On Friday before Christmas we had a Christmas Party to go to. We had Adie come over to watch Asher since Jaxson was spending the night with Elaine. Adie brought her mom, Maryann, along to help and oversee everything. ;) I am looking forward to Asher being a bit older and Adie being just a touch older and having her over to babysit regularly. Anyway, we went downtown to the party. Dave and I hardly talked to each other during the time since I was off with the other mom's talking about mom stuff. And he was off talking with the guys about guy stuff... which is mainly just football. After a couple hours we headed home to Asher happily hanging out.
But that wasn't the only thing we found happily hanging out. While Adie played with Asher and Ro Maryann went in the kitchen and crafted away. When we got home we found 4 ornaments hanging on our tree. One for each of us. We had the Hawkeye for Dave, little adorable owl for Asher, Max from Jaxson's favorite book Where the Wild Things Are, and a camera for me!! How adorable and thoughtful!! So we get to go out for a party AND we get handmade gifts on our tree when we get home!
Better late than never is turning into my motto with the blog lately. We had a great Christmas this year and it was so fun watching two little boys light up Christmas morning. Santa will wrap his gifts at the Barry house but he does so very elaborately. Elaine gave me a few quick lessons on how to make pretty packages and I spent a couple hours Christmas Eve perfecting the bright red packages.
We didn't keep any packages under the tree until Christmas Eve so a certain little baby wouldn't eat all the paper. Christmas morning his eyes lit up because of all the fancy stuff he was looking forward to chew on. Jaxson immediately wanted to open Santa's gifts first. Asher just wanted to chew on his jingle bells from his gift from Santa. We watched as Asher attempted to unwrap and Jaxson carefully unwrapped his. Everyone was happy with their gifts, including Dave and I. I am a new proud owner of a sewing machine and an updated version of Photoshop and Dave a new winter jacket and laptop case.
A big spiderman toy. JUST what he asked Santa for!!
Asher's gift from Santa was an Uglydoll. Jaxson got an uglydoll before
he was even born from Aunt MiMi and Uncle Jess. His name is Ox and we call him Oxy. He sleeps with
him every night and takes Ox with him to Grandma's to stay the night.
Asher's doll is named Plunko and is bright orange. Jaxson was so excited
to have Oxy and Plunko meet.
On to Carol's for our smaller than usual function. Due to some family illnesses it wasn't the big gathering we are used to but because of that I could actually talk my Dad into coming. We ate breakfast and held off on our White Elephant for a different time. Opened a few gifts and a few conversations until it was time to our next gathering at Elaines.
My dad was wearing out on his excitement...
Then we were off to Elaine's for our final Christmas gathering. There was no shortage of gifts at this get together but this year it was Elaine's turn to open first. Mainly because her gift was outside and we needed to get it out of the cold! We wrapped up 3D glasses and a card for her to open to tell her all about her brand new TV all of her kids and Larry got her. She was so surprised!! The boys quickly got the TV out of the cold and after all the gifts were opened they put it together right away for her.
Jaxson and Asher got so many great gifts that they both will use for a long time to come. Some of the highlights is the Leappad for little Jaxson from Grandma. He has already learned so much from it and it has only been two weeks. He can spot letters and knows how many times to cut an apple to get "four quarters" as his cooking game asks him. I am impressed with it and encourage him to play it!! Asher got an Elmo from my mom that he smiles from ear to ear when he sees. I also have to say that Dave and I, along with my mom and Aunt Anne, got Jaxson a three piece Power Ranger set. He LOVES it! It is pretty awesome when Mom and Dad do better than Santa!!! We don't want that jolly old man taking all the credit!
Christmas Eve started at Elaine's since we had to pick up Jaxson who had stayed the night on Friday night. The two boys both opened up one gift from Grandma, both getting some new pj's to wear for Christmas morning. They have to be in something cute for all their photo ops!
We also decorated cookies for Santa. We luckily made it to HyVee in time to get all the fixings. As soon as I walked in they announced that in 5 minutes they would be closing and you need to bring your final selections to the register!! Of course when you are hurrying everything takes twice as long but we made it out just in time. And for the record... HyVee closes at 5pm on Christmas Eve so beware last minute shoppers!! We baked and frosted and sprinkled. Jaxson picked out a candy cane for Santa. It was actually the one he pointed at while they were still baking and he never changed his mind. That is something that he didn't get from his dad.. ;)
Is that a fake smile or what!!
Dave snapped this picture and I love it!! His big eyes are mesmerizing.
Once they were bathed and in their pj's I tried to get a picture of them together but unless strapped in something or with food, Asher doesn't really sit still.
Our little Jaxson thought it was pretty funny seeing Asher run away.
I wasn't extremely optimisitic on the Santa visit this year because he
had seen Santa earlier at Carol's friends house and it didn't go well.
On Thursday night we met Elaine and waited in a fairly long line to see
Santa. I am not sure what was different between this Santa and the other but Jaxson didn't seem to have a problem with him at all. He sat on his lap and even told him (quickly and very quietly) that he would like a Spiderman toy for Christmas. When you want to take your own photo they let you take one shot and have to move on. I am just lucky my one shot worked out so well.
Dave and I had our first parent's day at preschool yesterday. Dave had to miss.. you can read about that unfortunate disaster below. The last Wednesday of every month they have parents day and they show off all their favorite activities they did that month. We went to the star theater, saw their favorite science experiments, and made pyramids with sugar cubes. All activities they have been doing to learn about Egypt, the topic this month. He was so proud having Asher there. In the theater he sat close to him with his arm around him and looked down on him as they were reading the book to see if he was watching. He would give him kisses on the cheek and giggle when Asher looked up at him. When Jaxson caught Ms. Amy looking at them he quickly held Asher's hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek as to say this is my brother!! In the classroom he kept telling Asher that he would 'show' him the experiments but that he had to do it because Asher was still a baby. He even made sure to tell his teachers thank you for the little baggie of marshmallows they gave him for a Christmas gift. Did you know: Marshmallows were considered a special treat in Egypt and could be found buried with some mummies. Interesting....
I know his monthly birthday is at the beginning of the month but we got a little behind this month. I took them 9 days late. 9 days late for his 9th month, makes sense I guess. Ha. And even 9 months later you can't get a picture without our little guy drooling away. Anyway.. we did some festive photos for this time of year. And our little Jaxson couldn't escape the camera no matter how hard he tried.
Yesterday wasn't an awesome day. I was looking forward to it for a couple reasons but it didn't turn out exactly like I hoped. I picked Dave up at work and we took Jaxson to preschool. It was parent's day at preschool so we would be heading back there shortly. In the meantime we were going to visit a school we want to put Jaxson on the list for. We have had to reschedule on her twice so I was anxious to get the tour done. After dropping Jaxson off we headed that way. Green light... and someone just ran right into us!! I was driving it and it was the scariest thing. I tried to brake and turn out of the way but there was nothing we could do to avoid it. I was freaking out because we were driving Dave's new car he got in June. Brand new car. I knew I was not at fault but it doesn't make that much better when the 19 year old girl that hits you doesn't have insurance.... or a job. Awesome. Asher was with us but everyone was fine. I was more upset about the thought of missing parents day at preschool. I promised Jaxson we would be there and I couldn't miss it. He would never understand why weren't there and would probably feel like we just forgot about him. He was so excited to show off his school to us and I was excited to go. I called Elaine who postponed her lunch and came to pick us up and drop us off at preschool. Dave went back to his office to call the insurance etc. Thank goodness she was there to help. I am not sure what we would have done without her!! I would have walked my way there lugging Asher's carseat the whole way!!
The car I think is jinxed or something. We have had it for 6 months and it has already been in two accidents. Neither our fault and neither we could avoid at all. The first Dave was stopped in the left lane waiting for someone to turn and a 14 year old kid who just got their school permit the week before wasn't paying attention and ran into his car in front of Lincoln high school. And now a 19 year old little girl without insurance. Really?!? I don't think I want to drive that car anymore, even if it is so nice to drive. It isn't so nice when people keep running into us!! The girl was on her way to a job interview. I hope she gets the job since the cop handed her a $500 ticket for running a red light and not having insurance, and our insurance company said they would be suing her. I think she might have had a worse day than us...
Everyone should make a video for their kids. Jaxson loved it last year and will love it even more I think this year. Can't wait to show it to him in the morning!!
Update: He was excited but as he was watching the video he was yelling at Asher to not play with his toys. Did he not hear what Santa was telling him?? Always share your toys with others... particularly your brother.
Yes, I am alive. I noticed today I have only posted three blogs all month. Criminal! Anyway, we have had a busy month as to why I have not posted much... but need to. Anytime I have been at my computer I have made myself do editing. I have had several photos this month and all to get done for Christmas cards or gifts. I feel like the faster I try to go the longer it takes me. Mainly because if I edit a photo quickly sometimes I will go back and look and not be happy with my "quick" edit and redo it or touch it up. This takes twice as long.. ugh... This is totally my issue, they are fine the first time I am sure but I am my toughest critic.
Other biggish news... I am finally (possibly) getting my gall bladder removed. It has caused me headaches for so many years and I had an episode two weeks ago that lasted 5 days!! Even though I have said many times I am not going to the doctor for it anymore (because the never find anything wrong with it!) I broke down and went. I saw a new doctor this time and I was so pleasantly surprised. She ordered a hidascan (sp?) where they take photos as dye goes through my system to see how everything works. First your gall bladder is supposed to fill up, then it is to squeeze and they watch to see if it is squeezing properly. Problem for me... mine never even filled up!! So it clearly is malfuntioning and is doing it in a not as common way since I don't seem to have stones. I am having a consultation with a surgeon January 10th. I am excited and nervous all rolled together. I am happy to finally not have to worry if I am going to be sick.. or to have to function with the pain, but the thought of surgery is really scary to me.
I finally got my own Christmas cards done. I was thinking maybe it wasn't going to happen then a few people asked me if they were just removed from my list and worried since they hadn't gotten one. I thought I better just bite the bullet and do it already. So Sunday morning I got some cute holiday photos and made up a card and had them printed. They went in the mail today. What a relief.... I just need to get a few of them edited to post on here.
I have finally made a dent in the Christmas shopping. I would go to a few stores here and there but with the two kiddos, (and mainly because of the ridiculously heavy carseat carrier) I tried to wait until I could go out by myself a few times. I have one more shopping trip I will need to make then will be done. And all within our shopping money we had. We may even have some left over. Even better....
Off to work for a couple hours tonight. Will post some pictures soon.
So Jaxson has it, like all the Barry boys do, the lucky gene!! It all started a few days ago when I was searching around for preschools for our little guy next fall. I soon realized that I should have started at birth with all these places having waiting lists a mile long!! Yesterday we went to a few tours, one tour at the Science Center. I knew it was a pipe dream since that is a very popular program but we thought what they hey right....
As we toured I mentioned that I wish we had gotten him into some type of 3 year preschool program but that he just didn't seem ready in September. And that is when magic happened. She mentioned that they have a Wednesday enrichment program for 3&4 year olds. It is a 2 1/2 hour Wednesday morning program and each month they do one topic. And she said they have ONE spot that wasn't filled in September and that if he would like to join now he could. How perfect could it get?!? It is only $50 a month and will be a great way for him to get started in a preschool environment for wherever we end up at next year. It was a little bit of a whirlwind because today he started. It wasn't really enough time for me to get used to the idea of my sweet little baby in school but oh well... But we signed him up and put in our waiting list application for next years regular preschool.
Could it get better? Yes it can... This morning Dave and I both went to take him to his first day. Odd timing for your first day of preschool but was still his first day and we wouldn't miss it for anything! Dave snapped a photo while I filled out some paperwork. And then they mentioned since he is officially enrolled in a 3yr old program he automatically gets in next year!!! So I filled out his enrollment for next year and paid our deposit. He is officially in! And it is part of the universal preschool program assuming they keep that next year which makes it free. Cross your fingers.
When we went into his classroom he was shy and timid of course and I stayed while they sang one song. Then it was off to the snack table and I watched by the door. He looked up several times to check if I was there. Then I waved goodbye and took Asher home for a couple hours. I wanted so badly to call and check on him but I don't want to be the crazy mom. :/ His teacher, and the director there, Ms. Amy (as the kids call her) mentioned they were learning about stars in the start theater at the science center today. How neat! The assistant teacher in his class, Ms. Emily, said he even talked to her a little bit at the theater. She made sure he was ok with it being so dark, and he told her he wasn't scared of the dark. When it was time to pick him up at 11:30 I peaked into the window on the door and I saw him up in front of the class smiling and showing off a picture he drew. As soon as the doors opened and he saw me he ran to me quickly which is against how they usually do things. The parents wait one by one and they make sure each kid gets to the right parent. He will learn the routine soon.
Next month the topic is rockets!! Oh how he will love that since he loves Toy Story and Buzz Lightyear. And then in May they are going to cover Dinosaurs. I am wishing away winter more than I was before now because I can't wait for him to get to get to that topic.
When we got home I took a video of him talking about school. He wasn't really into talking about it but I bribed him with some fruit snacks..
Since this video if you ask him if he would like to go again he says yes and that he loves school. Whew... I am glad he changed his mind because he is going!! I guess I should learn to only ask questions like that if he really has a choice..
Jaxson had a milestone tonight. He recently got a set of real legos. You know, the itsy, bitsy tiny ones that look really scary to a mother of an 8month old baby. Anywho, I can't deny my 3 year old those toys just because we have a baby around. So he can play with them anytime in the kitchen or his bedroom, or in the living room during Asher's naptime.
Today he took advantage of the naptime living room deal and was happily playing for over an hour with his legos while I researched preschools. (ugh... that stuff is stressful!) Then he came to me and asked me to get something out of his nose. I told him to get a wipe but then he informed me it was a lego!! What!! He has never been the one doing these type of things. I instantly freaked out when I realized it was WAAYY up there. I called Dave first and he told me to call Dr. Fred. Duh.. why didn't I just do that first. Of course he told me to come right over and he could take it out for me. He didn't seem nearly as worried as I was. As usual. I was less worried when he fell asleep in the car on the way to the doctors. It clearly wasn't bothering him. He even exclaimed that we didn't need to get it out because it "wasn't the red one. It's only the green one!" Umm... was he thinking the green one just blended better??
We get there and Dr. Fred comes in with his lego extracting tools. Basically Jaxson screams, nurse holds Jaxson down, the doctor wrangles the toy out of his nose, and I try to get Jaxson to calm down even though I knew it wasn't going to work. Once finished, he was handed back to me a lego lighter but with a persistent bloody nose. We dabbed, put pressure, held him upside down, and finally it lightened up. Only to start back but oh well. Dr. Fred looked several times to make sure everything looked good to go. Jaxson told me he will NOT put legos in his nose again and that he is going to tell Asher to NOT put legos in his nose either when we got home. He even thanked Dr. Fred on the way out and gave him a high-five. We got the green light to go home with Jaxson's lego safely in an envelope along with a stack of stickers to take home.
Once we made it to the car his tears had dried and in his most excited voice he announced that he had TWO spiderman stickers!! And apparently those stickers are totally worth sticking a lego up his nose.
I made him wear his green shirt that says "Can You Dig It?" It seemed appropriate.
It was clearly hilarious. AFTER it was out..
This was the answer to the question, where did you put the lego Jaxson?
The tiny lego and the two amazing spiderman stickers.
This morning I put Asher in his crib with some toys while I grabbed a shower. Before I had reached the door he made it clear he was going to just stand at the edge and cry. I went and got started on my shower, which was going to be a quick one now. Then I heard Jaxson go into Asher's room to talk to him. He told him, "it's ok Asher, Mommy is just taking a shower. Do you want me to stay with you?" It was too cute. I made sure I didn't go in to disrupt the conversation. I heard some commotion and when I peaked in I saw two boys sitting quietly. Jaxson had gotten one of his favorite books, Toy Story, and had climbed into the crib and was reading it to Asher. While I was in the shower I could hear the two boys giggling together. I love it how sweet they are together. I now know it's true that the greatest gift you can give your child is a sibling since I see it every day.
