Tonight was such a fun night for all of us. Miss Ella and I went to dinner in Dallas with some girlfriends and sat and talked for 3 hours! We had a fabulous time as always and Ella was so good and just sat in the booth and played with her toys, ate, then went to sleep in her bucket. It was so cute, she was such a little lady and I really think she enjoyed her first girls night! While we were at dinner, Jason and Jackson had their own guys night. They went to see the Ft. Worth Cats baseball game and as I type this, they are sleeping in a tent in the living room. How adorable is that? This morning when I asked Jackson what he wanted to do for guys night, he said that he wanted to have a camp out in the living room with a fire and marshmallows. He talked about it all day so when Jason got home from work he set up the tent with the blow up mattress and had it all set up for when Jackson got up from his nap. After they got home from the baseball game, they made smores, watched "Bee Movie" and when Ella and I got home they were already asleep. This makes my heart happy to think of all the special times that we have with our children and for the special times ahead. 
***A.M. update - when I went in this morning, this is what I saw at the foot of the tent. J later told me that Jackson had his shoes in there and went and got daddy's to put next to his. Precious!
July 18, 2008
Guys Night/Girls Night
Nature Walk
This morning I wanted to go for a walk and Jackson was not on board. I finally was able to convince him to go on a "nature walk." He bought into this and so we got dressed, grabbed a big ziplock for his finds and a small one for his cars (we go nowhere without cars) and we headed out. He picked up rocks, sticks, leaves, and the big find of the day was a dead locust. Ick. He wanted to show daddy so I helped him pick it up with two sticks. He was very excited and loved his nature walk. It was so simple and so fun to see him enjoy the small things. On the way back Ella had fallen asleep and he took off his hat to cover her from the sun. Such a sweet brother. When we got home he put the locust "nite nite" on the dog kennell to wait for daddy to get home. He is 100% boy and I love it so much. Here are some pics from our walk. 
July 13, 2008
Ants in the pants
Yesterday was sweet Micah's 3rd birthday and he had his party with our other precious friend, Hadley. It was such a great party at this park and swimming pool. The kids had so much fun, swimming, playing, eating cake and candy and running around. Jackson was so good all day, until he wanted his 100th piece of candy and Mommy said no. He immediately threw himself onto the grass, screaming like a wild man. My sweet friend, Tammy, got this terrified look on her face and said, "WHAT IS WRONG WITH HIM?!?!?!" She then took on a panicked look and started yelling, "ANTS!!! ANTS!!! HE HAS ANTS! CARRIE, HE HAS ANTS!!" No. That would be a tantrum. A massive, 3 year old meltdown. It might have been one of the funniest moments ever. I have tears in my eyes as I type this because it makes me laugh so hard. We laughed about it all night...I will never forget it.
July 8, 2008
July 7, 2008
July 4th at Nana's
We spent the July 4th weekend in San Antonio with my sweet Nana, Granny, Pop, Aunt Carolyn, Uncle Ron and my cousins. We had absolutely beautiful weather, the first July 4th I can remember that was not blazing hot! The guys played golf in the morning and the girls played at home with Jackson and Ella. Jackson swam his little heart out and Ella enjoyed being spoiled rotten by her great Nana, Granny and Aunt Carolyn! We cooked burgers, sausage, and had mom's famous potato salad, and of course, homemade ice cream! My cousin James and his girlfriend, Heather, came over and we just spent the evening laughing and telling stories. After dinner we went to see the fireworks down the road. Jackson really enjoyed it. He was concerned about the noise at first, but quickly moved on when he saw them in the sky. On the way home Jason asked Jackson if he thought that they had fireworks in heaven. Jackson thought about it and then responded with, "Daddy, maybe we could go to heaven and get Uncle John and take him to Heston's house." That pretty much stopped us in our tracks. It amazes me how sweet his little soul is and how aware he is at such a young age of the situation. Precious.
On Friday morning we got up early and J, Jackson, Granny, Pop and I all headed to Sea World for the day. Little bean stayed at Nana's with her and Aunt C and Uncle R. Jackson was so excited about going. For days before our trip he would wake up and tell us that he was going to Sea World that day to see the dolphins, whales and crocodiles, he was going to swim with Pop and stay with Nana. He would get so disappointed when we explained to him that it was not for several more days that we would be leaving. When we got to Sea World I think he was a little bit overwhelmed by it all and got quiet and not nearly as excited as I thought he would be. We went to the dolphin/beluga whale show first, which he loved. He thought it was silly that those men were jumping from the roof :) I think I was more excited than he was. I love sea animals and wanted to be a marine biologist when I was younger. Many of you know I cry when I get really excited (like when I cried at my first Cowboys game because I was so beside myself....ridiculous, I know). Well, I cried for the first 10 minutes of the show. I loved watching Jackson's sweet expressions and amazement at the animals and the acrobats. It was so much fun! We went to Shamu next, and that child could have cared less. He was bored and all he talked about was wanting to see those stinkin' crocodiles...the whole show. Next, Mom, Dad and I went to ride the Great White (the BEST roller coaster ever) while Jason took Jackson to see the crocodiles. After eating lunch, riding the Shamu Express roller coaster, and going in the sky tubes (the worst mistake - don't ever do this) we decided to head to the Lost Lagoon water park. When we got there, they had met capacity and were letting people in, one in, one out. The line was super long and we were told it would be at least 30 - 40 minutes (with a tired, hot 3 year old...not so much). Dad remembered that they have cabanas that you can rent and he was off to rent a cabana for the day. We were able to bypass the long line and get right in. That was the best thing we did. It was so nice to have a spot to go to that was covered, cool, separated from the crowds, etc. They served lunch, had towels waiting for us, water, sunscreen, waitresses, etc. It was great. Especially for mom because she was not going to get in the water. Jackson loved the water park! He was so happy to finally get there. We went swimming and rode slides for a while, went back and ate, swam some more and then went to one last show before going home. Poor Jackson was so tired he could barely keep his little eyes open. He was such a trooper. 10 hours at Sea World on probably one of the most crowded weekends of the summer. We had a fabulous time and were so happy to spend it with Granny and Pop. They have been excited about taking him to Sea World since he was born and already can't wait to take Ella.
On Sunday we swam again, relaxed and just enjoyed our visits with Nana and the rest of my family. They are all so special and we are so blessed to have them. We always have such a nice time when we visit and wish we could go more often. What a wonderful weekend!
July 2, 2008
Sitting Pretty
Ella is sitting up! A few days ago I was sitting with her on the floor and she began to do the tri-pod lean and within a few more days she was sitting up almost completely by herself. I still have to sit close and watch her, she is not too steady, but is getting better every day! My sweet baby is growing too fast :( Tonight in the bath tub she just sat up like a big girl and we were able to snap a picture before she gave up on us. When I was getting ready to give her her bottle she was laying in her crib and started trying to eat her toes...adorable. I took one last shot of her after she fell asleep. She is an absolute angel to me!
June 30, 2008
Our little fish
Jackson has officially graduated from the Tadpole swim class! We have been in swim lessons for the past 2 weeks and he did fantastic! We are so proud of him. He learned to float independently on his back and stomach, how to jump from the side and swim back, and his teacher, Shannon (or Sha-Nana, as he called her) let him jump off of the diving board on the last day. He did great and was not one bit scared! It was so neat to see how much he and the other progressed in just 2 weeks. He was able to swim out about 10 feet by the last day :) He does not fully know how to swim, but I do have a much better feeling when we are around water. Water scares me, and anyone who has gone to the pool with me knows I am on the verge of being paranoid! Here is a slide show for you!
