At long last...I'm BACK!!

I've been a horrible blogger lately... in the sense that I haven't blogged AT ALL practically since Jaxson was born and he's three months old now! I guess I've just been enjoying myself so much during my time off that being on the computer hasn't sounded appealing in the slightest. Not to mention that our computer "room" which is in our kitchen is horribly cramped and the chair is uncomfortable. I don't like it so I usually avoid it. I really need to invest in a laptop. It's much easier to blog in a comfy chair with a portable computer...especially when you have a baby on your boob as much as I do. :) Things are going really well though! Both boys are getting so big and our family is trucking right along! Here's a brief overview:

Jayden just turned 19 months old and is amazing Aaron and I with his growth physically and emotionally every day. I swear that kid learns a new word or trick or grows another inch by the minute! At his last checkup a month ago he was 30 pounds and 35 inches...yup, just one inch under 3 feet tall! The new love of his life (besides Daddy, since Mommy is apparently non-existent these days to him!) is BASKETBALL! Everything is "buh-ball"or "bah-duh-bahl". Daddy was hoping for a quarterback, but I guess the next white Michael Jordan will have to do. :) He's such a great big brother and he likes to give Jaxson tons of kisses, hugs, and even tries to hold him... try being the key word. He's also just learned how to say please thanks to Daddy (thanks Daddy!!), but it comes out "pee". So, now if he starts screaming for something or pointing at something we will ask him "What do you say Jayden?"... "Pee".

Speaking of pee... yes, the yellow stuff: We are also starting our new conquest of... POTTY TRAINING! He has his own potty which he calls "potty" and he likes to play with it because it sings to him (and sadly I can sing the "Toilet Paper" song back to you...), but the big potty does just fine too. He's peed once in his potty. Actually, it was more of a fly-by urination that culminated in me tossing him on the potty to finish his business, but whatever. We aren't trying too hard, but mainly trying to set a good example. He gets the idea though. He says "potty" and pulls off his "bee-boo" aka diaper (yeah, we don't know how you get "bee-boo" from diaper either...) and sits on his potty. Nothing has yet to actually happen, but it's a start. Still pretty good for a 1.5 year old. :)

Jaxson is doing really well too... just turned 3 months old on the 5th. He had his 2 month appointment on June 9th and was 10 pounds 15 ounces, and 22.25 inches. He's averaging around the 25-50% range. He smiles, coos, and is starting to roll over. As of July 3rd, he started showing off his new talent...laughing! SOOO stinkin cute! He's attached to me at the hip (or the boob if you want to be more accurate...) but he's done relatively well with me being back to work. He looks a lot like me although you can still tell that him and Jayden are brothers. It's funny how Aaron and I now both have a "mini-me". Jayden is a carbon copy of Aaron and Jaxson is so much like me it's crazy. Very stubborn and particular...kid knows what he wants. :) He also LOVES to bounce in the jumperoo and constantly be upright and in motion. He LOVES being held...and hates not being held. Tummy time doesn't last long in our house. Time has flown by so quickly with both boys that it's so hard for me to actually realize that he's three months old already! I really do love the time I get with both kiddos.

I returned to work on June 15th, and needless to say it's been BUSY. Hence another reason why it's taken me three months to post again! I've got a lot of catching up to do!!! I'm thankful for all the work I've had (hey, good job security, right??) especially since there are so many people struggling or without work right now. Aaron still hasn't found a job yet, despite all his efforts. We still have unemployment and my wages to pay the bills, but it's tough!! Hopefully he will be able to find work soon, but I do have to say that it's nice to have him at home playing Mr. Mom to Jax while he's looking for jobs. Plus, my mother in law has been a godsend helping me with Jax and the housework...bless her heart that she helps with the laundry and dinner (Thanks Joan!)!!!

So, some other quick recaps of things in the Andresen family:
May 10th- Mother's Day AND Jaxson was officially dedicated to God and our church. Great day!
May 14th- Tommy (Aaron's brother) and Samantha got married! She was such a BEAUTIFUL bride... pictures are to come in a later post.
May 22nd- Aaron turned 24...2 dozen years old, whoo hoo! I turn 24 in 12 days. Yay for me.
July 8th- We found out that there will be another Andresen boy in the family! Aaron's sister, Sharon, is having her third boy (who will be named Kaleb) and is due November 30th. Aaron's brother, Chris, and his wife are due to have their third boy (and fourth baby), Jeremiah, any day now. See a trend? Guess #3 for us is destined to be a boy...maybe.

I will eventually post pictures from the last few months... I just have to finally upload them to my computer from my camera. We also have Jaxson's 3 month pictures this weekend, so I will post those as soon as I get them. Also, speaking of pictures: we had pictures of Jax taken when he was 2 weeks old by a professional photographer out of Redmond. She needed baby models to test props and backgrounds so we got a free session and some prints. Again, I have to upload the prints we kept, but there is a link to her blog with some of our pictures. Take a look here. Jaxson's session is about halfway down the page. :)

I'm sure there is so much I've missed, but I hope this catches you up at least part way on everything that's happened since I've been away. More to come...

~Shannon