Jackson- 2 1/2 years old

Oh this boy.  Becoming a mom of a boy is starting to change me...for the better.  I have no choice sometimes but to laugh and lighten up a little.  Otherwise, I would be crying...a lot.  :)

This age has been fun for so many reasons.  He is starting to become his own person and with the many phrases that are coming out of his mouth, a funny one at that.  A friend once told me that a child's vocabulary increases from 50 words to 500 words between the years 2-3, and I believe this is true for Jackson.  Just this past week, he was tackling the word "pistachio" which his Grandpa L. got a kick out of.  I have tried documenting the "new words" of the past 6 months, but it is a hopeless cause.  He is increasingly catching up to his big sister and amazing us daily with his ability to formulate complete sentences. 

Some new "Jackisms" of the moment are as follows...

He has a favorite juice.  It's a Guava-Mango juice, which he has named "Bongo" juice.  Somehow that name has stuck and I now catch myself writing "Bongo juice" on my grocery list.

enjoying his favorite juice

A couple of months ago, we got rid of the highchair.  Since it was so bulky, I was ready to say goodbye to it.  But once it was gone, I felt myself a little sad that the "baby-ness" of our kitchen also disappeared as well.  Jackson was happy to graduate to the "big table" with his sissy.

enjoying breakfast together

As mentioned before, we are slowly approaching the potty-training phase.  Do you notice a procrastination trend in this area?  Yeah, I'll admit this is tough one for me.  But, mark my words...soon!  I had to post this pic as we have a similar one of Lily on the same potty chair with a magazine :).

Jackson has developed an interest in Legos.  There are few toys that catch his attention for long, but this seems to be one of them.  He loves building with his Daddy and Lily, and his favorite thing is to build "big towers" and knock them down.

 

New trait that drives me nuts...taking one of his socks off.  We are forever trying to find the "missing sock" on our way out the door.  I still can't figure out his reasoning for this...temperature control?  irritate Mommy?  I'm thinking the latter.  He sure is cute in the picture though :).

Jackson is "all boy", as they say.  He loves planes, trains, and automobiles.  Sports...ALL sports.  He is continuously telling us "I play SOCCER!", so we are researching affordable ways to try to make this happen.  He seems to be very coordinated for his age.  He is always running...and when he stops, he lands with a two-foot hop.  I like to compare him to a long-jumper :).  He loves to jump, hop, kick, and is fairly successful without too many falls.

As I have mentioned before, he is quite the social butterfly.  I can't go to a store and just run in and out without him striking up a conversation with another customer!  He is his Daddy!  Just last week at the airport, he stopped and chatted with many passengers waiting to board..."Hi!  I go to California on an AIRPLANE!" was his typical conversation starter.  I love watching him walk with a confident bounce in his step.

No doubt, there will be more adventure ahead with Jackson and I'll be sure to share it!

Wonderscope Children's Museum

Yesterday, we spent the morning at Wonderscope Children's Museum in Shawnee, KS with Grandma B!  The kids LOVED it!  Many different themed rooms for the kids to explore and have fun.  Enjoy some pictures of our fun time!

the "Raceways" room

the "Farm to Market" room

the "Ready Vet Go" room

Jackson "grooming" a dog

the cat had an ear infection (unfortunately, Lily knows a thing or two about those)

Jackson taking appts. for Dr. Lily

the "Artworks" Room

crafting with Grandma B.

chalk time!

 

"Lego Ocean Adventure" room

Water play ("H20") room

The water room was by far Jackson's favorite.  Lily was ready to move on to the next room, but not Jackson!  Grandma headed out with Lily so we could let him play a little longer.  He is my water boy!


 

Lily the "Young Author"

A couple of weeks ago, we received a letter from Lily's school that she was to be recognized as a "Young Author" for her Kindergarten class!  She was told by her teacher that she would be receiving this honor and could hardly wait to tell her Daddy and I when she got home from school!
The Celebration of Learning event was last Saturday, in which the entire morning was devoted to recognizing the Young Authors of the school district, and offering a couple of workshops for the students to attend.  There was also a feature author, Cheryl Harness, who was there to sign autograph copies of her books and speak.
We invited Grandma & Grandpa B. to join us in celebrating Lily on her achievement.  Lily loved having the whole morning centered around her and even picked Texas Roadhouse for her celebration lunch :).

We are so proud of you, Lily, and hope you continue to work hard and use your endless imagination!

with her award t-shirt and her featured writing

listening to a story in her Storybook Workshop

little brother was happy to participate

After the story, the kids were to create their own Storybook

Lily started by cutting out an alien (pictured).  And it was a scary one!

Proud Daddy and little brother

her writing about Thing 1 and Thing 2

When I spoke with her teacher about her recognition, she said that Lily has a very vivid imagination and can usually create 6 stories to every one story of her classmates!  She said she just writes and writes...and she has laughed out loud at many of her stories :)

choosing a book with Grandma from the featured author, Cheryl Harness

with proud Grandma & Grandpa B.

receiving her autograph from the author

with author Cheryl Harness

GNO (Girls/Guys Night Out)

Last Friday, Daddy received a couple of tickets to the Mavericks game.  Being the great Daddy that he is, he gave them to Lily and I for a "Girls Night Out"!
This is probably the first time I have seen Lily get so excited for a Girls Night.  She REALLY got into the idea of dressing in Mavericks colors (orange & light blue), getting nachos, ice cream afterwards, and just having some one-on-one time with Mom.  She talked about it all week leading up to Friday night.  I love that girl!  Here are some pictures of the fun:

ready for game time!

all "Mavericked" out in her orange!  it was blow-up-hockey-stick giveaway night :)

falsely thinking we would last the entire game, this girl had one thing on her mind...Ice Cream!  I couldn't blame her..so we left after the 2nd period (again).  We didn't want to risk Cold Stone closing on us! :)

Meanwhile, there was a "Guys Night Out" happening at Bass Pro Shops with Daddy & Jackson.  Daddy said they spent almost 2 hours there!  That may be a record! :)  He said Jackson had to sit on EVERY 4-wheeler and go in EVERY boat.  They had a blast!

A boat with a bunch of dog beds inside.  Jack loved it!

ready for duck hunting season next year!

almost his size