The party continues

All the cool kids are born in September, obviously. Our month-long celebration continued with Matt's 28th birthday last week. Sadly, both Jake and I were sick that day so it didn't get to be the party that I had originally planned but Matt was such a trooper about it -- making his own cake and everything, poor guy. We'll make up for it. And hey, he still got spoiled in the present department so it must have been an alright birthday in the end. Golf gear, a brand new iPhone, and the cutest baby in the world. What more could a man want?

I loved being able to sing "Happy birthday, dear Daddy." It was one of those sweet little "We're really a family!" moments. Years ago, my sister asked Matt when he wanted kids and he responded that he really hoped it could happen before he turned 28. Jake made that dream come true with 13 days to spare. 

I'd planned on buying Matt an iPhone 4, but then the rumor mill reported a probable iPhone 5 unveiling in early October so I went with an I.O.U. underneath a golf shirt instead. Good thing I.O.U.s are completely acceptable gifts in our house!

Tiny Details

We can't get enough of Jake's sweet little everything.

(These pictures were taken in the hospital on Jake's birthday.)

One Week

Matt and I are basking in our last few days of quality family time with Jake before Matt goes back to work next week. It's been the best thing in the world to spend every minute of every day together since our sweet little guy arrived, and I've been especially grateful to have Matt home while I've been sick this past week. Time flies with a newborn and we have so much to share with all of you, so hopefully we'll get our feet back under us and get caught up on here soon. In the meantime, I thought I'd share some pictures we snapped of Jake when he was one week old as well as a few that Heidi took of our little family when he was 11 days old.

Our baby boy:

Hands are extremely delicious and fun to chew, in case you didn't know.

Our family of three:

Introducing...

Baby Jake was born two days early (surprise!), all natural (planned), after 13 hours of labor (much of which was excruciating back labor), and with a touch of drama since his mommy didn't make it to the hospital until she was already dilated to a 10 and ready to roll (um, not planned). We are so in love with our little guy and are so grateful that he's here, healthy, and ours forever.

We have quite the story and countless adorable pictures to share, but we're currently busy being wrapped up in our sweet baby, so that will all have to wait a little while longer. Stay tuned!

Piece of Heaven

Life is perfect.

A Celebration

How to celebrate your birthday when you are 39+ weeks pregnant:

1. Go to Disneyland the day before.
Load up on birthday wishes from dozens of strangers and bask in the happy atmosphere.

2. After sleeping in on the big day, head to the gym for a little run/waddle.

3. Come home to a delicious brunch in the freshly-decked-out-by-Matt dining room.

Matt got up early to decorate. Such a fun surprise to wake up to!

4. Soak up some sun and enjoy weightless playtime at the pool.

5. Watch college football ... all day long!

6. Enjoy Matt's expert grilling for dinner.

7. Party! Bring out the cake, make a wish and blow out birthday candles.

8. Welcome your family to the party via Skype. Laugh at the babies and their silly cuteness.

9. Open birthday presents (that can hopefully be used in the near-ish future).

Matt gifted me a post-baby shopping spree. My dad teased that he'll only make that "fill in the blank" mistake once!

10. Cuddle up on the couch with cake and ice cream.

11. Take a picture with the baby bump, of course!

12. Go into labor.

Just kidding about that last one. But it would have been crazy, right?

Funnel cakes and ferris wheels

Summer simply wouldn't be complete without delicious fried desserts enjoyed under the flashing lights of a local fair.
The Antelope Valley Fair is such a hit in our neck of the woods desert that people talk about it year-round. Matt and I were pleasantly surprised when it lived up to the hype last summer (hint: that link is full of all sorts of pretty fair pictures), and we enjoyed another nice date night there last Saturday.

We got to the fairgrounds in just enough time to catch some of the Rural Olympics, which included fantastically hick-ish events like hanging out of a moving vintage car's window to spear potatoes and "stealing" 25 bales of hay in less than two minute's time.

Then, we happily wandered around, enjoying the lights, sights and quality people-watching.

Of course, Skeeball was on our must-do list. Last year, I was the champion and won a cow to prove it. This year, Matt brought down the house and brought home a gator.

I blame my less-than-stellar performance on my lack of proper balance due to the bowling ball strapped to my stomach. :)

As it got darker, we set off in search of the best funnel cake stand. You'd better believe we found it!

Just when we thought funnel cakes couldn't get any better, we added strawberries and whipped cream -- and then died and went to sugar heaven. It was the best way to cap off our night!