October Picture update

 Park in Town

 Jackson being creative so he doesn't miss his shows

 Park in Decorah--- really neat park!!

 I had to throw in one of me and my new glasses--- I didn't realize I had picked out "coach" brand glasses... So fancy, I am!! :)

 A great picture of Jackson!

 "Feeding" the animals in the barn.

 Are you done filling up the truck yet, Jackson?

Bugs Bite!

We spent the weekend (2 weeks ago) "camping" in our camper this past weekend.  We had a splendid and fun time having cousins (Aubrey & Elise) come to visit and play in the river- their first time!  Both nights were late and we were all tuckered out by Saturday night!  But it was worth it!!

Unfortunately during all the in-out during the day some (maybe a hoard) mosquitoes got into the boys area of the camper... they both got tons of bites on their faces, Jackson got a bunch on his hands.  Luckily they were both wearing long sleeves and pants to bed.  Poor babies!  The bites look awful!  Luckily they don't seem to be itchy and they are not scratching them.

County Fair

County fairs are nice and small.  I grew up in an area that had a HUGE fair and we almost never went... my grandpa took us for kids day when we were younger (it was always the hottest day of the summer and we ate our fill of junk), but I don't remember going very often.  We visited my grandma in Wisconsin and got to go to the little town fair, which was always fun... I think this fair is like that one, small and you see everyone you know.  I pretty much DID see everyone I knew at the local county fair... all 3 people. Ha ha.

 My friend Sharon's kiddos playing "dead" on one of the tractors! 

My first friends in Waukon (Nola and her Daughter-in-Law Sharon).  We just all happened to be at the fair at the same time.  We even had dinner together!

 Jackson sat on EVERY tractor that was available... kind of glad we didn't go when ALL of the tractors were open during the day.  We stopped by often to ride a tractor during our 3 hours there!

 Grandma Jo and Grandpa Larry with the kiddos.  Notice the barns in the background, yes we went through all of them and our stroller and shoes are still in the garage waiting to be cleaned from all the poop.

 Maxwell and I hanging out in front of the fair.

Our little family at the fair (forgot to take off the filter, but oh well)


Jackson and Maxwell both were excellent at the fair.  They lasted well past their bedtimes and went to sleep (better yet slept through the night) right away.  Even though Jackson had the beginnings of a croupy-coughy-coldy episode.

I love spending Friday nights (and any night really) doing things with our kids.  They are only small and lovey for a short time... I want to soak it all up!!

Maxwell- 7 Months

Where have the last 7 months gone???  Yesterday my baby boy turned 7 months old!  Wow!  He is such a sweetie!

What Mr. Maxwell Allan is up to these days....

• He is ALL over the place.  He crawls wherever he wants to be... usually where Jackson is (he started this about a month ago).
• Teeth- he's got his bottom front teeth (they are not all the way in, but they are definitely peeking through.
• Eating Avocados... he is still NOT a fan of solid food.  Not sure what to do, but keep offering it to him.  He liked avocados much better than green beans.
• He can pull himself into a STANDING position if he is seated.  This started just yesterday while we were at the Children's Museum in La Crosse.  He and Jackson were in the boat and then he grabbed the steering wheel and pulled himself up, over and over again and would stand there for quite awhile!  Of course I didn't have my camera- just my phone.  So I have to find the adapter to get those pics up.
• Watches TV a little bit... right now he is watching the "John Deere Movie" with Jackson.
• He follows Jackson around all the time.  They usually play well together, of course Jackson takes toys from him, but he doesn't seem to mind much.
• Eats ice in his little mesh sucker.
• Giggles and laughs all the time, especially if you are playing with him when changing his diaper.
• Found his wee-wee.
• Hates his carseat... but will sleep in it mostly.
• Still nursing every 3 hours when awake.
• Sleeping- wakes about 8:00-8:30am, naps around 10am, wakes about 30-45 mins later, naps around 12:30-1:00pm wakes around 3pm, naps around 6pm for 15-45 mins, bed by 8:30pm or a meltdown happens.  He sometimes will wake around 3pm.  We are trying to do cry it out, but some nights we are just not ready for it.
• Plays with lots of toys and likes to get things out of a box.
• Fussy when hungry or tired, rarely cries otherwise!

I have to take his picture today, so no picture right now.  Tomorrow. :)

New Camera

I don't know if you have noticed, but I have been lacking in putting up pictures of my little snuggle bugs... well there are two reasons and they are both broken.  I have two cameras a point and shoot that I keep in my purse and a Digital SLR.  The point and shoot has a broken battery/card door cover... makes it hard to get the cute one-handed picture because I have to hold the door closed.  The DSLR has a bent pin where the card goes in... so I had to hem and ha about getting a new camera.  I found what I wanted, but I found it SUPER difficult to hit the "buy" buton, because it's so expensive!  But I didn't want to get another point and shoot and be disappointed with it and end up buying the SLR anyway...

Here's what I ordered...from here.  I hemmed and hawed about ordering it online or getting it from a store.  I went with online, because it was significantly less expensive and I could get it within days... SHOCKER, I know that there isn't a place within 50 miles that sold what I wanted.  Plus, no shipping, no tax, saves money. ;)  I stuck with Canon, even though I have heard great things about other brands, because I didn't have to buy any lenses... good deal.

I also decided to pick up a bounce flash... it's a cheapy... seriously cheapy, but I thought I should try it out and see if I will remember to use it. We'll see.  Here's the one I got... I got it here.

Another thing I splurged on was this book about using manual settings on a DSLR camera. "Say No! to auto" by Kristen Duke.  It's cool and an e-book that you can print at a local lab, because you print it in 4x6 prints! I found it on a blog.  Here is the link.

So, look forward to some great pictures from Maxwell's Baptism this Sunday.  I can't wait for the weekend (although I should get off my butt and get some cleaning done), because so many of my favorite people are going to be here!!  My BFF is coming to visit and bringing a play partner for the Jman.  My parents and brother and Sister-in-law, my aunt and uncle from Wisconsin, and of course all of Andy's local realatives and two brothers!  I can't wait!  I love parties!

Here's a couple of pictures I took with my broken camera lately... my two favorite subjects.

We forgot to brush his hair after his bath, it's cute, my kids always have crazy hair. ;)

Boys

Taking pictures of a very active 2 year  old  who does not like pictures anymore (runs away, hides his face, tells you to go away and no pictures, or makes the worst faces ever) is a stressful thing, even when it's nothing fancy and just a spur of the moment- moment!

Jackson (2 1/2) and Maxwell (12 weeks

Bowling Boys & Girls

I get Disney's Family Fun magazine and they always have such great ideas in there! In the October/November issue they had these little Bowling Boys. My little guy is ADDICTED to bowling. He is even in a league (for 2 year olds, he never gets more than 50)! So I thought this would be a perfect stocking stuffer for him!! I am making them for all the little boys in my life and even the little girls! They are really simple and inexpensive!! I'm making the Jman a second set to keep in the diaper bag... I hope they keep him occupied at the restaurant!!

I found my little bowling boys at this esty shop. But you can also get them from this website. I tried attaching the ribbon with Terrifically Tacky Tape, but I think that hot glue works better and is easier. I cut a whole bunch of ribbons (I got a bunch of these ribbons from the $1 section at Target) Then I used sharpies to draw the faces. Very simple!! You can seal them with a little spray, but I didn't do it this time. Maybe next time... I just ordered 200 more little men (makes 20 sets) from Caseyswood.com (I got my first batch of little men from this etsy shop, you can buy them at Michael's, but they were more expensive than the other places online) so I can make them for the rest of the people I want to make them for... I only made 5 sets for Christmas.

To make the gift I put the 10 little men and the ball in a baggie and attached a little directions (see below).