Jakes baby book

My mom gave me my baby book and I was amazed at how detailed she was.  Each page is filled to the max explaining a day with me.  She was so detailed that when your done reading you knew everything about me.  I wanted to do the same for Jake.  I have been slowly filling it out.  Not as well as my mom, but good enough.

My weekends

I love my weekends.  We don't do anything special, just hang out at home and have family time.  

Dan feeds Jake his morning bottle, then goes back to bed.  I sleep in until Jake wakes up again.  We hang out for a bit while dad sleeps, then we all get ready for the day.  We go grocery shopping, Dan carries Jake in the baby Bjorn, get lunch out, then come home to unpack.

After that we relax.  Dan plays video games and I work on my puzzle books.  Jake bounces, or works on rolling over until he gets tired, then he takes a great 3 hour nap.  Dan and I then pick up the house, sit outside or do yard work.  When Jake wakes up we all go for a walk, then eat dinner.  

Sundays are even lazier!  We all sleep in until 9:00 am, keep our jammys on and relax in the living room, watching movies.  Some weekends my parents babysit, so we drop Jake off, then do some extra shopping.  After that we stay home for the rest of the day.  

I love the time I get to spend with Dan and Jake.  Nothing makes me happier then relaxing at home after a crazy work week.

It's finally Friday

This week has been very long and seemed to drag by.  I cannot wait to relax! Nothing fun planned, but that's okay with me.  Have a great weekend!

My busy day

As soon as I wake up, it's go,go,go.  

Jake wakes up at 6:30, I feed him, pack up his stuff and the car, then head to my dad's shop until 11:00.  I help him with simple tasks like filing, billing, cleaning, and things he doesn't have time for.  Jake hates the shop and is so fussy the whole time we are there.  We are there for 3 hours and with all of Jakes fussing, I get about an hours worth of work done.

From there we go to my nanny job.  I feed Jake, interact with him for a bit, then it's off to sleeply land for him.  While he sleeps, I get Gavin's lunch ready, help him eat it, then play with him until he has therapy.  I get at least an hour break depending on Jakes sleeping, then it's feed and play with him til Gavin is done with his first session.  Then I have to play with Jake and Gavin until his second session, then Jake takes another nap.  By this time, Audrey comes home and I have to get her a snack and help her with homework.  Once that's done, I help her get ready for that nights activity(swimming or gymnastics). She leaves and then I have to watch both Gavin and Jake.  Jake is usually done by this time and just wants to be held.  I have to feed Gavin dinner, and play with him and tend to Jake til Audrey gets back from her sports, which is 6:30.  Finally we leave for home.

Once home, dan feeds Jake and puts him to bed while I eat a quick dinner and get ready for tomorrow.  I prepare bottles, wash old ones, do laundry, pack my lunch, pack jakes bag(bibs, burp cloths, clothes, diapers......) now it's 8:00 and I am done for the night, off to bed for me.

I have to say, because of this crazy schedule, I sleep like a rock.  I am asleep by the time my head hits the pillow and don't wake up til my alarm (Jake ;)) goes off at 6:30.

Beth, my sister from a different mister, and misses

I have a great relationship with my sister in law.  She is an amazing person.  We met when I started dating Dan and hit it off right away.  We could carry a conversation, just like we had been talking for years.

We have a lot of the same interests and agree on a variety of topics, even though we have opposite likes.  Reading is a favorite of both of ours.  Beth reads well written, intense stories, that have meaning and always end up making the best seller lists.  I read gooey romantics, where there is no thinking, just fluff.  She recommends or buys me these awesome books, which I am hesitant to read, then end up loving.  She knows my taste preference and only recommends books she knows I will like.

She is an amazing mother.  She takes care of her 4 kids everyday without complaint, while her husband works the night shift.  That means, she gets them up, feeds them breakfast, sends them to school, plays with the younger ones, while doing chores, makes dinner, gives baths, spends time with each child, then puts them to bed. She does this everyday and I don't know how she doesn't lose her head with all the chaos.

She is always there for me when I need her. I can talk to her about anything, at any time a day.  No matter what's she's doing, she takes time to help me sort out my problems and offers helpful advice.  She is always asking about me and my family, and doesn't talk about herself or her family.  She lets me brag about mine.  I am trying to be better at that and ask her how her family is doing.  She sends me amazing gifts and birthday cards and I have never sent anything to her or her kids,( which I feel terrible about and will now start doing).   She is the least selfish person I know.

I love you Beth and I am so glad I know you.  I couldn't have asked for a better sister in law!

Wii U

After about a year of debating, we finally bought a wii u.  Dans wii has been slowly dying and getting to the point where it's to hard to play a game on it.  It makes a horrible buzzing noise any time you try to play a game.  We had some money left over from bonus month and finally decided to get one.  

The main controller is like a game gear.  Very big and bulky, but interactive.  You can choose to play on that or use the tv.  If you do play on the tv, the game pad stays on and you can even use it as an extras screen.  But that also means the battery dies very quickly.  There is no way to turn it off, as it is the main control for the whole system.

We have nintendoland, lego marvel heros, donkey kong and super Mario bros.  Dan and I play nintendoland, which is a bunch of games in one.  We have fun playing together, even though dan kicks my butt every time.  I am glad we bought it, even if we should be saving for a house.

Ignore the Star Trek.  Dan is obsessed and watches it every night while I do my logic puzzles.

Easter Sunday

Happy Easter!!!! Our Easter was busy and hectic as usual.  We woke up, packed Jakes stuff up for the day, and went to my parents.  Jake got tons of clothes, fun toys, teethers and some soft books.

We had lunch of ham, cheesy potatoes, rolls and green beans.  We had apple pie and chocolate cream pie for dessert.  After lunch, we all had fun playing and reading to Jake.

Dan and I even got a basket.  Candy, socks, dumb toys, Chapstick, and gum.

Then we came to drop off Lily, cause our inlaws don't really care for Lily in their house, then went to the inlaws.  We had to find Jakes basket which had bibs, an outfit, and a knitted blanket.  

My niece and nephew had an Easter egg hunt, then we had dinner, turkey, ham, rolls, potatoes, asparagus, and green jello.  We had pineapple upside down cake for dessert.  Then we all sat around and talked.  By that time, Jake was done for the night and had a meltdown.  He cried and cried and nothing would soothe him.  We finally left around 7:30 after being away from home since 10 am.

  I always dread holidays.  I hate traveling and trying to make each family happy.  Sometimes I would prefer to stay home and enjoy my holiday, not stress about when we have to leave.  It's even worse now that we have Jake and my family loves to see him.

This guy........

has been amazing lately.  We had a rough go when Jake was first born, when he had this sexist thought that since I was the mom and not working, that I had to do everything when it came to caring for Jake.  Bath time, diaper changes, feedings, laundry, bottle cleaning, putting him to bed, late night feedings, everything was my job.  I was so stressed and tired that I couldn't take it anymore.  I finally told him how I was feeling and explained that he is a dad now and has to care for his son, just like I do.  

Now, he wakes up with Jake on the weekends and takes care of him so I can sleep in.  He also feeds him, changes his diapers, and entertains him without me asking for him to do it.  He also picks up Jake  after work when I have to stay late and can't handle 3 kids.  He never complains any more, and doesn't have that sexiest point of view.  He is finally a daddy!!!!!!  And I love it more than words will ever explain.

Hi ho, hi oh, it's back to work I go

I started back to work on Tuesday after being off for 2 weeks.  It was like I never had a break.  Jake and I were right on schedule.  No hard transitions, no fussing, or tiredness, for either one of us.  It really helps that I love my job.  I love going to work every day.  Most people hate getting up to go to work and then are miserable for the whole day.  Not me.  I am so blessed to work for a great family, and that I love what I do.  

It also helps that my job is so easy.  The days are relaxed and stress free.  I get paid to read and hang out with Jake.  My "boss" is easy going and helps me with whatever I need.  Any time I ask for a day off or ask to leave early, she lets me and doesn't give me attitude about it.  I never want to leave this family.  It's going to be so hard to find another family as great as them.

Starting solids

This week we started Jake on solids.(seems like all my posts are about Jake, cut me some slack, he's my first!). I am really excited to see his reactions, and his likes and dislikes.  We started with sweet potatoes.  Jake was so confused.  He barely opened his mouth, then when I finally got the food in, he just let it sit there.  He had no idea what to do.  Now we moved to pears, and he is finally tasting them.  He made a bunch of faces, then got upset when he realized it wasn't formula.  This is harder than I thought, and a bit disappointing.  Hopefully he gets the hang of it soon!

Oh Jakey.........

Sleeping in his crib, finally

Due to a drafty house, a poor heating system and being first time parents, Jake has been sleeping in a bassinet either in our room or in the hallway right outside our door.  We never needed a baby monitor and I never had to worry about any problems because he was always close by.  It is finally warm enough here, so Jake is sleeping in his own room, in his crib.  He looks so small and sad in it.

I have mixed feelings about this.  I am so used to him in the hallway, and his room seems so far away 

(it's only 5 more steps from where his bassinet was to his room).  I feel like something will happen so I won't hear it or be close enough.  I do have a baby monitor on, but it's not the same.  

But it's also time for him to sleep by himself and get used to sleeping in a crib.  He will eventually get to big for the bassinet anyway, so there's no reason not to move him now.  Hopefully he does well and sleeps like he usually does.  The only problem is, we don't have shades or blinds on his windows, so it's super bright.  When the sun comes up tomorrow, it might wake him up.  

Isn't the bedding super cute!  I really liked the monsters theme and went a little crazy with all the monsters stuff.  My amazing sister in law got this bedding set for my shower.  Sheets, a blanket, bumpers, and wall decorations were included!  Thanks Beth!

Makin' baby food

Dan and I decided to make our own baby food for Jake.  We read how the companies add in extra ingredients to make it more bland so more babies eat it, therefore more parents buy it.  We read that it makes most children very fussy and very picky eaters.  They also add tons of sugars.  One jar has over 15 grams of sugars.  

By making our own food, we are actually getting more for our money.  2 cups of sweet potatoes makes about 6 containers full.  Plus I can make a bunch, put it in ice cube trays to freeze and then pull them out to thaw when I need them.  

Today I finally got to use my 2 in one steamer and blender.  It's so easy to use and does most of the work.  I chop up the pieces, push some buttons and depending on what I am making, steams then blends the food in under a 1/2 hour.  

Here are my sweet potatoes all ready to go.  It has a steam and blend button, so I push that sucker, then walk away til it's done.

                  Steaming away

   

    This was after the 25 minutes of steaming, it's blending!

                    DONE!!!!!!!!

It's a pretty handy device.  I like how it steams it and blends it and I don't have to do anything.  I made sweet potatoes, avocados and pears.  I hope Jake enjoys his fresh, healthy, flavorful foods!

          Total haul for the day!!

Happy boy

In cannot believe how darn cute this little guy is.  When I wake him up from his naps, he always gives me a huge smile!  It makes me so happy to know that he recognizes me and is happy to see me even though I woke him up.  I love to talk to him and call him my cute little boy and tell him how much I love him.  He then gives me huge smiles and sometimes a laugh.  After that he does a superman stretch and I love to tickle his sides.  He gets a kick out of that also.

I love him so much! Yes, sometimes he is a stinker and drives me up the wall, but I love his smile and laughter and how he is so happy most of the time!

Who wants to go for walkies?

                                

Today was an absolutely beautiful day in Michigan.  So sunny and warm.  Since we have been stuck inside for what seems like 6 months, I decided to take Jake and Lily for a walk.  Plus my sister signed me up for a 5k in May, and I am so out of shape it's depressing.  We went to a small park 2 minutes away and it was empty.  Lily is not so good in new places or situations so it was good no one was there to make her freak out.  We walked for about a 1/2 hour and I was dying.  My legs were itchy and my heart was racing.  Apparently I need to exercise more.......  But we all had fun and got some vitamin D!!

               Ready to go, not so happy to be in his car seat

           

                       Peekaboo

                 Lily leading the way

Family fun Sunday

Today my brother and his wife and my sister and her dogs came to our house for a visit.  My parents are vacationing and I think my brother and SIL are lonely.  They watched Jake for us yesterday so we could get our shopping done for the week, and then wanted to hang out today.  My sister was bored up at State and her roommate was busy so she decided to hang out with us.  

  

                                   

My brother bought us pizza and breadsticks, and we watched Thor 2.  We had a great time dispite the fact that Jake was super fussy the whole time.  I am glad we could all hang out.  We rarely see each other because all our schedules never match up.   Thanks for hanging out guys!!!!

Mini me

Yesterday was finally a beautiful day!  It was bright and sunny and 60 degrees.  While Jake slept, Lily and I sat outside and soaked up the rays.  When Dan got home we strapped Jake in the Baby Bjorn( he reminded me of mini me from Austin Powers and I couldn't stop laughing) and went of a walk around our yard.

                               Mini me!

We have 5 acres and walk about a mile.  Jake was cooing and talking and loving it, while Lily had to sniff everything and roll on the ground.  I think spring has finally sprung here after 5 months of terrible snow and fridgid cold.  Today is 30s and raining so no walk today.  Boooo

                    Ready to go!!

My first day of vacation

Wow, I am so bored...  I am used to working and being busy.  I don't know what to do with myself.  I spent lots of time with Jake, playing, talking, and hanging out together.  We also went and got Chinese food for lunch and then watched Percy Jackson 2.  Now Jake is taking a nap and I am staring at the walls.  Lily and I did play frisbee and I made dinner, but now I have nothing left to do.  I could do laundry or pick up the house, but who wants to do that... Not me!

Such a cute smile.

So frustrated

so the girls who come to the house I nanny for, to help Gavin with therapy, are driving me insane.  They are suppose to arrive at a certain time, take 10 minutes to set up, work with him for 2 hours, then take 10 minutes to clean up and leave.  Do they do that? NOPE, NOPE, NOPE.  It takes them over 30 minutes most days to set up, which cuts into his therapy time, then they bring him down to me 10 minutes before they should.  So basically he's only getting an hours worth instead of 2.  It makes me so mad.   This is their job and they are so lazy, and don't want to work so they waste as much time as possible.

Today they arrived at 12:30 and didn't take him up til 1 freaking 45.  What the hell are they doing up there for so freaking long?  To top it all off, his session ends at 2:10, so what time do you think he came down....... That's right, 2:10.  They didn't even make up the time he lost out on.  Grrrrrrrrr

I was raised to work hard.  You are being paid for this job, you have to potential to change a kids life, and your wasting it by talking with your coworkers. JERKS.  

Blah

Not much is new here.  The family I nanny for is leaving for vacation for 2 weeks.  I am happy for a break and spend time with Jake, but it also means I won't have an income for 2 weeks.  I plan on. I siting my sister at school a couple of times, but mostly I plan to stay at home and not spend my money.  I have a list of movies I need to watch so I will probably do that!

My dad's bday was last weekend so my family came to our house and celebrated.  We bought everyone gyros from the best place in Michigan, and watched the Croods.  We had banana, peanut butter cake for dessert and opened his gifts.  We got him a solar light in the shape of a tractor, my sister got him an iPod Dock for his bike, and my brother got him headphones for his tractor.  We kicked everyone out at 7:30 so I could put Jake to bed and not throw off his routine.  They grumbled and made fun of me, but I don't care.  No way am I messing up my perfect system.

Here's the tractor light with an iPad mini for scale.

Cute huh?