Let it Snow!!!

We finally took some pictures out in the snow--props to Wes for taking them, and props to grandma for the adorable snowsuit. And mostly, props to Jake for being so so cute! I love his little chinese eyes!

Celebration

Today is a great day.  Since he was about 4 months old, Jake began a long and painful teething process.  As of a few days ago, he has 6 whole teeth, four on top, two on the bottom. During this time, he woke up 2 to 3 times a night, and on the days leading to each tooth, we pretty much had all night parties together and sleepovers on the floor.  Jake is so adorable and we love him very much, so this is in no way a complaint on my part--I know its all just a part of being parents.  But anyways--I caved to a lot of the co-sleeping these last few months.  However, a couple weeks ago I decided enough was enough, and we needed to get him sleeping a little longer at night, and the sleepovers needed to end.  Wesley and I prayerfully began a sleep-training routine involving a lot of rocking and reassuring on our part, and some tears on Jake's part.  The first few days it seemed like Jake would be both scarred for life and unable to get to sleep on his own.  But we saw small improvements with each night that went by.  I am happy to report that the last three nights Jake has gone to bed with little protest and slept a 7 hour stretch on his own!!!  For Jake--a child who has done this maybe 4 times in his entire life--this is an epic step.  Today I woke up with a great sense of well-being.  I'm not sure if this progress is because of our rigorous sleep-training, or maybe Jake is just finally feeling relief from his mean little teeth.  Probably a combination of the two.  But in any case, I see two options.  option A--hold off on my celebrations because who knows how long this will last.  option B--go ahead and feel joy in our success.  Maybe our luck will end and I will have to get up 5 times tonight.  But for now, I am rested and happy.  I might as well soak it in!... So I chose option B.  Today is truly a great day.  

Christmas!

Christmas.  What can I say? It was fabulous.  I knew that it would be a good one--the first with our little son Jacob.  But then, it ended up being truly memorable.  We found a great deal on some flights to Virginia, and my good husband agreed to jump on board with me and surprise my mom on Christmas Eve.  We stayed for 10 days--and they were so wonderful!!!  if you want to see my moms shocked reaction to find us standing in her kitchen right in time for Christmas dinner, you can find it on my sister sydney's blog.  I have about a hundred pictures I wish I could share with all of you from the holidays, but that would be insane. Also, I doubt you really want to look at that many.  But I will post up some of them, with little blurbs underneath.  I hope you like them!

Jake was so excited for the trip to Virginia! Well, at least if he knew thats what was happening, I'm sure this would've been his exact reaction.

Helping us pack.  Or chewing on the suitcases..

"Come on mom, let's go let's go!"

Since we flew out on Christmas Eve, Jake got to open his presents on the 23rd.  I think he was mostly excited about the wrapping paper. 

At my parent's house, Christmas Eve-- Brats & Sauerkraut- mmmboy.

Jake was so excited to hang out with Grandma and Grandpa!  He loved all the attention, and seemed to remember them from thanksgiving still, which was cool. I'm sure all the web-chats helped too :)

We did New Years Eve tepanyaki-style again, and it was sooo good. Wes and I are thinking about continuing the tradition every year!

A trip to Fredericksburg wouldn't be complete without an afternoon downtown. I love that place!

In front of Eileens Bakery--the most fabulous pastry shop on the East coast, in my opinion. 

I love how my mom propped up our box of pastries for the picture.

maybe next year Jake will enjoy the pastries too?

One day we went to Williamsburg.  It was so much fun!  Everything was so Christmasy, and there are a few streets with all original homes and buildings from the Colonial times. Also it was like 60 degrees--very refreshing after the 15 degrees we were doing in Utah.

It was so wonderful being able to spend 10 full days with Wesley.  He has been working a lot and it was just great for Jake and I to see so much of him over Christmas.  

These were not very comfortable-- This would have been a sucky punishment for sure.

Jake loves playing this game with his dad.  An awesome shot by Sydney.

The trip came to an end of course, and now I am just trying to get back to the old routine.  I've been thinking a lot about all the things I have to be thankful for.  It's just amazing how much can happen in one year. Just one year ago, I was growing a belly, and we had just chosen a name for our soon to be son.  Now little Jacob is about 18 pounds, has 6 teeth, and is getting very close to walking.  We are truly grateful for how much we have been blessed this year.  I'm starting to forget what life was like before I was a mom.  And you know what? thats alright, because with all the challenges of motherhood, the rewards have been incredible.  I am so lucky to have such a sweet little boy and such a supportive husband.  I love them both very much.  I'm sure this New Year will bring with it many new trials and surprises, but I'm not worried--With wonderful family and friends, and the gospel in my home, I know that I will be blessed with all the love and support that I need.  Happy New Year everyone! 

3 Cheers for 3 Years!

This past Wednesday Wesley and I celebrated our anniversary.  I just wanted to give a shout out to my great husband--Wesley, I am so happy that we got married that snowy December afternoon 3 years ago! You are the love of my life--you treat me so well, you are such a great dad, and my love for you just continues to grow.  Thank you for being so wonderful, for sweeping me off my feet, for being such a hard worker, for taking care of me when I was a miserable pregnant lady, and always indulging my excessive need for attention.  Jake and I both adore you and are truly grateful to have you leading our family.  I can't wait to see what the future holds, and I look forward to the many adventures to come! Love You!!!!!

Curious Jake

Lately, Jake has become obsessed with climbing up the hearth and looking into the fireplace.

I suspect he is looking for Santa. 

Merry Christmas!!!

Thank You!

Once again, I'm sitting here with a pile full of blogworthy stories and photos.  That's what happens when you wait a month to update right? Actually, the real reason is that I had the most wonderful Thanksgiving week!  I was showered each day with reminders of all the things I'm so thankful for--Jess and Nathan came up from Arizona, and Mom and Dad drove all the way from Virginia! So between those 4, Sydney, and then our usual party of 3--we had a full house for the whole week!  It went by way too quickly.  It was so nice to just hang out together, eating our weight in German chocolate and peanut M&M's.  Not only that, but Jake was surrounded by so many loving arms (sometimes a few to many--Jake gets a bit skiddish in large crowds), which was a great break for me--all in all just a wonderful vacation. I have tons of pictures I want to share, but I tried my hardest to narrow it down. Enjoy!

The night my parents arrived we went to Nathan's sisters wedding reception.  They had it in this greenhouse up in Sandy.  It was sooo beautiful! Jake cried for about the first 10 minutes there--too many people, too much noise.  He is a total lightweight--but with a little food in his belly and 20 minutes to adjust he did just fine!

Like I said before, Jacob is a total lightweight.  His main area of terror involves men.  With the exception of his dear old dad, he won't go near them.  I was a little worried about how he would do with his grandpa.  But my dad went nice and slow with him, no quick movements, and after about an hour Jake allowed himself to be picked up, and then discovered something wonderful about his Grandpa--Whiskers!!!  Jake loved tugging on his whiskers! This was the icebreaker, and it didn't take long for him to feel comfy and happy playing with grandpa. 

One afternoon we made a family outing that I had been looking forward to for months--yes, we went to see Twilight.  It was so fun! Us girls wore our Twilight gear, and I even dressed Jake in the twilight colors. (poor kid, if he had a say I'm sure he would've voted against that move--dressing up for a chick flick.  But hey, he's 7 months old, and most definitely has no say.)  I thought the movie was great, and you know the best part? My mother let me be selfish and enjoy the entire movie! She took care of Jake for the whole thing.  The whole week was truly a vacation for me.  Thanks mom!  (sidenote--what is it about grandmothers? my mom has an amazing way with Jake.  Even though he doesn't get to spend much time with her normally, I felt like he was just as happy and content with her as he is with me...and for my super-sensitive child, that's saying something!)

My mom and I always agree that Jake looks good enough to eat--after watching Twilight and becoming vampires, we decided to have a taste! :)

A lot of the week was spent around the house.  As for me, I did more relaxing than I've done since Jake was born.  It was so wonderful! Jake was passed around like a hot potato, and we used our famous Schindler teamwork to do just about everything.  (incase you were wondering, that basically means that my mom did about half the work, Jessica was right behind her, and sydney and I dragged our feet pitching in when necessary :)...it was great! thanks again mom!) It was lots of fun cooking thanksgiving dinner together too--the first time in years :)

Jake learned to crawl about a month ago, and has thrown himself into the business of standing and walking.  we have a lot of scary crash landings around here, but I'm learning that my son is a little tougher than I thought!

Wesley giving me love while I slave away at Thanksgiving dinner.

sydney--one serious turkey coma.

Nate and Jess showing off their baby bumps.  That's another thing--It was so fun to see Jessica with her cute lil belly.  And then we found out that Jake gets to have a little boy cousin to play with!!  Yet another thing to be grateful for this year :)

Jake enjoyed reading the Martha Stewart magazines with his Aunt Jessica--should I be worried? :)

This picture pretty much sums up Sydney's relationship with her brothers. 

On Black Friday, Jessica and Nathan were already gone, but the rest of us went to this opening celebration of the season in our little town of Salem.  It kind of reminded me of the festival on the movie Groundhog day.  There is this little pond in the middle of town, and they put a bunch of christmas trees on the water.  They lit it for the first time that night and along with our fellow citizens of Salem, we sang carols, drank hot cocoa, and even met Santa! Jake was a little unsure of the large bearded man, but was very excited about all the Christmas lights on the water.  It was such a fun and festive way to begin the season! 

Whew! another insanely long blog by Kristie.  Thanks for reading. I'll try to pace myself in the future and avoid these super long posts. Merry Christmas!