Captured Memories

Baseball

2009-07-31T08:20:00.000-07:00

While my mom was in town the other weekend we went to a local baseball game. Jameson got a mini verison of the team mascot, Orbit, and was so into showing the bigger Orbit that he had a litte one!

Grammie and Jameson waving to Orbit.

He was also really into the game. Every once in awhile you would hear Jameson yell, "Swing batter", which his grampie taught him the last time we were in Connecticut. He has such a good time and its still all he talks about so needless to say we'll be at the games often.

A day out with Thomas

2009-07-31T08:09:00.000-07:00

We headed down to Billings, MT a couple of weekends ago and spent the day with Thomas the train. Jameson had a blast riding the train, Peyton and I on the other hand weren't too impressed since we just moved back and forth for about 30 minutes! They had live music, train tables everywhere and so much more!!!

Jameson got his Jr. conductor's license!

Hanging with the conductor!

4th of July

2009-07-07T06:40:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July we headed down to the parade with our friends the Van Thompsons and we had so much fun! There was a flyover, a classic car show, ice cream, spray trucks and so much more! The boys had so much fun watching the parade and waving their flags!

Eating his ice cream... this was his lunch!

Although he loved looking at the fireworks they were just too loud for him and he prefered to watch them with his ears plugged or better yet from a window inside!

Relay for Life... Big Hair style!

2009-07-07T06:31:00.000-07:00

This year the theme to Relay for Life was Big Hair or the 80s! We had a blast getting dressed up and walking for such an amazing cause! We raised over $2000!!!

Lisa with our money bag!

Jameson jammin' out to Guitar Hero

The girls on the team... missing some of us!

Cassie getting ready!

Potty Training

2009-07-07T06:23:00.000-07:00

So Jameson woke up one Thursday morning (6/18/2009) and informed me that there were no more diapers. I of course thought great so now he is just going to pee in his underwear and I would be cleaning up lots of wet spots but much to my surprise he barely had any accidents and wasn't kidding when he said no more diapers! He wears them only to go to bed at night and even then he asks not to wear them! I couldn't be prouder and happier that I had to do nothing when it came to potty training but hand out pez candies everytime he goes!!!

Jameson turns 2!

2009-05-26T12:57:00.000-07:00

For Jameson's 2nd birthday we had a pool party at the gym I work at! The pool is indoors and is nice warm. Of course we had to have a cars themed birthday and it was a blast!

The calm before the storm!

Jameson and Ben, best buds, getting ready to jump!

Ben helping Jameson blow out the candles just like Jameson did to Ben 2 weeks earlier!

Jameson and Ben opening presents. They were the only 2 interested in opening presents! All the other kids were having too much fun playing with all the toys!

Bye Bye Paci

2009-05-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

So I can't remember if I posted these or not but I figured I would since they were so cute!! Right after Jameson turned 2 we got rid of the paci. I thought that it was going to be so much harder than it really was! We went cold turkey for three days and I kept telling him everyday that if he could go without them then we would go and "buy" cars with the pacis!!! So on day 3 we packed them in a ziploc bag and headed to Wal-mart where he picked out a package of cars and he "paid" the woman with his pacis!! And that was the end of that!

One last time!
All ready to go!

His reward for giving them up!

St. Patty's Day

2009-03-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

For St. Patty's Day Jameson and I headed downtown to watch the "parade". He had a blast with the motorcycles and the fire tires and cars but of course the amount of candy that he was got was the best part!

Jameson and Winston grabbing for candy!
Waving to the bus that was in the parade!

Wearing his green. He never wears a hat expect for St. Patty's Day! I couldn't get him to take it off!

Smores

2009-03-23T20:16:00.000-07:00

For Valentine's Day Peyton got me a fire pit. After a walk on cool day I asked him to light the fire and we made smores. This was Jameson's first one and he loved it! He was so proud of it because of course he "helped".

Eating our smores together! Camden was of course begging!

Baby Bib

2009-03-23T20:10:00.000-07:00

So we started moving stuff that Jameson is out growing into the second bedroom that will be cleaned out at some point and made into the baby's room! Jameson though has mixed feelings about this! For the most part he really doesn't mind but for some reason he was really not allowing me to take this one bib out of the bib drawer and put it in the room. I finally gave up because the pictures were just too cute!!

Sticker fun

2009-02-07T15:47:00.000-08:00

Aunty A sent Jameson a package of Cars stickers and Jameson couldn't wait to rip into them! He decided to put them all over his face! I was laughing so hard I was shocked that I got such great pictures!

Ice Cream Sundaes

2009-02-07T15:36:00.000-08:00

Peyton and I thought it would be fun to make ice cream sundaes one day after dinner and Peyton headed out and grabbed everything we needed. We scooped Jameson's ice cream and then we let him have at it!

Sometimes it just easier to use your fingers to eat!

His masterpiece, which to this day he calls his "Cake"!!

CARS

2009-01-22T22:16:00.001-08:00

Grammie and Grampie (or as Jameson calls them Mammie and Bampie) got Jameson probably the top Christmas present~ a Lightening McQueen Power Wheels! At first he couldn't drive it himself so Aunty Your had to help! I think she had more fun driving it!

Some Christmas post... at last

2009-01-22T22:06:00.000-08:00

I am totally behind in posting pictures I know! A friend pointed out that I haven't added anything in about a month... sorry totally obessed with facebook lately! So here we go. For Christmas Eve, Allie flew in and we had a great Christmas Eve dinner that Peyton and Griff made for us and some friends. We had a blast and had even more fun putting together Jameson's gifts! On Christmas afternoon my mom, dad and Lauren joined us! We had so much fun on Christmas morning and Jameson was overwhelmed of course!

It was as Coach Christmas! Allie and Lauren got Coach scarves, Allie and I got Coach bags and I got Coach shoes!

His first and I think only Christmas present of the day!

Christmas morning... really we didn't get to the gifts until about 2:30 since my parents and Lauren didn't get in until 1:30!

Making Christmas cookies. It was so nice to have someone else to help me bake this year! We had so much fun for about the week before Christmas baking. Jameson loves to tap tap the egg! Yes shells end up every where!

Its Christmas Time at the Smiths'

2008-12-03T13:02:00.000-08:00

Peyton put up our first ever house Christmas lights! It was such a nice day out (59 degrees in December in MT!) by the time he was putting up the side light it was freezing!! Jameson slept through the whole thing but Peyton and I had a blast and of course Peyton was quoting the Griswold's the entire time!

Pumpkin Carving

2008-11-05T13:38:00.000-08:00

We have been so busy with all the Halloween activites that the night before Halloween we finally got a chance to carve our pumpkin (this was the first time in the 6 years that Peyton and I have been together that Peyton has been home for Halloween and we were able to carve a pumpkin!!). Peyton drew a face on the pumpkin and then Jameson and I cut out the top!

We had him touch the top of the pumpkin and well you can see what he thought of it!!

He is so proud of his pumpkin. We had to bring the pumpkin inside with us so that Jameson would come in!

Jameson's 1st attempt at trick or treating

2008-11-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

The on-base moms' group had a Halloween lunch the other day including some trick or treating! They were able to knock on the door and get a sweet treat, a juice box and animal crackers.

Look at all my treats!!!

Trick or treat! We had to use Jameson's hat because he broke the bag that they gave him!

Avery (the bee) and Jameson playing peek-a-boo!

Wes and Jameson coloring some Winnie-the-Pooh pages

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-05T13:27:00.000-08:00

We took a trip to the pumpkin patch with the moms' group that we do. It was so muddy out since it was the day after the snow storm! First we took a hayride then we walked through a small maize and there were the pumpkins! Jameson need to take a rest first and a pumpkin looked liked the perfect seat.

Ok now I can pick out a pumpkin!
Jameson would have taken home all of them if I let him!

On the hayride back!

Snow in October

2008-11-05T13:22:00.000-08:00

So it snowed here in Montana around October 10th!! We actaully got a decent amount of snow! This is the first time that Jameson has really been old enough to understand snow (we missed last winter since we lived in CA) and he wasn't so sure of it at first. Then he thought it was cool just to stand in it and then finally he belly flopped into it and then it was all over from there!
He was very upset that his "apple" (aka pumpkin) was covered in snow. He made sure that we got all of it off!

Not really sure of the snow!

It aMaizing!

2008-10-08T13:33:00.000-07:00

So there is a corn maze not too far from here and for the past three weekends we have taken Jameson! They have a large corn maze, a small hay maze, corn boxes (think sand box but with corn kernels), a cow train, and pumpkins!

Jameson and Daddy walking through the corn maze.The first time we went we got really lost and I started to panic, all I could think about was Children of the Corn and I haven't even seen that movie since Jr. High! The second time was with my mom and she has a great sense of direction and didn't get us lost! The third time we went with some friends and the kids were having so much doing everything else we didn't even make it into the maze!

The corn box! Jameson wasn't sure at first but he loves it now! I have to admit I love to play in it too!!!

They have one of the largest and fastest slides I have ever ridden on. Although you can't see it here Jameson HATES this slide! He was in pure panic mode!

The cow train... of course in Jameson's mind the whole reason we go to the corn maze!

Grandma's Visit!!!

2008-10-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

My mom came to visit last weekend and we had so much having her in town! We went to Missoula and rode the carousel and played at the playground, we bought Jameson's Halloween costume (more pictures on that soon!), went to the farmers market and rode the horse, and played outside as much as we could! While she was here Jameson learned to say "Moo", "Elmo", and perfected the "I love you"! She also got to come to Jameson's 18 month old doctors appointment which was great since she was there for his 1st ever doctors appointment! He sure has grown since then! Jameson weighs 28 pounds and is 31.8 inches tall!
It was really sad to see her go and we can't wait for her to come back and play some more.

Can you tell that they are related or what!!! Jameson loves his Grammie and when we dropped her off at the airport he kept calling her which of course caused me to cry the whole way home!

Planting blubs with Mommy

2008-09-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

During one of many projects that we are working on we found lots of blubs. We decided to see if we could replant them and see what we get in the spring. Jameson wanted to help!

First you have to put the blubs in the planter!

Then you have to cover them with dirt! Of course this was Jameson's favorite part since he got to play in the dirt as it was making its way to the pot!

Mud and rain boots

2008-09-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

It rained for such a long time that the ground was pure mud! And the mud here in Montana is really sticky mud! We decided that it would be easier to put Jameson's rain boots on him while he played outside... which after over a week of raining he really needed to be outside! He couldn't get his footing at first and then when he finally did it was too funny because the boots made a squishy noise and Jameson wasn't sure where that was coming from!

I can squish in the mud now!

A night at the baseball game

2008-09-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

We got to spend the other night at the baseball game. Jameson actually had a blast just sitting there and watching the game! The Vogayers lost but it was still a great game! When Peyton would yell at the umpire (who was making really bad calls by the way), Jameson would yell too!!

Jameson was absolutely scared of the mascot!

You're lifting what? Where?

2008-09-07T21:18:00.000-07:00

So we found out within about two weeks of living in our house that we had a major plumbing problem... our sewage line collapsed. So we got someone who finally figured out how they were going to dig an eighteen foot hole. They lifted that backhoe over our house with a crane.

There's the crane! They lifted everything they were going to use over the house, the backhoe, the trench boxes and the little equipment too!

My poor yard.
There's our hole!

Demo in the family room

2008-09-07T21:04:00.000-07:00

So after Allie left I decided that our family room needed some help. As you can see there is cedar panels half way up the wall... not an uncommon site in Montana but something that doesn't work for me. So I started taking it down!

There was also a fireplace in the corner and Peyton took that out with a chisel and a hammer.

We still haven't finished room down here and its currently on hold pending the remodeling of the kitchen and paying off the sewage pipe!

Aunty A comes to Montana

2008-09-04T16:44:00.000-07:00

Allie came to visit us about three weeks ago, I can't believe its been three weeks already... I'm a little homesick (ok maybe just family sick!). We had so much when Allie was in town! Jameson learned to say "A" since we call Allie Aunty A we figured we were moving in the right direction!

Allie brought a margarita mix called Key Lime Watermelon. It was really sour but really yummy. Peyton took a sip of mine and literally spit it all over Allie and I. What a waste of Patron tequila!!

We headed down to Missoula for fun and according to Allie "to see some Montana stuff". We stopped off to play in the creek on the side of the road... yes you are allowed to do that and you can even just stop and go fishing should you choose to!

All of our piggies in the water! Jameson though this was the greatest... the water was like ice and then we had to climb up the steep dirt hill we climbed down.

Our first home

2008-09-02T07:35:00.000-07:00

So I know it has been way too long since I've posted anything!! We have been completely swamped with new home stuff! It took a long hard fight to get us into this house and it seems to be just as long as fight to get us settled. We found out last week that our sewerline collapsed awhile ago and no one informed us of that when we purchased the house (if I haven't said it before I'll say it again the selling agent was the worst person in whole world). So we had that replaced (more pictures and a video of them lifting a backhoe over my house to come soon!) and at the same time we were already in the process of fixing the downstairs. We thought that we be done before we started working on the kitchen (a new kitchen is suppose to be installed in two weeks keep your fingers crossed that it does because I only have a fridge and a sink in there right now... no oven!) so right now everything is a mess! Keep us in your thoughts! We could use them!

Military wives

2008-08-01T13:26:00.000-07:00

So the other day I was reading Crazy Kerri's blog and she was blogging about becoming and being a military wife. It got me thinking about some of the good and bad of being a military!
Although I have enjoyed moving around, meeting people and having friends all over the world, there are some things that bother me. One of the biggest ones (besides not being with my family) is trying to find a person who can cut your hair. Now I am not really that picky when it comes to getting my hair cut, I've tried the really expensive places (like Blue in Boston) where they actually serve you wine while you get your hair cut to the really inexpensive places like Cost Cutters where you never get the same person twice!!! The other day I went with Peyton while he was getting his hair cut at Cost Cutters I figured my bangs need to be cut what the heck I'll hop in a chair and get them cut how bad can they be. That was my first mistake... bangs are the easiest piece of hair to mess up and mess up badly! The next mistake was not saying anything when the hair "stylist" wet my bangs (seriously you NEVER cut your bangs when they are wet DUH!!) and started snipping. After she quickly dried them she kept clipping and snipping... now my bangs were not that long and I was a little uneasy about much she was snipping. I got out of the chair and looked in the mirror and was stunned. Peyton refers to my bangs as country/redneck where the woman gets her bangs cut really short and then they curl them under with a curling iron.
So needless to say I won't be returning to Cost Cutters and now will have to start the crazy search for someone who can cut my hair without making look like I belong in the 80s! Ahhh the greatness of being a military wife.

Feeding the goats at the state fair

2008-07-28T08:57:00.001-07:00

When we lived in CA I couldn't get Jameson to feed any of the animals at the barn that we use to go to, yesterday at the State Fair we couldn't get him to stop feeding and petting the animals. He got to feed the goats, touch a turtle, feed a pot belly pig, and watch Daddy get attacked by a camel! Peyton and Jameson had a great time!

The goats were starving because I am certain that they are never ever fed!
Feeding them right out his hand, all three of them.

Montana State Fair

2008-07-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

We went to the Montana State Fair yesterday and had a blast! The first thing that we did was to go and see the horse races!! This was not only Jameson's first time to see the races but also mine! The horses were beautiful!

When in Montana you need a cowboy hat! Of course Jameson doesn't keep hats on so we decided not to buy that one!
I couldn't beleive it but this whole sculpture is carved out of sand (what they call blow sand). We got a chance to meet the carver and he even let Jameson take of his shoes and go and play in the sand! I had to be mean mommy and pick him up after about 20 mins of playing in the sand.

The Great Falls

2008-07-28T08:21:00.000-07:00

I pulled off onto one of the viewing sites here in Great Falls to snap some pictures! I can't get over how pretty it is out here!

Housing Update

2008-07-28T08:15:00.000-07:00

So after about 100 homes we finally found one that was reasonable priced and needed a little work, not a ton. For those of you that have never bought a house in MT let me tell you it is an experience that I wish on no one. After speaking to people who are from Great Falls we have figured this much out: everyone here feels that they can overprice their homes, that they will not negotiate a discount, to ask for 2% less than asking is, according to "my" real estate agent, a "kick in the teeth", that I act too much like I am trying to buy a used car and I need to be about the house and not the deal (another wonderful comment from "my" real estate agent), not one home under $200K does not need some kind of work and that people out here can't understand why there are so many homes (326 in just our price range of $140K to $175K) and none of them are selling!!!
With that said we did find a great home! We have a huge back yard, a master suite (which out here is an actual luxury!), and it just needs a new kitchen (we don't have a dishwasher!). I don't have pictures yet but I will soon!

We close a week from today (August 4th) and I can't wait!

Jameson's 1st friend in Montana

2008-07-24T12:03:00.000-07:00

Jameson met a boy named Zander the other day in TLF! The two of them had so much fun the first day... ok Zander was hitting Jameson with a stick by the end of their play time, but boys will be boys! The next day Zander had his power wheel out and Jameson hopped a ride!

Jameson by the way is younger than Zander by 9 months, not that you could tell!!!

Daddy snapped a picture of Jameson's bright red cheeks!

New Shoes!

2008-07-24T11:54:00.000-07:00

Jameson's new favorite past time when he is indoors is to try to put on clothes and shoes! He likes to put on my sneaks and walk around in them! Peyton tied them so that Jameson could walk around them in them easily.

Such a big boy!

Idaho Potato

2008-07-24T11:40:00.000-07:00

From Arizona we headed to Utah, but for some reason I have no pictures of Utah!!! So the next state we went through was Idaho!

Idaho looked so different than Arizona! Arizona was so red and Idaho was so dry! Here is Peyton and Jameson hanging out in Idaho.
Those are Idaho potatoes!!!

I was so excited to see my name, spelled with an A and everything!

Through Arizona

2008-07-21T12:06:00.000-07:00

Driving through Arizona I made Peyton pull off so that we could get some pictures of the area! I can't get over the mountains and the views! Jameson slept through most of it!
That's me with my Dunkin' Donuts! We got D and Ds in Vegas and I had to have Peyton take a picture since there were no D&Ds near us in CA and there are def. no D&Ds in Montana!!

Dancing in the streets of Vegas

2008-07-21T11:48:00.001-07:00

Here is the video of Jameson dancing in Freemont street! People wanted to dance with him but he wanted nothing to do with them!!

Vegas at Night

2008-07-17T14:30:00.000-07:00

We spent a night at Freemont Street in Vegas. I was amazed at the amount of families that were there. We had so much fun. They had a live band/singer on every block and Jameson couldn't "cut a rug" fast enough.

The "showgirls" (my mom called her a call girl...) couldn't interact with anyone under 21 but this one couldn't help herself and she even "dropped" some beads so that Jameson could have some! He wasn't too sure what to think of her and I think that shows in his face!!

Las Vegas... our second stop

2008-07-17T14:22:00.001-07:00

Our first stop in Vegas was Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam. Jameson at first wasn't sure of the waves from the boats but then we couldn't get him out of the water! We took a boat ride from one side of Lake Mead to the Hoover Dam. Peyton and I had a nice time but it was too hot for Jameson!

One of the views of the area surrounding Lake Mead! I could have taken pictures all day of the area. It was so different- sometime you would see the red color and sometimes the rocks were white or even black.

We finally had to take Jameson inside and get him a snack! I absolutely love this picture of him!

Disneyland... our first stop

2008-07-17T13:51:00.000-07:00

We were able to stop at Disneyland on our way out to Montana... we had a blast as a family!!

Here we are in front of Cinderella's Castle!

Jameson with his first pair of Mickey Mouse ears!!! He actually didn't mind wearing them!!
Tigger was the only character that we waited in line for and I was certain that Jameson was going to scream! Instead he just like his nose!
In Mickey's Toon Town! Jameson couldn't lift the weights imagine that!
Checking out the Mickey Mouse marching band!

Raspberry Picking

2008-07-17T13:27:00.000-07:00

For our last weekend in California Peyton and I took Jameson raspberry picking. We had so much! I think Jameson ate more than he put in the basket, but he enjoyed every minute of it!

After we picked the raspberries we stopped and saw a bunch of minature ponies! Jameson had a blast checking them out! Notice the raspberries on his cheek!!

A boy and his best friend

2008-07-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Camden and Jameson are best friends these days! Camden loves to give him kisses and Jameson thinks its the funniest thing!

Corn on the cob

2008-07-07T20:52:00.000-07:00

So I might have posted corn on the cob pictures before but lately if we want Jameson to eat a vegetable we normally turn to corn on the cob! He eats the whole thing and loves every minute of it!! He saw it on the counter the other day before it was even cooked and he wanted it!!

Showing Mommy what he has eaten so far!
All done! We are trying to teach Jameson that when he is all done he puts everything on his plate. Instead he normally says "All Done" and then throws everything on the floor. Needless to say the dogs like this method much better!

My new shades

2008-07-07T20:49:00.000-07:00

I don't think that I really need to say much! These pictures are probably my favorite from this summer so far!

Way too cool!

Peyton graduates (again!)

2008-07-07T20:46:00.000-07:00

On July 1, Peyton graduated from his final class here at Vandenberg. That morning Peyton and Andrew (his crew partner) received a Highly Qualified with no errors eval and they both graduated!!! Peyton also received the Distingished Grad award (for the second time... YAY Peyton!).

Flower Parade

2008-07-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

The other morning we ran down to see the Flower Parade. So like I've mentioned before Lompoc is just alive with flowers in June and the town has a 5 day festival to celebrate. Jameson and I went on Friday and listened to the live music and then Saturday morning we parked on the curb and watched all the fun floats. All the floats were made from flowers that were grown here! We had such a great time!

The Flower Queens' Float

These are both completely covered in flowers! We couldn't get over the designs and how they were all flowers.

My Picasso

2008-07-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

The mornings here have been really cold so I have had to keep Jameson occupied in the small apartment that we call home! I brought out the big guns the other day: PAINTS. Let me tell you I have my very own Picasso on my hands!

Notice the pink lips: his tried eating the paint brush!

Just some random pictures

2008-06-20T13:48:00.000-07:00

Lately we spend so much time outside that I have a ton of pictures from us out there! So here are just some of my boys!

My first remote control car

2008-06-20T13:38:00.000-07:00

Grammie and Grampie sent Jameson his first remote control car and we got it yesterday! I couldn't get the car out the box and batteries in fast enough for Jameson! As soon as they were all in there he took the car and I showed him how to use the button to make it go. For the next half hour Jameson tormented Camden with the car! He of course thought it was funny!

Thanks Grammie and Grampie!

Father's Day

2008-06-20T13:34:00.000-07:00

For Father's Day this year Peyton asked if we could head to the water park that is about 1 1/2 hours away from us! Since the weather was going to be 110 degrees we thought spending the day in a pool would be perfect. The park was amazing! Jameson had a whole area all to his self and he has NO fear of water what so ever. We tried to put a life jacket on him and he kept getting frustrated because he could bend down to blow bubbles in the water so we finally took it off!! It was the best way to spend a hot Father's day.

Flowers everywhere

2008-06-20T13:23:00.000-07:00

We live in one of the largest flower seed producing cities in America and during May and June the streets are alive with the prettiest colors. I stopped and took some shots the other day from the car so they aren't the best but at least you can see the all the rows of flowers.

That's an artichoke flower. The artichoke gets to the point where you think its going to rot and then it burst and this vibrant purple flowers emerges!!

Housing Hunting

2008-06-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

I had the great "pleasure" of going house hunting in Great Falls Montana this past weekend. I was there Thursday through Sunday and I saw about 40 to 50 houses (both my agent and I stopped counting after 35!!) I saw some of the most unique and scary homes I have ever seen in my life! One houses had the original lights - from the 30s, one is across the street from the universal semen bank (its for livestock only!!!!!!!) so everytime you look outside this large bay window you see "SEMEN", I saw one that had no room for a kitchen table... the couple eats while sitting on the floor!!! I saw some great houses that need some work and I only saw one that I decided was worth bidding on!!! We put a bid on a gorgeous 3 bedroom 2 bath cottage and our offer wasn't accepted. We tried to make another offer and that didn't get us far so for right now house hunting is on hold. We are going to try and make an offer later on this week and if they don't accept that then we are just going to move and start looking when we get there! What a mess!! Keep us in your thoughts!

Jameson's buddy

2008-06-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

One of Jameson's friends came over the other day while his mom went to the doctors. Reece is a couple months older than Jameson and the two of them have a blast together!
Playing with the ball popper! They made such a mess out of Jameson's room! Its been about a week and I still don't think the room has been put back together yet!

Having a snack and watching Hi-5 (Amy you'll be happy to know that I introduced Reece to Hi-5 and now they have to watch it everyday too!)

Quack, Quack

2008-06-12T20:51:00.000-07:00

So one of Jameson's favorite words is "quack, quack". Peyton and I ask him what a duck duck says and he tells us! When we put his duck duck towel on him he walks around telling us "quack quack". As if that wasn't cute enough I think he just looks extremely cute in the duck towel!

I can help

2008-06-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

The other night I was trying to get in a really quick clean before we sat down for dinner. Jameson grabbed the swiffer and decided that he needed to clean the floor for me. Figuring that he would get bored with this lousy tasks I let him. Well we couldn't get him to stop. He was extremely upset when I took the swiffer away from him. Maybe one day I won't have to clean and he'll just do it for me... hey I can dream can't I?

I've got a pickle, I've got a pickle

2008-06-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

The other day I decided to have a quick snack of some pickles. Jameson thought he needed to share in my snack and grabed a pickle. I thought that they would be too sour for him, or that the texture would be too weird (yes he has issues still with textures of foods! He doesn't like anything that is slimy!)He loved that pickle and he ate 3 more!!

I couldn't get a decent picture of him eating that pickle!! He was too busy stuffing his mouth full of them.

Memorial Day weekend

2008-06-10T12:48:00.000-07:00

So yes I am a little behind but things here are moving too quickly to keep up with. For Memorial Day weekend we decided to head to San Diego since who knows when Peyton will have a long weekend for awhile. We had so much fun while we were down there. We went to Seaport Village on Saturday, Sea World on Sunday and then the zoo on Monday. Seaport Village is just a shopping and eating area not too far from downtown San Diego. The walk was great and the view was amazing! We ate some really great Mexican food and I had the best tasting tequila I mean Margarita I have ever had!!! Jameson had the most fun at the fountains that were there. We sat and watched the ships and the kites and then headed to the Hardrock Cafe for dinner.

SeaWorld is a great place to go with a little boy that loves fish! Once we gotten in we decided that we should see the Shamu show as soon as possible so right after lunch we headed that way! I thought 'Jameson is going to love this to this show so lets sit close'. I chose row 11 thinking that although it said "SOAK ZONE" that it really wouldn't be that bad since there were only 16 rows in the soak zone. I mean seriously 11 out of 16 how far could that whale splash. So there we are sitting there and they start chanting "Shamu splash, Shamu splash." And man oh man does Shamu splash. We were litterally soaked! Jameson hated Shamu and I can't blame him! The water was 52 degrees and it comes at you fast! Peyton had to run Jameson out there before they did it again and I sat there and got soaked 2 more times!!! The rest of the day was a blast and I don't think we saw it all! We had so much fun checking out the fish and the penguins. We went to another show and I had to convince Jameson that we wouldn't get wet again! Jameson was out as soon as he was strapped into his car seat with his penguin in arm!!
Waiting for Shamu to start.
Checking out all the fish.

On Monday we headed to the San Diego Zoo! The zoo is huge and I think we walked in circles for the first hour or two! We saw the lions (one of Jameson's favorite animals I think second only to fish!), the pandas and the polar bears.

Jameson making his monkey face!

Allie graduates!

2008-05-28T16:22:00.000-07:00

Jameson and I got to travel back to Connecticut to see my sister Allie graduate from college (I would tell you which one but I would spell it wrong!!). The Saturday before she graduated their was a President's reception and we got dressed up and joined Allie!!

Jameson was the star in his tie and sandals and then he carried around Emily's cell phone!!
Allie getting ready to graduate! They had to walk down this really long path way and you could tell that very few of them were enjoying it!! It was like the red carpet with all the cameras!
She did it!

Mommies Day

2008-05-28T16:17:00.000-07:00

I had the best Mother's Day this year. We headed to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory where Jameson shared my cheesecake with me! Then we headed to an outdoor mall (about 2 hours from where we live... I live in the middle of no where in case you didn't know) and I got to shop while Peyton and Jameson looked at the fish and played in the splash area. I joined them after and Jameson and I continued to splash!

He ate most of my cheesecake!

The faces shot water out of their mouths! We got hit by them right after this picture.

Who eats oatmeal with their fingers...

2008-05-28T16:14:00.001-07:00

That would be my Jameson! The pictures say it all!

Dining Out

2008-05-28T16:12:00.001-07:00

Peyton and I got a much needed break thanks to Mike and Ben who came over and watched Jameson so that Peyton and I could head to the dining out. We had a great time! I don't have a better picture of us (or at least a full length one) but my dress was great and it only took 4 trips to the streamstress!!

Cinco de Mayo

2008-05-28T16:02:00.000-07:00

My friend Rachel and I hosted a Cinco de Mayo BBQ (we had to have it mainly indoors because it was so cold out!). We had a ton of food and apparently we also had a bunch of guys who never eat! We couldn't keep the food coming fast enough. I had to take a picture of the guys hovering around the food!!

Jameson couldn't get enough the lim flavored fruit dip that I made. I have no idea who showed him that it was there but once they did he couldn't get enough!

Just a quick update

2008-05-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

It seems that these days time just flies by and when I finally get a chance to sit in front of the computer I am usually looking at houses in the Great state of Montana, so needless to say information on the blog is lacking! So here is a quick update:
We are leaving the wonderful state of California to move to Montana around the second week of July. I am going to be so upset to leave not only the place but the amazing friends that we have meet and those that we were able to be stationed with again. I have been searching for the perfect house to buy for us and head out there the first week in June to see what I can find! It is such an amazing experience to be buying our first home and I can't wait! Peyton and Jameson will be home for the whole weekend, just the two boys, while I am looking for houses and I can't wait to hear the stories from that weekend!
Peyton's schedule has been crazy. The hours are all over the place but he is loving what he is learning and I know that he can't wait to get out there and "apply" it. Hopefully it will just be in testing and never in real life!
Jameson just keeps surprising me a daily basis. He has taken to the water like that is where he is suppose to be all the time and he can't get enough of it. He jumps in and goes right under. I'm signing him up for some swim classes with some of his friends so that he'll really learn how to swim instead of just jumping in and going under and then climbing out and doing it all again!!! He started gymnastics and has a blast jumping on the trampoline and trying to walk up the balance beams. His balance and understanding has improved so much since he started. He is talking more and more everyday! Bubbles is currently the word of the day and week. He asks for bubbles from the time he wakes up and until he goes to bed. The other day Peyton blew so many bubbles that the carpet was soaking wet and for the next of days our socks would get wet when we walked on it!
I officially became a stay-at-home this past week and it was amazing to not have to wake up Monday and log onto the computer on east coast time and deal with work (I have been working for my company out of Boston since I moved out to CA). It has been the best feeling in the world!!!

We're keeping busy and enjoying each moment that we have! I promise I'll post some pictures soon!

Gone Fishin'

2008-04-19T11:21:00.001-07:00

At the hotel there was an amazing Koi pond. The fish are so use to be feed that they come the second that they see you sit down next to edge. You could make them open their mouths if you splashed the water... they thought that you were throwing in food!
Jameson thought it was his own personal fish tank and we spent lots of time there watching the fish and of course, just like his Daddy, Jameson tried to catch some with his bare hands!

I'm gonna get you!

More fun in Newport Beach

2008-04-19T11:13:00.000-07:00

Pool, beach and a ton of people to keep him occupied! I couldn't have asked for a better vacation! My parents were great and so was my sister and her friend Anty. They took Jameson in the pool so I could read or spend time with Peyton. It was a great time for all of us!!

So Jameson refuses to wear a hat when we are outside and since he has such light hair I am worried that he is going to get sun burned so I spray his head with suntan lotion which is almost like a gel thus the constant mohawk!

He tried to do a head stand in the sand and he ended up covered.

Grammie bought Jameson a tube for the pool and he loved it. It gave him the freedom that my dear son loves so much. He has no fear of the water and walks right in! At least with the tube he floats instead of sinks!

Jameson and his grammie!!!

Can I catch a ride

2008-04-19T11:10:00.000-07:00

My parents came into "town", really they rented a place just out Laguna Beach which about a 4 hours drive from us. Peyton, Jameson and I headed down there for the weekend. One of Jameson's favorite things to do was to hop on the luggage cart and have Grampie push him all around. No one told him to get on it he just crawled on and started hanging on! It was so cute.

I can drive

2008-04-19T11:06:00.000-07:00

So of course my dad couldn't wait for Jameson to see the Vette! On the only "nice" day that we had, my dad was cleaning the car and we decided to go out and take a look at the car! Jameson of course got right in and new exactly what to do!

You have turn the steering wheel!

Then you have to shift!

First Popsicle

2008-04-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

While we were visiting my parents in CT Jameson fell and his lip was swollen. My mom suggested giving him a Popsicle. He loved every minute of it!

Graduation from Space 100

2008-04-11T07:27:00.001-07:00

Peyton graduated from Space 100 about 2 1/2 weeks ago (ok so I am slow in getting posts up!). Jameson and I headed to the graduation in our Sunday best!

Peyton got DG (distinguished graduate) for his leadership and academics! I couldn't have been prouder!

Ben thought it would be fun to see if Jameson would wear his cover! Jameson wasn't so sure about it though!

Jameson's first birthday at Chuck E Cheese

2008-04-10T15:26:00.000-07:00

Peyton really wanted to have Jameson's first birthday party at Chuck E Cheese. Since we were having 13 people over for Easter dinner the next day it wasn't too hard to convince me since I wouldn't really have to do anything! We had a blast! Jameson danced to music the entire time and all of our friends were great! They took him to play some of the games (he just likes hitting the buttons!) and helped him ride in some of the rides. By the end of the day Jameson had two pieces of cake, and 1300 tickets to use!

Chuck E Cheese came to sing Happy Birthday! Jameson wasn't too thrilled with him!

I made Jameson an Elmo cake (we didn't even get a picture of all my hard work!!) and he loved every taste!

First Birthday Presents

2008-04-10T15:17:00.000-07:00

Jameson's Grammie, Grampie, Aunties and G-Ma sent Jameson some early birthday presents which he dug right into as soon as he got up! He had the most fun with the guitar that he got! He would play it and then dance to the music!

Jameson's first Easter Egg Hunt

2008-03-25T11:36:00.001-07:00

The weekend before Easter we took Jameson to the Squadron's Easter Egg Hunt. I bought him an Elmo easter basket since lately Elmo is our thing. He carried it all around and even took Elmo with him while he fell flat on his face (the cut still can be seen today!). We had fun though. Jameson actually understood that he could pick up the eggs but what he didn't get was to put them into his basket! We were also luck since one of his friends from playgroup was there to hunt for some of those eggs!

Looking for the eggs with Mommy!

He found one!

Jameson got a decent amount of eggs. He had a blast and even found the egg with the chocolate bunny.

Our first launch

2008-03-25T10:52:00.000-07:00

About a week ago Peyton and I got up around 3 am (talk about early!!) and went outside to see the launch of one of the satellites. It was the most amazing experience to see. It really does remind you of how small we are in such a large place.

Pool time!

2008-03-25T09:24:00.001-07:00

With the way that the weather has been out here we are taking full advantage of CA "winters" and we went to the pool Sunday afternoon. Jameson was a complete ham in his swimming outfit that his Grammie bought him!

Avila Farm

2008-03-25T08:18:00.001-07:00

There is a farm not too far from where we live, so Peyton and I decided to head up there on our way to meet some friends in SLO. Jameson at first had no problem feeding the goats. But goats can be very nasty and they started head butting each other and Jameson had enough. So I did most of the feeding and Jameson just watched. I tried to feed the cow and was completely grossed out by how long and slimy the its tongue was. I don't think I will be feeding a cow anytime soon!

Hot weather and snow cones

2008-03-25T08:10:00.000-07:00

We went to the park one warm weekend. There was a vendor selling some great tasting snow cones and we ate them after we had our picnic lunch. Jameson thought the strawberry was great! He kept smacking his lips.

Hanging out by the pond and feeding the ducks. We feed the ducks cheerios and for every one that Jameson gave to a duck he ate a handful for himself.

Heading down the slide.

Hanging out and baking!

2008-03-25T08:06:00.000-07:00

We went over to Rachel and Henry's the other day to hang out and bake and decorate cookies. We had so much fun just playing with Henry and making cookies!

Look at all those cookies! We baked so many and Jameson and I only decorated like 2 or 3.

My walking monster

2008-03-13T06:50:00.000-07:00

So not the best video but here is Jameson walking! He started walking at about 10 1/2 months (thanks Auntie Laur!) and hasn't stopped since. He even recently started pushing away my hand when I try to help (talk about a cry jerker!). I'll get a better video up here soon!

Chalking it up

2008-03-13T06:44:00.000-07:00

The weather was nice one day (ok really its nice here all the time!) and we decided to head out side and draw with the chalk while we waited for Peyton to get home. Jameson loves the big box of chalk that we bought and also has to have 2 colors in his hands at all times.

Scribbling away! He either makes constant circles or he jabs at the sidewalk.

My favorite picture of all! Since he crawls through the chalk he always ends of covered, especially on his butt since he sits on his drawings!

Yum Banana bread

2008-03-13T06:39:00.001-07:00

One of Jameson's favorite breakfasts besides pancakes is banana bread. The only problem is that it crumbles very easily and leaves tons of crumbs. Sometimes the crumbs end up on the tray...

Or in his hair and all over his face!

But don't worry Charlotte is always there to clean up every last one, even if Jameson doesn't want her to!

Yet another beach...

2008-02-27T08:25:00.001-08:00

I swear it is so nice in February to be able to go to the beach or even to just be outside without puffy coats and all bundled up! We spend so much time at all the different beaches in the area! This time we are at Pismo Beach! We had a great lunch, walked the boardwalk and taunted the seagulls!

Sun, sand & water- Jameson's 3 favorite things

2008-02-27T08:17:00.001-08:00

We took Jameson to Grover beach... the only beach in CA where it is legal for you to drive right on the sand! He had so much fun playing in the sand and running into the water with Grammie and Auntie Laur! Grammie was so nervous about him getting his feet wet but Jameson loved it!

Hanging out at the car... which was right on the beach!

Disney Ice Cream Shop in LA

2008-02-27T08:04:00.001-08:00

We had to stop and have a cold treat after our long hot day walking around LA! We stopped at the Disney Ice Cream shop across from the Kodak Theater. The ice cream was delicious and the way that it looked was even cooler!

Lauren's pepermint chocolate ice cream float!

My black and white sundae! Oh yea that's real marshmallow sauce! It was even better to eat! Jameson can attest for that!

A day with Oscar

2008-02-27T08:00:00.001-08:00

While in LA they were having a cool event called Meet the Oscars. We got to in and see all the Oscars that they were going to hand out on February 23! They weren't engraved yet so we didn't know who the winners were but I can tell you that the Oscar weighs 8 pounds and it pretty cool to see!

A visit from Grammie, Grampie and Auntie Laur

2008-02-27T07:54:00.001-08:00

My parents and sister came to visit in the middle of February. They couldn't have picked a better week. The weather was in the high 70s to low 80s! We spent so much time at the beaches and outside! Here is our trip down to LA! We stopped so my mom could take some pictures but we had fun just walking around too!

Lauren surfing!!!

The coastal highway (Highway 1) view!

My mom with her camera!

My father checking out the temperature of the water!

A day at the park

2008-02-27T07:48:00.001-08:00

The weather here has been so nice! Jameson and I took a trip to the park with our friends Rachel and Henry! Jameson loved the ducks and has since taken to a duck stuff animal! He wanted to swim with them so bad!

I see you!

Henry hanging out on the motorcycle!

Crawling through the tunnel! It took him forever because the tunnel was so slippery!!!

What they do when they are quiet

2008-02-27T07:42:00.000-08:00

So there have been a couple of times when Jameson has crawled off to his room and is normally quiet because he is pulling down all of his books and looking at the pictures. It was quiet so I took a down to his room to see him and the mess he always makes! To my surprise he wasn't in his room. Instead he was in my room...

Way cooler than a fork

2008-02-13T10:13:00.001-08:00

The other day we couldn't get Jameson to eat anything. I love those days... he screams because he is hungry but he won't eat anything that I try to give him!! Peyton and I were eating sushi and Jameson kept eyeing my chopsticks! I grabbed a clean pair and tried to feed him with those. He ate his whole hotdog!

Grampie's new toy

2008-02-05T06:54:00.001-08:00

I have to show everyone pictures of my father's new toy! My dad has been waiting for this car for a very long time! I think he called just about everyday to say where it was in its journey up from North Carolina!

He made sure to read the information about child car seats and found out that he could take Jameson with him! Both couldn't be more excited!

The Beach

2008-02-04T14:17:00.001-08:00

Auntie A introduced Jameson to sand and you would think that it was candy! We take him to the beach as often as we can and he just sits and plays in the sand. I can't get over how cute he is when we take him there! He screams when we pick him up to take him home!

Crawling through the sand so that we wouldn't pick him up!

the waves were so strong!

Building a sandcastle. I don't know who had more fun, me or him!

Wine time

2008-02-04T14:11:00.000-08:00

Peyton and I were able to get a baby-sitter on Thursday and we headed to Solvang. Solvang is in Santa Ynez wine country! We were able to go to 5 different wine rooms all within walking distance. We had so much fun and the wine was amazing!

Some of the vineyards.

Peyton holding all the wine we bought!

A great time!

My favorite wine!

Jameson's favorite past time

2008-02-04T14:07:00.000-08:00

Jameson's new favorite past time is to play in the kitchen drawers. He pulls out everything that he possible can and I normally trip over something while trying to make dinner.

Santa Barbara Zoo

2008-02-04T13:48:00.000-08:00

We took Jameson to the zoo for the first time this past week since Peyton had the week off before class started. Although he liked looking at anything... the penguins were his favorites. They would swim right up to the side and try to nibble on Jameson's fingers! He couldn't stop laughing!

Jameson and his penguins!

The elephants were too big for him! He wasn't really excited about them!

Jameson tried to share his milk with the meerkat.

Jameson and Daddy hanging around the Gorilla and Monkey cages!

A random stop in Texas

2008-01-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

We stopped for gas in some really small town in Texas, I guess you would call it a town! We realized that there was the best place to take pictures here though... Shaun, Allie and Mike all climbed it. Allie had some issues though since her shoes had no backs and I couldn't stop laughing the entire time she climbed up the wall and then crawled back down!

Dallas, Texas

2008-01-23T08:04:00.000-08:00

I made Peyton stop in Dallas so that we could walk around. It was so windy there! But we still had a great time!

Sitting at the JKF Memorial

Just one of the many LONG streets in Dallas

The view from our car!

Memphis & Beale Street

2008-01-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

The view of Beale St from the rooftop!

Jameson and I walking around Beale Street

We saw the sign...

and had to try!

Jameson goofing around at the Memphis Sports Complex

A trip of a lifetime

2008-01-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

So we drove for 9 nine days through 11 states (some we barely even knew we drove through and other seemed to last forever!). We finally made it to California just in time to enjoy the wonderful 70 degree weather!
Bare with me there are a ton of pictures (I can't find my memory card for the first 4 states! But I know its around here somewhere!) and its hard to pick just some of them!

California here we come

2008-01-08T20:04:00.000-08:00

So for you those of you that don't know the AF decided at the end of November that Peyton needed to be at Vandenberg AFB in Lompoc California by mid-January. We got our official orders on December 11, the movers came on the 26th, 27th & 28th and we left Connecticut on Jan 7th! Talk about a whirlwind!
So we are on day 2 of our travels! As I write this we are in a hotel room in Nashville! What an amazing place it is too. We just got in from eating at one of the best Sushi bars I have been to! Allie and I enjoyed some Ginjo Sake and some "fusion" sushi! We are heading to Memphis tomorrow for some great BBQ and some good music and sights!
I will promise that I will try to post every night something and tomorrow I will post some pictures! See you tomorrow!

Finally a nice day to go outside

2007-12-27T10:07:00.000-08:00

The yard in VA is huge! We wanted to take Jameson out so bad but it either rained or snowed the entire time we were there. Finally on the last day it was chilly but there was no more rain or snow. He loved being able to crawl around and check out the pond. All the fish were down at the bottom by now so no fishys for him to see.