New Year's countdown at 12 noon!

I received an email from my mother a few days ago, and in the subject line it read, "Parent: Job Description." The first few lines read, "Long term, team players needed, for challenging, permanent work in an often chaotic environment." Then it goes on to describe all the true and real details of being a parent. It's a very cute message; I'm sure most of you have read it before.

Anyways, my point is that Jason and I had yet another parenting experience we won't soon forget...

We took our kids to the Children's Museum this morning. In addition to all the usual activities they offer, there was several tables set up to make new year's noise makers, new year's hats, and put on tatoos, etc. There was a big celebration at 12noon by having a count down.
In the words of Jackson, "Yay! This is super fun!"
And, in the minds of all the adults there was, "This is nuts!!"

Just imagine hundreds of little kids running around, throwing balloons, and stomping on bubble wrap. A bunch of overly excited & overly stimulated kiddos who were all in desperate need of lunchtime and naptime = CHAOS!
Nonetheless, we made it through the two hours without any major meltdowns (Jessica had hers in the car on the way to the museum), and without losing one of our kids :). Not to mention, Jackson and Jessica had a fantastic time --which made it all worthwhile.

Here is a picture of the kids playing with the boats in the water.


Jackson and Jessica playing on the firetruck.




The countdown to 12 noon. The kids were watching the "bubble wrap stomp" which was happening on the floor below us.

Jackson: Our little miser!

Ok, I think this is pretty normal... but, Jackson has grown quite fond of collecting and hoarding his toys and stuffed animals lately.

Here is a recent picture I took of the top of his dresser.
This is where he keeps all his "special things." Things that I have basically told him to keep out of Jessica's reach, that started with just a small coin collection, has now grown into this...


This is Jackson with his collection of stuffed animals. This little group has grown by about 10 animals since Christmas Eve, when he began getting new animals as presents.


During the day, Jackson will gather this group of animals and load them into a large bin; he will then push them around from one place to another, taking them out to play every now and then.


I took this picture of Jackson today when he was waking up from his nap. Apparently, he wanted to be closer to his animals while he slept, but not close enough to sleep on top of them, so he squeezed his way into the crack between the big bed and the toddler bed (which we actually use for daycare, but has now been taken over by Jackson's animals while we are on Christmas break). It was in this little crevice he was somehow able to find a comfy place to doze off and go to sleep.


SO, I think it's time we have a little chat with our son about possibly reducing his toy/animal stashes to a "reasonable" amount :).
Like I said before, I think this is pretty "normal" behavior for kids to demonstrate; we are not at all worried. I just thought it'd make for a cute post on the blog so we can show him these pictures someday.

Fun times at Valley View Mall.

All ready for our adventures at the mall...



This is a roller coaster ride Jackson LOVES!





Grandma Chris and her girls...


We rode on the "Doozy Tracks" train. Jackson and Alli seemed to enjoy the ride, but Jessica wasn't so sure; fortunately for her, Mommy and Auntie Laura were able to ride too (otherwise she never would have lasted the whole 3 minutes of the ride).



Last stop: Lunchtime --yummy hotdogs, soft pretzels, and ice cream blizzards --what a nutritionally balanced meal! :)

Santa came to our house!!

We woke up Christmas morning at Grandma Barb and Grandpa Terry's house. Every year (at least every year the grandkids stay overnight), Santa Claus fills stockings. Jackson is holding his stocking in this picture. Jessica also had one the same size.



Once we got home, I purposely ran upstairs ahead of Jackson because I wanted to capture the expression on his face when he realized Santa Claus had come to our house too...

As you can see, he was pretty excited!

The kids dug right in and opened all their gifts within a matter of a couple of minutes!

Jackson got "Dinosaur Rescue Mountain" from Santa --one of his favorites...

One of Jessica's favorite gifts was this doll set (also from Santa).

Jessica likes taking her baby for walks around the house in this new stroller.

Jackson also likes using her stroller to take his "baby" (Steggy) for walks too :)


We hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season.
Sending everyone our love.

Christmas Eve & Day, 2009

Merry Christmas!
We hope you all had a nice time last night! Our family decided to celebrate Christmas Eve at Grandma Barb's and Grandpa Terry's house in La Crescent. Cousins, Maddie & Logan were there, as were cousins, Cortney & Cade --which Jackson and Jessica just loved.
Click on the link below to see some of our pictures.

Christmas Slideshow

Erupting Volcano: Take 2.

Since this homeade erupting volcano was such a huge hit at Jackson's birthday party, I decided to try it again. This time, however, I changed up the order in which I put the products into the volcano. Instead of placing the baking soda (and food coloring) into the tube first, I put the vinegar (and food coloring) in first and then added the baking soda to it. I think it worked slightly better; the eruption was a little bit slower and "oozier." My friend, Christi (Dawson and Carson's Mom) also suggested adding dish soap to the mix to make it even more bubbly. Perhaps I will try that for next time.

Playtime at the Mahlums'

These pictures were taken the other night while Jason and I were playing with the kids. I just thought they were cute, so I decided to share...

Jackson got some army helmets for his birthday.
.

I was chasing Jessica around, and apparently she thought she could hide in the rocking chair.

Jackson's 4th birthday party: Sunday, December 20th, 2009

We decided to have a party at our house this year for Jackson's 4th birthday; some family and a few friends came over for the celebration.


Jackson getting ready for his party. He colored some dinosaur pictures, which I later placed on the railing in our entryway for all our guests to see as they entered our house.


I made Jackson's yellow cake with chocolate frosting from scratch this year; we then topped it with a few of Jackson's trucks.



I made an erupting volcano (to go along with our dinosaur theme) out of homeade play-doh, vinegar, baking soda, and some red food coloring. It turned out pretty neat; the kids got a kick out of it.



And, because we don't want to leave out our dear little Jessica, here are a few pictures of her enjoying the day.

Friday Playdate

Last Friday, I volunteered to host our weekly playdate. We had cupcakes for a snack, and the kids all sang "happy birthday" to Jackson.

Jackson's 4th birthday: Dec. 17, 2009

Jackson turned 4 years old last Thursday. We had a few of his daycare friends at our house that day; they helped us celebrate his special day!

Jackson was able to open a present from mom and dad right away in the morning (before Jason left for work). And Jessie got to help him unwrap it...


It's a dumptruck and garbage truck set...right up Jackson's alley!


After naps, the big kids (Gwen, Dawson, and Jackson) got to decorate (and sample) christmas cookies...


"Yummy!"


Even Jessica got in on the fun a little bit...



We also celebrated Jackson's big day with a dinosaur egg hunt. I hid the eggs while the kids were eating their morning snacks, and they each got to find four dinosaur eggs--which came loaded with m&m's. The game was such a big hit we had to play it over and over and over again! I think I re-hid those eggs at least 6 times that day:)
Jackson and the kids had a great day --which makes me happy.

It's a Girl!

Ultrasound says it's a girl! Everything is healthy and well with our little girl #2 She has a strong heartbeat in the 140s, and is weighing in at about 10 oz.
We are all very excited, including Jackson, who was correct in his guess on the baby's gender all along;)
Before Jason and I headed out to enjoy a nice dinner at the Freighthouse we decided to open the envelope here at our home. We actually both were pleasantly surprised once we saw the results; due to the baby's heart rate being in the 140s (which is where Jackson's always measured too; Jessica's was consistently in the 160s), we were thinking it was going to be a boy. Since Jessica and baby girl #2 will only be about 25 months apart, we are hopeful the girls will be able to foster a deep sibling relationship. Either that, or they may just fight like cats and dogs:)...who knows!