Happy Anniversary Mark!

I can't believe it was 6 years ago today that Mark and I got married!!!  It really does seem like just yesterday.  I will save y'all from all the sappy details about our 6 wonderful years together, but I will say that I am truly blessed to be married to my best friend!  

Since I don't have any of our wedding day pictures on our computer, I will share some pictures from our honeymoon in Jamaica.  Oh my, how our lives have changed!   

Here is the view from our balcony.  I wish we could go back every year! 

Thanks for everything, honey!  I am already looking forward to what God has in store for us in the year to come!   

Memorial Day Weekend Part Two

After recovering from the turtle hunt, we decided to head the National Zoo. Jackson was amazed to see all the animals actually come to life. He greeted each animal in their "native language" and was so excited about meeting each of them. The first stop was the elephants. These elephants were a little bit bigger than Buurrr, but still just as cute!

Across from the elephants, Jackson found and quickly fell in love with one very large hippo! For the rest of the day all we heard was, "hippo, hippo, hippo." (Quick hippo facts: Did you know that a hippo can hold his breath for up to 5 minutes, and a sleeping hippo can just rise to the surface to breathe without waking up?) Next came the pandas. These particular pandas are on loan from China until at least 2010. When we lived in DC before Tian Tian and Mei Xiang were trying to have a baby panda, and it was on the news pretty much every day. After several failed attempts, Momma Panda was finally preggers. On July 9, 2005 Mei Xiang gave birth to a bouncy baby boy name Tai Shan! He will be heading back to China sometime after his fourth birthday in 2009. It was so much fun to finally see the happy Panda family! Since Jackson couldn't give the actual pandas a kiss, he did the next best thing . . .


All in all it was a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I am sure that we will be heading back real soon to see the beloved hippo once more!

Memorial Day Weekend

Mark decided to take off the Thursday and Friday before Memorial Day giving him a nice long five day mini-vacation. So we decided to get out there and try some family "firsts" over the long weekend. On Thursday we headed to Baltimore to the National Aquarium. It was such a great experience for Mark, I mean all of us. Jackson had so much fun running around looking at all the fish. He would get right up next to the glass and say, "Hi fish, hi fish, hi!" However, he absolutely did not like the shark exhibit. It was dark and with all those sharp toothed sharks swimming around and around, he quickly grabbed dad's hand and was pulling him out of there! I really don't blame the little guy. Then he discovered turtles!! From there on out he was on a quest to find every tur-tle in the place!

Daddy, where are all the turtles?


Still looking for turtles . . .


After much searching, he finally hit the tur-tle jackpot!


We also had tickets to go see the Dolphin Show. Of course Mark insisted we sit in the Splash Zone! It was amazing to watch those dolphins swim and jump with such ease and grace. We all just watched in awe! After eating a "quick" lunch at Hard Rock (boy, doesn't that bring back visions of your first Hard Rock t-shirt) we headed back home. Jackson ended the day with a nap all the way back to DC. He was definitely worn out from that long vigorous turtle hunt.

To be continued . . . .

Jackson's New Best Friend

Jackson has added a new friend to his collection. This friend was given to him by his Uncle Ryan and Aunt Becca on their first visit to see Jackson. I would like to introduce y'all to Buuurrr, the Elephant!


As you can see, the love they share for each other is deeply expressed on both of their faces. Buuurr has been around since Jackson was born, but he has just recently been rediscovered and named. According to Jackson, "buuurr" added with the appropriate arm motions is what an elephant says. They share so many of the same hobbies. For example, Buuurrr even likes to talk on the phone just like Jackson.


You can certainly see that Buurrr is not exactly small. So I just want you to take a minute to picture this: Me carrying Jackson, Jackson carrying Buurrr, and we are ALL headed into Target to pick up a few things. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to juggle, but Jackson insisted that Buuuurrr should go run errands with us. And who am I to get in the way of a growing friendship?


Now I certainly do not want to confuse anyone - Daaawwwg is still going strong. I don't think Daaawwwg will ever be replaced. It just means that Mom now has to sometimes carry Jackson, Daaaawwwg, and Buuurrr if we can't decide on who we should leave at home!!

My new hobby is . . . .

sewing! Thanks to some of my friends, I am now learning how to sew. I don't know if I will ever make it out of the beginner stage, but at least I can finally sew in a straight line. Mark and Jackson even bought me a brand spanking new sewing machine for Mother's Day - Thanks guys! You might be asking yourself, "What exactly is it that you are learning to sew?" Now here is where it gets a little funny. All of my sewing partners have little girls, so I have learned how to make a pillowcase dress. They are adorable on all of my friend's kids, so we will see. Below is a picture of my very first dress, and there is only one little mistake on the armhole. I wonder who will be getting this one?

So, all of you with little girls better watch out, you just might be getting some of my practice dresses. I don't think Jackson would ever forgive me if I tried a dress on him - not even for sizing purposes! I am now in the process of making my niece a dress. I have stepped it up a little, because I added a ruffle to the bottom. I know what you are thinking - Wow a ruffle! Impressive, huh?? My next adventure will be learning how to sew from a pattern when my mom comes up in June. I have already bought some fabric that I hope will make some cute shorts and overalls for Lil Jack Jack. I will keep you posted on my creations.

Best Park Ever

We just got home from our friend Alex's first birthday party, and Jackson is slap worn out in his crib. The birthday party was at the Clemyjontri Park, which I must now say is the best park ever. Before I show pictures of this amazing park, I must give a little background information, because it truly makes the park even sweeter! The Lebowitz Family donated this 18 acre property to create a park where all kids are welcomed. The entire park is designed to bring children of all abilities together to play side-by-side. The rubber surfacing allows wheelchairs easy mobility (which also saves knees from bo-bos), and the equipment is filled with sensory rich gadgets! Needless to say, Jackson had a fabulous time! Thanks Alex for letting us help you celebrate your first birthday!

This is an aerial shot of the park.


Out of all that play equipment, we just could not pull Jackson away from the bus!


And when we did pull him away, he went straight to the choo choo!


If you want to read more about this park, here is a link to the website:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/

A Tradition Like None Other . . . .

Mark was getting ready to go play in a golf tournament today, and Jackson was "helping" him get ready. Mark pulled out his pullover from the Masters and laid it on the bed. Well, Jackson always points to Mark's "Polo Man" on all his shirts, so he started looking for the famous horse. Instead of finding Mr. Polo Man, he found the Masters logo. This seemed to completely confuse lil' boy. Mark being the Masters fan that he is, immediately started saying, "Masters, Jackson. Can you say Masters?" Well, lets just say the title has unofficially been changed to "Mouseters, a tradition like none other."