August and Everything After

Here are a few pics from August - we went to the OH State fair and had a blast with the animals and carousel ride and Jackson made some awesome PIZZA. Jackson also loves to help Mama water our little garden, but esp loves to sip from the hose! So cute. We brought out the new car seat for Jackson so he could become familiar with. He loved climbing all over it - silly boy! Jackson is getting so HUGE. He is a little over 32 inches and is so strong. He walks everywhere (but still needs a hand for security but he barely holds on and runs!). We aren't rushing him because at times Daddy and I still wish that he was smaller again. We are off to St. Paul early tomorrow and can't wait to see all our MN relatives! Jackson turns ONE on Sept 7th, which is so crazy insane! We'll still be in MN to celebrate his first year. The Bouressa Family is making trip over Labor Day Weekend so Jackson will be surrounded by both set of grandparents! Keep a watch on the post for some great b-day pics.

PS Oh Wendy, I'm also a huge CC (i.e. Counting Crows, duh) fan! Remember when I almost went to the concert in St. Paul with you and Ang the day after Tony and I got hitched. Am I bad?
Still teaching Jackson "safety first" with his bike helmet. At least he lets Hippo wear the helmet. Any tips friends, family and/or other parents?

Sorry folks - I tried to attach 2 videos but the download was taking forever. Maybe I'll try later.

niagara falls!

Well, we all survived our first camping trip. Niagara Falls was amazing and I, personally, loved the US side. Although the Canada side had picture perfect views (and was more commercial/built up), the US side had more green space and places to walk and explore and equally beautiful scenic viewpoints. Jackson was awesome - he loved walking and flirting! Most things were very inexpensive (which was a surprise for us) but we did splurge on a tour of Maid of the Mist (i.e. boat ride that takes you into the horseshoe falls - some serious "funny water" for my Arctic girls ... Yikes!). They provided blue ponchos for all of us (including a tiny one for Jackson!). It was all a bit tourist-y and I have to say that most of the babies/toddlers/younger kids DID NOT have fun. The boats are cramped, you get wet and all the little ones want to do is move ... Jackson wasn't going anywhere, we didn't care how much he wiggled. We were able to see all the sites within one day (lots of walking which was great!). We even made it over to the Canadian side. Tony and I have passports but children 16 and younger can cross into Canada with both parents and a birth certificate. Well, we were prepared and had a great time walking across the bridge into Canada!

Camping and sleeping at night was a bit hard. The first night Jackson was so curious about the tent and having both Mama and Daddy sleeping with him. It was very cute at first but after 30 mins or so we didn't really know how the whole sleeping thing was going to work itself out. Of course, Jackson finally got to sleep and the following night was much better. One thing Mama and Daddy realized was that our nice, super light backpacking tent will need an upgrade to a bigger, more family friendly size!
Waking up!Lake Ontario!
Before Maid of the Mist.
On Maid of the Mist - notice the face!Horseshoe Falls.
In the mist.
"Hooray for getting off that cramped boat"
View from the bridge connecting USA and Canada.My true love!
Us while Jackson sleeps!

Crossing over - International Border!
"I wish I were big."
We hated waiting Jackson up in the morning but we wanted to get on the road early ... fortunately he fell right back to sleep in the car.
"Dad, when can I get the keys?"

box fun ...

... and Rubbermaid crowns!

the best thing in the whole wide world

Jackson has discovered hula hoops and Daddy with hula hoops. This is the best video ever and the giggling went on for a while. The funny thing is that when ever someone else would hula hoop Jackson didn't break out in laughter but the moment Daddy started up it was all over.

awesome aunts!

Photos of Jackson's aunts from our trip home! Whether it was hanging at grandma Joyce's house, playing at the park with Lucy, reading with Becky, or getting a mohawk .... Jackson had so much fun with his Aunts and can't wait until he sees them next!
"Can I have some, Molls?"(this one of Lucy and Jackson is one of my all time favorites!)"See Becky you start with A, B, C, D and then it goes E, F, G""Thanks for the awesome DO. Love you Lucy!"