Hudson's Latest Tricks -- and several "catch up" posts below

Hudson is almost 20 months old. I am amazed by how many words he is learning each week. Some of his favorites are: jump, bubble, ride, plane, no, mine, up, ball, spoon (which really means "bowl") and bowl (which usually means "spoon"). Admittedly, it is cuter to hear some more than others. I finally ordered a replacement for my stolen Flip camcorder and took some video of Carter and Hudson. I will try to post it soon. Below are some pictures of Hudson's favorite activity -- "riding". We cannot go outside unless we have at least a few minutes to cruise the driveway. Blowing bubbles, "jumping" and identifying body parts are all close seconds. There are several "catch up" posts below too.

First Swim Team Practice

Well, swim team practice started last week and Carter is having a ball. A ton of kids showed up for the first few practices. I am looking forward to the first meet in a couple of weeks. it should be interesting. Right now, Carter swims with his head turned to the side so he can monitor how fast the kid next to him is swimming. Probaby not a good strategy if you are going for gold. We will see how it works for him soon enough. Caroline and I tried to teach Carter how to dive off the starting block last week as well. That is what I should really have pictures of!! I think Carter's debut will involve jumping off the block and hopefully getting to the other end of the pool before losing his concentration. Whatever happens, I feel sure we will have a story to tell. I will try to post video.

Farmer Jackman

We have been working on a garden now for a few months. I am glad to report that we have somehow managed to water it regularly and this week, our hard work paid off!! Carter and I picked our first squash. It looks like more are on the way, plus we have 38 green tomatoes, 9 green peppers, an eggplant, a few cherry tomatoes and some blueberries and strawberries that we hope to eat soon. Carter was very proud of his crop! Hudson was just along for the ride. He finds bubbles tastier than fresh veggies!

Race to the Beach!

In May, the Jackman's loaded up for a long weekend and raced to the beach with Big Mama and Big Daddy. With the oil spill in the Gulf, it seemed that our white beaches would be ruined soon. Fortunately, that hasn't been the case yet. We had a great time. Hudson absolutely loved the sand.....and the pool for that matter. Carter had a great time playing putt putt and we all enjoyed spending time at Baytown Wharf. It is so much fun to play at the playground and look at all of the boats.



This was the first time Carter played putt putt. He got two holes in one!!

While at the beach, Carter, Big Mama and I spent most of our day building sandcastles and collecting shells.

Hudson spent most of his day eating and throwing sand. His belly is proof of the eating part!

Best buddies.

Almost a cute family picure! I can never get one with all of us smiling!

Will's Big Day

Last Weekend, cousin Will had his 6th birthday party!! He is such a handsome guy and I can't believe he is getting so big. Caroline, Will and Emme came over bright and early Saturday morning to help us make a fish cake for Will's swimming party. They worked really hard and it turned out super cute! Afterwards, we went to Star Lake to enjoy a picnic and lots of creatures....Caroline even spotted a snake!! Our boys are so lucky to grow up with so many fun cousins!

Emme always takes such good care of Hudson. He calls her "Meme", but only when she isn't around!

The baking crew. More skittles were eaten than made it to the cake.

After about 30 minutes at the lake, we finally realized that there were three or four other couples there, all of whom thought all of these children were ours!! Now that would be impressive..... 7, 5, 4, 3 and 1. I can't imagine.


The Cake.....with water and all!! Happy Birthday Will!!!!