The Johnson family

Alexis

2008-12-19T08:03:00.000-08:00

My sweet little great niece, Alexis developed a fever the other night and they had to take her to the hospital in Iowa City. They found out that her port (where she receives her chemo through) is infected. She developed another fever the next day and is now required to spend the next 2 weeks in the hospital. Please keep her and her family in mind during this Christmas season and pray for her speedy recovery. Thanks!

Pics

2008-12-12T11:31:00.001-08:00

I love this pic of the boys

AJ's coach with the plaque we gave him

AJ receiving his Titans team trophy

Only half the team showed up for the party (Rusty, Trey, Christian, AJ, Dakota, Ethan)

Finally

2008-12-09T11:44:00.000-08:00

It has taken me so long to blog again because I have been waiting for the end of the season party for AJ's football team, which they finally had over the weekend. The team ended up losing the first game of the playoffs and it was pretty much devastating for everyone. After the game, the team had to go and receive their 1st place trophies for their division. It was really very bittersweet. Their party was Saturday, but I had to work and wasn't able to get out of it. AJ received a really nice trophy that had his name on it and we have it proudly displayed on the mantel with his other trophy.

Other things happening around the Johnson home: we had a very nice Thanksgiving. Our friend Dan came over to have dinner with us and after dinner, our neighbors Leo and Laurie came over and shared a bottle of wine with us. It was a great day and I was thankful to be able to share it with friends.

Black Friday really was black Friday. Our store did not do well at all this year in sales and I found out that the owner is going to have to pull out of the mall this coming May. It's very sad for me because this is the only store I have known and worked at for the past 6 years and I absolutely love the job and the people I meet. It was like my home away from home and I'm really going to miss it.

On another note, I'm shocked at what happened at the Wal-mart in NY. So unbelievable the way people behave just because something's on sale for the holidays. Makes me sick.

Jacob is so cute. I love the things he says to me. I should really post them when he says something cute. Otherwise I'll forget! These are the things I remember: lately he's been very polite. Saying thank you all the time or no thank you if he doesn't want it. Of course, he says "kank you" or "no kanks". When he's trying to think of something, he looks up towards the ceiling and taps his chin with his finger. He calls his tummy his pink and when he has a stomach ache, he says his pink hurts. If he makes a "rude" noise he will let you know! He proudly says "I burped" or "I farted"! I'll ask him what is he supposed to say when that happens and he responds with "Excuse you!". It's never boring with him around, that's for sure!

I am seriously thinking about having all the boys (I include Jaime in this) go to anger management classes or some type of therapy. The anger they all possess and show at the littlest things is really starting to bother me and I'm not sure what to do about it. Something needs to change around here and soon. It's not healthy.

Lastly, on a depressing note, Jaime was let go from his job this past week. They are nice enough to still be paying him up until the end of January, but then we're on our own. And with the economy being the way it is, I'm afraid it's not going to be like the old days where he was able to find a job within a week or 2. Although right now as I type this, he's in Houston working a job, but it's only temporary. I'm not even sure how he'll be down there. So please, keep us in your prayers that something will turn up for him.

I changed my mind. I'm going to end this post on a positive note. It sounds like the chemo is working for my great niece, Alexis. The spot she had on her lung was gone when they did her last CT scan, so that's absolutely wonderful! I haven't heard anything more, so I don't know how she's reacting to her 3rd round of chemo. I just know that it was going to be a very strong round and would probably make her more sick than she's been until now, but it's great that it's working!

The Mighty Mighty Titans!

2008-11-01T11:26:00.000-07:00

Undefeated!!! What a season! What a coach! What a fantastic group of kids! I can't wait until the playoffs next weekend!

Winning team!

Look at #6 go after the ball!

The team! #1 Jordan, #2 Caleb, #4 AJ, #5 Ethan, #6 Adam, #7 Trey, #8 Sam, #9 Corrion, #10 Christian, #11 Dakota, #12 Rusty

Halloween

2008-11-01T11:19:00.001-07:00

It was another gorgeous year for trick or treating. A little too warm for the boys with masks, and poor Jacob was sweating, he was so hot! They had a great time walking around the neighborhood with their friends. Jacob picked the perfect costume to wear this year. Sammy's mask lit up in different colors and AJ couldn't see out of his mask, so he took it off halfway down the block.

I'm not sure if the face matches the costume or the costume matches the face!

Update

2008-10-22T05:18:00.000-07:00

I haven't heard too much about my great niece Alexis, but I wanted to post what I do know. During the 3 weeks she had off from chemo, she started getting sick and was losing her hair. She went back yesterday to start her 2nd round of chemo for the next 5 days (4 now) and then I think they're going to do another scan to see if it's shrunk at all. From what I heard, if it hasn't shrunk, I don't think they're going to continue because it is supposed to be a very aggressive form of chemo and I guess they think it should've done it's job by now. I'm not sure if I agree with that, but who am I to say anything? All we can do is pray at this point that the chemo is working.

birthdays/anniversaries/football

2008-10-13T11:24:00.000-07:00

From October 3 through October 11 is always a big week in our family. My sweet little niece, Adreana, turned 3 on October 3rd. Isn't she just a doll?

Then we have my birthday on the 7th, which I will not post any pictures of myself from that day! I was so sick and looked absolutely horrible!! Plus, I'm starting to look my age, which I don't like one bit! Then, on the 9th, we have my handsome nephew, Austen AND my mother's birthday.

Of course, on the 10th, we have AJ's birthday who turned 8 this year. He's getting to be such a big boy! You will notice how I made sure you could tell there were 8 candles!

Here's my wonderful mother. I need to learn how to put the pictures in order so they make more sense to the story! And don't worry, mom, I'll be hush hush about what year this was for you!!!

AJ opening his present. Daddy decided this year that he was going to get a new flat screen TV for his bedroom. Needless to say, he loves it!

Here's all my "men" on my birthday. Aren't they a handsome group?

On the 11th is mine and Jaime's wedding anniversary. We got to enjoy the day at AJ's football game and bowling with the boys. Then the boys went skating and Jaime and I (and Jacob) went out for a nice dinner. It was a perfect day.

AJ's team is doing so well this year. They are undefeated and tied for first place with the team they're playing in this picture. (They tied this game which is why they're still tied for first, if they had won, they would've had sole lead) But hey, we'll take tied for first! It is so exciting to watch, but kind of confusing because I'm not used to flag football rules.

Alexis Rae

2008-10-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

We just found out the 16th of September that my great niece, Alexis has cancer. It's stage 4 neuroblastoma and after many tests, they've found it is in her little body pretty much from head to toe. They've only given her a 50/50 chance and have started an aggressive form of chemo either this last Tuesday or Wednesday and will do 5 days of 2 shots each day, wait 3 weeks then do 5 more days. I'm pretty sure that's what I was told. It's so hard to remember everything and it's even harder being down here with everyone else back in Iowa and I still haven't even met her yet. She's only 15 months old and it's just not fair. I've been praying for her and my nephew and his wife and I know a lot of other people have been praying too. I'm really hoping for a Christmas miracle this year and would appreciate anyone reading this to also pray for her.

School

2008-10-03T07:54:00.001-07:00

Sammy's in 5th grade now and still loves school. Had our parent teacher conference the other day and the teachers could do nothing but brag about him (kind of like how I'm doing here). I am just so proud of that kid. He's getting either an A or an A+ in all his classes and they just love him to death. I'd still like to know who's child he is. I started hating school in about 3 grade and I don't think Jaime ever cared too much for school either. But he's doing such a great job and I hope he continues to have that attitude all through junior high and high school.

AJ, on the other hand, oh my goodness. Everything is a hassle with him. He hates school, he hates reading, he hates writing, and he especially hates spelling. Everything is just "stupid". Or it's too hard. Monday through Thursdays are nothing but a battle in this house after 3:00. It's getting really old and I am clueless what to do with him. And he's only in 2nd grade!!!! This is why I was really surprised at his parent teacher conference because she also had nothing but good things to say about AJ. He's doing better about not talking, he's getting A's and B's in most of his classes (except for LA, he's failing and that's because of his spelling words). But we've been working on that he's even doing better in spelling. I just don't understand why he has to act that way at home, but at school be the perfect student. Seriously......

Jacob and I spend the whole day together and have a ball. I should really start working with him on viewing his letters and numbers instead of just trying to get him to say them. He'll be starting pre-k next year and I'd like him to know his alphabet by sight.

Football

2008-10-03T07:43:00.000-07:00

We signed the boys up for football this year. First time for both of them. It was a tad expensive and I was disappointed, yet relieved that Sammy quit after his second practice. That poor boy, I have never let them join any sports because I was selfish (hey, I can admit it) and didn't want to take them to their practices and/or games. And it never bothered me because it never bothered them. It wasn't like they were asking me if they could join, so I just let it go. That was where I made my mistake. Because of Sammy's grade and age, they put him in the senior league of tackle football. Sammy's like 4'3" and maybe 65 lbs. All these other kids were closer to 5' and taller and weighed a lot more. Sammy would come up to their shoulders and would just go flying whenever he got tackled. I was so proud of him and was very thrilled when the coach would even make a big deal how Sammy was the smallest kid out there but would just get right back up on his feet. But my baby (and he'll kill me if he ever reads that) didn't like it and I can't blame him one bit. I wouldn't have liked it either getting pummeled every day at practice. I just wish he would've stuck it out ONE game to see if the actual game was any better than practice. Oh well, live and learn, right? AJ, on the other hand.....is in senior flag football and is the 2nd biggest kid on his team. So why the coach doesn't put him on defense is beyond me. He only has practice 2 days a week and a game on Saturday, so it's not so bad. It's getting exciting now too, because they tied their first game and have one the next two so they're doing awesome this year. And with only one coach. That's pretty impressive. Jacob can't wait until next year because he thinks he'll get to play. We'll see....

Benji's at Colorado and Garden of the Gods

2008-10-03T07:36:00.001-07:00

This was probably the best day the boys had while we were in Colorado. Jaime's buddy, Benji, lives up in the mountains and the boys got to spend all day either riding the 4-wheeler or hiking up Benji's mountain. And their mother, got to go for her first motorcylce ride in over 14 years! Froze my butt off, but it was worth it!

Some little roadside park.

The "boys" in front of the famous balanced rock at Garden of the Gods.

Sammy, Jaime, Jacob and AJ on one of their hikes up Benji's mountain.

Me and the boys.

Sammy and AJ on another rock! We didn't stay at the Garden of the Gods for too long, because as you can see in the background, the rain was coming in and Jacob was terrified of the thunder.

Go-carts and ski lifts

2008-10-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

This is the view coming down on the ski lift from lunch at the top of the mountain. Isn't it absolutely beautiful? Doesn't look that cold, does it?!

Sammy or AJ took this one while we were inside eating lunch. I wish the camera could've done justice to the view.

Doesn't Jacob look like he's having a ball?!

Sammy getting ready. He was about 2 or 3 inches too short, so I ended up riding with him. Poor kid. Maybe next year.....

Sammy loved this. He was up there doing flips and everything.

AJ and me getting ready. If you're wondering about the look on his face......that's pretty much the way it was all week. The only time he was happy was when we were back at the hotel and they were swimming.

Jaime and Jacob. Jacob doesn't care one way or other!!

AJ doing his thing. I was proud of him for getting on it because he was not wanting to go very high on it.

More Colorado

2008-10-03T07:18:00.001-07:00

This is our trip up to Mt Evans. The view was beautiful (when I was brave enough to look) but it sure was cold. The boys loved it though. Living in Texas, they don't see snow like that all the time. Or even some of the time!! Although, they did yell at Jaime and me for not remembering to bring their gloves. Okay, it's the middle of August, who's going to think about gloves?

I think Jaime actually got out of the car for this picture. I know I didn't take it.....do you see that drop off?! I will have to say that I "yelled" quite a bit at the boys to stay on the trails/paths for fear of them getting hurt.

AJ and Jacob standing so proud next to their snowman. We had left the top of Mt Evans and the boys were upset they didn't get to make a snowman, so we stopped at a little area halfway down so they could play some more. And where it was a little warmer!

Trip to Colorado

2008-10-03T06:57:00.000-07:00

We went to Denver the week before school started so the boys and I could meet some old friends of Jaime's. We had a blast. Went down to the Springs and went to the Garden of the Gods, went to Estes Park and hiked in the Rocky Mountains National Park, went up to Mt. Evans and saw snow, and stopped at some little resort town and the boys rode the go-carts, "bungee" jumped and we got to ride the ski lift to the top of the mountain for lunch.
Here's a chipmunk on our hike in Estes Park. The boys just loved it. They actually took about 5 or 6 pictures, but I thought one would be enough to show on here!

The boys about halfway up the trail. I can't even tell you how many pictures we got of them standing on rocks. We told Sammy we were going to name this vacation "Sammy on a rock" trip.

Summer

2008-10-03T06:51:00.000-07:00

We didn't do much over the summer. Jaime did go out and buy us one of those above ground pools. 12' around and 3' deep. Worked perfectly for the boys and I to stay cool and I actually got a nice tan this year! I had taken some pictures of the boys in it, but Jacob (bless his soul) somehow ruined the little chip thing in the camera and now we can't upload pics to the computer and we can't take any more pictures with that camera. That's what I should tell Jaime I want for my birthday/anniversary. A Camera! We took a trip the week before school started and used his work camera and let's just say, the quality of the pics isn't the greatest!

Been awhile

2008-10-03T06:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it's me again. I stopped blogging for awhile because of 2 things. One, our family doesn't do much and so there's not a lot to blog about. And second, I was being childish about the fact that NO ONE in my family ever read it. I mean, that's the whole reason I started it, so my family could stay informed of life down here while they ALL still live up in Iowa. I felt like they didn't care, so why should I continue. Now, I've decided I don't care any more. If they don't read it, that's their loss. I'm going to start blogging for myself.

Family Fun Day

2008-04-22T05:58:00.000-07:00

It was that time of year again for Family Fun Day at school. Every year they keep adding new games and it's such a blast, the boys just love it!! This year, I volunteered to work a game, and since they were very low on volunteers, I offered to work from 12 - 3 so I missed all the fun the boys had, so I had Jaime take pictures. (note: he's not a big fan of this day and went back and forth from home to the school) Here's the boys after face painting but before hair spraying. With that hair, you can't miss them in a crowd!!

To me, this looks like a bomb with 8 legs. Where's the head?!?!?

You can hardly see Jacob's crazy hair paint because he still has hardly any hair!!!! Almost 3 1/2 and still has yet to get his first haircut. He needs the long ones trimmed up, but I'm afraid he'll look bald then! Oh well....

Here I am working my game (spin art). I had no idea what to do and the kids that worked it before me weren't very thorough in the instructions so I lost a few of the kids' masterpieces until I learned that it helped to put tape on the spinner to keep their paper in place while it spun around. After I got the hang of it, I had a blast.

Jacob riding the train with our next door neighbor Cameron.

AJ's crazy hair. Took about 4 washings to get all that out....

Jacob taking a break

AJ climbing the wall.

Sammy climbing the wall.

Almost there.

He's at the top!

It was so much fun and we all had a great day.

Catch up time

2008-04-15T13:28:00.001-07:00

Let me see if I can remember everything that has happened since I last blogged. Trust me, it's not that we do a lot of things, it's that I have a very bad memory. Let's start with Sammy's birthday. He turned 10 this year - I know, I can't believe it either! We had a sleepover for him and everyone had a blast, even Jacob. For those of you who will still count the candles on the cake even though I've told you it's his 10th birthday, yes I do know that it looks like there's only 9. There's 10. I'm pretty sure it's hiding behind the one that is next to the Y in Sammy. I may not be good at math, but I can count to 10!!

In the very back is Cameron, next to Sammy is Steven and Dylan with AJ on the other side and Michael's in front with Jacob. I love this picture! Sammy did not get guitar hero for his birthday, his friends brought it over to play with. He got a rip-stick for his birthday. Then about 2 weeks later, his dad goes out and buys a ps2 and guitar hero. Can we say spoiled? Then their uncle comes to visit right before Easter and buys another guitar and guitar hero 3.

Easter was good. While their uncle was here, we colored eggs with him and had a blast. The Easter Bunny went a little crazy this year with the candy. I guess "he" figured since the boys weren't going to get any little toys in their baskets, he'd fill them up with candy. About $50 worth of candy. Boy, did somebunny get yelled at for that one!! The boys had so much fun finding eggs and helping Jacob find some. We finally found the last egg this past weekend. Not by the smell, either. The boys were playing outside and AJ looked in the window and found it behind the fax machine. Guess that tells you how often I dust around that contraption, huh?

AJ finally graduated from speech class. He started October 10, 2003 and finished up March 5, 2008. I am so proud of him!! His teacher threw him a little party at school and made up a certificate and everything for him. I have never seen him smile so big in all my life.

Jacob is such a little handful. But he makes me laugh all the time. We'll sit here all day just laughing at each other for no reason. I have such a ball with him. He'll come up to me and say "mom, what a doing?" It is the cutest thing. I've got to start taking more pictures.

My mother came to visit for a week and a half. Jaime and I needed a babysitter so we could go to Pittsburgh for a hockey game. It was so nice too. It was our first time away from the kids since we got married 4 1/2 years ago. Mom was so nervous about doing it, too, because every time I would talk to her on the phone, all she could hear in the background was Sammy and AJ fighting and Jacob screaming, with me yelling at all 3 of them - ready to pull my hair out. Who could blame her? But true to form, the kids were perfect little angels while we were away and mom had NO problems with them at all. Doesn't seem fair does it?! But I always like to say that I must be doing something right if my kids will behave for someone!! It was great to see her again. I hadn't seen her in almost 2 years. We actually got along for the first time as well. Guess her "little girl" is growing up! Although, while she was here, she had to buy something for the boys as well. So Jacob got a little trike and AJ got a rip-stick and Sammy got yet another guitar hero game (although it's rocks the 80's - which is my favorite so that's ok!)

My niece had her baby (a boy) last week, so I am a great aunt again. He is such a little cutie! Which reminds me, my husband's first son and his wife had their baby (a girl) the wednesday before Easter. Does that make me a step grandma?!

We had some pretty bad storms come through here last week. I swear a tornado hit the park at Hurst on Precinct Line there (where the fireworks are always held). Trees uprooted here, roofs blown off there, the fence at the park was pretty much flattened. We even had some trees in the neighborhood uprooted. I woke up around 3:30 that morning to the most awful noise I've ever heard (wind) and it scared me. Which never happens, but this one did. Of course, we lost power, Jaime was out of town again and the boys were bored to tears. Although it was the first time in YEARS they've played outside all day and I thought it was a great day. We have a gas stove/oven so I was still able to cook and we just went and bought some ice to put the drinks in there and other items that were in danger of thawing. I sat outside all day as well and ended up getting burned to a crisp!

I think that about catches y'all up on everything. Not too exciting, but that is our life.

Behind

2008-03-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, Jaime's been out of town a lot these past 2 months, my computers been on the fritz and I have a lot of catching up to do. I am using Jaime's laptop right now, and am not liking it, so it will be at least another week before I get my own computer back and I can post about my big boy's 10th birthday! (if I can remember that far back) and other random happenings. Bear with me my 2 faithful blog followers!!

Confused

2008-02-07T06:00:00.000-08:00

I am at a point right now where I don't know what to do. My old position at the store has opened up and I am not sure if I want to go back now. I thought I did, I prayed for it to happen and now that it has, why aren't I jumping at the chance to go back? Because nothing has changed since I left. I still have 3 small children who tend to get sick during the winter months and no one to watch them when they do. Which means I would have to stay home and find a replacement for me for that day and possibly a replacement for that night if the one who was covering for me was supposed to work the night shift. Then I would have to find a way to make up the hours I missed which is no big deal if it only happens once in awhile. I guess I could go through the pros and cons, but it still doesn't help. Because to be honest, the cons outway the pros by a ton. Okay, I would love to get back to work. I liked the job and was good at it. I'd be able to get out of the house again and feel like I'm being useful. The money really isn't there, especially during the summer with daycare, but like everyone says, it's more than I'm making now. Now the bad side: I'd be working 6 days a week, my legs and feet would hurt all the time, I'd be tired, I'd hardly see my family, I'd never be able to visit home again, never be able to go home for Christmas, and then back to the I'd hardly see my family again. These past 4 months, Jacob and I have been having so much fun together, but there's days he drives me absolutely crazy and I feel like screaming. I just wish someone could tell me that everything will work out, and magically solve all my problems. These are the time when I start to get really depressed and don't want to get out of bed, don't want to clean the house, don't want to talk to anyone and feel like the worst mother in the world. If I had family living here, like everyone else does, it would be so much easier. I wouldn't have to worry about anything. I love my boys and I love to work. I feel guilty when I work because I'm not spending time with my boys. I feel guilty when I don't work because I'm not "contributing" to the household. And if I didn't have kids, I wouldn't have this problem at all. I need a shrink.......

My baby's not a baby any more

2008-01-21T09:12:00.001-08:00

My baby turned 3 last Thursday!! I can't believe it. We had such a great day and it was even better that the boys got out of school at noon so we could all spend most of the day together. First, he helped me make his cake. I let him do everything but the eggs. Not real comfortable with him and those yet! Then, he watched while I decorated the house with streamers and balloons. Which, by the way, were the biggest hit. We're thinking next year, all we'll give him are balloons! When the boys got out of school, we went to Chuck E Cheese for a few hours and had a ball. Jacob's favorite thing to do there was ride the little car. Of course, Daddy's favorite thing was the hunting game and I prefer anything that will give you lots and lots of tickets!! Sammy and AJ were into the ticket games as well, until they started "hunting" with Daddy. Can't wait to go there again in 2 weeks for Sammy's birthday! When we got home, Jacob opened up his presents and we had cake. It was one of the best days we've had in a long time and I love that little boy to death. Happy Birthday, Jacob!!

A boy and his bear

2008-01-21T09:06:00.001-08:00

I finally got a picture of Jacob with his guitar. Of course his bear has to be right beside him! I never dreamt in a million years how much he would like his bear. He's even named him "Bear". Yeah, he's not real original!! I think the name is perfect though! He's already got a hole under his arm from where Jacob drags him around the house all day! And when he thinks no one's listening, you can hear him saying "I wuvee too bear!" So cute.

Christmas Pics

2008-01-06T14:38:00.000-08:00

This is what Santa brought Sammy and AJ this year. They had really really wanted a wii, but I told them that if Santa brought them a wii, I would throw it away because they don't take care of their other games and until they did, they wouldn't be getting any more game systems. No way was I going to tell them that Santa couldn't find a wii (or afford one!). That just doesn't make sense. Santa can do anything. As spoiled as my children are, I will give them this: not once did they mention the fact that they didn't get a wii for Christmas, and for that I am very proud of them.

This is one half of what Jacob got from Santa. His other present was a guitar with a microphone. I finally got a picture of it, so I will post that sometime soon. He loves this bear!! He won't go anywhere without it. (pictures to be posted)

The boys got 2 different presents this year that were pretty much the same thing, just different colors. This is their nightlights. It was so funny to see them oohin and ahhing and then asking "what is it?" Jacob broke his the next day, broke AJ's 3 days after that and Sammy's lasted a total of 6 days. I won't even start in on how mad I am about that!!

Jacob holding his nightlight

They were so curious about these presents forever. It was a pain in the butt to wrap them, too!

Once again, it took a long time to figure out what they were. We finally had to tell them they were banks. I have no idea where Jacob's is. How can you lose something that big and colorful in a house?!?!?

This turned out to be one of the biggest hits as a present this year. It was one of my favorites growing up and the boys love to play it. I got a lot of games this year that is specifically for the family so we can spend more time together. It's really nice. If you look close in the background to the right, you can see Jacob's guitar!!

Presents from Grandma Pat

2008-01-05T13:33:00.001-08:00

Jacob holding his picture words he got from Grandma Pat. He likes those the best. We've went through them and if he doesn't know what the picture is, when I tell him, he can repeat it and remember it next time. It's fun to watch him get all excited when he sees something he knows!

Sammy loves the show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" so this was the perfect gift for him. A hand held version of the game. He'll sit in his room all day playing it, every so often yelling out a question if he doesn't know it!

Here's AJ with whatever it is. I thought it was some kind of legos, but the kids have informed me "no" it isn't! But I do know that you can put them together and build things, so if it's all the same to them, I will continue to call them legos!

Sammy with his new sweatshirts. Very much needed, thank you, Grandma!!

New pants as well. I swear, every time he comes home from school, he has a hole in his left knee and I still can't figure out what he does to his pants where it just rips the left knee. He says it's from sitting "criss cross applesauce" but I don't think so.....!!!

Jacob with his little outfit. I'll have to get pictures of him wearing it since you can't really see what it is!

AJ with his outfit. It was a size 7 and looked WAY too big for him, but they fit and the top is almost too small. Is he too young for dieting?!

Merry Kitmesssh and Happy ??? yeeeeaaahr

2008-01-05T13:12:00.000-08:00

That is as close as I can get to writing how Jacob says Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. And it took forever to figure out what he was saying! The kid cracks me up. Of course, if he hears and repeats a bad word, you have NO problem understanding what he says! Once again, we weren't able to go back to Iowa for Christmas and had to spend it at home. The boys didn't seem to mind it, but I grew up every year spending Christmas with grandparents, all my aunts, uncles and cousins on my mom's side and I really want that for my children. Those were the best memories I have growing up and it was always so much fun. So it makes it hard for me when we don't get to spend the holidays with my family. I tried to make it a happy one though, but I just don't think that's possible any more in this family.

As always, the kids were allowed to open one present Christmas Eve and the rest Christmas Day. Here's Sammy with his present (Nerf Darts) which he has since either lost the darts or Jacob's ruined them.

Here's Jacob with his present (thank you Grandma Pat!) A learning game of numbers and pictures and the other one is a learning game of the alphabet. We started working on the alphabet one and soon will start the number one.

Here's AJ with his present. Perfection. (thank you Grandma Pat!) He's not sure about it though. He gets frustrated so easily anyway, and this game doesn't help. All of us sat there that night trying to get all the shapes in their right places before the timer went off and I was the only one who was able to do it. Of course, it took me 5 tries, but I did it! I was quite proud of myself too, because when I was growing up, I (stress I) hated that game! The first time he gets it done right though, he's going to love it.

Friends at school and other pictures

2007-12-26T13:47:00.000-08:00

Rudolph saying hi to Jacob

Sammy's friend Michael. What a goof!

Little Miss Jackie

Sweet Erica (our next door neighbor) saying hi to Jacob

Cool Dylan - Sammy and AJ's friend lives down the street from us

4th grade teachers. Mrs Weth (left) and Mrs Carver (2nd from right) are Sammy's teachers this year. Absolutely wonderful ladies.

Here comes Santa Claus

2007-12-26T13:39:00.000-08:00

Flying in with his crew. Wonder if he names his helicopters like he does his reindeer?

Landing in front of the school. Luckily it wasn't that dry this year and they didn't cause a dust storm like last year!

If you look close enough, you can see that Mrs. Claus is saying hi to Jacob.

Frosty going through the 4th graders, saying hi to Sammy.

Santa getting ready to leave.

Bye bye Santa!!!

Waiting for Santa

2007-12-26T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here's the boys waiting for Santa to come visit their school.

I love Christmas around here. Just like Halloween, the people around here go crazy with decorating for Christmas. Unfortunately, we don't have an outside outlet, so we were unable to decorate outside this year. The boys and I love to drive around to look at all the decorations and then come home and sit by the fire, drink hot cocoa and listen to Christmas music. Then, every year, Santa will come to visit the kids at the school before they get out for the holiday. That is my most favorite thing about Christmas these days. I love being able to bring Jacob up to the school and be a part of it as well. Santa, Mrs. Claus, Rudolph, Frosty and some elves all fly in on helicopters to say hello to the boys and girls. The kids all love it and it brings tears to my eyes every year seeing the joy on their faces.

Jacob's "1st" Haircut

2007-12-20T11:13:00.001-08:00

Jacob has been watching me trim my hair for the past few months and apparently has decided that his hair is getting too long and wanted to trim it up a little bit as well. I think it would look a lot better if he had done both sides. I guess that old saying "monkey see, monkey do" really is true. What am I going to do with him??

Not to be outdone by his little brother, AJ decided to do a little trimming himself. Try not to focus on the lock of hair going out the side all crazy, it's the bangs he messed with. Needless to say, I've put the scissors up far far out of their reach. For those who are curious, NO, you will not see any pictures of Sammy doing this idiotic thing, because he already did it 3 years ago when we lived in Florida. His was by far the worst though. He had gotten the top and back of his hair. Jaime had to take him to get it looking halfway decent and that's about all she did (and even then, I'm still giving her too much credit) She did a horrible job on his hair. You could still see exactly where he had cut. Crazy, crazy, crazy kids.

My baby

2007-12-18T10:19:00.000-08:00

He wanted me to pick him up the other day but wouldn't wrap his legs around me like he usually does and he just felt really big to me, so I had Jaime take a picture to see how big he's getting. Now, is he really big, or am I really small, or is he normal and I'm still really small?!?!

Climbing again.....

This was the day I was finally getting their rooms back together and going through some old clothes. Jacob found his halloween costume and wanted to wear it, so I figured, why not? This picture cracks me up.

Dentist robbery or Real deal?

2007-12-14T05:56:00.000-08:00

As we all know, most children do not like to brush their teeth. They'll do anything they can to get out of it. My kids love weekends and summer because they usually fall asleep before they do their teeth. Of course, I make them brush them the next morning when they get up and boy do they get mad at me! The only one so far who likes to do his teeth is Jacob. He's always in the bathroom brushing or flossing. Okay, so he's not the greatest at it, but it's a start!! Anyway, yesterday, we took AJ to the pediatrics dentist because our dentist said that he had quite a few cavities and some were so bad that he might have to be sedated when they fix them and since he doesn't do that there, recommended us to this children's dentist. She was in there going over with us all that needs to be done. Talking about sealants, crowns, fillings and even a "baby" root canal, totalling up to over $2,700!!! Now I ask you, why would you do all that to baby teeth that are going to fall out anyway? And to make matters worse, she doesn't take insurance so this would all come out of pocket until the insurance company reimbursed us maybe a quarter of that amount. Is all that really necessary????

Still more pictures

2007-12-03T13:40:00.001-08:00

Sammy ran into a friend from his class and they thought it was really cool that they were both there that day. Especially when the night before our Penguins beat her favorite team (Stars) in hockey. Do I need to be worried about Sammy being the shortest in his class????? I know that me and his father aren't the tallest people in the world, but look at his brothers. Hmmmm....

Daddy helping Jacob because he would cry when you left him alone. Just like Sammy on his first time!! The only one who really took to it was AJ. But then again, we also had AJ start on roller blades first. After that, ice skating was no big deal for him.

More skating pictures

2007-12-03T13:25:00.000-08:00

A lot of these pictures are dark, so let me apologize right now for that. It is really hard to get a good picture when they're skating by me! Most of them were taken with the subject either half in the picture or way off center to the right!

Saturday Fun

2007-12-03T13:07:00.000-08:00

Saturday Jaime decided to take the boys ice skating. I wanted to come along because it was Jacob's first time. We'd been having him walk around the house in his ice skates getting used to them, but he found out real quick that it's a whole different story when you're actually on the ice!

My little monkey

2007-12-03T12:58:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you can see this one very well or not. It came out pretty dark.

These are two of Jacob's favorite places to climb. He is always getting into the sink and spraying water all over the kitchen or he'll climb up to get whatever goodies we have in the cabinet. Sometimes, he'll even pull a chair over to the pantry and get up in there. He's even gotten to the point where he can pull a wood chair over a tile floor without making noise. Can we say "sneak"?

Thanksgiving

2007-12-03T12:49:00.000-08:00

Can you see the snow? Look hard!!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. We had our friend Dan and his daughter, Heather come over to watch the game and have dinner with us. Jaime cooked a turkey on the grill even though it "snowed". The boys got so excited because for about half an hour it snowed big huge flakes and we tried to take some pictures of it , but didn't turn out too well. I love living in Texas with my children. Every time it snows they act like it's the first time they've ever seen snow. But you can't blame them. It's not like back home in Iowa where once it starts snowing it doesn't stop until spring!! Dinner was a big hit even though I messed up the apple salad the first attempt. Before you even ask how you can mess up apple salad, let me tell you that in my family, you drain the pineapple juice, add an egg, sugar and flour to it, cook it till boiling, then put it in the fridge to cool down and add cool whip to it before mixing it with the fruit. See? It's always the cooking part that gets me in trouble. Which is why I thank God that I married a man who can do anything in the kitchen! Am I lucky or what?

Thanksgiving break

2007-12-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

It wouldn't be a cold weather holiday without one of the boys being sick. At least it's just a cough and all he needed was a few treatments to get him through the day.

This is where he goes when I tell him he needs to stay out of mommy and daddy's way. We're painting our house and were doing some touch ups the day before Thanksgiving and didn't want Jacob to keep touching the wet paint (notice pic above with white paint on shirt sleeve). Even though he looks miserable, he liked being in there. He's the one who went and got it to sit in!

Here's Jaime cleaning up the mess from scraping the caulk around the front window. Notice how Jacob doesn't like the loud noise of the vacuum cleaner. He does the same thing to the garbage disposal and blender.

Sammy and AJ and some of the neighborhood boys got together for a little football. It was so cold that day!! I couldn't believe the other boys were wearing shorts.

Boys, boys and more boys

2007-11-28T05:55:00.001-08:00

Forgot I had these pictures downloaded and ready to go. I figured I would put them in while we wait for Jaime to download the Thanksgiving pictures after he comes back from another one of his trips. Although I can't complain, because he's been home for awhile now and it's been GREAT having him here. It's nice when he can work around the area instead of having to go out of town.

Here's Sammy being the little ham that he is. Or devil. Has anyone ever noticed that Sammy has red eyes in just about every picture we take of him? I mean, we could take a picture of everyone and they may all have red eye, but it's hardly noticeable in anyone but Sammy. So I thought I'd try something.

You have to be pretty close to him and have the camera pointing down at him! We took about 3 or 4 pictures like this and they all turned out the same - no red eye. I think we'll try that from now on and see if it continues to work!!

All I Want For Christmas Is My 2 Front Teeth

2007-11-20T06:16:00.001-08:00

AJ has had a loose tooth for awhile now (actually quite a few of them) and for the past 3 weeks has kept asking me if it was ready to come out yet. I'd tell him that it wasn't, unless he wanted to be in a lot of pain and have a lot of blood. Then Sammy lost one of his teeth a couple weeks ago and that really upset AJ because he wanted the Tooth Fairy to come visit him. Last night, while the boys were playing outside, AJ comes running in and shows us his tooth. It finally came out!! Along with it a lot of blood which he didn't like but we won't get into that part of the story. When they came inside for supper, he was talking to me and I told him to open his mouth again. He did and I noticed that there were TWO teeth missing! I said "where's your other tooth??!" He had no idea what had happened to it, he thought he'd just lost one. So then I had to write a letter to the Tooth Fairy about the loss of one his teeth and would she give him money for it anyway. And this morning he wakes up to find his tooth and the note missing with $6 in it's place. So he's taking me to McDonalds tomorrow morning for breakfast!

Random Pics

2007-11-15T14:12:00.001-08:00

We have decided to start taking more pictures of the boys since for some reason, they seem to keep growing up and I want to remember them when they were young (and sweet). I can't believe Jacob's going to be 3 already in January. It seems like just yesterday I was still in Florida going to my doctor appointments and counting down the days until he was born. My sweet baby boys.

I had to put these next 2 pictures in for 2 reasons. The first one being, he loves his parrot. He walked around the house all day long with it until the other day when it finally "died". The poor bird has a hole in his throat and won't stay inflated. Jacob came up to me today and was saying "blow it up, mom, blow it up". I tried to tell him that I couldn't, but he's not one for understanding the word no. Which doesn't make sense since it's the only word he hears all day long! The second reason is because of the look on his face. This is what my child looks like when you tell him to smile for the camera. It is one of the funniest things I think I've ever seen.

Had to throw this picture in for those of you who say there's never any pictures of me on here!!

"Are they twins?" Little did they know, but they dressed alike one day for school without realizing what the other one was wearing. I'm finally understanding why people keep asking me that.

More Halloween pics

2007-11-15T06:06:00.001-08:00

Okay, we got our pictures and I have finally gotten around to posting them. He was able to get some of Sammy and AJ by themselves which is the one thing I didn't do. I had to put another one of Jacob in here by himself though because he LOVES to look at pictures of him and his "bubbas". He'll point to them and say "Hay Jay, Dammy, Jacob"!!! Sammy had wanted to show his teacher what Jacob wore for Halloween so we printed out one of the pictures. When he got home from school that day, he told me that everyone in his class had thought it was AJ. Which it could very well have been (like 4 years ago). But it's just amazing how much they look alike.

Now this picture I know is a little blurry and you're probably wondering why I would add it. Well, the reason it's blurry is because my children have gotten spoiled with picture taking and they like to run up to the camera after the picture is taken to see what it looks like. So I had just snapped my picture and Sammy was running up to see it when Uncle Greg took this picture. Remember the old days when you had to wait to see your pictures? First you had to finish the film, then you had to wait until you were going into town to drop off the film, then it took 2 - 3 days, but you had to wait some more until you were going into town again to pick it up! At least that's how it was when I was growing up. I used to be so jealous of the people who had the polaroid cameras because I always thought that meant they were rich and I thought it was so cool that the picture would just pop out right then. Anyway, I put this picture in because it's the only one where Jacob is actually smiling and showing teeth!

Halloween

2007-11-05T08:01:00.000-08:00

I decided I couldn't wait for the pictures. I will post them at a later date when we get them. I love halloween in our neighborhood. Everyone really gets into the holidays around here and it's fun to see how people decorate their houses. I will never forget our first year here. I had just had AJ a few weeks before halloween so Jaime took Sammy out trick or treating. There is a house down the block that does the whole scary lighting, music, fog, the works. They even have props of mummies and skeletons standing/sitting around the house. When Sammy went up to the door, one of the skeletons stood up to give him his candy and scared Sammy so bad that they had to come back home. After that, whenever we would drive by that house, Sammy would point to it and say "Spooky house". So of course, that's one of the first places we went to this year and there was a whole gang of kids standing there not wanting to go up there (because they all know what's going to happen!) so Jacob, being my "brave" one, went right up there, but luckily, the skeleton just sat there this time, so Jacob wouldn't get scared. The minute Jacob turned around to come back to us, the other kids starting going up there and that's when the skeleton decided it was time to stand up and scare everyone. Good times......

The last house we went to, they had a sheet hanging all around their yard with red paint splattered on it and some guy wearing a mask and carrying a chainsaw (that he actually had running). AJ was so scared and Jacob was crying, he was terrified. Of course it didn't help that Daddy and Uncle Greg walked up to the chainsaw wielding maniac and pretended like he was killing them. We went out for pizza afterwards which wasn't the best idea and probably didn't help their sleep that night, but anything to help them get that image of the chainsaw out of their heads!

Sammy the Spider Man, Jacob the Pirate and AJ the Ninja

This picture was so Uncle Greg would know who was who behind their masks! Sammy even had to have a spider man bucket. I was going to get Jacob a pirate bucket but we would've had to keep coming home after 3 houses it was so small.

Isn't this the most adorable costume? The day of Halloween we were at Garden Ridge and I had been searching everywhere looking for a parrot and finally found it there. The costume just wouldn't have been that cute without it. He would go up to the doors and say "trick or eat". They all had a blast this year and the weather was perfect so that made it even better.

AJ's 7th birthday

2007-11-04T11:17:00.000-08:00

We had a nice quiet time at home with just the family for AJ's birthday. He got a bicycle from mom and dad (we've yet to get a picture of him on it) knee/elbow pads from his brothers, and we'd like to thank Grandma Pat, Aunt Dawn and Uncle Ray for the money for him to go buy "what he wants"! Caution: the following pics are of half naked little boys! It was so warm that day, nobody wanted to wear shirts. Gotta love Texas in October!

I think that AJ and Jacob look so much alike in this picture it's almost scary. Even down to their dirty faces from supper!

One of these times, I'm going to remember how the pictures get put in the blog so maybe I'll get them in order next time. Notice mommy's bad attempt at the decorating of the cake. I can usually write out the message pretty well, but of course, I like it to be 80 in the house so the frosting was melted and it was difficult to write with!

We have pics of Halloween, but I only took a couple of all 3 boys. Jaime's brother was here for the holiday and he took a ton of pictures. As soon as I get them from him, I'll post those.

Another injury - Jacob this time

2007-10-19T09:54:00.000-07:00

Jacob has fallen twice on his face in 2 days and this is the result. It wouldn't look so bad if he would only keep the butterfly bandages on. Although, it's hard to put butterflies on when you've got another cut above it. And of course, this has to happen when Jaime's out of town again. He leaves for 2 days and look what happens. I told him he'd better not leave again or who knows what would happen next time.

More pictures

2007-10-09T13:56:00.001-07:00

Don't they look like sweet lovable little boys? I'll be the first to tell you that looks can definitely be deceiving!! Trust me on this one......

Updated pics

2007-10-09T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here is AJ, Jacob and me. Notice the mark on AJ's forehead? The result of Jacob throwing a spoon at him. Both Sammy and AJ came up and said to me, "I knew a knife and a fork could cause damage, but I never knew a SPOON could!" My poor AJ. How many more injuries can that kid have to his head?

This is what happens when Jacob watches football all day on Sundays. (Note to self: tivo football and make Jacob watch it when it's time for a nap and he doesn't want to take one) I wish I had a camera right now to take a picture of another way he has decided to take naps. He's got his head on the couch and his feet on the coffee table with his little bottom hanging in between them. Now THAT is uncomfortable!

This is Sammy, AJ and their friend Cameron in our tree in the front yard. You can't hardly see AJ (except for his feet hanging out behind Cameron)

So we had to get a picture of just AJ. Boys will be boys, won't they?

Jacob's 2nd birthday

2007-09-14T11:09:00.001-07:00

Here is Jacob with his cake, ready to blow out the candles. You know, for the life of me, I can't remember anything about his birthday. The only thing I remember is that it was really really cold when we went over to pick up his cake. Does that make me a bad mom or just forgetful?

One down and one more to go!

Yay!!!! What a big boy!

2007-09-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from our hockey game last January. Our beloved Penguins played "your Dallas Stars" (I like how they say that). We even rode the TRE over to the game and the boys loved it. Daddy and I liked it to....no worries about traffic! It was a great night and we all had a fun time.

This is Jaime's favorite picture of his favorite player, Malkin. It's almost like he's posing for the camera. Of course with a look on his face like "can't you see I'm busy here?" Ha ha

Not the best picture of Jacob, but they can't all be perfect, can they?!

Now this is my favorite player, Mark Recchi. Some day I'll actually like the players for their playing instead of their looks! Although, he is a good hockey player!!

Bad Blogger

2007-09-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am such a horrible blogger! Update on our lives. We bought a house back in January (actually signed the papers on Jacob's 2nd birthday) and started moving in the middle of February. Which, by the way, was also when I took over as manager at my store. Since then I've been working 6 days a week and too tired to do anything (including blogging). My babysitter was an absolute gem! Even when my children were sick, she would still watch them so I wouldn't have to worry about trying to find a replacement at the last minute and then making up the hours I missed. (Gotta love salaried jobs, huh?!) Well, the middle of August, my babysitter got a job as a teacher and had to quit her daycare. And.....since there was no daycare that would still take any of my boys when they were sick, and I didn't have the reliable help I needed to cover my shifts when they DID get sick, I had to step down as manager. Now I'm home all the time and going absolutely crazy. I really didn't care for this extra long summer! BUT.....the boys are doing great. Sammy's in 4th grade now and going to be 10 in February. He is loving school and the teachers say he's a joy to have in class and one of the top students. I believe one of those. AJ is in 1st grade and will be 7 in October. He is doing so much better than we could ever have hoped for and we are so proud of him with his reading. He had an excellent kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Weaver who was to AJ what Mrs. Kelly was to Sammy. I thank God every day for the wonderful teachers my children have gotten. We are truly blessed. Jacob, well, what can I say about Jacob? He's an absolute holy terror who destroys everything he touches, can make a mess in less than 2.5 seconds and if he's not in your sight for more than 5 minutes, you can bet you're going to get upset! But he's so cute and sweet when he knows he's in trouble, it's hard to stay mad. He really is the clone of AJ is all I can say. Anyway, will post some pictures and hopefully get back on track soon!

Christmas Picture

2007-01-03T17:44:00.000-08:00

I love this picture.

Too Sweet

2007-01-03T17:37:00.000-08:00

Over the break, the boys loved to sleep out in the living room on the pull out bed. One morning, I woke up to this and HAD to take a picture to prove that my boys do get along. Even if it is only in their sleep!!

Thank You

2007-01-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

Once again, I did not get any pictures of the boys opening their presents Christmas Day. We video taped it, but no pictures. What a bad mommy! So, I'll have to take some later with their presents and post them at a future date. For right now, Sammy would like to thank Grandma Pat for all the cool clothes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie. And he'd like to thank Aunt Dawn and Uncle Ray for the neat bug making machine. Also a thank you to Grandma Donna for the money that he was able to buy a game with. AJ would like to thank Grandma Pat for the cool clothes and Over the Hedge movie, Aunt Dawn and Uncle Ray for the lite brite cube and Grandma Donna for money to buy a game. Jacob would like to thank Grandma Pat also for some nice clothes, The Wiggles movie (which is Mommy's favorite), Aunt Dawn and Uncle Ray for the Mickey phone that teaches him colors, numbers, his phone number, and 911, and Grandma Donna for money that we have yet to buy something with. They were so excited about each and every present and I loved watching them opening them. Lastly, Jaime and I would like to thank my mother "Grandma Pat" for the very generous gift that allowed us to have a wonderful day and night out with the family and is going towards the house. We love you all and missed you terribly at Christmas.

Jacob's Christmas Eve present

2007-01-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Jacob loved his cart, food and money. He runs around the house all day long picking up anything on the floor or table and putting it in his cart! Then he'll dump it all over the floor and do it again. Sometimes, he'll dump it and leave it. But I will have to say, I would much rather have messy than loud!!

Another AJ injury

2007-01-03T17:11:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve, the boys are allowed to open one present each. Of course, they did it so fast that I forgot to get the camera! Sammy and AJ each got new rollerblades and decided to try them out in the garage. On the concrete. Without helmets. Unfortunately, AJ fell and landed headfirst on the floor. Needless to say, he was pretty miserable the rest of the night. My poor, poor baby's head!

My 3 sons

2006-11-24T16:09:00.000-08:00

Here is the most recent picture of all 3 boys. Well.....before the "accident" most recent! I can't believe that they are all looking at the camera AND smiling! It is just amazing to me (and everyone else) how much Jacob really looks like AJ. He's growing up so fast. He's not even 2 yet, and can already fit into clothes AJ was wearing when he was 3. Sammy better watch out before BOTH little brothers become little "big" brothers!!

Poor AJ

2006-11-22T13:15:00.000-08:00

This is what happens when two little boys are playing in the backyard with a shovel. I'm still not quite sure how it happened, but somehow, Sammy brought the shovel down on AJ's head. Ouch! But AJ was a champ about it. I think he only cried for 2 minutes. I myself, would still be crying if it had happened to me!! Of course this happens on a Sunday afternoon, so I took him over to Care Now, only to find out they'd closed 2 minutes before I got there. Next, I took him over to Cook Children's, but they didn't accept our insurance. Now, my poor baby needs stitches on this thing, but with our past experiences in emergency rooms around here, I didn't want to wait for 6 hours, so I figured Daddy and I could just apply butterflies to it until the next morning and he'll be okay. Look at him now. I took him today to the doctor and she said it looked fine, no infection and it's coming together real nice. First time she's ever complimented us on anything!! On the bad side, he's got strep and an ear infection. Looks like it's starting early this year. Put a prayer in for us that it's nothing like it was last year.

Coming home

2006-11-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

After 2 weeks of being in Iowa, we took off to come home on a Friday morning at 6:00. I took this picture an hour and a half later. How cute are they? We had such a good time back there. We saw friends and family that we hadn't seen in a long time. I was able to go out a few times with my friends while my wonderful mother watched all 3 boys. That was so nice to be able to get a break for a change. It took us 13 hours to drive up there and 13 hours to drive back. All 3 boys did absolutely wonderful in the car. And I only stopped twice both ways - long enough to get gas and walk around for a couple minutes, then get right back in the car. Just think how long it would've been if I'd stopped every 2 hours?!?! When it comes to traveling, I have the best boys!

Trip home

2006-11-22T10:51:00.000-08:00

I had posted this earlier, but had trouble with blogger and thought it didn't work, so went in and deleted it. Come to find out, it just took a few days longer and it did work, then deleted after 2 days! So, here it is again. Over the summer, the boys and I had went back to Iowa for a visit. The first weekend we were there, we went to Adventureland with their cousins April, Eric, Austen and Adreana. The boys and I had a blast. It was the first time I'd been able to go with them to an amusement park and it was so much for me. Well, to be a part of it anyway, I didn't care much for the rides....either I'm getting too old, or I had too much to drink the night before. Here's some pics from our fun day.

AJ's 6th birthday

2006-11-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

We celebrated AJ's 6th birthday on October 10. He was so excited; he got a new bike for his birthday. Jacob gave him a magic 8 ball and Sammy gave him 2 laser guns for them to play with. Plus, he received quite a few cards from family and of course money, so he went out and bought himself a remote control jeep. Even though we didn't have a big party for him this year, I think he had a good birthday. We love you AJ!!
Every time I see AJ with a birthday cake now, it reminds me of the year he turned 3. His daddy and I got married that year and it was utter chaos!! My mom, sister, best friend, niece and her family all came down for the wedding. My birthday is October 7, then my mom and niece's son have birthdays on October 9, AJ's is October 10, and Jaime and I got married October 11. I was such a mess before the wedding that it didn't even dawn on me that we'd have enough cake from the wedding, that I didn't need to make a cake for AJ and my nephew Austen. All I could think was that it isn't right not having cake on your birthday, so I made one for each of them.
I'm not sure if anyone who stayed with us that weekend has even touched cake since then they were so sick of it!!

1st day of school

2006-11-07T08:42:00.000-08:00

Nothing like posting about the first day of school while they're finishing their 2nd six weeks already!! Sammy is now in 3rd grade and loves it. He's doing so well and learning a lot. His teacher, Mrs. Carroll says he's the most inquisitive 3rd grader she's ever known. AJ started kindergarten this year and is doing so much better than I expected. He has an excellent teacher, Mrs. Weaver and she's taught him more in the past 3 months than he learned in the full year in pre-k. Thank you Mrs. Weaver!!

Never Learn

2006-06-20T07:39:00.000-07:00

The start of a new adventure. Some days I think I'm going to lose it. My boys (and I include Jaime in that word since this is actually his seat Jacob is climbing onto) will never learn to keep doors closed or chairs pushed in. I love them to death, but dang it, it's not that hard to remember!!
Just need to pull myself up
Almost there

I made it!

Sammy

2006-06-20T07:27:00.000-07:00

This is my child who loves to be the center of attention at all times. He's the first to ham it up for pictures, and he's the first to be seen in the home movies. When our friends come over, he usually dominates the conversation!! He's definitely not my son in that aspect. I was always a shy girl growing up and haven't changed all that much since then. I keep telling Jaime that we need to move to California and get this little show off on TV or in movies! And if you're wondering about what he's wearing, YES, it was just the other day this picture was taken and YES it was in the 90's that day. But apparently, when he comes in from playing in the water, he's freezing and puts on his sweatshirt/sweatpants. Now THAT'S my boy!!

Jacob

2006-06-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

Jacob helping himself to a donut. We have given up any hopes of him eating in his high chair any more. Whenever he goes in there, half of his food lands on the floor and the dog'll eat it. Needless to say, he's her new best friend these days. And I'm starting to get a little worried because when I took him in for his check up when he turned 1, he was 22 lbs. When we weighed him last week (almost 5 months later) he only weighed 25 lbs. I just feel like he's not getting enough to eat and he's not gaining like he should be. Especially for how big he was when he was born. So, we've started letting him eat "on the run" like AJ used to. I have found that he'll eat more that way because he can go play and come back and get something whenever he wants to; he's not penned up. The only problem with that is when he eats cheetos.....I have cheeto stains all over the house!
Plus, he has also decided that he needs to have something in each hand at all times, whether it be a bottle and pacifier, 2 toys or food. So here he is getting another donut from the bag on the table.
Dancing around with 2 donuts, just as happy as can be.

Last bite

AJ

2006-06-19T13:26:00.000-07:00

AJ in his brother's room on the game cube.

This is what happens when I ask AJ if he'll smile for the camera. What a ham. He is so funny. Clever too. For those of you who don't know, AJ has a hard time saying certain letters and has been in speech class for the past 2 years. It has helped him tremendously because before he even went in there, all he could say was momma and dadda. Now, you can't get him to shut up, which is par for the course for any child learning to talk, but AJ has a few years to catch up on and I think he knows it! Anyway, when he was about 3 1/2 years old, he couldn't say Sammy. For some reason, he got it in his head to call him "Ha". He'd come into the room and say "Where's Ha?" Then Sammy would walk in and AJ would say "Oh hi, Ha". It was just the cutest thing. Wish we would've gotten it on film. These days, he can more or less say Sammy, but it still comes out more like Tammy. He has a lot of trouble with his F's and S's and substitutes them with T's. So this morning, poor boy, he wanted Frosted Flakes for breakfast. He comes up and asks if he can have "trosted tlakes". I told him he knows how to make the F sound so he needed to try and say it again. This time it came out like Ftrosted Ftlakes. I kept trying to get him to say it right and he finally goes "Can I just have some cereal?" I thought I would die laughing, but then of course I had to go comfort him because he thought I was laughing AT him. Which I was, but not in the way he was thinking. I was just so proud of the way he thought of a different word for what he wanted to say. Clever, huh?

Outdoor fun

2006-06-10T14:42:00.000-07:00

Sammy taking Jacob for a cruise on the "Gator". Jacob loves to ride in it and especially likes to honk it's horn. I'd feel a lot better if it had seat belts since Jacob doesn't like to sit down it it!
The boys being silly after a day of playing outside in the water. I think the sun is starting to melt their brains.
Mommy and Jacob

AJ's 1st solo bike ride

2006-06-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

June 8, 2006 - AJ has finally mastered the art of bike riding. We started late last summer with it, but he obviously wasn't ready to do it. This year, it only took 2 days to get him riding on his own. He can even take off by himself without any help. We are SO proud of him! He wanted to show everyone how old he was when he learned. I've never seen a bigger smile on him.

Jacob's newest climb

2006-06-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

Jacob loves to climb now since he learned how to on the coffee table. If you leave a chair pulled out, he climbs on it. As you can see, if you leave the dishwasher open, he climbs onto it. He has to be watched every second he's awake any more. How I miss those days of 4 hour naps twice a day!!

Jacob in time out. Daddy's giving him one of his famous hour long lectures on what he did wrong, why it was wrong, and why he won't do it again. Of course we all know it just goes in one ear and out the other. Poor baby!

Jacob's 1st push up

2006-06-10T14:00:00.000-07:00

Jacob has been really irritable lately since he has been cutting his molars. I don't remember Sammy or AJ having this much trouble with theirs, but all kids are different. Jacob has finally started liking cold things. He just started drinking his milk cold about 2 weeks ago. And he loves the plastic ice cubes for the kids' drink bottles. So I thought I'd give him a push up and see how he does since he loves ice cream. Obviously he's not quite ready for them. Here he is trying to get it out.

And now he's wondering how he's supposed to get to it. After he "smushed" it a few more times on his tray, I took it away from him and just gave him an ice pack.

Sammy's Last Day

2006-05-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Sammy's last day of 2nd grade. He did so well this year maintaining an A/B average throughout the whole year. I couldn't be more proud of him. Watch out 3rd grade!
Sammy and his class getting sprayed by Mrs. Christian during the last day of school. What a fun time they had. I don't remember ever doing anything like that on our last day of school when I was growing up.... (if you want to know where Sammy is, look for the red shark shorts and fluorescent green shirt)
Sammy, Alessio, Raven, Jackie and Nyia with a hula video they had just watched to go along with their luau theme of last day of school.
The girls in Sammy's class hamming it up as only girls can do!! (Brianna, Claudia, Linda, Jackie, Nyia, Raven, Valerie, Jennifer, Brittany, Nina and Ivy)

Sammy and some of the other boys in his class. (Michael, Isaiah, Sammy, Alessio, Tavin, Kevin and Darrell)

AJ's Last Day of School

2006-05-26T09:09:00.000-07:00

AJ on his last day of school. I had to come in and get a few pictures. It has been such a wonderful year for him with all he's learned, I know he's ready for kindergarten. I have to admit, watching him say goodbye to his friends and teachers, I got a little emotional. I thought it would be easier with the 2nd one, but apparently not! I can't believe my baby's going to be in kindergarten next year. He keeps informing me that he's not my baby any more, but I'll always think of him that way. He has just the sweetest disposition and is so loving that it's hard to think of him any other way. Love my baby!
Tyler, Zachary and AJ running around ready for school to be over.
AJ watching over Jacob as his friends make Jacob laugh. (AJ, Nathan, Jacob, Zachary, Tyler and Blake)

Splash Day

2006-05-26T08:59:00.000-07:00

AJ taking time out of his splash day to come and get his picture taken. He had a great time, even though the pools were just "baby pools". I think he and his friends had more fun just playing on the playground than in the water.

Here's AJ with some of his friends. Sean, Zachary, Macie, Tyler, Rylee and AJ. They had a blast at splash day.

AJ's Graduation

2006-05-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here's AJ right after receiving his certificate. I had went down to the front row to get a close up of him, but I didn't want to yell, so I'm whispering, "AJ, AJ, look over here". Of course, he can't hear me, so then all the other parents are yelling, "AJ, look at your mom!". He turns to look at me while he's still walking back, so that would be the reason this picture is so off center!! Still, I couldn't be more proud of him than I was at that moment. He's so excited about going to kindergarten now. Every day he keeps asking when is it going to start. I'm sure after a few weeks of summer, I'm going to be asking the same thing!

May 18th, 2006 - AJ's graduation day from pre-school. His class performed in a program before the "ceremony", but it was so dark in there, none of my pictures turned out. As you can see, they made little graduation caps and it was the most precious thing. Ms. Bonnie is on the left and Ms. Karla is on the right. They were his teachers this year and they were wonderful. We're going to miss them next year.

More pics

2006-05-18T10:38:00.000-07:00

Sammy helping out with the mowing. What a big boy he's getting to be!! Now if we could just get him to do the weed eating, we'd be set.
Jacob loves to go in AJ's room and sit on his rocking chair. I should just put it in Jacob's room since it's getting too small for the other boys. Sadly, this is the best picture I could take out of 4 tries. I keep trying to get a good picture of his adorable smile, but my camera takes forever in snapping the picture, that by the time it does - he's already doing something else. He doesn't like to sit still for long periods of time. Like 5 seconds!! But I'm a mother, so to me, any picture I get of my boys is a cute one whether they're smiling or not.

Sammy took this picture. Any pictures of an individual close up, you can pretty much count on Sammy taking them. The kids were "so bored" over the weekend that daddy found an old box in the attic and cut a hole out on the side for them. That is where AJ is in this picture....eating a ding dong. I guess no matter how old your kids get, a cardboard box is always a sure fire item to entertain them. They now have the box in Sammy's room and like to sit in it while they play the game cube. I don't ask any more why they do the things they do. As long as they're not fighting, I don't care!

Look at me mom!

2006-05-16T15:51:00.000-07:00

Jacob's new thing. Climbing up onto the coffee table. Then he likes to try and jump to the couch. But mommy moved the table out a little further than he likes, so he just stands there until somebody comes and gets him down!!
This is how he looks right when he gets on the table.

Posing

2006-05-16T15:37:00.000-07:00

AJ is finally getting into the whole picture/video thing. Two years ago, if he even saw a camera or video camera he would start screaming and carrying on like it was the end of the world. NOW, when we start filming Jacob, you can't get AJ away from the camera! But he's so cute, it's hard to get upset with him!! Look at that face - what a big boy he's getting to be. Sammy better watch out before little brother becomes little "big" brother!

Book Character Day

2006-05-16T15:29:00.000-07:00

After a very long and painful search of looking for an outfit for Sammy to wear for book character day (I'd wanted him to go as Curious George's friend "the man with the yellow hat") I decided it wasn't worth the headache and found another character for him to go as. Huck Finn. I have to change what I wrote here earlier as I just now found out that he DID win!! Most Accurate. His teacher had forgotten to tell them. He'd won Most Accurate last year as well for Dennis the Menace. I was looking at his outfit and thinking that he could almost have gone as Dennis again this year, but liked Huck Finn better. The only thing missing in this picture are his freckles. We had to wait until Daddy came home to get a picture, so I'd made Sammy dig out the outfit to put on, but he refused to do the freckles. But still, next year, we're going to be prepared and do the man with the yellow hat.

2006-04-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

Here are the most recent pics of my 3 beautiful little boys. Hopefully daddy'll come home soon with his camera so we can get more pics posted on here and actually up to date.

2006-04-20T11:29:00.000-07:00

Feb. 1, 2006 - Sammy's 8th birthday!! Of course, we had to cancel his party due to another bout of asthmatic bronchitis for him and a new one (strep) for AJ. Luckily Jacob didn't get anything this time around so I only had to take care of two of them. Jaime and I felt so bad for Sammy that we went out and bought him something he's always wanted. So there he is, sitting so proud in his John Deere Gator! He was so happy, he could not get that smile off his face. Not even when he was coughing....

2006-04-20T11:15:00.000-07:00

Jan. 17, 2006 - Yay! Jacob's 1st birthday!! It's so hard to believe he's 1 year already. It's been a year full of smiles, laughs, hugs and kisses. Although you can't really tell in these pictures, he really was the best baby. He was usually smiling and very contented. I had so many people tell me they'd never seen a baby as contented as Jacob. I told them until I had him, neither had I! As you can see though, he doesn't look very excited in the pictures. Turns out, 2 days later he ended up in the hospital for 4 days with pneumonia, dehydration and rotavirus. AJ was also dehydrated and had rotavirus and poor Sammy had asthmatic bronchitis and had to have a breathing treatment every 2 hours. Ever since we went to Iowa for Christmas, my kids have been sick. I'm hoping it'll end soon.

2006-04-20T11:12:00.000-07:00

The top picture is our family picture taken up at Grandma Pat's over Christmas. The 2nd picture is my boys with all their cousins. Holding Sammy and AJ are Justin and Nathan (Danette's boys); holding Jacob is Joshua (Dawn's boy); and April's in front (Dawn's daughter) with her 2 kids, Austen and Adreana. And the bottom one is the picture I had wanted to use for our Christmas cards. I just think it's so cute when kids dress alike. Of course, my husband and the boys didn't think so. I never got around to making the cards though, because we left for Iowa the next day and I just ran out of time. Would've been cute though!

2006-04-20T10:55:00.000-07:00

That's AJ on the right and behind him is his best friend Tyler from pre-k. This was at AJ's Christmas party. He had went to that school back when he was 2, then had to miss a year while we were in Florida and came back in time for pre-k. I couldn't believe he remembered Tyler after being gone a year, but they picked up right where they left off from 2 years ago. Hopefully they'll be in the same kindergarten class next year. Oh my goodness! 2 kids in school! I can't believe it. I hope Sammy will be kind to AJ when they go to the same school. And vice versa!!

2006-04-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

Sammy and his friend Michael at their Christmas party. Poor Sammy is still the shortest in his class, even against the girls. I think he's going to take after me. I can't believe he's in 2nd grade already. We've been going through all his movies of when "he was a little boy" and for me it seems like it was just yesterday we were filming him at 6 months. He was such a cute little boy and I'm glad to see that he's growing up into a handsome little guy. Sometimes when he's sleeping (yes I still like to watch him sleep) he looks like the baby I remember and my heart just about bursts from the love I feel for him. I am so blessed to have such a wonderful, sweet, caring, sensitive boy.

2006-04-20T10:40:00.000-07:00

Jacob learning to sit up by himself. Getting to be such a big boy. Seems like he's growing up faster than the other ones did. It doesn't help that he is my only bottle fed baby and once he learned how to hold the bottle himself, he didn't want to be held. I was so used to holding my kids for the first year of their life while feeding them and it was hard not to be able to do it this time.

2006-04-20T10:36:00.000-07:00

Jacob getting ready for the summer. Good thing Daddy was gone for most of it, because he really hated that hat. I thought it was cute and it matched his glasses. He even kept both of them on whenever we went to the pool. Of course he got a lot of pretty girls to talk to him that way too.

2006-04-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

I just love the look on Jacob's face in this picture. Reminds me of how AJ used to look at Sammy when he was a baby.

2006-04-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Jacob almost 2 months old. We had moved back to Texas from Florida the month before and was having a ball taking pictures in the new house. The older 2 know all about moving around with Daddy's job, but so far Jacob has only had to do it once. Not bad for someone who's not even 2 months yet! As for the trip back home, the first day was great. The 2nd day was horrible. I think if we ever have a move like that again, we'll start out in the evening and drive all night. Such a mistake stopping overnight! Won't get into the details, but if any of you have ever done it with kids, you know what I'm talking about.

2006-04-20T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here's my boys the day we returned home from the hospital. I was so proud of how both Sammy and AJ reacted to their new brother and how much love they showed him immediately.

2006-04-20T08:19:00.000-07:00

Here is my most recent little Johnson. Of course it's been a year ago already; I can't believe how fast time goes by. Jacob Daniel was born January 17, 2005, brother of Sammy and AJ and treasured son of Jaime and Devona. He was 9lbs 10oz and 22 inches. About the size of Sammy when he was 2 1/2 months! It was a long difficult pregnancy and probably our last. This is to be the story of the Johnson boys (in progress already with 2 older ones!!)