Jackson & Daddy Sledding Adventures

Jackson's very first sled ride HERE.

snow buddies.

I'm not sure who was more excited to come home and try out our new sleds today- Dan or Jackson- but either way they've now been outside for hours sledding, building JP's first snowman and the biggest snow fort I've ever seen. 

daddy games.

Dan set up a game for JP a few days ago... resulting in literally days of fun. I have never heard JP squeal so loudly and run around the room with so much excitement as he did when they were placing multiple balls through he pipe and then seeing if they could run to the other side in time to catch them in various containers. I think maybe it's a boy thing and I'm not really sure which of my boys loved it more. 

Jackson: the next karate kid

ranked.

every day dan and jackson take it to his chalkboard... practicing letters, colors, shapes. and every day jackson tells dan what to write and where to write it- first and foremost he dictates WHO to write on his list. it's his daily ranking of favorite people. pop's average for the #1 spot has been in the lead, followed closely by nanna. mama and daddy are normally close behind with sammy, bing & audrey making spotty appearances. my little man knows who and what he likes and he's not afraid to tell anyone, that is for sure.

saturday morning tradition

early every saturday morning dan gets jackson out of bed, they pack up coffee and breakfast and they head off on their own little adventure to a playground down the street. it's their own little thing. a boy thing. 


tonight they let me tag along for a special friday night edition. my presence was greeted with a lot of "this is where we go first" and "this is where we go next" and "no, he doesn't like that slide, this is his favorite" and... you get the picture, mama was welcome this time, but probably not every time. 


that's okay, audrey and i will soon have our own little traditions that will be made up of all things pretty and sweet and nothing to do with boys. 

We are coming off of a beautiful, sunny, relaxing weekend where our number one priority was soaking each other up. Its in those moments- of complete and utter simplicity- where I find there to be a spotlight on the blessings in my life, just pulling me towards it, urging me to take a moment to be thankful. And thankful I am.

In service yesterday we focused on Deuteronomy 6: 4-9. To say that I take this passage lightly would be the epitome of an understatement. This passage reminds me that when God chose me to be Jackson's mother, he was choosing me to introduce my little man to Him. To show him the way to having a life-long relationship with Jesus. It is not an honor that Dan and I take lightly. 

When I see Dan and Jackson move with complete ease and harmony as they do more and more... I am so thankful to have a husband who places such importance on being the absolute best father possible. I love so many things about him, but to see the patience, love and joy he has with Jackson far exceeds anything else. They are best buddies and that is so amazing to watch. I glanced back to see what we were doing exactly one year ago and I was amused to find that the scene was just as sweet- (June 12, 2010).

Jackson takes this job of watering the baby trees very seriously. Very. It is not a laughing, playing matter- it is a big boy job that he and Daddy do together. Moments like this remind me once again that new toys and television are not what children need to be happy or entertained. In fact, that is actually what they need less of. Instead, lets give them more of this:

The countdown is on: less than 2 weeks until we learn if we're having another baby boy or a baby girl. I wasn't sure how pregnancy would feel the second time around, but it is not even a little bit less amazing or miraculous. I still find myself reading daily on what my baby is up to- how he or she is developing. As of today baby is 5.5 inches long and weighs around 7 ounces. I will never get over the fact that I have a baby inside of me. A baby- INSIDE of me. Honestly, think about that. Amazing. We can't wait to meet you, baby, only 155 days to go!

The Great Date Day (semi) Flop

Since Jackson came along Dan and I have made it a priority to still have dates. These were easier to manage when I was on maternity leave because I was with Jackson every day so I didn't feel like I was losing too much time with him to go out to dinner with Dan once a month while Nanna soaked up much-needed baby JP time. Then, when I went back to work we made it a goal to still have dates once a month. At the moment we're averaging more like one every 3 months, but at least it's a start. One such date was scheduled for yesterday when we had planned to go canoeing for the afternoon while Jackson played with his honorary Aunt Sara, Uncle Larry and cousins Lex and Peyton. 


So, I dropped JP off as planned and came home to pick up Dan before going to the river, but we decided that since the river was so low from a lack of rain that canoeing would probably end up being more frustrating than exciting. Plan B consisted of us taking the puppies for a hike. They were beyond excited. Honestly. When you ask Sammy if he wants to go "bye bye" he literally starts running in circles and jumping up and down and then bolts to the car before you can possibly change your mind. So, we piled both dogs into the car and off we went.

So, we are driving down the road at approximately 45 miles per hour when all of a sudden Sammy leaps out the window. Really, he jumped out the window of a moving car on a semi-busy road. Dan and I both looked at each other in shock and I started screaming for Sammy while Dan quickly pulled off to the side of the road. I jumped out of the car and proceeded to chase our 15 pound ball of fur down the road screaming his name. He looked back. He saw me running and that made him run even faster, enjoying the game of chase. I continued to sprint after him. Well, after about 10 cars stopped on the road, creating a little traffic jam and a woman actually got out of her car to help me chase the terror of a dog down I finally caught up to him. Where was he you ask? Oh, just wagging his little tail by some man's car, sniffing his tires and loving every minute of attention he was getting. I could have died. No, correction- I almost did die because it has been awhile since I have ran that far and that fast. 


After many waves of apologies to everyone in sight and thanking the woman profusely, I picked up my eldest son and walk back to the car in half shock from embarrassment and half shock from the heart-attack I was having. Okay, moving on, we'll call that Strike 1 for date day.

We finally get to the hiking trail after the drama, get the leashes on both boys and start walking. Sammy is still happy as can be to be on a hike. Bing, not so much. He now smells the scent of many other dogs and isn't a big fan. He is the sweetest, sorry-excuse for a guard dog when at home, but is showing us that this is not the case when in public. So, Dan is constantly having to scold him to get him to act appropriately on the trail. Not relaxing, not relaxing at all. So after a little bit of this I declare that I just want to go home. This is not fun. This is not relaxing. We are getting zero chances to just talk and hang out together. This is not what date day is supposed to be like. Dan agrees. So, we decide to take our trouble maker dogs home and then opt for plan C. We'll call this Strike 2 for date day.

So, we drop Sammy and Bing at home, shower, change clothes and then decide that plan C consists of a very early dinner at one of our favorite wineries. We couldn't possibly go wrong there, right? We order wine and our dinner, are enjoying the atmosphere and then Dan's dinner arrives and the pork tenderloin that he ordered is breaded. Breaded? That is what someone with gluten intolerance would call strike 3 of date day. The menu's description was quite wordy but mentioned nothing of breading, so he had to send it back in lieu of a salad. The same thing the poor guy eats every other day of his life and the same thing he just ate as an appetizer.

After 3 strikes we ended date day. We picked up our little man who had an amazing time getting spoiled for the afternoon and hoped that our next date day would fair far more enjoyable. Oh well, the semi-disappointment of yesterday was made up for today. The weather was perfect. Church was moving, as always. And we spent the remainder of the day at home, enjoying each other. And to top it all of we have only 3 working days in front of us this week before flying to Denver to meet our most beautiful niece Violet O!

When Jackson woke up from his afternoon nap his hair was pointing in every direction.

His Einstein hair do.

He thinks his lack of style is hilarious. 

Outside helping Daddy change the oil in the car.

This is his "the sun is too bright" look

Hanging out with Bing

JP and I relaxing on the dock

My handsome little man who might be more handsome if his hair was less out of control.

Another beautiful Sunday on Cottage Hill!