The Graduate

Tonight we watched our baby graduate from pre-school. He looked absolutely adorably handsome in his little cap and gown. He was just stunning on stage...and HILARIOUS. Every time the class finished singing a song, he bowed to his adoring fans. And even though his rhythm is about as good as his pitching and catching abilities (see "The Rookie," below,) it didn't stop him from doing a lot of SOLO clapping!! He also took the opportunity to turn himself around and shake his booty at one point in time just to add to his stage presence! What a ham!!

To end the night the children sang a song called, "Let me Be Little." Just by the title of the song, you can probably guess that I sobbed like a baby!! The verse alone, "Let me laugh, let me giggle, let me sleep in the middle..." is the very reason why the little monster will be going to bed with Mommy tonight. (He'll be lucky if I let him go in the morning.)

Just another milestone in the life of my baby boy! I know there are many more, but these are the nights that Mommies live for.

Ms. Juliet

Ms. Jen

Jackson's teachers were absolutely amazing. I cannot say enough about how much they cared for and loved my son. When he started pre-school he refused to make marks on a page. He was really worrying me. Within two months time, he was writing his name. The progress that Jackson made with these two wonderful women is awe inspiring. They even came to Jax's first T-ball game. They visited each of the fields to see ALL of their little ones, past and present. It is rare to see teachers that care about and love their students as much as they do. They were truly blessings to our family!

  

Teenage Mutant Ninja Lego Master-Builders

Last night Gracie spent the evening with a close family friend as a reward for doing so well on her last Math test. (One more reason why our friend Brittany cannot move away to find a job!! How are we going to be able to bribe our daughter when she is gone!?)

While she was gone Jax and I had some alone QT, and he only had one thing on his mind for our Mommy-Son bonding time....LEGOS! Jax received numerous lego sets for his birthday, and whenever we are looking for something special to do when Sissy is gone, we grab one to put together. This set involved 650 pieces, two evenings, and LOTS of Tylenol. (It also involved one or two bad words, under my breath of course.) Seeing Jackson's smiling face when we got it all put together was well worth it though. I really think that the time he spends "reading" the directions, and putting the tiny pieces in just the right place is really truly good for him. I can see his little mind growing so much every time we find our way through a new set. Here's the finished product.

Remembering Aunt Thelma

 Recently, our family had to say Good-bye to our Aunt Thelma. She lost her long fight with Leukemia two weeks ago on April 21st. She was surrounded by the people who loved her most, and went home peacefully in her sleep.

The true blessing is that the kids were able to visit with Aunt Thelma a few days before. She was in a wonderful mood, sitting up in her bed, and even invited Jackson to climb up into her bed and play cars with her. She had a wonderful conversation with Gracie as well.  Later that night Aunt Thelma promised Kev that she would hug our babies for us. (We have two waiting for us when we get there, and I know that Thelma gave them our love, and let them both know how much we long to see them ourselves.) I loved that my kids were able to see her in such great spirits, and that their last visit with were was such a positive one. We miss her dearly, but know that she is rejoicing with Jesus right now, and wouldn't come back to us if we begged her to! Here is the video that we made to honor Aunt Thelma:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9NHkSFy8_U&feature=share&list=UUc56Qx9oaP7cQskX1FufV-g

The Rookie

My husband has been anxiously awaiting the time when he will have a little boy to drag around a dirty baseball diamond, hanging on his every word. Well, the time has come, and I'm afraid those dreams may be shattered!! Jax has started T-ball, and I am saddened to say that he isn't the star, or the enthusiast that Daddy was hoping for. My son is much more excited about drawing pictures in the dirt than catching the ball. And, if only he had a car to race along the tracks he was drawing in the dirt, baseball wouldn't be so bad. My boy, my rather large, should-be-a-sports-monster boy, is a motor-head.   Basically, "If it doesn't have wheels, it ain't cool!"

After just one game, he decided he really didn't want to play anymore. Thanks to the fact that there is a Dairy Bar down the road, I was able to bribe him with enough ice cream to keep him playing. Hopefully with a little coaching from Daddy and Papaw, we can improve his skills to the point where he will love the game as much as his cars. (But, if he is ever going to buy his parents a big fancy house one day, it will be with the money he gets from winning the Indy 500, rather than his first MLB paycheck.)

Four Wheeler Training Camp

The very day of Jackson's birthday party at the Web, Papaw took him directly to his Uncle Timmy's house to try out his new four-wheeler. He was a fast learner, but is a little too daring for Mommy to watch. When we would yell, "Jackson that's enough. Jackson slow down. Jackson turn this way. Stop there. Not so fast!" He would respond with a "Sorry, I can't hear you I'm on my Four Wheel Wer!" 

It was a little too much for Mommy to take, so I'm glad that Papaw and Daddy were there!

I guess that's a very reasonable complaint considering the fact that THIS WARNING came with my son's favorite birthday present! 

Thanks Papaw! 

I'm so glad that this toy comes with an automatic, remote OFF switch! 

That's definitely my favorite feature!

Jackson's Big Day (Birthday Bash #3)

My little Mann's official celebration took place on March 30th at the Web Extreme in West Chester. 

Check out the invitations above. Each invitation was a HotWheel that was hand-picked for each guest by the birthday boy himself. It was then hot glued to a HotWheel custom made package. You had to pull off the car to see the party details on behind. 

The Web Extreme in West Chester was an awesome, accidental, find. I was just searching for indoor go-carts, and I stumbled across it. It was amazing fun for everyone. It kind of has a Chuck E. Cheese feel in the game room. BUT, the kids also go tot bowl at a perfect little bowling alley. (Remember the kind that has the pins attached to little strings, and has the little miniature balls?) There were even bumpers!! Great fun for everyone, even the toddlers had a blast!

After bowling, we were treated to pizza and soda. The pizza was Noble Romans, which was DELICIOUS!! Then we got to play miniature golf. Since we had the first birthday party early in the morning we didn't have to share the space with anyone. We just gave the kiddos the clubs and let them run. (Sounds safe doesn't it!?) It was wonderful, because they didn't have to wait in line, take turns, or anything. It was perfect!

 The cake was adorable. Jax picked out his favorite five cars to match the big five on top. The cake was a great deal! Only 40 dollars!! We would have paid more than twice that much at the old cake place. Of course the cake looks a little less "polished," but I can tell you it is the best cake ever. The most MOIST I have ever tasted, and she refuses to use fondant on children's birthday cake. She is right, the really don't like the taste of it. I sent her a picture of a cake Jax found online, and she made an exact replica!! Ms. Peggy is awesome, and great with the kids. I would recommend her to anyone. You can find her at Affordable Wedding Creations in Covington. 

And here it is!! For the second time in three months, I was terribly over-ruled by my father! Jackson, like his sister, got a four-wheeler for his birthday. It was of no surprise to him! He kept telling me that he was getting it, and that Papaw's friend even put a note on a four-wheeler in his store that said, "I am for Jackson's Birthday!" Really!? 

The grand finale of party was a ride on the go carts. Papaw rode with Jax. (Thank goodness because just looking at them made me sick.) This was actually the very reason that we found the Web Extreme. 

Here are a few pix of game time. To end the party, each guest gets a card with tokes on it to play the games in the arcade. I loved this one where Jax and his GIRLFRIEND (They have actually had a thing going since their stroller/pumpkin seat days!!) Can you believe that she is the older woman! Yes, older, Although she is more than a head smaller, she is actually 8 months OLDER!! 

As usual, the party was a huge success!! I couldn't be happier with the turnout! 

Take my word for it, the drive up to the Web is worth it. 

I can't believe my baby boy is actually five-years-old! It's simply unfair! 

In just five short months he will be headed off to Kindergarten. 

Cue the tears!! 

Jax's Birthday Bash #2

On the day of our children's birthdays we always take them to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner. 

Everyone knows that they get spectacular parties with family and friends later, but we look forward to  our own little private celebration on the official big day. Check out our little man's birthday shirt. I ordered it on Etsy to honor the fact that he turned five, and that we were having a hotwheet party. He actually picked it out himself. 

To celebrate our family parties Kevin always insists on having a cake from his favorite childhood bakery, Bonnie Lynn. The icing is as rich as icing could possibly be, which is why I love it so much. The fancy cake will come on the day of the big bash. 

While at Chuck E. Cheese, Jax spends the entire time at the same game. It's a racing game, where he gets to be the police officer and chase down the "Bad Guys." We usually just put a stack of tokens on the top of the game so that he can just continuously feed the machine until we cut the cake. 

It seems like Jax is always surrounded by women. He has a big sister, all of his friends are girls, and he always gets to hang out with Mommy's friends. One of my dear friends, Brittany, came to Jax's Chuck E. Cheese party this year. She has been doing a lot of babysitting for us, and the kids have fallen in love with her in such a short time.  

Jackson's wall tracks, from Grandma and Grandpa Mann, was one of his favorite new toys.

I was actually kind of nervous about this gift. I wondered if we were going to have to screw it into the wall, or if it was going to have suction cups, which would cause it to fall off the wall every time we played.  But, the toy actually attaches to the wall with those 3M thingy's. It's actually pretty awesome, and I think we will be adding onto the wall track very soon. 

Papaw Ford got him some Cars 2 micro-drifters, which kept us up til about 11:30 that night. He couldn't stop playing with his toys. Every time I insisted that it was time to go to bed, I was given a puppy-dog look and a, "But Mommy, it's my birthday!" 

What can I say, the little stinker has me wrapped around his pinky finger!