happiness in a box

Has a box of Cheerios ever made you happy? I've never had Jay ask me for a box until now. If we go to the store, he'll ask for a box because he knows that some of the boxes house his Justice League comic book (aka batman books). This kid loves to look at the books in bed and make up his own story.  So much so, he won't go to sleep and would rather stay up.  This past weekend, Jay noticed that there is a batman mask on these boxes as well. Let me tell you, batman now lives at our house. All yesterday when we were at home together, Jay wore the mask. One little cardboard mask and a comic book out of a box had made him one happy boy.

Also, we are pleased to announce that we have a roller. Mason doesn't roll over all of the time, but did roll over from his belly to his back twice today at school. He did a couple of times at home as well, but I could never get it on video tape. The average down syndrome child rolls over at 6 months. Mason is only 3 1/2 months!! It's crazy how we celebrate the little things, especially with Mason. We expect him to be delayed, but I think he's going to prove us wrong and not be the average down syndrome child.

it's a new year

it's a new year and so much has happened all ready.  the biggest news in our household is that garrett found out on tuesday, january 3rd he passed his last two exams to be a registered architect.  he started taking the first of his 7 exams on jay's birthday on august 10th and then finished his last one in the middle of december.  he passed all on the first try and didn't have to retake it.  now he is a registered architect in north carolina and is working on being one in virginia as well.  i'm not lying now when i say he is an architect.  garrett's also been coaching a team of 13-14 year olds at church in basketball with ned hurd.  their first game wasn't so hot, but hopefully they will do better with their other games in the future.

as our year has started out, jay continues to be a typical 3 year old and choses to listen only when he wants to.  this has gotten him in trouble more than once in the last week.  yesterday, i picked him up at school and he was in the "think about it chair" (aka time out) with two of his other friends.  they were just playing a friendly game of push'em down.  in his mind, "what's so wrong with that?"  someone was telling me this morning at work that boys just can't keep their hands to themselves.  isn't that the truth?  on another note, Jay is the slowest eater on the planet, but a year ago he wasn't eating near the foods he is now, so i shouldn't complain.  tonight he actually asked to have tomatoes on his plate.  my child likes something i don't.  other than that, he continues to enjoy batman and every other superhero he can find on this planet along with their bad guys.  he continues to let us know he doesn't have the penguin (this might be our next purchase at target) as well as superwoman (which i don't think they make yet).  jay will definitely keep you on your toes and will talk your head off if you aren't careful.  although he has his flaws, he is still the cutest 3 year old in our minds.

mason continues to amaze us everyday.  he's started to smile a lot and cue.  he's determined to turn over one day.  i'm hoping by the end of the month.  he just can't kick his leg over yet or tuck his arm under.  i can't figure it out and neither can he.  instead of turning over, he just does circles with his body on the floor or in his crib.  yesterday, we let him go from 8:00 at night to 7:30 in the morning without a bottle.  why wake a sleeping child?  since he doesn't really make any noise in the mornings, garrett can hand him off to the daycare workers to feed him.  today he even took an 8 oz bottle.  in my mind, that's awesome for a 3 month old.  we aren't complaining either because we are getting sleep.  this boy is getting bigger each day.  i can't wait to go and weigh and measure him next month.  i'm always curious to see his stats each time.

as for me, i'm trying to do better with working out.  aren't we all?  i would love to run a 5k this year and just stay in shape.  i'm not up for the marathons or 1/2 marathons, but a short run is just fine with me.  also, i would love to get back to aerobics.  they have a class at church on friday afternoons that i can attend and plan to starting this month.  i can't wait to get back into it.  i'm also trying to do my best with making dinner instead of always going out.  so far this week, we've had pork chops, chicken tacos, soup and grill cheese.  the rest of the week has bbq in store as well as leftovers.  hopefully this will help to save some money and is most likely healthy for us.  as for work, exams start this week.  we are about to start a new semester with new students on the 24th of this month.  it's always great to get a fresh new group of students.  

i hope each of you has started off the year on a good note!!  see you in 2012.

Easy Recipes

BBQ
 Buy a Boston Butt and the McCormick slow cooker packet. You will need brown sugar, ketchup and cider vinegar. Follow the directions on the packet and cook for at least 8 hours. It will fall apart and be some awesome BBQ.

 Chicken Tacos
 In a crockpot put 2-3 chicken breasts. Put a can of black beans, corn, rotel, and a taco packet with a little bit of water. Cook 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken with forks. Serve with lettuce, cheese, tortillas, chips and anything else you would like.

 Homemade Mac and Cheese
 Boil the desired amount of noodles. Shred some cheddar cheese (8oz). Put noodles, cheese, one cup milk along with an egg that had been beaten in a bowl and stir. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until no longer runny.

 Potato Soup
 Chop up a quarter to a half of a red onion. Sautée in butter and cayenne pepper in a pot. Chop up 3-4 large potatoes. Add the potatoes along with 2 cans of chicken broth. Boil until the potatoes are tender. Add a pint of whipping cream and fresh chopped parsley. Serve with cheese and bacon.