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Yesterday, Ashton and Jackson made a kazillion Christmas cookies. They had a lot of fun decorating them. Well, Ash did. Jax had more fun sucking the icing straight out of the bag and eating the cookies…

Today, day 1 of Christmas Vacation, I helped Ashton make Snoopy’s doghouse out of gingerbread.

Jackson was kept busy with a piece of yarn and some fruit loops. He was making a necklace… Though I actually never saw a necklace made, because he was eating the fruit loops as soon as he put them on the string.. Still, it keep him busy for a bit. Hey, whatever works, right?

After he was done.. I released him from his chair and cleaned up the kitchen. In the mean time, Jax decided he was going to do something big boys do… He locked himself in the bathroom(this takes him 2 seconds… he’s fast) and when I got in this is what I found….

Apparently, he had taken his diaper off, sat on the potty(did nothing), wiped, flushed, and was washing his hands… I hope this is the beginning of easy potty training… Sure would be nice to cut our diaper expenses in half!!!

This afternoon, I had my hands full with a hungry 3 week old and a grumpy, just woke up, two year old.. on top of that I was trying to get Ashton ready to go to a Christmas parade she’s in tonight - followed by a sleepover… I asked her to pack her own bag for the sleep over. I told her to get some pajamas, clothes for tomorrow, clean underwear and her toothbrush. Easy enough, right… Well, about 20 minutes later she tries to sneak her bag by me telling me she’s all ready to go. I saw a purple cape hanging out of the top of the bag so I asked to see the contents of the bag to make sure she had everything she needed. In her bag I found:

• 14 pairs of underwear
• 1 sock - not a pair, just 1
• a purple cape
• a yellow princess dress
• 2 shirts
• 2 pairs of dress shoes that are WAY too little, just she refuses to let go of them
• 1 sleeveless summer dress

No pants.. and what’s with the 14 pairs of underwear? She said she wanted to be safer than sorry. She didn’t want to take anything else. She said, “that’s all I need!”

I ended up taking out a few pair of underwear and adding a few items so that she had what she really needed. It’s really cute what an 8 year old finds important! Dress up clothes and underwear!!!

It’s been a while since I let you all know what’s going on in our lives… other than how big fat and miserable that I’ve been. I’m still there… and very much pregnant…but I’m trying to enjoy the other things in life!

Jackson

• Finally some new words and phrases: Pizza, Cheese Pizza, Peez(Please), That’s Coo!, There it is, Yook mama a choo choo, oo aa oo aa(monkey), Turtle, Bless you(after you sneeze), Apple, Banana, I code -I code(I’m cold), Bubbol(Bubble)
• His favorite TV shows and their translations: Booze Cooze(Blues Clues), Duuudra and Bootz(Dora and Boots), Bob Bob(Sponge Bob), BaggaBaggaBagga (Yo Gabba Gabba), MingMing (Wonder Pets).
• He also loves Tom and Jerry, Looney Tunes, and Scooby Do - but hasn’t figured out how to say them yet.
• He’s getting taller and taller. He wears a 3T at 2! He has huge feet! He’s going to pass his daddy up by junior high!
• He’s still the pickiest eater you’ve ever seen. He lives on cheerios, chicken strips, soy milk, apple juice, french fries, apples, and any kind of fruit/veggie/protein juice mix that I can find and get into him.
• He’s a decent sleeper now, once we convince him to stay in his bed. I’m just thrilled that he NEVER wants to get in my bed.
• He LOVES to read board books with his Daddy.
• He recently started liking to do easy puzzles- over and over and over and over again. Yesterday we did a number puzzle at least 20 times!
• He’s an outside lover. If allowed he’d stay outside all the time… He likes to play with dirt, sticks, leaves, bugs, lizards, and whatever else he can find to get dirty. He’s ALL boy!

Ashton

• Ashton will be receiving an award for A-B Honor roll this Friday!
• Her basketball season concluded this week. They won all the games except for the last one. She is sad that it’s over.
• She’s now a Brownie Girl Scout - let me know if you are going to want cookies in the spring! She has a lot of activities planned to keep her busy and to help out in the community.
• She’s got a week long trip by herself planned to see Grandy and Nana and everyone else during her Christmas break.
• She’s getting VERY anxious and impatient with her sister not being born soon. She says it hard on her, not knowing. HA! Hard on her! HA HA!

That’s about all I can think of right now. Now, back to waiting for Kylie!

Here are some pictures from Ashton’s 1st basketball game. (They aren’t great… because I took them with my phone… but - hey it’s better than nothing right?)

Goons- Before the Game

During the game

I’m not sure if I mentioned it before, but I’ve been having issues with Ashton and school most of this year. It all started a week after school started and a new teacher was added to the 3rd grade due to over crowding. Apparently, they sent home a permission slip asking for volunteers. I didn’t receive this. Ashton was one of the lucky ones to be thrown into a 1st year teacher’s class. She was devastated. She cried and cried when she found out. She cried at school. Her best friend was in her old class and I thought that was what the problem was. I wasn’t going to pitch a hissy fit so she could stay in a class because of a friend.

Well, 5 weeks have passed and things have gone from bad to worse. She has been bringing home failing grades. I fight with her an average of 30 mins just to get her to do her homework and her reading. She has been visiting the nurse almost daily complaining of headaches and stomach aches and basically anything to get her out of class. She comes home crying saying she is scared to death that she is going to fail the TAKS(standardized test here in TX) and not get to go the 4th grade. She constantly tells me she hates school and why should she try? She pretends to be sick to try and stay home from school constantly.

Anyone who knows Ashton, knows that she’s HIGHLY intelligent/ borderline gifted. She has never made bad grades or been scared of any tests. She makes hundreds on her spelling test without ever studying. She reads at a much higher level than her age and always has. So when she started hating school and bringing home 0’s on papers…. I knew something was wrong.

Today I had a chat with the principal at her school. I let him know my concerns. He agreed with me that switching classes on Ash has had an adverse reaction on her. He did some checking and there is one spot available in Ashton’s old class. He talked with the teachers and they all agreed that it was in Ashton’s best interest, academically, for her to be moved back to the other class. Ashton will be so happy when I tell her the news this evening. It’s such a relief to be putting her back in the other class. For one, the teacher is a veteran teacher. I’m told by the principal that ALL her kids pass the TAKS and don’t think twice about it. Which is how it should be. There is no need to SCARE the kids about a test that is 6 months away.. Poor things.

Anyways.. I just had to share my excitement. I know this will make a difference and I will get my good student back!

Finally, I was able to locate the back up and restore my site. I’m so happy! How about an update since it’s been a while since I was able to post?

Yes, I’m still pregnant. I’m huge as a matter of fact. Here are the latest pictures taken today at 32.5 weeks.

I’m starting to get anxious. I’m tired of being big and tired, but my house isn’t ready for Kylie yet. So I have to get my butt in gear and get the rest of the nursery put together, the clothes washed, and get my bags packed… Times a tickin a way! ( I think that the nesting thing is about to kick in…. These things not being done, are starting to drive me nuts) If anybody wants to help me, let me know.. I’m taking volunteer apps as we speak!

Jackson has now figured out that he can in fact get out of his bed without help. So that is exactly what he does when we put him  in bed… he pops right back up… over and over and over… Too bad duct tape is illegal….. that’s all I’m going to say!

Ashton is doing good in school. She starts basketball practice tomorrow. That should be fun!

That’s all I can think of… Like I mentioned earlier… I have lots to do… and sitting here won’t get it done!

Last night Ashton and I went to sign up for a cheer leading program that cheers for basketball games. We arrived and filled out the forms, paid, got measured for uniforms, and were ready to head home… UNTIL we saw her friends Sierra and Madison in the Basketball tryout line. We had a little change of heart and decided that basketball would be more fun!

So we got our money back, re-registered for the correct sport, got sized - AGAIN - and had to stand in another line for tryouts. They really look at how much skill and experience each child has and try to make the teams even. Ashton did great! Here is the best picture I could get of her “trying out” with my cell phone, from a distance. She’s so cute.

I think this will be a lot of fun.. I’m honestly glad that she changed her mind. I started playing bball in the 3rd grade and played until high school. I think it will be great exercise for her. And the good news is… the gym is air conditioned. NO sitting out on the hot soccer field while hugely pregnant! Hopefully, the baby will hold off until the games end…. ON MY DUE DATE!

I went to the chiropractor last week because of a numbness in my arms. After we were done and were just chit chatting about what the plans would be… Ashton climbed up on the adjustment table and passed out! I mean, we were only talking for maybe 5 minutes. Ashton was out cold. What a NUT!!

Finally. I never thought the day would come, when the semester would end and I’d be done with my dog-gone history class. But it came. And I’m done!!! Well for now anyways… Now I can concentrate on cleaning out my house and getting ready for our trip to Mexico.

Today, I cleaned out Ashton’s room. The girl has had so much stuff just piled everywhere. I was so tired of looking at it. So, I cleaned out all the toys that she never touches and we are going to make some kid/s very happy by donating them… By we, I mean, I… Ashton has a hard time parting with EVERYTHING… including the packaging that things come in…. so I’m donating while she’s at school… She’ll never miss any of it…. as long as she wasn’t involved in the process. I went through her clothes and did the same thing. She went from a size 8 to a size 12 like over night. None of her clothes fit her anymore… So out with the old and in with the new. So… that’s why I’m tired… I’ve been at her room since 7 this morning and I just finished it at almost 1pm.

Time to eat… Again!!!

Sometimes, it’s easy to come up with that perfect name for your child. It may come to you in a dream, or maybe you have a great uncle whom you owe allegiance to. It can be that simple.

When I had Ashton I was 18 and didn’t put much thought into the name. I just liked the name Ashton Makayla. And that was it.

With Jackson, I was a few years more mature, so Kev and I put a little more thought into his name. His name is actually Thomas Jackson. He is named Thomas after his dad, his dad’s dad, my grandfather, my brother, ALL whom are “Thomas” something or another. “Jackson” is just a cool name that we liked. We didn’t disclose his name until right before he was born.

Now, baby number three on the way and I decided to start early this time and get some opinions from everyone. We don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl and probably won’t find out until at least June. So right now, we have to explore both genders!

Sooooooo… Here are some of the names we are kicking around… Well me and Ashton… Hopefully Kevin will give me some input soon too.

Scroll through the names and then click on vote and tell me what your favorite three choices are. THANKS!!!

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(Disclaimer: Hopefully no one will get their feelings hurt if we don’t name our little kumquat after them)