Vegas, San Diego, and personal progress

As promised, here are some pictures from our trip to San Diego and Las Vegas! We had such a fun time, and were sad when the trip was over.  I'll tell you all about it between the pictures, and then if you keep reading to the end, I have some Jake "progress updates" for you. 

We decided not to try and drive straight through to San Diego, and stopped in Vegas for a night on our way down.  We got there in the late evening, and decided to go for a walk on the strip before bed.  We assumed that Jake would probably fall asleep on the walk, so we bathed him and put him in his jammies beforehand. 

It didn't occur to me that Jake would be so dazzled by all the spectacular Vegas lights and sights.  No sleeping whatsoever happened.  You can tell from his expression that it's well passed his bed time though :)

We spent just over 2 days in San Diego.  Wesley's cousin Victor had gotten married recently and we came for the reception.  It was so nice to spend time with family! It was our first trip down with Jake, and it seemed he was also a huge fan of the perfect Cali weather.  We went shopping at an outdoor mall before the reception, so the next few pictures are from there. 

Having a taste of daddy's watermelon slushy.  A little sour and sugary for his little tastebuds!!

So happy to run free after being cooped up in the car for 2 days :)

We took these in the park behind the reception.  This is his adorable cousin Caitlin.  It was really fun watching all the little cousins play together!!

Wes and his sister Melanie, and Scott, Jake's closest buddy and cousin.  I can already see them plotting all kinds of mischief and adventures together in the months to come ;)

All the cousins.  The newlyweds are in the middle!

Once again, we cut the trip home in half by stopping in Vegas.  We took Jake to FAO Schwartz while we were there, and he had such a blast! For those of you who don't know, it's the biggest and coolest toy store ever! The whole front end of the store is stuffed animals. And Jake spent about 30 minutes going from animal to animal giving them hugs. 

And now its back to life as usual.  Jake is running around the house full speed ahead, and is even starting to say words! He can say "doggy" "woof woof" "sammie (his giant stuffed dog...notice a pattern here?)" "and most recently "bye-bye" and "book".  Its so funny because he comes running toward me several times a day with one of his board books saying "book" over and over until I pick him up and read it to him.  I'm even attempting to teach him sign language.  He has mastered "more" and I think he is getting the hang of "all done".  Those are some very helpful signs during mealtimes! He is so smart!!! 

Jake is also starting to do more strange things.  For instance.. he is obsessed with wearing things around his shoulders like a shawl --blankets, belts, toilet paper, strings of floss.. you name it.. its really weird, and I catch him walking around like a little old lady all the time. :)  Also, he has become obsessed with trying to wipe off my eyeliner when he is on my lap.  He isn't a girly boy though, don't worry. Because his other wierd/favorite thing to do is make everything into a car.  As in, not only does he push his actual toy cars around the house, but he'll do it with shoes and books too, all the while making a Vroom Vroom noise.  He is such a crack up.. The other day I caught him in our closet trying to ride one of Wesley's sunday shoes. Its funny how I am constantly thinking "NOW Jake is old enough to really have some personality!" and then a few weeks later, I'm thinking "actually, he was a little dull then, at least compared to how he is now!" It's incredible how fast he is developing and just really coming into his own identity.  

Each new milestone just makes me more excited for what the future will bring.  What new words will Jake know a month from now?  Also, the house is rapidly becoming a much more dangerous place.  Jake learned how to climb onto the couch a couple days ago, and I'm realizing that I will have to watch him much more closely so he doesn't try to dive-bomb off the back of it. yikes!  Well that's it for now as far as progress updates.  In less than 2 weeks I'll be going on yet another trip.  This time I'll be traveling to the motherland.  And no I don't mean Germany (I wish!) Jake and I will be going to Virginia for a visit.  A slightly stressful thing, as I'll be flying all alone with a child made of pure energy.  as always, thanks for reading and stay tuned!!

good habits, plant problems, and a week with Grandma

I am feeling great today.  Finally starting to get caught up on my blog, and it feels fantastic! Two posts in one day, that is definitely a record for me! Speaking of records, this month also marks the one year anniversary of my blog.  That's right, I actually kept up a journal for a whole year!!! For someone who has always been pretty flaky in this area, I am definitely giving myself a pat on the back for sticking it out.  I'm pretty sure keeping it up is a lot easier for a mom with one kid, so those of you keeping it up while raising several?...you are my idols :)  

As far as my other habits go, there are both good and bad things to report.  I've started walking with my sister-in-law a few times a week, which is awesome.  Melanie lives right now the street and we have committed to 2-3 miles most days, pushing our strollers up and down hills, with 3 goals in mind:  To tone down the flab, catch up on gossip, and most importantly, work on our tans.  So far, it's going quite well.  On the more disappointing side of things, my mom gave me a potted plant for Mother's Day.  It has all kinds of awesome herbs in it to cook with, and my mom reassured me that herbs are "hearty" plants, and I would have little trouble keeping them alive.  I've always wanted to have an herb garden.  My mom always did when we were growing up, and I loved how easy it was to go out back and get what we needed.  Well, the rosemary and chives are looking fabulous, but I've killed my parsley and basil, and the cilantro is looking quite worrisome. O well.  Too bad I didn't inherit my mother's green thumb.  Better luck with the next plant.  Anyway, Here are a bunch of pictures from the week I spent with my mom, from April 26th to May 3rd. 

So I felt kind of bad because when Jessica had her baby a week early, my mom was still up in Utah with me instead of Arizona with her.  Luckily, Nate and Jess were awesome and agreed to set up their laptop off to the side in the delivery room, so my mom and I were able to sort of see little Sawyer when he was born!  The doctor said it was his very first delivery being broadcast on the world wide web.  He was a really good sport.  It's hard to describe how I felt watching my sister greet her baby for the first time.  It was truly a wonderful experience.  Thanks Jess, for letting us be a part of it! I love you so much!

We managed to take a few snapshots of the i-chat during the delivery.  This is one of my favorites.  I like how you can see my mom in the corner too.

All choked up after the delivery, what an awesome experience!

Later in the week we went to this great indoor pool in Lehi with my cousin Jerai and her little guy Boyd.  Jake LOVED the water slide!

Smothering Grandma with a big wet smooch.

Jake loved the bubbles!!! A little too much actually.. about 5 minutes after this picture he got a little too excited and face planted on the concrete.  Sorry Jake!! Luckily, he's a tough little guy, and got over it in no time :) 

Jake does this funny little shoulder shrug thing when he gets super excited.  You can kind of see it in this picture.  I love him!

As always, the trip felt too short, and mom jetted off to join  Jessica and her family for the next week. Goodbyes are no fun, but we just always have to look forward to the next fun reunion! And when that seems too far away, there is always I-Chat!! thank goodness for that! :)

Jake's First Birthday

I just wanted to finally post up a few fun pictures from Jake's birthday party. Thank you so much to all of you who were able to make it out for the big event.  We had so much fun, and Jake loved having all his little buddies over!! 

I think that all in all, the party was a success. I mean, I didn't burn the food, my mom was there, and Jake was a well-behaved, classy little birthday boy.  (seriously, he behaved so well it was shocking!)  We did a "Cars" theme, which is fairly obvious from the following pictures.  I love my little guy, and my Wesley, for being such a trooper with the whole themed party thing.  A lot of people don't think it makes much sense throwing a big party for a one year old, because they won't even remember it 2 days later.  But you know what I say? The party is more for the parents anyway at that point, so why not use the excuse?  And Jake DID have fun, and so did we!! here are a few pictures :)

Pre-party pictures of the food.  Thankfully, my mom arrived just a couple hours before the party, and was able to help me lay it all out in true "Schindler" fashion. Thanks mom!

So happy to have grandma there!

I opted to bake cupcakes instead of a cake this time. Can you see the little Lightning McQueen and Mater sugar charms on top? So cute!

My mom got Jake a little Lightning McQueen remote control car.  He loves that thing! I think he looks like such a big boy using that control, even though mostly he just pushes random buttons and the car will go about 2 feet before he makes it go backwards again :)

Opening his first present.  The other boys were happy to help him unwrap a little quicker :)

Jake was truly in rare form that day.  He was such a good little sharer, and let all the other kids have a turn on his new car! (I wish I could say he is always this generous, but I would be lying.)

Jake "showing" Boyd how to drive ;)  This picture gives me hope that he'll be a helpful big brother when the time comes!

Driving his car in front of his new garage/tent. I told ya the theme was pretty obvious :)

About to blow out his candle.. Actually about to make a grab for it.  Can't you just see the resolve in his eyes already? 

All he did was poke his cupcake until dad broke it into little pieces for him.

All the mommies and Jake's friends at the birthday table!

More to Come

Ok, I'm feeling some pressure because I haven't blogged in a month, and in that time: 

a. We took our new family pictures. (thanks Syd!)

b. We celebrated Jake's Birthday

c. I got my mom for a short but fun filled week

d. My big sister finally had her baby.

yikes! And we are going to San Diego next weekend for a wedding in Wes's family.  The fun continues, and the new pictures and stories are piling up.  I had every intention of blogging all about the last month, but instead decided to spend the afternoon working on my tan.  Now, sitting here with a mild sunburn, it seems I'm out of time and need to start making dinner.  So rather than knocking it all out at once, I'll just chip away at the ever growing pile of fun.  For today, you get to see a few of the new family pictures. I hope you like them, and I'll try to be more on the ball with my blogs.  Next time, I'll tell you all about my son's very first birthday party, at the very least :) cheers!