Long time...no blog...

Wow. It's been quite a while hasn't it? I guess I kinda fell off the blog bandwagon. Let's see if I can get the basics caught up....

Back in October, we found out we were finally expecting baby #2! We were pretty excited since we had been trying for over 2 years. Nothing too exciting happened during the holidays, just the same old stuff. In January, Jackson turned 4 years old. I can't believe I have a 4 year old! He grows too fast! At the end of January we found out that we needed to change our mindset to pink, because we're going to be having a baby girl! Jackson wasn't too sure how to take it at first. He was pretty adamant that he was going to have a baby brother. When the ultrasound tech said it was a girl, Jackson said, "No, it's a boy!" Funny kid. I think he's starting to grow to the idea of having a sister though.

Not much else has really happened recently. Just keeping it low key and spending time as a family. When I get a few more minutes, I'll try posting some pictures. Then the question will be, can I keep the updates coming? I guess we'll see!

Prayers

Recently, we've been getting Jackson to try and say his prayers. He always needs a little help, so we will whisper things for him to say when he stops or says he needs help.

Earlier today at lunch, at some point in the prayer, he stated, "Please bless our bones..." ?! Where did he get that?!

Then tonight at dinner, he told Forrest that it was his turn to say the prayer. Forrest is about ready to say it, but then Jackson starts off, "Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this day...." At this point he gets stuck and asks for help, so Forrest whispers ("Please bless the food") Jackson then says, "Please bless the food to make me big and strong so I can drive...." He pauses, so Forrest whispers ("Please keep us safe") Jackson continues, "Please keep us safe while I drive." And then proceeds to close the prayer.

Forrest and I were dying! We tried real hard to keep our laughter concealed while he was finishing. It was hilarious! Don't you just love how sweet and innocent little kid prayers are? :D

Catching Up

Now for the rest of the random tidbits to catch up on.

Jackson has been saying some pretty funny things lately. I will try to recount them, that way I'll have somewhere to look and remember as well!

Back in January, we went to Walmart and were getting back into the car. The conversation went as follows:

Forrest: It's freezing cold outside!
Jackson: It's freakin' cold outside!
Me: No, it's FREEZING cold outside!
Jackson: NO! We say, 'it's freakin' cold outside'!
Forrest and I both: NO! FREEZING! FREEZING!

I think we can thank Mandy for that one! ;)

A little while ago, Jackson was talking to me, and he started stammering, so I said, "Just spit it out!"....so what does he do?! Spits on the floor! Forrest heard it from the other room and just started laughing! Gotta watch what I say!

Then there was a day recently when he blurted out, "Dammit!" Uhhh, yeah, definately need to watch what we say!

And the most recent one - He's been watching Emperor's New Groove lately. While Forrest was driving home, and Jackson was with him, here is what was said.

Jackson: Where's that llama?
Forrest: What llama?
Jackson: Where's that demon llama?!?!

LOL! It took Forrest a minute to make the connection, because it had totally taken him off guard! Hilarious!

He is definately a talker, and very social, which is strange coming from two parents who are not very outgoing and shy! He is a very busy little boy. He can't wait for the snow to go away so we can go camping, and ride 4-wheelers. He looks forward to the day when he is big enough to ride the motorcycles like his daddy. (Which is great incentive to get him to eat all his food to help him grow!)

Oooo, which reminds me! The other day, Jackson and I were getting in the car to run some errands. Before I got in, I went to get the garbage can off the curb, and Jackson had gotten into the driver's seat with 'his' keys. He told me he was going to drive. I said, "I don't think so!" I took him out, and told him he was not big enough or old enough to drive yet. Then, he burst into tears. He seriously thought he could drive! I had to calm him down and explain to him that he had to be 16 years old to drive, and that his cousin Jaylan wasn't even old enough to drive yet. After a few mintues of talking it out with him, he calmed down and accepted the fact that he just wasn't old enough. It was so sad, but what a determined little boy!

Forrest - After being laid off twice last year from 2 different surveying jobs, for lack of work, he started working with a local farmer with grain harvest, and then driving truck during the winter. He has gotten a new job offer for a full time surveying job. He has decided to take it. I know he will enjoy that work a lot more than what he is doing now. We are now hoping that everything will turn out like we are hoping and that all goes well.

As for me, I'm still staying at home with Jackson, and I am very blessed for that. Even though he drives me crazy most days, I'm still grateful that we are able to make it work this way. I've been trying my hand at making homemade bread, not bread machine bread, but real homemade stuff! The first batch didn't turn out too bad, but it made way more bread than we could eat! I'm hoping to whip out another batch sometime this week, and possibly try some other things like cinnamon rolls! Mmmm.

But other than that, all is going well here!

Jackson playing The Biggest Loser on the Wii with me! Crazy kid!

Putting together a puzzle with Daddy

Jackson and me

3 Years Old!

Happy Birthday! Jackson turned 3 years old in January. I can't believe I have a 3 year old! He is such a boy and definately keeps me busy! We had a pretty low key party for him. We invited over a few friends and some family and had cake and icecream. The next day, we planned on going swimming up at Green Canyon then Big Jud's for lunch afterwards. Well, we attempted to go to Green Canyon, but the weather was so horrible that we didn't make it. The wind was blowing so bad that it was making huge snow drifts on the road, along with the already icy road. So we turned around and just went to Big Jud's. Even though it wasn't completely successful, I still think he had a good time.

Here are a few pictures of my baby boy.

3 days old

3 years old

Christmas

Whoa. It's been a while since I've updated anything! So my goal is to catch up, and hopefully stay caught up!

On Christmas Eve, we went bowling, one of our newer traditions. It's something that I've started looking forward to the last couple years. This year we invited Forrest's cousin Tyrel, his wife Lindsay and their daughter Madison to come along with us. I think it makes it more fun when you have others play with you. But as always, we had a blast, Jackson especially!

This year we just stayed home for Christmas. It's nice to have our own little family Christmas together, and then be able to get together with the rest of your family afterwards. The day started out when Jackson woke up. (No early risers here! At least not yet!) We were able to go at our own pace, which with Jackson, is slow surprisingly! He likes to pick a present, and take off one piece of paper at a time. Just taking his sweet ol' time! It's nice not to feel rushed! I think he enjoyed every minute of it, because I know I did! Poor kid got a TON of clothes, but also got Buzz & Woody from Santa. He got quite a few new books, coloring books, shoes, and a few toys. Forrest got a new pair of work boots, and a game he'd been wanting for the Wii, along with a few other odds and ends. And I got a bunch of books I've been wanting (woohoo!) and some soaps from Bath & Body Works....I love that stuff!

After the presents were opened, we munched on some Monkey Bread while we waited for our omlets to cook. Then we played it pretty low key and helped Jackson open his new toys to play with.

Later in the evening, we had some family come over for Christmas dinner. Forrest's parents, Audrey, Mandy, Todd, Kadee, Rylan and Todd's sister Monica came and we all enjoyed a delicious dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, salad, and all the other big feast fixins! We then proceded to exchange gifts, and I think we even finished the night by playing some Hand & Foot!
Overall, it was a very enjoyable Christmas!

Alas...

It's happened. The 3 words that you never want to hear from your child's mouth, "I hate you!". I figured it would probably come eventually, but not this soon. Of course, I don't think he really understood what he was saying. I can think of 2 kids it may have come from, or of course he may have heard it from Nursery.

After taking a time out, he came out to say sorry (smiling, and just as happy as could be), then I asked him if he knew what he said. "I hate you," he said. I told him it meant he didn't love me. He then replied, "But I love you mom!". So that made it better. He now knows that those are mean words and it's not nice to say them.

Here's to hoping I never hear them again...(yeah, right!)

Another update

Thanksgiving has now come and gone and we are well on our way to Christmas!

For Thanksgiving, we were able to go down to Utah and have it with Forrest's family and my dad. I was looking forward to taking pictures this Thanksgiving day (since in years past I've been bad at it) but I ended up leaving my camera in the office with the sleeping babies, so I didn't get any! Ooops! We had Thanksgiving dinner at the Forrest's parents house, then we went to my Grandma's later that evening for pie! That was the best apple pie I have ever had! I was also able to see my Aunt and Uncle who I haven't seen in, I believe, 2 years! So it was nice.

Friday, we did participate in some Black Friday shopping. It was Jennifer, Mandy, Forrest and I. We started at 6:30 am and hit Walmart, Target, Smiths' Marketplace, then K-Mart. Overall we didn't do too bad I think. We were able to get Jackson's Toy Story pj's at Walmart for Christmas Eve, a pair of snowpants for him for $8 at K-Mart, as well as a carpet-type car mat for him for Christmas. And I know that Jennifer and Mandy also got some big items they were hoping to get. Certain things we were hoping to get were gone, which I guess is what we get for not going out when they opened at like 5:00 am! So it wasn't a complete bust.

Overall it was a pretty good Thanksgiving.

Now onto Christmas. Jackson is getting really excited about Santa Clause! It's been a great way to get him to behave as well, or at least try to! He helped me put up the Christmas tree and decorate it. He also loves to wear his "Santa's helper" hat. He keeps wondering when he'll get to open presents, but he's being very patient!

I've been trying to explain to him what Christmas is all about, how we are celebrating Jesus' birth. When I showed him my little nativity set and explained who all the people were, I got to Mary and Joseph. After saying Joseph, he questioned, "Joseph Smith?" Lol, gave me a good chuckle, but at least now I know he's paying attention in Nursery! It's so much fun to see him get excited with all the Christmas festivities. And now I'm looking forward to the look on his face Christmas morning!