10.29.2011

St. Louis Trip (Cont.)

We had so much fun with my brother Brian and his girlfriend Stacey, as well as my Dad who was in town.  It was a jam packed trip with lots of stuff to see and do! Picture overload ahead....

new train conductor gear from Uncle Brian
J Man and the Fred Bird 
Jackson enjoying the Zoo Train
Mommy & Jackson

Grampie showing Jackson how to "Hold Up" the Arch
lots of climbing at the City Museum

Silly Boys!
"Big Boy" in MY belly
more climbing with Daddy at City Museum
just chillin in the hotel

Mommy & Jackson at the Piasa Bird
Jackson "meeting" Robert Wadlow
practicing his golf swing with a stick and some leaves

Halloween Costume 2011

Had to get a little creative due to the bump on the front of me!!



10.25.2011

St. Louis Trip---We're BAAAACK!

I took over 250 pictures on our 5 day adventure so I gotta go through and edit them, sort them and figure out how to blog our trip.  For now, here is a fun pic of the traveling family:

10.17.2011

Carrot Muffins

HAD to post this, because the boys are DEVOURING these things.  I made a batch and am going to freeze whatever the boys don't scarf down their throats today.  Wanted a healthier snack and breakfast option that was already made on the days where time is limited.

Source


I got the recipe HERE.

Here it is...simple.


Whole Wheat Carrot Muffins (makes 12)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk (I used soy milk and it worked just fine)
1 egg
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla
1 carrot, grated
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (we left these out)
Directions
First of all, start off by preheating your oven to 375 degrees. Also, using butter grease a muffin tin, or line the tin with paper liners.
Next, prepare the carrot by chopping it into 1 – 2 inch pieces and pulsing in the food processor. It’s so much easier than sitting there grating the carrot.
Next, combine dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and lightly mix. Once just combined mix in the carrots and walnuts.
Once everything is combined, using a regular sized ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into your buttered muffin tin.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until when tested with a toothpick the toothpick comes out clean.
Remove from the tin and cool for about 5 minutes.
****I made these as mini-muffins so they are just the right size for Jackson.  Little did I know he'd want 3 mini muffins :)  ****

10.16.2011

Presents for the J-Man

For Jackson's birthday, like last year, we decided to ask for donations to Ronald McDonald House from birthday party goers instead of gifts for Jackson.  He has enough stuff, he is well cared for, and frankly other kids just need the stuff more than Jackson.



So this year, we collected toys, clothes and gift cards for their Santa Shop.  Here is a little info...how cool is this?!


Houston’s Ronald McDonald House provides families the opportunity to enjoy a 
wonderful Christmas with gifts while being away from home at no additional expense. 

  ◊ Our Community Room is transformed into a Santa Store filled with wonderful new 
       gifts and goodies for all ages.  Volunteers set up the Santa Store and arrange          
       gifts in sections by gender and age for easy shopping.  Santa Store opens two 
       weeks before Christmas and is staffed with smiling Volunteers ready to assist 
       and provide gift-wrapping. 


  ◊ Parents are able to visit the Santa Store to select gifts for their Children. 
    
  ◊ Children visit the Santa Store with a Volunteer escort to help select the perfect 
      gift for their parents and siblings.  


A boy is still a boy, so family members still get Jackson gifts and here are some pics of this year's gifts our big 2 year old got. He also got quite a bit of money from family members out of town...in the piggy bank for now until we think of something he needs/wants.

Cars suitcase..so cool! Full of lots of goodies from Grammie & Grampie

Lawnmower since he is OBSESSED with mowing !

practicing how to use his suitcase
Flashcards!

Train table and train set from Mama & Daddy

our little train conductor

Pumpkin Time!

Ok, so our family is NOT into Halloween in any way, shape or form but we still love Fall.  I remember so much about painting and drawing on pumpkins when I was little and since Jackson loves to PAINT we decided to give that a try.

But first, we had to go to the pumpkin patch to find the PERFECT ones.







THEN we got to paint it!











Trike-A-Thon

Jackson's school had a Trike-A-Thon on Friday and he was ready and rearing to go.  It was a short 15 min ride for him (with a little help from Rob).  We also checked out the great nature walk that they have at his school.  They go out there with class to explore and look at the fish and nature.  So neat!







10.15.2011

Jackson, You're 2!

Dear Jackson,

Mommy has been delaying writing this letter because it is a tough one to write.  I'm in denial that my little bitty baby is now a big TWO YEAR OLD!

You are one blessed little kid with so much love and friendship in your life.  Daddy and I are very excited about your future and all the great things you will do and all the hearts of people you will touch.  You are the love of our lives and each night after tucking you in we thank God for being able to be your parents another great day!

Right now, you are still a big kid, accordingly to the doctor.  You are:
37" (95th percentile)
31 lbs (80th pecentile)

You are still a relatively "easy" child.  You are now in a big boy bed, wearing size 2T/3T shirts, interested in exploring the idea of the potty, and are still the best sleeper on the block!!  You're favorite word is "no" even though most the time you say it somewhat politely :)  Here are some other fun facts about you right now:

- You go to school 9:30-2:30 on Tuesdays and Thursdays
- You take swim lessons once a week and you LOVE it
- You love to make animal noises and faces (pig, cow, monkey, dog, bird, chicken, duck, moose, shark, cat, horse)
- You're working on 2 word combos (wait turn is something you've learned recently).  You say a lot of words...tons actually, but have figured out that you get your point across without having to make multiple word statements :)
- You LOVE waffles!  and syrup
- You still love your fruits and veggies and your soy milk
- You are liking to "hold" us aka hug us and pat/rub our backs in your sweet moments
- You are OBSESSED with your Daddy and miss him when he is at "work".  
- You can count to 3, then you skip 4, say 5 sometimes 6, then 9 (your favorite number for some reason!)
- You are also very into coloring, painting and play-doh. You like to say "Wow" and "Did It" when you make something cool!



And I can't forget how much you LOVE your golf. You are pretty darn good too! I'm going to be taking some videos so you can see how your swing develops over the years :)

Keep growing, laughing and smiling Jackson.  The world is watching!  I hope there never goes a day in your life where you don't know how much we love you.  

Hugs and Kisses,
Mama and Daddy