A little shelf goes a long way

Thanks to my hoarder of a father ;) I was able to use some of his scrap wood to make a rolling shelf and a shelf for the back of my washer and dryer. I built it all by myself too. Ok, so my father helped a little. He mainly had to show me how to use his tools/supervise. But as you can see by the before and after pictures, it made such a difference! It's so hard to make a place for everything in this little apartment, but we're making it work!

A Long Summer Part 1

This has been a long summer. We lived in South Carolina for a bit of it, moved back home and then left for 2 and a half weeks again. Now we're back, and life is back to being somewhat normal again. 

Father's day:

I made bacon roses. Note the look of sheer joy on Aaron's face. He was quite pleased.  

These puppies were dripping sweet bacon grease nectar.

What a cute matching family. I love us.

And in other news: Dawson turned 2 today!

I love this kid. He has Aaron and I wrapped around his finger. He is such a sweet boy. He is also a flirt and quite the little actor. He can fake a cry better than any Hollywood actress. 

Out of hmmm about 50 pictures, the one above is about the only real framable shot I got. Meanwhile, I made a collage of the typical Dawson faces. I captured most all of them in a single hour. It's a new record.

Then we had a visit from Grandma complete with cupcakes and presents. Dawson first had to pray over his cupcakes and wouldn't unfold his arms until it was time to eat it. Yes, he was trying to pray while he blew out the candles. The first few presents, Dawson was a little timid, by the third one, he was begging for more! It's so fun when they know a little bit more of what is happening. Although, he is still a little clueless and I'm sure he's going to want a repeat tomorrow, but hey, it was fun =)

Dawson, we love you. You've made our lives a joy.

Impromptu Zoo Trip!

This morning, I found a groupon deal. It was $20 for 2 tickets to the zoo. I thought that would be a great Wednesday activity! Se we ran to the zoo!

Dawson had a great time. He just loved the vast space to run around!

He really liked the little cut outs!

He wanted to see what he was posing for ...

We saw some giraffes! They were so neat!

And a strutting crane! He was ruffling his feathers and displaying for the zookeeper. It was pretty funny.

Another cutout. Only this time a little boy joined in the fun =)

Dawson didn't like to share ...

There was a mirror in the reptile exhibit. The plaque read "The most ferocious animal in the world: Homo Sapein"

Dawson doesn't look THAT ferocious!

We love this little dude!

Little Messes

Lately, I have been letting go and letting Dawson make some messes. Which by the way, is a big step for me.

So we went all out and gave him some pasta. 

He loved it so much that he licked his plate clean!

And now he'll drink water ... if it's out of my water bottle. Which makes a big wet mess! I guess whatever makes drinking water fun?

Here is a contained mess:
The ball pit.

Dawson loves it ... sometimes. He LOVED having a friend over to play in the ball pit. They played in there for about 20 minutes! Amazing!

This isn't much of a mess, well if you look REALLY closely it is. 

I made these pants for Dawson. One of the better pairs I've made too!

Here's some cuteness for you:

Dawson and Daddy jammin out to some classic hits. 

Love these guys!

Cookies ... again?!

First things first: For Aaron's birthday gift, Dawson gave Aaron snuggles.

Aaron loved it. Especially since Dawson doesn't snuggle! 

Well, as the title suggest, yes, we made cookies again. Even though Dawson happens to be in the same outfit (Which we have now dubbed the "Cookie Pants") I promise, this was a separate occasion. 

The premise remains the same though: Aaron signed "us" up to bring cookies to a ward function. 

And by "us" I mean me ....

Now, Dawson starts screaming and reaching over the baby gate when I pull out the mixer.

Uh oh.

It's a good thing he's so cute!!

Aaron's Birthday

So today is Aaron's birthday.

It's been a fun day.

In between classes and loads of studying, we managed to do this:

I surprised Aaron at school with an awesome cake. I even secretly invited his friends. We had a good time!

It's a captain america cake!

With an american flag inside! Heck YES!

Then when Aaron came home, I had a little scavenger hunt/clue trail. Each clue led him to another and then another till he ended up finding his present. 

Which was:

Aaron really likes this game. It's a gambling game, but a fun wholesome one where nobody really knows the answers. 

Sadly though ... when we were at the school, Dawson started getting warm and lethargic. 

He has been like that all day with a fever.

But he's gotten some fever reducers, cuddles and snacks so he's been a cooperative boy!

Dawson is starting to cut a few molars. Because of this, he's a wee bit crabby.

I really had to make cookies for a ward party tomorrow.

So:

Dawson got to help me =)

He REALLY liked being in the kitchen with me. He hates it when I go in there without him (which is everytime I enter the kitchen)

Without encouragement, he decided to stir. Baby see baby do!

But THIS was NOT a baby see baby do moment. He's a smart kid. He realized this was sugary deliciousness really fast. 

Going in for seconds.
See that binkie behind him? I know I post his binkie on here a lot, but he seriously doesn't get his binkie unless he is sleeping. There have been a handful of exceptions since this rule was made 6 months ago. 

But anyways, the binkie: I pulled it out of his mouth to give him a little bite of cookie dough. When I pulled it out, I put it on that jar behind him. When he was done eating, he put it back in his mouth. When he went to get another bite, he reached back and put it back on the jar. What a funny kid. Later, he dipped his binkie into the cookie dough and then back into his mouth. What a stinker!