Vacation Bible School

I will always have a special soft spot for VBS.  I attended every year as a child and later volunteered throughout my older years.  When I found out that Jacob was old enough to attend VBS at our church this summer, I signed him up right away!  It was scheduled for the week right after school got out, which was a challenge, but he had the most amazing time!  He loved going to church every day and talked all about Paul and the stories he learned all week!

While he was in VBS, my friend Kelly and I took the babies out and about.  It was nice to get some adult time!  I think Jonah also enjoyed the alone time with mommy, but it definitely wore him out!

Unfortunately, at the end of the week I got very sick but I think it was just due to exhaustion with the school year ending (moving classrooms-back up to 3rd grade!) and jumping right into VBS.  Nathan also spent the week at the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, so that added to the exhaustion!  We are all recovering now, but Jacob is certainly disappointed that VBS is over!  Needless to say, it is the best feeling in the world to see your child learn and grow in his faith and get excited about church!

Jacob, Katelyn and PJ each day after VBS

Last day of VBS silliness!

Jonah is worn out!

Things We're Loving

Jacob's favorite things right now...

Jacob didn't really start getting interested in Legos until this past Christmas, but it's safe to say that he is completely obsessed!  We have more Legos than I know what to do with and his collection continues to grow! 

 

Probably some of Jacob's favorite movies right now!  We usually save these for movie nights when daddy's in town because he asks so many questions I can't answer!

Yes, this is still a favorite in the Cox house!  We have even introduced it to Jonah and he's also a fan!

Jacob still drinks a carnation in his milk for added protein and nutrients, but these Horizon vanilla milk boxes are perfect in a pinch or for travel!

A few things Jonah is loving right now...

 These are the best pacifiers I have found.  We have to have Jonah's first and last name on his pacis for school, and these aren't drawn on but are engraved!  The name stays put no matter how many times you sterilize, absolutely no smudging.  Check out www.mypacifier.com.

Honest diapers: Adorable, eco-friendly diapers that are super absorbent, too!

Jonah is at the perfect age for Fisher Price Little People!  He has several play sets and loves to tinker around with them! 

A family favorite...

The Honest Company has become my go-to for my cleaning supplies.  We get both a diaper bundle and family bundle each month and things like detergent, dish soap, sunscreen and more is delivered to my door!  I must say, the stain remover is by far the BEST stain remover I've ever used!  It has taken out berry stains and even blood (remember back when Jonah was in the hospital and pulled out his IV???).  The boys both have super sensitive skin and unfortunately, cannot use the shampoo/body wash or lotion but I've used pretty much all the other products and am very pleased!

And of course, a little something for mommy!

Jack Rogers Navajo sandals are a summer staple in my wardrobe.  I think it's time for a gold pair to make it into my closet!

A recent obsession is this GiGi New York Teddie Tote in Magenta.  Large enough to fit a few diapers, wipes and snacks but still cute enough to carry around without the boys!  Even better, it can be personalized (which is my weakness in life!).

Our Graduate

On Friday evening, we gathered along with Mim and Poppa at a little Episcopal church near Jacob's school to celebrate his graduation from Junior Kindergarten.  His class had been working for weeks and weeks to prepare and he was absolutely thrilled to graduate! We have been so blessed with wonderful teachers this year and he has enjoyed every minute of school.  Jacob is beyond excited to join me at Bennett next year, but I think he is most concerned with the "snack drawer" I'm going to have in my classroom for after school snacks!

Getting ready to sing a few songs with his classmates

Singing "Three Little Ducks" using sign language

Our little ladies man!

He was so excited to see Mim and Poppa in the audience!

Jacob was very serious walking back in to receive his diploma!

His big moment!

Our graduate!

Jacob holding his diploma and his award for funniest friend!

After the ceremony, we all headed to Jacob's favorite restaurant, Los Charros, for a delicious dinner!  It was a wonderful evening to celebrate our little Kindergartener!!!

The Perot Museum

Thanks to a mild winter, we had a four day weekend to celebrate Memorial Day (no bad weather to make up!).  At first, we were planning on a little getaway to Ft. Worth for the weekend, but were honestly so exhausted that we decided to stay home at the last minute.  We still wanted to do something fun so it wasn't like any ordinary weekend, so we decided to visit the new Perot Museum downtown.  I had visited back in April with my second graders, but I was looking forward to taking the boys.  We got online and reserved tickets for the 11 o'clock entrance and made sure to leave the house in plenty of time.  Parking is horrible, so that set us back a little bit, but it was the perfect way to spend a yucky, muggy day.  We loved exploring all of the exhibits but Jacob was most excited about the dinosaur bones!

Of course, the dinosaurs had to be first on our list to see!

Jacob loved looking at all the minerals, too!

 

Finding out what an earthquake feels like...

 

Racing a T-Rex with daddy in the sports exhibit

 

Then it was on to the Children's Museum while Jonah took a little nap in his stroller!

Jacob probably could have stayed in there all afternoon!

 

On our way back to the car (with the museum behind us).

 

The next time we go, we will definitely reserve tickets enough in advance to gain the 10 o'clock entrance, when the museum opens (and bring cash for parking so we aren't driving around downtown trying to find an ATM which btw doesn't exist, thank goodness for Nathan's office).  We will also go to the cafe for lunch as soon as it opens at 11 (That was a lot of fun with a stroller in tow, you would think it would be planned out better!). There were a few exhibits we didn't catch just because of time but hopefully we'll be back this summer!

This and That

Well, to say that it's hard to believe that it's the end of May would be a major understatement.  It seems as though I blinked and it was almost summer!  Not that I'm complaining, but the past few months have certainly flown by!  Nathan has been traveling pretty frequently and the boys and I have fallen into a little routine while he is away, which consist of lots of movie nights!  Many of our weekends this spring were spent ripping out our existing landscaping and completely replanting.  It was a ton of work (mostly for Nathan, let's be honest) but it has made a huge difference to the front of our house!  All we need to do now is spread some new seed to help our grass grow in the areas that were previously too shady!

Work has been great, but busy and I'm happy that it's starting to settle down and we only have two weeks until summer vacation.  I'll be teaching second grade again next year and am so thrilled to be on the same team and in the same room!  I am already planning what things I'd like to tweak next year and look forward to feeling even more settled at Bennett!  I truly am blessed with wonderful coworkers and the BEST admin. team I've ever worked with!

Movie night is definitely a favorite activity in the Cox house! 

Our new landscaping is complete!

Jacob will be graduating from Junior K next week and he is officially registered to be a Bennett Bear next fall!  Nathan brings the boys up to school every now and then, so Jacob is familiar with the building, the wonderful ladies in the front office and the principal.  He is so excited to be coming to school with me next year and I just can't believe he'll be in Kindergarten!  Jacob is still completely obsessed with Legos and has been introduced (thanks to Daddy) to Star Wars.  He loves to read and write (and often does "homework" at the kitchen table!) and is honestly the funniest guy I know!

Showing his "guns". (Yes, those are snowman pjs, don't judge)

 Last week, Jacob and Daddy went to their first Rangers game of the season.  Daddy picked him up from school at lunch time and they had a special afternoon at The Ballpark together!

Jonah continues to grow and amaze us every single day!  He is not only walking steadily now, but is practically running everywhere!  He truly is the happiest, sweetest boy!  School is going great for him!  He was promoted at the beginning of April to "First Steps" and he love, love, loves his teachers Ms. Taylor and Ms. Yogi.  His class only has 5 babies and he's the only boy, which doesn't seem to bother him one single bit!  They do so many wonderful things with him each day and I love knowing that he is getting wonderful care and truly enjoys his days!  Jonah is still eating up a storm and totally makes up for Jacob being so picky!  We can pretty much put any food on his tray and he'll eat it up!

Eating Spaghetti Pizza (a favorite Finkelstein recipe) for the first time.  Yum!

Seriously, this is how he wakes up!

What a charmer, no one can resist this cutie pie!

This summer we are looking forward to lots of fun!  Swimming at the club, playdates and lazy mornings are all on our to do list!  We are also looking forward to a few little getaways, both as a family and just Nathan and I.  Summertime is always so special since I don't work for three months and we're going to enjoy as much time together as possible!