Bad Baby

Jackson has taken to calling Harris "the bad baby"... he often says "The Bad Baby is in my room!" or "The Bad Baby is touching my crayons!".

Well, this is what happens to Bad Babies at Nana's house...

Decision

Jackson decided to become a big boy today. He has had some "issues", some hurdles that he struggled with, and today he blew two of them away.

First was his haircut. Typically, I can't even talk about it without him screaming and freaking out about it. Today, though, as I drove toward the salon, he continued to ask where we were going. When "to this store over here" didn't work anymore, I told him that we were going to HairBears, bracing for the screaming. Instead, he asked if Slava could cut his hair and if he was going to be tickled by Mr. Peanut (the electric razor). When we got there, I told him that Miss Slava was not there and that Miss Slava's friend was going to cut his hair, again bracing for the screams. None. He walked straight to Slava's chair, climbed up, and was ready to go. NOT ONE TEAR!! He laughed when Mr. Peanut tickled his neck. He read a book while she cut his hair. He admired himself when she was finished. He decided to be a big boy and not to be bothered by a haircut.

Second was dinner. Jackson has always been a picky eater, and any time we have introduced something new, it has been greeted with protests, whines, and sometimes even gagging. Tonight at dinner, we gave him exactly what we were eating instead of fixing something we knew he'd eat. He ate it. Almost all of it. And he liked it. No fussing, no whining, no protests. I'm sure that this wasn't the end of all of our eating issues, but it is a huge start.

I know that these seem like little things, but they are things that we have been working on for years. Every day things that were made difficult by the walls that Jackson had to hurdle. I am so proud of him today, not to mention a little relieved. I forget how amazing it is to watch these little people grow and develop in front of my eyes.

And He's Off...

On Sunday, the boys and I accompanied Papa and Lois to Georgetown, the first leg of Papa's journey northward on the Progress. It was the perfect day for a long boat ride... it was warm, the sun was out, and the sky was an incredible blue. We couldn't have asked for a better day. Jason came and met us in Georgetown for dinner (and for a ride home!). We were sorry that he couldn't have ridden with us, but I think he enjoyed his day, too!
Thanks, Papa and Lois, for letting us stowaway on your trip! The boys and I had a great time with you... I know they will remember that day for a long time!!

DuBose's Birthday Cake

The boys and I headed to DuBose's third birthday party on a very windy afternoon. They had the best time playing with their friends and jumping in the jump castle.

However, the best part, by far, for Jackson was the birthday cake. It was the cutest cake in the shape of a train... decorated to a "T". Nancy did a fabulous job making the perfect cake for DuBose... we were so impressed. So much so that Jackson would not take his eyes off of the cake once he saw it... he even joined DuBose at the table as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him. After the cake had been cut and Jackson had eaten his share (and Harris'!), he went back and stared longingly at what was left. I loved this picture of the two of them and just had to share.

Thanks for inviting us, DuBose... we had a great time!!

Muddy

When I got home from running errands on Saturday afternoon, Jackson came running up to me yelling, "Mommy, I am sooooo dirty!"... he was so excited! In a way, so was I, as he has never voluntarily gotten that muddy.

Ahhhh... the life of a mom to boys! Gotta love it!!

Playgroup

Playgroup last week was at Hampton Park. We had a yummy picnic lunch, fed the starving ducks, and played, played, played. We definitely tuckered some little boys out as both of them napped well that afternoon!
Looks like a dangerous gang of boys...Eventually Mary Kathryn joined the boys with their gang activities!
Sweet Baby Anne with a tennis ball almost as big as she is!

Happy Birthday, Nancy!

Happy Birthday... you deserve the best! You have quickly become such a great friend... I appreciate all that you have been and done for me over the past couple of years: listened, laughed, hugged, and advised. Thank you.
I am so looking forward to many more birthdays and special days as we grow old together in the 'hood (you are not allowed to move!), watching our boys play and grow.
Happy birthday, Nancy!

The Birthday Post

The month of April is overrun with birthdays, and I haven't been very good about keeping up with them. Happy Birthday wishes to some very special people:

Happy Birthday, Great-Nana (4/11) and Great-Grandpa (4/18)!! We hope your birthdays are happy days. We love and miss you tons!
Happy birthday, Spencer (4/8)! We had a great time at your party and are so jealous that you got to have 3 (or was it 4?!) birthday parties!! Hope it was a great day!
Happy birthday, Dean (4/11)! We miss you lots and hope you can talk your Dad and Papa into bringing you down to visit us again soon. Love you!
Happy birthday to our very beautiful goddaughter, Anne (4/4)! We pray that God blesses you each and every day of your life with all of the wonderful things He has in store for you. We love you lots!
Happy birthday, DuBose (4/12)! You are such a sweet and friendly little boy... hope yesterday was a fantastic day with lots of hugs. You deserved a happy, happy day!


We love you all!

Amanda, Jason, Jackson & Harris

(There are still a few special birthdays coming up...)

Easter

The boys and I met Jason in Florence on Saturday to celebrate Easter with his family. After a wonderful Easter service at his parents' church, we headed out to Oates for a family dinner at the farm. I think the boys were worn out by this time from all of their travels, but after a few fussy moments, they pulled out of it and had a great time.
After a super-yummy meal (we just about ate ourselves sick!), we headed out for a walk on the farm. Connor and Harris had a great time running and running through the fields. We saw goats, geese, horses and cows while we were out... I think the little ones were more interested in running than the animals!
Jackson had a blast collecting treasures. He was so excited to carry them around and was so proud of his finds. The best treasure of all? The horseshoe he found.
Harris and Jason climbed into the tractor to check it all out... it is much bigger than Jason's tractor, and Harris wasn't so sure of it all!

Thank you, Granny and Grandaddy, for having us for Easter. It was so nice to celebrate such a blessed day with you, Aunt Amy, Uncle Scott, Lindesy, Kaila, and Connor. We look forward for the next chance to all get together again!

Keeping Busy

(So, I am just taking my time getting caught up from our trips last week. Hopefully I can get all of them finished in the next 24 hours!)

We were sure to take advantage of every second we had while we were in Atlanta, not stopping much at all while we were there.
We ate lunch in the car at the world famous Varsity (while the boys ate, I'm not quite sure what they thought about the whole thing. I do know that Jackson loved the chocolate milkshake that Nana ordered him!!).
We colored Easter Eggs.
And we spent hours at the bookstore, playing with Thomas and reading Cars books.
The boys had a great time while they were with Nana & Papa T. I was so pleased with how well they behaved and with how much fun they had. I know they will be even more excited to go back this summer when the pools is open and ready for little boys!

Thanks, Nana & Papa T, for everything! I know this was a visit that they will not soon forget.

The Georgia Aquarium

Last week was Jackson's spring break, so I took the boys to Atlanta to visit Nana and Papa T. We all had such a good time! I think our favorite activity was our visit to the Georgia Aquarium.

The Aquarium opened last year, and it is absolutely huge. If you go, be sure to go early, as it is a very popular place to visit, and the wait to get in gets longer and longer as the day goes by! There are 5 different themed exhibits with all kind of creatures: lots of fish, sharks, otters, seals, penguins, and even beluga whales! It was amazing to see all of them, and it was so much fun watching the boys take it all in.
There were several huge tanks of fish... this one could have kept the boys busy for hours. The wall of glass curved up at the top and continued over our heads, so we felt like we could have actually been under the sea. They loved watching the fish eat, the diver swim, and all of the bright colors.
It is so amazing to see all of the exciting sights through the eyes of my children... things I never would have noticed or gotten excited about were magnified by their enthusiasm.
A quick picture with Nana & Papa T as we stopped for a rest.

The last exhibit we visited had a convayor belt that we rode through a tunnel of fish. There were cards at the beginning of the ride that could be used to identify the fish we saw swimming all around us. Jackson loved looking at the fish, then at the card, calling out the name of each fish that he found.
I think it is safe to say that we were all totally tuckered out after the trip! Thanks Nana & Papa T for taking us to see the fish. It is definitely a trip we would love to take again!

Peed and Ta Ta

I had Teddy. My brother had George and Snoopy. Harris has Peed and Ta Ta.

Both boys have fallen in love with the movie Cars, and both of them have their favorite parts. At the beginning of the movie, Lightning McQueen says, "Speed. I. Am. Speed." This is, by far, Harris' favorite part. He says it all of the time (except he says "Peed. Ahhh. Peed.")... it is hysterical. So, instead of calling his red race car Lightening McQueen, it has become Peed.

Ta Ta is an easy one... this is Thomas the Train. However, it isn't just any Thomas. It is Winter Wonderland Thomas, covered in snow and wearing his snow plow. With Thomas in hand, he is now saying "Ta Ta. Ahhh. Ta Ta.", just like Peed.

Harris doesn't want to be anywhere without Ta Ta and Peed. They go to church, they go to bed, they have just recently been banned from the dinner table. If Harris gets his face washed, Ta Ta and Peed get their faces washed. Harris will hide Peed, under blankets, in shoes, in bags. Then we have to hunt for him singing "Where-o, where-o, where is Peed?" until we find him, Harris giggling the whole time. If we lose Peed or Ta Ta, we are in disaster mode. Other trains or cars just don't cut it. Luckily we have always found them relatively quickly, just to have him hide them again!

No stuffed animals or woobies for Harris... it is cars and trains all the way.

Happy Birthday, Mom!!!

We had such a great time celebrating with you over the weekend! The boys had the best time playing with their Nana (they are still talking about it!), and I loved my Mom-time. I hope you feel super-loved today and know that you are in our thoughts.

I hope today is as much fun as the weekend, and I hope that Papa T left you some birthday cake for tonight!! Lots of little boy hugs and kisses to you!
Love,
Amanda, Jason, Jackson & Harris