Just like Dad!

Jackson IDOLIZES his dad in so many ways! He always seems to be looking at Brian for affirmation and affection, and he loves to copy ANYTHING Brian does. Just yesterday, Brian was leaving for work and yelled out to us "I love you!" and Jackson immediately responded back "I love you!" It was hard to catch at first, so Brian repeated it, and Jackson said it right back- clear as a bell! It was so cute, it brought a tear to my eye!

Lately, Brian has been giving Jackson rides on his back down the stairs in the morning for breakfast (and other times too). I guess Jackson is old enough now to understand what "Hold on tight" means....which makes me less worried that he's going to fall off. Brian had early morning meetings yesterday, and so we were heading down to breakfast by ourselves. Jackson always leads the way, hungry as can be as saying "let's go!" That's when we know he's ready to eat!

Jackson had his monkey's and was trying to put them on his back, but couldn't figure out how to make them stay. They HAD to be on his back before we went downstairs- So- I helped him out a bit and stuffed them down his shirt, and they stayed there for quite a while! It's so funny to see what he picks up on..he just makes me laugh!

3rd Annual Dutch Oven Cook-off

We held another successful cook-off last night....thanks to all who participated! It was our third annual and our best attended event yet! The competition gets tighter every year....

We had 11 dutch ovens overflowing with saucy, creamy, gooey goodness. It was hard to narrow down to 3 winners (one in each category: main dish, side dish, and dessert). We had pork tenderloin, stuffed beef tenderloin, chicken pot-pie, enchiladas, cheesy chicken and rice, chili-cheese sauce, corn bread, berry cobbler, peach cobbler, chocolate raspberry cake and a caramel apple dessert. We all left with our mouths happy and our tummys full. Pork Tenderloin made by Sam and Julie took best main dish by one vote, chili-cheese sauce made by Ben and Ashley took best side dish by one vote (we think they stuffed the voting jar to side in their favor), and berry cobbler made by Merilee and Peter took best dessert (also by one vote)! Congrats you guys!
The visiting and friendship kindling was a highlight. The boys played a good round of soccer, until Bob hurt his bog toe by kicking the concrete....way to go Bob! I guess three hours of sleep each night for the past week has its effect. The girls chatted and tended to the kids, like girls do, and gave Bob dating advise while he iced his toe :). The kids played to their hearts content and Jackson even found it entertaining to collect keys, cell phones and wallets that were left withing reach and throw them away....hope everyone got their stuff back!

After swatting 42 flies out of our kitchen and 5 garbage bags of paper products and empty 2-liter soda containers later, the party was over. We had fun and enjoyed everyone's company.

Until next year!

Oh! The Joys of Pregnancy...

If you were to ask me how I am feeling, "pregnant" is about the only appropriate response! The baby and the belly continue to grow, leaving less room to breath and to bend, making it hard to find the distinction between my ribs and her feet! I get the backaches and the ligament stretching, and all the other woes of the third trimester, but I decided I am not going to complain about this from now until the birth! You can mark my words, Brian....

I was thinking earlier this week about all of the reasons why we decided to get pregnant again (besides the obvious gift of having another child in our home), and all of those things I love about pregnancy... looking back with fondness after forgetting all of the discomforts, that is! I found an article on babycenter.com called "50 things to love about being pregnant", I narrowed it down to a list of ones that I like:

• The early weeks when only Brian and I knew our special secret.
• Knowing I've got nine whole months to plan and prepare.
• Pregnancy is Nature's way of making me feel good about putting on weight.
• At last I've got the bosom I've always wanted...
• Feeling a new appreciation for my own mother and all she went through having me.
• Decorating the nursery
• Feeling those first fluttering kicks Going for healthy walks with Jackson or Brian and getting fresh air in the lungs because it's good for me and good for the baby.
• Feeling a little pair of heels prodding under my ribs and knowing I'll soon be meeting the little person they belong to!
• Choosing baby clothes - or just surfing babygap.com and planning what I’m going to buy.
• Knowing that from now on, whatever happens, I'll never be bored again.
• Making new friends whenever I go shopping - everyone has a pregnancy story to share.
• Imagining what she will look like
• Looking at my growing bump in the mirror and realizing there's a person in there!
• Making all those phone calls to announce the arrival. Telling everyone the news and hearing the excitement in their voices.
• Waking up to see Zoey, outside of my tummy and thinking, 'Wow! This is real. I'm a mom-again!'
  

So in case I ever forget, there are wonderful things about being pregnant!

All in a Name

Finding a name for a baby can be a daunting task. Afterall, it's the name your child will have for its life....should they choose to keep it. There's the task of looking through the name book, vetoing names you have bad associations with (and ones you just plane don't like). Then there's the task of finding a name that both you and your spouse agree on. With our first, it wasn't until the day we left the hospital that we had it all figured out. I had to see my baby first to make sure the name fit him, and I had a list of "backups" just in case we decided to change it at the last minute. With our second, it has been a much easier process. We both decided and agreed on a name around the same week we found out we were having a girl. No name books, no lists to narrow down, etc. Easy as pie. And if our minds don't change in the next ten weeks, it'll stay that way.

And then there comes the issue of how to spell that wonderful name you've chosen. Brian and I have been partial to the traditional spellings. Easy and simple. With Zoe, we have teetered between adding the 'y' at the end or not (ok, I should say "I have been teetering" not "we"). It finally came to me last week as I was putting together her scrapbook... it needs the "Y"! It looked so funny without it! Brian was gone on a business trip, so on his return, I told him I made a decision without him....if he can choose the name, I get to choose the spelling! He has since teased that maybe we should spell it Zoeix, or Zoexie, or Zoeee.

Anyway, I'm saying it's official, but we'll see who gets the birth certificate filled out!

Catch-Up #3- Eating By Himself!

Avoiding tantrums has been the name of the game lately. Jackson has insisted on feeding himself, which usually caused a frustrated mom and son ending in tears, and food on the floor. I decided it was high time he got this feeding thing down! A light clicked on when I saw a box of pudding in our pantry and I decided to give it a try. It worked! The taste was something he WANTED to get in his mouth, and the pudding was something that STAYED on the spoon, even if it were upside down! I let him have his own bowl and spoon, and 'have at it' for three days (pudding was not the only thing he ate...don't worry, I still am a mom who wants healthy children too). By the end, he just about mastered feeding himself. I'm so proud! Here is a video of him with cereal....

Catch-Up #2- Time with Dad

Jackson is Brian's little buddy. I love seeing his attachment towards him! He loves hearing Brian come home from work, and will drop anything to go greet him with a big "Hi Dad" and a hug. Brian's travel schedule has been hectic and it seems he is gone as much as he is home. Jackson misses his dad when he is away. On the last trip getting ready to leave to Mexico, Jackson decided to pack himself! No prompting needed- he wanted to go with Dad! Brian does a great job of giving Jackson the attention he craves when he is home. Here are some pictures of them spending time together...

This was a recent golf trip we took as a family. Ja ckson loved "driving" the cart...

Catch Up- Sundance

OK~ so I just uploaded pictures off of my camera and it's time to play a little blogging catch-up!

First, Brian and I had a wonderful time at Sundance. The food was excellent (and we ate a ton)! We went on the full-moon ride up the lift, and it was absolutely beautiful! I even talked Brian into getting a pedicure! We both loved it and I think I can get him to do it again!

Funny Story: For the ride, we bundled ourselves up tight in a white blanket because it was cold in the mountain night air. At one point, we the lift stopped and we were sitting across from a couple with a 3 year old boy who was adamant that we were a mummy! He kept asking his mom to ask us if we were a mummy and she finally said, "why don't don't you ask them?" SO he turned to us and asked if we were a mummy and Brian responded by saying an eery "WhOoooo.." At which point the boy covered his face with a blanket and started screaming, "it is a mummy!" Just then the lift started moving again, and while Brian and I had a good laugh all the way down, the boy was screaming " get me off of here! get me off of here!" all the way up!

While the trip was fun, this is what we had in store for us when we got home.....