Sledding

Saturday was a family day at the Boulder Lodge of Heavenly Ski Resort.  Snowboarding already takes a lot of gear, but when you add in Jax, his usual stuff, plus his snow gear and sled in addition to coolers full of BBQing supplies, you have yourself one full car!  We had a lot of fun though.  Sarah, Logan, and Mark Lobsinger and their friend along with Sarah Marshall were able to convene and enjoy the warm sunny day. 

Justin took Jax sledding while I took a few runs and then we switched.  I learned a lesson while boarding by myself--don't go past the sign that says "unmarked obscured objects, advanced skiers and boarders only".  It will save me a few bruises next time....

Before Bed CRAZIES

I distinctly remember times when Rob and I would get all wound up and crazy just before bed.  Justin and Jax really made me remember those times as they were horsing around the other night. 

Transitions: Cubs to Turtles

Jax is growing up too fast!  In the last few weeks he's been transitioning between classrooms at school from the Cubs (infant) room to the Turtles (1-yr oldish) room.  Aside from being sick during the initial transition, he's doing remarkably well.  Morning drop-offs are rough--screaming, tears, and drama, but we are told after he settles down that the rest of his day is relatively smooth and he's enjoying all the new experiences and being more of a "big boy". 



To date, he's still the only kid out of 12 that is not walking on his own.  Jax can walk, it seems he just chooses not to.  Although--yesterday the afternoon teacher told me she saw him take a few steps to get to the indoor sliding board.  I guess he just has to be interested enough to get there. 



And finally, I got a phone call yesterday that another kid bit Jax.  Really?  Who does that?  I was told that Jax was so mad at the other kid that if he could talk, he would have been saying some naughty words.  Atta boy, Jax!



The pictures are of the farewell banner from the Cubs room that includes all the things in the room that had Jax's name on it and Jax having a big-boy snack at his very own table at home.

2011 Photo Contest

The last few years I've been organizing a USGS office photo contest of pictures taken while on the clock.  We have so many folks that travel all over the state doing field work so it's always really cool to see all the pictures they bring back.  Here are my submissions of my favorite "on-the-job" photos taken during 2011.

Heavenly Day

Not to be overly dramatic/cheesy, but yesterday was heavenly.  The Sierras received their first significant snow storm of the season and so we called a babysitter and headed up the hill for a snowboarding day at Heavenly.  The last time I was snowboarding was just after I got pregnant with Jax, so I was quite worried that after taking last season off that would have forgotten everything I learned.  Luckily, that was not the case.  I couldn't help but have a big cheesy smile on my face as I made my first few successful turns and didn't end up on my bum!  Being back on the slopes felt wonderful.  Refreshing even.  And as Justin and I made our way down the last slope of the day and all I could see was beautiful snow, trees and Justin gliding in and out of the nearby trees (not another soul on that slope), I felt really happy. 

Jax's Growth

Ohhhhh, I'm such a science nerd.  Yes, I requested all of Jax's measurements from every doctor's office visit.  Yes, I put them in Excel.  Yes, I graphed them. And pondered them. And looked for trends and slopes....but then came back to the decision that you shouldn't really worry about at what rate he's growing, but just be thankful that he is healthy and growing. It's still fun to look at though.  LOL! 

A Parents Prayer

My cousin posted this on FB and it made me tear up.  Everyone tried to tell me to enjoy my time with my little baby boy because he will grow up so fast...I just had no idea until you're going through it.  As we have started transitioning Jax into the next classroom at school this week, I thought back to this prayer.

They are little only once LORD. Grant me the wisdom and patience to teach them to follow in your footsteps and prepare them for what is to come.

 

 

The are little only once LORD. Make me take the time to play pretend, to read or tell a story; to cuddle.  Don't let me for one minute think anything is more important than the school play, the recital, the big game, fishing, or the quite walk hand in hand.  All too soon LORD they will grown away and there is no turning back.  Let me have my memories with no regrets.

 

 

Please help me be a good parent, LORD.  When I must discipline--let me do it in love, let me be firm, but fair; let me correct and explain with patience.

 

 

They are growing away LORD.  While I have the chance let me do my best for them.  For the rest of our lives, please LORD, let me be their very best friend.

--Mary Loveridge Robbins

I also bought this little blank journal.  It is for Jax.  My plan is to keep it next to my bed and write just a little something about him each day.  Something he did that day (good or bad), a success, something funny he said or did, a feeling.  I'll try and fill in a few things from over the last year too.  My Mom recently said how wonderful it is when she finds something that is written in her Mother's handwriting, so I'd like Jax to have this someday.  His very own journal, from his Mom. 

San Antonio roadtrip

On New Year's Day, also Melissa's birthday, we took a roadtrip to San Antonio.  It was a quick trip, but got to see new territory that we've never seen.  San Antonio has a hip riverwalk area downtown with a million restaurants and shops.  We didn't begin to scratch the surface on seeing everything, but we hit a quick highlight trip, including The Alamo, which was a really good American history lesson.

New Method to Display Holiday Cheer

I love getting holiday cards in the mail! 

It's so much better than bills, advertisements and junk. 

Every year I usually all some kind of holiday home decor to my collection and this year it was a holiday card holder that displayed all the holiday cheer we received in the mail. 

Hard to believe, but by the time Christmas rolled around we ran out of room!

Green Family time in Houston, TX

We were daring taking Jax on a plane all the way to Houston, TX but that kid never ceases to amaze me.  He did great!  (for the most part)  We didn't seem to have a problem filling our days with activities and many photos were taken.  Here's a rundown of our first few days in Texas.

Jax's Growth Chair @ 15 months