Beach Bums

Steve, Jake and I had such a FUN day yesterday!! We had a low-key morning, went out to lunch, and then went to the BEACH, and then went to one of Steve's old mission buddies' wedding reception in Irvine. We were going to go to Huntington Beach, you know the beach that's on all the TV screens in Hollister?? Yeah, that one :) BUT, more than half an hour had passed of us driving through the nonstop stop-and-go traffic trying to find a parking spot on a super busy Saturday afternoon, and we still weren't finding anything, so we ended up driving just south of Huntington Beach to Newport Beach, which was still nice, but not as crowded. Well, we had a BLAST!!! I wish every day could be like yesterday, it was so great to spend the whole day together and relax on the beach and take naps to the sound of the ocean. We didn't want to leave! And, needless to say, I think Jake had the most fun out of all of us. It was hilarious watching him discover sand for the first time, and dipping his little feet in the ocean for the first time. He was a little hesitant about the sand at first, he wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but after about 15 minutes of playing around with it, he was trying to eat it by the fist-full!! By the end of the day, he had sand stuck in every nook and cranny (which we were expecting), and his diaper resembled a sand box. But it was SOO fun. I don't even care that I'll probably be cleaning sand out of his ears and nose for the next week! Steve and I talked about how it's going to be fun to live vicariously through our kids for the next who knows how many years, because even going to the beach is so much better and so much more entertaining when you can watch your child discover new things and when you can point out things that you haven't given a second thought about since you were a kid. I can't imagine how fun Disneyland will be in a couple years! Anyway, it was just a good day, and I'm so blessed and grateful to have been able to spend it with my two boys :)

The first fist-full of sand, with a look of, "What am I supposed to do with this?"

Getting more warmed up to it...

I love him!!
This was his face for most of the time we were there, he just ate it up.

He LOVES apples, and apple juice

Mommy kisses, hehe

The best Dad in the world!!!

HAHA, we buried Jake in the sand, he didn't like it for too long :)

So this was his face near the end of the day, it just got caked with more and more sand and it was so hard to keep it off! So we just kinda gave up toward the end, ha.

Mommy and Jake in the ocean, well our feet were, anyway!

I thought this was a cute picture of him just chillin on the beach, it seemed like he was just in his element the whole time we were there.

This was at Steve's friend's reception, I was stealing a dance with Jakers!

Steve with the groom: James Hartley. He was a cool guy!

Steve with another mission buddy, Paul Foltz, that he didn't know was going to be there! It was pretty funny when they ran into each other, they were like, "DUUUDE, no WAY!!!" Haha, you can imagine Steve saying that, can't you?? :)

Here are some videos of our fun in the sun!! (Sorry for the loud wind!) In the first one, Jake kept lifting up his feet and digging them in the sand, it was really cute. In the second one, Steve was piling sand in front of him and Jake kept doing face plants into the piles, and trying to eat it, he's nutso :)

I Love Craigslist!!!

I FINALLY got Jake an Exersaucer and a Doorway Jumper a few weeks ago, and he really likes both of them, thank goodness! I think he has more fun with the jumper because he likes to spin himself around when he's not jumping and just "hang out," haha. I found both things on Craigslist, which is my new FAVORITE place to get toys and stuff. And just yesterday I found Jake some toys on Craigslist for when he gets a little older, along with an umbrella stroller, and a shopping cart cover (he's always touching everything and then putting his hands in his mouth, and now that he's sitting up I think he would have more fun sitting in the cart instead of being in the carseat, and I want to avoid him getting sick all the time if he's going to be a "mouther" in the cart!), all for only $45.00!!! I'm never paying full price for anything ever again!!

The yellow rubber stick thing is his favorite! His new thing the past week has been to bang it against the rolly thing right next to it. (Aparently, if you just add the word "thing" after any word, people automatically know what you're talking about!)

So determined!!

Got it!

The Jumper!

I was interrupting his concentration, haha.

These are the toys! When I got home with them, Steve and I had tons of fun playing with them, so I'm SURE Jake will just have a ball when he gets older. The one on the left is a Little People parking garage/car wash thing, and the one on the right is my favorite. It's an Alphabet Train learning center, and the lady that I got it from said her kids played with this ALL the time, and it really helps them to learn letters, colors, and numbers. The squares on the train tracks are the letters with a picture (like B is for Ball), and when you roll the train around on the tracks it says the letters, you can also push on them individually. There are songs it plays and the clock says the time and the numbers, and to the left of the clock, there's a spot to press down different animal figurines (it comes with every kind of animal you can think of!) and it says the name of the animal and different characteristics of each one, like the color, and if it has spots, what sound it makes, etc. The colored log-looking-things are like a keyboard, it plays different notes, and each one also says what color it is, and it says what shape is stickered to it. It's AWESOME!!! And it was only $10.00!! I can't wait for Jake to be able to play with this stuff!! (Sorry for the long-winded explanation, it's just so COOL!!)

He loves his Exersaucer!!

Giggles and Stuff

So, we have gotten a lot of cute videos of Jake in the past couple months, and we just HAVE to share some of them! I hope you don't get all videoed out!!

This is when Jake and I were visiting my family in Seattle a couple months ago, and after he had woken up from a nap, we went in and this is what we found! Poor Pack n Play... it was attacked by a lizard!

Here is Jake's first taste of Rice Cereal. He still doesn't like it very much, I think he just tolerates it. That's ok though, because I'm going to start feeding him other foods soon! Hopefully he doesn't gag on other stuff like he does with the cereal. He will, though, if he likes peas as much as his Dad does!

HA! Jake still has fun with this "game" of blowing in his face. He gets a kick out of it. And yes, the cat noise you hear is him, it seems to be his new noise he makes when he's having a good time. Cute!!

Steve always knows how to make Jake laugh, Jake just LOVES him and has so much fun with him. Usually he doesn't laugh as much with me, I guess I'm just not as funny looking, hehe. Just kidding!!!! :)

This is when Jake got his teeth in, about a month and a half ago. He was drooling up a STORM, as you can see :) He spent a lot of time only in his diaper for a few days, because he would seriously soak them in just a few minutes. It's a good thing we live in California where it's warm enough to do that!

Once again, more laughs a giggles for Steve! This was the first time we figured out that this was funny to Jake, which a lot of times he thinks totally random things are funny. Silly boy!

Some Recent Pictures of Our Little Monkey

I have two teeth now, so I even like to chew on dusty chair legs!

I like my girlfriends, Analyn and Candice! I'm such a ladies' man.
Just chillin with Mom

I'm a cool California dude in my shades and sunhat.
(Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to rotate it!)

I'm getting strong!
This is my absolute favorite bath toy. It's a caterpillar, and I literally shake with excitement when I see it.

Snoozin in Mom and Dad's bed
Dad flies me around like this, and I LOVE it! I have so much fun with my Daddy.

Don't you just want to eat me up?? :)

Mmmm, my toes taste good!

I know I'm cute!

Yes I know, I'm a stinky drool face.

Mom makes me eat rice cereal and I HATE it!! It literally makes me gag!!

Who.. me??

Our Little Boy is Growing Up!!

Wow, Jake is 5 months old... I seriously don't know where the time has gone! It's cliche to say that, but it's so true! He has changed so much since that day we first met in the hospital, and I know that'll be the story of our lives. He has turned our lives completely upside down, but we wouldn't have it any other way. This is going to be an Ode to Jake, and it'll be a chance for those of you who don't get to spend a lot of time with him, to know him a little bit. Because he is just too awesome to not know!!!

Ok, so for those of you who DO know even a little bit about Jake, you know that he is a VERY independent and persistent little person. I'm sure I'll appreciate that more later on in his life, haha. I've said from about Day 1 that his spirit is just too big for his body! I still believe that 100%. I don't think he likes being a baby at times, and I feel bad for him sometimes because I know he just wants to move and do things himself, but he CAN'T yet. I know a lot of people dread when their babies become more mobile, but I'm looking forward to that time because I think Jake will be way less frustrated with himself. He's an active kid, though, so it might be a lot more exhausting for ME..... we'll see :) So, another thing is that Jake's middle name should have been Curious. That is really the essence of Jake-- he just takes it all in. He has a classic "deer in headlights" look that makes people wonder if he's ok. Sometimes I wonder that myself! So, all in all, Jake is such a sweet little boy, and he's so much fun. His laugh sounds like a goose, it's pretty funny. He keeps us on our toes, and keeps us laughing and smiling ALL the time. He's pretty happy, for the most part, unless he hasn't gotten enough sleep, then watch out, haha. We love our little Jake, and just want the best for him!

As of now, Jake weighs about 15 lbs and is almost 26 inches long. Also, a few weeks ago he cut two bottom teeth. Now when he smiles you can actually see them!


Things Jake loves:


Going on walks and being outside, baths, rolling around like a pro, standing (with help, of course!), making adorable new sounds, trying to sit up, smiling, chewing on anything and everything, books, his binkie (well, it's recently become more of a toy), sucking and chewing on his fingers AND toes, his Daddy!!, the airplane game, Mommy's necklaces, making spit bubbles, "The Wheels on the Bus" and "Itsy Bitsy Spider" (with actions, haha), being naked, being wrapped up in his towel after a bath, car rides (well, for the most part!), being out of the house, sleeping right next to the bumper pad in the crib, his swing (yes, I'm surprised he still likes it), getting his diaper changed, grabbing things he's not supposed to play with, being tossed up in the air, being tickled, playing with toys, the "Where's the Baby" game, medicine (especially Tylenol), and spitting up on Daddy and Grandpa Christiansen :)



Things Jake doesn't love:


When he can't shove something completely into his mouth, getting all lotioned up after his baths, haircuts (he's had 3 so far!), shots (this one's obvious!), confinement (he's always hated being swaddled, and he's not the most cuddly baby, even though he IS getting more cuddly the older he gets; he does ok in his carseat though, knock on wood!), rice cereal, being in his high chair for more than 10 minutes, when the sun gets in his face, wind, not being able to crawl yet