Wichita!!

Last week, after all the hustle and bustle of Christmas, me, Jackson, Grandma Netty and GG Jane jumped in the car and headed to Wichita on Thursday morning. Why? My best friend Jenny is having a baby boy in 2 weeks, and I was throwing her a fabulous baby shower on Saturday! The car ride up was great--we had the DVD player going with Finding Nemo, Alladin, The Wiggles, and Monster's Inc. Jackson and GG played the whole way up there! We stopped only once to grab a bite to eat and let Jackson play in a play-place. We got to Uncle Bob's house around 7:00 with Mr. GoodSense in hand (we love that place, and we don't have them in Texas! We make it a point to eat at the places we dont' have here!) Here is a couple of shots of my view from the driver seat (don't worry, I wasn't in Dallas or OkCity when I took this, I was on open highway!)




On Friday, I had a bunch of running to do to get ready for the party, so we all got up and headed to Kohl's and Walmart in Derby. It was COLD! We had only brought a jacket and Jackson's hat and mittens. There was SNOW on the ground! Jackson really didn't know what to think about it, but I knew that I wanted him to play in it before it all melted! So we got him a HUGE coat at Walmart (the cheapest we could find since he would be wearing it ONCE) and a pair of snow boots (in a size 7--he wears a 5, but it's all we could find!) When we got home, Uncle Bob was there and he found a sled that my cousin Nicole had bought during the ice storm. Jackson didn't know what to think! He didn't like the snow at first, he didn't like the bulky jacket, he didn't like that he couldn't feel anything with his mittens on. But, he liked the sled! He sat in the sled with his arms out straight, not moving! It took a little bit for him to get used to the sled moving, but at the end, he was having fun! (and I think Uncle Bob was too!) Jack Jack made snow balls and threw them at everyone--then he ate some! He loved it!








Later, we met up with mom's best friend Carolyn and had lunch at Godfather's Pizza (mom likes that place!) GG Jane went to lunch with some of her girlfriends. After we saw Carolyn, we headed home for a quick nap. Then, on to dinner with mom's friends Phyllis and Jeanie. (they are regular blog stalkers!) We had a nice dinner, then went to Phyllis' to see her new kitchen and decorating. Jackson played with her hubby Mike for the LONGEST time, just giggling and laughing--then the throwing began. He started throwing everything. It was embarrasing. And when Grandma Netty told him no-no and that it was time to go, he hauled off and screamed NOOOOOO! in her face, stomping his feet and throwing a tantrum. It was a first. He was really pissed off and showed it. But Mommy showed she was really pissed off by taking him in the other room! Then, we left. I think the lack of a long nap and all the time in the car was just too much for him. He was an absolute brat! Yikes!

That night, I stayed up making the floral centerpieces and ironing the fabric, creating the little gift basket for Jenny, and making my grocery list!

The next day, the big day of the shower, GG Jane was not upstairs to greet us in the morning. I was worried, so I went to check on her. She was super sick!! So we stayed away from her all day and she stayed in bed--poor thing. I got all my things packed up for the shower and headed to Dillon's to buy all the ice cream and goodies for our Ice Cream Social Shower!! Mom dropped me off at Reflection and she and Jackson went to Miss Sheri's to see his friend Cooper! I hear that had a great time and watched The Wiggles! I'm sad that I missed them, but Jenny's shower was fantastic! We had a great turnout and Jenny got some great things for little Parker--including the cutest blanket that Jenny's sister Loni made! The best part--the sugar coated punch cups and the Baby Food Jar Game! I think everyone had a nice time!














That night, Jenny and Kevin took Jackson and I to dinner at Granite City. It was great! Although it took a while to be seated, Jackson did pretty great at dinner! No fussing, no fidgeting! We stopped by their house on the way home to see the nursery and show Kevin how to install the carseat--he was frustrated because he couldn't figure out where the toggles went. But, they didn't have the Latch system in either one of their cars, so of course it was confusing! He'll be going to the dealership this week to get them installed!! We were exhausted from out long crazy day, so we went home and crashed!!

The next day, we got up early and headed home. It was a long drive back, but we stopped at Braum's for a hamburger and waffle cone--and Jackson sat in a booster seat for the first time! He likes it! Once we got home, Daddy was at work, so we unloaded the car, picked up the house, and watched Desperate Housewives and Cashmir Mafia (one of my new favorite shows!) and then it was time for Bath and Books! I realized that I hadn't taken any bath time pictures of Jackson in a while, so here you go:

Day after Christmas Sale

Christmas Day was filled with games, napping, eating, eating, napping, games, and more eating. Jackson even got to open his present from Aunt Tacey (we thought he was overwhelmed the night before, so we saved hers for the next day)--a circus train from Circus Circus, Vegas! That night, after all the eating and drinking, we were exhausted, so we stayed at Mom and Dad's. The next day, my dad comes in from the garage with an ad, hands it to Adam, points, and Adam gets this crazy smile on his face. Fry's had a sale on a TV that Adam had been looking at (and in the past, I told him we didn't need a bigger TV, we need a bigger HOUSE, and the TV could wait considering it was originallyl well over $2000). Well, the sale was amazing, but it started at 7:00am and by this time it was 10:30, so I said "If they still have one, you can go ahead and buy it." Mom and I have said we have never seen two grown men throw their clothes on faster and run out the door! They had called our Fry's and they were sold out, so they headed to the Fry's on the NORTH side of Houston (45 minutes away). Long story short (you can ask Adam all about it later) the boys come home with the following:

65" Toshiba DLP HDTV

The only problem now is that I had no where to put it. It fits great on that big wall in my living room, but we couldn't just put it on the floor! So Adam and I spent ALL night on a hunt for a piece of furniture for the living room. I didn't just want the metal stand--it had to match the rest of the furniture. So I finally found a great piece at Pier 1--and it was on clearance (a little scratched up on the top, but hell, I was putting a TV on the top) and then it was the last one, so we got it for a steal!!

We have spent the past few days watching all the bowl games on it, and my new favorite channel, 301 Discover Theatre HD (it's awesome watching nature shows on this bad boy!) And the Doodlebops and Backyardigans ROCK in HD and 65"!! Jackson loves it! Needless to say, it was a great Christmas!

Santa!!

We didn't get up early, but at 9:00, I went in and grabbed the video camera and our Santa hats! I don' have that many pictures because we got so much video! When Jackson saw all of his toys from Santa, he squatted down and yelled, "OH GOODY"! We have no clue where he learned that word because we don't day "goody!" but it's plain as day on the video!!

Jackson spent the entire morning going from one toy to the other, making us hamburgers on the grill, putting mustard on hot dogs, washing dished in the sink--he loves the grill!!

Adam and I spent the morning playing with all of our new toys too! Check out my Roomba!

Being Santa

When we got home, Adam and I put our jammy jams on, put Jackson in his bed, and settled in for "being Santa". We got to work on putting together the Step-2 Bistro Grill (and all 28 stickers!) Santa really delivered a loot this year! The Grill, a Swing for Jackson's room, a bead maze, a tool box, LeapFrog Fridge Farm, LeapFrog Fridge ABCs, pots and pans, finger puppets, and books!