My little swimmer...

Jackson had his first day of swim lessons yesterday. He did great- a little hesitant (not about the water- about his "teachers" and not having mommy right beside him) a few times but after the class he kept talking about it and his teachers- Mara & Ben. We go again tomorrow and I'm sure he'll get better as the days go by. We "practiced" after class- he loves it so much.

Last night for dinner I made an eggplant gratin. He wasn't eating too well but knew we had brownies that he wanted. So, we told him he had to eat 4 bites of the eggplant before he could eat the brownie. He took a bite and started chewing it and his body did a shutter. It was so hilarious- I almost had the same feeling when I ate it! It was very mushy and made you want to shutter. He ate all of his bites without too much prompting but everytime his little body would do an involuntary shutter when he bit down on the eggplant!

My little monster is growing in so many ways. She changes so much day to day now. She is sitting completely by herself for long periods (over 5 minutes the other day). Instead of doing the army crawl she gets up on all four's and rocks back & forth before projecting herself forward. She is eating baby food like a pro- and understands now that it fills her tummy. The only thing she is NOT doing like a pro is SLEEPING! She woke up 3x last night... ugh...

Saturday afternoon/eve Dad, Heather & I wanted to go swim in a lake and have Nathan follow us in the boat. So, Nathan loaded the big boys (ashton & jackson) up in the boat and followed alongside us. Nathan brought his fishing gear and gave the boys HUGE earthworms to play with. Those boys held, played and torchured those gigantic worms for at least 30 minutes... until they lost them (jackson said his fell into the water) and then asked Nate for another set! Boys will be boys! Addison played on the shore w/ Nana.

What a day, what a day...

Our Wednesday started and ended with fun, fun, fun. As soon as the kids woke up we headed down the road 1/4 mile to the Figueiredo's property to see the high loader moving dirt, trees and making a fire. Through out the day we managed 4 trips there to watch the loader making progress. Jackson loves to talk about the high loader (we thought it was a bull dozier until Daniel- the operator- told us differently!) and the dirt, trees and fire. And the fact that Ashton & Parker are building a house right down the road! We barely had time for a nap- in fact, Jackson was so excited that I finally had to go in his room and tell him he couldn't go if he didn't nap quickly- before it was time for daddy to take him & ashton to the fair! They went last night for the mud trucks (jackson's term) and to see all the farm animals. Ashton & Jackson could barely talk fast enough to get all their excitement out. While the big boys went to the fair we celebrated Addison's birthday. Addison, Parker, Heather & I went to get ice cream (although the bday girl slept through the entire party) and check out the progress at the property again. Even though Addison is not feeling well she still manages to c-r-a-w-l all over the place. Parents As Teachers came yesterday and actually felt sorry for me... she is crawling very early and I must baby-proof the house this weekend. She is crazy fast. She is also sitting by herself now. Time is precious...

On the move...

I knew Addison was moving- I'd put here on a blanket and come back a few minutes later and she'd be a few feet from where I left her. But on Saturday Nathan yelled at me to come watch her and sure enough she was pulling herself with her arms and would even get her legs to help. If you put something out of her reach she will surely get it. The tstirts they are wearing in this picture say "what happens at Gram's, stays at Gram's"... so true! My sweet little boy got up from his nap the other day and the first thing out of his mouth was "how are you doing today, mommy?". After telling him that I was doing great he said "your hair looks nice"!!! This is a day where I'm feeling quite sick and I had just taken a shower and pulled my hair back in a knot. Sweet, sweet boy! We're going to be fighting the girls off! Life is getting exciting... and busier. I'm not looking forward to baby-proofing the house and having a "mover" on my hands! I've gotten spoiled and lazy with Jackson being so easy and good.

My little fish... and puppy dog.

Jackson was made for summertime. He loves the water and anything to do with it. I never would have guessed he would have been so comfortable as he is- as he is dealthy afraid of an ant the size of a needle. It's sometimes scary for me how comfortable he is- as he won't make sure I'm looking before jumping in deep (deeper than him at least) water. He has been joining auntie Heather for Ashton's swim lessons and enjoying that time in the water and I finally got him signed up for his own swim lessons starting the end of this month. We also have a new puppy in the house... Jackson- at least 5 times a day- turns into "chewy" the puppy dog. He does tricks, drinks and eats out of bowls on the floor and barks to answer questions. Ashton- a.k.a. gooey- is the one who started all of this- and is actually really quite good at being "in character". He will not talk while in character and gets this cute little smirk on his face- simply adorable. When the boys are all together we have a blast with it- Chewy, Gooey and Louie! The other day mommy & Jackson were doing puppy tricks for daddy and addison and I told him to sit (gave him a treat) and then for the first time I told him to shake... as I reach my hand out Jackson (oops... chewy) starts shaking his body! Nathan & I crack up- it had never crossed my mind that he would shake his body!! Addison is in love w/ brother. He has started making her laugh- nearly uncontrollably- in the car. He'll get her laughing so hard and they'll both be laughing and then to get her to keep laughing he starts to think of things... so he starts saying "fire engine", "bobcat", "scoop"... In the past month Addison has started cereal and fruit and moved out of her pumpkin seat and into a regular car seat (most infants can stay in there MUCH longer than mine... her feet and legs were hanging off the end and she was nearly impossible to carry in it). She will be 6 months old next week. Hard to believe how time goes so quickly. She loves life and is nearly a perfect child... not quite sleeping through the night but I'm starting to think (Nathan has been telling me this for months) that it is my fault. I get in there after she makes a whimper to feed her and she is still sleeping! She's just too cute and I almost miss her if we go the whole night without seeing each other! We went to the St. Louis Zoo again on Saturday and had a great time. Jackson LOVES all the animals. It was a very hot day but we lasted 4 hours. Fun time for all of us. Life is so much fun!