Play Time with Justin

Mom and I hosted play group at our house on Friday. We had 8 kids total--lots of fun! We played with all my new toys, including my rock climbing set outside. Mom even let us have popsicles out on the deck! Afterwards, Justin stayed over while his mom went to the doctor. Justin is just 1 week older than me, but is always quiet at playgroup. Not this time--after all the older kids left, he really came out of his shell. We had so much fun wrestling, reading, and just being boys. I hope he can come over again soon. Here are some pictures. Hope you all have a great Memorial Day weekend. I've also included a photo of me in my famous Uncle Sam hat. It's a little small on me this year. Of course, when I wore it last year, I was only a week old!

Birthday/Baptism Pictures

More Birthday Pics

The Big One!

Well folks, it's official--I'm one year old! It was one continuous party this weekend, starting with the arrival of all the Arnolds early Friday afternoon. Ma and Pa from MO, Uncle Jas, Aunt Jen, and cousins Sarah and Hannah came, then late that night all the Kenessons--Grand Dad, Grandmother, Laura and her friend Reeve, Uncle Jay, Aunt Liz, and cousins James and Claire. Mom made Tex-Mex Friday night--Grandpa Glen's favorite, then we all convened at our house on Sat for party preparations. While I took a nap on Sat afternoon, Mom took all my cousins for a swim at the pool at my gym, the Coppell Aquatic and Rec Center. They were really impressed with the facilities and understand why I have so much fun there. My Noah's Ark cake was delivered, balloons were hung, and all my friends started arriving around 5:00. We had lots of fun playing outside on my new play gym that my parents gave me for my bday. Dad picked up barbeque for everyone to grub down on. It was pretty good, but not nearly as good as dessert. Everyone gathered around my cake, sang happy birthday, and all my friends and cousins helped me blow out the candles. I LOVED my cake. It took me a little while to really dig in, but once I got comfortable with the texture, I had blue icing all over me! After that, I opened all my presents. Wow, everyone was so generous. I got tons of good lookin clothes, and of course lots of really cool toys. I slept well on Saturday night for sure after all the hooplah. . .but the party continued on Sunday! My whole extended family came with me to my church to see me baptized. All the kids, including my cousins got to come up to the front of the sactuary for the big event. It was very special. Afterwards, everyone came back to my house for more family fun time and a quick brunch. It was quite an event. We had so much fun, it was sad to see everyone go. I doubt I will ever have another birthday celebration quite like this one. Thanks everyone for all the memories together that I will treasure always! I love you. JACK

Derby Time!

Our annual Kentucky Derby part was a huge success. The mint juleps were plentiful, and the food was delicious. We had quite a mix of guests including neighbors, moms club friends, hometown friends, college friends, and co-workers. In total, we had 23 partiers. Unfortunately, I was not a big winner. Dad and Uncle Jason had small wins, but mom's friend Leanda (shown in the black hat) was the big winner with a win bet on Barbaro! She said she just had a "feeling" about that horse. Here are some pics of the big event.

Relay for Life

Last night Dad and I joined Mom to support her team at the Coppell Relay for Life. The relay benefits the American Cancer Society, and it's a lot of fun. Each team has a representative out on the track from 5 in the evening til 7 AM the next morning. Dad and I didn't make it all night, but Mom and her Mom's Club friends camped out in our tent all night long. The Relay had a western theme this year, so Mom's team named themselves the Spokes Models. They had the most creative campsite there and sold peanuts and root beer out of a keg. Mom shouted "get your beer and nuts!" to the relayers all night long. There are all kinds of fun games and music, in fact Mom won me a football when she received 1st place in the biggest bubble gum bubble blown contest at 2:30 am! Wow, she's pretty talented. There's also a beautiful luminaria ceremony where hundreds of luminarias are lit in honor of or in memory of cancer victims. The Coppell Relay as a whole raised over $100,000--all of which goes to fund cancer research!! I hope next year I'll be old enough to camp out all night with Mom. Here are some pics of the event.

The Jack Hammer

For those of you who have been to our house, you know we have a decorative gate at the entry of the sidewalk. Mom and Dad have never particularly cared for this gate, and they have been attempting to take it down for the past few months. I say attempting because Dad discovered the gate posts were set in about 2 ft of concrete. He tried a sledgehammer and crowbar, but this thing wouldn't budge. So Mom and I went to Ace Hardware with the intent to rent a sawz-all. When we explained our intent, the gentleman at the hardware store politely told us we shouldn't be messin' around with those sissy tools--what my Dad needed was a jackhammer! We knew this would make Dad's day. So this Sat morning, the 3 of us went down to Ace, rented the jackhammer, and about 15 minutes later the gate was history! We thought Dad looked pretty cool with this nifty piece of equipment and wanted to share some photos . . .

More Florida Photos

Here are more photos from the trip.

Trip to Orlando

Last Thursday, Mom and I took off on a visit to Orlando. Dad had a friend coming to town for a guy's weekend, so we decided to catch up with our Florida friends. It was so much fun seeing everyone. We stayed with Miss Jodi and her dog Cooper, and spent our days making the rounds to see everyone. Everyone looked great. We even got to stop by the old house and see all the improvements that have been made by the new owner. After seeing the house, we walked across the street and said hello to our former neighbors, the Wilkinsons. They couldn't believe how I'd grown. They shared some grapefruits with us--just like old times! Miss Jodi's friend Tom works for Disney and gave us comlimentary tickets to Epcot--my first Disney experience. THere is so much to see and do there, we were just able to hit a few of the highlights. I can't wait to go back with Mom and Dad. We spent 2 days at the JW Marriott pool, where Miss Jodi works. It was like an island oasis. Mom could not keep me out of the water--we think I might be part fish! They had a lazy river, a shallow area for the kids, and great hot dogs at the cafe. But the best part was hanging out with my friends David and Cassie--they are getting so big. It's going to be so much fun the next time I visit them and we're all walking. We had a fabulous time, but really missed Dad. Hopefully next time the 3 of us can make the trip together. Enjoy the photos!

Dallas Arboretum

Lots has happened the past few weeks, so some of this info is old news, but I wanted to include it anyway. A week ago Monday, we had a field trip with the Mom's Club to the Dallas Arboretum. It was a lot of fun. They had a petting zoo, face painting, arts and crafts, and of course lots and lots of beautiful flowers. We also enjoyed a picnic on the lawns, although my favorite thing was pushing the stroller around the grounds! Despite record breaking heat that day, my friends and I had a marvelous time. We're now planning a trip to the zoo. I'll keep you posted on that! Here are some pics of our outing.

Easter 2006

It was quite a day! I woke up, and the Easter Bunny had visited my house. I found lots of eggs, all on my own, although I wanted to eat each one as soon as I picked them up. I played with my eggs all day, pulling them in and out of my duckie Easter basket. We went to church--I got to play with all my friends in the nursery--then Mom came and got me a little early because we joined the church today. It was fun standing in front of all those people! I smiled, and the preacher said I surely was in good spirits for all that was going on. Since I hadn't had a nap all morning, I fell asleep on the way home from church. Mom and Dad put me in my crib, and I slept about 2 hours. When I awoke, my friend Caroline was here. We had invited her family over for Easter lunch. Today we called Caroline the Easter Pirate--she scratched her cornea yesterday when something flew in her eye in her back yard. We had lots of fun eating together and playing in the park. Even though she's a little older, she plays really nice with me. I hope you enjoy the pictures of me in my Easter best. Love you all!

Cause I Gotta Wear Shades . . .

Well, here is the first round of Easter photos. We had a blast today going to the Coppell Community Easter Egg Hunt. There were lots of kids there, and I got to meet the Easter Bunny for the first time! Check out my cool hat and shades. It's getting really hot and sunny here, so I have to protect my sensitive skin, especially my scalp. Hopefully, I'll get more hair soon! Mom bathes me in sun screen all the time. We've been doing lots of swimming. I love the water and am looking forward to taking swim lessons starting June 5th. We'll post more pics tomorrow when the Easter Bunny comes to my house!