Happy Birthday Jack!

We can't believe that you've been our baby boy
for two years now. Where has the time gone?

You are the best thing we have ever done.
We love you more than we ever thought possible.

Happy 2nd Birthday Jack!

Love forever,
Mama & Dada

*Sorry for all the typos in the slide show; I think I've counted 3-5. How embarrassing! Nursery, 1st, Check-out, etc. In my defense I was up quite late putting this little ditty together.

The Aquarium of the Pacific

Picture this:
3 and 1/2 Howes visiting
The Aquarium of the Pacific
forJack's 2nd Birthday to be...

Here's what we dug the most:
Jack's highlights- Giving the scuba guy
a "high-five & saying hi to Nemo.

Kent's highlights- Making funny faces with
Jack & petting the sting rays.

Jodi's highlights- Getting cuddles &
seeing baby sharks growing in shark pods!

Happy almost 2nd Birthday Little Man! We love you...

Are We Done Yet?

I mentioned months ago that we were remodeling the bathroom.
What I didn't mention was that the bathroom remodel
spurred 10 or so other smallish home
improvement projects. Since then Kent has re-textured
just about every wall in our townhouse, replaced all light switches
and outlet covers, helped add recessed lighting to the
living room, and re-painted almost everything.
Last night, Kent was supposed to be painting
our bedroom when I caught him doodling...


This one's too funny



I think he's tired of home improving. What do you think?

Thank you for all your hard work Kent.
I know for every wall you paint there are beautiful waves hitting
the shore that you will never get to surf.
I appreciate all your hard work/nesting and sacrifice
so that we can have a comfortable home to bring Jillian home to.
You are wonderful and I love you so much!

Baking and a Lil' Blog Stalking

I know we are all guilty of it,
but I'm going to come right out &
admit it. I have been known to peruse blog
rolls of friends. I have also been known to
catch up daily on the lives of complete strangers
(be they friends of friends, if that makes it any better).
I admit it-I am a blog stalker!
I'm not completely proud of this fact, but find it
less scary to admit on my blog that I admire
someone else'sblog than to post a comment admitting
it on said blog(s).

Having said all of this, I will freely tell you
there is this one blog that I totally adore!
This Mom/Wife/Woman is amazing!
She takes amazing pictures, bakes delicious food,
sews, crafts, contantly keeps her kids
busy with amazing outings, crafts, and baking lessons.
And if that wasn't enough, it appears that
she keeps an immaculate house! She might just
be Super Woman and I can't help but have a
little hero worship as I check in on her life (daily).

Last week I tried a recipe from Super Woman's blog-

Bodacious blueberry muffins.

They were so great even Jack ate them!
(He's totally picky about what he puts in his mouth.)
He liked them so much, every time I turned around
another muffin was missing off the cooling rack.

Just wanted to pass along the recipe.
And relieve my guilty conscious... .

bodacious blueberry muffins

1 and 3/4 C flour

1/3 C sugar

2 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

1 beaten egg

3/4 C milk

1/4 C cooking oil

1 C blueberries

Mix together all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl
mix together beaten egg, milk, and oil. Add the wet
ingredients to the dry and mix until just moistened.
Fold in blueberries. Place in prepared muffin pan.
Bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes, or
until tops are golden brown.

Z Pizza

Here's a little heads-up
for those of you who live in the O.C.

Stater Brother's Supermarket
is giving away coupons on
the back of their receipts
for free slices of Z Pizza!
Sooo cool! Who turns down
free pizza?

(Especially when it's really good free pizza.)
Oh, and did Imention the slices are big?
Awesome...
















Jack really enjoys a good slice of P.
That's right, he's calls it P.
(We're still working on the -izza part).

Dollar Bin Chalk

The Easter Bunny brought Jack $1 bin chalk (he he).

Shaped like eggs & in its own carton!

We can't get enough of it!
~
"Mama draw car..."

~Draw~


~Draw~

~Draw~

Chalking the sidewalk with Jack reminds me of the countless hours I used to spend on my belly making many a chalk master piece in the backyard. I wanted to recreate those fond memories, but two things held us back- 1. the mess (yes, Jack still hates getting dirty) and 2. the bump. We'll keep chalking and I'm sure these set backs will resolve themselves.
~

My Bad

Dear Friends,

It's been a while since I've posted. Sorry folks...I've been busy, tired, and
uninspired. I'm thinking it's only going to get worse from here on out until the baby's born. So here are some tardy posts to keep you satisfied until I get the gumption to blog again.

Love,
Jodi & the bump

Unwilling subject

What?
You said CHEESE;
what were you expecting?

(PS-I love this shirt. It's not technically for preggers like me. It's actually from the teen section at Kohls. But the style right now is loose and flowy, just perfect for my ever growing middle.)

Chuck-E-Chesse

Jack's 1st trip to Chuck-E-Cheese, from Mama's point of view
(behind the camera)

Jack's first time behind the wheel.

Trapped behind the plexiglas in the tube run.

Sliding to freedom

Playing a game just Jack's size (prego siting in left
corner of photo; facinating).

Break for a little dinner. Notice Jack is feasting from
the middle of his slice of pizza.

Yum...

Back to work

Must shoot from tippy toe position

Ski ball champ

"Here, have a turn."

Way to go Aunt Mack,
you beat a 2 year old at a Top Glo.

Tallying up the tickets

Jack's prize (note to self-No More foam toys,
not good for Jack's digestive track.)

Your numbers match up; you're free to go home!

2nd Year Photo Shoot

Where has the time gone? In mere days my little boy turns TWO!
Here are highlights from the photo shoot to commemorate this new milestone.

Nana and Aunt Mack took him to Photography Innovations with the hopes he would be better behaved than if Mom or Dad were there. This theory held true, but apparently it didn't mean he held still. According to Nana and Mack, Jack's photographer really had to be on her toes to catch these sweet photos (the quick shutter speed didn't hurt either).

I don't have enough good things to say about this Photography Studio, 1.they were very patient with Jack, 2.took over 70 shots of him, 3.spent tons of time helping us customize our photo package, 4.had no sitting fee, and (here's the kicker) 5.the photos were ready to take home 20 minutes after we paid! I'm definitely going back, the only drawback is they don't have studios in California. Just my luck, I guess we'll be taking pictures when ever we visit Arizona.

Enjoy the photo shoot and keep your eyes peeled for my favorite "Jacked-up" photo.