Halloween 2010 (Jackson 19 weeks)

The citizens of Carlsbad can sleep easy tonight knowing that Sheriff Oliver and Cowboy Jackson are on the job.  They can sniff out criminals from miles away and only require three naps during the day.  

Howdy Partner

Getting ready to go on duty.  

The sheriff needed to take a quick nap.  

All rested up ... Giddy up, Lets go!

Cordiano Winery

Jared found a great winery in the hills of Escondido a few weeks ago.  The family is originally from Italy and used to own Italian and Pizza restaurants before moving to Cali and opening up their winery.  The family is so inviting- in fact the first time we went to the winery they invited us in to their home for sandwiches and wine.  

Rosa, the owner, is in love with Jackson and each time we have come in she can't get enough of him.  We love the winery so much, we even became members!  Bottoms up!  If you come out to visit us, you can guarantee we will take you to the winery for some wine tasting, pizza on the patio and one of the best sunsets you can find in Cali.  

Jared and Jackson enjoying the view.

Jackson found a friend while at the winery.  

View of the valley from the winery.

Going ... 

Going ... 

Gone. 

Jackson had the house white. Mom and Dad had the house red. 

Laughing

A note from Jackson:

I love to laugh at mom and dad and the silly faces they make.  I think it is really funny when I laugh and laugh and laugh and then when mom brings out the video camera to record me I stop.  It's fun to see how long they will try to get me to laugh before they give up.  But the other day mom planned a sneak attack on me- I didn't see her recording me when I was playing with daddy.  She's a sneaky one.

Pumpkin Patch

We took Jackson to the pumpkin patch to get some Halloween pictures.  He was more interested in his surrounding than looking at the camera.

Photo shoot gone bad.  Jackson was not having this.  

 Only picture of Jackson looking at the camera

Mommy's little pumpkin :) 

Pumpkin butt

Jackson 18 weeks

Grandma Teach came out to visit us this past week.  Jackson and her had a lot of fun- lots of laughing, standing, and spitting up on Grandma!  We didn't get out of the house much due to a teething baby and a three legged dog, but we still enjoyed our time with Grandma.

Thanks Grandma Wine for my pumpkin outfit!  

Standing with Grandma Teach 

Cuddle time 

Eating like his daddy- belly hanging out and hand behind the head.

 Walk along the beach

Grandma Teach with the kiddos

Oliver's Knee Surgery

Oliver had surgery on his left knee to repair his luxating patella.  Oliver had a few complications with the surgery- he developed stress colitis, which made him not able to poop, and the pain medication he was on wasn't strong enough so we had to get him on a Fentanyl patch (100 times stronger than morphine).  The first few days Oliver was pretty out of it, but the third day the patch had kicked in and Jared and I were pretty sure he was hallucinating.  He will be out of commission for 6-8 weeks.  Wish us luck on trying to keep this guy from jumping up on couches and going up the stairs.

We put Oliver in the pack n' play so he wouldn't run around 

Cone head 

Picture of the incision- poor guy was shaved on the whole left side. 

David and Lindsay's Wedding

The Teach family made a trip to Boulder last weekend for cousin David and Lindsay's wedding.  It was a quick trip, but it was great to catch up with family. Boulder is such a beautiful town.

Jackson did great on the flight.  Mom and Dad have a trick- bottle on the way up, bottle on the way down. Jackson is going to be quite the seasoned traveler- he's already been on two plane trips.

Family Pic

Great Grandma Laverne, Grandma Ann and Aunt Barbara 

Daddy and Jackson looking handsome 

Grandma Teach keeping Jackson happy

Jackson doing the sprinkler 

It's not a party until your pants come off!

Jackson 4 months

Wow- four months.  Where has the time gone.  Jackson has reached so many milestones this past few weeks.

Jackson is now ...
-rolling over (although he won't do it in front of mom)
-laughing (he is ticklish on his stomach and under his chin)
-teething (one tooth on top, one tooth on bottom)
-reaching out and grabbing toys (and anything else he can reach)

Jackson also loves to stand up on your lap and sit up in his bumbo and bouncer.  And EVERYTHING is going in his mouth.

 My fist is always in my mouth. 

Bouncy time!

More toys in my mouth. 

I love putting Jackson in hats- I think he looks so cute in them!

You put your left foot in ... and you shake it all about.

Well, it's official, by the age of three and a half, Oliver will have had both knees replaced.  Poor little guy.  Turns out that it was the OTHER knee (left) that blew out. The original knee (right) that had surgery is holding on strong and looks good in x-rays.

A little background on Oliver's condition.  Bichon's are predisposed to a condition called a Luxating Patella.  This occurs when the groove that the knee cap sits in is either too small to hold the knee cap in place or over time becomes worn down and allows for the knee cap to move out of the groove from side to side.  Each time Oliver bends his knee the knee cap pops out of place, which is uncomfortable and mildly painful.  Without surgery Oliver could develop arthritis and lameness in his knee which would lead to his inability to walk.  Per doctors orders no running, jumping or roughhousing before or after the surgery for several weeks.  Oh boy, I am going to have my hands full!

And on a side note, I have decided to re-infure my left foot as well.  You may remember my year long battle with a stress fracture and the infamous "boot" that I had to wear.  I guess Jared has had me doing too much housework barefoot because the injury is back, but in a different location on my foot.  Ugh!

Jackson Week 16

This week has been a week full of drool and spit up!  I can't keep this kids clothes dry for more than an hour.  Good thing we have lots of clothes thanks to cousin Kendall!  We go through about three wardrobe changes a day- although one of those changes may be because mom likes to dress Jackson up :)  Poor kid.

Jackson was in a serious mood during this photo shoot.  I think he was pooping :)  

Boys will be boys- on the couch in their undies :) 

Baby blues.  

Jackson LOVES this toy.  When he kicks his feet it lights up and plays music.  Genius!

Oliver kneeds help.

Some of you may remember almost two years ago Oliver had to have knee surgery.  The little guy has done really well since the surgery, but this week he has been having some problems.  A few days ago he yelped when he jumped off the couch and ever since he's been hobbling around on his leg.  We are going to take him to the vet next week- keep your fingers (or knees) crossed that everything checks out ok.

In the mean time, we didn't want to leave Oliver out of the Teach Family fun, so we found a way to still take him on walks.

Jackson got the front seat ... 

... And Oliver got the back seat.  Good thing we got a double stroller!  He peaked out the side of the stroller just like it was a car window.  

You kiss your mom with that mouth?

Jackson spit up all over the outside of the crib last week so I went down stairs to get a towel to clean it up.  When I got back upstairs, I heard Oliver's dog tags, but couldn't find him.  Then I heard some whimpering.  Oliver had crawled under the crib to get a better angle at licking up the mess Jackson had made.  He got himself stuck- only his head would fit back out.  First I laughed, then I took a picture, then I got Jared to lift up the crib to free him.  I guess baby spit up was worth the risk of getting stuck. 

Jackson Week 15

Jackson is such a ham.  As soon as I put up the camera to take a picture of him, he smiles real big.  He is going to be quite the camera hog when he grows up!  

Jackson loved having the girls out- it meant extra hugs, kisses and snuggles.  He was such a good boy the entire time- he let us lug him around everywhere, including to a nail salon for some pedicures!  Nici and I thought about getting him a pedicure as well- we were going to go with K-State purple- but something told us daddy would not have been too happy with us :)

Homeboy Jackson.

 All bundled up to take a walk on the beach.  It has been unseasonably cool this week.

Jackson enjoying the walk on the beach :) 

A few familiar faces

Nici and Raegan made a trip out to San Diego to see the Teach Family this past weekend.  It was so great to see the girls and show them around our new home.  

Friday we made our way down to La Jolla to see the beautiful beaches and then over to Coronado Island to  see the famous Hotel Del Coronado.  We took the ferry over to the island and had ourselves a few frosty beverages at the hotel beach.  That night we drove back to Carlsbad where we had some yummy Mexican food.  

La Jolla Beach

Ferry ride to Coronado Island. 

Coronado Island  

 Jared before he devoured his boiling pot of Mexican weirdness. 

Up close photo of Jared's food.  He said it was good. I can't believe he actually ate it.  It had a cactus in it. 

On Saturday Jared and Jackson stayed home to watch college football and us girls loaded up the car and headed to Beverly Hills!  We booked a bus tour that took us all around LA.  Although the bus was absolutely ridiculous looking, we had a blast on the tour.  We drove up the famous Mulholland Drive to get pictures of the Hollywood sign, drove through Bel Air and Beverly Hills past several stars homes (including Meg Ryan, J.Lo, Jack Nicholson, Elton John, Aaron Spelling), drove past several movie scene sites (including the fire escape from Pretty Woman) and down Rodeo Drove.  We rounded out the day with some shopping on Hollywood Boulevard and a very long drive home in LA rush hour traffic.

 Our tour bus.  It screamed "tourist".

Hollywood sign

Pretty Woman fire escape.

House used in the Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Beverly Hills Hotel

Elton John's home.

One of the best musicians ever!

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg's hands and feet.

The Chinese Theater

Nici and I posing with the King of Pop.