A little poke!

UPDATE: The Results are IN!!! Jameson is allergic to Peanut and Eggs. The doctor said on a scale from 0-5, 5 being the worst, he was a 3 on both. Basically, we need to avoid these 2 things b/c it could be very risky to try them. He will be re-checked when he is 4 years old to see if there has been any change.

My poor little baby got his blood drawn today to check and see if he has a true peanut allergy. A while back we fed him a PB&J and he had a bad reaction. His lips swelled up and he got hives all over. From that point on we have just stayed completly away from all peanut products with him. When we took Jameson in for his 2 year check-up I mentioned it to his doctor and he said it was very important for us to find out for sure if he had an allergy to peanuts b/c the reaction to it can be different each and every time he is exposed and it can be very serious. So...we postponed it for a while and I finally broke down before the order expired and got his little arm poked. He did really well, and only cried a bit. He got a really cool wrap for his arm and a sticker. He is pretty fussy now so I know he is still kind of upset about the whole thing. They said we would have to wait about 10-12 days for the results. I will keep you posted!

An Early Start

Getting to Forest Park early was the best idea we had. PBS' Arthur's Picnic in the Park started at 11am and we knew that the place would be packed. We didn't want to have to park a mile or so away so we decided to get there way ahead of time. I showed up at 9am and got the best parking spot in the world. The boys and I got out and they ran around a while, we scoped out the place and were the first ones in line for the bouncie houses.

Cousins

Spending time with cousins is so much fun. The boys and I met up with my cousin Janji and Cari and all of their kiddos. There was Wyatt, Griffin, Jale, Ty, Jakob, Jaden and Jameson. We had a complete blast, some meltdowns, a yummy picnic lunch, and lots of sunshine!!!

Arthur's Picnic in the Park

More fun in Forest Park

The St. Louis Science Center had a booth set up where the children could build these cool structures. One piece was stashed away in our stroller and we had to go return it. The kids had so much fun building.

Apple Butter

To make, you'll need about 10 peeled and cored apples. Cut into 1-inch chunks, 1 cup of apple cider, and 1 cup Apple Pie Spice. Place the apples in a large saucepan with the cider. Cover the pot and cook for about 30 minutes over low heat until the apples are soft. Cool, divide into 2 batches, and puree each in a food processor or blender. Pour all the pureed fruit into a 9x13 baking dish, sprinkle with apple pie spice, and stir well. Bake in a 300 degree oven for 2-3 hours stirring every 20 minutes until your apple butter is deep brown and thick. Cool and scoop it into a clean jar with a sealable lid. It will keep up to 2 months in the refrigerator.

I am going to try it...how about you????

Date Night Featuring:

Eckerts Apple Orchard

Today we spent the morning with our friend Andrew at the Apple Orchard. We always have fun there throughout the year picking apples and pumpkins. They have a yummy resturaunt and a very cool store. It is just an all around fun place to visit. We rode behind a tractor to the apple trees. We picked a full bag of red apples and ate some along the way too! When the tractor brought us back, yummy cups of apple cider were waiting for us. Jameson and Andrew played in the Fun Corral. They got to feed some goats, horses, and camels. Andrew got up close and personal with the camels! Jameson used his very best manners to try and get a ride on the real tractor. He had to settle for the one buried in the ground.

Fire Department

On Monday evening Jaden's Cub Scout Den went to the Mascoutah Fire Department for a "go see it". Daddy had the pleasure of taking Jaden and they enjoyed some one on one time (plus a bunch of other scouts) :)

Fall Festival

Jakob and Jaden had their 2nd annual Fall Festival at school. It was so much fun!!! They had multiple bounce houses, rock climbing, trampoline bungee jumping, dunk tank, and FREE popcorn. My children were very impressed with that and were talking about the fact that it was FREE very loudly!!!

September 11th

The picture is finally here. Jakob and Jaden in their Cub Scouts uniforms and daddy in his Air Force uniform. They met by the flag pole at 8:30am and had a small ceremony. On September 11th, 2001 my oldest son Jakob was just about to have his very first birthday! We were at home sitting on the floor in the living room and he was playing with his toys. I think I was watching Live with Regis and Kelly when the Breaking news broke through. First you see the first plane crash right into the World Trade Center and my first thought was "WOW, that was some inexperienced pilot!" Very soon after that it became obvious that it was intentional. The day seemed very scary because we were living on Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma City and the security just rose to a new height. No one was able to leave the base and NO ONE was able to come on. We were on lock-down! It was a very intense morning and life as we knew it would never be the same. I watched CNN for the next weeks watching the death toll rise and watching every piece of coverage that was offered. Here we are 7 years later and life has truly changed in almost everyway. All 3 of my children will have the post-9/11 mentality throughout there lives because that's all they know.

Jameson's Ouchie

Tuesday Day 1

Wednesday Day 2

Thursday Day 3

Jameson got a boo boo on Tuesday afternoon. He was playing outside on our back porch and tripped over his bike. He fell face first and skinned up his forehead, cheek, but mostly his poor little nose! The pictures take you from Tuesday when it first happened until today! It's getting better, but it sure does look bad. Good thing his 2 year old pictures aren't scheduled yet.

Cub Scout Jaden

The boys have started Cub Scouts and we are really excited about all that they are going to get to do. It is going to be a great experience for both Jakob and Jaden! I took this picture of Jaden before his first Den meeting. I don't have a picture of Jakob in his uniform yet, but will add that as soon as I get one. They wore their uniforms to school on September 11th for the Flag ceremony and their daddy was able to meet them at the flag pole with his Air Force Uniform on as well. Jaden's kindergarten teacher from last year took a picture of the 3 of them. I can't wait to get it. I will be sure and put it on here when I do.

Daddy and the boys

Nana, Papaw & Jameson

Mommy and the boys

The Gateway Arch

Birthday Weekend

Matt and Jakob celebrated birthday's this past weekend. The 13th was Matt's 30th birthday and on Sunday Jakob turned 8 years old! We spent Saturday in St. Louis touring the Gateway Arch! It was a complete blast! The boys liked going up to the top....650 ft. in the air I might add. We looked down at the Capitol building, Busch Stadium and all the "toy cars". Jakob was very impressed to see a swimming pool on the roof of a high rise! We also watched a helicoptor land. It was neat being up there again even for those of us that have experienced it already.