Back in Peoria

Ok, so here we are back in Peoria once again. I know 3 times in a year might be excessive but I figure now that I have a baby I can blame my homesickness (mom and daddy sickness that is) on Kohen wanting to see them. (nice excuse huh?) Anyway, my mom is turning half a century this month (sorry for spilling the age ma) so I thought it would be fun to suprise her. My dad had to drag her to the airport late Wednesday night. He had told her that one of their Elders that was suppose to come out and didn't was finally going to come out. She was so excited to get him that she was driving dad a little crazy. She was planning on where they would send this Elder to serve and who his comp would be, she was trying to get his medical records ready and many other hectic things that they have to get ready when a new missionary is coming out... so pretty much the whole mission had to be in on our suprise because she just kept trying to get ready for this Elder. She wasn't feeling well and was running a fever so she just tole dad to go and pick him up but dad was being stubborn and had to stand their until she rolled off the couch to get in the car. We finally got off the plane it took a little while because they didn't get my car seat onto the second plane (just my luck) so I was trying to figure out when it could get here. Anyway, I turned the corner and was walking toward them (the airport is super small) I was staring right at my mom and she was staring at me but not saying anything or acting suprised so I figured the suprise had been ruined, someone must have slipped. So I just kept walking toward them until I was right in front of her, then finally KKOHENNN!! She was staring right at me and didn't recognize me until I practically stop in front of her and she look down at Kohen and noticed him and then looked back up at me again and noticed me. She was screaming and laughing. It was so hilarious. She said she was just looking for an Elder in a suit so she wasn't paying too much attention to us. It was so funny. (I did cut my hair really short since I have last seen them so that helped with the suprise factor) I was so glad that the suprise had stayed a secret and she was suprised!! We are having lots of fun, here are a few pics for now, I'll post more later when we get home!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!
(I have no idea who that guy was but he seemed to enjoy the suprise too :)

This is my mom's suprised face when she finally recognized it was Kohen and not her Elder.

...Grandpa and Kohen reunite...It was a LLOONNGG trip again, poor Kohen looks like a rug rat because the air was out on our last flight so I had to strip him naked to calm him down plus he had rice cereal ALL over his face and clothes and all over me!

Kohen absolutely LOVES to suck on Grandma!! She is just so loveable.

Welcome Zachary Burton Jackson!!!

Finally Zachary Burton Jackson came to play with Kohen!! We have been waiting for him, it seems like forever. But he is finally here and so cute. He looks like his daddy. Chris & Melissa just bought a house and moved out of ours. (tear) We are so happy for them but are going to miss them like CRAZY!! Ok, so they are just around the corner, but still thats like BFE when you're use to just walking down the stairs. I know Chris will be over for his "erronds" I just don't know how he'll live without his DVR? Well, Congrats on Zachary... and don't worry, I'm working on Melissa to get a blog ASAP! You too Collin ya slug!!

Congrats Kenny!

Yep, that's down town Kenny Brown that got hitched this weekend to a cute southern girl. (Krista) We are so excited for them!

Happy 24th

We had a super fun 24th. We had Kenny's wedding dinner up at Trio, then we rushed back to hit the famous Condie fireworks at the pool! Kohen was in his jammies and ready for bed but he just couldn't take his eyes off of the pretty fireworks. Plus Aunt Shelly gave him a cool glow stick that he wouldn't let go of. Look at poor Melissa, she was so uncomfortable, but not to worry, that babe popped out just a day after this picture :) We love you Zachary.

I haven't updated for a while so the slideshow is just of randoms that we've done the last week or so. We went fishing up in Naughton with Grandma and Grandpa and caught lots of fish to bring home to bbq. We've been swimming at the pool, celebrating Trevor's birthday and going to the mountains for cook outs. I love summer because there are so many fun things to do outside and we love spending our time with the fam!! We miss you mom, dad, Dal & Cade. We Love You!!

What we've been up to...

Cowboy up!

So here we are for the 4th of July and with boys there is no dressing them cute with bows, skirts, and bracelets for any holiday, so I found the cutest cowboy outfit for Kohen. I just had to jump at the opportunity to buy it since it's the closest to dressing up that I will get to do with him without Trav making fun of him. I know I'm stretching it a bit but I relate 4th of July with rodeos so the Cowboy getup works for me, plus Trav thought it was hilarious and he looked super cute in his cowboy hat! Kohen loved the fireworks but got kinda bored with them after a few minutes. Thought ya might love this little cowboy grandpa!! Giddy Up Yo!!

Rice Cereal is my favorite treat!!

Yep we've started Kohen on rice cereal finally, even though the doc said to wait til 6 months he is way too busy and crazy to not give it to him. He wants to eat any and everything else we have in our hands so I figured it was time to start him because if not I'm afraid he would have gotten his own cereal and started it himself. He is so busy that I can't even shovel it in his mouth fast enough before he reaches for the spoon and spills it all over himself, me, the high chair, the floor and anything else in reach. I love this monster but he is very trying at times and his poop is starting to stink now that he's eating cereal. I miss that cute non-stinky good ole' yellow poop!

updating...

Wow, we haven't updated for a while. Who has time to sit in front of a computer when it's so nice outside. Ok, it might be a little too nice!! It's freaking hot out there. Anyway, Kohen has been sick the last week or so, with a fever and not pooping regularly so we've dealt with a not happy little boy. I'm sure all those who have babies know what I mean when I say your heart breaks when you hear them scream because something is wrong and you don't know what, why, or how to help them. It is the saddest thing ever! What was even worse was when we were at the docs and they had to do a catheter up his peepee. His eyes got huge and started bawling. This should not be allowed for little babies! They needed to run tests on his urine (which came back normal) then they sent us to do blood work. I don't know which one was worse to hold him through? The needle was huge compared to his lil' arm and it took forever, I think we had a nurse in training. If that still wasn't enough we had to give him his shots on Tuesday which threw his tempature through the roof again and his crankiness came back. One of his shots got infected so if you even came close to his leg he would give out the saddest little pout. :( Oh well, we got all that done and things have come back to normal so far, we're just waiting on his poop to come back from the lab to see if that was the problem. It has not been a fun week, but things are looking better. He's started sleeping through the night better than he did before he was sick so that is a positive! Probably cuz I have to drug the little man before he has to go to bed! Here's just a few pictures in his bumbo that he loves and his high chair. He loves to sit up and see what's going on, but won't sit on his own yet. He is quite stubborn... don't know where he gets that from? He has started rolling back and forth, which is sad he seems so old, especially around Alli's new baby Jordyn. He looks huge! He IS huge. While I'm updating I'll just say Dallas hit his one year mark last week (One more year to go) Mom and Dad hit their one year mark (two more slow years to go :(, and Cade is almost to his one year mark! Time is flying by this summer I can't believe how fast things have gone. Well, Happy Blogging!

Kohen's First Fishing Trip

Daddy's Day

I took some pictures of Kohen playing with some of Trav's favorite things (his Chevelle remote control car, and Bears football) and blew them up for him for Daddy's Day! I think they turned out cute, and Trav just laughed at them cuz he looks so stinking cute. He's so chubby and you can't help but squeeze those cottage cheese thighs and suck on those droopy cheeks! We love you Trav!!

Swimmimg...

Today Megan and her two boys Peyton and Carson went swimming with us at the pool. I was kinda nervous to put Kohen in the water but it was just too hot not to get in. Carson loved the water but Peyton not so much, he'd rather watch the cars go by on 41st. So here are a few pictures of Kohen's first swimmimg experiance! Check out his muscular pectorals!! Ok, they just look like fat man boobs!

Happy Family

Daddy loves Kohen, look at those cankels!! And yes, he is a thumb sucker. The binki does nothing for this boy.
Kohen loves his mom!! He talks and talks to me all day!
Lots of smiles and slobber! It's the first time we put his tootsies in the grass.
This is why we have no family pictures!! Trav wanted to keep himself off the blog, so he thought this would do the trick... think again honey that's dead sexy!! MWA-HA-HA. Love you Trav.

Daddy sitting

I decided to go back to school this summer so I can just get done with my schooling. I'm a senior at the U and have 30 credit hours left. (yay!!) So that means daddy gets to babysit. I think it's more like torture Kohen time. Kohen and Trav are best buddies but Trav likes to pretend that Kohen is already 5 years old. He tries to make him ride Blade and drive in the bobcat with him.

He wants him to eat everything he eats so I look over and Trav wants him to taste bbq sauce off his ribs that would probably send the little guy into shock and give him diarreah for weeks. Maybe that's why only Trav can get him to sleep at night. Normally Kohen likes to cry himself to sleep, no matter how you hold him or what you sing to him once he is tired he fights going to sleep so he cries until he wears himself out. These picture pretty much sum up our nights. But lately Trav has bounced him to sleep before all the crying begins which seems like a little bit of heaven. He's even got him to bed before 10... can you say miracle? We love dads babysitting techniques even though they get a little scary sometimes he's sure to make him all BOY!!

The tongue

Kohen has had this fettish with that tongue of his. Ever since birth he loves to stick his tongue out. I kinda thought it would go away as time went on but I think it has only gotten worse. We love to go to the zoo and be outside and I've discovered that he loves to feel the wind on his tongue. Any time you blow on his face or the wind blows, out pops his tongue to taste the air. It is so funny. I try to get pictures of his smiles but they always turn into to tongue pictures and that's all I get. So here are a few slobber pictures of him at the zoo and that stinkin tongue. Trav hates this hat he has, he thinks he looks retarded but I love it and it keeps the sun off his head so everytime I turn around he takes it off and I have to search for it. What a bum huh?

Mother's Day

So I'm really late posting about Mothers Day as usual, I can never keep up but I had a fabulous Mothers Day. Trav suprised me with my right hand ring!! I've always wanted a pave right hand ring for some time now, and when I woke up there was this little gold box all wrapped up sitting next to my bathroom sink. I didn't have a good picture of it, this is the only picture I had. Of course I still had to wear it on Mother's Day even though it was too big so that's why it is on my pointer finger haha. (it's getting sized right now) He also got me my favorite carmel apple (that his mom made me in the candy factory) and a box of all my favorite chocolates. Being a mom is seriously the hardest thing I have ever done. Kohen is such a momma's boy and wants to be held ALL DAY. So unless he is sleeping, he's pretty much in my arms which doesn't let me get hardly anything done around the house. He is the absolute cutest thing ever so I don't mind holding him, but it does get tiring. I just don't have the heart to let him sit and cry in his crib, it breaks my heart plus he gets so mad he starts throwing up. So now I know why there is and should be a whole day devoted to Mothers!!! I think there should be a Mother's month!! :)

Now to brag a little about the GREATEST mom's in my life. First there is Karen, my mother-in-law and for all of you that know her, know what a wonderful, selfless, giving person she is. She is the hippest most stylish grandma out there! She is such a big help to Trav and I with Kohen. She watches him Tuesday nights for a few hours while Trav and I are at school. (this is not an easy task, especially when he doesn't like taking bottles) She had this hold on Kohen where she bounces him in mid-air and is SO tiring on your arms (he loves it!) and she will do it for hours with him to keep him from crying. He loves his Nanny Karen. Karen is an angel and so willing to help everyone out! Her heart is bigger than anyone I know (that's where Trav gets it from :)) We love her so much!!!

My mom is the most wonderful mom alive!! She not only flew out with 12 hour lay overs when Kohen was born just to be able to come out and help me, but she slept on my couch for 10 days!! What a women she is. I guess she is pretty use to the couch for waiting up for all us kids for so many years making sure we got home safe so late at nights, but still... she was up every night she heard Kohen crying no matter what time of the night it was and let me sleep while she rocked him back to sleep. Plus she was taking care of all 135 missionaries back home with sickness and ouchies that would call her at all hours asking how to treat a headache... I swear sometimes those missionaries are more needy than my newborn baby, but she takes care of them all just as she would her own kids. I love her so much and miss her dearly but want her to know that I love her and appreciate her more than words can ever say. You don't realize how much you need your mommy at sparatic times until she isn't there!! She is just a phone call away though. Thank goodness for that and the wonderful web cam. I LOVE YOU MOM!!

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa

Meeting Grandpa

Kohen got to meet Grandpa for the first time last week. My parents are serving as mission presidents im Peoria, Illinois for 3 years. My mom got to come home for 10 days when Kohen was born but my dad has never seen him, so Trav let me go out and stay with them for 2 weeks while he finished up his finals. After a long awful day of flying and a 4 hour layover in the Vegas airport then a 3 hour flight to Peoria we finally made it to Grandpa. Grandpa was right at the doors we came out of waiting for us with a huge smile, even after our flight was delayed! He stole Kohen from me as fast as he could and started loving him and just gooing at him. Kohen started to talk back to him and it was so funny, he was such a happy boy. We got to their house and my dad wanted to give him a bath since he had been in the dirty airport all day. (and I mean all day... we left our house around 8 am, and we finally got to their house around 10:30pm) well first thing he whizzed all over grandpa and the wall. I didn't stop there, then next day he did the exact same thing when grandpa went to give him his second bath. It was so funny. My mom and I couldn't stop laughing. Besides what are little boys for... Grandpa didn't care one bit, he was loving it all! We are having such a blast out here. My mom and dad have been such a big help with him. If it weren't for missing Trav so much I might just stay out here a few more weeks. :) Here are a few pictures for now...

Grandpa bought Horton Hears a Who to read to a grumpy Kohen.

Kohen loves giving wet kisses especially slobbery ones to Grandpa!

Grandpa was a Kohen hog the whole 2 weeks! He didn't like to share much.

The first time Grandpa got to hold Kohen he just wanted to talk and talk. He was so happy!

Grandma got a little time with Kohen, but not much! Grandpa didn't like to share.