Jake and Lola BFFs

Jake and Lola continue to be BFFs!  He stood there and just laughed at her forever.  I finally took a video - his laugh is so contagious!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqvGUNowYt0

Itsy Bitsy Spider

Jake has been loving the "itsy bitsy spider" lately.  Here's a short video of him "singing".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2camppN1Hiw

Jake is 18-months old!

We visited our favorite "Winter" spot for pictures - FotoFly!  They did a great job with Jake's 6-month-old pics last year, and once again, I wasn't disappointed with his 18-month-old pics :)  Here are a few of my favorites!

January Recap...

Well, I can hardly believe January has already come and gone!  Time certainly isn't slowing down AT ALL!  In short, here is a quick recap of our January events:

• January has been FrEeZiNg (to say the least!)  We have had a very cold Winter here in Utah, and boy does our gas bill show it - $135!  I think that is a record for us!  We are looking forward to a week long rendezvous in St. George later this month, woohoo!  Hopin' it gets a little warmer down there too so we can enjoy some fun in the sun!
• Our ward split :-(  There are a lot of wonderful people that I will certainly miss seeing each week at church...but growth is good and our ward was getting huge!  With that change, I got a new calling.  I am now serving in the Young Women's...and loving it!  It is a small group of girls, but the ladies I serve with our so wonderful.  I'm starting to get to know the girls more and understand my responsibilities.  I also taught for the first time last week and really enjoyed it - not sure if it was any good, but I sure loved studying the Gospel more than I have for quite awhile.  Looking forward to "Baptisms for the Dead" and "New Beginning's" this month.
• We were all sick for 1-2 weeks this month.  It just did not want to leave us alone!  In fact, Steve is back to Instacare tonight to have his throat swabbed to make sure he does not have strep again.  He's had a sore throat for several days - no kissing for us!  I do not want that stuff back to save my life!  Seeing Jake sick was definitely the worst part.  Hate to see that little boy struggle with anything.
• Speaking of Jake...he is now 18-months old and is officially a nursery goer!  The first week was a little rough leaving him - and he cried and cried to prove it... But last week was great!  I stayed with him through Sunday School and snuck out to teach my YW lesson during snack time - perfect time to leave, I guess, cause the leader's said he did great the rest of the time.  18-month pictures soon to come!
• Because Jake turned 18-months, we got another appt with Dr. Dreamy :)  Jakey had a little growth spurt this past 3 months.  He was 26 lbs (50th percentile) and 34 inches (90th percentile)...his head is still ginormous, but following the curve, so no concerns.  His health seems to be great and he continues to develop just as he should.
• I started Weight Watchers on January 2nd :)  I haven't focused on me too much lately, and my health has suffered.  Balancing the mom/work/wife/home/church stuff can be overwhelming at times...but I need to fit in some time for my own physical/emotional/spiritual development - so that is one of my goals this year!  So far, so good.  I'm down 11.2 pounds the first month.  I'm excited to go with my cousin and also check in with several friends each week - it's good to encourage one another to live better, healthier and happier lives!  I keep thinking, 11 pounds a month and I could be done in less than a year!  But, even if it slows down a little, I feel really committed to feeling better - AND, I'm posting about it, so anyone that reads can give me some extra encouragement!
• With the change in my eating habits have come some new endeavors in our eating world...a first for me was trying brussel sprouts...and I really liked them!  So did Jake!  In fact, here is a fun video of him chowing down on some.  And a few pics of his messiness.  This boy is adorable!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDuNyyBSKQI

• But, with all that we have done, we have still managed to have some FUN! Here are some pics of Jake having fun getting stuck in our dining room chairs, LOL!

• Here's to another fun-filled month!  And a few more pictures of Jake (oh, I forgot, he also had his 2nd haircut this month - these cute pics are a few days after his cut!)...