Long time...

Haven't posted much lately as we've been very busy, but here are a few pics from recently.

Jackson's First Haircut

We finally broke down and cut Jackson's hair today, after the 400th person asked how old my little girl was. He did really well, and now he looks like a little man!

Running in the Rain

We had quite the downpour on Tuesday, and the skies let loose just after Steve and the kids got home. I asked Grace if she wanted to put her swimsuit on and go run in the rain. She looked at me like I was insane, but I told her it wasn't lightning and it would be fine. All went well until the first bolt of lightning, which wasn't TOO close but was close enough to have the clap of thunder scare her! Steve decided to join in on the fun.

Happy 1st Birthday Jackson!

Jackson celebrated his first birthday on July 18th, same day as his big sister! We can't believe he's a year old already. The first year has flown by. He is still not walking but he scoots as fast as he can and loves to try keeping up with Grace.

Gramma BB and Opa came out from Colorado for the birthday party and they were very helpful while they were here! The kids got to spend a few days alone with them and it was great bonding time.
Grace and Jackson were opening their gifts at the same time, something that we will not do again!
Jackson hadn't ever really had anything sweet before tasting his birthday cake, but he loves to eat so we figured he would like it. He didn't disappoint!

Like Grace's cake, we decided to make Jackson's cake. We picked Horton Hears a Who for the theme and since no one was stocking Horton designs, I had to freehand his cake! I guess it turned out okay, considering he didn't care at all what it looked like!

Happy 5th Birthday Grace!

Grace celebrated her 5th birthday on July 18th. We had several friends over, including her best buddy Trinity! We partied outside and Grace's huge gift this year was her party prop, a huge backyard waterslide. She played on it nonstop for three days! She was also a very lucky little girl to have her Gramma BB and Opa here for the festivities!

Grace got a ton of presents, both cool toys and super cute clothes. She likes them all! Now we have a lot of thank you cards to write!

We decided to make the kids cakes this year instead of buying them, and Grace decided she wanted a pony cake. This was the attempt at decorating said cake. Grace liked it and kept telling me I was a good cake artist, so that's all that matters!
The Jordan girls...Faith on the left and Trinity on the right.
The waterslide!

Grace Goes to the Zoo

Grace's class went to the Baltimore Zoo today for their first field trip. Since I don't start my new job until Monday, I was able to join them. We had quite a fun time. We had a good ratio of adults to kids and the weather was perfect.

Grace and her buddies playing in a "cave". These kiddos are Daevon, Grace, Milla, Trinity, and Ava.
Grace and Trinity playing birds.
The whole gang waiting to go inside the zoo.
On the bus, hamming it up with Trinity and Grace.

Happy 4th of July!

We spent July 4th with our friends the Osbornes and with Steve's older daughter Jordan and her family. They were up for the weekend from Virginia, so we got to see Broc and Maddox! The kids all had a blast together and enjoyed the fireworks.

Broc being a ham for the camera.

Gracie is getting so big!

Jackson liked the fireworks unless they were the whistling kind, then he wasn't too big a fan.

Maddox is 6 months old, Jackson is 11 months old. They were too cute together. Jackson kept trying to hug and kiss his nephew!

Jackson 11 Months

We can't believe Jackson is 11 months old today. He is growing and learning every day, and is still a very happy little man. No stats this month, as his next scheduled doctor appointment is at a year old.

Grace "Graduation"

Grace was the first class to attend the "Strong Beginnings" program at the Fort Meade Child Development Center.  They had a graduation ceremony on Friday (June 5th) and at first Grace didn't want to participate, but she warmed to the idea as long as mommy was holding her hand.  

These were posted in the hallway, and every child had one posted.  I love the fact that Grace says she wants to be a face painter when she grows up!

Grace Ballet Recital

Grace is now a "real" ballerina.  Her recital was Sunday June 7th and she did GREAT!  She was the only one that got the steps right, although not all at the exact right time!

Grace and Trinity playing after the recital and some Maggie Moo's Ice Cream!
Grace is in the middle of this picture...she was having so much fun!  They danced to "Circus Ballerina" which is cute.
Again, Grace is the kiddo in the middle!

Jackson 10 months

It's so hard to believe that Jackson is already 10 months old!  He's just shy of 23lbs and about 30inches long, and is solidly wearing 18 month size clothes.  Some things he has to wear 24 month size!  He's scooting around very quickly but still not crawling yet.  He does wave hi and bye now, and got his third tooth (upper front right) yesterday and should get his fourth tomorrow if we're lucky.  He's such a sweet little man and Grace just adores him still.

DISNEYLAND!

We were able to visit Disneyland while we were in San Diego and the kids had a blast! Grace was able to "meet" Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, and Mickey Mouse. Steve made us ride the "It's a Small World" ride, for which I wanted to hit him and lock myself into a rubber room. Overall it was a good day, though.
Jackson was rather smitten with Ariel, and Grace was very excited to meet her. Steve thought it would be cute to make a "hey baby" face...

Grace had been begging us for three days to get her face painted, so we finally gave in and let her get it done at Disney...she loved it!

Ahh, the many varieties of Mickey ears they have for sale these days! The kids both got some ears and had their names embroidered on the back of them...