Cowboys New Stadium

Jill and I recently got the opportunity to tour the new Cowboys Stadium. We were quite excited, as this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

We first went to the Stadium Preview Center. There, they had snacks, Cowboys Cheerleaders, a real-life sample of a suite, and a much, much smaller model of the stadium itself. We also got to see Jerry Jones's bus while we waited to be picked up and taken for the tour.

The faux-luxury suite in the preview center was really cool. One of the walls was even covered in a wallpaper that gave you a feel for the view from the suite. However, on the wallpaper, I noticed something was totally off about the Ring of Honor. The had "Emmit Smith" in the Ring of Honor. I included this picture in the slideshow. It's not like they'll have his name misspelled in the actual stadium, but I thought it was kind of funny considering he's one of the all-time greats for the team as well as the league. Shortly after my discovery, it was off to the job site (aka. JerryWorld or Jonestown).

When we got to the stadium site, the van dropped us off on the North side across from Wal-Mart. On gamedays, this will be the side of the visiting team. We entered the stadium on the main concourse, which brought us in around the 2nd or 3rd level of seating. We had a chance to see lots of tubing, quality copper wiring, drywall, metal, and concrete. Kidding of course. Sure, it's still about six months from completion, but you can see things really taking shape. One thing that stands out is how enormous it is on the inside. The still have the hole in the roof, but the can close the roof if needed. Considering this stadium is to host many events besides football, it's a good idea to have the open or closed option. What will be a major difference from Texas Stadium is that the entire seating area will be cooled or heated if necessary. That makes concerts in July or August MUCH more bearable.

What stood out most for me is the video board that will soon be installed. In the slide show, you'll see what appears to be a bunch of scaffolding in the middle of the field. Instead, that is the frame for the four-sided video board. It stretches about 50-60 yards in length and in height, makes it about halfway up the stadium. It looks so much larger than what I've seen online.

Enjoy the slideshow!

Halloween

We had trouble deciding what Jason should be for Halloween this year. He has a set of Superman PJ's that were super cute with a cape, that he absolutely loved wearing, especially since the cape "flew" behind him as he was running around the house. We can't help but wonder if they were not special enough for Halloween, and if we somehow cheated Jason out of a sort of right of passage. Honestly though, we did not think there was a good selection of costumes at the stores and we were not all that pleased with what we saw for 2-year-olds.

We ended up being pretty pleased with our decision Halloween night. Jason was comfortable and excited. We made it to about 5 or 6 houses before he got tired. Jason was keen on rigning the doorbell, but a little too shy to say "trick or treat" or even to grab candy from the bowl/basket/container at each house. Here is our little man of steel.


We also had Mimi and Papaw over for a Halloween Feast. Or meal consisted of brains, eyes of newt, slime, potato and mushroom soup, and bat cakes. It was scary and delicious!

We also have to show off our pumpkins! Last weekend we had some pumpkin painting fun with Uncle Vinny, Aunt Becky and little Jake. We think they turned out great. Can you guess who painted each pumpkin?

Singing songs and more new words

So Jason's favorite activity might not be reading anymore. Right now he really loves to sing songs. On his current favorites playlist we have the classic "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes." This is only rivaled in popularity by the much beloved standard "If You're Happy and You Know It..." or "Happy" as Jason calls it for short. Other tunes we sing often are:

• The Alphabet Song "A B C D..."



• Three Blind Mice



• Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star



• Theme songs from SpongeBob, Backyardigans, Diego, Blue's Clues



• Rubber Duckie



• Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone



• How Much is that Doggie In the Window



• The Itsy Bitsy Spider



• The Potty Song (you can ask Aunt Sarah about this one)
  

He likes the songs with hand motions the best, so sometimes Mommy just makes them up (you know how silly Mommy can be). In fact sometimes Mommy just makes up songs altogether. It is a lot of fun when we are over at Mimi and Papaw's house and get the whole family singing "Happy." Mommy loves that Jason enjoys singing all these songs. Are there any song's you can think of that we've left off our repertoire that Jason should learn? What were some of your favorite songs from childhood?

On another note, a new phrase has entered Jason's vocabulary, and although we have no definitive proof, Mom is pretty sure that Jason picked it up from her. It is almost worse than his go-to word "No", because we know he is mimicking. And while imitation is often the highest form of flattery, we do not believe this to be the case in this instance. Jason now says "Stop it!". Now in Mom's defense, the phrase was most often used to communicate to Jason, for example, that maybe he was being a little silly and that a big boy should not cry when it is time to turn off the TV. You know like "Oh, stop it. You're fine Jason. Let's go take a bath!" Anyway, Mom feels responsible. We are really going to have to start watching what we say. He picks up everything!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jason!

Happy 2nd Birthday Jason !

Jason turned 2 this past month and we can barely believe our baby is not a baby anymore! We had a really nice party out at the park and Jason got tons of cool presents that he has been playing with non-stop. Thanks to everyone who came out to celebrate with us. Here are just a few of the great pictures we took, and also enjoy our first attempt at home movie video editing (it's still a little long)!

Jason's 2nd Birthday from Jill on Vimeo.

Music courtesy of Drew's Famous Pre-School Musical Party Music

Our little artist!

When I picked up Jason from preschool today, I went through his art folder and pulled out many beautiful and creative pieces of art, as usual. We typically put a couple of Jason's masterpieces on display in the kitchen on the side of the fridge, where we all can enjoy them. Jason likes to play with his artwork too (translation = tear, crumple, chew on, rip to pieces), so they do not always last that long, but he's having fun, and there is always an abundance of arts and crafts projects that make their way into our home. But lo and behold, today we hit the jackpot with this magnificent creation! Jason insisted on wearing his bug antennae for the remainder of the afternoon and evening. He even wore them throughout dinner. Of course, since Jason is a boy, and was "playing" with his artwork again, his crown o'antennae broke. No problem though, Mom came to the rescue with some tape! Luckily, we were able to distract him at bath time with his crayola bath gel crayons, or he probably would have insisted on wearing his antennae to bed. Isn't he the cutest little bug?

Jacob is here!

Jacob Harper arrived Saturday September 6, 2008 at 12:26pm. He weighed 7lbs. 1.2 oz. and was 20 1/2 inches in length. Justin, Jill and Jason all went to see Jacob and his parents at the hospital on the Sunday after he was born. The new Mommy and Daddy were doing great and so was baby Jacob. We got to visit with Mimi and Big Daddy too, Rebecca's parents, who drove in from Arkansas.

So far Rebecca believes that Jacob has his Daddy's chin, and lips, and nose (we agree). We were also told that Vince had no trouble with his first diaper changing, but he was still trying to master the art of swaddling.

Jason was so cute and excited and kept saying "Hi Baby!" We've tried to get him to say Jacob, but so far all we can manage sounds something like "Dub Dub." (Does this have anything to do with his always referring to Sponge Bob as "Bob Bob"?)

Congratulations Rebecca and Vince, you did a great job; Jacob is such a handsome boy!

New Words

Another new word has crept into Jason's vocabulary, "hep" or help. This is actually a very "helpful" word, and is usually accompanied by pulling Mom or Dad over to whatever he needs help with. Sometimes we need to help get a toy out of his toy chest, or it is mandatory that we get his Diego coloring book down from the counter ledge, or it is imperative that we get a snack from the pantry. Unfortunately, it is all too often followed by the handing over of the TV remote accompanied by an adorable smile and the phrase "teeee", which of course means TV. How can we deny such a cute face!

We've also begun to master counting to ten, singing the alphabet song (thanks to the alphabet magnets on the fridge and foam letters in the bathtub), and some colors. Jason's favorite color is "yehyo" or yellow, and our favorite letters are "W, X, Y & Z". We know we are biased, but we think he's so smart! Here he is enjoying one of his favorite pastimes, reading (just like his Mom!).

Trip to the Aquarium

We recently took Jason to the Dallas World Aquarium and here are some pictures from our adventure. Jason was mesmerized by all the different animals. He talked and pointed, he oohed and ahhed, and he was entertained the entire time. I would definitely recommend the venue to anyone with an almost 2 year old who cannot sit still for long!

Wedding Fever

Well Sarah and Josh's big day was so much fun, and I know I've been daydreaming about sitting on the beach and drinking margaritas like the newleyweds are. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed celebrating with all of our friends and family. Being in the wedding mood, we've been reminiscing about our wedding day, so long ago (ok, maybe not so long ago, but it has been over three years). So take a stroll down memory lane and enjoy some pictures of our big day back on May 21,2005.

All photos were taken by Cindy at Creative Reflections Photography (we are so glad she took pictures for Sarah and Josh too and we cannot wait to see them).

Our new pet (sort of)

We've noticed for the past couple of weeks a little visitor out in our back yard every evening. Our new pet (sort of) is a bunny. He likes to cuddle up to Jason's Elmo sprinkler. What's really great about having a pet like this is we do not have to feed him, he just stops by when he wants to hang out.

'Side!

Jason has started saying 'side lately, which means outside. He loves to go outside and play in his sandbox that Nana gave him, or just to run around in the yard. The other night we went 'side to have dinner. This was kind of a compromise, because we could not get him out of the sandbox. Jason alternated between playing in the sand and eating dinner, and we are pretty sure he was eating sand too. He is such a boy!

Update: I had to add pictures of Jason in his sandbox and out in the swing at Mimi and Papaw's. We love to play outside!

Oh Baby Boy!

A few Saturdays ago we had a baby shower for Rebecca and Vince. It was a little hot outside but we had a really good turnout, great BBQ, and cake. The Mom-and-Dad-to-be received lots of gifts to help them get ready for baby Jacob. Here are some great pictures of the event.

Jason's First Haircut

Jason got his first haircut this past weekend. We took him to Cool Cuts 4 Kids, and they have a really neat set up. Jason was able to play with trains beforehand in the play area. Then he got to sit in a car while his hair was being cut, all while an episode of Sponge Bob was playing on TV. He was in desperate need of a haircut, but Mom and Dad love the fact that we got a nice lock of hair for his baby book. Jason was extremely good natured throughout the whole experience. There was a little boy next to him who cried the whole time! He did giggle a lot whenever the hairdresser used the trimmer around his ears, I guess because it tickled. Here's our handsome boy!

Welcome

Welcome to the Our Family Blog. We are new to this, so please be patient as we learn all the ins and outs of blogging.