This Is Me

Fort Worth Not-Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:30:00 +0000

We stayed in Fort Worth for another week after Christmas. Here are the things we did. They were mostly involving playing with the Christmas gifts.

Posing in front of the fireplace.
Where 90% of posed pictures taken in my parents
house for the past 29 years have happened.

Checking out all of Granna's ornaments.

An army of tiny dinosaurs.

And then they blew them all down!

Reading with Uncle Josh.

Finding Granna's fingers under the door!

Wearing a silly hat while pretending to be a marching band.

And then a whole bunch of playing in the front yard with Grandude...

Then he enjoyed playing with the bungee
cord in the back of Grandude's truck.

And spotting himself in the window.

One day he decided he wanted to look at all of his gifts again.

And some stuff I made...

I totally showed that almond bark who was boss. (Dipped pretzel rods, regular pretzels, mini cinnamon sticks, oreo bark and chocolate and regular peppermint bark.)

This held my uncle's gift card to... Lowe's.

This was my grandmother's greeting card sorter.
I got the box at The Container Store.

Then I made the dividers and sorted out her cards for her.
I'm really happy with how it came out!

Fort Worth Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:10:00 +0000

I uploaded these while in Fort Worth, but totally forgot I hadn't posted them yet. So here's the other half of Christmas. The one in Fort Worth with my fam.

Christmas Eve in the old man pajamas that I love!

I could not possibly fit more in that stocking.

Checking out his loot. Those cute crayon books are like I Spy books and are still in the dollar section at Target if you're interested.

Bag o' Dinosaurs. No clue why I bought it.
Clearance after Halloween.

Showing Daddy his Sesame Street characters.

Clearance after Easter (?)

Watching the Disney Christmas parade with Granna

He loved it!

Doing one of the crayon books with Grandude.
And pointing with his foot. Of course.

My parents just got a new dining table (like three days before Christmas) and it's one of those tall ones. So my dad made this sweet platform for my grandmother so she could join us.

Story time with Uncle Jack
He was reading the original Yes, Virginia letter that
had been re-published in the paper that day.

Hanging out with Uncle Josh and Aunt Ashley

Very much enjoying his microphone... quickly given to him
first to keep him busy while the gifts were being passed out.

He remembered how to open gifts from Christmas #1.

My dad in his dorkopotamus (like hippopotamus)
earphones to protect his ears while shooting guns.

He LOVED his Dinosaur Train from Josh and Ashley

Getting a little help from Josh opening his annual box-o-books, a gift that I got from my mom every year growing up that I LOVED so am continuing the tradition.

Discussing his gift from Grammy with her... play food to go in the...

SHOPPING CART!
This things is SO cute and he l-o-v-e-s it!

First train set

My mom got Jon and I pillow pets.
This is their first of many showdowns.

Relaxing with Daddy after all the gifts were open.
On the A&M pillow pet, I might say.

Grinnin' with Granna

The fam.

Back in the old man pajamas Christmas night.

And Emily, as you are one of the few people I know that regularly looks at the blog, I'm sorry that you are the only one not included in this post. SORRY! You are still loved! :)

Christmas Part One

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:54:00 +0000

We had Christmas with Jon's family on the Thursday before Christmas, since we were heading out of town and so was his aunt.

Just a cute picture from that morning.

Holding the gift I made for Jon's mom.

Just a little hopping before dinner.

Like me growing up... the only one still at the
table when everyone else was done eating.

The girls were very excited to open their gift from us.

They got the same thing they got last year... costumes
that I bought at 90% off clearance after Halloween!

Jake didn't quite get "opening presents" at first.
We had to help him with the first few.

Then he got the hang of it.

He got a fun dinosaur that roars and opens
its mouth when you squeeze the tail.

Aunt Candice got him some super cute dinosaur
pajamas that came with this funny mask.

He loved his Dinosaur Train (tv show) search and find book.

The girls started putting on their costumes right away.

Right over their clothes.

The fortune teller/gypsy costume was actually an
adult one, but I knew it would still work and be super cute.

Opening his stocking.

Jake enjoyed the costumes too.

The First Gift of Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 06:19:00 +0000

We are leaving for Fort Worth in the morning so Jake got his big present tonight so we don't have to take it with us...

What is this big thing?!

A cheapy little kitchen that mama got on clearance at the Kroger after summer that's still gonna be super fun?!

After Jake went to bed I decided to go ahead and put it together so he could play with it before we leave in the morning...

Kill me now.

First, I had to break/cut apart all of the pieces.
Then I got to work.

Two hours later.

And the inexplicably large number of leftover screws.

Oral-B Stages Party!

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 20:07:00 +0000

I was chosen to host an Oral-B Stages Mommy Party! They sent me this HUGE box of stuff to share with friends and have a party with!

The table full of giveaways!

Each family got Oral-B Stages toothpaste and toothbrushes, Oral-B coupons and information sheets, and Disney Daily Renewals Naturals baby wash.

They also sent popcorn buckets and popcorn. I added a few extra snacks so the kids could mix them all up!

The kids had fun with the balloons that came in the party box.

Everyone got their snacks and got ready for the movie.

All of the party guests.

They sent a Winnie the Pooh DVD for us to watch.

Everybody had a really great time!

Jake and Jack: 2011 Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:51:00 +0000

Jake and Jack. They're more in love with each other than ever. Here are some pictures from this year.

When one looks out the window, the other one has to also.

They are usually on the couch together.

Now Jake will climb up in the recliner

with Jack and say "Take a picture!"

Heading to get the nails cut at Petsmart.

This is the set-up for a trip to Petsmart.

Hugs for Jack

One of my favorites of the two of them ever.

Random Octoberness

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 05:05:00 +0000

A few other things we did way back in October...

Dressed up for Aggie football.

Played with a football

Rode in one of these things for the first time.
And every time after that.

Cheesed after bath.

Watched Daddy rake the leaves.

Played at the park.

Lounged with Jack

Cheesed some more

Tried really hard to get the fridge open

Read (of course)

Told mama to be quiet because the animals are sleeping

Grabbed the closest thing around as a rally cap for the Rangers in the World Series.

Made "train tracks" (?)

...and did the Race for the Cure.

Halloweenie

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:39:00 +0000

Yes, this is Halloween. Yes, I know it's December.

Jake acts like a pirate a lot.
"I'm a pirate... arrrrrrrrrrrrrr"
So it was the natural choice for his costume.

Granna loves to come in for Halloween.

Our church has a HUGE carnival every year for Halloween. The state fair happens to be just before Halloween, so they are able to get a bunch of the rides that were at the fair. Jake was big enough to ride this year and LOVED it!

First he rode the motorcycles.

He waved at us EVERY time he went by!

When we were at the fair, Jake saw the roller coaster and kept asking to ride "the train". We didn't do it that day, but since it was free at our church, we tried it, and he also loved it.

Then it got cold, so we coated up. And he rode in the Jeeps.

They went really fast and he was having a grand old time.

Again with the waving every time.

Then he touched a sheep.

Having fun is exhausting!

A better picture of the whole get-up.
P.S. Those pretend-a-boots were from my brother's Prince Philip (Sleeping Beauty) costume, circa 1986. Thanks Mom for keeping everything!

Pumpkin Patch III

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:19:00 +0000

The third and final pumpkin patch... I'm almost caught up to November. On the last day of November.

We headed out to our third pumpkin patch
when my mom came for Halloween.

Getting ready to head out to the patch.

Yes. I was there too.

Clownin'.

Checking out the patch as we rolled up to it on the "hay" ride.

Scoping out the pumpkins.

I was going to let Jake pick this one out, but they had some
super cool pumpkins, so I did the choosing. I really like
the one I found. I had to pick up probably 40 before I found
one that wasn't rotten. This was a real deal patch. Not like those
"stack-of-pumpkins-lined-up-in-a-row" patches.

He really enjoyed this building/fort
that they had in the play area.

Arkansas State Fair

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 03:38:00 +0000

I may never catch up with blog posts... We went to the state fair. Jake had a good ol' time.

Chillin' on the tractor.

My BFF Sarah went with us.

She was terrified of the giant cow.

As was I.

Jake didn't want to get close to the
cows, but liked them from afar.

Seeing the baby ducks.

Watching the piglets chow down.

And some chicks.

That horse is my size!

Watching the poor baby ducks.

Forced to lean over the drop-off to get food.

To go sliding like this.

The obligatory state fair corn dog.

And he got to ride his first amusement park ride!
He totally loved it.

And we ended at the petting area, where the
donkey, zebra, and camel lived together.

Just like in nature.

Pumpkin Patch II

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Still trying to catch up... We went to a pumpkin patch with some friends from church.

Jake sipped on his first orange drink
while waiting for the pig races to start.

Go! Pigs! Go!

Having a snack with all the boys.

Having fun on the hay ride.
He was up front watching the tractor.

Riding the "Cow Train"

He talked about this thing for days and days.

Playing at the haystack.

Checking out the tunnel through the haystack.

Heading out to pick out a pumpkin.

I like this one!

Or maybe this one.

He spent about twenty minutes just sitting there
sorting pumpkins into big and small.
He started doing that all by himself.

Then an airplane went over.

Fun times at Pumpkin Patch Part II

Building Stuff

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:13:00 +0000

We went out to our first Home Depot Kids Workshop to build a helicopter.

Jake enjoyed swinging a real hammer.

Watch out!

Keep it on the table, kid.
If I had three hands, I would have had a picture of
him helping me hammer. I don't have three hands.

He really enjoyed the finished product.

He was flying it everywhere.

"bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb..."

And he continued in the car...

Computer Time

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 01:06:00 +0000

I have found several preschool computer games for Jake at the Savers. He's never used the computer before, so I started out with what I thought was simple.

He tried Paint first, but totally didn't understand holding
down the mouse button and dragging it to make lines yet.
(I drew those lines to show him.)

So we switched to JumpStart Toddlers.

It's kind of below his level, but he enjoyed it a lot.

On one of the sections, you either click on a letter, or press
it on the keyboard and it shows a little cartoon for that letter.
How cute is he "typing"? :)

Enjoying the video.

September Happenings

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:37:00 +0000

Still trying to catch up. Here are things we did in September.

We had a Sunday School class fellowship and
there was a bounce house. That's pretty
much all you need to know.

Trying on Daddy's shoes.

You've got a long way to go, kid.

(Daddy wears size 15.)

Just watching a little tv.

Finally playing outside some when it wasn't 100 degrees.

Swinging on the swingset.

Trying out the Eric Carle animal matching
game from our Busy Bag Swap.

And doing the popsicle color match, also from the swap.

Yay! All matched!

This is how Jake eats turkey and cheese sandwiches.

Takes off the top bread, eats the
cheese, then eats the top bread.

Playing at the park with the cousins.

Cheesing after being caught playing after nap with
the diaper box from next to the crib in there with him.

Enjoying playing in the water.

Another terrible half-birthday cake.

He was very intrigued by the heat from the candles.

More naptime foolishness.

Picking up the neighbor's new puppy.

He was very excited about this puppy.

Playing with some sidewalk chalk.

He can finally fit onto the tricycle he got a long time ago!

Rolling trucks down the ramp with Granna.

And ready for bed!

Pumpkin Patch #1

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 00:07:00 +0000

We went to three pumpkin patches this year. Three.
The first one was way back at the end of September, when my mom came in town . We decided to do one then and another when she came back in October. Here are a few pics from the first one.

First, the animals.

Then the corn pit.

With a stop to watch the tractor.

This is the same corn pit he loved playing in last year.

Next the hay ride.

Hey, tractor driver! Watch where you're going!

Then hay maze.

These are almost exactly the same
pictures from last year.

Checking out the giant pumpkins.

Seriously. This is way better than the
dried-out-dead-at-the-end-of-October
pictures that we had last year.

Just chillin' on a pumpkin.

Jogging through the patch.

My mom trying to get him to recreate one of
our favorite pictures from last year:

(last year)

Healing a pumpkin?

Photo op chair!

He was saying "It's huuuuuuuuuuuuuuge!"

Two biggins.

Last, the goats.
Should I look low?

Or should I look high?

Posers.

Shirt pumpkin.

Learning Letters

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:35:00 +0000

I have been home with Jake since June when school got out and he has learned so much "this summer". (I will go back to work as soon as I find a job.) The main thing that he conquered was knowing his letters before he was 2 1/2! I was so proud of him! (And then he knew all the letter sounds shortly after that!) Here are the things that helped the most...

Leap Frog Fridge Letters

He seriously played with them all of the time. He's only recently stopped playing with them as much.

He carried them around and lined them up all over everywhere.

This was a common sight this summer.

Also, bathtub letters.

Fun times learning letters in the tub.

I also found some alphabet "animal" crackers at Kroger.
He had to tell me the letter before he could eat it.

This is what they look like, in case you care.
They're Kroger brand.

The main thing that helped with letter sounds was probably the Leap Frog Letter Factory DVD. We watched it a few times a week and he was in a trance. He seems to learn and remember things very easily.

Super Why helped a little bit with
reinforcement of what he'd learned.

I'm so proud of him!

We Had A Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:29:00 +0000

This was in August. We had visited a friend's house who had a goldfish. Jake loved it, so I thought "Hey! Let's get a fish!" having obviously forgotten the lack-of-success that I've had with fish in my life. But I did it anyway.

He loved watching it while he ate.

It was just a plain ol' 29 cent goldfish from Petsmart.

For real. Jake loved it.

Well it never ate any of the food we gave it and it died in five days.
I tried again a few weeks later and that one died in two days.
So I quit fish.

Catching Up: August

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 19:05:00 +0000

Here are the goings-on from August:

Jake was motivated to brush his teeth by a sticker chart. Then by September he didn't care anymore, so we stopped using it and just brushed his teeth with no problems. (And yes, those stickers are 1980's stickers from Highlights magazine. Keeping it real.)

He started wanting to help make lunch.

One morning I walked in and he had done this.

When my mom came in August, we went to the Peabody ducks again. But we got there late and they started early, so we didn't get to see them come down the elevator, but we enjoyed watching them for a while.

Jake really enjoyed watching the

glass elevator go up and down.

Seriously.

The elevator was the deal.

But he also enjoyed the ducks.

Then we rode the elevator all the way to the top!

He also enjoyed the Granna.

We stopped by the Kroger Marketplace's one year anniversary party where we saw the biggest cake in North America. (No really. Click to see it.)

And Jake got excited for the beginning of football season.

Catching Up: The Rest of July

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 18:44:00 +0000

I'm going to try to catch up to the present with a few posts of just a few pictures each of everything we've been up to since July (which isn't a whole bunch anyway...)

Snuggling up with the blanket that Granna made him.

He was saying "Thanks Granna!" when I took the picture.

Seriously.

There's a church here with a big indoor playground.

We went there several times this summer.

This was the only reasonable quality picture that I got.

Just coming home from a day out,

with cup in hand and "pack-cat" on his back.

We went to a bouncey place.

He really liked just lying down and letting others bounce him.

He climbed up one all on his own, although reluctantly.

Then slid down on his belly.

Wheeeeeeeeeee!

And one day he looked like Steve Urkel in his pjs.

Fort Worth: Et Cetera

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:45:00 +0000

Last of the Fort Worth pics. Finally.
Yes it is October 19th. Yes, these pictures are from almost four months ago.

The day after the wedding, the fam came over to visit before they all left town. Jake was playing trains with my aunt Emily.

Trying on Uncle Jack's sunglasses.

All week long he kept moving the barstools around.
They make a great train track.

My feet between my old man dad and old man uncle's feet.

That window has always had shades and a curtain, but it was open, so Jake enjoyed looking out into the backyard.

He's almost outgrown the playpen!

The super old school monitor that we use while there.

Having fun with Granna.

Cheese monkey.

Teaching Granna about Bubble Guppies.

Reading with Grandude.

My mom stopped by the dentist for a few minutes.
Jake is considering early retirement.

Just a little reading in Grandude's office chair.

Fort Worth: Swimming With Friends

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 04:31:00 +0000

For the love of Pete. This was in July. In Fort Worth. I'm posting them so I can get to more recent stuff. Like stuff that happened in the last four months.
When we went to Fort Worth, we got to go visit a family that we have known forever and just plain ol' love. They have an awesome house with a great salt water pool. We had a great time.

Jake had fun swimming with Grandude,
but kept trying to eat the pool.

Pool noodle fights.

Swimming with Christine.

And with Travis.

Their dogs have jumping skillz.

Fort Worth: The Museum

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:57:00 +0000

I have GOT to finish posting these pictures from July. I uploaded all the pictures when I was still in Fort Worth, just forgot to caption and post them!
My mom and I took Jake to the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. I went to that museum on a field trip every year growing up. They recently completely tore it down and rebuilt it, so obviously nothing is the same. Here's the fun stuff...

Biggest Lite Brite EVER!

The pegs were huge!

There was an air tunnel that you could put paper cups in and watch them twirl.

I think these bubble tubes were salvaged from the old museum.

Jake really liked them.

The little kids area had a medical area.

Jake's fave was the ambulance.
He was pressing the siren button.

Cool formerly living Galapagos turtle.

He was looking at the lights on top of the ambulance.

The entryway to the little kids area.

They had a huge train section.

Then we went to the dinosaur display.

He was telling us how big the dinosaur was. Really.

The big dinosaur.

The section about gas drilling, along with the HUGE drilling truck.

Pretending to work for the drilling company.

Every good construction worker needs his sippy cup.

Giving a Gig 'em in front of the longhorn.

Riding the pretend horse down the cattle trail.

That's the old basketball arena at A&M.

Jake was not thrilled by the admission bracelet that he had to wear. He kept trying to chew it off the whole time.

Outside the museum were some fun fountains, but we didn't have towels or anything, so we just touched them instead of running through them.

It was super fun!

Fort Worth: Tuesday and Wednesday

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:45:00 +0000

Jake and I stayed a whole extra week after my brother's wedding, so we had plenty of days to fill. Tuesday morning we went to a park, but it was about 600 degrees outside, so we didn't stay long.

There were a bunch of slides.

Granna really enjoyed the playground too.
(In fact, she did everything there, but I'm being
nice and only posting this one picture.)

Jake tried out the spring duck.
Granna stayed close so he wouldn't break his teeth.

Hello in there!

He had a great time chasing a squirrel.
He got really close a few times.

Granna rode the merry-go-round.
I don't ride those things.
Haven't since about 5th grade.

See how bright red our faces are? Way hot.
P.S. This park was built on what our family refers to as the Field of Dreams. My dad coached my brother's YMCA baseball team one year and this was where they practiced every week. Now it's mostly park.

Wednesday we decided to participate in indoor activities.
We went to storytime at the library.
This was the monkey bumping his head.

The Hokey Pokey

Then we headed to the mall and there
happened to be a crazy puppet lady there.

Jake got to meet the dragon.

The Fourth Day in July

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:37:00 +0000

Before we went to Fort Worth I made another I Spy/Shaker bottle for the fourth of July.

This time I let Jake help with the shaking.

Pardon the dinner-shirt.

I did red, white, and blue rice. Duh.

The white rice may look plain...

...but I cut up some of this stuff...

...to add a little sparkle.

Then I put it in a teeny tiny water bottle.
I forgot to take a picture of the I Spy stuff I put in there. I put several red, white, and blue star beads, a baseball, and just for fun about ten glow in the dark beads!

It's all shook up.

Fourth of July night. Waiting for the fireworks.

I kept Jake in the stroller for all of about 5 seconds.

I love the flag.

Waving the flag and shaking the shaker.

Teaching Granna about the stars on the flag.

He kept talking about the moon while we waited.

He totally loved the fireworks.
During the video I took of him watching it, he kept saying "Look Mama! Fireworks! Look Mama! Pretty!" Super cute.

BFFs

noreply@blogger.com (Ashley S.) — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 03:29:00 +0000

Me and Sarah. We've been BFFs for like forever. Her dad was the pastor of my church growing up.

Look at those two people! Nerds!

Then the nerds got wedding rings.

This was when she came by our apartment on the way back to college to tell me she was engaged!

She was in my wedding.

I was in her wedding.

The last time we saw each other was 4 years ago.
Four!
Look at those skinny non-baby having people.

Then she moved far away and I moved far away and we were never in Fort Worth at the same time. Until this time. We were both there for weddings!

So we all got together with all the boys.
Her Ben is almost two and Andrew was seven weeks!

Sweetness all over.

Jake and Ben played together.

And ended up playing over on the windowsill for some reason.

We're grown-ups!