More Than Just a Pretty Face

He's a genius! At least that's what his dad thinks.

This is a Test

Today my heart was tested, and while it did in fact skip a beat, I maintained my composure thanks to my 100% faith that the f'ed up things reported on CNN and FoxNews do not happen to me! The story is relatively simple. I arrived at Jaxon's school to pick him up at the exact same time and place as every other day of the week, except today, they couldn't find him! A teacher walked up to my car in drive-thru parent pickup line and told me, "Jaxon was already picked up." Ummmm...WHAT?!?!?! I calmly responded, "No, I don't think so." What I really meant was, "THAT BETTER NOT BE TRUE!!!!!"

I took a deep breath and reassured myself that this teacher was simply mistaken. She was thinking of another boy named Jackson. A few minutes passed as the teacher went to check with other administrators. Then, a few more minutes passed, and a few more. Finally, another teacher approached the car and told me, "Jaxon was already picked up. Do you have any idea who he left with?" I looked at her in disbelief and mouthed, "No." followed by, "I'm the only one that would pick him up. His Dad is busy today." She stared at me with extreme concern and then calmly walked away from the car when I could tell she was feeling anything but calm.

Within 60 seconds, both the first and second teacher were running towards my car shouting, "We've got him! Sorry we scared you." Sure enough, there was Jax jogging behind them. As it turns out, someone routed him to the carpool line which is obviously not where he should be! So, it all turned out well. As a result of all the day's excitement, Anh and I discussed with Jax the short list of family members of who are allowed to pick him up because clearly the school isn't referencing the list that I provided at the beginning of the school year! Geez Louise! Get it together, People!

4-4-4

We are CRAZY!!! The 4 of us visited all 4 Disney parks in 4 straight days, and it was awesome! The Christmas decorations were up which I'll admit seemed a little strange at first, but by day four, we were feeling the Spirit.After a wonderful night at the EPCOT Food & Wine Festival, we knew we were in for a great time at the Magic Kingdom. The first bit of evidence was being greeted at the beginning of Main Street by one of Disney's fabulous parades. I'm telling you, there's no better way to start your day!Baylor was THRILLED to see his new favorite characters, Buzz Lightyear and Woody, from Toy Story 3. The kid could not have dialed up the enthusiasm any more as he waved at his new heroes passing by in front of him.After our grand entrance, we made a beeline for the rides. Jaxon is now tall enough to ride every single attraction in the park, and he tackled the majority during our Halloween visit a few weeks ago.However, it's all new and exciting to Baylor. He had a major potty-training breakthrough during our vacation, and I attribute it to him hearing the phrase, "You can ride this because you're a big boy now!" At home, "being a big boy" is associated with using the potty. So, to Baylor using the potty and his ability to board the rides go hand in hand. At least, that's my theory.There were a few new experiences for Jaxon. He took the plunge with his dad on a water ride. Truth be told, I was somewhat grateful that Baylor didn't meet the height requirement.Don't feel too bad for the youngest member of the family. He enjoyed plenty of rides! In fact, the only negative for either of the boys seemed to be riding with Mommy. Evidently, Daddy is a much better ride buddy. Well, I've got a plan for the future. I'll bring my own ride buddy, and allow both boys the pleasure of riding with Daddy. Anybody want to volunteer to be my buddy? All expenses paid!

At least Jax was eager to pose in pictures with me! That was a bit of a self-esteem booster.As beautiful as the Magic Kingdom is during the day, you just can't describe the charm that it exudes after sunset. Rides like the carousel that could be overlooked during the day are suddenly transformed by hundreds of twinkling lights.However, Cinderella's Castle is without a doubt the real showstopper. Amazing!We did miss out on a few things by visiting so early in the holiday season. The boys had to settle for a picture with Mater because Lightening McQueen was off "getting a holiday paintjob." Hopefully, we can squeeze in another quick visit before the end of the season to check out McQueen's new look.Baylor and Jax recovered quickly from the disappoint. I'm sure it helped that we were finally able to checkout the Toy Story attraction. It's a ride through a 3-D carnival-themed shooting gallery, and it's quite possibly our new favorite ride. I'm not sure how often we'll get to experience the thrill though. There's usually a 3+ hour wait involved, but thanks to the small crowds during this trip, we only waited approximately 40 minutes. By far, that was our longest line. Most attractions we either walked right on or waited for no more than 10 minutes. It was ideal!By our fourth and final day, one would expect that we'd be dragging our weary feet. However, we were energized especially the boys. They couldn't wait to explore Animal Kingdom.Animal Kingdom is the park we've explored the least, but that doesn't mean it's any less impressive. This trip, we managed to spend some time in the dinosaur-themed playground. What an excellent way for the boys to burn off some energy prior to the ride home.Of course, we had to squeeze in a few more rides with the adrenaline junkies.Plus, we were finally able to watch the Nemo show. It is without a doubt Broadway caliber!
The only thing that could have made this trip better was to share it with others. Maybe we can recruit a few extra family members during the coming weeks. Something tells me that Grandfather wouldn't mind seeing Lightening's new paintjob too...

Older & Wiser with a Full Belly

It's a double holiday...Veterans Day and even more importantly Daddy's birthday!!! And where did Anh spend his special day ??? Disney World, of course! Okay, it probably wasn't his top choice of venue, but it sure did make Jax and Baylor happy, and that is what's really important, right? Ha! Truth be told, we're all in Orlando for a conference, but the trip happened to overlap Anh's birthday and the final weekend of the 15th Annual EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival. I can't imagine a better birthday dinner!With over 22 nations represented, Anh & I had to be selective when it came to visiting the various food kiosks. By the end of the night, we had sampled dishes and wines from Chile, Brazil, Argentina, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Singapore, Belgium, and France. It was a fabulous evening! Oh, and if you're wondering, Jax and Baylor were slightly adventurous. Their main dish was nothing out of the ordinary, "chicken with sauce" (sesame chicken) from China, but they both enjoyed a roasted corn and cheese empanada from Argentina as an appetizer. Oh, and they gobbled up their dessert trio from France. Baylor tried his best to convince me that it would be okay for me to share both my champagne and Singapore Sling with him. Nice try, buddy!With so many delicious options, the park was crowded with guests. Luckily, everyone was in a festive mood and on their best behavior. We did run into a few characters though...

A Wide-Eyed Mouse

A Super Frisky PuppyAnother mouse. Evidently Disney has a rodent problem...A Crazy DuckA Silly DogAnd as Baylor put it, a "scary" Queen.

We loved every minute of it!

Echo

I've recently noticed a change in Baylor's behavior. Well not so much a change, but an existing behavior has definitely intensified lately. Here's an example. Jax might say, "This is my favorite part!" when watching a movie, and then Baylor will immediately shout, "My favorite part too!" I think it's cute that Baylor idolizes Jax, but I can tell Jax is starting to get annoyed with the constant echoing of his opinion.

This morning, Jax shared, "My favorite Care Bear is Grumpy Bear." on the ride to school, and of course, Baylor immediately declared his love for "Like Grumpy Bear too!" Jax couldn't take it anymore and snapped, "You're just copying me, Baylor!" I tried my best to explain the situation to Jax by saying, "Baylor looks up to you, buddy. That's why he copies you. You're his best friend." Jax sat there for a second and then said, "But, Baylor isn't my best friend. He's my brother." Oh, Little Jaxon, you couldn't be more wrong, and one day, you'll realize that nobody loves you more than your brother. No one will ever be a better friend to you, and something tells me that once you realize this fact, you'll never forget it again.

What's In A Name?

When I recently visited Jax's school for the Halloween Parade, I had a major realization. Jax is leading a double life and has been for quite some time. My epiphany came as the kids were lined up in the hallway waiting to go outside and march in the parade. I asked Jax, "Jax, are you excited?" The little boy standing next to Jax immediately responded, "It's Jaxon!" Oh right, sorry, of course his name is Jaxon. At that very moment, I realized Jax has always introduced himself to others as Jaxon, and even though I have listed Jax as his nickname on every school form ever, no one outside of the family has ever referred to him using that name. Interesting...very interesting.

So, naturally, it struck me as odd yesterday when someone asked Baylor, "What's your name?" and his response was, "BayBay!" The person immediately looked at me for interpretation, and I had to explain that indeed his name is BayBay or more formally Baylor. They laughed at the back story, and I made a silent commitment to insure that Baylor realizes he has two names. If he still chooses to introduce himself as BayBay, well I'll be thrilled. Because old habits are hard to break. To me they will always be Jax & BayBay. I can suffer through the eye rolls and evil looks they'll shoot my way as teenagers...no problem.

A Good Report

Actually, Jaxon's 1st report card was GREAT! The equivalent of an A or maybe an A-. As I've explained in the past, the traditional A's, B's, C's and so on from our childhood have been replaced with M's, P's, and I's for Kindergartners in Florida. Jaxon earned 22 M's and 2 P's...OUTSTANDING! I know this not because I'm a proud mother (I am by the way!), but because I originally received another child's report card by mistake.

When looking over the first report card, I was a little concerned to see so many P's. Sure Jaxon's teacher had explained that P's aren't bad especially on the first report card, but I thought Jaxon was doing way better than P's based on the graded papers sent home for review and the report provided by Mrs. P at the parent-teacher conference. I knew something was up though, when I flipped the report card over and saw the behavior grades were all low. That is most certainly not my Jaxon! Relief came when I read Mrs. P's comments, "L___ has adjusted nicely to Kindergarten." Who is L___? Not my kid. Whew!

After bringing the error to Mrs. P's attention, I finally received Jaxon's report card and was immediately relieved to see excellent marks in every category. The icing on the cake was reading Mrs. P's comment, "Jaxon has adjusted nicely to Kindergarten." Obviously everyone got the same general statement, but then Mrs. P followed with, "He has made a lot of friends in the classroom." That's my kid...social butterfly! Something tells me he's going to be running for Class President down the road!