Disneyland

My cousin Jenna works at Disneyland, so she was able to get us in for free! Thank you, Jenna! We had such a fun day. She spent the first hour with us and then left for work. Then it was the boys, my dad, and me. While it was really crowded walking around, the lines actually weren't too bad. Jackson barely cracked a smile the whole day, but he was so tolerant of all the stimulation. He loved every ride, and just kept looking around taking it all in. And of course the older two were in heaven.

Some of San Diego

We got in lots of family time in San Diego. Great Grandma Joyce was visiting and got to meet Jackson for the first time. So cute! She will be 89 in August and she's still got it!

I got to go with my mom to my friend Pernel's baby shower. She's having her second little boy and we're so excited for them. Also got to catch up with some other good friends I hadn't seen in a while, like Lisa. She has five little ones under 6. She's my hero!

Grammy makes sure Jackson is well fed, but neatness is not one of her strong suits:) He didn't mind!

Austin and Daddy at the fair.

We put Jackson on a pony ride at the fair. I was skeptical, but Papa insisted. It was priceless. You can see for yourself. This kid was meant to be a cowboy!

We went out for a nice dinner to "Duke's" one evening. The boys looked so darling all matching. 

With Grammy and Papa. 

Grammy and her baby doll.

Saying goodbye to Uncle Jeff.

After a long day of travel, we were so glad to be home. This little guy slept 20 min during the whole 7 hours of flying time. Not ideal, but at least he wasn't crying. Love to be with the fam in California, but also happy to be home.

Summer fun

The first two weeks of summer we were in San Diego and had a blast. I will do another post on that. Since we've been home, we've been enjoying our city. We went to a splash pad at the waterfront in Downtown Norfolk. It was small and understated, but the boys had such a blast. And they had comfy chairs and umbrellas for the observers. We'll definitely go back. With all this humidity, the boys are craving to be in the water at least once a day. Thankfully, lots of our friends have pool access so that's worked out well. Last week we went swimming three times.

There's been lots of playing at home. Legos, Power Rangers, and Star Wars are the popular imaginative play of the moment.

Papa updated his frame with a new fair picture. He loves these boys and they love him!

He even sent us some mini donuts from the fair, since we didn't end up being able to get some while we were there (they closed earlier than we thought!). Coming out of our humid mailbox, they were warm and delicious!

We went to Charlottesville for the 4th of July. It was raining on the 4th, but we did our own fireworks show the night before and the boys loved it so much. We did the same thing last year but I was one week away from having Jackson, so this year I was much more comfortable. What a difference the year makes!

We have also spent some time with Pete's work friends. That's one of things we will miss the  most about living here. He has amazing colleagues and they are so sweet to include us in their fun. Chris and Andrea built a pizza oven in their backyard, so they hosted a pizza night and it was amazing. SO unique (and so much work for them) and we had the best time!


And then Parker fell down their stairs. He's a tough guy!

We went to a farm in Hampton that had some farm animals and a great play structure. The boys loved it.

End of Preschool for Austin

Austin had a great year in preschool. It started out a little rough. He's a homebody and likes to play primarily by himself, but that's why preschool was so good for him. It really challenged him to make new friends, be a friend, and separate from mama with more confidence. There were many days when he complained, "It's just too long!" but he would go anyway and every day he returned home happy and excited about what he did that day. Mrs. Noel was an amazing teacher for him showing him love and compassion at every turn. After we were in the car accident, his separation anxiety flared up again, but she was so patient and concerned for him. He looked forward to seeing her every school day and I left him knowing he was in such good hands. He brings her up out of the blue every now and then saying, "I wonder what Miss Noel is doing? I miss Miss Noel." What a special lady and we will miss her. They had a sweet performance the last week of school. So glad we found this special preschool for my kids.

A family picture where everyone is looking. Victory!

Happy First Birthday Jackson Luke

July 13... it's July 13th! This has been the fastest year of my life. It's been amazing. It helps that Jackson has been an "easy" baby, but beyond that he's really just so sweet and joyful, he can't help but make everyone around him happy too. He loves his brothers and is already trying to get in on the action playing with his brothers. No baby toys for this kid. He wants swords, light sabers, and balls. He loves playing catching and rolling the ball back and forth. And he also attempts to wrestle with them when they are down on the ground. He's a mamas boy, but he'll let anyone hold him, as long as he doesn't see me! It took him a while to figure out chewing and swallowing real food (without gagging), but he competently pinches cheerios, Life cereal, yogurt melts, strawberries, and loves all kinds of baby food. He still is clueless about how to suck from a sippy cup and I don't even think he could manage a bottle if he tried. HE still nurses well and has figured out how not to bite me. He has four teeth on top and two on the bottom. I love his toothy grin. He loves to laugh and wave. He recently learned how to shake is head to jokingly say "no"! When we're in the car he babbles the WHOLE WAY! He says: mama, dada, dead (he thinks it's hilarious for us to say a big number and then he says dead... guess you had to be there), ball, all done, buh bye, and hi. Some of those words sound similar but in context you can tell he is really trying to communicate. He crawls everywhere (started at about 10 months), and can pull up on his knees, but rarely goes to standing. He hasn't attempted the stairs yet (thank goodness), but he's quick and unpredictable. He loves the bath and LOVES swimming! He loves when I spin him around in the pool. I get comments EVERY TIME I'm in public about his beautiful eyes. He's a heartbreaker for sure. He loves to cuddle on my shoulder and every time he looks at me, it just feels like life couldn't get any better. He's a delight and such a special part of our family. Can't wait to see this special boy learn and grow over the next year! Happy Birthday, Jackson. You're the best!

Hard stuff

It seems like the world is full of hard stuff lately. Natural disasters, intentional disasters, life disasters, sadness, loss... sometimes it feels like too much. As a mom it feels so heavy to send our kids out into a world where they are going to face adversity and hate. But I feel it a privilege and a duty to teach my kids that while hard things happen to everyone and while sometimes life can seem unfair, they have the power to do good and there is a whole slew of people around them that are on a mission to do good as well. 

A family that we knew in Ann Arbor is going through something terribly hard right now. Their 18 year old daughter fell 50 feet from a cliff while hiking with her brother. She suffered severe trauma and is in a coma. Her prognosis is unknown at this point, and the family is relying on their faith and miracle to see their daughter's eyes open again. Such a freak accident, and no one is immune from that type of tragedy. I can't imagine the pain of having a healthy child one minute and then see that same child struggling to survive the next. My heart goes out to those grieving parents and her siblings who so desperately want their sister back. In support of that family, we've been posting pics of our family in Michigan gear #conqueringheroesforAbby. It's amazing to see people from around the country uniting in support for her recovery. 

And then there's the scary stuff that makes headlines every day. It's hard to feel safe anywhere any more. I love this quote by MLK Jr:

We can't raise the next generation to accept hatred, racism, and disrespect as a way of life. But if it's what they are seeing, it's what they will repeat. We can break the cycle. We can role model how we deal with differences in a civil way. We can show them how to love and be kind, even if we are hurting. We have no other option if we want our nation to not become divided against itself. Love and kindness are powerful gestures that can solve problems, smooth over differences, unite us, and heal our broken hearts. We know that there will be adversity in this life, but it's how we deal with it. Blaming and continuing to hurt the "other side" will NEVER bring about peace. It will only perpetuate the cycle. We've come so far... I just don't want us to go back. 

Brotherly love photos

My mom and I took the boys to get some photos taken of the boys while I was home. They came out so cute! Love these three, unique cuties so much!