Jackson Update!

So I feel kind of bad that most of the posts on here for the past 6 months have been about our new little guy, so I thought it was time I did an update on Jackson.  Jackson has been growing up like crazy! Not only is he physically getting bigger- the kid is so tall now- he is getting smarter and smarter.  He pretty much can say anything now and puts together full on sentences.  It has been wonderful in the whole communicating wants and needs sense between us.  Plus it has been a lot of fun as he says the funniest things lately.  He still has just about the most energy you've seen from a little boy and lately has really been into playing baseball with mostly his dad, but also anyone who will throw him some pitches.  And he is pretty darn good at hitting the ball with just about any of his wiffle bats.  It is surprising just how accurate he is, but we also figured that having both parents being athletic and way into sports, he has to be pretty coordinated.  Anyways, the most exciting thing about Jackson lately is that he is totally POTTY TRAINED!!! Wahoo! He actually has been for a couple of months since around Easter, but I am a bad mom and forgot to post about it! He pretty much decided that about a month after my failed attempt to potty train him back in March, he was totally ready.  He has done great and is really good about letting us know when he needs to go.  He loves his big boy underwear, and gets really excited still everytime he poops in the toilet and always wants to show us so we can tell him how proud we are...... it cracks us up!  Jackson also loves to help me in the kitchen and is really into doing everything himself.  I hear this all the time: "No, Jackson do it" when we try to help him.  He definitely has his terrible 2 moments with power struggles like that, but overall he is a good kid.  He is still very protective of and loves his little brother.  He also loves making Bear laugh.  Jackson is also becoming a little ladies man.  All the girls at church and everywhere we go seem to have a crush on him.  During sacrament they are always giggling and waving to him.  It's so cute.  His favorite little girlfriend right now is our neighbor, Lucia.  She will turn 2 at the end of this month and they are buddies! We walk with her and her mom, Klara almost everyday.  Their family just joined the church, but they are moving this next week to LA.  We are super sad to see them go :(  But it is looking like we will be moving soon too.... not sure where yet, but our lease is ending and rent is way expensive so we are looking for a new place! Well that is about it on the Jackson update for now!

30 Years and Still in Love

Today my parents have been married for 30 years!  I just wanted to let them know that for the past 22 1/2 years of those 30 years they have been a great example to me of what a true marriage should be.  They have taught me a lot, mainly just by their example.  Some of the most impacting things they taught me from their marriage are: the importance of having a date night once a week to get time alone to reconnect, going to the temple together often (even when it was 1 1/2 hours away they still always made it at least once a month), getting away together, and not being too proud to still hold hands and kiss in public! Thanks for being the best parents ever! We love you lots and hope you have a wonderful anniversary! If we were there we would take you to golden spoon and jamba juice :) .  Can't wait to see you in a few months! 

Side Roll Toe Crawling???

So Baron has been sort of crawling already lately.  The kid is seriously everywhere.  I put him down in the family room and walk into the kitchen to get things going for dinner and just a couple minutes later he is in a totally different place clear across the room.  He is really good at rolling, but recently we discovered that he has been trying to crawl behind our back.  We tested it out today to see how he does it and it is absolutely hilarious! We are not sure if it is even classified as crawling.  Take a look for yourself. 

See what I mean?  It's sort of like a side roll, but then he pushes off with his toes and then does the same thing but on the other side! What do you think? Is it crawling, or what is it??? Whatever it is, at just 5 1/2 months the kid already knows how to get where he wants to!  I can just imagine what he is going to be like once he gets real crawling down.  Ah, Baron, you make me smile everyday with your funny things you do and the funny noises you make! Thanks for making my life so fun!

Baron Update

Just thought I'd give an update of what Bear is up to these days since I haven't posted about him for a little while!  The little, well not so little, guy is now 5 1/2 months old and all over the place! Here's some of the things he's been up to:

ROLLING: Ever since the last week in California, he has been rolling all over the place! It's been a lot of fun, but also a lot like having a crawler because he can get to anything on the floor! He seriously moves really good because he can roll every way possible, but also when he is on his stomach he can spin around to face any direction AND, lately he is starting to sort of crawl, well more like slowly wiggle his way to things in front of him on his belly. 

SITTING UP: Just this week he has started to sit up! YAY! Sometimes he only sits for a minute or so because he wants to get on his belly to get to a toy, but his record is up to 15 mins. without falling now!  

STILL SMILING: He is still just about the happiest baby ever and is always smiling at everyone everywhere we go! 

EATING:  He eats SO MUCH! Seriously, Jackson hated baby food- didn't even really start eating any of it until like 7 months, and then would only eat pears and yogurt. Bear LOVES food and eats so much! He is just a starving boy and so different from his brother! He eats a little bit of rice cereal for lunch, and at dinner time he eats a whole container of baby food mixed with about 5-6 TBS of rice cereal and still nurses afterwards! The kid eats like there's no tomorrow! And he likes all kind of things like sweet potatoes (those are his favorite), squash, carrots, and he isn't too excited about peas, but we are working on that.  

SCREAMING AND GIGGLING: Bear loves to scream like an orcha whale when he is happy, just like his brother used to do, and he loves to blow bubbles.  He is always giggling at Jackson.  Seriously, it is the cutest thing.  Jackson will just jump up and down or stick his tongue at Bear and he just giggles and giggles.  It is sooooo darn cute! I am so so happy they are such good buddies already! I thought that wouldn't come for another year or so, but they really love each other!  If Baron isn't in the room with us, Jackson always asks where he is, and he loves to make him laugh and lately has been trying to hold him, which is hard to do since Baron weighs 19 lbs.! He is pretty tall though. 

Well that's about it! We sure love our Baby Bear! Now on to the best part..... pictures of the little chunk that we have taken in the past month!

John took these ones right after he had eaten so he has sweet potatoes all over his face!

Rolling under the bed

Father's & Sons Camp-Out

This past weekend John and Jackson got to go on their first Father's and Sons camp-out together, and they had a blast! Jackson came home with the biggest grin on his face wanting to tell me all about the tent, the fire, the marshmallows and all the fun they had! He even woke up this morning, hopped in our bed and said, "Go camping Daddy?" I was glad they got to have their boy bonding time doing what boys love to do best!  We are looking forward to the ward camp out in July so that Bear and I can also get in on the fun!  Here's a couple of pictures they managed to get in:

I definitely married the right guy....

I just wanted to also add to my Mother's Day post about how my day was because I really want John to know how much I appreciated it all! It was absolutely relaxing and wonderful, thanks to having the best husband ever! The poor guy worked hard and was exhausted by the end of the day.  First, he got up with Jackson who woke up just before 7 am, and he let me sleep in until 8:30! That was a very special treat that hasn't happened for a long time because the kids are always up before then.  After Baron and I woke up, Jackson and John brought me a very yummy breakfast in bed- my favorite cereal, Captain Crunch, scrambled eggs and cheese, toast, OJ and a banana raspberry protein shake.  They had also gotten me a card and a present! John had bought me the series, Band of Brothers, which I have always wanted to see the whole thing since as those of you who know me well know that I love history, especially WWII history.  I thought it was sweet that John had remembered that I had seen just some of that series on TV a long time ago and have always really wanted to see and buy the whole thing. Anyways, after that, John watched the kids so I could get ready for church without any kids rushing me and then at church they gave all the women some really yummy See's Candy! It was SO good! We only went to sacrament meeting because the boys all still have nasty colds right now, so afterwards, we came home and they both took great naps (Jackson even slept for 4 hours!!) and John and I got to watch a movie together.  Then John did the dishes and made me a VERY yummy dinner! Since he knows my favorite things to eat are all breakfasts foods, he made German pancakes, hash brown, eggs, bacon and sausage! It was all so good and I was so full! After dinner we got to talk to both our moms and wish them Happy Mother's Day, and John gave both the boys a bath and got them ready for bed so that I could relax and read a book. THEN, (no it's not over yet!) later on that night we got to eat some very yummy cheesecake that John had made himself! It was so good and a great way to end the day! So as you can see, I pretty much have the best husband ever! Of course I know we all think that, or should at least, but really I am just grateful to have such a loving hubbie who goes way out of his way to make days like Mother's Day extra special and relaxing for me! The poor guy really was exhausted by the end of the day from all the cooking, dishes, cleaning and babysitting, but it really meant a lot to me that instead of just trying to take me out or buy me a good Mother's Day, he went through all the effort to make everything homemade and extra special straight from him! I just want to let him know that I love him a lot and am grateful for all that he does!  You're the best John!

Mother's Day

Being a mom is the best.  Of course being a mom has it's moments (many with a 2 year old) in which you forget why you love it so much.  But most of the time it is more rewarding than anything else in this world.  I love my 2 little guys more than they could ever possibly know.  Their smiles, laughter and excitement for things like the trash man, police cars, fire trucks and airplanes are what get me through each day and truly make me happy.  I am also grateful to have such a wonderful and loving mother of my own as well as a wonderful mother-in-law that I have truly enjoyed getting to know and love.  In small tribute to them, here are just 10 of the many things I love about my mom and mom-in-law:

The Jena/Gwema (my mom)

1. You always put your family first, always without fail. 

2. You taught me how to be organized and clean

3. You always make the best food.... seriously, you even make simple things like quesadillas taste amazing!

4. You helped me start my own testimony of the gospel by sharing yours often and keeping it strong

5. You taught me how to never let the flame die between you and your spouse by doing things like making date night and alone time with your hubbie a priority and always making an effort to dress up nice for him... it really makes a difference

6. You LOVE Dr. Laura**

7. You go to the temple often and are always serving others, especially in the church

8. You make sure you spend time with each of your grandkids and are always reading books to them, making them yummy cookies, giving them special toys (like bright orange sunglasses :)), and just loving them, temper tantrums and all

9. You come stay with us for a week after we have a new baby and cook, clean, and rock a crying baby in the middle of the night so we can get some sleep and all without a single complaint and a smile on your face!

10. Most importantly, you stayed home to raise us yourself.  I will forever be grateful for the memories I have of doing things together, of having you always there, and for the person I am today because of the way you raised us.  You are the reason we have made sacrifices and given up a lot so that I could be home with our kids too. 

Gwama Sue (my mother-in-law)

1. You raised an amazing boy! He is truly the best, thanks in big part to you!

2. You also are an amazing cook!  Part of the reason we love coming to visit is the yummy food! And I love that you always make us a really good and big breakfast everymorning we are there! 

3. You happily hem all my pants for me...... don't worry I have some waiting to be hemmed for you right now! Guess we will have to make a trip down there soon :)

4. You love to read and talk about exercising, mostly running, biking and swimming. (And you let me ride your awesome bike!)

5. You love to buy the kids super cute clothes and you are always willing to hold the baby or entertain Jackson so John and I can relax or go do something fun

6. You are just as obsessed as me with the whole "Twilight" series.  I love trying to analyze it all with you!

7. You have a great sense of humor that you have passed on to John.... you definitely both keep us laughing!

8. You are always motivated and a hard worker which you have also passed on to John

9. You like to get me relaxing girlie presents like pedicures and a makeover

10. You always make it special and fun when we come to visit!

Thanks Mom and Sue for all you do! You are the best moms I could ever ask for. Happy Mother's Day! We love you lots and lots! 

** Just a side note, if you haven't already, go buy Dr. Laura's Slessinger's new book, In Praise of Stay-at-home Moms.  My mom and I got to go watch part of her Mother's Day show and it was SO good! She really understands the importance of being a mom and it was just good to be reminded of the rewards that come from being a mom and it was just nice to listen to someone who actually supports stay-at-home moms which is hard to find in this day. She also has written a really good book called, The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. Seriously, it is really good.