Santa. Who is that and why do I need to sit on his lap?

So we decided to go meet the MAN. Taylor was of course the most beautiful girl in all of Orem Mall. Jackson charmed the line with his smile and silly sounds. The dressed in their christmas outfits, complete with a christmas beenie for Jack which he refused to wear. Oh Well !!!

Jack sat on Santa's lap I quite sure only because his sissy was. We got the picture before he really got a good look at the MAN, so the picture turned out well. I was pleasantly surprised that he never cried. He did get a good look at him and wasn't sure to pull the beard off or to climb off of his lap.

Taylor asked for a Trex Racecar Track (whatever that is) and she asked for a Mickey Mouse rocking horse for Jack.

Tall orders to fill so close to Christmas. I hope he can do it.

Taylor and Jackson fell asleep in the car on the way home. I think the 2 hour wait in line wore them both out.

What did Santa bring me ?

Jack had been so good about leaving the tree and presents alone until this day. He decided that it was time to open a gift. He failed to read the tag that said it was to his sister, but we will work on that later. He tried to eat the paper, and then her tried to pull the ribbon off. He suceeded in eating off the corner of the paper and then I decided that he had to be done. He has been pretty good about leaving the ornaments alone. What a Doll !!!

LOOK WHAT DADDY DID !!!

To my surprise when I got home from work last Tuesday morning Shawn told me that he had cleaned up Jackson's bad haircut. We had discused how badly his cut was and how we needed to even up the length on top and in the very back, but I didn't think that that meant that he was going to shave the whole thing off. As you can plainly see, Shawn was very proud of his handy work. Shawn had said that he wanted to see what he would look like with his hair like Shawn's but I held my ground that I wanted it to be able to spike on the top. I guess I lost that battle. Now they really look like twins. Poor, poor baby.

Boys Will Be Boys:

Whoever made that saying is nuts. If you have you ever wondered why my house is always trashed, here is the main cause.

I spent the morning taking pictures of my busy little man. Since he discovered that he can go wherever he wants, he is in to everything. I mean EVERYTHING!!!

The first picture is why I can't get anything done. He hates to crawl and so badly wants to walk that he pulls himself up on everything. I thought that this meant that he wanted me to pick him up, but I was wrong. As soon as I picked him up he wanted down.

The next two are of him playing on the sliding glass door. I need not say any more. Of well who wants clean windows anyway.

The next pic is of him standing under the table holding onto a chair. I thought it was so cute how he fit perfectly under there.

The last pic is the worst. I had told him all morning not to play in the dog food bowl, but to no avail. He not only spread it all over the floor, but he even ate a piece. Shawn thought it was funny, and so did Jackson. I tried to get it out of his mouth, but he just bit me. At least it is organic dog food.

What a day in the life with a baby boy!!!

I wouldn't have it any other way!!!

Furry Spiders

This is this weeks' craft. Taylor made furry spiders with cupcakes. The recipie called for black licorice strings which are nowere to be found in Utah so me improvisied and used orange pipe cleaners. We used chocolate sprinkle for the fur and M&M's for their eyes. Taylor gave spiders to all of her neighbor friends.

Pickin' Pumpkins

Taylor and Jackson picked their pumpkins during our visit to Cornbellies. Taylor picked pumpkins for the family according to what the pumpkin looked like compared to who it was for. I got to pick the cutest pumpkin from the patch. Jackson was such a good sport with all of the poses I would put him in.

Cornbellies Corn Maze

Another halloween tradition is to visit Thanksgiving Point"s Cornbellies Festival. We always get lost in the maze, eat scones and other fattening foods, and pick our pumpkins from the patch. It was very cold and we thought that it would be too cold for Jack, but her had a wonderful time. He loved the Hay Ride and the Honey butter from the scones.

Halloween Crafts

This was a new tradition I wanted to start for Halloween. I had planned on doing a Halloween craft each week, but with my recent hospitalization that was knid of put on hold. Taylor made spiders with Ritz crackers, peanut butter, raisins for the eyes and straight pretzel sticks for the legs. All of my friends at work helped me find cute recipies for us. Thanks Guys

Timpanogos Cave Hike

We tooj Taylor on a hike to Timpanogos Cave this Fall. She is a very out doorsy person and loves to explore new places. She was not prepared for the very long, steep hike to the cave. We were able to make the hike in just under a hour. She was very excited to go to the cave because her second grade teacher now tours the cave. All thru the tour she would ask the guide if he knew where Mrs. Litchford was, and finally we found her and was able to get a quick picture and hug with her.

Happy Half Birthday to You!!!!

I can't believe that it has been six months already. It seems like time has just flown-by. Jackson has grown and progressed so much from that small, sick baby to this lively, oppionated little man. We celebrated his Half Birthday with cake and party hats. He did not like the cake, but loved his party hat.

My Monkey Man

My mom bought Jackson his costume this year. I am so grateful for this as we don't have a lot of money right now. She chose a monkey costume because she thought it looked like him. I have to agree that it kind of does. We tried on the costume during our trip to Phoenix. He was not impressed and the harder that we laughed, the madder he got. These are some of the rare moments in it that he was smiling.

Mommy's monster

I have recently discovered that I may have created a monster even my step mom states that I won't be able to leave him with anyone anymore. I was so happy to have him here, that I rarely put him down (EVER!!!). He even slept on my chest. We have been working on everyone starting the night in their own beds. Taylor can have a problem with this too. We go thru our entire routine including a lotion massage, but he will scream until the break of dawn. I am having trouble letting him cry himself to sleep. I feel like I am losing the battle and my mind.

My Jackson Jump Up

Jackson's Granny want him to have something to play with during his vacation to Phoenix so she bought him a jump up. We had so much fun laughing with him while he spun in the doorway. He had a lot of fun in it, but we had to stay within site of him at all times or he would cry. He is going thru anxiety whenever he is left alone for any period of time. I hope I haven't created a monster by holding him too much.

I can sit !!! Well almost...

Jackson is learning to sit and doing a pretty good job at it.
These were taken during one of our morning sessions with floor play. I am so glad that we have memory foam padding under our carpet.

Bi-polar Baby

These were taken for his 5 month pictures. He went from happy and smiles to tears and to smiles again in a matter of minutes. He weighs about 18 pounds and is 25 inches long.

His favorite past time is to stand on my lap and try to bite off my fingers. I fear the day he gets teeth.