Family trip to Yosemite!

We spent a long weekend in Yosemite with Mom, Peter and Auntie Julie (we missed you, Uncle Tim!!). The weather was beautiful and we had a great trip! We saw the waterfalls at their peak, which was amazing. We did the Valley Floor tour, some great walks, and finished it off with brunch at the Awahnee (I think they are going to start charging double for pregnant women after having me as a customer)! Jake had a blast looking for bugs, playing in the sand/water, walking, and riding the "train" on the tour. He also enjoyed the loose rules on junk food consumption while on vacation :) We almost started WWIII tonight when the carrots were NOT followed by ice cream! THANKS Mom and Peter....it was GREAT! FYI, the pictures are blurry, which is a bummer....we had several people take group pics for us and I didn't realize that somewhere along the way, the setting on the camera got messed up!

A visit from our favorite WA residents!

Staci and Kathy came into town and we got to spend such a nice long weekend together! They came for my baby shower (thanks Julie, Kelli, Staci, Kathy and Mom!!!) and it was fabulous.....so girly and fun! They also came to spoil Jake rotten! He had a blast with his "Auntie Staci" and "Kaffy".....in fact, he is STILL asking for them. Please move back to CA.....we miss the Darlington/Wallace families too much!!!

Belly pics

Here is the belly at 33 weeks....getting large! Starting to coundown...she'll be here SOON!

Jake is 2!!

We had quite a weekend....Jake turned 2, graduated to a "big boy" bed, and we had a great Easter! Can't believe our "baby" is already a "kid". So far, he's done great in his new bed....he did make one big thud to the ground on night one, but that was due to faulty bed rail installation from Mommy and Daddy :) Luckily, it didn't phase him at all. We're keeping our fingers crossed that all continues to go well. He had a great birthday.....loved all of his gifts, but the most enjoyable party for him was definitely the candles. Maybe if I sing and do candles at every meal, he'll start doing a better job eating??!! Oh, and he's officially obsessed with his bike helmet....much more interested in it than the bike! He hunted for eggs this morning at our house when he woke up and also at Grammie and Gramps with the Foley kids. What a whirlwind....but lots of fun! Pics from the weekend's events are below.

New Scooter

Jake has a new obsession....his scooter.....or "cooter" as he calls it. It is like Wrestlemania each time I have to bring him inside and pry the scooter out of his hands. He's amazed us at how quickly he has picked it up. Within 2 days, he was already going off the curb. He definitely gets his athletic abilities from Daddy! Oh, and he's also obsessed with sunglasses :)

Let's go fly a kite!

When we woke up on Sunday morning, we noticed it was quite windy, so we decided to take advantage of it and fly Jake's new airplane (of course) kite! We had NO idea just how windy it really was!! It was perfect to get the kite in the air, but quite a chore for Brian to reel it in! We thought Jake would be totally enthralled.....he shrieked when it went up in the air, and he was over it after about 30 seconds. Maybe it was the fact that a park was only 50 yards away :) In any case, it was a nice (and chilly) family morning!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Yes, Jake is both lucky AND charming! He seemed to understand that there was a purpose to his green shirt today. We made shamrock cookies with sprinkles, which was fun.....though Jake doesn't quite get that they have to bake before we can eat them...he stood at the oven screaming "cookies, sprinkles" for quite some time. We'll be enjoying corned beef and cabbage tonight when Daddy gets home (though our little vegetarian will protest and stick with his veggies, I'm sure!). We'll be going to round 2 of the Irish feast tomorrow night at Mom and Peter's with Auntie Julie and Uncle Tim, so we'll get our fill of sodium for the month!

Jake using his words!

We've been trying to get Jake on video to show how much more he is talking, but when you ask a question like...."Can you say airplane?", he replies with "Yes", instead of "Airplane". Soooo, we've resorted to reading books on camera so that you can hear his words! Might be tough to hear and hopefully you can see the book to see what he is talking about. Some clips are shorter than others. There is also a video of Jake and Daddy playing "Tickle Monster"....you know, the giggles where they can hardly breathe and you're not really sure if they're loving it or hating it, but the laughs just keep coming!

Play Date with Grandad!

Grandad came over to play today and Jake had so much fun that he cried when Grandad had to leave :( They worked with tools, played catch, and Grandad did his famous flip with Jake....I hope I can pull this off with my great-grandchildren when I'm 80-something!

Bailey turns 7!!

We are thrilled to report that our wonder dog has made it to another birthday! We celebrated.....with hot dogs and cupcakes, of course! Jake helped me make the cupcakes and enjoyed his first cake batter beater. Jake and Bailey both enjoyed their cupcakes (see picture) and Bailey is still the quickest in the house to gobble up a treat, but Jake is a close second! We had to remind him to breathe between bites ;) Now that everyone is asleep, it's time for me to enjoy the remaining dozen or so cupcakes! We love you, Bailey!!!

Ultrasound Pic

I went and had the 4D ultrasound this morning and it was very cool (Thanks, Caron!!)! Little Missy is quite a mover though, so I don't have too may shots where her arms aren't in front of her face, etc. She tended to have her arms up like boxing gloves in front of her face.....guess she's preparing for life with a big brother! This pic is the best one of her face, and you can still see her hands/arms on the side of her face. I think it's pretty tough to tell what she's gonna look like, but I'm sure she'll be cute ;) I'm sure it'll shock you all, but I did ask them to check between the legs one more time and they said 100% girl.

Syrup, syrup, everywhere!

We made waffles the other morning and Jake enjoyed some with us. As we were clearing the table, we looked over and he was licking the plate so clean that it was practically stuck to his face! It was in his hair, on his jammies, and everywhere else! He smelled like syrup even after a shower.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jake is looking handsome in his Valentine's Day shirt from Papa and Tutu!

Peanut butter boy!

I was busy fixing dinner and Jake was finishing his peanut butter and jelly sandwich.....it was quiet for a few too many moments and when I looked over, I saw this sticky mess! Bailey would gladly have licked him clean, but we opted for a bath instead :)

Bailey and the BBQ

We love our Bailey boy....and he loves his BBQ drippings! We made rotisserie chickens recently and he has literally had his head stuck up the BBQ to get all of the drippings. Of course, his face ends up loaded with charcoal dust. It's impossible not to laugh when his sweet face looks up with you, full of guilt....and covered with charcoal remnants!

Daddy's Little Helper

Nothing makes Jake happier these days than being in the "workshop" with Daddy. He knows the names of all of the tools and points them out as Daddy uses them. But the cutest thing is when he wears his "gasses", just like Daddy. It's a rule that when the saw is on, he has to sit on his stool with his glasses on....he gladly abides by this if he can stay in the garage with all of the exciting power tools!

Holiday duds

I went to all the trouble of getting the cute outfit, dressing him in it, and then forgot to take pictures! Soooo, here is a picture of Jake in his holiday duds....it's amazing that one month later, the sweater is already too short. This kid grows like a weed!

Belly Progress

We are taking pictures of "the belly" again, so here it is at 21 weeks. I still have a lot of growing to do, and it already feels big and in the way!

Jake's going to have a baby SISTER!

cute little legs

definitely a girl....nothing between the legs here!

isn't she cute!

Yippee! Jake is going to have a baby SISTER! We had the final ultrasound today and the Dr. said that it's time to paint the nursery pink! Here are a few pics of our little one.....we can't wait to meet her!

Visiting Uncle Tim at the fire house

Uncle Tim is on his fire rotation, so Jake got to go on a spin around the block in the BIG fire truck and play around inside....so fun!

Jake loves chocolate CAKE!

We've had at least one birthday per month recently and Jake has become a BIG fan of "happy birthday to you", followed by CAKE! As you can see, he was allowed to use his own fork.....can you say "bath time" :)