I had such a fun birthday weekend. Friday night while Mom and Dad were at the taping, Curtis, Jackson and I went to a pumpkin patch. Jackson ran wild and wore us out beyond imagination.
Jackson did A LOT of running.
Like I said, A LOT of running. 
He liked the scarecrow.
These were my pumpkin selections. Jackson was beginning to have a meltdown and the small pumpkin was about to be thrown. 
Thank God for the wagons.
Must…escape…quickly!
On Saturday we headed over to the Life Today studios so that we could watch Mom from the greenroom, let her introduce Jackson to the audience, and meet some of our blog siestas who were there. It did not go as planned. We were running late and as soon as we walked in the door I took Jackson out to “meet” the audience. He is normally very outgoing and Mr. Smiley, but he got overwhelmed and started crying. He didn’t speak to me for a few hours after that. By the time we left, the greenroom had been completely toddler-proofed. He was really in no state to hang around and visit, so we slipped out after the session. I did, however, get to meet Anita from Kansas on the way out!
Mom on the TV in the greenroom.
Jackson, mad at his mother, was very enthusiastic about his daddy and his pappaw.
Mom is talking to Jackson through the TV. 
That evening my parents babysat Jackson while Curt took me on a date. We went to one of my favorite restaurants in Dallas – Ziziki’s. It’s a Greek restaurant down in the Knox-Henderson area and I highly recommend it. We had Ziziki bread, chicken and mushroom fettuccine (not very Greek, but very good), and the crowning glory – baklava ice cream cake. It was so yummy!
When we walked in the front door at home, I immediately discerned that baking had occurred. It smelled so amazing! I could not believe that my mom taught all day long, then went grocery shopping, and baked me a cake. Have I mentioned before that my favorite food is cake? That was an unfortunate byproduct of my wedding planning days. I did not hesitate to have cake twice in one night. I was told that Jackson got to lick one of the beaters and that it was the highlight of his life so far. I don’t doubt it.
Let me tell you about my birthday cake. Mom bought icing and those little sugar decorations as well as color coordinating plates, cups, and napkins. She had grand visions of how it would look. Sadly, the icing did not cooperate. What was supposed to be “Happy Birthday Amanda” turned out to be “H B A.” See for yourself. You really should enlarge it for the full effect. It got us all really tickled. The cake may have lacked a tiny bit in visual impact, but it had a flavor anointing. Oh my word, it was good! I think the memory of my birthday cake will stick with me forever.
Go ahead. You can laugh with us. 
One last thing. Jackson did not quite get his granny’s name down, but he did say Pappaw! He also tried, for the first time, to say/repeat “I love you.” He was practicing the sound of my mom’s name last night after she had gone, so I think we are close!
