Odenbaugh Family

Thanksgiving Rodeo

2012-01-03T13:57:00.000-08:00

Over Thanksgiving we went to Utah to see Kasandra's Rodeo. We rented a house to stay in and made an extra long weekend of it. The boys were both sickies pretty much the whole time so that wasn't so fun... we won't talk about the icky ride to Vegas or the million potty stops on the way home. The highlight of the trip was seeing Kasandra do what she does best! I took about a million pictures so be warned!
She was a little nervous to have so much family in the stands to watch.
My little cowboy sipping his sprite.

Watching all the activity in the ring... we even saw the boys bull riding.

She was so close to catching this little guy.

She HATES getting her picture taken so I had to sneak some in...

Kathy describes Rodeo as a whole lot of hurry up and wait... it was!

Amazing the way she can get that horse around the poles.

I love this one!

She was even closer to catching this one!

Laughing after trying to goat tie (not her event :0) )

Another amazing turn.

A disappointed phone call after knocking over some poles to her trainer (this cowgirl was on the phone all. the. time.)

The handsome hubby and David.

My two little cowboys in their western overalls... Jonathan's were a little too small.

A rare smile from the sickie.

Grandma Utah and Jonathan.

Stop that horse!

Running to tie up the goat (since then JT has added goat tying to his horsey rides with Thomas... he hops off and pretends to tie up David).

The loyal Skipper standing by while they see if the tie holds.

Sooo excited to be riding the horse.

Not quite as excited but David sure was.

4 Generations.

David loves to Read!

2012-01-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

And then David loves to climb.... danger!!

Danger Jumper

2012-01-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

One of Jonathan's favorite pastimes is jumping off things. One of my favorite pastimes is learning how to use my camera to get non blurry pictures of him! He loves to see himself fly even if it is a bit dangerous!

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:00:00.001-07:00

I took way too many pictures... so many that my camera battery died before the fun was over... oh well! This year we had lots of opportunities to celebrate. First up was my schools harvest carnival... no costumes, just prizes and face painting. Jonathan LOVED watching all the big kids play the games. We had our annual Hallo-wii party with our small group (even though we never even turned on the wii). Jonathan kept asking if Thomas was going to dress up like a crazy person again. Last night we went to Trinity in the pass Halloween Happening at the school by our house. Tonight we went to visit my parents and then check out "trunk or treat" at the sports park. We trick-or-treated our cul-de-sac and have been spending the rest of night passing out candy to all the cute kids that come to our door.
Since we already had a monkey costume and Jonathan loves reading Curious George books I convinced him he could be the man with the yellow hat. David is pretty go with the flow so not much convincing there.

I dyed JT's outfit from some hand-me-down clothes. Spraypainted his hat that my mom found thrifting and a little felt tie inspired by a pattern on pinterest.

We looked for some brown boots but no luck.

The little monkey is just excited to experience some candy.

And of course when you get sick of taking pictures you climb up the slope to go exploring.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

So I took a zillion pictures at the patch! I will upload more to facebook... so check there if you are dying to see more pictures of pumpkins and my cute boys.

A couple of weekends ago we had a wedding to go to in the evening so Alyssa came out to watch the boys for us. We decided to go to the Greenspot pumpkin patch in the morning. It was perfect since the patch isn't great for stollers and David isn't great at walking all by himself. So we had three people to carry him. :0) They loved seeing all the animals and JT found hay and I found some corn to feed them. Then we hung out by a little play area for a while.... there is a little train there and let me tell you David LOVES LOVES LOVES to "drive" and was so happy to be at the steering wheel. We went through a little maze of bushes with Jonathan leading the way. At the end of that maze there is a little kids pumpkin patch. He had a great time gathering pumpkins to give to David who had a great time pushing them down the hill. One pumpkin went WAY down the hill and scared the horses down below and we had to stop that game. We sampled some honey at the honeyhouse and went on a tractor ride. Our little guide was pretty funny too. Then Jonathan picked out a pumpkin and I picked out a couple of avocados and we were on our way. We got there when it opened and basically had the place to ourselves. It was so much fun! While it is pretty exhausting at times it is fun to take the crazies places. They just get so excited about being outside and doing new things.

Finished

2011-10-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

I am finally done with one of my little nap time craft projects. With a nice first grade class this year I haven't been spending my nap times catching up on school work leftover from my work week OR recovering and taking a nap myself!

I was inspired by Pinterest.... always makes me want to get my craft on... although I do admit I probably waste ALOT of time on there!

I started by making the strap cover... then making some little ribbon flowers with buttons. I only used supplies I had on hand. Today I finally got the whole thing put together! I even made a little pocket for the lens cover. Not too bad for someone who can't sew. :0)

Never laughed so hard in all my life!

2011-10-02T20:48:00.000-07:00

So I hesitated to even post this.... be warned there are alot of cute baby buns coming up! Please don't think I am a neglectful mother. I promise the boys were only out of my sight long enough for me to put some face lotion on and throw my hair into a wet pony-tail. While I was in my bathroom I heard some serious baby giggles and Jonathan saying in a stern voice - DAAAABBBBBBERRRRRRS I need to change you, lay still coming from David's bedroom! I ran down the hall to see what was going on and when I realized I quick grabbed my camera.
Changing pad on the floor and one baby without a diaper. Fresh diaper prepped and ready. Big brother trying to wrangle one wiggly, giggly baby.
Big brother who claims his diaper was soggy so he is going to change it. (just so you don't think I am totally neglectful it was just changed , notice they are still in jammies)

Trying to lay him down on top of the diaper (again..... and I was no help because I was laughing hysterically)
Run away baby!
Chasing him down with the diaper.
Maybe putting it on this way will be easier!

I have a feeling this is the beginning of the end with these two. David had a smile and laughed the whole time! After the whole thing was over Jonathan asked me to thank him for being such a good helper! I just had to laugh and tell him it was very nice of him but I would change all the diapers from now on and he could really help me by picking up all the supplies he took out. Ay ya ya!

pets

2011-10-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

So since our goldfish went to go swim in the lake (aka got flushed down the toilet) we have had an empty fish tank in the shed. The other day Thomas noticed that our tomato plant (pretty much the only thing that grew in our garden this year) getting eaten by something. Turns our there were some huge tomato bugs on the attack. He captured them and put them into the tank. Jonathan has been faithfully feeding his pets by giving them fresh leaves and woodchips. He was actually pretty responsible about taking care of them! I found a grasshopper the other day and managed to catch it to add to the collection. It didn't stay to long and escaped (or got eaten) sometime during the night. It has been fun to have some little bug pets to watch!

I do have to say that the other day we had the chance to add another pet. We have had a lizard come into our house 3 times! I am pretty sure it is the same guy. 1st time - only in the garage and Thomas swept him out. 2nd time - in my LIVINGROOM and I had to call my dad while standing on a chair to come capture him. Totally freaked/grossed me out! 3rd time - laundry room - Thomas caught him and accidently cut off his tail ( I was gone at the time). I do hope my boys keep their creepy crawly collections to a few bugs.... I can handle that. The lizard on the other hand... I hope he learned his lesson and stays far far away!

Morning in the Bounce House

2011-10-02T20:25:00.000-07:00

After David's party we still had the bounce house the next morning. So we had to jump in our jammies right?!

And again when David was up.

David at one year

2011-10-02T20:01:00.000-07:00

weight - 20lbs

length 30 1/2 in

teeth - two on the top and two on the bottom. two side front teeth are poking in on each side of the top.

sleep - all night! and two naps during the day

eats - EvErYtHiNg. He is happiest when it is something he can do himself. Most mornings he eats cheerios and oatmeal with bananas.

nursing - down to morning and night with a bottle of milk mid-day. he does NOT want milk in a sippy from me but will take it in a bottle. he does NOT want milk in a bottle from grandma honey bunny but will take it in a sippy.

walking - not yet! he is a super star crawler and I think he has taken one independent step. He does walk around everything and stand for a few seconds. I think he might be scared of the hard ground!

words - yah, hi, and mama (in Davers talk :0) to anyonelse they sound like grunts). His most effective word is EHHHH while pointing/ grabbing at what he wants. he does babble alot.

He is a dancing machine... any music comes on and he is ready to rock out! so cute!

He gives the sweetest open mouth kisses.

David LOVES to wrestle his brother. Danger is his middle name. He is also very stealth when getting into things he shouldn't (like toilet water .... EW!)

His first birthday was fun but a little crazy. At JT's party it was nearly all babies who were barely walking... for David the bounce house was in full effect and kids were all over the place. He loved all the action and chowed down his cake.

My sweet David - you are getting too big too fast. I love watching you grow and change but please slow down! You are so much fun right now I want you to stay this age just a little longer! :0)

I am still here!

2011-09-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

So I don't know what it is but it is almost like I need to have 10,000 things on my to do list for me to even think about posting on the blog. This is more like a random journal post for me...

* I LOVE David and Jonathan's ages and stages right now. sooo much fun. I took them to the library the other day and it was so cute to see the two of them sitting next to each other for the story.
* Now that David's teeth are through he is a much happier baby. He loves just playing in the playroom and outside, he sneaks out every chance he can. He got his top two at 10 months and top left at 11 months.
* I am loving pinterest - making me feel much more creative! So far I have made a cleaning routine, a camera strap cover with ribbon flowers, some hairbows with school colors for the spirit run AND I made labels for the office. OH and I made a super cute project with the first graders.
* Trying to do more school things with Jonathan... We are working on writing his name... I am remembering back to my kinder days and telling my partner teacher I was CrAzY for naming him such a long name and should have picked something shorter... just for the sake of making it easier for him to write. So far he has the J t and o down pat.
* I love how Jonathan says evern instead of even.
*Having so much fun with my fresh batch of first graders.
*Miss going to Havasu... need to go more but we have had too much going on every weekend.
*Saw The Help after reading the book and I really LOVED both.
*I have been exercising almost everyday... but I have a hard time on working days when it is super hot outside.... I make myself feel better by saying at this time one year ago I weighed over 200 lbs and now I am so much less than that! and my fat pants that were pretty "booty" last year are actually starting to get a little loose.
*So over nursing David... but he is soo not...
*David basically eats what we eat... that kid can gnaw anything! He also likes stealing JT sippy. Especially when it has the nasty crystal lite lemonade in it! EWWW

ok so my goal this week is to take some pictures, the blog about them... OH and start reading groups with my class... and about 9,999 other things!

David 10 months

2011-08-01T14:44:00.001-07:00

Time flies when you are having fun... so much for those weekly posts! I hope to do a post about what we have been up to this summer but more important is my sweet baby David!
I have worked on his (and Jonathan's) baby books this summer but I realized how much I relied on the blog to remember important things about JT so here we go!

At 10 months David now.....
95th% for head, 90th% for height and 45th for weight at his 9 month check. Since learning how to crawl our little chubsters has thinned out.
He can pull himself to standing and has bruised his cheek from falling down but he is getting much better at falling with grace. No standing alone but he is starting to cruise and stand by leaning on something.
David loves to play! Totally the opposite of Jonathan. He wakes up in the morning and starts to play with his blanket, stuffed animals or pulls the baby monitor into bed with him. More often than not that is the sound that wakes me up and not a crying baby. He adores being in the playroom and making little messes. He also enjoys playing in our little tikes garden or pool outside but HATES being on the grass. He is very happy being able to do his own thing and check things out.
He just cut his top left tooth and is a chewing, drooly monster! He has a harder time with teething than JT did and has had some nights where he cries in his sleep (but is not awake when I go check on him... poor buddy.)
We go on a walk everyday and he sings away or eats cheerios.
He says his own version of Hi when you say hi to him or when he wants your attention. He also makes a high pitched sound for yay! He also has an "I'm hungry" noise/ cry that he uses while pulling up on his highchair. (funny story the other night dinner was taking longer than I thought and he was on the brink of starvation pulling up on his highchair.... we were eating outside so Thomas took it out there... the TEARS!!! is no one going to feed me?) He also has the sweetest laugh.
He plays peek a boo and does "so big".
He hasn't met a food he doesn't like but when he is full he starts to fling it on the floor. He likes it much more when he eats bites of what we are eating, he just gets this pleased little look. He still nurses 3-4 times a day. He does not use a sippy cup well yet, mostly just to chew on.
He loves to wrestle Jonathan and I have to tell them both already to be gentle. He is generally very easy going but can be a little stubborn and throws a little fit if I tell him no (like tears streaming down his face yelling at me for not letting him play with an electrical outlet).
I rock him for his morning nap while reading him and JT stories, I snuggle him on the couch for his afternoon nap and at night time he goes to bed after a bath and nursing.

Sunday Photographs May 22nd

2011-05-22T20:40:00.001-07:00

I love how it seems like Davers is getting strangled a little so he is punching Jonathan.... how can you resist those smiles.

8 months

3yrs 1 month

sunday photographs May 15th

2011-05-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

Jonathan
David
Brothers
Not so sure about cooperating for pictures

Started out as "give your brother a kiss and turned into a little nibble".... poor Davers.

I saw this on another blog and thought it was such a cute idea. I have been taking pictures of the boys almost every Sunday but haven't got around to posting them. Even though it seems crazy we actually have time before church to take pictures.

David at 8 months

2011-05-15T19:52:00.001-07:00

In two days David will be 8 months... how can that be??
He is at my favorite "baby age". It is nice that he isn't at the overwhelming infant stage but he isn't all over the place yet either. He got his first two teeth on the bottom at the same time about 3 weeks ago. He can sit quite well and goes to his tummy or back with a little bit of control now. He has been rolling all over the place and scoots himself backwards. I can tell he is getting ready to move forward soon because he is getting frustrated backing into and under the couch! Davers LOVES LOVES LOVES to eat... he nurses around 4 times a day and enjoys 3 food meals and snacks. I have started mashing up some of his veggies instead of grinding them up and he has done great. He likes to gum cheerios and little bits of bread. He definitely has the chewing motion down pat for eating. He does his "ho ho" voice to mean he is hungry and a happy little chuckle anytime I give him the tiniest taste of what we are eating. He takes two pretty consistent naps everyday and sometimes an evening one depending on how the earlier ones went or how busy the day was. I always rock him for his naps and just lay him in bed at bedtime after his bath. He loves the water baths are his favorite and even the freezing lake or pool have been fun to splash in. David has been our little chunky chubster and even though he is still pretty rolly with all of his moving around he is starting to thin out a little and actually get a neck. He loves to sit and play with toys (VERY unlike Jonathan at this age) and he really likes being in the swing in the backyard. Overall Davers is a very happy/ chill baby. He is pretty go with the flow as long as he is fed and not too tired. He is a snuggle bug who gives the best little hugs. He also talks a lot. I swear he says hi... so I think I could count that as his first word. It is so fun to have little conversations with him.

Jonathan is 3

2011-05-15T19:22:00.000-07:00

I totally realize I am now nearly a month behind on this post but better late than never! It is hard to believe that our sweet little Jonathan Bean is now 3 years old. Here are some of the things he is up to lately.

For his birthday he wanted a motorcycle birthday. We had a "small" family party that grew and grew. His favorite part was the motorcycle cake that Auntie Kaitlyn made. It was a pretty hot day and at one point he disappeared for a moment to return in swim clothes... he got out his pool and all the cousins got in with their clothes on! He asked and asked for a swing set. He got one and we set it up during his nap. When he was up from his nap we got ready to take him out and I asked him what his big present could be in the backyard... his answer... a very excited "POOL"!hmmm... sorry buddy its the swing set you asked for for months.

He is pretty much potty trained and only wears a pull up for night-time (he was wearing them for naps for a while but not any more).

Speaking of naps he still takes a nap everyday. Without one he is a teary mess at 6:00.

He sleeps every night with Soft Lovey and every night Soft Lovey pushes his pillow off the bed and he has to come out to tell us and put the pillow back on his bed. He has been without a pipie for quite a while now and it seems strange to think that there was time he couldn't sleep without one.

He goes to a Sunday school class" frogs" upstairs at church instead of going to nursery... after a rocky start he is pretty independent going in.

Nearly all of his meltdowns during the day can be quickly turned around with a stick of string cheese. His favorite lunch is flat bread with hummus.

This kid LOVES himself some Frugos and hot-dogs. I think if he had it his way that would be all he eats.

When we go out to eat he orders for himself.

He can sing the ABCs and recognizes quite a few letters and knows almost all his sounds.

His favorite toy lately: a dog leash - he uses it to tie down stuff in the back of his truck, water ski behind a pretend boat, chase down the dogs to try to take them on a walk (he never has...), or he tries to convince any willing participant to be the dog, he also enjoys tying people up (pooooor Davers...), he was also towed on his bike a few times by the neighbor or me.

He loves books and has memorized quite a few to read back. He loves to be read to and read by himself in his room.

When I ask him favorites this is what he tells me: color-sparkle, place - Beaumont, person - mommy and my favorite boys are David and daddy, book-Color ABCs, job - working with daddy on the plants, food- pasta, movie-chicka chicka boom boom

He LOVES Thursday when he gets to see the trash truck.

He LOVES LOVES LOVES to go out to Havasu and go on the boat. Even if it is just in the garage.

He has a pretty big vocabulary for such a little guy and is constantly surprising us with his logic.

Whenever I ask him what he would like to do he always says stay home and play. He has become much more into playing. I love watching him in the backyard and in his playroom.

Everyday is an adventure with Jonathan. He is such a smart boy who is constantly making us laugh and wonder how we are so lucky to be his parents and watch him grow up. Sometimes I wish I could pause time. While the adventures can be exhausting it is just so much fun. I LOVE this age :0).

Jonathan's birthday dinner

2011-04-18T20:12:00.000-07:00

This was the first year Jonathan was really able to pick what he wanted for his birthday dinner. He wanted to have spagetti so we went to the Spaghetti Factory in Redlands. It was such a fun way to celebrate. He got pretty quiet and shy when they came to sing to him and it was so sweet to hear him say a little "yeah" when they were singing.

Brothers at 6 months

2011-04-12T21:13:00.000-07:00

My good friend Faith takes some great pictures... It is so great to have someone that knows kids so well to take pictures. Maybe I shouldn't compare them but I seriously have to label ALL my pictures very carefully to make sure I don't mix up my sweet boys. :0)

David:

Jonathan:

David has been chewy and seemingly cutting teeth FOREVER with no actual teeth poking through. Jonathan's first tooth popped out a day after this pic was taken.

David:

Jonathan:

David:

Jonathan:

David:

Jonathan:

They even wear the same clothes! (I do have to say that right now David is wearing clothes that Jonathan was walking in..... I have the best of both: a chubba-bubba and a skinny-minny!)

new neighbors

2011-03-31T13:41:00.001-07:00

Some new neighbors moved in next door.... One of them has ridiculously chubby knees and barely fits in the shorts outfit sized 6-9 months. He is very fair skinned so he likes to hang out in our playroom with the doors open.

The other one sneaks inside while momma is working on the garden and comes out in some swimming gear. He demands the pool be installed ASAP.

Here is their new house complete with a bar-b-que and a sink. (thanks to Grandma Utah and Kasandra, Regular Grandma and Grandpa for Jonathan's birthday). When we moved in I knew the little mini patio on the side of our house would be perfect for a playhouse.

Oh and there are daffodils and a doorbell.... how cute is that! :0)

Thirty ?!?

2011-03-28T14:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated my 30th birthday. On Friday Thomas and I went to a new steakhouse here in Beaumont. It was super yummy and really fancy. It worked great for us because it was so close we got to take our time and not have to add driving time. The crowd was definitely older (and we did have a reservation for 6:00) so it made us feel really young! :0) Always a good thing when you turn the big 3-0. Thomas got me new skis, boots, and poles. Since I am getting older I have decided that I am not going to get any better at snowboarding so I might as well stick with skiing since I enjoy that so much more. On Saturday Jonathan stuck with Thomas to work on my car and I went with my mom, Alyssa and David to go thrifting. Our newest favorite store had 30% off so that was fun. It was so easy to push around the single stroller and David is such an easy baby that we had a great time! On Sunday Kaitlyn drove up from Newport and we all met at Benihana for dinner. It was yummy as always and we had fun watching the show. I have to say I am excited about my 30s and I only have a few goals: to do whatever I am doing on a given day with a good attitude and do it well (from staying at home to working at school). To enjoy each day to the fullest. I also want to make 29 when I weighed the most in my life. I never really lost all the baby weight after Jonathan and then I gained alot with David. so basically I don't want to go back up just down. :0) So whenever someone tells me "wow thirty... you know it is all down hill from here." I will say it sure is and just be thinking about a number on a scale and not anything else! :0)

School at home

2011-03-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Since every once in a while I get to missing Kindergarten I have to bust out a few of my old tricks with Jonathan. He loves doing "school" things with me. We practice letters and sounds and numbers together. He knows most of his colors and shapes but we still practice those too. We are always reading tons of books together. It is so cute to hear him read the books he has memorized. The other day it was rainy all day so we did a few science experiments (he called them "procedures"). When I don't need to clean during David's morning nap we try to do something special together. I just hope that when he actually goes to school he doesn't tell the teacher "my mom already did that with me..." and just has fun !

- I made a big "flannel grab" as he likes to call it. We "won" a big canvas painting at a white elephant exchange and I covered it so he could use my old felt animals and numbers. We practiced sorting, counting and a little number matching.

This started out as a little color mixing and making shapes but turned into finger painting. He likes wearing his old pillow case smock.

Since I don't have any recent pictures of him helping me cook (we usually prep dinner in the morning or bake something talking about ingredients and measuring). I thought I would include this one of him helping Auntie Kaitlyn cook/ make margaritas :0). He was so thrilled at Costco a month or so ago when we went and they had samples including a small cup of blended margarita mix (no alcohol). "Margarinas just for KIDS!" he was so excited.

David Lately

2011-03-28T13:38:00.001-07:00

- 5 months old

- 6 months old

Little Mr. David is now 6 months old!!! He is getting more and more fun everyday. Sometimes I wish I could just press the pause button with my two boys at this moment. Both of them are at two of my very favorite ages. To be honest the newborn faze is not my favorite but I LOVE right now! David is still a snuggle-cuddle bug but he can be put down to play. He is a very content little guy. Today at his drs appointment he weighed in at 18 lbs 10z. He is in the 70th percentile for height... 75th for weight... and 90th for head.... he has a big head... the dr had to re-measure and ask if it ran if the family... and it is not unusual for Thomas to have to look for hats that are a little bigger than normal... so it is an Odenbaugh trait to have a big head! :0) He is wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes and quickly growing out of them. He started on rice cereal right before his 4 month birthday. This boy LOVES to eat. He has to maintain all that chub somehow right?? He has had yams, sweet potatoes, banana, peas, carrots, and today a little avocado. He still nurses or takes pumped bottles like a champ. I tried a little mum mum (rice cracker) at dinner last night but he wasn't a fan yet. We are going to start with a sippy cup of water soon too. He is able to roll around but is a little hesitant on the hard floors. He is starting to sit up and he is soooo happy to sit in the high chair with us at dinner time. David is very ticklish and has the cutest little laugh and chuckle. He is constantly chewing on his fingers and drooling but no teeth yet. He sleeps through the night most nights but sometimes we have to get up to give him back his pipie and he goes back to sleep (not sure if he was waking because of teeth, a little cold, a little tummy trouble.... who knows!) He take a good morning nap for me (not the grandmas....) and an afternoon nap as well. He falls asleep many times if we are out and about too long. He has started talking more and does some pretty impressive yelling (not angry... just loud!). He is figuring out conversation works and will watch one person talk and then turn his head to the other person so they can talk. He adores Jonathan and it is so fun to see them interact more and more. Their favorite things to do together are listen to stories, be in the stroller on a walk, or play "sleepover". David can lay on the floor and play peak a boo with the blankie, momma can lay on the floor and Jonathan can boss us around turning the lights off and on telling us to go to sleep or wake up. Its a win- win for all of us! David does like to watch TV so we try to turn it off whenever he is in the living room. David also loves to be held. He is so much more snuggly than Jonathan was and with those kissable cheeks and soft head it is so hard not to!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-13T22:10:00.000-08:00

Today Thomas and I were realizing how much things have changed since our first Valentine's Day. I was a junior in high school and he was a senior. We went to the Jade Inn in Highland. While we were eating dinner he realized he had a huge hole in his pants. :0) He gave me a diamond ring. I think I decided then that he was a keeper... mostly because we could laugh about the hole in his pants but the jewelry was nice too. While we were in the car today talking about how things have changed... how we used to go out all the time and now we never get out... a little voice piped up from the backseat "Stop talking! I am hungry! Can we go to Freeeuuugoooss?" and another little voice piped up " wah" (translation- are we home yet? I am getting hungry!) hmmmm maybe these two are part of what makes our lives so different from 1998... but I think they help make this valentine's day is the sweetest one yet! It's just another season of our lives and I wouldn't change it for the world!

- I love my boys!!!

noises

2011-02-09T19:46:00.001-08:00

David has been finding his voice. With a big brother who talks non stop you know it was bound to come sooner or later. :0) He likes to yell at us to get our attention. He is not really mad or sad... just LOUD! He also makes the most adorable cooing sound. I think it sounds like a cappuccino machine. I have been trying to catch it on video but I am not so good at that so some cutie pictures will just have to do.

Havasu with Grandma Utah

2011-02-08T15:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we finally got back out to Havasu.... it had been WAYYYY too long since we had all been out there. Thomas' mom met us out there on Saturday morning. We had a great time hanging out at the channel and the park enjoying the sunshine. Both boys did awesome of the trip out there and both slept for most of the trip back (no stops!) We also had fun checking out the swap meet on Sunday. The boat stayed parked in the garage the whole time. Thomas had some problems with it when he went out with his friends for his birthday in August and we had it in the shop several times but it never really was fixed. He found another mechanic who took the engine out and basically told us it was toast. We might be able to sell off some of the parts but it is going to be a "spicy meatball" to replace. So this summer might be one with no boat. :0( while we are bummed about the boat we know what David is too little to stay out all day on the lake anyways. Thomas has been searching for other options but with three mortgages to pay each month we don't just have thousands of dollars laying around :0). Good thing playing in the sand and feeding the ducks is free. Poor Jonathan is the most upset about the boat being empty with no motor!

2011-01-31T18:53:00.000-08:00

Its all fun and games till you want to get out.

2011-01-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

This past week has been a whirlwind! Jonathan started out the week a little sick but mostly getting over it and since then David and I have picked it up.... boo for booger noses and sleepless nights. Hopefully we can all be over this soon! I have been working extra lately (to make sure our contract is 50/50 with our # of days). Had I realized I was pregnant when I made the schedule I would have spaced these days out a little bit! Thankfully Wednesday is the last one because it is the 100th day of school and all of the celebrating might do me in! I love teaching but we have a challenging class who almost had me in tears on Friday.

This crazy boy tried to split his lip open again. We were cleaning our windows on Saturday (which are getting rained on as I type. booo. ) and he was climbing on his lego tub in the playroom and fell. He has been drama lately! He also threw a mega fit every time I left for work this week.... I actually had to lock the garage door and push him into the house to get away while he was screaming. Poor grandma. He did calm down after a phone call to daddy. When he is not trying to injure himself or throwing a fit he is sooo funny and fun to be around. He amazes us daily with how smart he is! :0)

Yes I still swaddle him. He LOVES to be a snuggle bug at all times!

This little bug is just growing too fast! The other night I took out the next box of clothes from Jonathan. I put David into some jammies that were 9 months size. I remember Jonathan crawling around the floor in them... David doesn't even roll yet! Maybe all that adorable chub has something to do with it. :0)

And just in case you were wondering about the denim background.... I washed the slipcover for the couch in the playroom and was drying it in the living room and thought it would make a fun background. I wanted to mess around with editing these pictures but I have homework folders to stuff so its not gonna happen tonight. :0)

splish splash two boys in the bath

2011-01-24T19:03:00.000-08:00

It is a good thing they are soo cute! don't you just love the chub on David... and the string-beaness on Jonathan? (isn't his lip looking better??)

David Lately

2011-01-23T17:17:00.000-08:00

3 months

4 months

Mr. David is 4 months old already I realized I have been procrastinating on his 3 month post and a whole month flew by! He has changed so much. He started sleeping through the night around three months but since then has been waking up one time a night. He does go back to sleep easily and I don't might watching a few minutes of late night TV while I feed him (but I get sucked into the infomercials everytime! did you know they make a "baby bullet"? think magic bullet for baby food... yeah basically a food processor but I totally thought I needed one! :0) ) . He is a happy little guy who is very social. There are many times that he is in the bouncy seat on the ground fussing while we eat dinner and all it takes is moving him to the table so he feels like he is more in the action. He has been sitting in the bumbo or the exersaucer and we have even put him in the jumperoo a couple of times. He smiles all the times and even laughs a little bit. He likes to take stroller rides with Jonathan but HATES the wind (he just can't catch his breath). He loves when people talk to him and is quite the talker himself. He does still spit up all the time despite being on a perscription for Zantac. He sucks on his hands constantly and becomes quite the little drooler. Sometimes when he is on his playmat he will grab a toy and then fuss because he can't let go and I have to go rescue him! :0)

Jonathan lately

2011-01-23T17:07:00.000-08:00

This picture pretty much sums up Jonathan from the past week. Last week he fell on the bathroom counter and split his lip. It was on one of my working nights and I was beyond tired on the couch. David had just gone to bed and Thomas was getting Jonathan to bed too. He was brushing his teeth, slipped on his step stool hitting the counter and his teeth made three holes on the inside of his lower lip and one went all the way through to the outside. After a relatively short 1 1/2 wait in urgent care the doctor glued him back together. A few days after that he developed a fever for 3 days that has transitioned into a cough and mega booger nose. The doctor checked him out and tested him for whooping cough because everything else seems normal. He spent a couple of nights sleeping in the office on the floor/ our bed and waking up too many times at night to keep track and some days even took two naps. He is finally starting to get his "sassyness" back but is no where near the usual JT. Despite everything he still says things that make me laugh... like sneezing out some mega slime and telling me "MY NOSE IS GETTING ME!!! HELLLLLPPPP MOMMY!!!" or sounding like a little piece of brocoli in the shower "I don't want to steam anymore, I am done! ".

Excuses

2011-01-23T17:02:00.001-08:00

So I could come up with a million excuses why I haven't kept up with this blog.... but I am starting to realize that time is not going to slow down and I REALLY want to remember this time. Its like the saying goes the days are long but the years fly by. So here's the deal: I am not going to worry if the events I post about were exciting enough or if the pictures are good enough (or even there), or if it has been too long, or if I have too many gramatical errors, or if no one even reads this.
here we go! :0)

Back Yard Bonfire

2010-11-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

singing away....

Since it gets dark so early at night it is hard for us to have time to be outside as a family. The other night Thomas went over to my parents house and picked up some wood so we could make a fire (in their fire ring.... yeah we need to get our own...) We had fun sitting around the fire and roasting marshmallows. Jonathan sang a bunch of songs that he made up. David enjoyed being snuggled up! :0)

David is 2 months old

2010-11-20T20:11:00.000-08:00

On Thursday David had his 2 month doctors visit. He weighs 11 pounds and is doing great! Poor buddy had to get shots and did really well considering the fact that I couldn't comfort him as much as I would like since his brother was throwing a fit in the office! It is hard to imagine that 2 months ago he was still in my belly he has grown and changed so much.

He continues to be a snuggle bug and loves to be held and snuggled up in the sling. He loves his bouncy seat and has started to reach out to the toys that hang from it. He also enjoys spending time on his play mat and watching the toys on it. He has the greatest smile and has started to do a little chuckle kind of noise along with his other coos and grunts. He likes to ride in the car as long as it is moving and watches out the window. He can roll over both ways from his tummy to his back. He also loves to stare at the ceiling fan, blinds, and stripes on his bumper in his crib. At around 7 weeks I went back to work part time and he did really well. He took his bottles like a champ and even took a really long nap one day. He is sleeping at night but not through the night waking up about every 4 hours to eat. He is our little gassy man too.... most of the time his fussiness can be explained shortly by some toots! :0) I have been able to pinpoint some foods that don't work for him and try to avoid them. He loves to take a bath and we had made it one of his nightly rituals. This month he took his first trip to Havasu and did awesome!

Halloween

2010-10-31T20:31:00.000-07:00

This year for Halloween was so much fun! Jonathan was super excited and was really into all of the activities! We hosted our annual Hallo-wii Party on Tuesday with our small group. On Friday we went to Halloween Happening at Trinity and Jonathan had a blast bouncing in the bounce houses even though it was SUPER crowded we had a good time. Tonight we went trick or treating in our little cul-de-sac and he loved going to ALL the houses to get candy! Then we had fun passing out candy and seeing all of the cute costumes. Jonathan and I slipped out quick to go to Frugos for a free yogurt to add to the sugar fest. I think my little gorilla and banana were pretty darn cute!

David Smiles!

2010-10-31T20:14:00.001-07:00

This week David started smiling! Totally melts my heart. We had his one month dr appointment on Tuesday (the one that was closer to one month was canceled so he was more like 5 weeks). He now weighs 8 pounds 3 oz and is 23 inches long. He is starting to sleep a little longer at night and is starting to go right back to sleep after nursing at night. Poor little guy is just very gassy and "spit- uppy" so sometimes he just isn't very happy. I am so thankful that he likes his pipie... it makes it so much easier to calm him down than it was to calm JT down at this age with the tummy issues. We love our little squeaker/ little squirty.

One Month Old

2010-10-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

On the 17th David turned one month old! It is amazing how fast time is going by. I was going to post when I had his one month stats from the doctor but since that appointment was canceled I suppose I better get on it! I want to record some of the things he is up to:

* Eating - he eats every 2-3 hours and has (once or twice) had a stretch where he made it 4 hours and one time even 5 hours during the night.

* He has fallen very nicely into a very predictable schedule with his eating.... It is funny how it took me 3 months to figure Jonathan out and only 3 weeks to get David figured out. It is amazing how much having him on a schedule helps keep him and me happy.

* David is a major snuggle- bug. He is happiest being held and snuggled up. He loves being in the sling and goes right to sleep when I put him in it. I was worried I wouldn't get enough snuggle time with him while chasing Jonathan around but he is content to be carried wherever we go.

* He loves his swing and spends his daytime naps in it (even if it is turned off) just so he can be close to where the action is. He also likes to be in the bouncy seat.
* He hated his sponge baths but loved it when he first got to go in the water.

* He does not like getting his diaper changed or having clothes pulled over his head in some way. I am sure this has to do with peeing out of his diaper during the night... I wouldn't be too happy either.

* Tummy Time does not last long... he puts his knees up under himself and rolls over.

* He does not like it when I eat chocolate... booo! This might have something to do with the massive amounts of chocolate shakes I drank when I was prego....

* He is not a fan of getting buckled in his car seat.

* He takes a bottle no problem and loves himself some pipie... he prefers the one from the hospital but I am working on getting him to like the "normal" looking ones. :0)

pumpkin patch

2010-10-17T20:33:00.001-07:00

On Saturday Afternoon it was feeling a little more like fall than it had the week before so we headed out to the pumpkin patch in Greenspot.
We got a picture with both boys in a hay filled wagon... keeping Jonathan contained for a picture holding David meant Thomas and I had to work fast! :0)
He loves it everytime he gets to hold David!

Mooing at the cow

Riding the train with the Jonathan pumpkin and the baby David pumpkin that he picked out. That was the first thing he wanted to do... get the pumpkins!!

Showing his two year old independence and sitting by mom for a picture :0).

Picking out just the right ones... I LOVE this sling I am borrowing from a friend.

Riding on the teeter totter with Daddy.

He LOVES animals... especially the cute goats.

Little David... all snuggled up!

By the hay maze.

The story of David - week 1

2010-09-24T17:12:00.000-07:00

So this post is all mixed up... but I wanted to get it done!! I am slowly trying to get back into blogging.... hopefully I can do it! :0)

going home on Sunday.

The Odenbaugh Boys

Getting his first bath

Since he is a week old I thought it was about time that I wrote about David's birth story. Last Friday morning started off with me adding to the blisters on my feet. All week long I had been taking Jonathan for long walks in hopes of getting things moving along. Thomas and I joked that my water was going to break on my heels first! :0) Jonathan and I spent the morning planting in the front planter some flowers that we had bought at Home Depot. After lunch I put Jonathan down for his nap and waited for my mom to come and watch him while I went to my Drs. appointment. Thomas met me there and as we were walking in we were wondering what the news would be. I had been having contractions all week but nothing that was very consistant. The plan was to strip my membranes to see if that would get things started. When she checked me I was dialated to a 3 almost 4 at 3:00. She wanted to make sure that we didn't go too far away from the hospital because it really could be any time that I went into labor and she thought that it would go really quickly. After the appointment I went to go pick up produce and Thomas went to drop off some more parts to a customer. I got home and chatted with my mom for a bit. Thomas got home and I was having a few contractions but nothing major. I just had a feeling things were going to start soon so we quickly packed things up ate dinner and took showers. We brought Jonathan over to my parents and my contractions were about 10 min. apart. Driving down Cherry Valley Blvd they were about 7 min. apart and by the time we walked into labor and delivery they were about 3 min. apart. While in triage at 6:00 I was dialated to 6 almost 7. It was a BUSY night in labor and delivery and they quickly put me into a room. My contractions were not the same as with Jonathan, I was able to breathe through them and didn't feel as much pain as with JT. At 7:30 I got my epidural and my mom showed up quite surprised as we were with how fast things were progressing. We waited for things to happen and Kaitlyn made it from OC. She wasn't sure if she wanted to stay or not, but she ended up staying. At around 9:00 I was feeling alot of pressure and was ready to push... but my water still had not broken and the dr was busy delivering another baby (she was basically walking down the hallway and breaking water/ delivering a baby in each room). At about 10:30 she came in and broke my water and it was time to push. It was alot more painful than with JT. I also managed to bend the needle that was giving me IV fluids so with each push it was dripping down my arm and making it really hard to focus. Thankfully at 11:31 David Paul was born. He weighed 7 lbs 5.5 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He was a great nurser right off. It was so amazing to be able to finally hold him in our arms. We were able to move upstairs to the last recovery room available in the maternity ward. All of the inductions had been cancelled because the hospital was so full. Our stay in the hospital went really well but we were super excited to be able to go home on Sunday afternoon. Jonathan came home later in the evening. Our prayers were answered with a non-jaundiced baby boy. That was so hard when JT was born it has been so much easier not to worry about all of that. Since then we have been adjusting to life as a family of 4 and life with a newborn. Thomas was able to take the whole week off and help which has been AMAZING. We will see how things go when it is just me and the boys. :0)

On Tuesday David had his first Dr. appointment. His length was 2o inches and he weighed 6lbs 13oz. He was looking a little yellow but nothing to be too concerned about.

On Wednesday David had his first "fun" outing to Tea Time.

On Thursday David had his first sponge-bath.

living it up in havasu - according to Jonathan

2010-08-04T08:18:00.000-07:00

daddy and jonafin

geese and ducks

grandpa grandma on the engine

mommydaddy where's jonafin?

bird in nest

grandma and jonafin

kaitin and gorge

daddy and mommy

gay and lyssa

(Jay is water skiing... he bent down to pick up Alyssa's hat that blew off from the boat and was able to put it on without falling. talent!)

lyssa and Jay tubing

Kaitlyn and Jorge tubing

This weekend we spent a three day weekend in Havasu (Thomas took Monday off). Next time we go out there we will be a family of four instead of three! wow. I thought since Jonthan was beyond excited all week to go to Havasu (like EVERY time we got in the car he thought we were leaving). I would let him tell about the weekend. So here we go:

Who came to Havasu?: lyssa-jay, daddy, mommy, kaitin, jorge, regular grandma, grandpa

grandpa skied. in the water. good gob.

jay got a fish, he sayed come with us.

tortillas to the geese and the ducks.

Where did we go to eat? mudsharks. there corn doggies there. sing happy birthday to you to grandpa with the hosting (frosting).

Did you jump off the swim step? I popped right off the swim step. like a popcorn. I play with the boobie (bouy) and swim to it.

jorge go under with the fishies. he got a basket. he can't do it with his hands.

kaitin read a book.

lyssa in the boat.

grandma in the boat.

daddy in the boat.

I'm done talking I want to watch a movie. So there you go. Out weekend in a nut shell. It was awesome weather with awesome family.

Jonathanisms

2010-07-27T21:09:00.001-07:00

Jonathan is more and more verbal all the time and he is constantly cracking us up with the funny things that he says.... I want to remember some of them so I thought I would post them here.
Aprincot - Apricot
Thomas works at cutting pie - cutting edge supply
ear wax sticks - q-tips
I'm nudie on top - when he has no shirt
It's not dark yet - ANY time he needs to go to bed, even nap time (or bed time which if it is on time is always before dark)
nudie a tootie - nudie patootie
I NEEEEEED it
Don't yell at me/ call me Jonathan Thomas - whenever I tell him what to do.
Care Bear counting 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Hide and Seek counting 1, 2, 3, 4, 5....
This conversation happens EVERY TIME we are in the car, especially after he has just gone to the bathroom: "I need to go potty", me - ok you need to hold it until we get home/ to the store/ the next exit/ a place to stop, " I need to go potty IHGT NOW (right now)" me - no you don't you need to hold it, " Ok I hold my shorts/ car/ bear..."
I'm Happy - whenever he wakes up from a nap and comes to find me
It's a beautiful day - whenever we are doing something he likes
He can't say his F and subs the /h/ sound so fish is hish... He can however correctly repeat /f/ ish - but then says hish
What's that?, What's that guy doing?
My tummy hurts, I need some ty-nol.
Just a couple - for when he shouldn't do something/ have something and still wants to do it
Spikey hair or Handsome hair - his two hairstyles

let's catch up, shall we?

2010-07-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

So this summer has been a pretty busy one. I have been getting some comments/ complaints from family about my lack of blogging.... but I can say that Jonathan's baby book is mostly up to date and I have done a little bit of scrapbooking, my school shopping is done and homework bags to start the year and christmas presents for my first graders are all ready, all the boxes from moving are unpacked and put away and my house is pretty much settled. Oh and I have been growing a baby (which is alot of work)... so there are all my excuses for not blogging. Since I know adding to the blog is not so much about words but pictures I am getting braver with my fancy pants camera and figured out how to get the memory card out to upload some... hopefully I can blog a little more to keep the family happy :0).

Old house - "Unders": Jonathan started his potty training adventures by telling us when he needed to go and wanting to try out every bathroom under the sun. One day he ran away from great grandma who was trying to put a diaper on him yelling "no way jose!" Since then he has been an unders man with a diaper for night time and naps. I was planning on starting this summer so pretty much we have just been perfecting "that toliet is not scary" in public bathrooms or "standing on the side of the road on the way to Havasu". I am so proud of him and very thankful that it was all his idea!

Old house - holding up his shorts and playing with sand. JT is such a stringbean that even though he really eats alot he is pretty skinny. Several of his shorts that fit him last summer with a diaper just slide down this summer. He is in LOVE with playing outside and doing any type of yard work or playing in the sandbox or pool. He also enjoys painting or playing with playdough at his little table.

Fruit snacks - What used to be a good half hour activity now takes 3 minutes... tops. JT is a fruit snacks junkie... he will do anything to get them. I have to ration them or that is all he would eat all day long.

The new house! This picture was taken on our final walk through day. Thomas, Larry our realtor and some inspector girl... I should probably give a whole post to the new house but here is the low down. We bought the house next door, it was a short sale that we put an offer on in November, origionally thinking we would rent it out and use it as an investment. Finding out our family was growing made us re-think and decide to move and rent out our old house still making an investment. God was totally with us through the whole process. 100% his timing and not ours. The house is mostly the same but is a reverse (so it has been confusing getting used to everything on the "wrong side"). It is a bigger lot and the house has a slightly different layout with 2 sunrooms. Thomas loves the shed and has big plans for it and building a BBQ in the back. Jonathan is in LOVE with his playroom and having a bigger bedroom. The dogs love their room (yes they have their own sun room with their crates and a couch) and the new exciting backyard. I love the fact that it seems much more "open" to me and that everything seems to have a home. The front patio has been nice to hang out and the backyard is great too. We still have more jobs to do inside but feel pretty settled. The landscaping needs some love but with the heat we are holding off (plus the baby's room kinda takes priority as the next bigish step).

Old House - We spend most late afternoon and evenings in the backyard. Jonathan swims in his little pool and plays with his toys (which have been "handed down" from a friend). Like I said he is happiest outside.

Old house - Did I blog about the Cherry Festival?? Anyways Jonathan got a spider painted on his face. A week or so later he decided to paint his own spiders with my makeup. It was just so cute I couldn't help but laugh. (Side note: just how did he get in my makeup... any mom of a two year old boy would not to keep that high and out of reach right?!?! Well our morning routine is for him to sit on the counter and brush his teeth/ play in the sink while I get ready to keep him out of trouble. This particular day I was trying to do that and answer some emails at the same time so he had about 2 minutes to himself.... can't let him out of my sight! :0) )
Old house - When you are moving you find things you haven't seen in a while... Jonathan found my veil and after trying to catch some stuffed animals in it I had to show him what it was really for. :0) I am sure he will hate this picture one day but I love it... such a little angel boy.
New house - like I said the yard needs some more love... the grass is a bit greener from this picture and less "pokey" according to JT... It must be all the pool water we dump on it. :0)

New house - so in moving I had to give up my AMAZING cupboards for all of my crafting/ scrapbooking supplies (side note the two boys who moved in next door fought over who would get that for their bedroom since it had tile and a place to work on building stuff) I needed some more storage. In searching for a bed for JT I found the perfect cabinet at JC Pennys outlet for $250 - a little out of my price range. But this cabinet was at Goodwill next door for $40 - after some paint it works great for all of my supplies and I love the retro contact paper that is inside. Two of the neighborhood girls took pity on the poor prego painter, took a break from their swimming and basically painted the whole thing for me while I sat and watched them. They only painted a few things on themselves that they later washed off in the pool and they did a great job!

Ok well that is all for now... I would say I will update more soon but.... you never know :0)

baby O the dos

2010-06-04T13:23:00.001-07:00

No pictures since I am not quite sure how to get the memory card out of my new fancy pants camera (and I don't want to hurt it). :0). I thought since we pretty much started this blog while expecting Jonathan to arrive I should give baby O the dos a little attention too. I am mostly writing this for me because I will get it in a baby book one day but I don't want to start one now because of moving. So since blogger won't lose anything here we go!
I was pretty sick the first part of my pregnancy ( I am still taking B6 regularly since I know it has helped me)... everything was opposite for me... I craved fast food and could have sworn that I was having a girl. When we had our ultrasound I measured bigger than I was (19.5 weeks) and it was very clear that we were having another boy. I was SUPER excited. I know I will probably be going crazy for a good long time trying to raise two boys but the days will always be filled with adventures. During the ultrasound he was super calm and the tech was able to get all of her measurements really quickly... wow has that changed! My next OB appointment she had to chase him around to find a heartbeat since he was moving around so much! Since then he has been on the move non stop! I definitely feel him more than I did with Jonathan and he really lets me know what he wants! Anytime I start to get just a little bit hungry he starts to kick like crazy... even if I am sleeping in the middle of the night it is like he will wake me up for a little snack! He also lets me know if he would like me to change positions and lets me know if I am squishing him....whenever I lean across a table to help one of my first graders it is like he starts pushing me to sit up straight. It is also very common for him to kick Jonathan when I am holding him on my lap. Yesterday he did some major moving and it honestly felt like contractions.... my belly got super hard! I think he might have been flipping over... if he has decided to stay head down hopefully he stays that way. I have mostly been able to wear my regular clothes (I really did not think that would happen the second time around) but now maternity pants are becoming a must. I am to the point where people were starting to wonder....I don't just look bloated anymore (as one of my first graders said "my brother thought you were pregnant... you are getting pretty fat!") My cravings now have switched to creamy things.... and I can't get enough fruit... or cold things (fruit popsicles mmmmm)... and rather than wine this time I really want a good margarita... the other night I made one with club soda and it was ok.... not the same though. :0) I am really looking forward to getting the packing and moving thing done so I can focus on getting ready for this little one to arrive. I am looking forward to setting up the nursery again but am overwhelmed to try to pick things now. I sorted out all of Jonathan's clothes and I can't quite believe that this baby will really start out so tiny! As far as the name goes we have a pretty good idea but are still not 100% so we are waiting to tell everyone... but if you ask Jonathan he might tell you. He is in love with the idea of a baby brother and often will share with him.... he usually accomplishes this by shoving something down my shirt: a book, his pipie, lovey or he likes to stick food in my belly button (which is BARELY still there). It has been fun to see how much he loves "tiny baby cupcake". Baby O the dos we can't wait to meet you... but we still have a lot to do to get ready. I hope you are baking well and please don't make me too hot or make my ankles swell too much this summer.

Memorial Day

2010-06-03T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I am crazy behind on this thing... no excuses.... just life! I am fully enjoying all of my time home with Jonathan and the being prego thing wears me out so I usually take a nap when he does and working on the computer typically doesn't work when he is awake so the blog has been seriously neglected....

Since it is overwhelming me to try to catch up... I'm not going to! I do want to give a shout out to Thomas for Mother's day he got me a cool new camera... that I am totally clueless on how to use but I am loving trying to figure out! :0) It was a fun gift to find hiding in the closet!

Memorial Day always reminds me of the time 7 years ago when we came "home" from San Diego to look for houses. It is when we put the offer on our first home in Beaumont. We were so excited to drive through this cute town and see all the Cherry Festival signs. I was so scared! We weren't even married yet and here we were buying a house! That is like mega grown- up stuff. Two years later we were selling our house and packing to move to our current home with a nice little profit in our pockets. We thought we would live here until we were nearing retirement age. Three short years later we were moving things out to a new vacation home in Havasu with a tiny little newborn. Now we are busy packing again and getting ready move next door... CRAZY! We would have never thought that seven years after taking that leap of faith we would be leaping again. God is so good and so faithful! He has guided our steps all along. While moving is super stressful the blessings of help are overwhelming as well.

So on to a new adventure! Next Memorial day will have 2 little boys at the bbq! Wow... I must say that I have told Thomas that we are going to stay put.... unless....... :0)

Havasu Poker Run Weekend

2010-05-02T19:57:00.000-07:00

A couple of weekends ago Thomas took off Thursday and Friday and we headed out for a long family weekend in Havasu. We had such a blast the whole weekend! Besides wanting to spend time together as a family it was the weekend of "Desert Storm" which is a big poker run/ racing weekend for some really big boats. From what I know this is the only time and place in the US (besides the Miami boat show) when this many big boats are together at one time. We packed up Wednesday night and Jonathan still asks us to put him in his dinosaur jammies and go to Havasu.

Thursday morning we got groceries and headed out to the park and channel. We played and fed the ducks. Jonathan just loves to play and play and play out there.

Despite the rain we went out and bought an umbrella to go to the street fair. All of the boats were lined up to check out. Jonathan was a total boy and into looking at all of the motors. Most of the boats were on trailers that had hydraulics to tilt them on their side so they could go down the road and not be a wide load.

Prego baby belly. :0)

I love this family photo!!!

Friday morning Jonathan started out by taking a self portrait. We ate breakfast and drove down to the lake to see the boats do a parade in the channel. We had to wait almost an hour behind the Miami Vice boat who had to put 600 gallons of gas in.

The wait was well worth it and we were on the lake in the sunshine... the parade was fun to watch and the boats were so amazing! There was also some good people watching too. ;0)

We stopped at one of our favorite little coves which also happened to be where one of the sponsors had a house boat. Thomas loved watching all of the boats come and go and Jonathan and I had fun feeding the ducks communion bread crusts.

We took a cruise for him to nap and the sunscreen gave him and interesting hairdo!

This pic is from Saturday. We were at the lake again to watch races and speed trials. Jonathan had a blast playing in the water, sand and on the boat. We learned our lesson from the day before that having a potty training kid out at the lake means you need to bring the potty... a sand pail doesn't cut it... he thought it was pretty hilarious to use the potty on the boat (or on the beach....)

Sunday we went up the gorge for a short morning. We were coming off the lake when most people were coming on. We had a late start heading home because we discovered a roof leak.... we got it all patched up and will paint the next time we go out.... It was such a great weekend!!!! :0) come on summer we can't wait to go out more!

Jonathan's 2nd Birthday Party

2010-05-02T19:45:00.001-07:00

How is it that my little Jonathan bean is a big two year old boy? He growing and talking more and more all of the time. At his two year old check up he was in the 50th percentile for height and 30th for weight. People often think he is a little older than he really is because he is so skinny and somewhat tall. He still loves to eat all of the time. He also loves to say funny things that crack us up all the time! He is in the beginning stages of potty training and likes to wear his "unders" when he is at home. He likes to work more than he likes to play. He LOVES books and can "read" almost all of Brown Bear Brown Bear. He still loves his "pipie" but we are working towards only when it is time to sleep. The other day he bit a hole through one of them and it was quite the tragedy that it was broken!
ON to the party....
We had so much fun planning Jonathan's party this year. We started by asking him what kind of party he wanted and he wanted "nemo". I wanted to make a big deal of picking out the plates and decoration stuff so off we went to the party store..... well Nemo has been around for a while so the party shops did not have it... he was so sad and near tears.... No Nemo Party... Thomas was able to save the day and find some online. He wanted cupcakes and Auntie Kaitlyn outdid herself again. He wanted to give Nemos to his friends so off to wal mart to get some goldfish. I made a banner for the bounce house and got some fun fish crafts for a little craft table. After die-cutting some fish at school we were ready to go! The day of the party he had a great time running around with all of his friends and opening up presents. We were so thankful for all of the friends and family who could come and help us celebrate!
On the day of his actual birthday he woke up to a big present... a TRACTOR!!! :0) Thomas found one on craigslist that was like new and couldn't resist. I thought it was a little much for a two year old but he is in LOVE.... such a fun and memorable birthday for Jonathan bean.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T21:43:00.001-07:00

Ok so don't make fun of me. I realize my blog is majorly behind. I am sure most of you know that Baby O the dos is baking in the oven. I am so behind on many things even though I am working part time. I guess a two year old and being preggers will do that to a girl! Anyways....We had a wonderful easter. It was such a beautiful day to celebrate with family. Jonathan was totally into hunting for easter eggs. All of us got into searching for eggs since some of them had money in them! Growing up my parents only hid little chocolate ones in the house. This was the first time we searched outside. We kept rehiding them over and over again the fun was never-ending. I thought it was funny that his wedding outfit actually fit him (almost a year later!). This was the first year I did an easter basket for him. He had so much fun opening it. He loved all of the attention and candy! :0)

Great Weekend in San Diego

2010-04-04T21:27:00.001-07:00

This past Friday and Saturday we took a little mini family vacation to San Diego. We had a great time on our short little trip. We spent way too much money on food but we had an awesome time :0). These pictures are backwards so we will start on Saturday morning:
We went to the Reuben H Fleet Science Center for the morning before heading back home. Jonathan LOVED LOVED LOVED it. It was all hands on so he had a great time. It was so interesting to watch how differently boys and girls "played" at the science center. One room had these building blocks and it was ALL boys and their dads except for me and to be honest I didn't get the appeal. :0) In this pic he wanted the ball but it was floating on the air...
Watching the steam come up when we pushed on the outside.
Taking a photo after breakfast at Sea Port Village. We ate outside on the patio and Jonathan loved watching all of the boats. He seriously asked a good 20 times to go to Havasu to see the boat and hug the boat. Poor kid misses it just as much as we do.
On Friday afternoon Jonathan did not take a nap so why not go swimming at the hotel pool? He was smiling the WHOLE time so I knew it was a chance to get a picture of the two of us. I know we are pretty white but there were a lot of vacationing east coasters so we didn't look to out of place.

The Highlight of the trip to the zoo for Jonathan was the polar bear character. He was in love with the polar bear. He wanted to have one more turn about 10 times. We finally had to drag him away so the man in the suit could go on break!
Ha ha the spider and the fly.
He was telling all the kids: SHHH goats are seeping (sleeping) go away!
I think he is going to be a farmer because of his love for animals and tractors. :0) He was finding hay on the ground and feeding it to the goats.
Gorillas - he liked watching the baby run to its momma.
Family photo with the teething (I think) boy and a finger in his mouth.
Saber tooth.

We had a blast and can't wait till we can go back again. There are no photos but all I have to say is that one bonus of staying in a hotel with a little boy who goes to bed early is getting Extraordinary Desserts to go!! Nothing like passion fruit torte and chocolate macadamia nut torte in bed with the TV turned down really low. mmmmm. Oh and so I don't forget Jonathan fell in love with Miguel's White Sauce and chowed down... he knows what is good.

Fishing Derby

2010-04-04T21:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend (hey we are getting closer.....) there was a fishing derby at some local, um lakes (they are water reservoir things for the water district). Thomas got up early to get Jonathan all signed up. The day was pretty windy and cold and we didn't catch any fish. The people next to us caught LOTS of fish but us not so much. We gave up after about an hour and a half... that's enough fishing for me! I think next time it will have to be a father/son bonding experience.... unless I can work on my tan!

Jonathan loved fishing and kept saying "Here hish (fish) come eat it" or yelled "HISH ON POLE".

Havasu in February

2010-04-04T21:23:00.000-07:00

What do you know.... we went to Havasu in February too.... there was a carnival for Mardi Gras going on. Jonathan had fun LOOKING at all of the rides. We weren't about to spend 5 dollars each to ride the rickety rides. They (and the people operating them) just seemed a little to sketchy to me.

We did have fun looking at all of the booths. Can you believe that these hats are actually really popular with the seniors in Havasu? I think they are sooo silly. I mean really... who are you fooling.?

Valentine's Day Cookies

2010-04-04T21:21:00.001-07:00

Jonathan and I go to the mom and toddler group at church whenever I am off. My friend Faithy was kind enough to host a little valentines party for the kids. Jonathan had a blast decorating cookies (and faithfully eating each and every one down to the last crumb). He is also wearing what he called his "cute shirt" for valentines. :0)

Snow in Beaumont

2010-04-04T21:14:00.000-07:00

The snow was falling hard.... so hard that SCHOOL WAS CANCELLED!!! Jonathan and I enjoyed our snow day at home. Here are some pics of him playing outside in the white stuff... we spent most of our time inside.... watching care bears and bringing the outside slide inside.

Havasu in January

2010-04-04T21:11:00.001-07:00

OK everyone are you ready to get caught up?
Thomas was kind enough to upload photos onto blogger.... which I hate to to... and is one of the many reasons I have been lagging in blogs. So here we gooooo!

Not long after our trip to Utah we met up with Kathy and Kasandra in Havasu. We had tons of fun and Saturday night Thomas, Kasandra and I got to go see a movie (which we hadn't done since JT was born) since we had a babysitter..... too bad Grandma lives so far away!
Sister love.... I think Kathy has the photos of us dancing in the channel.... woot woot!
Feeding the ducks (I don't remember if it was communion bread crusts or not.....)
With Grandma on the boat.

random

2010-01-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

My very first blog award. Wow! I am so honored :0)
Thank you Krista for my award.
Along with accepting the award, I am supposed to reveal 7 random things about myself to you, and nominate 7 other bloggers for the award. So, here we go!

1. I teach first grade now. I REALLY miss teaching kindergarten sometimes. I love my part time schedule but there is nothing quite like kindergartners and having a partner teacher to share the days with. I do love seeing how much first graders learn... but as their teacher that means ALOT of work. Kinders were alot of work too but they always made me laugh everyday! I am slowly becoming a first grade teacher though.

2. I love to clean bathrooms.... is that weird? I hate to dust. I think it is because I like to clean with a wet rag with some type of bleach cleaner... it makes me feel like I am getting things really clean. Plus I am thankful every time I do it that I am only cleaning my own families nasties and not other peoples (like when I worked for the chiropractor who also had someone who did colon hydrotherapy... yeah that was a NASTY bathroom to clean!)

3. I am addicted to the Real Housewives. Don't care where they are from I love them all I do have to say the Orange County girls are my fav.... because I think they are the most real.... except for their boobs of course. Real Housewives and Top Model are my top two shows of all time.

4. My favorite color is red. My car is red. My phone is red. My snowboarding jacket is red. My bedroom is decorated with red. The rugs in my kitchen are red. I want a red washer and dryer. We picked our boat because it had red in the flames.

5. I don't drink soda.... I don't really like it that much. Once in a while I will have a coke but maybe only 3 or 4 times a year. Since I don't drink coffee either I am pretty sensitive to caffeine. If I want to be SUPER productive I just need one soda or a tall size from starbucks and I am GOOD TO GO all day long!

6. When I found out I was having a boy (Jonathan) I cried. My reasoning: I wasn't mean enough to be a hockey mom AND I didn't want to be the mother of the groom because she never matches the wedding! I know.... silly and emotional. I blame it on pregnancy hormones. Now I can't imagine anything else. Watch our hockey moms!!! I am coming! And I am going to rock it at JTs wedding. I will be a cute MOG.

7. wow 7 things is hard. ummm. I married my high school sweetheart. I always used to think that was the lamest thing! SOOO dorky to marry your high school sweetheart. I can't imagine it any other way now! I am so thankful that I have gotten to spend as much time as I have getting to know Thomas more and more everyday and make memories together. I know I love him more all the time.

K now for 7 people I nominate. I don't even think 7 people will read this blog! But here goes nothing:
The Hekman family
The Oates family
The DeWeerd family
The Jenkins family
The Leonard family
The Pensak family
*** and Faithy's photography blog..... told you I don't know very many people!

June Mountain

2010-01-07T16:11:00.001-08:00

- Family photo op..

Last year JT was asleep in the carseat for this photo

Family

mom and Bubs

Playing in one of our forts upstairs.

We arrived in June after driving for a very long time. We were happy to be back in some California sunshine even though there was still snow on the ground. Alyssa and Jay found this great condo/cabin for us to stay in. The best place yet! We had fun celebrating New Years and watching the ball drop in New York and then went to bed. We snowboarded, skied, hungout at the cabin, ate, played dominos, ate, read books, ate, watched tv and enjoyed being together as a family. We can't wait till JT can ski too! He loved the snow... cold... brr.... taste!

The drive

2010-01-07T15:57:00.000-08:00

Here is some randomness about our drive:

I drove the first two hours and the last two hours. Thomas drove the rest.
The coldest our car thermometer read was -20. Didn't know it went into the negative.
At one point we did not see another car or sign for over an hour.
At one point it was foggy, snowy, curvy and just plain scary. I thought a pack of wolves was going to run out of the woods and attack us and Thomas thought we were going to be abducted by aliens.
We had visions of headlines "Family of 3 lost on a remote road in the snow... survives by eating cheerios from son's carseat for weeks!"

Changed a diaper while the car was still moving... and JT sort of in his car seat and I was leaning over the backseat... but we were safe and put the flashers on!
Got hit in the head more than once by "pipie"
Stopped to play at a Mc Donalds playground but it was too cold to even stand in.
Drove through the desert and there was snow.
We had an awesome drive the whole way Home to Utah. Utah to June. June back home. (1,678.8 total miles)

We passed the entrance to the Tonopah Missile Test Range! (Thomas' inner nerd thought this was cool!)

Utah Trip

2009-12-27T14:11:00.004-08:00

Day one -Our day started at 2:00am on Saturday. We woke up and loaded up into our already packed on Christmas day car. I drove for a little over 2 hours before I started playing the "I think I will just close one eye game" and had Thomas drive. Our plan was to leave at 3:00 and drive to Vegas for a breakfast buffet break. Well Jonathan decided to be awake until we got to the high desert so we passed by Vegas with his eyes closed tight. We kept moving with a sleepy stop for gas and a breakfast stop in Mesquite. The rest of the ride was filled with naps off and on and playing with toys. Jonathan did really well and had lots of fun playing with some new Christmas toys. We got to Nephi in Utah and were ready for a lunch break where we stopped for Quiznos. The funniest sight there was a little sister of a family of 5 kids with her diaper, snow boots and snow coat on (no pants)! We kept going the rest of the way to Mapleton and arrived around 1:30. We had fun opening presents with "grandma Utah" and Kasandra aka Kas. Grandma got Jonathan a blanket and a popcorn maker just like she did when Thomas was little. We called it a pretty early night but not before playing our new Wii game with Kasandra.

Day 2 -We slept in (yeah for a dark and cozy basement to sleep in). We did skip out on church because Jonathan is not such a big fan of church nursery at home and who knows how he would do in a totally new place+ cold and flu season.... we went to a very uncroweded WalMart instead for some groceries. Then home for some naps and Wii. We also had some fun in the backyard with the sled and horses. Some family friends came over for a delicios mexican feast and then we got in the car to go and see the festival of lights in Spanish Fork. It is a golf course that charges 5 bucks to see the light display from your car. It was really cool and Mr. "ights" loved it. We came home put him to bed and watched The Proposal.

Day 3 - Thomas and I got to go snowboarding at Snowbird. Grandma was kind enough to watch Jonathan on her day off of work. We had a great time but were super sore because it was pretty hard packed and we were making sure we didn't fall on the hard stuff plus we aren't are young as we used to be.... we were remembering the time we went boarding and got super suburned in the winter of 1998... wow are we getting old or what?!? :0) not really. Jonathan had a great time hassling all the cats and feeding the horses. He also got to watch Kasandra for a bit at basketball practice. In the evening we went to see Grandpa W's huge Utah house. It's a pretty cool place (and not just because he keeps the heat on low because he is in Highland now.) Do you like how I came up with a grandpa-style joke.

Day 4: Today was mostly an at home day. We picked up Kasandra from basketball practice and went to visit Kathy at her work. She had fun showing off her grandson to all of her coworkers :0). We went to go lunch and shopping after that but we went to the wrong mall (that didn't have the store I wanted that is only in Utah). So we came home for naps and Kasandra and I watched a movie. We just hung around the house and went out to dinner at the model A cafe nearby since it was still snowing. Once JT was in bed we played a game of Bible based Apples to Apples (only in Utah!) it was actually pretty funny.

Day 5: It snowed. ALL day long! so beautiful! Thomas was feeling a little sick today, we weren't sure if it was allergy to the cats or a real cold??? We went shopping at the right mall and had lunch at the old spaghetti factory. Then we dropped Thomas, JT and Kasandra off for naps and Kathy and I went to the quilted bear. The quilted bear is a HUGE craft consignment store. It is amazing. I would have spend a ton more money but we still haven't heard anything about the house next door so I showed some restraint.... I can always go back if we do get the house. :0) I got cute litle signs for the bedroom that say " always kiss me goodnight" ".... and kiss me goodmorning too!" , Jonathan a beanie and a nativity kit that I will make for him. I also got a framed print that says "amazing grace". In the evening we played a few more games and packed up the car for our EARLY morning depature.

Christmas Day

2009-12-27T14:11:00.003-08:00

In the morning we woke up and opened our stockings. Jonathan's face lit up the most when he got his own candy (a recees tree). We let him open it to have a bite not realizing how HUGE they are. You should have seen his face when Thomas' tried to take it away from him after eating half of it.... meanest parents ever! So Thomas took a big bite and gave it back to him... he was much better with his candy breakfast back in his hands.

On Christmas day we went over to my parents house to have bunch and open presents. Jonathan had a BLAST with his uncle Jay. He LOVES himself some Jay. If I tell him he is going to see lyssa he says Jay? They had fun while we were opening presents by piling all of the paper in the middle and then going to town wrestling and hiding and being crazy boys in general. It was so fun to watch. Jonathan loved his presents and kept telling me "op" to open them. We went for a post present opening walk and JT fell fast asleep in the stroller. While he took his nap we watched the movie UP.

In the evening we went up to Grandma W's house for more presents. It was pretty cool because all of the great-grandkids were there together. It was so fun to see everyone opening their presents. A few moments of chaos here and there but overall it was suprisingly calm for how many kids there were.

Christmas Eve

2009-12-27T14:11:00.001-08:00

a little "stink - eye"

books...

family photo

On Christmas Eve we spent the morning packing up for our vacation after the holiday.... we have to pack so much more now that we have the bubsters to take with us to the snow. We opened presents as our little family. It was so much fun to see Jonathan "get it". Thomas and I kept our presents low-key this year because I am only working part time and we are hoping to get the house next door but I still got everything I wanted :0). My mom, dad, Kaitlyn and Grandma came over for a quiet little dinner. Then we went to the Christmas Eve service at church.

Shopping

2009-12-24T15:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we (me, mom, Kaitlyn and JT) got an early start (7:30 departure) to go and visit Alyssa down in Simi Valley. She had some thrift stores (and a Nordstrom's rack) in mind for us to go and check out in Ventura. We met up at her apartment that she has decorated super cute in general but especially for Christmas. We had a blast doing some shopping even though we didn't buy a ton like we do at our usual stores. I guess that's good since I used a whole tank of gas to get there and back. :0)
Apparently Irwindale smells like a dirty diaper because we pulled off at a McDonalds to change JT... nothing. So we got coffee instead.

We found a place down there called Jonathan's.
Eating lunch at the Habit... so yummy and just a block or two from the beach! It was a beautiful day!

On the way home I was very thankful that I live in Beaumont and do not have to deal with traffic all the time. The ride home took a LONG time. Even with Grandma's entertainment in the backseat we couldn't go straight home. Let's just say we reached Defcon status around Rancho Cucamonga and had to take a break with Jonathan for some dinner. He was a really good buddy all day but was ready to be out of the car once we got home (we all were!)

Lights at the Mission Inn

2009-12-24T15:18:00.000-08:00

On Monday we ventured out to Riverside to see the lights at the Mission Inn in the rain. We met up with Thomas' dad to eat dinner at the Mexican Restaurant there. I was thinking... Monday... early... a little rain... it shouldn't be too busy.... well turns out EVERYONE was there! Since we didn't want to wait 2 hours for dinner (have you met Jonathan when he is hungry.... NO WAY!) We buzzed over to Spaghetti Factory for dinner (so yummy and Jonathan looked so big eating his big plate of noo noos (noodles). We went back to check out all of the lights. Jonathan was in heaven and loved looking at all of the displays. I wished I had on my glasses for better people watching but the lights were beautiful even if they were a little fuzzy :0).

On a side note on Sunday we went to my "old" partner teacher's church to see their living Christmas tree performance. It was at 7:00 which is JT's typical bedtime. I was worried we wouldn't make it more than 1/2 an hour. He LOVED it!!! The music and "ights" were right up his alley! :0)

DeYoung Christmas Party!

2009-12-20T21:26:00.001-08:00

Can you tell I am totally off work and trying to get caught up on things?? :0) Last weekend we celebrated the DeYoung Family Christmas party. I love this party because it is more focused on fun, food and family and not so much on the presents. We do exchange a few little gifts but it is just simple and no pressure! I love it! Jonathan is so into presents this year it is so much fun.
He loves being the center of attention... he was putting this block on his head while we were singing Christmas carols... we won't talk about how he tried to pull off his pants too... (slightly embarssing)

The first present of 2009! I do come from a family of girls who are are bag - recyclers.... it does have some blue on it. BTW we love to say that we are "green-friendly" instead of cheap!

Helping great grandma open one.

Hanging out with Kaitlyn...

It was a yummy good time too... we had our traditional ham buns, beef dip, jello salad, salads, desserts....mmmmm

Us girls did not do a "christmas show" like we did when we were little and I think everyone still had a good time. :0)

Baking cookies

2009-12-20T21:23:00.000-08:00

One of Jonathan's favorite things to do this Christmas season is to help me bake "coo- coos". I have even started to let him lick a little bit off the beaters which he LOVES. When we bake he helps me stir, dump and taste! He loves watching too. I did have to wait with the sugar cookies until he was napping to cut them out. He would have been happy to eat up ALL the dough raw (which is really yummy but just might make him sick!) This year I frosted one batch for our small group and then we ate the rest without frosting. Oh well. When he sees the cookies out he always asks "peas?" so he can get one... it is just so darn cute he has eaten his fair share of cookies.

OB Christmas parade

2009-12-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

A couple of weekends ago we got the Christmas season started right by going down to San Diego to see the Ocean Beach Christmas parade. It is always so fun but it really makes us miss living down there. Grandma W and Antonette met up with us too so that was fun. Jonathan was not his happiest self. It was REALLY crowded and we left a little late so we didn't get the best seats. We ended up watching from the elementary school for a while and then just walking the route with the wagon (which Jonathan LOVED). I guess it is hard for a man who wants to be on the MOVE to be still for a minute. He did love the "ights" and his first hot chocolate. :0)
Snuggled up in the wagon (it was really cold!)

Trying to get a better view from Thomas' shoulders.

This was the coolest reindeer!

Ready to go with Antonette (supporting the home team the Chargers of course.

Ocean Beach is just so chill. We love the people and the atmosphere down there. There is also so many fun things do do. When we first got there we went to a park down by the harbor and watched boats and seals and Jonathan could run and play. We always say that someday we will move back. hmmmm. I only wish that we could pick up all our friends and family and move them with us... then it would be perfect! :0) so for now we will have to just visit which is just fine with me.

Stayin Alive at 25!

2009-12-07T17:14:00.000-08:00

My groovy middle sister turned 25 on November 26th. Since her bday fell on Thanksgiving we celebrated the weekend before. We had a blast getting all dressed up in our best 70's attire. She booked us as a group at a rink near where she lives. It was so funny because the party was pretty much what you could have expected for a kid who was turning a single digit. We were there for family night skate... there was another party celebrating of a little girl who also dressed up with her friends in their best puff painted shirts for her 8th birthday. Awesome. We enjoyed cake that her friend made and icecream and soda provided by the rink on coloring page placemats. Since we had a sitter Thomas and I went out to dinner to Karl Strause before heading home. It was a super fun night! :0)Happy Birthday Kaitlyn.

Havasu - don't know why this post went CrAzY!

2009-11-17T13:36:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we got some much needed rest, relaxation and family time in Havasu. Saturday was BEAUTIFUL!! We had sweatshirts and blankets on for a cruise to the dam and back but once we got to the channel for lunch we were HOT! We had a great time and I love the fact that the parks out there have something geared twoards the 5 and under crowd too. JT can't really play out there in the summer but he can sure have a blast in the winter. On Sunday we hooked up the boat and as we were driving down were saying to each other "it seems a little cooler" " the wind seems to have picked up today" "hmmm are those white caps on the lake?" so we turned right around. We did a few minor repairs to the fence and a light switch and then drove back home. We all had a great time. :0)

Wild Animal Park

2009-11-17T12:40:00.000-08:00

Playing in the hollowed out log.

The petting zoo.

Reading the map (which he had until just yesterday and he decided to eat it instead of read it like he had been).

I love this one of my little cheese-ball waiting in line to the tram ride. :0)

The weekend before last (did time really go by that quickly - wow) we packed up truck and headed down to Escondido to go to the wild animal park. It was a lot of fun and a lot of walking. They are remodeling many parts of the park so there are times that you get somewhere and wonder what are we here for? Thomas sees bulldozers everyday... not really all that exciting. :0) Jonathan was in awe of the animals and had a blast running around. The best parts were seeing the giraffes running to get some fresh leaves, hearing the lions roar (which was actually really creepy and scary) and hearing Jonathan trying to talk about the ggrrrllll (gorilla)'s ball that he had in the enclosure to play with. While feeding the lorikeets was fun it definitely creeped me out to have these crazy birds attack and start to eat and pee at the same time.... ew. Next time I will take the camera and Thomas can take the food.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-02T07:07:00.000-08:00

Started the festivities with our small group Hallowii party. I had so much fun getting ready for it this year. I LOVE parties! :0)

Carving a pumpkin in the back yard... Jonathan mostly said ew and trash while he helped me scoop. He wasn't super interested and tried to feed pumpkin pieces to Duncan (who surprise surprise gladly ate them).

On Friday night we went to meet up with Grandpa O and the girls for Halloween Happening at Trinity (I forgot to take a pic of them...grrr..). It was fun to see so many kids dressed up and Jonathan went into a bounce house for the first time. He mostly hung out by the side because you can see the crazy buzzz lightyear kid in the background.

Grams W was there too.

We went out to dinner at Panera Bread before and Jonathan got the "juicebox milk" - think it made him sick.

He fell asleep on the way home and at about 10:30 threw up the milk... poor bubbas..

We weren't sure if he was sick sick or just from the milk and on Saturday he was a littl whinier than usual so we decided to just stay home and pass out candy. He did go with Thomas to Frugos to get his free yogurt in his jammies and he got a free shirt. He LOVED seeing the kids come to get candy so it was a fun night. :0)

The kitchen

2009-11-02T06:52:00.001-08:00

A few weeks ago I got a bee in my bonnet to get Jonathan a kitchen. Since he loves to help me so much I thought just maybe it would be something that he would actually play with. After searching around online I discovered the one that I really liked the best was from pottery barn. Super cute but not really in the budget. So I thought how hard can it be to make one. After googling how to make a kitchen I found one that seemed super easy using closet storage shelves. I talked Thomas into going to Home Depot to get the shelves and get started (since I would be able to do most of the work). WELLLLLL Home Depot and Wal Mart did not have the shelves so Thomas ever so willingly bought some sheets of wood to do it all himself. Through the process of making our own kitchen we realized how expensive it CAN be to do it all yourself. While the DIY website made their kitchen for about 40 dollars ours was a bit more. BUT I LOVE IT. :0)
Making the base

Nearly finished... the kitchen is painted red like mine... the black oven is appliance paint from when we thought it would be a good idea to paint our white fridge black... the fridge is white like our baseboard paint... the counter top is leftover tile board from our shower at 12th st... the knobs and burners are painted wood from Michaels.... towel bar and sink faucet are new cheapies from Home Depot... curtain from my kitchen windows and 12 th st, the puppet theater curtains in kindergarten...

All done... I painted the little window with an apple pie in it, the rug is a place mat from Wal Mart.

Play food from Costco... have some Juice momma. :0)

Enjoy your kitchen JT it was a labor of love! And you better PLAY with it (although Thomas and I said the whole time he probably wouldn't!)

18 months!

2009-10-20T07:38:00.000-07:00

Jonathan Bean is now 18 months. That is a year and a half. WOW. He are the things he is up to lately.

Sleeping - He sleeps between 12-13 hours each night. He usually goes to bed somewhere around 7ish and wakes up around 7ish. He only takes one nap and it is usually 1hr and a half.... sometimes a little more or less... He almost always sleeps longer when it it cool and cloudy outside.

Eating - As always he loves to eat but I do notice he has some days where he is more hungry than others. He doesn't really like meat too much. He LOVES fruit. He pretty much eats anything that we eat which is REALLY nice! :0) He likes to help me cook and sample along with me as we go. One of his favs is drinking a little bit of buttermilk after I make pancakes (ew!).

At his Dr.s Appointment he had finally gained some weight and was up to 24 pounds. He moved up to the 25th percentile out of the 5th.

Words - He is mimicing more and more words lately and the list is growing all the time.

Momma/ Dadde/ Ma (sometimes with a little grunt) for grandma/ Pa (for Grandpa)/ M (for thier dog Emma)/ Jay (sounds a little like day) everyonce in a while we get a lys (for Alyssa) and a BIG fat smile for Kaitlyn (but he won't say it) He says dg (dog for Duncan and Roxy or he just says no no and shakes a finger at them)

Milk/ Juice/ cracker/ cookie/ canne (candy - I have him thinking fruit snacks are candy but he does love him some candy!)/ bi (bite) mo (more) and the funny thing is when I ask him to say please he does the baby sign for more. He also puts his hands together and up to his eyes to "pray" when he wants to eat. When we were at the zoo he sat down at one of the kid's tables and started to pray... soooo cute!

No and no no. He also shakes his head no. ALOT. Sometimes I get a yea out of him but he usually does this little grunt instead (like a little caveman)

Ni Ni (for night night)/ Bath/ Boat (he says it everytime he sees one)/ grass/ boop (poop)/trash (he LOVES to pick up and throw away trash) /Blue /bi (bike)

Lots of animal sounds (my favs are the snake ssss or bunny - he scrunches his nose and sniffs)

Out/ on/ off /outside (mosty all /o/)

He loves to play outside and one of is new things is playdough. He loves to do crafts (like painting or coloring). He love to help me bake and cook things.

He is a climber he is constantly climbling on somthing. He is still not that in to toys and likes to play with real things like the vaccum, i pod, remote, Thomas' blackberry....

He is a joy and a little love!

Blue Playdough

2009-10-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

The other day at the library's children's program Jonathan was "accidentally" introduced to playdough. My mom and I usually stay away from the playdough table whenever we take him because we know that it would probably get eaten and become a huge mess. Well I was there with him and we were sitting at the table during the story time and when the story was over the playdough came out and there we were. He of course put it straight to his mouth and would not listen to his momma telling him not to eat it but he would listen to Miss Nancy telling him to leave it on the table (I can't believe that he already listens to a "teacher" better than me! sigh. ) and he had a blast so yesterday we made some playdough. It was way easier to make one batch than the 6 batches I used to make for the kindergarteners!
He helped mix all the ingredients.

I let him pick the color and he picked blue.

Then I cooked it on the stove. You may be able to see him in the background trying to feed his pumpkin (that he carries all over the place and ocasionally chews on) to Duncan.

All set to play outside. I didn't want to clean up to playdough inside. Not one piece went in his mouth! He actually played for about 5 minutes! so fun.

Cookies!

2009-10-06T13:28:00.001-07:00

It has been feeling more and more like fall around here. I decided to tie on my apron and put Jonathan in one of his own ( a dish towel) and bake some cookies. He had a great time dumping in all of the ingredients. And eating some of the flour that we spilled. Once we got the cookies one the cookie sheet he couldn't resist. I guess he knew the final product wasn't going to turn out. Our poor cookies totally fell apart. I tried putting some carmel bits in them that I had in my pantry but they melted to the pan and would not come off easily. So basically we ended up making cookie crumbs but we still had fun!

Reading in the Train

2009-10-06T12:37:00.000-07:00

The other morning I got a couple of pictures of Jonathan reading books in his train. I finally cleaned out the guest bedroom the day before and found his train stashed in there. He was happy to play with it again (sometimes I think I need to rotate his toys a little more). He also LOVES books. Good thing I love children's books too. :0) It was so fun to hear him reading in there.

A box from Grandma!

2009-09-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago a package came in the mail for Jonathan from Grandma Utah... Jonathan had been a little crabby so I made a big deal out of it and we came in the house and opened it right up. Inside was a little tube of Butt Paste. He was pretty ticked at me when I wouldn't let him play with it and make a mess all over his room. He cried. It was sad. Grandma wanted to make it up to him so she put together the most fun box for him. He pretty much carried the box all the way from the mail box.

He loved discovering all of the cool stuff that was inside.
His FAVORITE part was his very own box of alphabits cereal. You would think that he died and went to heaven!

Thanks Grandma for the cool box of treats! :0)

Updates

2009-09-08T11:02:00.000-07:00

It's been a while... but I have started back to work so things got pretty busy around here. For those of you who don't know I got a shared teaching contract this year. I am only working part time and I LOVE it so far. I really love teaching and staying home with Jonathan so this lets me do both!

My first day of work poor bubby had his first real fever. He was definitely not himself. He got his back top molars and he had a cold as well. I felt so bad for him but he was back to his cheerful self within a couple of days.

We decided to beat the heat and go up to lake Arrowhead. We had a great time walking around and playing at the little park there.
Jonathan was trying to feed the ducks from his hand... none of them decided to fly up the six feet and take a stale cheerio from him.

Jonathan got to have his first happy meal. He ate half a chicken nugget, one fry (that he repeatedly dipped in ketchup) and a little bit of my cheeseburger. I don't really think he is a fan and I don't blame him! His favorite part was getting to have his own milk with a straw.

Last week there was a big fire in the mountains by our house. Here's a picture from over our neighbor's houses.

Jonathan loves to help clean. The other day I was using some clorox wipes to clean the kitchen and he desperately wanted one. I found a container of baby wipes that was mostly dried out (grr I hate when that happens) so I gave him one of those and he went to town.
the floor.

the barn.

the dog.

glad to know everything around here is clean and baby fresh! :0)

When you clean out your drawers this might happen

2009-08-18T16:27:00.001-07:00

He ran around like this for at least 20 minutes! I was laughing the whole time. :0) Jonathan thought he was so funny.

The Learning Tower

2009-08-17T11:12:00.000-07:00

While online window shopping at costco.com I ran across this "step stool" called a learning tower. Well my window shopping turned into a real purchase (I used a gift card that I had been saving to go towards it). It is safe for little ones to use to help with things that are counter height. Jonathan has been having soooo much fun with it. He can now climb up into it by himself and I often serve him snacks from the counter because then the dogs don't try to steal all of his snack. He is my little helper boy and he love to help me cook and make things.

Here he is helping with pancakes.

Helping Dad wash the dishes.

And of course after helping make biscuits and licking the spoon he had to share some with his buddy Roxy. Sometimes it looks like a feeding tower at the zoo with the crazy dogs as the wild animals.

Author's Chairs

2009-08-17T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have been having fun getting my "creative" on. Ever since I have been a teacher I have wanted to make an Author's chair for the kids to sit in when they read their journals. Well in Kindergarten that didn't ever really work out but now that I am First grade I went on a hunt for a chair. I found this cute white one at a thrift store for 5.99. I bought the little wood rectangle for 1.99 at walmart and Thomas got the stars at michaels for 30 cents each. I am so happy with how great it turned out for so cheap!

in use.... :0)

Well seeing my chair inspired my mom to want to redo her author's chair so after I hassled her endlessly about painting it black first. It was blue and gold. She finished it and I painted the seat and dots on the back. I had so much fun. I think I went a little overboard with the dots but oh well. No pictures of it in use because my little model is sleeping (the reason I was able to finish it!)

Now my mom and I are trolling craigslist for other little projects to paint. :0)

Being a momma to a boy....

2009-08-14T06:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jonathan and I were outside pulling weeds (well I was pulling weeds and he was mowing the lawn with his toy mower) when I noticed a HUGE grasshopper. If you know me you know that I am not really afraid of bugs but I don't exactly LOVE them and they freak me out a little bit. But being the good momma to a boy that I am I pointed it out to him, fully expecting us to ooh and ahh over this HUGE grasshopper before it hops on its merry way. Jonathan reaches out to the grasshopper and I thought he would jump away... nope he picks him up and I start doing a little EWW EWW EWW scream... the grasshopper has a death grip on Jonathan's fingers and we both start to do the little scream (because he is really into mimicking EVERYTHING). Finally the grasshopper lets go and falls to the ground. Jonathan has the hugest smile on his face and goes for it again. Being the quick thinking momma that I am I find a little stick so we can poke the grasshopper (because in my mind that is better than actually touching him). The whole time I kept thinking... be a brave boy momma you can do this! I am sure my neighbor thought we were crazy chasing this grasshopper around the yard. I finally had to rescue the poor grasshopper from the toddler (he might have been slightly injured... the grasshopper, not the toddler) by convincing him to hold onto the stick with his two good legs and safely placing him in a bush. At the end of this I couldn't help but think... what am I going to do when he picks up something REALLY gross.... like a snake or something... I better start working on my bravery!

Fun With Uncle Jay

2009-07-29T10:32:00.000-07:00

Seriously Jonathan's only Uncle is the BEST!!! :0)

Beach Day!

2009-07-29T10:19:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we headed out to the beach to get away from the heat for a day. There were TONS of other people there so apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea. :0) We had an awesome time. Jonathan wasn't afraid of the water at all even though there were 25 foot waves! It was pretty amazing to watch. I must say that while taking a little one to the beach requires a lot of packing it makes the day so much more fun... Thomas and I only got a little burned instead of fried because we didn't fall asleep on the beach and we left before traffic was so nutty that it would take us hours and hours to get home plus we got seated for dinner right away because we were there early!
Jonathan in his wagon with all of his gear... he seriously looked like he was in a homless person's cart with all of the stuff hanging off the side.
Our little set up on the beach. We got misted alot from the crashing waves.

Going to check out the water with Thomas... he loved "jumping" the waves and running from the huge ones.

Dinner at Crab Cooker.... I LOVE LOVE LOVE the lobster there!!! It was serioulsy delicious and I have been craving it since Jonathan was born but we just never got down to Newport.

15 months of fun!

2009-07-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

You know how when you get married you just fall more and more in love each day... well I think having a baby is kinda the same way. Jonathan Bean is just so much fun right now... I am enjoying every single day with him this summer. I am super excited that I will be working part time next year and have more time to spend with him. Last week Monday he had his 15 month doctors appointment. Nothing too exciting except he weighs just over 20 pounds. I forgot how tall he was but he is in the 5th percentile for weight and 50th for height. His back bottom molars are coming in. Some days he only takes one nap. The doctor kept asking us about his eating habits... umm ALL the time! It was pretty obvious why he is so skinny because he was climbing up me the whole time... and I said he does this all the time. I would say he is only still in his sleep but sometimes it sounds like he is having a wrestling match in his crib! He is very healthy and we are super thankful about that. He was a champ with his shots too. Here are some of the things he has been up to lately:

I found him a cozy coupe police car on craigs list. He is in love with it. He mostly climbs in and out about a million times or talks on the "phone" little speaker thing. Speaking of phones he LOVES them. He usually spends time each day talking to daddy on the phone or pretending too. He also has his little sweeper in the back of the car... he LOVES brooms!!

Here he is playing with his sand and water table that Thomas made him. In the evenings we have been playing outside and he usually gets really wet so I let him go in just shorts... love that little "crack" :0)

He has been working on feeding himself and using a spoon. He usually ends up holding the spoon and using his other hand to eat. It is funny because when he eats with his hands he uses his left but when he uses a spoon he uses his right.

He is definitely my little helper boy. He helped me vacuum the hall the other day. He also throws things in the trash for me. He hands me the pillows when I make the bed. He also has been helping me with all of my school prep. The other day he helped me put crayons, glue sticks, etc in homework bags. It is a good thing he is too young to know he should charge me for all of this work! :0) I got him a learning tower so he can stand by me to help me cook. He loves to do that but sitting on the counter was making me too nervous. I am not an organized enough cook to have everything ready so I don't have to turn my back on him.

One of his latest tricks is climbing into chairs. This is a pic of the first time he did it. He was SOOOO pleased with himself. The other day he was sitting on the couch with the dogs and just thought he was such hot stuff! :0)

All wet after running through the sprinklers. One of his favorite games to play is chase. He loves to hide and then come out and scare you with a scream.

He LOVEs all things to do with water. Just not sitting in the pool.

He is learning and understanding more and more everyday. When he drinks from a real cup he says "ahh" afterward. He says momma and dadda. He says ho (hot), baf (bath) hi, ba (ball). He knows sniffing for a bunny sound, a version of woof for dogs (it is kinda like a scream but we do have yappy dogs sooo), and mmmm for cat's meow. He knows where his nose and ears are and sometimes eyes and mouth. He gives the best kisses to the ladies (a little tongue if he really likes you) and hi - fives to the guys. He will put his pipie and lovey away after he takes his nap. He will go to the fridge whenever he is hungry and thirsty. He loves to go for walks and play at the park. He loves to chase the dogs and give them a ball or bone or pat them. He gets other peoples attention out and about by laughing at them. He is just so much fun!

Michigan

2009-07-16T07:46:00.000-07:00

I have tried to write this post about a thousand times but it just hasn't gotton done so hopefully while both boys are still sleeping I will be able to do that! Jonathan, my mom and Kaitlyn and I decided to go to Michigan this summer. Actually I decided that Jonathan would LOVE it but I knew I couldn't handle a baby on a plane alone so these two were game to go. It was so funny because we bought tickets before we ever even checked with any family out there to see if it would work! They found out through facebook, my aunt Sue told my grandma and she was like... no the girls aren't coming and Sue thought maybe it was a surprise.... anyways we were on our way!
Here is a picture of us as we were landing in Chicago. I was SUPER worried about taking a baby on a plane... but JT was AWESOME!!! As we boarded Kaitlyn was carrying him and we got SOOOO many dirty looks. The only times he cried was when he was forced into a nap because he was super tired and when he woke up I had to leave him to go to the restroom (he was definitly a momma's boy on this trip). My secret: snacks. Any of you who know Jonathan know this kid can EAT so a few toys and books thrown in with lots of snacks and he was a happy boy. The flight to Grand Rapids had about 10 strollers waiting when we got off so it was full of kids. It is super fast so we were there in no time. My grandma was there to meet us and we were off to the cottage.
On Thursday we spend most of the day on the beach... my mom has those pictures on her camera. JT loved the beach and stayed down there for hours... he also loved our daily trips to the post office and even playing at the marina's playground.
That evening we went to downtown Holland. There were all kinds of fun street performers (mostly college kids from Hope college) and we got to sneak into a few shops. My mom bought us an awesome dutch cookbook that I can't wait to make something from.
On Friday we went to Yard sales.... It was too bad we had to get on a plane because I found a pristine little tikes table and chairs for 5 bucks... oh well. I had to settle for a board book for JT for 10 cents. We didn't find much but had fun looking. After we went to Russ' for a delicious lunch (Jonthan's crayons came in a wooden shoe and the picture on the kid's menu was a wind mill :0) ).

Saturday was a beach day and I got to go out to see a concert of some guys that my aunt and Uncle went to college with at night. It was on a golf course and was such a beautiful location. My mom watched JT. Sunday was church and we went to Hope chapel. Jonathan hates the nursery here so I knew that it wasn't going to happen. So we mostly walked back and forth on the street in front and I heard a few little parts of the sermon. Sunday was another beach day. I used this baby carrier I made to walk to and from the light house. It worked out great! My grandma was on cloud nine to have Jonathan Bean come and visit even if he didn't play with any of the toys she found for him.

On Monday we went and picked blueberries. Jonathan was in heaven and would even help put some of them in the bucket. I had to put him in the stroller after a while because I didn't want him to get a tummy ache. We picked 18 pounds of berries to take home with us. 50 cents a pound.... we pick at this field that is by a welder's shop... we think the boss (dad) told the worker (son) 1.50 but all he heard was 50. We were the first pickers of the season! I have most of mine all frozen and ready to use!

Tuesday it was time to come home. We stopped off at my grandparent's new place (They are moving from Florida to Michigan) and it is AMAZING! My grandma will have so much fun with the crafting group! :0)

Before we left we had to stop for turtle sundaes at Captain Sundaes! Good thing they don't have places like that by us or I would weigh 300 lbs!

The flight home went well. Jonathan was super tired and tired of being held by the time we landed in LA... I can't blame him... Every time he would fuss Kaitlyn would threaten him that we would never take him to Michigan again or that when he turned 18 she wouldn't take him out... and he shaped right up. We had tons of fun but were really glad to be home!

Havasu with a group... finally!

2009-06-29T15:37:00.000-07:00

Here are some pics of our latest adventure in Havasu. We took some friends out with us this time and had a blast....
Jonathan taking one of his boat naps...

He loves being the driver

Playing with Ethan in the water and sand.

Matt, Ethan, Jess and baby H (Jess was such a cute prego... she was such a trooper in the hot weather!)

Jeff and Carmen..... made the sacrifice and sat in the front getting tons of sun so the babies could stay in the shade.

I love this one with his wild sunscreen hair!

Jonathan of course was in heaven with his own juice boxes and tons of snacks!

One morning I took they two little boys out on a short golf cart ride to keep them entertained... I couldn't help but think in a few short years they will want to take it out by themselves!

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

Father's day was pretty low - key for us. We were definitely tired after the wedding extravaganza! We enjoyed wedding food left - overs at my parents house and I BBQed kabobs for a little extra treat. This is a four generations pic.... my dad, grandpa, me and Jonathan. Thomas got his father's day gift a few weeks before (he had been wanting a new drill). After this we enjoyed a super long Sunday afternoon nap... the best gift of all!

Alyssa's Wedding

2009-06-29T15:26:00.000-07:00

My sweet baby sister Alyssa got married to Jay on June 20th. It was such a fun and beautiful wedding. We got to host some of the Michigan relatives so that was a lot of fun too. My aunts helped to do the flowers and my house was choosen as the location... my kitchen looked like a flower shop the day before. The day of the wedding all of the bridesmaids and Lyss came over to get ready so my house was converted into a beauty shop! :0) I finally got my house all cleaned up yesterday! Jonathan had so much fun with all of the attention and was a dancing machine. I loved that it was cool enough for his sweater vest outfit. (you know how I LOVE little boys and sweater - vests!). So I officially have a brother! so exciting! I took a ton of pictures but these are some of my favorites.

Cherry Festival 2009

2009-06-06T19:21:00.000-07:00

The fam at dinner - tri tip sandwiches and funnel cake! yummy

Hassling Aubree.

Enjoying a bite (or four) of cherry pie.

waiting for the parade to begin.

We had a fun day hanging out at the parade and going to the cherry festival. Jonathan ate and ate and ate some more. I think we all had the most fun people watching!

Walking Man!

2009-06-01T17:10:00.000-07:00

Just a short video of Jonathan walking for Grandma Utah to see!

Memorial Day Weekend in Havasu

2009-05-25T20:48:00.000-07:00

We had a great Memorial Day Weekend in Havasu with the Pensak Fam. We drove out Friday after we got off work. Jonathan did great and woke up just as we were getting into town. We put together the crib for Miss Aubree and got everything ready for the lake on Saturday, we figured since the kids would be up early we would be up early enough for a busy holiday weekend. WRONG!! we drove out to Cat Tail's launch ramp at what we thought was an early 7:30 (which I thought we did great considering we had three little kiddos with us). Thomas totally thought it would be our "ace in the hole". Apparently that is only true if you get there at 5:00 in the morning. We pulled up to a full lot and checked out another launch ramp that was also full. We ended up finding a public launch ramp near the dam and were able to get parking and on the lake. We had a super fun day even though we didn't find any real beach. We got back to the house took showers and went to Red Robin for dinner. JT shared his first kid's meal with Aubree. :0) We made a plan for Sunday for Thomas and Brad to get up at 5:00 go and launch the boat and Charlee and I would follow with the kids later when they were all ready. Well Thomas opening the door to the bathroom woke up JT who woke up Breven who had to tell Brad and Charlee that Jonathan was up and woke them up with Aubree. Since we were all up we were out on the lake a little before six and were able to launch at Windsor even though there was already a line! We discovered that the "trick" is to go down early and just get a parking spot then launch whenever the rest of your group comes. Now we know! Again we never really found a beach to set up at but it worked out fine since Aubree doesn't really like the water splashing her and prefers the boat and Jonathan just tries to eat rocks the whole time! Breven is cool with swimming wherever we can so we mostly hung out on the boat. We had dinner at the house and then went to go walk down by the channel. I am so glad we don't go to Havasu to be a part of the "Party scene". It was pretty crazy down there and we went back home to get the babies in bed and enjoy some dessert. We also took a few spins on the golf cart. On Monday we went out to the lake again and had fun for a few more hours before going back to the house to clean up and pack up. Breven was brave and went on the tube with me... so FUN!! :0) The ride home went great until we got stuck by the Cabazon outlets for about an hour!!!!! booo traffic. Here are some pics of our fun times!
The Pensak fam...

Breven doesn't pose for pictures so we were able to catch him by telling him to make faces for Jonathan.

Aubree trying to get out of the water and Jonathan lounging and kicking.

Training to be the flag man, he must have taken out his pipie to yell "down"!

Enjoying digging in the sand... with pipie so he doesn't eat it.

crazy sunscreen mohawk

The boys on the golf cart... the trade for the old boat. ( we think we passed the place where they were filming the movie.... and we drove passed the house of the guy we traded with and he had a new boat so who knows where our old Banana boat is now!)

Cool dude with his new shades

some random pics from the past two weekends

2009-05-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

Last weekend on Saturday night my fam came over for a quick BBQ... Jonathan bean needed a little entertaining so Alyssa joined him in his empty pool with some toys...

I got this cute lil sprinkler for 2 dollars at the Wal Mart in Havasu ( I mean really what kid is gonna play outside in Havasu. In summer. In their front yard. That is gravel. seriously.) Jonathan Bean loves it and most days he ends up getting his clothes sopping wet one way or another.

The other morning he was enjoying some snacks and milk in his little garden before I went to work. He just looked so big to me so I had to snap a pic.

Yesterday we went to a birthday party Aubree and Brevan.... JT did not get an afternoon nap and fell asleep while playing in the swing... poor baby...

His latest tricks are cutting molars, trying to eat with a fork or spoon, only nursing once a day, eating like a maniac, getting a little more demanding (like yelling at you if he doesn't get what he wants), getting so tired at bed an nap time that he gets these delirious giggles that are sooo funny and cute but turn quickly into exhausted crying, and WALKING.... he is doing so many big boy things!

As for me school is winding down and there is so much work to do before the end.... especially with switching to part time next year. I have about a million feelings about all of this.... OK enough... I don't want to get emotional so that s all I will say.

We are looking forward to heading out to Havasu more for summer! new adventures to come!

1st Haircut and first sucker.

2009-05-03T21:27:00.000-07:00

Since my bald baby is sporting a bit of a mullet we decided it was time for a trim. It was growing over his collar so the time had come. I have been hoping for some curls but I don't think that is going to happen. My mom did the honors and it turned out great considering he did not stay still at all.
Before

After
Thomas took two videos of the process. One before the sucker (we thought noodles would work) and one after the sucker... sucess!!! SO I definitly get the mother of the year award... his first sucker as bribery to do something! and then he ate some brownies and icecream with Thomas. Guess I should call him my sugar baby now! (But I learned my lesson about the suckers... I may have to bust one out next time he has to be still... maybe at the doctors office.... "yes doctor I give my kid a sucker when I want him to do something"... :0) )

Holland Festival

2009-05-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend was the Holland Festival. Jonathan had a great time riding around in the stoller and watching all of the people with his little dutch slippers on. He also enjoyed frut salad, most of my ham bun, some cheese and raisin toast, a little pea soup and of course ollie bollen. Way more fun than last year when he slept in the sling the whole time!

Pasketti!!!

2009-05-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Here is Jonathan's first taste of sphaghetti... he is a big fan and would even suck up the noodles. He was such a saucy mess that he went straight into the bath!

Scuba Steve

2009-05-03T21:14:00.000-07:00

We think these Jammies make Jonathan look like a little scuba diver.... they are so tight.... Kid's clothing sizes can be so confusing... another pair this same size are totally ginormous on him.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

2009-04-21T19:51:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated Jonathan's birthday with lots of friends and family. We had a really great time and so did the bean!
Chillin with Grandma Utah on his new firetruck.

The GIANT cupcake made my my sweet cousin Hillary.

a family shot (he didn't really feel like posing at the time!)

Happy birthday boy!

The super cute turtle cup cake - cake that my dear sister Kaitlyn made... the kids (and adults) loved it!

The final sock Monkey picutre! How has a year gone by already... each day gets more and more fun with new adventures all the time! :0)

Happy Easter

2009-04-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

Enjoying and Easter swing before dinner.

Opening up a basket from Auntie Kaitlyn... it had some yummy candy in it for me too! Yeah!

Grandma made a basket just for the bubsters with mum mums, peach puffs, a touch the textures easter book and some easter little people. ! He loved it.

Family photo with some last minute color coordinating.

Slightly panicked picture with momma. :0)

Hope you had a great Easter celebrating the resurection of our Lord!!

Adios Riverside!!

2009-04-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

Since my dad is now retired we have to say "Adios Riverside!!" We celebrated at the Mission Inn with a yummy dinner and margaritas. He's not really done working as he is checking out some other job options but we love a good party anyways. :0)
Mom and Dad
Kaitlyn and Troy
Alyssa and Jay
You know us....
Jonathan Bean can EAT ( one whole banana before we left because he was near death due to starvation, cheerios, puffs, dried apples, a wheat cracker, half his quesidilla, some beans, 1/3 of an avocado! We were all impressed!)
Checking out a nearby street concert.
Sitting in the chair at the Mission Inn that was made for President Taft.

The old boat

2009-04-06T20:48:00.000-07:00

So we are still trying to sell the old 1978 Kona and Thomas has it on craigslist. We finally decided to put that we would trade for something (like a toy to play with in the sand when it it too cold to be on the lake in winter) and he got a guy who called him with an offer to rent the boat. to be in a movie. in Lake Havasu. and Thomas would drive it. or a stuntman.
HOLLYWOOD HERE WE COME!!!!!!
The movie is gonna be a remake of a 70's flick called "Piranha". SO you know it is gonna rake in the big bucks. or be in the 99 cent bin somewhere. :0) Apparently the attempt to remake it in the 80's didn't work out....

ON a side note I love trying to teach kindergartners to say the word "sphere" it is seriously hilarious.

Spring Break

2009-04-05T21:23:00.001-07:00

I can't believe he has big teeth!!

Feeding Mr and Mrs Duck who came to visit both days.

He really wanted to kick and splash in the frigid water

Learning how to clim in the boat to get to momma's sandwich. He got both feet up when we were feeding the ducks.

happy boys!

So I started off spring break with the Havasu trip..... already posted about that... If you asked me what I did on spring break here is what I could tell you:

* I took a nap everyday

* I played with Jonathan Bean

* I played Wii with Thomas

* I went for walks with Jonathan

* I went to Wal Mart

* I didn't read a book or scrapbook or watch TV

* I did waste time on the computer

* ummmm that is pretty much it... It was WONDERFUL. I really needed the break and now I feel refreshed and ready to go back to the craziness of it all.

This past Friday and Saturday we went out to Havasu again. While we were glad to be in the sunshine (I heard that it was rainy back home), It was windy and not quite as warm. On Friday we found a little cove to park in and hang out and did the same on Saturday. We launched at Cat Tail this time and since it was so windy it felt like we were trying to launch on the ocean so we didn't take the pups with us. They played at the house and snuck passed the gates to get into the trash and lay on the furniture... grrrrr.... While we were driving out we realized we forgot the camera but I bought one for 20 bucks at Wal Mart... the quality isn't the best for all of you with professional cameras whose everday life photos look like they come from a magazine but it worked better than I thought it would! :0)

Havasu

2009-03-30T10:03:00.000-07:00

So we had another great weekend in Havasu.... we packed up the whole fam this time (we took the dogs with us...) on Friday and left after bubby had dinner and a bath. He slept pretty much the whole way. Duncan started having his "I've been in the car too long" heart attack in palm desert... we thought we were in for a long ride but since we have a real baby and don't worry about him as much we knew he would calm down eventually and stop trying to dig out of his crate and he did. We woke up to a beautiful day on Saturday and loaded up all the kids to take out the boat... unfortunately I forgot the camera so you will just have to imagine our lily white bodies laying in the sun (it really wasn't a pretty picture but seeing Thomas laying on the beach with one puppy on each side was pretty priceless.) Jonathan bean taking his morning nap all snuggled up in the cabin of the boat was pretty adorable too but oh well. We ate lunch and cruised around the lake... we even drove through the channel to experience spring break in there... let me just say I am glad we go out there to play and relax and not try to party and be cool.... no feeding the ducks this time! The dogs loved being out in the boat and I was very proud of myself for backing the boat and the trailer in when it was more crowded. Saturday night we took Jonathan out in the stroller and went looking for the memorial wall... didn't find it until later but oh well...

Feeties in the sun... no shoes!!!

look at those top two teeth

my fav boys!

Sunday we took the boat out again but it was overcast and cooler. Jonathan slept in my lap and we drove a little faster up to three dunes and back... we are scoping out beaches for when we want to stay longer and set up a canopy and such. Then we went back to the house so Thomas could work on the weed situation. On the way home we stopped at KFC in Parker (cuz the other choices are Mc donalds and taco bell... double EWWW) and I found something JT won't eat... KFC mashed potatoes! Oh well I guess they are pretty gross. He enjoyed string cheese and applesauce and a few crackers instead. I should have paid attention and not eaten a chicken sandwich because it made my tummy hurt.... fast food really is gross! He was awake for most of the trip and blew raspberries at us and played peek a boo in the back seat. We didn't hear a peep from the dogs and he finally crashed just before the windmills. What a fun trip... can't wait to go back!

11 months

2009-03-23T20:13:00.001-07:00

How can it be that the Jonathan Bean is already 11 months old... where has the time gone?!?!?

Here are some of his latest tricks:

* He LOVES to eat.... so far he eats most everything that I give him. Some of his favs are pancakes and quesidillas. He also loves himself some cereals. Pretty much anytime he is cranky and it isn't because it is about 10 minutes before a nap it's because he is STARVING!!! He is also a very thankful eater who says MMMMM to every bite.

* He has four new teeth on the top... came in very close to one another but one of the front ones is down just a little further than the others... it is changing his little smile.

* He is crawling very fast now and loves to go exploring when the gates are down. We have finally given in and put safety latches on most of the cupboards.

* He loves to open things and take stuff out: for example kitchen cupboards, his clothes drawers in his room, baskets of toys, he uses his teeth to open up anything with a lid on it, any clothes I have just folded and put in the basket. I have a special drawer for him in the kitchen that is basically filled with plastic food containers and boxes... he loooooves it.

* He likes to play with Duncan and Roxy and screams at them to chase him. He also likes to steal their chew bones and try to chew them.... gross I know. He gets so excited when they wrestle each other.

* With the warmer weather he is very happy to be outside and play with a ball with Thomas or me.

* He stands up by everything.... pushes things around.. cruises... but hasn't really stood all the way on his own for very long. I thought he would be an early walker but I am thankful he isn't.

* He loves himself some grandma... I swear he has grandma radar and puts on the charm for any lady that could be a grandma. ( hmmm I bet he got that from Thomas..... he is great at selling cutting edges but if old ladies bought cutting edges we would be millionaires :0) )

* He loves the bath and playing and splashing in the water. I can't wait for Havasu this summer.

* He HATES to have his diaper changed.... like repeated "death rolls" and hanging on with white knuckles to the shelf above the changing table. Makes things interesting that's for sure!

* He never wanted me to rock him to sleep at night but since the time change he has had a change of heart and I love it!!! He still is rocked for naps with pipie and lovie in the correct positions....

* He loves books, he will sit for 4 or more stories at a time. Good thing I am a kids book addict. Every time a board book comes up in one of my kindergarten orders I get it for him. :0)

* OH and one of my favorite new things is that he loves to dance. He is a dancing machine... I really have to get a good video of it because watching him shake his little booty is the cutest thing ever!!!

He gets more and more fun to be around everyday. We are so thankful for such a sweet little guy!