Fun With Poppa

I was out and about one Friday and Marky went and bought supplies to make some sweet rockets with Jackson. They had gone to the Science Center a few weeks ago and they have a make it yourself rocket exhibit and then you can launch the rocket. Jackson was so proud of the rockets they made at the Science Center so Mark thought they would have fun making some at home. It was such a great idea!

A Rare Photo Op

I have VERY few pics of Jackson and me together. I am always the one behind the camera and I've been too lazy to learn how to use the timer on my fabulous camera. I had Mark snap a few pics of us together and I love how this one turned out.

"I have a boo-boo....here....and here....oh and here too"

I found these super cool Transformer band-aids at Target and of course they were in instant hit with Jackson. All of a sudden he was getting boo-boos all over his body. I think we went through the entire box in about two days.

Center Grove Orchard

We went to a different pumpkin patch this year because I had heard so many great things about it. We went to Center Grove instead of Howells and we both really enjoyed ourselves. Center Grove reminded me of the cider mills in Michigan that I have missed so much. They had fresh apples and cider and even warm donuts!!
They had a HUGE corn pool for the kids to jump in and I think Jackson could have spent the whole day in there. They also had lots of friendly farm animals, a HUGE inflatable trampoline (which scared Jackson to death), a large luge type slide like at the State Fair, and the every popular hayride. The crowds weren't bad while we were there and the only disappointing thing was the lack of regular sized pumpkins. They had loads of ginormous ones but very few little and medium sized ones. In fact, we couldn't even find one pumpkin that would work for us.
I look forward to going again next year!

First Offical Pumpkin Carving

Last year Jackson was still a bit too young to really participate in pumpkin carving but he was really excited about it this year. We went to a small pumpkin farm to pick out our pumpkins and Jackson wanted to pick out a Daddy, a Mommy, a baby and a puppy pumpkin. He wanted there to be a pumpkin family.
Mark and I asked him how he wanted us to carve the pumpkins and at first he said he wanted one carved like Bumblebee The Transformer. Ummm yeah that wasn't going to work so well....so he wanted a scary face. Marky did the awesome scary pumpkin and I did the kitty one. We couldn't get the carving knife into the smaller pumpkin....it was so odd! So we just went with the two carved pumpkins. Jackson watched while we carved and wanted nothing to do with the pumpkin guts...he kept saying "ewwww". LOL

Preschool Open House

They had an Open House at Jackson's preschool a week before Halloween and his teachers told the kids they could wear their Halloween costumes, which of course made them very happy. Jackson was thrilled to show Mark his classroom and to have him meet his fabulous teachers Mrs. Ury and Mrs. Rhein. We got to see all the creative projects that the kids have been working on since school started. Jackson LOVES school and it makes me so happy that he is so happy.

Mrs. Rhein calls Jackson "her little buddy" and says that he always says good morning to her during their good morning song. Whenever he learns something new or does something fun he tells me "I have to tell Mrs. Ury and Mrs. Rhein about this!".

I am so very happy that I started Jackson at this school last year for Parent's Morning Out. It has been such a great thing for Jackson and I am really impressed with all that Jackson has learned there too.

Jackson says his school is the best and I have to agree. :)

I have many fond memories of jumping in the crisp, crunchy leaves as a kid. This is the first year our tree produced enough leaves to make a pile. Jackson was SO excited to help me rake and then jump in the leaves. What a beautiful fall day to enjoy some fall fun!

All About Halloween!

It has been so much fun getting ready for Halloween this year because Jackson has been just giddy about it. Once the stores started putting out their Halloween goodies Jackson has been talking about Halloween nonstop. I think he said "I love Halloween!!" about a thousand times so far. I have always loved Halloween too so it's been a blast sharing that joy and excitement with him.

We spent a lot of time decorating our yard with our fun spooky decorations and we've driven all over the neighborhood to check out everyone's silly and scary decor.

So much fun!

Night Eyes 2009

Jackson and I went to Night Eyes at the Blank Park Zoo about a week ago which was really fun. They decorate the zoo with lights, Halloween decorations, and they even have trick or treating all around the zoo. We trick or treated and then we took a ride on the spooky train. It was neat to ride the train at night. They had it all lit up with bright orange lights. Jackson really enjoyed seeing all the decorations and other costumes. He did NOT want to sit still or pose for pictures. :( Jackson wore his Optimus Prime costume but he didn't want to wear the mask for more than five minutes. I made the mistake of letting him choose his costume this year. ;)

Just Silly

Mark took this photo of Jackson playing around with a pair of Doggles....yes goggles for a dog. :)

Illumifest 2009

On September 25th we went to Illumifest near the WDM Library and had a great time. They had lanterns for the kids to decorate, food vendors, kiddie rides and even hot air balloon rides! Jackson was in awe of the hot air balloons and just wanted to chill in the grass and watch the balloons. It was a beautiful night outside and we had a great time.

SO much fun!

A few weeks ago we went to a playdate at a small horse farm not far from Des Moines. It was any preschooler's dream, especially for a kid like Jackson. When we pulled up we immediately saw a HUGE 2 story tree house, a swing set, a wooden train, a trampoline, about a dozen trikes and ride on toys, and animals galore! The woman that owns the farm was incredibly kind and amazing with the kids. The kids got to help brush a very handsome pony named Willie and got to go for a ride on THE sweetest pony cross named Emma.

I wasn't sure what Jackson would think about riding a horse for the first time but he was so very excited and once he was up on Emma he loved it. He got to walk around the barn and even do a little obstacle course with traffic cones. I wish I knew someone with a kid safe horse that he could ride occasionally. The farm also had a good ol' farm dog and two six week old kittens that ALL the kids were completely obsessed with. We had such a great time there and Jackson talked about it every day for over a week after we were there. They are going to start hosting birthday parties there and I think maybe we'll have Jackson's birthday there next year.

Iowa State Fair 2009

The State Fair is a REALLY big deal in Iowa. Like if you don't go people look at you like there is something wrong with you. Now I LOVE most of the stuff at the fair...the animals, the people watching, the food, the fun and the food. There are a few things I don't like about the fair...the heat, the giant crowds, the dirt, the random skeery people and the scope of the fair itself.

Yesterday was the last day of the fair and since the weather was actually quite mild I decided to take Jackson for a little while. We had to park in far, far, away land which wasn't too fun but at least it wasn't blazing hot. We visited the petting zoo which had kangaroos, a zedonk (a zebra - donkey hybrid) two HUGE camels, and the typical farm animals. We both had a great time and Jackson got to ride a pony for the first time!! It was way too cute. I wasn't sure what he would think about it since it was the very first time he had ever been on a horse/pony. He was a natural and loved it. I so wish that we knew someone with a kid safe horse.

We also went on the giant slide...twice! I completely underestimated it and I was terrified once we climbed the billion stairs to the top. I don't do well with heights. Jackson was fearless and if it wasn't $5.00 for us to ride it each time I think we would have gone down the slide a million times.

We had a blast seeing all the newborn farm animals and Jackson was totally captivated by the chicks that were hatching while we watched. Jackson also tried to talk me into taking home a piglet as a friend for Falkor, our Great Dane. And I was really tempted...they are SO cute. But I don't think our neighbors would enjoy a 500lb grown pig running around our backyard.

All in all I am happy that we went to the fair and next year Marky will be going with us so he can ride the big slide with Jackson instead of me!!

Big Boy Bed Bliss

It took Jackson a looooong time to become a good sleeper...umm like 18 months! So when he did finally sleep well Mark and I weren't going to risk it and move Jackson to a bed until he was in college. The only problem is that Jackson is a giant and he looked a wee bit cramped in his crib. Finally we decided we would bite the bullet and get him a big boy bed.

We started talking about it and Jackson was so very excited. I found a super cute truck quilt and a set of sheets with every type of vehicle on them. We set up his bed last week and he slept in it for the first time on Friday night. He was SO excited that he didn't want to take a bath or read stories on Friday night because he just wanted to go straight to bed. So nighttime sleeping is going really well....naps are a bit sketchy these days. That is scary but I am trying to be hopeful.

Here are a few pics of Jackson laying on his big boy bed for the first time on Friday afternoon. Look at that smile on his face!!! :)

Ladybugs Galore!

While we were in Michigan, Jackson's Auntie Danielle and Uncle George got him a gift that he LOVED. It was a bucket o' ladybugs from the Royal Oak farmer's market. They were intended to be garden helpers...to eat the nasty lil critters that eat your flowers and plants. Jackson adores ladybugs and was simply thrilled to have an entire container of them! They were LOADS of them in that plastic container too.
I had asked him if he wanted to release some of the ladybugs at Grammy's house but he didn't want to. So we waited until we got home. We released a bunch of them on our tree out front that was being attacked by aphids and released a bunch throughout the flowers. Of course Jackson had to spend some quality time with them first. They crawled all over him and he smiled and cooed and chatted with them before they slowly either flew away or crawled onto the plants. It was so cute.

Where is the summer going??

Eeeks! How in the world is it July 12th already? This summer is just flying by. But I am SO thrilled that the weather hasn't been crazy hot like it was last summer. We went to Michigan in June to visit family and had a really nice trip. It is such a loooong (12 hours!) car ride but Jackson was such a champ. The DVD player was the key. He watched Toy Story 2 about a bajillion times. I had other DVD's with us but he wanted to watch that one over and over. We also had Falkor with us and he traveled awesome too. He just slept the whole time!

We did loads of visiting and I was a terrible Mom and took very few pictures. :( I just felt like we were running around so much I didn't want to lug the camera with me everywhere. I wish I would have taken more now of course. Jackson loved Michigan and had a great time seeing family and friends and LOVED the zoo. The train was his favorite part and he told everyone that the train "was fast like a race car!".

Here are a couple of the few pics I took...one with Jackson and Grammy Karen and one of Jackson with a super lolly pop at the zoo.

Window Crayons

I read about these Crayola Window Crayons on another Mom's blog and I thought Jackson would love them. We picked some up this weekend and they are SO much fun. They write nice and bright on glass and wipe of very easily. Jackson thought it was necessary to see how well they wrote on Great Dane's as well. :)

It's a Jeep Thing...You Wouldn't Understand

Mark had a Jeep when we were first married and he just adored that vehicle. He still gets that sad puppy dog look on his face when he sees a Jeep on the road. Well he's been raising Jackson to be a Jeep lover and Jackson will proudly tell anyone that will listen "When I'm 16 I get to drive a Jeep!". He also very excitedly points out any Jeep he sees when we are out and about.

Our neighbors had a garage sale on Saturday and Jackson and I walked over while they were setting up. He spotted the Power Wheels Jeep and squealed "Mommmmaaaa lookit this!!". I had been keeping my eyes out for a Power Wheels car for Jackson at a garage sale because they are SO incredible expensive to buy new. I never had luck finding one until Saturday. I asked how much they wanted for it and I nearly fell on the floor when she told me $20.00!!!! These things normally run $250-$300!!! So of course I said "we'll take it!" and Jackson was just beside himself with excitment. We pushed it home and found out that the battery still had some juice but was pretty low. We got a charger for it and once we charged it up Jackson was driving around like a pro. He is completely in love with and it was the first thing he mentioned this morning when he woke up. :)

Weemer Love

Jackson LOVES worms, which he affectionately refers to as weemers. He has been in heaven this spring because of all the rain we've had. Worms-a-plenty! He saves the worms from the driveway and put them back in the grass so "they can find their family!" he tells me. :)

Boys and their bubbles!

Both Jackson and Falkor LOOOOVE bubbles. They both love to chase them and try to catch them. Unfortunately Falkor is much better at this (it helps that he can jump nearly 4 feet in the air!) and Jackson gets mad when Falkor catches "his" bubbles. I have to work hard to make sure that Jackson gets his fair share of bubble to catch.

Baabaayoons!

Jackson used to call balloons baabaayoons and it was so dang cute. Now he just calls them balloons. :( But he still LOOVES them and we got a bunch of them for his birthday. I had a great idea to take some pics of him holding the whole bunch but I had to take a million shots because he was freaking out about them blowing away. I got a couple of shots that show how much he does love his baabaayoons.

Zoo Pics

We have a wonderful little zoo here in Des Moines and since we have a yearly pass we go there quite a bit. It's a great way to get some fresh air and let Jackson run around. I look these pics a few weeks ago when we had some beautiful weather and just forgot to post them.