Loving the Weather!

We've had a couple of really nice days here lately.  The kids are ITCHING for warm weather so they can play outside from sun up to sun down!  My garage is slowly filling up with all the warm weather "junk" we have for these kids.  I'm thankful though because the "junk" keeps them busy!

Elese & Peyton crusing in the Barbie Jeep.  The new ride on toys have been a huge hit!  The funny thing about these sunglasses is that she usually wears them upside down.

While the girls were cruising, Eli was helping me withe landscaping.  He's all about helping, especailly when it comes to doing something outside.

He had to put his gloves on too...just like me.  He did a nice job raking, sweeping & picking up the dead leaves.  We didn't get the project finished but we atleast got a nice start.

Peyton went home and got her work gloves too.  We had a pick up sticks game around the yard.  The storm earlier in the week pulled a ton of limbs down.

Most of the time we were outside Eliot was napping.  Once he got up I brought him out to watch the other kids.  He hung out in the stroller and held his ball.  He was also having fun dropping it and watching me pick it up...over and over and over!

Elese LOVES to swing!  This red swing is too tall for her but she loves to try it out.  Her teacher from school calls her the "Push me higher" girl!



Update on Elese

We have some good news about Elese's procedures last week.  We have ruled out autoimmune hepatitis!  The biopsy of her liver showed that it is inflamed and her enzymes are still elevated although we're not sure of the cause.  Her doctor wants to do another blood test to check for another autoimmune disease just to be sure.  Her colon is fine and her small intestines once again confirmed her diagnoses of celiac disease.  When I hear the results of this new blood test, I'll be sure to let you know!  Thank you for your prayers.

Happy 5th Birthday Eli!

Eli turned 5 on February 15th.  It's hard to believe he's already 5 and will start kindergarten next year.  Every year I let him pick out a cake that he wants me to make.  I got off fairly easy this year because he wanted a skateboard cake.  I think it turned out nicely.  The background is green because he wanted it to look like it is on grass.  You're actually looking at the underside of the skateboard since that is where the designs are colors are on a real skateboard.

Eli is such a sweet boy.  He still loves his little blue blanket and sucks his fingers every night in bed...I don't think he'll ever stop!  He's starting to express interest in sports and loves EVERYTHING outdoors.  He can get along with just about all kids and is very sensitive. 

A couple neighborhood kids came over for cake & ice cream.  Uncle Lurch even made the trip up to help us celebrate.

One of the gifts Scott & I gave Eli is a new pair of cowboy boots.  He has another pair that are about too small and the snakeskin is worn off of them because he wears them everywhere, with anything and during any season!  He was pretty excited for the new pair!

Little sister had to try them on too.

Eli's just recently started trying out Lego's.  He really likes them and got 2 new ones for his birthday.  So far the little pieces haven't been an issue with the little kids.

He was pretty shocked when he opened a card from Grandma & Grandad...money!  He got money from Mamaw & Papaw too.  This kid has more money than me!

Another gift from us was a Bengals hat.  He's decided he's a Bengals fan now.

And the last surprise of the day was a Bengals jersey.  He's been wanting one of these for months so we forked over the money and surprised him.  On a side note, the NFL is making a killing on these jersey's for kids...I couldn't believe what they charge for these things!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Every  year we have a special dinner with the kids on Valentine's Day.  We get out the china, light the candles, drink kid wine and this year we even had heart shaped ice cubes.  This dinner always involves MANY toasts as this is a favorite of the kids.  I remember our 1st Valentine's dinner in this house last year.  Poor Elese was SO sick and could barely hold her head up at the table!  This year we have a new addition to the table...sweet Eliot!

Emery made the name cards this year.  I'm not sure what happened to Elese's!

It's a little tradition to get everyone a heart shaped Reese's cup.  This year we hit the jack pot with a double package!  Can you tell they're excited?

Eli's present from us was a Justin Bieber CD.  He was thrilled!  We have listened to this CD about 100 times now.  It always involves a dance party.

This is the look on Emery's face when she realized what we got her...I just love it!  She tried to act embarrassed but she loved it.

Such a sweet expression.  She loves her shirt and wore it to school the next day.

Elese was equally excited about her Mickie & Minnie t-shirt!

After dinner we went into the family room, cranked up Eli's new CD and had a Justin Bieber dance party!  Eliot was showing off his moves.

Girls shot!  On a side note, Emery does not wear glasses but bought these at a birthday party at Claires.  She loves them and pretty much wears them all the time.

Daddy shot!

There's a funny story behind this picture.  We were trying to school Emery on how to take a picture with the new camera.  We all cracked up laughing when we saw Eli peeking around during our kiss!

Update on Elese

I just want to let everyone know what is going on with Elese.  Yesterday she had a colonoscopy, endoscopy & liver biopsy.  Whew!  That was a lot for a 2 year old in one day!  She did very well and the procedures went as planned...no complications & no surprises.  We should have the results by the end of the week and we'll keep you updated.

Bieber Fever!!!!!

Guess where I took Emery & Eli tonight.....to see the Justin Bieber movie!!!!  They've been asking to go see it since they found out it is rated G.  Elese has the stomach flu today so I decided that tonight would be a great night to get them out of the house.  Plus, Aunt Cindy sent Eli $20 for his birthday so he could go & buy whatever he wanted!  Eli paid for his own ticket, had a HUGE pretzel (lots of gluten :) and a Coke.  Emery enjoyed the popcorn & Coke.

This is a shot of them when we got home.  Emery was goofing around being silly! 

The movie was truly heartwarming and the kids really enjoyed it.  For the most part you felt like you were at his concert and the kids were amazed!  After you hear the story of Justin Bieber, you will find yourself rooting for him.  Yeah for Justin Bieber!

Happy Super Bowl!

No big Super Bowl Sunday party plans here...except for a yummy food party at home!  Since we didn't have plans for the Super Bowl, we decided to make party food anyway and have a feast with the kids.  I made buffalo chicken dip, homemade potato skins, veggie tray, fresh strawberries & cupcakes for dessert...all gluten free of course!  The kids were pumped about the Sprite to drink and finished the evening by watching Toy Story 2...I needed something to keep them quite so Daddy could watch the game. :) 

Clowning Around!

Here's a few shots from the past couple of weeks.  We've had a lot of sickness come through but I'm crossing my fingers that we've made it through the rough patch.  Keep us in your prayers!

Emery & Eli were dressing up in Mom & Dad's stuff.

This is what Eli & Elese call "A Pillow Party"!  They enjoy doing this every once in awhile in the morning room.  Usually Eliot is in the baby saucer watching them...not sure where he was on this day.

Last weekend our friends Chris, Jodie, Kenzie & Grant came to visit from Columbus.  It was a really good visit and the kids instantly remembered one another and went straight to playing.

Emery really misses Kenzie and asks about her often.  It was really cute to see them all together.

Eliot stared eating Puffs recently.  At first he couldn't get them to his mouth but quickly mastered it.  It is a struggle though keeping these things off the floor since they have gluten.  Elese knows not to eat them but it still makes me nervous having them in the house.

It's a sad day here at the Jackson's...for me that is.  Eliot if officially out of the infant carrier.  The doctor told me yesterday that it was time.  He weighs 22.8lbs. and is 29 1/2".  Sigh...  I hooked the regular one up in the van today.  I have never put a baby in the regular car seat until they were 1.  Eliot is just too big!  My back has been hurting and I know that it is because I lug him around but my heart just feels sad to let the infant carrier go.

He doesn't seem to mind the new car seat at all!

Eliot has been having "room time" once a day to play by himself in his crib.  He doesn't mind and enjoys playing with his toys.  I enjoy the time of not having to watch like a hawk since I have so many "helpers" :) around here.  He safe & sound in the crib!