Gearing up for our trip, Jackson started practicing his giggles:
Superman's shy giggles
This is Duncan NOT laying on the play mat
Pretty proud of my chalk boys!
Mason even helped by drawing the cheeks [bideo]!
(I had just learned the night before during bath that he could draw cheeks and such!)
My boys
Jackson came with me for HOURS again, while I was getting my hair done. I would say he made a good footrest, but really I was rocking him to keep him happy.
Somebody got fussy while I was trying on clothes in the changing room
He just needed a little snuggle!
He just needed a little snuggle!
We went for a birthday-cupcake-picnic-walk to celebrate Meaghan, Daryl, and Julia's birthdays
There are so many great views here!
Mason is READY for his cupcake!
Doin his 'thang, throwing rocks
The hazards of thumb sucking - he scratched his sweet little face with his sweet little fingers! We should stick to the paci!
Thursday: off to the airport! We had a few hours to kill once we checked in... Thank goodness for airport play areas, and running into friends from Anacortes!
Flight troubles. Had to come back to the front and wait in line to get rebooked. I think Mas dawg gave up on riding on an airplane that day. Smart of him... because we didn't get to fly out until the next morning! We had to stay in a hotel in Seattle for the night. (which, by the way, was excellent foreshadowing for how sleeping on our trip would be... Mason had a tough time falling asleep and staying asleep - I ended up sleeping on the fold out couch with him and we all got about 3-4 hours of sleep!)
Here we are practicing our tummy time - completely unaware that our flight is being cancelled and we'll spend HOURS trying to get rescheduled.
Daddy and Mason took advantage of the hotel swimming pool
Jack Jack and I dipped our toes
how sweet!!
Mason has become quite the professional flyer
As a first time flyer, Jackson did just fine! Of course he slept most of the flight.
A little CHEEEZ while riding the "train" at the airport.
Like son, like father!
Perfect size for a travel companion, fit right in my leg crack!
Too sleepy to make it to the next plane (Thanks to our lack of sleep the night before!)
Made it to College Station! Trying on my "wizard robe" as Jim calls it
Melissa wore Jack Jack and went shopping while I got a pedicure.
He seemed to like it! =)
Had a fabulous opportunity to enjoy a celebratory dinner out at The Republic with Jim and "The Sisters". Thanks Sassy & Pops for watching our boys, and thanks to Pops for both dropping us off and picking us up :)
So... photo evidence exists that beverage were consumed, but how hilarious is it that my Petit Filet is about the same size as a mushroom?? ;)
One more group pic, including our servers finger over the lens.
There were a lot of amazing moments and fun-filled events on this trip, but what grabbed me the most was watching "the cousins" together.
Mason + Connor picking up the tractor at the shop.
Mason + Court + Pops taking the tractor for a joy ride
Scrub a dub dub
A little graduation day selfie kicking it all off in a good mood!
So, I was really having a great time at graduation. The doctoral graduates got to sit in the front row, and it was really neat to be able to watch everything from so close. The military commissioning ceremony for the whole university took place at our departmental graduation, and it was so amazing to witness that from the front row!
However, in order to fulfill my motherly duties, I needed to step out and pump during the ceremony. I was nervous to do so, because I didn't want it to look like I was being disrespectful and leaving graduation early. Everyone that was sitting around me knew what I was going to do, as they had heard me discuss it with a few of the staff members helping to coordinate. WELL, I was able to sneak out just fine and do my business. But when I came back in and walked through the front row looking for my seat, I discovered that my seat was gone! The usher asked everyone to scoot down a chair and took the extra chair out. So I was literally squatting down right in front of the stage while other students were graduating with no where to sit... and then I just left, crying :(. I was so upset and embarrassed that I had tried so hard to do the right thing (both for Jackson and to respect the graduation) and ended up with no real choice but to leave. So, not the best lasting memory in the end, but fortunately it wasn't the end of my graduation celebration story!
That afternoon we had new Lockard family pictures taken, since everyone was in town. The professional photos will have to be a different blog post, but we certainly got a few sweet family pictures of our own!
Aunt Lauren took some pictures of me in my graduation attire with my sweet little family!
And that night, Sassy & Pops threw an AMAZING graduation party for me :)
A bunch of my friends from the Exercise and Sport Nutrition Lab came
and I got to show off my two precious boys to them and MANY other friends and family
Jackson held his own, but...
Mason enjoyed being the life of the party...
Until he got trumped by REVEILLE!!!!
My advisor Dr. Kreider's son, Ryan, is going to be a sophomore at A&M and just took over as Reveille's handler for the next year. Dr. Kreider and his wife came to the BBQ, and surprised me by having Ryan and Reveille show up for a visit! She's quite the celebrity. Everyone got some pretty good pictures, and then she just hung out for an hour or two. That was pretty fun!
She even got dressed up and celebrated my graduation with me :)
Mason was seriously awesome and so grown up that night.
There were times that he was playing outside with "the big kids" without either Jim or I watching him... that was kind of crazy! The night ended with he and Emma Grace having a little bubble party (he's cutting the bubbles with play scissors) and a sweet hug goodbye.
The next day was Mother's Day!
Unfortunately Jim had to fly out first thing that morning. But the rest of the family enjoyed a delicious brunch at Traditions.
Afterwards, all the kids got to throw pennies into the fountain.
Then as our whole crew was walking back to the cars, we realized Mason was not with us...
so I went back to the fountain and heard people giggling and talking about large splashes... come to find out, Mason was throwing rocks into the water, PNW style!
After a nap, we headed back to the Traditions swimming pool
More sweet cousin time :)
Learning about guns while visiting Texas
Swinging with Sassy & Pops
Jackson seemed to enjoy his pool time as well
This was a BIG week for a BIG boy!!
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