Healthy Eating

A while back we were talking to Jaxon about healthy eating. The reason why was because he will get these cramps or pains in his legs once in awhile. We not positive what it is but we think they are probably growing pains. He has gotten pretty tall lately and it seems to all be in his legs. Anyway, I try to watch what he eats when they happen and I think they happen when he has more junk food. Of course we try to feed him a balanced diet but this kid likes to snack and if Blake and I don't communicate he can get more junk that he needs. He loves chips so we really limit those.
So when his legs started hurting, I took this opportunity to talk to him about healthy eating. (Even though I have no idea if that is why his legs hurt. Just twisting the truth in my favor.) So I told him if he wanted his legs to stop hurting that he would have to eat healthy food. We told him all about foods that are good for you such as fruits, vegetables, and grains and we should eat a lot of them. Then we told him chips and candy are not very good for you so we only have that a little bit. Then he said, "But chips and candy are delicious Mommy!" Don't I know it Jaxon. So I think Jaxon nailed our problem with junk food pretty simply - it's just too darn delicious.

Jaxonism:
Jaxon poked his head around the corner and said, "There she is! My little superstar!" (Apparently this is from the movie Bolt)

Here's a pic of Jaxon with one of his favorites: Fudgesicles. If he doesn't eat a good meal then he doesn't get one. Bargaining works!

Motorcycle Brent

One of our family friends, Brent, has a motorcycle. I'm not sure when it started but when Jaxon saw Brent on the motorcycle he started calling him "Motorcycle Brent". Whenever he saw a motorcycle or got a toy motorcycle he would always say, "Motorcycle Brent". Brent always asks him if he wants a ride and Jaxon backs away with a firm, "No". When we were getting ready to celebrate Blake and another friend's, James, birthdays on Saturday we saw Brent on his motorcycle and asked Jaxon if he wanted a ride. We all assumed he'd say no but this time he said, "Yes!" Brent didn't have a helmet so he said he'd go get it. I thought Jaxon might back down when it was right there but he went for his first motorcycle ride around the block. I used to like to ride with my dad when I was little, even though turning made me nervous so I was excited for him. I will admit that is not what I want him to have when he's driving but it was fun for a short ride.


Gotta love the "guy love" (from Scrubs).The birthday boys.

Below are pics from James and Blake's birthday party on Saturday. James is April 26 and Blake's is April 30 so we just combined them. We got a Dairy Queen cake that wasn't quite thawed out so Brent decided to heat the knife over the burner. It didn't quite work out so well so we had to wait. I asked Blake if he wanted his gift now (Saturday) or wait until his real birthday. Blake said to wait but Jaxon heard me and said, "Give Daddy Batman!" He had kept the secret for a few days but my reminder wasn't going to quiet him now. So we went ahead and gave him his gift which was 2 movies - Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

The Artist/Yoga Man

I am kind of backed up on some blogs (that sounds kind of gross). Anyway I will be posting things that happened later but I figure it is easy to look at one a day then a whole bunch at once.

First up - The Artist
Jaxon loves to color. I mean loves it! He really started getting into it at Thanksgiving when Grandma got him a pack of who knows how many markers and he spent 2 1/2 hours straight coloring - that's a long time for a 3 year old. Ever since then he spends time coloring everyday. He does pretty good (of course I think so) for his age. He colors them then has Blake and I cut around them as close as possible. He'll tell us if we missed a spot. Now does he ever do these wonderful creations for Mommy or Daddy - no way! They are mine! (his words) So we have a whole bucket full of pictures he has colored. (Yes I've had to throw a few away when he's not looking. I know I'm a bad Mommy but seriously we would have a whole room full if I didn't.) This weekend at our Sunday School's garage sale we made a pretty good find with a drawing desk. Now he can sit at it and color all he wants and the lid lifts up to store all of his coloring books, crayons, markers, etc... Right now we just put it somewhere but will probably rearrange later. Being a true artist he also likes to paint. Of course Mommy doesn't like the mess so those are put away and only been out a few times. I did get him some finger paints for Easter. I know what a mess but hey I'm a first grade teacher so I can handle it. Hopefully Jaxon will get his Daddy's artistic skills.


Jaxon with his new desk he loves!

Inside the desk


Next Up - Yoga Man
We were getting the floor picked up to vacuum and Jaxon started doing some yoga poses that he saw Julie (his daycare provider) doing. It is hilarious. I've done a little bit of yoga so I kind of know the names. It was so funny! You never know what they are watching and absorbing.

Tree Pose


Chair Pose


Downward Facing Dog


Plank

We got some other garage sale finds - a dresser, bookshelves, and a few toys. Our Sunday School class did pretty good making over $850 which will go to the Mexican American Ministries in Satanta which helps families who need it in the community. We were exhausted but had a good time.

Tattooed Man

Ever since I got Kung Fu Panda valentines that came with tattoos, Jaxon gets up everyday and wants a new tattoo. Right now we have some Monsters v. Aliens tattoos that go away pretty quickly. I wonder if this is a little preview of years to come when he comes home completely tattooed up. Right now we think it's cute but I wonder what we'll think when it's real. MMMM - we'll see!
We had a very busy weekend - pics to come later! School is winding down - like 19 days left I think. Teachers and students alike are ready for break! I get frustrated this time of the year because everyone piles everything on at the very last. Everyone is having meetings "one last time" or "because we haven't met in awhile". Also this is the time for all of the end of the year events that are fun but exhausting. Blake has two track meets this week, trying to catch up on canceled track meets. Fortunately it is junior high so it ends earlier than the high school. We'll get through and before you know it, school will start again.

Grandma's Scrapping

This is a layout my mom did of Jaxon. I thought it was really cool and shows my mom's artistic talents which I did not get. Thank goodness Jaxon has her to do some cool scrappings of his photos. Maybe I'll learn sometime but I get frustrated when I can't get it to do what I see in my head. Mom says to just play around with it but I'm too uptight about it.
If you can't tell, on the little trap door it says, "God's Little Blessings."
Her website: www.e-scapeandscrap.net

Jaxon's Magic Trick

Last night, I was sitting in the chair and Jaxon said he wanted to show me a magic trick. He went into his room and got a penny and told me to hold it behind my ear. I did and then he said, "Why mommy what's behind your ear?" Then he takes it from my hand and says, "Look you had a penny behind your ear." Apparently this is from some movie he saw. I can't remember seeing it but he only has to see it once to remember it.

We were busy getting ready for our Sunday School classes garage sale after school today. We have a bunch of stuff and all did some shopping of our own. It is always fun to find some garage sale treasure. Jaxon found some new toys he was exciting about. All of the kids were busy playing with "new" old toys. Of course the second you take them home they lose all their appeal. It's a lot of work but our class always has a good time together and it always feels good to accomplish something instead of just sitting around saying, "Someone should..."

Papa's Flag

On the farm my Papa (Jaxon's Great-Grandpa) puts up their flag every morning pending good weather. Jaxon loves seeing the flag up and wants to know why each time it is not up. It's the first thing he looks for when we go down to Granny and Papa's house. Now anytime we see an American flag Jaxon yells, "Papa's flag!"


Jaxon walking with Papa on the farm getting ready to ride in the tractor.

Rainy Day Talks

We got rain today! We always have to relish the rain when it comes because it doesn't happen too often. My students at school didn't like the thunder and lightning though. Fortunately that part didn't last too long.
I went to Liberal to get some groceries. Blake and Jaxon stayed home since the junior high track meet (Blake coaches) got canceled. They were sitting in our bay window watching the rain. Jaxon didn't like the thunder and asked daddy why it did that - his favorite question: Why? Blake told him something about God bowling. That prompted the following discussion.
Jaxon - Daddy, what does God read?
Blake - What DOES God read Jax?
Jaxon - (with a matter of fact manner) God books.
Now we all know!

Coloring Easter Eggs

Since we didn't get to coloring Easter eggs on Sunday, I invited over the Howie girls (Alex and Ava) to help us color eggs after school on Monday. I had bought a sports decorating kit awhile ago. Jaxon did pretty good remembering how to do it from last year. I was actually amazed that last year when he was 2 and he remembered how to do it from the year before when he was 1. Hopefully he has his Mommy's good memory!
Afterwards we went to play in the new equipment at the park across from the Methodist church (politially correct).

Embarrassing Cousins!

Here are the pics of Faith and Tyler working while I embarrass them. Unfortunately I didn't get good ones of Ty.

Easter

Sorry this is late getting up. I have been in a procrastinating mood since this weekend. It just felt like summer time going to the Royals game that I've been really resistant to get back into the groove. Oh well, not much time left.
We got back from the Royals game Saturday and started prepping for Easter by going down to Granny's and making candy suckers from a kit I got from Wal-Mart. They were really easy and cute. Jaxon enjoyed it for awhile then he said, "Mommy I want to watch you do it." Which translates to "I'm over this." I always enjoy baking at Granny's because that is what I did as a kid. The pictures you see of Jaxon standing on Granny's chairs are some of the exact same pictures of me as a kid (same chairs even).
Sunday was really wet so we didn't have our traditional Easter egg hunt. After church we went with my parents, grandparents, and Blake's parents to Mulligans to eat. Jaxon got golf clubs and a bag from Mamaw and Papaw (Blake's parents). I was just telling Blake he needed something like that. Jaxon got ahold of my camera and started taking pictures. He actually does a good job because Grandma taught him a long time ago with her nice camera how to center the people in it. He went a little picture crazy and was taking pictures of the floor, his shoes, the lights, etc.. He actually gets that from my mom because she is always taking pictures of things like that for her scrapping business - www.e-scapeandscrap.net
We were tired from the busy weekend so we didn't color eggs Sunday. Instead we enjoyed a lazy, rainy day before heading home.

Royals Game

Blake and I went to the Royals game on Friday, April 10th - Opening Day with my brother Dustin and Uncle Josh. The Royals played the Yankees and lost but it was still a lot of fun. They just got done doing some renovations (See Pics) and it was awesome. I highly suggest people go even if the Royals aren't that good this year. Just the atmosphere is so great!
Afterwards, we went to drop off some of my brother's Royals tickets for another game with my cousin Tyler who lives in KC. He is 18 and was working at Hy-Vee so I of course decided to embarrass him. (Pictures coming) Poor Tyler got redder than his hair when I started taking pictures of him. He told me to go bother his sister Faith (16) who also works there. I went over and snapped a shot of Faith checking people out (as a cashier). She looked up and literally screamed, "OH MY GOD!" Everyone looked up to see what was going on which in turn ended up embarrassed me. In fact, Blake and Dustin were on their way to say hello until she screamed then they about-faced and went the other way. Oh Faith!
We went out to eat at Red Robin whom I heard had awesome burgers and they were great. Another recommendation! We stayed at my brother's - Oh the college days!
This was the first overnight stay without us for Jaxon. He had a blast of course staying with Grandma and Grandpa. Yesterday, they went to Pratt (40 miles away) to eat breakfast with Mamaw and Papaw (Blake's parents). So he got extra spoiled. He was always too busy to talk to me when I called. When we got back, he started pouting because he thought we were taking him home and he didn't want to leave. Obviously not too hard for him to be away from Mommy and Daddy!
He was a pretty good boy but I think my parents have an appreciation now for dealing with a 3 year old. (I think they forgot some of it.) Jaxon is very stubborn and persistent and had a bit of a meltdown today before nap. My mom was like he just kept doing it! I was definitely not like that as a child. I hated getting in trouble and would start bawling the second I thought my parents were mad at me. Unfortunately I did not get a child like that. Jaxon doesn't really LIKE getting in trouble but he really LIKES to get HIS way more.
Jaxonism: sort of?
Running around the house re-enacting the part to Home Alone 2 when Kevin has the blow up clown in the shower singing then yelling to the concierge, "Hey get out of here before I knock you silly." Then he runs out yelling and falls just like the concierge did. This kid needs to get paid to watch movies when he's older!

Return of the Turtles!

The turtles are back! Jaxon is now sharing Daddy's love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. They have been having marathons the past few days watching Daddy's original movies on tape. Jaxon loves his "Inja Turtles" and has been combining his turtle moves with his Kung Fu Panda. He does it all the time. We might look into taking Karate classes with his little friend Derek but I'm afraid to do that to their babysitter Julie. We'll see.

Easter Egg Hunt

Today our Sunday Schoool class partnered with the Chamber to put on an Easter Egg Hunt for the community. Jaxon was so excited all day that he almost missed it because he got pretty cranky waiting and we threatened to take him home. Fortunately it started right before a big meltdown and Jaxon had a blast. It was so funny watching him because we had a ton of eggs so they were just laid out right in the open and Jaxon still was running all over picking up eggs. It was like watching a pinball, just too many. It was super windy and cold today so we went in afterwards to see what he got. It was set up so that kids got some candy and stickers in the eggs. There was also bunny money which the kids used to redeem and get other prizes they choose. The kids also got to decorate sugar cookies (the best from Three Tiers) and eat them. There was also face painting. The kids had a blast even though the adults were spent afterwards.

Health Fair/Monsters v. Aliens

On Saturday, we went to the Health Fair for Haskell County. It was held at Satanta High School in the gym. In the old gym, they had a children's health fair. Jaxon played there for hours. They had many blow-up toys like an obstacle course, moonwalk, and velcro wall. Jaxon enjoyed them all.
That afternoon we head to Dodge City to meet my parents to watch Monsters v. Aliens. Jaxon has been dying to see it every since the previews started so it's been awhile. There are some previews on some of his movies so he already knew some of the lines. He loved the movie and I recommend it to people of all ages. Afterwards we tried to get him to take a picture by the sign but was too scared? Oh well.






Jaxonism:
Daddy why do your boogers have jelly in them?

Benny and the Jets

One of Jaxon's favorite songs right now is Benny and the Jets. He started liking it because one day I was watching the movie 27 Dresses and they sing this song. Ever since then if I am flipping and pass by it, we have to see if it is time for them to sing Benny and the Jets so we can watch. Since he loves it now and who knows how long that will last so I downloaded it on my ipod. Today we were rocking out to it while we made one of Jaxon's favorites macaroni & cheese and hot dogs. He loves to help me cook. Hopefully that will continue so he can cook when he grows up since it's not my favorite thing to do.
Other favs right now:
Jaxon's Playlist
- So What by Pink
- I like to Move It from Madagascar
- AllStar from Shrek
- All songs from Cars (He was rocking on with the karaoake and microphone the other night but I didn't have the camera ready. I'll try to catch it.)
- More than a Feeling by Boston