For the love of teething tablets!

Jaxson has some teeth coming in on the top and he has been an absolute wreck. We are accustomed to a very well adjusted, happy baby and we are getting a taste of what it could be like if he wasn't so good. I have read that sometimes the upper teeth are a little more hard on them because of his eye teeth. This is all new to me! We have been trying everything and the teething tablets seem to do miracles. Ten minutes before this picture was taken last Sunday morning he was screaming like someone was cutting off his limbs or something. After a few tablets dissolved he was a quiet, sleeping angel. This is one milestone that I can't wait for it to pass, even if he will look less like a baby with a mouthful of teeth.

Big Wheel Crawl

Last Saturday night we scrambled to find a babysitter so we could join Marty on his second annual big wheel bar crawl on Ingersol avenue for his birthday. We weren't on big wheels and although I am sure it was fun I am SOOO glad weren't because it was snowing. We met Leah and Holcomb at Zimms and went on to Wellmans with everyone. Our plan for the four of us was to go out for awhile then head to Star Bar and have dinner. The whole crowd was heading to Star Bar from Wellmans so we thought we would just stay and eat as the group went on. That did happen because they were packed and we couldn't get a table or a waitress to even acknowledge us. So annoying. We left and stopped at Gateway market and got to sit in a quiet table next to a fireplace which felt so nice after coming in and out of the cold.

Leah and I decided we are very good at planning vacations. We talked about Dave, Jaxson and I going to their family cabin with them in September. I will look forward to that because I enjoy doing camping, boating, hiking stuff and haven't done anything like that since I moved from Washington. I love camping and all but I also love having regular bathrooms too so being at their family cabin will be perfect. We talked about getting some kind of vehicle that will hold 4 adults, 1 child, and 2 carseats so we can all drive together. We will have to work on that. We also talked about planning a trip sometime to Florida. This one is a little more far fetched but they have some very cheap tickets sometimes and Dave's dad has some condos down there that we could use. That would be so much fun, Leah and I could leave all the kiddos with the boys and have a girls day enjoying sun, shopping, and food.

This is Marty and his green machine getting ready to head to the next stop

Marty had a helmet this year, proabably a good investment.

Marty and Meghan Blount both dressed for the occasion.

Dishwasher Safe

As many of you know we don't have a dishwasher in our kitchen. I know, I know, we SHOULD get one but it is hard to convince Dave that we have room for one. We have learned that you have to work with what you were given, and we were given Jaxson so we are training him early to do his dishes. This is him helping Dave wash off his tray for his high chair after dinner. Lucky for us he doesn't know about allowance yet but that will come soon enough I am sure. Oh, how cute.

Shopping Entertainment

While at HyVee I was in need of entertaining myself as Dave picked out baked beans for 10 minutes, the grocery store just has too many options for a indecisive guy like Dave. So I entertained myself with Jaxson being cute and a camera.

Twilight

I have recently heard about the book and movie Twilight. Everyone just raves about the stories and say they get absolutely addicted. I love reading and have been without a good book for awhile so I decided to pick up Twilight book number one. To my surprise I finished the ENTIRE book in one day. A five hundred page book. It is easy to read because they were originally written for a preteen age group but the stories are so entertaining that it is hard to put it down. The stories are about vampires and I am usually not one for supernatural but it is set in the real world enough that you don't seem to notice your reading about vampires.

I went to dinner with Brit on Friday and went directly to Barnes and Nobles to get book number two. I finished that book on Sunday. It wasn't as entertaining because the main characters decisions are beginning to frustrate me but I am off to book number three now and only one more to go. Dave has the movie on our netflix so we should be getting that soon. To sum up, if anyone wants to read a very entertaining book that won't make you feel smarter than definitely try the Twilight series.

So Relaxing

Last Saturday I got up early and went to LaJames and got a massage. I used to go often and Dave got me a giftcard for Valentines day. I wish I could go more. The day got even more relaxing because I found a 20% off coupon for LaJames as well so I was able to get a 1hr facial and 1hr massage for 24 bucks. It was seriously the best 24 dollars I think I have ever spent. The services are done by students but I have never been there and thought they did a terrible job. Sure, some are better than others but when you get a 1hr massage for 30 they really can't mess up too bad. At least they do it better than your husband/wives/boyfriends I am sure! The worst part about going to a school like that is if you do find one person you think did a good job and got along with well they aren't there when you come back. Once they begin to actually do massages they are fairly close to graduation.

I love going to schools for things like that because it is less expensive and therefore you can go more often and they do a good job in my opinion. One thing I wouldn't have done is my hair, sorry but that is a little more permanent than a massage or facial. I am looking forward to trying the new Aveda school that just opened by Jordan Creek. I really like LaJames spa area, very very nice and professional. You don't feel like you are at a school AT ALL but Aveda would be closer. We will see. Next time someone should join me for a day of cheap relaxation.. any takers??

Bedtime Mayhem

I absolutely love the new time now that we have sprang forward. We get to enjoy extra daylight, and when I get off work at 6 its not dark yet. That might be my favorite part. I feel like I have more energy when I see daylight. Why then do I have a love hate relationship you may ask. Well, Jaxson has not gotten used to the time change AT ALL. He used to drop like a fly right at 10pm. He would always eat between 930 and 10pm and just crash. Not anymore. He is up raring to go at 10pm even after he eats. I can rock him, sing to him, and do everything in between and he won't sleep. At 11pm he will crash, which is right on HIS time. This is a video taken of him at 10:30, a half hour after he should be sleeping.

Lawn and Chiropractor Services??

It is a beautiful Saturday afternoon and we wanted to do something spring like. We were going to go to Grays Lake and swing a little but Jaxson has seemed a little congested and despite the great weather didn't want to push his immune system too far. What was left? The lawn and garden show at the fair grounds. Dave is wanting to do some landscaping in the front this summer and the backyard is a full time job in itself so we thought we would get some decent ideas of types of plants that would do well in our area. Not at all! They did have a few displays of some plants and some displays of landscaping but other than that the entire Varied Industries building was full of Chiropractors and other useless non lawn and garden stuff. I even saw two set ups for DirecTV and a ShamWow booth. Really?? Next year as an improvement they should release an entire list of participants prior to paying the entry fee. So in the end we paid to get in to the Varied Industry building just to buy ice cream. It was good ice cream at least!

He does have a mom!

I always always have my camera an arms length away because at any moment Jaxson will look, do, or act cute and I must get it all on film. Because of this I have tons of pictures of jaxson and Dave. You have probably noticed I am never in any pictures with Jaxson. I decided I wanted to change that so I will just have to make sure to remind Dave to take some pictures. Not as candid or cute but still are pictures with my adorable baby. I also took it upon myself and took some myself. They are cute but it took alot of tries!

Second Round of Pearly Whites

Jaxson had his first two teeth come in on the bottom about 2 months ago or so. Since then he has adjusted to life with teeth. Two days ago he turned into a snotty, drooly little monster so I have been looking for any more chompers but haven't noticed much. Until this morning . Jaxson was screaming after his bath which gave me a great opportunity to check his gums out. I noticed a little blistery thing on his left top tooth. I couldn't feel anything but can at least see something brewing. That means there is a temporary end in sight for all this drool, which is my least favorite part of the teething process. We just have him wearing a bib all the time because he soaks the front of any outfit.

Since he has started brewing some more teeth he has been chewing on everything and anything. He has been chewing on his toys, on his lips, and on any fixture in the house. This includes the railing next to the front door. He was so cute I couldn't help myself but to take pictures (who's surprised?) even though we usually don't let him play next to the railings. He seems small enough to sneak through if he tried so we don't encourage play there. It was worth it this one time for some cute pics.

Paint the town Green

On tuesday night for St. Patricks day I rushed home from work and found dinner of corned beef and cabbage done and Jaxson already eating dinner. We had plans to meet Holcomb and Leah at 7 to go to the Cummings Tap where Humphries dad was playing the harmonica with his friends band. We quickly finished dinner, which was very good but sooo bad for you, and packaged Jaxson up and off we went. Leah's mom agreed to watch all three of the children. Brave!

The bar was packed and my first thought was thank goodness for the smoking ban, my second thought was lets go outside! The boys got drinks and we waited for Josie and Humphries to show up. Once they arrived we talked outside, we hadn't seen each other in quite a while. Summer is always a good time of year because more people get together for bbq and other holidays that aren't necesarily oriented around mostly family only. Christmas vs Fourth of July for example. I look forward to doing some things outdoors, aaahh summer is my favorite time of year.

We ended up leaving the bar after just a couple of hours. Jaxson always eats his last meal at around 9:30pm so we didn't want to be out much later than that. We could barely leave soon enough before the guys got into a rumble though. Leah and I are married to two of the most laid back, friendly guys. Most of you know one or both of them and would agree. When we first get there the bartender was very rude with both of them, out of line really. They didn't start any trouble and just assumed the night was a little busy and he wasn't happy working on St. Patty's. No big deal. Then as Dave waited for the ATM (because the bartender wouldn't start a tab for him) just to find out that it was broke, the guy behind him tried to start a fight. He was telling Dave that it wasn't a slot machine, and that if he didnt have any money he needed to move along so he could use it. This guy was of course using non blog friendly language and attitude as well. Dave finally got his debit card back from the machine, and no cash and barely skirted a tiff there. The machine didn't work for the huge gomer either by the way. Then, to top it off, as we were leaving saying goodbye to Humphries and Josie standing on the grass next to the bar the rude bartender came charging at us, screaming obsencities telling us to get off the grass because the owner of the house was trying to run them out of town and we coudn't stand there. Wonder why they are trying to run you out of town???? Long story short...... DON'T GO TO THE CUMMING TAP!

Don't get beat by a girl!

March Madness is upon us. Only one time a year do I like to watch basketball and that is in march, and only if I actually fill out a bracket. Last year I missed out, the year before I wanted to pick against the Hawks but Dave didn't like that idea. If I would have picked MY way I would have won the whole thing. This year that is exactly what I did, picked exactly how I wanted. My strategy is to compare leading scorers. For each game I looked at a picture of the leading scorer on each team. I chose based on whichever one I thought looked like a winner comparing things like hair, smile vs no smile, height, year in school, and who looked more intimdating. For a few games I had to go to the second leading player because the leading scorer on both teams were just too close to call. Everyone knows one player can bring a team to the finals in basketball so that is why I think my plan may bring me some cash. Anyway, my strategy is working so far. I have picked them perfect and am sharing first in the pool out of 56. All these guys just might get beat by a girl with a plan. Watch out!

Round One

The boys played their first round of disc golf of the year. They both had to get a little dirty to find a wayward disc and both had a few good shots. Holcomb even had to take off socks and shoes and get wet when one found it's way into the creek, and he also had the best shot of the day right into the pin. Dave finally won with what they call a put off. They tied so they played a game of horse, the first to make the putt won. The first game is always one where they see more opportunity for improvement rather than a perfected game. The perfect game come at the end of the summer after they have gone 4 times a week. The Norwalk course is very easy for them since they are seasoned at the game. They usually play at Grandview, a much more difficult course on the East side. They always play at Ewing and Indianola as well, both are highly rated disc golf courses across the nation. They are really good at them too.

First Putt of 2009

I think he missed!
For the win

Getting Fancy

Aubrey's first Hole in One (she dropped it in)

My only disc golf experience was at Waterworks Park, the easiest course in Des Moines, probably easiest in the country at the beginning of spring 2007. It was a nice day in spring and but not very many people were out. I told Dave that I wanted to let people pass us to make sure people weren't watching me because it was my first time and I was BAD and I took forever because my disc never went were it needed to. So we waited to make sure no one was around when we were playing and who comes up behind us??? A camera guy from the news shooting "outdoor" shots to document the record nice day of spring for the evening news. He wanted to follow us and get some shots and of course Dave was eager to get a good throw on the news. i was mortified because I didn't want anyone to see me and now I was going to be on the news. Awful. They didn't put me on the news (who's surprised) but Dave got a shot on the news. He was so proud. I haven't played since but maybe I will give it another try this year. Or I will wait for Jaxson to start playing and that way everyone will focus on him being cute and not me being bad.

Playing in the Park

We met Holcomb (Josh is his first name, all of Dave's friends go by their last name) and his wife Leah at the park in Norwalk. I wheeled Jaxson in his stroller while Aubrey walked along with Leah and I. I held Jaxson on my lap in a swing because they didn't have any kid swings at all :( but I think he liked it more. After a minute he just leaned back and enjoyed it with a smile the whole time. I think I rocked him to sleep because it wasn't too much longer that he passed out in his stroller on the way back to the car. It was a pretty good work out off roading with that stroller, I think I may add that to my to do's this summer for some exercise.

Shortly after the above picture was taken the below picture is what he looked like. And he slept for two hours in his carseat after we got to Holcomb's to grill.

Pure What??

Last night Leah and I went to a Pure Romance party at Beth's house. Lauren and our friend Heidi joined along with about 18 others. It was interesting to say the least. Lauren and I were standing in the kitchen when in walks Lynne and Anne and at that point we were thinking this can go two ways, ackward or hilarious. Luckily it was hilarious. The leader lady walked us through each product, the creams and lotions a lot less intimidating than the "gadgets". Most of it just smelled really good and is rumored to have pheramones in it to make you more noticeable. The funniest part of the show was Lynne, Anne, and Rhonda (who they had to call and convince to come halfway through the 'show') sitting in the corner. They would take their sleeve over their hand to touch something, giggle like they were fourteen watching "the video" to the point they had tears running down their face.

The hottest item of the show was the heart massager. Its totally not what your thinking!! It warms up really hot and you can use it for a back rub, she demonstrated on our arms and I think everyone got one. It was amazing, two girls were pregnant and I just wish we had one in my ninth month! Dave was a little disappointed that I got something that he has to use for a backrub but at least this way he really can't mess it up.

Facebook

I now have facebook. I will admit that I was watching Oprah when the creator was talking about it and decided to make a page. Now, in my defense, alot of people that I know have told me many times I should get on it so after watching the show I bit the bullet. I just don't want anyone to think I do somethign just because Oprah says to, I swear I am not! Anyway, since I signed up Dave did it too. He has since become a 24hour addict and I am still unsure what I even do with it. I have added some people and looked through pictures, and now I am wondering, Now what? Dave on the other hand went to Valley and has so many friends that he hasn't seen or talked to in a long time so that must be what is keeping him so busy. I only have 30 friends so far and everyone I see has 200+, seriously how does that happen. I guess its not quantity but quality right?

When I was in second grade I was really good friends with a girl in my class named Jeni. One afternoon we decided to have a playdate or whatever it's called in second grade and soon realized we lived on the very same street only four houses away from each other. Don't ask me how we didnt know that, we were in second grade! Anyway, after that we were best friends until I moved to Washington and went to high school. A few hours after setting up facebook I found Jeni, seen her pictures of her TWIN girls that she had in September, talked to her about where and how she has been. The ironic part, she lives in Washington now and now I am back in Iowa. Her husband is in the Navy, they might be moving to Hawaii soon. I DON'T feel bad for her! Even if I don't get any more than 30 friends it was a good experience talking to her again.

Statistics Tutor

Last night Dave was studying for his second statistics test. Jaxson didn't want to play with any of his toys and wanted to help his daddy. Unfortunately an 8mo old doesn't really have a grasp on statistics yet. Dave is about half way through his semester, taking 3 classes online at Dmacc. He has done very well so far having A and B's in all of his classes. You can really see a difference in an adult with a baby taking classes versus first out of high school. The concentration and effort he puts into his work is awesome and he will get the reward of good grades and a four year degree in no time.

Over Under

Jaxson loves being able to move around. He tries to climb onto the couch and his playtable but just isn't quite tall enough yet. He recently found the next best thing. Under of course. He is so adorable so I thought I would share.

My new passtime

Most of you know I am still nursing Jaxson, my goal is one year. Unfortunately we are almost there, I can't believe he is getting so old. While I feed him I am stuck for obvious reasons so I usually just cruise the internet or chit chat with Dave or Elaine on the messenger, or like right now do a blog post. One of my new favorite things to do is choose Next Blog. You will see it on the top of the blog on the left hand side. When you choose next blog it just chooses someone else's blog randomly. It is neat to see what you come across. 6 out of 10 "next blog" clicks is a different language but it is still fun to scroll though and see pictures. I have also found that many people from other countries, particularly asian countries blog in English. They have a much different way of writing but it is interesting to read about someone's life on the other side of the world. Some of the blogs I wish I could find again because they made me laugh but I have never bookmarked any so I doubt I would ever find them again. Sometimes when I am reading a families blog I feel like I am being nosy or something. I am sure they, like me, started it for family and friends and didn't intend for some girl from Iowa to be reading it. I guess that is what happens when you have it on the internet. Anyway, if you are stuck on a couch at any point like I am throughout the day while Jaxson eats click next blog to see who you find. It's more fun than reading the news, especially these days and can be quite entertaining never knowing who you will find. Today I found this blog, if you go down a little you will see a youtube video of people rollerblading. Just for fun doing fancy rollerblading. Crazy what is "normal" in other places.

http://burgerjournalisthermansvital.blogspot.com/

Just a cute picture

I sat the bathtub down when getting ready to put it away and Jaxson, who instantly finds anything new that is put at his level quickly began to use the bathtub as a jungle gym. Probably not the safest thing to play with so I snapped a few pictures and then put the bathtub away. He never gets a moment of peace away from the camera, poor Jaxson.

The very hungry catepillar

As I posted earlier I spent an afternoon making baby food, I steamed and pureed my heart out but he wouldn't eat it. We waited a few months and he has started to take to eating, but he prefers Gerber. With their fancy machines to make things extra creamy a mom just can't compete. Regardless, I am so happy that he finally starting to eat. He has been having a jar a day, half at lunch time and half at dinner. Jaxson just wasn't ready for solids at 6 months, at 8 months he is raring to go, sometimes yelling for more. I am proud to see that he is taking after his mom and LOVES food. It will be something we can enjoy together, while staying healthy of course. My favorite part of Jaxson eating is now we always sit at the table for dinner. We put music on and are able to talk about our day and have fun and laugh with/at Jaxson. It is becoming our routine and I am excited to keep it that way. Here are some pics of our very hungry little caterpillar, so hungry he even tried to eat his bib.