Playing Catch Up: Letter For Jamey

You probably remember that "Uncle" Jamey is currently serving our country in Afghanistan. We wanted to send him an extra special care package for Christmas, so we got to work on putting all kinds of goodies together for him. We packed cookies from Nana, trail mix, Skittles, M&Ms, beef jerky, gum, ChapStick, mind games and enough Turkey Hunting and IL Game & Fish magazines to last him a lifetime.

As you can see, Austin worked really hard on his card for "Shamey." He wrote his own message and dictated the pictures he wanted on the other side. (A family portrait, my cell phone and a road)

 

It only took our package 2 weeks to travel 6000 plus miles. Jamey emailed us to say he and all his fellow Marines enjoyed our treats. It's a small gesture compared to what they do for us, but it's nice to know we might have put a smile on one of their faces!

At the time of this blog post... Jamey only has approximately

8 more weeks until he returns home to his beautiful girls in sunny California!

St. Nick's Day

St. Nick was here! It took Austin a minute to even realize what was going on. Santa was in our house? He left me presents? Is he still here?

He was all about it once the house checked out to be Santa Free!

Thank you, St. Nick! A Bob movie, a Gingerbread Train kit and the Story of Christmas was just what we needed!

(Yes, my friends. Austin's tree is on top of storage tubs...the joys of moving!)

Visiting Santa

 

Visiting Santa the Monday after Thanksgiving worked out so well last year...we did the same thing this year!

The year before we waited OUTSIDE Santa's house for what seemed like forever. This year we were in and out in 20 minutes. It took us longer to find a parking spot than it did to get our pictures taken. As you see, it was once again a family photo shoot. Austin didn't cry, but you'll notice that he's about as far away as he can get...

 

Thankfully we drug Aunt B along so we were able to get at least a little smile from him. He ended up giving Santa "nucks" and saying two words: "fork lift." We left happy, $35 poorer and with our fingers crossed that Santa shopped at Rural King.

Playing Catch Up: Big Boy Bed!

We had no real reason for converting Austin's crib to a "big boy bed." He's never tried to climb out...He still fits... He goes to bed like a champ... He was still taking 2 hour naps...

...but we had set three goals for him in 2011:
1) Big Boy Bed
2) Bye-Bye Pacie and
3) Use the Potty
Why not get a jump start on one of them in 2010??

Austin was a big help during the processes. He even helped dust the rails!

We had a big boy bed before we knew it! We crossed our fingers that his excitement would continue when it was actually time to sleep in his new bed.

We had to make it feel like home...

He did very well the first time he slept in his new bed for a nap. Nighttime was a bit of a different story. He never cried or fought us to stay in his bed, but he just didn't want to stay in. It was like he realized  he had a new freedom and he was going to use it! It took us two hours to get him to stay in his bed the first night. He'd come in our room and ask for the silliest things. Jay's toolbox is the one that makes us laugh the most. I mean what does a two-year-old need a toolbox for in the middle of the night? Did he want to put his crib back together?

After the first few nights, the biggest downside has been that he is now an EARLY riser. We often have to remind him that we can't watch TV or play BEFORE the sun comes up!

We can official mark this goal as COMPLETE! Gives us more time to focus on the other two...

Playing Catch Up: Hunting Lessons

I left Jay and Austin alone for almost an entire day in early December. When I got home, the first thing I heard was "baah"...."boom!!" Apparently Jay thought it was time for Austin's first hunting lesson...

 

Do you see the prey hidden in the wilderness?

Looks like lunch to me!