A Visit to the Doctor's Office

Jaxon and I accompanied the hubs to a routine visit with his doctor,

and while a doctor's waiting room may not be the most exciting place in the world, the little boy and I made it work :)


Climbing chairs and messing with television remotes - and when the remote does NOT seem to do anything to the TV channels, we go old school and just punch the OFF button manually.




After a while, daddy gets called in for his appointment and we watch some videos and have a treat while peeking to see if daddy is coming back.



And then there is some under-the-chair Commando crawling action until daddy finally reappears.

Big Country Balloon Fest

We still haven't made it to the Balloon Fest at Albuquerque, but we're optimistic :)

For now though, we try to make sure not to miss the one here in Abilene whenever it comes around each year.

We'd never been to the grounds during the daytime, and although many of the stalls were not quite open yet, we got to a feel of what fun could be had.

There were food stalls,




stalls with various trinkets and vendors, and even a little train!




We went back again at night for the night time balloon flare. We parked at the parking lot of Golden Corral that was just in front of ( or is it behind ) the park where the balloons were. This turned out to be a good thing, as far as not being in a massive traffic jam afterwards.




This year, we did not just stay in the car, but strolled over into the thick of things, although we DID have to stand back a little bit because the loud flaring blasts were a little disconcerting to the little boy.












As for the tethered ride, we may have to wait a few more years for the little boy to be just a little bigger/older :)

Up there in the Creepy Factor

Okay, the first time I caught a glimpse of this ad, I did a double take.

Since then, I've seen it a couple of more times, and every time I have to avert my eyes...

It is just way creepy.

Food Diary Sept 18 - Sept 24

Here's what we had this week.

Sunday

Fettucine Alfredo with Chicken, Spinach and Feta Cheese Sausage, Tomatoes, Lima Beans and Grapes






Monday

Chicken Rendang Curry with Ketupat Palas and Green Beans





Tuesday

Taco Tuesday






Wednesday

Turkey Burgers with Taco Seasoning, Sweet Potato Chips and Sweet Potato Fries






Letti Thursday

Cheesy Chicken and Salsa Skillet, Salad, Garlic Parmesan Rolls, Honey Dew and Chocolate Chip Cookies






Friday

Fried Noodles, Mixed Vegetables, Teriyaki Ginger Salmon and Daikon with Carrot Soup





Saturday

5 Spice Chicken with Carrots and Mushrooms, Napa Cabbage with Baby Carrots and Tomato Vermicelli Soup over White Rice.

Random Curiosities

1. A Pickup with a Bolted Driver's Door

2. Kung Fu Instant Noodles

How Time Flies

Max celebrated his 3rd birthday last weekend

He had a pirate theme going on this time around,





and even looked the part!




The party was held at Mamo's house so that the kids could run and play in the yard.


But of course, for our little boy, the playing started IN the house. He KNEW where the toys were, and made a beeline for them :)





However, it didn't take much coaxing for him to go outside to play play play! He decided that he was going to practise kicking a ball around the yard, and even offering the ball to a little doggie that was there that day, before deciding to dive into his OTHER favorite thing there, the sandbox!








AND, when you get these 2 cousins together, there is sure to be a lot of running and chasing and shrieking involved :)






Some of us preferred a slower pace :)







Here's the little boy sharing a "deconstructed" sandwich with me after I made him wash his hands after coming in from outside.






And to top off a fun fun birthday, there was CAKE and CUPCAKES!!!





I can't believe that in 6 months, OUR little boy will be 3 too!

Food Diary Sept 11 - Sept 17

Here's What We Had This Week

Sunday

Fried Rice Noodles with Bean Sprouts, Sweet and Sour Chicken with Peppers and Onions, Spicy Fried Tempeh, Squash and Watercress Soup




Monday

Chicken Marsala with Mushrooms on Fettuccine, Rolls and Pears & Plums




Tuesday

Taco Tuesday





Wednesday

Hainanese Chicken Rice with Sliced Cucumbers and Tomatoes, and Chicken Soup with Celery





Letti Thursday

Shrimp Boil with Shrimp, Turkey Sausage, Potatoes, Carrots, Corn and Cream Puffs









Friday

Spaghetti with Ground Italian Sausage, Garlic Sour Dough and a simple salad




Saturday

Fried Flounder on Stir fried Watercress and Mushrooms, Spicy Eggplant with Tomatoes, and Tom Yam Soup

Learning with Jaxon

A couple of times a day, I'm off in the kitchen making meals or doing some kitchen/laundry room area related things.

The little boy usually spends that time in my study, playing with his puzzles and blocks, "reading" his books or watching something on Nick Jr.

Sometimes, when I go check on him, I find THIS type of scene in there.

He loves to come hang around the kitchen while I do stuff, and sometimes I get him to participate - there are endless teaching opportunities here, I'm sure.

Just the other day, I was shucking corn for Letti Thursday and he wanted to "help".

Of course, part of the "lesson" was also to pick up all that husk laying on the floor and put them in the trash can.

Other times, I try to find an activity for him to be close by.

This is where our dishwasher ( and sometimes the fridge ) comes in to play

Our little Dollar Tree magnetic note board has come in handy for practising those pen holding/scribbling/cleaning/erasing skills.

And I made a few colored craft stick magnets for "open ended" play for him.

I hastily made a "container" for him to put them back in, but have since come to realise that it could be improved upon.

One of my next projects would be to make MORE shape magnets and leave the composition to his imagination, AND make a better "pieces" holder.