Place Your Bets!

I added a poll to the right for people to guess what they think baby #2 will be! Only 11 more days until our big ultrasound. We are very excited. Okay, excited is kind of an understatement. We will genuinely be over the moon no matter what the baby's gender is so long as he/she is healthy. On one hand I think a girl would be so new and exciting (I mean imagine all the bows this child would own)! I can imagine Jude being protective of her when they get into High School and her trying to impress Jude's friends when they came over to hang out. Then, I also think about Jude having a brother so close in age and how special that bond would be. Not that he wouldn't be close to his sister, but I think a bond of brothers is unique. I mean, I really wouldn't know, but that is how they make it seem in movies anyways. So basically, it is going to be awesome no matter what!

I've been feeling really great since my last appointment! Might sound weird, but I don't even really feel pregnant, except for being a little bit more tired here and there. I've been able to continue eating healthy and staying active exercising, which is a high priority to me this time around. I am getting a bump going (although I think most of it was still left over from Jude :)). No movement yet, but each baby is different so I'm not worried.

Jude is doing AWESOME! He really is getting cuter every second. Its crazy how much he is learning so many new things each day. Just in the past few weeks he has started saying, "What's that?!"and "No!". He is trying to talk so much more and can understand the things we say 90% of the time. He plays peekaboo with Daddy and can tell us where his nose and mouth are. He has been walking (running) for at least a month now and it is safe to say we are getting lots of extra cardio chasing him around everyday. I always judged those people who had their kids on leashes, which must be why I've now got a child who NEEDS a leash! Still, I'm going to fight that one for as long as I can though.

The weather has been so nice the past few weeks, we have been enjoying getting out in the sunshine as much as possible. Jude loves going to the park and playing in our front yard (thank goodness the front yard is fenced in so well!). 

We took a trip to San Francisco recently, it was so nice to take him to the beach when he could walk around! Being out in the sunshine really helps to lift my pregnant spirits on days when I am feeling a little blue. We also took him to this gigantic kids play area in Golden Gate park that we will definitley be visiting in the future! It was so adorable watching about 100 kids playing, swinging and running everywhere.

Here is a video of our trip:

New year, new milestones.

So, I didn't really talk about how our holidays were because I was so busy enjoying them! We had an awesome Christmas & New Years. We are lucky to have such wonderful family and friends in our lives and enjoyed all the time we got to spend with them. This past weekend we decided to get away for a bit and head up to Reno. Well, actually I found out about this deal Grand Sierra Resort is having in which you can stay for two nights in the month of December & January for FREE (Sun-Thurs). We thought it was waaaaay to good to pass up, so we didn't. If you want to check it out visit http://www.grandsierraresort.com

The hotel was actually pretty nice (especially for FREE). They have an inexpensive bowling ally, arcade, tons of restaurants, Starbucks, Movie Theater (only $3 a person), etc all inside the hotel. Probably the funniest part for me was watching Jude test out his new found walking abilities while we were there. The hotel has really wide walk ways, so he was free to walk/fall down all over the place.

When we got home he also decided to show us that he is finally ready to master (read: attempt to find his mouth) with a spoon.

Here is some video/pictures from our adventures:

I have another OBGYN appointment this coming Monday so I will be able to update about the pregnancy then. Have an awesome weekend!



Snow Day!

The day after Christmas we took Jude to the snow for his very first time! It was also Ari & Danny's first time (that they can remember). We had such a blast, here are some photos from our adventures :)

LA & Disneyland Adventure

We are home!!! Our trip was such a blast, like, I can't even properly describe how fun it was. We left {way too early} Sunday and drove to Northridge to attend a friends daughter's 1st birthday party. We all had an fantastic time hanging out and watching the babies play. Oh, you need to see Jude's outfit.

Ya, that IS a baby-tux-onesie (praise you, H&M).

So after a day of driving, epic fun and more driving, we arrived at our hotel. It wasn't by any means the nicest hotel I've been in, nor the worst, but it was convenient because it was right next to the entrance of Disneyland.

We went to bed before 9pm. That hasn't happened since....wait, has it ever happened?

The next morning we woke up. To rain. Not a fan. But, we were there and we drove 7+ hours so we were going to freaking Disneyland and we were going to have fun (even if it killed me). Luckily, it only sprinkled for maybe an hour all day and we were on rides almost the whole time, so it ended up being no biggie. Plus, we'd take a little rain in place of heat any day.

Once we got into the park (after taking a few pictures at the entrance, I mean...you have to) we saw Alice and the Mad Hatter from Wonderland. Jude and I introduced ourselves and took some pictures. Probably the cutest part of our day was when a few hours later we saw the Mad Hatter cruising by on a car with some other characters and he saw Jude and yelled, "Hi Jude!!" it was really cute. Also, I'm pretty sure there were a few jealous kids staring at him thinking, he must be famous!

Jude did surprisingly well on all the rides. His first ride was Pirates of the Caribbean and I think the first minute he was kind of looking at my like, "What the eff, Mom?!" but then once the ride actually got going it was more like, "Mom this is freaking awesome!!!"

We also went on Haunted Mansion (twice), Finding Nemo, Buzz Light year, Its a Small World, Storybook Land and Jungle Cruise. It worked out that one of our other friends from LA area was able to come meet us at the park (they have season passes, how lucky!) for a few hours so Jude got to share some of his day with his buddy Nathan too.

He only took one (very short) nap all day and did amazing considering!! He even stayed up through the parade that evening. After the parade we still had time (and somehow, energy) to go on Pirates of the Caribbean one more time AND watch Daddy go on Splash Mountain.

Here are pictures from our day :)

Lastly, here is how excited we were to get home:

Apple Hill

Well, of course I will have to blog about Jude's party and how incredibly awesome it was, but I am waiting to do so until I get our photos back :). I will say breifly that it was such an honor to us to have so many people that we love join us to help celebrate Jude's first year of life. 

For our friends near and far away who couldn't make it to the party,

here is the slideshow of Jude's 1st year if you are interested.

Jude's 1st Year! from Tiffany Reese on Vimeo.

SO. Yesterday we were all recovering from the day of chaos, fun & excitement so we decided to take a  relaxing drive up to Apple Hill. It didn't really hit me until we were in the car on the way there, but now that Jude is a year old, we are coming back around to all the things we did for the first time with him last year. Apple Hill for example, it was one of the first things we did with Jude last year, he was about 4-5 weeks old. He slept the entire time. This year he slept in the car on the way but was definitely wide awake the moment the car stopped and ready for good times. It made me very sentimental taking him there again and reflecting on all that has happened since we brought him there the first time. Michael and I decided it is a new permanent tradition in our household and I couldn't agree with more happiness. 

Buggy got to do something he certainly couldn't have done on his first trip, eat junk food (guess whose idea that was) and take his first pony ride! Oh my word, it was the most precious thing. Afterward I said to Michael, "I don't think I've smiled that hard since.... yesterday." I guess that's how you know you are blessed.

Here is Jude's 1st pony ride:

Jude's First Pony Ride!! from Tiffany Reese on Vimeo.

 Also, if you would like to see pictures from our day, you can check those out here:

Jude's First Trip to the Ocean!

The countdown has begun to Jude's 1st birthday in our house! When I saw "September" on our calendar I nearly jumped out of my skin I was so taken aback. BUT we have kicked off this month with such gusto! There is no need for us(me) to cry just yet over my little baby becoming a little big-baby. This past Labor Day weekend Uncle Tony & Aunt Stacy came into town (from San Jose) and coincidentally Aunt Brandi's Mom, Ginger, was also visiting (from Oklahoma) so we had a blast hanging out with everyone. 

Labor Day evening Michael, Jude & I packed up and headed to our friend Chris Crabbe's cabin (aka The Crabbin'). We didn't leave until past 6pm because Michael had to work that day, so we expected Jude to be asleep by the time we arrived. Wrong. We got there around 8pm and Bug was SO excited he started crawling in circles (aka doing "laps") around the cabin, screaming with joy. I was laughing hysterically. 

Tuesday, our friends Nick & Jaime arrived to spend the evening and following day with us. We had such a relaxing and fun-filled time. When we woke up Wednesday morning Michael, Jude & I got the best surprise! Our other friend, Isaac (who lives in Southern California) came up and surprised us at the cabin!! I had to do a double take because I was so surprised and excited to see him. 

 It definitely made the whole trip even better having him there.

Here is a video with some pictures & clips from this weekend :)

Oh and here is a video of Jude & his new friend "Lucky".

Jude's First Trip to San Francisco!

Monday (May 24th) was Michael & I's two year wedding anniversary. We decided to spend the day with Jude in San Francisco. Could NOT have imagined a more fun day.

Outside while eating lunch at Tartine Bakery Please don't trust Jude's face because Tartine's food is AMAZING.

Street entertainer at Pier 39

Got some new jammy-jams for Jude at Baby Gap.

Krazy Kaps.

Jude's new baby seal friend.

Jude's First Easter & Trip to Santa Cruz!!

Jude had a very fun & adventurous first Easter. We got up bright and early Sunday morning, packed up the car and headed to my older brother Tony's house in San Jose. Jude slept most of the drive, which  was nice for him as he was having a little pain from cutting his first two teeth.

 Ummm, Mom can we go now?

Once we arrived, Michael & I helped hide eggs for the other little kids (Stacy, my brothers girlfriend, has two sisters and combined they have six children).

Jude hung out with Uncle Tony.

Oh, and Jude kept trying to put anything in his mouth that may help ease his teething pain...

After we watched the Easter egg hunt, we all relaxed for a while. Jude had a very good time watching the other children running around hopped up on sugar! Later in the afternoon we went over to our hotel to check in and take a look. We were very pleasantly surprised, even the Easter Bunny wanted to kick it there.

Dolce Hayes Mansion. San Jose, CA

Easter evening we had a glorious dinner prepaired by Stacy's family. Michael loved not having to cook, he said it tasted twice as good because someone else made it. After dinner we played Wii with the kids and hung out. Eventually we made our way back to the hotel and had fun relaxing. It was a really great first Easter as our new little family. I can't wait to watch Jude run around next year scooping up eggs :)

Enjoying watching the Sharks game with Uncle Tony.

Relaxing with Daddy after a fun filled day

The next day was Michael's 25th birthday! We were very excited because this was one of the first times Michael had two days off in a row since Jude was born. Jude & I let Michael "sleep in" and Jude got to take a bubble bath in a big boy tub. He loved it, he very much enjoyed splashing water everywhere, and since I didn't have to clean it up, I enjoyed watching!

Daddy then got up and we got ready for our day. We were excited to go to Santa Cruz but we had heard on the news that it was going to be rainy. Well, it couldn't have been further from the truth. It was probably 65 and beautiful! We had a fabulous lunch and walked around Downtown for 3 hours or so. We found Jude an awesome cardigan & suspenders at American Apparel. He was such a good boy and greatly enjoyed taking in all the new sights.

Bug was VERY interested in the people next to us' conversation at lunch.

Taking a snack break Downtown.

A few hours and a parking ticket later we were on our way back to San Jose to have dinner with Tony and Stacy at this really yummy taqueria. I am not sure how to spell it in Spanish but it sounded like "Ta-la-kee-pa-kee". We were planning on taking Jude to see the ocean & beach before heading out but it got very windy and he fell asleep in the car so we drove by instead. Michael & I decided we need to move into one of those 10 million dollar houses on the beach someday. All in all we had a wonderful trip & most importantly Michael said he had an amazing birthday!