Tis the Season.. or 3 of them wrapped up in one blog

Now I know what you are thinking.. Halloween was 2 months ago. But I didnt want to start posting about Christmas until I shared some of the Great Halloween fun with everyone.

SO BIG...

 

Luke and the Nelson Ladies from LA Becca, Reese, and Tess

And up until about a month ago I have been living in a bit of a pregnancy induced fog. I am now 21 weeks and feeling much better.  At least till about 8:30pm when my body tells me it is time for bed.
I guess that also explains the lack of time to blog.

Luke loves this photo he actually gives it a high five.

We are having another healthy baby boy! OH BOY!!! 

Luke I think actually understands that there is a baby in my belly.... maybe. He tried to feed my belly cheerios the other day. At least he is willing to share.

Christmas is right around the corner and we have been really enjoying the season this year. Luke actually understands it. At least that's what I tell myself when I bribe him with "better be a nice boy or Santa won't bring you any presents".
 
I did have to let him know that pulling off your pants and diaper and pooping in your crib, only to then throw it across the room was DEFINATELY  not on the NICE list and if he ever thinks of doing that again Santa will never come back. 

We have a tree up and stockings are hung (with out any catastrophies yet). He has gone to visit Santa twice and kind of liked it.

 

 

Luke even got the hang of decorating a cookie for Santa. Apparently he LOVES frosting. 

 

I Mean Loves IT!!!

Luke and the Nelson ladies at Irvine Rail Park. 

This year has been so fun. Christmas truly is magical when seen through the eyes of a little one.
This last week I have tried to put away the lists, and frantic shopping days and really just enjoy time with our family.
I feel so blessed to have a healthy and happy family. My heart and prayers go out to all those affected by the horrible tragedy at Sandy Hook that took place last week. I can not imagine what they are going through. I just pray and know that they are all closer to God and hope their families can find any type of comfort this Christmas Season.
In the meantime I  have been hugging a little tighter and kissing a lot more.  My hope is that you all do the same.
God Bless and Merry Christmas!

Back to Blogging...

TWO... Not so terrible yet!


Well life with a 2 year old is not by any stretch of the imagination boring or relaxing. Which explains my absence in posting.
Now I am not promising that things are going to get better. But I did want to share the details of Luke's 2nd Birthday before he turns 3.



My parents, as promised, came in to town for the big party. I couldn't wait to see them and celebrate with them.
Luke was also thrilled to open up his wagon and take a stroll with Grandpa, "El Conquistodor" and the two dogs.
We managed to have a little fun while they were here with a visit to the aquarium as well as the beach, where the wagon came in quite handy.
Unfortunately, upon there arrival came the beginning of the "seperation anexity".  It seems to be getting better but has not been fun for the last few months.

We have had a lot of change and I guess I don't blame him. We found out our nanny, Barbara was leaving to New York. So the search began for a new one. We hired one and fired her in a week (not fun btw) But finally found a great replacement in Casey. She has been with us for about a month. Even thought Luke dosn't want to admit it - I know he loves her.

He also started pre-school which he was also not too fond of for the first 3 weeks but now seems to be adjusting. And Speech Therapy as well as a teacher coming to our house once a week to work with him on speech.
Lots and Lots of change and adjustment. I think we are through the roughest patch and on the upswing. He is doing great with all of the adjustments and his speech is progressing.

And the final new change, WE ARE PREGNANT!! Well actually let me clarify - I AM pregnant ... Greg really hasn't been affected by the morning ALL DAY sickness, fatigue or irritability. I have to take all the credit for this one!

We are very excited to welcome a new addition to our family. April 26th is the big day. More details to come.

For now it's still about LUKE- and his big 2!!!

Wagon ride with the dogs and Grandpa

Fun times at the Scripps Aquarium

WE miss you Barbara- Thank you for being such a big part of our family!!!

Birthday Party Pictures... Jumpy courtesy of the Gann's -
Luke seemed to know what the day was all about - being King of the Castle.

Luke and Harper

Getting his birthday kisses with Savannah

I think she liked it!

Grandma and Grandpa J-- enjoying the party and supplied the best cupcakes.. yumm

Miss Kimmy- and Luke

Carrot Cake Cupcakes thanks to Grandma J.. Yummmmmm

One of Lukes Favorite gifts.. Finger Painting

There it is 2 years of joy this boy has brought to our lives.  I love every crazy, screaming, finger painting, tantruming, bit of this little boy!!!

All Boy

All BOY...
I can remember Greg and I waiting to find out if we were having a boy or a girl.
I think I may have been hoping for a girl only because I thought that is all I knew. I wasn't quite sure I was going to know what "to do" with a BOY.

Now I realize I didn't need to know. He directs me and I follow his lead. Now I can't imagine what I would do with a girl. Because not only do I have a boy but he is ALL BOY.

We have a great little guy and he was all fun on Easter this year.
We spent the weekend dying eggs, hunting eggs and having fun with friends and family.

 

We met up with our friends Eric and Kelly and little Harper for a good ol' fashion Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday. Luke had a blast! We got lots of eggs and he conquered the bouncy house.

"Good Game, Good Game"

The Easter Bunny was very very generous to Luke this year. Grandma got him the rockin' Elmo and the bunny delivered the rest. He went straight for the bubble mower and didn't really seem to care about anything else. If the mower actually worked we would have no grass.

No Easter is complete without church and celebrating with Jim and Candi and the most handsome little man in a little suit.

And Last but Not Least. SUSHI
Now I have always boasted what a great eater Luke is but it is all changing.... And Sushi is definitely on the hit list. He may be rocking the chopsticks but the sushi came right back out. So slowly we are creating a "do not eat" list and I would have to say Sushi is number 1.

Sorry for the long blog for those who are still tuned in. But as we all know from the last post I am on about a once every 2 month post timeline therefore lots and lots of photos so you don't miss out.
Love Jen

Please dont end..

Some vacations you are just not ready to leave.. This weekend was definately one of those trips.
Oh how I love it here!

In an effort to get away from the day to day Greg, Luke and I headed off to Santa Barbara for the weekend. I knew as we were headed out the door on Friday that it would go by fast, I just never dreamed it would flash by in the blink of an eye.

Santa Barbara in 36 hours....

The journey began Friday afternoon rushing to get out of the house and beat Friday traffic. But of course in true fashion we hit LA at 5pm Friday mid rush hour.  But somehow we escaped what could have been a nightmare only sitting in traffic for max 20 minutes. From that moment on I knew someone was on our side and it would be a perfect weekend.

We couldn't have asked for better weather- 75 degrees and sunny both days. 
I found myself having a few ahhhh moments just taking it all in.
Wanting to linger extra time in the sand.. spend a few minutes longer sipping coffee at breakfast watching all the activity go by on the pier.

Luke was a perfect baby- he slept great at the hotel (my biggest fear) and was a perfect dinner date, somewhat squirm free.  

We managed to fit in the Santa Barbara Zoo and lunch at our favorite resturaunt Via Vai (the best and always a great place for celeb. watching) with Andra and Peter.

We made it to Julia Child's most favorite and frequented resturant La Super-Rica for dinner and loved it. A tiny little taco stand that most nights has lines out the door to waiting to order from an assortment of authentic Mexican food. Then you take a seat in plastic chairs in the small coverd "outdoor space and your food is served on paper plates with plastic utensils.. nothing fancy folks but delish!!
Even Luke tried a spicy bean torta by accident and had his first "real" taste of Mexican food.
We wrapped up the weekend with visit to the Ty Warner aquatic marine center at the end of the pier- big hit in Luke's weekend. He LOVED IT. We got to pet some sharks, sting ray's and sand stars.
He just loved running around and probably could have been in a pet store and had the same effect. But it was a great place and I would reccommend it to anyone who has kids and wants to check it out.


The last few stops in our short trip included a trip to see Greg's Great Aunt Barb and letting Luke run around her living room using her cane as a "vacuum" I think he had just as much fun doing this as he did running around the marine center..
Funny little guy he is.


And no trip to Santa Barbara is complete without a visit to State Street for some shopping. First and only stop was to a toy store.. Oh how times change.


We made it home in 3.5 hours and tucked ourselves into bed at 9:30 and watched a "late night" superbowl game.


What a great weekend but it went way too fast - The only regret.. not enough photos.

Cant wait till our next trip back!