Playing Catch Up

We have been very busy the last month with play dates, birthday parties, St. Patrick's Day, Easter and a weekend away at Charleston that I have not had much time to keep up with my blog and pictures...Okay really just a blog or two behind. And since my computer crashed it took most of my pictures with it. I'm quite devastated. So I will spare too many details and just give the basics.

St. Patrick's day came and went so fast. I don't think I even had one decoration up. How is this possible since at one point in my life St. Patrick's Day was my all time favorite holiday?? I remember in high school I made a cake in Home Ec. It was awesome, and it had a very intricate four leaf clover drawn by me on it (or at least this is how I remember and picture it). I pretty much carried it everywhere for a few days just showing it off and it eventually made it's way to Butte, MT where there is the biggest party ever in the world on St. Patrick's Day. However, I never got to take even one bite because when my girlfriend LeeAnne and I returned home after a long night of trying to find a hot dog to eat, my cake had been devoured by many college boys, none of which I knew. So I'm fast forwarding to this year and it was definitely not as exciting as it was 10 years ago. We went to a parade with friends and it was so hot and Jackson had a little sunburn on his nose (mother of the year). Afterwards we went to my girlfriend's house for a party but it got ended short because Kevin was sick. God forbid he ruin all of our fun. Next year I promise to have a better story.

This is a really flattering picture of us girls

"waiting for hours" at the START line.

 Shanna, Michelle, Me, Leah, Jackie and Brittany!

LOVE YOU LADIES!

Leah, Jackie and I at the rooftop bar!'

Charleston was great. I made some really everlasting memories with these ladies that I will never forget. The race was insane. It took us 5 hours from the time we left the house to the time we made it across the START line...not the FINISH line, the START. I do not do well with these kinds of delays, however it was probably the easiest race I have run and it was fun to run with several women who I admire. I will probably not run this race again, but I smile when I think about the laughs we shared and feeling like I was 17 again. It was truly what the doctor ordered until I got home and Jackson threw up all over me. Kevin had managed to get Brecken to sleep through the night while I was away but that only lasted about a week since he got sick and then started teething....now we are back at square one and I am so upset!! I need sleep!

We had an Easter Egg Hunt and party at Jack's school. We were outside on the playground and this kid behind Jackson is his best friend. He talks about Max all the time. They were adorable together.

Look at Jackson's hair!! I almost died when I was posting these pictures. I had no idea his hair was so long and beautiful. :) He really looks like a girl. Sorry baby Jack!!

Jackson and Carter dying Easter Eggs together. CUTE!

This was at Jackson's Spring concert at school. Notice everyone is standing but Jack sat down like a "good boy". He was so cute singing all the words and doing all the gestures. To bad Kevin and I were at the very back of the gym and it was SO hard to see him. :(

Easter kind of snuck up on us this year.  We went to an Easter Egg Hunt that was absolutely the best one I have ever been too. They had a puppet show, face painting, and all of Jack's friends were there....Jackson ran around like crazy and got many eggs. It was a perfect warm, sunny day. We dyed Easter Eggs that evening, and Jackson of course was a very big asset. The very next day was Easter so in preparation of the EB we laid out carrots by our front door.  I was very anxious for Jackson to wake up, and when he did he was very excited to check out those carrots. His face was priceless. I love kids. There were half eaten and there was a trail of eggs that wrapped around the house and lead to the back yard FILLED with eggs. And then he saw it. The coolest Easter Basket ever. The Easter Bunny left Jack a bug vacuum, a bug net, bugs and of course candy. He left Brecken a Mr. Potato head and a mini bug net. Jackson liked Brecken's basket better. We ended out day with a lunch at Uncle Kyle and Aunt Leah's house that led into the evening. The kids were exhausted, Kevin was sick, but I was happy and that is what matters most right?

All the mommy's and their babies!

Brecken was so happy just sitting here. Actually all the babies were!

Brecken, Madleline and Landon

We are ready for the EB!

WHOA!

A few weeks ago was our annual trip to the Strawberry Farm! I love this place so much. I feel like every time we go it is overcast and wet. I was better prepared with the kids in jeans and boots. They have added more for the kids this year, which they loved. Brecken was cute and just kept taking out my strawberries and eating them and then tossing them aside. Jackson picked and ate one strawberry and followed little Ms. Molly everywhere. We were so lucky to have most of our favorite people there with us! I did not manage to bake anything delicious with the strawberries. However, I did manage to make muddled strawberry martini's for Amanda and me!

Aunt B and Brecken. Look at those boots!

Best picture EVER!! All they need is their pitch forks.

Jack and Molly.

Which brings me to my latest and last paragraph. I have been waiting to see one of my best girlfriend's that I have known for almost 20 years. Insane. It has been since our Denver girls trip when Jackson was just 15 months old when I saw her last.  She of course looks the same. Beautiful and smiling in her Boho Chic attire. Me...older and another baby on my hip. We are both so different but exactly the same. Seeing her and being with her gives me such a comfort and much nostalgia.  Amanda is one of those women who you meet and love instantly. She really is always smiling and always ready to have fun. She is also someone who honestly drops everything to make sure you know she cares, even in the busiest times in her life. She is now a lawyer. :) I like to brag about it because I'm so proud of her. We talked about EVERYTHING and nothing at all. We went to the winery (the best place on earth) and went shopping at  Nordstrom RACK. The boys adored her. Especially baby Brecken. I think he had a bit of a crush on her. He would get excited to see her, run over to her and wrap his tiny arms around her neck and lay his head on her shoulder. I never imagined he wouldn't love her. But I am very disappointed because we did not take 1 solitary picture while she was here. We talked about it of course because we talked about everything. We miss you Amanda!!

Beautiful Amanda!!

PS: Yes I admit I did steal this from your facebook page. xoxo

My Two Sons

This is an old entry that I have never finished!! I have updated a little bit but I wanted to still publish it. Sorry for such a delay!

JACKSON:
Hi I'm Jackson Hare and I'm two. Nice to meet you as he takes one hand out of his pocket and shakes. ---I love it when he says this---

Favorite songs: I'm sexy and I know it by LMFAO and Red Solo Cup by Toby Keith. He sings both perfectly and he has a sweet dance to go with it. I'm not sure where this kid learned to roll his hips but he has got it down complete with a head shake.

Favorite TV show: Dora or I should say Dorda. When he falls asleep at night you can hear him on the monitor saying  "Bridge, Rock, Library...Bridge, Rock, Library!!"

Favorite Movie:  Alvin and the Chipmunks. This kid surprises me with this movies and very little cartoon animation in them.

Best Friend: Brecken or in Jackson's language Breck-knee. This is what he told me last night. My heart melted. I hope they continue to be besties. UPDATE He has now told me that Molly was his best friend proceeded by Nena (Leah).

Who loves Jackson....When you ask Jack it usually goes like this, Brecken-Mom-Dad-Leah-Uncle Kyle. Then you ask who loves him the most and he says Pop Pop.

Mr. Independent: He can put his shoes on and most of the time they are on the RIGHT feet. He does not want us to help him. He also helps with everything from the laundry to planting trees, to checking the mail, taking out the garbage.  He is adamant he will help. It is very admirable. :)

Jackson likes to walk by himself. He will say "I walk mommy, I walk."  He does not like to hold my hand and most of the time I let him on his own. He is very good about not running away from me when we are in public. We have come a long way from this summer. We are working on his colors, and he has mastered most of them. He counts 1-10 constantly and consistently and counts everything he sees. He has been singing his ABC's for some time now,  but he can now point out a few letters for us.  His little mind is learning at a very rapid pace. He is repeating everything we say and do and everything his teachers to. He tells Kevin and I that we are "Too Loud" and 1-2-3 QUIET about every 4 minutes. What he doesn't understand is that he is actually the one with that problem. He also reminds us "Don't throw mulch and don't throw grass!". Jackson has become quite the "Johnny Rule Book". He makes sure everyone is in line, and if they are not, he will let ANY adult know. He makes sure the kids know not to push him and even if they don't he will tell me that they did. We are calling him "Mayor Jack."

As most of you know, I am not perfect by any means nor do I act like it. However when Jackson started repeating this..."Mommy is SO mad! and Mommy be so mad if you __blank___!" He tells this to his teachers. Great....but this morning he started saying "Mommy is SO happy",  and yes ladies and gentlemen, this makes Mommy very happy. And since he loves making mommy so happy he eats his dinner at the dinner table!! YAY! And he actually praises us for eating our dinner too. Good job mommy. Good job daddy is what he says followed with a clap, smile and giggle.

I know someday that Jackson will read all of these so I want to add this in there. Kevin and I were sitting at the dinner table the other night and Kevin looks up at me and says "Jackson is going to be a good adult. You can tell because he has really good qualities. He likes to make people happy. He loves to joke around. He follows the rules. He is liked and is nice to people. He is just a good kid." I actually never thought of Jackson's qualities as a child that would fall in to his life as an adult. But Kevin is right. Jackson is a good kid and will be an amazing adult. We are very lucky parents.

I'm sexy and I know it.

Oh the diaper box...So much fun.

 My prodigies.

Donuts with Dad!

BRECKEN:

Brecken is 10 months old! UPDATE -11 months old.  He weighs 20 pounds now and is as busy as ever. He is into EVERYTHING.

(Gosh this was FOREVER ago)
For starters he just has not been feeling well, which always makes every situation a bit more stressful. Saturday night while I was cooking dinner, he pushed the gate to the side on our stairs (It was jimmy rigged in there) and made his decent up about 30 stairs. I don't know how far he got or what happened in between, but the moment I asked where Brecken was he screamed and I saw a ball rolling down the stairs except it was not a ball it was Brecken rolling. He hit the gate and broke it in two pieces. I held him so tight but did not want to look at his face. He was fine after a few minutes and when I set him down again he was right back up those stairs. GOD HELP ME.
Two days before the stairs incident I gave Brecken two goldfish on my way home from the grocery store. One for each hand since that seemed to make him happy. In the intersection he starts choking. I look in my mirror and his is bright red straining to breathe. I stop my car in the middle of the road, run to his door, rip him out of the car seat, lay him stomach first on one arm while I beat his back. So scary....Then he gets sicker. Coughing, runny nose, up about 5+ times a night. He turns out to have an ear infection when I took him to the doctor on Monday. Later that day I go and check the mail and start reading a letter and in the two seconds I sat down to do this he was in our office playing in Ziki's puke. Yes. That is right. His legs were caked in it as well as his hands. I did not look at his face because I couldn't bare to see what it looked like.

UPDATE: Brecken started walking!! He is all over the place as you can imagine. He is still wobbly but is getting better everyday. I still can't believe this little tiny body is everywhere. He however has crashed A LOT. He likes to carry toys in his hands. Preferably ones that are very heavy and much larger then he is, which makes walking more difficult. Like his plastic golf clubs, or the children's laptop.  He stacks blocks and puts balls into the holes they are supposed to go into. He takes things out of a basket then puts them back in. I noticed this awhile ago, but I realized how amazing it was when he grabbed a bowl of fruit loops and dumped them and then he bent down and picked up every last one of them and put them back and set them on the table and walked away. WHAT!!! Genius. I have been telling Kevin for months that our son is a prodigy. :)

He also sprouted his two bottom teeth and is working on four up top. You can imagine how pleasant he has been lately. I think it is time for Grandma and Pop Pop to come back down here ASAP! He is becoming a bit more vocal in what he wants and Jackson and Brecken are very sweet together.

Today I was busy of course putting batteries in yet another toy so I asked Jackson to get Brecken from the laundry room (since I have another cat food lover on my hands). Jackson jumps up (since he is the best helper around) and runs to get him. I hear Brecken whine, then out of the corner of my eye I see them and I can hear Jackson telling Brecken "It's okay Brecknee. Mommy wants you in here." I turn around and Jackson and Brecken are holding hands and Jack is helping him down the two stairs into our playroom. My heart melted. I beamed at Jackson because yes I am proud of what a sweet, loving boy Kevin and I have raised. Now if only this would carry into sharing his toys.

Okay I'll stop gushing about my boys. They just make "mommy so happy!".

Cute!!You know sweet Brecken sat there the entire 15 minutes and did not make a peep during the entire haircut. Two words...Dream Boat.

The Battle with Food.

I am pretty sure I am a different mother then what I thought I would be. I am not saying I am a bad mother or the best mother, just different than what the image in my head was. I thought I would never be a short order cook. I was sure that since I liked healthy food that my children would embrace vegetables. And I knew we would always sit at the table as a family and my kids would have to ask to be excused. Well as most of my fairy tale thoughts about having a family have been shattered, these too do not ring true.

Jackson is my battle child. He fights me with everything even if he doesn't know what he is fighting about. He is the boss and I am the child. Or so that is how he wants it to be. Food is a difficult subject with most of my friends who have toddlers. We discuss this subject practically everyday. It's FRUSTRATING.  Jackson does not want to eat anything unless it was his idea. For breakfast I'll ask him what he wants (maybe this is where I'm going wrong at) and we run through the list. Eggs, waffle, cereal, bran muffin... And we run through them again and again until either I just make scrambled eggs or he tells me. Lunch is usually a disaster. I can't remember the last time we ate at the table for lunch. I usually make him a sandwich and he eats and watches TV, yet another thing I swore I would never do.   And for dinner I am just begging him to eat. For weeks he would come up to the table and push his plate away and scream  NOOOO, or he will just cover his mouth with not one, but both hands like I am trying to force feed him poison. He refuses to eat anything we eat. Not chicken, steak, pork, potatoes, rice, pasta, vegetables...nothing. He says it is "nucky".  He also in the last 6-8 months has decided that he does not like pizza. That is a sin if you ask me.  He eats chicken nuggets, peanut butter sandwich and an occasional hot dog but that usually gets the hand over mouth treatment. He refuses to eat any sauce with pasta (so there rules out the old blend vegetables in with sauce trick). And recently he refuses to eat macaroni and cheese. I'm out of options and sanity. He usually goes to bed without supper. I feel bad about this but I don't know what else to do.

This battle with food is so wasteful. I throw away SO MUCH. Not to mention little Brecken who also seems to be not liking things either. It drives me so crazy when I spend so much time making food for my boys for them to turn around and not eat it. Especially when Mr. Boss man told me that is what he wanted. I'm actually laughing now as I'm reading that last sentence because I'm sure my mom felt the same way when she would go and make us meatloaf and I refused to eat it or covered it with ketchup to disguise the bad taste in my mouth. Kids are wonderful aren't they?

I have one thing going for me though and it is Juice Plus. My friend Marie introduced me to Juice Plus a year ago and sent me some extra gummies she gave to her little boy. Jack LOVED them. And yes I tasted them too, and they are quite tasty.  And lucky for me now my Pilate's instructor is a sales rep for Juice Plus, and she is so sweet that she will purchase them for me so I don't have to sign a continuous contract. I am so thankful for her because I don't like to sign up for anything when they are taking money out of your account every month. So at least I know Jack is getting all the benefits from fruits and vegetables with these vitamins, and at least I can rest easier while we struggle through this battle. I'm hoping one day he will stop telling me that everything is "nucky" and will become a better eater.

You Rock, Valentine!

I LOVE being a stay at home mom. Maybe it is because I can not stomach the thought of sending them to daycare and being lucky enough not to have to.   Or perhaps it is because I don't HAVE to work for "the man", or I have made friends along the way who are also stay at home moms. I feel so grateful to my husband who has made this happen for me and my boys. And I'm very grateful for my friends who are always setting up great parties and play dates that we get to take part in. It makes staying at home a lot more fun.

Michelle is possibly one of the very sweetest people I have ever had the pleasure of getting to know, and she is always thinking outside of the box to get our kids to have fun. A few weeks ago we had a Valentine's Day party at the cutest little gourmet cupcake shoppe (which my friend Barb LOVES when she comes to visit). It was fun. First the kids colored their Valentine's Day boxes, then they passed out their Valentine's to one another and lastly they got to decorate cupcakes! They each got two cupcakes and a giant tube of their insanely tasty frosting. Luckily they served lemonade too so they could wash it all down. 

This year I decided to make our own Valentine's Day cards.  Thank you Pinterest for the inspiration. I of course waited until the very last minute, as in the night before the party at 11pm. I was so tired and wondered why I do this to myself time and time again. I had a flash of what school projects are going to be like in the future. I can not wait for all that stress (eye roll).

 I traced Jack's hand, cut out hearts, and used a lollipop for a handle. I love them. I am sure I went above and beyond what was necessary because I did them for THREE parties, which meant I made over 40 of these. And out of those 3 parties only two other people decided to make homemade valentines. I decided that I would only make handmade Valentine's for Jack's closest friends the next time around, and maybe by then he can help me.

 Coloring the Valentine's Day box.

Don't touch the candy! So hard to put children in a candy store and tell them they can't have any. Cruel punishment that is for sure.

 Teagan and her giant tube of frosting.

 This picture cracks me up! They were also not supposed to eat the cupcakes until they got the tutorial on how to frost them. Not an easy task for toddlers.

 Grayson's cheese face!

Wobble wobble!

This picture makes my heart melt.

 Brecken's girlfriend Isla. She also makes my heart melt.

And here we all are. Happy Valentine's Day!

These boys make me smile.

Best picture ever!!

The other morning when Jack woke up and did his ritual....Fridge, pantry, fridge, pantry.  It ended with a complete meltdown because Kevin told him he could not have any sour cream.  I said give him a spoon and let him have some. So he did, and Jackson dipped his spoon in and howled in utter disgust. His tongue was hanging out and I was wiping it off as fast as I could with a paper towel because he was acting like he was dying.  I feel like my entire days are filled with episodes such as this. Today Jackson finally used the toilet to go #2,and when I turned my head Brecken was dipping his hand in. I have caught Jack on several occasions giving Brecken his boogers, and we all know what Brecken does with them.  And if ANYTHING, such as a leaf, is left on the floor Brecken has already digested it before you knew it was there. And Jackson is a such a stinker he tells me every day when I get him up from his nap..."Chips mama chips", and when I repeat "You want chips Jackson?" He proceeds with Otay....and hops out of bed and starts the decent downstairs. Who wouldn't give this kid what he wants. He is so cute.  Jackson after 2 years and 8 months is telling us that he loves us. Kevin and I have waited so long to hear this. We love you too Jackson. Now I hope its a lifetime before I hear the words I hate you mommy.

A few weekends ago we decided to go back to Kevin's parents house. This was the first "long" road trip that Brecken has been on.  It was an exhausting trip there since I was jumping back and forth from the back seat soothing not one but two children. However, it is always a nice surprise when we arrive because Kevin's parents are always so excited when we come that they stay up and wait for us even when we do stroll in at 3AM.  Of course Jackson was so wild, running around in circles and showing off that it was very difficult to put him to bed at almost 4. We had a great short visit, and it included Kevin and I going antiquing (just the two of us) AND having a night to go out with some friends, which we have not done since our anniversary in July. It was like I was let out of prison. We had SO MUCH FUN! We started the night at a wine bar, which was AMAZING, and ended it dancing, which I don't remember. But while we were having the time of our lives, Jackson was  making memorable moments with his pop pop. I misspoke or mistyped a few posts back saying he calls him pa pa..its actually pop pop. Jackson LOVES pop pop. They have a new game, which we play now at home called knock knock pop pop. As you can imagine we go to the front door, knock, and well that's it. Jack followed Kevin's dad everywhere, and if he left Jackson was screaming for him to come back. It's very sweet to see such love between the two of them.

This last weekend we went to a birthday party for my friend Shana's little boy Carter. I can't believe he is 3 already. Well since Kevin is mildly allergic to animals, espeically horses, and it was at a farm,  I told him I would take the boys and let him have a few hours to himself at home. Much to my dismay it was rainy and COLD.  But Jackson did not seem to care, and the second we pulled in it was horse this and horse that and he chased the ducks and the turkeys and the peacocks. I felt like I had NO control over him, and I wore flats. Flats to a farm in the knee deep mud holding Brecken the entire time. Anyway, Jackson has learned a thing or two from school, and one of them is he has to sit everytime you give him something to eat or drink. Well unlucky for me, on this muddy day when I hand him his juice he says "I sit mommy, I sit!" and proceeds to sit in a HUGE puddle of mud. But the best part about this is that we went on a hayride immediately after and a sweet girl next to me said she didnt mind if Jackson sat on her lap. Of course I did not pass that offer up.  But my classy self  accidently was telling my girlfriend next to me what he had just done and did not even realize what I was saying until my girlfriend started busting out laughing. So sorry sweet girl who offered to hold Jackson.

Who needs girls when you can give your boys a ponytail!!

I love this little hat of his.

He is so happy with Pop Pop

Knock Knock Pop Pop! (Video)

Aunt B check out these boots!!

Brecken's Cheerios.

Jackson makes Brecken laugh ALL DAY LONG (Video)

Me and DA girls at yet another dinner which ended in A LOT of dancing!!! Pitbull anyone?

Who wore these most adorable batman pajama's better...You be the judge because I think its a tie!

Brecken Jan 2012

Jackson Dec 2009