Baron and Maggie

We are coming to find that Baron is a pretty big animal lover. He especially likes dogs, in particular Grandpa and Grandma Graham's dog, Maggie. I will never forget last winter when he was just barely a year old and we were at the Graham's one night. It was getting late and I had put Bear in his pj's and given him a bottle of milk to drink before bed (he was at that age where he just liked to walk around and feed himself with the bottle). The rest of us were hanging out watching a movie in the family room. Next thing I know, I look over and see Maggie lying on the couch sleeping with Baron cuddled up next to her with one hand on the bottle in his mouth and the other hand reaching back petting and rubbing Maggie's head and ear. He looked like he was about to fall asleep as well. It was pretty darn cute.... a boy and his dog, his best friend, moment. It actually made me consider (though just for a brief moment) of letting John finally get a dog.

During the past year or so, whenever we are at the Graham's, Baron is always playing with Maggie. Jackson says he likes Maggie, but gets freaked out if Maggie gets too close or tries to lick him. When Maggie licks Baron, however, he just giggles and says, "oh, Maggie!" He is always trying to ride on her, likes to cover her with his own beloved blanky, sits in her cage/bed all the time and is always always trying to feed her.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend break, while in Glide, Baron was trying, unsuccessfully to reach something on the kitchen counter. Grandma Sue noticed and asked what he needed.

To which he replied, "umm.... Maggie wants some chocolate."

We had been eating some chocolate kisses that were on the counter and he was very concerned that Maggie wasn't getting any. He had just previously fed her some of his popcorn that we were all eating. He sure loves that dog!

Mr. Potato Head

Baron loves to try to put the Mr. Potato head pieces (or Tato Head as Jackson calls it) on himself. Sometimes I catch him trying to put the arms into his ears. He loves these little green glasses.

New TV

We have been thinking and looking into buying a new TV before College Football Season starts this next weekend. I am about to smash our current one in with a bat.... it's been having all kinds of problems and is so darn heavy and big- the whole thing, not the screen. We spent a few hours at Best Buy the other night checking out some new TV's and Jackson is totally sold on it. This is what he said today in his lunch prayer:

"Bless Daddy to come home in safety and bless that he can come home with a new big TV so we can watch some football...."

Bless You!

Baby Bear is a very polite little 1 year old. It makes me proud. He is a really good talker too for his age. The other day we were in the car and I sneezed and he said, "Bless you, Stephamie!" haha. I think it's so funny that he can even say my name and that he remembers it. Most of the time he calls me mommy, but every now and then he will greet me with a, "Hi Stephamie!"

He is also pretty polite when you ask him if he wants something or give him something. He almost always says thank you on his own without needing any reminders, and my favorite is when you ask if he wants something and he says, "No thank you!" I love it! Makes a mother proud to see her hard work actually getting through to the little guys.

Strawbies

I just wanted to make sure that in the future I never forget Baron's cute way of calling every red kind of berry a strawbie. He LOVES all fruit. Watermelon especially, and of course, strawberries. He will come up to me and ask in his cute little voice for some strawbies first thing in the morning. It is so darn cute. I will mourn the day he stops calling them that.

Frozen Yogurt Junkies

If you know my mom, you know she is OBSESSED with frozen yogurt. She will even go as far as claiming it is actually good for you and can be used in some instances to cure certain medical problems. So, naturally, I also have a great love for frozen yogurt. The only problem is that there are not really any frozen yogurt stores in Oregon.... until now that is. We discovered a month or so ago a brand new place called Peach Wave not too far from our place! It's one just like those Yogurtland places... lots of different flavors and toppings, you fill up your own cup and pay by the ounce. I LOVE it! They always have amazing flavors, and tons of fresh berries of course since it is berry season and we live in Oregon, to put on top. We have been like 7 times already... no joke.

The other day, we were out running some errands. After getting back after a bunch of stops I asked the boys if we should go home and eat some lunch.

Jackson replied, "ummm.... I think we should go get some frozen yogurt!"

Grammie would be proud :)

"I have a headache"

Every now and then I get a really bad headache that just will not go away. A trick my mom taught me for these special kind of headaches was to drink a caffeinated drink along with 4 advil. I therefore will buy a soda every now and then when that special headache comes on. Jackson always asks me if he can have some of my "juice" as he calls it. But I always tell him sorry, but no, because it is a special drink just for mommy because she has a really bad headache.

A week or so ago, I had John stop at the store on the way home so I could run in and get a cherry pepsi. John of course didn't want to be left out and asked for a vanilla coke. When I got back into the truck with 2 sodas, one for me and the other for John, Jackson asked, "Where's my drink?"

To which I replied, "Sorry bud, I didn't get you one because you don't need any soda. It's not good for you."

Jackson's response, "But I just have a headache too, so I need some of that kind of juice!"

He is getting too smart for us.

For the Love of Church

It took Jackson about 4 months to like nursery and to go without crying. It took Baron about one time of 30 second crying before he realized the fun that nursery is. It also helps that they give good snacks... as soon as he learned that, he was totally into it. This past Monday, after a great day at church the day before, he said to me while we were eating breakfast, "Mommy, wanna go church!" So I asked him, "You want to go back to nursery, huh?". To which he replied, "Uh-huh!"

Dat Funny!

Baron is hilarious. At 18 months he already has a really good sense of humor and really always had. In his baby blessings John gave him when he was just 3 months old, he was told he would always have strong character. We have definitely already seen some of that! We are excited to have him around for the next 18 years to keep us laughing and smiling. My favorite thing that he does right now is, he will say to me, "Watch". Then he will do something that he thinks is just hilarious (make a funny face, make a fart noise, do a crazy jump onto the bed, drop something, etc. etc.). Immediately following whatever he does, he laughs and says, "hahaha. Dat Funny!" Always gets me laughing along every time just hearing him say that!

Zurbie??

If you tell Jackson to say Frisbee, he will say it correctly. For some reason though, when he brings it up, he calls it Zurbie. No idea why, but I love it.

The other day, John was saying at the dinner table that he wanted to go play Frisbee Golf in the morning.

Jackson's response was, "You're going to go play Zurbie Golf, Daddy?"

I hope he calls it Zurbie for a while still even though he knows how to say it correctly because I LOVE it!

Baby Bear Humor

Most of these posts are about things Jackson says and does. That is because Baron is still only 17 months old and therefore saying 1 or 2 word sentences to communicate. BUT, that does not mean he is not just as funny! His humor is a lot easier these days to capture in pictures. Pictures like these:

Yes, that is Maggie's crate (The Grahams dog). He kept climbing in it the whole time we were there.

And yes, those are pj shorts over pj pants... he has this new thing of wanting to wear a certain thing, matching or not!

Hold Your Horses

I was getting ready for the day and Jackson was sitting on my bed bouncing up and down. He then started yelling, "Mommy!! I need some milk! Can I have some milk??! Please! Please!!!!" He was very energetic for 7 in the morning. I turned to him and all I had to say was, "Jackson..." and before I could say anything more about calming down and being patient, he says:

"I know, I know. I just need to hold my horses."

hahaha... did anyone else's parents/family use that phrase? Mine did and I apparently have used it with my own kids quite a bit already!

John the Baptist

While reading the Book of Mormon together a few nights ago, we came across a verse in 1 Nephi that was talking about the prophet that would come before Christ and prepare the way and baptize Christ. We then had a further family discussion about how that man was named John the Baptist and we showed Jackson the picture of him baptizing Jesus. Then we tried to explain to Jackson that when he turns eight, Daddy will get to baptize him too just like Jesus was baptized. He was really into it and is really starting to understand more gospel topics which is really fun as a parent when you feel like finally some things are getting through to them.

Anyways, the next morning, while eating breakfast, Jackson picks up the picture (John the Baptist baptizing Jesus) that was still lying on the table and says, "Look Mom. When I grow up I am going to be 8 and then I will be Jesus and Daddy will be this guy, John the Baptist."

He almost gets it.... though I'm not so sure he doesn't think we are talking about a play in which we each play the part of someone else! We had a good talk after that about how he won't be Jesus, but he gets to be like him and be baptized like Jesus. And even though Daddy's name is indeed John too, he is our very own priesthood holder and can baptize, but is not quite a prophet :)

I love this age of learning new things! It's a lot of fun! I am looking forward to more teaching moments to come!

Time Out

Sunday afternoons are my favorite. Everyone is happy and content to just relax and play around the house at home. I really just love that we are all home with not too much to do. This past Sunday, the boys were just running around and goofing off together, going from one room to another. I was in the family room and they had last been seen running in between their room and ours. Jackson comes walking alone into the family room and starts playing with some toys. No Baron following behind him, which is unusual.

Me: "Hey Jackson. Where's your brother?"
Jackson: "He's in a time-out in my bed."
Me: "Who put him in a time-out? And why is he in one?"
Jackson: "I just put Baron James in a time-out because he needs to take a chill pill"

(Baron James and Jackson Jeffrey are what I sometimes say when they get caught or get in trouble).

I walk on over to the boys room and open the door and sure enough, there is Bear, sitting on Jackson's bed like he was in a time-out. Once he saw me though, he got up with a smile that seemed to say, "Thanks for rescuing me!" and ran out of the room to go play.

Jackson pays way to much attention to what we say and do lately. He has become quite the little parrot/copy cat. And when you teasingly call him a copy cat, he always says, "I'm not a cat! I'm just Jackson!"

Pink Eye

Jackson and Baron both currently have pink eye.... yuk. It has not been fun around here, especially since Baron also has double ear infections and Jackson has swimmer's ear from his swimming lessons. No one has really gotten much sleep for the past few nights over here, so this morning I was not in the best mood. Jackson as always though, had something funny to say that wiped away my bad mood almost instantly. I am sure glad to have him around! So this is what happened:

Me: Hey Jackson, I need to put some drops in your eye.

Jackson: Why?

Me: Because you have Pink Eye and the drops will make it all better

Jackson: (runs off to the bathroom to look at his eye in the mirror, apparently)

Jackson, yelling from the bathroom: Mommy!! My eye's still green! I don't have pink eye!

His eye color is greenish blue right now... just like his Daddy's. I love them, and I sure love his little 3 year old monologue!

Love You!

Baby Baron is now 13 months old. Ever since we went down to CA to visit my family for Christmas last month, he has been saying new words like crazy! I think I counted that he learned just about 15 words over the 3 weeks we were gone. One of the new things he says that I just love love love to hear him say is, " Lub You!" meaning "Love you!"

Last night, we had the kids all bathed with PJ's on and stories read, ready to put them down to bed. We finished up the bedtime routine and said, ok, it's time for bed! So Baron, got up (we were all lying on Jackson's bed) and started saying, "Lub You!" over and over while closing the door with us inside and him in the hallway. He had the cutest little grin on his face too like he knew exactly how funny he was being by putting us to bed instead of the other way around. John and I couldn't help but laugh and go tickle our little Bear. He really has a good sense of humor that we get to see all the time. I love it.