Jake Turns Two

Happy Birthday Jake!

Last weekend we celebrated Jake's big day with a small party at the house. Between the whirlwind of travels my grand idea of having a cowboy/western themed BBQ bash turned into pizza and cupcakes in the backyard. Luckily Jake's best buds were able to come on short notice and we really enjoyed the laid back celebration.

There was fishing in the pond, water balloons, and lots of yummy food to be enjoyed by all.

It is hard to believe that two years has whisked by so fast, but also that so many great memories and milestones have been crammed into just two years. Jake has endless energy, a comical personality with the goal of making people laugh, and a mischievous and hot temper that makes the time out chair a daily occurrence. His affection is genuine and can wipe away all the worries of the day and best of all he is still teaching me new things about himself or the world we live in everyday.

Jake weighs in at 29lbs and is 35 inches tall. He has no time to be sick which has been a blessing for us all and developmentally he is doing great. His language skills get better with every passing day as sentences and conversations replaced demands of simple wants or dislikes many months ago. He is very descriptive in his speech which has opened up his vocabulary and recently he started to recall past/future events when asked what he did during the day or what he would like to do the following day.

On his actual birthday we enjoyed a great day at the beach, a delicious sushi dinner (he really likes it!), and presents. Trains and Toy Story were the main attractions.

On the plane again....

Jake has become quite the little traveler this summer and without a doubt this past trip to CA was one of his best. The complimentary upgrades to 1st class don't hurt either :) They serve warm milk and cookies, I always knew I smelled them back in economy all those years!

In late June we headed to Northern Cali to visit my family in Chico and attend a wedding for one of Chris' childhood friends.

We all love going to Gma's house up in the mountains with the fresh air, fantastic views, and endless shooting stars at night. My Gma is also the hostess with the mostess and family dinners are always planned and appreciated.

Gma Marcy was able to join us from Florida and Jake was all smiles when she talked the local construction crew into letting him ride on the bulldoser.

While Chris was away (the next mountain ridge over) being an attentive best man before the big day, Jake and I enjoyed time with the fam watching humming birds, feeling Colin kickboxing in my belly, walking the grounds, and scanning in old family photos. Simple pleasures that were simply refreshing.

For all you moms that have been preggers during the hot hot summer you know how serious I am when I say that I crave fresh fruit on an hourly basis (in between sugar cravings of course). To my giddy delight Chris spotted a fresh strawberry stand and honestly I was so head over heels about their deliciousness that I kept the green plastic crates for nostalgia.

Erik's wedding went off without a hitch and my boys couldn't have looked more handsome. It was such a magical ceremony and an honor to have both Chris and Jake included. My trick to get Jake down the isle (he was the ring bearer) was more of a bribe with the Necco candies I had promised him, but the day of the wedding he had his own plans.

Taking things into his own hands and being the true leader that he his he paused on the runway and waited for the two flower girls to appear behind him. Then excitedly he threw his arm out and over his head as he encouraged them down the isle "This way girls, this way!". He trotted down the isle and into Chris' arms then gave Erik a big high-five!

He mouth is puckered in the next few pics because I had to deliver those Necco candies I had promised!

He looked so handome in his mini tux!

When the dance floor came out Jake was the first one on and the last to be pried off. He had all kinds of moves that I had never seen and rocked it all night long.

Us with the happily wedded couple Brianna and Erik, congratulations love birds!

The next day my Aunt Kathy and Uncle Dan had us over for a BBQ and some fun in the creek conveniently located in their backyard.

They have this amazing rope swing that is so much fun, Chris even got in on the action this year! I asked my cousin Beth if I should do it (being that I'm prego and all) and my Gma just gasped and immediately responded "No, no, you don't need to be doing that". Eeeek, love you Gma, and away I went. I even had a bigger swing thanks to my added lbs.

The next day Beth came over to let the little cousins play while we caught up and instantly the boys were racing around and laughing endlessly.

What was really funny was how Jake reacted to Josh's perfectly red ride along fire engine. One minute I saw it, the next I didn't.....

We really had a great week visiting family in Chico and all too soon we headed south to visit some more family and celebrate the 4th.

It was so neat to see family again so soon and Jake instantly connected with everyone off the bat. His auntie Kate is going to be a freshman cheerleader at Canyon High this year and it was so neat to go watch her do stunts during one of her practices. Jake kept saying "Fly Kate, good job!".

One day the entire fam enjoyed a day at the nearby waterpark.

They had 3 amazing kiddie areas, but all had a ton of spraying water (like someone is shooting a water gun into your face) on all the slides so Jake was frightened to go near any of them.....maybe next year.

Jake did enjoy the wave pool though and everyone enjoyed a fun day splashing around the slides and pools.

One of my favorite things we were able to do this past trip was attend a Lonestar concert. Lonestar sings our wedding song "Amazed" and it was such a treat to see them play and enjoy the relaxed park like atmosphere of the venue. To boot it only cost $5 to get in!!!

When they finally played our song Chris took my hand and we danced among the crowd like young teenagers. It was such a fun night.

Happy 4th of July!

The fourth is one of my favorite holidays for so many reasons. One of which being that I can dress myself and now my children in the patriotic colors of our nation. But most of all for the overwhelming feeling of support, pride, and appreciation from our founding fathers to all the men and women along the way protecting it and continuing to fight and defend our freedom.

In Hawaii we miss out on this sense of pride where flags are displayed and the simple joys of a summertime holiday are enjoyed by the community. Hawaii is a beautiful place, but not one that puts patriotism at the forefront even for just one day. Many residents here want and continuously fight for becoming a sovereign entity and ridding themselves of "Americanization". No doubt we pushed our way around and claimed this land under not so justified means and it has been exploited in a way that is typical for any island paradise. However that exploitation of tourism is what makes these islands a profitable sustaining State and the selfishness of those that ignore the bigger picture and denounce America in their ignorant rants angers me. I'll stop my own ignorant rant now......

Who knew that little Americana was in the blocks of Lakewood?! We visited my Mom for the holiday and enjoyed several different block parties nearby. Everyone was dressed up, decorations were hung, and people just ride their bikes around saying hello and happy 4th. We did all the normal BBQ festivities: water balloon toss, Chili cook-off, local bike parade, and of course ate delicious BBQ until our bellies were full.

Our last day was Kate's 14th Birthday and the family celebrated with a day at Chuck E Cheese. Everyone had a great time goofing around and then we headed off to a celebratory lunch.

Jake LOVES avocado, seriously he could eat a few whole ones in one sitting if allowed. So needless to say when his Uncle T gave him an entire plate full of the super green treat he was thrilled, take a look.....

We had such a great trip and can't wait to head back in August for the Ironman. Until then we are back at home, back to racing, and trying to prepare for Colin's arrival.

This past weekend we did the Waimea swim race which is a 1.2 mile swim in the waters off the bay. This is the same swim that I did the day before Jake was born just 2 short years ago. Colin is growing well and kicks like he is playing in the world cup on an hourly basis. I am feeling good as well and am just trying to keep as active as I can during our short periods at home.