Mommy and JJ Movie Date | The Grinch 3D

I was fortunate enough to take our oldest son JJ to the movies this past Saturday. It was long over due! I try to make it a point to spend time with him whether it's a trip to the ice cream parlor, the park, and movies. I spend so much of my time with his little brother, I don't want him to feel as if I don't love him or forgot about him. 

The Movies

We didn't make it to the 1:40 showing of the Grinch, they sold out right before we got to the ticket stand. We ended up going with the 3D showing of the Grinch at 2:30 so we had a lot of time to kill. That was okay because they had an arcade to keep us busy. We traded in our cash for tokens and battled the Terminators and raced the tracks. It was very fun! 

I am not one to win but I was able to win JJ an emoji ball and emoji pillow! I guess I had luck on my side that day, I normally waste all my money on trying to win something. I loved the look he gave me when I won him those two things. Melted my heart.

We went to the concession stand and bought some popcorn and icee, he was in heaven. Almost had heart failure with the amount we spent on the snacks. I usually pack a bunch of snacks in a small bag or purse but didn't get a chance to, it was last minute. 

The Regal movie theater was one of the most comfiest movie theaters I have ever been to. They had reclining chairs! I also liked that you pre-paid for your seats so you weren't trying to find a spot to sit--you already had it reserved prior to going in. We sat back, kicked our feet up, and watched the Grinch in 3D. 

If you get a chance to, definitely watch it in 3D! It was awesome.  

Candy Store

Stopped and took photos in front of the beautiful Christmas tree, JJ had to take a photo with an "emoji face." He's such a goofball. 

The movie theater is located in the mall so there are plenty of shopping and goodies around. I promised JJ I would take him to the candy store after the movie. He was ecstatic, there was so many candy to choose from! He grabbed a bunch of gummies, his favorite, and we went on our way to the car. We were meeting daddy and little brother for some pizza!

I love these moments with JJ, I can't wait to go on another little mommy and JJ date!

As always, thank you for reading!

We Have a Walker AND a Kindergartner

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Walking like a big boy

We got ourselves a walker!

I honestly didn't think it would happen before he turned two, he was such a potato baby only ten months ago! Jaxson has been going to Physical Therapy once a week since October of last year. He has definitely come a long way, he wasn't doing anything then, MAYBE rolling to one side but it was hit or miss. He does have an unstable gait which is one of the features of DYRK1A children but our little man is mobile!

Related Post: Telling Tuesday

via GIPHY

He definitely amazes us every single day! I'm sure chasing after his big brother on a daily basis has helped as well. He really looks up to his big brother JJ, it is very sweet. I really love the special bond that they have and I hope that it continues to grow stronger as they both get older.

JJ's First Two Days of Kindergarten:

JJ started Kindergarten yesterday (August 13th) and I surprisingly didn't cry dropping him off. I drove him to school on the first day, walked with him to his classroom, and when it was time for me to leave -- he didn't cry nor did it faze him that he wasn't going to see momma all day. I walked with some mom friends to the cafeteria for "Boo Hoo Breakfast" haha, but there wasn't anyone crying. It was a sweet idea for us Kindergarten mommas!

Kindergarten is hard

As you can see from this photo that JJ is exhausted from Kindergarten. He has been doing awesome with finding his shapes, counting, colors, and writing his name. I'm proud of this little man! My friend texted me that when she was walking with her son to class she ran into JJ. She asked how his bus ride this morning went and he said, "I don't need any help, I know where my class is!" Haha, my little independent munchkin. He's made some friends too!

How did your children do on their first day of school? Any milestones or inchstones to share?

Related Post: Inchstones Not Milestones 

Five Awesome Facts About JJ | Big Brother

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JJ, WE LOVE YOU

*This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure for more information.

Five AWESOME Facts About JJ!

Fact One:

JJ was born on August 6, 2013 at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. The day before I had him I was scheduled to have a 38 week appointment and as we were leaving the appointment my water broke. Yup! As we were leaving I felt a GUSH and then I look over to my husband and replied: "I'm not sure but I think I either peed myself or my water broke..." Sure enough, my water broke! We raced home and grabbed my hospital bag and headed to the Labor and Delivery. Fast forward to the morning of August 6, 2013, James Joseph was born! 8 lbs and 20.5 inches long!

Fact Two:

JJ has always been fascinated with dinosaurs. It's funny because when we came up with our Registry I picked a dinosaur crib set. Who would've thought that we would have a crazy child who grew up loving dinosaurs. Our dear friends from Beaufort, South Carolina even made his initials into dinosaurs for his bedroom -- we still have it hanging up in his bedroom as we speak!

JJ and Mommy

Fact Three:

He has a love/hate relationship with Chucky. Yes -- you read that right. We were going through Netflix one evening and he saw Chucky's face plastered all over the feed and he insisted to his dad that he watch it. You know what my husband did? Yup, let him watch it because "he wasn't scared." A few months later our favorite Barber bought him a Chucky doll for Christmas because he absolutely LOVED him.. Turns out he's afraid of him haha. He locks him in his playroom closet but still wants to watch the movie on Netflix (I haven't let him since) -- it's the darnest thing.

Fact Four:

He is a "mutt" like me. I am Irish, English, French Canadian, Welsh, Okinawan and his dad is Italian, Irish, and Native American -- he's just one huge melting pot! He definitely resembles my side of the family with the reddish brown hair and dark eyes. He may look like me but his attitude is ALL daddy!

Related Post: 21 Facts About Mom

Fact Five:

He's such a goofy, sweet, adorable little man who absolutely LOVES pajamas. He has a million pairs of pajamas from Dragon Ball Z, Pikachu, Spiderman, Batman -- you name it, he has it! We started doing movie nights on Friday evenings where we bring out the futon and lay down to watch movies with our bucket of popcorn and hot cocoa. Despite loving pajamas and movie night he likes to run around in his underwear, we have dubbed him "Captain Underpants."

I can't believe that we have a five year old, where has the time gone?

An Open Letter to My Oldest Son

 Dear JJ,

I'm sorry.

Mommy is sorry for all of the times I have lost my patience with you. I know you don't understand now but I hope you understand when you get older..

You see, mommy loves you so much but she is overly stressed with taking care of your brother every minute of every day.

I know it doesn't make it right, but it makes mommy human. 

I know you get jealous and I am trying to do my best to juggle my time with you and your brother. You may not understand his condition but Jaxson needs a lot of my attention right now.

I love our movie and ice cream dates.

I love our tickle fights.

I love how you say "Smash-potatoes".

I love your creativity and imagination.

I love that even at almost five years old that you still love to give mommy kissies and cuddles.

I want you to know that I am so proud of the little man you have become. You are so smart and so sweet.

Love, Mom

Funday Friday

Today is Funday Friday! 

We do this for you Jaxson!

We dressed up as Batmom and Ninjago in honor of Jaxson today for Rare Chromo week. Whenever someone told us how much they loved our costume we mentioned it was for Rare Chromosome Awareness week! 

Movie date

I also went to go see Jurassic World with my oldest for a little bit of a mommy and JJ date. I like to make it a point in spending time with just JJ since I give a lot of attention to Jaxson with everything going on. We definitely had fun! Even bought some ice cream afterwards.

Batmom and Ninjago 

FLEX

Next year I will ensure that I have a flyer or brochure of some kind to hand out for Funday Friday!

How did you show support on Funday Friday?