2 Years of Jay Wheeler

At 2 years old Jay Wheeler:

-Speaks like a mini adult! He has a truly impressive vocabulary and adds new words to his repertoire every day. He regularly says 6-8 words sentences and uses words like "Scandinavia", "exhausted", "disgusting", and "actuary" in daily speech. He can also sing all the words to Jingle Bells, Frosty the Snowman, Happy Birthday, ABCs, Twinkle Twinkle, etc. We have also worked hard on manner words. Jay (FINALLY!!!) says please and thank you with some regularity.

-Is in a real sword/dragon/knight stage. While most 2 years old carry around a stuffy or blankie for comfort, JJ has a sword (really just the wooden stick from a spatula with the rubber head pulled off). This sword goes everywhere with JJ including the bath and bed. He loves to shove it down the back of his shirt for safe keeping when he needs his hands free. Jay's favorite movie is "How to Train Your Dragon" and his favorite book is "King Jack and the Dragon". His little imagination runs rampant and during independent play you will likely find him slaying a dragon or rescuing a damsel in distress.

-Continues to be a tiny bookworm. One of his favorite places is the library and all of the local librarians know him by name. We check out about 20 books, twice per week, and read them until he has all the titles and storylines memorized.

-Enjoys outside play! Some of his favorite activities are walks with daddy, jumping in the construction site rock piles by our house, and playing in his sandbox.

-Has the wildest blonde hair. He has some major cowlicks (just like his daddy) in the front and back. Every morning I let him choose if he wants dragon spikes or a comb over.

-Is still called JJ by most people, though we are trying (mostly futilely) to call him Jay. Other nicknames include Biz, Bizler, Bean, and Jdub.

-Still loves his fruits and vegetables, but has definitely developed a powerful sweet tooth. His favorite treats are Walmart smily face cookies, marshmallows, donuts, and anything chocolate. Without fail he request "a little bit of dessert" each night after supper. 

-Means business about his snuggle time. Despite his growing independence, this kid needs a healthy dose of snuggles every day. I have learned that in order to set our afternoon off on the right foot, I need to set aside at least 15 minuets for uninterrupted snuggle time directly after JJ's nap. 

-Started attending nursery at church and preschool twice a week.

-Continues to be a real social butterfly. He always prefers a playground, chic-fil-a play place, or library story time that is jam packed with "friends". In fact, every new person is a "friend" to JJ. 

-Is a truly hilarious human being. He bring so much laughter into our home. For instance, the other day he finished a Popsicle and stuck the stick into his nose. I asked him what he was pretending to be and he said "a narwal". Or another time we were discussing his favorite topic, dragons (obvi) and I asked him what dragons eat. Without skipping a beat he exclaimed "tacos!!!". 

How we adore this spunky, articulate, confident, kind hearted, independent 2 year old of ours!

Jay's 2nd Birthday

A construction themed party was in order for JJ who is obsessed with all things tractor.

Seriously, he knows every type of tractor and will correct you if you name one wrong.

His wonderful grandparents made the 22 hours drive in for the occasion and we spent the day playing hard as a family.

The day started with pancakes at IHOP (JJ's favorite) followed by making Olaf at Build-A-Bear. 

I decked out the house with special decorations and tried my hand at birthday cake making (it didn't turn out half bad, if I do say so myself).

JJ loved shoving his little sweet toothed mouth with cake and being showered with attention all day.

We sure love you Jay Wheeler! It was an extra special day celebrating an extra special boy. 

I just know 2 is going to be a terrific year!

8 months of Jay Wheeler

At 8 months old Jay:

-has given up on the whole crawling thing. I can never get him to stay on his tummy long enough to even try it, so rather he has adopted butt scooting. Backwards is a lot easier than forwards, but he is working on both directions. He is excited to finally have a means to move around. But heaven help this mama--I will never be able to keep up with him again!

-cut 2 chompers! Both bottom central incisors finally pushed they way through those gums after what seems like month of incessant drooling and many very sad days for my sweet boy. But with frozen teethers, tylenol, lots of cool foods, and extra snuggles he was brave and survived.

-continues to be BFFs with his daddy. Besides in the middle of the night when he only wants mommy (aka boobs), JJ LOOOOOVES his dad. He literally explodes with happiness when Justin walks through the door. It might be because daddy is the designated bath giver (which is Jay's favorite half hour of the day) or because daddy lets JJ do every possible daredevil trick--but these two are inseparable. No one can make JJ laugh like daddy!

-loves exploring the new summer season. I constantly have to remind myself that everything in this wide world is new for him and never before has he experienced summer. We are taking full advantage! So far we have been to the zoo (many many many times), joined the summer reading program at the library, made a water park in our backyard, had lots of playdates with our fellow baby friends, gone on early morning walks around the lake, and taken a trip to the Aquarium. Not to mention this little guy is the perfect yard work buddy. He is so content to sit on a blanket and eat grass watch mama work!

-is 19 pounds and is busting out of his 9 month clothing so we finally pulled out all of his 12 month attire. I love summer because I now have unlimited access to his juicy thighs at all times of the day!

-his chubbiness makes perfect sense because this kid has caught hold of the eating thing and never looked back. This month he tried TONS of new things-- whole milk yogurt (and you better believe her eats the whole dang cup), almond butter, salmon, tilapia, asparagus, egg yolk, cauliflower, hummus, zucchini. And of course he has had a bite or two of things like french fries and donuts....

-continues to be resilient with his helmet. His grammy has been an  expert at finding ways to keep him cool as the temperatures rise. She hooked us up 2 types of stroller fans, a misting bottle, cooling towels, and tank top onesies. #bestgrammyoftheyearaward Hopefully he just has a few more weeks before he busts out of that thing for good!

-is developing more control of his voice! He now makes a wide range of consonant sounds (my favorite of which is ma ma ma ma) and tones of voice. He understand his name (and his many nicknames--baby bizler, biz, mouse, JJ) and a few other simple words. We have been practicing our sign language and although the only sign he seems to care about is milk, I am sure he will catch on to the rest in no time.

-is getting so excited to head to California in August! This month we booked tickets to see his grandma great and grandpa great! He loves watching airplanes in the sky, so hopefully he is as thrilled about riding one....

-has started this habit of kicking his legs in an alternating pattern whenever he is really happy or excited. This makes it hard to get a good pictures because his legs literally move so fast. My sweet little cricket baby!

Man I love this little rascal! The mom life is a HARD life, but it is the BEST life. I know I am biased, but I just think JJ is the best baby ever.

7 Months of Jay Wheeler

At 7 months old Jay: (umm...forgot to push publish on this post a month ago when I wrote it. Oops! #mombrain)

-spoiled his mama rotten for her first mother's day. Motherhood is an interesting thing. So messy and routine yet somehow an indescribably rewarding and inspirational job all wrapped up into one. It is so fun to have a day to reflect on the joy of motherhood and what a tremendous blessing it is to be a mother. Justin took care of all the nitty gritty (cooking, picking up, JJ care, etc.) so I could just relax. And they also spoiled me with cinnamon rolls, flowers, dark chocolate, a new lavender jasmine candle, and herbal tea! *swoons*

-is around 18 lbs these days, my little chubby muffin! Still rockin those size 3 diapers and size 9 months clothes. We will have to bump up him to 12 month stuff anytime now.

-continues to develop his skill set. He now can reach just about anything he wants--even if he has to stretch to get it. He rolls from front to back (and now does this the second I lay him in tummy time, little sneaker!) and back to side. He is perfecting his pincer grip and gumming food. He also gives big bear hugs. It is the cutest thing ever.

-has enter the phase where he really enjoys reading. Before I felt like I was reading at him, but now I am definitely reading with him. We just wrapped up the 5th Harry Potter book (I read to him while nursing and during his morning and afternoon independent play time), as well as our mountain of weekly library books.

-got his helmet! Man does he look cute in that thing! He has also tolerated it really well. We had exactly 1 ROUGH night but then he was right back on track. Can I just say, those things are Ah-MAZING. We noticed his head change even within 24 hours of full time wear. I am relieved by how easy he transitioned into the helmet and that improvement is noticeable. It will be exciting to get a measurable progress update at his adjustment appointment in a couple weeks.

-has developed quite the sophisticated palate. I am continuing to introduce new things and have noticed that he has obvious preferences; however, he never rejects anything. This month we added butternut squash, prunes, spinach, chicken, blueberries, and chick peas to his diet. Surprisingly, of all these delicious things, plain spinach and plain butternut squash are his favs. #veggielover #justlikehismama

-is becoming so friendly. As though his ginormous blue eyes didn't attract attention before, now his helmet sure brings the ladies to his yard. It seems like every single lady over the age of 40 stops us. Although this does make grocery runs twice as long as they need to be, I don't mind because Jay lights up with a smile every time. He loves interacting with others. This kid has got some serious game!

6 Months of Jay Wheeler

At six months old Jay:

-has knocked out another milestones and is sitting up unassisted like an absolute champion. He actually started this right at 5 months (because hello--have to keep him off of that precious coconut!), but after a month of practice he has truly mastered this skill.

-finally lost the swaddle. I noticed that he was fighting it at night and managing to consistently wriggle an arm out of even my tightest swaddles. And then one day he managed to roll from back to stomach (though I am certain this was a fluke because he has never even come CLOSE to doing it again) which was game over for the swaddles. So we cut him off cold turkey and surprising he has been sleeping better than ever.

-tried his first solid foods. I did give him a little bit of whole grain rice cereal purely to get some iron into his body, but he hated it so now we are all about the whole foods. Banana, avocados, and sweet potato seem to be his dishes of choice, but he has also tried applesauce and sweet peas. Typically he puts up a stink the first time he tries something new but by the the third time I introduce it, he is all over it. And by all over it, I mean practically attacking the spoon with his mouth to get more. We use a silicon or mesh feeders for some of the mushier foods, and then I make my own purees with breastmilk or cooking water. As he gets older I will use more of a baby-led eating approach; however, until he masters some of those necessary skills for eating, I just want him to get the food in his belly. So purees it is for a while.

-loves daddy. There is no question about this! Justin has been working some loooooong hours as he has been in the midst of actuarial exam study. We are talking he wakes up at 5am to head straight to work and gets home late late late each night. Well after Jay is in bed. But when these two are reunited Jay grins ear to ear and buries his face in Justin's shoulder. It melts me how chummy these two are.

-took his first out of state trip. We ventured to Utah for 4 days to attend a wedding but also to introduce Jay to our alma mater. He picked out his own BYU shirt (hence this month's photoshoot outfit), walked around campus, and tried his darndest to steal a bite of his mama's Jdawg (to no avail, might I add). He was a real trooper the whole time despite have a sporadic nap schedule, many late nights, and long car rides. This gives me hope for some of the trips we have in the works right around the corner.

-has finally sprouted some fluffy white wisps of hair. They are not visible in any pictures because there are literally SO white, but they are just soft as can be. I cannot resist running my fingers through them any chance I get. We are also pretty sure that he inherited both his mama's widow's peak and his daddy's cowlicks.


It has been a fun half a year little man! Stop growing so fast, won't ya?

First Valentine's Day

We have never really been into Valentine's Day in the traditional sense, but I suddenly fell in love with this holiday now that we have a little one in tow. I can hardly contain my excitement for future years filled with handmade cards, school parties, and a special Valentine's Day breakfast. 

But alas, we have quite a few more years before Jay will be old enough for any of that. This year we celebrated at Grammy and Gramp's house along with little Gideon. My mom loves her grandbabies so much and spoiles them rotten every chance she gets!  She made a heart shaped meal--literally every single thing on the table was heart shaped. Hamburgers, eggs, veggies, cheese, ALL of it! She also got the boys new personalized library bags (we are all about those books!) filled with goodies. And of course, she can't resist an excuse to buy them a new outfit. Jay's shirt said "Ladies Love Me" and Gideon sported a onsie with a stethoscope decal that said "Dr. Love". Seriously, I about died! These two together are just TOO much.

After dinner we attempted to get a picture of the boys (aged 4 months and 6 months) smiling at the same time. That was about as easy as it sounds. Oh, the things a mama will do to get her baby to smile. There was clapping and noise making, baby talk and jumping around like a couple of looneys. But, in the end, after probably 100 shots, we got ONE winner. #worthit

And some of the out takes....

 We got one smiling!

 Shoot, now the other one is smiling.

 #teethingproblems

 Mid-blink. 

 That ear looks nice. I must yoink it!

JJ praying the photoshoot would end!

Blessing Day for Baby Jay

We blessed JJ on the first Sunday in January and it was the most beautiful way to begin a new year. We choose to bless him in our home ward, surrounded by friends and family from far and near. His daddy gave him a special blessing filled with words of love and inspiration for the future. So as you can likely imagine, I was of course a weepy mess all day. My heart absolutely bursts with love for this little baby. Of all the things I have experienced in this life, among the greatest is being his mother. 

P.S. These pics were taken by my talented MIL (find her website here). If you are a Colorado local you better call her ASAP because she takes the best pictures in the entire world!

Meeting Santa Clause

There's a special kind of magic about watching a child's eyes light up when they visit the man in the big red suit. Although JJ isn't big enough yet to realize how special Christmas is, I couldn't resist the chance for him to visit Santa! We stood in line for 45 minuets to meet him (Santa's awfully famous, didn't you know?) and were surrounded by kiddos of all ages who could barely contain their excitement. It was pure magic, I tell you. We dressed Jay and his cousin Gideon up in matching Christmas sweater onsies and Santa hats and they looked so delicious I was almost drooling. It was also very obvious that Santa's day was absolutely made by getting to squish two of the world's fattest and cutest babies at the SAME time. Lucky guy, eh?

2 Months of Jay Wheeler

At two months old Jay:

-is porking up nicely. We scheduled his 8-week checkup 2 weeks early and he weighed nearly 12 pounds. Since this child is growing faster than a weed, I used our (super accurate) home scale to weigh him again on his 2 month birthday and he weighed 13.5 pounds! Which means he is up nearly 7 pounds since birth. The doctor also told us that he bumped up from the 90th percentile to the 99.11% for head circumference. Ha! If I could describe Jay in 2 words, they would be plump and delicious.

-continues to amaze us with his incredibly laid back temperament. Our pediatrician and her nurse made so many comments about what a calm, happy, content baby Jay is. I mean, the boy didn't even cry when he got his 2-month vaccines! The only thing that makes him mad is being hungry (see bullet point one). #milkiesforlife Trust me, you want to get a boob in that kids face before he gets hungry otherwise he morphs into quite the spicy little pistol.

-has begun to find his voice. Cooing at daddy during diaper changes seems to be among his top favorite activities these days. He also enjoys squeaking, grunting and blowing bubbles. However, he is very soft-spoken and prefers chatting with people 1-on-1. He is also so polite and speaks very quietly and will always wait for you to stop talking before he will start.

-rejects his paci, try as I might to get him to take it! Luckily he overlooks his hatred of plastic nipples when it comes to the bottle because they supply him with the milkies. He'll do anything for his milkies, this kid.

-is a sucker for kisses from his mama. He can't help but grin every time I plant a big smooch on his lips. It is the cutest darn thing in the world. Speaking of smiles, he started smiling intentionally this month! He seems to be happiest in the morning when I get him ready for the day or when he receives some 1-on-1 attention. But start vying too hard or waving a camera in his face and this boy goes totally stone-faced. Hence the smileless update pictures for this month. 

-is finally starting to look less like a newborn baked potato and more like a real human being. My favorite characteristic is his GIANT blue eyes. Those things are awfully observant. Jay loves to make eye contact and and will likely crack you a smile if you happen catch his eye.

-is sleeping better. Each night he snoozes for one long stretch (4-6 hours) at the beginning of the night followed by shorter (2-4 hour) stretches until morning. His mama on the other hand is still surviving off of diet coke because getting back to sleep after midnight nursing sessions is near impossible. Amiright? He did revert back into a "newborn" sleep schedule when we transitioned him into his crib (he had been sleeping in a swing due to some early breathing issues). Not sure what it was, but he HATED sleeping flat on his back at first. It was a rough couple of days, but after surviving those few frustrating nights, he got the hang of the crib and is back to his regular sleeping schedule.

-is a great listener. Jay will spend sit so contently on my lap listening to chapter after chapter of Harry Potter. Music also seems to get him going. There are a couple of songs he seems to be particularly keen on. Maybe I am just imagining that he can recognize this song, but EVERY time the Julia Sheer & Tyler Ward cover of Iyaz (don't judge...) comes on Pandora, he excitedly kicks his legs. Obviously I can't resist picking him up and twirling my little chubster all around the house.

-continues to work on his friendship with Thule. She now will lay on my legs while I am nursing Jay, but for the most part, she still pretends he doesn't exist. Albeit she does love stretching out in his play yard when he is not using it. I refuse to give up hope though...these two are going to be BFF's if I have anything to say about it.

-stayed with a babysitter (grammy and gramps Nelson) for the first time this month while his mama ran to the grocery store. I may or may not have called Justin crying from the car even though Jay did so great! I never appreciated how nice it is to have family close. Jay gets to spend so much time with both sets of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and his favorite (aka only) cousin. What a lucky little guy! He now stays with a babysitter for short stretches more regularly. My sister babysat Jay AND watched her own 4 month old baby the other day so I could go grocery shopping. I swear she is superman or something. 


One of my favorite memories from this month was Thanksgiving. I bought Jay a special little Thanksgiving outfit complete with a turkey on the bum. He slept happily in my moby wrap during dinner and then got passed around like a hot potato after dinner. A baby brings happiness to people like nothing else--and not just to his parents. I love watching family members and friends hold this little baby because absolutely NO ONE can contain their smiles while they do. I knew expanding our family would be one of the greatest joys of my life, but something I never I never imagined what a special blessing Jay would be in the lives of our family and friends. Babies are happiness makers, that's for sure. 

You guys, only one more month until this little man is no longer considered a newborn. THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. But because I know time will never slow down, please excuse me while I go soak up every last minuet with this little chunky babe of mine.

Newborn Photoshoot

My most talented mother-in-law (for all your Colorado locals, you can find her photography website here) offered to snap a few newborn pictures of JJ. I am swooning over our handsome little man! He was so brave throughout the entire process--even when we took him outside on a chilly fall day. And I was proud that he waited to poop and pee all over her photography props until we were wrapping up the shoot. That is quite the feat for Jay because he basically pees or poops on me during each and every diaper change. *sighs* We're working on it. Anyways, feast your eyes out over these cute pics. You should probably grab a napkin or two now because you will be drooling over his deliciousness by the end. Yum!