It's goin.

We're pushin' along around here.  I'm so happy that summer is here.  Summer does make for a busier schedule, though.  For some reason we have a lot of weddings this year.  This seriously has to be the last year of weddings. 

Trevor (who is mowing the lawn as we speak) is spending a lot of time mowing the lawn.  It becomes a jungle out there after only two days.  Mowing the lawn and work is about all he's got going.  Poor guy.  He does get a few boys' nights every now and then so don't feel too bad for him.  "Da" is also jake's favorite word.  He like to SCREAM it and point at Trevor if Trevor dares to give his attention to something else.  He refuses to say "ma" and even pointed at the dog once when Trevor asked him where's mommy.  Good to know all my exhausting days and nights with the kid are paying off. 

I'm recovering from the birthday party and the sick days that followed it.  I'm trying to figure out a summer schedule.  I like to have a schedule and routine.  Thankfully the pool will be included in the schedule.  Pool time is a lot different than it used to be, though.  No more just laying on the chair and using the adult swim to cool off.  Now I find myself sitting in the baby pool or in three inches of water at the zero entry pool. 

jake is constantly pointing at everything so it gets a bit exhaustive trying to tell him names of everything.  It's kind of hard to figure out what he's point at sometimes.  He is getting into everything.  I like to call him trouble maker.  It makes me tired to think that the real trouble isn't even here.  His new favorite books are the Berenstain Bears, specifically the one where they go on vacation.  He laughs at the picture of Papa Bear running into the ocean and gives the picture a kiss.  He ignores Mama Bear, go figure.  He fights his naps like a champ.  He likes to give me a kiss and try to run off and play, but gets ticked off when I put him back in bed.  He's on strike against the crib and refuses to sleep in it.  He now likes to sleep on the futon in his room.  Can a kid of 13 months really be ready for a big boy bed?  We let him sleep on the futon.  He's sleeping well at night on it so why mess with a good thing.  He hasn't rolled off...yet.  I'm wondering if we should just take the crib mattress away and buy the full size mattress for the convertible crib.  We'll probably wait because I'm sure next week he'll change his mind.

Pool Time

jake and I headed to the gym and the pool today.  It's been a couple of weeks since I've dropped him off at the nursery so I wasn't expecting a good workout.  I didn't get to the weights, but he did last long enough for me to run 1.93 miles before they had to come and get me because he was crying too much.  Not bad.  So I grabbed him out of the nursery, sat for a minute on the bench because I was way out of breathe, then headed for the pool.  I looked one hot mess.  We changed and made it to the pool in time for some relaxation.  Sort of.

Here's jake when I first put him in the pool.

If you notice he tries to sit down.  Yeah, that marked the end to the smiles for a bit.  He soon found out how short he is and dunked himself.  He got over it, though, and decided to make the best of it.  It was soon time to dry off, have a snack, and head on home.

Room with a view

Best view in the neighborhood....taken from my living room window...

Blooms

I knew that I wanted this house when I walked up and there was a huge peony bush in the front yard.  I was ecstatic to find out that there were four bushes in total.  They are starting to bloom and I love having fresh cut flowers in the house. 

We have some in our bathroom.

On the kitchen table.

On the kitchen counter.

P.S. I know that some of them are in plastic cups.  I don't have enough vases to contain them all!!

Plus, as a fun Memorial Day suprise, my loving husband came home with some flowers for me.  I added some peonies to them :) and some daisies that we have blooming in the yard, too!

The Sun!

The ladies and I were discussing the weather today.  They're already talking about it being humid.  Hogwash!  I loooove the warm weather.  I even think positively about the humidity.  I just close my eyes and think of the biting cold in January when your fingers feel like they're going to freeze off.  The huge hassle the winter coat is when taking a kid in and out of a car seat.  Thank goodness is getting hot!

He looks just like you!

I hear that jake looks just like me ALL THE TIME.  I think it's the nose.  For those that know us really well, you know that my nose is vastly different then Trevor's nose.  :)  jake really does resemble his grampa's side of the family alot, though.  It's the cheeks, mouth and eyes.  Really all he got from me are the mushy nose and brown eyes.

Getting our feet wet

We decided to head out and test drive the 'ol water table today.  I think jake would prefer if he could sit down and play, but such is the hard luck of a one year old.  I suppose it will help him get used to standing anyway.

Here was the introduction.



Then Duke decided to see what the fuss was all about.

Party Time

We started the party with some play time and baby mingling.

 

 

Then it was cake time!

 

 

 

He was really hesitant about the whole thing.

 

 

 

He kinda got into it after we forced him.

 

I think all the babies are enjoying their favors.

Thank you to Anya and Andrea for sending me pictures!!

Party Prep

Trevor and I had many a discussion as to whether we should even throw a party for jake.  I decided we had to.  Then I may have gone slightly overboard. 

I spent most of Friday afternoon and evening baking.  Saturday day was spent frosting, making home made caramel corn and some chocolate covered marshmellows.  The previous week was spent making banners and planning the logistics.

We decided to have a baseball theme.  It all started with the invitation.

The favors were next.

 

We had to have something to remember the day by so I put out baseballs for everyone to sign.

 

Then we laid out all the goodies.

 

 

jake had his own special cake.

 

Then we were ready to party.

 

 

I got so wrapped up in the party that I didn't get any pictures of my own.  Thankfully people are sending me pictures so I'll have something for the albums!  Thank you so much Anya and Andrea!!!  If anyone has any pictures they want to send me, feel free!  I'll have the pictures that Anya and Andrea took up shortly!!

 

p.s.

 

Thanks to Megan for manning the video camera for us during cake time!

1

My little baby turned one on the 8th.  I can't believe it.  I still remember holding him right after he was born with all the goo on him thinking about how beautiful he was and how I couldn't wait for them to wipe off all the goo.  It's amazing to think about all that has happened in the last year.  It's amazing to think about how much he's grown. 

I'll admit that most of j's actual birthday was spent preparing for his party the following day.  We did want to do something special, though.  T took the day off and grammy was in town so we decided to head to the "Touch a Truck" event and then go to lunch.  The event was sponsored by the local parks and rec department so I thought it was going to be a couple of their pick up trucks and maybe a tractor if we were lucky.  Ummm, yeah, I was wrong.

I think j thought it was going to be a couple of pick ups, too, and was a bit skeptical as we strapped him in the stroller.

 

We soon found that this was not a stroller event and that you had to get out and see it all.

 

 

j was definitely ready to touch a truck!

 

 

Here's one part of the event.  You can see the police cars, the military hummer and the fire trucks.

 

The other side of the event had tractors, semis, and buses.

 

 

The zamboni was even there!!

 

j spent some time examining the whole situation.

 

After some thought...

 

 

he decided to drive the John Deere tractor.

 

He was a bit surprised to see that he had so much cargo.

 

The photo ops with mom and dad were a little embarassing.

 

As long as there's a balloon around.  That's all that matters.