Four Years Old.

FOUR!  My baby is four.  Which means in the past four years, I've learned to love life more, hug tighter, smile bigger, laugh louder, dance longer and love deeper.  Jackson is known as "good time Charlie" because he is such a lover of life.  His heart is the size of the globe.  He is sensitive, caring, thoughtful, genuine, joyful, fun and so much more.  He truly lives every single moment of his life and I learn so much from that.  When we are eating, he enjoys every bite.  When I try on clothes, he tells me I look beautiful.  When Daddy leaves for work, he tells him to say hi to his coworkers from him.  He tells me to turn up the music when a song comes on he likes, he waves to me when playing soccer, he always asks for one more cuddle, he tells Lucca she is his very best friend.  He still wants me to sing him a song every night before he falls asleep.  Sometimes he asks for six songs. He is pure love - and it is pure joy being his mother.  Everyone who knows Jackson loves him.  Like really loves him. He is captivating.  

Jackson, may you always enjoy the moments of your life.

May your zest for life never leave your heart.  

Happy Birthday, buddy.

Christmas Wish List

Weekend Wrap-Up

My three year old dude. To know him is to adore him. And that we did, all weekend long.

The Golfer.

The Photographer.

The Gymnast. 

The Eater.

The Best Sleeper.  Which is actually the most ironic thing considering his first year of life, AKA The Year of Sleep We Will Never Get Back.  It's still funny to me when moms ask how we get Jackson to sleep (and stay in) his big boy bed all night.  Magic!

Now, it's Sunday night, the weekend is done. Tomorrow morning we will all go downstairs to eat breakfast and Jackson will ask Daddy, as he always does, "Do you have to go to work again?"  Daddy will say yes.  And then in the most heartfelt, sincere reply ever, Jackson will tell him, "I'm gonna miss you."  And truer words will have never been spoken. Those two. 💙

Happy 3rd Birthday!

For the past 24 hours, I've been reminiscing about April 9, 2011 and looking at hundreds of Jackson's baby pictures, because how can it be my sweet baby is THREE?!  

I swear this was just yesterday....

But today?  He helped make the cupcakes for his classmates at preschool.  Lightning McQueen cupcakes of course.  Because life is all about planes, trains, and race cars when you are three. 

See?

Sister wore a crown on her birthday, so Jackson wanted one too.  I put my glue gun to use and voila, his own birthday crown.  He insisted on wearing it so everyone would sing Happy Birthday to him.  Adorable.

We made waffles for the birthday boy's breakfast and ate them on Dusty plates.  The biggest deal of the morning.  The biggest toy of the morning was that airplane...which is the biggest, loudest airplane you ever did see.  Echo is his name.  He's now our 5th family member.

Echo came to school with us...

And Lucca gave Jackson a Lightning McQueen umbrella, so no more stealing her rainbow butterfly umbrella.  Problem solved.  Now we just need some rain...

We went mini-golfing and go-kart riding when Daddy got home from work.  IT WAS AMAZING.  The first time for both kids and they thought it was the best.  Just walking into the arcade to buy our tickets was mesmerizing.  Lights, video games, toys, prizes, nightmares -- everywhere!  Thankfully they were too young to even ask to play any of that stuff and we just went straight to the mini golf.  Jackson's favorite holes had the swinging trap doors and he loved trying to get his ball through the door.  It took about 100 times, but it's his birthday, so we let him do it 100 times.

It was more bowling than golf...on every hole. 

Sidenote: I beat Rustin by 5 strokes this night.

And then we rode the go-karts. At bedtime. In the dark. And it was amazing. 

A full day for a special boy.  Our magic boy.  The guy who makes me so dang happy to be his mother.

I never dreamed of the way my heart would explode with such never-ending love, joy + gratitude that this boy brings.  It's been the best three years with our sweet Jack Stone.  Just the very best.

Happy Birthday, Buddy.  I am yours, you are mine.

ONE TWO THREE

Jackson: Mommy, I'm still hungry!

Me:  Dinner is done, time for a bath.

Jackson: But Jesus is hungry.

Me:  You're Jackson, not Jesus.

Jackson: BUT JESUS IN MY HEART SAID HE'S HUNGRY!!!

overwhelming emotion.

THE BOY WHO HAS STOLEN MY HEART.

I AM CERTAIN I WILL DO ANYTHING FOR THIS BOY AS LONG AS I LIVE.

AND HIS BIG, BROWN, CAPTIVATING EYES THAT MELT MY HEART.

EVEN WHEN HE'S NAUGHTY & "SURFS" DOWN THE STAIRCASE, EVERY DAY.

Sometimes being a mother means you experience moments of overwhelming emotion.  

I'm currently having a moment.  A heart-so-full-of-love-it-could-burst-at-the-seams kind of moment.  The very best kind possible. 

"Young boys should never be sent to bed … they always wake up a day older." 

Neverland 

ugh. isn't that true.

The man

The boy that melts my heart. Makes me laugh. Gives the best "huggles" and tells me I'm the best mommy everrr, totally unprompted. Raising a little boy who is brave, fearless and adventurous is awesome. And scary. Jackson jumps off everything, runs everywhere, "surfs" down the side of the stairs every dang time instead of walking down the steps, and rides his bike at 100 mph to the park. Mothering my boy is so definitely different than his sister and I'm learning a little bit more every day how to embrace his toughness. All while encouraging his love for affection and his sweet, sensitive side. Because thank the dear Lord, Jackson has the most tender heart on the planet. Our big dude is tough, but he's also the one who climbs in bed and cuddles with us for a half hour each morning asking for a back rub, the one who still asks "Daddy, hold you!", the boy who runs full speed from across the park to grab a quick snuggle, and who constantly says "I love ____ soooo much" depending on who he loves most that day.

He's pretty much perfect. Hard to get mad at. Easy to love. A beauty to look at. And FUN to be with. Especially in his red, race car rain boots, fishing with a stick in a rain puddle on the side of the road.

2 year old brain.

Me: "Jackson, what should you do when Mommy says STOP! when you're riding your bike?"

Jackson:  "Go to bedtime."

Me:  "No. When Mommy says STOP should you listen and stop your bike or should you ride faster?"

Jackson:  "Want to play basketball?"

The man.

Jackson is known as "the man" around here.  He is just the best.

Favorite thing to do: Ride his bike. He would do this all day, every day, if he could.
Favorite snack:  Blueberries
Favorite books: Cat in the Hat and Dinosaur Shapes
Favorite show: Super Why
Favorite dinner:  Buzz-on-ya!  (lasagna)

He takes off his shoes every single time we get in the car.  He sticks out his tongue and smiles when anyone tries to say hi to him.  He loves company logos...Home Depot!  Target!  Boca!  Paradise Foods!  He asks to go to the park 10 times a day.  He uses the potty, hooray!  He misses Daddy "soooooo much" when Daddy goes to work in "Samf Ma-sisco" i.e. San Francisco.

Love this buddy to the moon.  And he says he loves me all the way to the park.  And to Georgia.  And to Safeway.

That's a lot of love.