Christmas in KC and Cincinnati

Christmas was in Kansas City this year. We were able to go a week early and Bryan worked in the KC office Monday through Wednesday. It was great to be able to see friends and family while we were in town. We saw my whole family, and friends Julie (and her momma), Shawn and Carrie and Marianne and Garrett.

On Tuesday night the Alexanders came over for stew and Jackson and Teagen were able to "play" together. Teagen is 12 days younger than Jackson.

On Chrismas Eve, everyone came to our house for presents. Here is all of Jackson's first Christmas gifts.
And this is my favorite picture, I think. I forgot he was sitting below me and and he toppled right over. I was just too focused on the presents. Luckily, Bryan had quick refexes and captured it on film, er, whatever it is now that we don't use film. He was across the room so he couldn't have caught him if he tried.

These are JJ's second cousins, Bailey and Cole.

Aunt Robin and Uncle John

Great Grandma and Grandpa (Gma and Gpa)

Here are our Christmas pajamas.

Jackson really couldn't have cared less about his stocking. But here's what Santa left anyway.

On Christmas we went to my Aunt Linda's house. This is our Christmas family picture.

The whole week proved to be too much for JJ. He was zonked. And got sick shortly afterwords. He was coughing and stuffy the whole way home.

We were back in Aurora for a few days before we headed to Ohio. Actually, we got home at midnight and then had to shovel 8 inches of snow out of our driveway so Bryan could go to work in the morning and the furniture delivery people could get in the driveway. It was a crazy busy several days as we had to treat Claire and Lily for fleas, flea bomb the house and then clean everything, I had a weird stomach bug and then we had to pack for Ohio. It was crazy.

Friday morning we got up at 6 and left for Columbus for the Pancake Breakfast. We stayed at Lee and Lea's and really enjoyed being with the Quad to ring in the new year. Jackson especially liked playing with Steven's toys.

Uncle Jeremy was taught the best way to suck on your fingers.

Uncle Dan is a pediatrician. He gave Jackson his bedtime bottle. I really can't believe both Steven and Jackson slept through the craziness that night. Well, slept through until 4am. He was up and ready for the day at 5:30. Ugh.

We left Columbus the next day and headed to Cincinnati for "Christmas." Upon arrival, we played for a bit, JJ napped and then the we opened presents.

Jackson enjoyed showing off his sitting up skills.

Grandpa spent a lot of time on the floor playing with his grandson.They read stories together too.

Before bed, Bryan read Carl's Christmas to Jackson. It's a book with pictures only that allows the "reader" to tell the story based on the pictures. I can't wait until Jackson is old enough to make up his own story.

We travelled over 1,700 miles over the holiday and are really glad to be home for a while!

The Clark House At Christmas

When we were looking at houses, one of my first reactions to ours was that it would be great for Christmas decorations. Of course it's not the reason to buy a house, but it is definitely a bonus! Here is our house at Chrismas.

Fireplace

Our new 12' tree- Thank you Mom and Dad ClarkGarland on the stairs

The Kitchen Tree and the Christmas Countdown

The Mizzou tree is in the front entryway this year.

entryway decoration

The "what do I do with all the other ornaments?" tree after I used the red and green ones on the big family room tree

Dining room table

Upstairs hall decoration

Taking it all down is not nearly as fun as puting it all up!

Playing with Claire

Claire and Jackson have become good friends. Claire loves to be where Jackson is! There is usually a blanket on the floor that he plays on and when Jackson is napping, Claire lies on the blanket and waits for him. He gets lots of kisses when he returns!

I hope Jackson and Claire can be best friends!

5 Months Old

Jackson turned 5 months old on December 9th! He wasn't too pleased about getting his picture taken. I couldn't get him to smile because he was way too intrigued by the camera. The pictures still capture those sweet leg rolls though!

I love this next one. He looks like such a little man!

Jackson, at 5 months old you are:

• rolling from back to front and front to back!
• laughing a lot. You liked to be lifted in the air above mommy or daddy's head.
• are getting better at sleeping and taking naps. You have taken two, two-hour naps.
• are making squeaking noises and trying to "talk."
• are drooling a lot but there are still no teeth coming in.
• putting everything in your mouth. When we hold a toy out for you, you grab it and put it in your mouth.
• eating cereal like you may never eat again. You started eating just a little bit of very thin cereal but now it's thick and you eat a bunch.
• love being in your exersaucer. Mimi and Grandpa bought it for you over Thanksgiving and you love talking to all the animals on it.
• wake up cooing sometimes. When we get you from your crib you are usually smiling at the lion on your bumper!
• are such a blessing to our life!

We love you little man.

Florida- And Promises of Better Blogging Habits

The weekend before Thanksgiving we headed to St. Petersburg, Florida so my mom and I could run the Women's Half Marathon. Jackson was great on the way there. This is his first time on an airplane.

The trip home was not as great. We sat on the tarmac for a while which of course means we are seated with our belts on. Jackson was screaming....like in full meltdown mode. We did everything we could to get him to stop but nothing worked. Finally, the flight attendant saved us by taking him and walking up and down the aisles of the plane with him until we took off. Once the engines were roaring, he fell asleep and stayed that way for three hours!
We were there a day early and enjoyed touring the bayfront before we picked up my parents at the airport.

Sunday morning, we were ready with the sun to run! Our race started at 7 and we were done right after 10:00. He we are with more energy than we had after the race.

Lots of women getting ready to start!

There we are just starting mile one. Where's Waldo?

Mile 7-over halfway!

This is my last tenth of a mile. What a gross picture. Ugh.

Running towards the finish.

Bryan didn't take any pictures of my mom and I with our medals. They are all on my dad's camera :( After our run, we took showers, devoured some food and headed to Clearwater to hit the beach. We were also so lucky to be able to meet up with family! We saw Moris and Lori Cabezas and enjoyed conversation over dinner.

Here's our little guy's first trip to the beach.

Mommy and JacksonFeet in the water for the first time. It was freezing!

We had a great time in Florida! It was quite the shock to come back to frigid temperatures though.

I am going to be very mindful of the time that passes between posts. I want to be better and time really gets away from me. Thanks for checking back for more posts!