Tractors + Blanket = Happy Boy

Jacob needed a light weight blanket. The poor boy was being covered up every night with a pastel pink and yellow polka-dot blanket (which I believe is the one we had to buy to bring ANNA home in)! So while I was shopping yesterday, I looked for some cheap, light weight material. Of course, it needed to have some kind of wheels on it! The total cost of this little project was around $8. I just got a yard of each material.

The tractor material (I guess technically implement material since there are also combines!) is a very light weight fleece, then I picked up some yellow cotton for the backing. And some satin binding. I hate that stuff! It is impossible for me to keep it from pulling so by the time I get to the end it's all crooked. Makes me so mad! Not mad enough to rip it out and start again. Mostly because I know I can't keep it straight anyway!!! But I figure Jacob (and Anna--the same thing happened to her pillowcase) won't notice if the binding is crooked or not! :)

I call this his "gifted child" face. HA!! He really is excited about all the tractors (Terry, there ARE some green tractors...don't worry! hehe). Not excited enough to want to just jump right into bed, but oh well!


He says "EEEzzzzzzzzzzAH!" I can't believe he'll be 2 in just a few months. It's not possible!!! :(

Happy Birthday Binga!

Happy Birthday Binga! Hope you're having a good day:) (and sorry to all the other grandparents that I didn't do this for...I didn't think about it before!!). Jacob wasn't very cooperative, but oh well...until he got ahold of the camera!! :)

My Montage 5/31/09

The Great Kangaroo Hunt!

There's a park across from Grandma J's house (well, it's just a pretty flower garden-type area with a sidewalk through). In this park, there's a kangaroo crossing sign (I meant to take a picture of the sign). Grandpa and Anna would go kangaroo hunting. So Grandpa decided to go find a kangaroo and "plant" it on the park bench (and it took some real hunting! haha and the only one he could find was a purple one). So we all went with her on the next hunt...

She insisted on riding "Reddy" on the hunt this time. She spots the kangaroo!!!

She was excited, but then she said "This isn't a real kangaroo!" HA!!

Jacob says Eh...what's the big deal?! :)

The Great Fishing Expedition

There were pelicans...lots of them...at the lake. Those things are HUGE!

Getting ready to take off...

One in the air...
And off they all go!

The ducks weren't afraid to come really close.

She insisted that she go get her little stool by herself!

I wasn't kidding when I said she was intent!

S.L.O.W.L.Y reeling it in.

The fish will think it's a worm and they'll try to eat it!!

I gotta watch my line, Mama!

Did I catch one??

She said fishing is her new favorite thing to do:)

Bubbles & Birthdays

We went to Colorado to celebrate Grandma J's 89th birthday (wow!! She's amazing!). It was so much fun to see everyone and celebrate such an amazing grandma's birthday! :)

Jacob & Aunt Joyce had a lot of fun blowing bubbles. She told him if he lived closer, she could very easily spoil him rotten! :) For some reason, she got the impression that he's a charmer!

Isn't it universal...no matter what the little one is doing, the big one "helps"?! I'm pretty sure I was doing the same thing behind the camera!!

My, he gets so excited when he sees bubbles!!!

It's just so much fun...who doesn't get excited for bubbles?!

Anna and her cousins had fun chasing the great big bubbles.


Almost caught it!

I think this is my new favorite picture! I love it.

Grandma J and her baby brother:) (It was a Hawaiian themed party. Grandma doesn't normally wear brightly colored, home-made leis... ;))

She still knows how to tell him what's what ;)

Anna and Grandpa sang "Happy Birthday" for the birthday girl! You can't see it, but Anna has a little toy guitar. She actually just played, but it was precious.

She kept Grandpa company while he grilled on the patio. She sang lots of songs....all totally made up and 100% Anna :)

Jacob's sleep was pretty messed up. He woke up on Kansas time, but went to bed on Colorado time. So he was pretty tired most of the time. He still had fun seeing the ducks and playing on the playground. I love this picture too:)

Uhh...can you say relaxed?!?

Any guesses on what he was using the kid-sized hula hoop as???

More pictures to come of the great fishing adventure! :)

Belated Memorial Day...

We were in Colorado and visited a great Memorial site. I'm honored to have many relatives who have dedicated to preserving our nation's freedoms. Thank you most certainly is not enough.

There are memorials for every war from the Spanish-American war to the Gulf War. Someone left a flag on this WWII memorial.

On the Purple Heart memorial.

Someone left this beautiful bouquet of flowers in front of another memorial.

This is what's below the statue of the soldier.

THIS is why I don't make cookies very often!

I went out to get the clothes off the line and walked back in to see this...

I guess that was my mistake for 1)leaving the bowl on the table, and 2)leaving them in the house alone for 2 minutes!!!

I got most of them baked before Jacob woke up from his nap. But they weren't all cooled and this little stinker was pretty sneaky about snatching them off the table! This is what happened when I told him NO MORE COOKIES! (after he'd snatched and very quickly eaten 3 cookies!)

So he just waited until I left the room and snatched ANOTHER one!!! Good grief. I know how my cousin Rhonda feels now! Great Grandma J is lucky I got any to Colorado for her celebration! :)

What's a Cow Say?

"Mmmmmmmmmm"...according to Jacob, anyway! :)

While we were visiting my family, we got to go with Grandpa Frank to feed a calf. Anna sat on the kitchen counter and watched with rapt attention as Grandpa mixed up a bottle for the calf. And then we hopped in his pickup and rode out to the feedlot. Jacob was excited enough to be riding in the pickup...when he saw all the cows, he about lost it! He spent the entire time pointing and saying "mmmm! mmmm! mmmm!" It was funny.

Anna watched quietly, taking it all in. Jacob was just so excited.

So fascinated.

Jacob is not the least bit scared of animals, as long as he's on the ground--remember? He wasn't at all intimidated to stand right at the gate next to this mama cow (whose baby we were messin' with!), but the second that tiny, weak little calf (who was so weak he couldn't even move by himself) made this pathetic, small bawl...Jacob got scared, started fussing and wanted to be held! So bizarre.

Anna got to help hold the bottle. The poor calf was so weak, he couldn't even suck. So they had to stick a tube down his throat and feed him through it.

Anna took her job as bottle holder very seriously!

Then Grandpa moved the calf over so the kids could pet him. They loved it (and I think the poor little calf did too!).

Thanks for letting us help Grandpa! Took me back a few years :)

The Fun Out West Continues

We've been so busy! So here are some more pictures from our visit to my grandparents/aunts/uncles:)

Fun at Aunt Cara & Uncle Terry's with the farm toys! Anna has as much fun as Jacob with all the tractors.

Since we've been on the go so much, Jacob was in desperate need of a haircut. When his hair gets long, his callick (cowlick...how is that spelled??) gets WILD! So Aunt Cara, aka family beautician, gave him a trim. We distracted him with Baby Signs on the computer! :)

He did great...even around his ears (which he hates). Thanks Aunt Cara!!

Guess what I found Mama?!?!

MUD!!!

Oh! Oh! A birdie!

Who can resist that adorable face?!

He just recently started doing this...sucking on his cheeks. Mom said Bryce does this too? It's too cute!

Enjoying lunch at Great Grandma Betty's!



The tradition continues:) Chocolate chip ice cream with Grandpa Frank!! I'm sure there are pictures somewhere of me in his lap eating ice cream!

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Okay, up next are some pictures of calf feeding!