Daddy and Jackson

David had to go to the MedFlight 1 hanger the other day to do a little work, so Jackson and I went along. I thought it'd be a good chance to get their pictures with them both wearing their flight suits. We had the same pictures made with David and Noah when he was about this age wearing the same flight suit (something I found at Gymboree before Noah was ever born!). Jackson looked very cute in his little suit that matches his Daddy's. We got several good shots, but this one was my favorite. (Click on the picture to make it bigger and you can see his expression better.) I thought it was so sweet how he was looking up at David and smiling- "Yep, that's MY daddy!!".

For Sale By Owner...

Our house, that is. We decided to take the plunge and attempt to sell our house. We've been needing to be on the other side of town for a while now, and have found something that's what we're looking for right now. It'll be downsizing a little bit, but that's also something that will be good for us for a while. Chad and Lori are our biggest cheerleaders for the move and have us excited about the world of opportunities a smaller house will open up for us! So- if you know somebody that knows somebody, etc. that might be looking for a great new house- let us know!!!

Beach Pictures!

I'm Lovin' It!

Before heading out for the beach last Sunday, we went to church, then made the habitual stop by McDonald's for Noah's Happy Meal. When he got home, he left the last two nuggets on the floor in our bedroom. It didn't take Jackson long to find them, and when I discovered what he had, there he sat with a chicken nugget in each hand, just munching away. I guess we're gonna have to started ordering two Happy Meals now!
Look Mom- I ate them all!! Who needs a vacuum cleaner when you've got a 9 month old that eats everything he finds?

I'll have pictures from the trip posted soon- I'm still working on that one. We had a good trip, but we did discover that vacations are just a little more work with two kids than with just one. Jackson enjoyed the beach some- usually ended up looking like a powdered doughnut after about 15 minutes of being in the sand. Noah on the other hand, had a ball. He played and swam until I was sure he would collapse. He told us several times "Thank you for taking me to the beach!". Pictures to follow soon I hope!

Vacation Time!

We're off on vacation today! Tomorrow we'll be sitting in our chairs on the beach with our toes in the sand! We're more excited than usual about this trip as it's our first real vacation since going to the beach last year. It's long overdue. Noah's about to burst he's so excited. Don't know what Jackson will think about it, but I'm sure he'll come to love the beach too. Noah went for the first time when he was about Jackson's age and did real well. We'll be back in about week and I'm sure we'll have lots of pictures to share! Have a great week!

Two Healthy Kids!

We went for Jackson's 9 month and Noah's 5 year checkup today, and they both came out great! Jackson weighed 19#12oz and was 28 inches long. Noah weighed 35lbs and was 42 1/4 inches tall. They both did really well while the doctor checked them out. We had a few tears when Jackson got his TB skin test (Noah cried when they they did that to Jackson), then Noah shed a few more (actually lots) when he got his finger pricked. After the nurse left the room, Noah wailed through his tears- "I don't ever want to come back here again!". They both got over it all pretty quick and after a stop by McDonald's on the way home, all pokings had been forgotten. We're very thankful to have two strong and healthy boys! The next time Jackson goes back to the doctor, it'll be for a ONE YEAR checkup- can you believe that?!

Happy Birthday Noah!!

Happy 5th Birthday to our little buddy Noah! We can't believe that he's already 5 years old. He's grown into quite a little man. We celebrated on Saturday with a party with friends and family. He was set on a Kung Fu Panda party and cake, so that's what we had. He was very proud of his cake. He had lots of fun at his party and got some really cool stuff. We gave him presents this morning from Mommy, Daddy, and Jackson, then Noah and Daddy went to see the new Disney movie "WALL E" this afternoon. When they got back, Papa and Nana were here for a visit and brought more presents. I think he's had a pretty good 5th birthday and is already talking about next year's birthday!

Morning Explorer

Jackson has become quite the little adventurer. He usually wakes up before Noah, so I try to keep him away from where Noah is sleeping for as long as possible. One morning I left him playing with some toys on the floor in his room. A few minutes later, I heard him heading up the hallway and found him sitting at the door of the playroom. (His room and the playroom are at opposite ends of the hall.)
He made his way on into the room and stopped to stand up at the train table and play with some "forbidden toys." Noah thought he could keep some things away from Jackson by putting them up on the table. I guess Jackson thought he better take advantage of his playtime without his big brother trying to control the situation!

Like Father Like Son

Noah called me into the playroom the other day to see his latest creation. He was playing "airshow". The big tower of blocks was the air traffic control tower, and down around the bottom of it he had lined up all his airplanes, helicopters, and trucks. He seems to have an inherited love of all things that fly. Wonder where that came from?

Pottery By You

Tonight, we had a girls night out at Pottery By You in Madison. Above, you'll see Lori, Me, and Ash hard at work on our masterpieces! (Actually this was a first for all of us except one, so we were pretty much learning as we went along.) It was lots of fun and we discovered the hidden artistic talents that some of us have (Ashley and Amanda)- or don't have in my case. I consider myself a pretty decent mommy and nurse, but creative- I just didn't get that gene!
Jenny and Amy - Amy did a great job on her Christmas plate.

April, Emily, Atina, and Emily- all of their pottery came out looking great, too.

Last, but not least, meet Mr. Froggie Bank. Noah's been wanting a bank, and I thought he might like this one. Don't laugh too hard- it was the first time I've ever done this. Hopefully Noah will appreciate it anyway.
It was a fun little outing and it's always good to go out with the girls for a little while. A couple that didn't make it into the pictures- Kristi and Amanda S. Amanda Jones- we missed you and hope everything goes well for you. We'll be praying for you and the baby!

Like I said, it was good to go out for some time away from the kids, but it's always good to see them when I get back. I think they both went through withdrawals while I was gone. On the way home from MawMaw's Noah told me "I'm glad you came back to get us Mom." I'm glad I got to bring them home tonight, too. Being apart at bedtime just doesn't got well for Noah or Jackson. We've got two little boys that love being at home, and love having mommy and daddy there, too.

Happy 9 Months Birthday Jackson!

Jackson is 9 months old today! We can't believe how much he's grown and changed. It's all gone by so fast. He's got 6 teeth now, working on the 7th and 8th ones. I have no idea how much he weighs or anything since we haven't been to the doctor since 6 months- we have a check up in a couple of weeks. He's pulling up, crawling all over the place and into everything. I'm afraid Jackson may make his first trip the the emergency room before Noah at the rate we're going. Wednesday night before church he kept kind of coughing, almost like he was gagging on something. His teachers in class found a sticker stuck to his tongue and thankfully, were able to retrieve it! He's so active right now he's just an accident waiting to happen. We love him just the same- he's getting sweeter and cuter everyday!

Pictures from the Day!

Happy 4th of July...

We had fun day out and about yesterday. We had lunch at my grandparents with the whole Rochelle side of the family and had a little birthday celebration for me with it. (Yes... I turned a year older yesterday along with our country, but we'll just pretend mine didn't even happen!) After lunch, we went to Huntsville to the Botanical Gardens. They have a dinosaur exhibit going on right now that we've been meaning to take Noah to and yesterday turned out to be the perfect day for it. We all really enjoyed it- lots of fun and pretty things to see. After the gardens, we headed back to Athens and went out to eat with Ashley and Paul and the twins at Casa Blanca (My birthday- I got to pick- Mexican's my favorite!). Turns out after all that, we were all a little pooped out, so we skipped the fireworks and came on home. It was a fun day spent out with the fam!

"He's My Favorite"

I took this picture today while the boys were together in the playroom. Noah loves to have Jackson come in there with him to play. Later on, we were all sitting down together and Noah and Jackson were hugging and playing. I jokingly asked Noah if he wanted to trade Jackson in on another little brother or if we should keep him. He said "NO- we have to keep him. He's my favorite!" It's fun to see how much they love each other. Noah loves Jackson to pieces, and Jackson's little face lights up whenever Noah comes around.