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!!