Eli's baby...

This past week, Eli has taken to Jackson's baby. This is the baby we got Jackson when we were pregnant with Eli to prepare him in advance for what was coming. Jackson sleeps with this baby everynight & when we go out of town, we take him with us along with the "blue blankie." So, to say the least, he is not too hip on sharing his baby. (Yes, his name is just baby- we tried to name him, but it didn't take). So Wednesday, when Jackson was at preschool, i let Eli play with the baby (because Jackson wasn't around to have a fit). He carried the baby around, placing him on the bike, on the couch, & finally put him in his booster at the table & pretended to feed him. It was really sweet. So, i called Aunt Becca in for a favor (me being frugal & all). Leah LOVES babies & has a blue million of them, so i was wondering if Leah could possibly be a blessing to Eli & give him one of her babies. So this was how i found Eli asleep that Wednesday night......

Leah (& Aunt Becca) brought him a baby to church that night & he held tight to it the whole way home (in his carseat with him) & proudly showed it to his Daddy when we got home. The baby even has little blue shoes & blue & white clothes to help Daddy feel a little better about the whole baby thing! But lets face it- Eli needs to learn to be nurturing too, because his Daddy sure is!

Early Valentine.....

Today Jackson's preschool class was having their valentine party. So last night we got all the valentines together. Jackson signed his name to each one & printed each classmates name on each one once i wrote it for him to copy. He is getting so big these days & it amazes me that he is figuring out so much. He has learned to write "mom, dad, lola, eli, emma, & leah" all from memory. I hope this all pays off in Kindergarten next year! Well back to the reason for this post. When i arrived at school today, he greeted me like this......

How cute was that?? I didn't have my camera at school when i picked him up, so i took a picture once i got home. He made the vase & flowers with tissue paper, glue, & some pipe cleaners. I tell you, these teachers come up with some really cute ideas! I love this preschool!
He is certainly my valentine (hopefully forever!!)

Happy 5th Birthday!

My big boy!

I can't believe that Jackson is FIVE years old! Where does the time go? Due to poor Grandaddy's unexpected heart surgery, his little birthday get together was cancelled. We were only going to have his little cousins over for a movie & pizza anyway, so we decided, literally last minute to have emma & leah come over for a movie on his birthday (school night!). Even without a party (which i really tried to make this year low key, even before the medical issues with grandaddy) he still got tons of presents! All in all, he still had a great day & got cupcakes & his favorite meal

Eli enjoyed the cupcake... can you tell?

Watching Toy Story (in honor of our upcoming Disney trip!)

Opening presents... Theresa got him Lego's & a cute outfit...Mema & Grandad got him a cool matchbox truck that hauls a race car on a trailer.
Aunt Debbie mailed him a cute card with a target gift card (already used part of that on a battery operated pencil sharpener he wanted so bad!)
Nanny sent some puzzles (which he loves), some Mickey shades, & a flashlight that is the envy of everyone!


And Grandma & Papa Evans sent him $20!! He is loaded let me tell you! He decided he wants a magazine subscription with that money to "My Big Backyard." So it will be put to good use too! Aunt Becca made him a monogrammed bag with little goodies inside (he loves his J on everything these days!) Thanks everyone for helping Jackson feel special on his big day!

Snow... finally! Jan 20, 2009

We all enjoyed our few days in the snow..... We got a little over 6 inches & at first Eli was not a fan of all the "wet." But he quickly found out that it could be fun! This was the Eli's first snow ever & the first real snow for Jackson too. It has snowed before since he has been with us, but not enough to accumulate & he doesn't remember any of that. Anyway, we drove over to Randy's parents house since they have an awesome driveway for sliding & thanks to their cousin, Becca, the boys had lots of time outdoors. She slid them down the Moss' driveway & shook trees of snow all over them. It was a blast. And while they were all out playing, we (the adults) stayed in for most of that time & watched history unfold (the inauguration). Jackson especially could have stayed out all day in the snow. He literally rolled around in it constantly! Thanks to a hand-me-down snow suit (thanks Sophia!) & a few tricks from Aunt Marie (ziplocs over their socks but inside their shoes), they stayed dry most of the day. Of course, we took breaks to dry the mittens, gloves, hats, etc but then it was back at 'em!

jackson's first look at the snow when he woke up....
Whooaah! Eli checking out snow in our yard.
All of us over at Mema's
our house early that morning.... it continued to snow all day!
the three of us just before heading to Mema's
Jackson, digging in....
I love the snow on his eyelashes! Uncle Jeremy took this one (& a ton of these actually!)
Sliding down the driveway...
Whee... here we go!
ummmm, i am not too sure about all of this!