Happy Birthday Kate!

On January 19th, our darling little girl turned 4 years old. We still can't believe it! We're so grateful that Kate was HOME for this special day!

We started the morning of her birthday with chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream, sprinkles, and a candle. She told me she was si bpi (4 years old) and so was Pooh, Belle, and Bunny (so they each got a happy birthday song too!) She LOVED the 4 balloons we tied on her chair (I'm not sure if she's ever had a balloon before?) She called them "baboons" and played with them for more than an hour... pulling them around the house, giggling and clapping her hands!  (Friends and family with our password - you can watch the video of our morning below!)

Kate's 4th Birthday from Rusty Jackson on Vimeo.

The plan for the day was simple - to say "YES" as much as possible and to give Kate all of our attention. We thought we might take her to feed the ducks, get ice cream, and ride the train at the zoo - but it rained ALL day, and she was honestly happy to stay at home as long as she got to play with both of us. She sat at the window and watched the rain fall several times throughout the day, exclaiming "Fon!" (Rain!) again and again. Most kids would be sad that it rained on their birthday, but our little raindrop (Namfon) loves the rain!

We played playdough for at least an hour that morning, played with her balloons, and then coaxed her out for lunch at Surin (she was so happy to eat Thai food again! She loves Pad See Ew!) Bunny came with us to lunch, and she was SO excited when she got her own wearable baby carrier (just like ours) to put him in!

When we got home we watched Enchanted (one of her favorite movies), played playdough for another hour or two, and then Uncle Brent came for a surprise visit. Then it was time for "rockabye bunny" and reading books to her bunnies. We surprised her at the end of the night with her very first bubble bath, and she giggled all the way through it!

The night ended with one of our many beautiful Nancy Tillman books, lots of kisses from Papa, Kate singing "There's Just Something About That Name" with me, and finally falling asleep on my chest.

It was such a simple, sweet day - but it filled my heart to overflowing. We adore this beautiful, smart, funny, brave, silly, kind, compassionate little girl, and I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to get to be her Mama!

On Saturday we had the sweetest little birthday party full of precious friends for our beautiful little girl! I still can't believe I was able to throw it together after only a month home with Kate (especially when that month also included Christmas and my birthday! Whew!) - but your baby's first birthday party is too special to skip (even if it's for her 4th birthday). ✨

When we got matched with Kate at 3 years old, I grieved the lost years with her hard (and still do at times). I was heartbroken to know she'd experienced so many years (and 3 birthdays) without a family. I prayed hard for God to help us get her home before she turned 4, and dreamed of a party with 4 little cakes to represent and re-celebrate each birthday we missed. I'm so grateful that Carrie Faucher Allen (a very talented baker here in Birmingham) could fit us in to make these gorgeous cakes without much notice. Aren't they just darling!? Those delicate, gilded ruffles were almost too pretty to eat!

We kept the party short and simple. Just cake and punch with us, my parents, and the handful of neighbor kids she plays with regularly in attendance. She gasped when she saw the decorations, and spent all morning telling me in Thai that her friends were coming and that it was her birthday! Kate loved the attention, and happily stood on her chair in her tutu as everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to her 4 times! (For family and friends with the password, you can watch the video below!) I know she missed her friends from Thailand on this day (she asked for her best friend first thing that morning) and that broke my heart for her. But I'm so grateful for her new friends here who came to celebrate her! 

Kate's Birthday Party from Rusty Jackson on Vimeo.

Kate dug into her smash cake (she may be 4, but we gave her cake #1 all for herself just like we would have on her first birthday) and it was adorable! She also let her friends help her open her presents (she is so great at sharing!) Her favorites were definitely her baby carrier, stroller, and pink umbrella!

She would not take off her birthday tutu for the rest of the day - and she was just the cutest thing wearing it around! She went outside after her party to play with her new toys in the (unexpectedly warm) January sunshine. She blew bubbles with her new bubble wand from Auntie Shell & Uncle Jaron, and pushed bunny around in her new stroller for hours. She had so much fun playing "Mama" to him!

I wish I could show you all the photos from Kate's beautiful birthday shoot, but we cannot share her face publicly (as we are still meeting our post placement requirements and waiting to finalize our adoption). She was such a little ham though! She had so much fun modeling for us! We were thrilled for the opportunity to finally do a professional shoot with her, and we're completely in love with how the images turned out. After taking pictures of families here in Birmingham through RJackson Media, and children around the world for The Sound of Hope - it sure was special to photograph our own little girl on her special day!

(Playing peek-a-boo with Mama during her first photo shoot!)

Happy birthday darling! We loved celebrating you this year, 

and we look forward to many more years of singing Happy Birthday to YOU! 

Mother/Daughter Road Trip :: Day 3 & 4

If you missed Part 1 and Part 2 you can click through to read them.

I'll be honest. Day 3 and 4 were pretty uneventful. I spent most of Day 3 (my birthday) curled up with a book in front of the fireplace, which made me pretty happy!

That is of course, until tea time. The kind tea lady actually said, "Are you sure you won't spill it?!" when I asked for tea. (Crap. They remembered me! I was hoping somehow the hot tea firework hadn't been noticed by the ENTIRE ROOM yesterday. No such luck.) Another lady said, "Oh, I saw that yesterday. Are you okay?" (Humiliating.) Mom joined me and whisper/yelled "HE HAS A WALKIE TALKIE!" every time a maintenance person walked by and then giggled when I rolled my eyes. And then, suddenly, another man spilled his tea everywhere and I ceremoniously passed him the torch while everyone stared at HIM for a change! Haha! (Thanks for the birthday gift karma!) Okay... I didn't really rejoice that he spilled, but I totally went up to him and explained that I did the same thing yesterday - only made twice the size of his mess because, hello, HOT TEA FIREWORK. It was great. We had a good laugh out of it.

Anyway - the rest of the day went well. We went out to an AMAZING dinner at Jesse's. (Thank you to my friend from college, Matt, for suggesting it!) 

It was seriously one of the best meals of my life! We had warm brie with granny smith apples and pecan praline sauce, a wedge salad, filet mignon with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans, and a flourless chocolate lava cake. After dinner we stayed to enjoy some live jazz. It was wonderful!

The next day we got up, took 53 trips downstairs to get all our bags to the car (or maybe just 2 trips with our arms almost falling off again), checked out, bought baby Kate an ADORABLE book about a little crab that saves a fish, and went out to feed the ducks.

The property at The Grand Hotel is seriously so gorgeous - even in the winter! And the ducks were super friendly, which totally made my day. (I know, I know, I'm easily amused. But you GUYS! They would follow me around and eat out of my hand! Such brave little ducks! I loved them!)

For the first time all week it was sunny and sort of warm, so we walked all over the property before heading to lunch. Of course on the way to lunch, a light on the dash came on and we realized a tire was low. So we ended up pooling together all the change we had in the car to put air in the tire... which took both of us because the air compressor wasn't working right and wouldn't stay on the tire. Good times!

(It wouldn't have been a normal day if something interesting didn't happen, right? ;) Luckily, we made it to lunch, a quick shopping trip, and home without any more drama!

I had a lot of fun sharing these stories, and I hope you've all had a lot of laughs. But really - I wanted to share them on my blog just to preserve the memories. When I was packing for the trip I realized - I can't remember a time when just me and my mom ever went on a trip. I've been lucky to take a LOT of family trips with my entire family - sometimes even my extended family - or at the very least my mom and dad. This was the first time I can remember that Dad wasn't available and it was just us girls - and we had a blast! (Sorry Dad! Love you too!) If you've never taken a trip just you and your mom (teenage and adult girlfriends) I would highly recommend it. We laughed a lot (obviously), talked about things we've never really talked about, ate yummy meals where we shared every course so we could have all 4 courses (best idea ever) and goofed off like teenagers. We made such fun memories, and I know we'll cherish them for years to come. I hope that someday, I'll be able to make road trip memories like these with my own daughter. 

Thanks Mom for a great birthday week! I love you!

Mother/Daughter Road Trip :: Day 2

(In case you missed Part 1, check it out here.)

Mom wasn't really thrilled that I posted the first day's events on facebook (especially when I told her my friends in India liked it too! Come on Mom! Now you're funny in 2 countries! Hahaha!) - so I'm sure she'll love that these are now up on the blog! ;) But I just can't leave you hanging... because Day 2 was just as memorable as Day 1! 

Day 2:

Mom told me over and over again last night that I HAD to go see the cannon today. "They shoot it off at 4:00" she said. "They march around the property with a drum at 3:30" she said. "Don't be late or you'll miss it!" she said. So at 3:15 I put down my work, threw on some clothes, and hurried out to the pier.

By the time I found the cannon, I was FREEZING. It's 46 with windchill that makes it feel like Antarctica. I have no gloves. I have a thin scarf and a thin jacket and a thin sweater and blue jeans. All I can think is, "We have 16 freaking bags between us and I packed NOTHING warm enough!" I thought going South would = warmer weather. I thought 55 degrees wouldn't be frigid. I was wrong. By the time I sat down by the cannon tears were streaming down my face from the icy wind (I had to take my glasses off and dab my face with my scarf!) and my hair was EVERYWHERE. Seriously. This is a picture of me waiting by the cannon. Glad I didn't bother to brush my hair that morning.

3:45 came and went. 3:50... 4:00. No flipping marching man. No drum. No cannon fire. At this point I was a popsicle. I was trying to text my husband but my fingers got too cold to cooperate. 

4:02 - FINALLY! Some man in a costume came out carrying an American Flag. Fantastic! Let's do this!

4:14 - The Navy man is telling a story about the military/war history of the area. He's been talking for 12 minutes. It feels like 1200 minutes. Normally I would love this history lesson (I am a total history nerd!) but with the wind off the bay and the 46 degree temp I am numb. But I am going to see the cannon for crying out loud!

4:15 - He fires the cannon! It is awesome. I get an awesome picture. (see below). And then I high-tail it inside to get some tea and cookies.

Ahh.... tea and cookies. I have never been so excited about tea and cookies! I skipped lunch (long story - I brought snacks but couldn't find a knife to get my peanut butter out of the jar!) and I am starving. I am also freezing, and want to drink something warm. She fills my tea up to the brim and I feel panicked. I still can't feel my hands... how am I going to pick this up on a saucer with one hand and get to a seat without spilling it?! I literally shuffle across the room. I sip it down to add milk and sugar - then it's full again. I sip again. I'm not fast enough. People are lining up behind me to get to the milk and sugar. I shuffle to the couch nervously. SUCCESS! My hands are still numb, but I didn't spill!

I eat my blueberry scone that is so, so delicious and reach for my tea. Three sips in, and it happens....

A maintenance woman walks by and drops the biggest walkie talkie I've ever seen on the hardwood floor literally at my feet. It sounds like a gunshot. Of COURSE it scares me half to death. Of COURSE I jump. Of COURSE I throw my delicious hot tea EVERYWHERE.

Seriously. You guys. I was like a hot tea firework exploding all over the room. There was tea on the floor, tea on the furniture, tea on my jacket, tea on my shoes. There was also tea (along with my tears from earlier) all over one of my favorite scarves from my very first trip to India, and tea ALL over my darkwash skinny jeans. The only pair of dressy pants I'd brought with me. The jeans I was going to wear out to dinner that night AND the next night. (16 flipping bags and I only have one pair of dressy jeans?! Seriously? How is this possible!?)

I was so, so sad about my tea, but I almost laughed. (I did, in my head. Because all I could think was "of course this would happen!" followed by "at least I'll have something to share on my blog today!") The maintenance woman felt terrible and kept apologizing. I of course told her it wasn't her fault (I mean... she was clumsy and dropped a walkie talkie, and I was clumsy and jumpy and became a hot tea firework. Accidents happen.) She showed me to the bathroom where I began blotting my clothes with a wet paper towel and dreading walking the 1/4 mile back to our building in the FREEZING cold wind. I was wet and cold and very sticky by the time I got back to our room.

Then, when I didn't think it was possible, things got even worse! I started trying to wash out my jeans....my FAVORITE pair of jeans.... the jeans I've had for at least 5 years and washed dozens of times....

and everything turned BLUE.

Blue towel, blue washcloth, and the sink looked like a Smurf died in it. By the time my mom came back to the room from her conference I was wearing sweatpants, using the hairdryer on my wet blue jeans, and sporting a bright blue hand. 

I was not amused. She, however, thought it was hysterical!

Night 2:

I managed to get my jeans dry, ran a brush through my nappy, windblown hair, and made it out to dinner. We had some yummy Italian food, gelato, and then took a quick trip to Publix before heading back to the hotel. (I really like eating a cinnamon roll smothered with cream cheese icing for breakfast on my birthday, and I knew Publix would have one!)

All went well. I got my cinnamon roll, we checked out, and we made it back to the car. That's when I started hearing the music.

Me: Mom, what's that?

Mom: I don't know!

Me: It's coming from your phone.

Mom: No it's not! I've never even heard that before!

Me [taking Mom's phone]: Yes it is! Look - your music app is open. It's playing your music.

[At this point, my precious, innocent, Southern Baptist mom looks at the phone, sees this picture, and freaks out.]

Mom: THAT IS NOT MINE! I DON'T BUY THINGS WITH NAKED MEN ON THEM! WHY ARE THEIR NAKED MEN ON MY PHONE?!?! I'M TELLING YOU - I DID NOT BUY THAT!!!

[Mom continues to dramatically protest while I laugh until I can't breathe.]

Mom: What is so FUNNY?! I didn't BUY THAT! I PROMISE!

Me [barely able to speak because I'm still laughing]: I know Mom! I know! It's U2.

Mom: WHAT IS U2?! I DID NOT BUY U2! I have THREE songs on my iPhone that I bought - ONLY THREE! They are BLESSINGS, CASTING CROWNS, and SILVER BELLS! I DID NOT buy any NAKED MEN! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT U2 IS!

Now for those of you that don't know - a few months ago Apple CEO joined forces with U2 (arguably one of the most successful and beloved bands of all time) and "gifted" everyone with an iPhone, everywhere in the world, with the latest U2 album. It was kind of freaky and amazing all at once. At least, I thought so. But then again, I like U2. Apparently though, a whole lot of people had a similar response to my mom. I saw a lot of angry posts online with people asking how to get this "blankety blank" off their phone. But this was the first time I'd actually encountered that kind of reaction in person and you guys... it was HYSTERICAL!!! 

So there you have it friends. Day 2 and Night 2 of our "Mother Daughter Roadtrip Shenanigans" is in the books. I'm scared to think what tomorrow will bring!

Mother/Daughter Road Trip :: Day 1

Earlier this month, my mom and I took a little road trip to Fairhope, Alabama. Mom had a work conference and didn't want to travel alone; I can work from anywhere and it was my birthday week - so it all seemed like a good idea. Turns out - it was an idea that would leave us laughing until we cried more than once in a 4 day span. This series should probably actually be titled "Mother/Daughter Shenanigans". 

I posted the following "real time" on Facebook our first night and people thought it was hilarious and begged to hear the rest of the story. So I figured I would share it here, along with Days 2, 3 and 4 so you could all enjoy a good laugh (at our expense!) Here goes!

Prequel:

[This is the conversation we had via phone when I called to tell my mom I could go.]

Mom: Oh I'm SO glad you are going!!! You are going to LOVE this place! They even have tea every afternoon at 4:00... tea and cookies and everything!
(Let that sink in people. The place where all the shenanigans I'm about to share with you is fancy enough to have afternoon tea. Lord help us.)
Me: Great! I love tea!
Mom: And don't be scared if you see two men, dressed really crazy, beating a drum and walking around the property in the afternoon. They do that every day.
Me: Uhmm.... what?
Mom: And don't be alarmed if you hear a loud noise around 4:00. It's just the cannon.
Me: Mom. What in the world?! The CANNON? Where are we staying?!? A pirate ship?!

I should've known then this would be an interesting trip....
‪#‎motherdaughtertrip‬ ‪#‎somanyshenanigans‬ ‪#‎cannonfire‬ ‪#‎hightea‬ ‪#‎wemightgetkickedout‬ ‪#‎watchoutFairhope‬

Day 1:

We made it through our travel day without issue, and arrived just in time for tea and cookies. After that, we checked into the hotel, found our room, and started to unload the car when I realized.... She brought 8 bags - 8 BAGS PEOPLE! For a 3 night trip! Plus a hanging bag, and her purse (which is the size of a small suitcase.) I brought 3 bags (which I thought was a lot) plus a hanging bag and a purse. Then we bought a bag of groceries. SOMEHOW - we made it to our room with ALL those bags (11 bags + 2 purses + 2 hanging bags + 2 pillows + a bag of groceries...gah... we are SO high maintenance!) in just 2 trips. I don't know how we did it!

The first trip up we ended up on a service elevator by mistake that let us out in a random back room. The second trip we were literally dropping things our hands were so full, and then realized neither of us could get to our key. I tell Mom (who has one -sort of- free hand) to reach in my back pocket to get it - but I'm wearing this long, flowy tunic/blanket/sweater thing so she can't see my pocket. She jams her ice cold hand down my pants 3 times trying to get the key while I yell "that is NOT my pocket!" and "YOUR HANDS ARE COLD!" over and over again, and we are laughing so hard we can't breathe and dropping stuff all over the hall! (Mom almost had to use her inhaler!!)

Now we are listening to an old woman next door yell into her phone at the top of her lungs "I DON'T HAVE GOOD SERVICE HERE!" while we giggle. Did I mention we've only been here 4 hours and already all these shenanigans have taken place?! We really should NOT be allowed to travel alone! ‪#‎motherdaughtertrip‬ ‪#‎highmaintenancetravelers‬ ‪#‎ipacklikemymother‬ ‪#‎whereareourhusbands‬ ‪#‎weoverpacked‬ ‪#‎myfacehurtsfromlaughing‬

Stay tuned for Day 2! As the saying goes, "Well behaved women rarely make history." ;)