Lions and Tigers and Zoos; Oh My!

Since we are a zoo loving family, I thought it would be fun to have a zoo-themed birthday party for Jackson. Here is what I came up with: (Prepare yourself for picture overload.)

Jackson woke up to these balloons. He kept saying "Woah!" and pointing at them. At first he was too afraid to go under them. He warmed up pretty fast and started hitting them. Poor kid, later that night when we put him to bed, I took all the balloons down. When he didn't fall asleep, I brought him back out and he was heartbroken that his precious balloons were gone. Oops. If I had known he wasn't going to bed, I would have left them up!

  

A quick video that morning. Check out his awesome bedhead!

 

 

He didn't stay sad for long though...

 



More balloons on the front door

 

 

Jackson is one loved boy. There were 2 more presents that aren't even pictured! I thought Jackson would love tearing into the wrapping paper, but he was a bit nervous to open the presents himself. He watched Dad open them instead! We took a break halfway through the present opening, so Jackson could play with some of his toys. I think it helped him feel not as overwhelmed.

 

We went to Chick-Fil-A for Jackson's birthday dinner--his favorite! We then came home and played some games.

 

A little twist on the Pin the Tail on the Donkey game.

Jackson won (he was allowed to look). Grandpa came in second place.

 

We then colored and cut out these elephants. Stick a party blower in there, and you have an elephant trunk! Jackson thought they were pretty funny.

 

Our zoo animal display. Jackson kept sneaking off with the animals throughout the day.

 

The picture bow

 

 

These kabobs were a bust. They wouldn't stand up on their own!

 

Jackson thought these masks were hilarious. He refused to wear them at his party though!

Happy Birthday, Jackson!!! 



Jackson is 2!

Can you believe our little boy just turned 2?

Jackson is such a joy in my life. He keeps me laughing with his fun sense of humor, melts my heart with his sweetness, and frustrates me at times with his stubborness. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Fun Facts about 2 year old Jackson:

--He still loves his Tiger and Blankie. He doesn't carry it around with him quite as much, but they are still his pals and he sleeps with them every night.

--Jackson loves animals. He is really good at saying the animal noises. My favorite is when he does a duck noise. He says, "Duck! Duck!" instead of "Quack! Quack!" and I think it's really cute.

--His favorite show is Mickey Mouse. He used to love Leap Frog videos, but he has since been converted thanks to the Disney store and Grandma and Grandpa's Mickey room.




--He is still my shy little guy. Jackson will hide his face in his hands or my shirt if a stranger is trying to talk to him. This makes for a tough time taking family pictures.

At the puppet museum

--He loves to sing. Loves it. We have an Elmo CD in the car with 5 kids songs on it. He knows them all and will sing loudly in the back of the car.




--Favorite foods: smoothies, french fries, chicken nuggets, apples

--Talks a lot more now. He has trouble enunciating sometimes and as a result, sounds British.



"There it is"

--We have a family zoo membership pass and have been to the zoo several times. Jackson is in awe that animals are real. The other day the lion was roaring from the top of a rock, and Jackson (and Ryan) thought it was the coolest thing ever.

--We took Jackson to the doctor today, and to say Jackson was upset was an understatement. He fought the doctor as hard as he could. It took the doctor, Ryan, and me to hold the little guy down, and he still broke the doctor's light tool. Jackson's doctor said that Jackson was the strongest kid in the world. We'll be sure to add that to his resume when he's older.

--Had a small obsession with shoes for a little while

 

He thought it was funny to put shoes on Tiger

Ain't nothing wrong with a boy in leopard print

 

Boots...and yes there's a video to go along with this

--The first thing people say after they find out how old Jackson is is, "Wow! He's big for his age!"

--Loves duplos, Little People, trains, cars, books, and animal figurines


Jackson's 2 year old stats:

Height: 38 inches (Greater than 99th percentile)
Weight: 33 lbs (96th percentile)
Head Circumference: 51 cm (98th percentile)

I never did post Jackson's birth story. I typed it out, but for some reason never shared it. In honor of Jackson turning 2, here is a little snippet I wrote just after Jackson was born.

"Jackson Ryan Stephens was 9 lbs 11 oz, 20 inches long (not sure how accurate this was, we think he was longer). He was born on Sunday, November 6, 2011 at 3:23 pm. When I saw him, he looked so big! My mom had said she thought he was going to be 9 1/2 lbs and the dr laughed at her! He said that if there was a 10 lb baby then the dr needed to be smacked. When the baby came out, the dr was like, "Uh oh, looks like I need to be smacked!" It was crazy to see the baby and to think that he was actually MINE! He was perfect. He wasn't blue or white at all, he was rosy pink and the size of a 3 month old. They put him on my chest and he stopped crying and listened to my breathing and heart beat. I loved the little guy!"