Catching Up

Well, I have been busy writing. I have 12 pages done! WOOHOO! I think and HOPE that means the first Chapter is complete! But...on to more interesting things...

Since Grandma arrived Jaden has been getting to open lots of Christmas presents. He only opens one every day or two so at this rate, he might be opening Christmas presents until his birthday! :-)

He still LOVES the paper and takes it off bit by bit. This one was an Old Macdonald tractor. Here he is another day with another package.

This time a "Party like a Preeschooler" CD and a book.

This is just Jaden being a ham for the camera! I'm not a cheek pincher - but doesn't this picture just make you want to pinch those cheeks?!!?!

Here he is, our little drummer boy!

This kiddo DEFINITELY has music in his blood. He is always dancing or clapping to something. Now he knows that the Ipod clock makes music and he knows where the CD player is in his room. So, every time we enter either of those rooms and he wants music he just holds out his hand pointing in the direction of the player and says, uuuh, uuuh, uhhh and/or claps until we turn it on.

Another day, another present - this time a cool sock monkey
And today, he got a wooden duck that you pull behind you. He had a lot of fun opening this one!

Sometimes he's more interested in the paper and the box than anything

But, he had a lot of fun testing this one out too.

The tricky part is PULLING the duck behind you - not yanking it up off of the ground when you walk! I think he just wants to see it since it makes a noise when it moves and, when it's behind him, he can't see it! Here's a funny little video...

On Saturday we became the godparents of a cute little girl, Mia. Here we are after the baptism.
Here she is with her mom, Lizette

Isn't she a cutie?!?! And an adorable dress!
Mia and Jaden are buds. Too bad Jaden didn't wear his suit to the baptism - they would have looked so cute! Little by little Jaden is getting over his jealousy when mommy holds Mia!

On Sunday Jaden decided to help Grandma K with the chores at Grandma H's house. They got out the vaccuum and were cleaning I think Jaden didn't know what a vaccuum was since Roomba cleans at our house. He was pretty interested but it didn't take long for the loud noise to upset him. Maybe we won't get him to vaccuum just yet!

In our cooking life - we (well my mom) made Baked Potato Soup. YUMMY!!!!!!!!!

This one is just because my husband is crazy. I don't particularily like this picture but I will say sleeping with a baby who loves to cuddle is pretty sweet!

And here is one of Jaden's funniest things lately with a little video from last night. We have a Mariachi Santa Christmas decoration (YES, our Christmas decorations were still up through last night. My mom took them down today!) It has a sensor in it so when it feels a vibration of movement it starts to sing a little song.

Jaden LOVES to dance to the song but he thinks that pushing Santa's nose it what makes him sing. Since we put it on the floor for him to play with he "floor dances" to the song and keeps pushing the nose to get Santa to sing more! I think he would play it 50 times if you let him...but after about 20-25 times mommy needs a different song!

And our other piece of news - GRANDPA K ARRIVES TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!

My How Time Flies

Some of you have seen these pictures already but, oh well.

Last Friday we went on a search for stars - the TV kind, that is. Extreme Makeover Home Edition was building a home REALLY close to where we live. The operation they run is amazing! If you ever have a chance to go check out one of their build sites in an area where you live DO IT! It is pretty cool! As you can see from this first picture, there are about 50 people working on the house (that you can see) at any one time. HOW they manage to not run into each other is pretty amazing!

We did see one star - Paige - up close while we were there. She came out to do a little interview and greet the onlookers.

Jaden thought she was pretty cool!

In addition to seeing the starts we also wanted to give them our mariachi CD in the hopes that maybe just maybe they would ask us to play for the family when they returned home. Here is the security guard holding it for Paige while she finished signing autographs.

Also, when we checked back a bit later we saw Paul talking to the camera crew.

Unfortunately, they never did call us. We found out from others in town that they had a mariachi play on demo day so we figure that group will be on TV. I guess we should have figured out how to give them our info BEFORE they arrived in town....oh well. Anyway, the show will air March 15th. I'm sure that you won't see us on TV cause we never saw the cameras BUT, it was just right down the street from us! ;-)

Here is Jaden sporting a new outfit that he got for Christmas. MANY of his old clothes are getting too short and it seems like he's losing a bit of his chubby cheeks and getting taller every day!

We've been recovering again. Jaden is either sick or teething and Stephen is miserable. We just can't seem to get all three of us healthy at the same time.

My mom just got here to help me around the house and with Jaden so I can write my MA Thesis. So, I have 41 days to write 75-125 pages. GO TEAM GO! I guess that's only 1.8-3 pages a day. That shouldn't be so hard...right? Here's hoping!

A Day at the Park

So, here's another picture of the new haircut (look, you can see his eyes!)...but in general it's just a cute picture of a cute baby boy! It was really nice here this afternoon so we went outside, went for a walk, and went to the park to play!

Since walking is still pretty new, here is a video of him toddling along.

Jaden was most interested in the floor of the play area at the park. He kept sticking his fingers through it!

He doesn't like sand either! He fell into the sand as he was walking around and he was NOT impressed!

They also have this cool little piano thing and above it there are songs written so you can play them. Too bad they are covered with grafitti and the piano doesn't work! But, Jaden had a really good time thumping the keys anyway.

And, he enjoyed the swing. We did go down the slide twice but he didn't seem overly impressed (and it was impossible to get a picture). And NO, he's NOT wearing shorts in this picture, his pants just got hiked up when I put him in the swing!

Time for....

....a haircut! Don't you think? While he's still SUPER cute....Jaden was getting a little bit shaggy.

Here he is with the cape - that seemed to make him mad right away so it quickly came off.

The rest of the pictures have a bit of a sad face. Jaden's not a fan of haircuts yet. But, he made it through allright. And, he looks sharp.... But, Grandma K was right, with his hair cut he does look more like a little boy and less like a baby. :-(

I'll get a better picture tomorrow for that AFTER shot!

Dinner Music

I've been trying out some new recipies. These were Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms. Really, I think they are an appetizer...but, we aren't fancy enough (and I don't have enough time) to have an appetizer AND a meal. So, we had these, potatoes, and salad for dinner yesterday. Don't they look cute?

We've been implementing a more strict bedtime routine since Jaden will just go go go go go go go go go go go go go as long as you let him. This way he's beginning to understand that BEDtime means, SLEEP. (at least that's what we hope!) Here we are reading books. He's actually starting to sit through at least one whole one (maybe even two!)

This morning Jaden decided he wanted to wear a tie like Daddy. He pulled this one out of the closet while Daddy was getting dressed.

And...the new accomplishment for the day....BUILDING a tower rather than just knocking them over. Of course, he needs a little help since he's a bit unsteady but, he's got the hang of it! (He still likes knocking it over too!!!)

Tonight's dinner came straight out of the Ysleta Lutheran Mission Cookbook. Pollo con Crema (Chicken with Cream) and Spanish Rice. Mmmmm... (Stephen is getting really good at taking pictures of the food I make!)

Also, We had GREAT dinner music tonight!

Fun Times

It doesn't get much more fun than a tickle fight! Baby giggles are the BEST!

Playing the guitar with Daddy!

"Baking" some colorful muffins!

A New Year of Adventures Awaits

Jaden's first CHORE of the new year was to help daddy with the dishes. He had a really good time! (although this face doesn't exactly show it) :-)
His first GIFT of the new year was a silky, cute new quilt from Dora.

And here's his first CHEESY CUTE smile of the year!

And of course, his first recorded TICKLE FIGHT with mommy!