Dza-Dza came to town!

My dad, aka Dza-Dza, ("Ja-Ja") came to visit last week. He arrived on Thursday morning and left on Sunday - a quick trip but we had a great time. J really got along well with him and was sad when he left.

We met Shawn for lunch when Dza arrived. J started eating the onions off my plate. Yucky!!


J loved hanging out with Dza...


Reading,


Playing,


or relaxing!


We went to breakfast at the Farm @ South mountain.


Then we went to the top of South Mountain! Fun!



J wanted a picture of himself and his new Nemo (his latest obsession)


And then he found a box to play in!


Sunday morning, before he had to leave, Shawn, J and Dza went to the park by our house.


This is after his nap...


Not sure when this became a riding lawnmower!


Sunday night Kim watched J and Shawn and I had a date night that his mom, Anita, gave us for my 'not a shower-baby shower.' We went to see Les Misérables at the Phoenix Theater. It was fantastic! I highly recommend it, especially if you have an entertainment book (there's a coupon for buy one, get one free for tickets!) It was a great deal. Here we are all dressed up.


And Kim insisted on taking this picture because I'm 'getting so big!' Thanks, ha ha ha!


Speaking of Sweet Pea - she's due in about 4 1/2 weeks. Yikes, this pregnancy has literally flown by! I finally have washed the sheets/etc for the bassinet and some clothes. (they are in the dryer as I type this!) Her room is not done. At all. We need to get rid of the guest bed, then we'll be able to get things set up for her. So, again, if you know anyone who'd like a queen sized bed and is willing to move it, tell me!!

California...knows how to party...

We took a trip to California to visit Shawn's dad, his dad's wife, Karen, Karen's children Alec and Krystal, and Shawn's grandma, Marilyn. We left Thursday night and J did great in the car...



Friday it rained almost all day so we didn't do anything. So when it was nice on Saturday morning, and we'd all been up since 3am, (yes, THREE IN THE MORNING), we headed to the beach. Since J fell asleep on the way, we just drove up the coast and killed time so he could catch up on some sleep.

Pretty ocean...


When he woke up we headed to Laguna Beach.




J liked the sand but literally ran away screaming when a larger wave broke on the shore and the water came towards him. I can understand how that would be scary - I forgot how loud the ocean was!


Heading back from the beach we saw these snow-covered mountains - how funny.


Before dinner we hung out outside and J played on his new favorite toy - this little ATV thingy. He liked it so much that we brought it home with us...and this morning before we left, he wanted to take it with us. I told him no so he gave it a hug and a kiss. Cute...but weird. Runs in the family.


A little off-roading over the basketball hoop.


"Flying" down the hill


Playing cards with Karen (nice hair dude!)


And blocks with Crystal.


Here are the 'dudes'


We ended up cutting the trip short - Jeremiah did not sleep well. He was up at 5am (or earlier) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday mornings, and also didn't nap at all. He figured out how to get out of the pack n' play as well...nice. So instead of leaving Monday morning, we left Sunday morning. It was sad that we couldn't spend more time with our family but J was a mess and, to be honest, so were we. We all needed a good nights sleep. (or two or three).

On the way home we passed these windmills or whatever you call them. For some reason they really creep me out....they are so eerie looking. We passed them on the way to our destination but it was dark so you could barely see them. They were more creepy in daylight.


J fed his doggie blankie chicken nuggets for lunch - how sweet. I can just imagine what Sweet Pea will be fed...should be interesting!

Trying again!

I've been trying to post a new blog for a few days but for some reason pictures aren't working. And as much as I love these "word" things I also love posting pictures.

Here are a couple from my brother, Steve's visit. (He is over 18, Holly! Tell your sister!)

J and Steve found each other equally amusing. Steve laughed at J because he's never really been around toddlers before...and J laughed at Steve because Steve was laughing at him. It was cute. J called Steve "Wa-Wa" which I think was supposed to be "Uncle."







Trying to take a pic of J and I together. It doesn't always work out with a squirmy toddler!




Eh, that will do, I guess.


The other day we went to the zoo - this is in the kids area (yes, by that awful petting zoo!)



For lunch we went to Frank and Lola's in Scottsdale - I highly recommend it, especially if you have an entertainment book (there's a coupon for buy one get one free! Whoo-hoo!) J loved the chips and salsa...while I found the salsa a little on the spicy side. :-(



Then J got his 2nd hair cut. He did really well during it, no squirming or crying. But he does look quite a bit older and slightly mischevious.


A little update on J and Sweet Pea:

If you can tell in the last picture, he's using a spoon and is doing quite good with it. He also uses a fork really well and we're working on a 'big boy' cup with him...it's a definite learning process. He is also trying to talk more but a lot of his words all sound like each other so it's still a guessing game with him. He's figured out that saying "EESE!" (please) after everything almost always guarantees what he wants. He's such an independent, fun little boy and I'm very interested to see how he reacts to his little sister. Speaking of her...I'm now due NEXT MONTH. Eeeeek! We haven't started the nursery yet - my dad will be coming to town in a few weeks so we're waiting til after he leaves. (We have to get rid of our queen sized guest bed, let me know if you want it!) But we have a bassinet and diapers and a few outfits - what else do you really need for a newborn? I'm starting to get excited, obviously it's a tad early but I am really looking forward to meeting her, seeing her face and holding her in my arms!