almost 2!

I'm hoping a new fresh look will get me back into the groove of blogging.  Even if no one is reading this, I love going back and reading old posts and realizing how fast time is flying by... and how poorly I am documenting the energy, fun, stress and patience that comes along with raising a toddler.  I have an almost 2 year old and a 14 week growing belly so it's safe to say energy is a thing of the past.

I was planning on a longer post to catch you myself up on the fun of summer 2011 that has flown by but it took me an entire nap time to change my blog and now I hear this little man pounding on the walls...

Easter stud

Jonathan is so much fun right now (and by fun I mean he keeps me on my toes at every moment) - and if I attempt to sit down for two minutes you better believe he will eat, rip, throw, splash, or hide anything he can while I'm out of sight. As a family we love heading next door to the park or discovering new places to run around. We love going into San Francisco whenever we can (usually once a week), discovering new-to-us eateries and soaking up every minute of the fabulous weather we experience every day.

My cute friend Jessica took these pictures of Jonathan in the darling Easter outfit his grandma Shauna bought him while she was in town, with the classic bow tie made by Miranda. He looked so cute!!

18 months old

too much to handle

Hello there Mr. Bloggy Blog. I hope you've been ok without me these past few weeks. I've been meaning to visit you, but what can I say... life happens, and blog is sent to the back-burner for a little while. I'm glad to know you are still here though. I have missed you and a lot has happened.

First let me start by saying... me and California are just meant to be. I love that I can take Jonathan to the park in the middle of January. I love that I got a sunburn in February and I love that Spring will actual start in well, the spring! I love that the Giants have been my favorite sports team since birth (ok, the Giants have been Jake's favorite sports team since birth - but we are like one person. I would actually say they have been my favorite sports team since we got engaged in 2007, k?) and we were able to witness the mayhem that was a World Series victory! A few weeks ago (on a gloriously beautiful Saturday afternoon) we headed into the city for the Giants Fanfest at AT&T Park. After sneaking in to see the trophy we weren't able to actually get into the ballpark because so many people showed up. But bless my wonderful husband's heart... he doesn't give up easily and somehow we found the one gate letting people in and made our way inside and on the field... it was so fun to run around right there where out favorite team plays ball. Even Jonathan could sense the excitement of this event and made the most of it. Go Giants! I can't believe I am saying this... but I actually can't wait for the season to start! Is it possible? Has my husband somehow converted me into sports mania? Um, no... I just like going to baseball games (because it means it's summer), eating a hotdog and singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

Now blog, I know what you are thinking... "wow, that sounds like a terrific day!" Well, you are right, but it wasn't over. We decided since it was such a beautiful day and since we'd already thrown a nap for J out the window we might as well keep the party going. We headed to the beach to sink our toes into the sand and chase the waves. Jonathan was a natural at chasing the waves... however he isn't afraid of them yet... which makes a nervous wreck out of me, but fun was had by all!!

The only downside to California winter(s) that I have found is that cold and flu season seems to affect us no matter where we are. If someone could receive an award for longest cold... Jonathan would win. I swear he has had one runny nose after another, then a flu bug and now to top it all off he has an eye infection... probably pink eye, but I hate to call it that. We've spent a lot of time indoors these past two weeks trying to get better. I'll probably throw a mini celebration the day Jonathan no longer has a runny nose. You are invited:-)

Toddlerhood

Jonathan is such a performer. He loves having an audience and already has a way with women... trouble. Every day with a toddler brings something new, be it a new word, a new favorite food or a beloved temper tantrum.

At almost 15 months old I love everything about my toddler, he is sweet and loving, silly and giggly, curious and determined, outgoing and fearless, smart and willing to let me help, snotty nosed and messy faced, running more and walking less - it's not possible to love this guy more than I already do.

Recently Jonathan likes to wave to everyone and everything (pictures of people, animals and trees). He also blows kisses (more like smacks himself in the face)... cute nonetheless. He shakes his head all the time - it started out as his dance move, now he just randomly shakes his head... I wish I knew what he was thinking when he does this. His vocabulary is growing... some of his favorite words right now are "da da" - dad, "ba ba" - bottle, "yight" - light, "kah kah" - cracker, "kuck" - truck, "hot" - and then he blows on whatever is hot, he says "goo" - good when he gets something right and "hi" and then there's the animal noises - lion, cow, dog, cat, monkey, pig and duck are his best sounds. He surprises with me a new skill, sound or word almost daily. Jonathan loves footballs, basketballs, baseballs and soccer balls... and he likes to throw left handed which excites his dad. He hates having his diaper changed - he would do everything naked if he had his way. His appetite changes every day... one day he never seems full and the next day he doesn't seem to eat much at all. On that same note - Jonathan says "mmmm" when he takes a bite of food and when he takes a drink he says "aaahhhh". He loves to eat a whole apple... he will spend an hour devouring an apple. I realize he watches everything we do because he now loves to talk on the phone (mostly on his Elmo cell phone) and he points the remote at the TV... which is sad. He likes to put the keys in the crack of the front door as if he is unlocking the door. One day he actually escaped out the front door AND down the stairs - needless to say there is a latch on the front door now. Swinging at the park next door is a favorite activity, reading the same books over and over is a favorite, sliding down the hall and back in the laundry basket is so fun. We enjoy practicing our "social" laughter - Jonathan already knows how to fake laugh (but he never fake laughs at my jokes - only sincere genuine laughter for his mom). We clap for almost everything and play peek-a-boo even when no one is around. No one could possibly be as ticklish as Jonathan and I've never seen a toddler with an arm like Jonathan's. He loves to fake cry when he trips or bonks or pinches fingers in something and he still loves to be cuddled - which I have no problem with.

I can't wait to see what exciting new developments the next few months bring with them!

But for now enjoy these:

jjo and his cousins Will, Thomas and baby Annie

when we first arrived in slc and jjo saw Will he ran right up to him and gave him a hug... they are best buds and Will is always watching out for Jonathan.

New Year's at the cabin - looking like Randy from A Christmas Story... he couldn't put his arms down

Love this picture

Always getting into mischief - while trying to pack jjo decided to pack himself:-)

Ward Christmas Party on Santa's lap... didn't cry this time

I look awful in this picture because I was sick, but I realize I don't have many pictures of the three of us... hence the goal to take more pics in 2011. This picture was taken in front of the Oakland Temple Nativity.

Goals for 2011

Things I'm looking forward to achieving this year:

- taking more pictures (I always convince myself that ordinary days aren't worth taking pictures... and then I regret it)

- meal planning (sometimes I forget to think about dinner until... well... dinnertime)

- get my scripture reading in every day... no excuses.

- complete a book each month (for January I will be finishing a book I've been reading off and on for 6 months... can I blame moving for my embarrassing lack of reading??) BTW - any book suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

- eat less :-) ... when you grow up with brothers you tend to fill your plate just to make sure you get any food at all... reminder to me: you don't actually have to consume all the food (snort snort)

- go on more dates with my husband!! We tend to forget how nice it is to sit down at a restaurant and visit... without entertaining a toddler.

- start paying my bills online - I need to stop writing checks and buying stamps. Don't ask me why I still do this... I couldn't tell you.

- be silly with Jonathan once a day - it's fun to tune out what other people think and just have fun with my little man.

Here's to a great year to come... I can feel it!!

And it just happened...

It's come to my attention that my "little baby" is no longer my little baby. Somewhere in between mashed foods and clumsy steps my little angel has transformed into a food smashing, tantrum throwing, nonstop running toddler. And amazingly I still love him. Sure he spends the majority of his time doing the exact opposite of what I ask. Sure he threw a fit in the middle of Target because I had to strap him into his seat so he would stop standing up and giving me a heart attack. Amazingly I didn't snap when he threw the glass ornament on the tile floor and it broke. Nor did I get mad when he pulled every. single. item off the bookshelf while I was trying to cook dinner for guests. I might have drown out his crying in the car on the way home today with christmas music, but it worked. It was a long day. It amazes me though that my life is changing from a momma of a laid back baby to a baby who can make his own way out the front door and down the stairs, who gets his hands into the toilet quicker than I can run to stop him, who tests me by doing the same naughty things every day to see how I'll react. So glad this toddler of mine will still give me hugs and kisses and sit on my lap while I read story after story to him. I'm so glad I get to be home with my little guy every day and experience everything he says and does. But also so glad when he goes to bed each night:-) Is that bad?

A weekend to remember... and one to forget

Happy Thanksgiving!!!! (last week). I hope you (my four followers) had a fun, relaxing weekend with people you care about. We've been taking advantage of our new surroundings and trying to enjoy all the festivities that take place in the Bay Area. Two out of two weekends have been unforgettable, but for completely different reasons. Weekend one we attempted to make it down to Embarcadero to watch the lights go on downtown. We made it in time, but it was pouring rain that night, so we were cold, wet and couldn't for the life of us figure out how to get the rain protector on the stroller.

doesn't JJO looked thrilled...

we didn't even bother getting a family picture because of the rain

We made it just in time for the lights to go on, watched the fireworks and then walked to the Ferry Building to find dinner. The least expensive option was also the most crowded and definitely not a baby friendly place. I, for the most part, do ok under baby pressure - crying in the grocery store, no problem, temper tantrum in church, no problem... for some reason in a crowded restaurant with no place to put my child or calm him down I start to sweat and the stress gets to me (mostly Jake suffers in these situations because I just end up in a really bad mood).

dinner was a lovely experience...

The next day we were planning on staying home, cleaning up, organizing and relaxing around the house. Then Jake was offered some last minute Cal vs. Stanford football tickets and said he "couldn't turn them down." I said I didn't want to go. It was cold. I was looking forward to the relaxing day home together. I didn't want to go through the extra work it is to do ANYTHING with a one year old. Yet, somehow the next thing I knew we were driving to the BART station. Nothing from this point on went well. The game was starting at 12:30... it was 12:30. We missed the first train and waited 20 minutes for the next. It was cold. We made it onto the BART, but had to transfer a little ways down the line... annoying. We finally made it to our stop then began the hike (uphill) to the stadium. The only bonus of this hike was it warmed me up slightly. It took us 20 minutes to get to the stadium only to find out the game wasn't even close and it was half-time. Stanford was killing Cal. Our seats were second row from the top and the seating was benches. So we were crammed on a bench with a toddler and a huge backpack full of supplies. What wasn't in the bag?? Diapers and wipes. Sweet. At this point I was having a laughing fit - not because I thought it was funny... but because everything had gone so wrong and the only way to control my anger was to laugh. It worked... kindof. Jake packed raspberries for Jonathan, but we had no wipes to clean him up with so he had a stained face and hands for the rest of the game. Jonathan's chubby hands barely fit in the gloves I brought him. I hate my raincoat... it's not comfortable.

this is a 'fake' smile picture from all of us

Seriously, nothing was going right. We finally gave in to the disaster that had become our "lazy" Saturday and headed home. Oh how I wish we could have just hopped in a car... It was another long hike down the hill, long wait to transfer trains and then a long ride to our car. The blessing of the day was when we walked in our front door and the downpour began. If the rain had started any earlier I would have completely lost it. You know those days???

Then Thanksgiving came and went. I managed to ruin a pumpkin pie... which is pathetic because I bought the crust and ONLY had to make the filling. Not difficult... but apparently it was... and I failed attempt #1. #2 was perfect. My homemade rolls were a hit as well. Our company was wonderful and the house was baby-proofed so I didn't have to worry (too much) about Jonathan. He is in a completely destructive phase. Sometimes I wonder why I even bother picking up the house since his goal all day long is to tear it apart.

Friday night was amazing. We decided we prefer to drive to the city with Jonathan, rather than take the BART. We headed into San Francisco for the annual tree lighting concert at Union Square. Luckily Jonathan manages to entertain the crowds around him wherever we go... he's a natural charmer. The lights were splendid and it was fun to feel the magic of the Christmas holiday kick into gear. We are so excited to embark on some new traditions as a family. We have always had our own families so close by that it seemed impossible to create our own traditions. This will forever be a Christmas season to remember... my first without snow, without the lights at temple square and no Scrooge night. I'm feeling nostalgic for the things back home, but grateful to have my own wonderful family to make new traditions with.

JJO loving his new beanie - i love his face in this picture

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!