Trunk or Treat 10/25/08

Our Pumpkin Patch before the night began.

Trunk or Treat was lots of fun!! Our Skeleton did not want to stand still for pics. So the few I have are not that great, but this one shows his bones glowing in the dark.

Swiper also had lots of fun! My first homemade costume, thanks to velcro, glue, and a pumpkin sweatsuit.

and he found his friend Dora!!

Jaeden's 3rd Birthday 9/29/08

So, when Jaeden woke up 2 days later for his real BirthDAY...well, I'll just translate! His attitude was screaming.."Enough already!! We've already celebrated my birthday-twice!! I need at least a year before repeating all this stuff again!!!"
Let's just say, it was goodbye 'terrible twos' and hello 'horrible threes.'
For a child who constantly demands to speak on the phone and does very well for 3. He refused to even hold the phone and would practically scream if mom or dad even said Happy Birthday!!

Maybe Birthday #4 will be better :))


Below additional pictures of Jaeden with Allye....

In January, Jaeden went Home Teaching with Daddy, who happens to HT Allye's family. Allye is 3 months older than Jaeden, and has been refusing to Potty Train for months. While Home Teaching, the subject of potty training came up... soon Jaeden and Allye disappeared upstairs to play. When they were called back downstairs, they informed them that they were going to the bathroom. Apparently, Jaeden was teaching Allye how to use the toilet. Her parents were thrilled that Allye did in fact use the potty and not her diaper.

So Jaeden's Home Teaching record it starting out excellently!!!

Jaeden's 3rd Birthday Party, Sat 9/27

So, with the hurricane two weeks before Jaeden's birthday, I wasn't even sure if he would have a birthday party. Most of those in attendance had only had power back for 24-48 hours. Luckily, I had already considered having his party at Teddy Bear Park, and not at an establishment requiring electricity. It turned out to be a great day, and most of his friends from nursery at church were able to attend. They all had a blast playing, eating cake and hitting the pinata.

The attempt at decorating a park pavillon - Spiderman balloons and streamers!!

Friends Heads (L to R) - Creg, James, Allye, Zachary, Susie, Jaeden, Daddy, Jayce, Maura, Vivi

The pictures don't show it, but Jaeden requested blue cake for his birthday. Thanks to the help of some food coloring, we had blue cake and chocolate icing...yummy!!!!
Jaeden assisting his girlfriend, Allye, with her shoe while on the playground. These two love playing together and always get along.

Jaeden chose a "Chicken Little" Pinata! He was very into that movie around his birthday. It's been months since he's seen it.

Jaeden's girlfriend #2 in back, Maura.

Jayce thoroughly enjoyed his cupcake, as can be seen on his shirt and face!

Of course, it wouldn't be a great party without cousins Zachary and Brandon!!

Zachary taking a fantastic swing!
Grandma Junie, Brandon, and Jayce.

Everyone scurring for the candy. Those absent from the table picture: In back, Lucy and Natalie. Up front, Carissa and Eden. In the center, Adam in orange.

Thanks to everyone for a great 3rd Birthday and awesome presents!

Branson, MO - III

On Wed night we had a great time at the Dixie Stampede. It was like a mini rodeo with horses, carriage races, pig and ostrich races. And a yummy hands only dinner. The above picture was taken as Jayce was mesmerized by the animals, I of course was caught mid-sentence. The boys loved the animal entertainment, and then we were able to walk by the horse stalls after the show.

The boys were excited to see a green trolley, just like the one we have here in The Woodlands, and luckily it was also free like ours!!! Although, our trolley has cute wooden seats, unlike the bus seats on the Branson trolley.



The rest of our time in Branson was spent at the swimming pool, playground, outlet mall and the quaint main street shopping. Jaeden and Jayce also got to play their first game of shuffleboard, which was very entertaining.

Branson, MO - II

I found a pic of the real mini-roller coaster that he did not really enjoy. The pirate boats went much faster!

Another fun morning was spent on a Duck Boat. It was first used by the coast guard, but the boat can travel by land or by sea.

As part of the ride, everyone is given a duck noise maker. As seen above, Jaeden (and several other kids), enjoyed quacking theirs most of the ride. We still enjoy hearing the quackers from time to time.

Despite the rainy weather, it was a fun trip. Jayce awoke just it time to enjoy the boat ride on the lake.

Captain Jaeden - yes we were on the lake not the road!!

Branson, MO Aug 30-Sept 6

Our trip to Branson was lots of fun. Unfortunately, Daddy had to work and did not get to enjoy the adventure. The boys were great on the 11 + hour car trip. The best thing was both boys were free. Most places didn't charge for kids until age 4 and Jaeden was still 2 :)

Jayce stepping out onto the balcony. On Monday, Junie and Papa took Jaeden to see Noah, the Musical, while Jayce and I stayed at the condo. Jaeden had a blast and loved seeing the animals and huge ark. Some animals were real and some were robotic, but he thought everything was great!!

We spent 2 days at Silver Dollar City, which is a large amusement park. They have lots of shows and singing. The park resembles how people lived in the 1800s. It shows glass blowing, blacksmith shops, candy shops, wood working shops, etc. Of course, the boys loved the 'roller coasters' as Jaeden calls them. Although not depicted below, Jaeden was not a fan of the REAL mini-roller coaster. His favorite was the pirate ship that I thought went quite fast!

It's hard to see Jaeden and I in the swing pic, but we're right in the middle. Jaeden really wanted to ride, but was scared the whole time the ride was going. It was a double seater swing so I was right next to him. But when the ride was over, he said, "that was fun!"

Jayce loved the little kiddie rides, and DID NOT want to get off!!!

Jaeden was tall enough to ride one kiddie ride by himself, and thought it was great!!!! It did move very slow!


They both loved the jumping frog ride, which we rode the most!!

There was an area with lots of roosters and chickens, and Jayce had to touch and look at every single one!!!

I'M BACK!!!

So after a 3 month break from blogging, I've finally found time to start typing again. Although I haven't been blogging, I've still found time to keep up with everyone else's blogs. So there's probably no real excuse for my lack of blogging, but things got really busy back in November with 3 trips almost back to back --waco, cancun and utah. In Dec we had visitors for a long weekend followed by Christmas. Also, one of the PAs at work went on bedrest early so I've been working almost full time since mid-december. So I will try to sum up the last 3 months in several posts :)