Will Loves His New Room

There's not much else to say. Will is very proud of his new room and is very excited to have a desk where he can color and play with his stickers any time he wants to. Now, if we could just get him to pick up his toys and put them in the right places before he goes to bed ...

An Ivory Bad Hair Day

Daddy saw white soap in the bath and figured it was Xan's. Ivory, of course, is not Dove. Dove has moistuizers in it, a.k.a conditioner, and helps calm Xan's unruly hair. Not this time. This is Xan's hair the morning after Daddy washed it - nothing but the crib mattress touched it.

Birthday Crop!

I took it upon myself to throw me a 30th Birthday Crop at Angels Scrapbook Garden from 9 a.m. to midnight Nov. 11. After all, if I had left it up to Rodney to throw me a crop party, it would probably be in a corn field. (Get it? Crop? Ha ha) Any hoo ... Here are some of the photos, from Nan and Michi. Some of the photos on Nan's camera were really blurry. Most of the rest are here. 16 people cropped for 15 hours, with a raffle prize every half hour - 30 prizes for 30 years! Plus, we had contests. Here are the winners:

Scrapbook Trivia: Michelle
Scrapbook Scavenger Hunt:
1st Place Team: Michelle, Mitzi and Julie S.
2nd Place Team: Michi, Paul and Nan
Page Contest Winners:
1st: Michelle (what a winner!)
2nd: Nan
3rd: Jacqui
Most pages finished: Nan, with 33!

The grandmas and boys stopped by to say hi while we were there, and both Michi and Nan brought cakes - both from Ralphs, and they were SO yummy! I just wish my mind hadn't been on the move so I could have focused on scrapbooking more. But there's always next year ... Thanks to everyone for making my day so special!

Moving Day!

Actually, it was more like a Moving Two Weeks and an Unpacking Eternity, but we managed to get packed and our stuff transported to our new digs. Rodney had the help of my friend Nan's husband, Peter, in making a gate for a dog run, putting in a new side garage door, water spigot for the refrigerator ice maker and new door locks. Rodney is especially proud of the new gate. Grandma Peggy flew in Friday night, Nov. 10, to help watch the boys for the weekend. I think she needed an excuse to see them anyway. Rodney had six buddies from base and my Dad helping him with the physical move on Saturday. I, of course, had my birthday crop, so I only heard that it all went as well as could be expected. My big day was Sunday, when I tried to unpack enough so we could all (Peggy, Xan, Will Rodney and I) stay at the new house Sunday night. Will loves his new room, Xan is enjoying his attempt at pulling every cord he can in the house and Rodney and I are running ourselves ragged trying to get the house in order and still maintain the daily schedule of activities.

Babies, babies, babies

Will and Xan would like to announce two new cousins: Uncle Joe and Aunt Gina are expecting, the baby is due the first week of July. Also, Rodney's cousins Amy and Richie Williams had their third daughter on Nov. 8. Hannah Lynn's two older sisters are Kara, 4, (Will's best buddy) and Lauren, who just turned 2 on Nov. 6. And I thought my two boys' birthdays were close together! Congratulations, guys!

Marine Corps Ball

This was the first Marine Corps Ball Rodney and I had been to since 2002, so despite all the planning needed to be done for the move, we went as planned. It was at the San Diego Mariott in the Gas Lamp District. The ceremony was short, the food was good and we had a good time, a better time than I expected.

A (Short) Happy Halloween!

Pirate pals Will and Xan headed out to Trick or Treat at 6 p.m. and by 6:45 p.m. we were "done" and back in the house. Xan had fallen asleep in the stroller after the first 10 houses and Will had had enough after about 20 minutes ("How many more houses? 3? 6?"). But they did get quite a few compliments on their costumes and Will had more than enough candy.
Earlier in the day, Grandpa Mark went to their costume parade at preschool. Will refused to smile and Xan was crying in the crib they wheeled out, but they looked cute anyway. Daddy picked the boys up and Will was so excited when he got home because he and "his baby" had won best costumes. Before I could get too excited, Rodney let me know that "everyone won best costume." Ah, yes, celebrating mediocrity once again!

Pumpkin Carving

Will got to carve a pumpkin this year - with Dad's help, of course. I made a skull design in another to go with the boys' pirate costume theme. I used these electronic tea lights I got at JoAnn's Fabrics and they worked very well. Xan had a great time testing out the new feels and tastes pumpkin that carving presents.

I Took Second!

My friend, Nan and I entered scrapbook layouts into the contest at the Scrapbook Expo in Ontario, Calif. This is the same contest I took second place in last year, with my layout of my brother Joseph's engagement photos. (He and Gina have now been married over a year.) This time, a layout of mine and a layout of Nan's made the final cut for consideration. They called my name for second place and I was so excited! Unfortunately, Nan didn't place, but she was a good sport. With a layout of Rodney and Will at the beach, I won a Quick Cutz die cut tool and a set of alphabet die cuts - worth over $200! Last year, my layout was published in an idea book. This year, I am not sure what they will do with it. However, I do know it will be on the web site, www.scrapbookexpo.com. Click on page contest and scroll down to see previous winners.

An Injury-filled Weekend

Xan and I had quite a painful weekend.

Xan is pulling himself up and climbing on everything, now. Daddy was in charge and he managed to climb on a doll-sized chair my parents have and tipped it over on himself. The slats on the chair bruised both sides of his head at once. Neat trick. Then he fell twice more and bumped his head, standing along the bars in his crib. Rodney is worried that daycare will call child protective services on him.

I attended the Scrapbook Expo in Ontario, Calif., on Saturday. During one of the classes I took, I managed to cut out a chunk of my left index finger. I did it at around 1 p.m., but I still had another class and contest results to get through. I got some supplies from the EMT at the first aid station and continued through my day. This Expo only happens once a year and I was NOT going to miss it! By 7 p.m., it still hadn't stopped bleeding, so my mother made Rodney take me to the emergency room. I tried to avoid that by going to my favorite urgent care, but, of course, it was closed. Luckily, I was the last patient at the hospital's "fast track" emergency room, so I was in and out within an hour - no kidding! No stitches, since I made quite a crater in my finger, but I did get a lovely, white, bigger-than-life bandage and a tetanus shot. I should be able to take the wrap off Monday night and just use Band-Aids from then on, the doctor said. In the meantime, I can't get my hand wet, so Rodney has been washing my hair, bathing the kids and anything else that requires getting hands wet.

Pumpkin City

It's amazing how a couple tons of sawdust can turn the mall parking lot into a pumpkin field fit for a farmer. Um ... not really, but it was good enough to keep the boys entertained for an hour! Will had a coupon for three free rides (a $7.50 value!) so we headed over, hoping Monday night wouldn't be too busy. We checked out the animals, the games and the bounce house.
Xan came eye-to-eye with a couple of white turkeys. He was just happy to be out of his car seat. He's definitely a mover!
Will didn't win the huge inflatable hammer, but they may have been for the best! I think his favorite part was either the bounce house or the giant jack-o-lantern he could crawl around in. Either way, it was an hour's worth of free fun. Hard to find here in the O.C.!

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good:
1) We have signed a contract to rent a house. It's three bedrooms with a big backyard. It's about 5-10 minutes away from my parent's house (depending on how many traffic signals you hit). We move in the weekend of Nov. 10. Pictures to come soon.
2) Rodney has passed another installment of his training in the Camp Pendleton air traffic control radar room. He just has one more job to learn and it should take him about 4 months of training.

The Bad:
It's been a rough two weeks around here. Xan's teething kicked it off after giving him horrible acid poop, so bad it was burning his butt. Mylanta and A&D ointment had him feeling better within 24 hours. However, Rodney brought home a cold and shared it with the rest of us. Will has an awful cough, Xan has a runny nose and I'm fighting a headache and sore throat. Rodney took the boys to the doctor on Friday, but all they have are colds, so there is nothing we can do except treat the symptoms. Xan hasn't been sleeping well, so he's woken up the whole house at least three times every night - except for Will, who can apparently sleep through anything! Rodney and I are in need of some good sleep, though.

The Ugly:
Xan is quite the mess these days. His snot nose is awful and red, his poor lips are chapped and, since he's mastering the art of standing, he's been bumping his forehead a lot. He now has a bruise in the middle of it. Thank goodness school pictures were taken last week!

Stand in the place that you live ...

Much earlier than expected, Xan is now pulling himself into a stand on anything he can - his crib, the chair, Mom's leg, a pillow. He won't crawl yet, but he is bear walking around in circles to get at his toys, Grandma's antique jug, Mom's ribbon ...
Oh, and his second tooth has made an appearance.

MY Fish!

Xan has started getting quite upset when he can't have his way. He loves having a bath now that he can sit up in the inflatable ducky tub. However, he must have his blue Del Taco fish. Actually it is Will's blue Del Taco fish, but try telling that to Xan. He's agreeable to being soaped down and having water poured over his head, but the minute you have to take the fish away to get him out of the tub, the screaming starts! Now, every time we are in the bathroom Xan wants to take a "baa." I think it's just so he can play with the fish.

Wild and Crazy

I was taking pictures of all three "boys" for a scrapbook layout I want to do. My Dad had his light diffusing gear out, so I took advantage of it. I had origianlly sat Xan in the big, white "tent" since he fit so well and the light inside was so good. Will just had to have a turn. To get some good pictures of him, I had to bargain, allowing him to take some "funny face" pictures in return for some more serious ones. Here's one of the more amusing shots.

Arrrrgh, Matey!

Capt. Will Guthrie and his first mate Xan are oh-so-ready for Xan's first Halloween. Will has wanted to be pirate for quite some time, so I made sure he'd be decked out in style. Since Will's baby puppy costume is still in storage, we had to come up with another plan for him. I had really wanted to find a little parrot costume, but there was none to be found. I mentioned that I might just cut up some little pants or something and make him a pirate, too, but Grandma Nancy went surfing on the web to find this cute outfit. They made quite a splash at Picture People. Will is looking forward to wearing his costume to preschool for the Halloween parade. I don't think he's realized yet that there will be trick-or-treating to do that night, too!

Half a Year Old!

Xan turned six months old on Sunday and has had a number of milestones the past few days. He not only sits up by himself, but he can roll into a sitting position from his tummy. His doctor said he doesn't think he has seen a 6 month old do that before. Leave it to my son to break the mold! At his checkup, Xan weighed in at 18 lbs., 9 oz. and is 29.5 inches long. He is above 97% for height and at about 65-70 % for weight. Xan also holds his own bottle and has cut his first tooth, which has made for some nasty and painful diarrhea for the little man.

And Now We Go Live To ...

I'm proud to announce the launch of my professional cooperating site, www.jessicaguthrie.com! My good friend, Raina, designed exactly what I wanted - a simple, clean site that would (hopefully) convince people that I can assist them with their different creative and marketing needs. Feel free to browse the site - there is even a commercial to view on the portfolio page!

Bathtime!

Xan loves taking baths. But we have to watch where we put the soap and rinse water because he'll kick it over as he splashes around in his little tub. He's a bit spastic, well, all the time, but when he's wriggling around in the tub it can get a little messy for Mommy.

In Good Company

The boys (all three) and I headed to Hidden Valley park in Irvine Sunday for the NRPI company picnic. It was a great time, especially for the kids. We met up with Nan's family, so Will and Frannie bounced like crazy in the two bounce houses. They had plenty of kiddie rides, including rotating swings (Frannie loved them, but Will refused to go on - even when Nan said she would put him on a plane to Illinois if he went) lady bug mini coaster, a maze, canoes with daddy and Frannie's big sister Marli and so much more. Rodney and I played HORSE. I lost, of course. The company had a raffle for the adults, games and prizes for the kids and even goodie bags! By the time it was all over, Will was asking if he could take a nap.

80's Ladies

April, Michi, Nan and I had a great time at the 80's crop at Angels Scrapbook Garden. Nan and Michi won first and second places in the costume contest and won fun croppy kits. Only the four of us dressed up - the rest of the croppers were more ... dull. Anyway, we each had our own scrapbook-themed cutoff t-shirt: Nan was Madonna-esqe with embellishment Girl written on it. April had a Bangle-themed shirt with Crop Like an Egyptian. Michi wore Prince with Purple GrosgRAIN Ribbon. And I proudly displayed Wierd Al Yankovich with Crop It on it. We were cropping until about 1:30 a.m. and I am still recovering! Guess I'm getting old.

And here are a few more apple picking pics.

Apple/Raspberry/Pumpkin Picking

Oh, yes, the family tradition continues. We made our annual pilgrimage to Oak Glen, near Yucaipa, Calif., to pick apples, raspberries and pumpkins. I think we started going up there around 1988, only missing two or three years. It always makes for great scrapbooking (or blog) photos, if nothing else! Xan enjoyed being carried around in the "baby backpack," taking cat naps when he could. Will had a great time showing 3-year-old family friend Christopher Reitan the art of stomping and throwing apples. Rodney enjoyed the whole trip (not really), especially since he hadn't been on the annual trip since I had been pregnant with Will. I had fun drinking the fresh cider. Others in attendance: My mom and dad, my grandma Ginia, my brother, Joe, and his wife, Gina, her sister Katie, Christopher's parents, Sean and April (who I've known since we were kids - our dads have been friends since high school), and fellow Marine wife Michi. We managed to get lost on the freeway, fought crowds for parking spaces and had overtired kids, but it will all be forgotten by next year when we make the trek again ...

A brush with celebrity

I hope this is the closest I ever get to a California Highway Police officer. I had the opportunity to meet Ponch, er, Erik Estrada, the 58-year-old CHiPs star today, and he was very friendly, gracious and a lot of fun. Here's how it happened: You may have seen them: 30-minute infomercials with Erik Estrada selling beautiful lots in places like ... Bella Vista, Arkansas ... Horseshoe Bay, Texas ... maybe even California Pines, well, in California (big surprise). This land is sold by the company I am currently working for, NRPI, or National Recreational Properties, Inc. As NRPI's official spokesman, Erik not only gushes on about the wonderful opportunities NRPI land provides, but today he spared a moment to greet each of the 300-plus people working in the corporate office. My friend, Nan, and I posed for pics like teenage girls with their favorite rock star, as did most of the NRPI employees. While the fun only lasted for about 10 minutes, I'll always have these pictures to remember Erik by.

Fun facts about Erik Estrada (courtesy of imdb.com):

Birth name: Henry Enrique Estrada
Birthdate: March 16, 1949
Birthplace: New York, NY
CHiPs started in 1977 and he left in 1981 over a contract dispute.
He is Puerto Rican by ethnicity, but doesn't speak Spanish (Which I found particularly amusing after one employee kept chattering to him in Spanish and he just kept nodding. Now I know why.)
He's been married three times and has three kids.

Moody blues

While I thought I'd make the most of the Kodak moment the boys made playing on the floor, Will had other ideas. He's usually game for a photo opp, but today he just didn't feel like smiling, he said. So, Xan and Rodney are looking pretty happy, but Will apparently didn't have a reason to smile today. Poor kid. Maybe this scrapbooking mama has flashed a camera at him a few too many times.

Nahhhh ...

Tooth trouble

Xan is now 5 months old and officially teething. Rodney discovered that Xan has his top right one coming in - I kept feeling for the standard bottom tooth! So much for being "normal" and getting one of the bottom ones first!
Xan can now log roll everywhere. He's mastering the art of sitting up without keeling over and can manage to "tripod" for about 10 seconds at a time. At that point he arches his back and falls over, with a surprised look on his face every time. I suspect he will be sitting up before October comes around.

Keep that baby clean!

Grandpa Mark put Will to work washing his car this morning. His - meaning WILL'S! This 1967 aqua blue Ford Mustang is a family heirmloom that my Grandma Ginia bought off the lot in 1966. My Mom drove it in 1969 for her driver's test and the car was later traded in in the early 70's.
A guy a year ahead of me in high school owned the car in the early 1990's and my mom told him that if he ever wanted to sell it, to let her know. A few years down the road, the guys showed up, ready to sell. Mom has kept the driver's side door all these years as a momento and tried the key in the door. It worked better than the key the guy had!
Mom said that the oldest grandchild would inherit the car at 16. Will knows that car is his and is very protective of it. Grandpa can only drive it as long as he knows he's just borrowing it. There aren't any cool, contemporary bells and whistles on it, so we'll see how cool Will thinks it is in 12 years!

More beach photos

This web site had issues trying to upload my photos all at once, so here are some more beach photos. Rodney's playing pack mule, bringing all our beach gear to the shoreline and Will had plenty of fun slinging mud (even though he was told not to.)

Life's a Beach

Neither Rodney nor I had been to a beach in our bathing suits since the late 90's, so we figured it was about time. So, yesterday, we packed up the boys and all the beach gear (i.e., toys, ice chest full of goodies, EZ-Up, beach umbrella, towels, diaper bag, sunscreen) and headed for the the coast. Rodney had the idea of going to the Del Mar beach on Camp Pendleton and it sounded like a great way to beat the holiday crowds. It turned out to be a great idea! We arrived about 10 a.m., got a front-row parking space and our choice of a piece of sand to make our home for the day.
Will had told us the night before that we WAS NOT going to play in the sand or go in the water. He turned out to be a big liar. He found a friend named Luke, discovered sand crabs, helped dig a hole and rolled around in the water until his fingers pruned and his chin was chattering. He did manage to get a bit sunburned despite the 30 SPF sunscreen Mom put on him, but his plight was not nearly as bad as his father's.
Fair-skinned Rodney can't wear shoes today because his feet and shins are burnt so badly. You can see on his chest where he missed with the sunscreen, and he smells like a baby's butt. He keeps putting the soothing baby lotion on to the point where he smells up whichever room he is in.
I got a tad bit sunburned, but thanks to my hardy complexion, most of it had already faded to tan. Our friend Michi stopped by for a couple of hours and I had a great time introducing the kids (and Rodney) to the ins and outs of navigating the beach. I had hoped Will would have shown a bit more than the 2 minutes of interest he showed in the sand crabs I dug up for him, but you can't have it all, I guess.
Xan had the most amusing reaction to the beach - at least for me. I took him down to the water so he could experience it. The moment some of the cold ocean water splashed his toes, he screamed and started crying. Wondering if he'd get used to it and calm down, I kept him out to get splashed a bit. He did not calm down, in fact he caught on quickly that when he saw a whitewash wave go by, he'd probably get splashed. So he looked down and kept an eye on the waves. Any time a wave would pass - whether it would splash him or not - he'd scream and start crying again! This little guy is a fast learner. After a few minutes, Mommy took him back, wrapped him up in a towel and he napped for two and a half hours. Had to recover from the shock to his system!

Xan gets into his food

Xan has discovered the delights of "real" food and eats anything Gerber produces - he's not finicky at all - YET. He's a bit messy, but most of the food does manage to get swallowed.
He seems to get messier when Daddy feeds him, but, of course, I'm sure Rodney would deny it.

The Boys are back in town

Rodney, Will and Xan arrived home Thursday night after an uneventful trip. They were all a little tired - except for Xan, who managed to sleep through most of the two flights. Welcome home, Boys!