Lions, Tigers, but no Bears...Oh my!!!!

On Sunday, Jakson enjoyed his first trip to the zoo. I know, you are thinking that an almost 9 month old child probably won't get much out of a zoo visit, but it was fun to think that he will remember it for the rest of his life. Brett and I had tons of fun there. I think Brett enjoyed it the most out of everyone. Jakson was awake for the whole time and his favorites were the giraffes because they got sooo close, the fish in the tank, the poison dart frogs, and the seals. We are so excited for our trip to the Omaha Zoo in October!!!!

This might be my favorite pic of the day.

Looking at the poison dart frog. They are beautiful! So colorful!

Checking out the Macaws.

Watchin the giraffes. It was feeding time so they were all out and very close!

Wowsers...

The seals.

My little Prairie Dogs. He started crying right after this.

Brett's picture taking skills.

Momma feeding the goats. Jakson got a kick out of this!

Mom, that's sure a big dog.

Katelyn, Macy and Max, big boy accomplishments, what a weekend!!!

Jakson and Macy in their PJs playing. Brett's playing dentist.

We got the pleasure of watching Katelyn Clausen while her mommy and daddy met some friends for a very special occasion. It was nice having some pink in the house!!! Izzy was being her typical "guard dog" self. Loved her...

Here's baby Kate and Jakson...he thought she was very pretty and so do we!!! What a doll!

This is what I saw when I went into the room to get Jakson up from his nap on Friday. He's figured out how to pull himself to his knees in his crib. My baby is growing up. The mattress needs to be moved down again....

This is what I saw when I went into Jakson's room yesterday after morning nap. He mastered standing in his crib...Brett, you REALLY need to move the mattress down now!

Here's a pic of my baby and his baby blues...and a little slobber too!!!

The Return of the Poop Lip...

Many of you who know Jakson or that have seen pictures on facebook know that when he was littler, before he would cry, he would put out his bottom lip and pout for about five seconds and THEN cry. Hence the nickname of poop lip. He also would do the poop lip if Brett would say "Ahhh....Tokyo" to him in a funny low voice (don't ask, inside joke). Tonight when I was tutoring Brett and Jakson were having some male bonding time and this is what happened. I guess he knows the word "no" now. I am sure he knows a lot more than we think. Little turd. Those dog dishes are sooo tempting and obviously taste delicious. Good job Daddy, for getting such a candid moment on video! I think I'm rubbing off on him!

Jakson's first trip to the tabin!

Well, we made it! Our first out of state road trip up to Hoversten Haven in Jacobson, MN. We left Wednesday, July 15 around 7:15pm and arrived at the cabin at 1:30am. We made really good time driving late at night. It's amazing how much less time traveling takes without construction and other vactioners on the road! Jakson did really well in the car on the way there. He only woke up once when we stopped for a potty break and was mildly confused. I can't believe I made it all the way with only stopping once! When we got there, Paul and Cade greeted us and made a few faces at Jakson. Needless to say, Jak thought it was play time at 2:00 in the morning so we didn't get much sleep that night, or the next night, or the next, or the next. :)

Here are some things we learned on our vacation: we will never get a full nights sleep with Jakson in the room on vacation on a whole new schedule and new sleeping environment, Jakson LOVES ice-cream as a late night snack with grandpa, Jakson hates life jackets, I am a BAD fisherman (woman), fish frys are yummy, grease makes you feel sick, mullets and tapered jeans with zippers on the bottom are STILL in style in Jacobson, MN, cleaning up a diaper explosion after a long car ride in a BRAND NEW car seat is not fun, Jakson loves marshmallow (thanks grandma rita), you can bond a lot when it's cloudy and a scorching 55 degrees for 4 days at the cabin, having a baby is a great excuse for stopping at outlet malls, AND last but not least, vacations spent with family are some of the best memories we'll ever have! We can't wait for more cabin trips in years to come!

Cabin trip #1= LOTS OF GOOD TIMES!!!

A day in the life of the new MOBILE Jakson Paul Hoversten

This morning was a very busy morning for me. Here's a few pictures of Jakson discovering new things around our house. I think I may have my hands full what do you think?

First, I made a mess at breakfast. Mom dropped some oatmeal and I thought it would be fun to play in it!!!

Then, I found the new basket of books. Hmmm, what's in here? Maybe I can get the books out? Maybe I'll pull myself up for the FIRST TIME!!???!!! Had to get that diaper butt shot. So cute...

THEN, I decided to chew on Izzy's doggy chew toy AND pull down mom's magazines off the rack.

NEXT, I was off to the blinds. They are sooo fun to move up and down and PULL on!!!!

Now, on to chewing on the bottom of mommy's running shoes. Why are these sooo tastey??? Whew, what a morning! Gotta love 8 month olds...I need a nap!

Swinging at the Park

A week or so ago, we met Nikki and Caden at Gray's Lake, went to the park, and then had a picnic. Jakson had so much fun on the swings there. Here's a video of him giggling. I think it tickled his tummy a little!!! I can't seem to get enough of him this summer...we are having too much fun!!!!! I have a feeling my first bday of work next month might be a lot like my first day back at work from maternity leave... =(

Happy Belated 4th of July!!!

Jakson experienced his first of many 4th of Julys in the big IF. He got to swim in grammy's pool, went to his first parade AND got to spend some time with Gma and Gpa P while mommy and daddy went and spent time with Jess and Liz. No Fireworks yet though...let's just say he was a tired baby! He was so cute during the parade...I thought for sure he would cry because of the sirens, but he didn't. He just stared at them with my signature "open mouth". Sadly, he got that from me. HA! Enjoy the pics!

2 YEARS!!!

Wow!!! I can't believe that Brett and I have been married for 2 years today! It has been the most amazing two years of my life! Let's see...at this time two years ago I was with all my closest friends and family getting our hair done. I would relive that day any day! Brett and I will be celebrating our anniversary on Saturday with dinner downtown and a little live entertainment at People's by Damon Dotson. So excited!!!! I love my hubby and our baby boy!!!

Starting to Crawl!!!!

Sorry for the overload of videos, but I just learned how to do this this morning so I got a little excited. Here's a video from this morning. Our baby boy is starting to crawl!!!! Tear...tear. He's growing up sooooo fast! We are having so much fun and are thankful for him every day. Sooner than we realize it, he will be walking EVERYWHERE!!!!

Welcome Home Daddy!!!

This is what Brett came home to after being gone in Dallas. A VERY tired, overstimulated child. Please ignore me being bossy to the infamous (very jealous) Izabelle the bulldog. :)

Our Dinner Entertainment!!!

He also makes these sounds at church during prayer...