A few of JD's favorite things...

This afternoon my mom, now known as Nana, came down to give me a hand with Jackson for the weekend. Jackson was SO excited to see her. He said "Nana" over and over the whole way home, and when he actually saw her, he ran to give her a big hug. We spent the afternoon playing, watching a little TV to relax, and eating...

Jackson and Nana played with the rocket and took Gator and Dog for a walk.

JD had fun dumping out his blocks, briefly stacking them, and then putting them back. Jackson loves to put things back...something we really hope continues as he gets older!

Once Gator and Dog were worn out (Nana and Jackson too), we settled down in front of the TV for a few minutes to watch a little Elmo...what JD calls Sesame Street. The TV seems to put Jackson into a trance...

Then it was time to chow down...

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!

Jackson likes fruit!

Jackson really likes fruit! He starts saying "NANUH!" (banana) as soon as we walk in the door from day care. But, he also loves cantaloupe, watermelon, applesauce, etc. Here is a video of him eating watermelon. Keep in mind, he has already eaten an entire toddler meal and a fair bit of watermelon at this point.

And that's "more" he's saying if you can't tell. He can also sign "more" but gets a bit excited with the watermelon right there in front of him.

4th of July

Sorry for not posting last weekend. It turned out to be an overwhelming weekend. My mom was in town, which was a saving grace because she was able to keep Jackson while we signed all the paperwork to put in an offer for a new house, which was accepted! She was also able to help us pack some things to be put into storage so we could get our house ready to sell, and she kept Jackson while Ross took me to the ER for one of the worst migraines I've ever had!

This weekend was a little less stressful and a lot of fun. We made our way to Leakey, TX to visit with family. While we were there we participated in the Leakey 4th of July parade. Ross, Jackson, and I were crowd control for the Frio Spring Lodges' Float, which was a huge roller. Crowd control was needed because the float was not only throwing beads and candy but also popsicles! They were a huge hit on such a hot day, but we didn't want anyone to get squashed just for a popsicle! Here are some pictures of everyone getting ready for the parade. I don't have any of the actual action, but there are a bunch in the album.

Here are Ross and Jackson ready to go!

This is Ross' 1st cousin once removed, Dick, that owns the lodges and drove the roller.

After the parade, we made our way back to the Stepladder Ranch where Ross' Dad, John; a family friend, Buz; and Dick smoked some cabrito. Here are the guys enjoying the shade.

Aunt Leslie and Uncle Philip introduced Jackson to Noel, and then Jackson got to go on his first horse ride!

Then he had fun playing outside in the dirt. It was a great day!

Many thanks to Leslie and Philip for hosting us!

We hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July!

Happy Father's Day

It's been another busy week. Aside from my photography class, there were lots of good things going on this week. We had painters at our house this week, which means the garage is officially done, and we are very happy with it! We also found out Jackson will be changing day cares next week. We are excited about the change, but once again sad to be leaving the teachers behind. Hopefully this will be the last change until he goes off to school though.

Saturday was our busiest day this week. We managed to get our yard work done before it got too hot. Jackson had fun lounging around in his PJs with Bailey while Ross was working.

Then we took Bailey and Jackson to Bay Area Park for a picnic and some play time. Bailey had a blast in the dog park. Her favorite friend was this sweet little 10 week old puppy that loved playing in the fountain.

Jackson had a great time on the swings and rocking on the horse before enjoying his first real picnic at the park. Here are a few pictures of the fun.

Saturday evening our friends, Katie and Jason, had a house warming party in Katy, TX. We had a great time catching up with some friends we haven't seen recently, while Jackson had fun hanging out with his favorite sitter, Ms. Heather.

Ross' 2nd Father's Day was...just as difficult as the first. Last year we were adjusting to a brand new baby. This year, Jackson decided not to nap, which made for a long, fussy day. Overall, it was still great though. We had a good, manly breakfast this morning followed by church and a little house hunting since Jackson wouldn't sleep. Of course we rounded out the day like any other celebration with a dinner at Lupe Tortilla!

Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there!

The Perfect Equation

188 pounds of crawfish + 72 cobs of corn + 20 pounds of potatoes + 10 pounds of mushrooms + 10 loaves of bread + friends and family = an awesome crawfish boil (in my opinion)!

Ross’ sister and brother-in-law came in Thursday night followed by all of our parents and my grandparents on Friday. We enjoyed a relaxing dinner with the Taylor family Friday night, and then we all got busy Saturday morning preparing for TWO parties, the crawfish boil and Jackson's 1st Birthday!

We had a great time hanging out with everyone at the crawfish boil on Saturday. Unfortunately, we forgot to pull out our camera until almost everyone was gone, but we managed to get a few pictures. Jackson liked petting the crawfish, but he’s not yet a fan of eating them…we’ll keep working on that!

Part 2 of the weekend (b-day party) is coming soon...

Celebrate Good Times!

We had a whirl wind of fun this weekend. We celebrated our friend Carter's 2nd b-day on Saturday, which was the main reason for a trip to Shreveport and Ruston, LA. We didn't make it through the entire party because Jackson needed a nap, but everyone was having a great time, which you can tell from the pictures in the album. Carter and his parents, Barbara and Heath, are basically family. We love every moment we get to spend with them! Here's a pic with Barbara from the party.

We also got to visit with all of our grandparents this weekend, which is a rare treat. We mostly see them around Christmas and Thanksgiving, so Easter weekend was a bonus! Ross' grandparents and Uncle Alan were enjoying some Easter festivities when we arrived. There was a woman playing the piano and leading the group in song. All of the ladies had on beautiful Easter bonnets.

We don't have any pictures from the visit with my dad's parents, but we definitely enjoyed the visit!

My mom's parents had a fish fry Saturday evening, and it was delicious!!! My cousin Stephanie and her family were also in town this weekend, so all of the boys had fun playing outside. Andrew and Jackson are about a week apart in age, so they had fun digging through a bucket of toys while Adam found Easter eggs.

There are a lot more pics in the album from this weekend, but I'll leave you with a few of my favorites.

Jackson with my parents, Nana and Pop.

Ross' Grandmother

Jackson's 2nd cousin, Andrew.

Last, but certainly not least, my grandmother and Jackson!

Oh yeah...Jackson's 10 months old now! I can't believe it!

Welcome Home!

Ross is finally home! After three weeks "working" in Hawaii, this just shows how much he was missed!

Three weeks ago when Ross left for Hawaii, Jackson had just started rolling over while swaddled. Now he flips over easily unwrapped, he sits up, and he's learning to eat from a spoon! Ross said the biggest change he noticed aside from those big milestones was how much more coordinated he seemed. He still has some work to do when it comes to eating though. He likes to face plant into the spoon!

Of course, there are a few more pics in the album, and you can expect a post from Ross about his trip soon.

Baby Shower #2

The second of the two baby showers was this past weekend, and it went really well! I hosted this one with two other lovely ladies, Emma and Colleen, for our friend Christie. I think the three of us could start a party planning/catering business! I was impressed with the way everything turned out. The three of us divided and conquered different aspects of the shower. Emma did the name tags and cake, which matched a blanket Christie picked out, Colleen made a diaper cake and came up with the games, and I did cookies and decorations. We had other finger foods too, but they aren't as "cute". Not to boast, but check out how cute everything turned out...

Everyone seemed to have a really good time too. Christie has some wonderful friends and family. It was so much fun getting to know them better. Here's a pic of the hostesses with the guest of honor. Of course, there are more pics in the album.