Jackson's Birthday Party

Yes this is how we are smiling now....taken on the morning of his party!


On December 5th we had a family birthday party for Jackson. We are so lucky that almost all of our extended family lives within an hour of us. Our house was filled with our family (46 people to be exact) and even a few of our friends who have kiddos Jackson's age came too! We had a sit down brunch and plenty of Mimosa's and Baileys! Jackson was one spoiled little guy...pretty sure his growing collection of Thomas the Trains &Gymboree clothes could be one of the most expensive things in our house..ha ha! I loved celebrating his birthday a little earlier in the month and he is enjoying playing with all his new toys a few weeks before Christmas. Our park has been more like a swamp lately and he loves to play outside, these new toys have been great! The winter rainy months feel so different when you have a active toddler! I am so THANKFUL for our mild sunny days, like today 60 and sunny, he got to burn off a bunch of energy. Here are some pictures from his party...and tomorrow he turns 2!


Nic brings these huge building plans home from work for Jackson to color on. We used them to cover tables, creating lots of coloring space for kids and adults. Before the party Jackson went around and colored on a few places, he loved it!


Family


Aunt Linda catching a pic of Jackson and Lexie


These two are so silly together. Jackson just adores Lexie and she is so sweet to him.


Looking at his new Thomas Story book


Opening up a Thomas Train


He is going to be a pro at opening gifts at Christmas!


Happy Birthday Jackson!
Guess I should have used more concealer...you can tell I've had no sleep leading up to this party!


Later that night with reading with daddy


Hard at work on the Island of Sodor :)

First "professional" Haircut!

On Saturday we took Jackson across the street to the Plaza to have his first haircut. Juan, the owner of Murieta Barber shop cut Jackson's hair. Nic and I have trimmed it before but never have taken him anywhere to have it cut. He was pretty good, just didn't like the smock around him so we had to take off his shirt. Of course he spotted a green blow pop in the candy jar so he had to have that too! Juan's son also let him play with his Nintendo DS which he loved too. The end result was so cute and he looked very handsome! Check it out!


Even cooler than mom's iphone!



NOT a fan of kid smock!


I love how he is checking himself out!


Final result! Looking good Jackson!

Thanksgiving, Christmas Lights & Milo's Birthday

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We went to my parents house on Thanksgiving. My mom & Nic cooked an AMAZING dinner. After dinner Jackson got to open up his birthday present from Aunt Diane & Uncle Jim. We played Cranium after dinner which turned into a booze fest complete with name calling and lots of yelling. It was awesome! The guys dominated and won both games, boo! After the games we started to map out our shopping attack...we hit the Folsom Outlets at 10pm followed by Wal mart at Midnight. We got home at 3a then left at 9:30 the next morning to hit Target, Bath & Body Works, Ulta, & Costco. It was a great success and we had a blast! Thanks Mom, Diane, Kelli and Grant!







Buddies

Jackson is absolutely fascinated with all the Christmas lights this year. We have been out driving or riding in the golf cart almost every night enjoying all of the hard work that our creative neighbors have done. I will have to take some pictures of our favorite houses. Jackson loves to spot the houses with the lights, happily shouting out "lights" every time he spots them. Jackson even got to help Nic with some of the lights at our house. He loves to turn them on every night.

On Monday December 1st was my parents dog Milo's birthday. Mymo as Jackson likes to say...turned nine years old. We took him to the park with Jackson and he enjoyed a nice golf cart ride. Happy Birthday Mymo!



Helping daddy with lights


Milo & Jackson in my mom's "decorative" sleigh, lol!


Trying to fit in the golf cart basket with Milo

Play Dough

So with winter fast approaching, I have been busy searching for fun ideas to do with Jackson. I will try and post them here for anyone who wants some new things to try. Also by doing that I hope to keep myself motivated too! Today we made play dough in Jackson's favorite color ORANGE! Below is the recipe and photos from our "experiment" :)

Play Dough:
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
1tbsp oil

3/4 c. water

1tsp cream of tartar
food coloring

choosing a color for the dough is tough!


bring all the liquids to a boil


Remove from heat and add dry ingredients


Stir to form ball, let cool 5 minutes, then kneed to soft smooth texture. Dough should not be sticky add more flour 1tsp at a time to take away stickiness.


The result= FUN!!

I also tried to find some items in my kitchen for Jackson to use.
Talk about a cheap, fun, educational thing to try with your little one. Jackson played for an hour with this dough....while I enjoyed another cup of coffee and played too!!