Cooking

J only asked for one thing from Santa this year.

A kitchen.

I've had so much fun watching him cook on it too...

Lately we've had fun cooking together.  Getting him to try new things as a reward for helping me cook in the kitchen.  My new year plan was to improve our eating options at night & this has been a huge step towards doing that.

In hiding...

Lately, when I cannot find a piece to a toy set, or simply a toy I cannot find, I've learned to look in J's favorite hiding place.

Between the couch cushion & the frame.

Needless to say, when I heard J call out "Mommy Help!  I'm stuck."  I was not surprised to walk into our living room to find this...

 He on the other hand, was less than impressed with my laughter & making his wait for help so I could capture this moment...

Kiddie Klub - Just J

These are so pictures of J I captured while we were at the Kiddie Klub with Kristi, Cam & Mall.  I love that the are all action shots, as J is starting to not want to pose for me, unless he is in the mood... 

Right before Christmas, J started expressing a love for chapstick, that can only remind me of me as a child.  It was so well known around my family that my Grandpa B used to call & ask what kind of sugar kiss was he getting from his Alicat that day.  And the flavor was always whatever flavor of chapstick I was wearing.  Generally on a string around my neck.

Mr. M & I laugh, because even though J has a gazillion +1 of his own, he still wants to steel ours.  Only, he is not partial to ours.  The one in his hand Aunt Kristi let J borrow - to avoid the "no" meltdown.

J is very taken with Minnie these days.  It was so sweet to just sit back & listen to him talk to her.  His imagination is growing so much these days, and it is fun to see it in action like this.

J LOVES basketball.  LOVES IT!  As in, we were at our first soccer meeting last night & J saw the older boys playing basketball & melted down over our not staying to let him play.  I felt sooo bad.  So naturally, when J saw a basketball at the Klub, he was all about it.  Tossing it.  Shooting it.  Setting it down & running towards. 

Is it a shock to anyone that J loved climbing?

Yeah, didn't think so...

Shoveling Snow with Grandpa...

During our visit from my parents, we got a little bit of snow.  And Grandpa P not being one to just sit on his laurels, jumped right up to shovel the snow for us.

Since J is at the age where snow is *fun*, as opposed to cold, Grandpa asked if J wanted to help.  Grandma & Grandpa M got J his very own shovel last year, so once bundled up - he was all set to go...

And shovel they did...

Well, until the wind blew the snow back in J's face - then J took a header into the snow pile.

After getting out of his snowy outerwear, we snuggled up watching Grandpa through the window.

Wait - It's Christmas again? Already?

Well, not really...  We are just running a bit late this year. 

See my niece, Mallory, ended up in the P-ICU the weekend they were planning to travel to Chicago to celebrate Christmas - BEFORE Christmas.  What the Dr. thought to be a case of the croup, ended up being croup, common cold, flu... And a staph infection in her throat.

Thankfully they caught it & did what they needed to do to help her get better.  We all did a little bit of extra celebration this year knowing she was home in her bed on Christmas Eve.

As for the kids, they think it is awesome to have such an extended Christmas.  Especially considering they got the Bitty Baby they were so desperately coveting. 

Cam's may have asked why Santa didn't get her the Bitty Baby she specifically requested.

J is already having fun with his alphabet puzzle, and is constantly bugging me to open his big present a scooter.  I have it in the garage, and every night when we get home from school J's says (in total disbelief)

"WHAT IS THAT MOMMY?"

Like he has never seen it before & cannot believe it is in his garage.  So I'm hoping for a little warm up soon so we can test it out... 

This adorable chef hat & apron was actually for J from Santa.  Santa missed the color being pink, since it was stated no where on the outside of the box.  Since we cannot return Santa gifts, we did the next best thing - passed it on to someone who would enjoy it...

After posing for this pic, Cam's decided Mall needed to pose in it as well... She has a bit of growing to do before it will really fit.  :)

Cousins

Cousins....

Laughing...

Playing...

Having fun, like they don't live in different states...

As if they don't see each other just a couple of times a year...

J & I were blessed enough to visit my brother & his family this past weekend.  We had so much fun that J did not want to leave.  The weekend definitely passed much to quickly for both of us.

Guess who is getting a big boy bed?

When J transitioned into a big boy bed just before Christmas last year, both Mr. M & Grandma M were anxious to buy a race car toddler bed for him.

Me, not so much.

I wasn't ready to admit my little baby had gotten so big.  We converted J's crib & have been in that for the past year.

Lately I've noticed him complaining of being cramped when I'm snuggling him to sleep at night, and to be honest, I agree.  Totally.

Mr. M picked up on the thread of an opening for *needing* a new bed & found the perfect twin size Lightening McQueen race car bed.  And then I found the perfect bedding to go with it. 

J is such a Cars junky, I cannot wait to see how he reacts to this.

and possibly just a little bit excited to not be so scrunched when snuggling him at night...