Saturday, August 30, 2008

Bed jumping & belly laughing

I want to share Jackson's laugh with you because it is just priceless! (He is jumping on his new "big boy" bed while looking at himself in the mirror)

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

It's the little things...

In the morning I go into Jackson's room and smile really big and say "Hey Buddy, good morning. " Then he smiles a HUGE Jackson smile and says "Hey buddy" in his sweet little voice. It is the perfect way to start the day.


When Isabel is mad at Jackson for touching what she thinks belongs to her she says "Jackson bother" in a very pitiful little voice. It's usually somthing like "Jackson bother blankie" or "Jackson bother Dora"


When she falls down and is not hurt she says "I fine Mommy, I fine"


Jackson likes to spin around in circles until he's so dizzy he falls down. He thinks it's the funniest thing ever. He also will spin on our "Bounce and Spin Zebra" and get off and stumble into the chair. Should I be worried? :-)


When Isabel eats green beans she like "peels" the bean and eats the little beans on the inside


She almost always says "tank you, Mommy or even tank you, Jackson". She has even "tanked" the dogs before only I can't remember why they deserved the thanks.


With Jackson it's all about the "choo trains" these days. I don't think this phase will go away any time soon. He plays with them, watches Thomas the Train DVD's, has a Thomas pillow he loves and sleeps with, "reads" the books, and knows where the train aisle is at Target. I have to be very careful where we go at Target if I don't plan on buying him a train.


If you ask her if she wants somthing, instead of "yes" she just says "K"


Her new game is to pretend she's burping and for you to acknoweledge the fact that she is burping. It's funny for an amazingly long time. (She did not get this from me :)

Jackson sleeps in a "big boy" twin bed now but little missy is still in a crib in our room next to my side. I asked her the other day if she wanted a big girl bed and she quickly replied "no". Jackson sleeps with his head at the foot of the bed or sleeps sideways but very rarely in the "proper" position. He didn't have any real bedding so we got him a comforter with trains, trucks and cars.
It's very cute!!!


Jackson likes saurkraut and they both like pistacio nuts.


They call M&M's "mimi's"


The new favorite tv show is The Backyardigans's (I think we're slowly making the move from Disney channel to Nickolodeon) but we still love Dora.

Well, that's all I can think of now. I took some pictures of the kids playing on Jackson's new bed/comforter and a video of him jumping on the bed. I'll try to get the video uploaded soon because you must hear this child laugh!!!!!

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Off to "school"

The kids just finished their second week of "school" and things are going great! We enrolled them in a "Morning Instruction" or "Mother's Day Out" program. They go Monday thru Friday from 9m to 1pm. I think it's going to be really good for them to socialize with other kids and they do arts & crafts (like fingerpainting) that I have not allowed them to do at home.
Every day the teachers send home a "Daily Report" to let us know how the day went.
The report lets me know how they felt (happy, sad, playful, tired, grumpy, energetic, under the weather, strong-willed, and aggressive).
They have gotten "happy" and "playful" everyday and sometimes Jackson gets "energetic".
The next section tells us what they played with that day (art, music, books, blocks, homeliving, outside, sand/water table, and for Jackson they have added a new category - TRAINS)
Isabel usually gets all categories circled and Jackson likes the trains every day but has yet to embrace art. His teachers say he wont have anything to do with the paint but he does use the crayons. (I LOVE all the art work they send home every day!!!!!!)
Next is lunch. They let us know what they ate and if they ate all of it, most of it, some of it, or the "I was not hungry today" (Jackson got a couple of those in the first few days). We get a menu every month with the meal plan which really helps us with Jackson & all the crazy food allergies we must deal with. We send him lunch and snacks more than half the week but I want both of them to try things we may not serve at home. I don't want them to be such picky eaters.
Next they have "Circle time" where the teachers read to them and they practice colors, shapes, nursery rhymes etc.
I'm extremely happy with the teachers. There are 2 teachers for up to 8 kids so a great ratio.
I (of course) took pictures on the first day starting in our driveway and lastly in their room.
On the first day Jackson was acting very brave and Iz was clinging to her Daddy. For the next week or so Jackson would cry when we dropped him off but we were told that once he saw the trains and trucks or they hit the playground he was fine. By the end of the second week he was hanging his backpack on a hook and running into the room giving his teachers a hug. Isabel has yet to cry so she has been a "big girl".
The biggest perk for Kevin and I has been the 3 -4 hours in the mornings to get some things done around the house or a trip to Target without pushing 2 kiddos around. Love it!


Here are the pictures from Day 1:




















Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Birthday Party!

It's all over. We have been celebrating the kid's birthday's since Isabel's on 7/8 and continued well through Jackson's on 8/9. We had the "grand finale" this past Saturday at home with friends and family. We had about 30 adults and 15 kids. Soooooo much fun. I went with a monkey theme. They are my "little monkeys" so it seemed appropriate.
Isabel was so excited about having all those people in her house and backyard but Jackson needed a little time "on my hip" to take it all in. He eventually agreed to go to my Mom and within an hour or so he was running around with all the other kids.
My grandparents were able to come which is just priceless! My "Mimi" is suffering with dementia but she had such a good day! That meant the world to me.
I think the highlight for the kids was the endless supply of M&M's and lollipops they were allowed to eat. :)
They didn't even open presents until the next day but it was like Christmas morning. Things got a little out of hand so I'm not sure who gave what but I'm trying to piece it all together. Let's just say they made a mess.
I did take a lot of pictures (of course) so get ready.



My "Mimi"
Mary Evelyn (also known as "Meme")
Ella

Sweet Jackson
Diane & Ellie (Ellie was born in Bac Ninh, Vietnam)
Kyle


The birthday kids!!!
Isabel & Sophie playing horseshoes





Sherrie & Angelica (Izzie's new BFF)
Grandpa (behind the drink), Judy & Terry
Jackson playing in the cooler

Ella
How cute is she!?






Izzie hugging the monkey :)

Sydney gathering the stray monkeys


Jackson in the sandbox
Jonathon & Maggie
Daddy being funny

Poopsie & Mimi
Winston


Ethan (with a new boo boo)
Some of my very best friends since high school





Miller


Mallery & Landon
Daniel



Sydney
Angelica & Iz
Winston