Last Day of School and Five Months

Last day of school, hurray!!!  Tessa is so excited about summer vacation and so am I.  No more car line, no more packing lunches, no more missing Tessa all day.  Mrs. Crocker was wonderful, it was a good year and Tessa learned so much in kindergarten.  My favorite line from her teacher is "Tessa reads beautifully!"  Yes she does and I am so proud of her.   I plan to do summer homework including reading, math, speech and writing most days.  Hopefully we will be well prepared for first grade in a few months.  She looks so grown up compared to how she looked when school started.  It's amazing the difference a year makes. 

And speaking of amazing differences, look at Little Man.  He's five months old and 17lbs 3oz.  He nurses all the time.  He's better about eating cereal now that I mix it with breast milk.  I would like to wait until six months before I introduce more foods.  He's happy and so fun.  His pincer grasp is well developed.  He grabs everything in site, especially hair.  He took a few sips of water out of my cup, he wants whatever I have.  He is trying to suck his thumb but I keep giving him the Wubanub binkie with the bear attached.  He may actually be sleeping through the night. 

Dance Recital

A prettier ballerina I have never seen.  My baby is absolutely gorgeous in her ballet costume. 

I was the backstage mom again this year.  Things went very smoothly since I had two other moms to help this time.  I love that Tessa wants me around and I treasure these times with her.  She had two dances, The Glow for ballet and Magic Mirror for tap.  The Glow was so sweet I nearly cried watching them.  And I marveled at how Tessa's tap skills have improved, her step-ball-change was fabulous!  This year the recital was held at Furman University which made for some wonderful pictures.

Tessa's BFF came to watch and even brought my ballerina flowers.  Miss Tobie helped my mom and Ryan with Jackson during the long performance.     

Daddy had flowers for the tiny dancer too. 

 And Gamma's flowers were the most beautiful of all.

A nice family shot of all four of us.  We are so proud of Tessa and how hard she has worked at dance this year. 

After such an eventful day, we marked a milestone with Jackson.  He slept in his crib in the nursery all night.  Don't misunderstand, he did not sleep through the night by any stretch.  But each time we laid him back down in his crib rather than the cradle.  I managed not to break down when I saw the empty cradle in our room.  How is it that he is already old enough to move to his own room? 

Happy Memorial Day

How cute that Tessa wants to hold Jackson?  She is a wonderful big sister who is just thrilled to have a baby brother.  And I love the look on Jackson's face, he is so tolerant. 

 

Jackson is sitting well, except when he loses his balance and folds in half.  I just love those blue eyes and cute little toes. 

Charleston & Isle of Palms

Happy 15th anniversary to us!  With our newest addition and all the excitement of the previous months we weren't sure we would be up for our usual May trip.  Lucky for us, our friend works for the Orient Hotel chain and he helped us get fabulous rooms at the Charleston Place Hotel.  We stayed in a concierge suite with an extra room attached room for the kiddos.  Our hotel room was bigger than the apartment where we lived as newlyweds!      

We lunched at the courtyard café and swam in the heated rooftop pool.  Ryan had arranged to have wine and strawberries waiting for us in the room so we enjoyed that.  We also had unlimited access to hors d'oeuvres and an open bar.  Tessa was treated to complimentary room service with warm cookies and milk.  We were having so much fun living like rich people that we had to force ourselves to leave the hotel and explore the city.  My mini me and I took off to shop and take pictures.   

We then moved out to Isle of Palms for the beach part of our vacation.  We stayed at Wild Dunes which is a sprawling planned community on the island.  Our condo was nice and so was the weather.  I accidentally let Tessa get sunburned because we stayed on the beach for hours and hours.  Jackson was a trooper, nursing and sleeping and playing on the beach.  If we had known how well he would travel we might have planned a longer trip!  The crowds were light and we had a wonderful time. 

 



Jackson's New Tricks

He loves to play with his toes.

 Somebody thinks he's big drinking water out of a sippy cup!

The Greek Festival

The Greek Festival is a fun event downtown that we like to attend.  I had a Greek "uncle" in Texas and so my mom and I have a soft spot for Greek people and we really like Greek food.  This was Jackson's first time to the festival.  Tessa loves the sweet treats and Ryan loves the gyros.  I love it all.  My mom could be Greek in her blue.

There were carnival type rides that kept Tessa entertained.  There was also live music and dancing which is always fun.

In other news, this is how Jackson and I roll these days.  He absolutely hates the stroller and screams when I try to put him in it.  He also hates the carseat which makes carpool line fun in the afternoons. But he is pretty content in this carrier.  He rides adventure style now which is facing outward.  He used to ride kangaroo style which is facing inward.  We walk the neighborhood and wooded paths and it keeps me from going stir crazy.   Um, what I really mean is, it provides him with some fresh air and stimulation.  

Happy Mother's Day & Jackson's Dedication

This year was my first Mother's Day as a momma of two.  We dedicated Jackson at church that morning.  In the ceremony we promised to raise Jackson in a Christ centered home where we will teach him to love and know Jesus.  Jackson Ryan means God is gracious, little king.  We chose Psalm 103:8 "The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness" because God has been so gracious to us, gifting us with two wonderful children.  

After church, we went to our traditional lunch at the Poinsett.  We were actually early, something that doesn't usually happen in our world.  And so, we had time for a champagne toast before lunch, how  lovely.   

Happy Mother's Day to my mom.  You are beautiful and generous and kind.  It is truly special to witness the bond you share with my children.  I am lucky to have you as my Mommy and they are lucky to have you as their Gamma. 

 These two babies make joy bloom in my heart.  I love being their Momma. 

After lunch, we headed to the pool.  I sat with Jackson and watched Tessa and Ryan swim.  A pretty perfect Mother's Day in my book. 

Race for Adoption

Each year, a local church hosts a Race for Adoption.  Proceeds go to a local family who is adopting.  Obviously, adoption is near and dear to my heart.  Without it, I wouldn't have my wonderful daughter.  So, when the advertising signs came out this year, I signed up for my first 5K. 

I am not a runner.  I prefer to stay in shape with spin and yoga.  However, I wanted to do this race and I figured it would help me lose my baby weight.  Using the Couch to 5K program I trained for several weeks before the race.  It's a nine week training program but I didn't exactly plan ahead and give myself that much time.  I reasoned that since I'm not a total couch potato, I could just skip the first several weeks of training.  This still left me one week short, so as of race day, I had never actually run the whole 3.1 miles.  Plus, I wasn't exactly recovered from my case of bronchitis, thank you Jackson for sharing that with me.  But, despite all of that, I was determined to run.  Here we go!

I ran without a phone or a watch, not too smart.  I had planned to do a test run the week before to learn the route, but that never happened.  So I was basically running blind.  Along the way there were cheering stations and when one group shouted "only one mile left" I thought I would die.  Surely I had to be closer to the finish line than that!  Then I came around a corner and could see the end.  There was my family and my sweet baby girl holding a sign and cheering.  I FINISHED!!!      

I was so touched that Ryan had taken the time to help Tessa make a sign for me that I cried.  She is such a great cheerleader!  Yea for Adoption is absolutely right.  I love you too Tessa!   

Four Months & First Cereal

Jackson had his four month check up and got a great report.  He is off the charts tall, measuring 27 3/4 inches.  He is 15lbs 8oz which puts him at 54% on the growth chart.  He is a growing boy.  The doctor said that I could start cereal if I wanted to.  I'm torn between starting solids now or waiting until he is 6 months old, there are conflicting views about when to introduce food.  I decided to go ahead with a little bit of rice cereal.

I fed Tessa in this position for months but it is not so easy with Jackson who is bigger and wigglier.  We moved right on to the highchair after this first time.  Jackson is undecided about whether or not he likes cereal.  At this point, food is about learning how to eat more than nutrition so it's okay that he only takes a few spoonfuls a day.  Tessa, however, thinks it's the coolest thing in the world to feed him.  She is so sweet wanting to take care of him!

Nanny Paula Visits

Nanny Paula was able to come back to visit the week before Mother's Day.  Tessa has a ball playing with her.  We shopped, went out to eat and hung out on the patio enjoying the nice weather.  Nanny read Tessa books and they snuggled in the chair. 

 Jackson played on his playmat.  I am actually able to put him down for a few minutes!

Ryan took his mom out for a Mother's Day lunch, just the two of them and they had a nice time.  I hope Jackson will want to do things like that with me when he's an adult.  Meanwhile, my parents and I went out with my grandma's best friend Alice Jane.  She was in town and wanted to meet Jackson.  She happily held my wiggly son and was amazed that he is already trying to stand up.  None of us can believe that Granny has been gone for over a year.  It was great to see Alice Jane again and I was so glad Jackson behaved in the restaurant.  Eating out has not been easy for us lately.

Jackson thinks Tessa is the most entertaining person.  I don't know if it's because she is so animated or because she is the closest to his size or what, but she can really make him laugh.  When she really gets him going he sounds like a squeaky toy.  I love, love, love hearing them giggle together!

 I'm so glad it's starting to warm up.  We watched Tessa play on the swing set in the backyard and when we went downtown for lunch we were able to sit at a table outside.  Jackson's bronchitis improved and we were all a little perkier with some sunshine.  Thanks for coming to visit Nanny Paula!