Thanksgiving with Nanny and Paw Paw!

We had SUCH an awesome Thanksgiving with Nanny and Paw Paw!

I have nicknamed Beach City “heaven for little boys” and it truly is!  The ENTIRE time we were there Jackson was happy-and how could he not be?  Two awesome doting grandparents, lots of land to explore and ride his bike through, veggies to pick, food to help cook, wonderful aunt and uncle and neighbors who let him ride on their 4 wheelers!

Jack riding his red tricycle in their backyard.

 

Picking oranges with Nanny.  Jackson LOVES to work in the garden with his Nanny.  She got him a knee pad and gloves and he gets so excited when he gets to use them.

Jackson’s “secret pirate club.” Jack built this secret club and then put his elmo chair and pirate ship inside.  He spent a lot of time playing in here.

We got to spend a lot of time with Aunt Ree Ree this trip which was really special.  Ree Ree is just about the sweetest person in the world and both boys of course adore her and Uncle Dennis!

Nanny is a very talented musician and we love hearing her play the piano when we are there.  Baron had a great time sitting with her and “helping” her play!

Jackson always has fun playing with Jay’s childhood toys.

I love this shot of them looking at each other.

Nanny and her boys!  You can tell how happy my kids are by these pictures.

Paw Paw and Bear.  Paw Paw is one of the most “into kids” men I have ever met.  He is so good not only with Jackson but also with Bear.  He loves babies and they love him.  My boys are so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents.

For a very special treat Jackson got to help Nanny make cookies.  This was his first time ever to taste a chocolate chip cookie.  He was allowed to have 1 cookie.  He consumed two. 

Can you tell how excited he was to be cooking with Nanny?!  She taught him how to crack eggs and hear when they are ready.  He talks about that lesson when we make eggs each morning .  Nanny loves children so much and it shows.  Jax has such a great time being with and learning from Nanny and Paw Paw.

The finished product!

Tasting his first chocolate chip cookie. . .

Another really special thing that happened while we were there is that several of Jay’s relatives that he hadn’t seen in 15 years came by.  Jay had organized a little mini-reunion with the family and it was so cool to see them all together.  Apparently they used to get together constantly and do all of their holidays together years ago.  One thing they always did was sing gospel music while Nanny played the piano.  So, of course when everyone got together they were just itching to sing.  It was a very cool experience that really meant a lot to Jay.  I loved meeting every one and hearing all of the stories.

Baron hung out with Uncle Dennis and Paw Paw while I took pictures of the reunion.

Bear gets really excited when he sees Paw Paw.

Nanny is definitely one of those super fun, play on the ground, kind of grandmothers.

Some group shots.

On our second to last day poor Nanny was sick so Paw Paw made us breakfast.  One of the sweetest things about Paw Paw is that he always tries to include Jackson in whatever he does.  So, of course he asked Jackson to help him make breakfast.  Jack loved it and was so proud to help.  It’s probably this way for all children but time is definitely Jack’s love language and he gets TONS of quality time in Beach City!

Jack and Bear in the sunroom. . .also known as the play room when we are there.

Time for Jackson to open his big Christmas present.  He was so excited and had told Paw Paw all he wanted for Christmas was a “dangerous bike like Ellie’s.”  -His idea of a dangerous bike is a 2 wheel bike as opposed to a trike.

And. . .it’s a DANGEROUS BIKE!!!!

He was VERY happy to say the least.

Finally getting to ride his very own dangerous bike!

Here is the cool pirate ship and pirate island that Nanny and Paw Paw got for Jackson.  He LOVED it and it has inspired a serious love for pirates in Jackson.  It was so fun seeing him set up his entire pirate set and play with it each day.  He would beg us every night not to put it away. 

On our last night we had another really special experience.  Jay and I were able to connect with his former foster sister Amie.  Amie and her sister had lived with Jay and his family for almost 3 years when Jay was in high school.  They hadn’t seen each other in 15 years and it was awesome to see them reconnect and hear the stories.

Whew!  I have been meaning to blog about this fun trip for quite some time but wanted to be sure to include all of the great pictures.  Thank you so much to our awesome Paw Paw, Nanny, Uncle Dennis and Aunt Ree Ree for such a great Thanksgiving.  We love you so very much and can’t wait to come back!