Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

I can't believe my baby is 2 today!!!

 

 

Wasn't it just a couple of months ago that he looked like this?

 

 

 

And then yesterday he looked like this--

 

 

Seriously, two years flew by!!!

 

Happy Birthday Jackson!!!

 

Dear Jackson,

 

I can truly say life is so much better with you in it.  Two years ago I didn't quite get how you could love another little person as much as I love you today.  You are such a blessing! I have loved watching you grow from a baby to a little 'big' boy these last two years.  Here's to hoping two is a great year for you, and you grow by leaps and bounds in both your speech and physical development.  I would however appreciate it if you would go easy on me with this whole "two" thing!!!  I see signs here and there, and it's not that pretty. No matter what you do or how you act you will always be my little baby. 

 

I love you Jackson Scott Chandler!!!

 

Love,

Mommy

It's Hit!!!

We are sick over here!!!  Ugh!!!

It started on Friday morning with the dreaded stomach bug for me.  I woke up on Friday morning not feeling well.  It went downhill from there.  And then it happened.  The thing I dread the most.  Yep, I threw up!!! So NOT fun!!!  I can probably count on one hand the number of times I have thrown up in my life, and I really hope to keep it that way.  I HATE throwing up!!!

Because I was kind of preoccupied on Friday morning, my parents came and got J.  They kept him all day. My parents are the best!!! Not only did they keep J all day, my mom took all my stuff up to my school for the chips and queso snack set up we had planned for Friday for our staff.  Talk about going above and beyond!!!

J came home Friday night after Aaron got home.  By then I was feeling so much better, just not at all interested in eating!!!  Unfortunately, J wasn't acting himself and went to bed with a slight fever.

J woke up on yesterday morning still not seeming himself, and by noon he was running a much higher fever.  He and I laid on the couch for a couple of hours while he had his "delirious babblings."  This is only the second time he's been sick with a fever, and the last time he did the exact same thing.  He cuddled and babbled.  Super sweet and sad all at the same time.

We ended yesterday with my parents bringing us dinner. My mom made this delicious chicken and rice because she knew I was being careful with what I was eating.  Again, above and beyond!!!

Last night was a long night with J.  We gave him Tylenol before he went to bed, but when I went in for his nightly diaper change before I headed to bed, he did not want to go back to sleep in his bed.  I let him "sleep" with us for a couple of hours.  (I guess you could call it sleep.)  I took him back to his bed where he slept for a couple more hours before waking up again.  We did this another time before it was actually time to get up.

J and I stayed in from church today, and it's almost exactly like it was yesterday.  He had another couple hours of "delirious babbling."  Needless to say, first thing tomorrow morning we will be going to the doctor.  Poor buddy is as sick as I have ever seen him!!!

 Still all smiles on Saturday morning before--

he crashed on me like this

 

Here's to hoping we get completely well this week in time to celebrate a big 2nd Birthday party next weekend!!! :)  Hope your weekend has been much better than ours!!!

My Heart

I can't believe my baby is going to be 2 years old next week!!!

 

 

Today was his second time to go to school, and he did great!!! He cried when I left him, but thankfully his teacher said it wasn't for too long.  I can't lie. I loved having 5 hours to get some much needed things done. However when 2:30 rolled around, I was so glad to see him,  and I think he was kind of glad to see his mama, too!!! I know he won't be little forever, so I am trying to soak in all these precious moments with my sweet boy.

Hodgepodge of Happenings

Hey Ya'll!!!
I just realized I haven't been keeping up with our latest happenings, so today you are getting a bunch of randomness.

1.  A couple of Fridays ago, I took J to The Little Gym.  I have been wanting to take him to one of their classes for a while.  We didn't have a lot to lose because the first time you go is free.  J had a lot of fun.  If it weren't so pricey, I would be more likely to sign him up, but I am on the fence.  Plus, you have to pick one class you want to go to every week.  That's hard with my work schedule constantly changing and all of J's therapy appointments.  I think we might sign up eventually, just not right now.

2.  After Little Gym, we went to the car wash for the first time in FOREVER.  I love J's reaction in this next picture.

Then, we came home and ate Christmas mini M&M's we found in the pantry.

And later on that night- I came into the living room and found this!!! Boys will be boys!!!

3.  The next day I felt icky all day.  I didn't have a lot of energy, and I didn't eat a thing all day.  I sat on the couch the majority of the day, which is so unlike me.  It was nice to just chill and watch Notting Hill and Lifetime Movies all day.  Can I say I love a silly Lifetime Movie?

4.  Mickey Mouse Clubhouse is J's newest favorite thing.  They have free shows on InDemand.  We usually watch an episode every day with him .  He LOVES the first 3 or 4 minutes when the crew is singing and dancing, and then the last 2 or 3 minutes when they are singing and dancing "Hotdog."

5.  Aaron had MLK day off, so we went to the mall to do some more Christmas returns. We went to Northeast mall and had lunch in the food court.  There is an amazing little cupcake stand.  That of course, we had to try.  I got the flavor, red velvet volcano.  AMAZING!!!

6.  My mom has been wanting to get us a new light for our breakfast room.  She ordered one before Christmas, and she finally had it installed on MLK day.  I just love it!!!  It really makes the space look more modern.  It definitely fits our style so much better than the last light.

7.  I made this strawberry shortcake for Aaron for his birthday.  It's the easiest recipe.  I have made it countless times, and it's always delicious.

8.  This past Friday night Aaron and I celebrated his birthday by going out to dinner.  We went to Cacharel for the first time.  What a little gem in Arlington!!! It is seriously the best food I have had in the longest time.  It's pricey, but the food is high quality and so delicious.  It's also quiet and peaceful, which is hard to find in a restaurant anymore.

Cream of Asparagus

Pecan crusted chicken

Chocolate lava cake with Grand Marnier cream sauce

Phyllo dough with white chocolate mouse layers

 

A big thanks to my mom for watching J overnight by herself, so we could have an evening to ourselves!!!

 

Well, we are now kind of caught up!



Happy Birthday Aaron!!!

Today is my sweet hubby's birthday!!! In honor of that, he gets a special post!!!

 

Today was a simple day. We didn't do anything big.  No big, splashy party. (I did that 4 years ago for the big 3-0!!!)  Just dinner with our family of three.  I made some of his favorites- baked ziti with Caesar salad and garlic bread.  And for dessert.  Nope, not cake.  Aaron likes cake okay.  I mean really what won't Aaron eat!  He's not picky which makes him so easy to cook for. This was his request--

 

Yes, that would be strawberry shortcake.  It's a tried and true in our house.  I have made this simple recipe countless times because that's what you do when your husband doesn't want birthday cake and instead prefers anything with strawberries. :)

 

J and I are very thankful to have such a sweet, kindhearted Christian man in our lives!!! Life wouldn't be the same without you, Daddydoo!!!

 

Happy Birthday Aaron!!!  We love you.

 

 

Five on Friday

We made it through another week, and I am so glad it's Friday!!! 

Here are my five for the week-

-ONE-

 

Last Saturday we went to Addi's birthday party.  It was supposed to be the weekend of the ice storm in December, but needless to say it didn't happen. We got to the party after the swimming was over but just in time for cake. Despite the five year age gap, I hope J and Addi are friends as they grow up.  Addi is a sweetie!!!  I can't believe she is seven years old!!!

-TWO-

Our children's minister, Emily, had a party for her two year old nephew, Lincoln, who was in town last weekend.  Since there are so many little boys about that age at our church, she invited some of us to help them celebrate at Babe's after church.  A lady at our church makes decorated cakes, so Emily had Minion cupcakes made.  They were so cute!!! Too bad J didn't enjoy them at all. ;)

 

-THREE-

J's first day of Mothers Day Out was Monday.  I had been dreading the day the whole week.  I know in my head it would be good for him, but I still didn't really want to take him.  So on Monday morning, I got him to his class at Tate Tots around 8:45.  Thankfully, he did great!!! Better than I did!!  He didn't realize what was going on, and I was told he didn't cry when I left.  Unlike me, I cried in the director's office after I left him.  His day went GREAT!!! He even took a one hour nap on his nap mat.  Complete shocker for me!!!   I thought for sure he would be thinking, "You want me to sleep on the floor?"  When I went to pick him up at 2:30, he burst into tears as soon as he saw me.  It was the sweetest thing!!!  I think he realized he had missed his mama.  My only worry now is that when I take him again next week, he really will cry because he will know when we get to his classroom that I am leaving him.  I guess we will cross that bridge in two Mondays.

 

-FOUR-

It has been so pretty here the last few afternoons.  This afternoon we played outside for about an hour before Daddy got home.  Love this boy!!!

 

-FIVE-

TGIF

I am so glad it is Friday.  Because of testing at my school this week, I had to work every day.  While I only worked all day Tuesday and Thursday, it still made for a looooog week.  It is good to have a four day weekend.  Thank you MLK!!!

 

Have a great weekend!!!

69++



Almost Famous...

Not really, but something super cool happened today.

I got an email from a lady at TinyPrints.com  She came across by blog and specifically my recent post about our family Christmas card.  In my post, I mentioned I had used Tiny Prints for our cards this year. Because I mentioned Tiny Prints in a positive way, I mean our card was pretty cute!!!  She asked me if I would link to their website's Christmas cards page.  In return, she is sending me a voucher for $30 to use at Tiny Prints in the future.

How cool is that!!!  I LOVE Shutterfly and Tiny Prints.  They seriously have the coolest stuff!!!

Anyway, I had to share my fun news.  And tell you that people that work for Tiny Prints are paid to look around blog land and find people sharing the love for Tiny Prints.  I want that job!!!