HALLOWEEN!!!

While this wasn't Shyla's first official Halloween, it was her first official neighborhood trick or treating... and she loved it! She said "trick or treat" and "thank you" at every house. Shyla was Snow White and Jacob was a bee. It was fun getting them dressed up. I straightened Shy's hair. I think I enjoyed getting her ready with makeup and all way more than she did. There were LOTS of kids trick or treating this year so it helped to make the experience more fun for all of us and not boring at all. The weather was nice so that was a plus. I wore a short sleeved t-shirt and was comfortable.

The first house we went to was our neighbors right across the street. Shyla didn't want to walk all the way to the door because of the scary decorations they had on their porch... so instead their daughter came out to give her the candy. A few more houses of getting scared and she started to warm up.

A family picture taken by our "kitty corner" neighbors. That's our house in the background. We hung orange lights up. We were a little late this year decorating though. By the time we FINALLY got some decorations up Halloween was about 1 week away. Oh well, it's the thought that counts!

Shyla at the first house where she walked all the way up to ring the bell by herself.

She even got to get candy from some of the members of our ward, so she was happy about that too!

By the end of the night I'd say she made out fairly well for her first time.

Trunk or Treat

Tonight was our ward Trunk or Treat which was combined with 2 other wards. Lots of people, lots of food, lots of kids, and lots of candy! There were some games to play too! While most of them Shyla wouldn't participate in, she did a "fishing" game and got her face painted with a pumpkin. This year she got really into the "treating" part of the night when she got to go trunk to trunk and ask for candy. Last year she was really nervous... but this year... not so much. She needed a little help on the first few trunks but that's about it. After we had gone to all the cars she kept asking to go to more. We went to a few for a second time and then called it a night. She'll be getting plenty of candy on Saturday!

Smith Farm Pumpkin Patch

This is the same pumpkin farm we took Shyla to last year, only last year had much better weather. We liked it because there is more to do than just "pick a pumpkin". I would like to one day go to a pumpkin patch that I can actually pick my own pumpkin, not just pick up one off the ground that's already been picked off the vine.

Boy oh boy was it a windy day! We're in the middle of a wind storm and I think this was the most windy day yet! We started our trip off with some pictures. Then went through a small hay maze. There is also a corn maze to go through but it was so windy/dusty that is was taped off. Shyla loved to look at all the animals on the farm. There may have been more, but the ones that she could see were: ducks, chickens, horses, cows, and rabbits. After a little sightseeing, we walked over to the barn for a "hoedown". During the hoedown the guy who was singing had all the little kids go up front. There were so many he had them go up in 2 groups. Shyla was a little nervous but got her tambourine and stood off to the side. When she saw all the kids playing their instruents she joined in too. It was SO CUTE to see! We had some lunch. Then on a wagon ride out to the pumpkin patch! By this point we were all winded out (and cold and tired and dusty). It was about 12:45 when we left and they said they were closing early at 1:00pm due to the wind so thankfully we were able to see everything before they closed up. I loved being able to spend a little time with my whole family. Jake had set aside the day to make sure we could all go together and I'm glad he did. Even though it was windy...it was memorable!

He's Teething

And so is she! Jacob has been teething his bottom 2 front teeth since he was about 2 months old. Lately though it's been getting worse and the gums are looking more white so teeth should be coming soon (I hope). We bought these little chewy teether things with Shyla and she loved it when we put frozen fruit in them! Jacob can't hold it himself yet so we put frozen peaches in first but then decided crushed ice was better so it wasn't sticky and it dribbled down his body.

We try to incorporate Shyla as much as we can in the things we have to do for Jacob. In this instance, he's teething so she was pretending she was teething too. I had to keep reminding her though that the teether is not to chew... since babies have no teeth and all. She eventually caught on and sucked on it until all her ice was gone.

Halloween Party

Shyla (and the family) was invited to her friends Halloween party. They played with each other, did a craft project, and ate yummy food. Jake and I had to leave to run an errand and when we got back... the kids were all half-dressed in their costumes or naked! That way they wouldn't get frosting on their clothes. Shyla greeted us at the door in only her stocking and shoes. We had a fun day! Shyla was asleep before we got home. Jacob on the other hand was still awake until a little after we got home. He fell asleep at 2:45pm and we woke him up at 11pm because we didn't want him to wake up after we'd fallen asleep since we were very tired. He didn't wake up again until 9am Sunday morning! Go little man, go!

Photo Op

We were hanging out in our bedroom with the kids and I noticed some great window light on Jacob's face. I ran to get my camera and managed to get a few decent shots. NOTE: Shyla doesn't really still use a pacifier, she's just in a mimicking mode... can you guess who she's mimicking? I wanted to take some more shots of Shyla in the fabulous lighting but she had this bedhead thing going on. Not a good look for photos! I couldn't decide which one(s) I liked best so I put in a bunch.

Dirty Clothes

SCENE: Against my better judgement I let Shyla play outside when it was a little darker than I wanted her out there for. I could hear water splashing.

MOM thinks: "Oh great, she's in the dogs water dish again."

A few minutes later she comes running into the room.

SHYLA: "Look at me mom!"

I look over and see a proud, smiling face. She was WET and NAKED.

MOM: "Where are you clothes Shyla?"
SHYLA: "In the fountain."

We go outside to get them so the dogs don't find them and chew them up.

MOM: "Why are you clothes in the fountain?"
SHYLA: "Um, cuz, they got dirty. I wash them."

Duh...

Stepped on a Nail

Yesterday, Shyla was playing outside when I hear her screaming. I go over to her and find Bandit licking her face. At first I thought Shy was just mad because the dog was licking her face, but then she was holding her foot. I then thought that she hurt her ankle since I didn't see any blood anywhere. I went to hold her calf so I didn't touch her ankle but then she screamed more. I looked down and saw that when I lifted her leg there was a fenceboard attached!!! Shy had stepped on a nail while running around with the dogs!!! As soon as I realized what happened I picked her up and took her to the bathroom.

Now I've dealt with scrapes, bumps, and bruises, but haven't experienced much bleeding... until now! Because it was a puncture wound when I pulled the nail out the blood sort of poured out. With Shyla laying on the floor of the bathroom I called a friend of ours Laurie and asked her to come over to help out. I started crying because I didn't know what to do and while it wasn't the biggest wound in the world I still felt helpless. My baby was crying and there wasn't much I could do to help her.We cleaned it up and I got an appointment scheduled for that afternoon. Jake was working and had my car and I couldn't drive his truck since it has the work trailer attached, so I was "carless" with a sleeping baby and a wounded child that needed to go to the doctors. Laurie was so kind to help me take the baby and Shyla to the doctor appointment. She was so brave at her appointment and even got a cool snowman sticker that had little pieces you got to put together to form the snowman! After some cleaning, bandages, and antibiotics, Shyla was home resting in our bed, feet on pillow, watching her favorite shows with a side of grapes. She limped around for about a day but was running around by the next.

Little Climber

Shyla will pretty much climb on anything. She has no fear! I have fear though! One day I was outside working on our soon-to-be-new-lawn (coming in the next month or 2). Shyla says to me, "Look at me mom!" I look over to see a proud 2 1/2 year old who climbed halfway up our chainlink fence to the dog run! I couldn't get mad since there's no point in that so instead I showed her how to get back down, since after the happiness of climbing up wore off she realized she was stuck. That didn't scare her though... a minute later I found her at the other end of the fence where she had climbed on top of one of the dog houses and climbed the fence above it! Man, oh man... I hope to get a picture of that one of these days! In this picture she was wearing Jacob's bib and helping to wash dishes... hmmm... was she really helping you may ask... yes she was! Even though sometimes it makes the chores take longer I try to let her help me anytime she's willing. For one day she will have no choice, nor be as willing to do them...

Starting to Talk and Always Talkative

Jacob has been an awfully quiet baby... up until about 2 weeks ago. He started talking little by little. The last couple days he's been talking lots and he usually talks for a while just before he crashes out to sleep. Today though he's had a lot to say. He comes with me to Relief Society every Sunday and today when he woke up from his nap (about 15 minutes from the end) he chatted away most of the time!

Shyla, like her mommy, is also very talkative. She was supposed to be in bed sleeping a while ago but has decided that she wants to stay awake and read. I can understand more than you guys probably can, but in this video she is reading a book about different trucks. You can hear her say things like "mommy daddy open the door" (she's talking to her imaginary friend "Johnny" who is a friendly monster telling him that mommy and daddy tell her not to open the door), "ferris wheel", "garbage truck", and "snow truck".

Smokey Is In Time Out

Smokey has been known to have a, ahem, problem with doing "naughty things" to Bandit. I won't post a picture of that so you'll have to just imagine. Whenever we see it we tell him to stop, Shyla even does it now too! Well, one day she decided to put him in time out. I opened the door to go outside and I see Smokey in the area outside the door we usually keep the dogs out of. I asked Shyla what happened and she said, "he's in time out". After a brief explanation from her I found out why.

4 Months and Feet

On October 1 Jacob turned 4 months old! Man oh man, wasn't it just last night that I went into labor? Someone please tell the little man to stop growing just for a little bit. This same day was his 4 month checkup... and more shots *sad face*.Current Stats as of 10/1/09:

Weight: 12lbs, 4.1oz
Length:23 1/4"
Head circumference: 16 1/2"

Fun Facts:

-He giggles
-He rubs his face in your shoulder and his eyes when he's tired
-He likes to have breakfast early in the morning (on some days, other days he likes to sleep in)
-He can turn over from tummy to back and sometimes gets stuck on his side
-He is starting to enjoy his swing and bouncy chair
-He enjoys watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with his sister

Little man has also recently found his feet. For the last couple weeks we'd find him laying down with his feet and legs sticking straight up in air. He finally found that there was a fun "toy" at the end of his legs on Wednesday (for journaling purposes 10/14/09). I haven't yet, but I still have to get a picture of how he grabs both feet while laying on his back and sticks his legs out... very adorable!Thank you Jacob (JD) for bringing such joy into our lives. You are the calm in our crazy life! Our family feels more complete and blessed now that you've arrived. All of us continue to fall more and more in love with you each day!

Fleet Week SF 2009

We packed up the kids and Grandpa and headed out to SF for Fleet Week. We were excited to see the Blue Angels (our last Fleet Week was in 2004 and we got to see the Canadian Snowbirds because people complained about the Blue Angels practice being too loud so they didn't end up flying).

It's been a while since Shyla's been on BART, but after a few minutes she started to enjoy it. I am the only one that had to pay for a ticket and because of that we actually missed the train we were trying to catch so we had to catch the next one. We were meeting my dad in SF at the station. My dad gets to ride free for life (and my mom) because my dad retired from BART and that's just another one of the perks of working for BART. Jake gets to ride for free since he is a government worker (Concord Reserve Officer). And both kids get to ride for free until age 4. That leaves me... the only paying rider in my family. *sigh*There were a lot of people waiting to see the Blue Angels fly. By the time we got there, there were some other planes flying. We watched from Pier 39, but we talked about buying tickets and going to Marina Green next year to see the air show from a better perspective. I don't know who they are and I didn't see their name on the "roster" though they were still really good. The fog started rolling in during this time so I think they were keeping the show low-key for safety of the pilots. First came the C130 (pretty sure it's a C130) that flys with the Blue Angels. It flew around for a couple minutes then left. Then the Blue Angels arrived! You'd think we'd have been happy. The planes made their debut and after about 5 minutes they left because the fog came in too much (it was only 3:00pm) by this point and they couldn't see the tips to the Golden Gate bridge clearly. It was a risk for the pilots and onlookers so the show was cancelled. They were able to fly on Sunday though..........GRRR! So I only got a couple of not very good shots.Here is the reason we didn't get to see the Blue Angels AGAIN. By this point we were hungry and we had previously made reservations at a restaurant that I can't remember the name of. But it's at Pier 39 on the upper level towards the entrance. Shyla certainly does love her french fries. Can you believe this is the CHILREN'S SIZE chicken and fries???!!! It fed Shyla for dinner, and there was enough to feed Jake and I for dinner the next night as well.After dinner it was off to see the sealions. Shyla has never seen them before. At first she was a little apprehensive but then thought they were cute.It was getting pretty cold pretty fast so we decided to head home. On the walk back to the BART station we saw some interesting things... it wouldn't be San Francisco if there wasn't "stuff" to look at. ALMOST home! Shyla loves her brother, but I'm not sure how much he loved having her arm around his neck, haha.

It was a LONG day. We left the house about 11:15am and didn't get home until 8:00pm-ish. For the length of the day Shyla did exceptionally well. The day could've been hard with Shyla not having a nap but it was a lot of fun and we got to see some fun stuff. HOPEFULLY next year we can actually see the Blue Angels!