One for the Books

I must say I've had a pretty great Mother's Day!  

We tried to get a few pictures this afternoon, and it's always a hit or miss around here!  The one below was the best even though Katherine has an odd little look on her face!

 Jackson came home from school this week telling me he was making something for me!  On Thursday, he was so excited when he got into the car and pulled a big folder out of his backpack.  The folder was wrapped up with a poster of his hand prints and a card.  The folder is full of nursery rhymes that he illustrated in class!  It's a gift that they've obviously been working on for some time since it has so many pages in it.  I'm not sure who was more excited over it--me or him!!  When he pulled it out of his bag, I asked if he wanted to wait until Mother's Day and he quickly said no.  We sat in the school parking lot for at least 25 minutes looking at and reading every page!  

 Zach spoiled me today with food.  I woke up to homemade blueberry muffins and ended the day with this delicious rack of ribs!

 A few pictures from the book that Jackson made!

 Most everything he colors right now he wants to be "rainbow" so there were a few pictures that were rainbow!

"Sweet" little story about the flower card he made that is in the picture with the two of us: He mentioned making me a flower at school early last week.  By Wednesday night he was mad at me over having to go to bed and told me he wasn't giving me the flower.  He later went on to let me know he didn't want me to be his mom anymore.  I asked who was going to be his mom and he stated Mrs. Kitzi would be his mom (one of the assistant teachers at school).  I laughed, told him to go to sleep, and the next morning he didn't mention anything more about it.   Thankfully he didn't hold a grudge and actually gave me, rather than Mrs. Kitzi, the flower card and nursery rhymes that afternoon!!  We're getting into the truly handmade gifts and it's so sweet!

Off to a Great Start

It should be safe to say that Jackson has been in heaven the last 2 days!  Yesterday, I checked him out of school early to go to the Discover the Dinosaurs exhibit!

 He found out about the exhibit last week and was almost in tears since it wasn't open yet and he couldn't go that day.  He's had to wait not-so-patiently for a week!

 We met his friend, Nic, while there and they had a great time running around together!

 To top off yesterday, today was National Train Day and Amtrak hosted events across the country.  Lucky for us, there was one here! 

Needless to say, Jackson's weekend hasn't been too shabby!!

Mud Pies

Jackson and Katherine have been making 'mud soup' lately,

but today they decided to make mud pies.

 Rex fits perfectly into the mix around here.

 Once they made their mud pies, they put them on the ground where Rex promptly devoured them.  I'm glad someone around here would eat their delicacies.

Three

It's been a couple of weeks now, but Katherine did have a birthday party!!  I reminded her when she woke up that morning that it was her birthday, and the first thing out of her mouth was, "Princess party!"  Not exactly.

Thankfully she didn't mind seeing these balloons . . .

 or this cake!

The last thing the birthday girl wanted to do on her birthday was look at the camera.

Nicholas and Jackson

 Getting their bellies full!

  

 Following the party, we attempted a picture with Zach, me, Jackson, and Katherine.

It just wasn't meant to be; about like the one below.  Typical.

We gave up on the family picture and Katherine tested out some of her new toys. 

 When the day was done, it was safe to say that Katherine had a wonderful day.  Our little girl sure is loved and we appreciate our family and friends celebrating Katherine with us.

Play Ball!!

I have been waiting for this day for years ... Jackson had his very first t-ball game this past Saturday!!  There's just something sweet about little boys in over sized baseball jerseys, playing in dirt, players not sure which way to run to base, and the whole team chasing after a ball once it's been hit.  We weren't sure what to expect, but Jackson did great!!  His team was in the outfield first, and he sure was eyeing the pitcher's mound and all of that dirt!

 Emma and Katherine cheering for Jackson!

It was finally Jackson's time to bat!  I was able to get Jackson's very first time to bat and his hits on tape!!  I have been trying for hours over the last week to upload this video.

 {He plays t-ball, but the coach actually pitches the ball 3 times and if the ball isn't hit by then, they bring the stand out for the kids to hit the ball off of.} 

Waiting for his 2nd turn to bat.

 He did great at his second at bat as well,

and made it to 1st base off of a hit!

We are so proud of the way he played!

 A quick picture with Grandma and Grandpa following the game! 

With my superstar!!  

I hope he has as much fun playing as we do watching!

Adding a Candle

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATHERINE!!!

It's almost impossible to imagine that our baby is THREE!!  

We've had a fun weekend with t-ball and a birthday party!

Now, it's time to make cupcakes for preschool tomorrow!