Blessings & Engagements

We had a great weekend. Tyler's parents, brother Alex, and soon-to-be sister-in-law CassieAnn came to Seattle to meet Fisher. We had a great weekend including Pike's Place Market, the Pier 57 Arcade, an awesome indoor swimming park, game nights, and lots of great food. This weekend was also Fisher's baby blessing. It was great to have some of our family here for that.



It was pretty cold outside, so our attempt at a quick family picture didn't go that well.

Stretching



A classic Fisher facial expression. He's started to be a little nervous when Jackson is nearby.

shooting Spiderman webs



I loved his handsome little white onesie for the blessing.



Silly blogger keeps uploading this picture wrong. Anyone know how to fix this? Lots of these pictures were originally sideways. I turned them all, saved them like that, and for some reason, only this one keeps uploading sideways.

To make the weekend even more exciting, Tyler's brother, Alex, proposed to his girlfriend. We were in charge of secretly capturing the whole thing in pictures. It was night time and we were really far away, so the pictures didn't really turn out, but we got a some good ones afterwards.

A picture of the actual proposal. The 3 of us were crouched down behind a chain link fence watching. We weren't very good at being secretive. We set off the car alarm 3 times while we were all lying on the floor in the car trying to hide when they arrived at the park. CassieAnn swears she didn't know it was us, but I'd say we kind of failed.

The happy couple. Aren't they adorable? I have to admit that I teared up a little watching the proposal.

Re-enacting the proposal for the sake of a decent photograph

Thanks to the Boyds (and future Boyd) for driving all the way to Seattle to see us. We were really glad to have family here for our special weekend. And CassieAnn even put up with sharing a bunkbed with Jackson all weekend, so she's definately a keeper :)

4 weeks

My little baby is 4 weeks today, and what a fabulous 4 weeks it's been. He's growing too fast, but I guess everyone says that. Seriously though, I can't believe how big he is getting and how fast it's happening. I think I'd be willing to continue waking up in the middle of the night if he would stay a tiny newborn a little longer. I'm already feeling like I'm going to miss this phase when it ends.

My mom stayed with us for a week cooking, cleaning, and entertaining Jackson. It was great to have her help. We miss her a lot.

Jackson is an amazing big brother. I can't believe how sweet he is with Fisher. 

Sleeping...

sleeping...

and more sleeping.

Raising an eyebrow... so cute

Rainy Days

These rainy days are killing us. I love Seattle rain, but 3 year-old Jackson is even more energetic than he was as a 2 year-old last fall/winter, and I'm having a hard time keeping him entertained. Not to mention the 8 lb little bundle of joy that has to eat every 3 hours. I'm not a public breastfeeder. I don't think I ever will be. I'm not discrete enough and I'm not bold enough. So we've been a little homebound, enjoying only brief outings to parks/playgrounds/grocery stores when the rain lets up for a few minutes.

So on a particularly rainy day, we decided we needed a fresh batch of play dough, which Jackson enjoyed helping me make and then played with for hours. Look at that concentration.

We made our last batch about 6 months ago and Jackson's favorite shape to make at that time was a snowball. This time around, he is much more advanced. He informed me that he was making a snowman but he was having a hard time with the nose. I was pleasantly surprised when I examined his work.

School

Jackson started a preschool program yesterday. He looked so stinkin' cute with his backpack that I made him take a few pictures before we left. Fisher seems fairly unimpressed.

I asked Jackson what he learned. He said "Nothing, not letters or anything." Hmm... that's a normal response, right? I asked him who he played with and he said, "Nobody. Well, this one kid. His name was James or something." I love the casual tone he uses when he responds to questions like this. He's just hilarious.

Next Wednesday I am the classroom helper for his class. I'm excited to go see a little more what it's like.

Test Results & Smiles

Fisher had a follow-up hearing screening today. He had already failed the screening twice, and honestly, I was nervous. The first week he was pretty obviously not responding to any noises. Tyler made a few comments about how he'd be happy to learn sign language, which I'm sure were meant to comfort me, but I had a hard time worrying that my baby couldn't hear my voice. The past few days we thought he was responding to noises more, but I didn't want to get my hopes up in case it was just coincindence. But today he had another test at the audiology clinic and finally passed. I was relieved. I enjoyed talking to my sweet baby all day today and was very comforted to know that he could hear me.

We also got Tyler's test results back for the dental boards. He passed. He didn't just pass. He aced them. I'm allowed to say that since it wasn't me who took them, right? We're very proud of him and very relieved to have that all behind us.

And here is a cute little picture, because every post needs one. Look at that chubby smile and his relaxed little pose. What a stud.

Banana

This is a picture from Halloween last year. Tyler was a gorilla...

This year he has a new little accessory to go with his costume.

More pictures

Not much to report. We spend our days feeding, sleeping, feeding, and sleeping. So for now, here are a few more pictures of my cute boys.

Jackson playing with Fisher. He loves to sit and talk to Fisher and read him stories. I'm sure Fisher would appreciate it if he was ever awake to enjoy it.

"Take a picture of ME, mom!" He thinks he's really funny when he purposely closes his eyes for pictures.

Baby Boyd

Fisher Robert Boyd arrived Sunday, Sept 18 at 5:48 a.m. 7 lbs 11 oz 21 inches long It's been a crazy weekend, but we are healthy and happy to be home.

Studying & Waiting, Waiting & Studying

The last few months could be easily summarized as "studying & waiting". Tyler takes the dental boards tomorrow. My due date is this coming Saturday. It seems like our whole summer has been consumed by these two thing. Although I would say "studying" is an understatement for what Tyler has been doing. He wakes up at 7am, eats breakfast, and heads to the library to study. Comes home for a quick lunch and goes right back. Comes home for a quick dinner and goes back. Comes home for bed time, collapses from exhaustion (but usually not without cramming in a few more notecards), and then wakes up the next day to start all over again. I've never seen someone so focused. There is no way I could study that many hours every day. He takes occassional breaks to have fun with us, we've still enjoyed our summer, but I have to admit I can't wait for the boards to be over tomorrow. We already have a never-ending pasta bowl Olive Garden celebration planned. Then we'll try to cram in as much fun as we can in the next 1-2 (maybe 3... yikes!) weeks before baby arrives.

Tyler at his White Coat ceremony in August. He starts working in the clinic in a few weeks. It will be a nice change from all the studying and class work he's been doing the past two years.

I would say that if "studying" is an understatment for what Tyler has been doing the past few months, "waiting" is an overstatement. Jackson and I have been pretty busy with my job and baby preparations, but we've been having a lot of fun too.

This is the Spiderman costume he picked for Halloween. Ever since he realized he can get it on himself, we've been seeing a lot of Spiderman around the house. Sometimes he honestly catches me off guard and scares me in that little mask. It's kind of creepy when you're doing dishes in a quiet house and notice out of the corner of your eye a mini-Spiderman perched on the edge of the couch just silently staring at you...

Spiderman and the golf club Tyler got as a present for his White Coat Ceremony. You have to love the muscles in this suit. Doing a Spiderman move in the water fountains. I don't know how this Spiderman obsession started...

Playing in the fountains with Jackson's friends

This picture makes me cringe. I look in the mirror and think "I look okay for how far along I am", but when I see it on camera, I always feel a little shocked and disgusted. I think the mirrors in my house are overly-forgiving. Anyway, this was 37 weeks I think, and Jackson wanted to be in the picture... which I gladly agreed to. His cute little smile keeps some of the focus off my chubby cheeks, right?

Have I mentioned that Jackson has absolutely no instincts when it comes to swimming? He needs to start swimming lessons soon, but they are so expensive here! I took him swimming with his friend Saydee, and was shocked at the difference. She can doggy paddle around the whole pool all by herself, but if Jackson falls in, he instantly freezes and just floats facedown, looking lifeless, until someone scoops him out. It makes me pretty nervous. Shouldn't he at least kick or struggle or make some effort to keep his head above water? I guess we need to work on it.

We found a little tortoise on our back patio. Crazy. We couldn't figure out how it had gotten there. We aren't allowed to have pets in our apartment complex, so our friends who were moving the next day decided to adopt him. Unfortunately, two days after they moved, there were "missing pet tortoise" posters all over the neighborhood. He has been returned to his original home now, although I'm guessing he would have had a lot more fun living with our friends, who moved into a big house out of the city. They even had a turtle pond for him.

The day before our friends moved, we had one final game night with them and a few other friends. Everytime I have people over, I think about how I wish I had a bigger place for party hosting. But then when I see us all crammed into this little apartment having fun, it makes me smile. We're never going to forget these fun years we're having "crammed" in this little apartment "suffering" with the student life... it's actually pretty great!

Above is all the kids distracted by a movie so us adults can play Settlers of Catan, which we did a lot this summer. It's been fabulous.

And a couple final pictures, just because they're cute. Here is Jackson enjoying some delicious jam that our neighbor made for us.

Tyler thought he looked like the Joker on Batman, and made him say "Why so serious!?" It would have been creepy if he wasn't so stinkin' cute about the way he said it.

I guess that about wraps up the last few months for us. Sorry for the marathon post and the lack of blogging, but sitting at our little computer desk has been the last thing I wanted to do lately. Wish Tyler good luck for his boards tomorrow, and wish us luck with the arrival of Baby Boyd #2, whose name has changed so many times that I won't even bother telling you what we're planning on now because it will probably change again... and again. We'll just have to wait until we meet him, which I'm guessing is still a couple weeks away :) We'll keep you posted.

The month-long birthday

Jackson turned 3 on July 30th, but we ended up celebrating all month long.

We had his big family party while we were in Idaho for the 4th of July. We were going to be back in Idaho for his actual birthday, but it was the same day as my brother's wedding reception and Tyler would be staying behind for school, so we decided to celebrate early so everyone could be there.

Jackson wanted a Buzz Light Year cake, but then when he saw my mom's truck-shaped cake pan, he wanted that too, so we just did both. It was an interesting cake... definately one-of-a-kind.

Jackson and Madden enjoying the cake

We had all of Jackson's favorite "Buzz Lightyear Green" snacks

Opening presents

This umbrella is one of his favorites. He insists on using it even when it isn't raining.

The week before Jackson's actual birthday, we did a mini-celebration with Tyler, me, and Jackson here in Seattle so we could give him the presents we got him before we left for Idaho for the 2nd time. He got glow-in-the-dark chalk, so we let him stay up late and we had a glow-in-the-dark party outside.

We had another little lunch party on his actual birthday, which included a store-made Spiderman cake, because at that point I was a little exhausted with birthday celebrations. I'm still waiting to get pictures from my sister's camera, so I'll post those some other time.

Happy birthday, Jackson. We love you. It's been an unbelievably wonderful 3 years.

Cute Funnies (Part 3)

June 11, 2012

Mom: "We should get you a hat and sunglasses for our vacation."

Jackson: "Why?"

Mom: "To protect you from the sun."

Jackson: "But what about my ankles?"

.

June 3, 2012

Jackson: "Some day when we have another baby, we should name it Muddy Buddy. I love muddy buddies."

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May 18, 2012

Jackson: "My yogurt has the bad guy from Sponge Bob."

Mom: "That's silly."

Jackson (looking very serious and scolding): "Mom, evil is NOT silly."

.

May 6, 2012

Jackson: "That word has one of those twicky "R" sounds in it."

Dad: "No it doesn't. You have one of those tricky "R" sounds."

Jackson: "No. Jackson is an easy "J" sounds."

.

April 19, 2012**Jackson's best friend at preschool is named Hugo**
Jackson: "When I was in your tummy, why didn't you name me Hugo?"
Mom: "Because we knew your name was Jackson."
Jackson: "Oh. I just wish Hugo and me could have the same name."
.April 16, 2012
Jackson: "Mom, is this pan fragile?"
Me: "No."
Jackson: "Oh, hmm. Why not?"
Me: "Do you know what fragile means?"Jackson: "No."
Me: "Fragile means it can break easily. Like glasses and plates. They are fragile because they break easy if you drop them. But this pan is made of metal so it's tough. Tough means it doesn't break."
Jackson (with a big smile because he thinks he's figured it out): "Like Aunt Lindsay?! She's tough."
Me: "Yes, she is."
.
April 10, 2012
Jackson: "Well that's a bunch of... ya know... not good stuff."
.
April 7, 2012**Jackson has a stuffed animal Eeyore that he loves**
Mom: "You are Eeyore's best friend."
Jackson: "No. I'm Eeyore's aunt." (This shows how highly Jackson thinks of his aunts. Aunts are even better than best friends.)
.
April 3, 2012
**I overheard this statement in the middle of a long, rambling conversation Jackson was having with Fisher**
Jackson (speaking to Fisher): "...and you arms move really correct."
.
March 20, 2012

Jackson: "Mommy, let's play Wipeout. I'll be the spinning, punching thing and you be the girl that tries to run through me."

.

February 22, 2012

Jackson had a sleepover in our bed last night.

Mom: Did you like our bed last night?

Jackson: Yes, it’s very comfortable

Mom: Is your bed comfortable?

Jackson: Sometimes. But sometimes if it’s not comfortable, the ghost keeps me comfortable.

Mom: There’s a ghost that makes your bed comfortable?

Jackson: No. The Holy Ghost keeps me comfortable. I learned that in Primary, that the Holy Ghost can comfort you when you need comfort.

February 6, 2012Jackson was walking around with his hands behind his back, which looked a little suspicious to me.
Mom: "Jackson, what do you have behind your back?"
Jackson: "Hands."
Mom: "Really?"
Jackson: "Yeah... see?"
So he innocently turns around to show me his hands resting behind his back, and that was it. Sometimes moms ask the dumbest questions...

February 2, 2012
Jackson's new favorite treat is a green Hulk smoothie (spinach smoothie). For him, the greener the better, because then it's just like the Hulk. So the other day I wasn't paying attention and accidentally dumped in twice as many strawberries as usual, and the smoothie came out looking red instead of green. I served it to Jackson anyway, and he replied "Mom... I'm not very happy with you that you maked a Spiderman Smoovie." (because anything red is Spiderman)


January 14, 2012
Jackson: "Say Diego."
Mom: "Okay. Hi, Diego, how are you?"
Jackson: "No, I'm not Diego. Just SAY DIEGO."
Mom: "Hmm... I'm confused."
Jackson: "Say Diego."
Mom: "Okay... Diego."
*a few minutes later Jackson started singing and it all made sense*
Jackson  (singing): "I throw my hands up in the air sometimes. Say Diego. Say Diego."

January 9, 2012
Jackson: "Whoah, this food is too hot."
Tyler: "You know what else is hot? Your mom!'
So Jackson reaches over and touches my arm (checking my temperature I think) and gets a very confused look on his face "No she isn't... she's just normal."

December 23, 2011
Jackson was coloring a Christmas picture and decided to add a star to the top of the tree in the picture. He grabbed a yellow crayon and colored two horizontal yellow lines. Then he said, "Oops. That's a cheeseburger."

December 15, 2011
While eating a cheeseburger with mom and dad, Jackson announced in a very profound and thoughtful tone, "Hey, I think I'm starting to like pickles."
.
December 14, 2011
This morning, Jackson and I were doing a P90X workout video together. He had several good quotes.
Jackson: "Mom, why don't your muscles have lines like the people on the video?"
And later on, talking about the guy who leads the workout video, he said, "Wow, that guy knows everything... just like me and Santa."

December 13, 2011
Jackson: "Mom, I'm going to watch Sonic (the hedgehog), and that's a boy show so you need to take a nap because you are a girl and you can't watch boy shows."
Mom: "But then you'll have to watch the show alone."
Jackson: "No I won't. The Hulk will watch it with me."
Mom: "Oh, because The Hulk is a boy and I am a girl?"
Jackson: "No mom. The Hulk is NOT a boy. The Hulk is a super hero. But super heros can watch boy shows."

November 30, 2011

Jackson: "Mom, do I fill your heart with joy?"

Mom: "Um... yes."

Jackson: "A lot of it?"

Mom: "... Yes."

.

Novebmer 27, 2011

Tyler was noticing how dark my hair is getting due to lack of sunlight in Seattle.

Tyler: Look how dark this hair is.
Jackson: Whoah. It's like darth vader hair.
  

November 27, 2011

Tyler and Jackson were playing catch. Tyler threw the ball and Jackson missed it.

Tyler: "Oops. That was my fault. That was a bad throw."

Jackson: "That's okay. You don't have to go to your room."

November 26, 2011

I was tucking Jackson in for bed.
Jackson: "Mommy, will you snuggle with me?"

Mom: "For just a minute. I need to take a shower because I'm stinky."

Jackson (sniffing my arm): "No you're not. You smell fantastic!"

November 23, 2011
I was sneaking a handful of Pirate's Booty while cooking dinner. I hid the bag away before Jackson could see what I was eating.
Jackson: "Mommy, what are you eating?"
Mom: "Nothing. I'm not eating anything. We're having dinner soon."
Jackson (with a disapproving look and his hand on his hips): "Mommy... I heard the wrapper crinkling."

October 28, 2011
After getting ready for the day, Jackson spotted himself in the full-length mirror and stopped to admire.
Jackson: "Whoah, I'm looking pretty good."

October 10, 2011


September 15, 2011
While running errands today we spotted somebody with a very extreme mohawk and Tyler made a joke about it.
Tyler: Maybe that's what I need... I need a mohawk.
 Jackson: Okay, Daddy. You can get a mohawk and I can get a mohawk.
Jamie: Jackson, do you even know what a mohawk is?
Jackson: Is it something you eat for breakfast? .

September 15, 2011
Jackson: What is daddy doing?
Jamie: He's going in the bank to make a deposit.
Jackson: He's going to "pause it"??? .

August 29, 2011
Tyler: Jackson, you love Daddy a little more than you love Mommy, huh?
Jackson: Yeah, but I love Mommy a BIG more. .

August 13, 2011
Jackson: I just want to watch "neck-fix". (Netflix on the Xbox) .

August 10, 2011
Mom: Do you want some potato chips?
Jackson: Um... no. I would just get crumbs everywhere.

August 8, 2011
We were coming out of the grocery store and I was getting ready to load the groceries in the car. I still needed to pop the trunk. Jackson loudly yelled "Pop it like it's hot pwease!" That's the phrase Tyler says when he needs me to pop the trunk. I'm pretty sure it comes from a dirty rap song or something like that, but when Jackson yells it at his mom, it's pretty dang funny.

 Part 2 Part 1

Jackson: "Does Fisher have feet that can walk yet?" .

Practicing

Jackson developed a new game all on his own. It started about a month ago. He pretends to take care of "his baby", which is a stuffed dog that his grandma gave him. The baby gets swaddled and cuddled and rocked and put down for naps and sometimes needs a diaper change. Jackson also sits in the rocking chair and feeds the baby a bottle. Watching this makes me so excited. 6 weeks to go and we can hardly wait :)