Quick Picture

So it has been awhile since we've posted anything. Life has been pretty busy at our house without any pictures to prove it. This morning we met a photographer (http://gigglengrin.blogspot.com/) over in Arlington to get our annual family pictures done. Hopefully we'll have those back soon so we can post them. Though it was FREEZING cold, we think we got a lot of good pictures. On our way home from the pictures, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch (& to warm up) so I snapped a quick picture of Jackson. Oddly enough, the first rocker he went for was burnt orange. I refused to take a picture of him in that rocker for fear it would be used against me in the future.

Elmo makes his debut!

Since I always have to work during our church's Fall Festival, we decided to head over to Prestonwood's Fall Festival last night to play. Jackson refused to wear his Elmo costume at our Fall Festival so I was determined to get him in it for some pictures at Prestonwood. He was the hit of the parking lot. As we walked through, we heard all kinds of comments about the cute little Elmo.

Once there we ran into the Palmer family. Brady and Jackson had a good time just rolling on the grass. Dianna and I decided we shouldn't have bought any tickets, we should have just let them play on the lawn. Since we had tickets though, Michael and I took Jackson over to the bounce houses. He's talked about the bounce houses since our Fall Festival last weekend so we knew he'd be thrilled. He wanted to jump on everything! They had several for little kids so he got to bounce as much as he wanted. Notice in the progression of pictures that his Elmo costume makes its way to my arms...he got so hot jumping, we had to ditch the costume.

After jumping, we walked over to the huge area of toddler games. Jackson had a blast going fishing, throwing baseballs, and kicking soccer balls but his favorite part was collecting the candy at the end. It was a fun night all the way around.

Happy Halloween

Thank you Nana Jo & Grampa for Jackson's cool Halloween shirt. He loves the flashing ghost. Thank you to Nana & Papa for the cool pumpkin shoes.

Making Smile Face Pumpkins!

This afternoon we decided to carve the pumpkins we got at the pumpkin patch. Jackson was not fond of digging the goo and seeds out of the pumpkin. He decided he would take care of the seeds one by one with the spoon.

After we got all of the goo out, we made each pumpkin into a "smile face" pumpkin. While did the actual carving, Jackson was busy taking the lids off and on. In the end it was a lot of fun. The highlight was when we lit the pumpkins before Jackson went to bed. He kept saying, "The smile faces have lights!"

Pumpkin Time

Nana came to our house for a few days this week. There were a couple of days of cooler weather so we decided to head to the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm to pick up some pumpkins. We fed the animals, took a hay ride, and picked out our very own pumpkins. It doesn't look much like fall and there weren't that many pumpkins to pick from but you have to take what you can get when you live in Dallas where the season of Fall really doesn't exist.

Family Road Trip

We had a free Friday and Saturday so we decided to take an impromptu road trip. We've always loved going on road trips so why not go when you have a 2 1/2 year old? It was so much fun...we'll definitely do it again. Jackson did great in the car. By planning our stops no further than a 2 hour drive, we were able to keep Jackson entertained. We started out by heading to Dublin, TX....home of the Dr. Pepper Bottling Company.

Jackson & I take a picture in front of a HUGE Dr. Pepper can. Dr. Pepper in Dublin is made by using the original recipe...sugar cane instead of corn syrup.

The weather was perfect so Jackson was able to run off some energy outside the Soda Shop & Museum while we were waiting for the tour of the plant to start.

We all shared a Dr. Pepper float. It was made from the original Dr. Pepper recipe at the Soda Fountain. Michael thought it was way too sweet...Jackson and I gobbled it up. I'm not sure about times Jackson has been away from me but to my knowledge, this was the first time Jackson has had Dr. Pepper.

The Soda Shop

Our next stop....Cooper's BBQ in Llano, TX. We visited Cooper's BBQ back in January when we were in Fredericksburg and Michael has been craving it ever since. We got to Llano just in time for dinner and we stuffed ourselves with ribs, sausage, brisket, and beans. After Cooper's, we drove up to Killeen to stay the night.

On our way from Killeen to Waco, this car passed us. I couldn't resist breaking out the camera and taking a picture. How funny (or deranged?)!

In Waco, we stopped at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. You could spend a full day just reading all the plaques about the Texas Rangers. They had every gun you could imagine on display.

One exhibit let you try putting a gun together.

Michael was a pro. This gun didn't weigh as much as some of the other ones they had on display. There were a few that weighed 5lbs.

Jackson enjoyed the Forensics Area. He laid down right inside of the chalk outline.

Tagged...7 Random Things About Me

I was tagged by Meredith to list 7 Random Things About Me. In order to show that I will give in every now and then to a list, I thought I'd comply. Random things are fun and you never know what you'll find out about someone.

1. I cannot stand to have my tongue, teeth, or lips touch the wooden stick of a Popsicle. It is like nails on a chalkboard. Freaks me out. I eat until I can start to see the wooden stick and then I start pulling the Popsicle off with my fingers.

2. My favorite time of day is when I first lay down in bed. It's the best feeling to finally stretch out and get under the sheets.

3. I do NOT like peanuts or peanut butter put together with chocolate. You'll never catch me eating a Snickers, Peanut M&Ms, or anything with the combination.

4. I love watching re-runs of The Cosby Show, Full House, and (don't hate me) Beverly Hills 90210.

5. I always make a list before I go to the grocery store but, without fail, I always come home without everything I need.

6. I'm a morning and night person. I used to just be a morning person but since having a baby, I've become a night person too. I can wake up early and function well. I can also stay up late and (after catching a 2nd wind around 10pm) can have a great time.

7. The idea of having to decorate my house (or a new nursery) completely freaks me out. The complicating thing is I'm really tight with money so I want my house to look fabulous but don't want to spend the money to make it look that way.

There you go. Now I am going to Tag....Chrissy, Lena, and Stacy. Let's see how random you are.

I don't think like a boy....

When I walked into the living room this morning, this is what I found. I asked, "Do you have on a shawl?" to which Jackson replied, "I'm superman!". Silly me...always thinking like a girl.

Screaming gets a cookie?

No pictures for this post, just some thoughts. Let me set-up the event. This morning I knew we needed to go to the doctor to get his cough checked out and we needed to go get a haircut (especially since he has school pictures tomorrow). There are only two places we go that Jackson will start crying before we even walk in the door...the doctor's office and the haircut place. What a fun morning for me! Anyway, we made it though the doctor's office with just a few tears and then while getting a haircut he only cried during half of the cut. At least he sat in the chair by himself this time, the times previously he's stood in the chair with his arms around my neck. So I think we have it made. We just needed to stop by Target and then we were going to have some pizza for lunch (reward for being a big boy at the doctor and haircut place) before heading home.

Jackson hates to ride in the cart so I let him walk. He had the "you're about to have to sit in the cart" warning and then it all went downhill. While I was getting a box of Kleenex, Jackson proceeded to climb into the shelf of toilet paper and hide behind the large packages. Once I drug him out, I immediately placed him in the cart. Let the screaming and sobbing begin. People were stopped in their tracks and staring like I was abusing my child. I kept walking when I noticed a Target employee walking towards me. As he got closer, I realized he had a cookie in his hand and was reaching it out towards Jackson (whose eyes were luckily looking the other way). I wanted to scream "You want me to REWARD my child for acting like this?" but instead I said politely "No thank you" and gave him the evil mommy eyes.

That's my beef...I know the man was thinking he was doing the right thing but really. Doesn't he know that had I allowed Jackson to have that cookie, my future shopping trips would have be nightmares? I firmly believe in giving Jackson something to look forward to after something that he fears so much (like the doctor or haircut) but to give him a cookie for throwing a tantrum in the store....umm, not going to happen.

The baby has a name!

We have finally decided on a name! After nights of talking about it and after watching all the credits roll on tv shows and movies with the hopes of seeing something that will catch our eye...we have landed on Grayson Lee Wall. Grayson is just a name that we like and Lee is the subtle way the Vinson family (my family) carries down names. My dad's middle name is Lee and my middle name is Leigh.

Jackson is spending the week with his Nana and Papa so hopefully when he gets home we'll move away from calling the baby Umbrella and we'll start referring to him as Grayson.

Waiting for the Airplane

By the end of the day Saturday, we were all exhausted and ready to get back to Dallas. It is never easy waiting on the airplane when all you want to do is get home. Jackson was tired (hence the blanket and thumb in the mouth) but still excited about flying on the plane again. These are some pictures of him watching for the plane at the airport in Lubbock. I remember sitting in the same place waiting for the planes when I was little. Funny how he enjoys the same thing.

We Walked to D'Feet ALS

This past weekend we travelled to Lubbock to participate in the Walk to D'Feet ALS. All of my dad's immediate family and even some of his cousins and extended family participated in the walk. We were a pretty big group.

The walk was 3 miles (so they said...it felt a little longer). We all started off together but wound up breaking away as the walk went on. Jackson did good by riding in his stroller most of the way. Since he rode, we were able to come in #28, #29, & #30. All in all it was a fun time to be together with family. I recommend it for anyone who has lost a family member to a disease like ALS, cancer, or Alzheimer's.

Is it a baby Boy Umbrella or a baby Girl Umbrella?

Well, we have to wait no longer. We finally know whether baby Umbrella is a boy or a girl. The woman doing the ultrasound this morning was the sweetest lady ever. She knew we wanted to know the sex of the baby and kept going back down there until the little one finally let us take a peak. It was neat because as she was looking and taking pictures for the doctor, she explained every little thing to us. It's amazing what they can tell from a baby less than 1 lb and only half way to term. She looked at the baby's lips to check for a cleft palate (no cleft palate), she looked at the space around the baby's brain, she counted bones in the legs and arms, she even counted fingers and toes. I'm very grateful (& humbled) to say everything checked out great. It was reassuring to have her explain everything to us (that didn't happen with the doctor who delivered Jackson). Anyway....after the baby finally decided to uncross its legs....we saw (& might I say SAW VERY CLEARLY) that we are having a baby BOY! That's right, I am going to remain the only female in the house and I am thrilled. No names as of now. We'll stick with Umbrella until a more appropriate name is agreed on.

Camera Found!!

My camera has been found. It was sitting on floor next to a doll house in the Special Needs Classroom. Not sure how it got on the floor next to a doll house but at least it has been found!

These pictures were from last week. Jackson has decided it is much more fun to climb all over the police car rather than drive in it. He has even found a way to dunk the basketball. His new phrase is "I'm on the highest mountain" whenever he's standing up on something tall. Too funny!