Graduate School Begins

Brandon's MBA program officially started on Thursday. He and I attended a welcome reception on Wednesday night where we met the other people in his program (30 total), faculty, staff, and other spouses/support people. It is a really unique and amazing program, and I am so proud of Brandon for going after this. I had an overwhelming sense of peace after hearing all about what the next two years will hold, knowing that this is exactly what Brandon needs to be doing. There is a large variety of people in the program...single, married, no kids, five kids...and they are really conscientious of spouses and families which eases my mind about time commitment.

The program started with a three day retreat in Boerne, so it has just been Jackson and mommy for the last few days. Brandon has checked in with us each day and seems to be really enjoying everything so far. Praise God for His provision in selecting the program and classmates for Brandon.

Jackson and I did our thing here at home and then spent most of the day yesterday with my sister's family. It was fun for Jackson to hang out with his cousins, and I was grateful to not spend the night alone at our place as well. We played, visited, watched the Olympics (my nephew is very inspired by Phelps), and just enjoyed our time there. Brandon finishes after lunch today and will be heading home. Jackson will be elated to see him...when my brother-in-law came home from work yesterday, Jackson heard a man's voice and just about jumped out of my arms with excitement...somebody misses his daddy! Hard to believe Jackson is 1 and Brandon is in grad school...life just keeps moving along whether I am ready or not!

Happy First Birthday Jackson Roy!

Jackson is 1 today! We can hardly believe it has been an entire year since we were sitting in the hospital holding our precious son for the first time. I never thought I could love a little boy this much, but he has proved me wrong time and again.

He had quite the birthday today to say the least. First the ladies at the gym made him a tag for his back that said "It's my birthday," so he was swarmed by little girls the whole morning who sang happy birthday to him and treated him more like a prince than ever. Then we took him to get mexican food for lunch at Los Barrios, and he was completely stuffed and happy by the end of that. Tonight I am going to give him a little cupcake with a candle to finish off the day. I am pretty sure that he knows it is a special day because he has been extremely happy and playing with all of his new toys constantly!

We had a party for him with family over the weekend at my sister's house here in S.A. Brandon grilled out, and we had cake, presents, and swimming! It was so much fun to have everyone here and Jackson was beside himself with all the company and attention. He got several cute outfits and lots of new toys which have all been put to use this week.

Jackson and Uncle Brent chilling by the grill.

Birthday Boy

First Birthday Cake...Carrot with lots of frosting!

Jackson brings so much joy to our lives, and we are so excited that he has had a healthy first year. Brandon said this morning that he is glad he can finally just say he is 1 instead of naming off months! Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

Sunny Weekend

We went to Driftwood to visit my mom and brothers this weekend. It was very relaxing and being out in the country for a few days is just refreshing. We spent Saturday swimming and then went into Austin in the evening to play beach volleyball at Zilker park. I haven't played in a while, but it was fun and Jackson of course had the time of his life in the sand...grabbing it, throwing it, probably eating some of it. We drove back for church this morning and have catching up on rest this afternoon. Brandon and I made sure Jackson was covered, but the two of us got plenty of sun.

Jackson has become a little speed-demon in the crawling department now, and he is starting to stand up on his own and just hover for a minute. I know he is thinking about walking...it is only a matter of time.

July at home

This week has been full of exploration for Jackson. As soon as we got home from vacation it seemed like he realized that there are all kinds of things in our apartment he has never seen before. Drawers, cabinets, trashcans...nothing is safe. And he is pulling himself up to the computer and trying to type as well. Even though we have to be very vigilant with him now, it is still a wonderful age because he is so curious and excited by everything. It is raining like crazy here since hurricane Dolly hit the coast yesterday. We need the rain, but it pretty much confines us to the house. I guess that is a good thing because I have many projects to work on here. Jackson is up to 6 teeth now and is eating all kinds of things. I made lentil soup which he loves, and we gave him some rotisserie chicken which was also a big hit. I am glad he can begin eating more of what we eat. He is definitely passing from baby to little man very quickly.