Tis the Season for Napping

Winter seems to have arrived here in Atlanta. Tonight we are supposed to see our first true freeze ith the possibility of snow and the days have been pretty cold (by our measure) recently. So far jake has not seen snow but if he doesn't see any by Christmas we may have to go up to Mount Hood for a day trip when we come to Portland. Jake at first would have nothing to do with gloves and hat but now wears them all the time when going out. Kili and Hobbes are taking every opportunity to get warm whenever we are around as you can see below. Even Jake couldn't resist sleeping on the couch with Mandy. We decorated the living room and tree today. So strange since this is our first Christmas on the mainland in 6 years.

Thanksgiving in Iowa

Here are some pictures of Jake helping TomTom with the flag pole, Jake helping Aunt Barb and Ava clean vegetables, and Jake giving Scooter a hug under the blanket. It was pretty cold and Jake learned to love his new coat, hat, and mittens:





We had a really nice time at Aunt Barb and Uncle Marv's house for Thanksgiving. We were able to see Great Grandma Sue and Great Grandpa Gary AND Great Grandma Weezie. Grammy Kris, TomTom, and Aunt Heather were there, too. We saw Adam, Kelly, Jacob, Luke, Katie, and Ava as well as Uncle Dan and Aunt Renita. It was a great, restful weekend. Here is a video of some Wii play:

Happy Birthday Jake

Jake had his birthday party today. We had a few firends and their kids over for dinner cake and presents. Thank you to all who have sent things for Jake, even the ones that make loud noises. Jake learned to open presents and blow out his candles as you can see. mandy took him for his 2 year appointment yesterday and he was 36 inches tall and 33.5 pounds (yes he has a lost weight from the week long gastroenteritis) I think this is the first time his height in inches exceeds his weight in pounds since he was a few months old.

The Nanny search is on...

Scott and I are finally at the end of our daycare rope. Jake has been sort of sick for the last 5-6 days and they've rejected him twice. Well, rejected is a strong word, I know, but still he is not wanted when he is sick. Understandable, yes. We're using Sittercity.com and we've found some good candidates, but the interview process is just beginning. We have a few friends who have Nannies and they've had good experiences so we're hoping for the same and not some scary person. If anyone knows of a Nanny in Georgia or wants to move to Georgia to become a Nanny, please let us know!

Happy Halloween

Courtesy of Grammie Cuda we had a new costume for Jake this year. Unfortunately the pumpkin was too small and Jake wasn't willing to squeeze into it. With some convincing we were able to get him to wear the superman costume. It took some more convincing to get him to go and knock on a random door and ask for candy but after he found out how simple it was to get free candy for mommy he was readlly excited. I even let him have a few pieces of chocolate.

A Visit With Christine and Frank

Mandy and I went to the AAP together for CME and education this year. We brought Jake with us and stayed with Christine and Frank and Parker. It was a good time and we wish we had more time to spend with them and vistiting other old friends we have not seen in a while. It was a great time for Jake who not only has an old playmate about the same age as him but tons of new toys to play with. I think he might have at least learned what sharing is. Next step is to get him to share with other kids. Both Parker and Jake love cars but fortunately there was enough to go around most of the time. I am also pretty sure Parker influenced Jake to start using many more words. Jake is now counting to 3 with prompting and learned to say "no" among many other new words this weekend. I took some pictures and video of them together for our families and for Addie who I know would like to see them. Bobby and Bob got to meet Jake for the first time as well and we have several good pictures from dinner ar their house.

The videos are from today when Jasmine (the nanny) and I took the boys to the park and hen after lunch. I am not sure if Jake was trying to hug Parker or wrestle but it was pretty funny.

Oktoberfest....In Las Vegas

Our first vacation of the year drastically changed as soon as we left for the airport. Everyone tries to maximize their vacations and we are no different. We had plans to fly to Las Vegas on Friday night to meet up with Grandpa Tom and Grandma Kris. Unfortunately Mandy was running late at the clinic. No big deal, I went to go pick up Jake from daycare had him ready to go in the seat and unfortunately the Xterra wouldn't start. Our flight was scheduled to leave in just under 2 hours and Mandy quickly rearranged my flight until Saturday morning so I could stay back and get the car towed. I was able to get her and Jake to the airport just in time to make the flight and had already talked to the dealership about dropping the car off before they closed at 2000 but so far no tow truck. USAA covers an 11 mile tow radius and the dealership was about 14, no big deal I thought. I told the dispatcher that I could pay the 10 dollar overage fee in cash. Instead of sending the tow truck she had sent another few people in a ford explorer to get the cash first. I still could have made it to the dealership on time however the people in the Ford explorer decided to give the gate guards on base a hard time and were in the process of being kicked out. It took me a while to figure out that the tow truck wouldnt come until I payed the fee upfront becuase drivers for this company were not allowed to handle cash. Long story short I can't drop the car off becuase it is now too late, and eventually get the car towed back to our house that is in fact within the 11 mile radius late at night. At this point after meeting the drivers I am just happy to have the car back at home in one piece. I didn't find this out later but Mandy did an amazing job getting herself and Jake from the airport in Vegas to the hotel with all the luggage and baby gear. Thankfully Jake was a good sport and random people were willling to help her out.

After I arrived the next morning I found out that her Grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer on Friday. This caused another change of plans. We decided to all go to Iowa instead and spend time with the family instead of driving south. With the help of Orbitz and my laptop I arranged tickets to Iowa and another return flight to Phoenix (our return flight to Atlanta is from Phoenix). Jake got to fly to Indianapolis with Tom and Kris and then drive to Iowa while Mandy and I stayed in Vegas for one more night. Before we left everyone went out to the Hofbräuhaus in Vegas. Jake has grown into his Lederhosen from Wolfgang and Ellie and was an immediate hit with the servers.