Merry Christmas!

Happy Christmas to all,
and to all a good night!
God bless!

Smarty Pants

Daddy to Jackson: "Ok, Mr. Five-Year Old, let's go brush your teeth."

Jackson to Daddy after brushing his teeth: "Ok, Mr. Thirty-Three Year Old, let's go get my PJ's on."

Happy 5th Birthday, Jackson!

January

Oh, Jackson, I can't believe my baby is five years old. Five years ago tonight, I had no idea what was in store for me. All I knew was that I was holding in my arms one of the best Christmas presents that I would ever receive.

February

This year has been an incredible year for you, one full of new experiences, new people, and new challenges. You flew on an airplane. You spent a weekend on Papa's Waterhouse. You started school with a new class full of new friends and new teachers. You spent lots of weekends in lots new places. Each challenge was met head on, and you walked away excited about what you had experienced. Daddy and I have been so proud of all that you have accomplished. March

I really can't believe you are five. I can't believe my baby can read and spell and ride a bike and play soccer. I can't believe that you tell me thing like how far away California is or that llama starts with the letter L or which artist you modeled your Wee Little Arts painting after. Jeez, I think you are smarter than me some days. April

You still remind me daily, in your own special way, that you are still my baby. You love to be snuggled still, and you ask Daddy and me for "sammich kisses" all the time. You still want your boo boos kissed, and you like to hold my hand while we walk together. You still love for us to sing to you before bed, and occasionally, you still want me to carry you when we are out. You still want us to blow on your food when it is hot, you still want me to flush any spiders or flies that you find, you still want us to brush your teeth, you still let me pick out your clothes, and you still love to sit in my lap. May

However, the days of sippy cups are long gone. So are the days of riding in the shopping cart (you insist on hanging on to the front of the cart while I push!). I am not allowed to buckle your carseat anymore, and I think you would love to get rid of your big carseat in exchange for the booster. You will not accept help in picking out show-and-tell items any more, and you know that if it is L Week at school, you must take in something that starts with L. June

You are extremely creative. You have written us storybooks, fully illustrated and taped together. You love your art class and love to tell us what you have learned. Your big thing right now is to draw cars... millions of them everywhere. You are also telling us about self-portraits, that our eyes are cirlces, that our noses are triangles, and that our mouths are moons. Your artistic side must come from your Daddy's family, as I don't have an artistic bone in my body. I love seeing your artwork and getting a special glimpse of the world through your eyes. July

You love to bake and cook, and I can claim that from my side. You are always suggesting baking something for someone... a poundcake for Miss Louise who broke her elbow or cookies for Miss Nancy down the street. I do think you have a soft spot for the women in your life, but I also think you are wanting a taste of the finished product for yourself! I love baking with you and watching you, ever so slyly, trying to sneak a taste. One of my favorite times was making cookies for the cookie swap... you would "accidently" spill chocolate chips on the counter so you could eat them instead of putting them into the batter! August

You absolutely love school. Love it, and I am so pleased that is the case. I hope this love of learning that you have lasts for your lifetime... there are so many exciting things for you to learn. you have taken an interest in all things letters and numbers. You are excited to tell us about the states, and I hope one day you will have a chance to visit all of the cool places you are learning about. I absolutely love hearing about the world through your words. September

I think that you are really appreciating having Harris as your brother. Yes, there are plenty of times that he takes your stuff (and plenty of times you take his!), but you play so well together, and I love hearing you two pretend together. He watches and imitates all that you do, wanting to be big like you. It cracks me up that you know how to push his buttons, but it won't be long before he is pushing yours. You are constantly talking about your sister Sally who is coming in two years, and I think you have suprised many people when you say she is coming (she is not...). Daddy and I just liesten and nod our heads... you seem to know something that we do not! October

You really love your friends and talk about them so much. Although you acted shy today, I think you loved it when they all sang Happy Birthday! All of the girls at school seem to love you, too, as they always seem to greet you with big hugs and are dragging you with them to play.

November

I still can't believe you are a whole hand old. Five years. Where did the time go? You hear it all the time when you are young to appreciate every day because it goes so fast, but I really don't think you really get it until you are a parent. Next year you will be in kindergarten... the real deal. Unbelievable. It blows my mind to think what the next five years have in store for us and how much you will have grown by then... I pray that both you and I can appreciate our days together now.

December

What a year, Jackson. I am more and more proud every day that God chose me for you, that He gave me such an incredible child. I feel incredibly loved with every hug or smile you give me. I can't say that I was ever really prepared for what motherhood would offer me, but wow... it is the hardest but the best thing I have ever done. You are my lesson in love. You are my treasure. You are my blessing. You are my heart. "You are my I love you".

I love you 'til my heart is about to burst, Jackson. I hope you had the best birthday ever today... you deserve all the very best.

Thanksgiving

Yes, I am super-far behind on blogging, and I am sorry. I have so many projects and other things going on right now that I have put blogging on the back burner. However, I do have some pictures of the cutest little boys, and I really want to share them...

We spent Thanksgiving in Florence with Granny and Grandaddy, and we had such a nice holiday with family. We actually spent Thanksgiving lunch out in Oates, which is where "Ganny's farm" is... Ganny's Ma and Pa live in Oates and have a large farm there.

We first took advantage of the Ganny and Gandaddy's huge backyard for some sweet little boy pictures.

We then headed out to the farm for lunch. They grow lots of cotton out there, so we stopped so I could grab a cotton plant for Jackson... he was excited to learn that cotton comes from a plant and that his sweater was amde from that cotton.
After a huge, yummy lunch, we headed out to play on all of the fun stuff a farm has to offer! A favorite was definitely these huge hay bales.
Harris was thrilled by all things drivable.
It was a struggle to get Harris out of the tractor... I think he might become a farmer!

After our day at the farm, we headed to Aunt Amy and Uncle Scott's house for a laid-back Thanksgiving dinner... it was nice to relax and spend time with all of the kids.

We had a great time with family, and we send out a big thank you to Ganny and Gandaddy for everything, especially taking care of us when the tummy bug hit. We are so thankful to have had the time with you!

Tigers

I have had this post half-finished for a month now, so I guess it is probably time to finish it!

In November, our great friends, the Eglestons, the Halfords, the Collins, and Jason and I traveled back to Clemson for the Clemson/Boston College game. Nancy, Rossi, Aileen, Jason and I were all at school there at the same time, yet we never crossed paths. Aileen and Rossi even lived almost next door to me, and we never met. So strange! It was fun, though, to share Clemson stories and to laugh about our similar experiences.

It had been since 2000 that I had been to Clemson, so I was super-excited to see everything again and to see what had changed. There were lots of new buildings and new businesses, but I was happy that the feel of Clemson on game day hadn't changed a bit.

A trip to the bookstore equipped us for the chilly night to come!

Jason on Bowman field, a favorite place to play, catch some rays, and sled on cafeteria trays on rare snowy evenings.

Jason and I met at Clemson, two weeks into our first year there. I can't imagine Clemson without him... it was nice to spend some QT with him and remember all of the crazy things we had done there!

The year we graduated there was a campaign to get all of the graduating seniors to pay for a brick with their name on it... we are immortalized on a Clemson sidewalk!

The excitement around campus on game day is overwhelming. We loved strolling around the stadium and campus, refueling our Tiger spirit.

We had a great time tailgating with Aileen's brother and sister-in-law and their friends. They had a perfect tailgating sopt, right up the hill from the stadium, right in the heart of all of the action!

This is one of the many, many fields of tailgaters in Clemson... I think it really is a profession!
Our seats for the game were at the very top of Death Valley... I mean the top. We were three rows from the tippy top, 111 steps from the bottom of the upper deck. Yes, I counted... it was the only way for me to get to the top without focusing on falling down or how badly my quads hurt from climbing!
This is shortly before a Clemson touchdown. It was an exciting game, up until the last 10 minutes. Unfortunately, Boston College pulled out a win in the last few minutes. So sad, as the Tigers lost their chance at an ACC title that night.

We really had the best time that weekend, and we are looking forward to many, many more games with friends, both with and without the children. We had a great time, Eglestons, Collins, and Halfords, and we can't wait to start planning next year's trip!

Thanks, Granny and Grandaddy, taking such good care of our boys so we could have the weekend off. We so appreciated it, and the boys talked about their great time for days afterwards! Love you!

Happy Birthday, Kaila!

K - kooky

A - animated

I - irresistible

L - laughs a lot

A - adorable

Happy birthday, Kaila! We love you and hope you have a great day!

Amanda, Jason, Jackson, & Harris