Summer Fun!

We have seriously been having a blast of a summer. Perhaps because Jackson is old enough to really appreciate it now, or that I'm not working like crazy the way have in past summers and I'm forced to find things to do, but we have been chock full of entertainment all summer long, and it's only half way through. Today we went to the pool and Jackson swam for 2 and a half hours. He is swimming better than some of the 6 year olds at our pool. He dives for toys at the bottom of the pool, swims underwater, jumps in, and basically loves being in the water. It also makes for a great nap :).

These are a few pics from the fireworks and family festival on 4th of July. We spent the day with Tristan, Michael and Krista - a couple hours at the pool, then a picnic and fireworks. Tons of fun!

Jackson - very proud to recognize the letters of his name above on a restaurant.

Oops, we missed June...

But only because we've been having so much fun! Jackson and I spent time visiting with our friends from New Zealand, who we haven't seen in 6 years. We had a blast! Jackson loved hanging with Brooke, Mim and Mike's little girl.

The Dreaded "Kent"rosauras. Jackson was terrified. This was a dinosaur themed park right next to the outlets out on the 10. Mike kindly took the kids to so Mim and I could partake in our favorite past time of retail therapy.

Brooke and Jackson making "paint" out of chalk.

That's Jackson with a Dragon painted on his face, just like the one next to him at Disneyland.

We will miss our Kiwi friends. Hoping we see them again in less than 6 years.

More Birthday Pics

Happy Day!

We celebrated Jackson's 3rd birthday last weekend with a construction themed party in the backyard. We had some friends from Jack's school over and family friends here. It was tons of fun and Jack had blast! Ice Cream cake, dump truck pinata, pizza, baseball with the dads, digging in the sandbox, bubbles and of course plenty of presents made the afternoon awesome. Here are some pics with more to follow...

Easter - a little late...

I got a bit behind on blogging and feel like I should update since early April. Jackson had 4 easter egg hunts. One at school, one at our local park, one after church and another at home with Kai after Easter dinner. needless to say he had a busy weekend. Our local park had a big festival with crafts, games and a petting zoo. He had a blast - and when we got home, dad had painted his bedroom. It's finally finished and quite hip for a 3 year old. Modern robots, ikea storage and a cool planet light. He's very proud of his room...

Disney's CA Adventures

We headed to Anaheim for the 9th (wow!) time in the past 10 months yesterday thanks to our Disney pass. It was our first trip to Disney with the Cooks. Tristan and Jackson had such a blast together. They would find any moment to laugh, chase each other, or even walk ahead of the parents to have some toddler chat. It was my our first glimpse into the days when we won't be cool anymore to them. I'm not sure I'll handle that so well :).

Tristan had an autograph book and made it his mission to meet every character and get their autograph. I always say it's been a decent day at Disney if we get through 3 rides or attractions. We made it to about 10. Not too bad for two three year olds without naps.

Before we headed out, I picked up a grilled cheese for Jackson to eat in the car. Before we had left the parking lot, the sandwich was half eaten and laying on his chest. He passed out in 5 minutes and slept straight through to this morning.

On another note, we saw the movie food inc - thanks to the Cooks and Powells - and have become a bit freaked out by the amount of toxic stuff we've been feeding to ourselves and Jackson. We've always been a healthy family, but have made a decision to eat more organic options, grass fed meats and less processed foods. We even have 4 organic tomato plants started in the back yard, and plan to add more veggies to our garden in the next weeks. We'll keep you posted on the progress.

Springtime!

Spring is here in LA. Of course, spring in LA basically means beach weather. We've been spending lots of time outside. Which makes Jackson very happy, and mom even happier because it means more options for entertaining a toddler. We've also had lots of play dates recently. We've been hanging out with Tristan, Kai, Penny and Garrett from school came over today. I've really enjoyed not having a day job. Spending more time being a mom, working on the house, and being an actor. It's been less stressful, and Jackson has enjoyed the time with me as well.

Jackson is now able to play a game from start to finish and even follow the rules! He whipped Daddy's butt today on Memory, and played an entire game of candyland. At the moment, he's beating Kent in bowling on the wii :)

Next week we are heading to Disneyland and will finally start painting Jackson's room. Here are a few pics from the past month.

Jackson's favorite sayings

Jackson loves television. As much as his mommy. He loves commercials, cartoons, live action and anything that has music. He even likes to point out when my Toyota commercial is on - even when it's not. Because of his love of TV, Jackson has picked up all kinds of sayings, in addition to copying most of what mom and dad say. Here are a few of his current faves:

* tilting his head to the side and cutting his eyes while saying, "are you sure about that, mom?"

* telling me he is, "not interested in you right now" (one of mom's usual speeches)

* "I gotcha dad, I gotcha," meaning - I understand dad.

* "I went poopy in the potty!" - to EVERYONE we know (also popular is "I went peepee")

* "You are not being nice, mommy" - often after I tell him he can't do something.

Of course I can barely remember most of them now. I'll remember to post them as they come...

Rainy Days

Jackson has been very excited by all the rain we've been having. Umbrellas are fascinating, puddles are amazing, and the pouring rain outside makes for great TV time. He and Kent have both been under the weather for the past week, making for a lot of time indoors as well. Since we have redone his room - he spends a lot of time in there playing by himself, a treat for mom and dad. He's finally started taking naps again in the big boy bed, and back to sleeping through the night, so we can finally catch up. We never imagined after sleep training at 6 months that we'd still be struggling to get a full night at 2 1/2 years. On a positive note, Jackson is almost completely potty trained at home. 8 days straight now with only one accident. He's even taken a couple of naps without one this past week. Now to get him potty trained at school...that is the next challenge.

Holiday Time!

We have made one of our New's Years Resolutions to keep up with the blog more frequently. Or if you notice the date of the last post, at least more than once every 11 months. Christmas was fun - it took Jackson almost 4 and half hours to open all his gifts. He had a blast! We have recently redone his whole room - new bed, linens and toy storage. We plan on painting in the next couple of weeks and adding some neat graphics to his walls. He was so excited when Kent put the bed together, he couldn't stop laughing. He's been so thrilled to have a neat big boy bed that he hasn't been sleeping to well, but finally took a nap today, so progress is being made!