Camping Out

This is Jalen's table, with his Aqua Doodle, next to his dresser, with the basketball goal, and that little blue rectangle under the table is his pillow. This is where Jalen likes to nap these days. A few days ago, Jalen was sitting up on his window seat, on the blanket there that is "Mace's blankie" and he said he was going to sleep on Mace's bed. I said that was fine, to take his pillow up there and sleep if that was what he wanted to do, just don't open the door and come out of his room.

This must have sparked a whole new train of thought. He came up with a new, and I think, better plan. So now he is having campouts under his table. Not sure about the quality of the naps when you sleep on the floor, but hey, like I said, give me a couple hours with everybody in their own rooms, and I don't care what you do in there (short of injury of course).

Come on, Tessa, look like you're having a little more fun. We are having popcorn and watching a Mickey movie! Get excited!

Jalen's House

Jalen received a tent to put over his bed for Christmas. He has been enjoying hiding out in there, and bringing ALL of his toys/books in there with him. When we first put it up, he called it a house. "That's Jalen's house!"

I think I have started something I'm going to wish I hadn't. A few nights ago, to get Jalen to stop bouncing off his walls and calm down for sleep, I told him to lay down and I would scratch his back. Well, you can guess how this is going to end.....NEVER!! When we put him to bed, "Mommy scratch back"; when he gets up and has to be taken back to bed, "Mommy scratch back"; when I'm done scratching his back and going to leave the room, "Daddy scratch back." I really should have known, considering his dad is just like him!

"How many ways can I say it?"

"Do PUZZLES, Mommy"
"MOMMY do puzzles!"
"DO Puh - suhlllls"

Rockin' the Bouncy

Tessa Kate is almost 4 months old already! And I can't really say I'm too sad about that... Since she was born I have been ready for her to get up and play with Jalen and me. One day I will be sorry I didn't savor the newborn stage more. We are starting to see some more measurable progression in her development lately. As you can see from the video, she has learned how to work the bouncy seat! Get that girl a seat belt, she's nearly given herself whiplash a few times!


She can easily get her hands in her mouth now and likes to suck/chew her thumb/fingers. She is reaching for toys in front of her, like the entertainer thing on her carseat. And she can get up on her elbows to look around while laying on her tummy. No indication that she might think about rolling over yet, though.


She loves watching her brother and gets a kick out of him, and he still loves giving her kisses. This morning when he saw it was just me in my bed, he said, "go see Sis, I go see Sis!" And he hung out in her room for several minutes so I had to go and make sure he wasn't laying in the crib next to her.

Do Puzzles!

Does anyone claim these puzzles?

I have to apologize, but in all the excitement of opening gifts this Christmas, I didn't see a lot of name tags before the paper was ripped to shreds. The point is: Jalen has become obsessed with these two puzzles. He has worked them constantly this past week to the point where he can do them with no assistance. I'm actually going to start timing him :) He loves to "do puzzles" right now, and when he finishes one, he immediately starts the other.....he did this for about two hours straight the other day. His dialogue is something like this:

"Mommy do puzzles!

Do Mickey

Do Monsters (Toy Story 3 - it has two "monsters" on it)

Do 'gain

Do puzzles

Mommy do puzzles

Do Monsters

Do Mickey"

And so on

But at least this phase keeps him quiet and entertained and he can now do it all by himself. It's pretty cool, actually!

A Tennessee Snow Day

So we got, like, 2 inches of snow and the whole city shut down as usual. And, of course, Devan went to work, but he came home early so he and Jalen could play in the snow. This was Jalen's first time to play in it. Last month in IL, he didn't even want to walk in it at first, but he's had a taste of it now, and had to be bribed to get him back in the house. Here are a couple sledding videos. This would be the only benefit to our backyard.

Happy Birthday, Jalen!!

I now have a two-year-old. Crazy. It just seems like Jalen has always been a part of our lives. He is wild and crazy, silly, and caring. He loves his sister. He always (and will always, I'm afraid) tests the limits. He talks A LOT. He is smart and remembers everything. He uses "guys" correctly in a sentence. Like: "I want applesauce, guys!" He is beautiful and sweet and a special gift for us to be thankful for.

We had a small party on Saturday, and had some of Jalen's buddies over. He enjoyed sharing his toys and jumping on the bed with Taylor and Grace. Here are some videos of the evening: