Steps and Stats

We'll start off with the most exciting info...Jack took his first steps yesterday!! He has started to get brave lately, moving from the couch to the coffee table and standing on his own for a few seconds before sitting on the floor. I wanted to see what he could do so Guy held him while I moved a few feet away. When Guy let go, Jack took 4 steps, and made it all the way to me! I couldn't believe it! He only made it all the way once so I wouldn't say we have a full fledged walker on our hands, but it's definitely right around the corner.

Jack also had his 9 month well baby visit. Dr. Sharma said he is perfect. No shots this time around which was a welcome surprise. His 9 month stats are...

weight: 20 lbs 12oz
height: 29.25 inches

Red Velvet

Guy attempted to make me a red velvet cake for my birthday. Something happened during that attempt that made the end result...umm, not so good. Not quite sure what went wrong, but I love that he took the time to make me a cake! Thank you babe for going completely out of your comfort zone to make my birthday special! I feel so lucky to be your wife. 143

9 things to love about Jack at 9 months

In the blink of an eye my baby boy is on the verge of being a toddler. The falls are endless these days as he is already trying to walk. Before life changes as we know it, here are some of things I want to remember about Jack at 9 months.

1) No matter what time of morning it is, whenever you go to get him out of the crib he is ALWAYS smiling!
2) How freely he offers his (open mouth) kisses.
3) Jack's new favorite past time, blowing spit bubbles...constantly!
4) He's a great eater and likes pretty much everything you put in front of him.
5) For the most part he is not too big on being held, but every so often he lets you rock him to sleep and I love those moments!
6) His blonde hair! After Guy cut his hair I couldn't believe how blonde it was! Jack and Ella actually look related now!
7) The way he scrunches his nose and huff's and puff's; I need to get a video of this!
8) How he crawls to me when I walk in the door at day care. It's nice to know that he misses me while I'm away.
9) His laugh is contagious and he laughs often!

Beach Party

We packed up the trailer and spent the weekend down at Bolsa Chica State Beach. The weather was perfect! (a nice change from the last time we were there) On Saturday, family and friends came down for a Beach Party to celebrate my 30th birthday. We BBQ'd of course and spent time playing in the sand. Some people braved the water (I was not one of them) and other's just enjoyed the company and the sun. Thank you so much to everyone who came to celebrate!

Bookworm

My girl loves to read! She has completely memorized some of her favorites and we get to see her imagination at work as she "reads" (makes up a story by looking at the pictures) all of the rest. For her birthday she received a book full of Disney Classics. I wasn't sure she was quite ready for the longer stories but she has proven me wrong. When she requested to read the princess book (seriously, do they come with the princess obsession hardwired?!?) she sat through the entire story of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella. I hope her love of books lasts lifetime!

This picture...

makes me smile!

Silverwood Lake

On Friday Ella and I enjoyed a day at the lake with Grandma and Grandpa Thomas, Aunt Valerie and Amy, Aunt Sissy, and Karina; Jack stayed home with Grandma and Papa. It was such a great day! I had forgotten how close Silverwood lake was and Ella had such a good time playing in the sand and water. We will definitely be going back soon!







Grandpa showed Ella how to skip rocks. Ella thought that was the best thing ever and spent the next hour collecting rocks so that she could "skip" rocks(throw rocks as hard as she could) into the water.

Picture's Impossible!

As I type that title, I play the mission impossible music in my head. Taking pictures of Jack is quite the mission lately! It starts off easy enough. Jack is just hanging out being cute as ever so I grab the camera. He doesn't notice the click of the flash for a second and he lets me get a few shots.


But then he's up and headed right towards you!


and in no time at all his hands are headed towards the lens


and he's chewing on the camera strap


Lucky for me this little guy gives hugs and sloppy open mouth kisses and the mission is all worth it!

Our little swimmer

I am so proud of this little girl! She loves to swim, but she has been so afraid to get in Grandma and Grandpa's big pool. Last year she would literally shake if you even tried to get her in. This year we didn't push and let her go in at her own pace. The last few times we went swimming she would watch from the edge, then she starting standing on the first few steps and sitting in a chair in the water. Yesterday was much the same, until she decided that Daddy's offer to throw her in the air and let her jump to him was too good to pass up. I couldn't believe it! She was laughing and having such a good time! It was so great to see her trust Guy whole heartedly and overcome her fear!

Projects...

The work "project" is almost a bad word around here! We have so many projects started, or about to start, or wanting to start that some days we feel like we're about to go crazy! Every so often we finish one; Jack's room is officially finished, (pictured to come), new door frame to the kitchen, new electrical outlet above the fireplace to accommodate the TV, and the door casing is finished in the living room. One project I have been envisioning is a picture collage in our room with pictures of Guy and I through out our relationship. We finally got the pictures in and finished it this week; I LOVE it! There's pictures from when we were dating all the way up to our most recent vacation and a couple fun shots from places we have been. It is so nice to have an idea come full circle!

Standin' Up!

It took about all of one day for Jack to decide it was way more fun to be standing up then laying on the floor. He can now officially pull himself up on just about anything and is starting to move around once he gets up there. I think we have a very active little boy on our hands.

and he's off!

This blog is so overdue! Jack has officially been a crawler for about two weeks now. He is everywhere! As you can see from the bruise on his forehead and the scratch on his nose learning how to crawl is a tough job! How does it go so quickly?!? He is already pulling himself up on everything; now when I pick the kids up at day care Jack crawls to me and stands up at my legs which I love! Only a matter of time before our baby turns into a toddler. I am going to try to hold onto my baby as long as I can!

4th of July 2011

4th of July this year was spent swimming in Grandma's pool and enjoying some BBQ. Ella is still not to sure about the big pool, so she spent most of her time in the kids pool playing with Amy. Jack on the other hand LOVES the pool; he thinks the float is just like his walker at home. Later in the day we had a crazy thunder storm and an hour of rain. I wish I had some pictures of Ella playing in the rain because she thought that was great! About 8pm we headed over to watch fireworks. The entire time Ella kept saying "I love fireworks" and then she would tell us the color of every one. It is so much fun to experience the holidays through Ella's eyes! Everything is so new and exciting.

Patriotic Parade

4th of July this year started out with a bang! Ella and I headed over to our good friends Grace and Max's house for some delicious breakfast and a neighborhood 4th of July parade. All the kids decorated their bikes and the parents dressed in their best red, white, and blue. There was even a fire truck to lead the way! What a fun way to start the day!

Pillow Fun

Ella and Amy were playing together tonight while the boys were watching UFC. In a house filled with flashy toys, puzzles, and books, they had the most fun playing on a stack of pillows! They giggled and laughed at each other forever. It was so fun to watch!

2011 Company Picnic

This year my company picnic was held at Universal Studios Hollywood. Guy had to work, and Jack's not too big on amusement parks, so Ella and I spent the day checking out the show's, eating yummy food, and just having a good time. We started off the day watching Shrek 4D; I thought for sure I had traumatized her forever. She wouldn't get off my lap the entire time and she refused to put the glasses on, but then all day she told me about the princess she saw. We saw lots of characters: Madagascar lion, Scooby Doo, Dora & Diego. All of which she loved to watch from afar. We ended the day with an animal actors show; which she loved. It was a fun day to get to spend with my little girl.