Jackson's Pre-K Graduation

Jackson's school did a Pre-K graduation ceremony this week, and it was adorable! They had their little caps and gowns on to receive their "diplomas".

Then they put on a show! There are two pre-k classes at the school, and each class sang three songs. Jackson has been practicing for weeks, and he did so great! His favorite of the songs was "You've Got a Friend in Me". Of course, the first time he sang it for us, I cried. It's going to be hard for me to watch Jackson say goodbye to these friends and go to different schools. Many of them have been together for 4 years!

One of Jackson's teachers, Ms. Amber, wasn't able to make it to the graduation ceremony because she was put on bed rest and actually had her baby today! She put together a great slide show of the kids throughout the year. The kids giggled and laughed through the whole thing. They loved seeing themselves and remembering all the fun things they've done. Ms. Georgia and one of Jackson's favorite previous teachers, Ms. Monica, did a great job shepherding the kids through the ceremony. We had a mini photo session after the ceremony with the teachers, friends, and our little family.

Audrey had a lot of fun too. Several of Jackson's friends have younger sisters in Audrey's class, so they had fun playing together and watching their big brothers for the evening. In the end though, Audrey was excited to be in her Daddy's arms!

Jackson has grown and changed so much during his time at the JSC daycare. We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people pouring into our kids each day while we work, and we are so amazed by what a sweet, loving, and smart little boy Jackson is...most of the time. ;-)

There are a lot more pictures from the evening in the album!

Legos!!!

Thanks to a couple of great friends, we discovered the Lego Festival a couple of weeks ago. It must have felt like Christmas to the kids because they were all smiles all day long!

When we walked through the doors, we were greeted by lego statues of various characters including Lego people, Batman, Lightning McQueen, Darth Vadar, and many more! There were two very clear favorites though...we know because they got hugs!

We made our way to the back of the building where we found some Lego games the kids had fun playing. Then they discovered the massive pile of Legos to play in. There were kids laying in the pile making "Lego angels". It was pretty cute...a little overwhelming to see so many kids piled on top of so many Legos, but still cute. The next stop, oddly enough, was a vacuuming spot. They cleaned to their hearts' content!

Lego Nation was our next stop. Jackson and Audrey each made a "city" to add to the nation. There was a large section of the room blocked off with the outline of the US inside. Kids surrounded the area making their cities, and when they were done, one of the workers added their cities to the nation. There were some pretty neat creations, and Audrey and Jackson were excited to see their cities added in with the others.

At some point we took a break for lunch, but then we were quickly back to the Legos. Jackson and Ross headed off to the Star Wars section while Audrey and I spent some time with the Friends, which of course means there are only pictures of Audrey. She made a garden, and I made the house for the garden. Somehow, she found a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle to put in her garden. She wanted him there because she knew Jackson would love it...sweet girl!

We also spent some time building and racing Lego cars and learning how to play with the Chima Speedorz among many other fun activities. The kiddos crashed on the way home, which I interpreted as a sign of success! It was a fun-filled morning, and there are more pictures in the album!

Edit (by Ross): here are some cell phone pics of Jackson's activities.

Legofest_Jackson

Armand Bayou Visit

A couple of weekends ago we found ourselves with a free afternoon, so we made our way to the Armand Bayou Nature Center for a little hiking and exploring. Jackson and Audrey loved listening and looking for the animals and learning about the plants and animals that live in the bayou.

Jackson especially loved reading the signs that were scattered around and soaking in as much knowledge as he could, so when they were given an opportunity to make a couple of ropes with the help of one of the volunteers, he was fascinated by the process. Audrey was a great helper and excited both to take a break from walking and to get to make something she could take home.

We wandered through the bayou and the prarie and enjoyed being outdoors on a beautiful Saturday afternoon!

There are a few more pictures in the album.

Field Day

Audrey and Jackson's daycare had a field day a few weeks ago. They had a ton of fun! There were sack races, horseshoes, egg races, and more! Audrey's class was the "Outstanding Owls"!

Jackson's class was the "Angry Birds"!

Jackson and his friend, Caroline, won the three-legged race, and they were so proud!

Jackson's class got to participate in a medal ceremony at the end of all the events, which was a good mix of rewarding participation and those who won. He loved it and had lots of fun being silly after it was over. Both their Nana and Pop were there to cheer them on, which made it all the more special!

There are more pics in the album!

Crawfish Boil

We had our annual crawfish boil a few weeks ago, and once again I didn't take very many pictures! Instead, I enjoyed eating crawfish, visiting with friends and family, and watching the kiddos play.

Jackson, Audrey, Mitchell, and Clara had fun checking out the crawfish before the cooking began!

We had a great time, and there are a few more pictures in the album!

Spring Soccer

Jackson played soccer again this spring. He had a great time this season! In the fall, Jackson had fits on the sidelines of games and didn't want to play unless it was a practice. This time around, he just had fun! He was much more engaged in the game, and you could tell he was really learning how to handle the ball. There were still some challenges, but overall, it was a success! It's just amazing to me to see how quickly he changes!

During one of the last practices, I took pictures for the team. Not everyone was able to make it, but here are the majority of the kiddos he played with. We're excited because several of them will go to his school next year too...yes, he officially starts kindergarten in the fall!

Jackson was a great helper during the individual pics of the kiddos. He started off as my model so I could get my camera settings right, and then he became the clown to get each kid to smile. Between shots he worked on his ball handling skills!

Celebrating with Friends

About a month ago we celebrated a major milestone with our friends, Lauren and Dave. Their sextuplets (yes, you read that right!) had their 1st birthday!!! We were so excited to celebrate with them!