Working with Stone...

First off, here is my happy baby in the grocery store. Did I mention happy? This kid is the happiest baby ever, but don’t let him fool you. He is quite the handful, but oh so entertaining.

So there’s been a lack of posts on my end. It’s been a very busy work week. If you’re reading this, you probably know I work from home for a Communications Firm (I often say ad agency, but we’re actually the bomb-dig. Great teams in Public Relations, Advertising, Media, etc...). I’m often asked how I manage to work while taking care of my baby. And let me remind you—he is one energetic kid that does not stay in one place. He walks around EVERYWHERE, gets into everything. So my answer...It’s actually quite fun to balance the two.

For instance....yesterday I was on an incredibly long conference call. Stone takes two nice, long naps every day, in which I get most of my work done. However, he was awake during my conference call, and so I set him outside my door for a few minutes when I had to speak up. Well, he was behind my closed door for just a few minutes. I open the door to find him diaperless, running around naked with his diaper right in front of my door. Ummm, what? Yes.

Next, he LOVES my keyboard and mouse. They are wireless, so he tries to grab them and play with them. He often crawls under my desk and peeks at me through the rolling drawer of the keyboard.

Then, we have my trash can by my work station. I’ve learned to keep it empty. Yes, you’re right. It no longer serves a purpose. It actually has trash in it right now, and is sitting at the top of my computer desk above my shelves. Why, you ask? Because he tries to get in it ALL the time. Sometimes he’ll tip it over, throw a toy in, just so he can crawl in and get it. And then he repeats it, until he finds a new game to play.

Oh how we love this boy!! He is pure entertainment. He really does make me laugh all day. AND, he knows when he’s being a ham, and works it. Work it, baby.

The Texas Coast and San Antonio

For Cliff's brief summer vacation (he starts school again tomorrow!), we decided to take a trip down to the Texas coast, particularly Corpus Christi. On the way back, we stopped in San Antonio to play a bit in the city and to see high school BFF, Shannon (and roomies who keep regular tabs on Stone).

We've made it a goal to really explore Texas this next year and figure out if there are any places in particular we'd like to focus on job hunting (although that's a bit down the road...). Well, Corpus (and San Antonio) are definetly on the list! We had so much fun at the beach. Corpus is a very charming city. We went all over the place and had quite the time.

Vacation is definetly a different story with a 10 month old. It's such a production to pack up everything each time we head out, but it's so fun to see how excited Stone already gets with things. Soooo...here are a few (okay, a handful) of pictures. Enjoy.

My two men at the beach.

Gosh, he's handsome.

At the Texas State Acquarium. We didn't know if Stone would enjoy it, but Cliff was adamant about going. Turns out he was FASCINATED.

At the beach in Port Aransas.

Port Aransas

This is what happens when you focus on lotioning up your baby. I didn't expect to burn with the amount of time we were out that day.

"Hey Mom, who needs a surf board?"

The Riverwalk

The Riverwalk

The Riverwalk

This is my dear friend, Shannon. Sha-nay-nay. She's my sista. Shan graduated from Trinity University this past weekend. Congrats, girl!!

Running away after his bath...

Our Weekend

This weekend we had quite the time in the kitchen. Since we celebrated Cliff's first year of law school with "wing night" at Applebees on Thursday, we decided to make a night in the kitchen on Friday. We may have gone a little overboard. We tried a recipe from the restuarant I worked at in high school (Puerto Vallarta Mexican Seafood Grill!).

Friday night=bacon wrapped shrimp over rice with a home made TGI Fridays "Brownie Obsession" for dessert. We split the shrimp, stuffed them with fresh sliced jalepenos, wrapped them in bacon, then grilled them, and topped them with motzerella cheese. I know....healthy. Oh, but the splurge was well worth it. The particular jalepenos we used had a kick to it. In the Jessup home, the spicier the better.

Yummy. Here is the raw product just before placing them on the grill.

Then, on Sunday we celebrated my first official Mothers Day! I say official, because Cliff has been giving me Mothers Day gifts since our first year of marriage. It was always a gift for the "future mother of his children." So this year, it was legit. Thank you for everything, babe!

"Cliff Jessup. Conservative. Republican. Family Man."

And here's just a cute pic of the bebe.

Happy Mothers Day!

Today I celebrate the fact that I have the best mom. She is one of my best friends, and I love her dearly. I also celebrate that I have the best mother-in-law a girl could ask for! "In-laws" has such a negative connotation, but I TRULY have the BEST.

My Mom: Everyone is naturally attracted to my mom. She has the most bubbly personality, and makes people feel good about themselves. She's always there to give the best advice, and she's always been so supportive in everything I've ever done. She's the funnest mom, and my friends always considered her the "cool" mom. I feel so lucky to have such an awesome mom. Mom, I love you! Thank you for everything!!

Marcy (the mom in law): Talk about the coolest mother-in-law anyone could ask for. No joke. She's always been the best (clear since I was 16!). I remember going home between summer and fall semesters (I started summer school at BYU soon after high school graduation--Cliff was expected home from his mission about 3 months later) and she said, "Kendal, you may be dating up at school, but please don't make any big decisions before Cliff gets home. Just a few more months!" I'm pretty sure she started making our wedding invitations (the most beautiful invitations EVER)

before we were even engaged.

Marcy, thank you for raising such a wonderful son! Cliff has treated me like a queen since day one, and if you could see the way he treats me on a daily basis, you'd be proud. Not to mention, he's become the best dad! Stone gets so excited when Cliff gets home from school because it means PLAY TIME.

(Cliff is the big boy)

Not only are my mom and Marcy the best moms ever, but they are the most wonderful grandmas! Stone is a spoiled baby when it comes to the grandparents. Thank you both for being so wonderful and so supportive! We love you TONS!!!

Our little mimic

Celebration!

Congrats, Cliff! Cliff had his last final today, which wrapped up life as a 1L (AKA 1st year law student). In celebration, we went to "wing night" at Applebees, and of course, finished it off with a Blondie. Yummmm. Cliff loves how "cave man" wings are. I think his exact words this evening were, "in a world where we're usually so detached from our food, and have no idea how it's been processed, there is something thereputic about seeing a big pile of bones on the plate." hahaha.

Here is Cliff wiping off a congratulatory kiss.

I am so proud of Cliff and his hard work this school year! I can't believe another school year has already come and gone. When Cliff began law school (orientation), he was actually still turning in papers and projects for his undergrad at BYU. Talk about no break! I love how well Cliff balances everything in his life, and has not let law school consume him to the point of not having him around (that was the big warning we recieved when we decided to come to law school). Good job, babe! I love you!

Small break, and then summer school begins! Congrats, Cliff!! i LOVE you!

I want to go to law school

Okay, NOT REALLY (really). However, I was helping Cliff study for his final tonight (2 down, 2 to go!), and I was intrigued with Criminal Law. By the end of our study session, I was asking him to quiz me. Many years ago, Elle Woods persuaded me to take the law school path, but instead, I chose Advertising--a path I love.

And well, here's a new bath time pic of my lil' guy. Ahh, we love him.