Audrey is 15 Months Old!

So technically Audrey is 15.5 months old now, but we've been a little busy. Without a doubt, Audrey is part of that business! She is constantly on the go right now. If there's something around to climb on or to go in and out of, you can count on her doing it over and over and over and...

Audrey and Jackson both had their well child checkups this week, and the doctor was pretty amazed by what she called Audrey's "receptive skills." If you've spent any time around Audrey, you understand what that means. From early on people have commented on how she just seems to have a greater sense of understanding. We are both constantly amazed by what she understands from the way she answers questions to following instructions.

On the growth scales, Audrey remains at the 50th percentile in height and has dropped from the 75th to the 50th percentile in weight...that's how on-the-go she really is! Her language is beginning to develop, but it's obvious that she seems to be more on the analytical side, whereas Jackson was more verbal at this age. We still think she's just waiting until she can speak in full sentences. ;-)

Here are a few more recent pics of Audrey. Like we said, she loves trying to figure things out...like this puzzle.

As always, there are a few more pictures in the album.

Broken Leg Update

We took Jackson back to the pediatric orthopaedist on Friday. We walked in, answered a few questions, and then they cut off his cast...with virtually no discussion with Jackson beforehand. Needless to say, even though we'd spent a couple of days talking about the "cool saw" they would use to take off his cast, he got pretty scared and upset. After it came off, he quickly said he wanted another one back on.

They x-rayed his leg, and the doctor declared him healed! This is two weeks earlier than we were originally told, and we are so thankful! Apparently, it can take twice as long as he had the cast on before he will walk completely normal without a limp, which means up to 8 weeks...another reason we are so grateful the cast came off early.

The skin on his injured leg was very irritated and sensitive, and since he didn't even want to bend his knee, we opted to keep him home for the day. Since then he's done great! He stood on it briefly a few times the first day, and each day he is doing a little more. As of today, he is bending his knee when he feels comfortable and was able to walk just holding my hand for shorter distances.

We ended up getting a causeway pass for the last shuttle launch, which is coming up in a few weeks, so we are again thankful he will have the extra time to recover before we travel! Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers!

Jackson's 3rd Birthday

Last weekend was Jackson's 3rd birthday! It's hard to believe, but it's true! We originally planned to have a party at Jump N Jungle, but plans changed when Jackson broke his leg. Instead we had a Dinosaurs Rock party at a local park, which was a blast!

Texas Avenue Park's pavilions are first come, first served, and since all the other park pavilions were already booked, we decided we'd risk it. We arrived at 8 AM to find people had shown up at 4 AM to save the tables. Fortunately, there was another pavilion without any tables (it's a covered basketball court) where we were able to set up, and it worked out great! The kiddos had lots of room to run and play in the shade.

Walt, the dinosaur guy, started the party by having the kids help him make a volcano with play dough. The different colors represented different things, and after putting dinosaurs around the volcano, they even crashed purple meteors into everything. Jackson had the honor of making the volcano erupt, which he thought was pretty cool!

Then Walt captured their attention for over 30 minutes talking about different dinosaur facts and fossils he'd brought with him. It was a very hands-on demonstration, and the kids loved being involved.

After learning about the fossils, they got to go on their very own dig. They found all kinds of special rocks and fossils, which they got to keep!

While they were digging, some dinosaurs laid eggs in the grass by the pavilion. There just so happened to be enough for every kid to get one! Inside each egg was a stretchy, sticky dinosaur. What fun!

Finally, it was time to eat! Here's a picture of the cake. Apparently, I stopped taking pictures at this point, so if I get pics from someone else of JD blowing out candles or the kids running around, I'll make an update.

I ordered some dinosaur printables for the favor bags, banner, and signs for the food. This one was my favorite. ;-)

We gave the kids dinosaur stamps, tattoos, and silly bands as a thank you for celebrating with us, and they were a hit. Jackson even decided to put a stamp in the middle of his forehead! He was pretty excited about it, but didn't really care for me taking a picture of it...

Jackson had a great birthday weekend thanks to family and friends. There are more pics of all the fun in the album.