Kroten's birthday extravaganza.

{day two}

For day two, we went to the beach. It was a ton of fun, and a beautiful day. Kroten LOVED playing in the water and sand. The water was a little cold, but Kroten still got mad when we made him stop playing in it.... there are a lot of pictures here and not a lot to say, so enjoy.


Isn't he such a cutie, he loved the beach.


Uncle Jamison taking Kroten in the water, I cannot believe how much he liked it, it was cold.


Uncle Jamison saves the day, Kroten made a break for it when no one was looking.


Mommy and Kroten in the water.


Daddy and Kroten playing on the beach.


You can't really see it, but the kite is flying behind Kroten and I, Jamison and Jared were flying it.


No matter what we did, Kroten kept doing this. I kept saying NO, but I think he really liked the taste, this could be problem.





My happy boy. He liked the wind and the water. I think he likes the beach.


I think Kroten was fascinated by all the cool things to see.



A long day of fun left everyone a little pooped out. I like this picture, Kroten likes his uncle Jamison.

Kroten's birthday extravaganza.

{day one...part 2}

What better way to celebrate becoming a big boy than to get a big boy haircut. I was very nervous, but it needed to be done. Jared wanted to wait till he was one and so we did.

Enjoy watching the adventure.

Kroten's birthday extravaganza.

{day one}

Birthday's are a pretty big deal for us, and this being Kroten's first, we had to show him how it is done. So it is going to be a fun filled weekend birthday bash. Besides, we felt like we worked just as hard as Kroten this year, so mommy and daddy needed a little fun too.

It started out with, daddy's choice, a trip to Cinnabon.

I am pretty sure that Kroten enjoyed this idea.


Kroten enjoying his cinnamon.


Uncle Jamison came to visit for the big birthday, and Kroten has loved every moment of it. they play and play and play till one of them is too tired to play. Can you guess who it was this time?

To end a great day, mommy's choice, we enjoyed red robin.I dont think kroten enjoyed the robin part so much.

Happy Birthday Kroten J.

From zero...

to one...

in 365 days.

Happy Birthday big boy!!!

we love you so much.

I just couldn't resist...

I just couldn't stop myself from capturing this moment.

Maybe it is cause I am a mom, but I think that little tush is so cute. He had the nastiest butt rash, so after his bath we put his robe on and let him play to air out for a little while. Needless to say, I think the robe is a little too small now.

Art 101

Kroten got a hold of some of Jared's church papers and a pen that happened to be open and did his first art project. Even though it was probably a no-no to write on daddy's papers, I am so proud of him. I am shocked that he knew what to do with the pen and that he did it. I think we may have a smart one on our hands. I am so proud!!

look what I can do...

UH-O Here comes trouble.





Kroten is pulling himself up now. It is the cutest thing, I love watching him grow and develop new things. I can't believe how big he is getting, it is crazy, but I love it.

Car Problems

Just when you think all is well, and you have a little money in savings, something comes up. This time it was no exception. All at once, it seemed, our car needed a lot of work. New tires, a new water pump, an oil change, oil was leaking from somewhere, I thought she wasn't going to make it. So Jared, amazing as he is took care of it all. It took him ALL DAY one Saturday and a few more hours later to do it, but our good ole car is as good as new (knock on wood.)

Jared trying to get the water pump out, apparently it is harder than it seems. (He regretted not taking it to a mechanic after this.)


Under the Hood. Jared forgot to put sunscreen on, and he laid under the hood like this for hours and his calf's were fried. Poor baby.

Somersaults!

One day Jared and Kroten were playing on the floor and jared did a little flip over the top of Kroten. Ever since that one time, Kroten does a little hand stand and tries to flip over and do a somersault. He isnt quit there, but we help him and he laughs and laughs, he loves it.

Kroten doing the "handstand thing." He does this all the time, the only thing we can make of it is that he wants to flip.

Sugar Mama

So...We got married, had Kroten, went to school, I graduated, we moved to Oregon... now what? Since living in a small apartment for the rest of our lives while Jared mows lawns was out of the question, we needed a plan of action. With a little prayer, a dash of faith and a lot of help from our Heavenly Father, we have come to some conclusions and have made some major changes. We feel pretty strongly that Jared needs to finish school and get a real job. So in order to follow through with our new game plan, I needed to use my smarts and college degree to make some money! I honestly can't tell you how, in this economy, (except literally by the grace of God,) I got a job. I will be working at the new hospital in the staffing department, (that is communication right?) What a major blessing. The pay is excellent and it comes with benefits for all three of us. The greatest part is that it will work with Jared's school schedule, granted it is a night shift, but I have so far been able to handle it. Even though I have to stay up all night 3 times a week, we just couldn't pass up a blessing like this. So Jared starts school in the middle of June and will officially assume the title of Mr. Mom, while I take on the roll of (as Jared so lovingly puts it) the Sugar Mama! That's right bringin' in the bacon. Too bad I can't eat bacon, but you get my weak metaphor, right?

Dental Hygiene... of utmost importance.

I think this is one of my favorite videos so far. He is so incredibly smart and learning so fast, it boggles my mind.

What a coink-a-dink.

So you might have noticed in some of the last few posts that Kroten is in desperate need of a hair cut. I know, I know, but I dont want to cut it. I have this fear that if we cut it, it will get all course and it will not be red any more, I know it is silly. We are planning on cutting it for his first birthday, but it might have to get done before that.

Any-who, I was doing some back reading on my blog from when I was pregnant with Kroten and came across this funny post that I had written. After reading this post, I couldn't help but think how ironic and funny it is that kroten has always had so much hair. (Click here to read it.) Hopefully you think it is as amusing as I do.

Ring Ring

Hello...

Oh my goodness...

Your kidding me...

Mom its for you...

Every party has a pooper!

We have been loving all the "firsts" Kroten has been experiencing lately...
first solid food
first word used correctly (Uh-O)
first time on the swings
first antibiotic (not so much fun)
first tooth
first time pulling up on the couch
etc...
... But we were not so excited about the "first" we experienced today...












He pooped in the bath-tub.

As you can see, he is pretty proud of himself.

Playing with cakes.

So I really want to make a cool cake with fondant frosting for Kroten's birthday, but I am terribly afraid of failing, so I made a cake today to test out my fondant making skills. It went better than I thought it would. I made all the fondant myself and decorated a little cake for a party we are going to tonight. It isn't as cute as I would like, but I am definitely proud of my first attempt.

If it looks like I just woke up in these pictures, it is because I did... sorry.

It was very sticky at first, this is the kneading process.


Jared adding crumb frosting to the cake so it is extra YUMMY.

Kroten helped by eating the powdered sugar that fell on the floor.


It looks like play dough, but it is really frosting.


putting the fondant on the cake.


The finished product. It is pink and green, it looks red in this picture but it is not, it is not a christmas cake.


ok, this picture makes it look like pepperoni and green peppers, it looks way better in real life. I dont care I am really excited at how it turned out.

Be Prepared!

I have been struck lately by the council to be prepared, and to store a little in case of an emergency. Each week, I have been trying to do something to prepare. This last week my mom, laura and I canned some meat. It was fun, and easy. I am really excited to try it out, and to become a little more prepared.


It is not very pretty, but it is going to last a long time. This is the chicken, pork and beef.

Say Cheese!

Kroten has been doing this cheesy smile every where we go. If someone waves at him in the grocery store, he flashes some cheese, if I pull out the camera he does his cheesy smile, when daddy asks for a kiss, he smiles big. Even though it is cheesy, I love every time he does it. He is my little cheese ball.

Kroten (hearts) Jefferson.

Every time I go in to check on Kroten he and this stuffed elephant are in some goofy twisted contraption. This on was too funny I had to take a picture. Dont worry, we move the elephant when he does this. And yes... we do name our sons stuffed animals, we are cool like that.

A family that bikes together...

Jared has wanted to get me a bike since before we got married, he has a really nice bike and has been wanting to go on family bike rides. So last weekend (while it was raining) we went and splurged some of our tax return on a pretty cruiser for me and a trailer for Kroten. We have been on a few rides since and are loving it so far. Tonight we went on a 6 mile ride, it was great.

Jared and Kroten trying out Kroten's new wheels.



Me on my new bike. I LOVE IT. Even though I really bought it for Jared, I am really enjoying it.



See how much Kroten loves it.


We are so excited to bike our way through summer.

our awful weekend...

My head is still spinning from this insane weekend we had. IT WAS AWFUL!!!

It all started on thursday night when Kroten decided at 7 o' clock to break a fever. He started screaming and wouldn't stop crying, he wouldn't go to bed and all he wanted to do was cuddle, not like him at all. His fever topped at 102.4 at about 11, at which point he had only slept maybe an hour. The rest of the night I stayed up watching cheesy informercials and holding him. I think I got about 3 hours of sleep all night, that isn't even the worst part, Jared had to work the next day and I had a job interview at 11.
It was the worst night ever,
worse than when he was a newborn, and you all know how horrible that was.

So Friday, my mom came over to help watch Kroten while I got ready and went to my interview, luckily I can run on little to no energy, unfortunately it catches up to me (keep reading and you will see.) Later that afternoon, we went to the doctor and they told us he has a pretty bad ear infection and (thank goodness) his fever was almost over. That night I started to feel crummy. Since I had stayed up all night with him, Jared offered to take the watch, so I took a Benydril and conked out. Kroten slept almost all night, but Saturday both Jared and I were sick and tired but thankfully Kroten was feeling much better, thanks to the pink miracle drug they gave to him. I dont know what is in it, but I am a firm believer in its healing powers.

Today we skipped church, mostly for everyone else's sake, what ever this sickness that is going around is I definitely dont want any one else to get it. But I am glad we did, because I feel awful. I can't hear, cant smell, cant breath, cant taste, cant move, and to make this whole story even worse...
Kroten decided to wean himself from nursing,
I've tried everything and he just doesn't want to nurse. If you dont know what that means for me, just knowit is horrible, and it hurts.

So even though we didn't get to enjoy the weekend and tomorrow we have to go back to the daily grind, I am glad it is all almost over. I learned one good lesson though, I would way rather be sick than take care of a sick baby, at least when it is me I can sleep!!