olivia...aka

jackson is so sweet to olivia. he just loves her and is so gentle. lately, nathan and i have been noticing that he is coming up with other little names for her which just make us smile and melt...for instance, sissy-love, sissy love-train, beautifully, my sissy, sweety, sweeties. it is just so cute to see him run over to and call her by one of these names he has thought of....i can only hope that he always loves her so fondly.

father's day fun

this father's day was perfect....a nice relaxing day with the family at the beach condo for some fun in the sun......sand castles, fish hunting, swimming and a summer lunch. the kids and adults had a wonderful day and all went well. to my nathan: Happy father's day! you are a wonderful hard-working father and husband..... thank you for making this life of ours the best it can be. we love you and are blessed to have you to share these days with.!
xox
nicole, jackson and olivia


fishy foursome-wesley, alyce, jackson and olivia

jackson and kiki trying to catch some guppies

olivia's 1st trip to the beach....and the first time the toes touch sand


olivia and daddy sporting the beach look

mommy and her other man

doughnut day

summertime is making me think of some fun new adventures to do with littleman, so on saturday i thought he might enjoy watching donuts being made at the krispy kreme shop in mandarin. we invited em and shelley to share in the fun. it was a blast....what can be better than sugar filled donuts to start the day. we soon realize, however, we needed to follow this up with a bit of park time to burn some energy!

this has to be the most colorful donut ever!

yummy yummy in the tummy

future doughnut chef

tender times

here are to those (shawn, wink) that think littlemiss is serious......she really is the most laid-back, happy girl ever!!! just you see...

our olivia....5 months old!

happy two-some

my angel baby; her hair is growing back, fast

face full of food

i decided the other day to introduce some "real" food....baby bananas, to olivia for the first time. overall, it went well....it took her a few scoops to get the idea of swallowing and to get used to the spoon in the mouth. she seemed to like it, but i do think we may have gotten more food on her face than in the belly....if nothing else, it gave me a chuckle for the day!

caught off guard

last week jackson finished up his summer camp at his playschool....it was christian based, similar to vacation bible school and every day jackson learned stories from the bible. he had a wonderful time and i loved hearing jackson's interpretation of the bible story of the day. it really is amazing to see and hear all that he absorbs.....so in prefacing with that, i cought jackson chatting to "sissy" about god and how much he loves everyone (so cute)...and when i turned around to SEE what i was hearing, i about fell over!! see below......

jackson made "god" gifts everyday at camp, one of those being a stuffed turtle with a pouch....inside the pouch was this heart. it is supposed to remind him of how close god is to us & to always keep him close to heart. after learning this, jackson was intrigued with where the heart is inside us, so i showed him...pointing to his chest, inside here, i told him. next thing i know, this is what i found......jackson placing this heart on her and whispering...."see sissy. this is where your heart is and where you are supposed to keep god!!
man, i could have melted...where is the pause button when you need it to savor the moment

sweltering summertime

we have been laying quite low these days, due in part to scheduling conflicts between jackson and olivia and the horribly hot weather we have been experiencing..... we have tried some park outings and swim time, but nothing other than inside with the AC really works to relax. jackson has been going a little stir crazy trying to understand, and work around, olivia's numerous nap times. he has been a sport about it the best he knows how and mommy is trying to keep her patience....but we have been blessed with a two week summer camp at school(whahoo).... between that and a wonderful helper named Kaleigh, mommy and the kids are surviving for now. never has having two kids been so difficult than now.....we are thankful, though, for the time we get to share everyday and all the smiles we are given in between the tears and tantrums!

Happy birthday Gran

we love and miss you very much!! wishing you a wonderful day.......xox

no more school...

it is official today, it's the last day of school for littleman and as i reflect back.....i am so happy and so very sad! he had the very best time this year and grew so much, both physically and socially. i feel as though i dropped off my baby in august and were given back a little man! i know everyone says to enjoy it b/c it goes by so fast, and that is SO very true! as i am writing this, i am fighting back tears. jackson's class and, especially, his wonderful teachers made the year amazing. we were blessed to have him where he is and for all that he has learned....thank you ms. susan, ms. rachel and ms. patti for teaching and loving jackson so very much!!
ahh..if only i could freeze time right now and live in this moment always.


jackson and his 2's teachers...ms.susan and ms. rachel


playing at the end of year splash party at school


jackson and his very best friend cole-man shooting water rocket

rain, rain go away

it has been raining here in florida for what seems like forever...i mean, are we in seattle? i do not know how anyone lives on the pacific northwest.....we have beeen trying to make the best of the time by coloring, playing every indoor game thought of and a bit too much tube time. we are soooo looking forward to seeing mr.sun very soon! in the mean time..this is a snipit of what we look like these days......not so fun

jackson with his interesting get up of diaper, t-shirt and rain-boots, aka fireboots

olivia in between one of many nappy times