Merry Christmas!

I've been away from the blog for awhile, but we came back to wish everyone a Merry Christmas! We had a great Christmas this year, it was so much fun to experience Jack's first Christmas! We got super spoiled by everyone and had a great day spending time with family. So I hope everyone else had a great day. Happy Holidays!

Thank goodness for friends!

So as finals week is only a week away, us law school wives are beginning to see less and less of our husbands. Last week wasn't much of a Thanksgiving break for Luke because he spent all week living at the school. So with me being a single mom for the next few weeks i just wanted to say how thankful I am for the friends I have made out here! We have been so busy doing different stuff with the kids that it has gone by so fast! We went out to the outlet mall, and let me tell you we make quite the scene! I swear nobody has kids out here, or maybe I am just used to good ol' Utah county, so when 5 of us venture out and we all have kids, we definetely attract attention! This is us taking up half of the restaurant. It is so fun though because the kids are really starting to get to know each other.
Stroller babies-notice Jack's foot, whenever he is in his stroller he justs sits back and kicks his feet up. I love it.

We were so excited to celebrate Jack's friend Jane's 1st birthday! Her mom Mandy threw a cute little party and even made them all party hats!We always go to books and babies on Wednesday at the library, Jack loves it!
We decided to go to the indoor pool and have a pizza party for Jane's actual birthday(they have to have 5 birthday parties right?). Jack was super tired so he didn't want to swim much but he is never to tired to smile! This picture is one of my favorites! I know in every picture he is smiling but this one he was totally posing for the camera and cheesing it, I love it! So I was thinking today that I go home next week and I can't believe how fast that went by! I am super excited to see my family!

I love getting mail!

So one of the only good things about not living by your family is that they get to send you stuff in the mail! :) It is so fun to go get the mail and find something other than bills! Like one day we got suprised by Jill and Neils with some new clothes for jack-so much fun. This week we have been getting surprised about everyday for Lukes birthday ( I love the presents that come late beacuse you aren't expecting them and then it drags your birthday on for much longer!) But yesterday we opened the door to a UPS man delivering this and it was addressed to Jack. He is so spoiled. As you can see the box was ten times as big as him, and he couldn't wait to open it. It was from Summer and Andy and the kids and we wanted to thank them so so much! We love this fun dinosaur toy. It lights up and makes noise and you drop the balls down the holes, Jack is getting really good at doing it. He loves it. We have never bought him a big toy and I must say it is pretty nice to have something that keeps him entertained! As you can tell he loves it, in the second picture he is doing yea for the toy! So thanks again we wanted to show Summer & the gang that he loved it!

Tagged

So I got sucked into the whole tag thing that has been taking over the blog world :) I have been thinking about things about myself and now that I got the computer for a second I have to hurry and post them. All of you better appreciate this because the only chance I had to steal the computer away from Luke is at midnight, yes it is 11:51pm here in Kansas. So here it goes:

1. I like the smell of skunks. So I bet you weren't expecing that to be my number one but atleast you will keep reading. Yes, when I am driving down the road and the smell starts seeping into the car, I really do not mind it. I think people over exaggerate when they think it is horrible, you might not enjoy the smell but can you honestly say that it is a bad smell?

2. I have really good intentions but I rarely follow through with them. This is definetely one of my faults. I think about doing really good things and doing nice things for people but when it comes down to it it just doesn't get done. I even buy things for people and then just don't end up giving it to them. I don't know why it just doesn't get done. So just know that all of you are in my thoughts even if I don't always show you! (this is a goal of mine to get better)

3. I love Love to bargain shop. Luke recently banned me from buying good deals. My problem is I like to buy all the good deals. I like to check the clearance sections at stores, I always do the online surveys (you know the ones you get at gap to save 10%), and I keep my receipts in case the item goes cheaper. my mom always laughs at me because if someone tells me that they like my shirt and it was a good deal, I will tell them thanks and then tell them how much I paid for it and where I got it. I like to share the good deals with others :) I would want to know if I could get a cute shirt for $1.97 somewhere.

4. I love dessert. All the girls out here in kansas make fun of me because everytime we start talking about going out to eat, when a place is mentioned I always bring up the dessert. Like if they say I like chilis, i follow them saying "Oh I love Chilis they have the best Paradise Pie", or PF Changs-the Great Wall of Chocolate, and you all know how I love Cheesecake Factory. I am slowly converting Luke over to a dessert lover, which will be the downfall of me. Because if he wants dessert I cannot turn it down. (No wonder why I still haven't lost all the pregnancy weight:) )

5. I talk to my mom and sisters at least once a day. If one day goes by and my mom hasn't called Luke gets really worried and makes me call her right away (I always tell him that he secretly loves it when my mom call too). Wednesday, thursday, and Friday I have something to take Jack to in the morning and without fail Summer calls in the middle of it.(I love it) Me and Summer talk once, twice, three times... Whenever we are bored or are just at home cleaning house and feeding babies we like to chat. They aren't always long conversations and usually end up getting interupted (which is why we talk more than once) but it is nice to have so many best friends in my own family. They have been my rock-especially with having to move so far away.

6. So after the last thing about me you probably won't believe this but I am going to admit it (Luke will be proud), okay are you ready- I am actually liking Kansas. Wow, that is a big one. We have been here three months and I am getting used to living here. We have made good friends and me and the other moms keep busy. We always laugh because whenever we try to plan something we always say that you know the schedule Wednesday-books and babies at the public library, Thursday-playgroup,and Friday-music class for the kids at the church-other than that we have plenty of open time to put everything else into. Since I came back from Utah it has gone by so fast, I can't believe I go home in a couple of weeks. Luke also has only one more month of his first semester, yeah!

7. I am one of the last to do this tag so alot of peoples list I felt like they were things I would write too. Like on Ash's I like to dance and sing with Jack. I have never been one to dance in front of others but in front of Jack I don't care. I love to shake my booty till he laughs or sing him songs and dance around the room. I never thought I would be like this but the crazy mom comes out and I want Jack to learn that it doesn't matter who is watching-sometimes you need to be wild and crazy.
Like Summer I love diet coke with lemons and limes, I don't really like diet coke plain but add some fresh lemons and limes and you have suckered me in. Actually it is pretty much having some diet coke with my lemons and limes because I like alot of lemons and limes. Luke has know converted to this drink also (I always tell him it is a girl drink but it is pretty darn good).
Like Alicia I hate calling people on the phone. (people I don't know like paying bills or having to work out stuff) This makes Luke mad because I always make him call. I am getting better but I really don't like it.
I also love HGTV like Alicia. jWhen the tv is on at my house it is usually on HGTV. My favorite show is Color Splash. I love love love David! He does such beautiful rooms, one day when we have a house we will go on his show. I want him to do a painting for me.
Like Karrissa I have all white hangers in my closet and usually have things color coordinated. I have to have the white hangers though
So my last and final thing is that I hate get to know you games, so that is why I have been putting off the tag. I always hated the first day of classes when you had to get up and say something about yourself. But I really had alot of fun doing this so thanks Ash for actually leaving a comment and giving me a personal invite to do the tag! it is now 1:00am and I am going to bed and I hope this all makes sense because I am not proof reading and I have been babbling for an hour. Good night.

Birthday Dad

Yeah, Luke turned 25 on Saturday! Luke has a huge paper due on Friday so I haven't had the computer so I am sneaking in 5 minutes to post this! Me and Jack were so excited to celebrate Luke's birthday that we even made him a banner. I am very proud of myself (I am slowly turning into the martha stewart mom I've always wanted to be). Luke ended up studying all day but he took the night off to hang out with us. We had such a fun night! We went to the Banana outlet and pretended like we were rich again(rich for us is getting some kind of paycheck) and Luke went on a shopping spree. He got alot of cute clothes(thanks to the parents and the visa gift cards they sent). I even convinved him to get a man cardigan (I will post pics later) It is super cute, I love cardigans for boys. The guy at the checkout stand tried to get us to sign up for a banana card and told us we would probably even be a deluxe member (assuming because we were spending a good chunk of change) and we laughed and told him we were actually really poor grad students and tonight was being paid for by the parents. So needless to say we will have to wait till next birthday to have another shopping trip. But it was alot of fun and then we went and ate. We went on a real date! It had been a long time. So thanks to everyone for letting us have an enjoyable night! Also happy birthday to Luke, he is working so hard right now to make it so our family has a decent life and we love and appreciate all he does for us! Oh even Jack gave Luke a present, on Wednesday night last week Jack started saying mama and it was so fun so the rest of the week of course Luke was trying to get him to day dada and on his birthday he did! I will have to post a video because it is so darn cute!
This is a better picture of the banner, isn't it cute!

So Sad

So yesterday we were checking out everybody's blog to see how their Halloween went. We were reading Summer's blog and as I usually do I pointed out his cousins to Jack. I told him "there is Ethan, and Haylee-Bug, and Baby Avery, look at your cousins". Everytime he would look at the pictures of his cousins he would get this funny look on his face. It was so sad, it was a smile/ he looked like he was going to cry. We would walk away and then come back to the picture and he would do it everytime. It was so sweet! He really remembers his cousins and he misses them! So needless to say I cried for the first time since I came back to Kansas. Of course I was on the phone with Summer and she cried too, it obviously runs in the genes. Good thing I only have a month left! I need to start another countdown. Jack is so excited to see all our family, we can't wait!

Halloween

So this year we had Halloween all week long. We had a party at our play group, then we had another Halloween party at music class. Then Tuesday night we had our ward Trunk or Treat. We had already put Jack in his costume like five times so by the time last night came around we were all burnt out. We didn't have any family to take jack around to show him off and he is too small to go trick or treating, so last night we just had a nice night at home. I made some taco soup and had to go get pumpkin cheescake from Cheesecake Factory. We just hung out and waited for trick or treaters. We got a knock on our door and when I opened it I had never seen so many hoodloms in my life. (we don't live in the best area) About 25 teenagers not dressed up (although you might not know that). Where are all the cute little kids in costume anymore? So after they came to out door I turned off our porch light so we wouldn't get anymore visitors. I really wish I would of taken a picture of them. It was pretty funny. So all in all we had a good Halloween. We were a little sad we couldn't show off Jack to our families in his costume. They can just call me and rave about the pictures :) So when me and Luke wern't watching jack headed for the cheesecake and got to it pretty fast. As you can tell he grabbed a huge handful and shoved it in fast, he is a little stinker. So he had a great Halloween and I am sure his belly ached like the rest of the kids who had eaten too much. It was pretty funny. Well I hope everyone else had a great Halloween!

Halloween!

Halloween Bunko

On Friday night we went to one of our friends in our ward to play Halloween Bunko. It was so much fun! Lori had the cutest idea to provide costumes for everyone. When we showed up you drew a costume out of a hat and then she had simple costumes for each one. then whatever costume you were told you where to sit. It was such a good idea. We played lots of bunko and ate lots of yummy food (they had a yummy chocolate fountain)!
Luke was a super hero (he was very fashionable in his big chunky belt).
I was an angel and I had the most bunkos of the night so I got a prize.
This was a group picture, don't we all look cute? Well it was fun to get to know everyone a little better and to have a fun night out. Thanks Lori & Gaia!

Jack's 8 Month Birthday!

8 Month Update

So I guess Ishould do a new update now that Jack is 8 Months Old! This last month has gone by super fast and Jack has really started to get fun and show Alot of personality! He learns new things everyday and quickly masters them after he figures out how to do them. It was fun because half of the month we were home in Utah so our family got to see these changes! Here are some fun new things about him. He has almost too many teeth to count now, actually only 8 but it is a mouthful! He got all 4 on top within one week. There have been many times I have swore that I will never nurse him again, but I haven't actually followed through with it. Eight teeth is not fun to have while still nursing, we have had a couple of biting instances (if you know what I mean). I love this picture of him trying to show you his teeth.
He has been clapping for a while but now he is a crazy clapping fool! He loves to clap and has truly mastered it. he actually has pretty good ruthym and can stay pretty close to on beat while clapping to a song.
He has only been "officially" crawling for a week but he is already into everything. Of course he usually heads straight for the Halloween candy (he is not stupid you know). I guess I am the stupid one for not putting it up higher. Between him and Luke I doubt we will have any candy for Halloween.
He has been loving baseball this fall. I think it is his favorite sport. Everytime Luke turns it on he is all of sudden glued to the tv. Look at his eyes and how he is mesmerized by the game. To bad Dad and him can't cheer for the Cubbies anymore this fall!While we were in Utah we went to Gardner's Village. While we were there Jack really wanted some of Grandma's Diet Coke. So I said sure, if you can suck it up the straw you can have some (totally thinking there was no way he could do it) and of course he proved me wrong, and by his and my surprise he got a big ol' swig of Diet Coke. It was pretty funny, his eyes got all big and watery. So now he can drink out of a straw. (Of course I don't intentionally give him diet coke) But he has fun drinking water and juice from a big cup. He also will eat anything and everything you give him. I was sure that I ruined him by giving him tastes of sweets to early but actually his favorite foods are vegetables. He loves them. He will eat any kind you put in front of him. I will even just pull out frozen peas or corn out of the freezer and he will gobble them up. I am a very proud mom to have a boy that eats his vegetables.
So I think that Jack and Avery got a little too close and had too many kisses while we were in Utah. A week after we came home Summer called me and told me that Avery had thrush. So then I start noticing symptoms on Jack. I thought I was just being paranoid but then the signs started to get pretty bad. (I don't know if you know what thrush is but it can get pretty gross) So we took him in and sure enough he has thrush. So him and Avery are now being treated for thrush and I think next time we won't let them be kissin' cousins.

Schaake's Pumpkin Patch

So over Fall Break we also tried to go to the pumpkin patch. We went on a day that it had been raining all morning, so by the afternoon even though it had cleared up it was muddy so the wagon ride wasn't open. So we took a few pictures with Luke and then me and Jack went back to the pumpkin patch on Friday with our playgroup. It was fun. It was a little windy (you can see Jack's whispy hair blowing in the wind) but it was nice and we had fun.

Topeka Zoo

When we got home from Utah we were so luck because Luke had Fall Break! So we wanted to do something fun so we headed off to Topeka (no that Topeka is very fun), but we heard the zoo was alright. It was a nice little zoo, perfect for Jack. It only took about an hour to see everything and you cold get pretty close to the animals. We think that Jack had fun, but who knows. He did love getting out of the house though. It was a nice time.

Jack took the plunge!

So I think I did the video wrong, but if you click on it and then find it in my album on Photobucket and click on it again you can watch it, sorry!

Photobucket Album

So tonight me and Luke were just sitting around when all of a sudden Luke yelled out that Jack dit it, he was crawing! For the past month he has been able to get around and he was pretty much crawling but not all the way. He would crawl once and then head dive and get up and do it again, or he would scoot his way around. He was working way to hard to get around and we were just waiting for the day when it would click and it finally did! I noticed today he got around a little faster but I never saw him moving so I didn't realize he was actually crawling. He scared me half to death this morning,as I put him in his room with some toys and went to clean the tub, the next thing I knew he was biting my leg. He is going to just get faster and faster, so here we go! He is so fun and it is so fun to see him grow and develop each day! We love him and think he is pretty darn cute!

Dad

So we had lots of fun in Utah but we were definetly ready to go see our dad! It was a long week without him! Luke was so worried Jack wasn't going to remember him but as soon as we saw him he couldn't get enough of him. He wanted nothing to do with me anymore. It was so fun to see him so excited to see his dad! the are best little buddies and have so much fun together. the next morning when jack woke up and realized dad was still there he gave hime like 20 kisses in a row. It was so sweet. We can't wait till December when Dad gets to come home to Utah with us and we don't have to choose between him and family!

Going Home (our Utah home)!

So we got back on Wednesday night from our long trip home to Utah! We had lots of fun. We got to spend lots of time with family that we miss so much! We arrived on Friday Oct. 6th at midnight so we didn't see much family that night, but we woke up to a big breakfast at my house. Summer and Andy and the kids rushed to see Jack, and he was very excited to see them. He handled it very well for being bombarded by 10 people all at once! He really seemed to remember who they were and it didn't take him long at all to warm up. After breakfast we then we went over to Luke's house. Jack was also very excited to see them! He was very playful and didn't mind getting held by anyone, as long as he knew his mom wasn't going anywhere. On Sunday we had a great day watching Avery get blessed and then spending time with family afterward. Monday night we showed up to Luke's parents to lots of fun new toys for Jack to play with at Gma & Gpa's and went and had a nice dinner! The rest of the week we did the usual shop and ate. We did lots of shopping while we were there because it is soooo much more fun to go shopping with sisters than to go with husbands :). We had a week full of spending time with family. That weekend we got to go to Ikea & Tai Pan with the girls and then to Gardner Villages witch festival. It was a very fun time! Getting to spend time with Baby Avery was the most important to me because she is growing like a weed, and I am not around to see it. It was so fun to be able to go home to her blessing. She is super sweet but she also has a little bit of an attitude which I love! Jack was extremely jealous of her and didn't really want anybody to hold her. He wanted all the attention. He warmed up to her as the week went by and by the end his favorite thing to do was give her kisses and loves. We can't wait till she can give them back! I am very excited that they will be so close in age! Who knows maybe one day they will go to school together and be in the same class. So I could go on and on about what we did and how much fun we had but i think you get the point. We spent lots of time with family and had lots of fun!

More of our trip

Tons & tons of family time!