Six months??!?!

How time flies!

Mom can't help but post all my adorableness...

I'm just so...

CUTE

The wide open grin/squeal/ahh is my specialty

if you haven't noticed

I'm sleeping through the night again

(8pm to 4 or 5am).

I take 2 or 3 1-2 hours naps.

I love to play

Look at this guy!

And there's the smile again

I can sit by myself briefly.

I reach for things and can switch hands and bring things to my mouth.

I'm learning raspberries and ma-ma-mas

I'm eating solids...

carrots here

My brothers are eating carrots too

They like be involved in whatever I'm doing.

And I like it that way!

B being B

Sometimes I look chunky and concerned

Other times I look happy and entertained

But I ALWAYS look lovable!

Boos at the Zoo

We made it a Zoo weekend

and tried out Boos at the Zoo today!

You get to trick or treat

with the animals.

Doesn't that sound fun?

Batman thought so.

So did Mom and I

Batman--check

Batmom--check

Tiger--check

Doctor--check

Let's get in there!

The Tiger Walk walk is always a favorite--

we like the circle windows

Apparently, we were a favorite too.

The tigers came right up to the fence and

STARED at us for a full 3 or 4 minutes.

A little unnerving

We found a corn maze...

Dad and Wes got lost a bit too

Checking out the turtles and plastic alligators

Batman ran in circles,
trying out his cape.
He kept he secret identity safe by pulling up the mask and yelling "WESTON!"
then putting it back down and yelling "BATMAN!"
We weren't sure who we were dealing with.

We ALWAYS ride the tram or the train

It brings out the biggest smiles

Trams... and kisses from Mom

There wasn't a lot of candy to collect

(just a few stops throughout the zoo),

but the weather was perfect and the animals were lively.

Plus, we are just getting warmed up for the candy collection!

Brews at the Zoo

I'm really starting to enjoy

Mom and Dad's date night!

Tonight we hit the zoo

for the first ever

Brews at the Zoo--

a beer and wine tasting!

I get a turn too, right?

You said it was a tasting!

Did I mention Grandma was there too?

and Papa Kim

and Adam and Michelle

It was the Christmas Date

they decided to do instead of buy presents.

Last December.

10 months ago.

Better late than never!

We had some pizza and more beer to complete the evening,

but it was the company that really made the night such fun!

Booing

The Booing tradition made the rounds through the neighborhood

again this year.

Remember?

When the ghost appears on your doorstep with a goodie bag,

you have to spread it to a friend?

We LOVE booing!!!

See you sneak up to the house...

Put the candy on the step,

ring the bell...

And RUN!

Mom was in the van,

motor running,

sliding doors open

so we could jump in for a quick getaway!

We love being sneaky!

Me and Mom

Just chillin'.

Watchin' some Mizzou football.

Enjoyin' the moment.

Getting up on the right side of the bed...

Aren't mornings great?

I'm always super smiley

and great Mom with a few screeches and "Ahh, ahh's"

Everyone like to hang out with me.

They'll do just about anything to get me to smile...

Look out!

Photo bomb!

I like getting dressed too.

Being naked always makes me smile

What do you mean it's 4:30 in the morning?

I know you are still as happy to see me

as I am to see you!

Jackson the Superstar

The first week of September,

I was chosen as the "Featured Leader" of my class.

I got to color this poster,

fill it out,

and share it with the class, 

along with some pictures and a few of my most prized possessions

(I took my preschool graduation tassels)

I love school!

From Mom:

We had our first parent teacher conference today.  Aaron and I know Jack loves school, Mrs. Burbee, all his friends, riding the bus, and being a Leader and a Husky at Highland Park.  He has been working hard on his sight words, printing his name, letters and numbers, and sounding out and writing words.  We thought Jackson would have a good report, but we didn't expect how GLOWING it would be!  On a scale of 1-3 (3 being best), he got all 3's except in handwriting (he got a 2).  Aaron and I teared up several times listening to Mrs. Burbee gush over his excellent work in class and his sweet and caring demeanor towards her and his classmates.  But our proudest moments was hearing about Jackson, the Lunchroom Leader.

A few weeks ago, Jack told us he got a Golden Ticket for doing his job so well.  He has had classroom jobs for years at preschool, so we tried to tease out what exactly this job was.  He said he was in charge of pushing in chairs in the lunchroom.  He also said no one had received a Golden Ticket before so he wasn't sure what it meant.  Mrs. Burbee told us the whole story.  At the beginning of each school year, each teacher choses one student from the class to be the Lunchroom Leader for the year.  Mrs. Burbee saw something special in Jack and chose him.  When the announcement was made over the school intercom, Jack went to the orientation for the Lunchroom Leaders.  However, when he got there, he was told only first through sixth graders could be Leaders and was sent back to class.  Dejected, he returned and sadly told Mrs. Burbee.  She was determined he could do it and called Mrs. Mollett (the principal) to ask for an exception.  She agreed and back to orientation Jackson went.  And he has been a star!  The Lunchroom Leader releases each of his classes' tables in the cafeteria to throw away their trash and clean up their table.  He makes sure the table is clean and chairs are pushed in.  Then, he takes his place at the head of the line and leads them out to recess.  The other Lunchroom Leaders and adult cafeteria helpers have complimented Jackson on his terrific job.  His name has been announced over the intercom to the entire school as the Kindergarten Lunchroom Leader.  And he earned the first Golden Ticket for his stellar work.  We were so proud!!!

Exerciser while exercising

While Dad works out,

I work out.

He does Insanity,

I do Exersaucer.

This thing is super fun!

With lots of stuff to do!

First tastes

According to the new AAP recommendations

that Mom is such a stickler for ;),

we waited until nearly 6 months to start solids.

My first food?

Carrots...

Interesting...

Hmmm...

 My face got a little better with a few more tastes.

But the Mum Mums are a favorite

You should see me lunge at them!

Going for a walk

Mom is trying to be healthy and get in her 10,000 daily steps.

We were only too happy to go for a walk with her.

Or rather a ride

Safety first!

Unfortunately,

20 minutes into the walk, my battery died in the Cat Machine.

We tried to tow it back with Jack's truck,

but in the end,

Dad had to come a "tow" it back for us

No matter--

we enjoy the ride no matter if it is

on a bike, a Cat machine, or a pick-up.