Dog Days of Summer

Okay so I lied.  It has been over a month since my last post.  But in my defense, when the temperature hits 100 degrees, I have no motivation or desire to do anything, even the simple task of moving my fingers.  It expends too much energy.  So, I have pretty much been in that state off and on for the better part of the month, and since we have been having highs of 102-111 the past four days, you can imagine what my productivity level has been around here.  I'll give you a glimpse:  Wake up, sit in the pool, take a nap, repeat.  My tan is looking pretty good if I do say so myself!

Anyway, things are going pretty well.  Mark hit his rhythm with his pool route and has been consistently finishing by noon every day, so his boss gave him more pools today.  I feel bad that he has to work outside in this weather but he says it doesn't bother him.  If things continue to go well with this job, we are hoping to be in our own TWO-BEDROOM apartment by mid-August!  I think only my San Diegan friends can share my enthusiasm for square footage, especially given the fact that we will be able to have so much more room for less than what we paid for a run-down studio apartment in beautiful San Diego!  But, then again, it is Sacramento.  Waaaa Waaaa.  Oh, how I miss the 75 degree weather, ocean breezes and palm trees galore! 

One thing I can't complain about its the fact that Jagger is absolutely thriving here.  I think all of the constant conversation around him and the revolving door of people that is my parent's house, aka Grand Central Station, is really accelerating his progress when it comes to speaking.  He has a little vocabulary now:  NO! (he says this while simultaneously shaking his head AND his arm back and forth at you), Ball, Meow, Baby, and Ni-Night (he lays his head down when he says that).  Whenever he sees food or is hungry he says "Nom Nom Nom" and his new thing is to say "Whaaaaaaat's Thaaaaaaat?! and point at anything and everything.  He says it with such awe and enthusiasm it is hilarious.  It's somewhat reminiscent of those old Budweiser commercials where the guy says "Waaaazzzup!" all the time, but when I pointed that out to Mark he emphatically told me not to teach Jag that phrase.  He has also begun nodding his head yes when I ask him a question and I am trying to get him to say "Yes" or some variation but he likes "No" better.  He hears it so much I can't really blame him!  My Dad likes to speak to Jag in a Donald Duck voice, and now every time my Dad walks in the room Jagger tries to imitate that voice.  The other day at the Kingdom Hall a bald brother wearing glasses walked by and Jagger made that same Donald Duck noise at him.  So I guess every balding guy wearing glasses can be a stand in for Grandpa :)

One saving grace during this heat wave has been my parent's swimming pool, which on the average day is a balmy 85 degrees, but being a good 15-20 degrees cooler than the air it is surprisingly refreshing.  Jagger is always in his element when in or near the water, and he especially loves watching his cousins splash around.

Also, he has been running all over the place and those of you who frequent Facebook may have already seen this video but for those that haven't, here is one minute of his walking skills:

 

Once again, I will try to update this thing more often.  I am not the best about keeping in touch but I'd like to say that we miss all of you so much and think about all of our wonderful friends all of the time.  Hope to see you soon!

     

Has it been a month already?

Greetings from Sacramento!  Or as it's affectionately called by the locals, "Cow Town."  Eww.  I bet there are no areas in San Diego named after farm animals.  As you can probably tell, I am still bitter about this whole move.  BUT, I am trying to be positive and make the best of it, however long we have to stay.  So, here is a little recap on what has been going on in the 95821....

Jag and I had a nice send off breakfast with Brooke, Augie and Erica before our plane trip.  (Brooke and Augie not pictured). 

 

 

 

Then it was off to the airport for the (thankfully) short flight to Sacramento.  Jagger was a complete angel on the airplane.

 

 

And this is what we were greeted with upon walking into my parent's house (artwork done by my nieces Skyla and River, ages 9 and 5 respectively)

 

 

 

As some of you know, Jagger and I flew up here about a week and a half before Mark was able to join us permanently.  But much to our pleasant surprise, Mark landed a job with a reputable pool cleaning service within 24 hours of arriving and submitting his resume!  I think he was hoping it would take just a little longer to find work so that he could have a few days to relax but we feel grateful and blessed that he was able to procure employment so quickly and we definitely feel that Jehovah had a hand in making our transition so easy!

 

My days have been pretty quiet, filled with chasing Jagger around the house/yard/pool trying to keep him from choking/falling/splitting his head open, because a) HE IS WALKING NOW!  and b) MY PARENT'S HOUSE IS COMPLETELY UN-CHILD-PROOF AND IS BASICALLY A DANGER ZONE.  Jagger is even more vocal now, which is awesome to hear him mimic sounds we make and try to form words, but does not bode well for meeting days when he is the only baby in the hall and Mark and I literally spend 75% of the meeting in the back or outside because I don't think our new congregation thinks of his blabbering as a nice soundtrack to the meeting (Oh how I miss Mission Bay!).  I will try to get a video of him on here making his animal sounds - he now does Lion, Snake, Cat and sometimes a Bird, although once he starts saying "Meow" he will say nothing else :)  I think his love of the cat is due to my Mom's pet Siamese, named Blue -- Jag has never been around cats before and he is fascinated with the species.  Since I don't have a video of him talking, how about one of him walking???  (Please hold the applause until the end, thank you)

 

 

He also adores his cousin Skyla (pictured in the video) and she is a great babysitter-in-training!  In addition to cruising all over the place, he is also obsessed with the pool and will throw a complete fit if he sees the pool and can't jump in right away.  He is completely fearless and I have to watch him like a hawk because numerous times he has let go of my hand and taken a complete nosedive into the water.  But he recovers well and doesn't seem to be afraid in the slightest.

 

 

 

Look Mom, no hands!

 

 

I think Jag is more comfortable in the water than Dad....

 

 

 

 

So, there you have it.  The Haydens are alive and kickin' in Sacramento and things are going pretty well, although we miss our San Diego family (Mission Bay I am talking to you!) more than we can say.  We're not sure what the future holds or how long we will be in Northern California but I promise to keep you all updated on Jag's progress and hopefully it won't be too long before we see all of you again.  And now that I've figured out how to upload pictures from my camera, I promise to post said updates more frequently than a month in between!