Happy 24th Birthday Aunt Jul

"Sweet-ums" (as my sister calls him) wanted to wish Aunt Julianne a VERY HAPPY Birthday!!!!!! We are thinking about you today.....and Jake specifically is sending this SMILE to you! :-) Have a really GREAT Birthday!! We can't wait to see you soon!! We love you!!

Snack (then nap) time!

A little snack....and then the best part (for mommy, aka. entertainer) NAPTIME :-) Actually, Jake has been a lot of fun to play with, too...and really hasn't fussed too much for having a cold (and for just doing this drive a month ago)! We've been having a good time in the backseat. Daddy won't let Mommy drive, so I'm pulling out all of the entertainment stops!

Biggest Cross in Western Hemisphere

So, this is the biggest cross in the Western Hemisphere. I need to google where the biggest cross in the world would be then? Just one of the "random" facts that you find out when you drive across country. We aren't really sure the story behind it (how big it is, why someone built it, etc).....but, by reading the signs on the highway, it is the biggest. It is located somewhere outside of Amarillo, TX. I just wanted to make sure that the readers of this blog learn something every once in a while, too :-) The picture of Chris and Jake....not sure where that was taken, but Jake was loving being out of the car....that's all I know. It gets harder and harder each day to put him back in the car seat when we make stops!!

Cold

Jake has a cold. A lot of you who read this blog know this already. The irony in this cold is, again, not great timing. He was up most of the night on Tuesday night (the night before we left CA) with a fever and all stuffy and feeling gross. So, the guy has been a trooper on this trip across country! His fever only lasted Wednesday and some of Thursday, and he has been fever-free since somewhere between Albuquerque and Oklahoma City. BUT, he does still have a cough and stuffiness. Chris and I have found that Jake can take on both of us, though. He does NOT appreciate the nasal aspirator. I mean, can you blame him?? I've never had to use it on him, and he is making sure we STILL don't use it. Chris and I try to EXPLAIN to him that it is for his own good.....pretty funny us trying to explain it to a 10-month old as he's screaming :-) Anyway, he is getting better everyday, and finally slept from like 11pm - 7am last night, so that is good. I mean, plus we have lost 2 hours....and I'm pretty much just tossing the "schedule" out the window. Did I mention, though, that Jake doesn't like us to USE the nasal aspirator; however, he LOVES to play with it. Kind of gross, but hey....whatever keeps him occupied in the car :-)

Thanksgiving Day

We spent Thanksgiving Day driving from Flagstaff, AZ to Albuquerque, NM. It was a fun, memorable Thanksgiving for us. We stopped for lunch at a Love's Subway! There are Love's gas stations all over I-40. Then, for dinner.....we planned to go to Outback. We just assumed most places would be open. Well, we started driving, and everything was "lights out." EVEN MCDONALDS (which I don't like anyway, but still....). So, the only thing we could find was a Del Taco (yuck), but we FINALLY found a TGI Fridays that was open, so that was awesome.....and we got some take out and brought it back to the hotel. Jake was the ONLY one to have Turkey on Thanksgiving Day, though!! Maybe once we get "settled in" to SC, I can make a Thanksgiving meal....although, it may be NEXT Thanksgiving before we actually get settled - haha :-)

Some Cross Country Sights

Here are some of the cross country sights we have seen so far. It pretty much rained all Wednesday and Thursday while we were on the road. Thankfully the sunshine was out on Friday for most of the day, BUT we did see a rainbow in Arizona and SNOW in Albuquerque as we were leaving yesterday morning. There was snow/ice on the ground for about 60 miles!! Needless to say, it has been very cold on the drive so far.

MOVE OUT

Well, our stuff has officially been packed and picked up by the movers. The first picture is a picture of the storage facility....check out the view :-) Jake wasn't able to help the movers as much as he was the packers! Instead, he wanted to drive the car like he saw the movers driving the truck.....AND he passed out hard core on the way home! BUT - our stuff is in transit to South Carolina, so we won't have to wait 7 weeks for furniture like we did when we got here! So, all we have left to do now is be "on the road again....."

Family Picture

So, I realized this weekend that the 3 of us haven't taken a family picture together since Chris has been back. I just assumed pictures would be taken the night Chris came home, but since that night turned chaotic, we were able to take our first picture this weekend. My hair is a little out of control, but other than that.....here we are :-)

Playing with Erin

Jake got to play with his friend Erin all day on Sunday. Erin was born 1 week after Jake, and Penny and Erin drove over from San Diego on Sunday to see us. We had a great time catching up, and it was so much fun watching the kids play together. A lot has changed since they last saw each other when they were 2 months old and just laid next to each other, but never even really noticed the other was around :-) It was FUN to watch them interact....and interesting to see how they both wanted the same toy at the same time usually. It's funny how there can be a room full of toys and yet both want the same toy at the same time. Here are some pictures from the day!

Breakfast

On Saturday morning, Chris and Jake made breakfast together. It started off with Jake finishing off the Smart Start cereal....box AND then he decided to help Daddy make some eggs. For those of you who haven't gotten the "memo," Chris came home from Iraq on a health food kick, so things have been WAY MORE healthy around this place lately. I'm interested to see how he handles the holidays.

Explanation

Things have been pretty crazy around here since we are getting ready to head back to the East Coast tomorrow. For some reason, it feels like we just did that drive?! :-) I have pictures to blog about, b/c it has been a busy weekend, but I'll have to get to that later today. Chris actually blogged about getting "kicked out of a bar" and we did, but I didn't want Jake to lose his "perfect" image, and the reason we got kicked out isn't because Jake or Ava were being too crazy in the bar....it's because they were under 21, so we had to leave :-) Yep, they had EVERYONE move to a totally different room/location, b/c of 2 babies under the age of 1. However, Jake is really good at throwing cheerios. We have been playing so much catch with him....with a ball....that he basically throws everything he picks up now.
Anyway....so, we are headed to Flagstaff, AZ tomorrow and will be in Albuquerque, NM for Thanksgiving. It will be an unconventional Thanksgiving, BUT I am just thankful that the 3 of us will be ALL together! Talk about something to be thankful for!! That is going to be nice. I'm pretty sad about leaving this 80 degree weather, though. Chris and I were talking the other day about why we were going to Parris Island instead of San Diego (and then we remembered that the grandparents and aunts all live on the east coast), BUT you can't beat this weather. It's pretty ironic that I was BAWLING my eyes out as we entered this desert 3 years ago, but it does really grow on you....and I'm kind of sad to leave. Yep, how is THAT for some irony?! :-) However, I'm also excited about our next adventure....

Kicked out of a Bar

Jake can say he has done a lot of things before his first birthday. He's driven across the entire United States a few times, he's been to a family reunion, a few weddings, a 4th of July celebration and now he can claim he has done something only Gram and Mimi have done...been kicked out of a bar. Jake and his friend Ava were causing such a stir at the Officer's Club during a fairwell party for Chris and another captain last night that they were finally asked to leave and forced all of the officers of 1st Tank Battalion to move to another room. We can't figure out if it was when Jake was trying to buy a round for everyone or if it was when he was throwing cheerios all over the place. Regardless, the mom's had to intervene and Jake and Ava were banished to high chairs...of course that didn't keep them from being the life of the party.

Packing Day

Today was our TMO packing day in preparation for our move to MCRD (Marine Corp Recruit Depot) Parris Island in South Carolina. Jake was definitely a big help. He made sure the boxes were sturdy enough by standing up against them...and he wanted to make sure the patio table (which isn't the lightest thing in the world) was put in the right place as you can see in the video. And the rest of the time, he cheered on Mommy and Dad as they helped the packers with the stuff. Needless to say, Jake was very helpful and is very excited about making his third trip from west coast to east coast (or vice versa) before his first birthday....or even his first Christmas.

Last time at The River

The other day was our last trip to The River. The River isn't actually a river out here in the desert (which was really confusing for me when we first moved here), but it is this nice area down in Palm Springs with shops and restaurants and a nice place to walk around. We picked up Cheesecake Factory to go the other night while we were down there and walked around a little bit. As excited as we are to move to South Carolina and experience a new place and new things, I am especially going to MISS THIS WEATHER! So, for now - we have been to The River for the last time.....but I have a feeling we could be back here in a few years :-)

Jake's OTHER entertainment

I'm telling you....the boy likes to read. In fact, one of the first things Jake does in the morning is pull all of his books out of his Thomas the Train backpack (as you can see in the picture), and usually by morning naptime, we have already read ALL of them. About now is when I'm wishing I would have left some more toys in VA and just brought ALL of his books instead. I can pretty much recite from memory any book you can see on this floor! I love reading to him, though....because it's the ONLY time he sits still on my lap (well, when we're reading and when I am holding a bottle)! Jake usually goes back through and reads them again on his own, too! A lot of times....he tries to EAT them, but.....his mean mommy stops him from doing that! He seems to like chewing chunks of PAPER from his books more than he likes chunks of spaghetti and meatballs!

Entertainment

Since Jake has been pulling up on things, he really doesn't want anything to do with his toys. I may have already mentioned that....but the only toys he will play with are his books, which he reads (so, they aren't really toys), but other than that.....he wants to play with the furniture or anything else he can find that ISN'T a toy. What he found in this video....entertained him for a really long time!! Chris and I just really want to know what goes on inside his head....

Goofing around

Daddy and Jake make a great team!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRAM!!!!!!!

Today is Gram's Birthday! This morning....we were talking about Gram and her birthday.....so, Jake wanted to send a special celebration message to his Gram!! We wish we could be there to help you eat cake and blow out the candles, but we are definitely thinking about you Gram!!! Just ask Jake....

Dump truck FUN

Chris came home the other day with a present for Jake....a dump truck!! So, this is Jake having some fun with his new TOY from Daddy!! Jake is especially good at the DUMPING part of it!

Thank you for helping, Jake

Jake has become our little helper....sort of. He pretends to be helping, but he really just sees all of these things as opportunities to pull himself up :-) Lately (as you can see), Jake has been helping with the laundry (and yes, he almost made it into the dryer himself), he has been helping Chris clean his gear - or at least watching.....and he even helps put the dishes away. Hopefully this is a great sign for the future :-)