And then there were four...

10 months

2012-02-01T22:07:00.004-06:00

10 months... that is how long our little princess has been part of our lives. We love everything about her (except that she is not a fabulous sleeper, so almost everything.)

Here are our top ten!
1. She is so happy! Loves to giggle, smile, and play.

2. She loves to eat! Her favorites are noodles, pizza, fruit cut up and corn. She will eat anything we give her.

This is Jack's macaroni from Applebee's. He didn't like it, but she at the WHOLE BOWL. She is a BIG EATER too!

3. She can find her way into lots of messes. Throwing toys out of buckets, opening wipes containers (and pulling them out), and she is not the cleanest eater. She is not the only guilty one.

4. Loves attention from her big brother
5. And when he is too busy, or doesn't want to play, she loves his things. Bouncing on his bed and drinking his water cup is one of her guilty pleasures.
6. Loves to climb things, crawl under things, and cruise along things.
7. Knows "No." We don't use it often, but she seems to need extra reminders when trying to pull the plug out of the bathtub. (She likes to put it in her mouth, like a pacifier. GROSS!)
8. Still kind-of enjoys her carrier/carseat. It is getting heavy, yes, but it is easy to carry her in it when you're chasing after a 2, almost 3, year old.
9. Loves to be naked. Crawling around or in the bathtub, it is all the same to her.
10. She is still a little peanut, and seems to enjoy snuggles and even a nap with Dad and mom (if mom is lucky.)

There she is! She's had a rough go with ear infections the last couple of months, and that puts a damper on our fun but we are on the mend and looking forward to a happy, healthy, and SAFE springtime! Happy 10 months NORA!

Walking advertising

2012-01-11T22:40:00.002-06:00

Some of the cutest advertising around. WE MIGHT have to start charging!

Thanks for letting us visit, Papa Russ!

Never slowing down

2012-01-11T22:26:00.005-06:00

Our lives keep going and going and going. Company was in town for 15 days, and we tried to fit it all in and live our usual lives. It was a lot of fun!

Jack went to the Jelly Belly Factory (train ride) with Cousin Sadie and Nora stayed home with me to visit with friends.

This is Jack so excited! See, the boot didn't slow him down much.

We threw a shower for Melissa and Manda, who are both due at the end of March. We are so excited for two new nephews, and the two new moms/dads!

A little field trip to the fire station, with cousins and our friend.

Trying on hats, and playing in the back of the antique fire truck! This may have been the little kid's favorite part!

Nora playing

Jack and Sadie playing on the I-PADS

Claire and Nora playing/chasing eachother around

And that's all the pictures I have. We also celebrated new years together with games, food, and sleeping children! Happy new Year!

Christmas (in pictures)

2012-01-11T21:59:00.003-06:00

With church at 8:30 in the morning, we decided to get away with Santa coming after church.

how cute is she?

Nora's favorite present- crinkle cloth coins that came in her purse full of all kinds of good stuff.

Jack's favorite- Cars 2 Racetrack (with remotes)

A happy girl, we just handed her the best toy... PAPER!

No pictures, but we had lunch and opened presents with Dan's parents
Jack LOVED (and still loves) the Football Snow Tube (he is napping with it)
We are just waiting for snow!

Nora loves her rubber duckies! They help her not go as CRAZY in the bathtub!

Christmas at the Wilson's. Can we say CRAZY?

So happy!

Acting out the Nativity- Jack is the Wise Man (we got a crack out of his costume, and the irony)

And now he is a donkey/horse. Nora was already sleeping so she missed out.

Jack and Nora in Christmas PJs

And a family picture taken by Dan's cousin at his big family Christmas.

That is our Christmas, in a nutshell.
It was WONDERFUL and EXHAUSTING all at the same time.
But we wouldn't have it any other way!

Pre-Christmas (and a birthday)

2011-12-30T23:13:00.004-06:00

Finding the perfect Christmas Tree with Jack (we left Nora behind)

Decorating the tree- with help from our little monsters

Jack in his Christmas hat

Nora just so happy

A break from Christmas to celebrate my birthday

My helper

We didn't go see Santa this year, maybe too lazy or just didn't have time with our vacation right before, so this is the best we could do!
(We had gone caroling with the Wilson family, and this was a porch decoration at one of the houses we stopped at. classy...)

We made it... everything was taken care of so we could enjoy the Christmas holiday with both sides of our family and friends.

VACATION

2011-12-30T22:44:00.004-06:00

So I should break this vacation (only 6 days long) into part 1 and part 2, but I am too lazy...

I took the kids on vacation, alone. 3 days after the foot fiasco, I think I was NUTS! Luckily, things were wonderful, the kids cooperated, and we had a great time doing everything we wanted to fit in!

We started off flying to Denver to visit Dan for the weekend. My mom got to come with me all the way to the gate (THANK GOODNESS!) and the flight went perfectly. The kids were great!
After getting to the hotel, waiting for Dan to be done for the day, we headed off to visit our good friends who moved to Denver 2 years ago.

We had a great time, and picked up right where we left off. The kids, now a little older, had a blast dressing up in costumes! It was great!

No pictures- but we spent the next day swimming with other friends and then playing games at their house in the evening.

We have been so lucky to have such great friends here in Milwaukee, but we seem to choose friends poorly- they all move away in 3-4 years when they are done with medical school, dental school, or they just want to move West. It was really fun to visit these friends in Colorado and to catch up.

We spent our Sunday just as a family, relaxing at the hotel. The biggest reason for me that Jack got a boot, not a cast, was so that we could take advantage of the pool at the hotel.

And that was our trip to Denver. Dan and I didn't even get to sleep next to each other in the hotel room (the kids didn't sleep well our whole trip) but it was so worth just spending a little time together as a family. We really missed him while he was away.

OFF TO UTAH- I was super nervous about flying alone with both kids. Or maybe it was having to return a rental car and get to the airport, through security on my own, etc. but we did it!

Miriam came to pick us up and we were up for a very exciting week with cousins, friends, and a LITTLE bit of relaxing.

We went to the Dinosaur Museum

Met up with our friend E. there.
Played outside in the snow (a dusting, but kids don't care)
watched movies and played, 4 little kids in 1 house was a party most of the time
A little dancing
We made it up to Logan to see my college roommate's new house, which is SUPER CUTE (I wish I had a better eye for decorating, maybe i would try harder then)

Saw our good friends in Smithfield
And last but not least, spent our last morning playing at our friend's new house.

We had a wonderful time. Somehow Marcia and Manda got overlooked in the pictures, but they were there. We saw Manda's classroom, and got to meet Marcia's boyfriend-now fiance-so that was a super bonus.

All in all, we survived. The best part about our trip was flying to Denver to meet up with Dan, who was able to be on our flight going home.

I just love seeing Dan be a dad, and taking care of our little ones. We really missed him!

just for today... woe is me!

2011-12-09T16:18:00.004-06:00

Here we are... Dec 9th.

Let me tell you how my December is going...

Dan got the flu/food poisoning. The after crummy feeling lasted a week.
While his illness was lingering, Jack and Nora both came down with something nasty.
Jack had a fever 5 afternoons & nights in a row, 102-103*
Nora had goopy eyes, but was very happy.
I took both kids in- Jack had a virus (and it was nasty) and Nora had ear infections/eye infections.
At this point, my sister who knew my life was rough for the moment sent me beautiful flowers. That was very thoughtful- made me smile and kept me going the next couple days as things went downhill...

The antibiotic wasn't working, so we took Nora in again and got drops to go with the antibiotic.
---Dan leaves for work training---
Monday night we spent the night at Grandma & Papa's for something fun/different. After talking to dad on the phone, Jack pulled the kitchen table bench out and it fell on his foot. Straight across the top.
That night was miserable- we went to the Dr. the next morning, got x-rays, saw the Dr. again, and then saw the orthopedic doctor because all 5 metatarsels had fractures. ALL FIVE. (I bet you don't see that every day, should we be proud?)

the damage

the happy patient

I thought he would be getting a cast, and to get him to be a trooper I told him all about the green cast/boot he would get at the Dr. He was so excited, so when the Doctor said we could have a boot (because we were getting ready to travel and it would still let him swim and take a bath) He was incredibly disappointed it wasn't green.

So to simplify my life, I took Nora to a family friend Doctor to double check her ears before we got on a plane and we decided to up her antibiotic. Thank goodness, she is back to her fun, cute self.

So, with hours to spare, Jack decided to start walking and doing some things for himself and I packed and cleaned, and watched kids, all so we could leave town for a vacation of our own.

so these have been my sleeping arrangements- we spent every night at Grandma & Papa's because I was on my own. It was comforting to know I have back-up if I needed it.

One of the many get-well notes/gifts for our trooper
notice he is building a snowman with his "disassembled snowman" pieces

Oh, and before all of this, Jack and I had the stomach flu the week of Thanksgiving. AWESOME!

We can't forget the princess. She is climbing on everything, but getting much sturdier so I don't have to be on the floor at the same time, watching her like a hawk.

She loves bags, buckles, straps, paper, anything that she shouldn't have.
And really wishes she could play with Jack's glasses. She got his hat while he was napping the other day and that seemed to suffice.

And Jack LOVES to play the violin. He asks for ABCs and Twinkle Twinkle (they are the same) and we are working on a Christmas favorite. Stay tuned. :)

Here's to putting the last 10 days behind us, and moving on to a WONDERFUL, HAPPY, HEALTHY and SAFE Holiday Season!

NOVEMBER

2011-12-04T22:33:00.006-06:00

I am behind... what do you expect???

We have had a great couple of months. We have been busy, but having a lot of every day fun!

Jack playing inside of the ottoman for our new couch. His McQueen car was missing for a couple of days, so I bought him another one (I have a problem with losing things) and that day he found his first McQueen car. Now he has two! Dan is convinced it was "hiding" in the ottoman.
11/11/11 at 11:11 AM Playing trucks at Papa Russ's shop. Jack loves to visit Papa's shop/Debbie's house where he can ask and pick out his own candy treat!

Jack found a new hat for the cold weather. I think I prefer McQueen.
It was so sweet- moments before this picture , this kids were sitting just like this and Jack was trying his McQueen hat on Nora. Not just anyone can try on his hat-well, he doesn't take it off often enough to give someone that chance either.

Nora is into everything! Climbing up, chewing on, and just making me nervous. She is not nearly coordinated enough to be doing everything she does. We definitely have to keep a close eye on her!

The bathtub is no different. She is wild and crazy climbing on everything that is DANGEROUS. The bathtub scares me!
Thanksgiving dinner-my two little "Native Americans." They were the only two kids to really wear their headbands. Of course.

And now... Happy December! It seems as though we will be praying for health indefinitely. Stomach flu, sinus headaches, strange high-fever viruses, and ear/eye infections make for sad little kids, and a tired mom & dad. Hopefully we are headed for a HEALTHY Holiday Season!

Kids being kids...

2011-11-13T13:15:00.002-06:00

Our life is wonderful. So those times when kids are up during the night, or extra sassy, or just plain difficult, life is rough.

Let's just say, it was a difficult week- exhausting (for me), and frustrating when you don't know how to fix your children so they will do what you want.

We seem to be moving on. The highlights of our quiet night at home.

Jack loves to sing. He has lots of favorite songs, but he really likes the recording of "the Itsy Bitsy Spider" that ends with "There's a spider, EEK!"

And Nora started crawling this week. I saw it Tuesday, told Dan and she wouldn't do it, Dan saw it Wednesday and it's been more and more ever since. Jack was old when he started crawling, so we didn't see much of the clumsy, elephant like crawling that we have from Nora. I like it.

7 Months

2011-11-02T13:39:00.002-05:00

Here she is... our sweet little princess who doesn't like baby food, doesn't want to sleep at night, and is int everything!

Here is one of our many attempts of eating. We get about 3 spoons in, and then she is done.

Just playing. She can sit all on her own now. :)

Big brother and sister.

Jack behind the camera.

A visit from Grandma Cindy. She found Jack a fish towel and he loves it! Really anything that goes over his head makes him happy.

And a couple of my favorites. I was messing around with our basic SLR camera and this is what I got. Obviously I have a lot to learn, but it's fun to try and learn.
The great things she is doing...
She scoots forward, army crawls, reaches, whatever you want to call it.
She likes to chew on things. For some reason, straps on purses or Jack's backpacks, shoes, pens, candy (in the wrapper). Loves paper and books.
Once she is sleeping at night, she only gets up once now to eat. I like that! And sleeps a little later than 7.
Her 2 top teeth have poked through- that makes 4 teeth total.
She is overall happy and a lot of fun to have around. We sure love her!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T15:40:00.004-05:00

Our Halloween Celebrations are coming to an end! It has been really fun this year with a 2 1/2 year old. His favorite part, costumes. His least favorite part (maybe a show/exaggeration) is him telling me he is afraid of everything. It's actually pretty funny, but he is genuinely a little leery of the dark-a flashlight is his #1 companion.

We carved a pumpkin for the family. Jack loved the candle inside and the pumpkin's two teeth.

The kids were Minnie & Mickey Mouse! Our only picture from the ward Halloween party. Jack loved getting all of the treats. (I should nte that we had a soup/chili cook-off my soup took 3rd place...)

This is our 3rd Trick-or treating adventure (obviously not many pictures from the other two!)
We trick-or-treated to 3 of Grandma & Papa's neighbors, in our stroller, in the rain. The kids survived- Dan and I were pretty wet.
Happy Halloween! We dressed festive for today!
And I think that is the end of our celebrating. Jack sat down to watch a Mickey Mouse episode, in his Mickey Mouse costume. And I came back, he was sleeping sitting up. I helped him lie down so he was a little more comfortable.

I think this is a case of "Too Much Halloween." Happy November tomorrow!

Preschool

2011-10-21T08:59:00.002-05:00

A couple ladies and I from church are doing a preschool co-op once a week. We each take a turn teaching, a turn watching the teacher's extra child (super nice to teach without Nora needing anything when it's my turn) and 2 weeks to drop off our child and have a couple of hours to get things done, without a 2 year-old.
It is a lot of fun to teach, but also really exciting to hear from Jack all about it.

The highlights (from a 2 year old perspective)
Week 1: He had a lollipop, used leaves, and made candy corn
Week 2: Played outside, and he was afraid of the turtles (pet turtles they showed for T week)
Week 3: LOVED the obstacle course. That is all he wants to do downstairs now. Oh, and we had marshmallows for snack (we sorted them, and counted them first, but who cares when you get to eat them.)

Our first day! (Sadly we didn't have a backpack for him, so he used a diaper bag/backpack we got as a free sample when he was born. LAME MOM move- but he's 2. He doesn't know the difference.)
But, I did find him one at my favorite rummage sale. McQueen too! He loves it, obviously. :)

Family Vacation

2011-10-21T07:53:00.005-05:00

So, I'm a little behind. OVER a month ago, we went on a family vacation. We don't vacation much, so a 14 hour car ride with 2 kids was a new experience. We survived... actually we thrived! Dan drove, I took care of the kids and we made excellent time and we were all happy!

We stopped to visit friends in Indiana on our way to North Carolina. Jack loved playing outside with his friends. Dan played outside with all of the kids, kicking a soccer ball. It got stuck in the tree and that was Jack's favorite thing! He still talks about going to play with our friends and kicking the soccer ball in the tree.

Then we headed to North Carolina to visit Dan's parents and sister. They live on a golf course, so there was a lot of relaxing!

Jack riding in the golf cart with Grandma Diane.

Feeding the ducks with Auntie Katie.

A much needed nap- usually I got kids sleeping, so this was a nice sight to see when I went to check on the status. Notice Dan holding Mickey close. :)
Dan got to check North Carolina off of his Frisbee Golf list! Jack loved to go "ding ding ding" in the baskets.
This is actually the car ride there. Jack slept through our lunch stop, so we got him a bonus cheeseburger towards the end of the driving day. We had a fancy mini-van with the pull down DVD player and Jack was in HEAVEN- or "I'm the boss" mode at this point!

And Nora was there too!

Obviously the camera didn't come out much, but we had a great time! Dan golfed 3 times, I took a nap every day and got to go see the old buildings at Pinehurst. We went out to eat and just enjoyed relaxing, playing pool, and watching movies. It was wonderful!

6 months ago...

2011-09-27T21:24:00.003-05:00

I was getting a whole lot more sleep. Sleep is very valuable to me, and that is something I have been without for WAY TOO LONG!

However, this little princess wasn't here 6 months ago, and even if I don't get to sleep more than 6 hours until she is over a year old, she is worth it!

She is wonderful! She has been taking really good afternoon naps (2 hours +), finally eating 1/2 a container of baby food in one sitting, she has had peas, green beans, squash (which might give her a belly ache), sweet potatoes, applesauce and pears.
She loves to be naked, take baths, and doesn't mind running errands in her carseat-awake or asleep.
She is very smiley and loves to laugh. We love that about her.

She is getting better at sitting every day! Not crawling yet, but is moving backwards and doing 360's on her belly. She loves to do these things in her crib awake, and in her sleep.

And of course- a celebration of this little man becoming a big brother! He loves to give Nora kisses, doesn't like when she grabs at his glasses, and likes to help feed her her fruits & vegetables. He's a great kid!

A special treat!

2011-09-07T22:29:00.002-05:00

It was a normal Friday night. We sat down to eat tacos for dinner and chat before Dan had a Fantasy Football Draft (his 2nd of 3) and we saw flashing lights outside our front window. A fire fighter was out walking along the corner, but no other emergency vehicles were in sight. It was rather odd so we went outside to take a look at the fire truck. Jack loved it!

Apparently someone called in that they smelled natural gas at our intersection, so they were just there to check it out. No one could smell anything so it quickly became an awesome opportunity to get a VIP look into our city's newest fire truck!

Pretty lucky!

NOAH'S ARK

2011-09-07T22:13:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things about Summer- going to Noah's Ark!
We got it in on the 3rd last day of the open season, which was a little colder than we would have liked, but it was still a lot of fun!

The whole clan (minus my mom and Nora) on the Adventure River.
Jack loved this waterslide! (He loved everything there, but he was so cold!)
Cousin Cade and Jack watching the big boat going down the hill, making the big big splash.
Grandma and Cousin Lauren.
The Bumper Boats
Nora- the sun came out at one point so I dressed her to go in the water, but it was short lived. Honestly, she only was awake for an hour at a time so she was just too tired.
And the kiddie-coaster.

Still today- Jack is asking me to see Sponge-Bob (there was a statue of him at the park) and to go on waterslides. I am amazed at what Jack remembers from day to day.
We had a lot of fun, hopefully next year it will be a little warmer!

One day at a time...

2011-09-07T21:18:00.004-05:00

I need a vacation. Don't get me wrong- I love being a mom- but sometimes it's a lot of work, with little reward, and no matter how much you prepare & plan, things just don't go my way. Some days I just would love for life to work out in my favor.

I'm sure we all feel like that sometimes...

At our house, we have sleeping problems. Besides still being up with Nora, once maybe twice a night, her favorite place to sleep during the day is in my bed sideways. That is the only place I have gotten her to nap more than 45 min. at a time in the past month. Some nights I even let her fall asleep there just to make my life easier.

Jack- well he wants to sleep on his floor. The greatest was when Jack came out of his room and dragged a pillow and his Mickey Mouse blanket all the way to the kitchen floor and made a bed there. I was making phonecalls and doing paperwork at the kitchen table. what a homer! at least he is sleeping. :)
Other things that cause me headaches- FRUIT FLIES, cleaning, pens that go through the laundry, naptimes, and the ever recurring scheduling malfunctions (it seems I like to schedule too much in too little time.)

On the plus side...

Nora and Jack are becoming best friends. I love that! They play together, and Nora just loves to watch him run around and be crazy. He definitely gets the best giggles out of her.

Oh- Nora has 2 teeth! Jack was 7 1/2 months old, so when these babies popped through at 5 months, I was less than thrilled!

Also- Nora should be eating rice cereal by now. I have been trying every day for the past 3 weeks, and she still can't figure it out!

But her smile makes it all worth it.

Fishing

2011-08-09T17:38:00.005-05:00

I have the happiest little boy right now... He has been asking for weeks to watch Mickey Mouse Choo Choo, with the snow and santa. What? That was a Christmas special we watched 8 months ago. WELL- Disney decided to play this Christmas special yesterday so we have it on the DVR AGAIN! HOORAY!

Because I have a few minutes- I wanted to upload this little video of Jack fishing with Papa Russ and Dad (the women were on the boat too- but I don't like to deal with the fish too much so I was just there for the ride.)

I was not pleased to take off Nora's vest, but she was not having it. Maybe we'll wait until next year for her to be part of the boating experience.

Jack driving the boat.

Until next time...

Accomplishments...

2011-08-01T15:54:00.006-05:00

We all have different goals in life- depending on age and life situation. Here are our family's accomplishments...

Me: I am blogging.

Jack: He is POTTY TRAINED!!! An occasional drip once in a while, but he is asking to use the toilet regularly. I LOVE IT! (I am sure it would have been a quicker process had he been a little bit older, but I was just kind of sick of buying two HUGE boxes of diapers from SAM'S. Now it's only 1 big box!)

Also, notice what is missing in these pictures? His McQueen hat! We made it to and through church without it. It was wonderful! And since we had a little time at home before he got to it, I thought we'd snap some pictures.

Nora: I wish I could say she was sleeping through the night, but I would be lying. I am getting pretty good sleep though- no major complaints.
She has been rolling from her belly to back for a couple of weeks, but she learned how to roll from her back to belly now! Hooray, except she has forgotten how to go from her belly to back, so she gets stuck and gets crabby. she loves to roll though, so we have got to be within ear shot so we can come to her aid.

Not to forget... Nora pooped through all of her church clothes yesterday- not a great accomplishment, but one none the less. This is from before church- thank goodness for bleach on the white onesie!

As for Dan... I don't know what he's accomplished today so far- other than working of course- but there is a sink full of dirty dishes that can be on his list if he's looking for something to do. :)

A Reminder

2011-07-13T21:32:00.004-05:00

Right when I think I have all the answers and that I do a pretty good job managing a 2-year old and a newborn, someone or something gives me a little dose of reality. I am not perfect, and I guess I need to be reminded of that once in a while. (Actually I never think I am perfect, but my 2-year old seems to RESIST my wanna-be perfection these days.)

So, to remind me of how wonderful my "little people" can be, here are a couple of pictures. :)

Jack at Cars 2 with Grandma & Papa Wilson

Jack watering Grandma's Flowers

The kids just hanging out. I made Nora a sun-hat and she is trying it out for size and style.

And my beautiful baby. Who is pretty close to perfect.

Jack dancing at the Mexican Restaurant last week. He was very cute and surprisingly well behaved at dinner.
Obviously I am not the one behind the camera, and didn't know I'd be part of the video.

My Little People

2011-07-06T22:38:00.003-05:00

I am blessed with WONDERFUL little people who not only keep me busy, but teach me to enjoy all of the little things.

My favorite things these days...
Jack:
Jumping and climbing on everything, seems like he is getting into everything (I have been very lucky for a long time! It's not that he couldn't do this before, he just didn't. I liked it that way, but it is fun to watch him DISCOVER.)
Loves playing outside, preferably in his swimming suit, and blowing bubbles
Is very into possession- "Jack's car" or "Jack's Shoes" It is interesting all of the things that are Daddy's- Daddy's bed, car, tv, computer, phone, and mommy gets the "tools" (vacuum cleaner, screwdrivers, sewing machine) and "Mommy's Phone"
He knows all of his letters, thanks to "The Letter Factory" DVD
He loves to sing songs. "Popcorn Popping" and "The Itsy Bitsy Spider," and has just started singing along to "I am a Child of God" (and likes to hum along too!)
HE LOVES "This Little Piggy" on his toes at night. I need some more rhymes like this- if you have one, please let me know!
Does pretty good being a big brother, but every once in a while asks for "Rock a Baby," where I swaddle him and hold him like a baby. He doesn't ask for the pacifier so it's pretty harmless.

Dan had the day off, and we were pretty beat from a busy 4th of July (outside ALL DAY LONG) so we enjoyed watching The Incredibles, in our incredibles shirts (Halloween Costumes from last year) and had a picnic lunch. Jack LOVED it!

fixing his car with mommy's tools

Nora:
She is very predictable. I know what she wants, and when she wants it. There isn't a whole lot of guessing these days. :)
She is sleeping "the night" or at least until 6:15 AM most nights. I LOVE THAT!
She is so happy! smiles, and giggles, and loves to just lay down and play
She rolls over
She is sucking her thumb (as she plays)- which I am not very fond of, but what can I do?
She loves to be naked, get her diaper changed, and baths

Those are my little people that I LOVE.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

This is a great video that my friend posted on her blog. I love it! It makes me think of my own 2 year old and the things that make him so happy, blowing bubbles, going outside, singing songs, or playing cars, and how important all of the little day-to-day things are that show him how much I love him.

ENJOY!

Our weekend... in rewind

2011-06-14T14:43:00.005-05:00

I am usually much better than this... knowing to upload my photos in opposite order so they come up in order, but for today, this will have to do.

We have had a lot of easy fun around our house. Nothing too fancy, nothing costly, just fun together. Those kinds of days make me happy!

Swimsuits in the Bathtub

Nora asleep outside as...

Jack and his friend played in the sandtable

Our cousins came to town to visit

A wonderful Sunday where both kids made it all through Sacrament Meeting
Except for when Jack asked to go potty on the "big big toilet."

Nora enjoying the beautiful weather with Cousin Lauren

Dad went to the Brewers Game and sat in the Harley Davidson Balcony/seats compliments of Papa Russ's work/parts people
We all dressed to support!

Rummage shopping minus Jack, I got to come home and surprise him with a shopping cart and all kinds of other great toys!

And, a pool party with friends last week.

It's always a PARTY!

Jack loves his sister!

The Giggles

Jack Jack

2011-06-09T22:40:00.007-05:00

Nora got all of her attention last weekend.
I guess Monday morning was bound to bring a little one-on-one for Jack.

We went to the eye doctor. Dr. Dan saw that Jack crossed his eyes at times during his 2 year old check-up. He encouraged us to get it checked out. We went to see a special pediatric ophthalmologist (who was wonderful... how do you check the eyes of a 2 year old?) She determined that Jack crossed his eyes to help him focus in on objects and things up close- he is farsighted. The recommended treatment- GLASSES. Me, as the mom, am not disappointed. I actually was very excited to see Jack experience the world in a more clear way (he got very excited during the exam when Thomas the Train got clearer and clearer-as she tested the lenses. It was very cute.)

He got fitted for glasses on Tuesday and they were ready today! HOORAY!

The best part of the glasses store... Tootsie Rolls!

Watching basketball at home with Daddy (Popcorn was an added bonus.)

This is Jack's favorite story book. He learned the song version in nursery at church and loves to make the animal noises as we read it together. He definitely is seeing more details and LOVED reading his books on the way home. (He is reading it backwards in the video, only because he read it forwards first.)

Moral of the story: I think Jack is going to like his new glasses!

so long, farewell

2011-06-05T20:39:00.003-05:00

We have had an eventful couple of weeks, but very sad at the same time. Many of our friends are graduating from med school/dental school and are moving far far away. We are sad, especially Jack who looks out the window almost daily, wanting to play with these friends (asking for them by name.) It breaks my heart.

Sharing goodbye ice cream cones.

Trains, Trains, Trains

And of course, the happy things that fill our life....

Nora playing with Daddy!

Jack found a Pampered Chef magnet I got years ago on the fridge. He brought it to me asking for an ice cream cone (I'm pretty sure it was before 11 AM. Sometimes I just want to avoid the fight...) I gave him an ice cream cone and this is what I found 10 minutes later. He's a smart kid!

Our little Nora is now 2 months old! We went to see Dr. Dan this week and she is 10 lb. 2 oz. (25%), and 23 1/4 inches (75%). Healthy as can be! He also gave me the secret if she gets really constipated- she poops every other day, and she does get a little uncomfortable. (Karo syrup or Suppository... NICE!)
And my little man! He loves his trains! I drew this track on my parent's driveway at least a week ago and it is still there! He loves to run, ride his car, and take his train for a ride all around the track. That is a lot of use out of very little effort- that is what I like sometimes!

Nora's big day!

2011-06-05T20:10:00.003-05:00

Today was Nora's special day! She was blessed at church and it was wonderful, she was awake and happy, and saved the meltdown for shortly after.
It's funny, because baby #1 gets all of this attention and the baby blessing is such a big deal. Today was very simple, just Grandpa & Grandma Wilson and Grandma Diane were there, Nora was in a beautiful dress, and honestly I just felt happy that it was done. Maybe because Jack was blessed at 6 weeks, everything was so new, the Sunday we picked to have him blessed was a huge meeting where wards were split & Papa Russ was released as bishop, I don't know. Today was special, but not nearly as much hoopla. (good or bad? I don't know.)

Either way, we love her and she is so beautiful! She is 10 weeks old now and is a very happy baby (most of the time... if I stick to the routine.) She smiles a lot, and loves to look at me. She also loves to talk and make happy noises. I love having her around, and even when she is a little more high-maintenance, I don't mind the extra snuggle time.

Jack's New Trick!

2011-05-20T22:18:00.003-05:00

Jack used to be SO easy! Now, he seems to be into everything and doing EVERYTHING dangerous he possibly can find...

Like jumping from the end table to the Love Sac
Climbing up the drawer handles to get whatever is on the counter
Pushing chairs all around to find scissors, air freshener cans, mom's keys
Climbs every bed in the house- just to jump or snuggle up
He finds butter knives from the dinner table and makes music as he waits for dinner

Those are just a few.

And his smoothest trick yet... climbing up the side of the racecar, just to fall into the drivers seat. This happened last week, and then I witnessed it tonight.

Rather than tell him no, he got a ride.

Thank you Papa Russ! You made his night (and helped bring on the meltdown when you left.)

Finding the time...

2011-05-18T21:46:00.005-05:00

My list is long- but the amount of time I have where both kids are sleeping and I can get those things done is very limited. Tonight I am finding the time to do what I have needed to do for a long time...

Here are just a couple of snapshots from Nora's short life with us, she sleeps through much of our fun but we love our life together!

Jack loves to "share" which means he gets a turn. It's amazing how big he looks next to her.

One of my many "go to" activities for while Nora needs a little extra attention. Jack loves to paint!
Dinner out with all of my sisters, nieces & nephews, and of course mom and dad.

Our double stroller- WE LOVE IT!
Jack stealing freshly baked cookies... I wondered where the whole first row went.

Jack loves to ride bikes and play outside at Grandma & Papa's. This is my bike from when I was a kid- if you look closely it says "MARALEE" on the license plate.
Jack and Cousin Sadie's favorite things to do together.
Nora & Jack's first shared bath. Many more to come!
And, one of my favorite things. This girl smiling at me. She is so beautiful!

Favorite People

2011-05-10T21:43:00.002-05:00

This is my FAVORITE BUNCH of people. Let me tell you why...

Nora- she is beautiful and a wonderful baby. She loves to be snuggled, loves to look at me, and is a great sleeper (well, great for being 6 weeks old.) She is a wonderful addition to our family- my little princess, love bug, sweetheart, you name it. I am so lucky to have her as my daughter. (Hopefully she will feel that way about me being her mother when she is a teenager...)

Jack- he brings so much joy and excitement into my life. Every day is something new- this week, no naps. Instead he reads books, looks out the window and talks to himself & his toys. This is not great at 6PM when he can no longer function BUT is so cute to listen to on the monitor. I love his silliness, the way he gets so excited for buses, motorcycles, "daddy's van", "papa's truck" and all of his favorite things. I love when he takes a moment from all of the action to give me a kiss, or hold my hand, or just run into me because he wants to. He makes me feel special because I am important to him, I might just be his number 1 or maybe just his number 1 person he notices when I am not there. I love having him as a son!

And finally, Dan. He is a great dad. I love to see him play games on his fancy cell phone with our 2 year old (which he said he would never do.) He loves to snuggle Nora, and takes such great care of her. He is very protective of our family, concerned for each of us and takes care of us. He is a wonderful husband and I am so happy to have him as mine FOREVER!

That is our family, my favorite people, and they make me happy. Because of them, I had a wonderful Mother's Day and a fabulous life!

Happy Easter

2011-04-28T16:23:00.007-05:00

We had a very eventful week! All 5 of my sisters came to visit and there was always something exciting going on. Even if there was nothing going on, there were 7 cousins to keep track of (and prevent from taking eachother out!)

A couple of highlights.
Jack's Easter Basket. The first thing he did was rip everything out and start yanking at the grass. After we settled that mess, he was very thrilled with his marshmallows and juice box (who cares about a remote control car, bubbles, or clothes.)

Michelle put together a flashlight scavenger hunt that ended with S'mores by the campfire. We were already showered and prepared for 8:30 AM church so we tried not to get too stinky.
The three 2 year olds enjoying all of the parts of S'mores. Maybe Sadie was the only one to try the real deal!

Someone had the difficult job of keeping the 2 babies happy. :)

Grandma, Papa, and the 7 grandkids all together.

Just the kids.

Our Easter Napper. She is so beautiful!
And our Easter Egg hunt. Jack really got into it and LOVED collecting all of the eggs- he was more excited about the eggs and putting them back together than he was about the candy (BIG SCORE for his mom and dad!)

We attempted a family picture, but Jack had had enough after the grandkid pictures. We said we'd try later but we all changed. Maybe next year (or as Spring actually arrives, we still have bare trees and are enduring the cold rainy weather.)

It's still "All About Jack"

2011-04-07T14:04:00.006-05:00

I was talking to a friend last week, and she brought something to my attention that made me think...
She said "Isn't it funny how when you had your first baby it's all about him (Jack) and now, when you have a second baby, it is all about baby number 1 still."

That is so true! For weeks before Nora joined our family I was stressing about Jack while we were in the hospital- would he be happy, enjoy time with Grandma and Grandpa, would he want to come to the hospital to see us or would that make it worse. How would things go once we were home? Would he love Nora, ignore her, be angry, act out, etc. The normal things parents think about as they prepare for baby #2.

Well- I think Jack has done ok. And it was almost all about Jack the past couple weeks. Thank goodness for Grandmas & Grandpas who have helped get Jack out while I have tried to keep Nora in the house.

Grandma Cindy took Jack to meet up with his cousins at the Jelly Belly Factory. He still asks "Grandma's car, train ride." It's very cute. He loved it obviously!

Monkey Joes with Grandma & Papa Boston. The big slide was a HIT!

The Children's Museum. Jack loved playing with all of the other kids and especially loved the train. Thank you Grandma Cindy for watching Nora in her stroller so I could enjoy this outing too!

This is how Nora spends most of her time (and how I would like to enjoy most of my time.)

A friend of ours brought over a delicious meal and a Happy Birthday Nora cake. (She made one for Jack when he was a baby too!) Obviously, Jack got to enjoy all of the excitement of the cake too!
And finally, one of our many changes we've been putting off. Jack has been LOVING his new bed with his Mickey Mouse blanket (from when I was a kid.)

A little attention to our baby Nora. Michelle took some great pictures of her while we played at Grandma & Papa's house. These are un-edited and just a little sneak peak. She is beautiful and Michelle did a great job!

This is a cute sun-dress my friend made for Nora. The package was tucked in our door when we got home from the hospital. It was very sweet. Now for the warm weather!

And then there were Four

2011-04-02T09:01:00.011-05:00

It's 9 AM, I have Jack and Dan in bed watching baseball, Mickey Mouse, something for "just the boys." Nora and I are spending some quality girl time. Life is wonderful this Saturday morning.

Nora slept 2-4 hour stretches last night. That would be only 1 middle-of-the-night feeding, if I wanted to get up at 6:30 AM, but I didn't. Jack slept until 8:20.

I have been kind of vague on my blog about my pregnancy, just because. But here are the stats. I was due April 2nd- TODAY! We chose not to find out the sex of the baby, only because we considered it with Jack but Dan needed to know if we were having a boy, or to prepare if we weren't. But he got his boy, and I am often a "Why not, it could be fun" type of person. So, after 4 ultrasounds- the TEMPTATION to give in(I had 2 late in pregnancy because I always measure small but the baby measures big. They always check that there is enough fluid and baby is healthy) it was still going to be a surprise. I was pretty excited, and getting anxious near the end just so I could get my house ready. Would the kids share a room (the blue room?) or I wanted a girl in the green room. Do we move Jack up to the twin bed now, or after the baby, etc. I just wanted to do something, but there wasn't anything I could do.

For those of you who want the birth story: Of course, my stories are never short and I always give a little background.

Last week, Tuesday night, Dan went on a visit with the Missionaries. He came home and informed me that he was giving a talk at a baptism on Saturday. He then asked me "do you want to know who is giving the other talk?" I said "sure." He said it was going to be me. I broke down and cried... I told Dan that I had my schedule free after our Friday night cookout & marshmallow fight, and I was planning on having a baby on Saturday. (This is how it worked with Jack, I threw a baby shower for my sister Miriam on Sat. the 14th, and within hours I went into labor with Jack.) Dan went to bball on Wed. night and told his friend this, and on Thursday this friend and his wife both asked me about having a baby on the weekend. I started to feel I was crazy, so I told Dan not to tell anyone else. OBVIOUSLY, I AM CRAZY!

Saturday I spoke at the baptism. On our way home we went to the grocery store to pick up some snacks and a red-box movie. While doing self check-out, my vision went blurry. Kind of the start of a migraine. By the time we made it into the car I was having contractions (4:10 PM) Contractions were 6 min. apart. By 6 PM, they were 4/5 min. apart. I made a lasagna, we went for a walk. And then we decided to call our parents and make arrangements for Jack. We went to my parents house to watch a movie and put Jack to sleep there. We knew it was a matter of time before we went to the hospital.

Contractions were steady for over 6 hours, so we went to the hospital. I was a "2." SO we walked, rechecked- "2". Walked, rechecked- "2." I wasn't progressing so they gave me the option to still walk or to go home with a sleeping pill. (SAME as with Jack.) We opted to walk because we just knew we would be right back. So, after a 3rd time walking, still no progress. It was 4:30 AM so we went home. My only question was "when do we come back?" They said "before your water breaks." Easier said than done...

We drove home (I drove home) and we pulled into the driveway. Dan said he had to go to the bathroom, asked if I had to go first. I said no, stood up and said "well, I didn't think I did." I had wet my pants... We went inside, Dan got in bed to sleep for the little time he could and within minutes I was in shock, laughing at the irony of the situation. My water had broken so we were back at the hospital within minutes of leaving the first time.

I got hooked up to an IV for fluids & an antibiotic for Strep B. and my contractions were now 8-12 minutes apart and strong, but not terrible. (They are never terrible, just close and getting stronger.) And then we wait. It is maybe 6 AM. I told Dan to sleep on the couch (I'm sure it's so uncomfortable to prevent Dads/coaches from snoozing on the job.) and I just flipped channels for a while. At 7:30 I tried to sleep- maybe 20 minutes later I wake up. The nurse unhooks my IV and I start walking the halls. When I am up on my feet the contractions are 2 min. apart, but when I am sitting, no change. Still not terrible, but strong contractions.

The nurse was very up front that if contractions didn't kick in again she had an order for pitocin at 11 AM. I decided to start calling my sisters- I called Michelle and told her my water had broken and I was going to have pitocin by 11 if I didn't start having contractions again. I started crying as soon as I said pitocin- she told me "Pitocin is great! But, you can't do it without an epidural. But an epidural is not bad either." I just cried. We ended the call and I decided to text the rest of my sisters.

Well, 10:40 comes around and I get the pitocin, with the thought that I will see how long I can make it without the epidural. Contractions started going- and they were painful and close together. I make it through this until 12:30ish. My doctor is on call, and she comes through to do a check. She says I am a 5-6, maybe stretch to a 7. That's kind of disappointing. The nurse tells me that if I wanted an epidural, I had to do it then because 2 other ladies want one and the anesthesiologist would be busy possibly. After talking to Dan, he asks the doctor how much longer. She said 1 maybe 1 1/2 more hours. I asked the nurse if she was going to turn up the pitocin any higher, she said no. So I decided I could do it. No epidural, no pain meds, just me and my CRAZY self.

2 contractions later, I yell to Dan "I have to push I have to push" so he radios the nurse, and I'm pretty sure I was screaming in the background as he tells them that I had to push. My nurse runs in, she checks and we have a head. My nurse pages my Doctor. The baby's head is out on the next contraction (I don't recall pushing-I think my body just did it naturally at this point) and the cord is wrapped around baby's neck. She, very calmly is telling Dan what to do, calling for ANY doctor to come in, and 1-2 other nurses show up. My nurse clamps and cuts the cord, and baby is out on the next contraction. Baby was a little blue, so Dan was checking on her. Finally I asked, "Is it a boy or girl?" Baby starts breathing, and Dan calls out "We have a baby girl!" It was so exciting!!!
My doctor made it in time to deliver the placenta. She assumed she had at least 30 minutes, so she (a nursing mother) went to pump a bottle. She didn't even get started and she heard the page. Baby was delivered by the nurse and Dan the Man. Pretty exciting!

And that's the story. That is how we got our Nora Ann. I am still in shock that she was only 6 lb. 14 oz. (Dan has caught me telling people he was 8 lb. 14 oz. Only because I never thought that we would have a little/petite baby.)

While we were in the hospital, Jack stayed with Grandma & Papa Wilson. He would come visit us in the afternoons and into the evening. I thought he would love to snuggle and take a nap with me. I WAS WRONG! So, we watched a movie and had popcorn.

Getting ready to go home.

Jack really likes having a baby around. Usually it's just a curiosity or poking at her nose, mouth, eyes, but he does want to hold her in the mornings. I probably could have left them in the love sac like this and Jack would have gone back to sleep. He was so tired after 4 days of fun with Grandmas and Grandpas, aunts, cousins, and visitors.

The other cute one- I was folding laundry and Nora was sleeping in the bouncer. Dan had just left to go watch baseball with his cousin-I told Jack that Dan had to go to work because he could understand that, he was so sad to see his daddy go.
I saw Jack sit by Nora and started talking to her, he said his usual "Dad work. Papa Work. Play." and just was telling her all about life. It was very sweet. He loves to give gentle kisses too!

And our little Nora, after her first bath at home. She is very sweet.

Here she is!!!

2011-03-28T05:25:00.004-05:00

Nora Ann was added to our little family on Sunday, March 27th 12:57 PM. She was 6 lb. 14 oz. 21 inches long. Beautiful dark hair.

The details of her arrival can wait for another day, but now that she is here everything is WONDERFUL!

Right after labor... 20 min of sleep for the night did not do me any favors! Dan got 2 hours, that's why he looks so good-and he didn't have to birth the baby... He was a wonderful support and helped our 1 nurse deliver Nora. He is AMAZING!)

To be off the list...

2011-03-24T16:39:00.008-05:00

I have a list- I always have a list- but this is my "To do before the baby comes" list. It has been the same for the past 2 months but we party too hard, too many people to see, marshmallow fights to host, late nights with our 2 year old, etc. Now it's crunch time (call it nesting, or maybe it's just me in a panic.) I am down to 4 things on my to-do list...

Blogging pictures/uploading all pictures- CHECK!

Our life...
Jack helps: He "does" the dishes, he sorts the silverware (at least he tries) and he really does help me empty and put back all of the bedroom/bathroom garbage cans.

A favorite toy of Jacks- "Puff Balls." We used these in the sensory table in my classroom and I had an extra 50% off coupon for JoAnns, so I got some for Jack. HE LOVES them!

Jack helps cook. These are our friends and we made sugar/cinnamon pretzels together. Jack is pretty lucky to have such great friends & helpers!

Jack refusing to sleep in his own bed. We have purposely not made any changes before the baby comes. I think he still knows because his sleeping patterns are out of control. One day I gave him the choice to sleep in his crib or his chair and apparently he chose the chair. AWESOME!

We had dinner with Papa Russ when Grandma Cindy was out of town. Jack found papa's magnifying glasses (we were trying to get a piece of glass out of my foot) and Papa's keys. He was working on the Cozy Coupe right up until dinner time.

Then a little drive in dining... Some days you are just happy your child eats. He is actually a great eater, but sometimes doesn't do great when there are lots of other people/excitement around or when we are somewhere else. This is a fairly new habit, and my dad (and I) get a kick out of it. It is kind of like the Drive-In-Movie Diner in Disney World.
Jack's new favorite treat- ICE CREAM CONES. We went out for one after a baptism last week and he just can't get enough. Also aprons?

And finally. Jack has no idea what having a new baby is all about, but I know he is anticipating. Our friends just had a baby and their youngest (a year older than Jack) played babies with everything- dinosaurs, dolls, farm animals... Jack has just started collecting eggs from our play food and instead of "eggs" they are "Shiny, Tiny, and Don" from his favorite show Dinosaur Train. Whatever keeps him happy. He takes care of them, put them in the laundry hamper to keep them safe, and they follow him upstairs and downstairs. I am sure it means nothing, but it is something. :) His Mickey also is wearing a newborn hat (that Jack wanted on his head) and he has been walking Mickey in his stroller all day long.

Let's hope this big change in our life is one he can handle. :)

I want to remember...

2011-03-10T17:46:00.003-06:00

Jack has some funny ones. The latest that I don't want to forget, and is quite cute...

We got a new book: The LDS Gospel Art Book (it is great, so many wonderful pictures that help to teach about the Gospel- scripture stories, pictures of Jesus, Prophets, etc.)

Jack loves to look at the Prophet and knows "Prophet Monson"

But his second favorite pictures to look at are...

The "Temple"

The "Temple"

And "Castle."

You've got to love it!

A Moment of Weakness

2011-03-03T20:21:00.004-06:00

Jack loves to pray.
It all began months ago- him folding his arms, waiting to eat until we were all done.

Then, he wouldn't just listen but participate with an excited "AMEN" after everyone has said it (even in church meetings, which is very cute. The bishop has even commented on Jack's amens that he can hear at the front of the chapel.)

And recently, we have given Jack the opportunity to say the prayers. Either Dan or I lead the prayer, and each thought ends with an easy word that Jack likes to say. Like: "We are thankful for our mom and dad." And he says "mom and dad." Or "Bless the food," He says "food."

Well, this week I have reached a new low, or high, depending on how you look at it. :)

A little back story- Jack hasn't been sleeping well for almost a month. At first it was very sweet, him waking up at 4 AM asking to "guggle." I go in, hold him for one minute-literally one minute- and then ask him if he wants to go in his crib. He says yes, I put him back in and he sleeps until 8:30. It doesn't get much better than that! I loved it, even if it was interrupted sleep. (I was up to go to the bathroom anyway.)

Then, he got sick. Just a cold but there was no recovering from his middle of the night wakings, and things were not so easy. He didn't want to go right back to bed. I spent a couple nights on the couch with him, snuggling him on his floor, anything to get him to sleep. MISERABLE.

And of course, it never went back to how good we had it. Most nights we were up 2 times, but some nights up to 4-5 times. I was dying, Dan was even participating in the middle of the night madness!

After a night away for me (girls night in Chicago with a couple of friends), and a couple of rotten Sundays in nursery because Jack didn't get enough sleep, I decided we had had enough.

Monday night, as I rocked Jack in his chair for the 3rd attempt at going to sleep in his own crib (I am on my last straw... SO TIRED!) I asked him if he wanted to pray. This is how it goes...

M: Please bless Jack to sleep in his own crib J: sleep crib
M: Bless mom and dad to sleep good J: sleep good
M: Help us to be happy in the morning J: Happy
M: Bless us with patience and to be kind J: Kind

It goes on and on... this is my moment of weakness. As tears ran down my face I thought of many ways to have Jack pray for all of the things I needed. I needed a good nights sleep, I needed him to be happy in the morning. I needed some down time. ALL OF IT!

It is amazing how prayers are answered. Whether it was my prayer, or Jack's prayer, it happens. Do I feel a little guilty using my sweet two year old to pray for all of the things I needed, and he doesn't have a clue what that will mean for him? Maybe a little.

Filling in the gaps

2011-02-21T06:58:00.003-06:00

We have been very busy the last couple of months- I know I like to complain about it, and I do take pictures but have been a little lazy/or just too busy to post them all. So here it is- pictures at all!

We went sledding in Chicago when we went to visit Jack's cousins. Auntie Marcia was in town too! Jack- didn't love it but did enjoy it once he was on his way down the hill.

Jack has obviously been busy also. He has fallen asleep in the lovesac, on the floor, the couch, and in our arms a couple times. His sleep is FAR from under control. We are working on that. :)

Superbowl Sunday: Maybe we are out of control when it comes to sleep because Jack was sick. Probably just a cold, but his fever Superbowl Sunday was OUT OF CONTROL! and he refused medicine time and time again. So we have no pictures of the game, but we were decked out for church (before I sent Jack and Dan home.) My mom and dad brought over a cheese-head tie and earrings the night before the big game. We were a HIT!
Jack and his friend enjoy relaxing, watching me make cookies in their comfy chairs.
And of course, Marshmallow Wars. Jack gets right into the action. :)
And enjoys the treat!
Yesterday we got some new snow- Dan and Jack went outside to build a snowman together as I enjoyed a little quiet time inside. Aaaahhhh, a little rest is all we need sometimes.

Publish Post

The best part of 2

2011-02-18T04:39:00.002-06:00

Jack was up early the day after his birthday. We snuggled on the couch watching Dinosaur Train together. He turns to me and says "milk."
I said "You want milk? ok."
As I'm walking out of the room I turn around and say "I love you Jack."
He, turns to me and says "Love you."

No coaching, no "can you say 'Love you Mom,'" nothing. It was wonderful. :)

Jack had a birthday... Shout Hooray!

2011-02-17T19:11:00.006-06:00

Or, run in the other direction screaming!
It's like he really understood that it was his day...
This is how it all began:
Yes. That is ice cream for breakfast. Usually the first thing out of his mouth in the morning is "Papa Work." Tuesday it was "Ice cream."

Then, for real breakfast, we had pancakes with Dan (he had a late start to his morning.) I made him a Mickey Mouse pancake and he was so excited! After we enjoyed looking at it, he put syrup on it and I cut it up with a pizza cutter. "Mickey Mouse broken. Fix it!" Awesome!
So I made him another Mickey Mouse pancake. he bit off the ears and was all done.

30 minutes later- after I cleaned up his plate he comes back to the table and is sad because his pancakes are all gone. So, I made him a piece of heart-shaped french toast.

Then we had a friend come over to play. We decorated cookies, played and they found some old sunglasses. This is both of them dancing in their boots and sunglasses. It's always a party at our house!

Jack's nap, which he fought until at least 1:30 PM, was spent putting finishing touches on his pinata and cake.
Neither of them turned out exactly how I had planned, but I was proud because I did it all by myself. This is NOT my cup of tea. :)
And then it was time for the big party! We had pizza for dinner, cake, opened presents and played all night long!

(And yes, there is the baby bump! I have 6/7 weeks to go and have no major complaints. EXCEPT Tuesday I was the most uncomfortable I have been thus far. It was miserable. Add our diva birthday boy, and my to-do list and it was not a overly pleasant day. Luckily I got everything done, plus a shower, and I was able to enjoy the evening celebration.)
Grandma & Papa were there- Jack was too entertained by his toys and the candy that busted out of the pinata.
Grandma & Bubba got Jack a swing in the basement. He loved that!
And our little family at the end of a long, wonderful day!

We also celebrated with our friends Saturday night-our 5 day apart Birthday Buddies have lots of fun together!

Cup cakes

Matching McQueen blankets

And Harold the Helicopter & train cars to go with our train set. Thank you Trevin!

Snowed In!

2011-02-03T13:23:00.002-06:00

Here it is... our Snow Day! The day went so fast and it seemed like we were outside more than we were inside, but our snow removal didn't really take all that long.

Jack LOVED playing in the snow, and helping Dan (I was helping too!)

It was kind of nice- our back porch is surrounded by a 5 foot snow drift, so Jack really couldn't go anywhere. We still had our swimming pool set up from summer time (yes, we are totally trashy!) and it filled with snow. Jack loved digging in it, and then shoveling the back porch and putting it in. It was a great way for all of us to play- shielded from the cold wind.

The 2nd time we went outside, Dan was snowblowing our front sidewalks. Jack loved following Dan down and using his little tiny shovel to break down the snow along Dan's path. I was working on knocking down cold snow at the bottom of our driveway so that Dan could snowblow it over the really tall snow banks. This is one of the joys of living on a corner- the snowplows come by and the snow banks keep getting taller.
It was a great day! One of our friends, an Elder serving in our ward, was supposed to be transferred out first thing in the morning- that was postponed so our snowblowing was interrupted by a breakfast/lunch ping pong party. I took a nap, Dan watched some TV, and then Dan helped my Dad with snow in the evening. It is amazing how fast the day went and it didn't seem all that relaxing.

I guess that is how it goes when you live in a house. It just goes with the territory!

Go Pack Go!

2011-01-27T20:06:00.003-06:00

So the Packer's are going to the SUPER BOWL! This is a big deal in our house.

I know I said that Jack and I flew home from CA during the Packer Play-off Game. I failed to mention that Dan would not come get us from the airport. My parents are in town, so he knew I had other options, but I guess that tells you where his priorities lie...

Last Sunday we watched the game at our house again. I asked Dan Sunday morning early (before his 7:30 AM church meetings...) if it would be bad if I put a collared shirt on Jack and his Packer t-shirt over it. He said, why not.

So yes, that was my child in his very "Sunday church-dress" Packer shirt.

I tell myself that I am personally responsible for the Packer's going to the SUPER BOWL. Let me tell you why...

1) Jack has a very cute Packer's sweatsuit. He has worn it every packer game this season. I have been in my Packer's Gear, and of course Dan too. I have yet to take a family picture-which is what you do when you all dress alike. So- because I am a slacker and haven't taken the picture yet, they keep winning so we can take that family picture.

2) I made a Packer's blanket for Dan, for Christmas. Well, at least I bought the fabric before Christmas. I finished the sewing just before the last Packer's game, but I told Dan that I wasn't going to do the finishing touches until after they played. I didn't want to jinx them (same as the family picture- unfinished business, if I finished it then they wouldn't have to win.)

3) There has to be a #3, but I can't think of it right now. Maybe because I actually am following a little football this year, have enjoyed a game or two when Jack takes his Sunday nap, or just because I really like football snacks. Maybe I am just a really good wife and wished for this, so that Dan would be very happy-which he is.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And of course, our happy kid. All bundled up to play in the snow with friends. :)

Funny story: Today we were watching "Trains" and I had 2 magazines in my lap. A Lamaze Magazine, just to start thinking about having this baby, and a magazine with tons of chocolate cake recipes, big pictures... mmmmm. Jack wanted to read the Lamaze magazine, I tried both of the other options but he knew what he wanted. Very strange.

"Don't Do It!"

2011-01-22T08:15:00.003-06:00

Jack and I took a break from our snowy winter weather and headed to sunny CA to visit our friends! (in fact, we got super delayed in Milwaukee because of snow and missed our connection in Vegas, AND didn't get to CA until 1 AM Wisconsin time... THANK YOU snowstorm!)

We enjoyed playing outside, digging for rocks, movies, playing with friends, library story time, and just relaxing. It was a wonderful little vacation away from all of the cold. One morning it had rained, and we went for a walk to the orchard up the driveway/street. We did not get very far...

Looks pretty harmless, but by the time I could catch up and I call out "Jack, stay standing! Don't sit down." I saw a big splash!

What can I say... a two year old helps me to enjoy the little things in life.

A couple of pictures from our trip...

Bedtime

Playing trucks. Jack loved his friend's big truck, and Jack shared his identical truck- just a lot smaller. It's funny how kids determine which one they want more.
Moms and almost 2 year olds. They are 3 weeks apart-Jack younger.

We had an excellent trip! And the flight home, much smoother. Jack was on my lap and slept the whole 3 hour flight from AZ. I even dozed off a little bit! :)

We made it home just in time for the big Packers Game, actually during it. We flew in our Packers gear so we were ready for a PARTY and delicious snacks Dan made for us. We were so lucky! AND the Packer's won! We are so excited for this weeks BIG WIN! (hopefully)

Some good clean fun!

2011-01-10T15:25:00.002-06:00

A family date night: We took Jack to see his first movie, "Tangled." He loved it- for the first 30 minutes, then he enjoyed doing the stairs, running up to the big screen and back, and just enjoying the excitement of a new place and a new activity. It was great!
We were going to go for ice cream afterward, but we had more fun running around in the lobby. It was wonderful!

Our latest "hobby": Marshmallow Shooter Capture the flag in our basement.
How it all began... I mentioned a couple of months ago to a friend that I wanted to make a marshmallow shooter. She tells me that she has made one and they are very fun. I forget about it, and for my birthday my friend gave me a gift. I opened it up and it was my very own marshmallow shooter WITH mini-marshmallows. I was just so impressed- what a thoughtful gift! (Jack loved it too!)

Then... I decided to make marshmallow shooters for my siblings and their spouses for their $1 gifts for Christmas. Of course Dan got one out of the deal, the Elders serving in our ward, and a couple of extra shooters just to keep handy.

New Years Eve: We have no plans, just a quiet night at home. We call the Elders to see if they want some snacks. With nothing to do, we set up Capture the Flag in our basement. Lots of fun! This is a picture of one of the battlefields. (I kind of just let our basement free game- you can use anything to build forts, obstacles, etc. I knew that there would be some recovery after the fun!)

Then... A Marshmallow Shooter War. After telling some friends how much fun our marshmallow guns were, we had the Missionaries over for dinner and invited the friends for a PARTY. The kids had a great time upstairs, while the real party took place downstairs.

Jack and his friend playing McQueen on the piano ( at 10 PM or later... they are so good together!)

The funny thing is, after our "war" we decided we needed to even out the battlegrounds. The side with all of our storage stuff had a huge advantage because it was a disaster! NOT ANYMORE! Dan helped me clean out and organize so that it is better equipped for our next game. It looks GREAT!
The only sad thing...I am getting a little big to really get in the action. I may have to sit out the next couple of games. Bummer.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-28T11:00:00.007-06:00

We can rest easy- Christmas is over. It was a wonderful month in preparation, but I tend to not stress the whole month long so we save all of the excitement for the week before- shopping, baking, normal life, and everything else we try to fit into that week. This year was quiet- my sisters all went to their inlaws, so our family and Michelle's family went to my parents to celebrate Christmas day. And Dan's family came in town on the 26th. So we had Christmas to do by ourselves, start some traditions of our own and enjoy the quiet and warmth of our own home.

We had a talk in church a couple weeks before Christmas, where the bishopric member shared a talk by a prophet of our church along with some of his insights. I really enjoyed some of his thoughts-
"The Christmas season is wonderful in many ways. It is a season of charitable acts of kindness and brotherly love. It is a season of being more reflective about our own lives and about the many blessings that are ours. It is a season of forgiving and being forgiven. It is a season to enjoy the music and lights, parties and presents. But the glitter of the season should never dim our sight and prevent us from truly seeing the Prince of Peace in His majesty." President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

And then the speaker said that we cannot just sit by the side and wait for the world to teach our children about Christ and the true meaning of Christmas, we had to plan for it. After this I thought a lot about what our two year old could gain out of the Christmas Season. The goal: Jack knows "Jesus," but we wanted to teach him about "Baby Jesus."

To protect our Nativity, we saved it for Christmas Eve. Dan read the story as Jack and I put out the stable, the manger, and all of the people and animals. It was short, but as we neared the end Jack would just move Baby Jesus around the nativity scene, by all of the different people. It was very sweet. Christmas morning he went right to the stable, pointed and said "baby Jesus."

Then we watched a Mickey Christmas Movie, we attempted a couple of pictures by the tree...

And off to bed...Christmas Morning we video taped Jack opening his presents (hence the no pictures) and he was SO MUCH FUN! He told us everything: "I want" "open" "Wow!" "Oh My!"

Later in the day we headed to Grandma & Papa Wilson's
Jack got an awesome musical instrument set (Dan thanked my mom... sarcasm)
But the kids loved it! (I promise Jack has all his teeth- I think this picture looks funny because the flash reflected off of his throat, making him look toothless. Ha ha)

We celebrated with Dan's family on the 26th in Chicago and then opened gifts with Grandma & Papa Boston on the 27th.

Jack sitting on his new bench wearing Packers mittens from Great Grandma & Papa, eating mini marshmallows and playing cars. Does it get any better?
And the big excitement- A TRICYCLE!!!

My Special Day

2010-12-28T10:13:00.002-06:00

I had a birthday, Shout HOORAY!

I am not huge on birthdays, but it is nice to have a day to celebrate and do whatever I want to do, just because it is my birthday. I have it pretty good, so here's what made my day extra special...

Dan had an early job for work- we were up at 6:20 to make sandwiches and get him out the door. (I did not go back to bed)
I folded laundry, that was done 2 days before and did 4 more loads of laundry- folded and all!
I prepped food for dinner so I wouldn't be in a rush after piano lessons (Dan was in charge of steak, I made REAL mashed potatoes!)
Played with Jack- legos, trains, blocks, read books, anything he wanted!
Steak for dinner
Cheesecake and presents after dinner
An extra bonus: I "guggled" Jack as he dozed off in my arms

And that was my day. Jack did nap, I am pretty sure I folded more laundry during that time.
Dan called to check in on me, I chatted with family and friends, and ate lots of yummy treats!

Most people wouldn't really enjoy my kind of birthday, but it was one of my favorites! It felt so good to lay in bed, after a rewarding and productive day and sleep easy. I wouldn't have changed a thing. (And 3 days before Christmas, that's an accomplishment to do it all with NO STRESS!)

It was wonderful!

Moments of Sweetness

2010-12-15T21:15:00.002-06:00

We're almost there... the "Terrible Twos." Some might even say that we already are.
In between the training to make the next couple of months/year a little less painful, Jack surprises us with a whole lot of sweetness.

We spent an afternoon at my parents house- I needed to edit some pictures on a fancy program my dad has. Theoretically Jack was going to nap. We tried 3 bedrooms (3 beds, 2 places on the floor) and I gave up. I left Jack in this bed playing with his Mickey Mouse. I hid upstairs to get my work done, and I heard Jack go downstairs to talk to Grandma Cindy-I am listening...
J- "Where's Mama?"
G- "I think Mama is on Papa's computer."
J- "Where's Mama?"
G- "Mama is working on the computer."
This conversation ends and Jack goes back in the living room to play trains and that's the last I hear of him.

20 minutes later, I go downstairs to check on Jack. He is no where to be found. I ask my mom- she thought he went upstairs to find me.

Apparently he went upstairs to find a place to sleep. He couldn't get his blankets in the bed with him, they were in a pile on the floor just off the bed. My heart melted.

Sunday afternoon, watching football with dad.

And yet, another job I can't do while Jack is awake: Doing the dishes.

Today we picked up our Christmas gift from Sam's Club. Jack was jumping on all of the packages, I was a little nervous so we opened just one for him to run along. This kept him busy for at least 30 minutes (and tired him out for a wonderful N-A-P.)

I do love this little man. 2 weeks ago I would have said we are definitely in the "Terrible Twos" but things are looking up. Most of our days are filled with play, a little work, lots of talk, and tons of excitement. Let's hope this lasts!

Our first snow

2010-12-12T09:34:00.003-06:00

Our first snow of the season left us with 4 inches or so- Easy to shovel but Dan got the snowblower out, just to be sure it's up to par for the REALLY big snows all season long.

While Dan was outside in the cold, I decided we could surprise him and come out to play! Jack was all decked out- boots, snowpants, coat, mittens, hat (probably 10 min. of dressing time...) and ready to play! He didn't make it much past the front door.

Dan taught Jack to throw snowballs at the house
(you can see the remnants on the house behind Jack.)

On our way in. Jack loved it all, except for when he falls and can't quite get up.

Kind of funny for us to watch. :)

We tried to throw in some family pictures for our Christmas card at the end of the day- let's just say we have a pretty good photo-shopped picture to go out in our Christmas cards this year (or Christmas post.)

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
We celebrated St. Nick on Monday morning/afternoon. Dan got home from work at noon so we waited for him (Jack was still sleeping when Dan left for work.) This was Dan's idea-I take no credit- and it was a big hit!

After this, it was time for nap. We let him take the bus to bed with him and he played and played and played (almost 1 hour) before I had Jack put his bus by the Christmas village where it belonged.

Other exciting happenings:

Looking for a Christmas Tree- We got a Fraser Fir, so we had to go to a tree lot instead of going to cut down our own. It wasn't so bad- Dan says our "tradition" is cutting it down, in my mind the tradition is a real tree. We are both happy and the tree is starting to look great!

Jack loves the tree. We have been "training" him on how to treat the Christmas Tree.

Although he can't throw his trains in the tree (like he has been doing to ours and our friend's trees-sorry) he likes to drive them along the window.

And other exciting news... we transfered his bed into a toddler bed. He loves it! It is surprising, he does not get in or out himself when it's sleeping time, but if he is looking for his "Mickey" or "Tractor" which is in the bed, he will climb right in to get it. I LOVE IT!

That is our life in a nutshell... just busy getting ready for Christmas and all of the excitement that comes along with it!

Our First Family Home Evening

2010-11-30T21:00:00.002-06:00

Last night was our FIRST official Family Home Evening. Lesson, Activity, Snack, ALL of it! Not surprising, but we didn't get past the lesson... it must have been that good-

We started by looking at a picture of Jesus.
M- "Jack, who is this?"
J- "Jesus"

We said "We belong to Jesus' church." Then we sang "I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ" as we marched around the living room, "agee" and again and again. We tried distracting Jack by coloring a picture, but it didn't work so well. Next time we will save the song for the activity, and color as part of the lesson.

It was great! What kind of tricks will we have for next week???

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Dan got the day off today- first one in what seems like MONTHS! We put up our Christmas Village as a family, it looks GREAT! Thanks Dan and Jack for bringing up all the boxes!
Jack loved stacking them too!

We celebrated Christmas with Auntie Melissa and Uncle Aaron over the weekend (they were in town from DC.) Jack got away from dinner and found Cars on TV.
Auntie Melissa got Jack "Color Wonder" Toy Story! He loved it, and really liked coloring with his cousin, too!

And finally, a video. I don't quite get it. He was eating a brownie... did he like seeing the brownie drop into the toilet, the echo, Dan & I both have had the flu in the past month- did he see us?

I don't know, but it is funny! (Maybe kind of inappropriate... sorry!)

A conversation with a 21 month old...

2010-11-23T15:13:00.003-06:00

Last week, after visiting our friends and their new baby, Jack and I sat in the Love Sac and talked...

M: Jack, Do you like Mickey?
J: Mickey!
M: Jack, Do you like baby?
J: Baby!
M: Jack, we're going to have a new baby very soon-
J: No!

Does he understand, probably not. But you have to love his honesty!
So there it is-I'm letting it out into the blogger world- we are having a baby! I am 21 weeks along, due April 2.
We had our big ultrasound and everything is healthy, baby is active, and of course measures big. We are not finding out if we are having a boy or girl- the tech did not write it down so really our chance to change our mind is gone. It is kind of exciting- we get to talk about boy and girl names, still call the baby "it" or "the baby" (which we are still working on what we can call it until the big day), and just enjoy life for now... once this baby comes along things may change a little!

Other than that exciting news in our life, life is still busy! Sadly my camera has not come out much in the past 3 weeks... a couple of exciting things: voting, Grandma Diane visiting from NC, visiting our cousins for a sleepover, and lots of fun with friends.

Jack enjoyed our cupcakes from the voting day bake sale.

Jack and his cousins at the Christmas tree (at the restaurant)

The tractor riding toy at the mall No, Jack doesn't shop. He plays while everyone else shops! That means mom doesn't shop either...

That is our life in a nutshell... Jack's favorite things these days are "Cars," the movie, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, trains, tractors, cars, macaroni & cheese, raisins, cookies- the list is long!

A month in review

2010-10-31T20:57:00.005-05:00

We are BUSY, and I mean BUSY! Lots of fun things to do, so many people to see, and somehow we get things done around the house and enjoy just being together.

Besides our trip to Indiana, here's a little bit of what we've been up to...

A quiet moment- in our tent. Jack LOVES this book! He will sit and read it, talk about it for at least 10-20 minutes. It is wonderful!

Playing at the Pumpkin Farm

Attempting a festive portrait

Playing in the leaves

Painting Pumpkins

Packer Game with Friends- too busy with toys to smile for a picture.

There is very little I do without help. Making pizza is no different!

The Children's Museum with Friends

Our Church Halloween Party... Elastigirl, Jack Jack, and Mr. Incredible

Trick-Or-Treating with friends today

I watch the Office (Dan does not.) On this last week's episode Jim kind of rolls his eyes at Pam's Popeye & Olive Oil Costumes. At the end of the episode Jim is very sweet and says something like "Pam may be a little dorky, but she's my dork" as they walk around as a family TOGETHER in costume. I loved it!
I'm sure that's how Dan feels about me sometimes- I am a little dorky but with good intentions.
Dan was a trooper- the 2 times we dressed up as a family he was quick to notice that he was the only adult male dressed up. I loved dressing up together (we usually don't do anything for Halloween so this was very exciting for me!) I think he would admit he kind of liked it, dressing up all together.
He is my Mr. Incredible!

Happy Halloween!

A little vacation...

2010-10-24T07:55:00.004-05:00

I hate goodbyes... About 2 months ago our close friends moved to Indiana and I was really sad. Many times when friends move away I tell myself "oh, you're moving to Utah. We'll see you again!" So- this was no different. Only 5/6 hours away, I knew we'd see them at least twice before they moved with their next job assignment.

This was our first adventure. We went to visit them for the weekend and celebrated their youngest baby's blessing at church. The weekend was packed with lots of fun, and lots of relaxing! We loved it!

Thanks for the wonderful weekend!

Great friends

Feeding the animals

A family hayride

Picking Pumpkins

Just having fun
Funny story: I leave these two to play kitchen. I am just organizing our things in the room next door. I hear Jack's friend say "No Jack, No Jack." So I run in to save her (who knows what Jack might be doing. I was afraid he was trying to bite her-which rarely happens but if someone is in his way, it might.) and her arms were covered in spit. I asked her if Jack bit her? She said "no, he was licking me." Where do kids learn these things?

The Big Day

Saying goodbye- we'll see you again soon!

Dan was so good feeding the animals with Jack and the kids. I am very good at giving orders, but notice what side of the camera I am on... I like it that way!

Luck be a lady...

2010-10-02T13:57:00.005-05:00

This week I found 2 4 leaf clovers. Yes, 2 of them all in one quick look! I think it comes from a long line of 4-leaf clover finders... My Grandpa found me a lucky 4-leaf clover on my high school graduation, my dad finds one any time he looks (it seems like), and Marcia, well she's got the eye. Me, not so much, until this week.

Now I wanted to flatten them, take a picture, save them, something. But sadly they dried out. Dan and his friend that visited us from Chicago this week witnessed my 2-4 leaf clovers.

Well, today as Jack and I watched the "car" and "truck" (No "bus" on Saturdays, bummer) I decided to do a little look, and GUESS WHAT I FOUND!!! A 5 leaf clover-I am pressing it and saving this one! You might ask, what does a 5 leaf clover mean? Well, according to answers.com "four leaf clovers bring luck, five leaf clovers bring money, two leaf clovers bring love." I must be one lucky, rich lady! :) Now I will work on the 2-leaf clovers.
If that were to describe my current state, maybe not because I did just lose my job, but I consider myself rich in many other ways! How lucky am I that I get all of this extra time with Jack? That we get to take walks every day, go to the park, run errands together. We play, sing, dance, talk on the phone, visit friends- all of that and MORE!

A couple of highlights, or things I remember to bring the camera out for, from the last couple of weeks...

This would be our first official dance party. Dan went to play frisbee in the rain and we "ballet danced" to real classical ballet music. Our friend loved it, Jack got right into the action too!

Dan and Jack building blocks together. Jack is ready for church, Dan just got out of bed (to put life into perspective.) See the video at the bottom for a good laugh!
We went to the Botanical Gardens this week with our friends. At the end we let the boys run in the field- Jack is getting a little bit more daring and RUNS as far away as he possibly can. Too bad he has a quick mom and I'm right on his tail!
Our favorite show, even I don't mind it, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." Jack watches an episode as we wait for breakfast, or as I make sandwiches for Dan. I'm not going to lie, it's an easy babysitter for me to get something quick done. (He sticks with it maybe 10 minutes.)

Today Jack was on the table, obviously, counting apples. Out of the bowl, one at a time, to the table. Then I showed him how we count and point- he pointed to each one and said, as good as he could "one, one, one." It was very cute. By the time I got the camera, he did "cheese" for one good picture, then wanted the camera. He was done counting.

When I was teaching, I often asked myself "Who is the parent?" Especially when kids came to school in shorts in the middle of winter, wore slipper flip flops for graduation ceremonies, or any other obnoxious thing I saw and parents used the excuse "that's what he wanted." That was my thoughts as I recorded this:

(In Dan's defense, he did just wake up and wasn't quite ready to share, at least that is the excuse I would use for Jack if he didn't want to share. Or maybe Dan is using this as a teaching moment...)

And, Jack's moves. Notice what each arm/hand is doing. We don't know where he got this but he does the same when he runs- one hand swinging at his side, and the other hanging on!

I probably should note that I am happy, lucky, rich in many other ways... Our blog seems to be all about Jack-but we are lucky to have eachother (Dan and I), we're healthy, we have a home, we have the things we need, we have family and friends, we have our church/faith, we are very happy, and for all of that we are grateful!

Monkey See, Monkey do!

2010-09-19T20:55:00.005-05:00

Dan and I are finishing up breakfast this morning, and a birthday card for my dad is sitting on our kitchen table. It is a picture of a baby picking his nose- the saying on the card "You had a birthday... (open to the inside) gotta boogie!" ha, ha.

Jack is standing on the chair, looking at the card and very thoughtfully puts his finger up his nostril. AWESOME!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Well, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, I have just been busy. I am amazed at how little time I have to just sit and blog, check email, facebook, etc. now that I am home full time. It's also amazing at how I very easily forget to take pictures now that I am with Jack all day. I do love my time at home with him, it's just not a walk in the park all the time. I'm sure you all are thinking "I could have told you that!"

A couple of pictures I actually remembered to take...
I had to change the batteries in his riding toy- Jack doing a little fix-up afterward.

We went down to the Chicago temple on Dan's day off. My parents went early, we met them later and did a little hand-off with Jack, and then met up at the outlets for lunch. My parents shopped with Jack for a good hour (and I forgot the stroller for them.) They are good people.

Homemade pizza for dinner, Friends were coming over and we seem to let a lot slide when we are tight for time. Jack "helping" with the dough. (I was done with the dough, he just was helping roll out the table.)

After buying a kitchen at my favorite bi-annual rummage sale, I found this one (the one I actually wanted) at a neighbor's garage sale for $5. I hid the other one for Christmas, but I couldn't quite hide this one. What are we going to do with 2 kitchens???

Jack talks A LOT! One of my favorite things he just started doing (who knows where he learned it) is rolling around on our bed, pulling up the covers and saying "ni, ni." It is very cute. Now at night we just ask him "do you want to go ni, ni." and he goes to his crib and says "ni, ni." We've got it good!
Not to forget the first Packer Game. Dan and Jack enjoying some snacks (ignore the mess.) Jack was very cute decked out in his Packer sweat suit from Grandma Diane, but none of our pictures of him turned out very well.

Jack surprised us with "circle" yesterday afternoon. That again, WE DIDN'T TEACH HIM! It must be his school experience sticking with him! Of course in the video he calls everything a circle, but he knows which one really is (and we let the oval be a circle for now.)

What else are we doing with our days together- running errands, playdates with friends, walks to the park, STILL sorting through the remainder of my classroom things. PLENTY to keep us busy!

Change is good...

2010-09-02T21:20:00.004-05:00

I am an unemployed stay at home mom. I was laid off on Tuesday, being told that it was my last day due to low enrollment at my school. I was a little shocked, I didn't think that the day would ever come but I am very excited for what the future holds. Will I have my own classroom again and teach? Will I stay at home with Jack (and maybe brothers or sisters in the future), or something in between? I know I can make any of those options work for ME & my family, but what is it that I truly want? That's the biggest question now! But for now, I am home and loving it!

This is Jack and me relaxing after a busy day- Jack's last day of daycare and packing up my classroom for me! We were EXHAUSTED! (And not a great picture for either of us.)

My things in my classroom-right before the big tear down. I was a little sad packing things up, but my mom was there to help!

2 1/2 hours later-My things in the van (We probably would have been smart to take the 15 passenger van over the mini-van. Things were tight!)

And everything in my living room after unloading this morning. I started sorting/repacking and then decided to just move it all to the basement so I can take my time. It will be quite a project when I TACKLE it officially!

Here is our little monster. We went to WI Dells over the weekend. We stayed in a hotel with a small waterpark and went to Mt. Olympus Waterpark, so we swam and swam and swam. Unfortunately we took very few pictures. This is one of our only- Jack eating grapes! YES, he eats a FRUIT now!!! Now to tackle other delicious fruits! (I know vegetables are a long shot- one day.)

No longer a baby...

2010-08-23T09:02:00.002-05:00

He's a toddler! We went to the Dr. for Jack's 18 month check up. I really like Jack's Dr. He does a great job and is very thorough. I came with a whole list of questions this time and he answered all of them, and really took his time to explain "what the books say" and what worked for his family. (He is a family friend, so I appreciate his practical input.)

This was especially nice as I hid the pacifier, but then caved and gave it to Jack the day he got his stitches out. He was 15 months old and I tried to hold out until we left the office. Dan didn't know that was part of my plan, and the Dr. said "it's ok, my kids were on it after a year too!" I think it's nice to know the ideal, but it's ok if the Dr. does it, right?

Now for the exciting stuff...
29 lbs, 33 1/2 inches tall and his head is still in the 97th percentile.

Jack spinning the Dr. chair!
Before shots...
And after shots (long after shots- you can see his 2 bandaids.) He had 3 shots total and was a TROOPER!!!
Jack and Dan sharing French Silk pie at our friend's house. Notice Jack's REALLY short hair. (Dan did it, while I was playing piano for a baptism Friday night. He really does look older, but looks younger too, all at the same time!)

And the last exciting part of our weekend- a work picnic. Jack and I played on the playground equipment most/all of the picnic. He was so tired by the end. We took a family picture and hit the road by about 5:30.
Jack fell asleep in the car, we moved him to his crib. Woke up at 6:30, I was hoping to eat and play a little, but he didn't make it much further than our bed (Dan and I were relaxing/thinking about a catnap.) 9:30 he was back to his crib and slept the night.
I wish I could do this all day today! Happy Monday!

SLEEP NEEDED!!!

2010-08-17T13:00:00.007-05:00

Happy Tuesday! I am home, laying in bed, blogging before I take a much needed NAP! We took away the pacifier last weekend, cold turkey, and Jack is doing great 90% of the time. The only thing that is NOT going so well is the middle of the night stirring/fits/hysterics (thankfully, usually only 1 huge episode a night). Last night was not so bad so Dan and I both got a decent nights sleep. Aaaahhh! I felt much better this morning. Hopefully we are on the upswing!

A couple of funny stories-
Jack is making all kinds of associations. We went to McDonalds for an ice cream cone. There was a white AT&T van parked in the parking lot- Jack points to it and says "Dada." (It looks similar to Dan's work van. Trucks tend to be "Papa.") Saturday Morning, Jack and I were sleeping in the 2nd bedroom and Jack did the same when Dan blew his nose AND when his alarm clock went off in the morning.

He also is seeing similarities... We have a photo-mosaic poster of YODA in our family room. Jack points to it on Sunday night and says "Papa." I kindly correct him, "no, YODA." The Jesus on our piano also has gotten a "Papa" or two. We are teaching him "Jesus" so there is no mistaking. :)

Jack LOVES to help. He puts things in the garbage, helps to clean up (sometimes), but my favorite helping jobs are with me in the basement. He put water bottles in the refrigerator door and helps me move laundry from the washer to the dryer, or empties the dryer into a laundry basket. I got a great video of this, but I will save you the boredom.

A couple of fun activities from our weekend of no pacifier.

We made cookies together- they were delicious (but probably not germ free-thanks to Jack)

One of Jack's great ensembles- Dan's shoes, PJs, and a different pair of PJs on his head.

Pancakes for breakfast- we tried Peanut butter on one, syrup on another, but he liked the plain one the best.
A swim diaper on his head- he likes to play with our sliding doors!
Just having fun!

Dinner last night

Jack also went to Nursery for the FIRST TIME at church. He did pretty good (he fell asleep during Sacrament Meeting so he was a little out of sorts when he first when in, Dan stayed with him.) After Dan left he did great! Dan picked him up too- I just wanted him to be able to tell me everything he did, instead I had a happy kid! I'm alright with that!

A lot on my mind...

2010-08-12T08:19:00.004-05:00

I'm sure you all care about my inner thoughts- but let me tell you how my night went last night.

I worked, ran to Sam's Club, exchanged our cable box, and made it home. We were home just long enough to get some dinner packed, change into my frisbee clothes, pack a cooler and we were right out the door to pick up babysitters and get to our frisbee game.

We are late to our ultimate frisbee game (not to be confused with frisbee golf)- they changed the time to 6:20. We were never on time when it was 6:30, why would we be on time now??? Dan runs out to play (actually tells me to keep the babysitters occupied so he could go find a tree.) I get all of our stuff, the girls, and Jack out of the car and to the field, where I am informed that I will be playing the whole game because we only have 3 girls. I am used to playing like 1/4 of the game!

As soon as I have Jack settled, I run out to play. We lost 15-13, but it was a great game. A personal best for me! I didn't die (although I thought I was going to when the game was 12-14) and I had 1 "D" (which is smacking the disc to the ground so the other team couldn't catch it, it was a first for me), 3 catches, and one hammer throw to me that I had to jump for, I touched it! That is more than I have ever touched the disc before. I had no drops and one back-hand throw that was pretty good for me.

I was pretty pumped- all I could think to myself is "I might be in the best shape of my life" which comparatively is not really that good. (I am at one of my lowest weights, and I actually run, mow the lawn, and run after an 18 month old all the time, so maybe I am!) It motivates me a little to work harder and add a little more workout into my life- after frisbee is done of course.

Back to last night- We stopped for a cold treat on the way home, took the babysitters home, and then went home to shower and get to bed hopefully before 10. Even as we lay in bed, I was pretty excited until...

I read on my friend's facebook that they were leaving WI. and I crashed. I was an emotional mess! WHAT THE HECK!!! I guess that is one of the side effects of a really good workout- the high and then the low.

Dan and I watched a homicide show to hopefully distract me (and scare me), and I was sleeping by 11. Not exactly how I had planned the evening, but it turned out ok.

I am feeling much more in control today- although I am very tired and very sore. Dan and I might be moving around like old people for the weekend, but it's good because we will be home.

We're going to get rid of the pacifier this weekend. It would be wise to wait until we are both at our best to do this, but we will always have excuses. Wish us luck!

Oh- and all of this after a busy Tuesday- work, mow the lawn, party, city meeting, finish mowing the lawn, and laundry- that I still haven't quite recovered from.

THAT'S MY LIFE. I love my life, but it sure is exhausting some days!

Here's a couple pictures from our party the other day- I think we had 8 moms and 10 kids... or about that. It was a party!

Don't be confused by this one... he still does not eat Fruits & Vegetables, although, he is a little intrigued by some fruits!

Happy Birthday DAN!!!

2010-08-10T08:57:00.003-05:00

Dan had a birthday, shout hooray!

Dan turned 28 on Friday. Dan and I celebrated by going to a wedding, Jack spending the evening with Grandma and Grandpa. However, we had lots of time to celebrate on Saturday because Dan had the day off! He went fishing in the morning, played with us in the afternoon, and went to a friends house for a delicious cookout/outside play and movie at night. We're pretty lucky to have such a great dad/husband!

5 things we love about Dan:
1. He is very funny! Always making us laugh and smile.
2. He loves to play- video games, computer games, and board games. He even likes chasing games with Jack around the house, which is very fun to watch.
3. He works hard. Even when Jack and I have a day off, Dan is out working.
4. He likes to grill out for us- Jacks favorite? Hot dogs or bratwurst, maybe even steak.
5. He is very thoughtful- on Saturday he brought something home for me (on his birthday fishing trip-oh yeah, with no fish) AND last night while I was in the grocery store he quickly/secretly went over to the gas station and filled my car with gas. He likes to surprise me once in a while.

Of course we love lots of other things too!
Like, that he went with us to pick up this little kid picnic table from the GHETTO last week. Jack loves it! It still sits in our kitchen for him to play, read, eat, whatever.
This is Jack playing at our friend's house. He loved the water toys, but didn't quite get the water guns. He was just so excited!!!

This is one of our "bad ideas" as parents. Now, whenever we go to the car Jack wants to go in the front door and sit in our seat. It is actually really irritating when we are in a hurry. Will he ever forget how much fun pretending is???

Notice when I ask him to say "mama" he says "dada" every time. But then when I ask him to say "dada", he will sometimes say "papa." :)

We love love love...

2010-08-03T10:07:00.006-05:00

all of Jack's tricks! He is a smart kid and has really started "talking" the past couple of weeks. He is always surprising us with what he can say and do!

A couple of our favorites...

We're sitting at dinner time- Dan and I fold our arms and start to pray. Jack folds his arms and watches us. Us: "Amen" Jack: "Namen" Us: "WHAT??? (confused look, let's try again...) "Amen" Jack: "Namen" This went on for at least 5 times. Does he say it on his own, no. But soon he will!!!

Dinner at Grandma & Grandpas- He is very off schedule this last weekend so he is just a wild monster! We eat dinner, and Jack is a little antsy, wanting to get out of his chair. I say "Are you all done" and shake my hands (I think that is the sign language for all done- if it's not the real thing, it's our sign language.) He shakes his hands "Ah done." With that, how can you not take him out of his chair and let him play, even though his dinner did not last all that long.

Last night, we finish dinner and Jack is really tired. He needed a bath, and so between his tired cries I say "let's go to the bathtub." He follows me, and on the way says "bath tub, bath tub, bath tub." LOVE IT! In the bathtub he practices dumping cups of water on his head to rinse out the shampoo- he doesn't like when I do it, but he loves to do it himself!

Last story... I promise! Last week we were playing at grandma & grandpas. It was time to go. We said goodbye to grandpa, and I told Jack "we have to say goodbye to Grandma." Jack (knowing that Grandma just walked upstairs) goes to the bottom of the stairs and says "Grana." It was so cute.

That's our fun lately! My new phrase I am going to teach him is "Love you". Wish us luck!

We went to the grocery store- opened the marshmallows while we were there to keep Jack happy- I hate doing that but oh well! He brings them in the house and I put groceries away. I come back to this- he is saying "uh oh, uh oh, uh oh." It was great!!!

He is back to loving his rocking chair and reading books. This was him getting ready for church. Yes the Toy Story milk cup is a nice touch. :)

Playing with the plastic containers at Grandma and Grandpas.

I love to see his excitement for life. We got home a little late tonight from a friends house, and Dan & I just tickled Jack, and tickled him. Jack tries to do "zerberts" back to us, but he's not quite there yet. I just love being his mom!

A time for rest...

2010-07-28T10:50:00.003-05:00

We have had a BUSY BUSY couple of weeks. From Dan's family reunion and playing with the Boston's, to the Wilson sisters staggering in one at a time, and leaving one at a time, it has been about 2 weeks of CRAZY FUN!!! We are exhausted! (Oh- don't forget Dan working LOTS of hours helping people recover from the rain- he's still working 12 hour+ days.)

A couple of pictures- highlights. (My camera was not out all the time, so I'm sure I'll get my hands on some of my sister's pictures too.)

The weekend in a nutshell:
Wednesday-Sadie comes to town and we play play play!

Thursday the rains came. Dan & I went to visit friends at the hospital- they welcomed their 4th baby! While we were there we got shooed to the hallway because of all of the warnings. Dan gets a call that one of the work vans has a flat tire and they needed a tow truck. So Dan is in limbo all night waiting to see when he needs to go get his guys.
This is the only night where all 6 girls, 5 husbands, Grandma & Grandpa, and all 5 grandkids are going to be together- so by the time we are all there (minus the rain drama) we take family pictures sometime after 10 PM (I'll get my hands on some of these pictures for sure.) After pictures, dinner, play, we go home to find water in half of our basement. :( We start cleaning up the mess.

Friday- Noah's Ark! Everyone makes it, Dan & I are supposed to stay in the Dells with some friends for the weekend, but because of the rain we decide to come home so Dan can work.

Saturday- Dan works all day, I recover at our house and then we go to the lake house with the family. We went on the boat and played in the house- the kids loved it!

Sunday- BIG FAMILY PARTY with some of our cousins. My camera died by then, but we had the moon-walk, kids pool, volleyball, great food, lots of people to talk with, and of course our little monster causing trouble.

We love our life, but we also love the calm after the storm.

2 jobs I cannot do while Jack is awake: sweep and vacuum- he just wants to HELP!!!

Jack loves to smile for pictures. People ask if now that he's walking, if he has thinned out at all. Sometimes I think so, but then I get a nice picture like this, belly and all!

A sad sad story...

2010-07-26T20:55:00.002-05:00

I am not a "oh, pity me. My life is so hard" type of person. But just for today "pity me, my life is so hard..."

For the past 3 weeks I have spent countless hours in our basement. Jack's naps, late nights when Dan plays basketball or has to work late, Brewers games, and even working along side Jack on our days off. When I decide to get something done, I do it!

You would look at my basement and think, what took so much time? I didn't finish anything off, did not paint over our green basement walls, didn't install flooring or any other high quality improvements. I sorted toys, old video games, books, clothing, junk, everything! i moved all our work out equipment (that we never use) from one side of the basement to the other. I condensed and reorganized our storage area. I vacuumed rugs, relocated my crafting corner and made a play area for Jack. I swept, I wiped, I cleaned. Pretty much all of the crappy things that our basement was so badly in need of.

I was so proud of myself, and yet I have no pictures to show you. Our basement flooded last Thursday night when the heavy rains kept coming and coming and coming. Only half of the basement- but it was the side I had just set up with toys and games, a train table, Jack's ball pit, and my crafting stuff. It is really depressing to think about.

Dan and I squeegeed water, mopped the floor. My dad came and helped put in a back up sump pump that night to help control the massive amounts of water that kept on falling from the sky. Saturday while Dan sucked water out of other people's basements, i tore apart all of my hard work. Pulling up rugs, the massive 70's carpet that was under our ping pong table. I moved toys and piled things in the dry side of our basement, just so I could begin the recovery process.

I was just downstairs trying to finish moving the rugs. I laid some out in the back yard to dry, and the big one is still downstairs dripping water. Maybe later this week i will be able to put things back together. But until then, just imagine my disappointment. Maybe, just maybe, you'll feel a little sorry for me.

The hardest part- i have no one to blame. In my excitement to get rid of junk, I pushed a recliner (that doesn't really work- I want to throw it away!) in the corner blocking the sump pump. I am pretty sure that it was pushed a little too close and didn't allow the stick/sensor thing to activate the sump pump. It is all my fault. BUMMER...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

On the plus side, Marcia came over to make cards on Thursday during the day and Jack and I played. We got to use all parts of the new and improved area. I like to think we would have lost a lot more, had I not cleaned and organized and found places for things. The only thing we lost was the HUGE 70's carpet that was pretty disgusting anyway. I'm pretty sure we could keep it, if we really wanted. To me, it's not worth the hassle.

I just wanted to write that. I am giving up for tonight.

Haircuts

2010-07-21T13:25:00.006-05:00

Jack and I got haircuts last week. I have really been enjoying playing with Jack's hair at night, making it all wild and crazy, but sadly it needed a new do- with the hot weather and picture day coming up we cut it all off. Surprisingly, he did quite well.

Following our haircuts, we had an eventful weekend of playing with Grandma & Grandpa Boston, family reunion, and swimming at the hotel. It was great-we are still recovering!
Jack in his Pepsi shirt from Grandma Diane. She is a big fan of pepsi!!! As is his mom and dad. :)
At the family reunion- we did a "Building a Cardhouse" challenge (kind of like on Survivor.) Dan was in the finals, I lost to him in the semi-finals. Our towers were so tall we ran out of cards. ***A little credit to Dan's aunt who painted plywood and then helped a friend cut about 500 cards on the table saw. They said it took over 2 1/2 hours. ***
Jack napping- for 30 min. We made it through the day, but we were all hot and tired by the end.

Monday night swimming with Grandma & Grandpa. Jack had a great time in the kid pool, the big pool he could have done without. Or maybe it was his Floating Tube/Life Jacket that he didnt' like.

And- My favorite trick. Enjoy!

3 1/2 years in the making...

2010-07-15T11:24:00.003-05:00

3 1/2 years ago (almost to the day) we bought our house. Signed the papers, and ran over to our new home to change the locks and take an inventory of what we were going to do before the big MOVE IN day. We brought over the big screen tv, a recliner, and a card table so that we had something to do when we were there for long periods of time. Isn't it funny where our priorities are-note we weren't smart enough to think "we won't have cable at the new house yet, so why bother with the tv???"

Rewind a little over a month- We put an offer on the house. The next day we found out we had an accepted offer. The next day (my birthday) Dan had hernia surgery. It was an eventful couple of days- and what do I do when life is exciting and/or stressful??? I start a project. Shopping for fabric, picking a pattern. etc. Well- I took over a year to find all of the fabric, before I started. Then I started and stopped. When I wanted to make Jack's quilt, I made myself finish the top to this quilt (that was 1 1/2 years ago) and just this last week I put it all together, quilted the top and finished the binding. HOORAY!!! It is done and on the bed.

Sadly, I don't love it for summer time, but it will grow on me. :) If anything it is there to remind me that I can do it and maybe I'll make a brighter, more summery quilt. (Hopefully Dan doesn't read all of this, I'm not sure he'd be thrilled with another project... I'm pretty sure he will stop reading by now.)

Jack and I made cookies last weekend- it was NOT a success. Fun to say we did it, but cleaning up the mess, dealing with a stubborn"I want more flour" attitude was not nearly as fun as I thought it might be.
Jack loves our shoes, and his shoes (not sandals though). He always messes with them, but this is the first time he got them on the right way! He worked really hard at this.
His favorite thing to do in the morning, no matter how soon we have to leave for school, is climb into the glider and read books. He prefers to be naked, but I try to put my foot down. He is happy though.
Sorry for all of the lame pacifier pictures, both of them are before breakfast- I am hoping to drop the pacifier next month! Wish us luck!

And a new toy that Dan and Jack were playing with. I have videos where he says "go" after I say 1-2-3, and some where he actually gets the rocket fired off, but none with both. Go figure.

Just to hold you over...

2010-07-07T09:00:00.004-05:00

Very very soon, we will have all of our far away family in Wisconsin to visit. We are getting very excited! Here are a couple of pictures to fill the gap from now until you are here to see me (Jack)!

Jack's first McDonald's ice cream cone. He loved it with the spoon...

The hose is a new favorite toy- he is pretty funny!
Watching fireworks at the 4th- he loved it. We were helping him "ooh" and "ah."

And the sand table at our friend's house, playing on the 4th. This little toy gave mom and dad a little time to socialize and relax. :) THANK GOODNESS for fun activities that hold his attention!

And another swimming, splashing video. We love when he shivers. :)

Here, There and Everywhere

2010-06-28T13:39:00.005-05:00

It seems like every time we turn around, there is something fun and exciting to do- whether we are out and about, at a friend's house or at home.

A couple of highlights- Last week Jack and I got to hang out at school. My friend Betsy (the singer) had some GIGANTIC marshmallows that she was chucking at her kids, and me, earlier in the morning. Well- Jack had a special giant size marshmallow for snack. (HUGE marshmallows, not just your normal big marshmallows.)

At school the kids have "Water Play Day" once a week. We have yet to get Jack to wear water shoes or sandals without socks- so we decided to give it a try in the sprinkler. He loved the sprinkler and even wore his shoes without socks.

In case you wonder why I "torture" my child with a hat all the time- I guess the scarring will be worse on his head if it get's sunburned. So we keep it sun screened & wear a hat, just to be extra cautious. Jack loves it, even if there is a little bit if special maneuvering when playing in the water. (He did figure it out later...)

Laundry day may be Jack's favorite day of the week! He loves to crawl over neatly folded clothes and he picks out his favorite piece and insists on wearing it over his head, around his neck or even on. This is Dan's Hawaiian shirt that he just had to wear- awesome fashion sense. He is kind of attached to Hawaiian shirts- just like his Papa Russ. :)

And as a special surprise, Grandma Cindy filled the kid pool for Jack. The water was cold but HE LOVED IT!

He couldn't get over just wearing is swim trunks-no diaper. (I am too cheap to put him in a swimming diaper every time we get wet. We just clean out the water after every use. It's like an outdoor bathtub!)

Just the beginning

2010-06-23T09:35:00.002-05:00

Happy Summer! We have been extra busy enjoying the nice weather and spending time with friends and family.
A couple of highlights...

We had SEVERE weather on Monday night- we decided to head down to the basement. We made a nice bed on the floor, and TRIED to move Jack downstairs without disturbing his sleep. That lasted 3 minutes and then he was one PARTY ANIMAL! The great thing about it all-we went back upstairs at 10:20 and he was drowsy and went right back in his crib without a peep.
We are all safe- so is our house. We are THANKFUL!

Our cousins came to visit from Illinois. Jack and Cade relaxing in the recliner at Grandma & Papas. The big boys went fishing, and the girls and these two went out to dinner at Red Robin- very good food but Jack is not so fun at restaurants.

Just a silly picture.
And- how can I forget that I am playing in an Ultimate Frisbee league with Dan this summer. What was I thinking??? It is a lot of running, good thing I am there to be a girl body and only play just as much as the other girls ABSOLUTELY NEED ME. The first point or two is VERY painful, but after that it is A LOT of fun. Last week we had to take Jack with us so Dan I never got to play on the field together. It just just nice being out as a family!

And that is just the beginning of our summer. We are looking forward to sneaking in a lot more fun in between the necessities of life- eat, sleep, and of course work.

A rainy day...

2010-06-15T21:19:00.003-05:00

a perfect day to play in puddles. :)

The ball pit was the activity for the weekend- card day with a friend on Friday, friends coming over Saturday night, and Sunday afternoon play (a distraction for our overtired child.)
Also- you could say we have started piano lessons. I have been practicing a song for church and Jack sits next to me and turns his pages in the book. He is very cute. Now he goes up to the piano and says "na, na, na." I'm pretty sure that is what he says as he reaches for anything he wants, but maybe it is his way of saying "piano."
And one of the best parts of his seat being forward facing- watching scenes like this unfold. :)

A couple of funny ones...

We pulled out the play food after school on Monday. Jack found a piece of pizza, put it in his mouth and then preceded to throw it in the garbage. I guess it didn't taste as good as homemade. :)

Also- Jack has been a monster going to sleep at night. Last night I took away his blanket that was in his crib, and gave him a different one. He went right to sleep. I think his blue & brown striped blanket scared him.

We did it!

2010-06-08T10:27:00.002-05:00

We finally turned Jack's carseat around! The new recommendation is 2 years old, but Jack was getting a little too tall AND the cold air just wasn't getting to him fast enough. VERY LAME REASONS when we're talking about safety, but I am sure he is very safe!

Last weekend we went to Reclaiming Our Heritage at the VA medical center grounds. We only spent about 1 hour there (most of the time seeing my friend from work sing) but Jack wanted to walk EVERYWHERE and see EVERYTHING!

Jack loved to dance to the music! Every once in a while he would get a big idea and dart towards the stage- I WAS ON MY TOES (or behind the camera)!!!

Betsy singing- It was a GREAT show! I really enjoyed the patriotic music at the end- it reminds me of how grateful I am to live in the Land of the Free!

A weekend without Dan...

2010-06-02T09:49:00.005-05:00

Dan went to Utah for the Holiday weekend- a friend was getting married and we like to check in on all of our friends.
Yes it seems strange we vacation separate, but how much fun would Jack and I have frisbee golfing every day, eating at Tucanos (I would enjoy this, not Jack so much) and the wedding was in Logan Utah- Jack and I spend most of our time in Provo. It seems like we would have vacationed alone, even if were in the same state.

Jack and I had a lot of fun at home!

Saturday morning, Jack slept until 9:10 AM!!! I woke him up- I don't really plan on him sleeping that long and I didn't want him to wake up during my 9:30 piano lesson. He was ready to go- first stop, a little morning read.

Then we hit up a neighborhood rummage sale. I found Jack a rocking chair- and it's RED! I LOVE RED!

We played at Grandma & Papa's house.

And when Dad made it home- we went on a festive walk for Memorial Day (Thank you Auntie Katie for the festive shirt and of course a Bomb Pop to go!)

AND enjoyed Pizza together, at the table. (Thanks to the new booster seat that I found at the rummage as well!)

Yes, Jack is a happy baby! He has been a lot of fun, going to bed without a peep and napping great! We are very lucky!

The season's firsts...

2010-05-25T21:34:00.002-05:00

Jack and Dan's first Bomb Pops

Jack's first outside bath! Kind of trashy, but he LOVED IT!!!
There will be many more "firsts" to report... this is only the beginning!

Jack's First...

2010-05-24T14:26:00.004-05:00

Let me preface this video- Dan has a friend, let's call him Joe (who does not read our blog, but may start if Dan tells him about this post...) who moved away to a more "liberal" area of the country. After a few short months Joe called Dan and told him that he participated in the worlds (?) largest naked bikeride.

So when I saw Jack doing this, I can officially call this Jack's First (and should be only) naked bikeride.

You can't see anything- for all you need to know he has a diaper on... And I PROMISE I washed the seat of his toy after his little ride. So no friends need to worry about those kinds of germs.

Jack and I went to Dan's ultimate frisbee game. After showing Dan the pictures, he said "You know you could have taken a picture of the game." I hate to disappoint you Dan, but Jack is a little cuter than you all sweaty running around. (And he requires a little more attention.)

After the game- He loves his "Eating the Alphabet" book.
A very tired baby... 11:15 AM, lunchtime. Apparently nap time couldn't come soon enough! This was the case both Friday and Saturday.
By the way, Jack started saying "mom" 2 days before Mother's Day (AKA the day mom let me fall into the piano.) He says "dad" also, but really only once Dad leaves the room. And his latest word "yack." we're assuming that he is saying Jack, so it is very cute. He seems to say it when I would usually say it. For example. He pulls the plug out of the tub- I gasp and he says "Yack!" It is ADORABLE! He also just yells it when he is very excited, or when he should be sleeping in bed but is still up causing trouble. You've got to love the little ball of energy!

I took some awesome pictures tonight, so I am sure I will post again soon! Have a great week!

I jinxed myself...

2010-05-19T11:01:00.009-05:00

Great ER experience, great Monday baseball game, busy and very FUN WEEK! Friday we got Jack's stitches out- Dan was able to go with us too!-and things were "looking good." I was being very good about neosporin, wearing a hat, sunscreen etc.

A ditsy moment... Our pictures have been very bright (with a flash)/kind of fuzzy. I didn't know what was wrong. I tried to take pictures of Jack's stitches, and they were really fuzzy so I tried some different settings. Nothing was wrong with the settings, there was some smudge on the camera lens. he he...

Dan left town on Saturday. I slept at my parents house on Saturday night and Sunday morning we were loading the car to run home for a moment and run out to Brookfield before church. Something happened-I don't know what exactly, but Jack started crying and I turned around. He wasn't near the car, and didn't fall, but his head was dripping blood and his whole wound had reopened. BUMMER!

I called my parents- they were both at different church meetings so they couldn't really help, so I was totally alone. THAT DOESN'T HAPPEN TO ME, EVER! So, I walked up to my parent's neighbor (my pediatrician) and he took a look. Called in a favor to the on-call Dr. and Jack was taped up in no time! (We just had to go to the office, not the ER! Thank goodness!)

What an excellent start to a long weekend without Dan.

A couple of highlights-
Papa Russ made Jack pancakes for breakfast!
Grandma Cindy's Chili (that Jack LOVES, but as soon as I turned on the camera he started to play! STINKER!)

Papa Russ's new shop opened in January, and they had a big celebration/Open House that we got to help with and then attend (yummy food!)

And the best highlight of all... Dan was coming home on Wednesday, but Tuesday night (Wed morning 4 AM) I got a phonecall from Dan. He was 10 minutes away from home! I was so excited! (I guess I had 10 minutes to move Jack back to his crib.)

Pressing our luck...

2010-05-13T10:56:00.004-05:00

Jack takes a tumble, and the next night we take him to the Brewers Game? We were going to have a relaxing night at home, considering our Sunday day and Sunday night puking incident... (I guess the "incident" is to be expected after a head injury- still doesn't make it fun)

But we just couldn't pass up a Brewer's Game with our out of town company, especially when it would be Jack's first Brewer's Game.

Dan taught me baseball game etiquette. Apparently you can only take pictures between innings. "People come to watch the game, not watch you take pictures."

We actually crashed our friends date. The Hawkes' were visiting from Utah! They said they didn't mind.
It was good to go with someone, because then Dan had someone to sit with while Jack and I walked the halls for 1/3 of the game. Check out his "moves" that he stopped to perform EVERY TIME they played a players music. On our last walk, I heard someone say "That's the little boy that was dancing in the halls earlier too!" It made me smile- he is pretty cute. :)

And of course- Jack had to sit in his own chair. I PROMISE! I did not take my hands off of him!
This is obviously VERY LATE.

We had a great time! We will go again, but hopefully for an afternoon game.

I should have known...

2010-05-10T11:14:00.004-05:00

Happy Mothers Day!

The day started off so well... I woke up at 6:30, and just could not sleep any longer. I got up and took a shower, made a poster for primary at church, wrapped some presents, wrote an email or two. I don't know- I did A LOT only because I had 1 1/2 hours! Jack did not stir until 8 AM!!! That is by far the longest he has slept in! Who could ask for anything more on Mother's Day. (Why couldn't I take advantage of it and sleep in too?

Jack got up- he had breakfast. I made chocolate covered strawberries, played a little. We had company in town so we had a delicious breakfast. Everything was going GREAT!

When I am working in the kitchen, this is Jack's favorite place to sit! Or on the stool in front of the freezer.

Dan went to church (with our company) he had meetings. Jack and I got ready the rest of the way and ran an errand to Brookfield to drop off some work things. Again- we were doing GREAT!

We made it to church on time. Jack was very good during Sacrament Meeting. He just wanted to sit on our friend's laps for most of the meeting.

Then for primary- 2 hours long- and I had to play piano. So Dan kept Jack, and played with him, let him walk the halls, sat with him in Dan's meetings. Dan is wonderful. Really I start to miss him during this time, so when I saw them in the halls with less than 5 minutes to go, and Jack reached for me, I took him. I had only one more song to play.

I let Jack sit in a little kid chair (still too big for him) but HE LOVED IT! he just smiled, swung his legs. I remember looking at him and thinking "This is what being a kid is all about! Just loving life, enjoying the little things. When was the last time I could just sit and swing my legs, without a care in the world?

Then it was time to play- I thought I would bring the chair closer to the piano so I could be there if he decided to get up. There- that was MY MISTAKE. I should have known...

I turn the page in the music book, and "BAM!" Jack falls forward right into the piano leg. I quickly get up, hand him off to Dan so that I can get through the LAST SONG. Jack is bleeding, bad. All over Dan's white shirt, all over himself. I realize what is going on. A nice woman offers to get us ice. Dan runs into the women's bathroom to get paper towel. And the rest is a big blurr... until we got to the car. Papa Russ made it in the car with us, and we were off to the hospital.

If I had just left him where he was! He would have had just a bruise (if he had even moved. He was really enjoying himself.) Instead, the damage... an inch long vertical slice in his forehead! 6 stitches and a popsicle and we were out the door-45 min! That has got to be an ER record.

Lesson learned: "I know you love it, but your mom should know better."
Happy Mothers Day to a Mother who is figuring things out: one day, one situation, one child at a time.

(Papa Russ took some pictures with his phone- so there may be more pictures soon!)

Just one minute...

2010-05-06T13:19:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I just need a minute... like to go to the bathroom, to deal with raw meat, or to open the oven and get something out. Really a job that should only take 1 second, but with a baby in my arms or tugging at my legs it becomes nearly impossible!

So with Jack being sick, he has been held a lot. He is feeling better, so we are trying to let him get a grip on reality. Two activities that seem to hold his attention...

My piano lesson family has this in their music room. He hasn't quite figured it out enough to be really loud, but he loves it anyway!

And last night when we got home from piano, we had a special surprise waiting on our doorstep. A ball pit!!! Jack loves to play peek-a-boo around the middle ball spiral thing, and to crawl around in circles. He is very happy just hanging out inside.

And this morning... "Mom, I don't need you to hold me. I don't need a new diaper, or any clothes. I'm just going to sit in here all day." Sadly the fun had to end.

A Picnic in the Park

2010-05-05T10:04:00.004-05:00

Wisconsin weather is beautiful! Springtime is my favorite time of year and I LOVE watching the leaves fill in. I am constantly reminded of the song "For the Beauty of the Earth" and sing it in my head as I'm walking to and from the car, mowing the lawn, or playing outside with Jack.

Last weekend we met up with some friends for a Saturday evening picnic. It was so beautiful and we had a great time (even Dan had a good time throwing a frisbee with a friend and of course the delicious food!)

Sadly there isn't much more to celebrate than that- Jack was sick with "roseola" over the weekend (the contagious period is actually 5-10 days before you show signs of it, so right when we are in Utah. Wisconsin friends-you are SAFE!) I took him to see Dr. Dan on Monday because of his rash- luckily that is the last symptom and means that the fever is over-thank goodness!

We are back to school and just enjoying our nights together. We can't wait for another fun weekend ahead! Either fishing with Dad or Jack's first trip to the zoo- we'll see what's in store!

2010-04-26T06:26:00.006-05:00

Goodness knows I am a little uptight when it comes to keeping a schedule, getting things done, and sticking with what works. But apparently, this all goes out the window on vacation (and boy, am I going to pay for it!)

Jack and Sadie playing at the playground.

Marcia feeding Jack dessert pizza.

Grandma Cindy helping Jack drink from the straw. NOT soda- like 7/8 water, and a very little bit of pink lemonade. He also enjoyed drinking my Jamba Juice through a straw.

Birthday Cake... He likes frosting just like his mom.

Sadie's car seat ended up inside on Graduation morning. Jack had to sit in it while he ate his breakfast, and watched tv at the same time.

A little morning nap at graduation. The late nights really started to wear on all of us.

Jack and his friend playing the the ball pit. We LOVED this!

Our friends who we get to visit in Utah each year. The boys are only 3 weeks apart so they are VERY FUN together!

Driving home with Papa Russ (we are parked at the rest area.)

And a couple of funny videos- Jack and Sadie taking a bath together. This is VERY late Thursday night. You can tell Jack is getting delirious.

And our ride home, JACK DID GREAT! Really, I think he might have done better this trip than when he was only 2 months old and we drove the long drive home. He was very funny, laughing at himself and talking to me. We read books, played his toy piano, and figured out how to use a new toy. We only watched 20 min. of a dvd when the sun was shining in Jack's eyes. If we could guarantee our ride would be this good EVERY TIME, we may take more long road trips.

I am actually really glad we had this time together to just play and be happy!

We made it!!!

2010-04-22T11:27:00.003-05:00

Here we are! Provo, UT

We survived the flight out and are enjoying our time in the "college town" I once called home. We have done lots of bargain shopping, bought a couple of good books, and LOVE spending time with our cousin Sadie and Aunts & Uncles.

Jack loved playing at the airport play area in Milwaukee. Sadly they didnt' have one in our terminal in Denver.

Jack got his FIRST sucker! He loved it!

Grandma Diane- look what you started... I had to open the box before we even checked out. I don't like to do that, but it kept Jack happy!

Homemade pizza at Auntie Manda's house. Thank you for letting us play and let our friend come over. Here's the three kids all playing together, they keep us on our toes!

Daddy- we really miss you! I hope you are having fun and we can't wait to see you soon!

We love you!