Crazy Week

This month has been slightly hectic insanely crazy.  With the internship application process for Andrew and my work requiring so much more of me, we've been busy to say the least.  And our little munchkin has been busy, too.  He's walking everywhere!  He even figured out how to change directions and can walk in a little circle now.  I can't wipe the smile off my face as I watch him awkwardly ambulate with the cutest, proudest look on his darling, little face.  He is so cute and so sweet!

This week we set a record- all weekday nights we made it to bed by midnight, some nights WAY before that.  I know it seems like every parent who works and has so much to do the next day should obviously be in bed early, but it's hard!  Some nights we work past then, and then the nights that we don't, we end up staying up late doing something we didn't get to do during the day that we really wanted to get to.  I'm hoping we can pull it off again next week!  Then we'll have to start raising our standards to earlier, more normal hours.

But going to bed early made this week so much more bearable.  Heavenly Father has instructed us to go to bed early and arise early, and as we followed that command (better) this week, we felt blessed.

Our big excitement this week was a fire alarm going off about 8:30 Wednesday evening.  Luckily we hadn't put Jake in bed yet, so after getting all bundled up we headed out to wait in the FREEZING cold to wait for the "clear" from the fire department.  They actually arrived fairly fast and said everything looked good and safe, and we were back in our warm apartment in time for Modern Family :)

We also had some good meals this week.  It seems like usually we're scrambling to decide what to eat for dinner 30 minutes after we're hungry for it, but this week we had some of them planned!  Jake LOVES sloppy Joe's and gobbled down enough ground beef to definitely get his fill of iron for the day.

Off and on he's cheesy when we pull out the camera, and that day he was definitely "on."  We probably should have put a bib on him, but he seemed to be enjoying himself anyway.

Life is crazy and doesn't always go as planned, but it is a wonderful journey and brings us so much joy!!

Kyle Dog

I've always REALLY liked our dog, but now, watching him play so well with Jake, I seriously love him.  He knows to play tug of war more gently with Jake than with us, follows him around and helps Jake find trouble, and is really Jake's favorite source of entertainment.  Jake kisses the dog twice as often as he does me and Andrew combined- which I probably should be concerned about- but I'm just grateful!  Jake is so lucky to have such a sweet buddy who always wants to play, and we're so lucky we have such a fun, nice dog!

Big Week, Fun Weekend

This week was fairly rough.  My work was crazy and Andrew was busy applying for internships and doing a lot of research.  Jake has been playing with books more than toys lately, and now officially LOVES peanut butter and jelly.

The week was rough with a lot of early mornings and late nights for me and Andrew, but this weekend has been awesome.  By 1:00 yesterday we had done everything we have to for the week, so we've been having lots of fun.  We took Jake on our date to Cuzzins for frozen yogurt, which he gobbled up!

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at the zoo.  It was a beautiful day- about 50 degrees, but extremely windy, so we had to bundle up.  None of the animals were too active, but Andrew and I had a lot of fun talking and laughing and Jake seemed to enjoy the stroller ride.

After going to the zoo, we make a trip to Costco and WalMart for our groceries for the week.  We came home, played with Jake, watched some Modern Family, and Andrew filled out some paperwork for a potential internship that requested more information (which hopefully means he made it through the first round of weeding people out!).

This morning we went to church, where Jake officially learned how to walk!  He can do at least 25 steps in a row.  He's no pro, but I bet by next week he is walking around like a champ.  I can't believe how proud I am and how excited I feel for him.  It is SO fun being a mom!

Andrew is making home-made applesauce, and after dinner I'm sure we'll have a fun evening together as a family.  I'm not looking forward to all the work awaiting us next week, but am loving this weekend!!

1 Year Pictures

Yesterday Jake had his 1 year old pictures taken!  Natalie Curtis, an awesome photographer and my sister's best friend took them, and I can't wait to see how they turned out!

Andrew made an awesome blue cake for Jake to smash.  Turns out our little man does NOT like to be messy.  He was sad when he stuck his hand into the frosting, and mad when I smeared frosting on him to encourage getting messy.  He cried through most of the session, but Kim came and was the only one who was able to get him to smile.  I'm not sure she has a voice today, and I'm surprised she didn't pass out, but she is VERY good at snorting, and Jake loved it.  So did we.

Natalie put a sneak peak on her blog, and I'm excited to see the rest of the pictures within the next couple of weeks.  Jake was not particularly smiley and was pretty cranky by the end, but he was for his last photo shoot too, and the pictures still turned out great.  Thanks, Natalie!

Joy

I really like the quote from Les Mis that has been all over the internet lately: "To love another person is to see the face of God."

This past week Jake took his first steps.  He isn't walking by any means, but he can take 2 or 3 steps at a time going back and forth between me and Andrew.  Monday, when he did it for the first time, I looked at my loving husband and darling little boy and thought 'I want to always remember this moment.'  All 3 of us were laughing and smiling and so full of love.  What a gift it is to have each other!

1 Year Appointment

January 4th Jake had his 1 year check up with Dr. Radcliff.  He has hardly grown since 9 months- he gained about a pound and a half and hasn't grown in length one bit, although the nurse rounded his height up 1/2 inch.  He's 2 foot 6.5 inches now, which is the 75th percentile.  He's up to 20lbs 4 oz (13th percentile).  I'm not confident they're completely correct with his height not changing, as he's been growing out of some of his pants, which are turning into floods.

Jake did pretty well at at his appointment, although it was during nap time and lunch time, so he had his moments.

I realized (a minute too late) that I looked like the world's worst mom in front of Jake's doctor.  Twice.  She gave me a whole spiel on eating only during set times rather than snacking all day in order to set healthy habits for the future.  I have a degree in dietetics, so I feel like I have his eating down pretty well- he eats a very balanced diet and has healthy eating habits (although he crawls around like crazy all day, so he is gaining weight more slowly than it looks like he should be at meal time).  Anyway, she suggested not eating except at set times, and just a minute later, without thinking about it, I pulled out some goldfish crackers to sooth his fussing.  Ha!  Oops.  It was meal time and I knew he was HUNGRY, so it seemed like the right thing to do.  I'm sure she thought what she was saying was going in one ear and out the other.

She continued on, giving safety tips, asked about his developmental milestones, etc, and then started talking about how it was time to ditch the binky (or at least within the next 3 to 6 months).  We're already pretty good about only giving it to him when he's in his crib and in public emergencies.  And he has full access to it at church.  It saves us a lot of looks that way.  He seems to think church is a good time to chat away and practice his vocal skills, and the binky seems to keep that at bay.  I told her that, and again, a minute later he was fussing.  I wanted to hear what else she had to say, and Jake was thrashing in my arms, in desperate need of a nap.  So without thinking (at all!) I pulled out his binky and handed it to him.  As soon as I did, I realized I yet again look like the most ridiculous, noncompliant mom.  But he already had it, it calmed him down, so I let him keep it.  I wonder what was going through her mind as she watched me clearly disregard everything she had to say...oops.

Jake got 4 shots, and this was the first time he really seemed upset by them.  He always cried for a minute in the past, but this time it was rough.  He screamed and my heart ached as I held down his poor little legs down and the nurses poked him.  Poor kid!  And now, almost 2 weeks later, he still has a pretty good welt from one of them.

All in all, it wasn't our best trip to the doctor's office.  Hopefully his 15 month check up will go a little more smoothly :)

Jake's First Birthday Party

Jake turned a year old just over a week ago, and Saturday we had his first birthday party!

His party was jungle-themed and so fun!  Kim and I made monkey and lion cupcakes, Andrew hung streamers, and his party plates and napkins were 1st birthday lions.  My absolute favorite decoration was a banner of Jake month-by-month his first year that my sister made.  Jake is so lucky to have such a crafty aunt!

A lot of my extended family came, as well as our next-door neighbors growing up.  Jake got lots of fun new toys, including an Ernie doll, cute new clothes, a puzzle, a trike, a sea turtle that projects stars onto his ceiling, and lots of books.  He's a lucky kid!

My mom and grandma made lasagna for lunch, and we also had garlic bread and salad.  The food was great, the company was wonderful, and Jake only had a couple of sad moments.

It took him a minute to dig into his cupcakes, but with a bit of help from Andrew, he eventually got pretty messy.  He was looking around at everyone staring at him while he ate, and made a face like he wasn't sure what was going on.  He seemed to be wondering why everyone had their eyes fixed on him.  But he put forth his best cheesy grin when the cameras came out :)

We love our little man and are so glad we've had the past year with Jake!

That cheesy grin

Jake's cheesy grin gets me every time!  I LOVE that little boy more than words can say!  His smile and giggle melt my heart, and I can't imaging life without him in our family.  He brings us so much joy and purpose!

Today he did (relatively) well at church.

I am so grateful for how mindful our Heavenly Father is of us.  He definitely watches over us and cares about us and the things we do.  I know that He wants us to be happy, and if we trust in Him, He'll lead us down the right path.  I certainly believe He cares about the little things, and certainly the big things that are important to us.

Last night I cleaned out the diaper bag, specifically pulling out all Jake's binkies to sanitize.  Then, this morning, we left for church in a rush, and neither Andrew nor I remembered to put fresh pacifier in the bag.  We realized it too late and knew walking in the door that it might be a long meeting.  However, a few minutes in, I reached in the diaper bag to pull out a snack for Jake and I grabbed a binkie!  I know that was a tender mercy from the Lord.  The meeting went  much smoother than if we hadn't had his pacifier, and I strongly felt that Christ cares about me and my family.  He is in the details if we look for Him!

I'm grateful for a loving Father in Heaven and an amazing little family.  I am so blessed!