Why We Love Target Dollar Bins

Happy Easter, a little early.

(at least I talked him out of the pink bunny ears that he really wanted)

Humidifiers & Things I Like

This is just a random cute picture of Jackson today. I had the humidifier on the kitchen table and Jackson climbed up there and stuck his face in the mist. Tiny water droplets all over his face... Cute.

It's been a really long time since I did a writing post, and since I'm still waiting on my mom to email our San Diego pictures, I figured it was time. Jackson and I spent the last week in San Diego with my mom and sisters. We decided to get out of town because Tyler is in Peru for 12 days, but now we are back from our vacation and Tyler still has 2 more days to go, so I've been feeling a little bummed.

My friend Lara from Pocket Full of Prose did a "Things I Like About Myself" post and challenged me to do the same. I decided I should give it a try, although I should warn you that I've had a rough couple of days, so I'm not quite sure how this will come out. So despite my recent self-loathing, here are a few things that I love about myself:

• I'm good at keeping a clean house most of the time, and I'm good at knowing when it's time to drop everything and let the dishes pile up so I can do floor puzzles with Jackson.
• I'm good at running. I'm slow, but I'm still good at it. I almost never forget which foot needs to move forward next.
• I write good emails. During college, I wrote my father emails constantly and I think they were fairly entertaining to read. Part of this probably has to do with the fact that I'm not afraid of a little bit of exaggeration. So I'm not always perfectly honest, but people are entertained, and isn't that more important?
• I'm good at grocery shopping. That sounds like something stupid, but I just have this amazing system down, and I always finish grocery shopping trips feeling very proud of my efficiency. I even had a cashier tell me once that I was the most organized grocery shopper she's ever seen.
• My hair has pretty natural blonde highlights. And if I spend too much time in cloudy Seattle and my hair gets too dark, I spray a little Sun-In, whip out the blow dryer, and call it natural anyway.
• I'm really good with Excel. My dad taught me Excel when I was like 5 or something. I thought he was such a dork, but now I'm fairly addicted to it. I make up stupid excuses to use it all the time.
• I'm a terrible mother, but at least I can admit that. Some women are built to be super-stay-at-home-moms. I'm not, but I still try. And I have a very happy little boy that I love very much. And he knows how much I love him, and he loves me too, and that counts for something.
• I'm good at proof-reading, and maybe even a little obsessive. Everytime you send me an email or write a blog post, I proofread as I read it. I can't help it. But don't worry, I usually won't mention your typos unless they are really bad :) And my own typos devestate me.
• I make efforts to take care of the environment. I use reusable grocery totes and I am very good at following Seattle's ridiculous recycling rules. Although I guess the fact that I call them "ridiculous" probably means I don't care about the environment quite enough.
• Despite how rough the last few days have been, when Tyler gets home in a few days, Jackson and I will both still be alive. That is impressive.

So there you have it. I have a few good qualities. You have them too. Write them down :)

Good Surprises

We had a good weekend, despite the fact that Tyler was gone for 5 days to an ASDA conference. It was hard to have him gone, but Jackson and I enjoyed some quality time together, and we had a few fun surprises too.

One of my sweet friends brought me a homemade fruit bouquet. It was so thoughtful of her that it almost made me cry. Jackson and I snapped a few quick pictures and then devoured it. It was delicious! She's so talented.

Saturday morning we awoke to another fun surprise. We did some indoor plant starts for our garden. It felt so early, but Seattle's planting season starts really early so we figured it was time. I was amazed to see these cute little plants pop up just 6 days after planting them. And of course, Tyler came home with gifts (even though they were just the free gifts that he got from vendors at the conference). Jackson enjoyed his little airplane, which he played make believe with all morning after Tyler got home. He would fly it around the room, land it on the couch, and then pretend to open a tiny little door in the side of the plane and say, "It's Daddy's plane. Daddy is home! He came home!" I thought it was really sweet.

A New Hobby

Jackson is currently obsessed with puzzles. And I have learned the vast difference between cheap puzzles and expensive puzzles. Nice puzzles are definately worth the money. Cheap puzzles fall apart and the pieces are distorted and won't stick together and are very frustrating to a 2-year-old. So over the past few weeks, we've been investing in some high-quality floor puzzles from Ross's, and Jackson has been in puzzle heaven.

My favorite part of the puzzles? When Jackson finishes one on his own and then stands up, holds his arms out, and yells "Tah-duh!" It makes me giggle every time.

PBJ

Today I left Jackson alone with his PB & J sandwich while I got ready for work. I came out and found him kneeling on the floor in front of our new mirror admiring himself. Apparently, he was quite proud of the mess he made on his face.

When I tried to take a picture of the mess, he kept squinting from the flash. He likes to check his pictures after I take them. "Let me see. Let me see." And every time he would say, "My eyes closed." Finally, he said "Take another. I keep my eyes open."

And this was the result of him trying to keep his eyes open. I decided it's the same type of thing where you can't put mascara on without opening your mouth.

Just the usual... pictures

My friend Rendy is an amazing photographer. We took our kids to the Children's Museum and she got some great pictures of Jackson. I thought I'd share a couple of them.

Mail Time

The Valentine package from Grandma & Grandpa Hawkins arrived. I'm pretty sure Jackson needs a holiday that involves presents every month.

Happy Valentine's Day

Chilly Sunshine

All winter long, Jackson and I have been having indoor picnics at Jackson's request. I don't know why it's so fun to spread out a blanket in your living room and eat a sandwich, but he loves it. Today the sun came out, but it was still pretty cold. Around lunch time Jackson got really excited and said, "Mom, how 'bout picnic OUTSIDE?" And he covered his mouth giggling when he said the word "outside", like it was the silliest, greatest idea he's ever had. So we put on our coats, spread out a nice thick blanket over our wet grass, and had a picnic.

I'm not sure why the drumstick came to our picnic?

Jackson's favorite new game is playing with his shadow. He makes it do silly dances and say silly things and just thinks it's hilarious. And he likes to make our shadows look like they are holding hands without us actually holding hands. I'm glad he's so good at entertaining himself.

Just Jackson

Not much has been happening, so there isn't much to post. Here are some cute pictures. That's all I've got for now, but there are some new Cute Funnies in the sidebar -->

Hawkins Family Pictures 2010

I finally got a tripod, so we attempted some family photos in my parent's backyard. The blur. Sometimes the messed up/non-posed pictures are the best ones.

Uncle Kevin

Christmas 2010 in Pictures

This year Jackson LOVED opening presents. Christmas with a 2 year-old is my new favorite thing. "I am Buzz Lightyear." That's the phrase I've heard over and over again the past few weeks.

Uncle Kevin Santa

Tyler Santa

Loving cheesecake

Madden and Jackson

The Christmas morning mess

Puzzles with Grandma. Jackson was really proud of his accomplisment.

Enjoying LOTS of snow at the Boyd cabin in Island Park

Lounging

Cutest Santa Ever

Merry Christmas!

Do you recognize Santa? Jackson did.

Intramural Football

Tyler's dental school puts together a team for almost every intramural sport. They are all very athletic and have a lot of fun. Last Friday their football team, The Gold Crowns, was in the championship and won! They got to play the final game in the Husky Stadium on the actual football field, pretty cool.

Celebrating after one of Tyler's many interceptions throughout the season. I never appreciated the defensive aspect of football until I watched Tyler play. I don't want to brag, but he's pretty amazing.

Congrats, Gold Crowns!

Fearless

Last year when Jackson met Santa, it didn't go so well. But everyone has to have a picture of their toddler screaming on Santa's lap, right? Last night was my work Christmas party. I was the Santa photographer. I have never seen so many screaming children. Luckily, this year Jackson was not one of them. In fact, he sat on Santa's lap twice. And when Santa asked what he wanted for Christmas, he gave his classic answer of "presents." But then remembered Buzz Lightyear and quickly changed his answer.

Making gingerbread houses. After the party I told Tyler it was time to go and asked him where their gingerbread house was, thinking we could use it as a cute decoration. His answer... "We ate it."