Well well well, look who decided to show up and share some of our life.  Its ME! The dad, the guy who doesn’t have the required equipment that baby Jaden is so in love with.  I am just the scruffy guy that pushes the cart, refills the mom’s water bottle, always trying to steal kisses from Jaden or mom (I’ll take either whenever I can).  Any who… I thought I would get online and share some of our recent life journey as well.

First up, GRANPA Howells.  Off to San Francisco we go!  We flew up for the week to hang out with Grandpa Howell, he even put us up at his crib and everything.  Uncle Dave and Aunt Liz are so awesome though; they picked us up at the airport and drove us to Grandpa’s.  Pretty cool of them and it was great to see them.   Once at Grandpa’s, we had a great, great time there.  I poked, prodded, and nosy’ d my way around until I had him share practically his life story with us.  We dug out as many photos as we could and just remembered all the good times.  Most importantly, as I am sure most of you already know from your many experiences with me in the car, apparently great driving skills is something of a Howell trait, it’s in our blood.  My grandfather, to date, is the 3^rd best driver in the nation!  Pulled out some news articles and images for the “Ford Good Driver’s League”, which he won 3^rd in and was the last time the  national contest was ever held. Here is in the car he drove, and then off to DC from Washington State to compete nationally.  

After seeing how safe he is in the car, we decided to go cruise the neighborhood and see what all the OG’s were up to.  So we rolled down the windows and hopped in his Six Four… tall golf cart and rode around.

 

It was really a great time with Grandpa, wonderful to get to see him spend some time with Jaden, to get to hear all about Grandpa’s life, and just get to spend time with him too.  The only bummer was, we didn’t get to meet his new main squeeze, but I am sure we’ll meet her soon enough. 

We of course didn’t forget about the rest of the family up north either and got to have a great afternoon BBQ over at the Aunt and Uncles house too.  The whole fam was there, even our amazing “where in the world is Jenny” cousin too.  Great Aunt Sue introduced Jaden to her first horse, Great Uncle Brad showed off his mechanic skills with the 4 wheel Barbie jeeps, Aunt Lea and Uncle Zach and their kids were the whole package of a loving family and spent some time with us too!  It was pretty awesome

After the family time, Jaden, Ricki, and I went in to the city by ourselves and just hung out.  Ricki’s Aunt Lisa met us for lunch and drinks one day, we took walks around the city, we even took Jaden on her first College visit.  We are very serious about education in this family and I wanted Jaden to know from the start where her dad was going to send her.  She thought it was a joke at first and had a good laugh…

But when I told her I wasn’t kidding and this is where I was sending her as soon as she was a teenager, well… she didn’t think it was very funny.

      

      So that was our trip up to Nor Cal and San Francisco.  Pretty fun, relaxing, can’t complain.  My wife and baby were both amazing and I loved every minute of it. 

We have had a few other trips here and there too.  We also shot up to Vegas for a quick weekend a while back too.  Really, all I have from that is the car Jaden said I could buy instead of sending her to college.   She wasn’t very impressed by it though.

 

But we had an AMAZING time, sorry, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas!  Haha, just kidding.  What happens in Vegas on the hottest week of the year and you have a 6 month old with you, is… NOTHING.  We woke up, we had breakfast, we napped, we went to the pool before 10AM and before the sun was on it as to not DIE in the heat or burn our fair skinned babe, then we napped, then we had lunch, then we napped, then we walked around the indoor mall, then we napped, then we had dinner, then went to bed.  And play repeat for a few days.  Very, very relaxing!!!

Other than that, it has been life as usual; work, house, baby, etc.  Here are just some fun pictures to share:

We were cleaning out the garage and getting it ready for some storage and we found KITTY!  Yes, this is Ricki’s childhood stuffed animal.  Apparently, the story goes like this.  Kitty went everywhere, Ricki never put it down or let go of it, sooo it got a little nasty.  This giant fur ball had to get clean.  Debi says, no harm no foul, I’ll just throw this stinky thing in the wash.  Well out comes the surviving matted cat like thing you see before you today.

Also, Jaden is getting closer and closer with her best friend every day.  She can’t get enough of him; it is her most excited time.  Ace on the other hand, well, he gets a little tired of it some times

This little bundle of cuteness is just something I had to share.  Love this look on Jaden so much, I had Grandma knit me a matching one in my size.  And then there is the confused look mom gets when Dad is traveling and not in the bed when Jaden wakes up. 

Fall

Well, shoot it has been a whole month since I last blogged.  Jade celebrated her first *Halloween*, we showed love to the beautiful Briella for her first birthday, we went CAMPING, Geoff and I reminisced our wedding day 2 years ago, and our new little niece, Audrey Ann, came into the world.  It was a busy month.

Jade actually enjoyed wearing her Halloween costume.  I was surprised by this because she throws a fit anytime we try and dress her.  She giggled and played with her ears the whole time in her elephant suit.  We also carved pumpkins (read: ate pumpkin innards).

Briella turned ONE.  She is a walking, talking, generous little girl.  She shared her cards with Jade and her toys with Quinn.  Of course she kept the best presents for herself: tissue paper and boxes, yahoo!

Camping with an 8 month old was way better than I had expected.  It was really easy actually.  It was cold, but we kept our little bear bundled up warm.  She loved sitting by the fire and nursing, sleeping in the tent and nursing, watching the guys play corn hole and nursing, going on a hike and napping.  So long as my boobs are close, Jaden is a happy camper...literally.  She slept great and I did OK.  I was comfortable, but woke often because I worried she was too cold, too warm, or suffocating.  I did the usual checktoseeifmybabyisstillbreathing peeks and then went back to sleep.  Point is, we all survived.  I'm already excited about camping season next year!

Geoff and I just celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on 11.12.13.  We spent a romantic afternoon at our special place, Rancho Bernardo Inn, relaxing and enjoying each other while grandmas took care of the babe.  It was a perfect evening remembering the rainy, intimate ceremony and bright reception.   I love you babe!

Lastly, but most importantly, Jen and Bryan welcomed their second daughter on November 13.  Audrey came out with a head of dark hair, unlike her big sister Quinn with her wispy blond tresses.  She is sweet and quiet and oh so lovable.  We are so excited to get to know this little girl. 

Hopefully it won't be another month before you hear from me again.  Next up, operation eat-a lot-of-food and enjoy family time.

 

 

xoxo,

 

ricki

Pants

I am going on day 3 of wearing PRE-pregnancy pants.  Different pants.  Not the same pants for three days.  And not stretchy pants!  This is really exciting to me, as I only have 2.5 LBS to go.  My body is different though.  My hips are w  i  d  e  r, my belly is softer, and my poor poor boobies are showing the effects of being tugged, pulled, filled, and emptied on a daily basis. I want to embrace my new curves and love this new body, but I still miss my old one. 

What I do love about my mama body is that it is keeping an adorable 7 month old baby girl alive.  It nourishes her day and night.  It soothes her teething pain, it fills her belly, it puts her to sleep, it gives her energy to learn new things.  Jade and I have been breastfeeding for 7 months and I am still pretty obsessed with it.  We nurse in the morning and then cuddle all night so that we can make up for the time lost while I am at work all day.  This is not how I thought things would be before she was born, but I wouldn't change a thing.  I used to think I wanted to nurse for just a year.  And now I often joke that Jade will nurse until it's time for college.  (seriously, JOKING.)  But truthfully, I think we will go until it no longer works for us.  I have no timeframe.  Being a new mom, I doubt every decision I have had to make so far.  However, I remind myself often to just do what works for our family.  We are happy and healthy.  I coulnd't ask for more.

When Jade is not nursing, she is enjoying all sorts of new flavors and textures.  Her favorite snack at the moment is a cool cucumber.  We have been exploring different foods.  In the event you wish to have her over for dinner, note that she does not like green beans.  Avocado, carrots, butternut squash, pumpkin, blueberries, mangos, peaches, prunes, and pears are what she prefers.  It has been so fun watching her learn to eat. 

Major milestones include TWO teeth, sitting up un-assisted, and a one-time army crawl into my lap.  I am excited for mobility, but happy for it to come slowly.  She needs to ease me into this baby-grows-up thing. 

 

 

xoxo,

 

the howells



Thank You

I am really good at buying adorable thank you cards.  I am also really good at writing them.  I am even good at putting names on them! I am terrible at sending them.  Do you know how many stacks of thank you cards that I have come across around the house- too many. 

 

Within 2 weeks of Jade's arrival, I had beautiful announcements created with a hand written note of our gratefulness for all the wonderful gifts we received.  Six months later, these notes still sit on our coffee table. 

 

Although this is not as personal as a hand written note, I wanted to say thank you so much for all the well wishes, congratulations, and generous gifts that you have given our family.  We are very grateful and appreciative of your kind words and thoughtfulness.  THANK YOU!

(stack of thank you cards collecting dust)

Love,

 

The Howells 

5 months

As we get close to jade's half birthday (wtf!?) I want to take a few minutes to enjoy month five. 

Five things about five months:

1.  She loves her puppy-brother.

2.  She rolls this way and that way, depending on where she wants to go. 

3.  She prefers to nap on a warm body. 

4.  She loves peek a boo and itsy bitsy spider. 

5.  She is obsessed with my water cup, straws, and beer bottles. 

Love,

The Howells 

jet-setter

In July, we went back to the east coast for the second time.  We celebrated family and friends, all while sweating our booties off.  It was hot and humid, oh and humid. Jade met a lot of family and friends, so it was a productive trip.  I took a million photos, so here are a few.

your friends,

the howells

Toys

I definitely have spent a stupid amount of money on bottles, pacifiers, and toys that rarely get touched. Or if they do, boredom kicks in 5 minutes later. Jade has not agreed to the bottle or pacifier, so we have accepted that and are moving on. So now I'm working on building my sippy- cup collection as if she will suddenly love to drink milk from anything other than my boobs. She's lucky I enjoy breastfeeding...

This kid already has more toys than minutes in her attention span and she can barely use her hands.  She is definitely becoming more coordinated and her concentration is intense. I love watching her figure things out. Watching her roll over, grab a toy, and put it in her mouth is more entertaining than anything on tv.  As I am mesmerized by her doing new things, here are some photos of her playing with her favorite things:

Wipes

Water Bottle

Tag. 

Oh and her favorite... Feet.