June Angels

Brian and I were blessed to have both of our boys born in June. My mom use to tell Jackson that he was her "June Angel", so now that Charlie also shares a June birthday, Jackson informs everyone that he and Charlie are BOTH June Angels.

Jackson loves to chat, and if given the opportunity, he'll talk for hours and hours. Flights are especially good times for Jackson as he normally has a captive audience. No where to run as I like to say. By the end of the flight, the poor soul seated next to us will have all sorts of information about our family -- our dog names, the kids' birthdays, his school, his friends, his grandma...you name it and he'll talk about it!

On one recent flight, Jackson discovered that the little "friend" seated behind us also had a June birthday. He promptly declared that this little girl was also a "June Angel". So sweet.

June is a special time for us all. Brian and I are celebrating seven years of marriage this year! My parents, still setting the bar high, are celebrating 41 years (we share the same anniversary).

We are thrilled that my mom is coming to visit us tomorrow! She will be here for Jackson's oral surgery and Charlie's first birthday. Jackson is beyond thrilled and asked me today if grandma "could stay like for 5 weeks!". His eyes lit up yesterday when we told him that Grandma's going to share his room with him. He said: "Yeah...I'm going to be a snuggle bunny with her. I'm going to sneak down to her bed, wrap my arms around her. Then she's going to say 'can you move over a bit honey?'...I just love that!".

Charlie will no doubt love the visit too. Like Jackson, Charlie is a people person and hasn't met a stranger. He smiles at everyone and is just now starting to wave. He's been "walking" since about 10 1/2 months, but in the past few days he's really taken off. He walks everywhere, which means he's into everything.







With so much going on, we are looking forward to celebrating all the blessings we have in our lives this month.




Cheers!

Substitute Teachers and Other Miscellaneous Stories

Jackson and Brian have been spending some great time outside playing t-ball! Jackson loves to play with Brian and it is wonderful to have that special one-on-one time. We also got to see Jackson perform at his Joy Notes recital! The kids sang, danced, and played their songs on the piano. What a treat! Jackson played "Fog" and did a wonderful job. He even took a bow at the end of his performance. Ms. Diane has such a wonderful program and Charlie is already on the wait list for the 2011 class.





Speaking of Charlie...he is growing like a weed! He's standing by himself and taking a few steps here and there, but then decides it would be faster to crawl. The kid is fast! He has a ton of hair and most people think he's two, rather than almost one! Here are a couple of before and after hair cut pictures:





School is coming to an end soon. The other day, Jackson informed me that he's had a substitute teacher the past few days. I said: "really?" (Not really caring much). He said: "yeah...she's really catholic too". I asked what he meant by "really catholic" -- thinking she prayed more than Mrs. Carlson, but instead he said: "she'll send you right down to the office--without even turning your number over!".

Good to know that even at age 5 almost 6, Jackson is equating strictness with being Catholic.

Along the lines of being Catholic, Jackson has informed me he wants us to have 4 boys and 2 girls. Today...he added onto that number and said he wants us to have 10 kids. At that point, I told him that we're most likley going to be satisfied with three, but that when he finds nice girl to marry, he and his wife can have 10 children if they wish. I'm not sure he grasped that concept...but that's okay by me. He has plenty of time to worry about getting married and having children.

is the last full day of school. The children have mass tomorrow and then are dismissed for the summer. Thankfully, the weather is reporting a sunny and 80 degree day tomorrow, so I'm packing up the car in the morning and taking the kids to the pool after school gets out.

June will be a busy month for us. Brian and I celebrate our 7th anniversary on June 8th. My mom arrives on the 9th just in time for Jackson's oral surgery on the 10th. On June 11th, Charlie turns one! My...how time flies. Just after we've recovered from Charlie's birthday, Jackson will turn 6 on the 22nd.

We have several trips planned for the summer. We'll head back to WA to visit with family and we're hoping to make it to the Lake of the Ozarks one weekend and the Iowa State fair another weekend. Beyond that, we're hoping the weather cooperates and we can spend a quality time at the pool.

Play Ball! Jackson's first t-ball practice

Along with soccer, Jackson now has t-ball twice a week (and soon summer swimming too!). His first t-ball practice was on a beautiful spring day in Peoria. Mom, dad and Charlie came to help and cheer him on (despite the feet of freshly mowed grass, which was killing mom's allergies!).

Jackson is playing t-ball through the Christian Center. It is a wonderful program. They start and end with a prayer and also have bible verses to memorize each week. They also encourage parental involvement and practice. It was great. As parents, we learned drills to practice with our kids to help them with the fundamentals of t-ball.

They divided up the kids into two teams: the Rays and the Pirates. We were thrilled when Jackson got assigned to the Pirate Team! Ahoy! He got his new shirt and cap, and this weekend we'll be getting his pants, batting helmet, bag and other necessities.



Jackson's coach is a member of St. Vincent's and plays Basketball with Brian on Sunday evenings. There are a few other classmates of Jackson's on the team, which makes it fun.

Charlie is fascinated with Jackson and his friends. I've noticed that Charlie loves to play with balls -- in the bathtub and elsewhere. He also likes to throw things and then chase after the object. The baseball was an instant hit with Charlie and he had a blast playing "catch" with mommy while Jackson and daddy did their drills.

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We are having fun with all of Jackson's activities and we are trying to stay on top of his busy schedule. T-ball goes through June and summer YMCA swim team starts up soon. We can't wait. Jackson will have practice every morning (except in cases of thunderstorms). Looks as though our summer will be swim team in the morning, pool in the afternoon and t-ball practice/games in the evening. Not a bad life!