Jackson's 4th Birthday!

Our sweet buddy, Jackson, turned four on October 12th.  Daniel and I just cannot believe that four years have come and gone with a son in our lives!  Time flies!  This year, Jackson became a big brother.  He has been a WONDERFUL big brother!  He is my little helper when it comes to taking care of the babies.  Jackson adores his daddy!  They say,"We're the same boys," all of the time!  He loves DUPLO blocks, building with his train set, drawing, puzzles, playing with cars, trucks, and firemen...anything BOY!  Gone are the days of wearing my heels around the house and toting around Rivers' purses.

Jackson has a pretend group of friends that came to live with us shortly after the babies were born:  Mr. Mark, Mr. Johncy, and Mr. Ricky.  They go to and work at "Mango Church" and they are all pastors.  I'm thinking that they are really music ministers because they sing and play air guitar a lot.  Jackson constantly keeps us guessing!

Jackson also moved into a big boy bed for his 4th birthday!  He has been so excited, and we have enjoyed getting to climb into bed with him to read and sing at night.

Big Brother

Jackson is such a loving brother to Emily and Katherine. Since he only goes to preschool on Thursday mornings, he is home with the girls and me every day. He plays around and entertains himself really well when I'm tied up with the girls, or he'll come sit by me to watch television or read a book. He is so attentive to them and gets very concerned when they cry. He gladly places a paci to soothe them or wipes away spit up with a burp cloth. Sweet boy!

Our Would-Be Christmas Card Picture

So, you didn't get your Christmas card from us in the mail this year?! I just couldn't get it together enough this year... or last year...to make this happen. Things were rolling along so smoothly early on this season. We're going to have to make some changes next Christmas in order for us to really enjoy this "most wonderful time of the year."

The picture above, by the way, would be our reality: Jackson pulling Rivers hair. Below would be the idyllic, sweet picture that you would have received in the mail!

Christmas Eve

I love Christmas Eve just as much as Christmas Day and have as long as I can remember! We usually go to the service at First Presbyterian with my family, eat a wonderful homemade supper, and open family gifts under the tree. This year, we had a bit of a detour. I ended up getting a migraine headache (the third one in a week!) that afternoon and Jackson fell and bit through his lower lip leaving a beautiful blood trail in our master bedroom. This was not the Christmas Eve that I had dreamed of! Thankfully, my headache was gone in time for supper, and we enjoyed a wonderful night with my family eating pork tenderloin, drinking Wassail, and sharing gifts with each other.
My favorite gift that the children were given was the children's Bible that I grew up with, the Read-N-Grow Picture Bible. I had asked if Mom would get this for the kids because I loved it when I was young. It has 12 pictures per Bible story, which kept me riveted as a child. We have really enjoyed reading it with Rivers. Thank you Mimi and Pop-Pop!

Jackson's "Different Eyes"

Jackson had his outer and inner eye surgery on Friday, November 13th. We got to the hospital at 10:30 and they took him back at about 12:45. He played happily and even had a surprise visit from Mr. Steve and Mr. Keith (our music ministers). The surgery lasted about 5 hours. Dr. Cheeseman, the ophthalmologist, widened the eye openings by making incisions in the outer corners of both eyes, and he moved the eye muscles surrounding both eyes to correct his vision problem (eyes turning in). Dr. Chen, the plastic surgeon, made an incision in his right leg, removed fascia from the leg and used it to create slings (3 per eye) that run from above his eyebrow through his upper eyelid to open the eyes more. When Daniel and I went back to see him in recovery, it took us both by surprise to walk around the corner and to see Jackson's EYES wide open and staring at us! He was comforted easily and kept looking up at the ceiling and the lights. My sister-in-law, Hannah, and I stayed with Jackson in the hospital overnight, and he came home around 1:00 on Saturday. Outside of being irritated with not being able to close his eyes at night, his recovery has been so smooth, and we just couldn't be happier with the outcome!

Jackson calling out before surgery: "Get me out of here!"

Poor buddy! Not only do his eyes hurt, his leg does too!

Rivers came to visit Jackson a couple of hours after his surgery. We weren't sure about whether or not she should see him, but she wanted to be there to comfort him. In fact, she came the next morning too. Here she is making out a grocery list with Aunt Hannah.

Saturday, he played in his playroom some, but was generally tired. We all stayed home from church on Sunday to get some much needed rest and recuperation!
Calling out again: "Hey guys, did you know that there are lights on the ceiling?!! Wow!"
Our handsome little man! We now have two children with no surgeries in our near future! Praise God!

We went to the mall last night to have pizza and let the kids ride the carousel. On the way there, Rivers was "talking to" Dr. Chen on the phone about her baby doll, Kate. She told Dr. Chen that "Kate needs the same kind of 'different eye surgery' that Jackson had." It was adorable!

The South Carolina State Fair

We had such a great time at the fair last Friday! Daniel and I are die-hard fair fans, so we look forward to this time of year so much! The weather was absolutely perfect: cool and clear.
The view from the top of the Ferris wheel.
Shortly after arriving, we bumped into our friends Joey and Crystal. Jackson and Ellis kept each other company in their strollers while Jake and Rivers rode a few rides together. Crystal and I and Joey and Daniel even managed to race each other on the EuroSlide with the kids on our laps. It was so much fun!

This is a blurry picture of the dragon rollercoaster that Rivers almost FELL out of. Right after I shot this picture, Rivers put her hands up as the car rounded the corner and it appeared as though her upper torso went up slightly over the side of the car. The four of us gasped, and I was shocked that she didn't fall out. We yelled for Jake to hold onto Rivers and for Rivers to hold onto the bar. SCARY!

Rivers loved sharing a corn dog with Jackson.
It's so fun to ride as a family on the Ferris wheel.
All of us shared an elephant ear with cinnamon, sugar, and apples. YUM!
Jackson, you see, is barefoot. He takes his shoes off all of the time now after we just had a great stint of keeping them on. At least he's not licking the pole this year!

Rivers got to be the conductor on the train. She rang the bell the whole time.

We wrapped up with a pretty late night for us...9:30, but we had SO much fun that it was hard to leave!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jackson!

Today was Jackson's 2nd birthday! It is so hard to believe that my youngest child is now 2! We started the day by going into his room and singing "Happy Birthday," which he wasn't the least bit interested in. He only wanted to drink his milk, so off we went. The grandparents, aunts, and uncles came over for a hamburger supper and cake later in the day.

We picked a Blues Clues birthday cake for Jackson simply because it was age appropriate based on the others cakes we had to choose from at Publix. I toyed with the idea of just getting a big number "2" cake and setting a cell phone and keys on top. He's not into television shows at all, except for his Praise Baby DVD, and his favorite "toys" are Daniel's keys and his cell phone. He has very simple tastes! Buddy needed a little bit of help from his big sister to blow out the candles!
the Jackson side of the family

the Crowson side of the family

As if I don't know this already: a "Boys Will Be Boys" t-shirt from Mimi. Isn't that the truth?!
Is this a ride-on toy? Now it is!

I get to do Uncle Eric's shopping for the kids since he LOVES shopping so much. So, among a few other gifts, he gave Jackson the book The ABCs of Carolina. Coming from a huge Clemson fan, all he could do was laugh! Thanks Uncle E!Jackson took a break in between gift opening to fuel up on some birthday cake! Yum!

I love my football Aunt Hannah and Uncle Owen!My first tricycle! Daniel, Rivers, and I gave Jackson his present at the end of the night. He was so adorable! He hopped right on and began to push off with his feet. Next purchase: a helmet!
Rivers trying to make a get away...

My sweet little son! Sweet meaning of course: affectionate, crazy, loving, and loud. You are all rough-and-tumble boy (except when you wear my heels around the house and carry Rivers' pocketbooks). Daddy and I have been amazed at how much you've changed this past year. From a sweet little baby, into a little ball of fire! God has been so faithful to give us a daughter and then a son: one of each to learn and to grow to appreciate the differences and similarities between the two. We love you and are praying for you as you enter your third year of life. Daddy and I are always on your side, so just remember that when you're in time out for the fifth time in one afternoon on the other side of your bedroom door! We'll get through this little stage and will grow closer through it! I'm counting on that! We love you Buddy Bo!

Happy Fall Ya'll!