Christmas Fun!

This is a picture of Jesse just waking up on Christmas morning. We somehow managed to sleep in until almost eight and it was bliss! Usually our mornings start around 6 Christmas morning. Anne and Matt and Paul had stayed the night so we were able to be with family. Kristin arrived early in the morning (that is what woke everyone up!)

Here is the loot under the Christmas tree!
I believe Jesse's was about half of that stuff! He
made out like a bandit!!

Opening one of his favorite things- balls. :) They
are spread all over the house now

He has finally understood that opening presents is fun. This year he took joy in ripping open all the presents but then wanted to play with everything as he unwrapped it.

Mr. Potato head has been one of his favorite gifts. He loves to take the pieces off and shove them into random holes. We have seen some scary looking Mr. Potato head's lately!

Me donning the AWESOME apron that my sister, Anne, made me. It looks funny with what I am wearing...well lets just face it- who is pretty on this morning anyway? I am opening some facial products my mom got me!

Jesse playing with his bus!

Christmas dinner. Jesse was hungry if you can't tell. He wasn't too thrilled about picture time.

I threw a few of these pictures in to show how he was last Christmas. This doesn't look that different, but i can tell a difference!

He was so teeny! My little boy is approaching the big number 2 in January and it is a crazy thought!! I will post more on his birthday. We probably won't have a big party this year because it still doesn't mean that much to him...but next year! Happy birthday little man!
We are thankful for this time of year but look forward to the changes coming up. Andy has found out that he will be moving to a closer dam hopefully in the middle of January. This means we can get into our own place and start meeting new people in the area. We are just looking forward to seeing each other more often and being close to family.
Jesse's latest: He is SMART and has really good eyes. He is always the first one to point out deer, airplanes, buses, or any kind of noise that we pass. He also signs each of these things with great enthusiasm so I am happy to see that he has not lost that. He is all around a cheerful little boy and is enjoying being around mom more. I have started a new trick with him: I say "marco" and he says....(you might think polo) but he says "marco." hahha it is great because wherever he is or whatever he is doing he will always answer and I know what part of the house he is into and if he doesn't answer then i go running.

Happy Christmas everyone!

I admit it always takes me about a month in between posts and I apologize for that...BUT no more!!! Well okay I can't guarantee that I can post any sooner because the lifeline for my camera to the computer is missing...happened somewhere in the move. Anyway....




Jesse "talking" to his blocks and acting like it is a phone. He loves to talk on phones and he especially loves to parrot you when you are on the phone. It is quite distracting!

Being a boy, naturally he loves sticks. Hitting with sticks, walking with sticks, and generally just looking at sticks. I don't know what it is that makes him loves sticks, but he does and most of the time he is naughty with them.

An outing outside requires bundling up!

Here is a thanksgiving dinner pictures. Jesse has taken to saying his prayers (with much guidance) and this is him getting ready for one....

Us looking for a Christmas tree...

We found one and now we are decorating it!

And he has to pose in the tree....(another boy thing?)

So that is what we have been up to. Andy has just recently switched jobs. He new job takes him all the way past the dalles to a little place called John Day. It is almost a three hour drive from where we live now...so we may be relocating in the near future to save on money and gas. Right now andy will stay in a hotel or some place for the time being during the week and come home on the weekends.
I am happy to say that I am now a college graduate!!!!!!!!!!!!! That deserves many exclamation points because it took me (what felt like) that many years to complete! I am happy to say that I have a B.A. in elementary education and am qualified to teach a range of kiddos. It was a long journey but a rewarding one and I am thankful to be done! I don't have the paper to prove it yet, but I am working on that. No pictures of the actual commencement because I didn't actually go. I was in school teaching the same day that graduation was. Oh well...maybe in the spring. :)
Jesse's latest: He loves to sing! He sings "Jingle bells" and only gets
to the "all the way" part and then is like a broken records. I love it any way. I believe he is happy his mom is back to play because he wouldn't let me out of his sight today. It was nice to know he missed me while I was gone.
So far our holiday has consisted of: eating sweets, looking at the zoo lights (see my sister anne's blog for those pictures), singing many christmas songs, taking jesse to get his first real Christmas tree and experiencing the cold....There is much more to come including several family gatherings in the future.
We are fortunate to be where we are and have so many loved ones close by. We miss our family that is still in Utah but will see them soon as well. There is a bright future for our family and we are looking forward to the future with hope! I hope this finds everyone well and that the holidays are spent around loved ones. Until later!

It's been a while...

So here is my little monkey...er gorilla. We called
him a monkey because it was easier to say. This
year we ended up only going to the ward Halloween Party
because I was home alone and didn't want to go trick-or-
treating by myself...But we had fun nonetheless.
I didn't know gorillas rode bikes?!

Here he is at the party. He only got about 10 pieces of
candy but he was happy. So here is he diggin in.

This was several weeks ago when we went to Baskin Robins.
This is really his dad's cone...

Okay kid, it's my turn.

This is at our new favorite park. This is Jesse saying "ball!"
Balls are by far his favorite toys.

Isn't it cool???

Of course he had to pretend like he was a captain of a ship.
He also loves wheels!!

Mom had to go down the slide with him.(even though her bum didn't fit...)

This kinda freaked Jesse out because he thought he was
going to fall. But then he caught on..

Giving mama kisses through the bars (sanitary I know..)

And riding our car at the park too. It is such a neat park
with walk ways and water toys and grass...We both just love it!
And we have to take advantage of it while it is still sunny!

Here is Jesse and I at my 1st grade classroom.
He came to visit me after school one day. If you are familiar with
the board game...it is on the board in the background. It goes like this:
If the teacher is waiting on the students to be on task and listen, the
teacher gets the point. If they are quiet or do something worth
complimenting, then the students get a point. Look and see
who was winning for the day....

Sorry I have been so boring lately. I really have little excuse.
We are all healthy and Andy is starting a new job in a couple of weeks.
He is currently working at a restaurant as a chef and is enjoying it.
I am into my second week of 4th grade and am still deciding what I
want to teach. Jesse is saying new words by the dozen and is saying
a few sentences as well. He has begun to use his potty chair a little and
actually went to the bathroom for the first time last night (quite on accident though).
Anyway, hope this finds everyone well!

Radom pictures and updates

On the weekends I try to spend a little
time with my family, so we chose to go to silver creek
falls with mom and dad. It was a beautiful day for a hike
and Jesse loves being outdoors, anywhere.

He was laughing because I was going down the stairs pretty fast and purposely jumping around. He has such a cute smile :)

Every wednesday his aunt Kris watches him so that Grandma can get some errands done in town. He loves his aunt kris!

Making silly faces against the glass

One of his favorite foods are tomatoes, which he calls "Me-mas."
I am not sure where it came from but without fail he goes
straight for those plants when we go outside.

"Bike" is a new favorite word and he loves to ride his.











Bored....or maybe just hatching a scheme.

Going to the beach in Pacific City a couple of weeks ago

He LOVES the sand

At the carousel

He loves drinking fountains

Jesse is getting so big it is still hard for me to believe he is almost 2! He is adjusting to Oregon very well and he loves living with is grandma and grandpa. He gets to spend lots of time with grandma each day while I am doing my student teaching. Student teaching is going well, but it is exhausting. My weekends are never long enough, but I am learning A LOT! Jesse is constantly saying new words and some of his favorites are : bug, bird, rock, car, bike, eat, mee-ma (tomato), do-da (flower), drink (which sounds like dink), and clock.

Student Teaching

I have set aside a few moments tonight to tell everyone that I haven't gone into a hole never to come out. I am student teaching. For those of you who don't know what that entails, I just need to say that you should be glad you don't have to endure it. :) Well, I am actually making it out to sound terribly horrible but I am actually enjoying myself. I had one little girl tell me I was pretty yesterday and who doesn't love that? I come home each night barely able to remember my own name I am so tired and Jesse comes running at me with high hopes of playing and running and screaming. Here is a shout out to my awesome mom for watching him! He hardly even knows I am gone! :) So..if you don't hear from me until December, it is because I am doing nothing other than planning lessons, tying other kids shoes, yelling over others to listen to what I am saying, and trying to keep likes straight and voices off. Oh, and having loads of fun with my cute little first graders. Hope everyone is well! Until Later, Megan

Dahlia Festival

My mom and I went to the Dahlia festival in
Canby this weekend and it was amazing!
I can't believe that there are so many different
kinds of one flower and I am in awe of how
perfect these flowers are! I just put a few on, but
my mom has less restraint than I and put about 40 pictures on her blog. So if you want to see some AMAZING flower pictures (taken by both my mom and I) then go to Ridgeway Heights for a visual feast.