Monday Feature (on Tuesday): Likes and Dislikes

Jackson Likes: Pretzels, sledding, helping to cook, doing everything by himself, wearing pull ups (pirate pants as he calls them), veggie burgers, watching old sesame street You Tube videos, playing with choo-choo tracks, eating birthday cake, blowing out candles, opening presents, going swimming, goint to Home Depot, singing Are You Sleeping, drinking lemonade, helping daddy glue, watching the Good Night Show and giving kisses.

Jackson Doesn't Like: Going to school, being hungry, not being tall enough to see what mommy and daddy are doing and carrots.

Keeping up with The Horwaths

Jackson at School: Jackson has officially transferred over to the big boy room across the hall. He's no longer a jellybean, he's now a Gumdrop. He had a couple of rough days during the transition, but he seems to be adjusting well now. He likes playing with his friends Daniel, Sophia, Reagan, Junior, and Isiah. Reagan is just the cutest little girl and she's far more excited to see me when I come to pick up the boy than Jackson is. It's so nice to get my Reagan hug, followed by my Jackson hug.

Jackson's singing: He's getting ready for baseball season by practicing Take Me Out to the Ballgame. He's got it down pretty well, and instead of saying "crackerjacks" he says "crackerjacksons"... it's pretty darn cute!

Sara's days: I started back to school again on January 5. This term I'm taking Business Ethics and Macroeconomics, it's keeping me busy again, but it's going well so far. With the devestating economic crisis happening in this country, MPR is going through some serious layoffs, every week another department gets hit. They haven't gotten to my department just yet, so I am nervously waiting. It's sure changed the climate around the office, and not for the better, friends are losing their jobs left and right.

Ron's hobbies: Ron is keeping himself busy at work with budgets and swim in movies. Jackson and I attended the Peter Pan event at the pool and had a great time. Ron's also turned our basement into a workshop and has been producing some pretty quality stuff. He made a toybox for Jackson in the shape of a van it says Horwath Construction on the sides, and is painted with great detail. His next project is a craft desk for me.

Time for a change...

On January 20, Inauguration Day, I spent the morning in the UBS Forum at Minnesota Public Radio watching the event unfold on the big screen along with my coworkers. It was an exciting and emotional day for me, one that I will remember as long as I live. I am thrilled to know that my children will not know a world in which a minority as president would be unheard of. I believe that Barack Obama means wonderful things for this great country and hope that we can keep him safe. It is exciting to have a new hope for the future and feel proud that my vote helped to get us here.

We watched the Inauguration festivities at home in the evening with Jackson. When asked who our president is, Jackson responds: "Barack Obama".

Weather warm up brings us outside again...

Thanks to a little weather warm up, we decided to get out and about with the boy a little more. I tend to hibernate during cold weather, and the fight to get the boys coat on is an easy excuse to stay inside. This weekend though, we got some better temperatures, so I thought it was about time to get some sunlight for the family.

We headed to the Maplewood Community Center for the swim-in movie, this weekend's movie of choice was Peter Pan. When the boy and I got in line we ended up standing behind our friends Jamie and Kevyn and their son Bodhi, it was great to have a playmate there. Jackson really enjoyed snuggling with Mama in the tube to watch the show.

We also made it out for a sledding trip, which Jackson just loved. "Again, again!" Down the hill he wanted to go, so we did. We celebrated Jackson's birthday once again, he's getting used to eating cake and blowing out candles and we'll do it again for my birthday this weekend.

And we made a trip to the MN Zoo so Jackson could see the animals. Dora the Explorer made an appearance which the little guy really got a kick out of. He is still scared of the scuba diver and wasn't a fan of the other stuffed life-sized animal that was there for the kids. All of the animal watching tired the boy out and for the first time in a long time he fell asleep on the route home.

Shake it up...

Because of Jackson's food allergies, I always feel bad that he doesn't get a lot of treats. However, this is one he sure loved, a chocolate banana shake! Jackson helped me to cut up the banana and add the Hershey's chocolate syrup (dairy free) all to make a delicious shake.

Chocolate Banana Shake (Dairy Free)
4 ice cubes
3 scoops vanilla soy ice cream
1/2 banana
a squeeze of Hershey's chocolate syrup

Flying lessons needed...

Let's hope Jackson takes flying lessons before he becomes a pilot:

Dairy Free...

I have found that the Cub Foods in the next suburb over carries lots of organic and specialty products, which has made life a bit easier. Just before Jackson's birthday I found a cake mix by CherryBrook Kitchens that was allergen free. So I was able to make our little guy a chocolate cake that he could enjoy. I think he enjoyed helping me to make it and lick the spatula more so than eating the cake, but it sure made me happy.

We are glad that we found out about Jackson's allergies and can control the breakouts. He does really well with the diet and is a fan of most foods, so it hasn't been hard to give him a well-balanced diet. I wish that we could find some options at restaurants, but you just don't know what stuff is cooked with, and butter is a pretty common ingredient. On the brighter side, we've saved a lot of cash, by always eating at home.

Could it get any better?...

Happy Birthday Monkey...

I can't believe that my little baby is two years old today, time goes incredibly fast when you are having so much fun. Jackson is just an amazing two year old and we are so happy to have him with us everyday. He is learning new things every day and even teaching mom and dad a thing or two, he entertains us with his singing and laughter, and frustrates us when he doesn't want to cooperate, which is all exactly what we could hope for from our two year old boy. Thanks Jackson for filling everyone's lives with joy.

Orangina...

Mom and I both agree that Trader Joe's rocks because they carry big bottles of Orangina. I'm trying really hard to drink out of big people glasses... so far, my attempts are successful.

Trader Joes's Rocks

Mom and Dad think Trader Joe's rocks because of their killer prices on rice milk. But I think Trader Joes's rocks because they give out suckers at the register!

Just for fun...

The blogosphere is loaded with these kinds of things. In this list below I've put in bold everything that I have indeed done. Makes one want to add things to their "To Do" list.

1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (I'm counting band in junior high here)

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

7. Been to Disneyland/world

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29 Seen a total eclipse

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run

32. Been on a cruise

33 Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41 Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris (it was too foggy when I was there!)

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gone to a drive-in theater

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60 Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Gotten flowers for no reason

64 Donated blood, platelets, or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66 Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67 Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar

72. Pieced a quilt

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle

79 Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

Eyelashes a girl would kill for...

Jackson = Potato Head

Why use the potato head when you can use Mr. Potato Head parts for yourself??

Monday Feature: Likes and Dislikes

Jackson Likes: Rice Chex, playing with Maddy and Grayson, tickle bee, his new garbage truck, power tools, running, Chica on Sprout, singing Hot Dog, calling friends and family on the tele, sharing his snacks, Teddy Grahams, "mixing" and "cooking", apple pie, taking off his own clothes, sleeping with Elmo and bear, eating by himself and hiking the football.

Jackson Dislikes: getting his jacket on to go bye-bye, cantaloupe, honeydew and cauliflower.

Sits bath...

Last week Jackson had a bit of an accident. It was far easier to clean him up in the sink than to run a whole bath for the guy. So it's just what we did!