September - One year already!

At the first of the month I asked Nick to take some pictures of JJ for his 1 year coming up. I'm not going to lie I didn't think we were going to get any good pictures because he's become sort of camera shy and he can be so serious. I was so happy with the way they turned out! We got some really great pictures and thank you Nick for taking them!!




I also made John go to the Farmer's market and get some Utah peaches. I remember eating them last year when my mom was down here and I've been waiting a whole year for some more. They did not disappoint.

This may have been the end of August but we were out and about on day and JJ fell asleep in his stroller. He's never done that before. It was a shock!



I'd read a review about a restaurant that was nearby and heard it was good called, High Tide. I have been looking for a good seafood place because they are rare in the desert. I LOVE this place. It's not overly expensive and big portions. John and I had a date night and went there and then to the new Mission Impossible movie and we liked it so much we went back the next night with Nick and Shar.



My spicy seafood pasta and the beer steamed clams. So yummy!!

It's starting to cool down a little but not much. So we got up early on day and took Bug for a bike ride. We rode over to a few of the parks in the other subdivision and let him try out the swings. He loved it.



He doesn't use his walker a lot anymore, but he was cruising around one night while we ate dinner and he'd gone into his room and gotten his blanket out. That is a new favorite thing to do is to get his blanket out and take it all over the house.




For the holiday weekend we didn't do a whole lot, but we did get with Stephanie and Bart for a bike ride down to Blue 32 for some dinner. I can't remember if Bug didn't feel well or why, but he was pretty grouchy through that meal and that is rare for him. I do remember that he had a fever when we got home so I'm sure it was him being sick. I ended up staying home Tuesday with him and he seemed fine.

He did well at school Wednesday and Thursday but when I picked him up Thursday evening Laura said he had been acting a little off. We got home and I was getting him out of the car and he suddenly projectile vomited over my shoulder. I turned and looked at Nick with a shocked look and he started vomiting again. I ran over and held him over the rocks and once he stopped I turned and walked in and immediately stripped us down to get into the bath. I also called John and told him screw the truck emissions get home NOW.

I had decided to take Friday off to get ready for the birthday party that got a little out of control. So I took the day off to get stuff ready...well that went out the window staying home all day with a sick baby. And of course, he was fine.

My mom and dad came down for Bug's first birthday and I really appreciate that they came and all their help. They got here Friday night a little late, but we'd done burgers at our house with Nick's family. Saturday was busy running around to get everything ready. First, we did a family bike ride to Dunkin Donuts though. That was fun and I think everyone enjoyed it.

Mom and I went to dollar store and got a few decorations and stuff for gift bags. I couldn't decide it I wanted to make his birthday a big thing or a little thing and it turned into a big thing. There were about 30 people there. I will say that I am so thankful for the friends that we've made down here. We've been here 9 years now and to have a group of family and friends here like we do is awesome.

After the dollar store we went to Walmart to find a present because I hadn't even done that yet.

I really dropped the ball on this birthday because I know he's not going to remember it so I didn't put really any effort into a theme or decorations or anything. The one thing I had planned and decided to spend money on was a cake. I had made arrangements with this lady in probably July about the cake. It was all set for her to deliver the cake at 4 right when the party was starting. It was supposed to be a 2 tier butter cream cake with fondant decorations. She sent me a message at 1 saying that she had dropped the cake and wouldn't be able to stack them and what did I want to do. I was not happy and didn't know if I should scrap the whole thing because I knew it wouldn't be what I wanted to just go with 2 separate cakes because I didn't really have a backup. John told me to have her bring the cakes so that was the plan.

About 3 John and my dad went to pick up the pizza and my mom and I were getting Bug his bottle and finishing the last few things. I got another message from the lady telling me that it wasn't going to work and she wasn't coming. I'm not even going to say that I didn't tear into her. I was not happy. So now with 1 hour to go we were rushing to Walmart and Costco looking for a cake.

To shorten a long story I was mean enough the lady said she would bring the cakes over; John went crazy and bought 2 Costco sheet cakes, and then Stephanie came over with a giant cupcake cake for JJ's smash cake. So we ended up with 5 cakes. It was a little bit of a disaster. JJ also had only taken 1 nap and by 345 was super grumpy. So we put him down and by 5 he still wasn't awake and so he got woken up and he wasn't the happiest of campers for his presents and cake.

Thank you to everyone who came though and all the presents. I definitely learned a few things that I'll remember to take into consideration if/when I do another birthday party.



 

John and I had noticed an increase in scorpions since about July. We had the pest company come out and do an extra spray but we were still seeing quite a few (mostly outside or the garage). So we bought a black light and decided to go scorpion hunting. We started the Friday my parents got here I believe and we found proably 15-20 that first night. I was shocked. Since then we have gone out pretty much every night. The first week we were getting about 10 a night; since then it has gone down to 2-3 a night. It's been a bit of a battle with the pest company trying to get them to understand what I mean when I say their treatments are ineffective! We went out and spent a bunch of money on chemicals ourselves and are going to treat it ourselves for a while.

Demon toes!!

This was the first night I think. This jar is about 1/3 full now.

The Sunday after JJ's birthday we got up and decided to do a family ride again. We rode to Apple Dumplings Cafe. It's about 7 miles round trip and everyone had a good time. Bug was wiped out by the time we got home. We've done this again the past 2 weeks.

JJ trying out one of his new toys.

Monday was JJ's actual birthday and my mom and dad were leaving that afternoon. We went to Tia Rosa's for his birthday lunch. As always it was fun to have my parents here and we can't wait for their next visit.

Along with the scorpions we've had really bad mosquitos! I sat here in the house one morning and got 7 bites. I never even saw a mosquito! They have been eating JJ alive. He gets really swollen when he's bitten and then it turns into almost a rash. The doctor said it's nothing though, or nothing we can do.

With all the new toys and presents we needed to get some toy storage. JJ was a big helper putting the new shelves together.

This past weekend Shar invited us swimming. She'd gotten a key to the Power Ranch pool so JJ and I went for a swim. He had a lot of fun kicking in the water and walking around the bench. He made it about an hour and a half when I think he was tired, hungry, and I was worried about too much sun. When we got home he and I were playing so I took a selfie of us.

Picture from one of our morning bike rides

That pretty much sums up the month of September. It looks like October is going to be busy as well as we already have pretty much every weekend booked. 

 Let me say a few things about JJ at this one year point. He had his 1 year appointment and the doctor said he's doing great. He weighs 20 lbs 11.5 oz and is 30 1/2 inches tall. He still army crawls. He will stand on the furniture or beside it but I think he's still a ways off from walking. He is a silly thing with an amazing smile and laugh. He loves the song Honey I'm Good. He doesn't really eat baby food anymore and his current favorite food is spaghetti O's. He loves his bottle and he still doesn't hold it himself. He hates holding still for 1 minute to get his diaper changed. He goes to sleep about 730 and is still up about 530 everyday. Until recently he was napping twice a day but he thinks he should only take 1 nap (I disagree). He has 8 teeth, 4 up and 4 down.

I can't let it go by without adding something about this first year of being a parent. I can't believe it's been a year already. I can't believe how much he has changed in a year! I can't believe how much I absolutely 100% adore him. I won't lie and say it's all been amazing because it is hard. It is exhausting. It is mentally, physically, and emotionally draining. When I'm with him sometimes I just want him to take a nap but when I am away from him I think about him nonstop and can't wait until I get to be with him again. I get frustrated when he won't nap or when he won't sit down in the tub and then slips and falls. I get upset when he gets hurts or when he doesn't feel well. I wish he would sleep past 530 am. I worry. I worry that we've messed up by jumping up at every little cry (around 515 am). I worry that he won't have friends, that he'll struggle with school, that someone will make fun of him, that he'll get hurt when I'm not there, that he'll want to play soccer... the list goes on and on. I'm amazed at the shift in everything in my world to focus on him. Sometimes I can't even go in and check on him at night because I will just stand there and stare. His shirt says it all (Little Game Changer).