Incredible John's

Due to Jason Adams genius idea we discovered Incredible John's last night. It was supposed to be Gabby and Jason's date night, but they decided since the days of us being a family of three are reaching an end, that we should go out the six of us. I had heard that Incredible John's was a great place for kids, but as with anything new, we are slightly skeptical.  This place is basically a cross between Chuck E Cheese and Dave and Busters. The food was actually really good (buffet style) and the mini hot donuts were to die for!!! We had a blast playing games (I think the boys more than the kids). It was a great time as our "possible" last hurrah as a family of three!!

The games were perfect for the kids!!! There was a few loud noises that Jacob of course didn't like, but he got over it quickly. He rocked it at the basketball game...he had a high score of 28 points!! That's the game that most of our coins went to (surprise I know!).

Here's the super star in action!! He would get very focused making sure the ball went into the hoop.

The dads had a blast playing basketball, football, and laser dodging? I don't know what to call that game, but it required them to crawl all over the floor to dodge lasers. Gabby and I had a great time toting the two little ones around...obviously by the above picture, its really easy to hold a toddler while 9 months pregnant!! The sugar intake of last night was off the charts!!! There were donuts, ice cream, Icee's, brownies, cinnamon rolls, red velvet cake, cheese cake, and cookies (all you can eat style!!!!). Jacob loved it all!! And as parents we soon regretted the decision of all that sugar before bedtime!! 10 pm is a perfectly acceptable bed time for a 19 month old!!

Anxiously Waiting...

 As I sit here 39 weeks pregnant, I can't help but think to 20 months ago when I was doing the same thing.  Being pregnant is something that I have always enjoyed (call me crazy, but pregnancy treats me well). Since I was little my mom always told me "You have child bearing hips and one day you'll enjoy that!!" Well, I must say with the large babies I have...thank you mom for my child bearing hips! It's funny this time around because everyone thinks you should know what to expect, but in some ways I feel like a rookie all over again. When I was pregnant with Jacob, there was always a part of me that knew I would be induced. However, with this baby, I feel like I am actually going to have a cool story to tell (I'm really hoping for water breaking in Target). 

When you have two, you can't help but compare them. So here is my belly around the same week. Jacob is on the left and Brayden is on the right. The more I stare at these photos the more I start to wonder; How big will he be? Who will he look like? What is his personality going to be? Is he going to be a good eater? A good sleeper? I guess I have all the same questions I did last time, but now I feel like I am more on my toes, seeing as he could come any day now. 

As part of my anticipation of Brayden's arrival, I am in severe nesting mode!! Mike actually asked "Do you have OCD now?" LOL. I think I do. My everyday chores that I do is the vacuuming, kitchen cleaning, and laundry. Then I always add weird things on top of it. I don't think this house has been so clean...OH and the most exciting part is that it's finally getting decorated!!

My OCD is rubbing off on Jacob.  He really likes to sweep now. He goes to the closet after every meal and says "Broom, Please!" LOL hopefully he continues to enjoy sweeping after Brayden's arrival. Although I spend a lot of time cleaning, I do recognize that this is the last time that I will be a mother of one. I think Jacob is starting to realize that too. We spend a lot of time cuddling and playing basketball in the playroom.  He has turned into quite the mama's boy lately, which is fine cause I love my "cool guy cuddles."

I think Jacob is excited about Brayden.... which seems to be the number one question people ask. Jacob likes to show people Brayden's room and bed. He still likes to say hi to Brayden in my belly and give him kisses. I'm hoping the enthusiasm stays after the baby is out of my belly...

See he's really excited though!!! (LOL)

Maternity Photos

With 10 days to the arrival of Baby #2, we have our maternity pictures!!! I could not be more happy with how they turned out!! I see why it took a while...she took over 900 pictures! She gave them all to me; I can't even get through that many! (I love the top photo of Mike and I!!!)But here are a few of them...

 She really captured Jacob as his true self. The photo of his belly showing is the perfect photo. I would dare to say that if there was one photo that I could show of Jacob's childhood, that would be it!

I truly can't thank Jenna enough for all these great photos!!! I'm so excited to get our newborn photos going!! The brothers will be adorable!!

Uncle Fevin!!!

 

My brother the Marine!!! although he is a great Marine, he has a very special talent. He can sing, play guitar, piano...and pretty much any instrument he can pick up.  Ever since he was little he just had an ear for music. I always wanted him to go out and do something with it because I think he is just so talented. But alas...he is the shyer one of the two of us. As he has gotten older he has gained confidence and sings for others now, and there is one person who cannot get enough of it...

Since I showed Jacob the video of Uncle Fevin singing, this is our breakfast routine. We come downstairs and start eating and I ask Jacob, "You want to watch Mickey Mouse?" And his response is "No. Uncle Fevin!!" and he says it with a giggle of excitement.

We watch Uncle Fevin average 10 times a day.  These are some of the statements and places we watch the video.

"Uncle Fevin TV?" - upstairs we play it on apple TV.

"Uncle Fevin song"- yup he learned a new word.

"oooooh Uncle Fevin"- when the movie starts.

And perhaps the funniest is when he sees my brother in a wife beater tank top he says "Uncle Fevin sleeves up. Jacob sleeves up!"

Here is the famous video. As much as I love this song that he sings...Kev Boy I am putting a request out there for you!! All Jacob wants for Christmas is a CD of you singing!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!

Jacob's Semi Parent Free Weekend

 As my last blog entry showed, there was much time spent away from Jacob. Yup, that made two blog entries in a row without one picture of the little man!!  I'm sure your all on the edge of your seats to see how he has changed since November 6th!! LOL. Mike and I had a great mostly adult weekend, but don't be fooled, Jacob had a blast without us too! He got to hang out with grandparents and his two BFFs!!!  He went to the park both days and got to have a sleepover with Everett!!

The boys had a marathon bath because the new toy (plastic green cups) kept their interest for forever. Then when Grandpa Dayton turned on the faucet...well things could not have gotten more exciting for them!! Oh our little water babies!!

On Sunday, Jacob got the surprise of the weekend!! Memo was at the same park in Pleasanton as him, completely by chance!! They were both a little stunned at first, but once they got over the initial shock... they both did their shrieking of excitement! The funniest part was when we were leaving...Memo decided to hop in Jacob's car and have him drive her home. LOL

We walked her all the way home like this (which is not that far). I just know that if any other kid tried this with  Jacob there would be a lot of screaming involved...are Gabby and I getting a glimpse into the future?!?!

A Formal Affair

With having a second baby the topic of having another baby shower inevitably gets brought up. there are sprinkle showers for such occasions, but I still have a hard time with that.  Not that I don't want to celebrate this baby as much as the first, but there is something weird about getting presents when you already have everything ready. Therefore, when Kimmy asked me what I wanted to do, I knew the main thing I wanted was one night to hang out with my best girls. We don't often get together anymore due to the fact that we all have very different jobs, live all over, have kids, new boyfriends, old boyfriends, husbands, families,...etc. I could go on forever! But just cause we don't see each other doesn't mean that we are any less close. We can all just pick up where we left off without a hitch. And Saturday night was no different.

We are so lucky to have the men in our lives that we do!! They not only put up with our shenanigans of random events like this, which required them to dress up, but they all participated with smiles on their face. Matt cooked an AMAZING dinner!!! Every single course was perfect! I am very lucky to have a brother in law like him! Kim did great with the table set up...everything looked beautiful! 

 I am still in awe of all the effort that went into Saturday night. When Kim and I were talking about it a couple months ago, I never imagined anything as nice as this!!

 All the girls looked to gorgeous!!! We had a blast catching up and having inappropriate dinner conversations.  There was lots of laughing to say the least! With two weeks left until the baby is due, it was a night that I absolutely needed!! I can't express how grateful I am to everyone that helped and that came!

Another bonus to the day was, I was able o get my hair and toes done!! So now I am ready to go into the hospital looking like Kim Kardashian!! LOL

Date Night

As astonished as you may be to read this blog, I will forewarn, there are no pictures of Jacob!! GASP!!! I know it seems weird to read about a date that Mike and I went on, but I feel like it's such a rare event that it was blog worthy. With only 3 weeks left until our due date (yes, I'm including Gabby and Jason in the our). We have decided to babysit each others children once a week, so the other couple can go out on a date.  It works out especially nice because I think it's actually easier to watch the two kids together than on their own.

Anyways, Mike decided for our date night that we should go to Dave and Buster's. I haven't been there in so long, that the last time, I was carded and I accidentally threw a tampon at the bouncer. (Long story, but quite hilarious!) but needless to say, ID'd and had tampons in my purse...that seems like a lifetime ago.

We had a blast playing all the games. Of course there was major competition at every game...Mike won every game except for the horse race. The game on the left of the collage was way cool!! It tested reflexes, unfortunately it required a lot of tokens, so we couldn't play that many times, but Mike took pride in beating his 8 month pregnant wife. LOL

Well here is the 37 week shot of my belly!!! It's hard to believe we are so close to the due date!!

Mother Goose on the Loose!!!

I wish I could claim the title as my own because it is so cool sounding, but alas that is the name of the class.  Every Tuesday morning a reading/singing class is held at the Roseville Library.  Gabby introduced it to us a couple of weeks ago. Jacob is starting to get more and more comfortable every week that we go.  As you can see above, Jacob likes to pay close attention to her stories (I should say he only pays close attention when their are props involved).

Jacob and Memo's favorite part are the scarves and bells. They go crazy with the scarves!!! You may notice the outlets on the ground...I should also mention that, that is one of their favorite things too. They love hitting the bells on it and polishing it with the scarves. This week they recruited two other kids to do the same thing (their mother didn't think it was a appropriate as Gabby and I did).

They have really become quite the pair. Besides the fact they look like twins in these pictures, they have started copying each other with EVERYTHING!!!  If one falls and gets hurt, the other falls and starts fake crying. LOL it's too funny!!

A bonus factor to this class and this library is that there is a park attached to it!! It's actually a pretty awesome park too. I must say, when they designed Rocklin and Roseville they must have had the best park designers on the planet!! After class Memo and Jacob go and play for a while...just in time for lunch and naps!! (oh we mommies have it all planned out!)

Another sign that our children are twin like is they are not good with sharing with anyone else, but each other!! Jacob always screams at any kids who tries to sit on the bumble bee with him, then he yells for Memo to join him. It's cute to an extent, but I always feel a little weird when their parents look at me.

A "Boo"tiful Night

This is a bittersweet blog to write because it will be the last of the Halloween posts.  Most of you are breathing a sigh of relief that you don't have to see anymore Elmo costumes!! (well after today). Saturday night we had our annual Halloween party at Debbi and Dayton's house. The decorations looked amazing, the food was perfect, and the costumes were spooktacular!!  Mike made some trophies for the costume contest... well we failed to get the trophies out and vote!! Therefore, I'm electing myself as the voter of all costumes (since I'm the only who writes a blog).

First Award is given to the "other" Wood Family for best costume coordination between a family.  Everett was the perfect strong man...but I have to say the lion outfit was my favorite!! Maybe because it looked so comfy.

Auntie Blam wins for the only costume that would make the kids smile!! A bunch of grapes!! She is such a teacher and all about the kids all the time!!

Hands down the most creative costume goes to my cousin Tyler. He was Elliot from ET. The fact that he even remembered the kids name from a movie we watched together when we were 5, was amazing!

I'm gonna vote Mike and I as the best couple costume. 1950's housewife and the milkman.

There's no surprise here... these two were definitely the cutest costumes there!! Granted Jacob was naked most of the night, he still wins.

Some of the Honorable Mentions were Jaybee- a mime (she actually went a whole 20 seconds without talking!!), Dayton- as a clown (I didn't get any good pictures of him otherwise he would have won the most dedicated to his costume award), Tweedy- was the walk of shame (she would have won funniest if she came in basketball shorts...the girls will get that one), My dad- was backwards man (definitely most unique).

I just love this little Elmo!! I was actually a little sad packing that costume away today.

Another successful Halloween Party night!!!

All Hallows Day

 After days of preparation and anticipation, Halloween Day finally fell upon us!!  Although I used the word preparation, I should be clear that I had to place Jacob in daycare and recruit Grammy Sue to come up and help me get everything finalized.  As most of you know, I am not one for baking/cooking...boiling water for that matter. However, with being 36 weeks pregnant something has shifted in my mentality and I am in full nesting mode!! So what did this "Susie Homemaker" try and do? Oh, bake approximately 120 cookies for all the neighbors and teachers at Jacob's daycare!! I chose two different recipes, one for the kids in the house and one for the grown-ups. I think they actually turned out rather tasty and super cute!!

 I love the picture at the top. Jacob looks like he is the Halloween Santa Clause!! Although this was a major feat and took ALL day long...I am so glad that I did it. We got to meet most of our neighbors and have an actual conversation with them. It was a great way to extend our hands to people that we really want to get to know. I already have one mom mentioning organizing a block party!!! EEK I'm excited!!

 After we delivered all our cookies and treats, we went to Gabby's neighborhood to trick or treat. The amount of children in both our neighborhoods was insane!! I thought we had traveled back to the 1950's!! It was awesome to see so many kids and parents out and about having fun. Jacob got a little intimidated at the doors if there were a lot of kids, but he got through it.  He enjoyed placing the candy in the bucket himself.  He made an adorable Elmo (again). I think that was the best $12.00's I have spent in a long time. He has worn it 4 times this week!!

 An added bonus to Halloween night in this area is the firefighters come out and hand out candy!! They let the kids climb into the driver's seat, they kept their lights flashing, and they handed out stickers!! Minus the whole stranger danger part...Jacob had a blast!!! He kept saying "wee-woo, wee-woo." Needless to say Jacob had a great night!! He slept in until almost 10 the next morning!!

Trunk O' Treating

Yes, you did read that title correctly and no I did not mistype (as I often do). If you have never heard of Trunk O' Treating before reading this blog, you are not alone. Before moving to this area I had never even remotely heard the term, but come Halloween 2013 in Rocklin, this is the big thing everyone does for the week leading up to Halloween night. The idea behind Trunk O' Treating is that you go to a parking lot (it's organized, not just random people), and people decorate the trunks of their cars and hand out candy. It's an idea that can only happen during Halloween time... when else can you tell your child to go up to a trunk of a car and get candy from a stranger (that may or may not be in a cage in their hatchback).

 

This Trunk O' Treat was through Gabby and Jason's church. They had a chili and cornbread contest before... so naturally free food and candy, the Wood family was there!! After the wonderful food we started the real fun. Jacob and Memo had been practicing all week on how to say "Trick or Treat!" They both did quite well with thee phrase. Memo was very good at saying "thank you," whereas Jacob just took the candy and ran. 

 I forgot to mention that Memo was Boo from Monsters Inc. She was absolutely adorable!! Jacob's favorite thing there was the giant pumpkin (as seen in the picture at the top). Every time he saw it, he made a bee line towards it. Watching Elmo run was hilarious!! Speaking of which here are two videos of Boo and Elmo just running and being funny...

 

The kids were so tired by the end of the night. Jacob didn't get up until 9:30 the next morning and still took a 2.5 hour nap!! It was a great warm-up to trick or treating!! we will definitely be doing this again.