October: First Ice Cream

Too funny not to post, I was lucky enough to have my SLR camera with me last weekend at the pumpkin patch to capture this moment when Dad gave Jack his first ice cream cone.....

Trick O' Treating is right around the corner!  We can't wait to take him out!  The Dr. will be in shortly......

October: Pumpkin Carving

It's seriously been YEARS since I've convinced Travis to carve pumpkins for us, so long that I think it was two houses ago.....?  Yeah.  Long time.  Hunter LOVED the occasion too, and was happy to get any raw pumpkin pieces, while Jack was more interested in just watching Hunter.

Now that our pumpkins are glowing in our backyard on the pool rock and diving board, Jackson gets SO excited every time he sees them and can't help but want to go "visit" the pumpkins his Dad carved. : ) Child happy= my job is done.  Until tomorrow anyways.  Xoxo

October: 8 Months Old!

I can officially say this was by far the fastest month yet, 4 weeks has seriously flown by!  Jack is already turning into the sweetest little boy...

 I feel like the baby stage is going to be over WAY too soon, but he's already somewhat mobile (pulling himself up, army crawling) and gets irritated by excessive smooches on his puffy baby cheeks....

Age: 8 Months

Weight/Size: 19+ lbs

Favorite Words: Mom-ma (over and over again), and "Ehh??"

Favorite Activities: Reading books (Pat the Bunny is the current fave), playing with interactive toys that have sounds & lights, eating in his highchair

Signature Moves: Army-crawling!  I love it, finally somewhat mobile and I can actually verify that he wants to be near me when he attempts to get into the kitchen where I am, haha!  He can also hold his bottle with ONE hand now…..

Likes: His guppy fish toy in the bath, the bath, standing (holding onto something) by himself, books and shaking/hitting anything that can make noise

Dislikes: Having to lie down for anything but a bottle or nighttime (yes, major protests now at every diaper changing.)

Mommy Likes & Dislikes:  His giggles & hearing him say “Mom-ma” when he can’t see me, I feel like he actually knows that’s my name now?  Dislikes: Sick babies at the daycare that are contagious!!

Sleeps: 8pm-6:30am still; trying to officially move to two big naps a day without his afternoon powernap….

Changes in Mood/Behavior: SO much more responsive the older he gets, and thankfully way less crying outbursts b/c we are way better at understanding each other now!  He has 4 teeth now but you’d never know, he’s taking teething like a champ.  Or like a baby vampire..which is how he’s looking with only his top canine teeth in. LOL

Eating 8 ounces 5x a day, solids (or mushy) now at lunch AND dinner- guacamole, carrots & apples are the favorite!  He also begins dinner with “star puffs”; he is getting SO good at pinching the little puffs with his thumb & pointer finger : )

Clothes: 6-12 month everything (thank you GAP!)

Looking forward to: finally staying at home with Jack and doing all the fun activities I’ve been saving up for months now, I can’t wait for my life to be a little less hectic…..YES it will be a lot of work, but great work!

....this past month in pictures.....

It's still October, and I haven't had my fill of Halloween yet, obviously.  Thank you Target for setting it up SO late this year in your stores.

Finally decided to pull the trigger on a pack n' play for Jackson after reading countless reviews on simplicity and weight (I like to make my life as easy as possible with this little guy hanging on me at the same time)....and we got the 4MOMS Breeze playyard, which is a little heavier than the Nuna Sena one, but by far the easiest one-touch/handed setup/take down!

Jackson came home with his first "school pictures"; ok so obviously he was crying right before they managed to squeeze a smile out of this kid, so aside from the puffy eyes we like to joke that he looks like a little Used Crib salesman:

Some other goodies..

"Standing" by himself (well...holding anyways)

October: The MONTH of Halloween

The month of Halloween is one of my favorite, favorite times of year because it’s essentially the kickoff month for the holidays, which now that I have Jack, I have an even bigger excuse to completely obsess!   Now that October 1^st is here,  the baby is in his orange & black Baby Gap outfit I’ve been saving for over a month!! 

The little kid pumpkin patch is open now at the Irvine Park out by our house, and years ago Travis and I went out to this park thinking we could simply pick out a pumpkin like we did at the patches in Oregon….annnnnnd we vowed never to go back until we had a child because there were literally HUNDREDS of kids screaming and crying and running and……so anyways, we went back this weekend with Jack in his October outfit naturally, it was only 93 degrees, UGH.  This Indian Summer is killing me. He did SO good posing though with the pumpkins, he’s a natural. 

True life: I put him in Halloween socks in September because I just couldn't take it anymore….I’m sure the daycare thinks I’m completely crazy but I don’t care.

PS- Our first week finally at home together as a Stay at Home mommy & baby, we are loving it!!

Officially a Real Housewife of Orange County!!

I’ve also thought about staying home with Jack for a long time now…..and officially put in my notice to be a Stay at Home Mommy!! I’ll be working two more weeks and then my house will be covered in Halloween décor and finger paintings- I can’t wait.  We are so very fortunate to have this opportunity with little Jack growing up so fast, I couldn't be happier and more fulfilled!  Bless my sweet husband : )

September: 7 Months Old and First Day of Fall!

So now the months seem to be flying and Jack is 7 months old, which means lots of babbling, playing, resisting……and Halloween clothes.  I told Travis once we had kids that I was allowed to back date all my oppressed holiday decorating and obsessing and go full blown, and I can’t wait!  Even though it’s still September, I couldn't resist sticking him in little pumpkin socks for this week’s photo:

Age: 7 Months

Weight/Size: 18+ lbs….aka HEAVY

Favorite Words: Does screaming count…?

Favorite Activities: Playing in the sink, swimming in the hot tub, going in the front pack around town

Signature Moves: Constantly blowing raspberries, rolling on his stomach in his stroller on our evening walks and slapping anything with his palm

Likes: Frozen chew toys, necklaces that I wear, balls, listening & watching other little kids, anything that flashes or makes noise

Dislikes: Coughing, getting his nose wiped, Monday mornings at the daycare

Mommy Likes & Dislikes:  The train at the park- kept him entertained and gave me a 15-minute mental break  Dislikes: The train ending so quickly and sick babies :  (

Sleeps: 8pm-6:30am, sometimes waking up and playing around 5am for a half hour or so.  Two big naps a day and a powernap in the afternoon

Changes in Mood/Behavior: Since he’s been teething, he loooooVVVVVvvvves to be carried non-stop, however when he’s ready for a nap he goes into his crib with no objections!  He’s also been eating his mushy foods at dinner like a champ, butternut squash is the current fave.

Eating 8 ounces 5x a day, one solids (or mushy) meal at dinner

Clothes: 9 Months!!

Looking forward to: Halloween with the baby!!  I’ve been looking forward to reliving my childhood vicariously through a kid since I was no longer allowed to trick or treat….

....this past month in pictures.....

We’ve had a super busy month, which included lots of activities naturally to entertain the babe- it’s also the beginning of football season!!!  I’m beginning to think now that I have a kid and I can’t lay out in the sun and relax for 4 hours while sipping on a pina colada that Fall might be my favorite season??  Finally the temperature has cooled down (like, high 80’s but still) and nothing gets me in the mood to bake more than some serious cool nights and Sunday football:

 The first day of Fall also means that our next batch of Longshadow wine is ready, so another trip out to Temecula to the vineyard to visit the place where it all began...

Jackson’s been sick with a head cold recently so lucky for him we’ve had a few “Mommy and Me” days that he’s been too sick for the daycare, but clearly a ball pit can fix anything:

Rolling onto his stomach on our walks in the Orbit:

A few more pics of just hanging out at home in our Fall apparel (even though it's been 90 degrees, I can pretend at least!)

Next up, Halloween!  It’s taking a LOT of willpower not to hang my DIY Halloween banner early.

September: Heat Wave.....

O…..M……G it’s hotter than hell, seriously.  Like 100 degrees every....single....day......bleh.   And what better way to beat the heat then to dress the baby up in his birthday suit, which clearly he has no problem with:

So last week was a little crazy……with Jackson now officially in daycare full time, I’ve been stressing majorly and losing sleep over everything that could possibly go wrong there…..but on our daily evening walk around the neighborhood he finally babbled the sweetest sounding words…..”Ma-ma”.  Possibly the best day I’ve had all week for that small reason, I completely melted and almost cried in front of all the joggers and other dog walkers!!

Teething- first tooth came in last Tuesday!  Rough day.....followed by his second bottom tooth a few days later! :)

Almost 7 months old in the backyard swimming in the hot tub with Dad!!