"The circus, the circus, I love the circus!"

Jackson was lucky enough to be able to go and see the circus on Tuesday night. Grandma Chris and Grandpa Bob took him, while Jason and I stayed home with Jessica.
Jackson got to eat cotton candy (a first), ride on an elephant (also a first, tee-hee=)).
Apparently, he had a good time because he had to call mom and dad during intermission to tell us he was eating cotton candy and got to ride on an elephant.

Jackson and Grandma Chris riding on the elephant:


Gotta love that cotton candy --I can't believe he's 3 and just having it for the first time...such a deprived little boy he is :)


Jackson and Grandpa Bob:

Best $10 we ever spent on a toy!

Every day Dawson comes over the boys spend 20 - 40 minutes playing with this LEGO table. While other toys seem to come and go with the ever-changing interests and minds of 3-year-olds, this lego table has remained a constant. The boys just love to build on it.
It was a $10 rummage sale buy from a few summers ago...
Let's just say, we have definitely gotten our money's worth out of it!

Cousin, Logan, comes to play

Jackson and Jessica's cousin, Logan, came over to "play" this past Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. Jackson, Logan, and Dawson played really well together...fighting dragons and alligators with their swords, racing trucks up and down the hallway, building forts, playing with legos, train tracks, etc.

Playtime!


Lunchtime...



Shhh...naptime. This worked well for the first day, then I added a third (crib-size) matress for the other day so each boy could have his own bed.

Bad hair day :)

Jason took Jackson to swim lessons this past Saturday. Before they left, I asked Jason if he could please wash and brush Jackson's hair after swimming because we were having friends over that night and I wanted him to look nice.
"Sure, no problem" Jason said.


This is how he brought him home...




...apparently, putting a hat on wet hair is not such a good idea.

Creative little minds

The boys were having fun playing with the 'Thomas tent' and an air matress. Then, they decided to double their fun by putting the air matress inside the tent.
You can see the pillow of the blue air matress sticking out of the tent in this picture.

What is wrong with this picture??

The boys are a little excited to be able to play in the sandbox again... can you tell?

Messy Jessie!

Jessica is unable to eat a meal, or eat anything for that matter, without making a mess all over her face. I've never seen a more "hands-on" approach to eating; it's like she has to feel everything (with her hands) that goes into her mouth! I don't quite get it?
Well, I guess this is what you get when you combine "curiosity" with "not afraid to get dirty"...yep, messy Jessie...that's our daughter in a nutshell!

Jessica's latest accomplishments

"Hey everyone, watch me climb these stairs!" The video is sideways (even though I was able to rotate it on my camera, it would not upload that way); so, you'll have to lilt your head to see this...sorry.



Some other "newer" (within the last month) accomplishments include: clapping, waving, and using the word "ma-ma" appropriately intended for me.

Jackson and the Ladies

Most all of my girlfriends have daughters close to the same age as Jackson. He is very outnumbered by girls at our playdates; but, he doesn't seem to mind he has all female friends.
Recently, three of Jackson's "girlfriends" celebrated their birthdays; we attended their parties and had lots of fun! Here is a picture of Jackson and the ladies at one of the parties... plus baby boy, Easton (sitting in Jackson's lap).

Biting problem solved.

As mentioned in an earlier post, Jessica was going through a bit of a "biting phase" that was really hindering our breastfeeding sessions....to say the least!
Once I got the word out about our "problem," we received some very helpful advice from my step-dad's (Grandpa Bob's) sister, Betty.
I wanted to share this advice in case you or someone you know is having a similar problem...

"Flick their cheek" with your finger! It sounds more cruel than it actually is. The trick is to time it just right so you flick their cheek immediately after they bite. Do it just hard enough to cause them some minor pain --pain they will associate with the biting (the pain they cause you).
This worked like a charm! I only had to flick Jessica's cheek two different times and she hasn't bitten since. That was about two weeks ago.

Thank you so much Betty! Terrific advice.

Baby Headbands

I don't know what it is...I just can't seem to get into the whole baby headband look. Although I've seen them look quite cute in some little girls' hair, I think they look rather ridiculous on Jessica. No matter how hard I try to make them look good in her hair, I just can't seem to make them look right.



As you can tell, I am very anxious to be able to "do my daughter's hair." Since it's still too short for barrettes and ponytails, I guess I'll just have to wait a little bit longer to have my "girlie fun."

Lisa's Daycare 2009

This was the first picture taken of my "daycare" in 2009. It is "playtime" for the kids. Jessica and Carson are both ten months old in this picture; Jackson and Dawson are 3.
I'll take another picture on Thursday when my 2-year-old, Ava, is here too.