Oh, Emmett.

He is a mess!  He cracks us up every day.  He's now talking up a storm!  It's amazing to us that in the month since my parents left something just clicked and now he's imitating everything and saying two- and three-word combinations!  He's also gone through a major growth spurt and has lost some of his baby chunkiness.  Phil even had to raise up the seat on his bike.  :(  Getting so big so fast!  He certainly keeps us on our toes, but also makes life very interesting and fun (and crazy and frustrating, too, sometimes!).  :)

Two little Jackson tidbits that I want to remember:

1.  J is extremely lovey and affectionate.  We were having some snuggy time in the bed the other morning and J was telling Emmett how much he loved him.  He gave E a big kiss and then said, "You're a really good kisser, Emmett!" 

2.  J came with me to take my sister to the airport the other day (Beck was here for a week... hence the reason I've been so bad at blogging again!).  He just looked so grown-up and cute sitting in the back of the van and I said, "Jackson, you're so cute! I want to eat your face.  Can I eat your face?"  J holds up his hand and says, "Not right now, Mom.  Wait til we get home."

Fun With Friends

We've been having a lot of fun with our friends this summer.  One of our favorite things to do whenever we can is go swimming.  The "resort" development in our town has a great indoor pool with this wonderful little zero-entry kiddie pool.  It is the absolute best thing ever.  We mommies can just sit in chairs at the edge of the pool and chat while the kids have a total blast in the shallow water.  The first time we went I thought for sure the boys were going to bug me to get into the big pool, but they have so much fun in that kiddie pool that it's like the big one isn't even there!  The only problem is that you can only use the pool if you live in the development or are renting a place there.  Lowly old commoners like us can't even buy a membership or anything!  Luckily, one of our good friends that just moved to town has been renting a furnished house out there for a few months, so we've been able to go swimming quite a few times.  We are now trying to figure out a way to weasel our way in there as much as we can once she moves!  It's especially great in the winter, as you can imagine.  Here are some pics and a video of the last time we went...

Untitled from Heather G on Vimeo.

Here are the two cutest best friends I know enjoying a gorgeous day at the park...

We went to a fun princess birthday party the other day where "princess attire" was encouraged, so I did my best to make my boys look "princely."  I thought they looked adorable, and they actually kept their "costumes" on for longer than I thought they would.

Here's J and my friend Michelle's daughter, Addy, in this golf cart/ATV thingy at the party.  He was driving her around and they were squealing and cracking up.  It was the cutest thing.  Foreshadowing for prom 2023?  Oh, wait... hopefully we won't still live here in 2023!  But it would be cute to see them go to prom together.  :)  Anyway, the video below is the tail end of J driving down the driveway and slamming on the brakes to make them skid around.  They were laughing so hard!

Untitled from Heather G on Vimeo.

And here's two pictures of me with some of my friends!  We were out to dinner celebrating three birthdays.  It was a fun night with gorgeous weather and gorgeous friends.  :)

And if you can stand one more video, here's a cute one of the boys riding in their own Jeep at home.  Since driving that one at the party, J has a renewed love for driving the one we have at home.  And Emmett seems perfectly content (for now) to be the passenger (and mechanic)...

Untitled from Heather G on Vimeo.

Tubful of Lovies

Reid is already too big for the baby bathtub!  He kicks and splashes and gets water everywhere and tries to climb out.  So we have started putting him in the bath with the big boys! My friend Michelle loaned us this baby bath ring when Emmett was little and it is the best thing ever.  Reid l.o.v.e.s sitting in the bath and chewing on toys and splashing in the water.  Is this a bath full of cuteness, or what?

I blurred this picture out for privacy reasons, but it cracked Phil and I up that when Reid leans back in the seat and chills like this the middle bar of the seat looks like a thong!  :)  He doesn't seem to mind, though. 

An Interview With Jackson

I saw this on another person's blog and I just had to try it.  I sat down today with Jackson and asked him some questions and couldn't wait to hear his responses.  So cute!

1.  What is your name?  "Jackson."  Jackson what?  "Jackson Giwcreast."

2.  How old are you?  "4"

3.  What is your favorite color?  "Red."

4.  Who is your best friend?  "Nuffing." (nothing... he says this when he doesn't know the answer to a question... so I asked him again)  "Emmett."  (Awww.) 

5.  What is your favorite animal?  "A duck.  Mommy, can we go feed the ducks?  I want to bring some bread to feed the ducks."  (Okay, so I guess we know what we're doing tomorrow!)

6.  What do you want to be when you grow up?  "Big."

7.  What is your favorite movie?  "Whiteming 2."  (aka Cars 2... Whiteming stands for Lightning McQueen)

8.  What is your favorite book?  "Whiteming."  (We really are obsessed with anything Cars-related around here.  I then asked him what about Skippyjon Jones (another favorite book)?)  "Yes, Mom."

9.  What makes you happy?  "Dinner."

10.  What makes you sad?  **thinks for a second**  "The blower.  Daddy's pull blower." (You know he hates loud noises!)

11.  What is your favorite food to eat?  "Popcorn."

12.  What is your favorite thing to drink?  "Milk."

13.  What is your favorite song to sing?  "Barney."  (I love you, you love me.... etc.)

14.  What is your favorite game to play?  "Cat in the Hat."  (a PBSKids.org game)

I can't wait to see how his answers change over the years.  It was neat to see him really think about what I asked him.  I just love him so much!

Highlights of Mom and Dad's Visit

Oh, I could just kick myself for not taking more pictures while my parents were here!  I don't know what was wrong with me... usually I'm so good about it!  We had such a nice visit, though.  My mom was here for almost a month and my dad flew in for the last week that Mom was here.  The boys definitely kept them busy with lots of playing and that was such a help to me!  My mom babysat a few times so Phil and I could go out at night and helped me in so many ways with the boys (most importantly holding Reid and keeping him happy!).  I really enjoy her company and love just having her around.  My dad helped Phil and I with lots of odds and ends around the house, including moving some boulders around in my flower beds and staining our fence.  It was so nice to see him so relaxed and happy.  His job is really stressful so we were glad he got this time to just hang out and unwind a little.  We really didn't do too much of anything exciting - just lots of playing outside, a little camping, and enjoying our evening gin and tonics!  :)  We did go out to eat together one night to celebrate my parents' 38th wedding anniversary.  38 years... how awesome is that??  We met some of our friends at our local martini bar after dinner for a drink and to be in a commercial for the place.  HA!!  It will be interesting to see it if/when it airs!

Here's my dad taking a turn with the fence staining.  We used a dark brown and it really looks so nice.  Much, much better than before.

Here's Phil and I taking an alone trip up to Home Depot.  :)

Here's my dad snuggling with the boys and playing his little Tetris game...

And some nice pictures on the morning before they left...

I cannot express how much I loved having you here, Mom and Dad!  We all did!  Thanks so much for all of your help and for making the long trip to come spend time with us.  We love you so much!

Scrumptious.

That's the word that comes to mind when I see these pics.  I could eat this 5-month-old dollbaby up!  (Sorry about the drool on his chin.)

He is just dying to crawl!  He does this next series of pics all the time. (And I promise I don't always have a laundry basket in the middle of my family room.  But it does happen sometimes.)  :)