Behind

Where to start?? It's gonna take me a bit to get my blog caught up from all the fun we've been having the past 2 weeks. I hate having to back-blog. Since my blog couples as my journal, I like to write about events right after they happen. Just haven't had any time. In the past 2 weeks every single member of the Jenkins family came to visit (staying anywhere from 3 to 13 days). The main event of our reunion was celebrating Grandma's 100th birthday!! It was a huge celebration (as it should be) and a ton of fun! Then just as the last of the company was leaving, my parents came into town to surprise Madi for her 5th birthday (yesterday)! We're enjoying their company right now and actually just got back from a gorgeous afternoon spent at the beach! LOVE summer days in Southern California! 

Even Cal had a fun time!!

3 months old

It's amazing what a couple weeks does in the life of a baby. Cal had several weeks of super fussiness- it was exhausting to constantly be holding/bouncing/rocking him. I could never just put him in his seat and have him chill. No, Cal always had to be moving. But then the week after he turned 2 months old things finally started getting better. Around 9 weeks he was on a great sleep schedule- bed at 7pm, eat at 2am, then up 7:30am! I was loving it! But of course it only lasted a week or so! This stage is hard just for the fact that they're always changing- Cal doesn't have a set nap schedule yet and his bedtime is anywhere from 6-7:30pm. Having tons of family in town this past week hasn't helped with getting Cal on a better schedule either. He's been spoiled rotten with being held ALL the time and rocked to sleep.

His current (unpredictable) schedule seems to follow a one hour awake, one hour asleep pattern. Cal still seems to always be sleepy. He falls asleep anytime we drive somewhere (but then wakes up when we're not moving) even if he's just woken up from a nap. I'm excited for things to slow down this next week so that I can stay home and watch his patterns more closely.

He was in the swing the other day, clutching his binky with a look of "don't you dare take it away!" Got a good laugh and of course snapped a picture.

When Cal's awake he's very alert. He's super sociable and smiles at almost everyone who looks him in the eyes and gives him a big smile. He's very responsive- I love the "conversations" we have. I ask him questions and he coos back at me. Somedays I can just tell that he wants to talk so I say
"tell me" and he'll sit and make all sorts of cute cooing/ gurgling/ grunting noises. And he's got one awesome growl! It's funny how much easier a baby seems in comparison to a sassy 5 year old who wants to argue with me about everything. I've found myself loving every minute I get to spend with Calvin.

He's growing and changing way too fast though! I was sad to have to pack up all his 0-3 month clothes at the beginning of the month (he's now in 6 month stuff). I've very aware at just how fast times flies and I want to make sure I get to enjoy every second of his cuteness at this stage.

Bath time is Calvin's absolute favorite time of the time. He'll sit and chill in the bath for the longest time.  But lately he's gotten to be quite the splasher!

Please excuse all the bath pictures. There were too many cute ones so I'm just gonna have an entire page in my blog book with bath pictures.

Father's Day

Favorite moments of the day:
1) While getting the girls situated with quiet time after church on Sunday I heard Cal start to cry. After laying down to rest with Elle, I walked in to find my boys sound asleep in the glider. Spencer's got the magic touch!

2) We went over early to start dinner at Boppi and Grandpa Al's while they were still at church. Spencer took the kids outside and my heart melted when I walked out. The girls were sitting at Spencer's feet, giggling and talking his ear off about all sorts of random things while Cal sat calm and content in Spencer's arms.

How blessed I am to have such an amazing husband who's an incredible father to our children. He loves, teaches, helps, disciplines, compliments, challenges, and is 100% involved in their lives. I couldn't ask for more!! What lucky kids to have such an awesome dad!! And what a lucky girl I am to also have such a wonderful dad who still takes such good care of me! Love you dad!

Just a check-up

Calvin had a doctor's visit (and shots) on Thursday. . .

11 weeks, 2 days old 

13 lbs. 14 oz.

24 1/2 inches

My baby boy is getting so big so fast!! And he's finally getting his look- which I love! Such a handsome little guy- always full of smiles and laughs. I can't help but kiss those squishy cheeks all day long!

Preschool Graduation

Last Wednesday was Madi's preschool graduation. Her little class of 8 had a small celebration in their classroom- first a potluck, followed by a movie Ms. Michele made from pictures and video throughout the year (I shed a tear while watching it), then singing by the kids, and lastly- handing out certificates. While the kids were at the table eating, the grandpa of one of the little autistic boys asked me if I felt Madi had benefited from being in this class. I was totally caught off guard by the question and had to stop and think about it. I definitely had my concerns about signing Madi up in a class with 6 autistic boys. I worried when she started picking up some of the inappropriate behavior and aggression I'd noticed in a couple of the boys. She didn't bring home much work, and the projects she did bring home was mostly stuff she'd just glued together. I know it didn't challenge her at all (not really the purpose for preschool anyway), BUT... there were many things that I did love about her little preschool class. I loved hearing about the friendships she developed with each of the kids in her class- at one point she was begging to have a play date with Armando. It was fun to watch Madi's love of science grow- the units on plants, animals, fish, and birds were Madi's favorite. I loved hearing about what they cooked every Thursday. And I especially loved the structure, routine, and entertainment it provided Madi with for 3 hours of every weekday (and for only $40 a month!!)! Definitely a great experience for Madi and me!

Madi with her teacher, Ms. Michele

Madi was thrilled that Boppi was able to come to her graduation!

The next day (Thursday, June 7th) was Madi's last day of preschool. I'm glad I snapped a pic of Madi as she walked to her classroom one last time for drop off. I know I'll forever cherish these pics from the "younger years".

8 years!!

Yesterday Spencer and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary. When we were first talking about what we wanted to do, we weren't to sure about leaving Calvin (and the girls) with a babysitter. Plus, I couldn't think of anything I really wanted to do. I'm not a huge go out to dinner person (I have to absolutely love where we're going in order to be excited about it), and I didn't want to go somewhere and just sit. But then one night as I was in the glider nursing, it totally hit me as to what I wanted to do. I wanted to get sandwiches, go climb the giant sand dune, and eat our dinner at the top while watching the sun set. Fun and romantic! :) So, I got a babysitter (actually 2, cause Annie brought Savannah along to help) and picked them up bit earlier than we were planning on leaving. I let them entertain Madi and Elle while I took care of Calvin's bedtime routine. It took a little longer than I'd hoped for us to get out of the house, but we were on our way by 6:30 pm. Cal was in bed (but not yet fully asleep) and the girls were being throughly entertained by two of the sweetest babysitting sisters! I'll admit, I was a little nervous about leaving Cal. I figured he'd cry out, they'd go get him, and then not be able to get him back to sleep. Luckily he went right to sleep and never woke up!

Spencer and I picked up sandwiches and headed off towards the sand dune. Unfortunately it was pretty windy and we decided to skip climbing the sand dune, but rather head to Leo Carillo where there were coves we could hike down to and block the wind. It was so nice hiking down to the beach without kids. It was refreshing to get out of the car, throw a backpack on, and worry about nothing else. We were bummed about the wind, but ended up finding a great spot to throw out a blanket (or rather wrap up in the blanket- it was a little chilly) and eat. After dinner we used my tripod and self timer to capture the moment.

Aside from the wind, it was a beautiful night and a gorgeous sunset. 

On our way home we stopped by our favorite deli and got a piece of cheesecake and hot chocolate. It was a short date (home by 8:45pm), but perfect for our stage of life right now.

The beautiful flowers Spencer got for me!

I do want to document how blessed I feel on a daily basis to know that I married the perfect person for me (not getting cheesy here- just stating the facts)! I remember dating guys and wondering how I'd know when it was the right guy. But everything was perfect with Spencer from day one. We never had that "hard first year" that many have. Ya we have our arguments here and there, but they're mostly silly (can't even think about our last argument) and we end up laughing. Spencer's a great balance for me- reminding me to relax about the things that don't matter, to loosen up when I'm getting too uptight, and to enjoy life when I become too much of a tight wad! He's my breath of fresh air at the end of an overwhelming day, my favorite person to vent to about the things that annoy me, and the first person I want to talk to when something exciting happens. He knows me better than anyone else, knows what I'm thinking before I say it, and knows when to take over when I get stressed out. He's everything I'm not- an amazing cook, an incredible artist, a fast reader, a talented writer, a problem solver, and very easy going. I love what a good team we make and how we balance each other out. He really is my best friend and I'm a better person with him in my life. Love you Spence! Thanks for eight amazing years! Thanks for bringing us back to CA, for taking me to the beach on the weekends, for taking the kids out and giving me "Anie time", for making sure I get to run in the mornings, for watching the Bachelorette with me, for giving me awesome back rubs when I never reciprocate, for leading scripture study every night, for having the best bedtime stories, for being so very patient with our girls' drama, for being excited to spend the mornings with our son, and for working hard so that I can stay at home and raise our kids. Love you forever!!

Crazy Day!

Madi came home from preschool yesterday informing me that tomorrow was "Crazy Day" at school, so she'd need to do something crazy- like wear weird things, have one pant leg up and one down, have her shirt backwards, or something like that. She reminded me about this several times before bed. At 9pm Madi was still awake in bed. I very sternly told her that she needed to close her eyes and get to sleep. Madi reminded me one more time about "crazy day", telling me to go write it down so we wouldn't forget. This morning I'd totally forgotten until I told the girls to go get dressed. I heard Madi thinking aloud in front of her closet about what she could wear. I came in and tried suggesting a few things (knowing that we were headed out the door to Costco and I didn't want her looking too crazy). I had to laugh when Madi came out dressed in something not so crazy! 

But her explanation of the outfit is what killed me: a Halloween shirt when it's not Halloween = crazy! Pink shorts that didn't match the shirt = more crazy. But it was the blue shoes she thought was the most crazy, cause it didn't match at all! She was also wearing a colorful sweater jacket at the time (which was later removed due to the warm afternoon) = totally crazy (cause who wears a sweater with shorts :)! Then I threw her hair up in 6 pony tails to add some more silliness to her so called crazy outfit!

But the best part was when I got to preschool. . .
Me to teacher: "So it's crazy day today huh?!!"
Teacher: "Ya, we don't really do it- it's just for the elementary kids."

I didn't want Madi to be disappointed, so I quickly showed Ms. Michele how crazy awesome Madi looked with her 6 pony tails and mismatched clothes! I guess since the preschool is connected to the Elementary school, Madi heard the announcement of "Crazy Day" over the intercom, asked a couple questions as to what that meant, assumed it pertained to her, and acted accordingly! Love it!

SO proud of my little girl who as a preschooler already shows her school spirit!!!

Just a year ago

I've been in a major reminicent mood the past few days. Rereading my blog posts from last year has left me totally missing our east coast friends, missing the fun/crazy thunderstorms we'd have in the summer months, remembering how much fun we had living back east, and in complete shock at how much has happened to our family in just one year! In less than a years time we accepted a job offer, got pregnant, moved out of our townhouse, drove across the country, moved in with the parents, then moved out, got settled in a new area, found a preschool, new doctors, had lots of doctors appointments, learned where all the cool parks are, had a baby, dropped 20 pounds (the remaining 15 are killing me!!), made several new friends, and feel completely settled. Crazy to think that last year at this time NONE of this was even on the radar!