The Great Attempt

So I am trying to get my household budget down to $400 per month for groceries/diapers/formula/wipes and one fun thing a week for the kids.

Week one - I rock. I exactly hit my budget! Groceries = check. Diapers/Wipes = good. Night out with Kids = McDonalds.

Woot!

Oops - only workin' on 400

Oregon Coast

During the second week in August we rented a cute little house on Devil's Lake just outside of Lincoln City. The first day we were there the weather was AMAZING! The boys jumped right into the hot tub and played with their bubbles outside. We BBQ'd hamburgers (turkey for us, beef for the rest of the family) and ate TONS of watermelon.
The next day we took the boys to the beach and they had a wonderful time. It took them a bit to warm up to the idea of playing near the waves but once they got up the nerve to get in, there was no going back. The next two days were a bit overcast and rainy at times but there was still plenty to do and on Wednesday the 12th we drove down to Newport for MaaMaa's wedding! The boys were wonderful during the ceremony although Jacob kept saying "uh-oh, uh-oh" over and over again!
Thursday we played in the surf again and we almost lost Uncle Brian to a nasty rip tide but he remembered to swim parallel to the shore and made it in safe! Mom and Dad (Ben and Stephanie) rented Kayaks and we also went swimming in the lake.
Friday, sadly, our last day we went to the Aqarium and the boys LOVED the fishies. Jacob especially loved the tunnel of sharks and enjoyed his new found ability to walk much longer distances. We also went to the Rogue Brewery Headquarters and Mo's for lunch before the drive home. All in all, a wonderful trip with our amazing family.

More, More, More

Warning - Picture OVERLOAD

What a great memorial day weekend! We spent an extended holiday with my Dad aka Grandpa up on Whidbey Island. The boys had a blast running/crawling around and loved every minute of our visit. The boys say "We love our Grandpa!!!"

Me, Jacob and Ben.

GASP!!!

Break out the babygates!! Jacob has learned to crawl up stairs!!!

boys

Here are just a few pics of the boys being cute :-)

Tulips, Tulips EVERYWHERE!

As is our annual tradition we took the boys to the Woodenshoe Tulip Festival. Jackson had an absolute blast running around, sliding, eating ice cream and sniffing flowers. Jacob decided to be a bit more sedate and people-watched with baby like abandon. It was a GORGEOUS day with almost 80 degree weather. Our friend Dave took our traditional family shot so I'll have to post that once he gets it to me.

Happy Days!

More Easter Pics

Oh yeah - the boys had cute matching little white Nikes.

Easter 2009

Dispite both boys being sick this year (Jackson with croup and Jacob just plain old runny nosed) we had a wonderful easter. We bought the boys matching outfits and they were sooo cute together.

Easter dinner was celebrated with the god parents at our house and we ended the evening watching Berenstein Bears.

Jacob's First Trip to McDonalds

The boy loves fry fries - yum!

Singing in the bathtub!

Now that Jacob is sitting up really well, we decided it was time for the boys to have their first bath together...

It was wet and soapy madness but fun!!!

They Grow - They Grow!

Jacob can stand up now! (oh no!!!)

Me and the boys at Dawson Creek.

This is Jackson's "Calvin Klein doesn't have anything on me" pose.


Just in case you were wondering how Jacob feels about having
his picture taken.

Holy Smokes Batman!

So we've been watching Jacob over the past couple of weeks as he rocked back and forth on his hands and knees. Ben was betting that in two weeks the kiddo would be crawling. He was wrong.

Jacob crawled in a week!!!!! And once he got started - well, he was off like a shot! But tonight the coolest thing happened, Jacob was playing at his little toy piano and the silly kid pulled himself up to a standing position right before our eyes! This little guy is ready to go! We think he's trying to keep up or gasp! Surpass his brother in speed and agility. Pray for this poor soon to be gray haired mother....

Happy Birthday Baby!

My big boy turns two years old today at 10:35!

Thank you Jackson for two wonderful years filled with the priviledge of being your Mommy.

I love you!

Mama

Something learned

When your child decides to decorate your newly painted walls with a red crayon it's time to attack with the all powerful BAKING SODA!

Nothing removes red crayon like baking soda and a toothbrush. Goodbye little boy art, hello clean walls!

Eggs

I learned something interesting today. My youngest love, Jacob is allergic to eggs. Who would've thought? He had eggs with Jackson this morning and was just fine and about a half an hour later turned a lovely shade of purple with splotches and started breathing really fast.

I have to say, I kept my cool. Picked him up and calmly called the pediatrician asked to speak with the advice nurse immediately. I was instructed to give him 1/2 tsp of Benedryl and to keep an eye on him. A half an hour later the kid is looking good, breathing is better and he's bouncing up and down in his excersaucer. So, lesson learned: ALWAYS have children's benadryl on hand.

Breakfast Boys

Jacob has been kinda anti bottle, anti-pre made baby food so I decided this morning to be a Mommy that goes with the flow and made him exactly what I made for Jackson for breakfast. Granted, Jacobs was cut into smaller pieces.

This morning the boys had cheesy eggs, pears and toast. Jackson did pretty well, ate most of his toast and of course, all of his pears but it was Jacob who surprised me the most. That kid did some damage to his plate. I mean, he really ate! When he finished his own plate he tackled Jackson's plate to boot! Crazy kid, I guess he thinks he's ready for solids. He chewed everything really well and didn't have any reactions to the egss. He's just like Jackson, eager to get started on "people food".

Just for fun - I had to post pics of Jackson from the same age as the shots below of Jacob...such cute boys!

Cute new pics of Jacob.

Jackson's First Injury

A couple of hours ago I finished up some cake decorating, came upstairs to upload some pics and post and Ben yells from downstairs "Jackson's bleeding!". Calm panic sets in, you know, the kind that takes over when you are really worried but instict kicks in and you see everything in slow motion?

Jackson comes running up the stairs and it takes a moment or two for Ben and I to figure out where exactly he's bleeding from. Both of his hands are bloody and he's dripping from somewhere. Quick check reveals no large, noticable life threatening wounds (thank goodness) and we finally found a small cut on the tip of his middle finger on his left hand. It's one of those deep, finger tip punctures that just won't stop bleeding but didn't seem to be causing him any pain, until of course, I touched it and then all hell broke loose.

Ben ran and got the first aid kit (thanks Jared H, for buying those for us!) and we quickly disentfected, applied pressure and a band-aide. One piece of chocolate later and he's a happy kid. The weird thing is that we went downstairs and scoured the house...no knives where left out, no glass on the floor, no scissors, no razors, nothing. All drawers are safely locked and everything is up. Unless the kid cut himself on a pair of socks there was nothing that could have injured him.

We, of course, tried to ask him "what hurt you baby?" to which we received no response except "Rock" indicating it was time for bed and he was ready to watch Fraggle Rock. I guess the motrin we gave him for any discomfort he may have felt kicked in.

Guess it's destined to be one of those mysteries...

Boys

The boys and I have been home together for the past couple of days. Rather, cooped up together because it's been stinkin' cold and both of them have runny noses. It's been fun times.

Anyway, I caught the shot above trying to get a single picture of Jacob and Jackson thought it would be hilarious to get into the shot too. Obviously Jake thought it was funny too.

My boys are so funny!

City's Edge Church Christmas Pagent

Our annual Christmas pagent this year was pushed out till mid-January due to inclement (ok, just plain nasty) weather. We left the older "nomad" kids in charge and the pagent they came up with was creative and quite sweet.

Instead of 3 wise men, we had 3 wise cracking cowboys. Instead of an Angel, we had Captain America. Mary, mother of God was a pirate and we had 3 princesses as well. The animals in the stable were not traditional animals either. They were played by our toddler group and included a baby dinosaur and a baby Tigger.

Of course, we still had a baby Jesus who was dressed up as a cuddly teddy bear. At the end of the pagent the kids annouced the moral which was that it doesn't matter how you approach christ but rather that you receive his message and share it. All in all, it was quite cute.

In this year's pagent Jacob was baby Jesus the bear and Jackson was baby farm animal Tigger. Both boys did very well, although Jackson got a bit of stage fright mid-way through and decided it was time to sit with Mommy. Jacob on the other hand settled right on in. As reported by Haley, pirate mother of God, "Jacob tooted several times and then fell asleep" right on stage. Perhaps he's destined for Hollywood greatness?

The rest of the day went smoothly - just hanging out with friends for dinner and then hopefully plans to get the boys to sleep before mid-night (ha ha ha).

Been Playin'

I've been playin' with my camera as the boys play together. Above are just some fun, every day shots.