Jayden's Baptism!

Jayden's baptism was this past Saturday evening!

We had our families over beforehand in the afternoon for visiting and a late lunch.

I made barbecue chicken, pasta salad, applesauce & corn. It was delicious, and enjoyed by all!

Jayden visiting with G&G B and Grandma Sharon

Jayden all dressed up in his baptismal gown. It was worn by my mom and all her siblings, Katie & I, and my three boys!

Doesn't he look handsome in a dress :)

Our family.
Jack wasn't really into it, and I forgot to take my slippers off - but still a nice photo!

Jack and Jayden with their godparents - Uncle Greg & Auntie Katie

with G&G B

with Grandpa & Grandma Stollenwerk

with Uncle Greg & Auntie Megan

with Uncle Hayden

Dessert!

I made a caramel apple cake with cream cheese frosting (have to use those apples!),

cookies and ice cream

The baptism at church went well, unfortunately all the pictures are kind of dark so you can't see much... why do pictures in church always turn out like that???

Jayden was very well behaved. He only cried a little, he slept a little. I tried to give him a bottle but he wasn't really into it.

The end was really exciting though.... at the end of the mass I felt something warm and wet on my hand and my lap as I was holding Jayden - he pooped and his diaper leaked all over his back :(

Unfortunately he was still wearing the baptism gown, (but Grandma was able to get it cleaned off later on) and I didn't have extra clothes for him to wear.... however, Jillian had her baby doll in church with her and was kind enough to let Jayden wear her baby's shirt, so he didn't have to go home just wrapped in a blanket!

Here's how Jayden looked when we got home.... his purple shirt from Jillian's baby doll, and some crazy hair from all the baptizing!

Leaves!

Jackson loves to play in the leaves.

This past week it was pretty windy a few days so they started coming down more steadily. The morning of these pictures it was warm and really humid - felt like summer, but we were playing in leaves! It was lots of fun.

A day or two later it was really windy and cool and we had even more fun raking and jumping and throwing leaves into the wind :)

Packers!

I dug out our baby Packer outfit the other day for Jayden after remembering how that NFL kids stuff runs really small. So even though it is a size 6-9mo, I thought it just might fit. And it did! The pants are a bit long, but that's ok :)

All the boys in their green & gold gear!

Look at that grin on Jayden... he just can't believe that silly boy next to him....

All set for the game (even though both boys went down for naps right after it started!)

Play-Doh!

Last night after a busy day of apple picking, apple baking, and apple eating. Daddy got out some play-doh for Jack to play with for a little while before bedtime.

He LOVED it!!!

Pretty soon we'll have to get out some of the "accessories" that go along with the play-doh to make it even more fun :)

Jack looks so excited to dig into that :)

And mommy gave him a knife !!! He's in heaven....

Apple Picking!

Yesterday afternoon we went Apple Picking at Barthel Farm in Mequon. It was really nice day for it - not too cool or too warm, or too muddy (considering it rained in the morning)

Jack had a blast!!! He was a very good picker and loved to run around the orchard. He even carried the bag for a while - until it got too heavy and we put it in the stroller.

We ended up with two bushel bags full of all kinds of delicious apples to bring home.

On the drive home, Jack was getting pretty tired. It was nap time and he had just done a lot of walking, but he kept saying "more apples", "pick more apples". He loves to "pick" things he can eat.

Jayden was a little less enthusiastic - he slept for a little bit in the stroller and then I carried him for a while (as I pushed the stroller - not fun!). But overall he was a good sport, especially considering that he had just woken up from a long nap while we left and was expecting some afternoon play time.

Later in the afternoon I started apple baking! So far I have made Pepin applesauce for the freezer for later, two loaves of delicious Pepin apple bread (in the freezer for later), an Jonathon apple pie (consumed after dinner - yum!) and I have an apple cake which I started last night but need to finish this morning...... Another day of baking ahead :)

Jack by the pumpkin patch at the apple farm!

Daddy had to use a ladder to get some of the apples.

Jack found a good one!

Jayden was really excited to go apple picking.......

Whoa, that's a lot of apples! Don't forget to grab one when you walk past the pile this week.

Apple Bread - yummy!!!

Apple Pie - yum yum :)

Another Busy Week!

I can't believe it's Friday already. This week went really fast.

The boys and I had lots of fun this week. And Jack was a little better behaved - which was nice. Except going down for naps is starting to become a bit of a problem, hopefully it's just a short-lived phase....

A few things we did this week.... On Tuesday I took the boys down to Grandma & Grandpa S's house so Jack could run around outside for a few hours. Jack had fun, and Jayden ate and slept. Jack was pretty tired for some reason though that day - so he wasn't as crazy happy as I thought he'd be... or maybe he just didn't know what to do without daddy there!

We also went to the park on Thursday afternoon. Jack had a great time - until he got a little too wild running around with all the other kids and had to be dragged to the car screaming. After that we went over to G&G B's for dinner since Jeff was at Open House all night. We had tacos - Jack loved them!

We also had fun playing in the house and the yard. The weather was pretty nice overall. Jack has really been into playing with his "food" again - he LOVES to cook.

And Jack spent an entire day playing "concrete" on the driveway. He was using his digger and dump truck toy and scraps of wood from the garage to lay his own concrete on the driveway. It was super cute!!!

Jayden decided to take a nap in the yard and Jack wanted to join him!

I think Jayden could fall asleep anywhere any time if you put him on his tummy - here he is draped across my leg while laying in the yard.
Jack playing "concrete". The wood pieces are the concrete, and his diggers and trucks are in the background.

My little chef :)

Jayden is 2 months old!

Here's is Jayden's 2 month picture from yesterday morning!

He is such a smiley, happy little boy :)

This morning Jack and I took Jayden to the doctor for his 2 month check-up. Both boys were very well behaved. And Jack almost started to cry when Jayden was upset because his clothes were off, he was on his back on the table, and nurses were fussing over him! I think Jack sat still in his chair just so they wouldn't start messing with him!!!

Here are Jayden's stats:

weight: 10lb 12.5oz (28%)

height: 23.5in (72%)

Jayden also got two shots and an oral vaccine - he didn't enjoy any of them :(

Dr. D. said Jayden looked great!

(And we don't have to go back for another 2 months!)

Safety Fair!

This morning I took the boys over to the Menomonee Falls Safety Fair at the high school. It was a cool, rainy morning, but we still had fun. It was only drizzling a little when we went, so we were able to walk, and it wasn't too crowded!

Jack checking out all the fire fighter supplies on the side of a truck!


One of the fire fighters helping Jack put out a "fire" (he really got to spray water!)
Jack (and another little Jack) sitting in a fire truck.
Jack's favorite part - sitting on the police motorcycle. He got to beep the horn and turn on the siren! He LOVED it !!!!
Trying on one of his new hats! He got a red one and a black on - but he gave the red one to Jayden :)
The view as we walked home of all the ladders!


It was a fun hour away from home on a dreary day :) We'll go back next year.

Mom's first trip out solo!

This morning I took both boys to Target. It was the first time I took them both out without Jeff along. I'll admit to being nervous and a little tentative....

But it was late morning on a weekday, so it wouldn't be busy, and I only had a short list, and Jayden had just slept and eaten - so how bad could it be?

It actually went great. Jack sat in the cart holding my purchases the entire time without a complaint or attempt at escape, and Jayden only made one little peep of a cry as we were checking out (he was awake the entire time).

I'll admit to bribery though... At the checkout Jack could get M&M's if he was good!

And here's the proof that he was good!

(they only had the "sharing size - 2 servings" so Jack was kind enough to share with me!)

a rare instance of "playing nice" together...

We've almost made it through another week (doesn't really feel like it was a "short" one...)

We had some fun outside and inside the past few days. And Jack was very well behaved one day and very very very naughty another day - the rest were just your average Jack.

This morning Jack wanted to play "food". And he got a pillow down for Jayden so he could play with us! Then he was feeding Jayden some food - ice cream was his favorite (or course!) gotta start 'em young!

Fun in the yard!

It's been a little cooler this week, but Jack and I have still spent lots of time outside during the day while Jayden is napping.

On Tuesday when it was really really really windy we went around the yard collecting branches as they fell off the trees... Jack put them in a big pile in the front yard, got down his lounge chair and his "lighter" and set himself up a nice little campfire! He was very proud of it.

On Wednesday morning we did some chalk drawings on the driveway. I helped Jack draw a bunch of diggers and trucks (he told me what to draw and helped color them in) And we drew a picture of Jack!