My Valentines

My sweet little valentines do not seem so little anymore!

 They look so old in these photos!

 Jackson's shirt and this photo below make me smile. His powerful, energetic, creative imagination has him being silly quite often. And then little Em is quick to follow his lead. 

sweetness

Jackson and I continued the Valentine's date tradition! It was so wonderful to spend some quality one on one time with my little man.

they do love each other

No Longer Just Land

Our little plot of land that we closed on before the fourth of July. It seemed to stay this way for so long.

Then, our number one item with our dream home, the basement was dug.

The builder told us that the foundation would sit for a while and framing would start the first week of October. And it did! The amazing part....this photo below was taken October 4th. 

Then by October 8....its the full first floor!!

The progress, and its speed, are amazing!

The kids were so excited to see their house! And we are so excited for our view out the back.

Move in day still seems a bit far away but this makes our dream home so much more real!

Fall Fun Has Begun - Apples

Fall fun has begun! I absolutely love apple picking within the first couple weekends the orchards are open. The apples are plentiful and the people are not!

We had rows to ourselves to pick and take our time. We ended up with one bag for baking and one bag for eating.

Jackson ate the first apple he could and was very focused on eating for a while. Both J and Em were very proud of the apples they picked on their own.

 Emerson was thrilled she was able to eat apples. She told Grandma and Grandpa over and over again that she "ate whole thing" and "ate two apples."

We did the apple donuts and the kid activities before leaving. Both kids were sound asleep within a few minutes to start the drive home. A great family morning to start fall!

Always Look Out For Her

Several weeks back we were playing in the basement by the play kitchen. Emerson had a real glass of water that she was asking J to drink in a very motherly way. 

"Take sip J."

J did the first few times. He played along, pretending it was good and he was happy to have some. Then he didn't want any more.

"No thank you Em."

"J, sip!" 

"No, I'm ok Em."

"J, sip!"

Then, instead of saying no, he sighs and takes the cup. He puts the glass to his mouth and drinks....and drinks...and drinks till it is empty.

"All done Em."

It was priceless. He played along till he did not. He did not get upset but found a way to move on to something new.

She always asks where he is and lights up when she sees him. He calmly talks to her (unless she is taking action figures from him) and asks her questions mimicking how we do.  He helps her with her shoes, tries to distract her when upset, and encourages her when learning something new. He is patient with her more than he is not and can usually be persuaded to share his toy or find her a comparable super hero to play with.

Continue this always J. Look out for your baby sister. She is a special gift, just as you are to her!

J Turned 4

This post is over due...by several months. But it is too important to not post. The only way to get back into the swing of writing is to start.

Jackson turned 4! 

On April 5th, his last night as a 3 year old, I interviewed my little monkey. The video is priceless. Here are a few of his responses:

Favorite Color: green

Favorite Food: french toast sticks (the ones from his school) - now it is apples 

Favorite Play Activity: Hulk smash games and sword fighting

Favorite Super Hero: Batman!

When he Grows up: he wants to be a Scientist! "I want to make a big machine that makes bubbles that will pop and turn into a ball that suck up people...but not scientist people, bad people"

Favorite Thing to do with Mommy: snuggle

Favorite thing to do with Daddy: play sticky hug

Favorite thing to do with Emmer:  play with mom

Favorite thing to do with Grandparents: build things, like Lego castles

Happy fourth birthday Jackson!