Friday, February 18, 2011

A Whole Hand

Jackson's Fifth Birthday Celebration began on Wednesday. We met up with my mom and sister at Chuck E. Cheese to play and have lunch.












Jackson loved Chuck E. Cheese. Annabeth was terrified of the guy in the costume, but she liked the robot one on stage.



You can always tell which drink is my mom's. It's water with lemon that hasn't been touched.



I challenged my sister to basketball and she whooped me.






Melissa and Annabeth waving to "Chick Chuck." That's as close as she would get.



Wednesday night after church we got the kids ready for bed and I rocked Jackson in his old glider that currently sits in our guest room. He let me give him lots of smooches and I told him all about (well, the kid version of) the day he was born. He grinned the whole time.

On Thursday morning the birthday boy got to open some presents. This market stand is from Nana and Pappaw in Missouri. It looks so neat with all the food in it. Thanks, Steve and Cozy!






Annabeth was a little bratty about her brother's birthday. Since he was playing with new toys all day, I thought she would like to wear her new Dora ballet dress for the first time. She screamed and acted like it was eating her flesh. She desperately just wanted to wear Jackson's helmet. I didn't let her because she has a habit of throwing things and destroying them. Here she is - still in the odious ballet dress that she eventually embraced - playing with Jackson's balloons.



Jackson picked out Transformers plates and such for his birthday party at Bibby and Pappaw's house.



We asked my dad to do a fish fry and he did it up right! So darn good. That's mac and cheese in the middle. *Moment of silence*









My sweet grandparents.






Annabeth laid down in all the wrapping paper. She did this on Christmas morning too. So weird!



Snuggling with Aunt Sassa.



My dad fell asleep, which is not unusual. I'd give him a hard time about it but he was my hero with that amazing dinner and he had driven home from the ranch at 5:30 AM. Also, I found out that asking for fresh fish in February is kind of a tall order. Thanks again, Daddy! You were the birthday hero.



This cake was meant for AB's birthday, but when we had the Blizzard That Never Was on her birthday week and the bakery had no power due to rolling blackouts, we saved the order for Jackson's birthday. I had them leave the pink polka dots off and it wasn't nearly as cute. But it tasted great.





















These pictures are from this morning. Let's call this series "Birthday Aftermath."

Jackson is a whole hand old.



This was the sign his teacher made him for the classroom.



The last of the cupcakes that he took to school.









What are balloons good for if not punching?






Annabeth was hiding from me. In the egg chair. With the balloons.









We were all beyond exhausted this morning.



And maybe a little cranky, too.



It's been a really big month. The Jones Children Birthday (with Valentine's sandwiched between) Extravaganza was great fun and now I need a nap. Or three. Or five, since I also celebrated five years of motherhood. Let's see if I can talk Curtis into that.

Enjoy your weekend!


40 comments:

Kari said...

What a cutie! I am so glad he had a great 5th birthday. What an adventure. I can't believe he has lost his tooth! WOW! Landon has lost his two bottom teeth already but not his top. Seems so early for them to be loosing teeth! Thanks for sharing his birthday with the blog world! :-)

Sister Lynn said...

Jackson has grown into such a beautiful boy! Thanks for sharing your precious memories.

much love - Sister Lynn

debra parker said...

a precious moment in time.
a truly special day.

Happy Mommahood birthday.

Angela said...

What is it with girls throwing things??? My Ava has a mean throw...ha!

Love the whole hand cup, what a great idea. I will have to steal that idea from you.

Happy Birthday Jackson!

Brandee Shafer said...

Ok, I am very envious b/c you have an egg chair. Where can I get one?

Happy 5th birthday to your Jackson!

Erin Ward said...

Looks like a fabulous birthday! He is such a fun boy. :)

Marla Taviano said...

Love this post. Love the pic of you kissing him. Thanks for sharing his big day with us.

Tara G. said...

Boys are so fun! Their parties are hilarious in such a different way than girls (our last was fighter jets). We have a birthday right before Thanksgiivng and one right after Christmas- I thought that was a lot of partying right in a row, but I think yours is much more intense! :) Way to go!

Gerry said...

You are your mother's daughter. I love your blog.

Sarah said...

So precious. Love Jackson's toothless smile and AB is a hoot (love the pic with her at her tea table and furry friends). You are a great Mom, don't ever doubt that! What a blessing your two beautiful children are, I know I don't have to tell you that! :) Great memories for the kids, these great parties and family time. Hope you have a great weekend too! :)

Whittaker Woman said...

Oh I love it all. And my kids are sold on traveling in the car for hours and hours towards Texas as long as we end up at Chuck E Cheese! :) Hope you are well. H

This Is Stupid said...

My girls birthdays are within a week of each other, and it is fun, but exhausting, trying to celebrate them both! They will be 5 and 2 this summer. But they are girls, so no Transformers for us!! The cake looked great!

Nancy Mon said...

I can hardly believe that Jackson is five years old. Looks like you all had a blast celebrating his special day. Love that your dad has his Buc-cees cup in hand while napping.

wmcswain said...

Ok, your children are beautiful, but that mac-n-cheese, I may not get it out of my head for a month! Yum. Happy Birthday Jackson!

Jeannie (HAPPY HEART) said...

good times :)

petrii said...

Oh how fun!!! He is such a big boy and so funny that AnnaBeth copped a 'tude. So cute!!

And her dress is adorable!!

Wow your dad ~~ KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK WITH FISH AND ALL THE FIXINS' IN FEB. ~~

Have a Blessed weekend,
Dawn

Marilyn in Mississippi said...

Loved, loved, LOVED looking at all the pictures! You have a beautiful family! Thanks for sharing all the great times!

Marilyn...in Mississippi

Trudy said...

I am late to un-lurk from several posts ago but just wanted to say Hi and tell you how much I enjoy your blog. I found it through LPM. (I am Carolina Cheesehead over there and also on the SSMT) Even tho you never mentioned Baby Bangs there I always loved your way of writing about life and so I just googled your name to see if you had your own blog. It was fun to find it and I check in here as often as I check in at LPM now.

I have a 5 yr old boy too who has that same helmet and loves transformers and so many of the things that you share about Jackson. I also have 3 older boys and one of them fell and lost a front tooth at 2 yrs old. I thought it was tragic at the time but we grew use to it and the permanent came in fine 4 yrs later. :) I am at least 10 years older than you (my oldest is 14) but when my hormones went wacko after boy #4 was born someone suggested SAM-E to me. I found it at my local health food store and crazy as it sounds it seems to have helped immensely in getting my hormones stablilized again. Just worked for me is all I'm saying.

Thanks for all the ways encourage me and others Amanda!

Blessings,
Trudy

Shelli Littleton said...

My girls' birthdays are two months apart, and I thought that was tough! May the Lord doubly bless you this week!! You've had a schedule full! But, good!!

FitzandMolly said...

so fun! love the mug with the sweet hand print, and can you begin to know how much i love that your dad is asleep with a bucees cup??

Shannon said...

So fun! I really love that you kept both celebrations simple--but you still had a ton of fun. You have such a beautiful family and you always look like you are having so much fun. Thanks for sharing with us :)

Michelle Johnson said...

Your kiddos are getting so big! Looks like his party was a success. :) You take great pictures. Thanks for sharing them.

California Dreamin said...

Jackson's smile is beautiful. He is never without that big smile. I love it.

AKat said...

Amanda, FIVE! Wow!
Five things: 1. Jackson IS such a handsome boy...and the perfect combo of you and Curtis; 2. The cake looks delicious; 3. You kissing Jackson is my favorite picture; 4. Five years seems to have passed WAY too quickly; and 5. AB. In the egg chair. With the balloons. Made me laugh, because it's like the game of Clue! :) Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!

Jamie said...

You guys sure are some pretty people. My oldest turned 5 in December! *slight sigh* I cannot believe - a whole hand. I've been following your mom's bible studies and every time she would mention Jackson in the videos I was guessing he was around my daughter's age. Is that the first tooth he lost? My daughter just lost her first one (dentist had to pull it). She already has another one to fill the gap, so I don't have any snaggle-toothed pics yet. I teared up when I read the post before this one because I know just how you feel and capturing it in words is often hard to do for me. Enjoy your beautiful family! Enjoy your Sunday!

Dionna said...

I adore that wood Noah's ark in one of your pictures! It's fabulous.

Had to smile about Chuck E Cheese. My youngest chose that for her bday dinner like 3 years in a row and my poor husband would groan each time. HA HA Fun memories.

Deidre said...

He is so precious, Amanda. My Olivia is a whole hand, too, and that's exactly how she tells people her age :) I love that you had a family fish fry. I am learning intimate family parties are the way to go - and so special. Happy (late) birthday to your special boy!

Unknown said...

So cute! Love the *moment of silence* comment regarding the mac n cheese! Made me laugh out loud! :)

Kelli said...

What a great birthday for Jackson!

I love AB's static hair picture!

I was cracking up that your dad was asleep but he had a tight grip on his Buccee's cup!

That hand mug is SO sweet!

Buckley Family said...

I have only read your blog a few times, but I thought about it this weekend. I spent probably 30 minutes on Saturday trying to get my baby bangs to lay down flat!! I am at the stage right now where they are growing in straight out. It is so weird!! At least I have an adorable baby on my hip. Maybe people notice him and not his crazy momma's hair :)

Buckley Family said...

I have only read your blog a few times, but I thought about it this weeked. I spent nearly 30 minutes on Saturday trying to get my baby bangs to lay flat. They are at the stage of growing in where they are sticking straight out! It is so weird!!! At least I have an adorable baby on my hip. Maybe people will notice him and not his crazy momma's hair :)

Jeff Goins said...

Fun pics. I won't tell you that I celebrated my 23rd birthday at Chuck E. Cheese. No, I won't dare tell you that.

Shellie Paparazzo said...

How much fun is that! And judging by the last picture, I'd say you're not the only one who needs a nap!!!!!

Anonymous said...

I love your birthday posts! It always seems as though you go way out of your way to make your children really enjoy celebrating their birthday and feel special-- andw without the cheap (but actually its not cheap in money terms), alotta-things-and-too-many-people, kind of way. This is how traditions begin! Thanks for sharing! :)

Sharen said...

You must be exhausted!! But what a lot of fun it looks like you have all had over the last few weeks!

connorcolesmom said...

So sweet!! And a whole hand old seems hard to believe!! Wait until he is 2 hands old plus 1 like my oldest. I still can not believe how fast time flies.
Sometimes I wish there was a pause button but it sure makes me appreciate every moment.
Congrats to you on 5 years of motherhood - it just keeps getting better every year!
Much love

Erica said...

Happy birthday, Jackson! How fun that you get to celebrate them both in one month. You definitely deserve 5 naps!

Amanda said...

Forgive me for not responding with something much more profound in my first comment ever (I have been following - and loving, I might add - your blog for a while now), but I can't help myself!!! Is that a Noah's Ark teeter totter in that photo of AB? LOVE IT!!! May I ask...wherever did you find it?!?!

And aside from sharing your name, I feel like we have a lot in common. Kindred spirits, if you will. The blog world is a funny thing, you can feel so connected to someone you have never even met and likely never will (or at least until Heaven!) :)

God bless you, and if you get a chance, I'd LOVE to know about the ark! Thank you!!! :)

Unknown said...

I see I'm a little "late to the party" in commenting here, but reading about the 5th birthday celebration made me think of my own son's 5th BD...only 21 years ago! He, too, celebrated it at Chuck E. Cheese. When we were there we found out that another boy who was also there celebrating his birthday had actually shared the hospital nursery with my son the day they were born. We didn't know his family, but the great-grandmothers knew each other and had run into one another at the hospital 5 years before, and then at CEC. Must be the place to be when you turn 5!

Unknown said...

Hard to believe the boy is FIVE! I remember when he was born. OH MY! I remember when your mom shared her news about her coming baby grand by telling us the boxes of Banners story so he could PRAISE DANCE with Bibby! :)