Dakota Abigail

I've been so excited for Dakota to have enough hair for a ponytail and she finally does. Thanks to my friend, Jalyssa (mother of two girls), for her suggestion on what type of ponytail holder will hold baby-fine hair and not pull it out. Here's Dakota's first ponytail:


No flash.


With flash.






Every Tuesday, we meet Jaxon's friend, Brieg, at Border's Books for a read aloud, snack, sing and dance, and coloring activity. Here's Dakota ready for a morning at the mall:

She appears to have a crooked little smile like Oupa.

Go Cats!

If you haven't heard yet, my Cats are currently 3 and 0. Great start to football season! This past weekend we actually got the K-State game on TV and we were so excited to get to watch it! The kids and I were decked out in our purple for the day!

Funny Conversations

Here are some funny conversations I've had with Jaxon lately:



Jaxon: There's something on my shirt.
Me: What is it?
Jaxon: It's not poop.
Me: Let me see.
Jaxon: Oh. I just licked it off.




Jaxon: Where's Daddy going?
Me: To work.
Jaxon: Why?
Me: Because he loves us very much.
Jaxon: When I grow up and get big, I'm going to go to work and fly the big Herk and wear a flight suit and boots and hat like Daddy. When I'm big.




Jaxon: I'm dizzy.
Me: Are you ok?
Jaxon: Yeah, my legs are just dizzy because I was sitting on my knees on the chair.
(I believe he was experiencing his first time of his legs falling asleep).

Pekin Marigold Festival

Last weekend, we spent some time in Pekin, IL at their annual Marigold Festival. On Friday evening, we went to the local high school football game with some friends from church. Then Saturday, Jaxon, Dakota and I (Jason had Drill and worked all weekend) got up early and drove back down there for the parade. It was a great weekend.




Jaxon, Sage and Brieg at the football game. These three had a blast climbing up and down the bleachers.



CHEESE!!!





One of the members of the church lives right on the parade route. So, each year, they open their home to the church and let everyone fellowship over breakfast, then park their blankets and chairs in their front yard to watch the parade. What a great idea!


Jaxon and Brieg about to devour their donuts.


Jaxon and Sage. Brieg's and Sage's parents were so thoughtful to grab extra chairs for Jaxon and I to sit on during the parade.


Dakota being loved on by one of the ladies of the church.


Sage holding Kota.



From left to right; Sage, Brieg, Owen and Jaxon all intently watching the parade. Jaxon was mesmorized by it. He LOVED the fire trucks, police cars, motorcycles and four-wheelers the best.


Jaxon and Sage waiting for candy to be thrown.

Jaxon didn't quite get the hang of gathering candy at first. I gave him a bag to put his candy in, but as it was thrown, he was usually too caught up in watching the parade to pick it up. By the time an adult would notice this, the candy was usually gone. When the kids started picking up on this, they would gather candy and put half of their collections in Jaxon's bag. About half way through the parade, Jax started catching on to the candy being thrown, except he would pick it up and pass it out to the other kids. It was the sweetest thing!

My Cute Kids

I had a little collection of pictures of my kiddos going and figured I better put some on here before they are bigger and don't look like this anymore. As always, I'm biased, but I believe these kids are the cutest in the world.


Jaxon Lee - 2 1/2 years
I can't remember if he was dancing or showing his muscles. Either way, he's so fun!


His face just cracks me up!
Sorry I don't have the ability to crop Dakota and myself out of here. Jason shows me all of the time how to do that and one day I'm going to pay attention and remember.



There are no words.



Dakota Abigail - 5 months
Because she's rolling all over the place now, I can no longer put her "safely" on the bed. So, while I was giving Jaxon a bath on this day, I just plopped her on the floor in front of the mirror. It was love at first sight. She couldn't get enough of the beautiful baby staring back at her from the mirror. She laid there for the longest time, just talking away at the baby.


CHEESE Mom!

Chi-Town Again

Jason had a four day weekend over Labor Day weekend, so we decided to pack up the kiddos and head up to Chicago again. It seems like each time we check something off of our "must see in Chicago" list, we add two more things! There's just so much to see and do! We had a great time exploring the city again and then came home Sunday afternoon so we could spend the rest of Sunday and all of Monday together relaxing.





This time we stayed a bit further south (closer to Sears/Willis Tower). We were able to get another nice hotel (for a two star price of course), but much cheaper because of the location. We stayed at the Palmer House Hilton. It was an older hotel, but very beautiful. I did a terrible job of taking pictures of the hotel this time, so be sure to check out their website (by clicking on the hotel name) to see the luxurious lobby and rooms this hotel offered.



We got to Chicago on Friday night around 5:30. After checking in, we walked a block from our hotel to Pizano's for dinner. Jaxon is really into eating outside at restaurants, so we ate outside this night. The restaurant was located just a few steps from one of the stops for the El, so Jaxon spent his dinner mesmerized watching the "train" come and go.

Jaxon and I at our table at Pizano's. The temperature dropped down to the low 60's in the evenings, luckily we had our jackets to keep the chill off.



The outside of Pizano's. You might be able to find Jax and I if you look real close.



Oh yummy goodness. Chicken Parm sandwich and mozzarella sticks.



I had to throw this one on here, because everytime Jax looks at this picture, he says, "Mommy, what am I doing?" I always answer, "I have no idea buddy." Just being his goofy self I guess.



Luckily my sister and niece and gave us all of her hand-me-downs (from 10 years ago mind you). I haven't bought any fall or winter clothes for Dakota, so this yellow jacket of Page's was a lifesaver in the evenings.



After dinner at Pizano's we took a walk to Millenium Park. There was a free jazz concert that night, so there were people everywhere. We enjoyed a few minutes of the concert, then walked around the park admiring the art, including the bean (Cloud Gate) behind us in this picture!



Sis chilling at Starbucks the next morning.





On Saturday morning, we took a taxi to Shedd Aquarium. We read on their website that they offer a military discount. Boy were we amazed when Jason showed his military ID and they gave him his ticket for free!


After a viewing of the movie, Happy Feet, in 4D, we ate lunch at Soundings Cafe in Shedd Aquarium. The food was so fresh and delicious. And the view from the cafe, overlooking Michigan Lake, was awesome. We let Jax eat his lunch in the windowsill while he watched the boats come and go.


Homemade potato chips - YUM!




The package we bought for our Aquarium admission, included the 4D movie and a live show of the animals and their trainers.


Jax and Daddy waiting for the FantaSea show to start.



Me and my funny kids.



The sea lion. The FantaSea show included; a sea lion, some beluga whales, penguins, hawks and dolphins. We could not use flash, and after the sea lion performed, the shades came down over the window behind the tanks. So, the rest of our photos of the performance didn't turn out very well, but they do have some good videos on their website.




The penguin exhibit had a children's play area where the kiddos could dress and play like a penguin.

Here's Jax in his penguin suit ready to play.


Sliding down the "ice".


There he goes again.




Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower):
After the aquarium, we took a taxi across town to the Willis Tower. The line for the Skydeck was wrapping around the enormous building, but we decided to wait it out. We were told the wait was an hour and a half (until we would be in the elevator taking us up to the Skydeck), but we were completely done and out of the building within an hour and a half. Totally worth the wait, and the line keeps moving so that helps. Again, we asked about the military discount they mention on their website. Again, they gave Jason his ticket for free. A-Mazing!


We never remember to do "long-arm" photos of us. Yay for the parents in a photo together!




Ok, have you heard about the Ledge? I linked a YouTube video of it if you dare. The Ledge is four separate windows that have been pushed out a few feet from the building. If you dare step out onto the Ledge, you are literally staring straight down 1,353 feet. You can read more about it by clicking on the word facts.

I did walk out onto the Ledge, but only for a brief time. As I patiently explained to my husband, I am not afraid that the window will fall, but instead it's the thought of seeing straight down for over a thousand feet and imagining the possibilities of being in that situation without plexi-glass under me, that freaks me out. I know. I need therapy.

Jax and Jason, however could've stayed on the Ledge all day.


Jax LOVED watching the people down below.


Jason took this picture standing inside one Ledge, looking into another. If you've never seen them, this helps you visualize how they jut out from the building.



Jax and Daddy standing in one of the Ledges. This is actually a live shot (not a background). Sis was asleep at this point, so I used that as a great excuse to stand on (more) solid ground during this picture.


Family picture! We have four others of the same pose, but different back drop.

Dakota's First Cereal Feeding

I finally remembered to pick up some rice cereal for Dakota and then realized I didn't have any plastic bowls here for her. So, after another trip to Target, I think we're officially good to go. Dakota had her first cereal feeding Monday night. We decided to make it a family affair and plopped her in her Bumbo chair on the floor. Everyone (including Jaxon) took a turn feeding her and she did really well. I think a high chair of some sort would've been better because she would be strapped in and not as likely to bend over so much (thus making it difficult to find her mouth), but there's just no room for such things, so we'll make do with what we have.


After each spoon-full, she would stick out her little tongue like this. It was so funny. I guess she was just trying to get a feel for the cereal in her mouth.




Jaxon's turn to feed her.



And Daddy took a turn.



Blurry, but still a cute little messy face.

Peoria Chiefs

A few weeks ago, we decided to check out the local baseball team, the Peoria Chiefs. The Chiefs are a single A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs and we decided to get tickets for a Friday night game that featured the Chiefs versus the Kansas City affiliate, the Burlington Bees. It was also Friday night fireworks! The weather was beautiful all day, but just as we were headed downtown for the game, clouds started to cover the sky and we figured the 75% chance of rain may happen. We went anyway and the game lasted until the third inning, when it was finally called due to the torrential downpour happening and lightning in the area. We used our raincheck tickets for the following weekend and caught an entire game, plus fireworks. The following are a combination of pictures from both games.



Here's Sis in Daddy's KC Royals hat. For the first game (vs. the Burlington Bees), we were all decked out in our KC Royals gear. The second game, we decided to wear red, in honor of the Peoria Chiefs.




A few shots of Jax at the game. We were on the third row, which meant great seats, but no foul balls for Daddy to catch.


Jaxon loves his Homer shirt. Homer is the Chiefs mascot. He's a dalmatian dressed as a fireman. Jax spends half the game looking for Homer. When Jaxon can't find Homer, he tells me that he must be going potty or in his dog house taking a rest. Where do they get this stuff?



Jax and Homer



Our little guy looking at Homer and patiently waiting for Homer to notice him and give him a hug and high five. Homer loved that Jaxon had a picture of Homer on his shirt!