Thirty-One

I think my birthdays are starting to run together. I guess after thirty, and more so after two kids pretty much everything tends to run together. At least that's how I feel.

Birthdays are definitely more meaningful when you get to spend it with those you love. I am very thankful and happy that this year I was able to spend my birthday with my parents, my love, and most of all my boys. We had a great weekend full of brunch, shopping, dinners, a wedding and Jackson's favorite--chocolate cake.

It was eventful. So eventful in fact, that on my actual birthday we were all pretty tired from the weekend festivities. Blessed is an understatement...

10 Months!!!

Forever Friends

This past week Jackson's absolute favorite people of all time paid him a visit in his very own town. Mara y Luisiana aka 'las gemelas' (the twins) drove all the way from El Paso just to see our little lion cub! 

Well, kind of. They went to San Antonio for the weekend but came up all day Friday to hang out with their favorite person, Jackson and to check if James was still around (this is what they told me and it turns out James was/is still, in fact, around). 

I decided it would be best if we had a Jackson-only day so that he could feel extra special that he was not only skipping school and going to the Thinkery but that he had a surprise waiting for him there! Plus I don't think James minded, he told us he was going to relax and take it easy at home. 

Jackson asked me over and over what his surprise was and as soon as we walked in he saw the girls' mom, Claudia. Jackson stopped dead in his tracks and was completely blind sided. He looked at her, looked at me, looked back at her and said, "Hola Tia Claudia! Y las gemelas???!!?!" He looked and looked and they came running towards him to give him a hug and he was floored. It was so awesome. 

   

Ten minutes into them playing together Jackson came up to me and said, "Momma, I am SO happy". It was the sweetest thing ever. 

We spent a few hours at the Thinkery and then decided to go to lunch downtown so we could show the girls Austin. They told us they had never been before and that they really liked it so far. We drove by UT, (where Jackson explained to the girls we say TEXAS....FIGHT!) the Capitol, (where Jackson told the girls his Tia Jo lives) went over Congress bridge, (where Jackson told the girls the bats fly out) and ended up eating at Perla's (where Jackson insisted on eating waffles because he's only ever been there during brunch). Turns out this kid is one heck of a tour guide eh?     

The girls in turn were very impressed. After lunch we grabbed ice cream at Amy's and tried on lots of sunglasses while waiting in line...

 

And after ice cream I had to get home to my James so I told Claudia I'd take the girls with me so she could run errands and shop in peace. I had to get back--I don't like making either boys wait too long for me. Mom guilt I guess...

Once home the girls were thrilled to see where Jackson lives and immediately asked to see his room. They said they LOVED Jackson and James' rooms and that I 'did a good job'. It was a great compliment! As you can tell James was excited about our visitors as well...

 The remainder of the afternoon/night the three older kids spent playing non-stop with all of Jackson's toys and dinosaurs (they are HUGE dinosaur fanatics as well). Turns out these girls are the best unpaid babysitters I have ever had. They mind their manners, don't eat anything, don't drink anything, ask before doing anything and are very neat and organized. My kind of people.

Best of all I don't think Jackson even noticed I was in the room much less asked for me (NEVER happens) which made it soooooo easy to feed, play with and even bathe James without anyone wanting to 'help' all the time.

Claudia showed up around 7 to fetch the girls and head back to San Antonio. I told her they were such good help and Jackson loves them so much. I really wish they lived here because they make our cub so happy but alas, they live in El Paso. Until next time gemelas, which will be soon enough! 

Dinosaur Train!

Last weekend we took the boys to see Dinosaur Train Live. They had a show come into Austin and since it is one of Jackson's favorite television shows we thought it'd be a nice surprise for him.

 He was THRILLED to pieces. James was pretty excited as well. We made sure we planned out the day down to the bathroom breaks, for optimal viewing pleasure. Both boys took extra early naps so that they would be ready for the show and as it turns out, our planning was for the best.

 They both were well behaved. Jackson more so than his little brother, but James did his part to stay awesome at least through intermission. After that I hung out with James outside the theatre and let him wander while Daddy and Jackson enjoyed some serious sing alongs.

Jack said he was thankful that not only did they sell alcoholic beverages (in sippy cups no less!) but that they actually allowed them inside the theatre. Austin, we love you. 

If you would have told me years ago that this is how I'd be spending my Sunday I would have told you "YEA. Right."It's incredible the things we do for these boys, but in the end it's pretty incredible the things these boys do for us. I just hope they appreciate it one day. One day....

Peanut Butter Jelly Time!

Much like his older brother, James is quite the fan of this crazy song. These boys are dancers y'all.

Spring Break '14

As mentioned in the previous post we went to Houston this last week during Spring Break. It was a last minute decision and a great one if you ask me. The boys thoroughly enjoyed themselves and had so much fun visiting with my family...

 

In addition to visiting the family we thought it'd be nice to take in the Houston sights. We heard THE Magna Carta was in town and being the good nerds we are, we decided to check it out at the Natural History Museum...

Jackson surprisingly thought this exhibit was pretty cool (he is so our son) and told his teachers at school that he saw the Magna Carta in Houston and wrote it himself... 

aka he drew a replica...Regardless, they were impressed with his knowledge ;)

You know we couldn't leave the museum without checking out a few dinosaurs...

and even ride one! 

James asked to go see the insect exhibit, but the boys ended up being unimpressed... 

 Until we walked into the butterfly sanctuary. Then their faces lit up, especially James'. He seemed to love it...

Thank you momma! 

some brotherly love...

 

 and then we wandered outside in the park in order for James to finish out his nap in the stroller. Turns out there were some kids rolling down the hill and Jackson wanted to try it as well. He's never done this before so Jack and I had to show him a few times before he got the hang of it...

 The following day we decided to take them to Space Center Houston where the boys got to go into outer space and see planet earth from above....

 

 I'm not gonna lie, it sounds A LOT cooler than it actually was. In this day and age I feel as though our iphones can do way more than any space shuttle can and when we asked Jackson what his favorite part about the trip was he said, "the SLIDE!". Don't we look happy though!!?!?

 Best part about the Space Center was definitely the souvenirs. I told Jackson he could have absolutely anything he wanted and he needed to choose something for James as well, (he was asleep in the baby carrier). Jackson chose the 'space osito' for James (of course) and some astronaut gummies for himself. He didn't care that they wouldn't last more than five minutes and he had to share with momma and dada, that's what he wanted. So that's what he got. Oh, and they were gone in three minutes...

Spring Break 2014 in the bag. Houston, you were good to us. Cheesy Space Center and all. Family, thank you for having us and spending time with the boys. I'm so glad we got to see y'all and can't wait to see you again soon!