Jackson's 7-Year Portraits Preview

We met up with one of our favorite Dallas photographers in Deep Ellum last week to take Jackson's 7-year pictures. We hadn't seen her since she photographed Luke's birth a year and a half ago, so it was nice to see her again.

She was wonderful with Jacks, encouraging him to climb on walls (Deep Ellum is a cool, older neighborhood of Dallas with lots of clubs and bars....we were there at 8:30 am so it was completely dead but we were able to look around and enjoy the hip landscape!) and pick his favorite murals to pose in front of.

It was a lot of fun and I just love these 2 shots she sent as a preview. They're so *HIM*.

Jackson's Last Day of First Grade

Jacks has grown so much this year in so many ways. He's taller and stronger. He can ride a bike without training wheels, tie his shoes, hit a baseball and tell time. He loves to read and do math, and he is fascinated by science, especially anything to do with animals or the earth. He will be seven in just a few weeks. Way to go on a great school year, Jacks! We love you!

Puppet Show at the Library

Fun with Hats

Cody and Luke really enjoyed the hat section at Michaels today. You didn't know Michaels had a hat section? Neither did I. But we found it, and we spent a looooooooooong time there. :)

That first bee picture of Cody reminds me of the line from Aladdin where the Genie is flying around in the shape of a bee trying to advise Aladdin on how to deal with Jasmine, and he says, "Want me to sting her?" Robin Williams is the best.

Here's Luke, puttin' on the Ritz...


Cody tried out life as an elephant, too. I think he liked this one the best, because he wore it all around the store.


I know he's not wearing a hat in this one but he was so desperate to have me take another picture of him. Maximum cuteness, with or without a hat, don't you agree? :)

Jackson's Book Report

Jacks came home from his school's Book Fair with a book about the Titanic, and he has been fascinated for the past several weeks. We have since borrowed more than 10 books on the subject from the library, as well as watched the movie (though we skipped a couple of the steamier scenes).

So when Jacks had to write a book report this weekend and create his own cover, of course he chose a Titanic book. He drew the ship freehand on poster board, colored it, and then traced it so he would have a back cover, too. On a couple of pages inside, he wrote his report.

Finding the Titanic is a book about a really big ship. It had lots of fancy rooms. Some people thought it was unsinkable. But it hit an iceberg and sank. Many years later, a submarine went down and took pictures of the shipwreck. They also found a doll's head, a bottle, and a rusty bathtub. It was a sad book.

He did such a great job!

Happy Birthday/Graduation K-Kate!

My sister, Kate, was here in Dallas for a visit this weekend so we finally got a chance to celebrate her birthday and her graduation (from Harvard's School of Public Health, woohoo!). The boys adore their aunt K-Kate and were all very excited to see her.

We had an all-out party, complete with hats, streamers, balloons and blowers. Much fun was had by all. :)


And then there was cake. I mean Kate. Cake for Kate. Kate with a cake. Yeah, that.


I'm not sure how much of the cake actually went IN Luke's tummy, but plenty ended up ON it. :)


No more pictures, Mama! It's embarrassing!

Hey Luke, I think you have a little something....right there....

Happy Birthday and Happy Graduation Kate! We love you!

Cody's First/Last Days of School

Cody had his last day of school yesterday. He has really enjoyed every aspect of school this year: he adored his teachers, made some good friends and learned a lot. If you click on the comparison above, you can see a bigger version...the one on the left is from the first day of school back in August, and I took the one on the right yesterday morning.

And just because he was so proud of his spiky hair and the weather was beautiful, I took a few more shots of my handsome little guy outside. It's hard to believe he only has one more year of preschool!