Confession

Sometimes, when we get a late start on Jake's bedtime routine, this happens.

Mother Of The Year strikes again :)

videos and milestones

Jake learned how to count to three recently. However, I taught him by saying "one...twooo......THREEEEEEEEE!" all the time. And now he just likes just saying the THREEE! because it's just so exciting. I caught it on tape the other day and here it is!

We got dumped on with about a foot of snow last weekend, and took jake sledding for the very first time! I have a couple clips--mostly just for the grandmas. :)

I have a couple of other milestones to share. First of all, Jake has expanded his vocabulary to include the word YES! actually he says it more like "YESH!" But this one little word has made life just a little bit easier, especially at mealtimes. Now when I ask him if he wants a yogurt or a pickle, he can say NO to the pickle and YESH to the yogurt. Hooray!

And my favorite new milestone: Jake can say his prayers. Right before his bedtime he will fold his arms, bow his head, and squint up at us with one eye open. He is not always perfectly reverent for the whole prayer, but he starts them just right. A couple weeks ago Jake surprised me by folding his arms before I put him down for his nap. Now, we usually just pray with him before bedtime, but my little guy has decided that this is is definitely not enough. So when he folded his arms expectantly, I said "of course we can pray, would you like to say it?" and then Jake surprised me again by bowing his head, streaming about 5 seconds of gibberish, and ending with a loud AMEN. ha! My first thought was to feel so touched and humbled that my son is picking up on such a wonderful little routine, and somehow seems to understand that family prayer is an important part of each day. And my second thought was, Jake must be holding out on me. He doesn't talk very much yet, so I am never quite sure how much he can understand. But he seems to know a lot more than he lets on! Can we say "selective hearing?"

I love that kid.

Thanksgiving and such

Well, another month has gone by! It's hard to believe we are just a few short weeks away from Christmas!!! Although I've had a few noteworthy things to blog about in the past month, I've been suffering from a bit of writers block. I am actually still suffering, but it occurred to me this morning, that if I don't update now, I probably won't do it until after the holidays. So here I am.

At the end of October, Jake officially turned 18 months and was able to start going to nursery! I admit, we were a little emotional on his first day...It was so surreal seeing him run around with all those kids, and he did just fine! Initially he cried, but after a few minutes being distracted by all the wonderful new toys, I was able to slip out unnoticed :) We checked on him every so often but he seemed pretty content. It's a weird thing watching him in there...On the one hand, I keep thinking, "wow my kid is so old! He's in nursery!" But then watching him run around with 3 year olds, I can't help but notice how tiny he looks. Isn't he still my little baby?

This was his "first day in nursery" outfit

After church he got to see Aunt Sydney, one of his all time favorite people. He just loves it when she comes to play!! :)

Jake has attached himself to a few toys in the last little while. You'll notice that he is carrying a green blanket in almost every picture...that's because he is carrying that thing almost all the time. yikes.

Normally I wouldn't dare take a picture of a sleeping toddler. But I had to change a middle of the night dirty diaper the other day, and figured, what the heck? he is gonna wake up either way. I thought this was too funny.

Sydney spent the Thanksgiving weekend with us and we all had a blast! The 4 day holiday was filled with lots of eating, laying around, and shopping. I took sydney out on her very first Black Friday adventure. We started around 5AM and split up (such a rookie mistake) so that we could get to two stores right away. So I started out at Walmart. I have actually never attempted a big store like that, and let me tell you--I am no match for those bargain shoppers. I about died of claustrophobia and dipped out before I could even find what I was looking for. Holy cow it was a mad house. Then I called Sydney, who had gone to Kohls. She ended up with her pile of stuff in a corner, waiting for me to come help her. I don't think either of us knew what we were getting into. Although we didn't find everything we had set out to buy, we did have a lot of fun together.

Later that day we went back out with Wes and Jake to attempt ToysRus. Sweet success, we got one of the things I was looking for! We really had a blast running around as a family, and to top off a fun filled weekend, we even went to In N Out! that's right folks, for those of you who don't know (although I don't see how thats possible) We have our very own In N Out Burger right in Orem Utah!!!! I'm tellin ya, Utah is just getting cooler and cooler :)

After all the shopping and eating, there was nothing left to do but pass out on the couch--Jake was holding down the fort. Shopping doesn't drain you when you get to be pushed around in a stroller all day long :)

One morning Wesley and Jake were up before I was, and I came into the kitchen to find them getting breakfast.. they just crack me up--like father like son I guess ;)

We had our first snow day of the season! Jake loved it, and thanks to his many layers, wanted to play out there a lot longer than we did. I can't wait to take him sledding!

The last couple pictures are for Grandma Hurst. Jake loves when his cousin Scott comes over to play!

This wouldn't be a Thanksgiving post if I didn't take a minute to write how grateful I am for all the blessings in my life. I have such wonderful family. Although most of them aren't in Utah, thanks to webchats and cellphones I'm still able to keep in touch with the ones I love. And I am so grateful for my wonderful friends. When I first had Jake, I wondered in some ways if I would be too busy to keep my friends. It was such a big adjustment and I sometimes felt like I was losing my identity in a way. But, thanks to a loving and helpful husband, I've found that I can still have it all. He's been so good about hanging out with Jake whenever I need to get out and have "girl time". Life gets hectic, but I still feel like me--only better. Because I am surrounded by so much love. Even with the ups and downs, with family spread out all over the world, with the toddler tantrums and occasional chaos, I still feel so much joy. And for that, I am one very thankful girl.

Trick or Treat!

As the post title says, this is a strictly a "trick or treat" post. But before I get to writing about the adventures we had on halloween night, I need to update you on my trip to Las Vegas. Although that mini-break didn't land on halloween weekend, it was still full of tricks and treats. The treat was that Sydney, Jake and I got to go down and spend a couple of days with Jess, Nate and my adorable nephew Sawyer. The trick was that Jake actually got a terrible cold, and was horribly fussy and miserable for the better part of the weekend. And besides all that, it always feels a bit like halloween walking down the strip--you never know what kind of weirdos you'll come across there :)

***Disclaimer.. if you read either of my sister's blogs, you probably already saw most of the vegas pics--feel free to skip down to the halloween part of this post ;)

The drive down to Vegas couldn't have gone better. I broke down and finally invested in a DVD player for Jake, and he was kept thoroughly entertained with that. We stopped in St. George for a couple hours and did some shopping and got some In N Out (of course).

Jake was so happy to be out of the car and stretching his legs!

We arrived on Friday evening and stayed at Nathan's parents house. On Saturday we headed out for the Vegas strip!

I brought down my doubles kit so we were able to spend the day pushing around one stroller. It was so nice to pass it around between the three of us!

Jake was pretty unhappy for most of the day, due to what we later learned was the start of a nasty cold, but he did have a lot of fun at FAO Schwartz! Looking back, I feel sort of bad--we didn't realize he was sick yet, and he ran all over the store grabbing everything.. needless to say, he spread his infection to probably a hundred other kids in the process--yikes.

A happy moment--Recently Jake has become obsessed with Sesame Street. Meeting Big Bird was an exciting experience for him!

I think he wanted to take cookie monster home with us!

At the end of the long fun/stress filled day. Sawyer hit his limits at that point, and Jake was (finally!) passed out under his blanket, sick and exhausted. Vacations with kids are not exactly relaxing!

Since Jake was just getting worse, Syd and I decided to take off a little early and left the next morning. It was so nice to spend a couple days with my sisters. we are planning the leave the kids behind next time! ;)

Onto Halloween! So Jake had a rough week trying to get over his cold, and by the time Halloween night rolled around, he was all better but still kind of a tired grouch. We were planning to take him trick or treating around 6 with his cousin scott. However, Jake decided to throw the biggest tantrum he's ever had. We sent Scott and his parents on their way, and I spent about an hour trying to calm down my insane child and convince him to put on his costume.

At 7 o'clock I was just about ready to call it a night, and decided to try one more tactic. I forced his costume on him and took him outside.. as soon as we got out there, he was happy and ready to go!

He was a bit hesitant to walk up to the houses.. but after a couple he realized that his bravery would be rewarded with a piece of chocolate per door.

Within a few minutes, Jake become a fully converted trick or treater!

It got even better when we went home and let him enjoy his spoils.

I don't think we'll have any problems from him next year! :)

While walking around the neighborhood after the tantrum, I joked around with Sydney asking if spending time with us would be good birth control for her in the future.

The truth is, there are always going to be hard days, but I still stand by my claim that being a mom is the best gig ever. I feel so lucky to have such a healthy and smart little boy. The times of chaos just make me more grateful for all the tender moments. And lets face it, how abnormal would it be if your kids were always perfect little angels? I love Jake's spunky personality, and all that comes with it--tantrums included. After all, the treats wouldn't be as delicious without a few tricks! It could be argued that I should have dressed him as a monster this year to reflect on his behavior.. but Jake will always be my lovable little pumpkin.

First time for everything

I have this small problem called poor followthrough. My husband and those lucky enough to spend a large amount of time with me can tell you it's true. I generally have good intentions, and often bore Wesley with all my schemes. My house is littered with good intentions... a guitar and flute that mostly collect dust, half empty photo albums, pieces of fabric that I swear will one day magically turn into a quilt... the list goes on forever. I find that the more I go on about them, the better the chance that I will shame myself into actually going through with my plans. Take this blog for example. I have NEVER kept up a journal, and I feel like this blog is a representation of something I would very much like to be--a person who finishes what they start. So it's 11 PM, and I just know if I don't update now, another week will go by before I find a chance to sit down and write. So feel honored, because I am giving up reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban for you. (and no, it's not my first time reading it--if there is anything you should know about me, it's that I will read a good book over and over... thats actually why I don't have more time to blog. It hasn't got much to do with being a mom.. I just like to spend all my free time reading and re-reading.)

So on with the post. I would like to share some of our recent adventures and firsts, naturally with a bundle of photos.

Jake had a very inevitable first--a big whopping shiner. I knew it was coming. The question was how, when, and where. Well he got it climbing the steps in front of the Provo Temple. It was about 3 weeks ago, while my Aunt and Uncle were visiting from Germany.. and it was right between the eyes. Poor little guy. I had just set him down and he got so excited about reaching the pretty fountains, that he rushed the steps like he would the carpet ones at home. He was pretty shaken up, but I let him splash his hands in the fountains for awhile, and pretty soon he forgot all about it. I didn't forget though.. Once I managed to stop replaying the loud crack I heard when Jake collided with the pavement, I still had his bruised and puffy souvenir to look at for about a week.

At least his nose didn't break right?

My Uncle Siggi was doing press photography during General Conference, so he and my Aunt were out here for a few days and had some time for a visit. Jake loved them and we had so much fun!

For the first time since I moved to Utah, I went to the Cornbellys Pumpkin Fest at Thanksgiving Point. Let me tell ya, it was well worth the wait, because going with my cute boys was so so so fun! If you haven't gone, make plans to do it sometime. You won't regret it!

Jake was a bit skeptical of the pumpkins all over the place..

...But he LOVED the "Corn" box!
...and I'm am pretty sure he had a thing for the Pumpkin Princess

We practiced Lassoing bull horns, but he didnt like sitting on the saddle very much..
we all LOVED the spooky hayride through the cornfield!
They had these little wagons to pull your kids around in.. definitely a hit!

I decided that since I'm not so great with the crafty projects, I needed to start with something a little simpler than a quilt. I have taken on refinishing some of our furniture. We have these 4 hand-me-down book shelves that are totally functional, but don't match any of our stuff. So I have been turning them black. And no, I'm not awesome, they are just laminate on the outside and I was able to just spray paint them. But they represent a desire that I actually followed through with. Here was my first completed one! yay me! I think if I can actually finish doing ALL FOUR bookshelves, I may even do the dining room table! (we'll see, that would actually involve sanding and priming..)

Lastly, a quick rundown of some new "Jake things".

1. He sings.. not in tune or anything.. but he loves to shout during the church hymns, and "la- la's" along with the Elmos World song on Sesame Street.

2. Speaking of Sesame Street.. as soon as Jake hears the harmonica that signals the start of the theme song and a new episode, he will drop what he is doing, run to the living room, and begin waving his arms and spinning in circles til he falls.

3. Not only is "no" still the favorite word, but he now shakes his head furiously while saying no.. just to make his point more clear.

4. Second favorite word.. shoes..which also secretly means socks and gloves, and sometimes coat.

5. Jake will often shut his door and climb into his tent and play.. if I try to join him he usually pulls the tent flap down. There is a strict "no old people" policy going on in there. The other day I caught him lounging while casually flipping through a harry potter book, and I managed to snap a picture before he kicked me out.

Last but not least, here are a couple pictures from the park. I just thought they were cute.

If you made it through the entire post, thanks for reading!

Love Sick

Last Sunday Wesley and Jake were sick, so they stayed home from church together. I went by myself (which felt SO weird, by the way) and when I came home, I quickly discovered that my boys had made a very speedy recovery in my absence. Luckily I had my trusty little FLIP video camera on hand, and was able to capture the chaos.

No wonder Jake loves his Daddy so much.

Also, I just wanted to write a quick little progress update. Last week, Jake learned the word "shoe" (no surprise there), and now chants the word while trying to put on any shoes he can find. Last night, he gave Wes and I kisses for the first time. Usually, if we ask for kisses, the most we can expect is a quick blown kiss, and then he will run away before we can catch him. But last night, we got real ones! Moments like that really make all the craziness worth it :)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful week, and enjoying the fabulous pre-fall weather!

New Family Pics

After a summer in Virginia with our parents, my sister Sydney is now back in town, chipping away at her BYU undergrad. I am so happy to have her back on a number of levels. She fills many roles around here, including, but not limited to:

Awesome sister

Fabulous babysitter

Perfect shopping partner

and last but not least: photographer extraordinaire

Naturally, the second I could get it together, we planned a family picture outing. It's amazing how fast Jake grows and changes, because we just took pictures 6 months ago, and he is already so different! To those of you who already saw all these (and about a million more) on facebook, sorry to subject you to it again. But Jake has grandma's who want to always see pictures, and let's face it, I really love how these turned out! So, yes, here they are once again for your viewing pleasure. I hope you like them almost as much as I do. Thanks again Syd--You have a special talent for catching the perfect moments. Because really, this photo session was a nightmare, and getting jake to hold still and smile was a nearly impossible feat. But once again, Syd came through. Love you Syd!