Jackson is 4!!!

My Jackson, aka my Lovebug, turned 4 years old on Saturday! We had an awesome time at Jackson's McDonald's birthday party with a big turnout of about 14 or 15 kids. We had my friend Ashley, who does facepainting on the side, come and paint the kids...and a few adults. :) I met her about 2 months before Jackson's 2nd birthday in one of my classes and she said that she wanted to come and do face painting at his 2nd birthday and has now done it at his 2nd, 3rd, and 4th. She and I have become such great friends over the last few years in school and she will be starting her first teaching job in the fall--yay!!! Jackson's friends seemed to really enjoy the party and we did too. I'm so glad that he is still so close to his old friends from school, since he'll be going back there in the fall.

Jackson is such an amazing kid and I am so proud to be his mom. The things that can drive me crazy on a daily basis are the qualities that could very well make him a huge success in the future--his determination to do his own thing, his overwhelming energy, the way he doesn't take "no" for an answer, his expert negotiating skills, and his fearless attitude. Jackson is so smart. He is a born leader. He can make friends so easily in any situation. I don't have to worry about him, because he will walk into any new situation with confidence. He knows who he is and he knows what he wants. I've overheard Jackson with his friends and it is so amazing to me that Jackson can say no to his friends if he doesn't agree with something and stand up for what he believes in. What an amazing quality to have and I hope that I never have to worry about him being a "follower". I overheard a friend of Jackson's say to him, "Why are you wearing that shirt, and he responded, "Because I like it. And because my mom gave it to me to wear." I think it's great that he can stand up and speak for himself and with such confidence. I'm looking forward to an amazing life for him.

I love you so much, Jackson!!!

Jackson's Q&A
Age 4
July 28, 2009

1. What's your favorite color?
Orange and red
2. What's your favorite song?
ABC's and 123's, Thank you God for feeding me, Amen
3. What's your favorite number
70
4. Who is your best friend?
Cole
5. What's your favorite thing to do?
Play
6. What's your best feature?
My smile
7. What's your best day ever?
Saturday, at my birthday party
8. What's your favorite tv show?
The Backyardigans and Super Why
9. What's your favorite store?
HEB, because I like to get suckers
10. What's the best place you've ever gone?
Sonic, because I like their drinks and their food.
11. What's your favorite book?
My dinosaur book
12. What's your favorite game?
Tiger Woods (Playstation)
13. What's your favorite letter
"J"
14. What's your favorite movie?
Elmo
15. What's your favorite thing to do in the summer?
Go to the beach
16. What's your favorite toy?
My rocket
17. What's your favorite dessert?
Chocolate ice cream
18. What's your favorite thing about dad? When he plays with me

Gavin is 7 months

My little sunshine is growing so fast. I can't believe how fast this time is flying by. I have really enjoyed all of the time that I've had with the boys.

A couple of tidbits about Gavin: He loves to "talk". He babbles and babbles all day. I love to hear him. He loves his feet and loves to put them in his mouth. He scoots on his back to get where he wants to go. He loves to roll around. He is constantly reaching for things whether it's my cell phone that I'm talking on, or my swimsuit top, or a box of wipes, he is constantly grabbing for things. He seems to really be taking a lot in lately. Sometimes I look at him and he is watching something (usually Jackson or other kids) so intently that you can almost see the wheels turning.

Yesterday we went to the zoo with some friends. Jackson decided that it would be a good idea to touch a cactus, then told his friend that he should try. This little stunt ended us all up in the First Aid station where they used tweezers to remove the cactus pricks. The rest of the day was lots of fun.

Matt got off a little early today so we took the boys to the pool at about 5 and Jackson had swim lessons at 6:45. This is Jackson's second session of swim lessons and I think that it really helped to get out there with him before lessons. Gavin got in for the second time this summer and seemed to enjoy the water. The first time he didn't like it as much, but this time I eased him into it and he kicked under the water as I held him.

I wish this summer could last forever. I'm having such a great time!!!

Looking forward to a great weekend!!! Jackson's birthday is on Saturday as well as Gavin's baby dedication at church. We'll have lots of friends and family around all weekend. We're really excited!

6 months old

Hard to believe that it's been 6 months since Gavin was born. (Actually 6 months, 3 days)It really has flown by. He is such a wonderful baby. He is so easy going--just goes with the flow, he smiles at everything and everyone, he is so affectionate--he loves to stare at faces and then starts rubbing and touching our face or pulling my hair and trying to put it in his mouth. He is so curious--he follows anything that makes a noise or passes him by, by turning his whole body toward it. He grabs for EVERYTHING and tries to put EVERYTHING into his mouth. He loves to be tickled and has the cutest laugh that goes on and on for minutes and makes us all laugh. He loves to hear himself make all kinds of noises--loves the lllll with his tongue out, the high-pitched aaaahhhhh, and the uuuuuhhhhh. He loves to stick his tongue out and do "raspberries". He has been joining me at the gym and the lady in the nursery has said that he gets jealous when she gives attention to any other baby--he pouts and then starts to cry. He lunges toward things and rolls over when doing "tummy time," but not crawling yet--he's so curious, though he probably would have started crawling a couple of months ago if I actually let him spend more time on the floor and less time in my arms, but when I put him down Jackson loves to hover all around him and smother him with hugs and kisses. Gavin loves his swing and his Exersaucer. He loves to turn all around in the Exersaucer and put all the toys in his mouth. He's been sitting up by himself since just after 5 months so now he's perfected it so that he doesn't fall over and can play with his toys. He loves the Leap Frog letter ball that he can sit up and spin it around and around. He's a thumb-sucker--Jackson wan't--and it amazes me how well he uses his thumb to soothe himself. Yesterday we were playing on a quilt on the floor and I got distracted with Jackson and looked back at Gavin a couple of minutes later and he turned on his side and put his thumb in his mouth to take nap. He weighed in Monday at about 15 pounds and is just under 24 inches long.

Gavin is such a blessing in our lives and we are so happy to have him in our family.

The Tricycle

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Happy Birthday, Matt!!!

Happy Birthday to Matt, the love of my life!!! The big 4-0. I am truly blessed to have Matt in my life. He is an amazing husband, father, and my best friend. I can't imagine my life without Matt and thank God that he blessed me by putting him in my life.



10 best qualities of my Matt

1. Loyal. To friends and family Matt is loyal and devoted.
2. Christian. Growing and learning more and more about God's love by having a personal relationship with Christ, studying the Bible and doing what it says, and being involved in our church.
3. Hard working Since we started dating and especially after having a family there is nothing that Matt won't do to provide for us.
4. Funny. I love that he makes me laugh everyday. I can't even put into words how funny I think he is.
5. Smart. From business to biology he's got it going on.
6. Respectful. Gentleman to the core.
7. Patient. Although he claims that I've worn it thin, he still has more patience than most.
8. Organized. Everything from our checkbook to his sock drawer has to be organized just as he wants it.
9. Great Dad. He loves the boys and loves spending quality time with them.
10. HOT!!! He still gives me butterflies--and is even getting better with age.

40 is the new 30, baby!!! I love you!!!

4 months already???

My sunshine had his 4 month birthday today. Hard to believe that it's been 4 months since Gavin was born. It's even harder to believe that it's almost been a year since we found out that I was pregnant with Gavin. The news was confirmed last year, a month and 2 days after Matt's dad passed away, and the day before Mother's Day. We knew that it was a blessing and although we had concerns about our financial situation, as well as how I was going to go about finishing school, God has provided for us all that we need. I am so excited that Gavin was born after I finished my 2nd to last semester of school and just early enough that I had 3 more weeks than expected with him. :) It's hard to believe that this is the half way point of the time that I will have off with the boys. God has provided us opportunities to make some extra money and although we are far from wealthy, we have been able to live comfortably for the last several months. I started selling AVON a couple of weeks ago after running into a friend at a wedding that I hadn't seen in years. She teaches 3rd grade and sells AVON on the side and I told her that I was interested. It has kept me a little busier than I had been, but I welcome the opportunity to earn some extra money. We celebrated a wonderful Easter weekend before last with my sister's in-laws. Here are a few of my favorite shots.

We had a great time at the zoo today with our friends that we met at storytime and were able to see the Butterfly Exhibit for the first time. It is something extra that they have at the zoo right now. For $1 admission per person you are able to go into this greenhouse that feels like a sauna and look at the butterflies. It was perfect since Jackson had just learned about the life cycle of the butterfly at school. Unfortunately, my battery died but I was able to take a few pictures.



As I said Gavin is 4 months old today and I must say that he is the best baby!!! He's been sleeping through the night since before 3 months, but I hadn't wanted to jinx myself by mentioning it before :) He sleeps from about 8-9 pm at night until about 7-8 am. It's been so nice! I love that he and I have a great groove going on. He just goes with the flow. If there is something wrong, it doesn't take much for me to figure out what it is and get it resolved. (That may also be because now I have experience.) He loves to smile and laugh and hardly ever cries. I sometimes will be driving down the street and have to turn around and look to make sure he's back there. Jackson is really good with him. Jackson could be saying the goofiest thing or not even paying attention to Gavin but holding his hand, but the look on Gavin's face is priceless. He looks at Jackson as if he is the coolest person in the world. (Which, I would have to say, he is one of the coolest people for sure.) Gavin just stares at Jackson and smiles as if he's just going to follow him to the ends of the earth. It makes me laugh out loud right now just thinking about it. I hope that Jackson can be a good example for Gavin, because it's obvious that Gavin thinks his big brother is the greatest. :)


I also wanted to give a shout out to my hubby that I absolutely love like crazy and hope that he knows every day how amazing I think he is. I can't imagine in a million years anyone else that I'd rather spend my whole life with!!!