Thanksgiving 2012

Mommy and Daddy have a night out!!

We had a blast at the Charity Ball!

Catching up in pictures

I just wanted to upload a few pics from the last month. I finally found some time to transfer them from the "actual" camera. Amelia is just growing up so fast! We had a great Halloween and such a fun time during the fall festivities.

Pumpkin Patch field trip!

I went with Jackson on his school field trip to the pumpkin patch. We had such a great time. He was so excited to ride on the bus! It seems like I remember bus seats being so much bigger. We played and  played and had a  picnic lunch. It is amazing to see how much he has grown since the last field trip!

Amelia is ONE!

Our sweet girl turned one last week. Time has flown right by! She is just the cutest little thing ever. She is all over the place but not quite walking. It will be any day now. She is a little climber though, crawling in chairs and on top of tables.  She has two teeth and is trying to get 4 more all at one time. She is saying Ma-Ma, Da-Da, and Uh-Oh. She can hold up one finger if you ask her how old she is and wave Hey and Bye-bye. She waves real big for Hi and opens and closes her little hand for bye-bye. She will also give kisses! We had a great time the weekend of her birthday. She had so many family and friends come visit and come to her party. We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many special people that love our baby girl! Here are a few pics from the party.

Soccer season

It is that time of year again...soccer season. This time Adam is the coach of the team. He was a little hesitant about doing it. He just wasn't sure how Jackson would react to him in a different role. So far so good. I am keeping up with the administrative end of things for him.... Doesn't that sound just like us!! Jackson was slow to start as usual, but by the third game he was back with it. Ironically one of the boys on the team is actually a baby I took care of in the NICU. That is coming full circle. Amelia is as usual along for the ride and just hanging in there. The first game was unbelievable hot. She didn't make a peep though. Here are a few pics from the first and second game. Their color are purple and gold. Adam said it was destiny he coached this year! LOL.

HOMEWORK!!!!

Let me just say I hate it already. Lol. Poor Jackson has really jumped into all things "big boy" all at once. I bet he is thinking GOSH!! I know I am. I was just thinking today how full our schedule is. It is fun but boy am I tired at night! We were doing homework the first night and I tell Jackson "You get a sticker at school on Friday if you do all this." He says with the most straight face "I don't want a sticker!". Really, I wouldn't either. So over the course of the next two night he randomly asks me "mom what is blood pressure? " and then " mom what are nerves?" I am seriously not remembering what exactly I may have said, but obviously something concerning both my blood pressure and my nerves! So today I went by Target and got a pretty jar and filled it with gummy fruit snacks and starburst. You get one after homework is all done! 15 minutes later we were eating a piece of candy. Whatever works is definitely my motto! I am so proud if him though. And miss Amelia is crawling all over the place. I just crack up sometimes at how different she is from Jackson. I put her down in the floor today while Jackson was practicing with his scissors. She instantly crawled to the electric socket and was jamming her pacie in it. Whew! Can I say hands full! Jackson with scissors and Amelia on a mission for danger. Well this is our last weekend before soccer starts every Saturday. I plan on sleeping in!! We will see how that goes.

Catching up after the storm

I was planning to be on vacation all week, but after Jackson's ent appt I decided to cancel. Jackson has to have sinus and tonsil surgery on sept 20. I hate the thought of it! Hopefully he will be all well after it is over. So vacation was shortened to 1 day off to save time and be home with him to recover. We decided to take a short trip to the beach though. Carly went with us and we had a great time. The condo was only a 1 bedroom due to our last minute planning. Us girls bunked up in the king size bed and Jackson took the top bunk bed of course. Adam said he just couldn't make it in the bottom "brick pallet" as he called it, so he took the sofa! His words exactly after the first night "this is our last one bedroom condo!". We had a great time though. The weather was perfect and not crowded at all. Amelia loved napping on the beach. One afternoon Jackson took about a 2 hour nap right on the beach. We played putt putt golf one night and went to The Hangout too. Carly and I carried Amelia in her stroller up about 1000 steps at that golf course! Hurricane Isaac literally chased us out of town. They had a mandatory evacuation the morning we were to leave. All I kept thinking about was being stuck in that tunnel in Mobile (and that Sandra Bullock movie where things go way wrong in a tunnel!) The traffic wasn't bad for us though. Thank God! We came home and prepared like crazy for the storm. I don't know what I would have done without Carly. She has had my kiddos for like literally a week. Since yesterday I bet Jackson has asked like 100 times "where's Carly???" Here are a few pics from the beach.

First day of Sunday school

Sometimes I am just blown away by how grown up Jackson is. He was a bit reluctant about Sunday school this morning. I asked why and he said he didn't want to take a nap at church. Once I explained it was just as long as two spiderman episodes it was all good! He just went in walked right up to the name tag with his name on it, Put it on, and sat down at the table. All grown up! I am sitting outside waiting for him now. I can't wait to hear his recap of the lesson.
We went to Emma's birthday party yesterday. It was just too short of a visit. The kids did pretty good considering they were in the car longer than they were out if it. Amelia LOVES this cd of silly kid songs. Somehow she knows that it is for her. Thankfully Tina has been there before,so she didn't mind 5 hours of kid music. I guess that is better than listening to crying. I'll post if pic of Jackson in his new Sunday school room the I guess off to Walmart....... With Jackson! He always has quite the extensive shopping agenda of his own.

No more school

These were Jackson's words to me this morning. We had meet the teacher for catechism this morning. I was explaining to Jackson that he was going to meet his new teacher and he said "I have had enough new teachers." Poor little thing. Well he went on in and introduced himself just like a big boy. It just seems like he is so grown.
We had such a good weekend. Lauren came in town and we went for dinner at Tina's. I have been missing seeing he so much. 4 years just flew by!! Amelia and I Amelia and I also did a little shopping on Saturday. Then the whole fam went to the pool!! Great weekend.

Amelia's second day at school!

Since having Amelia I have become so scatterbrained. Here is a typical one. I forgot to take her picture at home before the first day at her new school. I did Jackson's though! So here is celebrating Amelia's second day at school. She was such a big girl. She would not go to the teacher but did fine when I sat her down on the floor to play. This little boy walked up to her and started pulling on her pacie. Amelia swung her arm around so quick and just pushed his hand right back. Sissy is tough! Jackson would have just let him have it. I guess she had a hard day because it ended rather abruptly while I was showering. No rocking, no lovie, or bottle. Just out!!

Playing in the rain.

This little girlie loves her a golf cart ride. Adam has this thing decked out with a radio now and she sits in that basket and dances away. We were riding today and Jackson was singing right along with Jimmie Buffett. Adam wants me to try to write all these little Jacksonisms.... One I will never forget every time we start a DVD. "I want it from the very first beginning." No matter if we just watched the movie and hour ago he always says. "we haven't watched this in a long day.l. We had a great weekend. I wish I would have taken pictures of my house because ALL THE TOYS ARE IN THEIR PLACE AND IT IS CLEAN!!!! Ready for a new week. It cracks me up but Adam bought this gold cart and it now carries fishing poles and pool toys. Lol. my how times change.

Back to School

Let me just begin with I HATE shopping for school supplies!! I am starting to pray  now that when Jackson starts kindergarten there will be some kind of kit you can buy. Jackson and Amelia both started a new daycare this week. I have been sooooo pleased with our past little school but logistically this was a great move for us, plus Jackson will start to meet some new friends that will be going to big school with him. He did great the first day. We have begun to talk about it a week or so before. He looked back and asked "You are coming back right mom?" and that was it. I really really almost cried. I don't know if it was because he  seemed so grown or just all the change. Amelia did not start until Friday. She had an ear infection the first part of the week. I wanted her feeling her best for the new teachers. She has been spoiled rotten by Mrs. Essie at her old school, so I knew she would have very HIGH expectations for her new teacher, who is ironially named Mary as well. She did so good though! I am so glad this week of firsts is over though. My anxiety was like a 20 on a 10 point scale. I also need to say so I will always remember, Thank You, Thank You, Carly! You are the best and really I don't know what my kiddos would do without you. Lauren was the same way too! You guys love them so much and they love you too. I just wish Kat and I could be closer in distance. I don't think you could get much closer than talking every morning and every afternoon :).  Well here is a pic of Jackson on his first day..... taken with my NEW Canon  camera that I am so excited about. Also one of Amelia that was taken the day I got my new camera.

Random pictures

The following are just random pictures from throughout the year. I just mainly wanted to get a few of Amelia out! Poor baby girl. The first is our first beach trip with the four of us. I felt like we literally had to move out of our home. We had the best time though. We went Mother's Day weekend. All other times Jackson had hated the sand but this trip he loved it. He wasn't much on the waves but like being near the water. Amelia just sat in my lap and took it all in. The next pic was after a tball game with the Kirkland's at the doughnut factory! Funny story here but there was this lady at 1030 on a Saturday with her laptop and ear buds in at Krispy Kreme. Our kids were wound up on tball and doughnuts and kept kicking under the bench seat. This lady turned around and over her reading glasses says "THEY ARE KICKING!". Really!!!! It is 1030 on Saturday at Krispy Kreme!! The next is sweet Amelia's Christmas picture I took of her. She truly looked like a little baby doll. The next is Jackson before his first tball practice. I remember thinking he looked so grown. One practice I had to bring him instead of Adam and he went on and on explaining just what to do. Poor thing didn't think mom had a clue about baseball. The next was a pic of Amelia when I got there to get her from daycare. Mrs Essie said she didn't like riding in the front because all the little kids run up to the stroller and scare her. The next was us at the Easter egg hunt at the club. Then Jackson's first time holding Amelia. Up until this point he wouldn't hold her at all! The next is my favorite pic EVER! Ms Sara sent this to me on my birthday. Adam and I on our anniversary trip to Birmingham. 11 years. We had the best time. Then sweet Amelia in the cozi coupe. She would not let me get her out. She kept hold onto the steering wheel screaming. It was so cute her riding and beeping the horn. Jackson and I at the Mother's Day tea. So cute and sweet. Adam and Amelia sacked out at the pool. Ad can get her to nap so much better than me! Then Jackson and his 4th of July hat he made. A pic from the military museum at camp Shelby from one rainy Saturday. Jackson loved it and spoke to every solider we saw. We were leaving school one day after this trip and a guy was picking up his kids in his uniform. Jackson stops him and goes on and on about how he learned about him at the museum. It made me so proud. Then the last is Jackson climbing the rock wall at the Irish Italian festival at church. All the other kids doing this were much older and he and Rylee walked up there like they were grown and climbed right up!!!

Failing miserably!!!!

Ok. Wow! Boy did I fail at keeping up with blogging. I vow to really do better now. So Miss Amelia Kate is here and is 10 months old. I plan to post a few pics to add her to our family blog. Life has been incredibly busy since her arrival. I think we momentarily have the kinks worked out... that is until tommorrow. Amelia is just the cutest little thing ever. She has so much spunk. I often wonder if that is just little girls or her. Jackson was so content and just kinda put him where you left him and played. Not this sassy girl. She isn't crawling yet but is in to EVERYTHING! She wants it her way and will let you know when it is not right. She laughs all the time and loves her big brother. He is so sweet to her and tries to always make sure she isn't upset....primarily because he can't hear the TV when she is crying. Amelia has done great with daycare and hasn't really been sick but twice. As I am typing to catch up this blog I have already been interrupted 8 times....maybe this is why I quit! LOL. Jackson is super in to super heroes, especially Spiderman and Batman. He has an amazing imagination! He has suddenly become interested in riding his bike. We had been begging him to do it for about a year. We have decided that with Jackson you are just as well to make a suggestion to him then wait for him to just decide to try it. He is doing so good swimming this summer and also decided it is fun to jump off the side...another thing I have been begging him to do forever. Amelia loves being outside and will just chill in the pool in her float. Her favorite thing to do at the pool though is just sit on one of the tables and people watch. She cracks me up with the looks she gives people. She is so funny about strangers! Both my babies are just brown and berries! Adam and I are trying to get it all together with working full-time and getting it all done at home. I think we are doing a great job and have to happy, healthy kiddos! Back to Jackson's imagination...right now he is acting out a story with all the costumes in this Halloween catalog that came in the mail. I am so proud of Adam as he bravely decided to venture into this new job. He is working SOOO hard! My goal for the weekend is to catch up on both kids baby books and post some pics on this blog! Maybe if it is caught up I will do better writing each week.