TGIF!

Hooray for the weekend! We all had a nice day today. Ryan and I had a little "date" in the middle of the day while Jake was sleeping at our sitter's house (I never know exactly what to call Heather - she's our daycare provider, but a friend too!), so we went to see Slumdog Millionaire. It really was a great movie, just be prepared for some depressing stuff and bring a box of tissue if you're like me. Some scenes are not for the faint-hearted (or those who don't like seeing bad things happen to kids).

Tonight we went to a fish fry with Jake. He hammed it up all dinner long, and thoroughly enjoyed his "choco moke" (Jakespeak for chocolate milk" and "fes fies" (french fries). We knew we were getting to the end of the evening when he wanted to play ring around the rosies at the dinner table ;) He really does such a great job out at dinner. Then we stopped at WalMart for some dog treats. We had a chance to go by the fish tanks, and boy was Jake mesmerized! From the time he was pretty little he loved looking at fish at the Mke Zoo, but this was too cute tonight! He loved looking at the "glo fish" - I guess they fluoresce, and they are bright pink and orange in normal light. He also enjoyed the "big fishies" and said hello to all the Dorothy fish (Elmo has a goldfish named Dorothy). We talked about getting some fishies when he's bigger and we talked a little about how to take care of fish - he probably didn't get it, but he seemed to have fun talking about it. He also wanted a rubber bouncy ball, and kept calling it a "soccer ball".

Those are the big events of the day I suppose. Jake's been funny in that he's starting to get very bossy, particularly with Perry and with one of the other kids our sitter takes care of. Even at home when this other little boy is no where to be found, we hear Jake telling him to sit down or telling him "NO!" I wonder if he gets his bossiness from his mom...

Have a great weekend!

Blessed Lent to All

Happy (I guess) Ash Wednesday to everyone. Well, "happy" might not be appropriate, but I guess we can be happy that we get these 40 days to work on improving our faith and ourselves - I guess in that sense it is "happy".

Jake and I went to Ash Wednesday Mass this morning (Daddy had class early and had to get there even earlier to prepare for it, so he went to Mass at noon at school). Jake was a very well behaved boy as he almost always is. We had the entire cry room to ourselves as seating in the main Church was limited (it was Mass for the school kids, but a whole bunch of grown-ups were there too), but he sat or stood quietly the entire Mass. Fun highlights: Jake trying to dance and sing along with the liturgical music; Jake kneeling while Mommy knelt, then getting up because he couldn't see, then kneeling again, etc; Jake being thoroughly confused by the ashes on Mommy's forehead; and finally, Jake, during the Sign of Peace, heading out the cry room door to look for Daddy very excitedly so he could say "Peace" and give him a kiss. I felt bad when he was so disappointed that Dad wasn't there, but assured him that he could kiss Daddy and say "Peace" with him later. Plus a hand full of fruity freeze dried snacks never hurts ;)

Take care, and Blessed Lent to everyone!

His Father's Son, but Still a Mama's Boy

Ok, I realize Jake looks a little terrified in the picture, but really he was happy to be "nuggle-ing" (Jakespeak for snuggling) with Mom.

Now a quick story, which is part of the reason for this title's post. Yesterday Jake, Ryan, and I were watching Sesame Street, and Count von Count came on. Jake started pointing and shrieking "COUNT!! COUNT!!" Awesome. So then the Count started counting, and Jake counted along, until they reached six - the number of the day. At that point the game-show style music came on and confetti and balloons littered the screen, and Jake was jumping up and down (as best as a 20 month-old can do), clapping his hands, and yelling "YAY! SIX! YAY!" Now this must be some genetic anomaly - you'll probably recall that Ryan was the "Math Champion of Nevada" in 8th grade. Do we have another potential math champ on our hands? Only time will tell... ;)

Games with Fun Names

Last night, narrowly evading a melt-down, Ryan suggested to Jake that they play "Ring Around the Rosies" which is one of Jake's favorite games. In the past, when he's wanted to play it again, he's simply said "Again!" However, last night he got up after "we all fall down" and insistently said "Wing o' wosies pocket asses!" Needless to say, it took Ryan and me a few extra seconds to get up, as we were rolling with laughter. I hope this isn't one of those stories for which you had to be there to enjoy it ;)

I have a new picture to post, but my camera battery died and I'm still charging it (after putting it in the charger incorrectly overnight - someone should ask MCW if they're sure I should have a diploma :P). Will get it up as soon as possible.

In other news, Ryan submitted his original article for Law Review last week. It's entitled "When is a Victim Not a 'Victim'? Interpreting the Federal Fraud and Theft Sentencing Guideline". It's also 45 pages long. I promised I'd read it. Oh boy... Anyway, he'll find out in a couple of weeks whether it'll make it into the next issue of Marquette's Law Review.

That's about it, we've kind of been home-bodies since we got about 8 inches of snow over the weekend. Hope everyone's doing well!

A Morning Serenade

This morning, around 6:45, we woke up to Jake half-singing half-yelling "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" from his crib. I think the best part is when he sings "Like a doggie in the sky". Classic. I've never been a morning person (nor has my husband), but it's hard to get out of bed grudgingly with a wake-up call like that. I promise I'll learn how to upload a video of him singing, it's awesome.

Welcome!

Hello, and welcome to the first official post on our family blog! We've been blessed with family and friends who are scattered throughout the country, and in an effort to better spread exciting (or boring) family news I decided to start up a blog. My hope is to give little life updates (mostly regarding the kids) and post pictures for everyone to have access to. I certainly can't promise that it'll be as riveting as some other blogs (I heard about this "Whatever Happened to Crazy" blog that's supposed to be pretty sweet), but I hope whoever reads it will enjoy it.

So, brief update to anyone interested. Today marks the 18th week of my pregnancy, and in two weeks we will be having the big ultrasound! And yes, we absolutely are going to find out the sex. This is one of the few remaining areas in which my Type A personality rears its head - I want to be as ready as possible (which is to say, hardly ready at all). Ryan is doing well, aside from a little fender-bender this evening (everyone is ok except Ryan's ego, and the Accent is mostly ok though it'll likely require some body work as will the other driver's car). I'm doing well, really enjoying my current rotation and looking forward to graduation. And Jake is fabulous as usual. Here's our most current adventure:

Jake and I flew to Las Vegas for Captain Debbie Lindeman and James Lindeman's marriage ceremony. It was so wonderful to see them, as well as my other wonderful friends Sarah, Kim, and Tracy, and to meet some new people too. Despite a couple of rocky nights, on the whole Jake slept well, had a blast with both sets of grandparents and his great aunt and uncle, and he was just a ham at the wedding reception. Moment of the evening: Jake dancing on the dance floor to "Ice, Ice Baby". Yup, he's his father's son.

So finally, here are a couple of recent pictures of Jake centering around some of his favorite objects - cell phones, glasses, shoes, and pens. Enjoy!