Thursday, December 30, 2010

17 months and 2 weeks old!

When your 17 months & 2 weeks old and your Mom and Dad are home on winter break there is a lot going on. Sometimes you just get mad and scream. Good thing I got an e-mail from Baby Center today telling me about these "screaming fits" Jayden currently is having.


"Screaming is one of the less pleasant habits your toddler might develop. As with everything else in his life, he's constantly experimenting, and his voice is an instrument that can do all kinds of neat things. What's more, shrieking gets immediate attention."


This is exactly what we have seen this month especially today when he went for his third haircut.


Here is what I came downstairs to this morning. Daddy Daycare let me sleep an extra 15 minutes while they started breakfast. Jayden sits at his new table from Nana for breakfast each day and eats like a big boy.
This is what Daddy Daycare looked like yesterday evening. Jayden has his new TV up on the wall with a Mickey DVD, slide in the room and a million and one toys to play with. Life is good when your 17 months old and you are spoiled.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Just a few more.....

Jayden received a few more gifts from his Grandma Nieves and Poppa C for Christmas this year. A VERY lucky little boy has his very own 32 inch TV for his toy room. Daddy hung it up today on his day off. We are VERY lucky that Daddy can hang a tv on the wall and add a new electrical outlet with the snap of a finger.
He also received a new slide set from Grandma because he climbs SO much and on EVERYTHING!! The brave little sole loves going down on his belly.


I do admit, it is a very fun toy. I am sure I am over the weight limit but I don't care. It is much better than loading up and heading to the park for a day of fun with Jayden. He will have to have his friends over soon to play.

Monday, December 27, 2010

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow

Uncle Adam and Abby dressed up and braved the winter wonderland with a 4-wheeler ride around Sugar Creek. It was too cold for us to go, but we did play in the snow for a little bit.

On Christmas Eve the sky was filled with little white snowflakes that kept on falling throughout the night. This was perfect for the delivery that Santa made to Jayden in Mt. Carmel. He received a new snowsuit, boots, and a sled for some winter fun.


Little man had a little trouble walking at first but he soon figured out how to move with all of the snow gear on.







Jayden with his new snow gear and sled. Doesn't he look funny and cute at the same time??

Christmas at Great-Grandma and Grandpa's House





We also enjoyed Christmas morning at Great-Grandma and Grandpa Acree's house. Jayden was able to spend some time with the young Acree boys and we enjoyed a nice lunch. J came home with a lot of new learning toys and books. We had a lot of fun visiting with the cousins and watching the little guys play.

Christmas in Mt. Carmel

We woke up in Mt. Carmel on Christmas morning to a beautiful white blanket of snow and a lot of gifts from Santa as well as Nana and PawPaw. Jayden was spoiled rotten as usual with his Christmas gifts. We spent the afternoon reorganizing his toy room to make room for all of his new goodies. Jayden woke up later than usual on Christmas morning. I suppose that was his gift to us on Christmas. He was so happy when he woke up which made Christmas morning that much more enjoyable.
Here we are on Christmas morning 2010. Happy, healthy, and rested!

He was pretty happy just to play with a box which had some pretty cool snow boots inside them!


He was also pretty happy to see Mickey Mouse and the choo choo express train.

He got some blocks to encourage his building and Uncle Adam got him a new yellow construction truck. We were all very lucky to receive what we did, but it was also nice to see the smiles on the faces of everyone Christmas morning. I think all six of us had a great Christmas.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Santa Came to see Jayden!!!

Santa made a special early stop at our house for a very special little boy. We made sure to let Santa know Jayden wasn't going to be home on Christmas, so a day earlier was requested. Lucky for Jayden, his wish was granted! He rummaged through his things. He was happy with the shopping cart, food, tractor, tricycle, and movie. He didn't care so much about the three pairs of pajamas he received. Jayden also got lucky with a new Bears jersey.
This was his face when his tractor was out of the box and ready for him to ride!

The first thing Jayden went for was the construction tractor. He climbed right on over everything else. It was so funny. Thanks to our Flip video camera, it is all recorded.
His gifts from Santa along with a special letter from Santa. Jayden is such a lucky boy!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

17 months old



Jayden is 17 months old today! We were able to celebrate his "birthday" today since I am officially on winter vacation. Santa is also coming to see him tonight. We can't wait to see what he brings him.

1. Jayden weighs 22 lbs and 10 oz.
2. He is wearing size 4 and 5 diapers depending on the brand. His clothing is still 18-24 months. Yesterday he was wearing a pair of Gymboree sweatpants size 12 to 18 months and they were high waters. That gives me hope that his legs are growing a bit longer.
3. Still climbing everywhere and onto everything. He loves his new climbing set from Grandma and loves to slide!
4. Christmas is going to bring a lot of new favorites for Jayden. I am looking forward to seeing what he becomes attached to.
5. Jayden is PICKY!! He isn't into food as much as he used to be. He likes chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, pizza, and mac n' cheese. He enjoys apples as well, but won't eat much else. I have heard from friends that this is a stage that this age children go through. Hopefully, he will start eating more veggies soon.
6. This month he has had more 2% milk than he usually has. We are still giving him Step 2 formula to provide him with the extra vitamins he is missing by not being a good eater.
7. More teeth are coming in and they have been a pain. J had a fever yesterday and today. He is feeling pretty puny. I am hoping he feels better for Christmas.
8. Jayden played in the snow last week and had fun. There wasn't much snow, but he had fun. Mia did too!
9. From last month to this, we went through another spurt of him not sleeping all night. He did sleep through the night this week again. I am hoping our winter adventures do not throw him off too much.
10. JJ keeps talking more and more all of the time. Today he kept saying "up, up, up" for me to hold him. Each time we go to Wal-Mart and walk past the apples, he says "apple", in turn, we buy one. He is getting so big and so smart. We love watching to see what he will do next.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Playing in the Snow

Jayden went outside to play in the snow today! He had a lot of fun!

Joyful Holiday Wishes

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Dear Santa 2010





With help from Mommy, Jayden wrote his letter to Santa as well as sending an e-mail. We actually received an e-mail back from Santa tonight! Top items on his list include a ball and books. He also would like a toy farm and a shiny red tricycle. He has been a really good boy this year despite his attempts at being naughty. We are looking forward to seeing if Santa agrees!

Here is what Jayden received from Santa via e-mail:


#1, Rudolph Way
North Pole, Canada
HO HO HO


Taylorville, Illinois
United States
Saturday, December 18, 2010


HO!! Ho!! ho!! Jayden!!

Thank you for sending me your email all the way from Taylorville! The Net sure is wonderful because now I can get emails from Taylorville and around the world in the blink of an eye. Even Rudolph gets emails... from pets! Why, here's Rudolph right now! HO!! Ho!! ho!! He just asked me to say 'Hi!' to you!

Jumping Jingle Bells, Jayden! Are you really and truly 1 years old already?!? I'll bet you're really excited about Christmas! Everyone at the North Pole sure is! Are you looking forward to Santa Claus visiting your home? Rudolph said he's really excited about visiting your home! I also hear you've been a sorta good boy. (Of course, you won't mind if I do a little checking, will you? HO!! Ho!! ho!!).

Cookies? COOKIES?!? Did you say cookies?! Yum!! You know, I get asked a lot what kind of cookies I like best. Of course, I love *all* kinds of cookies, but what I like the most is when you leave me the kind of treats that *you* like best. (That way it's like we're sharing them!).

Let's see what you put in your letter for Christmas wishes: 1. new ball; 2. book or two and; 3. shiny red tricycle. HO!! Ho!! ho!! I see there's a trike on your list. That's a great present! Of course, you'll have to promise me you'll always wear a helmet and follow all the safety rules. Now one thing about a trike is that its very hard to fit a lot of them into the sleigh. So, I hope you won't be too disappointed if we can't fit enough of them in for everyone this Christmas.

HO!! Ho!! ho!! Rudolph wants to take me for another test ride in the sleigh so I better get going! The new sleigh is 'Internet-equipped' so I can even get your emails Christmas Eve when I fly around the world! Take care Jayden and don't forget to come back and visit me here at EmailSanta.com on Christmas Eve!! And remember... only 7 more sleeps until Christmas!!

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas,


P.S. Why thank you for the wonderful hugs & kisses Jayden! Here are some extra special hugs and kisses just for you from everyone at the North Pole!

P.P.S. I've attached a special postmarked copy of your email below so you can print it off and show it to all your friends or put it on your fridge.

Flying Jayden



Jayden has been acting a bit silly lately with the different tricks he does. Flying Jayden by far has been the funniest!

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Attempt #2

We bundled up today and headed out to see Santa again at his house in Taylorville. He is only there a few more times before Christmas, so we had to get there today. All week, we have been looking at the Santa picture on the mantle to practice. Today was the first day Jayden didn't smack Santa in the face so I thought that was a good sign. As soon as we entered Santa's little house, Jayden covered his eyes to hide. We talked to Santa and told him that Jayden wanted a slide and a tricycle. He asked if he had been a good boy this year and Jayden smiled. I guess Santa didn't see Jayden dump his entire bowl of pasta pick-ups on his highchair today!
We made an attempt to sit him on Santa's lap. No good, just as I thought. I guess when Santa comes to visit on Christmas Eve, Jayden will not have anything to do with sitting on his lap. We will keep looking at his picture everyday just to be prepared! Only 13 more days until Christmas and 12 more until we are looking for Santa's sleigh!

Christmas Pictures





We had another round of pictures last weekend to make up for the missed 1 year pictures with our photographer. This made the perfect opportunity for some Christmas pictures. Jayden wasn't too thrilled to get his picture taken. He just wanted to play! I told her if she got one family picture and one of him that I would be happy. These are the best out of the millions she took. You will be seeing these on our Christmas card in the near future.



You can go to http://www.photographybykimjones.com/ to see the pictures. Click on Photo Galleries: Your Proofs: Jayden 5th Session.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Attempt #1


This was our first attempt for Jayden to sit on Santa's lap. As you can see, it was not a success. We are going to try again in a few weeks, but I am sure the result will be the same. I think every child has a picture similar to this in their collection. Jayden was perfectly fine and smiling once we got him off Santa's lap.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Our Little Santa

Today we had family pictures with Kim Jones. After a few shots of us together, we dressed Jayden in his Christmas pajamas. When we got home, I took a few pictures of my own. He is going to have so much fun at Christmas this year. Only 21 days to go!


Wednesday, December 1, 2010

He is sick....again

Jayden taking his breathing treatment on Wednesday night and him laying on the couch Sunday night. He did that all on his own. Poor guy just wasn't feeling well.

Note: This is a very long post....sorry, I just won't be able to remember everything if I don't write it out now.

We must have bad luck when it comes to the end of the month. For the past three months, Jayden has been on antibiotics for something. This time it wasn't an ear infection because of a tooth, but infiltrations on both of his lungs--(and I knew it in the back of my head from the start--call it a mother's intuition or maybe just several life experiences). Jayden is getting a tooth as well as dealing with his other illness. Poor kid can't catch a break. I am so glad we have good health insurance and a good substitute doctor to take care of him because he is feeling so much better in just a day.

Jayden started with a little cough on Saturday which grew to a fever Saturday night. His cough continued on Sunday followed by another fever as well as chills in the middle of the night. I also listened to his lungs with a stethoscope and checked his ears. We didn't get much sleep on Sunday night so I stayed home with him on Monday morning. After we woke up, he was a little warm, but was excited to play with his toys. He seemed to be doing a lot better. I thought he was on the uphill climb from a cold a not something worse which I expected. I went ahead and went to work for the afternoon hoping not to hear from the sitter. She text me that afternoon and said he had a temp of 102.7, which is too high for my liking.

With my Mom's extra encouragement, I called the doctor's office who told me to "wait it out" because it was just a cold and possibly the start of the flu. I told the nurse I didn't think that was a good choice and I wanted permission to take him to Express Care, which we have to do with our insurance, because I knew it wasn't just a cold. After 3 hours of waiting, 2 doctors, and a lot of crying we found out it wasn't an ear infection--(which I already knew because I checked myself at home). They then took him back for x-rays. I didn't get to go with him, but Aaron told me they put him in a little capsule, took chest x-rays, and he didn't even cry. I am sure the room freaked him out more than anything. At that point I knew exactly what was wrong. Unfortunately, I had been in the same situations many times during my life as a child. We had to then wait for the radiologists to read the x-rays because the doctor saw something. More bad luck---2 traumas were sent to Memorial and we had to wait on the radiologists to see those x-rays first. Finally, after a long, long, long, wait they finally told us the results, gave Jayden medicine, and told us to contact our primary care physician in the morning.

On Tuesday Aaron stayed home from work to take care of Jayden. We are lucky that his work is so understanding. When I called the doctor's office that morning, his pediatrician was out for the day--thank goodness. Fortunately, another great doctor was by the phone when I called. It just happen to be the parent of one of my former students. She accepted Jayden as her patient that day and we had an appointment for him that afternoon. We visited with Dr. Vlahos who gave us the report and said she was really worried about Jayden's lungs and the medicine they prescribed for us. She put him on Azithromycin, which goes straight to the lungs. We also got a prescription for albuterol for breathing treatments 2x a day.

Tuesday night and today were so much better for the little man. He just has a little cough, which has been germ free since Tuesday, and is back to playing. He doesn't care for his breathing treatments, but that is just too bad.

I've learned a lot from this experience. First, we are so lucky that we went to the doctor when we did before he got too sick and had to be admitted to the hospital, which could have very well happened. Second, I too, need to get back to the doctor and get on allergy shots pronto. This reminded me how fast a person can get sick and if it is me getting sick then I can't take care of the boys which is my job. Third, I learned that we have to trust our instincts. Even if it means going to the doctor everyday until we figure out what is wrong. I am so glad this illness only took 1 doctor visit to get answers. We still don't 100% know what was wrong with him when he had the red patches in August. Hopefully that never comes back!

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Surprise!

On Friday afternoon, we headed down to Mt. Carmel for a holiday surprise. Aaron and I didn't have much on our agenda, so we both thought it would be a good idea to head down for a visit. Needless to say, Aaron's mom was pretty surprised when she went to answer the door and the three of us were standing there. We enjoyed a visit with Grandma and Grandpa Acree too. Jayden also went to church with his Nana while Aaron and I headed out to dinner and shopping in Evansville. It ended up being a really nice weekend.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Who are YOU calling a TURKEY??

Eating yummy mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving Day.
Playing with toys and being a little turkey!

Reading all about Thanksgiving. I gave him the true story of Thanksgiving too--not that he will remember, but it didn't hurt.


Our little turkey was being just that today. A turkey. This year it was our turn to stay in town for the Thanksgiving holiday. We enjoyed a homemade breakfast, watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, scanned the ads, and played with toys all before lunch time. For lunch, we joined my Dad and Marcy at Matt & Mary Ann's house and for dinner we stopped by Uncle Doug's house. It was great to see everyone and Jayden was wild as always. I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving with their loved ones. Now it is time to start the count down to Christmas.