Sick is no fun!

I've been sick for about 3-4 days now, and since I didn't take it easy early on, I'm paying for it now... blehh! It's just a head cold, but I have had a headache, sore throat, and runny nose, which is no fun, and makes hard to keep up with my going little boy.


Jackson turned 1 on November 14th and invited his favorite people over for dinner at our apartment. Since a lot of people were out of town, we planned to have a second celebration at our house during Thanksgiving weekend. My mom, Steven's brother Chris, and Jackson's great-memas were able to make it and we had a lot of fun! Here are some pictures:

Parents of almost-one-year-olds, take notice! Babies love lights and try to touch the fire candle on top of their cake. I have seen this happen a few times, which is why I'm holding the cupcake far away from Jackson in this picture. We had pumpkin cupcakes (from the Sprinkles mix) with cream cheese icing and rainbow sprinkles - yum!

Jackson loved his cake, but didn't get as messy as I hoped he would! I finally put some icing on his face to dirty him up a bit, but he was NOT impressed. At least his highchair was good and sticky!

Even though he wasn't too dirty, the icing made his face, hands, and hair very sticky, so we gave him a quick bath before presents. These duck cups were a birthday present from my mom. They were a hit too!

Here goes Jackson, opening his Mema's present! In addition to the cups my mom gave him, he got Cars PJs, a talkin green dog (so cute!), a helicopter, and a savings bond. Nope, not spoiled at all.

Jackson loved his party and I can't believe he's such a big boy! A week after the party, we moved in to our new house! More about that later :)

A-Dawg! Where you been?

Sometimes I like to introduce myself as "A-Diggity-Dawg" to throw people off a little bit. It's left over from my high school days when my friend Tammy used to call herself Tammy-G-Dawg (and I was Ally-G-Mac).

Moving on.

I have been at my NEW HOUSE!! We finally moved in after our carpet was installed 10 days ago. Our friends Cale and "other Steven" helped us get unloaded in to our new sweet casa. My Steven loaded up the UHaul by HIMSELF 3 times and brought all of our furniture over to the house and unloaded it in to our garage. It took him less than 10 hours. The only pieces he couldn't get by himself were the BBQ and our dining room table. What? I married SUPERMAN!

So, I was "on baby duty" (read: using Jackson as an excuse to avoid any heavy lifting) and Steven was resting, when we heard a knock at the door. Who could it be but our next door neighbor's teenage son and his friend with cookies and offers of assistance? Can't beat free child labor! These kids were hilarious too, we run with a sarcastic crowd, and they hopped right on the bandwagon, dishing out insults and putting everyone in their place. Cale and Steven(x2) thought it was great.

After everyone went home, Steven, Jackson, and I were left to enjoy sleeping in our new house for the first time.

...and that's what's been going on with us!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day!

In honor of Veteran's Day, I would like to thank anyone who has served our military in any form.

Thank you to the wives (or husbands), fiancees, and girlfriends (or boyfriends!) of our service members. You make an often under-appreciated sacrifice time and time again and are there for them when they need it most. You don't get a lot of choice when it comes to his/her career, but you are strong and independent, yet flexible and loyal. Thank you for being the person your soldier/sailor/marine leans on most.

Thank you to the children whose parents serve in the military. You give up your parent, sometimes for months at a time, and have no choice in it. You move often and have to learn to be strong as well. Thank you for sharing your hero with us.

Thank you to the parents of a military member. It can be terrifying to think about your child going off to war, but you support them anyways and lend advice as needed. You have raised your baby to be a selfless, courageous man or woman and the person he or she has become is largely due to your influence.

Thank you to those of you who pray for our troops. They absolutely need our country's support and Jesus's protection. Your prayers, letters, and thanks remind them exactly why they joined in the first place - to protect our way of life.

Most importantly, thank you to all of our service members. You have volunteered yourself for something greater. You have learned first-hand the price of freedom and you are willing to fight for it. You have left behind your family, friends, and loved ones in order to protect them. Thank you so much for everything you do for America and many other countries around the world. You are a true hero and I pray that you are always received as such in this country. Thank you, thank you, thank you and Happy Veteran's Day.

...a special thanks to my wonderful husband, Steven, who served our Navy for 5 years and my amazing father-in-law who retired from the Navy as a senior chief. You both make me proud to be an American.

Jackson's Day at the Park

Jackson was a little sick last week, so as a precaution we skipped Gymboree and one of the play dates we had scheduled. Now I know that while he may have had a stuffy nose, he probably didn't have a cold, but was actually teething! His 5th tooth emerged to the left of his top two teeth! His teeth have been coming in in pairs, so I expect that the other one isn't far behind!

Since we took some time to rest most of the week, I thought it would be nice to head out to the park with some of Jackson's friends we had missed at Gymboree. Cara's mom suggested story time at the Interurban Railway Museum and then a picnic and some play time. Even though it was a little crowded, story time was a lot of fun! The story teller is a retired teacher and she's very dynamic and does a great job telling the stories. We stuck around to check out the trains and then headed over to the park.


Here are the kiddos after our little picnic. It was a beautiful day outside - perfect picnic weather! There were a bunch of kids at the park, but it didn't seem too crowded. I enjoyed having some adult conversation too - always a plus!


After our picnic, we went to test out the swings! Jackson's never been in a park swing, so it took some getting used to. He was flopped forward for awhile and kept reaching for me, even though I think he enjoyed it. He looked like Superman! I love this picture of Jackson with his sweet shadow.

We had so much fun and I think we'll have to take advantage of this beautiful weather again before the winter weather takes over.

You Spin Me Right 'Round Baby!

Ohhhhhhh I can't even contain my excitement!

A SUSHI-GO-ROUND HAS OPENED IN PLANO!!!

This picture was taken (by Kate Cooper!!) the first time we went to the sushi-go-round in Yokosuka. It became our hang-out while we were in Japan. We went at least once a week, often twice (yes, I'm serious) and never got sick of it. The sushi chefs knew what we wanted as soon as we walked in and we would chat with them about our baby who was soon-to-arrive. While nothing can EVER replace the food and fellowship we experienced at the original sushi-go-round, we were super-stoked when we saw the Sushi Envy sign!


Steven LOVES sushi!!! He's having a kani... I mean crab roll. We were so frustrated by the English menu. "Grilled Salmon"? What is that? We want Aburi Salmon!!


Jackson's first taste of "sushi." We gave him some scrambled egg (Tomago) and it wasn't a big hit, but he really did try.


Yummy!! There weren't any hot water spouts like the sushi-go-round in Yokosuka, but there were lots and lots of tasty fish circulating the restaurant!!

There was one point in the meal that Steven and I turned to each other and said "We're home!" We have been missing Japan a lot lately, and this really helped us feel like we could have a little taste of Japan when we needed it. Even though there was a much stronger emphasis on rolls than we're used to, the food was really good and the service was wonderful! Everyone was so friendly and we didn't even have to speak Japanese (even though we really wanted to!).

So, if you're in the area, check out Sushi Envy! It's on the northbound side of Preston Rd, right before you hit 121 (going north). And if you don't have a sushi-go-round near you, you might be Sushi Envy-ous! (I'm so punny).

The House (groooooan)

Our new house is not coming along as quickly as we had hoped it would. We thought that we would be able to get all of our projects done in one month's time. Well, it's been 6 weeks since we signed the dotted line and we definitely AREN'T done.

We have painted the pink room (ick) green, with a brown accent wall. I was really worried when we got the paint on the wall and our friends used bodily functions to describe the color (trust me, you don't want to know), but having already purchased 2 gallons ($40) worth of paint, I gritted my teeth and put it on the wall anyway. Luckily, I had already planned for a brown accent wall, so I just changed the brown to the only bare wall in the room (no doors or windows) and hoped for the best! I think it turned out perfectly. The brown balances out the green and makes it really feel like a jungle room. Jackson's off-white furniture will balance out the dark colors and really pop. I am so excited to see how it turns out when we get all the furniture in there. I'm not sure that the green will work when, I mean if we have a girl, but that's what paint cans are for! (If Steven is reading this, he is groaning right now)

We also painted the upstairs family room a medium blue-gray color. Think Eeyore. I love the color, but it would really pop with some crown molding. Guess what was just added to Steven's "to-do" list!! It also made me realize how desperately we need window treatments and additional light sources in that room. All the light comes from one window and somehow the back-light effect makes the room seem really dark, especially with the new color. I think once we balance out the light, it will feel less cavernous and more like the fun family room I had envisioned.

In addtion to painting 2 rooms, we have picked out colors for just about every room in the house, replaced all the laminate with tile (yaaaaay!), and will replace the living room floors with hardwood this weekend. Hiring a painter to finish the house is becoming more and more tempting every day. We already plan to hire someone to paint the halls, front entry, stairs, and living room, but that still leaves the kitchen, laundry room, Steven's office, Jackson's play room, all the bathrooms, our bedroom, the guest bedroom, and Jackson's toddler room. Remind me, again, why we felt the need to buy a huge house?

Also, if I don't mention that Steven replaced the back door he'll kill me. He saved us about $250 in doing so, and it looks great and works better than before. Let's hear it for DIY and telling Lowe's installation crew to take some time off!

Did you remember to set your clocks?

...because we definitely didn't. But I'll get to that later.

We had a fun Halloween weekend! Jackson went to his friend Logan's party on Saturday. He had fun hanging out with his Gymboree buddies and discovering new toys and Steven and I had a good time talking to the other parents.


That evening, we tackled one of my biggest fears... a thrift shop. I blame my parents for this irrational fear of other people's things. When I would ask to go to a garage sale, my Dad would ask me "Why would you pay for someone else's junk?" This, plus the fact that I may or may not be a bit of a princess, has led to my disdain for all things used. However, after talking to some other parents, I finally got up the guts to go to Kid 2 Kid. Yay me! Steven was shocked out of his skull that I actually asked to go.


But when I found out that Logan's mom got this toy (above) from K2K, I was finally ready to give it a chance and I'm so glad I did! We made out like bandits! In addition to finding the bouncing zebra that Jackson had liked so well, we also found a bead maze (the same one he plays with at Gymboree, below), and a set of blocks and wagon.


The best find of the day was a brand-new Melissa & Doug toy that I had all but given up trying to find. If you know us, then you know that Jackson was born in Japan, the country where Steven and I began our marriage and still holds a very special place in our hearts. Several months back, I saw that one of our friends from Japan (the Kaspareks) had a wooden sushi set by Melissa and Doug and I have been scouring every toy store since then trying to find it! Even though I had pretty much given up on finding it, out of habit I went over to the M&D display with no luck. Not surprised, I started surveying some of the other used toys and there it was! Tucked in behind some of the used toys, beautiful in shiny plastic, with a full-price sticker... the holy grail of toys!
Our sushi set!! Jackson is still far too young, but I've been looking for so long, I knew I had to snap it up now! Steven was already checking out, but I ran over to make sure he bought it too. I had to explain to him that I had been looking for it forever, but since it was Japanese, I think he understood why I was so excited to get it. I almost always find "one more thing" while he's checking out... he knows that if he doesn't just go to the register that I can wander around the smallest stores for hours... don't even take me to Target!

So, our grand total at K2K was $76... compared to the $80 we would have spent for the zebra toy by itself. I think we got a deal!

We took our new toys over to the house, where we handed out candy to the kids in our new neighborhood. My favorite moment of the night came from a little boy who was with his grandmother. She prompted him to say "Trick or Treat" and after I gave him his candy she asked him "Now, what do you say?" and, seeing Val, he blurted out "I WANT A PUPPY!" It was the cutest thing ever! I giggled and told him to take it up with his parents.


Can you blame him? Who wouldn't want this cutie??

So, the next morning we woke up and got ready for church. It took us a little longer than expected, and we were 15 (!!!) minutes late! I took Jackson to the nursery and apologized for being so late, and Steven went to go help with the Sunday School. I was talking to the other nursery workers and asked why there were so many older kids in the nursery. They speculated that it must have been because of the time change. Time change? I started laughing and told them that we weren't 15 minutes late! We were 45 minutes early! Oops.


Jackson didn't seem to mind too much. He had a great time playing in the nursery, even though we had few little criers. One sweet girl would cry unless she was being held. I am such a cuddler, and since my little crawling machine won't let me snuggle with him for very long, I was able to get my baby cuddles! She was content to sit in the chair with me and play with my necklace, which just about melted my heart. Then Jackson came over to check us out. I was worried that he'd see me with another baby and try to get my attention as well, but instead he started kissing her leg and giving her "pats" like he's learned to do with Val. I was so touched that Jackson saw me loving on another baby and took it as a cue that he should love on her too! I know it was probably because he knew I would give him positive attention, but I don't care. It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen him do.

After the 11:00 service I came back to see my angel napping in the arms of one of the nursery workers. What a perfect end to an accidentally long morning at church.

It's a Dinosaur Day!

This is my first Show Us How You Live blog post over at Kelly's Korner. She's asking about (what else!) Halloween costumes this week!

Perfect timing! Today we had a bit of a Halloween party at our favorite Thursday spot - Gymboree!


I've written about our dinosaur song before, but in case you forgot, you can find it here. He was really making my heart roar today! Steven even took a little time off work to stop by our apartment when he found out that Jackson had his costume on.


The cutest thing about this costume? Jackson's sweet little tail wiggling back and forth as he crawled around.

First we went to lunch with a bunch of Jackson's friends from Gymboree and their Mommies (and a Daddy!). I love that we're making friends at Gymboree - everything is more fun when you have someone to laugh with. Two of the other kids in the group even share Jackson's birthday (which is coming up... I can't believe he'll be a year old soon!).


I think the kids probably felt like they were celebrities today, not that any of them are used to VIP treatment. There were cameras EVERYWHERE throughout the entire class. Parents taking photos of their kids, each others' kids... it was a photo frenzy! My mother-in-law even brought her fancy new camera... I can't wait to get my hands on those photos. Jackson was the only dinosaur, but some of the other kids were dressed up as ladybugs, poodles, a frog, a witch, a few monkeys, a bunny, and even a pirate! Jackson's other costume is a pirate, but that one is much more cumbersome, so I thought it best to go with the dinosaur (since he couldn't wear his costume in his car seat - silly bulky tail!). The boy wearing the pirate costume was named Jack too!


"Hey guys!! I love Halloween! I can't wait until I can have candy! My mom says that chocolate is her favorite. Maybe I'll share my candy with her this year."


Gymboree days are the best. Especially when little dinosaurs are involved. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Pumpkin Patch

We took a trip to the Pumpkin Patch at Allen High School for Jackson's first Halloween!



Val got to come too and we all had a great time! Val loved greeting everyone when they arrived by sniffing their shoes and wagging her tail. Jackson picked out a small pumpkin (you can see it in the picture) and was having a great time checking it out and telling us all how great it tasted. We got his small pumpkin, a few more to use to decorate the house, a big pumpkin to carve, and some lawn art.


Steven had fun talking to the teachers who oversaw the pumpkin patch. They're hosting a golf tournament on Halloween and Steven's going to try to get a team together.

After going to the pumpkin patch, we went to Petco to get Val a kennel. She has had some serious separation anxiety and has been having accidents every time we leave the house. Knowing that I was coming home to a big mess made coming home that much harder. On the up side, we were keeping her in the bathroom and it's never been cleaner. I've already been through half a bottle of bleach solution since we got her! Steven thought that if we got her a kennel she wouldn't want to potty in a confined space, and he was right! Today we tested it out and she did a great job. To reward her, we took her to the dog park, where she did her business outside and had fun smelling all the scents left by other dogs. She still isn't very comfortable with the other doggies, but we hope that more exposure to them at the dog park will help.

And how does Jackson feel about the newest addition to our family?


He loves her! He loves going on "walks" and will even crawl to the door and wait for me to open it when he sees me holding her leash. Every morning he sees her and a huge grin comes across his face. He points to her and "talks" about her and sometimes it sounds like he's calling her "Bow" (rhymes with cow). So cute.

Every little boy should have a doggie!

Val Pal!!!

We have a new addition to our family...

thankfully, this one didn't require 9 months of planning and growing a giant belly.



Meet our new beagle, Val!!

We found Val on petfinder.com and made a trip out to the Wylie animal shelter to adopt her. She was a whopping $25! Woooo big spender!! They couldn't tell us anything about her, so we immediately took her to the vet (she's healthy and spayed - yay!) and then over to Petco for a grooming. She loved the pumpkin spice shampoo - delicious.

She's as sweet as sweet can be, and Jackson loves having a doggy to play with and talk to. He follows her all over the house and gives her kisses while she's sleeping (awww!). This also gives us a great opportunity to teach Jackson how to "be gentle." My mom took pictures of Jackson holding Val's leash and sitting by the front door, ready to go for a walk. I can't wait to show them off - too cute!

This weekend my mom and I are going to a craft fair at her school. I'm so excited! I really need to get started on my Christmas shopping and would love to find some cute jewelry.

House Update!!

Remember our before pictures? Well, our afters are starting to take shape!! Most notably, Steven has ripped up all the flooring in the front entry, kitchen, living room, laundry room, and all 3 bathrooms. Whew! It only took 2 days to get up the flooring and another 2 days to strip the floors down to the concrete. Steven worked SO HARD and he's a complete all-star. I, on the other hand, have taped one room to paint (so far it's about 80% primed) and shampooed the carpet in two rooms. In addition to this, Steven replaced our backdoor this weekend. It had a lot of weather damage and we even found a few worms on the floor after a recent rain - ick!!

So, here are some pictures of our tile work - it looks so good!!

This is the view from the living room to the front entry. We decided to extend the front entry tile all the way to the living room for a more cohesive feeling. Eventually, we're going to replace the front two rooms with wood floors, but for now the carpet stays. We are putting wood floors in the living room though - it's going to look so good!

You can really see the tile better in this picture (and the beautiful concrete floor in the living room). The door that Steven replaced in on the right. Steven's friend Steven (from high school) helped with that part! They just got in contact again and (other) Steven offered to help us with the house... and we took him up on it! They saved us over $200 by installing the door themselves, and it looks great! What a deal!

I'll continue to post pictures as our after takes shape. I am having way too much fun planning this house out and Steven is doing a great job bringing it to life! We had Cale's guys do the tile installation, but Steven and Cale are going to do the upstairs tile work together. Steven is becoming quite the handyman! It's so great to have a husband who is willing to learn and indulge all my home improvement desires!

Time for an update...

So I swore I'd talk more about our busy weekend.... over two weeks ago!! I know, I'm a bad blogger.

We had such a fun weekend with my best friend Jess and her fiance, Chris. We don't get to see each other very often (since they live in Indiana) but we always have the best time together! They came down for Jackson's baptism, which was on Sunday. We were so thrilled to have so many of our friends and family there to celebrate a huge event in Jackson's life. He is so lucky to have so many people who love him!

Switching gears, last night my sister found some pictures from a family camp we went to when we were little. Here are some gems she found:

This is a picture of our family with the family we went to camp with every year. My mom is in the front (check out that 80s-fab hair!!!), across from my Dad (we LOVED that mustache), and Emily is sitting next to him, with me on the end. The other people are Dan, Anna, and Katie. They had 2 sons, Matt and Davey, as well. We loved playing with Katie though, she was like our older sister for a week every year.

We used to go to a nearby swamp to go "frogging." This is my sister (check out those piggy tails!) trying to catch a frog. I think those are my Dad's legs next to her!

I thought I would share these amazing pictures. This makes me want to take Jackson camping too!

First Step!!

I know I promised more pictures from our busy week, but this has to take precedent! Last night, with my Mom and me as his witnesses, Mr. Jackson took his first step!!! He was leaning up against her couch, and I told my mom to watch (showing her that he can stand without holding on) and suddenly he straightened up, took a second to catch his balance, and took a step forward!! Unfortunately, my mom and I both started screaming (DID YOU SEE THAT?!?! HE TOOK HIS FIRST STEP!! AHHHH!!! JACKSON!!!! AHHHH!!!) and he got completely freaked out and fell down. Oops!

So even though I ruined his big moment, I am SO excited for him!! I am sad that Steven missed it, but he seemed really happy for him when I told him about it later. I just can't believe that only a year ago he was still in my belly! It's amazing how quickly he has changed.

Ok, I promise promise that I'll have the pictures from the rest of our busy week up today. After all, that's what nap time is for, right?

Our Big Week: Ally, Jackson, and Grandpa's trip to Canada

This was a big week for the Haynes family! We started off the week by packing for our trip to Canada. My family hasn't met Jackson yet, but Steven had classes this week that he couldn't miss, so it was just Grandpa, Mom, and Jackson for a couple days!

Jackson was a champ on the airplane. He fell asleep during take-off, which really worried me because I thought it might be painful for him if he wasn't sucking on something to relieve the pressure from his ears, but it didn't seem to bother him at all! He woke up after about 45 minutes and decided that he wanted to play! Surprisingly, especially for my little adventurer, he was able to entertain himself very well in the floor space in front of his seat.

As you can see, he was even FAA compliant, as he had his little baggie with him (full of my make-up). He looks pouty here, but he was great! He even got lots of compliments from other passengers - on both flights!

When Daddy and I left the airport, we noticed that the signs were in both French and English. We laughed about how refreshing it was to be able to at least read the characters on the signs - something that's much more difficult in Japan and Taiwan! We got our rental car, and headed over to my Nana's place.

Visiting my Nana was our main purpose in taking this trip. She has had Alzheimer's for 3 years now. She was diagnosed right before my wedding, but I remember talking to my Dad about it when we visited her the Christmas before that (2005). I had just finished a Neuropsychology class and I remember seeing a lot of warning signs during that vacation. She was officially diagnosed 6 months later, after she became very confused while driving in Toronto, a city she has lived in for 50 years. After living with my aunt for a few months, she now lives in a retirement home, and her memory has lasted extremely well compared to the doctor's original expectations. It is still no where near where it used to be, so we decided to bring Jackson to see her. This way, when she asks about him, we can tell her all about all the fun they had together!

We visited with Nana for awhile, and she really loved seeing Jackson, even though I don't think she entirely understood who he is. She showed us her room, and even tried to find things for him to play with! Jackson had a great time exploring the new space and Nana had a lot of fun watching him! As it came close to dinner time, we decided that it was time to go, but told Nana that we would be back in the morning. We left for our aunt's house, where my cousin and her boyfriend are living right now.

We met up with Adele and Leandro at their house, and found out that one of my other cousins, Mike, had slept through his stop on the train - oops! We decided to meet up with Mike and his wife, Mariska, for dinner at their new house! Another family member was there to meet us - Jackson's sweet new second cousin, Bianca! We were so excited to introduce them to each other, and even though they weren't too interested in each other, we got pictures of their first encounter. Jackson also gave Mike & Mariska a "crash" course (so to speak - haha!) in baby-proofing for a kiddo on the go! I got some snuggle time with little Bianca (something Jackson wont tolerate anymore - he's a going boy!) and some serious quality time with my cousins, who I haven't seen in 3 years!

I'm looking tired after a looooong day of travel, but we had the best time catching up! Jackson and Bianca started t get sleepy, so we called it a night and went back to my aunt's house to crash.

The next day we slept in a little (Jackson had a tough night!), spent some time chatting with my cousin Adele, and went over to visit with Nana again. She was confused and thought that they were going on a field trip, so we told her that the bus had broken down (there was never a field trip, but we thought that it would be easier to give her a reason that it hadn't happened rather than try to convince her that she was wrong) and asked if she wanted to sit outside with us.

We went downstairs for a little while, then a nurse stopped by to tell us that Nana couldn't find her glasses that morning, so we went back up to her room to find them. By the time we found them, it was time for lunch, so we left to get our own lunch and give Nana a break.

Daddy and I went in search of delicious Canadian food and we found it in the form of Harvey's and Swiss Chalet - double yum! This was nice for Jackson too because it gave him a chance to take a nap, which was a challenge during our whirlwind trip!

We went back to visit Nana again and when we walked in she said "Oh! You're back already?" Which was so exciting! Up to this point, she really didn't have any idea who we were, except when she asked me if she had been to my wedding. We stayed awhile and talked while we watched Jackson play. Finally, we decided that it was time to go to the airport. She asked where we were going and we told her that we were going back to Dallas, where we live. Then she asked if we were "going to see David" while we were there and she lectured us for not seeing our "Uncle David" more often. We realized that she thought that my Dad was one of my cousins, and tried to explain that he WAS Uncle David. After going around in circles for awhile and looking at pictures, my Nana finally realized who we were. It was a really tough moment, but as hard as it was, it really made the trip worth it. We later found out that she called my aunt to tell her that my dad had been to see her.

We got to the airport and walked right on to an earlier flight to Dallas. It was a great surprise and we made it home so much earlier than we had expected! Here's Jackson, passed out on the way home to see Grandma and Daddy!


Coming soon... our visitors this week and Jackson's baptism!

Stay Tuned...

... for more information about our exciting life! This week was especially exciting as I took Jackson on his first trip to Canada to meet his great-Nana and my aunt's family, including a new second cousin. We also had some friends come visit us when we came back, and to top off our busy week, Jackson was baptized today!

pictures to follow :)


Also, we want to give a huge CONGRATULATIONS to our friend Emilynn, who has a new baby brother! Her parents, Andrew and Kelly, are thrilled to welcome home sweet baby Isaiah. Fun fact: Isaiah was delivered by the same midwife that Jackson was! :) Congrats again!

Clean House

I have to admit, ever since Jackson became mobile, I have let the housework get away from me. I am SO embarrassed to admit that I haven't hung Jackson's clothes up properly in over a month. Yes, it's true, we've basically been storing his clothes in the laundry basket. Steven's mom even came over to babysit and took Jackson on rides in the laundry basket. She asked me if the clothes were clean or dirty and I mumbled something about just having washed them. Terri, if you're reading this, now you know the horrible truth.

Anyways, the point of the story is that, finally, this weekend, we got our business together! Steven and I went on a cleaning frenzy and organized the house right down to our coffee table drawer. We threw out buckets of magazines, mail, and general papers. And yes, we even put away all of Jackson's clothes. I didn't take a before picture, because I was so embarrassed, but I can promise you, when we got home from church this evening, our bed was made, our dishes were done, and Jackson's room was in perfect order. It makes me so happy to come home to a clean house.

My Little Monster

cutest. photo. ever. I am so in love with this little boy - drool and all!

The Final Walk-Through

Well, this time next week Steven and I will officially be homeowners! Can you believe it?! I certainly can't, even though I'm going crazy with all these decorating ideas swirling around my head - it's almost too much! We are so excited to have our own house, we can't even stand it.

Steven took a half-day today, so today has felt like Saturday almost all day. He works half-days on Wednesday and Friday because he has late classes during the week, so he wants to make sure he has plenty of time to spend with Jackson and me, bless him! We went to Einstein's Bagels (yummmm!) for lunch, then over to World Market to pick up the floor cushions I wanted. They were on clearance, so we got them 50% off - yay! Next we went to Floor & Decor (near Collin Creek mall, for those of you familiar with my old stomping grounds) to check out some... what else... flooring. We have picked out the tile for the front entry, kitchen, laundry room, and bathrooms already, so when we picked out the wood (laminate) floors, Cale suggested that we look how it looks against the tile we chose. The result was.... less than spectacular. So, we went back to Floor & Decor to look for a darker wood. I think we found a winner! The wood is darker, but it has some variations in the color, so it should create some interest and hopefully mask any imperfections that may come up over time (possibly due to a little boy??). We also looked for tile for the back splash in the kitchen and I fell in L-O-V-E with a gorgeous brown tile. It reminded me of tiger's eye in that it was a little translucent and sparkly, with linear variations in color. So gorgeous and at 1/3 the price of my other favorite backsplash tile, it's a great price too!

After out trip to F&D, we went home so little boy could have a nap, then we called our realtor to schedule our final walk-through. He said that he was available that evening, so we set up a time to meet him. Seeing the house in person helped cement some of my choices, but changed a few of them as well. We looked over the room that was going to be the nursery and we both decided that it was just too small and oddly arranged to be someone's bedroom, especially when we had another larger room in the house. Instead, we are going to make it the guest bedroom. We just hope that our future child #2 won't be upset that he or she has to have a smaller room than Jackson. Sorry kiddo!

One bummer we ran into tonight: the garage door doesn't work!! Well, it works, but there's no garage door opener remote. The inspector had to touch 2 exposed wires together to get it to open. Ummm, that's not going to work for me. So we figure that we'll have to buy a new opener. Luckily, Steven blew up my mom's garage door opener (true story - I can't make these things up!), so he already knows how to install one.

I am so excited about all the projects this house will give us - I know that we'll be busy bees for years to come. A part of me is glad that we didn't buy a house with all the bells and whistles already added in - now we're able (forced even!) to bring that all in to make it truly ours.

8 years...

This picture was taken a few weeks before the 5th anniversary of September 11, 2001. Steven and I were in New York City for our honeymoon and we decided to stop by the site where the twin towers once stood. Steven was in the Navy at the time, and visiting the site completely reaffirmed the need for his service to our country. It was a powerful moment, and I couldn't help but catch it on camera. This was the beginning of my "military service" as a military wife and civilian employee.

8 years ago I was a senior in high school. My first class started at 8:15, and the towers had been hit at 8:11 (central time), so I didn't hear about it until my second class. I met my friends at our English class, which was their first class of the day. They told me that the WTC had been hit by a plane. In that moment, I did not comprehend the full effect of what had happened. In the following days, I found out that one of the men from our church had been in the first tower when it was hit. He was able to get out, and offered to speak to our youth group about his experience. He explained to us how he survived and cried when he spoke about the firefighters he encountered on his way out of the towers. It was a great time in our country's history in the way we responded with a united front, but a horrible time in the loss that we all felt.

So, today I challenge everyone to pray. Pray for the families of the people who lost their lives that day. Pray that nothing like this ever happens again. Pray for our service members' safe return home to their families.
Pray that we never forget.

Daddy's View

I'm usually the photographer in the family, but a couple weekends ago Steven picked up the camera and snapped a few pictures of Jackson. This one is my favorite...



I love those two little teeth and that great big grin!

Busy Weekend!

We had a lot of fun this weekend - yay for Labor Day! Even though I work every day no matter what, it was a lot of fun to have Steven around this weekend. We spent a lot of time together as a family, and as a couple (when Jackson was sleeping). I have always valued our time together because we spent so much time apart in the early years of our relationship.

We had an embarrassing moment this weekend. This weekend kicked off the football season for the NCAA. I tell you, I LOVE my Big 12 football!! My favorite teams to watch are CU, OU, and UT, but I'll watch pretty much any team from Big 12 south. Obviously, as a former CU student, the Buffs are my favorite team!! The season opener is always against CSU (Colorado State - booooo!!) and in recent years, we have have won more often than not. This weekend I was so excited to see the game! I flipped through all the channels and finally found it. Unfortunately, it was a channel we don't get, so Steven (being such a sweetheart!) ordered it for me so I could see the game. I was pumped! GO CU!! I even went and put on one of my Colorado t-shirts to get in the mood for some football. We watched the game and then after we won, I gloated on Facebook.

Sunday morning I woke up and checked my facebook. All of my Colorado friends had messages up saying that they were going to the game. Going? But the game already happened...! Obviously they knew something I didn't. I checked the Buffs athletic site and, sure enough, the game was on Sunday night! I told Steven and we realized that the station we had ordered was playing LAST YEAR'S game!! Needless to say, we felt pretty embarrassed. So, we watched the game on Sunday night after Jackson went to sleep. The Buffs didn't win, but it was fun to watch them play on Folsom field anyways. It was also fun to watch Facebook during the game and see everyone else react to the same things we did. Fingers crossed for a great season, despite the rocky start!

Sunday was my Mom's birthday, so we went to Watter's Creek in Allen (one of our favorite spots!) to have dinner at Brio. My mom had never tried Brio, and I think she really enjoyed it! After dinner we walked around a little and enjoyed the beautiful day. With Steven and Mom in tow, you know we had to stop at Borders. I am not a book person, but they both are. We picked up a couple fun books for Jackson and then went home to put Jackson to bed and watch the REAL CU-CSU game.

We got my mom a necklace and earrings for her birthday, but she also asked for another birthday present: helping her clear out her closet. She had so much in there that it was overflowing into both my dad's closet and the guest room closet! So many clothes and so little space (ha!). We were able to get rid of probably at least half of what was in there. Even though my two most-used phrases were: "When's the last time you wore that?" and "Niecy wouldn't like that!" (I watch too much Clean House, can you tell?), I have to say, my mom was ruthless! She kept adding more and more to the "donation" pile. We ended up donating 1 box, 1 garbage bag, and probably about 20 grocery sacks FULL of clothes. Wow! Some of the fantastic finds of the day: a blue, green, and pink 80s-fabulous fanny pack (donate), a Ducktales mini-duffel bag (donate), a PEO convention presentation (trash), and a few peices of artwork that she had purchased and forgotten about (keep!). The artwork will look great in my old bedroom after we transition it to a guest bedroom (as opposed to a "hold Alison's old junk" room). I also found out that my mom has both her wedding dress and my grandmother's in her closet. I'd like to go back and pull them out to look at them some time, but yesterday we were focused on the task at hand. At the end of the (very long and exhausting) day, all of my mom's clothes had found a home in her closet, her Tom-Tom was installed in her car (thanks Steven!), and we were ready to flop. We were so successful, that I just wanted to keep cleaning and cleaning and organizing and sorting... but instead I went home to relax with my two favorite boys at the end of our busy weekend.

Steven Day!

Steven works so hard during the week - between being a Daddy, a student, and a VP at his Dad's company - that he takes a half-day on Fridays. I thought it was so sweet that he was making his family his priority on his least busy day of the week, so I declared it Steven Day! Steven's such a wonderful husband and father that he always puts us before himself. It's easy to take this for granted, so I thought we should take a day to honor the sacrifices he makes for our family. I cringed a little bit when I offered this idea to him... I had visions of spending hours upon hours in guitar stores, watching the Military Channel, or (worse yet!) being ditched in favor of one of his single friends. Still, I knew that he deserved to be put first for a change.

I wasn't surprised when Steven's first suggestion was to go to a museum - he is such a history buff! His first choice was the Firefighter Museum in Dallas, but he decided that he'd rather stay in the area and we finally settled on Heritage Farmstead right here in Plano. If you've never been to Plano, you've probably never heard of it. If you grew up in Plano, however, you spent LOTS of field trips here. LOTS. In fact, the last owner of the property was my middle school's namesake. They've preserved the area to give people a glimpse in to farm life in Plano in the late 1800's.

Before going to Heritage Farmstead, we had to eat. Steven asked what I wanted and I responded "It's Steven Day!" He decided to go to Country Burger, one of his favorite places to eat... and one of my least favorites. But, it was Steven Day, so we went to Country Burger on our way to Heritage Farmstead.

One big reason Steven chose Heritage Farmstead - they have animals! We saw sheep, a goat, chickens, two donkeys, and a turkey (I think...!). He thought that Jackson would enjoy seeing some farm animals up close. It's funny to see Jackson's reaction to animals change as he gets older. He used to basically ignore them, but now he's very wary of them. He really can't stand dogs barking, which always sends him in to a bit of a panic. His favorite animal in the world is our cat, Maru, who lives with my mom right now. I think Jackson likes him because Maru is completely uninterested in him. Completely. He is much more interested in getting his slaves (aka Steven & me!) back from the small, pink thing (aka Jackson).

Anyways, the animals weren't really a hit with Jackson, but for me the backdrop was! I realized recently that we don't have any recent pictures of our whole family. The last time we had a family picture together was when our church took directory photos. We haven't even received the directory yet, but Jackson has already grown up and shed a lot of baby fat! So, I thought this would be a perfect place to take pictures, with all the charm of an old (Texan!) farmhouse. It also means a lot because this city has been home to four generations of Steven's family, and 3 generations of mine. This was the one deviation from Steven Day - the picture monster took over! We got some great pictures of our little family. I would like to go back (on Ally Day? haha) and have an actual person take the pictures, rather than our camera timer.

After we left Heritage Farmstead, Steven wanted to check out a new store near my mom's house. It sells collegiate wear, and we were sure that we could find some UNT gear. Sadly, they only sell 5 of the Big 12 teams - UT, A&M, Tech, OU, and Baylor. No UNT or CU! We were disappointed, and after driving down to Frisco with the intention of looking at flooring for our new house, Steven decided to call it a day. He decided that Blockbuster and home were next on the agenda for Steven Day. So we picked up a couple DVDs at Blockbuster (even though it was Steven Day, I got to choose one of the videos - yay!) and headed over to Market Street to pick up some supplies for the Steven Day dinner... which was of course, steak.

Finally, we came home, put Jackson to bed, and had a delicious steak dinner, complete with scallops (it's Steven Day), basil garlic mushrooms, and (delicious!!) mashed potatoes. Since it was Steven Day, we skipped the salad. After dinner we watched Steven's movie together. It was a great day and I love that Steven chose to spend his day with us, doing things we could all enjoy.

New Layout!!

Whew! I was getting sick of my old layout, so tonight I decided to conquer it! Braaaah!!! (Imagine a very scary battle cry there) I have to say - I'm pleased with it! I think all my hard work paid off!

...but now it's time to go to bed! Steven is home from classes and I've ignored him since he got home. Sorry blog, but it's my husband's turn for some attention.

Good night! :)

Dressing Up an $8 Table

We are trying to do our new house on a budget. I won't say exactly how much we have put aside, but I will say that 2800 sqft is a lot to live in... and a lot to decorate! So, of course, this table caught my eye at Ikea this weekend. For $8, how could I lose? The clean lines and simple shape already fit in with my Japanese-themed guest room. My idea was to spruce it up a little (thank you, HGTV), with some mod podge and some scrapbook paper. So, of course, I headed over to Joann's.

but not without an adorable picture of my favorite guy hanging out at Ikea first!


I picked up some scrapbook paper in pastel colors, origami paper (to give it an authentic feel), Mod Podge, and some brushes. Here are the materials for the project:

The paper cutter is on loan from my mother-in law. The pages were 12x12 originally and I cut them down to 7.5 x 7.5, 7.5 x 4.5 and 4.5 x 4.5 for variation. The sheets of origami paper were 6 x 6 and I left them alone to add more variation in sizes. Also, I chose Hard Coat Mod Podge for ultimate durability. You can find a breakdown of the different types of Mod Podge here, as well as some other Mod Podge craft ideas.

First, I added plain, white computer paper to the top of the (black) table-top (pre-assembly). I did this because the Mod Podge can make paper appear translucent, and I didn't want the black to show through.

Next, I laid out the pieces one by one, sticking each down as I went. I tried to make sure that I spaced out the colors so I didn't have patches of all one color. Then, I moved it to the dining room table (out of reach of baby's hands!) and added a coat of Mod Podge to the top, making horizontal strokes. I used a sponge brush, not the fancy bristle-brush in the picture... my sponge brush was drying and I didn't want to get the paper wet. After that coat had time to dry, I added another coat, using brush strokes perpendicular to the first coat. When it was dry (maybe 1-2 hours?) I screwed the legs on and left it to fully set over night.

Voila!


Look at how excited Jackson is to see the new table, as evidenced by his hand slapping it! Seeing what a perfect height the new table was for Jackson gave me an idea for his play room - another table like this, but red (instead of black) with scrapbook paper prints fitting for a little boy. I wouldn't have to worry about it getting dirty for crafts because it would blend in with the prints, and possibly even add character. I plan to make a second table like this one and add floor cushions for seating with a Japanese feel to it.

Something tells me that my adventures in Mod Podge are just beginning!

Spouse Survey

Our friend Lauren over at Details from the Dechiros did this survey on Friday. I'm too lazy to download photos from my latest project, so instead I decided to fill this out. Here are some of the details of our life!

♥ What are your middle names?
mine is Louise and Steven's is Andrew. Steven's family calls him Andrew.

♥ How long have you been together?
5 years this month

♥ How long did you know each other before you started dating?
We had known each other for a little more than a year and a half, but I was going to school in Colorado and Steven was living in Plano or in the Navy.

♥ Who asked whom out?
He came home for the weekend and asked me to pick him up from the airport and join him for Mexican food the next day.

♥ How old are each of you?
Both 25, but people always think he's at least a few years older than me.

♥ Whose siblings do/did you see the most?
We see Steven's brother more because he lives in Dallas and my sister lives in New York.

♥ Do you have any children together?
Yes - and he's all I ever talk/blog about. Jackson is 9 1/2 months old and the sweetest, funniest, smartest, most handsome baby ever.

♥ What about pets?
We have a fat cat named Maru. When we moved back to TX, we lived with my mom for a few weeks... and Maru stayed behind. My mom loves having a kitty around and it's easier for me to watch Jackson without a cat around.

♥ Did you go to the same school?
No, but we went to rival high schools. Go PSHS!

♥ Are you from the same home town?
Kind of. I was born and raised in Plano. Steven's a Navy brat, but his mom grew up in Plano and Steven's family moved back to the area when he was in elementary school. Even though he went to Plano schools, they actually live in Allen.

♥ Who is the smartest?
I'm smarter when it comes to language and things like that, but Steven works harder to learn things. He's in the Honors College at UNT.

♥ Who is more sensitive?
Depends on what it is. We're both pretty sensitive though.

♥ Where do you eat out most as a couple?
Does Starbucks count? I have an unnatural addiction. Other than that, we looooooove any and all food Mexican.

♥ Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
From Japan to Texas. With all the traveling we've each done, it's interesting to note that we've actually only flown together three times.

♥ Who has the craziest exes?
I think I have that one... Steven has a couple crazy stories to though.

♥ Who has the worst temper?
it used to be me.... but Steven's been catching up.

♥ Who does the cooking?
Me. Unless it involves a grill.

♥ Who is more social?
Steven's more social with new people, but enjoys his alone time more. I'm more social with friends and enjoy being around people more than he does.

♥ Who is the neat-freak?
Neither of us!! Of the two of us, I'm the one who cleans/tidies more often, but Steven's car is much neater than mine, but it's also not full of baby junk.

♥ Who is more stubborn?
Probably me.

♥ Who hogs the bed?
Steven! He can have 3/4s of the bed and will still say "honey! scoot over! I'm on the edge!"

♥ Who wakes up earlier?
Steven for sure. I am NOT a morning person. Not even a little bit.

♥ Where was your first date?
We went to Tia's (Steven's favorite Mexican restaurant that has since closed), then to Stonebriar Mall, where Steven grabbed my hand while we were walking past Claire's on the second floor (Steven will be surprised that I remember that). I looked away so he wouldn't see me smiling. Then his parents had a bbq for him at his house that evening and I stayed after to hang out with Steven. We went on a walk, and after walking around the neighborhood, we stopped a couple houses down from his parents' house and he leaned in to kiss me. That was our first kiss.

♥ Who has the bigger family?
Steven definitely does!! I only have 2 aunts, 2 uncles, 3 cousins, and 3 kids between them. Beyond that, we don't talk to anyone else in our family. Steven's family is HUGE by comparison.

♥ Do you get flowers often?
2-3 times a month. We usually keep a bunch on our dining room table. I go to Market Street on Fridays for their half-off flower bar.

♥ How do you spend the holidays?
In the Navy, it was always an adventure!! Our first Christmas as a married couple I spent watching Boston Legal on the ship b/c he had duty. If we're home, we have dinner with both families but open gifts with each family seperately.

♥ Who is more jealous?
We don't really get jealous. Long distance relationships don't really work if one of both people are jealous.

♥ How long did it take to get serious?
Not very long... we started looking at engagement rings after being together for only 2 months.

♥ Who eats more?
I eat more when I'm pregs or nursing.

♥ Who does/did the laundry?
I do the laundry, but sometimes I wait for Steven to come home before I fold it. I hate folding.

♥ Who’s better with the computer?
Me, but for some reason I think he should be.

♥ Who drives when you are together?
Usually Steven, but we usually take my car. When we were in Japan I had a license and Steven didn't... and I got really sick of driving. Once he tried to tell me how to drive and I asked him to show me his license. He didn't like that very much...

Uh-oh! Jackson just woke up! Guess who takes care of the baby when he wakes up?

Good night!!

Dinosaur

I've been playing around with digital scrapbooking again - yay! Here's my latest creation. I sing a song to Jackson lately about being a dinosaur, because sometimes I swear he is one! You should hear the sounds coming out of his mouth... wow.

Here is the song (to the tune of "Wild Thing")
Dinosaur
(duh dun ut dun dun dun)
You make my heart roar
(duh dun ut dun dun dun)
You make everything... prehistoric
na na na Dinosaur

The things moms come up with, right? I actually have an insane talent for changing the words to songs to make them fit Jackson better. I really enjoy it too. Anyways, this project was inspired by that song:


I love the picture in the middle... I think he has a great "roarr" face!

Last week we took a trip to the Heard Museum in McKinney and had some fun looking at the dinosaur exhibits inside. They even had a sandbox where kids could dig for dinosaur bones! We quickly decided that Jackson would probably try to eat the sand (ick!) so we opted for the less tasty, but much more sanitary pose with the fake dinosaur skull (top right). Jackson thought it was pretty cool! Then we went outside and looked at the animals and the butterfly house. Even though it was hot, it was a great trip.

Next on the agenda: a redesign for this blog. I'm sick of the dots!! And even though I'll never get sick of my boys, the header is getting a little old too. Any ideas? I hope this will be a good way to get my creativity going before we start fixing up the house - I can't wait!!

How'd THAT get in there?

Jackson had some shots yesterday, so he's been a very sleepy boy today. As much as I miss playing with him, his naps are good for my sanity. I have a few hours to myself where I can get things done around the house (ha!), check my emails/blogs online (more likely), and catch up on a little HGTV while fantasizing about the fabulous-yet-affordable magazine-style makeover I'm going to give our new house. I can always hope, right?

Well, as if the parade of toys and clothing throughout the house right now wasn't enough to shatter that dream, see what I found when changing over the laundry....

Do you see him? He's hiding...


You betcha! That's Jackson's favorite bath toy, the frog! How in the world did he end up in Jackson's laundry??

Little boys and their toys.... I guess I should be happy that it's not my cell phone or the remote - two very sought-after items in this house!