The Wheeler Family

Been a LONG LONG time!

2011-03-03T08:41:00.000-06:00

OK, so it has been like 4 months since I blogged anything! We have been super busy in our house and I just haven't been feeling up to it, I guess!

I'll try to get you all caught up one of these days, but for now I just have one thing to talk about. Most of you who actually read this already know, BUT WE ARE EXPECTING BABY WHEELER #2!!!

We will be due around the end of October or 1st couple of days of November. Jaxson will turn 3 on October 10th so it will be a pretty good age difference and I think Jaxson is ready to be a Big Brother!! Again, I will try to catch you up on the last 4 months soon and keep you updated on the baby!

LOVE YOU ALL! (If there is anyone out there who reads this)

Wordless Wednesday

2010-11-17T12:48:00.000-06:00

Halloween!

2010-11-05T16:25:00.001-05:00

As I mentioned before, We carved pumpkins the weekend before Halloween! I really thought Jaxson would love it, but instead he wouldn't even touch it! He kept saying, "hands dirty, Mommy" "Washa hands!" I didn't take a picture of them all lit up, but they were nice. He still comes home and looks at the "Jacknlaterns" on the steps!

Can you guess what Jaxson was for Halloween? Mickey Mouse of course!

At first we picked out this costume... It was so cute! We went to order it and they didn't have one in Jaxson's size! So we created our own! I have to say...he looked so cute in it! I think it made him look a little less like a baby too!

He even had a Mickey Mouse pumpkin to hold his candy! THANKS GRAMMY!

He was so much more into Halloween this year! At first, I don't think he was sure why he had to wear the stuff and when the first piece of candy hit his bucket he wanted to take it out and eat it. He finally put it back when I told him we were going to get more!

We "trunk-or-treated" in our church parking lot first and then visited Grandma, but the first real house we went to, he did not want to go up the stairs until I told him that they would give him candy. He kept saying, "Get more candy"

Sunday night he slept in his Mickey Mouse shoes and would not take them off to go to daycare! When I got there to pick him up, Grandma had taken them off and so we left with no shoes on! HAHA! The kid LOVES to wear shoes!

Can you tell he just woke up? Poor baby slept hard that night!

Jaxson is heading to Ohio with Grandma and Grandpa at the end of the month! We took him on that trip when he was 6 weeks old so this will be the first time much of my Dad's family has seen him since then! I wish we could go too, but I am so glad they will get to see Jaxson! I have got a list a mile long of things to do during the 10 days he is gone! I am sad that we will miss Thanksgiving with him and so will my fabulous in-laws, but I am thankful that he will get to visit my family again, especially my Grandma! I want him to remember her!

"Mickey Mouse lives on"

2010-11-05T16:11:00.000-05:00

Just a quick couple of photos showing that the giant Mickey Mouse balloon lives on! Even several weeks later!

Pumpkin patch!

2010-10-25T16:35:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we took Jaxson to the pumpkin patch! He was so excited. A lot of the things at the pumpkin patch are a little too big for him, but he had a great time anyway. This was our first year traveling up to Walter's and we will learn next year to 1) get their earlier 2) bring a wagon for Jaxson AND the pumpkins! 3) do not let Jaxson wear any white!

Coming out of the slide with Grandpa!

Following Daddy through the maze!

I'll have to get some pictures from my Mom with Jaxson and I jumping on the air pillow, it was so fun!

Launching pumpkins with Daddy.

In the corn maze with Daddy

Jaxson is on the back of the car, but it was funny to watch Daddy pedal with his knees up to his chest!

Slide off a hay bale!

Jaxson's pumpkin which we carved into a "Jacknlaternd" yesterday!

Jaxson wouldn't even stick his hand in the pumpkins. He said, "dirty momm, washa hands!"

Jaxson turns 2!!

2010-10-15T15:00:00.001-05:00

Last weekend my little boy turned into a toddler! He is officially 2 years old! In some ways he has always seemed a little older to me with his advanced vocabulary and direction following skills along with him being 98% potty trained, but the official birthday is such a big milestone and such a final ending to the baby stage! It made me a little sad and gave me a bit of *BABY FEVER!* Not sure how ready we are to tackle that new stage yet, but there is a small little itch!
I'll let you enjoy the pictures. We had a Mickey Mouse birthday party since Jaxson LOVES Mickey! We asked for no presents this year since we figured he'd be more excited about all the decorations this year anyway and we collected funds to buy him what we like to call the "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" We got him a big wooden swing set for the backyard that will hopefully last him (and his potential brothers and/or sisters) a very long time!

52" Mickey Mouse Balloon

The Mickey Mouse cake! I think it turned out pretty good!

Jaxson seeing his Mickey balloons!

This face is what he makes when you ask him to smile!

Mickey hat and his new lawn chair! He LOVES that chair!

Trying to find out how the musical card works!

Uncle Dustin and Jax

Here is a small photo of the "Clubhouse" Thanks for all who made it possible. We can't wait to get the yard ready and get it put up sometime next spring for him to play on! It even has a cute little picnic table that he can sit at! We will enjoy it for years to come!

Jaxson gets his pictures taken tomorrow in his Fall mini-session by this lovely lady. She took our family pics earlier this year and I can't wait to see the new ones! I'll get them posted as soon as I get them and if you watch her blog you could see a preview, but if you don't see Jax you will see more of her other amazing work!

A BIG BOY NOW!

2010-09-28T17:00:00.000-05:00

We have such a big boy in our house now! He will be 2 in two weeks!
We started potty training Labor Day Weekend. We used a 3 day potty training method which basically said..."Throw away the diapers for good!" We have no more diapers in our house at all! Our little guy has been such a trooper! He stays dry now most of the day on his own and even #2's in the potty most of the time. We have not mastered the art of staying dry at night yet, but hey...He isn't even 2 yet! I am so proud of my big boy and there isn't anything cuter than seeing him running around in all his little underwear!

Car underwear.."Lock up your daughters" T-shirt, Rain boots, and a feather duster! SO ADORABLE!

In these pictures he has on Wall-E underwear, his rain boots and one of those eye masks for sleeping on...doesn't it look like a little coconut bra or something....What a silly boy!

Car underwear with a broom....seeing a trend here...the kid LOVES to help clean. Grandma even got him his very own, Jaxson sized broom.

In these...he tried to put on his pull-up by himself...OH MY! But those baby buns are so cute!

This last weekend we converted Jaxson's crib to a toddler bed...He is growing up too fast! He slept really well in it over the weekend. This morning he came up to the top of the stairs looking for us about 10 til 7. So cute to be awaken by ~~baby~~ big boy kisses.

Stay tuned in a couple of weeks for our "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse" Birthday Party!!

We are joining funds together to get him an outdoor play yard for his gift! Can't wait to pick it out.

What Jaxson is up to...

2010-08-13T16:03:00.001-05:00

I read so many blogs and most of them give the cutest updates on what their kids are doing lately. I have been dying to do one for Jaxson, but haven't sat down to do it. He is such a bright and loving kid *I am a little biased*, but of course I want to show him off to all of you.

Here are some of my favorite things that you do now (at 22 months)

1. You LOVE Mickey Mouse! You have grown especially fond of him lately! That is even going to be the theme of your 2nd birthday party! You love to watch him on TV and you sing all the songs and dance around the living room. You even have your very own stuffed Mickey Mouse that accompanies you just about everywhere, but especially to bed!
2. You say Please and Thank-you better than most adults I know and most of the time you say Your Welcome before anyone else can. Even when you bring me something you say..."Tank-you Mommy"
3. You love to help Mommy! You put everyone's shoes on the landing of the stairs and ANY piece of trash you find you give straight to Mommy or take it to the trash! You also LOVE to put clothes down the laundry shoot for me. Laundy, you'll say as you rush off to throw it in and then you sit and look in and name every piece of clothing you can see..."mommy shirt", "daddy sock", etc.
4. You are learning to use your potty pretty well! Right now we just take you when you need changed or something and you sit and go pee-pee. We let you "fush it" and then you get a candy and a "pee-pee sticker" for your efforts. You don't tell us when you have to go yet, but you will tell us if you don't. Last weekend at Grammy's house you told me you were "pooping", but it was too late! You are really trying though!
5. You have such a big vocabulary of both spoken words and signed words! Your sign language impresses me so much and your ability to remember names of people is amazing too! Sometimes things come out of your mouth that I have no idea how you ever learned it! You are starting to put together 3-4 word sentences. You also know most of your animals and their sounds and love to count to 3, especially when you can say 1-2-3 JUMP and spin in a circle!
6. Your sense of humor is growing everyday! One day Daddy said, "Jaxson stinks" when you were dirty and your turned it around on him and said, "Daddy stinks!" How funny that you would come up with your own come back! Now we have plenty of games of Daddy stinks, Mommy crazy and Jaxson silly!
7. You are such a loving little boy! You give the best hugs and kisses and you aren't afraid to give them to just about anybody! You also say, "Love you, Mommy" or anybody else that you might be saying bye to at the time. I love cuddling with you on the couch before Daddy takes you to bed at night.
8. We are just starting to see a little bit of strange behavior from you. You have always been such a well-behaved and polite child, but you are learning to start to test your boundaries a little. We don't seem to have too much of a problem yet and we have been able to let you know that we don't like that behavior. I hope that we can keep it in check as we start to approach 2 years.
9. You are pretty much obsessed with Daddy mowing the lawn or "mow mow" as you call it. You could stand at the door and watch him the whole time he is out there just repeating..."Daddy mow mow, Daddy mow mow!" You talk about "Daddy's mow mow shoes - porch" even when we are away from home. You must admire the lawn as much as you talk about it every time we walk outside or you hear a lawn mower!
10. Anytime someone gets out of their chair you run as fast as you can and scream "My Chair!" It is fun to try to race you across the room and (let you win) try to beat you to the chair! You climb up there and laugh and get under Mommy's blanket and settle in just like home.
11. You have such diversified interests! You love music and you sing and dance to it all the time, but you love Base-a-ball and Shootball (football) Last night while watching football you would try to do what the players were doing, like "RUN" "GO" "Tackle" (which sometimes turned in to tickle) "ah-boom" (fall down) "MISS" while you ran all over the living room throwing any kind of ball you could find and rolling all over the floor! SO FUNNY
12. You LOVE shoes! You love to have your shoes on and if you don't you will put on Mommy's shoes. You like flip-flops and will steal them from the girls at daycare so you can wear them. You wear your rain boots around the house or mismatched shoes...you take mommy's shoes off her feet just to wear them or "shoes up" put them away for me.
13. You are starting to really narrate what you see...everything from "Mommy shoes on" "Daddy shirt on" "Mommy shower" "Laundy" "Mommy cooking" "Daddy dishes" All the time! You seem to know what is happening even when no one tells you they are going to take a shower for example even before they get in there!

Our little Jaxson is just growing up so fast! I love watching him learn so much everyday!

Jaxson Kale Wheeler
10/10/2008

One of my very favorites

Jaxson - 1 year

Getting SO big!

Such a little grown up!

Swimming, swimming, swimming and the FAIR!

2010-08-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

Jaxson has been doing so much swimming lately! We swam in the baby pool in our front yard...

We swam in the public pool for toddler swim lessons!

He even learned to jump off the side! As you can see here, many times, it was before Mommy expected him to jump!

And then we swam in Grandma's new pool! He learned so much in this year between this pool and his swim lessons! He will put the back of his head in the water now or try to float on his back which he was always scared to do before! But, having my Mom's pool just made him want to get down in the water at the public pool even when he couldn't always reach the bottom!

"Floating" with Grandpa"

Jaxson also had his first year at the fair that he could ride the rides! My parents took him down last year because Ryan and I were in Vegas. He was only big enough for a few rides, but he LOVED them!

We even let him ride the roller coaster. He had a blast and his smile got bigger everytime they went around, but it scared the crap out of me! He only rode it once...I think we'll save that one for next year.

Jaxson loved all the animals at the fair too!

We are headed out to Fort Scott to Grammy's house tonight and then Ryan and I are leaving Jaxson there for the weekend to see some friends of ours in Arkansas! I am so looking forward to a weekend away!

Wordless Wednesday...

2010-07-14T10:13:00.000-05:00

The 4th!

2010-07-06T16:34:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone had a safe and happy 4th of July! We sure did, but it was a busy one!

Started of Saturday morning with a haircut which I was so nervous to take Jaxson to, but he was SO GOOD! I say this a lot, but we are so blessed with such a well-behaved, well-mannered child even at 21 months!

I came home and got ready for a funeral of a retired co-worker and my in-laws came just in time to keep him for me for that.

Ryan's parents came for the fireworks celebration at Ryan's bosses house! It was a little sparce this year due to the rain, but we had a good time and it cleared off in time for fireworks!

Jaxson at 4th of July - 2009

2010-

Eating Ice in his playpen! We put him in there while we all ate in the garage so he would stay out of everyone's food!

Last year Jaxson slept through the fireworks, but he was awake this year. I wasn't sure how he was going to react. He was really more interested in playing with his glow stick necklace, but when he would see one he would just laugh!

Watching fireworks with Uncle Zach

Laughing at the fireworks

They looked like "two peas in a pod"

We even found a frog!

It was so nice to have both sets of Grandparents together for the weekend with Jaxson. I know he enjoyed it. We spent Sunday visiting a friend in the hospital and had some Olive Garden then chose to skip out of the city fireworks, Jax was in bed early. I was so blessed to have Monday off to spend at home with Jaxson. I wished that it would have stopped raining so that we could have gone out for a walk or something, but we had fun together. It makes me wish I had more days like that with him while he is still little!

Our Trip to KC!

2010-06-29T16:36:00.002-05:00

We headed out on Friday night to Ft. Scott and stayed with my in-laws. Then we all got up on Saturday and headed to KC for a little family weekend getaway!

Jaxson playing with Uncle Zach's phone on the way to KC

Uncle Zach and Jaxson!

We did a little shopping when we got to KC to pass some time before we could check into our hotel. We got checked in and met up with Ryan's old church pastor and headed to Arthur Bryant's BBQ! YUMMY!

Jaxson guzzled everything with a straw all weekend! Here is drinking Papa's drink!

We got back to the hotel and did a little swimming in the pool....

Jaxson getting ready to get in

I took this picture as Jaxson was getting ready to get into the pool and as soon as my camera flashed I looked up and Jaxson was gone!
He didn't jump or lean into Daddy's arms, but walked right off the edge like it wasn't even there! Daddy quickly scooped him up and no one was hurt, but we all took an extra sigh of relief

Grammy and Jaxson

Papa helping Jaxson down the stairs into the pool

Sunday we had breakfast with Uncle Dustin and Aunt Meg who drove up that morning and we all headed to watch the KC Royals play the St. Louis Cardinals. Ryan's Dad and youngest brother are Cardinals fans so it was a nice rivalry. The Royals won the game and we had a great time! It was really hot there so we found some unoccupied handicapped seating where we could spread out and stay out of the sun with Jaxson.

Uncle Dustin and Jaxson at the stadium

Daddy and Jaxson riding the baseball bat and glove on the rides at the game.

I have a really great picture of him in his stadium seat, but it is on my phone so I'll have to send it later....

Uncle Dustin caught a flying Twinkie so here is Jaxson enjoying the Twinkie with Daddy...this is what he does when you tell him to smile for the camera.

Shoving the Twinkie in his mouth!!

I had to drive home with Jaxson by myself because Ryan was picking up a truck that he had sold from a dealership from Kansas City. I was so worried about the whole drive home alone with him. I thought he might sleep all the way home as he fell asleep before we ever left the stadium parking, but he sure didn't. He was fussy for the first 30 minutes or so but after that he was an ANGEL!
I just have to brag about my precious baby for a minute because Saturday night in the hotel he laid in his playpen alone in a strange place while his parents were in the room watching TV and put himself to sleep! He was so good all weekend long even in the heat and being in the car a lot. I am so blessed!

Here he is in one of the new outfits I bought him...so cute! He also now has 2 of those hats since Grammy and I bought him one for the game and his fabulous Aunt Meg and Uncle Dustin brought him one to the game to keep him cool!

All night Monday he had this hat on and this glove...

"Daddy base-a-ball" "hat" " gofe" (glove) "Zach base-a-ball"

He must have had fun ;)

Can't wait until Grammy, Papa, and Zach come out next weekend for our 4th of July celebration! This kid won't know what to do with both sets of Grandparents to have fun with!

Getting back to it....

2010-06-18T16:12:00.000-05:00

I have really been bad about updating this blog lately...but GOOD NEWS!

I just added the ability to update my blog via my cell phone! I had no idea I could even do that...I was playing around with a new design theme and header (which I still haven't decided on the perfect one :( ) and I found that option. Lately, I have been taking fun little snapshots of Jax with my cell phone because it is usually more accessible than my camera and I can upload straight to facebook! Well, now I can update you here also!
I know I don't have many readers and most of you are my facebook friends too so you don't miss out on much, but it is worth a shot!

So HOPEFULLY we'll have more new things to share with you very soon and a new blog layout if I can find something that I like!

Hope you all have a wonderful Father's Day weekend!

Our First Family Photos!

2010-04-26T12:58:00.001-05:00

I am such a procrastinator and Ryan HATES pictures so these are our first professional pics together since Jaxson was born! Can you believe that? He is 18 months old now! He has had some pics taken of him before thanks to surprises by both Grandma and Grammy, but none with us all together! Most of these pics are of him too, but we got a great one of us together thanks to this lovely lady!!

Check these out!

The Wheeler's - 2010

Those are my parents, Dave & Sandi and my younger brother Roth!

Thanks again Laura!! LOVE THEM!!

Now I just need to find some time to get some of these together into a new header or banner for my blog...although sweet and tiny the pics that are on there are so outdated ;)

Easter Weekend!

2010-04-09T16:53:00.000-05:00

WELCOME BACK! If you are still a reader...still can't find my camera cord so Ryan ordered me a new one and it doesn't work...UGH! I had kind of quit taking pictures knowing that they would be held captive in there, but I got it back out and we got a new printer that reads my memory card so here we are!!

We dyed Easter eggs with Jaxson this year. Of course, we did most of the work, but he did drop the eggs into the dye.

We made eggs for the whole family, but Jaxson's bright blue one was my favorite!

So while he was already undressed we figured it could be a messy spaghetti dinner night! He made such a big mess and we headed straight for the bath tub!

We hunted Easter Eggs at Grandma's on Friday Night since we were heading to Ft. Scott on Saturday and my mom was recovering from surgery. This was his first year to really hunt eggs and we weren't sure how he'd do, but he was a PRO!! He collected them all!

We had to stop to pet the cat!

He had fun with the Easter grass too...he had it everywhere, including on my head at one point, but then he got his gifts...his froggy "Hopper" and his new froggy potty!!

Then we headed off to Grammy and Papa's for the rest of the weekend. Ryan's Mom loves to find Easter outfits for Jaxson and this years was a little big, but too adorable. We went to church and then home to hunt eggs also! Jaxson also got some new books and a belt! The kid is so skinny and tall with no butt and he has to wear jeans that are too big for him just so that they are long enough for him, but we hadn't been able to find a belt small enough to fit him...I think we will probably have that issue for the rest of his life!

Going to the Nursery with Grammy

Sitting in the "rock rock" in the nursery...He loves to rock! Glad we just got new furniture including a recliner and a rocking love seat! He loves them! I'll have to post some pics of that stuff soon too.

Hunting Eggs

Found the big one!

New truck from Great Grandma and Grandpa Wheeler!

I hope everyone had a great Easter and I hope to get back into a regular posting habit! I love reading up on everyone's blogs daily so I need to do better for everyone else as well as myself! Have a great weekend...our friends Brian and Heather will be here from Arkansas and they just found out they were expecting, PLUS we have family pictures this weekend by this wonderful lady that I am super excited for and it looks the weather will be fabulous!

BABY ROBERT!

2010-02-12T14:25:00.002-06:00

A lot has gone on in the Week and a half that Baby Robert Elam has been alive. I appreciate all the prayers of my *very small* group of blog followers has given him! Here is what is going on most recently.

They tested Robert off the ecmo machine and he did well so they determined he was stable enough for surgery. Robert was originally diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia which causes the internal organs to crowd his lungs so that they don't develop properly. When they opened him up they found that he had no diaphram at all so they built him one! (modern medicine is amazing) He came through surgery well, but his lungs began to bleed which filled his chest with blood and caused a clot in his drainage tube. They have taken him to surgery to remove the clot and add new tubes for him. They have gotten him out of surgery and off the ecmo machine, but he is being supported by other machines at this point too. The doctors have given him a 30% chance of survival at this point.

The many prayers for Robert have helped him SO much thus far and now he needs the prayers more than ever to overcome the odds and survive! Thank you so much to everyone and I still have prayer ribbons left if any one wants them!

Asking for your prayers!

2010-02-05T10:23:00.002-06:00

This little guy needs your prayers...

He is the son of a co-worker of Ryan's and Ryan works with his Grandma and Grandpa too. He was born 3 weeks early in an emergency C-section, but he has a Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and now is in Denver trying to get stabilized for surgery. He has brain activity and liver function, but he is still on life support! We need your help to get this little guy better! As soon as I figure out how to do it, I would like to get a donate button set up on here for people if they would like to help with all the costs...Mommy didn't get to join baby until 2 days after he flew to Denver, but she is with him now! Until other arrangements are made you can send donations to me. Email me for the address.. mckenziewheeeler@hotmail.com

I also made a ton of white/blue ribbons for him and would be glad to send you one if you want one. Email me your address or include it in your donation and I will get one to you.

I have seen the power of prayer and God's loving hand touch so many people through the blogging world like when I mentioned Cora's story and there are others out there who need your help too! Please check out some of the blog's I follow to learn about them and pray for them all!

Been away...

2010-01-08T13:03:00.002-06:00

Sorry for the blog hiatus, but my camera cord is missing....so there will be lots of great pictures as soon as I can find it! I guess I can give you a little verbal run down!

We had a great Christmas! We spend Christmas Eve at my parents and Jaxson got some great gifts! It was so funny to watch him peek into his stocking and then reach his arm in all the way up to his shoulder.
We headed for Ryan's parents house that evening which was a big mistake in all the snow. The roads were decent about halfway there, but then they were snowcovered and you couldn't see your hand in front of your face for the blowing snow. Of course, Jaxson was awake for the worst parts of it and we stressed Daddy out a little, but we made is safe and sound with only an extra hour added on to our trip.
We had Christmas morning with Ryan's parents....our usual tradition! Jaxson got the cutest reclining chair and a great "Lightning McQueen" car! My mother-in-law dropped hints all weekend that she would love to keep Jaxson...so guess what! We left him with Grammy on Saturday and didn't get him back until New Year's Day! I missed him so much, but I got so much done around the house and in his closets!!
Ryan and I even got to spend New Year's Eve together which was wonderful until I fell down our basement stairs! OUCH! I STILL have an enormous purple bruise on my backside and one on my leg!
I hope to find my camera cord soon so that I can share some new pictures with you!

Playing in the fall leaves!

2009-11-05T16:58:00.003-06:00

I couldn't pick just one! Isn't he SO sweet!

Monkey Halloween!!

2009-11-05T16:44:00.002-06:00

Jaxson had his 2nd halloween! This one was a little more fun than when he was 3 weeks old last year! Grandma and Grandpa was our first stop where he got some great goldfish and teddy grahams! All he wanted to do was pull everything out of his bucket!

We tried to walk down the street and he just wanted to stop and peek in his bucket! After we stopped at my "Momma Durbin's" where she took this picture...

he chewed on a chocolate bar that he got open while we stopped to talk. I gave him a bite of it and after that...he knew what to do!
I would carry him between the houses and then put him down on the side walk...he'd grab his bucket with two hands and toddle on up to the door for his candy! and HOW DARE you take that bucket away from him! haha

Getting Candy from Mrs. Helzer!

Monkey Close up!

Done for the night after trying to visit Miss Mary!

Mom and Dad sure are enjoying all his candy!

GAME DAY! Jaxson's first birthday!

2009-10-14T14:01:00.005-05:00

On Saturday (the 10th) my little baby boy turned ONE!! I can't believe how fast the year has flown by. Jaxson has already grown in to such a sweet little guy!

He says so many words for his age and he understands many more than he can say...new this week have been spoon, down, and help, which adds to his list from my previous post! And ever since his birthday he says "Scout" although it is hard to understand as an outsider. Scout is a leapfrog toy that sings songs and learns your childs name and will even spell it for you. After his daycare buddy, Rory got the girl version, Violet, he fell in love! He lays on him and sings to it and it plays bedtime music for him to fall asleep to!

Here are some of his one year cake pictures!!

The chocolate cake

The white cake

Jaxson's baseball cake

Singing Happy Birthday!

First taste after he stuck his face in the coconut!!

Wondering if anyone is going to tell him no

Really eating it now!

Shovel, shovel, shovel

Sharing with Grandma

What was left!

Jaxson's First Haircut

2009-10-14T13:43:00.002-05:00

Jaxson got his first haircut right before his birthday. It was really more like a trim. The hair in the front was getting in his eyes and it was starting to fan out over his ears. We wanted him looking prim and proper for his big day!

Grandma getting ready to start. He has Grandpa's cell phone case to keep him busy

Lost the cape and moved on to Mommy's camera case

Finished product...SO handsome!

1 Week until 1 !!!!

2009-10-03T11:10:00.002-05:00

I can't believe that in one week my little boy will be ONE!! He has grown into such a sweet little boy and time has just gone by way to fast!!

I haven't posted about him for awhile so here are some of the things that we have been up to!

We bought this little bike trailer for Jaxson to ride in and he loves it! Momma needs the exercise and it is great to be able to bring Jaxson along! It is starting to get colder now so we'll have to put it up until next year soon!

Jaxson has been walking for almost 2 months now and he is everywhere!!

Carrying the dog bone around!

Giving it to the dog!

He also is learning to talk and he LOVES music!!!

Here are his actions to "Eenstsy Weentsy Spider" He tries to sing along with that. He also sings "E-I-E-I-O" on command of Old McDonald! Anytime there is music on TV he stops and stares! Wonder where he gets that from?
Here are some of the words that he can say and MOST are understandable! Dog, Kitty, Mom, Dad and daddy, Please (along with the sign for it), Nigh-Night, Go, Done, Ear, Juice, Drink, Lillie. He also knows where everyone else's nose is and his mouth and your ears. He can pick up his milk and put it on the table when asked, most of the time. He waves at the words "hi" and "bye" and best of all...He gives the sweetest kisses right on your cheek! Sometimes over and over and over again!!
I am so excited for his little birthday although it will be very bittersweet for momma! Stay tuned for pictures of that next week!

Jaxson baby...or big boy?

2009-08-27T11:29:00.002-05:00

Our little Jaxson is getting so big now! He is almost 11 months old now.
He is such a grown up little boy, eating table food and starting to walk. He loves baths and playing with the dog! Here are some fun pictures of him lately...

Eating his cantaloupe and tomato! He LOVES cantaloupe, but he gets so messy and goes straight to another favorite activity...BATH

Playing in the running water, his favorite part...

A Cup! His favorite bath toy

He already knows where the door handles are...in this picture I had gone in that room to talk on the phone and he wanted me!!

Playing by the front door, one of his favorite places to play!

His first black eye! Wasn't quite balanced and he hit the table! This picture is blurry, but you can see how big the bump was on his right eye!

Here he is about an hour later in the tub...the swelling has gone down a lot!

Jaxson goes to Branson...

2009-08-27T08:07:00.003-05:00

Jaxson spent a weekend in Branson with my mom and her side of the family for the annual DJSKK reunion (pronounced DeJeskee, it stands for all the daughters in the group Debbie, Jana, Sandi, Kathy and Kim)

My Dad had to stay behind due to an unexpected death at his work so he had to fill in, but my mom and my brother took Jaxson along...here are some photos that she brought me.

Mom, Jaxson and Roth during family pictures

Grandfather Chuck and Jaxson

Playing with Aunt Debe in the "Baby Jail"

Walking baby, checking out the camera set-up

Jaxson and Uncle Roth

Of course, Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some nice quiet time while Jaxson was gone. I spent some time with my Dad and got to sleep in on Sunday. I missed Jaxson a lot, but got to get some housework done and really relax!

Weekend #2

2009-08-03T21:56:00.002-05:00

This was our 2nd weekend away from Jaxson! My office is celebrating 25 years since the current owners took over and so we headed on a company trip to Vegas!! We were only home for 3 days from our last weekend before we headed out on a plane on Thursday. This time we left Jaxson with my mom, who is also his daycare provider so he is really at home there.
This was Ryan and I's first trip to Vegas so we did a lot of the tourist attractions, but we had a good time. It was really pretty busy and so it was hard to think about Jaxson all the time, but by the flight home, I was really ready to see him!

My parents met us at the airport so I could see Jaxson and have lunch with them because I didn't even get to go home. I sent Ryan back with Jaxson and my parents and I stayed in Wichita for a 3 day insurance class and test. After seeing Jaxson for about two hours and then having to be in this hotel room by myself...I AM REALLY MISSING HIM!!! I take my test at 8 am on Wednesday morning and as soon as I am done I get to go home and I don' t have to go back to the office so I will go pick him up for some Mommy time for a few hours. YAY!!
Jaxson did get to dance with the waitress at Texas Roadhouse! He is such a flirt, but he really had fun!

Next weekend we get to be at home with him for a "hopefully" normal weekend before my parents take him the following weekend to our annual family reunion. It's in Branson this year and of course, most of the family has never even seen Jaxson and some of them only once so he needs to go, but Ryan and I have taken off so much time lately and I am training 2 new people at work, plus preparing for a new position myself so it isn't possible for us to go too! I am just glad they are willing to take him so that no one misses out.

Here are some of our Vegas pics!

Downtown Vegas at the Fremont Experience. We stayed downtown at the Golden Nugget and what you are looking at is the largest screen in the world. It spans several blocks of downtown and has nightly light shows above the blocked of street just for partying, gambling and all the street vendors.

This is the pool at our hotel that has a shark and fish aquarium right in the middle of it. You can see the 3 story slide that goes right though the middle, although you can't see the sharks while you are on the slide because it goes way too fast!!

The fountains at the Bellagio! Those things shoot up as high as the buildings!

This is the lion at MGM Grand, but if you look in the background you can see the rollercoaster we rode at New York, New York. I wanted to ride the rides on top of the Stratosphere but we got tired and ran out of time!

Ready to get home and enjoy weekend #3 and Jaxson's 10 month old birthday on Monday...Gosh, I've got to get started planning his birthday party!! AHHH!

Wedding weekend!

2009-07-27T21:42:00.003-05:00

(I am backdating this post a bit)

This weekend our amazing friends Brian and Heather got married! They both live in Arkansas so it was a great opportunity for us to leave Jaxson with Ryan's parents. They don't get to see him very often and I knew I wouldn't really want to miss all of the reception at the wedding by having to put Jaxson to bed. Ryan's parents house is sort of on the way to Arkansas so we headed there Thursday after work, spent the night and headed out without Jaxson on Friday morning!

The Newlyweds! Brian and Heather Nickerson!

Of course, he was fantastic for his Grammy! She even had his pictures taken while he was with them. I haven't seen them yet, but I heard he was a "ham" for the camera! I hope to get a sample of those up soon. They spent time at the ballpark watching games and he had a really great time, although we had a rough drive home. We met Ryan's parents in Monet, MO where his Great-Grandmother lives so that we could get our 5 generation picture from his side of the family since we have one for my side.

My maternal 5 generations! My great-grandfather is 101 in this picture and will be 102 this month! Jaxson was only a few weeks old.

Ryan's maternal 5 generations! Jaxson was almost 10 months old in this photo, but he is a lucky kid to have so many Grandparents who love him!

Well, including this weekend we will be Jaxson free the next 3 of 4 weekends. I had a great time this weekend and I did pretty good without him. Really, beter than I thought I would do, but we'll see how long that lasts with a 3 day insurance class mixed in.

Jaxson's First Swim Lesson and 9 months!

2009-07-13T16:03:00.003-05:00

Jaxson is signed up for Aqua Babies summer class. He has swim lessons twice a week for a month. My mom came along to take pictures of his first time in the pool!

He LOVES the water. I can't let him float on his tummy because he sticks his face in in trying to drink it, but he does pretty well floating on his back! It is so fun to be able to spend time with him in the pool. He is really going to be a little water bug. When we get home after lessons I put him in the bath to wash off the chlorine and he loves to play under the running faucet. He also tries to drink it and his favorite toy is a cup that he pours the water into his mouth with, usually too fast and it makes him cough, but he loves to drink from the cup and cries when you take it away!

Hanging out with Rory over the alligator!

Splashing with mommy!

Just went UNDER WATER!!

Cold and sleepy baby!

Jaxson is getting to be so much fun at 9 months old! He just cut his 3rd tooth today, the first one on the top! He has been a little needy, but really pretty good! He is still cruising around the table, but won't let go yet. I'm just sure he is going to start walking while Ryan and I are gone at the end of the month! He says "uh-oh" and can wave when you say hello. He understand drink, eat, please, and mommy in sign language, but he can't do the signs yet. He bables to no end sometimes and it is SO funny! He is eating mostly table foods he loves pickles, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, any kind of fruit, puffcorn, applesauce, yogurt, and just about anything else that I will let him taste! He LOVES to give open mouth kisses and mommy gets most of them. Daddy has to beg and tickle to get one. He plays with Lillie, although he mostly pulls her ears and feet, but pretty nicely! He just has such a great personality and loves to smile. I just love him more and more everyday!

Meeting Zoey and 4th of July!

2009-07-06T15:20:00.002-05:00

I had the day off on Friday so we drove up to Wichita to meet Ryan's cousin's new baby! Little Miss Zoey Catherine!!

This is Jordan (Ryan's cousin) his wife Christy and little Zoey!

This is how tiny little Zoey was!

Here is Jaxson meeting Zoey! He barely knew she was there until she cried. I had to keep his hands back because he loves to play with peoples faces and I didn't want him to hurt her!

Mommy and Jaxson at the hospital!

On Friday night we headed out to Ryan's boss' place to have a 4th of July celebration! They always put on such a great show! They have about as many fireworks if not more than the City of Winfield and their place is so nice! Jaxson was pretty tired and restless by the time they started, but he loved them...He wasn't scared of the noise or anything, in face he fell asleep about 1/2 way through!

A shot of the crowd

The bounce yard and the food tent

Jaxson and Grandma playing in the pond

Jaxson laying on the dock

Jaxson in his red, white, and blue!

Grandpa trying to keep Jaxson entertained before the fireworks. This is his favorite way to sit when Grandpa holds him!

Tired Baby!

2009-07-02T16:23:00.001-05:00

Last week we decided to head down to the new Island Park playground just to see it. Jaxson is still a little to small to play there, but we had a picket there that had burned in the fire and they replaced it so we wanted to find it! After walking all they way around the big kids area we decided to head in different directions in the "Tots" area. Turns out we met right in the middle and found it! (Ryan has the pic on his cell phone so I don' t have it to post)

It was SO hot that day and by the time we got Jaxson home he was sweaty! I stripped him down to his diaper and let him have his bottle on the floor...so cute!

And here is baby Jaxson taking his nap on the couch!

Hopefully he'll be able to stay awake for fireworks this weekend! Have a happy 4th of July everybody!

Jaxson's 8 months old!!

2009-06-22T14:53:00.003-05:00

Well, he was 8 months old on the 10th, but I've been slow lately at keeping us up-to-date on here!
Jaxson continues to "cruise" around the coffee table and couch, but won't yet stand on his own or let go! He has also learned his first word!! "UH-OH" has become the word of the day at our house....even when there isn't anything to uh-oh about! Sometimes it is even...uh-uh-oh. It is really cute. I'd love to post a video (if I ever take one and if I knew how to put it on here??) Jaxson loves to give his momma kisses, but refuses to give any to daddy. He has also recently discovered his tongue. He blows raspberries with the best of them...and watch-out if he sees your tongue because he'll about claw your face off trying to get to it!

My mom has been taking Jaxson to a "sing & sign" class for a summer activity! I got to attend his last 2 classes. Jaxson is pretty much the only baby who won't sit and listen. He has to be moving all the time and all of the instruments go in his mouth instead of playing them!

Here he is strumming the guitar with his feet while Miss Lori sings a song about him playing.

Shakin' our maracas

Playing our lollipop drums with Brody, Cason and Addison Reams
(Brody and Cason were born on Jaxson's due date, 5 days after Jaxson was born!)

Dancing with Mommy

Tickling with feathers
Here are some other happenings...
Jaxson playing under his table and then getting stuck!

and Jaxson crawling all over mommy and sitting on her head!

Busy, Busy

2009-06-09T10:44:00.002-05:00

Well, I'm behind again and it's been pretty busy for us lately. We've been to Fort Scott two weekend in a row for a wedding and a family reunion. I really failed to take many pictures. We did get some shots of Jaxson and his Grandpa with Robert (Ryan's dad's cousin's baby) and his Grandpa. Robert is just a little older than Jaxson so we figured they'd kinda grow up together.

Ken, Jaxson, Robert, Hershel

Here are some things that Jaxson has been up to lately!

He loves to stand at the front door! He will stand there half the night, watching the cars and talking to himself!

Sometimes he just sits and hangs out...I think here he was watching his Daddy mow the lawn!

Sometimes, we are just too tired to do either one of the above. He didn't fall asleep here, but he did hang out for awhile.

Of course, you all know how much kids like to play with things that arent' their toys...Jaxson has found he likes a box!

He can play in it...

He can fall out of it...(how else are you supposed to get out of a box by yourself?)

And he can use it as a ladder to get on top of his play table!

Our littel dare-devil!! We are going to have our hands full!

Baby swim time!

2009-05-20T16:09:00.002-05:00

He really wanted to get out and pull up the grass, but he does love the water! He didn't stay in very long, but I got some GREAT pictures!

Been a while...

2009-05-19T10:02:00.003-05:00

I misplaced my camera cord after I got back from training in McPherson so I haven't been able to download any pictures for you. Jaxson did finally get over being sick and is doing just fine now...he is moving on to some table foods now so we are having fun finding things he can eat. He is also pulling up to things and walking around them well. I think he would like to just take off running if he could stand up by himself! His little personality is just adorable. He is such a sweet baby...he loves to cuddle his momma at night before bed and he just smiles and talks all the time...he is very busy though. He always has to have a toy in his hand or be moving in some way, he just never wants to slow down! Here are some pictures to get you caught up...

Daddy and baby sleeping

I just loved his little outfit, but he wouldn't sit still for a picture!

Jaxson trying to steal the doggy toys

First day he found the stairs!!

Climbing up on his 7 month birthday!

Nakey baby bottom!

Away....

2009-05-05T07:25:00.002-05:00

I left town yesterday headed to McPherson, Ks. I am attending "Camp FAMI" (a new agent training for one of my insurance companies) I'll be here until Thursday and away from my two boys who are home alone! I am having fun and enjoying some sleep!
In the mean time, I left Jaxson at home sick. The poor boy is throwing up, runny nose, fever, sneezing, coughing, etc. We've got him on clear fluids and tylenol and I just hope he sleeps for his Daddy! Send some positive thoughts his way that he can start eating again soon. If he isn't better by this weekend the Dr. said to bring him back. (This weekend seems so far away and that would make him off solid food for a week so I hope it doesn't last that long!)
I hope to have some new photos when I get home at the end of the week! Have a good one!

Busy Weekend for the Wheeler's

2009-04-27T15:50:00.002-05:00

We had such a fun weekend!

Friday night Ryan and I got to go out with 2 other couples for dinner and a Sinbad Comedy show! We had such a great time with our friends, The McClung's and The Potts'! We actually were late to the show because we were having so much fun at dinner! It always great to spend time with them and great to get away from time to time, especially thanks to my wonderful parents who are willing to keep Jaxson so late!!

Saturday we had a baby shower to go to in Sedan. I took Jaxson and he got to see his Grammy! It was Ryan's cousin's (well his wife) baby shower. Jaxson also got to see his 2 Great Aunts, his Great-Grandma and some of Ryan's cousins! It was a nice shower and great to see so many people! Good luck to Jordan, Christy and Baby-to-be Zoey!

Here is Jaxson with Ryan's cousin Melissa and her two boys Aiden (7) and Peyton (2)

We came home from the shower to Grandma and Grandpa's for dinner. My mom found some fantastic deals out at the garage sales on Saturday including a bunch of near brand new toys! She also bought this swing for him...you can see his Brand New $2 Nike shoes that he is wearing! SO CUTE! He loved the swing too!

It was so hot on Saturday and Jaxson is just like his Father...hot all the time so he played with some of his new toys and Grandma and Grandpa's with only his diaper on!! HA

Jaxson is so mobile now! He is getting really good at crawling and loves to sit himself up like in the last picture from just about any position on the floor, but now he is beginning to really get the hang of getting up on his knees, not always brave enough to stand or experienced enough to remember to HANG ON to something!

He is going to be a little monkey! He'll be one of those kids who you find coloring on top of the refrigerator (like my daddy!) or climbing out of his bed with no fear of falling down!
Baby-proofing time!!

6 month check-up

2009-04-24T11:38:00.002-05:00

I took Jaxson in for his 6 month check-up and shots yesterday. He is doing just fine!

He only grew an inch this time (he is up to 28") and he gained almost 2 pounds (up to 17.3lbs)!!

He is already crawling and sitting up and just BARELY beginning to pull up to things. (ok, just mommy! He can grab my shirt, get to his knees and stand up) The Dr. said that crawling and sitting are skills for 9 month olds so he is ahead of schedule, but I think that I have seen many kiddos crawling around this age so I'm sure it isn't anyting spectacular, but it is nice to know that he is developing well at this point!

His shots went pretty well and he was really in a good mood last night and was even able to catch part of a baseball game with some of the Fort Scott crew. I guess we'll see how good he is for Grandma today at daycare!

Meeting friends!

2009-04-23T14:45:00.002-05:00

Jaxson finally got to meet our good friends Justin and Brittany! They were here mere days before he was born and Brittany (an OB nurse) was begging for him to arrive early so she could be there. They live in Liberal and haven't been able to visit since so they finally got a change to come and meet Jax!

Brittany and Jaxson

Justin and Jaxson (these two actually share a birthday!!)

Here are some more fun new things:

Playing with our new Easter gift!

Sneaking between the TV and the jumpy to get to the dog's bed and attack her!

We are going to the Dr. today for our 6 month checkup and shots :( I'll let you know how BIG he is getting!

Probably my favorite Easter picture!!

2009-04-14T16:49:00.002-05:00

It was so hard to choose from all of them...but this one is just so cute and funny! It's like we just caught him with the candy and he said "who me?"

Easter Day 2

2009-04-14T13:17:00.002-05:00

In Fort Scott with the Wheelers....

We got new toys! A ball, a bunny, a lamb and some books!

We got to see all the family...
Here's Grammy...

Uncle Dustin and Aunt Meg

He was so tired Saturday night...so cute!

Easter morning...
BATH in the sink

Wearing Uncle Dustin's suit to church

Playing with Anna and McKenzie during church! They were so facinated with him! (Anna is the daughter of Eric Baldanado that I mentioned in a previous post who had a stroke...he is still facing complications, but is recovering and attended church on Sunday!)

After church we played with a piece of red licorice and got it EVERYWHERE!! It was so sticky and messy, but so cute! Needless to say we changed our clothes before we left for home!

Easter weekend Day 1

2009-04-13T14:50:00.003-05:00

Saturday we had Easter with my parents in Winfield. Ryan had to work, but we had Jaxson open his Easter basket (filled with candy for mom and dad ;) without him. We had a good time and got some great photos! Jaxson wore his outfit that Grandfather and Gran got him and he looked so adorable!!!

Jaxson and "hop bunny"

Jaxson trying to eat the candy

Jaxson playing with his basket and eggs

Jaxson and Grandma

"Shut up Grandma! It's my turn"

We drove to Fort Scott Saturday afternoon to visit Ryan's parents, but I think I'll just throw all of that on to Day 2 because there is a lot to see! I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend!

Fun things before Easter!

2009-04-10T11:53:00.002-05:00

I am so excited for Jaxson's first Easter coming up! He still isn't quite crawling, but he can get where he needs to go so it will be fun to find eggs with him! I hope to get some good weather for some great outdoor pictures!
I hope everyone has a great Easter with their families too!

Here are some fun things we did last night:

Hanging out in the laundry basket...you can see his two bottom teeth in the top photo!

Jaxson has always taken showers with his momma, but now he is a little too big and squirmy and he can almost flip out of his bathtub so we took a bath in the kitchen sink!

He really had a good time, but he did slip once (not so perfect at staying seated on his own yet, plus it was slippery;) and bump his little cheek on the sink divider, but just a little mark. I guess he is getting to that age where we are going to see more bumps, bruises and scratches!

New foods, new clothes and floor fun!

2009-04-07T11:14:00.002-05:00

Jaxson is starting to enjoy some new foods! He seems to be a lot like his parents who love sour things...you saw in a previous post where he sucked down a lemon, but stand back if a pickle is around...he'll take it right out of your mouth!!

MMMM...big kosher dill pickle!

Give it back!

Down to the very end!

And then on to Pizza Crusts!! Yummy!

We went to my co-workers garage sale this weekend and got Jaxson some 0-3 month shorts and some more jammies! He also got this ADORABLE hat that I just love how it looks on him!! I think we'll wear it while we hunt Easter Eggs this weekend! Plus, it is reversible and is just a solid blue on the other side.

Jaxson LOVES tummy time! He still isn't crawling, but he rolls and scoots really well. He picks up his hand like he is pawing or digging at the floor and I keep thinking he'll just take off at any second, but not yet!

Can I have that camera??

Look at those eyes!!

Happy Baby!!

Bear "crawling"

Happy Birthday Uncle Roth!

2009-04-07T11:09:00.003-05:00

Sunday was my brother's 24th birthday so we went to visit him for a dinner date at his work. He hasn't seen Jaxson in quite a while so it was fun to see them play together!

Jaxson watching Roth open his cards! He really wanted to eat the paper!

Jaxson and his Uncle Roth

Happy Birthday Bubba! I am so proud of you for they way you are working so hard and I pray you continue to do well and get where you want to go in life! I love you.

Chewing...drooling...chewing...drooling!

2009-04-03T12:20:00.003-05:00

Even while watching TV nearly upside down...

Whole hand?

Slobbery smiles!! The best!

And then he fell asleep...in the strangest position...not sure how this was comfortable??

I just love watching him every day...he is such a sweet, sweet baby!!

Give me a chance to save you some money!

2009-03-25T15:06:00.004-05:00

Call me and let me quote your auto, home, umbrella, motorcycle, boat or RV. Our office also has the capability to quote your Life or Health policy.

If we can save you money on your insurance we'd be glad to do it! If we can't then you'll know that you are in the best place you can be. No pressure, no hard feelings if it doesn't work out, but who can't use some savings these days!!

My agency is a Trusted Choice Agent with the ability to write with several companies including Allstate, Progressive, State Auto, Nationwide and many others!! Just ask for me...we can do everything over the phone or by email or mail!
I'd appreciate any business opportunity that you have for you or for your friends (but you have to live in Kansas...sorry!! I'm not licensed outside the state.)

Lots of photos!!

2009-03-24T11:12:00.003-05:00

Playtime!!

Chillen' with Uncle Brian!

We had such a great visit from our good friend Brian and his amazing fiance Heather. I didn't get any pictures of her, but she sure took some great ones of Jaxson...this is my favorite!!

He is wearing Grandma Sandi's glasses!!

He also had a great time with the coasters at dinner!

Here are the other family photos from my Grandfather's visit last weekend! They turned out great!!

Jaxson got a spring break...

2009-03-20T08:18:00.002-05:00

A visit from Grammy, Grandpa and Uncle Zach this week! Ryan's parents came on Tuesday night and got to keep Jaxson all day on Wednesday. How fun! I didn't get a lot of pictures taken but here are a few of the things we did while they were here!

Grammy and Jaxson in their St. Patty's Day Green!

We went to dinner Tuesday night and Ryan decided that Jaxson should have his first taste of lemon! Here is his initial reaction...

followed by...

and then onto...

YUMMY!!! He really liked it!

And then we got to show off for Grammy with our nearly crawling skills!

and our funny little "up on our toes" move...

OH MAN, is he growing up too fast!!!

Mommy and Jaxson!!

2009-03-19T13:07:00.003-05:00

My Grandfather took this picture of Jaxson and I while he was in town. I hardly have any of us together and this one is really good!!

He also took these of my parents with Jaxson and I know he took some family pictures with Ryan in them, but I haven't seen them yet so hopefully later.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!

2009-03-17T08:00:00.002-05:00

Visit from Great Grandma and Grandpa Sisson

2009-03-14T14:55:00.002-05:00

Wish it would have been under better circumstances instead of Darien's accident, but we did get to see my Grandparents this weekend! They hadn't seen Jaxson since Christmas so it was fun to get to see them interact and they got to share the joy of Jaxson's first tooth that broke through this morning!!

Gran and Grandpa Sisson holding their Great Grandson

Grandpa entertaining Jax

Gran playing with Jax

And then Jaxson got to try out his shades from Grammy in the sun after lunch!

Mommy and Jax in our shades!

UPDATE

2009-03-13T16:19:00.002-05:00

Sorry for all the picture-less blogs lately, but we really appreciate all your thoughts and prayers...here is an update on everybody!

Eric has been moved to rehab and they have taken him off all of his machines including his shunt. He still has a long recovery ahead but making great progress. They are still at the Missouri hospital so we can't wait for him to come home!

Darien should be released from the hospital this weekend. She is in a lot of pain, but can do a tiny bit of walking with a walker and can be sitting upright a little also. Two of the other victims from the accident are still sedated so their families need lots of prayers.

Ryan's grandfather is still in the hospital, but he has been moved out of ICU. He is doing pretty well although we still do not know the full extent of his injuries.

And just so I don't leave you without something to look at I'll steal a little game from some of my fellow blogger and give you a "flashback friday" picture. Now, I don't have any really old pics of me loaded on this computer, but here goes...

Here is Ryan and I on our cruise in September 2006

and here we are at his brother's wedding in October 2007 about a year before Jaxson was born!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Hopefully things will turn around soon, but for now...

2009-03-10T15:18:00.002-05:00

MORE PRAYERS PLEASE!!

Ryan's grandfather had surgery on Monday to remove a 90% clogged artery from his neck. The procedure went well and all seemed to be fine. Shortly after, Grandfather had a small stroke. This is his second. The only thing I know now is that he cannot move his arm below the elbow on the left side, but they have not figured out if his speech or brain function has been affected yet.

Ryan called his mother to talk about Grandpa and she couldn't talk to him because she was in the emergency room with his younger brother (13) who they thought broke the top bone in his foot which thankfully turned out not to be the case, but GEEEZ!!

Darien is still in a tremendous amount of pain, I have heard rumor that she may be coming home soon, but I do not know. Her best friend is still sedated. They tried to wake her up, but did not like what they saw so they put her back under. The driver with the broken shoulder has been released. Here is a picture of the truck they were riding in...it is a miracle anybody survived!

More prayers!

2009-03-09T14:03:00.001-05:00

My cousin Darien was in a major car accident on Saturday. You can read about it here.

She is doing better than some, but worse than some. She has a cracked pelvis and back as well as a lacerated liver and some broken front teeth. She will have a neck brace and be in a wheelchair for 10 weeks. It will be a long and painful recovery.

I do not know all of the details about the others, but as far as I know one has a broken shoulder and is up and walking. Darien's best friend is sedated to watch for swelling in her brain and a torn aorta. One of the other boys they thought was paralyzed...he has since had surgery and they determined that his spinal cord was not completely severed, but they do not know if he will ever walk again.

All of these kids were in high school or just finished. Darien graduated in December, a semester early. I will try to keep you updated when I know anything.

Jaxson's first trip to the park!

2009-03-06T11:48:00.002-06:00

It was so beautiful outside yesterday and I know Jaxson would have been happy just sitting in the front yard watching the cars go by, but we decided to take him to the park instead.

His first swing...

...he wasn't quite sure, but he did like watching the chains...

and then the slide...

and then home to play in the yard some more...

and practice our sitting up (he is starting to take interest in sitting instead of just being able to see his feet so he is getting much better!)

I guess we played him pretty hard. Here he is out for the night!!

I can't wait until this weekend so we get even more daylight hours to play in! Plus, hopefully Jaxson will go to bed at 8pm with "spring forward" instead of 7pm! Which means he'll hopefully sleep until 6 or 7 am instead of 5 or 6 am! Trust me, I'm not complaining...we are really blessed and lucky that he sleeps so long, but these hours will be a little more convenient for everyone's schedules!

I can see it already...

2009-03-05T11:47:00.002-06:00

...It is going to be hard to dress my little man!

Here he is last week when it was cold...

6-9 month size clothes at not even 5 months old because they are the only pants long enough to fit him

but here are his 3 month pajamas...

It's hard to see in the picture since he has his feet pulled up, but these are supposed to be pants and they come up to his knees, but they still fit him fine everywhere else

and today since it was SO nice he was able to wear shorts...

BOTH his shirt and overalls are 0-3 months!!

The boy is just SO tall! He has grown 6.5 inches in 4 months, but yet he is so long waisted and skinny. I think this summer he'll have to wear 3 month shorts just to keep them on, but if he has to wear pants they have to be closer to 6 months just to be long enough for him! OH MY! No clothing "sets" for this guy anymore!

Update on Eric

2009-03-04T15:27:00.002-06:00

Ryan reminded me last night that I hadn't updated on Eric's condition. Thank you all for all your prayers for him. They found out what caused his stroke thanks to his beautiful daughter Anna...as someone started to slip while carrying some things Anna says "be careful so you don't fall and hit your head like my daddy..." She had no idea what she had just said as that was the answer as to what had actually happened to her daddy. Aren't children just amazing?!!

Eric has stood up, but he has many more tests and recovery procedures to go. They are still in Missouri so we are waiting for him to be well enough to come back to Kansas. The more prayers that go his way the better and especially for his wife, Darcy because according to Eric's facebook page....Patience and Darcy don't mix. I'm sure this is so stressful for her as well.

Picture Blog

2009-02-27T14:05:00.004-06:00

Just wanted to share some new pictures of Jaxson...

Wonder if he'll be musical like his momma?

Look at that adorable look in his eyes!

Isn't he just perfect?!! And kinda photogenic too! Thanks Grandma for the pictures!

Prayers please!

2009-02-23T14:59:00.005-06:00

02-25-09: Apparently doctors can be wrong! (*NOOO!!* Sarcasm!) Yesterday they thought Eric had a blood clot on his optic nerve. Today, it appears, it really WAS a stroke and they have operated to relieve the pressure. He will have a recovery ahead. If we only knew a good physical therapist?? (If you didn't know...that is Eric's profession!)

UPDATE: We know that Eric did not have a stroke! He passed all the tests to rule it out and his vision seems to be returning slowly. That is all the info I have right now, but I will let you know as soon as we hear anything today!

I have seen how fast these blogs can get news to people and the power of prayer is amazing so I am asking for your help!

My husband's close friends are needing some prayers. Darcy and Eric Baldonado....Ryan has always called Darcy his "sister" because they were close growing up although Eric and Darcy are older than we are, but great close church friends! They are in Branson this weekend and Eric collapsed. Ryan's mom was the first call after the ambulance so we have very little information at this point, but he was throwing up, collapsed and at this point cannot see. I hope to have some information soon, but the ambulance hadn't even picked him up yet.

They are away from home and have a very young daughter...I am unsure if she was with them or not. Please keep them in your thoughts or prayers as we await the news!

Thank you will all my heart!

Rolling, rolling, rolling...

2009-02-23T14:53:00.004-06:00

Jaxson rolled over from his back to his tummy yesterday! He's been trying to hard to do it for months now by arching his back if you saw some of my previous posts, but since he has found his feet...he found a new way! He starts like this...

Then he flops to the side and straightens his legs to roll himself the rest of the way over! It is so fun to see him learning! Now, he really wants to be mobile. He pulls his knees up underneath him, but instead of propelling himself forward he just straightens them back out again! haha It won't be long!!!

Here he is playing with Grandpa on Sunday night!

"Super baby!!"

Attack the face! (His new favorite game!)

Tickle the feet!

Good Morning...

2009-02-19T11:59:00.002-06:00

We had a bit of a rough night for us. Jaxson was up with a tummy ache from 12:30 am to 2 am, but after his bottle at 4:30am he slept in! Daddy had to leave early this morning to deliver a car across state so mommy was able to get ready before Jaxson got up, in fact I had to wake him up...
This is how I found him in his cradle this morning!! Jaxson is usually a tummy sleeper and is able to roll from his tummy to back, but that is hard to do in his cradle so I was surprised to see him sleeping on his side...SO CUTE!

A visit with Grammy

2009-02-17T15:11:00.002-06:00

We spent this weekend in Fort Scott with Ryan's parents. We went for his church camp reunion with the old pastor from his church! Jaxson got passed around and loved on so much! Plus, Ryan's parents hadn't seen him since Christmas and he has grown so much! (27 inches and 15 5 1/2 pounds at his 4 month appointment on Monday! His height is nearly off the charts....EEK! He'll be taller than me by the time he is 5!)

A visit with the neighborman, Delbert!

Ryan's "sister" Darcy with Jaxson at church dinner!

Grammy and Jaxson

Grandpa feeding Jaxson chocolate cake!

A pretty sleepy baby!

My little Valentine Baby

2009-02-13T12:41:00.002-06:00

Learning to find his feet in his V-day outfit that Grammy got him!

I didn't get a very good picture of Jaxson in the rest of Grammy's outfit so I'll just show you his cute little shirt for his first Valentines' day!

I am so lucky to have such a special little Valentines' baby boy!

A visit with friends...

2009-02-13T12:32:00.002-06:00

We spent Wednesday night with our friends Tallon and Jenny. I don't think Jenny had seen Jaxson since he was a few weeks old. We had a great dinner and some fun playing Wii.

Jenny and Jaxson

Tallon and Jaxson in his jammies before dinner!

Can't wait until these guys and some of our other friends have some kiddos of their own for Jaxson to play with! ;)

Praise God!

2009-02-10T16:49:00.002-06:00

I am thanking God over and over the last few days for my little guy! Not that I wasn't thankful for him before, but it is amazing how things come into perspective when something tragic happens....
I heard about Cora's story through a friend's blog. She was a beautiful 11 month old baby who was having some ear infections. Her parents took her to the doctor who found stage 4 cancer on her liver. Within just a few weeks, Cora went home to be with Jesus on Sunday. Here is a picture of her sweet family who has been weighing heavy on my heart for a while now.

This family's faith was so strong through the whole thing and now I thank God to have my little Jax in my life no matter how long we have him. It really makes you treasure every day with them! You can read Cora's story here and find out how to donate to making Cora's playground a reality.

Aren't children really a blessing from God??

Playing outside

2009-02-09T15:59:00.004-06:00

The weather here on Saturday was fantastic!! Jaxson really hasn't been outside a whole lot since he's been born because it has been so cold or windy. I was really excited to get him outside to play. He loved to watch the cars go by on our street and we sat outside and counted motorcycles and talked about the color of the cars also.

Even Lillie joined us outside!

After all our fun outside in "the jumpy" as we call it, Daddy came home and we went for a long walk!

On Sunday, it was nice, but kinda breezy! Daddy wanted to go outside for a little bit so we put Jaxson's Ohio State hat on to keep the wind off of his ears.

We also spent some time on Saturday posing for the camera in our S.B.G. (Spoiled by Grandpa) outfit! I got some great facial expressions out of Jax.

Jaxson also finally got to wear his Dallas Cowboy's socks that Malisa bought him! Thanks!

Trying to roll over....

2009-02-03T15:53:00.002-06:00

I wanted to post these pictures for two reasons. Jaxson is already wearing his 6 month outfit that his Great Grandma Neet bought him! I can't believe that (I'm hoping someone will show these to her) and also that Jaxson is trying SO HARD to roll from his back to his stomach. He has mastered the stomach to back already, but this one is frustrating him right now.

"Daddy's team" outfit...

This is about as far as he can get right now. If he could just get that left leg over that he'd be there! Watch for updates as he learns...

Poor sick baby...

2009-02-02T16:01:00.002-06:00

Our little Jaxson just hasn't quite been himself for a little while now. He has had a stuffy nose and been on the grouchy side. His sleeping and eating habits have changed too. I kept thinking he was having a growth spurt and maybe it is, but this weekend it got worse.

He has been so cuddly lately. When you finally get him to calm down he will just lay on you and stare. Here he is cuddling with his Daddy before bed one night.

He's also learning that he likes to chew during this phase...the binky just won't cut it when it comes to that so here is his new favorite chew toy...

His little stuffed piglet...it's about the only thing that he can get into his mouth by himself.

Saturday morning, Jaxson felt warm to me. He was running a fever of about 101. When I got him up from his nap around 10:30 or so, his fever had spiked to 103. I gave him some tylenol, gave him a bath and took his temperature every 15 mintues or so. By 12:30, it had only come down to about 102. I even had my mom come by with her thermometer to make sure mine was right. We took Jaxson to the emergency room.
They tested him for strep throat and RSV, both he was negative for, thank goodness. The ER doctor was concerned that his temperature had gone up right before he dismissed us, but wasn't sure he knew what was wrong. Jaxson's fever finally broke around 8 pm that night and has been at 100 or below ever since. His nose is still really runny and it makes him cough, but Mommy is much more relieved!! Here are some pics of Jax's first ER visit.

And here is how he spent some of his time at home after the ER...binky and piglet wrapped in Momma's arms....

I sure hope he feels better soon...I miss my happy boy!

New playtime

2009-01-29T14:08:00.002-06:00

We are finding new ways of entertaining Jaxson...
1) to keep him learning, discovering, and happy
2) to give mom and dad some time to get "anything" done
3) to try to extend the bedtime so that he sleeps more of the night instead of the early evening...

Here are some things that we have been doing...

Hanging out in our high chair while Daddy makes dinner

We just love to stare at our toys...

Playing with some of our favorite toys on the floor for some tummy time

Discovering new textures with our hands has become one of Jaxson's favorite things to do. Anytime you lay him on his tummy he will feel the surface with his hands back and forth before he lays his head down on it. It is adorable.

The Excer-Saucers!

2009-01-29T13:56:00.002-06:00

Jaxson loves to play in his excer-saucers. He has one at home with lots of fun things on it to play with and one at daycare that he can sit in a little better and play with. He especially likes to sit in them and watch basketball on TV and it usually works to get mom just a little bit of free time!

Here he is at home...

...having a staring contest with Mr. Sunshine!

and now the rings that are just out of reach...

Hey mom...where'd you go?

At Grandma's...the many faces of Jaxson come out...

Happy baby...

Funny baby...

Winking baby...

Surprised baby...

Sneaky baby...

What a personality he is starting to develop everyday...

Daycare with Grandma!

2009-01-23T11:23:00.003-06:00

We are very very lucky that my mother still does daycare and that Jaxson gets to go there! It is truely a blessing to know who your child is with and that they are safe and taken care of! My mom also goes above and beyond regular babysitters by watching him extra time when I'm late and helping out in lots of other ways...not to mention...LOTS MORE PICTURES!

Here are some pics of Jaxson while he is playing at Grandma's house.

Look how red his hair looks!! haha

He knows how to work the ladies already!

It's so fun to have all of these great pictures to share with everyone...he is growing up so fast, but it is fantastic! I should have video taped him this morning because he was just a motor mouth. He talked at anything and everything and it is the cutest thing in the world.

The adventures of Jaxson Kale!

2009-01-16T13:19:00.002-06:00

Jaxson loves to lay on his changing table! It doesn't really matter how upset he is if you put him on the changing table he calms down! Here is a couple of pictures of getting him dressed in the mornings in some adorable outfits!

Here is Jaxson's little peapod hat. He really didn't like to wear it, but gosh darn isn't he cute?

Then we have some play time...

This is what he looks like right before his "before bed time nap"

Sleepy baby....

Napping...

Waking up...

Play time with Daddy to follow...

Then hanging out on the couch by momma...

Then finally time for our "usual" 8 hour night...

What a tough life being a baby!!

Random recent pictures of Jaxson

2009-01-08T14:57:00.002-06:00

Jaxson is getting so big so fast and we just get some great shots of him everyday! I just wanted to share some of those pictures with you.

He is learning such great facial expressions!

Christmas at Grandma's...Jaxson held his own bottle by himself. He hasn't been able to master this skill yet, but he sure tries to get his hands on it everytime you feed him.

Jaxson's adorable overalls were just begging us to take pictures so we got our dog Lillie in the act also. This isn't the best picture we got of Jaxson, but this is the best picture of Lillie and the best one of them together! Lillie is sure good with Jaxson...thank goodness!

Jaxson just looked so cute the other day after his shower... I especially loved this picture with those bright blue eyes staring back at everyone! I couldn't resist! WHAT A DOLL!

Jaxson has been eating baby food through a bottle feeder for a little while now, but I got brave and decided to try to feed him with a spoon the other day. As messy as he looks, he did really well!! He barely spit any of it out and he kept his hand out of his face for the most part (which if you know Jaxson is pretty amazing...the boy loves his hands in his face!) We had so much fun!

The Holiday Season

2009-01-07T16:00:00.008-06:00

There was so much to do for the holidays! It seems like that is always the case, but now that the baby is here...well EVERYONE wants to be a part of your time more than ever! We started the festivites at my Grandmothers house in Mayfield this year with Jaxson's first Thanksgiving celebration. Jaxson sported his "Gobble til you wobble" shirt for the crowd with the most adorable red leather shoes!

Jaxson had his first visit with Santa shortly after Thanksgiving. I'm pretty sure it could have been the Pope holding Jaxson and he wouldn't have known the difference, but we sure did get some good pictures.

Jaxson had his first Christmas also at my Grandmothers house and then it was on to the Wheeler side! Of course his Grammy was just ready to spend time with him, but he also got some great gifts including a toy box for his room and some great cowboy boots from Uncle Dustin...they are still a little bit big, but we put them on for pictures anyway!

Christmas at Grandma and Grandpa Myser's was simple and quiet (what a blessing!) Jaxson got so many great toys including his new remote controlled mobile! (Jaxson is a big music fan already! I'm wondering where he got that from?) It was a little early for him to enjoy the surprise or the unwrapping, but he does love his toys!

He got so many great books too!

Grandpa helped him open his presents!

Here is Jaxson's new mobile which is still at Grandma's house...

Jaxson's first vacation!!!

2009-01-07T09:57:00.002-06:00

The day after Jaxson turned 5 weeks old Mommy, Daddy and Grandma Sandi headed out for his first vacation! It was a LONG one. We started our trip in Ft. Scott, Kansas about 3 hours from Winfield. We were able to get a 4 generation picture with Ryan's family to go along with his 5 generation picture from my side of the family. (Jaxson actually has 15 grandparents, including 5 generations on Mommy's maternal side and 5 generations on Daddy's maternal side, but we haven't been able to capture that yet)

4 Generations of Wheeler Men
Grandpa Kenny, Great-Grandpa Bill with Jaxson and Dad Ryan

5 Generations
Great Grandma Pat Kinyon, Great Great Grandpa Buss (101 years old), Grandma Sandi Myser, Mommy and Jaxson

Ryan's church in Ft. Scott threw Jaxson a baby shower while we were there. This blanket is one of the gifts that we received from Ryan's cousin! We absolutely love it and use it all the time!

From Ft. Scott we headed out for Columbus, stopping in St. Louis to visit Great Uncle Dan on the way. In Columbus we were able to visit with a lot of Grandpa Dave's family! Jaxson experienced lots of firsts on this trip including his first smile, his first snow and his first deer!

First meeting with Great Grandma Mary Myser

Mom and Dad got to go to the Ohio State vs. Michigan game. During the game Jaxson stayed with Grandma Sandi and other family members at Great Grandma Mary's apartment near campus. Apparently, he was especially fond of his Great Uncle Chuck...

Jaxson was also sporting his brand new "Coach Tressel Vest" onesie for the game!
It was a great vacation and it was wonderful for Jaxson to get to meet many of the Ohio Myser's while he was so young. We have such a hard time making it back to Ohio on a regular basis so I was so thankful that Jaxson was able to go before he was 3 years old! What a meaningful trip!

Halloween!

2009-01-07T08:53:00.003-06:00

Jaxson's first holiday! Halloween. Even though he was too young to trick or treat, we dressed him up and visited a few people including my parents long time neighbor and friend, Marie.

Our little lion!

Jaxson and Marie

Jaxson's halloween pumpkins that his mommy and daddy made for him

The first few weeks!

2009-01-07T08:39:00.002-06:00

The first few weeks at home were great! Of course, I loved being able to spend time with Jaxson and there were plenty of nice days that we were able to take walks to Grandma's or down to the office to see my co-workers. Many days though were just spent at home gazing and admiring, sleeping and changing clothes!!

Only 3 days old and already throwing dueces!

"Uncle Brian" and now soon-to-be "Aunt Heather" (FINALLY!!) came up from Arkansas to see us.

Jaxson got lots of great Buckeye gear, including this great jersey from his Great Grandfather Sisson and his Ohio State Binky.

He even got really into the game and gave us his best O-H-I-O!! Go Bucks!

Family Visits!

2009-01-05T15:49:00.005-06:00

All the family came to visit Jaxson on the day he was born. Of course, my parents live in town so they were able to spend most of the early morning hours with me (we checked into the hospital about 4 am) Ryan's parents made it just in time to say hello and get shoved out of the room! Jaxson was born about 20 minutes later! Ryan's brother sped all the way from Girard, Kansas, JUMPED out of the car leaving his wife behind, ran all the way to the delivery floor to snatch him up, just to realize that he really needed to stop and hit the little boy's room. I think he was back from the bathroom and holding the baby before Meg ever got upstairs!

Uncle Dustin and Aunt Meg with Baby Jaxson

All the Wheeler Boys! (Ken, Zach, Ryan, Jaxson and Dustin)

My Dad with his new Grandson

My mom and Jaxson

Before 2009

2009-01-05T11:55:00.006-06:00

I have recently become interested in blogging after keeping up on a lot of my friends sites and seeing how fun it is to view the happenings in their lives, but I have A LOT of catching up to do!! I hope you are interested in doing some reading because in just the last 3 months...so much has happened with our beautiful little boy and I want to get it all out there for you to read!

I'd hope to keep up with this blog for 2009, but our most exciting news started in October 2008 so let's start there!

Jaxson Kale Wheeler born: 10/10/2008 12:34 pm

8lbs. 4 oz. 20.5 inches

His beautiful room was all painted and ready for him thanks to his Grandma Myser's beautiful paint job! We never found out the gender of our miracle so his room is a gender neutral, brown patchwork teddy bears.