Cah! (said with the cutest inflection): Car
Tuck: Truck
Cuck: Something that is either a car, or a truck.
Vum Vum Vum: Vroom Vroom Vroom
Bow!: Ball, or Book
Bow! (while moving hand like a talking beak): Bird
HMM HMM: Dog
At: Hat (this one is said approximately 10000000000 times a day)
Moh: More
She-ew: Shoe
Sheeee: Also Shoe
Shite: Shirt
Bah-Bah: Bottle
Mum: Mom
Mama: Also Mom
Dada: Dad
Nuh nuh nuh: No
Along with these adorable words, Baby Jo also signs hat, bird, more, socks, shoes, and train, and all done. He waves hello and goodbye, blows "kisses", high fives, kiiiinda does knuckles, and shakes his head emphatically when he does NOT want to do something. He has mastered the art of pointing at what he wants, as well.
It's been so fun to discover his new methods of communication! He is growing up so quickly. It's amazing to see words that he can understand well, even if he cannot say them. For example:
When I say "Time to take a bath," he runs to the bathroom door and starts banging on it.
When I say, "Time for breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack," he runs and pats his high chair.
When I ask him if he wants to get the mail, he jumps up and stands by the door. The same goes for "Let's get in the car!"
We also like to play fetch with them, where we ask him to bring us certain items in the room and see if he knows what we are talking about. This reminds me of a cute story about this fetching game. We were having him bring us different toys that were directly in front of him, when Jordan asked him to bring us the owl. There was a small plastic owl a few feet in front of Baby Jo. He immediately turned around and ran away from us down the hall. We assumed he was done with the game and had moved onto a new adventure. However, about ten seconds later, Jo came running back to us with a huge smile on his face, carrying a stuffed animal owl from his bedroom. Adorable!
I simply cannot wait to see what new words he learns in the upcoming month. Stay tuned.
Sunday, August 9, 2015
Friday, July 17, 2015
What Happened in Vegas
On June 3, Jordan and I went on our first vacation WITHOUT THE KID. It was to Las Vegas. We picked Vegas because there was a conference that Jordan wanted to attend for CEU's, meaning that his work would pay for his flight, our hotel, and Jordan's food, making it a nice budgeted trip. Plus, it was only four days, which was the perfect amount of time away from Baby Jo for the first time ever.
Leading up to the trip, I'll admit that I was pretty anxious. Jordan has spent several days away from Jo (usually due to ME leaving on a trip with the baby), but I had never spent a night without him (minus one NICU night where I came home for 6 hours). I was nervous about leaving my little guy. "What if he wonders where we are the whole time?" and "What if he thinks we abandoned him?" were only a few of my constant worries in my head. While lamenting to my sister over the phone about how I would probably not even have a good time because of all the motherly worry, my sister said, "I bet once the plane is in the air headed to Vegas, you won't even be thinking about your baby."
Whattaknow, she was right!
One fun part of our trip was that we were able to go with another couple from our ward, Alex and Kimberly (he is a PA who also went to the training). They were a lot of fun to hang out with and I was happy to have the company during the daytime while Jordan was at his classes.
On Wednesday, we checked into our hotel and then headed to Fremont District, AKA Old Las Vegas, AKA Street of Boobs. The scenery was charming. It is the iconic, original street of Vegas before the Strip was built... you know, with the neon cowboy and what not. It was fun to see the old casinos....what was less fun to see were all the young women who were topless, except for some strategically placed stickers! Yikes.
On Thursday, Jordan was in class from 7-5, so I had the whole day to kill without him. I tried to sleep in, but my body was still in the Central Time Zone. So I did the next best thing: lay in bed for as long as I wanted while reading blogs and facebook. That right there was a vacation! After a lazy morning, Kimberly and I hit the Strip to check out a ton of the free touristy things. We also saw a magic show together in the afternoon by a guy named Nathan Burton. The show was a lot of fun, EXCEPT for one problem. I was sitting next to this older guy and his friend (probably both in their late 60's). When the show started, they not-so-quietly discussed how EVERY trick was done. "I bet there are wires, " "She's holding onto something in that box,"...it was driving me crazy! Look, buddy, OBVIOUSLY there is an explanation for every single trick. Ugh! I finally tapped him on the shoulder and said politely with a smile, "It's no fun to try to guess the tricks! Stop trying to figure them out and enjoy them!" Thankfully, that seemed to put a stop to the mystery solving for the rest of the show!
After the show, we met up with our boyzzz, ate dinner, and headed to New York, New York to ride the huge roller coaster. It was a very fun, very windy, and very long ride! You can tell from my picture how fast it was. Haha!
We ended the evening by seeing Blue Man Group together. It was a great, interesting show- nothing like I have ever seen before. The show had a great mix of tricks, music, and comedy.The theater was full of black lights, so before the show started, the staff gave everyone tons of neon crepe paper to decorate themselves. I'm glad we went, but my only complaint was the show didn't start until 9:30 PM, and I was still very much on Oklahoma time. Jordan and I were sooooo tired toward the end of the show, which was too bad. But overall, it was fantastic!
The next day, Kimberly and I looked at a few more free tourist things. Jordan got off early so we hit the pools.... but didn't stay long. Caeser's Palace pools weren't very fun. Plus, they were all full of people not wanting to swim; just drink booze and talk loudly. Meh.
In the evening, Jordan and I ate at a very nice restaurant named Trevi. It was inside Caeser's Palace and looked as though it was outside. It was neat! We ended the night by watching the musical Rock of Ages. The music was a ton of fun, but the show itself wasn't very good. I'm no prude, but I felt like it was unnecessarily sexual. Oh, well.
On Saturday, Jordan and I watched a daytime comedy show together by a comedian magician named Mac King. He was fun to watch. His stage was simple- no show girls, no music, no...nothing. He did some pretty cool tricks, though, like make a real life goldfish appear out of thing air, etc. It was cool.
We also got lucky on Saturday with the slots! Jordan and I decided to budget some casino fun money for the trip. Originally, we planned on playing something more interactive, like Black Jack or Roulette. But the tables always looked so intense and confusing, and the dealers seemed to have little patience for those who didn't quite know what they were doing, so we stuck with the less intimidating slot machines. I hit the jack pot and won $2.50, and Jordan hit one and won $50. Woohoo!
We ate dinner with our friends on Saturday, and then Jordan and I hit up the wax museum together. Jordan was willing to go, but I was EXCITED to go! I had a little too much fun dorking out with all the wax figures. At the end of the museum, we got to watch a 4D show with moving seats about Marvel super heroes. Then we watched the Mirage Volcano "explode" and headed back to our hotel.
The next day we slept in, checked out of our hotel and headed to the air port. It was a fun trip and it was the perfect amount of time to be away from the baby for the first time. We had a great time, but we all agreed that we were a bit Vegased out. The city has a lot to see, including tons of images of poor, most likely trafficked women scattered everywhere. It made me feel so hopeless for them. It broke my heart.
So that is what happened in Vegas. Woot woot.
Leading up to the trip, I'll admit that I was pretty anxious. Jordan has spent several days away from Jo (usually due to ME leaving on a trip with the baby), but I had never spent a night without him (minus one NICU night where I came home for 6 hours). I was nervous about leaving my little guy. "What if he wonders where we are the whole time?" and "What if he thinks we abandoned him?" were only a few of my constant worries in my head. While lamenting to my sister over the phone about how I would probably not even have a good time because of all the motherly worry, my sister said, "I bet once the plane is in the air headed to Vegas, you won't even be thinking about your baby."
Whattaknow, she was right!
One fun part of our trip was that we were able to go with another couple from our ward, Alex and Kimberly (he is a PA who also went to the training). They were a lot of fun to hang out with and I was happy to have the company during the daytime while Jordan was at his classes.
On Wednesday, we checked into our hotel and then headed to Fremont District, AKA Old Las Vegas, AKA Street of Boobs. The scenery was charming. It is the iconic, original street of Vegas before the Strip was built... you know, with the neon cowboy and what not. It was fun to see the old casinos....what was less fun to see were all the young women who were topless, except for some strategically placed stickers! Yikes.
On Thursday, Jordan was in class from 7-5, so I had the whole day to kill without him. I tried to sleep in, but my body was still in the Central Time Zone. So I did the next best thing: lay in bed for as long as I wanted while reading blogs and facebook. That right there was a vacation! After a lazy morning, Kimberly and I hit the Strip to check out a ton of the free touristy things. We also saw a magic show together in the afternoon by a guy named Nathan Burton. The show was a lot of fun, EXCEPT for one problem. I was sitting next to this older guy and his friend (probably both in their late 60's). When the show started, they not-so-quietly discussed how EVERY trick was done. "I bet there are wires, " "She's holding onto something in that box,"...it was driving me crazy! Look, buddy, OBVIOUSLY there is an explanation for every single trick. Ugh! I finally tapped him on the shoulder and said politely with a smile, "It's no fun to try to guess the tricks! Stop trying to figure them out and enjoy them!" Thankfully, that seemed to put a stop to the mystery solving for the rest of the show!
After the show, we met up with our boyzzz, ate dinner, and headed to New York, New York to ride the huge roller coaster. It was a very fun, very windy, and very long ride! You can tell from my picture how fast it was. Haha!
We ended the evening by seeing Blue Man Group together. It was a great, interesting show- nothing like I have ever seen before. The show had a great mix of tricks, music, and comedy.The theater was full of black lights, so before the show started, the staff gave everyone tons of neon crepe paper to decorate themselves. I'm glad we went, but my only complaint was the show didn't start until 9:30 PM, and I was still very much on Oklahoma time. Jordan and I were sooooo tired toward the end of the show, which was too bad. But overall, it was fantastic!
The next day, Kimberly and I looked at a few more free tourist things. Jordan got off early so we hit the pools.... but didn't stay long. Caeser's Palace pools weren't very fun. Plus, they were all full of people not wanting to swim; just drink booze and talk loudly. Meh.
In the evening, Jordan and I ate at a very nice restaurant named Trevi. It was inside Caeser's Palace and looked as though it was outside. It was neat! We ended the night by watching the musical Rock of Ages. The music was a ton of fun, but the show itself wasn't very good. I'm no prude, but I felt like it was unnecessarily sexual. Oh, well.
Outside in Rome? Nope! Indoors in Nevada.
On Saturday, Jordan and I watched a daytime comedy show together by a comedian magician named Mac King. He was fun to watch. His stage was simple- no show girls, no music, no...nothing. He did some pretty cool tricks, though, like make a real life goldfish appear out of thing air, etc. It was cool.
We also got lucky on Saturday with the slots! Jordan and I decided to budget some casino fun money for the trip. Originally, we planned on playing something more interactive, like Black Jack or Roulette. But the tables always looked so intense and confusing, and the dealers seemed to have little patience for those who didn't quite know what they were doing, so we stuck with the less intimidating slot machines. I hit the jack pot and won $2.50, and Jordan hit one and won $50. Woohoo!
We ate dinner with our friends on Saturday, and then Jordan and I hit up the wax museum together. Jordan was willing to go, but I was EXCITED to go! I had a little too much fun dorking out with all the wax figures. At the end of the museum, we got to watch a 4D show with moving seats about Marvel super heroes. Then we watched the Mirage Volcano "explode" and headed back to our hotel.
The next day we slept in, checked out of our hotel and headed to the air port. It was a fun trip and it was the perfect amount of time to be away from the baby for the first time. We had a great time, but we all agreed that we were a bit Vegased out. The city has a lot to see, including tons of images of poor, most likely trafficked women scattered everywhere. It made me feel so hopeless for them. It broke my heart.
So that is what happened in Vegas. Woot woot.
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
14 months
Baby Jo is now 14 months old. He's changing so quickly, I feel like I can't keep up! Here are a few updates.
Favorites: Jo LOVES his toy cars and balls the best out of all his toys. He hands me cars often during the day and cracks up when I make them roll over his head. He makes a cute little "MMMMM" sound while he pushes his cars on the floor. He is getting really good at throwing balls. He likes to play catch, or more like Kind of Throw.
His favorite NON-baby toy is my cell phone; specifically FaceTime. If he finds a phone, he will take it to me, reach for my hand, pry open my fingers, and place the phone in my palm. It's hilarious! He loves to smile and stare at anyone who is willing to Face Time with him. Then he promptly hangs up on them. I don't think he is TRYING to be rude; it's just that the red hang up button is so enticing to push.
Food: Jo is STILL a dang picky eater. If he had his way, every meal would consist of oranges, meatballs, and goldfish crackers. Other acceptable foods are mac and cheese, shredded chicken, turkey hotdogs, cheese ravioli, his mom's homemade chicken noodle soup, bananas, graham crackers, and fruit yogurt. It is impossible to feed this kid a vegetable. Luckily, he has started getting the hang of drinking whole milk.
Fashion: This month, Jo has discovered hats. He is obsessed with them. His favorites are baseball caps that he insists on wearing backwards like Daddy. He likes Dad sized hats too, though he is tolerant of baby hats. When he sees them on the coat/hat rack, he reaches his hand up as high as he can. It's dang adorable.
Talking: His new catch phrase is "Uh-Oh." He says anything he drops something, whether or not the drop was intentional. He also yells, "MAY MAY MAY!" when he is frustrated with something, and never anytime else. He still says "Mama" a lot, though rarely while looking at me. When he is not saying those words, he is constantly babbling. We are pretty sure he loves the sound of his own voice, Luckily, we love the sound of voice too.
Nursing: We attempted to wean two weeks ago due to me and Jordan leaving to Las Vegas for four days, but it was unsuccessful. At one point, I was down to nursing one time per day. Then Jo came to me carrying my boppy pillow two times, and I caved. He did fine without it while I was in Vegas, but now that I am home, he is back on the tap.
Tricks: He can blow a kiss, wave hello and goodbye, high five, and give big, open mouth kisses. He also loves to run away and be chased, tackle his huge stuffed dragon, and just be dang cute. We just love this kid of ours.
Favorites: Jo LOVES his toy cars and balls the best out of all his toys. He hands me cars often during the day and cracks up when I make them roll over his head. He makes a cute little "MMMMM" sound while he pushes his cars on the floor. He is getting really good at throwing balls. He likes to play catch, or more like Kind of Throw.
His favorite NON-baby toy is my cell phone; specifically FaceTime. If he finds a phone, he will take it to me, reach for my hand, pry open my fingers, and place the phone in my palm. It's hilarious! He loves to smile and stare at anyone who is willing to Face Time with him. Then he promptly hangs up on them. I don't think he is TRYING to be rude; it's just that the red hang up button is so enticing to push.
Food: Jo is STILL a dang picky eater. If he had his way, every meal would consist of oranges, meatballs, and goldfish crackers. Other acceptable foods are mac and cheese, shredded chicken, turkey hotdogs, cheese ravioli, his mom's homemade chicken noodle soup, bananas, graham crackers, and fruit yogurt. It is impossible to feed this kid a vegetable. Luckily, he has started getting the hang of drinking whole milk.
Fashion: This month, Jo has discovered hats. He is obsessed with them. His favorites are baseball caps that he insists on wearing backwards like Daddy. He likes Dad sized hats too, though he is tolerant of baby hats. When he sees them on the coat/hat rack, he reaches his hand up as high as he can. It's dang adorable.
Talking: His new catch phrase is "Uh-Oh." He says anything he drops something, whether or not the drop was intentional. He also yells, "MAY MAY MAY!" when he is frustrated with something, and never anytime else. He still says "Mama" a lot, though rarely while looking at me. When he is not saying those words, he is constantly babbling. We are pretty sure he loves the sound of his own voice, Luckily, we love the sound of voice too.
Nursing: We attempted to wean two weeks ago due to me and Jordan leaving to Las Vegas for four days, but it was unsuccessful. At one point, I was down to nursing one time per day. Then Jo came to me carrying my boppy pillow two times, and I caved. He did fine without it while I was in Vegas, but now that I am home, he is back on the tap.
Tricks: He can blow a kiss, wave hello and goodbye, high five, and give big, open mouth kisses. He also loves to run away and be chased, tackle his huge stuffed dragon, and just be dang cute. We just love this kid of ours.
Friday, May 22, 2015
Steppin' Up
On the morning of April 25, my little boy took his first steps. It was the cutest little thing I had ever seen. Before that, he had been able to stand unsupported for a few seconds at a time, but nothing very long at all. That morning, I was in the kitchen fixing breakfast when I heard Jordan call out, "Babe, come in here!" I peeked my head around the corner and saw my little guy standing by himself, smiling proudly, wearing blue footy PJ's covered in monkeys and bananas. He looked so excited. All of a sudden, he took four steady steps! I was so shocked that I yelped...or maybe it wasn't a yelp. More like, "EEEEAAAUGH!" He swiftly face planted right after that and took very few steps for a few days.
One week later, his walking was sporadic and clumsy. Lots of toppling over and falling. It broke my mama heart to see my baby have to fall over and over and over. He obviously wasn't in pain due to the lack of crying, but it still made me sad.
The following weekend after that was Mother's Day. His mode of transportation was about 80% walking and 20% crawling, with very few falls.
And now? Crawling is a thing of the past. He is a full on walker. He has mastered holding objects, playing with toys, drinking from his sippy cup, and even holding a bucket over his head while walking.
I have to admit, it's been pretty great to have a little biped. He is better at entertaining himself now that he can happily walk all around the house. It's so nice to easily set him down on the ground standing, opposed to having to lay him somewhere and set him on his butt. He's less clingy and doesn't need to be held all the time. It's been liberating! But a small part of me cringes at his new ability. I miss the sweet sound of his hands slapping our tile floor while he crawled in the kitchen, or how he would crawl up to our lap and paw at our leg if he wanted a bite of whatever we were eating. There are few things more adorable than seeing a baby crawl in excitement toward something. I'm sad that it is over.
One week later, his walking was sporadic and clumsy. Lots of toppling over and falling. It broke my mama heart to see my baby have to fall over and over and over. He obviously wasn't in pain due to the lack of crying, but it still made me sad.
The following weekend after that was Mother's Day. His mode of transportation was about 80% walking and 20% crawling, with very few falls.
And now? Crawling is a thing of the past. He is a full on walker. He has mastered holding objects, playing with toys, drinking from his sippy cup, and even holding a bucket over his head while walking.
I have to admit, it's been pretty great to have a little biped. He is better at entertaining himself now that he can happily walk all around the house. It's so nice to easily set him down on the ground standing, opposed to having to lay him somewhere and set him on his butt. He's less clingy and doesn't need to be held all the time. It's been liberating! But a small part of me cringes at his new ability. I miss the sweet sound of his hands slapping our tile floor while he crawled in the kitchen, or how he would crawl up to our lap and paw at our leg if he wanted a bite of whatever we were eating. There are few things more adorable than seeing a baby crawl in excitement toward something. I'm sad that it is over.
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
30 Before 30 Update
I turned 29 a few weeks ago (whaaaaat?). It’s one of those ages
that always seemed so far away. Part of me thought I would be in my 20’s
forever. But behold, I am approaching 30.
Last year, 11 days before I turned 28, I was able to complete
one of my 30 Before goals- I became a mother. What I have realized is THIS goal
has taken over pretty much all of other goals. It’s hard to learn how to scuba
dive when you are at home with an infant. Since I am taking time off of work to
be a stay-at-home parent, I don’t see myself being asked to give a professional
lecture soon. While I still CAN run a half marathon some day, this year has not
been an ideal one to train for, as for the first six month’s of my baby’s life,
he needed to be fed every two hours.
Because of this, there is no chance that I will accomplish
all 30 of these goals. But you what, that’s ok. I’ve been able to check off
some really great ones, the most important ones to me, in fact. So, with that
being said, here is an update on my goals over the past years The goals with a
line through them are the ones I completed through my 28th
birthday. Some of them I have altered to become more plausible.
30 Before 30 List
Due Date: April 1 2016
4. Become a dog owner
owner Changed to: Have a dog in my home that I care for. I puppysat for a friend last summer. It made me realize that getting a new dog AND caring for a baby is just not workable for me. So sadly, I will not become a dog owner in my 20’s. So….DONE.
7. Take Jordan to Hawaii Done! We went in September!
8. Read the Harry Potter books I've read the first two books and I am working on the third right now.
9. Sew a dress
11. Complete at least one home study for a family
family I have offered to do home studies for LDS Family Services before they suspended their adoption services. I now have a lead on someone who I can shadow and hopefully do this soon.
12. Go scuba diving
I just don’t see this happening this year. I was able to snorkel a ton in Hawaii, so that’s something.
14. Write a book (not a novel- just a children's book. I highly doubt I'll ever get published, but I think it would be fun to complete a book for the sake of doing it)
I have not done this, but my sweet mom bought me an online book writing workshop. I’m excited to finish the course and hopefully finish a book.
15. Go skiing with Jordan
16. Run a half marathon
17. Pay for a stranger's groceries anonymously
Changed to pay for a stranger’s groceries. There was an attempt, but they politely refused.
18. Pay for a stranger's meal anonymously
19. Take a voice lesson
20. Take a piano lesson
21. Take a dance lesson
I have found a salsa dance lesson that I want to take. Jordan and I planned to go, but the class got snowed out. I DO go to Zumba weekly, so maybe I can count that? I feel that it has improved my dance skillz….which are still limited.
23. Participate in a flashmob Are these even still a thing?? I never hear about them anymore.
I’m changing this one altogether to: Take a trip without Baby Jo.We will get this one done in June!
25. Read Jesus the Christ Jordan and I started this book, but didn't get far. It is now available as an audiobook on lds.org, so I may just listen to it.
28. Finish a scrapbook about Jordan and my courtship
29. Give a professional lecture (as a guest lecturer or a teacher)
30. Learn how to moonwalk
Looks like I have a lot left for this final year. Gulp.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
