ButlerBlog - butlerblog

18 Months!!!

I can not believe that my little girl in a year and a half old already! She amazes me each day. She loves to come say "love you" to me and crawl up in my lap for a snuggle. She is trying to jump, which is pretty hilliariuos. She can actually catch some air when she's in her crib, but hasn't quite got 2 feet off the ground yet. She loves to have her "chat-chet" (jacket) and her hat on and loves to remind me that she needs a headband by patting her head. Unfortunately, she has leaned

Happy Halloween

Yippee for Halloween! Jake dressed up as a UPS guy and Riley is a bee. Jake decided that he would really like to be a UPS guy when he saw the costume online. We went to the party store to see if they had one in his size, and low and behold, they only received 1 and it was in his size! The salesguys totally cracked up because they thought no one would buy it. I told them, "Leave it to my 3 year old!" He likes to tell everyone that he is the "brown guy." I think it's totally funny, but very not PC.

Riley was a cute yellow bee and loved walking to collect treats. She did not quite understand why everyone was coming to our house and then going away. In fact, she cried almost every time the trick-or-treaters left. Can't wait for next year!

17 Months

It's almost Halloween and it's been really fun this year getting ready. Jacob is WAY in to putting up the decorations and talking about things beeing scary or not scary. It's been very important for Josh and I to make sure he knows that decorations are pretend and are meant to be fun. He has a tendency to over analyze things and obsess about them. We are still looking for a costume for both kids and have planned a trip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch for next weekend.

Riley is growing, growing, growing! She's sprouted like a weed and is hungry all the time. She's becoming a bit more picky about the things she likes and doesn't like. She LOVEs her shoes and tries to put them on all the time. She takes Jake's shoes out of the basket and walks around in them all over the house. She loves her socks, too and often tried to put them on over her shoes.

Her vocabulary has increased so much over the past few months. She says almost everything we tell her to repeat and she has a name for everything. She is also getting good at identifying items that belong to certain people. She knows which shoes are mine and she points to the TV remote and says Dada! Pretty Funny!

Jake has found a new preschool and will start in November. He and I got to go out on a date and looked at 3 preschools. We really liked the one called The Little School. It's a preschool attached to Ms. carol's house and it's very similar to his old school. He is excited to meet new friends and new teachers and keeps asking if it's going to be like his old school. He's such a wonderfully smart boy. I'm so excited for him to have this opportunity!

16 months!

What a wonderful adventure it has been this summer. We are back in to the swing of things and hoping that the changes are all worth it! I'm commuting an hour to teach in Temecula and the kids are going to Mrs. Lisa's house when Josh is out of town.Riley and Jacob love to go to Mrs. Lisa's house because she has a house full of dogs. Riley is in heaven. She is a real animal lover. She is getting around really good right now and stating to pick up speed when she's moving. She'll get her little arms going back and forth and take off after jake or Ellie. She gives a HUGE smile when she gets to her destination because she's managed to get there quicker than before. She is climbing on everything and likes to go up on Jake's bed with him. They both hide under the blankets and roll around laughing. One will bump into the other and they'll both get mad, then the other one will make a silly face and they'll start giggling and do it all over again.

Jake has been really pushing the boundaries lately. He has hit the Terrible Threes. He is such a kind and sweet boy, but at the drop of a hat, can turn grouchy and mean. Josh swears he's bi-polar! I just tell Josh "he's only 3!" He sometimes like to do the opposite of what we've asked him to do and look for our reaction. Most of the time we'll give him a warning, but man, sometimes it's straight to his room to cool off! I'm pretty sure he needs a break from us each day so we are on the hunt for enrolling him in a preschool ASAP!

Bike Success

Jake is up on his bike and riding again. He's so good. He loves to stand up and peddle and is perfecting the "wide turn" and the "slow and stop." I took him to the park the other day to ride on the basketball court and he ended up peddling up the ramp, around the tree, back down the ramp screaming YIPPEE, and doing a big loop around the court. He is very hesitant to start on his own and needs A LOT of encouragement, but once he gets going, he's golden. Keep up the good work son!

15 months old

Riley turned 15 months old today. I think there has been so much growth over the past month physically and verbally. She had her check=up with Dr. Lynne and weighed a low 20.9 pounds (20th %) and was 30 1/2 inches tall (70 %). Dr. Lynne says she thinks Riley's bones are hollow because she doesn't look like she's such a light little feather. She continues to say new words everyday. She's got Mama, Dada, Gee-Gee (Jakey), dah (dog), up, pup (cup), bah (ball), yes, and pees (please). I'm sure I'm forgetting some. She is so busy, too. She is always wanting to do what Jake is doing. The other night they were in the bathtub and Jake was practicing his swimming and blowing bubbles in the water. Riley kept going "BBBBBBBBBB" with her face near the water. I was waiting for her to actually put her face in. If Jake is on the couch, she has to be on the couch. If Jake is on his bike, she wants to be on a bike. Her admiration for her brother is so cute. I hope it continues...

The Strand Part 2

We just got back from our second trip to The Strand. It started out rough with a run-in, literally, by a person in a hurry to get to his campsite. He hit our trailer and tried to drive off. Once we settled in to our spot, calmed down, and un-packed, we were ready to have a great weekend. Doug, Jojo, and Savanah camped next to us and Scott and Jill were across from us. We had beautiful weather all weekend. Jake was AMAZING on his bike and went on a long loop aver to the bay and back to the beach with all the guys. I took Riley to tag along and Josh ran beside Jake in flip-flops the entire way. Riley ended up taking a tumble out of the trailer and broke her fall by doing a nose-plant on the step and then landing on her back. She recovered quickly, but had a big booboo on her nose the whole weekend. Poor baby!

Jake's first swim lesson

Jake has become very opinionated lately... VERY opinionated! He tells you when he REALLY likes something, REALLY wants something, and WILL NEVER do something again. Almost every day I hear each of these sayings many, many, many times. The one I dislike the most is I AM NEVER blah, blah, blah. Maybe it's the frustration I find as a Mommy trying to turn his pessimistic attitude turn around. I want him to be open to new experiences, regardless if he thinks he likes them or not. I've learned to give him a play-by-play of the event that we will be doing. If he's overly prepared and knows all the details, I've noticed his anxiety level decrease.

This tactic has not worked with swimming lessons. Jake declared that he would not be participating in swimming lessons EVER for a few days. Anytime the subject was brought up, he melted. Finally, I pulled him aside and explained that Mommy and Dad talked and he was going to swimming lessons so that he could be safe around water. It's a new family rule that we decided and he would need to participate.

Success... I thought. He did so well on Tuesday with Ms. Amanda. He even put his head under the water. Never thought I'd see that! He said he had a good time, but he was not going back on Thursday. We might be disappointed when we arrive at AquaPros at 4:00 on Thursday afternoon!

PS- Josh says Jake stubborn attitude comes directly from me!

14 months

Riley girl, you are growing like a weed. We went to the Dr. yesterday because I thought you had an ear infection. No infections and when they weighed you, you were 20 pounds! Yippee! You've gained weight. No more adding formula to your milk :)

You have been so funny the past few days. You have really found your laugh and know that it makes other's around you laugh. You will just start laughing and look around the room to see who is looking, and who will laugh with you. You are such a happy girl! You have also got a little pep in your step. You get a look on your face, you put your head down, and take off running across the room. It is soooo funny. You also have a "cheese" face. If someone says, "Say cheese!", you get a BIG smile on your face with all your teeth showing and squint your eyes and say "Gee!"

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds. You say "up", "psss" (please), dada, mama, "dah"(dog), "gee gee"(Jakey), "puh" (cup), and you shake your head yes and no. You also know where your nose, eye, ear, and bellybutton are. In fact, when you discovered your "button" it was the cutest thing I've seen! I hope you continue to grow, stay healthy, and laugh!

Trip Home

We just got back from a 5 day trip back to Benicia to visit Baby Deider and all our other family. They kids did great on the flight up there. We went during nap time, which I was hoping Riley would sleep... yah right, but our plane was pretty empty and we had the whole first row to ourselves. I sat against the isle and the kids got up and played the whole trip. Aunt Shannon met us at the airport and both of the kids crashed in the car on the ride home. Eric and DJ brought Baby D over that night and Riley and Jake were so excited to meet him. All week the house was filled with visitors. Poppa and Diane came to visit a few times, and Aunt Tina, Joe, and Will made the trip up.

Our last day there, I took both kids on a walk down First Street to the pier. They really enjoyed looking at the dogs playing in the water, the crazy seagulls, and all the flowers. It's weird bringing my kids to the place I grew up. I used to think there was "nothing to do" in Benicia, but somehow I can find so many things to do for my kids!

The trip home went just as well as the flight up there. An empty flight, our own row, and lots of goodies to eat and presents to unwrap. Such a great visit, but so happy to be home!

Happy 4th of July!

Yippee! What a great day! This morning we woke up and went for a family bike ride at Santee lakes. I managed to get some good pictures of Riley and Jacob in their patriotic attire. We came back home, had some lunch and Riley went down for a nap. We all walked dow to our neighbor's house to go swimming and BBQ. After baths, Riley went down and Jake decided that he was going to stay up until 9:30 to see the fireworks. PS- He woke up at 5:30 that morning and did not nap! Josh, Jake, and I climbed on to the roof and got settled to watch the show. Unfortunately, Jake was out within minutes... drooling on my arm :) Happy birthday America!

13 Months

Wasn't it only yesterday that we celebrated your first birthday? You continue to amaze me each day. You have picked up many new things by watching Jacob. In fact, everything you do now is just like Jacob. If he's laying on the floor, you have to lay on the floor. If he's playing on his bed, you have to be up playing on his bed. You love rolling on the ground with him and tackling him and just laugh and laugh. He is so good to you and most of the time makes sure you are included in everything that he does. You keep up with him pretty well and are beginning to get some speed in your step.

You had your one year check-up and continue to be on the lower end in the weight department. You are 18 pounds (10th percentile). Dr. Lynne said to keep adding formula to your whole milk to add calories. She also said to find different ways to increase your caloric intake by adding extra eggs, yogurt, and healthy oils to everything you eat. We will get another check-up in August and hopefully you'll have put on a few pounds by then!

May 14th

Riley is ONE today!!!! We celebrated at the park with family and friends. Jacob and Riley had a "bug" party, complete with bug cupcakes, and bug catcher party gifts. It was a beautiful day!

Riley is on the move!

Today Riley started walking! She has been very eager to walk around holding my finger or the couch, but today she full on walked across the room! Today is also Nana's birthday, so I think she was saving her great accomplishment for this special occasion. I'll post the video so you all can see :)

Jake turns 3!

Jacob turned 3 today! I can't believe that one of my babies is already 3. We had a great day! He woke up to a present and balloons. Josh and I got him 2 really col books. Then at school his class helped him celebrate by making a lemon cake. When we got home, Ashleigh, Grant, and Tatum came over to eat and play. We had yummy pizza for dinner and delicious cupcakes. We can't wait to celebrate with all of our friends on May 14th! Happy Birthday Jacob!

Hoppy Easter

Today was a great day! Jacob has really gotten in to the magic of certain holidays. I think it began with Christmas this year. He was really in to the Easter Bunny this past week. We put a picture of the Easter Bunny on his weekly calendar and it was T-minus 7 and counting. Today was the day. He woke up at 5:25 and crawled in to bed to watch toons. This is a typical Saturday and Sunday morning as 5:25 is WAY TOO early for a weekend. When I finally got up at 6:00, Jake wanted to get dressed and eat breakfast. It was almost as if he had forgotten it was Easter, until he saw his bucket filled with goodies. He took everything out and looked it over before he asked " Can I have one Mom? Just one, not two, just one." Sure. Why not start the morning off with a sugar rush!?! When Riley finally got up at 6:30, Jacob helped her discover the items in her basket too. She was much more interested in the tissue paper than the actual book and chalk. We played, ate breakfast, and put Riley down for her morning nap. By then Josh was up and he and I played with Jake for a bit. Riley was up by 9:00 and we got dressed and headed out to look for eggs. It was yucky and it actually began to drizzle, but Jake was a trooper and found all the eggs. Riley was happy with the 1 orange egg she found. She kept trying to eat it and loved to shake it to hear the sound. We heard our neighbors playing in their front yard, so we headed over there. The kids played for a while and then they invited Jake and Riley to hunt for eggs in their backyard. Jake ran home to get his green bucket and he was ready to go. Melt-down began to take full effect around 11:30 so we walked back home to eat some lunch. Both of the kids and I went down for a nap and slept well.

We had a yummy ham dinner tonight and tucked the kids in. I'm hitting the hay as soon as I'm done here. What a great, but busy, day!

Amazing Kids

Here are a few things my kids have done or said this week...

* Jacob during our wagon ride. "Mom, I'm so glad God put Riley in our family!"

* Riley is pointing at everything now and saying " Ahhhhh!"

* Jacob in the bathtub. "Mom, it's just part of growing up."

* Riley in the store today waving and smiling at everyone that walked by. Everyone smiled and waved back.

* Jacob dying Easter eggs by himself. Including choosing the colors and lifting the eggs in and out of the cups.

* Riley trying to eat the Easter eggs and then throwing them. Jacob declared them broken and unusable.

*Jacob helping out with his birthday invitations. He put all the return labels on by himself.

*Riley scooting over to me just to craw up into my lap and give me a BIG hug.

* Jacob yelling in the back of my car "¡Ayuda Me!" which means Help Me! in Spanish :)

I sure love my kiddos!!!!!!

11 Months Old!

The countdown has begun. Soon Riley will turn ONE! It's crazy to think that in only one short year, she has gone from a little, bundle who depended on us for everything to a little person who has like, dislike, and will totally tell you about both. She is at a stage where she is so anamoired with Jake that she wants to do everything he is doing, eat everything that he's eating, and try everything that he tries. This has lead to some pretty funny events. For instance, last night she saw Jacob eating a rolled taco. She kept going Ahhh! Ahhh! I finally a piece and she gobbled it up. This is truly amazing because she is the pickiest eater I have ever seen. I guess I have to start sitting her next to Jacob during meals so she'll eat what he's eating.

She is becoming much more interactive with the family. She loves to grab my finger and take me for a walk around the house. She loves her Daddy and is always pointing at him and laughing. When she's playing on the floor with Jake, so catches his eye and starts laughing, which in turn will make Jake laugh, and then they both fall back and roll on the floor. She LOVES to dance. Anytime she hears music she starts a rhythmic twist and belly shake combination. We compare it to the "Elaine Dance" from Seinfeld. You know the one where she jerks around kicking her leg out and contorting her body. I'll post a video soon so you can see!

I am in the midst of planning a birthday party for both of the kids. I think we can get away with having a joint party for the next 2 years. When Jacob turns 5, he'll probably want his own celebration. Jacob insists on inviting all his friends from school, but I don't think we can afford to have so many guests. We are doing a gender-neutral bug theme. Josh designed the invitations this year! If you need anything of the sort, be sure to email him. He's a GREAT designer!

That's it for now. I'll do my best to keep you posted!

A Trip Back Home

The kids and I just got back from a 4 day trip back to visit family. It was an adventure, but a very fun one! We went home to celebrate to upcoming birth of Eric and DJ's little boy. Shannon and I hosted a baby shower for friends and family on Saturday.

I'm cheating!

I've been so horrible at posting updates. Can you believe it was LAST YEAR that I posted our last family update? So I'm cheating and going back to post updates in the order that they happened. It will help me as I assemble the kid's scrapbooks this year :)

9 Month Valentine

Happy Valentines Day! Riley is 9 months today. She has managed to recover, for the most part, from her illnesses. She's still not 100%, but closer to it. She is pretty much deciding that she doesn't want to eat baby food now. The problem remains that she doesn't eat or like much so finding foods for her to eat is challenging. When we do get her to eat, she wants to feed herself which is very cute and messy. Her teeth are poking through more and I can tell that she's going to need braces. Her two front teeth have a gap and when she smiles her whole face looks different now. I miss that gummy smile. All Riley wants to do these days is walk. She holds on to our fingers and cruises the house. She LOVES her walker that Poppa Butler got her for Christmas! She zooms everywhere on the tile. It's easier to get dinner done, empty the dishwasher, and pack lunches now that she can get around in the walker. We will go later this month for her 9 month check-up. I'm curious to see if she's gained weight since her last visit.

Not Again!

So Riley now has a double ear infection on top of all the yuckies she already has. Dr. Lynne said she needs to be eating almost 25 ounces a day because she's lost over a pund from being in the hospital. So far, the most I can get her to drink is 10 ounces throughout the day. I have the most success at night. She's waking up A LOT more so I just stuff food in her face to make her get an ounce or two into her little body.

Today I discovered Riley's FOUR top teeth have poked through. She is a mess of tears, slobber, and boogars. I'm about to have a mental breakdown! How much can one little girl go through? I pray that my baby will find some relief soon!

Out of the hospital

Riley and I spent the last 3 night at Children's Hospital. She was admitted on Friday night after her coughing and breathing got so bad that I took her to Urgent Care, for the second time last week. She went once when I took Jake last week to get his ears checked and pinkeye treated. The doctor said she had a mild cough and was breathing hard. She prescribed an inhaler, and almost $100 later, nothing was working. Josh took both of the kids in to our pediatrician a few days later when she discovered Jacob was "as close to pneumonia as possible, without actually having pneumonia." Riley had a breathing treatment to help open up her lungs and it worked so we thought we were on the mend. Wrong! I took her at 9 on Friday night and they didn't want to take any chances, so they admitted her. She was SOOOOO miserable! Her oxygen levels were down to 80%, she stopped eating and had to get an IV, and had to get suctioned every 3 or 4 hours so she could breath. Neither one of us slept or ate. I just prayed that my little baby girl would somehow turn the corner and get better. On Monday, we got good news. The doctor on call said that if Riley continued to eat 2 or more ounces at eat feeding that day, she could go home. I think she really did want to go home because she started to chug the pedialite... well at least a few ounces at a time. We are going back in tomorrow for a check-up with Dr. Lynne to make sure Riley has continued to make progress.

8 Months Old Today

Riley is 8 months old today! She continues to grow, eat, and sleep well. She is totally developing a little personality. She will tell you when she likes something and show you when she doesn't. We continue to try to get Riley on her tummy. She HATES it! I remember when Jacob finally realized it was OK to stay on his tummy and he crawled so soon after. Riley is a different story. She is very content to sit and play with toys, but I'm not sure she wants or even cares to crawl anytime soon. She's finally mastered rolling and will do a couple of revolutions before she settles on her back. I thought she was never going to roll either because of the quick second that she has to be on her tummy. I kept thinking "I've never met a 30 year old that couldn't roll over." I knew she could do it!

Snow Trip

Today we work up early and headed out to the snow! Josh went mountain bike riding last weekend at a nearby mountain trail and had a blast riding in the snow with a friend. So I hauled the family up to enjoy the first snow experience with the kids. It was so cold on the way up there. I was so sure that there would be piles of snow all around, but where we got to the bottom of the mountain I quickly changed my mind. There was not a spot of snow on the ground as we drove farther and farther up the road. Finally, we began to see small patched under trees and in shady spots. The patches got larger as we drove up and then we began to see less dirt and more snow on the ground. We continued high and higher up the road until we went to far and turned around to find a place to play. We found a small side trail off the main road and headed down. It was a perfect place for Jake to play. The snow was "crunchy" according to Jake, but Riley didn't seem to mind. We bundled her up and she enjoyed sitting on the leftover cardboard pieces left as trash. Jake even went pee in the snow! Hey, he had to remember this experience somehow. We stayed for about and hour playing, had a snack, and headed home. What a great family day!

Christmas Fun

What a wonderful holiday! Christmas this year was great. This year Jacob really got in to the whole idea of Santa, reindeer, and the North Pole. He wrote a letter to Santa and we put it in the mailbox to send to Santa's house. Josh came home and told us that Santa only gets the letters children send him when they get put in the fireplace and the smoke sends the letter to the North Pole. Unfortunately this was on a day when it was 85 degrees in San Diego. We had to wait a week until it cooled off to have a fire and send Jake's letter to Santa.

Jacob was also really excited about his holiday party at school. Jake got his first ear infection and had to miss the party. He felt a bit better when I brought him some goodies from the party and let him have a cookie before dinner. When Jacob returned to school on Friday, he brought his book that I made for him for his first Christmas to share with his class. It's called The Gingerbread Reindeer. While shopping at Target that week we actually found a gingerbread cookie mix that came with a reindeer cookie cutter! We made a few cookies that Jake enjoyed at home. I put the cookie cutter in our special Christmas box so we can make them again next year.

We once again went to Home Depot for our Christmas tree and once again ended up with a beauty! We got it home, trimmed it up, and decorated it. Jacob was so excited to put the star on top of the tree again. He actually remembered putting the star on the tree last year. He has a fantastic memory! Riley was not to sure about the tree, but loved looking at the lights and all the ornaments Jacob showed her.

On Christmas Eve, we went to our friend's house. Jon and Jenn have an open house each year with smoked turkeys, yummy treats, and lots of kids for Jake to run around with. Unfortunately, Riley came down with a stomach bug that night which turned in to a week of yuck!

Christmas morning was so fun. Jake came out and saw that Santa had eaten most of the cookies he left out, took some of the oatmeal to feed the reindeer, and wrote him and Riley a letter. Jacob was so intrigued that Santa can get up the chimney by putting his finger next to his nose. He kept talking about houses that didn't have chimneys and how did Santa bring presents to those children. He is so caring :) Jake was very excited about opening presents to see what was inside. Riley on the other hand was very excited with the paper, ribbon, and bows. I can't wait until next year when she realizes what is really happening.

Josh's family came over for Christmas dinner and round 2 of presents. Jake was totally into it, but Riley had had enough. She was exhausted, cranky, and just plain sick. (Side note- Riley had really bad stomach bug and when I brought her to the Dr. she was so dehydrated and had lost over a pound. After 24 hours on a liquid diet, she has begun to feel a bit better. Poor baby!) It was great to have all the family together. Can't wait for the next holiday!

Riley's First Tooth

Today, amid a crying fit, I discovered that Riley's first tooth had popped through. She has been battling a yucky cold for almost 2 weeks and drooling constantly. So when I stuck my finger on her gum today, I was a bit surprised to feel a sharp tooth in there. Now I understand why the whining, runny nose, and irritableness has been going on for so long.

She as been so funny today. Her tongue keeps sticking in and out like a little lizard or snake feeling the small bump in her mouth. Everything has been going in to her mouth and she is gnawing on her fingers, my fingers, and everything else within her reach. I loaded her up on Tylenol tonight so she doesn't have another 3:30am wake-up!

The Latest News

So Thanksgiving has come and gone. It was a great day. We eat good food and spent time with family at Poppa B.'s house. Nana and Aunt Jenny cooked a delicious meal of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, green beans, cranberry sauce, and gravy. On top of that we had pumpkin and apple pie. Josh got a big plate to go and fortunately for me, he forgot it in the fridge when he went out to the desert.

Riley has become so aware of all the things around her. She continues to look to Jacob to see what he is doing and how he is doing it. She wants to play with all of Brother's toys and will get fussy if she can't reach one of his toys. Jacob is doing very good at sharing his toys and other special things. He will trade her a new toy if she is using a toy that he would like or I'll let him know that Sister will give him the toy when she's finished.

Riley is also noticing small details like her hands moving, buttons on my shirt, and MY HAIR! She manages to find every stray hair and pull it SOOO HARD. I have to wear my hair up all the time now or I think I may go bald soon. Riley is still not so interested in tummy time, but loves to sit and play. I still a bit happy that I can put Riley in one spot, run to the other room, and come back to see Riley in the same spot. I'm not sure how busy I will be if and when Riley become mobile.

Jacob has been in a funk. I think they call it the Terrible Twos! Every answer is "NO!". He's been a bit more physical with Josh and I and just plain crazy sometimes. I hope this passes soon because I want my sweet little snuggle boy back!

6 month check-up

Riley turned 6 months on November 14th. She is growing up so fast. At her 6 month check-up she was 15.1 pounds (33rd percentile), 27 inches tall (97th percentile), and has a head circumference of 17 inches (79th percentile.) She was 95th percentile for weight at her 3 month check-up, but Dr. Lynne said not to worry. She said Riley is growing like an accordian...first she was wide... now she's tall. She is so busy these days. She has mastered the sitting position and is working on spending more time on her tummy. She very much dislikes tummy-time and will just roll over to her back as soon as she's placed on her stomach. She has outgrown her baby bathtub, so she and Jake now splash together in the big tub. She smiles and laughs and will definitely let you know when she doesn't like something.

She's started to eat cereal and is really liking it. Although I was pretty sure cereal was supposed to fill their little stomachs and keep them sleeping a lot longer. Unfortunately, Riley has been awake earlier and napping less since we started cereal. I've started her on oatmeal since Jake stared on that, but am thinking I might try rice cereal tomorrow to see how her tummy handles it. Maybe that will fill her up and keep her sleeping. I do miss my sleeping baby!

Riley still thinks Jacob is the funniest person in the world. He can make her giggle just by looking at her. Since it's been rainy the past few days, Josh blew up the jumpy Uncle Eric and Aunt Shannon got Jake last Christmas. It's found a home in our kitchen during the day and goes back in the garage at night. Yesterday I sat Riley in it while I was hanging over the edge. Jake was running and jumping through the entry hole and sliding right into Riley's face. They both giggles for almost 15 minutes. I was totally picturing a year from now when Riley is running around chasing Jacob and them both falling over on each other and laughing and laughing. I can't wait!

Jake-isims

Had to write these down before I forget. I've been holding on to a few for a couple of week and don't know how much longer they'll last in this post-pregnancy brain :)

Driving to school...

"Mom, can we drive to the moon?"

"Well, I think we need a rocket to get up to the moon in outer space."

" No mom. Drive over to that mountain. The moon is right there."

Waiting in the long line for gas at Costco...

"Mom what is that blue thing?"

"What blue thing do you mean?"

"That one."

"Jake I can't see what you're pointing at."

"That one MOM!"

"Jake I can't see. What blue thing. Tell me with your words."

"MOM, THAT ONE!!!!!!"

"Jake, never mind"

" Yes mind!"

Josh is giving Jake a bath the other night and coughed...

"Cough you dad." (shrug) "It's a word."

Pumpkin Patch and Blah... Blah... Blah...

Last weekend we traveled to our favorite pumpkin patch, Oma's, and had a blast. Jacob was very excited to go see everything and Riley was just along for the ride.

Jacob has been discovering pumpkin shapes, color and textures in his classroom, so he was quick to point out all the different types of pumpkins he saw. His eyes got so big when we saw the REALLY BIG pumpkins and he asked if he was going to have one of those. I told he he could have any pumpkin that he could carry. At this pumpkin patch they have a small petting zoo. They had goats, sheep, and a cow. They also have fun games and a HUGE cotton seed hill you can ride down on snow sleds. Jake loved it. i"ll post our video. Jake picked a great pumpkin and we were on our way back home.

Riley has really found her voice. For a few days she opened and closed her mouth like she was talking, but nothing came out. Then one day... Blah...Blah... Blah. And she really hasn't stopped since. Josh is pretty excited because Riley has seemed to pick up the D sound first. It sounds like she's saying Dadadadada. Lucky for Josh, I told him that when she says that at 3 in the morning, he has to get up :) That's my girl!

5 months old and Potty Time

Today Riley turned 5 months old. The times goes by so fast now that I'm back to work. Riley is so cute. She is starting to think things are funny now. I can make silly faces at her and she'll laugh. Jacob is the best at cracking her up. All he has to do is look at her and she laughs. She gives a big smile in the morning when I get her up and seems so happy to see me. When Jacob and I get home from school, she acknowledges us and starts flapping her arms and legs. It makes me feel so special. She is rolling over all the time now from her belly to back. She still is very uncomfortable on her belly, mostly due to gas and reflux, but I have to get her Tummy Time or she'll never crawl. Wait! Do I really want her to be mobile? I told Riley the other day that I will tutor her every night for 10 minutes on rolling over and sitting up. So far she has done pretty good on sitting up. Her balance is pretty good and she can actually stay up for a bit unsupported before she topples over.

We had her 4 month check up 2 weeks ago. She was 14.3 pounds. She was 90th percentile in weight, 95th percentile in height and 59th percentile in head circumference. Josh said, "We have a bobble head!" I am weaning Riley off nursing and have begun supplementing with formula. I lasted 6 months with Jacob and think this will soon be it for Riley. She got one shot at that appointment and we went back for a follow-up shot today. Not a peep from her after the shot. She made a fussy face, but that was it. The nurse said, "Is she OK?" She's so brave :) Josh and I broke down and have given Riley a pacifier. It's not that she truly needs it and she actually spits it out most of the time, but it soothes her. She is not a fussy baby for me, but apparently for Josh and Nana she's a bit miserable. Anything that will make her happy and comfortable is OK with me.

Jacob is 4 days into a potty training routine. He wanted some underwear for some reason, so we went to Target on Monday and bought some. I was thinking that he'd play around in them at home and get the feeling of the "freedom" he would have. When we got home he tried on every pair and settled on one. He wore them during dinner and had an accident, but didn't want to put a diaper on. The next morning, I got him up for school and put a diaper on as usual. He came back in to his room and said, "Mom, I want my underwear at school." I said, "Do you want to bring underwear?" and he replied, "No. I want to wear underwear to school." So I put him in underwear and took him to school. I had to explain to his teachers that he requested to wear them and I was going to go with it. They were very excited and told me they would go with the flow... no pun intended.

He has a few accidents, mostly because he was scared to go to the toilet because he didn't want to hear the flushing sound after. Yesterday he stayed dry most of the day, including the whole time he napped. Today no accidents at all! He is becoming such a BIG boy. I hope, and pray, that his success continues. It's Potty Time! Go Jacob! Go Jacob! Laughing

I think I'm doing the most embarrassing thing a Mom can do by sharing toilet pictures, but hey, that's why I'm a Mom!

Nana's Back!

Yippee! We are so excited to have Nana back! Today Riley went to Nana's house to be watched. She had a good day. Not enough napping, but overall a good day. I think it will take a few days to adjust to someone new watching her, but she will be so happy to be spoiled by Nana.

Riley and Jacob were sad to say good bye to all their friends at Toni's house. She and all the kids she watched were great with Riley. I'm sure Riley took good naps at Toni's from the pure overstimulation. The kiddos were always in he face singing and talking to her, carrying her around, and fighting to be her pretend mommy. In fact before we left on Friday, one little girl said, "Don't forget I'm Riley's pretend Mommy!". I said that I wouldn't forget.

Jacob is sad that we're not dropping sister off because Toni gave him a candy every now and then. On Friday she gave Jacob a small roll of Smarties. He was so excited he kept yelling, "I got farties! I got farties!". I almost peed my pants I was laughing so hard.

She's on a Roll

Riley rolled over today! She's been working hard at it for the past week or so and today was the day. Jake, Riley and I were in the living room this morning. I put Riley on her tummy and turned to get something for Jake. As soon as I turned back, Riley was on her back. I thought... Oh NO! I just missed her first time rolling over. So I of course ran to get the camera and flipped her back over to her tummy. She rolled over again right on cue. Then I had to share the news, so I ran to get my phone to catch the moment again. I flipped her back over and she was less enthusiastic this time, but yippee.. she did it again. She is SOOOO big! She goes in on Friday for her 4 month check-up. I can't wait to see how much she's grown :)

Jacob is so funny these days. He's so excited to go to school each day. I get him up around 6 each morning and he wants to get changed right away and asks... Can we go to school right now? This is the last week I have to wake the kids up early to get to the sitter and to school on time. Nana comes back next weekend... another Yippee! When we drop Riley off at the sitters, Jacob announces that she has arrived, chit-chats a bit, and is ready to go.

When we get to school he has to wear his backpack. We walk to my class first and drop my stuff off. My class is connected to the library where Ms. Blake works and Jake is so excited to see her everyday. He's ready to go to class at 8:00 and walks right in, says hi to his teachers, and drops his stuff off in his cubby. The kids are asked to wash their hands when they arrive, so he goes right to the sink to wash up. Then he asks to give me a kiss and he's off to play on the playground. At 3:00 I go to get him and he is so excited to see me. He runs to me yelling MOMMY and jumps into my arms. It is so nice to have him at my school this year. I can keep tabs on him, get to sneak little peaks at him, and know that he's in good hands.

4 Months Old

Riley turned 4 months old. What a BIG girl. She is such a sweet baby. I am so lucky to have her as a daughter! She is doing so many things. She holds her head up perfectly. She always has her head up and when I carry her, she has to be facing out so she can look around. Her big eyes are always looking at her surroundings. She is just like Jacob in that way. I think she'll be an observer and take everything in before she does something. She is usually happy and only fusses when she has gas, is hungry, or tired. Her schedule is pretty predictable these days and she's such a good eater and sleeper that it helps out so much. Riley is on the verge of rolling over by herself. This past month has been such a change for Riley. Her reflux has calmed down a lot and she's able to be on her tummy and back much more working her muscles and practicing her floor skills. In the past week, she and I have been playing the Roll Over game. It's something fun I invented and Riley loves it. I roll her over and surprises her with a "BOO" and she giggles. It's so cute.

I was thinking to myself tonight how different I feel as a mom this time around. I feel so much calmer and more confident. Not that I didn't try to do my best when Jake was little, but everything is just new and a trial period. I think Riley will definitely benefit from my newfound attitude and calmness. I hope this new feeling continues. It can only help as I guide my children through this crazy world.

Back to the grind :(

This is my second week back at work. While it has been nice to have adult conversations everyday, the amount of time and effort it takes to get 2 kids ready for the day and dropped off makes the day LONG! Not to mention that I work all day and then have to come home, care for the house, make dinner, give baths, and get the kids off to bed. It makes me really appreciate myself. Does that sound selfish? I think not. I am just to greatful that I do all the things that I do for my family. I hope one day that Jacob and Riley appreciate all that I do, too!

Riley is growing like a weed. She loves to go to the babysitters and seems to have many Mama Hens that coo over her and keep her entertained. She is on a great schedule and continues to sleep almost through the night. She loves to make eye contact and is giggling at everything. This past weekend I tickled her on her ribs and she sqweeled and laughed. It was so funny. She is working on rolling over and likes to lay under her play gym. Not to compare babies, but I was thinking... man, Riley still hasn't rolled over yet. When I stopped to think about it, Riley has reflux much worse that Jacob, so I tend not to lay her flat on her back. No wonder she's not rolling over, she needs more back and belly time. I started to worry that she'd never roll over and then thought to myself... I've never met an adult that couldn't roll over! She'll get there on her own time.

The other day I picked Riley up from the sitter and something looked different. She has a pacifier in her mouth. I did a double take and the sitter said that Riley was fussy today, so she tried out a pacifier. She remembered a conversation that we had were I said that Riley wouldn't take a NUK. I took her home with it in her mouth and when Josh saw her he said absolutely not. I agree that she's gone this long without one and really I don't want to start the dependence on it now, but part of me just wants her to be happy. Really, if she's happy with a NUK, is that so bad? I hope we're not ruining her somehow...

Jacob has started school. I can't believe it. He is so BIG. After coming each day during prep-week, Jacob has made himself at home. He is such a character. He says hi to everyone at school and remembers many of the teacher's and children's names. Mom note- He even pooped on the potty :) He is so excited to go to school each day and sad when it is the weekend. It is a blessing to have him love to go to school. I hope his love for learning continues!

He is way into baseball, football, and anything active. Josh and I pitch Jacob the ball and he can hit it really well. He has really good hand-eye coordination. He doesn't like to use the baseball tee anymore. He has to have his BIG BOY bat and his BIG BOY ball. It's a daily activity after school. I'll post a video when I have a chance.

Jacob loves to sing and dance, ride his bike, swing, and drive his RC truck. He is a busy dude. It's so hard to keep up with him these days.

Josh is off to Houston this week. It has been so great to have him home the past 2 weeks. We miss him terribly when he's gone and treasure the time we get to spend with him when he comes back.

I'll try better to keep everyone updated and post some pictures soon.

Many Firsts

Well in the past few weeks, the kids have done many things for the first time. We all traveled on the "train, actually the trolley, down to Old Town for lunch a few weeks ago. Jacob is fascinated with trains and every time we go to Target, he looks for "trains" at the trolley stop. Josh happened to be home for the week, so we took the 45 minute trolley ride to go have lunch. I brought a ball and some toys to play for a bit on the grass before we went in to find a place to eat, but Jacob was so set on eating lunch, we ate an hour earlier than we usually do. He was so excited to drink "neminade", lemonade, his favorite drink, and eat rolled tacos. Riley enjoyed the ride and let me eat for a bit before she wanted out of the stroller to look around. Jacob finished our stay in Old Town with some dancing on the stage. We headed back on the trolley. Jacob's claim to fame on this trip was his constant questioning of why the train was stopping. Fortunately, one of his Thomas the Train books says that the train stops because " people get on and people get off". So for the 45 minute ride home that saying became my mantra when he asked the same question again and again :)

Riley had her first Jacob-related injury. She survived and has become stronger :) Jacob was playing with one of his motorcycles in his room as Riley sat on my lap. He was showing me these really big jumps his momo does and happened to let it fly out of his hand. I watched in slow motion as it came hurling toward Riley and hit her right in the head. The foot peg managed to pierce a small hole in her forehead, but after a few minutes of sobbing, she pulled it together. Jacob felt so bad and kept saying sorry. He actually talked about it for the next few days and explained it by reenacting the whole thing. I told Jacob that Riley would remember this and get him back sometime in the future.

She also had her first time at the babysitters this week. I dropped her off at Toni's house for a few hours so both she and I could get used to the separation. It was definitely harder on me than it was on her. Luckily, I got to join a few other mom's at the park with Jacob for some one-on-one time. We were only gone for an hour or so when Jacob said, "I miss sister". I had to remind him this was special time just with mommy and we'd get sister in a bit. It was nice to have a break, but I missed her so much. I'm a bit worried about how I'll do in 2 weeks when I return to school. Ahhhhh!

Riley has also spent the first night in her own room recently. I painted her room white on the top, a pale green on the bottom and a brown stripe separating the two colors. It goes very well with the crib and bedding. I had her all set up for her first night out of our room and for some reason I couldn't get the baby monitor to work. I couldn't let her sleep in her own room without knowing what was going on, so I unpacked the pack-and-play and moved her back in to our room. Yesterday, Jacob and Riley joined me at Target so get a new monitor. Riley slept comfortably in her room last night and slept very good. She went down around 8:00 and got up at 4:45 to eat. My goal is to get her on a better schedule throughout the day, so I can be more consistent at night. I don't want to change too man things, as Riley does so well right now anyways. Maybe I'll start with a small change and see how it goes...

12 weeks old

Today Riley is 12 weeks old. Holy moley! She is such an amazing daughter. Her temperment is calm and she's happy 99% of the time. She's only fussy when she's hungry, tired, or has gas. I knew I had asked God for a miracle baby and that is exactly what I got. She is doing new and fantastic things everyday. Today Josh was holding her while he was laying down. She was laying n her tummy on him and she held her head way off of his chest and smiled at him. She is doing the same thing during tummy time. I've help her to prop her elbows up under her body and she is much happier being able to look at everything. She is also holding her head steady when I pull her from her back to a sitting position. She is so strong.

She continues to talk up a storm and seems to be trying to laugh. Josh, Jake and I are always making silly faces at her. I'm trying to tickle her on her feet and under her arms, but she still won't laugh. She loves the bath and will kick and splash the whole time. I've been using bath time as a signal for bed. My goal this next month is to get her on more of a schedule for naps, so that I'm not up until 9:30 or 10pm before she goes to sleep. When I go back to work at the end of the month, I'll need every minute of sleep I can get!

Not to compare babies, but I looked through Jacob's abby book and this next month is when he started to roll over. I can't wait to see what Riley will do in the next month :)

A small reflection

Yesterday I had the chance to get out of the house with Jacob to go to an Open Gym at the YMCA while Josh watched Riley. I think I as more excited than Jake to do "nim-natics" because for so long my second home was a gym- not only as a child, but up until I got pregnant with Jacob. We met a another friend from the Mom's Group and had a blast. Jacob ran, climbed, and jumped for an entire hour and was sad to leave. It was great to do something with Jacob that I really enjoyed and see him excited about it. It was also nice to do an activity just with him. No something quick like running to the store or going to get dinner, but really spending some quality time together... Just us.

Today I took the opportunity to take Riley to work and Jake stayed with Josh. Before we headed to work, I took Riley to meet a sitter who might watch her when I go back to work. Toni seemed very warm and the kids there looked like they enjoyed being there. It made the thought of going back to work a bit, a small bit- but a bit, easier. Riley and I had a great time working and visiting at school. I was able to get things done since Riley can stay in one spot and tends not to talk back to me :) I felt productive and liked sharing my class with Riley. It was a quick trip and we headed home.

Tonight I was reflecting on my whirl-wind life and was thinking about the past few days. It was so nice to be able to spend time with each of my children individually and savoring the light they bring to my life, but I've decided I most like it when I'm together with my family. It's a tiring job, but I wouldn't trade it for the world!

Riley's 2 month check-up

Riley had her 2 month appointment last week with Dr. Lynne. She is growing so big. She weighed 11 pounds 11 ounces and was 23 inches long. That means she's gained 2 pounds, 1 ounce and grown 3 inches! Riley got her first shot and did better than expected. She only cried for a second and then settled. What a brave girl. Dr. Lynne said she looked wonderful. No, actually she said, she looked so beautiful and was on track in every way :)

Riley is smiling a lot now. My favorite smiles come when I pick her up from her bed in the morning. As soon as I say good morning she flashes the cutest smile and her face lights up. I haven't figured out if she's excited to see me or that she knows that she's going to get fed. Either way, it makes my day. Riley is also starting to talk a bit more. She likes to go back and forth in conversation with me. She has some good stories to tell. I'm trying to get her on her tummy a bit more these days. It's a bit hard because she has some reflux issues and she's always sleeping. You know what they say, "NEVER wake a sleeping baby!". But she is starting to stay up for longer intervals, so I've been trying to get her on her tummy before I feed her. Jacob loves doing tummy time with her, which makes it more entertaining for Riley.

I've tried to start a routine with her each night. I'm giving her a bath around 7pm and changing her into her jammies. She'll usually nap for an hour or so after which gives me time to get Jake a bath and off to bed. Then Riley is up for an hour or so. I'll feed her and put her to bed around 9:30pm. She's pretty good at putting herself to sleep and she'll stay that way until 3:30 or 4. I love that she is a sleeper. I hope this continues. Mama needs her sleep!

A Great Start for July

What a great start to the month of July!

On Thursday, July 1st, we took the kids to the fair. It was a blast! We walked and looked at the animals, took a tour through the exhibits, and ate some yummy fair food. Riley was a trooper and slept through most of it while Jacob got his first "real" fair experience. He ate a corn dog, Dippin' Dots, and went on a ride all by himself. Check out the pictures and video!

We celebrated the 4th of July by hanging around the house. Jacob seemed to be very excited about the fireworks and talked about them from the time he woke up. This is really surprising because Jacob is so sensitive to sounds, but we went with it. The day started off with a photo shoot. I tried to get Jacob and Riley together for some cute pictures. I got Jacob a red, white and blue shirt and Riley had a red jumper with blue, white and pink stars. Jacob seemed excited when we were getting dressed, but by the time he sat down to hold Sister, the joy was lost. On top of that, I tried to sneak in our first family picture since Riley arrived. Jacob was really not happy about that. Riley, on the other hand, did just great. We had a yummy BBQ dinner and waited for it to get dark so we could see the fireworks. We walked up the street to hangout with some neighbors. Jacob's friend Zane had some sparklers and Jacob was brave enough to hold one. He loved it! He wanted to do more and more. We watched a great fireworks show and headed off to bed.

Today, Riley is 8 weeks old. She is changing everyday. She is sleeping less throughout the day and staying up for longer periods of time. She is beginning to blossom and will smile much more now. Her coos are very quiet, but I can tell she is a girl who will be heard. She loves it when Jacob talks to her. He says, "Come on yittle gul. Show me a file". Translated that says- Come on little girl. Give me a smile. It's so very cute how much he adores his little sister. Riley is still not to fond of "tummy time" but will let me put her on he stomach for a few minutes each day. Her little legs push on the ground like she's trying to walk or crawl. If she could only get her upper body to work, she'd be off and running. She is still sleeping well at night and giving me a 5-6 hour stretch of rest. I can't wait until she starts laughing and giggling :)

Zoo Visit

Today Jacob, Riley, and I went to the zoo with our Mommies Group. Well only 1 other mom showed up, but I had invited my friend Ashleigh and her two kids Tatum and Grant. The zoo offers a Mommy Meetup throughout the month for Mom's Groups. We had a guided tour down one of the Monkey Trails and all the way down to the hippos. There, the guides read the kids a book, danced with them, and handed out stickers. After we meandered down to the pandas and then met up with two of Ashleigh's friends. We all walked down the Big Cat Trail and then ate some lunch. Riley had had enough, so we headed home while the other explored the park.

Next month, the zoo is offering a guided tour and Air Tram ride. We'll see if I want to brave the zoo again with the two kids. Jacob just got up from his 2 hour nap, so gotta go!

Poppa Visits

My dad came to visit on Friday, June 19th and stayed until Monday. It was his first chance to see his first Granddaughter. He was so excited. Diane got to take some time off of work to visit with him and check out the new addition to our family. They spent the day on Friday adjusting to San Diego and we met up on Saturday. They came over around noon and when the kids went down for naps, Dad and Diane went out to buy stuff for dinner. My Dada BBQed for us and Diane made salad, fruit salad and corn. It was all delicious.

Sunday was Father's Day and we met my Dad at his hotel for a swim. Jacob was so eager to go in the hot tub with Poppa, he missed a step getting in and ended up getting a dunk. It scared the s#!t out of me, but he recovered quickly. That night we BBQed for both Poppas, Great Pa, Auntie Jenny, and Diane. Once again another injury. Great Pa took a fall and we had to call the paramedics to come check him out. He ended up going to the hospital to get some stitches, but was released that night to go home. Needless to say, after Father's Day I needed a vacation!

On Monday we met Poppa and Diane at the Birch Aquarium before they left for the airport. Jake loved it and I think Poppa and Diane did too. Jake got to run wild, see BIG fish, and touch a sea star. He was so interested with the life-sized whales in the fountain in the front. He kept asking "What they doing?" He couldn't wrap his head around the fact that they were not real animals. He's so cute.

Poppa and Diane headed off to the airport and made it home safely. It was a great visit!

1 month old... with a cold

We have made it one month! We have managed to survive, except for a small cold that Riley has developed. I think Jacob's kisses and hugs have shared more than just his love with his sister. We took her to Urgent Care on Saturday night. The doctor said to suction her nose, which I was already doing. So I took her in to our pediatrician yesterday and she said to add some saline solution to her nose and then suction. Poor little girl!

We didn't have a one month check-up because she's baby #2. The pediatrician says that she usually doesn't have second time mom's visit until the second month because we tend to know what we are doing. Such confidence in us second timers. When we were in yesterday Riley weighed 10 pounds 1 ounce. She's growing like a weed. She is so strong. She can hold her head up from my chest and loves to look around. This makes her much more of a bobble head, but she's pretty good at controlling herself. She seems to like tummy-time and can move her head from one side to the other. She also moves her legs around like she's trying to crawl. Jacob loves to lay down with her and cheer her on. She is sleeping very well at night. She'll wake up to feed and go right back down... Thank God. I'm needed all the sleep I can get these days. She is a great eater, unlike Jacob. She's got a bit of baby acne, but still looks like a princess. She is focusing on objects when you put them over her head and can track them pretty well. I'm waiting for a big smile from her... other than when she's sleeping or has gas:) Can't wait to see what she does next.

Jacob continues to love his baby sister. He is eager to help out, most of the time. He is needed every spare minute of my attention to keep busy. He loves to help me do everything. Yesterday he wanted to help spread the peanut butter on his sandwich. He wants to help put water in his cup and pick what he eats at meal times. He can wash his hands in the bathroom himself and is still learning to pick up after himself. I couldn't ask for a better son!

Trucking Along

Well I'll have to say, as I knock on every piece of wood in my house, that things are running very smooth in our house. Riley is a wonderful sleeper, yes, another knock on wood, and giving me the extra time I need to keep Jacob happy. He is so busy these days that it is hard to stay in the house. We have to get out of the house or we all go crazy! I just joined a Mom's Group on MeetUp and will go to our first activity next week. The lakes by our house have a Sprayground where the kids can splash in and get splashed by the water. We'll see how Jacob does. It will be nice to get out of the house and meet other moms in town.

Jacob loves "my baby sister" and asks to hold her all the time. He is very gentle with her and has to know where she is and what she is doing at all times. He is very much TWO right now. He is testing to see how much power he has and testing the limits at the same time. He wants to help with everything from spreading jelly on his sandwich to dressing himself and picking which shoes he wants to wear. At times it can make the task a lot longer and I find myself wanting to just do it myself, but I know in the long run, it will help Jake become more independent.

Josh has been working out of town for the past 2 weeks in Louisiana. It's been eye-opening to have the kids by myself, but also empowering to know that I CAN do it by myself. It is MUCH easier with Josh here, but I've been finding new and creative ways to get things done around the house and keep everyone, including myself, happy.

Special Delivery

We welcome with love, our new baby... Riley Marie Butler

Here are the details:

I had visited the doctor on Monday, when he announced I had changed from 2cm to 4 cm. The whole week I felt pretty crummy, well as crummy as you can feel on your first week of maternity leave. Josh and I went to dinner on Thursday night to celebrate our 4th anniversary and I went to bed early that night pretty uncomfortable.

I woke up on Friday, still uncomfortable, and decided to call the doctor's office. Adelle, Dr. Mitchell's nurse, said to go directly to the hospital. I told her Jacob had a Dr. appointment at 9:00am and she said cancel it and go right to the hospital. I didn't listen. I took Jacob to the doctor. He ended up being fine, but I was glad I took him. I didn't want to bring a new baby home if Jacob was feeling well.

We arrived at the hospital around 11:00am. They hooked me up and monitored me for a 1/2 hour. They said I was still dilated to 4cm and my contractions weren't very consistent so I had 2 choices. I could go home and wait or I could walk for an hour to see if things change. I chose to walk. After an hour, we went back to get monitored again. I was at 6cm with very consistent contractions. The doctor invited me to stay and said this was the day.

They started me on a bit of pitocin to speed things along and broke my water at 7cm. I labored for a bit, until it became uncomfortable and finally got my epidural. The epidural seemed to effect my left side much more than my right and after an hour my left side went numb. I was starting to feel uncomfortable again, so they gave me a bolster shot in the epidural. Within 5 minutes I was numb from the waist down. This would have been OK had I still been at 7cm, but I was at 10cm and had to wait almost 45 minutes to push because I couldn't feel a thing. I pushed for about a 1/2 hour and Riley was born. The doctor said I could have just laughed her out- she was so ready to make her entrance!

We stayed in the hospital until Sunday and were excited to be discharged. Jacob was the most excited! He kept saying, " Take my baby sister home?" So here we are... our family is complete!

Happy Mother's Day

Yippee! Another great Mother's Day for me! Jacob slept until 7:30 this morning. Josh and Jacob got me a beautiful pot of live sunflowers and the cutest cards. Jacob and I played Mr. Potato Head, read books, rolled on the bed and played outside. We finally headed to Home Depot, yes it was my idea, to get a storage shelf for the garage. My nesting inspired Josh and Byron to go buy another shelf and do a complete overhaul of the garage. It looks great!

We went to go see Nana and bring her cards and chocolate covered strawberries. Yummy! So here I am sitting and relaxing and ready for bed.

I go tomorrow for my next check-up with my OB and can't wait to see if I've progressed any more. I think anything past the 3cm I was at last Monday will be awesome!

A Mish Mash of Updates

I have been so tired lately, the last thing on my mind has been to post an update. So here is the last moth in review...

*Easter- Easter was so fun this year. Jake knows about the Easter Bunny and looking for eggs, so it made for lots of fun surprises. Jake and I started Easter the day before at Santee Lakes. The offer a Easter egg hunt and carnival which was really fun. Jake was still to little to ride most of the rides, but we did get on a tractor ride and a boat ride. He also did an Easter egg hunt and went into the petting zoo.

Easter morning Jacob woke up and found his Easter basket filled with fun toys and candy filled eggs. While I was making him a healthy breakfast, I looked back at the table and saw that he had managed to open a Reeses peanut butter egg and stuffed it all into his mouth. Needless to say, he didn't eat much of his healthy scrambled eggs and toast. Mid morning we hid some eggs around the front lawn. Jake was so excited to find them and asked for more when he had found the last one.

Since Easter he has asked for eggs at least every-other day because he thinks all eggs have candy in them now. I told him he had to wait until next year when the Easter Bunny returns.

*Auntie, Cousin and Poppa visit- The Tuesday after Easter Auntie, Cousin and Poppa came to visit for the week. Cousin Travis caught strep throat right before coming down, so he spent the majority of the visit at the hotel resting. Auntie, Jake and I got to run around shopping. One day we went to Babies R Us and Auntie was walking around grabbing EVERYTHING she saw for Riley. I had to tell her enough and that she was out-of-control. Jakey started to repeat me and was yelling at Auntie "Enuf!" "Out control!" It was so funny.

We had dinner with Aunt Terry, who was visiting from Washington, Nana and my dad one night. Aunt Terry brought Jake these really great noise-making toys. She is so good at picking out toys like that. One toy you have to hammer on forever to hit a ball down a maze and the other is a lawn mower with makes real sounds.

*Riley's Baby Shower- The Saturday after Easter was Riley's baby shower. It was so nice. Lots of friends, good food and holy-moley presents! Justinna and Nana did a wonderful job decorating and providing games. I got a white cake with raspberry filling from The Cake Lady, who also did our wedding cake, and a chocolate cake from Costco. It was heaven! I was totally exhausted by the end, but to was terrific from start to finish.

*Jakey this month- Jacob has been providing much entertainment these days. He is always trying to make Josh and I laugh and he is cracking himself up in the process. He says things and wits for our reaction and then totally laughs and laughs. He says "high five, low five" and instead of moving his hand, he just leaves it there and says "too slow". He says "watch this" all the time and will actually move your head if you're not looking. He loves to play outside and run and run and run. He gets down in a 4 point stance and says "ready, set, go" and takes off. He wants to be so independent all the time. He always says "my do" or "not mommy do". He will work at something for quite a while to see if he gets it, or asks "help please" if he can't get something. Not all the time though. His whining, small tantrums and yelling have increased. I hope this does not predict the year ahead. I don't think I can do the Terrible Twos!

Check out all of our new pictures :)

Growing like a weed

Jacob seems to amaze us everyday. Not only is he physically growing taller and bigger, but his vocabulary, wit, and abilities astound us.

Josh was giving Jacob a bath tonight. Josh called me in by yelling "Lissa!" I came in and he had a bath toy in his hand. He asked Jacob what type of animal he was holding and Jacob said "orca". Josh was so amazed. I actually wasn't. Only because Jacob had told me that about 2 weeks ago. Jacob held up the other whale and said "blue whale". He was right.

I walked out of the bathroom and not sooner had I left I was called to return. This is it was Jacob yelling "Lissa!". I walked in and he had a little smirk on his face because he knew he was being silly. Jacob has also been teasing a lot. He'll say "You have it" and as soon as you go to grab it, he pulls it away laughing and laughing and says, "No way!" He's also picked up a little Spanish. When he leaves to go somewhere he'll say, "Adios amigos". He is such a ham!

One of Jacob's favorite activities these days is to run and jump. He will run everywhere. Last night he wanted me to run with him. He got down and said, "Ready, set, go!" and took off across the living room. I could only do about 3 races before I gave up. He's so fast!

There are plenty more things to share, but it would take pages and pages. So for now... that's all you get.

Nesting No No

Well I have officially started nesting again. I have a mental to-do list that I need to write down because I keep forgetting all the items that I've slowly added. Maybe I should prioritize the items because now as I think about ALL the things I want to do before Riley joins us, there seems to be more to do than the time I have to do them in.

Well in my haste to get started I tackled the monsters under our bed. I seem to stick things there when I have no other place to put them. There were containers of Jacob's old clothes, which I've sorted and handed down, all of Jacob's keepsakes, and a mish-mash of other things. I managed to purge many things and organize our closet in the process.

About 2 weeks ago, I woke up at 2am in a panic. I turned on the bathroom light and tried to search all my little hiding spots around our room looking for an envelope. I almost started to cry when I realized I had accidentally thrown out ALL of Riley's sonogram pictures. I went to go check in the recycling, but realized that the trash had been collected the day before. For some reason I had them all stuffed into an unmarked white envelope that I must have thrown out with all my early pregnancy paperwork. I managed to go back to sleep, but kept thinking about the "Second Child Syndrome" in which the second child gets less than the first and each additional child continues to get less and less.

Cut to today... I went for my check-up at the OB today. Everything looks good and he was not surprised to see I was measuring a bit big. He said Riley is going to be long. I told him I usually feel her on both sides or at the top and bottom at the same time. I managed to get a few photocopies of my sonogram pictures and will put them in a treasured place so my nesting disaster doesn't happen again. I start going in every 2 weeks for now and then will switch to every week in a little bit. My oh my... where has the time gone?

Happy Birthday to Me!

Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to me. Happy birthday to Mommy. Happy birthday to me.

Today I turned 31. Wow! Not that I’m feeling old, just tired Smiling I’ve been off of work all week for Ski Week, so I got to take Jacob to school again. It is so fun to go. It was our snack day too. Jacob has gotten better since the last time I went at doing the circle activities. He still loves his independence, but is more willing to participate. He loved playing with the shaving cream and driving the cars outside. He absolutely loved the snack. We made yummy muffins and brought fruit.

After school, Jacob and I went to Subway for lunch. He wanted to sit at the shop and eat, so we did. We came home and watched a toon and then went down for a well needed nap.

Jacob was so funny today. I told him that the baby needed to drink a lot of water so my tummy didn’t hurt. He went and got my cup of water, lifted up my shirt and tried to give my tummy a drink. I had to explain to him that Mommy drinks the water and then I give it to the baby. It was such a cute thing for him to do.

Daddy made us some yummy dinner and a chocolate cake. Just the perfect ending to the day!

Happy Valentine's Day

What a great way to celebrate. It was 75-80 degrees and lots of sun. But don't get too jealous... we PAY to live here. Josh and I went out to dinner on Saturday to celebrate. We ate at PF Chang's a really yummy chinese food place. It was nice to have alone time and catch-up on being a couple and not just Mom and Dad. We joked that we might not have heartburn after this meal because we actually got to chew our food instead of shoveling it into our mouths. When we got home there was a box on the front step. It was addressed to me. I opened it and it was a dozen hand-dipped strawberries with lots of yummy toppings. Josh said, "I thought they be better than flowers. Don't I know the way to a pregnant lady's heart?" He's the best.

On Sunday I got up and made heart pancakes for the family. We all sat in bed and watched toons. Then we packed up the bikes to go ride around the lake. Josh goes frequently with friends, but we haven't taken Jacob for a while. The last time he just screamed in the little trailer we pull behind the bike. This time though he really liked it. Josh pulled him behind the beach cruiser and I rode Josh's mountain bike. Man, that seat hurts! Even all the baby padding in my butt didn't help make the ride more comfortable. Before we were even out of the parking lot, I told Josh I was buying him a new seat for his birthday. We went 6 miles. I wasn't sure I was going to make it the last little way, but I did.

We headed back home, had lunch, and Jacob and I passed out. We had great family time that night and ended the day just as it had started, with a big hug and a kiss. What a great day to spend with the family!

A Great Day

We woke up this morning to pouring rain. I was thinking this was going to be a chore to entertain Jacob all day inside, but I was wrong. Josh went out to get a haircut and Jacob and I headed over to Color Me Mine, a ceramic studio. Jacob picked a piece to paint, some glazes, and paint brushes and began to paint. He was only interested for a bit when he turned around and saw a small table filled with toys. He ended up spending most of our time there at the table. I'm excited to see his finished piece, which we can pick up next Saturday.

Yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day at school. My class gave me a "Night Out" basket which included movie passes, dinner at PF Chang's, a spa gift certificate and 2 movies for Jake to enjoy while Josh and I are out. One movie is the Curious George movie and the other is a Thomas the Train movie. When we got back from the ceramic studio, Jacob and I settled into my bed and watched George and Josh left to go watch Super Cross.

Jacob and I took a great nap and when we woke up, Poppa Mike called and asked if we wanted to go get pizza with him and Great Pa. Jacob and I can't turn down a pizza date, so we braved the rain to go to pizza. Jacob loved it. He sat in the highchair for over 1 1/2 hours... WHICH HE HAS NEVER DONE BEFORE. I have probably just jinxed myself, but he did so good. We came home and watched a toon or two, took a bath and Jacob went down without a hitch.

What a great day!

Taking Jake to School

This week at school, we had an outbreak of Fifths Disease in second grade. For those that don't know what Fifths is, it's a virus which is very common for young children to get. It's basically a low-grade temp which ends with a slapped cheek look and sometimes an itchy rash on the body. Doesn't sound bad... if you're not pregnant. For us pregnant ladies, it can cause anemia in the baby and worst case can cause death. So I high-tailed it out of there on Tuesday and took off Wednesday to see what happened back at school.

I called my OB and the nurse said I had little to worry about. She said most of us have had it and don't even know it. If you get it once, you don't get it again. The fact that there were multiple kids who showed the aftermath meant that I was already exposed and just had to wait it out. I've convinced myself that I'm fine and until I turn as red as a tomato, I'll go on with my day.

My day away from school allowed me the chance to take Jake to his school. Nana has been taking him to a toddler class on Wednesdays and he has been loving it. It was a great chance for me to get to go and see what it was all about. The class runs from 9-11:30 and there are about 15 kids in the class. Mrs. P, as she is called, has been a preschool teacher forever and does a great job keeping the 17-24 month-olds busy. There were 2 dads, a couple other grandmas, and many other younger (and pregnant) moms. It was a nice mix.

We got there a few minutes early and Jake went right to work hammering all the toys that were set out. At 10, Mrs. P led a circle time. This was not Jake's idea of fun. He played at the sink, opened all the cabinets, and sat at the tables waiting for snack. I finally wrangled him in and held him while we sang and danced. He enjoyed his snack of graham crackers and string cheese and then went back to playing with all the other kids. He decorated a snowman and played with the playdoh. It was funny to observe when he was doing the craft. I let Jake go to town and decorate anything he wanted, but when I looked around, there were a lot of adults doing art projects. Maybe it's just the teacher in me, but I was so excited to see Jake enjoy getting his hands and clothes dirty as he "painted" his "no-man". The class finished up with bubbles and the parachute- Jake's favorite!

I felt so lucky Wednesday to have the time to spend with Jacob at his school. He goes for an assessment at my school on February 1st, and if we receive financial aid, Jake will attend my school next year. It will so nice to have him close to me 3 days a week. I can't wait!

Copycat

Jacob is now 20 months old. If you're like Josh, you just say he's 1. Josh has something against telling a child's age in months. He says that after a child is 1, he's just 1 until he turns 2. I on the other hand like to celebrate all mini-milestones, so here is my update for my 20 month old.

Jacob is truly a copycat now. He will do or say anything that Josh or I do, whether it's good or bad. Josh was flipping through the channels the other night and stopped for 2 minutes on an old UFC fight. I told him to change it right away. As soon as he changed it, Jacob came over to me and gave me an elbow to the head and tried to tackle me. Needless to say, I asked Josh to NEVER watch that while Jake was in the room. On the flip side, Jacob help with anything that we are doing. He helps ( I don't know if that is the right choice of words) me do the dishes each night and wants to wash everything. He helps to fold the laundry, wants to open the door to take out the trash and will cry if he doesn't get to sit on Dada's momo (motorcycle) at least once a night. It is so cute! He sits on it and says "start", kicks his leg and makes all the noises a "real" momo would make.

Last weekend, Josh and I couldn't pull ourselves out of bed. Josh went ang got Jake and brought him in to watch toons in MamaDada's bed. We played for almost and hour and a half. I finally dragged myself out of bed and went to go get ready. Josh and Jacob were wrestling on the bed. Josh was doing some WWF moves on Jake and he was laughing. Josh called to me to come watch. As soon as he said my name, Jacob started yelling "Lissa! Lissa!" It was so funny I had to laugh. hen Jake saw us laughing so he kept doing it. I had to explain to Jake that I am Mama, not Lissa. He would not listen, so finally I told him Dad's name was Josh. He spent the rest of the day yelling "Lissa!" "Josh!" He is such a character. I can't wait to see what he says when he build a bigger vocabulary!

Introducing...

our new BABY GIRL!

Today we found out that we are expecting a little girl in our family. Nana and Josh went with me to the doctor while Auntie Nenny watched Jacob. The ultrasound tech was very good. She did all the measurements she was supposed to do and in the middle found out we were having a girl. In fact, she really liked to flash herself. Once she said she was a girl, Josh was so funny. He said, “Can you check again?” She was for sure you were a girl and printout out 3 pictures pointing to your stuff with a big arrow that said Baby Girl.

After the appointment Nana, Auntie Nenny, Jacob and I went out to lunch to celebrate. After lunch Jake and I went to Target to buy something for the new baby girl. Jake and I decided on a pair of pink shoes. When we got home I took a picture of all of our shoes and sent it out to everyone to tell them we were expecting a new baby girl. Everyone is really excited!

Christmas

Well it has come and gone and Christmas is finally over. Jacob had a blast this year and it was fun to see how he liked to go look at lights and got excited every time he heard Christmas music or saw Santa. We went to our friends Jon and Jenn's for Christmas Eve. Jon smokes turkeys and Jenn bakes a million cookies. Josh and I eat and eat and Jacob gets to run wild with the kids.

All was good until we got home and all of the sudden Jacob got really sick. He had a super high temp, he was coughing, and he wouldn't stop crying. He got up every hour that night. Yes almost exactly, to the dot, every hour. So Christmas morning he was grumpy, I was grumpy and we just laid in bed for a bit. We finally got up and Jacob was excited to see that Santa had come to leave him some gifts. He opened a few and then wanted to sit on my lap and watch toons. He managed to eat a bit and then was off and running, opening all the presents he had. He took a short nap, so he was a bit cranky when Josh's family arrived at 3:00. We had dinner and started to make a dent in the presents that covered our living room floor. At one point Jake laid on the ground and said, "Nigh night". He took a break and then finished up like a trooper. It was great to have everyone over to celebrate the holiday. Can't wait for next year when we'll have two kids checking for Santa!

19 months old and Bye-Bye- Binkey

Jacob turned 19 months old yesterday. Each month that he gets closer to 2 years old freaks me out. Where, oh where, has my little boy gone? He is growing like a weed and surprising me with something new each day. He is very much into testing to see how much power he has. He is very strong willed and is testing Josh and I each day. He likes to say "NO!" a lot and many times will look over his shoulder as he does something just to see our reaction. I've been trying to re-direct (teacher talk for distract) him or ask him to help me with something. He will usually give in and move on, but man he tries his hardest to get his way. Sounds oh so familiar to his Dada!

Our most triumphant accomplishment this past month has been getting rid of the NUK. Yes! We are 5 days free from a pacifier. I decided my week off for Thanksgiving would be a great time to take on this task. I thought if for any reason he didn't sleep at night, I had all day to catch up on sleep. We followed a plan called Bye-Bye Binkey. The psychology behind it is to slowly change the pacifier to make the action of sucking non-desirable for the child. That way they don't switch to sucking on fingers when the pacifier is taken away. I highly recommend this process. Jacob didn't really notice something was different until the 5th day when I cut a big slit up the sides of the NUK. Jacob kept saying "uh-oh" and "bokin" (broken) when he'd get his NUK. I kept saying "Yep. Broken." and slowly he stopped putting it into his mouth. He did wake up on Saturday night and cry for 3 hours (I did go in and check on him), but finally got tuckered out and fell asleep. I think he realized he was OK and really tired and crashed. Other than that, he has yet to ask for his NUK. Amazingly, the NUK disappeared on Monday while I was at work. Maybe Ellie got to it and buried it for good. Here's to NO NUK!

Updates, Updates, Updates...

My dad came to visit the weekend before Thanksgiving. He and his girlfriend Diane flew down Friday night and stayed until Sunday evening. It was a short stay, but it was very nice to see them. My dad was supposed to come down after Jacob was born, but due to a bad car accident, retiring, and other incidents, he finally made it down 18 months later. He promised not to wait so long to visit next time! Jacob had a blast seeing his Poppa and meeting Diane.

I had an ultrasound on the 23rd. It was for some genetic testing that my insurance offers. Truthfully, it was just to get another ultrasound! It had only been 4 weeks since the first one, but man has that little baby changed. It was no longer a peanut, but had "real" features and movements. The baby was a bit stubborn, very remenicient of Jacob. The baby wouldn't turn to get the correct profile picture for the testing. After coughing, wiggling, and emptying my bladder a bit, we got some good pics. I have a 1 in 4000 chance of a baby with down syndrome and a 1 in 10000 chance of having a baby with Trysome 18. I go again on December 9th for my regular check-up and then I can schedule "The Big One" where we'll find out what gender this baby is. I can't wait!

Thanksgiving was delicious:) We went over to Josh's dad's house. Josh's mom and sister made a great turkey, mashed potatoes, real cranberry sauce, stuffing, green bean casserole, and sweet potatoes. I ate too much and I ate it way to fast. I was very thankful for the inventor of TUMS that night.

I have really enjoyed my week off with Jacob and can't wait until Christmas break. I think I only have 3 more weeks until we get 2 weeks off. Yippee!

Catching Up From the Past

It seems like forever since I've had a chance to get on the computer to catch up on all our family happenings.

So Jacob has been growing like a weed. He learns something new each day. He is climbing and getting into all sorts of stuff throughout the house. This includes his newest feat of learning to push the water button on the refrigerator. Needless to say, we have to use the lock function on our fridge now. He is such a smart cookie. He likes to repeat everything Josh or I say now. He knows where is nose, eyes, ears, mouth, and teeth are. Josh has taught him to stick out his tongue when when you ask him where his tongue is. Thanks Dada! The other day Nana was trying to teach him how to wink. It's pretty funny! He scrunches up his whole face and closes both of his eyes. When he opens his eyes he looks so surprised.

We recently went to the desert and Jacob got to ride around on his momo (motorcycle) with the rest of the big guys. Every time Josh got ready to go on a ride, Jacob ran out to his momo and hopped on. He rode his momo all day. He wants to do everything that Josh does. In fact, many times I have been put on the back-burner these days. Jacob won't eat unless Josh is sitting at the table and won't go to sleep unless he gives Josh a hug and a high-five before he gets his pajamas on. He and Josh watch toons (cartoons) on the weekend in our bed and wrestle around all the time. It is so wonderful to see the bond they have with each other. They are truly 2 peas in a pod.

Last weekend was Halloween. We started the day by going to the pumpkin patch. We drove to Oma's Pumpkin Patch, our second year there, and Jacob was old enough to have a fun time there. He saw a real mooo (cow) and touched it. He pet a goat and a sheep as well. We went in a hay bale maze and down the cotton seed hill. Jacob and I hiked up to the top of this huge hill made from cotton, we hopped on a snow saucer and rode down. The first time we were successful. The second time we had a wipe-out at the end. Josh video taped it all and I'll post it on our site. It's pretty funny! Jacob got to pick his own pumpkin (see the video) and was very excited to take it home.

Jacob had a wonderful time trick-or-treating

Cat's out of the Bag

Well all have been told about the new addition to our family by now. We are very excited! Actually, I should say I'm very excited, Josh is a bit overwhelmed, and Jacob has no idea what's in store.

We found out on September 22nd and my head has been swirling since. I think of all the things I need to get done in the next 9 months to prepare for this new arrival. I'm not sure exactly where to start, but am sure I'll make a few lists and try to accomplish things as I feel up to it.

On that note, I've been feeling so-so lately. I kept a really detailed pregnancy diary and reviewed it the other day to find out that 6 weeks was exactly when I started feeling qweezy with Jake. I didn't have morning sickness with Jacob, but more of an all day feeling of yuck. The past 2 days have been identical to my previous pregnancy. All day, and night, I've had that gross dry throat feeling like you might throw-up, but you try not to. I know, I know... TMI, My thought that is I share these feelings here, maybe they'll go away. It's wishful thinking :)

So we will go in on October 12th for our first ultrasound and I'll be sure to post a picture of our little bean.

Quick side story...

In class the other day the kids were starting to talk about what they were going to be for Halloween. One little boy, which I had in my class in Kindergarten, asked what I was going to be. I said that I hadn't really thought about it. I asked for his opinion on my costume this year. He said, "You should be that pregnant lady you dressed like in kindergarten. There are some new kids in our class that haven't seen it before." My reply... "Hey Drew, I'll have to think about that." What a classic comment!

There's No Place Like Home

Jacob and I got home yesterday afternoon from a trip back home. We went to visit all of our family. It was an exhausting trip, but very worth it. We left last Thursday after I got off from school. Auntie Shannon picked us up and she was so excited to see both of us. We drove back to her new house. We got there and Jacob played with Uncle Eric and cousins Jaimen and Travis, but it was way past his bedtime, so off he went.

On Friday, the Burton’s came to visit. Even Uncle Buck was there. I haven’t seen or heard from him in a long time.

On Saturday, we went to Cousin Natalie’s new place in San Francisco. It is a very cute place. We got to see Aunt Nancy, Uncle Randi and Cousin Kevin.

On Sunday, we went to brunch with Poppa, the cousins, Janice, Carlie, Uncle Buck, and Diane.

On Monday, we headed home to Dada and had a chance to relax before I started back at work again.

There is truly no place like home! Make sure you check out our pictures :)

First Sleepover

Jacob had his first sleepover with his friend Tatum this weekend. Tatum came to eat dinner and spend the night. They had so much fun! They played in the water table with ice and rode the momo's (motorcycles), screamed and chased each other, took a bath and finally wound down with a small dose of Bob (aka Sponge Bob). They finally crashed around 8:30 and slept soundly until 7 this morning. Too bad, I was up every 2-3 hours checking on them. There was a new sense of responsibility having another little one in the house.

I was absolutely exhausted today and ended up taking a 2 hour nap when Jacob went down. Hopefully I can sleep tonight :)

Cookin' with Jacob

Today Jacob has been awfully cranky. I've narrowed it down and he is starting to come down with a cold or is getting some more teeth. He has no fever but a yucky runny nose. I've been dosing him up with Motrin, but he still is a cranky pants. So today I've been pulling out all the stops to help him make it through the day, which started at 5:15 by the way.

Our last activity today was to make some delicious chocolate chip banana bread, a la my Aunt Julie's recipe. Jake was very interested in helping, so I pulled out Josh's old stool and Jacob got to stand at the counter and help. Well help might be the wrong word, but he did sample plenty of chocolate chips. He loved it! I loved it too and thought how big he is now and that he can actually help with the cooking. Not only does he like to sweep and mop, but now he likes to cook. I've trained him well!

I'l post some pictures and clips tomorrow.

Jacob is 16 months old

Yesterday, Jacob turned 16 months. He is growing like a weed in all areas. I think he's eating his weight in food these days. He is always asking for more of something. He likes to find stuff that is sitting on the counter and point, sign and yell more. Regardless if he can have it or not, he wants it! Luckily, he usually sees the fruit on the counter, but he has seen where the "pips" (chips) are kept and thanks to Dad and Byron, now asks for Cheetos.

Jakey is very into hiding and "ah-boo" (peek-a-boo). He has a few blankets that he puts over his head and runs blindly around the room until he falls and uncovers his face to say "ah-boo". He also likes to hide his chair and he REALLY likes when you ask where something is after he has hidden it. He likes to hide me and uncover me to say "ah-boo" and laugh and laugh. He is very funny these days,

Jacob is also noticing a lot around him. I picked him up from Ashleigh's house the other day and got him in the car. He told me " Mama Drive" and he put his hands on an imaginary wheel and was driving. He knows that I drive a car and Dada drives a truck. Josh went riding his motorcycle last weekend and ever since then, Jacob is OBSESSED with Josh's "momo". He says "mmmm mmmm Dada" and wants to go in the garage to see Josh's motorcycle. He is truly Josh's son!

It is so nice to see our nightly prayers are being answered. Jacob is a healthy, happy, curious, little boy!

Hi Ho, Hi Ho.. It's off to work I go...

My long summer has finally come to an end :( I am so sad to go back to work. This summer has been one of the best in my life! I am so fortunate to have a job where I can spend a chunk of time with my child. Even better, I'm getting paid to do it :)

This past week I've been in my classroom busily buzzing and trying to get everything in order. I had tried a couple of times to get some work done over the summer, but Jacob always had other ideas. So last week, all to my lonesome, I actually got some stuff finished. I still have tomorrow to work because we start school on Tuesday.

Jacob is being lovingly taken care of by wonderful friends. Justinna, our roommate's girlfriend, is watching him at our house on Monday and Friday. I'm bringing him to by my friend Ashleigh's house to play with her two kids, Grant and Tatum, the other three days. Last week was a trial run and everything went smoothly. Nana will return the first weekend on October and take over. We can't wait to see her. We've been on Skype with her every other week, but can't wait to see her in the flesh!

By the way, Skype is the best thing ever for those of you with webcams. It's totally FREE and great to use to keep in touch. Let me know if any of you have a webcam and you can chat with Jacob!

I've included some pictures for our trips to the lake to feed the ducks. Enjoy!

15 month check-up

Yesterday Jakey had his 15 month check-up. It was at 2:30 which is right during his afternoon nap. Unfortunately, he didn't take a morning nap either, so needless to say he was pretty mad that he was awake. I tried to help him out by going to my school to do some work for a bit and had him play there for a while. We ended up leaving my school at 2:00, thinking he'd sleep in the car. He slept for only 15 minutes and was wide awake when we got to the Dr.'s office.

Dr. Scannel said he got cuter from the last time she saw him. I love her! She also said he is doing fantastic. He is 21 pounds 8 ounces and 32 3/4 inches tall and his head is 48.5 cm. He is still on the taller and leaner side of the growth chart, but she said he's healthy and growing just fine. He was super brave when he got to shots and only cried for a minute. It's always so nice to hear your child is doing everything right!

She was excited to hear that he has so many words in his vocabulary. He's added puh (which depending on what he's doing means push or pull), buh (bus), how (house), home (he loves to say this when Josh gets home), and truh (truck). He's still obsessed with tats (cats) and pows (cows). He loves to put on his hat and today we made binoculars out of string and an old toilet paper roll. He loves to wear them around his neck. He had his hat and binoculars on and he looked like he was preparing to go on a jungle safari! He is quite busy these days.

15 Months Old and the Silver Strand

Yippee! Another month has come and gone. Jacob is recovering from a minor cold, but overall is in good health. He is such a funny little guy. He loves to laugh and loves to make others laugh. Since it's been hot here, we've been trying to cool off by going in the hot tub. Oxymoron, I know. Cooling off in a hot tub, but since we leave the heat off in the summer, it's actually cooler that the temp outside most of the time. Ok back on track. So Jacob and I will go in the hot tub and I'll bring some of his bath toys to play with while we're in there. He's really in to the squirt toys that you fill with water. He will fill them up and call Ellie over by yelling BOG BOG BOG. When she gets close he'll squirt her and laugh and laugh and laugh. It's actually pretty funny. Ellie is a very good sport.

Jacob is running everywhere and always on the go. He loves to read books and can point out most of the animals. He is still obsessed with cats and has fallen in love with cows as well. He calls them POWS and has to point to the POWS on the milk container every time I pour him a milk cup. He is starting to enjoy the little quad that Josh got him. He can push the button himself to make it go now. When he gets going he sticks his legs out to the side. He looks like he's doing some tricky stunt. He is totally Josh's son!

This past weekend we brought our trailer down to the Silver Strand. It was a blast. The weather was yucky on Friday, cleared up Saturday afternoon and was gorgeous when we left on Sunday. On Saturday Jon, Jenn, Taylor and Makenzie stopped by as well as Dustin, his girlfriend Erin, and Grandpa. It was a super day to visit. We took lots of pics, so take a look!

Just Chillaxin'

That is chilling and relaxing all in one :) My students taught me that one.

Jakey and I have just been hanging out and going with the flow. We try to keep our date at the library for story time on Wednesdays, but other than that, each day is a new surprise. Over the weekend we went swimming with Eric, Jessie and Madison. It was a great way to beat the heat out at our house. Jake is a FISH! He loves the water. I made him take a break for a bit, but he just wanted to jump back in. We have to teach him that he needs to make sure Mommy or daddy are there to catch him because he has no fear. SCARY!!!!!

This Thursday we are heading down to The Silver Strand for a little vacation. Our friends Scott and Jill will be down there too, and I have a feeling we'll have some more visitors since the weather is supposed to be wonderful.

I'll post pictures when we return Smiling

Visit to Children's Museum

Last week our friend Ashleigh and her kids Grant and Tatum invited Jacob and I to the new San Diego Children's Museum. It was FANTASTIC! There were so many things for the kids to do, even little Jacob. There was a whole room filled with matresses and pillows to jump around in. Then we went to the bubbles, which Jacob is OBSESSED with. They played in a bunch of the hands-on play spaces and got REALLY tired. We went across the street to the little park to eat lunch and headed back for one more exhibit. Jacob had had enough and I had to leave. We were only in the car 5 minutes and he was passed out. We'll have to go back and visit again after Jacob has had a nap.

Escapee Update

Josh returned home on Saturday afternoon and the first thing we did was fix Jacob's crib. There has been no additional escapes from the crib. Ahhh... I can relax for a bit, but only until he learns a new method to get out of his bed.

Escapee

So we had our first escapee from the crib last night. Jacob was put to bed at his regular bed time and he did not want to go to sleep. So he cried and screamed and screamed and cried. I finally went in after 20 minutes or so and picked him up. I calmed him down and the second I put him back in his crib he cried and screamed and screamed and cried. I just thought... you know what, he just needs to cry. So I sat in the front room trying to watch TV over the howling. Finally, the crying got louder... and closer. I jumped up, yelled some bad words and bolted for Jacob's room. He met me in the kitchen crying and screaming my name. I was so thankful he had made it out of his crib unharmed, but a bit upset he was out of his crib. I ended up rocking him to sleep for the next hour to ensure he would be totally asleep when he returned to his crib and hopefully wouldn't take the plunge again. He slept well and woke up at 6:30 this morning safe and sound.

Side note- I tried to fix the crib, but could not find Josh's tools to get the job done. I did take the bumper out from the side of his bed, hoping that he would loose a few inches of boost until Josh can fix it tomorrow.

Tonight I put him down as usual and once again the crying. I was sure my removal of the bumper helped the situation and he wouldn't escape, but I was wrong. He cried and screamed and screamed and cried for about 5 minutes until the crying turned to hysterical screaming. I ran in to his room and he was hanging on the crib supported by his little tummy, yelling my name. I scooped him up and held him for 45 minutes until he was nice and sleepy. He's been sound asleep for the past hour. I hope he lasts in his crib until Josh gets home!

A week alone

Josh left on Monday to go do some side work in Texas with our friend Mark, so Jacob and i have been flying solo. I try to keep busy when Josh is gone because, well, it just makes the time go by faster. So Monday we spent lounging and cleaning the house. Tuesday we visited Balboa Park, along with the other million people in San Diego. I was hoping to visit one of the museums since it was FREE Tuesday, but we got there a bit late and I knew Jacob wouldn't wait in any sort of line no matter what the payoff. So Jakey ran around the Organ Pavilion and then we had a picnic lunch on the grass by the car. The airport is right by the park, so we got to see the planes up close. Jacob didn't really know what he was looking at when the planes were flying over. He's used to seeing little specks in the sky or hearing the faint hum of a helicopter, but to see them up close was so cool. He didn't have to cock his neck back and strain his little eyes. There they were, so BIG! He was very excited.

Today we went to story time at the library. Jacob loved it. They read books, danced and sang songs. I liked it even better because it was FREE! We'll try to go every Wednesday. After the library, we went to the park, came home to eat lunch, and then we played in the water. After a long nap we went to say our final good-byes to Nana and Aunt Terri. They head off tomorrow to New York for a couple months. We will miss them A LOT!

Tomorrow we have a playdate with Monique and Emily and on Friday we are going swimming with Jessie and Madison. I think we'll be exhausted by the time Josh gets home on Saturday!

14 months old and the 4th

Yesterday Jacob turned 14 months old. Yipee! His favorite things to do lately include climbing on everything, swinging on the hammock, playing hide-and-seek, pulling and pushing his toys, and reading books. He loves to point at everything and make you tell him what it is. The words he says regularly are mama, dada, cat, bog (dog), wawawa (quack, quack, quack), duh (duck), moomoomoo (moon), cup, up and a couple more I can't think of right now. He understands so much. I can give him a direction and he's usually pretty good about following through. He's working to communicate his needs, but gets pretty frustrated and is beginning to throw little tantrums. Yikes! I thought they saved those until they were 2, but I guess not.

Today, the 4th of July, we are hanging out at home. We got some stuff to BBQ and Josh plans to clean the hot tub today so we can soak in it this afternoon. I got some small flags at the store the other day and Jakey is having a blast waving them in the air. I'll be sure to snap some pics of him being patriotic :)

Cats and Moons

I know. Interesting title for the journal entry, right? Well it totally describes Jakes new favorite things. He is obsessed with cats. He has learned how to say the word, and quite well I may add. But he points to every animal and says cat, unless it's a dog. He's already got that one down. He opens his books and find the cats, which he clearly identifies, but everything else on the page is a cat too. Unless there is a moon on the page. Then he will tell you there is a cat and a moomoo. Not a cow, but a moomoo (moon). He found both of these new things in his favorite book Goodnight Moon. He looks at the book all day. This weekend was the first time he saw the moon up in the sky during the day and pointed to it. He was a little unsure, but I kept telling him moon...moon. He kept saying moomoo and pointing to the sky. It was so cool.

He's really trying to imitate what ever Josh and i say. He points to everything and wants you to tell him what it is. He likes if you add sound effects too! He's into discovering everything around him and has to know how everything works. He is such a little scientist!

A visitor from the North

It's been a couple days since I last updated on the Butler Clan. Jakey has been so sick for the past 2 weeks. He recovered from a week long stomach bug for one day. I decided to get him out of the house and go to the park for a bit on Friday. There he fell and busted his chin open. On Saturday, he came down with runny nose, coughing and sneezing. He's still got a little cough, but his energy is back up and he's ready to go. This has been his first major bought with sickness, so I guess I can feel a bit lucky he waited for 1 year to get sick. But gosh, no more! Two weeks of sickness is enough for the next year or so.

While he was down and out, we had a visitor. My cousin Reena was in San Diego to visit a friend and stopped by on her way out of town. It was great to see her and relive old memories and catch up on new news. She got to meet Jakey for the first time too. He was eager to share all his toys and book with her. This marked my first Burton Family visit. I should have made her a certificate or something silly :)

Anyone else coming in to town this summer? Feel free to stop by!

Aquarium Visit and a BIG sickness

Last Friday, Grandpa Butler took our family to the Birch Aquarium in La Jolla. He had been wanting to take Jacob for a while, but Josh was not brave enough to go it alone, so he waited for me to be off from work. It was a lot of fun. Jake got to see the fishies. He loved the shark tank because there was a huge ray that kept swimming along the glass right where Jake was standing. He also like the kelp forest. They have a huge tank with glass from floor to ceiling with tons of sea life. They do feedings in there 2 times a week, but we weren't there on a feeding day. Jakey still loved running up the stairs and back down to press his face against the glass. He got to touch the water in the outside tide pool area. We tried to point out all the cool animals, but Jake just wanted to splash in the water :) It was a great trip! I'll add pictures when I get my computer back next week.
On Sunday, Jake got his first really high temperature, 103.5 to be exact. Not only did he have a temp, but I changed his diaper AT LEAST 10 times in less than 10 hours. I was so worried he would get dehydrated. The Tylenol was not working and he was just out of it. I had him loaded up to take to the emergency room, when Josh calmed me down and called our friend Ashleigh. She has 2 kids and she said to try Motrin. That worked for about 4 hours, but his temp would spike again. He was miserable! We made an appointment for Monday morning with Dr. Scannell. She said it could be a viral thing or a bacteria thing, but in either case they usually don't prescribe anything and just let it run its course. She told me to double to dose of Motrin and keep him cool. We did a stool sample and we're waiting for the results. SORRY! TMI... I KNOW!
Slowly he's been improving. Today he had enough energy to get up and play. We went out in the backyard for a bit to get out of the house and played with the water table. He hasn't had a temp all day and I've backed off on the Mortin dose, so we'll see how he does tomorrow.
Josh did admit that he wouldn't have been able to take care of Jakey if I was at work. In his own little way, I think he was saying he couldn't live without me!
Prayers and thoughts for Jake to help in his recovery!

School's Out For Summer!

Here the tune... Get it stuck in your head... I'm out for summer! Yippee! Can't wait to start full-time Mommyhood! We've already signed up for Gymboree, story time at the local library, and looking for a playgroup to romp around with. Yippee! So excited to enjoy this time with Jacob. It's gone by too fast. Did I say Yippee yet?

Yippee!

13 months and growing

Jacob turned 13 months yesterday! I'm unsure if I'm really going to call him 13 months old or if I'll just say he's one, but either way... HE IS GETTING SO BIG! He can do and say so many things these days. Here's a quick rundown of his accomplishments over the past month.

Jake is getting very good at communicating his needs. He points to everything he wants, like the crackers that are always on the counter. If you ask him if he's hungry he'll usually yell and when you tell him to go sit in his seat, he runs to his highchair. He's eating everything and for the most part has transitioned entirely onto whole milk. He can spin in circles and climb on the couch. He LOVES to play outside on his ride-on train and motorcycle. He's mastered pushing himself backwards and is learning to go forward. He wants to shoot hoops with Dada all the time and can usually be found romping through the backyard jungle with a stick or rocks in his hand. He loves talking to everyone on his pretend phone and is very good at pretend food games too! He has 6 teeth and is getting his first (painful) molar.

Jacob has a few words down pat and practices his sounds all day. He knows Mama, Dada Bog (dog), bye (with a wave), wawawa (quack, quack, quack) and bay (plane- points up in the air). He babbles about everything and is happy most of the time. He gets very frustrated when we don't understand what he wants. I can see the thought bubbles popping from his head saying, "Darnit, that's not what I'm talking about!" I can't wait until he can form a sentence or two and really give it to us!

In other news...We just spent a few days down at The Strand in Coronado camping with a bunch of friends. We all bring our trailers down and we can camp just steps from the beach. The company was great, but the weather was BAD. It drizzled off and on the entire time. Jacob only felt the sand on his feet for about 15 minutes on Saturday. Other than that it was sweats and a beenie. He loved playing with all his friends. Makes me think more and more about how much he would love a sibling!!!!! The hot topic of the vacation... Jacob got his first shiner. Within an hour of arriving, he took a tumble and hit the fire pit. Luckily there was no fire, but his eye suffered a bit. He was tough and pulled through. I joked with Josh and told him we needed to make a shirt for Jake that said " If you think I look bad, imagine what the other guy looks like!" We have another trip planned for the end of July. I'm pretty sure the weather will be WONDERFUL in San Diego by then!

First "REAL" Haircut

Jakey got his first "real" haircut on Saturday. I say "real" haircut because the first trim of the combover came a couple months back, but this time we went to a children's haircut place and actually paid money for the experience.

Josh went out of town on Friday night, so Jakey and I were flying solo. Trying to fill the time with fun, I thought it would be fun t go get some new shoes and a hair cut for Jakey. His last hand-me-down shoes bit the dust a few days back when the front became a scoop for all the bark at the park. They were his first big boy shoes and I thought I could fix them up, maybe ducktape?, but alas, I was wrong. So Saturday was the day...

We had an appointment at 11:45 for a haircut in La Jolla at Little Locks, but had to stop at the mall to grab some shoes before. I checked online and found some cute, and cheap, flip-flops and tennis shoes at Nordstrom. I NEVER get to shop there, but thought I'd splurge on my little boy. No lick with the flip-flops we we managed to get some really cute, velcro, black Converse Chuck Taylor's. Jake has a wide Flinstone foot, so that style fit him best.We were in and out in record time and on to the haircut.

Little Locks is a cute toy/haircut place for kids down by the beach. Not that I'd splurge again on a trim, but I thought what the heck! You only get a first haircut once. We got there and I loaded him in to the Blue Angels fighter jet, complete with hand controls. I strapped him in and he continued to cooperate when she put the drape around him. It was when she used the spray bottle to wet his hair that he LOST IT! I felt so bad for him and the hair stylist, but I grabbed my camera anyways to snap some shots. The painful event was over in a blink and he was off to play with the train set.

The pictures are pretty funny! As I was explaining to Josh how distraught Jacob was as he was viewing the pictures last night. He said, "they don't look to bad." And then I showed the screaming one... "Yep, he looks upset!"

Hope all is well with everyone!

Hard Lesson Learned

Well I'll start the blog off with the news that last night Jacob cried it out for the first time. He is usually a SUPER sleeper, but the past couple of nights he's been up a few times during the night. I'll go in, pick him up, rock him a bit and put him back down. He'll sleep through the rest of night no problem. Since he sleeps so well all the time, I just assume something is wrong if he is crying. Well last night, I learned the hard way, that he could cry it out and be OK. He did cry for a solid 35 minutes (from 11:15-11:50ish) and I kept thinking I would just go in there and help him feel better, but I thought better. We took advantage of our roommate being out of town and just let him cry. He managed to sooth himself back to sleep, but I was the one who couldn't settle for the rest of the night. Hope it doesn't happen again, or at least I can sleep through it :) It was a 2 cup of coffee day for work today!

On a more positive note, I've included some new pictures of Jacob. There are a few from the air show, Mother's Day, a recent pool experience, and the front facing car seat pics from his first birthday. I'll try very hard to keep current on the pictures.

I've also included a few new videos. Jacob has learned to spin in circles (SO FUNNY!) and the new buckethead thing Jakey does. It is way toooooo cutttteee!

First Year Check-up and Airshow

I forgot to mention that Jacob had his 1 year check up on Monday. He was 21.1 pounds (50%) and 31.5 inches (90%). Dr. Scannell said he is doing GREAT! He was very active and talking to her. He showed her how to use his little phone ad clapped when he she sang a song. He is super bright and a bit on the advanced side. This is not just my opinion, but echoed by the Dr. as well. We go back at 15 months for check-up and some more shots. Boooo! I can't wait to see when super- duper cool things he will do by then!

We also took our first bike ride down to Coronado to watch the Red Bull Air Show. It is an air race over the bay through an obstacle course. It's amazing. They fly so close to you and they are so fast. Jakey got to ride in the bike trailer Nana and GG got for him for his birthday. I pulled him using the beach cruiser and it was not bad at all. I told Josh we needed to get another bike so we didn't have to borrow one next time we wanted to go for a ride. I'll post pictures when I upload them.

Happy Mother's Day to Me

Yippee! My second Mother's Day. What a wonderful day to celebrate....ME! Josh let me sleep in. I only lasted until 7am. He went and got me Starbucks and donuts. Jake and I hung out while Josh started dinner in the crock pot. Jakey and I played outside, had lunch and then we both took a nap. Josh managed to clean the carpets AND mop the floor today. This afternoon, we went down to GG's house to see Nana and GG and give them their Mother's Day gifts. Jacob decorated a coffee mug for each of them with his original artwork. They were beautiful! After we hung out for a bit, we headed home and had dinner. I got Jakey ready for bed and the rest is history.

This year's Mother's Day was a bit more memorable, well because, I remember it. Last year, Jacob was only 10 days old and I was completely tired and rundown. From what I remember, it was wonderful, but this year was exceptional :)

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mommies out there!

First Birthday Fun!

Today my baby turned one!!!!!

We had a very exciting day! We had a "small" get together at the park close to our house. The party started with just family invited. Then we invited friends with and without kids. Then we told our neighbors and some neighbors down the street. So our "small" party turned out not to be so small, but it was perfect! The weather cooperated nicely. In fact it was HOT. I had poor jake in jeans and a collared shirt and he was dripping with sweat. We had the party from 11-1, giving us plenty of time to get back for a nap.

We had tons of food and plenty of decorations. Jakey loved to see all his friends and family. He had his first real taste of sugar when he ate his carrot cake cupcake. He surprisingly knew what to do. After messing with the frosting for a minute, he dove right in to the thing. He was covered in a mess, but was very happy. We opened gifts just in time, as Jake began to melt down. Possibly from the heat, possible from the overload of people, but MOST possibly from the sugar. Jakey got so many fun and educational (always my favorite) toys. He is very lucky to have to many people that love him to pieces!

1pm turned into 2pm very quickly and we drove home to get Jakey to bed. Oh I forgot to tell you about his new carseat. He got a new one that lets him face forward. He sat in it for the first time today and he LOVES it. He smiled the whole 3 blocks we drove to the park and on the way home!

So I posted over 100 pictures from today. Josh says I'm crazy. Hope you enjoy them!

Back to Normal

Well Jakey has fully recovered from his minor surgery on Monday. In fact, I was hoping, secretly, that he would be zonked a few more days. It's a bit easier to keep track of him when he just wants to sit and cuddle in your lap! Smiling

I'll attach a few pictures of him in his surgery gown. I know no one ever wants their butt hanging out the back, but his was so cute. He was a trooper and I think I cried more than he did.

Thank you to all the family that sent prayers for our doctors to be the best they could be and wishes for Jacob's speedy recovery!

I got him good!!!!

Yesterday was Josh's 30th birthday. We surprised him with a party at his family's local hangout Mountain Mike's Pizza. He had no idea that so many friends were going to show up. It was a wonderful surprise!

I had been planning this event for over a month. It was sooooo hard to keep everything from Josh as I was planning. I gathered pictures from friends and family and compiled a 15 minute video that we showed yesterday at the dinner. If I can figure out how to post it on YouTube I will. All-in-all it was such a wonderful day for the guy who hates to celebrate his birthday Joking

Josh and I also went on our first ever, adults-only trip. We stayed 3 days and 2 nights at the MGM in Las Vegas. It was so hard to leave, but a well needed vacation. It was nice to know Jakey was safe at home with Nana. We walked away with empty pockets, but chalked it up to "investing" in the local hotels. We will be waiting for our end of the year dividend check in the mail.

I am now counting down the days until the school year is over. 42 more days to go...

Hoppy Easter!!!

What a beautiful Easter! It's sunny and about 70 degrees here in San Diego. Jacob is really enjoying his first Easter. It was hard to find age-appropriate Easter items, but I came up with something fantastic. I got a couple large, colorful, plastic eggs and put different items inside like rice, pennies and little odds and ends and hot glued them shut. Jakey went on an egg hunt when he woke up from his nap and was so excited to find some brightly colored eggs in the yard. He can shake them and hear different sounds. He loves them. Please check-out the pictures and video. They are adorable!

Josh and I came back last night from our FIRST adults-only, overnight trip. We went to Las Vegas with 2 other couples and had a blast. To be honest, it was hard to transform from Mom to Wife and enjoy the time with other adults. It made it much easer to know Jakey was with his Nana having a blast at home.

We left on Thursday afternoon and spent our stay at the MGM. While there was no BIG winnings, it was super fun and well-needed. Josh and I are already looking forward to our next overnight sometime soon!

Many Firsts

Jakey has had a weekend full of many firsts. He went out to breakfast for the first time on Sunday. He did very well and sat in his chair for the majority of the time. He tried a tortilla chip for the first time and liked it. Then that night we went to Jon and Jenn's for his first Easter egg decorating. He didn't decorate. I just couldn't do the stained fingers, clothes and plain old mess. So Jake got to watch. I did give him an egg to hold and within seconds he had it smashed. I managed to get 3 pics of him so check those out in the picture section.

Yesterday I blew up his inflatable duck again (thanks Deanna) and he went swimming. I used a swimmy diaper for the first time on him and he like it. It's the pull-up kind... could this mean early potty training? Yes

I've posted those pics in the Jacob Pics section.

I made eggless banana bread yesterday with our overly ripe stash of fruit. It's the first sweet treat Jakey has eaten and he was in heaven. He's had some for breakfast today, too. Jakey also had guacamole for the first time last night. He LOVED it and kept yelling for more. I am fortunate that he is a super great eater.

Lastly, his front teeth are finally almost in. He's had the 2 bottom ones and the 2 that flank the front teeth, but the 2 very front ones were late to come in. I'll miss his jack-o-lantern grin, but am excited to see his "real" smile!

Same Kid... New Tricks

Well Jacob has not stopped acquiring new and fabulous talents and tricks in the past few weeks. He has mastered the "stand up from a sitting position", opening and closing the screen door, opening the kitchen cabinets and climbing on EVERYTHING! He loves to be outside and in fact, we've spent the last 4 afternoons running around the backyard. Mkes me clean up the dog poop more often! I attempted to rake leaves (wait, don't I live in San Diego?) as Jake was cruising the backyard. I got a good 20 minutes in of raking and pulling weeds until Jake found the side of the house. It's know affectionately as Area 51. It's the side that no one sees except the dog and the weeds grow as tall as me. Jacob was attracted to this place like a magnet. I tried to re-direct and physically move him 3 times and he kept getting sucked back to that area. I knew it was time to go back in, but I felt like I got a lot accomplished.

He also likes to find the dog toys, and other items, that Ellie likes to burry. He yells "BOG BOG BOG" when he wants her to come and she usually does. Probably because of the high pitch he uses. Don't dogs have super hearing? He is trying to learn to put things away. I've got him on a roll with his bath toys. When it's time to get out, I say "time to put the toys away". I give him a toy to put in the toy strainer as I try to get all the others back in the holder before he takes more out. He likes to put things in, but he also like to take things out. How helpful!

We got a collapsable, fabric tunnel for Jake to crawl in. He LOVES it. It's decorated like a dinosaur and 1 end has a movable flap the covers the entrance with a dinosaur face on it. He likes to hide in the tunnel and when I ask "Where is Jakey?" he pokes his head out a laughs. Then he goes back in until I call him again. He's pretty darn cute!

I'll try to keep you posted on all Jacob's cool adventures, but he does something new and exciting everyday! So stay tuned...

Days Gone By

Today is my little brothers birthday... any family reading this should have called him:) He is 27 this year. Although every one of his birthdays is a celebration, it is also a reminder of the passing of my mom. She passed at 11:58pm the night before my brother's birthday 13 years ago. What a wonderful woman she was. We always talk about how her passing was so precise. We all believe that somehow she thought she wouldn't make it through another day and did not want to damper my brother's birthday more than she had, so she passed minutes before it was "his" day.

I've been thinking a lot about starting a garden for Jakey. One of my worst memories growing up was having my mom's garden in our front yard. OUR FRONT YARD!!! Who does that?!?!? I hated that friends would always ask "why do you have corn and beans growing in your front yard"? And yes, they really asked. It wasn't some paranoid teenage thing. I fussed and yelled and thought my mom was the weirdest mom ever. How I wish I could take all those words back!

Well I haven't taken over the front yard, but I have cleared a small spot on the side of the back yard. I'm getting ready to start the soil next week. Jake and I are going to plant kid-friendly plants. If you have any recommendations, send them this way. I bought him a little plastic rake and shovel which he loves using on the patio. I am not a green thumb in any way, but I think it will give Jake and I a special thing to care for throughout the Spring and Summer. I'm going to get some letters to hang that say "Grandma Sue's Garden". I know she'll be watching over this special place!

Preparing for Spring

I thought it fitting that I felt the need to CLEAN this weekend. After all, Friday was the first day of Spring. It started on Saturday morning. I loaded the dishwasher around 7am and went to play with Jacob in the front room. I suddenly got a good wiff of an orange smell. I realized that Josh had poured some cleaner in the dishwasher earlier in the week and made a mad dash for the kitchen. There were suds all over the floor. I turned the naughty appliance off and got Josh up to help. As I scooped the suds from the dishwasher I went to run the garbage disposal and it wouldn't work. I tried the magic button underneath, unplugging it and Josh even stuck a HUGE crow-bar-thing in there and it wouldn't budge. I left the suds in the dishwasher, closed it up and turned my attention to the disposal. Josh unscrewed it down below and undid the connection to the sink. Then Josh left to go riding...

He returned later in the afternoon and hammered away on it. He got the disposal working and I left the dishwasher until today. I was sure that all appliances broke in 3's. With the demise of the fridge, I for sure thought Sears was going to get a visit from us again.

I managed to get laundry done today, but that's it. So maybe next weekend I'll get my Spring Cleaning in.

Out with the old... In with the new

Crawling is soo over-rated according to Jacob. This past Sunday, March 15th, Jacob took off walking and has not looked back since. He's pretty funny when he's walking. It's a combination of a drunken sailor and new born horse. Weird analogy, but it's true. He has the stepping pattern of someone exiting from a good night at a bar and frequently will just have his knees buckle and he'll tumble to the ground like a new colt trying to run. He's been walking with his arms up as if he's still holding on to my fingers and is getting better at holding items when he walking. The video I'll post tomorrow, I don't have my work computer with me, shows him walking around with his shoes and socks stuffed into one fist. A shoe or sock would fall out and he'd pick it up and smash it into the fist with all the other items again. He was so proud of himself.

With this new found freedom, I've notice how head-strong Jacob is. If he has an idea of where he wants to go and for some reason he doesn't make it there, he sure gets upset. He still likes to grab my fingers and direct me where to take him. He usually chooses to walk up and down the one step off our entry landing or walk over to the slider to yell at the dog. I'm sure this persistant attitude will take him far in life!

I've also started planning a 1st birthday party. Insert my favorite saying... WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE? Out with the old business of having a "baby". I'll soon have a toddler.

Last new item at the Butler house.. a wonderful, big, working fridge! The one that came with the house took a poop about 6 months ago. Josh bought a "new" one off of Craigslist, Our electric recently jumped to TWO-HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE DOLLARS, which is way off the hundred bucks we usually pay each month. Come to find out, our fridge was part to blame. The freezer kept freezing over and on one attempt to defrost the freezer with the hairdryer, Josh broke the adjustment button. Our fridge slowly started running more and more throughout the day, until last week it was running for 24 hours a day. I jumped on the chance to get a new one. Thanks Sears!

Enought about us. Hope all is well with everyone!

A Gushing Mama

Last night as I was putting Jacob to bed, I started thinking about how wonderful my little guy was. I usually use this calm time to reflect on the day and send our thoughts and prayers to the right people, but last night was different. Last night, I actually got emotional as I rocked and patted Jake before I laid him down. I was not necessarily sad, but just amazed at how much he has changed my life. I was noting how mack Jakey has grown in the past 10 months. Not only in size, but in his abilities as well.

Earlier in the evening, we took a family trip to Henry's to pick up some produce. Everyone that passed us made a comment on how cute he is, how blue his eyes are, or how aware he was of the things around him. When we left, Jacob pointed to all the planes and helicopters that were in the sky. He points up to the sky every time he hears them now. He clapped and babbled all the way home singing to the music. At home he grabbed my fingers and led me around the house for a bit before I took him outside. There, he picked up leaves and put them in a container. He tried to put the lid on, and though unsuccessful, managed to grunt and grown as he worked along, just like a big boy would.

After dinner I gave him his bath. He is really enjoying standing in the bathtub. It actually freaks me out, so I put the Death Grip on his little arm and hold on tight. He has a plastic fork he loves to play with and was using it to dip into his cup and scoop out the water. He is so inquisitive.

So as I kissed him good night, all these great memories flickered through my mind. I am one lucky Mama!

Much Needed Update!

It's been FOREVER since I've updated everyone on the Butler happenings. So here's a short rundown.

- My 30th birthday was great! Went to dinner with friends and ate too much!

- Went on a family desert trip from Thursday, February 19-Sunday the 22nd. It was wonderful. We ended up with more people out there than expected. It was the first time we have seen out there since Jacob has become mobile. He loved the abundance of rocks to much on, space to push his train and large amount of toys... dirt bikes, buggies, Joyners, and yes even a pink quad. We even got a day long show from the Blue Angels. They fly out of El Centro and practiced ALL DAY right over our camp. It was awesome. Jake had a BLAST! He knows to point in the sky now when he hears a plane :) Please see all our pictures and new videos of our trip to Superstition.

- I returned back to school this week after a short week off for Ski Week. What a bummer! It was so nice to be a Mommy for a week :)

- Jacob had his 9 month check-up this week. He weights 19.8 pounds (50th percentile), 29.5 inches (75th percentile) and got 2 shots. Ouch! Our doctor said Jake was ADVANCED for his age, but I already knew that! Yes

He's growing well, clapping, pointing, walking and eating wonderfully! We feel so fortune to have a happy, healthy growing boy! He'll be 10 months on the 3rd of March. Guess I need to start planning a 1st birthday party soon!

- I CUT JACOB"S HAIR!!!!I finally gave in and cut his old-man-combover. We too a few pics and posted them in the Jacob's Pics Section. He looks so grown up now.

Hoe that was enough of a catch-up. I'll do my best to post more frequently :)

Happy Birthday.... to ME!

Today I woke up 30 years old. Yep... 30 years old. 3 centuries. 10,950 days. 262,800 hours. Sounds pretty old when I say it out loud, and as Josh will say, he's married to an older woman (only by 2 months!). They say that your 30's are the new 20's. Well I enjoyed my 20's, so I guess I'm off to a good start.

I share a birthday with Michael Jordan and Paris Hilton. WooHoo, lucky me! China invaded Vietnam on this day in 1979. The Greatful Dead played at the Oakland Coliseum on this day. Not too many notable events on this day, except for my birth!

I can only remember 1 story that my mom shared with me every year on my birthday. I'll give you a bit of a background. I am the first grandchild born to the youngest of 4 children. My mom and father were not married and my mom was living with my Grandma, which I later named Johnny, in San Carlos. I was supposed to be born at the end of January on my Uncle Gordie's birthday. When I didn't arrive on that day, it turned into a waiting game. 2 WEEKS LATER.. my mom went into labor at her house. Johnny's job was to time contractions for my mom. As my mom grabbed her stuff and headed to the car, Johnny grabbed the only clock she could find... the one plugged into the wall! Needless to say, it was not very helpful.

After arriving to Stanford Hospital, I still was not ready to make my entrance into this crazy world and was finally delivered by C-section on Saturday, February 17, 1979!

Tonight Josh has planned a dinner party for me at PF Chang's with some friends. I'll save my BIG celebration for Vegas in April along with Josh's 30th! I'll post pics tomorrow :)

Angels among us

So today I was the worst mom ever. I'm only sharing this because I'm sure something like this has happened to someone you know or you yourself. And I know I'm not the worst mom ever, but I just feel like it.

Jacob and I ran to the store really quick to get some stuff for the week. I have this Boppy cover I put over the grocery cart seat so Jacob doesn't gnaw on the nasty push bar. I put him in there like I usually do, but this time I neglected to buckle him in. We walked around the store shopping and everything seemed to be fine. When I turned to look at the noodles, I guess I was turned for a bit too long. I heard a scream and turned to find Jacob on the ground. He was sitting on his bottom screaming. I threw the noodles and ran to pick him up. I grabbed him and held him, almost crying myself. As I pulled him in to me he began to settle down and stop his wailing. There was a man in the isle trying not to look at us, while putting his items in his cart. He was so kind he said, "Look he's already fine". He continued by saying, "It probably scared you more than him. He's fine. Just look at him".

And really the man was right. I gave Jacob the once over, pinching and prodding at his head, arms, back, hips, leg and feet. Nothing. I'm still unsure how Jacob managed to fall from the cart, without taking any of the jars of pickles with him, and gently land on his rump. Really he was only inches from the shelves in the isle. I have to think that there were angels around him. In fact, I know that there were angels there to help him down safely.

After I scooped him up and checked him out, I felt like leaving the cart right there in the isle and making a run for the door. But I didn't. Jacob settled down and I went straight to the check-out line. As I left the isle, the man said, "Don't worry. He will be OK". Thank goodness that there was a kind person in the isle and not someone screaming at me for letting my child fall out of the cart.

So I know I'm not the worst mom in the world, but it's very easy to let things slip. I've promised myself, and Jacob, that I will always buckle him in :) Even when he's screaming his head off. I'l tell him it's for his own good!

Be sure to thank your angles tonight!

A walk in the clouds

I've posted our newest and greatest video of Jacob walking. He's taken about 4 or 5 good steps between Josh and I. He told me he's not "really" going to walk until my birthday next week. It's my special 30th birthday present :) Also check out pictures from Jacob's first hail storm. Yes... we get hail in San Diego!

Happy Valentine's Day!

A Day in the Dumps

Today started out like any other Tuesday. I got up early to attend a staff meeting and had a great day. When I called to check in with Josh this afternoon, my day turned upside-down. Josh was laid off today from the company he's worked for for almost 5 years. To tell you the truth, I felt like I was going to throw up.

It's a a bit weird. We've been bombarded with RECESSION , LAYOFFS, and DOWNSIZING plastered all over the news, but that is for "those" people, not my family. I'm still a bit dazed and am unsure where to go from here. I've put it up to those that can make changes and will wait for the outcomes as patiently as I can. Who knows... this could be a blessing in disguise.

9 months and counting

Jacob has reached yet another milestone. He turned 9 months old yesterday! I know this is one of my favorite things to say, but "MAN...WHERE DOES THE TIME GO"? He is doing so many cool things now. Please see his newest video. He is ALMOST walking. No really. Not just holding my fingers and walking. Not the "Oh, he fell and managed to take some steps on the way down", but the full on "I'm gettin' the heck outta here" walk. It's only time before he does it on his own. His favorite walking activities are grabbing my hand or fingers and dragging me around, as well as pushing his choo-choo that Nana got him for Christmas. In fact, when he runs into the wall or runs into his toys he gets upset and yells that he has to stop walking. He hasn't figured out how to turn the darn thing around yet, but that too is only time...

He and Nana have been going to a music class called Babies Boogie on Tuesdays. He loves music and is often found shakin' his bootie when he hears a song. I thought it would be fun for him to be with other kids and enjoy some tunes. He now knows how to clap and does it all the time. He does it when we cheer, when there is music on and when he likes something. Josh has also managed to turn the clap into a high 5. That is their new male bonding activity :)

For the past couple of days, little Jakey has been S-I-C-K. He's been coughing, had a runny nose and NOT SLEEPING :(!!!!!!!! This weekend is a blur, as it was filled with sleepless days and nights for us all. Friday night was bad, but Saturday was worse. Josh finally took Jake on a car ride at 2 in the morning and returned thinking he was asleep. On his way home Jacob woke up and screamed the entire way. I nearly lost it that night and just decided that it was OK to have Jacob watch TV at 3 in the morning until he was tired enough to return to bed, which ended up being around 5:30am. Sunday was a bit better and Josh was able to take him to the Dr. on Monday. She gave us some meds and he's been sleeping for longer chunks at night. I told Josh that I really wouldn't mind the night wakings if it was something that Jacob always did. But since I'm accustomed to my 7:30pm to 6 :30isham sleep, this threw me off big time. Even after all the lost sleep, grumpies and exhaustion, I'd have another kid in a heartbeat!

That's all for now. Check out the pictures of the fort Josh and Jake made with the blankets. It's pretty cute if I do say myself!

Long Time, No Post

The whirlwind continues to buzz in the Butler house. It seems to be a never-ending rush to the finish line, but the ribbon keeps moving to a farther location the closer we get!

I've been busy with school. Planning, implementing, and always trying to be a step ahead of the kids. I've just started an after school class on Thursdays. I'm hosting a Teddy Bear Tea Party with 13 girls from Pre-Kindergarten- First grade. Thursday was our first class and we stuffed our own teddy bears, gave them a name, and filled out the bears birth certificate. Next week we're making clothes for our bears. We are going to make other crafts, taste different teas, and learn Tea Time behavior. Our 10 week class will end with a wonderful Tea Party. The class seems like it will be fun and will put some extra cash in our pockets. I'm also a test proctor at SDSU about once a month or so. I've also been helping a friend plan her wedding, which someday I hope to make into a real full-time job. I had so much fun planning my own and searching for the best deals, that it is been a blast to help a friend prepare for her special day! Needless to say, my calendar is my best friend right now.

Josh continues to plug along at work. Work is sooooooo s-l-o-w right now. At least he's not one of the 9.1% who are unemployed in California right now. Although sometimes I'm SURE he'd make more money being unemployed! We are keeping our ears open for anything better!

And little Jacob...

He's sprouted his second tooth! He's been a bit unhappy, but overall he's been a trooper! He has also decided, for the most part, that he is through with "baby" food. He has become much more independent and doesn't want to be fed. He would rather not eat, than be fed from a spoon! This has made things a bit more tricky for me when finding a variety of foods to give him. Fortunately he's a GREAT eater and will try anything you put on the tray. He's really enjoyed broccoli trees now that he has teeth. I've posted a picture of him eating his favorite green food. This new eating independence makes for great diaper changes!

So just a short "catch-up" on our family. I'll try to schedule more time to keep you all posted!

Long time passing

Seems like forever since I posted last. I've been back to work and juggling everything while I transition back to the grind. Boy I do miss the lazy days of hanging with Jacob, wearing pajamas all day, watching Jack's Big Music Show 20 times and taking naps! Having 2 weeks off to spend doing whatever you want sure spoils you. But only 33 more days until I have another week off.

Jacob continues to amaze me each day. His new feats include mastering the dog door, waving (or at least that's what we're calling it) and expanding his food repertoire. Some of you have seen the cell phone video of his escape out the dog door and if I can figure out post it to YouTube, I'll add it to our page. It's pretty funny. Jacob has been exploring the door for a few days prior. He was sticking his hand out, poking his head out and playing with the flap. I thought it was only time until he went completely out. While I was cooking dinner one night I noticed he found interest in it again. e was watching Ellie come and go and finally took a chance. Call me a bad parent, but my first instinct was to grab a camera to record the action... I needed to document his accomplishment! I got the tail end of the escape and managed to grab him before he tipped over the dog's water bowl. He has yet to go completely out again, but we know to keep a close eye on him when he's in the kitchen.

Jacob also likes to wave a lot. At least that's what we are calling it. According to Josh, AND PLEASE EXCUSE THE UN-P.C. COMMENT, it looks like a retarded wave. I think it's cute. I say Hi or Bye-Bye when he does it so he knows. I told Josh that's the only way to make it un-retarded like.

Jacob has also decided that he is pretty much over the baby food thing. He would much rather feed himself. He eats Cherrio's, sweet potato puffy, frozen waffles, bitter biscuits and some cut up fruits by himself. He is not so into cut up veggies or any meat yet, so I continue to give him the stage 3 food of those. He's growing up so fast!

Last night Nana watched Jacob so Josh and I could go to a friends house for a poker game. It was fun to be out with adults and no kids. To make it better Josh won the game, so we ended up with $110! That makes up for the late bedtime and early wake-up.

Hope the new year is treating everyone well so far!

Last Chance to View

I forgot to post that, in the spirit of the New Year, I will be removing some of the picture and video sections on our blog to make room for the new stuff. I'll leave them up until the 12th of January if you were needing one last peek.

Here We Come 2009

Holy Crap... Where did the time go????? It seems like just yesterday that we were ringing in 2008. Actually I was pregnant and asleep by 10pm last New Year's, but I heard it was a good one :)

This year we celebrated Santee Style. We walked across the street to our neighbors house, watched some dirt bike jump on ESPN, stood by the fire pit in the driveway, and then lit off fireworks at midnight. Yee-Haww! Gotta love the East County.

We hope this year brings more health, wealth and fun!

CHEERS!

P.S.- GO CHARGERS!!!!

Late Christmas Present

Well Jacob had a surprise present arrive yesterday...HIS FIRST TOOTH! On Christmas he was pretty fussy, but I thought he was just overwhelmed and over-tired. Then I thought he was coming down with his 2nd cold or ear infection because he was pulling at his ear. Finally he started chewing on EVERYTHING and drooling EVERYWHERE. Saturday something sharp poked through and yesterday there was a full on sprout!

He is a total trooper. Yesterday he just wanted to be held and have his pacifier, which we only give at bed time, but I felt so bad for him so I let him have it. Today he seemed fine and went along with his day just as usual. He keeps sticking his tongue out and then sucking it back in. I think he notices that there is something new in there. He was so funny today when he was eating his Cherrios. He kept trying to chew in the front and food just kept falling out. He'd pick it up and put it back in a couple of times before it got small enough to swallow. What a big boy! If I can get a pic, I'll post it, but Jacob has been pretty shy about sharing his new present :)

Happy Holidays

What a wonderful time of year. Christmas was super here in the Butler house. On Christmas Eve we visited with our friends at the Baptista house. Jacob loved getting to see all of his friends and Josh and I loved eating Jon's smoked turkey and Jenn's tasty desserts! I bought a new pair of pajamas for Jacob to wear on Christmas Eve, a tradition for both Josh and I growing up, and changed him before we left so he could wake up on Christmas morning looking dashing. He managed to throw up on them that night and his diaper leaked in the morning, so better luck next time. It was the thought that counts, right.

On Christmas morning we saw that Santa had visited us and eaten some of our cookies and drank some milk. We open some presents and then Jacob took his morning nap. After he woke up we went for Round 2 with the presents. Jacob was so excited to play with the paper, ribbons and bows!

The Butler family came over in the afternoon for dinner and Round 3 of presents. Josh smoked a tri-tip and I cooked a ham. We had my Aunt Nancy's yummy potato dish, rice, salad, and Josh's delicious green beans. The tri-tip turned out really good and might become a tradition in itself on Christmas. For dessert I had puffed pastry filled with chocolate mouse. I was so full I could barely move!

Jacob received so many presents we don't know what to do with them all. I think next year we'll ask for 1 special gift and the others can be donated to those that need them. We've got to start teaching him about what the holiday's truly mean.

We hope you all were blessed with family and friends at your side yesterday. Wishing you all a Happy New Year!!!!

Please see the video of me reading a book I made for Jacob for Christmas. It's called The Gingerbread Reindeer :)

Diaper Diary and Other Tales

I have never felt the need to share anything about my son's bathroom behavior... until now. This was too funny to not share! So here it goes...

I've been wrapping small boxes to entertain Jacob as well as help him practice his strategies for ripping wrapping paper. Well there was a piece of wrapping paper on the ground that he has been toting around the front room for a few days. I haven't thrown it out because he seems to like putting it on his head and carrying it around in his mouth, which leads me to my discovery. I changed Jacob's diaper yesterday trying not to look at the mess, but something red caught my eye. My first thought... Oh My Gosh, he's bleeding from his butt! But upon further investigation, noticed that there was also green in his diaper. Needless to say, he must have consumed some of the colorful paper and passed it like a champ. After the diaper change, I picked up all the wrapping paper and gave Jacob a gift bag to chew on. My hope is that I'd notice a chunk of the bag missing much more quickly. Here's to dirty diapers!

I am enjoying my first "real" day off from work. It is my first day of my 2 week break. I noticed I slept better last night knowing I didn't HAVE to get up early to get myself ready, put away dishes from the night before, pack my lunch, make a bottle, feed Jacob, change a diaper and jam to work. I've stayed in my PJ's the majority of the day listening to the rain. I did get dressed for an hour as I ran to Target for some last minute goodies. But as soon as we got back, I slipped into my jammies again.

I've posted Jacob's Christmas pictures that we shot a couple weeks ago. Be sure to take a look!

Lot's a happenin'

Today Jacob tried a new food. I was thinking that 7 1/2 months was a good time to start some finger foods, so Jacob got to nibble on some whole-grain frozen waffle today. He loved it! I think he's sick of the stage 2 baby food and ready for some "real" food. He is a great eater and loves anything that I give him, so hurray for Jacob!

We also decorated our tree today. It's beautiful! Jacob helped put the star on the top with help from Dada. We also had our first fire in the fireplace this year. It's cold here in San Diego. It's been down in the 50's at night and 60's during the day. Brrrrrrr! My friend Megan, who lives on the East Coast, emailed me and told me how unfair it was for Josh to wear SHORTS in the video I shot when we unveiled our x-mas tree. So I apologize to all those living in truly cold parts of the states, as I complain about our "cold" weather here in lovely Southern California Joking

Only 1 more week for me at school. I can't wait to have 2 weeks off with my little Jacob and wonderful husband!

Hope everyone is staying warm!

Date Night and Christmas Tree Shopping

Last night Josh and I had our first date night in over 5 MONTHS! We dropped Jacob off at 6:30 at Mrs. Anita's and planned to go out to dinner. We didn't know exactly where we were headed, but we had 3 gift certificates for different restaurants. Somehow we ended up at Chevy's, a Nor-Cal favorite. This was not place that we had a gift certificate to, but we thought "hey, what the heck." We gorged ourselves on chips and salsa and barely managed to eat our dinner. We finished just before 8 and agreed we couldn't go back to get Jacob. It had only been an hour and a half. So we drove..around...for a half hour. We were both so tired from a long work week, we went to get our little man and headed home. We reached the front door a bit before 9. Josh and I were thinking the same thing... When did we get so old? It was a great time though. Having adult talk over a dinner that I wasn't shoveling into my face is WONDERFUL! Josh and I agreed to get out of the house at least once a month for some alone time :)

Today we went to go get our Christmas tree. It's so exciting knowing that this is Jacob's first Christmas. Following tradition, we headed to Home Depot to get out tree. Josh has a theory that you find a tree quickly, do not unwrap it when you take it home and open it, it's always the best tree you've ever seen. I've gone along with this theory for the last 9 years and it seems to work and save time. We got in, bypassed the lady making her husband undo 10 trees to see what they look like, payed and loaded back up in 15 minutes, really! While this is a long standing Butler family tradition, I think next year we'll go cut one down. We have to try the Burton/Talistu tradition of Christmas tree shopping. We go to a tree farm, look at EVERY tree, decide to cut one down in the back corner of the lot, realize we don't have a saw, hike to get a saw, cut it down, realize we don't have a wagon and make the kids drag it back. Fortunately for Jacob, he's an only child (so far) and we'll have to help him next year. Check out our few pics of Jacob and a video of the Christmas tree unveiling.

Hope everyone is safe and warm. I feel the holiday season in the air!

Thanksgiving

There are so many things to be thankful for this year. Yes, there are a lot of things that are down-in-the-dumps, but this is a time to find thanks for the small things that bring light to your life.

I was so thankful to have our family over for dinner on Thursday. Nana, Grandpa, Aunt Jenny, Jacob, Josh and I enjoyed turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce, rolls and homemade apple crisp. We nearly finished off a 21 pound turkey by ourselves! Josh's dad brought over 4 carousels of slides and a projector. It was so fun to see "Little Josh" and "Little Jenny" growing up. There were many family stories shared and it was a good time to reflect about the loved ones that are no longer with us. I told Mike he had to bring more slides on Christmas. I can't wait to share pictures with Jacob and his family 30 years down the road.

I spent the day before preparing everything and had the turkey cooking when everyone arrived. I LOVE to cook, although this year with a little one wanted ALL of my attention, made juggling it all a challenge. Josh was very helpful and we did a lot after Jacob went to bed.

We hope you all enjoyed time with family and friends.

Family Traditions

What a fine time to share family traditions. This weekend, Josh brought home his old rocking horse. The tail was broken and it needed a bit of cleaning up, but Josh worked on it on Saturday and surprised Jacob with it when it was finished. It was so cute. Josh held Jacob as he rocked. Jacob really liked it and Josh looked like a proud Daddy as he shared this family treasure with his son. We hope to start many more new traditions this year as Jacob celebrates his first Thanksgiving and Christmas.

On a TOTALLY different note...

Tonight I MADE Josh change Jacob's dirty diaper. We usually row-sham-bow, but I was tired of loosing, so I told Josh he had to do it. (Just for fun we did row-sham-bow and I won) You have to watch the video (#23 on the right). It's tear-jerkingly funny! Have a great one!

He's CRAWLING!!!!

So yesterday Jacob decided was the day that he would showcase his new talent of CRAWLING. Not just a "crawl-crawl-fall" type of movement... but a "crawl-across-the-room-on-the-first-try" type. I have been in such awe for the past day. I know I have said before that he is an amazing little boy, but WOW, he's an AMAZING little boy! I am such a proud Mommy. Please watch his video (moved to the right of this blog) it is so cool!

BIG BOY BATH

Jacob took his first bath in the BIG bathtub last night. He was starting to out-grow the little tub that we have, but it was so easy to set him up in the kitchen sink and have him cleaned in less than 10 minutes. Josh and I row-sham-bowed on diaper duty last night and I lost, so he had to set up the tub. He said "Babe, you think he's big enough to go in the other tub?" My heart sank... my baby is to big for the baby tub!

Jacob really enjoyed the BIG tub. He splashed and squealed with delight! Please watch his video. It's adorable!

So I guess I have to pack up the little tub for now. Josh says it will be packed forever, I have a different idea! Wink

Hope all is well with the rest of you!

Plugging Along

Not much new here.

The boy is grow-ing! He seems to be taller, faster and smarter each day. He still is not quite crawling, but is getting very fast at "the worm"... think 1990's music videos. I'll post a video to show you his talents. He really enjoys going for the DVD player, cable box and all other electronics for that fact. I told Josh the other day that I think Jacob is hardwired, a pun just for my mom, to gravitate towards all pieces of technology. He has never been given the TV remote to play with, yet every time he sees it, he tries to grab it. He will move slowly toward the TV, look back to see if we're watching, then haul butt to try to get a piece before we pick him up and move him. I've tried to re-direct, teacher talk for distract, him with a different toy, but that kid remembers things and will go right back to getting into mischief. Nana started putting up barriers around the front room because Jacob was getting way to good at getting into the DVDs. I think this trend will only continue as he REALLY begins to crawl.

As I pulled into the driveway this afternoon, Josh ran out and told me to hurry and come look at Jacob. I asked where he was and Josh told me he was in his room. I peaked in and I saw the cutest thing ever. Jacob was sitting there, propped up on the crib bumper, just hangin' out. I will post his pictures. They are so cute.

Josh has applied to a couple graphic design jobs. Everyone cross your fingers... PLEASE! Our family needs a happy Daddy who likes his job and gets paid well. One job is at a motorcycle company and is right up his alley. I have a friend of a friend who works there in the graphic design department, so hopefully my connection can get Josh in the door. Think good thoughts for him!

I've been plugging along at work. Second grade is so wonderful. The majority of the time the kids are self-sufficient so we are able to do FUN things while we learn. We are currently learning about the USA and tying that in to the election. Although they are in second grade, the kids had A LOT to say about who should be elected. I think there was only one unhappy child after the election due to the results. I have 7 more days of work until I'm off for Thanksgiving break and I'm so excited. I can't wait to stay at home with my little guy and enjoy the holiday!

So as you can see, the Butler Family is just plugging along. We'll keep you posted on the job front!

Happy 6 Month Birthday!

Today Jacob turned 6 months! I know I've said this before, but "Where does the time go?" It seems to fly by in a blink of an eye. At the Dr.'s last week he was 17.2 pounds (50 percentile) and 27 1/2 inches tall (70 percentile and 3 inches in 2 months!) He had a pretty crummy day all day, so I was worried to take him to the Dr. for his check-up and shots. But when we got there, he was laughing and laughing. Not just a small giggle, but the kind where he almost can't catch his breath. The nurse took him around the office laughing and then felt so bad when she had to give him a shot. He recovered well and was laughing again in no time!

So Jacob has done many "firsts". He went trick -or-treating on Halloween for the first time. We lacked money to buy a costume so we searched through his closet and found a cute motocross outfit. So he was Kevin Windham and rode around in his stroller to 3 of the neighbors houses. He didn't really seem to know what was going on, but it didn't bother him. He had his orange pumpkin trick-or-treat bag and got some mini M&M's, which Josh ate :)

Then we loaded up the trailer and headed out to the desert for the weekend. We left after feeding and bath time, so Jacob slept the whole ride and went right into his playpen and slept all night. The weekend was fun and Jacob seemed to enjoy it. A bit hot, but it tired him out and made the time change seamless :) See our newest photos in the 'Jacob Pics" section.

We we got home on Sunday night, Jacob enjoyed his first bit of "real" food. We had oatmeal cereal and seemed not to know what to do. It's an enjoyable video :) Check it out in the video section at the bottom of our page.

Last, but not least, Jacob is SO CLOSE to crawling. He's figured out the push up position, the rocking on his hands and knees, and he's working to move the arms and legs in unison instead of the lunge forward. Another video to watch. We'll keep you posted on his progress :)

Pumpkin Patch

Today was a great day! Josh and I took Jacob to his very first pumpkin patch. We drove to a local dairy farm, which transforms into a pumpkin patch every fall. I visited last year with my kindergarten kids 2 days before I left on pregnancy leave :) The Van Ommering family has owned the dairy for generations and make everyone feel at home on the farm. They had a pumpkin patch, hay ride, hay slide, soccer arena, playground, petting zoo and pretend milking station. We got LOTS of pictures of Jacob with all the pumpkins, on a tractor, by the sheep ("I can't see sheep!"- for those of you who watch Jon and Kate +8), and of course with Mom and Dad. Josh almost got out of the family picture, but a nice woman offered to take one right as we were leaving. We got a lot of entertainment, a bottle of water and a pumpkin for only 6 bucks. What a deal! I recommend that everyone visit Oma's Pumpkin Patch if you are in the area :) Check out Jacob's pumpkin patch pictures!

Back from the dead

I have to share this wonderful story...

Josh joined me while I was giving Jacob a bath tonight, which is a rarity, but always welcome. He was rambling about how he felt sorry for me. I asked why and he went on about how we're in debt and such and he was sorry. I reassured him that I don't feel bad for myself in any way. Then he followed Jacob and I to go get jammies on and read a book. He sat in the rocking chair and told Jacob goodnight, told him he loved him and asked for a kiss. I WAS SO SURPRISED! This is very unlike Josh, who swears up and down that Dad's don't do that kind of stuff. So I jumped at the chance for Josh to kiss Jacob goodnight. Josh stayed in the chair and proceeded to tell me this story...

The other day he was listening to the radio and the DJ was talking about how some guys don't really connect with their kids until THAT MOMENT with his child. When it happens, the guy realizes, "Wow, that's my kid!". He explained it a bit better, but you get the jist. So I asked him what was his "moment". He told me that the other day before I got home from work he was playing with Jacob on the ground and Jacob just looked at him and gave one of his million dollar smiles. He thought, "I didn't have to make a silly face, funny sound or tickle Jacob and he just smiled at me." I thought that was so sweet that I needed to share. I'm sure Jacob will get many more hugs and kisses from his Daddy!

I digress...

I'm finally starting to overcome the sickness that I have had for the last week or so. It's moved from my throat, ear, back to my throat, sinus's, ear and back to my throat. I've been to the Dr. 2 times. The first time, I saw a new doctor because my primary was full for the day. He said I had a canker sore near the back of my throat. He gave me some paste to put on it and practically guaranteed I'd feel better by tomorrow, which was Saturday. I should have known better when he didn't take my temperature or swab my throat, but prescribed me something that I was supposed to rub way at the back of my wet throat without gagging or almost throwing up. (It brought me back to my early pregnancy days.) By that time though, I was willing to do just about anything to feel better... but I didn't. I survived the weekend living on water and Tylenol every 4 hours.

I made it back to my primary on Monday. She didn't discount the other Dr.'s diagnosis, but actually took my temp and swabbed for strep. Nothing came back positive, so she thought it could just be the change in the weather or a new allergy to something. So today is the first day I feel like I am back from the dead. I hope I can get all the chores finished that have been waiting for me!

Same old same old

Not to much to report for the Butler household this week. We seem to be doing the same old thing, just plugging along each day. Not that this is bad in any way, just doing what we know best and keeping things simple. Josh continues to look for a new job. It's nearly impossible these days to find a job where he will make a comparable paycheck to what he is making now. And let me remind you he's working 4 days a week about 3 or 4 hours a day. Not saying so much about our economy is it.

I've taken on a part-time, very flexible job. I am going to be a test proctor for SDSU. I've done it in the past at the old school I worked at for the SAT tests. but I think this will be a bit different. I went to my orientation yesterday and hopefully will start soon. They'll notify me when they will be needing my services and then I can accept or not depending on my schedule. As of now, I think I'll take as many opportunities I can get. It pays somewhere around $15 an hour, which will help out a bit.

Jacob continues to amaze me daily. He has discovered that is hand can move in a circular motion instead of just up and down, side to side. He likes to hold things in his hand and twirl them. His favorite is his spoon. It looks like he's mixing up some food and he'll do it for a while before he gets bored and moves on. He is anxious to crawl and often gets upset when he just can't get where he wants to go. He has mastered sitting without assistance and can lift his arms and play with his toys. This week he has learned to knock down the tower of toys I make. I clap and say "YAY!" and he'll do it again, sometimes before I can get all the cups stacked. He also likes to be upside down now. Josh had been reclining him back and bringing him back up. Now every time I hold him, he arches back and throws his head back scaring me half to death. I guess I should get used to it. Jacob is totally a boys boy.

I've added some pictures of Jacob sitting into the "Jacob Pics" section. Be sure to check them out!

Small Things

Well yesterday Jacob turned 5 months. Not a celebratory birthday, but one in which I became emotional when reflecting on the last months in the Butler household. I was catching up on my friend Megan's blog and she had written about the circle of life. She had recently heard a friend who was overly pregnant would be delivering within the next day. Hours later she had heard that friends that were expecting received horrible news that their baby was not developing correctly and would not be viable. Although I don't know this couple who is experiencing this hard time in their lives, it makes me think of the little lives that are lost daily.

After my mom died, our good family friend Janice went to go get a reading from a person who can feel energy of those who have passed. A little skeptic myself, I was unsure about what could come of such a thing, but at that point I was willing to be open to most new ideas. A couple of days later Janice shared parts of her reading with me. She told me that my mom is doing wonderful things in her afterlife. I don't know if it's really the heaven that is spoken about in the bible, but it's a wonderful place and she was doing well. Janice shared that my mom was in charge of meeting all the little babies that entered the afterlife. I thought "What a perfect job for my mom!" There was always something so calming and warm about my mom when she was with babies. She was like the Baby Whisperer. Ask my Aunt Tina about the first couple of trips we took to Felton to help out with the twins, Will and Joe., so many years ago. So as I read the sad story about Megan's friends, I thought that there was no better place that that little baby could go. To be welcomed by my mom is a blessing in itself and that baby will be well taken care of :)

These small stories break my heart and make me feel so lucky for the small things that I have. Yes, I can complain that money is TIGHT, the job market sucks and who knows how long the lights will stay on, but we have each other. In fact, Josh mentioned something a week or two back. He said "Man our life sucks!" I turned and said "WHAT?" He explained about all of our troubles and when he was done I told him I didn't agree with him one bit. I said I LOVE my husband, I LOVE my child, and I LOVE my family and truthfully that's all that matters. He smiled and said, "That's why I love you!"

As our country continues to be in turmoil, please be reminded that it's not the stock market, foreclosures or gas prices that REALLY matter, it's the small things! Keep us in your thoughts or prayers and we'll do the same for you. Smiling

PS. Jacob has slept the WHOLE NIGHT THROUGH for the past week! 7:30pm to 6:30am!!!

The whole night through...

Yes, it has happened. Jacob slept from 7:30 pm until 6:20 am! I'm calling it a fluke until it happens again, but boy am I excited at the possibility. He has been a pretty good sleeper for the last month or so. He only wakes up 1 or 2 times and I pop in the pacifier and 1 time to feed, usually around 3 or 3:30 am. At the last Dr. appointment, Dr. Scannell suggested that I start to wean him from his night feeding as it can become a habit for them to wake up and need help to settle back down by nursing. I was a little weary about dropping this feeding. Since I'm still nursing, I never know how much he is actually eating so when he wakes up at night I assume he just didn't get enough at 6:30 pm. Well he had been pushing his feeding back to 4:30 am and then to 5 or 5:30, so I thought he might be ready to make it the whole night through. For the past couple of days I've been feeding him only a bit when he wakes and sticking the pacifier back in. Well last night I "plugged" him in around 3:30 am and didn't hear from him until around 6:10 am. If this is for real, it only took a couple of days . So surprising! My next goal is to help him sooth himself back to sleep without the pacifier. We'll have to see how easy that one will be...

Today Josh and I did an at home photo shoot for Halloween. Jacob is a natural I must say :) Please take a minute to check out our home photo shoot. He is SOOO DARN CUTE! I think I'll do some for each holiday. I'm taking suggestions for Thanksgiving...

Nana's Home

Jacob's Nana came home this week from her 2 month visit to New York with Josh's Aunt Terry. Nana and Auntie T came over yesterday to see Jacob, Josh and I. Nana was so surprised to see how Jacob has grown in the last 2 months. He can do so many new things and has his own little personality now. Jacob was so pleasant and just took everything in. He is so funny when there are visitors or when we are out with friends. His blue eyes get so big and he barely blinks. He is a people watcher. He studies everything they do and say. He takes it all in and you can see his little brain processing everything. I have a feeling he's going to be a thinker.

Back to the visit. It was nice to see Auntie T, as she has asked to be called, with Jacob. Auntie T and Uncle Gary live in Washington in Port Townsend where they are also a Gammy and Grandpa. Nana and Auntie T took turns passing Jacob back and forth, taking pictures and "oooing" and "awwwing" over every little thing Jacob did. It is so wonderful to have family over!

This week I also found out my Cousin Jenna and her family are expecting baby #2. They will keep the gender a surprise. I have a feeling it's another little girl, but we'll see. Our friends Karen and Joey also found out they are expecting their first. I think they will have a girl as well. It will be fun to track these two as they begin their fantastic journey to motherhood! It seems like only yesterday I was pregnant. Oh how time flies!

New Talents

These past two weeks have seemed to fly by. Going to work is a bummer, but Jacob is having a BLAST with his babysitter, Mrs. Anita, and all his friends. One little girl Laya who is almost 3 told me the cutest thing the other day. When I walked in she said "Jacob's mommy... Jacob is my best friend that's a boy. I'm gunna teach him to play in water and with bubbles." My heart melted and I started to tear up. Oh to be young again!

He seems to come home with a new talent everyday. He is really staring to roll everywhere. He rolls in one direction over and over again and can actually get going. I have found out that I can't lay him down after he's eaten because he'll roll and roll and then throw up. He has recently discovered his feet and is often found sucking on his toes. While this really is gross, I'm not a foot person, it is so cute. (see pic above) He is putting EVERYTHING in his mouth. In fact when I got him up this morning one sock was at the far end of his crib and when I picked it up, I realized it was soaking wet. I guess he did some crazy partying last night.

Jacob is pushing up really high with his arms. He is also pulling his knees in. If only he could coordinate both movements at the same time, he could actually crawl. Maybe he'll start scooting soon. Jacob is really enjoying music, singing and dancing. While I run and get the car packed and ready to go in the morning he watches Jack's Big Music Show. It's a couple of singing, dancing puppets on the NOGGIN channel that he will sit and watch for a good 5-10 minutes without blinking. He loves to stand and dance. We've posted his first, of many to come, music videos. He is so cute. Jacob has also developed quite a comedic laugh. It's contagious actually. (See video below) He will laugh and laugh and laugh which then makes Josh and I laugh. Then Jacob laughs because we're laughing and we go round and round.

He's learned so much in just a short time, I wonder what's in store...

Many Updates

This whole work thing SUCKS! I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I wake up really early in the morning, rush to get ready, race to drop Jacob off at the sitter, work my butt off at work, sit in traffic for 45 minutes to get home and all to earn enough money so someone else can raise my child. Oh, how I envy those mommy that get to stay home with their precious little ones. This week going back to work SUCKED! This word really does describe all the feelings I have wrapped up into one word. Although I love Mrs. Anita, the wonderful polish lady that watches Jacob, I cried like a baby when I dropped him off on Tuesday morning. I cried all the way to work. I thought I had settled down until a coworker asked where Jacob was and I broke down again. Our new Head of School came and gave me a BIG hug and assured me that it would be OK. I only called Anita once that day and got a good report, so I felt reassured that Jacob was doing fine. The rest of the week went well. No tears for Jacob or myself. Jacob will continue to go to Mrs. Anita until his Nana comes back from vacation in October to watch him.

We went to the Dr. on Tuesday for Jacob's 4 month check-up. Yes, on September 3rd he'll be 4 months old. He weighed 14 lbs. 12 oz. and was 24 inches. He moved down from the 75th percentile to the 50th percentile, but Dr. Lynne said not to worry. He looks healthy and is excelling in many gross motor activities. We had a visit to Children's Hospital at the beginning of the month for a sonogram of Jacob's hips to make sure he didn't have hip dysplasia, but the report was not given to Dr. Lynne. She was going to check into that, but said if there was something wrong, they would have contacted us both right away. He got another shot and will have 2 other shots in the next 2 weeks. She said we could start him on cereal now, but I have decided to wait until he is 6 months old. He still has slight reflux and bad gas, so I thought this would just increase is stomach troubles. With so many other changes going on right now, I think it is safe to hold off. I'm trying to hold off on the formula for nutrition and cost and trying to pump at work. I'll try as hard as I can to keep this up, but we'll see how long that lasts. Dr. Lynn did say that he will cut some teeth in the upcoming month or so. He has been a fountain at the mouth and nawing on EVERYTHING, including his own bottom lip. Poor little guy.

Well I think that's all for now. I'll try my best to keep you updated as I go back to work. Hope all is well with everyone. Enjoy the holiday!

Back to work :(

If you would have told me 4 months ago that I would have all summer to hang with my baby and then have to go back to work, I might have said "WOW, THAT'S A LONG TIME!" But today as I headed back to the daily grind, I thought to myself "WHERE THE HECK DID TIME GO?" Today was a trial for leaving Jacob while I go back to work. I was able to bring him with me this morning and Josh picked him up at 11am. So I only had to leave him for 4 1/2 hours.

Tomorrow it will be the whole day Sad

I am starting to tear up as I type this. To make matters worse, I had a babysitting fiasco and scrambled to get someone to watch him this week. (Our neighbor's daughter had a death in the family last week and couldn't watch him this week.) I really like the lady I am taking him to this week though. If she had a full-time slot available I would have gone with her in the first place, but she didn't. I called her panicking on Saturday after finding out about the other sitter and she was kind enough to take Jacob in this week. I am hoping, no I am praying, that our original sitter can resume watching him next week, otherwise I will be up a creek!

Jacob is really starting to come into his own. He has his likes and dislikes, tells you when he's hungry or tired and has begun to smile and laugh at everything. See our new video of the Tickle Monster!!! I am SOOOOOO sad to leave him. Especially since he his doing new things each day. He is SOOO active! See our 2 new pics of him in his swing and Boppy chair. Both times he managed to twist and turn trying to escape. I'm sure he will give us a run for our money in the near future! I could go one and one about my handsome little boy, but for now I must get to bed. It's an early morning again tomorrow!

Home Sweet Home

I survived! Yes! I made it on two plane trips, by myself with a 3 month old. I'll have to give myself a pat on the back. Our adventure began at 5:30 on Thursday morning. We got loaded into the truck and Josh dropped us off. The flight to the Bay Area was great and empty. Jacob made friends with the grandpa we were sitting next to and managed to sleep a bit as well. When we arrived in Oakland, there was a plane at our gate which kept us on the tarmat for 20 minutes. By then Jacob, and the other passengers, had had enough. Jacob got his first set of wings and a certificate for his first flight signed by all the crew and the pilot. Who says customer service has gone down in the flight industry?????

Our visit was wonderfully busy. The Burton family made it over on Friday. It was great to see them. That night we had dinner with family friends Janice and Carlie and cousin Matt. I don't think I have laughed so hard in a long time! On Saturday the Talistu clan and more friends came over for a BBQ. Lots of fun and lots of food! On Sunday my family and I walked down to our old coffee hangout Rrags and ate breakfast. It was so comforting to be in a familiar place away from home. Our visit ended on Sunday afternoon. Eric and Shannon drove us down to the airport and dropped us off. Shannon cried and I had to tell her to leave before I broke down. I wish we lived closer to each other. I think Jacob would love to visit with his family more often and lord knows I would love it too. Josh picked us up and we headed home. I'll have to admit that Jacob is going through family withdraw. All the aunties, uncles, cousins and friends were very entertaining! Our visit was so exciting, but it is nice to be back at home sweet home! Check out our pictures. We even got one with the pilot in the cockpit!

Impromptu Vacation

I had come to the conclusion that my family wasn't going to make it down here to see Jacob this summer and was pretty bummed. With money so tight right now, it seemed impossible for travel by car, train or plane. Josh to the rescue... Josh decided to do a side job and told me to use the bit of extra money to travel to see my family. So Jacob and I are flying up to the Bay Area early Thursday morning to meet all my family and returning on Sunday. I know, a short visit, but it will be packed with activities. I'm a bit nervous about traveling by myself with a 3 month old, but have put my mind to completing the task successfully. We will be sure to take lots of pictures on the plane ride as well as with family. I'll post them when we get back. Wish us luck!!!

Need Inspirition

Yesterday and today have been rough ones for Jacob and myself. Gone are the days of eating on a schedule and sleeping frequently. He has decided that he needs to eat every hour or so and must struggle when trying to be put to sleep, regardless of his half-closed eyes and single toned cry. I know it could be many things. Maybe he's growing, has a little bug or is teething at a very young age. He has a fountain attached to his mouth and can usually manage to be changed 3-5 times a day because he's soaking wet. Yes, even with a bib! So today after his early morning nap he would not settle down. He didn't want to be held, he didn't want to sit in his chairs ( yes plural- boppy chair, bumbo chair and swing) and he wasn't going back to sleep. Lucky for me Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin was over and I flipped the TV to TLC, my favorite. There she was... Kate from Jon and Kate Plus 8. My inspiration. I don't know how she does it with 8 kids. In fact, at this point I don't know how anyone does it with 2 kids. After the show was over I felt better about my poor little Jacob. I asked that I be given the insight to help him become comfortable and patience to help him do it. We'll see what happens...

Caught on Tape

Finally! I caught Jacob rolling on videotape. He is rolling from front to back most of the time, but today I got him rolling from his back to his tummy (see Jacob 7 video at the bottom of page). I happen to think we have a genius on our hands :) I have been trying to tape him rolling around, but every time I take out the camera, Jacob seems to get camera shy. Maybe I'm putting to much pressure on him to perform! Josh had doubt in my story about Jacob rolling from his tummy to his back until he saw him do it. Now I've told him that Jacob rolls the other way. He thinks I'm a crazy mom who makes up stories about her talented son. So today I saw Jacob starting to roll over and grabbed the camera, which is always out and on just in case. Our slow camera got Jacob mid roll. When I showed it to Josh, he said I had staged the performance. I guess he'll be a believer once he sees it with his own eyes! I'll be sure to get a better video so you all can be believers too.

Peaceful Night's Sleep

It was Jacob's fist night in his own room last night and surprisingly it went quite well. I had purchased a black-out shade over the weekend and Josh installed it on Monday. I have been putting Jacob down for a nap or 2 in his crib over the past week to help in his transition. So last night when we had finished our bedtime routine of feeding, bath, book and off to bed, I was a little anxious about how long e would stay in his room. It helped so much that my little brother Eric and his wife DJ had purchased a great video monitor for us. I attached the video portion to his play pen, which is still in our room just in case, at eye level so I didn't have to get up and check on him. I could actually see and hear Jacob throughout the night. I could tell if he was just making noises in his sleep or if he was really awake. It was a peaceful night's sleep for both of us. Jacob went down at 8:00pm and woke at 3:30am to eat. I ended up falling asleep around 9:30pm and for those of you counting, that's 6 solid hours of sleep. A pure miracle!

Earthquake!

While there are many firsts that I am trying to document for my first born, an earthquake is not one that I'm excited about. Today a 5.4 earthquake hit in the Chino Hills, which is about 2 1/2 hours from here. Some people say they felt it all the way down here in San Diego. Jacob and I were in the car so we didn't notice a thing. My sister Shannon texted me and asked if I felt the earthquake and if we were OK. I was confused because we didn't have the TV on and the radio hadn't said anything about it. Josh called while I was on the phone with Shannon and said he felt it in Temecula, about 45 minutes from home. He said it sounded like a freight train and started to shake the house he was working in. Fortunately for us, there was no damage to our property and no one we know was injured. It makes me think how lucky were are to have just updated our home insurance by adding earthquake coverage! Here's to rockin' and rolling' California.

He's on a Roll

He did it... Yes he did! Jacob rolled over for the first time today! It was most likely on accident, but hey, I'll give it to him. This morning during tummy time I was making faces and we were laughing. Jacob got so excited he pushed up really high and then toppled right over onto his back. He sat there for a second just looking up and I sat there looking in amazement. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me... it was 6 in the morning :) But there was Jacob on his back. I quickly flipped him back over and tried to replicate the incident, this time with camera in hand, but with no luck. Jacob just looked at me like I was crazy making all these faces and a bunch of noise. The funny thing is that the past couple of days I've had our camera out filming our little guy because he's getting so good at holding his head up and scooting around. I was actually going to film him this morning, when he is in the best mood, and I thought "No. I've got enough of him scooting around." Then look what happens. I guess us new moms should have our cameras on at all times of the day. You know, just in case something really cool happens. I'll try to catch it on film the next time it happens. Keep checking or video section for updates! Today Jacob is 12 weeks. Is that 3 months in baby terms or do I have to wait until August 3rd to call him 3 months old? This is one to ponder...

Life's a Beach

Today our family went to the beach for the first time this summer. While the beach isn't far from our house, it seems harder and harder to get to each summer. There are plenty of excuses to just stay home and go in the spa, but we thought it would be a fun day to meet up with friends. It was Jacob's first time to visit the sand. The day stated off overcast and yucky, but ended up clearing and becoming a beautiful day :) Josh and I took Jacob to dip his feet in the water really quick ( see pictures) before we went back to our shelter under the easy-up. Jacob seemed to like it and was amazed when the water went out and the sand began to escape under his feet. Aahhh, the wonders of the world when you are little. Every thing is new and exciting. Oh to be young again! And even with all my precautions, (long pants, socks, hat and an easy-up) Jacob still managed to get a little sunburn on his face. I feel like the worst mom ever, but Josh assured me I'm not. He said, "Imagine if you weren't trying to be so careful. How would you feel then? " Always encouraging words from my husband ;) All-in-all a wonderful day at the beach.

Butler Stats

Jacob went to the Dr. yesterday for his 2 month check-up. He will be 11 weeks tomorrow! He currently weights 13 pounds 2 ounces. He is 24 1/2 inches long and has a head circumference of 41 cm. He's gained 3 pounds 9 ounces and grown 3 inches! He is in the 75th percentile for his height and the 70th percentile for his head size and weight. Jacob is really starting to show his personality. He is smiling and laughing anytime we talk to him. He is most talkative in the morning when he wakes up. I prop him up on my legs so he's looking at me and he tells me about everything he plans to do that day. He loves standing and is pulling to a sitting position from his back. He is pushing up pretty well when he's on his tummy, although this is his least favorite position. He has really good head control and loves to study everything around him. I think this is why he doesn't like to be on his tummy so much. His ability to look around is hindered when he's face down :) He is beginning to find a sleep pattern at night thank goodness! We start his bedtime routine around 7 or 7:30pm. Josh gives him a bottle, I bathe him, read him a book and put him to bed. He usually sleeps from 8 or 8:30pm until 2 or 3am. Not so bad! Can't wait for the 8-10 hour sleep stretch to happen. The Dr. said I can look forward to that in the upcoming months. Yippee!

First Ouchie

Jacob has his first ouchie :( He seems to have a nasty eye infection. He had this gunk in his eye the last time we visited the Dr., but it seemed to clear up the day after. She said it could be a blocked tear duct or a small infection so she gave me a prescription to fill if it continued. Yesterday Jacob woke up with his eye crusted shut with green gunk. To tell you the truth, it was really gross! I watched it yesterday and made sure it was clean and had a warm compress a couple times. This morning, same thing. I broke down and went to get the prescription filled. You would think the Dr. would give some drops or something, but she prescribed an ointment. It's torture to apply it. Josh has to hold his head while I pull down his eyelid and "apply a ribbon of ointment" into his eye. Sounds easy, huh? Yah right! Hopefully it will clear up shortly and my baby will have his beautiful blue eyes back. Last night Josh and I enjoyed our 2nd night out. We went with a group of friends to the Toby Keith concert. It was a blast. A lot tired today, but well worth it. Here's to date night!

OMG = Oh My Gosh

I have begun to think that sleep is just a distant memory. Now I know a new mom is to expect a lack of sleep within the first months, but little Jacob is to the extreme. We have mastered the 30 minute cat naps during the day. On a "good" day he may get in 4 of these cat naps and usually while I hold him. Any attempt to put him down and this big, blue eyes pop open and any hope of sleep is dashed. One would think that the lack of sleep during the day would lead to a peaceful night's sleep, but that too is incorrect... until last night :) OMG- Our little Jacob slept from 8:30pm until 3:30am. He woke to eat and then slept until 7am. I even had to wake him up! Now this mass sleep session may be due to the shot he received yesterday, so I won't set my sights on a repeat, but boy did it feel good to sleep! I feel revived and ready for the new day! HERE HERE TO SLEEP!

Happy 4th of July!

I'm so excited for Jacob to celebrate his first 4th of July holiday! A parent in my class bought him a cute little outfit for the occasion, but it's a bit to big. I might put it on him for pictures anyway. By the time he can fit in it, the 4th will be long gone. Today we are going to our friends house to have a BBQ. I bought a little pair of swim shorts for Jacob. Maybe he'll try the pool today. I will definitely have to take pictures of that. I'm trying to document every new experience for Jacob and boy is it hard. You know, the first time he smiles, lifts his head, has a major poo explosion... all the good stuff. Today's pictures will be a great addition to Jacob's scrapbook!

Ouch!

Jacob had his first shot today. He did exceptionally well with only a small cry. It helped that I loaded him up on Tylenol before we left, but it was also because he is SOOOO BRAVE! He has been a bit more fussy today, but overall he has been a happy baby :)

When first discussing shots with the Dr. at our last appointment I was curious to see what she had to say. Being a teacher I have read many recent articles about the links between immunizations and learning disorders, especially autism. I was a little scared about all the info that has come out and not knowing if it is more prevelant or just more reported. Fortunately, our Dr. is right on target with my beliefs. She gave me a good example that has stuck with me. Why would a 2 month old baby need a polio vaccine when the last polio case reported in the United States was back in 1979? Now I'm not saying Jacob will never get a polio vaccine, but why load his little body with these things now? She has given us a good timetable for when she gives certain vaccines and it put my mind at ease. I never knew there was so much to worry about being a parent...

First Night Out

Last night Josh and I enjoyed our first night out alone- without the baby. We were both in a wedding and thought it would be best to have Grandma watch him. I debated for a week asking almost everyone I know for their opinion on this situation. Being only 8 weeks, I wasn't sure Jacob, or myself to be honest, were ready to be separated. Josh assured me over and over again that everything would be OK and if there was a problem, we were only a 1/2 hour from home. I felt awfull when I handed him over to Grandma, but knew for my sanity this was the right thing to do. Josh and I had a blast. I was able to cut loose a bit and enjoy a beer... my first since before I was pregnant! The night went by fast and soon it was 11pm. It was time. I wanted to go home and see my baby. All was fine when we arrived. I had to stop myself from waking him up to snuggle and give him a kiss! It's very different now being on a "date". I felt like a piece of our family was missing. Although I really enjoyed my adult time, I was glad to be home, in my own bed, with my little boy snoring next to me.

A fluke, maybe

I was so scared when I woke up at 4:15am this morning. I jumped out of bed and looked in the crib next to my bed. My first thought... is my baby alive? I asked this question because it was FOUR FIFTEEN in the morning and I hadn't woken up since I layed Jacob in his crib at 9:00pm the previous evening. Jacob was just fine. In fact, when I put my hand on him to see if he was breathing, I woke him up. I scooped him up and held him in my arms. He then realized he was hungry so I fed him and cuddled with him until he fell back asleep until 6am. Wow, a night with sleep! A fluke, maybe. But boy did I enjoy that 7 hours and 15 minutes of sleep I got last night. Here is to many more nights of sleep!!!

It's Gettin' Hot Down Here

In the past I tended to think that global warming was something that was taking place over a slow period of time. I have changed my mind. For the past week it has been in the 90's and today it hit 100 degrees at our house in Santee. We have these sayings in San Diego... "May Grey", "June Gloom" and so on, but there have been less overcast days this year and more hot, hot, hot days! To prove my point, you can ask anyone in my immediate family. Everytime they come from the Bay Area (graduation, wedding, etc.), I promise great weather and when they arrive it's overcast, gloomy and almost raining. Why don't they come visit now? On our first really hot day this week, I was ill prepared and didn't turn on the AC. Jacob almost died of heat stroke even though I simply had him in a diaper. Since then, we have left all windows open and the whole house fan on throughout the night. When I get up in the morning with Jacob we go from room to room closing windows and the blinds and turn on the AC. If we set it at 80 degrees, it doesn't kick in until later in the day. The news says this heat wave will break early next week. The sooner the better. I don't know how long we can afford to keep the AC blasting!

Happy Father's Day!

What a wonderful day! The sun is out, the flowers are in bloom and we're celebrating Josh's 1st Father's Day! The day started out early for Jacob and I. We left the bedroom and went to the living room so Dad could sleep, a luxery these days. After Jacob fell back to sleep, I started breakfast. I made one of Josh's favorites, breakfast burritos. Josh must have smelled the bacon cookin' because he was awake when I went to peak in on him. I brought our sleepy son in to share the special occasion and then went to get Josh some breakfast. Before he ate I made him open his cards and we gave him his gift. I printed off 3 black and white pictures with him and Jacob and put them in a nice frame. Josh liked the pictures, even though he mentioned that he had a double chin in each pic. I told him it's not really there, but it was just the angle and the shadows in the picture:) Tonight we are going to pizza at Fillipi's, a Butler family favorite, with Josh's Dad and Grandpa... Jacob's Grandpa and Great-Grandpa. It will be wonderful to see 4 generations of Butler men all celebrating Father's Day. I will for sure take a picture! It makes me think of this picture hanging in the stairway at my Dad's house. It is a picture of me when I was about 1 years old sitting on my mom's lap with my Grandma Johnny standing behind us. (Johnny was a made up name for my grandma I gave her when I just started to talk. A long story I'll save for later.) I would pass the picture everytime I climbed the stairs without a thought. It was not until I had Jacob that I realized how important family pictures are. Pictures capture a moment in time that can never be recreated. These moments often are overlooked until the people in the pictures are no longer with us. I think about my mom and grandma everyday and am greatful for those pictures showcasing each special moment in time. I hope that I can create many moments like this for Jacob. Even if he doesn't remember each event, I hope to capture it in picture and share the memories as he grows.

Gunna Jinx Myslef

I know I'm going to jinx myself, but Jacob has been doing very well the past few days. For the past 3 nights he has slept for a solid 4 hour block at the beginning of the night- from 8-12pm. He's up every 3 hours after that to feed, burp and settle back down. In essence it means 3 or so hours of sleep to start for me and 2 hour blocks after that. So my sleep has increased slightly. He is up at 6:30 or 7am every morning regardless of my need for a bit more sleep. I can only hope that it improves as each day passes. As you can tell from my post, I'm not writing with one hand, so that's an accomplishment as well. He is in his swing peacefully drifting off to sleep. We've made a few changes in our "routine" that have helped. Adding the pacifier (some kids just need to suck), more naps and a warm bath at 7pm followed by a book and snuggle to sleep. He's also sleeping more during the day, which oddly enough is helping his sleep at night. If nothing else, this "routine" is helping me survive! I met my friend Pam for coffee on Tuesday. Afterward she came to take pictures of Jacob. She is a wonderful photographer, she helped at our wedding, and volunteered to take some professional pictures. *Funny story* Pam wanted a butt shot of Jacob. Those little butts are so cute! I took his diaper off, took some pictures and sat him up on the edge of the couch while Pam and I were talking. Rule #1 for a new mommy- NEVER leave the goods uncovered for too long. Yes, Jacob let go and generously soaked my shirt and pants. Pam got a few pics of that as well. I'll post those when I get them. PS- If anyone needs pictures for anything, call Pam! We went to the Dr. today for a well baby check-up. Jacob is doing well :) He weighed 11 pounds 15 ounces and was 21 1/2 inches long. A chunky monkey! Still some lingering baby acne which pains me more than him, but it is clearing. I was prepared for him to get his first set of shots today, but fortunately for Jacob (and myself), we'll do those next time. I love our pediatrician!!!! Dr. Lynne Scannell is the best. She called last week to check in on both of us (me for the emotional wreck I was and Jacob for his gas) and talked to me for 20 minutes. Have you ever had a Dr. that just called to check in on you? This was a first for me. She is very patient with me and my million questions and always tries to calm my new mommy nerves with short pep talks. I'm not so sure how we ended up with such a wonderful doctor. Being a cautious new mommy, I had scheduled to meet her BEFORE Jacob was born to see if she was up to par. Jacob happened to arrive early and I never got to do a pre-meeting. I guess intuition and good vibes led me her way and boy am I thankfull. Josh and I are doing great as well. I am trying to get out to meet friends for lunch or coffee and get some adult conversation during the day once or twice a week. Josh is keeping busy being a daddy and is having fun with his weekly racquetball games. I love hear the stories when he returns at night. It's amazing that a 2 hour game can produce so many funny stories. I hope that we can get out for our first "date" soon. Josh's mom has volunteered to watch Jacob for us and as soon as I introduce a bottle, we're taking her up on the offer, which I think will be very soon!

small victory

i am typing with one hand as i hold a sleeping baby jacob. it's rare these days for him to sleep at all during the day, so i don't want to move. yesterday he had a 1/2 hour nap between 6:30 and 10am, took a short cat nap on the way to our breastfeeding support group at 10, fell asleep- with a full tummy- on the way home at 12:15pm. he actaully slept for 3 hours in his carseat when we got home. he took another short cat nap that evening and then fought like heck from 7-9:30pm before i put him in his swing and crawled into bed. josh said jacob was awake until 10pm and finally fell asleep. the small victory you ask... he slept until 3am before he woke to feed! that's 5 hours of sleep- for him. i kept getting up to make sure he was still breathing, not too cold and not slumped over. i guess i should have taken full advantage of his sleeping, but it is such a rare occasion, i couldn't stop worrying. i know his sleep patterns are not good for his little body, nor mine, so if anyone has a tip or two for getting their overtired kid to sleep, PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

We made it!

Today Jacob is 1 month old. We made it! I can't say that it has been easy, in fact I can honestly say it has been harder than I thought it would be, but it sure has been a wonderful journey. I have yet to get used to the lack of sleep, even though I thought I was preparing myself during my every 2 hour bathroom breaks throughout pregnancy. Nothing compares. I guess this is something I need to get used to because I heard it doesn't change for a while! Jacob is changing everyday. He is working to get on some sort of schedule. After a visit to the Dr. on Friday in which I discovered that he was being overfed, not in a bad way, but it was causing extreem, and painful gas. Our fantastic pediatrician spent 30 minutes with me answering all my questions and trying to figue out why he was so uncomfortable. The lightbulb went on when I tod her Jacob was eating every hour to hour and a half thus creating A LOT of digestion problems which led to the gas. She said he probably wasn't eating because he was hungry, now that he is 11 pounds, but more just for comfort. She suggested getting a pacifier which I am really against, but she said some babies just need to suck! So I gave in, and guess what... he is a different baby. He is eating every 2 1/2 or 3 hours and SLEEPING!!!!! He slept for two 4 hour blocks last night which was awesome! He is still learning to keep the darn thing in his mouth and letting it go without crying, but he'll get it. Josh and I have decided we'll give the pacifier a month or 2 and then try to ween him from it. We hate seeing 2 year olds with this things in their mouths! Jacob is also getting lots of tummy time and loves to hold his head up. He loves to stand and push off of us to move his body. Josh and I think he's going to crawl by the time he is 3 months old and walk by 6 months, so we got the number for Guiness Book of World Records by our phone for when it happens. He loves to listen to music and rarely screams when I sing to him. He is discovering his hands and loves to grab at my shirt or hair if it happens to be in his way. He loves to be held and is learning to be patient when we have to put him down. After all, carrying around 11 pounds for 24 hours can really wreck your back. He continues to learn new things everyday. I can't believe how much he has changed in only 1 month. I can't wait to see what he has in store during the next couple of months.

Where has time gone?

I was rocking Jacob after his early morning feeding at 2:30am and looked down at him in amazement at what I had helped create. At the same time, I looked at Josh who was peacefully sleeping on the other side of the bed. While I really felt like yelling at him something rude for his innate ability to sleep through my multiple wakings, I whispered "I love you" and counted my blessings for all that I have been given. These past few weeks have flown by, almost too fast. I was trying to think the other day about all that we have done in the past 3 weeks, but unfortunately I was drawing a blank on most of the smaller things. I have to agree with my cousin Jenna who says the mind of a new mother must forget "those" moments so we continue to want more children. We might not do it all over again if we remembered waking up every hour to feed, change and cuddle our little ones only to put them down just as they are ready to start all over again. So here we are, beginning our new family, just managing to make it through each day and knowing that SOON things will get easier... at least that's what they tell us! Hope you enjoy our story! Check back for more updates or let me know if you would like to be removed from the email list. No hurt feelings!

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18 Months!!!

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17 Months

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15 months old

The Strand Part 2

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14 months

Trip Home

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13 Months

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Riley is on the move!

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11 Months Old!

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I'm cheating!

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Not Again!

Out of the hospital

8 Months Old Today

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6 month check-up

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5 months old and Potty Time

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4 Months Old

Back to the grind :(

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12 weeks old

A small reflection

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1 month old... with a cold

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Taking Jake to School

Copycat

Introducing...

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19 months old and Bye-Bye- Binkey

Updates, Updates, Updates...

Catching Up From the Past

Cat's out of the Bag

There's No Place Like Home

First Sleepover

Cookin' with Jacob

Jacob is 16 months old

Hi Ho, Hi Ho.. It's off to work I go...

15 month check-up

15 Months Old and the Silver Strand

Just Chillaxin'

Visit to Children's Museum