Let's Bowl, Let's Bowl, Let's Rock and Roll!

Happy Birthday Jackson!  I can't believe you are 6!  Before I know you will be driving a car - oh my goodness I can't even handle the thought of that! 

We has such a fun filled day from the time you woke up to the time you went to bed. 

 

We didn't want you to forget it was your birthday when you woke up, so we tied balloons to your door!   Which you must have loved because you wouldn't let us take them down for weeks!  Then it was on to the presents.  

It was a birthday of bugs and

video games. 

 

After church and lunch at Arby's (another one of your favorites) it was time to bowl.  You had so much fun bowling with all your friends despite your broken arm! 

 

We had cupcakes and bowling pin waterbottles for party favors, and I think the party was a huge success!  It was a blast watching you bowl and be around all your friends! 

Happy Birthday my sweet toot toot!  It has been an amazing year, and it has been fun to watch grow from a baby into a sweet, fun, and smart little guy.  I am so glad to be your mom, and I love you to the moon and back! 

Braden - 19 months

Weight:

Height:

Diapers: Size 5

Sleep: He started waking up again in the middle of the night.  He had been sick with e. coli and his molars took a sweet forever to finally pop through.  All those disruptions caused us to fall back into the bad habits of times passed.  It was taking him at least an hour (more like two) to scream himself back to sleep if I didn't go in there and rock him to a deep sleep.   Did you pick up on that I said scream not cry.  We are talking "someone is torturing the poor kid" kind of scream. Anyway, we decided sleep training was in order again.  So we borrowed a pack n play and set it up in the basement.  We didn't want to disturb Jackson, (who amazingly somehow slept through all of Braden's screaming anyway) daddy, or our new neighbors.  I slept on the couch, and Braden slept in his "new" room.  The first couple  of nights were pretty rough, but by the end of the week he was waking up around 5:00, shouting for momma a couple of times, and then going back to sleep until about 6:30!  Success!  (I have come to the conclusion that both of the boys will never be late sleepers until their teenage years.)  We finally decided it was time to head back to his "big boy crib" last night, and he was so excited.   I was afraid he would go back to his normal bad sleeping, but he did great.  I think we both were ready to be back in our own beds! 

Food: He loves smoothies, pop tarts, granola bars, chicken nuggets, apples, and milk.  He doesn't love ham, turkey, yogurt (which he used to love), and macaroni and cheese (really??).  

Words:  His first word was shoe (he is definitely my child) then came momma, dadda, and ja ja (Jackson).  He also says oiy oiy (milk), beep beep (car), tree, cheerio, dog, ball, shoot, dunk, nee (dance), puuuh lease, duck, bath, i pa (ipad), I to (me too)

 He is pretty good at communicating even with his lack of words. He can't say yes, but he definitely knows NO! 

Fun Facts: He can make the sounds of a dog, horse, sheep, turkey, cow, and cat.

- He loves "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," "If You're Happy and You Know It," "Patty Cake," and "The Wheels on the Bus"

- He can point to his eyes, ears, hair, hands, mouth, belly, feet, and knees.

- He absolutely loves to shoot balls, dance, and run with his brother. 

- He's even trying to go tee tee in the potty like his big brother.

- He still loves to read his books, and currently choo choo books seem to be the favorites.

Another Summer, Another Broken Arm

We started this summer just like last summer with a broken arm.  However, this time it was much much much worse.  After Jackson's last t-ball game we had an end of the season pizza party at a local school playground.  He was running around playing with all his teammates, when they all decided to tryout the monkey bars.  Only my son didn't quite make it across.  As soon as Mark saw it, he knew it was broken because it literally looked like the letter c.  So off to the hospital we went, and the e-ray confirmed that he broke both his ulna and his radius.  OOOUUUUCH!  The good news was that he didn't need surgery!

Saturday and Sunday looked a lot like this: 

 

After a couple of rough days/nights, we went to see the doctor first thing Monday morning to get the official cast.  The doctor was actually shocked that the ER didn't give him any type of prescription painkillers because it was a very painful break. Thanks again INOVA Alexandria Hospital for another great experience! 

We got a red full arm cast that wasn't waterproof.  (I had thought to myself - well at least they have waterproof casts now.  However, his break was too bad, and it needed to be molded to his arm. Good bye plans of spending the summer at the pool.)

6 weeks later we go back to the doctor hoping to get the cast off for good, but come home with a blue waterproof half cast instead. 

2 weeks later (8 weeks total) we come home with just a splint!  He is supposed to only wear it when he is "active" - hmmmmm has she met my boys?  The only time they aren't active is when they are asleep. 

 

Let's just say I have already started praying for next summer!

The Mighty Mighty Pelicans

Here we go Pelicans!

 The mighty mighty Pelicans!

After giving football a whirl in the fall, we decided this spring we would try baseball.  There were some slight issues with the team assignments and coaches, but once it was all cleared up it was time to play ball! 

Some how we even sweet talked Uncle Derek in being a coach!  Jackson was so excited about his coach and couldn't wait to go to his first practice.  The practices were fun and full of learning the sport.  We were off to a good start! 

Then came his first game, and he was ready!

 Now if you have never been to a t-ball game before, the rules are just a little different than the major leagues.  Everyone gets to bat every inning, there are no outs, and everyone gets to score.   Luckily there are only three innings or the games would last a sweet forever.  

On deck . . .

 

 And it's a hit!

Right from the beginning Jackson had a small little fan club, and Braden was his biggest fan.  

As the season wore on, Jackson loved it even more.  He wanted to know all the "real" rules and got better and better with each game/practice.  

He loved batting, 

running the bases,

waiting to run home, 

being the pitcher,

and even shaking hands at the end. 

It was a great season of new friendships, new experiences, and new skills.  We are already looking forward to the next baseball season, even though the year ended with a broken arm . . . .  but that is a story for the next post. 

We Had a Berry Good Time

I wanted to take the kiddos to pick strawberries, but my parents (who happen to love strawberries) were coming the next week.  I was afraid the berries would go bad before they arrived, so I had the bright idea to wait until they got here.  Then we could all go together on this little adventure.  My dad was just "thrilled" at the idea.  However once we arrived at the farm, they quickly realized that this is strawberry picking for city folks - pretty easy work!  

Even Braden was picking strawberries. He soon lost interest and took PaPa walking all over the place.

 

Jackson had a blast!  He was always looking for the best looking strawberry.

And he finally found it!

 
It didn't take us long to fill up our crate with strawberries even though it was the end of season.  And we will all admit they were oh so delicious and worth all the "hard" work!

I wonder what is in season in November that we can go pick when the grandparents come back for a visit . . . .

Farewell RCC

We started the year at RCC as a sweet little 5 year old.

And ended the year at RCC as a sweet big 5 year old. 

 

 Just to show you  how much he grew over the year . . . . 

 

 The first two strips represent Jackson.  The blue one shows how tall he was at the beginning of the year and the yellow shows the end of the year.  WOW!  Not only did he grow in height but in character as well.  He has become a better friend and has become more confident.  This last year at RCC was exactly what he needed to have a good solid foundation for kindergarten.  I can't believe he will be headed to school in August, but I do know that he is fully prepared and excited to take on this next adventure! 

Thank you Ms. Julie and Ms. Katey for a wonderful year in the Painting Room!

 

 All the Painting Room friends!

Thank you Ms. Kim and Ms. Margaret for a great three years at RCC! 

 

Oh my how the past three years have quickly passed, but we will see you next year RCC when Braden starts preschool . . . can't things just slow down!!! 

Rock Climbing

We joined an amazing gym that has an indoor and outdoor pool, a great kids area, and even a rock climbing wall.  Jackson was so excited to give it a try after convincing me that I need to climb right beside him.  After a few times climbing, he was on his own.

It wasn't long until he had climbed all the way to the top, but coming down is still a work in progress.