dada happy?

Here is a sweet story from a few weeks ago when Jay was snuggling with Jackson. I asked him to email me the story so I could post it because this is our version of a baby book:) So here's Jay's story. . .

I was laying in bed with Jackson and he was about to fall asleep. He turned and touched my face and said "Happy!" I asked him, "Are you happy?" He said, "Yea!" Then he asked me, "Dada happy?" I told him, "Of course, daddy is happy because he is here with you." He then touched my face and smiled and closed his eyes and went to sleep.

3 words and more. . .

Jackson has experienced an explosion in his verbalizing lately. He's saying so many more words and even putting 3 and sometimes 4 words together. Last week he was saying "Baby Bye Bye Airplane" every time he saw a picture of anything relating to KidFest to explain that baby Cora went bye bye on an airplane and today he's been saying the same thing but with Enin (Lennon), Sissy (Jenna aka Aunt Sissy) and Me (Mia). He has also picked up a few phrases from Lennon. He says "outside NOW," "my turn please," "need that", "need that NOW" and several others. Having two babies around for the last several weeks was so much fun!

Lunch with Nana's Babies!

Last week we went up to Nana's hospital to have lunch with her while she was working. The kids loved looking at the brand new baby in the nursery:)



Thanks for letting us bring a little chaos to your day Nana!

Mad Gab

Bok Aaaaaaa is a phrase very frequently exclaimed by Jackson lately. He runs laps around whatever there is to run around and screams these words with delight. We have NO idea what he is trying to say or what it means. All we know is that he is super happy when he says it. Jackson is such a chatter box lately but about 25% of the time it's like playing mad gab trying to figure out what he's saying.

Happy Birthday Papa!!!

Today we went to church for my last MOMS Connection meeting of the year and then went to take Papa to a birthday lunch. Poor Jackson was exhausted due to skipping his nap but lunch with Papa on his birthday was definitely more than worth it.
Thanks dad for taking some time out of a super busy day to hang with us, it was such a treat and the kids and I full enjoyed it:)

Welcome Baby Matthews!!!

Congratulations to Alissia and Monte who had a precious baby boy last night. He's yet to be named but is precious and tiny (well, compared to Jackson) 7 pounds 12 ounces and 21 inches long. I was hoping we could share a birthday but he was stubborn and waited one day too late:) As soon as Mia and Jackson have been fever free for a few days we want to see him!

Potty Training?

Well, I have been very resistant to potty train Jackson. He's been interested for a little over three months. I just don't want to mess with. . .well, the mess. Also I have heard from several sources that training before 27 months doubles the time it takes. Anyway, this last week and weekend he has used the actual potty so many times. Today he woke up from his nap yelling "pee pee!" "Momma pee pee!" I went in to get him and he immediately took off his dry diaper and went to the potty. So twice today he went #2 on the potty. Twice yesterday as well. So, while I am not going to encourage it because I don't want to be in the training stage for a year I am happy to put him on the toilet when he requests it:) Probably TMI for most of you but oh well, the title should have been enough clue and you could have skipped this one.

Great Wolf Lodge

Last Thursday and Friday Gaga took us to the Great Wolf Lodge. It was SO much fun! And to make it even better Jay came in one night early (wednesday) so that he could be with me for a long weekend for my birthday and Mother's Day. It was a blast. The only thing they could improve would be the beds, but over all it was the most fun we've had in a long time. Mia and Jay did a really cool magic quest that took them all over the resort. Mia got a super special pedicure at the kid spa. There was an arcade, they had shows and crafts for the kids and they have several restaurants. It was awesome. The water park was the best part! The kids loved it and the adult rides were super fun as well. We don't have any pictures of the water park for obvious reason but here are some other pics from our stay. The pictures are a little out of order but you get the point. Thanks again for such a fun time Gaga!

Scoops is the "Kid Spa" where Mia got her fancy pedicure.



Super cute set up.



Several times a day the "creatures come alive" and sing and dance. Jackson and Mia loved it. Jackson was captivated and begged for more every time it ended.



This is the face Jax makes when asked to smile these days.



Sweet Mia is such an awesome cousin.



Here is Jackson pretending to call Lennon. He's always pretending to talk to Lennon lately.



Mia looking at all of her options at the spa. Notice the awesome robe and tiara.



She was so excited for the pampering. She has talked about the special sugar scrub many times since then.



Mia's fancy toes with the banana splits on them.



Here are some very tired kiddos. Mia is yawning and Jackson is escaping.



The kids "wolf den."



Relaxing with daddy.



Snuggling in the top bunk.



The kids had a flat screen in their little den.

3T

Last week I bought Jackson a two pack of cars pajamas. Mia loved them and asked if she could wear one to bed to match Jax. So, here are the pictures of both kids. . .one 20 month old and one almost 7 year old in 3T pj's.


Here's Mia "working out" with the jump rope. She has been obsessed with seeing how long she can jump.



This is her favorite "action shot." She asked me to post this one to the blog and to facebook. I thought it was hysterical that she knew about facebook.



What a peanut to be wearing 3t pjs!



Jack Attack fills out his 3t's more than she does!



"Peace Dude"

Since Mia has been here she has said a myriad of funny things. Here are a few funny quotes or situations that Mia has graced us with. . .

1. Jackson gets super excited when he sees any color PT Cruiser b/c that is what Gaga drives. One time in the car Jackson was freaking out screaming "Gaga wait!" and Mia turned around and said "Do you mean to tell me that he knows what kind of car different people drive? Ya gotta be serious about cars to do that dude!!!"

2. When we were landing in Dallas the pilot announced that a uniformed agent would help us find our gate if we had another flight to catch. Mia looked up at me with the widest eyes and in a whisper said "You mean to tell me that they have a unicorn agent?" She was sad to find that it was a uniformed agent and not a unicorn agent:)

3. Today Jackson was sitting on Paw Paw's Harley and Mia said "Well that's sure something you don't see everyday. A one year old who knows how to ride a bike, huh!"

4. At the airport Mia ordered pepperoni pizza. I questioned her about wanting pepperoni and she insisted that it was her favorite. When the pizza arrived she looked shocked and slowly and quietly asked me what pepperoni was made of. I let her know it was pork and her eyes just widened as she said that her mother had told her that peperoni was tomatoes. We got her a cheese pizza instead:)
Also just for the record. . .Jenna did not tell Mia that tomatoes were pepperoni. I have no idea where she got that:)

5. Today Jackson was doing something crazy (jumping off of the coffee table and doing a belly flop on the carpet and then laughing wildly) and Mia said "Jackson Christian Adams, be careful! Whoa, I just used all of his names, I'm a perfect little mom aren't I?"

6. While sitting by the pool and talking she asked, "has Jackson always been mighty? I mean Lennon was as weak as a mouse the day he was born. But I bet Jackson was already mighty."

7. At a restaurant when Jackson was eyeing the rest of Mia's grilled cheese she looked over and said "Bon appitite dude, I'm all done so you can have it!"

8. At Mandy's house she looked at the pool and said "wow, doesn't that water look so inviting?!"

She's super funny and I'm sure there will be more to add as our time goes on.

Thank You God!

Ever since we returned from Boston Jax has been sleeping until between 8:30-9 each morning! And he's taking a 2 1/2 to a 3 1/2 hour nap each day. Thank you God for such a rested baby (and mommy)!

A Jack by Any Other Name

Jackson has become somewhat like my brother Noah in that he answers to anything that starts with the first letter of his name. Below I've listed just a few of the names we use for him. . .

1. Jack, Jackson, Jax (the obvious)
2. Jackie Jackerson
3. Jackersonian Museum
4. Jack-o-potomus
5. Jack-o-lantern
6. Jackpot
7. Jack of all trades
8. Action Jackson
9. Jackers
10.Pud, Pudders, Pud Pud. And yes, I realize that these don't start with "J" but these are the names Jay calls Jax.

Door!

Poor Jackson is pretty bummed to be waking up to just plain old mommy these days. After spending almost two weeks with Mia and Lennon and having very regular play dates with his best girl Ellie, he's going through withdrawals. Luckily, Mia will be with us the rest of the week, Ellie comes back into town on Sunday and Lennon gets here the 14th! Today Jackson has been requesting pictures of Ellie on the computer. So, we sit and look at them for several minutes and then he goes and finds my shoes and stands at the door. All he will say is "Door!! Go!!! Ellie!!!" Poor little guy,
I sure hope everyone comes back soon!

Boston Trip Part 1

There are way too many pictures here but I couldn't narrow them down. . .you shouldn't be surprised if you've ever read this blog before!

Our first morning in Boston Jenna made awesome pumpkin pancakes. As you can see Jackson loved them!



Lennon, Jax and Biance playing in the sand.



This was the beginning of a very strange ceremony for a dead bird. I can't even begin to describe the weird nature of Crissy's using the bird's death to symbolize her father who had passed away. Anyway, she's a super nice person. . .



Sweet Lennon playing in the house.



Miranda, Diva and Mia striking a pose.



Diva, Mia and Mateus.



Playing in Lennon's crib.



Here Jack was jumping and getting hysterical.



Aunt Sissy reading to the boys before bed.



Is it just me or do these toddlers look really guilty?



More crib time.



Jenna's got some great friends who meet every wednesday for coffee and a play date. Here I am with Megan, Chrissy and Amy.



I love Lennon's hair!



"I think Jackson has one of my toys!"



Jackson loved the inch worm.



We've got to get him one of these. . .and a back yard!



Jackson was pretty happy anytime he got to play with his awesome cousins.



Our sweet boys watching "Meet the Robinsons"



Lennon also loves the inch worm. . .this will lead to problems!



Lennon trying to push Jackson off of the inch worm. Jax seems confidant.



Here's the boys doing that whole chest pushing thing that guys do.



Jackson seems a little irritated by Lennon's persistance.



Lennon finally gives up and goes to do some training for their next match!

Partners in Crime

Ok, now back to our Boston trip! Jackson and Lennon have become partners in crime for sure. One such example was Lennon just pointing to different covered outlets and saying "Ba, out!" Ba (Jax) would then immediately remove the outlet cover and bring it to Lennon. Additionally Lennon is too short to open the doors so he would just stand there and say "Ba, in!" and Jackson would happily open the doors. They were so cute together and acted just like brothers. They would love each other and hug one second and smack each other the next.

20 Years of Traveling

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WARNING
If you are on the fence about whether or not to have children please do not read this. Children are 99% awesome and 1% disgusting. . .this entry just happens to detail that 1%. Only read this if are already pregnant or already have kids.
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Ok, so maybe it was 8 hours but it felt like about 100. We got to the airport with plenty of time which was good because security took forever. They had to wand and wipe down my stroller. They put it through the machine multiple times and kept taking it back to wipe more. I need to ask Jackson if he was involved in any criminal activities in that stroller. Hmmm.
Anyway, so we had to run to the other end of the airport and I needed to feed Jax and Mia. Mia by the way was a perfect angel. I loved having her. The only thing we disagreed on was her wanting to ride the escalator while we took the elevator. I am super over protective and don't let her out of my sight. This fact is one that Jenna much appreciates. Anyway, other than that Mia makes life so much fun and flying with her was a pleasure.
We get on the first flight which was 100% full. . .and as soon as we take off I realized that Jackson has peed on me. I guess in the rush to board I had forgotten to change his diaper. Anyway, so the front of my pants are completely wet, good start to my long day. The flight was super turbulent, and I had packed lots of snacks for the kids. The good news was that they weren't hungry and were very happy flying, the bad news was Jackson's stomach was full when he puked all over me. Not only did he throw up all over my shirt, shoulder and hair but he also threw up inside my shirt. I'll spare you the details but let me say that I had a very hard time not getting sick just from smelling my self. Luckily our country has been insanely obsessed with this swine flu thing so everyone on the plane was acting like we were spreading a serious disease. The nice man next to me was sweet enough to mention that I had the best behaved children he'd ever ridden next to right before Jax's explosion. He didn't say much after that, not that I can blame him. We finally arrive in Atlanta and change shirts (only after walking around the airport covered in vomit looking for a gift shop with kids shirts). I totally felt like that stereotypical mom who just lets herself go and goes about her day with a puke shirt. As you can tell I was feeling pretty hot.
Our second flight was also full but much less turbulent. No puke but Jackson did have a major dirty diaper which Mia delightfully described very loudly as "spaghetti sauce flowing up his back." I can't really say anything more about that other than that my jeans were once again victimized.
So, at this point we are almost to Dallas and I'm sort of patting myself on the back. My sweet son has spewed forth all kinds of "stuff" upon me from all orifices of his body (yes, ears and nose were involved I just couldn't write about everything) and I have stayed calm, collected and in good spirits. I mean this is the world giving me plague treatment and I'm still helping Mia write a letter to Nana and Papa and coloring with Jackson. My wonderful dad picks us up and helps us load his car "Jed Clampett style" with a ton of stuff and off we go. I get home 5 minutes before Jay and think the day is over and all there is to do is take a long hot shower and relax with my awesome husband. But no, one more thing. . .I look into the back yard and realize that our ducks have hatched (a couple of ducks lay eggs in our yard each year and when they hatch Jay takes them to the creek) and there are 7 dead baby ducks floating in my pool. At this point I lose it. I'm not a huge animal person but I am human. Dead baby ducks?!? The were also three living babies which Jay took to the creek so that was at least a silver lining.
Anyway, after a very long and stressful day we all got a good nights sleep and Jackson didn't wake up until 8:30 the next morning. Thank you God!