Happy Birthday, Dear!

Happy Birthday Jake!!!

Today Jake is 31. Holy shoot! That's old! I guess that makes me his young, twenty-something trophy wife, right? ;)

Jake is pretty much the best guy in the whole world. I have never met anyone who doesn't like him. He makes everyone feel good about themselves. He is incredibly personable, funny, and relates to people so well. Everyone thinks he is their best friend, because that's how he treats everyone he knows. He is kind, non-judgmental, and generous with the compliments. When we started dating, one of the first things I loved about him was how at ease he is in public situations. I do not have that gift, so it is something I have always admired about him. I don't have to have social anxiety when I am with him, because he can talk to anyone. That might not sound like a big deal to you, but it is to me! Jake always laughs at my jokes, and understands my lame attempts at wittiness and humor. He is also quite funny himself, and makes me laugh every day.

Jake is the mellow to my frenetic. He is calm, the voice of reason, and yet is patient and understanding with my emotional drama. He is sensitive to my needs, a great listener when I ramble. He is loving, and giving, and open. He is always there to reassure me and build me up.

He is a hard worker, and never shies away from a difficult or lengthy task. He is a creative problem solver, and extremely intelligent, but the thing that impresses me the most is how diligent he is. He puts in long hours to provide for us, and to allow me to stay at home with our kids.

He is a righteous man. He is a wonderful example to our boys of how a Priesthood holder should act. He serves in the church in whatever capacity is asked of him, and is faithful and perseverent (Blogger is telling me I misspelled this. This is a real word, right? I have spelling issues).

He is a loving and fun father. He loves to play with the kids and helps out with all the less-glamorous parenting responsibilities whenever he is home. He is a great parent, and the boys adore him. I hope that they grow up to be just like him.

He likes to eat. The reason I love this about him is that I like to cook. Nothing gives me more pleasure than to watch Jake eat. The first time I cooked for him, I made some enchiladas, and Jake ate almost the entire pan. And then couldn't stop talking about how much he enjoyed the meal (that's when I knew he was a keeper). He appreciates my experimentation, and will eat just about anything. He likes to try new things and is very open minded. Not just with food, but with all kinds of different situations.

He is very handy around the house and with the cars. There is nothing he can't fix. He is clever and smart and has an understanding of how things work. He isn't afraid to tackle any project, big or small.

Jake is a good husband because everything I am not, he is. Where I lack, he gives. Where I fail, he excels. He is the yin to my yang (or is it the other way around?). He is my perfect match. He is an amazing, fantastic human being, and I love him.

Happy Birthday Jake!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Wyatt giving Micah a kiss at lunch.


Wyatt leaning into a curved viewing hole: "too scary!!"


Overlooking the beautiful Monterey Bay.


At one of the great children's exhibits. Wyatt was way past tired at this point, so he kept licking everything. Gross doesn't even begin to describe it.


A little hole to view the fishies. Wyatt didn't want to come out.



On Cannery Row there are these two old traincars. Big hit with Wyatt, as you can tell from his ear-to-ear smile.

A Pinch of This, A Dash of That

I have ADD (no H) today. There is no flow or theme here. Just some random thoughts and events.

Micah's 6 month stats:

Weight: 16 pounds 9 ounces (35%)
Height: 26 1/2 inches (50%)

Showing off his sky-diving skills:

He is still doing a great job eating, and can sit up by himself now. Wyatt has finally accepted him into the family and hasn't tried to kill him for a few weeks now. He has actually been really sweet lately.

I love babies in their high-chairs. I just think its one of the cutest things in the world.
We aren't breastfeeding anymore, which makes me so sad. Micah never really enjoyed it, never wanted to nurse, so over time we were doing more and more formula feeds. Broke my heart in two. I kept trying to force him to nurse, but now he just bites me and chews and basically refuses to do it. :( I LOVE breastfeeding, so this has been really hard for me.

We have been HATING all this rain lately. It seems like we've had rain every day for a month. Not quite, but still. And this week's forecast is more rain. We had a non-rainy Saturday a week ago, so we decided to go down to Santa Cruz. On the drive down, we stopped at this cool lighthouse...which has become Wyatt's newest obsession. At least this means we have something other than reindeer to talk about now.

This was on the wharf in Santa Cruz. You'll probably have to turn this up to hear Wyatt. I apologize in advance for my loud, obnoxious voice.

I can run (slow but steady wins the race) five miles now! I only have to add 8 (point 1) more to that, and then I'm set for the half marathon.

The Miss America Pageant is a completely different experience in HD. I love HD. And the Miss America Pageant. And Google.

The Wyatt Bed

Wyatt is a big boy! He has successfully made the transition from crib to Wyatt Bed. It went far better than I thought. I was SUPER hesitant, what with his history of diaper removal and such, but he has done such a great job. I had been putting it off and putting it off (as I have been known to do with difficult tasks), but then Jake called me and said "I'm sending you a picture of these bunk beds at Costco, do you want me to buy them for Wyatt?" EEEKKKK! Decision time. "uhhhhhhhh, fine, I guess so..." So Jake brought home the bunk beds, put them together the next day, and just like that (actually, several hours of bed-putting-together later), the crib was gone and I was forced to deal with the change.

We kept pumping up Wyatt about the "big boy bed" while we were putting the beds together, in fact, while we were doing so, Wyatt kept trying to climb onto the partially finished beds and take a nap. He was so excited the first night!! He went straight to bed, and didn't make a move until morning. The next day was a little harder though. We (I) spent two hours trying to get him to stay in his bed during nap time. The second day we spent one hour getting him to take a nap, and by the third day he was taking naps without too much fuss. We still have some issues at nap time (its quite difficult for the little guy to stay in bed when he can see all his trains and cars calling his name - "Wyyyyy-atttttt. Choo choo! Come play with us! Beep beep beep!") But overall, he loves his new bed. He asks for it multiple times a day, "Wyatt new bed? Take nap?"

Aaaaaaaand, remember the pesky problems we had been having in the diaper-poo department? Which have been going on for AGES? Poof! Gone. We haven't had to tape him in once. I had a feeling that the reason behind his, um, naughtiness, was that he was rebelling against being trapped in his crib. Now that he has his freedom, he no longer has to resort to poo-flinging as an act of independence. Of course, now that I have posted this, I can hear karma cackling and gearing up to bite me in the butt, and Wyatt will do some serious poo-mess during his nap today. Side note to karma: Please, please, don't do this to me. Haven't I suffered enough already??

I'll be honest, this change makes me a little sad. When I see him sleeping in there, he just looks like such a little boy, not my baby anymore. I get a little teary. I hate seeing him grow up so fast. I'm excited that he is getting more independent, but it still breaks my heart a little.

Pictures! The ladder is up only for show purposes. I DO NOT WANT Wyatt climbing up there. Maybe when he is ten. Wyatt proudly showing off his new bed:

These are only a few of the stuffed animals he sleeps with. He has never been a stuffed animal kind of kid, I'm not sure why he needs to sleep with seven of them now.

With his other prized possession: his new train table. Thank you, Santa!

Next stop, potty training! Oh, man....

delicious

I caved. I'd been putting this off for as long as possible. I didn't want to be replaced. I didn't want to give up being needed. But I knew this day would come.

Micah got "real" food (can rice cereal be considered real? When was the last time you had rice cereal as a meal?). Our first attempt resulted in sobs. On his part. I think he was a little too hungry, and was just not expecting...THAT. So I gave him a few more ounces of milk and tried again. Presto. He loved it. He ate it up so fast. We've been at this for over a week now, and he LOVES his cereal.

Wyatt has not taken to this change quite as easily, however. Wyatt also burst into tears when Micah took his first bites. "MINE! MINE! Mommy, MIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!!!!" I guess he was upset that Micah was eating out of "his" plastic bowl. It was quite a tantrum. It was like all of his pent up emotions about Micah coming into our family and taking away his status and toys and parental love and plastic bowls just came exploding out all at once. It would have been funny if Wyatt hadn't been so sincere in his objections and anger. Once the tears were shed, he was fine though. Sometimes we just need to have a good cry and let it out.

Funny story - the other day I was feeding Micah, and Wyatt kept begging for "some dat." I gave him a spoonful. He immediately spit it out, and started wiping his tongue on his arm, trying to get the nastiness completely out of his mouth. Then he started gagging and threw up a little. He looked at me like I gave him poison. I haven't seen such a violent reaction to food since he ate rabbit poo. I then politely asked "would you like some mo-" "NOOOOO MAMA!! NOOOOOO!" :)

why i love you

dear micah,

i love your

chunky thighs

your cankles

the way your neck always stinks like rotten barf

your enormous hands and chubby fingers

your big brown beautiful eyes

how ticklish you are, and the way you belly laugh when I change your shirt

your toothless smile

the way you lay your head on my shoulder when you are sleepy

how you always rub your feet together like a little cricket

your chubby cheeks

how you break out in a sweat when the temperature breaks 70 degrees

your pug nose

how you can down an 8 ounce bottle in 5 minutes

when you chew on your toes and hands and arms and clothes and my nose and cheeks and neck and arms and fingers and clothes and hair

your stubborn nature

watching your long lashes as your eyes grow heavy and you drift off to sleep

what a great sleeper you are

your love and adoration of your big brother

your perfect toenails

love,

your mom



dear wyatt,

i love your

smiling personality

the way you always ask me to sing "chowd a Goooooooooooowd?"

your big brown beautiful eyes

your perfect little triangle nose

the fact that you look just like your daddy

your willingness to eat anything and enjoy it

when you bring toys to your baby brother

how you crack up when i sing made up songs about puzzles, or motorcycles, or tigers

your fascination with reindeer

when you boss Lucy around

the way you can't say "l's"

how you play with the tags of your blankie while you sleep

your love of moving vehicles

when you sing anything

how you make everything into a family

what a great sleeper you are

your love of books and reading

how you like to snuggle with me

when you quote the movie "cars"

your imitation of me

love,

your mom

Resolved

Happy New Year!

Hooray for 2010! It seems everyone is so negative about the last year and the last decade. I understand their logic, but for me, 2009 was a great year, and a great way to end a great decade! In 2000, I left my teen years behind (I don't know who was most happy about that, me, or my mom), finished college, met and married the love of my life/eternal companion, and was blessed to have two healthy, wonderful little boys. I don't know how this next year/decade can top the last, but I have high hopes!

I LOVE making resolutions. This isn't that surprising, since resolutions are just another form of lists, and we all know how I feel about lists. The chance to write a sequential, ordered list of things I have every good intention/no real chance of completing...ahh. Makes me smile inside.

Maybe writing my resolutions publicly will increase the odds of my sticking to them. Right. Anyhoo, here they are:

1. Run a half marathon. Stop laughing. Just ask Jake: when I put my mind to something, it gets done. I'm aiming for October. Jake thinks I should just go whole hog and shoot for a marathon. Hah! No desire.

2. Do a pull-up. STOP LAUGHING!! This definitely wins the award for longest-running-yet-never-achieved-resolution. This has been on my list since 1986, which was the first year I had to participate in PE testing at school, and FAILED at the pull-up portion. I was not accustomed to failure, you see, so I made a vow that I would do better the next year. Repeat this scenario in 1987, and so-on, through 1998, when I graduated high school. By about 5th grade, it didn't shame me as it did my first-grade self, but it still was on my list of things to do. Two years ago, I made my most valiant efforts towards reaching this goal. I went from pulling up 2 inches, to pulling up almost half-way, which is the most pulling up I have ever accomplished in my entire life. I have high hopes for 2010. This is the year I do a pull up. Yes I Can.

3. Get my breakfast dishes done before noon. Every day.

4. Go to the temple once a month. Also a long-standing resolution, although met with more success than the Pull-Up Resolution.

5. Have consistent Family Home Evening. This is really hit or miss with us, and I usually count going to dinner as FHE, but I need to be consistent in doing lessons.

That's it, folks! That's my list. I'm sure there are some who have items they think I should have added to the list, but too bad (see, several years ago, I made a resolution to care less about what others think...). This is it. We'll see how it goes.

Happy New Year!