The Balice Palace

West update - 9, 10 & 11 months old (March-May 2013)!

2013-06-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

Ahhhhh! Where has the time gone?! Our sweet little baby boy is going to be 1 on Saturday!!! How is that even possible? I figured I'd better get all caught up on the blog before his birthday, so that gives me no choice but to combine the last couple of months into one blog...

The day West turned 9 months old he came down with the Chicken Pox. It sucked. We still have no clue where he got it, and luckily, Jake didn't end up catching it even though there was a chance he could have caught a mild case from West. Our poor little baby boy was COVERED with pox, and we could do nothing about it but ride it out because he was 3 months too young for the vaccine. Here is my PSA to all parents - please, please, please vaccinate your kids so that young babies don't catch diseases like this. Chicken Pox is so rare now because most parents have their children vaccinated, but there are a few that don't and when their kids catch diseases, they can pass it on to others who may be too young for the vaccine. Here's an idea of how rare Chicken Pox is - one of the pediatricians in the office we take the boys to had never seen them in person. So she was called in to check out West's Pox. Awesome. Don't you love when your child is the rare case?! :( West really was a trooper, and came through it just fine, except for the ugly scar that will remain on his forehead forever. This germaphobe is so not amused.

By 10 months, West has fully recovered from the Pox, and had gotten his first hair hair cut!

Bye, bye Baby Bieber...

Hello handsome baby boy!

West's first hair cut experience was like a night and day difference from Jake's. Jake HATED hair cuts for his first 2 years! It was like he was being tortured and we had to physically hold him in place while they would try to cut his hair. West was completely different - big smile, no tears, no problem with the scissors, clippers or blow dryer!!! Amazing. What a different kid he is! Not sure if he is so much more mellow because he is the second kid and we are so much more relaxed, or if it is just his personality. I tend to think it is a little from column A, and a little from column B :)

By 11 months, West was able to walk while holding onto furniture, our hands, his push toy, etc. He keeps getting blonder and blonder (who knew?!) and is eating everything in sight! His faves right now are yogurt, blueberries, chicken, ham, veggie straws and any kind of carb! I can't really blame him on the carb thing, can you? He is very busy trying to keep up with his big bro, and is fascinated by anything with wheels! He loves to turn pages in books, and pulls up to stand on anything and everything. No official first steps yet, but he is really close. He can stand without holding onto anything, but just won't take any unassisted steps yet. He says "Mama" and "Dada" and sometimes a form of Jake that sounds like "Deet", and I swear that his first word was actually "book" but he hasn't said that much lately. Although he still doesn't say our names when he needs something, so not sure if that counts? But he does understand way more than he says, and will throw a ball on command! So cute!

We love our baby boy to pieces and he really is the sweetest, happiest baby. We can't wait to celebrate him turning 1 although I am shocked and amazed at how fast his first year went!!! I feel like I just went to the hospital to have him, and now he is going to be a 1-year-old! So crazy. Hopefully, I won't lag with his birthday party pics, because it is going to be super cute. I've had this Western themed 1st birthday bash planned in my head since the moment we chose his name. We love you, Baby West!

I suppose I can't end this without giving an update on West's big brother too :) Jake is as energetic, stubborn, and hilarious as ever, and there is never a dull moment when he's around. He has become so much more independent and is completely done with pull-ups (woohoo!!) He makes us laugh every day, and he is growing up way too fast. He has quite the vocabulary, and has uttered several "that sucks" lately. Oops! My fault. But it's pretty funny when he uses it in the correct context. He also has impressed us by using words like "difficult" and "amazing." It's so cool that we are able to have full conversations with him and sometimes we forget that he's not even 4 yet. He still loves preschool, and has been taking a soccer class after school once a week. He has been into watching awesome 80s movies like Ghostbusters and The Goonies. His favorite foods are typical kid-approved cuisine - pepperoni pizza, chicken nuggets, and mac 'n' cheese! He still loves almost all fruit, and still dislikes almost all veggies, but we try to sneak them in in clever ways ;) He loves playing with other kids and tries to make friends wherever we go. He remains very strong-willed and is quite bossy sometimes (but I think that is a typical trait of first born children, right?) and we are constantly working on his whining. But we are always reminding ourselves that he's only 3. And he can be really sweet a lot of the time too. He is so good with his little brother and loves to play with him. Sometimes he play a little rough, but overall he is a very good big bro. It's so much fun to see our boys interact and play with each other! They make each other laugh all the time and it's so cute to watch.

Ok, time for this mama to go to bed and get ready for the big week ahead. Only 6 more days til party time! Goodnight Y'all!

West 8 months old - February 15, 2013

2013-04-17T22:02:00.001-07:00

Our smiley little guy turned 8 months old the day after Valentine's Day, which is perfect because he is such a little love bug. Smiley, cuddly and happy. Here are a few pics of our cutie pies on Valentine's Day:

And had to share Jake's Valentine's Day preschool lunch and the heart-shaped strawberries I made for his class party :)

February was a busy month for us - we attended several birthday parties and had a short overnight trip to San Diego (so that we could attend 2 out of town birthday parties the next day!) The boys did great in the car and overnight at the hotel, which gives us high hopes for our upcoming Disneyland trip in September!

West 7 months old - January 15, 2013

2013-03-06T21:46:00.001-08:00

7 months old!!!

Jake's little brother, indeed :)

West's first time in a shopping cart!

the Balice brothers playing well together!

Our happy little baby boy is 9 days away from being 9 months old (holy cow!), but let's talk about him at 7 months old! At least we are slowly but surely catching up to present time, right?! West turned 7 months old halfway through January, and by then he was sitting up like a pro! So much so, that he was able to take his maiden voyage in a shopping cart! Gotta love those Costco carts that fit 2 kiddos!! I think it helped a ton that his big bro was right there along side him for his first time :) As soon as West starting sitting up, playing and interacting with us more, Jake went from not much interest to very interested in his little brother. And I have to say, Jake has been an awesome big bro so far! He really seems to understand that West needs more attention sometimes, and takes great pride in being the big boy/big brother. Love my Balice boys!!

West 6 months old and Christmas 2012!

2013-02-20T22:06:00.000-08:00

our adorable 6 month old!

so sweet

one of my favorite pics of West!

Santa's little helper!

Jake and our Christmas tree!

the Balice boys on Christmas Eve

Santa was here!

West and his giraffe!

West turned 6 months old on December 15, 2012, and 10 days later we celebrated his 1st Christmas! This was Jake's 4th Christmas, and he had so much fun this year! He actually understood the concept of Santa, and was very excited to go to sleep on Christmas Eve so that Santa could come to our house :) We took the boys to church on Christmas Eve, and this year Jake learned that Christmas also means celebrating Jesus' birthday. The boys looked adorable on Christmas morning in their matching jammies, and they had so much fun playing with their new toys! West's big gift from Santa was this giant giraffe who now resides in West's room. Jake's big gift from Santa was this basketball hoop that adjusts up to 6' so that our tall boy can practice his b-ball skills for several years to come!

It was so much fun to celebrate Christmas as a family of four this year. West was just starting to sit up on his own at 6 months old, and finally eating baby food. I actually stopped nursing on Christmas Day (I had been down to a couple breast feedings per day (the rest of the bottles were formula), and West was starting to bite me so that was my motivation to completely stop. His pediatrician wanted me to try to make it to 6 months and I did! He had no problem adjusting to formula and I made it way longer than I thought I would! I told myself I would stop once his first teeth came in but I actually made it 2 months longer than that! I was also happy that the end of nursing coincided with the beginning of West eating "real" food. That's the beginning of less bottles anyway, so it felt like the perfect time to stop.

We had a relaxing New Year's Eve at home and Joe and I watched a movie after the kids went to bed. We brought in 2013 quietly, as parents of young children often do, but it was the perfect end to a great year -- the year that our happy little cutie pie, West Jameson, joined our family!

Thanksgiving 2012

2013-02-19T22:28:00.002-08:00

my little turkeys on Thanksgiving Day 2012!

happy baby!

Mommy and West

Daddy and West

West with his Godfather Joey

West with Uncle Tony

sleepy West with Aunt Deb

another adorable shot of the Balice brothers!

love these sweet boys!

Even though we just celebrated Valentine's Day last week, I find myself finally posting about Thanksgiving! My little turkeys looked especially cute on Thanksgiving, and even though West was not quite old enough to enjoy the turkey or the other fixings, he was really good and played on a blanket while the rest of us enjoyed our yummy meal. Jake LOVED the turkey and also had some dried cranberries, but didn't eat much else. One day he will know the deliciousness that is: Thanksgiving stuffing (my favorite!) It was a great day full of fun, family, and food, and we were/are very thankful for our two amazing little boys!!!

Baby West 5-months-old! (November 15, 2012)

2013-01-28T22:49:00.002-08:00

Our sweet Baby West at 5 months old!!

And, just for fun:

West at 5 months

Jake at 5 months

You can definitely tell they are brothers, right? Jake had more hair (and darker hair) at 5 months old, but they do have similar expressions :) As many people have told me, you can tell West is a "Balice boy!

West turned 5 months old in the middle of November 2012, 11 days after he was baptized. At 5 months he was still growing his hair back, and of course looked especially adorable in his blue hat. He could not sit up on his own yet, but we were starting to "practice" sitting for a few seconds at a time. He was really never a big fan of the Bumbo chair though, and always preferred to "stand" (with help of course). We started to give him baby oatmeal and a few mild purees (squash and applesauce), but his little tummy was having a hard time with the food so we waited until his 6 month check up before we tried purees again. He was still breastfeeding about half the time at this point, and doing great with formula the other half :)

West's Baptism - Sunday, November 4, 2012

2013-01-13T00:21:00.003-08:00

Baby West, the guest of honor

our adorable baby boy getting baptized

sitting during the ceremony

action shot

posing with West's Godparents Christine and Joey

family photo

with my parents

with Joe's family

cross cupcakes

my baptism chalkboard creation

West with his awesome Godparents!

Aunt Gin holding West

My Godfather and me, my mom and her Godparents, and West with his Godparents!

Aunt Gin and Sally with Baby West

3 generations

4 generations!

We quickly had to de-Halloweenify our house to get ready for West's baptism, which was only 4 days later! Since we go BIG on Halloween decor, this was not an easy task! But somehow, we managed, and there was not a trace of Halloween left inside or outside our home on West's baptism day! West is such a good baby, and he did so well during the ceremony and at the party afterward. The only hiccup we had during the ceremony was trying to put on West's baptism outfit (which is done during the ceremony)...it was the same one that Jake wore, and we should have practiced with West beforehand, but we were so busy getting the house ready that we didn't have time and we ended up having the same issue that we did with Jake - taking too long to get his outfit on! It is a more complicated baptism outfit than it looks, people :) Other than that, the day went smoothly, and the party at our house was very nice too. Jake was a little antsy in church, but he did pretty well, and had tons of fun running around at the after party with his buddy Gavin! Jake wore the same suit he wore to Joe's brother's wedding in June, and I was so happy he was able to wear it a second time! It was such a special day full of love and blessings for Baby West with a nice ceremony, great food, and great family and friends!

Halloween 2012!!!

2013-01-12T23:40:00.001-08:00

our little pirates!

our jack-o-lanterns!

Jake the pirate

me as Izzy and Jake as Jake

another great shot of Jake the pirate

West the baby pirate

pirate family

loved my Halloween chalkboard :)

my fave indoor Halloween decor masterpiece from this year

matching skeleton PJ cuties!

West and me at Jake's Halloween parade at preschool

Jakey at his Halloween preschool parade - he was in a mood that day!

Apparently, blogger is working properly again, and letting me post photos, so I have A LOT to catch up on. Unfortunately, these posts will be showing up in 2013 instead of 2012. At this point, I'm just glad they are showing up at all! So...Happy Halloween 2012! I love celebrating Halloween any time of the year, so this doesn't bother me one bit :)

These are a few of the many pics from our Halloween festivities. We had a lot going on with Mom's Club and preschool activities, trick-or-treating, getting our scary house ready, and handing out candy! Jake had a blast this year and trick-or-treated for way longer than we expected! West slept for some of the trick-or-treating and then got hungry so I took him home early :) Jake loved being "Jake the pirate" from the Disney channel show "Jake and the Neverland Pirates"! As much as I love Halloween, I hate paying a million dollars for Halloween costumes. I had purchased an inexpensive pirate costume last year in the size that Jake would be wearing this year, and I transformed it into Jake the pirate! And since I don't sew, this was all accomplished with scissors and a glue gun! I was Izzy from the same show, and Joe was supposed to be Captain Hook (but my cheesy homemade no-sew red felt hat & vest had to do for his costume!), and West was a baby pirate!

Let's see what else I remember about West's first Halloween...he was actually teething and got his first tooth on Halloween (at 4 1/2 months old!), and he got his second tooth a few days later. He was too little to enjoy all the Halloween activities but he sure looked cute in his Halloween outfit! Jake had fun choosing what to have carved on his pumpkin (Jake Skellington of course!), and he loved eating the roasted pumpkin seeds that I made. His favorite part was eating some of his Halloween candy! And he still gets to pick out the occasional treat from his haul when he has eaten very well and/or been an exceptionally good boy!

We look forward to next Halloween when West will be walking around and can enjoy all the fun of Halloween alongside his big bro!

blogging/blogger issues

2012-12-04T23:13:00.001-08:00

I haven't given up on my blog! I promise. There are several reasons why I haven't posted in such a long time: 1) I've been so busy! Between Halloween, West's Baptism, Thanksgiving, Joe's birthday, and now getting ready for Christmas in addition to taking care of 2 kiddos, and keeping up with our regular activities, I feel like I've had no time to blog. And when I do have time at night after the kids are in bed I'm either too tired or Joe is using the laptop for work. 2) My phone has been refusing to email out photos. I normally just email myself the photos from my phone that I want to use on my blog because it's easier than uploading all the photos and picking them out. 3) I finally tried to blog tonight, and I'm getting an error message that says I've used up 100% of my photo storage! But when I check my account, it says I've only used 20% of my Picasa albums. Anyone know what that's about or how to fix that without paying for more storage space?!

So...I guess I'll be back to my scheduled blogging as soon as I figure out the photo storage limitation situation. Can't blog without posting photos of my adorable Balice boys :)

4 months old and pumpkin patch outings!

2012-10-28T21:13:00.000-07:00

This post is almost 2 weeks late, because West turned 4 months on the 15th, but better late than never :) At his 4 month check up he was 14.7 lbs (25th percentile for weight), and 25 1/2 inches (75th percentile for height). We were given the green light to start cereal or oatmeal anytime between 4-6 months. So far, we've tried once and he seemed ok with it. He still needs a lot of practice, and we have to be more consistent with it, but he is still pretty young. He has been hungrier lately though so I think we will have to make once a day oatmeal part of our routine! West can roll tummy to back but not yet back to tummy. He has started to grab at toys hanging from his playmat, and is teething. No teeth yet, but he drools and chews on his hands all the time. He is growing his hair back and looking cuter than ever! Here are some recent photos of Baby West:

first time in his exersaucer

first time eating solids!

our little pumpkin

mini rockstar

ready for football day!

Jake had his 3 year check up a few weeks ago, and he is now 39 1/2" tall and still in the 90th-95th percentile for height! He weighs 34 lbs. and I can't remember if they said 50th or 75th percentile for his weight. One of those :) Luckily, he didn't need vaccines at his check up, and he was able to get the flu mist in his nose instead of the shot! He did great at his check up and is healthy and right on track developmentally. Can't believe he doesn't need a check up now until he is 4!

We have been to pumpkin patches 3 times over the last few weeks. The first time it was for Jake's school field trip, the second time was to take pumpkin patch photos (will post those as soon as I get them), and the third time was with our play group. Jake has had so much fun all 3 times and West just goes along for the ride! :) Here are some photos from our recent pumpkin patch outings:

And last, but not least - a photo of Jake kissing our zombie! Love how much he already loves Halloween!

Halloween is now only 3 days away!!! Hope you all have a safe, happy and spooky Halloween!

Jake's 3rd Birthday Party!!!

2012-10-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

A month (to the day!) after Jake turned 3, I am finally posting some of the amazing photos my friend Mignonne captured for us at Jake's birthday party (check out her web site at http://www.miggyphotography.com/) I did not include photos of the other kiddos/guests at the party since I don't have everyone's permission, but these are the pics of us and Jake, and all the awesome circus/carnival decorations that my parents created for the party! It was such a fun theme, and we really had a great time coming up with all the ideas/games/decor. Jake had a blast with all his friends, and the kids had such a fun time playing carnival games, requesting balloon animals from our balloon artist, bouncing in the bounce house, and eating carnival food (hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, etc.)! I think the grown ups had a great time too :) It was such a great day, and I'm so glad we have all of these fabulous photos to remember Jake's awesome 3rd birthday party!

3 months and 3 years!!!

2012-09-26T22:28:00.000-07:00

Jake is 3!

West is 3 months!

Jake turned 3 years old on Friday, just 6 days after West turned 3 months old! Our little cutie pies are growing so quickly!!! Jake had an amazing birthday party on Saturday, and I will dedicate an entire blog post to the party soon :) We hired my friend Mignonne of Miggy Photography, and I can't wait to see (and share) the images she captured of Jake's special day!

Here are some more recent photos of our favorite guys:

tummy time!

little lion man

pirate Jake

my boys!

This time of year always flies by so fast because we have so much going on. Now that Jake's party is over, we can start decorating for my favorite holiday! Can't believe Halloween is only 35 days away!!! I just wish the weather felt like fall!

Jake started his soccer/t-ball class the weekend before his birthday, and so I will leave you with video of our little soccer stud in action:

That's how West rolls!

2012-09-09T23:21:00.000-07:00

West rolled over on Thursday several times, and I was able to catch it on video! God bless the iphone! I think he was a little irritated with me because I kept putting him on his tummy so that he would roll over again and again (hence the crying in this video) :) I was pretty surprised because it still seems pretty early for him to be doing this, but when I looked back to check my "That's how Jake rolls" blog post, it looks like they both rolled over at about 2 1/2 months. The difference is that Jake's milestones seemed to take forever to arrive, but time is flying by so fast with West because we are already so busy with Jake! So far, he will only roll over from tummy to back, but he seems to have such good neck and arm/leg strength, that the back to tummy roll shouldn't be too far away! Since Jake is so active and all over the place, we try to only put West on his playmat when Jake is napping or in bed for the night. We put him on a blanket on the couch pretty often but now that he can roll we will have to be extra careful when we do that!

West has been smiling a lot more lately and cooing too. Sometimes he looks like he really has something important to say but can't quite get the sounds out. It's pretty cute! He will turn 3 months old on Saturday, and he is growing so fast. I can't believe that we will soon have a 3 month old and a 3 year old!

Our almost 3 year old is as crazy as ever! :) Jake definitely keeps us on our toes, and I wouldn't have it any other way. He's hilarious and moody, very active and so much fun! He sure has his naughty moments, but the sweet moments make up for the not-so-sweet ones. His vocabulary grows larger by the day, and he cracks us up all the time. He's loving his new preschool class and doing awesome with the potty. So far, he has only had one accident at preschool! He has no problem telling us when he has to go potty, but I think he's still a little shy about telling his teachers. However, they take him a few times throughout the day, and he usually goes at those times. One of his teachers told me that he actually came up to her on the playground on Friday and said he had to go! Hopefully, that continues! The preschool already gave me back all the diapers/wipes that we had supplied them with so that was a great feeling! That means in their eyes he is (mostly) potty trained! Without getting too detailed, he has gone potty in public restrooms several times without incident. We are so proud of our potty trained boy! We have quite a few of his diapers left, but we are using those for naps and bedtime. It's so exciting to know that the only diapers we have to buy now are for West!

Here are my little cutie pies hanging out in mommy and daddy's bed one morning. Our boys sleep in their own rooms, but sometimes West's first feeding happens in our bedroom so that I can finish getting ready before we all head downstairs. Jake likes to hang out in our "big bed" and watch one of his shows. Love these adorable boys!!!

Big boy and baby boy

2012-08-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

This is my big boy on his first day of his new preschool class! He started his new class for 3-year-olds on Monday, even though he won't turn 3 until September 21st. He has 2 new teachers, some of the same classmates and some new ones too. He is familiar with one of his "new" teachers already because she taught the cooking class he took a few months ago. I thought he might be a little bit apprehensive about his new class, but I was so wrong! He walked right in and sat down like he owned the place! His new teachers said he had a great day, and he even made friends with one of the new kids :)

And the best Jake news of all?! He's finally interested in potty training!!!! FINALLY. We have been trying to get him to go on the potty since before he turned 2, and now he's almost 3 and we thought it might never happen. His pediatrician and several mommy friends told me that he would do it when he was ready, but he seemed to be traumatized by the whole act of going on a potty. Even though he knew when he was going, and would tell us to change his diaper, no matter how many times we tried to get him to go on the potty, he refused. He has been sitting on his potty before bathtime for over a year, and only went once which turned out to be a fluke. By some miracle, this all changed on Sunday. His potty is normally in the bathroom but it was in the garage because we stashed it there when we had some family over on Saturday night. Jake saw the potty in the garage when we were leaving for our walk and told us he wanted to go (but he has done this before and has never actually gone). He was already strapped into the stroller so we told him he could try and go potty when we got home. We forgot about it, but as soon as we got back into the garage after our walk he said he wanted to use the potty. So we let him try and while Joe and I were both inside the house, he started to go! He said "I'm doing it!" and he was very proud of himself. He peed in the potty and all over the garage too :) But we couldn't believe it! Joe thinks he got over his stage fright when we left him alone! I immediately decided to seize this opportunity and put him into his big boy underwear. I had been telling him for awhile that when he's 3 he will not wear diapers anymore and he will get to wear his big boy underwear (which he was excited about because it is Cars 2 underwear!) So we ran with it. The first day was the hardest, and he cried and screamed when he had to go and when we dragged him to the potty. But he went! And he got his special treats (cookies!) and lots of praise when he did! We put his diaper on at naptime and bedtime, but other than that, he was in underwear. The next day (Monday) was a preschool day, and I decided to put him in underwear with a diaper over it (just in case he had an accident). He did have an accident, but when I picked him up from school, one of his teachers told me to keep him in underwear for preschool and just bring lots of extra pairs! I love that they are helping with the potty training! He held in his #2 from Saturday until Monday night, at which point he couldn't hold it anymore! He started to get upset and we knew he had to go so we rushed him to his potty and he went!! Amazing! Many of my friends who had their kids pee potty trained had major problems with getting them #2 trained. So I had no expectations of him doing that so quickly! Today (Tuesday) I kept him in underwear all day (even when we were at the park) and he did awesome! He indicates when he has to go, and he is able to hold it until we take him to the potty. We had a small #2 accident while we were at the park but that was because I was feeding West at the exact moment that Jake decided he had to go! I had to set poor West down so I could help Jake, and we didn't quite make it to the potty in time. We even had a breakthrough tonight before we left the house to meet my parents for dinner. It was the first time that I told Jake to try to go and he actually went on command! Every other time he has decided when he has to go, but this time I was able to get him to go! So...we are not looking back! We are saving diapers (or pull ups) for nap and bedtime only. I took him to the store to get more underwear today and he had a great time picking it out! He held it while we were at the store, and went when in the potty when we got home! I guess it's true - they go when they're ready! Fingers crossed that we have continued success with this major pottying accomplishment!

We've been to this local water play park twice in the last couple of weeks and Jake loved it! His buddies were there and he had a great time playing in the water. We even made it there last week while Joe was out of town. It was the first time Joe had a business trip since West came along, so it was a challenging couple of days being a "single mom" of 2, but I made it through! The hardest time was Jake's bath and bedtime because that is when West is the fussiest and/or when he usually eats. Poor West had to cry in his swing while I gave Jake a bath both nights, but we all survived.

Speaking of West, he continues to be an awesome baby! He is 2 1/2 months old and growing so quickly! He now fits into 6 month size onesies! He is sleeping 10 hours at night, and typically eats 7 times per day. Here are some recent photos of our baby boy:

West is losing his newborn hair, but I'm still managing to brush the 2 hairs he has left into a faux hawk (just like his big bro!) And his eyes have gotten a little bit darker, but they are still the gray/blue color he had when he was born! I'm enjoying my blue eyed baby while it lasts because I know it's only a matter of time before his eyes turn brown! But no matter what color his eyes are, he is the cutest baby (just like Jake!) and I am not biased at all :)

West: 2 months old!

2012-08-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

West turned 2 months old yesterday, which came complete with a visit to the doctor and 4 vaccines! Poor little guy didn't know what hit him and looked like this the rest of the day:

Luckily, he was able to sleep off the trauma. I think it was worse for me than it was for him! I hate watching him get shots, but at least he won't remember it. The pediatrician said West looks great and is growing well (can't you tell by those adorable, squeezable cheeks?!) His current stats are:

weight - 11 pounds, 11 ounces (50th percentile)
length - 23 3/4" (85th percentile)

Apparently, we make tall babies! When the nurse came in, she couldn't believe West was only 2 months old! Jake has stayed tall since birth so we'll see what happens with his little bro. West continues to be a great baby, and has started sleeping 9 hours at night pretty consistently! We are so spoiled with our good sleepers! West still likes to be held a lot during the day, but he is also starting to enjoy his swing a little bit more, as well as hanging out on blankets or his play mat. He recently started smiling and making cooing noises (so cute!) We can't believe how fast 2 months have come and gone. We are so busy keeping up with Jake's busy schedule, that time just flies on by! Here are a few more recent photos from the last couple of weeks:

West likes the pacifier more than Jake did, but we only use it as a last resort if he is really fussy

just hanging out

my boys!

the 3 look-alikes :)

sleepy boy

look at those cute little lips and those squeezable cheeks!

all smiles

West's first trip to the beach!

cutie pie

happy boy

smiley boy

Big brother Jake has been a very helpful boy lately, and he is very excited about his upcoming birthday! He either says he's 3 or "almost 3" when someone asks his age, and he knows all about his birthday party. He is also excited about Halloween (is he my kid or what?!), and has asked to watch "the Halloween movie" (The Nightmare Before Christmas) several times this week! Last year the Oogie Boogie Man scared him, but this year he watches the whole movie no problem! He has also asked to watch a few of my "scary shows" with me! We started receiving Halloween catalogs last week, and Jake loves to look at them! Here's the proof:

Jake has also been saying some pretty hilarious things lately. I was telling him that when he's 3 he gets to wear big boy underwear and will not have diapers anymore, and I'm explaining why he can't go pee pee or poop in his big boy underwear, and that he has to go on the potty, etc., etc. and when I'm finished he looks at me and says "sounds like a plan!" And the other day when I went in his room in the morning the first thing he says to me is "I like olive oil. You dip bread in olive oil. You can do that at _____ (the name of a local Italian restaurant we frequent.)" On Tuesday, I was all set to walk to our play group and packed up all our stuff and both kids into the double BOB stroller and then started to walk and realized that the stroller had a flat tire. I was so bummed and said "What are we going to do now, Jake?" and he said "Team Umizoomi can fix the tire for us!" Team Umizoomi is a cartoon he likes to watch where the characters problem solve using their "mighty math power" :)

Oh, and in case you need proof that they are brothers, here is a comparison of Jake (on the top) and West (on the bottom) at 2 months old:

Gee, do you think they are related?!?

Swim Lessons!

2012-08-05T23:33:00.002-07:00

all ready for his first day!

yay! he's smiling!

hanging with his buddies before class

is that the proper way to wear goggles?

Jake and Brayden holding their whales and suckers after they completed their lessons!

Jake finished up his swim lessons last week. It was an intense 2 week session with a 1 hour lesson everyday for 4 consecutive days (Monday-Thursday). He took the class with his buddies Brayden, Luke and Braden, and he had a blast! I was a little worried since I would not (and could not because I had to take care of West) be getting in the water with Jake. But I figured as long as he had his friends there, he would be ok without me. And he was! He cried a few times when he switched to a new instructor, but for the most part, he LOVED it! He specially loved jumping in the pool and of course getting a sucker as a special treat when class was over! By the end of the lessons he was able to jump in the pool, swim to an instructor and hold onto the side of the pool. I'd say that's a success! Here is a video of Jake in action (the annoying squealing that you hear in the video is obviously not Jake):

It was a lot of work taking Jake and West back and forth to swim lessons everyday by myself, but it was a crash course in parenting 2 kids at the same time. West usually fell asleep in the car on the way there, and he slept in the stroller during most of the class. I brought a bottle (of pumped breast milk) with me everyday so I could feed West if necessary. Because the class was at 4:30pm, lasted an hour, and was 15-20 minutes away, we always hit traffic on the way home. If he is awake, West is not a fan of a stopped car. He prefers that we keep moving. This made for a few interesting rides home. But all in all, he did pretty well tagging along to his big brother's swim lessons. As the second child, he will do a lot of tagging along until he is old enough to go to his own activities. I feel like we accomplished quite a bit - Jake learned how to swim, I learned how to handle a major activity with 2 kiddos, and West got to hang out by the pool at 1 month old :) The only bummer is that we do not have a pool, and we do not have access to a community pool, so we are at the mercy of our friends who have pools. Hopefully, we will get invited to their pools often enough that Jake can keep practicing his newly learned swimming skills. We did go swimming my friend Agnes' pool this week which was so much fun! They have a huge Jacuzzi and Jake kept swimming across it a million times. He even borrowed her daughter's goggles and had a hard time giving them back! We found out the next day that Jake had double ear infections so we may have to cool it on the swimming for a little while. But I bet we won't be able to keep our little fish out of the water for too long!

West is now 7 weeks old, and doing great! He caught his first cold from his big bro (so did mommy) which was inevitable with all the lovely preschool germs that Jake brings home, but West seems to be riding it out ok. He had a stuffy nose for a while, but no fever and no loss of appetite. He continues to be a great sleeper and had his longest stretch of sleep ever this week: 7 1/2 hours! I'd say that qualifies as sleeping through the night! We started his bedtime routine as soon as his umbilical cord stump fell off and his belly button healed. It is the same routine that we did with Jake (bath, feeding, bed). Before West's last feeding of the night we give him a bath, then he gets fed, swaddled and put in his crib. He usually falls asleep right away, and stays asleep for 6-7 hours, then I feed him and he goes back to sleep for another 2-4 hours. If it is a preschool day, I have to wake him up and put him in his car seat so he can come along for the ride while I drop off Jake at 8:30. If it is not a preschool day, West usually sleeps until 9am or later. I purposely feed him a lot during the day so that he stays asleep longer at night. He does like to be held a lot, and has his fussy moments during the day, but we'll take that any day as long as he sleeps well at night! Stay tuned for more West updates next week when he turns 2 months old...

West: the first 6 weeks!

2012-07-28T22:38:00.000-07:00

West at 1 month old!

West turned 6 weeks old on Friday and I can't believe how quickly time has flown by already! Here are some miscellaneous photos from his first 6 weeks:

teeny tiny baby boy

big bro, little bro

4th of July (West was already 19 days old on his due date!)

Jakey on the 4th

West and Nana :)

my boys!

sleepy just like daddy

head on his hand

arms up!

chubby cheeks!

smiley boy

asleep...

...and awake

such a sweet little face

sleepy face

hanging with mommy!

We are really lucky because West is such a good baby! I'm not sure if he's more mellow because we're more mellow this time around, or because he has to be more go with the flow because he's #2, or if that is just his personality, but whatever the case, we'll take it! It has made our adjustment to a family of 4 a pretty smooth ride. There were lots of logistical issues we had to work out in the beginning (how to handle upstairs/downstairs switch in the mornings, getting both boys in and out of the car, timing everything with West's feeding schedule and Jake's preschool schedule, etc.), but we have managed to figure it all out. So far, so good. Jake has had to learn that he has to wait for me to finish feeding the baby before I can help him/feed him/play with him, and West has to wait a little bit longer to eat sometimes while we drop off or pick Jake up from preschool. It's a big lesson in patience for all of us!

West is a really good sleeper (yay!!!) and has been doing long stretches since he was born. Actually, in the beginning he was sleeping so much that we were instructed by his pediatrician to wake him up every 4 hours at night to feed him! After he caught back up to his birth weight (at a week and a half old) we stopped waking him up at night to feed him, and he kept sleeping at least 4 hours at a time. Now he sleeps a pretty consistent 7 hours at night, wakes up to eat, then goes back to sleep for another few hours!

This time I am exclusively breast feeding (so far) and I am amazed that it is working so well! With Jake, I wasn't able to breastfeed right away because of the general anesthesia, and he got used to bottles of formula from day 1. I tried to pump a little bit, but I wasn't producing much, so I gave up pretty early on. This time has been totally different. West didn't eat much in the hospital because he was so sleepy, but once we were home he got the hang of it. He weighed 7 lbs. at birth (on a Friday), and by Monday at his check up he was down to 6 lbs., 5 oz. That was the lowest they would let him go, so they rechecked him that Thursday, and he was back up to 6 lbs., 10 oz., and by the following Thursday, he was at 7 lbs., 7 oz.! I was amazed that he was gaining weight so well since you never really know how much they are getting while breastfeeding (unless you are exclusively pumping). At his 1 month check up, he was over 9 lbs. and had gained almost 2 lbs. in 2 weeks! So we know he's a good eater! When West was 4 weeks old, I started pumping once a day so that he can get used to taking bottles. This way Joe is able to feed him once a day, and we can bottle feed him when we are out in public.

West slept in a small pack n play at night in our bedroom up until this week, when we switched him to his crib in his own room. That was sad because I liked having him in our room, but now we can all get better sleep, and he can adjust to his crib and his awesome nursery :) So far, it has worked out really well, and he seems to be ok in his crib. He looks so tiny in his crib, but I know that he will grow into it quickly, just like his big brother did.

Jake is adjusting well to his little brother, and he likes to kiss him goodnight, and tell us when "Baby West is crying" :) He did try to climb into West's baby swing a few times, and likes to lay on West's blankets, but we expected a little but of reverting. Jake is still whiny lately, but we're not sure if that is him still adjusting, or his age, or both. He has never acted out against West though, so we are glad that he likes his little bro (for now!) Jake just finished up his 2 week swimming class on Thursday, so I will try and post photos and video soon. He had a blast, and is a good little swimmer now!

West's newborn photos!

2012-07-18T22:07:00.000-07:00

I finally got around to posting these amazing photos that my friend Mignonne took for us! She came to the hospital and got some great shots the day after West was born, and then we had a newborn photo session when West was a week old. Mignonne is so talented, and she has such patience waiting for newborns to fall asleep in the perfect position so she can snap great photos! I really regret not taking professional newborn photos with Jake, so I was so glad that we were able to take these. And they turned out so much better than I even imagined! Check out her web site at: http://www.miggyphotography.com/

I find myself having little time to blog these days! Imagine that :) And time is passing by so quickly! I can't believe West is already a month old! I have so many more photos to post from his first month, so hopefully I can catch up one of these days. We're still very busy adjusting to life as a family of 4! Everyone asks me how Jake is doing now that the baby is here, and I have to say, he is already a great big brother. He is very sweet with West, and makes sure to kiss him before bed, and is always concerned when West cries. He is trying to adjust to sharing Mommy and Daddy though (as we expected), and does occasionally tell us to "put the baby down." Jake was extra cranky and whiny for the first few weeks after we brought West home from the hospital, but now that he is back in preschool after their "summer break" (which was only a little over a week long), he has been much better. He is taking swim lessons this week and next week, so I will try to post those photos soon too! So much to post, so little time!

West's Birth Story!

2012-07-08T22:52:00.001-07:00

West came 3 weeks early, so I am allowed to be 3 weeks late with his birth story, right?! It all started on Wednesday night, June 13th. I had been having Braxton Hicks (BH) contractions on and off for quite a few weeks, so when I started having more contractions on Wednesday night, I figured they were of the same BH variety. However, they were coming at regular 30-40 minute intervals. That night I got hardly any sleep because every time I would start to fall asleep, a contraction would wake me up. They were not very painful, but just uncomfortable enough for me to be unable to sleep through them. By Thursday morning (June 14th), they were about 15 minutes apart. I still thought they were BH contractions at this point. Joe went to work and I took Jake to preschool. I went about my day and kept timing the contractions (yay for iphone apps that help you keep track of your contractions!) but they were still pretty far apart. My doctor told us not to go to the hospital until they were 5 minutes apart for over an hour. By the time Joe got home from work, the contractions were pretty strong, and I had to breathe through them. However, they were not regular (8 minutes apart, then 13 minutes, then 10 minutes, etc.) Joe kept saying we should get our stuff together and go to the hospital, but I was afraid this was false labor and that they would send me home. All along I had expected an early arrival, but not this early! I didn't think this could be the real thing because we still had another 3 weeks until my due date! The last thing I wanted to do was wake Jake up from a sound sleep, drag him over to my parents house, go to the hospital and have them send us home due to false labor. But by 11pm or so, the contractions were getting much stronger, and even though they were not 5 minutes apart, I finally decided that we better go get checked out at the hospital. So we woke up Jake and took him over to my parents house on our way to the hospital. He was so confused and cried as we were leaving my parents house :( Luckily, he went back to sleep there and stayed asleep the rest of the night. At least he got some sleep that night!

By the time we got to the hospital it was about midnight, and my contractions were coming every 4-5 minutes or so. And they were strong! Even though we had pre-registered, they took a long time to check us in and get us up to labor & delivery. Once we finally got settled into a room, I changed into a hospital gown and the nurse checked me. I was 3 cm. I asked if that meant we were staying, and she said yes. At this point, I realized that we were going to have the baby on June 15th, 3 weeks early, and I was going to be able to try for a VBAC! She asked me if I wanted an epidural and I said "yes, please!" Unfortunately, my contractions were getting MUCH stronger and the anesthesiologist was busy with another patient. By the time he finally got to my room I was begging Joe and the nurse for the pain meds and rethinking my VBAC decision! That was the worst pain I have ever felt! And I have survived some pretty serious menstrual cramps. Those paled in comparison! The anesthesiologist had to ask me a bunch of questions and explain the procedure to me before he started and I was like, let's get this show on the road, dude! He told me I would have to stay completely still and if I had a contraction, just try to breathe through it but not to move. This was VERY hard to do. Somehow, I managed to stay fairly still and he was able to give me the epidural. All I can say is, God bless this man, and God bless the person who invented the epidural! It was amazing! I still felt my stomach tightening during contractions, but the pain was gone!!! The nurse checked me right after he was done with the epidural and I was already at 7 cm. No wonder I had been in so much pain! The nurse told us to get some rest and save my energy for the pushing phase. We turned out the lights and tried to get some sleep. I wasn't able to sleep, but I was able to rest. The nurse checked me a few hours later and I was complete (10 cm)! However, the baby's head was still high so she told me to "labor down" and let the contractions push him down for a while before I started to push. My water finally broke around 5am, and I figured the nurse would call the doctor at this point. Nope. She checked me again and said that the baby was still a little high so I should labor down some more until I felt like I needed to push. Around 6am I told her I was feeling more pressure and asked if I could start pushing. She said we could try. I kept telling her I wanted to have this baby before the shift change at 7am so I could keep her as my nurse :) That almost happened. She brought in another nurse who would be taking over for her and they kept having me push. They could see the baby's head but it kept going back inside at the end of each contraction. And they still hadn't called the doctor! Apparently, they do not call your doctor until the baby's head is coming out (and staying put). I just assumed the doctor would be there by this point (especially for a VBAC!) A few contractions later, the baby's head was staying put, so they finally called her. And at some point before my doctor could arrive, they told me to stop pushing and wait for her! (See?! They should have called her sooner!) I tried not to push but the contractions were doing that for me! It felt like forever but my doctor finally arrived. Once she was there I was able to push the baby out on the next 2 contractions! They cleaned out his nose and mouth and he started crying right away! Such a great sound! She asked if I wanted the baby on my chest and I said yes, so she gave him to me. His cord was a little short so he didn't make it all the way up to my chest, but I was able to hold him right away. He calmed down while I was holding him, and I was able to see that he looked a lot like his big brother and he definitely looked like a West! She asked Joe to cut the cord and he actually did (he is a little squeamish so I was surprised he did it!) I tore a little bit so my doctor had to stitch me up. While this was going on, they took our new little guy to get weighed. I was surprised to find out that he weighed 7 lbs. at 3 weeks early! Boy, was I glad he came early! If he had arrived on schedule, I may have been pushing out a 9 pounder!

All in all, this was such an amazing experience and COMPLETELY different from Jake's crazy birth. The only bad part were the gnarly contractions I had before the epidural man came to save me. My doctor made the comment that this time it was a normal, boring labor & delivery and that made me smile because that was exactly what I wanted! This time I was awake, Joe was there, and we both got to meet our little guy right away. My recovery was so much better and I was able to leave the hospital the next day (instead of 4 days later like my C-section experience with Jake). I was able to try breast feeding right away and although West was too sleepy to eat very much in the hospital, we figured out the breast feeding thing once we got home from the hospital. I am still amazed at how different and how much better the whole labor/delivery/birth/recovery experience was/is. Several nurses and the boys' pediatrician were all pleasantly surprised that I was able to do a VBAC, since it is still not very common at this particular hospital. I am so happy that my doctor allowed me to do it, and I am very proud of myself for going through labor and having a baby the normal way. I really felt like I missed out last time, and I was so out of it and on so many meds that I didn't get to bond with Jake right away. This time, I was able to feel that instant bond with West.

I can't believe West is already 3 weeks old! I haven't had much time to blog but I had to get the birth story out while it was still fresh in my mind. I'm hoping to post some more photos soon. My friend Mignonne took some amazing newborn photos when West was a week old and we got the disc of those photos this week, so I will try to post them ASAP...

West Jameson!!!

2012-06-21T22:33:00.000-07:00

our brand new Baby Boy Balice #2!

proud Daddy

Jake look-a-like

our little bundle

proud Pa Pa

proud Gran

all ready to head home

Jake showing off his present from West AKA Penguin

chillin in his bouncy seat

so tiny in the car seat

brothers

so sweet

napping with Daddy

check out that long hair!

and those dimples!!!

I'm way too tired to write my usual novel, but I had to get some photos up from Baby Boy Balice #2's first week! West Jameson Balice decided to arrive 3 weeks early (at 37 weeks, 2 days to be exact). He was born at 7:13am, weighing 7 lbs. and measuring 20" long. He came out looking a lot like his big brother, with a head full of dark hair, and gorgeous dimples! We are so in love with our new little guy! Since we were finally able to reveal his name, we can now post some pics of the name related items in West's nursery:

name signange above his crib

love these enlarged scrabble tiles spelling out his name

Joe's art project

my mom painted this adorable sign (she was one of the very few who knew his name ahead of time)

the sign hanging above his bookshelf

my parents bought him this sign which goes along with the WESTern theme :)

So why did we choose the name West?! Since the name Jake is so popular, I really wanted to use an unpopular name this time. Joe and I had a really hard time agreeing on names because he likes more old fashioned names and I like more modern names. I came across this name while trolling People.com - the blond woman who played the cop in Scream 4 named her daughter West. Would that be considered a C list celebrity baby name? I loved the name West, but not for a girl! I told Joe and he actually liked it! We looked it up, and it was a boy name, short for Weston. Joe thought Weston was too preppy, and I thought if we chose Weston, everyone who call him Wes, not West. Names ending in an "s" don't sound good with our last name. So we put West on our list. We also both liked the name Wyatt, but didn't love it as much as West. After much searching and help from my friend who put together a baby name spreadsheet for us, we kept coming back to West. We did not choose the name because of the Wild, Wild West, but I did want to add a few Western touches to his room. We knew we needed a 2 or 3 syllable middle name to go along with his one syllable first name so we searched and searched and finally came up with Jameson. We thought it went really well with the name West, and liked the J connection (to Joe and Jake). It didn't hurt that Joe is part Irish and likes whiskey :) Since the name is so uncommon, we figured people would either love it or hate it. We didn't want any negative feedback, so we decided to keep it to ourselves until our little cutie pie was born. We annoyed several people in the process but we're so glad to finally be able to share his name with the world. The important thing is that we love his name, and we love the little tiny person it belongs to!

So there you have it, the name story. Stay tuned for the birth story...

Uncle Mike's wedding/Penguin updates!

2012-06-03T22:32:00.001-07:00

the best dressed guest!

family photo (last one as a family of 3 perhaps?!)

posing with the bride & groom

Jake's first taste of 7 up...

I think he likes it!

goofing around with "Miss" Janice!

hot mamas!

hanging with daddy

having fun with mommy

cupcake time (Jake's favorite part!)

yum!

with Uncle Mike

Yesterday was Joe's brother Mike's wedding! It was Jake's first wedding, and even though he wasn't in the wedding (don't get me started on that one!), he was by far, the cutest one there!!! Doesn't he look adorable in his outfit?! The sunglasses and new Converse (thanks Gran & Pa Pa!) make the outfit! Jake had such a great time running around (there was a pool on the property and Joe had to chase him around the entire time to make sure Jake steered clear of the pool!), drinking his first ever taste of soda (I told him there were bubbles in the 7 up so he kept asking for "more bubbles please?!"), and eating his favorite thing - a cupcake!! Jake was the youngest one there and I was the most pregnant one there...luckily, I didn't go into labor at the wedding!

pinata!

pony ride

Jake went to his friend Lukas' 3rd birthday party last weekend, and he had a blast down on the farm! It was the first time he got to experience a pinata, and he was even peer pressured into riding a pony! Last time we were at this farm, he refused to ride the pony, but this time all his buddies were doing it, so he did too :) He had a smile on his face the whole time, so I think he liked it!

Joe's mom has been staying with us for the last couple weeks (we have been taking part in wedding related activities), and we met Joe for lunch the other day at the harbor. Jake had fun checking out the boats and Joe's mom took this family photo for us - the platform for Jake to sit on AKA the bump is getting larger and larger! Jake has been having fun with Grandma and even though she is leaving soon, he will get to see her again when Penguin arrives in a few short weeks...

34 1/2 weeks (dressed up for Jenny's bridal shower)

35 1/2 weeks (dressed up for the rehearsal dinner)

I have had several things to get dressed up for lately - the bridal shower, rehearsal dinner and wedding - which is quite a feat at almost 9 months pregnant! Luckily these tents/dresses did the trick :) I will be 36 weeks on Wednesday which will mark the beginning of my 9th month. I had an appt. last week and saw the Nurse Practitioner because my doctor was on vacation. My blood pressure was fine, the baby's heartbeat sounded great and...my belly was measuring 37 weeks instead of 35! Of course I asked if this meant that the baby would arrive way earlier than we thought? She said not necessarily, it just means that the baby is big! Yikes! Apparently, we make big babies. So even though I was expecting Penguin to arrive early, now I'm thinking he may be here even earlier than we previously thought! I have another appt. tomorrow and will get to see my doctor this time, so she will be able to confirm the measurements for me. I can't believe that he will be here this month! Time has flown by. We have quite a few plans up until June 23rd so it is a guessing game which events we will make it to! I'm hoping to make it to most of them, but as we learned from last time, the baby decides when he makes his arrival, so we will just have to wait and see what Penguin decides! I have been very tired, but feeling pretty good overall. Just feeling very large! I have been having more contractions lately but nothing regular, and he has been having hiccups almost every day so I can confirm that he is still head down. We are so excited to meet our little guy in 26 days or less!!!

Penguin's Nursery!

2012-05-21T13:05:00.000-07:00

view from the doorway

now all we need is the baby!

my favorite corner

view from the back left corner

dresser under the window

ordered this print from Etsy and framed it

Penguin's first guitar! (from my Dad of course!)

changing table

close up of my art project!

the bookshelf and hamper

top of the bookshelf

top shelf

middle shelf

bottom shelf

yellow clock (sorry so blurry!)

the rug!

Yay! Penguin's nursery is finally done! Well, almost done. We have a few more name-related things to hang on the wall once his name has been revealed :) Besides that, it is complete! Except for the baby, of course. I love the way it turned out! Joe and I finished our art projects today - mine is the alphabet art (I borrowed this idea from Pinterest!) and we can't show Joe's project yet because it is middle name related. The dresser is probably my favorite thing in the room because I found it at a garage sale, sanded it, painted it, put new knobs on, lined the drawers, and filled the drawers all by myself! It was a labor of love, and it was so fun to see the transformation. I also love our use of yellow spray paint which is very prevalent in the room - the lamp, the picture frames, the clock, the hamper, and the knobs for the changing table all received the same color of spray paint (Joe painted all these because the spray paint fumes were too strong for my preggo self). It's amazing what a few coats of spray paint can do! The chair, crib and changing table used to be in Jake's room, and I just added the yellow pillow, sheet and changing pad cover (they all came from Etsy!) We already had the white bookshelf (it was previously in our guest room) and I just added a few yellow touches mostly "borrowed" from Jake's room. The mason jar is filled with mini rubber duckies, and I added a ribbon that says "baby" that came from the diaper cake my friend Mignonne made! It looks so cute right next to the the stuffed duck that was on top of the diaper cake, and the amazing maternity photo she took! The On The Night You Were Born book was a Christmas present for the baby from my friend Kelly (so sweet of her!) and the rest of the books/stuffed animals came from Jake's room. Thanks Jake! Don't worry, he won't miss them because he has way too many books/toys/stuffed animals overcrowding his big boy room. My friend Jackie helped me find the perfect rug, and I ordered it from Amazon. It was really hard to find a gray and yellow rug that wasn't girly. This one is perfect, and I love the modern, funky design. And of course, Penguin's room would not be complete without his first guitar! My Dad had actually given this guitar to Jake, but we decided that the color was perfect for Penguin's room. So he replaced the gold guitar on Jake's wall with an awesome guitar with flames on it - and now this one has a new home in the nursery :)

33 1/2 weeks

Here we go - the home stretch! Less than 6 weeks to go until we get to meet our 2nd Baby Boy Balice! I can't wait! Besides finishing up the nursery, we also had the infant car seat bases installed in our cars this week, packed our hospital bags (as much as we can pack ahead of time), and tracked down the box of baby toys, bottles, etc. that we had been storing. Can't believe he's almost here! This next month is going to fly by too because we have so much going on (including Joe's brother Mike's wedding!) We have plans every weekend until the baby arrives!

our little fireman

Here is a photo of Jake with his cool new fire hat given to him by the firemen who installed our car seat bases this week. We get the car seats installed at a local airport, and we took Jake to the airport cafe for lunch so he could watch the airplanes take off and land. Between that, the fire hat and stickers, and the bulldozer that was parked there, Jake had a blast! He also had blast at the birthday party we attended this weekend. It was a 3rd birthday party for his friend Otto (we met him and his mom in our Kindermusik class when Jake was only around a year old!), and it was so much fun! Jake got his first balloon animal at the party - he asked for a monkey, and he bounced almost the entire time in the ginormous bounce house (Jake LOVES bounce houses!) Here are a few videos of our little daredevil in action:

Family Day, Mother's Day and more!

2012-05-13T22:41:00.000-07:00

check out my ride

watch out road, here I come

painting a bird house

eating chocolate ice cream!

sweet ride

playing with play dough-ish dots

Last Saturday was "Family Day" at Jake's preschool. All family members were invited, and the staff of the school attended as well. My parents even came along to check out Jake's school. There were tons of fun activities for the kids to do: painting, planting flowers, bubbles, water tables, bikes, a train table, etc., etc. There was even an ice cream sundae station (which Jake loved of course!) Jake had such a great time running around with the other kids, riding a scooter (Jake calls it a "cooter!" and yes, I laugh every time he says it), painting, playing in the water, and checking out all the other activities! He had so much fun that he didn't want to leave! I think they also have a Family Day in the fall so we'll have to make sure to attend that one as well.

splashing in the water

checking out Kyra T!

water fun

Kyra's turn to check out Jake :)

how cute are these two?!

seriously way too much cuteness!

lots of hugs!

riding the trolley

Yesterday we met up with Jackie & Geoff, and their little cutie pie Kyra. We don't get to see them too often anymore, and we couldn't wait for the kids to play together! Jake and Kyra had so much fun playing in the water fountain, riding the trolley, running around/dancing to the outdoor music, and hugging! They are so cute together! We had so much fun on our "play date" with the Tipper family, and just wish they lived closer!

my beach boy

building "sand castles" with daddy

my handsome boys playing in the sand

lounging in a sandy hole

beach bum

I checked the weather all week long, and it said it was supposed to be in the high 70s here today, so I had it set in my mind that we should go to the beach for Mother's Day. When we woke up it was foggy, but we thought it would burn off, so we headed out to the beach. It turned out to be really cold and windy, and stayed foggy the entire time, but we made the best of it. Jake went straight for the water, and then realized it was freezing cold! But, he had a blast anyway playing in the sand, checking out the boats, and eating his picnic lunch (until a hungry seagull came and stole the rest of his sandwich!) He built sand castles with Joe, and found a nice collection of rocks to throw into the water. We only stayed for an hour and a half or so, but despite the cold weather, it was a nice start to our summer beach excursions. I knew Jake would love the beach this year - he is at the perfect age to enjoy the sand! I'm hoping that we make it to the beach several more times over the summer - with the baby in tow! We think we need to bring a lot to the beach now, just wait until we have to take all of the newborn gear as well!!

I had such a great Mother's Day! My boys gave me roses and a really cute homemade card, and Joe even planted a weeping willow tree for me and washed and detailed my car! We had a nice family dinner with my parents and Nana, and the best part? I didn't have to cook! We have a Mother's Day tradition of ordering pizza so that us mothers can be off the hook for cooking :) We got our favorite salad from one place and my favorite pizza from another place! And Golden Spoon for dessert! Yum.

32 1/2 week baby bump!

Big news on the baby front: we have an end in sight! :) I had my check up this week and my doctor informed me that she would be on vacation from July 3rd-July 8th! Since I'm due on the 4th of July, and I refuse to let anyone but my doctor deliver my baby, we decided to schedule a C-section for Friday, June 29th (I will be 39 weeks, 2 days at this point). If I go into labor before this date, I will still get to try for my VBAC (assuming he stays head down)! Since Jake arrived a week early (at 39 weeks exactly), I'm hoping that Penguin will take after his big bro and make an early arrival too. I told my doctor that I'm going to will this baby to come early! Lots of walking may do it! But if I do not go into labor on my own, I'm looking forward to having a "normal" C-section this time. And June 29th is perfect, because we will be home by the 4th of July, and can celebrate the holiday with Jake! So one way or another, we will get to meet our baby in less than 7 weeks!!! How crazy is that?!

In Jake news, we have officially gotten rid of the sleep sack at naptime/bedtime! We made his big boy bed even bigger by adding a box spring underneath his mattress, and finally gave him a real sheet! The weather has been warm lately, so it was the perfect excuse to tell him it was too hot for the sleep sack. Luckily, he bought it! The sleep sack has always been part of his sleep routine, and helped him stay in his crib/on his bed. So we were a little worried that giving it up would be difficult for him. But (knock on wood) it has been painless! Jake loved his "higher" bed, and loves being "tucked in" under his sheet! When the weather gets colder again we will give him a comforter as well, but for now, the sheet is perfect. Can't believe he is so big that he is sleeping in a "real" bed! If only we could get him to give up diapers that easily!

We have been amazed in the last few weeks at just how big Jake is getting. Not only does he seem to be growing at a rapid rate, he can now hold real conversations with us, and even asks pertinent questions! He loves to ask "where we going, mommy?" when we get in the car. He will ask what we need at the grocery store, and even ask follow up questions ("what kind of pasta we need?") He is very opinionated (surprise, surprise!) and has input on what he eats, wears and brings with him ("I need Finn McMissile in mommy's car.") And he will finally eat a PB & J sandwich! Which is great because it gives me another option for preschool lunches. I took him to get his hair cut by myself for the first time, and it went smoothly. He has outgrown his fear of haircuts, and actually looks forward to them because he knows he gets to watch Nemo and play with the toys at the salon! He likes to pretend to make dinner in his play kitchen, tell us what he's making and then and say "it's so yummy!" about his food creations. He has gotten the hang of his Spiderman ATV, and can press the pedal and steer properly at the same time! We thought that the difference between age 1 and 2 was huge, but the difference between age 2 and closer to age 3 is proving to be just as big. Jake will be 3 in a little over 4 months, and we can't wait to see what else our big boy will come up with by then!

Maternity Photos!

2012-05-03T23:21:00.001-07:00

Here are my faves from our recent maternity photo shoot! These were taken last Sunday when I was 29 1/2 weeks pregnant. My friend Mignonne of Miggy Photography (check out her website here: http://www.miggyphotography.com/ ) took these photos and I love the way they turned out! She's so talented, and even managed to make my huge belly look good! I love the mustard flowers in the background, and I especially love the one of Jake hugging the bump! How cute is that?! We are going to put the family photo in Penguin's room since it is our first "family of 4" shot! :) Thanks Mignonne for capturing such great memories for us! Can't wait until our newborn photo shoot!

Day out with Thomas!

2012-04-29T21:50:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy weekend! I feel like I'm always saying that :) Our first activity was the "Day out with Thomas" event put on by a local train company. Jake had a great time riding Thomas the train, getting a Thomas tattoo, playing in the hay maze, checking out the fountain, and hanging with his buddies Brayden, Dylan & Kyra! It was a hot day, and the outdoor event wiped us out pretty quickly, so we all headed out to lunch for some cold drinks, yummy food, and air conditioning! Sunshine, a train ride, and good times with friends made it a fun Saturday morning for the kiddos (and adults too!)

Thomas!

here he comes....chugga chugga choo choo

waiting in line with his friend Brayden

some views from the train:

posing with Brayden after the train ride is over

hanging out on the hay

goofing around with Dylan in the hay maze

trying to find his way out

checking out the fountain with "Princess"
Kyra

don't fall in!

mommy's little engineer

After Jakey napped on Saturday, we headed out to my cousin Kaitlyn's college graduation party. At first, Jake was a little overwhelmed by the huge party crowd (he was the youngest party guest there), but he warmed up pretty quickly. He had a blast playing with some of my younger cousins, and running around in the huge backyard. His favorite part may have been the cupcake :) I have to say, the cupcakes were delicious. I was bummed that I couldn't enjoy the margarita machine though!

As if Thomas and a party weren't enough for the weekend, we had to throw in another party on Sunday too! My friend Erica's daughter Zoe turned 3 this month, and Erica gave birth to her second daughter Kylee the same week! So they decided to have Zoe's birthday party at the end of the month. It was today, and they had Jake's favorite thing: a bounce house! He didn't have to warm up to this crowd at all - he walked right over to the bounce house and started jumping around with all the other kids. He also played with a kid size golf club/ball set and rode a scooter for the first time. He actually "golfed" and scooted pretty well! It was great to see Erica and meet baby Kylee (she's so tiny!) and help Zoe celebrate turning 3! In just 5 months, it will be Jake's turn to host the party, and he will be getting a bounce house too (of course)! And by then, we will have a 2 1/2 month old baby too! I can't wrap my brain around that yet.

Speaking of the baby, Jake made an art project this week for his baby brother! I gave him a canvas, some yellow finger paint, and a paint brush (he doesn't like painting with his fingers because it's too messy!) and he came up with his own masterpiece. It looks great on the wall in Penguin's room! Here are some photos of our little artist in action:

our Picasso at work

saying "cheese" while painting

check out his technique

the finished product!

I am headed toward 31 weeks and still feeling pretty good. And the best news of the week: Penguin is now head down! My neighbor went to school to become an ultrasound tech, and asked if she could practice on me because she hasn't done much scanning since she graduated. Of course I wanted to see the baby again, but what I really wanted to know was had he turned? He had! He is currently head down and I'm optimistic that he will stay that way. At this point, he still has room to turn again, but I'm hoping that he stays downtown!! If so, I will have the option of the VBAC which I'm hoping to try for. If he stays head down, he will already be much more cooperative than his older bro. Hopefully that is a trend!

30 1/2 weeks (hmmm, I must have gray & yellow on the brain!)

We also had our parent/teacher conference at Jake's preschool this week. It was way more thorough than I thought it would be, and they said Jake is doing really well. He listens to his teachers (this is amazing since he doesn't listen very well to his parents!) and participates in all the activities, and he patiently waits his turn for toys. Are you sure you're talking about our kid?! :) The one thing they are working on is getting him to walk in class. Apparently, he gets so excited that he runs all the time! Now that sounds like our Jake! But besides the running and his fear of going on the potty (his teacher said to back off on the potty training until he's closer to 3 because he's just not ready), he's doing great! He is friends with the other kids, and likes to greet them when they get to class. He loves to sing and learn new songs. He really likes his cooking class. He even helps clean up his own lunch! We're so glad he has adjusted this well to preschool, and that he is learning social and academic skills, and having lots of fun!