OUCH!

J's first scrape

He keeps pointing to it and I can't figure out what he's trying to tell me. Poor kiddo tipped right over on the cement. Of course, that has happened before...but this was the first time while wearing shorts :-(

Ready to go

I think J is ready to go visit grandma and grandpa K. Saturday he picked up the airplane first thing in the morning and "flew" it everywhere.....even all the way to the church for meetings!

Good thing we're flying north on May 11!

Don't Kiss Me Garlic Burgers

Hey, I didn't make up the name....blame Rachel Ray. But, seriously, these were GOOD! Stephen even said they beat Pastor Lentz's burgers (whose burgers he had been raving about since we ate at their house last summer).

Season the meat with red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
Make a pesto to spread on the bottom half of the bun (or, if you're like me, and $4 for only half enough fresh basil for the recipe seems RIDICULOUS, just buy a jar of prepared pesto)
Grill burgers, toast buns.
Top burgers with Brie cheese
Carmelize some onions for the top.
Mmmm mmmm GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!

Consensus is....

J's hair is too long and he needs his 2nd haircut.

He doesn't seem too sure about this hair salon. The last time he got his hair cut it was in the library at the church! Watching Daddy go first. (also a back shot of his long hair)

Are you sure about this mommy?

I don't know....maybe this isn't too bad. That spray bottle is pretty cool....

OK...I changed my mind. Enough of this already!

Finally, back at home....at peace, with my toys! A little lopsided and a little too short.....but, at least it will grow!

Again, with his hair cut, I began to lament the ending of babyhood....J looks so much older with his shorter hair.

Getting Big

A little over a week ago J had this shirt on and I began to lament that my baby is turning more and more into a toddler. I guess lament is maybe the wrong word. Toddlerhood is FUN! But, it also means babyhood is gone :-(

Easter Gift

J got an Easter gift from his Godmother K and Jeremy.

Of course, the box, wrapping, and the added paper towels for padding were SUPER fun!

bringing it to mommy for a bit of help...

COOL! Stacking blocks!

J was playing with Grandpa H after Gpa and Daddy got back from the worship service they lead at the Border Patrol Detention Facility (hence the "ministry" hat).

Thanks for the cool gift! The blocks are really cute and J is always pointing to the different animals and trucks on them! Of course, his favorite activity is to convince anyone whose attention he can get to build him a tower to knock over!

Peek-a-boo!

Success????

I had great hopes of posting a note this evening celebrating 10 loads of laundry washed and 12 put away (that's right...I have had two sitting around for a few days - one in the basket on the recliner and one in the dryer). Right away things were looking good. However, somewhere along the line there was a backup in the system. By the time I had 3 loads that had NOT gotten put away and more were already in process I decided it was time to STOP washing! So....at 10:15pm there are 4 loads put away (2 old and 2 new), 3 waiting to be put away, and...I just sadly realized...one still waiting to go IN the dryer.

But, I did make breakfast (bacon and eggs), lunch (Southwestern Salad), kiddo food (Cheesy Pasta Stars - that was a HIT), steamed sweet potatoes for freezing, and dinner (lemon fish and roasted sweet potatoes and beets), and some charro beans for tomorrow. The bad side of that story......

Really, truly, of the pots and pans all but our tiniest mini skillet is dirty. There are very few dishes in the cupboard. Ick!

In other events I do believe that my paper is FINALLY ready to be submitted the FINAL final time! I just have to figure out how to convert it to a PDF and I should be good to go!

Easter - Video

Here is a little video of the Easter Egg Hunt. It is a bit washed out because the sun was so bright - but you'll get the idea.

Easter - Finally

Well, I'm finally getting around to sharing some Easter pictures with you. At least I'm almost done with my paper.......ALMOST!

Here are our Easter Baskets (J, S, K left to right).

Before church J got to check his out. He just went straight for the "Cars" containers though!

Wasn't the church pretty? We still have most of the plants (though not the tulips)

After church J and I went over to Grandma H's house to finish the details for lunch. Too bad when I put the potato/zucchini casserole in the oven I turned it off instead when I thought I was just setting the timer. Darn digital!

J had fun with the toys and "helping" mommy.

Constanza and her daughter Catalina came over for lunch too. They are from Columbia and staying at the mission while Constanza studies at the Missionary Institute. Apparently they don't do Easter Egg things in Columbia so Catalina had only done these types of things with her U.S. cousins and had NEVER dyed eggs before.

J thought Easter grass was pretty cool.

And he liked carrying his basket around.

The most fun was tipping it upside down and watching everything fall out.

See, I told you....FUN!

Then picking everything up is fun too...although that plastic grass feels wierd!

Easter dinner - Manny, Constanza, Catalina, Grandma H, Oma, Ron, Luz, Grandpa H, Daddy and J. Dying eggs
The finished products...

Hunting for Easter eggs.

Getting some hints from daddy.

J would actually put 2 or 3 eggs in his basket - but then he would dump them out, cause that was more fun!

I'm not too sure why this one is pink. I think our camera is dying. It is happening more and more. Hmm.....maybe a new one would make a good Mother's Day or Graduation present.....(hint, hint)

After a long day, we went back home and J got to open the gifts in his Easter basket. Like always, ripping the paper is the BEST!

Sad News

Last night there was a fire at our church. The fire took place in one of the residences. Those of you that have been to YLM probably know Rita and her family (she cooks for most of the Servant Event groups). Their apartment was completely destroyed along with all of their belongings. Please pray for them and, if you are interested in helping please let us know. There are some pictures and more details here http://ylmnews.wordpress.com/2009/04/14/fire-burns-ylm-building/

Fun in the Sun

Well, Easter pictures are just going to have to wait. There are too many and I have to figure out what to do with them. Maybe tomorrow!

But, I wanted to share with you our fun of the day.

In the last post I remarked that I was going to have to be more sneaky in hiding J's toys. Well, that turned out to be true today too! I had also purchased this toy but decided not to include it in J's Easter gift because I thought I'd just give it to him some day when we were going to get the pool out again. Well, without thinking, I had left it sitting on the guest bed along with a few other things that I have to put away. This morning J had been playing and came up to me signing "more" (which he does when he wants anything really, not just MORE). I couldn't figure out what he wanted "more" of so I asked him to show me. He started walking down the hallway toward the bedroom. He would stop, look over his shoulder to make sure I was following him, say "more" again and keep walking. When we got to the room he looked at me, said "more" and pointed to the toy on the bed. Silly guy! So, I had to give it to him! He was pretty entertained with the spinning wheels!
We also spent some time this morning playing with a lawn chair and an Easter duck that he got from a lady at church.

Then, sinc ehte day was SO perfect, we had to head outside. J helped daddy water the lawn.

Sorry this video is pretty long but I figured at least Grandma and Grandpa would want to see it..

Then, after getting totally soaked, we came inside for some good lunch. I got this great new book on the recommendation of my friend who I've already mentioned is full of great ideas. It has tons of great recipes and ways to make food (full of veggies even) appealing to kids. J loves veggies so I don't have to worry about that but, I was having trouble coming up with some new things to entice his palate. Today we made Bow-Tie Pasta with Peas and Ham. Except, I found out I didn't have peas so we used mixed veggies and I found out we didn't have ham so I used genoa salami! Oh well, it was good anyway! J had a good time eating it! Since he already didn't have clothes on it REALLY didn't matter how messy he got!

Then, after a good long nap it was time to head outside again for some more water play.

J was wearning plenty of sunscreen and was just fine but, mommy is going to remember to lather herself up next time! I got a nice rosy glow today! Whoops!