Fall Pictures on the Greenbelt

I love FALL! Fall and Spring are my favorite seasons for a couple of reasons:
#1) Both make me think of soccer season.
#2) I can't stand extreme heat or cold... I'm kind of spoiled.
-and-
#3) I love color!

So when the weatherman said that yesterday was going to be in the 70's, I called my mom to go on a walk with me... and Jay of course.
We ended up going to the greenbelt and it was gorgeous!

And, like always, it was only a matter of time before Jay became the subject of my photography. He was not so thrilled about waking up from his nap though.

(My mom putting Jay back in the stroller)

He was a bit happier when we sat him up against a log.

But not much. He's a good sport.
(And he was all smiles once we picked him up.)

Carving Pumpkins

Last night we had FHE with Mom and Dad Brady and Rick and Katie. Some of us carved pumpkins. Some of us painted pumpkins. Some of us failed at carving and switched to painting. Some of us failed at both. 

Katie peeled her pumpkin.

Rick carved his and mom put a candle in it.

Lights on...

Lights off.. 

Mom and I painted ours...

I carved hair for mine though.

And Katie donated part of her pumpkin to be a wart for Mom's pumpkin.

Joe started out strong. He stabbed his pumpkin, decided that wasn't going to work, painted a black spot over the incision, and then gave up.

He made friends with the other pumpkins instead.
Dad figured that holding Jay was much more exciting than carving a pumpkin.
And Jay decided that it was all pretty boring and fell asleep.

Baby Talk

Jay was talking up a storm today so I decided to try and film it. Sorry about the poor image quality (I had to flip the video sideways) and how uncomfortably close I am to him. I couldn't tell what it looked like because I was holding the camera next to my face. He just stares blankly into the lens if I hold it in front of me.

Happy Birthday To Me!

Well, it's that time of year again... that's right... On Sunday October 19, 2008 at 7:30 a.m., I turned 24. I have to say it feels exactly the same as 23.. and 22. I think once you hit 21, the milestones are over. This year was a bit different though, because I woke up on my birthday to a crying baby with a husband fast asleep beside me. It's amazing what can happen in just a year! Anyhow, my birthday was great! Like I said, Jay woke up starving at 5:00 a.m. Normally I would have just put him back in his bed to sleep after he ate but I decided I wanted to hold him for a while and let him fall asleep in my arms. In case you don't know, this is the greatest part about being a mom. So I sat there... holding Jay... watching Joey sleep with his face plastered to his pillow... and feeling incredibly blessed. I love my family.

That night we went over to the Brady's to eat dinner and celebrate. I got to pick anything in the world that I wanted to eat... I chose hot dogs and hamburgers! Joe told me that was lame. I hadn't been able to eat them for months though and that was exactly what I wanted!

We ate outside on the deck. Look how colorful the table was.

Here's Uncle Ricky and Jay.The highlight of dinner was the sun... haha.. no pun intended! It was really bright so Dad started handing out hats...

Grandma looked like Indiana Jones...

Rick put a napkin over his face...

And I think Mom wants to be a rapper.

After dinner I was informed that it was time for cake and ice cream, and that I had to close my eyes while they brought it out.



Okay so pretend you are closing your eyes...



Warning: This is possibly the worst picture I have ever seen of myself...



I mean it's bad...



So you're closing your eyes and you hear a lot of commotion..



You can't possibly imagine what is taking so long...



People are laughing....



Finally, you are told to open your eyes and you see this:
The biggest cake you've ever seen!

Apparently Joe didn't know how big Winco's sheet cakes were! He said it didn't even fit in the cart. It was probably the size of five normal cakes and had a Hawaiian-Italian theme. It said "Aloha" and had "Happy Birthday" written in Italian. (but spelled wrong!)

It was pretty funny and definitely a surprise! We only ate a small corner of it and will probably have enough cake to last us until my next birthday. Then it was time for presents. I will now take the time to make a confession:

This may come as a shock to some of you but I am a horribly awkward person!... Especially when it comes to gift receiving. I never know how to act or what to say to express how grateful I am. I just feel awkward. Now if you add a camera to this occasion it gets even worse. No matter how hard I try, I always make the EXACT same face! I stick my neck out and smile as big as I can.

Example #1:

Mom and Dad got me a book called "I Am a Mother" (It's sooo good by the way) and I did this...

Example #2:
Rick and Katie got me "The Ultimate Gift" and yummy candy and I reacted like this:

Now, I knew I had a problem, but I didn't know how bad it was until I reviewed my photo album...

This was my bridal shower at the Brady's:

Sometimes I offer a slight variation with my smile, as was the case with my bridal shower that Abrie gave me:

And sometimes if you're lucky, I will even give you the look and put your gift on top of my head:
So you see... I am awkward! And now slightly depressed!


Anyway, Joe also got me a sewing machine! Yeah! And a front carrier for Jay. Awesome job Babe!I spent the rest of the night on the phone. Joe's whole family called to wish me Happy Birthday and before any of my siblings could call, my phone died! They all had to leave me messages. Thanks for trying guys!

Part II: Happy Birthday to Me

The second half of my birthday was the next day at my parent's house... which oddly enough happened to be my brother Eric's birthday. (I figure that was payback for all the times he would get a present on my birthday because he cried. He tells the story a little differently but I know the truth.) It was a fun night. My mom made me peach cobbler and we just sat and talked.

The next day, I went shopping.. with some money I had received for my birthday. (Thanks Mom and Dad) I was so excited because I've been wanting to get Jay some new sleepers. The boy is huge and has outgrown all of his pajamas! So I bought a bunch of really big ones, hoping that they will last a few months.

He looks so much younger when his clothes don't fit..

You can't really see this new sleeper but I like this picture:
And now I just want to post some cute random pictures.
More big lips.
Here's the carrier Joe got me. (My head is cut off but I'm sure I'm doing my dorky birthday smile.)
Jay has this funny fascination with his hands. He always puts them all over his face and on top of his head. Joe made me run and get the camera for this one. Oh he's a cute one.

Jay Laughed!

Tonight, for the first time, I heard Jay laugh. He has always cooed (however you spell that word?) and he's been smiling for a long time. But tonight he was full on giggling. It was the funniest thing I've seen him do and I could not stop laughing at him, which only made him giggle more. So we sat there for a full five minutes just laughing at each other. Of course when I went to get the video camera he started crying instead. So this is my post... no pictures... no proof.. just one really good memory.

"Big Lips Takes a Bath"

Even though some of my friends and family still think that Jay resembles me, the comments that I hear the most lately are "Wow what a cute boy!... He looks just like his daddy!" or "I can't believe how much he looks like Joe... What a darling boy!" Although this says something for my taste in men, it leaves me searching Jay's features for something of myself. I mean who doesn't want their child to look like them? So far I have only found three things that are definitely mine:

His hands.... which are big.
His feet.... which are big.
And his lips... which are.. you guessed it.. Big!

Now do I form a complex based on these facts?... I try to stay positive. But of the three features, I have to say that I am overjoyed that my son has my lips. I'll tell you why... When I was a child, I was blessed to have three wonderful older brothers. These brothers did all they could to ensure that my early years were joyful and fostered good self-esteem. Okay I'm lying. They teased me ALL THE TIME! One of their favorite nicknames for me was "Big Lips". So I might have had slightly larger lips than most and they might have been quite a bit larger when I woke up each morning, but really it was uncalled for! I had to endure years of, "Oh look! Big Lips is awake." or "Hey there Big Lips!" or "Hide your women and children! Big Lips is coming!" Okay I made that last one up. Anyhow, you can imagine my delight when I walked into my living room earlier today and saw this... There they were, my precious little boy and his giant lips. I happen to think they are adorable on him though, which makes me feel slightly better about myself. But, none the less, I am passing on my nickname to my baby boy. Hence the title "Big Lips Takes a Bath". I figure I can start a series like "Ernest Goes to Camp". (Oh and those yellow things on his hands are socks to keep him warm... Our house is FREEZING!) Anyhow, back to the bath... I really just want to document that my son has the same curse that I do. I'll just let you examine the evidence:

-His Relaxed Lips-

-His Unsure Lips-

-His Curious Lips-

And my personal favorite...

-His Duck Lips-

(... really that's the only way to describe them.)

So you see, he is my boy too. For better or for worse.

The rest of the morning was no less exciting. After I dried him off, I decided to put him in this cute little robe that my grandma had given him. I've been pretty stoked to try it on him. But let's just say that he was not as stoked to be wearing it.

I guess we'll try again next time.