doing the decorating. Jackson was so excited to see all of the cards and treats in his box after his party. For the next few days, he kept bringing up Valentines cards saying "Look, it's _____ (SpongeBob, Buzz, Cinderella, ....). He especially loved all of the suckers that came with the cards. The teachers had decorated the tables for the party with lots of heart confetti and garland (brave teachers). Jackson doesn't like mess and was the ring leader in blowing all of the confetti in the middle of the table to get his spot cleaned. Everyone else at his table soon joined in....

Jackson was really proud when Tom came to sit by him during the party.

After they ate, they all played musical chairs. Jackson was one of the first ones out, but he seemed perfectly content to dance to the music and cheer on his friends. Check out his new moves!

On a different note, Jackson LOVES playing dress up lately. He really likes pretending to build. Here he is ready to tackle a new project - I wouldn't mess with him!
Jackson had been asking for cupcakes, so last weekend we decided to bake together. He was excited to hold the mixer.
While the cupcakes were baking, he decided that he needed to get a hair cut. He promptly found the water bottle and his comb and proceeded to "cut" his own hair (using his fingers as scissors). He did a great job on his hair, don't you think?

After the cupcakes baked and cooled, we set out to frost them.

"Oops....spilled some on my hand. Don't worry, I'll take care of it!"
I had bought colored sugar crystals to decorate the V-Day cupcakes. Jackson took this very seriously.

Here he is with his finished product. I love his face in this picture. It's almost like "can I eat it now, mom??"

We've been spending quite a bit of time upstairs lately. Jackson still likes playing with his train table and pretending to be the train engineer.

Jackson has finally started sleeping in his big boy bed all by himself all night long! We are so excited. I think it helped that we told him he could play with his toys in his room, but in our room he just had to immediately go to sleep. His room suddenly seemed a lot more fun. He has been reading on his own for about 30 minutes before turning out the light on his nightstand and going to sleep. It's so cute watching him read to himself.

One day last weekend, Jackson played with pretty much every toy in his closet before naptime. He really likes making the firemen climb their tall ladder.

Jackson's new thing this week is to tell secrets. Periodically he'll come in to the room, say he has a secret and will come whisper in your ear. Usually, this is what he says: "Mommy (or Daddy), I love you very very much! (or some variation). Have I mentioned that I love this kid??

Funny things that happened this week:

• We took Jackson up to my new office last weekend and he had a blast playing there. Later that week on our way to school, Jackson saw my building and said "We're not going to your building? But I like your building. You can color, run fast, play computer and ride on elevators. It's AWESOME!" I wonder if he thinks that's what I do all day!
• At work, Tom was helping one of his students find some music to play for the talent portion in the Ms. Teen Broken Arrow pageant that she is going to be in soon. She was considering playing a four mallet solo, but Tom quickly set her straight saying "no, what you need is a really fast 2-mallet piece about a minute and a half long that is really jazzy, flashy and looks hard." She looked at him in amazement and asked how he knew so much about the talent portion in beauty pageants. Tom replied "Oh, I watch the Miss America pageant every year. My wife makes me and Jackson watch it with her!" So Mom, Dad and Jenna, you'll be glad to know the tradition continues to live on!

On a sad note, we put TC down this weekend. It was a really hard decision, but it was starting to become apparent that his kidneys were starting to have more trouble. He had started throwing up more frequently (about once every 1-2 days). Since he's had kidney problems for the last 7-8 years, we knew the end was probably in the near future, and we didn't want him to suffer unnecessarily. I'm still having a really hard time with it, much harder than I originally thought I would since we really haven't been able to give him the full attention we used to before Jackson. But now, the memories just keep coming back every where I turn.

Tom gave me TC for Valentine's day back in 1997, so he was almost 15 years old. He had a really good life after we rescued him from the humane society - sleeping on pillows on our heads at night, playing fetch with golf tees, getting stuck in the wall in Wyoming, and standing guard over Jackson when Jackson was new to our family. TC was so patient with Jackson, even when Jackson was hitting him with a drum stick or pulling his tail. Rather than biting, TC would just walk away and move to a higher place out of Jackson's reach.

In the last few moments, TC kept looking up at me with those big eyes as I tried to comfort him, letting him know that we love him. Selfishly, I keep wondering if we really did do the right thing, because I really do miss him. I keep seeing his napping spots around the house (because that's really all he did in the last year or two), and it gives me pause when I realize that he's not there anymore. And then the tears start again. I'm happy knowing that he did have a really good life and that he didn't suffer; the vet told me we were doing the right thing, but it's still hard because right now it just doesn't feel good. My heart hurts.

TC, you were a wonderful cat. We love you and miss you!

It's a blizzard!!!

Tom and I finally got our wish for snow....though I think our wish worked a little too well! This past week we got 21" in less than 24 hours. We couldn't believe how much white stuff was coming down! It finally stopped snowing around 4:00 in the afternoon, so Tom and I went to go shovel our driveway while Jackson was sleeping. Underneath the 21" of snow was a nice layer of ice. It took us three scoops per section just to get from the top layer down to the ice layer. Needless to say, our backs were really tired after we got this done. Our area that we were scooping kept getting narrower and narrower....

Can you believe how high the snow is?? This is Oklahoma, for Pete's sake! We were surprised how many people were out that day shoveling their driveways after the snow stopped. I think we all realized that if we didn't get it done soon, it was going to semi-melt and then turn into ice...and who knows when it would get warm enough to melt! The next day, however, we saw that one of our neighbors had a snowblower....and then they brought it over to our friendly neighbor's house next door to help him with his driveway. If only we hadn't been so proactive...but I guess it was good exercise, right?

If you remember from before, we didn't think to get Jackson any snow boots or waterproof gloves before the first snow hit. We were totally unprepared for the snow and the super cold weather. By the time we made it to the store, they only had rain boots (they work just as well as snow boots, right?) and hot pink waterproof gloves. By this point, we weren't too picky.

Many of the pictures I've seen on Facebook of friends' kids in the snow show them wearing nice warm snow suits, waterproof clothes and lots of layers. Jackson is setting a new trend...

And now Jackson LOVES his hot pink gloves. Today was the first day back to daycare after a week of being out due to the snow. He proudly wore his hot pink gloves into school, showing everyone that he passed by. I was running a little late to pick him up, and as I'm walking up the stairs to his class, I hear Ms. Kathryn getting his things together. She picks up the gloves and says, "Jackson, where are your gloves? All I see are these pink ones. I think someone took yours home!" I sheepishly had to explain what happened and that those pink ones were in fact his gloves.

As we stepped outside, we couldn't believe how much snow we had received. Notice how the snow is level with the seat of our white bench!

By this point, the snow was nice and crunchy. Jackson weighs so little he barely even made footprints in the snow.

We wanted to see if Jackson could climb up one of the snow drifts, but he sank in one before he got too far up it. He was not happy at all when the snow went up to his knees!

Daddy rescued him from the drift and was much happier:

All Jackson wanted to do in the snow was throw snowballs at Mommy and Daddy - he got his wish!

I ended up working from home on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Wednesday morning, I came out of the office to find Jackson and Tom playing with playdough. Jackson seems pretty proud of his carrot.

I just love this picture of Jackson; doesn't he look old in this picture?

Jackson has started playing with our computers more and more during the snow break. Sometimes we'll call him to come out to the kitchen or the living room, and he'll call back "In a minute! I've got lots of work to do!". Other times when Tom or I are on the computer, he'll walk in with such a serious face and say "I have a lot of work to do. I need to work."

One night, he was playing on the computer, and I had opened up a word document for him to play type. A little while later, he starts yelling for me to come in here because he wants to show me something. Lo and behold, he had typed his name (both first and last). Farther down in the document, he also typed "catcatcat". When I came in, he said "See, I did CAT! C-A-T!" He's already learning to spell! For the rest of the night, we practiced typing and writing various words. He's really starting to get interested in reading and writing!

Here he is hard at "work":

I hope everyone is keeping warm. The next snow is coming tomorrow night - hope it's not as bad as they say it might be. I don't know where we will put all of the snow! Tom's school is still out - a week after the first storm. I have a feeling they will be out of school all week!