Jackson turns 2

I can't believe that two years ago I was in the hospital after a rather rough delivery with a precious tiny baby boy and now that same little guy is a toddler. Jackson loves trains and so his birthday was all about trains. He woke up early that morning and I made him his favorite breakfast - eggs and toast. Funny thing is that he was more excited about the balloons and the sign on the wall than his food, which I might add he did not eat one bite of! Jackson also loves animals so we spent the morning at the Kansas City Zoo. I thought two hours would be plenty to tour the entire zoo. Boy, was I wrong. After we had gone through the more kid-friendly section of the zoo (petting farm, playgrounds, etc.) we realized we weren't even half of the way through it and the kids (and Theresa and I) were exhausted. While we were there we learned that Jackson LOVES polar bears and these beautiful little birds that he could feed. Kate loved feeding the sheep and staring at the tigers. After the zoo, we went to lunch at Panera Bread (one of Jackson's favorite places). Gratefully, he and Kate took a good nap. Then, we opened a couple of presents (Jackson finally understands what a present is and he gets so excited to open them) and then were off again to eat at Olive Garden. Jackson loves pasta. He also loves the crayons they give him. We had a great time there though missed Jason terribly (he was doing surgeries in Des Moines until late that afternoon) so we extended Jackson's birthday celebration through the weekend. Jason and I took him to Gymboree play land. Each day he got to open a couple of presents. He also got to eat his own cupcake. He loved it (a big change from last year when he didn't want anything to do with it). He got a riding train from Grandma and Grandpa, a train with tracks, a train coloring book, a train reading book, fun games from Nana and Grandpa, and a darling book from Theresa (she is leaving next month so it was a voice-animated book where she left a cute message for Jackson and reads him the book. I couldn't even listen to the whole thing as it brought tears to my eyes thinking about how much we are going to miss her. She's become part of our family: a sister to me and and a best friend to Jackson and Kate). Jackson loved his birthday. He keeps asking about when he can open more presents and it was fun to see him actually be able to pick out the letters of the Happy Birthday sign. Jackson lives life to the fullest. He is as adventurous and active as they come, but he also has a very tender, sweet side to him. He loves his little sister. He loves cars, Curious George, Thomas the Train, his prophet book, and making big piles of toys and diapers and rolling around in them. He love "cookies" aka M&Ms, pancakes, and hot dogs. He loves chewing on ice. He loves learning Russian from his dad and knows more of it than I do. He is so friendly with those around him. He loves to bike rides, swimming and nature walks. He knows how to count to 20 (skips 15-17) and his ABC's (though that l,m,n,o,p part still trips him up). I love to hear him laugh and hate to hear his "siren" cry. He is such a precious boy. We love you Jackson.

Austria

Jason was asked by his boss to present a paper at the ESCRS (European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons) in September. The conference just happened to be in Vienna, Austria. We left the kids with my mom and Theresa and flew to Europe. Vienna is a beautiful city with a lot of great classical music history and a lot of great food. We arrived on Friday afternoon and went straight to bed. A few hours later we woke up and went to a reception held in a historic palace downtown. While Jason was busy learning, I went on a walk around the city to see some sights. I ran into a great shopping mall and found our Christmas tree ornament (we collect one from every trip we take). Then, I joined Jason for a reception with the most amazing cheese and chocolate I've ever tasted (and trust me, I've had more than my fair share of both in my life). The next day we laced up our running shoes (this is the way Jason prefers to see a city...by running or walking around for hours) and went off to see the sights. We saw some beautiful churches, museums, palaces, and spent some time at the conference that night. So, instead of renting a room at a hotel in Vienna, we decided to check out a "home away from home" website where we found an apartment for rent, located right between the conference center and downtown Vienna. We saved a lot of money and it was interesting living with the locals...until Sunday morning at around 4 a.m. I hadn't slept well at all that night. I worry about our kids when we're gone and wasn't feeling well, when all of the sudden I heard gun shots. Yes, gun shots right outside our building. I was scared. I asked Jason if we should hide, but he said, oh we'll be fine. Trust my sweet Jason to just brush it aside. Needless to say, I now viewed our money-saving apartment as a death trap and wasn't thrilled to be staying there anymore. Anyway, we weren't shot and didn't hear any more gun fire while we were there (thank goodness). Sunday morning I accompanied Jason to the conference for his speech on the difference of two particular lenses used in surgeries. I thought he did a great job (and yes, I'm very biased). We also attended a Catholic mass that day to hear the organ played (Jason can't get enough of organs) and then we went to find our church and was greeted by a large sign on the door saying it was Stake Conference. Oh well, we tried. Monday we went to tour the Belvedere Palace. It was perhaps the most amazing display of artwork I've ever seen. We ate dinner at this beautiful little bistro adjacent to the palace and walked through the gardens. It was straight out of an old English movie. Then, Tuesday we started our long (just shy of 24 hours) trip home. I was so happy to be back in Kansas City and see Jackson and Kate. There is no place quite like home.

Kate crawls

My sweet little girl is growing up. Here's a picture of her crawling for the first time. She's been military scooting for a while but finally figured out how to use her arms and legs to go where she wants to go...and now she's on the move. I love the fact she's so eager to do what Jackson is doing, playing with his toys, and teasing him by grabbing his "Woobie" (aka his favorite blanket). Kate crawled just a couple of days later than Jackson did when he was her age. Love our little girl!

Jim's wedding

The second weekend of September we traveled to Salt Lake City for my brother Jim's wedding. Kate and I left Thursday. We spent the next two days helping my mom get everything ready for the wedding luncheon they hosted, took care of all of those last minute helps for Jim, and had lots of fun with Uncle Jeff and Grandpa. Friday night we picked up Jason and Jackson from the airport. We stayed the next two nights at Greg's and Sally's home. Jackson loved playing with the toys there and saying "Nana sleeping" (Sally goes by Nana and the last time she visited Kansas I kept telling Jackson she couldn't go into her room because she was sleeping so now he associates Nana with sleeping). Saturday morning Jason and I went to the Salt Lake Temple to witness my brother and Sandy, his darling wife from Mountain Home, Idaho, be sealed for all eternity. It was a beautiful ceremony and I learned so much from the words spoken. After lots of pictures in the hot sun, we had a nice luncheon at the Grand America. Kate and Jackson had a nap (or rather Jackson napped while Kate screamed for hours...uh, she's a little pro-mom right now). We all went to spend a few last moments with my parents before we went back to Sally's and Greg's for a fun night of catching up and watching Perry Mason. Oh, I love that old show. Sunday, yes September 11, we flew home. It was a little weird to be flying on that infamous day and to land in Kansas City Airport where we later learned there had been a passenger who had not complied with TSA and had forced an entire terminal to shut down. Kind of scary. Jason then headed for Iowa to do some work and the kids and I headed back to Kansas City. We are so glad to welcome sweet Sandy to our family. She is such a beautiful young lady with lots of love for everyone around her. We look forward to getting to know her better.

Kate's first bike ride

A couple of weeks ago, I took Kate for her first bike ride. She was a bit concerned at first but actually liked it once we got going. Here's hoping that there are many future bike rides for my little girl and me.

Wedding weekend

Jason and I attended the wedding of his good friend Shai in Providence, RI yesterday. It was a beautiful ceremony and a fun evening with friends. We love spending time in New England - a second home of sorts for Jason.

Becoming Best Buddies

At first, Jackson was jealous of Kate. He couldn't stand that she was taking mom and dad away from spending time with him. Then he tolerated Kate. He realized she wasn't going away but didn't exert himself to play with her and if she didn't something he didn't like, he bopped her on the head or pinched her leg. Not nice. But, the last couple of weeks as Kate is starting to scoot and babble, he realizes that she's kind of fun to be around and is now very protective of her. For instance, she was crying while I was making lunch and so he found a big spoon to give her to calm her down. Also, he loves to make her laugh. He'll do all sorts of crazy antics to get her to smile and chuckle. I am so grateful this special bond is beginning to form between our kids and hope it continues forever.