Leap Fun.

Coloring in the Lines....

My brother Ray came over the other day to hang out - which just makes Jackson and Ethan's day.... Ethan found his tattoos to be missing something - so he proceeded to go get his crayons to help out Uncle Ray.... His just didn't understand why his crayon wouldn't color in those lines... It was adorable! 

Adding a color to our lives..

We needed to do SOMEthing after being stuck in the house for 3 weeks (4 with Ethan) and then Ethan getting sick and being stuck again for 6 days....  Jackson's very very creative and loves art so much... He was all about painting.  Ethan - he got bored about 10 minutes in... so Jackson and I painted, just the two of us, for quite some time.  It was really fun!

 

What a difference one year makes...

January 6, 2012

 

January 23, 2013

Playing Outside!

Finally!!  We've been cooped up inside since before Christmas because of sickness, potty training, and just crazy cold temperatures!!!  So when the weather called for upper 50's for this ONE day this week (tomorrow is 32!), my boys were stoked to go outside!  We played in the backyard for 2 hours!  The boys didn't even fight once the whole time!  We're ready for Spring!

 

Cole's Birthday!

Jackson's buddy Cole had his 5th birthday party a few weeks ago at Fast Lanes.  Jackson thought it was the most fun party ever.  It was Ninja Turtle Themed and they got to bowl, play laser tag and eat cake!  Jackson was stoked!  I didn't get too many pictures, but these are cute!

Jackson, Cole and Holiday

 My sassy boys!

 Jenny sent this picture that she took of Holiday and Katie.... I love it because these two precious girls kept wanting to feel the baby... Katie kept saying "I feel him kicking!"  It was so sweet!!  I'm glad I get to be surrounded by adorable girls to get my "fix."  Ha!

Just a normal day at the office..

Jackson Andrew, the goof.

Yep, that's my boy.  Darn proud of it too.  :)

Sickness #1 of the Year - 17 days in.

I won't re-hash the details of the day... because they were crazy enough that even I don't want to think about it again... but the shortened version is that I picked up Ethan early from Mothers' Day Out on Thursday and after seeing him, I knew I needed to get him to the doctor.  We got in to see our friend and he checked Ethan for strep and flu and fortunately, he tested negative for both.  His temp was 102.3 when we arrived, and Ethan was just limp.  Doc said his tonsils were red and big - and he has all the signs to indicate it may still be strep and possibly a false negative.  So we got him home and on some antibiotics and he seems to be feeling better now.    Both of the boys have been coughing (badly) since before Christmas... coughs don't really worry me too much, but this is definitely lingering.  Jackson is not feeling up to par either... I hate this time of year - and I use that word "hate" honestly.  It's always rough on my boys...  I think Ryan and I need to move to Florida or Arizona for the winter months every year to avoid this crud.  Jackson's at an age where I can't just keep him home quarantined like I want to because he needs to go to class.... but boy, that would be easier.  I hope this is all we have to deal with and the rest of the winter/spring goes smoothly.  We're using this as a good training for hand washing and not spreading germs - to each other, or to mommy or daddy...

30 Weeks!

• Baby's Sex: BOY!! (Name to be announced at birth!)
• Baby is as big as: Head of Lettuce (18 in, 3.2 lbs)
  
• Cravings this week: Nothing really - I'm at that point where I can only eat so much and then I'm really full... I've definitely eaten a lot of eggs this week.
• What's different this week than last week: Sleeping pains...I'm at "that" stage where I have to lay on my side and then my hips will hurt so I roll over and lay on the other side and my hips start to hurt, so I repeat this process all night long.  It's ok.  I know it's part of the process - and I'm glad I've been sleeping well up til this point at least...
• Weeks to go: 10 weeks
• Next Appt: Feb 4 (32 weeks)
• Big Brothers: Ethan and Jackson are both a bit "under the weather" (a phrase Jackson is enjoying using now when people ask)... I'm hoping we can all stay healthy these next few months til this stuff clears out of the area....
• Notes: Nursery is almost complete!  I'm lacking a few things for the wall, sheets for his crib, a changing pad cover and that's it!  I'll post pictures of it when I get those few things.  Of course, we won't be hanging his name letters til he arrives, but everything else is close!!  :-)  Now, I'll just have get clothes out of the attic and re-wash them and put in drawers, etc.  Definitely some financial benefits to having all boys! 

Sometimes, it's just THIS kind of day....

Photo taken 1.16.13 after my two stinkers refused to obey and "ganged up" together in their mission to ignore mommy's orders to stop running around the house and start cleaning up. I really had a hard time not giggling thru this... They were quite cute.

Jenga!

I can honestly say that he won this game fair and square. Ryan and I aren't parents who "let" our kids win games - just to boost their self esteem or whatever... I just do not agree w/ that.  If Jackson wants to play a game, he needs to learn to play to have fun, not expecting to win every single time and be able to lose like a big boy.  Well, I wasn't expecting him to win this game since Jenga for a 4 yr old isn't the easiest to play... but he did!  I'm really proud of him!  I was placing Row 30 and I topped over the tower.  Great job Jackson!  He was so excited!

 

Two of a kind....

Christmas in January!

On Saturday, we had our annual Christmas get-together with my side of the family - the extended version.  The last few years, we've had it in January because our family is so big and it's so hard to get everyone together in December... so this way everyone could be there!  It was so much fun!  And I'm happy to say that this year, we got a picture of my grandma and her 8 great-grandkids!!  Next year, she'll have 9!  :)  

Such cute kids, aren't they!!?

 

Chef Ethan!

For Christmas, Santa brought Ethan a kitchen. He loves it.  He is constantly cooking for me now... Mostly "chocolate sandwiches" and chicken nuggets... and I get a LOT of water.  He's such a hilarious little guy... His imagination is awesome and he just such a hoot!  He'll ask me what I want to eat so I'll tell him and he'll say "no mommy.  not that.  how about....?"  He is just that boy who plays by the tune of his own drum.... I love him!!!