Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Halloween

Happy Halloween!!! This year was definitely a different experience. Last Halloween Jax was only 11 days old. He wore a little skeleton jammie outfit and we had two major outings for the day. One to Foundations to see his office Aunties and the other to see Jon. This year Jax dressed up as a monkey (because hello he is a monkey! :)) and we were busy, busy that day. We ran errands in the morning and then went to see Jon at work where he had his first sucker (and loved it!). 



Then we tried to catch the Watsons on our way home but just missed them :(. After that we headed home to get some dinner and wait for trick or treaters. Because Jon was closing at work I wasn't super excited to go out and trick or treat. But I decided it's all about the experience for Jax so we were going to try and go to a few of our neighbors we know and our friends the Averett's who live in the neighborhood. But first we had to have some snacks and watch the Super Why Halloween episode. 




(This is a video of Jax watching the Halloween episode of Super Why and dancing to Alpha Pig's alphabet.....which he always dances to and I love it! Love this boy)


After dinner and a little Super Why, the rest of the monkey costume went on and the monkey in Jax came out in full force. He is seriously obsessed with his walker from MaDeb and Papa Rick!

After a little playing I decided it wouldn't hurt to give Jax just a little chocolate. So I gave him the corner chocolate pieces to the kit kat I was eating. 
About two minutes later, it sounded like he had a little hair ball and then up came dinner, snack, chocolate.....EVERYTHING. And to make matters worse I thought he was done puking and moved him which resulted in two puke spots and a ruined costume. After that it was tubby time for this monkey and into jammies. I didn't want him to miss out on the entire experience so I set up his high chair in the front room by the window, fed him another dinner and handed out candy to trick-or-treaters. He seriously had a blast watching all the kids come up to the door and would get so excited. A little after seven we said goodbye to our last trick or treaters. Put some candy out with a note and I put the kid to bed. 
After he went to bed, the puke clean up finally happened and then this mamma relaxed! I made some carmel apple cider and sent this picture to Jon to get him home from work. 
Definitely an "eventful" Halloween but an awesome one none the less. Hopefully next year will actually have some trick-or-treating for Jaxson. 

Check out our adventures from years past......Halloween 2011

Monday, October 29, 2012

Halloween Party & Hailey's Birthday Party

What a super fun party! A little Halloween, a little Hailey's birthday....what a blast! We started off with yummy, yummy lasagna and lots of talking! What's new with this group, right?!?!!? 
 After dinner we headed into Hailey's birthday party, including one tough pinata and Hails blowing out the candles on her cute birthday cake. This girl is such a sweetheart. She always has a hug for me and a big smile! She also has a little sass, which I can totally relate to. Love her! And I can't believe she is 5!!!!
 Here is the best picture we could get all of the kids! It was a rough go!!! But look at how cute they are. Love this little group.
Lastly there was the haunted house in the backyard and it was awesome. I'm so sad I didn't get more pictures and the ones I did get do not do it justice. It was awesome! (I love that Shauna has kept the Barrett family tradition alive! My grandma who passed more than a year ago would be proud.)
Such a great night! Love me some Halloween and love that Hailey girl! 






Thursday, October 25, 2012

Pumpkin Carving Conley Style


Pumpkin seeds, carmel apple cider, chocolate chip pumpkin bread and the Halloween episode of Super Why for Jax = a pretty great night :) 

Copycat Kneaders Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread: http://burntapple.com/2010/09/29/kneaders-pumpkin-chocolate-chip-bread/

Copycat Starbucks Carmel Apples Cider:  http://www.budgetsavvydiva.com/2012/04/copy-cat-recipe-starbucks-caramel-apple-spice/

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

"I LOVE ELMO SO MUCH!"


I find it so funny how much Jason loves Elmo. Seriously the kid LOVES Elmo. Like cry when he is on TV because he can't hold him, LOVE Elmo. He has only watched him a few times on Seasame Street and he has a couple of Elmo toys but that's it. I swear it's in kid's DNA to love Elmo and my kid got a big dose. This is a video of Jax watching Elmo on TV and having a little freak out. All Jon and I could do was laugh.  




Monday, October 22, 2012

Cornbelly's

I LOVE when Jon takes a stay-cation and we get him all to ourselves! We get to do fun stuff as a family like go to Cornbelly's at Thanksgiving Point. As you can see from the pictures we had a blast and Jax was in heaven going from the swings to the slide, to driving the fire truck and to thumping pumpkins!





Sunday, October 21, 2012

"Clomps"

Oh how Jax love, love, loves this toy! He got this adorable little walker from his MaDeb & Papa Rick on his first birthday and he is obsessed with it. We have lovingly named it Clomps and Jax seriously plays with it all the time.....so stinkin' cute. It has also helped with his walking confidence so much, night and day difference. I have a feeling he will love this long after he is walking all the time. Thanks again Mom and Rick! :)

Saturday, October 20, 2012

12 Months!!!!

Jaxson is 1!!!! I'm dying because I can remember the night before I had Jax. I didn't know it was my last night being pregnant but I was both just hoping he would come the next day and fretting it. I felt so clueless and scared. I kept thinking this little person is going to come into our family and we would be completely responsibly for him. I also remember thinking life would never be the same and he would completely rock our world. And he did!!!! In the best way possible. Yes, we got less sleep than we ever imagined functioning on, did a lot, a lot, a lot, more laundry (who knew one little person could go through so many outfits, mine just got worn with the spit up and everything!), cried more tears, cleaned up way more messes, laughed and smiled more than we imagined possible and experienced more joy than any two people deserve. This past year has been such an amazing adventure and we look forward to many years of adventure ahead. We feel truly blessed to have had Jaxson come into our family. He is an amazing little  person. He is extremely busy, inquisitive and fun loving but also so sweet, tender hearted and determined.  We just love our little guy so much (even if he can be little terror!). :)

*Jax has turned into the cutest little scavenger bird. We have been pretty slow to introduce table foods, as the kid has two bottom teeth (first time momma dumb dumb....didn't realize he gums most of his food anyways). But he decided he was ready on his own and started attacking us while we ate, open mouth like a little bird and all. He really loves a few things, grapes, bean burritos (the one Jon makes), avocado chicken quesadillas. So now he eats a mix of solids and table food and is heaven, love our bird.

*We finally found an electronic babysitter.......Super Why on PBS! I know that sounds horrible but Jax was never the type of baby that would watch Baby Einstein or anything so I could take a shower or basically do anything without him crying or crawling up my leg. He still will only watch a few minutes at a time unless I strap him in his high chair with some puffies but sometimes it's an occasional but necessary evil. But I will say he loves that show and I love that it is educational. When he hears the jingle for the show he freaks out and starts dancing....I heart him and his electronic babysitter! :)

*So the tantrums are NO LONGER CUTE! They are uber-annoying!!!! He loves to go straight armed so I can't pick him up and will squeal in protest. He is very determined so re-direction is a long process and time outs are painful for both of us. Oh well I am sure we will figure it out. :)

*Oh I love when Jax dance, it literally makes my whole day right now. We call it his "dancing jig". He bounces up and down over and over again. Describing it in black and white totally takes the cute out of it but it really and truly is the cutest thing ever.

*So one thing that is not so cute, Jaxson's discovery of the cupboards! He loves to open and close them,  unload them and drag the items across the floor. Now mind you this is within a minute of opening it. The kid is crazy fast and very determined. We were hoping to avoid baby proofing the cabinets beyond moving dangerous items from the lower cabinets but we might have to. Little stinker....good thing he is cute!

*Sometimes this momma is very cautious and a little slow to let her babes grow up....there I admit it!!! At the beginning of his 12th month we finally moved Jax from sitting in his baby tub to regular bath tub. Okay I am not that neurotic as mom, it was more we had just moved into our new house and I forgot to order a no-slip mat. Turns out, I'm a special lady, because the bottom of Jax's tub is textured and the mat didn't stick, so he just roams the tub. The night we moved Jax into the big tub he was literally in heaven. Also later in the month, he figured out how to open and close the drain. Smart little stinker......makes it hard to get him to come out of the tub.

*Jax went from loving to chasing his favorite choo-choo train to pushing it. He gets the biggest kick out of getting the music going and then pushing it around usually while during the hop scoot and crawl.

*I don't know what it is about our basement but Jax is obsessed with it. When I go down without him to start some laundry, he thinks he is going to die. When I take him down there, he literally grins or laughs the whole way and back.....go figure!

*Chairs and laundry bins have taken on a whole new meaning on our house. In case you didn't know there are walkers. Jax finds them and pushes them everywhere he can. And he does this on and off all day, every day, usually with a huge smile and hysterical laughter.

*Jax's little music table has a spinning function that sings the alphabet. He loves to spin the item and then attempts to sing the alphabet song, and he usually gets one or two letters (they both sound like "e" to me) but Jon swears they are different.....either way my baby is a genius! JK but I love when he tries to sing!

*Mister monkey loves to play peek-a-boo/hide n' seek. He will find anything he can, plop himself behind it and then peek his cute little face out, usually scream and then go back to hiding.

*So we don't know why he is doing this but it's pretty awesome. Jax has a music activity table, which he loves but lately he has been crawling underneath and laying on his back, inspecting the bottom for a minute or two and then crawling out. Then he did it with another little table in his play room. He has always loved playing underneath the kitchen table so maybe it's an extension of that but who knows! :)

*Wahooooo........we have a walker! About a week before his 1st birthday Jax took his first step (2 steps!!!). Jon saw it first and then I got the encore a day later. So excited for my mister but kind of dreading how mobile this is going to make him. :)

*He love, love, loves pushing the garage door button. After he pushes it, he does his O face....so cute and gets so excited.

*Favorite books: Eight Silly Monkies, Stinky Face and Stinky Face Halloween. Favorite song: Hmmmm....he has gotten so busy at bedtime it is hard to tell but he loves Itsy Bitsy Spider during playtime.

*Little mister is also in a big boy car seat! Jon installed the beast of a car seat in my car after Jax played with it in the playroom for a week. :) He thought it was a great toy. Unfortunately his dislike of car has not changed as he is still rear facing but I am hoping it will eventually change when he flipped him around.

*My babes is finally clapping consistently! He would clap every once in a while but now he is a champ!

*He has also started shaking his head. It looks like he is saying no, but it's never in that context. So for now it is really cute :)

*This is probably my other favorite thing Jax is doing. He puts both hands behind his hands and relaxes. We originally found him doing this on the monitor while he was sleeping in his crib. Then he started doing it when he was awake and laying on me or Jon. It makes him look like such a big boy....kills me!!!!

























12 Month Appt
- Weight: 20 lbs 8 oz (16 percentile) 
- Height: 30 1/2" (72 percentile)
- Head: 46.2 cm (45 percentile) 


Our Baby is ONE!!!!

Oh our sweet little babes is one. I seriously couldn't have imagined his first year going this fast. I know everyone says that but it's so incredibly true! And I also couldn't have imagined how much I would love and care for this little boy. I have absolutely adored watching his little personality come out this past year and am amazed how hard little mister works at progressing & playing! He is so sweet natured, kind, funny, quirky and loving with a side of determination and spunk! He loves to explore. Loves other kids and babies. He loves to flirt with pretty ladies. He has turned into a major daddy's boy but still has a special place in his heart for his mamma (sick, sad, when Dad is not home, etc.). Loves to play and hates to be told what to do (oh wait he is his mamma!). Loves "his people". Hates the car. Loves Elmo. Loves music and dancing. Loves to be mischievous and get into every room, every cupboard, etc. Still loves his "binks" and crib bumpers. Loves a tubby. Loves to play "I'm going to get you" and so much more. He is a good boy and we just truly, madly, deeply love him!

I was able to get up with the monkey on his birthday morning and steal a few minutes with my babes. He found one of his hard to wrap presents and was super excited to play with it (which I let him....look at that little face....you would too!). When Jon woke up we decided to open the rest of his presents and enjoying watching him play. He definitely loved all his presents but Elmo was a pretty big hit. We are so grateful this little monkey came into our home, family and hearts and couldn't imagine our lives without him.