life with baby

Indian Summer

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This week, at the very end of October, we had 70 degree weather. It was beautiful! I’m just sorry I missed seeing Jameson play outside all week, since I was away at a conference in Chicago. At the least, I got to enjoy similar nice weather there.

Last weekend, it was typical fall weather. I decided to take advantage of the empty lots around our house with their wonderful changing leaves before they were all gone. I’m pretty excited with how the photos turned out, and you’ll never believe that I’m holding Jameson’s hands in the close up pictures to get him to stay still. He thought it was all a hilarious game, which made for some awesome — though hard to get in focus — photos.

Jameson was running with one hand in his pocket naturally. He had a rock he picked up that he put in there. Also, his jacket is a little too short for him now from this spring, but the thickness and width of it are perfectly appropriate for fall, so we continue to use it.

That’s my little boy!

We also enjoyed pumpkin carving last weekend, though Jameson wasn’t sure about it. We decided to do it on the floor, so he had good visibility to what was going on.

We tried over and over to get him to reach his hands in the pumpkin, but he played hard to get and barely reached in. He would try to get at one seed instead of a fistful like mom. He wasn’t sure about the texture and temperature of the pumpkin seeds.

First I drew the face on the pumpkin (which I messed up the tooth, but Jameson didn’t care). Then Brian did the carving honors and we removed all the seeds and created the lid. Finally Brian did the face while we watched.

Jameson did like putting the lid back on the pumpkin!

When the pumpkin was finished and light shone through, Jameson was less intimidated; and when he dropped a sticker in it, he happily fished after it, reaching all the way in.

Neither Brian or I love pumpkin seeds, but I did save a few to bake for tradition. I tried a new recipe which I am pretty happy with. You bake the seeds as normal with a little salt, and then you caramelize them with sugar and oil in a skillet. Once the sticky sugar coats the baked seeds, you toss them in spices as you choose!

A lovely fall weekend, with more to come this weekend as indian summer leaves us today and probably for the final time. I am looking forward to seeing Jameson in his costume, going to Boo at the Zoo, and being back at home after a long week away.

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life with baby

Orchard Visit

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This year, since Jameson has been so excited about pumpkins, I wanted to take him to a real pumpkin patch to do a “pick your own” experience. We had the opportunity to see Hollie and her three girls again this year because they have a patch near by! There are plenty a lot closer to us, but Jameson loves the girls and we thought it would be a great experience for him. He had a blast!

We went to Burnham Orchards on a crisp but not cold fall day. The ride up there, Jameson shouted “whoa tuck” every time we passed a truck on the highway!

We put Jameson in the cart for pumpkins and wheeled him out to the long rows of pumpkins. When we took him out, he immediately ran around to all the pumpkins without rhyme or reason. It was hard to get a shot of this active toddler!

They had cut back the plants, but that was okay. I enjoyed the space and less crowds in comparison to Patterson’s, which we went to last year.

Jameson did try and pick up quite a few pumpkins, exclaiming “heavy”. He was only able to pick up one pumpkin that Natalie found for him. The rest were too big for him to lift!

We did see lots of starter pumpkins or “baby pumpkins” as we told Jameson.

We came home with two in his jacket pockets. It’s what he was looking at when we tried to get a family photo unsuccessfully.

When we were all done, we tossed him back in the cart with the pumpkins, which he loved.

There were lots of activities for kids, but many were for kids older than Jameson. While the girls got their faces painted, we tossed Jameson in some straw. He wasn’t sure at first, but he quickly asked to get in again after the first round.

We went inside the market for apples and to pay, and they had some small apples for free that we gave to Jameson. I thought for sure he would give it back, not realizing how to eat the whole apple or licking the skin alone, but he knew exactly what to do with it!

He enjoyed the fresh apple a lot. We all piled back in the cars then to head out to Vermillion to the Soda Pop Grill, a cute small-town restaurant in the style of old soda fountain shops. It took us a while to get our food, but even well past he nap time, Jameson was entertaining the girls and vise versa with giggles and noises.

We all enjoyed a home style lunch before heading to the candy and candle stores, before finally heading home. Jameson (and I) crashed on the way home.

We dropped Jameson off at grandma and grandpa’s for the rest of the afternoon and overnight for our date night then! Brian and I went to see a movie, dinner appetizers, and home to enjoy a restful evening.

The following day, we worked hard on his room and consolidating the office and craft spaces. Brian even got to brew beer in between building and painting Jameson’s nightstand before Jameson came home from a very enjoyable, fun-filled weekend!

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life with baby

Rainy Day at the Zoo

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Last weekend, we went on our annual zoo visit with Hollie, her husband and their three girls. Actually, scratch that, we didn’t make it out last year, so maybe almost-annual is more appropriate.

On Friday, we opted to change our plans from Saturday to Sunday in order to avoid the rain (ha ha ha). It barely rained Saturday, but most of Sunday morning it rained. When we arrived, we saw the elephants and lions and then turned around to do the indoor rainforest.

Jameson always likes the rainforest because we let him walk around. Also, his stroller was pretty wet. After the rainforest, it was still raining, so we went to the Winking Lizard for lunch about 15 minutes away. By the time we were finished eating, it was clearing up a bit.

It was around 2, and Jameson skipped his nap like a champ. It probably helped that Brian gave him full, un-watered-down Fruit Punch. Jameson spent lunch being silly, laughing and tapping my arm over and over. He was adorable on what must have been his very first sugar high.

We went back to the zoo, and Jameson loved walking around with the girls, particularly the oldest who read him stories in the car on the way back to the zoo, and he spent a lot of time out of his stroller rather than in wherever possible, until he seemed to get tired. And even then he was asking for more animals!

Since it was nice and cool out, we saw a lot of active animals. We saw the bears tussling each other for food, and the wolves which are usually sight unseen were all roaming their habitat. The beaver swam right by Jameson!

We usually don’t opt for this splurge activity, but we did pay for nectar to feed the birds. We didn’t let Jameson try this time, maybe next!

One of the birds even hopped right on to Hollie’s hand!

Our last and my favorite stop was by the kangaroos. None of them were out, but we went to the kangaroo hop spot where the length of a kangaroo’s leap is represented on the soft, spongy ground. Perfect for jumping! The girls all jumped and Jameson wanted to join in.

Poor kid can’t really jump yet. He doesn’t get both feet of the ground, but he sure did try.

We ended at the gift shop (of course), where Jameson finally had his meltdown. He didn’t understand that it was a store and not for touching or playing with everything. I did pick up a little beanie tiger for him with big wide eyes. He seemed to like the little wide eyed stuffed animals which we also saw at the rainforest, gathering two or three at a time in his arms like he was going to cart them all off.

However, in his upset, he didn’t appreciate the little tiger until we got home. We left just as it began to rain again, and Jameson yelled all the way home. Not crying, just yelling his head off for fun it seemed. He did great for missing his nap and being out all day! We had a blast, and it was great to see our friends again.

Now he likes to get ready to sleep and read in mom or dad’s lap with his new little tiger, his big blanket (since we discontinued the blanket bag), his little lovey blanket, and his little bear all surrounding him.

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life with baby, preparing for baby

Sprinkler Squeals

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Last weekend, we went to the farmers market. I was fussy (me, not Jameson), so after the farmers market, I’m sure they were both happy enough to be rid of me when I went to my scheduled facial appointment. I had purchased a groupon a long time ago, went, and then had the opportunity to buy another certificate at the same price. Anyway, long story long, it was expired but they told me they would honor it when I went to my haircut last so I wanted to make sure I used it.

The facial was nice, and then I made dinner. (I. made. dinner.) I had two girlfriends over from work, and their kids. Lauren, with her twins girls, and Katie, with her two girls. I made spaghetti and meatballs, everyone was quiet and happy, and Brian was thrilled that he got to start brewing his October pumpkin beer early. I didn’t take any photos.

So Saturday started out cranky, but ended on a nice note. The weekend got better from there: Sunday, we even went to church. Not our church, but another, by the pastor who married us. Jameson enjoyed played with his friend Abigail again, which was better than our last traumatic church visits where he cried himself to sleep in the nursery. We went out for Mexican food after, where Jameson refused to try a quesadilla, so that we will certainly have to try again!

In the afternoon, in a good and motivated mood, I broke out the camera again finally, and I captured this face:

I look at it, and I can hear him squealing. Brian is spraying water at his feet from the hose.

We broke out a sprinkler again, which Jameson is still not as fond of, but he got closer to it!

Lily joined us, but she didn’t want to get too close to the sprinkler either. She kept asking us to put the balls in it for her so she could watch them fly out.

We filled up the neighbor’s pool then for them to splash in. Jameson loves to hold the hose. He can mostly be trusted to hold it over the pool when he doesn’t get distracted.

Yes, those are lawn chairs in the pool. The kids had a blast, and I enjoyed watching, and taking some photos. That face reminded me why I do it.

Here’s hoping we’re turning the first trimester corner into less exhaustion, less sickness, more fun. Last night I went to bed at 7:30, and while it was wonderful to get that much sleep, I’m ready to have my evenings back.

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life with baby

Vivienne Turns The Big One

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Saturday was Miss Vivienne’s 1st birthday party! It was unseasonably cool (in the 60’s) and neither Brian nor I knew that it was going to be held outside. So, when we arrived and discovered how chilly it was outside, Brian headed home for some jackets for Jameson and I.

In the meantime, food arrived, and I imagined my terror toddler squirming out of my grasp and/or grabbing at the food to dump it all over me. I was grateful that JP & Lisa were there with Jonathan so that if necessary I could have an adult helper!

However, Jameson was in rare form, and sat still in my left arm while I also held the plate of food right next to him and which I ladled onto with my free hand. I was impressed with myself, for sure.

He then sat like a little angel on my lap on the picnic table, eating off the plate politely with me. Pizza, blueberries, a little pasta. I also enjoyed the meatballs and chips and cheese dip, which Jameson tried at our second helping and enjoyed as well despite a little spice.

Finally, Brian returned with our jackets, and while he ate, we took the kids off to play with the toys they had around!

It was breezy, so it was easy for Jameson to “blow bubbles” by simply holding up the wand at the right angle. He was so excited. He loved playing with the bubbles.

The breeze didn’t stop him from trying to blow the bubbles out himself though:

He didn’t try to dump out the bubble solution either. We were pretty impressed with his maturity; we’ve considering picking a big bubble wand up from the dollar store. It was a long time of entertainment, and would’ve been longer, except that we had to share.

Before Vivienne opened her gifts, we took a break and went down to the nearby playground, which Jameson also loved. It was a perfect location for a birthday party!

After break time, we headed back up for a diaper change and gift opening. I went with my practical-but-still-seems-frivously-awesome StrideRite gift card for shoes for the soon-to-be-walker, and then I also found this gem: Wooden Shape Sorting Clock. It says 3 and up, but the pieces didn’t seem too small for a 1 year old as long as that one year old isn’t insistent about stuffing their face with wood.

Anyway, it seemed like a great grow-with-me toy, and our lucky day, this lucky lady likes to sort shapes like crazy so I’m sure she’ll enjoy it.

Jameson was a champ, but since he had an interrupted nap in order to arrive in time for the party, he was starting to get a little antsy. He said goodbye to Vivienne’s mom Lisa, and gave high fives all around. He’s always adorably shy around Vivienne which makes me laugh.

It was a great time, despite the cool weather (which I argue is better than 100 degree weather any day!). The location was ideal, and makes me wish Jameson’s birthday was in warmer weather. Oh well… we’ll just have to find other excuses to party in the summer!

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life with baby

Happy Happenstance

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Sunday appeared like it was going to be very nice: so nice, that Brian and I talked about going to the zoo almost as soon as we were up in the morning.

In a moment that will probably not occur again for a long time, the neighbors happened to be thinking the same thing, texted us, and about an hour later, we were all on our way to the zoo!

First stops were in the ‘down under’ Australia exhibits and the petting zoo. Jameson didn’t pet the sheep, because it was a little gross, and also, the fair is WAY more fun for animal petting.

(Fair time is so close, I can almost taste it!)

Then we walked up the big hill (the boys pushed the strollers, and I lagged behind with a very pregnant neighbor – as in, three days later she had-a-baby-pregnant).

As usual, we let Jameson out of the stroller to walk around the aquarium and enclosed exhibits. He loves this part!

And then we did the big loop around to the bears and giraffes.

At the end were wild ponies, and I tried to get Jameson to make his new “nnnnnnnayyy” sound, but no such luck. Since then, he has also learned “cluck cluck” for chickens, so all that’s left to prepare for the fair is “oink oink” for piggies!

That’s my champion animal noise maker.

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life with baby

Sunflower Summer

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This weekend, Brian was off to Vegas for a bachelor party. While he was off hiking and seeing views like this:

I was enjoying this:

It was so hectic though getting Jameson ready this time. Brian left Thursday, and I didn’t leave until Friday at 11:30, so I packed without his help and managed to forget several key items:

  • Utensils and plates for Jameson
  • MY CAMERA
  • Shorts, for myself
  • MY. CAMERA.

So, these photos are taken with my mom’s camera, which I left on auto no flash, and with my new eyes, seems absolutely horrible. But okay. Moving on.

Yes, Jameson is in Batman pajamas. I call them in lounge wear, and he rode in the car in them because I thought it might be more comfortable. Plus, he’s adorable.

We were excited that my brother and sister were both home for the weekend (my sister home for the summer from college, and my brother visiting from Florida).

My parents put up a larger swing set in the backyard to accommodate a baby swing which he just ADORED. Unlike when we put him in the baby swing that was attached to our family swing frame, this was a full on 9 or 10 footer.

When I would pull him forward for a big swing, he would yell “WHOA” again and again.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pORvDfRAqjk]

He also enjoyed the fresh strawberries in the patch that seems to just explode every year now his grandparents’ garden. After trying them, whenever we went outside, he’d walk straight to the patch and try to find more, or to go to the swings.

Surprise sunflowers popped up in the garden from the birdseed grandpa puts out, and while Jameson seemed more interested in the low-lying marigolds to pick, he did take notice of them.

Our time indoors was a little harder: Jameson was fine outside, but inside, he wanted to stay near me and played hard-to-get with his grandparents and Aunt Holly and Uncle Tyler. He did, however, say “Meemaw,” repeating after me when I said that was who grandma was; and, he said grandpa for the first time (though not to his face).

After grandpa left Sunday morning, Jameson grabbed his stylus, saying “mommy” (because I have one as well), and I said, “No, that’s grandpa’s” and he said it, though I guarantee I wouldn’t know that is what he was saying if it hadn’t been in context!

All grandma wanted to do was read to him, but boy was this a struggle! He did finally sit for a few books. I’m sure he’ll grow out of it eventually, and we’ll do some more facetime with grandma and grandpa so that he can stay familiar with their voice and faces. It’s hard being away from family!

Naps and sleeping was also hard: I resorted to yelling at him to lay down, and he flattened himself in the crib like he was terrified of me. I felt bad, but it worked. He fell asleep in that flattened out position within 10 minutes of me yelling at him. I didn’t know how else to get him to stop throwing his animals out of the crib (without them, sleep wouldn’t have happened at all).

Twice we went to the playground with Jameson. Early Sunday morning, it was cool enough to spend some time there and we visited 3 playgrounds in the park near my parents’ house. They had one huge toddler area, and I loved seeing Jameson walk up the steps himself with the help of the rail.

Jameson had no fear of the slides, but he turned around on his belly a lot, which made me laugh.

He enjoyed the teeter totter with Uncle Tyler, holding on well (with grandma just out of the camera lens!)

For lunch on Sunday of course we had the traditional spaghetti meal, and Jameson ate 2-1/2 meatballs, which was completely shocking. He ate really well at grandma’s!

And then it was time to leave; Jameson was exhausted, so he slept for 2 of the 3-1/2 hour drive. I occupied him with food, which he threw all over the car, and books, which he really enjoyed so I am saving that for my bag of tricks for the next long drive!

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life with baby

Hot

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We all know its hot across most of the US, and many days this month, we go home and Jameson wants to play outside but we can’t let him for more than 10 minutes or so. Even in the evening sun, the over 90 degree, high humidity weather quickly leaves us both drained, plus we have to put on sunscreen which means that every night would be bath night.

However, last week there was a relatively cooler day and we were excited to spend some time outside! Dad was off doing man things (I can’t recall what, but it must have been manly, right?), so it was just Jameson and I.

I took Jameson on a walk in the evening in his new umbrella stroller, and then we played with some of his ride on toys, and his lawn mower.

Just a boy and his bike…

And his car… Jameson already seems to have the hand over hand motion to turn the wheel. Soon we’ll be removing the platform at the bottom so he can drive it himself!

(Also, he is clearly wondering here why I am taking so many photos!)

Just when I think that’s he’s getting too big, he does something cute like lay down across my legs, relaxing and playing with his bubbles.

I treasure those short moments when he slows down for a bit to relax with me, my wild and crazy little man.

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general life

Muir Woods, Day 3

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We weren’t originally planning to visit Muir Woods because I had heard it was very touristy and crowded. However, Brian convinced me we could make it there early in the day and still hit Napa Valley by our appointment at 2, so we changed plans and decided to go.

I’m so glad we did!

But first, we had to cross the Golden Gate Bridge! I took these shots from our moving car, can you believe it?

We did pick up a rental car that morning, which wasn’t too exciting, but did it’s job well. It was a comfortable enough ride, though I was very unhappy with the cleanliness of the windshield. Most of my good shots were out the passenger side window; the windshield straight on was covered in soap spots, in and out, even after we rubbed it down with towels.

I felt like I should say something meaningful as we crossed and left San Francisco behind, like “straight on til morning”. The way ahead was beautiful; it was a perfect mist-free day with bright blue sky and fluffy white clouds. I was surprised at the hills — covered in some sort of brown hay interspersed with green trees.

The way was pretty intense as we got into the hills; the road twisted around more than Lombard Street, and I got mildly nauseous. It may have just been Brian’s driving though. (just kidding)

We arrived at Muir Woods shortly after 9 in the morning. We enjoyed the early morning light among the trees which were, in short (or tall, heh heh), amazing.

It was difficult to capture their size on my camera. I tried though! A lot.

Muir Woods is filled with old-growth coastal redwoods. These are different than the Giant Sequoias, which are known for their girth rather than their height! (Think of the trees that you can drive through; those are sequoias) However, they are of the same family. Coastal redwoods can grow up 365 feet tall.

I could understand why Muir Woods is so popular; the trail was easy for any age. There was a trail back around which was a little tougher and not appropriate for strollers, but there was a good path on the way in which you could return by.

I was happy that we had arrived so early so we could enjoy the woods without too many other people.

Well, but I’m always happy when there are enough people to ask one to take your photo together. Someone who could even use my camera!

The ground was carpeted in large clover, moss and ferns, and even though the sky was clearer than we had seen in days, there was a heavier humidity to the air in the woods. It seemed to retain a lot of moisture from overnight; every once in a while, the wind would blow droplets of water off the trees.

On our way out, we saw an owl perched in a tree, just watching us watch it.

And then we were on our way again! Twisting our way out of the hills and to our next stop, a brewery for lunch.

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general life

Alcatraz Island, Day 2

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Have any of you watched the new series, The Great Escape on TNT? I confess I haven’t, but I’ve seen so many commercials for it while watching Falling Skies that I feel like I have.

Anyway, the first episodes are set at Alcatraz, which I thought was ironic since we were just there. Surprisingly, no one mentioned the show while we were there just a week or so prior to the premier.

It was really appropriate I think that our visit to Alcatraz was gray and misty. It added an air of heavy history to our visit.

The seagulls followed us there. Or maybe we followed the seagulls there. As it turns out, it’s nesting season for the birds, and there were plenty of the seagulls (and two other bird species) with their chicks on the island.

We were the first tour group to arrive to the island, so after an introduction from a book author and former resident of the island, we headed up to the cell block to try and beat the crowds.

There are 4 cell blocks; Cell Block A, pictured above, was not secure enough for prisoners, and was actually used for storage and supplies. Cell Block D had a few more nicely furnished cells, and then the solitary confinement cells.

Some cells were “faux furnished” with “people”; some were set up as if for new inmates, and a few cells were even open.

I also got a shot of myself doing this same pose. Yes.

There is a self-guided audio tour, which Brian and I didn’t listen much to. Neither of us had much patience for the slow speaking on the tour, but I have since read up a little more about the island.

On the other hand, by escaping from the rest of the groups, we had an opportunity to get this lonely shot of the recreation yard without a soul in it:

Alcatraz has a lot of history behind it: It served as a prison, then occupied by Indians, then abandoned for years. There were escape attempts and political drama; everything you need for plenty of good stories.

But some of my favorite parts of the island was the gardens contrasted by the old structures:

By the time we left the island, the mist had begun to lift, leaving great views of the city and back toward the island.

While I wasn’t originally planning to enjoy Alcatraz as much as I did, I walked away feeling like we both had an opportunity to see something interesting to each of us. For Brian, the prison and its history was fascinating. For myself, I loved the birds, gardens, and old run down buildings.

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