21 months & a lot to be thankful for

Jared is now 21 months old and officially in his "terrible twos". He throws temper tantrums daily when he doesn't get his way. Mommy has been going a little crazy trying to deal with him some days. Good thing he is SO cute!

Despite the temper tantrums, Jared is also our little lover boy. He is a very affectionate little boy and will give us kisses whenever we ask for one (well most of the time we ask for one) which is so great and makes up for all the hard times.

Jared is talking more and more every day too (some words more clear than others). I think any day now he will start putting more than two words together. We also recently put away his high chair and put him in a booster which he loves!

Thanksgiving 2009

This year, we went with my Dad's side to Thanksgiving. Jared is so lucky to have not only amazing grandparents, but many great grandparents as well. Below is my dad's parents on Thanksgiving.

We missed all our other family members this Thanksgiving (we have a lot of family, so we are on a rotation) but had a great time this year in LA with my dad and the whole gang! We ate amazing food and I got to hold the newest member of the family Nina (my step sister's baby girl). Jared wasn't a huge fan of me holding her, but was obsessed with the baby and acted very worried when she cried. It was very cute.

My Dada and I on Thanksgiving.

My Auntie Allison and I on Thanksgiving

This is another one of Jared's great Grandma's (we call her GG)! He is so lucky to have not one great grandma, but 4 of them!!

What can I say about my mom--I am so thankful for her in so many ways. She is our saving grace for many free nights of babysitting, she has given me some great mom advice, she is one of my best friends and most of all, she loves Jared so much (what a lucky boy...he is so blessed to have so much family who loves him).

We are also so thankful for our great friends. One of our best friends are the McCoy's. We switch off doing date nights every other Friday which is great for so many reasons. One--this gives us both FREE babysitting. Two--we get a night to relax with our husbands child free. And three-- the boys get to play together. We just discovered Noah loves cars just like Jared!

I am also so thankful for my wonderful husband. He is such a great dad, husband, brother and friend! He works so hard to provide us with what we need and want out of life. We have been together for over 12 years and I love him more each day! Jared looks up to him so much and they are two peas in a pod!

20 Months and October Fun!

October has been quite a busy month for the Marchbank Family. Between work, family and friends, it is never a dull moment! The month started with a huge event I help put on at work (over 600 gymnasts and their families) followed by a trip to Arizona for web site training for a few days. While I was away in AZ, Jared's school called me saying he was not acting like himself (crying a lot and acting very sad) and wanted to know if something was different in his routine. I informed them I was away for work (and he saw me leave luggage and all) and was probably just missing his mommy. We are so lucky he goes to such a wonderful place that notices these things about our child and called right away. I was able to catch an earlier flight home to see my boys and all was well with him again (he just missed his mommy).

The weekend I came back from AZ, we spent a lot of family time (something we had been lacking for the past few weeks). We took Jared to the Irvine Railroad park and pumpkin patch (which is an awesome place to take your kids by the way). He had such a great time--he went on his first pony ride, picked out his pumpkin, jumped in the bounce house and spent quality time with his mommy and daddy. After the park, we stopped at Grandpa Greg's and Grandma Denise's house to say hi too.

For Halloween, Jared dressed up like a Dalmatian doggie (thank you Grandma Carla for the box of costumes!). We tried on the costume a few days before Halloween to make sure it fit and he cried when it was time to take it off! We explained that in a few days, he would get to wear it again and he seemed OK with that.

Our friends Lindsay, Eric and Noah invited us to tag along with them on Halloween. We went to her sister's sister-in-law's house who also has a little boy Nick (the one in the skeleton costume). It was so much fun to see all the kids in their costumes and Jared had a great time.

Now that Jared is 20 months old, he is really starting to talk a lot! He is like our parrot--whatever we say, he repeats. Every day his words become more clear and vocabulary a bit larger--I love hearing him trying to communicate. With this new found vocabulary also comes some temper tantrums. Many times (OK all the time) he knows what he wants but doesn't know how to communicate it yet, which frustrates him (and me) and those terrible twos start to emerge. Overall, he is such a little love--we call him our little love bug--he is always giving everyone hugs and kisses and is just the sweetest little boy. We love him so much!

Jared the Dalmatian doggie--Halloween 2009

Joys of having a toddler

Jared is now 19.5 months old and is such a toddler! He is now way past the walking stage--he runs everywhere!

He is learning and trying to say so many new words each day. If we ask him if he can say a word, he tries his best and sometimes the word comes out clear. We are teaching him to use his manners--please and thank you and so far, he is doing great. If we ask him to ask nicely he says "pees" or please and "tank you" which is so cute!

He also makes a lot of animal noises--he can bark like a dog, roar like a lion, moo like a cow and quack like a duck. Any animal we say, "what does a ____ say" and he tries to mimic the sound we do. Jared can also put two words together--"Hi Dada" are the two he says most. Sometimes he will say "Hi Nana" and for the first time yesturday he said "Hi Mama". He also says "more please."

Jared also loves to jump--on a bed, bounce house or trampoline. He is getting very good at it and jumps with both feet at the same time which is a milestone that a lot of kids don't get until much older (I know since I used to teach gymnastics to 3-5 year-olds).

Jared can also drink from a straw and is getting very good at feeding himself with a spoon and fork (with the left hand like mommy).

At the football game with my daddy--one of my favorite things!

On the not so cute side of toddler hood, Jared likes to throw food and is already throwing temper tantrums (I thought this was supposed to happen at 2 or later?) He gets in trouble at school and at home regularly for throwing the food he doesn't want on the floor across the room. He knows he isn't supposed to do it, but does it to see our (or the teachers) reaction. I am hoping he will out grow this phase quickly with some regular disciple.

We are so lucky to have such a smart, healthy and handsome little boy! We can't wait to see what comes next.

18 months-WOW!

On Aug. 31, Jared had is 18 month check up and boy has he done some growing in the last three months! Jared is now 34 1/4 inches tall and 27 lb. 4 oz! The Dr. says he is in the 95th percentile in height and 60-65th in weight (although with that belly of his I don't know how he is only in the 60th! His head is in the 90th as well. We have a big boy on our hands!

Now that he is a very active year-and-a-half, I thought I would take the time to describe some of his favorite things to do. Being a very large child, the first thing he love to do is eat! He eats so much and I don't know where he puts it. He eats more than me a lot of the time. I am going to have to keep on working to pay for all this food!

Another favorite is bath/water play. Last night we watched our friend's son Noah so we gave them a bath together and they had a blast! Noah would hand Jared a toy and Jared would say "tank tooo" which means "thank you". It was so adorable!

Here he is playing with the outdoor water faucet. Forget the blow up pool--he is just as happy to play with that for an hour or more or run through the sprinklers.

The park is another favorite past time. We go to this park by our house very frequently. He loves going down the slides all by himself and of course going on the swings. But the best thing about this park is all the people who live by it, bring their dogs there to run around since land space is sparse in downtown HB. He loves going to visit all the dogs (after mommy makes sure they are nice dogs). He ditches the swing and slides for the dogs once he sees them and chases them everywhere yelling "doggie" and laughing.

His other loves are cars and airplanes or "airpane" as he says. Every time one flies over our house he runs outside to watch it in amazement. He has many toy cars and trucks that he drives around the house and makes a grrrrrrrr sound (it is really cute).

Jared and Jerry are like two peas in a pod-they both love cars, planes and music. I like these things too just not to the same extent. So every Saturday they go to a car show together (which gives mommy some time to work out and run a few errands--a win/win for everyone)! Every night, Jerry plays the guitar for Jared and he just loves it! Jared plays on Jerry's gutiar which he gets a kick out of. I am sure the older he gets, more male bonding activities (sports) will follow which means I need to get some more hobbies!

And last but not least, he loves people. He just loves all the great people in his life--mommy, daddy, all the grandparents and great grandparents, aunts and uncles and our long time friends. We are all so lucky to have such great family and friends in our lives! We love you all!

Our vacation--or staycation

On Aug. 17, we were supposed to take our first family vacation to Maui with my mom and sister. We were all packed and ready to go when Jared suddenly starting acting very sick. So on Sunday night we took him to Urgent care with a full body rash, a cough and a very fussy baby to see what they could do for him before our vacation.

The Dr. there didn't seem to know what the rash was from--she called it a "viral rash" and was surprised he never had a fever. They tested his oxygenation levels and they were at 95--they want them at 99-100. So they made us give him a breathing treatment for 10 minutes (such a horrible experience). We had to tie Jared down while he was screaming and hold a mask over his face! They checked him for strep (which he didn't have) and checked his ears-- he had a mild ear infection too, so they put him on amoxicillan for 10 days and prescribed an inhaler for his breathing.

Needless to say, we cancelled our Maui vacation. What timing Jared has! I guess it is just part of having kids--you can never plan anything! Jerry and I will have to use the airline credit by May 2010 since they don't give refunds.

Two days later, Jared was back to his happy self so we decided to go on a "staycation" and headed down to San Diego.

We stopped at the outlet mall in Carlsbad and he drove a car (his favorite thing)! Jared also got some cute Baby Gap gear for cheap.

Then we got to the hotel and rested for while--Jared just loves laying on the BIG bed.

We met Jerry's mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa) at the Old Spaghetti Factory in San Marcos which is always fun. The next morning we took Jared to the Wild Animal Park which is such an amazing place! He loved playing in the water area there and looking at all the big animals. We took a tram ride so we could see more animals than we could by foot and Jared did very well. He kept saying "hi" to the lady behind us which was cute (but it probably got old for her really fast).

After the Wild Animal Park, we drove back home and Jared was sooooo sleepy.

Disneyland Birthday Fun!

On Tuesday, August 4, my mother-in-law Carla celebrated a birthday. What better way to celebrate then a day at Disneyland with the family (plus she got in free thanks to Disney's promotion this year)! We had such a great time together and Jared was such a trooper even though it was soooo hot! The best (most expensive) purchase of the day was the $17 squirt bottle fan (FYI Walmart sells them for $6 so bring your own!) but it was worth it at the time.

Jared sitting like a big boy on the Whinnie the Poo ride.

Waiting in line at the Haunted Mansion.

After Disneyland we had Italian food at Hous of Pizza (yum)! What a great way to end the night! Happy Birthday Carla!

Silly faces and summer fun!

Jared starting doing what we like to call a "super silly face." My mom and I discovered it one night while giving him a bath. He squeezes this penguin that squirts water and while he does it, he make this hysterical face! Now he will do it on cue...if someone says, "Jared, show me your super silly face," he does it! We laugh so hard every time so he must love the attention he gets from doing it. Next time you see him, ask him to do it for you--you will get a good laugh!

Jared just loves cars (just like his daddy)! So one morning I decided to put him in the driver's seat of my car for a few minutes while we waited for Jerry (and so he could drive like mommy does). Just look at his face! He's like, "what up mom...I am so cool!"

We took Jared to the Orange County Fair a few weeks ago and of course had to take him into the petting zoo. He loves animals (and calls everything that has fur a doggie which is so cute) and he had a blast feeding the goats, pigs and sheep. Jared and I then shared a giant turkey leg (a first for both of us) and then we walked around and all got over-stimulated looking at all the lights, games, rides stuffed animals and fried everything. We also tried the new Mexican Churro which is just like a regular one but they put cinnamon and sugar on it--yummy but sooo rich and heavy.

16 Months and good times

At the Aquarium of the Pacific

Jerry and I took Jared to the Aquarium of the Pacific for the first time recently. Jerry won some tickets at work so we decided to go since Jared loves animals and the fish at his school, but I think he was just too young for the whole experience. He was more interested in running around the place into the crowds of people and have us chase him. He did like putting his hands in the water to try and touch the sting rays, but 16-month-olds don't have very large attention spans so that was very short lived. We stayed for about an hour or so and then waived bye to the Aquarium...next aquarium will be Sea World where they have more to do for kids his age!

School Update:

Jared has been going to his new school now for three weeks and yesterday when I dropped him off, we had no tears for the first time! He was happy to go there and even waived bye to me with a smile. This is quite a relief knowing he is adjusting well and is starting to like it there. He also slept for almost two hours which means he is feeling comfortable--YEAH!!

Jared's first day of school

On Monday, June 22, Jared started daycare three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) at the Orange Coast College Harry and Grace learning center. I have been very nervous about this transition because Jared has never been in a group daycare environment before. I have always had a nanny at our house and once a week I would take him to a lady's house for 6 hours, so I didn't know how he would react to the new schedule.

Day 1:

When we first got there, he was happy to see all the new cool toys and the fish tank. He wanted me to let go of him so he could go explore so I did. They serve breakfast to all the kids there, so they sat him down with Cheerios with milk and bananas and he was happy. I told him I love him and that I would see him later after work. When I left he was fine.

I called to check on him at my lunch time and they said he cried when he realized I wasn't there anymore. Also, the napping arrangements didn't work for him (they sleep on mattresses that are on the floor behind a half wall) so he went outside and slept for 25 minutes on a pillow. I guess he wasn't comfortable in the room.

He did eat a good lunch and snack and had fun playing with all the new toys (they have lots of cars which he loves). Overall, they said he did very well for his first day. He was so happy when Jerry and I came to pick him up (and I was just as happy and anxious to see him)!

Day 2:

I dropped him off and he was happy when we first got there. I signed him in and then it was time to say our goodbuys--this is when the tears came and broke my heart. :( I wan't to cry too but I told him I love him and his daddy will pick him up later.

I called at lunch again and they said he was doing great. He slept for one hour in the room--they gave him a bear this time which is what he sleeps with at home) and he didn't cry for long after I dropped him off. They did say he cries ever time the door opens (when he sees that it isn't me, he starts to cry which breaks my heart again).

They say it takes a couple weeks and he should be more used to the new schedule, so I am hoping they are right! I don't know if I can take seeing him cry every time I drop him off because I feel like such a bad mom. I think Jerry and I should rotate dropping him off so I am not always the one leaving him there.

Stay tunned and wish us a better week next week!

15 Months and a new school

Jared had his 15-month check up on Monday. He is doing so great and getting so big! He is still in the 85th percentile in height (32 1/2 inches) and is now in the 65th percentile in weight (25lbs. 4oz). He has started to slim down now that he is running around and so active. The way Jared eats, he must have a metabolism like Jerry--he can eat whatever he wants and as much as he wants and still stays thin (must be nice).

Where Jerry works, they have an awesome child care center (the OCC Harry and Grace Steele Child Care Center) that we knew we wanted him to go to at some point, so we put his name on the waiting list when he was 10 weeks old knowing it could take a while for him to get in. I received a call this week that they have an opening for three days a week-- Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays, so we decided to accept the spot and he will start attending on June 22 when he is almost 16 months old. I can take him in the morning any time between 7:30 and 10 am and Jerry will pick him up at 5 after he is off work.

We feel this is going to be great for him--he loves to learn and is very smart and with my work, I feel I can't give him enough of what he needs as long as I have this job responsibility. I will still have him all day on Tuesdays and our nanny will come on Thursdays to help me out. I can still work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays--I will just have a little more help now which I need with such an active little boy, a full time job, a house and a husband to take care of!

The center is so great--they have animals that the kids can pet and take care of, a garden where they can plant fruits and veggies, the school's catering department prepares breakfast, lunch and a snack for all the kids with the menu selected by the school's nutritionist to ensure proper nutrition for the different ages and so much more. Jared and I are going on a tour on Tuesday so he can meet the teacher. They are going to show us around the facility so Jared can get familiar with it and also show me a sample of what he will be doing all day. Stay tunned!

Jared's First (of many) Baseball Game

Jerry and a couple friends have season tickets this year to the Angels. One of his friends couldn't go, so we all got to go as a family last night which was really fun! Jared was so excited and loved all the lights and sitting in his own big boy chair.

He ate Subway and even had some potato chips. It was so cute to see him clap when they were doing the Angel's line--when everyone would clap he would look around and start doing the same--then he started dancing with the music!

There were a couple little boys around us and he gave one little boy a high five (so cute)! Jared really wanted to drink what Jerry had (a beer) so once he finished it, Jerry gave him his cup (don't worry it was empty) which Jared thought was so cool!

Jared and I left after the fourth inning when he started to get tired. Overall, he did really well and we had a blast! I am sure he will be going to many more baseball games.

Happy Mother's Day!!

I want to wish all the mom's out there a Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all enjoy your day.

For some of the mom's in my life, it is their first Mother's Day and I want to wish you all a very Happy First Mother's day!

Jared's First Disneyland Adventure!

On May 2, our whole family went to Disneyland to celebrate my mom's birthday. My sister Allison, her boyfriend Kyle, Jerry, myself and Jared all went to the happiest place on earth! And boy was it ever! It was Jared's first time there and he just loved it--and we all loved seeing how happy he was there too.

He was such a trooper the whole day and went on lots of rides--his favorite was Small World for sure. He danced around the whole time, and studied everything.

He also went on Pirates, Haunted Mansion, the new Pooh ride and the merry-go-round. With only a 30-minute cat nap the entire day, you would never know by how happy he was. We thought he would fall asleep so fast that night, but it took him over 30 minutes to actually fall asleep! I guess he couldn't stop thinking about all the excitement and new things he saw! I do know that Jerry and I were exhausted after spending over 7 hours there with a toddler, but it was worth it for sure. I will be getting a pass soon so we can go often with all our friends who has passes but for shorter time frames. :)

Daddy and Me Swimming

Last night was swimming again and Jared just loves swimming with his daddy! He does so much better in the water with Jerry--he probably feels safer plus dads are just more fun!

Jared just loves his humpty dumpties (sat on the wall and had a great fall into the water that is)--he was so excited and kept say "dat" and pointing to the wall so Jerry would put him back on it so he could jump in the water!