Some Fair Advice

1. Make sure that Boyz II Men didn't play last weekend.

Because who is Wayman Tisdale?

2. Do not attempt to eat a chocolate dipped frozen yogurt on a warm night.

3. Avoid carnival games where employees act surprised when you actually make a basket and then hand you a huge pink monkey for a prize.

Don't worry, we gave it away.

4. Also avoid any rides called "Crazy Train."

Barf bag, anyone?

Sydney, stay forever!

My niece is visiting from Ohio and Jenna and I had so much with her on Tuesday! She is almost nine which seems weird to me and I'm sure she wants to roll her eyes when I still treat her like a 4-year-old ("Sydney! Hold my hand through the parking lot!") Sydney is a very sweet girl who is so good with her little cousin. She had Jenna cracking up!

We had a fun day sitting in the spa, getting frozen yogurts and playing Blink. I wish we lived closer to Sydney and ALL my nieces and nephews but it's such a special treat that she gets to visit us in California.

UC...wait for it...SF

Yesterday was our big appointment at UCSF to get Jenna's skin checked out. Jake came home early from work to go with us and we left at 1:00 for our 2:30 appointment. Traffic was bad but Jake did an impressive job of finding the building and a place to park; we even arrived 20 minutes early! It was intimidating to walk into that medical center, which was across the street from the Comprehensive Cancer Center. The receptionist was really funny and the paperwork was minimal. While we waited, Jenna played with a little boy (actually, she played with his stroller). After almost an hour, we were informed that because there was only one pediatric dermatologist in the building that day, they were behind about 45 minutes. Great. I was running out of raisins and Jake and I were both starving because we skipped lunch.

Waiting.....

They finally called Jenna's name and the nurse took us back to a room. She measured Jenna who is 32" tall (almost 5" taller than she was in April when I took for her one year check-up!) and she weighs 23 pounds. Tall and skinny! Jenna was a great sport about everything. The nurse gave her a gown and I felt so awkward as I put it on her. I think I just felt out of place.

No, she was not drugged.

Amy, a medical student came in next and I was less than impressed with her. I think she was nervous. She was very shy when it came to touching Jenna and she didn't talk much with Jenna. A few minutes later, the doctor came in and she was the nicest doctor I have ever met. She explained that the line on Jenna's arm that looks like scales is called a Linear Epidermal Nivea which basically means that when Jenna's skin was forming, too much skin formed there on her arm. It's nothing to worry about and it will probably diminish over time. The red spot on Jenna's back is a hemangioma and will also fade with time. At this point, Jenna was crying pretty hard so we quickly got her dressed and headed home. Traffic was bad again (but when is it NOT bad in California?) and we debated stopping to eat but didn't see anything that sounded good.

Smog central.

We did see the Oracle Arena where the Warriors play and this cool building advertising lofts for rent (which probably go for $2000 a month!)

Random

Plum Delicious

Jenna loves the plums from Grammy and Grandpa's tree!

Scattegories

The letter: N
The category: Words associated with money
Jake's answer: Nasty

"Nasty?" I asked.
"Yeah, money can make people real nasty. I was going to put 'nudey dance...'"
"I put 'nickel.'"
"Oh.... that's a good one."

*A word about these little quotes from Jake: He is famous for saying quirky things that make our lives a little bit funnier and he has given permission to post them here.

Pool party!

Jenna loves the pool Grammy and Grandpa got for her. She spends her afternoons wading around in it, going down the slide, playing in the water that squirts out of the palm tree and splashing me! She has learned a few more words including outside (ow-sigh), up, down (dow), dog (the neighbor's have a dog and she says "daw" everytime she hears it bark). She also says "wawa" for water, "nigh nigh" for night night, muh for milk and can sign and say "help" (hep). She is also so close to saying "I love you." I thought I heard "love you" slurred together but maybe in a few weeks it will be more distinguishable. Another thing we're working on is saying "E-I-E-I-O." She's almost there! Yesterday I gave her a small book to look at as I changed her diaper and she started saying "dar, dar, dar." It sounded like "car," so I started talking about cars and how we were going to ride in one to go see daddy, etc. Well, after finishing with her diaper I took the book from her and sure enough, she was opened to the page with a picture of a car and a bus. She has also started touching her diaper when she goes poo poo! I am not ready for that! But she blows my mind everyday with how much she is learning and understanding.

First Ponytail!

Okay, so it's a half-side-pony, but we take what we can get.

Jakeism #22

"Dude, I have genius hearing."

Life's Just Beachy Keen

Well, we officially live in "The Bay Area." While this is nothing new for Jake, it is a very different experience for me! But, I did make it to Wal-Mart without getting lost. One of the perks of living here is the short drive to the beach, of which we took advantage on Saturday with my brother and his girlfriend. We had a great time watching my brother surf, getting to know his girlfriend, finding shells and spotting dolphins! The weather called for a light sweater but it was refreshing to get away from the heat. Jenna hated the sand but at least I knew she'd stay put on the blanket!

We are finally settled in (except for the George Foreman grill still sitting in the living room) and have started to familiarize ourselves with the area. Jenna and I joined a Mommy-n-Me swim class and she loved it! The teacher said Jenna seems very comfortable in the water and should be successful in the class. The first day, Jenna was able to hang onto the wall, which is a goal for the toddlers to achieve during the session. She received a sticker in her swimming passport for that one! We are excited to discover all the fun things out here and we are ESPECIALLY excited that Jake has made it home by 3:30 every day. Oh yeah.

Happy Father's Day, Dad!

A few reasons why my Dad rocks:

- He is full of wisdom and good advice.
"Dad, it hurts when I swallow!"
"Don't swallow."

-He is a very dedicated home teacher.

-He has good taste in music. I think of him everytime I hear Boston's "More Than A Feelin'."

-He came to every one of my water polo games, swim meets and soccer games, even though I stunk at soccer.

-I've only heard him bear his testimony a handful of times, but I see him bear it every day.

-He is protective of his children and grandchildren.
When Jenna gets into the dress-up necklaces: "Jill, get that off of her; she'll choke!"

-His love for our mom is obvious and he supports her in all she does.

-He has the best sense of humor.
When waking us up for seminary/school/church/anything: "Today is a special day! ______ *insert name of our most disliked elementary school teacher* is picking you up!"

Basically, my dad is one of the most perfect people I know. We hope you had a good day, Dad. You are loved and appreciated every day of the year!

Jakeism #72

"In our dream house, we're going to have a built-in, removeable trash can."

Latest Obsessions

1. Hiding things.

I've also found my shoe in the cereal cabinet and her blanket in the bathtub!

2. Baby Einstein. All day long she asks for "Eye-nine?" I don't let her watch it too much but some days these videos have been my saving grace when nothing else seems to make her happy.

3. Her newborn bathtub. A discovery she made as I was cleaning and organizing her room.

4. Ballet slippers inherited from cousin Sydney - another discovery she made as I was organizing her room. These slippers are a size 2 (Jenna wears a 4 now) and it's pretty funny to see her in them, especially when she spins (a new trick!) She really is a little ballerina!

5. The cell phone. She walks around the house saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" then puts the phone up to my ear and says, "Hi!"

6. Saying, "Hi!" Jenna said hi to nearly every person we saw yesterday as we ran errands. I love that she is so social!

Great Strides Walk for Cystic Fibrosis

This weekend was the Great Strides Walk and we had a lot of fun walking through beautiful neighborhoods and admiring the older homes, neat yards and huge sycamore trees. We walked about 5 miles with my parents, brother & Lyndsey.

Jenna was so cute sporting her Porter's Supporters onesie.

As we walked, several people honked and asked what we were doing. It was great to raise awareness and spread the word about CF. Even though many miles separate us, we felt a lot of love for Porter as we walked for him and others who have Cystic Fibrosis. This walk would make a great Primary or YW activity/project and for more information, you can visit www.porterssupporters.org or www.cff.org.

And your total comes to...

$100 DORKY dollars!

Today I went to my favorite place: Target. After parking in my usual spot and taking my usual route through the store (a quick glance at clearance stuff for me, turn right at the shoes then a peek at toddler clothes) I ended up in the toiletry section. As I picked up a box of girly products, I heard a sweet voice say, "Hi Jill!" and my face instantly turned the color of my red shirt. She eyed what was in my basket and asked how I was doing. I mumbled something then thanked her for playing the piano for me in Relief Society yesterday. When I told her we were moving she asked if I would be able to transfer to a different Target. Huh? Then I realized I was wearing this:

Khaki pants and all. I tried to make a joke out of it and she said, "Oh I just figured you had a short shift this morning and didn't have time to change." How embarrassing. At least my hair was done.
P.S. It is very hard to take a picture of yourself.