Jackisms

I've mentioned the funny things Jack says and does... here are some things this past week or so:

I talked to him about fall and how the leaves on the trees change in the fall.  I then cut out some leaves in fall colors and let him glue them on a branch I drew on paper.  He loves glue.  I hung the picture on the fridge, and a few days later he started ripping the leaves off the picture.
Me- "Jack, what are you doing?"
Jack - "the leaves are falling mom."
He then went outside and put them
in the "fire-camp" he had made on the porch with the sticks he had collected on our walk earlier that evening.


We were leaving to go to the store...
Jack- "I forgot my coupons."
Me- "Coupons for what?"
Jack- "gas at Costco".
Me- "Oh, where did you leave them"?
Jack- "In storage..." (that's his answer to a lot of things.  Where did that come from, storage... where is that?... it's in storage.) I guess that's our answer to most things too these days.

Jack came over and noticed Kate's shirt.
Jack- "Kate has a stripped shirt on".
Me- "yes she does".
Jack- "Like Oscar"
Me- "who's Oscar"?
Jack- "Oscar, he was wearing that at Nana and Papa's"
Me- "Oh... Austin".  (Austin, Jack's new cousin that he saw last weekend who was wearing this shirt! How does he remember that?

Today I was eating a banana and Jack wanted it... so of course I gave it to him.  Then with his mouth stuffed with banana he said, "thanks for sharing your banana with me mom". - I love that kid!

Halloween

We had a fun time this Halloween! Jack was an Engineer, and Kate was a bouquet of flowers. We started the week off with a Ward Halloween Party on Tuesday night. Jack was a little timid at first but after we took him through the games the first time, he decided which ones were his favorite and kept wanting to do them over and over, he really didn't get the concept of waiting in line. His favorite by far was the shooting game. :)

On Thursday, we had our 2nd annual Bundy Halloween Party. Kristy hosted the party and Jackie provided the games. If you know us Bundy girls, we've always liked a little competition. We usually do something at parties, camping, what have you. We first had the boys (Tucker, Taylor, and Jack) play their games. Jack was SO excited, until he realized what games they were (after going to the ward party he was ready for some more shooting games, or bowling, or something). The first game was to find your M&M's in a pile of whipped cream using only your mouth. He didn't really like that idea. He said "this is not a game". It was funny.

On Saturday, we went to Apple Hill. This use to e a fall tradition in our family, but I haven't been up
 since Jared and I were married. It was a beautiful day, we ate lots of "apple" things, and just had fun doing something as a family. Jack rode a train, ran up and down a little hill, and played with sticks that he just had to take home with us.

That night, Kristy, Jeff, and Carson came over for dinner and "trick-or-treating". We took them to 5 houses and they got more candy than they needed. Fortunately Jack has forgotten about it and hasn't asked for it since. Hope you all had a great Halloween!

For Aunt Jen

Here is Jack opening up his "surprise" from you. It was on our doorstep when we got home yesterday afternoon. Jack was SO excited!! He kept saying..."Maybe there's a book inside!". I knew you were sad that you couldn't be there to give it to the kids so I videoed him opening it up. Sorry for the 3 video's, I had to stop a few times.
Thanks for making our kids SO happy! They love you! We love you!

P.S. Thanks for the adorable Halloween apron! I love it!

Pumpkin Carving/Family Night

On Monday we carved pumpkins for family night.  Jack and I cleaned out the pumpkins before Jared got home from work.  He then carved the pumpkins with Jack while Kate and I watched. 

For our "treat" we had sugar cookie ice cream sandwiches that I made during naps.  We thought they were pretty good, Jack took a little taste and then tore it apart.  He asked for some fruit snacks instead... :)

Baby Gift

I have been exploring many sewing blogs lately and have been really inspired.  There are so many very talented and creative people out there and I'm so grateful to the blogging world for making them available to me.  I could spend hours upon hours looking through them and I now have several things on my project list of things I want to try.

The first thing I made were these cute little pants made from old t-shirts (or new which is what I did).  The how-to I found on this blog.  I added little pockets to the back by removing the pocket from the t-shirt.
The next thing I did was make this hat.  The patten was found on Martha Stewart but I saw it made on this site.
I then toyed with doing several different things with the onsie and decided on doing an applique of a sailboat.  I drew out the picture on some paper and then traced it onto the material.  This was my first attempt at applique as well.  I was a little nervous because you really only get one try.
I decided to add sleeves to the short sleeve onsie because my original plan was to do a long sleeve shirt with this outfit.  I accidently bought a short sleeve shirt (it was in a package) and didn't want to take the time to return it.  I remembered I saw on another blog a how-to on how to add sleeves to a shirt and so I figured it was worth a try.  It was REALLY hard and frustrating.  I wish someone new an easier way to do this.  If you do, let me know!
The fabric came from this t-shirt I picked up at Target on sale for $2.  (I actually bought 2 just incase I needed it, I'm glad I did.... I made a few mistakes along the way).

Here is the finished outfit modeled on my sweet little Kate.  This was a gift to my sister in-law who just had her second little boy!

Rolling Over

One of the first big milestones, rolling over... Kate has been doing it for several weeks now and I just got it on video. She's been moving since she was born. She's a strong little thing and I feel like she was born ready to go! I'm sure she'll be crawling in no time... We have a fun time with this sweet girl!

Monterey

Last weekend we were fortunate enough to take a trip to Monterey, Ca for a friends wedding.  It was a BEAUTIFUL weekend!  I don't think I've been to the beach in Northern CA and seen it this beautiful in a long time.  It's always hit or miss and it seems we usually miss.  Anyway, it was beautiful and we had a great time.

On Friday we arrived at 1 0'clock and Jared hung out with the groom (Matt) and his buddies and went golfing.  Jack had been talking about going to the beach the entire 3 hour trip there and so I took the kids on my own.  It was so much fun and not as much work as I thought it would  be alone.  The kids were great, no one cried, no one fussed, we just played and ran around.

After a couple hours, I got the kids in the car and drove around while they slept.  We then picked Jared up and went to our hotel and enjoyed the pool.  Jack loved it of course.  It was a nice Hotel, good thing because we spent lots of time there on Saturday.  Friday night Jack woke us up around midnight with the stomach flu.  He threw up several times that night and kept me awake most the night making sure I got to him in time before he made a mess of his bed.  I somehow managed to keep things under control.  No huge messes and we used the hotel's washer/dryer to clean Jack's favorite blankets.  We rested most the day Saturday, but did what we came there to do and went to the wedding by the beach and the reception that night.

Sunday, before we headed home, I wanted to visit one of my favorite spots in that area. Point Lobos Reserve.  It's beautiful! Great place to hike, hidden beaches, and at certain times of the year you see different marine life.  Love it.  We couldn't hike around as much as we would have liked because Jack was still not feeling his usual self (which broke my heart) and wanted me to carry him around everywhere.  But, all in all, it was a fun get away and I'm grateful to Matt and Sarah for getting married in Monterey so we had the excuse for a mini vacation!  Love you guys!

The poor little sicko, but still cute as can be.

Pumpkin Patch '09

Today my sisters (Kristy and Jackie) and I took the kids to a Pumpkin Patch in Wheatland (45 min north of Sac.).  We had a great time! The weather was good and the kids were well behaved (which is always nice)!  We took a train ride which all the boys loved, had lunch, let the kids run around, and spent some time in the petting zoo (although extremly smelly, it seemed to be the favorite).  We of course missed our husbands who spend WAY to much time working.  But I guess that's what dad's do...

Jack is 2 1/2!!

Jack turned 2 1/2 on Wednesday!  Time is flying by WAY too fast!! Will it please just slow down! I love this age! The conversations, the laughs, the hugs, the snuggling... I just can't get enough.  The days pass and we get closer and closer to a time when he'll no longer "need" his mommy - it just breaks my heart!  I'm trying to cherish every moment and not let these days slip by....

Things I'm loving about Jack right now (in no particular order):
1. He shortend Grandpa to Gramp (I don't know where he got this from, every once in a while he'll just say "hey Gramp") it's just so cute.  His first 'nickname'.
2. When we sit down to read books he says "I'll read it" and then proceeds to start telling a story that goes along with the pictures.
3. We can look at each other and just laugh.  It's so funny.  The more we laugh the harder we laugh, he's got such a great since of humor.  I really appreciate it.
4. Every once in a while I catch him playing nicely with Kate, trying to make her happy if she's not.
5. Oh the things he says... his memory is amazing!! I wish I could write down everything.  He cracks us up.  One thing he's starting to say a lot is "I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it's my fault.  It's really cute.
6. Everything that has a point or is long is "a sword".  "Look Mom, it's a sword".

We had a great day on Wednesday.  It rained (stormed) all day so we didn't leave the house.  Jack loves water, and when he saw the rain he just HAD to go outside.  I knew this was going to mean more work for me, taking on and off the rain gear, changing clothes etc. but I had to let him do it.  He had fun splashing around in the puddles and just running around the yard.
For lunch we had a couple of his favorites - banana bread and chicken nuggets, which he helped me make.  He loves helping me in the "chicken" as he calls it.  He's a great helper.  He has been great at picking up his toys and cleaning up messes.

He's great - we love him - and we love watching him grow!

Home Bound

I've been sick for a week. I've had a cold for an entire week! Not just the lingering runny nose and cough thing.... but full out head throbbing, watery eyes, sore throat, stuffy nose, can't breath (or taste for that matter), non stop coughing sick... for a week! I haven't gone ANYWHERE this week (including Target!!), and if I worked outside the home I would have had to call out sick for the week cause NO ONE would want to be around me right now. But... my work is being a mommy and as much as I'd like to, I can't call out sick from this job. I've been picking up toys, cleaning up food messes, doing laundry, reading books (in between coughing fits) singing songs (with voice that is horse) changing diapers (always being surprised to find poop cause I can't smell it), leaving kids in poopy diapers cause I can't smell em, giving baths, getting kids dressed, digging outside, building towers, coloring, playing with play dough, AND getting up several (SEVERAL) times in the night with a baby who is having a rough week as well... when all I really want to do is crawl into bed and sleep, and sleep, and sleep. Mom's (of new babies at least) don't get to sleep... they don't get breaks (I guess this is what "they" mean when "they" talk about the sacrifice of motherhood...). Thankfully, this can't last forever... and I'm praying that Jack doesn't get this (or Jared for that matter). In the meantime... here are a few pictures for your viewing pleasure... This was us at 7 o'clock last night. Kate waking from a nap, Jack bathing, and me showing off my red nose. Jared is missing because he was missing (still at work...). The End for now.

Our Little Lady!

3 month old Kate! We are SO in love with her. She is such a good little baby. Mild tempered, easy going, fairly predictable, and LOVES when you talk to her. She gives the biggest smiles... they're whole body smiles that are so fun! We love her, Jack loves her! He wakes up in the morning and says "see baby Kate". I have to keep a close eye on him to make sure he doesn't "love" her TOO much. We're glad she's apart of our family! Time flies (I know it does for everyone...) but it's gone by even faster with baby #2. I'm excited to see what newness she'll bring to the next 3 months of our lives together! :)

Squeaky Carts

It seems like I always get the squeaky cart when I go shopping. ALWAYS! Last week I had one with a loud eeek that could be heard round the entire store. People would walk by and look at me as if they were annoyed... like it was MY fault!? I would have gotten rid of it but I was already half way done shopping and was in a hurry and didn't want to take the time to transfer all my stuff into a new cart. Instead, I looked the other way, ignored the stares, acted like the noise didn't bother me, and finished my shopping. SO the other day when we went to Target (Jack and I) and we got ANOTHER squeaky cart I was really annoyed (why is it that you don't notice the squeak right away?)... until, as we were walking out to the car, Jack started dancing to the beat of the squeak... (something he does whenever he hears any kind of beat i.e. the washing machine, so funny..). He made me smile and feel very grateful for that squeaky cart.

Labor Day Weekend

We FINALLY went camping this summer!! I've been looking forward to this for sometime now. Camping is one of my all time favorite summer activities and most of our camp stuff is at the bottom of a huge pile way back in our storage unit. Fortunately my good parents were willing to take us! Thank you Mom and Dad!! A highlight of our trip....

Playing in the dirt (and playing and playing and playing... I've never seen a kid so dirty... oh wait, I have... :)

hiking,

playing on the beach,

bike rides and kayak rides,


And enjoying our new little girl!


Jack and I were the first ones up one morning and Jack wanted some "fireworks" (that's what he called the fire) - so... I had to bust out my girls camp skills and build my little boy a fire!

A couple of our favorite self portraits:

(for a few other past self portraits see: here, here, here, here, and here).

And last but not least, two of the cutest little campers I've ever seen! They were such troopers!! It was such a great weekend! YEAH for camping!!

(We had fun with Jeff, Kristy, and Carson who came up with us for a couple of days!!)

Forget the Vest!

So I REALLY owe the discovery of this little accomplishment to my friend Esther! Her little Robby is just a couple weeks older than Jack and HE is swimming like a champ. When I saw her video of him I was really impressed and told Jared about it. He thought Jack could do it too (I wasn't as sure I have to admit). So today I thought I would give him a try. He did SO much better than I thought he would! Thanks Esther for helping us discover this new found freedom! :)

Good-bye...

My sister Stefanie has left with her clan. We were sad to see them leave and had lots of fun while they were here! It was a busy week and the day after they left Kate AND Jack took 4 hour naps (at different times of course). I think we were all worn out! :) Here is a summery of some of the things we did...

Swimming at a cool community pool -

We took a day trip to the beach. The kids had SO much fun just getting dirty. Jack was hoppin around throwing rocks in the ocean and was lovin it. They had sand EVERYWHERE when they were done.

We also spent a few days swimming at my sister Kristy's....

My sister's and I all had babies this year, starting with Kristy in January, Jackie in February, Stefanie in May, and I had Kate in June. We were all pregnant at the same time but never got a picture of all of us together... Here we are with our babies!

And here are the babies....

We had fun with you Stef... we wish you could be closer!