Gonna party like it's your birfday

My 30th birthday is today, but we've been celebrating all weekend. It's been such a blast! We started on Saturday night by meeting friends at Desperados for dinner. Since I still can't enjoy a tasty margarita (and neither can Hayley!) we decided to try out some virgin strawberry ritas.

Not quite the same, but it was nice to have something different from tea or water!

Last night we celebrated with the fam at A Taste of Italy. This time the two rascals were in the mix and all I can say is thank goodness we had the whole back room to ourselves! They were wild and in rare form. This is their latest trick.

My Aunt Glenda just recently moved back here from CA, so she was able to attend also. Really glad that all of you could be there:)

After dinner we went back to our house for some cake and presents. My sweet, amazing, awesome husband baked a fabulous chocolate coke cake for me. Of course, I did need a little help blowing out all those candles and Jackson was just the man for the job.

After enjoying the cake and ice cream, I got to open some presents. Everyone was way too generous and I got some amazing gifts. However, the ones that might stand out the most are the ones I got from Jackson. He went shopping with Jared and picked out two things especially for me--a spongebob square pants CD and 6 little trucks. Ha! Jared said he tried to get me a Jack Ingram CD, but that J insisted I already had one and "did not have a Sponge Bob CD." Too funny. (He was right, by the way, I do have that Jack Ingram CD)

Really this is all I needed though. I love this little guy so very much. He just makes my heart melt.

And I'm pretty crazy about this one, too. Thanks, babe for such a wonderful 30th birthday. You really outdid yourself this year!

Firewheel Easter Festival

Our annual neighborhood Easter Festival was yesterday and we all had a really fun time. There were pony rides, train rides, a petting zoo, bounce houses and carnival games. This year we had a special treat, too...the Easter Bunny!

Jackson is a big fan and ran right over to him. He gave the Easter Bunny a big hug and then took some pictures with him.

Waiting with his cousin for her egg hunt to begin.

Jackson was definitely on "Team Madison" during her hunt. He ran around like crazy, collecting tons of eggs, holding them in his shirt and then dumping them in her basket. It was funny and sweet of him to help her out, but we did have him put some back out for all of the little ones who weren't so lightning quick!

We lost sight of J for a sec and of course my heart always skips a beat when that happens. Never fear, though, he was just hanging out with the pole. Thank goodness!

Memaw and Poppy came to the festival this year, too, and were nice enough to offer to stand in the really long line for the pony so that J and M could ride.

While they were in line, Jackson was busy doing other fun things, like feeding this pot belly pig.

Maddie was checking out the cute little chick. I must say, she was more gentle with it than her cousin. Must be a boy thing.

Then it was time for Jackson's egg hunt. Here's a shot of all the kids anxiously awaiting the start. I went out there to get this picture and Jackson made a break for it. He began running full speed ahead for me and accidentally created a big false start!

When it was time for the real deal, this big guy got lots of eggs and suckers. What a difference a year makes! Last year we were hustling around like crazy just trying to get 3 or 4 eggs.

After the hunt, it was time for his turn on the pony.

Then it was on over to enjoy the "decorate a cookie" station. Check out his hair. It was unbelieveably windy!

After chowing down on a good sprinkle filled iced cookie, we took a turn on the train. It was really fun for J and M and I especially loved it because I actually got to sit down:)

The last thing of the day was to go bounce for a bit. These two kiddos love some good bouncing. Maddie would fall down and hop back up every time saying "I ok, I ok."

All bounced out. What a great afternoon! Thanks both families for spending the day with us.

36 Weeks!

The countdown for Lila's arrival has officially begun. I am now 36 weeks and it's hard to believe it's already that time! We are all so excited to meet our sweet baby girl.

My doctor's appointment went well yesterday. No big news, like dilation or anything, but we did find out that she's started moving down. She's at a -2 station right now, which is very encouraging news. As Jared pointed out, that's only 7 centimeters from being born. When you think about it that way, it does seem like she could just come out at any time. Whoa!

Let's hope we at least make it to the hospital:)

A home delivery would throw all of us over the edge. Mama likes that epidural. Scratch that, Mama NEEDS that epidural!

Say what?!

This weekend has been pretty crazy, even by our standards! First, my beloved Horns LOST in overtime to Jared's Demon Deacons...by 1 point, none-the-less! Then a wacky cold front blew in on Saturday morning bringing lots of rain. It's worth noting that the whole week has been so beautiful...highs in the 60s and 70s and abundant sunshine. Come the weekend, all that changed. Saturday afternoon we had a birthday party for one of Jackson's friends. It was supposed to all take place outside and Hunter's parents even rented a little pony for the party.

Jackson wanted to be first on the pony, but since his mommy had to run and grab the camera, he ended up being second! I know it doesn't look this way, but he was really pumped to get to ride this cute little pony. He did tell the lady leading the horse, "I want to go slow. I want to go slow." He did great and really enjoyed his time in the saddle.

As we were leaving the party a few snow flurries began to fall. We just thought that's all it would be and weren't ready for anything else. So, imagine our surprise when we woke up to THIS in the morning! Say what?!

Jackson was so thrilled that he ran thru the house hollering,"I get to eat more snow!!"

Then he and his daddy went out and had lots of fun in the snow before church.

J's hitting Jared with a snowball and a neighborhood kid is making snow angels. What a fun way to start out the day! I'm ready for it to all melt now, though. Let's get back to those 70 degree days!

Soccer Tots

Jackson started Soccer Tots a few weeks ago and really enjoys it, for the most part! He's much more tentative than I expected him to be, but it's so good for him to get to run around for a solid hour.

Goodness knows, he's got plenty of energy to expend! Here he is on the field with Coach Mike. I thought it was too dark and my pictures weren't coming out so I didn't take any more. Next week I'll get some more good action shots.

I'm pretty sure he likes kicking the ball, running the drills and doing all of the fun soccer activities. However, the end of class is definitely his favorite. Look how happy he is--he even smiled for the camera without me saying a word!

All the kids get in a small huddle and yell, "1, 2, 3...

Go Soccer Tots!"

Then they get super cool stamps from Coach Mike. What a great way to end the class!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I dressed my little leprechaun in green today to be sure he didn't get pinched. He was so thankful he even agreed to a mini photo shoot in our backyard.

So glad I finally captured a non "cheese!" face! You know, the one where their face is all squished up and eyes almost closed:)

He looks so old to me these days...maybe it's those long legs...

or the fact that he's potty trained now! Yes, you heard it here, folks. No more diapers!

Now we can go to the park and not have to worry about bringing a diaper bag. So nice! Jackson was so proud of himself for making friends with this turtle. We've been discussing friends and strangers recently. He told me that the turtle who jumped in the water when we walked up must have been a stranger. Maybe so, J man, maybe so!

This one was definitely a friend, though. Check out how close it let Jackson get to him. We really enjoyed our spring day outside and look forward to many more this season.

Fireman/Poolman

Bet we're the only house around town that can claim to have a fireman/poolman as a resident! This morning as Jackson was getting dressed, he decided to put on his new fireman coat.

Then we came downstairs and let the dogs out in the backyard. Right after we walked out, Jackson said "The pool has a lot of dirt in it...I'll clean it off!" and ran off to get the pool brush.

He immediately began scrubbing the pool steps. Have you ever seen such a cheerful pool boy?!

Good work, J man! Good work.