Jackson is 6!!

 

Jackson turned 6 on the 18th. He was not happy that all of his friends from Utah couldn't come. He had been looking forward to a friend party for a long time. He was happy with his spiderman theme and the promise of a family trip somewhere fun though. I can't believe that he is 6 already. I should ask him some interview questions.....
We had cupcakes and banana split ice cream cake.

 

Jackson wanted to draw a picture to take to school for show and tell on his birthday so he drew a cake with 6 candles. This meant Maggie and Hailey had to draw too. Hailey absolutely loves to draw. We are happy when we can convince her that we draw on paper. She will draw on anything and everything. Maggie is also getting very creative as she draws. While I am typing this she is practicing writing letters for her name.

*See Hailey writing with her left hand? We think she is going to be a leftie like Matt. She definitely is starting to show a preference for that hand.

Nice weather

 

We are starting to get some rather warm days around here. It's been up to 70 a few times already. So every once in awhile when we pick Jackson up from school, we stay to play on the playground. Hailey loves to climb around on the ladders and go down the slides. Jackson wants to play games with other kids and Maggie does a little of both. Sometimes, they need timeouts..... see Maggie's grumpy face while she sits on the bench? :) I didn't post a picture of it but you can see the building Matt works in from Jackson's playground. It's nice to have Matt so close. He enjoys the short drive too. We still haven't seen any flowers in bloom or leaves on the trees. I am really looking forward to that after all the brown and gray around here.

Pool Days

 

Hailey hanging out in the pool on one our last swimming days before leaving the hotel.

 

Jackson loves, loves, loves the water. He misses the pool. Hotel living wasn't really bothering him. Cable TV and a pool, he couldn't ask for more.

 

By the time we left the hotel Maggie would actually get her head wet in the pool once in a while. Progress is a wonderful thing. She even jumped in and went under a few times.

Snowmen

 

We were looking for something to do.... and Chik-Fil-A has an activity once a month or so. The things we do for our kiddos.... You could make an ice cream snowman. The kids thought it was great. This would be a fun way to make a snowman in the middle of the summer. If you used hard ice cream you could make it look even more like a snowman than the soft serve we had.

The things kids say......

Jackson started kindergarten here on Tue. It's an all day kindergarten. In Utah he onle has class for about 2 1/2 hours in the morning. We don't have that option here. When I picked him up after his first day he said "Mom, that was the longest kindergarten I have EVER been too! I don't want to go anymore." But he has kept going and he seems to like most of it. They have a lot of extra play things in their classroom and they get to do extra classes like art, music, and PE. It's been a little hard to have him gone that long everyday. I'm not used to it. It's probably better for him than being cooped up in the hotel though. Hopefully it keeps going well.

The other day Maggie kept saying something I didn't understand so I told her to ask in a different way. She said "You want me to change it? Do you want me to say it in Spanish?" Not exactly what I meant but entertaining none the less.

Hailey is starting to pick up a few more words. She has been the latest talker for us so far. She will say apple, ball, meow, woof, night night, hi daddy, sometimes the names for the rest of us, and no. She will sign eat, drink, swim, and bath. She is just now starting to get frustrated with us when we don't understand her so maybe that will motivate her language skills a little.

Quiet time.....

 

 

The kids have watched entirely too much TV since we've been in the hotel. Commercials have been a revelation to them. Maggie wants EVERYTHING. Luckily all we have to say is that we will add it to her birthday list and she is happy with that. Jackson wants some things for him but he is especially alert to things for me. The other day he saw a commercial for hair coloring and he was so excited. "Mom, you can chose any color you want and your hair will be so healthy! Don't you want that?"

Hailey has been taking her naps really well most of the time. This should be a good transition out of the crib for her.

Highlight of the hotel

 

The kids have really loved having such easy access to a pool. It definitely means we go swimming a lot more. It has a 2 foot shallow end that works really well for building Maggie's confidence. All three of them have really gotten more confident in the water. Jackson is still a bit of a dare devil. He will dive, try to do flips and get things off the bottom. After watching some older kids the other day Jackson tried a backflip - yikes. We told him not to do that anymore but I wish I would've seen it coming. He is so tough and daring with some things but then so emotional and whiny about others. Maggie will swim with fewer flotation aides :) and has even started jumping into the shallow water. She still doesn't like to get her head wet but doesn't mind going out in the deeper water with floaties. Hailey doesn't mind going under at all and thinks it's pretty funny. She will put on the arm floaties and just swim around a little on her own. She is another one that is a little unpredictable. You just never quite know what she is going to be brave enough to do - with or without you! We will miss the pool when we leave the hotel.