I said ‘say cheese!!!’ And this happened. Too much!

We allow trucks at the dinner table because, whatever makes you eat your dinner kid, but tonight he spread his potatoes on the table, drove it through and screamed “SNOW!!!!”….I think we may need to reevaluate our policy…

The National Aquarium

This weekend the hubs had to run an errand to Baltimore, so we tagged along and decided to make a day of it all at the National Aquarium.  If you aren’t familiar with Baltimore, there is a lovely little spot called the inner harbor, where there are fun things like the Aquarium, a submarine, pirate ship, Hard Rock Cafe, & a ginormous H&M.  There is also a National Aquarium in DC, which I have never even been to, it’s probably next on my list of aquariums to visit…if I ever have such a list. 

Immediately upon arriving, Jackson spotted the pirate ship and started screaming “YO HO!!!! YO HO HO!!!” all Jake & the Neverland Pirates like.  When we entered, though, he was really into the fishies, and the sharks, though, like his mama, he grew weary of them and started saying “I scare!” so we ditched those stupid things.

^ Hello Friend!^

^TWINS. SAME. FACE. ALWAYS.^

…

I think that, hands down, our favorite part of the trip was the Dolphin Show. Jackson’s been asking to see the “duhfins” all day long. Sidenote: every time i see one of these dolphin shows, I am POSITIVE that I chose the wrong career path, because how much fun must these chicks be having every day!?

J was so entranced at them the entire time, and of COURSE we accidentally sat in the splash zone.  So when they dolphins were spraying the water he kept yelling “OH NO!!!! MESS!!! NO MESS!!!” but laughed as soon as he got a little splash ;). One thing I came away from this outing with is this: How in the world can sharks be so scary and dolphins be so darn cute?! They both have fins…I mean…

This is the best face of the day – whenever the dolphins would fly into the air he would gasp and be so surprised/excited.  Cutest. Baby. Ever.

***PSA of the Day: If you ever decide to make a trip to the Baltimore location of the National Aquarium, make sure that you understand that they do NOT allow strollers (DC location does).  Luckily, my coworker warned me of this a few weeks back when she took her son.  It is also dark, crowded, and probably pretty darn easy to lose your kid on the weekend.  They say it is because of escalator and moving walkway safety, but I find it to be rather inconvenient, to say the least.  They aren’t the ones lugging around a 35 lb lump of kid for hours. It’s also pretty expensive at 30$ per adult and 20$ per kid ages 3+, so yeah, 60 bucks to carry my heavy kid around, that part wasn’t so fun.***

Swimming Lessons

I am a freak about water safety.  My dad has a pool, so we tend to spend a lot of time at his place in the summer months.  Last year was frightening and nightmarish to say the least.  Jackson was running all over the place, and I was terrified that he was going to fall into the pool and drown.  I would have kept him strapped in a life vest permanently if they weren’t SO BULKY at his size. He’s like a turtle trapped on his back in those things.  All of this is why I was so excited when Jackson received -a truckload of personal swim lessons as a christmas gift from his grandparents. Seriously, it was as if the heavens opened up and angels started singing hallelujah and all was right in the world.  Ok. Maybe not THAT dramatic, but seriously, swimming lessons are good stuff.

Jack started his lessons 3 weeks ago, and he has been loving them! He loves anything having to do with water anyway, but after watching him splash around and learn the routines at swim, it is clear that this love is another level.  The most important thing that they have been emphasizing wiht Jackson is how to get OUT of the water if he were to ever fall in. It goes Hands, Elbows, Belly, Legs!

He also learned to blow bubbles into the water:

He is also learning to jump from the edge of the pool, float, paddle, use his hands to move around the edge of the pool, and to catch his ducky toy. Its all big stuff, but lord, does he have fun with Ms. Roxanne while doing it:

After the lesson, she took him to have a bit of fun on the slides 🙂

If you live in the area, you should definitely check out the WARF, by the way – the indoor pool is awesome and they have a GIGANTIC slide for bigger kids too 🙂 Bottom line, we love the pool.

Happy Monday from my choo choo loving boy!

cutest. ever.

“wink!”

eeekkkk

his face…

rockin’

We made it back down to Lexington for a quick trip this weekend.  It was short, but very sweet. I won’t put too many words here, just a couple of thoughts:

1. Babies.  Love ‘em. Need more of ‘em. Check out baby Justin “winking” on command. I could eat him.

2. So so so so sweet how much my boy is loved by his extended family. Seriously, best ever.

Here is some photo spam of the trip 🙂

Roadtrip dance party! Sorry Zac, IG wouldn’t let us all got, so I won!

Oh, Goo!

You might remember that I uploaded a photo of a sweet 30 year old bear named Goo a few days ago. He was a gift to tiny newborn baby Zac, and because his parents are AWESOME, they saved him and now he belongs to Jackson. I say all the time just how awesome it is to watch J’s personality grow and develop, and one of the ways it is best expressed is through his play and love of his toys. Goo is no exception. In fact, he draws out all of the playful, compassionate, ADORABLE things I love about my son. You see, Jack and Goo, they are two peas in a lovely pod of all that is innocent and pure in this world. Each morning, when we walk down the stairs Jackson immediately says “GEEEOOOOHHHHH!!! HEAHHH AHHHH YOUUUUU???!!!??!” (Goo, where are you!?)

When he spots him, he runs to give him the biggest hugs and even a few kisses, and makes sure to always tell him how he feels about him: “GEEOOO! I MITHED YOU!!!!” or “I WUB YOU GOO!!!”

They like to play peek-a-boo together:

Maybe even watch a little TV:

Theydefinitelylove to ride bikes together:

And sometimes, we just like to ride ON Goo

And after awhile, after a great deal of playtime, Jackson will run to hide from Goo and he will take a brief nap on the floor until its time to play and snuggle some more.

Day 11: Water. From the sky this time. #photoaday #fmsphotoaday #day11

P&J

These two cuties might just be the most adorable sight I have ever laid eyes on.  Maybe I am completely a little bit biased because they belong to me & my best girl, but either way, I think we can all agree that they are pretty darn cute. 15 years of friendship (holy eff. 15 years, Becca, FIFTEEN. YEARS. We are older than we think girlfran…) all began at freshman basketball tryouts when the stars aligned, and the clouds opened up and I met my match when a tall, dark haired girl with some serious eyebrows (sorry girl, they were..it’s ok…i had some serious bangs, remember!?) asked if anyone had deodorant she could use.  I’m not shy, so I offered mine up, and the rest is history. 15 years of lovely, hilarious, FUN history. We were smart enough to have babes within 5 months of each other, so now we get to add more layers to our friendship, and watch the love blossom between these two cuties. 

j was CRAZY on the slides.  All flinging himself down as fast as he could.  Mama almost had a coronary, and I am prrreeetttttty sure he made Peyton afraid of them. Whatever, kid.

^Jailbirds^

Thank god she needed deodorant 15 years ago :).