Merry Christmas! (And Baby Info)

Merry Christmas! We are getting ready for the last Christmas with just three of us. Elliot is really excited about Christmas this year. She can't wait for Santa to come and has already asked us some tough questions like how Santa gets in the house! She is so smart. She loves to sing Christmas carols and can sing all of the words to Jingle Bells, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, and a few others (including Feliz Navidad). We hope that everyone has a Merry Christmas! As our present to you, here are some pictures! Scroll down for baby news!

Elliot loves to make "castles" with blankets for her and her friends to hang out in.

We had a gender revealing party...

And it's another girl! Her name is going to be Charleigh Jo Jackson! Elliot is so sweet when she talks about her. She is going to be a great big sister.

Skinny Jeans!

Dress up day!

Merry Christmas!

Here is a train that Elliot made with her friends...

Well, that is all from here. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Love, the Jackson's

Go Rangers and Other Awesome News!

A lot has happened since my last post, but the coolest thing is the Texas Rangers playoff run. I would like to say that it has been fun, it has, but it is also very stressful! I am so happy that the Rangers have made it to the World Series. There are a lot of great people that work there and deserve to be a part of something like this. A lot of people have asked me how I feel about the Rangers going to the World Series a year after I left, and honestly, I couldn't be happier for the following reasons: 1) this wouldn't have happened if I would have stayed (I keep telling myself this) 2) I have gotten to spend a lot more time with Elliot than I would have if I still worked there, especially since the playoffs cause you to work long hours 3) I would have had to work every game instead of getting to enjoy them 4) I still have many great friends that work there, which allow me great benefits, like playoff tickets! (I got to attend ALDS Game 3, ALCS Game 2, and I will be going to World Series Game 3). So while it would be nice to get a World Series ring, I know that I am in the right place and I know that I am still part of the Rangers' family.

ALDS Game 3 vs. Tampa Bay

ALCS Game 2 vs. New York

The Game 2 crew (Ryan, Chad, Wes, and Jordan) I don't know why the flash didn't work.

The siblings at Game 2

I have also created a little Ranger fan. Elliot can name about half the roster, but her favorite is the manager, Wash. He is the only one that she can identify every time on TV, she will say, "There's Wash!" If fact, one night when the game was on, I was trying to get her to brush her teeth. She didn't want to, then she saw Wash on TV and I told her, "Wash wants you to brush your teeth." and she said, "OK!" And she let me brush her teeth. Talk about a motivator!

She has stayed up for the last two celebrations and she loves to watch them get excited. She asks tons of questions too. The other day she was playing in the living room when someone said "Cliff Lee" on TV and she stopped and said "Cliff Lee! Go Rangers!"

Here is a video of Elliot talking about the Rangers. She says she likes Wash, Vlad, Mike, and Josh, then she kind of loses her train of thought. I think you can understand everything after that. After she says "Win the World Series!" she goes into 'play mode' and starts talking about a game she was playing before we started recording. Her imagination is awesome!





As you can see in the video, Elliot is in big girl panties! She decided she wanted to start potty training at the end of August and she picked it up very quickly. She hasn't had very many accidents, and even though we put a diaper on her at night, it is dry 9 times out of 10 when she wakes up. And, we really wanted her out of diapers because....

Baby #2 is on the way! Our due date is April 6 and we are very excited! Elliot is also excited about being a big sister and she says she is going to ask God for a sister. She talks to Mommy's belly too! It is so sweet.

Elliot's Birthday Party

I know that this is a month late, but I have been busy trying to get my teaching certification and find a job. The good news is that I have completed one and almost done with the other. I have a job teaching 7th grade math at the school that is a mile from our house. I am very excited, but nervous at the same time. However, with that said, I envision my life getting very busy once school starts, so blogging my continue to be sporadic. I will try to put some pictures up when I can.

Elliot's Birthday Party was a huge success. She was a little sad when it was over, but she has handled it well. Here are some pictures from the big day!

Here is Elliot out side in her birthday outfit. Note the Minnie-style bow!

Elliot's Birthday Cake

Jennie took care of all of the decorations and did a great job. Elliot loved all of the streamers and balloons.

Ready to open presents!

Elliot opening presents

Close-up of Elliot's Cake

It rained during her party, but Nonni and Pops got her rain boots and a rain jacket, so she got to try them out immediately. She went out and stomped in the puddles.

Here she is looking for the insy-winsy spider that is "up the water spout."

This is Elliot on July 4th.

She loves to wear her rain boots all of the time. She will just wear them around the house. It is very cute...

I Don't Know

Here is a video of Elliot reading a book to Elmo. It features my new favorite phrase, which is "I don't know." She says it when you ask her a question that she doesn't know, oddly enough... It is really cute. You can also tell in the video how excited she is for her birthday. We sing Happy Birthday at least 50 times a day and she always ends blowing the candles out. She will be ready on July 2nd!

23 months...

Elliot is 23 months old and she is so big! She is talking (and singing) really clearly now. Her hair is getting really long. She has molars in on the top and bottom (her teeth come in slow!). She is really into doing everything herself. She loves orange juice (we have to hide it so she won't see it in the fridge). She still loves outside, but she is afraid of bugs. Such a girl!

She loves to sing. She is a little songbird that always has a song in her heart. Her setlist varies every day, but it usually consists of "Jesus Loves Me" "ABC's" and "Old MacDonald". She even made up a new song this week about her water wings for the pool. It goes,

Water Wings

Water Wings

Water, Water, Water Wings.

She made it up all on her own! I will try to record all of her songs (like a concert) and put it up here, but we all know how good at blogging I have been lately.

She is also talking a ton. Her new thing is "What (or Who) is missing?" If it is just Daddy and Elliot in the car she says, "Who we missing?" And I'll say "I don't know, Who?" And she'll say "Mommy!" Or when she is doing one of her puzzles and she is missing a piece she will ask what's missing. You get the picture, it is really cute.

She also said "Love you Mommy" to Jennie last week spontaneously. It was the first time that she said it first.

She is obsessed with her birthday. You ask her when it is and she says July 2nd. She is always singing Happy Birthday and making pretend cakes for us that we have to blow the candles out on. I'm afraid she is going to be crushed when her birthday is over.

She is very proud of her name and doesn't want you to call her anything else. If you say, "Are you a silly girl?" She'll say, "No, I Ellie Grace Jackson!"

Elliot and Daddy always have cuddle time after her baths. And then she runs around the house like a "naked bird"! She will ask, "I run naked bird?"

We took her to her first movie at the theatre (the new Shrek) and she was good...until her snacks ran out. Then she got pretty bored. It was pretty funny when Shrek said something, then the theatre was quiet and she said, "Oh Shrek..." Need to work on those movie manners.

Here she is in her chair just being cute...
Starting to work on that swing a little early! Looks like we got a switch hitter on our hands. Don't worry, I only make her practice for 2 hours in the morning and an hour after her nap...

She loves swimming, water, and anything that has to do with outside. Here she is in her little pool for the back yard. She loves going to the park so much that she would go everyday no matter the weather. We have to tell her the reasons why she can't go, so now, when we drive by the park she says, "Too winy (windy), Too cold" even it isn't windy or cold!

Easter Pictures

I know it is a month late, but here are our Easter pics. Saturday night we colored eggs and Sunday after church we had some family over for an Easter Egg Hunt for Elliot. She had a blast!

Play Park!!!!

Elliot's favorite thing to do is play outside and now that it is getting warmer, we find ourselves outside quite a bit. We live about a block away from a park and she loves to go and play on the toys and the swings. She calls it "play park" and she is always asking us if we can go to "play park". I was able to get it on video, so here is my interview with Elliot about what she likes to do at the park...

Quick aside, whenever she wants us to do something (or to get her something), she grabs our hand and pulls us and says "Tum on Daddy" (Come on Daddy) and walks us to where she wants us to go. It is so cute and I'm trying to get her to say it at the end of this video. But she doesn't really cooperate...

Elliot's 20 and 1/2 Months Update

Sorry for the long delay in between postings. I wish I could say that there was a reason, but there isn't. So, without further ado, here is Elliot's 20 1/2 months update!

Allow me a few paragraphs to brag...

Elliot is really smart. She picks up on the smallest things that she hears just once and we are always looking at each other saying "Did you teach her that?". A few days ago she started saying "Tunnel!" every time we would drive under an underpass or pull in to get gas. After many phone calls trying to figure out where she learned it, we found out that Nonni had mentioned it to her once. Want another cute story? I thought so... Jennie went to San Antonio for a sister's weekend. She left Thursday night and was coming back on Sunday night. On Sunday morning, we were backing out of the garage to go to church and Elliot was being really fussy and here is how our conversation went...

Daddy: "What's wrong Ellie?"

Elliot: "Sad."

Daddy: "Why are you sad?"

Elliot: "Mommy."

Daddy: "Do you miss Mommy?"

Elliot (in a sad voice): "Yes."

I couldn't believe the processing level that had just taken place. I know what you are thinking and yes, she is a genius! I'm kidding, it is just fun to watch her absorb all of this information and then spit it back out.

She is always talking. The last time we went to the dr., they asked if she had a 25 word vocabulary. 25?? Try 200, and I'm not kidding (if someone would like to challenge me on this, I am sure I could produce at least 200 words that she is able to use in conversation). She is putting together sentences. Lately it is "I see _____" and "Come on Daddy" (when she wants me to go somewhere or get her a snack). My least favorite is "Get up Daddy!", but Elliot, it is still dark outside!

When she is not talking, she is singing (and it might be the other way around!). She knows many songs from beginning to end, like Jesus Loves Me, ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Wheels on the Bus, Baby Bumble Bee, Theme songs to her favorite shows (Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora, Elmo's World), Old MacDonald and there are more that I am forgetting. She loves to sing!

She LOVES going outside and if you plan on taking her outside, you better block off at least an hour. This summer is going to be very fun! Elliot is very tall and has gotten to the point where she can reach door handles. Right now she likes to make sure that all doors are closed, more to show off that she can do it than anything else. She loves to run and jump and climb! And she has such a funny little sense of humor. She is a lot of fun!

One of the things that she might be a little behind in is playing with kids her own age. I think she thinks that she is 3 or 4 because that is how old the kids are at Pammy's house (where she goes a couple of times a week). She doesn't know what to do with kid's her own age so she is very reserved. We probably need to schedule some play dates!

She is so much fun and growing up so fast. Here are a few pictures and I will try to be better about updating...

This is either a silly face or her trying to make a fish face, I'm not sure...

Getting ready to go to the park! Notice B and Blank Blank (her paci and blanket). They go everywhere with us and she can't have one without the other.

Maybe the cutest picture ever?

Going to church (Aunt Ash made the bows she is wearing"...

Bath fun!

Finally, here is a video of Elliot at the park. I had gone to DFW for the weekend, so Mommy and Ellie went to the park to play!

The Shell Game

I think that it is every parent's responsibility to prepare their children for many different situations that they may face in life. In the event that Elliot is in New York City and has run out of money, we are teaching her a survival skill that will hopefully help her get by. That's right, we are teaching her the Shell Game... Here is more Christmas family fun, as Uncle RyRy hides her little toy Pluto under different cups. I love her excited dance that she does. I can't tell if she likes being the center of attention. What do you think?

ABC's & 123's

Elliot loves to sing. She has a couple of favorite songs, but her favorite by far is the alphabet song. She can sing it all the way through and she sings it all the time! Here she is singing it during the holidays. She also counts to 20 in this video. It isn't her best effort (she was a little distratcted), we are so proud! The next couple of days I will post more videos. So stay tuned...