This was the first year we were not with any family for the holiday. So we called the next best thing. Our friends, who have stepped in when family was needed but not near, came over to enjoy the holiday with us. We figured we would let Jameson open his presents first, so then the kids would have new toys to keep them occupied for the day while we finished cooking. His friends were more than willing to help him open his presents.

So Brittany, my friend, had the girls while she shopped for Jameson’s birthday and Christmas gifts. She got him Slink from his favorite movie, but that was supposed to be for Christmas since she had already got him his birthday gift. Well, Jameson came in while we were playing at their house that day and told us he was getting Slinky dog for his birthday. She asked Taylie if she told him that and her response was, “No! I just whispered it in his ear.” So from that day on, that’s all I heard from Jameson, ‘I’m getting slinky dog for my birthday.” I told Brittany she might need to rearrange the order of gifts. Wednesday, his birthday, he woke up and actually remember it was his birthday. About an hour later he told me, “Mom, we forgot my birthday.” I replied, “Why do you think we forgot your birthday?” Jameson, “Because I get slinky dog for my birthday. We forgot my birthday.” He was so disappointed. So that was the first thing opened on Thursday.

(The last picture is the pose I got when I asked him to look at me. Lovely, huh?)

And, How old are you now?

After presents, we finished cooking, and had our own little Thanksgiving dinner.

(Brittany and I are taking pictures, so we are missing from this one.)

Kevin got to figure out how to carve the turkey.

After our dinner settled, we got out the cakes. Wednesday was Jameson’s birthday, and Brittany’s was Friday. So, I had cakes for them both. A footprint cake for Jameson and a large cupcake for Brittany. I couldn’t find our lighter, and we don’t have matches, so Kevin and Dan went survival style and used a battery to light the candles. It worked, though.

Jameson was so proud of himself. He licked his candles and then dug into his cake. He didn’t eat his dinner, so this became it. Later he asked where his dinner went, meaning his cake.

He also got some cards and money from his great-grandmas and grandpas.

After a nap, Ella showed off her new boots from Grammy Brazell.

By 7:30 pm Jameson looked like this.

We had a great day!

We have hit another milestone around here. Jameson is now 3 years old.

Wednesday was his actual birthday, and this was the one day we didn’t really do anything for his birthday. He opened presents every other day during the week. We had birthday cake for dessert on Thanksgiving.

Jameson is at a really fun stage or a really awful stage. Depends what day it is, and what time of day it is. He no longer takes naps. This isn’t so fun, because he still needs one. If he falls asleep for a nap, and I said if, then he won’t fall asleep at night till after 10 pm. If he doesn’t take a nap, from about 3 pm on is no fun. But, then he goes to bed by 8 pm. He is also getting more independent. He has to do everything himself, and decide what clothes he will wear. Most of the time he wants shorts, and it is too cold right now for that, which results in a battle between us. I’ve thought about taking his shorts out of the door, but the days we aren’t going anywhere, there’s no reason he couldn’t wear his shorts. He also refuses to wear underwear. Potty training is not in our near future. He has some treats he knows he only gets if he goes potty on the toilet. There is still the full bag on top of the fridge. He points to them and can tell you what they are, but refuses to do anything about it.

I can have conversations now with him, which turns out very interesting sometimes. He also is developing his imagination. He will play for hours with his toys by himself. Sometimes he will let Ella play with his toys, but most of the time if she’s near, he gathers them up and moves. He loves swords, especially since he saw “How to Train your Dragon.” Now, everything is a sword, and he’s always killing dragons.

His favorite toys at the moment are his Toy Story figures, and still his cars. He had a birthday full of new action figures from the movie, and sleeps with them every night. He will end up getting even more for Christmas, but don’t tell him, ok. He is also loving Tinkerbell. My mom gave him some Tinkerbell items for his birthday, and now he won’t eat dinner without his Tinkerbell fork. (She only did, because I told her he would love it.)  His favorite show is Diego, with Dora in a close second. He will even sing the songs. He will sing all the time, until you ask him to. He can stay on tune pretty well, too.

He is starting to say prayers with us. At first we told him he would get a treat if he did. We’re not against bribery in this household.  But, just last night when he went to bed, he told me he needed to say his prayers. He also has to give everyone a hug and a kiss before he/they leave. The other night he had a melt down after he wasn’t able to give Kylie a kiss good-bye. When we leave he will say, “Oh, I need to give daddy a hug. And I need a kiss.”

He is about 36 pounds, bear walks every where while growling, and I’m not sure how tall he is. He is over half my size, though, so trying to make him do something he doesn’t want to do is getting tough. I get asked all the time if he is 4. He usually wears 3T, but some brands require 4T. He has a size 10-11 shoe and won’t wear anything but his Buzz Lightyear shoes that talk and light up. The only other shoes he will wear are his church shoes on Sunday. Why did I even buy him other shoes.

He is very protective of his little sister around others. He won’t let other kids touch her. He loves to carry her, which is really funny, because she is at least 20 pounds and as tall as his chest. She usually doesn’t mind, though. He will only give her a toy he doesn’t need, and usually takes toys from her if she does get them. She loves to play with him, though. Kevin will hold her and chase Jameson, and they both love it. She loves when she can get him.

Jameson knows he’s a boy and Ella is a girl, but I don’t think he knows why yet. He is very resourceful. He will push his chair into the kitchen, climb on the counter, and get into the cupboard with the cookies. He also loves to go in the garage with his dad, ride his bike, and ride his skateboard.

I could not image my life without this little terror. He definitely keeps me on my toes. Happy Birthday, my baby boy!

Throughout the week, Jameson received lots of packages. He was truly loved on his birthday by everyone.

Okay, she wasn’t in the package, but she makes a pretty dang cute present. Ella loved playing in all the packaging.

We decided to let Jameson open presents all week, that way he’d stay occupied all day with a new toy. Why not spread the love, right? He received a present from Grammy…

He knew all the sayings on the rocket within 5 minutes. He spent the rest of the day playing with his new toys and keeping them away from the big baby. She tried so hard to play with him.

Later that day, another present came in the mail from Aunt Brittney.

Later that evening, Jameson and I ran to the craft store. I needed a  few items to finish up some sewing projects. While we were out, this is the only way Dad could think of to keep Ella happy. I came home to find one huge messy girl! She loved it.

On a side note:

This poor rose didn’t make it out of the cold. But, it stuck around for a lovely picture.

Watching the snow fall. All of you in Reno may think I’m crazy, but I have missed the snowfalls Reno has. Reno had just enough snow to satisfy me, and then it would melt away. Since moving here, I have missed this. Last winter, there was no snow. There’s so many trees, I can’t even see the mountains that have snow. It never felt like winter. Even in Vegas, you can see Mt. Charleston with a snow tipped mountain.

Well, yesterday it started snowing, and today it was sticking. I’ve always thought it was pretty here, but with every tree covered in snow, I was in my own little “Winter Wonderland.” There’s still so many trees and shrubs that have leaves, plus the trees that have lost theirs, when covered in snow, it’s beautiful. See? I’m not kidding.

(This is our backyard.)

We had errands to run, and I couldn’t wait to go out and run around in it. Seriously, I don’t mind driving around in this weather or hauling my kids around in it. Our first stop was Discount Tire, who has had my tire fixed since last Thursday. That place was crazy today. I overheard there was a 10 hour wait. The guy didn’t make me wait, though. He acted like I had made an appointment, and put my tire back on for me, and put my spare back underneath. So I only ended up being there about an hour. Next, we headed to the post office. Jameson made out like a bandit. He received 2 birthday cards from great-grandma’s, 1 package from Grandma Gordon, and we all received 1 Thanksgiving card from Grandma Judd. It’s always so much fun to get mail, and not just our bills. Jameson also received a box from Grammy Brazell today. He’s a popular kid. I thought about making him wait for everything for his actual birthday, but maybe we’ll spread it out through the week, if he’s good. So, he got to open one when he got home.

Dad helped him with the tape…

And then he got to discover what was inside…

Background: My mom had asked what he wanted, and she got just that. He loves Tinkerbell and Buzz. We have even had to Redbox a few Tinkerbell movies for him. He always wants to watch her. Can you blame him? She is one hot fairy, and she’s the mechanical one. So it works.

3!

Last Thursday, November 18th, I gave Jameson a small party. I am in charge of our playgroup, so I thought, “Why not?” Instead of our regular playgroup at the church, we had it at our house, and did a small party. There were no gifts or invitations. The kids just got a surprise when they showed up of being at a party. They patiently observed the piñata.

They all got turns pulling the strings to release the candy. I had Jameson help me stuff it, so he would know what was inside and be excited for it to come out. There were small crowns and sheriff badges. Along with disc shooters and Halloween candy. Best way to get rid of all that Halloween candy your kids got. Just stuff it in a piñata and give it to everyone else to take home. 🙂 It worked out great. They each got to pull a few ribbons, and it wasn’t until the last ribbons were pulled that the bottom opened. (By the way, this type of piñata is one of the best inventions ever.)

Once the candy came out, everyone was ready to decorate their cakes. I made little dinosaur cakes for everyone and let them frost them and decorate them. A couple of them ended up with a whole bottle of sprinkles on theirs, or a whole tube of frosting. That’s the way I do it. Fill them full of sugar, and send them home.

I also made some little cupcakes for us adults to eat. They had a surprise caramel kiss in them, making them delicious.  (You can see one of the dinosaur cakes at the top of the picture.) Now before you think I went all out, just know this: I have a cake pan that makes 8 dinosaurs at a time. Then I used the left over batter for cupcakes. Not too much work at all.

The only work was that my oven has been out of commission for a week, because we have a bad breaker that needs to be replaced. So I had to go borrow a friend’s oven. It worked out, though, because then we got to chat while they baked.

We will have cake and presents on Thanksgiving for him. He doesn’t know that neither of these celebrations are actually on his birthday, nor does he care.

Happy Birthday to Dad

(Sorry, Paul. Not sure why you’re half naked.) I didn’t feel like digging in the cold garage for a better picture, so this is what you get. But, I did get something in the mail for you.

And also,

Happy Birthday to Jayci!

Same goes for you. This is what was already scanned on my computer. I thought it was a good one, though. Hope you have a great day! I miss you, and am so jealous of your talents. I hope you’re next transfer you can be closer, so I can learn from you. And our kids can play while we chat. 🙂 I love watching how strong you are to move to these places with Mark. I know I can do it if you can.

(August 1-5)

We spent the first week of August in Vegas. Please remind me next time I want to go to Vegas in August exactly how hot it is. It was ridiculous.

Monday, we got to visit Erin at work. Jameson was occupied by taking pictures of Erin. He wanted her to take pictures at the same time, which made it difficult to talk sometimes.

I think we left the mark of children in her office. A little formula on the chair, and a mess. Thanks for letting us invade your office and see you at work, Erin! Jameson loved his bag of goodies.

After our time with Erin, we got to go over to Aunt Dar’s house for Hayden’s birthday. I can’t believe he is 12! I remember when we would beg to baby sit him, and then, we would finally get to only to have him cry the whole time. Well, that’s not true. Who ever he would stop crying for, that person is the only person who could hold him the whole time. He wouldn’t go to anyone else. So if you were the lucky one he stopped crying for, it was lots of fun.

Jameson wanted to help blow out the candles, so I think we lit some more.

And, Ella got to meet Aunt Dar.

We had a great time, and ate some yummy cake. I’m glad we were in town and able to celebrate with Hayden on his birthday.

Tuesday, Christina came over with the kids, and Grandma let us go swimming. She entertained the babies, and watched after them till they joined us in the pool. For as long as I can remember, Grandma has sat by the edge of the pool, watching us swim. It doesn’t matter how hot it is, she never complains, and doesn’t even care when she gets splashed.

That night we went to Erin’s for dinner. She made us some yummy pasta, and even invited visitors. Her mom and Marc came to see us, too. Erin also bought Ella a fabulous tutu we had to immediately put on her.

We had a great time, and then got back to Grandma’s and got ready for bed.

These two are actually becoming friends.

Wednesday, we got up and met Christina and Jenna at the park. It had a splash pad, but no grass. The “no planting grass” in Vegas just makes it extra hot. I think it was 108 degrees that day. Preston was worn out after running around, and decided to get warm by laying on the cement.

Kayden and Jameson found a shady spot to eat their snacks.

By noon, it was way to hot to stay outside. We headed over to Jenna’s to play for the afternoon. I stopped by McDonald’s to pick up lunch and a smoothie. Let me tell you, their Berry smoothie was my only saving grace on this trip. I haven’t had one since, but on those hot days in Utah and Vegas, it was delicious. I highly recommend them.

After giving the babies some naps, we went swimming at Jenna’s neighbor’s. Jameson really got into swimming on this trip. He actually ventured out into the pool where he couldn’t touch, and could swim around. I wasn’t so sure, since he just had floaties. He doesn’t quite get that you have to get your legs behind you and then kick. He did awesome, though.

Laura was practicing snorkeling for her trip.

We had so much fun with them. I really wish we got to see them more. After swimming, we headed back to Grandma’s. We took some naps, and then met Dad and Weston for dinner. After dinner, we went and checked out Dad’s apartment. Jameson loved the shark head dad got him. I think it was broke before we even left that night.

Thursday morning we got all ready to leave. Weston and his friend, Ethan, came to pick us up. After some spectacular packing by Weston and me (mostly Weston), we got everything in the truck. The kids did great on our drive, and we made it to Sacramento around bedtime. When we got there, we found a new gate being installed around the pool. Thank you Don and everyone else for installing that. It took a lot of stress away, knowing the pool was blocked off.

We had a great time in Vegas… even if it was ridiculously hot.

(July 25th)

Sunday we woke up and got ready for church. That really is no fun when you are getting two kids ready by yourself. Grandma and Grandpa’s church is getting re-done, so they are meeting at a different building (seriously like 2 block away), and at 1 pm. Grandpa had saved us a whole row, but between all the kids and us, they ended up sitting behind us. Well, Jameson decided he wanted to be the worst child at church. I handed Ella back to Grandma, and took Jameson out kicking and screaming… literally. Paul said he kicked a lady in front of me. Ooops. So I walked outside till he calmed down, but then realized he enjoyed being outside more than in. So we went back in, and stood in the coat area until he quit crying. A lady had her kids in the foyer, and Jameson wanted to play with them since they were running around. Thanks Lady. He finally calmed down, so I stood by the door so I could see Ella. I was sure Grandma’s arms were getting tired. I had to hold Jameson really tight to keep him from getting away. Talk about a work out. Finally, he decided it was better to go back in than stay with me out in the hall. It was just in time, too, because Ella started to fuss. So I head back in, Jameson climbed in Ella’s carseat (fine by me… he’s more contained), and I took Ella back. Then I had to calm her down, which only took giving her a bottle thank goodness. Needless to say, once sacrament was over, I headed home to put two ornery children to bed.

After naps, the child was much happier. The boys got Popsicles, and found Grandpa’s golf balls on the porch. See the little white dots all over the lawn? Those are golf balls.

While the boys found the apricot tree in the back, grandpa filled a bucket for them. It was really hot, so he sprayed off the patio to cool it down. Then, the boys were trying to jump in 1 little puddle on the patio. So Grandpa got a bucket for them to stand in and cool off. Let just say it’s been a while since Grandpa had small children, and might have forgot they were not just going to “stand” in the bucket.

So since the boys were already wet, and hot, Grandpa turned the sprinklers on for them. The boys loved it. Poor Drew, though, just couldn’t keep up with the other 2.

It was also Steve’s birthday! Christina made him a cake, and Grandma told her she had a recipe for frosting. Well, Christina took a nap, so Grandma thought she’d help out by starting to make the frosting. It was a recipe her mother used. Now, I’m all for sentimental recipes that have been handed down, but I don’t think I’ll be asking for this one. Let’s just say the recipe did not call for any powdered sugar, but it did have some flour in it. Tasty right? (I really do apologize to Grandma if she reads this. It was so nice of you to help.) Anyway, right before Christina went to frost the cake, I asked if she tasted it. She said no, so we tried it. (Me, the whole time wondering what frosting recipe calls for flour and not powdered sugar.) Umm ya, it tasted about how it sounds. The cake was good though, so we just ate around the frosting. So Steve did get a cake on his birthday, but not the one he wanted. Sorry, Steve.

Paul then tried to pawn the cake off on us before we left to the cabin. I told him, he needed to be nice and eat it after we left. Grandma worked really hard on that frosting. Actually, I think the frosting recipe was supposed to be more of a fondant frosting. It set really well, which leads me to believe it was supposed to be more for decorating than eating. So, maybe one day, I will need that recipe after all.

June 15th was my 26th birthday. I am now heading full force into my late 20s. I don’t know how I feel about that. There’s good and bad. People are finally starting to take me seriously as an adult, but then I have neighbors who think we look so young.  Kevin surprised me the night before when we got home from the airport with a glider. I have only been asking for one since I was pregnant with Jameson, and I finally got it. He did a pretty good job, too. So when Kevin got home from work Tuesday, he had another surprise for me. He picked up a chocolate raspberry cake from a french bakery. I can’t say it tasted as good as it looked, but he tried. He even agreed with me on that issue.

We waited till the weekend then went for sushi and saw Killers for a date night. It was nice to get away from the kids for a few hours, and the movie made us laugh so what else can you ask for?