Halloween Costumes: Please Vote

Who should Jackie be for Halloween? 

1. Frank Barone from Everybody Loves Raymond 

2. Rip Van Winkle

 

 

3. John Cena from WWE

4. Spiderman

 

 

5. His adorable self



 

 

Cast your vote!!!



Celebrating Birthdays

We are officially out of the "newborn" stage.  I just learned--thanks to babycenter.com--that at 3 months, Jackson is now considered an infant.  As I type this, I can hear him actually snorting and snoring in his crib through the monitor.  He is definitely showing HUGE personality these days.  When I'm rocking him to sleep, I have to keep from laughing because he laughs in his sleep and it cracks me up every time.  He is such a happy camper and will pretty much go along with all my crazy ideas. 



Jumpin' Jack Flash

He gives new meaning to the phrase "Jumping Jack."  Grandma and Grandpa gave him this cute jumperoo and we put it together today.  He really loves that his little toes touch the floor and he can bouncy-bounce to his heart's content.  (For now, it's more like slobbering and staring at the colors and lights, but you get the point.)  When I put him in, I sort of crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.  I thought maybe he would cry or just look at me like, "huh, now what?"  But he was ecstatic.  And he just thought he was the cat's meow. 


Only took 25 minutes to put together...Technically, after all the stuff I've put together,
I can now work for Fisher Price as an assembly engineer.



Here's lookin' at you!

Celebrating Kayleigh's 12th birthday

and Jackie's 3 month birthday

September 26, 2012

Party People

 

 

 

No cake for me???  Wha???

 

Can't believe how quickly 3 months just flew by! 

What a big boy he is!

 

With Aunt Mary

Mommy using her gum as a rattle

 



Panda Express Yourself

Mesa, Arizona is not exactly known for any one kind of cuisine.

And when you are used to living in the Chicagoland area where choices are bountiful and pizza houses are plenty, satisfying that gnawing craving is just not as easy a feat out here in the desert. 
Living in the southwest for 9 years total, I've had to assimilate and take what I can get. 

Let's start with one of my favorites...Chinese food.  My Mom always told me that she ate this food religiously while pregnant with me.  Thank you, Mom for keeping the fried rice flowing.  And she is great at cooking it too, I can attest to that.  So, whether that has any bearing on my love for a good egg roll, I'm not sure.  But I do miss the places that we used to eat: Jade East, Tao Chen, The Rice Bowl to name a few. 

Here in Mesa, the choices are rather limited: P.F. Chang (if you really want to do it up fancy), Pei Wei (Chang's more casual younger brother), and then there's the fast food of Chinese food and my guilty obsession--simply because it is right around the corner from our house--Panda Express.  W

hile pregnant, I probably visited the place twice a week just to get my sweet and sour fix.  It certainly is not anything to write home about, but sticky white rice with some concoction of peppers, pineapple, onion, asparagus, and string beans just hit the spot for me.  Not to mention those fried won tons filled with cream cheese and green onion. 

Well, on a recent visit, I took Jackson in the car seat and went in to get some dinner to-go.  It was pretty busy this particular night, and behind me in line was a mother with her son about 5 years old.  He was pointing out things that he wanted to eat, and I was simultaneously getting my food packed up in little Styrofoam containers. 

That night's fare included this really rich--and not so calorie conscious--honey walnut shrimp.  He told his mom that he wanted what I was getting, to which she replied, "No, that's not very healthy at all.  It's not good for us because it's fried." 

(Of COURSE it's not healthy, that's why it tastes so good). Mind you--she was looking RIGHT AT ME when she said it.  With a look of disgust. 

And then she went on and on about making the healthier choice, blah, blah, blah...Really, Madam???  Must you look at me with such contemp?  I was sort of just shocked that she was more concerned with my food's nutritional content than being a good example to her son.  Not exactly a sweetheart.  And hasn't she ever heard of "everything in moderation??" 

Well, anyway, I paid and passed up the "Health Department" on my way out, and decided not to really care about what she had said.  C'est la vie, and to each their own.  Mine tasted wonderful and I bet hers was just okay. 

Little lesson here:

Express yourself if you must, but don't be condescending

For little ones pick up on the messages you are sending.

Does this bath tub make me look chubby?

Helping with the laundry is hard work...
I think I'll just take a rest in this warm basket of clothes.

 

The Weekenders

This weekend we enjoyed ourselves and relaxed with...

some pool time... (albeit short lived due to attack baby mosquitoes from a lot of recent monsoon rain)

some football...

a little lounging...

and some evening imbibing...

"A bottle of red, a bottle of white,
whatever kind of mood you're in tonight..." -Billy Joel

Bottoms Up!

Don't worry, we keep it straight around here. :)

Jackson...11 weeks

Being a baby is not all it's cracked up to be.  It's not just fun and games and people fawning all over you.  No no.  There's work involved.  Like job shadowing, for instance.  It's never too early to start training...


With Daddy and Grandpa Phil at Hot Corner Sports Cards

And then there's working out at the "gym."  Pump it up.


Courtesy of Aunt Linda Didelot

 

Then there's the job of "Junior Zookeeper" (as denoted by the shirt) 



*Thank you Steve and Stacey for my Phoenix Zoo outfit!*

 

And the bouncy chair is a perfect place to get some serious thinking done...

 

 

By the end of the day, exhaustion sets in.  And bedtime is calling our name.  



 

Oh, and Jackson would like to give a happy birthday wish to his cousin Kyle (1 year on 9/10) and to Mana (Grandma Deeann, 9/12)

Lots of love, hugs, and kisses coming your way! xoxoxo

Wonderful Wedding Week Adventure

We had a GREAT week long trip to Indiana!  Jackson and I enjoyed ourselves so much!  He was such a good traveler and found himself right at home at Aunt Christy and Uncle Nathan's house.  We went for stroller rides in the fresh air, out to lunch with Grandma, Soup Wednesday at Grandpa Don's, and capped off our vacation at Bryan and Ashley's amazing wedding ceremony and reception. Jackie didn't want to miss ANY of it.  So needless to say, we had a very tired baby at the end of the night.  Thankfully, I had LOTS of help this week with him.  I've always loved flying, but with a baby, it's WORK!  But we did it and we will do it again.  (Sorry to flight attendants on Allegiant Airlines Flight #126 for the "surprise" I left you in the rear of the cabin trash bag.  And thank God that the back row of seats were empty because they became a very handy changing station).  Jackson slept for the last hour of the flight, all through descent and landing, getting off the plane, the car ride home, and for a few hours at home in his crib.  This trip really helped him get adjusted to different environments and he has become somewhat more independent and will happily sleep through *most* of the night.  What a sweet boy! 

 

 



Back Row: Suzy, Kyle, Jadyn, Christy, Alli, Katie, Me and Jackson
Front Row: Bryan, Kiera, and Ashley



Happy Boy--10 weeks old



BEAUTIFUL BRIDE



GRINNING GROOM



Party Boy

 

We Are Family...



The End