I'll Be Home for Christmas...

I'm heading up to be with my family for Christmas on Wednesday and I'll be getting my NEW camera then! Finally! Now if I can just keep this one from falling in a pool. ;-) We're heading down to Roanoke after that to be with Alan's family for awhile, too. Hopefully I'll figure out my new camera quickly so I can post regularly again. I hope everyone has a WONDERFUL Christmas and really gets to enjoy this magical time of year with their families. I'm so thankful that Jesus was born and that we get to celebrate that every year. Here is my favorite family picture from the year. This is a repeat pic, but I think it really captures our family.


Merry Christmas from the Janney family!

Playing with Papa J in the leaves...

These are some pics that Auntie Megan took of Jackson playing in the leaves with his Papa J. This was Jackson's first time riding in a wheelbarrow and I heard he really enjoyed it. =)

Too many pictures...

My computer is running really slow because I have too many videos and pictures on it so I haven't posted in a long time because it takes so long. So, I have a lot of catching up to do!
Here are a few pics from Thanksgiving:
We started off the day going to Granny and Papa's and stayed until late that night. It was a wonderful, loud, and fun time. We now have two toddlers and two babies there which was a lot of fun.
Jackson at Granny and Papa's on Thanksgiving Day with Wade Phillips watching in the background. Go Cowboys! =)
Cousin Sharla pretending to be a baby and sleeping in Granny's cradle.
Auntie Megan reading to Jackson.
This is Sandy (Megan's boyfriend) and Jackson. Jackson has been making this face a lot lately.
Later, we met up with the other Janney family and celebrated Thanksgiving again! Tanyon is a year old and he and Jackson were very interested in one another.
Jackson and his cousin Tanyon hanging out.
A close up of Tanyon- he's so cute!
Alan's Uncle Ted and Aunt Barb- they are so nice!
Cousin Kristin and her boyfriend, Patrick.
Cousin Jessica and Tanyon.
Nana and Jackson playing with the camera.
Auntie Megan, Sandy, and Riley (the dog!)

Jackson's Bad Habit...

This is an e-mail Alan sent out the other night...

I just put Jack to bed and returned to clean out our trash can.
Jack threw the following things away tonight:

5 wooden blocks
1 letter H block
1 blue plastic building block
1 Sarah's hair brush
1 candle
1 clean diaper
1 pair of hugging santa bears
1 clean paper towel
1 set of toy bananas
1 baby hat
1 toy airplane
1 small box
1 Dr. Seuss book
1 baby fork
1 pen
4 nativity figurines
Wiseman
Sheep
goat
baby Jesus

for a grand total of 23 things he threw away one at a time.

He also threw his shoe into his bath tonight after I toweled him off and before I pulled the drain.
Silver lining: He's a neat baby that can't stand clutter and likes to organize.
Down-side: He threw away Jesus.
Alan

Dinner Date...

We got to catch up with a TON of friends this weekend! I got to see my sister and lots of Young Life friends, got to have a Panera date with Stephanie (YAY Panera!! Oh, and YAY Stephanie!), we got to see Cory and Melynda and meet Baby Trevor, and on the way out of town, we met Amelia and Jon and Baby Emma for a dinner date. For people who haven't been reading my blog, or for some strange reason don't decide to memorize my posts, these are a catch up on Jackson and Emma's previous dates, the development of their relationship, and their betrothal.
http://jjjourney.blogspot.com/2007/05/jackson-and-emmas-first-date.html
http://jjjourney.blogspot.com/2007/05/tricias-wedding.html

So, we got there and set up their high chairs next to each other (just in case they wanted an "accidental" hand brush). That was where the romance ended.

Here they are. Emma is being adorable and photogenic, and Jackson...is stuffing his face full of hamburger.

Emma asking why Jackson won't share even a little bit of his hamburger.
Amelia and I with our babies.

Visiting Floyd

We went to visit Alan's grandparents, Jackson's great grandparents, and my only local grandparents for the last 9 years since I've met them. When we first got there, Debbie (Nana) took Jackson in to wake Papa up from a nap and this is the way they came out of the bedroom:
Jackson's new favorite toy, the walker, was established for the day.
Jackson and Papa discussing their day.
Granny pushing him around.
Alan and his Papa talking. Jackson had been playing with the teddy bear. Alan doesn't usually hold teddy bears around the house. =)
Nana and Jackson.
Great Granny and Great Papa saying goodbye (but only til Thanksgiving!).

Randoms...

I hadn't put my pics on my computer for a while, so this group of pics aren't connected to one another.
Backyard exploring:

(turtle Jackson chased around the yard).
(the way he looks running...waving his arms and yelling).


Just Jackson.
Jackson playing Halo. This is what goes on while I'm gone and Alan babysits.

Jackson and his favorite Uncle (Uncle Danny) outside of the Smoking Pig.

Trick or Treat!

Jackson and I went home to my parent's neighborhood to trick or treat for Halloween. We stopped by Richmond and had lunch at The Smokin' Pig with Anne and Danny which was a lot of fun! It's cute cause Jackson definitely recognizes my family now and gets so excited when he sees them. We stopped by and saw my Dad's new office on the way home which Jackson thought was pretty cool. We got home and my mom had made fresh baked cookies which Jackson thought was even cooler. He's a little cookie monster. We went trick or treating and my Dad took him to the neighbor's houses. Jackson liked ringing the doorbells more than anything else. When we got home, he thought the candy was a lot of fun to dump out of his bag and then put it back in. He never discovered it was edible so we kept it that way. =) Mom and I went out to lunch at On the Border and then spent a whole day shopping at good ole' Potomac Mills which was a lot of fun! Dad and Jackson spent the day together going to lunch at McDonald's and then hiking at Prince William Park. Becky worked on a lot of college essays and dressed up as a Burrito for Halloween to get a free burrito from Chipotle. I wish I had a pic cause it was hilarious! It was a wonderful visit home (as always) and I wish it could've been longer. =) I didn't manage to take any pics except the ones my Dad asked me to take!

Jackson and his G-pa about to go trick or treating! Dad was unimpressed with my photograph skills. However, all I could see through the viewfinder was the jack-o-lantern!

Jackson and I.

G-Pa making Jackson laugh.

The pumpkin G-pa carved for Jackson (which looks a lot like Jackson when Jackson is smiling).

Us again.

No flash...spooky!

A VERY Happy Halloween! =)

Jackson's new best friend...

Our very good friends the Bonhams gave birth to Trevor last week!! He's absolutely adorable and Alan and I can't wait to meet him!! Alan and Cory have been best friends since middle school. In fact, at some point I'm gonna get a hold of this video I saw that they made in the height of the awkward middle school years where they are acting like secret spies and upload it to You Tube for all the world to see. Mwahahaha. But that's another story! ;-) Melynda was such a cute pregnant girl and came to the guy's 10 year class reunion one WEEK before her due date. I don't know if ya'll have been or remember being pregnant, but I'd sworn off large groups of people one MONTH before my due date! =) She's awesome. These two are going to be AMAZING parents!!
Here are the ADORABLE Bonhams with their new addition!

Handsome, little Trevor all snuggled up.

Going home from the hospital! He looks smart already like his architect Dad and his teacher Mom!
Trevor will inevitably be Jackson's best friend. Cory and Alan's other best friend, Jon, has a daughter (Emma- 10 months) who has been on several successful dates with Jackson. We'll just have to see how Trevor coming into the situation affects all that. Will Emma be interested in younger men? I hope not. It could really hurt Jackson and Trevor's friendship. =)

May the Force be with you...

Jackson is going as Yoda this Halloween. I saw this Yoda costume advertised last year and I knew Jackson was too little to go trick or treating then so I knew it would be the one I got this year. I searched for it and found it on Ebay and I love it! We're going to my parents house for Halloween this year which will be fun because we know most of the neighbors. I wouldn't be surprised if my Dad wanted to walk around with Jackson but I think he should get a Han Solo or Chewbacca costume if he does. =) The great thing about my parent's neighborhood is that they give away full size candy bars and candy (not the typical snack size) which is nice for me and Alan! ;-)

This one is my favorite!

This one cracks me up because it really looks like Yoda is waddling around our yard. I was totally laughing up taking these pics.

I haven't been able to teach him to speak in a Yoda voice yet, but we're still working on it.

It's surprisingly hard to fit his whole body (ears included) into the pictures because he moves so fast!

I just like the trees in the background. This time of year is so pretty.

This one is Alan's favorite. His expression is so funny, I think.

And there he is really getting into eating that apple.

Play time...

This is my animal mat. Halfway in my tent.Check out my steering wheel.Hilarious. My sillly eyes!