Emmitt is 3! San Diego, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!

Aircraft Carriers in San Diego with Aunt Sara

Nothing better than a tree and a Papa

This kid will climb anything!

Getting ready for party #1, the rehearsal dinner...Emmitt had many more parties in him!

Playing on the rocks at the Fruit orchard house. Emmitt was in heaven. The place was beautiful. First time for Emmitt to see real fruit hanging from trees lemons, limes, pomegranate, and grapefruit.

Emmitt jumping off of high rocks, Momma too focused on taking pictures to pay attention!

Party #2, the wedding, in a fruit orchard. Emmitt was really into throwing fallen fruit down the hill, too busy to watch a silly wedding!

Mac n Cheese, Papa, and a luggage cart= fun

Silly!

Emmitts first trip to a real beach! He LOVED it! I cannot wait to take him back. He just ran, took off his clothes, jumped, and smiled! This is what life is about! Pure joy!

Now pantless!

Ok...getting a little too deep!

Do you think he is having fun? I thought I would NEVER get him to leave. I eventually bribed him with shrimp and 3 of his favorite people leaving to have lunch (Nana, Papa, and Sara)

Emmitt's last ode to the beach!

Discussing Sea anenomes with Nana

Wow!

Emmitt is striving to be a photographer like his Papa. This is one of his first still photos.

Someone got a BIG BOY room!!!! Yay! Emmitt now sleeps in a Big Boy bed....and so do I from about 2am on. Fortunately Emmitt's aunt Kelly gave him a very nice down comforter so I sleep much better now :)

Bath time at Grandma Jo's house. Grandma Jo thought it would be a great idea to add bubbles to her already bubbly spa tub...this is what happens. Emmitt had lots of fun!

Bubble boy!

Bubble Monster!

A beautiful Thanksgiving day and a beautiful boy!

Emmitt is still a crazy climber and quite honestly blows the other almost 3 year olds away. He has now started Tumbling classes with his dad. As you can imagine he LOVES them.

Wrestling with Papa. One of Emmitt's favorite activities with his Papa. Poor Papa, he is always getting jumped and climbed on.

Picking corn cobs with Papa

Never mind that he is 3 and still wants a bottle. This is a picture of what Thanksgiving in our family is all about. Good drinks and good people!

Emmitt did not make it to Thanksgiving dinner. That was ok with me. It allowed for a kid free dinner, just the grownups. He had a big day filled with the park, playing in Grandma Jo's house with Grandma Jo toys, running in a corn field, watching geese, and flying his first kite. Fun!

Sleeping Beauty!

Yay! Christmas time. A Zoo lights tour with Grandma Jo.

Christmas time. Emmitt was so proud to put the Star on the tree. It was the first thing he told everyone about his Christmas tree. He did amazing with the tree, loved the ornaments, and learned to be gentle.

Crazy Christmas face! He did not want to just take a nice smiling picture.

Grandma Jo helped decorate the tree :)

I like Kevin's necklace.

Christmas shopping at the mall. This mall has many distractions, which allows for some shopping for 1 adult. Emmitt's favorite activities at the mall include the carousel, the bouncy Dino house, looking in every toy store, and throwing a fit when we need to leave.

Global warming gone for 1 day. Fun for us!

A trip to Laramie where we always eat breakfast at Roses Cafe. Emmitt ate whip cream!

Keeping a toddler occupied while waiting for our food.

Train Bridge! Emmitt refused to come back. Papa had to walk to the other side of the bridge where Emmitt decided they were taking a walk. Kevin and I grabbed a coffee and picked them up on the other side. He is a man of adventure!

Making pizza at Nana's house. Emmitt and I took a family tour over Christmas weekend. We spent a night at Papa's house, a night at Nana's house, and 3 nights at Sara's. We had BIG fun!

Papa and his guys. I think they love him!

A Christmas Eve walk with Papa. The boys loved the iced over lake. Emmitt of course showed his cousins a thing or two about sliding, laying, running, and falling all over the ice.

A dude and his Papa

A smile on a hike :)

Emmitt Showing Holden how it is done.

Making Ravioli at Christmas. Nana comes up with the greatest ideas.

Pre- a Christmas Puppet show

These boys are blessed in many ways. All these gifts are just one of the ways. It was a beautiful Christmas!

Christmas day snuggle with Daddy

Christmas Gangnam style. Sara superimposed everyone, including Nokhu, into the Gangnam style video. E really got into this...so did everyone else!

Rockit E!

Christmas day sledding!

Emmitt sprints even in a snow suit, even in the snow, even up a hill!

Frozen lake soccer. Adults and dog enjoyed this activity way more than the kids.

Reading the new Dino book that Sara got Emmitt. These boys are obsessed with Dinos and went through page by page naming the Dinos.

Duck leg. Emmitt like!

Cherry, Emmitt no like.

Momma and Son. So Sweet!

Emmitt photography!

Painting the play room! Catherine started this and we continue to work on our masterpiece!

Dirty boy! He enjoyed paint all over his body more than painting the walls. Kevin enjoyed painting the walls more than anyone!

New Years eve bath party! These guys are getting so big! Soon they won't all be able to bathe together for much longer.

Harassing his cousins.

Oh Papa!

Oh' Sara. Emmitt loves his auntie!

Emmitt Peyton Jackson. Now officially 3!

So, I guess the older he gets the harder it is for me to find time to do this blog, however I am still dedicated! Almost 3 months has passed! I can't believe it! Anyways we have had some major fun over the past 3 months. First we took a trip to a friend's wedding in San Diego. Emmitt got to ride on a plane, got to visit the ocean, play in California Orchards, and spend 4 days with his Nana, Papa, and Aunt. He did amazingly well. We then spent Thanksgiving at Grandma Jo's new house. We had a fantastic time full of good food, drinks, and lots of play. Emmitt explored and broke in the house. His favorite was the spa tub. He took a final bath right before we left. After Thanksgiving we spent Christmas at Sara's house. There we had a great time. The boys were overjoyed and overwhelmed with the gifts. I thought Emmitt would handle the chaos a bit more this year, but he was still a little overwhelmed by the action and amount of gifts. He eventually just needed to go into another room with his Nana and play with his new toys...so we spread out his gifts through the rest of the day. I doubt that will be the case next year, as Sara's boys blew through their presents and then demanded they get more :) It was amazing and fun. Emmitt and his cousins are learning to play better together and have fun. They are more patient with him and he is able to communicate and relate to them. It is very sweet. Speaking of amazing, he seems to be getting smarter and cuter by the day. Something must happen when a kid turns 3. The day before his birthday, Kev took him to the grocery store and swears it was the best grocery store trip he has ever taken. Emmitt, apparently, agreed to sit in the cart, something that never, ever, ever happens. The last time he sat in the cart he was an infant and had no choice. Since, he has been riding in the basket, walking, demanding he ride in the (stupid freakin) car carts where he can grab everything off the shelves and get out easily, running down the isles like a wild animal, or walking along side where he "must" have a basket to put many items we don't need or want to purchase. Kev was so blown away by this event he agreed to go again this weekend. I guess I will take him up on that! We were joking last weekend that prior to Emmitt "The Grocery Store Angel" (I know, I know, this won't last) going to the store was like giving your partner sex. It is a gift you give your partner when you don't have to be the one to do the shopping. Not sure if you find humor in this....but we did! So now, he can go to the store and not torture us, he also whines less (a little less), we can rationalize with him more (a little more), and he can express his humor and wit. Over the last few days he has been referring to me as "lady". He says it with a bit of an accent and smiles, so I know- he knows he is funny. I respond by calling him "Sir". It is these moments that make him super funny and a blast to hang out with. He also has started Tumbling classes. Kev takes him every Friday Morning. As dedicated blog followers, you can imagine that Emmitt quite enjoys this activity and is showing great potential. Kev reports that Emmitt hits the mat and basically runs the entire class. He is getting better about sitting, but when they are in an activity he jogs constantly, running to the water fountain, stopping by the Moms sitting in the bleachers to report he is headed for a drink,  and then jogs back to the teacher. I am hoping we have found an outlet for his adventurous nature and physical abilities. Emmitt is cool or "awesome" as he says these days. Just tonight he yelled from the living room to me in the Kitchen "hey Mom, I love you". My Mom, who was sitting next to him, said "wow" and I said "I am pretty lucky to have a 3 year old who spontaneously professes his love to me. What a guy!