The Sprengers

2012-01-23T15:27:00.000-08:00

Our Life:
Hunter has been working out like a mad man. He's all buff and stuff and thinks he's better than me because he has the willpower to turn down sugary goodness. Whatever. I call that weak. He would probably call my arms weak. He's loving hockey of course. He has the stamina of a stallion and will often out skate any man on the rink. He's enjoying Ron Paul. Many of the bands he likes are coming to Reno soon so he's pretty stoked. I will not be attending said concerts because one of my biggest pet peeves in life (followed by 1. People chewing and 2. The words "snack" and "venue")is watching people smile while they dance. Especially a closed mouth smile. So Hunter will have to go with his man friends. Just a heads up-Hunter and I will be holding a planking contest on March 20th. Not the wacko planking garbage online. Legit planking. Place your bets now. $5 on Oreo Summer.

Summer has been blogging recently. She's actually blogging while Emma yells for her from her crib. She's zoning it out. She's been heavily involved in Pop Up Video and afternoon nachos. When she's not staring blankly at a sink full of dishes she's feeling guilty about all the wonderfully awesome Pinterest things she's neglecting to do. Her Sprite cozy could really use a cozy. She's excited to start her masters program, now that she's finally decided on which direction she wants to go. It's called Equity and Diversity in Educational Settings. What is that you ask? It's to help her learn more about how globalization impacts educational policies and practices around the world. Utilizing culture as an entrance point, she will examine how students’ identities and teachers’ positions are shaped in the changing global social and educational terrain. Finally, she will explore how a transformation of the field of multicultural education could lead to the creation of critical educational responses to globalization. She feels smart now. Basically she believes all kids deserve to learn real good. She also enjoys running, but that usually takes place in her mind.

Jack, oh Jack. How we love Jack. He is a nut. He cracks us up all the live long day. He told his buddy Jill he's going to "shoot my hotness at you." Yeah. He's in primary now, doing his thing. He also loves preschool. He likes to stay "warm and toesy." He's a sweet boy who loves his sister very very much. He likes to explore and pretend to be a dinosaur-or anything that can "shoot his claws out." His favorite planet is Jupiter. He'll often verify which freeway we're on ("This is 1-80 right?") He engages in very long conversations about who likes meat. He doesn't understand vegetarians. Sometimes he's very defiant. He constantly asks "when can I be in charge? When can I be in charge of YOU?" But most times he's cuddly and sweet and funny. He will cheer you on when you eat your vegetables.

Emma sweet face sashays around our house like a southerner. She points to things and says "that" and everyone in a 50 mile radius rushes to retrieve whatever it is she wants. She sits by the door and calls "Daaad? Daaaad!" when Hunter's gone. She loves to pat her brother's head and eat her moms hair. She snuggles. She cuddles and hugs her stuffed animals with such alarming sweetness it makes her mom cry. She loves soft things. She likes to build with blocks. She's patient. We love her so much it's sickening. So much her mother will stop blogging and actually go squeeze her.

Laid back

2011-12-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

With my mind on my mommy and my mommy on my mind.

Our Summer/Fall Recap.

2011-12-05T15:43:00.000-08:00

Catching Frogs

2011-12-05T15:40:00.001-08:00

Just a great day at the park.

2011-12-05T15:32:00.001-08:00

Halloween

2011-12-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

Don't judge my tardiness. You're tardy. So there.

Slow your role, life.

2011-12-05T15:13:00.000-08:00

I know, many of you are on to brighter, glossier, candy-cane-ier things right now but let's take a walk down memory lane. I give you Apple Hill. Or "The place that sells apple cider sundaes" (That's a Hunter quote, not a Jack quote).

Peace

2011-11-19T12:46:00.000-08:00

I've often seen pictures of kids sleeping in random places-at the dinner table with spoon in hand, on the floor surrounded by toys. Jack was never this way. He will go and go until you physically take him to his room and plop him in his bed.

Emma, on the other hand, has already proven she can make any situation comfortable.

Wuv.

2011-11-19T12:21:00.000-08:00

We were listening to Adele the other day and Jack asks, "What's she singin' about? Wuv?" Yes, love. I don't have too much of that awesome angsty Adele wuv, but I do have heaps and heaps of normal I really love my family wuv. I'm so thankful for my them.

wuv.

Yeah, I had to throw it in one more time.

Sunshine

2011-11-19T12:10:00.000-08:00

She...

will eat...

your face.

WARNING! Picture Overpost. I already told you I had a problem with posting too many Emma pics. Consider yourself warned.

You may think you see a ray of sunshine on her. That's actually a ray of Emma on the sunshine. She's that awesome.

Is it my birthday? Now? NOW?

2011-11-01T16:08:00.000-07:00

Anything worth saying can be written in cookie.

I've heard this question for the last six months so trust me when I say we were all very excited when Jack's special day had finally arrived. We decided a bounce house costume party would be pretty rad for a three year old, so that's what we did.

Jack Henry. Guess what's in your backyard?

A bounce house, that's what.

Jack ate none of his carmel dip and homemade chips.

But he did enjoy eating the eyes off of these guys.

Cake time!

Aaand the presents.

The first present he opened was golf clubs. It took every ounce of his willpower to stay and open the rest. When we finally set him free and the rest of his friends (and their dads) bounced, he went right back to his golf.

Favors :)

And the best part of his day, a secret meeting with his cousins.

If you didn't know, we love him A LOT. We were so exhausted when his party was over we couldn't wait til he finally fell asleep. Once he did though it signified the end of the party, the end of the twos. And I cried like a baby.

Where the Wild Things Are

2011-10-24T15:37:00.000-07:00

I'll eat you up I love you so.

My ONE complaint about Emma.

2011-10-24T15:28:00.000-07:00

I never know which pictures to post. They're all so squishy and cute. I end up posting ten of the same picture. Case in point:

Happiest place on earth!

2011-10-18T15:54:00.001-07:00

Farmer Jack

2011-10-18T15:43:00.000-07:00

Did you know I was a really terrible member of the FFA in high school? Don't know what FFA is? Think Napoleon and Pedro-This cow got into an onion patch...That little guy right there, he is nipple number five. A good dairy cow should have like four? Ringin a bell? Whatever. Anyway, since I have about one minute of farm experience I thought I'd throw Jack on a tractor to make sure I can pass that legacy down.

PPPPatch.

2011-10-18T15:31:00.000-07:00

This is the Ferrari Farms pumpkin patch. Not to be confused with the jenky horror movie-esque pumpkin patch on south Virginia.

Cutie with a booty.

2011-10-17T01:18:00.000-07:00

I mean really. You work it girl.

Small or Fummer

2011-10-17T01:06:00.000-07:00

However you wanna say it, I'm grateful for our summer/fall combo. It's pretty bomb when leaves are turning colors and you can still take an impromptu maniac run through the sprinklers.

This counts as a "bath" right?

w.i.l.d.

2011-09-08T15:50:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of pictures with my kids loving each other. So here, bask in the sibling love.

Before I forget...

2011-09-08T15:39:00.001-07:00

With your first kid, at least with mine, I was very eager for him to grow up. I couldn't wait for the crawling, walking, big kid clothes. And then one day-Poof. He was a kid. And now having Emma, it's hard for me to remember Jack as a tiny baby. I sometimes think he came out of the womb in a basketball jersey asking me "Do I have big muscles, Summer?" So to help myself remember baby glory I took some up close and personal pictures of Emma.

Cha-cha-cha-changes

2011-09-08T15:29:00.000-07:00

Jack started his big kid preschool on Monday. He goes twice a week for a few hours. He did not want to go initially-which is strange since he begs me to take him to school normally and he's the most social kid on the planet. So we get there and he meets all of his new friends and asks their names. When it was his turn to say his name he gives a pouty face and calmly says "Doo Doo." NICE. Of course after I leave he has a great day, great manners, you know, the yoosh. He loves hanging out with other kids and his teacher is absolutely amazing. Which is hard for me to say, because I think I'M amazing so it's hard to kick down a compliment. He really likes her and is learning a lot. Now if I could just figure out a way to get him in the door without bribing him with jelly beans. Don't judge.

While he's in school Emma and I roll around on the floor and laugh and play. It's a win win win situation.

Best.Husband.Ever.

2011-08-23T14:36:00.000-07:00

"That One's Not Gonna Eat Me, Right?"

2011-08-23T14:18:00.000-07:00

We've gone to the zoo a lot this summer. A lot. I used to get real PETA on zoos and shed silent tears for creatures locked up in cages, yearning to break free. Now I just give them a mental fist bump and thank them for keeping my two year old entertained.

That's not a high five. "You're not gonna hit ME!"

Thanks for the good times creatures.

What Can You Say?

2011-08-23T14:16:00.001-07:00

Life is awesome.

They love each other.

2011-08-23T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ahem. More.

2011-08-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

Wow. Late.

2011-08-22T15:26:00.000-07:00

Dear Emma,
Please accept my apologies. I do understand that every time your brother sneezed, I blogged. I see now that I have had many pictures of you on my phone that I have yet to blog. You see, your brother is an insane person and takes up lots and lots of time. I haven't really had time to sit down and blog much. But as a token of my apology, please accept the following pictures. You're insanely adorable so going back and posting these is making me very happy.

Love,
Mom.

Emma's first few weeks

Hope you have dental insurance....

2011-08-16T07:33:00.000-07:00

...because these pics will give you a toothache. Cause they're so sweet. Get it.
I used to think cats made the cutest babies. Unfortunately for felines, Emma and Yaneth were born and humans are back in the lead for cutest offspring.

Emma gets nervous when a small person is gentle. She's used to be being jumped on and smothered by that two year old who lives in our house.

Paying attention. Or about to make fun of someone.

Thanks for the play/stare at each other date! :)

Princess Emma

2011-08-15T22:18:00.000-07:00

Emma has rolls. Emma laughs. Emma gets excited and shakes when she sees someone she loves. Emma is easy going. Emma loves music. Emma says "hi" with a southern accent and "mama!" when she's sad. Emma has cherry lips and stars for eyes.

Rice cereal for the first time

So trusting.

Nevermind, NEVERMIND!

Dude, I can't believe you fed me that.

Laughing hysterically over the word "Yummm!"

All's well that ends well.

We love her more and more everyday :)

Out of the mouth of Jack "Hoops" Sprenger

2011-08-15T22:00:00.000-07:00

"I'm going to marry a grill. I'm going to marry a grill in the temple. I'm going to have a baby. But I already have a baby, baby Emma."
"You can't touch my hiccup."
"I have a tummyache so I'm going to go put some water in my belly button."
"Dad, stop cuddling mama!"
"A kid in preschool pood in his unnerwear. And that's BAD MANNERS."

"Awesome boots mom!"
"I weigh 48 lbs 20 11." (and when he says 11 it sounds like "Of lovin'")
"I'm a spoooky firework!"
"Where him is?
"We don't eat thumbs, we eat plumbs."
To a lady holding her baby at the doctor, "Wow, what a beautiful tiny baby!"
Me: "Who's birthday is it at Christmas?"
J:"Santa."
M:"No, Jesus."
J:"Jesus wears a party hat. He's probably taking a nap in the church. He's a real blessing."

"Emma's a quesadilla."
"I am strong and powerful."
"Dad you look so handsome!"
While watching Hunter lift weights "Keep practicing dad! You're doing great!"
"Jack, you look great."
"It's ok baby Emma, I'm here."
"Hey Summer, can you play/give me food/play baseball/come here?"

And finally the other night we were all sitting on the floor together. Jack jumps up and puts his hands on Emma's head and gives her a blessing. He then gives a blessing to his mom and dad. I wanted to cry like a baby, feeling those tiny hands on my head. Even though he's almost three (reminds me DAILY) he's still my tiny sweet little angel pie love bug face.

My time of the the year

2011-08-15T21:46:00.000-07:00

My mom named me Summer because to her, summer is synonymous with happy feelings. Of course I've loved summers growing up-no school,vacations, weird tan lines-however once these children came along summers became more exciting (and exhausting). Never a dull moment, I tell ya!

Oh man that's cold!

Emma thinks he's crazy.

Had to take a quick Emma break.

Can't blame him.

Oh, hi.

2011-08-13T15:28:00.001-07:00

Long time no blog. Let's start off with us looking super good. Here are some pictures we had taken by Marielle Hayes.

A Piece of my Heart is at PreSchool One Day a Week.

2011-06-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

Aside from disgusting germs and the children they reside on, I was excited to have Jack start preschool.

That's a super lie. Like a normal lie lied. I cried like a baby. Even Emma was embarassed and kind of offended at the comparison.

Like a stalker mom, I called the school after about an hour to see how he was doing. "He's great! He has great manners! He's been talking to the teachers all day and pretending to hit and pitch a baseball." He of course didn't want to leave. He didn't care when I left. That makes me happy...kind of.

He did great today too. When I picked him up he was surrounded by big kids. Playing football like he'd been there a million times. Although right before we left I saw tiny kid hit him in the face and tell him he couldn't play.

.......................................
................................................

@#@#^&$^*#^$(#$^&)&*)(*@#)(#$*@)#(@*@(*()*@

You small ball of evil! You think I'm gonna let that slide? Heeeeeck naw! I gave that kid a piece of my mind. He's lucky he didn't get a piece of my shoe on his little butt. It makes me gag just thinking about it. Jack got irritated too. "If you hit me again, you'll go RIGHT to TIME OUT!" He only said this after taking a swing at him. Heaven help the girl who turns him down some day. Better watch your back now, girlfriend. Mama's all over it.

The World According to J. Henry Sprenger.

2011-06-15T22:09:00.000-07:00

"Hey dad, I'm gonna do something real funny. I'm gonna be a lion. I'm gonna teach you to be a lion too! It's gonna be realll funny. Then I'm gonna put spaghetti in your hair and I'll eat strawberries, ok?"

"I have a three year old granddaughter named Strawberry."

"Mom, can we drive to Halloween?"

"This shirt makes me look like a baby. Am I in a diaper? Cause I look like a baby."

"Hey mom!I have a super idea! Let's do something fun! Like have my birthday party!"

"I can do it high or low, I can do it fast or Skkkkoww..."

Me: Are you eating out of the Cheerio box?
Jack: You know I love Cheerios, mom.

"I want to be 8 so you can be baptized. How I can be 8?"

Me: The cookies are all gone.
Jack: I want to see if they're all gone. Lemme see that bag."

First thing in he morning: "I just pood and spit all night, mom."

Dad: Eat your oatmeal, you're a growing boy.
Jack: Hey mom, I'm growing a boy!

Pulls out yoga mat-"I want to do yoga! Let's do swimmies!"

Dad: Let the ant go. He has to go somewhere.
Jack:He'll probably go do yoga.

We had a guy named Kevin over building a closet for us. Here's Jack's conversation:
"Hey Kevin, are you baby Emma? Are you good at baseball? I'm 2, but when I'm 8 I'm getting baptized."
Kevin :"Uh, yeah, I play baseba--"
"I made a toilet bowl Kevin."

The other day his cousins were talking about how badly they want a Nintendo DS and an Ipodtouch. All of the sudden Jack gasps and shouts "LOOK! WATER!" He was so excited to see sprinklers. I love this age-finding pure and complete joy in the simplicities of life.

Jack Henry, you make the world go round kid.

Miss Emma Kiss Your Face

2011-06-15T21:56:00.000-07:00

My deepest apologies for the mass pictures. PSSSHHH. I'm not sorry. She's adorable. Enlarge them. It gets cuter.

Remember when I was worried about not being able to love another child? Yeah, one look at that sweet girl and neither do I. She's my friend. I love her. We all do, in fact. We're totally keeping her.

Emma is the cuddliest kid in the galaxy. She grabs your ears, pulls you in and kisses your mouth (kiss=slobbers). She's patient. She's an angel on this earth. When she smiles the world lights up. I'm kinda really diggin her.

Sometimes, just sometimes...

2011-05-10T22:06:00.000-07:00

...I steal ideas and get crafty.

Here's something I made my mom for mother's day. Blush.

...Or IS it?!

Uh oh...

Say what?

Awww snap!

That's right. Drink it in. Drink in my juicy craftiness.

Happy Easter Bunny Day!

2011-05-02T15:25:00.000-07:00

So we tried teaching Jack the true meaning of Easter. I've read lots of wonderfully inspiring blogs from moms who planned and prepared amazing Easter lessons to give throughout the entire month of April-their children quietly gathered 'round as they share their testimonies and their knowledge of the Easter season. I too tried to seperate the bunny from the true meaning by having the Easter bunny come on Saturday (secular Saturday, as it's been called). We did this, and it was great. He was in love. Then Sunday came and I told him it was Easter. He reverently told me the Easter story. NOT. He started looking for his buddy the Easter bunny. Better luck next year, right?

First of all, we had ducks in our yard. Kind of a big deal.

Our apple trees. I get distracted easily.

In addition to dying them, he of course needed sports eggs. I told him the Easter Bunny HID them. He thought I said "HIT" them. Now he'll occasionally mention that the Easter Bunny hit him and his eggs.

The Easter bonus: His very own glove. Too bad I'm always the pitcher and now he demands I stick my hand in a size 3-5 year old glove.

We of course had Easter cupcakes.

Then we went to our ward Easter Egg hunt that Hunter planned. (Never bring an activity idea up to your bishop. He will put you in charge.)

On Sunday we had my mom and brother over. Our main course was baby Emma.

ooo I heart dimples.

AAAAnd just because she's pretty.

I still cry because I love him so much...

2011-04-23T16:21:00.000-07:00

...and because he hits me and tells me not to talk. But that's another blog.

Here's my sweet little man.
(He calls the camera the "smile thing")

Jack talks. A lot. If he is awake, those lips are movin. He talks to everyone and likes to have real grown up conversations.
"You like cereal mom? I do too. You better hold the bowl mom so you don't spill, ok?"

He still is obsessed with sports. While he still holds basketball very near and dear to his heart, baseball season has given him a new reason for living. This is how you will find him most days:

He is so good at it too. He's a switch hitter. It's pretty embarassing when someone who has had a body for only 2 years schools me.

Busted in Emma's room using her toy as a baseball.

His new favorite thing to do is to run away from mom. Here he is at Rancho San Rafael:

Yes, he's there. See, right there. That little dot. At this point I'm laugh/crying because 1. There is a big dog waiting for him 2. He cannot hear my voice but 3. Those little legs moved SO FAST!

And finally this was what I saw when I told him to "keep his eye on the ball."

Gotta love this kid.

Update

2011-04-20T21:46:00.000-07:00

My family's awesome. We do awesome things. The end.

ThInK sPrInG!

2011-03-26T20:41:00.000-07:00

Oh, hello.

2011-03-17T19:52:00.000-07:00

My hot friend Aimee called me out on my non existent blogging. That's probably because our lives are filled up with kid stuff. And laundry. Not too much to report exept for the following:

Emma: She loves to look at the pictures in books. She will stare at them for minutes! That's a long time in infantville, ok. Books are her favorite. She's a total nerd.
~The first thing that is said upon seeing Emma for the first time is "Look at those eyelashes!" I took a picture to show you what I'm talking about-you can tell by her grimace she wasn't too pleased about this picture taking experience.
~This child is a total angel. She burrows into you and smiles as she does it. She coos...alll...the...time...I think we may have the chattiest children on earth. She's real sweet until we go out then she wants to be out of her carseat and in with the action.

Ready to see the cutest girl ever? (If you just looked in a mirror or at your own daughter, shame on you.)

CUTEST FACE ON THE PLANET

Her mascara ad

Jack Henry:
~This child is OBSESSED with basketball. What you may have thought you read was "he really likes basketball" but what I wrote is he is OBSESSED. He sleeps with a basketball. He has a basketball in his hand at all times. He is crazy good and you will often hear "Rebound!" "Nice lay up, huh," "Airball dad!" "Go defense!" It is truly bizarre. While he loves all sports (including Rugby, I'm informed) it all about bball. He'll actually sit on the couch and watch games. Full games. I took him to the park today and he was shooting hoops. A couple of ladies stopped and he said "Hey, I'm really tall. I'm good at basketball." So they stopped their walk and watched him while cheering him on. Eye roll. Like this kid needed an ego boost.
~He is funny. Really funny. He talks non stop all day. I grew a friend. One of my favorite things he says is "Whatchya cookin' mom?" So freaking cute. I love him more every day.
~He enjoys frequenting the bounce house and the Carson Children's Museum. Oh, and he also plays soccer. According to him, his favorite color is green, favorite song is "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", his favorite food is pasta, and his favorite show is Gullah Gullah Island. And his favorite parent is me. Or maybe I just made that last one up. I can't remember.
~He does, sadly, have two flaws. One is screaming "No talking!" when Hunter and I are not giving him 100% of our attention. The other is saying VERY LOUDLY "That guy has funny hair, huh?" in public.
~He loves his sister sooo much. He often asks for her and just needs to "give her a little cuddle." He loves to play with her tiny toes.

Smile Jack! (I have about 30 shots of his "smiling face")

Summer: Uhh...yeah. I'm busy creating preschool units for Jack. Once you've cut, copied, and laminated in classroom, you just can't turn it off. I also buy lots of baby clothes.

Hunter: He's busy being the best dad/husband ever. He's off right now kicking butt in hockey. He spends a lot of time working on his calling as well as making money so I can buy lots of baby clothes.

I hope you all feel completely fulfilled now that you've been updated.

Suri Sprenger

2011-02-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

Because of my complete and total fear and loathing of germs, Miss Emma has yet to make an appearance outside of our house, not counting the hospital of course. So people are beginning to wonder if there really is an Emma Sprenger or if she is in fact, an urban legend. Well, I assure you she is real and she is shockingly adorable.

Here is what Emma has been up to:
~SMILING. She smiles all day. If you're talking to her, she's smiling at you.
~Talking. She gets this super serious face and coos. Melts mah heart.
~Wrapping her brother around her little finger. Jack is completely head over heels in love with her. Even when she's annoying, like when I have to feed her and change her. He often gets a panicked look on his face and tears through the house shouting "Baby Emma? Baby Emma!!" I have to show him where she's at so he knows she's ok. I don't think he's very confident in my baby parenting skills. He'll give her a big kiss then go back to playing basketball.
~Not crying. She is one chill little mama. She didn't even cry in the bath tub. She just looks at me with her big pretty eyes.

So if you only have one child and are worried about having another because you couldn't possibly love anyone else, rest assured your heart does in fact enlarge.

Are you ready for some mind blowing cuteness?

LOVE HER!

All You Can Eat

2011-02-20T04:48:00.000-08:00

Jack Henry woke up this past week to massive amounts of snow. His first response?

"I want to eat it. I want to go eat it tonight."

Ooookay. So I get him dressed in his giant puffy snow suit which was the most adorable thing I have ever seen. I would have kept him in it all day if I could have.

Stop taking pictures and take me OUTSIDE!

After about three and a half hours of getting him all bundled up, I realize we don't have snow boots. So I decided to be green and recycle some shopping bags (translation: GHETTO).

Once he was all bagged up we headed outside where he went crazy-running and playing! Making snow angels and snowmen!

Oh wait. He did none of those things. He crouched down and ate. Like he was at a buffet. I mean, if you love to eat snow, imagine how deliciously overwhelming a whole backyard full of snow is. I made a snowball and gave it to him-he took a bite out of it. I'm not kidding, this kid munched out.

He was ready to come in after about 10 minutes (it took us longer to get him ready)and he ended his experience with "warm hot chocolate milk"- as every snow experience should properly end. This kid is my snow day.
(Yes, that's a quote from Ugly Betty).

Pretty.

2011-01-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

She was pretty professional, up until the end.

She's coming. I know she is.

2011-01-23T01:29:00.000-08:00

Did you know you can complain a baby out of the womb? It's true. It's worked.

There comes a point in every pregnancy where one has simply had enough. January 10 was that day. I woke up and could barely get out of bed-but when I did, I noticed that the baby had dropped. I asked my my mom and Hunter if they could tell and they just looked at me and carefully nodded, similiar to how one would respond to an insane person. I started to agree with them-maybe she hadn't dropped and I was just looking for ANY sign of her arrival.

At my last three doctor's appointments, Dr. Dearmont very apologetically told me that I had not dilated at all. I was truly beginning to feel that I would be pregnant forever. As the day passed on, I could barely walk and just felt an all around feeling of blah/feelsorryforme/Ican'ttakethisanylonger.

At around 7pm little miss move a lot starts break dance fighting in my stomach. Two, three hours pass and she has literally not stopped moving. Being the weirdo I am, I call L&D and complain that my baby is moving too much and I'm worried. "About her moving TOO MUCH?" the nurse asked. "Well, come on down to L&D and we'll check you out."

Fast forward, we're at L&D and still no progress. I'm at a big fat zero. They send me on my way home. I could barely walk through the halls, she is so low, and I tell Hunter that there is no way I can survive one more day pregnant. I'm now feeling like I'm going to go WAY past my due date and have a July baby. Totally discouraged. Plus I totally wanted a 1/11/11 baby. Not gonna lie.

At about 1am we finally go back to bed. I'm just about to fall asleep when pop goes the water. "I KNEW IT!" I yelled. We were on our way back to L&D. When we were checked in, the nurse checked to see my dilation again. Zero. Then the on call doc came in to check me. I'm surprised his fingers didn't come out of my throat-after the worst torture of my life he tells me that I'm actually three centimeters dilated and it's time for my best friend/husband if it were legal-the Epidural.

The doctor tells me he thinks we're going to have a baby by lunch time. I'm very excited that things are progressing so quickly. After about 7 hours the nurse comes in and gives me pitocin. She tells me to sleep for a few hours, and when I feel pressure to call her. About three minutes later I think I feel pressure and decide to call her. She comes in and kind of rolls her eyes and tells me that it's pretty early to feel pressure but she'll check me any way.

I was 10 centimeters dilated.

She rushed to call the doctor, Hunter rushed to call my mom. The nurse told me not to move or this baby would deliver itself. Doctor Dearmont and my mom arrived at the same time after running through the halls. The nurse was right. I rolled over, pushed three times and out she came! Less than ten minutes. So our lunch time baby became our breakfast baby as she made her arrival at 8:30am, 1/11/11. She was beautiful and sweet from the start.

Of course we had no name for her which was stressful, but kind of exciting as we finally made our decision on our way out of the hospital. We went with what Jack Henry had known from the beginning, and left the hospital with our little Emma Juliet :)

Coming home

Christmas

2011-01-21T22:49:00.000-08:00

Life is just better with a 2 year old.

Baby Shower Open House

2010-12-18T15:18:00.000-08:00

This ain't your mama's baby shower.

I wasn't planning on having a shower for this little girl because, let's face it, her closet has more clothes than mine already (I may have a slight overspending problem when it comes to girl clothes). Well, plans changed when I opened up her baby book and saw the obligatory "Baby shower" page. Correction-pages. 4 to be exact. Then I realized that it really wasn't fair that we weren't planning on celebrating her arrival like we did with her big brother.

This may come as a huge shock to you, but I'm not the most social person in the world (I'll wait while you gasp....) so I wasn't really into the let's-sit-and-stare-at-you-for-two-hour shower. Therefore I decided I would allow Hunter to join in the fun and make it his-and-her. Not only that, we made it an open house so people could come and go as they wanted to. Not only THAT, we had a toy drive in lieu of gifts.

So even though it was totally bizarre it turned out really fun and we collected a great amount of stuffed animals. I'm so grateful for the generosity everyone showed!

Here is my mom getting ready for the festivities even though she was super sick

Here is Gay Stodtmeister-a FABULOUS cook who provided amazing food!

Super adorable cookies

My little favors :)

The Preggo:

Of course once everyone got there we completely forgot about taking pictures, but here is the haul we got :) And people still brought gifts for us too. So nice, I tell you!

Trunk or Treat

2010-10-31T21:54:00.000-07:00

I went with Superman and a Disco dude. The trunk or treat was crazy fun this year, or maybe having a two year old just made it crazy fun.

Fog machine wonder

Sitting with his buds at the little kid table

Off he goes!

Why Have One When You Can Have Two?

2010-10-29T21:26:00.000-07:00

Jack Henry celebrated his birthday twice this year-on my mom's and brother's birthday, and today-his actual birthday.

Three Birthdays=Three Cakes.

Pt. Two
Jack Henry and I picked up cupcakes from Batch Cupcakery...

...and spent lunchtime at the park with family.

*2 YeArS oLd!

2010-10-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

I still cry over how much I love him.

Wouldn't Be Fall Without It.

2010-10-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

Hurt feelings=New Bike.

2010-10-29T20:41:00.000-07:00

I can't wait for birthdays. I never can. I always end up giving people early birthday presents and this is no exception.

Jack loves bikes. We went to the park a while back and some kids left their bikes on the ground while they went and played. Little sweet Jack Henry ran over to check these bikes out. Well, this rude little kid comes up and starts screaming at Jack to get off his sister's bike. HA. Like I'm going to let THAT go.

"Alright. He'll get off your bike. Know why? Because I'm taking him to go buy a brand new one RIGHT NOW."

How's that for spoiled.

So I took Jack to the store and we picked out his birthday bike. He was ECSTATIC!!! Finally a bike of his own. He has asked to play on it every day since :)

And for those of you who watch Yo Gabba Gabba, this is Jack pretending to be Jack Black.

Happy Early Birthday! (and take that, you brats).

Just Because.

2010-10-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

Farewell to my furry little friend.

2010-10-27T19:56:00.000-07:00

Chauncey was adopted today. They're picking him up tomorrow at 4, so shed a little tear for me then, okay? Who would have thought the fat ugly one would have gone first? Taken by a cute family with a cute little boy who will give him all the attention he deserves. It felt like a knife stabbing my heart. I am so sad. He was my very first little love bug. He is so cute and has so much personality. I just couldn't play with him AT ALL. I just hope they're nice and take care of him. I want their address so I can drive by and stalk him occasionally. I love that pug. Like, a lot.

Chauncey, we'll miss you!!! We love ya buddy.

You will find my love of Chauncey below:
http://hunterandsummer.blogspot.com/2008/08/seriously.html

2010-10-11T21:48:00.000-07:00

The Ironies of Motherhood

2010-10-05T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hunter and I took a trip to Ikea to buy the perfect couch for the office. The box it came it was too good to be thrown out, so I decided to make Jack a bus.

Complete with steering wheel.

While I was doing this, however, Jack had taken a pen and had drawn...all over the new couch from Ikea. The owner of the very box I was decorating for Jack.

Sigh. The real surprise is I continued making the bus even after Jack ruined my couch. The love of a mother.

Where Did My Baby Go?

2010-10-04T21:24:00.000-07:00

To Snip-Its to become a man, apparently. A while go Hunter and I were looking at the back of Jack's perfect head and realized that he had a curly mullet. I sadly took the scissors and cut off the party in the back. Well, this made the rest of his hair look like craziness, so I bit the bullet and took him to the overstimulating hair-cutting establishment.

I have to say I was impressed. The lady who did it really was amazing with him. She showed him the clippers, ran them on his arm to show they wouldn't hurt, let him hold a monkey, shaved the monkey to show it wouldn't hurt, allowed lots of space so I could get in there with my camera (well, me and my mom, aunt, and cousin Gabbi). Overall it was a very positive experience, despite his somber appearance in every picture. He even got a lollypop, a toy car, and a certificate with a lock of his perfect curly hair to take home. He said "Haircut! Cool, dude!" for a really long time.

Posts a Plenty

2010-09-14T17:00:00.001-07:00

This picture is of Jack Henry and his mom at Wild Waters. It's mainly to prove that he wasn't carried into life by a cloud floating down a ray of sunshine as some of you may have assumed by the lack of pictures of either a mother or a father.

What? This IS his excited face.

Well, this is as updated as my blog is gonna get. I have about 27 more posts below if you want to see my little sundrop in action.

Peace! (not the way hippies say it).

My favorite time of the year.

2010-09-14T16:51:00.001-07:00

The balloon races to me are synonymous with fall. The air is cooler and it's socially acceptable to drink hot chocolate, ask Costco when their pumpkin pies will be ready, and buy super sized bags of candy to "stock up for Halloween" (eye roll-like it's gonna last until Halloween).

So Jack and I took off on our balloon adventure. We always go late to avoid the crowds which means we get to see a lot of balloons landing. Jack spotted an awesome "train" balloon in the sky. Because he's such a charming boy, that very balloon landed near us so we could watch the balloon "nap" process.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.
2009

2010

It's a Girl.

2010-09-14T16:49:00.001-07:00

Ah, heaven!

The Playroom

2010-09-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Anyone been here? It's a Jump Man Jump for babies-8 year olds. Jack and I had a lot of fun. One of the benefits of this place was Jack could go in the bounce house without being flattened by obnoxious big kids. They have a fun Victorian playhouse equipped with play food and utensils. I mention this because Jack has been going through a major cooking phase. He's either going to be a chef or a fat guy. Or both. Anyway, once I got him out of the kitchen, he took advantage of the dress up area, the cars, and the slides. We got there at about 2 and had the place to ourselves. It was a little smaller than I thought for $8, but it's unlimited play in a very clean and upbeat facility. (You can see Jack's baby on the ground. He lovingly took it for a ride, then threw it out and rolled over it. Can't wait for his baby sister!)

Utah for my little Converto

2010-09-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Hunter and I too were lucky enough to take a babymoon sans Jack Henry. Where did I suggest? San Diego. Where did Hunter suggest? Salt Lake. Hmm, sounds like when I wanted to go to Greece and he wanted to go to Israel. So righteous, those converts.

So we got all touristy on SLC. We mainly just ate and ate and ate. One of our surprise highlights was a free Mo-tab practice. This is no news to you Utah dwellers, but they practice on Thursdays nights and the public is allowed to watch.

Fun trip :) Oh, and our hotel looked like a page from a Jane Austen novel. Heavenly.

I just really liked this quote.

Random

2010-09-14T16:22:00.001-07:00

All time favorite picture of all time! It's so awesome, redundancy is totally acceptable!

These aren't super easy to maneuver, but so worth it!

The other day were were driving to the store and I hear Jack say "Mmm!" I looked up and saw a big billboard for Jack in the Box. I then realized that I had yet to feed my son lunch (ok, I forgot to). I looked around for the least greasy fast food I could find. Where did I end up? KFC of course! No grease there! Well, the mac and cheese wasn't too heart-attack-y and we did find out they have Jack's favorite food on a STICK! This pretty much made his day.

This is Jack's favorite hat of all time. He insists on wearing it even when it's 90 degrees outside. He also finds it to be the perfect sleeping accessory.

Six Flags

2010-09-14T11:39:00.000-07:00

We took a family babymoon to Six Flags a while back. Needless to say, Jack loved it. The highlight for me was taking Jack back to the hotel and trying to make him take a nap. He popped his little head up from his bassinet and kept trying to get our attention. "Ooo! Bird!" Really Jack? There's a bird in the hotel room? Lies :)

When we weren't forcing our child to nap, we had a great time looking at all of the attractions and going on the rides. The train was a favorite. Jack was a little nut at the animal shows. He "ooo"d and "aww"d along with everyone else. At one show, the animal didn't do what it was supposed to. There was dead silence as everyone stared at the awkward trainer trying to make the stupid animal do the trick (or the stupid trainer trying to make the poor animal do the trick, depends on how PETA you are). Jack thought it was hilarious that this animal wasn't cooperating and so he burst out laughing. Everyone stared at him. Already laughing at the expense of others. Sometimes little moments come along when you know you're doing something right.

TMI

2010-08-15T19:24:00.000-07:00

Jack just used the facilities. Okay, he peed in the toilet. We haven't even been trying. I just sat him down before his bath and off he goes. Needless to say I was so excited I probably scared him into never doing it again. Now he randomly says "Bye, pee pee."

Yeah, the things you get excited over as a parent.

Strange things I have to look forward to...?

Talk about spoiling.

One word: Splinters. Nothing like using a dining room chair as a toilet.

Unsanitary.

You can ride around while you pee? You'd never get the kid off of it. What if his friends played on it? What if he thinks he can pee on similar toys? Oh, the possibilities.

This one practically scared me into diapers.

Boca

2010-08-02T19:56:00.000-07:00

We took a little Saturday trip up to Boca. The beach was nice and rocky-like completely made of rocks-which is exactly how Jack likes it. Observe: This documented an "Oh crud" moment. Big wave+baby bending over ended up = a baby laughing hysterically.
Jack on the way home.

Pleased to Meet.

2010-08-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Hi World. I'm baby #2. This was me at 9 weeks, and I'm 16 weeks now. Life in the womb is comfy, as expected. The only down side is that my mom throws up all the time, which I find disgusting. There's not much room in here, so things were tight for a while. Then my mom starting wearing her super attractive maternity clothes, and things got a lot better. My brother Jack likes to try and jump on me all day. That's why I'm throwing a punch in this picture. I gotta have my own back, you know. Every baby for himself. I know my family already loves me, and that's pretty sweet. Everyone is freaking out about September 1st since that's when they hope they'll find out whether I'm a girl or boy. Let's just say what I do with my legs that day depends heavily upon how delicious breakfast was that morning.

Baby 4 Life,
Fetus.

Cookies and Nanos

2010-07-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Want to know what's up with the cutest kid living in my house? I'll tell you.

He had a whole chocolate chip cookie for the first time last night. As soon as he put it into his mouth, he could barely chew because he was smiling/drooling/in a cookie trance. He was pretty much in pure delight.

Here's what other deliciousness has been going on.

Dirty baby warning: Like how he holds his popsicle? Oh yeah, he fed himself yogurt as you can tell.

Aside from eating, we've also been making appearances at a few parks around town. This park is a total dud now that everything has closed. Jack doesn't know the difference and thinks the dinos, or "nanos" as he calls them, are pretty rad.

At Lake Park with Grandma ("Doughday," as he calls her. I have no idea.)

Whenever Jack sees a flower, he says "No! NO!" because he loves to pull them out of our garden. However, if it's the beautiful yellow flower he knows he can pull as many of them as he wants.

Exhausted after playing in the fountains at the Sparks movie theater-his FAVORITE PLACE on earth.

Jack said his first sentence the other day. He said "My bunny hat!" Which is actually his old Easter basket that he loves to rock.

We keep him relfective so we can always find him.

Having a kid to play with makes summer very exciting.

dirt, DIrt, DIRT!

2010-06-22T23:05:00.001-07:00

What is it with kids and dirt? It's not like I showed him how great dirt is. He's never seen ME cover myself with it (and, most likely, not his dad). It's just a desire they're born with I guess. He always makes us watch videos of himself on my phone. His favorite video by far is the "No! No!" video that shows him eating dirt. He thinks it's rad.

Looking for more dirt and sticks to put in his mouth.

Ah, summer.

2010-06-22T22:33:00.000-07:00

What a difference a year makes. A year ago when I took Jack outside he was rolling around on his blanket or sitting in his pool with no way to get out. Now he is running around like a wild man. While he enjoys his pool, the coolest thing by a mile is the sprinklers. He laughs and laughs as the FREEZING cold water soaks his little belly.

And no, he has no swim trunks yet. We haven't found any we really like. He doesn't seem to mind.

Going in for a drink

Soaking wet shirt

Last year when he thought the tub pool was awesome

Update and Stuff.

2010-06-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

Mommy and Me

2010-04-11T15:30:00.001-07:00

Jack and I embarked on a mini vacation to Sacramento. He sang and laughed the whole way there, so I knew we were off to a good start.

The first stop was the Temple. The temple grounds are beautiful so Jack ran around while we had lunch. He gets super excited when he sees Moroni. I also stuck his hand in the fountain, afterwards hoping it wasn't too horribly inapropriate.

Then we went to the zoo. Apparently strollers are for babies. We used it solely for junk carrying purposes.

We had a fun night in the hotel (where I found out he is deathly afraid of elevators which =walking three flights of stairs with a 30lb kid and all of our stuff). That night we ordered room service which led to Jack eating his first french fry. He ran around the room like a crazy person before falling asleep in his little bassinet.

Fast forward a couple hours and he wakes up disoriented. So I put him in bed with me. He wiggles over to me and literally sleeps on my head. Back in the bassinet. Freaks out again. Back in bed with me. He gets up and puts his face on my face and tries to sleep. Back in the bassinet where he decides it is much more comfortable than mom's head.

The next morning we went to Fairy Tale Land. SUPER cute! We were the only ones there so Jack ran around to his heart's content.

> Jack navigating our trip.

I drove home to the sound of more laughing and singing. I would definitely call this trip a success :) We did miss Daddy, but we're happy he'll be with us on our next adventure!

My Little Man

2010-03-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Hunter has banned me from ever calling Jack that. He grimaces and cringes when he hears it. So I will use it only as my blog title, because, well, Jack is my little man.

He is growing up fast. He'll be 18 months next month. In case you wondered, here's what Jack's up to.

He knows all his animal sounds

He does the hand motions to Itsy Bitsy spider with me.
He screams "Daddy's home/here!" as soon as he hears the door open.
He knows circle and triangle.
He loves going down the slide by himself, but he prefers laying down on the way down instead of sitting.
He brushes his teeth really well.

He LOVES airplanes. He comes to a screeching halt when he hears one and stares into the sky. He'll even hear one when we're in the house and freeze, pointing out the window.

He has learned the only result of chasing birds is disappointment.

He has red, curly hair...(must be from my mom?)

The only worry I have is that he is a very physical kid. I'm a little nervous about this. I think it's because he doesn't have any siblings, so he gets so excited when he sees a little kid he just laughs and kind of shoves them. The other day he shoved a little handful of dirt in a little girl's mouth. He laughed and then did it to himself. I hope kids know the art of self defence in nursery or we might run into a problem.

Maybe I shouldn't have taught him the "Hiiiiyah!" karate chop....but it sounds really, really cute.

Happy Thank the South Americans for Chocolate Day!

2010-03-17T20:58:00.000-07:00

Hmph to St. Patrick's day. If people get a day to get as drunk as they want, then I demand a chocolate day. I mean, really. "Oh, it's Saint Patrick's day, so that means I get to leave work early and drink green beer until I puke." Well I want a day where everyone wakes up and eats chocolate all day until they puke. Kids will laugh when they find chocolate eggs and ham on their breakfast plates. Thirsty teenagers will chug down chocolate syrup during PE. We'll drive our chocolate cars to the chocolate parade.

I demand a choliday. One where you could feel it would be culturally insensitive not go and spend your lunch break at See's.

If one indulgence gets a day, then I say chocolate deserves it's day too.

Fin.

And no, you have not died and gone to heaven. That really is a chocolate shoe.

Just What the Doctor Ordered

2010-03-06T23:00:00.000-08:00

Our family has been sick. Especially Jack. It's very emotionally draining to take care of a sick family and it can sometimes drive you a little crazy being banished to your home while everyone recovers. Now that everyone is feeling better (yay!) Hunter told me he was taking me on a date, but not just our usual dinner and movie, something better. And it was. Oh it was.

Here is where we went

Uh, earth to Summer, you've lived in Reno your entire life and have never hit up the natural hot springs?? Well, Hunter put an end to this hot springs drought thankfully. It's in a Spanish style building that persuades me to believe these springs have been around since the 1800s.

We first get in and are greeted by a total, full blown hippie. There is music a la India playing in the background. It's very serene. I'm not very serene so this kind of creeped me out.

Then we saw our room. I was instantly brought back to my eighth birthday when I faced a font very similiar. This one, however, was full of steamy, dreamy hot springs goodness. Can I just tell you how AHMAZING this was? They also have a steam room and a hot tub outside.

When Hunter and I left we were so relaxed Hunter could barely drive home, and I could barely watch him drive home. And to think, I thought he was taking me mini golfing.

Proof

2010-02-27T14:15:00.000-08:00

"I'm taking my BBT and checking my CM/F to see if it's my O day. Hopefully I can get a BFP because these BFN are really bummin me out. If AF shows up I am going to be so mad! I can't wait until CD 28! The 2WW is gonna kill me!"

If you understood this message, then you my friend, have had to wait for a baby. I've uttered these sentences many a time so watching Jack grow up is literally a dream come true. This means I find joy in things that most people would find disgusting: "Oh! He's sticking his tongue out so Chauncey can lick it! Cute!" Red strawberries on tan carpet? I see that only as evidence of MY baby. I like it. I like doing his laundry. It's weird.

So now that he's been exploring our kitchen in depth, I've noticed some rearranging going on. This is probably very common, but to me it's proof that I really do have a baby. For example:

I noticed my lotion (that came from my purse) along with some toys in the drawer as I reached for the spatula (notice, the spatula no where to be found)

"Where IS THE PAM???" Oh wait, why didn't I check the fridge? Why WOULDN'T it be in there?

Tearing through the house makes you work up a sweat.

Whip Cream Bottle (no, he is not sucking any out...I don't think)

I'm sure once he draws on the walls I'll nail a frame around it.

Grateful for the sticky fingerprints.

2010-02-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Just warning you, this blog is no easy read, but it is so powerful and completely woke me up to the reality of how precious every single moment we have with our family is.

I had to share it with you.

Layla Grace

R.I.P. Chewy Sprenger

2010-02-17T11:36:00.000-08:00

In honor of Chewy here is Elizabeth Bishop's poem, "The Fish." It really is a beautiful poem.

I caught a tremendous fish
and held him beside the boat
half out of water, with my hook
fast in a corner of his mouth.
He didn't fight.
He hadn't fought at all.
He hung a grunting weight,
battered and venerable
and homely. Here and there
his brown skin hung in strips
like ancient wallpaper,
and its pattern of darker brown
was like wallpaper:
shapes like full-blown roses
stained and lost through age.
He was speckled and barnacles,
fine rosettes of lime,
and infested
with tiny white sea-lice,
and underneath two or three
rags of green weed hung down.
While his gills were breathing in
the terrible oxygen
--the frightening gills,
fresh and crisp with blood,
that can cut so badly--
I thought of the coarse white flesh
packed in like feathers,
the big bones and the little bones,
the dramatic reds and blacks
of his shiny entrails,
and the pink swim-bladder
like a big peony.
I looked into his eyes
which were far larger than mine
but shallower, and yellowed,
the irises backed and packed
with tarnished tinfoil
seen through the lenses
of old scratched isinglass.
They shifted a little, but not
to return my stare.
--It was more like the tipping
of an object toward the light.
I admired his sullen face,
the mechanism of his jaw,
and then I saw
that from his lower lip
--if you could call it a lip
grim, wet, and weaponlike,
hung five old pieces of fish-line,
or four and a wire leader
with the swivel still attached,
with all their five big hooks
grown firmly in his mouth.
A green line, frayed at the end
where he broke it, two heavier lines,
and a fine black thread
still crimped from the strain and snap
when it broke and he got away.
Like medals with their ribbons
frayed and wavering,
a five-haired beard of wisdom
trailing from his aching jaw.
I stared and stared
and victory filled up
the little rented boat,
from the pool of bilge
where oil had spread a rainbow
around the rusted engine
to the bailer rusted orange,
the sun-cracked thwarts,
the oarlocks on their strings,
the gunnels--until everything
was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.

$ Tree Exposed

2010-02-12T13:58:00.001-08:00

Let me preface this by saying I love the Dollar Tree. Seriously. One of my favorite stores. However...

Yesterday I went there and decided I would take a look at the books. I figured maybe I could find something amazing for a dollar(which I did, a book of presidents (Jack will be so...thrilled). Anyway, as I'm browsing through the books, I find these:

Perfect to raise a confident, intelligent daughter. Every girl should have this book (notice even the dogs wants his nails done).

This was found in the book of food...Can you tell me what is surrounding the hot dog?

The last page out of the Parable of the Talents. No "the moral of the story is...." God just finds you lazy. The end.

Here I present you with the perfect bed time story:

Next, the PG13 version of Eve. One small breeze and it's about to be found in the adult section.
I continued looking around the store and found other strange things. For instance under the sign that said: "A Perfect Gift for Any Occassion" I found this:

Right next to the foot powder was a feminine product that some use as a derogatory put down. I'm wondering what occassion would warrant such a gift.

Finally, on my way out, I notice those brown bags they have at the front of the store. You know, the mystery bags for boys and girls. I had always kind of wondered what was in them. I picked one up to examine further and found this:

Older woman supplies?!

The weird vibes were a little too much to handle, so I took my president book and jumbo bag of chiclets and went home.

Bad JuJu

2010-02-09T14:45:00.000-08:00

Hunter and I went to Mimi's Cafe once years ago. Due to Hunter getting really sick after eating there, years literally went by before we tried it again. I don't remember the food being that great, but the decor was really cute and friendly so we decided to go back (plus PF Changs had a 45 minute wait).

Aside from the restaurant smelling like a grandma, I was happy Hunter finally put his grudge aside so we could try it again. We had an okay dinner and left.

Fast forward to Monday morning when I realize I don't have my wallet. My COACH wallet. I search everywhere. I realize the last place I had it was stupid Mimi's. I called, no one saw it. I know some ridonkulous waitress scoped it on the floor and took it for herself.

So, the moral of this story is that Hunter was right: "Mimi's has the bad juju." Tell your friends.

All about Summer and Hunter

2010-01-23T15:13:00.000-08:00

HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah right. Summer and Hunter. Woo, that was a good one.

Hunter and I decided to charge up his old cell phone and download the pics. We didn't even realize what amazing pictures were on it. Here's a walk down memory lane, Jack style.

Look closely.

We really love him.

I Love Me Some Henry

2010-01-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

I realized that since I've completed Jack's baby book, I haven't taken a real, not via cell phone, picture of him in a long time. Not like I really could anyway, since he runs away from me now. I thought I would take some today to compare to Hunter's baby picture. If you've ever wondered what it would be like to live with yourself, as a baby, ask Hunter. He's livin that dream.

Jack has those same two teeth up top too. Aside from Hunter's nerdy turtle neck (props to his mom for getting that thing on him) and Jack's drool enhanced shirt, they look a lot alike.

So in other Jack news, the other day after his nap, he looked me in the eye, patted my shoulders, grabbed my cheeks, then pulled me in for the sloppiest open mouth kiss ever. I melted. He loves me! He really loves me!

Merry Christmas Grandma!

2009-12-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

Thanks for my pajamas! Can't wait to see you tomorrow!

Merry Christmas

2009-12-19T22:21:00.000-08:00

Chewy the Fish: How I Saved His Life

2009-12-15T21:15:00.000-08:00

A couple of days before Jack's birthday we went into Petsmart to get Jack a fish. I thought Jack would enjoy watching a fish swim around a tank. I decide to get a betta since my brother had one of these growing up, and I knew from our experience (jumping out of the bowl, no food or fresh water for weeks)that bettas live forever.

We get the fish home and he swims happily around his tank, even following my finger or the sound of my voice. I was so into this little guy-Jack on the other hand couldn't care less. At that time in Jack's life, he said "chewy" non stop for some reason, and so our fish was named.

One day I noticed Chewy stopped eating. Then Chewy stopped moving. "This stupid fish is gonna die!" I said, day after day. I seriously cried and prayed about this fish-much to Hunter's amusement/irritation. When he asked why I cared so much about a fish that he gave only two weeks to live, I explained, "This fish is a Sprenger. Chewy Sprenger."

So I embarked on a strange journey of saving my-I mean Jack's-fish. I researched for hours. This resulted in me giving Chewy salt baths, medicating his water, trying to feed him peas, and countless water changes (peas are too big for bettas to eat, so I had to boil them, break off a tiny peice, try to get it to attach to the not sharp side of a toothpick and have Chewy try to grab it. Peas are toxic to fish if they stay in the water for too long, so once they sunk to the bottom, I had to change his stupid water).
Weeks went by and he did not eat or move. It was so depressing. I wondered if sending him to a watery grave would be the humane thing to do . I admit, though there were a few times I said "When are you going to die, you stupid fish?" I was determined to save his life.

One day, I tried to feed him a pea again. This time he finally ate some! The next day, Chewy had a bowel movement that equaled him in size. My diagnosis was right-we had a constipated fish. Mmm! Once Chewy busted that out, he was a new fish! He was eating and swimming around and following my voice just like old times, all this after no movement for a month.

Yesterday, Chewy seemed to be slowing down again. I fed him another pea, and he did his fishy duty and was fine. I go up to his tank to congratulate him, and he's all puffed out, ready to fight me! This-the thanks I get. Regardless, I know in my heart I saved a member of our family. May Chewy Sprenger live long, and prosper.

To Be, or Not to Be...

2009-12-15T12:33:00.000-08:00

2009-12-05T19:47:00.000-08:00

I have nothing to add.

Better Late Than Never

2009-11-28T14:33:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving:

*Hunter Ryan. He's the love of my life and my best friend! I can get through anything when he's by my side.He makes me laugh. He cleans. We can talk for hours at the end of the day, even though my day consists of chasing, cleaning, and playing. He's my example of faith and courage to make change. He's my heart!

*Jack Henry. Oh...my...gosh...I love this kid. My heart can no longer hold my love for him and I think it leaked out into other vital organs. I STILL cry all the time as I marvel at his little laugh, his random outburst of new words, his tiny hand patting my back, random hugs, books being handed to me as he plops in my lap, and I still love the back of that little head. He's my buddy. We're two peas in a pod, my little miracle and I.

*Hunter Ryan. For giving me mom time when one pea needs a break.

*Julie Lucinda. The most Christ-like person I know. My mother gives every single ounce of herself to others without ever asking for a thing in return. She is happy and upbeat in any circumstance. She loves Jack more than anything (I'm thinking probably more than me at this point.) I'm grateful for the much needed date nights she gives.

*Family. They really love Jack and that really makes me happy. (represented by my cute cousins)
*The Gospel. This year I have been especially grateful for the companionship of the Holy Ghost and for the gift of the priesthood. I'm grateful to know that there is a God. I know this for many reasons, one of which is that Jack's little head fits perfectly under my chin. That's no coincidence, people. I'm grateful for the peace and true happiness it brings.

*Ugly Betty. That show just makes me laugh.

I've determined that I'm pretty ungrateful most of the time. I take a lot of things for granted. I have a roof over my head-one that's filled with things I need and don't really need. I thought about The Diary of Anne Frank while I walked Jack to the park the other day. She dreamed about the days when she could go outside and just be. I'm grateful for the freedom to just be.

How Jack Enjoys Viewing the World.

2009-11-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

Jack does this little stance all the time now. He did it the first time on accident while he was trying to stand up. Now he does it on purpose and thinks it's pretty funny. I have to agree with him :)

Dentist

2009-11-19T17:17:00.001-08:00

Jack Henry visited the dentist today. It's a very cute office with lots of fun decorations, books, and toys (none of which I allowed Jack to touch. I'm neurotic about germs, okay?) I was pretty impressed to see Jack's name on the wall of new patients. He was too, obviously.

A Song and Dance

2009-11-13T12:48:00.000-08:00

It's sideways for a while, but I had to get all the groovin.

Happy Birthday to a total scrump

2009-11-03T11:54:00.000-08:00

One Year Wiser

2009-11-02T21:51:00.000-08:00

Aside from my frequent crying, Jack's birthday was a blast! He's grown up fast, okay? I can cry if I want to. He started the day with story time at the library. They sang his favorite song, The Wheels on the Bus and he got to feed the stuffed monkey a piece of watermelon. AMAZING! Then we went to Costco, his favorite store and looked at all of the Christmas decor. My family came over and showered him with gifts (this took a while because he had to look at each gift individually for quite some time) and attention and he ate his lemon cupcakes for dessert.

His cousins crowned him King Jack

And of course a comparison shot:

Oh man we love him!

Business As Usual.

2009-11-02T11:33:00.000-08:00

Church = Playdate

2009-11-01T19:29:00.001-08:00

There is no day Jack looks forward to more than Sunday. He loves church. Jack does not attend one meeting. When he does on occassion, it usually ends up with him snorting, walking around and stealing people's scriptures, or singing. So he lasts about 10 minutes max. He's pretty good in sacrament, but the other two meeting-fahgetaboutit. What he loves doing is walking around the entire church multiple times and socializing as he goes.

Fourth Time's A Charm

2009-10-31T23:19:00.000-07:00

Happ-

Happy Hall-

Happy Hallowee-

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Happy Birthday Jack Henry!

2009-10-29T12:28:00.000-07:00

You are our sunshine, our wish come true!

We love you.

Punkin Patch

2009-10-27T20:25:00.000-07:00

We, as every other family in Reno, ventured out to the Ferrari Farms Pumpkin Patch last Saturday. The weather was perfect-Jack Henry's schedule was not. By the time we got there he was asleep. So we had a decision to make. We decided bite the bullet-wake him up and force him to have fun. As you will see from the pictures, a nap sounds far more apealing than pumpkins.

Thrilled..

beyond...

belief.

The Weird Side of the Patch
While Jack was charming us with his happiness, I found some items of interest.
I don't know if this guy was wearing a costume or if this was his everyday look, but it inspired me to take a picture of him. Apparently that mustache inspires him too, because it looks like he has a picture of himself on his coffee mug.

Can you believe this giant box was once filled with generic Otter Pops? That thing could hold thousands, even hundreds of thousands of popsicles! And check out those CREEPY kids on the side. That boy looks like he's going to bite her and steal her wallet...to go buy more freeze pops.

Okay, so Jack did finally warm up and give us a few rays of sunshine.

My little pumpkin

Leaves-A Delicious Fall Treat.

2009-10-25T14:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, you wanted MORE pictures of Jack?

2009-10-25T14:41:00.000-07:00

Big guy. Brings a tear to my eye.

I like Jack's smiling pictures, but it's pictures like this one that makes me love him more.

Very excited to be able to walk around the house now, since mom and dad moved every single piece of furniture.