This is How I Roll

Jackson LOVES when we go to Sprouts grocery store because he gets to push around his own tiny cart.  I can't say it's as fun for me as it is for him, but the smile on his face is worth the extra hassle (and the extra headache).

On this particular trip I only needed a few items, so Jackson got to carry all the items in his cart, minus the cantaloupe because I thought it would be too heavy.  When we got to the check-out line he started taking the items out of the cart and handing them to me to put up on the belt.  When we were done checking out he pushed the cart out the door and into the cart area.  I can't believe that he knew exactly what to do, but he's been to the grocery store with me so much that he had picked up the process.

Owiwer

Jackson has been saying 'Oliver' for several months now, but I can never get him on video saying it ... until last night!  We were watching the KU/Ohio basketball game and he was saying Oliver's name over and over and I was able to catch it on video.  He also says basketball (:18 second mark) and up (:24 second mark).

He has quite a few words in his vocabulary now:

Mommy

Daddy 

Dog/Doggy

Oliver

Basketball

Ball

Up

Down

Upstairs

Hi

Bye/Bye

NO

Outside

Yes

And a few others that I can't think of off the top of my head.  Luckily no curse words have made his list yet. Fingers crossed it stays that way! :)  

Mouskersize

We LOVE Mickey Mouse at our house.  Here is Jackson "mousekersizing" with Goofy and the gang.

Thomas the Train

This might be my favorite video of Jackson.

He got a few new trains and went nuts over them!

Tricycle

Jackson got a tricycle a few weeks ago.  He can't quite touch the pedals yet, so really his riding just consist of sitting on it with his helmet on.  But he LOVES it.  

I tried to get some pictures of him on it, but he wanted nothing to do with the camera (see previous post).  

Don't take my picture, mom! 

I'm not looking up, mom.   

Are you still there?  

Enough with the camera!!!

Alright, I'm done.  Get this helmet off!

Beach Fun

We've been venturing to the beach more often now that Jackson is older and doesn't spend the entire time eating the sand.

He loves digging in the sand and having mommy help him build sand castles.  He's not a fan of the cold water, but I'm sure in a few months he'll love splashing around in it.

Zoomars Petting Zoo

A friend from Kansas City came into town a few weeks ago and we ventured up to Zoomars Petting Zoo in San Juan Capistrano with the kiddos.

Jackson LOVES animals.  If he had his way, we would have a petting zoo in our backyard and all the animals would stay still so he could lay on top of them and give them hugs.

Hugging the goats 

Chasing the guinea pics 

This one has a beard! 

Feeding the Zonkeys

Train ride

Jackson got scared of the train, so mommy had to ride with him.

Paparazzi

Are you wondering why I haven't posted in awhile?  Well ...

Jackson has decided that he's so over the paparazzi that follow him everywhere.

If he sees any sight of a camera or video camera he goes into 'celebrity mode'.  Aka- screams and throws himself on the floor.

Hoping this phase ends soon.  Celebrity mode video below for your viewing pleasure.

No Trains at the Dinner Table

Here's what I learned this week:  No trains at the dinner table.

Why, you ask?

Here's why ...

Hmmm ... wonder if I can use my train as a spoon?

I'll just dip it a few times in the yogurt cup. 

And then suck the yogurt off the train.  Yep, it works!  I found a new spoon!

Awesome.  

Botanical Gardens

There is this hidden gem in Encinitas call the Botanical Gardens.  I have heard really good things about the gardens, but hadn't had the chance to take Jackson.

A friend and I decided it was time to venture over to the gardens to check it out.  These gardens were awesome.  I'm bummed I waited so long to take Jackson.  Not only were the gardens full of botanical flowers, a bazillion palm trees, fruit trees, etc., they also had two different areas for children.  A 'little kid' area that had a train set (complete with James from Thomas the Train), bubbles and miniature houses to play in, and then a 'big kids' area with a huge tree house and a moat to play with boats in.  Awesome!  The boys had so much fun.  (Note to self: next time bring a change of clothing and water shoes!).

Checking out James as he drives by. 

Hey, where's the train?   

Wonder what happens if I push this button? 

The boat moat!

 What's the game plan, bro?

Ok, you back up and I'll put the boat down.  

And then we'll chase the boat down the moat!!!!

And They Call it Puppy Love

Boy oh boy did our boys miss each other.  When Oliver came home from the dog sitters Jackson and him spent the entire day catching up.

Sharing the stroller 

 Giving Oliver lots of hugs

 Discussing the weather

 

Barking at other dogs

Going in for a kiss

By the second day it was back to normal ... Jackson trying to pull Oliver's tail, Oliver hiding under the crib.  It's good to be home :)

Kansas or Bust

Wow- the past two weeks have been crazy for the Teach Family.

Jackson and I left on January 31 for a visit with family and friends in Kansas.  The main goal of the trip was to help my brother and sister-in-law move into their new house.  I was excited to see family and friends and also excited because Kansas has been having exceptional weather lately- I was hoping for a very warm, snow-free trip :)

Jackson did amazing on the plane (both to Kansas and from Kansas).  I think part of it was because we purchased him his own seat and the other part was because we bought an Apple iTouch so he could play games and watch movies.

 Playing with some new toys at the airport

Vroom, vroom ... 

Enjoying the view

Once we arrived in Kansas I got right to work helping my brother and sister-in-law pack up their old house and clean the new house.  The day we moved into the new house was one of the coldest days this winter (of course) and it even started to flurry a little that night. 

Jackson went to his cousin Kendall and Grayson's daycare a few days during the second week we were there so I could spend some time unpacking the new house.  I wasn't for sure how it would pan out, but he walked right in to daycare and started playing.  

Jared flew into Kansas on February 9th and we spent that weekend with his side of the family in Hope and Salina, KS.  We were able to attend Jared's cousins basketball game.  After the Boys B Game we let Jackson run around on the gym floor and he thought it was pretty cool.  

So fun! 

Jackson spotted the basketballs 

Cousin Dalton enjoying the gym floor

After our weekend visit with Jared's side of the family, we headed back up to my brother's house to spend time with my parents.  

Jared had to attend some work meetings in Kansas City, so Jackson and I spent the last few days we were in town at my brothers.  Unfortunately, we came down with colds and I ended up getting the flu.  I took Jackson to the dr. in Kansas City the day before we left to get him on some antibiotics so he wouldn't get any worse on the flight.  Heather (my sister-in-law) came with us to KC and we ran some errands and went to Nebraska Furniture Mart to shop for the new house.  

Since Jackson didn't feel well on the trip home, he slept most of the flight, which was amazing.  The flight wasn't full so we ended up with a whole row by ourselves. 

Sleepy boy

Good Looks and Skills

Well, if Jackson doesn't turn out to be a genius, at least he'll have good looks and athletics to fall back on!

There's a First Time for Everything

Jim set a few milestones on his trip out to California to see us this past week.

1.) His first time on an airplane
2.) His first time to the beach
3.) His first Mocha

I'm not for sure which one of the items above Jim enjoyed more, but he did ask several times to go get another Mocha so I'm going to assume that is the one he liked the most :)

We had a great time with Jim and feel so blessed that he was able to take time off of work to come visit us.

Here are some pictures from the week.

 Jim relaxing in the backyard

 Enjoying some coffee (a mocha) on Coronado Island

 Taking a stroll in Balboa Park

Jim pushing the stroller 

Train ride at the zoo 

Choo Choo 

Jim putting his feet in the Pacific Beach 

Jim at the beach

RANCH

We took a trip up to Julian to show Jim, Jared's dad, the mountains while he was in town.  It was such a beautiful drive and the weather was perfect- mid 60's in Julian.  We explored the town and all of their little shops and stopped by a local restaurant for lunch.

We ordered a batch of fried pickles (I know, it sounds weird, but they are really good!) and I gave Jackson a few to try.  He had to be just like his mommy and daddy so he dipped the pickles in ranch.

His face lit up and you could almost hear him thinking "Ranch dressing, where have you been all my life".

He spent the rest of the lunch dipping everything he could in ranch dressing.