Wishing You...

The Jones Family Christmas Card 2013!

So fun for Jett to meet Santa and experience this fun time of year. 

Can't wait for his first Christmas! 

3 Months

My little Jett is growing up so fast! He gets cuter and cuter every day, which I didn't even think was possible because he was already the cutest baby on the planet! I'm such a mom. We had our little photoshoot session and I couldn't pick which pic was the most adorable, so I'm posting a few. It's also time to post some new updates on him since things change and develop so quickly! 

• His new favorite object is Mr. Bear, his little security blanket. He hugs him and rubs his face all over Mr. Bear's face.
• He is quite the slobber puss these days! Constant chin-wiping.
• He gets more and more talkative, and the sounds are the cutest thing ever! We love chatting back with him and having "conversations".
• Smiles are the BEST!!
• We are working on full on, hearty giggles now. They take some effort sometimes to get out, but Jake is the best at getting Jett to laugh.
• He LOVES sleeping on his tummy. I know this is a big no-no but he falls asleep quickly and stays asleep. We're not worried about it. I'm sure he gets this from me because I've always been a stomach sleeper.
• He's been on a role lately of sleeping through the night until around 6 or 7 when we also wake up. Heavenly!
• We prop him up on the couch in the corner so he can sit and watch TV with us...like Muppet Christmas Carol 3 times. He's so close to sitting up on his own!
• He is becoming less interested in his froggy binky, which makes me sad.
• He's a big eater! We are about to graduate to the big size bottles now...Santa will be bringing some cute blue ones for him with whales. 
• He is also getting a little better at holding his bottles but usually doesn't last all the way through the feeding...easier for mom to do it so he can be lazy and sleepy.
• He has been great at daycare, and it melts my heart when they send home little art projects he's done. This month's was his footprint made into a snowman. Adorbs!
• We finally had a first poop-blowout, which we've somehow avoided all these weeks. I wasn't there to witness it but Jake's description was pretty yucky.
• Our new thing we do after we bathe him is use the blow dryer on him to dry him off as he calmly lies there on his towel. Haha. He enjoys it because it keeps him warm.

Sweet Crib, Yo

We finally moved Jett into his room! I admit I was a little bummed at first because it was so convenient just having him next to my bed in his bassinet, but now that I know what it's like having him in his own room, it is nice! We are able to get a MUCH more restful sleep. The downside to this is that when (if) Jett wakes up now, it's a full on cry instead of just fussing because we don't wake up now until it's a loud enough noise for us to hear on his monitor. But it is pretty adorable that when I go in his room, he smiles when he sees me there to rescue him. Makes me feel like Super Mom! I shall change your bum and feed you milk! My sweet boy.

 

Bed time pictures are the best! He is so dang cute and snuggley. The two above are from his bassinet. Keeping him company is Mr. Bear and froggy friend.

And now big boy Jett in his crib...I can't even handle the cuteness!

♥

Turkey Day

 T H A N K S G I V I N G !

This year's Thanksgiving was unique...Jake's parents flew out from Oregon to spend the holiday with us so they could finally meet Jett! On Wednesday, Jake and Gage took Grandpa Jones fishing at Strawberry Reservoir while Grandma Jones stayed home with Jett for some bonding time...oh, and I was at work all day. Joy. Then, fish tacos for us that evening! Way for the guys to bring home the bacon. For Thanksgiving, we all celebrated on Friday (due to Jake's work schedule) at my parents' house along with my brother and his girlfriend. A house full of people always makes for good times.

Photoshoot with his new bib from Grandma Jones

Jake was in charge of the turkey this year, which turned out tasty, and then Grandma Jones had volunteered to make homemade pies...something that my family has never done since they don't bake much...or ever. We had so much pie! She made 3 whole delicious ones including pumpkin, marionberry, and my fave, apple pecan sour cream, and then we also purchased a pecan pie on top of that because it's a holiday must. Mmm. After our feast, we all spread out around the basement to watch Miracle, the movie about the 80' Men's Olympic Hockey Team. Always good. Jake and his parents also had to get in a bit of football watching because the Oregon State Beavers were playing against the Oregon Ducks...a big rivalry game for them they couldn't miss. Jett got to join in, too...he's always mesmerized by the TV. 

Apparently, watching football with no pants on is the way to go.

We of course took family photos with everyone and then just our little family, and as much as they turned out alright, I'm still not posting them due to myself being in the pictures. But the one's of Jett in his old man argyle sweater are so precious, so pics of me aren't needed when there's that much cuteness to focus on! Nevermind his huge jeans that he doesn't quite fit into yet, but I made him wear them anyway.

That's a lot of different patterns going on here...

The highlight of the evening for me was letting Jett try applesauce for the first time...well, more like letting him try anything other than formula for the first time. I had planned on giving him a finger-taste of whipped cream, but nurse Jake said applesauce would be better since the whipped cream has the dairy in it. Ok, fine. Jett's little precious facial expressions were priceless! I seriously almost got choked up about it because it was so cute. Of course I recorded a video of the whole thing and couldn't wait to post it. Keep in mind Jett has 9 people gathered around him just watching him. Quite the audience for the big applesauce debut.

Overall, it turned out to be a nice holiday. Jett is definitely the center of attention when family is around, and it's been so fun getting to experience and share his first holidays with him. Can't wait for Christmas!! Good stuff in store for him...

Eargasm

 

There are a handful of things in life I can say I truly have a passion for...music being one of them. When I come across an amazing song, oh it is a beautiful thing! Such is the case with this new song I found--"Come Together" by Sons of the Sea. And who is the scrumptious singer in this new band I discovered? Ooh, just some guy name Brandon Boyd from some small band known as Incubus that I've probably seen four times in concert and own their Live At Red Rocks DVD! Oh my heck. Couldn't believe I didn't know he started up a new band, and it is just fabulous! I was lucky to have come across them...Sons of the Sea performed on one of the Late Night shows one evening and without looking at the TV, I was thinking "Wow, that's a great song and that voice sounds familiar"...sure enough, hello Brandon-pants. So I checked out the album on iTunes and boom-bada-bing, new songs in my paws...which means I have now been playing the song on repeat. Oh, and have I mentioned the music video for "Come Together" is just a fabulous, half-naked smothering session between Brandon and some model in a lake of milk. When were those auditions held?! Next time...

Hello Kitty!

I interrupt my baby blogging to bring you this important message...

I am such a Groupon groupie. Big time. It's my fave, and in the past month I'm pretty sure I've made at least six purchases. Christmas is looking to be merry and bright! Anyway, these two deals are too great to not share. Do I own a cat? No. But if this doesn't give anyone the urge to run out and a buy a kitty simply to purchase these gems, then...well, just whatever. Bravo, Groupon. 

SO HILARIOUS...and Jake is not amused by my findings.

Jumbo in Bumbo

Can this be any more adorable?!! Umm, nope, it can't. My sweet Buddy Roo is now sitting up in his Bumbo and has been starting to smile and giggle (sometimes). So rewarding! Jake and I compete to see who can get smiles out of him, and unfortunately it seems that this kid likes Jake more than me. Oh well, Jake also gets stuck changing more poopy diapers.

Oh, and Gage is convinced that in pic box #4, Jett is doing Gangnam Style.

Scary Bones Jones

Halloween has to be one of my favorite holidays...maybe even tied with Christmas. It's THAT great. 

This year I was extra happy and fortunate to be home all of October because of my maternity leave, so that meant I got to enjoy AMC's FearFest...scary horror movies nonstop. I admit I felt a little guilty having Jett in the room with me while blood-curdling screams were going on, but he was a Friday the 13th baby afterall so it's only natural he watch the Jason movies with me...and The Exorcist...and Nightmare on Elm Street...and the Halloween movies. But don't worry, he was also exposed to my beloved Hocus Pocus multiple times. My only regret this Halloween was not carving pumpkins, which I always do! I even bought the pumpkins...I just couldn't find the motivation to block out hours of time for carving due to a cute baby to tend to instead. 

This year Gage was a magician and performed real magic tricks during his school parade and at my work Halloween trick-or-treat, and Jett was the cutest, most precious little bundle of skeleton bones ever...his outfit even glowed in the dark. And did I mention Grandma just LOVES him? He is constantly smothered.

 

Tween

Birthday Boy!

Gage turned 10 on October 14th! He finally made it to double digits and is officially a tween. Oh my. Sooo not ready for the upcoming teen years!...or the birds and the bees speech that is on the horizon. Where does the time go?!

We surprised Gage this year by decorating his room, which he loved. He then went to Trafalga in the afternoon with Jake for some mini golf and laser tag, and then we had a family party in the evening with my parents and brother. We all went bowling and then back to our house for Pier 49 pizza, homemade strawberry birthday cake, and presents.

1 Month

Somebody turned one month old on October 13th! 

I decided to make a list of things about baby Jett since his personality has developed more over the past few weeks:

• He likes having his arms and hands out of his blankets instead of being swaddled tightly. Poor guy wakes up with cold hands in the morning because he won't keep them snuggled in his blankets.
• He attacks his froggy WubbaNub like a shark when he's restless--mouth open to bite and then shakes his head ferociously once it's in his mouth. It makes me laugh everytime. 
• He enjoys bath time now and just lies quietly on his foam froggy pad looking up at us while we wash him. 
• His poop face makes us laugh when he's concentrating on doing business.
• He's starting to make more cooing noises that are so adorable. Some smiles have been coming out lately too, and we just love them! 
• I have many ridiculous nicknames for him already such as Buddy Roo, Sweetums, Babykins, Toots Magoo, and Buddy Biscuits.
•  He knows it's feeding time when we put his burp cloth or bib on him and gets so excited about it that he always start chewing on them. It's then a battle to get his hands and cloth out of the way for his bottle.
• Sometimes when he's upset and crying, we'll do a quick blow of air on his face. It catches him off guard so he stops crying instantly and sticks out his bottom lip in pouty face mode wondering what the heck just happened...then goes back to crying. It's funny watching him go from wahhhh to huhhh?
•  He's getting much better at lifting his head during tummy time and can now push himself onto his back if he's on his side.
• He enjoys his swing now and will finally take short naps in it.
• Did I mention he snores? Too funny.
• He likes watching TV!...though I don't think he can really see it so I'm not sure what part is appealing to him and getting his attention.
•  When I hold him on my chest with his head on my shoulder he likes to nuzzle into my neck. It...is...precious!
• He has already been on grocery and shopping outings, to grandma's house, and a stroller ride.

 ♥

Pretty much love him to pieces!!! It's been so fun watching him grow.

Two Weeks

Jett turned two weeks old on Friday and had his 2-week doctor appointment today. He is one healthy baby boy, now weighing 10 lbs and 5 oz. Goodness. 

 

His two-week old pics that I snapped at home are so flippin' CUTE! Love my adorable baby boy...and he loves his froggy WubbaNub.

Photos de Bebe

Picture time! Here's a post of just pictures of my sweet little Jett...

View from my hospital room at Riverton. It was calming to have it overcast and drizzly outside. We love his Friday the 13th birth day.

Newborn getting his bath...he was not a happy camper.

He looks huge in this pic! Poor little guy, a bit swollen. Gage thought his cord looked like a cucumber. EWW.

One of the nurses was nice and made a name sign for his little bucket he'd be shuttled around in.

I of course had to do a photoshoot with babykins the instant we got back to my room...we love his Mickey Mouse swaddle blanket.

Finally opening those eyes to look around. He looks so precious here.

His baby yawns are adorable!

Dad and baby

Time to go home!

All of our goodies to take home from the hospital.

Probably one of the most adorable pictures ever.

Mittens!

Froggy bath time at home. He's getting more used to bath time now.

Comfy cozy in my pink blanket.

All ready for bed in his raccoon jammies with his sleep sheep.

Loves daddy!

Getting in a good nap before the Utes game. Watching football with dad is a frequent thing here.

Look Who Arrived!

Announcing the arrival of our most sweetest bundle of joy...

Jett Lucas

Friday, September 13th

at 7:35 a.m.

9 lbs. 12 oz. 21 in.

Birth story:
On Thursday, September 12th, Jake and I went to my 8:30 a.m. doctor appointment at Riverton Hospital to have my blood pressure checked. I had been having high blood pressure readings over the course of a week and my doctor said if it read high again during my scheduled weekly appointment, then he would send me over to labor and delivery to be induced. I was due on the 14th anyway and had already dilated to a 3. We packed up our hospital bags and prepared to not return home until this baby came. Sure enough, my blood pressure was at it's highest reading yet so my doctor told me to head on down the hall to get things started for labor. Butterflies instantly set in!...and relief, what an uncomfortable last few weeks of pregnancy. 

We got all settled into our hospital room, and my doctor broke my water around 10 a.m.  Whew, am I glad that didn't happen at work or home! Talk about a flood. The nurses then started me on pitocin to speed up my labor. Over the next few hours, we just waited for me to dilate more and more. At first, my contractions were pretty light and felt like normal menstrual cramps. Nothing I couldn't handle. When they started getting more intense, I finally requested to get an epidural as I had planned on all along. Unfortunately, I was told that the anesthesiologist had just got called to a c-section and wouldn't be available for an hour or so. Bad news for me! I had to deal with some pretty intense contractions for over an hour. I was crying...they hurt...I was squeezing Jake's hand to death. Thank heavens when the anesthesiologist finally arrived! The epidural was pure joy and made me relax. 

Around 11 p.m., I still hadn't progressed as quickly as the doctor was hoping for. It was about this time he decided to give me and Jake the heads up about the possibility of a c-section delivery if for some reason I got to the point of not dilating any further. But, the baby's heart rate had been fine the entire time and wasn't stressed, so the doctor felt it was ok to just keep monitoring me for a few more hours knowing that first-time pregnancies tend to have longer labors. Jake and I got some sleep, kept our fingers crossed and said some prayers that I would keep dilating and progressing. Sure enough, around 5 a.m. on Friday the 13th the nurse and doctor checked me to find that I had finally fully dilated and was ready to start pushing! Oh boy. Jake grabbed one of my legs and the nurse grabbed the other, and we got to work. Umm, oww! Whoever said an epidural blocks all pain was wrong...apparently it does not block pressure. Not so fun. Not to mention the upper half of my body wasn't numb so my shoulders and back killed because they have you hunch over every time you push. 

I eventually ended up in tears and was exhausted after an hour and a half of pushing with no results. The doctor told me the baby's head had not progressed far enough down the birth canal. I had two options: I could keep pushing since the baby was still doing alright though the doctor estimated I still had another 2-3 hours to go before there could be any sign of improvement; or, a c-section. With pushing, there was just no way of telling if it would be successful--the baby may not me moving further down because of his size or maybe it was cord issue. The doctor said I would most likely tear and continuing would eventually stress the baby. His recommendation was to do a c-section. I was so exhausted that I knew I couldn't go another few hours, especially knowing it wouldn't promise any results. I reluctantly agreed to the c-section and was a bawling mess, just from fear of having surgery and not knowing what would happen. I was whisked away to the OR and Jake got dressed in his surgical outfit to accompany me.

A short few minutes later, out came baby Jett at 7:35 a.m.! I was so drugged up that everything was in dream mode for me. I missed him being weighed and bathed, and even when they handed him to me all wrapped up in a bundle as I was being wheeled into my recovery room it seems like a groggy dream. It was so surreal. He was instantly precious and the doctors and nurses couldn't believe his size...a hefty 9 lbs. 12 oz. No wonder he wasn't going down the birth canal! I knew I had made the right decision by opting for the c-section. The rest of the day was resting, visiting with family and friends, and just staring at Jett. 

By the next day when I was feeling like me again, I was completely smitten with my little bundle of joy and had a few emotional moments watching him yawn and make his little noises. He's so adorable and absolutely perfect! I couldn't dream him up in a million years. Four days later after a nice, relaxing stay in the hospital, we got to take our baby home. It's been an adventure, to say the least. He is more and more adorable, even though it has definitely been work and stressful. Recovering from a c-section has made things more difficult, so I've been so thankful for Jake. Bestest hubby ever! I love our little family and look forward to seeing little Jett grow stronger and bigger every day. It's official, I'm a mommy.

Preggo Problems

In chatting with my beloved BF the other month venting to her about the burdens of being chunky, she compared my inability to bend over to that of a giraffe at a watering hole. I have died laughing picturing that image in my mind ever since because it is SO true. I found the picture appropriate to post right about now since the extra weight is an on-going nuisance...gone are the days of graceful ballet pliés to the ground to pick something up I've dropped, and thank heavens for pedicures since being able to tend to my own toes became impossible months ago. Yes, the giraffe spread has come in handy along with many other positions I've had to adjust to in order to function. "Graceful" and "pregnant" just don't go together in the same sentence. Ever.

 

Only 50 days left in my pregnancy! Holy moly.

Third Trimester Arrival

In lieu of arriving at my third trimester a couple of weeks ago (currently at week 30...ahhh!), I decided I needed a post to vent about all my cool stuff I've been doing for baby! (Yes, the poor guy doesn't have a name yet.) There has obviously been a few shopping sprees here and there and the big items have been checked off my list already. I wanted to share...

First, we start with ze crrrib. I decided on white awhile ago because the other furniture we'd be putting in the room is also white...I'll be adding a dresser and also a desk with a hutch in the room that was the furniture I used growing up. I figured the desk would be nice to use as a changing table and the hutch is great so I have shelves for baby books, picture frames, stuffed animals, etc.  

To complete my white furniture for the room, I wanted some kind of chair as all moms do. Originally we planned to buy a pricey armchair until we decided to make due with a simple rocking chair that my parents had to give us...the only problem was Jake was going to have to refurbish it since it's 70's dark brown wood with some great gold foil accents. Well, a better offer on a rocking chair ended up coming our way so we scratched the idea of using my parents rocking chair and have now proudly inherited this beauty thanks to my friend Natalie's grandmother. It's perfect! I'll just need a cushion for my big bum...which I found at World Market! I wanted a back cushion too so I was clever and and bought 3 of the cushions: one for sitting on, and two that I'll sew together that will go along the back of the chair. LOVE.

 

Next, the fabulous bedding!...minus the hideous yellow monkey blanket. (I'm not big on character stuff, especially monkeys.) I was really up in the air on what colors I wanted. I originally was going to go with an adorable navy and white set with mini lime green alligators (almost like a Lacoste logo) but I felt like it threw off my plans for paint colors since I had wanted to paint a light shade of apple green to keep the room gender neutral instead of painting it blue. Lime green and navy just didn't fit those plans. I instead came up with finding gray and white bedding since it's just simple and I can mix any color of sheet with it...I had actually planned on using gray, white and lavender bedding had baby been a girl, so this works out nice to just switch the lavender to blues and greens for a boy. Overall I plan to use teal and apple green with my gray and white. Nursery room colors complete!

This would be a close example of the color we painted the room, but instead of painting the full walls, we only painted about the bottom third because we'll be adding trim around the room for the split color look. 

For room decor, I only have a few ideas...mostly putting fun things on the desk shelves and some pictures above the crib along with a few other tidbits here and there. I came across these box canvas prints at Target and love them, but decided I might attempt to make my own so that I can adjust the shade of each color to match just right and can also so I can decide which color will have which pattern. Let's hope I can pull this project off! Either way, this will pretty much be what I'm planning to hang on the wall above the crib.

Then, during my adventure to Hobby Lobby to go browse their fabulous goods, I came across these items...a rug for the room and picture frame for one of the bookshelves. Love them! For the frame, I'll paint over the orange.

This will also end up being purchased for the bookshelf....

I've been debating on what to do for a lamp or night light in the room and had considered buying a large paper Chinese lantern since I absolutely loved the one I owned before. I instead settled on just a regular lamp but think a teal base with a white shade would be super cute. This one pictured is from World Market, so I'll be heading there on Saturday to investigate. 

Another must is twinkle lights! I've always had them in my room since probably high school, usually draped over the top of my window or above my closet. I decided baby's room needs some and would act as a good night light instead of too much light from a lamp being on all night. These lights are also from World Market, and they would be perfect! Looks like I get to have my Chinese lantern look afterall, just in twinkle light form. Hooray!

For baby blankets, I couldn't wait to hurry and buy one I like. It seems that at baby showers, the next most popular item given is receiving blankets (or just blankets in general). I decided that even though I'm planning on people giving me blankets, I wanted to buy one that I specifically liked. I found this one at Target and adore it! I love the colored squares. I love it for a baby boy.

The carseat and stroller were the first things we bought...well, first things my parents bought for us. Thanks parents! I picked out this brand because I see them everywhere and loved the color selections they had. I went with my fabulous green color and like that it's gender neutral to use again for baby #2 when that day comes along. Jake is ok with my green obsession.

I haven't purchased my diaper bag yet, but I'm planning to get this Petunia Pickle Bottom one. I feel super snobby about it because they are so dang expensive, but this is another brand I see everywhere and friends of mine that have the diaper backpacks rave about how much they love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. They have so many cute options to choose from but a simple gray works for me...plus, Jake probably wouldn't appreciate wearing something with pink flowers on it when it comes to his daddy duties of bag carrying.  

And then there's baby clothes! I'd like to think I really haven't bought that much since I'm guessing a lot of friends and family will end up giving me quite a few. I'm also waiting for fall clothing and colors to come out, so I've limited my spending on summer outfits...crabs and beach clothes don't fit September very well. For the clothes I have bought, I just love them! I put together a college of some of my finds. These all range from newborn size to 9 months...apparently I like stripes and haven't branched out much on colors after looking at this. Haha. But, missing from this group is a super cute gray and white Utes T-shirt, a gray Darth Vader onesie, and a yellow Tshirt from with baby sea turtles on it from Hawaii when my parents went in March.

 

Let me just point out the adorable Vans shoes above! I've had my eye on them for awhile and was so excited to buy them and use them as part of Jake's Father's Day presents to show that baby will be cool like dad in skater shoes...to complete the coolness look, I also bought an infant Air Jordan black baseball hat. So cute! The shoes won't be wearable until baby is over 1 year old when he will be walking.

July will be busily spent putting the nursery together, mostly by Jake. I can't wait until he's done painting and assembling the crib so then I can start decorating and putting things away. Fun stuff! Hopefully all turns out as well as I'm picturing in my head.