Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2012 #30

Up:

• I almost don't want to list this so as not to jinx everything, but Jackson is showing some signs of improvement in the eating area. He are a whole container of yogurt the other day and another day ate a whole pop tart. That is huge for him. Kennedy is really starting to eat a lot more 'people' food now and I've been trying to go over the top at telling her how good she is doing so Jackson will crave the praise and do the same. It works for some things, but now if he doesn't want it he hands it to Kennedy and says, "Kennedy will eat it...good job!" Still have a ways to go, but it feels good to see some inkling of a light at the end of the tunnel. Also, feeling very blessed that so far Kennedy eats everything!
• This was our last weekend in Alabama, so Mike and I decided to take advantage of having a babysitter close by and go on a date. I admit I really didn't want to see the Batman Movie, but when you get the opportunity to go on a date you can't be too choosy. I absolutely loved it! It is my favorite one of the entire trilogy and I'm really glad Mike convinced me to go. I will say that while watching the movie I did think about everyone in Aurora quite a bit and how scary that would be. So hard to believe that people have so much hate in their hearts that they could commit such awful crimes.
• Jackson and Kennedy are really starting to play together now; it is so cute. Jackson will read books (as best as he can remember what happens) to Kennedy and share his toys. The only time he gets really territorial is when Kennedy reaches for blankie. The cutest is when Jackson plays peek-a-boo with her; Kennedy just laughs and laughs! I look forward to many years of their laughter as they become the best of friends!

We went back to the indoor bouncy place again this week and Kennedy enjoyed crawling around while brother played.

Jackson does a fabulous job with this obstacle course! 

Jackson is going down the super fast slide!

Our baby turned 9 months old this week - seriously going by way too quickly.

It will be great to get back to our baby proofed home!

My little stud wearing his aviators and my flip flops with his shark jams!

I seriously thought this was genius, Jackson put my exercise band around his neck to pretend it was a stethoscope. Then he came up to me and said he was going to give me a check-up and listen to my heart beep!

Waffle House - Jackson eating all the chocolate chips off his waffle. 

Sharing with Dad!

Jackson looked so grown up on Saturday! He got a big boy hair cut and was wearing his new (size 8.5) shoes.  Both the kiddos are getting too big too quickly.

Playing with brother!

Jackson giving Kennedy loves - precious!

Down:

• The thought of cleaning the apartment and packing everything into the car just makes me want to take a nap instead! We have purchased quite a few things that have to fit in the car on the way home. Not to mention the fact that I WILL be buying some stuff at the Container Store on our way through Houston too that also has to fit. Plus we have to have this apartment spick and span for our inspection on Friday so we get our deposit back. The hard part about cleaning is that we still have to live in the space while we are cleaning it and that is easier said than done with little ones. There is a saying on Pinterest that cleaning your house with toddlers is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos - so true!

Favorite Thing:

 One of the best things about being in the South is the fabulous food! Sorry Idaho, but you have a long way to go to come even close to tasting as good as the South! We've taken full advantage of having so much great food accessible. We've definitely eaten out more than our share, but when we're back in our house in Idaho with very few options, I think we'll be glad we did! Some of the places we've frequented while down here are Jason's Deli, Dreamland Barbecue, Jim & Nick's Barbecue, Chick-fil-A (why they don't have these everywhere in Idaho - I do not know), Panera Bread, McCallister's, and a lot more. My favorite has to be Moe's Southwest Grill though. We used to eat there a lot when we lived in Pensacola, but they haven't had any close to where we've lived since. They offer $5.50 burritos on Monday and I'm proud to say we've been there EVERY Monday since we got to town. Today will be our last Moe's Monday :( You should check out their website and see if there is a location close to you. Get plenty of El Guapo salsa and enjoy!

Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down 2012 #29

Up:

• This week went by really fast. The kids were able to do some type of play date almost every day. Play dates are awesome because that means a good nap will always follow! It's been pretty humid here and when it's not too hot and humid to go out it's raining, so we've had to find more activities to do indoors. 

We went to the Galleria in Birmingham on Saturday and Jackson and Mike rode the train around the mall! Jackson loved it!

Then we had to ride the carousel too! He wanted to ride on the giraffe, but that was apparently the only animal that didn't move, so we switched to a horse. Jackson kept saying YeeHaw and waving to all the people in the mall!

Mike was being a good citizen and returning the scooter to the inside of the store before it rained, but I think he enjoyed it a little too much!

• While Jackson still gets sent to time-out a lot he is getting better at understanding the reasons behind why he is in trouble.  When he's finished with his 'time' in time-out, he has to tell you what he did wrong. He can now tell you every time. It makes me happy that he is learning right and wrong which actually has cut down on the number of times he goes to time-out!
• There is a regional clearance center for Dillard's here just down the road from our apartment. I can't believe I just discovered it two weeks before we are going home. At any rate I got some neat things yesterday at great prices!

I bought these things that attach to your pants when you are wearing the tall winter boots for $6(orig. $18) and these awesome knives for cutting melons and pumpkins for $8.73 each(orig. $24.95). I love a good deal!

Down:

• I missed some pretty significant events this weekend. My 10 year high school reunion was Friday and Saturday. Crazy to believe it's already been 10 years since I walked the halls of Levelland High School! The good news is that I keep up with a lot of my classmates on Facebook, so I can see how there lives have changed over the years. However, I would still loved to have seen them all in person.
• The other event was Mike and I's friend, Lisa Meyers' (now Applegate) wedding. She is seriously the sweetest person ever and I'm so happy for her. I know the celebration was an unforgettable one. All of our friends and family that went to TTU/St. E's were down for the wedding and gave Mike's sister, Laura, a big surprise 30th bday party. We missed out on all that fun too. Oh, the sacrifices we make being away from family and friends to live the military life.

Favorite Thing:

Even though summer is coming to a close soon, there is still plenty of warm weather to sport those flip flops. You can't sport flip flops without polish on your tootsies! My Mom discovered this awesome base coat that keeps the polish on your toes without chipping for a VERY LONG time! Honestly it doesn't come off, you end up having to take it off because your toenails have grown so much that there is an area that doesn't have polish. It's called Orly Bonder and is sort of pricey at $10/bottle at ULTA. It lasts a long time though so it's definitely worth it. Every time we visit my parents I always go get a pedicure from the lady my Mom goes to. It's funny because she knows exactly who we are when we walk in with our ziploc of nail polish!

Thumbs Up/ Thumbs Down 2012 #28

Up:

• Hope everyone had a fabulous Independence Day! We headed to Columbus, Georgia to hang out with Mike's Aunt Donna, Uncle Kent, and kids Reed, Kristen, and Madison. Donna pulled out all the kids old toys and Jackson had a blast! He's been somewhat toy deprived since we didn't have much space in the van to pack toys other than some blocks. He loved this little money machine and Reed's favorite childhood toy - his rocking horse, Wonder! It was so great to see them; our visits are too few and far between and everyone changes so much. Last time we visited was before Mike and I were married. Wish I had gotten some pics with everyone in them.

My little red, white and blue angels!

I love Kennedy in this pic! Where's Kennedy?!

There she is!

Jackson riding Reed's old rocking horse, Wonder!

Kennedy was cheering him on.

YeeHaw!

• Friday after Mike got off work we headed to Pensacola, Florida for the weekend. It's been way too long since we've been back. We lived there from 2005-2008 and absolutely loved it. This was also the kids first time to go to the beach. They both really liked it. Kennedy preferred the water and Jackson like playing in the sand. We also enjoyed some good shopping and food. The weekend flew by way too quickly.

Kennedy with Daddy at the museum on base. 

Jackson loved getting to sit in all the planes!

Of course his favorite part was the indoor play place, we couldn't pull him away when it was closing time!

Building sand castles on the beach!

My camera fogged up from the humidity, but she looks so adorable!

Eating sand!

Brent and Heather came down to join us.

Brent showing Jackson how it's done!

Kennedy passed out while Mike was holding her in the water, sleepy girl!

at McGuire's Irish Pub - best food ever!

Big mistake ordering one of these; I'm a lightweight anyway when it comes to drinking, but this was super strong.

I only made it 3/4 of the way through it before I decided I wanted to be able to walk out of the restaurant on my own!

Down:

• Jackson hasn't had much exposure to thunderstorms in Idaho so he is getting a whole new education here. On Tuesday night a thunderstorm started right as we were putting him to bed. He was terrified. We kept putting him to bed and he would just scream and cry he was so scared. I tried telling him the God was having a bowling party which calmed him down for a little while, but then he said he wanted to God to go back to church! There were endless trips back and forth from our room to Jackson's and none of us really got much sleep. Hopefully there won't be many more nights like that.
• It was sort of weird having the 4th on a Wednesday. It made for an odd week. Mike was off Wed. and Thurs., but had to go back to work on Friday. I missed having a 3 day weekend especially since we went to P-Cola for the weekend.

Favorite Thing:

One of the great reasons I love my iphone is the Pandora Radio App! You have access to all sorts of awesome music for free! I'm constantly playing music around the house. It's a good break from the silence and the kids really like it too. My favorite stations right now are the Summer Oldies station and if you enter in the artist David Nevue there is wonderful piano music (thanks to Sally and Martha for getting me started with that station)! It's almost like a sound track to your life just playing in the background. Plus it's portable! They even had patriotic music for the 4th and great holiday stations around Christmas time!