Fun Family Weekend!

This last weekend was just awesome! Having Jay home was great as usual but the three of us had an especially wonderful time together. I don't know what it was but Jackson was super happy and playing with him and hearing him laugh and cuddle with the two of us was just heaven.
Saturday morning we got the good news that Nanny and Paw Paw have electricity back after hurricane Ike. Back in Plano we got to go to a festival, a birthday party and church. And were able to go to Gaga and PawPaw's house, Nana and Papa's house and to see the Hirst family. . .all in one weekend! What more could I ask for??? And if that wasn't enough Jay got up with Jackson BOTH days! He wanted some special daddy time and to give me a break. Wow, what a difference sleeping late makes! And what a difference having a baby makes in your definition of sleeping late:)
Anyway, I'll stop blabbing but weekends like this make me think of my favorite song "Blessed" by Martina McBride (and I'm not even a country music girl.)
Thanks so much to Jay for such an awesome time and to God for blessing me with such an incredible husband and son.
Also, I left my camera at Nana and Papa's house so I can't post the pictures yet but they will be on here soon!

My Little Handy Man

Jackson LOVES to turn things (lights, fans, etc.) on and off and open and close the garage. He also loves to "work on things." He's not a child who is still very often but lately I've seen him really get into some things which he seems to view as "projects." While we were at Mandy's house over Labor Day he worked tirelessly on mastering the lid of a plastic water bottle. He just sat there screwing the lid on and off until he could do it by himself perfectly. Today he saw me unscrew the speaker panel of my jogging stroller to replace the batteries and immediately went to a drawer in the kitchen and got out a beater from my mixer. He then got his little CD player out of his bedroom and went to work. I guess he thought the end of the beater was a screw driver??? Anyway, he worked on the CD player with that beater for over 35 minutes. It was hysterical (and amazing) to see him so focused. It was also really comical to see him so serious and getting into all of these different positions to reach different parts of the stereo. I have NO idea what he was trying to accomplish but he seemed ok about being done when I told him that the chicken I had made him for dinner was ready. Being his mother is such a treat and watching his sweet little personality develop is the greatest thing in the world!


This was when he initally carried the CD player from his bedroom into the living room. It's kind of heavy for a little guy so he struggled lifting it but wouldn't let me help any.




Laying down to reach that certain spot with the beater:)





Here he had gotten over zealous and accidentally thrown the beater to his left.



Finally getting the beater into the antenna hole. He had immediately pulled the antenna out and thrown it to the side when he started this "work."



Looking satisfied with his progress.



I think his drool denotes the seriousness of the situation.







"Mom, please quit interrupting me for pictures!"

Another car bites the dust. . .maybe

Today as Jackson and I were running errands we got hit driving down parker road. I actually felt really bad for the girl who side swiped us. She was very sweet, very apologetic and only 17. She cried and was worried about Jackson (obviously we are both fine). Anyway, the damage isn't too bad but my door won't open due to the side panal being so bent. Her insurance should pay for a rental and I'm taking my car in tomorrow afternoon but I'm sure I'll look really cool at church tomorrow at 9 a.m. crawling out of the passenger door!

Eating On the Run. . .Literally

Jackson has always been a wierd eater but lately he's getting even funnier. The past two days he refuses to sit in his high chair (nothing new). The new thing is that he RUNS around the table and stops where I'm sitting just long enough to grab a bite. He sometimes even laughs and gives me five afterwards. I'm sure I shouldn't be promoting this behavior but I just don't have the desire to argue about it at this point. He's eating only healthy foods and doing so much better with finger foods. I'm just happy that he's consuming good stuff with out a fight, even if he is eating on the move!

Bath Time Fun

Jackson loves the bath. . .until it's time to wash out the shampoo. Here are some pictures of him playing with his toys and the bubble maker in the tub. You will also notice that when the green hat goes on he is not happy. He knows that once that hat goes on it's time to rinse the shampoo:(


Playing with his favorite rubber ducky.



Jackson really loves those bubbles.











Here's where the happiness ends. . .poor little guy!

Plano Balloon Festival 2008

Today we went to the balloon festival and it was VERY HOT. We were so smart to go at 3 p.m. aka the hottest part of the day:) Anyway, despite the sweat we did have a great time.

Mommy and Jackson watching the remote controlled airplanes.



Jay didn't mind the heat at all. . .they were selling henry's ice cream. Jackson was mesmerized by the irridescent wind chime things. And yes, that is the technichal term!



Still trying to grab the chimes.



The infamous chimes and objects of Jackson's fascination.



Jay explaining about the little planes to Jax.



Purely O's and airplanes, the perfect combination.



Not too impressed by the plane landing.



Getting ready to leave the heat!

After Bath Fun

Jackson still has fun playing with his bath toys despite being all wrapped up and out of the bath.

Happy Jackson and his bottle!

Well, I had gotten Jackson off of the bottle for over a week and then while we were traveling he got sick. . .and got two more molars. . .and then I cracked. He's so happy to have his bottle back and now that he's sleeping really well again I'm going to start the weaning process. . .again. It's just so hard when he is so darn happy with it!




By the way, Jackson is riding his horse in all of these pictures. . .thanks Grandmommy and Bill for such a fun present!

Mini Me

Jackson has been so thrilled to have Jay home the last few days! The big challenge is just keeping Jackson away from Jay so he can work all day. Here's a shot of Jay and his happy mini me from yesterday morning.

Hurricane Ike. . .

Last week Jay came home on Thursday to escape the hurricane. Luckily his family and everyone we know in Ike's path got out safely. Unfortunately his parents home and bulkhead sustained some major damages.
Saturday Jay's high school best friend, Johnathan, and his wife Paige, two daughters Ashlyn & Jadyn and their dog Sally came to stay with us. Sunday Jay and Johnathan went to Baytown to help their parents clean up after Ike and then on Tuesday I drove with Paige, Ashlyn, Jadyn and Sally to College Station to drop them off with Johnathan and to pick up Jay. It was exhausting for the guys but we were so glad they were able to help their families even though it was just for a short time. We are still praying that Nanny and Paw Paw get their electricity back soon. Paige said that the electricity in Beaumont where they live probably won't be back on until October 7th. . .
Despite the bad circumstances causing the Weatherly's stay, we had a great time with them here.
I really enjoyed talkikng politics and hanging out with Paige who had some great mommy advice (thank you so much for the tip on Huggies Overnights!!!) and Jackson loved playing with the girls. Ashlyn and Jadyn are just such adorable and sweet little girls. I always think I want two boys so they can be best friends but then when I'm around little girls I always change my mind. Good thing God is in charge and I don't have to make that decision! Also during their stay Jackson even became friends with Sally. He was feeding her cheerios and getting just hysterical when she would eat them. He was also sneaking bread and all kinds of other snacks to her during his meals. (All snacks Sally ate were approved by Paige.)
I didn't get very many pictures of the 3 kids together but here are a few.


Jackson and Jadyn teaming up to try to open the door.



Ashlyn (whose hair I really wish I had) playing the piano.



Ashlyn and Jackson with Sally in the back ground.



Jackson trying to impress the girls with his musical talent!

Tuesday (September 9th. . .I'm trying to get caught up) we went to play with Ellie's awesome new toys! Adrienne had gone to a big sale and gotten some really cool stuff. Not to mention that after having been out of town for almost two weeks we were having some serious Hirst withdrawals!


Sweet Gracie. . .and Jackson trying to escape in the background.



Adrienne and Ellie in front of some bare windows. . .Jackson pulled down all of the curtains that used to cover them. Luckily they were just on tension rods!



Ellie in her cute pink dress!



Jackson LOVES all of Ellie's toys!

Hanging with Uncle Jer. . .

Monday (September 8th. . .man am I behind on posting pictures!) we went over to Gaga and Jimmy's for dinner with Uncle Jer, Grandmommy and Bill. We had just gotten back from Nanny and Paw Paw's house the night before (around 10 p.m.) and after having been gone from home for 12 days we were a little tired. However, we still had a great time:)


Jackson cooking in Mia's kitchen for Uncle Jer



You can definitely tell that Jackson has the Sheriff blue eyes!



This is as close as I could get to a good smile. . .



Jer and Bill



Jeremy with the greatest grandparents ever! Well, except for Jackson's wonderful grandparents who all tie:)

Jackson feeding himself. . .kind of. . .

While we were at Jim (Paw Paw) and Charlotte's (Nanny) house we decided to let Jackson try feeding himself all by himself. The pictures below are the results. . .he's gotten better but it's still not perfected!

The meal has just started. . .



Time for a water break, this feeding yourself is hard work.



It's just so hard to get the right angle with the spoon!




Hmmmm, why don't they let me do this all of the time?



He's messy, but look at those eyes!


He is not happy about mommy holding the food container.



Yummy squash!



"Give me that container!"



"Finally it's all mine!"



Jackson is not happy that lunch is over!