Just a typical family dinner night (7/13/2010)

These are pictures from a typical family dinner night over at Mimi and Papaw's house. For a while, many of us were able to meet weekly on Tuesday nights for dinner. It wasn't always easy to do, but it was really something we enjoyed doing and it was nice to see each other during the week. Unfortunately, our schedules have all changed a bit, so Family Dinner night happens less frequently, but it usually follows the same format. Here is to future Family Dinner nights, whenever they may be!

Jeffrey refused to look at the camera, but first we all played in the den.







Then it was time for Jason to help feed Gumbo (who Jason has declared as his dog, which is fine by me as long as he understands that Gumbo lives at Mimi and Papaw's!). As you can tell from the progression of photos below, this is a very important task that requires much attention.










After we ate dinner it was bath time. Aunt Sarah and Mimi were a big help with Jeffrey's bath.








And Papaw helped with Jason's bath upstairs.

Jason's 3rd Birthday Party

We celebrated Jason's 3rd Birthday this year with a party at Let's Jump. Jason was able to invite a bunch of kids from his class at daycare, as well as his cousins and other close friends. They all had a blast jumping for an hour and then we finished the party with some cake. Jason really loved going down the big slide, but we think his favorite part was when everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to him. His face just lit up, and for weeks afterward he would talk about how everyone sang to him.

Nana came by the house after the party to enjoy some present opening. It was like a preview of this coming Christmas! Jason has enjoyed playing with all his new toys, and has a surprisingly good memory when it comes to who gave him which present.

We also got to have a special dinner at Mimi and Papaw's house with Aunt Sarah to celebrate the big 3, with of course another cake and singing of "Happy Birthday." Mimi and Aunt Sarah gave Jason some great Halloween themed presents as well, which has to be his 3rd favorite holiday (after his birthday and Christmas of course).

Finally on Jason's actual birthday, we had dinner at home, just the three of us (and 1/2 if you count the baby on the way), and Jason got his birthday present from us. He had been asking for it for a couple of months, so he was pretty excited to open the box and find Buzz Lightyear. We are so proud of our big boy and can hardly believe he is already three years-old.

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?