32 Things I Love about Jake

Tomorrow is Jake's birthday and since I am so on top of things this week, I am posting the night before! So here is this years edition of things I love about my husband. Mason wanted to get in on the action as well this year so I snapped some pics. Happy Birthday Jake/Daddy!

1. He makes me cream of wheat when I am sick or cold.

2. He loves to do yard work.

3. He gets excited every saturday night when a new Naruto is released in Japan and he can watch it on the computer.

4. Even though he is afraid of spiders, he still takes care of them because I am scared too.

5. He does laundry and the dishes.

6. He treats Mason so gently.

7. He has extreme patience when I try to cut his hair and then doesn't complain when I send him to Great Clips.

8. He watches no other sports other than Boise State Football.

9. He defers to me whenever he has to write something that might need a comma.

10. He has some great (re: crazy) ideas to combat global warming and shares them with me on a frequent basis. This week: "I think we should genetically alter all the trees in the world to have white leaves".

11. He doesn't expect me to make dinner or clean the house.

12. He cares about children other than his own.

13. He doesn't mind touching raw meat (something I refuse to do).

14. He will only take a multivitamin if it's of the children's chewable variety.

15. He's not opposed to pulling the kids out of school and going on a trip around the world (in ten years or so).

16. He loves devil's food cupcakes with milk chocolate frosting.

17. He will stay with Mason when he gets immunized and I am hanging out in the lobby.

18. He can find anything on the internet, even if it hasn't been released to the public yet.

19. He likes vegetables.

20. He calls me in the middle of class to make sure the baby got his medicine.

21. He wants Stephen Colbert to be president.

22. He eats a cheese quesadilla 3 or 4 times a week.

23. He genuinely likes my family (or at least I think he does).

24. He wants a dog but is not pressuring me to get one.

25. He puts his Ipod on like an article of clothing every morning.

26. He gets a little meloncholy every time there is a full moon.

27. He loves his family.

28. He is very patient with Mason and I.

29. He thinks the dremel I got him for his birthday is his best gift yet.

30. He likes to carry Mason around the house and show him things.

31. He is very dedicated to his education.

32. He tells Mason and I that he loves us at least once a day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year in Burley. We went to Aunt Colleen and Uncle Roland's house and I think I had the tastiest turkey of my life. So good! Mason had a great time playing with the kids, he loves kids the most. We have so much to be thankful for this year, especially our baby boy. We can't imagine life without him and feel honored to be his parents. He makes every day a true joy. We are also thankful for our good health, our fantastic families, friends, and the opportunities we have been given here in Boise. We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday and we love and miss those we haven't seen in a long time!

I've Got Mad Mothering Skills

I am quite proud of myself today and really feel like a mother. Mason slept more than normal yesterday and was rather cranky in his moments of being awake. Not that I would know first hand, as I was working my two jobs. He's spending the week at home with his dad though, so I am on the pulse of his activity. Anywho, I didn't like what I heard so first thing this morning I called the doctor and got him an appointment to be checked out. Even though he was perfectly fine this morning, I had a feeling something was up. Well, sure enough, baby has an ear infection! (Do not interpret the exclamation point as gleeful that he has an infection, but rather my glee at sensing something was wrong) It's still pretty small, and only in one ear so I think we (and that pretty pink amoxicillin) may be able to avert the crisis that had befallen baby Jackson. I should give some credit to KA for posting about Jack's ear infection, as it heightened my awareness. Hopefully my instinct has saved us from having a painful Thanksgiving. One funny thing, I met Jake and Mason at the doctor this morning and it was a very cold and snowy day in Boise. Mason looked ridiculously adorable in his fuzzy hat and I was quite impressed that Jake thought to actually put his winter hat on. I would have been even more impressed if he were wearing a jacket, or socks.

I Didn't Go to Disneyworld

That's right, I was in Orlando this week and I didn't even get to go to Disneyworld. Ridiculous. It was actually a week I would like to forget, starting with a red eye flight from LAX to Orlando on Monday night. I had been feeling sick to my stomach for a couple of days and ended up puking several times during that flight and all the next day in Orlando. I noticed people are not very excited to sit next to someone who is throwing up and I'm pretty sure they thought they were getting some kind of flesh eating virus just by being next to me. I was still very sick on my way back to Idaho, but this time I had a plan. As soon as I started throwing up I turned to the concerned woman to my right and said "Don't worry, I'm pregnant". Wow, what a difference those two words make. Not only were my fellow passengers much more sympathetic to my cause, but the flight attendants were as well when my neighbors explained why I was so ill. I had ginger ale and pretzels before anyone else, not that I was eating or drinking. Anywho, I remained home the rest of the week with this mysterious illness, but am happy to report I am feeling much better. Kudos to Jake this week, who was pretty much a single dad. We are very much looking forward to Thanksgiving!

Weekly Update

Our weeks are so packed these days that I actually can't think of anything to blog by the end of the week. Mason has been nearly perfect this week, except for the day he got his 6 month vaccinations and a flu shot. We'll let him slide on that day. He's just about to crawl, he likes to hang out either on his hands and knees or on his hands and toes. He only goes backwards right now, so we put him against the couch so he can't go anywhere. He's catching on to the fact that he can roll wherever he needs to go though, so we are almost in serious trouble. He is now in the 97th percentile for height (28 inches) and 50th for weight (18 pounds). He was pretty funny at the doctor because he wouldn't stop kicking his legs and jumping up and down. His doctor said "Well, he sure is an active little fella isn't he?" That could be why he's thinning out.

What else? Well, my dear husband taught me how to get advanced copies of Celine Dion and Leona Lewis and pretty much any other album I want so I am updating my Ipod as we speak. It's so handy to have an ultra computer savvy guy in the house.

I'll let you know how the new job is going, and what exactly it is that I do, in a week or so. The jury is still out, but I have been cleared to fly on the company jet, so I guess that's something.

I'd also like to give a shout out to my favorite cousin Jen and her family, who have just made the brilliant decision to relocate to Boise from Phoenix. We're pretty excited about it and now officially have family here!

Halloween

I know I am a bit behind, but it has been one very busy week. I am hoping to find that balance between work and home soon! Mason's first Halloween was pretty uneventful, other than the fact that Grandma and Grandpa Portela were up visiting. Mason wasn't really interested in being in his costume, so we weren't able to get a smile out of him on Halloween. However, he did smile all over the place the next day. We had just the right amount of candy, and were a big hit with the parents of the trick or treaters because we gave them York Peppermint Patties. We also got rid of all of the Tic Tacs and Life Savers we don't particularly care for. See, I forgot to buy candy until about 5:30 on Halloween night and there wasn't much of a selection by the time I got to the store. Whatever though, it worked out perfectly. I am no fan of Halloween in general, but I do love the little kids who are so cute and grateful for the candy. Politeness goes a long way with me and when a 3 year old says "Happy Halloween!"? Melts my heart!