My husband is great!

Since I became a mom, I have never really felt like "ahhhg! I need some alone time!" I have 3 possible reasons:

1. Jay is a good, cute, FUN little boy;

2. I only have ONE baby;

3. Jeff is so good about being around to watch Jay when I want to go running or something.

I think it's all of the above! Jeff has been SOO sweet this week! Yesterday he encouraged me to drive the 20 minutes out to a park so I could run on trails, even though I was gone for nearly 2 hours (trail running makes me feel like I could run forever!) This morning, Jeff changed a poopy diaper. Today was a stake conference at church, and it happened RIGHT during Jay's nap time. Since he hates sleeping in public when there's so much to see, Jeff kindly took care of a very crabby little boy out in the foyer (and in a classroom and who knows where else) so I could sit and enjoy the speakers--Elder Jay E. Jensen of the presidency of the Quorum of the Seventy spoke, and he was awesome! I met up with a slightly stressed, frazzled, but still patient Jeff after the meeting. Five gold stars to Jeff!

Since it goes against my personal philosophy to do a blog post without a picture, here's Jay showing off his ever-improving sweet sitting-up solo skills

1+1= too many

Dogs. All they want is affection and attention. The one thing I can't seem to give. This weekend, Jeff, Jay, and I "dog-sat" for Jeff's parents while they were out of town. In the past, I've stayed at their house for weeks with minimal problems, but that was before they acquired a second dog. Apparently ONE indoor dog produces the maximum amount of allergens that I am capable of handling without serious discomfort, because the by the second day of dealing with doggy duty, I thought my head and sinuses were going to explode from the irritation and stuffiness and itchiness! Jeff recognized that my death was imminent if I inhaled any more dog dander, so he worked out a scheme with his parentals so I could drive home Sunday night (it's only 2 hrs) instead of Monday morning. Jay and I got home last night around 8pm, and after a mere 12 hours here I feel like a new person! Or like I'm back to my "old person..."

This is us with Toby. If you know me, you may be wondering if that's really ME letting my child TOUCH a dog MOUTH. Well, Jay kept reaching for him, so I thought I'd let him check things out...

But that's as far as I let things go! I constructed a "chair-ier" (a barrier made of chairs), so Jay could jump without getting his face eaten off

Jailbird Jay

Toby eventually settled with guard-dog duty

And now, for Jay's latest discovery-- his FEET! He has also recently started crying if someone he doesn't recognize holds him, which means he loves his Mommy and Daddy!

Four fangs in five and a half months!!!!

Biting, Bundling, and Birthday!

What a week! Jay's top 2 teeth poked through, accompanied with much weeping and wailing and drooling and dripping. Jay had his first non-mommymilk dinner: Rice cereal!!! And, I turned 23! Poor Jeff had big plans to give me a surprise birthday breakfast in bed and a surprise dinner date out. Well, Jay got up REALLY early on my birthday, so I had already eaten by the time Jeff got up. Foiled. Jay was taking a MUCH-needed nap when Jeff came home and asked me out to dinner. And, I really really wanted spaghetti. So we ate at home. Being the tricky wifey that I am, I cashed in my postponed birthday dinner date for a movie date. Jeff agreed to take me to see New Moon when it comes out! I'm not a Twilight fanatic or anything, but I do enjoy them...

This is the best I could do to get a picture of Jay's 2 new teeth-- he's still in pain, so he hates it when I touch his mouth!

When all else fails, a walk in the brisk fall air calms our little teether down. It cracks me up every time Jeff zips Jay in the baby carrier in his coat. It looks like Jeff has 2 heads and a pregnant belly! Why get a baby coat when Daddy has room for two?

I am officially 23 years old! I made my favorite chocolate cheesecake, and since we didn't want to mangle the top with candles, Jeff put 2 candles in one row, and 3 in the other (2+3 now=23). The cheesecake turned out rather well-- it was slightly pudding-esque, but still smooth, cool, and chocolatey. Jay really really seemed to want some cheesecake, but all he got was bland ole rice goop:

We first gave Jay a little rice cereal on Monday night, but that video was far too long to post, so I took a little quickie for your viewing pleasure. As you can see, Jay doesn't exactly spit OUT the rice goop, but he doesn't seem to enjoy it too much either! He dutifully eats his little teaspoon sized serving, and then gets down to business with the real stuff: MILK!

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkins, candles, candy, costumes! We had a quiet Halloween because NO trick-or-treaters knocked on our door! I was bummed because this is the first Halloween that we've actually lived in a place that is accessible to trick or treaters! Not to mention now we have 3 1/2 pounds of bubble gum, caramels, and Jolly Ranchers. [Assorted bulk candy was 98 cents a pound at Winco, so it's not like we spent a fortune, but I don't want to eat it!] We watched "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!" and Disney's 1958 cartoon of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" on YouTube to get in the Halloweeny spirit. Of course, there were pumpkins too...

I got a "mini-kin" for Jay and actually managed to carve it! It's supposed to have 2 bottom teeth like Jay, but it's hard to see 'em. That tiny carving saw really helped--I've never used one before.

Two pumpkin heads--Jay's Aunt Steph gave him that cute hat!

Our pumpkins all aglow (mine is the happy one, Jeff's is the grrr one). To get a tea light into the tiny pumpkin, I had to carve out a hole in the bottom and set the pumpkin on top of the candle. That little candle TOASTED the whole pumpkin, and almost burned through the top! (we didn't light it after the first night...)

Our little Farm Boy/Cowboy holding the charred remains of his pumpkin and guarding the candy

Our big pumpkins were heavier than Jay!!

Is he contemplating the candy or is he completely covered in that hat?

Giggling little guy

I don't know what it is about little boys and puppies, but Jay started liking this little beanbag puppy the best of all his toys recently. Maybe because it soaks up his slobber the best? Well, this morning he woke up as cheerful as can be around 5am. He ate and then wanted to play for 2 hours. Now it's 7am and he just fell asleep on the floor. If only it was that easy for ME to slip in and out of slumber...

A Good One

I have a great husband!! Jay was being a teeth-growing grump one night last week, and it's always harder to bear wailing when you're tired. I was tired and stressed and sad that Jay had been too high maintenance for me to make cookies. I reallllllyyy wanted cookies for some reason. Dear Jeff came home from class, strapped Jay in the carrier, and made me cookies!!! They were PERFECT.

"Why won't Daddy share some cookie dough with me??" (notice how the flash glared on Jay's drooly chin)

Helping

Jay is learning how to sit up!!! He can sit up alone for a minute or two (sometimes longer)...

...and then he wobbles and tips over.

Jay is also finally figuring out the johnny jump up!!

Baggy clothes are ok, but...

This morning I put Jay in his first size 3 diaper, and after a certain amount of leakage, I have concluded that baggy clothes are ok, but baggy diapers are not. Must switch down a size. (He had Costco brand diapers which are called size 1-2, so when those got too small, I naturally thought he should be a size 3... but NEGATIVE). Those big diapers sure do look funny, though!!!

"It's eating me up!"

Who can resist those dimples?? I think I may kiss his cheeks a thousand times a day!

Cute all over! (in the background that's a picture of Jay's favorite missionary-- Uncle Brad! Jay loves looking at it and trying to take it off the wall)

MUNCHkin

Jay had his 4 month check-up a week ago, and here's the result: he's healthy, the doctor said he had impressive neck and leg strength (he loves standing up), 2 more shots (booohoooooo-- I had to hold him down!! cruel torture for mother AND child!), and he weighs 15 lbs 3 oz (30th percentile) and is 25 3/4 inches tall (54th percentile). What a nice NORMAL baby!!! This may have been the first time he didn't pee on his doctor!! We just got him his first box of size 3 diapers, and he is wearing clothes from size 3 months all the way up to 12 months now!! My baby is growing up! *snifff* But he's SO much FUN--it seems like he does something new every day! Here's photographic evidence of what our Sweet Baby Jay has been up to... (sounds like a good BBQ sauce, huh?)

Sometimes when I make dinner, I put Jay in the clip-on high chair. It still kind of swallows him up, but he likes watching me dash around the kitchen, frantically mixing, pouring, and whipping like the absentminded cook I am. Well, when I looked over the other day, Jay was gnawing on the edge of the counter with his two sharp bottom teeth. It cracked me up!! (don't worry--I put a towel under his mouth for protection after this picture)

Jay is definitely a little MUNCHER now-- he grabs whatever we hold in front of him and puts it straight into his mouth. Sometimes he skips the "grabbing" step and just lunges with his mouth like a dog! It makes me laugh. This little guy also started reaching for my glass of water when I drink while he's on my lap. So, I shared with him the other day, and, after he spluttered and gasped, he thought it was the best thing ever and reached for more!!

Last weekend, it got really really cold and rainy here, so I thought we had skipped the nice fall weather and jumped straight into winter. Jay's only hats were his newborn sized ones, which are like trying to put a balloon on a watermelon now, since his head has grown nearly 4 inches in circumference since birth. SO, in the spirit of recycling, thrifty-ness, cleverness, and craftiness, I pieced together scraps of fleece from Jeff's t-shirt quilt and made him a hat! (And right when I finished it, the sun came out and it's been in the high 60s ever since...)

We Love VISITS!

Last weekend, Jay and I went on a little trip to Seattle to visit my family! (Jeff had school) It was so fun to just hang out with Mom, Dad, Mel, and Kyle! We had lots of tasty homemade dinners, courtesy of Mother Dear, we watched General Conference, went to Costco, went to Mel's basketball game, played Pick Two (Jay and I won 3 times out of 5!), we had take out Thai food (mmmm), and rented the Hannah Montana movie (way better than I thought it would be, but still cheesy). Jay just soaked up all the extra love and attention. He really loved it when my Mom did a funny voice and said "Babyyyyy!" -- he even smiled when she did it on the phone yesterday!

Jay did pretty well on the 4 1/2 hour drive until we were in that barren stretch between Yakima and Ellensburg (NO exits in sight). Then, he decided it was lunch time. So, I took the first exit I could find... a "View Point." What is this a view of?

Jay wasn't pulling his weight back there asleep, so I made him do some driving...

I must admit, I was looking forward to some nice rain, since it has only rained in Walla Walla once since Jay was born. Well, it rained for like an hour all the time I was in Seattle--- the rest of the time it was gorgeous and blue and fluffy out there. I was glad anyways, though, because I got to enjoy the lovely green trails!

We went to Mel's basketball game, and it was Jay's first ever!

He wasn't too excited about all of that cheering and those screeching whistles! He made this same face when the primary kids were belting out "How Firm a Foundation" at church yesterday--too loud!

Go Mel GO! She's gooooood

Mel trudged though mountains of homework and then played with Jay as much as possible. What a good auntie!

yummy baby ribs!

Welcome, Donut Month!!!

It has finally cooled off here!! Once October hit, the temperature dropped from the mid 80s to the mid 40s. BURR! We have a little bakery next door, and it always smells like fresh bread and donuts in the mornings. So, in honor of donut month, we walked over and sampled their donuts. Maybe they would have been better if we had gotten there at 6 am when they're really really fresh... Now I'm hunting for some Krispy Kremes...

Commemorating the first donut of the season... I think Jay wants a bite!

Saturday morning, while Jeff was volunteering at a cross country meet, I bundled Jay up and we went for a run. Wow, that first COLD run of the season is always a shock. I was paranoid about Jay getting too cold, so I think I mummified him in fleece and fur...

I put a sweatshirt and a hat on him, and then zipped him up in Jeff's fleece jacket...

Last, but not least, I tucked in this fuzzy thick blanket. The whole run I was scared he was freezing to death, but when I took him out of the stroller, his little body was SUPER warm! (all but that red little nose...)

Happy Little Helper

When you have to trek across the parking lot to do laundry, you have to be creative...

Don't worry, this is clean laundry!

Lounging in the laundry never looked so fun!

Waking up from one of his short naps

little charmer

Little zombie in the giant underwear

Jay tried out a Johnny Jump Up for the first time this week, and I couldn't help thinking that it looks like giant underwear swallowing him whole! He's a tad too short for the "underwear," so his arms stick straight out. It cracks me up! He hasn't figured out that he can jump in it yet, so mostly he just hangs out and drools a lot...

"I love church!" ...this really means "I love the hallways at church!"

I love my little Joseph ARGYLE White!