4th Birthday!

I'm a little behind in posting so I'll quickly catch up:

Last weekend we took the Lake Express Ferry from Milwaukee to Muskegon and threw Jackson an early birthday party. Jackson has never had a big family celebration before so we thought it was about time.

The ride to Muskegon was a little bumpy and I spent most of it out back in the fresh air, trying not to use the little sickness bags that they had handed out. Thankfully Brandon and Jackson both made it without any problems.

Brandon's sister, Heather, was able to be home at the same time so we spent all day Saturday together. She took Jackson to build-a-bear for his birthday and he made a turtle, which he named "Turtley". He and Auntie Heather even picked out clothes and flip-flops and a firefighter outfit. Then we went to Barnes and Noble to look for a book. They had a few people playing live music and as soon as we walked in and Jackson heard it he started dancing. It was SO funny! He even went up and started to "shake it". Heather and I were nearly in tears. Of course he picked out a Thomas book and had to play with the trains for a short while. That evening we took him to play putt-putt and he took his first go-cart ride with daddy. He loved it!

Sunday was the party and Brandon's mom and I went early to decorate. It was a beautiful morning, a little cool and a slight breeze but not bad. When it was time for the party later that afternoon it had warmed up a little but the wind had picked up a lot! We ended up moving most of the tables out of the pavilion and tried to stay warm in the sun. We had lots of great food and family and friends and that's all that really mattered. Jackson was a little shy, which he normally is around so many people, but eventually came around and he even ate cake! That was a first. Normally he'll look at it and maybe put a finger in it but he never has tried it. I guess he was just holding out for grandma's cake or maybe it was because it was Thomas. :) It was great to see everyone and have them all help celebrate Jackson's birthday. THANK YOU!

We were able to spend most of Monday visiting because we had taken the boat and didn't have to worry about getting stuck in traffic around Chicago. Brandon, my dad and my grandpa went out fishing and Jackson and I hung out at my parents for awhile playing with Cam and Austin. Then we went to the park and met my grandma and Joe and Tyler for lunch. The boys had a wonderful time playing together and it gave me a few more minutes to spend with grandma and mom. Then it was back to the ferry for the ride home. This time I was prepared with Bonine and Sea-band wristbands. Luckily the waves and swells weren't as big this time and I was able to spend the trip inside. The 4 of us, Brandon, Jackson, Turtley and I played cards and cars and just enjoyed the ride.











Now that your up to date...

Today is Jackson's 4th birthday! We traveled up to Green Bay and visited the Train Museum. Jackson was thrilled about it since he woke up and couldn't wait to get there. Once we arrived he wasn't sure which direction to go first. We went to get our tickets to ride the train in the gift shop and of course they had a HUGE section of Thomas. Jackson was in awe. The birthday boy ended up with a new Thomas T-shirt, a poster for his room and a couple of new trains, we got off lucky. After the gift shop we took a train ride. It looped twice around the property and even went over a couple of bridges. After that we toured the sheds and the trains. They had quite a few that we were able to go thru and he could even sit in the engineer's seat on the engine. I made the mistake of calling it the conductor's seat and Jackson corrected me. Of course he had to tell us which trains were steam trains and which were diesel trains and he was always looking out for Thomas' friends. He thought he saw a few while we were there including Percy, Donald and Douglas.

After the train museum we took him to Bay Beach Park. It's a park on the bay that has carnival rides and yes, even a train. He rode them all! Even the bumper cars with daddy. They were by far his favorite. Brandon said he thought Jackson could have stayed on them all day. It was a beautiful but HOT day and on the way back down we decided to stop at Kohler-Andrae State Park and play a little on the playground and the beach. It was amazing that we all made it back home without falling asleep. We ended the day with an ice cream cone, vanilla of course, and a ride around the block on his tractor.

Each year on this day the memories of the day he was born come flooding back to me. Maybe it's the same way for every mother, I don't know. I don't remember a whole lot of what happened that day because of the drugs they had me on but what I do remember is so clear it's like it was yesterday. He was SO tiny and look at him now. He's such a big boy and doing so many things on his own. All I hear is "I don't need help, I can do it all by myself". It's amazing just how fast they go from needing you to doing it alone. I'm grateful that he is where he is and doing what he is doing and feel so blessed to have such an amazing, strong and healthy little boy. But no matter how big he gets he'll always be my little boy.

son (sun) n. [[ME sone <>>]] 1. a collector of treasures and heroes 2. a source of found objects in laundry (e.g., rocks, twigs, etc.) 3. his father's pride and his mother's heart.
SYN. -- an ad ven ture (ad ven`cher).