Beckett Claus

With R's crazy basketball schedule, tonight was about the only time that was going to work before Christmas for us to go see Santa. I showed B his picture from last year and asked if he wanted to go sit on Santa's lap and he promptly said 'no!' I wasn't sure how the evening would play out but we forged ahead. 

There was a surprisingly short line at Bass Pro and B waited (mostly) patiently by keeping himself entertained on the ATVs. 

When it was our turn I asked if he wanted to go see Santa. He said 'sure!!' and ran right up to Santa (causing the entire line plus all the elves to say awwww). 

Santa asked him what present he wanted for Christmas and B said 'train tracks!'

I was pretty shocked because we always ask him and he never answers. And also because Santa already did his shopping and did not get train tracks!! ;). 

He continued to talk about Santa the rest of the night and has since been calling himself 'Beckett Claus.' 

I have a feeling this is going to be our best Christmas yet. 

last year's list revisited

This is totally (mostly) copy/pasted from 2012.



1. Visit Santa 

2. Pick out a new Christmas book

3. Find Elf 

4. Make paper snowflakes and snowballs 

5. Choose a friend from the local angel tree to shop for/send a shoebox 

6. Wrap presents 

7. Christmas movie night (with popcorn and green & red M&Ms)

8. Christmas with the OK family (go on a sleigh ride!)

9. Make gingerbread men

10. Choose something from the 'serving friends' list to complete

11. Decorate cookies/make Christmas treats

12. Caroling (with cookies but maybe not so much singing)

13. Take a meal to someone

14. Sock snowball fight

15. Jolly Holiday Lights

16. Go out for a Christmas breakfast

17. a Christmas craft

18. Hot cocoa by the fire (straight from the 'north pole hot cocoa bar' of course)

19. Take Christmas pictures

20. Visit the library to read Christmas books

21. Take a treat to a neighbor we haven't met

22. Christmas at the cabins (water park this year)

23. Make Christmas ornaments

24. Read the Christmas story

25. 'camp out' under the Christmas tree (sleep in the living room)

Jingle Bells

This year I'm decking the halls with my favorite Christmas quotes. This one comes from my nephew last year at caroling time. My niece wanted to keep singing 'Jingle Bells' and he wanted to sing 'real Christmas songs about Jesus.' :)

deck the halls

For the first time since ever, we are decorating for Christmas before Thanksgiving. I felt way late to the game after seeing everyone else's Holiday Cheer. The peer pressure was way too much for me. And the snow. Ohforgoodnesssakethesnow.

When I saw my little guy light up over 'Kissmas yights' I knew we had to go for it.

B totally approves.

Merry Thanksgiving!! #sosorryturkey

B Goes to the Dentist

Today was B's first trip to the dentist!!!*


He had done SO well at the Dr's office this week with mommy and daddy so I was really hoping he would perform as well for just mommy at the dentist today. In preparation, we watched a Youtube video of a little girl going to the dentist. We got to see her sit in the big chair and have her teeth counted and cleaned. We practiced opening our mouths REALLY wide and we were ready to go.

We got there and he played great in the waiting room then hurried back to see Miss Katie when it was his turn. He slowly got into the big chair, not 100% confident but not scared either. Once in the chair, Miss Katie started showing him all of her super cool tools. He wasn't so sure about the sharp and shiny ones. When it was time to brush his teeth, she had a special surprise for him- a BUZZ LIGHTYEAR toothbrush! If you know B, you know how much he loves Buzz. Once he saw that, he and Katie were best buds. (Disclaimer- Katie is our neighbor so she had the inside scoop on B's Buzz fascination.) For the rest of the check up, B did a pretty great job of sitting still and letting Miss Katie work. He didn't open up super wide too many times but he definitely did better than he does for the Dr visits so that was an improvement.

When he was all finished, he got to pick out a prize. He got TWO toothbrushes (one Buzz, one Cars), a Cars sticker AND a McDonald's meal. He was super spoiled!!! And because the Dr always gives suckers... he asked for a sucker on the way out the door.

And that's when the perfect dentist visit ended. ;)

(He wasn't too disappointed but did ask nicely so I let him get one during our Target trip for diapers. I'm a sucker.)

Seriously though, it was a great first dentist trip. If you live in the area, I totally recommend Dr. Kearney-Porter. (That links to her business facebook page.) Not just because she's our neighbor but she is super awesome with kids and knew exactly what to do to get B to cooperate at (and actually enjoy) the visit.

Have you been to the dentist lately? (I definitely have not..... but don't tell Katie that!)


Thanks for a great checkup, Miss Katie!


 (And yes- B's teeth look awesome. He doesn't have to go back for another year.)

*(I know they recommend 12 months then 2 years but our Dr and dentist both said it was okay to skip that first one.)


PS- These are unedited shots from my cell phone. I really hate that I've let not having the perfect 'real camera' shot keep me from recording B's life so this is what I'm posting. And I'll have to deal with it. ;)

two.

B had his actual birthday last Wednesday (well a couple Wednesdays ago now I guess).

He's officially two. 

Two is my favorite age. (I say that about every age. But really. I love two.) And the day B turned two was magical. He watched in wonderment as I put sprinkles on his donut for breakfast. When I asked him how he wanted to spend the day he said he wanted to brush his teeth and go see grandma (we got to do both). He had fun jumping at Skyzone. He loved the chicken nuggets grandma bought him for lunch and even got to share my shake. He couldn't believe the excitement in store at Petsmart (and he kept everyone there thoroughly entertained). He was amazed with the candles in his special birthday treat at Hickory Park. And when we took him to Target to pick out a birthday toy, he happily played for an hour with every toy in the store then picked out gummy bears as his 'take home treat.' (Seriously, we lucked out there.)

It was such a fun day!!!

And then came Thursday.....

I can't even remember what meltdown started it but I know there was a series of days following his birthday that were full of meltdowns. We were seriously thinking 'terrible twos' at this point. He even got put in time out at church. He got put in time out at church! Seriously. We were not impressed with his new 'tude. It was hard to stay patient and consistent (okay I totally lost my cool). And I was totally ready for a mom's night out.

I was feeling defeated by Monday.

Thankfully, R was able to go to B's two year check up with us and B got some extra family time in for the day. Other than the Dr (which he did surprisingly well at), we stayed close to home and things were looking up. 

My happy, sweet little guy was back by Tuesday.

And I like two again. For today. ;)

At two, B is talking more than ever. He's putting together more sentences- "Thank you for turning on the light, mom." He's praying before meals and bedtime- "Dear Jesus, Thank you for mommy, daddy, Uh-oh-da, A-MEN!"  (Sometimes he adds in extra prayers for his trucks, snacks and favorite friends.) He loves to pick up toys and sing 'clean up clean up.' His favorite things to do are wash dishes and sweep the floor (I still want to get him a little broom set). He brushes his teeth several times a day. His best friends are Dakota (our goldendoodle) and Dave (the fish). He's never far from a truck or tractor. He spends a lot of time building megablocks. He likes to shoot baskets but usually only with mommy. (Sorry dad!) He does the best animal sounds. He loves doing craft 'projects.' He's obsessed with stickers and colors and glue sticks. He tries to dress himself. He (typically) still takes long naps (knock on wood). He understands the concept of having his picture taken and will (sometimes comply). He loves turning lights on and off. He gives the best hugs and kisses. He totally switches between daddy's boy and mama's boy depending on the day of the week. (It's usually mama's.) He (usually) follows directions. He hates stuff on his hands. He didn't cry for his flu shot and finger poke at the dr but he totally whined about the band aid they put on his finger. He loves wearing hats but if you try to put mittens or gloves on him, he freaks out. He picks out his own clothes most days. He has a favorite sweatshirt and favorite boots. But his favorite thing to wear are jammies. He's requested a 'just jammies' day twice this week now. He says 'HI' to most strangers that pass by. He doesn't like to share. He loves snacks and big boy cups.

A little while back he told me he was going downstairs to watch a 'show.' A few minutes later, I realized the tv wasn't on so I went to check on him. He was in the laundry room and a lot of my craft supplies was strewn about the floor. I asked him what he was doing. He grabbed a towel to throw in the washer and nonchalantly answered, "Just laundry." 

He is hilarious and delightful. He makes most people in his path, smile, especially his mom and dad.

Happy TWO's, B!!!!!


Updated- because I always look here first when I'm filling out the 'baby' book.... height: 37" (still off the chart), weight: 31+ lbs (somewhere around 85%?). 

Freezer Meals

Disclaimer: I've been shopping/cooking/cleaning/working all day and am not in the best state of mind for putting together sentences let alone blog posts. This is totally by request so if you weren't one to request it, proceed at your own risk.




I'm somewhat of a novice when it comes to freezer meal prep. I've done a few here and there but up until this weekend, never more than 11 at a time. Today's 23 meals in one day kinda crushed that old record. And the fact that we did it in just under 2 1/2 hours? Ummm yeah. Pretty crazy. (We made 23 meals, cleaned the kitchen and (Rusty) hung up Christmas lights all during nap time.)


Our big trick to making it work was making multiples of the same meal. I know not everyone is going to love that idea so you could totally mix it up (or find a freezer meal group and switch meals with them). I don't mind this because I know we can easily grab a pot roast or pizza or whatever else to supplement what we have if we are worried about getting sick of something but it makes a huge different in the price of the food if you can buy bigger packages and use it all up.

The other disclaimer: our meals are for 3ish eaters. I mainly used the square freezer tins but did make the meatball sub in 9x13 (then counted it as two meals since it will last us two nights). If you eat more than that, your family would get half the number of meals as we ended up with.


What we ended up with:

-Three meatball sub casseroles in 9x13 pans (total of SIX meals)
-THREE cheeseburger casserole
-FOUR broccoli, cheddar, chicken pasta
-ONE cheddar & chicken pasta
-FOUR chicken, rice & peas casserole
-FOUR chili

and some extra of the cheddar chicken pasta that we ate for dinner tonight making a total of 23 meals. At a total bill of $124.50, that's $5.42/meal! Not too shabby!

Between Thanksgiving, Christmas parties, Progressive Dinners, the occasional pot roast for when we are tired of chicken, nights out and more- I'm hoping these will about last us till the end of the year.

The recipes are linked above. This link (where the middle four recipes are from) has some helpful tips if you read through it. I recommend using square pans instead of round though to maximize freezer space/meal size. I did find you had to guess on some of her sizes because the recipes aren't exact but since they are casseroles it really wasn't a big deal. (Though we ended up with way more pasta than we maybe should have, thus the extra meals). We didn't divvy up the broccoli right so that's why one of the meals (cheddar & chicken pasta) is slightly different.

So basketball starts on Monday and I have a freezer full of meals. I think I can do this!! ;)

(Also, please come eat freezer meals with me while my hubby is on the road eating sack dinners all winter!)

Trucks Party!

B has been talking about 'TRUCKS PARTY' for a few weeks now. One morning we were watching a show (Henry Hugglemonster maybe?) and they were having a birthday party. I asked B what kind of party he wanted and he wanted TRUCKS. And so began the non-stop 'trucks party' talk.

The party planning was simple. I ordered this trucks banner and matching napkins. I asked B what else he wanted at his party. He wanted cookies so I showed the banner to Amanda from Three Chicks Bakery and she hooked us up with the cutest truck cookies ever (see below). (My personal fave: 'Caution: Two Ahead.')
As party day got closer, R talked about grilling out or making chili. We asked B what he wanted and he said 'PIZZA PARTY!' We weren't hard sells.
The morning of his party, he made a last minute request for 'donuts party.' Somewhere filed deep in the back of my mind I remembered seeing a stack of chocolate donuts as 'black wall tires' for a Tow-mater birthday party (online of course) so we quickly bought out all the chocolate mini-donuts in town and wrapped them up in 'Spare Tires' paper (thanks mom). Even with the last minute (perfect) addition requested by B, it was the easiest party planning I've ever done. I stood around an hour before the party with nothing to do and was pretty sure I'd forgotten something.

B didn't request a cake, but I made him one anyway. I got asked for the recipe- it was a box. I got asked the brand- whatever was on sale. I think the secret to good cake is yummy frosting. Wilton is always good for frosting recipes. I used this chocolate one. (I freeze the cake overnight two days before the party too so that might help? I don't know. I'm not actually a cake eater so I couldn't tell ya.)

So B had trucks, cookies, pizza & donuts and he was totally set to party. He kept looking at the banner and whispering 'happy birthday.' When anyone asked him how old he was going to be he would say, 'Two then THREE!' Which is true. I guess. That part of the party (him changing ages and all) is crazy to me so we'll save that post for another day.

For now, I'll just share some party pics. To answer your questions- Yes, I took a couple detail shots before it got dark out (our living room has terrible lighting at night) (big thanks to my friend J for snapping shots in my terribly lit living room!). No, I didn't talk to B about the whole blowing out a candle thing before hand. He was totally confused. Yes, he was way more interested in the cookies than he was the cake. No, he doesn't like opening presents with all eyes on him either (just like his mama).

Also, big shout out to cousin Maddox for coming up to spend the night and being a huge helper. He did most of the party set up and even frosted the cake (with a little help).

And finally. That final picture. At the very end. With the cheesey smile. For the first time ever- B looked at the camera and said, 'Take my picture!' (Then totally cheesed out.)

Be still my photog heart.

I'm sure there will be more about how I'm doing emotionally throughout the week after B turns two B turning two later on this week. Wish me luck.