A SoCal Story

Glimpse

2012-01-28T17:25:00.000-08:00

Today, I braved my first track workout since Jake's birth. The weather was beautiful, the track was empty, and I couldn't help but smile as I pushed my limits. Oh, it felt so good to run hard again! But then, as I rounded the final corner of an 800M repeat, I noticed that I had company. And not just any company.
A big coyote stood about eight feet in front of me, eyes fixed on mine, mouth open.

This Google images coyote was not my running buddy, but you get the idea.

It, obviously, startled me and I let out a bit of a shriek. That's probably not the appropriate procedure when you encounter a huge coyote, but I didn't stay to find out. Which turned out to be a good thing anyway, because approximately thirty seconds after walking into the gym, I found myself standing over a toilet emptying my stomach. Afterward, as I finished my workout on the elliptical, I admitted to myself that perhaps my body still isn't ready to go quite as hard as it did pre-baby. (Also, that perhaps adding a leftover brownie to my pre-workout breakfast wasn't the best idea...) But hey, speaking of my baby, that's who this post is really about!

I'm still playing catch-up on here, but am happy to report that I should be fully up-to-date in two weeks thanks to a slower-paced January. That said, please enjoy random pictures of my Jake throughout the month of December.

He turned 3 months old at the beginning of the month.

One Sunday afternoon, we headed down the road a couple miles for a Christmas card picture session. Then we came home and cuddled.

The rest of the month, Jake did rather exciting things such as eat, play and sleep. Okay, he did more exciting things, too, but I've already blogged about all those. So, eating. Jake became enamored with eating anything that came near his mouth, such as his parent's fingers or his stuffed animals. His favorite thing to "eat," however, is his own hands (preferably two at a time) -- despite Matt's explanation that his fists will never fit in his mouth.

Playing is just as much fun for us as it is for Jake. We come up with all sorts of silly games all day long and Jake is all sorts of expressive, so it's fantastic.

Ah, and sleeping. The holy grail of babyhood. Jake was really good at it prior to our trip to Utah for the holidays, although he's always been closer to the minimum "recommended" hours of baby sleep. He likes to be awake so he doesn't miss anything! But if he has to sleep, he prefers sleeping on his parents. Or at least in his parents' bed. Or at the very least, with his mobile on, because clearly, being alone in bed when it's quiet is bo-ring.

We love that little guy.

Debut

2012-01-25T23:19:00.000-08:00

Jake finally made his debut at Matt's office last month. He dressed for the occasion in his soft airplane sweater and Air Force socks, and then braved our only wintery day to visit his Daddy. Jake saved all of his smiles for Matt's coworkers and instantly wrapped all the ladies around his little fingers. He was so charming, in fact, that his presence was then demanded at all of the adult-only holiday parties. What can he say? He's a popular little guy.

Being the center of attention sure is tiring, though.

People

2012-01-25T00:26:00.000-08:00

One of the best parts of having a new baby is sharing him with all the people we love. The holidays, of course, provided for plenty of that and we were able to introduce Jake to lots of family and friends that will play an important role in his life. First up was all the Cedar Grafs, including his Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Graf.

Grandma and Grandpa had even dedicated an entire square of their fridge to their first great-grandson.

Next, we headed North and arrived just in time for Matthew's Eagle Scout Court of Honor. He'd waited an entire year after earning his Eagle to schedule the ceremony because he wanted to wait until our whole family could be there. How sweet is that? The Northern Grafs came to support Matthew, which meant Jakey got to meet a whole bunch of them all at once.

Handsome fellow, that Washew.

This is also when he first got to meet his Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma Smith, who adored him.

Later in the trip, we met up with my Liz and Jake met one of his future best buddies in Isaac. They'll have their first sleepover in just a couple weeks, lucky boys (and lucky moms!).

Uncle Cheb made his debut on New Year's Eve. Chase is one of our best friends from the Academy, and he drove all the way down from Idaho on NYE so he could be a part of Jake's blessing the next day. We have awesome friends.

Jake met Ali, Brian and Brody on New Year's Day. Ali was my "cheer sis" back in high school and we've stayed close for all the years since, so it's safe to say the Hallocks will be part of Jake's life for quite some time as well.

And back to our awesome family, who are also friends. Angie is my best-cousin-friend and our trips home to Utah happily overlapped, which meant we got to squeeze in some quality girl time at lunch. Side note: Angie lives in NYC and is an incredible photographer and writer, which in turn means she has an fantastic blog. You should probably be reading it.

Ah, and before all the Utah introductions took place, Jake got to meet the Hendrickses! Jodie, Steve and the kids are such a huge part of our lives and we love and miss them terribly. They're living it up on the beaches of Florida and it was our first reunion in almost two years. Steve is deployed right now so Jodie brought the kids home to California for Christmas and we had a party at Susie's with the Rozsas. It was such a happy night!

Nicole and Jordan were Jodie's and my brainchild. You're welcome, little lovebirds.

Jake had a wonderful time with all of the people we love most over the holidays. In addition to all the previously-blogged activities, we did fun things like watch bowl games, play card games, go to the movies (Jake sat through all of Muppets!), cuddle and just plain hang out. A ridiculous number of photographic evidence can be found below.

NYE

2012-01-21T11:00:00.000-08:00

Look who rang in the New Year with us! Jake was fast asleep for the night, but Matt woke him up at 11:55 to make sure he wouldn't miss the big moment. (We're clearly very responsible parents.) It was a hit with our little guy!

Our NYE, as Gabey Baby would put it, was "cool, wame, cool." That's because we went from a Graf cousin party (cool), to setting up tables and chairs for Jake's blessing the next day (lame), to partying until 2 a.m. at my parents' home (cool). The cousin party, as always, was a blast. I'm convinced we have the best extended family in the world.

At the stroke of midnight, we blew into our noise makers, my brothers shot off confetti guns, and we made out in front of our baby. You know how it goes.

Then we headed outside for some newly-legal aerial fireworks. Ten points for Utah from the pyro-lover in me. Meanwhile, down the street, someone released dozens of Chinese lanterns, Tangled-style. It was a good show.

Inside, the celebration continued with sparkling cider and a dance party, of course.

Some of us didn't quite make it to that part.

Elf Day

2012-01-19T19:23:00.000-08:00

First, we'll make snow angels for two hours.

And then, we'll go ice skating.

And then, we'll eat a whole roll of Tollhouse cookie dough as fast as we can.

And then, to finish, we'll snuggle!

Elf Day was a winner again this year! (See last year's posts here, here and here.)

Unfortunately, Mother Nature wasn't on board with the whole "snow" thing, so we made paper snow angels instead.

Then, we headed South for some indoor ice skating. The ice was sadly choppy so we had to help the little boys, but anything that proves they're still little is okay in our books. They're growing up way too fast!

We magically met up with a few groups of friends and family while we were there, including my uncle Ryan and his cute family. That was especially impressive since they live in Saint George.

While we were busy playing tag and showing off on the ice, Jakey and Grandpa got in some quality bonding time.

Jake's fan club was happy to see him when we left the rink.

Since last year's Costco-sized roll of Tollhouse cookie dough didn't exactly stay in our stomachs, we decided to amend the rules a bit and indulge in our own homemade cookie dough instead. It was a good choice.

And then, to finish, we snuggled! While watching Elf, of course.

It was a lovely day.

Grand

2012-01-18T00:56:00.000-08:00

As many of you already know, the holidays are hardly complete without a visit to Temple Square.

This year, we headed North early and stopped by the Grand America to check out its Christmas displays first. My little brothers had a great time on their scavenger hunt to find the penguin's star in all of the window displays, and we were all rewarded with fresh cookies when they completed the task.

Then, we rode a Trax train a few blocks down the street for our main event.

No matter how many times you see the Christmas lights at Temple Square, they never get old. They're just so pretty and happy and all of those wonderful things. The weather was perfect for a nice, long stroll under the lights.

One baby nap later, it was time to head home. We had a bit of a wait for our train, but Jakey kept us plenty entertained. He's good at that, you know.

Gingerbread

2012-01-16T11:37:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite Christmas traditions is making gingerbread houses with my family. We Grafs take our gingerbread houses very seriously and typically make an elaborate replica of our own home. It's quite the fun ordeal. This year, we mixed things up by creating a little vacation cottage instead. It turned out so charming that we're now wishing we had a real retreat just like it -- gumdrops and all.

As usual, our whole family -- cats and all -- was represented in cookie form. Below, my parents watch Heidi and the little boys as they ice skate in the back yard. In the side yards are April and Alex playing ring-around-the-rosies with Tasha, and Christian and Matthew having a snowball fight. Out front, Nicole and Jordan are (predictably) kissing under the mistletoe.

And then, of course, Matt and I are taking Jake on a walk through the snow.

I think it's our best edible creation yet.

Fire on the slopes

2012-01-14T12:54:00.000-08:00

We're always on the lookout for new, fun things to do, and the Torchlit Parade at Deer Valley easily fit the bill. For about forty minutes, the slopes lit up as expert skiers carried torches down in various impressive patterns. It was a cool little show.

After the skiers snuffed their torches, we stuffed our bellies with free cookies, cocoa and cider. Then we made our way to Park City's Main Street for a lovely stroll and another late-night snack.

Jake kept leaning back as far as possible to get a good look at the lights strung above the streets.

Onto Brigham City

2012-01-12T03:17:00.000-08:00

After unwrapping presents, we hopped in the shower and then hopped on the road to spend Christmas Day with Matt's family in Brigham City. We made it just in time to attend church with Matt's parents. Jakey was a hit with the neighbors.

The highlight of our Brigham visit was the creation of this music video*. Laci was the mastermind, I was her assistant, and we all had a blast being as cheesy as possible.

*Only three disclaimers required. 1: Somehow the sound got slightly off when uploading? Just pretend the lips are on. 2: Matt woke Jake up so he would cry without my knowledge. 3: Matt's brother's family in Minnesota filmed the curtained verse in the middle, so that will be added in the future.

We had a lovely, laid-back Christmas Day with Matt's parents and were joined by all of his siblings and their kids that night. We made sure to get plenty of Jake and Maggie pictures, since the two littlest cousins are just one day apart!

Jake made the rounds with all of his aunts and uncles. Here, he's hanging out with Nate, Laci and Kristen. As you can see, Jake and Nate are rocking the same hair style.

Matt made sure to get plenty of quality Daddy time, too.

We were spoiled with not just one but two days of presents.

We spent our nights playing games until the wee hours of the morning. Is that a dragon or a llama? You be the judge.

And what's a trip to Brigham City without a Davis brother guitar session? Jake was mesmerized by Matt's singing.

On our last day in Brigham, Matt's parents treated everyone to lunch at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.

Oh, and remember how I don't usually take many pictures in Brigham? Well, taking pictures of Jakey and handing my camera off to my nieces changed that real fast. Hence the slideshow below. Enjoy! We sure did.

Christmas Morning

2012-01-11T01:47:00.000-08:00

It was a happy Christmas morning at the Graf home!

We got a late start on Christmas morning, coming down the stairs at 6 a.m. instead of the usual 5. If not for our quick hands, Christmas could have been ruined! (Because, as we all know, if the sun rises before all presents are opened, then all is lost.) It's tradition to have a sleepover with all my siblings in one room on Christmas Eve, but we opted out this year due to Jake's nighttime feeding. Instead, we set the alarm for 5:30 to get our little guy prepped for his first Christmas morning. After a quality stretching session, he was ready to party!

The boys squealed and quickly tracked down their gifts from Santa.

We always go youngest-to-oldest, one present at a time, but we gave them a pass and let Jakey go fourth.

A few favorite presents of the day were basketball gear for Matthew (natch), a funny "Ki-KEN" doll from Heidi for Christian (we all call him Kiken, if you haven't noticed), lots of pretty shirts for my sisters (lucky ladies), a sweet blanket from Nicole to Jordan (like the one I made for Matt back in the day ... before I started blogging), a grandbaby for my Mom (she always loves those), and a new bedroom TV for my Dad (you should see his old one. It's a 13" box circa 1998).

I gave Matt a freshly-installed fancy auxillary jack for his car (so that's why I didn't let him ride to Salt Lake with me and Jake the night before). Then I really knocked his socks off with the pair of Coldplay tickets I scored (those things are impossible to get a hold of. Seriously). This led to me scoring plenty of kisses and the boots I've been stalking for no less than four years (they finally went on sale!). Matt also got me the cutest pair of tall pajamas (speaking of things that are impossible to find...).

Tired of the parenthesis yet? Me too. My happiest memory of the morning was giving my mom a book that chronicled our epic family Florida trip. I sleep-deprived myself over that thing throughout the month of December, working on it until early hours of the morning while Jake slept. (I don't like to be on the computer when Jake's awake.) (Oops, that was another parenthesis.) Needless to say, I was relieved that she loved it -- and Matt was relieved that I finished it.

After a quick nap, Jake was bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, and ready for round two of adoration and spoil-ation.

It was a merry first Christmas, indeed.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-09T22:27:00.000-08:00

Jake decided to become friends with his car seat just in time for our 8-hour trek to Utah for the holidays, thank goodness. His reindeer friend also seemed to help him enjoy the ride.

Our first Christmas Eve activity was caroling at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. We missed it last year due to a trip to the North Pole, and it felt so special to be at HCI with the Long family again this year. There's such an incredible spirit that comes from singing about our Savior's birth in a place where His peace is so needed.

That night, we had a real live "Baby Jesus" for our annual nativity play. Jake's starring role automatically turned me into Mary and Matt into Joseph. After the play, my two littlest brothers came up to Jake. "You're the star of the show!," 6-year-old Josh exclaimed. Then 5-year-old Gabe leaned close to Jake and said, "Hey! You walk on water and heal people! You're amazing!" My siblings and I laughed and Gabe turned toward us. "What? He's Baby Jesus!" Looks like someone has been listening during scripture study.

Speaking of scripture study, we followed our reenactment of the nativity with this version of the sacred occasion and read a few verses about Christ. Per tradition, we saved Luke 2 for Christmas Day. But before we could even think about bedtime, our elf Pixie started to peek! Jakey ate his Santa hat in anticipation.

The babies were ecstatic to find Pixie's gifts on the front porch. Pixie treated Jake to another book, gifted me a Monopoly card game (you can win Monopoly in just 15 minutes!), and even knew that Matt needed a replacement aerobie.

With the excitement of Pixie and his boss, Santa, fresh on their minds, the babies hurried to prepare a letter and late-night snacks for the jolly old soul and his reindeer.

Then we enjoyed an impromptu Christmas dance party to send the evening out in style.

A few goodnight kisses later, the kids were all tucked in bed...

while visions of sugar plums danced in their heads, of course.

California Christmas

2012-01-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

Now that we're a family of three, we wanted to establish a tradition of celebrating Christmas at our own home before heading to Utah for the holidays. And I'm happy to report that our little California Christmas was a success.

Let's discuss the atmosphere first, shall we? Our decorations weren't much different than last years', so click here to see how our house decks out for the holidays.

The biggest addition to our holiday decor was our Christmas disco ball. My friend Kaley gifted us this ornament, which happened to coordinate well with our living room doorway's silvery leaves, so we hung it in the center. Then we stepped back and noticed that the glittery bottom made it look like a disco ball, and a new Christmas tradition was born. We spent the month of December dancing to holiday music under our Christmas disco ball and created lots of happy little memories along the way. Today, it's the last Christmas decoration standing because we loved it so. Mistletoe, scmistletoe. It's all about the disco ball at the Davis home.

Jake's favorite part of Christmas -- aside from the dancing, of course -- was all of the lights. That baby loves him some good Christmas lights. We laid him under the tree one night and he was enchanted.

Jake liked being under the tree a bit more than taking pictures in front of it. Why bother smiling for the camera when you could be eating things like hats and hands -- two at a time?

We managed to sneak a little grin out of him before breaking for snack time.

Then it was time for presents! We took a little video of Jake opening his first-ever Christmas present, which was a sweet little Christmas book in case you were wondering.

Lastly, we helped Jake make his first Christmas ornament. It turned out rather cute.

And then we took off for Utah and some even bigger celebrations!

Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade

2012-01-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

In 1908, an Italian-gondolier-turned-Californian decided that Christmas just wasn't Christmas unless the yachts were decorated in lights. (Okay, back then it was just gondolas, not yachts, but whatever.) And 103 years later, we became believers thanks to the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade, which just happens to be the first-ever/longest-running/most-impressive Christmas boat parade there is. It also just happens to be rated the 2nd-best holiday lights display in America. Although, I should file an official protest with the makers of said list because it ranks Rockefeller 1st and Disney World's dancing lights 3rd, and having seen all three in person, I strongly believe that the dancing lights deserve the gold trophy. That said, the parade of decked-out yachts and sail boats is definitely a lovely silver candidate!

Matt and I had planned on traveling to Newport for the parade last year but rain foiled our plans, so there was no way we were missing it this time around. We bundled Jakey up on a 60-degree Wednesday night and made the roundtrip drive to OC for some holiday spirit. After donating a few dollars to the local boy scouts, we were granted access to a fantastically un-crowded viewing area, where we fully enjoyed the show.

What's a Christmas parade without Santa?

2011 By the Numbers

2012-01-04T00:14:00.000-08:00

Happy 2012! As a devout lover of odd years, I can honestly say I've never been more excited for an even year in my life. Probably because on this even year, we get to celebrate all sorts of odd things, like our 5-year dating anniversary (celebrated on Sunday!), 3-year wedding anniversary, and Jake's very first birthday, along with plenty of other Jakey firsts I'm sure. So, hooray for odd things in even years! But this post isn't even about 2012, it's about 2011 and all of its happy numbers -- odd and even alike. We loved 2011 as much as anyone could possibly love a year, mostly thanks to our Jake.

First, though, the obligatory January 1st roundup. Having an anniversary on the first day of the year is clearly the best. I'm so happy to be starting yet another year with you, Matt!

Okay, and now, the highlights of our 2011:

2 - lines that meant YES! We were finally pregnant! We loved spreading and celebrating the news with friends and family.

245.5 - days spent pregnant this year, which eventually led to...

13- hours of labor (really only about 7 hours of "active" labor), which brought us...

5 pounds and 13 ounces - of pure perfection in our sweet baby Jake.

(A few favorite Jakey posts are:

Jake's birth, Tiny Details, Black & White, In the Hospital, One Week, Week Two, Little things.)

Before Jake's arrival, we lived up our final months of coupledom with:

17 - days advance notice before jetting off to London, Rome and the Amalfi Coast.

730 - days of marital bliss celebrated.

52 - degree difference between our cross country skiing and snowboarding ventures.

8 - teams (including BYU) watched by Matt and his brothers at the NCAA tournament in Denver.

4 - road trips to visit family in Utah.

7 - Lovely days with April, Alex and Tasha in Virginia.

? - Too many fun days at the beach to count.

2 - career updates with my resignation as a journalist and a promotion and PCA for Matt.

75 - mph winds ripped off our bumper on the freeway.

5 - Broadway musicals seen together, with the addition of Lion King in Las Vegas and Les Miserables in London this year.

4 - th of July celebrated on the Queen Mary.

3 - days spent at Matt's family reunion at Bear Lake.

2.5 - dollars used to win a crocodile at the local fair.

39 - weeks pregnant, exactly, when we last visited Disneyland.

The party continued once Jake was born.

2 - a.m. became the best time to play.

3 - pumpkins bought at the patch, and another adorable pumpkin.

7 - points scored by our baby football on Halloween.

18 - special visitors, who joined us for things like disc golf, visiting the LA temple, and a day in Santa Monica.

87 - hours spent skyping with Jakey.

3296 - miles traveled on Jake's first flights, between LA and Orlando.

4 - magical days playing at Disney World with my family.

3.5 - million dancing lights at Hollywood Studios.

3 - hours waiting for Santa.

1 - happiest Christmas present ever.

Here's to a happy New Year!

(PS- Care to reminisce? Here's our 2010 by the numbers.)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

We hope you have a beautiful day celebrating the happiest occasion of our Savior's birth.

Holidays at The Grove

2011-12-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

The Grove in Beverly Hills is lovely any time of year, but they really go all out for the holidays. They kick off the season with celebrity guests at the tree lighting -- a 7-story stunner, none the less -- and deck the streets with glowing "snowflakes," lit trees, pretty windows, and a big house for Santa right in the middle. Throughout the holidays, the fountains dance to Christmas carols, musicians entertain the masses, and fake snow delights every half hour. Oh yes, and everywhere you look are shoppers rushing home with their treasures. You know how it goes.

Matt and I heard that The Grove's Santa was the best around, so we made plans to visit. Happily, our visit coincided with our sister-in-law Laci's LA vacation, so we met up with her and her best friends Chelsea, Brooke, and Jill (well, Jill is her mom, but I'm pretty sure they're BFFs, too) for dinner at Cheesecake Factory. Matt just so happened to attend preschool through 12th grade with Brooke and Chelsea, so it was a fun little reunion for all.

After dinner, we enjoyed the sights while we waited for our turn to see Santa.

You see, getting to Santa's lap at The Grove is a serious process. First, you take a number. Then, you wait three hours until your number comes up on the screen. At that point, you're allowed to get in the physical line at Santa's house, where you'll be for another half hour or so. This is all true, my friends. Photographic evidence below.

Luckily, we were smart enough to take a number before dinner so our wait wasn't all that bad. And would you believe me if I told you it was worth it either way? Because it totally was. That's because this wasn't just any ordinary Santa's helper, folks. This was the real deal, and our time with him was just as magic as it should be. Also, his elves rocked. So really, what more could you ask for? Other than new Christmas boots, of course. Santa said he's working on it.

Lights at Mission Inn

2011-12-20T01:14:00.000-08:00

While this blog has been busy with Disney World for the past couple weeks, the three of us have been busy with plenty of holiday festivities here in Southern California. One of those activities was visiting the lights at Mission Inn. The city of Riverside hosts an annual Festival of Lights and this historic four-diamond hotel is the star. The Mission Inn decks out with more than 3.6 million lights and quaint extras like fake snow, carriage rides, reindeer, Santa and holiday desserts. Jake was mesmerized by all of the lights, and I must admit, palm trees dressed in Christmas lights are sort of my new favorite things.

The first party of the season

2011-12-19T16:32:00.000-08:00

My friend Kaley is basically my own personal Martha Stewart, if Martha loved Pottery Barn. She throws the most amazing parties. From the crafty invitations to the gorgeous decorations to the incredible food, not a single details is overlooked and I love it! Kaley always hosts a small Christmas dinner party on the first Saturday of December, and it's a lovely way to kick off the month. (Check out last year's!) This year, she made it a luncheon, but we were all having such a great time that we stayed until 8 p.m. That's how good her parties are.

Literally everything on the menu was delicious. Layered crespelle, smoked tri-tip, pears with cheese and fig jam, goat-cheese stuffed chicken, saffron risotto, bruschetta, homemade ciabatta bread ... it was all fantastic.

For dessert, we indulged in numerous trips to the hot chocolate bar. How cute was that idea?

Ah, and one of my favorite sights -- men in a kitchen.

Kaley had a babysitter come to the house to entertain Jake and Gabe while we ate and played games. It was nice to have some adult time without being away from my baby (I'm so not ready for that yet).

Jake wasn't sure what to think of the reindeer antlers.

And to top it all off, Duane and Kaley sent us home with a big basket full of Christmas goodies. Thanks again for the fun day, you two!

Wrapping up Florida

2011-12-18T22:10:00.000-08:00

We reserved the last day of our vacation for some good old-fashioned R&R. After a lazy morning, we headed to the pool for an afternoon swim.

That night, my brothers picked the T-Rex restaurant for dinner. It came complete with a digging site and life-sized dinosaurs that moved and roared.

We ate in the blue ice cave, which featured a meteor shower every fifteen minutes. When the meteor shower started, the cave turned red, the dinosaurs roared, and thunder sounded throughout the room. This was all well and good unless you happened to be a sleeping 2-month-old. Poor Jakey woke up from his nap terrified. But really, who can blame him? If I fell asleep in my mom's arms and then woke up in a meteor shower, I'd be scared, too. Luckily, his Uncle Joshie got him laughing fairly quickly by making funny faces while balancing chicken on his nose. Leave it to Josh, I tell you.

That night, Matt and I had our first outing sans baby -- across the street to Target to grab a dessert. And would you believe, we were in Florida! Which meant we were in the South! Which meant there were cartons of Blue Bell Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream in the Target freezer! This may have inspired celebratory fist pumps and happy dances, which may have led to interesting looks from fellow shoppers. But nothing was more interesting than that deliciousness in our mouths that night.

And then the next morning we packed up, hopped on an airplane, and made it home to California. The end!

The last bit of Disney magic

2011-12-16T16:38:00.000-08:00

We decided to spend our final Disney World night taking in the magic at the Magic Kingdom. Matt, Christian, Matthew and I sneaked over during my family's afternoon nap to get some pictures, Jake's silhouette, and fastpasses before catching the dancing lights at Hollywood Studios.

After watching lights at Hollywood Studios, we returned to the Magic Kingdom to see the sky light up behind the castle.

We then ate Disney churros (um, also better at Disneyland. Weird, right?) while we watched the castle change outfits countless times during The Magic, the Memories and You show.

Shortly thereafter, the electrical parade came rolling down the street.

Please love the above picture of Cinderella heading to her castle in a pumpkin. Anyway. Once all the shows were over, we caught a few last-minute rides and posed with the castle before heading down Main Street one last time.

Christian climbed the stairs in the train station for a final look at his domain. Seriously, he owns Disney World. Thanksgiving is definitely a brave time to head to Orlando, and I know there are others who went at the exact same time we did that spent their visit in two+ hour lines and overwhelmed by crowds. But thanks to Christian's expertise, planning, and running across parks to secure fast passes for everyone, we were able to ride everything multiple times and never waited for more than twenty minutes. Crowds? What crowds? Thanks, Kiken. You made the vacation.

We boarded the ferry and were enjoying our ride to the parking lot when we noticed that 9-year-old Kaleb and 5-year-old Gabe were both silently crying. We asked Kaleb why and he responded, "It was just so wonderful!" They weren't whiny tears, but happy-because-we-loved-it-so-much-and-sort-of-sad-that-it's-over-now tears. How cute is that? We asked 6-year-old Josh if he was going to cry, too, and he laughed a hearty "No." Then, as we watched Disney World fade into the distance, our little jokester Joshie turned toward Kaleb and said:

"Don't worry, Kaleb. You're never going to see it again."

Classic.

So sweet, right?

One final look at the second-happiest place on earth. Thanks for the memories, Mom and Dad!

Best early Christmas present ever.

The best dancing Christmas lights ever

2011-12-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

... are found on the Streets of America at Disney World's Hollywood Studios. Now you know.

What started as a single family's Christmas light display in Arkansas has been turned into Disney's Christmas lights show to end all Christmas lights shows -- the Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights. Everything along the Streets of America is literally blanketed in bright, glittering Christmas lights, which twinkle along to a new holiday song every ten minutes and are complimented by fake snow flurries on occasion. We stayed and watched the lights dance for no less than an hour. Christmas light perfection, I tell you.

A video of the lights dancing can be seen here, but it really does it no justice. It's incredible in person.

Pictures this cute bear repeating.

I loved that they had a nativity, too.

If only we'd gone when Nicole and the Darowskis were with us, we would have had a rather impressive Christmas card picture.

Hollywood Studios

2011-12-13T10:16:00.000-08:00

After Animal Kingdom, we hurried over to Hollywood Studios to make sure we covered all four parks before Nicole left the next morning to spend Thanksgiving with Jordan. The entrance to Hollywood Studios looks almost exactly like the new California Adventure entrance, and the park itself mimics the real Hollywood area here in California.

Except for the giant magic Mickey hat, of course. That's not anywhere in California.

We rode Tower of Terror a few times and then raced over to catch Fantasmic in the Hollywood Hills Amphitheater.

The next morning, we headed back to Hollywood Studios to catch a few things we'd missed -- most importantly, Star Tours and the Jedi Training Academy for my baby brothers.

Using the force to open the doors on Star Tours.

They took their Jedi Training very seriously and successfully defeated Darth Vadar. It was a definite highlight.

We wandered around fake Hollywood a bit more, touring the Hollywood backlot, checking out real movie props, and stepping into classic movies in the Great Movie Ride.

Jakey made good use of his stroller time and caught up on sleep. Then, since it was Thanksgiving and all, we grabbed a few turkey legs for lunch in between stunt shows.

After few more rounds on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster plus a photo-op with a green Army man from Toy Story, we were ready for our afternoon break.

A couple hours later, we were back for the most impressive Christmas lights display ever.
Just wait 'till you see it!

Animal Kingdom

2011-12-09T16:35:00.000-08:00

I had assumed that Animal Kingdom was a bit of a glorified zoo and therefore thought it would be just a nice little add-on to the trip. Instead, it was one of our favorite parts! It's what every zoo should be, plus great theming, awesome rides, and cute shows. Leave it to Disney.

The Tree of Life is the literal centerpiece of Animal Kingdom. It has more than 300 different animals carved into the trunk and is the most impressive artificial tree I've ever met.

Our first stop was the Kilimanjaro Safari, which takes you through a wildlife preserve in an open-sided truck and provides all sorts of exotic animal sightings. It was neat to see so many different animals in their "natural" habitat. Fun for all ages, I tell you.

This giraffe was my favorite. Probably because its pose reminded me of the giraffe on Madagascar, and anything that prompts Madagascar quotes earns top points in my book.

We saw a few big cats -- a cheetah that slowly stalked toward the safari truck and a lioness who napped on her rock.

The sight of crocodiles always creeps me out. And although hippos look friendly, they're deadly, too. So just don't go swimming in Africa, okay?

And you should probably stay away from the horned animals, too.

Spotting a family of elephants is always exciting. Baby elephants are adorable. Okay, baby anythings are adorable.

Just ask Jake.

Flamingos are cute, too.

After the safari, we left Africa and headed toward Asia. Not before jamming out on the African drums, though.

The Himalayas are always lovely this time of year. Oh, and the Expedition Everest ride is a keeper. And so are the monkeys. And the tigers. And the Kali River Rapids. Okay, so we liked Asia.

Jakey made sure to get his naps in wherever he could get comfortable.

Dinoland was our next stop. We all loved Dinosaur, which is a better version of an Indiana Jones-type ride. In fact, we loved it so much that I spent $20 on a picture that I look ridiculous in (my teenage self would be mortified). But it's one of my favorite ride photos of all time. Check out that front row! Don't they look so perfectly terrified of the giant tyrannosaurus rex that's about to eat them? And isn't it weird that Nicole is sitting all alone in the back corner? That's the best part of the picture. Because she's not. That Joshie, he knows just what to do when being chased by dinosaurs! And if you look closely, you can catch a glimpse of the orange Joshie ball curled up between Matt and Nicole.

Then we had some time to kill before our next show, so my brothers dug for dino bones, I cuddled Jakey, and then Matt took a burp cloth and turned Jakey into Super Baby. Dads are fun like that.

Finding Nemo: The Musical was the final item on our agenda. It's the top-rated theme park show in America (tough competition, I'm sure), and it didn't disappoint. Very cute. And very worth jumping over concrete walls to sneak into after they cut off the line. My brothers may or may not know this from experience.

And then we couldn't leave without taking a picture with the giant Christmas tree. Everyone should have one of these.

Magic Kingdom

2011-12-08T23:59:00.000-08:00

On day two, we visited the Magic Kingdom. It was decked out for the holidays and we had a grand ol' time taking in the Disney magic, riding familiar rides and watching familiar shows.

Before going any further, it must be noted that as Disney die-hards, we believe that Disneyland > Magic Kingdom. Put simply, Disneyland is much happier, more magical, and has better versions of the same rides. (Well, with the exception of Space Mountain. But whatever.) Even the food is better and cheaper at our happiest place on earth. I'm telling you, my favorite marshmallow treat from Disneyland costs fifty cents more at Disney World and is lacking the ever-important layer of caramel. Truth. That said, Florida's Cinderella castle takes the cake. Sorry, Sleeping Beauty!

Back to our recap, though. My mom bought everyone matching Disney shirts as part of the "Surprise! We're going to Disney World!" deal. Then she decided to have my baby brothers wear them while in the park so they'd be easy to spot. Then we were like, Hey! It'd be funny to take a picture with all of our shirts in front of the castle first thing in the morning. So we all wore matching shirts and packed our regular shirts in our diaper bags, backpacks, purses, etc. Then we didn't manage to get everyone to the castle at one time until it was almost sunset. And then figured it was too late to change anyway. So we were one of those families all day. And let me tell you, we owned the matching shirt business! We played up the cheese-factor all day and it was oh-so-entertaining. Oh, and the matching shirts came up big that afternoon when Gabe got separated from the group. Not one minute later, a nice lady had returned him to his proper owners. Point for matching shirts.

We started the day by riding the monorail into the park and hitting up the mountains. Big Thunder, Splash, and Space, that is. Then it was onto Jungle Cruise and Pirates, where my baby brothers got to go up on stage and pledge their allegiance to Jack Sparrow.

The grandbabies garnered plenty of attention and earned us plenty of baby swap passes. Grandpa was an expert babysitter during said baby swaps.

We packed cold pizza for an easy lunch. Disney meals can add up, you know.

Jake's Bugaboo was perfect for the trip. He slept and strolled in it like a champion.

We split up here and there throughout the day, but got 20 of us together for It's a Small World.

The grandbabies thought it was the best ride ever.

They also enjoyed watching shows at the castle.

And everyone loves a good Disney parade.

At about 5 p.m., we finally got the whole family together for a picture. Now, that wasn't so hard, was it?

After picture time, we snuck in a few more rides before returning to the castle for a dance party in the street.

Then we watched Prince Charming and Cinderella decorate their home for the holidays.

And then the babies fell asleep. That is, every baby but mine. Jake's always ready for a party!

Epcot

2011-12-07T18:59:00.000-08:00

This one time, I went on vacation with my family and came home with more than 2,000 pictures. And then wanted to cry at the thought of going through all of them. So I did what any reasonable person would do: I procrastinated. But then came the requests. See, this wasn't just a case of trigger finger -- I was the unofficial photographer for my little family, my sister's little family, my whole big family, and my aunt's family. Twenty-two people in all, folks. And those twenty-two people want their pictures. So in an effort to force myself to sort through them, I intend to blog about the trip daily until I'm done. (Well, minus the weekend because we have fun plans and whatnot. You know how it goes.) I must warn you, however, that I am fresh out of narrowing-down-pictures power, which means that there will be some loaded posts. But we'll just smile and say that more is more when it comes to Disney! Right?

Our party began -- and thus our recap party will begin -- at Epcot. Please note that the big, indented white sphere is apparently a globe and not a golf ball.

We started our day right by upcycling the crash test dummy diagrams in line for Test Track into a full-fledged Dummy Dance, which we then busted out at random intervals throughout the day. Oh yeah, and then we rode the ride. It was great.

Baby swapping was key as we then moved to Mission: Space and various other attractions during the day (and week). Disney's baby swapping policy is the best, in case you didn't know.

Epcot's rides are fun and all, but our favorite part of the park is the World Showcase. Eleven countries are represented along the waterfront of Epcot's lagoon. Each "country" features appropriately-themed buildings, authentic food, and entertaining shows that provide a little glimpse into what the real country is like. We spent our afternoon and evening strolling through the countries, watching shows, and basically eating our way around the world. Fantastic, really.

Canada is the first country, and it is currently under construction. But the Canadian band will do, eh?

Next was England, where we munched on fish and chips, and caught a cheeky little Shakespeare rendition in the street. We also ran into Mary Poppins, and I heard a ten-year-old ask his mom who that was as he walked by. I then mourned that child's lack of a childhood.

This is just the view from the bridge between England and France. Isn't it pretty, though?

Ah, France was tres jolie! It came complete with an Eiffel Tower and Beauty and the Beast. Oh yes, and plenty of pastries. You all know how much we love those. (And someday, if I ever finish blogging about our honeymoon in Paris, you'll really know how much we love them!)

Morocco was our next stop around the world. It had pretty lights and camels and bags and things.

Japan included a family photo-op, interesting architecture, and cool statues.

Italy was lovely, as usual. It reminded me of all the places we've been in Italy that I've never blogged about. Oops.

We stopped for a couple pictures along the water before heading to the next country.

Matt was most happy to see Germany. And who can blame him? He lived there for two years and is fluent in Deutsche (that's German, for those of you who speak English). Plus, Germany rocks a lot and we have a dream of being stationed there one day. We spent a decent amount of time in fake Germany, treating my family to German delicacies (more apfel strudel, please!) and speaking German to the ladies at the Christkindlmarkt. Okay, Matt's the only one that talked to them in German. But I bought an ornament from them, so that counts for something, right?

China was a fun stop. My dad served his LDS mission in Taiwan and speaks Mandarin Chinese, so I think he enjoyed China most of all. The Americanized orange chicken was a definite hit, too.

Norway was lovely and the sweaters reminded me of Liz, which is always a good thing. Meanwhile, my brothers were serious about all things Viking-related, as evidenced in the pictures below.

The last stop was Mexico, and it came complete with a boat ride featuring the Three Cabelleros.

After touring the world, we cooled off at Club Cool, which has free samples of sodas from around the world. Let's just say the Germans and Costa Ricans know how to do soda, and the Italians could use a little help. (Surprising, right? With "Italian sodas" and all? But their bitter Beverly was nasty, trust me.)

We topped off the night with Illuminations, which is a fireworks-and-lights water show. We weren't quite sure how Jakey would take the firework booms, but he didn't even flinch. He was quite mesmerized, actually -- as were we!

A Happy Place

2011-12-05T10:58:00.000-08:00

As you already know, we kicked off the holidays in style at Disney World.

But did I mention that Jake loved it? Because he sure did!

He even told us so. Every night when we got back to the condo, Jakey would smile and excitedly jabber on and on for no less than a half hour. Telling us about everything he saw and did, no doubt. Those nightly recaps were adorable.

And speaking of recaps, I'll be posting about Disney World all week. Hooray!

November

2011-12-02T13:40:00.000-08:00

November was a busy month for our little Jakey! He...

*Turned two months old:

*Celebrated three uncles' birthdays:

*Shopped 'till he dropped:

*Lounged around:

*Slept everywhere:

*Stretched and stretched (Jake takes this task rather seriously):

*Played with Mommy and Daddy:

*Hung out on Dad's lap during dinnertimes:

*Attended his cute ward baby shower (many thanks to our sweet ward!):

*Squeezed in a few swinging sessions:

*Met his Uncle Jordan (Nicole's fiance) ...

*And a few other important people (the Rozsas and Susie):

*Got in some quality skyping:

*And flew all the way across the country. And was a total gem about it, too. Jake alternated between sleeping, eating, and smiling the entire time. Throughout 14 hours of travel and four separate flights, he fussed for a total of maybe 90 seconds. All of his fellow passengers were very ~~relieved~~ impressed, as evidenced by the wary looks he received before the flight and all the praise he was given afterward. Funny how everyone in the airport loves your baby... until they realize he's on their flight.

Luckily for them, this is Jakey's favorite pastime:

He knows how to charm a crowd.

Thanksgiving in Florida

2011-11-29T13:40:00.000-08:00

This year, we mixed things up a bit by spending Thanksgiving on vacation in Florida with my immediate family and my Aunt Janell's family. Since we knew we'd be inside the park at Disney World all day on the real holiday, we celebrated Thanksgiving a few days early on Sunday. We slept in, went to church, visited the Orlando Temple, ate a delicious Thanksgiving feast on paper plates, and then played games to round out the night. I wouldn't have had it any other way.

Matt's mom sent Jake this cute Thanksgiving bib and we made sure to bring it to Florida with us.

My cousin Matty and niece Tasha were the best of buds.

Outside Janell's in-law's condo where we spent the week.

Thankful

2011-11-24T11:37:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving, I'm especially thankful for my two greatest blessings.

The little things

2011-11-22T04:30:00.000-08:00

Jake rarely sleeps on his own, so I tried not to disturb him as he napped quietly in his Boppy. But I just couldn't stay away any longer. I slowly lied down next to him, face to face with my two-month-old baby boy.

I put my nose up to his cheek, basking in the feel of his soft skin and his heavenly smell. The scent of his baby lotion faintly lingered from his bath the night before, and with each exhale, I caught the sweet smell of his baby breath. It was intoxicating. I closed my eyes as I breathed him in, then pulled my head back a few inches -- just enough to clearly see the little details of his face.

His big blue eyes were closed, and gently fluttered as he dreamed. I looked at his beautiful eyelashes-- long and with the perfect curl, like my brothers'. I gave those to him, though I don't have them myself. There is hope for our gene pool yet, I thought. I turned to his cute button nose. Some say it looks like Matt's, while others see more of my family. I've seen both sides, but on this night, I decided his nose looked more like mine. Time will tell. His ears, on the other hand? I have no idea whose they are, but they are perfect. I hadn't paid much attention to ears until I saw his. And now his cute little ears are in my direct line of sight a dozen times a day when Jake nurses. I never knew an ear could be so endearing. My gaze then moved to his cheeks. Oh, those cheeks! They get a little bit chubbier and more scrumptious every day. I find it difficult to keep my lips away from them.

Finally, my eyes rested on his lips--so soft and full and moist, with those cute tiny lines. I loved seeing his perfectly pursed lips on our weekly 3D ultrasounds during my final months of pregnancy. I was sure he'd inherited his daddy's lips. I was right. And now, I smiled as I stared at those sweet little lips. The ones that grin up at me throughout the day, and at his daddy the second Matt walks in his door. The lips that just hours before had mustered up the most convincing pout to let me know he was hungry (again). Those lips that coo at us more and more, and will someday say my name -- Mama. I began to daydream about that day as I looked at my son, who had already grown so much in his first two months. And then, Jake smiled.

My heart soared and I couldn't take the separation anymore. I lifted my hand and gently stroked his cheek, then leaned in to give him a little kiss as he slept. "I love you, Jake," I whispered. "I love you, my sweet boy."

And he smiled again.

Coast to coast

2011-11-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

Look who's going on his first flights today!

Where to, you ask?

We couldn't resist "surprising" our little guy with the big news. He's excited!

That's right, we're headed to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with my family at Disney World. Taking our two-month-old from coast to coast for his first trip? Seven hours on a plane? Brave, we know. But go big or go home, I say! And let me tell you, this is going to be one big party.

PS- Guess how much luggage one 11-pound baby needs? I'll give you a hint: Only 1.5 of these 6 bags are for his parents.

Hanging out

2011-11-16T22:06:00.000-08:00

Aaaand here's the last of my family's trip pictures. You know, just in time for our next trip next week. We're sort of spoiled and get to see them twice within a month. It's a good thing, too, because Jake is a fan of his fans, as you can see in the pictures below! As much fun as it was to go out and do things with my family, it was even better just to have them in our home and share our regular ol' life with them. We watched football, played games, cuddled up on the couch, and just hung out. It's so nice just to be together.

We included Jordan in The Game of Things via Skype. Oh yeah, and I schooled Christian in cards. NBD.

All the fun and games wore the babies out!

On his way to church for the first time!

Sunset in Santa Monica

2011-11-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

We couldn't have asked for a better October day at the beach. The skies were clear, the weather was comfortable, and the sunset painted gorgeous shades of purple and gold across the horizon.

The last time we visited the beach, I was 37 weeks pregnant. I remember holding Matt's hand and looking out over the water, thinking about how beautiful our lives were and how much better they were about to become. Nine weeks later, as we stood at the edge of the Pacific with our baby boy in our arms, I had those same thoughts:
Life is beautiful. And it just keeps getting better.

The only thing that could have made Jake's first beach outing better would have been our camera lasting for more than 10 minutes. But hey, that's what cell phones are for, right? I did manage to get a couple pretty pictures of my parents and sisters before the battery passed away. Then I accepted Matt's "I told you so" smile as he handed over his iPhone, and proceeded to record our few hours at the beach with my family. (Matt spent the last two years pointing out every occasion where we would have "needed" an iPhone, and now I think he feels a little smug every time it comes in handy.) When the light started to fade, we walked to the pier and watched as the sun sank down over the water. It was a lovely evening.

Jake has the best (and the best-looking!) grandparents around.

Yes, my sisters are gorgeous.

My mom makes the sweetest Grammie.

Airplanes and Airmen

2011-11-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

Happy Veterans Day! I'm forever grateful to all those who have served and those who continue to serve our country and protect our freedoms. When Matt and I took my family to the museum at Edwards Air Force Base, I was once again struck by all the incredible feats our military men and women have achieved. For the last 60 years, Edwards has been the hub of flight test for the United States Air Force. More than 100 planes have taken their first flights here, and countless heroes who went on to become famous pilots and astronauts have called Edwards home for a time. We loved learning more about their accomplishments.

Jake riding an airplane and sitting in an ejection seat. Future pilot, perhaps? (As long as he doesn't inherit his daddy's eyesight...)

My dad with his all-time favorite plane, the SR-71 Blackbird. He fell in love with it years ago when he worked at Lockheed.

I'm so proud to be an American, and to be married to my Airman.

Under the pier

2011-11-10T12:49:00.000-08:00

As I've said time and time (and time) again, Santa Monica is one of our favorite places on the planet. It's a one-size-fits-all stop to get your LA fix -- the beach, the pier, the shopping, you name it. We love it. One of the things we'd always walked by but never stepped into is the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium, located right under the pier. We finally decided to check it out with my baby brothers in tow. As it turns out, it's a great little aquarium with a good representation of the fish in the bay, cute grandma volunteers, and fun touch tanks. And at two bucks a pop, it was quality entertainment.

Families are forever

2011-11-09T13:40:00.000-08:00

One of the most beautiful beliefs we share as members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is that families can be together forever. Temples are an integral part of that process, and few things are more special than visiting a temple together with our family. When my family was in town, we spent a few hours together at the Los Angeles Temple on Santa Monica Boulevard.

The new(ish) interactive visitors' center kept the babies entertained while the big kids were inside the temple, and we toured it a bit as a family before leaving.

It was time well spent.

Nine

2011-11-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

Of all my childhood birthdays, there are two that stand out from the others in my memory. The first is my fifth birthday, for which I had a treasure troll cake and a big birthday party complete with an elaborate scavenger hunt. I remember that scene at our Layton home, with our beautiful golden retriever Schatzi playing in the backyard as the treasure was brought down from its hiding place on the roof. I'm guessing it was the totally-cool-for-a-five-year-old hiding place that ingrained that birthday in my memory.

The other memorable birthday was the one that I spent away from home. It was my seventh birthday, and it was extra special because I spent it at my grandparents' home in Southern Utah. I wore my Aunt Lisa's long black t-shirt as a dress with a belt around my waist (oh yeah, I was way ahead on that trend) and jumped on the trampoline with my cousins. My Grandma had a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle and Barney come to the party. It was awesome to have the fake Donatello there (yes, I knew he was fake), but sort of embarrassing to have the big purple dinosaur in attendance (didn't Grandma know that I was 7 and far too mature for such things?). Despite the Barney appearance, the fact that my Grandma and everyone went out of their way to make sure I had a fun birthday obviously wasn't lost on me. I remember feeling really loved and special.

So when we figured out that Kaleb would be spending his ninth birthday at our home in California, we wanted to make sure he felt special, too.

We decorated the house with streamers, balloons and birthday signs, woke Kaleb up for reveille, taught him how to drive on the dry lake bed (because he is, after all, nine whole years old), ordered a few sonic booms, let him help Matt grill a special birthday dinner, bought his favorite ice cream, and made a delicious feathery fudge airplane cake from scratch. It was a success.

Joshie and Gabey added a nice touch by becoming sound managers for the cake and presents extravaganza. They added Star Wars sound effects for Kaleb's entrance, blowing out of the candles, and each presents. It was classic.

Discs in the desert

2011-11-07T15:32:00.000-08:00

Remember that one time Matt and I went land sailing? It was one of the most fun and unique things we've done out here, and we couldn't wait to share it with my family. Unfortunately, the wind didn't pick up enough on the day we had it booked, so after having a little fun driving on the dry lake bed, we headed back home in search of an afternoon activity. Frisbee golf ended up being the winner and it hit the spot. Even the babies got the hang of it in no time at all!

So nice to finally meet you

2011-11-06T14:07:00.000-08:00

This had been a long time in the making. When we announced our pregnancy to my family at the beginning of the year, they immediately penciled in a trip to California over UEA weekend (Utah schools' fall break). Jake was six weeks old then, so it was perfect timing to play host to his seven youngest aunts and uncles. We had so much fun during their visit! Too much, in fact, for just one blog post, so I'm going to split it up into a post a day throughout this week.

My family pulled into our driveway at nearly 2 a.m. on a Thursday. (Jake and I were wide awake anyway, of course!) It was the best thing ever to see them all walk through the door to meet our sweet baby boy. Sharing Jake with people we love -- that really love him too -- has been one of my favorite things about this new stage in our lives.

Meeting Grandpa:

Catching up with Grammie:

Jake's littlest uncle, four-year-old Gabey Baby:

Six-year-old Uncle Joshie's convincing impression of Jake's hungry cry:

Nine-year-old Kaleb (who got to meet Jake on his birthday!):

Uncle Matthew:

Aunt Coley:

Uncle Kiken (Christian):

Aunt Heidi:

This picture is actually from Heidi's first visit, but I love it so!

We were extra lucky that weekend, because just 12 hours earlier, the Chamberlains took a Jake detour on their way to Disneyland. They were the first members of Matt's family to meet our little guy, and it meant so much to me and Matt that they would go out of their way to make it happen. We only wish they could have stayed longer!

The whole clan -- Uncle Dave, Aunt Monica, and cousins Joseph, Joshua, Nelson, Hannah, Elizabeth, John and Samuel.

Baby Football

2011-11-03T20:33:00.000-07:00

Matt and I were all sorts of excited to debut Jake and his Halloween costume at our church's Trunk-or-Treat party last week. The trunk decorations were completed, the candy was in the car, and we were all dressed up and ready to leave... and then someone decided he was hungry. We arrived just 15 minutes late to the trunk-or-treating portion, only to find a nearly-empty parking lot. Bummer, right? Our ward is apparently the only one in the world that not only begins on time but actually starts things early. (The audacity, I know!) Of course, this meant that we'd have to take the real holiday seriously. So on Halloween night, Jake dressed up again to charm the trick-or-treaters and visit a few friends.

We completed the family theme by dressing up as a football player and cheerleader, naturally.

And I apologize for the overload of pictures, but I've apparently come down with the classic new-parent-trigger-finger syndrome. I'll try to reign it in, but he's just so cute!

Skyping grandparents is a must!

Pals and pumpkins

2011-10-31T19:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from our cute little pumpkin!

We got into the Halloween spirit on Saturday when our Vegas friends Talon and Carolyn came into town. Our original plan was to take our babies to Boo at the Zoo, but then we stayed up until almost 4 a.m. chatting while Carolyn did my hair, so a long day at the LA Zoo went out the window. It rocks to have a hairstylist on speed dial, by the way. The week before Jake was born, I was talking to Carolyn on the phone when I glanced in the mirror and lamented my sad roots. Two days later, she was in my living room, putting foils in my hair while my 9-months-pregnant belly and I sat on an exercise ball. Did I mention she drove all the way from Vegas for that? Yeah. She's awesome.

With Boo at the Zoo off the table, we turned to Matt's new girlfriend Siri for help and found the cutest Halloween headquarters in the hills outside of Santa Clarita. It had pumpkins galore, a sunflower field full of scarecrows, wagon rides, a corn maze, a petting zoo -- you name it. And the best part? It was free! How's that for a festive fall afternoon? We dressed Jakey Boy up in his pumpkin outfit for the occasion and headed to Lombardi Ranch.

We started off by wandering around the Scarecrow Alley, which was full of themed scarecrows made by local boy and girl scout troops. The themes ranged from fun kiddie movies like Up and Despicable Me to Mario Kart and Angry Birds to actually scary scarecrows.

Our babies got in on the scarecrow action, too.

Then Jake and Emery decided it was time for a snack, as evidenced in the pictures below.

So, needless to say, we took a little break. Once our babies' tummies were full, we picked up where we left off and explored the ranch until the sun went down.

People kept stopping us to tell us they thought Jake was the cutest pumpkin there. We must admit, we agreed.

It's weird to think that time keeps ticking and the world goes on without you during those first few weeks you spend at home with a new baby. It seems like one minute I was at the pool during summertime and the next, the stores are stocked with Christmas trees and I'm buying candy for trick-or-treaters. But Saturday's festivities helped convince me that today is indeed Halloween and tomorrow really is November. We're sending October out in style tonight--just wait 'till you see Jake's costume. And in the meantime, have a happy Halloween!

Patch to Prop: A Pumpkin Story

2011-10-28T12:12:00.000-07:00

I blame Pinterest. One night last week, I sat half asleep on my couch at 4 a.m. and logged onto the computer with my left hand while feeding my baby. Up popped a picture of a baby in a pumpkin, and I couldn't help myself--I repinned. And then, last night, I put my baby in a pumpkin.

Jake wasn't quite sure what to think of it. (For the record, he was wearing pants, the pumpkin was totally lined inside, and there was a space heater to his right. So I'm sort of nice while torturing my child.) But really, if someone put me inside a pumpkin, I wouldn't know what to think either.

Our journey began with an obligatory trip to the pumpkin patch two Saturdays ago. It was a monumental occasion since it was our first time heading into town for something other than a doctor's appointment, and Jake did a great job. We scoured the pumpkin patch for the perfect pumpkin and found three--one for each of us.

A baby pumpkin for the baby, of course!

We took our pumpkins home and placed them on the floor in our kitchen, where they sat unloved for 12 whole days.

Last night, we finally dug in and began creating our jack-o-lantern masterpieces.

Once the pumpkins were cleared and Jake was awake, we paused for a little photo-op. Matt lowered Jake into the pumpkin (yes, he was in on it, too) and I quickly snapped a couple shots of our little guy. He looked quite adorable in that pumpkin, if I may say so myself.

Then commercial ended and the World Series went into extra innings and our pumpkin carving session was pushed back another few days. We have to teach Jake proper priorities, you know.

I have a dream.

2011-10-26T16:22:00.000-07:00

A dream of one day being caught up on this blog so I can share things as they happen rather than give a historical play-by-play later on. (Dream big, right?) This post is a step in the right direction, as it sums up our regular daily life from Jake's two-week birthday to the seven-week mark, which just happens to be today. Pretty sure lumping 35 whole days into one post earns me an F in the mommy blogging world, but whatever. I've just been too busy cuddling with my newborn to do much of anything else, including laundry, dishes, blogging, and bathtub cleaning. I should really get on that bathtub business soon because I have one final Lush bath bomb calling my name. Anyway, back to the topic at hand -- cuddling with this sweet boy:

It's the best thing ever. Although, we are trying to work just a few other activities into our daily lives. I'll keep you posted on that progress. For now, scroll down and watch Jake grow up over the last 5 weeks.

Jake took his first "real" bath on day 15. The whale tub was filled, the space heater was on, the bathroom was cozy, and we were placing our naked baby into the perfect-temperature water... and then the power went out. His bathroom doesn't have a window, so our poor little guy had to bathe in less water in the cold living room next to the sliding doors and, well, the bath was short lived. But the next day, we were back in the bathroom and his love affair with the whale tub returned. Thank goodness.

Matt went back to work when Jake was 19 days old, so their cuddling sessions became high priority at night. Jake always gives his daddy "hugs" by draping both of his arms around Matt as he sleeps. I try to not be jealous.

On Jake's 3-week birthday, I realized I hadn't taken a picture of him with his big teddy bear yet. I plan on taking pictures with the bear periodically as Jake gets older to show how much he's grown.

Four weeks:

One month:

Jake had a doctor's appointment in the afternoon on his one-month birthday and we decided to make a little family date night of it. This included dinner in the Papa John's parking lot, where we took turns eating and playing with our little guy. We then headed over to Nadia's for some delicious one-month birthday cupcakes.

I was so torn up by Jake taking a bottle so early on, but now I like to pump every now and then because it's so sweet to watch Matt feed him.

Our little date night gave us confidence to brave public a bit more with our little guy (nursing is/was the real roadblock). We started venturing out more and more, and even went to Los Angeles last week. But I'll blog about those outings later.

We probably have pictures of 1/3 of Jake's baths. Considering he takes them almost every day, that's a lot of bath time pictures. But seriously, is there anything cuter than a naked baby? I think not.

Speaking of baths, Jake earned one with this late-night blowout that took place on Matt's lap.

Normally, one might be annoyed at such an inconvenient event, but it's virtually impossible to do anything but smile at a face like that. It's all smiles, all the time around here.

Smile and cuddle. It's what we do.

(Oh, and practice push ups during tummy time. We do that, too.)