Jackson's THREE!

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, dear Jackson, Happy Birthday to you!! Woo-hoo!! What a weekend we've had. We had a family birthday party yesterday where we celebrated Jackson's 3rd birthday and cousin James' 1st birthday. It was a great time--great food, great company, great kids and unbelievable cake!! YUM! We had a piñata, which the kids loved! And presents that Jackson (and Joshua) enjoyed opening and playing with.
The Avery Five before the party began.

The Cocars at James' 1st birthday.

Jackson loved all the construction cones for his construction party! How fun!!


A great cake!! J-man loved his trucks!


Getting ready to blow out the candle!


Time for the piñata! The kids loved that!

This morning we opened more presents. Jackson really got into ripping off the wrapping paper! We got him a marble run building set, which AW and Jackson and Joshua really enjoyed working on together. Then we made some cupcakes and celebrated Jackson's birthday a second time. The cupcakes were chocolate with frosting and dirt and worms (crushed Oreos and gummy worms). It was super fun to make those and also fun to eat. This evening we went to a baseball game and had a great time! It was our first game of the season and the boys really had a great time. I think the highlight for the boys was the airplane and the skydivers that jumped out! Pretty exciting! We stayed until the third inning and then headed home for bedtime. It was a perfect way to end the perfect weekend! Jackson really enjoyed his birthday weekend!! We love you, Jackson, and we are so proud of the young man you are becoming.


Both boys love opening presents!! Good job helping, Joshua!


Jackson loves his cupcakes!!


The marble run is a great toy!!


The skydivers were really fun to watch!


The boys hanging out on our blanket with Daddy!



Mama and Joshua at the baseball game!

Birthday boy and Daddy enjoying the game!

Jackson and Joshua sharing a frozen lemonade at the game!

Joshua's First Haircut

Joshua got his first haircut this morning! What a change! Nothing makes a little boy look so grown up, like a haircut. Gone are his cute little curls, but that's okay. Joshua looks adorable.

Joshua before the haircut. Notice the curls in the back!!

All done with the haircut. Joshua is all smiles!

A look back at Jackson's haircut. You can't really see his curls, but they're there!

Sweet husband and boys!

The first day of school was on Wednesday. Halfway through the day I received a beautiful bouquet of flowers (lilies, my favorite) and a card that said, "We're thinking of you today! Love, your boys." How sweet!! I am a lucky woman!

The week in review

So, we've made it through our first week back to work and school, and we did okay! It started out rough because dropping off the boys on Monday was really tough!! I cried quite a bit and could hardly even tell AW how it went through the tears---Joshua cried so much when I left him that I felt like the worst mom in the world. Tuesday was no better--more crying, plus, I got a phone call before 10 am saying I needed to come and pick up Joshua due to a runny nose! Yep, a runny nose, no fever or other symptoms, but the policy is that a child is sent home with a continuous runny nose. Seems ridiculous to me since I sent the boys to school healthy and they are just getting re-exposed to day care germs. I picked up both boys and took them home and AW took the next train out of the city and met us at home. Then I had to rush back to work for teacher meetings. We kept the boys home on Wednesday and Thursday, not because they were sick, but they did have a cough and AW started to not feel well, and he actually got really sick on Thursday. Today was a good drop-off--Josh didn't cry quite as long and Jackson is starting to thrive in the pre-school program. He seems to like the independence that comes with the class. Tonight after dinner we played outside for a while and Jackson had to go potty, so he let himself in the house, said "Don't come with me" and then came back when he was done!

Year Number Eight

Tomorrow is the start of my eighth year of teaching! I can hardly believe that I've been a teacher for almost a whole decade!! Where has the time gone?? I have very mixed feelings about this year. I am so heartbroken about having to take the boys back to daycare fulltime, especially after being so spoiled with them at home with me all summer. I also know that this might very well be my last year away from my boys for the next several years, so I want to make it a good year. I have told AW that I am going to try and have a very positive attitude about school and give my students a good year! We're also going to try and make sure that we spend as much time as possible with our boys after work hours.

Please pray that the boys will adjust well and that their mom will also adjust well!! (I was a basket case last Thursday!) Pray that we have a good semester and that the time will go by quickly. Pray that Baby J (we're not sure of the name yet, but we're sure it will begin with a J) will continue to grow well and be a healthy and happy boy when we meet him in December.

These are a few of my favorite pictures!

Jackson and Joshua in a tight hug! How sweet are they?
The mohawk look is back in, right?

Ribbit, ribbit! I love these hooded towels!

Mama and her super sweet boys!! (All three of them!!)

Just the five of us! Auntie Krista managed to set a pretty good picture, despite all the squirmies!

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My baby's growing up!!

So, tonight I went to orientation at Jackson's preschool. My baby is growing up so quickly!! I can't believe that he is already three (at the end of the month). I teared up a bit as his teachers were talking about what they were going to be doing in the classroom this year--maybe it's pregnancy hormones and being emotional, but whatever it is, it hit me--my baby is growing up!! Jackson is a fabulous little boy and I love him so much!! (That's true of all my boys). I'm just a bit emotional tonight--I'm not ready to let my baby grow up, but I know it's just a part of life! A little story...this afternoon at naptime (the boys share a room) Joshua was having a rough time settling down and going to sleep. From the loft I could hear Jackson singing to him and telling his little brother that it was okay! It was such a sweet moment!! He was singing "Jesus loves the little children" and putting Joshua's name into the song!! (I put the boys' names into the song sometimes--he's been paying attention!!) Okay, I'm rambling! Summer is almost over, I have to return to work, the boys have to go back to daycare--I'm not ready for any of it!!

Happy Anniversary...to us!

Seven years ago today I married my best friend! It's still the best decision I have made my whole life. I can't believe that we are already celebrating seven years of marriage--it doesn't seem real. You know what they say, time flies when you're having fun!! In these seven years, we have laughed, cried, argued, made up, and learned so much about each other and ourselves in the process. We are so blessed that these seven years have brought us our two beautiful boys, with another boy on the way!!

I looked across the breakfast table this morning and this is what I saw!! My two beautiful boys who fill my days with laughter, fun, and non-stop activity!!

Our love fern (YAY, if you know what movie that's from!)....er, orchid! Allen Wade got me this orchid for our last anniversary and it is still absolutely beautiful!

It's a...

BOY!!! Yep, we are expecting our third boy, and we could not be more thrilled!! We have our own mini soccer team or baseball team or whatever sport the boys may want to play!! The ultrasound technician this morning said she was 100% sure and that we didn't have to do any shopping for pink stuff! We are so excited! We are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate and to tell Jackson and Joshua that they are getting a little brother--so cute! We had asked Jackson several times what he thinks is in mommy's tummy and lately he kept answering, "Another Josh!" He's right!