Brithday Party Fun

Well, the weekend is over now, and it just flew right by. We were so glad to have Jim and Bev here to visit and help us celebrate Jesse's birthday. They got here on Friday night and were here until Monday morning. We were happy that they were able to be here for at least a few days, even though the time went by quickly.

On Saturday we went out to eat in the evening to one of our new favorite restaurants - Texas Roadhouse. Since the wait for a table was an hour and a half, we went to a nearby Wal-Mart to do a little shopping. Jim & Tami, thanks for the gift cards and valentines goodies for the kids. Meredith's gift card was burning a hole in her pocket, so she was so excited when she found out that she would be able to use it on Saturday night. The term "kid in a candy store" definitely applied to Meredith as she walked through the toy aisles at the store. After much deliberation, she finally decided on getting a learning & games laptop "computer" and a princess cell phone. I'm not positive, but I think she may have slept with the computer, and I know she slept with the cell phone that night. Needless to say, she was tickled with her purchases.

On Sunday at noon we had the birthday party for Jesse and for his 1st cousin Grace, who turned 10 on Jan. 17th. We had a good time eating, watching football, and watching Grace and Jesse enjoy their presents and cakes. (Hopefully Jim & Bev didn't feel overrun by my family, who can be quite talkative at times!) :) Jesse didn't really know what to do with his cake. He didn't seem to like having the frosting on his hands, and wasn't too sure about actually eating the frosting and cake. I have uploaded a video below of him and his cake. The pictures on the left of the screen are from his birthday and party. Thank you to everyone for the gifts that you got for Jesse and for being with him on his birthday - whether in your thoughts or in person.

Here are some pictures from Jesse's birthday.

Jesse's Turning 1!

I can't believe that my baby is almost a year old! In just 3 days Jesse will turn 1...where has the time gone? It really does seem like just yesterday that he was a baby in my arms. And now he's almost walking, and growing up too quickly. Yesterday Kent and I were reminiscing that a year ago yesterday is the first time that we went to the hospital. There were a few inches of fresh snow on the ground, and I had been laboring for most of the night, so we slowly made our way to Iowa City in the early morning hours. Only to be sent back home a few hours later.

And now here we are, a year later. So many things have changed throughout the year, Jesse being born was of course the biggest change. But many small things are different: sleep patterns (I am now used to getting by on a lot less sleep), Meredith going to preschool, Kent coaching baseball instead of softball, our house is a little more lived in than last year, etc.

Jesse has brought our family so much happiness and laughter in the past year. Even now, as he grabs my sleeve and tries to pull himself up onto my lap he makes me laugh. We are truly blessed with our little boy. So of course with all this talk of Jesse, I have to include pictures. The first is one of the first pictures taken of him. The second was taken 10 minutes ago - so it's pretty recent!

Today has dawned cloudy and white, much like every other day lately. But I would actually prefer this cloudy, cold weather to the warm muddy weather we had recently. Our road was so muddy that I was sure I would get stuck a few times. The road is supposed to be a gravel road, but it has turned into basically a dirt road. Which means that it turns into instant mud when the weather warms up and the snow melts.

It snowed on Thursday afternoon, so Meredith and I built a snowman in the dark in the evening. I also took Jesse outside for a little while. It was the first time he has ever "played" in the snow. His version of playing in the snow was to just sit there while I held him the whole time. (Picture the little boy in the snow suit from A Christmas Story movie...that was Jesse!) I tried to pull Meredith and Jesse on a sled, but the snow was so wet and heavy that I wasn't strong enough to go any further than our driveway. Hopefully the snowman will still be here when Jim and Bev come out to visit next weekend. Meredith would love to show off her handiwork!

As I type this, Kent is in our basement working on my new crafting room. We are going to rearrange our office and move all of my sewing, scrapbooking, and cardmaking stuff down to our basement...yes, our basement is still unfinished. Our office was getting very cramped and cluttered, so we're moving my stuff out. Meredith was practically in tears when she heard what we were doing, and once we had promised her that she could also move her office stuff to the basement, she was happy as a clam. It will take some work to get the room in the basement ready, though. The room has a light in it, but no other wiring, and only studs for walls. So Kent is wiring the room for electricity and putting up insulation on the walls. I will just need to get creative and figure out how to store all my junk, I mean stuff, and how to make the room more homey - without any drywall up! Jim, you can bring your work clothes when you come to visit, because I believe Kent plans on putting you to work down there!

Well, I've written enough for today...the few Christmas decorations that are still up at my house are calling my name to take them down!

Thursdays!

Thursday is one of my favorite days of the week. This may sound weird because it's not a weekend day, but I do have my reasons. On Thursdays I get to get out of the house and go to work for the whole day, just by myself. Every other day of the week I usually have a 1-year-old and/or a 4-year-old accompanying me wherever I go, whatever I do.

On Thursdays I don't bring Jesse to work with me, I don't have to worry about making breakfast and lunch for others, I don't have to set my phone alarm to remind me to pick Meredith up from the bus, etc. I get to go to church and work in a peaceful, relaxing setting. My day is not planned around naps and mealtimes.

All of this is great, but the absolute best part of the day is at 5:30 when I get home and Kent and the kids get home, and I realize how much I missed everyone. We all play and I get to hear all about Meredith & Jesse's day at Orpha's (their babysitter) and Kent's day at work.

So I start the day thinking that it's great that I have a day where I can be Theresa and not be mommy, and I end the day more happy than ever that I am mommy!

Speaking of my 2 cuties, here is a picture of Meredith and Jesse at Halloween. Of course Meredith had to be a princess for Halloween, nevermind the fact that 2 years ago she was a ballerina princess and last year she was a princess. She at least has worn different princess outfits every year!

Welcome to our little world - located in the rolling corn and soybean fields of Iowa! I hope to chronicle the daily happenings of our family. Life around here has been settling back into a routine after the Christmas holiday. Meredith went back to preschool this week after a 2 1/2 week vacation. I was worried that she might not want to go back and want to stay home instead. But when she found out that Monday was a school day, she practically jumped for joy. Today Jesse was asleep when the bus picked Meredith up at 11:30, and he kept looking for her when he woke up. His playmate was gone and he couldn't figure out why!

Last night Kent and I anxiously watched CNN to find out the latest news from New Hampshire. After we caucused on Jan. 3rd, we have been glued to CNN on tv and online. We of course have our favorite that we are watching and waiting to see how he does. Go Barack!