I Miss Monkey!

About a month ago my mother offered to watch Mason while I went to Phoenix. Then one day she called and offered to just keep him for the week until we got down to Bear Lake. I initially said "Um, I don't think so" but then I said I would talk it over with Jake and we would decide. Jake thought it was a fantastic idea and started listing all the things we could do together that we haven't done this summer. It took me a few days to warm up to the idea but I finally reluctantly agreed. Well, I haven't seen my baby for 5 days and I miss him terribly! I get so torn though because we have been able to get soooo much done and have had a lot of fun but every time I see or hear a baby I long for my monkey. We were initially not going to Bear Lake until Friday but we will be leaving bright and early Wednesday morning. We'd leave today but I have an appointment tomorrow that can't easily be rescheduled. It's really amazing to me how strong this whole motherhood thing is, I'm really quite fond of and attached to my child. Here's some pictures I took last week, I'm sure he looks totally different now...

My Brother, the Pilot

My brother Kyle told me that July was the perfect month to visit him in Phoenix, so I decided to take him up on his offer to show me a good time. He and his girlfriend Sarah, whom I failed to photograph for this post, took me out to their favorite italian restaraunt, which is in a strip mall right next to Bob's Guns and Pawn. Despite the location, the food was excellent. After dinner we got in the hot tub because there was a definite chill in the air. I believe the temperature had dipped into the low 90's.

Certainly the highlight of my trip was Kyle taking me flying. We had heard rumors that he was a pilot, but no one had actually seen him fly and the family elected me to go down and see if the rumors were true. I should note that Jake was the one dissenting vote in the matter. Anywho, I am happy to report that Kyle is not only a pilot, but a very good one at that. He did fight me a little when I requested a barf bag before take off "just in case". There wasn't one in the plane, and he said that I should just throw up in his backpack. Um, no. Go get me a barf bag. He walked all the way back to the terminal to get the bag that I am happy to report I never used. In fact, it was extremely smooth from take off to landing and I was never even the least bit nervous. We spent almost 90 minutes flying over the southern portion of Maricopa county and Casa Grande. Not a whole lot to see, but fun. I even got to fly the plane for a few minutes, which is actually easier than driving a car, but I didn't like the responsibility so I gave up the controls pretty quickly.

All in all my very brief trip to Phoenix was good times. I certainly don't miss living there though, it's just a tad warm and very humid this week with the monsoons. Those very monsoons caused many flights out of Sky Harbor to be delayed, which made my trip home turn into a 9 hour ordeal. But I am home safe and sound, and that's all that matters. Right Jake?

Me and my barf bag

The Summer of Visitors Continues...

Last week my cousin Jen came to visit with her family, which includes a husband and 3 children. They live in Phoenix but are relocating to Boise which makes us so happy! Our first family members in Boise! We spent a lot of time looking at houses, which was fun for me. We also took the kids to the Y and let them swim which was fun for them.

Two random things...

The kids love to drink milk with Nesquik in it. I do not drink milk, I can barely tolerate it on my cereal. However, I needed to taste it to make sure I made it correctly for the boys. I took a spoonful into my mouth and was quite pleased with the result. Lucky for me, they left the Nesquik in the pantry. I now look forward to my glass of chocolate milk every day, so tasty!

We went to look at houses on Saturday morning and Jake stayed home with Mason. I have him (Mason, not Jake) on a fairly strict morning routine which includes a bath. Jake has not ever given him his bath alone so I told him what to do and then got ready to go. He was bathing Mason as I was leaving so I ran in to tell him goodbye. I saw Mason laying in the bathtub full of water with his socks on.

Y-M-C-A

The West Family YMCA & Boise Aquatic Center

I have to say that the first thing that comes to my mind when someone says YMCA (after the song, of course) is the YMCA in downtown San Diego that I would pass on my way from the trolley stop to my building. It was kind of ghetto and I believe that people that were short on dough actually did stay there.

When my friend Sunny suggested we join the Y here in Boise we both looked at each other and thought "Just how poor does she think we are?" And besides, isn't the Y for young men? Ha! We decided to take a tour of the Y closest to our house and were amazed! Huge indoor pools with waterslides, a rock climbing wall, basketball and raquetball courts, jogging track, all kinds of cardio equipment, crazy! This Y is nicer than any gym we have ever belonged to, I can hardly wait to hit the sauna and steam rooms.

Of course we joined that day and since our only income is my unemployment, we paid a reduced fee to join. Sweet! The best part? They will watch Mason for 2 hours every day for $5 a month. Are you kidding me? We have already plotted to take advantage of this. Jake suggested we tell them we have triplets and then just take Mason (and Tyrone and Bubba) to the day care for 6 hours. I'll get the grocery shopping done and maybe take a nap. Anyway, they are super sweet there, they never set him down. We are afraid he might start preferring the Y to home.

So there you have it, we love the Y even though you can't get a good meal as the song suggests.

This week Mason has discovered his tongue. He licks everything, it's so cute. Oh, and since this is a journal of sorts I would like to state that he has been sleeping for 10-11 hours straight for the past 4 nights. Hooray!

Shot in the Leg

So Mason got his first immunizations on Tuesday and has just recently recovered. He was one sad and cranky baby, which is not a good time. I feel for people who have babies with colic. He was so good at the doctor, I had to step out of the room when he got his shots because he was just so cute and innocent looking around while Jake held him and I did not want to see his reaction to the 3 pokes in his leg. He cried and I cried. I had no idea it would be so traumatic.

When Mason was born he was in the 77th percentile for height and 51st for weight. Well at two months he is now in the 93rd percentile for weight (14 pounds) and the 30th percentile for height (23 inches), which means he is essentially growing out and not up. I find this very funny, and a contributing factor to why he is just so darling. The doctor said "you don't feed him every time he cries do you?" Um no, he is on a very strict feeding schedule well within all guidelines I have read for his age. "Well, he is a very healthy boy!" the doctor exclaims. Indeed!

Baby in a Bumbo!

For Mason's two month birthday we bought him a Bumbo, which is quite possibly the best baby invention ever. It allows him to sit up straight and look around. We are also quite proud of him because it says on the box that it is for babies 3+ months old, but our little guy has been able to hold his own head up for weeks now. He's obviously gifted.

I am quite excited as I have just figured out how to get Mason through his cranky morning hours. One part swing on high plus one part fairly loud country music on the stereo equals one very content baby!

While I am here, I would like to invite all readers of this blog (unless we don't know you at all, that would be weird) to our second annual birthday party at Bear Lake. For those of you who don't know, my birthday is on July 27 and my dear friend Dana's birthday is on July 31. What better way to celebrate than a day at the lake followed by a fantastic dinner at Steve and Peg's? This year we will be partying on August 4, since Dana will be in Hawaii the weekend before. Also, this year we will be blessing Mason at my parents church on Sunday, August 5th at 11:30 a.m.

I believe it was my friend Kristen who said "What could be cuter than a baby in a Bumbo"? See for yourself...

Friendly Fun

This week my friend Erin came up for her 2nd Annual 4th of July in Boise visit. We did all kinds of fun things like going to 3 movies in one day, eating at Donnie Mac's Trailer Park Cuisine where I had macaroni and cheese with hotdogs in it (delicious), floating the Boise River (which caused me to completely mess up my back and neck, such a rough ride) and watching the fireworks at Ann Morrison Park.

Coincidentally, Mason was born on Erin's birthday which is handy for when I am reading the horoscopes from the paper. We have a Taurus, a Leo and a Sagittarious in our family, if you were wondering.

One great thing about Erin is that she is an outstanding hairdresser so I get my semi-annual cut and color from her. I must say that my current cut and highlights are the best yet. I will post pics when I get the opportunity to wash my hair again, which could very well be into next week. Erin also taught me how to cut Jake's hair again. I say again because she tried to teach me last year and it ended with me in tears because I accidently shaved a section of Jake's hair down to the scalp which resulted in what I felt was a hideous bald spot, but Jake said it was fine and that his hair grew fast. Then I used my pregnancy as an excuse to not attempt it again because I didn't want the stress to hurt the baby. Well, this year she has taught me an easier way to do it and I will attempt it in 3 weeks and post the before and after pics.

Speaking of pics, here's some of Erin and Mason with the Bob Marley onesie she gave him.