Baby Max

Jack and Mommy went down to the South Bay last night to visit family. We started at Grandpa Phil's restaurant where we got to see Zia Andria, Uncle Phil, Grandpa Phil, Auntie Nikki and baby Max. Uncle Phil made yummy mostacciolli with butter and cheese and Grandpa made pizza with pesto sauce. It was all very tasty. Jack got to run around the place like he owns it...oh, he does! He got to watch football in the kitchen and do high fives and knuckles with Uncle Phil and Grandpa...too much testosterone for Mommy! Jack even gave baby Max his first kiss ever! Their relationship seems to be improving. I guess Jack is finally resigned to the idea that Max is going to be around for a long time, so he'd better make the best of it.

After dinner, we went to Grandma Laura and Pa's house. Jack had his bath, a bottle, and had some quick hugs for everyone before he went to sleep. This morning, Nikki brought Max over before she went to work, so we got to play together for several hours before we came home. The cousins laid on the play mat together and Jack even shared is new wind-up frog toy with Max. Max was so full of smiles and laughs for his crazy Auntie. Peek-a-boo never gets old, does it? Sorry the photo with the boys and me is overexposed, but Jack only sat still for one frame, so we had to take what we could get. That was also the last shot of me in that sweatshirt. Soon after, I gave Max his bottle. When I burped him he spit up all over, but being a smart, veteran Mom I had a rag on my shoulder..HA, outwitted him! Then I put him down for his morning nap, but he fussed and cried, so I went to check on him. His blanket wasn't swaddled very well, so I picked him up to adjust it and...KAPOW! Projectile all over my shoulder! HA! Looks like he got the last laugh on me. I swaddled him up again and he dozed peacefully off to dreamland. Oh well, spit happens! It was a quick trip, but I got some good cuddle time in with my nephew, so it was well worth it.

Busy Weekend

Since I had Friday off it already feels like I've had a full weekend and today is only Sunday! Friday, of course, we went to the zoo and then had dinner at my friend Lorena's house...homemade chile relleno!! Yesterday we went to a baby shower for our friend Jenny. She has twin boys (18 months old) and is due with her third boy next month! After 7 years of infertility she and her husband never dreamed this would happen, but what an amazing blessing! They are such wonderful people, great parents. We had a great time, lovely lunch and a perfect fall afternoon for a patio party. Last night, Diane came over and we made shrimp curry. Jack had so much fun playing with Diane and his new dinosaur balloon. He loved being the center of attention. Diane is a 6th grade teacher at my school and it was fun to watch her play with Jack. It must be a teacher thing, but she talks to him just like I do, "Where is Dino's eye? What color is his eye? Is it green?" Everything is a teachable moment!

This morning we are going to go to church and them head to Redondo Beach for a little overnight at Grandma Laura's. It has been far too long since we have seen Grandpa Phil, so we will be going to the restaurant tonight. Sunday night at the restaurant is great because we get to see Zia Andria, Uncle Phil, Auntie Nikki and Cousin Max, too. Looking forward to keeping the weekend rolling!

Roar!!

Jack and I took a drive up the coast this morning to meet Jenny and her adorable twin boys for some fun at the Santa Barbara Zoo. It was a typical glorious day in Santa Barbara. Fortunately, it was not scorching hot yet either. We got very good views of the penguins, elephants, flamingoes, gorillas, meerkats and lions. Jack was especially thrilled with the lions! We saw both the male and female sunning themselves on a huge rock in front of the glass. He roared proudly to everyone who came up for a look and we finally had to coerce him to
say,"Bye-Bye Lions!" and leave them behind. Not to worry though, he found a toy lion in the gift shop that he just couldn't live without. We had a peanut butter sandwich in the shade and then played "get" with the twins up near the new condor exhibit. It was a wonderful day. We are so lucky to live in Paradise :-)

Bed Head

Rob left for Washington DC this morning and we miss him already.

Honey, Jack woke up with "Daddy hair" today. He sends you big kisses. Be safe. We love you!

Boo!

I was so excited that today was finally October 1st. In addition to celebrating Great TuTu's birthday, it was finally appropriate to wear my cool new Halloween t-shirt that Grandpa Nick and TuTu brought for me on their last visit. I looked really handsome this morning, but Mommy and Daddy had no time for a photo shoot. Sorry about the soup splotches, but I hope you still think I look cute after dinner and a full day of playing at Karen's house. I have been practicing my "ghost" act for about 2 months now and I think it's pretty scary. Happy October!

Wednesday Night Fun

Jack was unstoppable tonight. Literally, he was wound up tighter than the Energizer Bunny...he kept going and going and going! He was terrorizing Gracie, but she seemed to tolerate it pretty well. Dare I say, she seemed to enjoy it! Mommy and Daddy liked the show. He didn't go to bed until 9:15 PM! And even then he was kicking and screaming; something about having the meanest parents on Earth, blah, blah, blah. Well, he's not too far from the truth. Immediately after we put him down we had yummy homemade apple pie. I could hear him grumbling from his crib as he dozed off, "Damn you! Pie-hoarding jerks!"

Calgon, Take Me Away!

Sorry for the ghastly lag in posting on our blog! Last week was a crazy mess, but I lived to tell about it. My teaching partner has changed yet AGAIN! So, last week I had the choice of writing up 3 days worth of plans for a sub, or working all 5 days myself. Well, I can't believe I used to work full-time! Add to it, Back-to-School Night on Tuesday and one morning without Rob, and I was whipped! I've also been having trouble losing my voice, so today I visited the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor to discover that it is my inconsistent use of voice that is causing the trouble! I talk a LOT, loudly at school ,but use a more normal tone and talk less when I am home. The remedy is either to use my voice more gently at school or yell more at home! Let's see how Rob and Jack like that!

Rob has been crazy busy too. In the last 10 days he has been to Arrowhead, LA, Santa Maria, LA again and has Washington DC on the books this weekend! Jack had a complete melt down when Daddy went to work this morning. I think we are all a bit ragged around the edges right now. Last Friday night, my mom had Jack for the evening, so Rob and I had a date night! Well, he had computer problems at work, so we both worked late, grabbed El Pollo Loco and scarfed it down at home, and dragged our weary corpses to the movies. If we hadn't Fandangoed the tickets already we both would gladly have just called it a day and gone to sleep around 8PM.

I know how disappointed you all were, logging on and finding the same old (cute) photos of Jack every time. I tried to post twice last weekend, but the video wouldn't upload. Today I wanted to share another cute video of Jack eating an Oreo with his darling new haircut, but I couldn't find it on Rob's computer. I hope this cute photo from last month will suffice. I should get the video up by this weekend. Have a great week everyone. And happy early birthday to Great Tutu Dotte!