Jackson's First Valentine's Party

A week ago we had snow on the ground, and this week it is in the 70s. Since Jackson was out of school last week, he had his school Valentine's party today. He was really excited to tell me about it. He loved looking at all of his cards and treats! It was so sweet.

The weather was so nice that the boys and I walked to park today. Jackson loved swinging at home and playing in his clubhouse. Tim grilled burgers, and we all enjoyed the warm weather.

Brooks had grilled cheese tonight and loved it. That child is always into something like trying to eat acorns and leaves outside. At one point, Jackson unrolled a ton of toilet paper dragging it into the playroom. Brooks is busy eating it. We had to dig it out of his mouth.  Jackson went to time out, and Brooks couldn't get over there fast enough. He is all over Jackson. Then he busted his mouth, and had a bloody lip. He is going to be my child who is always injured. He has no fear!

Jackson likes to say...

I find Jackson to be pretty hilarious. Here are some of my favorites:

• Where's that huge baby?
• Yep! I sure can!
• Lay with me, Mommy.
• I gonna paint you!
• Read this.
• That's a good idea!
• The Tickle Monsters gonna get me!
• Thank you.
• Where arrrrrree you?
• We gotta pay for it.
• " Where do you want to have your birthday party? " Toys-r-us
• Let me check your heartbeat. ( He has a doctor kit).
• I need a smoothie and an applesauce!!!!!
• 
  

Favorite foods: chicken nuggets (Chick-fil-a), pizza grilled cheese, quesadilla (Moe's), pasting, applesauce, yogurt smoothies

Favorite toys: cars, trains, Brooks's toys

Favorite books: David, anything with trucks and vehicles, Good Night Construction Site, lovers the Bible story when the Angel visits Mary and " the baby in the basket."

Favorite movies/ TV: Cars, Toy Story, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Doc McStuffins, Chuggington

Crazy!

It has been a crazy week- snow and an earthquake on Valentine's! Yep, an earthquake! Brooks and I were sleeping on the couch when I woke up to Tim standing over me? He asked if I felt that or heard anything. I didn't, so he went on to describe this noise and how the whole house shook. I checked the news online-nothing. I got on Facebook, and everyone was talking about it. It was later confirmed that. 4.1 earthquake happened about an hour and a half from here. Crazy!

We had a fun Saturday at the museum, Costco, and Toys-R-Us. Of course Jackson wanted McAlister's for lunch.

Thankfully Jackson and Brooks got Valentines from both sets of grandparents and TuTu since their parents were slack this year!

Snow Day 4 and Valentine's Day

The snow is mostly gone, and we spent another lazy day inside!  We got some baby stuff packed up, and that was very sad!  We went to Guy's Pizza for dinner.

Happy Valentine's Day!  With all of the snow, we didn't even get out to get cards!  Jackson and I still need to make his snack mix for his class too. Usually we just renew our zoo membership for the boys' gift.

Snow Day 3

We probably got another inch or two overnight and into the morning. Tim fixed us French toast for breakfast. Then we spent the morning coloring and playing with clay. We finally got outside around 11. It was much warmer today ( mid 30s), and the sun was shining. We stayed out for about an hour. Tim pulled the. Boys in the sled. We made snow angels. Jackson and I built a snowman named Chilly.

Everything is getting very slushy! We all took long naps. Then we escaped the house and went to Chick-fil-A.  After dinner, we made special Valentine presents!

We have another snow day tomorrow since everything is supposed to refreeze!

Brooks-9 month Appt.

Brooks had his 9 month check-up on Monday. This was a good one because he didn't get any shots! He is a happy and healthy baby!

Weight: 22 lbs 10 oz
height:
head:

This child is in to everything! He especially loves to pull out wipes and chew on diapers. He is pulling up on furniture and starting to cruise! He follows Jackson everywhere!

Snow Day 2

We were really lazy again today. We got around 4 inches today and also a lot of sleet. More snow is predicted tonight.

I did make some oatmeal chocolate chip cookies and some yummy snow ice cream.

We went outside for about ten minutes. It to us longer to get everyone ready! It was really cold and windy. I think Jackson would like it more if he didn't have to wear a hat and gloves. Jackson did not like walking in the snow. He was fine in the sled or when Tim carried him. Tim and Jackson did make snow angels. We might try a snowman tomorrow.

The boys did enjoy sitting on Jackson's bed watching the birds in the front yard. They also liked watching Tim shovel the driveway.

We enjoyed lots of cuddle time. We read lots of books and played with every toy we have! Brooks is just as bad as Jackson is at pulling out every toy we have. Everything goes in his mouth! Jackson has been really sweet. He never took a nap today, but we cuddled on the couch for a few hours. He is so sweet when he says, "lay with me, Mommy."

We have another snow day tomorrow!

Snow Days

We are on our second snow day! Yesterday we woke up to a dusting, and it snowed most of the day. We got about an inch. We spent a lazy morning laying around. Brooks liked watching the snow fall. Jackson was not impressed.

We went to my parents' after lunch to try out our new sled. Brooks stayed inside with my dad. Jackson rode on the sled while Noni and I built a snowman. Jackson helped at the end. We went across the street and went down a big hill at the neighbor's house. I remember doing that as a kid. There were a few times when I was little that we could even sled down the road in front of my parents' house. My mom is always one of the first ones out in the snow!

Jackson is still not a fan. He hates wearing gloves and refuses to wear his hood or a hat! He's done after 20 minutes. I guess I should be glad he doesn't want to stay out a long time, because it is cold!

We are supposed to get up to a foot of snow today! Hopefully is is snow and not ice!

Brooks is 9 months Old!

I can't believe Brooks is 9 months old! We are starting to plan his birthday party!

• Has 3 teeth and another one almost in
• Crawls!
• Pulls up on crib
• Says Da Da, Bu Bu (Jackson), and Ma Ma when he is mad
• Loves to cuddle
• Loves his paci
• Loves to jump and is our "Jumping Bean"
• Eats 5-7 ounces, cereal for breakfast, baby food for lunch and dinner
• Loves fruits and pancakes
• Hates green beans and rice
• Likes Puffs and yogurt melts
• Loves to play with cars, blocks, and balls
• Wears 12m and some 18m
• Wears size 4 diapers
• Will find out weight next week at 9 month appointment
• Usually sleeps all night except when his teeth bother him
• Takes a short morning nap and a long afternoon nap

We have a crawler!

After weeks of rocking back and forth, going backwards, and scooting on his bottom, Brooks is crawling. We went to Sydney's birthday party, and he took off. He was so proud of himself. With Jackson, we worked so hard to get him to move. Brooks has done it all on his own.  He can go from sitting to crawling to sitting again. He is even pulling up on the crib, so we have had to lower it. As Jackson says, "We are in trouble!"

January is Over!

I am so glad January is gone! I think it is the longest month! It is cold, and we are stuck inside! Stuck kind of describes what January has been like.

I feel like we are stuck in this house. I am very thankful that we have an nice house, but this doesn't work for us anymore. We live on such a busy road that I don't like to take the boys outside. At least, I only have 1 who walks right now. There is no way we will be able to go outside this summer because I can't risk one of them making it to the front yard.  Cars fly down our street with some going at least 50 mph.  I hate that the bedrooms are on different floors. It is dangerous for the boys to be downstairs by themselves. We pay a fortune in heating/ air because there is no insulation. I used to love old houses, but I have now decided that I hate them! We have had too many major repairs in the last 5 years, and we have more to go!

The reality is we are stuck here. Even though it is crazy to think about, Jackson will be getting ready for kindergarten in 2 years. I would love to get into ESOL or G/T,but that is not an option as long as we are living here.

We went to look at houses a few nights ago. I am not sure why I torture myself. There was one that we really loved- great neighborhood, on a cul-de-sac, no traffic, bedrooms upstairs, garage, huge closets, bright, brand new! Oh well!

I hope we have an early spring! I like this house better in the spring!

Saturday Fun

We decided to get out of the house today! We ate a yummy breakfast at Eggs Up Grill. We went to the museum and played for a few hours. Jackson even went down the slide and didn't throwa fit when we left the water table. He knew he was getting a Cookie Monster cupcake!

The circus is in town. We really weren't sure how Jackson would react to it, and the tickets are expensive. We decided to skip it this year, but we did go in search of the circus train cars. We found them!

Both boys fell asleep in the car, so we drove around for 2 hours while the napped. It was totally worth whatever gas we wasted! We ate a late lunch at McAlister's and headed home!