Fun with Granny & Pop

Granny and Pop came into town on Thursday evening and we had a wonderful weekend with them! On Friday we took Jackson to pick strawberries. It was so much fun and he enjoyed it so much. They give you a bucket and you can pick as many as you want and then pay by the pound. Jackson LOVES strawberries, he even has his own strawberry plant that we planted for him. He checks it every day to see if there are any ready to pick, so imagine how excited he was to have an entire field! Pop helped him pick the best ones and he ate several before we even got out of there. That night we went to the Rangers game. I was a little bit nervous about having two little ones at a baseball game, but they did so great. We got out of there without a meltdown from anyone! The Rangers even won. Saturday was a little bit crazy due to a birthday party and baby shower. Jackson has a friend in his class at school (actually he calls her his girlfriend - she and Lainey both) :) Her name is Bristan (Brissy) and she is an absolute doll. She invited us to her sister's birthday party so we went to that and then I went to Dallas for a baby shower for my sweet friend Stephanie Howard. That evening we went to dinner at Papasito's - yum! Sunday morning we met Cindy and Ash for brunch at Mac's and then Jason finally had a dream come true...he got a Wii. Of course we spent the bulk of the afternoon playing with that. Jackson loves it too and is actually very good at the bowling game.

We wish Granny and Pop lived closer so we could see them more often, but we cherish the time that we do get to spend with them. We love you Granny & Pop!

Ella loves her bubba!

So sweet....I was just walking around the house talking to Ella and showing her pictures and we walked by Jackson's big picture in the hallway. She looked at him and started laughing and smiling! I love it. I have been so anxious for the time to come when she recognizes us and is entertained by Jackson and I think the time has come! Just thought I would share...it made me excited!

3 months

Ella is 3 months old now...hard to believe. She is in such a fun stage, it is like she has truly woken up to the world and is becoming much more active. She loves to kick and play on her activity gym and she loves to talk to us. She makes the sweetest cooing noises and I love how she will respond when you coo at her. She smiles so much and loves it when her bubba talks to her. She will grin so big at him and of course Jackson loves it. He thinks it is great that his sister loves him and thinks he is funny. Ella is continuing to grow and change daily. She is our little chunky monkey! She did not have a dr. appointment this month so I am not sure how much she weighs, we will see next month. She is eating between 5 and 6 ounces, 6 to 7 times a day. She is starting to lose a little bit of her newborn hair and it is still dark with a reddish tint to it. Jason thinks she is losing it due to all of the bows that she wears...I highly doubt that. Baby girls need bows. Her eyes are dark, but look like they may be starting to change. Sometimes they look greenish/hazel and sometimes brown. My vote is brown like the momma.
We also are thinking she may end up being a thumb sucker like Jackson (and Jason, and me...must run in the family). She loves her blankets and recently has started to pull them up to her face when she is sleepy. She is sleeping so great at night and we are so happy about this! It took her a little bit longer than it did Jackson, but she is finally sleeping through the night. Her napping is getting better, but she seems to wake up about half way through her nap??? Any suggestions?

I finally feel like we are truly adjusted and in somewhat of a routine. I no longer respond with "CRAZY!" when people ask how life with two kids is. I love our little family and constantly am reminded of how blessed we are! I will post pics soon.

Fishing at Ironhorse

On Sunday evening when we went to pick up the kids, we all went fishing at Nanny & Grandpa's. Jackson had been so excited to go fishing with Grandpa and he was precious. This was a much better experience than his first time fishing - he was TERRIFIED when Scotty reeled in a fish. It was so sad, but hilarious at the same time. Look at that poor baby...bless his heart.



Here are a few pictures from this past weekend, and one from last summer - look how much our little guy has grown :(

I love that Jackson and Ella will be able to grow up going fishing on the farm!

Weekend trip to Chicago

Last Friday morning, my SWEET husband woke me up with Starbucks and a card that told me to pack my bags for a weekend in Chicago! I had 3 hours to get the kids packed for Nanny & Grandpa's, get ready and pack myself. I was completely surprised and super impressed that he pulled this surprise off. We went to Chicago a few weeks after we got married because Jason had a training for work and we have been wanting to go back since. It is such a beautiful, clean and fun city.

We left at 11 a.m. and arrived at 2 p.m., hopped in a cab (where I brilliantly left my cell phone) and checked into the hotel. We then went to Giordano's Pizza (Jason has talked about this place for 6 years) and ate lunch. The pizza there is seriously 2 inches thick...yummy! We did some shopping and walked around and then went back to get ready for the evening. We tried to go back to this great restaurant that we had been to before, but it was so late that it was closed by the time we got there, so we ended up at Webber's Grill - not exciting, but one of the only places still open at the time. After dinner we went to Andy's - a fun jazz bar that we had also previously visited. On Saturday morning we actually got to sleep in!! We finally got up and out of the hotel around 10:30 and went to eat breakfast and were back to shopping! That is pretty much all we did, as we have done a lot of the touristy things already. We had intentions of going to a museum or two, but never made it. We were able to go back to Shaw's for lunch and then went to the Lego store to get a prize for our little man. That evening we had dinner at this wonderful Italian restaurant called Coco Pazzo and then went to see Blue Man Group www.blueman.com. If you have never seen this show, I highly recommend it. It is random, weird, and so entertaining! We loved it and I was sad when it was over because it was so much fun. We were so tired from our long day of walking and called it a night. Sunday we got up, had breakfast and headed to the airport to come home.

It was such a wonderful weekend and so great to spend time together. I felt so special and I am so blessed to have such a thoughtful and sweet husband :) Thanks babe!
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Jackson-isms

My mom has a good friend named Vickie that always said words wrong and we called them "Vickie-isms." Jackson has had many Jackson-isms that I want to always remember.

* alligator - Gatorade
* Hop Chalk - sidewalk chalk
*"Bits Dis Mommy!" - Zip this
*A personal favorite - Jackson's version of Jesus Loves Me (last summer - I never corrected him because it was so cute, but unfortunately he outgrew this one) - Jesus loves me, this I know, (singing turns to yelling...) for the Bible told you NO!
* Prampa - Grandpa; Branny - Granny; Playton - Clayton (he has trouble with the gr & cl blends)
* El-wa Brace - Ella Grace
* Seaweed - Kiwi
* watch my attention - pay attention
* big pennies - quarters - "Daddy, I want you go to work and make me the big pennies."
* tanilla - vanilla
* tamingo - flamingo
* zausted - exhausted - "Mommy, you are zausted!"
* bacterio - antibacterial soap
* last day - the other day/yesterday

Uncle John

John...silly, kind, generous, loving, loyal, honest, a man of integrity, selfless, happy, hard working, strong, honorable, fun, a blessing and so very missed. Time is a crazy thing. It is hard to believe it has been 2 years. This is a very personal blog, but it is very important to me to document feelings, stories, and moments for my children. Even though John is not here, I want Jackson and Ella to know him as if he is. John was not only a brother to me, but also my best friend. We were friends even before Jason and I started dating and John was instrumental in our relationship and taught us many things about love and how to take things one day at a time and enjoy the time that we spent together. We spent many nights at Cagle's Steaks and I am so grateful for all that time that John, Jason and I had together. I am so thankful for the 10 months that John knew Jackson. Precious and priceless...that is how I remember them together. John was not able to be there when Jackson was born, but I will never forget the look on his face when he met him for the first time, and how he held him for so long. Surprising us for Jackson's baby dedication. Del Frisco's. Disney World and John feeding him...the biggest mess ever. I loved every stain from that lasagna. John taking Jackson from me at restaurants when I would freak out if he made the slightest fuss. Flex - ha :) Thanksgiving at John and Shadie's house. Christmas at Ironhorse. Memories that I hope never fade. I am so thankful for those times. I am so thankful for things in Jackson that remind me of John. We lovingly joked and called John "Mr. Fix It" because he always wanted everyone to be happy and wanted to make things right for people (or animals...) even if that meant spending hundreds (or was it thousands??) of dollars on a stray dog that we all know as Kinzey. Jackson is that way - he gets upset when people cry and immediately wants to fix it, with a hug, a kiss, or even his nite nite. Many times I have heard, "It's ok mommy, nite nite makes you feel good." His teachers at school tell me that when a child cries that Jackson is the first over to hug and tell them that it will be ok. I love that. Eating...need I say more? I wish he could have seen Ella - he would be in love with her. Two years ago our lives changed forever, but I know God's plan is a perfect plan, even though I may never understand it fully. My heart is heavy as I think of all of the times that we were supposed to spend together but I smile at the sweet memory of him and the thought of him in Heaven and at the fact that I know I will see him again soon. As John said himself at his grandfather's funeral, "He is not in a better place, he is in the best place."

11 weeks

Miss Ella is 11 weeks old now and growing so much! She is our little chunky girl (I mean this with so much love) Just don't call her a "big girl," that is never good on a girl's self-esteem :) She is getting little rolls on her arms and her legs...so adorable. She is smiling so much and she can sit in her Bumbo seat now. I love it! Here are a few recent pictures of our sweet girl.

Bumbo time

Sleeping so sweet

Scrapbook Blogger

When I started this blog, I did it with the intention to use it as a family journal to keep up with our life and to share it with friends and family. I wanted to print all of my posts to keep for the kids for when they are older. I was thrilled when I found this website called Scrapbook Blogger www.scrapbookblogger.com that makes your blog into a scrapbook...so easy, quick and great for those of us with little time! I am so excited about this, as free time is few and far between these days. Poor Ella...I see how the second child often gets a little more neglected in this area. I will do my best to catch up someday...ha. Check out the site when you have a minute.

The Beanbag Boogie

Jackson had his first little program at school and his class did "The Beanbag Boogie." It was so precious and he did such a good job...we were all so proud of him! At the end they all stood up and danced and he got in the middle and danced in circles :) He was adorable! I am going to try and figure out how to put the video on here, but no promises.

The day before the program we went to buy him some new shoes and when he got fitted, the lady told me that he would need a 10.5 or an 11!! I told her that she must be mistaken, that was not possible, he is not even 3 yet...she looked at me and told me again that he was that size. I told her again that could not be right, and she again told me that it was. I was in complete denial. Needless to say, we walked out with an 11. My baby does not even wear a toddler size anymore :( However, he loves his new shoes and tells us that he can run much faster now. I guess he will be a big foot like his daddy!

Tiny Hiney 1 & Tiny Hiney 2

I thought this was too cute!