Carvin' Time

Last Tuesday night, we ate dinner early so we could spend some time carving pumpkins. 

As with last year, we let Jackson pull the guts out which once again was his favorite part.

Audri supervised the process

BJ let Jackson choose what he wanted him to carve and of course he picks one of the hardest patterns, Spiderman.  In contrast, I chose to carve an A for Audri, freehand.  :)

 

Finished product

Hunting Season

I'm just going to be up front and say this is not my favorite time of year.  Fall... I love fall (with the exception of the smoke this year) but what comes at the end of fall is hunting season.  Which of course means I lose my husband, best friend and the daddy to my children.  It sucks... I'm not going to sugar coat it. 

With that said, nothing beats hearing the excitement in your husband's voice when he calls to say he got one and knowing he is having the time of his life.  That's what happened a few Friday's ago as I was heading back to my desk at work and my cell phone rang.  I could tell the minute I answered it that he had gotten something.  It started off with "Babe, guess what?" and followed with "I got one... a pretty big one."  And even though I had only gotten about four hours of sleep the night before being a single Mom at home with a sick child, I was happy for him.  So happy for him.  Because that's what it's all about when you love someone.  When he's happy, it makes me happy.

And before I ramble on further, here's BJ's elk he got a couple weekends ago...

 

 

 

 

 

Six Months

Lots to catch up on as I'm feeling WAY behind.  But first things first and that means blogging about our little girl hitting the six month mark.  Wow is pretty much all I feel like I can say.  I feel like I'm going to blink and I will be writing about her being a year.  The last six months have been the quickest, most rich six months of my life.  I still feel like I'm learning and adjusting every day to being a working mama of two young babes.  I've loved every moment... even the hard ones and wouldn't trade it for the world.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, we feel so blessed that we were able to bring another child into this world.  She has been the perfect addition to our family.

Audri girl.... you are a great baby.  So content just hanging out, playing with your toys, pulling off your socks or watching your brother.  You love him more than I can describe and it makes my heart feel like it's going to burst.  Two bottom teeth popped through this last month and the only symptoms you showed were pink cheeks and lots of drool.  You laugh often and at pretty much anything, especially your crazy brother.  The dog has become a focus for you lately and you'll watch her from across the room.  You love it when we let you pet her... and we have to watch it because you'll pull her ears. 

You are exploring the world of foods and so far you've tried mostly veggies.  It's questionable whether you're actually swallowing the food but each time you eat you are getting better and better.  When you sit on my lap, we have little game we play.  You look back at me just to make sure I'm still there and of course it makes me smile which in turn makes you smile. 

I love you to pieces Audri girl.  Even though you've only been here six short months, I cannot imagine life without you, my sweet girl.  You are everything I dreamed of when I longed for another child.

Six Month Stats:

Height - 27 inches (86%)
Weight - 16lbs 8oz (54%)
Head - 18.25 inches (100%+) basically creating it's own curve... so much so that the doctor remeasured it to make sure the nurse didn't screw up

     

Holiday Spirit

BJ and I both love to decorate for holidays and we are SO happy that Jackson is now at the age that he wants to help us (and he loves to decorate too).  Last weekend we added a little Halloween spirit to our house... 

First up was putting some Halloween decals on our windows

Then we hung some spider lights above our slider

And put out the scary spider (as Jackson calls it)... this one is his favorite decoration of all

  (sister liked the feeling of the scary spider)

We also put pumpkins on the porch and put out our little scarecrow people.  It now officially feels like fall!

Four

Can't believe our bubba man is four.  I have to admit, this birthday was a hard one for me.  I think it is mostly because I feel like we are going from having a toddler to having a little boy.  It seems like Jacksie acts more grown up by the day... saying new things, having new expressions, etc.  Underneath his crazy, rough shell, he has a heart of gold. I'm so proud of the caring, thoughtful young man he is becoming.  He makes me thankful for every day I get to spend with him.

I decided to interview him this year and document his answers.  As anticipated, it was hilarious.  Here are his answers to my questions...

what is your name? Jackson Mitchell
how old are you? four of these (holding up his fingers)
what is your favorite color? red
who is your best friend? Grant
what is your favorite food? spaghetti (this one really made me laugh because he hates it)
what is your favorite drink? milk
what is your favorite toy? dump trucks
what is your favorite show? woody (toy story)
what is your favorite book? firemans (even fireman go to the potty)
what is your favorite song? halloween (huh?)
what is your favorite thing to do? read a book
what is your favorite snack? peanut butter and jelly
what do you like to take to bed with you? lizard, giraffe-e and walty
what makes you happy? giraffe-e
what do you want to be when you grow up? Jackson Mitchell :)

four year stats:

height - 41.5 inches (76%)
weight - 36.5 lbs (54%)

And BJ and I always suspected that he has good vision... heck he can spot a spider a mile away.  Sure enough, he nailed the vision chart. 20/10 in each eye.  Makes sense now!