Happy Thanksgiving!

Although Jessica was not feeling the best, we still managed to have a terrific Thanksgiving. We spent the day at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry's house in La Crescent. Jackson had a great time playing with his cousin Logan.
We also celebrated three birthdays --Logan(3), Jason's cousin, Cortney(12), and Grandpa Terry (whose age I won't disclose;)) So after eating the fabulous Thanksgiving feast Grandma Barb had prepared, we finished off the night with birthday cake and ice cream.
We hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving. Here are a few pictures of our day...

What a Difference a Day Makes!

Poor Jessica has been sick with a cold for just about two weeks now. Although she is finally getting better now, it has been a pretty rough time for us all. Due to her stuffiness, both sleeping and eating have been quite challenging. She's probably even lost some weight--which she can definitely afford to do!
The day I took the pictures of her "backwards crawling" she was in such a good mood, the usual happy Jessica; and, the very next morning she woke up with a puffy, red bulge underneath her left eye. And, no, she did not get beat up by her older brother:)...although there have been a few accidental close calls. Nope, what Jessica had was an infection caused by her cold settling underneath her eye. I knew what it was from the moment I saw it because my friend Liz's little girl had the same thing.
I took her into Pediatrics right away; my diagnosis was confirmed along with the new discovery of an ear infection in her left ear as well. A sinus infection, eye infection, and ear infection!! She was a miserable little girl for about the first 48 hours after starting her on the medicine. The medicine is a thick, milky liquid that we give to her morning and night orally through a syringe. Surprisingly, she does pretty well taking it. Going in is the easy part, coming out is a different story. Because it is such a powerful medication, it is not very easy on her stomach and has given her an extreme case of diarrhea. Now we change her about every two hours during the day just to keep up with the treatment of the bad diaper rash she has developed.
Anyways, she's alright. Her eye is completely visibly healed. She's feeling and sleeping much better; her eating is still minimal, probably caused by lack of appetite from her medication. No one ever said parenthood was going to be easy!
Here are a few pictures to show you what Jessica's eye looked like a few days ago...

Backwards Crawler

Well, Jessica has been crawling for a few weeks now. Unfortunately, it is in the backwards direction! Since I have not attempted to figure out how to post videos on here yet, I took a few pictures of her in an attempt to show you all. These pictures were taken while she was trying to come towards me (I was laying on the floor, taking pictures) --as you'll notice, she keeps getting further and further away from me...






Although it is rather humorous to watch, she can get pretty frustrated when she sees the toy she is trying to reach get farther and farther away from her...
I know she'll figure it out soon enough, but for now, she is known around our house as "baby got back."

Jackson's first visit to the Dentist.

Today was the first time Jackson went to the dentist; both he and I got our teeth cleaned. Jackson did very, very well...which is not too surprising considering the following circumstances...
1) He was able to play with a bunch of new toys in their very nice play room.
2) Mom acted as his 'human dentist chair' while he was getting his teeth cleaned (he laid on his back on me while I was laying in the dentist chair).
3) The dental hygienist was a friendly, cheerful lady who gave him "rides" on the chair and let him wear sunglasses to keep the bright lights from bothering his eyes.
4) We had 'Dora the Explorer' (one of his new favorite shows) on the ceiling TV.
5) He was able to pick out, smell, and taste test the toothpaste cleaning gels prior to having them used on him.
6) After his cleaning, Jackson was given the usual -new toothbrush, floss, toothpaste gift, along with a handful of stickers and two other toys of his choice. Plus, a GC for a free kid's meal at Outback Steakhouse.
7) Also after the cleaning, he got his picture taken with the "good behavior" trophy and then put it on the wall of fame for kids.
8) And, of course, I can't forget to mention the fact that Jackson got to visit with his Grandpa Bob while I was getting my teeth cleaned (grandpa Bob met us at the dentist office to help out with Jessica).

So, after a visit like that wouldn't you think highly of the dentist? Well, it sure worked for Jackson. He had a great time, as illustrated by the following pictures...

Fun at "Lisa's Daycare"

Here are a few pictures of the kids, taken just today...

Jessica and Carson playing on the floor.



Jackson and Dawson playing in their "house."



The boys LOVE to ride bikes outside...even in this cold weather. Brrrr! Today, for the first time, I put them both in snowpants.

Christmas in November

This past weekend we celebrated Christmas with part of my mom's side of the family. Grandma and Grandpa Gundy are "snowbirds" --they leave for Florida late November, and return to Minnesota in April. So, Grandma and Grandpa Gundy, along with my sister and her husband, came to my mom and Bob's for an early Christmas celebration.
It was a great time. The food was wonderful, visiting was nice, a few presents were exchanged--it was an all-around fun day. And, since my mom has all her fabulous Christmas decorations up (both inside and out), the day felt a little more festive.
Here are a few shots in front of the Christmas tree... possible Christmas card photo??

"Look out Mom and Dad, I'm gonna be crawling soon!"

Jessica is no longer content just sitting on the floor, playing with her toys. She is now reaching and getting herself up onto all fours (almost)...then, she usually just holds herself up and rocks for a short while just before falling onto her stomach. Once on her stomach, she does one of three things: scoots around (usually in the sideways or backwards direction), rolls onto her back or her side, or cries --depending on the mood she's in, I guess.
It won't be long now until she figures it out...she may even be crawling by Christmas! No! Mom's not ready for her to be a "big girl" yet!...I guess whenever it happens, it happens. (sob, sob, cry, cry) =)

New Home for Maverick.

Well, it's official, we finally found a new home for Maverick. Don't get me wrong, he's a terrific dog. It ultimately boiled down to the fact that we did not have time to give him the attention and exercise he needs. Before we had kids, he was our "baby" --he was a wonderful companion for us; but now that we are busy with Jackson and Jessica (not to mention my daycare kids too), Maverick was put on the back-burner.
We looked for quite some time to place him in a good home. After turning down several calls we received from our advertisement (because I did not feel they were "good fits" for Maverick), we eventually lucked out with a nice family who lives on a farm in Barre Mills. This middle-aged couple has three grown children who no longer live at home; they were looking for a companion to love and keep them company. Their home is set back about a mile from the highway; they have lots of land for Maverick run freely during the days. At night, Maverick sleeps inside, apparently on their couch, which is perfect because that's where he spent most his nights at our house too.
This seems to be a perfect place for him. We've been in touch with this family, and it sounds like Maverick is very happy. It's been somewhat difficult for me to let him go, but knowing that he is getting all that attention and exercise (that we could no longer give him) makes me feel very content with this situation. Maverick's new owners have agreed to send me up-dates every so often just to let me know how he's doing. I'm happy and thankful for that.

Join the Club!...please!

I added a "Followers" gadget up on the top, right-hand corner of this blog. This is just something for me to see who is reading my blog...feel free to sign up if you'd like to.
Thanks!

Kids Say the Darndest Things -- Part 2.

Jackson was watching me while I was putting on my make-up this morning. He kept asking me questions like, "what you doing?" "what's that?" and "why?" I replied to the "why" questions with, "because mommy is a girl, and that's what big girls do--they put on make-up."

Jackson: "mommy, somedays I be girl too"

Me: "really?...what are you today?"

Jackson: "boy"

Then he thought for a moment and said, "tomorrow I be girl."


Some time ago, in an attempt to get Jackson down for his nap (which is not always an easy task), I told him that he needed to take a "little" nap. That really stuck with him because now when he goes down for his nap he asks me if he should take a "long nap" or just a "little-baby nap." I usually say a "little-baby" nap is just fine (to amuse him). Then he falls happily asleep.


Quotes from Jackson...
"That's my favorite." (he says this about everything)
"Someday I be whole, big boy, like daddy."

...to be continued;)

The kids had a good time on Halloween. First, we spent the morning visiting with some friends at our weekly "play group." We went to this play group dressed up in our costumes --Jackson was Batman, Jessica was a pumpkin, and I dressed as a silly-looking witch. In the afternoon, we went trick-or-treating with Grandma Chris to the businesses downtown La Crescent. Then, we had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Gundy at G&G Jambois' home. Finally, we finished out the night at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry's house. It was a very eventful day, but, we sure had fun. The kids held up great, despite Jessica not napping much throughout the day.
We hope you all had a happy Halloween too.
Please check out our slideshow...

Halloween Slideshow