Happy Birthday, Travis!

Yesterday was Travis's birthday, and even though he had to work, Sage and I (and Jaggar too) spent the day trying to make it nice for him when he got home. Sage said, "Daddy doesn't know it's his birthday because he went to work! We're going to surprise him." haha. And honestly we did because Travis never really expects much in terms of himself. He's a giver. Unlike myself. jk.


Sage was most excited about that balloon that she picked out because A: It's a ballon. and B: It says, "I love you."His mom and stepdad stopped by on their way home from work too. Look at Jaggar hahaha.
All of his goodies (or so he thought). Yes, that is gladware. He was excited about it too. Seriously. :) You can tell who the cook is in this house. Hint: it's NOT me. I'll give you 2 guesses who picked out the candy too.

After he had opened everything, I said, "Wait a minute...there was one more thing. I forgot something." Only I didn't really forget. He said, "Is this SOAP?" just being Travis. But he was VERY surprised to know that I got what he had casually mentioned months ago: an ipod touch. I wish I could tell you all of the awesome things it's doing, but our computer has a terrible virus. I'm writing via laptop on this post. Pray it gets better soon. I know he will love it though, and he was very thankful.
And here's the birthday boy with his 2 most precious gifts. It's so funny to me because I remember the exact picture I posted of my belly before we went out to celebrate Travis's birthday LAST year, and here it is. I was 6 months pregnant with a very active boy, and now here he is almost NINE months old. That's just not right. Time does fly. Happy birthday, Travis! We love you.

Sittin' at the Big Kids' Table

These were taken on Sunday night while we watched the Super Bowl. Yes, I say WE. I've recently taken an interest in football, and though I don't understand it AT ALL, I'm willing to watch what people are practically religious over here in the South. I'm glad that the underdogs, the Saints, pulled a win. More importantly, and more interesting, here are the kiddos.

Can you tell how big he is? He knows it. On Monday, February 9th (8 1/2 months), he clapped his hands for the first time. I wasn't SURE that he knew what he was doing until later that night, my friend was bouncing him, and then he REALLY clapped his hands. It was beyond adorable. Then when we were getting Sage ready for bed that same night, Travis said, "Look!" and there was Jaggar UP on his hands and knees crawling. Two milestones in one day. He's been doing an army crawl pushing himself with one foot since he was 6 months old, and he could really go then. It's scary to think what all he will be into these next few weeks. He is standing up on EVERYTHING now too. It's only slightly mind racking.This is Sage's picnic table. He pulls to stand on this on a very regular basis, and he's started to put his knee up on the bench. Let's not forget he just pulled to stand in his bed LAST week. So Travis put him up on the seat with Sage. Look how excited he was.
So cute.

Surprise, Surprise!

I knew it was coming, and it happened yesterday. When I put Jaggar down for his nap, I started to play a board game with Sage when I just had this feeling. So I ran back upstairs to Jaggar's room. When I opened the door, I peeked around the corner and watched him working as hard as he could to this....

He SQUEALED and laughed out loud when I came in and he could SEE me. He was SO proud of himself. It was hilarious. He was laughing and blowing raspberries the entire time. Of course, Sage thought that it was hilarious and was taking her own pictures.
TRIUMPHANT!
Mid-raspberry
"Can you believe the view from here?" I will say that I thought naptime was never to happen easily again. Each time that I put him down yesterday, he was instantly standing again (and crying) for 30 minutes. He was almost asleep standing up. I got him out and held him for a few minutes, and he went right to sleep and slept for over 2 hours. Today at naptime, I thought, "Here we go," but he only stood once and then went to sleep. I will say that when he woke up in the night, it was a shock all over to see him STANDING there at 3 am. It's just so weird! He's just a baby! :)
I think Sage was just as excited as he was. Don't even ask me what she's wearing. She actually gets in the hamper and will find what I wore the day before and wear it.

8 Months Old

Jaggar turned 8 months old on January 21st while my parents were visiting. In that week, he got his first tooth, waved bye bye, and pulled up to stand on 2 different toys--all very big firsts! He's not about to slow down either! When I was getting him ready for his bath today, I looked in his mouth, and tooth number 2 (the other bottom center) is coming through!

We're working on the cup thing. The first cup we gave him was more of a toy than a cup, since he never got any liquid out of it. I'm trying this one as it seems to be a bit easier to drink from. Isn't he an angel? I love this picture. He's just so sweet.

Trying to Escape

Well it's about that time: time to lower the mattress pretty soon. Now when I lay J down for his naps, he immediately raises up. He's trying to pull up on the bumper pad to see me and plead his case to get out of bed. I watched him from around the corner to make sure he didn't hurt himself. Then it got quiet, but this is what I saw. I couldn't help but laugh and take a picture.

Hanging on...but fast asleep. I did put his little hand down, so it wouldn't fall asleep while he slept. Sweet boy.

Sage's Birthday Party

Well, after going back and forth a few times, Sage's decision was final for what she wanted her birthday party to be this year: another pool party. She said, "I just love to swim, and I think everyone would love to swim now because it's cold." How right she was. Last year we did it at the YMCA, but I'd heard of a gym that had a nice pool and how nice it was to have a party there. So we ended up going with that, and it was perfect. Everything was set up IN the gym, unlike the Y, where we had to go upstairs after 1 1/2 hrs. The kids had an absolute blast. Well, all of the kids except Jaggar had a blast. He wasn't feeling his best. All together we had 32 people in attendance, so I had JUST enough cake. When I was tying balloons around the chairs, Sage looked at me and said, "Thank you, Mommy." It was so sweet because if you've ever done a birthday party, then you know how much work they are. It's all worth it for my kids though. Happy 5th Birthday, Sage! She wanted a Hello Kitty cake. It was really good too.
This was before anyone got there, and I had just tied balloons on all of the chairs. After this, Travis took the pictures because I was in the pool.
Travis's dad was one of the many people that tried to console Jaggar while he cried off and on for me. I thought about putting him in the pool, but it was pretty chilly when getting out, so I decided against it.
the birthday girl and her cake
blowing out the candles
isacah
Harrison jumping off of the diving board. I did this many times too, but Travis videoed instead of taking a picture. It felt SO good to swim for the first time in 2 years (for me).
Some of the kids flocking to my friend, Jill. All kids love Jill.
Renea and Jaggar
This was right after I discovered that Kylie LOVED going underwater. She'd have a surprised look, and then she'd squeal and clap her hands. So funny.

Mom
Harrison
The birthday girl having a blast. I let the kids swim for an hour, get out, sing and eat cake, and then swim for the rest of the time. We actually took the presents home and opened them with a few friends and family. SO much easier that way. That left more time for swimming and less time for losing things. It was an awesome party. Everyone had such a wonderful time...and I'm thrilled I don't have to do it again until next year.

R-O-T-T-E-N

This is my life now. I had Sage out of our room at 4 months. Here's Jaggar. Almost 8 months old (in this picture). IN my bed. UNDER my arm. With at least one hand touching me at all times. And yes, he's asleep. I was in a semi-conscious state, as I really don't believe I've actually SLEPT in 8 months now.

Typical Sage

My parents got Sage this shirt and matching scarf last week. Isn't it fitting for her? Sage thought it'd be a good idea to do her own makeup that day too. Doesn't she look pretty?

Birthday Lovin'

Everybody loves Sage, especially Bubs.

nonni
Look at my boy.
She's still a daddy's girl.

Happy Birthday to You

I think we sang happy birthday at LEAST 5 times on Sage's birthday. This is one of the many. Yes, it's another doughnut. We're picking up her birthday cake tomorrow for her party.

Happy 5th Birthday, Sage

Sage's birthday was HER day from start to finish. We started the day by waking her up with a candle lit doughnut and "Happy Birthday" sung by me. (Travis refuses to sing in front of me for fear I will be Simon Cowell. Untrue, by the way.) I was so excited for her because she's waited for her birthday all year, but maybe the excitement wore her out. She was out cold when we walked in, and it took quite a bit to wake her up.
But when she saw the doughnut and I told her there were presents outside, she woke up.
She had school that day, so that's why we woke her early to give presents before Travis had to go to work.
Her pink toaster she asked for. I think she was happy about it. Love that smile.
Next...
an iron. (Or I-Ruhn, as she pronounces it.) Sage loves anything that makes her more of an adult: her toy vacuum, babies, make-up...this was perfect for her.
And an ironing board to go with it! She irons her clothes everyday now, even her panties. ha! She was very pleased with this.
Then it was time to get ready for school because it was HER day, and she had cupcakes and juice boxes to bring for her class. She had a great day, and they all sang happy birthday to her.
When she got home from school, Nonni and Papa had a special surprise for her, which she had to go and find. It was....a RUG for her room, which she loves. Jaggar has one, and she has asked for one ever since he's had it. She said, "Oh, it's beautiful! It's gorgeous!" An added bonus is that it has squares, which she uses to play hopscotch with.
Then we went downstairs to eat a special lunch that she had requested: Fuji, our favorite Japanese restaurant in town. I ordered carryout after I picked her up from school. Sage is a hardcore sushi lover. I've fed it to her since she was 2, and now she eats the real stuff, even more so than me: salmon eggs. Even THESE are a little too fishy for me, but she loves them. And that is GRAPE juice in that glass. It just made her feel special.
Once Daddy got home, he had something for her too. It was a "happy birthday" charm for her charm bracelet that Santa brought her for Christmas.
Then Nonni and Papa had some more things for her. If you haven't heard of zhu zhu pets, you probably didn't have a child that wanted the 'hot toy' for Christmas. Sage isn't really old enough to know what that is, so I'm the only one that had heard of them from friends that had children crazy over them. Thankfully, in this house, that was not a problem since parents went nuts over them at Christmas. Well, mom looked for them but never could find them until AFTER Christmas, but it was perfect for Sage's birthday. We weren't really sure if they'd be a hit or miss, but no one lost any limbs getting them so it wasn't a big deal...
But I am happy to say that they are a HUGE hit. They are hilarious. Jaggar wants to get one so bad that he can't STAND it, and Sage cackled with laughter over them running all over the house. What a great day she had, and she hasn't even had her party yet!