Snips and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails...

We have an infestation. They've come in hundreds and are attempting a hostile takeover. The saying goes, "slow and steady wins the race." We'll see caracoles, we'll see. Every evening Mike goes outside and meticulously picks 50-100 snails off the wall that surrounds our house and every morning there are 50-100 new snails waiting for him. It's unbelievable! I've never seen so many snails. Mike likes to compare it to America's attempt at border control. For every one that is caught, 50 more are sneaking in. When will it stop? What is especially hilarious to me is to see little old ladies selling the very same snails downtown. Ewww! I have eaten snails since we've been in Spain, but I don't think I will be able to do it again. The ones that are alive pop off nicely, leaving a little goo in their place, but the old dead ones are more difficult. These you need to pry off one by one. Another annoying thing is that snails are very bad for flowers. Our pretty purple and pink ones died because the snails found their way into the flower pots :( Now I'm much more protective of my plants. But enough about snails...
Jay's been having fun hanging out with his older, more "mature" friends Johnny and Christopher. They both are about a year older than Jay and he is very interested in them. He loves when they play peak-a-boo with him and talk to him nicely. Sometimes they are a little scary though when they talk too loudly, try to pull on him or touch his eye (if you know Johnny, you know what I'm talking about). Don't worry, we're always close by to make sure Jay doesn't get hurt. They really are great little boys and we love them both!
Today we went back to the beach with John, Maria and Johnny and it was a lot of fun! Unfortunately it was a little windy, but we still had a good time. Johnny loves the ocean and Jay seemed much more comfortable with it on his second visit. We're looking forward to many a fun beach days this summer. As we were coming home we passed by a house with a giant dog resting on the steps! We had to get out and take a picture because he looked so funny. Isn't he cute?

Tags anyone?

Jay's new thing is inspecting tags. We think it's pretty entertaining! Apparently he likes the details on them. He will sit for long periods of time looking from tag to tag.

Updates and Sweatshirts

Jay is growing, growing, growing! He weighs about 17 pounds now and turned 8 months old 2 days ago. He's such a handsome little boy (although I am very biased). He's sleeping through the night really well now. At 8:30pm we give him a bath, put on his jammies, feed him milk (breast or bottle depending on if mommy's home), read him a story, put him in his crib and sing him a song. Most nights he whines for a few minutes and then falls asleep. He sleeps almost every day until 7am (although mom's had a few lucky days this past week when he's slept until 8am!). One big accomplishment lately is that he's finally decided to eat solid foods regularly. He loves sweet potatoes and bananas best. He also likes this fruit/cereal medley available in the Spanish grocery stores. He's also eating Cheerios, although I'm still paranoid and break the O's into fourths :) He does watch the occasional Baby Einstein video (I know, I know... no TV until they're 2 - but sometimes that little break is necessary!). He thinks the puppets are absolutely hilarious and laughs at them every time he sees them. Man, the lady who created those movies is a genius! Jay pretty much just watches "Baby's First Moves" and I do justify it a little by turning it on in Spanish. Let's see, what else - lately Jay has loved razzing. He also really likes bobbing his hand back and forth against his mouth to make a "ba, ba, ba, ba" sound. He does the same when he's up against your shoulder. He likes playing peek-a-boo and also loves the suspense when you slowly creep towards him in the game of "I'm going to get you." His favorite word is definitely still "da da" though he does still say "na na" and throws other sounds into the mix too. He's definitely a very vocal, social boy and loves when anyone is paying attention to him. So far (knock on wood) he's still great with new people. He doesn't seem to be afraid of anyone and when I pass him off, he just looks back at me as if to say, "this is okay, right mom?" When I smile back he's totally okay being in someone else's arms. Another wonderful thing is that he loves being with his daddy. And what a wonderful daddy he has! Mike hangs out with Jay regularly while I go to dinners on base, the gym with Maria or elsewhere. It's great for all of us. He still isn't crawling, but seems to be okay with it. He sits up and reaches and reaches for his toys when they're out of his immediate range. He's very flexible and sometimes I see him play this little game where he falls back on the pillow behind him, sits up, falls back again, sits up etc. until he's close enough to get a toy - the falling back and sitting up inches him forward just enough. Babycenter says that with the new Back to Sleep campaign most babies crawl between 7 and 10 months now, and then there are those who walk first. I like how every time I tell a mom he's not crawling yet they say, "Lucky you! Don't rush it!" There's only one little part of me left that questions this non-crawling state. Anyone out there know if there's any truth to the idea that the brain grows more if a baby crawls first? All I can figure is that there must be many a smart person out there who didn't crawl right away. I know, I'm a paranoid mom. What can I say?

Before I sign off, I have to write down another story that puts me on the "every mom's done it at least once" list. Fair warning - don't read this part if you're eating. Last Friday Jay and I were on a walk with Maria and Johnny. Before we left the house Jay had eaten a whole jar of sweet potatoes (a huge accomplishment for him at that point). All of a sudden I smelled... yes, poopy sweet potatoes. Being as there are absolutely no public changing stations in our town, I had to change him on his stroller. As I started changing him, I realized that this was no little poop, it was the big enchilada. Poop was all over his clothes and the stroller. Then, when I ever so carefully took the diaper off and held up his legs, one foot got loose and went straight into the mess! After using up every wipe I had (thank goodness I had brought them!) and putting on a fresh diaper, I reached into my diaper bag to find new clothes. Well, all I found was a onsie and a sweatshirt - not exactly what I needed for a cold, windy day. I put the long-sleeved onsie on and then Maria ingeniously took the sweatshirt and put Jay's legs through the arm holes. Vua la! He was warm, comfy and clean. Moral of the story: never go anywhere with a baby without bringing a complete change of clothes.

Well, there are the updates for our healthy, growing baby boy. This post is mostly for historical record purposes (we assume Jay will someday have a biography written about him) and for grandmas and grandpas - they always want to know more :) That's all for now!

I've Been Tagged

Leslie tagged me, which means I have to share 7 random things about myself and then "tag" 7 other people who then have to do the same. Well, I think I'll follow Leslie's suit and post my visual DNA test for one, two, three, four...

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Five
I think I'm too shy, or timido as they say in Spanish. Sometimes I wish I could be more outgoing. Maybe I worry too much about what other people think of me or maybe I just can't think of anything to say to someone new. It gets better the older I get and luckily I have an amazing husband who is extremely personable. He is helping me overcome my little "fear."

Six
I hate Mexican/taco/tortilla/enchilada soup. I like all types of Mexican food - but can't stand it in the form of soup. This began over a year ago now when I was first pregnant. I thought I was doing well in the beginning days of pregnancy - I had no nausea, food aversions etc, but it all ended on the day I made taco soup. I made a huge batch of it in the crock pot and when it was ready I couldn't look at it, let alone eat it. Mike had to put it away in Tupperware and clean the dishes so I wouldn't throw up. I still gag thinking about it. YUK!

Seven
I've really gotten into the Glenn Doman, "How to Teach your Baby..." programs. Maybe it's because I graduated in the field of education. I'm not really sure, but I own 4 of his books and am currently creating 22 inch word cards and bits of intelligence (if you don't know what I'm talking about see http://www.iahp.org/). Don't worry, I'm not turning into a crazy flashcard-nazi mom who doesn't let her child play because it's not "educational." I actually am a firm believer that a child best learns through play and that learning should always be fun (which Doman happens to be too). I'm also not going to become a Doman advocate, but his theories seem to ring true to me. I want to try a few programs out and see what happens - as long as Jay and I both enjoy them and they're not taking up crazy amounts of time. I think with so much advice out there now, you just have to go with your gut a lot of times as a mom (minus the obvious stuff like paying attention to product recalls and making your child wear a helmet). Anyway, I kind of like Doman and his ideas, but that's just me. I'm not pushing anyone else to try.

Alright... now that you know a few more random things about me, let's hear from you: Jessie P, Breanne S, Tisha H, Desta G, Emily B, Annette S, Ashley G. I'm not sure all of you even check my blog, but I do know all of you have blogs so hopefully it will work out. I'll be watching for your random facts!

Ronda, Africa, Gibraltar, Cordoba

Our friends Tally and Jessie left today. We had so much fun with them while they were here. On Wednesday I showed them the city Ronda - a favorite of ours. This was my third time there since we moved to Spain. It is still as beautiful and impressive as ever. We saw the gorge, the bull ring and the Moorish baths. It's neat to be so close to history.

On Thursday Mike took a day off and we went to Gibraltar. What a unique experience. On the way there we drove through the meandering countryside of Spain and saw numerous wind-mills. Mike also spotted signs advertising kite sailing on the way there, which he definitely wants to go try - can you tell it's windy down there? We finally made it to Gibraltar, after only getting a little lost, where we parked and crossed the border (Gibraltar is actually a British overseas territory, you need your passport to get in!). We caught a taxi-van and drove to all the major tourist spots. First we stopped halfway up the rock to see the view of Africa, which is only 8 miles across at the closest points. We couldn't believe we were actually seeing Africa! It was very exciting. At the stop there was a monument describing the view as the "Pillars of Hercules." In Greek mythology Hercules had to cross the mountain that was once known as Atlas in order to finish one of the twelve labors he was called upon to preform. To save time he decided to split the mountain in half with his club. This resulted in creating a connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean - also known as the Straight of Gibraltar. Gibraltar, therefore, is one of the Pillars of Hercules. The other is Ponte Hacho in Africa. I think Greek mythology is so interesting! It reminds me of the stories of Paul Bunyan creating the Great Lakes and the Grand Canyon. I guess people have always enjoyed such explanations and stories - of course they weren't just stories to the Greeks. Anyway, after stopping here we went on to see St. Michael's caves (interestingly enough, the Greeks believed it to be the entrance to Hades). The caves are pretty impressive, although made to be a little Disneyland-esc with the green lighting and funky background noises. It was neat to see the inside of one of the stalagmites though. Part of the cave is now used for concerts. We were all trying to decide which band we'd like to hear play there. It's definitely a unique concert venue. After seeing the cave we went to the top of the rock where we saw a beautiful view and... monkeys! There are over 1000 monkeys on the rock. They are amazing to see! We were lucky enough to even see some new baby monkeys. They are very friendly and very used to humans. We were able to pet one, although we did it quickly - you never know with wild animals. Jay liked the monkeys the most. He watched them intently the whole time. After seeing the monkeys we went through a man made cave used in battles and then walked through the town's shopping district. I'm definitely glad we don't use the Pound in Spain. We thought the Euro was bad being 33% more than the dollar. At least it's not double! Gibraltar is definitely a cool place to see. It makes you marvel at Heavenly Father and our Savior's creations! What a beautiful world we live in.

On Friday we went to a Spanish party at a friend's house. They had a goodbye party for our LDS American friends, the Scheels. They leave in June and we'll definitely miss them! We had a great time at the party. The outside pateo was decorated beautifully and many people wore feria clothes. The girls danced Sevillana and we ate some good Spanish food. It was fun for Tally and Jessie to see a little of the Spanish culture.

On Saturday we took our last day trip to Cordoba. Cordoba was once the capital of a major Roman province. It changed hands several times and at one time had a population of 500,000 (making it one of the biggest cities in the world at the time). We saw a little of the city and then went to see the the Mosque-Cathedral. The mosque, which dates back to the Muslim period, was converted to a Cathedral when the Christians took over. It is a very impressive site. Our favorite part was seeing what remained of the mosque. It was very different to see the Christian symbols mixed with the very Moorish mosque. We had a great time.

Well, that's all for now! We can't wait to go visit Jessie and Tally in Switzerland. And we also are excited to see their little girl soon.

La Playa

This week our good friends Tally and Jessie are visiting us. We are having so much fun! Jessie is 6 months pregnant with little girl, so we are giving them plenty of practice with Jay. They will be awesome parents. So far we've seen Sevilla, the beach a tRota, Ronda and Gibralter. The beach was so fun! We had a blast. The water was still cold, but it was a beautiful day. Mike and Tally braved the cold and got all the way in while playing frisby. Jay was pretty leery of the ocean when we first arrived. He tensed up when we got near and cried when we put his feet in the water. The sound of the waves definitley put him on edge too. After a while he got used to the ocean and we even played with his beach toys for a little while. I think his favorite part was tasting mom and dad's ice cream. I have no idea why he loves ice cream so much and not his sweet potatoes....

Friends and Floors

We've had an exciting week! We had a great time with our friends Jeff and Aubrey Gittenz who came to stay for a few days. Unfortunately, Mike had to work a lot while they were here, but we had fun anyway. We went to Sevilla, ate good food, and played games of speed Scrable. It was so nice to see them. Unfortunately, we also had a scary experience while they were here. Baby Jay rolled off the bed and hit his face on the floor. It was definitely one of the scariest experiences I've ever had. Mike wasn't home and it was actually a good thing that I had the Gittenz here to help calm things down. Our extremely nice neighbor took me to the hospital with Jay and Mike rushed home as fast as possible. Happily, Jay was totally fine. His nose bled for a few minutes and of course he cried, but other than that there was nothing wrong. Check out his tough pictures! Every mom I've told about my experience has assured me that I'm not a bad mom and that it can happen to anyone. Needless to say, I am and will now always be much more careful. We now have our friends Tally and Jessie here, visiting from Switzerland. We're having a great time and I'll post more about our adventures soon! By the way... Happy Mother's Day to all!

Swimming

Swimming, swimming in a swimming pool, When days are hot, when days are cold in a swimming pool. Breast stroke, side stroke, fancy diving too,
Oh don't you wish you never had anything else to do?

Jay had his first kiddie pool experience today! Okay, so he wasn't exactly "swimming" but he loved being outside in the water. Every day I fall more and more in love with my little guy. What a perfect sweet face! He was laughing at me all day when I whistled to him. It was so funny! He also likes it when I pretend to eat his hand. I'm so grateful that my good husband works so hard for us so I can stay home and be with baby Jay. It's definitely the best job in the world. By the way grandmas - check out those fat rolls! How cute are they? He's definitely eating well!

Hasta luego!

Happy Anniversary!

Well, it's been 4 years now! Wow, what a wonderfully amazing 4 years. We've graduated together, lived in 9 different homes, 6 different cities, 2 different countries, and now have a beautiful baby boy. I'm so grateful we've been able to share the past 4 years together in marriage and I look forward for the time to come. I love my husband so much!

For our anniversary we got a babysitter and went to Sevilla for the night. We ate at the restaurant "Fosters" - a good American treat - and we even got free refills! Yes, that's right, we got free refills in Europe. The food was good and we enjoyed being together. After dinner we walked around Sevilla and took in the late night attractions. We had a great time! Happy Anniversary to us!

Funny daddy

Here's Mike making Jay laugh again. His daddy is so funny!

La Camisa Negra

How cool is this song? I LOVE IT! It is played on the radio all the time here. I love finding new artists like Juanes.