Father's Day 2010

I love this picture. I am not sure exactly why, but I do. Probably because it is very candid. It was hopeless trying to get a group pic for Father's Day with both kids, so we did separate ones with daddy. And to be honest, I like this more because you see more of their individual relationship with their daddy. If it is not obvious enough by the pictures, my babies ADORE their daddy. No matter what fabulous thing they are distracted by, when Brandon comes into the room, everyone runs to him. Jacks and Chars are soaking up his post-MBA time like crazy, and yet again I am thankful that he finished while they are young because the attachment to Daddy just grows more each day. So Happy Father's Day to Brandon! You are patient and kind with our little ones and the fact that you know them individually as well as I do warms my heart.

100% Daddy's girl

like I said...100%

Daddy is hilarious apparently :)

the boys

silly, silly, silly

sweet daddy

We went on a Father's Day adventure, that ended at Academy where B tried on a few things while the kids and I walked around the store. By the time we were leaving, Jackson had been "lost" once (he is in the "hide inside the clothing racks" phase), Charlotte had an insane diaper for me to change, and B got a sweet shirt for 1/2 off. What a great picture of being a daddy. :)

Summer time

Well, I have not entered the blog world in a while, but I will see if I can catch up now that things have slowed down a bit for us. First off...BRANDON GRADUATED! We are so proud of him and really enjoyed the graduation weekend with family and friends. I will have to post more pictures of that soon. He has so much more time now, and the kids and I are soaking up some much missed B time to say the least.
Shortly after graduation, we went to San Francisco for two weeks. It was a great trip and much needed break from the heat. We had a great time together as a family and it was wonderful to see the kids really taking in everything there rather than simply being carted around. Charlotte started walking in early May, but something about the trip made her take off because she is toddling all over now...following Jackson, chasing Jackson, and exploring everything. When we got home from SF, both kids were acting as if they had never seen our house before and checking out every toy we own. I guess we need to go away more often. :)
The first week back in SA, we helped prepare the church for VBS and then the following week, Jackson attended VBS for the first time. I taught his class which was fun but tiring...somehow getting my two kiddos out the door by 8 am five days straight was the most exhausting part. :) Both kids had a blast, and have been singing the songs they learned all weekend (well, Jackson sings and Charlotte dances and claps).
And on Friday, Brent and Emily came to town! We had a great weekend with them swimming, visiting, and on Saturday night we went to a nice dinner together kid-free. We haven't done that since we were all still dating (about four years ago). That is going to have to happen much more often.
Now, were are having our first lazy week in a while, and I am soaking it up. Lots of swimming, movies, and just playing at home. Sometimes it is nice to have no place to be, especially when it is hot outside and the mosquitoes love my children so much!

Charlotte at 14 months

Jackson and I...he is getting too big

Mr. Cool...he loves hats and sun glasses just like B

VBS

Swimming...the best way to stay cool in SA!

Brent's boots were the hot commodity

Jackson wanted his turn

Brent and Emily, June 2010

Me and Brandon, June 2010

Brothers, how sweet. :)

I will get some Father's Day pics up soon. Even as I type, Charlotte is hanging on my legs and trying to get into my lap. She is highly independent and adventurous, but lately she has been showing a little more attachment to me...secretly I am loving it. I can never get enough hugs from these little ones.
We have two weeks of down time before we head to Colorado, so hopefully I can post again before then. :)

The eggs

In preparation for Easter, we have been decorating eggs. I made some hard boiled eggs to dye and then we hollowed out a few to decorate and hang. It took me back to childhood and Jackson loved the whole process. Now, we made about 18 beautiful eggs if I do say so myself, and I was planning on hanging them up on our "egg tree." That didn't happen. Jackson was alone with the finished products for about 1 minute and when I came back, he had "built a tower" with them, crushing all but two. And that my friends is a great picture of my life these days. Well, as you can imagine, I was not a happy camper, but Jackson is every bit of a two year old boy and I have to take a deep breath and remind myself of that daily. Brandon is in the home stretch for business school and crazy busy. Charlotte is precious and yet into everything, the girl has no fear. Jackson is curious, animated, and basically the energizer rabbit. And me, I am just trying to keep up with everyone and everything. This is definitely one of those phases of life where a sense of humor is absolutely necessary. Come on May 8th, is all I can say!

Decorating eggs

my sweet boy...that smile covers a multitude of sins. :)

our eggs before the crushing incident

On Friday morning we met several families at the park for an Easter egg hunt. Charlotte was only interested in watching everything, but Jackson was right up in the mix. The boy is an egg hunting machine. He is not rough with other kids, but he is quick and can spot them anywhere. Of course, knowing that there is candy inside is a huge motivator. It was fun, but exhausting as well. Between Jackson potty training (which he is doing very well with fyi) and Charlotte getting more and more independent, most excursions are intense for me. At this point, I cannot imagine how parents do it when they have more than two children, i.e. more kids than arms to lasso them with.

Jackson and Reid on the slide

sweet chars is getting sleepy

post chocolate candy smile

The egg hunter

Happy first birthday Charlotte Avery!

I have not written in a while mostly because I have just been running at full speed and haven't had time to sit and complete a thought without something pulling my attention away. Brandon, Charlotte, and I flew to North Carolina for my friend Hillary's wedding at the beginning of March, which was a blast but a quick trip. Brandon is in the midst of his busiest semester yet, but the end is in sight! He graduates May 8th! Praise the Lord!! He has been pulling 13+ hour days between work, school, and us, so needless to say he and I tend to catch up while washing dishes or folding laundry or in the five minutes before we both fall into bed exhausted. We are trying to enjoy this season though because it is busy but it is good. Jackson tells me everyday, "Daddy no work on Sunday," so at least that is one thing that is a definite for him! :) And the big event as of late...
This past Sunday, our sweet little Charlotte turned one!! I can hardly believe it. But at the same time, I am soaking up this age because it is wonderful. We had a party on Saturday with family and friends that was very fun, especially considering the random cold front that blew in on Friday night after a week of gorgeous spring weather. Oh well, her actual birthday was on Sunday, and the weather was wonderful again, so we spent the whole day outside. This was our first birthday party at our new house and let me tell you, the extra space was so nice. It makes celebrating and having people over so fun.
A few thoughts on Charlotte as she turns one:
Our little girl is just as sweet as they come. I know I am her mom, but seriously, she is just a sweetheart. She is quick to laugh and as expressive as you can get, particularly with her eyebrows! She still is the spitting image of her daddy, but there is a little bit of me creeping up in her features as well. She is easy going and yet opinionated when she really wants something and although dealing with her brother has made her tough, she still loves all things feminine: jewelry, purses, anything that sparkles or shines. I remember thinking when I was pregnant with her that I would be a horrible mother to a girl because I have never been big on shopping, makeup, jewelry, etc. But not only do I adore miss Charlotte, I also adore indulging her love for everything girly. Alas, I can change after all. :) Charlotte loves to explore and climb, is quite independent, and very affectionate. Oh and she definitely has a great sense of humor already. I have a feeling between her and Jackson there is going to be a lot of laughter and adventure in our household. She is crawling and does this split leg maneuver as well which I think may be her intermediate movement on the way to walking, but so far there is a lot of standing but no independent steps. I am not in a hurry with her because she just started crawling one day and I know she will be the same with walking, when she is ready. That seems like her style anyway. :) Here are some pics from the weekend...

Chars and Nini

Big girl sitting at her new table

playing with Grandmommie

Jackson telling the girls something...as usual :)

Gum...sneaky boy!

Serious face...love this pic

balloons are so entertaining

our sweet neighbor Harriet came to the party

I love my baby girl!

Grandmommie reading the huge Elmo book to Chars

Aunt Brittany assisting the girls on the slide

down we go

Cake time!

Big brother blew out the candle

diving right in

I love it!!

frosting is awesome

smash it

face plant

covered in cake

I love cake!

Gary took all of our pictures :)

That is what happened to the wax on the bottom of the candle

Jackson helping Char Char open presents

she loves her books

Hey!

group shot. Cooper is out for the count. :)

Good morning Camryn

Good morning Charlotte!

Sweet Jackson

Butterfly birthday

chillin' and waiting for the party to start

the birthday cake

the girls love each other

hey world! It is my birthday!

Daddy and the birthday girl

big smiles

Jackson and Charlotte on the porch

Chars checking out her birthday bouquet

pretty birthday smile

So, what now? Well, Jackson is potty training for one...my least favorite part of parenting by the way. But we will get through it, one day at a time. I have been painting lately and in general trying to make things a little more homey around here (in all my spare time that is, ha). We have several dinners to go to in the next month and will be in Austin for Easter for my nephew's baptism. And that takes us into April!