Meet the
Newest Member of
Our Family:

just in time for the next addition.

Thank You
Grandma Doris!

jaden was our first casualty, which resulted in two loose teeth.
luckily he should be close to loosing them soon anyway.
he decided to tackle beckam
just as beckam was raising his head up--
don't you hate it when that happens?
and I'm sure the bounce made it worse.

in selecting a firm,
its family-friendliness was a major factor.
we wanted the culture of the firm to be a good fit.

well tonight we attended our second baby shower since we've been acquainted with them and guess who it was for?
ME,
little old me!

it was an office-wide, family affair, which jaden was SO excited about since he's always wanted to go to a baby shower and finally got his chance!

I was so impressed with their support--
everyone from the support staff to the partners were there!
we received so many nice and thoughtful gifts.

this moby wrap, which I LOVE was the "office gift"--
this is still puzzling to me since everyone in the office also contributed their own personal gift as well.

(I LOVE this daddy--we are so dang LUCKY and he's cute, too!)

now we're anxiously awaiting to see who the winner of the office
"baby arrival and stats" pool
will be and rumor has it, the winner splits the pool with the baby,
though the main partner promised a scholarship fund if he wins.

and look what arrived today!!

so very adorable ms. jess!!!

you too can have a customized
diaper/wipe wallet and changing pad from
jump up and down
(just click above)

I am so amazed at the incredible talents of my friends and family.
I have such an appreciation for them!!

I'd like to present to you the newest addition:

jump up and down

I'm SO in LOVE with her bags!
maybe one day I'll own one.
oh and don't miss the "sold" items.
my very own diaper/wipe wallet and changing pad has already been ordered.
can you even believe the cuteness?

have you checked out the others websites?
the links are on my sidebar under
"my friends and their cool stuff you can buy"

so far I've been able to get out of weekly dr. visits since I drive 45 min. each way to the office and I have no risk factors but today that came to an end.

as the doc was feeling the position of the baby with a perplexed look on his face, he commented that he was head down but not very low yet. on previous appointments, he's been head down and quite low. hmmmmmmm.
then as the dr. moved his hands around to the top of my belly,
his perplexed look was explained:
"Oh, here is his head. your baby is breech."
he had me feel the rock hard mound that was his head just off to the right side of my belly. he then proceeded to push on his head to maneuver him back into position, which is a procedure I've always feared but thankfully, there was no pain involved. he must have been in the perfect position as he wasn't completely breech nor transverse but more at a 45 degree angle and rotated around nicely. the doc also said there must be plenty of fluid or it wouldn't have been so easy.

so my plea to you--
use whatever powers you possess to help this baby stay put!
a c-section at this point in my child bearing doesn't sound very appealing.

I'm optimistic. he has 3 weeks to get situated.
but it looks like I'll be making the drive for the next two weeks to check his status.

beckam enjoying our favorite breakfast

fresh:
strawberries
raspberries
kiwi
mango
firm red grapes
banana

mixed with:
nonfat french vanilla yogurt
(Trader Joe's French Village or Brown Cow are our favs)
and
french vanilla granola
(the best I've found is from the bulk bins at your local health food store)

here are some post hair cut pictures.

still cute (after beckam's 2nd trip and 2nd "stylist"), but definitely SHORT
and definitely not what I asked them to do.
and here is a letter jaden dictated to me to a soldier in Iraq
(don't mind my grammatical/spelling errors--it was late)
and here is the picture

this started out as a picture of a soldier who was going to be shooting at a bad guy but when I suggested that he draw a happy picture instead, this is what he did.
in case you can't make out what it says:
"Summer Vacation. Joy filled the air."
the soldier is on a boat in the ocean and the sea life can be seen below.
the black crab is my favorite. can you make it out?
tentacles coming up from the top with claws on either side.
he wanted the soldier to know that the age written on the paper was not a mistake and that the picture was actually done by a 5 year old (since it was so good).
he also wanted to be sure that soldiers turned their letters over when they finished reading them...to be sure his picture would be seen.
and he hoped that the soldier would be getting other letters from his/her mom and dad, aunts and uncles, etc.

Good-Bye Hair

Someone, please tell me why I never anticipate the frustration and disappointment that inevitably results upon leaving the hair place after the boys have gotten hair cuts?!
Because it happens every single time!
And for third time now, I've had to go back to have them FIX their mistakes!!! I definitely put off getting their hair cut but I'm always confident that "this" time will be different.

I am just completely flabergasted at how incompetent "professionals" are--in any profession! I learned that lesson while planning my wedding in an unfamiliar town. Just because they claim they're a "professional" photographer, florist, stinking HAIR STYLIST, doesn't mean squat!! Can anyone relate to my rant?!

Do I not speak clearly enough, do they think they're supposed to do the exact opposite of what I ask? Wait, not only do they do the opposite but the cuts are pathetic and totally uneven. I understand that my kids have stick straight hair but don't they teach you how to cut that kind of hair in school? Or is it just that stylists who work at Great Clips and the like, work "there" for a good reason?! (no offense intended but I am speaking from A LOT of experience)! When I say I want to keep the length but just trim it up a little and take off A LITTLE of the bulk, why oh why do they proceed to perform a complete whack job on my children?!!!! And no shelf or bowl cut but BLENDED does not mean get out your clippers and make a bowl on top of my sons head!!!! Jaden's hair can take most of what they dish out because it's so thick but little B's is so fine and once upon a time he had the most adorable do...no longer the case my friends. I mean, he's still adorable but I mourn the loss of the shag.

My sister is the only person who gets it but unfortunately, they need cuts more often than we see her. Oh and don't think that it's the boys fault because they can't sit still! Oh no, they were both PERFECT angels and sat so nicely that I treated them to ice cream afterwards--before we went back for them to fix Beckam's cut, who is so used to this that he didn't even utter a single protest about having to go back. I considered coming home and shaving it all off but I couldn't bare the thought of just throwing $15 down the drain.

I'll post pictures and they won't look bad to you, it's just NOT WHAT I ASKED FOR! and that's very frustrating.

I must find a real stylist, who understands how to cut very straight, boy hair while still keeping it long-ish. aaaargh.

Labor Day in Santa Cruz

but thankfully not mine.

today, we went to pre-register at the hospital
and as we walked through L&D, I was so grateful today wasn't my "labor day."
5 weeks is soon enough.
here are some 35 week pictures.
interestingly, I don't feel as big as I look and the pictures are shocking to me but I suppose they don't lie (right dad?).
while in Santa Cruz, we hit the beach in all its 68 degree glory!!
it was wonderful.
the waves were impressive. I've NEVER seen so many surfers in the water at once!
It's such a GREAT town!
and last but not least, we finally found a "new-to-Jaden" bike!

Jaden earned a new bike in June but we've been having a hard time finding "the one."
At a bike shop on saturday, Micah and Jaden found a Specialized Hot Rock for $300, which was obviously not in the price range we were looking but it was a good gage for what we wanted (or maybe more accurately, what dad wanted). Jaden was a little apprehensive because it didn't have a foot break.
Well, before they even returned from the bike shop, just what do you suppose I found on Craig's List?!
You guessed it--The bike...for $40...with the foot break no less!! Used of course and an older model but Jaden's never been one to be nit-picky,THANKFULLY. I'm afraid we don't have it so easy with the younger one.

we are very excited and it's in great shape.
check it out:

and it just so happens to match his helmet perfectly
(like he cares).
don't ask about his outfit. he likes it.

and we can't leave out the little brother.
he loves speeding down this driveway on his "hog", into ours.
man, we're lucky.
what a great day.