Jenna says....

a lot. Some days, it's non-stop chatter. And at the end of the day, I usually can't remember all that she comes up with. But after telling my sister a few of the funny things she has said recently, a few more came to mind and I wanted to write (type) them down before I forget. (And I also don't want to start the cleaning that needs to be done....)

Every night at bedtime, I ask Jenna what her favorite part of the day was. She usually says, "Daddy home" meaning when Daddy came home. But every once in a while she'll throw in something else. The other night she was talking in her own language and I didn't understand anything except, "So cute." I asked her who was so cute and she said, "Macey. So cute." I asked her who else? "Sydney." She continued to name all her cousins and declare them "so cute." I must say that I do agree.

Last night, actually this morning at about 4:02, she woke up crying. I think she might have been a little cold. So I went into her room, turned up her heater and picked her up to calm her down a little bit. We sat in the rocker for a few minutes and when she stopped crying I stood up to put her back in bad. As soon as I lifted my bum off the chair she said, "No bed, Mommy! Wocky wock." Interpretation: "No bed, Mommy! Rocky rock." I started laughing, despite how tired and delirious I was. How could I say no to that? We snuggled for a few minutes and she fell back asleep.

A few days ago, Jenna, my mom and I were visiting my grandma. Grandma has one of those walkers with a seat on it and after pushing it around the house for a while, Jenna decided she wanted to sit on it. She got one of Grandma's dolls and a stuffed bear and the three of them sat happily as the adults chatted. Suddenly, out of nowhere Jenna says, "Oh gosh!" It took us all by surprise and then we just laughed. Hysterically.

That's all I can think of now. I'm too distracted by the dirty dishes and six loads of laundry that need to be done. Don't think I'm messy. I've been saving it all for today, the day Jake's brother gets here. Because I knew cleaning a couple of days ago would have pointless. The house would have been messy again by today anyway. Here's a courtesy photo.

Best day of my life.

My sister, Amy, came to visit in February and while she was here, we spent a day in San Francisco with my parents and brother. As we were walking by the piers, snapping photos of the clock tower and enjoying the nice weather, she said, "This is one of the best days of my life." We all kind of laughed but since then, we've used the expression to describe a perfect day. Some other "best days of my life" include (in no particular order):

The first time I saw Jake after his mission

Our wedding day
The day Jenna was born
Going to the Kelly Clarkson concert for my birthday
Going to Yellowstone with Jake and my parents after graduation from BYU-Idaho

Any day my sisters call to say they're flying out

Any day Jenna takes three-hour nap

And I'm adding today to the list. Today was quite possibly the perfect day. A few weeks ago, Jake told me he had never been across the Golden Gate Bridge. I thought that was funny because he's from the area but it gave me a great idea for his birthday. There is a pedestrian path across the bridge and I thought it would be fun to walk it. My mom, dad and brother drove out and we headed to San Francisco. We parked at the bottom of the bridge, bundled up and started to walk across. The bridge was so intriguing and majestic and I think we were all in awe of it. Some of us got a little queasy looking up or down but it was awesome! The wind (which reminded me a little of Rexburg) was freezing and we turned around halfway because it was just too cold for little J but we got some sweet shots. I was so glad it was a clear day!

We decided that because we were so close, we'd head down to Pier 39 for some fresh clam chowder (so fresh that a few of us found a little sand in our soup!) in authentic sour dough bread bowls. The chowder was another first me and Jake and we both loved it.

The table we sat at had a great view of the water and a way sweet "Rocket" boat that we are remembering for future reference. After lunch, we headed down to the water so Jenna could get a view of the seals. She was pretty fascinated!

I couldn't believe how perfect the weather was (about 62) and on the way home, I rolled down the window and snapped some shots of the scenery.

Back at home, we had Christmas with Jenna because we can't take her presents with us on the flight to Ohio. My brother got her her very first webkins, a kitty that she loves! And my mom got her some awesome play food and we got her a kitchen! She went crazy for it! She called it "cute." And kept saying, "A ya go" for "Here you go" because that what's we were saying as we showed her how to play with it. Her reaction was exactly what I was going for.

After presents, we enjoyed another round of soup. This time, my mom's famous Chicken Tortilla soup. YUM. Then it was time for bath and bed. Jenna didn't have a nap the whole day but you wouldn't even know it! She was such a trooper. The day was just perfect - perfect company, perfect weather, perfect food. But now.......... tomorrow is Monday and it's back to life, back to reality. (And now you're going to have that song stuck in your head!)

A few weeks ago I picked up some princess pull-ups for Jenna. She didn't really love them like I thought she would and I couldn't figure out why. Then I realized she had no idea what or who a princess was. So, I decided it was time. Time we introduce her to a whole new world (no pun intended....). We borrowed the movies from my mom and the tradition from my sisters, and had our very first pizza and movie night. Picking a movie for her first Disney princess experience was a little more difficult than I thought. This could very well be the princess she falls in love with so who did I want it to be? Did I want to be buying Cinderella sheets in a few years, or Belle? Ariel and Jasmine are a little immodest in their shells and belly-shiners but "The Little Mermaid" is my personal favorite and holds a special place in my heart. (I got the movie for my 8th birthday and still know every single word to each song and most of the script, too). So you can see the dilemma. But, we settled on "Sleeping Beauty." I didn't think Jenna's attention span would hold up longer than 30 minutes and I thought she'd either get antsy or just fall sleep. But, she watched the entire movie, loved it and now the obssession has started. She is constantly asking for "Pincess" and we have since let her watch "Cinderella," which she pronounces "Cinalella" with an over-exaggerated "ella." She's officially part of that world!

Snuggling Daddy. Jake's a good sport!

Oh, BTW..... Jake is the man. He fixed our heater! And it didn't cost anywhere near $375. In your face Mr. Shady Pants.

Reading the directions

Jakeism #37

I turned around to see Jake on the phone, inquiring about that darn heater part and he was bouncing Jenna on his hip.

Jill: I like how you're bouncing Jenna like she's a newborn.

Jake: She likes it. It's takin' her back to the days.

The day.

Last Tuesday, the heater went out. Jake found AC Heating & Air in the Yellow Pages and we hoped their "30 years of experience" would mean a quick thaw for our noses and toes. Danny (name changed to protect the.... "innocent") said he could come that night and despite the nagging feeling I had about the guy, I was grateful we'd have heat again before our guests came for Thanksgiving the next day. Well, Danny and his 5'5" 210 lb. self showed up in black jeans and black cowboy boots with his chest hair exposed, thanks to his half-buttoned white shirt and he reeked like cigarette smoke. I had to hold my breath as he shook my hand and that nagging feeling popped up again but still, I was grateful he came on such short notice. Danny explained that we didn't need a new heater (whew!) but we did need to replace some sort of box which could only be ordered out of Sunnyvale or Benecia (he wasn't sure which city). Jake asked how much this box would cost and after thinking for a minute, Danny pulled the number $375 out of his you-know-what. As Jenna would say, "Oh, maaaan." He said he'd try to get the part the next day and left without charging us a service fee. I tried to give the guy the benefit of the doubt, especially after he didn't charge us, but there was still something shady about him. At about 8:30pm, Danny called us and magically got the part we needed and Jake told him to come back over. While he was in route, Jake thought to look the part up online. No sooner had he done so than Danny knocked on the door. He explained that the part wasn't exactly the same, and he'd have to rig some wires to make it work, but it would get us heat. Jake asked again how much it was going to cost and Danny said $375 for the part and $95 for labor. Then Jake said, "Well, I just found the part online for $95." Danny got very defensive and said, "You wanna do this yourself then?" To which Jake replied, "Yeah. If it's going to save me $375!" This whole time, I was eavesdropping from another room rooting for Jake, who totally impressed me with his quick thinking. Danny asked for $45 for the service call, had a hard time knowing who we should write the check out to and then left without another word. I think he was ticked that his plan to dupe us failed and embarrassed because we figured him out. I guess their 30 years of experience is in the business of scamming people. Meanwhile, thank goodness for unseasonably warm weather.... and Febreeze.

Baby Jenna in a basket

Jenna got creative this morning while playing and decided she wanted to use this basket as a chair. Then she discovered that she can carry her booster seat and planted it in front of the sliding glass door for a good view of the "wane" (rain). She is awfully funny these days. A typical conversation goes one of two ways:


Jenna: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes?
Jenna: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes?
Jenna: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes?
Jenna: Oh goodness!

or......

Jenna: Mommy?
Mommy: Yes?
Jenna: Oh maaan!


No wonder I called my mom today to talk about nothing. She also likes to say, "Hold you Mommy!" with this fake little pout. And "Daddy home" even when it's first thing in the morning and it's a looooooooooooong while before he actually gets home. It's funny how Jenna totally changes once Jake walks in the door. She is crazy hyper and giggly and just plain excited to see him. And I pretty much feel the same way!

Bleeding Love

My heart is crippled by the pain that I keep on rosin'?

This was on our way to a free dance performance in downtown Cleveland. (Lesson learned: you really do get what you pay for!) I wanted to post it a couple months ago when I got home from our trip but forgot to do it. Jenna loves this video and will watch it over and over. Oh wait, that's me. We miss you girls!

Here, there and everywhere

Today I needed to mail some papers to Jake's parents and send a fax so I ran over to Kinko's, which conveniently happened to be a FedEx Kinko's. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and that saved me a trip to the post office which meant one less long line and one less place to haul Jenna. Great. However, when the lady told me it was going to be $63 to mail a manila envelope to Canada, I decided to check out prices at the Post Office. So off we went. After pulling into the Employee Only driveway, I realized where I needed to go, backed up and pulled into the right place. I unloaded the stroller, got Jenna buckled, grabbed my purse and all the papers I needed but didn't see where the entrance was. I asked a guy who was unloading mail from a truck and he led me inside then told me this was a pick-up only location. What? Since when do pick-up only post offices exist? Probably forever, but I didn't know that. He told me where to find a REAL post office and then watched me struggle as I tried to back out of the narrow door with a stroller, sweat rolling down my face (it's 75 here today). Thanks, Mr. Postman. We finally got everything sent off and it did not cost $63, not even close.

Other things on my to do list:
wipe up the egg from breakfast off the floor
unload/reload the dishwasher
figure out and prepare dinner for the missionaries
get a haircut (to fix the horrible "trim" I got that was a little more than a trim. good-bye hair.)
fold laundry (from last week)
DO laundry (from this week)
and last but not least.....
watch Oprah (from yesterday)

Better get a move on it......

This morning was difficult. Jenna refused (again) to wear a diaper or the princess pull-ups I got for her. It was a battle and honestly, I wasn't sure how to fight it. I gave her the choice of wearing a diaper, pull-up or big girl undies but she just kept screaming, "No no no no no." Somehow, I finally got the big girl undies on her and she was happy to sit on her potty and watch a show while I hopped in the shower and got ready for Lorenzo to come. Jenna has a love/hate relationship with Baby Lorenzo, the little guy we watch a few times a week while his mom takes an English class. She gets so excited to see "Weh-zo!" but Weh-zo is a sensitive baby and does not like to be put down and today Jenna acted out when I couldn't give her all the attention she wanted. She started playing with things she knows she's not supposed to touch, like Grammy's figurines that are displayed in the living room. She kicked a few times and there were some tantrums thrown in there, too. So, after Lorenzo left, I sat in the rocker with her and read some books and talked to her about what happened. She seemed content and I put her in her crib for a nap. Thirty minutes later she was still calling for me so I went in to check on her. She was still laying down (she usually stands up in the corner of her crib when she cries) and I said, "What's up, Jenna?" She whined and I told her to use her words. I was getting a little impatient because my leftover pizza and episode of Oprah were waiting for me but then she said, "Mooooomy! Ho-jew!" (Hold you.) Oh, man. I couldn't resist. I picked her up, wrapped her in her blanket and snuggled the crud out of her. Her eyes were half closed when she said, "Mommy? Bunny. Hi, bunny." Love it. Now I've got something cute to remember when she's on the floor screaming! Think bunny!

Glad to be awake....

In last night's case, a dream is not a wish my heart made when I was fast asleep. I don't know if it was because I watched "Living with the Wolfman" and "Kitchen Nightmares" back to back after chatting with my sister or the huge dead rat that was in our driveway two days ago. But my dream involved a huge orange foot-long salamander that burned one of Melissa's fingers down to a nub and a hungry wolf that we were trying to hit with a shoe. The missionaries were in it, probably because in real life, we had them over for dinner last night, although I didn't recognize the missionaries from my dream. It was so weird! How's your finger, Miss?

Tagged

Seven random things about me:

1. I watch "Stylista" and secretly wish I was a contestant on the show.
2. When I was in college, I lived off of Easy Mac and Marshmallow Mateys (a Lucky Charms knock-off).
3. I just took two bites of chocolate frosting.
4. I think grocery shopping is fun mostly because I get to spend money without feeling guilty. We have to eat!
5. My least favorite chore is laundry, specifically folding laundry. I might get it washed, but it'll probably stay in the basket for a few days. (Jake: "Jill, are these clothes clean or dirty?")
6. Swimming laps is relaxing to me, at least for the first two. Then it's a struggle.
7. I don't really like anything green. Broccoli and green beans are disgusting. I do eat spinach, but not cooked. Bell peppers are okay on some days.

Thanks, HJ!

I drove to Sacramento on Thursday to pick my sister up from the airport and it was the most enjoyable two-hour drive I've made! I drove through the hills of Pleasanton, over the Altamont, through Tracy, hopped on I-5 and headed north to Sacramento. The trees were turning colors and even though it was warm, there was that autumn haze hanging around (or was that just smog?) As I drove through Stockton, I thought about the majority of my dad's ancestors who lived in the area. And as I passed by all the farms I thought about that onion smell that I love this time of year. (The only smell I get out this way is gasoline and exhaust!) For a couple of hours Prop. 8 wasn't an issue, no one was protesting outside the temple and the economy was great. And I just enjoyed California. Where is all this nostalgia coming from??!
Anyway, having my sister out here was awesome. If I had to come up with one word to summarize the weekend it would be ROSS. We went on Thursday, Friday, Melissa went again on Saturday then we went again on Monday. Ross doesn't exist in Ohio so my sisters have to take full advantage when they come to visit. Our Thursday trip was just okay. I came away with a shirt for $4.99 and a dress for $13.99. The next day we went to a different Ross and SCORED. Among other things, Melissa found Christmas dresses for the girls, we got matching purses and I found some brown closed-toe shoes to wear to church in the winter. Melissa went back on Saturday with our brother and on Monday, we rode BART to San Francisco and hit up the mother of all Ross stores. It was three stories. There were rows and rows of size 8 1/2 shoes. There were more purses than the two Ross stores in Modesto combined. It was awesome. I came away with a different purse because the zipper on the original one broke the first day I used it. And Melissa found enough outfits for the girls to last 5 years. We were in shopping love. Until.... we got home and realized the check-out lady duped us. Some of the outfits Melissa bought for the kids were marked down but upon inspecting the receipt, we noticed she was charged full price and the checker tore the tags off! That was pretty annoying.

Other than that, we had a great day in San Francisco and thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Mel's. That chocolate oreo shake was killer! I could have had two more of those. I'm so glad Melissa was able to spend a few days out here. Thanks Nate for "letting" (I know you hate that) her come! See you in a few more weeks!! These pictures were actually taken when my other sister came to visit earlier in the year, but I couldn't have a post without pictures!

Oh, Mama! It's Obama! And other election results....

Last night was weird. I didn't really care for Obama or McCain but as I watched Obama win, I just felt kind of nervous. And I was hoping that all those people cheering for him weren't being deceived but that he really will bring good change to our country. I was reading an interview with him and his wife in Parents magazine (thanks Emma & Leah!) and they seemed like really great parents with good values who are trying to teach their daughters to be respectful citizens. I hope he brings that to the White House. I do have to admit that it's pretty cool that the next President will be African-American.

It's also pretty cool that it looks like Proposition 8 will pass, keeping marriage between a man and a woman! I've read that there are still millions of absentee ballots to count and problems arose while counting San Francisco ballots. Some news stations are reporting that it will be a couple of days before anything can be determined for sure. However, msnbc.com says 98% of precincts are reporting and it's 52% for Prop 8 and 48% against. It will be awesome if it really does pass!

My vote also goes out to Jenna as the cutest, funniest little girl. Oh wait, she ran uncontested! Hehe! Today we heard an airplane in the sky and she pointed to it and yelled, "AH-PAY!" When I asked her where the airplane was going she said, "Hi-o." I asked, "Who lives in Ohio?" And she replied, "Sydney! Macey! Sydney!" We've started babysitting a little baby in our ward whose mom is taking an English class at the junior college. She is from South America and doesn't speak much English so she's trying to learn (what a good example she is!) Jenna loves the baby and when he cries she says, "Ohhhh baby. Sad." And does this fake little crying face. It's so funny! She also loves to "cook." A few days ago she set up a very elaborate kitchen on the bench outside and was lifting the lids to her cookware and declaring it "hot." She's been doing this for a while but that day she got a little more creative with her ingredients which included leaves and a little bit of dirt. And yes, she is only wearing a shirt and crocs because that day she refused to wear a diaper or big girl undies! And yes, I cleaned up potty about 10 times that day. Story of my life these days..... cleaning up potty and getting songs like, "If you can read a-y AY! then you can read way and pay and can you can read ray and tray and you can read AY! C'mon give it a try all you need is a little a-y!" stuck in my head.

H-A-double L-O-W-double E-N spells....

HALLOWEEN! We had so much fun yesterday getting ready for our ward halloween party. Jake and I signed up to decorate a classroom for the trick-or-treaters and to make a dessert so Jenna and I got up early to make a cardboard cemetery scene. Jake cut a hole in the headstone and then got behind it to make scary noises when the kids stuck their hand in to get candy. Some kids got freaked out! But I guess that was kind of the point! Then I started to make a brain cake but realized I didn't have any eggs. Who runs out of eggs?! So I went to plan B and made some monster eyeballs. We got Jenna dressed in her little ballerina costume, picked up our car from the shop (several hundred dollars later....) and finally made it to the party. It was the best ward party ever! Two bounce houses, pumpkin bowling, face painting, cotton candy, popcorn machine, pirate walk, baked potato bar and more! It was so fun! We let Jenna go in the bounce house and she was cracking up. It was so funny. We were all done by 7:45 so we came home, put Jenna to bed and watched "Indiana Jones" with some friends and a bowl of ice cream. It was a great night!

And the answer is.....

It was FREE! That's right. Steal of the century. I sat down to surf craigslist for a table and chairs and this was the first one that came up. A car dealership was going out of business and giving away the table and toys they had for kids to use while their parents shopped for cars. And the dealership was right down the street from where Jake works! So it was very literally free. And very literally awesome. Jenna loves it. She sits there to eat snacks "in a bowl", draw pictures and play play-doh.

Random sidenote: I was watching the Cosby Show today while Jenna was napping. It was a Halloween episode and the kids were singing a funny song that I remember singing with my brother. It goes:

Trick or treat
Smell my feet!
Give me something good to eat.
If you dont,
I don't care,
I'll pull down your underwear!

Except my mom didn't allow us to say, "I'll pull down your underwear." So we came up with this:

Trick or treat
Smell my feet!
Give me something good to eat.
If you dont,
I don't care,
I'll pull down your pizza!!

How exactly do you pull down someone's pizza? I don't know.... but it sure gave me a good laugh today!

How much did this Ikea table, four chairs and two toys cost us, including gas to pick it up?
A. $15-$20
B. $10-$14.99
C. $5-$9.99
D. $1-$4.99
E. $0

So She Thinks She Can Dance!

Jenna was groovin' to her own music one night so we quickly turned on the radio, grabbed the camera and watcher her rock out. I think her moves are pretty original and she's got great musicality! Carrie Ann would definitely give her a 10! (What I didn't catch on video is Jake dancing right along!)

We've been up to a whole lot of nothing. Here are a few random pictures....

Enjoying a little "i-seem!" on an unusually warm day

Painting toes

Reading books to stuffed animals in their "bed"

Just being cute!

Jenna is really turning into a little girl and talking up a storm! She is very into reading books to dolls and teddy bears and having her Little People use the potty in her doll house from Grandma. She also insists on having all snacks and meals in a bowl. One day after nap I asked her if she wanted to sit on her potty seat. She said, "Pobby, a show. A ce-wo ah boe." Translation: sit on her potty, watch a show and have cereal in a bowl. Wonder where she gets that from?

Hey, watch your language!

I promise I'm not raising a sailor. She's trying to say "FORK."

Haunted House

Jake and I were in bed last night, laughing about Jenna and wishing for a weekend get-a-way when we heard some music playing. I sat up, thinking it was the neighbors across the street because we'd heard music coming from that direction before. But as I listened closely, I realized it was the sultry voice of Chris Daughtry from a CD in our stereo. This wouldn't be so unusual except that I had turned the stereo off earlier in the evening. Freak. Me. Out. Jake immediately assumed the role of brave man and took off down the hall to investigate. He double checked all the locks then came back in to tell me that the CD was playing despite the fact that the stereo was still off! I was in a mild panic at this point but we were both laughing. A few minutes later I told him I couldn't stop thinking about it. To which he said, "Well, then think about cheese." "Cheese?" I asked. "Yeah. And how it's made." (I think my niece Sydney would appreciate that suggestion!) So cheese it was and soon I was fast asleep. But yikes that was creepy. Happy Halloween!

Fashion Statement!

Jenna has strong opinions lately about her clothes. She either refuses to wear them or wears weird things like several pairs of panties at the same time or boots with sweats or boots with sweats and jeans. She will not take these boots off (another clearance item from last year. Babies-R-Us, $6.95)!

Notice her bandaged arm? She had blood work done to test for anemia and lead, plus three shots. Not fun. For either of us.

Cheeser

Jenna, show me your teeth!

Can you see the new eye teeth on the bottom?

Picture Tag

My friend Hidie tagged me and I thought the tag was creative. I'm supposed to post the fourth photo in the fourth folder of my pictures.
This was taken in February, the day after her birthday. Jenna just woke up for the day and her hair was crazy! I was trying to get a picture of the wildness sprouting out of her head.

Get me outta here.

Some not-so-golden things are happening here in our state and we have been encouraged by the First Presidency to use the internet as a way to stand up for our beliefs. The biggest issue on the table right now is Proposition 8, which is simply comprised of 14 words: "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California." Californians voted on this in 2000 and the proposition was supported by 61%. However, a few judges in San Francisco have overturned the decision and so here it is again. Voting YES on Proposition 8 does three things.

It restores the definition of marriage to what the vast majority of California voters already approved and what Californians agree should be supported, not undermined.

It overturns the outrageous decision of four activist Supreme Court judges who ignored the will of the people.

It protects our children from being taught in public schools that “same-sex marriage” is the same as traditional marriage, and prevents other consequences to Californians who will be forced to not just be tolerant of gay lifestyles, but face mandatory compliance regardless of their personal beliefs (http://www.protectmarriage.com/).

Jake attended a special broadcast from Salt Lake regarding this issue and learned about the future ramifications of this propositions if it does not pass. This proposition is a stone thrown into water and we must look at the ripples it will cause. This video is a good example of what might happen if traditional marriage is not protected. Watch here.

Please pass the word along and encourage all your Cali friends to vote YES on Proposition 8!

Jenna's new favorite words seems to be no. Last night at the dinner table she caught me glancing at her, shook her head and said, "No." I've been trying teach her to say, "No thank you" mostly so that other people know that I know that she's being a tad snotty. No one wants to be thought of as the mother of the brat!! (An apology goes out to my own mother!) This has been going on for a few weeks and I didn't think she was getting the hang of it until this morning when she threw a major fit when I tried to change her diaper and her clothes. She sat in the corner of her room and wailed. When I explained that she was going to wear a shirt but could choose between the two in front of her she said, "No, mommy, dah doo. Daaaaah doo!"

Come to our garage sale!

The rain couldn't stop us Saturday when my mom and I hit up some garage sales where we found an awesome tricycle for Jenna that was only $5! And a Barbie blow dryer and curling iron along with some doll house toys. It was awesome. As Jake and I were leaving my parent's house, we saw this brother and sister on the street corner frantically waving their garage sale signs. I yelled at Jake to stop!!! and rolled down my window to ask permission to take their picture. I was instantly thrown back to the early '90s when my siblings sent me to the end of the driveway to beckon drivers to take a look at our sale. I would stand out there yelling, "Come to our garage sale!" My frizzy hair was probably out of control and I was probably wearing my hot pink leggings with lace around the ankle under a pair of jean shorts, hoping I looked a little like Amy Grant. I guess I felt a little sympathy for these two, wondering if an older sibling had put them up to it! If so, they'll chuckle at the memory in another 15 years as they write about it on their blog!

Oh gross.

Jenna, usually a great sleeper, has been waking up a lot at night but I've shrugged it off and blamed it on those two new teeth. Well last night was awful (yes, that is bold and italicized!) I heard her at about 2:20 in the morning and decided this had gone on long enough, her teeth had come through and there was no reason for me to get up with her. So I layed in bed, waiting for her to fall back asleep. At one point, she was quiet so I assumed my favorite sleeping position and closed my eyes, only to hear her again crying louder and harder than before. It was now 3:30 and I figured I better go get her, if for no other reason than to allow Jake, who gets up at 4:45, to get the sleep he needs. I rocked her and turned on her music but when I went to put her back in her crib she clung for dear life and screamed, "NO!!!" That's when I knew I was in for it. I rocked her again. Same thing. I put her in her crib anyway and pulled the rocking chair up next to her and the whole time she's screaming, "MAMA! NO! MAMA! MAMA!" I asked her if she wanted me to sing a song, read a book, nothing was calming her down. I rocked her one more time and she freaked again when I put her down. Desperate, I said, "Do you want your back pack?" And lo and behold, my $1.98 clearance item did the trick.
Thank you Cinderella. Thank you Belle and.... who is that? I don't care. My baby slept in until 8:00. And then this morning..... we had other issues. Whining, whining, whining. She didn't want to eat anything, screamed if I walked out of the room, wanted to sit with me while I ate my breakfast. I finally sat down with her to watch "Between the Lions" and she snuggled up to me like she has never snuggled before. I'll admit, I was loving it. What I did not love was what came next. Suddenly, she threw up! And I just sat there in shock! I was not expecting that at all. It was all over her blanket and square, all over her jammies, me, the couch. And I just sat there. I had no clue. And all I could say was, "Oh, Jenna! Oh, Jenna!" Once I snapped out of it and realized vomit was everywhere, I took her right into the bath, called Jake, grabbed everything that needed washing and threw it into the washer then called my sister. I have never had to clean up barf on a couch and needed some help. She suggested Resolve, which did in fact resolve the problem. After the clean-up, Jenna asked for some Triscuits and ate about 6 of them. I gave her some water and we watched another episode of "Between the Lions." She snuggled up again and started closing her eyes. I asked her if she wanted to sleep in Mommy's bed and of course she said yes. And she slept for about an hour and a half. She must be feeling better because she just squeeled, "Shoe!" Yep, everything's back to normal!

I hope they call me on a mission... when I have turned 62!

This last week has been an exciting one for Jake's parents. They received their mission call on Friday, September 26 but were not surprised to be called to the Toronto, Canada mission because their friend, who is the president of that mission, had already "recruited" them. It was surprising, however, that their call said to report to the MTC on December 1 because the mission president said he needed them by mid-October. After a few phone calls back and forth between Toronto, Salt Lake and here, the mission secretary from Salt Lake called on Monday and said to be at the MTC the following Monday (today!)

Reading the call

With the help of lots of friends, we managed to put together an Open House last Wednesday so friends and family could say good-bye. It was a lot of fun and we had brownies and cookies galore!

They were set apart the next night and it was a very special event.
With the Stake President and Bishop

So they left early last Friday to make the drive to Salt Lake. They partied it up with family this weekend and even got to attend General Conference. We are so excited for the opportunity they have to serve a mission and think the people of Toronto are pretty darn lucky! Miss you already Elder & Sister Barnes! Don't forget to write!

Packing the car and driving away....

Hey Angelina, I need to borrow your nanny.

I was spoiled in Ohio, in a way other than indulging in Mitchell's ice cream every weekend. Jenna has seven cousins, and with four of them between the ages of 8 and 10, I was able to visit with my sisters, read three novels, surf blogs and watch plenty of TV guilt-free while the older girls "babysat." Jenna had them wrapped around her little fingers and all she had to do was let out a squeal and someone would come running. At times, she was the leader of the pack.....

Since we've been home, there have been several ocassions where she's called out, "Andoo! Puh Poh! Macey! Sinney! Bup! Emma! Yaya!" (Andrew, Porter, Macey, Sydney, Brooke, Emma, Leah). She really misses her cousins. And I do, too! We're on our own again. No basement filled with doll houses, dress-up clothes and art supplies. No cousins to push her on the tricycle, read her books or chase her around. I'm left to my own ideas of entertainment, which, honestly, aren't very entertaining. Luckily, the weather is still great and we spend a lot of time outside "cooking." But I'm running out of options and I really don't know what I'm going to do once Jake's parents leave for their mission! I guess the only obvious thing to do to solve this problem is move to Ohio!!

Warning: very cheesy and I don't mean cheddar

I was very excited when my sister, Amy, called to ask me if I wanted to join her and our other sister to run in the Race for the Cure. The two have been doing the race for a few years and I was so happy to be there with them. And then it started to sink in that this is a 5k run, which to some is no big thing but I do not run. Put me in a pool and I'll swim a 50k (okay, probably not but you get what I mean) but put me in a pair of tennis shoes and we're talking side aches, knee aches and shortness of breath, not to mention the sweat factor. So, I started to get a little nervous, especially knowing that Amy and Melissa are avid runners and go nearly every morning. I had three goals for the race: #1 Run the whole thing, #2 No complaining and #3 Don't make a fool of yourself (pretty much my goals for giving birth).My stomach was in knots when Ramona, the local celebrity newswoman, rang the bell to start the race. We waved at the camera as we ran by and I was feeling pretty good. Then we hit mile one when the heavy breathing and jell-o legs started in but at least it wasn't crazy hot and humid. In fact, it was raining and the rain felt good. As runners passed me up, I read the names pinned to their backs, honoring family members and friends who were victims of or who had survived breast cancer. I got a little emotion but it was a good distraction until mile two.... At this point, my rear was so sore and every step was sending a sharp pain from my foot to my hip. I told them I might throw up when we're done. (There goes goal #2). I was still "running" but I could tell that Amy and Melissa have slowed way down so we could all be together. They kept telling me we're almost there, but it seemed like they were saying that for a long time! My pace had turned into a slow trot when we came to the incline right before the finish line. That's what did me in. My legs felt like they were going to give out at any second. Amy and Melissa grabbed my hands and offered words of encouragement but that last little stretch was kind of a blur until I saw the finish line. We all grabbed hands again and raised them up in triumph, until I collapsed right after crossing that line (and there goes goal #3). I was so exhausted! We hugged and I fought back tears but kept thinking that this was all a little symbolic. They helped me over to the curb where I caught my breath and settled down. With a little bit of help, I did it! A trivial thing to some but it was a great experience for me. Although I do not know anyone who has had breast cancer, it was an honor to be there with Amy and Melissa, as sisters and as women. The best part? Free Mitchell's ice cream. Hehe!

A brief synopsis

And.... we're back. Jenna and I spent three weeks in Ohio visiting my sisters and their kids and had a great time just hanging out. But hanging out kept us busy and I didn't blog a single thing. Now I'm kicking myself because it would be next to impossible to write about everything that deserves it's own post. So here's a summary:

Our days were filled with reruns of "Beverly Hills, 90210" during naptime, "Prison Break" after bedtime and icecream all the time! Our days also included karate, football and dance practice,

hana, dul, set, net, daseot!

parks,

playing dress-up,

eating cookie dough,

visiting Amish country,

where we sampled every kind of cheese imaginable!
"make-overs,"
playing with the doll house,still working on the concept that tiny furniture is for tiny dolls, not toddlers!

learning how to do puzzles,

and a whole lot of love!

Thanks for a great time! Wish we could have stayed for three more weeks!!