She's up, and moving...all most.

Jessica is surprising us with her determination and "want" to move. Lately, she has been pulling herself up on furniture and taking a few steps sideways. For Christmas, she received a little walker (which she is pictured with here); holding onto the walker she is able to take some steps in the forward direction.
Video coming soon...

Can you believe this snow?

As mentioned in an earlier post, no one in our family (except Jackson) is really "enjoying" the snow this year. Once the kids are bigger and able to enjoy some winter sports, like skiing, ice skating, etc... then, I think our family will, once again, enjoy everything winter has to offer. But, for now, Jackson will continue to have his fun in the snow while the rest of us are secretly hoping for it all to melt.

Packer's newest fans

Much to the dismay of Grandma Chris and Grandpa Bob (who are both Viking fans), Jackson and Jessica will, no doubt, grow up to be Packer fans --just like their daddy;)...and their Grandpa Terry, who is pictured with the kids...

Christmas with the Mahlum's!

We hope you all had a terrific Christmas!
This is a brief summary of what our family did this year...

Christmas Eve day at Grandma Chris and Grandpa Bob's in La Crescent.






Christmas Eve night at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry's in La Crescent.






Christmas Day morning at home, opening gifts from Santa.



Christmas Day afternoon at G.G.'s (Grandma Clare's) in Winona.



Day after Christmas at Grandma Chris and Grandpa Bob's.

Jackson's "BIG TRUCKS" Birthday Cake

We had this cake made at Festival Foods. It has three construction trucks, plus some piles of dirt made up of frosting and black sprinkles. It was just too cute not to share with everyone...

Lisa's Christmas Cookies

Move over Martha Stewart...make way for Lisa Mahlum's decorative Christmas cookies.

Aren't they pretty?
Candy Cane sugar cookies, Cornflake Christmas Wreaths, and Snowman cupcakes...




-Sorry the pictures are flipped sideways; something's a little screwy with our digital camera and I haven't figured out how to fix it yet. Maybe I should've borrowed Jackson's new "little tykes" digital camera he got for his birthday - probably would've been able to get better shots. =)

Chuck E. Cheese's

Yesterday we went to Chuck E. Cheese's in Onalaska to celebrate Jackson's 3rd birthday. My worst fear was that we would get there and it would be a chaotic mess of people. Luckily, this was not the case...far from it, actually. We were pleasantly surprised to find that our party was one of two parties being held last night.
Aside from it not being too busy, we were also very pleased with how Jackson responded to Chuck E. Cheese himself. For birthday parties, Chuck E. Cheese gets "suited up" and comes out to sing and dance with the birthday child. We were a little worried this might scare Jackson, but, he was a trooper and seemed to really enjoy it. He even warmed up enough to give Chuck E. a high five and a hug before he left.
Jackson's cousins, Maddy and Logan, and daycare buddy, Dawson, came to play. Several other family members were there to help him celebrate his special day as well. Jackson had a great time! So much so, in fact, the first thing he asked when we got into the van to go home was "when are we going back?"

Girls' Night Out

I seldom write anything about myself in this blog; after all, it is "all about J & J." I do, however, believe my fabulous group of girlfriends are definitely a "blog-worthy" topic. Without these ladies, my life would be incomplete. I thoroughly enjoy the company of my dear friends. We all have motherhood in common, among other things. And, because we are all either full-time or part-time stay-at-home moms, we try to get together once a week for a 'playdate.' At least once a month, we attempt to take a break from our busy lives and have a girls' night out. Our most recent girls' night was at Grizzly's restaurant in Onalaska. Here is a picture of us enjoying our (kid-free) evening.

Jackson's 3!

Today was Jackson's 3rd birthday. He was born at about 5:30 p.m. three years ago today! Wow, that's hard for me to believe! Where does the time go?

We celebrated by having pizza for dinner (his choice)...



followed with some cake & ice cream...



which Jessica enjoyed too =)



Jackson was able to open two presents, one in the morning when he woke up (PIXOS, a craft-like toy), and one after dinner (pack of Matchbox cars).



It was a very nice day; Jackson enjoyed his birthday very much. Now, we have Chuck E. Cheese's on Sunday to look forward to.

Video of Jessica Crawling

For those of you who have not seen Jessica lately, here is a short (30 second) video clip I took of her crawling today. She is also now beginning to pull herself up on things...oh man, she's getting to be such a big girl!

20 or above...

Jackson sure is enjoying the snow (I think he may be the only one in our family). He gets out almost every day, as long as the temperature outside is 20 F or above. The 20 F and above rule is something I made up...not sure why I chose 20 degrees to be the cut-off point? I guess I just figured anything less would be too cold for the kids despite the snowpants, boots, coat, hat, etc. I put them in prior to getting out the door. I swear, somedays it takes me longer to bundle them up and get them ready to go outside, than the amount of time we actually spend out there!
Here are a few shots of Jackson and daddy playing this morning... by the way, it was 33 degrees :)

More Teeth!!

Hey everybody...take a look at my two new teeth! Now, I'm up to 4 teeth all together. It won't be too long and I'll be able to enjoy that yummy "big people food" I always see momma, dadda, and big brother eating.
Check it out...they are the two top ones...