SNOW!

This is the view from our front door right now!! So when they issued a winter advisory for the area, I was a bit skeptical. BUT, not anymore! They are now saying that we may get up to 11 inches by noon tomorrow. I hope we don't get quite that much. But at least Jackson will get another chance to play out in the snow! Good thing we brought his snow pants and sled to Salem with us.

I have been spending the snowy afternoon baking peanut butter cookies. At least we'll have some good snacks while we are stuck here . . . AND we'll be watching the premiere of LOST!

Kinsey Talks

Kinsey has become quite the little talker, which is way too much fun! Jackson didn't coo very much at all, but Kinsey isn't near the mover and shaker Jackson was. It is really fun to watch her personality coming to life.

Reading to Kinsey . . .

Before Jackson's nap today, he came over to Kinsey and said, "Kinsey, sit on couch . . . read books. . . . Thomas books . . . Cars books." It was too cute, so we had to let him read Kinsey a book. Of course, it didn't last very long, but it was SO sweet!

Aren't they cute : )

Doctor Appointment Stats

We went to the doctor today for well-child visits for both kids. Which is craziness itself! Jackson wanted to touch everything in sight . .. .AHH! : )

Kinsey was 23 1/2 inches and 11 lbs., 12 1/2 oz.
Jackson was 35 inches and 31 lbs (but he was fully clothes and had on shoes).

So to say the least, they are growing like CRAZY!

Kinsey Update

Well, since Jackson has been getting all of the recent blog air time . . . thought I better post some new pictures of Miss Kinsey Grace! She is still a VERY good baby, though she has had a little bit of a cold. So there is a little extra spit up and she has been waking up a little earlier than usual, but all in all a very good baby : )

At the dr. office last week, they said she was 11 lbs., 9 oz. and 23 inches long. She and Jackson both go for well-child visits on Tuesday morning.

Here she is testing out the Bumbo already! She still isn't quite sure what to make of it yet.

I'll give you updates after the dr. appointments tomorrow!

Jackson's Cars Birthday Party

Jackson had a GREAT 2nd birthday party on Friday night! We had it at my parent's house since we aren't exactly settled in Salem yet, plus it was a closer location for most of my family. We had a house full . . . thanks everyone for coming to celebrate with us!!
Of course, I can't take any credit for the adorable Cars cake . . . . Jackson was SO excited! We let him play with the McQueen cake topper as soon as we got the icing cleaned off of it.
He was studying all of the trains on the back of his Thomas and Friends coloring book!
Enjoying some birthday treats . . . . of course!
Still learning to ride his new set of wheels! Those pedals may make him too fast to catch : ) And he even has on some of his new Illini gear!
And once again, studying his new Thomas trains. He also got some remote controlled cars that he is still trying to figure out too. Fun for Jackson and Daddy . . . . . thanks again everyone for all of the gifts and celebrating amidst all the craziness!

Birthday Fun!

We went to McDonald's playland for Jackson and Nathan Mann to eat, run and play! They had a pretty good time as you can see!

Kinsey wasn't quite ready for climbing through the tunnels, but she still had fun! : )

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson!

It feels like I blinked and now he is 2! How did that happen? It has been such a blessing to watch him grow up from being this baby to the adorable little boy he is now.

David and I are continually amazed at how much he picks up on and learns every day. And the ENERGY! We love to watch Jackson light up when he plays and talks to Kinsey. He gets right in her face and says "HI KINSEY HI!" And his new thing is to try to tickle her. He always wants to show her the toys he is playing with and constantly wants to know where she is.

How did we get such a sweet boy? He got to open a couple gifts today and then on Friday he will have his "Cars" birthday party. He has been getting a little confused between "Happy New Year" and "Happy Birthday". He says he is 2 and will have a Cars "Happy New Year" cake!

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Home Sweet Home . . . well, for now

Home Sweet Home! Well, at least for right now. . . . this is a picture of our current residence in Salem. We are SO blessed and thankful to the Cone's for allowing us to make this our home until we sell and buy one of our own.

We are gradually getting settled into the house, church and area in general. Living out in the country and only having one vehicle creates its own set of challenges. But we are getting it all figured out!

Jackson is getting settled in our "new" house too. At first we could tell that he was having a little bit of a hard time with all of the new changes, but he is doing great now. He has LOTS of toys to play with and there is even a swing set and trampoline outside for him to play with too. And he has two new cute little friends at church that he loves to play with . . . Jozie and Nathan.

Please keep praying for us that our house in Rochester will sell soon!

Our Kids

Kinsey Grace-2 Months

Happy New Year!

So we are finally living in Salem full-time! We have been at my parent's house in Tower Hill since we finished in Rochester. It is bittersweet for us to officially leave. . . David had to go back to work instead of hanging out with us and we miss Grammy and Papa's company.

Kinsey was 8 weeks this past Tuesday (New Year's Day). And will be 2 months old on the 6th . . . I can't believe how fast it has gone by.

Jackson on New Year's Day wearing new clothes from Aunt Jenny, Uncle Brian and the Jarrett cousins (thanks guys!!!).

My grandma's birthday is New Year's Day, so we always celebrate by eating lunch together and spending time all together. This is a picture of Kinsey (left) with her second cousin McKenna Wagner (right). Kinsey is a month and a day younger than McKenna. It will be fun watching these two grow up and play together! Jackson and Tate played really well together all day. Thankfully Tate brought his trains, so Jackson was very entertained!

I am going with another mom to the rec center in Centralia tomorrow to check out the indoor pool and other facilities. She loves to take her kids there, so I am sure it will be VERY fun!

We are also going to get both of the kid's pictures taken at JC Penney's on Saturday. Hopefully that goes well . . . . we'll see if Jackson is in the mood to cooperate : )