China

It has been a long time since my last post and I am not even sure if anyone reads this blog anymore. But just in case they do I though I would post a short update. Aaron accepted a new job offer a couple of months ago that has taken us on an overseas assignment in China for the 3 years. We just arrived a few days ago and things are pretty crazy right now given that I haven't had a chance to study the the language yet. It is a pretty different world over here. We will be living in Sanmen, China. It is about 4 hours south of Shanghi. The other news I have is that I am pregnant (15 weeks right now) and due January 1, 2012. The kids and I will be flying back to the states in October for my third trimester so I can deliver there. We will return to China after the baby is born and has all the paperwork needed to travel. Seems like we can't do just one big thing at a time. Anyway - please reply to my post so I know if it is worth keeping this blog updated while we are over here.

time to catch up

Well, it's time to catch up. Here are a few pictures from the fall.

sibling hug

Abigail discovered the hearth was the perfect height for her to sit.

Batman and the elephant ( I made the batman costume)

Two Batmans! Jackson with cousin, Jeb

Yes, I am one of those people who dressed up their dog.

Abigail in the dog pumpkin costume.

Fun in the sun

Jackson went swimming yesterday in our backyard. I had my lap top outside and was checking e-mail. When I looked up he had decided it was a good idea to put his "happy day ride" into the pool (this is what he calls his new 3-wheeler. He got the name from his cousin, Boston, who has the same one and calls his this too.)

Hanging out at the Cabin

Melinda and the kids spent a few days last week in Island park at her sister and brother-in-law's cabin. Jackson went on a 4-wheeler ride with Uncle Andy. I was surprised he went because he has been scared of the noise in the past, but he loved it! Here are a few pictures of him with his cousins on the 4-wheelers (they were only just posing for pictures, the little kids didn't go riding by themselves).

Jackson with cousins, Silvia and Jeb. (also - here is a good picture of our new car in the background)

Vroom, Vroom! Here I come!

Another Pic with Jackson and Jeb.

Also, I decided I better get a video of Abigail doing her "army crawl" before she figures out there are better ways to get around than that.

New member of the family

We got a new car a couple of weeks ago, complements, in part, to the government Cask for Clunkers program. It is a 2009 Honda Odyssey in slate (you can see part of it in the last picture). It is the first new car either Aaron or I have owned. I haven't quite adjusted to the van/ soccer mom mentality yet but I am getting there. It is defiantly nice to have all the extra room and it so much easier to get the kids in and out of the car. Plus, Jackson actually has some leg room in this car.

To try out the new car, we went for a drive up to Mesa Falls the Sunday after we got it. Here are a few picture at the falls.

Jackson posing for a picture with the falls behind him.

The whole Family with the lower falls behind us - someone offered to take a picture for us.

Melinda and the kids with the upper falls behind us.

Jackson looking at the upper falls.

Abigail having a drink of juice back at the car.

Jackson's 3rd Birthday

Jackson had his 3rd birthday on August 8th. Here are the things we did to celebrate his birthday: We went to the Idaho Falls zoo 2 days before his birthday. I had been telling him we would go for a little while since he liked the San Diego one so much. My parents came along with me and the kids. Jackson surprised me by getting out of the stroller at one of the first animals we saw and then walking for pretty much the rest of our several hour stay at the zoo. Unfortunately, one of his sandals gave him a blister towards the end of the trip. He really enjoyed seeing all the animals and especially liked following the free-roaming peacock around when we sat down for lunch. I forgot to take my camera and have not yet got the pictures that my mom took with hers, so no pictures to post of this outing.

On the day of his birthday, we had a BBQ and birthday party for all of our family members that were around and could come. Jackson knew just what to do with his presents this time around and he made quite the haul. I tried my luck at making a dragon cake, since he is really into dinosaurs and dragons right now. I was worried that it might not be very good, but I surprised myself with a quite a good looking dragon both inside and out! Jackson loved it - which made all the time spent on it worth it.

The dragon cake I made for Jackson's birthday

Aaron posing by the cake

Jackson blowing out his candles

Jackson with all his presents

Here are a few Things about Jackson at age 3:

1. He loves Dinosaurs - as mentioned above. He usually has to sleep with one of his plastic replicas each night. I have been telling him all the names of the different dinos and he is actually really good at pronouncing their names. For example, he can pronounce every syllable correctly of "Acrocanthosaurus" - which happens to be his favorite one.
2. He loves to read.
3. Things he has done for the first time this summer are: ride a jet ski, ride a 4-wheeler, go camping, and start pushing the peddles on this trike.
4. A few of his favorites:

• books - The Berenstain Bears and the Bad dream, Lama Lama Mad at Mama
  
• meals - couscous, rice, peanut butter sandwiches
• movies - Wall-E, Cars
• TV show - Elmo (Sesame) Street
• songs - Popcorn popping on the Apricot Tree, Incy Wincy Spider
• fruit - pears
• veggie - beans and broccoli
• treat - fruit snacks, granola bar
• toy - plastic dinosaur - Acrocanthosaurs

Here are Jackson's stats from his 3 year check-up:

• Weight - 36.6 lbs (90th percentile)
• Height - 40 in (95th percentile)
  

(yes - he is a big boy, I frequently get asked if he is about a year older than he is. Hard to believe he started out life as a preemie!)

Jackson is such a great kid to have around these days. He usually has something to say or to do that brings a smile or laugh to his parents. We are so glad he came into our lives 3 years ago!

Bath time

Both of my children LOVE their bath time - as I think most children their ages do.  Anyway - I had Aaron snap a few pictures of them in the tub together.  It is hard for me to get any most of the time because I am typically the one bathing them.