uh-oh

Is it a bad sign that Zack likes to play with my shoes?

And my hair stuff?

And my makeup?

Just wondering.

girls can be so mean...

Every Christmas I find myself doing this to Todd. He always asks what I want, but for some reason I expect him to read my mind and get me the perfect gift without having to tell him.

As if that's going to happen...:)

Anyway, this song is hilarious. It's off of Backyardigans (a huge fave of mine among kid shows). Just click here. It's called "We'll get you what you want." Love it.

just some pictures

Here are some pictures of my favorite little man.

This is why he loves Todd so much. Daddy will act like a fool in public to make him laugh any day...and mommy not so much.:) Hey, I have to see these people at the park like everyday. Here is Todd acting like Zack is kicking him while he is swinging. Pretty awesome.

Zack asleep at lunch.

Zack's new BFF.


Just chilling at the park. Check out that hair.

redemption

Zack folded his arms today for prayer before dinner.

All by himself...without being told to...for the whole thing.

Score one point for mommy.:)

I'm offically a horrible mother

Today Zack kept saying "Dowa....Dowa....Dowa..."

And I really didn't know what he meant since he talks gibberish all the time.

Well, I figured it out tonight. Zack was being really, really, really whinny while Todd and I were making dinner so I flipped on Dora the Explorer. He literally stood right in front of the t.v. saying "Dowa! Dowa! Dowa!" and pointing at her.


Wow.

Does my one-year-old asking to watch t.v. make me a horrible mother?? If you think it does, then I guess I really don't care. I love Dora. She saves me from myself when Zack is being a little too much for me. I guess you could call her Zack's more patient, loving, Spanish-speaking mother. :) Thank you, Dora. See you soon.

Family Pictures 2009

I LOVE these! We finally got family pictures done last Saturday and I'm so glad we did. Do I not have the cutest boys ever? Erica Kirby did such an amazing job. She even got Zack smiling! There are more here. Enjoy!

I've got the bug...

No, not the piggy bug. I guess it's not so much as a bug for me as just plain in my blood. One of my grandma's shows this little bug by just plain disappearing for weeks at a time and no one knows where she went. Later she will show up and we will all find out she was somewhere random, like down by Mexico or somewhere in the mountains. My other grandma would live on a cruise ship if they would let her. I think she has taken like 10 cruises in the past couple years.

I want to go on a trip. I NEED to travel. So far in my little life, I have been to:

France,

Mexico,

England,

Wales,

Scotland,

Ireland,

and just last year, Brazil.

And I know this is still America, but also Hawaii.

I'm in the mood to pack up my things and just get out of here for a little bit. Like see more of the world. There is just something magical about seeing were Jane Austen wrote her first book, or where Shakespeare was born. Or a castle. Or swimming in a waterfall in Hawaii. Or hiking in the mountains in Brazil. Or eating at a cafe in Paris.

I LOVE to travel. And now I'm saving up to go back to Brazil to visit my in-laws while they are still there. After that, I want to go to Sweden. Then Germany. Then Holland. Then Spain? Then back again to the places I went before. Then Australia. Then...you get the picture. When I'm done having/raising kids and Todd is retired, I want to sell everything and just travel. *sigh* If only...:)

top three things...

that I love about my Zacky. In no particular order.

1) his chipmunk cheeks,

2) his SpongeBob teeth, and

3) his cute, little, perfectly round belly.

I just can't get over how much I love this kiddo.

hair 101

I made a new friend. Her name is Christie. She is a wifey, a mommy, an amazing cook, AND a hair person! (do they call them hair stylist, hair dresser, or "person who cuts hair"?) Anyway, she has told me a couple hair tips that I thought I would share.

1) Don't use Pantene. I guess it coats your hair with wax and makes it all unhealthy and damaged.

2) Dove it probably the best cheap shampoo to use.

3) But, if you want really, really, really, really awesomely sexy hair, go with Pureology. It's kinda expensive, but it makes your hair super shiny and healthy, especially if you color it.

4) Don't wash your hair before getting it colored, because then it might damage it more.

This is all for now. I never went to hair school or really thought about any of this stuff before so it was nice for her to enlighten me. I used to spend hours on my hair in high school, and as a result I did get "Best Hair" so I can't say I regret it. :) But now with Zack running around I don't have as much time, so any products or tips that will help shorten the process is always helpful! Have a fantastic hair day!

BOO!

This Halloween seemed to last for weeks. I don't think we have ever gone to as many Halloween parties as we did this year. I think it has to do with having a kid now, and also since we live by my brother and sister-in-law who are a little obsessed with the holiday. Either way, it was fun.

We kicked off the Halloween season with a party at my brothers. I dressed up as Dorthy, and Todd was a cowboy...again. This is his third year as a cowboy. He doesn't like dressing up much. My dad drew a line on his head and was a "headline" and my mom was a gothic flower-child. You can probably tell what my brother and sister-in-law were, but just in case, they were a mummy and a witch. They had lots of friends over and we played all these spooky games. It was fun!
Then a girl from our ward threw a HUGE kid Halloween party. It really was huge. She invited like our whole ward, and we have over 600 people with over 100 primary kids. I don't think everyone came, but there were plenty of people to make my nervous child even more neurotic. (Zack doesn't do well with lots of strangers around.) Anyway, there was cake decorating, a haunted house made out of cardboard boxes, lots of fun balloons, and tons of toys. It was a super blast. Zack was a lion this year (which is why I was Dorthy...get it??) and he had the most ferocious growl. His little girly friend, Marley, was TinkerBell and her mommy, Maryann, made her the CUTEST shoes. I had to post in case my other friends of little girls wanted to copy.:)
Then we went to Todd's work party. As many know, he is an accountant for Wal-Mart. He works in a big, big, big building filled with cubicles. I went to this thinking it would be pretty lame, but I was so wrong. I guess on Halloween-Eve they all stop working about after lunch and just decorate. This place was so decked out I wouldn't have known it was a work place. There was candy EVERYWHERE for kids, and some areas were converted to haunted houses. Others were converted into play mechanic shops. Others were petting zoos. You get the idea. It was awesome.This is the balloon room, which was Zack favorite. He probably could have stayed in there all day. And yes, I let him have a sucker whenever he wanted one. I'm usually pretty picky about what he eats, but I decided this was not the season. :)
Deep breath, there is more. THEN we went to our wards trunk-or-treat. We walked around in the parade (or I carried Zack in the parade), and just hung out with friends. Then after we went to Sonic for free drinks and a free hotdog (no offense Sonic, but your hot dogs kinda suck). And lastly, we went to a friends house for homemade pizza, which was the best pizza we have ever had, and then went trick-or-treating. Gosh. Just typing this all out made me tired. I'm going to bed.

But first! Here is Zack chilling on his bean bag watching Yo Gabba Gabba (his favorite show...okay, OUR favorite kid show...hehe). Is he not the cutest?

Today at the pumpkin patch we...

ran through a weed maze...

stared at a pumpkin...

had a meltdown...

had some gender confusion...

had a meltdown...

tried to do some matchmaking...


no and double no...

had a meltdown...

pulled a wagon...

and topped it off with another meltdown!



Hanging out with kids is sure unpredictable, except for the meltdown part. :) Today my friends and I took our kiddos to the local pumpkin patch. And I LOVED it! I think this will be a tradition.

But here are my favorite shots of the day. I must say I'm proud of myself for FINALLY getting Marley to smile at me WHILE looking into the camera. Brenden, it's just a matter of time... (click pictures to make bigger and better)

falling in love with fall

First of all, I'll explain my last post. Sometimes I forget that other people don't hear the same thing every day so they probably wouldn't know it was just my little Mr. Chubs slamming into the wall while carrying cooking pots around. He doesn't watch where he is walking very well.

In other news, we went to the park tonight. It's getting chilly here, but nothing stops the Jackson crew from enjoying their favorite hot spots. Yes, I'm referring to the park as a "hot spot." This is what happens when you have a kiddo. I almost like the park better during the fall when it's not so sweltering hot and overcrowded. We had fun and I must say I do love the colors and smells and feeling of fall. Living in Idaho, the seasons go from winter to summer, back to winter. And here in Arkansas you actually get all the seasons! It's so nice.
I also have the best smelling candle. I think it's called Pumpkin Patch and it's from Bath and Body Works. I would recommend it! I breathe so deep when it's burning and I remember growing up and I try not to get too emotional. Really, though, it's nice.

Here are some pictures of tonight. For some reason they look all weird shrunk down. If you click on them to make them bigger they look much better.

Here is Zack looking like a baby model right after going down the slide.

This one is my favorite.

Zack is all blurry, but I was tickling him so he was moving around A LOT! It's really not Todd's fault...

ten minutes ago...

Crash.


Bump.


WAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!




And I didn't even have to look to know what had happened.

mr.chubs and princess dumb dumb

I don't think I have mentioned on here the nicknames Todd and I call Zack and Delilah. Zack is lovingly called Mr. Chubs and Delilah is known as Princess Dumb Dumb. They have both earned their nicknames. The following pictures crack me up, so I hope they brighten your day as well.

Here is Mr. Chubs and Princess Dumb Dumb facing off. It's not in focus because Todd took the picture and he still has not figured out that part of the camera. He rarely uses it, so that is expected, right?

Is this not the cutest? This captures their relationship so well. Todd is the BEST dad and plays like this with Zack all the time, no matter how tired or stressed out he is. And Zack idolized him.
I took this before right before bath time when we were snuggling on the couch, eating fruit loops, and watching Sponge Bob. Our favorite. Check out those eyebrows...pretty talented, huh?
These pictures crack me up!!! This is at that park, and Zack is not throwing a tantrum, he is singing! I love it. The last one is his little dance. He's such a funny little guy.

Zack climbing at the park. I love this kid.

Me and Delilah not in focus...again. I'm giving him lessons on this tomorrow. Check out the flower bow. No, I don't really make her wear those.

Zack really enjoyed dinner tonight. Here is the proof:

And that's all! Good night!