My surprise birthday party

I've been wanting to post about this for awhile, but was waiting for the pictures from my friend. So... here they are! Pictures from my "surprise" 30th birthday party. And let me tell you, I've never been more surprised in my life! One of my dearest friends in the world had been secretly planning all of the details for months. Adam gave her all of my friend's numbers from my cell phone, she set the date, and almost everyone was able to come!

The plan went more smoothly than ever thought possible. Wendi told me that our small group was planning to go out for dinner on June 7th, and that we would all meet up at one of the couple's house. Adam was perfectly nonchalant about the whole thing, asking me if we were supposed to dress up, letting me bring over food for the kids (even though there would be tons of food there), and discussing who would ride in our car to the restaurant. I did notice that he drove a different way than usual (because he didn't want me to notice any familiar cars), but I didn't think anything of it.

After going inside, I immediately went to hug someone from my group (she was in a different area than everyone else). When I turned around, all of my closest family and friends were crowded in the living room shouting, "SURPRISE!" It was crazy unexpected. I've never been thrown a surprise party before and couldn't believe how many people were there! There were pictures of me on display and my mom put together a photo book of my entire life, from baby pictures to bad perms to swimming to proms to dating Adam to Jacob and Gavin. It was a little overwhelming being the center of it all, but nothing could mean more. What a blessing to see almost everyone who has had an impact on my life and helped make me who I am today.

Wendi, my super organized friend who planned the whole thing ;)
My sister-in-law, Marlys, who is due three weeks before me. Our previous pregnancies were three weeks apart as well... how crazy is that?!
My friend Holly, who is due three weeks after me.
My friend and job share partner last year, Laura (also pregnant). It's contagious!
My sister, who knows me better than anyone... nobody can make me laugh the way she does.
Our mom, who raised us with Christian values and so much love.
My friend Kelli... I met her in third grade and we've been friends ever since.
My dad, who Jacob and I get a lot of our features and mannerisms from. :)
My good friend Laurina, who took these pictures for me.
My amazing husband, who I couldn't imagine life without.

Here we are, our soon to be family of five!
OK, so the singing "Happy Birthday" part is a little embarrassing.
Thank you everyone for helping me celebrate my 30th. You're the best!

San Diego, here we come!

Adam has been on a military trip for ten days now and I couldn't be more excited that he is coming home tomorrow! Without teaching, preschool, Little Gym, or T-ball, it has been a very L.O.N.G. ten days. I made it though.

We recently found out that Adam gets a few days off before going back to fly for Alaska, so we decided to take full advantage of the situation. Our family is flying to San Diego for a few days! I found this hotel which is located on Mission Bay, but Mission Beach is less than 100 yards away. I also found out that families in the military right now get free admission to SeaWorld!


Legoland is just thirty minutes north of San Diego, so we are going to check out this place too. I read that the ideal age for Legoland is 4, so we're hoping Jacob will love it. Almost all of the rides have a height restriction of 36", so I was super excited to see that Gavin measured a whopping 37". I always knew being in the 95th percentile for height would come in handy someday. ;)

We're just really looking forward to a family get-away with the boys before the baby arrives in August. Jacob can hardly wait to fly on Daddy's airplane, play at the beach, see the whales, feed the dolphins, and go on the Legoland rides. I can't wait to share our experience with you when we get back!

Jacob's latest thoughts...

Jacob has been saying some very cute 4-year old things lately, so I thought I'd capture some of them in my blog.

#1 ~ He always says about instead of because.

J: My leg hurts mommy.
M: How come?
J: About I ate too much food!

J: I'm sad mommy.
M: Why are you sad?
J: About I can't find my stickers.

#2 ~ When Adam's grandma passed away, we were talking to Jacob about heaven.

D: Great-grandma is up in heaven now with Jesus.
J: Where is heaven?
D: Way up in the sky.
J: (Looking confused) She's gonna need a lot of balloons to get up there!
D: Laughing... she doesn't need balloons.
J: Ohhhhh. A kite?
D. No. God is so big, he takes her up to heaven all by himself!

Adam was flying his model airplane a few days ago and it was so high, all you could see was a tiny speck. He asked if Jacob could see it and he said, "I see it! Daddy, is your airplane in heaven?!"

#3 ~ When Adam is on a flight, Jacob always sets a place for him anyway at dinner. He says, "I'm saving this for Daddy. When he comes home."

The other day, we were on a walk and Jacob picked a flower with a long stem. He looked at it thoughtfully and said, "This flower is for Daddy because he has been gone a LONG time."

#4 ~ Jacob has throw-away Buzz Lightyear flossers, where you hold onto the tab and the floss is ready for you. There happened to be a red one on his bedroom floor that Sy was chewing on. Later that night, Jacob tried to pick it up.

D: No Jacob. That was in Sy's mouth, so it's dirty now.
J: Looking astonished at the flosser... THAT'S SY'S MOUTH?!
D: No, it was in Sy's mouth.

It wasn't until later that I realized Jacob thought the flosser was Sy's tongue (that apparently had fallen out of his mouth). I found this out when I tried to pick it up.

J: MOMMY NO! THAT'S SY'S MOUTH! DON'T PICK THAT UP!
K: Jacob, it was just in Sy's mouth. It's not his actual mouth.
J: (Completely hysterical.) MOMMY PUT SY'S MOUTH DOWN! PUT IT DOWN!

So I had to turn on the light and show him that it was his Buzz Lightyear flosser, not Sy's mouth. He still didn't seem too convinced. :)

#5 ~ Jacob saw a picture on the refrigerator of the little girl we sponsor through Compassion. Adam was explaining to him that some kids don't have any money, so we help them.

J: What kids have no shirt?
D: Some kids don't have food to eat or shirts to wear.
J: I will help them Daddy! (Goes to get his piggy bank)
J: Who else has no shirt? I will help them too. Then they will be so happy.
J: Who doesn't have toys?
D: A lot of kids don't have toys, Jakey.
J: That's OK. I'll help them! (Goes in his playroom to get some toys)
J: Who doesn't have a bed?
D: Some kids have to sleep on the ground because they don't have a bed.
J: It's OK. I'll share my bed with them Daddy!

This conversation went on and on. It was so sweet though to see this little giving heart he has at age 4. That he would give up his money, toys, and bed to help someone else his age. I guess that's why Jesus said we should have a heart like a child. :)

The Cheetos Theory

So here is a funny story about being pregnant and craving Cheetos. With my first two pregnancies, I was very fortunate to make it through the nine months without morning sickness, swollen ankles, or any of the other miserable things many woman experience. I only had one aversion... teriyaki. Eating, smelling, and even talking about teriyaki was enough to make me nauseous. There was also my one and only craving... Cheetos.

This wasn't just any craving. I wanted Cheetos morning and night, all. day. long. Nothing tasted better and I had a bag available to me at all times. So with this pregnancy, I kept waiting for the Cheetos craving to kick in. The craziest thing was that it never happened. I'd never been pregnant without a bag of Cheetos by my side. It was a strange feeling. I also can eat teriyaki without any nauseous feelings whatsoever. My weakness this time around? Dessert. It's not should we have dessert tonight, it's what are we having for dessert tonight. So bad. I'm sure I'll kick myself HARD when I'm trying to get the baby weight off. ;)

So the funny part of this story was that my friend Holly (who is due three weeks after me) went over to her pregnant friend's house the other day. Her friend had a bag of Cheetos that she couldn't eat fast enough. She kept offering them to Holly, in complete disbelief that Holly wasn't craving them like she was. She found out a few weeks later that she was having a boy and Holly found out that she was having a girl. How crazy is that? I guess we'll have to wait until our baby is born to validate this Cheetos theory. :)

By the way, there might just be a teriyaki theory too. I have a friend who can't stand even the thought of it, but she doesn't know if she's having a boy or a girl yet.

Here are some pictures of me at twenty-eight weeks!

My big 3-0

I'm sorry for being not so good about keeping up with my blog lately. This month has been so busy, it's ridiculous. Here are some of the ups and downs our family has been through in the last two weeks.

*Moving my classroom... again :)
*Hiring a new job share partner for next year
*Attending the funeral of my grandmother and shortly afterward, Adam's grandmother
*Last, but not least, celebrating my 30th birthday yesterday

I was with my first graders for most of my birthday, but we had a great time last night. Adam picked up my car as a surprise while I was at school and had it professionally detailed. Wow, what a difference! I could not have been more excited about having a super clean car (without having to clean it myself ;) We went to the Melting Pot with some friends and got to choose three different types of cheese and chocolate. That in itself was really fun because we always have a hard time choosing just one. After that, we headed to the comedy club. Jeff Dye was the headliner, he is actually on this season's Last Comic Standing! I was laughing so hard that I thought I might go in labor! A little early for that though... maybe we'll try again in August. ;)

I'm not so sure how I feel about turning 30 honestly. It doesn't seem real yet, I guess. Adam keeps giving me a hard time, even though he is 35. I think he's glad that I'm finally in the same club as him. He kept saying things like, "Wow... I've never kissed a 30 year old before." And I kept smacking him in the arm. He's gonna get it when he turns 40 for sure. ;)

Movin' on up!

Jacob had his preschool graduation this morning. They had an assignment to decorate a paper bag, cut it into a vest, and they would wear it in a fashion show on the last day. The theme this year was "Reach for the Stars." Here are some pictures of the "vest" Jacob and I created. Thankfully, as a teacher, I had access our die-cut machine. So I took full advantage of that... ;)


Parents were also asked to write about their child's vest on a notecard. It would then be read when it was their turn on stage. This is what our notecard said:

Jacob,

We couldn't be more proud of you and the sweet, curious little boy you have become. You bless us everyday with your smiles and laughter. You truly are "our world" and we thank God that you are in our life.

Mommy, Daddy, and Gavin

After the fashion show, the kids sang three songs and we watched a slideshow of their year together. Since there were only nine kids (7 boys and 2 girls) in their class, there were a lot of pictures of Jacob... so that was fun.

Adam made a comment afterward that I went a little crazy with the camera and videocamera, at times going simultaneously. The truth is, I can't help it. He's my first child to experience all of these new things and I'm just such a proud mommy.



Oh, and remember Jacob's preschool crush, Kelsey Ann? That's her in the green shirt. ;)