Pool Parties

Sunday afternoon we went to a pool party with our Sunday school class.

We all enjoyed swimming, eating, and hanging out with everyone.



Jackson swam for about 3 hours and loved having other kids to swim with.

Katrina and I

We are almost the same height!
(She is standing up on the curb, ha!)

I think Jackson had too much fun Sunday because he woke up under the weather Monday. He had a fever throughout the day and didn't eat much. However, he still wanted to swim!

My friend and her children decided not to chance getting sick if Jackson had a bug and didn't come over. But, my Aunt, Uncle, and cousins did.



Brian had to work a 12 hour Holiday shift. We had pizzas for lunch and grilled out for dinner. It was nice to have some company for the day. Aaron always plays so nice with Jackson. 

Jackson is reading the recipe to Aaron and he is making the smoothie!

Jackson woke up from nap with a higher fever. After some Tylenol and a Popsicle, he wanted to swim again. Cool water is good for a fever right?

I love this picture of him in the tube. So cute!

His fever never came back after that. Praise God!

We definitely had some fun in the sun this weekend!

From the mouth of Jackson

Jackson is at such a fun age. He is quite a character!

I am trying to write down the things he says right away so I don't forget.

Here are a few:

"Fine! You just want me to poop my pants." At Target (loud and clear) in response to me telling him to hold it and we would go to the potty in a minute.

"Dad, what are you eating?" Brian answers nothing and trying to hide his candy. "I heard you smacking." That earned him his own M&M.

 "Excuse me." Anytime he wants to talk and we are talking.

"Daddy, did you give Mommy a hug and kiss?" He asks Brian this every morning before he leaves for work.

 "Can I go down there with naked feet?" Asking if he could walk to the mailbox with bare feet.

"I really like this shirt (shoes, book, strawberries, etc). Thank you for buying it for me." Anytime he gets something new.

"Mmm! This is good. Thank you for making this for me." Most nights after his first bite of dinner. LOVE making dinner for this boy, makes me feel good!

"Does this give me muscles/make me jump high?" In regards to food he is eating.

"Protein makes me jump high." Explaining to us why he should eat chicken.

So THANKFUL for this sweet, goofy, and full of life boy!



Swim Lessons

Jackson is a fish in the water. He absolutely loves it! He had swim lessons last year and is able to swim on his own a little bit. We want him to become more independent in the water and a stronger swimmer.

Our neighbor's daughter teaches swim lessons and agreed to come over and teach Jackson. She did a great job with him. She was even able to corral him back when he was being silly!

She is teaching him to make "spoons" not forks with his hands and scoop the water when he swims. His arms tend to be all over the place.  She is also working with him to swim, then roll over, and float on his back. Last night, he did it for the first time himself!

He mastered getting out from the side of the pool by doing elbow, elbow, tummy, leg. 

He likes Miss Brittany and gets excited when he sees her car down the street. I am already less nervous when he is in the pool swimming and hope he makes more progress this summer.

Synthesizing

I don't talk to much about school or the lessons I teach on here. But, I have to share my student's thoughts regarding synthesizing because I don't ever want to forget them.

We started the week talking about adding another comprehension strategy to our busy brains. I wore my Jackson's superhero cape to model "super-sized" thinking. We synthesized many stories together noticing how our thinking was changing and our understanding getting larger.

At the end of the week, after my students had the opportunity to synthesize on their own,  I asked them to think about how they would describe synthesizing to someone else. Their thoughts blew me away.

Here is how they see synthesizing:

-It is like a tornado. A tornado gets bigger and stronger as it covers more ground. It is the same with our thinking. The more we read the bigger our thinking and stronger our understanding gets.

-It is like blowing a bubble or a balloon up. You must work really hard at first, but if you keep trying you will get a big bubble. You may need to think hard at first, but as your thinking changes your understanding will get bigger.

-It is like creating something with play-doh. You must mold many pieces together and sculpt some to get your final project. When reading we must take one thought, put it together with another, change it as we read something new, and finally have our synthesis.

-It is like evolving. We start as babies, grow to toddlers, then children, teens, and are finally adults. We are constantly changing. Our thinking evolves and changes along the way of reading a book just like growing up.

There you have it, synthesizing straight from the mouths of six and seven years old. Pretty impressive, huh?!?!?

Tidbits from our Weekend

Friday afternoon I walked into a spotless house. Brian left work early and surprised me by cleaning the whole house. BEST thing ever!

We met my aunt and uncle for dinner. We haven't seen them in a while, another reason summer needs to hurry up.

Saturday morning started early with kolaches and a latte. Do you know any other 3 year old whose eats two whole kolaches all by himself?

We made a quick run out to the outlets.

Jackson used some of his chore money to go on a few rides.

We spent the rest of the day (and all of Sunday) playing in the pool.

 There is just something so relaxing about it!

On Sunday after church, Jackson had his first swimming lesson for this year.

 He did great!

Only 7 more days of school!

iPhone Dump

These are just some random pictures from my phone that haven't made it to the blog.

Stacy brought me lunch at school one day, such a fun surprise!
Definitely miss her!

Cute gift basket I received during Teacher Appreciation Week

The boy loves his treats!

Flexing to show us his muscles in an Old Navy dressing room

Saturday morning play date with Huntley

These carmel apples were just as good as Little Farmer's!

I help in Jackson's Sunday school class every other week.
Watch out for these 3 boys!

Rainy day fun!

Banana pudding for a friend's birthday

Nightly ritual with my boy

Mother's Day

I am beyond blessed!

I couldn't have asked for a better mom. She has and still shows me what it means to put your children first. She is humble, self-less, and loves unconditionally!

My mother-in-law is another great example of love. She out does herself all the time!

All of us are lucky to have them in our lives.

My boys spoiled me this weekend.

Below are just some of my goodies:

I am so thankful that this little boy calls me "Mommy."

 I am not "the perfect mom". I make mistakes, I don't always know what I am doing, and sometimes my house is a disaster. But, I know no greater joy (or hard work) than being able to be a mom and raise Jackson in the ways of the Lord.

These two make my heart full of gladness. I do not take either of them for granted and love weekends like this where we just spend time together.

Brian put together a video for me. He captured Jackson's personality and it is something I will always treasure. Thank you, my love!

Home Run

Monday night Jackson and I tagged along to Brian's softball game. Jackson was super excited to go. He had his snacks, books, and glove loaded in his backpack!

 Before the game, Brian let Jackson run the bases with him. I was trying to get a cute picture of the two of them. I only had my phone, and I failed miserably both times.

 Jackson also helped Daddy warm up a little before the game started!

Jackson had his cookie and raisins gone before the game started. We also read all his books before the 1st inning was over. He liked watching Brian hit the ball and catch in the outfield when a ball went out that way, but that was about it. After about 3 innings, he played games on my phone. Brian, of course, was a stud. He made a running/jumping catch in the outfield (Jackson yelled "home run" when he caught it), hit the ball to the fence, and got on base each time. I love that I married an athlete!

Next game, Jackson and I will show up half way through and leave before it is over.:)

S'more Fun

When we went camping last summer, we never made s'mores. I thought Jackson needed to try this delicious treat. With no fire, we opted for the oven. Jackson helped me lay out the graham crackers and marshmallows.

The first ones we left in a little too long!

We perfected the next few and enjoyed them poolside!

 I think it is safe to say he thought they were yummy!

It might be time for a firepit in the backyard:)



My Dolphin

Jackson would spend the whole day in the pool if we let him! He is getting more comfortable and confident each day (especially in the hot tub where he can stand).

Mommy and Jackson swimming while Daddy does yard work:)

He likes to swim from side to side, flip over, and glide backward in the pool. Hence the reason he calls himself a little dolphin!

He loves diving down to collect the rings. He usually grabs all four at one time.

We need to get him some goggles he will actually keep on.

Being silly with Daddy

We went to the Splash Pad this weekend and noticed the pool was open. We headed over and Jackson wanted to try the diving board.

The first time he was nervous and wanted Brian right under him. That didn't last long! After that, he would jump right in, swim back up to Brian, and then swim to the edge by himself.