April showers brings Mud

The only good thing that has come out of not having our backyard finished is that the rain makes mud and Jerry loves that.  That's about the only thing he loves about rain.  He had a blast running back and forth and sliding in the mud.  By time he was done he had lost his shoes, socks and jeans in the mud.  I had to dig them out and almost couldn't find one shoe.

 Another rainy day brings more mud.  

This time he thought it was fun to put his face in it.

Mommy Vacation

Well for the first time ever, I took a vacation all by myself.  After my trip to Houston I was only home for two days before leaving the boys and flying to Denver to spend a few days with my good friend Lindsay and then on to Fort Collins to spend a few days with my favorite sister, Jenna.

I had a great time and hope I get to make that trip more often this year.

Lindsay and her boyfriend Tom just moved into a new home or rather a home that is about 113 years old with a ton of character and lots of updates too.  She lives about 10 minutes from downtown Denver.  

She invited me to help her do some decorating and pick out paint colors.  We accomplished a lot and had so much fun doing it.  

Denver has so many great places to eat.  The first night she and I ate at El Diablo and had jalapeno cucumber martinis ~ my new favorite drink.  And the best part was that it was all within walking distance to her home so we had another martini, why not. 

Yummy!

Lindsay also planned a fun night out with some of her friends.  We started out at her house for a little happy hour and then went to Canvas and Cocktails where we got to paint and drink.  How fun is that!  We were painting pink poppies on a yellow background.  A lady would instruct us step by step and blast music between steps until we finished.  It was so much fun.  I sent Jacob a picture of my painting and he said he loved the lilacs:)  

 My sister and Mike came down and picked me up and I got to spend a couple of days with them.  They just built a new home in Fort Collins and I got to help them do some decorating and painting.  We accomplished a lot there too and had fun doing it.  The only pictures I got while we were together were of the walls and some of my sisters backside painting so I don't think I will post them. 

 (you're welcome, Jenna ~ lol)

Meet Baby R.J.

A few weekends ago my mom and I along with Jerry drove to Houston to meet baby R.J. (Ruben James).  

He's Jeremy and Briana's little boy and was born on December 1st. 

It was a very nice trip getting to spend quality time with my mom since it was a 10 hour drive and Jerry did very well.  I was actually really impressed and very thankful for how good he did coming and going.   It was a short visit with Jeremy because he was actually leaving on a business trip but we got to spend lots of time with Briana and R.J.

Jerry was pretty fond of his little cousin.  He loved holding him and giving him kisses.

I was pretty fond of the little guy too.  

Holding R.J. also brought me more attention from my little guy, which I never mind.

This is the mother's necklace I made for Briana.

Things that keep me busy...

Making signs for friends and family.

I love this one that I made for Amber and Josh.  I put a green coat and an orange coat of paint under the black so that they would show through when I sanded it down.

I learned how to crochet (a little) and made bracelets out of t-shirts.

Crochet headbands and headbands, bobby pins and brooches out of clothing - I call it Repurpossed Accessories.

 I've also started making necklaces.  These are for my sister, myself and my mom - each of our initials.  I also made one for Amber that is just like Jenna's but didn't get a picture of it.  I have another one in the works that is a mother's necklace for Briana. 

Bringing in the New Year

A rare photo of Jacob and I together.

My goal this year is to have family photos taken together.  

I couldn't ask for a better husband and best friend.

I love this guy!!!!!

Christmas

Christmas this year lasted a few weeks for us.  We had our friends Kasey and Kelly Jenkinson and their boys Jack and Jace stay with us for a weekend and the boys opened gifts from each other and had lots of fun playing.  Then we had Christmas at our house with just us so Jerry could open his gifts from us and then we flew to Seattle to spend Christmas with Jacob's parents.  It has felt like Christmas wasn't going to end but we had fun each time celebrating it.

This is Christmas at our house.  Jerry got the play-doh set from Grandma and Grandpa Kalma 

and he loves playing with it.

We were a little nervous flying with Jerry since the last time he traveled he was just a baby so we decided to fly out of Kansas City on a nonstop flight.  Next time we won't do that.  Jerry did great.  He loved flying and was glued to the window most of the time.  The drive was the worst part.  We got up at 3am to drive to Kansas City and then the drive back just seemed longer.  

Although, we did stop and eat at the T-Rex cafe which Jerry loved, so much that he threw a fit and cried when we had to leave.  Couldn't have had anything to do with the fact that we had been traveling all day and then had to put him in a carseat for another 3 hours. 

The big gift this year was a new puppy for Gran from everyone.  It was a surprise and a great one.  She decided to name him Charlie.  He is a King Charles Cavalier.  Such a sweet dog, he won over everyones heart.  Jerry was such a good boy this year that Santa brought him just what he asked for, more trains.  We had a great time with the family and decided we need to get up there more often.

Jerry Dancing in the New Year!

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Jerry's Thanksgiving Program

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Happy Halloween

Jerry was the cutest little farmer for Halloween.  He had his work gloves, pliers and handkerchief in his pockets all ready for a long days work of trick or treating.

All of the kids wore their costumes to school and they got to play games, decorate their own pumpkin cookies and then eat some yummy treats.

I couldn't find a toddler John Deere hat so we had to get a mens size which made his ears stick out a little but it only added to the cuteness. 

We went trick or treating to a few neighbors.  Some of the neighbors had some scary decorations so they were nice and brought the candy to the sidewalk so Jerry could have some.  

He had a lot of fun and is showing off his loot of candy.  

The rest of the night we spent handing out candy to others.  

Jerry and the cat are waiting for the next ones to show up. 

Field Trip

Yesterday I took Jerry on his first school field trip to Walter's Pumpkin Patch.  We had one of Jerry's friends ride with us and the two boys chatted the whole drive which was about an hour.  It was really cute listening to them.  

This was our first time to the pumpkin patch.  When we got there we rode on a trailer pulled by a tractor to the pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins.  Jerry had to go all the way to the end of the field before he would choose his pumpkin.  Then we rode back to the main barn where we got to do all kinds of fun stuff like play on hay bales and bounce on the giant pillow.  Jerry's teacher Miss Odle played with the kids on the pillow.  Jerry kept trying to tackle her and would yell "come get me Miss Odle". She was a lot of fun.  The boys loved going down the big slide and were good sports for me posing in front of all the pretty scenery so I could get pictures.

Jerry and Miss Odle posing on the giant jumping pillow and these are some of the kids from his class.

It might be hard to see but Jerry has a fat lip in this picture.  This would be the 3rd one this year.  He fell twice this summer at the pool (right before his 3rd birthday) and hit is front tooth loose, killing it so now it's gray.  Then he recently fell into our rock fireplace and really busted his mouth up and hitting that same tooth.  He is determined to knock that tooth out.  Hopefully it will be the first one he looses.

Where's Jerry??????

Silly boy.  

This is how I found him taking his nap.

Family

Jacob's cousin passed away recently so his mom, dad and Gran traveled to Holly for the services.  Although it was sad times it was very nice to see the family together.  It's been about was 2 years since we've seen Gran and it was so good spending time with her.  Jerry was pretty excited that his Grandpa and Grandma came back so soon.  He has had so much fun with them.  

We are looking forward to spending Christmas all together!

Sunny Mornings

Up until recently we needed these in the mornings to keep the sun out of our eyes but now Jerry tells me he doesn't want to get up because the sun isn't up yet...at 7:00 a.m. and it's only going to get harder.  

4 little pumpkins

A few weekends ago we had our little friends, Medaris, Kerigan and Lainie over and did our traditional pumpkin carving.  The kids have so much fun together.  Jerry wanted nothing to do with cleaning the pumpkin out but did try to carve it himself.  His pumpkin has little holes all over it but mom helped him with carving the face.  Sadly his little pumpkin is already all shriveled up and may have to go in the trash before we get to Halloween.

I was going to be the Bah Humbug of Halloween this year and try to get away with skipping it all but after getting a letter from Jerry's preschool about them dressing up for their Halloween party I decided I better fully participate in the holiday.  I'm now one of the last parents to get the costume and the good ones are all taken so after thinking it over decided Jerry will be a farmer for Halloween.   

We are still here....

I can't believe October is right around the corner.  This year has flown by and that only means my little boy is growing up way to fast for his mommy.  Sometimes I wish I could just freeze time.  He is such a blessing!

The last few months have been really great.  In August we got to watch a great friend of ours get married.  Rory who is like a brother to Jacob and an Uncle to Jerry married his long time girlfriend, Darcy.  The wedding was in Denver so we traveled that direction, dropping Jerry off at my parents on the way and we spent the weekend celebrating with friends we haven't seen in a long time.  Jerry had a great time with his Grandpa and Grandma as he always does and of course then never wants to leave them.

I also turned 30 in August and Jacob and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary.  We have been together for 15 years and it's been amazing.  We are very happy and blessed with our lives.

The first part of September we went to St. Thomas to continue the celebration of Rory and Darcy's marriage.  Jacob's parents flew in to stay with Jerry at our house.  It was so nice seeing them and spending time with them.  Jerry had a great time.  Aunt Amber was also able to come up and stay too.  

They did all kinds of fun stuff.

Our trip was a relaxing one - no plans but to hang out at the beach and play in the water and knowing Jerry was at home with his Grandma and Grandpa helped make it easier to be away.

A BIG THANK-YOU to Grandpa and Grandma for all you did for us while you were here!!!

Jerry has really started to like school.  He is finally sharing with me more about what he is learning and what he does at school all day.  There were times I would ask him and he would tell me "I learned" and that was the extent of it.  Only once has he told me "I didn't learn today mom".  Such a stinker!  But I know he is learning by just watching him play and read his books.  He counts everything - I heard him count to 26 the other day and he knows all of his letters, big and small.  He is learning the sounds for the letters now.  I think his favorite thing to do is to cut with his scizzors.  It's fun watching him learn new things.