Super Noah

Noah is starting to get into super-heroes. I laughed SO HARD when he put on his Super Cape and we played Super Noah. He jumped off his bed onto me and then "flew" in the air! He's such a ham!

Father's Day 2011

Happy Father's Day 2011~ Our 1st Father's Day as a family of FOUR!
The kids and I made these fun decorations that said, "#1 Pop," and decorated the breakfast table for Daddy. We even put decorations on Daddy's beer, which Noah calls, "Daddy water." Noah and Jackson decorated cards with their hands & feet, and we had a little party when Daddy got up this morning. Noah was so cute. When Michael came downstairs, Noah said, "Happy Birthday, Daddy!" Noah's special gift to Daddy was a book that recorded Noah's voice answering different questions about he & Daddy. It was very sweet. I must say, I know that I am really blessed to have Michael as the father of my children. He is HANDS ON. He would do anything for our boys, and has given them the best gift ever...with his presence. Happy Daddy's Day!

On a sidebar note...my amazing father is STILL in Michigan. He has been there for over two weeks...He has been lovingly staying in Michigan, and going through my Grandma Kreger's home, scanning pictures and bringing home momentos for us. It has NOT been good circumstances to say the least. But I want my boys to one day know that their Grampa Rogers gave SO much of his time...so that they could one day see pictures of their Grandma Rogers, and Grampa & Grandma Kreger. He is a man of so much integrity, faith, and love. I personally, couldn't wait to get out of Michigan. But my dad staying there was a gift. There are no words to explain how humbled and blessed I am to have him for a father. He is my hero...a TRUE role model for my Noah & Jackson.

4th of July Pics taken today

Today we met Rose Bailey out in Edom for some 4th of July pictures. The pictures of Jackson will also serve as his 7 months pics, as I have thus far been able to get pics of him every month so far. My goal is to do that for a full year! Rose posted these 3 preview pictures today on Facebook...which is pretty unheard of. She's never posted 3 pics from the same family before, and I must say, it made my day to see these two little firecrackers online. But, my kids were SO good & they are SO cute!! Not that I'm biased;) I actually got a phone call from my favorite photographer at Motophoto today. She was wanting to know why I haven't brought the boys in for pictures. The pics above say it all. I love the outdoor pics, and I love being able to get the pictures on a CD. So, thanks again, sweet Rose Bailey...memory maker. And thank you, God, for these two precious boys...who are the lights of my heart. Mommy loves you both.

Here are my cuties! Jackson at 7 months old & Noah at 3 years, 4 months old.

Priceless!

The Michigan Milk Saga & Shipping Story---A classic

This is a story only a few people could appreciate...but a true story nonetheless. When I went to Michigan to help with Grandma Kreger, I had to pump in order to keep up my milk supply for Jackson. Plus, Michael told me that they would run out of milk before I returned home, so we had several issues to address. The 1st issue was what in the heck was I supposed to do during the 8 hours of travel to Michigan...including layover. The answer? A manual, hand-held pump. Yuck. So, do you want to know how much I love my Jackson? I hand-pumped him milk in the public restroom during my layover at the Houston airport. Seriously. And I was concerned about keeping it cold, so I got a cup of ice at Starbucks and then proceeded to pack it in my Starbucks cup and put it in my carry-on bag. I then did the same thing AGAIN in the Detroit Airport bathroom. Classy, huh? THEN, a couple days later, I needed to send milk to Jackson. So I discovered how to FED-EX milk from Michigan to Texas...dry ice and all...to the tune of about $200. Bargain, huh? Not exactly. THEN the saga of taking the milk home began! What to do? I had so much breast milk that I literally didn't have any room for any of my clothes or toiletries in my carry-on bag, so I left that with my dad, who brought it all back to Texas. I then filled my entire duffle bag with dry ice and bags of milk! The poor airport security men were a little scared when I declared my milk and the cloud of dry ice fog filled the air when they opened the bag! But, they sent me right on through with no problem. And our milk arrived safely in Texas! Oh, what this Mommy does for her boys. Jackson, one day I hope you appreciate this! Your Mommy loves you lots to go through all of this for you!!! But, you're worth it.

Jackson's 1st swim in the pool

Tonight Michael took Jackson in the pool for his FIRST SWIM! One thing I really appreciate about my blog (Thank you Mary Beth...YOU WERE RIGHT!) is that I can see in black-and-white...all of Jackson's firsts. Like tonight. His first swim. He did great. At first, he just kind of looked around, taking it all in. Then he began to splash a little. Noah said, "Mama, Jackson is splashing!" It's moments like these that make me so thankful for the little things...just watching my boys in the pool. Blessed is the word that comes to mind.

Jackson bathing in the kitchen sink

One way that Jackson has been different from Noah as a baby is that Jackson has not liked water very much...until now. Noah pretty much liked water soon after those first few baths as an infant were over. Jackson did o.k. with baths until one day when I think it was the perfect storm of over-tiredness, overstimulation (Noah was in the tub), and warmer water...and Jackson just freaked out. He started screaming like he was in pain. Michael checked the water and it wasn't too warm...warmer than usual, but definitely o.k. for a baby's bath. From that point on, Jackson cried when we took him into Noah's bath. I recently changed it up by putting him in the kitchen sink (as pictured) or my bathroom sink. No trauma there, thank goodness! So, now, my sweet baby boy likes water again...even likes swimming in the pool. I keep waiting for his first tooth to appear! He puts just about anything he can (except a paci) in his mouth right now. That's another difference in my boys. Noah was a paci boy from the start! Not Jackson. But they both love the teething tablets, which is good for Mama! It's so interesting to see how different they are and the ways they are so similar. I love the individuality of both my boys. Immensely.

Best friends @ Elizabeth's 40th Birthday

Elizabeth & I at her 40th Birthday Party~ She's 40 & Fabulous!