Huston - January 2012

Huston you are growing up so fast!

Shaving Kit from Gramma Marie

You have become a little sponge. Not only do you try to repeat everything we say (yes, that means we need to work on our cussing), you also copy everything we do. You are very interested in everything that goes around you and you are quite a little talker. You have added “Bless you” to your polite vocabulary when you hear someone sneeze, if I drive too fast or turn too sharp, you say “Careful mommy”, you always ask me, “What doing mommy?”, If dad calls you Bubby instead of your new nickname from him, Bub, you correct him with “No, daddy, Bub”, you tell us to “Sit” and “Lay down” and you pretty much copy everything we say to practice the words. The minute the dryer buzzes, you announce “Clothes done!” and when the ice maker drops ice, you scream “Ice!” Unfortunately, your new favorite phrase is “Stop it”. You say it even when we aren’t doing anything.

You are still obsessed with all things Toy Story, Thomas the Train, Cars and Yo Gabba Gabba. You love your “shows”, acting like a kitty cat or dinosaur, and you have found your “gun finger”…pow! And you love to jump. But most of all, you have discovered HIDING. We hide under the covers from Daddy for a large part of our evenings and some in the mornings. You don’t ever give away your location by laughing….well yes pretty much you always you do.

We haven’t quite figured it out, but 496 is your favorite number. Really. Anytime you see a number you say 496. Randomly, you say 496. If you try to count something, you say 496. I hope to one day win the lotto with this combination.

You are still my cuddler and will come up and say “I hold you” or “I hug you” when you need them. You have decided you like it when I run my hand up and down your back and if I stop too soon, you tell me to keep going. When you kiss your momma, you melt my heart and put both hands on my cheeks and give me smooches.

You love school so much and you have a best friend, Bodi. When you get to school he is the first person you ask for and when I pick you up, you give me a run down on what Bodi did all day. It makes me so happy that you have fun all day.

As with all two year olds, you do have some challenges. Right now yours is sitting still for a diaper change (although you SHOULD be potty training by now and have no interest), sleeping in your bed all night (you crawl in ours about 3am) and eating anything remotely healthy.  And you also picked up a nasty little habit of throwing toys.

Your favorite foods are yogurt, pretzels, the brown bread from Outback or Cheesecake factory (I’m talking multiple loaves at a time), fruit cups, fries, veggie straws, nuggets, mac and cheese. You have learned that you are allergic to chocolate and will say, “Chocolate hurt bum” (it gives you diaper rash). Your most favorite thing in the whole world is still milk – but with a twist. Momma showed you her secret of strawberry syrup (since you can’t have chocolate) and you LOVE it. You ask for “Swabeebee milk” all of the time.

My favorite moments this month:

Daddy’s Christmas party at work, you see me shake his bosses hand. You proceed to stick yours out and shake his too. SO CUTE!

Momma was working from home and you ask “What doing Momma?” I said “Working.”. You went and got your laptop, sat by me and said “Suston working too Momma”. SO CUTE!

We get behind a car and see the exhaust and you say “It’s cooking Momma, car is cooking”. SO CUTE!

Baby boy we love you so much and you are such a smart, funny and sweet boy. We couldn’t be more proud of you.

Friends

Every since Huston started his new daycare, when I ask him if he wants to go to school, he says "No momma, I go see friends".  His very best friend is Bodi and he talks about him all of the time.  Most of the kids there are his age and he has such a great time.  They have a huge backyard full of sand pits, a jungle gym, basketball hoop, toy bikes, and all kinds of fun toys.

jumping

Friends

Huston and Bodi

Love in Action

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary:

"If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9)

Jones Rocking NYE

We spent this New Years Eve with Doug's cousin Aaron and his family.  His wife Loni and I have lots in common, Doug and Aaron are both cranky old men and his son Parker and Huston have a blast together. Loni and I took the opportunity to try out lots of recipes we love and some we found on Pinterest.  Menu included Cheesecake, 7 Layer Dip, Pizza Dip, Potato Skins, Lil' Smokies, Jalapeno Cream Cheese Croissants.....needless to say we cooked way too much food for our small party!



Cheesecake



7 Layer Dip

Potato Skins

Pizza Dip

The boys had lots of fun playing and entertained us for awhile.  It was almost like being in Times Square with all of the balls and noise.

 They soon created their own game. One would shout out "STAIRS" and they would go to the bottom landing of the stairs and slide down.  They started out on their bottoms....

 ....and soon became daredevils and went down headfirst.  Then, one would yell "WATER!"

 And they would head to the bath and fill up a bowl of water and blow bubbles in it.

 Our cranky old men watched TV and made fun of everyone and everything (it's a Jones trait).

As usual, us ladies were behind the cameras instead of in the pics, but I promise you we looked fabulous, sparkly and even fixed our hair.  And we most definitely did not end up in our pj's by 9pm.....really.  Okay, maybe we did but we did make it til midnight and toasted with some yummy champagne.

It was a great start to the New Year and we are so lucky to have a family that we love to hang out with so close to us.

Happy 2012!

A Year in Review

I am proud to say that I put a big chunk in my goals for 2011.

1. Reading - Thanks to iBooks on my phone I have started reading again!
2. Washing my face - More than before, still need to do better...
3. Balance - Much better
4. Church - Well, we moved ::again::, but I have the big hurdle cleared.  Doug wants to go now too.
5. Make a baby - Technically achieved.  Should reword to "have another child".  At least we know we can conceive.
6. Start my dream book - Thank you Pinterest.
7. Accepting - Still improving
8. Go on more dates - Done!  And much easier now that we live near family :)

Huston - December 2011

Huston you are growing up so much!  Your legs and arms are getting hair on them (even a little on your back and upper lip too - gonna be all man!)  You have lost most of your baby fat and your muscles are starting to show.  The only things still "baby" on you is your pudgy belly.

You are very vocal and give us lots of please, thank you and your welcomes.  You also say cute things like "Did it" when you figure something out, you point to yourself and say "Suston", "come", "sit", "carry you" when you want us to hold you, you always ask "K?" when someone coughs, sneezes or gets hurt and you are starting to try your ABCs and numbers.  You've added sound effects to most of your playtime too, which is so funny.  You especially love to do monsters, dinosaurs, cars and animals.

Your appetite has really kicked in and you can put some food away.  You especially like yogurt, mac and cheese, veggie straws, pretzels, fries, grapes and roll ups.  I taught you my favorite way to drink milk.....with strawberry and you are a big fan.  You have also started asking for water all of the time, which is great.

You like to be the center of attention and will sing, dance, roar, snore and anything else to make someone laugh.  You like to get on the back of couch and lay like a cat.  You love to draw with a pen and paper...you have lots of crayons and markers but prefer pens.  You like to read or play with the phone under the blanket and you can navigate our iPhones better than we can.

At the beginning of December you started a new daycare and you really like it.  You always talk about your friends and sometimes aren't even ready to go when I pick you up.  This makes momma so happy because I hate that I can't stay home with you.

My favorite thing this month is "CUDDLES".  When you want to sit with me you say "cuddles" climb up on my lap.

I love you sweet boy and your Daddy and I are constantly amazed by how smart, cute, funny and outgoing you are.  You are the best of both of us.

A Child’s Ten Commandments to Parents

love this.....

1. My hands are small; please don’t expect perfection whenever I make a bed, draw a picture, or throw a ball. My legs are short; please slow down so that I can keep up with you.

2. My eyes have not seen the world as yours have; please let me explore safely: don’t restrict me unnecessarily.

3. Housework will always be there. I’m only little such a short time—please take time to explain things to me about this wonderful world, and do so willingly.

4. My feelings are tender; please be sensitive to my needs; don’t nag me all day long. (You wouldn’t want to be nagged for your inquisitiveness.) Treat me as you would like to be treated.

5. I am a special gift from God; please treasure me as God intended you to do, holding me accountable for my actions, giving me guidelines to live by, and disciplining me in a loving manner.

6. I need your encouragement, but not your praise, to grow. Please go easy on the criticism; remember you can criticize the things I do without criticizing me.

7. Please give me the freedom to make decisions concerning myself. Permit me to fail, so that I can learn from my mistakes. Then someday I’ll be prepared to make the kind of decisions life requires of me.

8. Please don’t do things over for me. Somehow that makes me feel that my efforts didn’t quite measure up to your expectations. I know it’s hard, but please don’t try to compare me with my brother or my sister.

9. Please don’t be afraid to leave for a weekend together. Kids need vacations from parents, just as parents need vacations from kids. Besides, it’s a great way to show us kids that your marriage is very special.

10. Please take me to Sunday school and church regularly, setting a good example for me to follow. I enjoy learning more about God.

**A Child’s Ten Commandments to Parents, by Dr. Kevin Leman