It's That Time of Year Again...

GOLFING SEASON!

The moment the temperature creeps to the high 50s and the wind is only a slight breeze, the Pearsons head to the golf course! Well, Brian heads to the golf course & I get suckerd into it! Last Sunday, Brian decided he wanted to walk a few holes. We are fortunate enough to be able to walk down our street and be on the golf course. So I loaded up the wagon with snacks, water, 2 animals, the camera, and Jaxon and followed Brian to the golf course.

(video 238)

We started off nice and calm, enjoying a lovely Sunday afternoon together. The 1st hole took us next to the pond, so of course we had to stop to see the ducks.

"T'mon, Mama! Duts!"

It was a little tough leaving this hole since Jax didn't exactly want to leave the ducks, but I comvinced him to walk to the 2nd hole in search of more ducks.

At the 2nd hole Brian decided he would show Jaxon how to swing the club. This did NOT turn out well! Jaxon is a "try it myself first" kind-of-a-guy. It is impossible to show him things without him screaming.

During the 3rd hole Brian went ahead and I stayed behind with Jaxon while he hit the ball. We were here FOREVER!! He did not want to leave. I tried and tried and tried. He screamed and screamed and screamed. Luckily I had a second golf ball and, brilliantly I might add, thought to throw that ball and have Jaxon get it. Yup, like fetch. Actually I said, "Look Jaxon! You hit the ball! Let's go get it and hit it again!" It worked like a charm. The only problem was that I throw like a girl and it didn't go very far. So we played this game like 10 times before we caught up to Brian at the 4th hole.

(VIDEO 245)

Check out his grip!

Our little lefty

Finally! We reached Brian!

Our golf outing ended at the 4th hole with me saying something like, "Don't ever ask me to go golfing again unless there is a cart and an ice cold beer involved!" and I walked us home. (There was much Jaxon drama between holes 3 and 4 that I decided to spare you the details of. )

Good times at the golf course!

I started this post at 1:30 pm. It is now 10:17 pm. This entire time the computer has been trying to upload one stinkin' video and it hasn't been successful! Sorry. It was a cute video of Jaxon saying, "Paying dolf" (playing golf). then I tried uploading another video of Jaxon trying to swing the golf club. I have had no success with either. Go figure the only one that uploaded was the one of Jax throwing a tantrum! Maybe another day you will see the other two.

Who Knew?

I am a girly girl! I love everything that comes with being a girl. I love manicures & pedicures. I love pink! I would wear dresses & skirts everyday of the year if I could. I love wearing high heels, HATE tennis shoes! I can't leave the house without make up on, even if I go to the gym I have to wear foundation & mascara. I know absolutely nothing about sports and have no desire to learn. I would die before I skipped a hair appointment. I spend way too much on getting my hair done. My favorite part of the day is the hour I spend getting ready. I love shopping, I love shoes, purses, jewlery & clothes. You get the picture!

When I was young and pictured myself as a mom, I always pictured myself with a little girl. Of course the little girl would always be dressed in the cutest outfits with matching shoes & hair accessories. She would love to play with dolls and I would take her to get a pedicure as soon as her little feet would reach the water basin. I had a ton of girl names picked out. Not one boy name. When I was pregnant from weeks 5 to 19 I had a sneaking suspicion I was having a boy. As much I dreaded it, what would I do with a boy? I fiercely held out hope that it would be a girl, I mean I had a fifty-fifty chance right?

Well, when we went in for the, much anticipated, 20 week ultrasound I couldn't stand it! The tech said, "I see a penis! You're having a boy!" My heart sank. Really? A boy? I didn't know anything about "boy things". A teeny tiny part of me was sad. You mean I couldn't paint the nursery pink or buy all of those adorable pink polka-dotted dresses at Target?

But of course, I did my motherly duty and painted the nursery blue, bought blue outfits, blue bottles, blue blue blue! All except the pacifier holder! I chose pink! The cashier even said, "Umm. Your having a boy. Why is this pink? Go exchange it real quick" "No. I will be carrying the pacifier holder. I want something pink. It will stay pink."

Of course, now and even at twenty-something weeks pregnant, I wouldn't trade my boy in for the world. Actually, now I am grateful I have a boy. We all know the attitudes girls bring and the worrying about boys I would have to do.

Jaxon is a boy through and through! He loves all sports, he makes sound effects, he can't sit still, he plays with dirt! Each day this week I have had to wrestle him to get the dirt out of his fingernails! He loves to play rough, loves to be outside & loves dinosaurs. He always had a dirty face & screams bloody murder when I try to wash it or wipe it clean.

All boy. And I LOVE IT!

This is a glimpse into what I expect my summer to look like:

Jaxon isn't much of a fan of keeping the sand in the sandbox! He prefers to throw it in the air or empty it.

Who knew I would love being the mama to a boy so much??

Half way done with NaBloPoMo!

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.