Jackson's best friend Reed shares Jackson's birthday. Since Reed has moved out of town, it's really special when the two of them get to hang out. Luckily they only live about 2 hours away so we do get to see them quite often. We thought it would be fun for them to spend their birthday together so Reed's family drove up for church on Sunday and then spent the afternoon with us. Tammy made a cake so it was another mini-birthday party. As Jackson would say, "Happy Birthday Reed Alexander."
Jackson turned 4 last weekend. Rather than have a big party, since it was a busy weekend, we decided to just have a few friends over for pizza & cupcakes. Since last year Jackson has been asking for a Mater cake. Since my cake decorating skills are very limited (must have a cake pan in the shape and all the directions....I'm not one to create something out of nothing) I decided we'd just have cupcakes with Mater on them. Turns out the Mater was too big but he was at the party regardless.
How do you ever get good pictures on Easter? I wanted to try before we went to church but we were way too late getting out the door...no time for pictures. Right as we got home, I made the boys go outside and pose for a picture. They're both much more interested in lunch. It's also getting harder and harder to get both of them to smile and look at the camera on the same shot.
These pictures were taken back in February. I just thought they were too cute not to post. Please ignore Grayson's messy face. He's not one who likes to be kept clean.
For those of you who aren't around Jackson regularly, I wanted to give you a taste of what he's like on a daily basis. This boy just likes to hear his voice...either talking, making up words, or making up songs like he is in the first video. He's a ham and loves to be the center of attention. His Nana Jo & Grampa brought him a fun little stool so he decided it would be the perfect stage for a few performances. (Sorry I had the camera shooting vertically so the video isn't quite right but you still get the drift.)
Jackson singing one of his made up songs.
Jackson's rendition of "We Like to Move It, Move It"
Jackson & Grayson with Nana Jo & Grampa
Jackson & Grayson with Nana Jo, Grampa, and Great-MammawWe celebrated Grayson's First Birthday today. We just had some family and family friends over for a very small party at the house. Grayson woke up in a great mood and was ready to party. By the time we were ready for cake, he was ready for a nap. It was a short and sweet celebration of our little boy and fun was had by all.
So baby Grayson is officially 1 year old! He's not too fond of sitting still for pictures at this point so the picture with the giraffe was a challenge. He now crawls like a regular baby (off his belly except when he wants to go really fast then he reverts back to army crawling) and pulls up on everything. He'll scoot along the furniture and thinks he can stand unassisted. He's taken lots of tumbles trying to reach for things. Our Grayson has also decided that he'll just get all of his teeth at once....right now there are 4 visible teeth coming through on the bottom and 2-4 coming through on the top. He's been much fussier than normal but I can't say I blame him. All in all, he's still a happy and cheerful baby. He flirts with everyone and loves his big brother.
(this is a picture Jackson snapped of him) This was the first Christmas that Jackson really understands what Christmas is all about. He knows the true reason we celebrate Christmas is because it's Jesus' birthday but he also knows about Santa. On Christmas Eve we made cookies and set them under the tree for Santa. Jackson was told that if he comes out of his room before morning, he might keep Santa from putting all the presents under the tree. Apparently it worked because he stayed in his room all night (this is a huge accomplishment these days!). When he woke up and saw all the presents under the tree, he was so excited he couldn't stand it. We opened presents and played in our jammies all morning. 
