Nana's a Butterfly

Like most little guys, Jaden is very into bugs right now. He has plastic toy bugs, magnifying glasses for finding bugs, and bug catching nets. But his favorite bug-related activity involves the flyswatter - gross, I know. He likes to use the flyswatter to swat the bugs outside (although I don't think he's actually swatted one yet). The other day he was swinging the swatter around and swatted Nana! I scolded him as I reminded him "bugs ONLY!" My mom sweetly asked, "Am I a bug Jaden?" Jaden's response made Nana's heart flutter..."No, Nana. You're a butterfly."

We took a trip to Ruidoso, NM this weekend just to spend some fun family time together! Everybody was off of work, so we took advantage of the opportunity to get away for the day. We walked around some of the shops, took Jaden to Funtrackers to play, and had dinner at the wonderfull buffet at the Inn of the Mountain Gods. Both boys were exhausted by the end of the day and slept the whole way home.

Jaden and Nana enjoying the light sprinkle in the air.

Jaden loved seeing the choo choo trains in the train store.

My Mom, Angela, Dad, Jaden, Beto, Aubrey, Sam and Elijah walking around the shops in downtown Ruidoso.

Jaden and his Papa.

Very curious about something.

My dad, Jaden, Beto, Aubrey, Sam and Elijah just hangin' out.

Sweet cousins (the babies, I mean).

Happy Elijah loving the outdoors.

Jaden's first attempt at golf. It's a good thing he's good at soccer, and baseball.

This is how Jaden decided to play - set the ball right by the hole and he's guaranteed a hole in one (almost) every time!

Waiting to see if the guys can beat his score. I don't know though, he put up some tough competition!

Is Jaden in that go-cart??

There he is! Jaden loved driving the go-carts. He and Sam rode over and over.

And of course, he had to drive the "tractor".

Elijah's 2 Months Old!

Happy 2 Month Birthday my precious baby boy!

Bye Becky and Beto

Our newlywed cousins, Becky and Beto, are moving to Oceanside :o(. Beto just returned from Iraq and now he and Becky will be starting their new married life in sunny California! We got to see them on Saturday, one last time before the big move. It's so sad to see them go. Becky and her two sisters, and my sister and I have all grown up together. We've always been like best friends. And not having Becky here will feel incomplete. Even though I'm not in the same city as all of them, I'm only 45 minutes away; close enought to make it for all of the family get togethers and events. I don't think Becky can make the 9 hour drive for every holiday and get together...or can you Beck?? And her husband Beto has become such a great friend of ours. He fits right in with these goofy guys and is just so much fun to be around. And he and Jaden (Beto's little Superman) were fast friends! It's too bad we didn't get to do more game nights before the big move. But don't worry you two, we'll be taking a trip to Oceanside very soon!!

The happy couple, Beto and Becky.

Krystal, Melissa, Jaden, Becky, Beto, and Sam.

The Bejarano's and Cordova's.

Three very goofy guys!

It took forever to finally get a decent picture of these three.

The whole group, one last time before Becky and Beto move. Wouldn't that be fun if we ALL went to Oceanside and stayed at their apartment!!

Monday Movie Night

As a special summer activity for Jaden, and just to spend some nice family time together, we decided to have a movie night once a week (or as often as possible). Our plan was to do it last Friday, however things always seem to come up (luckily we hadn't mentioned our plan to him yet), so we did it tonight instead. Jaden and I took a trip to Blockbuster to rent a movie. When we got there, he said "This isn't the movie, mom." I guess he thought we were going to the movie theater, like we had done once before. But once we got inside, he was sold. He went straight for the candy section; I had promised him he could have a special treat for our movie night. I convinced him to help me pick a movie first, otherwise I would have to listen to "open, mom!" the whole rest of the time.

I was planning on them having some of the Discovery channel's Planet Earth movies to rent because Jaden loved the animals on the movie Earth when we saw it. Unfortunately they didn't, but one of the associates recommended Disney's Sacred Planet, which she thought would be similar. I also let Jaden pick a movie and we would see which one kept his attention the longest. First he picked a Dora video, then changed his mind and picked Madagascar II. Then he got to pick a candy, changed his mind a couple hundred times, and finally settled on a bag of M&M's. We even splurged and got a bag of popcorn...I mean real popcorn. Not our usual no butter, no flavor kind; we go the good stuff...EXTRA butter!

When we got to the check out, much to my surprise, I found out that ALL of the movies are $.99 every Monday (even new releases). We left our stuff at the register and I was easily convinced to go look for one more. I know darn well I'll never watch it, but you can't beat $.99! Meanwhile, Jaden thinks the sales associate took his candy so he kept saying "I want my candy back!" as we went through the "new release" section to pick one more movie.

Finally, after too many movie and candy choices, along with a new account application (apparrently it's been a loooong time since we've rented a movie), we finally made it home for our movie night! And not even five minutes into his Madagascar movie, Jaden was ready to watch the other movie. And once again, he loved seeing all of the different animals (and even bugs this time) in Sacred Planet. I felt like we were back at the movie theater watching Earth, complete with Jaden's ten thousand questions, his quiet movie "whisper"...haha, and popcorn all over the floor.

The Funny Thoughts and Sayings of a Two-Year-Old

There is never a dull moment with Jaden, which I'm sure could be said about most two-year-olds. He listens to and watches everything we say and do, whether we realize it or not. And the things that he says and does are so hilarious sometimes.

• "20 Much": It was Jaden's Papa Sam's birthday at the end of May and we were trying to get him to say that Papa Sam was "one hundred" (because we knew his grandpa would get a kick out of this). For some reason, he just never caught on. So when we quizzed him an asked, "How old is Papa Sam?" His response was "Um...20 much."
• "You Mean Stomach?": I have always massaged Jaden with lotion after his bath and now he is at an age where he wants to help and put the lotion on himself. His favorite thing to do is dunk his finger into the tub of Eucerin (which is pretty thick and takes some work to rub in) and put it on his face. He ends up leaving dollops of lotion all over his face. So one day during his massage, I tried to get him to put the lotion on his stomach instead of his face, so I said "Put it on your tummy." He casually said, "You mean stomach, mom?" Well excuse me! (he may as well have rolled his eyes while he said it)
• "I Need a Popsicle": One day at Nana and Papa's house, Jaden fell and bumped his mouth on one of their tables. It started bleeding, and he started screaming. Papa hurried to get him a popsicle to suck on to alleviate the pain and swelling. Ever since then, any time that Jaden gets hurt, even if it's a tiny scratch on his finger, he says, "I need a popsicle."
• ".com": Every Saturday morning Jaden gets to watch a little bit of TV with his daddy (I think his daddy enjoys the cartoons more than he does, which is why he made this Saturday morning TV "rule"). Jaden's (and Sam's) favorites are Barney, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and Imagination Movers. Anyway, one weekend he spent the night at Nana and Papa's house and asked to watch Barney. Nana asked him where to find Barney and Jaden said, "Barney.com." I have no idea where he got that from!
• "I Want a Tummy Ache": This one took me a little while to figure out... For Easter, Jaden got tons of eggs with a little bit of candy or crackers in each. We keep the eggs in a basket up in the pantry and he gets to have one egg every few days or so. We've still got a basket full, so he continues to get an egg whenever we or he thinks of it. One day, after finishing the jelly beans in his egg, Jaden asked to have another one. I told him no because I didn't want him to get a tummy ache. Then, just the other day, Jaden came into the kitchen holding his tummy and painfully said, "I want a tummy ache." We were getting ready to go to a party, so my first thought was that he was sick and we wouldn't be able to go. He kept repeating, "I want a tummy ache." So I picked him up and asked him if his tummy was hurting. He said, "no!" Then I was really confused, so i asked him, "You want a tummy ache?" He said, "yes." I'm wondering what on earth he is talking about, so I asked him to show me what a tummy ache was. He went to the pantry and pointed up at the basket of eggs! Then it clicked...the day that I told him I didn't want him to have a tummy ache, he thought I was calling the eggs tummy aches!

Fun in the Sun!

Wonderful Weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend, full of family and fun! We took Jaden to his first "amusement park" on Friday (the "amusement park" was Western Playland...anybody from El Paso understands). It's definitely no Disneyland or Six Flags, but it was perfect for Jaden's first time. He was very hesitant about riding on any of the rides at first, but once he got the hang of it, he became a quick pro, maybe even a little too ambitious when he wanted to try the roller coaster. The best part about it was kids 2 and under ride for free! The worst part about it was we went in the evening and the mosquitos were AWFUL, so my sister and I had to go wait in the car with our babies while the boys enjoyed the rides. We then spent Saturday having fun with family. We got to see some of our aunts, uncles, and cousins who were visiting from San Antonio and Dallas. Jaden loved playing with his cousin Lance. They had so much fun together and he's been asking for him ever since. And Elijah enjoyed being held, passed around, and bounced on the big bouncy exercise ball whenever he got fussy. The rest of the weekend included a birthday party and more get-togethers! Very fun!

Aubrey and Elijah ready for Western Playland.

Jaden picked the bus for his first ride...

then the car...

then the motorcycle...

and finally the fire truck. There was practically nobody else there, so the poor ride attendant had to keep stopping the ride just so Jaden could switch cars, then start it up again.

Elijah and Nana.

Elijah getting kisses from his Great Grandpa.

Carli holding Elijah.

Lance and Jaden having fun jumping and bouncing.

Sweet Lainey with her bright blue eyes!

There's precious baby Aubrey.

Aubrey with Aunt Melissa and Elijah with Carli (on the bouncy ball...must have been fussing).

It looks like the bouncy ball was successful!

Jaden had fun swimming with Uncle Beto and the rest of the guys

Water volleyball.

These poor boys were starving after swimming.

Aunt Nancy figured out a fun ride for Lainey. Jaden decided to hop on too!

And then they all thought it would be fun to ride together...not sure Lainey agreed.