It Happened

Today is Hunter's birthday. To be honest, I've been apprehensive about May 8th, 2010 all year long. May 8th means Hunter is no longer my baby. He's one. He's a toddler. I couldn't be more proud of him, or happy for him with each milestone he reaches, but at the same time there's a little pang in my heart.

I couldn't wait for Tralee to stand, crawl, walk, and talk. Then she did, and before I knew it, she turned into a three-year-old and I can hardly see the traces of the baby she was. She's a full fledged superhero princess who needs me less and less. With Hunter, although I was excited for him with each milestone he reached, I didn't push him to get there. I knew with each date of firsts we recorded in his baby book, the closer we got to completing the list, to closing the book, and saying goodbye to the baby. I know it's a cliche, but my-o-my they grow up so fast!

I woke up early this morning and couldn't sleep. It was 4am and I thought, "this time last year, I was being admitted into the hospital." It's almost 9am now and I'm thinking, "this time last year, the doctor broke my water." In another hour or so, I will be thinking, "this is when I got my epidural." When 4:58 comes around Hunter will have taken his first breath. Hunter will be one.

I love you Hunter. You are my handsome little guy. You were SUCH a good baby, and I know you're going to be a wonderful little toddler. You are a patient, sensitive, easy-going little spirit. Your smile comes easy, and your laugh is contagious. You love food, so you fit right in our family. You love your big sister, and she loves you. You're a button pusher just like your daddy; you like to get a reaction out of people. We know you're going to be super athletic just like your daddy too. You love doing pull-ups with daddy's help on his pull-up bar. You also attempt them in the tub on the handrail, and I laugh as your little bum tightens as you strain your arms. You also love balls. Basketballs, beach balls, footballs, kick balls, golf balls, it doesn't matter. If you see kids playing catch at the park, you wander over and watch them play. I believe you're thinking, "I wanna play!" When we give you a ball, you wander around with it for hours, or you like to play catch with us. You already have a pretty good arm. You understand what "uh-oh" means. Usually you say, "uh-oh" and then drop whatever you're holding. You also have the words yes, thank you, more, mama, and dada under your belt. Although, I'm not sure you know exactly when to use them. You get what you want by pointing and grunting. When I ask you what you want, you'll point your chubby little finger in the direction I should go. Your cheeks are the most kissable things I've ever planted my lips on. Your eyes are full of wonder, and music calms you down when you're fussy. You really like Jason Mraz and Jack Johnson. You're also a big fan of the Primary soundtrack. I love you so much Hunter. I know you're going to accomplish great things. Just take it easy on your mom, and try not to grow up too fast.

Here's a little video I helped Tralee make in honor of Hunter's first birthday. We don't have very much footage of Hunter's birth, like we do of Tralee's, because our video camera decided not to work when we got to the hospital to have Hunter. All we have are a few short video clips and pictures from our regular camera. So, I thought we should put them together and make a birth video for little man. I love the part where Tralee meets Hunter for the first time. Watch her face look at his foot, and then back at his face. She's amazed and proud of her baby. I'm SO thrilled I get to be their Mama!

Happy One Year Birthday Hunter!!! And many many many more to come!!!

Corky Dorky Snorky: The Thug

Our dog has been through a lot. Ear pulling, getting sat on, being scolded for snatching up the kids' food, and now we've made her into a gangsta thug. See below:

Why would we do this to our poor dog? All in the name of Free Style Friday. Jim's cousin hosts a rap battle every Friday on his facebook page. The winner does an acceptance video. This was Corky's.

What can I say? We live in Idaho. . . this is what we do for fun.

Things I Miss about Wisconsin. . .

I grew up in Wisconsin. The Milwaukee area, to be exact. I love that I'm from there, but I always knew I wouldn't be a Wisconsinite my whole life. I knew Wisconsin and I would someday go our separate ways. I left the land of beer and cheese to begin my adult life at age eighteen, and only returned for the occasional visit. Every once in a while, between my visits, I get a little homesick for Wisconsin. She's like an old flame that will never completely burn out. Try as I might to move on, to love my current local, a moment/object/scene/person will remind me of my home state, and the flame reignites a slew of memories that set my heart ablaze with homesickness. There are a lot of things I miss about Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The first one being the people. I miss my family and friends that still live there. My brothers have only met Tralee a handful of times. Hunter has yet to meet his Grandpa, Nana, cousins, Aunts, and Uncles on my side of the family. Hopefully this will soon be remedied.

I miss using the word bubbler and having people know exactly what I'm talking about.

I miss biking to The Witches House down by Lake Michigan. I used to love to bike there and sit and stare at all of the art. I grew up with the legend that Mary Nohl's husband and son went out fishing on the lake, and never returned. She made the sculptures to help guide them home. The story is completely bogus, Mary was just an eccentric artist. I LOVE love love the fact that all the richies in her very affluent neighborhood thought her house was an eye-sore and wanted her art removed, but she completely ignored their ridicule and continued with her creations.

I miss Lake Michigan. I remember the closer you biked to the lake the colder it got. The bike ride from my house to the lake was about ten to fifteen minutes. There was a point on the bike ride that you instantly felt the cool lake's air seep into your skin. Sometimes I would bike by, or when I was older, drive by to see how big the waves were on windy days.

I miss the bike/walking/jogging path along Lake Drive. I used to bike to school with friends on it. We used to go on family bike rides on nice Sunday afternoons after church. I remember following behind my dad on the black path, occasionally shouting, "Look at me!" when I dared to bike with no hands. When I was older I would drive down Lake Drive to get to the Milwuakee Art Museum. I wish I lived there when the architectural masterpiece that is the MAM was completed.

I miss going to Milwuakee Brewers games. It's been far too long. So long, that I haven't even been to one in the fancy new stadium with the retractable roof. I remember tail-gating with friends and family before each game. There was always beer and brats. REAL brats too, with sauerkraut and stadium sauce. I also enjoyed the sausage races between innings. The first Brewers game I can remember going to was when I was five. We sat in the bleachers, and I got beer spilled all over my head by some men that had had a few too many. I remember my mom bathing me later and telling me beer was good for my hair. She said it would make it shiny. I'm still not sure if that's true.

I remember the smell of hops when you hit a certain part of the freeway. The brewery is close to that certain stretch of the freeway. To this day, I know I'm close to home when that yeasty smell permeates the car while driving along 43 or 45.

I miss seeing Beasties everywhere. I wish I owned one. I would put it in my front yard. The elementary school I went to had three of them I believe. I would climb on them as a child.

I miss seeing barns when you drove out of the city. REAL red or white barns. I always thought it would be cool to convert a barn into a house. In fact, after Jim and I were first married we watched a This Old House episode one rainy Saturday afternoon while snuggling on the couch. The host guy converted a barn into a house. I remember telling Jim, "You need to do that for me one day." The problem with living out west is. . . there's a real sucky selection of old barns. No offence western barns, but in a fight, Wisconsin barns would kick your trash!!

I miss Summerfest. Every summer my friends and I would plan which concerts to go to. Some of my first concerts were seen at summerfest.

I miss the Wisconsin State Fair. My family would usually go. We would eat corn on the cob, play games, ride a few rides, and we would listen to music. One year my parents made us sit and listen to a band play for a bit. My brother, Jimmy, didn't want to. He sat pouting, waiting to move on to the next activity. Karma must have seen an opportunity, because a rather large lady, with a rather large rump, stood up on the bench and started shaking her junk to the beat of the music right in front of Jimmy's face. He was less than thrilled, and the rest of us couldn't stop snickering. To end our day of fun, my dad would buy our family one (or two) creme puffs to share. These creme puffs are so famous they've been debuted on The Today Show. Getting whipped cream all over your face was always a sweet end to a fun day.

I miss trees/forests. I mean, there are trees in the west, but nothing like in Wisconsin.

I miss how green everything is in the summer time. The first time I took Jim back home, he said it reminded him of Ireland. Everything was so green.

I miss fireflies. Jim was equally amazed at fireflies the first time he "summered" in the Midwest.

I miss the colors of Autumn. Ever since I moved out west I've never seen a fall that could even compete with the falls of Wisconsin.

I miss Kopps custard. One of the best cold treats you'll ever eat! The custard is made fresh everyday, so you're not eating stuff that's been sitting in a bucket for who knows how long. It's super fresh, and super yummy. They always make chocolate and vanilla, and then there's usually one or two flavors of the day. The flavor of the day is on a billboard along the freeway, so that as you commute home from work, you can decide whether or not you have to stop. Flavors worth stopping for were/are Caramel Cashew, Burgundy Cherry, and Cookies and Creme. If you ever find yourself in the Milwaukee area you HAVE to stop and eat some Kopps frozen custard. Nothing compares.

I miss a lot more (the domes, the MPM, certain restaurants, each ethnic festival that takes place in the summer, taking boat rides along Lake Michigan) but I think I listed enough for the time being. Wisconsin is no longer home, but she will always hold a piece of my heart.

This Morning

I woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I didn't get very much sleep, and when I don't get my beauty rest I act diva-ish. I wasn't the only one pouting. Tralee had run into a door jam first thing this morning, and the side effects left her sad and cranky. So there we were, Tralee and I, lying in bed scowling at the world as Hunter walked around us, waiting for someone to play with him. Jim wandered in and accessed the situation. He knew the energy in the room was no good, so he turned on pbs, Steve Songs was singing about rocket ships, and Jim started dancing. I don't mean regular dancing, he was twisting and turning in ways I didn't think were possible. One thing you should know is, Jim doesn't dance. So this experience was amazing. Tralee stopped crying and watched with a confused look on her face. Hunter sat and stared in wonderment. I was laughing so hard I couldn't breath, and tears were streaming down my face.

I didn't know how to end this post without sounding cheesy, so Jim suggested I should type the following:

"I hope those tears that I shed sprout beautiful flowers in my soul!!!"

Thanks babe!

While I'm at it

While I'm on this whole memories kick, I was thinking about what I was doing this time last year.

This time last year I was super pregnant.

My mom was in town, which meant my house was spotless, and Tralee was having the time of her life.

This time last year Tralee was my silly little two-year-old

This time last year I was trying desperately to go into labor, so we went on a family hike to this little fishing hole/waterfall area. We drove over bumpy roads. We walked and walked and walked. We drank raspberry leaf tea. We did pretty much everything to get labor started, and Hunter was oblivious to it all.

This time last year we were a happy family of three, soon to be four.

I wish the whole time traveling thing could be figured out so I could go on a little journey. I would like to visit this time last year. It was exciting. Then again, so is having a husband, three-year-old, and almost one-year-old.

Nostalgic List

While looking through old boxes I came across a list of reasons Jim loves me. He wrote it back in 2001 while we were dating. I left my notebook in his car, and while on his lunch break, he filled a page-and-a-half with reasons he loves me. He didn't tell me about it either. I found it when I opened my notebook during a lecture to take notes. Somehow it found its way into a box of old paperwork.

I've been debating whether or not to post the list. I don't want it to come across all Seriously So Blessed (very funny/sarcastic blog poking fun of "Utah" Mormon mom bloggers. . . and I'll admit I am guilty of some of the faux pas Seriously So Blessed mimics, but it's still funny) and act all braggy that my hubby wrote me something romantic. Also, Jim doesn't like it when I show the world that he has a romantic/sensitive side. It totally kills the whole Mr. Male Ego act he pulls off so well.

I finally decided I would post it. The two main reasons being:

1. It's written in pencil and has already started to fade. I want it documented somewhere less susceptible to aging.

2. I figured some mushy stuff would be okay since Jim and my anniversary is coming up next week.

If you're not a fan of said mushy stuff, go ahead and close out of the window now, cause the list is written below.

The following is a list Jim wrote to me back in 2001, shortly before we were engaged.

I Love You!!!

- I love how beautiful you are

- I love how you pretend that you don't like me to play with your toes

- I love your nice long chicken legs

- I love how you help me dress right

- I love your smile

- I love your tired eyes

- I love your sunshine head

- I love your soft kisses

- I love how you take care of me

I HAVE TO GO MY BOSS IS HERE! I JUST LOVE YOU!!!

- Ok, I love how you try to drive my car, and have issues with the lights

- I love cuddling you

- I love your voice and how you say your words funny

- I love how cute you are when you cry at sappy movies

- I love your soft lips!!

- I love how you worry about me, and tell me to wear my seat belt

- I love the sweet poems you write about us

- I love the look on your face when you trip up the stairs

- I love your eyes and seeing eternity in them

- I love how childlike we both are

- I love how we can be goofy and be ourselves

- I love when you warm your hands up on me

- I love that you're a Cheese Head

- I love being the Great White Rappa with you yo! "Girl in my eyes you da baddest!!"

- I love how you plan out our future

- I love the love notes and e-mails that you leave me

I love Jim too. I have no list to share today, but I love him all the same.

Like, totally love him!! (said all Utah-ish)

Okay. . . mushy stuff done!!!! Phew!!!

Friday and Saturday

Friday I . . .

• Finished cleaning the house (HOORAY!)
• Had the other Jacobs family over
• Had Audie highlight and cut my hair (love it!)
• Hung out with other Jacobs family
• Waved bye bye as the other Jacobs family drove off into the sunset
• Watched a movie as a family
• Got littles to bed
• Snuggled on couch with hubby
• Went to bed

Saturday I. . .

• Went to a bridal shower for Jim's cousin
• Watched as Jim unclogged the toilet after Tralee flushed an entire roll of toilet paper down it
• Took a GREAT nap with Hunter while Daddy and Tralee played
• Went out to eat with family and watched Hunter down some jello among other foods.
• Thought to self "I should make jello more than a few times a year, Hunter really digs it."
• Went on a family bike ride to a park to burn off some energy
• Played at park
• Quickly biked home when Tralee announced she had to use the potty
• Taught Tralee the proper amount of toilet paper to use with each bathroom visit and vaguely remembered having the same conversation with my mom and dad when I was little. They both had different TP strategies. Jim and I do to. Hopefully it won't confuse Tralee.
• Put both kids in the tub and then in their jammies
• Went downstairs and found out Jim cleaned the kitchen and did dishes for me (swoon)
• Drove to Walmart to use some coupons that expire tomorrow
• Purchased four packages of snuggle dryer sheets for a total of $2.48. Without coupons I would have spent $13.92 plus tax. Love a good deal!
• Drove home and passed a Sonic. Thought of Jim's cousin's post about how awesome sonic ice is. Wondered if I should try it some time.
• Came home
• Brushed my babies' teeth, read books, sang songs, said prayers, gave kisses and tucked them in
• Layed next to Tralee until I heard her sing-song snores. She snores like a little girl.
• Now I need to finish preparing my lesson for tomorrow's class of thirteen rambunctious nine-year-olds that do ANYTHING for attention. Teaching them is quite fun actually. A little (or a lot) frustrating at times, but mostly fun.

We had a nice few days. Hope yours were equally as lovely.