Whew! It has been a BUSY 2 weeks. And an insanely FAST 2 weeks! Forget for a moment that I just had a baby....we've also been celebrating visits and birthdays and the completion of house projects and watching the shenanigans of a 2 year old viking toddler!
So....here are some pictures and brief explanations of the past 2 weeks!
My viking toddler and first born! Happy to have just picked up "Ampa" (what he is currently calling my dad) from the airport and on his way to meet his new baby brother in the hospital.
Jakob's first bath. He was NOT a fan!
I have an almost identical picture of my dad and Jeffery when Jeffery was this little. SO special to see how much these little boys are loved!
While Dave went back to work....and I caught some much needed shut eye....my mom and dad walked with Jeffery to the park across from our neighborhood. He had a blast playing in the sandbox and going in the swing!
Ampa (Grandpa) introduced Jeffery to a car game on his iphone. Both Jeffs are quite taken by the game! :)
I think I have already mentioned that in his 1 week here, my dad mowed our lawns TWICE! (shaking my head!) :) He also fixed our lights above the kitchen sink AND replaced the halogen bulbs in the lights under the cupboards....giving us light that we'd never had before and completely changing the look and ambience of our kitchen! He then finished his visit by installing curtain rods and curtains in our bedroom. Little Jeffery was quite intent on helping him in this endeavor....as you can see in the picture. :)
Jakob modeling one of my favorite hand-me-downs from Jeffery.....this cute little owl outfit! :)
After my parents visited in April, they decided to give Jeffery a sandbox for his birthday. But that got put on hold after they found out we were moving. Which worked out perfectly!! Why? Because while they were here, Oma and Ampa and Jeffery....just the 3 of them...loaded into one of our cars and went in search of a sandbox and some sand. It was a great and memorable outing for all 3!!!! They came back with a GREAT sandbox and 300 pounds of sand (I kid you not)....and before my dad left for AZ again...he had returned to Toys R Us and brought home a dump truck and a back hoe for Jeffery to play with in his sandbox! It is now one of his favorite places to be!
In addition to the sandbox, my dad also bought him a plastic bat and huge baseball....VERY reminiscent of the red bat and ball my sister and I had when we were little and would play baseball with him in our backyard. I'm blaming post birth hormones but I started crying when I happened to look out a window into the backyard at one point....to see my dad hunched over Jeffery, showing him how to hold the bat, throwing the ball up in the air, and showing Jeffery how to swing at the ball. They even made contact a few times! (Remind me why we just bought a house 2500 miles away???!!!!) :)
While my dad was still here, we were able to celebrate Dave's birthday! No....Dave was not forgotten in the midst of births and visits! He says the best present ever was the fact that Jakob and I came home from the hospital completely healthy.
My mom baked him his favorite chocolate cake, we sang to him (in parts....as is the Harris tradition), dad grilled up some beer soaked brats and mom made her famous potato salad, and we opened presents. It was a wonderful little celebration and it was the 2nd year in the past 3 years that my parents have been able to help celebrate his birthday (we were in AZ for the wedding of our friends in 2011 around his birthday).
Oma and Grandpa with little Jakob!
Me, mom, and Jakob.
My dad could only stay for a week. :( He is supposed to be retired but he is FAR from it and had to get back to lead the Sonoran Desert Chorale in their weekly rehearsal, oversee Choir Appreciation Week at his church, and start work for the Mesa Public Schools District. (Retired? HA!) BUT...mom stayed with us. THANK GOD! It was hard enough saying goodbye to my dad. So....she was here as we celebrated Jakob's 1 week birthday....with cupcakes...just like we did for Jeffery. We even brought in her laptop, got my dad on SKYPE (thank you God above for SKYPE!) and he was able to join us in singing to Jakob....from across the country! :)
Jakob got a bath on his 1 week birthday!
Even though I was only 1 week removed from giving birth, my mom and I decided to paint the nursery. The previous owners used it as an office....so the red/brown color was okay. But it is NOT appropriate for a nursery. Here it is BEFORE:
My mom had a little fun on the wall! :)
And here is is the AFTER:
Such a HUGE difference. It is a completely different room now! My mom is sewing new slip covers for the rocking chair and a rug is being delivered this week. I am SO pleased with the result!
Nap time for Jakob!
All too soon.....FAR too soon....it was time for my mom to go. How did her 2 week visit fly by so quickly? I asked Dave if her visit (being his mother-in-law) had been too long and he just shook his head and said it hadn't been long enough. She had been such a blessing and help to both of us but especially to Jeffery. And the fact that she got to spend 2 weeks with Jakob as a newborn?? Priceless!!!!!
"Oma" was called for morning, noon, and night (except right before bed....silly little boy). Jeffery would take her hand and demand she walk where he led. He had some "owly" moments (as my mom calls them)....some yellow cards and even a red card was pulled during her visit but he adored having her here....and getting all that attention from her when Dave and I were so busy with the baby or just plain tired. I will never be able to thank her for spending those 2 weeks here with us. It was such a gift....to everyone....and a time that we will never forget! It simply broke my heart as we left to take her to the airport and while in Dave's arms as they stood in the driveway, Jeffery just sobbed and called for Oma.
It has been an insanely busy 2 weeks. And we have a whole Fall of busy-ness ahead of us. The next post will cover little Jakob's baptism (which was yesterday) and his Aunt Julie Pedersen's visit for that celebration and to see him and Jeffery....which was a WONDERFUL time! And then we have more visitors scheduled to come until the end of October almost.
But through it all, through the sleep deprivation and Jeffery's "owly" moments or days, and the learning to be parents to 2 little boys.....we are absolutely in love with our little Jakob Becket and it has made us love Jeffery even more. We have been so blessed and we have much to rejoice over.
I say that....but you might have to remind me of that come 4 in the morning, as I'm in the middle of the 3rd night feeding and tired beyond anything else. :)
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