Happy Birthday Grandma

Happy Birthday Grandma!!!

We wish we could be with you today to celebrate.

Grandma, I painted this picture of me and you eating your birthday cake together.

I hope you like it.

Love, Jerry

This is a picture I painted for my daddy. It's our dog Max.

Mom will get pictures of me today to post so you can see what a big boy I am.

Hope you have a great day!!!

Love ya!

Where have we been???

We're still here:) Sorry there haven't been any posts lately. It is getting harder to get pictures of Jerry. Every time he sees the camera he wants it to take pictures himself. So most of the pictures I get are of his arms reaching out for the camera. Those (mostly) are still cute though.

Well, Jacob and I got to spend our first weekend away Feb 5-7. Grandma and Grandpa Kalma's anniversary was Feb 5th and they got to spend it at our house with Jerry while mom and dad went to Kansas City for the weekend. They got in around 1pm on Friday and I had to work that afternoon with Jacob then we came home and said our good-byes that night and drove to KC. They said he only cried for a few minutes and then was fine the rest of the weekend. We came back Sunday morning. Our weekend in KC was really nice, other than Jacob being sick. Although when I asked him how he was feeling he always said he was good or feeling better. He was being such a great sport especially since we were all over the city shopping and eating. I know he really felt bad (sick).

And we did get to eat some great food, which was probably what we were most excited about. KC has some great restaurants with fun atmospheres. We also bought lots of fun things for the house. A new plasma 50" t.v. for the basement since our other t.v. died on us. A new bedroom set for our room. Our bed was a platform bed that Jacob built and it was really nice except when I was pregnant it was so hard to get in and out of. The new bed is really high off the ground and we now have a dresser. Yay!!! I love it! Oh and I forgot to mention, since we got the new bedroom set we ended up having to paint the bedroom. Ya, that process was not so fun but it turned out really good. I'll get pictures soon. I also got a new vacuum and a few other things too.

Grandma and Grandpa had lots of fun with Jerry. They brought him a new guitar and some books, which he loves. They said Jerry slept good and was up only a few times at night, which sadly is still normal. When we got back on Sunday Jerry looked like such a big boy to us. (We thought he also looked a little chubbier) Grandma and Grandpa made sure he ate well:)

We got lots of snow that Monday, Feb 8th which Grandma and Grandpa ended up driving home in. Thank goodness they had the roads all clear for them. That was a long drive. Jerry didn't get to go outside to play in the snow so we brought a little snow inside for him to play with. He was entertained with it for awhile.

Then on Tuesday, Jacob took Max in to get neutered. He brought him home that night and Max had a cone on his head. He was still so hyper and jumping up wanting to play fetch and would bash into everything/everyone since he couldn't see much with the cone on. Typically dogs need to stay kenneled 5-7 days but the vet told Jacob that Max needed to be kenneled 10 days. Oh fun! Then somehow he broke the end of his tail open and when we let him out of his kennel he would wag his tail so hard into the walls it would spray blood all over. Yuck!!!! It was a mess. So back to the vet to get the tail fixed and Max got to come home with an even bigger cone. What fun. We will all be so much happier when he is better.

Um, what else...Jerry is really taking after his daddy more and more. He is starting to climb on everything. He has figured out that he can climb on the chair to get on the table and get all the neat stuff up there that mommy put so he couldn't get it. Great! He also climbs up on his high-chair and will stand up in it. He will even take the tray off if it's on there. Not a good thing either so now when it's not in use we have to put it in the guest bedroom. Grandma Holdren said Jacob was the exact same way.

We have been working on our words more and more. He knows what so many things are but won't say them. Not sure why. I think he is being stubborn. He is learning body parts and will say those words...ears, eyes, nose, teeth, hair, toes, pee pee. Yep, pee pee. Which I guess is okay. Maybe knowing what it is will help with potty training??? I don't know. I'm trying to teach him that when he farts (which is all the time) to say excuse me. He thinks his farts are so funny (mostly because they are to me and Jacob). If he is in his high-chair and he needs to fart he actually lifts up and does it, then laughs. Again, taking after daddy:) Boy am I glad that Jacob can't write things on here! LOL

Well, I guess I'll end this post on that subject.

For My Brother

He would have turned 31 today.

We miss you so much and still think of you everyday. Your in our hearts forever!

I know this is how most everyone remembers him.

who do i look like

I see so much of Grandma Holdren in this picture.

He has become such a big boy. I can't believe how fast time goes by. We got Jerry signed up to attend Pre-school in the fall of 2011. He will attend Honey Tree Academy. The website is www.honeytreeacademy.com so you can check out where he will be going. We took a tour of it on Thursday. I am so excited for him.

Last night was the first time in 17 months that Jerry slept the entire night. From 8pm to 5:30 am and then I was able to get him to lay back down with me at 6 until 7:45. I hope this continues. I stopped nursing him last Tuesday and I think this has contributed to his sleeping longer nights. He still takes 2 naps a day and they usually last and hour or more. I would like to get him down to one nap a day if he sleeps better through the night. Right now if he misses a nap he is a BEAR the whole day. It's just hard to go do anything - everything has to be planned around his naps.

I finally joined the Y. I had to get over being a germaphobic and just put Jerry in the daycare. I think it will actually be good for him since he doesn't have anyone to play with, besides me. He needs the interaction with other kids. Hopefully it will help his social skills and maybe even start talking more. He talks constant at home but won't talk to other people.

I've started to do more of my crafts again. This has been put off for a long time. I've been blog surfing and have found several projects I want to start or learn how to do. I really want to take up sewing. I'm looking for a cheap sewing machine to start off with. Just to see if I will be any good at it. Susan, I so wish you were here with me so we could do a lot of these sewing projects together. Maybe, someday:)

Jacob and I are taking our first weekend vacation without Jerry. Grandma and Grandpa Kalma are going to come up on Friday and stay with Jerry until Sunday when we come back. We are going to go to KC for the weekend. We are very excited. BUT...I have to admit, I am already kinda missing Jerry. It's crazy I know, how can I miss him if he is right here, but it's the thought of missing out on a day with him and doing all of the little things with him. I love our routine and how I know what he wants/needs for everything. He is just one amazing little boy.

He is getting his top molars in now. The poor boy has had a rough time getting them. Last week he ran a fever off and on and his nose has been running constant. Yucky:( I can't wait for him to just have all of them in and be done with it. Of course, then it will probably be time for him to start losing teeth.

Jerry's new favorite place to play...under the table. The cats will usually hang out under there, but not anymore since Jerry starting playing there. The only bad thing is him hitting his head every once in awhile and the occasional getting stuck.

Jerry looking at books in the Big chair. We have books everywhere in our house. We are in desperate need of a bookcase for his room. I'm searching for a used one that I can refinish.

Snow

We got about 6 inches of snow over the weekend. This is a picture from our backyard. It looks so pretty.

Jacob took Max hunting on Saturday and didn't have much luck. All that walking through the snow and snow drifts for only 3 birds. They both came home exhausted but they still had fun.

Cat Treats

Jerry learned where I keep the cat treats and now always wants to give them treats. He started feeding them one at a time, which is nice because it entertains him for awhile.

Jerry points to the cats mouth and says mouth and he grabs their ears and says ear - he's learning.

Jerry's Routine

Jerry loves to read or turn the pages of books and point at everything in them. We have to read about 5 or more books before each nap and before bedtime.

He has his routine down...dinner, play, bath, brush teeth, read books in his chair, lights out, find the comfy spot in bed (which usually takes a minute), then mamma pats his back and he usually talks himself to sleep. I love it:)

This is Jerry looking at books in his chair in the morning.

Football Sundays

Daddy and Jerry watching sports.

I can do it mommy

Jerry is such a BIG help for mommy. He loves to help unload the dishwasher (all of my dishes have little hand prints on them - but I still love it), put clothes in the washer and drier, fold clothes (more like unfold everything I fold), dust and now vacuum. I only hope he stays this way. Mommy would love it!

Our Newest Family Member

MAX

our 7 month old black lab

Jacob and I have been talking (I've been listening more than talking) about getting a dog. He has always wanted a hunting dog and Jerry loves dogs. So one day I get a text that says "It's a boy!" I text back "what's a boy" - "our newest family member"

Max came all the way from Minnesota and arrived on December 23rd. He then got to ride all the way to Colorado for Christmas. It has been quite a transition for him and us and the cats but overall he is a really good dog. And Jacob couldn't be happier so what else can I say!

Jerry loves Har...ley

Jerry giving Har some love. He calls him Har

Har's ear.

Har's nose.

My beautiful sister and mom!

This was Great Grandma Alice's rocking chair when she was a little girl.

Uncle Kevin and Uncle Dan refinished it for her.

Fun with Cousins Caleb & Cooper

Cousins Caleb and Cooper got to come over on Christmas to play with Jerry. Caleb was Jerry's buddy giving him piggy back rides and running through the house. The boys had fun playing with Caleb and Coopers new fishing game. They would catch the fish and Jerry would put them back in the pond.

Tractor

Grandma Mickey gave Jerry a tractor for Christmas. You push a button to start it up and it vibrates. Jerry loved it. He took it around and showed everyone.

Thanks Grandma Mickey.

Look Daddy!

See Aunt Jenna, you push this button.

Grandpa refinished the big tractor for Jerry. He loved riding it (being pushed) around. He can't reach the peddles yet but I'm sure by this summer he will.

THANKS GRANDPA!!!