Not sure if it’s officially summer yet, I know I should know the exact first day but here I am calling it early summer. It’s hot, we’re in shorts and short sleeves and we are enjoying the pleasures like picnicking, ice cream cones and our zoo membership.

A few months back we decided to buy a membership to the zoo. The boys are free so we just got one adult pass. It’s a 15 min walk from our house and the kids love it so at the time it seemed like a good investment.  It may still prove to be a good investment but I have to

be honest that I haven’t gotten as much use out of it as I have wanted.

On Tuesday, the boys and I ventured out for the morning to the zoo and then stopped on the way home to eat a quick picnic and skip a few rocks into the river. It was kind of a little boys dream morning.  I took along the camera and had some fun attempting shots while assisting with climbing and lunching.  I am enjoying capturing these moments that will be gone before we know it! I used to only take the “big camera” when Seth was going to be there so I could focus on taking pictures.   These aren’t as in focus but they are what they are!

(bring your swimsuit dad and Graham, Seth plans on going down the river with you)

It’s hard to see in this not so great pictures but the flamingos were guarding their eggs! I don’t think I have ever seen a flamingo nest!

a little scared without Jackson and sitting up

the highlight of the zoo is really the playground. It’s kind of a lame zoo from an adult perspective, lacking most of the big animals BUT as a parent I will say it is about as much zoo as the kids can do and enjoy and then the park makes up for the missing giraffes and elephants!

pb&j tastes better by the river

Jackson thought it would be nice to eat with shoes off and laying on his tummy watching the people pass by

We’ve gotten busy lately and I am enjoying those days when we decide it’s just going to be the 3 of us!  Sibling rivalry is getting to us these days but it’s these quiet walks and picnics together that I hope the boys will remember!

Ever since Owen was born everyone who knows our family has said he looks like my dad. I have seen it here and there but only recently do I think he really reminds me of my dad.

maybe it’s the ken doll hair. Who knows. I just know he’s a handsome guy! Like my dad.

…he wouldn’t likely walk again.

…he wouldn’t live through the year.

…he wouldn’t be able to have kids and would have heart failure if he had radiation.

…he might have to have his leg amputated.

But God had different plans for this little boy.

He now runs, jumps, kicks, walks, skips and talks non-stop!!

He is healthy and happy and full of energy.

On May 1st our family took time to remember our story and thank God for his blessing of Jackson’s life.  If you are new to our blog and don’t know Jackson’s story you can look back here.

We know that not every family gets this end result. If you want to learn more about Rhabdomyosarcoma and MD Anderson Cancer Center click here.

Thank you to our family and friends for your support back then and for your continued rejoicing with us now! Some may think we talk about it too much but it is such a good reminder for us to have faith and remember that God is carrying us through sickness and health.

This morning was the perfect Spring morning. The sun was streaming in the kitchen windows and the house was relatively quiet except for the hum of the load of laundry I had just dutifully started. Owen was down for his morning nap and Jackson was cheerfully waiting to bake cookies with me. I told him after his morning cartoon he and I could make some Easter cookies.  The kitchen was sparkling and smelled of lavender from the homemade cleaner I had tried. I did some Spring cleaning yesterday. Anyone that has been to my house knows that I love to cook and that I don’t so much enjoy or stay on top of  the aftermath. So, this is a RARE morning with a super clean kitchen at our house.

Jackson and I got to work. This recipe calls for lemon zest so I asked Jackson to go on the hunt for the zester. He didn’t know what it was so I described what it looked like and let him look for it in our utensil drawer. I measured the dry ingredients while he hunted…this is a trick I have learned. Send him on a hunt and get some of the messy stuff done while he’s gone. We mixed up our dough, rolled it out just right and cut out the most clean cut bunnies, carrots and flowers.

Now to the real story..The kitchen was sparkling clean but ONLY because I cleaned yesterday. And in the case when you are about to bake with a preschooler it really isn’t ideal to have just cleaned the kitchen! Owen was napping, but only because I had gotten him back to sleep after Jackson woke him up. Jackson woke him up because he ran down in a panic to confess he had gotten too busy and had had a potty accident upstairs.  And our baking didn’t go that smoothly or neatly because, well, it just doesn’t when baking with a little one.

About once a month I get inspired to bake with Jackson. Or let him help me with dinner. I know it’s good for him to learn new things and I know he is old enough to be involved. It all sounds good and developmentally appropriate until we get going. My blood pressure instantly rises and I find myself having to monitor my tone of voice. He drives me crazy in the kitchen. He enthusiastically grabs the spoon from the first bowl, consequently tossing out some of the flour, when I lunged for the spoon before more damage is done he is not disheartened for he is already reaching for an egg. When the egg gets rescued safely from his hands he pushes his finger into the stick of softened butter to see how soft it feels.  Is he doing anything wrong? Nope. Is he listening to my many instructions? nope, not really, but not purposely. He is so excited to be with me and to be learning something new that he cannot control his enthusiasm. And the final product, well, they weren’t clean cut outs like I was dreaming about previously, they were lopsided bunnies and flowers with broken petals.

This morning as Jackson and I baked I had to remind myself why we were baking cookies.  It was so humbling.  I don’t like my impatience and how I get after him for things that really aren’t wrong. I don’t like how I want him to do it my way and I like for the end product to look nice. It isn’t always about that.  He is proud of his work and he is so pleased with the cookies that resulted in the end. Now that the kitchen is re-cleaned and my blood pressure has returned to it’s normal high I can stand back and see that it was a worthy exercise for both of us. Jackson enjoyed himself and it was yet another learning experience for both of us. At naptime today he said “mom, when I am bigger maybe I will get to zest all by myself”.

Friday is Easter egg coloring day! Sheesh, how did we end up with 2 of these projects in one week. Maybe Friday I will catch myself before the dye starts dripping and the eggs start cracking. these years are going far too fast. I want to learn to enjoy it better.

For those of you that would like a good sugar cookie recipe I came across this one in Southern Living at Valentine’s 2 years ago. Like I mentioned, it calls for lemon zest which I think makes them extra fresh and reminds me of this time of year. Here’s the link…Lemon Butter Cookies  .     Sorry I don’t have any links for how to bake patiently with your enthusiastic preschooler. That is a trial and error kind of thing.