Thank you for Stalking

Just a bit of an update for all of you blog stalkers (you know who you are – leave a comment so we can know who you are as well!).

I am back at Vanguard as Maria mentioned in her blog a while ago. I am in the third of four weeks of training now. I hope that this year the job last longer and that it ends more positively – we will just have to wait and see.

Maria is now on short term leave at her doctor’s recommendation so that she can be well rested and relaxed for when our little girl comes. She is enjoying her “nesting time” and loves being home with Davis. She is so ready for this baby to come but is still about two weeks out from her due date. We were going to have a baby shower but planning fell through and it never came to fruition. We are now too close to the birth day and notice would be too short to throw one together now. Maybe we can have people over again for dinner like we did for Davis last year and you can all bring us gifts then!

Davis is teething and still as crazy as ever. I am so glad I had the opportunity to be home with him for as long as I was but at the same time I am so glad to be out of the house and in the work force again. Our little girl is almost here and we still have not decided on a name!

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it makes me think back to last year's feast (at Panda Express) and all the work that went into our basement this time last year. This year our house is in much better shape and able to accommodate a lot of family which will be fun.

Some of you might not know that I am a lover of all things Christmas. Our lights and tree are up and Christmas music is streaming via Pandora and the radio. Maria has a pinch of Grinch in her but I am winning her over. She was not excited about the lights going up the first week on November and the tree the second week but last night she admitted that the tree has a calming effect and that she enjoys having it up.

As a kid we would get an enormous live tree and I remember the many hours it would take to decorate it all. I had fun going with my dad to the plant to get a ladder tall enough to place the angel at the top. We would string lights, garland, and put a big wreath on the door. I loved it all. I remember one year as a child our family did not do much in preparation for Christmas and I took matters into my own hands. I found myself outside in the snow on Christmas Eve stringing lights by my self and decorating a house plant as a tree.

Now as an adult homeowner I want to go overboard. I would like a tree for our front room, family room, media room, and master bedroom. I want to animate our house lights and blow our circuits each time I plug them all in. I want bells, wreaths, garland, nut crackers, bells, sleighs, candles, snow – the whole works! The only things holding me back now are finances, time, and energy. I will collect a little here a little there and will build up my Christmas Empire one year at a time.

This started out as an update but morphed into a message from Christmas past, present and future. We are doing well and will try to blog a bit more regularly.

Birthday Party

We celebrated Davis' 1st birthday and Mia's 2nd birthday a few weeks ago. We all headed over to turtle park in our neighborhood and ate beans/fritos and hotdogs. Lots of friends and family were there to join in the fun of the park and food. Davis made out like a bandit with all of the wonderful gifts. Most every toy either sings or talks! I can't wait till the batteries go dead. :) Davis loves them! Thank you Karen for the yummy chile beans, to Karen Esther for the charcoal, and to John and Kelly for the drinks. Thoughtless me forgot the camera so Karen sent over a few of Davis eating his little cake. As you can see Davis is not to sure in the beginning till Jake was able to get some frosting in his mouth and then the cake didn't stand a chance.  

My College Graduate!

As of October 18, 2009 Jake finished his last class for the Bachelors of Science in Business Administration at Walden University. We won't be attending commencement in Dallas, TX in January but this does not negate the fact of how excited we are that Jake has finished. Jake has accomplished a heavy and crazy load of classes since starting in January. He took about 24 semester credit hours every two months. He was able to get through over 2 years of curriculum in a little less than 10 months by taking more than double the recommended classes per quarter. I can witness this took many hours of study and devotion on his part. There were many days that I would come home from work, Jake would hand off Davis, and then go straight to the office and study till late into the night. I am amazed that he was able to do this while being a wonderful full time Dad, husband, cook, and house keeper. Eventually when I am a stay at home Mom I will have big shoes to fill. Talking about the role reversal Jake mentioned that we have had the unique opportunity to understand one another's frustrations, struggles, and accomplishments when it does come time to switch it up. What a blessing this will be to us as a couple.


Today Jake actually started back at Vanguard for a temporary position during tax season. It will be nice because the position will allow him resources to actively look for a job while he is there. It is our hope that he will be able to find something that will allow him to gain experience and eventually the opportunity for me to stay home with the kiddies. I am so grateful for the sacrifices that Jake has made to earn his degree. It has been a hectic and very expensive venture and he will more than likely start the Masters degree shortly to defer loans. :) I know this investment in his future will pay off in the long run especially when there upturn in the economy.

There have been so many people that have been an integral part of Jake's success. Thank you Karen and Mike for always supporting Jake's decision to do the bachelors degree and for the financial support with tuition. Thank you Karen, Mom, Kelly, Lara, Katie, Karen, and Kirsten for all of the help and especially with watching Davis during these past few months as well... we could not have gotten through this without you.

Jake, I am so proud of you and all your efforts! Thank you for being the man of my dreams!

Getting My Green On

We did not get enough grass to cover our entire back yard and Maria has wanted a garden for some time now (even when we were in the condo she was wishing for one).  We figured the area that would not be grassed could be used for a garden.  Maria and I were very honest with ourselves and admitted that gardening on our hands and knees would not be enjoyable and that it would be unlikely that we kept up the garden if it was uncompfortable. 

We began to make plans to make a raised garden and I watched several videos and read blogs on how to best do this.  Maria suggested that I call her dad who just put in a raised garden to pick his brain for ideas.  Maria and I lucked out and discovrered that he had 60 blocks left-over from his project and said we would have them!  My parents brought them down with them on Friday and I put it all together today with the help of my dad, Quentin, and Davis. 

The last elemement to the garden before I can plant is dirt.  Maria and I lucked out here because we even have a friend who is willing to donate some perfect crap filled dirt to the cause.  So far we have grass and a raised garden yet we are only about 60 bucks into this backyard renovation project!  We feel very lucky to have such great friends and family and are happy to have a yard where Davis and "baby girl" will be able to play.  Those who saw our yard a year ago know exactly how far it has come and it has been the help of many to make it what it is (or will become!).

Happy 1st Birthday!

Dear Sweet Davis,

I can't believe how fast this year has gone by. It was a year ago today that Daddy and I were at the hospital at 2am, nervous and excited for your arrival. Even before coming to the hospital I was actually having contractions before being induced. You were going to arrive on Oct. 21st induction or not, which is also the birthday of your Great Grandpa Davis and your official due date. My water broke around 6am and that is when the contractions started. Only a short time of labor you were born around 10:30am. The doctor put you on my chest and I stared in amazement at my chubby little boy. You had lots of brown hair on your head and weighed in at 8lbs. You had a hearty appetite from the get go and your Daddy and I felt so blessed to have our little boy.

It seems that you are advanced in everything you do. It is crazy to think that you were crawling by 5 months and walking by 9 months. It scares me when you crawl up the kitchen chairs and onto the kitchen table and climb up and down the couches. Also, scares me when you try to stand up in your high chair and climb out. I am already afraid that there will many trips to the emergency room as you are such a dare devil. You are so smart because you know when I tell you to “sit down” in your high chair and repeat it back to me mockingly. You make me laugh when I tell you “Shhh” and you “Shhh” me right back. Your smile melts my heart and the best part of my day is when I come home from work and you come running to me with your hands in the air. You won’t kiss me or Daddy back very often but when you do it is accompanied by a head butt. I love to hear you laughing and talking in the background when I call home during the day. You are such a happy and delightful boy.

The only regret and guilt I hold over the past year is that I wasn’t able to be with you as much as I wanted. The first day I had to go back to work after your were 8 weeks old I held you and cried and cried before leaving. I cried all the way to work and during work. I felt such remorse leaving you. Even now when I work my 8pm late night and you have been fast asleep for two hours before I get home, I pick you up in your crib and hug and kiss you. The one to two hours that I see you each day during the week is not enough and I look forward to the day when I can play all day everyday with you. It was only until Daddy was able to stay home with you that some of that remorse has subsided. He loves you so much and you two have such a special bond. Daddy jokingly says that you are his and that I can have the rest of your future brothers and sisters.

Bishop met with our little family not long ago and said that those feelings and desires to be a Mother are not a coincidence and I have felt since your birth that it is my purpose here on this earth. Because of this I know I will never feel right about being away from you as I have been over the past year. I know it will not be this way forever and I love you my sweet Davis with all my heart and look forward to celebrating all of your Birthdays with you.

Love,

Mommy

Food Challenge!!

This should give you all an idea of what Davis' diet consist of - all this came off his high chair and the floor.  How many things can you identify?

A Day in the Life of... (3rd ed.)

"Day in the life of..." first and second editions seemed to be pretty popular and was a great way to free up some memory on my cell phone so I am doing it again. These are just random pics from the adventures of Davis and Dad.

Davis, Aubrey, Lara and I spent the day out and about and stopped for a treat. I asked Aubrey if I could have some of here ice cream and this was the look I got. She later shared the wet soggy paper wrapper with Davis I threw it back at her and it stuck to her forehead - I wish I had captured the look she gave me then! It was shock, confusion and anger all at once. Priceless.

Davis enjoyed playing outside of Mommy's work the other day. He even tried chasing a roadrunner when he could not catch it he set up a trap with lots of bird seed and ACME TNT. That did not work either - tricky little bird.

Davis prefers his hair to be "business up front and party on the top". He even has a little rats tail sprouting in the back.

I tell ya, this boy likes his pizza!

Got an email from the EQ president saying that a family needed help hauling stuff to the dump and that it had to be done that same day by three. At noon I got another email saying it still had not been done. Davis and I went over and loaded up all the stuff and took it to the dump. I am not even sure it was legal for me to drive like this but we managed to get all the junk to the dump.

Davis loves his cousin Yerbua. She can be ruff and tuff at times but he always has a good time with her. The two of them love banging on the piano - it is fun for Davis to have so many cousins so close in age and proximity.

After Davis fell in the water at the hospital Katy and I tried everything to keep him distracted and dry including some saltine crackers that Katy just happened to have in her purse (another sign that she was prego that I did not pick up on I am sure! - Maria used saltines to get through morning sickness spells)

The whole gang (except for the traveling love birds and Josh who is in the Army) got together for General Conference weekend. We made and ate a ton of Navajo Tacos at our house on Saturday then had spaghetti and pasta at Lara's house on Sunday. It was a nice weekend.

That's our goofy boy!

Davis and I have been going to the park a lot more lately (another blog in the making - just waiting on pics). It cooled off a ton last week and this week has started to warm up again so we have not gone yet. He really likes the park except when I threw him down the tunnel slide. He managed to flip oven on his stomach and was clawing at the slide; I was afraid he would not make it to the bottom and I would have to fetch him from someplace in the middle.

Davis, Yerbua, Lara, and I on our adventures together mentioned under an earlier picture found ourselves at the mall. Yerbua and Davis had a ton of fun until Yerbua spotted all the other kid's shoes that had been removed and placed in a bin for safe keeping. Those who know Yerbua know she loves shoes! Once she spotted the shoe Mecca she wanted nothing more to do with the slides and toys and sat on the bench and pouted when I told her she could not play with the shoes.

Davis had so much fun at the mall. He was one of the smaller kids but held his own. He liked climbing up to the top of the slide. I think it was here that he mastered climbing up stairs.

Davis had too much fun with Katy and had to go down for a nap. I like this pic because he looks so long!

Don't tell CPS, DPS, or any other [blank]PS but we have had Davis in his forward facing carseat for a week or two now. This picture was his first time and he was trying to take it all in. I think he really likes it and enjoys being able to see everything as we go by.

Davis really likes his cousin Baylee too. She has been over a couple of times over the last few weeks. Kelly said that Baylee drives her nuts (pun intended) talking about "Davis, Jacob, and Maria" and always wants to come over to visit - she is welcome any time! Davis is attempting to crack the nut by using his laser vision.

While babysitting Baylee I cracked some nuts for her. The first was an Acorn and she asked for a second. After the two acorns she asked for the large black kind (don't know the real name... and I am not about to google "large black nuts"), she didn't like that one as much. We moved on to an Almond and she liked that one but did not want a second. Next she handed me a Walnut, she lost patience with me as I tried removing all the nut from the shell and the Pecan was a repeat situation. She went back to the Acorn and ate two more before I told her "that's it."

Wanting to get out of the house and do something I found myself on a used car lot. We have no money or any intention of buying a car but the salesman did not need to know that. We drove a Toyota Sienna and a Toyota Tundra four door. I really like the truck (duh) and Davis seemed to as well. (PS - sorry for wasting an hour and a half of your time Mr. Salesman)

Yerbua came over to play and after making a mess of her clothes at dinner we found some PJs for her - a tie dye shirt and gray sweat pants. She really like the outfit, so much so that the next day she was still wearing it when we went to visit her!

Don't Step on the Grass!

Yesterday Maria and I were trying to figure out how we wanted to spend our evening when I got a call from John who said a co-worker had grossly miscalculated his square footage when doing his yard and had about 700 sqft of sod left over! Quentin and I drove over and loaded the sod in his and my trucks and brought it home. Todd came and helped me clear the weeds, rocks, and debris. We started to lay sod about 8:30 pm and worked until I threw the extension cord in a puddle of water shorting out the outlet that powered our flood lights.

The puddle was from our neighbors yard that went crazy. Before going to bed I went to the house next door and turned off their water (take that!) The house is actually vacant so I don't think it is too big of a deal. The next day we went out to finish and found even more water - so much that we could no longer get out the gate into the front yard! I talked to my neighbor on the other side and told him the situation. He agreed to let us take the sod into his backyard and throw it over the wall into our backyard! It was a ton of extra work but kept us from loosing a ton of free sod!

With a little help today we finished and now have a grassy backyard! We just can't step on it for a month or so.

I have more pictures to come of Davis playing in the mud and on the grass. Have to wait til I get a mouse for the other computer though.

58 Days To Go

That's right! Only two more months to go and Baby number 2 will be here. Time has flown by and I can hardly believe that we will have another baby around the house. I am just starting to really "show" and most people here at work are surprised to find out I am pregnant and at how far along I am. I assure you I feel like I am 8 months pregnant. I feel good most of the time, just the regular aches and tiredness of the third trimester. My anticipation has started to escalate since Felicia and Quentin's baby girl, Jayden, was born this past week. She is so cute and sweet from the pictures and I can't wait to hold her.

We still haven't decided on a name yet. We like the names Laurel Ellen and Daphne Mckay. We will keep you posted...if you have any suggestions please let us know.

My greatest concern is the possibility of having to deal with Postpartum Depression Depression again. I was grateful it went away when I got pregnant the 2nd time. And just so you know Jake, getting pregnant again so soon will not be an option! :)

Going Nuts in Primary!

Maria and I bought a bag of M&M's for our primary class Saturday - we used them as bribery during the Primary Program (it worked!). We did this a while ago and just keep the large one pound bag in the backpack and every Sunday we would give the kids 5-10 each depending on their behavior. It worked really well for several weeks. Yesterday Davis got into the backpack and started pulling things out including the bag of M&M's. Rather than putting them back in the bag and zipping it up I put the M&M's on the counter. By the end of the night they were almost entirely gone! The last few remaining morsels of chocolate goodness continue to sit on the counter taunting me (I even tasted them on Maria's breath when I kissed her good-bye this morning - she has fallen to temptation too!).

While at the store today they had the large fall bins of mixed nuts. I grabbed a bag and started to shovel the nuts in. Before I knew it I had four pounds costing me ten bucks. I thought I had gone overboard but then I remembered that the one pound bag of M&M's cost me $5.25. So now a healthier choice sits on the counter taunting me - just hope our primary class likes nuts.

First Birthday Celebration!

It is hard to believe that Davis is almost a year old already! Maria and I are planning his party now and want to give a heads up to everyone so you can all plan on coming. We are planning on having the party October 24, 2009 from 4-6pm. Mark your calendars and plan to be there, it will be fun. More details to come.

To save a stamp and envelop, send me your email address (jake@jaboyle.c-m - make sure to include the "o" in com) and I can send a digital invite rather than a hard copy. Anyone and everyone is invited, we have a ton of food already so don't be shy. If you are reading this you are invited. Anyone who would like an actual invite can send me their street address as well and we will get one out to you ASAP.

The Hair Cut

Jake's hair has come to resemble an overgrown chia pet over the past few weeks. However, with trying to cut back we decided to invest in a pair of clippers and I would try my hand at cutting his hair. I have never done a male hair cut in my life and when Jake came home with the clippers I felt an instant regret to agreeing to this. I wanted to at least read instructions or watch a youtube video on giving a hair cut. However, Jake was already sitting in the chair waiting and telling me, "Come on lets do this! How hard can it be!" After about 15 minutes I went into all out panic mode and started yelling, "What am I doing! Why didn't you let me research how to do this first! You are going to be bald!" To keep Davis out of the hair we put him on the outside of the baby gate. I'm sure Davis felt the discontent in the house and started whining and constantly kept getting his foot stuck in the baby gate so that I had to stop everything and get him out. After about an hour of chaos there was a pile of hair on the floor and a handsome Jake. I guess I just lucked out or maybe Kirsten tele-communicated her hair cutting skills to me.

From the above picture I'm not even sure if Davis approves...

Home Wrecker!!

I moved some of our furniture around the other day. While we had family here visiting we noticed that people tended to congregate in the room without furniture so I moved the couches from the front room to the back room. I did not want a couch against the wall with stairs because of Davis' love for climbing (he has fallen of a couch before - I would hate to have him fall of the couch and down the basement stairwell!)

Well with the furniture in the new room it was the perfect layout for a fort! I grabbed some blankets and a sheet and proceeded to make a fort (for Davis of course :) ) Davis had a ton of fun crashing my his fort.

Here are some pictures of Davis on top of his fort:

Raaarrrr!!

Davis likes to growl! He has a cute raspy little voice and loves to use it. Davis, Katy, and I went to visit Carrie, Tim, and new born Gregory at the hospital (congrats by-the-way you two!) and they would not let Davis past the receptionist desk because of his increased chance of carrying the flu. After of a game of "Can we take him here?" "no." we understood we could sit in the waiting area, go to the cafeteria, go to an out door eating area by the cafeteria, and the chapel. We went to the chapel first, it always so nice and quite - that did not work for Davis - so we took him outside. Less than two seconds after putting him down he fell face first into the fountain!! I grabbed him out of the 'pool' and put him on his feet and he went roaring back to the water. He had a so much fun and by the time we left he was soaked and Katy and I both were wet too.

Fifty-Five Years Ago

It seems like just the other day that forty was a cuss word at our house in St. Johns and now 15 years later my mom is celebrating her "double nickel" anniversary in this world. I hope she has a great day and that she forgives me for posting her age here for all to read!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Head Shots

This may seem a bit vain and unnecessary to many of you but I am trying everything to find a job. I am thinking about going into modeling. Totally kidding. I am updating my linkedin profile and wanted to get a nice head shot (mug shot). The picture I am using right now is from our wedding and I have Maria cropped out and the picture is not that great. Maria took some pictures of me this morning and we could not decide on which one we liked the best and Maria said it might be fun to ask you all for help in deciding (if you don't like any of them that is cool too). Also do you think it is a good idea to include this picture with my online resume?

Which picture do you like best?

The Boy Likes His Pizza!

It's meals like this that make me wish shower drains had garbage disposals.

Oranges and the ER

Last night while I was in the kitchen peeling me an orange I heard an ear piercing scream come from the bathroom where Maria was bathing Davis. I threw the orange aside and ran towards the bathroom where the screams and cries kept coming. I had no idea what to think had happened, I just knew it was something horrible.

As I rounded the corner I could see Maria on the floor and Davis under her. Maria had slipped and fallen and dropped Davis. I grabbed Davis and sat on the ground next to Maria. Davis appeared to be fine and only cried a little bit. Maria was hysterical and kept saying "sorry boy, I am so sorry boy." She sat up and I handed Davis to her and she just hugged and kissed him. She moved her hand and I saw a huge bruise on Davis' leg. I pointed it out to Maria and she began to bawl. It was so sad the see her and Davis hurt and upset.

I had Maria lay down in bed and I gave Davis his bath. Maria came out and we sat in the front room for a while. Maria said her stomach was really sore and she was worried she had fallen on her stomach, it happened so fast she was not sure. We decided to play it safe and take her to the hospital and figured since we were there we would get Davis checked out too.

I took Davis to the ER and the doctors there said he looked great and did not think we needed to do any x-rays or other exams on him. They told us to keep a close eye on him. I went to see Maria on the other side of the hospital and they had her hooked up to a monitor and said the baby seemed to be doing fine.

We got home about 11pm and all seemed to be well, we stood in the kitchen after putting Davis to bed and finished my orange.

Here are some of Davis' battle wounds:

That is not a tear drop tat coming from his eye, it is a little bruise from where he hit the door on his way to the ground.

The bruise from his leg is either from the fall or from where Maria tried to hold on to him on their way down. It looks worse than it is, Davis does not even realize it is there.

More videos of Davis Walking

I hope these videos are a bit clearer (no promises, they are from the cell phone too).

Declaration of War

I think the previous owner may have had some cats that they left behind because there are two strays that hang around all the time. They can be found by the front or back doors or under our vehicles. One time while working on my car I found one of them up in the engine - starting the car and honking the horn got it out of there quick! I think they have now declared war and I am ready to go to battle. This morning Maria, Davis and I headed to the store and found this 'fuzzy churro' on the roof of our car. You want war - you've got it!!