Case Lot CHAOS!!!!

7 HOURS!!!!


That's how long it took from when Jaden and I got in line to when we checked out of our Commissary's twice a year case lot sale.  It was Craziness!!!  We got there a half hour before it started thinking that would be adequate, only to find the line already 1/4th of a mile long!  At that was only to get into the tents!  Once you got into the tents, you had to wind up and down the long aisles made of food, picking up what you wanted as you went along, until you got to the end and could check out.  We got in line at 8am, made it to the tents by 11:45am, and finally packed everything into our car at 3pm.  And did I mention that it was a hot and sunny day?  Occasionally there was a breeze and cloud cover, which made it nice outside (I still got sunburned but didn't realize it until I got home) but under those tents it was sweltering!  But Jaden was a little trooper!  I knew enough to dress him in a light and cool outfit, had him sprayed with sunscreen so he didn't get burned, and I had a lot of snacks and drinks with me.  However I did not anticipate being there for SEVEN HOURS and finally he couldn't handle it anymore and just needed to sleep, so we laid him down in the cart and he slept for a good 2-2.5 hours while we were under the tents.  It really put into perspective how incredibly tiny my 15 month child is!!

I tore a piece of cardboard off some of the packaging materials and made it into a fan to keep him cool and anytime he woke up I got him to drink as much water as I could.  Still, we were both totally and completely beat by the time we got home.

Were the deals good?  For the most part.  Were they waiting for 7 hours good?  Probably not, but it was certainly an experience.  Luckily I joined up with two other ladies from my ward so I had good company the whole time.

Some of my deals:
Del Monte large can of spaghetti sauce: 12 cans for $6
Lysol wipes: 12 tubes of wipes for $9
Spray and Shout stain remover: 12 bottles for $6 (I figure we will use more of this as Jaden gets older)
12 cans of Coke (or Dr. Pepper if you're weird like my husband) for $2.25
100 pouches of Scooby Doo Fruit Snacks for $6.99
*If you have gotten better prices on these, don't let me know.  It will just make me depressed at this point!*

Just in Time for What Should Be His First Birthday

His First Steps!!!!  I never knew what to officially call his "first steps".  Was it that one half-stumble he took going from the table to the couch?  I didn't think so, but he went from half-stumbles to 4-5 steps in a row in about a day, so I never knew what to officially call the first steps.  Regardless, he is starting to really trust himself and walking a lot more!  Now, instead of immediately dropping to his hands and knees to get somewhere, he will actually walk until he looses his balance and then crawl the rest of the way!  I'll get it on video really soon I promise!

His First Word!!!  I was getting really worried because not only was he not saying any words, but we wasn't even trying to say any words.  That was the only 12 month milestone he hadn't hit yet.  And then, out of nowhere, he started saying his first word!  And it is....  (drum roll please...)  DUCKY!!!!!!  He has this little rubber ducky (that actually isn't rubber - it's a stress ball) that he is currently obsessed with.  He takes it absolutely everywhere with him!  Jake was convinced he was trying to say ducky, but I was skeptical, until today at the beach.  We went to get some sun and play in the water (I just love living 1 mile away from some of the best beaches in the world!) and Jaden saw some of the birds on the beach (like seagulls but not quite) and said, in the clearest tiny voice ever, what was unmistakably, Ducky!  Apparently all birds are duckies to him.  Love it!  He says it more like duh-dee so you think it would be a simple transition to daddy, but not yet.  It's only a matter of time though!

His First Tooth!!!  Yes, it FINALLY made it's little appearance!  Right when I had given up all hope, it poked its sharp little head through!  He doesn't like to let me look at it or feel it, but I'm the mom, so he'll just have to put up with me!  At dinner tonight I tried to get a good shot of his tooth but it's hard to see because it literally JUST broke through, so I used a little editing magic to help you out!

If you squint really hard, you can see it!  And if you are someone who REALLY cares (a.k.a. grandma's and grandpa's), you can click on the picture to make it really big!  I love being a new mom and getting so excited about Every Single Little Thing!!!

Happy National High Five Day Yesterday!

Issuing a Code White!!!

We have reason to believe that, in the next few days, we will welcome the arrival of the long-awaited for FIRST TOOTH!!!!  Stay tuned.  Will update you when needed!

Update: No new tooth yet.  However, we do have a runny nose, a tad bit more drool than normal, a slightly more grumpy baby than normal, and he no longer has the desire to bite on everything.  Our hypothesis on the last bit is because it hurts to bite down on things... (Tuesday night)

Update: I am officially cancelling the Code White.  Almost a week, and NOTHING!!!  Oh well.  We'll still keep him! :)

Easter, a Haircut, and Just General Cuteness!

I have two lower cupboards that are perfect size for Jaden to crawl in and explore so I make sure to only store Jaden approved things in there.  I think that I put everything back in the cupboards at least three times a day.  It's like he's not feeling complete until my floor is littered with strainers and cutting boards...

I think Jaden has too many toys.  And because of Florida's awesome weather, there are yard sales every weekend so his stash of toys seems to keep growing.  I need better self control.

 Like most kids, Jaden loves to have his picture taken and then look at it on the display of my digital camera.  It makes him really excited, and when he gets really excited he starts to bob up and down in happiness, so all of my pictures turn out blurry.  

This was the look on his face when he realized I had pulled the camera out:

This was the look on his face when he realized I wasn't going to let him play with the buttons on my camera:

You always hear stories and see pictures of other kids who fell asleep in funny places or doing odd things.  My kid has never been like that.  He fell asleep either in your arms or in his bed.  Period.  Until yesterday, when he fell asleep in his highchair watching Phineas and Ferb.  Love it!

Here is Jaden pre-haircut:

And here is Jaden after his haircut.  It seems like he will need his hair cut about ever two months.  It grows way too fast!

We had a really fun Easter!  We started with an egg hunt at home and Jaden took no time understanding what to do!!!

He figured out if he threw the egg on the ground, it would crack open and something shiny would fall out.  He even figured out that shiny thing was for eating.  He didn't figure out that the wrapper was supposed to come off, and we didn't tell or show him.

This is one of his new things: sticking out the tongue all the time!

Then we went to a community egg hunt where we got his face painted (which he handled just fine regardless of how tortured he looks in the picture), saw the Easter bunny, and shared a hot dog with daddy.

Every single day, without fail, I just stare at him in awe and wonder.  He is the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my entire life!  He is completely amazing!  I hope I always feel that way.  I suppose you should ask me again after the terrible 2's and 3's!

P.S. As I was sitting here writing this, I heard in the background the telltale sounds of Jaden climbing in the cupboards once again.  I'm off to clean up some more strainers!  Golly I love this kid!

Lately

Lately we have been:

• Settling in to our new home
• Watching Jaden as he discovers he likes to sleep under a blanket

• Having a crawling (ALMOST walking) baby helping me put the house together

•  Going to the beach!

• Jaden signed his first word in sign language: fan.  I know.  Not Mom or Dad or Milk or Juice, but fan.... He loves to watch it go round and round and loves turning it off and on.
• Playing at the park

• Learning how to eat bark

• Playing with all of his many toys

• Getting Cheerios EVERYWHERE (and needed another haircut)

• Stalking my baby on our video monitor (Best Gift Ever if you can afford it!)

•  Finally reaching 16 pounds!!!
• And generally just being the most beautiful baby EVER!

Jake finally got his paperwork approved so he can now come live at home when he is not at school, so that has been a big relief!  It has made everyone in the family a lot happier!  

And now for a few thoughts from Jaden:

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