2010 - A Year of "Firsts"

Everywhere you look, people are reviewing the year in photos. News channels, ESPN, newspapers, Yahoo... if it's media related, you can bet there are photos to review. 2010 was a year of "firsts" for my family! I thought it'd be fun to go back through my pictures and pick out 10 of my favorite "firsts" caught on film.

Our first "first" of the year had to be from Januray 7th. It was a miserably cold day, Kent was home from work and we witnessed something that day that none of us had ever seen! I was putting away laundry, angry at my hubby for sitting on the couch, when he came in our bedroom and said, "You have to look out the window!" As angry as I was, I took a minute to peek out our bathroom window and there it was, a Sun Dog! It was amazing! I have never seen anything like! It was so amazing in fact, that I devoted an entire post to the blog about it! (Check out my January posts to see pictures!)

And like any good mother, I bundled up Jaxon and headed out to show him the sight! Temps were well below freezing but I wanted him to see this... after all, he may never see something like this again! So here he is, facing the elements to see for himself the beauty that is a Sun Dog!

Our second "first" came in April at the birth of my niece, Alivia! Jaxon had never held a baby and we knew already at that time, that he was going to need lots of practice! So here he is, holding a baby, (cousin Alivia) for the first time!
As I mentioned before, we knew all that practice would come in handy because we were expecting little Maddox! Jaxon was with me the "first" time we got to see pictures of him! Here is Jaxon posing with out "first" baby picture of his baby brother!

In June, we took our "first" family vacation. We traveled to Texas for a week to visit Kent's family for his sister's graduation from high school. Here is Jaxon sitting on top of a Longhorn for the "first" time. I have a feeling this won't be the last time... we had a hard time getting him off that animal! He's already asked several times if we can do that again!

Later that month we found out that "Baby" was indeed a "brother"! Jaxon was so excited to learn that his "first" sibling, would be a boy!

The "first" pictured below, came in July when Jaxon showed a calf at the fair! This is the picture that made the front page of our local paper a week later, another "first"! This was such an exciting first for all of us that Daddy has decided to use his week of vacation in 2011, on the week of the fair!"

Jaxon's "first" day of PreSchool finally came in August. We had been anticipating this moment for months! Jaxon has enjoyed school so much and we all look forward to what's to come

in 2011!

On October 18th, Jaxon became a big brother for the "first" time! Maddox and Jaxon spent an entire day together at the hospital w/ Mommy & Daddy getting to know one another on

the 19th. This picture, along w/ many others, was taken that day!

Jaxon participated in his "first" Christmas program this year. Growing up my siblings and I all got to be a part of the program. Our family has had someone in the program for over 24 years now, that's a long time! I look forward to the day when both my boys can participate!

My final picture (in this review), had to be from Maddox's "first" Christmas! There's something so special about a baby's first Christmas whether they remember it or not!

This will be my final post for the year and what a year it's been! As we get ready for the next chapter in our lives... I can't help but wonder what Adventures Motherhood has in store for me in 2011! Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas from the Welchs

I hope everyone had a very, merry Christmas! We had a wonderful time at the Welch house celebrating w/ family & friends. We started our weekend off w/ Jaxon's Christmas program at church... his first one! Here are the boys ready for church looking so grown up in their Christmas outfits! I posted a link below to our YouTube page so you could check the program out for yourselves... it's worth a watch!

After church we rushed home for supper w/ Grandpa & Grandma, Uncle Micah & Aunt Sam. Jaxon had no interest in food, he was much too excited about opening presents. Here he is showing Max the present he picked out for him... Max seemed pretty excited about his gift which made Jaxon's day!Christmas morning we woke up to another batch of presents, this time from Santa! Here are the boys getting ready to open their gifts. Santa brought them a sled this year. Jaxon's first words at the sight of the Santa loot was, "Look, Santa brought us a boat!"Daddy and I waited to open our gifts from the boys till after the Santa gifts had all been opened. This year Jaxon gave Daddy a very special gift that he made at PreSchool. He was so excited for Daddy to open his gift! The best gifts are handmade w/ love... the proof is in this snowman ornament to Daddy from Jaxon! PRICELESS!!!Christmas day at noon, we headed over to Grandpa & Grandma Meier's for our family Christmas w/ my brothers and sister. Here are the boys w/ Grandpa & Grandma and cousin Alivia. This bunch is going to be trouble in a few years!

We are so blessed to be surrounded by a great group of family and friends. I hope everyone received the gift of just that this holiday season!

Don't forget to check out Jaxon's program below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-YXU8WMC-4

Little Chefs

Jaxon's PreSchool class made Rice Krispie Treats yesterday for snacktime! At the end of the day, they were all allowed to take one home to share w/ Mom & Dad, Grandpa & Grandma or whoever they wanted to. Jaxon shared his treat w/ Daddy & I both after we ate our lunch... it was delicious! Thanks PreSchoolers for such a yummy treat!

Christmas Magic

Jaxon - "Mommy, did you know that Jesus & Santa are friends?"

Awww, the "Christmas questions"... this year it's more like the "Christmas statements"! Jaxon's been really curious about how Santa gets down our chimney and what happens when people have fires going in their fireplaces. He's also really concerned about his friends who don't have fireplaces at their houses! "How does he get in?" We've been explaining that like Harry Potter, Santa knows magic... works like a charm! Here's a bit of a conversation we had yesterday regarding Christmas!

Jaxon - "Does Santa bring you presents Mom?"
Me - "No, he just brings presents for you & Max."
Jaxon - "Who brings you presents?"
Me - "Grandma gets presents for Mommy."
Jaxon - "Oh, well you better be good, Grandma's watching!"

Me - "You're right!"
Jaxon - "Mom?"
Me- "Yes, Jaxon."
Jaxon - "Is Grandma your Mom?"
Me - "Yes."
Jaxon - "Oh. She's my Mom too."
Me - "No... Mommy's your Mom."
Jaxon - "But Grandma's my Mom too!"
Me - "OK... if you say so!"

Arguing w/ a 4 year old is pointless! The running joke at our house is that Jaxon is destined to one day become a lawyer... after all, he argues better than anyone else we know!!!

This conversation went on and on and finally ended w/ a bedtime story and Jaxon falling asleep. Last year my Mom gave Jaxon a book that has her voice recorded reading a story to him. The story is, "The Night Before Christmas", and I thought since we are about a week away, that'd be appropriate to read before bed. Jaxon was really quiet when I opened the book. He listened very intently. When the story had finished he looked at me and said, "Mom? How did Grandma get in this book?" My response... "Grandma's kinda like Harry Potter too!"

This Mother's Work

Being a "Stay At Home Mom" is a full-time job and I love it, but some days I wish I could do this all day everyday! Mural painting, (next to blogging of course), is my passion and if it wasn't for my full-time commitment to my boys, I'd be elbow deep in a mural everyday of the week, as long as I could find work that is! This project was a sign I made for a family friend who along with her husband and children are giving it as a gift to her in-laws for Christmas. (Since the in-laws don't read my blog I knew I could get away w/ showing it off a little early!) A neighbor had made a sign for the couple years ago, the sign had weathered over time and the kids thought it'd be fun to replace it w/ a new one. Here's the original!

So much fun!

One Can't Make This Stuff Up

As I mentioned in my last post, Jaxon has been busy working on his Christmas list. He has requested that I draw a picture next to each wish list item so that Santa won't be confused about what it is he's asking for. He's asking for things like a big airplane, a robot, a toy honey maker he dreamt about the other night and even a Cheesy Bite pizza from Pizza Hut! I have to say, I love the idea of Santa delivering Pizza Hut pizza... my child's a genius!

Earlier today while working on his list, Jaxon asked me to add something that caught me completely off guard. He asked me to add a toy replica of his cousin to the list. He told me that if Santa could bring him this wish, he could play w/ her whenever he wanted.

One can't make this stuff up and if there really is a Santa, he'd grant this wish for sure... only there would be no need for a "toy replica"!

Favorite Things ~ Motherhood & the Holidays

One of my favorite things about the holidays is the Oprah's Favorite Things episode! This year, being that it's her last season, she had a 2 part episode... I thought I'd died and gone to daytime heaven! Being that this is my 100th post, I thought I'd share 25 of my fave, and not so fave things about motherhood during the holidays! Enjoy!

25. Having kids means having a good excuse to watch Christmas movies like Polar Express (Jaxon's fave), The Grinch (my fave), and A Christmas Story (Daddy's fave)! However, could someone please tell Jaxon that Christmas movies are only for Christmas time?! We watch Polar Express all year long and though it's a great movie, I'd really prefer to watch it when it's 30 degrees outside not 106!

24. Jaxon & Maddox's Texas grandparents always send the cutest Christmas jammies this time of year. I love jammies, especially the footie kind with a Christmas theme... they make for adorable pictures Christmas morning! The only downside is that Jaxon (who is now dressing himself), sometimes chooses to wear his footie jammies w/out the underwear... this requires special attention when using the toilet!

23. Going to look at Christmas Lights w/ the Kerns!!! This is a tradition that we hope to keep alive every year we can con our kids into going w/us, course it'll be fun when they decide they have better things to do too! This year we are facing a dilemma, not only do we have another child to seat belt in, but the one vehicle we were all able to fit into was recently involved in a car accident. Still trying to figure out how we are all going to squeeze into a different car!

22. Picking out the perfect tree from "Bird's Nest" tree farm! I always look forward to this but forget how cold one can get while scouring the acreage for the "shine a light down from heaven", perfect tree!

21. Decorating the tree! This fun, family event took three days this year and the boxes are still cluttering up my dining room floor!

20. Visiting Santa! Jaxon is terrified of Santa! I thought this would change w/ age... nope! We go every year anyway mainly because I like the idea of planting my child on the big man's lap. Maybe Max will feel differently about the Santa visit!

19. Making Christmas lists! I love making lists and this is a fun excuse to make another, however, Jaxon's list keeps getting longer and longer. Earlier this evening he added the cheesy crust pizza from Pizza Hut to his list... I think I'll add that one to mine too!

18. Making Christmas cookies! Making anything food-wise w/ the help of children can be a little stressful to say the least, but add in food coloring and it takes it up a few notches! I still have stains on my mixer from last year... might be using Max as a good excuse to get out of this tradition this year!

17. Listening to Christmas music like Alvin & the Chipmunks! Again, this is something I like to save for the holidays but we've been jamming all year long to the same song.

16. WRAPPING PRESENTS... my absolute favorite thing to do during the holidays! I can be a little picky when it comes to my wrapping so I choose to do all of it after everyone goes to bed. This way I can save myself from a fight w/ a four year old on his less than perfect wrapping skills! (My OCD takes control of me in ways I can not explain when it comes to wrapping paper!)

15. Picking out Christmas outfits for the boys! I wish this was a much fun when it comes to choosing outfits for myself!

14. Opening Christmas cards from friends and family w/ Jaxon! Trying to explain to him who everyone is however, is not so much fun!

13. Taking a picture for our Christmas card! Need I say more?!

12. Shopping w/ Mom, w/out Jaxon!!!

11. Going to church on Christmas Eve and this year watching Jaxon in his 1st program! Getting to church on time, not so much fun!

10. Watching the "special family movie" Santa brings on Christmas morning after we open presents! Santa always brings our family the new Disney, Dreamworks or Pixar movie so we have something new to watch together! Hopefully this year Mommy won't sit and cry during the movie. Last year Santa brought "Up", I did more explaining than viewing and if you've ever seen "Up", you'll know why!

9. Carrying on the tradition of soup for supper & presents from Mom & Dad after the Christmas Eve program.

8. Searching the Internet for the perfect gift ideas! Time consuming but I love doing my research!

7. Stuffing the boys' stockings w/ hygiene friendly accessories and having them love it because they are too young to care!

6. Being able to get away w/ wrapping up a box of "special treats" from Santa... you know, the stuff your kids walk past in Wal-Mart every time you go, the stuff they beg you to buy. Stuff like, Lightning McQueen crackers or Bob the Builder juice drinks! It's really inexpensive, something they only get once a year and it ends up being healthier than candy and they don't know the difference!

5. Baby Max's 1st Christmas... there's something about a baby's 1st Christmas!

4. Having an excuse to move some of the older toys to the playroom basement!

3. Making special gift tags w/ Jaxon to put on the Grandpa & Grandma gifts!

2. Being able to get all my kids shopping done at the Dollar Store!!!

1. Being able to use the "Santa's Watching Card" for an entire month... & having it work (sometimes)!!!

What We are Thankful for this Year

Jaxon & Maddox are Thankful for having each other to play tractors with!

Daddy is Thankful to have another son to watch football with!
Maddox is Thankful to have warm, fuzzy Jammie's!
Jaxon was Thankful for a giant turkey leg!

Mommy is Thankful to have 3 wonderful males in her life!

Who's Who?!

Can you guess who's who?!

On Sunday we celebrated Maddox's baptism, (almost 4 years to the day that we celebrated Jaxon's). They both wore a little white suit which fit Max a little better than Jax and a handmade white sweater made by my Grandma who passed earlier this year. The blanket they are lying on was also made by Grandma... it's the only time either one has or will use that blankie or sweater again! My plan is to pass the outfit & socks and the sweater & blanket on to their boys to wear someday at their baptisms...

that is as long as their wives are OK w/ it!

Could you figure out who's who above?! Jaxon's on the left and Maddox on the right. Max is starting to look more and more like Jax everyday, although I think Max may look a little more like Daddy while Jaxon looks more like Mommy.