The Diary of Our Family

Our New Addition...

2009-08-31T07:28:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted in along time, sorry... I lost everyone's e-mail address to send updates so please e-mail me! Also I have been using facebook a lot if any of has access to it.

For those that don't already know we are expecting a new baby! this ultrasound picture was taken at about 14 weeks. The baby is due on February 12th, I'll be induced earlier if Kenny is off working. We find out what we are having on Sept. 8th, one week from tomorrow. Our house is split divided and all the boys want a girl and I want would love to have another little boy. I am quite sure that God will give our family exactly what we need. We will be joyful either way! This is our last little bundle of joy and we couldn't be happier. I'll keep everyone updated!

Rooster Days in Broken Arrow

2009-05-12T11:52:00.001-07:00

So Jake slept with me the night before Mother's day,which is a rarity in my house. Usually this isn't allowed, however, he was missing me and I enjoyed it! When he woke up he grabbed me by the face and said "Happy Mother's Day!, Where's my present?" After I explained that this day was all about ME he said I could share his present...

Anyway, we went to Rooster Days in Broken Arrow for the day and had a great time, though I'm sure why it's called Rooster Days, hummm...

Jake had so much fun. Now that he is getting older he enjoys this stuff so much more. He rode his first roller coaster. It was a bit fast and he was on it alone. At first He wasn't sure, actually he looked like he might throw up, by the end he wanted more.

He also got to go on one of the trampoline things that they buckle you into a harness so you can jump high. He loved it! He is such a dare-devil. He really did bounce really high up!

He's always loved animals and we got to see baby chicks hatch, and pet cows, goats, and sheep. He did not appreciate the baby goat eating his jacket though!

After he finished off an ENTIRE bag of Cotton candy he opted for the spider man face paint. Which let me tell you was hilarious because he thought that he was so cool and tough! He kept making scary faces and noises trying to BE spider man. He is such a boy! He couldn't pass up a window or mirror, he had to stare at himself. Bath time was traumatic this night as we had to say goodbye to Spider Jakey.

A Snow Day!

2009-01-31T13:10:00.001-08:00

So we've had some weather around here this week, you may have heard about it on the news... Schools were closed all week and we had all kinds of ice and snow. It was nice for the one day that I was off and could stay at home. I'm not a fan of driving in this weather, especially with Jake in the car. I have to tell you guys a funny story about grocery shopping. Ever done that in the snow? I don't recommend it. Picture this... me pushing a shopping cart through the parking lot that hasn't been plowed. Oh yeah! I'm a huge dork for not thinking of that small detail BEFORE I bought the cart full of groceries. It was Jake and I dragging the cart through the snow. We kept building up the snow in front of the buggy until it would tip over, AWESOME! Well Jake was a great helper trying with all his might to pull along side of me. That is until I lost him in the parking lot. He decided to lay down and make snow angels. I was quite sternly informed that he was not in the street he was in the snow SEE?!!! Well eventually we made it to the car and home again. These are the little details you don't think about when your from Southern California! We did have such a fun day though. Jake and I went out and had a snowball fight, made snow angels, and he ate ice off of the trees. We came back inside to drink hot cocoa and made some wonderful beef stew. Jake can not wait for another snow day... I can. Jake making snow balls, he felt really funny throwing them at me!
Snow angels were fun but by the time he rolled off of them it look more like a snow monster.

Jake made the ice off the branches be his own personal icecyles. Which meant he ate a lot of tree

It was so pretty everywhere. I took a lot of pictures like this. I loved how the ice looked on the trees.

We ended the day tired and snuggled with hot cocoa.

3 Year Check-up

2009-01-15T09:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Jake's 3 year check-up. He's doing great! We do have a little problem with his feet... He walks on the inside of his foot because he was blessed with my flat feet. So we have to go and get arch supports for his shoes, which we knew about this since he was 8 months and starting to walk. Otherwise he's a normal healthy boy!

He weighs 36 pounds which puts him in the 75th percentile for the first time ever! in the past he has been in the 25th percentile.

He is 40" tall, this also puts in in the 75th percentile, another first.

We got asked a lot of questions. We did really well on most, not so well on some.

Jake had just learned to hop on one foot, major milestone! He can recognize most of his letters, some of his numbers, and all of his shapes. He is able to write several of his letters and draw a few shapes (circle being his favorite of course). He is fully potty trained, though we have a small issue with constipation, again no surprise there. He can catch a ball, speak in more then 4 word sentences, he can brush his own teeth, and so on.

Things we didn't do so hot on were actually my fault... I'm not supposed to be giving him hard candy, popcorn, or more then 4 ounces of juice a day. I didn't really know that, I guess I should have. Also he should be able to butter his bread with a knife. Now about this, I let him have a knife for the first time recently to spread frosting on Christmas cookies and not again since then. I now he could most likely butter his bread but I wasn't really sure about giving my just turned 3 year old a knife. Kenny doesn't really like him to have a fork. He doesn't sit very still and I worry he'll fall out of his chair with knife in hand. My friends with 3 years olds, do you routinely give your kids a knife at dinner? I guess I finally found an area I'm over protective...

Jake is 3!

2009-01-11T10:09:00.001-08:00

Happy 3rd Birthday Jake!Jake requested a loin cake because it would be "very, very scary"

But our local bakery was going to charge a $50 drawing fee on top of the cost of the cake! so I gave it a try. I don't claim to be the greatest artist, but Jake liked it and it tasted good.

When it was time to sing Happy Birthday he sang it to himself, by himself. He didn't understand that we were supposed to sing to him.

It was a really small party... Our neighbors came with Jake's best buddy, their 1 year old son Dane and that was it. My friend Sarah recently wrote (on her daughters 3rd birthday) that it was 'kinda depressing" that not more people could be there. I felt the same way, but we had fun anyway. Maybe we will have more friends here next year.

Although I did find out that My neighbors, and friends, Nicole and Joel love board games! So we are planning a game night shortly!

Dane turned 1 in November, and I think he is adorable. He's not talking yet but he and his mom took a sign language class and he is doing really well with signing. I thought that was neat. They say kids who are bilingual start talking later. I thought signing was a neat 2nd language.

I loved this picture of Jake opening his presents! He doesn't even know what it is he loves it anyway! he is super excited to be 3. He keeps waking up in the morning asking if he is still 3.

Kenny and Jake

2009-01-08T16:48:00.001-08:00

OK so I'm sure that any of you that have boys can relate to this. Kenny and Jake have the most irratating love-hate relationship. They drive each other crazy ALLLLLL the time. They are always yelling and screaming in the house. They are always torturing each other. In fact as I write this I can hear Jake screaming "NO NO NO NO NO I'M NOT A MOUSE DADDY!" I think Kenny is about to flush the "mouse" in the toilet... The other night he strapped Jake knee pads to his head and made him walk around like and idiot! Jake loved to hate it! ANytime I tell Jake he is staying home with Kenny, Kenny follows it with, "now I can make you scream ALL day long!" Which sends Jake running and screaming around the house. My Uncle Martin and Louie use to do this to us. I don't understand this whole thing. When I ask Kenny what is the purpose of torturing him he simply states, "It's all part of it". PART OF WHAT?! YOU GUYS ARE DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!!!

My Birthday

2009-01-08T16:40:00.001-08:00

I was having the worst birthday this year! I was told the night before that Kenny was going to leave to work in Nebraska because he was having such a hard time finding a job here (he hasn't worked since September). I was so mad and upset when I went to work that day. I had everyone at working praying allllll day long that he would get a call about a job he was waiting for. It's a job with the City of Sand Springs ( excellent job security!). When I had gotten home from work, I opened the door and Jake threw his arms in the air and yelled SUPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM! Kenny had made my favorite meal and this fabulous birthday cake! I was so suprised! He also told me that Sand Springs had called that day and he took his drug test, he should start work next week! Praise God! We are so thankful and this birthday ended awesome!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-08T16:20:00.001-08:00

Christmas this year was a lot of fun. Small but fun. We kicked off the holidays with a cookie decorating party at our house. Jake had a blast hanging out with my friends. He felt like such a big boy because ha got to use a butter knife to spread icing on his cookies. I took his Picasso's to work and every one got a kick out of them.

My mom and Allie came from Austin to kenny's aunt Pattys' house and we enjoyed spending time with them . Jake, of course, got tons of new toys. All boy stuff... dragons, cars, dinosaurs, and games. He got a lot of board games! 'm excited because i like to play games. He cheats though...

He had so much fun hangin' with aunt Allie. She is one of his favorite people. I love the picture of the two of them listening to the Ipod. He looks so grown up! He's getting so big!

We hope that all of you had a wonder Christmas and a Happy New Year!

A visit with Santa

2008-12-10T17:07:00.001-08:00

Christmas is coming so fast. It's exciting because Jake is really understanding a lot now.

I haven't blogged in awhile, it's been really hectic around here. pa-paw (Kenny's grandfather) passed away a couple of weeks ago and the funeral was held the day before Thanksgiving. Jake was so sweet. He kept asking where pa-paw was. It is heartbreaking, how do you answer that? He's 2! I told him that pa-paw went to heaven to meet Jesus. his eyes got huge and he said "he did, how did he do that mama?" To him is was incredible, which it really is! We didn't take him to the funeral because we didn't want him to remember him that way. When I picked him up from the babysitters house he didn't want to come, so I told him we had to go to a party! He jumped up so fast and ran over to me and exclaimed "I'm three now?!", "no", I told him, "it's pa-paw's heaven party.

He is so big! He tells me all the time that he is 2 but he will be 3 on January 9th! He frequently reminds me that he is NOT A BABY! He also likes to tell me that he is a BIG helper! He sleeps through the night in underwear now, thank you! I heard boys are slow about that, but I think he did alright. He is my sweet little boy. I've always loved him, but it's really great to like him! I thought we'd never get through the terrible 2's but we have and he's amazing. There are days I'd love another baby and days the thought makes me think I've lost my mind!

We took Jake to see Santa today. he has never seen Santa before and he timidly told him he wanted presents, a helicopter and airplane. Jake is really into Christmas but we are trying to find the balance of Jesus in it all too. I think we will have a birthday cake for Jesus and a birthday party for Him.

We won't be coming in for the holidays (or at all in January at this point), it's just not in the budget right now. We will, however, be praying for and wishing you all well for the new year!

We love you all!

Halloween 2008

2008-11-05T18:44:00.001-08:00

Halloween was pretty fun for us this year. Jake is at the age that he is starting to get the idea of things. The morning of Halloween I was driving Jake to daycare and we had the following conversation:

Me: Jakey when mommy picks you up today we will eat dinner and put on your horsey costume and go trick or treating

Jake: But I already did go trick or treating

Me: No, that was a parade, today is Halloween and we will dress up and go out with all the kids and knock on all the doors and say trick or treat and people will give you candy!

Jake: And I can take my bucket...

Me: yes.

Jake: (with excitement growing in his voice) and I will get wots and wots of canny?!

Me: yes.

Jake: and I can eat my canny?

Me: (hesitant) yes...

Jake: OH MOMMY THAT MAKES ME SOOOO HAPPY!!!!!!

It was so funny to hear him figure it out! After work we went shopping at Wal-Mart for a cowboy hat. We search the insanely packed store for just 1 cowboy hat to complete the look. We had little luck. Things were looking bleak until we hit the costume isle. The isle was filled with thousands of costumes strewn everywhere in madness and every undesirable person in Tulsa rummaging through them frantically. I drug Jake quickly through what was begining to feel like quicksand and just as we reached the end there it was, one glorious hat left! Jake is now a cowboy!

We ate dinner, and as promised, we went trick or treating. This is when I learned that I have actually instilled the most incredible fear be being run over in my child! While walking in the street (like normal trick or treaters), Jake clung to my leg frantically screaming, " HOLD ME MOMMA I DON'T WANT TO GET SQUISHED LIKE A FROG!!!!" As I chuckled to myself I realized in that moment my defiant little child actually does listen to me when I'm talking to him!

Jake fell asleep during our walk back to the apartment with his head on his horses head and me trying to juggle the awkward costume, him, and the coveted bucket of "canny".

Pumpkins

2008-10-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Kenny gave me a great idea to paint our pumpkins this year, since Jake can't carve them. So here he is getting us ready for Halloween.

Boo ha-ha

2008-10-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited this street parade that was recommended by my dental hygienist. The city shuts down one mile and the kids get to trick-or-treat the businesses and watch a parade. Jake had fun and is now on his way to a ton of candy! He was a rider on a horse (long story on the costume choice) but this worked out well because it came with reigns to hold and Jake had to hold his bucket so I held to reigns which was wonderful because it was like a leash without the look of child abuse! Anyway we had another fun adventure in our new town!

Pa-Paw

2008-10-26T13:15:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Kenny and I went to Hugo to visit his grandpa, affectionately known as Pa-Paw. He has been in and out of the hopsital for 6 weeks and just not doing well. We spent most of the weekend at the rehab hospital. These are some pics to celebrate what is very likely one of our last times with pa-paw.

Kenny's cousin allowed him to hold his little boy. Kenny held this baby for an hour and just walked him, rocked him, and kissed him happily. Do men even know what this does to a woman watching?!

Pa-paw got up for the first time in 3 weeks and e had a sing-a-long out in the lobby, he looked so happy!

He is 84 and I fell in love with him the first time I met him. Jake is his baby.

This particular weekend also happened to be Kenny's 40th birthday! Ha-ha dumb pink hat!

Jake's Soccer Practice

2008-10-04T19:40:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of practice the kids sit in a circle and they take turns telling thier names and today it was thier favorite animal and Jake's was monkey.

Then they do some stretching including this one the which is a penguin walk. Jake is getting much better at his ball handling!

They practice dribbling (little kicks) down the field again much improved!

Today they actually set cones all over the field and had to dribble from one end to the other without touching any of the cones. Jake did this twice and never once touched a cone.

The parachute is the kids favorite, they do a bunch of stuff with it and this comes at the end, but lets face it who wouldn't want to sit on a parachute will the parents spun them around in circles and until they were sick (kids and parents!)

And finally the finale 1-2-3- GO TEAM!

Kenny isn't a soccer lover at all and normally I do practice with Jake but I begged him to do it this week so I could get these pics. So many of you have asked for them being the soccer freaks you all are! Anyway I hope that you feel like you were at practice with us this week!

Our Apartment

2008-10-04T19:09:00.000-07:00

Before
After

With the economy going the way it is, Kenny and I have almost resolved ourselves to living in our apartment for longer then expected. It is our goal to put about 50% down on a house which puts us in our apartment for at least another year. Maybe 18 months. With that said we are doing some small but homely type things to put our mark on it. We chose this project first because Jake wanted to learn to make things grow. I wanted plants desperately but have the worst black thumb ever! Kenny on the other has a lot of landscaping in his background so this was his project... I love it! We have since added some cute little scarecrows and pumpkins to it for the fall season.

Jake goes to the theater!

2008-10-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

Well not really the theater but he did go to see a live performance of Veggie Tales and did great! We had to get there really early because we weren't assigned seats (GA) and he made it through the first 45 minutes and intermission. He got tired about 15 minutes in to the second half of the show and we had to leave. Amazingly most of the kids his age left at the same time. We had fun though and he got a Bob hat which he made Kenny wear also... I only have a few pictures because it was dark most of the time in there.

Pumpkin Town

2008-09-28T17:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Fall!!!

We passed by this Pumpkin town after soccer this weekend and stopped in... It was just another thing to do to take advantage of our new surroundings. Jake got to learn all about the different kinds of pumpkins and gourds from Kenny and I just got to sit back and watch his excitement.

He has been begging me to let him ride a horse for quite a while now so here he got his chance. He was all talk, as first. He was alittle intimated but when he realized that I would hold on to him he was the champion of the pony ride! however it should be documented that prior tp getting on the ponies he really wanted to ride the Clydesdales that were pulling the hayride!

He opted for a lttle arm painting in lew of the cheek. He got a football that he later cried about (at 4 in the morning) because his pajamas were covering it up...

There were more kinds of pumpkins then I had ever seen before!

Jake Starts Soccer

2008-09-28T17:53:00.000-07:00

Jake started soccer 3 weeks ago. He is not that great... Everyone says he's only 2, Carrie! But really he plays every sport and plays them well, but not soccer. He would rather be playing baseball. However, that said, every week gets a little better. I think he will grow to be pretty good as soon as he slows down and starts to listen. This week was the first time he would say things to me like " mom, coach said..." All the other kids are the same age and they listen much better then my wild boy. But we are making friends and he enjoys Saturdays so that is what really counts!

Jake Plays Golf

2008-09-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Jake got his first set of real golf clubs. They are really cute and he's been begging for them! He's really in to it right now. He know the difference between his driver, irons, and putter. It's so funny to here him talk about like such a grown up.

I was at work when the boys went for a test run with the clubs but these are some of the shots that Kenny got. I was impressed with his swings, obviously he is 2 but still it's impressive to me.

He looked pretty tired by the end of the day but he talks about golf all the time now. And He and Kenny watch the golf channel together. Last night when I walked through the room Jake said "Mom the boy is using his driver right now!"

He starts soccer on Saturday, pray (for my sake) he likes it just as much!

My little animal lover!

2008-08-25T18:30:00.001-07:00

Today I took Jake to the Tulsa Zoo. It was great weather only high 70's low 80's and maybe all of 100 people there! realized over and over what a big boy Jake is now all throughout the day. We have seen and done much of this before only he was timid if not all together scared. but on this day the story was a different one.

First off we didn't even take the stroller which means Jake walked the whole zoo by himself! He only asked to carried to the train which was the very last thing we did. More amazing then that he did a great job of keeping a decent pace.

Jake checking out the elephants, looking oh so cool in his shades!

We got really lucky at the elephants because when we got there they were bathing one of them. This was a cool treat because it was like watching a show. The elephant sat, laid down, lifted each foot and lowered his head. We watched for a long time.

Jake also got lucky with the polar bear. The thing kept swimming right up to his window to check him out! Jake wasn't afraid in the least, to my surprise!

We got to ride on a carousel. But he didn't want any help from me. I had to ride on my own animal!

The petting zoo was another moment for me as I watched my little man pet every goat and sheep without any reservation. He didn't leave a single animal out. When he was done he said "There mama I pet them all, no we can let them eat."

Finally and perhaps most importantly we fed the birds. We did this last year in Long Beach and he would have none of it. Today he was a pro. I couldn't choose which picture to post because I thought they were all so cute!

He looks so much like his dad in this picture! He also looks like he could fall asleep any moment!

He was making everyone laugh because he kept trying to kiss the birds! My little animal lover! Maybe he'll be a vet!

Feeding the Ducks

2008-08-19T07:47:00.000-07:00

Another little adventure to fill our day...

So, there is a really pretty little pond down by my work. it's actually just below Laureate, a psych hospital. I've seen a bunch of ducks there so I though we'd go and feed them.

We gathered our left over rolls and tortillas and headed out there. Jake had a good time. the ducks were fighting over the pieces of bread and Jake was yelling at them to stop fighting. It was so funny!

Jake was a little slow about feeding them at one point and they started hissing at him. Did you know that ducks hiss? I didn't, and wouldn't have believed it unless I was there, but they do! Ungrateful pieces of poultry!

Anyway after our loot ran out we blew bubbles and took a walk around the pond. There was duck poop on the sidewalk and Jake again start to lecture the ducks about pooping on the ground. He told them it was rude and they needed to go in the water were it belonged! Silly boy...

We had fun, the weather has been in the low 80's here and really low humidity. Perfect for Kenny's homecoming!

Side note: Kenny is moving home for good in a week and a half!

Cheap and Meaningful Art

2008-08-16T08:07:00.000-07:00

I have finally started working a schedule that allows me to have a lot of time off at home! This is what I have worked so hard for. now I get to spend also much time with Jake. we decided that he needed to paint a huge picture for his room. Why should i have to spend hundreds of dollars on art work for a kids room?!

So went out and bought a big piece of foam board and Jake went to town. I was impressed at his concentration. it was like he had a vision and he was working to execute it!

We set up shop on our front porch. He even drew a little crowd of people as he worked. We have a bunch of guys that live in the apartments above us and they trickled down to watch him paint. One guy said "he's having so much fun, I wish my mom did that!". I got to be cool mom for that day.

This is the finished result. Now all we need is a frame and to put it on the wall. Jake is super proud of his work!

Finding Fun...

2008-07-28T17:42:00.000-07:00

Jake and I are really enjoying our new home here in Tulsa. There is so much to do1 we can go to different museums, the aquarium, the zoo, many parks with water features and animals, and so much more! Every weekend I try to find something new to do with Jake. I love to watch him and see what he can do. it never stops amazing me to look at life through him.

One Thursday we found a place that Jake could go and play on a bunch climbing equipment and inflatables. This place only takes reservations and divides the times up by age. I loved it because he got to play with other kids around his same age and didn't have to be run over by bigger ones.

He charmed the workers there at the place and con them into playing with him and spending "extra" time with him. Although, I think it's a bad sign when people who work with kids all day everyday mention how much energy your kid has!

He got to slide down a huge slide (over and over and over again), climb up a net tower, drive these little padded cars and play basketball. He had a blast.

He was exhausted by the end of the 90 minutes, just in time for a nice lunch out and home for a long nap! Another successful outing!

A Jake Update

2008-07-28T17:33:00.001-07:00

So I can not believe that my little boy is already 2 1/2 years old! He is growing up into this amazing little boy. He's so smart! He had gone through a rough patch of defiance. I wasn't sure that we'd pull through it. Now it seems as though we will. I have been told that 3 is worse than 2 by just about everyone I know with kids, yippee! For now, Jake as turned back into my adorable and cuddly little boy "mama's baby".

He really enjoys being outside. He loves to ride his new tricycle. We have been working on this skill since he doesn't have a place to ride his 4-wheeler. He's getting better but he still lacks the simple skill of turning. He'll just keeps pedaling until he runs into things and then yells "I cain't mama" (that is not a misprint he has a cute southern drawl). He loves to dress himself and at the moment his ball cap, sunglasses, and his basketball outfit (featured here) are his favorite digs.

Food is still a top priority for Jake. He still consumes massive quantities of it and Kenny is still convinced that he has an eating disordered based and pure logic. If his stomach is smaller than a cantaloupe he shouldn't be able to eat a whole cantaloupe in one sitting, right? Wrong! He consumes a lot of food. He can eat 3 chicken legs at one time along with sides. If spaghetti is on the menu he'll eat 1 large adult male size portion or seconds of my size. He loves fruit and veggies and he is still very hesitant about red meat. He still won't eat Mexican food, pizza, and rarely mac n cheese. He is a very healthy eater and has the metabolism of a rabbit!

But like any kid he does have a sweet tooth and has no problem putting away the dessert. It doesn't matter if he has never seen it before he some how knows it sweet! How can kids do that? Amazing...

He is a big boy now and big boys take showers "not a bath mama". He loves to play in the water, which is good because he has really smelly feet and needs a long shower every night regardless of our time frame for bedtime. He loves his new bathroom and is very possessive of it. He doesn't even like me using it. I should make him pay the rent!

His favorite things to say are "what mommy", "umm...not today maybe tomorrow", "I cain't", "I wanna go swimming", and "I want J-A-K-E juice (in his Jacob cup)". He loves to swim and color. He dances and sings all the time. He is just all around happy and so much fun to be around. It is great to be his mommy!

BlackberryPickin'

2008-06-28T13:21:00.000-07:00

Owasso Tree and Berry Farm

Jake was very good about picking only the purple ones because the red ones were still 'babies" and needed to keep growing. He only got stuck one time during our berry picking adventure!

I picked the high ones and Jake picked the lower ones. He kept running up to people to show tem his bucket. He not very shy...

We picked 3 quarts in all, $9.00 worth of the big juicy berries!

This ws our final loot! They really were huge. Now what to do with them... I thought of Blackberry yogurt, icecream, and cobbler. Do any of you have any ideas or recipes to share? For right now they are in the freezer.

Cancun!

2008-06-01T18:15:00.000-07:00

Me on a really pretty bridge inside the resort. This was the most magical place at night!
Yeah Kari and Robert!

Kenny and I at the reception

Ok so I put in this wrong pic and can't figure out how to remove it sorry

The wedding

I forgot to turn this one but I took it while parasailing

My parasailing partner was a hottie!

The beach huts for lounging

Just one of the pretty flowers we took tons of pictures of these

Just another picture of us...

So I have graduated and spent 5 very lonely months without my Kenny and now it comes to an end! I had my last day of work on May 12th and then Kenny came home and we spent 5 wonderful, kid free, days in Cancun! I didn't even wish Jake was there once! I missed him but not so much it ruined for me. We had a blast! The weather was hot and humid, like Oklahoma, but the water was perfectly warm and beautiful. Kari's wedding was great with only very minor mishaps. The scenery was truly wonderful. I have posted more pictures on my myspace page since it's easier to post there but here are the highlights...

An update

2008-05-10T05:23:00.000-07:00

So I decided that I needed to post an update as it will be the last for awhile.

My last day of work is on Monday May 12th. I'm not sure when I will have computer access again after that date, as all of my access is from this job. I graduated from school last week, yeah! I was so relieved when I submitted my final, I cried! No joke. I'm dumb I guess but I was so relieved I just started crying. School is over, it's been a hard year. Jake has been an overall great kid throughout it all. IHe has never had separation anxiety, thankfully. Now I get to spend a lot of time with him!

Kenny is coming home in less then one week! I miss him terribly, we haven't seen him since Christmas. The big question is "When is he going to ask you to marry him?". People I do not know this answer. What I can tell you is that I told him if he doesn't come up with some sort of ring he will be my neighbor in Tulsa! Some think that he will do it in Mexico, my guess is not. But whenever it happens I will keep everyone updated.

We are moving to Tulsa on may 24th! I'm looking forward to starting my new life. I start work on June 2nd. I should be taking boards in the middle of June. I will start back to school in August working toward Nurse Practitioner.

Right now Jake and I are packing and spending some much needed quality time together! We play baseball outside everyday. Do you know that my 2 year old son can hit the baseball being pitched to him?! This is with a real aluminum bat and real baseball- no plastic kid stuff. He did it 5 times in a row the other day! I was so impressed, I can't do that!

Anyway, I will do my best to keep everyone informed of all the happenings just as soon as I am able!

Balloons

2008-05-10T05:09:00.000-07:00

Jake recently participated in a fundraiser for St. Jude Research Hospital. He was the top money raiser! He only raised $75.00 but he was happy! The kids released balloons in honor of St. Judes They had fun with it but the littlest ones cried when they had to let go of their balloon.

The kids playing with their balloons before send off
Jake and Katrina- his soul mama

Jake proudly displaying his balloon!

Great-Grandma Mary

2008-05-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

My grandma came for a visit to celebrate my graduation last week. We had a good time. She was able to meet a lot of her great- grandchildren for the first time. She has 19 great-grandchildren! This is her with 8 of them.

Things you don't hear in So Cal- Part 1

2008-05-04T14:23:00.000-07:00

I have decided to keep a list and post blogs with things you would never hear in California. The difference between Southeastern Oklahoma and Southern California... these are actually quotes that have been said to me or I have overheard...

Things you would never hear said in California- Part 1

1.) "Did you cook that squirrel yet?"

2.) "Be careful that hog is still in the middle of the road."

3.) "Don shot Steve in the stomach again...no don't call 911 I'll just pull it out..."

4.) question "Did you go to prom last night?" response "No the pig got out again."

5.) "What I wouldn't do for some snuff right now." -coming from an 92 year-old bed bound woman.

I will continue this series as I get more quotes.

Oklahoma Perks

2008-05-03T12:42:00.000-07:00

For all of the strange things that go on here there are some perks. Yesterday I had dinner with my cousin and her kids and we went to a ranch that happens to also raise deer and elk. When we pulled up they all ran to the fence and the kids were able to hand feed them. jake loved it, so did I! He really wasn't very scared at all.

Jake at School

2008-04-20T05:32:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write to everyone about Jake and how and what he does in school. He goes to Lighthouse Daycare and Learning Center here in Hugo. It has been wonderful. I am a firm believer in daycare of some sort, even if I was a stay at home mom. Children have a social order, just as adults do. In daycare Jake has learned to respect adults and children. He has learned that no matter the color of our skin we are all the same. He is independent and confident. He is learning to share and respect the boundaries of others. He abides by rules and a schedule. Jake listens at home as well but I think it is important that the rules come from other places as well.

He is involved in so many activities! He gets to play with things and do things I would never think of to do at home. Best of all he is exposed to ALL kinds of germs. This is important people! They get sick all the time in the first few years of being exposed to other children. This affords them the opportunity to be sick without missing important school hours. My dilemma, living in the area, was the lack of preschools. In Oklahoma (I'm sure it's close to the same everywhere), your child has certain requirements they need to meet to enter kindergarten. I had to choose a daycare that worked on these things. This one is wonderful.

Jake has a class of about 8 kids give or take a few depending on the day of the week. They do a lesson plan everyday. They has a designated color, number, letter and song each month. The sing read stories, count, color, and tons of other stuff I couldn't name. The most impressive part is they love it! Young kids are so much smarter then we give them credit for.

To date Jake knows his first and last name and the first and last name of most in his family. He knows 10 colors, can count to 20, spell his name, the days of the week, the months of the year, about 20 songs, his shapes, he is fully potty trained, and he can recognize hot, cold, warn, wet, dry, sunny, bright, windy, cold, night, dark... all the adjectives used to describe things.

I do not write these things to prove his intelligence only to defend and encourage preschool or daycare of some sort. These teachers do not, nor do they want to , take over the job of parenting, but they are a valuable asset to a child's mental, physical, and emotional well-being.

The school that Jake goes to has done some really cool things. Most recently they had Spiderman come and do magic and sing songs and teach the kids about strangers. This month is safety month. They are also doing a Trikeathon to raise money to St. Jude Research foundation. I love it!

Jake gets to spend a lot of time playing outside with all his friends on really cool equipment! Do you know that at 2 years old the girls are already chasing the boys? It's pretty funny to watch.

We are changing daycare when we move and this has been a stressful thing for me. We will miss Lighthouse and all they have done for us. Thank you Lighthouse!!!!

Warm Days!

2008-04-20T05:22:00.001-07:00

Now that the days have begun to warm up quite nicely around here we are able to enjoy a little bit of time outside. Jake loves being outside and winter weather was getting the best of him. In Oklahom it is a fine balence and a short period of time between cold and way too hot and humid. So we are enjoying our time outside while we can.

Jake really isn't very good at riding his tricycle yet. I think it's because he has a 4-wheeler that is battery powered and he rides that a little more. We are going to work on this in the up coming months.

Yeah it's warm enough to eat popcicles outside now! No more sticky floors!

Blowing bubbles in the front yard. Jake has recently mastered this without spilling the bottle of bubbles everywhere! I am not allowed to hold the bottle, "Me do it!" , holds the bottle...

Post #100

2008-04-19T04:53:00.000-07:00

As I went to post this blog entry I saw that this would be my 100th post! That means 100 updates in 2 years. Everybody has been kept well informed! Anyway it's time to do an update on Jake and I so here it goes...

Jake is SOOOO 2! he has become very independent. Everything is "me do it!". He wants to put on his clothes, he wants to buckle his car seat belts, he wants to potty by himself I have to stand at the doorway. "Me do it, mama!". He has an opinion about everything and it's usually the opposite of mine. He throws temper tantrums like nobody else. I read on the blogs of my friends with kids the same age and they tend to say "an occasional tantrum". I long for "occasional" this is almost a daily event for our household. I have tried timeout, spanking, and sending him to his room. The thing that seems to work best is a stare down. It's like animals you look them in the eye and the dominant one will come out victorious!

I have a good friend named Debbie and she has a son that she swears was just like Jake. Her take on this situation is that they have above average intelligence which causes them to get easily frustrated. He son is now 10 (I think) and she swears it gets better! Now I would love to believe that this is the case, what mother wouldn't want an intelligent child? But I think I'm paying for his fathers raising as his dads mom tells me they are very similar.

Jake does still love sports and the outdoors. Recently he was given a pair of baseball shoes that are way too big for him. He wears these shoes all over the house saying that daddy (Kenny) is going to take him to play baseball when he gets big. Now Joe would love to do this with him, but I think he will have the soccer duty, as Jake is a fan of every sport.

He is currently going through a very clinging stage. He is always on my hip if we are in the house or at someone else's house. If anyone asks him for a kiss or hug, he turns around and gives it to me instead. He sleeps in his big boy bed now. I tried this once and it was horrible, but I tried it again and he has gotten out of bed only one time! He won't even get out in the morning, he just sits there and calls me. I'm very happy about this because of our upcoming move.

Speaking of the move I have only 13 more days of school and this includes weekends and other days off!!!!!! I am so happy!!!! I have managed to stay on the Deans list, I'm not sure how?! But I am getting nervous about NCLEX as I need to pass since I have already been given a job as an RN starting June 2 (actually I'll be a GN until I pass boards). Kenny and I go to Cancun for Kari's wedding in less then one month (today officially I can say that). And Kenny will be home on May 16th, I haven't seen him since Christmas! Hopefully with a ring in hand. Last night he asked me what type of metal I wanted my ring to be made of (good sign?). I will keep an update on this as well.

Sorry for the looong post but I had some stuff to say!

Stickers

2008-03-29T07:12:00.001-07:00

What else do you do with a package of stickers?

Only Jake

2008-03-29T04:04:00.001-07:00

So I have been really freaking out over these tiny little bumps that Jake has been getting over a period of 2 weeks. They looked like Chicken Pox- only he had a vaccination for them and they weren't breaking through all at one time. I asked the ER doc while I was at work and may I say that I NEVER recommend this approach to diagnosing your child! The doctor told me it was staff all over his body, GROSS! Anyway I stressed and freaked for another week, until I took him to his regular doctor and guess what... he has Chicken Pox! Only Jake would get Chicken Pox after being vaccinated. This is the epitome of my son. He will do things his way even if they shouldn't be allowed to happen his way! He has been like this since he was in the womb. Anyway, it was only a mild case because of the vaccine. By the way all you moms out there, apparently the vaccine begins to wear off after a few years, so why not let your kids just get them and get over it, we did, remember? I had them twice.

Happy Easter

2008-03-22T04:51:00.001-07:00

We had such a fun time dyeing Easter eggs. Who says this can only be done on Easter? It is a cheap activity that kids love. Plus it yields a healthy snack! We will be stocking up on the kits when they go on clearence for many more hours of fun throughout the year! We hope that everyone has a wonderful Easter holiday with their families. Many churches offer wonderful services during the Earter holiday I would encourage everyone to check one of them out! Jake will be in a play this Sunday at his church, he has been practicing his lines and loves to say them.

Spring Break- 2008

2008-03-22T04:34:00.000-07:00

What better place to relax than in the mouth of a hippo?

He's getting so big!

Jake thought it was very cool that he could draw somewhere other then the paper

My little monkey at the Tulsa zoo

Jake and Kolton in the hotel in Tulsa- Jake wouldn't leave his side the whole trip

The circus- Jake is now asking for an elephant of his own

I have desperately needed some time off from work and school, just to be with Jake. I had the most wonderful and relaxing week! It was action packed! Jake went to the circus twice last Saturday, I joined him for the second half of the second round. On Tuesday we picked up Kolton and went to Tulsa to hunt for apartments (found one) and we also visited the aquarium and the zoo. On Thursday I cashed in my wonderful birthday present and spent 7 hours of pure relaxation and glorious bliss with my friend Debbie at a day spa, ahhh.... (I love you Kenny!) On this day Jake went to school and had an Easter egg hunt and Easter Party! Then yesterday we played on the four-wheeler, bike, and drew with sidewalk chalk. Jake took a 4 hour nap after lunch with our friends and when he woke up we went to the park and played for 2 1/2 hours! It was super nice to reconnect with him. I've missed being around him! On a totally different note, but also wonderful, Jake is fully potty trained! (except nights) He hasn't had an accident in 3 weeks, despite the long car trips, apartment shopping, amusement parks, and a 4 hour nap, YES!!!!

Crazy Oklahoma Weather!

2008-03-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

It was 70 degrees the day before and the day after this picture was taken!

All the Haps

2008-03-15T14:58:00.001-07:00

Ok- so I haven't posted in awhile and I have so much to update everyone on. But I have felt that since I am not uploading some type of picture, I can not post. Retarded! Anyway here we go-

1.) Little Jake-Jake had to stay a night in the hospital a couple of weeks ago for pneumonia. He was a great patient! The nurse came in to start his IV she was hidding the stuff from him and I told her not, I don't want to surprise him. I told him "Jake it is going to be a big owie and then it will get better, it's going to be ok" he looked at the nurse and told her, "it's going to be ok". The nurse almost couldn't stand it! He never moved and he whimpered a bit. He has been talking about his big owie since then and shows his hand off. He is better now and doing great!

2.) I had a new job interview yesterday for my first nursing position. I interviewed with 2 department managers and was offered a job in both positions. This was quite an experience. One manager was wonderful and super nice and sweet as was her staff. The second was kinda straight faced and to the point, which I can respect, but his staff sucked! Anyway I accepted the first offer, which by the way is a day shift, no weekends!

3.) This brings me to my last bit of info. I interviewed in Tulsa at Saint Francis Hospital. Kenny and I have discussed, extensively, on where to move after I get out of school, this is where we have decided on. Tulsa is great (the southern part), it's affordable and has great opportunities for all of our family! I did tell Kenny though he had better buy a box of cracker jacks of stop at the quarter machine on his way home next time because I need some type of ring in order to move in with him. We don't want a wedding- at this point, just to be married (it's a long explanation that may change). So I am officially an Okie.

I will post some pictures very soon. I miss you guys!

The weird side of me

2008-02-16T05:09:00.000-08:00

So my friends with blogs have asked me to post weird things about me, so here it goes...

1.) I don't care for ice cream I would much rather have frozen yogurt but it has to be soft serve.

2.) I have a visual mind. When people tell me things I see them in my head before I really hear what they are saying. I get an instant mental picture. I can't stop it- sometimes it scares me.

3.) I thrive on adrenaline. I work best under pressure. The more intense the situation the better I perform. Usually I don't realize what I am doing. I'm on auto pilot. When all is said and done, I sit back and think "crap, what just happened?!"

4.) I am an obsessive planner. I have a plan for everything, and a plan if everything goes wrong, and a plan for that too. Kenny often tells me to stay away from the curtains because I will catch them on fire with the sparks that fly from my head. I am completely uncomfortable without a plan.

5.) When I see people the first thing that I notice is whether or not they have good veins for an IV particularly neck veins. I also try to think about what size ET tube they would take (breathing tube) if they needed one, including Jake.

On A Musical Note

2008-02-09T14:17:00.000-08:00

Jake loves sports but when it's wintery cold outside, as it has been, he colors, paints, or plays with his musical instruments. He gets very in to it and insists on me clapping along with what ever he's playing at the moment. A few nights ago he grabbed my lotion container, which is in the shape of a disk (body butter), and he clapped his hand against it singing "Amen". He also sings "Jesus Loves Me" to his keyboard and guitar. The drums get the "ABC's" and "Happy Birthday to Jake" and his Triangle gets "Itsy Bitsey Spider". I'm not sure where the muscial side of him is coming from but I do know that praise and worship at church is his favorite time. He walks up to the stage to claim his tamborine and then follows the elders around the room shaking everyone's hands welcoming them to the service. He cracks me up!

Pack-Pack

2008-02-09T14:11:00.001-08:00

Jake has been wanting a "pack-pack" for a few weeks now. To the point that he actually lied (unknowingly I hope) to the teacher at school saying another kids back pack was his. Well they don't sell kids back packs anywhere around here this late in the school year and so Kenny's family and I were on a goose chase for one. Finally we found the kid a back pack and he was so excited. We literally can not walk next door without taking it with us. He carries it everywhere! He looks so grown up wheeling it behind him. He's so proud of it, he actually asked me to take pictures of his "pack-pack". I have to check it every night though because the other day I caught him putting left over french fies in it.

Snow Day

2008-02-04T06:52:00.000-08:00

Last week we had about a hour and a half of big pretty snowflakes fall. It was awesome! Jake was so excited, he said "wook mom it's 'nowing, I go outside and play football game!" So we dressed and went outside to play for awhile. He had a blast and of course the the video camera was not charged...

More Cali pictures

2008-01-12T10:58:00.001-08:00

Adam and his beautiful wifey, Lace

My Happy little face

Happy, Happy Girls!! Lookin' good even after standing in pouring rain...

Jessica, Adam, and Denise

Cortlen and I at dinner

Kari, Kristin, and Denise- Pretty girls!

The whole gang at dinner

Denise and I, aren't we cute?!

Jessica, Me, and Cortlen at dinner

My 30th Birthday!

2008-01-12T04:13:00.000-08:00

I have the most wonderful boyfriend! For my 30th birthday he had flowers delivered to me at work. Not just any flowers but they are my absolute favorite, the Stargazer Lily. They were massive. He even got me 30 stems which had about 4-5 blooms each on them so about 100 lillies! They smelled so wonderful. Later that day at work his aunt brought Jake by the ER with a bunch of balloons (which he quickly claimed as his own) and a gift certificate to a day at a spa to include a facial, manicure, pedicure, massage, hair cut and style, make-up and lunch! His Aunt Patty got me trips to the tanning salon, all to prepare for my much needed trip to Cancun for Kari's wedding. Patty also brought me a cheesecake the night before for breakfast and to bring to work. I felt really loved all day.

Look Alikes

2008-01-12T04:08:00.000-08:00

A couple of my friends have been posting look alike pictures on there blogs between there two children. After reviews the pictures from California I thought I should post pictures of Jake and his father. They are identical to me, the walk to same, minus the teetering normal to toddlers. They have the same concentrating look, and they act identical! Take a good look...

California Trip- Winter 2007

2008-01-12T03:51:00.000-08:00

Jake patiently waiting to board his flight...
Auntie Denise with her Jakey-Jake

He is determined to eat until he pukes!

Jake and I blowing out the candles on our birthday cake (Kristin pointed out it was a very hot cake!)

Jake and his Grandma (Joe's mom)

Auntie Kristin and Jake toasting at Cortlen's Birthday Dinner (Cortlen wasn't there!)

Me, Lacey, Adam, Jessica, and Jake on our first night in California

Jake and his new cousin Paxton

Jake and I were lucky enough to be able to go for a much needed visit with our family in California. We didn't get to see our friends, except Kari who came down to visit us, sorry time was limited. We had a lot of fun. My brothers and sisters made my 30th birthday wonderful. Denise even flew in for a not so surprise visit. We celebrated Cortlen's 20th birthday one night and Jake's 2nd and my 30th birthdays. We got a lot of nice gifts. Jake got to spend time with Joe (another post to come for the two of them). We met our new family member Paxton and Jake tried to rip off his head by holding him wrong, but he loved him. My sisters planned to take me out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant and then to the Irvine Improv for a night of comedy we had a lot of fun. We are so close that we actually laughed and had more fun at dinner then the comedy place! It was wonderful to see you guys! We love you so much!

Barber Shop Boy

2007-12-31T11:23:00.000-08:00

I got up early this morning at took Jake to get his haircut for our trip out to California. I walked into the barber shop prepared to wait awhile because there were 6 men in the chairs of the lobby area drinking coffee. It turns out that this is the morning gathering hole for these men. So Jake got right in. He took off his coat, grabbed an empty coffee cup, said hi ya'll to the men sitting there, and headed straight for the chair like he owned the place. The guys got a kick out of it. Although this was Jake's 100th (or so) haircut, it was the first time he sat by himself in the chair. He didn't move at all and we were done in a jiffy! Jake got a sucker (for breakfast) and we were off. My little man has become part of some weird male ritual that women know nothing about.

Muddy Fun

2007-12-29T15:14:00.001-08:00

There is an empty lot between my house and my neighbors house, which is Kenny's aunt Patty. The lot belongs to Patty and is now a mud track. Jake got a 4-wheeler, Kolton got a Dune Buggy, and Patty's son, Justin, got a racing 4-wheeler. So, between Justin, Jake, Kolton, my mom, Kenny, Allie, myself, and Rowdy, we have a race track and muddy floors. It's so fun!

Jake's Second Birthday- A little early...

2007-12-29T15:04:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Jake's birthday a little early this year. Kenny wanted to be here for it and we are going to California next week (yeah) then I have school (boooo). We had a great party. The cake was huge and so cute. The balls are actual balls and they are the real sizes (just to give you an idea of the cake size!). Jake got more gifts! Nani and auntie Allie came to visit and celebrate with us. Kenny's mom got Jake the coolest swing. It's a tire cut and bolted to be a horse. Jake is now always wanting to ride the horsey. I can't believe he is two! He's trying to count to 10. He's got the numbers but in the wrong order! He still loves to sing and he recites his Veggie Tales CD almost verbatim. He throws horrible tantrums! He had his two year check-up and he now weighs 29 lbs! He's gained 5 pounds in 5 months I think he's getting ready to get taller because he's definately getting chubby! But he is healthy.

Christmas 2007

2007-12-29T14:10:00.000-08:00

Christmas was a blast! Jake got everything a little boy could ever want this year. Joe sent Jake his first basketball hoop and he shot a basket on the very first try it was very cute. He also got a 4-wheeler from Santa (Kenny and I). Between the basketball hoop and the 4-wheeler he didn't know what to do, he just ran back and fourth between the two. Joe also sent his very first remote control truck. It's for toddlers and is on a cable. Jake didn't understand that the cable was to keep it from getting away from him so he just drags it around while pressing all the controls. He got a lot of balls, musical instruments, art stuff, and trucks of every kind. He also got a real baseball bat and ball, he hit it on the first try on that also (he gets the athletisism from his dad- not me!). Kolton was with us also and he got a dune buggy from Santa, between the two boys the lot next to our house looks like a racing track. By the way Jake rides his 4-wheeler with no hands! I got a lot of video, it's so cute, I wish I could upload it. He can't steer yet so I have to run along side of him to keep him going in a big circle! Later that night we went to Kenny's cousin's house for dinner with the family. It was good food and company. The day was long but fun for everyone.

Our First Christmas Party of 2007

2007-12-22T04:54:00.000-08:00

Jake and I kicked off our Christmas holiday with dinner at my cousin Christy's house. We had dinner and opened presents and played. Jake opened his first present it was really cute. At first my cousin told him to open his present I told her he didn't really know what she was talking about and he just pushed around the package. Once he got started he ripped into it like a pro! He got a tractor and played with it the rest of the night. Christy's youngest daughter Lindey had fun singing and dancing for us. She changed her dressed up clothes twice, she loves being a princess! We can't wait for the rest of our festivities to begin. Did I mention I LOVE Christmas...

Our Christmas Tree

2007-12-22T04:44:00.000-08:00

This is our Christmas tree. I love to look at all of the presents under it! It looks so beautiful. I'm beginning to get stingy with the gifts though. I don't like giving them to people because it takes away from my decor :) Jake has been really good about not opening the presents, he doesn't really know what they are. Last year he was only just barely one at Christmas time and his birthday was shortly after that. This year will be so fun, I can't wait to see his face!

Messes

2007-12-22T04:39:00.000-08:00

Jake really loves to fingerpaint still. He is a very messy child but he knows how to have fun!

I am thankful for family

2007-11-24T18:19:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful time at mom's for Thanksgiving week. We made a wonderful dinner, decorated for Christmas and hung out with the family!

We all had our job's to do, Cortlen's job was to make the turkey breast (with mom's help)

Kristin's was to set the Thanksgiving table

We stole the beaters from the mashed potato bowl and they were wonderful!

Decorating the tree

And now for the temper tantrum, yes he literally throws himself on the floor!

Dishing out the kisses to Nani and auntie Allie

Jake is helping put up the Christmas tree at mom's

OK so this is the reason Jake doesn't sleep with me very often!

Hard lessons learned

2007-11-24T16:57:00.000-08:00

On Monday Jake, Kenny and I went to my mom's house for Thanksgiving. Kristin and Cortlen flew into town as well, it was wonderful to spend time with my family. My mom turned 50 on Monday and we took her out to dinner Tuesday night. The first lesson that I learned was my days of taking Jake out to a nice restaurant are over for the time being. We arrived in down-town Austin 1 hour before dinner. I didn't bring his stroller though. Big mistake. Kenny and I took turns holding him, he hated it! He wanted down, you know, so he could run into the traffic and break things in the stores. Typical toddler... By the time we got to dinner, he was too far gone. Jake threw such a fit that Kenny and I had to eat in shifts while the other one was outside with him. Dinner was a disaster. I'm not sure when this all happened, other then the fact he can no longer be taken to this type of setting. We used to go out to dinner all the time, so this was a shock. Now Jake is well disciplined, I'm not the parent that lets their kid run rampant, so why is this happening to me?

Kenny went home on Wednesday morning to attend a funeral and on Wednesday afternoon we had family pictures taken. At the Picture People they can print and frame the pictures right there, same day. Anyway it was taking a while and Kristin and I left the store to search for a baby gift. During that time Cortlen had called and Kristin asked him about Jake. Cortlen responded by saying he didn't have Jake with him. No big deal right? Wrong! We called my mom to check on her having Jake, no dice. WHERE WAS JAKE!!! Nobody had him, in the mall, in Austin! I immediately started sobbing and hyperventilating. My mom made me sit down, the people in the photo studio printed out pictures of Jake and called the mall security. I wish I could say that I reacted differently but I was absolutely paralyzed with fear. I sat on that stool in the store and continued to cry and think of my poor lost baby. This is a fear NO mother should ever have to experience. I thought of every terrible thing that could happen to him. I prayed like I have never prayed before! This seemed to go on forever. Then Kristin spotted him! He was walking around a few stores down... with Cortlen... It turns out Cortlen was joking about not having Jake. He asked Kristin if she ever heard to sarcasm in his voice. Let me just tell you guys that, I love my brother and I know he felt awful. He learned a valuable lesson and so did I. A mothers love runs so much deeper for her child than I ever realized.

Eyelashes

2007-11-02T11:56:00.000-07:00

Holy eyelashes! (and eyebrows). But really, I think this might have been one of God's cruel jokes on women. Only men have lashes like these!

Halloween 2007

2007-11-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

Jake was a lion for halloween. He had a lot of fun... I think. He knows what a lion said and enjoyed "roaring" at people. Say "trick or treat" didn't really work out though because when I first got him the plastic pumpkin, I told him to say "trick or treat" and he did. I found oput later he thought that was the name of the bucket. When he was trick or treating I told him what to say and he'd tip his bucket up to show the face painted on it to people, spilling out his candy. He did this about 5 times, so I gave up. He was really facinated by all of the costumes, but he didn't care for people in masks. In fact it scared the crap out of him. As the kids approached he started out whimppering which quickly escalated to yelling as he ran behind my leg and buried his face. He enjoyed all the cany (of course) and waved to everyone from the front yard.

Go Sooners!

2007-10-31T18:15:00.001-07:00

Jake is all about football! He won't sit still for anything except a football game. He is wearing his new OU Sooners shirt in these pictures.

Jake and Elmo

2007-10-31T18:06:00.000-07:00

Jake had to go to the ear doctor a few weeks ago because a cold had settled in his ears. He had to strapped down to the table and had his ears suctioned out. It was horrible! He looks happy in the pictures but they are prior to the drama. After if was over he had alligator tears running down his cheeks and he said a tearful thank you.

Swings

2007-10-31T17:34:00.000-07:00

A wonderful day at the park for our cousins 4th birthday party! We had a lot of fun. Enjoy our pictures...

Jake and Carrie

2007-09-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Updates from Oklahoma...

Carrie... I have started nursing school, finally. I was telling people that I was really excited to start and they couldn't understand why. I moved here for school over a year ago and until August I still had yet to begin acheiving what I came her for in the first place. Now I am 4 weeks into it. It's been really hard to juggle working full-time, school and Jake. I am learning that "it's not the quantity of time spent with Jakey, it's the quality"- Thanks mom. I've had to deal with the guilt that I do not put my son first right now (it would kill me if I let it), instead I have to work to suppot us for now and I have to finish school to support us forever. I am doing fair in school, not the straight A's I've been use to, but I'll be happy to pass. Work is good. I miss the ambulance (in California) everyday, but, working in the ER is better for me now because it's transitioning me to were I need to be by next summer. I think I just might make a good ER nurse after all...

Jake... He's getting HUGE! He's at a cool stage right now. His vocabulary is only limited my his pronunciation of words, he repeats everything we say. I love it when he's frustrated and he says GOSH! He also loves to say EWWW, NASTY- usually to bugs and boogers (although it doesn't stop him from playing with either). He learned how to forced farts and it cracks him up! Yes, I am raising a total boy. He perfers to jump off the slide platform instead of slide down the slide, he plays with fire ants, and, sticker bushes don't stop him. He still loves to ride four wheelers with Kolton (at about 2mph) and I see Santa bringing some sort of motorized toy for him this year. He is completely potty trained with the exception of night time, YEAH!!!!!!! He's got great coordination, he can swing a bat and hit a ball, throw pretty good, and, he can kick a soccer ball with ease. He's learned how to jump and bounces all over the place. He can almost ride his tricycle (maybe a month or so). He just got moved up in his daycare/learning center. He is now in the preschool class instead of the toddler class. Brains, Beauty and Brawn? A mothers dream (yes, he is my pride and joy!). Finally, he still only has two of his molars and none of his eye teeth, but, he still can eat twice as much as me! He will be 20 months on the 9th- time flies!

Jake loves puppies!

2007-08-26T05:48:00.000-07:00

If you can get past the hair (it's not combed or spiked)...

Moomy and Jake

2007-08-25T04:55:00.001-07:00

I love these pictures! Go Wal-Mart!

GQ baby!!!

2007-08-18T13:53:00.000-07:00

I mean really... Do I need to say how adorable he is? I didn't think so...

Frontier City

2007-08-18T13:14:00.000-07:00

jake went to Frontier City last weekend with the kids in his church and the youth leaders (which happen to be his weekend babysitters. Frontier City is a lot like Knotts Berryf Farm- for those in California. He had a great time. Here are a few of the pictures. He was gone until 10 at night and I got a picture of my future waiting up for him. He rode water rides, went through fun houses, and ate and drank his way from one end to another. He was exausted when he got home and was actually asking me to go to bed. First he asked for his "beebee" (binkie), than his "naynay" (blanket) and finally "peez mama nigh-nigh". I love his conversation skills at this point! I can understand just about anything he wants right now.

Our Fun Week

2007-07-27T10:12:00.000-07:00

This past week was my first week out of summer school and the kids and I had a great time. Kolton (Kenny's son) came to stay with us for a few days. Jake and Kolton had a lot of fun just playing around the house. Jake continued on with his potty training (which is going great), he learned how to build with his legos. The lego thing was really neat to watch because all he did was stack them but he knew the like pieces and colors and he stacked them in matching order every time! A small victory I guess but for the mommy in me I was really proud! Here's some pics...

Pudding and Bath Paints

2007-07-22T03:47:00.000-07:00

How many ways can a baby make a mess? Does it matter if he's having fun?

Ear Tubes

2007-07-22T03:41:00.000-07:00

Jakey got his tubes put in his ears on Wednesday. He did great, but he doesn't take to the sleeping medicine very well. He screamed the whole time in recovery. He wasn't quite himself for the whole day and he was a little sensitive the next day. He hasn't had any drainage or bleeding though. I'm really hoping that he has less ear infections and less colds as a result.

Yummy Snacks

2007-07-15T04:29:00.000-07:00

Need I say more?

The Time Out Chair

2007-07-15T04:05:00.000-07:00

Jake really doesn't get timeout that much right now and when he does it's for about 45 seconds to 1 minute, but can you tell he can't stand it for even that long? I think it actually pains him to sit still. The saddest part about the whole thing is he actually looks just like me in these pictures, he NEVER looks like me.

Good Times

2007-07-15T03:53:00.000-07:00

Last week we were swimming (again). We had such a fun time. It feels so good to sit in the sun by the pool. Jake had a lot of fun, as usual. He went down the water slide a few times (Just for the record- he loved it. It was not child cruelty), played on a tractor 4-wheeler, a must have very soon, and he ate M&M's. I've had to put a life jacket on him because he just steps right off the side of the pool the whole time. We've been working on how to get out of the pool from the side so that if he gets in, he can get out regardless of where he is.

The good and the bad...

2007-07-08T06:46:00.000-07:00

Alright, so the the whole toddler bed thing just wasn't happening. Jake did really well during the week but rebelled on the weekends. This leads me to believe that he was just "acting out" because I was gone so much. You see I work 12-hour shifts on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Mondays were rough then things would get progressively better until we hit Friday night and we were back to hell. So... Jake is back in a crib. Since I put him back in there, he no longer hits, pinches or pulls his own hair. He throws very few temper tantrums and doesn't talk back as much. I am extremely grateful for this. There were many days that I felt like all I did was yell at and punish him. These were long and trying days for us both.

The summer has been so nice for us. I haven't had this much time with Jake since he was a newborn. Although I work 3 days a week, I only have one class right now and it's in the evening (Tues and Thurs). Jake and I spend 4 straight days together. It was hard at first, I wasn't use to being around him so much. Toddlers are exhausting! He NEVER stops! He is super active, not hyper, just busy. I am sad that I have to start school in a month, he will become a devil child again at first, I'm sure.

He has finally cut molars! This means he can safely eat the things he's been eating for a long time. Please allow me to back track. Jacob eats like a growing teenager. Many of you have witnessed this first hand. For lunch the other day he ate 2 1/2 hot dogs (chili dogs at that), a half of watermelon, two cookies, fruit snacks and a cup of juice. For dinner the other night he had a whole banana, green beans, 4 chicken tenders, a can of diced peaches, a piece of string cheese, 6 nilla wafers, a bowl of grapes and 2 cups of juice (my son doesn't like milk). Please pray for me that I may be able to provide food to him as a 15- year old.

Jake is getting tubes put in his ears on July 18th. Supposedly this is a very simple procedure that only takes 5 minutes. The doctor does have to put him to sleep though. He did say there will be no IV's and he will not be intubated (breathing tube). The other thing is his feet. Especially his left foot. Jake has my flat feet, the only thing he got from me by the way! He walks on the inside of his foot (almost on his ankle bone). It doesn't seen to bother him and most people don't notice it. I thought a large part was due to him walking so early. I thought that maybe at 9 months he just hadn't developed enough to support his body. I was wrong they are just flat feet. He gets to go to the Orthopedic doctor on July 23 for evaluation. He will most likely end up in corrective shoes for a while. Fortunately the shoes are cute these days!

That's all at this point. I will keep everyone updated after the appoints we have coming up.

"tookie, tookie..."

2007-07-01T09:43:00.000-07:00

Ok so last night I had a moment. My son was in the kitchen screaming "tookie, tookie. Peez mama, tookie." (cookie) I then realized that it's all about Jake. For those of you who don't have a baby, I hope that some day you will know the joy's of having your baby put sentances together, the frustration that comes from the screaming when you tell them no more "tookies", and the love when they kiss you anyway. Everyday is challenging when you're a single mom. It's scary worrying all alone, it's exhausting when they are sick, and it's hard to balance work, school, and parenthood. Then there is the lack of personal time with a baby in the house. I share my food, bathroom time, and my bed with this adventurous little toddler. At the end of the day the kisses goodnight and the wove you's fill my very drained heart until it's overflowing.

Learning Colors

2007-06-30T04:02:00.000-07:00

We painted again the other day. This time Jake did so much better, he only put the paint in his mouth one time ( I hope he's not the glue-eating kid). It has been raining a lot here this past week and we've been stuck in doors most of the time. So we paint and color as a way to learn colors. He can say all the colors except orange. It's funny because he tries so hard and gets frustrated because he can not pronounce that word. I love his art, we framed one of the paintings. We'll be mailing the rest out to our family.

Rainy Day Fun

2007-06-30T03:53:00.000-07:00

I think Jake may have become a complete southern boy the other day. You see, when it rains water collects at the foot of our driveway forming a huge puddle. I didn't think anything of this until one day I saw jake throwing himself aginst our storm door (a glass screen door). He was jumping and giggling. I got up to see what was causing my son's excitment and found my neighbors son sitting in the puddle playing with all the nasty things including dirt and gravel. I must say that I wouldn't be suprised if there were small animals in this gross water! Of course Jake,being all boy, had to play too! After all, that's what showers are for, right?!

Homecoming

2007-06-16T10:45:00.000-07:00

Do you remember homecoming? I do, like it was yesterday. It was all about finding the perfect dress and getting a date. Not in Oklahoma! The little towns here have a blowout. They have all kinds of activities and festivities. Including live bands, turtle races (that's right!), a parade, a carnival, and a street dance. It is crazy. The turtle race, which I left work to see, was the funniest thing. People catch random turtles, dress them up and then race them. The kids win money for it. The parade was full of random floats including class of 2002, 4-wheelers and the local clinic. Everyone joins in the fun, including the nursing home residents. The residents were all lined up on the sidewalks in wheelchairs. I love it here!

Growing Up Fast...

2007-06-10T05:06:00.000-07:00

This morning I was looking back on some of his baby photos and I realize how much he has grown this year. It's going too fast! Jake is 17 months old now. He sleeps in a toddler bed. He gets up a lot of the time and it takes us about 1 hour to actually get to sleep. He's doing well though. His vocabulary has increased tremendously over the past 2 weeks. He had added, where'd it go, what's that, eat, out, down, bird, tree, clouds, mimi, mine, pa-paw (Kenny's grandpa), bath, flower, spider and so much more. I think he can probably say 30-40 words. He counts to two, tries to sing his ABC's (he gets to C), he knows yellow and blue. He knows his ear, eye, nose, tootsies, belly button, ear, mouth and hair (we're working on hands and knees). Potty training is not the greatest, my fault. We stay so busy on my days off that I have to put him in a diaper part of the day, plus daycare doesn't have a potty chair and he's too little to get on the big potty. But he'll go if I ask him to. He's really defiant right now. He screams "NO!" at me all the time. I have had to spank him pretty regularly and now he hits really bad, so we've stopped spanking and now use a lot of timeout. I hope this phase passes soon! He loves to give kisses and it's those moments that keep him on my good side. We really miss our family, I hope that you guys enjoy the pictures and feel like you're part of his childhood.

Swimming

2007-06-10T05:03:00.001-07:00

Lake Rat

2007-06-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

My son is offically a lake rat (Kari you would be proud)! He is so comfortable in that environment. He has NO fear of the water. I know I discovered this while visiting California but he took it to another level on Monday. Jake would just run out into the water. He got waist deep and tried to go further. He fell once and got dunked under the surface and still didn't care. We went on some bumper boats and he got mad because I was holding the straps on his life jacket while he hung over the side of the boat dragging his hands through the water. He wanted to climb out. Needless to say he starts swim lessons on June 25th!

Cardiac Update

2007-06-01T04:12:00.000-07:00

Most of you guys know I had a cardiac procedure done last week. I wanted everyone to know that things went fairly well and I'm back at work today. There was a small issue with bleeding that was resolved later that evening causing us to stay up there in Oklahoma City one more night. The hardest part was being away from Jake. It was my first time away from him. Thanks mom and Kristin for coming in to help me out and thanks Sharon for keeping Jake the first night. I went was really bruised at first, it looked like I was beat with a baseball bat. It looked great in the bathing suit I was wearing on Monday at the lake! Anyway I just wanted to let all of you know things are fine!

Sharon's Birthday

2007-06-01T04:04:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Sharon! We spent Sunday afternoon at Sharon's house with all the cousins. We BBQ'd and played outside. Jake is going through a jealous phase, no one can get close to me! He was really cute. His cousin Lindey kept wanting to kiss him and he kept pushing her away, except one time, he tackled her.

California 2007: Family

2007-05-18T11:04:00.000-07:00

Must love family! It was so great to see everyone. I'm really sorry I wasn't able to spend time with my friends out there. The trip was so short, hopefully next time. I was able to go to dinner a couple of nights. Both times the restraunts were on the beach, it is so nice to listen to the ocean. I really miss it. Enjoy our pictures.

California 2007: The Beach

2007-05-18T04:09:00.000-07:00

This was Jake's first trip to the beach. The weather wasn't that great, it was a little cool. When we first put him in the sand, he took one step and froze. He refused to walk in the strange sinking stuff. After gaining his confidence he took one slow step at a time digging his feet in with each step. Soon he got the hang of it and was able to enjoy digging in the sand. The ocean however was a completely different story. Jake had no fear of the water. He charged in to it like a champ. Which makes my plans for swim lessons this summer concrete! He had a blast and we loved watching him.

California 2007: The Aquarium

2007-05-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

No one can tell me that these two don't look identical!

One of the touch tanks. Jake liked the way the animals felt.

Very unsure of the birds. One landed on him and he took off running and screaming.

Fortunately I was not pooped on.

Must love churros.

Funny Faces

2007-05-18T03:57:00.000-07:00

Jake has learned to smile for the camera!

Messy Monster

2007-05-11T05:17:00.000-07:00

It's amazing that a baby can make a room this messy in 60 seconds flat...

Best Friends

2007-05-11T05:08:00.000-07:00

Jake and Jaxson are very best friends. They can be seen everywhere together. The window picture is taken on a rainy day. Not even rain could seperate them. Jake sat at the window in a chair while Jaxson ran by over and over again jumping into the air as he passed jake. It was so funny. This went on for about 30 minutes!

Backyard Adventures

2007-05-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Spring time on Oklahoma is really pretty, but it storms a lot. It's hard to catch a sunny day for mowing to yard (by the way totally a guys job!). Anyway, Jake and I went in the back yard to mow and play. While I was moving a came across a TARANTULA! I was frozen. It took a good 60 seconds of contiplation before I remembered I had a running lawn mower in my hands. I ran over it. I'm hoping that the mysterious hole maker is solved and killed! Jake was oblivious to the whole incident. He just enjoyed being outside! He will be seen in a lot of underware, diapers and onesies due to the heat and humidity.

Potty Training

2007-05-11T04:37:00.000-07:00

Jake is starting to potty train. He's doing really well. I'm a firm believer in introducing the potty chair early. He's had the chair now for 3 months. There hasn't been any anxiety about it at all. He's pretty much trained himself to poop in the potty before his baths. We are working on the pee-pee. The draw back to potty training a 16 month old is they don't make pull-ups or underware in his size. He has had three accidents in the first two days,not bad! We will really get serious after our trip out to California. These are some cute pics of him. Sorry I forgot to rotate one of them!

Sleepy-head

2007-04-27T04:08:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... Still a little baby in so many ways...

BIg Red Fire Truck

2007-04-27T04:01:00.000-07:00

This is my new Big Red Fire Truck! Thank you daddy!

Easter 2007

2007-04-13T04:07:00.000-07:00

Jake was really sick the weekend before Easter. He had 2 febrile seizures in 12 hours and his fever was really hard to control, in fact I couldn't control it. I almost had to put him in the hospital. One more seizure and he'd have gone in. His fever was 103.4 to 103.7 even with Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hours. I know the drill. It scared the life out of me! On Sunday he seemed to feel a little better, his fever was really low, barely there. I took him to Sharon's house so I could go to work and he was able to go to church (where he is a hellion) and then participate in an Easter egg hunt. The church we go to is super kid friendly and on holidays there is no nursery (it's really small). The kids are allowed to run around during the service. I try not to allow Jake to do this anymore, I know that it is distracting. When he was little it was funny because I always knew he was wherever the bent over group of adults was. The pictures are from this day, that's why he looks a little sick.

The following weekend was Easter and he spent the day with his new babysitter, Kadeshia (de-de). They took Jake to church with them. They go to a predominantly black church and Jake stayed in the service instead of the nursery with them. Katrina, Kadeshia's mom, said to me "we black people you know when we sing we get into it. We sing loud and dance around and the get the drums going". She said that Jake stood up on the pew and was going crazy dancing with eyes as big as saucers! I wish I could have seen it. Jake also won the drawing for the huge Easter basket prize and found the prize egg while hunting that had money in it. All in all it was a good holiday for him.

Strawberries

2007-04-13T03:56:00.000-07:00

These pictures were taken on two different days but since Jake is wearing the same clothes I thought I'd better put them together. I gave Jake Strawberries yesterday and he kept making the most sour face with every bite. He'd take them out of his mouth after partially chewing them and then put them back in and finish. He did this with every berry, disgusting! Anyway I think he likes them. He's just started really using his ustensils. He gets upset if I don't give him a spoon or fork with his meals. I've been catching some flack from certain people about giving him a fork, "he could poke out his eye!". My response... so can half the toys in his toy box if he tried hard enough. I'm trying to let him be independant and confident. He's a big boy now.

More Outside Pics

2007-03-24T04:11:00.000-07:00

All of these pictures were my favorite I couldn't choose which ones to publish, so I added more and published them all! Enjoy!

Spring Is Here!

2007-03-24T04:02:00.000-07:00

Now that the weather is warming up we are able to play outside. The grass is soft and green and all the trees are blooming. Jake loves to be outside. He has discovered dandilions and loves to make them blow away when he touches them. He ran all around the yard touching all of them!

He has also recently started picking his nose, not my favorite phase...

My Little Toddler

2007-03-14T12:36:00.000-07:00

Jake is growing very fast. He is quite the little toddler, though still a momma's boy at heart. Here's the update. He's got 3 teeth (the dentist says he's dentally challenged which leads to healthier teeth) but currently cutting 3, he just started saying "tickle, tickle", "no, no" is becoming his favorite words, he now LOVES Jaxson, He waves Hi and Bye to everyone like he's in a parade. Last night he stood on top of the seat to his ride on firetruck, he loves to dance and "jump", he's attempting to climb out of his crib, he goes to bed by himself when he's tired, he LOVES bananas (they make he really gasey). He climbs in and out of the tub, poops and pees in the potty often (with prompting). He loves to have his hair spiked, hates Mac and Cheese (weird kid), hates Mexican (not my kid?), and loves yogurt. Finally, bye-bye is his favorite thing to do.

Aunt Jessica Comes to Visit

2007-03-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

Auntie Jess came to visit us this past weekend. I was really sick, as many of you know. Jess took great care of us, as always! Although being sick was a bummer, it was also a blessing. Had I been well I would have been at work most of the time she was here, this way I was home the whole time. We love to have visitors. I realize it's not Hawaii or anything, but Jake is growing fast you guys are missing out!

Pennsylvania: Part 2

2007-03-14T12:28:00.000-07:00