Birthday Weekend

Friday, September 12th was Jim's and my Mom's birthdays. To celebrate for Jim, we went to dinner at Chevy's and then we came home and opened gifts and had cake. Jacob got to pick out his gift for Daddy - and signed his Spongebob card from him and Levi. Jacob wanted to give Daddy the wallet - and handed Jim the gift bag and told him "here's your wallet, Daddy!" So much for the surprise!!!We had gotten rid of all of our matches when we moved - so Jim had to go next door to the neighbor to borrow some matches - for lighting his own cake! We sang and he got to blow out candles - and then we gorged ourselves on carrot cake - Jim's favorite.

Then we just hung out and had a good time - while Levi crawled around with underwear on his head......he is silly :)

Then on Sunday we went to my brother Joey's and wife Ofelia's house to have a bbq. They have a cool new pool with a great covered patio and playground area for the kids.

Levi loved the water. He would have stayed in there forever. But - he started getting a lil chilly.

Jacob wasn't as excited to get in the water. He wanted to do it in his own time.....on his own terms. He would rather play with the light saber......

We hung out by the chips and dips.....really - there were several kinds.......:)

Uncle Joey is holding the lil swimmer Levi now. Antonio just turned 5 and is a fish in the water - he dives off the end, does cannonballs, and swims all over.

Cousin Salma loves "baby Levi." She is 2 1/2 and didn't want to go swimming either - but she followed Levi around everywhere. They had fun!

The kids were rolling the ball back and forth. They were playing really well together.

We had a fire extinguisher ready - just in case :) My mom blowing out the candles on the chocolatey chocolate cake - with chocolate chips and shaved chocolate on top. More diet cake!

Levi's First Haircut

We have been wanting to cut Levi's hair - he is over 14 months now - and although he doesn't have much hair - he has some hair that is probably 2-3 inches long.

So - after both Jacob and Daddy had their hair cut this weekend - we decided to cut Levi's hair after bathtime on Saturday evening. We put him in his booster seat, gave him a few combs to play with, and started trimming some of the long hairs. Then, I used the clippers on it. I wasn't sure how he would do - if he would be scared of the noise or vibration - but he did great! I think he thought it tickled a lil bit - but he stayed fairly still and let me continue to cut.

His hair really doesn't look that much different, since he had so little, but at least he doesn't have the extra long hairs on top or around the back now.

He says.................cheese.....................don't I look good.................I'm too sexy for those clippers..................

Barbershop

On a walk we took recently, we passed by a barbershop that was newly opening and Jacob wanted to get his hair cut there. Mom has cut his hair since his first haircut over 2 years ago. So on Friday evening, we went to the barbershop. After telling the barber how I usually cut his hair - and that we leave it around an inch long on top - he started with the clippers. It seemed to take an ENORMOUS amount of time - both for a 3 year old trying to sit still - and for mom who kept looking at his hair get shorter.........and shorter........and shorter. At one point, I had to take a walk with Levi - it was too hard to sit there and watch his hair disappear. About 40 minutes later - he was done - with much shorter hair than an inch on top. Fortunately, hair grows back quickly. Looks like Mom will be cutting his hair for the next few years again :)

Here is a picture of Jacob's hair about a week after getting it cut - and it is still pretty short - but starting to slowly grow back. You can still see tons of his forehead - or like my brother likes to call our family's - fiveheads :)

Rockin'

Levi loves this wood rocker that Grandma bought. He feels like such a big boy when he sits in it. He loves to get in it and try to eat his snackies or play with a toy. It is a lil scary for Mommy and Daddy when he tries to stand up or rock back too far - but he is having fun!

California State Fair 2008

We went to the California State Fair on Tuesday, August 19th. It was a great day - the coolest it was supposed to be for the week. We snacked on some tasty grub - and then did some fun things with the boys. Jacob got to ride a horsee and go on several rides including a roller coaster, bumper car, and several slide/jungle gym areas. After leaving, we stopped off at Jamba Juice and all shared a yummy treat. It was a good break from unpacking and working.

Settling into Life in California

We have been in California now for almost a month - four weeks ago we flew into the Sacramento airport from Wichita. Time has really flown by. The first two weeks we spent getting settled in our new home, unpacking, and getting adjusted to California life. The past two weeks I started work and the boys started in daycare or "school" :) They have really adjusted quite well to their new schedule. They go to bed about 2 hours earlier - and get up about 2 hours earlier than before - but they are doing well with that. The daycare is only about 6 minutes from our home - and a few blocks from my work.

Jacob is in the preschool room - and spends time reading books, doing art projects, playing instruments, and playing outside. He truly enjoys it and even said last Saturday - why I not going to school today? He is usually quite filthy by the end of the day - from playing out on the rubber mats - but doesn't usually want to leave - and hasn't been too grumpy getting up in the morning.

Levi is in the toddler room. He had more separation sadness than Jacob - at least initially when we first drop him off - but this last Friday he didn't even cry when we left. They take one nap a day - about noon - on mats on the floor. I didn't think he would do too great with that - but although most first timers take a week to get adjusted - he napped from the first day. His naps average from 1 -3 hours, depending on the day. They say he is very comfortable in the room now. He has been a trooper.

I have had 9 days of work now - and am adjusting pretty well. The hardest thing has been all of the changes in the organization - lots of name and title changes - that is hard to track who/where everyone is and reports to. My team has been great - and I have worked with my supervisor and 3 teammates before - so that has been good. It wasn't too hard to adjust back to work life - except for getting up so early - and getting tired so quickly in the evening.

Jim has been working fast and furiously on submitting apps to positions everywhere. He has had some positive feedback on interviews, but no firm commitments yet. We would appreciate your prayers for him finding a job quickly - temporary or perm - and for ultimately finding the right job for him and our family - hopefully also with the State. The budget impasse is definitely not helping in this area.