Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Yogurt doubles as hair gel.

Santa's Workshop

That's how I refer to our house this time of year. Full of Christmas cheer! We are busy, busy, busy, making, baking and chasing Jackson out of all of this fun (read: messy) Christmas stuff. The only thing missing is the reindeer!

I'm so lucky to have the help of some pretty cute elves! I've had so much fun with Jackson and Griffin this year. Griffin's always asking me if he can "help." He did a spectacular job helping me wrap some gifts yesterday. He was my official taper. And Jackson was carefully inspecting our work.

My elves and I set out to make a snowman yesterday. Snowman? you say. Yes, you don't need actual snow to make a snowman:

This is just one of the many Christmas ideas I can credit Pinterest with. We are making almost all of our gifts this year and Pinterest has been my source of inspiration and instruction. If you don't know what Pinterest is, check it out, but be careful because it's addicting!

Here's a peek at one of the projects I finished. Disney princess hair clips made from ribbon. The perfect gift for a cute four-year-old little girl :)

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

I left the room for 10 seconds. 10.

 

Did he think since it blended with the floor, I wouldn't notice?

Let the holidays begin!

At least for the Croses! We finally have our trees decorated, lights up, it's beginning to looking a lot like Christmas! I've even started baking, so it smells a lot like Christmas.

Matt and I were just talking tonight about how (pleasantly) surprised we are that Jackson has left the trees alone, for the most part. He looks at the ornaments, he touches them, and every once and a while he pulls one off. But it's not the war zone of fallen ornaments I had pictured in my head! He even helped decorate the trees, I'd give him an ornament and he'd run over and lay it on the tree. Pretty darn cute!

Once we get gifts under the tree, I might be telling a different story.....

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

Oh Christmas tree, Oh Christmas tree......where are you?

One family. One saw. Hundreds, no Thousands of Christmas trees. And we had to find the perfect one (or two).

That's how we spent our Sunday. It turned out to be the absolute perfect day to chop down our Christmas tree. The sun was shining, it was cold, but not frozen fingers and toes cold. And did I say the sun was shining! It actually only took us about 20 minutes to find the two perfect trees.

That's right, I said TWO. We are putting up two trees this year, which makes me very happy! We are hosting Christmas for about 20 of our favorite relatives and so I thought we needed to be extra Christmas-y this year.

Of course I may also deeply regret this decision. One of Jackson's favorite games right now is getting into something he's not supposed to, me telling him "no." and obstructing his access, him screaming and pretending to walk away, that is, until I walk away, then he whips around and is right back into whatever he's not supposed to be into!! So, like I said TWO trees could be double trouble!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

I'm just going to start my resolutions now.

#1 Get my mail more than once every two weeks!

Thanksgiving Recap

As most of you know, we get to enjoy TWO turkey dinners on Thanksgiving. We usually begin the day at Graunt Nancy and Gruncle Ken's and finish the day at G4's house. (That's Great Aunt Nancy and Great Uncle Ken and Great Grandma and Grandpa Garred.) We've just about got it down to a science now. We head over to Bush household around noonish for our first dinner, hang around until about two and then head for The Dalles (or really Dallesport, WA). We arrive just in time for the first round of leftovers. And then of course, a bit later (20 mins), dessert. Ahhhhh, time for bed!

We got to hang with the whole Foster clan at the Bushs', I'm so bummed we didn't get any pictures of Jackson and the girls, Sydney is 4 and Skylar is 2. I really love to see how Jackson interacts with other little people now. And in The Dalles, we had a houseful too, although no one from my immediate family was there with us :( Don't worry though, guys, I was representin' for the Craft/Wilkins clan! It was really nice to see my cousin Heidi, her husband Dwight and baby Harry (at least that's what their calling him while he's still on the inside). Heidi is due March 16th with a little boy and we could not be more excited!

Jackson also had a special treat on Thanksgiving, our cousin Lindsay's fabulous Tirarmisu. At first he wasn't too sure about it. But after a few nibbles he gobbled it all down and asked for more! Thanks, Lindsay!

Now I've got to hit the gym!!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

I'm thankful for so many things, especially these two!

Turkey Time

Can't believe Thanksgiving is just a few short days away. And if we're planning a visit to your house for Thanksgiving, throw another pound of potatoes on! Our little boy is growing and sometimes I am absolutely amazed at how much he can eat!

I'm thinking maybe he's going through a growth spurt because he seems to be a bottomless pit and he's sleeping quite a bit too. This child will eat an ENTIRE half of a almond butter and jelly sandwich, half of a banana, 1/2 cup of corn, a string cheese and wash it all down with 8 oz. of milk! And if you think that's a lot for an (almost) 15 month old boy, he's ready to eat again in 2 hours.

We've had the pleasure of Griffin's company in the last week and in comparison, Jackson can eat at least DOUBLE what Griffin eats! These boys really almost couldn't be more opposite, from there appetites to their physical appearance. But they do love each other (most of the time)!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Hey, Aunt Niki, could we do a puzzle?

DML

That's Dusting, Mopping, Laundry, for those of you unfamiliar. Yep, Jackson's trying to coin the next hot acronym and I think he might be onto something. :) He might look a lot like his Dad, but he definitely has some of his Mommy in there too, and this little guy loves housework.

He has become so helpful around the house. He wants to see everything you're doing and see what he can do to assist. Any time he gets his hands on any sort of cloth, he's wiping something! No matter where he is, he hears the dishwasher open and comes running. And let me tell you, this boy LOVES to vacuum. He once threw a tantrum in protest that we had nothing else to vacuum!

The term "help" is used loosely, of course, but he seems to be very interested in chores. I just wonder why they are so interested and "helpful" when they don't quite have to coordination, strength, or know-how to get the job done, but as they gain the necessary skills, they lose interest?

I hope Jackson doesn't lose his love of vacuuming because I would be just fine never vacuuming again!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Jackson giving Heidi a makeup lesson

Happy Halloween

I've had the intended on posting Halloween pictures, well, since Halloween. But, as some of you know, Jackson was sick on Halloween. Needless to say, he wasn't so into dressing up. So, we did get a few pictures that night and a few in the following days.

We had planned to head over and trick-or-treat with Blair, Ashley and Griffin. But, since our little ducky was sick, we just stayed in to hand out candy. To our FOUR trick-or-treaters. That's right, I said four. Technically, there were about 10, but only four groups. I think our street is a little intimidating, no street lights and we are one of the only houses that has a porch light on. Oh well, all that candy I had planned on Jackson getting for me, I had in leftovers at home!

 (It really is complicated)

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

I'm not really sure this picture needs words :)

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Here's my excuse for never washing my windows. What's yours?

Fall into the Holiday Season

As much as I dread the end of summer, the sunshine, playing outside, daylight until 9:30, I do like Fall (minus the rain). The colors this time of year are probably the prettiest of any. And there is still a chance you may see the sun at least one day of the week. So far, we've been staying busy, finding new places to play indoors, still going outside (bundled up some days) on the days we can.

As many of you know, I LOVE the holiday season! But for me, that means Thanksgiving thru the New Year. I DO NOT didn't used to include Halloween in my definition of "holiday." Since having Jackson, however, I think my holiday season must now include Halloween. And it isn't such a bad thing. The pumpkin patch is a pretty fun place to visit (we've already been twice).

For our first visit we did encounter a few sprinkles and it was on the chilly side, but Jackson had such a blast! He walked around checking out each and every pumpkin as if he knew just what he was looking for. And of course the real test was how the stem tasted :) Our first trip was to Lee Farms, the same patch we visited last year. What a difference a year makes (I'm talking about Jackson, of course!)

The second patch we visited had all kinds of animals, pigs, llamas, calves (and no, I did not let Jackson get close enough to pet the animals, even though he really wanted to). They also had a giant tub filled with feed that the little ones could swim in and Jackson really enjoyed that. And bowling, wait, what? I know, first time I'd heard bowling had anything to do with Halloween?! And we went on a hayride, which was fun and a little terrifying all at the same time ;)

And then there's the dressing up. NOT A FAN. For myself, for Jackson on the other hand, I can't wait! We haven't decided for sure what he'll be, he's got several options. Whatever he (we) decide, I know he'll be the cutest! I'm also excited that for the first time since I was 13, I'll have a Halloween candy stash!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

(Now, I know this post will technically read Thursday, but for all intents and purposes, it's still Wednesday for me.)

Enough hair for a mohawk!

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remeberance Day

Today is the day set aside each year to remember our angles, gone too soon. On this day there is a world-wide wave of light as people all across the globe light a candle in remembrance at 7pm their time. Please light a candle at 7pm (your time) to remember our beautiful angel Hannah and all of the other precious souls who are no longer physically with us but forever in our hearts.

Hannah Avery lived inside my womb for 37 weeks and 4 days and I will cherish those weeks, days, minutes, seconds for the rest of my life. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of her, imagine taking her to dance class, think of what a great big sister she would be to Jackson. She is such an important part of our family and we are grateful for the time we had with her.

In the words of Elizabeth Edwards, "If you know someone who has lost a child, and you're afraid to mention them because you think you might make them sad by reminding them that they died--you're not reminding them. They didn't forget they died. What you're reminding them of is that you remembered that they lived, and...that is a great gift."

We love and miss you sweet Hannah Bear. We will carry you in our hearts forever.

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

"Oh, hey Mom. Just helping with the packing."

(Getting ready to go to Sun River for my birthday a few weeks ago)

Hide and Seek?

This seems to be Jackson's new favorite game. I think it's more like hide and seek with the unfair advantage that Mom usually doesn't know we're playing a game. I can't tell you how many times I've opened a drawer, cupboard, or looked in the laundry basket to find something that doesn't belong.

Exhibits A, B and C:

I have to admit, each time I find a "treasure" it brings a smile to my face :) But then I think, "Eww, gross, my dirty socks are in with the tupperwear!" OR I find the measuring spoon in the recycling and wonder what I didn't see that already went out to the bin? And in the case of the phone, I actually saw him put it in there, but do you think I could remember that 20 minutes later when I was looking for it?? I guess that one's on me.

So I've tried to limit his access to anything that is of any importance (read: Jackson doesn't get to play with Mom's phone anymore), but somehow that sneaky little guy gets a hold of things he shouldn't (TV remotes)!

Keeps us on our toes!

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Who says sharks are scary??

(and, yes, I let him put a q-tip in his mouth to get him to cooperate for this shot)

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Couldn't choose just one!

Sick Baby

It's so hard to see your baby sick. And that's what Jackson was ALL weekend. He (and I) didn't sleep for more than a couple of hours on Friday night. He was so congested that he could only breathe through his mouth, but he NEEDS his binky! So he was frustrated and just couldn't get comfortable. Poor little guy :(

Which is why I was amazed on Saturday when he hardly slept at all (come on Jackson, Mommy needs her sleep!). He did fall asleep with daddy for about 20 minutes and managed a nap in his crib for about an hour. But come on, he couldn't have slept more than 3 hours the night before! I will say, though, for being sick and tired (no pun intended), he really was in pretty good spirits.

As, for Mommy and Daddy, thankfully he did sleep well on Saturday night. He woke up at 5am, but went back down until 9!!! I can't remember the last time he slept in until 9. It's funny though, because this weekend Matt and I had agreed that he could sleep in as late as he wanted on Saturday and I could do the same on Sunday. Funny how that worked, Matt got to sleep in both days!

I'm just glad Jackson seems to be feeling better. And, dare it say, neither one of us is feeling it.....

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Clause...... Oh wait, that's Jackson :) He fed himself yogurt this morning.

Yeah for Lazy Saturdays and College Football!

This is how Jackson and I spent our Saturday afternoon. Dad headed to Eugene to catch the game live, but Jackson and I decided watching it from the comfort of our living room sounded best. (Well, OK, Dad and I decided that was best after last week at Autzen, more on that later)

We got ourselves a few snacks, animal crackers for Jackson and chips and guac for Mom, and planted ourselves in front of the TV to watch our DUCKS! Well, as you can imagine, Jackson didn't really want to sit and watch the TV, which I have to say, I am ABSOLUTELY FINE with!! So we played a little catch, did a puzzle or two and I marveled at how much braver Jackson is getting with his walking, he walks from room to room now!

We took Jackson to his first live Duck game at Autzen last weekend and let's just say it didn't go quite as smoothly as I had envisioned! First of all, it was HOT, like 97 degrees and you have to add another ten degrees when we're down in our seats because there is not even a hint of a breeze down there. He wasn't too excited to just stand there strapped to Mom. So we headed to find some shade and get a snack. Once that was done, Jackson wanted to walk. Ok, I can handle walking. What I CANNOT handle is stopping every two steps to try to pick up a cigarette butt or some gooey hardness that has melted into the ground, YUCK!!

So we lasted until half-time and then we figured we should call it quits. Mom and Dad were worn out and so was Jackson! He was asleep by the time we made it back to the car. I'm really glad we took him though, it was a good experience for all of us. And even though it's only been a week, I'm already thinking, if the conditions were different, maybe we could try taking him again........

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

OK, I have to admit, I see a pattern developing here....There's a lot of wordless(ish) Wednesday going on and not much more! So my goal this week will be to post at least one other.

But for now, a couple of cuties. Jackson IDOLIZES his cousin Griffin :)

Wordless(ish) Wednesday

Hard to believe this was my little Duck fan last year.....Pictures of his first LIVE Duck game to come next week!!

Jackson's Big ONE

I thought I would share some pictures from Jackson's birthday. (He's kept me so busy with all this walking business.....) He had such a good weekend and we're so grateful for wonderful family and friends! Thank you all for making this day, and really every day, so special for our little man! We have had the BEST year with this little guy and sharing with you all makes it that much sweeter :)