Birthday planning is underway

I'm in a birthday party planning frenzy. Yes, it's true - Jak won't turn 1 until the end of January, but I'm a Virgo and we believe in planning!

I have already picked the theme - Yo Gabba Gabba. That is Jak's favorite show. In fact, she's watching it right now. I've been online looking up decorations from other parents who threw Yo Gabba Gabba birthday parties. I found an invitation I like and my friend (a graphic designer) is going to replicate it for me. I also found Jak's birthday party outfit, which I'll order closer to her birthday just to make sure we get the right size. I've sent different pictures of cakes to my brother who will be making her cake. Lucky for me (probably not so lucky for him in this case) he is a fantastic baker and one hell of an artist so I know he can do just about anything I want him to do, but we haven't come to an agreement on the cake just yet. :) Below are pics of the cakes he made for my nephew's 1st birthday. He had a Veggie Tales birthday!

I've looked into several places to host the party because our house is just not big enough. I think I found a good place and need to book it soon because believe it or not, I'm not the only crazy parent planning for winter birthday parties.

I know Jak won't remember any of this party. I know she doesn't need all of this. I know it'll only last 2 hours and be over in a flash, but I don't care. She's my baby and she's going to have one kick butt birthday! Besides, how could you not want to throw a party for this cute little thing....

Mommy turns 31

I turned 31 on Friday. Or should I say it was the 2nd anniversary of my 29th birthday. Anything past 30 I don't want to celebrate. I probably would have had a break down when I turned 30 if I hadn't been pregnant.

Jak and Meredith sent me a HUGE bouquet of flowers with a teddy bear and took me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant. Jak was so well behaved that it was probably the best gift she could have given me.

Later, Meredith gave me the cards they got me. She said she agonized over finding the perfect card for me, from Jak. She finally found one that was perfect - It had the Superman emblem on on the front in pink, which matches a pink Superman onesie Jak had as a newborn. I opened it and gave her a weird look, which she interpreted as "Yes. The perfect card!" I read it and looked at her again and then said "You know this is the EXACT same card that I got you for your birthday from Jak, right?" She was mortified. She had totally forgotten. It wouldn't have really been that funny except for the fact that Meredith went on and on about how perfect that card was when I gave it to her and she loved it and couldn't imagine a better card. Apparently, 3 months later she lost all memory. Oh well, we had a good laugh.

Another Q&A

I found this on another blog and, well, I love Q&A's so here we go....

1. Your baby's age? 7 months
2. Name? Jak McKennah
3. Birthday? January 27th
4. Time of birth? 7:05 a.m.
5. How long did labor last? 12 hours
6. Who was in the room when baby was born? Meredith
7. How long did you push? 2 hours and 20 minutes
8. Weight? 6lbs, 9 oz
9. Length? 18.80 inches
10. Any hair? Just a little
11. Who does baby look like? Me :)
12. Be honest…how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? 50 lbs
13. Was baby early or late? One day early
14. Who drove you home from hospital? Meredith
15. How many baby showers did you have? Three!
16. When did baby start sleeping through the night? Hmmm. At 4 or 5 months
17. Did you breastfeed? No. I didn't produce any milk.
18. If not, what kind of formula? Similac
19. Who keeps your baby the most? She is at daycare during the weekdays and with Mere and I any other time.
20. When do you wanna have another? I don't have any idea.
21. How did you pick the name? Meredith always loved the name Jak for a girl so we went with it. I chose McKennah.
22. How did you know when it was time to go to hospital? I was scheduled to be induced at 9 p.m. on the day I went into labor; however, I went into labor all on my own and we went when my contractions were about 4 minutes apart.
23. What was your pain management? I got an eipdural the second I could. I even told the sign-in nurse in the waiting room I wanted one.
24. Did you go home or somewhere else when you left the hospital? Home
25. Anyone spend the night with you first night home? Nope. It was just the 3 of us.

Outbreak

Jak was very thoughtful. For our anniversary she gave Meredith and I her cold. To say that Mere and I are sick is a gross understatement. We aren't just sick...we are whatever word is worse than being sick. I'm too sick to think of that word. I went through 3 boxes of Kleenex in one day. I've tried so many medications I couldn't even tell you what worked and what didn't. We haven't eaten. We can't taste. We can't smell. We go from freezing to sweating in a matter of minutes. My eyes are watery and I wake up with no voice. Jak, however, is all better. And now it becomes our mission to make sure she stays that way.

This past weekend we decided to take an impromptu trip to NY to visit Meredith's family. While it was a short trip, it was nice to visit everyone, even though we were not feeling well and had to sleep most of the time. (Please note: We were not sick when we decided to go to NY)

Jak got to show off for everyone and play with her cousin, Lily. Lily barked like a dog for her and danced in a circle. Jak thought it was the best thing she'd ever seen. She laughed and clapped for her like I've never seen her do before. Too bad we were too busy laughing at them to grab the video camera.

Family dinner was fun. Jak tried a piece of meatball for the first time. She wasn't too sure about it, but I'm sure she will learn to love them. She has to - she's part Italian! She got to spend some time with her great grandma and her great great aunt, Pauline, who thought she was just the greatest. Enjoy the picture below. 

Uh oh

We put Jak to bed tonight and watched her on our video monitor as she rolled around and played for a bit (apparently she wasn't too tired). Then all of the sudden I saw her grab the side of her crib and pull herself up to a standing position. I yelled "Meredith, she's standing in her crib!!!" Mere ran into her room and this is what she saw...

You can see it in her eyes .... she is plotting her next move. We are in for it.