Flower Boxes

With Jacob's new playground (as he calls it!) set up in the backyard, we're spending more and more time outdoors. We're really trying to enjoy it before the temperature gets too hot! We have grand plans for our backyard, which include an extended patio and new fence. Those projects will take some time, so we decided to add a few things to the yard to make it prettier. Not only did we get a little cafe set with a table and two chairs, but we added flower boxes to the windows into the kitchen, as well as the window on Jacob's playset. Jacob chose to plant marigolds in his flower box (no joke!) but simply because they're practically yellow, his favorite color. The other boxes have petunias and some other plant I'm not quite sure the name of. We've had terrible wind here lately (not to mention the weird cold front that came to town a week ago) and I'm just hoping the beautiful flowers survive!

Springtime at the Zoo

We decided to take advantage of the beautiful Spring weather (afterall, it'll be in the triple digits around here in no time!) and spend some time at the zoo. Now that we have a membership, we have more freedom to visit and only see what we really want to see and not feel guilty that we haven't gotten our money's worth! The zoo was quite busy, so we didn't feel bad leaving after only an hour!

For some reason, Jacob really wanted to see the birds and crocodiles at the zoo, so we spent much of our time at the reptile house and watching the vultures.

This was pretty much the only picture we could slow him down enough to take!


Of course, no trip to the zoo would be complete without a stop to the Giants of the Savanna. We just had to see the elephants and Jacob's favorite, the giraffes!

All in all, it was a lovely way to spend a spring day!

Easter Odds and Ends

Sooo...this past month has been completely mad and I'm sorry to say that posting on the blog hasn't been my top priority. We've been so busy with work/school and spending time with friends and family that I often forget about the blog!
While it's already been a week since Easter, I thought I should post with some of the fun things we did this year. Jacob absolutely loved all of the Easter decorations we put up around the house and couldn't stop talking about the Easter bunny! We made sure to read lots of books to get us in the spirit as well!

Each year, we attend the Eggstravaganza that our church hosts. This year, we were lucky enough to go with not only Mim and Poppa, but also cousins Sam and Levi! Jacob doesn't get to see these cousins often, but there is this unexplainable bond he has with them. Any time he's with Sam, it's as if they've never been away! He had a great time searching for eggs, visiting the petting zoo, and enjoying the various bounce houses and slides!

This came after a big scare we had... as he was climbing up to the top he lost his footing and rolled back down the ladder portion. It was almost as if it was in slow motion, we were soo very thankful that he didn't truly get hurt (we were afraid a limb or even his head would be caught in the ladder) and he stayed true to form and just turned around, scrambled back up the ladder and came sliding down!



Of course, we were up bright and early on Easter morning, Jacob just could not wait to see what the Easter bunny had left him! He got some new tub toys, playdough tools, books, a movie and a pteranadon from Dinosaur Train among other things. Next, it was time to search for the eggs the Easter bunny had hidden around the house!

After getting all ready, we headed to church with Mim, Poppa, Uncle Scott, Auntie Nikki and cousins Sam and Levi. Jacob loved being able to go to Sunday School with Levi! Later, we went back to Mim and Poppa's house, where the Easter bunny had left a second Easter basket! Then, we headed to The Tribute where we met up with Uncle Andy, Auntie Catherine, and cousins Drew, Ben, and Brady for another Easter egg hunt and brunch.

We had such a wonderful time on Easter this year and truly just enjoyed the time away from life's distractions to focus on family and God's true gift to us...Jesus Christ. We are so blessed and took the time to focus on all that God has given us, including a sweet little boy!

Spring Break- Children's Aquarium

This morning we ventured to the newly renovated Children's Aquarium at Fair Park. We have visited the Dallas World Aquarium several times and really love it, but thought the Children's Aquarium would be a nice change of pace. It was the perfect, managable size for Jacob's age and also very hands-on. He was able to see all the displays very well and enjoyed touching the Horseshoe Shell Crabs and even the Sting Rays!

Spring Break- The Zoo!

We spent the first day of Spring Break visiting the Dallas Zoo. Jacob was so very excited and couldn't wait to see all of the animals! Unfortunately, it was a bit chilly and some of the animals were not out to enjoy. Lucky for us, the giraffes were out and we spent much of our time feeding and looking at them!

Jacob was a bit frightened of the giraffes (I have to admit, they are a bit intimidating!) but we loved feeding them lettuce and getting a close up view-much better than their old habitat!

Besides the giraffes, we got to see elephants (briefly), lions (from inside a cafe, they weren't very social), the tiger (which seems to never be in view), and the monkeys. Of course, no zoo visit is complete without a ride on the carousel!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Valentine's Day 2011

Jacob had a great day at school on Monday and was so excited to give his teacher's special gifts and pass out little treat bags filled with Valentine goodies to all of his friends! He and his friends enjoyed a Valentine party at lunch, complete with pizza! When I picked him up, I noticed that his teacher had asked each child what they loved and he responded "I love more cookies, lovie, and puppy!".