I See You

The neighborhood kids have been playing basketball outside ALL summer. They are loud and obnoxious... but that's beside the point. When we put Shyla down for bed for the last several months, she stays up late watching the kids play outside. More recently, when we ask her what's she's doing and why isn't she in bed, she responds with, "I'm talking to my friends". We think it's adorable that she calls the kids her "friends" when she's never even talked to them. When the kids are talking to each other outside, she's talking to them out her window as if they were talking to her.

Below is Shyla smiling at me when I told her to say "cheese". And the next picture is farther away so you can see the perspective that others see when they are outside.

This is what we found a couple hours after initially putting her down for bed. We even sometimes put her to bed earlier than we want so that maybe she will get tired of watching the kids sooner and go to sleep. There have even been times we go to check on her and she's passed out horizontal across her pillow with her feet hanging off the bed... it's hard to not laugh. It what kids do... they make us laugh... it really is the best medicine.

And yes, we know the shade is ripped. This is the second one we've had in her room.

This particular picture was taken the day after the one above but it shows the "other" side of what's going on. I came in her room, turned on the light, and took several pictures WITH flash, and she didn't even know I was there until I said her name. When she saw me she started laughing and I had to bribe her with reading 2 more books and singing another song before she'd go to sleep.

I no longer wonder why sometimes she's cranky in the morning or wants a nap sooner than usual.

0-3 Month Clothes

I should've posted this a couple weeks ago, but as the days go by... so do the weeks. In any event, now that Jacob (JD) is just over 2 months old, he is finally able to fit into his 0-3 month clothing. Packed away are the premie clothes... *sniffle*... and packed away are most of his newborn clothes... *double sniffle*.

I'm amazed though at how baby clothes are made. He got a couple onesies from friends that are 3 month size and they are the same size as some of his 6-9 month onesies!!! Not to mention he also has onesies that are 0-3 month that are the same size as his newborn ones... go figure. I just go off the size of the clothes themselves and not really the size on the tag.

Kennedy Park, Hayward

A couple weeks ago, my dad and I took Shyla (and baby Jacob) to Kennedy Park in Hayward. It used to be next to the movie theater on Hesparian, but since the takeover of "movie theater/shopping centers, this little movie theater that used to be there is now a Target.

Basically everything to "do" at this park is $1.50/ticket. Hey, they have to make money somehow. Shyla and I went on the train and merry-go-round (Shyla's first time on the merry-go-round with my dad she was worried and a little scared, but this time around she already knew what to expect. She was laughing and having a blast. I kept thinking she was going to fall off the horse though she never did) and Shyla played in the jumpy house. The lame thing about the jumpy house is that it was timed. After I believe it was about 5 minutes the guy said Shyla and the friend she made in there had to get out. Neither one wanted to come out and didn't understand why they couldn't keep jumping. I know they have to make money and all but the kids are 2 1/2..... let them jump for a while.... SHEESH!

There is also a small petting zoo where you can feed some animals. A few weeks prior my parents had taken Shyla here to play. They took her into the petting zoo area and while feeding some goats... one of the goats was running towards someone to get their food and "bumped" into Shyla. Leave it to her to fall down. It sounds worse than it was, she just tipped over and she got right back up.

Other than these few things to do there is also a huge playground with 3 junglegym sets, lots of grass to play soccer or frisbee on, as well as BBQ's and benches to have a party.

It was a little warm this day and Shyla didn't want to leave, however, after a couple hours playing I (and my dad) had had enough sun for one day. For $7.50 it wasn't too bad. I can't wait to take her back! After the day at the park I put Jacob down for a nap, he had a long day too.

Love To Sew

When I was younger my mom taught me how to sew. I first learned how to make bean bags. It was easy since all you had to do was sew 2 pieces together on 3 1/2 sides, fill it with beans, and sew the other 1/2 closed. I've recently been trying to get a hang on branching out my sewing skills. Last year I made Shyla a dress. I even made her wear it to church of all places!

I'm also attempting to make some flannel burp cloths. I prewashed the fabric so it wouldn't bunch or pull funny after it was sewn and I cut out a bunch of designs. Problem is now that I've made 1, I don't like the size and wish they were a little bigger.

Recently I made curtains for Jacob's bedroom. They are navy blue with tiny little stars all over. It matches great!

Um, yes... I have your dog Smokey.

Ever since our dogs came into our lives a few years ago, we've gotten many phone calls from random people always saying the same thing, "Hi, um, yes, I have your dog Smokey." He's usually the one that gets out. When we lived at our last house he even jumped over the 6 foot gate and got out. When he was a pup we got him neutered and at the same time got him micro-chipped (never thinking he'd actually get out, but liked the idea).

The last couple weeks Shyla has found that she can take off the dogs collars. We've been meaning to tighten them but haven't yet. About a week ago Smokey's collar got lost and we haven't found it yet. We found Bandits though and just put it on her this evening. Jake got home and was working on cleaning the pool around 6pm... about 6:30pm we get a phone call saying, "Um, hi, I have your dog Bandit." SURPRISE! It wasn't Smokey. Although he got out too. They were one street over. We put Jacob in the stroller and took a stroll over to get her (Bandit). Smokey didn't want to talk to anyone so he ran off. We drove around for about 5-10 minutes and found him a few blocks away in someones front yard. He normally runs away but came right over when he saw us (he probably wanted water).

We used to take him on "walks" in the car so this is how we brought him home. He's part Whippet and they LOVE to run, and run fast. We kept a nice steady pace of about 10mph though.

Normally they stay together when they get out except for today. Where there is one... there the other will be.

Smokey and The Bandit. Keep your eyes open... they may be on your street next!

Turns out, someone who shall remain nameless (*cough* Jake *cough*) didn't close one of the side gates properly and that's how they got out.

Where's Jacob?

I walked into the room and for a second didn't know where Jacob was. He blended in perfectly with Shyla's doll!

Blanket From Great Grandma Dottie

Jacob's great grandma Dottie made this blanket for him. (my birthday sake :) (I was born on my grandma's birthday and my cousin was born on our birthday. It's a busy day for our family!) She had me pick colors... I called her and gave her the names... and voila! this blanket was made. She made one for each grandchild, and as we are having our own children she is continuing the tradition. Shyla has one too. I enjoy the brighter colors and they can use the blanket longer as they get older. Plus they are big enough for me to cuddle with them under it! Our scanner isn't working at the moment so this photo of Shyla is actually a picture of a picture and the colors are showing more (just a little bit) vibrant than they really are.
I'm not sure how old she was when this was taken, but based on the looks of her I'm guessing just a couple months old.

THANKS GRANDMA!

Visiting

Recently, Gramma Bess and Aunt Pam were able to meet baby Jacob for the first time! We were taking pictures with Gramma's camera and Shyla wanted to see.... then she wanted to take some pictures of her own. She's getting quite skilled with the camera thanks to her mommy. She's sharing my "love" of photography.

Whenever it's time to feed the baby Shyla runs to get her dolly and she feeds her too! It's not in the picture, but usually she has a bib and "burf clof" so she can burp her baby when it's time to burp Jacob. She's born to be a mommy! (As you can see I'm not nursing anymore, but I'll save that story for another day. Let's just say the baby is growing better now and that's the important part.).

During this visit we discussed Shyla going to Oregon with Gramma for a few weeks and we'd pick her up with we go up for our annual Labor Day trip. I'm sure going to miss her being gone for that long but I know she will have a wonderful time bonding with her Gramma and Grampa!

Sharky's

Jacob got this cute little outfit from his Grandma Candy. I love the way it fits and he looks SO adorable in it. Most of his clothes are still too big for him to wear. Even some of his newborn sized clothes are too big width wise, but not this one!

Leg Update

So after a doctor visit and a trip to the lab to get an ultrasound then back to the doctor to review the results... no blood clot... good, but she can't tell me what is wrong... bad. She "thinks" I hurt my Achilles tendon so I'm just to ice/heat/elevate and try to stay off it as much as I can. I paid a co-pay to be told to "ice my leg"????? Ugh. Well, it's better than the alternative.

When I asked her how I could've hurt the tendon without knowing it she didn't really answer the question... just told me how to take care of it. Thanks doc!

If there's been no progress getting better in 2 weeks I can only guess it'll be at least another month before it gets any better. Today, after the doctor squeezing it repeatedly asking "does it hurt here?" and I say yes and she continues to squeeze it more, it feels like someone hit my calf with a baseball bat only there's no bruise.

Hurt my Achilles tendon without knowing it... who've thought.

Leg Problem

For almost the last 2 weeks I've been having this pain in my calf that won't go away. At first I thought I got a cramp in my leg that I didn't know about. (I got leg cramps while I was pregnant and after the cramp went away, the area where it happened hurt for a few days). After about a week I started to think there was something else wrong, but didn't know what it could be.

I shouldn't be allowed to "browse" the internet. I'm convinced I have some sort of blood clot in my leg. The one I read about is called Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT. There are several things that can cause it. One of the causes is if you are pregnant or just had a baby. "Just had a baby"... that's me! The only symptom really that I have is the pain... it feels similar to it being bruised, only there's no discoloration like a bruise.

The last couple days the pain has been getting a little worse and it's worse at the end of the day than it is when I wake up. It hurts to touch it. It hurts when I cross my legs for any longer than a couple short minutes. It hurts during the night if I lay on my right side to sleep (it's my right calf that hurts).

Jake finally convinced me that I should call and make a doctors appointment. I have to call after 6:30am tomorrow morning to get a same day appointment. Since I'm usually up already by this time it shouldn't be a problem.

Please keep me in your prayers that this is nothing more than a bad leg cramp or something. I'm really not ready for anything else to happen right now.