proud mama.

Earlier today I had a very real "mom" moment: my first parent/teacher conference. Jackson only has a couple more weeks before his first year of preschool is over so I spent some time with Mrs. Stone to talk about our little man and her take on his performance. 

Warning: If you don't want to listen to the rant of a proud mom then don't read the rest... :)!

The first thing she said was that Jackson is always going to have an easy time in school- the kid loves to learn. We've always known that but it was nice to have it confirmed unprompted from someone else. She said he soaks up every thing she says and always has such interesting perspective to add to their conversations. He is a natural problem-solver, deduces things from lessons that other kids often overlook and said he is one of the few kids in class who has all the material mastered. 

I told her that coming into this school year I had no concerns about Jackson's ability to excel at the academics, but knew the social challenges that came along with being in such a new environment could be a hurdle. Before preschool, he had only been cared for either in our home with Amy or with Nanna, but she assured me that he has done well with no real issues at all. At the beginning of the year she had to remind him at times to ask before taking a toy from someone, but she said he very quickly learned and hasn't had any problems since.  

She said he is perfect. Only kidding! I know he isn't perfect- he's not meant to be, but it felt good to know that the lessons we have been doing our best to teach him and to model for him are working for the most part. There are certainly days that make me question that!

I was a little nervous to answer when she asked me which class Jackson would be in next year since we have decided to switch schools, but when I told her that Jackson will be going to Mrs. Mansfield's (a private Christian preschool and kindergarten), she was actually really excited and said that Jackson was going to flourish in that environment. Thankfully our relationship with Mrs. Stone isn't going anywhere since we see her every week at church- when I visualize a "preschool teacher" she is certainly the face that comes to mind and I'm thankful Jackson had her as his first teacher.

After school I let Jackson visit Mamaw and pick out a treat as a reward for such great feedback. He picked out a snack cake. That snack cake may just have been enough motivation for another successful year in school! The boy loves treats. A lot.

Miles Apart, Loved from the Start

So, last week my back went out- again. I am still in shock that it happened yet again. It has been painful and frustrating to the max, but thankfully my mom and mother-in-law have stepped in to help with the kids since Dan is still not really around. If they had not been able to help me so much I honestly don't know how I would have been able to care for Jonah since I haven't been able to lift him. Anyway, after days of icing my back on the couch along with some visits to the chiropractor, I managed to get out of the house for a few hours yesterday to throw one of my very best friends, Jessie, a surprise shower in honor of her beautiful daughter who will be coming home soon! I was so busy enjoying the day that I forgot to take very many photos, but here are a few... 

Easter.

::brothers:: "babies are a LOT of work"

Jackson has been such a help with Jonah- especially with Dan gone right now. Jackson innately wants to watch out for Jonah, quickly going to him when he's crying, entertaining him during tummy time and singing him songs throughout the day to keep his little buddy happy. But, every once in awhile when Jonah is grumpy he tells me... "babies are a LOT of work, Mommy." Yes, they certainly can be, buddy. 

jonah bear: 10 weeks.

Jonah bear is 10 weeks. 10 weeks! He is as cute as ever and increasingly spoiled. I'm not sure if he has tummy issues or if he is just more irritable than Jackson and Audrey were. He had his 2 month well check this week and his pediatrician offered to put him on some medicine to prevent acid reflux, but I declined because I'm not convinced he needs it, but his off and on fussiness can certainly make for some long days (and nights). But, his sweet smiles make it all worth it. We love you, Jonah... "foreva and eva" as Audrey would say.

because everyone dyes their easter eggs at 9pm when they should really be in bed.

"jump-aline"

a hoppy easter with friends.

Today we had some friends over for a little Easter play date... and I remembered to take exactly zero pictures once they came! But, here are a few from before they arrived. The monsters all had a great time and successfully achieved sugar highs followed by a lot of crazy play and some meltdowns... all the joys of being a toddler.

buddies.

My good friend Jessie sent me some photos from a trip we took to the park last week... I love watching our babies grow up together as buddies. And soon she will be adding another beautiful girl to the mix so Audrey isn't so out-numbered by the boys :) 

 

surprise adventure.

This morning I told Jackson and Audrey that we were going on a "surprise adventure"... which translates to "we're going to go do something fun but I haven't decided what yet." There is nothing that excites Jackson more than a good surprise- except for maybe a good treat- or better yet, a surprise that includes a treat. Anyway... off we went. 

We ended up at a place I have been wanting to take them for awhile- The Lunken Airport. Lunken is a small airport east of downtown Cincinnati where a lot of private and charter jets fly out of. The airport itself holds a lot of great history and I loved the look of the original terminal. When we arrived we walked up to the fence to look in at all the planes that were parked on the runway and were so excited to see that 6 Apache helicopters were also there. And even better yet- one started its engines and was preparing to take off, so we were able to watch it from up close.  

We then went inside the terminal to the Sky Galley Restaurant and asked to be seated out on the patio- the patio itself is basically in the middle of the runway so while you eat you can also enjoy watching all the planes. The kids were in heaven. 

The other great thing about this airport is that it's surrounded by a biking/running trail and has a few playgrounds, so we spent time on those too before heading downtown for frozen yogurt. I mean, honestly, did you really think Jackson would let us finish an adventure day without a treat? 

And everyone knows that after you give little people treats you must once again let them run off their energy, so we took a walk to the pro shop at the Reds stadium to pick up some new Reds gear and then walked down to the river to run around before heading back home. 

Brothers.