Productive morning

While Ben played with Jackson, I did yard work for an hour. There are too many leaves. Sadly, I came inside and had to get Ben ready for work. He had a 12 hour shift ahead of him.

 Mommy and Jackson played and ate lunch and went for a walk. I can't believe it is January and I was wearing shorts for our walk. It is supposed to be 76 degrees today! It feels amazing. We might eat dinner out on our deck this evening. 

Now that Jackson is down for a nap, I must get some housework done. I might need to clean the kitchen some more from the aftermath of last night's dinner. :)

Tuesday-Friday Photos

Tuesday: Taking a break and watching Super Why! in his little man chair.

Wednesday: potty training before bath time. Peek-a-boo! (photo by Ben) 

He did a great job!

 Thursday: Post Burger King dinner with BeBe and Daddy. He loved his crown. 

 TGIF! After Mommy finished her Starbucks job, she asked the boys if they wanted to go on a walk and then to the playground. The Ladd clan had so much fun before dinner. 

 "Um, guys....I just made you a present....and it wasn't in the potty. Can we go get this taken care of?!?"

 (working on his present for us)

Smoke and alarms

Well, that was exciting! Our Kale chips starting smoking and the alarms starting going off. We had doors open, fans going, and an oven that needs to be cleaned now. 

Other news, WHICH IS HUGE. My son FINALLY understands the concept of saying our blessing at a meal. We prepare for our thanks and he typically squeals when someone tries to hold his hand or touch his shoulder. Tonight, he WILLINGLY held out his hands and mumbled like he was saying the prayers with us. Then, when we said "amen" he decided that we should give thanks 3 more times. He shrugged his shoulders like that was an accomplishment worth trying again. My heart is full of joy. A WONDERFUL Friday night in the Ladd family. 

And, he ate homemade Kale Chips. (burned and all) 

Photos

We have already enjoyed taking a photo-a-day. I will post them later. Taking photos of toddlers is tricky. Jackson is very busy and capturing a clear shot of him is a challenge. However, I love a challenge.

Couch date night with my sweetheart. My Friday nights are usually spent working at Starbucks, so this is exciting!

Photo-a-day

We weren't together January 1st-5th, so I am starting my photo-a-day today. I took a photo every Friday for a year to document Jackson's first year of life. Then, after the first year, my camera wasn't a priority. I still documented, but not as well as I liked. I was mentally documenting it. 
I am starting a yearly book for our family. Not starting with his birthday, but the actual year. So, here is to 2013! 

"The longest nap ever!" (noon-4pm) I think he missed his bed. He slept in a pack-n-play for 3 weeks during the holidays.
My son sleeps in the weirdest positions. 

Home sweet home

We arrived home at 3:00pm and had a game plan of putting Jackson down for a nap and then taking down the Christmas decorations. We have been home 2 days in the past 3 weeks....so the decorations were not a priority. A call came in at 3:15 for Ben asking where he was.....opps! He was supposed to be at work at 3pm. So much for helping take down the decorations. Jackson was snoozing and I bolted into SUPERMARKET SWEEP mode in taking down the decorations. I knew that I couldn't handle the tree by myself, so I pulled it across the living room, through the foyer and out the front door. Yes, it is standing up on our front porch. Ben will haul it to the street tomorrow. Jackson finished his nap and I vacuumed while he played with his toys. I washed clothes and one load of dishes.

Now, the plan was to ALSO unpack the car during his nap.....that didn't happen. I guess we will unpack the car tomorrow morning before Ben goes back to work at 11am. Then, my nice clean house will be exploding with dirty clothes, new toys, and odds and ends. Another day of reorganizing and cleaning. I don't mind because I feel like I have accomplished something when I get everything back in its place. However, I have to work 33 hours this week, so it is another SUPERMARKET SWEEP cleaning time.

But, that is tomorrow..... and tonight it is time for DOWNTON ABBEY. 15 minutes left until I get swept away into my girlie show.

Goodnight, world.

Very different Anniversary

I have not seen Ben all day. He went to work at 11am. I went to work at 4:30p. He gets off at 11pm. Sadly, my hubs is sick. All together.....walking pneumonia and now stomach bug because of his meds he is taking.....poor guy. I have him an oatmeal bath ready and some different meds to help his tummy. I have become a nurse for my future nurse. 

As I listen to the wildness going on in NYC, I decided to create my Anniversary Plate for Ben. I went to the Dollar Store before work today and purchased my white plate. I got inspired by Pinterest and made this Anniversary plate. I wrote a sweet message and popped it in the oven.  

 Because we are "loaded" with our awesome jobs, we could buy each other anything, but since that is a lie, my gift costs $1.07. (smile) I am pretty excited though and it is the thought that counts. It is our official Anniversary plate that I can pull out each year. We can laugh and think "how did we survive on our little income and having an almost two year old to provide for in the process." God provides in many ways. We can't see how it all works out, but it always does in His way. I am so blessed to be on this adventure. 

We have 137 more days until Ben grabs that diploma and I turn 29. That will be a special day. 

Happy New Year, everyone. Happy Anniversary, Benny. Happy 2013! It is going to be a great year!