break on through...to the other side

Ladies and Gentlemen....Mr. Charlie has a tooth!! (well, the top of a tooth) It FINALLY came through after many cranky days AND NIGHTS. I've already started trembling in fear when it comes time to nurse my toothy infant. God have mercy on me :)

He's taken a liking to his rice cereal now. And his applesauce. He lets out this loud cranky sound when I'm not moving at his pace at feeding time. I have to keep that spoon moving! After every bite he sticks his two middle fingers in his mouth and sucks for a minute, then he's ready for another bite. It's cute....but extremely messy.

Charlie and Jackson watchin "Air Buddies." (for those of you who noticed, this is an older picture...prior to Charlie's first haircut). I slacked in the picture taking department this week so I don't have many new pics. Will work on that for next week!
This was James and my "date night" when my mom was here. There's not many photos of us that are nice anymore...not to mention where I have makeup on and my hair is did.
Conked out in his bouncy...look how cute those lips are!
This is Miss Stella, Lana's new cat. She came to visit and truly enjoyed herself. Jackson LOVES her and never stopped playing with her once while she was here. She has sparked an interest in James to adopt one. Cool!

Look what I found on the couch the other day!! I don't know how one just falls over and goes to sleep (maybe he had a case of narcolepsy (sp?) that day.....haha I laughed so hard.
um, Jackson was "playing" with Champ's dog food.
Please ignore my messy pantry shelves! I think Jackson looks like his daddy in this picture.
My boys :)
What a face!

James' Mom and sister came to visit us this past weekend. We had a good visit and James and I even got to go out to dinner Saturday night all by ourselves! We opted for sushi...which we usually do. It was an enjoyable evening :) and weekend.

Today I helped clean a family's house all day. The 8 year old little girl, Gabby, has stomach cancer and has been hospitalized for some time now. The mother is staying with her in the hospital and the dad is at home with the other 2 daughters. Their house is a MESS! Could you imagine your husband cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, homework, taking care of 2 kids on a regular basis all the time; not to mention with a full time job? Let's just say this family needs all the help they can get. Some ladies from our church have been going over and doing laundry and cleaning their house for a couple of weeks now. A couple of weeks ago a toilet in their upstairs bathroom leaked overnight causing 2 inches of water to flood in their house and leaked downstairs.....a mess! There is also still damage to their house from the hurricane (TWO years ago) and carpets have been ripped out and not replaced. The house is in really bad shape....SO, we are nominating them for Extreme Home Makeover!!! IF Gabby ever gets to return home she needs as sterile an environment as possible, and this home doesn't provide that. I really hope we can get some help for this family. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.

Sleepyhead...and random pics

Charlie had his first taste of rice cereal last night...he's not a fan of it! Guess we'll try again later.
It's strange seeing him sit in a highchair. He's not a little baby anymore!

Lana took this picture with her camera the other night. Jackson got a bar of soap and was washing himself...next thing i know he'll be wanting to take showers all by himself! It looks like he's "stayin' alive"
Mr. Charlie got his "first" valentine's card in the mail today from Nonna. He surveyed it for quite a while...til he wanted to put it in his mouth!
"Where's the cash Nonna????"

Jackson and his friend, Nick, at the playground



Getting ready for our walk! He loves them!
Our friends Tyler and Taylor! We had just gotten back from a walk and everyone was in the posing mood.

It's 12:12pm...and I just woke up! No, not since last night. I did have to get up this morning and take Jackson to school and go to the bank. Then Charlie and I came home and he went down for his morning nap. I decided to take advantage of the situation and crawled into bed myself. I was so exhausted. I've been exhausted lately. Don't know why...could be that Charlie is still waking every 4 hours for a nursing session, or I've started exercising...or we had a busy weekend.. We went to church and then I hosted a baby shower for my friend Beth after church. At 5 we went to the Pierce's for small groups. It's where we have a meal and a bible study instead of going to the church building. It's much more intimate and I really enjoy the fellowship with everyone. Plus the kids get to run around and play with each other. Nonstop Sunday...

So I got a crazy idea in my head....I am going to start training for a half-marathon. More on that later.

my almost 3 year old...

I braved Wal-Mart with the kids today for some grocery shopping. Jackson said he had to go potty. I knew this was coming, and I was terrified. I came prepared with a mini can of lysol, antibacterial wipes, and antibacterial hand gel. I park the cart and we go in. I "prepare" the toilet seat (because my almost 3 year old prefers to sit) and he sits...and says he "doesn't have to go." I am frustrated and annoyed...whatever, we continue our shopping. Ten minutes later he says he has to go potty. Luck has it, we're at the FRONT of the store and the potty is at the BACK of the store. So we race to the back of the store and repeat the above and the same thing happens. Gun shy. I am ready to start yelling, but keep my cool....he really wants to test my patience today and he pees in his pants at the checkout. NOW I know why I go to the grocery store ALONE!!!!!!

He told me he had a "scratch". I said, "where?" Bad idea Jess. He proceeds to pull his pants down and show me where the "scratch" is. We'll just say a "private place." I tried not to break out into laughter and kept a straight face. I said I couldn't kiss his booboo and quickly changed the subject. He said to me, "Come on mommy, just kiss it, just kiss it for me!" I ran.

He has started telling me to be nice when I am getting on to him for doing something he shouldn't be doing. "Can you just be NICE mommy?" he says. Kinda makes me feel bad...

When Jackson is throwing one of his fits, Charlie finds it funny. I mean, Charlie will laugh out loud and this will further fuel Jackson's tantrum. Sometimes I secretly think to myself, "keep laughing Charlie." I know this sounds messed up....but sometimes laughter is just what you need in those situations!

I am so over my almost three year old's finicky eating habits. How do I change this and is this something I created? Is it my fault???

We went to a Mardi Gras parade Friday night with the kids. It was lots of fun. Beau and his friends had a trailer set up with heaters and a grill and we had a great time! James caught the best beads and Jackson was thrown every kind of stuffed animal ever created. Funny, they never made it home with us.....(insert evil laughter).....sorry, one thing I can't stand are stuffed animals or stuffed anythings. They are a dust magnet and kids don't even play with them.

We went for a walk today because it was 80 degrees outside. It was a great walk and I've been trying to do it everyday that the weather is nice. I need some form of exercise and the kids love it. Then we colored on the driveway with chalk. I drew a hopscotch game and showed Jackson how to play. If you've never seen an almost three year old try this...you should. It's good entertainment, and the passersby probably got a kick out of it too!

Charlie bundled up and ready for the parade!

Time to raise the crib bars!

busy week!!!

We have had a jam packed weekend! My mom flew in on Tuesday afternoon and we went and picked her up from the airport then headed straight to the mall for some shopping. We got sushi for dinner which was SO yummy! Jackson loves the edamame and it's hilarious to watch him eat it. It looks like a worm chewed through a leaf when he finally gets the "bean" out...haha.

Wednesday it was all day running around town. We went furniture shopping for my mom then to Michael's where we went crazy on scrapbooking supplies and such. I also got a new printer that prints out pictures! It is so awesome! It's like having my own personal Wal-Green's right in my own house! It's going to be great for scrapbooking. I'll never have to leave the house!

And I can send pictures easily to the Grandparents more often! We grabbed some lunch at a new restaurant in town and then headed to the grocery store so we could make a yummy dinner. I found a new recipe: chicken with morels and it's super good. Beau came over for dinner and we chilled out.

Thursday we stayed home all day. It was nasty cold and rainy. We played with the kids, napped and Mom cooked soup for dinner. Lana drove in from Atlanta and got here around 6. That night we played Scrabble....with high stakes. Mom brought gift cards. And the winner got to choose which one they wanted. I, of course, lost. The first game was for a $100 gift card to Cabela's....so you know who won that game. James was super excited but I had to break out the dictonary because he was "making up" his own words. I don't think my score even broke 100 and my words were like "run" and "top" and such....oh well....we're playing again tonight, and oh yes, I've been "studying" the dictionary today....I better win!

Friday we got up and decided to make our own Mardi Gras wreaths! They cost like $100 and more at the store so we figured we're creative and could save some money doing it ourselves. It was fun shopping for the stuff we wanted to put on them. I've attached a pic at the bottom of the final result. It's SO cute! Ten times better than any one that I saw in the store! Thanks mom! Tonight was a Mardi Gras parade but it was canceled today because of rain so we just went to my cousin Steph's house and ate dinner and played Apples to Apples. It was a fun night. (didn't win that game either)

Saturday night James and I got to go out to eat all by ourselves for the FIRST time since Charlie has been born! It was nice to enjoy a quite meal together and have adult conversation! Mom, Lana and Beau stayed home and babysat for us....thanks!

This is Jackson covered in Nonna's expensive face cream...ooops...when he came out of the bathroom he said, "ok, I ready, I have my makeup on".......hahaha

Well, we finally cut Charlie's hair. It was time, but I just didn't want to let go of all that baby hair.

Uncle Beau and Jackson

We borrowed Jackson's table and played scrabble on it in the living room floor. Poor thing had to eat breakfast on the floor this morning...he didn't seem to mind.

Charlie getting some kisses from Champers. Guess he thought it tasted bad or something!

happy happy baby!
We took like 8 pictures and this one was the best one...he kept trying to grab the mask!
Hanging with Aunt Lana.
Chewing on his noonie..

Charlie's got a serious drooling problem right now! Lana quote..."Man kid, drool! Suck it up like the rest of us!"
Lana hard at work getting some scrapbooking pages done in Charlie's scrapbook. Yeah, I'm finally catching up!!
Mom hard at work making our Mardi Gras wreaths! She's so good :)


Here's the final product! It's so pretty and one of a kind!!!

We had a great weekend. The weather wasn't the greatest but oh well. Lana left for Atlanta around 2 today and Mom's flight is at 6. Tomorrow it's back to the same old same old...Later

that johnny jumper thingy

so guess who's a fan of the johnny jumper! He was cracking us up last night with his moves! We had to move him to a "wider" doorway because we thought he was going to crash into the doorway! He was rockin'... (yes, that's a wad of spitup on his chin. I laid a burp cloth on the floor and let him go to town!)

no smiles here

seriously mom, stop flashing that camera in my face.

I took the center of the exersaucer out so I could wash it and guess who found their way in the middle of it. At one point he got stuck and I had to pull him through it. Tonight we will introduce the Charlie man to it!

My sick patient over the weekend....are we ever going to all be healthy??

These jammies have seen better days...and yet I still haven't thrown them away! He had a "blowout" from kicking in his bouncy chair!

Look how cute those toes are! Can you tell I was bored? I mean, I am taking a picture of my son's shoddy jammies and blogging about it...pathetic...

Here's the initial trial run in the jumper. This doorway was too narrow....we had a close call with the doorframe! He twirls around and sticks his arms out...it's so cute!

that's a proud look if you ask me.

the boys....Charlie in transfer to the wider doorway. Jackson of course, playing with himself. Enjoy! More later... Geaux tigers!!!

some pics for you

Charlie's favorite way to suck his fingers...I don't know if he's teething yet or what but he chews on EVERYTHING now.
chunky monkey
What a happy baby!
Lana and I painted Jackson's bedroom this past weekend. It was a horrible pink color. We went with beige (boring I know for a little boys room) but we're just renting...so I stuck with a neutral. As we were painting the walls Jackson runs up to a pink wall and hugs it and says "My pink! I wuv my pink!"...little scary if you as me. Here he's jumping on his bed that's on the floor. Two seconds later he flew off the side and bumped his head...no more monkeys jumping on the bed :) He has lost a lot of weight due to his stomach virus. Look how huge his stomach is compared to his scrawny legs! Poor guy!