Jackson’s exciting adventures

Jackson’s had an exciting week! Monday and Tuesday were routine. He stayed an extra night on Tuesday night so on Wednesday he could tag along with Grammy to go pick up Aunt Ashley from college. He likes going to Zou College.

I picked Jackson up from Grammy in the afternoon, only for him to go over to go spend the night with the other grandparents. And he spent Thursday morning out fishing with Grandpa Forrest!

And then today, we took an impromptu roadtrip down to Springfield to visit Aunt Laura. Belle and I got to tag along on this adventure! I always enjoy going back to campus even though it pains me to think of how long ago it’s been since I was actually an undergraduate student. Feels like yesterday!

Go Bears!

Lunch at the student union—not easy!  

A visit to Jordan Valley Park {which is pretty much my most favorite park ever!}

 

Laura showed us this really cool bridge that goes over train tracks.
Of course that was a huge hit.
 

And a train even went by right under our feet!

Lastly, we went to a Bears baseball game. Jackson has been begging to go to a baseball game ever since we introduced him to the song “Take me out to the Ballgame” that Derek plays on his guitar.

He was really enthusiastic, if you can’t tell!

We got to meet and spend most of the day with Laura’s non-boyfriend.
He’s super cool.

And by we, I mean mostly Belle. She just really wanted him to hold her all day. He was super sweet and obliged to all of her grunts and whines requests.

I was really nervous about taking the kids down to Springfield and  back in one day. That’s a lot of time in the car! But my kiddos turned out to be roadtrip champs. Mostly because they watched movies on the TV {who knew I’d love that feature so much!}.

What an exciting week! And to top it off, the kiddos get to spend all day tomorrow with Derek’s parents while we head out to Rockfest. It should be a good day for everyone!

Photo Dump

These are just recent photos I’ve got lying around my desktop that haven’t made it into a post. I’ve shared most of these photos on facebook recently, so some of you have seen them, but I want them on this space so when I have blog made into a book, they will be here! Plus, my kiddos are super cute so you should always be eager to look through tons of pictures.

Last week, we took Jackson’s favorite walk—to the trains!

Belle was my laundry distraction helper this day!
{I had several people tell me they thought this was Jackson at first!}

Jackson climbed into bed with Belle after a nap one morning. Lots of giggles.

I took this picture at Chick-fil-a awhile back… Belle just loves to give kisses so much that she kept kissing the little boy on her placemat!       

I snapped these photos one day in class. Apparently even though I’m enrolled in Grad School, I still eat like a kindergartner.

I caught Belle in the act of her favorite activity—playing with the trash and recycling. Seriously… our home is flooded with toys. Why does she love trash?

This is the result of me telling Jackson to get on some socks so we could put shoes on to play outside. Not quite what I had in mind… but he did what I asked!

Cutest little Chiefs fan ever.

Jackson discovered himself on the security tv at Wal-mart. He was pretty captivated by seeing the boy on the tv do the same thing {dancing like a crazy person} as he was doing!

I traced the kiddos with chalk yesterday {much harder than you think!} Jackson added faces, shoes, and he drew a stripped shirt for the boy. Belle was in charge of the yellow. Pretty good! 

This was Belle today after church this morning. She fell asleep clutching the fork!

And two more pictures from this afternoon. I realized that I several pictures of Belle so I wanted to get another of Jackson. And this is why I don’t have as many pictures of the boy. While he said “cheese”, he didn’t look up from what he was doing. Belle on the other hand walked right up and said, “cheese” with a perfect little smile.

 

Whew! Lots of pictures. Lots of cuteness!

Spring break ramblings

• Yes, it’s spring break! It’s only Tuesday and it’s already been fabulous! Who knew I’d be 27 and still loving every moment of not having class!? I’m enjoying it so much I don’t really want to be on the computer very much so this post is a bunch of mini-topics all thrown together!
  
  
• Jackson is doing MUCH better. I know I should have updated everyone sooner, but I haven’t been on the computer much. I feel so blessed to have so many people checking in to see how he’s been doing. Friday and Saturday were hard—taking care of a three-year-old who can’t walk is very challenging. He started taking some steps on Sunday afternoon and has progressively become more active. He’s still not running and jumping, but he’s on the mend. The doctor said it was most likely what they call an occult fracture, which is a tiny fracture that doesn’t appear in an x-ray and it will just heal itself. I kind of figured it was just a heal-itself sort of thing, but I really needed to make sure it wasn’t something bigger, just in case! Mommy worry, I guess!
  
 

• Lately, I’ve been looking for healthy snack ideas for the kiddos. There were some good fruit sales this week and so I decided to try dehydrating. I borrowed my father-in-law’s dehydrator and have been experimenting! The results have been good and people keep eating them, so I guess that’s the real indicator of a successful treat! I’ve done strawberries, apples w/ cinnamon, banana w/ coconut, and two batches of fruit leather {like a fruit roll up}. The process does demand some time in cutting up and preparing the fruit, but I’m super loving the fact that it’s a healthy treat without any added sugar or preservatives. Having a decent stash with what I’ve already made, I was planning on packing up the dehydrator, but I stumbled across a great deal at Aldi’s today and got 15 peaches, 10 nectarines, and 5 plums for 10 cents EACH! I couldn’t pass it up! So on the schedule for this evening: slicing and dicing!
  
  
• Jackson is headed out with Derek’s parents to go to Saint Louis for a few days to visit his cousin Gabe {Aunt Mary and Uncle Brad, too}. They are taking the train and he is SO excited. I’m gonna miss Jackson {not going to miss having him climb into bed in the middle of the night} but I’m really excited to get to spend some time with just Belle. Derek and I both agree that her personality has just blossomed so much just in the last week or two and I’m happy to get some one-on-one time with my second baby!
  
  
• This weather is phenomenal! I am so in love. We have played outside so much!! Of course, the kids love it and really, this weather makes me so productive {hence the abundance of dried fruit, cleaned-out van, and raked flower beds}. Another nice day tomorrow… Yes, please!! Here are a few pictures from this evening:

Jackson is showing off his skills! {which currently include standing, walking,AND bouncing a ball!}

The primary reason I dug out my camera was to capture Belle’s curls! Her hair is typically so, so straight… but today, little locks of curls have become apparent and it is SO CUTE!!!

Check it those cute curls!! I love it!

This is a normal push toy, right??

Nose, nose! Belle’s a genius.

• The Sticky Bellies giveaway ended yesterday.

AND THE WINNER IS...
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Entry #14 Michelle T.

I will send out an email and get you hooked up with Carly. If I don’t hear back within 48 hours, I will pick a new winner.

• Lastly, happy 30th birthday Uncle Philip!

Train Party Glimpse

Jackson's train party was tonight and it was so much fun. I am waaaay too pooped to go into detail, but here's a little glimpse of our evening!

{this last picture... Jackson made us put the sheet over his train set so his trains could go to sleep while he was sleeping too. The only thing that got that boy to sleep tonight was knowing he could wake up and play}

Our favorite walk

Spring has brought us nice weather (most of the time) and we have been outside soaking it up as much as we can. One of our (mostly Jackson's) favorite thing to do is go on a walk to look at the trains in downtown Belton. These are old trains on inactive tracks, so it's not dangerous to let him explore and look-- they are there for show! There are several different types of cars and calls each and everyone of them "Thomas." 

He stops to literally look at the trains every time we go!

He loves to touch the trains too! 

"Mommy, I touched it!"

It's the perfect distance for a nice walk from our place. If we have time, I'll pack a little snack and we'll take a break before our walk home!

Even Belle enjoys it! Despite the bumpy ride on the gravel, she can still offer a smile!

Then last week, when Uncle Phil came to visit, Jackson invited him to check out his favorite place. And then, it became even MORE fun because Uncle Phil helped him climb and explore the trains!

We seriously walk to the trains at least two or three times a week. We are looking forward to the summer months when you can buy train tickets on the weekends for a short ride and have ice cream during the ride! Jackson will just love it. And when we take our next trip to Branson, we will be staying here.