July

I can't really remember what we did in July, but here are some pics to give you a glimpse of what we were up to! :) 

J had a great visit with Aunt Dwyn and Uncle Kenny. I think I posted this picture already, but you can never have too much Dwyn in your life! They adore each other

We often spend early mornings playing outside on the porch, attempting to be quiet for the neighbors who are still sleeping. However, "Silent J" is no longer silent and in fact, he has become a very loud child! He loves to narrate every event in life. He announces to everyone that he is "GOING TO SEE BB AND GRANDAD!", or that he is "GOING TO HAVE A BABY SISTER AND HER NAME IS RACHEL!" We're trying to find the balance between allowing our neighbors to have some peace in the mornings and allowing him to be the full-of-life-and-energy kid that he is.   

 Jackson and I regularly visit the local fire station but this time Andy took us to have a tour with a guy he knows there. The kids loved climbing up in all the trucks and being with each other in general. Jackson was sitting in the driver's seat of the Rescue truck and I was in the passenger seat. Somehow one of us managed to set off the loudest siren on all of the trucks.  The fireman assures me that it was me but I beg to differ as I touch NOTHING when I get up in those trucks with Jackson. If he really knew me, he would know that I am a rule follower and hate to do anything wrong, so obviously, I could not have touched anything to activate the siren :)   I'll blame it on my 3 year old son!  In any case, we all had some ringing in our ears that evening! 

 It is so encouraging and warms my heart to see Jackson form new friendships with kids in the neighborhood and those from church. We have really enjoyed becoming better friends with the Doyles and Jackson just adores Eli, who is 5. They shared a Blueberry Trader Joes bar at the pool one afternoon and a few days later we found this on our doorstep. Kindness from friends always makes me thankful for those who God has placed in our life. 

 It wouldn't be summer without many trips to the zoo! The petting zoo is FINALLY open and has about 20 goats. We happened to stumble there the first day it was open and enjoyed petting the goats while they tried to nibble on our clothing and bags.  We also hit up the sprinklers every time we go. Surprisingly, Jackson loves the ocean and the pool but he is not a huge fan of any type of shooting water, whether at the zoo or the botanical gardens. He loves to run around and 'talk a big game' but when it comes to getting in the fountains, he will just skirt around the edges most of the time. You can't get this kid out of the ocean, however, especially when he is there with Grandad or Pop Pop.  

 Beth and Matt (BB and Grandad) have been so amazing with taking Jackson multiple weekends in July and August to allow me some time get things ready for Rachel and have some child-free moments to just rest and take care of myself (which is something I often forget to do).  On one of those weekends, JB and I enjoyed the last ever Music on Monarch Way. I was so relaxed that I almost fell asleep in my lawn chair! It was the perfect evening of music, great weather and time with my sweet husband. 

 We never had a moment of, "We should take Jackson to see this movie" until we saw a preview for Planes: Fire and Rescue.  This preview produced a heart-response in both of us and we knew that Jackson would love this movie.  in fact, our response was, "We HAVE to take J to see this."  It's planes, fire trucks, helicopters and cars all in one.  We went to an early morning showing at Cinema Cafe and J really seemed to enjoy it. He sat perfectly still like this, holding his ticket for the first 1/2 of the movie and then I think his attention span started to fade.  However, he continues to ask to go see the Plane movie again. I see a Christmas gift in our future. 

 When JB is working nights, or just working in general, J and I get to enjoy lots of quality time at the zoo, Botanical Gardens, library and the park. This adventure was to jump in the fountains at the Botanical Gardens with Leah and Kai and then to watch the planes take off from Norfolk Airport.  We enjoyed a sweet snack of summer cherries which were a very messy experience for one of us!

 As much as we feel that Jackson is growing up too fast, he still has these moments when we realize that he is still very much a little kid.  We walked to Tropical Smoothie for a treat and he slept through the whole thing. Sweet boy