Simple Pleasures

I went to the Dr again yesterday. I had progressed a little from last time but she didn't seem to think that the baby was coming anytime this week. This was actually good news considering that Jaden and I both have colds to get over before the big arrival. The best part of going in for a check up is that Scott takes a long lunch to go with us and we always have a picnic afterwards.
Every morning when Jaden wakes up he frowns at me and says that he wants Daddy to get him up. Often times he doesn't believe me that Scott has actually left for work so we are forced to call him on the phone to confirm that he really is gone before Jaden will get out of his bed. So on days that we get to pick Daddy up from work and have a picnic are like Christmas for the kid.
Jaden actually has grown to really like going to the doctor as well. As soon as I step off the scale he climbs right up to see how much he weighs. Yesterday he was explaining everything to my doctor saying, "that is baby brother's heartbeat" and that "Mommy's belly is really big right now, when baby brother comes out Mommy's belly will be small." Thanks for the encouragement Jaden.

Jaden has taken it upon himself to always carry the cooler

We were so lucky that it was such a beautiful afternoon after a week of rain

I included a pregnant picture...put a fork in me, I think I'm done folks

And the dream comes to an end

Jaden hasn't been taking naps for several weeks now. He has always been pretty good at laying down in his bed and either napping or most recently playing in his bed. As frustrating as it was that he wasn't sleeping during his "nap time" I really couldn't complain because at least he stayed in his bed and had quiet time. The best of all was that he never got out of his bed until I went in to go get him, so I was able to enjoy a good hour (or more if he actually fell asleep) to myself.

Today the dream ended. I had put him down did a few dishes and was in the middle of cleaning toilets and out pops Jaden from his room announcing that "I woke up already". So now only 2 1/2 weeks before my due date I have a toddler who I fear has officially retired from quiet time.

Goodbye to getting house work done quickly.

Goodbye to wasting a little time on the computer.

Goodbye to taking a short nap in the afternoon.

Goodbye to sneaking in an unhealthy snack.

Goodbye to having uninterrupted reading time.

The bright side of the story is that when Jaden did wake up he was so darn cute that I could hardly be annoyed with him...
Jaden: Mommy I have an owie on my bum
Me: How did you get an owie there?
Jaden: Somebody hit me on my bum
Me: Who hit you?
Jaden: A guy...it was Daddy
Me: Honey daddy would never hit you
Jaden: Ummm I mean I have a scratch on my bum
Me: Oh no, you do?
Jaden proceeds to take off his underwear and lay down on the couch asking me to..."rub lotion on my bum please"

Go Football Game

Do you think this kid was in need of a haircut?

Chad and Amy came over this weekend to go to the University of Washington vs Boise State football game. Jaden loved having his cousins sleep over at his house. I think Jackson must have been giving Jaden some secret tips when we weren't around because yesterday Jaden took a black crayon and drew all over the t.v. Course I'd rather clean crayon off a tv then marker off a white wall any day.

I have to admit I wasn't really looking forward to the football game. It was an afternoon game and the thought of having to sit for four hours in the hot sun with a two year old on my lap sounded more like a hassle than a fun outing. I'm happy to report however that it was a successful adventure and we all had a great time. Scott was actually able to sit with us for the majority of the game and only had to leave at half time to "work". Our seats were under a cover so we were nice and shaded the entire time and best of all the boys did great the whole time. Jaden didn't care who was playing he kept shouting, "GO FOOTBALL GAME"!

As time goes on I'm becoming more of a husky fan, although I doubt I would have lost any sleep if they had lost the game. I finally own some UW gear, my mom got me a cute purse to take the games.



Maybe with time I will turn out to be a true husky fan like this lady who was sitting in front of us during the game.

The poor boys missed their naps so it didn't take long for all three of them to fall asleep in the car on the ride home.

Grandpa and Grandma Holt's Visit

Scott's parents came to visit from Preston this weekend. After spending the majority of Saturday watching the opening weekend of college football, including BYU's 20-7 win over Arizona (Scott's contribution to the blog), we spent the rest of the long Labor Day weekend seeing some sights around Puget Sound.
Jaden loves the water, so we went to a couple of beaches and two different lakes. We spent time throwing rocks in the water, riding paddle boats, swimming, wading, looking at boats, pretending to fish and visiting lighthouses. We were also able to fit in a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese's and several stops at nearby playgrounds.
Jaden loved all the attention he got from Grandpa and Grandma and is probably going to have a hard time adjusting tomorrow to it being back to just him and mom all day. All weekend long he kept saying, "this is so much fun!"

Reading books with grandma and grandpa after a long day

It's amazing how fast splashing around in your clothes can turn into splashing around in your underwear on a hot sunny day. We rented a paddle boat earlier in the day and this was Jaden's way of cooling off.

Feeding the ducks from the side of the paddle boat

Scott has passed on his love of lighthouses to Jaden

We all had a great time at Chuck-E-Cheese. Jaden loved having a pizza party and going on all the rides. He didn't care for the show too much considering his fear of over sized animals. In fact the next day he kept saying "chuck-e-cheese is scary". Scott got addicted to a basketball game in which he nearly took over the high score. Better luck next time Scotty.

Bonus Footage:

We were able to capture this amazing photo last night at the park. Turns out Grandma likes the playgrounds just as much as Jaden.

Congratulations Scotty!

I was at Target the other day and it struck me that it is that time of year again. The isles were crowed with students and their parents picking up school supplies and items for their new apartments. Not us though we were just there for some hand soap and hair gel. This is our first official year out of school.
Scott just turned in his last assignment a couple of weeks ago and his diplomas should be in the mail shortly. For those who may not know Scott just completed a dual masters program. He earned a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Sports Administration. Since we left Ohio University early to take this job at UW Scott didn't get a chance to attend graduation. I found some pictures of him from his BYU graduation two years ago and decided to post them as a substitution (and lets be honest - Scott enjoyed his time at byu much more than at ohio).

We seems to like to plan our babies around graduation time. This was taken about a month before Jaden was born and I'm about a month away now from our next baby being born.

Terrible Twos

We have had a pretty severe case of the terrible twos at our house this week. If Jaden wasn't having a meltdown then I would find him throwing his toys at the wall, jumping off the furniture, or hitting/climbing on me. Even having the missionaries over for dinner (which is usually a big treat for Jaden) didn't help matters. He spent most of dinner crying about his food being cut the wrong way or daddy was suppose to dish up his rice not mommy. It's been a nightmare...but I decided that it could be much worse.

Jaden really is a good boy and has been a very easy baby/toddler. Until this week he has always slept great during the night and at nap time. He isn't a picky eater and usually finishes everything I give him. As active as he always is, he will sit down and read books quietly with me when I need a rest. Potty training was a breeze.

Factoring everything in I really have been blessed with such a sweet boy. I just hope this little rut we are in goes away before little brother joins us and throws everything off again!

Earlier this week we were getting dinner ready and look over to find that Jaden had started to dish up his own food. We were lucky that it was just lettuce he got his hands on before we caught him.

Jaden is definitely my safety boy. He doesn't dare get on his bike or scooter without having his helmet on first. Often when I'm buckling him up in a shopping cart or in his car seat he'll say "safety first mommy".

Four years and counting...

Happy Anniversary Scott, I love you!