Jj on the rug

Toddlerhood is so much fun! Everyday is a new adventure

More Skateboarding....can you stand it?

Summer Fun:Our cousins have a WONDERFUL splash pool at their apartment complex....a great place to play and stay cool...
JJ has become completely OBSESSED with skateboards (big surprise?)....he carries around Tech Decks (think the Matchbox of Skateboards) everywhere and looks forward to skateboarding the daddy. He is learning tricks in the backyard .....check out the skills.....

Memorial Day Weekend: lake texomaWe survived our first blood this weekend.....it was a near miss for stitches......JJ was pretty unconcerned about the whole thing, he was more upset about us cleaning it off and trying to apply ice than he was about the fall.....he has obviously inherited Daddy's pain tolerance....and energy level.....even a head injury doesn't slow him down.

We took a break from the heat on Sat and took a visit to the Texoma Children's Museum. It was a great place to burn energy on a HOT Sat afternoon.
JJ LOVED the lake, he and daddy looked for fish.....and all three of us enjoyed playing at the beach.
Our little guy is growing fast.....we sure enjoyed camping with our "Toddler".....

Scarborough....FINALLY!

We finally made it to Scarborough Faire this past weekend. It was hot and muggy and we had a perfectly wonderful day!
Our favorite part (and evidently, one of the FEW places we stopped for photos) was the Petting Zoo. We had a BALL showing JJ the animals we have been telling him about. He squealed, chased, talked and signed his way thru.
Here he is "mid-sign" for "more".....he wanted to pet the bunnies "more, more"
Yeah! for the ducks, chicks, pigs, dog, llamas, pony, turtle, goats, rabbits.....JJ loved the chicks and goats the best. He loved to CHASE the chicks who ran and clucked.....and he loved the goats who stood still to be pet.
(The Royal Court is dancing in the background) A lovely day was had by all.....and next year we will try for a FAMILY portrait :-)

Not a surprise......JJ is a natural.I had hoped JJ would make it to 2 before the Skateboarding began.....but we made it 16 months instead. JJ is completely obsessed with "po-pod". It's the only thing that reduces him to complete hysterics when it's time to be over.......or if mommy touches the board (evidently this is a "boy only" event). It's adorable to watch his enthusiasm for skateboarding.....

Play is a child's work and JJ has been a very busy bee.....

Bluebonnets: It's spring in Texas

JJ is 17 months old this weekend. He is officially in "toddler" mode. Thank goodness for Signing Time (Thanks to Matt and Teresa), JJ loves to watch the DVDs and tells us what he wants via sign language much of the time now...not to the exclusion of verbal language, of course. JJ uses 20+ words and 40+ signs....and counting.....feels like we add something new each day now.

We are all healthy, happy and enjoying spring......how about you?

Love,

Annise, Jason and JJ

I know, I know....it's been nearly a month with no new photos......more are coming soon but for now here is THE BEST RECIPE EVER! You can thank me after you make it for dinner TONIGHT! Love,

Annise

GUMBO by Dr. Margot

2 yellow onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 zucchini squash, sliced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
½ smoked turkey sausage, sliced

1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons Cajun spice (Weber grill creations N’Orleans Cajun Seasoning is very good)

1 package of frozen okra
1 small package of frozen corn

2 large sweet potatoes, cooked & mashed
________________________________________________________________________________

Put first 7 ingredients in a LARGE pot. Cover with water , so that ingredients are immersed in about 1” of water. Cook until onions are soft/translucent.
Add tomatoes and Cajun seasoning. Stir well.
Add okra and corn. Stir well.
Add mashed sweet potatoes a little at a time. Sir well. Heat on medium heat until it comes to a slow and steady boil. Turn down heat and simmer for about 45 – 60 minutes. The longer it cooks the thicker it becomes.

Serve as is or over rice.

Here's what we were up to this weekend.....

http://parlettegazette.blogspot.com/

thanks to our wonderful neighbor Michelle for posting it!

:-)

For You Grandpa Jim!

FEBRUARY PHOTO CATCH UP:

My boy with the "harry potter" hair.....
Little niece wearing the dress I knit for her :-)
Yes, snow in Texas! It was amazing....we had 12 inches! The weather broke all kinds of records that day....

And for your entertainment:

Hello? Can you hear me now? This Remote Control Reception stinks!
The baby days are far behind us......

My little man is SO BIG!

Today my baby is 14 months old!

Here is the latest and greatest......

I'm okay!

Happy Birthday to me!

Our garbage disposal went kaput....again. This time, hubby said it was more trouble than it was worth and did I want a new one?.....YIPPEE!

So I got a new disposal, a BIG sink and new faucet.

What an WONDERFUL gift. Hubby and FIL even installed it in time for me to show it off at the family birthday dinner.

Then my niece and sister stopped by to wish me a happy b-day today and I just could not resist putting her in the basket of balls.....I think she liked it

And then JJ went off for a nap.....
I think that is it.....you're all caught up on the good stuff.....

And there has been some hard stuff too:

We lost our cousin this past week (my in-laws god-son and nephew). He was 18 years old.... . It was a tragic loss to our family. Please keep the Jonas family in your thoughts and prayers as they remember Andrew and come to terms with his passing. He joins his father, grandfather and grandmother in Heaven.

Catch Up Post TWO:

Baby's First Haircut: January 5th, 2010, thirteen months and three days old....Amy at The Kid Salon in Allen, did an awesome job! She kept the curls (yeah!) and trimmed it up so that he can see :-)
The two most handsome men in my world.....

Catch up Post ONE: Christmas

Merry Christmas! Look what Santa Brought! (with a little help from our local consignment shop) :-)
Papa Jim, can you put this together for me?

I LOVE Lego Rock Band!

Another favorite from Santa.....BALL!

Retro Rocket....this thing has THREE buttons that make noise, making it a favorite in our house....that and it has WHEELS!

We had a wonderful Christmas, lots of visiting, celebrating and reflecting on 2009

Have you heard of www.5dollardinners.com?

I love her blog, it's great for healthy, varied and cheap dinner ideas.

Enter her contest this week to win her new cookbook!

...more photos soon...