Jackson's First Day of First Grade

Well, there he is, Mr. Handsome himself, complete with a new backpack, new buzzcut, and his new favorite shark-tooth necklace (to fill in for the one he's missing!). Just for kicks, here he was on his first day of Kindergarten last year. Quite a difference, even aside from the extra hair and teeth he was sporting then. :)Before we left for school, he posed with Daddy (and me too, but that picture is too scary to share).
And here's the fabulous new backpack. He's addicted to sharks, so this one has a shark on it, as well as his monogram. Note the cowboy boot zipper-pull hanging down on the right...that was his souvenir from the airport when we left Dallas in June. :)
He was really nervous, but super-excited, too. We read a book called, "First Grade Stinks" last night, all about the differences between K and 1, so he's looking forward to being a "big kid" in 1st grade and all the perks that go along with that.


My big brave boy...I so hope he has a good day!

Up to the Sky and Down Again

Anthony and I have been fans of "Guess How Much I Love You" by Sam McBratney since we were in dating in college. And we couldn't wait to share it with our children.

We have at least 3 copies, including a hardback, paperback, and boardbook. I think we first read it to each of the boys when they were just over a year old.

Now that Jacks and Cody are a bit older, they don't enjoy the book as much anymore (it doesn't have quite enough action for their tastes!). But we've incorporated the message of the story into our nighttime ritual.

Before they go to sleep, we say, "I love you up to the sky and down again ____ times." For a while, it was the biggest number they could think of, which for Cody was often 5. Anthony taught Jackson about googles, so then Jacks began saying "...googleplex times." I still maintain that's cheating. :)

But now, thanks to Cody, we have words filling in the blanks that aren't necessarily numbers. In fact, most often they aren't. Last night we had T-Rex, butterfly, and (my personal favorite), "I love you up to the sky and down again EYEBALL times."

I hope they never get too old for this part of bedtime, because I've become quite attached to it. And even if THEY do, I never will. They'll be 30 and I'll call them to tell them I love them up to the sky and down again TRASHCAN times.

Luke in the Bath

We've started bathing Luke in the kitchen sink. It's nice and deep, a perfect size for him, and just the right height for us. He loves it!

Meg and Cody vs the T-Rex

Luke at 9 Months

Far from "official" portraits, but I'm so thrilled with how they came out just the same. Isn't he beautiful, from the front AND the back? Heehee....
In that next to last one, he's turned around to watch the older boys splashing in the wading pool and making tons of noise. Doesn't he look like he wants to give them a tongue-lashing? :)

Oh and in #3 and #4 up there, he's clapping...that's his new trick.

9 months ALREADY? (sigh)

More Vail

We had a wonderful time up on top of Vail Mountain, site of Jackson's famous first steps. The day was beautiful and the boys cooperated for a few pictures in return for the promise of a turn on the bungee trampoline. Woohoo! A few pictures from Lionshead in their new Vail hats and shirts...
Check out these cool chairs made out of skis! Luke thought this bench was pretty cool.
Happy Birthday Grandad!Luke heard that sweet potatoes were good for the complexion....Jacks thought this big statue in honor of the 10th Mountain Division was awesome...he looks so tiny next to it, though!
And just to prove that I was, in fact, there too....

Crawling!