Rock Band

I should’ve known when Luke said “I think we should get a Playstation 3”… Rock Band was soon to follow. Initially the PS3 was for Blu-ray movies (we only have one so that didn’t really make a difference). Then came Call of Duty and some sports games. Now, our living room is filled with not only toys and a Christmas tree but also a drum set! We got a call last week from someone saying that they had gotten some of our mail and we should really call them. Low and behold, they had gotten the Rock Band package in the mail that was supposed to come to us. It was like Christmas for Jackson and for Luke that night. Jackson just loved the big box and the many things that came out of it. Luke was thrilled to get everything out to play. Needless to say, Luke and I have “started a band” and are playing gigs to earn points. And, my parents were over so we had my dad try it out…. I’m thinking that he should stick to his day jobs;)

The Christmas Tree

We continued our tradition of getting our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving (after shopping with Lori of course!!!). Last year Jackson was too young to really appreciate the whole experience but this year was a lot more fun for him. Sara came with us this year so she could hang out with her little buddy, Jackson.

Our house smells like a Christmas tree now. Jackson hasn’t touched the tree yet. He admires it from afar and I did find him trying to peer into the tree as if something was there (perhaps a squirrel???).

Our Little Reader

I finally have a little reader! Can I say how relieved I was to see him finally express an interest in books after so long?!!!! I absolutely love to read so I went a bit overboard when buying books for Jackson and then was discouraged that he only wanted to read one or two of them over and over and over and over again…. Yes, I now can recite Oh David, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, and Please Puppy Please by memory. However, my little boy has started to enjoy all of his books. Of course we’re still reading those favorites of his but I was so happy to see him enjoying books without me pulling them out first!

Birch Run

Last weekend Luke, Jackson and I along with the DeVisser’s went over to visit friends of ours from the other side of the state. We were anxious to do some shopping over at Birch Run but we also wanted to just catch up. We drove over Friday night after work. Lori made us a delicious dinner and the six of us were able to actually sit and enjoy a dinner. On Saturday the three of us girls headed to Birch Run and left the kids with the boys (I think they were thrilled to not have to shop AND they could watch all the football games on). When the game ended, they met us for dinner by the outlets and then we headed back. It was a short time together but well worth it. John and Lori have a beautiful house and were perfect hosts – Thanks guys!

Family Pictures

On Sunday, we had family pictures with the Hansen's at a park. It was a beautiful day - perfect for pictures and the kids did awesome! I was really worried that Jackson would do what he usually does with me.... anything BUT look at the camera! Anyways, the pictures turned out great. You can see some of the official portraits at Amy Carroll Photography

Playtime!

We spent Saturday night with the DeVissers and Plockmeyers. It was so much fun watching the kids interact this time. Sam is such a compassionate little guy and wanted to play with Jackson all night and then would give him hugs (even though Jackson would hardly stand still!) The "big boys" played Rock Band ... don't think that any of them will have a future in music! And of course we played our favorite game - Tock! It's a game very similiar to sorry but our games get quite heated because we play boys vs. girls. Unfortunately the boys won two out of the 3 games that night:( They're not the most gracious winners....

Happy Halloween!

On Friday, we made the rounds for Halloween with Jackson. We started out taking our now "annual" picture with Collin, Brianna and Dylan (Jackson goes to daycare there and really is more like their little brother than a daycare child). We ended our evening visiting with baby Lincoln! My cousin Emily had Lincoln on October 25 so went went over Thursday and Friday to visit with him. He is such a cutie!!!!