What? There are books at a library?

Jake and I went to the library yesterday for baby storytime. It was great because there was lots of singing and bouncing, but not a whole lot of actual reading. Don't get me wrong, I am all about books and reading to kids, but Jake just doesn't get it yet. He still thinks that books are chew toys... Every time I try to sit down with him and read him a little story he would much rather get on the ground and play than hold still for a short book. So yesterday, baby storytime was absolutely wonderful. The library also has a play area for the babies and toddlers and Jake thought that was just great. He found one toy particularly fascinating and spent most of his time trying to figure it out/chew on it.

I tried to get a picture of Jake smiling while he was playing, and I kept saying "Smile Jake, smile!" and he wouldn't...and then I realized it was because his finger was stuck in the wheel...whoops!

He just loved this little pulley system thing...maybe we have a physicist on our hands here. Probably not actually...that would require reading.

It's times like this that I love being a mom

You can't tell in the picture, but Jake is actually laying on my lap (my legs are underneath the blanket). It was early this morning, and Jake and I had both just woken up. I'm sitting on our couch, and he was just laying there on my lap. I know it sounds silly, but I told Joseph to hurry and get the camera because he NEVER just sits/lays anywhere for more than 3 seconds...literally. He was a little distracted by the flash on the camera (hence the funny face) but he still just layed there. I am still in shock. I treasure those little moments that I can just hold my baby. They are extremely few and far between. My little baby growing so fast and he is too busy exploring the world to be held. He was probably still feeling a little sick from his cold that he has (he always gets a cold when he's teething). You can see how red he is underneath his nose...But still, sick or not, I'll take what I can get when it comes to holding this little guy. *Sigh...*

The best birth control ever

Today we had our little nieces from Texas stay with us for the day. Their mom (Joseph's sister) just had a baby so Joseph's mom and dad are watching the two older girls, who are ages 3 and almost 2, for a couple of weeks so Elizabeth can get some quality time with her new baby Bridget (who, by the way, is the most adorable little baby). Nana and Papa went to the temple today, so Madalyn and Olivia stayed with us.

We had so much fun! They were absolutely in love with Jake and kept saying "baby Jake, baby Jake" over and over. Jake didn't know quite what to think of his very energetic cousins at first, but he eventually warmed up and played with them. Joseph and I took them to the play area at the mall and just let them run around for a while and they loved it.

We came home and had some much needed quiet time, then after naps Jake needed to have his diaper changed. 2-year-old Olivia wanted to watch and when I took off his diaper she pointed to his little private parts and exclaimed, "Look! Jake has a belly button!" I had a good laugh over that!

As much fun as we had, it once again reminded me that I'm not yet ready to have more than one child. I'm sure the day will come when I'm ready, but this was pretty good birth control. :)

Are they not the cutest??

Sometimes I amaze myself

A couple of exciting things have happened to me this week:

1) I went to the outlet malls with my friend Rachel. I found some awesome deals at Baby Gap which I'm totally psyched about, including long-sleeved onesies for $.50!! Don't worry, I stocked up for Jake and I'm selling the rest on ebay. :)

2) I cut my friend's hair. Yes, that's right folks, sign me up for the next season of "Shear Genious". Haha, ok, not really, I actually only trimmed it, but I was still proud of myself.

(note: Her hair is supposed to be assymetrical, isn't she cute?!)

3) We got our new camera! Yay!! That means many more high quality pictures such as these to come in the future:

Yes, that is Jake pulling Joseph's hair and ears and Joseph trying not to yelp in pain.

Oh boy...this kid is going to be a handful

Now that Jake is crawling, he is into absolutely everything. Not only is he crawling, but now he's learned how to open drawers and cupboards. He's our little explorer! As I was cleaning our room this evening, Jake graciously undid everything I was trying to do. He had opened Joseph's sock drawer and was checking out its contents then spilling them on the floor.

Opening the drawers...

"Mom, have you seen the stuff in here? This is so cool!"

How could I ever get upset when the kid flashes this smile?

Ok, NOW it feels like November

After some much-appreciated mild weather, I woke up this morning to flurries outside. The blistery weather put me right into the Christmas spirit! There is a station on the radio that has been playing Christmas music as of late, but since the weather has been so nice I haven't been able to bring myself to listen to it on a regular basis like I normally would (my general rule of thumb is that I wait until after Halloween to break out the Christmas music then listen to it non-stop all the way through New Years). Speaking of Christmas, look at what I made yesterday:

Ok, I know that it's a little large and I'm not sure where I'm going to put it. I also know that it's a little scary with the big eyes, but the important thing is that I did it all by myself! I am so crafty! :) It's made out of wood and I'm just a little proud of myself that I did it. I never thought that I was an arts and crafts type of gal, but here I am scrapbooking and making snowmen out of wood. Don't get me wrong, I certainly didn't come up with the idea, I'm not that creative (not yet at least, give me a few years with this whole crafts thing). We did it as a craft night with the women in our church, and I had a blast.

So now that I'm in the Christmas spirit, I am considering breaking out the Christmas decorations. Is it still too early? I just love this season!!

Is this really November? Because it feels like June...

The weather lately has been WONDERFUL here in Iowa. Today it got up to 77 degrees. All of the sudden I really do believe in global warming... Anyway, it was so nice out today that I just had to go to the park with Jake. The park is actually quite a walk, but I thought that I may not be able to do it for many months to come, so we took advantage and made the trek. Jake seemed to thoroughly enjoy the time outside, and it was good for me to be able to reflect and enjoy this time as a mother with my baby.

Here are some pictures of Jake at the park (Bethany, you're gonna die). He loved the leaves and the swing. I loved being there with him.

Jake was watching all the other kids playing on the playground. He's thinking "wow...how do they run like that?"

Jake reaching for the leaves. You'd think this kid was a horse the way he was trying to eat all the leaves (do horses eat leaves? hmm....).

My happy baby.

Enjoying the swing.

Yawning after a fun but tiring day at the park.