Jackson on Zoo Day

I get some quality time with my Jackson while Cooper is at zoo school. Yesterday Laura actually took both Cooper and Jackson for me so I could go get some house stuff done, so that was so nice! But the week before Jackson and I had three hours to kill before we picked up Cooper. We started out at the Botanical Gardens.

Oops, he almost made it into the water!

I made him pose for lots of pictures!

So big!

Once the zoo opened, we headed over there to see some animals. Here we are checking out the aquarium.

Riding a dragon!

Visiting the kangaroos.

It's nice to have one-on-one time with Jackson!

It Finally Feels like Fall!

We went on a walk yesterday morning and the boys actually had to wear jackets! It was amazing! I love this weather. The last day or two has been 50s/60s at night, then 70s/80s as the high. Perfect weather!

Hanging Out

These are just a few random pictures from the past week or so.


Jackson and Cooper like to play behind the crib, and Jackson got stuck here! He's at the age where if he can't do something right away he gets frustrated and cries, so that's what he's doing. I was the mean mommy who ran and got a camera instead of rescuing him :).
One of J's favorite places to play is in the train table drawer.

Cooper then made a bed underneath his train table.

I came in during his quiet time one time last week and Cooper had very carefully placed a toy in each cubby and then lined them up on the shelf. He was so proud of himself. I can't remember exactly why he did that, but it was some sort of game! (He's a great player and LOVES to play with his toys).

These were taken at the science museum right around Jackson's b-day. They were on my other camera so I forgot about them!

None of the indoor pics turned out, but I got a few outside of the boys enjoying the water area.

ahhh, Cooper and his hero!

Wow, can you tell he had a great day here? :) I"ll end it with this lovely picture!

First Day of Zoo School!

I can hardly believe it but Cooper is old enough to go to school! He started zoo school here last week. It's for 3-5 year olds just one day a week for three hours, so it's a perfect introduction to school. Ben is in his same class so of course they LOVE that.

The night before school we had a "back to school party" for him. Of course it's not technically BACK to school since it's his first time going, but that doesn't matter I guess :). I had a few things planned for the house and the party, but a few hours before we got a call about a showing right during dinner, so instead we went and got Sonic and ate it at the park. Cooper LOVED that (probably more than what I had planned) and as we were pulling up to the park he goes "mom, I love you!"

Opening his school present-a rocket book. He is very into rockets right now and saw this book at a store a few weeks back. He was planning on asking for it for Christmas so was thrilled to get it early. It has things you make into rockets in it so he was very into it!

A perfect Cooper face! He's about to shoot off his rocket for the first time.

The first day pose. We were running late so I literally had him run to the door quick, snapped two pictures, and we ran to the car.Waiting for school to start with his best buddy Ben.

Anxiously waiting by the front door.

We were able to walk them into class the first day and watched them explore the room. Cooper loved it.

Afterwards the boys posed in their zoo shirts and held their art projects.

Cooper has absolutely LOVED zoo school and everything they do there. They get to do a zoo walk every day and he talks about the animals and the things they learn. I think it's going to be a very fun experience for him!

We've Been Busy!

Right before Jackson's birthday we decided we were going to put our house on the market. So we took lots of stuff out and got our house ready, and about 2 1/2 weeks ago we put it on the market. We've had 15 or 16 showings since then (I was so thankful we had that many but, oh my, it is a lot of work! We had one almost every day so I don't think I've ever cleaned my house this much! ) and a few days ago we finalized negotations with a couple, so our house is sold! Woo hoo! We're in our 7 day option period so I'm just praying everything goes ok with the inspection so we can feel like our house really is sold.

We went and looked at houses this weekend and found one we want to bid on. So I'm also hoping that one doesn't sell before we can put a bid on it! We're moving to get a little bit closer to Ryan's work, and to get a little more space for us. It's maybe an additional 10-15 minutes away from my parents and sister.

If all goes as planned, we'll be moving out of this house on Oct 21, I can hardly believe it! So anyway, life has been busy around here cleaning, leaving the house, cleaning, leaving the house, etc.. Sounds like fun, huh? :)



This is a very random assortment of pictures (a LOT of pictures) so I can finally catch up this blog!



I woke up one morning to see the boys playing together. It was so cute until I realized they were playing swords. Just what you want to see your 1 year old playing!

Cooper and I made granola last week. We had a few rainy days and I was trying to find something for us to do. I got the recipe from this blog: http://joyfuljohnsons.blogspot.com/2010/08/good-food-thats-good-for-you.html

Cooper doesn't love it but I think it's pretty tasty, and filling which is always good!

Jackson is liking reading more and more. I of course love this. He doesn't always sit nicely with me and read, but I've found him a few times now sitting and looking at books by himself.

The boys like playing "jail." Here they are in jail, and Jackson's trying to push Cooper OUT of jail. The fights are going to start, I can just tell!

Swinging on a big boy swing!

Cooper learned how to twist the swing around and then twirl around really fast. He loves it!

Cooper is going to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween this year. He LOVES him. SO here he is "flying" in the costume.

Of course you have to push the lazer before you fly!

Another new favorite of Cooper's are the "silly bands." He pretends they give him super powers or something. It's hilarious. I love this picture of him, so perfect with his expressive face!

Cooper's been putting on his shorts and underwear by himself for a long time, but shirts are harder for him. Here he put on his shirt by himself, and I thought it was so funny! (I'm sure you can tell it's backwards :))

Jackson's starting to like the baby swing finally!

For a few days here the weather was a little cooler so we could enjoy playing outside! Of course now it's back up to miserable (and humid for even more fun!)

Ben and Cooper. This reminded me of a picture I took of them last year, except they were naked and eating together.

Another rainy day activity. We put whipped cream on a cookie sheet and practiced writing letters. That lasted about 5 minutes until he started doing this.

I thought Jackson could kind of "paint" with the whipped cream. He pretty much just sat and ate it. My kids have a sweet tooth like me!

The boys both hugging their favorite animals.

Jackson hugging his favorite brother!

Look mom, no hands! Jackson is starting to walk! He can walk up to three or four feet, but still prefers mostly to crawl.

He loves pushing around toys and walking behind them.

Just a cute pic of Cooper (I love his big smile!)

The color's funky but I like this one of the two boys.

Playing peek-a-boo

Posing for the camera

My little baby, or I guess, toddler!

Playing in the crib, a favorite thing to do

I had to put this picture on the blog (I fuzzed out body parts :)) Have you ever seen a bigger belly? This was right after he ate a HUGE dinner. He was sticking his belly out and it looks so kissable! My parents babysat him on this day and discovered that he loved being squirted by a huge water gun. He'd stand up all by himself and let my mom and dad squirt him over and over. He'd open his mouth really wide and get all excited. It was hilarious.

Waiting to get squirted

I'll end this post on a hug!