jaxson is 2!!!

jaxson turned 2 on friday!! pictures of the birthday weekend will be coming soon.  meanwhile... here are some jax stats...

FAVORITE FOOD:  pizza (pronounced sipisa by jax)

FAVORITE TOY: a yellow cancer bracelet and a dog collar.  good thing we have a house full of toys.

FAVORITE FRIEND: his cousin emry. he talks about her everyday...several times a day.

FAVORITE MOVIE: shrek and pongo & perdita

FAVORITE THING TO DO: turn lights on and off, talk about turning the lights on and off, play with addy, take a bath, go bye bye, watch a movie, and make us laugh

FAVORITE TREAT: dippin dots... he's got his mommy's love of ice cream

FAVORITE PHRASE:  buh bye emry yeah which means "lets go see emry"

FAVORITE BOOK: ten friendly fish & i love you more than

We love you Jaxson and continue to be amazed at the joy you bring us each & everyday.  You truly are a gift and we couldn't be prouder!!

some guilt... and an oh so cute puppy

So this is going to be a spewing post...sorry.  I read a blog today and boy did it resignate with me.  Ever feel like you are failing at everything?  Uhh hello... that's me.  I never really used to have those feelings until I became a mother.  That's when I had TIME.  Oh time... where did you go?  I feel like I was on top of the game back then.  Not so much anymore.  I feel like I can't be as good of a friend, as good of a wife, as good of a daughter, as good of a sister, as good of a granddaughter, as good of an aunt, as good of a cousin, as good of an employee, etc.. etc...  Man - mommyhood sure does come with some guilt, eh?  Slap on being a working mom on top of it all and you have a big ole' heap of ugliness.  Now... don't get me wrong here - I LOVE being a mom more than anything in the entire world.  But, I have the guilt of everything else that isn't at the top of the list anymore.  Is my grandma doing ok?  Is she sad because I haven't called or stopped by in awhile?  Do my nieces wonder where cool aunt dawny went and why I don't spend as much time with them anymore?  I used to be the friend who didn't miss a birthday or a special day.... hmmm... can't say that anymore.  So... reading that blog today at least made me realize that I'm not alone.  I think everyone feels like that to some extent - right?  And why do I keep comparing myself to the person I was before Jaxson came???  I'm NOT that person anymore.  I CAN'T be that person anymore.  So... my question to you... how do you make that guilt go away?  Man is it consuming... help....

Happy Wednesday Friends.

P.S. my little puppy is going to be 2 on Friday!  :)

Randomness by Dawn

Well...well...well....  time sure has flown since my last post and since Troy has resulted to calling me out, I better get to it.  I can't be outdone by him...no no no.  Life is busy.  Very busy.  Work is busy.  Very busy.  I'm still working on that whole balance thing.  It's definitely a work in progress.  So, I don't have anything in particular in mind to post about, so I'll just give ya a little sampling of what's going on in this noggin of mine - mmkay?

• First off - Jody is going back to Ethiopia on Oct. 20th and I'm SUPER excited for her.  She's going to visit the school that Meheret is at and give her a little package for us and give her some love.  I'm looking forward to an update on Meheret when Jody gets back. So... keep Jody Jo in your prayers - k?  She would appreciate that. :)

• Jaxson's halloween costume is ridiculously cute.  When I put it on him - I teared up.  Yes, I'm a nerd.  But seriously... just wait until you see a picture of him in it.  Oh my... he melts my heart.
• I have like no food in my house and really should be grocery shopping right now and not blogging.  Eh.. oh well.
• The 49ers are 0-4... if they do not win tonight... I am going to be mad.  I really do not want a crabby husband for a 5th Sunday in a row.  Seriously guys... get it together.  Please. Please.
• Last night I made some banana caramel ravioli.  Delish.  You must make it. So good.  Here's a link to the recipe.  You will not be disappointed - I promise.  And if you are - well then you just are not normal.  http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1194911
• Tim has been busy busy with his photography.  Fall is a popular time for pictures with the leaves changing and so he is found behind his computer editing most nights.  If you haven't checked out his work - you should.  http://timothyprustphotography.blogspot.com.
• Jaxson is going to be TWO on Nov. 5th.  I know I sound like a broken record, but he is getting so big so fast.  He is soooo much fun.  He wears me out, but I still miss him when he's sleeping.  I know you think I'm crazy, but I do.  Sometimes I go in while he's sleeping and just pick him up and rock him and then put him back in his crib.  Love the cuddles and love when he sleeps on me. :)
• So... Jaxson's new thing now.  Oh man.  When he's being naughty (which hardly EVER happens - ha yeah right) and we are yelling talking to him in a very calm voice about being naughty he looks at us and says "how are you?"  Now how am I supposed to not laugh at that?  He is a stinker and a half and knows how to charm.
• I want need to start working out.  I even went and bought some new tennis shoes.  So, it's a step in the right direction.  I'm thinking "30 by 30".  30 lbs by the time I'm 30 yrs old.  Hmm... not sure how I feel about typing that.  Because now you know.  And if I don't succeed I'll be a big lame-o.  Eek.  Ok... I said it...now I have to do it.  Stupid caramel banana ravioli.  I love hate you.
• I need some good crockpot recipes.  Do you have any good ones?  Keep in mind that we are kinda picky eaters in this house, so don't be suggesting recipes with spinach and mushrooms and all that weirdy stuff.

Alright... that's all I got.  It's time for me to go check in on Tim and the 49ers and hope that it's good news.  Wish me luck folks... wish me luck....

winner winner chicken dinner!!

Thank you again to everyone who donated!!  We truly appreciate ALL of you!!  We will be sure to keep you all updated on how Meheret is doing.

and  the winner is.....

Awww stink

Well, apparently we broke the rules.  PayPal considers raffles gambling.  Stink.  So, our paypal button had to be removed.  Double stink.  We certainly don't want to be rule breakers.  However... the raffle will continue on!  If you have not entered and would still like to - leave me a comment with your email and I will give you the scoop on how to enter.

Thanks so much for all of your support so far!  Only a few more days to enter - don't wait!!

I'll leave you with a picture of my little fireman. :)

Some good videos...

Wow - thanks to all of you that have donated already!!  You guys are awesome!!  Keep it up!!

I wanted to give you some more information on Korah to those of you who don't know much about it.

A few facts:

• Korah in Amharic means "cursed".
• 75 years ago the Ethiopian government moved everyone with leprosy to this area of Addis Ababa.
• Approximately 100,000 people live in the slums of Korah - the "outcasts" of society.
• The city dump is located in Korah.
• The people, both adults and children, spend their days digging through the dump searching for anything to eat or sell.

Our sponsorship includes summer camp where she received one decent meal a day, and then in September she started boarding school 3 hours away. This covers her room, 3 meals a day, books, tuition, hygiene needs, uniform and transportation to and from school when needed during breaks. 

One of my closest friends visited Korah in July and she saw first hand the devastation that is going on there.  She's done an awesome job at spreading the word to others - hence the reason Tim and I got involved.  Please watch this video to get an idea of where your dollar is going. 

The Village of Korah - A short documentary from Session 7 Media on Vimeo.




I have one more video for you.  This is my little baby boy who is growing much too fast.  But, when you watch this video... think of the kids in the previous video.  Jaxson could have easily been one of those children.  Just think...

KORAH DONATION!!!

Ok... I lied.  This post was SUPPOSED to be last week, but well life got in the way.  It has a habit of doing that a lot... hmm.  But, as long as I post more than Troy... then I'm all good. hehehe.

As most of you know we are trying to raising $$ for our sponsored child in Ethiopia.  Her name is Meheret and she is 12 yrs old. Check a few posts back for more info.  Little update - Meheret has now started school & and is not living in the trash dump - yay!! We just received a letter from her and a new picture, so I'll post about that soon. :)

So.....Are you ready??  Drumroll please....

Yes - an ipod touch (8GB)!!  Ok, so here is how this is going to work.  A donation of $5 will get you one entry and a $20 donation will get five entries.  And you can do as many entries as you'd like.  If you want to buy 10 entries I wouldn't be mad at you.  Just sayin.  Who doesn't want an ipod touch?  Come on now... get with the times people - you need one!  (We had to remove our paypal button... so contact us on how to enter).

As I said before... all proceeds will be going to Meheret.  And yes the ipod touch is brand new and never been opened.  It's just lonely and waiting for you to take it home.  All of the entries will be put into a bowl and we will draw the lucky winner on Friday - September 24th.  Why that day?  Because it's Tim's birthday!  So... click away and get it on the FUN!

Timothy Prust Photography

have you checked out tim's blog?  what???  you mean you haven't?  then you are just plain crazy. go check him out and then email him and book a session.

http://timothyprustphotography.blogspot.com/


so.... a couple of weeks ago i mentioned there being a fun raffle where proceeds go to meheret (our sponsored child in korah).  it's coming... it's coming...  so... check back this week. right here. this is where all the action will be. mmmkay?  don't forget now. come back.

When did...

When did these little toes...

Turn into these toes...

When did this little bit of hair...

Grow into all this hair...


















When did this little tongue....

Become this giraffe tongue....

When did this gummy smile....

Turn into these toothy smile....

How can this be my little baby Jaxson?  Look how big he is!!  Oh boy do I love him, but this mommy needs time to slow down just a tad....

Mondays are stoooooopid!!!

I suck at laundry...

So... basically I suck at laundry.  There... I said it.  I'm usually always behind and I tend to do laundry when it gets to the point where we are running out of underwear or something.  Hey... don't judge.. just keepin it real.  But, when I DO do laundry it really annoys me when I have a hodge podge of items left.  A few white shirts... a few red shirts... etc..  Doesn't that annoy you?  It's not enough for a full white or full color load.  Ok.. so I found something that I'm lovin.  Shout Color Catcher.  Ever tried it?

Let me say that I work for the company that makes this product.  We've had it for I don't know how many years now, but I've been too chicken to try it.  I thought how is this dryer sheet looking thing going to keep the red dye from getting onto my whites.  Well, I'm happy to report that it WORKS!!  Seriously.  I was very impressed.  You get a box of these white dryer sheet looking things and just stick it right in the wash with the rest of your stuff.  Then when you take your stuff out of the washer you can see all the dye that the sheet soaked up.  It's magic!  This picture doesn't really do it any justice, but you can kinda see how it soaked up all the red/pink dyes.

Ok I'm done sounding like a salesman now... ha!  Let me know if you want to try one - I'll send ya a FREE sample... who doesn't love a free sample???

Meet Meheret...

Doesn’t she look sad? I’m sure you would be too if you lived in a trash dump. That’s her reality. She is 12 yrs old and spends her days there. She’s not alone though, 130,000 are also living there. If you haven’t already read my friend Jody’s blog about her day at Korah, please do so here.  It's long, but SO worth the read. 


I'm happy to report that Meheret won’t be in the dump much longer though because Tim and I are now proud sponsors of Meheret! Her future is looking brighter and I’m hoping to get a picture of her smiling in just a few weeks. $700 from us and her life is now changed. She gets to go to summer camp where she will get one decent meal a day, and then in September she will go to boarding school 3 hours away. This covers her room, 3 meals a day, books, tuition, hygiene needs, uniform and transportation to and from school when needed during breaks. We are very excited for Meheret and are looking forward to exchanging letters with her and building a relationship.


PLEASE consider sponsoring a child. There are about 15 teenagers left waiting to be sponsored and their time is running out. Is $700 a lot of money? Sure it is. But, you are talking about completely changing their lives and giving them a chance. They’ve never been given a chance – PLEASE consider being that person for them. Tim and I are saving birthday money, having a rummage sale and we also have a fun little raffle we’ll be doing soon – so check back with us soon to get in on the FUN!! Please think about it and see if you could maybe get creative and find a way to come up with some $ to be “mom” or “dad” to one of these desperate teens!! You can read lots more on Project 61 at their website – www.p61.org.

Like my neckace?

Isn't it PRETTY?!?!  Do you want one?  Good news - you can have one too!!  Troy & Amber are selling these necklaces as a fundraiser for their adoption.  So... hop on over to their blog and snatch one up for yourself and while you are at it you should probably buy one for your mom too! Troy & Amber's son Silas was at Hannah's Hope with Jaxson and I'm so excited that they are in the process of adopting a baby sister for Silas.  Go check out their blog - there are a few ways you can help support them. 

http://luchtadoptionblogspot.com/

The Worst Mom of the Year Award goes to....

Me. Yes... *big sigh*..... Me.

I've been laying in bed all weekend sick and this morning Jaxson crawled up into bed with me and was playing. He was climbing off the bed and decided he wanted back on. He was slipping off the side and was saying "Ep Ep", which means "help help". So I grabbed his arm that was closest to me and... POP. Just like that... the tears started coming. Something was out of socket - we just didn't know what. Oh boy did I feel horrible. He wasn't moving his arm at all and if you touched it - he would cry. Tim took him into the emergency room while I sulked at home and gathered my things that I was going to take to jail with me. Because certainly the police were going to come and handcuff me and take me away for child abuse or something... I was certain of it. The doctor popped Jaxson's elbow back into socket (doesn't it sound painful?!). Eek. Thankfully he started using his arm right away and all was good in the world again. I was so happy to see him when he came home. Jax could push every button on the tv and get into any cabinet he wanted without hearing "no" from mommy. Just for today though. Oh and I'm happy to report that I'm blogging from my couch and not from a jail cell. Phew...

The Come Back Kid...

Look who's baaaaack!! After spending the weekend in Nashville with all my adoption peeps - it inspired me to get back into blog world. I've been gone far too long don'tcha think?? AND... the blog is public again. Hoping that there are no weirdos out there. So, if you are weird - please go away. thank you. moving right along...

Well, let's just dive into some pictures.... mmkay? Because really... that's all you want to see. So, for those of you who don't know.. AGCI had their annual picnic in Nashville and we loaded up the car and headed out to see our friends!

Off we go...

We made a pit stop in Indianapolis to see the Alexander crew! :) Hannah & Chloe are too cute! See you all again in a couple weeks!!

Then we stopped in Louisville for the night...

Couple more hours of driving and we made it to Nashville. This happy camper loved the king size bed!!

Friday night we went to the Luchts & met up with some other families. All these little ones are within months of eachother in age - SO fun! Well, Jaxson's little tantrum was not so fun.. but just ignore that. And look at sweet little Ab up there.

Saturday was the picnic. BIG group. Little game of where's waldo for you.. can you spot J and I?


We got to meet up with lots of our "online friends". It was so nice to meet some of them in person. Whitney is one of the sweetest people!


Noah is a BUSY 2 year old. It's hard to get a picture of this little cutie because he is always on the move!

Silas has some of the prettiest eyes. I always love his facial expressions.

Oh sweet Zoe! This girl is cRaZy fun!! She is a HOOT!

Jax and Finny playing in the water.

Tim, Pat & the kiddos in downtown Nashville

So... as you all know... Jody and I have been planning Jax & Zoe's wedding for like umm the past year and a half. Well, little did we know... that Zoe would just be the bridesmaid. Look 2 pictures below...

These 2 little lovebirds hit it off. Well, I don't think Callie had much of a choice. Jaxson LOVES Callie. And I mean LOVES. He could not keep his hands off of her (no I am not exaggerating). He wanted to be sitting on her lap, hugging her, touching her leg, standing by her, staring at her, etc... It was pretty funny. So... we'll just have to see how this little love triangle plays out.

Jody & I. Apparently someone didn't tell me to put a brush through my hair. Sheesh Dawn - get it together.

Ok.. don't judge me. But, this was Jaxson's breakfast one morning. Hey... we were on vacation so whatever.

Aren't they cute?!?! Oh how I love them...
Sunday we went to Centennial Park... gorgeous!

Jaxson & Finny had lots of fun playing. They had us cracking up!

They put on a dance show for us. Finn has some serious moves...

Does it get any cuter than this??? Sweet little buddies.

Fun night with the Hulls!

And that's it. That was our first little roadtrip as a family of 3! :) We had such a great time and wish we could have spent more time with everyone, but all good things must come to an end... right? Well... at least that's what they say.

(Ok... so since I was a MAJOR blog slacker - did I at least make up for it with the gazillion pics I posted?!)

well hello there...

Ummm... it has come to my attention that it has been 2 months since I've posted. What?! I'm surprised that I even remembered what my blog address was. My brain is usually done for by the end of the day. I can't possibly think of something to write that people will actually want to read. But, I guess I better fill you in on the past 2 months. My grandpa passed away last month after a 10 month battle with cancer. Losing both grandpas in 6 months is just not fair. It's been really hard. I think about him everyday and think "how can he REALLY" be gone. I know he is in a better place and know he's not in any pain. Tim's uncle also passed away a couple weeks ago, so it's kinda been depressing over here. But, Jaxson has definitely been the sunshine for us all. Even in your saddest moment... he can ALWAYS make you smile. Oh how I love that boy. Here's a picture of my grandparents meeting Jaxson for the first time at the airport last year. He was SO proud of Jaxson!

Jaxson is 19 months old and talking more and more. Everyday there is a new word he's saying. The new one today is bubble and it sounds more like bub-ol. So cute. Jaxson and Addy are still the best of friends. Jaxson would rather play with Addy over any of his toys anyday.

Ok... some fun stuff now. Most of you should know Jody, but in case you don't please go to her blog and to her etsy site here. She is going on a mission trip to Ethiopia this summer and is raising $$ for some AWESOME organizations. So, PLEASE go check out her stuff. It's cute! I have 2 necklaces and LOVE them! That's Jody in the picture below - how can you not buy something from that pretty lil face?!?!

And then Jody has this friend Kelly who I met last year when I was visiting. She is selling some cool stuff for their adoption. I am totally getting a tote... actually I think I'll get TWO totes and use one as a gift. So... go on over to her site and support them!!

Ok... that's all I got. All this posting has wore me out. Ha - just kidding. Well.. sorta.

Happy Gotcha Day!!

One year ago today we held our son for the first time. I can remember it so clearly. We were walking up to the gates at HH with our hearts about to pound right out of our chests. All of this love we've been holding in for so long was about to pour out... oh and did it ever!!

We've decided to always spend Gotcha Day together as a family. So, that's exactly what we did today. We went to breakfast this morning and headed to a children's museum in Milwaukee.


We drove...

We played with sand...

Took a little boat ride...

Played blocks with Dad...

Took a little break...

Made some music...

LOVE seeing my reflection and making funny faces...
peekaboo!

the star of the show... Jaxson!

Chillin...

Then we went home for lunch & a nap (umm a nap for mom too - I was pooped!) After nap we headed to the park for some more fun.

Jax LOVES to swing...

all smiles...

mommy stealing smooches....

have to go head first down the slides...

lovely :)

gorgeous eyes...

Then we ended the day with some snuggles...



and more kisses...

Jaxson, we love you SO much!!! We had so much fun with you today and thank you for all you have given to us this past year. We are so proud to be your parents and couldn't possibly imagine our lives without you. You bring so much joy to our lives!! xoxo