Valentine's Celebrations

Jackson's class had their Valentine's Day party on Friday. During the day the kiddos exchanged valentines by putting them in the specially decorated boxes the teachers made for each one. All the kiddos enjoyed a special snack and then spent some time entertaining us as they danced to their favorite songs. Jackson loved the party if you can't tell...

Barbara, Heath, and Carter also gave Jackson and us a bag of goodies while they were here on Valentine's Day. That afternoon Jackson made his own special card for Dada, which he was able to give him today! That's right...Ross is finally home, and we are SO excited!

New Years 2010 in Leakey, TX

Leslie and Philip held their 3rd annual New Year's Eve party at their house. We were bad and didn't even pull the camera out, but we had a great time visiting with family and close friends. Last year we started the tradition of Wii bowling to entertain us while we waited to bring in the new year. The tradition continued this year, but everyone was exhausted. We decided to celebrate when the ball dropped in New York, but then everyone stuck around and visited longer, which meant we ended up celebrating twice!

New Year's Day was a real highlight for Jackson. Uncle Philip let him drive a real tractor! How many 18 month olds have ever done that? Here's a link to the video if you don't believe me, and here are a few photos of the fun. He steered the tractor around their yard, and then got to turn around and move the arm! Of course, there are more pics in the album.

Christmas at Home

We had Christmas at home today, and it was a great day. We started by going to church, enjoying the praise and worship and message, and visiting with friends. After lunch and Jackson's nap, our Christmas celebration at home began. Here are some of the highlights, but there are more in the album.

Jackson had fun stacking his new blocks.

Then he helped everyone else go through their stockings.

He eventually opened a Mr. Potato Head, and had lots of fun studying it and figuring out what to do...

His favorite gift was definitely the bubble machine! Although, we had no idea how quickly it would go through a bottle of bubbles. We already need a refill!

We spent the rest of the day playing with all of our new toys and hanging out at the park. Today contained bits and pieces of all the important things in our lives: God, family, friends, and fun! We couldn't have hoped for a better day!

The Christmas Season has Begun!

It's official...Christmas is here. Believe it or not it SNOWED in Houston this week! There were lots of big flakes, but nothing stuck to the ground in our area, and unfortunately, we were at work through most of it, so I don't have any pictures as proof. The temperature dropped dramatically that night though, and Jackson discovered ice in our back yard the next morning.

We also went to our first Christmas party of the season last night, and managed to get a few pics of Jackson playing with our decorations today. Of course, there are more in the album.

Now it's time to finish up our shopping, get out our Christmas cards, and do some baking!

Thanksgiving

It took a little longer than expected to get these pictures posted, but they are finally here. We had a very busy but wonderful Thanksgiving. We made our way to Shreveport on Wednesday. I spent the afternoon doing a little shopping at some of my favorite local places while Ross took Jackson to the park.

Thursday we headed to Ruston. We were able to spend a few minutes with Heath, Barbara, and Carter before going to my Grandmother and Granddaddy's house for a delicious Thanksgiving lunch where almost my entire family joined us this year. It was so wonderful to see everyone! I didn't do a very good job of getting pictures of the adults, but I got quite a few of the kiddos. Jackson LOVES my grandparents' wagon, so he spent a lot of time having the bigger kids and some adults pull him around. He also made an attempt to pull the wagon himself but didn't get very far.

Friday we made our way to Austin to meet our precious little nephew, Mitchell. I posted a few pics in the last post, but there are many more in the album. Jackson loved meeting his new cousin and playing at a nearby park.

There weren't any baby swings at this park, so he really looked like a big boy on these swings!

He also had a great time hanging out with his Uncle Philip.

We even managed to get pics of each of us with Jackson for once!

After a full day in Austin on Saturday, we made our way home on Sunday and picked up our Christmas tree. Let the decorating begin!

1st Trip to the Zoo!

Since Ross and I both had Veteran's Day off and it was such a gorgeous day, we decided to take Jackson to the zoo for the very first time. He now knows lots of animals and the noises they make, so he had a blast! The monkeys were probably his favorite, and the Houston Zoo has quite a few of them. Here are some pictures from the day. There are more in the album.

Pumpkin Patch

Today we made what will likely be our first annual trip to the pumpkin patch with Jackson, and we took lots of pictures of Jackson exploring the rows of pumpkins...more in the album!

Labor Day Weekend Fun

Our Labor Day weekend was packed with even more fun than usual this year. We went to Shreveport as usual and stayed with my folks. Jackson had a blast walking up and down their street and playing in the back yard. We couldn't resist taking a few pics.

From there we made our way to my high school's danceline reunion. We all met at a park, ate yummy food, and had fun visiting. Most of us haven't seen in each other in over 10 years! Everyone looked the same with the addition of husbands and kiddos. Here is a picture of the girls. There are more from the park in the album.

Next was the main event...the Stone Family Reunion, which is Ross' mom's family. It's a two day affair filled with fun. We start off Saturday evening at Ross' Aunt Dottie and Uncle Jim's house with burgers, hot dogs, and all the fixin's. Sunday brunch is had at Ross' parents' house, and then everyone heads to his Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Laura's house for swimming, fajitas, and karaoke! Did I mention there are 45 people at each of these events? It's a blast! I love seeing how everyone changes each year. Here are a few pics from the events, but of course, there are a lot more in the album.

Jackson got to "ride" Grandad's motorcycle.

Taylor Family Picture

Just the 3 (or 4) of us

Jackson stopping to pose for a few pics.

Jackson and Anna Claire playing together.

Swimming is fun! Especially when Daddy throws me!

A little karaoke fun to end the evening.

And that's not all...we celebrated my Granddaddy's 82nd birthday Monday over lunch before we left town. Jackson's middle name, Dean, is after my Granddaddy, Harry Dean. We all loved spending time with them, and Jackson got really excited about the cake!