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...