We got a pool!!

Alissa woke up today to a nice surprise. When Daddy got off work last night he bought a great big swimming pool and set it up out back for Alissa. Last year he cought the wave runner she is riding on. It actually works, has a propeller. It also acts as a giant squirt gun -- Ali's favorite feature. The picture is Alissa squirting the dog. Too much fun!!

We also went to the movie store today and Alissa picked "Curious George" to watch. Cute movie. There is a coffee shop called "The Beanery" (sp?) next to the movie store, so we stopped in and Ali has a kids hot chocolate. Which is basically a tiny bit of hot chocolate (sugar) with a bunch of whipped cream on top (more sugar) and some animal cookies (sugar coma). So to say the least ny the time we got home Alissa was a tad hyper. But, after the sugar high comes the crash and she will sleep well tonight :)

Rebecca came over with Gage this evening and Alissa was thrilled to have a new playmate.. except he is only 18mths old. Oh well.. between the battles over her Spiderman sippy cup things went well. I might be babysitting her older son Shane for a little while. We shall see.

Oh!! I must write about Jonathan. He finally discovered his temper. WOW! He was in his Johnny Jump up thing (which is a joke because he is too tall for it so basically walks around and plays with toys, oh well keeps him contained).. and I took away a piece of paper that he had started to chew on. Ooohh boy did he throw a fit. His whole face scrunched up, he turned red, and tucked his chin down. Then he started hitting his head against the door, WTH?! Not hard.. but enough to where he apparently thought he was making a statement. I looked on with a mixure of amusement and foreboding.. things are about to get very interesting with him. Here come the temper tantrums!! And something tells me it will be worse then with Ali.. a lot worse. Bring it on!! I need a good challenge to keep me on my toes! :) A side note, his front top tooth poked through yesterday -- which explains some of his grumpiness. Yeehaw.

GROSS!!!!!!!

Ok, all you Ferrero Rocher fans -- you know, the yummy circle of chocolate with a hazel nut in the middle candy in the gold wrapper. WELL.. I decided I have done so good and it is my 1 month anniversary on this diet -- I decided to eat a Ferrero Rocher. I have a SEALED package of them calling my name. I selected my candy, opened the wrapper and guess what I saw??? HMM?? A WORM!!! A very much alive, wiggling, disgusting, meal worm lookin' WORM!! WHAT?! I put the candy in a zip lock baggy and I plan on shipping it back to the company with a letter. WTH?! (WTH = What the heck for those of you who don't know the lingo) I was so appauled. Maybe that's God's way of telling my I shouldn't be cheating on my diet? I got the message!! :) Anyways, just wanted to share. Next time you eat one of those.. check for WORMS first. Blah. I sent the candy -- worm and all off in the mail today. I will post with the response I get.

What a beautiful day!

It was 90 degrees!! Here comes summer!! I already posted the video of Ali playing in the sprinkler -- that was the highlight of our day. We had Papa come over and BBQed hamburgers -- YUM. Ali did not take a nap again today so she will be in bed here REAL soon. For now, I thought you would enjoy this picture. This is Ali's latest invention. A diaper-hat. Does life get any better then this? I don't think so.

Video

I am so excited! I finally figured out how to put a video on here. Today Alissa and Zena played in the sprinkler together. Here is a peek. Its taken by my phone, sorry about the poor quality.

Shrek 3

Hello again. Another fun filled Davis Day.. gotta love the "D" words ;) So we woke up at 8 today and played outside for most of the morning. I am going to buy Alissa a new tricycle because she has a problem working the pedals on the one she has -- kind of a funny design. Anyway, she had fun riding around the neighborhood with her little pink helmet on. We wanted to stick close to home in case Daddy woke up early -- he didn't. Ali went down for a nap at 2 and woke up at 5. When she woke up her and Daddy went to goodwill to drop off yet another truck load of junk -- YIPPEE!! I have the garage clean finally, just need to catch up on the laundry out there. After goodwill they picked up a Paddington's pizza -- yum. Yes, I cheated on my diet.. but after 12 pounds I figure I can be bad every now and then. After pizza I headed to Grandma Davis' house with Jonathan to drop him off so I could go to my ASL class at OSD (Oregon School for the Deaf).

Alissa stayed with Daddy and they went to go see Shrek 3 and hang out together. They went to the new Lancaster mall theatre and said it was AWESOME.. best theater in town! Stadium seating, reclining comfortable seats -- I can't wait to check it out myself. Matt said there were only 8 people in the whole theater for Shrek 3.. nice. Alissa got popcorn and "bubbley" -- Sprite-like product.. she was thrilled. And did you know they have booster seats for little ones? I didn't. Coooool.

So anyway they got home and Matt installed our bedroom air conditioner because tomorrow is supposed to be in the 90's. I also took out Zena's doggie door yesterday because she keeps getting into the trash can and dragging diapers outside -- YUCK. She ONLY does this in the middle of the night -- smart move for a stupid diaper-eating dog. So THAT will be no more after today. We figure we will just put the dog door in when we leave for long periods of time, other then that -- forget it. I'm tired of cleaning up messes in the morning.

Well, I'm off to bed and Matt is off to do some late-night Walmart shopping. He is always so thrilled to go at this hour and shop with all the "crack-heads". Hehe.. The things he does for a gallon of milk!! Until tomorrow..

VROOM!!

We had a fun afternoon today at the Woodburn Dragstrip. Alissa got to ride a "VROOM VROOM" with Grandma Adams -- a scooter. I will post a picture as soon as I can get my mom to email me one. Very cute!! She had a blast going back and forth on the scooter wearing her handy dandy earmuffs of course. She LOVES her earmuffs, even though it was just Jr. Dragsters so not super loud. I carried Jonathan in my sling and he had on his flame baby legs, very track appropriate.

We got home and Alissa decided she was not going to take a nap.. which is happening more frequently. So she played outside with her new doll house (well, castle) that our neighbor brought over for her, and I cleaned the garage with Matt. That has been our project the last few weeks on his days off.. spring cleaning. We have hauled 2 truck loads to good will and one van load to a rummage sale for Relay for Life (cancer organization). We had a LOT of junk. And I was very proud of Matt because he parted with a few items that he didn't want to part with. YIPPEE. I want to be able to park in the garage this summer! We'll see.

While cleaning the garage Jonathan played in his playpen.. he can pull himself up and walk all around. He has been a bit crabby lately because he is getting his top two teeth -- you can see they are just breaking through the gums -- ouch! Jonathan is VERY mobile now. He cruises all over, then takes a few steps to the next chair, table, whatever. And he hardly falls, unless Ali tries to "help" him.. grr. Good thing kids are resilient because he has taken a few good dives so far.

Papa came over this evening for dinner and played with Alissa. Ali went for a wagon ride out front with Papa while I cleaned a bit more in the garage and Matt took a nap in "the cave".. which is what we affectionately call the computer room now because we installed a black out pull down shade so he can sleep better during the day.

As I write this Alissa is snoozing in her bed, Jon in mine, and Matt in the cave. Guess I'd better go hit the dishes while I can. Fun times!!

Memorial Day

We owe it to our fallen soldiers, and their families, to NEVER forget the price that has been paid for our freedom.

I'm in trouble..

Ok, so we just got home from Grandma Adams house and for the FIRST time Jonathan walked away from me.. and this kid took 11 steps!! Yes I know, I counted. Holy smokes!! He looked like a little old man, but he did it!! The trick is to let him walk away from me so that he doesn't try the Superman thing. WOW! He is only 9 mths old, it would be nice to have a tiny bit longer before babyproofing.. oh well. He is definately going to be my more challenging child :) I'm up for it. Guess I don't have a choice.

We had a great time at Grandma's house. Played some hillbilly golf with Tom and Debbie.. and lost. Miserably :) Spencer (Alissa's cousin) is adorable. Getting so big so fast. Where has all the time gone??

Alissa is making a baby food tower at the moment with all the jars of baby food we just got at Costco, I'm going to go help her now.

:)

Going fishing..

In my mind that is.. I have so many random thoughts to write about, how about I just pull a few out of the water?

Ok, first off I'll start with my day so far. Woke up at 8 am to a dog barking.. thanks Zena. Jonathan sleeping on one side, Alissa on the other. For those of you unaware Matt works all hours so I hardly ever wake up with him there. Anyways.. we all wake up thanks to the doggy choir practise and cuddle for awhile. Finally (about 8:45) Alissa jumps up and annouces, "Time to get up MAMA!" <-- keep in mind Alissa USED to call me Mommy..until that is she heard me tell Jonathan to say "Mama".. NOW I'm just mama.. So back to the story. We get out of bed and I ask Alissa what she would like for breakfast -- "CUPCAKES"!! Ok, plan B: I TELL Alissa what we are having for breakfast -- sausage and eggs and oatmeal for Alissa. I can't have oatmeal because I am on this no-carb kick to finally lose this baby weight -- 12 pounds off since May 1st!! WOOHOO!! Sooooo we eat breakfast and play for awhile. I called Grandma Adams and we decided a trip to Costco would be fun.

So now we are off to Costco.. "we" meaning myself, Alissa, Jonathan, Grandma Adams, AND Alissa's baby doll and stroller. She insisted that HER baby didn't want to stay home -- too boring. So anyway we stroll through Costco watching Alissa dodge shopping carts and counting each near-miss as a blessing. It was lots of fun getting free samples because Jonathan is finally old enough to partake -- he was thrilled. At one point Alissa was sitting in the shopping cart basket and Jon was up front.. he turned around and grabbed a fist full of Ali's hair and all we hear is "Hey! Ouch".. oops.. sorry Ali. I pried his hand open and set her free.. the joys of sisterhood. We finish with Costco at about 2 at which point Ali has gone completely insane (no really) because she reeeaaallly needs a nap. Drop off Grandma Adams and off we go home.

That brings me to the here and now. Both kids are asleep.. Alissa is sleeping in her improvised tent.. basically a sheet over her bed rail forms a little teepee for her. And Jonathan is in my bed snoozing. I just got out of a much needed shower and decided I needed to blog. I am afraid this could get seriously addicting. I apologize in advance to anyone who is reading this -- these might be long. I have always loved to write and I think it's been WAY too long since I have done so. This is now my outlet.. and you, my poor audience, are stuck with my ramblings. ;)

Did I mention that the cat hates me? How about an example. So I was peacefully sitting in my chair watching TV as the kids slept and all of a sudden I feel pressure on my arm. One would assume it was the kitty coming over to lay her sweet head on my arm. HA! Not this cat. I look over and she was SITTING on my arm. No tail as a cushion, just cat butt. Gross. Seriously gross. So I try to push her off and she resists, in affect rubbing herself all over me.. I told you. The cat hates me. And she tries this cute little trick allll the time. Does she ever share her furry bottom with Matt? Oh no! Whats up with that? So thats what I have to deal with for a cat. Hmph.

Tonight we are meeting at the Spagetti Warehouse for dinner. It's Great-Grandpa's birthday celebration and he will be 88 or 89.. not sure which. It will be interesting finding something low carb on THAT menu -- right. Hopefully they have chicken parmesian -- yumm.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day -- don't forget to put your flag out if you have one. Thank God for our Troops past and present. WHOO-AA

--April

HELLO!

Ok.. I'm jumping on the blogging band wagon. This could get interesting. Or boring.. we'll see :)

So I will start this blog with a little snapshot of life today.

Matt is working full time as a Deputy Sheriff for our county and kicking butt big time! He is working at the county jail and is already being asked to fill in as Sergeant on a regular basis.. we are hoping to get him promoted soon!! He puts in a lot of overtime to support his family.

I am a stay-at-home-mom. This is what I've always wanted to be.. always. I am doing the most important job of my life -- raising my two beautiful children to be happy, healthy, productive members of society. I have to say that this isn't at all what I expected.. not that I thought it would be too easy, but no one could have prepared me for what a tough job this is. I'm trying so hard to be a good mommy. Anyways.. I am also studying ASL (American Sign Language) and taking classes when I can. My goal is to attend Western Oregon University and eventually become a terp. I want to be able to work when the kids are in school -- and this would be perfect! I could set my own hours and the pay is good. I am thoroughly enjoying learning ASL and deaf culture.. what an amazing group of people!!

Next there is Alissa. Alissa is 3 years old and an absolute pleasure. I have been taking her to a toddler time program (like PRE-preschool) where I get to stay with her for every class, and last week was the last one. :( She is officially to old for the mommy&me classes. I am not ready yet to have her in pre-school, so I will wait a year and see about the 4 year old school. I would like to send her to a local Christian pre-school then, but it is 1800/year.. ouch. We'll see how we are doing financially next year as this year there is NO WAY. Alissa also enjoys going to the local library every Friday for storytime with her friend Sasha. She also just completed her first swimming class -- she had a BLAST! Best of all her classes were in Dallas so we were able to have "GG" join us and also see Great-Grandma-Jensen. Ali is slowly getting more comfortable with the water.. although she still doesn't like water in her ears, who does? :) We have a weekly playgroup that meets Wed's usually at Colleen's house. Any other day's we do misc. fun things like AC Gilbert House. Alissa is also learning sign language. We have been using basic signs for years now, but she is now getting more dexterity so can sign more. She recently started signing her colors -- cool! :)

Now Jonathan. He is such a cutie!! He took his first steps when he was 8 1/2 months old.. beat his sister by two weeks! He is now 9 months and at most takes 5 or 6 steps.. problem is after the first few steps he thinks he is Superman and tries to fly.. mainly diving into my arms. We walked before crawling too.. just today he started consistantly crawling on all fours with his tummy off the ground. In fact for a short time today he was crawling on his hands and toes with his bottom stuck in the air. So cute. He says "mama", "dada", "byebye", and just started trying to say "kittykitty" sounds like - "kyky". His favorite word lately has been "dada" ALL the time. He also waves byebye. Did I mention he is huge?! According to my scale he is about 24 pounds.. uumm.. Alissa is just 30. I think Ali was about 2 1/2 when she was 24 pounds. Hehe.. This boy loves to eat. He is still nursing too, and I plan on continuing that until he self-weans. That's about it for Jon-boy.

Can't forget Zena and Kisses. Zena is our dog.. she is our "mini" mastiff.. all 100 pds of her. Great dog around the kids, but has a diaper feddish.. seriously.. she eats diapers. But only the soiled ones. YUCK. Kisses is Matt's cat. The cat hates me. Seriously. I'll save those stories for another day.

So that's the family. I'll try to post as often as I can with our going's on.

Until then...