Picture Dump

Haircut for Jackson at Nathan's Barber Shop:

Such an attentive big brother. Don't ask, he wanted to wear that on his arm:

Two hands, two cups. Makes sense, right?

Finally got that carousel ride!

A rare moment where both kids are fascinated by the same object. Note Jackson's plumber's crack:

Bad mommy moment: I left a cupcake (no icing) too close to the edge of the kitchen counter and guess who ran in and swiped it before I could stop him? That was his breakfast.

She started out in the middle of her playmat and 10 minutes later I came to check in on her and she was there...

"Haha Mom, you'll never know my secrets!"

Jackson patiently letting Abby grab onto his shirt:

Who knows? Nobody told him to do this.. he just lives in his own world. I love him!

Another cracker, please! ("cackie?")

Thank you!

Full of crumbs.. pretty typical:

I like to look in on my little ones as they sleep and I couldn't pass up a picture of this one:

Abby @ 5 Months

At 5 months, Abby:

-usually wakes up twice at night to nurse

-fits in 6-9 month clothes (she still fits in 3-6 but it is pretty tight)

-is very happy except when she is tired or hungry

-is VERY curious.. we are going to have to watch her because she will grab anything and put it in her mouth

-loves to be tossed around and tickled like her big brother

-is eating rice cereal and loves to eat! She tries to grab the bowl, and will grab the spoon from me and put it in her mouth. She has a super strong grip.. uh oh!

Blabber-Mouth

Jackson turns 20 months tomorrow.. ...and he says new words almost daily now! He loves to talk.
He loves Abby and gives her lots of kisses. He can even pronounce her name correctly (he used to say "Ab-boo"). Now he will walk over to her and say "Abby!" or say her name when she's crying. He will also help by putting her pacifier in her mouth (whether she wants it or not). His favorite things of the moment are some foam bath letters that Aunt Meghan got him. He LOVES bathtime and can climb in and out of the tub all by himself. A few letters that he knows for sure are B, Q, M, O, and X. Sometimes all letters are "B" :)

He will point out a ball and say "ball", any kind of vehicle and say "car", bring over a snack and say "cackie" (for cracker), ask for more by saying "more", say "ucky" (for yucky) when his hands are dirty, and say "no" when asked just about anything! Of course there are more words that he says but those are just a few. He is learning so quickly! He also still loves gibberish, and I'm holding on to our "nothing conversations" as long as I can.

He has also become quite the picky eater and nap-fighter, which is very frustrating at times, but then again I guess we are closing in on the terrible 2's so I can't say I didn't see it coming. We still love you Jackson!

Abby is 4 months

Here is a picture of Miss Abby at 4 months: We also got the kids' pictures taken together. It wasn't a very successful photo shoot due to everyone (including Nathan and me) being in less-than-stellar moods, but here is one I thought was cute. My mom pointed out the rooster-like projection that Abby's hair has going on.. but hey, we'll take what we can get! We'll have more pictures done at 6 months, so hopefully those will be better.
At 4 months, Abby:
-can roll over from tummy to back (although she rarely will)
-still wakes up 2 (sometimes 3) times a night
-makes new sounds, including a shrieking sound (it's cute, but loud)
-still loves to talk, gurgle and laugh, and stick out her tongue
-is much better at grabbing at things and holding on tight (especially to mom's hair)
-is better about taking 2 or 3 naps a day (for 30 mins to an hour each time)
-still spits up quite a bit
-is a good sport when Jackson tries to stick her pacifier in her eye by mistake
-still has WILD and CRAZY hair! Nothing will tame it! We have to cut out the snarls.. it's bad!
-weighs 14 lbs (75%) and measures 24 in. (50%)

She is growing so well and is such a happy baby (most of the time) :) I guess we'll keep her!

Back to Nature

April 11th was a beautiful day for some hiking, so we decided to go for it!

Abby had a wonderful time, as she always enjoys her carrier: Jackson and Nathan ready to go with plenty of snacks, water, and a hat that Jackson did not want to keep on Mama leading the way

Uh-oh! Jackson fell down and got his hands dirty...

...and asked Nathan to wipe them off because he does not like to have his hands dirty! (we're working on toughening him up a bit)

He dropped a goldfish cracker and searched until he found it and ate it. Yes, off the ground... we believe in the 30-second rule in our house

Jackson's little legs got tired so Daddy stepped up to the plate!

Gorgeous scenery!

It's a brave new world out there...

Trip to the Zoo

Jackson went to the zoo for the first time! His favorite first exhibit was the bald eagles. It's hard to see the eagle in the picture below, but he stared at them for awhile.Abby enjoyed her visit, too. I wish I could sleep all day in a stroller!
Pointing at the strange-looking anteater..

Taking a look at the giraffes..

We just so happened to be by the elephant exhibit at the right time and Jackson got to pet one! (For the record, they are very dusty and their skin feels like very rough leather)

Some kind of wild cat..

The lion exhibit.. I felt bad for them because they don't really have a lot of room and they looked pretty bored.

Jackson leaning over to see the tiger pacing back and forth. It was probably waiting for a little kid just like Jackson to lean too far over for a snack..

We were going to take him on the carousel but got to it after it had closed for the day. Next time!

Easter weekend

Easter weekend started off with an egg hunt on the base. Jackson and I practiced around the house with his little bucket (I stickered "Jackson" on it) and colored balls, just to get the concept of picking them up and putting them in his bucket. I had my doubts, but he got it just fine! I had to coach him a bit during the actual hunt, because all he wanted to do was pick up the eggs and look them over :)
A few of Jackson's buddies came out with us- here he is comparing loot with Gabriel and Gabriel's dad.

Jacque and me and our littlest men!

And last but not least, Miss Abby in her Easter finery!

Happy Easter!