Jared and Jackson

While in Chicago Jared and I met up with Jackson and his nanny one to two times a week. The two boys really get along, and I enjoy talking with Flor. These sequence of photos are of Jared and Jackson at the beach. It was a windy day so I wasn't prepared with his proper attire so he just wore a swimmer and tee shirt. One of the photos is of Jackson with sand all over his face. Jared had thrown some sand and the wind brought it back into his face. Jackson saw this and threw sand in his face to be like Jared. Needless to say he ended up with a lot more sand on his face than Jared did. But that's what those boys are about, doing what the other does and having a blast doing it!

Movie at the Park

Above is a firm event where we went to one of Chicago's parks (Grant Park) to watch a movie. The envrionment is really fun and casual. Lots of people come and sit and have dinner or whatever while waiting for the movie to begin. We had to leave a little early though since the movie didn't start till 9:00. The person with Chris is his office mate Grant who he's really enjoyed this summer and the other people are Derrick and his wife Beth another BYU law student.

That night was the only night we've really been out late in Chicago (at least for me) since Jared goes to bed early. It was really fun to see the city at night. It's really beautiful!

Fun Stories of Jared

I’m going to start this blog off with stories of Jared so I can make sure they are remembered:

Jared, when walking, likes to stand on objects (a crack, a leaf, dark spots, anything out of place) and say, “I stuck”. He won’t move until someone comes up behind him and pats him on the back and says, “beep beep!” It’s actually pretty cute but can be annoying when he does it every five feet when both your arms are weighed down with groceries! Jared has also tried this tactic on me by saying, “beep beep” when I’m standing still.

Jared quite expressional and has learned to copy words and expressions. Some of the latest:
The new baby has been sitting on a nerve every once and a while and this last week one time in particular was really painful and lasted for about 10 minutes. During that time I would use the walls to lean on and put my hand on my back to alleviate some pain. Apparently I must have been grunting/moaning too cause I heard Jared making weird noises and I looked behind me and he was taking baby steps with one hand on his back and the other on the wall.
One Sunday I after I was done bathing Jared I asked him to take out the plug. I was at the mirror doing my makeup and I hear Jared, “oh no!” I went to the tub and could not see his washcloth. I looked at Jared in despair put both hands to my temple and said a few times, “Oh my gosh Jared, oh my gosh” while shaking my head. Jared then took his hands in the like manner and repeated my sentence with a look of equal despair!
I learn a lot of things I do from Jared. We live on the third flight of steps and even without being pregnant and carrying a toddler it’s a workout going up the stairs. One day when we got inside the apartment Jared shut the door then immediately started breathing deep. I didn’t think I was that bad but apparently I breathed hard enough for him to notice. So that is now our ritual. Every time we close the door we both heave our sigh. I also must make a little grunt when bending over to pick stuff off the floor. Jared often when picking something up will make a little grunt as he stands back up. I know I’m missing things Jared has done but you get an idea of how much little kids watch and take in. Kind of scary sometimes!

Jared is also fascinated with bugs. He will touch anything when we’re out and about. Lately we’ve had some new house guests a mouse and ants. One time when we saw the mouse when entering Chris ran after it with the broom and Jared was right behind him trying to help him find it. Luckily the only killing Chris has had to do has been when Jared is asleep so he’s not able to see or touch it. But he has touched the ants numerously! He will go in the kitchen, lie down on the floor and stick his hands out and let the ants crawl all over him while he just watches. And he likes to follow flys around the house. One time one fly was not moving very much so I’d swing at it to make it fly. One time I was to accurate and killed the fly. Jared went and picked it up and tried to make it fly again and put it in the windowsill where it liked to hide. I think that’s the saddest I’ve ever been to kill a fly!

Jared also doesn’t mind eating off the floor. I was on the phone one afternoon and Jared was carrying a bag of gold fishes around. Well it was too tempting and he dumped it on the floor. I was out of reach since the phone was charging so I decided I’d finish the call and clean it up later. Well Jared wasn’t going to wait and he got down on his stomach and began eating the fishes off the floor without using his hands. The phone conversation ended soon after.

Last story for now. One time Jared hit me so Chris was trying to have him say “I love you mommy.” Every time he said I Jared would say “don’t” (when he hits we have him say I don’t hit). One time he finally said I and then Chris said Love and Jared immediately exclaimed, “Jared”. We got a good laugh and Jared thought he was funny too although he had no idea why.

Only 4 weeks left!!!

Time has gone by quick and Chris, Jared and I have filled it with lots of fun (after all Chicago is really big and has lots to do!) I'll try to do a quick recap on things we've done and show lots of pictures!!!

A lot of the new Batman movie is being filmed in Chicago and a couple of days it was being filled right by Chris' office building so Jared and I went in to observe and have lunch with dad. Not too much action was going on but it was fun to see a little bit of the filming. Chris kept looking out his window during work in hopes of seeing batman in the air or the batmobile but he had no luck. I guess batman comes out mainly at night.

One of Chicago's biggest events is their taste of Chicago. They have tons of restaraunt booths lining several streets and you buy tickets and go test out different places to eat around the city. It was really fun and the atmosphere was like a fair. Several bands were playing throughout and most of them were country so it really felt like a fair.

On the 4th of July we went to our ward picnic. Chris had fun playing football, volleyball, and softball while we were there and he paid for it for the next three to four days. Jared had fun with another little boy in his nursery class. When I first watched them play I thought it was really cute how Nathan, the other boy, liked to hug Jared. Chris quickly informed me how the parents said he liked to wrestle so we needed to look out for Jared. Sure enough a couple hugs ended up with Nathan on top of Jared and Jared laying as still as can be not daring to move! One time Nathan had Jared's face in the ground and another boy was yelling at him to get off him. I ran over once I noticed and was surprised to Jared's reaction. Again he was just still and when Nathan got off he just got up and kept running! Thank goodness boys are tuff!

One of our favorite things to do is go to the beach. Chicago has beautiful beaches and they are perfect for kids. Jared can walk out 50 yards or more and the water still isn't up to his chest! The waves are also just right. Almost strong enough to plow Jared over but not too strong to make him afraid. The three of us often sit in the water and wait for the waves to push us backwards. The beach is really one of my favorite things of Chicago!

Chicago also has lots of free concerts. Last week we went to one that had two African bands playing. The style was kind of regae and really fun. Millenial Park was full of people and perfect for our little family allowing us to let Jared run on the grass and play.

This last Saturday we went to Chicago's Children Museum. So cool! There were tons of things for kids to do inside and quite educational. Too bad Jared wasn't old enough to remember any of it. Our two favorite sections were the water world and the dinosaur section. The water section kids could race boats and see how to transport water or how to move the water. With the dinosaurs kids could dig for fossils. In both these areas there were props/jackets for the kids to wear and Jared did not want to take off either of them when it was time to move on. The whole museum was very hands on and very entertaining for all ages, even parents!

Chris is enjoying the experience he is getting and the pampering as well. One evening we went to a partner's house for dinner and was escorted to and from in a limo! Very fun! And Chris has enjoyed his baseball game in the box seats, lunch outings, and softball game where he got to leave work two hours early last Friday. As for me I enjoy my morning walk/jog as it meanders by the beach and lake and then I take Jared to a park where we've both met lots of Friends. The people here are really nice (not the drivers so much) and we are definitely open to maybe starting our career out here but time will tell!!!

What Jared's really like

Eating is becoming more of an adventure as Jared learns what he likes and dislikes. We are trying new ways to coax or trick him into eating healthy foods by tempting him with something he really wants. He also likes to wait for everything to get on his tray then mix it all together. The picture on the right is of refried beans that he managed to get everywhere!!! I'm just glad I took his shirt off for this meal!

For fun I thought he'd look cute in the bandana and thought he'd take it off but instead he insisted on wearing it for about two hours!

Accomplishments for Jared this week... He was gazing at the computer's screen saver and said, "Oh my gosh!" Chris and I looked at each other laughing hysterically while trying to keep it in. I asked Chris where he learned it and he claims he doesn't say it much and I don't think I say it very much as well but as the week went on I noticed times when I did say it and wouldn't have realized it.

Jared has been attempting to jump for awhile and not having much success. This week around Thursday I noticed on our bed he was actually leaving the ground. He can also jump on the regular floor and enjoys to do it quite frequently.

Jumping I think helped him lead into his next accomplishment. Saturday Morning Chris and I woke up at 6:00 to Jared calling for us. We both decided he could wait for a half hour because it was definitely too early. In between 6:00 and 6:30 Chris and I both heard banging. I thought it was Jared rocking his crib and Chris thought the door was opening and shutting but what it was Jared who climbed out of his crib onto the bed next to it knocking at the door. I didn't realize he was out of bed when I was trying to open his door so needless to say I hit him kind of hard in the head when I opened the door because the door was stuck. I felt really bad but it was kind of funny because of the shock of it. That night when I laid him down for bed he immediately cried and a few minutes later we heard him at his door. I went in and sang to him even longer and then laid him down and went outside and held door adjar just a little bit so I could see how he did it. Before my eyes could adjust he was at the door tugging it open. Chris finally moved the bed and away from anything and he went to sleep like normal.

And it's a .....

To the right is the ultra sound picture of our new addition. If you're still confused on the gender and need help in figuring it out just "highlight" below the last sentence in the previous post because the "hue" is different from the rest of the lettering because it's the same as the background, or you can hit Ctrl A to highlight everything.

This is as good of a profile as they could get. He was facing my back so it was hard to get a good profile shot.

New Baby, What Could it Be?!?!

We have some good news
We would like to share with you.
I am now 21 weeks pregnant
And measuring on cue!
We got a glimpse of our baby,
Wouldn't you like to know too!
To find out the gender
You ask what must I do?
The new Highlight in our life
Is found in a different hue.
Now follow the clue
Because it's all up to you!

Another clue: It is written: (It's a ...)

It's a BOY!!!

The Beach and Museum

This will be my last post for the evening but I wanted to show some pictures of the beach and Chris and Jared by the gothic america picture, I think that what it's called. There were a lot of famous artists at the Chicago Institute of Art.

Our Kitchen

For those of you I've talked to about our living arrangements might have felt bad for me because I made it sound bad. Really it's not bad it's just I was thinking I'd have a place more like we did last summer and this place just doesn't compare. To relieve you from any worries take a look at the clip of our kitchen, the worst part of the apartment in my mind. I'll try to get shots or clips of some of our other areas later but for now her is a taste of life in our chicago apartment!

CHICAGO

Wow, life has been flown by since arriving in Chicago. Chris is enjoying the work and the atmosphere of the big firm and Jared and I are enjoying our days having a daily outing to the park or beach for both of us to keep our sanity. The only hard part about Chicago is not having the friends we left behind. When Jared and I are at the park and I'm talking to another mom I'm half tempted ask if she'd be my friend! But really it's not bad it just makes you appreciate the friends you do have.

This last week started off on Monday Chris emailing me asking if I wanted to go to a White Sox Yankee game that evening. I was a little hesitant since we'd just been to the cubs and braves game the Saturday before but decided it's not every day you get to see the Yankees play for a good price. So Jared and I set off to meet Chris downtown for our rainy, fun filled evening where we sat so high we were covered from the downpour. Our seats were good though and we actually enjoyed the game a little more than our beloved braves game due to the fact we weren't in the heat! Both games came out for a win for us. The Braves beat the Cubs and the White Sox beat the Yankees. Sorry Jim I'm not much of a Yankee fan...

Later on Saturday we were off to visit Millenium Park where we saw the gian t mirrored bean and played awhile in the 1/2 inch wading pool. Then we went to Sears Tower and saw Chicago "from above". It was all fun and Jared was ready for his nice three hour nap when we finally got home a little after 2:00.