For Ross...

Ok...I'm behind on posts, and I've been bad about taking pictures lately. Some of my friends threw a great baby shower for Audrey a little over a week ago where we racked up on clothes and diapers. We had family from all over come to show their love and support, and I don't have any pictures to show for it! My friend Sara did take some at the shower, so I hope to download and post some of those soon.

The real reason for this post is because Ross is off working in Hawaii, and I thought he'd appreciate seeing some pics of Jackson and everything he's up to. I hope to do several short posts especially for him while he's gone. This one may be a little longer since I'm playing catch up. Here are a couple of pics of Jackson just before Ross left.

Ross left on Saturday, and my Dad came to help out for the weekend since, yes, it's almost 5 weeks until Audrey's due date! We spent a lot of time at the park over the weekend. JD wanted to swing almost the entire time. There are a few pics of him doing other activities, but they didn't last long. JD loved playing with Pop at the park!

Yesterday when we got home, Jackson went straight for the legos. After stacking several he started walking around with them making flying noises, which I recognized from the noises he makes when playing with his rocket. When I asked him what he built, he said "airplane"!

Today he was interested in playing with his hammer and counting, which I managed to get a shot of. He went back to playing with legos when his friend, Mrs. Heather, stopped by. He made her day by saying her name while she was here for the very first time! He's said it to us before, but that was the first time she'd heard it.

There are a few more pics of all of these fun activities in the album, so enjoy!

Mitchell's Baby Shower

While we were all in Leakey, I helped host a baby shower honoring Leslie and Mitchell along with friends, Jessica and Dianne. If you couldn't guess based on the previous post, the theme was Caterpillar. We used lots of toy CAT equipment and black and yellow decorations. There was a great turn out, and Leslie and Mitchell got lots of great things. Here are a couple of pics. There are more in the album.

While we were busy partying, the boys took another trip around the ranch. This time Jackson got to ride with Grandad!

More pics of the ranch ride in the album.

New Years 2010 in Leakey, TX

Leslie and Philip held their 3rd annual New Year's Eve party at their house. We were bad and didn't even pull the camera out, but we had a great time visiting with family and close friends. Last year we started the tradition of Wii bowling to entertain us while we waited to bring in the new year. The tradition continued this year, but everyone was exhausted. We decided to celebrate when the ball dropped in New York, but then everyone stuck around and visited longer, which meant we ended up celebrating twice!

New Year's Day was a real highlight for Jackson. Uncle Philip let him drive a real tractor! How many 18 month olds have ever done that? Here's a link to the video if you don't believe me, and here are a few photos of the fun. He steered the tractor around their yard, and then got to turn around and move the arm! Of course, there are more pics in the album.

Christmas in Leakey, TX

Unfortunately, we weren't able to make it to the Christmas celebration with my Dad's side of the family. I have 3 cousins on that side of the family and two of them have gotten married in the last couple of years. Between their new commitments and our traditions, our schedules just didn't work out this year. We missed them and hope to see them soon!

Our final Christmas stop was in Leakey, TX where Ross' sister, Leslie, and brother-in-law, Philip, live along with Jackson's cousin, Mitchell. Jackson LOVES his new cousin! He points to him saying baby and enjoys giving him hugs and kisses. Mitchell was a little tired for our Christmas celebration, but you only knew that because he kept doing this...

Jackson decided he was Ross' gift this year.

Jackson got his first phone from Aunt Leslie and Uncle Philip, which was a Catepillar phone, of course!

He also got some fun new wheels to drive around on a fun track!

After all of the Christmas fun, the three of us went for a ride around the ranch. It was a beautiful day, and we ran across several cows, which Jackson recognized immediately.

We stopped for a short walk along the Little Dry Frio where Jackson tried to throw every rock he could find into the river.

There are more pics from all the fun in the album.

Christmas in Shreveport Part 2

Our second celebration in Shreveport was with Ross' family. We had a wonderful brunch and spent hours visiting and opening presents. It was so much fun to watch Jackson open a present then play for a while before moving on to the next. Two of his favorite gifts were a jack-in-the-box and a pull-a-long alligator toy. Both provided lots of etertainment and even exercise for everyone. Jackson walked "Gator" around and around the house, but he insisted someone walk with him. Granddad and Ross happily complied. Here are a couple of pics, and there are more in the album.

After a full day of playing, we made our way to Ross' Uncle Ronnie and Aunt Laura's house for delicious dinner with the rest of his family that was in town. It was great to see everyone and catch up!

Christmas in Shreveport Part 1

Our next Christmas celebration was Christmas morning with my parents, now also known as Nana and Pop. By this point Jackson had become an expert at unwrapping presents, so he helped everyone when he wasn't too busy playing with his new toys.

Apparently, the sit n spin was one of my favorites as a little girl, and Jackson loves it too. It took him a little while to get the hang of spinning himself, but now he gets on, spins, and says, "Wheeeee!"

Jackson also got his first laptop, which Dad was happy to help him with.

He also loved digging through the stocking that was almost as big as he was!

Jackson also got a wagon the day before Christmas, which he enjoyed riding in and pushing up and down the street with Nana.

The rest of us got fun stuff too, but Jackson was more fun to take pictures of (and he was much cuter than the rest of us that early in the morning). My favorite gift, which was given to me by both my parents and grandparents, was Audrey's bedding! I'm looking forward to getting her room set up now.

It was lots of fun! Thanks Nana and Pop! Here are more pics if you're interested.

Christmas in Ruston, LA

We had several Christmases this year, so I thought I'd break up the posts a little...

Our first Christmas celebration was at home, which you've already seen in a previous post. Our second celebration was in Ruston, LA with my family. Since Jackson still goes to bed so early, we got to Ruston early so my grandparents could visit with him a little. He had so much fun opening his presents with his Great Grandmother and playing outside with my dad, AKA Pop.

We even managed to get a quick family shot before he crashed.

After we got Jackson to sleep we had an incredible meal and a great time visiting with the rest of my family that was able to come this year. There are more pics of everything in the album, and there's more Christmas fun to come.