Hats and Helmets

Cooper - just hanging out after nap time.

Jackson - trying on a saints hat that Pawpaw Kevin sent Daddy for his birthday.

And later, Jackson brought Cooper a hat, and decided that they needed to play detective.
He was "lookin for something" all around the house.

Colin took the boys on the their first bike ride together.
We just got around to buying another helmet.
Cooper was pretty quiet for the first ten minutes or so, but Colin said after a while he and Jackson were talking back and forth and they both had smiles on their faces.
Guess I should have taken an "after" picture.
Coop looks a little terrified here!

Gone Fishin

I just love these pictures of my dad, mom, and grandmother showing off what they caught. I am guessing these are taken even before Daniel was born, but I'm not sure. What I would give to go fishing with all of them right now! Of course, my mom and I could go... but we'd probably have a nervous breakdown if we couldn't get the fish of the hook.

My mom recently scanned all of her old slides into her computer (around 1000). At times I have complained how there are so few baby pictures of me, yet so many of my brother (he's 5 years older). Anyway, she assured me that all the photos of me must be in the slides. Well, turns out there aren't very many of me. And the few that are there - I'm naked. Nonetheless, it has been so much fun to go through all of the pictures. Alot of them are of people I don 't even recognize, long before I was born. But there are some very special pictures too.
Today I am feeling especially Large and In Charge. And then I stumbled across this picture of my mom, pregnant with Daniel (I think). Needless to say, I'm feeling even larger after I see how cute and tiny she is with just a big belly. Maybe she didn't eat ice cream every night.

Snow... the last of the year, I hope.

On Sunday morning we woke up to snow. ALOT of snow. We had 8 inches in McKinney. Jackson about had a fit he was so excited. He couldn't wait to eat breakfast and get dressed so he could go play in it. Cooper was pretty impressed with the view from the window, too.

Good thing that we had Jackson's party when we did. I don't think the kids could have been able to enjoy the dino dig with 6 inches of snow on the sand table.

Jackson's pants were soaked, but he was loving it.

Jackson tried out the slide.


And so did Cooper.
(Don't worry, Colin picked him up right away).

He cheered up after Colin got him a few balls to play with.

Except he got a little frustrated that he couldn't pick them up with his mittens.


Jackson threw snowballs at me.


Cooper was almost as excited as I was to get into the warm, dry house.


Jackson LOVED it. It was fun and all, but I'm ready for Spring!

Dallas Arboretum

On Friday we met our friends the Morris' at the Arboretum. The weatherman promised us warm weather - in the mid 70s, but when the boys and I arrived at 9 am, I was horrified to see others in winter coats. The sunshine was nowhere to be found. Luckily I had a couple of blankets in the car for the boys, and thankfully Colin convinced me to put them in jeans instead of their shorts that I had planned on them wearing. It was only chilly for the first hour or so, and then the sun peeked out from the clouds.
Every time I go, it makes me want to come home and work in the yard. The flowers and grass and trees - all so unbelievable.

Here are the boys staying warm. Jackson sat in the stroller for the first part when it was chilly, and then he ran his little feet out after that.Emma and Nicholas

and Jack, too!

The boys spotted this squirrel running away with something.

Cooper tried to find the squirrel.

Nathan was trying to dive into the koi pond.

The boys loved running around. I only temporarily lost sight of them a couple of times. ha. They are fast little things. And Jackson, who used to be my "cautious" child, isn't so glued to me anymore. He always remains a comfortable distance to me, but was really pushing that line! Oh well, I made it home with both of them, so that's a successful trip!

We packed a picnic lunch, and then tried to take a minute to get a group picture of the boys.

Cooper wasn't interested.
(And I love Nick's confused face)

Nick tried to help and picked Cooper up.
It didn't help.

I love this picture.

So, I just held Cooper and got a picture of the rest of the bunch.

I ended up purchasing a membership to the Arboretum, so we can park and get in free for a year! I think it includes 6 people and 2 cars, so anytime we want to meet with friends, or if we have family in town, they can get in free, too. We're looking forward to using it as much as possible. We have a photo session scheduled in a few weeks there, and hopefully our photographer will get some great pictures of the boys. She is great at staying ahead of them. I always end up with the back of their heads.

A Day Out With Thomas

On Sunday after Jackson's party, we woke up early (felt even earlier because of Daylight savings time), and got the kids ready to go see Thomas the Train.
Cooper - eating a banana on the go. Thomas was in Grapevine, which is about 30-40 minutes from our house. When we got there, we had a little time before our train ride. There were lots of activities - and Cooper was especially interested in the petting zoo.
It makes me laugh that Jackson looked like he was trying to go undercover.
It was quite a bit colder than I had predicted.

After the petting zoo, we got to board Thomas.
Basically, you hop on the train with a bazillion other people, and take a 25 minute ride.
The boys were excited. I was just happy to be out of the cold!

Daddy and Jackson
Tried to get a group shot.
Even though the boys aren't smiling - it's nice to have a shot of all of us.

After the train ride, we waited in line to meet Sir Topham Hat (he's the guy that is in charge of all the trains, for all of you who don't have children obsessed with the show).
We happened to be standing in line in front of the corn dog stand. So, what's a pregnant girl to do? Never mind that it was 10 am. It was the best corndog I've ever eaten.
(And, Colin ate some of it, too, which made me feel less guilty).
After the relatively long wait, and few extra hundred calories, Jackson got a pretty adorable picture with Sir Topham Hat.
(Not pictured: Cooper running away screaming)

Jackson was giggling because I was dancing with him to a band that was playing.
He's pretty easily humiliated by me all ready.
Colin gets pretty embarrassed by my behavior, too.

And here we are, well, here the boys are, posing with Thomas.

After we left, we had a picnic lunch - we actually packed one so at least we didn't all have corndogs and funnel cakes for lunch. And then, after lunch, we went to the Bass Pro Shop.
The boys had so much fun walking around the store - it's full of animals (stuffed ... kinda odd) and tents and fish and everything outdoor. I tried getting the boys to pose with some of the animals, but they weren't having anything to do with it.
Mesmerized by the fish
Hanging out in a tent - Cooper loved it
I tried to get a picture with Jackson in front of the paddle wheel, but he wouldn't loosen his grip around my neck. Guess he was nervous about falling into the water. But, he smiled a sweet smile, nonetheless.

It was such a fun day. Good times.

Jackson's Third Birthday - Fun!

Here's the birthday boy. He was so excited about his party.
We couldn't have asked for better weather. It was so nice outside! Last year it rained and we had to sit in the garage (bummer), so it was such a treat to be in the backyard.
Cooper, sporting his dino shirt. He didn't get a homemade one; I found it on the clearance rack at babygap.
When all the kids arrived, we had dinosaur masks for them to wear...

...and sticker sheets to play with.
Heather was so sweet to loan us their bounce house. The kids LOVED it!
We got Jackson a sand table for his birthday, and then buried lots of little dinosaurs in it. The kids had a blast in the "dino dig" and enjoyed pouring sand all over the place.
After playing for a while, everyone had lunch, and then cake and icecream.

After cake and icecream, we had an egg hunt and the kids got to "hatch" an egg. We made dino eggs using a mixture of water, sand, and flour. I found the recipe here. After the kids each found a dino egg (some of them kept bringing regular rocks to us from around the yard... it was pretty cute). Once Colin smashed them with a mallet, the kids got to soak them in water until they got to the little dinosaur inside. It was a hit.

Finally, Jackson opened his presents and then we gave the kids dinosaur tattoos.

Here are a few more pictures of sweet moments from the party.

We made some wonderful memories from this party, and are so happy that so many of Jackson's friends were able to make it!
I have two more posts on his birthday party here and here. in case you're not sick of pictures, yet!