Pumpkin Patch

We took a trip to the pumpkin Patch and had lots of fun! The kids loved the petting zoo, the hay ride, the hay maze, slides, hammock, and picking out pumpkins! We then made a stop by Pops which Isabella & Mike love. :)

Brendan's climbing birthday weekend

For my nephew's birthday weekend in October, we all went down to Mt. Scott in Lawton for a camping trip & Mike took us climbing. The kids had a blast camping and playing outside all day for nearly three days. Isabella did really well on her first try at climbing and I even got to climb which I haven't done in over 5 years!!! The only rough part was sleeping... Jackson is still at the age where he only sleeps well in a crib. But we survived & I think Brendan had a fun weekend!

Homeschool Preschool

In September, we started preschool at home. Isabella has soaked up so much information, it has been quite amazing to watch! She is really good at memorizing information when it is put to a song. She now knows our address, phone number, days of the week, and months of the year. We are using a letter of the week curriculum that I found on a blog and we really love it. There are lots of activities to go with each letter and the whole curriculum was only $10 (you can download each individual item for free but I wanted to speed the process up and have everything at once). We are not 100% consistent yet with our homeschooling but I think this is the benefit of starting with preschool... you figure out what works and what doesn't before you really get into the serious stuff.

Family Fun Night @ the zoo

(This is a little out of order!) We went to the zoo's family fun night in September. The kids had a fun time and Isabella got to pet a few different animals including a lizard and a snake!

Slow Food Picnic

For the third year in a row, we attended the Slow Food's local food picnic the first part of October. This year, my sister, Laura & her husband, Miguel joined us & it was lots of fun! The food was really good (and yay for all of it coming from local farms & cooked by local chefs!) and the weather was perfect. The kids enjoyed the children's activities: pony rides (Jackson rode his first pony!), petting zoo (although this has been better in years past), and face painting. Isabella did not want to leave! We look forward to going again next year.

The Great State Fair of Oklahoma

I'm really behind on updating the blog... so here are our pictures from our visit to the fair in September. Isabella LOVES the fair, the rides are her favorite! We had a really fun day and even took Jackson on the ferris wheel (he wasn't too sure about it!). Isabella rode ride after ride & wasn't afraid of a single one! She especially liked the little roller coaster she went on by herself.

Jackson is 16 months!

 

Behind, once again... Jackson is now 16 months & nearly 2 weeks.  Ah well... that's life I suppose!  He had his 15 month well baby visit mid August and he weighed in at 23lb 10oz (25-50%) and 32" (50-75%).  Dr. Morrow was happy to see how well his burns have healed (just a little red scarring on his wrist) and we were happy to be there under better circumstances!  Jackson has also pushed through a couple more teeth in the past month so now he has 10... 4 on top & 6 on bottom.  

It seems like every day Jackson has learned something new or we realize he can do or understand more than we thought he could!  He is saying more and more words... some of the more recent words he has learned are bubble, side (for outside), thanks, and grape.  He said dinosaur a couple times but won't say it anymore.  He is learning all the sounds animals make and does the cow, dog, and dinosaur really well.  He is learning so many other ways to communicate too!  Tonight he effectively communicated to me that he wanted water in the watering can by pointing & grunting!  (And what a funny sight it was to see Jackson carrying around a watering can about 1/2 the size of him... & he wouldn't put it down, just kept toting it around everywhere he went!)

Jackson has mastered walking (although he still has the stiff bow legged walk!) and now runs (well, as fast as his little legs will allow) and tries to jump (bending his knees & raising his arms but his little feet stay planted).  He can successfully climb up our slide all the way to the top and then slide down.  He climbs up to stand on his little car like a skateboard, loves to climb on stools, and is very close to figuring out how to climb up onto the sofas.  What a mobile little guy!  Apparently he is in to a bit too much and is told "no" a lot becauseevery time we ask him a question, he says "no" even if it is something he wants.  :)

Jackson's comprehension of his little world is probably a bit more advanced than we give him credit for... sometimes I ask him to do something (like to close the door) not expecting him to understand and then he does it!  How fast they learn!

In the last few months we've discovered that Jackson has a bit of a temper... possibly taking after Mike a bit (ha ha!).  If he doesn't get what he wants he gets physical and will either hit something (the floor, an object) or someone (usually me) or he will bang his head on something (the floor, an object) or someone (usually me).  It is kinda funny in an astonishing kind of way... Isabella had more of the throw yourself down on the floor type of fits, so this is a bit new an interesting.  My dad says he's a boy.  :)

We just recently put Jackson's new big boy car seat (rear facing of course) in the Prius and he looks so grown up sitting in it!  Isabella exclaims, "You're a big boy Jackson!" when she saw him in it the first time. :)  And speaking of Isabella, she continues to torment her brother on a daily basis but I would like to believe that they are starting to play together a bit too... they both have fun playing chase or bouncing on Isabella's bed.  Jackson is also starting to become a bit pushy with Isabella as well.  There is a stool that Jackson is fond of and if Isabella is standing on it, he will try to push or pull her off.  He isn't very effective but he is pretty determined and gets pretty aggravated at her.  

Lastly, probably our biggest news this update has to do with Jackson & sleep!  A few weeks ago I decided it was probably about time (& I was ready) to night wean Jackson (he still nurses 3x a day & I don't plan for him to wean completely until he's at least 2).  He had been waking somewhere around 4am every night to nurse & then would go back to sleep til close to 8a.  So on a Thursday night, when Mike was off for the following 3 days, I decided to stop nursing him when he woke in the middle of the night.  It went better than I feared with him only crying a little & he was able to be comforted back to sleep after the first night (he was just mad the first night!).  Thanks to Mike & him helping, it was really pretty easy.  I think it took about 4-5 days of him still waking (where we'd go in & rock/sing to him) before he just stopped all together.  So now he's been sleeping through the night for the past couple weeks & it's pretty nice!  I think he is even sleeping better than Isabella at this point!  He surely goes to sleep a lot quicker/easier than she does & Isabella actually wakes up in the middle of the night a few times a week (either bad dreams or her needing to be covered up).  But I'm sure we'll have more bumps in the road... we'll just enjoy this for now. :)

Isabella turns 4!

It's hard to believe that 4 years have gone by since Isabella was born. Time flies & she has grown up so fast! We celebrated her actual birthday on the 6th by going to our summer movie and then having lunch in Bricktown followed by a visit to the candy store. We were joined by the Polliards (Isabella says all the time how she "loves" Cameron & he is her best friend!) & had a nice day. Unfortunately we were called to show our house directly after that so it was hussle & bussle to get the house clean before that showing. We then had dinner at home that night (with Isabella's requested corn on the cob), had cupcakes, & family presents.

The following day we had Isabella's birthday party at Jump Zone. She LOVES this place! It is a big space with air filled slides & things to jump on as well as play ground type equipment. The kids had lots of fun and we followed up the party with lady bug cupcakes (which were made by Grandma & super yummy!), presents, & lady bug favor cookies that Isabella helped to make. I think it was a success!

It seems like just yesterday that we welcomed our 8lb 10oz (& 21") little girl into this world and now she is 40lbs & 41.5"! She amazes us everyday with all that she can do and we have so much fun enjoying all the unique things that makes her Isabella.

Happy Birthday big girl!

Elmo @ Tinker AFB

My parents invited us out to go see an Elmo live show that was on Tinker AFB. Can I just say that Jackson was sooooo excited to see Elmo! He squealed, he laughed... he LOVED it! It was so fun to see his reaction to it all. Isabella had fun too but not quite the excitement level shown by Jackson. :) My nephew Cameron & neice Taelyn w/ sister Jessica were also present & enjoyed it as well. They also gave away lots of free goodies including an Elmo spinning/light up toy that is pretty cool. Isabella got to touch Abby Cadabby but was highly upset when Grover passed her by. :) But all in all, it was a good time! Thanks, M&D!

The rest of our trip...

Another couple important (to me) trips to note while we were in the Dallas area are our IKEA excursion (LOVE that store) and a stop by  Whole Foods for fruit (LOVE that store too).  We also dropped by Sam Moon to check it out but I really didn't find much for myself (1 pair of earings) & Isabella picked out a necklace/bracelet set & some hair clips.  They had a TON of stuff, but most was just way too gaudy for me. ;-)

After leaving the Great Wolf Lodge, we went over to east Texas & visited Mike's Uncles & Aunts there (near Mt. Vernon).  We stayed two nights & had a nice visit and dinner with the family.  Unfortunately we didn't get any pictures of this visit.  Must remember next time!

We then headed over to Camden, AR for Hulon's (Mike's Dad's) 80th birthday party.  And the party was a success & great fun to celebrate with Hulon on his special day.  Isabella met her cousins (Uncle Pat's grandkids) and had a blast playing with them.  She also had lots of fun with Uncle Pat and Uncle Joe as well as Grandpa & Granny.  We stayed two nights in Camden before our long (6.5 hr w/ stops) drive home.  We were sure glad that Mike had taken that Monday off work so that we could all recoup from our whirlwind trip together!  Despite having to replace our tires on the Prius (1 tire needed to be replaced b/c it couldn't be patched & the others would need to be replaced w/in 1000 miles so we just replaced them all) & having to get a new dual screen DVD player (ours broke when we were leaving Grapevine), we had a really great time!

Great Wolf Lodge

In July we decided to take a trip down to the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine, TX before going to visit family in AR for Mike's Dad's birthday party. We'd been wanting to check out this hotel/water park for awhile & this seemed like the perfect opportunity. We stayed for 3 nights & had lots of fun! Everything was great (from the themed room, to the water park, & the starbucks in the lobby) with the exception of the beds... they were not comfy at all!

We got the Kids Kamp suite which had a little alcove w/ a bunk bed designed to look like a tent. Jackson had fun playing on the bottom bunk & looking through the window. He also enjoyed the bears painted on the wall. Isabella had a blast on the top bunk & did so well sleeping there all three nights! (She wanted Jackson to sleep on the bottom but that was not going to happen!)

The water park is huge, mostly indoors, & lots of fun! Isabella took some bribing & convincing but she did get on all the slides she was able to ride. We were so excited that she measured in at 42", the minimum height to ride w/ an adult on nearly all the slides (all but 2). You cannot lap ride, but they have double tubes for you to go on together. It was so much fun to go down the slides with her and to see her excitement! Jackson had fun playing in the small kids area where he could walk around in the water & touch all the fountains.

In the lobby at night they have the clock tower & electronic animals/girl that talk & sing songs. Isabella really enjoyed watching this & wanted to do it every night (even though it's the same thing repeated). The hotel staff then read a bed time story & you can see Wiley, their character which I believe is a wolf. ;-) We had lots of fun in the hotel and look forward to returning one day. It was really convenient to have our room so close to the water park so that we could return easily for eating or naps. We also brought in our breakfast & lunches, only eating out for dinner which helped make this trip a bit more affordable.

Photo Shoot

Before leaving for our vacation, we had a family photo shoot with Catherine Gikas.  Catherine is the one who took Jackson's beautiful newborn photos when he was 4 days old.  We also get our organic produce from Catherine every other week (she runs a co-op).  So we were excited to see what would come from our photo shoot.  Before leaving on our vacation she sent us a few teasers:

And after we got back, she had our gallery set up.  To see more of the awesome pictures Catherine took of our family, go to www.catherinegikas.com, click on "Proofing" then type in the password "Abla". Make sure you use a capitol 'A'. 

Cherry Picking

Back in June we went with our MOMS club group to Sun Berry Orchard & picked lots of sweet cherries and some strawberries. We had lots of fun & enjoyed the yummy fruit! We're looking forward to going out there again in the future!

Isabella's 4 year old hair cut

Isabella got her hair cut at the end of June (on the same day as Jackson) for what is becomming her yearly hair cut before her birthday. She started out saying she wanted short hair like Daddy's (that is really short!) a few weeks prior to going for the hair cut. She said she wanted it this short so that it would not bother her. We basically told her she couldn't but also tried to convince her she really didn't want it this short (ppl would think she is a boy, she couldn't wear clips, etc). It wasn't until the very day we were going to go get it cut that she did actually change her mind. I finally said to her that if she wanted to have her hair like Daddy's, I could just do it at home w/ daddy's clippers & she wouldn't even need to go see Tina (our hair stylist) b/c that was something I could do! "But I want to go to Tina!" she said. So I told her she'd have to get it cut in a style & not cut all the way off if she wanted to go see Tina & she said okay. So while waiting for our turn at the hair salon, we went through a magazine & she picked out a short hair style that angled in the front. After Tina was done cutting her hair we all knew that it was the right cut for Isabella. Even Isabella was beaming! I am happy to report that Isabella has not had near the issues with it getting in her face as she did w/ longer hair, even though we can't get it into a pony tail at this legnth!

Swim Lessons, session 1

Isabella took swim lessons from Miss Jennifer in June. She retook the level 1 class she took last year & continued to improve this year. She was able to float a few seconds on her own, keep her face in the water a few seconds while blowing bubbles, & she can now reach to the bottom of the pool on the shallow end & enjoyed tip-toeing around (top middle picture). We've gotten in some pool time since the end of her class & Isabella now can jump into the pool into your arms w/o having to hold on to your hand! We go back next week for another session, this time in the level 2 class. We're excited to see what Isabella learns next!

Happy Father's Day!

For father's day we went out to eat the night before & had a nice dinner. Isabella got to try a bubble slush (with the boba pearls... if you don't know what this is, think large tapioca pearls that are blackish). She liked it (but had her fill by the end!) & we actually liked it too (we sampled hers). For the actual father's day we had a nice relaxing day at home. I think Mike enjoyed his day. :)

Baby Caitlin is here!

My sister Jennifer had her little baby girl, Caitlin, on June 12th and here are our pictures from our visit to the hospital. She's a cute little girl and we all enjoyed getting to meet her. Isabella really liked getting to hold her and Jackson just loved seeing her. He is really into babies and will screetch with excitement when he sees one up close. Welcome baby Caitlin (a little over a month late!).

Hair Clip Holder Project

I've been wanting to do something for Isabella's hair clips to keep them more organized. I once bought a container w/ separate compartments & tried to organize that way but she had too many for the container & they never seemed to make it back into the container after she wore them. I saw a giddy giddy hair clip holder (see the one labeled cameo) that I really liked & wanted to do something similar.

Here is our hair drawer with everything just thrown in.

The photo I took of Isabella for the profile image.

Here is her profile blacked out. My brother-in-law, Miguel, was kind & savy enough w/ photoshop to figure out how to make her picture black like this so I could cut it out easier to trace on the peice of wood I had painted pink. After I traced it on the board, I painted it dark brown. I then attached the pink polka dot ribbons.

Finished project on Isabella's wall.

Clips on the holder (they all fit but will have to squeeze together b/c we have more on the way!)

Our hair drawer is so much better now!

4th of July

We had intended to go see fireworks this year (Isabella has never been) but it rained too much & we didn't want to deal w/ possible mud & wet grass. We stayed at home & had a nice relaxing day here. We had Isabella & Jackson's favorite for dinner- corn on the cob. Yum!

Jackson is 14.5 months

Okay, I'm not good at this blogging/update thing.  It nags at me until I finally sit down to do it & then I'm so behind!  

Jackson turned 14 months on June 30th so he's a little over 14.5 months now.  He is growing so fast, developing like crazy, & is so fun to have around!  Since our last update he has started walking!!!  I'd say it happened right around the 14 month mark.  We knew he could do it, he just had to gain the confidence!  He started walking when we'd stand him up but then crawling when he fell.  Then he slowly evolved to where he is now where he can stand up on his own with out using furniture & he gets back up after falling rather than crawling.  It's still surprises me sometimes when I look over & see him toddling around.  He still seems so little sometimes. :)

Jackson has also started talking a lot more.  Some of the words he is saying now are dog, bear, deer, moose, balloon, daddy... I'm sure there are more, they are just hard to keep track of!

He also continues to amaze us with all his motor abilities.  He attempts to feed himself with a spoon, has taken his pajama bottoms off, can climbe the stairs to the slide in his pool, & loves to get in his big sister's bed!  

We go back & forth between 1 & 2 naps a day... a lot depends on how early he wakes up in the morning!  And speaking of sleep, we're still not sleeping through the night... Jackson usually wakes up around 4ish & then 6ish.  I really need to work on him with this (by not feeding him) but it is just so easy to get him to go back to sleep this way!!!  But I will be happy to have a full nights sleep when it does happen!

We had an unfortunate accident in June when Jackson pulled up to the back of our gas grill & burned his palm & wrist.  They were 2nd degree burns & blistered up horribly.  He was in so much pain & it was such a difficult time. :(  The very next day we were referred by our pediatrition to the wound care clinic at St. Anthony's & they drained his blisters.  We had to keep them bandaged up with ointment on them so that they would not get infected and we had weekly check-ups at the wound care clinic for about 3 weeks.  Then we had one last one 2 weeks out & he was discharged the first week of July.  They have healed up really well with redness only on his wrist.  We are so glad this is behind us!

This is a picture of Jackson after he fell asleep in his highchair after eating lunch.  This has NEVER happened before (with him or Isabella) so it was quite shocking!  Of course I didn't end up getting him to stay asleep to transfer so he was awake another couple hours before he got his real nap. 

 

This is Jackson on the day he turned 14 months... he had just gotten a hair cut.  (Man his hair grows fast!)

For Mike

M.D. Creekmore at The Survivalist Blog – a survival blog dedicated to helping others prepare for and survive disaster – with articles on bug out bag contents,survival knife choices and a wealth of other survival information is giving away a 1,000 round case of 9mm – 124 Grain FMJ (a $200 value – donated byLuckyGunner)! To enter, you just have to post about it on your blog. This is my entry. Visit The Survivalist Blog for the details.

Mother's Day 2010

What can I say?  I'm a lucky mom!  I had a really nice mother's day.  I got to sleep in (which isn't out of the ordinary on the weekends which is another reason I'm lucky... thanks to Mike!), didn't have to cook (Mike made lunch & we ordered out for dinner), & I got some nice gifts (including a pressure cooker which I am loving!  The speed I can cook beans, grains, & meats with is amazing!).  Unfortunately Isabella was sick & had a fever so we stayed at home rather than eating out for dinner.  But we still had a nice day together.

Final 1 year update!

It is amazing how much Jackson seemed to grow and develop in his 11th month!  This month he has started pulling up on everything & really cruising around (walking while holding onto furniture).  He has even transferred from one piece to another a couple of times.  Some of his other motor development include playing peek-a-boo (where he covers his eyes... or his face with his hands & he then says "peak") and trying to feed himself with a spoon.  He really has gotten into copying things we do- putting a sock or shoe to his foot, putting a brush/comb to his hair, oh & you can't forget the hair clip he tried to put in his hair. ;)  

He is making lots of sounds & says a couple words (or sounds that mean words!).  We are looking forward to hearing more of what he has to say!

Jackson continues to love to read books and this month for a period of time he insisted on being the one to hold the book we were reading.  Anytime I would try to hold it he would cry.  Thankfully this didn't last because it is hard to turn the pages that way!

One night this past month Jackson slept through the night!!!  It was so nice.  But of course it didn't last.  He continues to wake 2x a night nearly every night, even though I've reduced his feedings to just 1x a night.  Pretty soon it will be time to discontinue feeding at night... I wonder if he'll still wake up then?

At Jackson's one year well baby visit he weighed 22lb 10oz which is about the 50th percentile and his height is 30.25" which is between the 50th & 75th percentile.  So interesting how he is pretty average in size and his big sister has nearly always been in the 90-95th percentile!

Jackson & Isabella continue to have a on again off again relationship.  Sometimes they have a blast together, other times Jackson is bothering Isabella or Isabella is bothering Jackson (and we get to play referee!).  It sure is sweet to see them enjoying one another though when it does happen!  Isabella loves to make Jackson laugh and Jackson loves to follow her around.  He misses her when she is not around & they are both excited to reunite.  We look forward to watching their relationship grow!

We cannot wait to see what the next year holds!