Jackson Scott Babcock

Family Picture

2010-09-21T20:54:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me a picture from the first day of school...

Teaching Everson....

2010-09-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

Everson will learn SOOOO much from Jackson. He's already learned how to kick a soccer ball and to throw a baseball....and how to climb, and how to eat a popsicle...and I'm sure Jackson will teach him how to color "in the lines" someday too!

I had been folding laundry on the other side of my bedroom, and when I walked past the boys to put my towels in the bathroom, this is what I saw....it went on for about 30 minutes!

And the madness continued about 20 minutes later on my bed....

M&M Friday

2010-09-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

1st Day of Preschool--4 yr old Penguins

2010-08-31T08:59:00.001-07:00

I can't believe the summer is over! It went by so fast, yet was so relaxing. With the Fall, comes lots of new activities--including preschool. Jackson was so excited and READY to get back to school (so was Mommy). This year, Jackson is attending Happy Harbour for his 2nd year. He is in the 4 year old class, 3 days a week, Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday. He is a PENGUIN!

Meet Your Teacher
We attended Meet-Your-Teacher last Friday. We dropped Everson off with Memaw, and focused all our attention on Jackson as he ventured into his new classroom. And it is super cool!

They have a wickedly cool art center--and it changes theme once a week. It's FILLED with supplies and Jackson freaked out when he saw it! "Momma! LOOK! Oh! Look at all this cool stuff! Maybe we get to play at this everyday!"

From the art center, you turn, and there is the class fish. Yup! A fish! And one of the jobs on the job chart is Fish Feeder. Jackson says he can't wait to be the Fish Feeder!

Next on the circle of centers is the Reading Nook--that has the cutest little blue couch. It's decorated in jungle--and it's so cute!

After the Reading Nook, is the lunch cart and the backpack hooks. Last year, we would walk the kids in and put their stuff up for them (the hooks were high). This year, they are required to be dropped at the door, and proceed in to find their hook and drop their lunch on the cart. Very independent. And, if you know Jackson, he is MR Independent, so he took to that right away!

They have tables (like last year) where they have stations set up with different activities. On MYT day, they had a bucket of crayons and paper covering the table. Jackson told his new teacher that he could write his name and that he knew all his letters. "Want me to show you? Here. I'll write my name for you." And he did. And he was very proud of himself! Then he sat and colored a picture....to which Jackson's sub teacher from last year, Miss Lacy (who has a daughter in our class) told his teacher "Jackson is VERY artistic. He is great at coloring in the lines and creating things. Just don't rush him. He gets upset when he's rushed. He's very task oriented! And he get mad at the other kids for just scribbling!" Ha! So true!

Ms. Diane and Ms. Gail are fabulous. I truly loved them from the moment we met them. They have been teaching together for 11 years, together, in this classroom. They are completely in-sync. I'm so excited!

Lastly, they have a play kitchen for all the kids! It has EVERYTHING! Blenders, coffee pots, milk jugs, fruit, spatulas, frying pans...you name it, they have it! And all the kids from last year (there are 5 from the Starfish class: Ryan, Jackson, Reed, Lindsay, Piper) ended the day just playing in the kitchen! They get along so great.

First Day of School
We were up pretty early on the first day. Everyone got a great night sleep (including Mommy and Everson!) and were in happy moods from the start! After getting dressed, teeth brushed, camera ready, shoes on, we (including Daddy who worked from home this morning so he could go to school with us!) headed downstairs for breakfast. Jackson is not a breakfast eater. Never has been. Neither am I. So I bought him some Nutrigrain bars so he would have SOMETHING in his stomach, and he actually ate it, along with an entire glass of Sunny-D. I was impressed. [I have fixed Jackson TONS of stuff for breakfast--french toast, pancakes, eggs, sausage biscuits, cereal...he'll eat 2 bites, and be over it, if that. And, I've been trying to pick my battles with him. He is super headstrong, and so am I, so we clash alot lately. Fighting over him eating breakfast is not something I fight him on....]

After breakfast, we walked outside to take some pictures. It is MUGGY today, and my lens fogged up the SECOND we walked outside. Great. So my shots are a little fuzzy (not to mention, I need a new 50mm b/c mine is going soft...oh well, deal with it!)

We had gotten ready very efficiently, and we were actually very early. So, we called Memaw and stopped at her house on the way to school so she could get a family shot of the 4 of us. After kisses and mints, we packed up and were off for our 1st day of 4 year old preschool!

Jackson walked right in, and without even looking back, headed to the lunch cart, hung his backpack, and then to the activity table to start on his peg board. So mature, so independent....no, I didn't cry. But I wanted to! To be honest, it wasn't as exciting as it was last year. It was cramped and chaotic, and we said our good byes, and left. Huh! Go figure.

Outside--like last year!

Waiting for the door to open!

We saw Ms Melissa his music teacher in the hall--we LOVE her!!

He got to be the Pledge Helper today

I'm happy for him that he is growing up. I'm sad, but I'm proud at how mature he is and how he is taking to new situations. he introduced himself to a boy across from his at the table, Gavin. He asked another little boy, Alex, who was being very shy and clingy to his Mom if he would like to come sit by him at the table (very sweet!). He's a little man. Not a baby...not a toddler...a little man with an old soul. Always has been. And I love him dearly!

Boys of Summer

2010-08-25T13:53:00.000-07:00

We opened the pool the beginning of May, and have been swimming nearly every day since! Jackson took to the water like a fish (again!) We still used his Puddle Jumper in the beginning, but he swims and dives and rushes to the bottom for rings with no trouble. He's a full on swimmer!

Everson likes to spend time in the water, too, but mostly he just hangs in his pack n play under the patio! And he's very content doing so! It's been a very relaxing, enjoyable summer!

These were all taken on the first day of the "swim summer!"

I Love my Lil Bro'

2010-08-24T23:13:00.001-07:00

Jackson enjoys showing me how he can climb into Everson's and play. Now, if he could just do that in the middle of the night and calm him down so Mommy can get a full night's sleep!

Easter Prep 2010

2010-08-24T18:25:00.000-07:00

It is tradition, that we die Easter eggs at GG's. I died Easter eggs at MY GG's house (GG Dutch) every year, and it will be no different for my kiddos! Jackson loves to color eggs. He's very particular about the order of the colors, the process, everything! Quite the engineer if you ask me!

Easter 2010

2010-08-24T18:21:00.000-07:00

I had the studio set up at MeMaw's house for Everson's 6 month portraits, and thought I would get a few shots of the boys in their Easter outfits...I actually like how they turned out. Not bad!

And I grabbed these while Jackson was watching me get some extra shots of Everson...

Love this Kid!

Pirate Party

2010-08-24T17:29:00.000-07:00

Jackson's best friend from Happy Harbour is Ryan Hall. He loves all of this friends from class, but if you ask who his best friend is, he will always respond, "Ryan H." Ryan turned 4 in April, and his mom had a "Pirate Party"! If you know the boys, you know that during the second semester of school, they played pirates ALL THE TIME at recess. It was their thing. So it seemed only appropriate that SOMEONE have a pirate party!

The invitation were adorable--burnt map paper in a small glass bottle with sand in the bottom. They said "dress in pirate attire, or walk the plank!" Ryan had just gotten back from Disney World, where he got a Pirates of the Carribean costume--so cute!

So I set out on a mission to find a cute pirate costume. It's not like it wasn't something he would wear often. Hell, we'd have more playdates that they could dress up for, right?! I googled it, and Party City popped up. And sure enough, our Party City had a size 4 costume, and for a great price--$9.99!! Add a $2.00 eye patch w/earring, and a $2.00 sword, and you have yourself a great little get up!

I called Jackson's other best friend, his girlfriend Piper's mom, and told her about a find! She went out that morning, too, and bought the same one!

The party was a huge hit! Great cake, and an outdoor, simple party at the park where the kids could run around a beat each other with swords! Awesome! Jackson and Ryan and Piper had a blast!

Our Motley Crew!!

Jackson, Ryan, and Piper

Where the HELL have you BEEN?!

2010-08-24T14:14:00.000-07:00

That's what everyone keeps asking us! Did you die?! Did your computer break? ....

sadly...no! We've just been busy. And frankly, photography free! I haven't taken many pictures of my children. And I've had writers block. And I've been at the pool chillaxin'....and honestly, by the time I get two kids up in the morning, fed, dressed, diapers changed, entertained, the house cleaned, errands ran, bills paid, laundry done, dinner cooked (or bought), kids fed again, kids bathed and put the bed, MOMMY'S TIRED!! :)

But, we're BACK! And I have SOOO much to blog--5 months worth!! All the folders of images are just sitting on my computer desktop, taunting me every time I log in to check email of Facebook (before Everson starts climbing up my leg, or Jackson starts coloring on ANYTHING PAPER in my office....)

If you are on Facebook, I'll be posting each time I blog, or if you are not on Facebook, you can subscribe the blogs by clicking on the RRS button at the bottom! Let me know if you need any help with that!

We now return to REGULARLY SCHEDULED blog posts.....

Soccer--The Big Game

2010-06-16T19:39:00.000-07:00

Soccer season has come to an end--8 whole weeks have flown by! Jackson started his last game with a big warm up. We got their early so that he could practice dribbling and shooting with Daddy-O. Once the game started, it was a free for all. Most of the kids don't know, or understand, the game of soccer. They learned the basics, but hey, they are 3 and 4. Jackson, on the other hand, knows that you are supposed to pass the ball and kick to score....so needless to say, he was frustrated with the other kids b/c "All thems is doing is running around and kicking each other and not even passing the ball. Uhhhg!" But once he got a hold of the ball, he was a maniac! He scored one of the first goals, and he was tooooo excited!

After his first goal, he took a turn being the goalie. The game was actually the parents vs the kiddos, so Daddy-O was playing, too. Earlier in the game, he had taken a shot on the goalie, and wouldn't you know, the kid looked over at his parents and was waving at them right as Adam kicked it! Score one for the parents!! BOOOO!!! About 2 minutes later, Adam kicked the ball from the opposite goal, and the little girl in the goal that time, turned her back, and in went another goal! Score two for the parents! BOOOOO!! Bad Daddy-O!

So when it was Jackson's turn, Adam thought "what the hell, what's one more gonna hurt?"...and he kicked it pretty hard at Jack. Well, he under-estimated his son! He stopped it!! YAY JACKSON!! Everyone went nuts!! :) It was a great shot and FINALLY someone had stopped that mean guy from scoring again! WOO HOO!!

Obviously, the Dragon Butterflies won! Everyone got their medals, and then we did our weekly ritual of CiCi's pizza afterwards.

Soccer

2010-04-05T21:28:00.000-07:00

Jackson started soccer a few weeks back-and he LOVES it!! And not suprising? He's good at it! He's the only kid on the team that kicks the ball with the inside of his foot. And he plays the ENTIRE time! Some of the other kids lose interest or run around chasing after balls--Jackson stays within the goal range, and just goes back and forth kicking balls into the goal. He's fast--we've known that forever! He and the coach lead the team in the racing drills--it's funny to see his short little legs move so fast! I'm also shocked at his control of the ball. He can kick it and keep it in front of him...it doesn't go wild like most of the kids! His favorite part of practice? Playing keep away from Daddy-O, then switching turns, and trying to steal the ball from Daddy-O!

The other day at practice, the coach, Coach Joseph, had the team play red light/green light at the end for fun. He told all the kids to be an animal, and to growl like their animal as loud as they could when he said green light. Jackson chose to be a bunny (for Easter). After the first "run" (as Jackson hopped) Coach Joseph yelled, "Oh, come on! You can be louder than that! I wanna hear you!" Jackson, from the back of the pack, raised his hand and yelled, "Well! I can't be loud! I'm a bunny! They don't make noise!" You should have SEEN the reaction from the parents! Oh, my sweet, logical boy!

Tolen

2010-03-10T20:55:00.000-08:00

My cousin Todd and his wife Noley live in Indiana. We really only get to see them when one of the crazy Schroer's gets married! Simply because SOMEONE in our family has gotten married (or had an 85th birthday!) every year for the past 5 years! Todd and Noley have a little boy named Tolen who is 3 like Jackson. They came to visit and we had a great time!

The boys had the most fun! They played, ran around, screamed, drank milk, played with cars and trains and big wheels, rode rides, saw fish and sharks and sea horses and PENGUINS, got to touch anemones, cheered at pig races (and wore pig noses), learned what Mutten Busten was all about, drank ICEEs, read books, wrestled (lovely), wore cowboy boots, watched the pizza guy throw dough and make pepperoni pizza, kissed all over Everson, slid down a HUGE slide with their grandpa's....seriously, what the heck did they NOT do!?!

And the entire time, poor Everson just watched, taking it all in....someday baby, someday....Mom has more pictures on Facebook (I was too busy chasing Jackson and pushing Ev in the stroller to take a ton of pictures during the 2 days!)

My Lil Buckeroo

2010-03-01T21:50:00.001-08:00

This week, we are all heading to the rodeo to see Dirks Bentley. It's also Rodeo Week at Happy Harbour, so of course, Jackson needs some cool cowboy duds. I called Memaw to see if she wanted to tag along, so we picked her up and ran up to Cavendar's. I got Jackson a new pair of black cowboy boots, 2 pearlsnap shirts, and a cowboy hat! Memaw thought the belt with the buckle was cute, so she got him that to round out the whole outfit! I think he's a CUTE lil cowboy! Check out his cute butt in those jeans!! More pictures to come after the rodeo!!

Think he looks much like his Daddy-O in this one?! Check out how he's standing! So Adam!

Dr. Seuss Week!!

2010-02-23T21:12:00.001-08:00

This week is Dr. Seuss week at Happy Harbour! They sent a note home that this week on Thursday, they would need to wear silly socks to school. Over the weekend, while at my favorite store, I found Dr. Seuss t-shirts! What are the odds that it would be Dr. Seuss week and I'd find shirts for him to wear?! So I bought one for each day! AND, on top of that, Memaw and Papaw went on a car rally trip this past weekend, and while shopping at a cutesy little shop, Memaw found a Dr. Seuss bag and pocket book! Needless to say, he's been pretty excited and could not wait for school this morning!

I picked him up today, and asked him what I always do, "Did you have fun today?" "Yeah." "Did you play with anyone new today?" "No, just the Ryans and Piper." "Did you do anything new today?" "Yeah, we ate green eggs and ham. And guess what? I like them. Yup yup I do!" After reading the preview week calendar, I saw that green eggs and ham was their snack today.

Another funny story. Jackson has a pair of shoes that he wears with no socks. And they make his feet smell terrible. But, he still wears them with no socks. I put baby powder in them every time, and it doesn't help! Just ask Brian Lewis (long story). So Jackson wore those shoes yesterday. And then refused to take a bath last night. He told me "I'm not hopping in the bath tub, and I'm not hopping in the shower." Not snotty, just matter of fact. Fine. "Then the kids at school will call you the sticky feet kid." "Momma, I put just my feet in the tub and wash them that way." You are correct. But did we remember to do that last night? No. This morning? No. Oh well, it's not like they are going to be taking their shoes off at school, right? WRONG! It's was The Foot Book day and they did an art project where the teacher took their shoe and sock off of one foot, painted it, had them step on something, and put their shoe back on. uhhhg. Seriously?! The one time I let my kid go without a bath, WITH stinky feet, is the one day I get caught. Damn it! I'll be sending an apology note, along with some air freshener to school on Thursday!

Good Boy Chart

2010-02-23T19:24:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago, Jackson managed to get himself put in timeout at school. Yup. My angel was in timeout. And I was pissed. Apparently, him and "the Ryans" (there are two and they all hang out together) were too rowdy and wouldn't calm down, or listen, so they all went to timeout.

This is something that has been going on for a while at our house--being wild, not listening the first time, talking back, telling me "NO!", using silly words (that is the worst of it--I hate it! I'd rather him say "ass" then "Fart head! Poop!! Stupid!" AHH!! Drives me up a freaking wall!!), and just all around being a brat. And I use the word brat because I HATE bratty kids. Hate them. And some bratty kids are that way because their parents don't discipline them...you know the kind. "So-and-so....that's not nice. Please don't do that....so-and-so, I said stop, ha ha ha....he's just a silly boy! He just never listens!"...in that annoying sing-songy voice. Really? He won't listen? Raise your voice a little...put him in timeout...smack his ass!

I've never been a sing-songy parent. Ask anyone. I'm pretty hard on Jackson. Timeouts are no longer working, spanking doesn't do anything but force him to stick his tongue out and roll his eyes (yup. quite the attitude) and he's apparently no longer afraid of my loud voice, because I get louder, and he tunes me out.

So, I had to go back to the drawing board. A chart was the only thing that made sense. Praise praise praise the good, and the bad will weed itself out. And so far, it's worked like a charm. And don't get me wrong, every kid is different, this is just something that works for us because Jackson is a PLEASER. If he does something that makes you praise him and tell him he's the best, he's all for it! Now, if it's something he's not good at, he wants no part of it! (kinda like his momma! If I'm not good at something, I quit doing it! Fortunately, I'm good at most things! HA LOL!!! *insert sarcastic pat on the back!*)

I made a chart with 30 squares. And Jackson and I sat at the table and had chat about what makes mommy mad. HE had to be the one to tell me what makes me made. HE had to think about all the times he's been yelled at....and this is what he came up with:

--when I say bad words
--when I don't sit and eat my dinner
--when I don't pick up my toys
--when I'm silly and yell and scream
--when I don't listen
(and I threw in the "I will brush my teeth everyday, b/c this is something that he ALWAYS does, so I knew he would ALWAYS get that sticker, even on a bad day! Ah! Psycology!)

So the squares were formed. And as a reward, it just so happened that the day before, he'd been watching Disney channel and a commercial for some "new cool toy!" came on and he looked up and me and said "Buy that for me." Excuse me? NO. You have to EARN it. You don't just get toys because you want them. If that were the case, Mommy would have had her Lexus 470 a long time ago. So, he had to EARN the stars, and as a reward for earning and being good, he could pick out one toy of his choice (obviously within reason) So the first week, it would be a Hot Wheels Color Splash that he saw on TV (it was $15.00).

Again, there are 30 squares on the chart (Monday-Friday). It's not reasonable to require him to get all 30 stars right off the bat. We had to work up to that. So I came up with 18. And sure enough, he got his 18 stars that first week. And he got his Color Splash. Last week, he fell short, at 16 stars. He didn't get a toy. But he earned a few EXTRA stickers for being extra special to his brother, and using his manners in saying Thank You and I love you without being prompted. Again, praise the positive. And it's working. Like a charm!

I said to my mom "I finally have my angel baby back!" Mom repeated this to him the other day "Jackson, I'm so happy we finally have our angel boy back!"....and he looked right up at her and said with a straight face "...but not for long." Uh, we'll see about that.

Funny thing: it's the age. Jackson is not the ONLY 3 year old I know that is pushing buttons. The kids in his class are ALL doing it. Believe me, I've asked around. It's like a switch turned and suddenly he had a HUGE attitude. We SAILED through the two's without a stitch of terrible, but the trying threes? We are SOOOO there. So much so, that he hurt my feelings one day by telling me "I don't like you anymore." WTF? You aren't supposed to say that til puberty! I'll keep you all posted on the progress....

Jackson helped me make the entire thing--can you tell? It's orange!

These stars are Post-its. Fabulous!

Everson Loves Jackson

2010-02-23T19:17:00.000-08:00

These are the best baby kisses you will ever get...and the minute Jackson sticks his cheek out, Everson gets him every time!

Just the Two of Us and Valentine's Cake

2010-02-23T18:49:00.000-08:00

Jackson and I took a trip to Target the other day, sans Everson. Actually, we had a "just mommy and me" day. Jackson's school offered a play day the Friday before Valentine's day. They had jumping things and snacks and chapel and songs and games...it was going to FUN!! I asked Jackson if he wanted to go, and he said, "yeah, I want to, but do we have to take Ev?" That came out of left field! He's never wanted to leave Everson--ever! But, apparently, he just wanted some Mommy time, and I can't blame him--I was wanting some Jack Jack time too. I sometimes miss our fun adventures, just the two of us! So I called Mom and asked if she would watch Everson--which of course she jumped at! It is only the 2nd time I've left him with her. Once with Daddy all day when I was shooting a wedding, and once with Mom when Adam's dad was in the hospital (I was not about to take a baby to MHH!). Any other time, he's stuck with me and the boob!

I fed Ev just before we left, dropped him off, and Jackson and I were out for the day! We met up with some friends at the playday (Jackson's lil girlfriend Piper and her momma were there!). As we were leaving, we got a call from Memaw that Everson was refusing a bottle. Refusing, as in, you won't get that nipple near me! NO YOU WON'T! She tried every kind of bottle we have: Dr. Brown's, Avent, Medela....he wasn't having it. So I told Jackson we had to go and quickly feed Everson, and then we'd continue with our day.

After our little pit stop, we headed over to Chick-fil-A to meet up with Piper and Kathy again. The kids ate all their lunch and then played for about 30 minutes. After a quick phone check in to Memaw again, Jackson and I went to the one place that will always be home for us: TARGET!! We spent FOREVER wandering the aisles like we used to! We spent about 20 minutes just in the dollar junk. This is where we found a great Heart-shaped cake pan and sprinkles! YAY! From there, we went down EVERY aisle in the toy department and said "OOHHH! I want that! Will you buy me this?!" to just about everything we played with. In the car on the way home, he told me he missed Ev. "But Momma, I like it when it's just me and you, and me and you. That okay?" "Jackson, anytime you want it to just be me and you, you let me know. You just have to tell me! I love spending days with just me and you like we used to!" "Me too...like we used to!"

So later in the week, we made a strawberry cake with white icing, and I let Jackson decorate it with sprinkles....and it turned out FABULOUS. That cake had more meaning than anyone will know....

Snapshot

2010-02-23T18:38:00.001-08:00

Memaw stopped by the other day on her way home from...somewhere. I don't remember now. We had spiked Jackson's hair for Super Bowl Sunday (it was too cute! He NEVER wants it spiked, so it was a treat!) and he must have liked it because he wanted it spiked again the next day. Mommy apparently didn't do it as well as Daddy-O did, but Mommy only has about 5 minutes in the morning to get Jackson's teeth brushed and his hair done, while Daddy-O on the other hand, takes 20 minutes of precious time to spike his hair "just right!" That's the difference between Mommy's and Daddy's. Mommy's understand that there are only so many minutes in the day, and every one counts for SOMETHING (laundry, vacuuming, cooking, changing diapers, putting on mascara, picking up underwear, flushing toilets that someone forgot to flush, unloading dishwashers...you get the point!) Memaw mentioned that she needed a new picture of Jack Jack for her frame in her kitchen; back when Jackson was just a wee-one, we changed out her frame every month. We have all the images labeled with what month he was....but that ended when he realized that he didn't like the camera any more! So these were some quick shots we got before he decided he STILL hated the camera....until the other day (see post below!)

Everson watching and learning....well, kinda!

I told you they were quick....he doesn't cooperate well with the camera these days...hence no Christmas card this year!

Super Bowl

2010-02-23T18:31:00.000-08:00

On Super Bowl Sunday, we had a few friends over and laid low. Honestly, I just wanted a night in, to watch the game, and actually SEE and HEAR the commercials! And the ONE TIME we stay in for the commericals, they SUCK! Damn Economy! Really...there was not a single one that I even liked. Okay, the Doritos commercials where good, and the Volkswagen one was pretty good too, but the rest were awful! But, Jackson's best dudes were there, and that's all that matters:

"Momma, can I have a cupcake?"
"Sure."
"Okay, I just like the frosting...."

...and he licked everything from the top!

Everson was all dressed up from cousin Ashley's babyshower

Captain Jeff
His best friend, Brian Lewis (brian woowis--it never gets old!)

Little Super Model

2010-02-23T18:13:00.000-08:00

I couple of weekends ago, I did a photo shoot at the house with a little boy names Colton. During the shoot, Jackson and Everson stayed upstairs with Aunt Tacey. When we were all done, and I was home again, Jackson came down and asked me "Momma, why you go out and take pictures of THOSE little boys, and don't take any pictures of me?" Well!!! I was THRILLED! Because, you see, little man, the reason I have not taken pictures of you is because 1) You look down or away from my camera and 2)You make the dumbest faces on purpose and it FRUSTRATES me to no end! So when little man said he wanted to go on a real photoshoot, I jumped at the chance! We went upstairs and threw on some clothes, and took off! We went to some grassy bushes that I had seen and wanted to go to for a while now (and I knew his clothes would work great against that backdrop) and to the old barn. He STILL wants to go to the railroad tracks, but the weather has been so bad...

During our little excursion, he told me "I'm really good at this, so you should bring me every time. Okay? Okay Mom? That's be a good idea, huh?!" I love this kid!!

Videos Posted

2010-01-21T18:39:00.000-08:00

I've added videos to the blog post below...you'll have to scroll down to see all of them! The Christmas ones are STILL hillarious to me, and I've seen them about 5 times! :) Enjoy!

Extreme Makeover Home Edition

2010-01-19T21:37:00.001-08:00

As some of you know, Extreme Makeover Home Edition came to our little suburb. After Ike, we had some extreme devastation. Fortunately, majority of our area had insurance, floor insurance, and some cushion to bounce back. But others were not so fortunate...and some had their homes completely wiped out. Here is part of there story from the Blu Shield Extreme.com website:

In 23 years of marriage, Larry, 40 and Melissa, 40; have fostered over 85 children that other adoption agencies were not able to place. They have four biological children and nine adopted children. They include Chris (23,), Michael (21), Jose (20), Mikala (18), Paul (14), Faith (13), Hope (9), Justin (8), Jacob (4), Grace (4), Jeremiah (23 months), Mercy (22 months) and Cody (19) currently serving in the Marine Corps in Afghanistan. During the last 12 years, they have fostered approximately 85 children, but decided to start adopting after seeing that so many were not being placed in homes.

Due to water damage from Hurricane Ike, the Beach family home is unlivable and they are residing in a travel trailer on their property. Therefore, they have been unable to adopt additional children. But all that is about to change!! www.blushieldextreme.com

They deserved a home. A LARGE home!!

Some of my friends had mentioned that they saw Ty at the gym! Some people saw the cast out and about eating/working etc. Many of our close friends volunteered (a few of nearly 4000 volunteers over the past week!) and worked 'round the clock!

Adam delivered all the vehicles to the cast/crew! That was pretty cool! And the night that everyone got into town, we saw the bus driving down South Shore Blvd! Jackson was super excited! And he kept asking if we were going to see them "Move that bus!"

Reveal day was on Thursday. Like any other television show, they film segments and then splice them together in post-production. I was told that reveal would be around 2pm-4pm. Then I heard 4pm. Then I heard 6pm. I didn't hear any of the later times til we were ALREADY OUT THERE! IN THE RAIN!

I let Jackson stay home from school that day so that I would have time to get him dressed and Everson dropped off (for what I thought would be about 2 hours and one reserve of milk--wrong!) because it was just too cold to have him outside. Jackson and I grabbed some Chick-fil-A on our way down there (hmmm....milkshakes!) and headed to Kemah to park. Even though we live only a mile, we still have to ride the spectator bus to and from there. Jackson was super excited to ride on a school bus. I don't think he's ever been on one! I can't remember...hmmm...either way, he was sooooo happy!! We got there and there was already a mob of folks--seriously, like a million people. It wasn't raining at that point, and it wasn't even really cold. I thought it might get that way, so Jackson had on long-johns, a long sleeved shirt, a sweat, and his Jackson....oh, and hat and mittens! And I brought an umbrella just in case! Thank goodness I did! We ended up getting pushed back and moved around and finally, we found a spot (not in camera view) under a tree. At the time, I thought, "great, this tree is going to drive me nuts standing here for 2 hours." But then in started to sprinkle....then RAIN....and I had my umbrella up in the tree branches and we were warm and dry!! WOO HOO!! At one point, Jackson had to pee--the lady next to us said, "just let him pee on the tree! It's fine!" and a guy on the other side turned his back to block the view of others--and yes, my child peed on the "set" of Extreme Home Makeover! HA!!

We saw some friends from school--Jackson and Mimi are in the same class! So we jumped the fence and ran over to hang out with them for the moving of the bus! As we're moving, here comes a white. Out jumps a pretty girl and she walks off. THEN, AFTER she's past us, I realize it's Jessica Alba! I was about 10 feet from her, camera in hand, and had no clue! DAMN IT!! We were too far away to see anyone else from the crew :( BOO!

But when it was time, we were READY!! "BUS DRIVER!!! MOVE THAT BUS!! MOVE THAT BUS!! MOVE THAT BUS!!!" ......and there it went....and then in stopped....backed up....and got ready to do it all over again! HA! Jackson was confused. So was the crowd. The family was not there. It was all staged. Again, filming in segments! As soon as that bus took off the first time, we ran for OUR bus to take us back to the car. Remember the rain? Oh, the MUD!! We tramped through the mud and Jackson had a BLAST!! Who knew he loved mud?! I've never let him play in it, but hey, it was a special day and Mommy was in heels. There was no getting around it--she we just ran and sloshed....we were a mess!! :)

The house is beautiful. It's very beachy! Very appropriate! I have video of the bus moving...I'll post that tomorrow! I'm heading to bed!

New Year's Day

2010-01-19T20:52:00.000-08:00

After staying in our jammies and having, really, an awful week with everyone being sick, we needed to get out! Mom and Dad called in the morning and asked if we wanted to go bowling and then maybe an early dinner. Of course, we said yes! We hadn't seen them, or anyone, for 5 days....I was tired of staring at walls!!

Jackson had a blast, obviously. This kid loves bowling. He loves bowling, golfing, t-ball, and Wii.

We bowled. Nothing more than that. One game. Then we ate at Cheddar's (one of my fav places for some reason!) and then Adam and Dad wanted to watch Transformers and GI Joe, so we stopped at Red Box on the way home and grabbed some movies....that's all!

I want a 'mote control boat and a gator....

2010-01-19T15:38:00.000-08:00

...and that's what Santa brought him!! :) I have a video to post, too, of him on Christmas morning coming down the stairs, and one of him riding through the front yard! But he was ONE EXCITED little boy! Soo happy that Santa thought he was good this year! As soon as we had come down and he had seen all of his toys, he was READY to get out and play in the yard! But first, Jackson had to see what Everson got. And being the sweet little boy that he is, he made sure that Ev saw each and every gift and got to play with them too! All before running upstairs to change into his "john deer clothes". He opened his stocking, too, to find batteries. Lots and lots of batteries and some bath tub paints. When I asked him later, what his fav gift from Santa was, he said "I just love those paints, Momma." Really?!!?! Are you freaking kidding me?! That gator cost a bundle and you lloooovvveee the bath paints that cost Santa $2.99? Then he remembered the gator and said, "oh, yeah....my gator is the best!" Damn right it is!!!

Each of the boys got 3 toys. Why?

1) because the wise men brought 3 gifts to baby Jesus.
2) Jackson asked for really expensive stuff this year
3) We knew that the boys would get tons of stuff from everyone else who loves them!!

Memaw, Papaw, Aunt Stacey and GG came over for breakfast--they brought sausage burritos--and played while Adam and I finished packing the car for Dallas. It was a fun morning!!

Sick Day...Boo

2010-01-19T12:25:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas was a nightmare. It was so bad, that we really were not in the Christmas spirit. At all. Jackson was sick with a terrible cold....hard breathing, stuffy/runny nose, fever, cough...the works. That was Sunday and Monday before Christmas. For a few days straight, I gave him Tylenol meds and coated his body with Vicks and put the humidifier in his room, and it seemed to help. I wanted him to get lots of rest, so I told him that he couldn't get out of bed and had to drink LOTS and LOTS of water (Roaring Water Capri Suns were doing the trick!) On one of the days, Jackson wants to color, but again, he wasn't allowed out of bed, and also my room, b/c that's where the warm mist machine was full of Vicks meds! You MUST NOT LEAVE THIS ROOM!!

So I set up a "desk" on my bed, with a vinyl table cloth to cover my bedspread. We spent the ENTIRE day sitting and watching iCarly, Phineas and Ferb, and Wizards of Waverly Place while coloring and talking to Everson (who was on the other side of the room, away from his brother--unfortunately, we live under the same roof, so of course, he got sick too.)

So happy! Little did we know that he would be SUPER sick in about 26 hours...

The next day, after being stuck IN the house sick, and with no idea that Christmas was in 2 days, we needed to get OUT, so I called my family and we took the boys out to see Christmas lights and then get ice cream. That was about all the Christmas we were having that week.

On Christmas Eve day, we took the boys to see Dr. Perona, b/c Jackson was not getting any better, and Everson woke up that morning with a stuffy nose and a horrible cough. She told us it was just viral and to let it run it's course. She also said to watch the baby closely, and if he developed a fever or got worse, to call or take him to the emergency room. Apparently, the ER the night before had seen 83 cases of RSV. Great.

Christmas morning, Jackson slept. He didn't even wake up excited to see what Santa brought, because he was feeling so bad. Mommy and Daddy were EXHAUSTED too. We were up ALL NIGHT with Everson. He developed a fever over night....uhhhg. He was so uncomfortable, he couldn't breath through his nose, he was FULL of gas....oh! It was so sad. He had NEVER cried before this, we'd NEVER seen him cry real tears...it was heartbreaking. Mommy cried a few times that night too. He wouldn't nurse because he was so miserable. We called Dr. Perona first thing that morning, and she said to give him Tylenol and watch him through the rest of the day, and if after 2 rounds of Tylenol/Motrin, the fever didn't break, take him in. Fortunately, his fever broke, and he calmed down and became more comfortable around 8:30am...good Lord we were tired, though!

Mommy just really hates sick babies with fevers. I'll say it again: I can handle vomiting and coughs and diarrhea, but I HATE fevers!!

Moody Gardens Christmas Lights

2010-01-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

My Dad got us tickets to the Moody Garden Festival of Lights this year. We knew it was going to be cold, so we bundled up the boys, and headed down for dinner and lights! Dad treated us to a GREAT dinner at Salsa's on the seawall (we love that place!) After dinner, we grabbed the double sit and stand stroller (we hadn't used it yet, and it was GREAT!) and headed in to see the lights!

It's a pretty long trail of lights. Jackson enjoyed most of it, but I had told him before we left the house that they might have ice skating. Well, that's all he talked about the ENTIRE time we were heading down there, and once we got there, that's all he wanted to find! We found it, but it was PACKED. So we finished the light tour, and then headed back to the tent to find out how much our skates were ($5.00/person) and then see if they had them small enough for him.

Luckily for him, they did! Mommy, Daddy-O, and Jackson got to have a BLAST on the ice! Jackson did SOOO good! He was actually able to stay up on the skates, but didn't want us to let go of him. He could balance on his own, just couldn't "go" on his own. After about 20 minutes, Mommy's back was hurting from bending over to hold him AND try and skate. So we called it a night!

Thanks PaPaw for a great "Christmas-y" adventure!

Happy Harbour Christmas Program 2009

2009-12-22T10:32:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, Jackson's preschool had their annual "Pajama Party for Baby Jesus!" Christmas Program! It was sooo cute!! Well, to me it was. For weeks, we've seen Jackson singing along to Little Drummer Boy, and doing action with the song...he was VERY excited about it!

A few weeks ago, we were asked to bring in coffee cans with handles. I mentioned this to my mom one day (because I don't drink that much coffee and I wasn't about to go out and BUY a huge tub just for that!) and she said, "Aren't you lucky? We just threw one away this morning. Here!" It was a blue Maxwell House tub. When we took it in to Miss Melissa, I noticed that almost everyone else had brought in red Folgers tubs, but I know it wouldn't matter, b/c they weren't going to be using ALL of the tubs--there were a TON! But apparently, my super observant, O.C.D. child noticed that HE brought in a BLUE tub. And since that day, he always asked for that blue tub--the one and only blue tub in the bag! One day during practice, Jackson was handed a red tub. He told Miss Melissa, "This one isn't mine. Mine is blue. I need my blue drum." That afternoon, Jackson came home from school upset b/c he didn't get his blue drum! At this point, I had no idea what he was talking about. But the day of the program, Miss Melissa filled us in, as she was darting past us to go get Jackson's blue drum!!

Notice in the video, she personally hands his drum to him! We LOVE LOVE LOVE the music teachers at his school--they are soo sweet and they love my kid, so that makes them even more special to me! Well, all of Jackson's teachers love on him, and it calms my heart knowing that he's not only learning, he's being nurtured and cared deeply about at the same time. I LOVE his school!! I can't say enough wonderful things about the sweet sweet ladies!

Jackson was a hoot during the show--his hat kept falling over his eyes, and the teachers would fix it...and he would pull it back down! You'll see it all in the video! And then at the end of the first song, he really didn't know where to put that big drum! It didn't fit on his lap, so he sets it to the side, then on the floor....as his Momma, I thought it was hysterical! Anyone else might just look at it and say, "what is that kid in the back doing?" but you have to know Jackson!! :)

After the 3yr olds were done, they were to sit and watch the 4 yr olds sing their 3 songs...and Jackson participated in their program as well! HA!! :)

Everson slept through the ENTIRE program!

He sees you when you're sleeping...

Jackson and Miss Melissa

Jackson and his best friend Ryan

Jackson and his best friends Ryan + Reed

Jackson + James

Jackson being silly with his hat...

Music Teacher Miss Kim

Music Teacher Miss Melissa

Email from Santa

2009-12-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

Jackson was a LUCKY little boy today! He got the COOLEST email from SANTA!!

Video Email from Santa

http://portablenorthpole.tv/watch/7f738da807c7f831fab10feb1d9a8909

And Mommy caught a video clip of Jackson watching it:

Jackson's Redition of Joy to the World

2009-12-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

Joy to the World
it's the lord come true
let Ert a-ceive the King

Let every Part
A-paired Him Room

and heaven and nature sing
and heaven and nature sing

and heaven and nature sing!

St.Nick 2009

2009-12-09T18:18:00.000-08:00

St. Nick is a GREAT tradition...he's come to our house every year:

St. Nick 1st Year
St. Nick 2nd Year

Although this year, we didn't do our Annual St. Nick Movie Night at the Babcock's (it will be this Saturday! Stay tuned!) right on the feast of St. Nick, he did manage to make it to our house! And we were sooo excited!

We had spent the entire weekend being spoiled at GG Jane's because Adam had gone on his annual hunting trip with the El Campo boys. When Daddy got home, he was sick. Early stages of pneumonia. We ate soup at GG's, and then came home to get in our new Christmas jammies and wait for sounds of St. Nick. Around 6:30, we hear rustling outside. When Jackson got to the door, he found a big bag of goodies! Some for him, some for Ev:

Classic Christmas Movie Set for Jackson
(Rudolph, Frosty, Santa Claus comes to Town)
Peek-a-Boo Christmas for Everson
Reindeer Cookies
Snowman Cookies
Snowflake Hot Chocolate Mugs
Candy Cane Hot Cocoa
Marshmellows
M&M Candy Cane
Tic Tacs

Jackson DID make sure that he grabbed Ev before he went to the door, b/c he had to "show him who St. Nick is!" He loves his little bro...

Jackson was looking for St. Nick. I told him that one time when I was little, I walked by the front door at our Wichita house, and I saw 2 green eyes staring in the window. I really do remember it, but I'm sure it's a little more exaggerated in my mind now....but still...so Jack was looking for him!

...everything we need for a GREAT movie night!! All we need now, is the popcorn, and we are all set!! Daddy-O read a letter that St. Nick set for the boys. It told them to be good and to tell Cole (our Elf) he said hello. Also, he asked Jackson to read his book to him....

That night, Mommy and Jack Jack baked one of the boxes of cookies and made 2 hot cocoas to drink while we watched Santa Clause is Coming to Town and Frosty the Snowman...Daddy-O missed out. Poor guy. He was quarantined upstairs in our room! After our movies, Jackson and me and Everson had a slumber party in Jackson's room! Ev was on the floor in his Eddie Bauer sleeper, and Jackson and I snuggled in his bed. It was a great night--but we missed our Daddy-O! Adam went to the doctor the next morning to find that he had EARLY stages of pneumonia--a shot of lasik in the butt, a heavy duty antibiotic, and an inhaler later, and he's good to go! And now, 3 days later, he's allowed to hold his baby again! HA!

We hope to make up for movie night this weekend...it's going to be a HOLIDAY FILLED weekend: Breakfast with Santa, Baking at Memaw's, Holiday light tour in Galveston, ending with Frosty and hot cocoa...life is good!!

Go Huskers!!

2009-12-09T18:07:00.000-08:00

My dad has always been a Huskers fan--rightly so, since that is where he is from and where he went to college. Go Big Red! I grew up in a Husker house. I knew all about football before most little girls should, simply because I watched the games with my dad and had to learn WHY he was screaming at the TV! You catch on fast!!

So when Mom and Dad went back to Nebraska for Grandpa Joe's birthday, we were SOOO excited that they came home with the boys' first Husker gear! Jackson got a Husker shirt, jacket, football, and cup. Everson got a cute t-shirt, but it's a little big, so he's never worn it.

A few weeks later, we get a package in the mail. Grandpa Joe sent Everson the CUTEST onsie: "I'm little, but I'm LOUD! Go BIG RED!" I was soo excited, I busted out the Nebraska flag and got a few quick shots with my little Husker fans...Thanks Grandpa Joe!!

In turn, they are going to make GREAT Christmas gifts, which are in the mail right now....so don't tell him!! :)

Pictures with Santa

2009-12-09T17:44:00.000-08:00

Read all about our day on Everson's blog....

Play Date with Ryan

2009-12-09T14:47:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, Jackson invited his "best friend" Ryan over for a play date! I can't believe he is big enough to have a best friend, AKA Partner in Crime...you'll see what I mean....

Ryan is super cute! He's very polite! He is in Jackson's class at school, AND his Mom is in MOPS with me (and as a bonus, I really like his Mom! I could sit and chat with her for hours!! Also, b/c she loves to hold Everson...and it gives me a break! HA!). When Jackson was having a hard time going to school, we found out that Ryan was in MOPS with us, so we all went to lunch, and had some play dates, and now Jackson has a best friend at school--it's been great!

I discovered VERY quickly what life with two boys will be like someday. Jackson and Ryan went straight upstairs to play...and then the banging and clanging and yelling began!! HA! :)

When they got quiet, I knew they were doing something onery....including Ryan teaching Jackson how to climb on his book case! "Wait right there while I grab my camera, guys! Say Cheese! Now, GET DOWN!! No more climbing, okay?"

Even through all the noise, Everson "played" too...really, playing is great when you are 6 weeks old...I want to "play" too! Everyday! Can Mommy "play" too?! It would really get rid of these bags under my eyes!

They love to play pirates--they play pirates at school each day at recess according to Ms. Nancy. They climb on the jungle gym and then jump off--something they did at my house as well, and it made me a NERVOUS wreck!! But, they are boys, and as long as no one breaks and arm or leg, fine...make all the crazy noise you want to outside...throw all the balls you want to at each other..."WAIT! Not the golf balls!! Don't throw the golf balls!!"

Really, it was a fun afternoon! They entertained themselves for a few hours, and I was able to get some stuff done around the upstairs while they played--I could keep my eye on them by looking over the balcony to make sure they were still alive and not bleeding, then go fold the rest of the laundry...really, it was nice!! :)

Pictures from the Big Game (part 2)

2009-11-24T20:50:00.000-08:00

Stretching...

Jackson's Biggest Fans!!

Changing it up a bit...trying to hit from the right!

Everson was TOASTY warm!!

Waiting patiently for his medal...

GO ROBOT ELEPHANTS!!

Proud Mommy and Daddy--we had SOO much fun watching him play!!

Tin Type in Tennessee

2009-11-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

I finally got a chance to scan the tin-type that we took in Tennessee at Dollywood! Really, getting one of these done was the ONLY thing that I was wanting to do there, and we got them done FIRST thing!! And I'll never forget it!! My family had one done JUST like this of Mom, Dad, Stacey and I and I still think it's the coolest thing...

At the same time, we took the time to get this super cute shot of my Jack Jack! The only time this kid has ever been allowed to hold a gun...and not again for a long time!!

Jackson and Daddy-O

2009-11-18T12:35:00.001-08:00

I found this picture of Jackson and Adam from this summer...I love it!!

School Pictures

2009-11-18T12:33:00.000-08:00

The first of many school pictures to come....

The Big Game

2009-11-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

We have had a BLAST watching Jackson play t-ball this year! Those kids are super cute--some can hit the ball, some can't...some can throw the ball, some can't...some just run around...it's just cute!

Here is how EACH practice/game goes:

1. Throw and catch with Daddy-O
2. Stretch as a team
3. Run and catch the coach for a warm-up
4. Parents in the field, kids line up and take turns batting at 2 stations
5. Kids play a position in the field and the parents bat/hit grounders to the kids while the
coaches teach them where to throw the ball after each hit (that's the funny part! "Tag that
runner! Throw it to first! Don't all run to the ball, play your position!")
6. Throw and catch with Daddy-O again, working on grounders
7. Team huddle and "Robot Elephants!! YAY!!"
8. Snack and drink

A couple weeks back, right after Everson was born, they had team pictures. Apparently, the coach told them to get their individuals taken, and then go sit on the bench. No one but Jackson listened, and all you could hear was Jackson calling from the bench "Hey guys! They told us to sit on the bench! Come on guys! You're not listening! Come over here, guys!" Oh...my child!! And Jackson's individual t-ball pictures came out GREAT!! The team pic, not so much...Jackson is the only one of the bunch with his eyes closed (really, he looks half lit!)...but I love my little t-baller!!

ZiNgO!!

2009-11-03T14:41:00.000-08:00

We have a great love of family game night these days! Last week, we played UNO on family game night: FGN means, No TV, No phones...we eat dinner, we get bathed, we get in our jammies, and we play games til it's time for bed. It helps keep Jackson a little calmer, and now that we have the baby, it's great one on one time with him. A lot of nights, Adam and I just want to unwind and watch our favorite TV show and zone out...the problem is that Jackson then feels like he's getting ignored and then it's REALLY hard to get him to go to sleep. So, we think we've found the solution!!

So yesterday, when Adam called and said he was having a bad day, I said "Come home, and you can eat and go to bed early." About 20 minutes later, I get a text that says "Family Game Night! I'm gonna kick your ass at UNO again!" (when we played UNO with Jackson, I lost every hand--EVERY SINGLE HAND!) And although UNO is GREAT for learning numbers and colors and taking turns, Momma didn't want to lose again!

I packed up the car with 2 kids and Memaw and we headed to Target to find some new games! And we hit the jackpot!!

A friend had suggested Sequence for Kids. We haven't played that one yet, b/c we found a really cool game that sounded like a lot of fun--ZINGO!! It's like Bingo...obviously.

Really, this is a great game for little kids. They learn to site read, image/word recognition, concentration and memory...and this game has won TONS of awards!

So we ate dinner, got our hot cocoa and popcorn ready, and sat at the table for some good family fun! Jackson had a BLAST (because he won...alot...and not on purpose) and Mommy liked the game too, but I LOST every round--AGAIN! I am not good at playing games against Jackson! He's either really lucky or I'm just really unlucky these days!!

Wow...Everson looks really fat here...BAD angle mommy, BAD ANGLE!!

Blue Angels

2009-11-01T18:45:00.000-08:00

This morning, I woke up with no voice. None. I wanted to just stay in bed and try and get over this cold....instead, I got up, called all the fam, and headed out for a short day of fun! The Blue Angels were performing at Ellington, and I really wanted to take Jackson again this year.

GG and Aunt Stacey came over and came along for the fun! Since Aunt Tacey works for Boeing, we were able to park and watch from Tower Two parking lot...and it WAS a great view! We had called to see if Grandma Patty and Grandpa Doug wanted to come down and have dinner with us, and they made it just in time to see the Blue Angels fly too! Jackson LOVED it! And this year, they flew right over us a FEW times...the first time, Jackson was startled, but after that, he would do the "awesome dance" and yell and clap!! It was so fun seeing his amazement over the "cool blue and yellow planes!"

After the air show, we came home and cooked beer can chicken and burgers for all 8 of us--Memaw and Papaw came over straight from their flight from Omaha! The best: Jackson and Everson BOTH got their FIRST Husker shirts!! YAY!!! :) Finally! Some Huskers attire!! :) I'll be getting shots of that soon!!

For now, here are the videos from the air show...

Jackass

2009-11-01T18:16:00.001-08:00

The other night, Adam and I were sitting in the living room, I was on the phone with my mom, Adam was watching TV...we look over, and Jackson is lining up all of this bowling pins. Next thing you know, my kid is using his head as a bowling ball! Nice. So Adam makes the comment, "You look like Johnny Knoxville." Well, from that comment on, it was on!! My classy husband taught my even classier 3 year old the greatest line EVER...

(don't judge me! I really do think it's funny!)

The outtakes were pretty funny too...."Hi I'm Ronny Jackville..." WHO!?!

Halloween 2009

2009-10-31T22:06:00.000-07:00

We have had the BEST Halloween! This has been the first year that we have not left Harwood Dr. (sorry Uncle Russ and Auntie Di--we never made it over your way!) Adam had to work this morning, so the plan was to head to the pumpkin patch as soon as he got off work. Like last year, we go to the pumpkin patch ON Halloween, come home, and carve our pumpkins in the front yard. And this year was no different! Adam and Jackson each picked out their pumpkins and we headed home to cut them up!

Aunt Tacey came over to go to the patch with us so we could get some pictures of all 4 of us in the patch--no such luck! Jackson was being a typical 3 year old who didn't want his picture taken, and it was too breezy out to even get Everson out of the car (poor baby! He just sucks in too much air and then is horribly gassy the rest of the night, so we didn't even attempt to get him out!)

Stacey and I made chili for dinner, and GG Jane came over around 4:00pm. I know I have mentioned many times before that I LOVE our block (we have GREAT neighbors and all the kids are "good" kids), but I really loved it this year. Adam pulled his table and chairs out into the driveway to carve his pumpkins, and all our neighbors made their way over to hang out and chit chat! And a great surprise--our next door neighbors that had moved away in June were back in town with Samual and Benjamin! Jackson had a BLAST playing with all the boys on their bikes! It was hard to pull him away to get dressed for trick-or-treating!

We ate dinner, got dressed, and headed outside, where we were greeted by all those boys again! And after bribing Jackson with Airheads, I got a few pictures, and then, he took off--with the boys! So independant! They all walked off to Mr Blane's house, and Jackson joined the pack and never looked back!! :(

Adam got the honor of trick or treating this year! I stayed home with Aunt Tacey and GG Jane to pass out candy and hold Everson--okay, I'm lying--like I got a chance to hold the baby with those two around! :)

Apparently, Jackson was a HOOT during trick or treating! His line for the night "Trick or Treat! Fill 'er up Please!" At EVERY door!! :) Adam said that he learned really fast that if he stood there with his bag open, they would just keep putting candy in! He came home with a TON of candy! They went ALL around the block--trick or treated for about 2 hours before we saw them again. By the time they got home, ADAM was exhausted!

Jackson had a great time passing out candy--he danced in the driveway for most of the night too! Every year, I make a Halloween CD to blast while we pass out candy, and this year, Jackson enjoyed shaking his booty to the spooky songs!

(video is sideways b/c I couldn't get far enough back to get his entire body! Sorry! Tip your head)

We stayed out til about 8:30, well...until we ran out of candy! Jackson stood at the end of the driveway and told all the kids "We runned out! Sorry!" He came in and told me "All those kids are going to be sad, Momma....we runned out of candy!"

I fed Everson and got him all settled in with GG (Thank you very much for babysitting GG!!) and then Adam and Jackson and I headed down to the Waller's for the Halloween block party. Firepit, food, Smores, all the kiddos playing, all the parent's chatting and drinking--it was a fabulous party! WE were only out for about an hour before I started getting super sleepy. Jackson was tired too, b/c we came home and he said "Can I lay down?! I'm tired!!"

Right now, it's Midnight, both boys are in bed, and I'm FINALLY getting a chance to get the blog updated without 3 weeks going by! It's been a GREAT day!

Gambling with PaPaw

2009-10-30T19:00:00.000-07:00

We love the website www.freeslots.com. Its a free site that has slot machines that you can spend hours mesmerized by! When I worked at NASA, and we had nothing to do, we would get online and just play slots. Well, Mom and Dad are heading to Omaha to suprise my grandpa for his birthday, and they were gearing up for the big gambling trip! Check out Jackson and PaPaw's shirts--they are both in jammie bottoms and undershirts! And both had just gotten out of bed!

Pumpkin Baking with Mommy

2009-10-30T13:34:00.001-07:00

Mar Mar's Party

2009-10-30T13:28:00.000-07:00

Lazy Day in Jammies

2009-10-22T10:42:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, we stayed in our jammies nearly all day. Mommy was super tired from nursing Baby Ev ALL NIGHT, so Jackson and I layed in bed watching cartoons all morning. In the afternoon, the grandmas came over to see us and play and hang out, and in the meantime, I got some shots of the kids--not great shots, b/c it was SOOO overcast, and I wanted to get the natural light....but Jackson still smiled well for me! FINALLY!

T-Ball!!

2009-10-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

We started t-ball! Jackson is part of the "small stuff" league at the YMCA. It's a cute little league--they have "practice" on Tuesdays. They don't really play games yet...it's really just a fundamentals league. It's coach lead, parent taught...the dads play catch with them, play positions with them, etc. There are only 3 kids on the team that really know what they are doing...Jackson, his best bud Ryan (who calls himself Benny from the Sandlot and even wears the LA Dodgers hat to every practice!) and Christian. There are 14 kids on the team, 2 of them being girls.

The first week, we had just been through an entire week of preschool and the "I don't want to go to school! I just don't want to go!"....and t-ball was no different. My poor Jack Jack had some extreme separation anxiety! :( He doesn't like the unknown....he's very much like Adam. Adam was the same way as a kiddo...myself, not so much. Our plan was to go to practice and just check it all out before we had anyone join us to watch...well, that plan changed when we couldn't get Jackson in the car to go. He really thought we were going to leave him there. So I called Memaw and Papaw as re-inforcement and they met us up at the fields. Once he was there, he was fine, but the entire car ride was rough.

We get there and he played catch with Daddy-O. They learned how to stretch, they ran the bases, they stood in line and waited for their turn to bat (and by bat, I mean holding the HEAVIEST bat ever with a Tee that was WAY TOO HIGH for most of them...I learned from the first round of batting that this idea of watching them hit the freaking tee was going to piss me off, so I waddled my big belly over and stood there while I informed the coach, "Have then choke up. That bat is too heavy for them." "Can you lower the tee down. If they are hitting the tee, it's too tall for them. The point is to have them happy that they are hitting the ball!") The coach is a young guy...and the dads were being nice...but for what I paid for him to play as a non-YMCA member, he's going to hit the ball. The next day, I went out and bought him an official t-ball bat!! :) Yes, I'm that mom.

Water Break!

Team Meeting

Ryan a.k.a. Benny

So the following week, he found his friends and they lined up to play catch with their dads and learned how to field grounders! I chatted with all the moms...the ones that I WANT Jackson to hang out with...isn't that sad. There are about 4 kids on the team who are BRATS. They don't pay attention, they cry that they want to go home, they run around and don't follow directions...and the parents just stand there. Really, I don't want Jackson hanging out with them....sue me.

I have to say, though, that there is nothing more fun than watching him play and follow direction and learn the game! I'm super proud!! I just wish that I could get out there and play WITH him...it's very hard for me to sit and watch!

FYI: the coach sat the kids down after the first practice and asked them what they wanted the team name to be....the result: Robot Elephants!! I'm still a little confused by the name....but it's cute!! :)

Daddy-O is too cute coaching 3rd base!!

ROBOT ELEPHANTS!!

Halloween Crafts

2009-10-21T18:58:00.001-07:00

Just before Everson arrived, Jackson's school had a fund-raiser called Harbour Market. It was a craft show with all KINDS of stuff. I bought a $10.00 pumpkin painting basket and that weekend, Adam, Jackson, and I painted ceramic pumpkins for the family! He did GREAT!! The black and white one was Aunt Tacey's....hmmm...wonder why.....

Jackson's Jack-o-Lantern Face

Jackson's First...

Mommy's...

Jackson's Second...

Jackson's third...

Daddy-Os...

Lots going on....too much to talk about!

2009-10-21T18:42:00.001-07:00

So, I've been super bad....really bad...it's been a WHOLE MONTH since I blogged my precious baby boy!! We have had so much going on!! Here are a few short updates to catch up:

**Preschool Update**

Jackson LOVES school now!! It took 4 full days of school before he was HAPPY to go! Now, he gets up nearly every morning and asks "do I get to go to school today?" I drop him off and he goes right in to his seat and starts working on his morning project--doesn't even look up at me to say good bye anymore! ! :( He has a girlfriend in the class, Piper. She is a doll! He talks about her all the time, and if you ask him about her, he turns red! It's so cute! We've seen them on the playground together, and he's always helping her out. She's a tomboy--so it's all the little boys in his "group" and her...and her and Jackson are typically together! Jackson came home from school one day a couple weeks ago and said "Piper licked me. Right here on my cheek. When I was in line, she licked me!" And lately, we've been talking about playdates, and apparently Piper asked Jackson "Are you going to come to my house and spend the night?!" Jackson's response: "No, not today. My daddy's picking me up in that big truck. I'm going his house!" Nice.

The only issue we have is a boy names James. A few weeks back, Jackson came home from school and told me that "that boy with the curly hair, he punches me." I really just blew him off b/c, seriously, they are 3. I doubt anyone is "punching" him. I asked him if he did anything back, and he said no, that he just walked away. Good job!! Well, this happened again. And again, I told Jackson, "he just wants to be your friend, and maybe he doesn't know how to be your friend. Just ask him "Why you punching me? I'll be your friend, just stop punching me!" When I dropped him off the next time, I told his teacher "Please make sure Jackson is keeping his hands to himself. I think he is instigating another little boy into punching him." Miss Roni tells me, "Jackson's fine. He's friends with everyone. We don't have a problem with him at all. We DO have a little boy in the class who likes to play rough, and we're working with him." Fine..I just hope Jackson listened to me.... apparently not, b/c he comes home telling Adam that James pushed him down on the playground. So I tell him "Maybe he has an older brother that does that to him. Next time, just go get Miss Nancy and tell her what happened." Great...my kid will be a tattle tale...and Adam was not having that. So he tells Jackson "Next time he punches you, punch him the stomach." ADAM! NO WAY!! So last week on Thursday, right before we had Everson on Friday, James and Jackson are leaving the classroom at the same time. His mom is standing there, I'm standing there, Memaw is standing there. I tell Jackson "Tell James bye bye and that we'll see him next week!" Jackson's response: "Bye Bye James! See you next week! Stop PUNCHING me!!" His mom is mortified! "Is he punching you?! His sister does that to him, but he DOES want to be your friend!" I was kind of embarrased, but seriously, your kid is punching my kid....oh well! I just blow it off again, b/c Jackson needs to toughen up. Well, we had a playdate with his friend Ryan from his class, and Ryan's mom tells me that Ryan comes home telling her "That kid punches my friend Jackson and my friend Reed." Great.....

Other than that, he loves it!! He's learning alot, mostly children's worship songs that they sing in music and in chapel! I love it!! I'm going to try and post some of those songs on his iPod--------->

Tomorrow we have Fall Festival at his school, so I'll have some pics to post of that!!

Preschool Report--Day 2

2009-09-03T14:00:00.000-07:00

Well, the day started off rough. I mean pretty rough. We didn't take a bath last night, so we had to get a bath or shower this morning. I got him up at 7:30am. That was rough patch #1. He is not a morning person (haven't I mentioned a million times he IS his mother!). He took a bath, brushed his teeth, and then watched some Handy Manny while I got dressed. **graphic** Then, he said he had to go poop. Okay, fine. He does that every morning, really. But this time, he sat in there for about 20 minutes. I told him "You need to hurry up. I still have to get your dressed and we have to get to the grocery store and get some fruit for your lunch today!" "I'm not going to school today." Oh great....

We finally got dressed and out the door around 8:15am. I had to make a trip to Kroger to get some pudding and some fruit--two things that he said he wanted in his lunch, that of course, I didn't have in the house. Why? I haven't gone grocery shopping in about 2 weeks. I just don't want to. I'm being lazy. It's easier for Adam to pick up Subway. There, I said it. I'm pregnant and tired and lazy, and why the hell should I have to make dinner when I feel like crap?! Okay, I'm done now...back to the story!

We picked up blueberry muffins and fruit and Strawberry Milk...along with the pudding and fruit for his lunch. I had a free Starbucks coffee credit, so we ate breakfast at the bistro tables at Starbucks in Kroger--it was very nice to just relax and sip my coffee, I must say! In the meantime, I look over and there were these little pots with roses in them on sale. I said "Jackson, we need to get Miss Nancy something nice for being so nice to you on Tuesday. Do you think she would like a flower pot? You could help her water it every day!" He liked that idea, so we grabbed one for him to take to school...

We headed to the car, and that's when it started. "I don't want to go." "I just don't want to." "Let's go to Memaw's instead." "I have to go poop again." "I don't want to go to my school today."

I pulled into the parking lot and parked, and that's when the red rimmed eyes started. "Momma, let's go home." "I just don't want to." The lip was out, but no tears flowed over, just the teary glazed stare. I kept saying "You'll be fine! You know where I'm gonna be. You get to ride the bikes today! And you get to go to music today! What do you think your art project will be today? Painting? Markers? Crayons? I think it's gonna be alot of fun! All your friends go to school!" None of it worked. "I just don't want to go." Finally, I had to give the tough love. "Jackson, you have to go, end of story. You'll be fine."

We stopped by the potty on the way in....and that was his way of stalling. He sat on that potty telling me he had to poop for about 20 minutes...I wasn't buying it. Finally, I told him, "Enough, you're a big boy. Let's go give your flower pot to Miss Nancy."

We got about half way down the hall, and he did cry a little and stopped following me. I was worried about a full on tantrum (which he's never done!) but I managed to get him to the school office. We walked in and I told them "Jackson wanted to say Hi and hopefully he won't be coming down to see you today! He's going to be a BIG BOY and NOT CRY today!" Miss Diana, the director, was FABULOUS! She came over and sat on the floor at his level, and calmed him with chat about the playground and the sandbox and how if we needed to call Mommy, he could, but he was going to be a big boy and have fun....she was great!

We got to his classroom and his friends were all there waiting too. Miss Nancy opened the door, he handed her the flower pot, and he said "okay, let's go home." Not that easy, kid. We put up his back pack and his lunchbox and he found a seat to sit and color at I told Miss Nancy that we were having a rough morning and didn't want to be here, and she said "I'll stay by his side all day, don't worry. We'll get through it." I knelt down to tell him I'd see him later and give him a kiss, and he grabbed my arm and didn't want me to leave. Finally, I was able to get away. Another Mom walked out with me and she looked back and said "He's fine. He's not crying!" I made a b-line for the door and came home!

Adam came home for lunch and asked "Did you call?" "No, why would I call? If he's upset, they'll call me." "They said you could call anytime, just check on him." So...I called. The director answered and said "Want me to go look in on his class and see how he is?" "That would be great!" She kept talking as she walked down the hall and said "Yup, he's at the head of the table, opening his lunchbox, and smiling at the girl next to him. He's in a turquoise shirt, right?" I was so happy to hear that!

Mom and Aunt Tacey went with me to pick him up. When we got to the parking lot, we could see him on the playground, legs going ninety-miles and hour on a bike around the track! He was obviously having fun! I made sure I was the last in line to pick him up so that I could talk to the teacher and see how the day went. He came out like a different kid! He was smiling and happy and starting talking and chatting and telling me all about it!! Big eyes and everything! Miss Nancy said he only had a couple of meltdowns, asking for Momma, but they re-directed him, and she said he's like a switch...something will set him off and he's upset, and then all of a sudden, he's fine again. And again, no tears, just fussing.

We took Memaw and Aunt Tacey in to see his classroom. He showed them all around! Apparently, they painted their hands today to make handprints and Miss Roni made sure to get the orange paint out for Jackson, but he CHOSE blue! WOW! He was also the clipboard holder today, so he got to take the sign in sheet from room to room. He liked that job, apparently! He also showed us his art work for the day--it was really pretty good! I asked him what it was that he drew, and he said "Well, nothing really, but it looks kinda like a dinosaur!" And then he laughed hysterically!

No kids pulled his shoes off today. No "children ahind him" bothered him. He ate most of his lunch. He told us "I had a very good day! But I cried a little. But, I wasn't too sad, because I knew my Mommy was gonna pick me up!" We took him to Target to get a Hot Wheels (hey, I'm not above bribery these days!) and then to Wendy's to get a Frosty.

I'm sure I'll have more quotes from him tonight about how his day went, and sometime I'll get a picture with him and Miss Nancy, but for now, I have homework to do over the weekend! Can you believe it! Homework in preschool! Nothing big, just another show and tell project about what we did over the summer...hmmmm, wonder what he'll want to talk about?! Tennessee maybe?!

I'll FINALLY post the pictures from our TN trip--I can't believe I just remembered that! YIKES!!

Baby Update

2009-09-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been in the writing mood--can you tell? I haven't been in the "taking pictures" mood either...hell, I haven't been in the mood for anything lately! But I need to update everyone on the pregnancy. If you are on Facebook, you've read how miserable I am. Seriously. I'm just a ball of negative energy. In all of the aches and pains and contractions, I'm at a loss to the fact that a BABY is on the way! I'm so caught up in my own misery, that the concept of holding a baby at the end of this is foreign to me.

I feel like there is so much left to do....I went shopping yesterday and got all my stuff for my hospital bag. I will get that packed up this weekend. I have everything ready for the baby for the hospital--clothes, blankies, nursing stuff. The nursery is ALMOST done, we just have to decide on the name (nope, we still haven't finalized that yet! We know the it will be _____________ Joseph Babcock. That's all we got! Mom and Dad are getting me the glider and ottoman for my birthday, so once that goes in and I get some pictures on the walls, I'll get shots of the nursery. We went with a nautical theme--I really wanted a modern nursery, Adam didn't. So I compromised. We went with the nautical bedding, and I got to buy the expensive furniture I wanted. I was happy!

Everything is washed, ironed, hung, organized! A couple months back, I got EVERYTHING out of closets (pack n play, car seat, bouncers (2), stroller, changer, bathtub, high chair, diaperchamp) and got them all washed in OxyClean and it's all ready to go! I just have to finish packing the diaper bag. I'll get that done this weekend too! Hopefully!

A few weeks back I had my 32 week ultrasound. Everything looked great. I still think this kid looks just like Jackson--with hair! Rosio (the tech--she's awesome!) said she saw a little bit of fuzz! Can you imagine!

My iron is still a little low--but I HATED the pills. I finally got some pills that I can tolerate: Slow FE from CVS. They seem to help with my energy.

Today, I am 34 weeks. I technically have 5 weeks left to get to my scheduled surgery date. I had an appointment yesterday, and with all the contractions I've been having at night, and the massive amounts of pressure, I didn't know what to expect. I really thought she would hook me up to a monitor and track the baby, or put me BACK on bed rest for the 9th time this pregnancy...but she didn't. She isn't concerned about the contractions--at 34 weeks, baby is 5.5 lbs and she thinks he would be fine. If my water breaks, go the hospital! No big deal!

What DOES concern her is my pressure. After my internal, and finding that I am closed and thick still, she told me that the baby's head is not in the pelvis. He hasn't dropped. We BOTH thought that he was low and that my pressure could be from his placement, but that's not the case. NOW, she is concerned that my inscition scar could be thining due to his position. THIS is not good. It's VERY rare, but if that's the case, it could cause major complications during delivery, and in case of emergency delivery, things could go very wrong. It can cause uterine rupture, and hemeroging, etc. So, guess who gets to go back to the high risk specialist again!? DING DING DING!! I go back to Dr. Rowe on Sept 10th for him to check my scarring with ultrasound.

I just keep thinking "Is this how a NORMAL pregnancy goes and I'm just a big baby?" My pregnancy with Jackson wasn't like this at all. People would say "I HATED being pregnant!" and I was like "Really!? It's not that bad!" But now, I get it. My sciatic nerve makes it hard for me to walk...the contractions are a bitch...the pressure is frustrating...the fatigue is kicking my ass....and NOW I have indegestion at night...all this, to the point that ADAM told me "I'm not doing this to you again!" We had ALREADY known that we would have 2 kids when we got married....and this sealed the deal!

Weight wise, I've gained 28 lbs., according to Dr. Taylor's scales. Mine at home says I've gained 30. And you know what, I'm okay with that. I gained 55 with Jackson, so my goal was to gain no more than 35 with this one...hope I stay on track. I know that had this been easier, I wouldn't have gained NEARLY this much because I woul dhave been working out, but I'll tell you, I haven't done A THING! I haven't even walked around the block! And I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that I am NOT one of those cute pregnant girls who "just has a ball in the front". Those people seriously piss me off. I can't wear cute dressed and have skinny arms and a glowing complexion while pregnant--just not happening. I just know that I will have ALOT of work to do once Baby X gets here!

1st Day of Preschool

2009-09-02T19:42:00.000-07:00

It's official..I have a preschooler! :( I'm not overly happy about it! What happened to my bald little man in a diaper?

He's been SOO excited all summer about school--every time we pass Happy Harbour, he yells "That's my school!" We've been talking about it so much...and I knew he was excited about it! A few weeks back, we got our welcome package from the teacher--Ms. Nancy and Ms. Roni. It had a class roster and I was SHOCKED that there is not another Jackson in his class! Thank goodness! I love the class ratio--14:2. And there are alot more girls in the class...he'll love it!

He is a Starfish on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:30-1:30pm. And when I say that the school is 2 streets from our house, I'm not kidding! You turn right, you turn left and into the parking lot! When the new baby gets here, we'll be walking to pick up big brother from school to get our walk in for the day! I'm actually excited about that!

So last Friday was meet your teacher. Adam took off work so that he could be there to see the school and have Jackson show him around (he'd never been there)...and Jackson was SOO excited! "Here's the door!" "Here's the chapel!" They started the day off with Children's Chapel--all of us were invited to come and sing and see what the kids will be doing on Thursday mornings. It was fun! They sang and Jackson danced along with the other kids--and Mommy got emotional. He was having so much fun! I loved it!

After Chapel, we walked down the hall to find his classroom. We found his name on the bulletin board--HE found it! Then spelled it for us! We walked in and there were a ton of people in the classroom! They had the kids tables covered in paper with crayons and Jackson walked right in, sat down, and started coloring! He really didn't move from that spot! Adam and I walked around the classroom and looked at all the centers and activities--we found the job chart and his cubby and his art hanger. We met some really nice Mom's too! Not alot of Dad's there, but that's understandable...it was just meet your teacher!

Jackson DID meet another little girl who sat next to him and colored (the only 2--all the other kids were playing with the toys and in the dressup center). Her name is Lindsey and she is a doll! Her mom was super nice too, and come to find out, we have a lot of friends in common!

We left meet your teacher, and Jackson was STILL so excited because Ms. Nancy told him they would get to paint and color and do all kinds of art stuff! We met the music teacher, too, and I'm not sure what he was most excited about--music or coloring!

Monday night, we got all his stuff together. First, we got together his stuff for his show and tell bag...3 things that describe Jackson: 1) Orange Crayon (becuase his fav color is orange and he loves to color) 2)Thomas the Train (because he loves trains and building track with Daddy-O and PaPaw) 3) an ultrasound picture of his baby brother (becuase he is super excited to be a big brother in a few weeks!)

We had a routine down: snack, bath, brush teeth, read 3 stories and night-night (Daddy did this part!) While they were doing that, I was packing his lunch, ironing his outfit, packing his backpack, filling out the papers that needed to be sent, and getting MY stuff ready for the morning (because I HATE getting up, and I needed to be fully prepared!) Along with charging the video camera and making sure my camera had an empty card and a full battery. Even with all that, I went to bed early!

Tuesday morning! The Big Day! I got up an hour before Jackson to get showered and dressed and myself all ready--and to make his breakfast before he got up. At 8:00am, I went to wake him up, saying "Wakey Wakey! We get to go to school today! Are you so excited?!"...he rolled over, looked up at me and said "I don't want to go bye-byes today Momma." I never mentioned the word school again. No pictures, no video...I got him dressed, he brushed his teeth, we did his hair, we watched Dragon Tales, ate breakfast....then I told him I was going to put his back pack by the front door..."Okay."

I told him we needed to head out the door. "Can I get some pictures of you with your new backpack and lunch box?" "Yeah." We only got a few shots outside...then I went to put him in the van. He didn't say a WORD. He was dead silent the ENTIRE RIDE to the SCHOOL. Just stared out the window. He was SOOO nervous! Thankfully, Daddy-O met us in the parking lot. He got out and put his bag on and grabbed his lunch. We got a few pictures out front....that was all.

As we were walking in, we saw another little boy with the same backpack. I said "Look Jackson! He has the same bag, only in green!" His name was Reed and he looked like a brown haired version of Jackson! And come to find out, he is in Jackson's class! So we walked together to the classroom. As we were going to class, we passed the chapel, where I had told Jackson that Mommy and Daddy would be for the morning b/c we had orientation. He said "That's where you're gonna be?!" "Yup!" On the way, I saw a friend of mine, and we stopped to chat, then Jack looked up at me and said "Momma, I wanna go to my class now." So we hurried to his door.

The doors to the rooms don't open until exactly 9:30am. So, all of us parents and kiddos stood waiting in the narrow hallway--all the while Jackson just stood, silent, staring at the door. Wouldn't even talk to Adam....he wasn't scared, just nervous, I think.

Ms. Nancy opened the door and we walked right in--he was first! He got a name tag for his back, we hung his backpack and his lunch box in his cubby, Ms. Roni too his picture for the bulletin board, and the he found the markers and dry erase boards at his table and sat right down. Once he sat down, he didn't get back up. He stared at the board and colored and didn't talk to anyone. We told him that he got to be the Line Leader for the day! We found his name on the Job Chart--and he was happy about that! But I think if we had said the wrong thing, it would have set him off! He was on the verge the entire morning!

The parents got to stand around for a little bit. I asked Ms. Nancy if they would be having a fire drill that day, b/c if you remember the last time there was a fire drill, Jackson FLIPPED OUT!! And then NEVER WANTED TO GO BACK TO MOPS!! After talking to her for about 5 minutes, I looked over at him, and how big and independent he was, and I LOST it! Here I was, standing and talking to the teacher, Adam standing right behind me, and I start tearing up like a 3 year old! Ms. Nancy said "OH! I have 3 and I completely understand!" I said "I have to go outside! I'm just hormal I guess!" I never even said goodbye to him b/c I couldn't do it. Apparently, Adam took that as his cue to go and say his goodbye. Jackson said "You going to the chapel?" "Yup! And Mommy will pick you up after the goodbye song, okay?!"

Once I walked out, most of the parents followed. Only one little boy was crying, and Ms. Nancy scooped him up and shut the door. And then, Jackson was on his own. For the first time ever.

I went to lunch with a good friend, which was a great distraction for me. I didn't even really have a chance to think about Jack and if he was sad or not. I picked Mom up at 1:00 and we headed back to the school for 1:30 pick up. When we got there, Adam was already in line! He had gotten to the school at 1:00pm!! We were all anxious to see how his first day went! In my mind, he would run out of his classroom just chatting up a storm with his backpack on and give big hugs....nope. He was one of the first ones out, and he walked right over to Adam and said "Let's go home." Straight face. No emotion. Deer in the headlights. Memaw was with us, and he never even looked at her. Nor Mommy. And Ms. Nancy looked up and said to me "Do you have a minute to stay?!" GREAT! NOT A GOOD SIGN! I looked at Mom and we both said "Uh oh. That's not good!" And laughed, but really, it wasn't funny!

Ms. Nancy told me that Jackson had a "minor meltdown" at lunchtime. Apparently, they had walked pass the chapel, and we were there. He didn't get upset then, he got upset when they got their lunches out and Mommy wasn't there. He never "cried tears", he just kept saying "I want Momma. I want Momma." To calm him, they took him down to the office, and apparently he got to run the copy machine with Ms. Laura! He missed lunch and part of recess!

When I asked him about it at the car, I said "Did you eat lunch?" "No." "Why?" "I was crying." "Why did you cry?" "I just wanted Momma." We probed him for a little bit on the way home, but then he said "I don't wanna talk about it anymore." oookkkaaayyy. We let it for the rest of the afternoon. Since then, we've gotten a few little tidbits about the first day. Here are some of the quotes:

"I was the line leader, and does children a-hind me kept telling me "open the door" but I couldn't and then a kid put his hand on the door and Ms. Nancy took his hand off the door. He wasn't listening."

"those kids kept pulling on me and pulling on my legs and then once kid pulled my shoe off."--no clue about this one! He later told Adam that there wasn't alot of room on the carpet for story time and they were all crowding and Jackson's shoe came off!

I'm going to try and update the blog each day when we come home, b/c frankly, the things that come out of this kids mouth are too funny! He tells stories very well about how things happen...and right now, at 11:oopm, I can't remember them all! I just learned that I have to update right then and there, or else I lose it in pregnancy fog!

BUT, I will say, he IS excited to go back. I told him that I cried too on that first day, so now, he says "I'm not gonna cry, and Momma's not gonna cry." Adam asked him, "Why did Momma cry?" "Because she was sad that I wasn't her little boy anymore. And I told her, I'm all growed up now, Momma!" Too sweet!

Stay tuned tomorrow for Preschool Report Day 2!

Quick Pics from Swim Lessons

2009-08-13T21:27:00.000-07:00

I'm posting some quick pictures from Jackson's swim lessons. I am super impressed with his coach! I found her through a mom in my MOPS group. She comes to your home and works with your child in your own pool, which was a HUGE draw for me! It's one on one, another thing I loved! It might be a little more expensive, but it was totally worth it! Within 15 minutes of working with Coach Sarah, Jackson was treading water and swimming on his own--something we'd been working on all summer and he just thought was a game! Instruction from someone else, and he totally gets it! After 30 minutes, he was diving to the bottom of the pool with Coach Sarah grabbing rings! She would count to 3, they would go under together, she would let go as soon as he grabbed the ring, he would come up to the top and swim to the steps! Literally, I was floored! That night, we had Daddy-O and Papaw in the pool with us, and Jackson became very brave and wanted to jump in off the side of the pool. "Sure, but when you come up, you swim to the side like you do when you get the rings." I made everyone stand back, because honestly, if he was going to think he was brave enough to jump in and swim, he had to struggle a bit in case he couldn't do it. I'm a big advocate that kids have to learn from experience, and if Jackson was going to learn that he wasn't big enough to jump off the side and swim, he was going to have to flail a little....well, he surprised me! He jumped in, came up, took a breath, put his head back in the water, and swam to the steps! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a swimmer!! YAY!! No more floaties!! I'll post video next week once Mom and Dad's construction is over with...and I'll post more about the store of Coach Sarah when I am not so tired!! HA! But, here are a few pics. These are the only ones I've gotten of him swimming, and they are in warm up with Coach Sarah, so she's still holding on to him working on kicking....but still, he's pretty cute in his goggles!

Sleeping Angel

2009-07-30T13:23:00.001-07:00

Last night, I walked into Jackson's room before I headed to bed, and this is what I found...no, I did not give him Curious George before he went to bed. Apparently, he got up and grabbed him from his toy box!

1st Trip to the Dentist

2009-07-30T13:19:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from Jackson's first trip to the dentist! I'm running out the door to grab some stuff at the grocery story, drop off dry cleaning, get stuff for dinner, and possibly an ice cream cone from McDonalds! I have LOTS to blog about, but this will tide you over until I get back in a few hours!

Enjoy!