He's in Kindergarten??

I can't believe it.  My son is in Kindergarten.  I'm the mom of a KINDERGARTENER!  When did this happen?  Jackson was so excited to start school.  I was just glad I didn't cry.  (I'm sure that's waiting for me next year when he goes to elementary school)

From August 30, 2012

I borrowed an idea from Pinterest (see? I do actually do some of the things I pin - granted, that % is preetty low).  On the last day of school, we'll take another picture of him holding this 1st day of school picture so that we can see how much he has grown up this year.  I wonder how long he'll humor me with this?  One of my friend's girls just had a friend take a picture of her on her first day as a sophomore in college, so I have hope!

From August 30, 2012

Jackson loves school and his teacher, Ms. Sara.  After I picked him up the first day, he did not stop talking the entire way home.  I heard everything he did - in 5 minute increments.  It was great.  And best of all, he asked me if he could go back again the next day, and forever and ever after that.  When I asked him what his favorite part of kindergarten was, he said "Mom, I like the WORK!  I wasn't finished, so when everyone else was playing, I finished my work.  I liked it!"  Their first assignment was to write "My first day of Kindergarten" and then draw a picture of themselves.  I was totally surprised that they were having him write out a sentence on day 1!  I'd hate to think what he would have done if he had stayed at home with me all these years.  I just keep thinking there's no way that he's ready to do this yet!  

From August 30, 2012

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Jackson got his first homework today.  He had to draw a picture of himself and write in his favorite things.  I was very proud when he told me that he wanted to be a scientist when he grows up.  And then he elaborated and said he wanted to be a scientist like Tony Stark (Iron Man).  I love how he is convinced that he is going to be Iron Man someday (as well as on Halloween again this year).  

From August 30, 2012

Tonight was Back to School night, and we got to meet his teacher.  I really like Ms. Sara.  She sends us weekly emails about what they are working on and learning.  He is going to have so much fun this year.  This week's project is learning all about each other in the classrooom. Each student wrote what they like to do and then drew a picture about it.  Jackson wrote "I like to stay at home" and then drew a picture of his family and our house.  When I asked him more about it, he said he liked to stay at home because he liked spending time with mommy and daddy and doing things together as a family.  I got teary eyed at that one!!  

Speaking of houses, Ms. Sara asked if we were getting a new house because Jackson talks about it (and draws it) all the time.  He keeps telling us he's so excited.  Today he even asked if I wanted to go look at some houses!  Tom had a great idea about our house notebook.  He had Jackson draw a picture of our new house for the cover of it.  Now, even if we are stressed or in a bad mood about the house, one glance at the picture just makes us smile, and it all gets better.  We are getting really close to being ready to break ground.  Floor plans are finalized, lot has been picked out, and we're almost finished with the specs.  Should be ready to break ground in the next few weeks!  Pray for rain.  Our builder (knowing our focus on getting a good foundation) recommended that we wait to break ground until we had some significant moisture so that the ground didn't suck all of the water out of the cement.  We really appreciate that he's thinking of that for us!  

I'm going to try to be better about updating this weekly.  Jackson shares so much fun stuff about kindergarten that I really want to remember for later.  Hopefully we'll also have a weekly picture of our house progress so you can follow along on our adventure!  Tom and I both have found the process so far to be a lot more fun and less stressful than expected.  I hope we continue that trend!  

Between all of Tom's travels and mine, we've tried really hard to make sure that we make those times that one of us is gone is still fun and memorable.  I still remember loving our tradition to go to Western Sizzlin and eat in the living room watching Entertainment Tonight when dad was gone!  That felt like such a treat that it always made dad being gone seem better.  I hope Jackson has fun memories of this as well.  Last week, Jackson and I had an indoor campout.  We had plans to play Operation in our indoor tent/fort, eat marshmallows and use flashlights.  He was so excited that he told his teachers all about it and even drew a picture.  He said we needed a campfire for our campout. 

From August 30, 2012

Jackson is the boy on the left, and he's holding a flashlight.  He apologized that I looked kind of mad in the picture, but I really was happy and excited.  And the part I love most is what he wrote (completely on his own).  I figured out the first line but had to have help with the 2nd line.  It says "I'm so excited to play Operation. Jackson"  

From August 30, 2012

Have a great Labor Day weekend!  

The Mischievous Leprechaun

St. Patrick's Day was a big hit this year. Jackson picked out his own clothes, and I'm so sad I didn't get a picture of it. He wore a bright green shirt with his green warm-up pants. He was decked out! Jackson's class tried to catch a leprechaun last week by making and coloring their own leprechaun trap. The leprechaun was too quick to get caught, but he did make a big mess in his visit! Jackson was so excited as he replayed the days adventures. Fortunately, the leprechaun decided to pay a visit to Jackson's house on the morning of St. Patrick's Day. He was in a very festive mood...

In addition to the streamers and balloons in the living room, he also spent some time in Jackson's room. Jackson's nap buddies tried to stop the leprechaun, so he wrapped them all up...

The leprechaun also took the time to make Jackson a special breakfast - a fruit rainbow with green dip and Lucky Charms with green milk!

Jackson especially loved the crazy straw the leprechaun brought - it makes huge bubbles in the milk!

Later that morning we went to the driving range to hit some balls - and buy some new clubs! I am really enjoying my lessons and have become so much better. The pro who is helping me is fantastic and even helped me find a great deal on some new clubs. While we were in the shop, he noticed Jackson was all decked out for the holiday. He leaned forward with his fist, telling Jackson he could pinch him since he wasn't wearing green. Jackson totally didn't understand the tradition and ended up punching him instead. Ooops! I think the golf pro got a little more than he bargained for - Jackson is getting pretty strong!

We've continued the "Star" program with Jackson, and he has done great. He earned over 60 stars, and so he was able to pick out his rewards at the store. He was so cute walking up and down the aisles trying to decided what to get. Naturally, we went to the Superhero aisle!

He finally decided he'd rather get 2 smaller items rather than 1 bigger item. He LOVES the toys with parachutes, so we may need your help again, Dad! He picked out a flying Iron Man and a Parachuting Captain America. He was so excited to pay for these and take them home.

The parachute didn't end up working too well, especially with our set-up, but Jackson didn't seem to mind. Tom and I still felt a little bad for him, but that's what he really wanted!

We're continuing the star program since it seems to be working so well. Jackson does a great job putting up his dishes after each meal (usually without us even reminding him!) and has become really fast at picking up his toys. We are so glad that we included reading time as part of this - it's one of my favorite parts and is great quality time together. He seems to be picking up words fairly quickly, too. One morning on our way to school, Jackson started picking out words he saw and sounded them out. Next thing I hear is "C-O-X......Cox! Hey, that rhymes with box and socks.....hey socks and cox rhyme!" I can only hope that when he told Ms. Anita and Ms. Sabrina, he went ahead and also spelled it out for them. Otherwise, I am going to be very embarrassed when I pick him up...

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss

Jackson's daycare celebrate Dr. Seuss all this past week. He tried Green Eggs and Ham (I like them, Sam I am!), watched a Cat in the Hat movie and brought home this wonderful hat - his new favorite accessory. He wears it EVERYWHERE. This is what he wore to the Dr. Seuss movie "The Lorax" last night (he picked his outfit out himself):

He has also been seen with it all over Owasso and Tulsa - Akira (the new Japanese restaurant), Walmart, On the Border and the movie theater. He makes quite an impression!

Quite the fashion plate. And he doesn't wear it just out to impress, he also wears it constantly while playing at home:

Jackson lately loves playing with his toys on our bed. His Spiderman plane/cars are never far away, and Mickey usually seems to come along for the ride. Lately Mickey has been the big, huge giant that Spiderman has to shoot down in his plane. Can't you feel the force of the afterburners during liftoff?

Some quiet time with Mickey:

This afternoon was so beautiful we decided to go hit some balls at the driving range. We also got Jackson his own small set of clubs so that we could all go out together while I'm practicing. Doesn't he look like a pro?

Tom taught Jackson how to hold the club and set his feet. I need him to teach me, too!! I'm actually getting lessons starting this week - looking forward to it. Hoping that I'll improve to a point where I won't embarrass myself with a customer!

Jackson ended up LOVING it. We stayed for well over an hour at the driving range, and Jackson kept asking for more balls to hit. Jackson would talk through all of the steps before hitting it and then would exclaim loudly "did you see it, Mom?" He even got more air under his ball than I did! I think we're going to have a lot of fun going out on the course next weekend (hopefully). Check back next week for pics of our new adventure!

Snow Day

It finally snowed for the first time this winter, so even though it wasn't much, I took the day off so that we could all play in the snow together. I love snow days. We started off the day making a tunnel for our trains.

Owasso schools didn't cancel, so the neighborhood was eerily quiet. We went out pretty early in the morning since we knew the snow wouldn't last too long. Jackson got ready all on his own and decided he needed his Captain America mask and shield to protect him from all of the snowballs.

The snow was perfect for snowballs - really wet. However, it also seemed to stick to Jackson's gloves. He didn't quite know what to make of that.

I started out throwing snowballs with Jackson, but he has such an arm that I was freaked out he was going to get the camera! The fun really started when Tom came out - he was much braver than I. Jackson loved preparing himself to block the incoming snowballs.

Think he had fun in the snow?

A good days work is done....

While we've been looking at houses, one of the things Jackson loves to do is to make "snow angels" on the carpet in all of the rooms. He was really excited to make a real snow angel in his own yard. (click the picture to watch the video)

After warming up from our snow fun, he got out the Legos and made another heli-carrier. He loves those Legos!

Jackson has really liked doing math lately. We found a new app for the iPad for counting and early math. I think he did math for at least an hour this afternoon. He loves working towards all of the trophies in the app. Before he went to bed, we had to finish writing his Valentine's for his class party tomorrow. This was his first year to write everyone's names, and he was taking it pretty seriously. While he was writing all of the names, I also got to learn a bit about each child...and found out that he really likes Claire. Here he is trying to decide if he should add "I Love You" to Claire's Valentine...

In case you were wondering.....he did (with no help from me).

I also found out some secret plans he and Claire had brewing. (click the picture to watch the video)

We had a great day and are looking forward to a great week. Tom and I keep hoping that this year will be like Valentine's several years ago when we got the offer on our house! That would make it a truly great day....but we're not getting our hopes up. We'll just be happy if it shows again sometime this week! Keep your fingers crossed!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sleepover at the McGillen's!

Last weekend while Tom was out of town, we had a sleepover....toddler sleepover, that is! Mom and Reese came over on Friday night for a night full of Cracker Barrel, baking cupcakes and making Valentine's bracelets and necklaces. Jackson was so excited to have Pamma and Reese come over for a sleepover, and he was especially excited when Pamma and Reese picked him up at school. Mom said the two of them didn't stop talking the entire time!

After we got home from Cracker Barrel (where Pamma graciously let both of them pick out a small toy), we made cupcakes. At least, Reese poured in the mix before going upstairs and Jackson came down briefly to supervise. :) Jackson showed Reese how to shoot a basketball and hit the baseball. Jackson is really getting good at hitting lately. Mom commented we need the catchers gear get-up that Joe Dillingham used when we did pitching practice. I agree! Reese and Jackson also built a great house out of the cardboard blocks. They had a great time! After building some houses, it was time to make some Valentine's jewelry.

I love the focus on both of their faces as they were stringing the beads. Jackson realized after spelling his name that he would have to start with the "n" first to make it so that everyone could read his name correctly. We were amazed that he realized that on his own!

Reese did a great job on her bracelet!

After making jewelry, it was (past) time for bed. Jackson really wanted to have Reese sleep in his bed. We were a little unsure how that would work, since they usually have a really hard time going to sleep in the same place together, but we decided to try it. Jackson volunteered to read the books that night:

Reese wanted Jackson to read one more, so his final book of the night was "Stinky Face". I love that book!

After we told them to go to sleep, we hung around waiting to hear talking, playing....anything. But they went right to sleep! Looks like they slept pretty well!

Before the game, we made Green Smoothies. Jackson really liked showing Reese how he could cook, and Reese even helped make it. They were pretty yummy!

Jackson loved having a cheering section again at the game. He would keep looking at us in the stands, smile and strut a little. So cute! It's amazing how much he and the team have improved over the season. We had great coaches! After the game, we all went swimming at the Y. Jackson and Reese loved the slide and playing hide and seek. We even went in the lazy river a few times (Pamma's favorite!) where Jackson pretended to be Spiderman and showed off his crazy turns and swings.

After our fun at the Y, we came home to decorate our cupcakes.

And then it was time for the best part - eating the cupcake. Hey Reese, you've got a little bit of frosting there on your face....

Before they had to go home, we went upstairs to play one last time. Reese loved playing with the blocks!

We had such a fun time at the sleepover. We'll have to do it again soon!

In other news, we put our house on the market 2 weeks ago and have had 4 showings in the first week. No bites yet but we are still hopeful. We also picked out our lot and put our name on it, so I don't feel like I have to distract any other couples looking at the lots like I did before our name was on the space! We even had Dad pull out the soil maps and talk with the soil scientist to figure out which one we should pick - luckily, the lot we had picked was one of the best that was available! We're really excited and anxious to move on to this next chapter in our lives. Tom and I went out to look at tile, flooring and cabinetry last night on our date night - we quickly got overwhelmed! We were so confident that we knew exactly what we were going to pick, but we had no idea of the vast number of variations possible. We're ready to start this experience!

Making Progress

They finished up our house this week - it looks fantastic. We are so happy with it. Our house is looking in great shape to put on the market. We continued looking at the possibility of building, and we have even picked out 2 lots that we'd like. The rep for the builder says that we are way ahead of the game, but we are so excited to get moving on this whole process. We're hoping to get our name on one of these 2 lots early this week. Keep your fingers crossed!

My parents and Reese got up early to see Jackson play basketball this weekend. The team last weekend was so good that our coach decided that our team needed to be shooting overhanded. Our team is still pretty young and not that strong yet, but they tried really hard.

Jackson is getting really good at dribbling. I think he really enjoys playing basketball...and he didn't even learn it from the encyclopedia!

After the game, Reese and my parents came back to our house to play. Jackson and Reese had a great time playing a little bit of everything: superheroes, legos, baby dolls, restaurant....it went on and on! Reese had a great store named "Shy Models". They sold lots of salad.

Mom and Dad started a new game with Jackson. Jackson would push his feet off of their hands and just laugh and laugh.....looks like Jackson wasn't the only one who was having fun...

Dad wasn't left out - he took Reese and Jackson in his arms and they were rolling back and forth. I love this picture of them together.

Looks like a great time was had by all!! Thanks again for coming up, Mom and Dad, and for bringing Reese. We all had a great time!

Starting off the New Year

Hope everyone had a great New Years. Our was pretty exciting...played some Superhero Wii and went to sleep LONG before the ball dropped!

This week has been pretty full. I started my new role, and I think I'm really going to love it. A little overwhelmed but I'm looking forward to getting up to speed. Jackson finally got to go back to school; he said he was really missing his friends. He also started swimming lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. There are only 2 kids total in his class, and the other girl is at about the same experience level as Jackson. I predict he'll be swimming on his own for at least 8 strokes by the end of his class. It made for a pretty tiring week for Jackson with all of his activities at school and after school: Tuesdays he has Amazing Athletes, music and swimming and Thursdays he has karate, swimming and basketball practice, not to mention basketball games early on Saturday morning. Fortunately he really enjoys them all. But he is pretty tired at night so we usually don't have the fight to go to bed at a decent time!

Tom has been busy this past week getting our house ready for sale. We found the BEST drywall repair and painters. They started getting everything prepped on Tuesday. They took such great care not to keep the mess at a minimum. So far they have finished the living room, kitchen, dining room, hallways, laundry room, 1st floor bathroom, Jackson's room, TC's room, the upstairs guest room and the garage. It is amazing. I think there are only a few walls on the first floor that haven't been repainted! We repainted the 1st floor bathroom the neutral color to make it easier to sell (we'll do the same with our bedroom); it looks so boring now. We're kind of sad and hope that we can sell it quickly because otherwise I'm going to be depressed living in a sea of yellowish tan for the next year.

We found out that the builder didn't actually put any nails or screws into the arches, so it's no wonder that those were starting to move. We ended up putting 2 bags of nails and screws into them - it's not going anywhere now! The garage looks like a brand new garage - I don't think it even looked that good when we moved in! We are definitely going to be keeping Bryan's number handy in the future.

We started looking at potential houses and neighborhoods. I think we found where we want to be (The Crossing) and have even found some floor plans that we like. In our short time househunting, we have found that 1) we are extremely picky and know what we like and 2) when you compare our house and upgrades to the typical new construction in our price range, our house looks REALLY good. We're excited for this next step.

Jackson had his first basketball game after a month-long break. Our team is so young and so small. 1/2 the kids cry or just leave the floor to go to their parents when playing. Jackson is 1 of 2 four year olds. Tom calls our team "The Bad News Bears of Basketball". Our coaches are really good with them. Jackson really likes them, and the coaches make it fun. A few of the players had left the game early, so they didn't make it into the team picture. I hope everyone is smiling (or at least looks somewhat happy) in the official picture!

The team we played on Saturday was really good - their coach was even going over shuffling their feet for defense, dribbling drills up and down the floor and shooting drills (shooting with their hands over their head, too). Some of their players also looked to be at least 5 yrs old!

This picture cracks me up. I wish I knew how to add "thought bubbles" to this picture. Here's what I think everyone is saying:

2 kids on the left: "What are we going to do?"

Jackson: "Let's go guys!"

Jensen (the boy on the right): "OMG! They are so big!"

The games are pretty funny to watch - rules don't mean much at this age. It really is dribble when you want to. Jackson has done a really good job when he gets the ball to start off dribbling. And he definitely has the Caldwell tongue when he's really concentrating.

He even made a basket this week! Unfortunately, I didn't get it on video or a picture of it because I was so excited. I love the look in his eyes as he's getting ready to shoot.

Here's a short video of Jackson playing on Saturday. I love at the end when Jackson's coach picks him up to dunk after the buzzer has sounded.

Jackson really likes playing basketball. I really hope in our new house we have a space for a basketball goal. I would really enjoy going out there to shoot some hoops with him!

Other funny things that Jackson has said this week:

Jackson has been going through an incredible growth spurt over the last 2 months (he has grown over an inch in that time!). While looking at his extremely short pj's, he said "Mom, I think I ate all my vegetables!"

After picking Jackson up from his first day of school:

Me: What did you do today?

Jackson: I played puppies with Max.

Me: Puppies? How do you play puppies?

Jackson: You get down on your hands and knees and ruff!!

Have a great week!