Ketchup.

I'm going to try to catch up as quickly as possible. I'm such a slacker.....oops.

So, Jordan is now 2...We had an Elmo birthday bash and it turned out better than I could have imagined. Yay for doing EVERYTHING yourself! I love birthday parties.

Then it was time for Thanksgiving. It was kind of weird this year, but oh well. Yay for awkward family gatherings...Jordan and Grandma made a pumpkin pie with his sweet little handprint and it was awesome.

Then it was time for Christmas. And who doesn't love Christmas?! I didn't get the puppy I wanted though :(

Then it was time for the new year to begin. And boy, did it start off with a bang....I rang in the new year, single. Joy of joys. But, I did get to meet one of my lifelong friend's sweet little baby for the first time! So, it wasn't all in all, a bad day.

And now? Now it's February. And today, we played with blocks.

*tear*

So, if you're friends with me on Facebook, you already know that our dog, Blue, died last night. He was acting really funny and he wouldn't/couldn't stand up. Like his back legs couldn't support his weight. I really really didn't think that he was going to make it through the night, so I took this picture of Blue and Jordan together....
I gave Blue a hug and a kiss before I went to bed. I told him not to be scared and that he didn't have to hold on for us if he was in pain. Then I hugged and kissed him again and went to bed.

I woke up at about 5am to go to the bathroom. I went to check on Blue and he wasn't breathing. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night bawling my eyes out. Thankfully, that was the one night that Jordan slept all night in his own bed.

I started looking around for places that we could take his body and Animal Control had no charge, so that's where I took him. The hardest part for me was trying to load him into my car. Truly seeing how lifeless his body and eyes were. I know in the movies, when people die, they just run their hands over the person's eyes and they close. I tried that and couldn't get his eyes closed. It was horrible.

My animals are like a part of my family. Anyone who thinks they aren't should be smacked. Really hard.

I've been having a really hard time with this. My heart just aches.

In the downpour of rain we had last night, I missed him even more. He was super scared of everything and would always come snuggle with me when he got scared. I'm really gonna miss that....

Anyway, I was talking to my Aunt, and she said that she'd read somewhere that making a little memorial for your pet can help heal your heart. She sent me a link to this picture:

So I'll probably get that.

I'm also thinking a tattoo is in order. Something simple. Something like this ish:

Only it'll look more like an actual paw print instead of something I threw together in Paint in 10 seconds.

We'll see.

It's no fun not having to be extra careful when I walk into my room for fear I'm going to trample him. It won't be fun in the winter time when I have to climb into a freezing bed (he would jump up on my bed and warm my feet area)

He wasn't much of a guard dog, but he sure did make me feel safe.

Love you Blue.....

Things.

Once again, I've been a slacker.....oops.

Jordan is now 22 months old. Which means the countdown to the Elmo Birthday Party Bonanza has begun. I'm SO excited! I love planning birthday parties for him and he's just so much fun! He's 32lbs 4oz and 32.5 inches tall. He is so smart and is getting really good at putting sentences together. So strange watching him grow up so fast. I remember when all he could do was kick and giggle....Now he's running around like a crazy toddler getting into everything and trying to give me daily heart attacks.

We had 80's night at Zumba and it was pretty fantastic. I don't talk about working out a lot on here, but I've been obsessed with Zumba for about a year now. I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed with my body and how difficult it has been for me to actually lose weight. In the past year, I've only lost about 15 pounds. Muscle is replacing the fat and I'm definitely more muscular, but that's not really what I wanted to see happen first. Oh well. I'm thankful that the 15 pounds are gone and I'm not giving up. I don't know if my body needs something else or what. I thought going from not working out at all to working out 10 hours a week would do something more. I'll keep trying til I figure something out...

Everyone in their 80's gear.

This was AFTER I worked out for 2 hours. It stayed pretty well!

Other than that, not much is going on....Pretty sad that I'm gone for a month and have nothing to talk about. Oh well. We're going to SeaWorld next weekend, so I'm pretty excited for that! I showed Jordan the Shamu Cam and he squealed with little toddler boy delight! Can't wait......

P.s.

My Jordan has this adorable little curly Q that shows up sometimes:

P.p.s.

The diaper bag has been replaced with a cute little cookie monster backpack. It makes me sad, but I sure am glad I don't have to lug a 30 pound bag + 30 pound toddler around anymore!!

I think I'm all traveled out...

We've been back from vacation for a few weeks now and I just keep putting off blogging. My internet has been super annoying, so I know it's going to take FOREVER to get pictures of this blessed occasion on here. Anyway, we went to Missouri and Illinois to visit my Dad's side of the family. We haven't been out there in like 7 years (I think that's the number we finally landed on) so it was a much anticipated visit. We made it there without a hitch, which is always nice.

We decided to stay in St. Louis the night we got in because we planned to go to the St. Louis Zoo the next morning. So, we got into our hotel, went swimming, had some dinner and got some sleep.

Airplane ride!

Asleep.

Jordan, Mommy, Alizabeth and Lisa.

Mommy and Jordan.

Jordan and Alizabeth.

June 30th - Woke up at 7am, had breakfast and off to the zoo we went!! It was sooo hot and about 1,000% humidity so walking around was fun. Add on top of that this this zoo was ENORMOUS. I've never been to a zoo that was as big or even as close to being as big as this one. We were there from 9am - 4pm and we still only made it like halfway through! Towards the end of the day, we took refuge in the penguin den. It was about 30 degrees in there. It was heavenly. Except for the fishy penguin smell. *shudder* We got to see a lion, a tiger, some snakes, goats, alpacas, river otters (which are like 3 feet tall!!), zebras, elephants, giraffes, a sloth, an austrailian kangaroo, a woodchuck (!), a plethora of bugs (an insectarium), some geese and ducks, a sea lion show, a really cute bear, camels, yaks and my favorite....HIPPO! I had never seen a hippo before so I was super excited. And wouldn't you know it, my camera died. uygkfdjhslkdlks. I have crappy pictures from my phone that I'm sure my Dad or my Grandma could send me, but ugh. I was so mad. I got a little smushed souvenir penny with a hippo on it though. So I guess I'll be ok...The kiddos had a blast and that's all that matters.

At the entrance to the zoo.

Alizabeth and Jordan with the elephant fountain.

Jordan on a frog.

Hippo!

Measuring.

Trying to climb the wall with a goat.

Giant bug!

Sea Lion at the Sea Lion show...

Another one

Lion.

Alizabeth and Jordan on the fence looking at the zebras!

Getting ready to go into the Penguin place!

July 1st - We had a surprise baby shower for my cousin Amanda, jumped on the trampoline, roasted some hot dogs over a bonfire (along with s'mores!) and had our own little firework show! (Also his first time with sparklers!! He LOVED them) He also saw a slug. From that point on, whenever he saw a bug, got a bite from a bug or thought about a bug, it was a slug.

Holding a little kitty!

Jazmin and Jordan

Horses at my Aunt and Uncle's house :)

Amanda and her belly - Jazmin with her "belly"

Trampoline fun!

Rolling babies!

Margaret holding Jordan, Jazmin and Alizabeth!

The slug.

Playing with sparklers!

Jazmin giving Jordan a head massage :D

July 2nd - Jordan met the largest pig I've ever seen. Her name was Wilma. My Mom and I got massages from my cousin (who is fantastic) then we said goodbye to our Missouri family and moseyed on over to Illinois. Jordan met his Great Grandma and Grandpa for the first time! He also met his Great Aunt and my cousins :)

Jordan and Wilma.

Giving Uncle Brad a goodbye hug.

Reading.

Jordan and Aunt Bonita

Jordan and Lisa

July 3rd - Went to church, grocery shopping and to Aunt Debbie's. We went for a walk with Aunt Debbie and it started to rain. Once we got inside, it started DUMPING rain. It was pretty awesome. We also got to see some really pretty flowers and, get this, leaves. Really pretty leaves.

Jordan's silhouette.

Coloring.

Great Grandma and Great Grandpa with Jordan at church.

Asleep with Grandma at Walmart.

Walking with Grandma.

I love roads like this.

GRASS!

With Aunt Debbie.

July 4th - We went on a nature walk. We went down the street to the creek where my cousin's and I used to play every summer. I have some great memories there as a kid...Anyway, I also found the most amazing bubbles at the dollar tree. I'm going tomorrow to look at our dollar tree. And if they don't have them, I'm gonna be really sad. These bubbles are phenomenal. I'm really not one to boast about bubbles, but seriously. Phenomenal.

Then we went back to Aunt Debbie's for some dinner, to celebrate my Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary and then to see fireworks! Jordan really wasn't a fan of them last year, but this year, he LOVED them.

Jordan and Smokey.

Sitting on the bridge with Grandma where my brother and I used to play with our cousins.

The Creek.

Jordan and Grandma and Clovers.

Grandpa and Grandma's Anniversary!

Watching fireworks!

Fireworks

Watching Kung Fu Panda!

Playing with sparklers :D

July 5th - Spent most of the day at Aunt Debbie's house and had yet another delicious dinner. And Ice cream! (That Jordan actually screamed for lol!)

Every time we drove past this fountain Jordan would say "WATER WATER!" So finally we stopped and had to take pictures!

Licking the bowl clean.

Yummmmm....

July 6th - Went out to eat, back to Aunt Debbie's and then shopping for dinner! Jordan got to ride with Tigger in a boat and he also got a glow stick!

Ice cream face

Scared to death?

Lovin' on Aunt Debbie.

July 7th - We waited around most of the day waiting for Grandma and Grandpa's mower to be fixed. But while we were waiting, we played with bubbles and Jordan got to ride on the mower with Uncle Brad once it was up and running. As kids, we all used to get a turn riding on the mower with my Great Grandpa. It made me really sad that Jordan never got to ride with him :(

We spent the night at Aunt Debbie's. Jordan was super tired because he hadn't had a nap all day. Aunt Debbie took him into her room and was watching little kid videos on YouTube with him. He was looking pretty sleepy, so I went in to change him into his jammies in case he fell asleep. When I went in, he was all cuddled up with her. I asked him if I could change him and reached my arms out to him. He wanted to stay right where he was! So I changed him on her lap and as soon as I was done pulling his pants up, he looks at me and says, "BYE!" and waved me out! Little stinker.

He got a bubble in his mouth ha ha!

Riding with Uncle Brad.

Eating some yummy corn

Watching videos.

Content.

July 8th - We went to visit my Great Grandparent's graves. It was weird not to see them on this trip. A shoking reminder that we're not invincible and we don't live forever. I miss them bunches....After that, we went back to Aunt Debbie's (seeing a trend here?) and played with some more sparklers!

Every summer when we would go out to Illinois, we would catch fireflies. So I really wanted to be able to do that with Jordan too. But once it rained, it seemed like they all disappeared. So, when I saw a lightning bug on the door, I ran inside, grabbed a jar and caught it! Then I saw another one and grabbed that one too! It was so much fun being a kid again for a few minutes! We looked at them for a while and when they started suffocating, we let them go. I think that was Jordan's favorite part!

July 9th - Our final day. We walked out the door and there was a caterpillar crawling around on the deck. I showed it to Jordan and touched it with my finger. Then he poked it with his finger. Only he poked it a little too hard. All the green bug guts squished out and I screamed like an 8 year old girl. Which really scared Jordan ha ha! He kept saying, "Sowee. Sowee bug." It was so cute, I almost cried.

Back to Aunt Debbie's for some lunch and to wait for my cousin to pick us up and take us to the airport. Jordan had snuggle time with everyone and I got to smell every Scentsy scent ever imaginable. Then we went outside and tried to use up the last of the bubbles! Then Lisa showed up and it was time to tell everyone goodbye. :( My least favorite part. When it came time to load into the car, Aunt Debbie took off with Jordan so we'd have to stay lol! I managed to wrangle him away from her and off we went.

We got to the airport about 2 hours early. We drove right past the arch and I wanted to stop SO bad! On one of our visits, we got to go up into the arch. I wouldn't want to do that now, but it sure was fun then!

We got some dinner and then had to say goodbye again. We got through security with much of a problem (I had a 5oz can of sunscreen that they let through on the way out here that I had to leave behind. Grrrrrr...Goodbye $9.) And then onto to the plane and then home!

Checkin' it out.

Right before he got squished.

Opening his present.

Jordan and Grandpa Brock.

Squishy face.

Me and my Gramsies.

Aunt Debbie and Jordan.

Aunt Debbie and i.

All of us :)

Christie, Aunt Debbie and Me.

Jordan, Me, Lisa and Alizabeth.

Aunt Debbie absconding with my little Jordan baby.

THE ARCH!!

We walked in the front door and it was 92 degrees. In the house. It was a miserable welcome home. We spent the next 2 days without air and once they finally came out to see what was wrong, it was a dirty air filter?! Ridiculous. Whatever. At least our vacation was nice!