NO Cinnamon for You

Two days ago Ian was sitting at the kitchen table eating apple cinnamon oatmel, a banana, and drinking a cup of milk for lunch. While he was eating he proceeded to ask me for a snack which typically means he wants a package of fruit snacks. So I went over to the cabinet to get a pack and he starts screaming and when I got back to him his face was a blotchy beet red and his bottom lip was swollen up. I quickly washed off the remaining oatmel off his face and called the pediatrician's office to see what I needed to do for him. I was instructed to give him 2 teaspoons of Benadryl, which luckily I had on hand and to watch him for any difficulty breathing. Thankfully the Benadryl worked after about an hour or so and we did not have to take a trip to the emergency room. The only thing that we can think of that caused the reaction was the cinnamon in the oatmeal, because he has eaten oatmeal, apples, and bananas numerous times before.

Chain Gang Girl

Our little punk princess has discovered a store in the Greenville Mall called Hot Topic which caters directly to her style. Last month when we were in there she saw this pair of pants with chains already attached ,zippers and metal studded pockets all over and she went bananas for them. She had her $20.00 allowance with her but the pants were definetly out of her price range at $49.99. So I told her keep saving if she wanted buy them as I was not about to pay $50.00 for a pair of pants. Last weekend we went back and she was perusing the clearance racks (that apple doesn't fall far from the tree) and found them marked down to $21.00---So they quickly found a new home in her wardrobe.And wouldn't ya know that is the first thing she grabbed to put on the next day.

Sharing with Mommy

It has now become a tradition that Ian share my bowl of cereal with me each morning. He loves any and every kind of cereal that we have given him, though his favorite seems to be Frosted Flakes followed closely by Trix.

Kitchen Symphony

Ian's big sister taught him to play the "pans" several weeks ago and now anytime we are in the kitchen he drags out at least one of my big stock pots to play with. This morning I was in the kitchen and this is what he had done while I was trying to make dinner plans....

Talented isn't he?

Our Little HamBone

I got the camera out this afternoon in order to try to catch Ian undecorating the Christmas Tree--AGAIN. But he turned around, saw the camera, and this is what he did........

Can't you tell he's been photographed just a couple of times in his life??

Jasmine Goes Punk

Jasmine decided to go Punk--Uh, I mean Pink for her birthday. She wanted to put some "color" in her hair as part of her present, so we did. See those lovely hot pink highlights she's now sportin'? Am I the coolest mom or what? SIKE!!! Their clip in extensions-- I would not have let her do that to her actual hair, so we got the next best thing.

Deocarting....Or Rather Un-Decorating The Tree

It is a tradition in our family to break out the Christmas tree and the ornaments the day after Thanksgiving, but this year it worked out a little differently. We actually put the tree up on Thanksgiving Day, but left it undecorated until Sunday. As Jasmine was having a birthday party sleepover on Saturday night, and she wanted her friends to help her decorate the tree. Ian was most fascinated with the tree, especially when we plugged it in and it lit up. But there is one little problem........ Ian likes to undecorate the "tee" on a daily basis. He will bring you various ornaments or bows and show them to you and say "tee", knowing that they belong on the tree. The only problem is that he hasn't figured out how to put them back on once he's taken them off.

Big Boy Booster

All of a sudden Ian has boycotted his highchair and has been climbing up into the dining room chairs to sit down when it is time to eat. However, he is so short when his bottom is in the chair he could not see over the top of the table, let alone reach his food. So, off to Ian's favorite store, the Red Dot Store (a.k.a. Target) to buy a big boy booster seat for him. He has thoroughly enjoyed his big boy seat at the dinner table and has actually been eating more since he has been sitting at the table with the family.

Dress Up

Jasmine and Ian were playing together the other day when she/they decided it would be fun to play dress up. Needless to say, Ian ended up wearing sissy's skirt and hat. I must the passy makes the outfit!

New Old Toys

My mom keeps everything! Thus, we have re-inherited some of Jasmine's old Fisher Price Little People toy collection. As well as a few new additions that my mom has made over the years whenever she finds a good deal at the good will or a yard sale. Ian has been playing with the Farm and having a blast, but to give him something different to play with we brought out the Castle and all of the little knights, which he calls "bot, bots"--Not exactly sure why.. but it's cute none the less. You can listen below--Sorry the video is so dark but we don't have a lot of light in the living room.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

We would like to wish everyone a happy and blessed Thanksgiving! We hope that you were able to enjoy the company of family and or friends, good food, and a "turkey coma" like us. Last year at Thanksgiving Ian was just a baby and his dinner consisted of pureed sweet potatoes and corn, but this year he is a lot bigger and has more teeth......So he got to the joy of eating his first ear of corn on the cob. And boy did he like it!

The King of Rock

Ian LOVES his first crown from Burger King as well as his rocking horse or his "Rock Rock" as he calls it--He has had the crown for about two months now and we can NOT throw it away as he periodically gets out of the toy box and plays with it.

Who Says Toddlers Can't Follow Directions??

Jasmine was in the kitchen listening to her CD's and was playing the song"You Spin Me Round"and Ian began dancing as he usually does when any kind of music plays. But this time he was actually spinning around like the song said! What a smart boy!!

Sunday Paper

Reading the Sunday paper with daddy

Let's see what's on sale this week guys

Reading the Sunday morning paper can sometimes prove to be a challenge at our house--since Ian loves to "read" it with you. More often than not, the pages he "reads" end up in shreds on the living room floor.

Tricks or Treats??

Our little trick or treaters

Miss Jasmine-- The vampire diva

Qwackers anyone??

I must say our kids are treats--Definitely!! We did not do much of anything this year for Halloween since the church carnival we normally go to was not put on this year due to budget issues. But the kids still got into their costumes and looked absolutely great if I do say so myself.

Jas's Latest Masterpieces

Here are two of the paintings that Jasmine has completed in the past week.

Paint Me a Picture Picasso

Jas has always loved to do anything artsy/crafty. She hopes to one day attend graphic design school and then culinary school to become a pastry chef, so that she can create unique and beautiful cakes like the ones you see on Food Network. She managed to score this art easel that belonged to my sister who was no longer using it and since she got it she has enjoyed sitting there and painting for hours.

Now That's Tired!!

This past Friday I brought Ian home from daycare and the little stinker had been too busy playing to take his afternoon nap. I was trying to keep him busy once we got home so that he would be ready to go to bed a normal time. He was sitting next to me on the floor happily playing with his toys and next thing I know he has laid his head down on the floor, which he sometimes does, and I figured he would bounce back up and continue playing. I figured wrong. The boy was sound asleep amongst all of his toys and stayed that way for about 45 minutes. I didn't have the heart to move him--he looked so peaceful.

Elmo's World

Ian absolutely loves the color red. Probably inspired by our many trips to Target (or the "red dot store" as we call it in our family). This past weekend his sister found him this giant stuffed Elmo doll at a yardsale for $1 which he was thrilled about. When you mash Dorothy the fish, the theme song from Elmo's World plays he gets excited and either claps his hands or dances to the music.

Mohawk Man

Instant mohawk--no product needed! Ian's hair has gotten so long on the top we can make it stand up all on it's own. We have an appointment with Ms. Laurie later on this week for his first haircut.

My Bologna Has a First Name......

Ian has pretty much decided that he no longer wants to eat jarred baby foods, but insists on eating things that he can feed himself. We have discovered that he likes a wide variety of fruits and vegetables as well as some meats. The only thing we have found he doesn't like is anything made with tomato sauce like sloppy joes or spaghetti with sauce. The other day sissy was having an afternoon snack of bologna slices when her loving little brother discovered that she had something to eat. She asked could he have some, since he was practically begging, and I told her it was ok as long as she gave him a small piece so he wouldn't choke on it. Well he enjoyed that so much, he kept wanting more and eventually he theived one of her slices and proceeded to eat the whole thing. So we have now discovered another one of Ian's favorites!

Cheap Entertainment

Who needs fancy toys? Just give them a box! Jasmine received a package in the mail and her brother discovered the empty box next to the pile to be taken to the recycle bin. It is now one of his favorite things to play with. He likes to climb in and out of it, push it across the floor, put things in it and then take them back out again.

Easter Eggs

A tisket, a tasket, an Ian in a basket

"Boy I love these things!"


"Yes, mommy I dumped them out AGAIN!"

"Who me?? I didn't do it, must have been sissy"




This was Ian's first Easter and he absolutely loved the Easter eggs that he and his sister got from several Easter egg hunts they attended as well as the ones that the Easter Bunny brought them. He called them "ball" and had a blast playing with them, as you can see, for several weeks after Easter.

Myrtle Beach Vacation

The Family (minus mommy---somebody had to take the picture)

Bikini Beach Babe

Ian and Daddy exploring the beach looking for shells


Just before attempting to build a sand castle.






This year during Spring Break we went on vacation to Myrtle Beach. It was our first since Ian has been born, and we re-discovered that traveling with a little one is a lot like moving! We had so much stuff with us it was ridiculus. Good thing the resort we stayed at had a parking deck in the middle of it so that when you parked your vehicle you were on the same floor as your room or we would have wore ourselves out just hauling in the luggage. We enjoyed the indoor pool and lazy river that our resort had as well as venturing out to some different places such as the aquarium, the children's museum of SC (which is a really cool place to check out if you have never been--all the exhibits are hands on learning experiences and admission is really reasonable), and of course eating seafood buffet. We did explore the beach on one of the warmer days that we were there but it was so windy that we couldn't stay very long.

Just a Swingin'

Ian LOVES the outdoors. Especially the park behind our house since they have swings that are just his size. The only problem is getting him back inside without crying!

We're Gonna Party Like is 2-0-0-9!

For new Years (yes, Angie, I know these are late, but at least I'm posting them!!) Jasmine had a friend spend the night and of course we had to have party hats, horns, sparkling grape juice for the toast, etc. And since it was Ian's first New Year's, the girls decided that he needed a party hat and horn too. Needless, to say, Ian & I didn't make it till midnight, but Todd and the girls did.

Ian's First Christmas

Here are just a few pictures of Ian's First Christmas.Usually in years past, before Jas got out of bed or before I would let her come down to see what Santa had left I would always take a picture of everything he brought. But not this year! Who knew that having a second child on Christmas morning could make such a big difference, especially when it's their first. Jasmine was sooo excited she bolted out of bed at 5:30 (VERY unlike her to be up so early) and stood out side of her door asking where's my brother, is he up yet? And of course, of all mornings for him to want to sleep late, he chose this one. After sissy woke him up, she bolted down the hallway with him to show him everything that Santa had brought. In all of the excitement between the two of them, Ian with his Jumperoo and Jasmine with her laptop and Guitar Heros, I completely forgot to take my pictures! Thank goodness I had the forethought the night before to set up the videocamera on the tripod in the living room, so at least we have video footage. Ian did enjoy ripping into those presents as you can see from the pictures! I enjoyed watching him and sissy just as much as they enjoyed tearing everything open.