Dallas #2 - Fishing

We had an action packed Friday! That morning, we went over to the Halsey house to visit with Kristin, Hudson and Preston (Jensen was at school). We had a fun morning playing and moving from room to room in the house checking out all of the toys. K, I hope we didn't leave to big of a mess! We came home and ate lunch with Grandpa, who had the day off from work. Uncle Eric came over on his lunch break and we all went down to the pond for the much anticipated fishing session! Joey went right to it...before Eric and I even made it to the pond with Jack, he had already gotten his line stuck in a tree and whacked dad in the back. You have to really pay attention when he has a rod, as there is NO TELLING where the hook is going to land when he casts. Jack was more interested in finding the ducks, but had a great time doing it! Needless to say, when it was time to go in for naps, there was just a little bit of a 3-year old fit :) I knew Joey would love going fishing but I think everyone was surprised at just how much. Now, he does not really have the patience to hold his line, and prefers to cast and reel, but has a blast just the same. I think my dad was the happiest that Joey had such a good time...so much so that while the kids were napping, he dug up worms out of his flower beds (we had not been fishing with bait, just tackle). That night, mom, dad, Eric, Ashley and the boys and I went out to dinner.  What did we do when we got back to the house? Go fishing! I stayed behind to watch the draft and everyone stayed at the pond until dark. After our usual Saturday morning donuts, we were on the go all day Saturday as well...had to make the rounds to all of the cousin's soccer games. Joey went with Eric to Trevor's game. Then we all loaded up for Cooper's game. Coop is a star in the making! I know I am a little biased as his godmother and a former soccer player, but he really did a great job (when he wasn't distracted by what Joey and Trevor were doing :)). After a break at the busiest Chick-fil-a I have ever been to, our next stop was Maddie's game. She is so cute with her pigtails and loves to put on a show. Maddie does the most precious walk past everyone as she is going back down the field...it was actually the perfect pageant strut! Sunday began with a big breakfast and some playing in the pool. And then it was off to the ponds for some more fishing. This time grandpa made a trip to the bait shop for worms, so we were ready to do some serious fishing! The bait seemed to make all of the difference in the world as there was a constant flow of bass. Jack, sitting with grandpa, caught the biggest one of the morning (after he took a break from chasing the ducks). He really didn't seem to care though as you can see in one of the pictures. Joey was so excited. He caught a "little Joey fish" and 2 bass and told my dad on the way home that he had a great time! Later in the afternoon, Kelli and Brody joined us and back to the ponds we went. It was mostly brim this time and unfortunately, they kept swallowing the hooks, so were provided the turtles with dinner. As we were walking back to the house, dad dropped his line back where the bass had been to finish the bait. Of course, Joey was not leaving yet. So, he and grandpa stayed. With less than a whole worm, they caught another "joey sized fish" and 2 more bass...one of which was bigger than Jack's. He was SOOO happy when he got back to the house.  It was a great conclusion to the week and I know now that Joe and I have a serious fishermen on our hands!

Dallas

The boys and I are in Dallas for our annual draft week trip. We arrived on Saturday afternoon after a UN-eventful flight...thank you, American! We all went to breakfast on Sunday morning and then to Wal-Mart for toy buying. Since we flew on AA, I would much rather spend $50 buying new toys to keep at Granny's then to give $50 to AA to check an extra bag. It was fun watching them pick things out....although Jack was fixated on the play-doh and literally put 10 jars in the cart. Later that day, we met the ENTIRE family at Uncle Buddy's new restaurant for dinner. Pure chaos is all I have to say! Joey jumped right with Maddie, Austin, Trevor and Cooper...like they see each other everyday. The weather did NOT cooperate the first few days, but on Tuesday the sun finally came out and we went to the park down the street from mom's. Most of the pics are from that day. I will say, though, that the weather has not detered my little men from getting in the pool. They don't care how chilly the water is! One of the many great things about mom & dad's pool is the wading area....it allows them to stand in 6 inches of water and play. Jack is exactly like Joey was at the same age...any excuse to get in the pool. I remember that we could not go outside without having the expectation he was going to end up wet. The same applies to Jack, except now it is worse because he also follows everything Joey does. :) Yesterday, the boys and I walked down to the duck ponds with some bread. There weren't many ducks out, but we threw to the turtles and the brim. Joey really seemed to enjoy watching the fish snatch the bread. As we made our way back around I let them out of the wagon again because we spied some bigger fish. I knew is the back of my mind that it wasn't a good idea to let them get so close to the edge...but I let them anyway. Sure enough, on his first attempt to throw bread in, Jack slips on mud and goes face first into the murky pond. I pulled him up and he soaking wet and covered in algae! Luckily, it only took him a minute to recover. The last few pictures are of him after we made our way back to the sidewalk.

18 months....

I can't believe it has been 18 months since Jackson came into the world!  It seems so long ago at times and just like yesterday at others. Every day brings a new action or word, but his beautiful smile is a constant! We visited Dr. Lake for his check-up today...we knew he was growing like a weed, but were completely surprised by the numbers. Jack weighs 25 lbs and 15 oz which is 60th percentile. The shocker was his height, which came in at 34" and 90th percentile. Of course, both his grandpa's genes are showing in head circumference...95th percentile. Dr. Lake was obviously very happy with his growth, motor skills and the improvement in verbal communication. Although, I hope he didn't take it personally when Jackson ran across the exam table, scared, when he walked in the room :)

Easter

WARNING: There are LOTS of pictures in this slideshow :)
On Saturday afternoon, Joey and I dyed our eggs. It takes a lot of patience on both of our parts as he doesn't want to wait for the eggs to sit in the dye and I am continuously trying to keep him from breaking eggs on the counter and his hands out of the buckets. I tried to get Jack involved, but as you can imagine, it was a little difficult to do. After the eggs, we made cupcakes. The best invention ever, for baking with a toddler, is the frosting in a can that just squirts on. Not the colored stuff for decorating, but the actual cream cheese frosting. It made decorating SO much easier! We dyed some coconut for our the grass and used Starburst Jelly Eggs for the easter eggs in the grass. I think Joey was putting one in his mouth and then one on a cupcake! They turned out so cute!
On Sunday, Joey was so excited to see what the Easter Bunny had left and what Ganny had sent from Texas. And as soon as we ate breakfast, it was outside for our hunt. Since he had gotten practice from the day before, Joey was an absolute pro and finished in record time. In the meantime, Jack would pick up one egg and bring it to me to open and then go get another.  When we were finished, the family stayed outside to enjoy the beautiful day and play with some of the goodies from their baskets: bubble wands, pool toys, sidewalk chalk, etc.  Joe decided to climb up in the tree in our front yard and the boys took turns sitting up there with him. There are some great pictures of them in the tree together. But, I think my favorite is at the end, the one of Joey and Jack in their tie-dyed t-shirts, riding bikes!

Easter Egg Hunt

Saturday morning, I took the boys to an Easter Eggstravangza with our friends the Douglas'. Joe and Shannon have 2 kids, Addison and Tommy. Addison is 5 months older than Joey and Tommy is 5 months old than Jack. It was our first time at the event that advertises 20,000 easter eggs. There was face painting, bounc houses, playgrounds and the Easter Bunny! After a "no-go" at the zoo the day before, Joey was far more receptive to the Easter Bunny. This bunny was more "friendly" looking than the "Alice in Wonderland" looking one from the day before. He was so proud of himself for giving the bunny a hug and having his picture taken. Jack thought that the bunny was all his as he kept walking back to him for hugs...in the middle of other family's pictures! When it finally was time to hunt, Joey had about 3 false starts in anticipation of the Easter Bunny holding up the "GO" sign. And then he was a mad man! I was watching Jack too, who was only interested in opening the eggs and dropping them. So, I had to just let Joey go! Needless to say, he did not adhere to the 10-12 egg rule and his basket was full when he came back to me. It was so fun to watch him!

Zoo

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I surprised the boys on Friday with a trip to the zoo. The Maryland Zoo puts on cute Easter activities for kids and I thought it would be fun to get out of the house and enjoy the beautiful weather! They threw giant eggs in a big basket, planted seelings, picked mystery eggs, picked lollipops, and threw bean bags. Joey was great at all of the games...I think the bean bag throw was his favorite. Jack just walked right up to the board and put the bags in the hole. He was so proud of himself.  The Easter Bunny made an appearance. Joey would not go near him whereas Jack just walked right up and with his arms outstretched. We ate lunch, visited some of the animals and finished the day with some italian Ice. It is so funny to watch the two of them eat. Joey is so careful and meticulous and Jack would turn the cup upside down on his tray if I would let him.

My Little Man

Joey is getting so big! As you might have read, the things that are coming out of his mouth are so amazing and funny! Today he drew me a stingray...out of nowhere. And must have drawn it 10 times...small, large, red and purple. And he is really big into writing his name now...although when I help him, we can't forget to put a "lid" on the J. Joey is turning into such a little helper, too. He always asks if he can help change Jack's diapers, gets so upset if I don't let him help with the laundry, and his favorite is to go grocery shopping. God forbid he finds out that Jack and I went to the store while he was at school! Here are a few pictures of my little man...