Off to the Races!

It's been a busy month since the start of school. A few weeks ago Jackson and Audrey ran their first race, which was the Galveston Daily News Kids 1K. We got them up early and headed to Galveston where we met up with their friends, Buzz and Elke. They picked up their packets, participated in the warm up, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and then lined up for their race.

Ross ran with Jackson, and I ran with Audrey. They both took off when the race started. Jackson and Ross quickly got ahead, but Audrey ran strong. I looked over at some point, and Audrey's cheeks were bright red. She looked concerned. She didn't seem to know she could walk if needed. I told her it was ok, so she quickly slowed to a walk. I thought for sure that meant we'd walk the rest of the race, but within a few seconds, she was running again! She did this a few more times, but she was determined to run as much as possible. When we neared the finish line and everyone was cheering, Audrey got serious and ran hard across the finish line. It was adorable! Ross said Jackson did great. He ran the entire way! Although, he was less excited about the attention at the finish line.

The 4 kids did awesome. They enjoyed a little fruit to refuel after the race, and then had a blast jumping on the bounce houses and playing around. They were rewarded with a donut of their choice before we headed home. It was a great first race! I think we'll be doing this again...

1st Day of Kindergarten & Pre-K3!

Monday was Jackson's 1st day of kindergarten and Audrey's 1st day of Pre-K3!!! I apologize for the really long post, but this is a big deal!!! We've all been excited, nervous, and a little overwhelmed about reaching this milestone for Jackson. The transition really started about 3 weeks ago when we pulled Jackson out of his day care and sent him to a karate camp for 2 weeks at the place he is now doing after school care.

There was a mixture of excitement and nervousness about making new friends and being in a new place when he went to camp, but the kids and the adults at Bushi Ban were amazing the first week. The second week we began to see some changes, both good and bad, and we realize the "transition" was happening in full force. With Jackson, transitions have always been a little rough, and this one has been no exception. Despite the challenges associated with change, having Jackson start this transition early has worked really well for him, and having a strong support system of encouraging friends has worked well for me!

The first day of kindergarten, we decided we would take Jackson to school, but knowing he wanted to ride the bus, we thought it would be a good idea to meet some of the kids at the bus stop and see the process before he actually had to do it. This turned out to be both a great idea and a horrible idea all at the same time. Jackson was so excited about it he had a meltdown when we wouldn't let him get on the bus! In hind sight we probably should have just let him get on and met him at the school...not what we chose to do though. Fortunately, Ross was able to help him recover, and we managed to get some happy first day of school pictures!

We got to the school before the doors were unlocked, and Jackson got to see several of his friends before walking in. When the doors were opened, he held Audrey's hand, walked her down the halls, and showed her where he would be. It was adorable! We left him sitting happily at his new table playing with playdough.

In anticipation of Jackson's "transition behavior" I'd written his teacher a note, which turned out to be a good idea because I got a phone call that afternoon letting me know there had been a couple of challenging moments during the day, but overall he had a great first day! Each day this week got a little better, and by the end of the week, he had a smiley face with no note in his take home folder! He was greatly rewarded on Friday!!!

Jackson has LOVED riding the bus in the mornings. There are around 10 kids at the bus stop every morning along with parents and 2 or 3 dogs. The bus driver seems amazing, and we've all enjoyed getting to know our neighbors a little better.

When we picked Jackson up from Bushi Ban each day this week, he was grinning from ear to ear and having a blast. We even got to watch a couple of the karate classes and see how quickly he is learning there too.

Early bedtimes (7 or 7:30) were part of our routine this week to try to help with all of the changes. Even though Jackson doesn't always nap anymore, he's still used to a rest time. Despite the early bed time giving him almost 12 hours of sleep, Jackson still had to be woken up to catch the bus some mornings!

I was able to join Jackson for lunch on Friday, which was fun. He was SO excited to see me, and I loved getting to see him in his new environment. He got to invite a friend to eat with us at the parents' table, so I got to get to know his "best friend at this school," which made it clear he still has other best friends too.

Audrey has done amazingly well with her transition to a new class at her school. She has been a little sad not to have her big brother in the car with her on the way to school or just down the hall to go visit, but she has dealt with it all really well! We've also enjoyed a little alone time with her each day. It's given us more time to get to hear about the things that are important to Audrey!

Audrey has loved walking Jackson to the bus stop each morning, and now that we're also taking Bailey, she loves getting to be responsible for the leash. Here are her first day of school pics and one from our walk home from the bus stop the first morning...you can see Jackson is a little grumpy, but Audrey is happily leading the way.

We're excited to have the first week behind us and enjoy a long weekend for Labor Day. I think it's going to be a great year!

End of Summer Break!

Last Friday was the end of the kids summer break. Audrey's school had a 50's sock hop to celebrate, and we spent the day with Jackson at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. Both kiddos had a blast!

We gave Jackson several options for how to spend his last day of summer break, and his choice above the beach or riding rides or anything else was to go to the museum and a movie. Honestly, I was a little worried he wouldn't have as much fun at the museum, but he proved me wrong! He absolutely love every moment. There was so much excitement over each dinosaur and new discovery that he was exhausted when we were done, which made it the perfect time to relax and see a movie of his choice. We wrapped up the day with dinner as a family at a favorite restaurant. I couldn't have asked for a better last day of summer!

Jackson's Baptism

Jackson chose to get baptized tonight, and he was blessed to be surrounded by family and friends for such a special occasion. There to celebrate with him along with me, Ross, and Audrey were Jackson's Nana, Pop, and Grandmother, as well as several close friends. Pastor Randy, who also prayed over Jackson at his baby dedication, was there to baptize Jackson today. Last November Jackson prayed to ask Jesus to be his savior. I never imagined a 4 (now 5) year old could truly grasp what all of this means, but Jackson's desire to truly understand everything around him has resulted in a pretty amazing understanding of God. I am so grateful to know so many people are pouring God's love and grace into all of our lives. We have an amazing family, both church and relatives!

After the baptisms were done, our church's family fun night began! There were water slides and a grilled cheese food truck...can't beat that! The kids had a blast...at least until they stepped in a pile of ants.

Here are a couple of individual shots I captured of Jackson and Audrey from the weekend too. I love these kids!!!

There are a few more pictures in the album from this weekend.

July 4th Weekend

This July 4th weekend was filled with a couple of firsts for the Taylor kids. Every year since Jackson was born we've spent New Years and July 4th in Leakey with Leslie, Ross' sister, and Philip. Every year there has been a burn ban because there hasn't been enough rain. This July 4th weekend was different though! The area has had enough rain that we were able to do fireworks and float the Frio river!

We arrived the afternoon of the 4th, and I managed to capture a few pictures of Jackson and Audrey before the celebrations began. The top pics below were taken at our house the day before, and the bottom pics were in Leslie and Philip's front yard.

Leslie and Philip provided some poppers to play with on the driveway, and Grandmother provided some cupcakes to celebrate America's birthday. The kids had fun pulling the strings and watching the streamers fly, and they especially loved throwing the little poppers on the ground or stepping on them. In the end, they were covered in icing and sawdust, so it was a perfect time to send them to the pool!

All of the kiddos had fun splashing around in the pool throughout the weekend. They dove for rings, practiced holding their breath and swimming, and took turns jumping off the diving board!

As if that weren't enough fun for one day, fireworks were next on the agenda! Neither of our kids has ever seen fireworks, so this was an exciting moment for them! I loved watching their reactions. We started with some little ones, which got them over any potential fears. Then we moved on to some that went into the air, which amazed them. Then we let the ones who were brave enough play with sparklers, and as it began to get darker, the bigger and higher fireworks came out. Of course, the big kids (a.k.a. the Dads) enjoyed lighting these just as much as the little ones were in awe watching them.

I also have to admit our kids were awed by the stars out there. Living in Houston and going to bed pretty early, our kiddos haven't seen very many stars. It was a perfect way to spend the 4th of July!

Friday morning we made our way down the road to float the river. The kids helped pick out their tubes, and we caught a shuttle to the drop off point. The water was cool, but it felt great on a hot summer day. They had fun hoping in and out of the tubes to swim and float down the river. It was relaxing and fun most of the trip. It ended up being a little longer of a float than originally planned, which left everyone a little tired and hungry by the end, but Jackson and Audrey did great despite ending well past lunch time and ultimately at the tail end of nap time!

Saturday morning was the Leakey July Jubilee Parade. We arrived just in time to check out the local helicopter that provides life flight services and watch it take off.

We then settled into our spots and waited for the parade to start. We were all grateful to have found some umbrellas in our cars to provide a little shade while we waited and had snacks.

The parade started with the Star Spangled Banner, the waving of our flags, and a tribute to the soldiers who protect our freedom!

Then there were cars and floats throwing beads and candy and toys! This also included a special appearance from Tow-Mater!

Everyone got a little more patriotic...and silly as the parade went on!

After the parade we found a local spot for lunch. Then Philip and Grandmother took the kids home for a nap while the rest of us did a little shopping at the Jubilee festivities. We brought home funnel cakes to reward them for their good deed.

While Audrey and Mitchell took naps, Jackson got to spend a little 1-on-1 time with Grandmother at her house. They rode the Polaris and went to visit Granddad.

When they got back, we were back in the pool! Jackson quickly joined the fun, and they splashed until they were exhausted. After dinner, Uncle Philip had a special treat. He let all the kids go for a ride on the backhoe, and Jackson got to drive!

It was a great July 4th Weekend! There are a few more pictures in the album.

Jackson's 5th B-day - Parts 2 & 3

As I mentioned in the previous post, I was out of town for Jackson's actual birthday. In an attempt to make up for it, I created a scavenger hunt for him when he woke up the day of his birthday. Ross took a video of it so I could see his reaction. He loved it! I had a small gift with a little note and a picture of the next location in each spot. Ross, his mom, and his Aunt Dottie were there to help set this up and spend the day celebrating with him. He got to have the traditional party with cupcakes at school and have more cake with a special dinner that evening.

Grandmother got Jackson a small vacuum for his birthday, which we are all excited about! Jackson has always liked for things to be in there place and neat, so he loves getting to vacuum! I love having a cleaner floor! Another example of his excitement for organization was during the scavenger hunt. He wanted to find a place for a new game before moving on to the next location. I love it!

We had the official birthday party last weekend at Jump N Jungle, which was a great, low-stress way to celebrate! All I had to worry about was the cake and the party favors. Jackson had a little over 20 of his friends join him to celebrate, which meant so much to him! It was a little bittersweet for me to realize a lot of these kiddos have been at most of Jackson's parties for the last few years, and they will all be going to different schools next year!

After wearing themselves out jumping, everyone took a break for pizza and cupcakes. Jackson thought the sparkler candles that won't easily stay blown out were hilarious!

Jackson chose a Mario theme for his party this year. I didn't do a very good job of taking pictures to document this party, but there were some adorable cupcake toppers and a fun invitation to go along with the theme. He also loves his shirt from this party, and I love that I'm in a picture or two with the birthday boy this year!

Here are a few more shots of the chaos and fun while everyone was eating and Jackson opened presents. I'd say he had a pretty awesome birthday this year!

As usual, there are more pics in the album!

Jackson's 5th B-day - Part 1

Yes, Jackson is 5 years old now!!! I was traveling on Jackson's birthday, so we've been celebrating for 2 weeks! The weekend before his birthday and before I left town, we declared Saturday his family celebration. We started the morning with a breakfast of his choice. He chose chocolate chip pancakes. They were delicious, but we learned you shouldn't put candles in hot pancakes...they melt and fall over! Ross put a little whipped cream on his nose, which Jackson thought was pretty funny. I thought it was pretty funny to watch him try to lick it off!

After breakfast Jackson got to open his gifts from us and Audrey. Jackson has definitely started getting into specific characters now. Those characters dominated the gifts this year, and he was a little excited about it! His favorites right now are Mario, R2D2, and angry birds. Before this day he had not really seen much of any of these in shows or movies...

Can you see the excitement on his face about getting the Star Wars movies? He literally did a happy dance after this picture. He has now seen 4.5 of the 6 movies and plans to finish one of them tonight. They watched most of them while I was out of town, and apparently, he's been asking lots of detailed questions to make sure he fully understands what's going on. It was SO much fun to see him so excited about everything he got!

Jackson got to decide everything we did for the day, so after opening presents we made our way to the zoo where we met up with Pop for a few hours. We had fun checking out the animals, playing on the splash pad, and riding the carousel.

Jackson's request for dinner was corn dogs while watching episode 3 of Star Wars, which he was happy to pause for a little cake. It was a great pre-birthday celebration!