My AJ Blog

The Rodeo!

2012-01-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

AJ and I went to the National Western Stock Show again this year and we had FUN! I think this is our 3 year- maybe our 2nd, I can't remember- and as with most things, the older he gets, the more fun we have.

I told him beforehand that I'd get him a cowboy hat- and I really thought I'd be wasting my money. He rarely keeps a hat on his head. Only when it's snowing. So, when we tried on hats today, I saw $20 bucks going down the drain. Much to my surprise, he wore the hate the ENTIRE day. Only time he took it off is when the gal sang the National Anthem before the rodeo. He looked so darn cute!

We had PERFECT seats at the rodeo- smack dab in the center, 1st row. It was incredible! Maybe a bit too close in fact, as we got smacked in the face with dirt (hopefully it was dirt) a few times when the horses ran by.

At first, before the rodeo, AJ wasn't too into it. They shut the lights out in the stadium and had fireworks and that scared him. He started to cry and kept saying he wanted to leave. But once the lights came on, and he was watching the bucking broncos he loved it! We sat there for almost 2 hours and watched all the events and ate popcorn. Super fun!

Then, after the rodeo, we went to the other building to pet some farm animals and he got to play on the little indoor playground. He was excellent and we had a wonderful day! Love this time I get to spend with AJ.

Ready for the rodeo to begin!

YEEEHAW!

Brushing the sheep

Wouldn't be the same without some time spent on a tractor..

Such a cowboy!

2nd Trip to the Dentist

2012-01-09T10:02:00.000-08:00

AJ went to the dentist again today- he did SO well. He was happy, and wasn't scared. We need to keep working on brushing- and flossing. But all is well!

First Ski Trip!

2012-01-05T20:40:00.000-08:00

On Christmas eve, I took AJ to Loveland for his first ski trip. I really had no idea what to expect. I wasn't sure if we'd get as far as getting his gear on, but once again, he totally surprised me. He did SO SO SO well! I was (and am) so incredibly proud of him! He was super brave and had a really fun time!

We walked into the rental shop and he was a very big boy- got fitted for his boots, got his skis, his helmet and we headed to the slopes! (Not really as easy as it sounds as there were many bags full of stuff just in case. For example- extra gloves and shirts, candy, cameras, hats, etc..)

I wasn't sure if we'd be able to get him on the chairlift or not- I really wanted to try, but I think it was a good idea not to push it the first time out. He was pretty good at getting his skis on and I was trying to teach him "pizza, french fries" - ski tips together and ski tips parallel. That didn't really work, but we'll continue with it. Once he learns how to find his balance on his skis while going down the mountain, things will get much easier. He had it a few times tho.

He had the best time when I had him ski between my legs. I had complete control of him and we got some good speed he loved it. I think, at 3 years old, that's the point :)

Thankfully, we couldn't have picked a better day to go up to the mountain. It wasn't too crowded and the weather was perfect! Spring skiing conditions in December.

Of course, there was a lot of hot chocolate to be had after this fun time.

Trying on his gear :)

Ready!

Headed to the mountain

We fell... he was kind enough to try to help me up :)

Here are a few videos from our adventure :)

AJ Being Super Silly!

2011-12-29T14:35:00.000-08:00

Jason sent me these videos of AJ being super funny. In this one, he's singing Take Me Home, Country Road and he knows a lot of the words! I asked Jason where he learned this song and he said AJ told him one of his teachers sings it. It was news to us!

Here's another of AJ playing piano and dancing. He cracks me up!

3rd Annual Santa Party at Papa & Grandmas!

2011-12-19T20:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the 3rd Annual Santa Party at Grandma and Papa's house! It was another great time! As we hoped, Santa and Mrs. Claus arrived with toys for the kids. The house was extremely full of tons of family and friends and love. Here's a few pictures.

Yes, AJ is wearing a Tim Tebow jersey.... You're welcome Jason :-)

3rd year on the VERY old rocking chair that my grandfather made... Not sure how many more years he's gonna be able to sit on it before he breaks it!

Singing Chrstimas songs with his buddy Daxie

Thanks Santa!

Christmas Sing Along 2011

2011-12-19T20:32:00.000-08:00

Last week AJ had his first Christmas Sing Along at school. It was the cutest thing! I really didn't know much at all about what they had planned other than a few songs and cookies after. AJ still doesn't give a lot of details so when I asked what they had planned he gave his usual "I don't know?" answer. I did know that he's been learning more Christmas songs, but that's about it.

When I arrived at the school on Thursday a few minutes before the show, they had all the kids in the classroom and had construction paper over the window on the door so I couldn't see in. They had the parents go into the show room and wait... I was beyond excited about what was to come. I was partly nervous because I just wasn't sure how AJ would be coming into a room with a bunch of people watching him and the other kids. I wondered if he'd freeze or if he would turn it on.

All the kids came out in a long line and they sang about 6 songs while we all watched, snapped photos and clapped. AJ did amazingly well! I could tell he was a little startled with all the people watching, but he wasn't scared. He did great! It was more like he was confused. I'm convinced if they did a few more songs he'd be even more into it. He loved that Daddy, Papa and I were all there. He blew kisses, caught kisses and yelled "I love ya!" while the class was singing.

After their show, we all went into their classroom and ate cookies and had juice and took pictures. Then, Papa and I took AJ to get ice cream (can you say sugar high???)

It was just so awesome. I was so happy that AJ enjoyed himself and he was really proud.

Here's a video and some pics:

So proud!

Proud Daddy!

AJ and Papa!

We love this boy!

AJ and his lady love... Gianna:)

Shoes....

2011-12-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

I did it. I did something I told myself I'd never do. See these shoes in the picture below? They are Star Wars shoes. And the LIGHT UP! I am the mom who was NEVER going to buy these. Honestly, I see kids with light up shoes and I always think they are ridiculous. I'm all about my kid being into some kind of movie or action figure and I'm even cool with him having shirts with those things on it. But light up shoes? No way!

Then, AJ and I happened upon Stride Rite last weekend. I planned to get him a new pair of cute shoes. You know, something that is brown or blue and has a few stripes. Normal, basic, no nonsense shoes. And as we were making our way to the back of the store where those shoes are, AJ found these... He fell in love. He HAD to have them. Not in a whining, tantrum way. More of a "Mom, these are the coolest things EVER, can I please have them?" kind of way.

I hoped that they didn't come in his size. I hoped he'd try them on and realize they weren't that cool. But when he tried them on, he was SO SO HAPPY! He stomped and jumped around the store so the lights would go on. He told me how cool they were and how much he loves Star Wars. He walked around the store wearing them, looking in the mirror at them, telling me about how excited he was to show these to Daddy, Papa and the kids at school. How could I resist?

Seeing AJ happy in these horrible shoes made me realize why Moms buy them. And it turns out, the shoes are growing on me :)

2011 Santa Picture!

2011-12-11T19:59:00.000-08:00

We saw Santa today! It was super fun. We had to wait over an hour to see him, but thankfully it was a really nice day and waiting outside wasn't a big problem. AJ has been talking about what he's going to ask for from Santa for a while now. Here's his list:

1. A bug maker - he saw this in the Toys R Us catalog weeks ago and it's all he talks about. Problem is it's for 8 year olds and the reviews on Amazon are terrible

2. A cookie monster game - never seen it, no clue where he got that idea?

3. Trash truck -even tho he's got about 5 already

He made sure to tell Santa all of these things. :)

Few Pictures

2011-12-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

I took AJ and his buddy Riley to see The Muppets yesterday and then we went to Red Robin for lunch. We had a GREAT time! Riley is such a wonderful friend! And he's so trustworthy- always great having another set of eyes on the lil guy :)

Jason sent me this... It's AJ doing the "Tim Tebow". When he finally told me what the pose meant, I thought it was pretty hilarious:)

SUCH a good boy!

2011-12-04T19:51:00.000-08:00

I know that about a month ago, I posted about AJ being really difficult. I don't regret posting that, because at the time, he wasn't easy. But, I do feel bad about that time. I'm so happy to report though, that he's been SUCH a great, happy boy lately. He's just my little buddy. He's happy. He's polite. He is nice. He gives great compliments- in fact, there are times when he just wants to give compliments even though he's not sure what he wants to compliment. This morning, he wanted to say something nice and he said, "Mom, I really like your....your... all this" :) He will tell me he loves me just because. He makes me smile all of the time. This is just another reminder that the bad times pass....

We got his first "progress report" from school and he's doing FANTASTIC! They "rate" the kids with Most Often, Sometimes, Rarely or Not Yet" and they look at about 70 things. Here's a few things that stood out to me:

* He got a "most often" for every single social/emotional thing. Smiles, expresses emotions, follows individual and group instructions, helps put things away, works well alone and with others, expresses emotions in words.

* He also got "most often on almost all Independence/Self Help skills. Separates from parent without difficulty, able to put on shoes and coat as needed, takes care of personal hygiene, shows good table manners.

* Large and small motor development are great. Most often he can hop on one foot, draw and write with control, use eating utensils and use scissors.

* He needs to continue to work on tracing, using a pencil grip, writing his name and using line placement. He's still very young - I know this.

Here's his teachers additional comments:

"This is a very in depth progress report, most of the stuff on here we are not doing yet. AJ is doing great. He's right on task with the work we are doing in class. He is also doing very well with the others and making friends"

I'm SUPER SUPER proud of him!

Thanksgiving 2011 in California!

2011-12-04T19:35:00.000-08:00

This year, for Thanksgiving, AJ and I went to California! We had SUCH a wonderful time! We haven't been in a very long time- 9 months is a long time for us- and the last time we went AJ was sick and it wasn't nearly as fun as we hoped. This year, AJ was FANTASTIC! He was on all week- perfectly happy, funny, sweet, loving and exactly how I'd hoped he would be. We left on Tuesday- got into Santa Barbara that afternoon and hung out with Pop, Grammy, Uncle Matt, Auntie Kristin, Aunt Joan and her friend Joey, and Grammy Cory's son, Eli for a few days.

The first night we just hung out around the house and caught up. I was SO happy to see AJ warm right up to Pop and Grammy- there were no issues at all. He knew them right away and gave hugs and kisses at the airport. We'd been talking about them and the things we'd do with them and memories we had of past visits and I think that helped. Also, he's older so he understands more now.

A few months ago, I got AJ the Toy Story 3 Landfill- this amazing big toy that has the entire landfill, conveyor belt, incinerator, etc... and since then we've been talking about AJ wanting to go to the dump. I told him (way back then) that Pop goes to the dump once in a while and that when we went to visit, Pop would take him. For the past few weeks before our trip, AJ's been talking more and more about going to the dump, telling my mom that when he goes to visit Pop, they'd go to the dump. So, of course, on Tueday night, AJ wanted to go to dump. So, first thing Wednesday morning, where did we go? Yes, to the DUMP! I can honestly say, I've never been to the dump. And you know what? IT STINKS! But, seeing it thru AJ's eyes and seeing how much joy it brought him, made it so fun. Pop, AJ and I drove over there and they let us drive up all the way to the landfill and watch the entire thing happen..... Trash trucks drove up, unloaded massive amounts of trash, then the yellow tractor would push the trash into the landfill and the blue tractor would drive over and over the trash to grind it up and make it small. (I'm sure there's some technical term for this....). It happened again and again and again. And we sat there with the windows open in the car for 45 minutes. Again, PEEEYOU! But if you ask AJ about it, he'll tell you every thing that happened. And there were workers who came over to our truck and talked with him. It was such a fun time :)

The Dump!

Later Wednesday, we went to the Avila Barn- we go every time we visit- and again it proved to be such a wonderful time! We fed the animals, which was fun, but the highlights of this visit were the forklifts taking the fresh Christmas trees to the lot for sale and also the YUMMY ice cream. We all enjoyed a single scoop.

Silly boys!

Feeding the HUGE sheep!

Later that day, we all took a short drive to the beach and walked along Avila pier. It was so relaxing and fun. AJ loved running along the pier and watching the sea lions.

Love that he's skipping :)

Grammy, AJ, Pop and me

My guys!

That afternoon, my Dad's neighbor, who has 2 young kids, brought over some toys for AJ to borrow while we were there. They brought all kinds of trucks and blocks and AJ was in heaven! Pop and Grammy family room was filled with block race tracks and we all had a great time playing :)

Thursday- Thanksgiving- Uncle Matt, Auntie Kristin and Eli all arrived which made things even more fun! Matt and Pop took turns giving AJ rides in the wheelbarrow- it was SO entertaining to watch. AJ just loved it! "Do it again! Do it again" It was hilarious to watch AJ in the wheelbarrow, eyes closed, him "driving" while just about crashing into trees. I got some really good pictures (and we all got a good workout running him down the lawn).

He is LOVING this!

Uncle Matt and AJ played blocks and trucks and at one point were sitting outside together just hanging out. I walked out to get a picture and AJ told me, "Shhhh. Mom, were watching birds. You have to be still." It was adorable. He just is such a big boy.

Bird watching with Uncle Matt

AJ loves Uncle Matt so much- they just obviously love each other. At the end of the trip, AJ asked Matt if he could "go on his rescue boat". It was so sweet, but also sad because I know they both wanted to spend more time together. We plan to go out again in the Spring and spend more time with Matt and Kristin.

Anyway, later Thursday morning Aunt Joan and her friend Joey arrived- we haven't seen them in over a year. It was so great to see Joan and catch up. I was so happy that she got to see AJ and he got to meet her again. He was so young when they last saw each other, he didn't remember her. Joey was such a nice man and so good to AJ. They played together and since he's a grandfather too, he knew just the way to talk to him to make AJ feel comfortable and special.

Aunt Joan, AJ and I

Matt, Aunt Joan and me

AJ, Pop, Eli, Grammy Cory, Aunt Joan, Matt & Kristin

While all of that was going on, Grammy Cory was preparing a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving feast! Turkey, ham, yams, rolls, mash potatoes, veggies, cranberry sauce, and of course pickles and olives! The story is always told of when I was much younger and we had Thanksgiving dinner at my grandma's house, that I would put black olives on all of my fingers and eat them off one at a time (I'm sure everyone has SOMEONE in their family that does this...) and this year, I passed the torch to AJ :) As we sat down and started to pass around the food, I helped AJ load up his fingers and he showed everyone his creation :) I wish I had a picture of that! It was funny :) Needless to say, we all stuffed ourselves silly and by 8:30 AJ and I passed out. It was SUCH a wonderful day full of family, food and great memories! Thanks again Grammy and Pop for that fantastic day!

On Friday, sadly, we had to go home. Matt, Kristin, Joan and Joey came over in the morning for breakfast to hang out for another short bit. We did more wheelbarrow-ing and AJ and Matt played chase. We took some great family pictures and then Pop took AJ and I back to the airport. Don't tell Pop, but when he had to leave us at baggage claim, AJ and I both talked about how much we already missed them both and had a little cry. We certainly could have used another day or two on this trip, but had to get back to work and to Daddy.

Christmas 2011 Pictures

2011-11-21T21:12:00.000-08:00

Terrible Threes

2011-11-15T21:26:00.000-08:00

Oh gosh... everyone says it isn't "terrible 2's", it's "terrible 3's" and I'm starting to agree. This few weeks have been ROUGH! AJ is getting smarter, so he's learning to play me more and knows how to hurt me. And I've got so much guilt that I let him get away with too much- it's not a good cycle.

To be honest, one of the hardest parts for me right now is that I don't see AJ on a daily basis. So each time I do see him, it's like starting over. And when I see him, I want to make him happy. I want to have a fun time with him. But then, I also have a life and groceries that need to be bought, dinner to be made, a house that needs to be cleaned and just stuff that needs to be done. Right now, I feel like we're having less fun together and he's spending more time in time out or in trouble because he's just so mean to me so often.

It makes me so sad to think that the little time I get to spend with my son, I spend a lot of it with him in time out, or him melting down at Walmart because he's been so bad he doesn't get a cookie, or telling me "I'm not your friend, mommy" or "I don't care" or "it's not fair". Or lately, he spits at me or thows his toys up against the wall, or tells me when I pick him up from day care "I want my daddy". (nothing against Jason, but after 2 days without AJ, that hurts)

I do still get the occasional "I love you mommy" which I love, but he wont sit on my lap, or give me a kiss or hug. Typically lately, he denies me.

I'm frustrated tonight, obviously. It's not as bad as it seems. It was just a rough couple of hours. I need to be more strict. I guess I have to sacrafice time now in order to make him grow into a better man.

Update on Us

2011-11-05T15:12:00.000-07:00

Wow- I win the "Worst Blogger" award for the past month or so. Life has been so crazy hectic -still- and when I think about blogging, I'm either way overwhelmed with the amount of things I want to or should write or my lame Internet stops working and I give up. I feel like I can't keep up. I guess I have to forgive myself and do the best I can, right?
Anyway, we're doing fantastic! Life, while crazy busy and hectic, is back to having some sort of consistency. Love that.

AJ is really enjoying school- he still goes 4 days a week- and the teachers love him. He never fights going, and at times actually doesn't want to leave. He's learning SO MUCH! He can point out some letters, knows how to write his name (it's not always legible but I love that he tries), he has great friends there and I've noticed he plays so well with other kids now. He's polite, shares, talks about his friends, loves having "jobs" at school and likes his teachers a lot. He's really growing into such a wonderful young man. I couldn't be more proud of my guy.

We stopped swim lessons a few weeks back. AJ didn't get into the class because I waited too long to sign him up, and so I took that as a sign. With the holidays coming up and everything else in our lives, we all need a break. I think we'll sign him up for gymnastics in January. He's so coordinated and always on the move, so I think he'll do well.

I am doing great too- work is awesome. I love my boss and am really doing very well there. I work a lot of overtime when I can which means I don't get a lot of extra time to do my own stuff, but for now it's totally worth it. I'm very very VERY thankful the last 2 years are over and I'm starting fresh.

AJ and I are headed to California to hang with Pop, Grammy, Matt and Kristin for Thanksgiving and I'm so looking forward to getting away for a bit. We haven't been back to Cali for way too long.

Well, I guess that's it.... more to come later.

Happy Halloween 2011

2011-11-05T14:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from Fireman AJ!

Love this guy!

AJ made a pumpkin for school. His pumpkin won "Best Eyes"

Good thing his mom is so creative huh? :)

Anderson Farms 2011

2011-11-05T14:47:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to Anderson Farms a few weeks ago and once again had a great time! AJ and I went with Grandma and Papa and it was a perfect day! The weather was perfect, AJ was in a great mood and we just had such an enjoyable time. Here's some pictures:

Playing in the maize. He LOVED it again this year.

Sitting up on the big wagon with Papa

Feeding a 4 day old goat :)

All of us!

Barrel Train Rides!

Chillin out on some HUGE pumpkins!

Tracing

2011-10-16T15:04:00.000-07:00

I'm so impressed by AJ's tracing! I put the dots and he drew over them. My boy is growing up!

First Snow of the Year

2011-10-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

We got our first snow this morning! What a surprise! AJ and I woke up- I went to make my coffee and AJ hopped on the couch. I looked outside and there it was! We were so excited. We put on coats and slippers and went on outside to throw our first snowballs at each other. AJ asked me if we could go skiing today. I think we'll do that this year!

Download?!

2011-10-07T17:44:00.001-07:00

Tonight, on our way home from Grandma's, AJ asked me if I had Angry Birds on my phone. I said I didn't, but I'd get it for him. So, as I was trying to get the app, he asked me, "Mom, are you downloading it now?" Who is this child!? How does my baby know what the heck downloading is?!

I cracked up uncontrollably- so much so that he yelled at me to stop laughing at him. It was SO funny tho!

I love him :)

Croup!

2011-10-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Knock on wood, AJ has been VERY healthy in the past year or so. Truly, he's been a very healthy kid all around. Of course he gets colds once in a while, but nothing major and typically they don't last too long. When he started school, I assumed he'd be continually sick. We've been lucky... until now.

AJ was with Jason most of the weekend and when I got him Sunday late afternoon, he seemed happy, but was losing his voice. This was new. I asked Jason and he said, ya, he'd been clearing his throat a lot lately, but otherwise, nothing. As Sunday night went on into very very early Monday morning, I noticed AJ began looking very tired, out of it and now he almost had no voice, but had this nasty seal like bark. I knew it... Croup!

So, Monday morning I called the doctor first thing- AJ had a fever the night before and very early morning and I knew he wasn't going to school and we needed to see the doctor. We got in at 9:45 and after he coughed for the doctor, she confirmed right away it was croup. She said we caught it very early, gave him some steroid pills and a lollipop and sent us home. She said that his lungs were clear, but that his vocal cords were swollen (loss of voice) and to take it easy that day. He was SUPER sweet that day- more than usual and was also very happy. But also kind of spacey.

Luckily, Jason was able to work from home on Monday so I went into work 1/2 day and then picked him up later that night. He seemed pretty good.

This morning, I brought him to school (I HAD to work) and told the teacher he had croup (the doctor told me they only keep kids home with croup if they have a fever, which his was gone 24 hours at this point) and she said, "Oh, ALL the kids have croup right now! It's really going around!" Good to know, I suppose....

I picked him up from school today and he was his normal adorable, ornery, stubborn lovable self :) The teacher said he was great and you'd never know he was sick.

Froggy Gets Dressed

2011-10-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

This is the cutest book. It was a great find at the library a few weeks ago and AJ and just love reading it. We've read it every night for about 3 weeks and I'm sad that we're going to have to return it soon :)

Because we've been reading it so much, AJ practically knows the whole thing word for word. It makes me SOO SOO SOOO happy to read it with him because he knows exactly when "his turn" is to read his portion. Here's the story (not exactly, but it's the way we read it):

ME: Froggy wakes up one morning and see's its snowing outside. His mom says, 'go back to bed Froggy and wake up when the snow melts'. But froggy says 'I'm awake!' and he goes out to play

AJ: 'FROGGGGGGGYYYY (says his mom), Did you forget to put something on?' Froggy looks down and sees he forgot his pants!

ME: So, froggy goes in and takes off his shoes, mittens and scarf and puts on his shirt. He flops back outside.

AJ: Flop, flop, flop.... 'FROOGGGGGYYYY (says his mom) Did you forget to put something on?' Froggy looks down and sees he forgot his shirt! 'AND YOUR COAT!' (says his mom)

ME: So, froggy goes in and takes off his mittens, scarf, etc.... and puts on his shirt and coat. He flops back outside

AJ: Flop, flop, flop.... 'FROGGGGGGYYYY (says his mom) Did you forget to put something on?'

ME: Froggy looks down. He has on his mittens, his scarf, his hat, his socks, his pants and shirt.

AJ: (mommy yells) 'YOU FORGOT YOUR UNDERWEAR!' (and we both laugh our heads off)

ME: So, froggy goes back inside and takes off all his clothes once again...

AJ: flop, flop, flop.... and he puts on his long johns with a snap of elastic!

ME: And he puts on one sock, one mitten, and then he drops the rest of it

AJ: and climbs back in bed because he's too tired.... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Good night Froggy :)

And with that AJ acts like froggy and throws his head onto the pillow, clothes his eyes and pretends to snore :)

Fall!

2011-09-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

First, I have to say that I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since my last entry! So much has happened and I have very little time to document any of it. And to be honest, I feel so far behind, I don't know how to get caught up! At some point, I will get you caught up- but for now, here's a few things from this past weekend.

AJ and I were lucky enough to spend 4 straight days together and we loved it! I worked some of the time, but on the weekend it was time for a lot of fun!

On Saturday, AJ and I went down to Colorado Springs visit our friends, Joy, Riley and Maddy. We all went to Happy Apple Farms in Penrose (about 45 mins south). I had been there before I had AJ and AJ and Jason went last year with friends. It's a lot of fun- apple picking, pumpkin patch, tractor rides, etc... This year, however, because of a late frost, they didn't have apples! It didn't matter tho- we still had a great time with our friends :)

Here are a few pictures:

In the car on the way to the farm, dancing :)

Check out our pumpkin!

He loves tractors! (and candy, of course:)

I LOVE the fact that Riley is 11 and AJ is 3 and yet, they are still such great buddies!

Checking out the farm....

I just love them both :)

Then, on Sunday, AJ and I went to the Colorado Railroad Museum for a "Day with Thomas". We did this last year for our first time and will continue to do this annually. We get to ride on Thomas the Train, visit the fireman and see their trucks, eat Kettle Corn, see Sir Topham Hat, and check out all the old trains at the museum. It was SO HOT and we weren't prepared, but it was a great time!

Here are pictures from this:

Riding on Thomas!

He held this fireman captive asking ALL KINDS of questions about the truck for about 10 minutes :)

Loving it!

In a nutshell- and I will give many more details soon- AJ is doing awesome. He's loving school and life seems to once again be more consistent. He's still in swim lessons and enjoying that. He's hilarious, smart, a great friend and just so much fun to be with.

I love my boy!

DEEEEEEP breath...

2011-09-11T16:46:00.000-07:00

Wow- this past 2 months or so have been CRAZY hectic. So crazy that I've barely had any time to post more than a few pictures. There's been so much going on and finally things seem to be slowing down a bit- a good thing for everyone.

I know I have a ton of stories to share about the past few months, but at this point I can't remember them all.

In the past few months, I've lost one job, gained 2 jobs, quit one of those, and am back down to 1 job that I love and am doing really well at. I went almost a month seeing AJ A LOT less than I'd like (3 nights a week instead of 4 or more a week). I wasn't able to concentrate when I had him because I was just too stressed out. It makes me so sad to admit that, but it's true. When I think about it- I thought my life was hectic and I have some control over my life. AJ being 3 years old, does not. If I thought my life was chaotic, I can only imagine what he was thinking or feeling.

So, that all being said, life is on it's way back to be "normal" and fun for all of us. AJ is doing GREAT in school. He really likes his teachers and seems really engaged when he's there. He sits for circle time, does crafts, and is always learning something new. He's polite, kind and makes friends easily. The other day I looked in his folder and noticed he had a birthday party invitation in there for a little boy I'd never heard of. This is so new to me! I asked him if he knew of Blaine- he told me no. But, I decided that even if this invitation was one that went to the entire class, we were still going to go. It's a great way to meet the kids and the parents of the kids in his class and he gets to have a fun time at the party. One of my friends who has older kids said this is totally normal and to go because this is the time when I start meeting the kids who will be in class with AJ as he continues to grow up.

Now that my life has settled down and I'm working my one job at Dish Network with my regular 8-4:30pm Monday thru Friday schedule, we can get back to our more consistent schedule with Jason and I. For a while there AJ was with Jason a lot more- which wasn't a bad thing at all- but made me miss my boy terribly. It threw AJ off to because it was a constant shuffle back and forth to Mommy's and Daddy's house- it was confusing and stressful for him, I'm sure.

In the past few weeks AJ and I have gone to the zoo with some friends, gone to a BBQ, hung out at the house and just played toys and watched movies. Yesterday we went to Tiny Town- an actual tiny town with a railroad around it that we could ride on. We went there last year too and had a blast! I love that we're back to just doing fun, relaxing things. The stress level has gone down considerably.

AJ and Daxie at the Denver Zoo

Ice Cream..YUM!

Tiny Town Railroad!

Play time :)

Train ride with Mommy!

Tomorrow starts swim lessons again. I'm really excited to get back into that routine. AJ just did so well and was so proud of himself when he did then this summer. It made me so proud to see :) I just hope he gets his favorite teacher, Miss Kayla again!

I know this post is all over the place. I'm just feeling a huge sense of relief and gratitude and excitement about the future with my boy :)

My Love.....

2011-09-07T17:34:00.000-07:00

September 6, 2011

Random Recent Pictures End of August

2011-09-03T20:39:00.000-07:00

AJ and I took Puppy to Build A Bear - also known as the puppy doctor- to get a new recording. Puppy also was lucky enough to get his own skateboard!

AJ washed his scooter after helping me wash my car...

All I could think about is that Pop would be proud :)

He's a pirate! No, he's a Fireman!

Riding his bike on Saturday morning at the park across the street in is pay jays :) We love these types of mornings!

Park with Mommy!

Great Student!

2011-08-19T21:37:00.000-07:00

A quick update about school:

Yesterday I went to pick up AJ at school after not seeing him for 2 days. I walked into his classroom and stood to the side to watch what he was doing and let him see me first- like I always do. When he noticed me, the first words out of his mouth were, "Mom, do you wanna play with me?" haha! So cute :) So, I quickly walked over and gave him a big hug and kiss and told him, yes, I want to play :)

At this time, it was about 5:15 and there were still a bunch of kids there playing. While AJ and I were playing, one of his teachers, Miss Jordan and I talked about how he's doing and what he's learning. AJ showed me how he knows how to hang these little "wet" mittens with a clothespin in order to dry them out. I never realized how much coordination something like this took- but it's something they are working on at school. He did great! Then, I noticed some kids were playing on these rugs. When I asked Miss Jordan about it, she told me that all the kids have a rug and at certain times during the day they each get out their rug and unroll it, get some toys and play on it. Then, they put their toys away and roll it up and put it away. At first, the whole thing sounded a little silly, but then I realized that there's a lot to learn there. He has his own space. He has to learn to open it carefully so not to hurt anyone. He also can share it- or not. He then gets to roll it up neatly when he's done. Simple- but great things to learn!

Then, while looking around the room I saw the board on the wall with different "jobs". I asked AJ what his job was and learned that this week, he's the kid who gets to stand up during circle time and talk (with the pointing stick) about the date (he told me it was August and counted each day in the month with his pointer). He also gets to talk to the class about the weather and move the arrow to point to the correct picture (sun, clouds, rain, snow, etc..) I can picture him up in front of his classmates talking about this and just get such a kick out of it! I absolutely HATE speaking in front of crowds and hope that he doesn't grow up like that. I bet he loves being center of attention at school :)

Miss Jordan also told me that AJ is "such a little man"- which is something I love to hear and have been hearing since the day he was born!. He has great manners, plays with all the kids, is nice, shares and is getting better each day. I am so proud :)

Random Recent Pictures

2011-08-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

My little student- playing computer games at the library :)

After a LONG day at school and soccer practice...

Making cookies with Mom!

Check out this awesome firetruck! My moms friend, Sherron, got this for AJ from a garage sale. His new favorite toy!

Crazy Busy

2011-08-14T21:30:00.000-07:00

Haven't been able to post much the past few days because life has been HECTIC! And the few moments I have to myself, I don't think about blogging....

I got a 2nd job in retail 2 weeks ago and so I have a lot less time. I actually did this on purpose though. I make a little extra money, I get a great discount on clothes I love and most importantly, it keeps me occupied on days and nights I don't have AJ. I'm not too sure how long I'm going to be able to keep it up as my 2nd employer has to be VERY flexible with my 1st job and my time with AJ and it's just a lot to keep it all together for me personally. I do love my job in retail- I love being around people, meeting new co-workers who are fun and it really is fun. We'll see how it goes.

My point is, I don't have a ton of time for blogging or videoing. But I'll try to do better! :)

Quickly, I'll say this- AJ is doing great! He likes school, and is a very happy boy. He's confused though lately as to where he's going each day. Daddy's, Mommy's, school, Grandmas.... it makes me sad. But I have to remind myself that this is starting week 2 of school. It is a confusing time. I hope to make things easier for him soon!

Update on School- Week 1

2011-08-10T21:40:00.000-07:00

I know I've already written about his first day, but today I finally got to pick him up and so I was able to get a better understanding of how he is and what he does. I got there at 4 today and like every afternoon, he was playing on the playground with all the other kids. He was in the HUGE sand pit playing and I stopped to watch him for a minute before I let him know I was there. He was playing with about 9 other kids his age. He looked like he was having a blast!

Finally, I called his name and he looked up and said, "Hi Mom!" and then went back to playing in the sand :) After a few minutes, I asked if he wanted to come show me his classroom- he said yes and he showed me the way. When we got there he showed me the fish tank, the sand box where he plays cars, where circle time is, where he can get a drink of water and some of the toys they have. It's VERY well organized. Things are clean and put away when the kids are out playing.After a few minutes in there, I started to think maybe we should be on our way, but AJ told me he didn't want to leave! So, then he showed me the kitchen where they all eat and the area that they all nap- he showed me his nap mat which he seemed proud of.

When we were able to go, I grabbed his bag from is cubby and looked up at this chart they do for each kid. Tells how long they napped, how much they are and a few other things. He at all his lunch and napped just over an hour. He has napped in the past more like 2-3 hours but I understand why it's different.

Then, we walked back out to the playground and he wanted to play some more, so I had a chance to talk to his teachers. One teacher, Miss Michelle told me that he has wonderful manners. Anytime someone handed something to him, he always said please and thank you. She was impressed :) The other teachers had great things to say- he gets along well, no fighting, or anything like that- thankfully.

I know the drop off today wasn't that great, but I hope by tomorrow he'll be ready to just run in. I KNOW he's having fun! And I can already feel he's learning a ton!

First Day of Preschool!

2011-08-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Today was AJ's first day! We've been telling him about it for weeks now- trying to prepare him. Each time I talk to him and say "You get to go to school soon!" his response is, "Not today..."

So, I had hoped he would get a great nights sleep last night so he would be refreshed and ready to go this morning. That didn't work out so well. Neither of us got any sleep - he tossed and turned all night- and when he woke up, the first thing he said was "I'm going to school today? I don't wanna go to school today". I figured it would be a rough drop off....

We got all showered and out the door- packed his backpack, water bottle, extra set of clothes, took some pictures and we went to Castle Academy. On the way, he was asking all kinds of questions. "Daddy's gonna be there? You're gonna stay with me? Daddy's gonna pick me up? I don't want to go. I'm scared". I told him that I understood him being scared- that a lot of kids are afraid their first day of school, but that he's a big boy and I know he'd have a great time. I told him many of his friends go to school too.

Jason met us at school and when we got out of the car, AJ seemed just fine. We walked into the building and he had no problems. Then, we got to his classroom and he was a little scared- holding on to my hand and wanting me to play with him. We met Miss Michelle who seems wonderful and asked him right away if he wanted to see the fish tank. We all walked over to see the fish and on the way, he found 2 little boys playing with this awesome sandbox with tractors in it. He stopped and wanted to play with them. He seemed really comfortable already.

We watched for a few minutes and then told AJ we were going to leave and go to work. That Daddy would be back after nap to get him. He gave us a kiss and a hug, started making pretend muffins with Miss Michelle and we left!

No tears from AJ at all. Me, on the other hand.... ugh

Such a big boy!

**Update**

I talked to Jason and to AJ after school today and it seems that things went pretty well today. Jason told me that the teacher said that he was very good. That he did start to whine a lot before his nap. But after nap he was good again. AJ said he had a good time and that he met some new friends. When I asked the names, he told me, "Jack". He said he didn't like his teacher, Miss Michelle- but at this point, I don't really believe that. He says that to me from time to time about people I know he likes a lot. He said he had pizza for lunch, but I was also told by Jason that he didn't eat much at all today. He also told me that he wanted to show me some things in his backpack- but we were on the phone, so I don't know what those things are. He seemed happy though, and that's what is important to me :) I hope tomorrow goes just as well! I'm so proud of my big boy!

Sports

2011-08-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

I love that AJ is finally at the age where he can participate in organized sports. It's SO fun to watch him grow up and I often wonder which sports he will grow to really love. I grew up playing tennis and softball, but soccer was what I remember loving the most. I loved going to practice a few nights a week and seeing all my friends and then spending the weekends at games or tournaments with friends and family. I have so many wonderful memories of that! Of course, I wish that for AJ too, but will be perfectly fine if sports aren't his thing.

That being said, at 3 years old, he doesn't have a lot of choice in what sports he plays. That's up to Jason and I to decide at this point. So, he's in his second swim class and just started soccer.

He is taking swim lessons at our local rec center and this year, I signed him up for the Preschool 1 class. This means I don't have to get in the water. I think I may have blogged about this already. So, that was for 4 weeks and he did pretty well. There were 4 boys in the class and I'd say he was right in the middle as far as skill goes. He has been going in the water with me since he was VERY young, but since I wasn't in the water with him, it took some time to get adjusted. After the session was over, I asked his teacher if I should move him to Preschool 2 class and she said I could, but it would probably benefit him more if he did Preschool 1 again. Boy, was she right!

Luckily, I was able to get him into the same class again with the same teacher (Miss Kayla, who AJ just completely adores!) and there was also this cute little boy, Brant who was repeating. This session he has seriously become a different child! He loves to go, he can't wait to see Miss Kayla, he puts his head entirely under the water and kicks, scoops with his arms and holds on the side of the pool for the entire 20 min class (rather than sitting on the steps). I wasn't able to go but Jason told me that yesterday- his final class for the session- he actually went under so deep that he was able to touch the bottom of the pool! Jason told me that everyone was SO PROUD of him and he was VERY proud of himself! He's come a very long way in just a few short weeks! I'm very happy we made the decision to keep him in PS1 and now we'll move him up to PS2 starting in September. Even if he doesn't want to be a kid on swim team when he grows up, it's very important to me that he learns to be safe in the water.

The other sport, soccer, he just started last week. Again, sadly I wasn't able to go (I was soooo sad to miss his first practice!) but Jason was there and coached and my mom and Dave were able to attend too. Jason's comment to me was that AJ had fun, but it was "more like heading cats, than playing soccer". haha! Imagine trying to teach soccer drills to 4 kids at once. Sounds nearly impossible to me. But, he got in his uniform and his shin guards and cleats and they kicked a lot of goals and had fun. AJ told me he had a good time and I look forward to going to watch him this week!

Strategizing with Coach Daddy :)

Yes, he is #1

My Soccer Stud!

Great kick!

Dancing

2011-07-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Here's a very short video of AJ dancing from last night. He was doing this A LOT, but I never could get much on video. It was hiliarious tho!

Camping!

2011-07-28T11:40:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, AJ and I went camping. What an experience. AJ has been camping with Jason and we all went a few times when he was 1 (that was terrible because he didn't sleep), but I have never taken him alone. I can say, I honestly wasn't thinking too clearly when I agreed to go- we planned WAY back last winter and so I just said, "Sure! What the heck?" without really thinking about details.

As the time got closer and I started to get packing and actually think about the trip, I started to get a bit panicked. What if AJ got lost? What if we got eaten by bears? What is he didn't sleep again? What if he got hurt? How am I going to watch him this closely by myself for 2 days?

Now, I say "by myself", but that isn't really true. We went camping with 24 other people! So, when I say by myself, I just mean he's is solely my responsibility, but my friends certainly helped out a lot!

AJ was the youngest one, but that didn't matter. He LOVED it! He got to play swords and go on adventure walks and play games in the tent with all the other kids. And the kids were AMAZING with him. I couldn't have asked for anything more. Riley and Maddy were awesome and played with him a ton. Samantha and Joseph took him on walks and made sure he was safe. And all the other kids were great too. I let AJ go for walks pretty far away from me, but I made sure to dress him in bright clothes and never took my eyes off of him.

On Friday afternoon when we got to the campsite (in Golden), we all set up camp (thank you Kris and Joel for helping me!) and just hung around and let the kids play. We waited for all the families to get there and then cooked dinner and sat around the campfire. That night, I didn't sleep more than an hour total. I was FREAKED out about animals. I had asked the ranger when we first got there if there was anything I should be aware of. She said, "Well, you will probably hear the bears roaming around your site between 11pm -2am, so make sure you put all your food and the clothes you cook in, in the car" Awesome... So, I was awake all night worried about hearing the bears. At one point, I thought I did hear something, but looking back, it was probably a chipmunk- haha!

Saturday, after our pancake breakfast, all 26 of us headed out for a hike. Again, I wasn't thinking. I was planning to take AJ on a 4 mile hike and expected he would walk it? The kid doesn't even walk into the house half the time. He loves to be held. (And remember, he's almost 35 pounds!) So, we started out and for about 100 feet he was into walking and running with the other kids. Then.... it all got much more difficult. For me. I carried this child for 2 miles uphill mostly on my shoulders, but when those felt like they were going to break, I held him normally. Then 2 miles downhill. It was so frustrating because EVERYONE was offering to hold him. All the guys offered to put him on their shoulders for a bit and tried to talk him into it, but he wasn't going for it. Only when we got really close to the top did one of the guys offer him M&M's if he allowed Kris to hold him. That worked for a bit.

But, we made it- and it was BEAUTIFUL at the top. We could see the entire Continental Divide. Just gorgeous! Later that day we all napped and then at night made dinner and had smores. It ended up being a lot of fun- even though it was a lot of work. I slept much better on Saturday night. And AJ slept great the entire time, thankfully.

On Sunday, we got packed up and headed home around 11. We were filthy and exhausted. It was certainly an adventure and I'm glad we both survived it! Here are some pictures:

Maddy wanted to ride up with us and she and AJ were just too cute. She read him books and they chatted the whole time. She was awesome!

Our campsite. SOOO many trees!

Joseph, AJ and Riley hanging in the tent

He didn't take a nap on Friday.... he was beat.

I think his favorite part of the trip was being able to pee on every tree :) I caught him off by himself this time and it was SO cute! Such a big boy :)

Hanging out with the girls

The top of the hike! We made it!

Maddy, AJ and Samantha

Such beautiful views!

The girls- Me, Corinna, Joy and Holly

Riley and AJ checking out the view

Relaxing with Maddy

It was fun- but exhausting!

3 Year Stats

2011-07-20T18:44:00.000-07:00

AJ finally had his 3 year well check appointment today and he did really well. The doctor was really nice to him and he was talking to her telling her all about Monsters, Inc and other cute things. He thought it was funny when she checked his reflexes and his ears. The only problem was....the shot. :( Poor guy! I hadn't prepared him for it for two reasons. I didn't know if he was going to get any today and also if he was going to get one, I wasn't sure if it was better to surprise him or tell him in advance. When I found out that he was going to get one, I had the doctor tell him. "Just one little poke in the arm and then the nurse will give you a lollipop!" Well... let me tell you- it wasn't quite that easy. The nurse came in to give him his shot and she wasn't nearly as friendly as the doctor. I'm sure she's been giving shots to kids forever and has no emotion about it anymore. So, she asked me to lay him down on the little table (that's never a good thing for kids) and she was going to give him a shot in the leg (not at all what I had told him, right?). She said to him, "Your mommy is going to hold both of your arms down, ok?"- ugh! Freaky! And before you knew it, it was over. Except, IT HURT! As with every other time he's gotten a shot, he knew the instant it broke his skin and it was painful! He started balling right away and then the nurse walked out- WITHOUT giving him the lollipop! Which I don't think he was thinking about, but sure would have been a nice way to quickly recover!

So, after a few minutes of holding him and telling him how sorry I was, he finally recovered and we went and found him a lollipop. He talked about the shot for a while after and was confused by it, but he was fine. Then, we went to this park with all kinds of water spouts and he did alright there (even though he really seemed out of it all day) until he fell HARD on his head in the water. Now he's got a huge goose egg on his poor head. It wasn't the best day for my poor guy.

Anyway, he's just fine now and here are his stats:

3 years old
34.6 pounds (80th percentile)
34 3/4 inches tall (15th percentile)

The only other things we talked about with the doctor aside from the normal stuff was AJ's constipation (poor guy has had some miserable days) and what we think are allergies. She told me that he needs more water, less milk, more "P" letter fruits (peaches, peas, pears, etc..), and we've started giving him stool softener to make it not hurt so bad when he goes poop. The problem with the softner this past week or so is that now it doesn't hurt, but he thinks it will, so he goes in his pants. He refused to go poop in the potty. It's a messy problem, let me tell ya. But the doctor said not to worry about that right now. To go a few more weeks with the softner and let him learn that it wont hurt. She said to worry about the potty training piece of it later. (Thankfully, we still have diapers for naps and bedtime)

Regarding the allergies, if they aren't bothering him (which at this time they aren't) then there's no need to do anything. If they do start to bother him, she told me they make Claritin and Zyrtek for children. I had no idea?!

So happy to have SUCH a happy and healthy boy :) Sure do love him!

Time for School! (sniff, sniff...)

2011-07-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

For many months Jason and I have been discussing the idea of sending AJ to an actual daycare. We absolutely LOVE his current babysitter, Jamie, but we feel like AJ could really use some structure and would just thrive in more of a school setting. Jamie has been so wonderful and so consistent and loving and exactly what AJ needed during a tough time in his life (all of our lives, actually). AJ just loves her and loves playing with all of his buddies- Luke, Sophie, Sam, Jack, Abby and all the other kids. I know he will miss them all so much!

That being said, Jason and I have finally decided it's time to make the change. A few weeks ago, all three of us went to check out a school (I call it school, but I suppose it's more of a daycare/preschool) called Castle Academy. It's right in the center of Castle Rock- convenient for all of us. We both have friends who've sent their children there and have been very happy. It's a family run school and they've been in business for 11 years. They have programs for children from 6 weeks old up to after school programs for elementary aged children. Here's just a bit of info from their website:

The children are introduced to a balanced program of interaction with friends in both teacher-directed and child-directed experiences. The daily schedule includes free choice of time spent in the learning centers with language arts, math, science, computers, practical life, etc. and group times for creative movement, music, storytelling and dramatization.

Our professional staff encourages exploration and growth in a well-equipped environment that is stimulating, safe, consistent and nurturing. Castle Academy provides opportunities for each child to master tasks that are appropriate to his or her individual level of development.

Castle Academy is a Montessori preschool, but when we went for the visit, I saw that they don't just let the kids run around like crazy and make all the decisions. They offer the kids structure and choices, and let them learn at their own pace. I know AJ could use some structure, but I also want him to think and make decisions for himself. What really pushed me over the edge in making this decision was that AJ really enjoyed himself on the visit. He started playing with these 2 little boys and was interested in all that was going on. Some kids were doing art, some doing math, some reading- it looked like a lot of fun! I really think he's going to do great!

AJ will start going to Castle Academy on August 8th and he'll go Monday thru Thursday and then Grandma will still have him for one day a week, on Fridays. The school is open from 6am-6pm which I hope to NEVER have him there that long, but it's nice to be able to have that flexibility when we need it. Another great thing is that they have cameras in all of the rooms and we can log in online to watch him play.
It's bittersweet I tell ya! I can't believe he's getting SO BIG! When did this happen??

I'll keep ya posted :)

Play Time!

2011-07-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

I love to watch him play! And he is having some fun in this one! :)

Dragons?

2011-07-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Last night I took AJ to Target to pick out a new toy. He has been doing really well with his "jobs" and filling up his penny jar. Also, Aunt Joan sent him some money for his birthday for a new toy. (Thank you Joan!)

So, I let him walk around the toy department and he went STRAIGHT to this Dragon World Fortress. I thought he'd play with it for a second and move onto another aisle- but I was wrong. Once he saw this, he never looked at another toy.

I hadn't planned on getting him something quite so big or extravagant, but when I realized it was on clearance for the exact amount of money we had to spend and also how much he REALLY loved it, I went for it. And he hasn't stopped playing with it! He is TOTALLY into dragons now and it's so awesome to watch his imagination just take off. I knew one day I'd be playing dragons with my boy, but I didn't realize just how much fun it would be :)

Here's a few videos:

Happy Birthday Grammy Cory!

2011-07-12T10:55:00.001-07:00

3 Year Pictures!

2011-07-09T18:44:00.000-07:00

First Trip to the Dentist!

2011-07-07T13:20:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking that AJ needed to go see the dentist for a while now- Typically kids go when they turn 3 from what I've been told.

To be honest, I was dreading it. I really didn't think AJ would do well. I had very low expectations. He hates to brush his teeth with me and I figured having some stranger try to put her hands in his mouth with this scary tools and sounds would freak him out.

I have been prepping him for this for a month or so; telling him the dentist shines our teeth and has really cool tools that he can play with. I think what won him over was telling him he could pick from many great flavors of toothpaste (cherry, chocolate, cookie dough and his favorite bubble gum).

I spoke to the dentist a few months back when I made his appointment about how it would all go and my reservations and she assured me he'd do better than I expected. She said 95% of the kids do great and make it all the way thru the exam. She's not a pediatric dentist, but said they are very good with kids and let them use all the instruments. They make it very kid friendly.

So, today we went and he did AMAZINGLY well! I was/am SO very proud! We got there and first, the front desk gal put on a movie for him. Then, when it was our turn to go back, the hygienist was so very friendly. She let him pick out his own chap stick, showed him how the chair moves up and down, let him use the "squirt gun" and spray water all over the place and let him pick his flavor of toothpaste. Then, his favorite part was the "Slurpee" that sucked all the water out of his mouth. He was doing it so much and making all these funny noises. He was cracking up!

He let the hygienist clean and floss all of his teeth. He opened his mouth really wide like a crocodile and turned his head the right way when she asked him to. I'm pleased to say his teeth looked great- there is one minor possible cavity in his right molar, but they said they'd keep an eye on it and just to be sure we keep it extra clean. She explained to him (and me) how we should go about brushing his teeth (he does it first and then I spot check) and also gave him some kid friendly floss. We WILL be starting bedtime earlier now and getting his teeth looking good before stories and bed.

Here's a picture;

"Happy Birthday To You"

2011-07-01T21:31:00.000-07:00

The night of AJ"s birthday, we sat outside and made smores :)

I AM 3!!!

2011-07-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Guess what!? I am three! And last weekend, I had my birthday party! Well, actually- it was more like a birthday long weekend. I celebrated a bunch! Here are some highlights from my party:

We had my party at Gemstone Park- it's this great park that I go to a lot with Grandma. It's super close to her house. There are swings, a big playground, a huge grass aread and all kinds of fun things. Here's a picture of my grandma and some of my good friends. I like the ladies.... :)

Here's me and my Dad. See the cake he made! It was AWESOME!

Isn't it cool?

Tasted super yummy too!

Here's me with my mom. I wasn't really in a picture mood that day, but I was with all my friends, playing, eating a ton of candy and cake and having fun. Why would I want to stop and take pictures!

See what I mean?

Papa Tom came to visit me for my special day. I had SUCH a great time with him!

My mom got this cool treasure chest that I got to hit with a bat. All the kids got a turn...

We had to be patient and safe while the kids had their turns...

And then... CANDY!!!!

And presents!!!

And finally everyone sang "Happy Birthday" to me and we got to eat the cake!

My mom got me a bike :) It's a Mickey Mouse bike :)

And this is my friend Riley. He plays La Crosse and so he got me my own set! I'm soooo excited about this! Riley is such an amazing friend!

After the party, I played with my Dad on the swings. What a great day!

Here's a video of when we did the pinata- so fun!

Riding On His Scooter With The Big Kids!

2011-06-24T20:48:00.000-07:00

BIG Weekend Ahead!

2011-06-24T20:44:00.000-07:00

We've got a fun few days ahead of us! It's time to celebrate AJ's THIRD birthday! Seriously- how did he get to be 3 already?! Time really does go too fast.....

I'm starting to realize that because his birthday is on a Monday, we'll probably be celebrating for 3 days. Tomorrow is his birthday party and I think it's going to be a ton of fun. We're having a pirate theme party since he's TOTALLY into pirates. He calls it a "Jake" party because his favorite cartoon is Disney's, Jake and the Never land Pirates. Because this show is so new, they don't make party decorations for it, so we're doing a pirate theme. I'm trying to make it as young as possible- there will be skeletons, but mainly we're trying to go with treasure maps and treasure chests.

Tonight we did the last minute preparations for the party- AJ and Papa put all the candy in the pinata and they had a great time doing it! Here's a little video of that:

Then Grandma got home and started helping them:

Then, on Sunday, we're doing his 3 year pictures with our favorite photographer Nikkie. She's done all of AJ's pictures since he was 10 months and she's fantastic! She's going to try to do an urban theme- alley ways, barns, and buildings as a background. I'm sure they'll be great!

On Monday, AJ's actual birthday, Jason and I are going to take him to breakfast (because Jason travels that night) and then I'll take the day off and go with him to My Gym, lunch and then swimming lessons later than afternoon. Maybe we'll do dinner too- just have to see if we can fit it all in.

I'm so proud of our boy! And I'm really looking forward to celebrating him all weekend!

Jobs..

2011-06-22T08:18:00.000-07:00

I've decided its time to start giving AJ jobs. He needs to have some responsibility and some accountability. So, I think we're doing to do a penny jar. I originally thought about doing a sticker chart when when he does his "jobs" he gets a sticker, but he's also very into money- although he doesn't quite get the concept, he does know that we use money to buy things.

This morning we started the penny jar. When he does something that is considered his job he gets a penny in the jar. Then, when he gets enough pennies to get to a line on the jar (I haven't quite figured that part out yet) he'll get to go to the store and get a "special prize". Again, it's a work in progress, but today it worked pretty well.

Here's a few jobs that I'd like him to do:

1. Put his dirty clothes in the hamper
2. Get himself dressed in the morning
3. Clean up his toys

We'll see how it goes! I'll keep ya posted

Funny Kid

2011-06-22T08:14:00.000-07:00

More things he has said:

* Yesterday, AJ was standing on the couch jumping around- something he's not allowed to do- and I said, "Honey, please don't jump on the couch. You're going to get hurt, trust me! Do you trust me?" He replied, "I do. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't" hahah

* He's entered the ignoring stage. He ignores me ALL the time and it makes me crazy. "AJ, are you hungry? Honey.... do you want something to eat? AJ? AAAAAAJJJJJJ? HONEY! Do you want to eat? Yes? No? And he responds, "yes, no, maybe so?" hahha!

* Many times when I tell AJ something- for example, "It's really windy outside today", he will respond with, "I did not know that!"

* After reading books, he'll close the book and say, "That was a great story!"

* His new thing is this telling me that everything is a "great idea!" AJ, do you want to go to swim lessons today? Yes! That's a great idea!

Happy Birthday Pop! (Long Distance)

2011-06-15T21:28:00.000-07:00

Happy 68th Birthday POP! Just so you know, my mommy and I love you SOOOO much! And we miss you too! We can't wait to see you for Thanksgiving! Lots of tisses and hugs coming to you tonight. All the way from Colorado! Did you know you that every time I see a plane in the sky, I think it's going to California to see you? Anyway.... Sorry I didn't feel like chatting on the phone tonight. My mom said I was a "pistol" all night- whatever that means. I guess she didn't like it when I punched her in the stomach. She put me in time out a lot and I didn't get to read stories... made me sad, but that's a "consequence". (again, what does that mean??) Oh well- I'm almost 3. What do you expect anyway?

Love you Pop!!

Weekend Fun

2011-06-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, AJ and I went to Belleview Park in Littleton. We had a great time! Rode the train, pet some farm animals and had a picnic. Then he played in the water for a bit. This is such a fun and beautiful park!

See my dirt??

Train Ride!

Then, on Sunday, we went swimming :)

More Swimming Pictures

2011-06-08T21:02:00.000-07:00

Gettng ready for swim lessons!

Listening to Miss Kayla... (This is one of my all time favorite pictures!)

Arms out!

He loves Miss Kayla!(She's a very sweet young swim teacher. She's GREAT with all the boys and makes AJ feel so comfortable!)

First Swim Lessons!!!

2011-06-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

AJ had his first real swim lesson today and he was AWESOME! Yes, he has done a Mommy & Me class when he was 6 months old and he's been in the pool hundreds of times- but this was his first class without me and with a teacher.

He started out a bit hesistant- which I expected because it typically takes a bit for him to warm up to new situations- but then, with the help of his best buddy, Dax, he got right in there with all the other boys! Since this was the first lesson, the instructor just wanted the kids to get familiar with her and the water. So, they didn't "learn" much today, but did some kicking and floating. He had a great time and I loved watching him :) I can't wait to see him on Wednesday! And I'll try not to forget my good camera- keep an eye out for better pictures :)

Swim Team!

Swim Buddies!

June Update

2011-06-06T20:19:00.000-07:00

I've been pretty bad at blogging lately- sorry! There's been a lot going on and I realize that the more time that goes by, the more I have to write, and the less I want to because it becomes overwhelming. However, I don't want to forget this stuff and I love to share it :)

So....

AJ and I have started going to church. We began going a few months ago, but since I don’t have him every Sunday, he’s probably been 6-7 times, on and off. Finally, he’s gone enough times that he doesn’t cry anymore- he still tells me he doesn’t want to go each time, but then after, he tells me how much fun he had. Also, Miss Callie- the nice woman who runs it- tells me he does well and has fun. I actually started volunteering in the “Jungle Jam” area- where AJ goes- so that I can help out, but also I get to see what AJ does for an hour.

The church we go to is called Plum Creek Community Church. The services are actually held in the Castle Rock movie theatre, which I think is kind of funny, but it works. The people that attend are mostly my age – give or take 10 years- and what I love about it is its very casual and low key. I wear flip flops most weeks and I don’t feel judged- which is huge to me. There’s always a great message or lesson about something relevant in my life. It’s a great start to the week.

Because we’ve been going to church, AJ and I have started saying our prayers each night before bed. It’s the cutest thing listening to his prayers. This is how they go:

“Alright… so…. Deeeeaaar God. Thank you for….. our house. And thank you for our food. Thank you for Daddy” and the list goes on and on…. He thanks God for EVERYONE he knows… :) He also thanks God for Buster. He says he misses and loves Buster. Then, he wants me to do my prayers. And then we do it all over again- a few times each night. The other night, he was feeling quite spunky and thanked God for his “nose and boogers”. UGH- boys!

Here’s a few random things from AJ:

* The other night we went to the Jacuzzi to hang out and there was this adorable 12 year old boy in there too. He and AJ hit it off! This kid was so caring and nice- I wouldn’t have expected him to like playing with an almost 3 year old, but AJ cracked him up! Kenneth was practicing holding his breath under water so he’d go under and then come back and tell us how long he could hold it. He came up one time and said, “40 seconds!” AJ’s response was “40 Seconds?!! You’re killing me Kenneth!” (Maybe not the best thing for him to be saying, but it was seriously funny)

****EDIT*** going forward "killing" is a bad word in our house. It's up there with "stupid". It was funny the first time, but now he is "killing" everything. Obviously, he doesn't know what that really means, but I don't like it.
* June is going to be a BUSY month for AJ. He started My Gym on this morning with my mom. It’s a little gymnastics class that he’ll do each Monday at the rec center. Then, tonight he starts swim lessons- and I don’t have to get in the water! He’ll do that Monday and Wednesday’s for the entire month. I hope he likes it!

Zoo Day!

2011-05-28T13:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!

Today, AJ and I went to the Denver Zoo- we love this place! It's big enough, but not TOO big. They've got great animals and a train and carousel. And it's not too far away either. The weather was perfect- sunny and mid-60's.

We got to see 2 polar bears. One was having a great time swimming and playing with his toys.

And he rode the carousel...twice!

He loved it!

And then, ice cream.. lucky boy!

It was a lot of fun :)

Grandmas Birthday

2011-05-28T12:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we celebrated Grandmas birthday! It was on Monday, the regular day that she watches AJ, so she took him to Boulder- her favorite place. They were there for hours and AJ got to play at the park, climb on all the toys and have a great, fun filled day with Grandma :)

Someone isn't into taking pictures these days...

I am 99% sure he's saying, "Don't take my picture!"

Unless of course, you give him ice cream...

He helped Papa bring out Grandmas birthday cake!

And he sang :)

Us 3 :)

Chocolate kisses!

So Long, Pal...

2011-05-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

Buster. Buster Brown. Sweet Brown. Brownie. Brown dog. B. Toots McGee. Mr.Tooterson. These are all the nicknames for our sweet, sweet boy who went to doggie heaven today. It breaks my heart knowing that Buster will no longer greet us at the door with a wagging butt (his tail was so short that he wagged his butt :-) or let out a silent but deadly fart while were relaxing in front of the tv, or trying to burst into my room each morning much earlier than I'd like because he just wants to be the first to wish me a good morning.

Buster was the best dog. Just the best. I can't say a bad thing about him. (Well, the farts were sometimes unbearable, but...) He was almost 8 years old. I'll never forget the day he joined our little family. Jason and I were dating, living in Colorado Springs with Harley- our beagle. Harley was about a year or so old and one weekend afternoon, Jason and I decided to go to the mall. We walked into the pet store and we both saw this ADORABLE little boxer puppy in one of the little kennels. I was able to talk Jason into bringing him out of the kennel and into the little room where people meet the dogs and eventually decide if they’re going to buy them. Jason told me there was NO WAY we were buying this dog. First off, he cost an arm and a leg. Secondly, we already had a young dog, why did we need another? But this dog was just so darn cute and sweet! I remember, Jason held his ground and we didn't end up getting the dog (yet). I was incredibly disappointed when we walked out of the pet store and I'm not proud of this, but I pouted for hours because of it. We went to Costco and walked around, and I just remember being mad and sad and giving Jason the silent treatment. (Let's all remember this was 8 years ago and I like to think I've grown up a little since then). Finally, after a few hours, Jason asked me if I'd stop acting like this if he gave in and let me get the dog. Of course I quickly changed my attitude and we headed back to the pet store. I realize what a spoiled brat I was- but I REALLY wanted this dog!

So, we got him and headed back to our house and invited Joel and Holly and their 1 year old twins over to meet our new guy- Buster Brown. I remember us all romping around the backyard playing with the dogs, just having a good time.

Fast forward a few years and we added a new baby to the mix. AJ and Buster have always had a very special bond. Buster never- not ONCE- growled at AJ or showed any aggression. Not when he pulled his ears, poked his eyes, laid on him, hugged him tightly around the neck, hit him (he was young and didn't know better), or did anything that would have probably warranted a warning growl or nip. One time, when AJ was just a baby, my Dad and Cory came out to visit and while AJ was napping, we all were out front working in the yard. AJ started to cry upstairs and Buster ran to the front door to let us know that AJ needed us. That's the kind of dog Buster was. So caring.

Buster never asked for much at all. All he wanted was food, water and some love. He was never aggressive with other dogs. In fact, he loved to box with them- that wasn’t always good with little dogs because he could throw them across the room with one swing! The only problem with Buster is that he was a boxer. And boxers are known for health problems. I knew this when we got him, but again, he was too cute to pass up. Boxers are known for having a short life span because they are prone to cancer and as I recently learned- ulcers in their eyes. Thankfully, he never had cancer (that we know of) but over the past few years, he had pretty bad thyroid problems causing weight gain and loss of hair, he had 2 torn ACL’s which made it difficult and painful for him to walk much. He wanted to play and run, but he paid dearly for it minutes later. He also had some problems with his teeth. Over the past few years, his gums grew over his bottom teeth, which made it tough to eat. We could have gotten that fixed by going to an oral surgeon, but honestly, I couldn’t do that. We just put water in his food so he could eat easier and all dealt with his horrible breath that was caused by this.

Most recently, Buster developed an ulcer in his eye. It started out kind of goopy and just not looking right and eventually turned into a cloudy eye that turned painful. I took him to the vet and they did all kinds of test and gave us medication to try, but warned me that it may not fix the problem and if not, surgery would be necessary. Not to mention, there was a good chance he would eventually develop an ulcer in his other eye.

The medication didn’t work. I was left with a terrible decision. Spend $800 for surgery (knowing he’d be in pain and that this wouldn’t fix any of the other many problems he had) or put him out of his misery. It was an agonizing decision. It would be an easier decision if he wasn’t such a wonderful, loving, sweet, gentle dog.

Finally, I made the decision that we would have to put him down. I haven't ever had to make this decision before. We have had wonderful family dogs that have been put down and that was painful enough. But this was my dog. And AJ's dog. I am so sad knowing he wont be with us anymore, but it makes me smile to think of him playing with all the other dogs in doggie heaven, pain free and loving it. I tried to prepare AJ for this, knowing he wouldn't quite get it. I told him a few days ago that Buster was really sick- he had a bad owie in his eye and his legs hurt him a lot. I explained that he wouldn't be with us much longer; that we wouldn't see him. I told him that Buster would be in doggie heaven. He asked where that was, and I told him "waaaay up in the sky". He looked up in the sky and said to me, "I don't see it Mom!" :)

I am thankful that we got to spend some quality time with Buster over the past week or so. AJ and I took him for many short walks and I took him for a few longer ones alone. He got extra treats and shared a lot of my food with me too.

AJ made this drawing for Buster...

We love you Buster. You will be missed greatly.

Roller Coaster!

2011-05-16T13:56:00.000-07:00

Last night, for my birthday, we went to Chuck E Cheese. Yes, you read that right. It was for my birthday :) My thought was, if AJ is happy, we are all happy. Well, AJ was very happy and had a great time. He played every game in the place and sat still only long enough to eat one slice of pizza. I'm not sure what he liked more, actually playing the games, or putting the token in ;)

Here's a great video of AJ and Papa on the roller coaster ride. He is such a dare devil!

POOP!

2011-05-15T20:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the title, but doesn't every parent get super excited when their kid finally is potty trained??? It's all that we talk about and consumes us!

I'm going to say, that AJ is now potty trained. He has been peeing in the potty for a few weeks now- but FINALLY this weekend he started pooping too! Such a big step. Now, all we have to work on is overnights- and I know that'll take some time.

The other thing that I'm pleasantly surprised about is that he's completely fine going to the bathroom in public toilets. I've heard a lot of parents tell me their kids won't do it, or are terrified of public restrooms. AJ doesn't like the "youd" flushers, but it doesn't scare him enough to keep him away.

SOOOO proud of my boy, once again :)

Update on Potty Training....Day 4

2011-05-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

He is doing AWESOME!!! I couldn't be more proud of my guy! He only had one accident this morning at Jamies- and since then he's been perfect! In fact, for the first time tonight he yelled to me, "Mom! I need to go potty!" Since we started working on this, it's always been me nagging him, asking if he needs to go. THIS is progress!

AJ Funnies

2011-05-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

AJ is talking NON STOP now. Seriously. Non stop. And most of the time, he's pretty darn funny!

Here's a few things from the past week:

* We're driving to the store and he's in the back seat, and he says to me, "Oh no...what's gonna happen here...." haha! I have no clue where that came from. Or what he was talking about!

* His new thing is talking about "last time". He obviously has no idea what that means because he'll tell me things that are going to happen in the future, but tells me they were "last time".

* The other morning AJ was waking up in my bed next to me and the FIRST thing he said to me when he rolled over and looked at me was "I'm a baby bear...roar (in a cute baby voice)" haha! I replied, "Good morning baby bear. ROAR!" love him.

Potty Training Take 2 (or is it 3???)

2011-05-03T11:01:00.000-07:00

There's no stopping it now. We're full force ahead with potty training. It WILL be done!

Randomly, AJ decided to start potty training on his own last Saturday night. We were hanging out at my moms, making dinner and all the sudden he told me he had to go potty. So, we RAN to the bathroom and he did it! I put Cheerios in the toilet, took his diaper off and he stood on a stool in front of the toilet. I said, "Ready! Aim! FIRE!" and he did! haha. That night he did a few other great pottys. Each time he goes, he gets a jelly bean (yes, even at 6:30am or 8:30pm). I'm not thrilled with him having that much candy, but it's working.

Sunday didn't go quite as well. That morning he went through 4 outfits before 9am. He started thinking (and telling me) that he didn't want to go on the big boy potty. He goes back and forth between not wanting to go, and having to go all the time. It's hard to be patient when he tells me 4 times in 15 minutes that he has to go, only to get him in there and have him tell me "I can't". I heard he had a few accidents at Jason's later that day.

On Monday, his schedule was a little off because my mom was out of town and couldn't watch him. So, he went to our great friend Ki's house and God love her- she worked with him (while also having to watch her 3 year old and 9 month old boys). He was very emotional that day she said. I don't blame him though. He probably had to pee so bad and just was nervous about it and couldn't do it. She said after he finally did pee in the potty, he was a much happier boy. His mind was at ease, I'm sure. Monday night he did really well- only one accident. Then, this morning he had 3 GREAT pees in the toilet. We're on a roll!

It's bitter sweet to see him growing up and becoming a big boy. I love him SOOOOO much!

Denver Fire Fighter Museum

2011-04-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Today, AJ and I went to the Denver Fire Fighter Museum. I've been thinking about taking him for a while now and since it was pretty cold today, I thought it was a great time to do it. He's very into fire trucks (and pirates and trains) so I knew he'd love this place. The museum was pretty neat- he probably would have enjoyed it more as a 5 year old- but he had a good time. They had one truck that the kids could climb on and "drive" and the rest of the trucks were REALLY old were only for looks. They did have a fire pole that was kid size which kept his attention most of the time.It was another fun Mommy- AJ day :)

Here's a few pictures:

So handsome :)

Squirting me with the fire hose!

"Fireman AJ TO THE RESCUE"

Here's a short video of him sliding down the fire pole:

Easter Pictures!

2011-04-27T12:57:00.000-07:00

We had a really awesome Easter with a bunch of our friends. AJ had a blast because he got to go on another Easter egg hunt, eat a ton of candy and play with his friends all day :) Here are a few pictures.

Mommy, AJ and Grandma

Love this boy!

Easter bunny cupcakes that I made

The kids table!

Riley, Samantha, AJ, Maddy and Joseph :)

Enjoying a bunny cupcake :)

Easter Videos

2011-04-24T19:53:00.000-07:00

Hunting for Easter eggs with his buddies. Maddy and Sam are such good friends!!

Checking out his loot with Grandma and Cindy!

The day wouldn't be complete without some rockin out!

Racket Guitar

2011-04-21T11:36:00.001-07:00

Jason sent me this video today. It's HILARIOUS! I can't stop watching it! He's just having so much fun :)

Headache vs. Stomach ache

2011-04-20T21:13:00.000-07:00

Me: ugh, I sure do have a headache....
AJ: ya? oh..

few minutes later...

AJ: Mom, I have a headache too.
Me: Oh ya honey, where?
AJ: In my belly...
Me: Where in your belly?
AJ pulls up his shirt and shows me :)

I love him :)

Pictures from our California Trip

2011-04-14T17:28:00.000-07:00

Waiting for our plane to arrive..

Out for a stroll with Pop and Uncle Matt

Pop and Grammy have a strawberry farm next door so each morning they went to pick some. Pop taught AJ how to pick a good one, eat it, and then toss the stem behind him when he was done. A few times he missed and it landed on his back or his head. Such a fun time!

Making breakfast together

Working in the garden with Grammy

Standing on this "super huge" crane at the beach

Bee Pancakes!

Mickey! (After I ate one of his ears...oops!)

Fascinated by the fork lift, of course

At the farm

Avila Pier

All of us!

Enjoying his first In N Out experience. Complete with a strawberry shake!

Our California Trip! Written by AJ…

2011-04-14T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hi! It’s me. AJ. My mom thought it would be fun for me to write on the blog and tell you all about our fun trip to California.
My mom had been telling me for a week or 2 that we were going to go to California to see Pop and Grammy. I didn’t exactly know what that meant, but I have been hearing a lot about California lately since Grandma goes there a few times a month for work. My mom told me we’d go to the airport, get on a plane, maybe meet the pilot in the cockpit and then the plane would take off (wooooshhh!) and then a while later it would land (SHOoooom!). All of this sounded pretty fun.

The night before our trip, my mom was packing our suitcase and she packed my pirate packpack full of fun toys for the trip. I brought my pirate cards, Rio the blue skating parrot, crayons, watercolors, books and other fun stuff mom thought I’d like.

The morning of our trip, mom put this SUPER big suitcase in Grandmas car and we drove to the airport. We said goodbye to Grandma and were on our way. Mom kept talking about how super excited she was to take this trip with me. I think she really likes when we do these things together.

When it was our time to get on the plane, my mom put my packpack on my back. When we walked into the plane everyone was staring at me and smiling. I don’t know why. My mom said it’s because I’m so darn cute :)A nice lady in a uniform came over and asked if I’d like to meet the pilot in the cockpit. I was super excited! I walked up and said HI to them and they showed me around. There are SO many buttons in there! I think maybe when I get bigger, I’ll be a pilot. Or maybe a fireman. Or a trash truck driver. Who knows?

A few minutes later it was time to take off. Mom and I sat in our seats and buckled our seat belts. Mom kept saying “Safety first!”.

I was a really good boy on the flight. I played with all of my toys and made friends with the older man next to us. He was so happy to be able to play with me for almost 3 hours. He loved playing pirate cards with me and I reminded him many times to use his manners. Then the nice lady came over again and told my mom that I was the best little kid she’d ever had on a flight and she brought me some juice. Another nice man on the plane bought me peanut M&M’s! My mom couldn’t believe it! I’m sure mom was wondering why this nice man thought a 2 year old needed a movie theatre size bag of candy, but I sure thought it was cool!

When we got to California, we got off the plane and there were Pop and Grammy! They were super excited to see me. They gave me lots of kisses and hugs and told me how much they had missed me. I missed them too and was so happy to be there!

We did lots of fun things on our trip. It was nice though because we weren’t super rushed at all. We went to a farm, fed the goats, cows, sheep and other animals. We got ice cream. We played in the yard and dug holes in the dirt. We went to see the Elephant Seals at the beach one day too. That was fun. For some reason, some of the seals were laying in a pee pool which was super stinky. One of my favorite parts of the trip was driving in Pops truck down this REALLY SUPER BIG hill. Each time we did, Pop told me to raise my hands WAY high in the air and yell WEEEEEEEEEEE!!! We laughed and had a lot of fun.

Feeding the goats with Grammy!

One day, Uncle Matt and Aunt Kristin came up from their house to hang out with us. It was so fun to see them! Uncle Matt and I played hide and seek for a while- he was sure good at finding me! My mom said next time that I should try to hide behind something next time, rather than just standing in the middle of the room. But we had fun. Later that night, Pop and Grammy made this wonderful dinner and we all sat at the table and talked and ate. Sure was nice to be with my family!

One morning, Grammy made us pancakes. She is so creative! She made me a Mickey Mouse pancake and a bee pancake too! She made me a bee pancake because I decided that I am afraid of bugs now. Pop, Grammy and mom keep telling me that I shouldn’t be afraid of them because I’m bigger than they are, but I can’t help it! I found a bee on my shirt one afternoon and since then I’ve been scared.

Grammy was also nice enough to make some things for my bear and my puppy. She made puppy a cape! Now, we call him SUPER PUPPY! She made bear a new ear. My dog, Bruce, ate bears ear a few weeks ago when I was at dad’s house and now he can’t hear too good. Now, he has a new one and is all better!

The only problem that we had on this trip is that I was sick. I woke up on Friday morning with a hot head. My mom called it a fever, I think. Pop went to the store and got me some medicine and that helped, but I was much more cranky than usual. Mom kept telling me to be nice, but it was hard to be too nice when I didn’t feel so good. She said I didn’t sleep that good on the trip, but I thought I did. I loved sleeping with her each night. She loves it when I sleep sideways in the bed or when I lay on her back all night. It’s so cozy for us!

On Monday, mom decided I had been sick long enough and decided to take me to see a doctor. I haven’t been to the doctor in a long time so I was a little scared, but it wasn’t bad at all. The doctor looked in my ears for balloons- he didn’t see any. He also put this cold thing on my chest for some reason. Then he looked down my mouth which I didn’t really like, but I was a brave boy. He gave me some stronger medicine and I felt better pretty quickly.

The last day of our trip, Pop and Grammy found this really neat park. It was right on the beach and had a pirate ship that I could play on. I loved it! There was a lot of sand, and this great thing to climb on too. There was a swing there and Pop pushed me on it for a really long time. We were laughing so hard and having so much fun!

Swinging with Pop!

Mom and I had a really wonderful trip to California. Mom said she was so proud of me because I was such a great traveler. Even though I wasn’t as happy as I normally am, I still had a lot of fun.

Pop and I having FUN!

Wheelin' Around With Pop

2011-04-09T21:21:00.001-07:00

Swords!

2011-04-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

Here's Papa & AJ playing pirates last night. They had a blast! AJ's got the best laugh!

He Loves Pirates!

2011-04-02T14:33:00.000-07:00

AJ and I had another awesome day today! I took him back the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for the pirate exhibit. He and my mom went a few weeks ago and he had a blast.

First, we got his hair cut, then we went to Jamba Juice for a "smoozie" and then we headed up to the museum. It was a BEAUTIFUL day here in Colorado. Temperatures reached 82! It's been a while since we've seen that.

AJ was great! He saw Captain Hook and we checked out the exhibit (which he liked, but he's way too young for) and we had lunch there. Then, since it was so nice out, we walked over to City Park. I love days like this with my boy :)

With Captain Hook!

This guy's a little freaky!

Reading the treasure map

He insisted I take a picture of his two "owies". Hard to see it from this picture, but he ate it twice today and scraped up both knees.

GORGEOUS day in Denver!

My Soccer Guy!

2011-03-26T20:46:00.000-07:00

AJ's been talking about playing soccer lately- probably because I've been talking about it :) So, today I decided we'd get him his first soccer ball. I told him that after his nap, we'd all go to the park and play soccer. As you can see in the picture below, he was pretty excited!

I realize when I say this that I'm his mother and of course I think he's awesome in all that he does. But seriously, he's a good kicker! He enjoyed himself at the park- the only problem was it was VERY cold. It made for a short trip to the park. I'm sure if it was a warmer afternoon, we would have been there longer.

Here's a few pictures:

A short action video:

First Movie!

2011-03-26T13:56:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking about taking AJ to a movie theatre for a few months now, but really wasn't sure if he was old enough. He loves to watch cartoons, but this is different.

Finally, today I decided to give it a try. And he LOVED it! We went to the 10:35 showing of Gnomeo & Juliet.

On our way, I tried to explain to him what was in store. I told him that we could have popcorn (he was thrilled), that it would be dark, we could pick our own seats and that we have to be quiet. When we arrived we went to the concession stand and I ordered him a kids pack- fruit snacks, a little bag of popcorn and lemonade that all came in it's own box that he could carry. He was THRILLED! He kept thanking the guy behind the counter who served us. Then we made our way to the theatre and right away he picked his seat. Front and center :) We plopped down and got ready to enjoy the show. He was such a good boy! He was very quiet throughout the movie (in fact, he shooshed a few of the other kids who were talking loudly) and only was only a wiggle worm for a few minutes.

It was a really cute movie and such a fun experience! He's a great date!

See my kids pack?

Something to Aim For....

2011-03-24T20:40:00.000-07:00

Ready? Set? PEE!

People keep asking me when I'm going to start potty training AJ. Or, have I given it any thought. Well, of course I have. He's 2.5 years old. But, I've also decided that 1) I can't force this child to do anything and 2) if I'm being honest, I'm just not up for it right now. I keep telling myself that he won't be in diapers forever and once he goes to preschool or daycare, peer pressure is going to get him potty trained quickly. Perhaps I'm lazy. Think what you will.

In the past week or so, AJ has started to ask to use the "big boy potty". It's great and I'm so happy when he wants to, but typically he asks just after he's pooped! It's a start I guess :)

Tonight, he wanted to use the potty and all of the sudden, I remembered other moms of boys talking about using Cheerios to get them excited about peeing in the potty. So, I ran to the kitchen and grabbed a few. I tossed them in the toilet. At first, when I explained that he could aim for them and try to pee on them he was a little confused. He wanted to eat the Cheerios :) But then...He Did It! And boy, did we throw a little potty party! I was so proud!

Wake Up Call

2011-03-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

Lately, for some reason, AJ wakes up pretty early when he's with me (5am or so) so I quickly change his diaper, grab him, puppy and bear and we all go to my bed. I PRAY for another hour of sleep or so.

This morning was the same. When I got us all in bed (plus refilled his milk sippy cup) he did fall asleep. We were holding hands and it was so sweet. I actually wasn't able to fall back to sleep, but I loved being able to cuddle with and hold him. About 30 minutes or so later, he sits up and sees my eyes are closed and he decides to "wake me up" but ticking my arm! He said, "tickle, tickle, tickle!" (sounds more like tittle, tittle, tittle) How can I not wake up laughing at that?

He's the sweetest, nicest, most caring and loving boy :) And he is a GREAT snuggler!

Future Baseballer

2011-03-20T20:55:00.000-07:00

I have no idea where he learned to slide- like he's sliding into home base- but he's very good at it! He can throw back his leg and give it his all! Check it out!

He's Playing Us!

2011-03-19T15:14:00.000-07:00

Today, I went to Jason's to pick up AJ and this was our conversation when I arrived:

Me: AJ! You're getting too big! Can you please stop growing up and stay my little boy?
AJ: No mom. I want to get REALLY REALLY REALLY tall!
Me: No!! Pleeeease, stay little! I love my little boy!
AJ: NO! Daddy, can I get really tall?
Jason: Yep
AJ: Mom, Daddy said I can get really tall!

It was pretty funny. I realized this was the first time he played Jason and I against each other :)

Oh Puppy....Where Are You???

2011-03-17T20:40:00.000-07:00

AJ is addicted to Puppy and Bear. They go everywhere with us. To Daddy's. To Jamie's. In the car. Sometimes to the store. They are part of our family. And I didn't realize until tonight just how much I am addicted to them. Tonight, when we first got back to Grandma and Papa's house, AJ went straight downstairs to see Papa. I had bags of stuff in my hands along with dinner so I was busy unloading and getting things done. A few hours had past- we had dinner, watched a movie and played outside- and it was time to read stories before bed, like we always do. I put AJ in his pajamas and as I was putting him in his bed, I said to him "Here's Bear.... where's Puppy??" I knew we got him from Jamie's this afternoon, but where was he? I didn't panic yet, but I wondered where he could be. AJ didn't seem too concerned at that point, but I went out to my car to see if by chance I'd left him in there. Nope- not there. I checked the kitchen again. Nope. So, I went back to AJ and said, "I don't know where he is honey, but I'll find him later". I knew that wouldn't last very long, but we got thru the stories and I got time to think about where Puppy might be. Then, after stories, he asked me. "Mom, where's Pup?" And I suddenly had this fear. Had I left him in the store? (No, because we only brought Bear in the store) Was he somewhere in the house lost all night and Lexi had eaten Puppy as a snack? (Thank God, no.... this was a huge fear tho!) Then....I remembered! When we first got here, AJ went directly downstairs to see Papa! And I remember he was holding Puppy because my hands were so full. DING DING DING!!! He was in the basement! So, I ran down there to get him and even I was beyond thrilled to see this guy. At this point, I realized how much I love good ole' Pup! As I walked back upstairs, I heard AJ calling for me. I said, "I'm coming honey- I found Puppy" He responded "YEAH!!". So, I gave Puppy to AJ and he giggled with excitement and told me "I'm SUPER happy you found Puppy". I love him :)

Pizza! Pizza!

2011-03-13T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today was the one year anniversary of our favorite pizza joint here in Castle Rock- Boulevard Pizza. We're regulars... In fact, we go there so much that I'm getting a little tired of the pizza. But it's such a family friendly hang out and their food is sooo good!

The owners put on this great little anniversary party complete with face painting and a huge bounce house! A lot of our friends went too, which made it even better.

Here's a few pictures:

Climbing up the ladder...

Down the slide!

Taking a raisin break :)

Ready to go again!

Stupid...

2011-03-06T14:39:00.000-08:00

Ok, I'm sure the title of this post got your attention, right? It's certainly not my favorite word and it's becoming one I dislike more and more. Why, you ask? Because it's become AJ's new favorite word. I don't know where he learned it- daycare, TV, me (i hope not!), Jason (doubt that too), friends...- who knows? But he says it and he knows he shouldn't.

The past few days he'll just be sitting in the car with me or in the grocery store, or somewhere totally normal and I'll hear him say "Soup, Stupe, Cupid is a reindeer mom, STUPID" and ever so quickly, he'll say "I sorry mom, I not say the bad word anymore". However, he just keeps doing it! I know he's testing me. And I know he's 2 and this is what he's supposed to do. Part of me thinks I should just ignore it because he knows that otherwise he gets my attention and the other part of me is not ok with him saying it and therefore I should tell him. Last night he said it 5 or 6 times and each time I told him it was a bad word and please don't say it. (I felt like a broken record!) Finally, I warned him. If you say it again, you're going to time out. (Which we very rarely ever use) Well, he said it again while we were playing Legos. And off to time out he went. I just made him sit in a corner and it was sad because we were really having a good time and I don't think he even said it because he was mad or frustrated. So, he cried for a few minutes and then I walked over to him and told him (AGAIN) that it's a bad word and please do not say it. He told me he was "really sorry" (which by the way he has no idea what sorry really means obviously because he keeps on doing it!) and I kissed him and we moved on.

I know I'm going to reread this in a few years (or less) and wonder why I was so concerned with the word "stupid" because I know the words are just going to get worse and worse...

All About Kids

2011-03-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

AJ and I had a really fun day today. I found out that there was an All About Kids expo at the Denver Convention Center and so we decided to go check it out.

We took the train (light rail) up to Denver and then when we go there we got to pet some farm animals, play on these great big slides, ride another train and the highlight of the day was face painting!

It was his first time getting his face painted and I wasn't sure how he'd do. I told myself we would probably wait in line for 45 minutes and then he wouldn't want to do it. Many of us moms were thinking that. But he did great!

Day at the Zoo

2011-02-28T20:56:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, AJ and I spent the day together at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. It's always a trek getting there- it's about an hour away- but it's not bad of a drive. And the zoo is totally worth it! It's way back in a mountain near Colorado Springs and is just big enough for us. We took a Ski Ride (Gondola) up to the top of the mountain which AJ loved! Then we rode back down and started checking out the animals.

He got to ride on a carousel, go on a pony ride, feed the giraffes lettuce and feed the birds! It was awesome! We had such a fun day together ;) Here's some pics:

Fun With Art!

2011-02-21T21:22:00.000-08:00

Tonight, was a good night! After work, I came back to Grandma and Papa's and picked up AJ so we could hang out for a while. I took him to Walmart to do a little shopping and then to Pet Smart. I figured it was fun and free. He loved it! We saw the cats up for adoption, the lizards, snakes, fish and birds. We'll be going back there a lot!

Then after dinner Grandma, AJ and I did some new art. It was super fun! I got him some new glue, some little colored cotton balls and some pipe cleaners. He loved using ALL the glue on one picture and playing with everything. This is how we ended up..... It was super fun!

Ahoy Matey!!

2011-02-20T20:18:00.000-08:00

My Valentine!

2011-02-15T20:35:00.001-08:00

Happy Valentines Day 2011!

2011-02-14T21:30:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day to my little man! I had to work today and AJ was at the sitters, but I picked him up earlier than usual and we headed over to 31 Flavors for some ice cream. It's something we only do for special treats.

He got this awful looking sherbet that was green, blue and purple (he loved it, so what do I care) and I got this delicious white chocolate cherry. YUM! We sat there and ate, took pictures and then giggled for a while as we looked at them. It was fun :)

He is SUCH a boy!!

Then, tonight I gave him his present- new bath toys! He needed them desperately. We are both super sick of the spoons and cups he has now. So, he got a wind up frog and dolphin and some animals that squirt water. He was thrilled :)

Grandma and Papa got him the game CandyLand. I think it might be a bit too old for him, but soon, he'll love it!

Sledding!

2011-02-13T12:53:00.000-08:00

AJ, Papa and I went sledding this morning. There is tons of snow out there, but thankfully it was really warm! He had a lot of fun going down, but I think he enjoyed watching Papa and I go down more. He thought it was the funniest thing :)

After sledding we walked over to the park nearby and threw snowballs. Then, Papa made him a snowman :)

I wish I had gotten pictures of him sledding, but I still need to get my camera fixed. Here's one of AJ and the snowman...

Where Am I?

2011-02-11T21:14:00.000-08:00

I don't really know who reads my blog anymore, but I do know there are a few of you who check in looking for updates on AJ and are pleased when new pictures and videos are posted. Life has been crazy hectic with work and well....life- and sadly, I don't do nearly as many fun things with AJ as I used to. Don't get me wrong- we have tons of fun still- but we don't go places where I would typically bring my camera. So, I often think about blogging and wonder what I will write about!

Tonight wasn't anything crazy, but he wasn't feeling well so I took him to Blockbuster and we rented Tarzan. He wanted to lay on my bed and watch it (meaning on my laptop) and eat crackers and drink milk. It was Friday night, I hadn't seen him in 2 days and this sounded perfect! So, we got in our PJ's and snuggled up on the bed and goofed around, talked, had a pillow fight and just laughed a lot. It was awesome. To top it off, I got a lot of hugs and kisses which made my night. :) I've been missing him desperately lately.

Then, I had him all tee'd up to take a picture- he was sitting there with such a nice smile and then...my camera broke! UGH! So, I had to take them on my phone. Those pictures aren't ever very good. But it's better than nothing!

Here they are:

Tomorrow is going to be fun. It's supposed to be warmer outside (40's) and we still have tons of snow. So we're going sledding! Then tomorrow night, we're going to AJ's best friend Dax's 3rd birthday party! We can't wait!

I Missed Him So!

2011-02-07T20:43:00.000-08:00

I left AJ for the longest stretch so far this weekend and I had a great time, but I missed my boy!

I went to California for a long weekend (4 nights) and decided since it would involve many things that would not be kid friendly, that I would leave AJ in Colorado. It was seriously a tough decision- I never thought I'd go back to California and not bring him- but it was for the best.

I'm lucky to have so many people that love AJ and are willing to watch him. He spent a few nights with Grandma and Papa and then a few nights with Jason. From the sounds of it, they all had a great time and AJ was his normal good self.

While in California, I got to talk to AJ on the phone each day and one time got to Skype with him which was wonderful. I missed him sooo much! Coming home tonight and just hugging and kissing him and talking to him made me so happy! (and he was pretty happy too!)

I had a wonderful time in California- ran my first 1/2 marathon. I had hoped to do it in less than 2 hours and I did it in 1 hour and 55 minutes. I was pretty thrilled! (and now I'm in a ton of pain) The weather was perfect and had a great time visiting Matt and Kristin. They were amazing hosts! Thanks guys!

Matt & I at Mutts in Newport.

AJ the DJ :)

2011-01-31T21:28:00.001-08:00

AJ Funnies

2011-01-28T21:18:00.000-08:00

* I picked AJ from the sitter last night and hadn't seen him in 2 days. While we were driving around, he say our favorite pizza place and said, "Mom! Let's go there". I wanted to have some fun with him, so I said, "OK!" So, we drove over to Blvd Pizza and as we were driving I said to AJ that we might see friends there, but I wasn't sure. (Cause you never know at this place!) When we got in the parking lot I said, "Looks like no friends are here, but that's ok" and he said, "Sorry Mom...." I replied, "Honey, why are you sorry?" and he said "I'm sorry that Dax and Ki aren't here tonight". :)

* On our way home from dinner last night AJ wanted me to put my sunroof down so he could see the sky and the stars. He said, "Stars make me happy! Thank you stars!" hahah

* Last night when we got home Grandma wasn't there because she was getting her hair done. I told AJ this. Well, then tonight when we were driving home, he asked if Grandma would be there. I said yes. And he asked "No getting hair done again?"

I love this kid!

Riding Along

2011-01-27T07:45:00.000-08:00

Papa was working with AJ the other teaching him to pedal on his tricycle (Big Wheel type thing) Here's some video

RODEO!

2011-01-16T20:31:00.000-08:00

Today, AJ and I were lucky enough to be invited by our good friends Ki and Tim to the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo in Denver. It was SO much fun! I had been telling AJ about it for a few days so he had some idea of what we'd be doing, but it was even more fun that I imagined.

To start off, we left the house around 1pm- right smack dab in the middle of nap time. I figured this was going to make the day kind of rough, but I also thought that once we got there, AJ would be having so much fun that he'd forget how tired he was. I was right :)

When we got there, we went straight to the rodeo where we watched the bucking broncos, steer wrestling, bull riding, and some other things. (In case you didn't know it, I'm NOT a cowgirl so this is all foreign to me) AJ was totally into it for about 30 minutes. He was a bit concerned though during the steer wrestling. He asked what they were doing and I explained it and he said "Well, that's not very nice!" I have to agree... But heck, it was entertaining!

Then, when he got bored, we went over to the HUGE John Deere tractor display where they allowed all the kids to climb all over all of the tractors. He was seriously in heaven. Here's a cute picture of him and Daxie playing (or fighting over who gets to be the driver):

I love their matching cowboy shirts :)

After we spent about 45 minutes playing with the tractors we decided to go over to the Stock Show- which was this other HUGE arena with so much to do. We probably only saw about 1/4 of it. They had this great kid area with a playground, a ride on train, pony rides, horrible carnival food and a petting zoo. It was awesome and AJ had a blast! He was SUCH a good boy and always stayed with me, holding my hand. They were of course selling tons of souvenirs and AJ asked for a few things and when I told him no, his response was "Oh....next time." Love that attitude! We did share a funnel cake which AJ loved. I haven't had one in about 10 years and I'm sure it'll be another 10 before my next one. But he enjoyed it and it was a special treat.

We didn't end up leaving until almost 6pm which meant all day with only about 30 minutes rest. We are both exhausted, but it was another awesome time and a memory I will always cherish with my boy! Thank you Ki, Tim, Daxie and Baby Skylar for the invite! You guys are the best!

Riding the train!

Actually...

2011-01-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

Today, AJ and I were talking and I don't even remember what we were talking about, but he was answering a question and started it with.... "Ashley, mommy..." which meant, "Actually, mommy". Who is this kid? Isn't he two?? He's hilarious and sometimes seems like he's actually older!

This week, he's also been "wondering" a lot.... Here's an example:

We're driving around town running errands and when I ask him a question he'll say "Hum... (rubbing his chin with his hand) somethings missing....I wonder...." The other day Jamie told me he did it with her. He said, "Hum...somethings missing... I wonder.... Where's Sophie?" (Sophie, Jamie's daughter was at school) He's always thinking and I love that he always uses words in the right context!

Oh- and lastly....his new favorite word is stupid. UGH! I am NOT happy about this, but he obviously hears it. He's been saying it for a while and in the beginning I pretended that he was saying "super" so when he said "stupid", I would say "you mean, super?" Well, now he knows.... So, last night when I was giving him a bath he said, "Mom, I say stupid?" and I said, "No, little boys don't say stupid. That's not a nice word". After discussing this for a while he finally said (about 5 times), "Mom, I don't say stupid anymore".... Ugh! What am I supposed to say to that???

Things He Says...

2011-01-06T14:34:00.000-08:00

I'm telling you, the kid cracks me up on a daily basis! Here's a few things from today:

* We're driving home from somewhere and he says to me, "Mom, is your car clean?" (and he knows it is because he went with me the other day to get it washed) and so I said, "Yep! It's clean". He replied "I'm so proud of you mom" :)

* AJ loves to point out EVERY truck on the road and today he said, "Holy Cow! That trucks big!"

* I love to teach him silly things and the latest thing is "darn tootin!". So, now that's how he responds to me. So stinking cute!

Imagination

2011-01-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

Everyday I am blown away by AJ's imagination. He's sooo creative and smart and I am so incredibly proud to be his mommy. He cracks me up almost all day long! Here's a few examples:

* Lately, he likes to "play" other people. So, today when we were driving somewhere, he tells me "You Grandma, I Papa". So, I say "Hi" to Papa and he says "Hi" to Grandma and we carry on a conversation acting like Grandma and Papa. We were returning from the library and I got him a new movie. He wanted to watch it but it was nap time. Here's how the conversation went:

AJ: Grandma, I watch this?
ME: Not right now Papa, it's nap time
AJ: Ah, darn it Grandma! (and then we both cracked up!)

* AJ is VERY into trucks as you all know, I'm sure. Trash trucks, tractors, firetrucks, etc... He loves them all. He tells me all the time he wants to be a fireman (Yeah!) or a trash truck man (hum....). Uncle Matt & Auntie Kristin got AJ this awesome truck set. It came with a few tractors, a crane, 2 construction men, cones, fake dirt, and rocks. He can play with this construction set for HOURS! I think his favorite piece is the crane (he calls it a truck crane- which actually sounds more like truck train since he can't really saw his "C's" very well). He loves to come up with stories about what he's building or hooks things to the crane and tow them around.

* Speaking of trucks, his other favorite thing is the Lego Trash Truck that Pop and Grammy gave him. What a hit that is! It looks exactly like our real trash truck that comes weekly and has a green trash can that you can hook on and dump the trash into the truck. Again, HOURS of entertainment!

* About a week before Christmas I decided I wanted to take AJ to Build-A-Bear. I know, I know...It was just before Christmas and I didn't need to buy him anything more or spend more money. But, if I'm being honest, I did it more for me. I really wanted to see him there enjoying it and making his own bear. I thought it would be a really fun thing for us to do together. And it was! He ended up picking out a puppy instead of a bear and he got to stuff him, wash him, name him and he even got his own "birth certificate". Guess what his name is???? PUPPY! haha! Well, Puppy comes along with us EVERYWHERE we go. Most of the time he stays in the car, but on special occasions AJ gets to hold him in the store or wherever we are. He loves that Puppy so much! He talks to him, kisses and hugs him, feeds him, and tells him stories. He's hilarious. My favorite thing about Puppy is that I was able to record something and put him in Puppy so when AJ pushes the button on his arm you hear "(ME) Merry Christmas AJ, Mommy loves you!....(AJ) Um...Merry Christmas Mommy, I just love you too" It's the sweetest!

* Lately, AJ's been asking me "Mama, you happy???" or the other day he asked "Mama, how do you feel?". I love that he's so kind and caring.

I could not be more proud of AJ. I know every mother thinks their kid is the greatest, and I know that AJ has his moments, but I can truly say that he's such an amazing person. He's kind, smart, brave, loving, caring, nice, a good friend, he plays well with other kids, he is entertaining, he's funny and pretty darn cute, if I do say so! He makes my heart smile every day and I am so lucky he's in my life :)

Snow Day!

2011-01-01T21:06:00.000-08:00

We finally got snow here in Colorado and it was COLD!!! I bundled AJ up and we decided to have some fun outside.

First we played with Papa and the dogs and then later in the day I took him sledding with some friends. He LOVED it!

Checking it out with the dogs

Cheese!

Shoveling the snow with Papa

Papa made him a "mountain" to slide down...he loved it!

Mommy wasn't so sure this was a good idea... I thought he might fly out!

But he didn't fly out and he giggled the entire way down!

I was terrified!

He is SUCH a happy boy!

Christmas Pictures 2010

2010-12-26T20:22:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve- I let him open one present. He wasn't asking to, but I wanted him too :)

On his horsey!

Christmas morning! Santa brought him an easel.

My little artist

This is my favorite picture! I got him this keyboard that allows him to record things and then listen to it again on his "Ipod". He was trying to figure it out. I love it!

Criss Cross Crash! Such a fun boy toy!

Uncle Matt & Aunt Kristin got him this construction site with all the trucks, cones, fake dirt and signs. He was in HEAVEN!

Aunt Joan got AJ a Buzz Light Year Rocket!

The keyboard....it's LOUD!

My cute little man... :)

Christmas.... Part 1

2010-12-25T20:04:00.001-08:00

Here's a video of AJ and I today... just a little to hold you over until tomorrow when I have more time to edit. We had a GREAT day! AJ was on overload (as were all 2 year olds, I'm sure) and Santa was VERY good to him!

Santa Party Continued...

2010-12-22T12:59:00.000-08:00

Here's a few videos from the party :)

Party With SANTA!!

2010-12-21T12:43:00.000-08:00

Last year my mom and Dave threw an amazing party with tons of friends and Santa came. It went so well, they decided to make it an annual event and again, it was awesome!

This year, AJ LOVES Santa so he had a blast. Our friends and neighbors arrived about 4pm and the kids had a great time playing. (There were 17 kids, I think??) Then, Santa arrived with Mrs. Claus about 5pm. He was great! He talked to the kids, sang songs with them and Mrs. Claus read the kids a story. Most of the kids were so surprised to see him and just in awe. Then, one by one Santa called up each child and had them sit on his lap and each one got a little present. It was so special!

Here are some pictures:

Reindeer Cupcakes

AJ's turn with Santa!

Daddy came to the party!

At one point (obviously after way too much sugar) AJ decided to clear the room and show us his dance moves! He's SUCH a performer! He just loves having people watch him and loves being the center of attention. He certainly does NOT get that from me!

Happy Birthday Papa!

2010-12-16T17:45:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Papa's birthday on Monday by eating pizza and cake and decorating the Christmas tree. When we asked AJ how old Papa was, he said that Papa was 5, Grandma was 5, I was 2 and he is 2 and a half :) AJ loved "helping" Papa open his presents and especially enjoyed the ice cream cake. He was bouncing off the walls for almost 2 hours after..... I am convinced he probably ran 5 miles that night. Here's some pics!