Christmas 2009

We spent Christmas in a cabin in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee with the Turner family. We had a great time. The only negative part of the trip was that Burt spent most of it recovering from a nasty case of Strep Throat. We didn't think we would even be able to make the trip for while. Thankfully, we were still able to travel and enjoy Christmas with the family. Will loved having the whole family together in the cabin and spent most of the trip playing with the cousins.
Here are a few pictures from Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

JJ and Gigi


Mommy reading "Twas the Night Before Christmas" to the boys




JJ's first Christmas Eve


The boys in their matching Christmas PJ's


JJ and Papa


Opening gifts--Christmas Morning


Will with his new Wubzy


Will giving Cousin Marissa a big hug


John-Christmas 2009


Will--Christmas 2009

Will's Half-Birthday

Will turned 2 1/2 on December 19th. He has such a sweet personality. He loves to sing songs from school and church. His favorites are "Jesus Loves Me" and "The Wheels on the Bus." He is talking more and more and has a few phrases that we hear quite often. A couple of them are " That not supposed to happen" (if he drops something or something doesn't quite go as expected) and "I not for sure" (we sometimes get this answer when we ask him a question). When we ask what he wants Santa to bring him he typically answers "balls!" He is very excited to go to the "tabin" (cabin) to see the Turner family for Christmas.
Will's favorite snack is popcorn. We have a special plastic bowl with cats on it that we always use for the popcorn. He also likes Goldfish crackers, marshmallows and raisins for snacks.
We are having so much fun watching Will grow and change from a toddler to a little boy. It is exciting to think of what the future holds for him.
Here are some pictures of Will from the month.

Silly Boy!


Playing in his "ball house" tent at Gigi and Papa's house.





Getting his Christmas gift from Miss Anna


Opening his gift.


Playing with his new blocks with Miss Anna.


Our Little Santa


Sweet Boy!


Will with the "tower' that he built.


Showing off his football slippers


Playing with his remote-control car from Uncle David and Aunt Hilda. He was so cute when he first pushed the button and it moved. He said "Hey, come back here!" to the car. He couldn't understand why it was moving on its own.


Playing with JJ and the ball popper.


Will and his new truck for his 1/2 birthday. He also had a M&M cookie to celebrate!

John Jackson- 35 - 37 weeks

JJ turned 35 weeks old on November 30th. He is standing up a lot now and is able to pull up on anything! He is so proud of himself when he is able to pull up and stand!
JJ did so well traveling to Ohio for Thanksgiving. He was so good in the car and slept pretty well in the pack and play. He is such a sweet baby!

Heading toward the stairs.


There he goes...


Reading some books


Under the Christmas tree


35 weeks old!



John turned 36 weeks old on December 7th. This weeks he started feeding himself yogurt bites (on December 3rd) and Cheerios (On December 7th). He really likes to snack on Cheerios, yogurt bites and puffs. He still loves his baby food and, of course, his formula!


Standing up with the musical stage toy.


On tip-toes!


Our Little Santa!


Opening his gift from Miss Anna


John and Miss Anna


36 weeks old


Playing ball with Will



JJ turned 37 weeks old on December 14th. He started taking 8 ounce bottles on December 9th. On December 14th, JJ "cruised" a few steps down the couch.

JJ loves to stand!


37 weeks old!


JJ and Will playing with the ball popper from Uncle David and Aunt Hilda


Taking a bath with Will for the first time. I think he looks a little confused in the first one!

John is 8 Months Old

Our Little JJ turned 8 months old on November 30th. He is such a pleasant and happy baby. He really does have a great personality. He still is sleeping well. He takes one or two naps a day, depending on what time he wakes up in the morning. He normally wakes up one time a night to take a bottle. He still eats four babyfood meals a day and takes about five bottles a day (7 ounces). He is able to crawl everywhere and loves to explore the house! Here are some pictures from John's 8 month "birthday."

With Eeyore.



Happy Boy!



Getting so big...

Thanksgiving 2009

We enjoyed our Thanksgiving with the Turner family. Unfortunately, both of the boys ended up being sick that day. They started running fevers on Wednesday evening and both were sick on Thursday. In fact, they both slept through Thanksgiving dinner. Both of the boys had some parts of the day where they seemed to perk up and feel better. They both enjoyed playing with their cousins. When we got home, I took them to the doctor and found out they both had bronchitis. I think they had a virus, too, because they actually seemed to be feeling better by the time they went to the doctor!
Even though they were sick, they seemed to enjoy the day. Here are some pictures of the boys. The picture on the top of the post is Papa Turner, Kristin and Tony. We had a cake to celebrate Kristin turning 18 in November, Tony turning 18 in August and Papa retiring in October!

John playing with Cousin Jami.


John and Cousin Marissa



Cousin Mario with John



Cousin Mario playing with Will.



Will giving Cousin Dave a big hug.

Will--29 Months Old

Will turned 29 months old on November 19th. I can't believe how fast he is growing up! He is such a sweet little boy. He is doing great in school. We went to the Fall Open House at his preschool on October 20th. His teacher said that he is doing well in school and makes them laugh. He even asks to use the potty! We were very shocked to hear that since he rarely wants to use the potty at home. We were able to get him to go a few times when we promised him a ball after he used the potty five times (it took about a week for him to do it). Not surprisingly, after he got the ball, his interest in the potty has pretty much disappeared!
Will is starting to like to say the prayer for our lunch now. I will start and he will finish. He also likes to say prayers at bed time. It is so sweet to hear his little voice praying.
Will is starting to get a little more interested in playing with John, but he still doesn't like to share his toys. We often hear "Sorry JJ, that not your ball." We hope that he gets more interested in playing with John when John becomes more mobile.
Here are some pictures of Will over the past month.
At open house at the preschool.


With Miss Rachel (the boys' babysitter)

Brushing JJ's hair

Our sweet boy

Riding in his jeep

Playing on the bed

Upside down

JJ- 32 to 34 weeks old

JJ turned 32 weeks old on November 9th. He started to try to pull up in his crib and on the couch on November 6th. On the 7th, he ate some of a club cracker for the first time. He really liked it!
Big smile

Eating a cracker

Crawling

Playing with the truck-32 weeks old


John turned 33 weeks old on November 16th. On the 11th, he tried real peas and carrots for the first time. He wasn't a huge fan of them! On the 14th, JJ pulled up to stand in his crib for the first time! He woke up from his nap and I went in to get him up. He was playing in his crib, so I was getting some clothes out of the closet to dress Will. When I turned around, JJ was standing up smiling at me. He was so proud! On the 16th, JJ pulled up on the couch for the first time.

Trying peas and carrots

Standing in his crib--don't worry, Burt lowered the mattress!

Big boy-33 weeks old


John turned 34 weeks old on November 23. We were in Ohio for Thanksgiving. He started crawling up the steps out of our living room on the 17th and pulled up in his pack and play on the 18th.

Checking out our Christmas tree.

At Gigi and Papa's house-34 weeks old

Playing in the tunnel for Will's tent