Can I take a picture?

Jackson came to me yesterday morning after Sesame Street was over and said, "Can I use the camera to take a picture of you and Kinsey?" Not something he has ever asked to do . . . . so I asked why and wondered what he was up to. I asked if they talked about that on Sesame Street and he said yes, still unclear on all of that since I was doing laundry during part of it.
So I decided, that could be fun and told him he could with supervision. He took pictures of EVERYTHING!!! He kept saying, "Say Cheese!" and would tell us where to stand and what to do. He got rather bossy by the end : ) But there were a few that were actually pretty good . . . here are 2 of my favorites. So maybe we have a future photographer on our hands??? Or just a picture-holic like mom and dad!!

Heart Cookies

On Saturday, Jackson helped me make heart cookies for Valentine's Day. He helped make the dough and was in charge of the sprinkles!

Gingerbread House

Jackson wanted to do a gingerbread house around Christmas, but we didn't get it done. But we found this kit at Walmart on clearance, and decided to go ahead even though Christmas is over.
Jackson loved decorating the house, I mean eating the candy! And Kinsey loved taste testing the icing : )

Welcome Caedmon Ryan Jarrett!

We were so excited to hear that nephew #7 arrived late last night!!

Caedmon Ryan Jarrett
8 lbs., 2 oz and 19 inches long

January 26, 2009
11:07 PM

Ready for Spring!

We are SO ready for spring to be here : ) And the warmer temperatures today were a good reminder. So we enjoyed the opportunity to get outside . . . we took a walk around the neighborhood and played in the backyard. It was wonderful!!!! And now we can't hardly wait to be able to go outside to play everyday!! Please come soon SPRING!!!

Moments with Kinsey

Here are a couple of cute videos I took of Kinsey on Sunday evening.

Jackson's Birthday Party

Some pictures from Jackson's Illini Basketball birthday party today. He had some friends and family celebrate with him. It was a busy day, but a lot of fun . . . enjoy!

A Rock Star is Born!

Yes, he got his first guitar!!!! And he is SO excited!!!! We decided to go ahead and give Jackson his birthday present this morning on his actual birthday, even though his party isn't until Saturday. (Which has caused some confusion, when he woke up he wanted to know where the balloons and cake were!) I had bible study at the church this morning, so he got to take it with him and try it out on the big stage like Daddy. After wards, we had a birthday lunch at McDonald's : ) Here are some videos to help you feel apart of Jackson's special day . . .

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Jackson-3 Years Old

How is it possible that Jackson is already 3!!! It still feels like he should be my little baby, but as he reminds me everyday with his new found independence that he certainly is no longer a baby, but a "Big Boy"! He is an excitable bundle of energy and so much fun! The funny things he says and hilarious stories at this age are so great. I try to remember to write them down so I won't forget. He still loves his St. Louis Cardinals and loves to put on his baseball cap and pretend to be one of the players. He loves Cars and Thomas the train . . . which keep him busy playing for hours! And has really become quite the rock star recently, which we get a kick out of!!! He always asks to sing and play music on the stage at church. In fact, the other day, he took his "bat guitar" (he pretends his Fredbird baseball bat is a guitar) and went into his room and hollered at me to come in. I went in and he said, "Mom, sit down, this is my church", he hopped up on his bed, "this is my stage, I'm going to rock out and sing Jesus songs". So needless to say, David has been working on me for a while to get him his own real guitar for his birthday, so that he can start learning from his daddy! And as much of a sponge as he was over the Christmas season, picking up songs and memorizing everything he heard, I had to give in!

What have we been up to?

Yes, I know she is going to kill me for this picture later, but isn't she adorable? Anyway, it seems like we have been busy, busy, busy since Christmas! So I thought I would take a little time this evening and catch up on my blog!

Kinsey is now 14 months old and is a busy little chatter box. She is continually making new sounds and trying to say new words. She is really starting to take to signing more, thankfully, which helps eliminate some of her screaming fits! She consistently signs "please", "milk", "more" and "thank you", along with nodding "yes" and "no". She loves playing with her baby dolls and has started signing "baby" too. And loves to play with her tea party set . . . in fact, we find cups, saucers and spoons all over the house. She loves to wrestle, get tickled and play chase . . . her little squeals and giggles are priceless!

Jackson has been busy playing trains (Thomas and friends) pretty much nonstop since Christmas. Christmas toys for Jackson or Daddy? David worked this weekend on finishing painting our cabinets, replacing hardware and a few other things around the house. So Jackson had to get his tool belt and tools out so he could help out. Daddy even let him help with the power tools! He is still (as seen in videos below) quite the little singer . . . and is sad that Christmas is over. But he is still hoping that we will get some snow this year so he can make some snow angels. Since we moved to Southern Illinois, we have only had ice, but no real snow! It is so hard to believe that he will be 3 on Wednesday!!!

Our Little Rock Star!

These videos are a glimpse into our daily serenades from Jackson. He is always wanting to get his "bat guitar" and "rock out" on his "stage". It is pretty hilarious!

Jackson loves Christmas as much as I do and just can't let it go . . . so we are still singing Christmas songs and listening to his favorite kids Christmas CD in the car.


He is also an aspiring songwriter like his Daddy . . . one of his creations!


And we have been talking a lot about his 3rd birthday coming up this week . . . he is pretty excited about it, can you tell?

Why I wish it wasn't over . . . .

Jackson really was such a sponge this year at Christmas. We read and reread story after story telling about the birth of Jesus from about ever perspective. He loved to listen and retell us the stories and especially learning all the new Christmas songs (no big surprise considering his DNA). And the other day I caught him "reading" my Bible . . . as Spiderman of course : )

So now, as I think about taking down the Christmas decorations, I am a little sad. I pray that he will still find this story of Jesus just as amazing next year.

More Christmas Pictures

Here are a few pictures from Henderson Christmas at Mom and Dad's on Friday. Kinsey really liked getting to checking out Baby Ella (b. 10.22). And then we always try to get a picture of all the great grand kids . . .
Happy New Year! Hope you have an amazing 2009!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Since, we will not be home on Christmas morning, we celebrated Jesus' birthday this morning at our house. We had candy cane shaped pancakes and bacon, read the Christmas story, finished the advent calendar and sang Happy Birthday to Jesus. Then we opened a few gifts. It was nice to be home all morning so we could put everything together and let the kids play. Our candlelight Christmas Eve service is at 4 pm and then we will be heading to TH for a few days. Jackson was VERY excited about his all train Christmas. . . from Polar Express to Thomas and friends. He was one happy boy! And Kinsey loved her little camo baby doll (from Cabella's) and her new little "playhouse". They even got daddy to have a tea party with them when he was finished getting everything put together.

Merry CHRISTmas!

"She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins."
Matthew 1:21

Christmas Cookies

Jackson has become quite the little helper, in fact I can hardly do something in the kitchen without him wanting to "help" me! Which is mostly wonderful : ) So this morning it was baking more "candy can" cookies, as he calls them. Here is what he liked best about helping . . . .

Christmas Program

So tonight was the Children's Ministry Christmas Program at the church. Katie Mann (our YM wife) and I had been working with the preschool kids on just 2 songs for their part in the program. And it is always interesting to see how they will react on the big stage with everyone there watching. One of the ladies helping direct the program said she hoped some of the preschool kids really hammed it up and did some funny things to make the program memorable. Well, Jackson sure filled that order!! They were suppose to walk in saying "The King is Born" ringing their bells and then sing "Away in the Manger". Then at the end of the program sing "Joy to the World" and say "Merry Christmas!" Well, here is a little peak at what really happened!

Advent-ures of Christmas

This is David's article from our church newsletter this week . . . thought it was fitting to share.

"Following the church calendar, we find ourselves right now in the midst of Advent. Advent means "coming" and it's the time in the church year to celebrate the coming of the Lord. The idea is that we eagerly wait for him to come. We anticipate his birth. And though a lot of people don't celebrate advent, it is a great way to teach the true meaning of Christmas. It allows us to focus on the Lord and not be distracted by everything else our culture wants for us.

This became all the more real to me this year. Last year my sister bought an advent calendar for us. She had one for her boys and thought is was a great teaching tool. This calendar has a little compartment for each day of December marked with numbers corresponding to the days of the month, from 1 to 25. Each day, Jackson gets to open a little door and pull out a magnet and place it on the metal painting of the stable. There are stars, sheep, wise men, camels, Mary, Joseph, you get the idea. We just make sure to put the baby Jesus in #25. When he pulls out an animal or a star, it gives me the chance to ask him why that piece is there and teach about the story. It has been an amazing first week!

But something unexpected has happened. Jackson is reacting to it in a way that is both familiar and unknown. When it's time to open a new door, his excitement billows out every pore of his being. There is wonder in his eyes and you can almost see the sponge taking it all in. But then, he throws a fit. He does this fairly often at this point in his life, but this one I can handle. I don't mind it so much. He wants to open a new door, to reveal another part of the story, to place another magnet on the manger, but we have to wait for tomorrow. He may understand advent more than I do at this point. I have learned to be patient and wait. Maybe I should be a little more eager. Maybe I should have more anticipation for Jesus and for Christmas.

So here, in this article, I throw my fit. I can't wait for the Lord to come! I want it to be now! For all the right reasons. There, I feel better.

Dave Jarrett, Creative Arts Minister"

Peek-A-Boo

Kinsey Grace-13 Months

Kinsey has started saying and signing new words. She was 13 months yesterday and continues to amaze us with the things she picks up on and learns. She says "Dad-dee" very clearly! Of course, that makes her Daddy very proud. She also started saying a version of "Jackson" on Friday night. Naturally, we haven't been able to get her to do it with the camera on (as you will see). When she eats, instead of signing "more" or "please", she has learned to answer our questions with an insistent nodding. I'll have to post video of it to truly appreciate the cute factor. It is so comical. She also has started signing "milk" and "fish" for goldfish crackers. I have weaned her completely as of Thursday, but she still is not fond of drinking whole milk. But we are sneaking it in oatmeal, feeding her yogurt and giving her cheese trying to get in plenty of calories and calcium.

Ready for Christmas . . .

We have been decorating the house all this past week. Jackson is SO excited about all the decorations. And LOVES the Advent Calendar that The Ritchie Family gave us last year. He of course wants to open ALL the doors and is very disappointed when he can only open one. Kinsey LOVES the tree as I knew she would. She is often in trouble for touching and carrying off with some of the ornaments. We at least put all the precious breakable ornaments at the top.

Tonight was our last presentation of our Adult Choir program for Christmas that Dave was in charge of creating and directing. It was a nice break from our "normal" Christmas schedule from Rochester and was a really nice program. Mom and Dad were able to come down to see it.

Next Sunday night, will be the Kid's Christmas program. Hopefully we will have some good video of Jackson performing . . . we'll see how much he cooperates when it is real. Hope you and your family are enjoying the Advent season!

Rock Out

At lunch today, Jackson started saying "Lets rock out like guitar hero!" He said my cousin Jill taught him these moves Thanksgiving. We'll see if she agrees . . . .