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?"