Crayons and Keyboards

Riding The Train To Sugar-highville.

Insane cake made by Mimi.

The kid loved it, loved it so much that it almost visited the train grave yard (Jax's tummy) before the party got under way.

I Think We Picked The Right Gift

Uh Oh, We Got A Pyromaniac On Our Hands.

Look at the gleam in that boy's eyes.

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

This Train's Headed To Fun City, Who's Coming?

Unknowingly, the kid was with us when we bought his favorite (so far) birthday present, the inevitable wooden train set that all boys get as kids.

Just over a month ago we made the hike to Ikea in far north Dallas, we try to stay out of Big-D as much as possible - heck, the Cowboys don't even want to be there....but I digress.

Like I was saying, when we made the trip we saw this sweet little set and couldn't pass up a deal that would hopefully make the kiddo a happy little engineer.

So thanks for our friends at Ikea, we scored this great little wooden train set that the kid can't seem to get enough of.

Dad: Jax, you wanna eat?
Jax: No.
Dad: Jax, you want to read a book?
Jax: No.
Dad: Jax, you want to breathe?
Jax: Does it involve my new train?
Dad: Well, sure.
Jax: Then yes.

Now He's Officially My Son

Birthday Donuts

Pump the kid full of sugar and send them off to school.

A Letter To My Son

Jaxson -

Two years. 730 Days. 17,520 Hours. 1,051,200 Minutes.

No matter how I break it down, I have loved every single moment. The impact and changes your have brought to me and your mom are beyond explanation and is something that words will never do justice.

The way you walk down the hall. Your squinty-eye expression in the first few hours of the day as you awake and stand tall in your bed. The way you rub my hair when we go for "Dad-Rides." The way you blow kisses. The way you sleep. The sound of you calling for your mom and I early on Saturday mornings. The way you make everyone smile. All of these little moments are memories and pieces of our lives that are stored permanently in my heart and soul - and these moments I cherish above anything else.

Soon, you will be a big brother. Soon, you will have the opportunity to love something greater than you. But, until then, you are my Little Bambino and you will always be that. No matter how big you get, no matter what you do in life and how successful you become or where you travel - you will always be my Little Bambino.

So, enjoy your birthday kid. We love you.

-Dad.

Freeze.

Arranging His Studio

Creativity starts at a young age, and that is when creativity is at it's highest level. Raw. Un-biased. Pure. Above all, genuine.

I will never push any thing on my children, they are free to decide what they want to decide, I will be there when they find a passion and I will help them to become the most passionate individual they can be.

That being said, art is a gateway to an unlimited horizon of options. And the one aspect of life I will expose my children to is art and the process of creating. The ability to express your inner-self in a variety of mediums is a skill, that when executed well, can deliver a powerful message and help a person become successful in what they chose.

I have given Jaxson a blank hard canvas over the past few months and let him color, scribble, throw around the house - what ever he wants to do with it. I am anxious to see what it turns out to be a few more months, possibly years, down the road. Just gotta sit back and wait.

Get Your Bean-O Ready

Good To The Last Drop

Friday Night Americana

A tip of the baseball cap to the Long's for having Jax and I to the Rangers / Red Sox game to celebrate Beckett turning the Big 2. Though Jax and I are Rangers fans by birth, the Sox rank right up there with sports team that you can't help but appreciate and love.

The smell of Americana was all around. Late summer evening, two young boys dressed in baseball gear, ball caps, hot dogs, and a out-of-town Long that served our country in the Marines.

Couldn't ask for much more.

"Elton Jaxson"

That piano playing guy has nothing on this kid.

Grapes and Monkeys.

Team Spirit

Fear In The Eyes of a Toddler

Parking Lot Happenings

Before the first playoff game for the FW Cats last night, we (Boo, Pops, Cousin Craig, J.R., J.D., Momma Robbie, Jax, and Big-Daddy C) managed to throw together a reasonable tail-gating outfit. We managed to have the essentials handy: