Visiting parks in Gulfport, MS and Montgomery, AL

While in Gulfport, we found a fun local park where the boys enjoyed playing.

Conner trying to balance on the discs

 Jack Attack

 Jason climbing (or caught in?) the web

 That climbing wall was pretty high and much more difficult than Jack imagined it to be, but he did it!

After our stay in Gulfport for a few days, we headed towards Atlanta to visit my sister Teri and her hubby Eric. Mid way thru the drive to Atlanta, we stopped in Montgomery to play and eat lunch. We were fortunate enough to happen upon a great park, with pebble pathways, ponds, bridges, ducks, and turtles. It was the perfect break from our car ride!

View of the park

 I just love the pictures of the boys pressing up against the fence to see the ducks!

Oh my gosh- Conner baby, you are so cute.

After our stop, it was only a few more hours to go to get to Aunt Teri's house!

Infinity's edge

I've always wanted to swim in an infinity pool, having been impressed with how they look in pictures. And I got my chance in Gulfport. It was beautiful, with the infinity edge overlooking the beach. The boys sure loved hanging out at the edge too, fascinated with the waterfall on the other side.

 Jack goofin' off on his back

Conner loves the pool, always happy to float around

 We got to practice his kicking skills on this trip; I'd tell him to "kick, kick, kick!" and he'd do it.

Jason has been apprehensive towards the pool this summer, preferring to stay on dry ground or clinging with a death grip to the nearest adult while in the water. Luckily, this pool had zero entry and a large shallow end so he had plenty of space to splash and play without freaking out.

 I believe I already mentioned my boys' curiosity with the infinity edge? Here's Conner trying in his umpteenth attempt to go over the edge.

 I appreciate the irony of the sign with Jason below it

The difference between a firstborn boy and a thirdborn boy-

The difference between my 1st son and my 3rd son:

                                        My 1st son, as an older baby, played with his baby toys.

                                        My 3rd son, as a now 14 month old, picks up random toys and
                   pretends they're some sort of weapon, while making the accompanying sound effects.

The benefit of having older brothers.

Summer fun at the beach

We just returned home after a week away, visiting the beaches of Mississippi, and family in Georgia. The boys had a great time enjoying our little adventure, despite the long hours in the car spent traveling.

We spent a few days in Gulfport, MS, a beach town next to Biloxi. The boys loved being on the beach, digging in the sand, splashing in the water, and chasing bubbles around.

Conner digging around

 Jack was an attentive architect, carefully crafting his castle with his dad.

 And then like any true boy, he reveled in destroying the castle upon its completion

 And like any good brother, Jason was right there to aide in the castle's destruction

 I love this shot of Jack catching the bubbles!

 Jason needed a little convincing to get in the water. He insisted we not go to the ocean, and go to the pool instead. (Because sharks and whales live in the ocean.) He also thought the surf at first were sharks swimming around, haha. After a few minutes though, he forgot his fears and enjoyed "swimming" in the water. ("swimming" refers to his crawling through the water, which he proudly described as swimming)

More stories will follow about our vacation fun!

Spring Wildflowers

Spring brought us some amazing sights to see this season, with a colorful variety of wildflowers in full bloom across the city. Lucky for us, there were a few fields of them at our neighborhood park for us to enjoy on our walks. I borrowed my dad's SLR camera and took the opportunity after church one day to snap some shots of the boys in the flowers. The wildflowers seemed to be a sea of red- it was really beautiful.

 Conner wasn't too thrilled to be set down at this moment, but it's still adorable-

There's my little self-soothing thumb sucker, resigned to his fate in the wildflowers-

When we went for walks around the park, the boys really were impressed by the flowers' colors, pointing them out and asking to go pick them. I hope they're this beautiful next year!

Turning 3

Jason had his 3rd birthday in April and is now officially a big boy. We spent the days leading up to his special day practicing his new answer to the question "how old are you?," getting 3 fingers up instead of just 2. Where does the time go? I still think of him as my baby, proven by the fact that I constantly call Conner- my actual baby- Jason half the time! In fact, one of Jack's friends asked me the other day after one such name calling slip-up, "Is your baby's name Jason Conner?" Yeah, no. No, it's not, I'm just confused. So anyways, it's hard to believe Jason is the big 3.

Jon and I snuck into Jason's room while he slept the night before his b'day, and decorated with balloons and streamers. It was so fun and it paid off. Jason was so enamored with it the next morning that he stayed in his room, content to stare at the party decorations, while I slept in. An awesome side effect, I won't lie. When I went in to his room that morning, he was so happy and exclaimed, "Mommy! There's a party!" He kept referring to the balloons thru out the house, as a party. So cute.

 So for his b'day breakfast he ate waffles soaked in butter and syrup and scrambled eggs, yum. We had put up balloons (including some tiger-striped ones, reminding him of one of his favorite t.v. characters Daniel Tiger) all over the house, and he just loved it and felt so special.

That night, when Jon came home from work and Mimi & Pappaw arrived, we took the boys to Red Robin's to celebrate. We enjoyed burgers, while Jason ate mac 'n' cheese and Jack had a grilled cheese sandwich, paired with chocolate milkshakes. When dinner wrapped up, the wait staff came by to sing to Jason, and he was delighted by all the attention.

After dinner, we came home to perhaps the best part of the day- PRESENTS! Jack eagerly helped Jason open his gifts, showing him just what to do. Jason got a cool new Mater tee, a speed boat with accompanying race cars for the bathtub, an airplane from Planes, and a lifelike Mater toy that talks and drives around, complete with rockets and machine gun attachments (courtesy of the grand Mimi).

 The day after Jason's b'day, Jack leapt off the school bus and ran inside the house, and proceeded to plead with Jason to play with the new Mater toy. Jason flipped back and forth between being gracious and sharing, and tyrannical and yelling NO! Drama ensued for a few days, until the luster of the new toy wore off some. Seriously, the drama.

For his b'day cake this year, I forewent the traditional cake route, instead opting for iced sugar cookie sandwiches. They were delish. (Our family's b'days are all in a 2 month cluster, so cake can get a bit tiring.)

 Conner was bound and determined to get himself some cookies too.

It was so fun to help Jason celebrate his b'day this year. He's at such a fun age for anticipating fun events, and getting giddy with excitement. It's contagious and I hope it sticks around for awhile. Happy Birthday to our ever-growing 3 year old boy!

And for the memory book- at Jason's annual check-up, he weighed in at 29 lbs (20th%) and measured 38.5 in (75th%). Long and skinny.