What a Great Daddy!

I know that I do not show my appreciation enough for everything that Brian does. I always feel that he can more & that I do most of everything around here, but in all reality, Brian does a whole heck of a lot! He is the GREATEST dad I could ever ask for my precious darling. Brian gets up in the middle of the night, changes poopy diapers, takes days off if Jaxon is sick, takes him to the doctor, teaches him golf & baseball, makes him dinner, gives him baths, reads stories, takes him to the park. The list just goes on and on.

I am just so proud of how good he is with Jaxon. He will be the first one to admit that he has no patience and has no clue about kids, but he has learned fast! He still could use a dose or two of patience, but he's trying.

When Jaxon was a newborn and people would ask how Brian was doing I would always say, "I think he loves Jaxon more than I do! He is over the moon for that baby." And it's so true. Jaxon is his little buddy and he would go to the ends of the Earth for him. They had a strong bond from the first time they laid eyes on each other. I'm never sure who is more excited to whom when Brian gets home from work, Jaxon or Daddy.
I might complain about Brian, but I am always thankful he is such a wonderful Dad.

The Two Loves of My Life:

The outfit Jax is wearing is from Build-A-Bear! That's how tiny he was!

5 weeks

Tuscson, AZ Jaxon at 8 months

Chamisa Hills Golf Course. Jaxon at 9 months

Reid Park Zoo. 11 months

San Diego. Jaxon is 15 monthsMy favorite picture EVER of Brian & Jaxon.Albuquerque Aquarium. October 2009?Halloween 2009Tia Kate's kitty, Gracie. Christmas 2009Being silly at Oregano's. December 2009Saturday morning bedtime. You can barely see Brian's head to the left.Watching Tiger play in the Master's on Sunday.

How cute are Jaxon's little shoes?? LOVE them!- thanks Lola!

Thanks for all you do Brian!

It's a Gymboree Day!

Three weeks ago Jaxon graduated from Level 4 to Level 5.

Jaxon's certificate:

"This certifies that Jaxon Pearson

has successfully completed

Gymboree Play and Learn 4

and is ready to explore his

burgeoning imagination in Level 5!"

Jaxon didn't have to do anything tricky to graduate, he just had to turn 22 months. For those of you who have not experienced Gymboree, it is broken up by age. Jax started in Level 3 which is 10-16 months. Level 4 is 16-22 months and Level 5 is 22-28 months.

I really didn't want to move him just yet. The Level 4 Play class was on Fridays at 11:00 am which was perfect because we go to Music at 10:00 am. so that meant only one trip to Gymboree a week. Plus, I really like the kids & moms in the Level 4 class. Well, now that he had to move we go to Gymboree twice a week. On Tuesday mornings at 9:10 (UGH! It is a struggle getting out of the house that early on a day off) and again Friday morning at 10:00 am.

It dawned on me today why Jaxon is having a hard time at Gymboree:

1 - We rush out of the house. We have no time to "ease into the morning" as Brian says.

2- We are always late so Jaxon doesn't have a chance to get the lay of the land like he did in Level 4. If you are there a few minutes before class you can go on the play floor and explore before class begins & the rest of the kids arrive. Jax seems to need this time to feel comfortable, even though he's been going for almost a year now.

I guess I will need to get my butt out of bed earlier next week!

3- The kids in Level 5 are mostly ALL boys & they are quite aggressive.

But, I am happy to report he was nicer today to the other kids! He had to apologize ("Sowee, Parter") a few times and had only 1 time out, but he got the picture.

Going over a bridge

Climbing

Sliding down the wedge

Watching the bubbles from afar.

I do have to say that we both LOVE Gymboree! Jaxon has learned so much and it is making him more social. He has learned to climb, take risks, be independent, clean up, use his imagination, jump, slide, pop bubbles, sing songs, etc, etc. It is a great 45 minutes for me & him to spend together (not that we don't spend plenty of time together). If you have a Gymboree near you I HIGHLY recommend you check it out. It is so much fun. We also love the music class. Jaxon loves to dance, to learn new songs & his favorite is playing with the instruments. The best part of Gymboree is that he is exhausted and takes a nice long nap when we get home!

Jaxon's favorite part of Gymboree is the Gymbo stamps at the end of class. He loves to get a stamp on his "pipa" (tummy in Spanish).

He gets one on each foot, one one his tummy and one on each hand. That's 5 stamps! By the time those 5 have been washed off it's time to go to Music, where they get music stamps! Oh well. He loves it! He will show anyone who'll listen, "Ymbo amps" (Gymbo stamps)

Snack Anyone?

I guess I haven't been feeding Jaxon enough lately! He found it necessary to take a BIG bite out of his new sidewalk chalk!

I guess he wanted to be a Smurf.

These are my favorite! He is loving himself in the mirror!

He would turn to look at me and say, "Jaxon funny" then squeal with delight!

Never a dull moment! These little things make those tantrums worth it. I haven't laughed so much in awhile (well, not since the "fut" incident!). Jaxon just has a way of putting a smile on my face and love in my heart.

A BIG Mess

I know that when my parents see this post they are going to have a mini-heart attack! I can just hear them now, "Aye, Anabelle! Que rebolu!" So I will apologize the them now. Sorry, Mom & Dad!

Well, I know that I had a BIG mess in my closest and it was driving me nuts! I am usually not this messy. This lasted about 2 weeks and it was the week that we came back from spring break. I had report cards to do, parent teacher conferences to hold until the wee hours of the night, grocery shopping to do, vacuuming, dusting, linen changing, etc etc. I was busy and exhausted! Needless to say, the closest went to the bottom of my to do list. Everytime I walked in I cringed and had a mini-panic attack, I couldn't wait to clean it! Thankfully I only work part-time so I was able to take a Friday morning to dedicate to putting my closest back together. I also had a nice little helper!

Before {cringe}

There is a laundry basket under the pile of clothes so at least they aren't just thrown on the floor.

After. {relieved sigh}.

The shelves to the right belong to Brian, that's why the clothes aren't nicely folded.

My organizing helper.

Down he goes!

"Pantates, Hot Dods & Boons"

Saturday mornings in the Pearson household means a homemade breakfast! This morning it was Buttermilk Pancakes. Yummy! Or as Jaxon likes to call them, "Pantates". With pancakes come Jaxon's favorite breakfast treat, Kielbasa Sausages, or "Hot dods". Now, we don't have Bisquick pancakes around here, no way! A few years ago, my mom introduced me to homemade buttermilk pancakes. And boy did I get hooked! They are absolutely delicious. Even Brian, who prides himself in not being a "pancake guy" cannot resist these anymore (believe me he tried for months!). These are so good you should all try them. Here is the recipe:

Perfect Buttermilk Pancakes

Makes 4 servings of 4 pancakes each

Ingredients:

1 cup all purpose bleached flour

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup buttermilk

1/4 cup milk

1 large egg

2 TBS unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

Mix flour, sugar, salt (if using salted butter, reduce salt to 1/4tsp), baking powder & baking soda in medium bowl.

Microwave buttermilk & milk in 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup to room temperature, 20-30 seconds. Whisk in egg, butter & vanilla. Add wet ingredients & whisk until just mixed.

Heat non-stick griddle & spray with Pam or brush it with oil. When oil is hot pour batter & cook to desired color. I like mine golden brown, Brian likes his dark brown.

Jaxon's half eaten plate


You can't forget the sausages!
Yummy! Hot dods!



Clapping for a good breakfast


We had an added bonus to our breakfast morning. Hot Air Balloons! Albuquerque is famous for their International Balloon Fiesta each October. I must say, it is quite nice to wake up to hot air balloons floating in the air. I do love that about living here! Now that the weather is getting nicer the balloons are out in full force. We have 5 HUGE windows on our 2nd floor and are able to see for miles. As I am carrying Jaxon downstairs he spotted the balloons and exclaimed, "Mama! Boons! Boons! Outside boons!" The best view to see the balloons is from out back deck, so we braved the chilly air and headed out to watch the balloons float by. They are so beautiful and peaceful.

The balloon Jaxon spotted from inside.

The view from our deck.

Here's a quick video of Jaxon waiting for his pancakes to be ready.

All Before 10:00 AM

A few weeks ago my friend Sarah and Nicole each posted a blog about what happens in their lives from the time they wake up until 10:00 am. Sarah is a 2nd grade teacher who is a month away from meeting her baby boy, Henry and Nicole is a stay-at-home-mom with 2 toddlers. Since I am blogging every day for a month I thought this would be a great idea for my blog! Since I am a part-time working mom and a part-time stay-at-home mom I thought I would do a morning I stayed home and a morning I worked. Here goes:

Tuesday, April 6 (stay-at-home day)
4:24 am - Wake up. Unable to breathe through my nose it's so stuffed up. Decide to get up to go potty and get a drink of water. My nose feels better while I'm upright, maybe I'll sleep sitting up.

6:22 am - Here Jaxon talking in his crib. Brian says, "Leave him in there. It's too early to get him out. Wait until 7." Sounds good to me, I'm too tired to get out of bed anyway. Go back to sleep.

6:56 am - Jaxon is now yelling, "Daddy. Mama. Are you?" It's Brian's turn to get him. He gets up, changes his diaper and brings him back to our bed.

7:08 am - Wake up suddenly and realize it is Tuesday, Gymboree day! We have to leave at 8:40 am better get up. Not really feeling it. So tired. Should not have stayed up until 11:30 pm last night night.

7:10 - 7:15am - Brush teeth, go potty, put on sweats, carry Jaxon downstairs. Turn on Dinosaur Train.

7:15- 7:35 am - Put dishes away from last night, make scrambled eggs, bacon & toast for breakfast.

7:35 - 7:45 am - Jaxon & I (oh and the animals too) eat very quickly. Thankfully he was very hungry.

7:50 - 8:00 am - Do a quick clean up of Jaxon, the animals, & the kitchen. Leave Brian in charge of Jaxon while I go upstairs to shower.

8:00 - 8:10 am - While showering, Jaxon comes upstairs with a plastic golf club and starts to swing it at the shower door. I yell, "NO! Jaxon put it down." Whew! He listened, but slammed it on the tile instead.

8:10 am - Out of the shower. Asked Jax, "How'd you get up here?" Jax answers, "Tairs." Really? By himself? Where's Brian? Call for Brian. He answers, is downstairs working. So much for him watching Jaxon.

8:10 - 8:20 am - Put Jaxon on the counter, let him play with my hairbrushes, Q-tips, toothbrush, etc. While I put my face on and blow dry my hair. (Don't worry, I stand behind him in case he losses his balance.

8:20 - Smell the all too familiar smell of poop. Ask Jaxon if he pooped. He whispers, "No." Which is my first clue that he did. He tends to lie about that these days.

8:21 am - Mini tantrum #1. Jaxon doesn't want to be carried off the counter.

8:22 am - He calmed down. Put him on the changing table. Mini tantrum #2: He doesn't want me to take off his pajamas. "Ammas on! Ammas on!". Change poopy diaper. EWW!! Dress Jaxon in jeans and a long sleeved shirt. Yes, long sleeve shirt. It is still cold! Mini-tantrum #3. He doesn't want to put on a shirt. "Shut off. No shut!"

8:26 - 8:36 am - Back to the counter to finish getting beautified! Running late!

8:36 - 8:40 am - Throw on some jeans, light sweater & closed-toed shoes. UGH! I'm so tired of sweaters and closed-toed shoes. Try to avoid Jaxon's swinging club. several times.

8:40 am - Head down the stairs. Mini-tantrum #4. Jaxon doesn't want to go downstairs. Give him a choice, "Hold my hand and walk or carry you?" "NO!" Again, "Hold my hand and walk or carry you?" "NO!" Fine. I pick him up and head downstairs. He is kicking and screaming the entire way. Oh, this is going to be a fun day!

8:42 - 8:45 am - Fill sippy cup with water. Put Goldfish in a bowl to go & cereal in a bowl. Grab Jaxon's shoes.

8:45 -8:47 am - Mini-tantrum #5. NO SHOES!" SHOES OFF!" Fine. Not going to fight anymore. I need to take his shoes off once we get to Gymboree anyway. Whisk him off to the car.

8:48 - 8:50 am - Buckle up Jaxon. Hand him his bowl of cereal. Start the car and off we go. 5 minutes late. Crap! Hopefully traffic won't be bad.

8:50 - 9:15 am - Drive across town. Hand Jaxon sippy cup several times. Hand him a book. Sing a few songs. Remind him to be nice at Gymboree. Tell him we aren't going to Frances' house today, going to see Miss Ashley instead.

9:15 - 9:18 am Pull into Gymboree parking lot. 5 minutes late for class. Carry Jax in. Take off my shoes & Jaxon's socks. Write a name tag. Clean hands with Purell. Walk onto Gymboree floor.

9:18 - 9:55 am - Play with balls, scarves, go down the slide, climb up the slide, rock on the rocking horse. Play with the parachute, sing songs, catch and pop bubbles (Jax prefers to catch them with his mouth). Tell him several times to be nice.

9:55 am - Back out in the lobby. Put shoes back on. "Bye Ashey. Bye Ree. Amps Mama." (Bye Ashley. Bye Gymboree. Stamps, Mama) Head out to the car.

9:57 am - Off to Marshalls! I'm on a new mission to find Jaxon some crocs for the summer.

Whew!

Thursday, April 8 (Work day)

6:05 am - Brian's alarm goes off. He has to be in Santa Fe by 7:30 am this means I have to get Jax ready by myself. Stay in bed.

6:05 -6:20 am - Listen to Brian get ready. Try to fall asleep for a bit. I'm not successful. At 6:15 Brian kisses me goodbye.

6:20 - 6:40 am - Brush my teeth, go potty, hop in the shower.

6:40 am - Pass by Jaxon's room. Can hear him talking quietly. He will stay in there for a bit.

6:40 - 7:00 am - Turn on computer to check email, blogs, & Facebook while I do my makeup.

7:00 - 7:05 am - Go downstairs to get dry cereal & a sippy cup of milk for Jaxon. Feed Lucy.

7:05 am - Pass by Jaxon's room again. He is still talking & playing quietly. Perfect!

7:05 - 7:15 am - Blowdry my hair peacefully. How nice.

7:15 - 7:25 am - Get dressed. It's field trip day which means jeans and a purple shirt. All of my purple shirts have a weird spot on them! Man Alive! Thankfully there is one school t-shirt that is free of this weird stain. Maybe I can persuade Brian to buy a new washer? Hmm.. Unlikely!

7:25 - 7:30 am - Go to Jaxon's room. He is happy! YAY! Change his diaper. Put lotion on his face. Mini tantrum #1. !"No Otion! No face! Top it Mama" (No lotion. Not on face. Stop it mama!)

7:30 - 7:32 am - Pick out some clothes for Jaxon. Jeans and a short sleeve polo shirt! YAY! The temperature is going to be in the low 60s and there is no wind!

7:32 - Head to the stairs. (keeping my fingers crossed there is no tantrum). "Tarry oo Mama" Arms up. (carry me mama.) Whew! No tantrum! Juggling Jaxon, clothes, Blue Puppy and a bucket of animals that also has a sippy cup & bowl in it, I walk down the stairs. Lucy is waiting for us. Jaxon says, "Ucy! Hooway Ucy! Ucy funny!

7:34 am - Turn on Dinosaur Train. Jaxon sits nicely on his chair and eats his cereal.

7:34 - 7:45 am - Make my lunch for the field trip. Pour a bowl of cereal for myself.

7:45 am - 7:53 am - sit on the couch to enjoy cereal. Not a minute goes by before Jax is up demanding cereal! "Mama, bite. Bite ereal" Yes, he loves to have bites of my cereal, no matter that he has his own!

7:53 am - 7:55 am - Wash my bowl and Brian's bowl.

7:55 - 8:05 am - Mini tantrum #2. "No ammas. Ammas on!" Yup. He doesn't want his pajamas off again. The boy loves to wear his pjs!

8:05 am - Mini tantrum #3. Try to persuade Jaxon to leave Blue Puppy here. Tell him Puppy can't go to Frances'. He has to stay at home. "NO! Papi!" Fine. Take him with us. We will talk about in the car.

8:05 am - Head out the door. "Bye Ucy. Ater Ucy." (Bye Lucy. See you later Lucy). Get buckled up. Drive to the babysitter's.

8:06 - 8:10 am - Driving to Frances' house. Telling Jaxon that Puppy has to stay in the car. He will keep the car safe today. "No. Papi!" Hmm... not going to be so simple today.

8:10 am - Arrive at Frances' house. Jaxon is still clutching Puppy. Tell him again that puppy has to stay in the car. Jaxon is crying real, fat, sad tears! "Pappppiii. Papppiiii!" Oh it breaks my heart, but Frances wants him to keep puppy at home because another little boy tries to take him from Jaxon. Wrench Puppy from Jaxon's hands and put him in the carseat.

8:11 am - Carry a crying Jaxon into the house.

8:11 - 8:18 am - Jaxon stops crying once he sees his friends. Whew! Chat with Frances for a bit. Give Jaxon a hug and a kiss. He clings to me, "No Mama! No go!" Heart breaking again. "I gotta go buddy. I'll see you later. Have fun with your friends." More crying! Frances picks him up and goes to the kitchen to get him something to eat. Thankfully she feeds the kids breakfast, lunch & snacks!

8:18 am - Crap! No time to go to Starbucks this morning. So bummed. Head to school.

8:18 - 8:25 am - Yes, my commute if VERY long :) Think about what needs to get done in the classroom before the kids come in... permission slips, emergency cards, band aids, wipes, class list & sharpies need to go in my bag. Bucket for lunches need to be put out. Chairs need to be put down. Should I call the dad whose daughter didn't bring the permission back? It's a long distance number. Start to feel guilty. Go over what to say to kids before we leave. Go over rules of bus, behavior, what to expect. (We are going on a tour of the grocery store and the library)

8:25 am - Arrive at school. Take a deep breath. The field trip is going to be fun! The kids WILL behave!

8:26 - Walk into classroom. My assistant and another teacher are in the classroom already. Put my stuff down. Get the things together that need to go in my bag before I forget.

8:28 - 8:50am - Julie (assistant) says she feels bad about the girl with no permission slip. Me too, but too bad. We wrote a note Tuesday and it's been in the newsletter. Music teacher walks in. Starts talking about the upcoming performance we have. I keep checking the clock. Duty today.

8:50 - Crap! 5 minutes for duty! Run (well, not not really.) outside.

8:50 - 8:55 am - Stand near kinder playground, in between the primary building and the intermediate building. Watch kids play and make sure no one is sneaking into the building. Yell at about 5 kids, "Walk in the sidewalk!" Talk to a few parents. Answer questions about the field trip. Listen as a parent tells me his son had a bad morning, got yelled at and a spanking for being naughty. SUPER! Tells me the kids tends to run when he's "pissed" GREAT! Reassure dad that son will be fine with us. It'll be a fun day.

8:55 am - The 1st bell rings. Walk the kids inside.

8:57 am - Julie tells me the little girl with no permission slip says she never got one! Oh dear. Why didn't dad write us a note yesterday or call? Now I feel really guilty. Look for her emergency card, grab an extra permission slip. All the while kids are swarming around me asking me questions about the day. Julie takes over class.

8:59 am I walk to the office to make long distance phone call to dad.

9:00 am - 9:15 am - Can't get ahold of dad. Try a few times. He answers. Reception is TERRIBLE! I can't hear a word he says. I just talk & hope he hears me. Ask if there's a fax number I can send slip too. I vaguely hear. "Call back" Click.

9:15 am - The dad calls back from a landline. Whew! He asks when we leave. 9:45 I say. He will come to the school to sign permission slip.

9:15 am - Walk back to classroom. Kids are working quietly (amazing! I guess they just got yelled at. Not surprised) Notice someone has no idea what their bellwork was about. Take her aside to help her while Julie grades the bellwork with the rest of the class.

9:25 - 9:40 am - Gather kids on carpet. Go over the rules and exactly what to expect on our field trip. Go over the rules AGAIN! This group tends to forget them. Hand out name tags. Line up for a bathroom break. Late again!

9:40 - 9:45 am - At the bathroom. Kids are talking LOUDLY! Run between boys & girls bathroom trying to keep the peace, remind them the rules. Seriously, again??

9:45 am - Walk out to bus bay. The bus is waiting for us. Get on bus. Assign kids a seat. Wait for the other kinder class to get on. Go over bus rules again.

9:48 - 9:57 am - Tell about 8 different kids to turn around, stop yelling, sit on their bottoms, keep their hands in the bus, etc etc.

9:57 am - Drop off the other class at the grocery store. Bus driver takes us to the library, across from store.

10:00 am - Unload kids. Librarian is waiting for us. We head to their program room.

Whew! I'm exhausted!

I honestly thought this was going to be a short, quick post. Oh well. Day 9 down!

Our Little Parrot

The phrase "Watch what you say around the kids" has never been more true in our house than today! First let me start by tattling on myself.

Those of you who know Brian, know how much he loves his curse words! It's true, he has one colorful language to put it nicely! Ever since Jaxon was born I have been trying to "encourage" (a nice way of saying "nagging") him to curse less. Once Jax started talking, he would inherit those lovely words Brian loves so much. Well, he tried. I will give him credit. He cursed a lot less than usual, but not good enough for me.

Well, one day, Jax & I are home alone and I am cooking dinner. Jaxon is in the living room playing peacefully. In my typical fashion, I do something wrong with the recipe and say, "S*&#!" Well, what do you know? My little man starts saying, "S*&#!" "S*&#!" "S*&#!" For at least half an hour! SUPER! I had the conversation with myself, Do I tell Brian what happened? or do I let him think that Jaxon is saying it because of him? I decided that honesty was the best policy and when Brian came home I fessed up. He, of course, thought it was hilarious and quite ironic! Now he tells anyone who will listen the story.

Now, it has been months and Jaxon has forgotten about the naughty word and both of his parents are trying not to say them in front of him. This afternoon, Brian is watching the opening round of the Masters. Tiger Woods is putting for birdie on the 18th hole. MISSES!

Brian: "F #@*!"

Anabelle: "Language"

Brian: "Sorry, Babe"

SILENCE

Jaxon: "Fut!" (please remember that Jaxon cannot say the 'k' sound. He replaces it with a 't' sound)

Anabelle & Brian look at each other with panic in their faces.

Brian: "Yeah, Bud. We're watching golf."

Jaxon: "Fut!" Oh fut! Fut"

Brian: "Let's play dinosaurs"

Jaxon: "Fut. Fut. Fut"

Anabelle starts laughing uncontrollably.

Brian starts laughing uncontrollably. I mean what else can we do?

Jaxon starts laughing and saying it more! Oh dear!

Eventually everything is forgotten and we go on with our normal evening. We sit down for dinner and Jaxon decides he wants to give "knuckles". Which I think is totally adorable! He says, "Nuts." and puts his little fist out then opens is and make a bomb sound. Yes, his father taught him to "blow it up"! Thinking of NaBloPoMo I ran for the Flip Cam. We had to tape it on the sly because as soon as Jax sees the camera he wants to see "babies". So not too much into giving knuckles Jaxon starts off with "Fut. Fut." *sigh*

The funniest thing is that he throws his babysiter, Frances, under the bus! I ask him where he learned that word and he says, "Frases." Who knows if she's said it, but I doubt it. Of course Brian will now take no responsibility since Jaxon tattled on someone else!

Enjoy the video!