Happy Fall

I love everything about the fall - the weather, the smells, the holidays around the corner :) and this year fall has been very exciting! We just had Jayden's 8 month pics done and I must admit, her outfit was to DIE for! I really wanted an outdoor "fall" setting but I couldn't find any cute dresses for her to wear. So I headed down to Children's Orchard (my new favorite store!) to see if I could find any cute resale outfits. Just as I was walking out of the store, I saw in the sale basket a brown tulle tutu that was only $3.99! What a bargain! Then of course I realized I didn't have any matching bows or headbands...so I picked up a cute brown flower headband for only $2 (that's when I realized this is my new favorite store!). Not like Jayden needs any new bows or headbands...I'm pretty sure she has a gazillion! Andddd I just organized them :)

Color Coordinated...looks like mommy's closet :) LOL 

Anyways...back to Jayden's photo session...during the pics she was sitting up on top of a suitcase and while I was trying to take a pic on my camera she tumbled --- full on backwards summersault and landed facedown in the grass :( Jonathan ran over and picked her up...she didn't even let out a fuss...what a trooper! :) 

Here's a few sneak peek pics from our session yesterday :)

Our little angel <3

Happy Fall :)

Bottle Battle

So right about now I'm really regretting not giving Jayden more bottles during the past 6 months. When she came home from the hospital, she was only bottle feeding and I had to push (ok...maybe force) her to nurse. After 3 weeks home from the hospital and working on her latching every single day she finally got it...I was so excited I put the bottles away and only took them out when I needed them (which was hardly ever)...BIG MISTAKE!

Fast forward to today...and with my weekend trip to San Diego around the corner, I really need her on the bottle so my dear husband isn't battling with her to eat. I've been trying to give her a bottle every day for the past few weeks, but she's not taking it. So, my mom suggested since my older sis is at her house every day until she pops out baby Ella, the three of us would tackle this bottle problem once and for all. So yesterday we worked on it for 5 hours before I finally gave in and nursed her. I told Jayden she won that battle, but I would win the war and not give in.

Monnie working her magic...

Thank goodness for patient grandmas! What would we do without them?

Going on hour 6 without eating...she fussed herself to sleep

9 hours later...she FINALLY gave in!!

Such a big bottle for such a little girl LOL

When she was done ~ she was SO proud of herself! 

And we went to the park to celebrate :)

First time in the baby swing...and she had so much fun!!

WHEEEEEEEEE :)

SO CUTE!

And we went down the baby slide...and the big girl slide!!

AWWW I love her! :)

It was such a long but successful day! Lesson learned for when baby #2 comes along...don't stop using the bottle! But after today...I'm so glad Jayden finally gave in! I am one proud mommy <3

Big Big Girl!

One of my favorite things about being a mommy is playing with Jayden and it seems like she's always surprising me. And yesterday was no different :) She decided to show off what a big, big girl she is!! 

We got out her play table at Monnie's house (for those of you who don't know who "Monnie" is...that's my mom...my nephew Bryson started calling her Monnie and it just stuck :) ...so that's what all the grandkids will call her). Anyways...so I didn't think Jayden would be all that interested since she has to stand to play with it...but she LOVED it! So as soon as we got home I wanted to show Jonathan...so we pulled out our play table and we played before bedtime!

She loved playing with all the toys on top! And when we played with the same toy at my mom's house...it was hilarious because there is a "Let's Learn Spanish" button and everything translates. Her favorite button was "Red...Rojo" and "Eight...Ocho" LOL

Look at me dad! 

She also LOVES her sit-to-stand toy...primarily just for standing

I LOVE HER <3

What a show off!

Spending quality time with dad <3

It's not bedtime mom! It's playtime! <3

I can't believe how big she's getting! I'm so incredibly proud of her! And she's only a few weeks away from crawling! When she's doing tummy time it's almost like she gets frustrated because she isn't moving! She'll definitely be on the move by Thanksgiving...if not before! What a big girl she is <3

Sweet Tooth

8 months! I can't believe Jayden's 8 month birthday is already here!?! I don't recall high school days going this fast! Where is the time going?

So much has been happening in the past week or so! Jayden is sitting up like a big girl with little to no help! AND she just started pushing herself up during tummy time...which means...crawling is just around the corner! How is it that my baby is growing up so fast?!?

What a big girl!!

I L.O.V.E. that smile!

She's so proud of herself! <3

Tummy time before she started pushing herself up...

I love how she's checking herself out in the mirror LOL

Tummy time yesterday when she started pushing up :) 

Sorry for the poor pic quality...still waiting for my new iPhone to arrive...

What a big girl!!!

You know she's concentrating when she's sticking out her tongue like that! LOL

So proud of my little pumpkin!

Now she's just showing off ;)

Right about now was when she was starting to look at me like 

"mom...stop taking pictures and play with me!" 

aanndd....we're done! 

We are so incredibly proud of our little peanut! Jayden's also eating more and more solids -- we've come to the conclusion she has mommy's taste buds as she LOVES anything sweet...ice cream...whip cream...the sweeter the better in my opinion (and in Jayden's!). Maybe instead of eating all those oreo shakes & ice cream bars I should have been eating more carrots and peas...

Last weekend Jayden was a little fussy at Lazy Dog Cafe on our date night with Auntie B & Uncle Al...apparently all she wanted was a little bit of whip cream LOL

Obviously she's going to have a sweet tooth like mommy :) 

Separation Anxiety

With only a week to go until Jayden's 8 month birthday, Jonathan and I finally decided it was time .... time for our precious angel to try sleeping in her crib...in her room...away from mommy & daddy ;( and I had the WORST separation anxiety in the world! I hardly slept! I kept looking over at the empty cradle next to me and then at the baby monitor on the nightstand making sure our baby was OK all alone in that great big room of hers.

We put her down at 8:30 and when she woke up at 1:30 we...I...brought her back into our room. It's only logical for the first night to be half in her room and half in our room. For her sake...and for mine LOL :) Needless to say I slept much better once she was next to me. And tonight, as I'm writing this, I can't help but glance over at the monitor to make sure she is OK in her crib. While I miss her sleeping next to me in our room, it would be amazing if she could make it through the night without waking up! 

I'm such a proud mommy...our baby girl is sleeping in her own room & getting better at eating solids! The past few weeks Jayden has really struggled eating her veggies. We have tried rice cereal, veggies, even apple sauce! So today we went to Target and bought stage 1 fruits and I decided to try my favorite fruit first...bananas :) and she LOVED them! She actually ate them! All of them! I was surprised, especially considering no matter what I did she would not open her mouth for her veggies (which I can't be too surprised...we are talking about Jonathan's daughter LOL)

I'm so proud of our little peanut <3

Don't mind my airplane and train sounds LOL ... it really is funny to hear the sounds grown adults make to get babies to laugh :)

Guess I'm as guilty as the rest of 'em!

Sunday Funday.Tiller Days.Bedtime Stories

It's hard to believe this time last year I was prego when we went to Tustin Tiller days...this year, we took Jayden and we were SO excited to take her on the kiddie rides!!! We tried to go Saturday night, but it was closed because of the high winds :( So Jonathan skipped his Sunday football & took us to Tiller days and little Jayden absolutely LOVED it! The lights, the music & the attention LOL...she loved it all and she was little miss explorer and couldn't get enough! And Jonathan of course carried her in the baby bjorn so she wouldn't miss a thing...it was adorable! Unfortunately she couldn't go on the rides since she was way too small :( but we still had fun!

Before we went to Tiller Days, Jayden and I went to Jonathan's baseball game with her grandma & grandpa! Jayden was (of course) perfect and was so incredibly adorable! 

Our little explorer ~ of course she didn't want to miss a thing!!

Daddy came by to see his precious babe! I L.O.V.E. this pic!! :) :) :)

She's daddy's biggest fan!!

Sitting with grandma & grandpa in the stands :)

We had such a fun weekend and topped it off with some extra fun bedtime stories! We read 2 or 3 books before bedtime and nap time...and Jayden's new favorite thing is to "read" with us & it's SO adorable! Even if she is fussy, reading calms her down and what's better than snuggling up in bed & reading some all-time classic baby books?!?

Daddy reading If I Could Keep You Little...one of our favorites :) 

Sooooo precious!!! 

Seriously....Daddy of the Year <3 <3 <3

And I read a few of our other favorites...I Love You All the Time and Counting Kisses

Ok..ok...so we have lots of favorites :)

PRICELESS <333333333 

Are we lucky parents or what?? I love reading time with our precious babe!! LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!

If there's ever a tomorrow...

So I know it's been a few days since our guests left...but Jayden's "Great-Great" Aunt Mary & Uncle John came out for a visit! We went out to Lake Havasu in August to stay with them and a few weeks later they decided to come out for a surprise visit!! I'm so glad Jayden gets to spend so much time with her family ~ which reminds me...I reallllllllllllllly need to plan a family photo session day! Which also just reminded me of all the other things I've been procrastinating (making Jonathan's doc appointment, getting us new phones since Jonathan broke his...)... ahhh I swear I'm the worst sometimes...anyways, back to what I was saying...

One day John & Mary were in town we spent a day in Laguna (one of my all-time favorite places in the world!)...strolling along the boardwalk, walking around downtown, shopping on main street and enjoying the fresh summer breeze at my favorite restaurant The Cliff :)

While we were walking around downtown, we went into my favorite store Tuvalu....of course I saw a million things I wanted to get! A few of my favorites :)

I pretty much want to print off these quotes and put them in Jayden's room! LOVED THEM!!

This one was my fav!

"Sweet darling...If there is ever a tomorrow when we are not together 

there is something you must always remember. 

You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think, 

but most important of all, even if we are apart, I'll always be with you. xoxo"

Awwww sooo cute! 

Anywhooo...back to Laguna LOL

Uncle John insisted on pushing little Jayden down main street and down the boardwalk. I guess when Jonathan was 7 months old Uncle John pushed him down the boardwalk and down the main street in Laguna! So we had a full-circle moment :)

Cruising down main street :)

There was a group of about 20 exchange students (and only one spoke broken English) that fell in LOVE with Jayden! They wanted to talk to her, take her picture, they even wanted to take a picture with me LOL ... what the heck I thought ~ I'm sure we made their day! 

We stood here for about 20 minutes so they could see little Jayden...and of course Jayden LOVED the attention and was laughing and smiling at them :)

Such a beautiful day on the boardwalk!! 

Wish I had a pic of Uncle John pushing Jonathan 28 years ago!! 

What a B.E.A.U.TIFUL day!

Ohhhhh how I love LAGUNA <3

Under Jayden's Spell

Is it really October already? So many exciting things are happening this month!
Jayden is turning 8 months! Her cousin Ella is making her big debut in a few weeks! And Jayden's first HALLOWEEN!!! We already have her costume!! I may be a little biased when I say this...but I think she is going to be the most adorable Sleeping Beauty EVER :)

And since Halloween is right around the corner, Jayden's Grandma Pam got her SUCH a cute little outfit :)

Daddy (and mommy and grandma and well the whole family LOL) are definitely under her spell! 

What a cutie :) 

One of Jayden's favorite new things is playing peek-a-boo by jumping out and saying "boo!"...I started doing this a few weeks ago in front of the mirror and she started laughing so loud! Naturally, I showed Jonathan as soon as he got home and he wanted to try...this is one of my favorite pics!!

After we played in front of the mirror, Jonathan started walking away and would jump back at her and say "boo" ... sooooo glad I caught it on camera because a certain someone thought it was hilarious and laughed uncontrollably :)

By far my favorite video in the world :) 

Too bad when we try it again, she doesn't laugh nearly as much as the first time!

Awwwww...how I love our little munchkin!!