Happy Thanksgiving!

If the picture above is any indication of how much Jake enjoyed Thanksgiving, then I guess we did ok! I mean really. Look at those chubby cheeks!

This year we braved the unthinkable (in our minds, at least) for the holidays. We took Jake on a road trip! We were both a little nervous for how everything would go, but of course our son impressed us and made his parents proud (doesn't he always??). We stayed with his Aunt Rachel on Wednesday night and were grateful that she opened her house to us! And her backyard to Maggie & Tucker of course. It's funny what a baby does to you...we made all these plans and then at the last minute Seth asked what my plans were for the dogs.

Oops.

So thanks Rachel for letting us bring them!

(Don't worry...we already have the kennel booked for Christmas)

Anyway...besides 30 minutes of screaming as we were trying to get out of town, Jake did FANTASTIC! I think it was probably because he knew we were headed to the motherland. You know. Aggieland. Duh. :) We showed him where Mom & Dad met, where we lived, where we worked, took him to our old classrooms...

Just kidding! But perhaps we'll try that part when he's a little older.
Rachel was so excited to see Jake...he'd done a lot of growing since she was at the hospital!

The next morning we headed over to Uncle Chase's house to get ready for our Thanksgiving meal. He was so nice to have us all over and even cleaned his house for maybe the 2nd time in the past few years! Ha.

Chase and Jake hanging out

Jake and Minaw...one of his 4 great grandmas!

Grandpa and Jake

Michael, Jake, "Nonnie" and "Popo"

Jake and our Thanksgiving turkey. The turkey was 13 lbs...so still a few pounds bigger than him! But how handsome does he look in his Sunday best?

Getting ready to eat!

Chase was in charge of carving the turkey. He might have eaten just as much as he carved! Nothing sounds better than a turkey carcass, right?

Everyone was full, tired, and happy!

We were so glad to spend the holiday with some of both of our families! We had a great time and tons of GREAT food! We even took Jake up to the A&M campus for about an hour before we had to head back. He got to see our Aggie tailgate and meet a few friends. Maybe next year he'll be running around the tailgate and going to a game or two??

When we got back, we watched the Aggie game with the Erbeles. Blake, Jack, & Jake (say it 5 times fast) talked shop and played together.

Hard to imagine these 2 boys were born smaller than Jake! Blake (6 mos), Jake (7 wks), and Jack (6 mos)

How sweet? Jack's arm must've tasted really good!

Love this picture of my two Aggie boys!

At this point in the game, we thought A&M stood a chance. In fact, Seth said it's my fault we lost because (as always) I said, "Hey! I think we might win this one!" Oops.

Love our little Aggie

And as if you haven't had enough pictures...

Jake wouldn't wake up for this picture but look at this cute outfit from his Aunt Paula! We're now in 0-3 month clothes! As soon as I realized he could wear this size I was in a panic and washed everything in a hurry. I didn't want us to miss out on wearing any of these cute outfits!!

Happy boy!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! We are really enjoying this long holiday weekend. Seth is even out putting lights on the house right now. Which is exciting, considering I was told a few days ago that Christmas lights weren't happening this year. Nothing a little convincing from Jake couldn't take care of!

Bathtime

Here's another. Again, not eventful...maybe only something family can appreciate!

Playtime

I'll warn you...on a scale of 1 to exciting, this is maybe a 2 or 3. But I thought some of you might enjoy watching a video of Jake. We have several, I've just been really bad about uploading. And then when I found out how easy it was, I'm a little ashamed. So I'll try to be better...promise!

Welcome Baby Noah!

Today was a fun day for Jake - he got to meet another one of his good friends, Baby Noah! God has been so good to this sweet baby and his family. They had prepared themselves to stay in the hospital for a couple weeks after Noah's birth for follow-up and testing on his heart (because of the SVT he had shown while Paula was pregnant with him). BUT, Noah was acing all the tests and looked so good in the hospital that they discharged both Paula and her baby boy yesterday! What a blessing.

Here's Noah the day after he was born. And we thought Jake was tiny - ha! Noah is even tinier!

Paula and precious Noah at HOME

We decided to see what the boys thought of each other and how they measured up. I'm not sure if Noah is trying to cuddle up next to Jake or if Jake just popped him in the eye :)

"Get used to all the pictures, Noah"

So cute!

Jake looks enormous compared to him!

It doesn't look like it here, but they are supposed to be the best of friends. Maybe they need a little more time?

Looks like I'm holding a baby doll!

We are so happy for you, Paula & Ben!

Jake was in rare form after his bath last night. Kicking and cooing and playing with his towel.

More smiles!

Oh I love this!

Jake has been trying to convince his daddy to hang up Christmas lights today. Unfortunately his power of persuasion isn't working so much yet. So instead we're discussing the story of Thanksgiving. Seth told him about the Indians and Pilgrims...how they shared food, ate pie, and watched football that afternoon. We all know that story, right? :)

Sigh

I can't believe I'm going to admit this on my blog.

Actually, I can't believe I did this in the first place. But I was desperate.

Yesterday around lunchtime I started feeling like POOP. I was achy, feverish, and just felt blah. I was pretty sure I had a fever but wanted to double check. However, the only thermometer we have is that one we use on Jake.

Here's where I should mention that we've taken his temperature twice.

Rectally.

Seeing as how that was not an option for yours truly, I knew I needed to put it under my tongue, like in the dr's office. But I was also concerned about the previous whereabouts of said thermometer. But again, I was desperate.

So I did it.

Let me preface this by saying I cleaned the thermometer with about 5 alcohol wipes before using but I just took the plunge and didn't look back.

I guess this is what people call the sacrifices we make as moms???

So anyway...I had a fever. I began to worry because how in the world was I going to take care of my child when I felt horrible. Because Lord knows, I was not in the mood to bounce him up and down for hours to stop the crying. Luckily, I got a nap and felt a little better. It was perfect timing that I had a doctor's appointment this morning and he confirmed my suspicions. I have mastitis. Hooray. I'm not going to go into any more detail if you don't know what that is. Feel free to google. But now I'm on antibiotics, feel a little better, and can go on living my life like nothing has changed.

Not even sure why I decided to share this on my blog. Lack of better things to post about?

I AM excited to decorate for Christmas very soon. I'm even tempted to start before Thanksgiving (gasp!). And I never would've thought, but I've also got a good start on our Christmas shopping! Maybe I can finish before December after all...

OH AND I ALMOST FORGOT.

Sweet Baby Noah...who we prayed for earlier this summer...was born on Monday and HEALTHY! SVT-free! I got to go visit him and his parents on Tuesday and sweet thing was a light as a feather! I will post pictures as soon as I load them on the computer. But congratulations to Paula & Ben!

All Smiles!

It is a rare day that Jake is awake for a long period of time and HAPPY. But this morning when I was getting ready, I heard all sorts of noises coming from our bouncy seat. And this is what I saw:

Who knew that seat could be so fun?? He usually is a little happier when people aren't messing with him, so I just let him be and he "played" in his chair for a good hour...awake and happy! It was so precious.

Jake is also attracted to bright lights. He loves to stare at the light-up aquarium in his crib and apparently he also likes to stare at...

...the TV...

Great. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen!

p.s. I don't know why the TV says "crunchy". I'm going to go ahead and say it was a Taco Bell commercial??

Daddy & Jake hanging out

Watching Mommy make her lunch

Jake also got to spend some time with his Grandpa this weekend. I'm not sure how much he'll remember because he was in hysterics most of the time, but hey...everyone's allowed a bad day, right?? He just hopes his Grandpa will still want to visit again :)

Fashion Update

I'm pretty sure I'm going to get a stern lecture from many of you after saying this, but...

I haven't taken that many pictures of Jake this week.

Oopsie...

I don't know what happened! Oh wait, I do. I finally did more than just sit around, take care of him, and clean the house. This is progress, people. But I promise I'll try to do better this weekend.

Seth did take one particularly horrifying picture of me and Jake when we went back to bed after his morning feeding. I was so tired and brought him to bed with me. I feel asleep and when I woke up I noticed the camera was in the bedroom. Great. Seth was less than thrilled I posted that precious picture of the two of them in bed (I'm sorry...it was PRECIOUS!) so he decided to get back at me I guess. But something tells me a picture of an unshowered, glasses wearing, funky hairdo Mary in bed with her baby isn't quite as precious. That is why none of you will ever see it.

In other news...I don't know if you realized it, but Old Navy had a monumental sale going on this past week. All of their outerwear was 50% off!

Which is SO important for those of us Texans, right?

But if you thought the 50% off was good, listen to this! The sale ended yesterday (Thursday) at midnight. BUT, their 30% off Give and Get promotion started yesterday also. So for a limited time, it was possible to get outerwear for...you guessed it...

80% off!!!

You have never seen someone get so worked up over coats. Seeing as I have my 7-8 year old coat and that's it, I pounced on this opportunity. And boy howdy, did I hit JACKPOT. Not only did I get this precious white coat:

I also got a FABULOUS kelly green peacoat for a steal at $20!!! Sorry for the lack of picture but it was so fabulous that it's already sold out online. I knew I had to get this coat because last year I agonized over getting a green pair of flats from Nine West (anything not brown or black is CRAZY scary to me when it comes to shoes) and ended up with a brown pair of flats instead. My friends give me a hard time about it to this day.

So yes, this means I will try to think out of the box when purchasing new shoes with Christmas money (hopefully) this year.

Anyway...I walked out of that store with not one, but TWO coats (again, totally appropriate for Texas) for $50. My friends...the retail value of both coats was $170.

That's a deal if I've ever heard of one.

Oh and don't forget Seth. He got a new coat too. Which is about time because his is from high school.

At least you can't say we don't get good use out of things around here!

Have a great weekend! I promise more pictures of our little boy sooner than later.

Date Night

So...this looks kinda hilarious!

Fashion Emergency

Alright troops, I need your help.

Yesterday I had an overwhelming trip to the mall. I had to make some Jake-related returns (clothes, not the baby, don't worry!!) and by the time we left I was a little frustrated to say the least.

Frustrated with my child? Of course not.

Frustrated with the crowded mall? No...thank goodness I went early and before the holiday madness.

Frustrated with fashion? YES!

As I walked by the different storefronts, I realized that the fashion world has apparently passed me by while I've been pregnant and now raising a child. I'm not exactly sure what happened but I kept saying, "Well I don't have ANYTHING that looks like that!"

I've never been on board with leggings but now I'm almost afraid I have to be! Knee-high boots scare me. We all know about my scarf dilemma. That was a big step for me last year people.

Basically, this is a cry for help. A loud cry. A Jake scream, if you will.

I need all of you to comment and leave me your thoughts on the TOP 5 items I need in my closet for this time of year. They don't have to be winter clothes necessarily, although I am aware I need a new coat. That Chadwick's coat from freshman year of college just shouldn't cut it anymore.

Can you help? Again, TOP 5 staple items I need in my closet.

Ready.

Set.

Go!

One Month Old!

Before we continue, I wanted to include a picture of the Halloween costume that is slightly (ok, a LOT) overdue.


Yes, he was a cow. And yes, he was sick and tired of picture taking at this point. But I did what I could. And this is even representative of how he acted when he wore it on Halloween. Maybe if I'd let him be a Power Ranger like he'd wanted, things would've been a little different.

So anyway. Jake is officially one month old as of this past Sunday.

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO MY LITTLE TEENY TINY BABY BOY!

He looks so much bigger than he did in the "Zero Month" pictures!

I also had Jake weighed today. Are you ready for this?

8 lbs, 4 oz!

So he's a full 2 pounds bigger than when we brought him home. Time flys.

He has started to notice his surroundings a lot more. Last week he was swatting at the toys on his playmat and grabbing onto my shirt and hair. He makes the funniest faces and my favorites are when he opens his eyes and mouth real big like he's saying "WOW!". We also started using the jogging stroller this weekend (it swallows him) and I even got out his Bumbo seat today.

Brace yourself for the following bit of cuteness...



The dogs even seem slightly more interested in him. Like they maaaybe see him as part of the family and not just a nuisance? It's hard to tell. But this morning when I went to get Jake out of his crib, Tucker was already laying in the nursery with his bone, ready to go! They come running when he starts to cry and are good at letting me know when his diaper is dirty. At least my dogs are good for something. :)

We love you, Jake, and can't wait to see what you've learned in another month!

My Middle Name Isn't Fussy...

...but someone elses is!

Jake has pretty much proved that his lungs are in excellent condition! And when this kid gets going, nothing can stop him.

Except food of course.

But to avoid feeding my child round the clock we have taken to other methods of calming him down. Such as the hair dryer. And the vacuum cleaner. Forget driving around in the car...or going on a walk. Whoever heard of a baby that wasn't calmed by the sound of a car or the bumpty bump of a stroller??? In fact, we took Jake and the dogs on a long walk tonight and guess who screamed the entire 1.75 miles?

Not me.

Anyway. He has almost grown out of newborn diapers so we'll probably be moving to size 1 (sniff sniff) by the end of this week. He is also starting to finally fill out his newborn clothes so we have many more fashion options! It's funny that so many of his 0-3 month clothes still look humongous. Unless he hits a huge growth spurt over the next month or so, we might be exchanging some of his 3-6 month clothes for short sleeves! I guess you never know.

And in honor of Jake's one month birthday, we also kicked him to the crib.

I thought that phrase was clever, did you?

He has done fine so far...nothing's really different except now instead of hearing a crying baby next to me in the bassinet, I hear a crying baby through a staticky monitor along with the sound of our Fisher Price aquarium and the babbling brook on the sound machine. Seth & I have decided we might need all these things to go to sleep too by the end of it!

But enough talking. You want pictures. And I will give them to you!

Check out those kicks!

My hair dryer's new home. The second you turn that thing off though...

One of Jake's many funny faces!

Sweet Tucker desperately wants Jake to play with him. He was crying in his carseat before our walk and Tucker went and gave him his toy bone. Maybe next year he'll throw it back!

Another funny fish face

The other morning after I fed Jake, I had Seth watch him while I put our breakfast in the oven. I came back to find this:

Talk about sweet!

Christmas Time is Near???

The realization that Christmas is right around the corner almost makes my blood pressure shoot through the roof. I usually have a healthy start on Christmas shopping by now...or at least have some sort of "Christmas 2009" spreadsheet created with lists of gift ideas, addresses for Christmas cards, and the like.

(That makes me sound a little nerdy. I might as well write The Accountants Guide to Christmas shopping or something...)

So far, so bad.

Remind me to have a child in March or April next time. That way, I'll be sane enough to get through the holidays and then have a solid 6 - 7 months to recover for the following holiday season.

I have done nada. This kinda stresses me out. I am looking forward to this weekend's Holiday Market though! Not that I'll get any decent shopping done. I mostly spend these sort of things perusing the food samples and taste testing different cocoas. Which is perfectly acceptable as well. It just doesn't help my current dilemma.

But it will help our cocoa stock in the pantry!!

Falling Behind

Ohmygoodness.

It is like a full-time job just trying to organize pictures of my baby boy! So I apologize for falling a bit behind. Hopefully this post will make up for my lack of just a little bit...

Jake had a very busy weekend as always! I know you are all dying to see pictures of a Halloween costume. And I just might be the worst mom in the world because I've yet to take a picture of him dressed up! Let's be honest...Jake was in his costume a total of 5 or 6 minutes over the course of the weekend. Seth kept making me take it off because "he doesn't like it, Mary!"

So I'm working on that. I'd really like a family picture. Or something halfway memorable at least. But we still have pictures in Halloween outfits so I figured that might suffice.

Dabney and Susan both came in town to meet their "nephew" and between you and me, I think they were impressed! We had such a fun time catching up - I love these girls so much! They even babysat for us while we took the dogs on a walk on Saturday.

It's babysteps, people.

We went to the Bayles' house for on Saturday night for dinner, some football, trick or treaters, and a fun game of pass the baby. :)
Dabney, Me, Paula (and Noah), Jake, Susan
Dabney took some beautiful pictures of Jake while she was here! Poor thing is only going to recognize his mama with a camera at her face.
Sweet baby boy!
A little unsure of what in the world we were doing to him...

...and maybe a little upset we didn't let him trick or treat?

Jake went to his first Halloween party on Friday night and got to meet a lot of friends. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures...it was too stressful to keep track of a camera and a baby at that point! On Saturday morning, he went to Macie's 2nd birthday party at the park. He joined in all the festivities and especially loved the bounce house!

Maybe I'm kidding...maybe I'm not...

He is already quite popular. Some might think it's too early for birthday parties but I disagree. He's even got another one in 2 weeks! :)

Aunt Dabney & Jake

Have you been wondering about the progress of the candy corn pumpkin? It was quickly emptying itself...I found the culprit!

Thanks Aunt Georgia for my cute outfit!

Yes, Jake has a billion "aunts" and "uncles"! He is one lucky boy!)

We have spent the first part of today trying to recuperate. Jake had a less than stellar night of sleep. Perhaps his worst yet. But most other nights actually haven't been that bad. He goes to bed around 10 or 10:30, wakes up at 3:30 or 4 to eat, and then again at 7:30. He's had some serious gas issues (nobody likes a bad case of gas!) but we're working on it and have discovered that was part of the reason for a not so happy baby. We won't go so far as to call him colicky, however...

Colic is extended frantic crying in an otherwise healthy and well-fed infant. It's thought to affect between 10 and 25 percent of babies under 3 months of age. All infants cry more in the first three months of life than at any other time in their lives, but colic is different. Some doctors define it by the rule of threes: three hours of crying at a time, at least three times a week, for at least three weeks in a row — usually starting between the third and sixth week of life. The "colicky" episodes often come on suddenly in the evening hours. Many babies will cry intensely, unable to be soothed, clenching their fists and drawing up their legs. Every baby is different, but colic usually fades away by around 3 months.

...that kinda describes him to a T!

Oh well. It's amazing the incredible patience you all of a sudden have when you become parents. I just feel bad for him when I know he's hurting! Whatever it is, let's hope it all clears up sooner than later.

We are looking forward to a hopefully quiet and relaxing week and weekend. We are going to take advantage of some much needed family time and just enjoy each other's company! Life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately. I can't seem to think why??

:)