Jack and Me

Just a little post about Jackson and I. We have been spending so much time together and I am so lucky! Aside from the 3 days in the middle of the week that I am away from him for work I get to be with him a lot. I am very lucky. He is just the funniest guy. He has his rough moments but really he is an easy guy to take care of. We tend to have our Monday's and Friday's booked with fun stuff to do and spend Saturdays and Sundays with Daddy!

At 2 1/2 years old he can...
Potty in the big boy potty
Sleeps in a big boy bed
Talk in sentences
Brush his teeth and hair on his own
Count to 10
Sing songs
Do summer-salts

Big Boy, Big Bed, Big Trouble

Jackson was officially 2 and a half on July 4th!! He recently learned to get out of his crib so we knew it was time to move him . We decided it would be best to just make a big move and convert his crib into a full size bed. We bought the mattress thinking we would have some time to get his room all set up over the next few weeks... but Jackson just kept talking about building his big boy bed so we went ahead and made the big change this weekend. (This guy loved mattress shopping by the way... he literally jumped form mattress to mattress.)

He really loves his bed. He crawls right up and has not had any hesitation to sleep in his bed. The challenge has become keeping him there. He is a little resistant and knows he can get out if he is not ready to sleep. Bed time is a 45 minute process but we are working on it. The best part is that our whole family can lay in bed with him and say prayers at night and sing songs. He is so very cute in his bed. He just falls asleep in the middle and doesn't move much. As you can see Bubba, Big Al, Big Blankie and Little one along with his bunny all made the transition as well. Tonight he asked me if Chewy could sleep with him. For Chewy's sake I said "no."

No big boy room is complete without a few new decorations. Justin and Jackson recently completed the first addition to Jackson's BIG BOY ROOM with this hand crafted, custom air plane.
I can't believe our little guy is now sleeping in a big boy bed, using the potty and talking in sentences. It is one of those times I just can't believe I am a mom of such a great little guy who is growing up so fast.

"I wash Teeth"

Jackson is just funnier and funnier every day. For example the other day he wanted to watch a movie in the car... I told him "no" as we were only on a short trip across town. He responded with "I'm frustrated" really? You are 2!!!

He also loves to wash his teeth....

Other things going on for us is Jackson has learned to climb out of his crib. Has started to sleep in a bit, but is not taking a nap! Oh to have it all!!!

Happy Father's Day 2010

Today we celebrated Father's Day with a great DAD!

Justin was able to sleep in a little bit and then opened his gift from Jackson, a picture and a new hat!
Later we enjoyed pancakes- there was one special one for each of us. Tractor for Jackson, Man for Justin and Flower for me. Jackson actually showed Justin his special pancake and then stuffed it into his own mouth!
Later we enjoyed looking at cars, a trip to Home Depot and then LUNCH! Jackson is such a big boy and had to wear a hat like Daddy.
Justin's favorite food is Indian Buffets. We stopped by McDonald's on the way home for me :)
Just another fun Sunday at the Van Gundy Home! After nap we are off to a BBQ with my family.

Projects and Thanks

Jackson and Justin have been working on some new projects. Our super fancy birdhouse broke over the weekend so Justin and Jackson built a new one. They also have a new project to build an air plane to hang in Jackson's room. Jackson loves projects.
Also Ben and Emily came to visit and took care of Jackson for a few days while I went to work. Jackson loved the time with them. They also brought Jackson a cool Nebraska shirt from their recent trip! We are very thankful for their help and thoughtfulness!!!

We are sort of back in a routine after our vacation. Jackson is sleeping a bit better. Over the next few weeks Justin will be traveling a lot so Jackson and I have will get to hang out and do some fun Mommy and Jackson time. Justin will be traveling to Denver, Seattle, Detroit and Dallas all in the next 6 weeks! I will be heading out to Baltimore to visit our newest niece, Baby Zoey. Prayers for safe travels for our family and some quality time when we can get it!

Vacation 2010- Day 2

Today was another full day. We headed out to Grant's Farm which is a huge animal preserve on 280 acres complete with buffalo, deer, cows and elephants. Justin and I enjoyed some free Budweiser treats at the end ;)



Jackson did some fun traditional events such as feed a baby bottle to goats as well as some traditional activities such as get a balloon blown up by an ELEPHANT! Unfortunately Jackson decided to fight through nap yet again... so we decided to just head home tomorrow so we can all try and get some sleep.

Vacation 2010- Day 1

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Vacation all I ever wanted....This year for family vacation we decided to head to St. Louis. I have packed 4 days full of fun.... I am hoping to stay up on the blog day by day... mostly so I can keep a great memory too!

Today we arrived in STL and headed straight to the ZOO! St. Louis Zoo is so great and one of my favorite places. It is located in Forest Park and there is so much to do!! We visits the Children's Zoo where Jackson had a lovly conversation with a goat. Went on a train ride, carousel ride and of course visited all kinds of animals including our favorite.... Penguins! Jackson loved the monkeys and also loved yelling "Mom come 'er" or "Dad Dad Dad come 'er"

After the zoo and a nap we headed back to Forest Park to ride on the paddle boats and eat dinner at the Boathouse. We finished off the day with pool time and visiting with one of Justin's old friends!