Fun at Home

Here are some things we were up to in the days before we left home for Boise:

1. Jackson discovered that it's much cooler to wear your hat backwards. This is the only way he'll wear a hat now, and he has to put it on himself.


2. We went to feed the ducks at a lake downtown on a gorgeous sunny day. No pictures of the actual feeding of the ducks, but a few other cute ones...


3. Grandy got in lots of snuggle time with Emmett before she left...


4. Jackson watched some George (again). I loved how he was sitting on a toy right next to his brother in this picture.


5. Jackson attempted to help Mom with the pacifier with little success (again). :)


6. Jackson drove his Cozy Coupe around the house. Well, actually, he didn't do as much driving as just sitting in the car and turning the steering wheel. He also loves to "check the gas". He hasn't figured out how to make the car move yet (it's like a Flintstones car - you move your feet to make it go).


7. Emmett did a lot of smiling. :) Lately, as long as he's not hungry or tired, he's been a pretty happy little guy.

Some Emmett Time

Since the last two posts were mostly about Jackson, I thought I would give Emmett his due attention. Even though it looks like it, I didn't post every single picture that I took. I just can't resist posting cute ones! I love all of the different faces he made in this first series. He's so chunky... I could just eat him up!

"I'm so hungry... I could eat my own lip!"

Here's Emmett enjoying some Daddy time when Phil was home last week. Love those double dimples!


Here's E in the Bumbo seat. He seems to have some Mr. Spock ears going on, but we love them! He only wore that cute outfit this one time and has already outgrown it. I'm having to burn through his 3-6 month clothes and put a cute outfit on him every day (sometimes two a day) so that he can wear things at least once.

Here's J in the Bumbo. He's about a month younger than Emmett here. I love to compare their pictures!


Here we were having some fun time on the floor the other day. I was trying to teach E to flip from his back to his stomach, since he can already flip from his stomach to his back. He's not quite strong enough yet to flip the other way, but I did get some cute pictures!

Going...going......gone!

Just two more cute ones from last night...

It has been so awesome having my mom here. She is a wonderful grandma to the boys and is such an amazing help to me. I love her company, too - we have a great time together. Her being here has made Phil being gone so much easier. She leaves a week from today and I told her that she needs to stop helping out so much this week so that I can wean myself off of her. :)

Fourth of July and Jackson's Birthday

Get ready for lots of pictures... we took a ton in the span of just a few days. It is so hard to weed through them all and decide which ones to post. So many are cute!

The night before the 4th we let Jackson open a few of his presents. This was right before bath time - hence the diaper. He got his very own laptop from Evangeline and absolutely loves it.

He also loves his Thomas book from Aunt Betsey. Those push-button sound effect books are so much fun!

On the morning of the 4th we went to a parade downtown. We had a nice time just being together, enjoying the weather, and chuckling at some of the entries in the parade that went by. Emmett even took a nap in the Bjorn carrier, which was an unexpected but great surprise!

When we got home from the parade Phil blew up a new pool for Jackson. It took a lot of convincing to get him in there, but once he got all wet he really liked it. He loved having water poured on him.

Making his sign for "more"...

Later, we took some pictures of everyone in their red, white, and blue attire...

**Okay, yes, that last picture was taken a few days later. We didn't have a chance to get a family picture on the 4th and I really wanted one so we did it when we could! :)

Then Phil put together another of Jackson's presents... a Cozy Coupe!

That evening we had family over for a cookout and enjoyed chocolate cake for dessert. This is seriously the best chocolate cake ever. It is "Beatty's Chocolate Cake" by Ina Garten. You can click here for the recipe, if you're interested. I use a different frosting recipe, but hers is really good, too.

Jackson's not too hot on sweets, just like his dad. He was more interested in playing with his George balloon than eating that cake. More for Mom!!

The next day, Jackson's real birthday, he opened the rest of his presents. He got a lot of great gifts and toys from relatives near and far and friends that came to his party. Thank you so much, everyone!

This didn't happen on the fourth, but I wanted to mention it anyway because it was so great. My mom and dad stayed home with the kiddos on the night of the 2nd so Phil and I could go out to eat and see a movie. We got to take our time eating, share a bottle of wine, and see a really funny movie (The Hangover). It was our first date night in a month or so and we had a great time! I love my hubby so much.

On the night before my dad left we got a babysitter so that the four of us could enjoy a night out together. We went to another nice restaurant in town and had a fun and yummy dinner. Oh, how I wish I lived closer to my parents. I love spending time with them. Thanks for coming to visit us, Dad!