Happy Halloween

I can't believe that Halloween has come and gone. We celebrated in style at the ward trunk or treat last Friday. Hunter had a ball waddling around as a little monkey. Instead of collecting candy from the people handing it out, he would approach innocent kids holding their own stashes in their little buckets, take what ever he wanted out and run away. The other kids didn't even know what was happening. Hunter would then approach the next unsuspecting kid, put in his last steal in their bucket and walk away. A very generous little monkey.

Being fun loving parents as we are Jared and I put Hunter to bed early last night before the trick or treaters starting coming by. We sat on our driveway in lawn chairs so no one would ring the door bell and handed out candy. I was amazed by how many groups of solely adults their were collecting candy WITHOUT any kids. Then there were babies sleeping in their strollers while their moms trick or treated. Of course these moms collected candy for their sleeping kid AND themselves. It was ridiculous. We gave these adults ONE tootsie roll each.  What happened to parents staying in the background and letting their kids collect candy? Jared and I ended up coming in early because we ran out of candy. If we didn't provide candy for every adult in Glendale, we might have had enough to finish out the night for the sweet innocent kids.

Well, if you have read this far you get a treat. Here is the BIG announcement. Last week we went to the doctor for the gender reveal. Drum roll please....Jared and I have made ourselves another beautiful little boy!! (Notice that bow tie on the skeleton.) ETA still around March 7th, 2013. If Hunter had any comprehension of what was going on he would be ecstatic with joy.We sure are.

 

And just to show off Hunter's cuteness here he his. 

Jared thinks he looks like an ewok.

The Eternal Catchup Game

Lately, us Jones' have been quite busy. Here in Glendale, time just keeps zipping by, barely giving us time to catch our breath. Hunter continues to be the center of our universe. Watching him grow up is amazing. He is such a little ball of energy and personality it's almost impossible to get mad at him as he continually terrorizes our house.

Before I get carried away with stories and pictures of Hunter, here is the brief summary of what else is going on in our lives. Jared is still going to school. Some days it seems he will never graduate, but in three years when he does, we will look back and think time flew by. In his limited spare time he is still driving school buses and being an incredible father. Hunter and I love his job, because we get to see him during his long lunch breaks everyday. As soon has Hunter hears the back door open he sprints/waddles towards it laughing with excitement in anticipation knowing his dad is home.

I am just struggling with trying to find the balance with motherhood, trying to grow a baby and somehow keeping our house clean. The never ending pile of dishes is always there next to the ever growing pile of laundry. Hunter tries to be helpful, but it never quite works. Luckily the broom is one of his favorite toys, and I can't wait for the day when he can actually use it. Now for this alien of a baby growing inside of me, it zaps all my energy but there is hope in life: I am FINALLY not nauseous all of the time!! Tune in later this week for the big gender reveal!!

Now for some quick big moments in our lives: A couple of weeks ago we went to our ward camp out in Munds Park, AZ. (It's 20 minutes south of Flagstaff). Being up in the pine trees and fresh air made us question our sanity of moving from Flagstaff, to Glendale but somehow we managed to make it back down to the city and back to the reality of our lives. Camping was sure a very interesting experience with a crazy little toddler. Hunter wore a dirt goatee most of the time. He would always have a rock in each hand. He would put one in his mouth and then look at me innocently with a smile on his face right after it would go in his mouth. As soon as I would take it out, the next hand went immediately to his mouth with that rock he had stock piled. He must have needed the iron or something found in those rocks. Campfire hot dogs and smores were delicious and singing around the campfire was healing for the soul. The night was rough because we were all cold, but after Hunter decided he was comfortable monopolizing my sleeping bag he slept great. Apparently Hunter didn't care if I was cold or tired, so I just woke Jared up and made him keep me warm.

 And a big moment in little Hunter's life. Yesterday he had his first haircut. He went from looking like a shaggy little baby to an adorable toddler in the matter of minutes. It was a struggle keeping him still enough for the hair cut, but luckily our hair stylist is amazing (Thanks Jen). Between food and a super cool electronic book she was able to keep Hunter still enough just to get the job done. Now hopefully, all the strangers in the world won't get him confused as a little girl anymore.

The Before

The After

Our Melt Your Heart One Year Old

Before I even attempt to try and catch up on my blog here are some of my favorite pictures of Hunter from the last summer. Hope these melt your heart while I compile my thoughts for the next blog entry.

Hunter's famous little smile.

Just let those eyes pull you in.

Total devastation. He has a hard life.

First time playing in the hose.

He can almost get away with anything with that look.

Once the little man attacks watch out for those teeth.

Happy Birthday Hunter!!!

Love you!

Our little man

Lately life has been flying by here in Alaska. There are so many fun stories to share but, unfortunately, as I sit here in the Internet cafe at the local supermarket I dont have the creativity to share my thoughts eloquently. Hopefully pictures of Hunter will suffice.

Happy Wednesday

Fingernails

 www.howtobeadad.com

As I have been a mother for approximately 8 months, three weeks and three days I have faced plenty of challenges; but the worst of all are fingernails. If ever asked what I hate most about motherhood I will use this eleven letter word without even thinking a second thought. Hunter has this thing where he likes to grab what little skin I have under my neck, twist and pull it with his razor sharp nails while smiling at me. I recently came across this chart on deadliest edged weapons from a blog I read. It fully describes the power of the fingernail.

www.amazon.com

This would not be such an issue in my life if Hunter would let me trim his nails, but he doesn't. I try to get him to fall asleep in my arms to cut his nails, but then it's too dark. I then turn on the light to see, but then he wakes up. It has been a never ending battle. But then, one glorious day I was looking on Amazon baby and came across the world's best invention: fingernail clippers with a built-in led light. I can now trim Hunter's nails in the dark and he has no idea what is even happening! The last couple weeks of my life have been heaven. His fingernail weapons have been detonated. The world can now sleep in peace once more.

Happy Easter

A Hunter Update: 8 Months Already

 Today Hunter turned 8 months and five days old. I can't believe it's been that long since my little baby was born. He is such a happy little boy who:

1. Loves to army crawl into spaces that I had no idea he could fit into
2. Hates it when we don't let him eat electrical cords
3. Is finally realizing he doesn't need to get constantly eat all night long
4. Sprouted his first tooth
5. Loves to sit outside and watch birds flap around the backyard
   
6. Hates baby food with a passion
7. Growls before he attacks his toys or the closest foot
8. Saves all his smiles for when dad gets home from work
9. Loves to flirt with little old ladies
10. Best of all, loves his mama!

Look close, Hunter is showing off his first tooth. It is a sharp little bugger.

Chomping on a refreshing piece of celery

Hunter refuses to eat baby food, but he loves crepes!

Tackling his buddy Kayson. He loves to make other kids cry.

Remember this Little Peanut....

A Day at the Zoo

As you might know Jared is a school bus driver. Every morning he wakes up, puts on his bus driving polo shirt and drives rowdy elementary school students to and from school. His job doesn't have many perks except: working around his class schedule, really good pay, giving us every holiday off and my favorite, getting to go on field trips.

Last week Jared got to drive to the Wildlife World Zoo in Lichfield Park, AZ. Hunter and I met Jared there and spent the day with our favorite bus driver. The Wildlife World Zoo is an awesome zoo with Arizona's largest collection of exotic animals. They have over 6000 individual animals representing more than 600 exotic locations. Hunter had a grand time cruising around in his stroller and looking at all of the animals.

This pond had giant gold fish.

What zoo isn't complete without a flamingo exhibit?

My two favorite men in the world.

The famous white tiger.

Happy Halloween

Hunter Thomas Jones