Strawberry Picking

Today we went with Grandma, Chief, and Kenton to pick strawberries at a nearby orchard. I don't do a lot of smart plan-ahead Mommy things, but let me just say, I did a good job dressing myself and the boys for our outing.

This is why....
He kept picking berries, eating a few, but smashing each and every one of them in his little fists.

Noah didn't stay much cleaner, and kept stomping through the strawberry patch much like a T-rex would have done.
If these boys weren't so cute, they might have kicked us out and not let us come back. After we picked a few pecks, we had a little picnic at the orchard. Jake ate so many strawberries that he threw up. But other than that, we had a great time. (but not so great that we didn't wish you were there, Kyle!)

LOST

The Piepers love LOST. Last night was a big deal. in honor of the series finale, we had a little party, complete with costumes.

I was an Other, Noah wouldn't dress up, but he would let me write on his hand.
"NOT penny's boat" = Charlie
Chief as John Locke (who else?). Notice the perfectly-applied scar under his eye.
And Mom was Jack.
Kenton (the die-hardest LOST fan in the world)/Desmond Can't you just see the sorrow in his face that his favorite show is over? All good things come to an end. Don't worry, Kenton, there's always reruns and memories :)

Help please

We are getting all worked up for our big Kentucky trip. I'm excited about the idea, but I probably won't be able to completely relax until our plane touches down on that side of the Mississippi. There's just something a little daunting about traveling alone with 2 children. And so, please please please, if you know anything about flying with toddlers and/or how to keep them happy and quiet, pass those secrets along. Keep in mind, my boys are 2.5 and 1 (both in diapers), our flight is 4 hours long, their typical bedtime will be somewhere in the middle of all that, and I have no problem using sugar to my advantage.

ahhh privacy

I feel so free now that my blog is private.
This picture seemed appropriate for the occasion.
Thanks for making this possible :)

party til the cows come home

(This is the last you will hear about Jake's birthday, I promise!! I just put too much work into this party for it to be undocumented :)

Jake got a cow themed party, kind of by default. I decided on it a couple of months ago, because I thought, what little kid doesn't love cows and horses and all that? But Jake has not really latched on to farm animals the same way he has dinosaurs, and by the time I realized it, it was too late to plan a new party. Oh well, who remembers what their first birthday was about anyway. I just wanted to give Jake a good party, better than Noah's first one, just to sort of level the playing field, you know?

the invitations "holy cow....jake is one!" (i still can't get used to the idea!!)

Cow hoof prints to the door. (I asked my brother to help me find a picture of them online. He thought I said cow poop prints. Now THAT would have been some good party decorations.)

the backyard venue. I wanted to make Jake one of those insanely awesome felt playhouses I've seen on the web (like homemade by jill's), and I thought Jake's birthday was a good excuse to try it. I wouldn't say mine was quite insanely awesome, especially considering I was frantically throwing it together the last few days/hours/minutes before the party (finished 10 minutes before the party started!). You can see it in the background in this picture. I still want to add some more to the sides so technically it isn't done yet. But the kids at the party had fun playing in there, at least. We put fisher price animals and farm stuff in there so they could feel like real farmers. We did some "cow-tippin" (with a cheap plastic bowling set with cow pictures on the pins) and the kids wore cow tales. And we had hoped to get some crop planting in, but I didn't really have time to supervise that. So Noah just played in the mud instead.

We planned the party around when my siblings could come down from Provo to celebrate with us. Here's a picture of the crew that helped with all the behind-the-scenes party work.
Lauren made the cakes all by herself (since like I already said, I was tied up on the playhouse the whole day). She put off some important school work to come to the rescue. We love Auntie Yars! And this is the birthday boy enjoying the cake.

what a smile. Good times.

More of Jake's Day

not that appetizing, I know...but at least the plate is cool.

We opened presents (that Noah had picked out at the Dollar store)
He loved the balloon the most. well and the cake and ice cream of course.

brothers...awww

playing outside after cake (incidentally, on Noah's first birthday present from Grammy and Papa)

And all pajama-ed up, playing with the cool melissa and Doug cake toy Gramma gave him. He really does like it, despite the expression!

"too much partying mom...just put down the camera and put me to bed already."

Birthday Tribute to Jake

The boys and I went to the park with some food for a birthday outing. Here are a few pictures and thoughts about my little JacobBean.

We love this kid. He is an absolute joy. His sweetness is so endearing. My favorite thing about baby Jake is when he tilts his head to the side and flashes a shy little smile. This pictures is the closest I have been able to capture. But if you have met Jake, you have probably already seen that smile at your first introduction.

I love the way Jake sees the world. He is usually content to sit back and watch things happen. It's not out of fear (as we saw from the learning to walk stage, faceplants and other scary things don't really phase him), but observation seems to be his thing. Example: most of the day, I carry him around and go about my business, and he is happy, without much entertainment or stimulation. If my muscles weren't so wimpy, I might forget that he's there. But when I put him down on the floor against his will, he definitely makes his frustrations known. Pick him up again, and life is happy again.

Jake is learning a thing or two from all his observations! He now prefers walking as his primary mode of transportation, like the big people in his life. And he is starting to imitate some of Noah's behaviors and expressions. The simplest of things (like a gasp with his hand over his mouth when he is surprised or pleased) is adorable when little Jake does it right after seeing his big brother do the same. And then there's the whole dinosaur roaring thing he also picked up from Noah. Not surprisingly, Jake's little growl is pretty meek and mild, but you get the feeling that when he does it, he thinks he is being absolutely vicious. I scream anyway and let my baby keep thinking he is a big scary T-Rex.

I love him, and I am happy he is ours!