Making Houses

Reagan and Wilson were keeping busy while Mom was fixing dinner and feeding Jackson one night and I go down the hall to discover them building houses (or really garages) for all of Wil's Cars cars.  It was too cute, but I am surprised they found any room to play what with the laundry piled up all over the place!

Peek - a - Boo

Jackson was peeking around the counter to see what Wilson was up to in the dining room, but he wanted to stay in the kitchen with Mommy in hopes that she would feed him.

Cuddles???

Wilson just loves to cuddle on Jackson, but he also likes to pick him up and remove him from his toys so Jackson never knows what to expect from his big brother!

Sleepytime

I think he was dead to the world.  I had to spin him a little to be facing the right way before covering him up when I checked on him before bed.  It cracked me up and I just had to go get the camera to share!

The Honest Company

I received my shipment from The Honest Comanpany last week and it was too cute to not share!  If you are thinking "I have never heard of them" join the club.  I got introduced to them by the Krazy Coupon Ladies (www.thekrazycouponlady.com)  who posted about a special free (except for shipping) trial that they offered for their baby products.  I didn't know what kind of products they had so I decided to stop by the site and take a look (www.honest.com) and I was very pleasantly surprised.  Actress Jessica Alba and her partner, toxic free children advocate, Christopher Gavigan have started a company to provide diapers, wipes, cleaners, health and beauty products that are safe and non toxic, but also eco friendly and sustainable...oh yeah and cute too...I guess that comes with having a Hollywood celebrity mom on board!
As many of you know I am a huge advocate for cloth diapers to do away with unneeded trash from our ever-over-crowded landfills and to also do away with a lot of chemicals (some of them very disturbing) being wrapped around my babies' butts 24x7.  I admit I have been worse with Jackson than I was with Wilson and from time to time I wasn't so great with him either.  I really need to get back to using them, since after all they are just prepaid diapers sitting around waiting to be used more often!

I wanted to share some pictures of the samples I received from The Honest Company just to show you how cute they really are!

I received 7 sample diapers and a packet of 10 wipes.  I love the designs on the diapers and I love knowing that I could get these as a disposable alternative to my cloth ones!  This is the boy set for patterns and they are really great... yellow/grey plaid, leaves/limbs, skull and crossbones, dinosaurs, 2 sailors, and 1 white diaper.  They have a great nursery function online where you can customize which prints you want/don't want to have delivered.  The size 3 diaper pack comes with 36 diapers for $13.95 or $0.39/diaper.  They also have monthly bundles which for size 3 include 216 diapers and 280 wipes for $79.95 or $0.37/diaper is you count the wipes as free or taking away the cost of wipes ($4.95/pack with 4 packs included) it would be $0.28/diaper.  I buy Huggies from Sam's and get 192 for $38.98 or just over $0.20/diaper, but if I get them at Walmart, I get 31 for $9.47 or $0.31/diaper.  Now, I usually have coupons to help if I shop at Walmart, but if I didn't you can see that it isn't too much higher to get these than to shop at WM and even less if you did the bundle deal.
Now if I shop only at Sam's (and I try for this!) it is quite a bit more to get the Honest diapers, but what a trade off to know that I can get bleach and chemical free disposable diapers from a company that is organic and carbon neutral!  So wonderful, and I wish I had know of these before now.  Hopefully as the company grows they might offer products in stores/boutiques so that they don't have to be delivery only.

I also received samples of 5 of the cleaning/health products.  I got the shampoo/body wash, laundry detergent, healing balm, hand soap, face/body lotion.  I am curious about how this laundry detergent might work with cloth diapers.  And I am happy to see that they offer sunscreen that is natural!

I think I have written enough today, but as I try these products out you can believe I will post again.  I was just so pleased to see this company with everything they stand for making products with great integrity.  It has really jump started me back to using my cloth and I have diapers in the wash as we speak!

Naptime

Poor Jackson just couldn't hold out any longer and he decided to take a nap int his very comfortable position on Daddy's lap.

Snack Attack

The kids got a new snack face this week.  I used Jif Hazelnut spread (nutella, but not nutella), spread it on our favorite sandwich thins and then both kids added Cheerios faces to them.  These made for some messy faces, but were oh, so good!

Crazy Curls

Poor Reagan got the the Lice!  This is what happened to her hair after we painstakingly combed through all of her hair and pinned it up in little braided twists.  We spent about 5 qualtiy hours (off and on) in the bathroom working through her hair...at least we had the portable DVD player in there to keep us both company.

Fun at the Park (in January!)

We took advantage of some time on the long MLK weekend and we walked/scootered the long way around to the park in the backyard.  The kids had a great time, Jackson even tried out the baby swings for the first time and seemed to really like it.

On the way back Shane tried out Reagan's new scooter after I told him it is much tougher than her old 3 wheel one.  He is pretty sure he would have rocked it if he had had one as a kid :)  the kids got a bit too tired on the walk back and we almost didn't make it LOL!

Kiddie Cuddles

Wilson just couldn't help himself when he was "helping" Jackson get down from the front of the couch.

 They are just so stinking cute and Reagan wasn't going to be left out of some Jackson cuddles!

Gemstone Mining

Reagan posing for a picture while "mining some gemstones"  It took awhile to see some results, but after mom helped a bit she was able to free 6 gems from her block.  She has been begging to get this kit open since Christmas and we finally go it opened and she was working on it last weekend.

Apples to Apples

Tonight we played Disney Apples to Apples, which is a great game, but let me just say that something gets lost when it is supposed to be a secret judging game and 2 of the 4 players can't read the cards 100%.  LOL...it was a fun time and I am super happy to say that the TV was not turned on from the time we were home from school until kiddos bedtime!  Now it is time for Mom and Dad to watch a movie...but maybe not one of the 3 hour ones we have been avoided, but will have to watch someday.  I just don't think today is that day :)

Sucking the Marrow Out

We often quote the wonderful  'Dead Poets Society' movie and say "sucking the marrow out of..." but in Jackson's case it is literal.  He has taken a liking to sucking on the food pouches, once they are empty and it seems like he is going to get every last drip out them.

On a side note in this picture you can get an idea of Daddy's curly hair that has been inherited by yet another of our kiddos (along with Reagan).  He had this curl on his left side that was curled out all day and it really cracked me up.

Never a dull moment

So...tonight while I was just moments away from getting the burritos/enchiladas into the oven, Wilson came out of the bathroom (again... and again) and he said his belly was still hurting.  He even started to cry a bit about it.  He had been having what I took to be gas pains all afternoon and his tears made me wonder if it might actually be something horrible like appendicitis and I tried to locate where on his stomach the pain was and I was feeling around and his lower abdomen felt really tight and I pushed just the smallest amount and out came the vomit.  Poor little guy puked 2 big times :(  Reagan was right there and her only response was "hey, you got my foot".  She cracks me up!
She was a big helper and got him a change of clothes and then I got Jackson, who was crying like crazy all this time trapped in the exersaucer, into his chair so he could eat.  Reagan fed him so I could deal with helping Wil get changed and get the floor cleaned up and get dinner in the oven (although not really in that order LOL).  Jackson not only got feed (without a bib), but he also got to be a nakey baby later once his messy clothes had to be changed.  He sure didn't seem any worse for wear while pulling up on the couch later.

I'm happy to report that since that one instance he hasn't gotten sick, yet, and he hasn't been complaining of belly aches.  We will have to see what the night holds for us!

All the time

Jackson is just dying to see new heights and try new things.  Poor little guy has yet to learn that he can't just pull up and then let go of the couch, love seat, music table, toy piano...you name it.  I guess I'm getting impatient (at 7 months already!) for him to get his balance under him and learn to walk.  This way we don't have to worry all the time that he will be "taking the Nestea plunge" onto the floor!

My hatchlings

Every time my kiddos get out of the shower they want to cover up in there towel and "hatch" out.  They pretend they are babies and they want to be adopted and I have to tell them about my house and the room I have for them and the others in my family they can meet.  This has been going on for a long time and tonight I had both of my new babies still all wrapped up.

Something is missing...

Here is Wilson posting with the lack of our coffee table!  We finally got a chance to get the tree down (from behind the couch) and we put our rocker/glider back in its new home and moved the coffee table back next to it.  If Jackson weren't pulling up on everything...all the time...we wouldn't have had to go to such desperate measures.  Shane is already missing having a place to put his drink and his feet.

Jackson is 7 months

Saturday Jackson turned 7 months old and Reagan and I spent most of the day at the University Hospital waiting for my dad to have his surgery.  While we were there Reagan worked hard to complete a Happy 7 months card for Jackson.

The inside of her card has pictures of all the fruits and veggies she could think of and then the back cover has candy, b/c what goes better with his food than something sweet for dessert.  Peace.  Love.

Pink Out

Tonight, Jackson got to attend his first gymnastics meet.  The Tigers hosted the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide (who are also the 2 time defending national champs).  There was little hope that we beat them and we then performed some of the worst routines (my opinion only!) we have seen in recent years so we got beat by 4 points :(

It was an unsuccessful night, gymnastics wise, but other than that we had a fun time and even ran into a few people we know!  Although it was the "pink out" none of us were wearing pink and only 3 of us were even in Tiger gear, and Jackson was in a totally retro MU  hoodie and I was loving it.

Big Bro

This morning in our usual rush time just before we get out the door to get Reagan to school, I had just made a bottle for Jackson thinking I would have time to get him started with it before we left, but that didn't happen.  Amid the frenzy with Jackson crawling around the kitchen crying I hear silence for just a moment while I am helping to get Reagan's double knots undone so she can get her shoes on.  I look around the counter and this is what I saw.

Both of my big kids are such big helpers!  Wilson started this feeding, Reagan continued it in the car on the way to school and I finished it up once we got to Southwest Playschool to drop off Wil for the day!

Scooters

Reagan got a new "big kid" scooter for Christmas and with the warmer weather she and Wil have been out riding on the scooters.  Wilson has been using Reagan's old (stable) 3 wheel scooter, while Reagan has been trying to get the hang of her 2 wheel scooter.

Too bad we don't have a nice flat area outside the house for her to practice on.  She gets up too much momentum while riding from Tom's (up the hill neighbor) driveway down to Sam's (down the hill neighbor) driveway.  It is fun to watch her take a step and pick up speed and then slam her foot down to stop herself from going too fast since she put her foot up and cruise yet for lack of good balance.  I know she will get the hang of it with just a little more practice!

Bedtime Stories

Tonight's story was the Star Wars Character Encyclopedia that Wilson received for Christmas.  Each kid got to pick 2 characters to have Daddy read to them.  Wil picked Jar Jar Binks and Darth Maul (no surprise there) and Reagan picked Chewbacca and Yoda.

Jackson's 6 month check-up

Jackson had his belated 6 month check-up today with Dr. Beucke...who we absolutely love by the way...and it was a nice adventurous appointment.  He laid still (unheard of) for his weight and measurements.  He is now in the 75% for height (wonder where he gets that!) and the 50% for weight.  His head size is trending up but still no where near where bro and sis were at this age.  I think they need to rethink head sizing for my kiddos...chalk it up to big brains, right?

Poor little guy had to have 3 shots so Mommy decided why not give him a flu shot too while we are at it.  Then to add insult to injury they gave him two giant sized pink...and I mean HOT PINK bandaids to cover his wounds!  Sad day indeed.  The only bright spot, was having him pee on the Doc, totally catching him off guard, since that is not typical of a 6 month old.  Gotta love it when your kids can pee on your friends, as Shane said :)

Jesus Action Figures

Thanks to Aunt Patti for supplying my kiddos with their own Fontanini Nativity sets and thanks to Uncle Alan for coining the phrase "Jesus Action Figures".

The kids just love to play and tonight they had 2 different Nativity sets put together to play.  There were rescue cars that were helping (in case of bad guys, injuries and fires) to make sure that Baby Jesus and crew were all safe and taken care of.  Every time I tried to get Wilson in the picture he would be moving away with a car, so I only got Reagan (although I must say it was quite a trip seeing them both squeeze in the small space around this Nativity!

"I don't want to eat bugs"

This was uttered by Wil a few weeks ago to me in the car, and though it may sound odd...what was more odd was that I was asking him to.  I wanted him and I to have bugs.  What?  You may be asking yourself, but I must explain (therefore today's picture).

During the month of November I worked very hard to try to eliminate GMO (genetically modified organisms) from the food we eat.  This meant not buying our normal spiral or shell store brand mac and cheese (which I love!).  I found the Annie's brand which is organic and verified by the nonGMO project, but even though the kids like them, certain flavors anyway, I don't really care for them so I went looking for other great choices.  This is when I found Back to Nature brand and their "Crazy Bugs" mac and cheese.  I really like the taste of them and the shapes are awesome too!  There are beetles, moths/butterflys and caterpillars...so much fun!

Girl Scout Cookie Time

Reagan is selling cookies again this year in her second year of being a Daisy scout and she would love to sell some cookies to you!  Just let us know if you are interested and we will make it happen :)

No Words

Yes, I am THAT mom that takes a quick picture of her son that has pooped out of his clothes and into his car seat, before taking him out and cleaning him up.  The main reason I did this is because I have a great shot of Reagan with a green exploded poop that got her onesie and her overalls when she was just a week or so old, so I feel it is only right to get a nice picture of Jackson!

This was a surprise for sure and it was easier to clean up than I expected thanks to potty training of the past and having the flushable wipes on hand!

First Snow Play

The kids finally got a chance today to get out and play in the snow.  It took just about as long to get all dressed and undressed as they got to spend outside, but they had fun.  I had to stay in and watch Jackson so they only got to play in the front yard, while I had the door open.  They were bummed that they couldn't get a fort (Wil) or snowman (Reagan) built, but they did make some nice snow angels :)

Meanwhile Jackson was finding new and interesting ways to play with the exercauser!

Resolution

So another year is here and another chance has come for me to try to update our blog.  I am going to attempt a "project 365" site for this year.  I want to try to post a photo every day this year to let people know what is happening in the lives of team Shane.  So for today I am going to post a family picture we had taken after Sunday Mass before we started our 1st of 4 Christmas celebrations, this one in Jefferson City with the Hancock family.