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!