the Has-Beens

Ryan and I have enjoyed going over to this track right next to the LDS church we attend. We usually kick the football & rugby ball through the up-rights. This last time we went though, they had the high jump set up -- score! Wow was I ever terrible, I think I jumped higher when I was 12 years old. Ryan was still pretty good. Since having a baby, I just laugh at how non-athletic I am now compared to before-yikes! Either way, we enjoyed high jumping, kicking the balls, and trying to good ol' triple and long jumps.

Lil' Jaxson action for ya!

So Jaxson sits and lifts his legs in the air a lot ... is this normal? haha, I think its cute!

Legs up baby!!

Jaxson's first words. Not quite, but here are his attempts :)

March Madness

March has been a fun month for us! I turned 23 and Ryan turned 26. & on Tuesday, Jaxson turns 3 months! We have watched a lot of basketball on TV -- following the NCAA tournament. Ry and I are pretty competitive with filling out our brackets, but this year has been a joke. Both of our brackets were BAD (mine was much worse though). We both had Kansas playing Kentucky in the final ... not happening! At first, I was kinda mad when my teams were losing, then it just got so bad, I thought it was funny. Oh well!

Ryan had a week of for spring break and that was sooo awesome! I love it when Ryan gets to spend time with Jaxson and I. Jaxson and I are so proud of him going to school everday & working so hard -- he is a great husband and daddy.

Here are the updates on what we (meaning Jaxson) have been up to ...

This is the first time Jaxson has grabbed anything in his play gym. He rarley even bats at them, so I thought it was awesome he is holding onto it.

My favorite flowers! Ryan surprised me today with them :) Thank you Ryan, I love you!

I LOVE these next two photos of Jaxson in his Bumbo seat (thanks again Erika for getting it for Jaxson).

Such a cutie! I apologize I am so biased...

ok EWWW!!! I got home the other day and saw this on our ceiling. I called Ryan and said he needed to come home and save Jax and I ... luckily he did. I guess it had flew into the house the other night when Ryan was bringing the stroller inside?? yuck!

Future MVP (hopefully .... Ry and I love sports so much, we hope our children like them too)

just chilling on the bed. I love being a mommy to Jaxson and taking care of him all day :)

Last Sunday, I was doing something in the kitchen and saw Jaxson like this ... I guess he took the paci (we call it a soother in canada) out of his mouth and was holding onto it. I am guessing that he didn't get it stuck on his hand on purpose b/c he isn't quite that coordinated yet ... but it was still super cute.

"Ya Mom, I am holding my Paci, big deal!"

I still can't really get Jaxson to bat at the toys in his play gym. I put his head/hands within reach of the toys, but he just stares. This is what happenes when I put his feet within distance of them. Is this normal? hahaha

My Secrets

So I haven't blogged in about a week (I think?) and I don't really have any new picturs of Jaxy-pooh, so I thought maybe I could share some of my delicious secrets....

#1. Ryan doesn't really eat sweets (not the secret haha), but I managed to make something he is think is amazing --- icecream cake. RY is funny cuz will eat sweets once in a while, but only if I get them out of the container (cookies) or scoop him up a piece (pie). But, I managed to make one thing that he may actually get out himself and eat it. Its super simple, and YUM YUM!

For the crust:

smash up a bunch of oreo cookies (2 rows or so)
add peanut butter (I don't measure, just a few big spoonfuls!)

Pat this down in the dish (I use a rectangular pyrex dish, not quite a 9 by 13, but you can put it in whatever you want. preferebly with a lid so it doesn't get freezer burnt).

Poor hot fudge sauce over the crust
Let it sit in the freezer for 10 mins or so until it isn't hot/warm anymore.

Add a container of your favorite icecream. I use the 1/2 fat, bryers vanilla bean icecream.

Top with whatever topping you want (carmel sauce, chocolate sauce, more oreos, nuts etc...) And freeze again until hard.

It is seriously so yummy -- the crust with the fudge on top is what makes it so good. Reminds me of a DQ cake if you have ever had one (we always got one on our birthdays growing up).


Other yummy little secret ... I saw it on Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. Here is the recipe she uses (I hardley ever follow recipes exactly, so just use your own twist on this one) ....

LOVE BIRDS

Ingredients
4 pieces skinless chicken breast, boned (about 8 ounces each)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 to 3 sprigs fresh finely chopped rosemary
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 sheet puff pastry (11 by 17-inch), (recommended: Dufour)
8 slices Italian fontina cheese, slices should be 2 to 3-inches square and 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick, cut in 1/2
1/2 cup fig preserves
1 egg mixed with 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Season the chicken with salt, pepper and rosemary. Cut each piece of chicken in half across the breast giving you 8 equal portions. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Lightly brown the chicken on both sides, 5 minutes total. Remove from heat.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut pastry into 8 pieces. Place a piece of cheese on each pastry square and top with spoonfuls of fig preserves and the chicken pieces. Pinch and seal the dough up and over the meat and cheese, seal with egg wash, flip the pastry packets over and brush the tops with remaining egg wash. Bake 12 to15 minutes, until golden.

For entree portions, simply leave chicken breast whole and cut the pastry into quarters. Trim off excess dough and use it to decorate the pastry with small cut outs such as heart shapes

***I used mozzarella cheese & rosemary from my spice rack***

Good luck with my secrets if you decide to try them!


One last thing, did anyone's brackets get totally ruined when Kansas lost? haha, mine was bad before, and I just started laughing when Kansas lost (this is my worst bracket yet).

What We're Up To Latley ...

Well, since we were all dressed up ready to go to church, we thought we would take some pictures from our apartment. We live on the third floor :) In the background, you can see some of the freeways ... there are a lot of them around this place!! Me & My cute little boy

My handsome hubby and his handsome little man!

Random, but I thought I should take a picture of the apartment so everyone can see where we live. We live on the top floor - the first window is to the den (Jaxson's room) and the window on the right is my & ry's bedroom.

Jaxson's nap ... what a guy!

Jaxson and my teddy bear! This may be funny to some of you, but I prefer to sleep with the teddy bear so I have something tucked under my arm. Ry gave this bear to me while we were dating during my freshman year of university --- it was a really cute present hunny, thank you!

While at Costco last week, I saw some sushi and really wanted to get it. During my pregnancy, I wanted some and couldn't have it, so we had a little fun sushi date. Ry is trying to teach Jaxson how to hold chopsticks ...

yummy!

One weekend we drove an hour south-west to San Marcos. They have a lot of outlet stores so we had fun walking around. We spent most of our time in the Nike outlet (Ry loves that place!). Here we are waiting for lunch at outback stakehouse ... yummmy i LOVE steak! we had a $10 off coupon, so we couldn't resist.

I carried Jaxson around like this for a while .... then put him in the stroller, that was much easier!

Jaxson loves his play gym! He still hasn't quite figured out how to grab at the toys, but he sure has learned how to kick at them haha.

What is Jaxson Thinking??

Just wondering if you could guess what my little cutie is dreaming about ??

Food Pyramid Wish

I have been thinking a lot latley ... I wish cookie dough (and hence cookies) were healthy and a part of the food pyramid. Just wondering what is the food you would add to the food pyramid and make it healthy to eat??

Life in Austin

Well, I am not going to lie .... I have been pretty bored latley! Ryan has been super busy at work/school. Last night he got home around 10, and tonight he will get here around 10:30. On top of that, he always leaves early in the morning (somtimes at 6). Needless to say, I really miss him. I am so grateful for him still going to school and working for our family. He is a great man & provider for Me & Jaxson.

Usually my day goes like this.... wake up & feed Jaxson (usually later morning around 10 ish because I need to catch up on sleep from the previous night). Take Jaxson to the gym and either lift weights or do cardio (sometimes both). Come home, shower, & do random things around the house. I love to cook & eat ... so it is hard for me right now. I am trying to the extra baby weight I gained, but when I am bored and the kitchen is right next to me, it is so hard. What do you do to avoid over eating? snacking? It would be nice if I were closer to family to go hang out with, but Austin is where we need to be right now. Any advice on my bordem? how to not over-eat?

Jaxson just had his 2 month check up. He is 24" long (in the 88 percentile), 12 lbs 7 oz (75%), and 39.5 cm head (30%). You may think, wow he has a small head, but both Ry and I really thing it looks proportional.

Here is me & Jaxson on Sunday. I love this onesie because it says "I love mommy." I need a shirt that says "I love my baby."

I also love this photo. It speaks "eat your heart out ladies" to me. What a little stud!

This little outfit (thanks Erika) says "Sports star, like my Daddy" Love it! and so true :)

It is fun to watch my little guy sleep. He looks so peaceful.

I went to a lady's house in the ward for a "new mommies" lunch. Here is little Jaxson with the other fairly newborns. From left to right, they are approximatley 5 months, 4 months, 4 months, 2 months.
Wild hair & chubby cheeks! thats my boy :)

So we finally got a little smiling out of Jaxson on the camera, however we took it the wrong way! Sorry but you will have to tilt your head... hope it doesn't give you a sore neck!