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?

11 Months Old

Our little Maxwell is going to be 1 year old in LESS THAN A MONTH!  I can't believe how fast the last year has flown by!  This update is a bit late, because we didn't take his pictures until this weekend... he had a cold and an ear infection when he "turned" 11 months old and I wanted to have a happy baby!! 

• Walking like a crazy man- today he walked all the way from the family room to the living room without falling!  
• Naps in the morning for an hour and a half and then takes a 2-3 hour nap in the afternoon!
• Goes to bed around 8pm.
• He can give kisses (open mouthed)
• Is super sweet to Spooky-- he does not pull on her like Jackson did (does)
• Loves to drive cars of any kind
• he knows his name
• tries to say Jackson, it's the same sound everytime
• loves to play in the toliet
• SCREAMS (with excitement) to get into the tub and even lets his big brother pour water onto him!
• Smiles and giggles a lot!
• Doing better at daycare on Thursdays! :)  Less crying
• Drinks water out of a cup.
• Enjoys eating fruit, bread, tomatoes, hamburger, but still gags a lot of food.
• Loves his big brother- they giggle in the car all the time and play well together.

9 Months

Maxwell is 9 months (and 2 weeks).  Where has the time gone?  My sweet little baby is going to be one before we know it!!  Here is a picture update. 

Back it up

So, we learned the hard way this week that you have to back up your stuff, even if you have a back up drive.  I should have put all of my pictures not only on my back up drive, but onto disks and more disks.  My back up drive bit the dust on Wednesday... taking with it 3 years of pictures of my precious little boys. 

Goodness, it's heart wrenching.  I feel like I have a huge weight on my chest right now.  Because I have been in contact with several people and SeaGate (company that manufactures the back-up drive) and it looks like the only option is real life retrieval of the data... which is expensive.  According to SeaGate it is almost a FOR SURE that the pictures are there on the drive, but the memory has to be put in a new drive to make it work.  This doesn't come cheap...$1200.  $1200 sounds like a fortune.  But pennies to the lost memories and the beating myself up I will do if I don't just bite the bullet and have the data retrieved. 

As we speak I am backing up my computer, so I am using Andy's computer right now.  I am just sick to my stomach.  But luckily, we can afford it (don't want to, but we can).  And I can't imagine not having all those files of my babies.  Especially Maxwell, because I have not done as many photo books or printing for him.  I haven't even uploaded most of his monthly pictures onto Snapfish! 

So, now it's to break the sad news to Andy and figure out how I can cut back for the next few months to "make up" for the added expense.  No trips to La Crosse...

Boys

Our boys are 3 years and 8 months respectively... where does the time go?

Jackson:

• 3 foot 1 inch (30th percentile)
• 34.5 lbs (90th percentile)
• Didn't cry AT ALL when we went for his 3 year check up
• Loves anything with wheels... tractors and trucks are favorites
• Plays with his dinosaur rice (bucket of rice we had hidden dinosaurs in the first time we played with it) for hours each day.
• Loves to run, chase me is a favorite saying!
• Sweet to his brother, until he gets a little crazy and then he pushes
• Likes to go to museums, go fishing, boating, golfing, bowling, swimming, running, camping, and just about anything else you want him to do!
• Will repeat everything you don't want him to...
• Tells us he loves us without prompting, says "bless you" when you sneeze, thank you unprompted when given something or someone says something nice to him
• Asks Mommy to lay with him almost every night.
• Loves to read books (especially about tractors, but likes all books)
• Says his prayers starting with "Dear Lord" a thank you for something (often tractors) and an Amen.  All while folding his hands.
• Happy most of the time, but will for sure throw a fit if he doesn't get what he wants.  Says I'm sorry, for ____, and that he won't do it again.
• Loves his neighbor kids (Dylan and Lexi) and wants to play with them ALL the time.
• Loves to sing nursery rhymes (sings Tuckery Songs like All around the Parking Garage)

Maxwell:

• Has 2 teeth
• Can crawl on hands and knees (fast)
• Can pull himself up on almost anything he wants to
• Walks around things if he wants to get to something
• When standing will bounce on knees
• Let's go of the table in the living room and leans a little with his belly so he can use both hands
• Knocks 2 objects together
• Will repeat a pattern if you hit a table
• Loves any toys Jackson has and hates it when Jackson takes a toy from him
• Eats solid foods (likes most veggies and fruits)
• Eats snacks (Mum Mums, puffs, teething cookies, rice krispies)
• Will drink water from a sippy cup
• Goes after the cat food every chance he gets and laughs when you pull him away
• Has solid poos
• Goes to bed most nights by 8:45pm, wakes either 3 or 5:30am, sleeps until 7:30/8am, naps around 9:30/10 for an hour and a half, naps around 1:30/2:00pm for an hour or two
• Drinks from a bottle a lot better (unless Mommy is around)
• Goes to Daycare 1 day a month
• Loves to laugh at Daddy and Jackson, but loves to go to Mommy
• Cuddler, but active little man!
• He loves to chase Spooky and try to pet her (or pull her tail)
• Does not have stranger danger (just like Jackson)
• Pulls toys out of baskets, buckets, off table
• Climbs up on stairs!  Yikes!  He sits a little too close to the edge, but doesn't fall much.  He likes the fireplace so he can look at himself in the glass.

Our boys are so big and we couldn't be more proud!  We love them to pieces!

Jackson- 35 months

In 1 month exactly Jackson will be a 3 year old.  I don't know where the last 3 years have gone, but they have been the most AMAZING years of my life!  Of  course I will continue to say this until teenagerhood, but until then it's amazing.

Everyday Jackson learns something new, it might be a new phrase, understanding, feeling, or action... but he is learning ALL the time.

Likes:

• Tractors... specifically John Deere Tractors.  My parents got him a John Deere Tractor movie while he was staying with him and he cries for it all the time.  It's got some catchy tunes and lots of great information, but 1 time a day is definitely enough!  While watching the John Deere movie he plays with his tractors uses the technical names and overall just enjoys playing farm.  He takes a bucket full of tractors to bed with him and first thing in the morning he talks about them to us.  He takes them in his Elmo "packback" (backpack) wherever we go.  He doesn't like for me to play tractors with him, but loves Grandmas and Grandpas and Uncles and Aunts to play with him.
• Curious George, Clifford, and Wild Kratts- all PBS shows.  It's so funny when he is playing he will reenact one of the shows.  He also likes for us to read him Clifford and Curious George Books. 
• Books- this kids loves books.  Books about trucks are his favorite, but he likes anything.  We try to read some of the same books to him and then ask him  to "help" us read.  He is really good at this.  He can also answer lots of questions about the books that we read.  I often ask him how the characters are "feeling" in the story by looking at pictures and the other night, he asked me how Emily Elizabeth felt.  Very cute.
• Playing golf- He and Daddy head out to the golf course at least once a week in  the golf cart.  It's so darn cute!  He puts his plastic golf bag into the back.  "Tees off" with Daddy, then RUNS back to the golf cart to put everything away (golf ball has to go in the front).  And then they are off to find the golf balls.  He talks about using his putter when we are playing in the yard.  Super cute.
• Boats- we bought a camper on the river this year and now he talks about the Mississippi River and riding in Daddy's boat.
• Working in Grandma Donna's Garden.  He planted some plants with her and was so excited to hear they were growing.
• "Doing my work"- this is anything that Daddy is doing.  Especially mowing the grass and working with tools.  Today Andy was lowering the crib and Jackson had to come downstairs to get his toolbox.
• Playing outside and doing anything he can out there.  He has a riding lawnmower tractor that he is always wanting to ride.
• Food:  Mac 'n' Cheese, hot dogs, peanut butter and jelly, fish, shrimp, pasta, pizza, chicken fingers and some other chicken, any and all fruits, cinnamon toast crunch, milk, waffles, french toast, pancakes

Dislikes:

• Leaving  Mommy.  He cries a lot  when I leave him anywhere, but stops almost as soon as I am out of sight.
• Doctors- he has had a lot of ear infections and just hates for anyone to put anything in his ears or  look in his ears or by his ears.
• Vegetables- he picks them out of his food and won't eat them.  Every once and awhile we can get him to eat carrots and corn.  he will also eat veggies if they are hidden inside pizza.
• Most of what we serve him at dinner... just isn't into it.  But we make him try it!

Fun things he has said recently:

• While trying to teach Maxwell to crawl on his hands and knees:  He turns around and puts up his hands and says to Maxwell, "Hears the deal, you crawl like this."  
• When going to bed:  "hold on a second", "wait just a minute", I'm scared of...., I'm hungry, I'm sick, I need medicine, I forgot my....  Anything to get out of bed.  It started when he was sick after his surgery a couple of weeks ago.  We are working at getting him to stay in bed again. :)
• Ziggity, Ziggity, Ziggity, SOLD!  We went to a cattle auction last weekend and he loved the auctioneer.  He danced around and pretended to be the auctioneer.  Now at home he does this too.
• "He's such a cute baby", "I love him", "Be careful Maxwell"-  he loves his little brother.  He is so good to him (except when Maxwell is playing with something he wants) and tries to make him laugh all the time.  This is especially nice in the car, because they start giggling at each other.
• "Mommy, I  wait for you in the pink chair. You pick me up. All the kids are asleep."- in regards to daycare.

 

 Jackson with his Grandma's last weekend

What he can do:

•  
• pull up his pants
• put on his shoes
• put on his coat/take it off
• brush his teeth (we have to help, but he's got the motion)
• pick up his toys
• put his dishes in the sink (he cleans off his plate, too)
• get out of the house (into the garage)- not so good
• unhook his lawnmower tractor so he can play with it.
• play with other kids without fighting for awhile- he is getting better at daycare playing with the other kids and getting over me leaving fast.
• Talks to EVERYONE.  He talks about tractors, his school, what he plays.  It's so funny!

He is becoming very very head strong.  He whines when he doesn't get his way, fights us to do things sometimes and is all around stubborn.  I have noticed though, most of this happens when he is very tired or hungry, so if we can avoid those two situations we are mostly golden.

He's such fun to have around!!  We love him!

April Picture Update

Finished and Hung... finally

Andy and I put together some artwork for Jackson's room... I posted about it here. about 3 weeks ago on an ever exciting Thursday night at the Moore house I put together a picture board to go along with the art work.  The art work is 8x10 was just too small for the big wall so I added the board.  I got the idea from the blog Delightful Order.  I used a piece of fabric I picked up from Wal-mart that was a remnant, the board is from the basement... I think it came from my classroom, and the buttons are from Wal-mart (side note, the buttons Wal-mart sells -- Amazon, JoAnn's, and Hancock are actually made in Lansing, Iowa at the button factory... just a few minutes from us).  I have bought more big buttons to add to the board, because I like the look of them better than the small buttons.

 

Jackson loves his new photo board.  I need to get some new pictures up there... he looks at it each day and tells us all about the pictures.  I think I need to add a few more straps to the board to hold more pictures and to hold them more securely.  They tend to fall off (especially when there are little 2 year old fingers pointing and touching them).  You can also see that our little guy LOVES to read.  He is reading Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel (one of his favorites, he calls it the Steam Shovel Book and makes Daddy read it at least 3 times a week).   *** He can "read" many of his favorite books with us, we stop reading and he will fill in the words of the books we have read a few times.  It's adorable.

Side note... I am becoming a little bit obsessed with Picnik...  I messed with the photos and the coloring looks more green than it really is.  Below is a picture that shows the true colors of the room.  Which pictures do you like better??  I like the look of the above pictures, but like that the second set shows the true coloring of the room and the little man.

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

Gum drop tree

Yesterday, Jackson and I created a gum drop tree. I found it on this blog Jada Roo Can Do. I also saw it some other place and thought it would be cute. I thought I would be different and use green and red Christmas Bells. Yeah, big mistake! Jackson has since destroyed the tree by taking all the candy off and eating it (taking out the toothpicks- Thanfully). I should have used the spice drops... no one likes those. Oh, well, next year! The cute decoration lasted 1 night at least!!
Maxwell at age 4weeks!

Jackson fixing "Baby Jesus's house"- by the morning he had broken the whole thing!!