Four Years Ago...

...this handsome man became my husband.  How did I get so lucky?

He is the best hubby I could ask for - so supportive, loving and thoughtful, and he is truly my best friend.  And to top it off, he gave me the most adorable, sweet baby boy I could have ever asked for...his very own mini me!

The last four years have been amazing, and I can't wait to see what the next 4, 10, 30, 40+ years bring.  

Love you, Sweets!

15 Months

The munchkin is 15 months old - can you believe it?  Time is absolutely flying.

We had his check up today with his new doc in Sammamish, and he is healthy, thriving and "right on track".  Here are the highlights:

• Weight = 28 lbs., 7 oz. (90-95th percentile)
• Height = 35" (95th+ percentile and they said he's the height of an average 2 year-old) - he's officially over half my height...yikes!
• Head = 19" (90th percentile)

Things loved/things he's good at/new stuff:

• Balls - any color, any size
• Keys - he has his own pair that he takes with us to the mailbox every day
• Digging through "his" drawer in the kitchen (i.e. all his bowls, sippy cups, etc) and matching up the lids to the cups (he's actually really good at this!)
• Hauling my handbags around the house
• Putting balls/toys into a bucket and taking them out. Repeat.
• Opening and closing doors
• His lawn mower
• Shoes - picking them out, putting them on, putting them away, carrying them around; his first ever real pair is still his favorite, even though he now has four pairs
• Books - especially 'Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus'
• Being outside
• His water table
• "Helping" around the house (putting things back/away, throwing things in the hamper, picking up toys)
• Throwing tantrums when something isn't going his way - we've had a major meltdown the last three nights.  Super fun, trust me.  (Side note - got some tips from the doc on how to handle and the good news is that we've been doing the right thing by trying to calm him down through distraction or, if really upset, just letting him get it out and then comforting him.)
• Sprinklers
• Words: hi, bye, ball, yah, no, uh oh, boo (= blue), bup (= up), more (always accompanied by the sign)
• Watermelon
• Top two teeth on either side of his front teeth are coming in and what was already an insane amount of drool has increased tenfold
• Trying to words like keys, cheese, please (all sound like 'sish'), colors, etc
• Loves mac & cheese - he can eat an entire single serving pack in less than 5 minutes
• Can follow simple directions like "Go get your shoes" or "go put your socks in the hamper"
• Will run and grab my shoes when I say, "let's go outside!"
• Loves to tickle other people's feet and the reaction that accompanies that (please play along if he tries to tickle yours!)

Next check-up is at 18-months.  Looking forward to seeing what he'll be up to then!

Life Lately

A few photos of the recent happenings in our world.  Enjoy!

Row 1: trying out the kid carts at QFC; trying out J's new lawn mower...I think someone is jealous!
Row 2. first Flower World purchases
Row 3: someone's digging momma's new handbag from daddy...and it isn't momma (yet)
Row 4: enjoying our favorite book, "Don't let the pigeons drive the bus!" again and again
Row 5: feeding the lucky ducks half a loaf of bread
Row 6: another trip to Flower World means our new pots are now full - loved my first outdoor project!

Summer Fun - Part 2

As promised - more videos of Mr. J having fun.

Talking on the phone.

Running & tackling.

Mowing.

Cooling off after a hard day's work.

Summer Fun - Part 1

Summer's finally arrived in the Northwest, and we're having all kinds of fun.  Here are a few videos of Jackson in action over the past few weeks.  More videos to come soon - stay tuned!

We realized last night that Jackson loved helping with the recycle bin, so we took it for a spin again tonight as we put it away.

As much as we wish we could give Jackson some chores, we realize he's a bit young; however, he disagrees.  This was all his idea.  Seriously.  It was either let him, or screaming/tantrums would ensue.  Gotta pick our battles this days, and the trash can won this time.

Our muscle man had fun showing off his guns at our 4th of July party. This was truly packed and heavy (~20-25 lbs) and he was still able to move it a bit.

Feeding the ducks (with Addy) for the first time - he loved it!

Zoo + Firsts

With a warm, sunny in the forecast, we decided to take Jackson to the zoo for the first time on Saturday.  We rounded up my parents and Joan, and arrived at the Woodland Park Zoo just as it opened. 

Although many of the animals were nowhere to be found (I wouldn't blame them if they were sleeping in on a Saturday), we had a great time checking out the ones that were out and about.  Jackson may have been a bit on the young side - he was mostly more interested in running around and eating all the snacks we brought than looking at the animals.  At one point, an orangutan was literally up against the glass, two feet from J, and all J could do was ask for more snacks by signing and saying 'more'. 

J conquered another first - I took him on the carousel, but he didn't seem to be much of a fan.  Aside from his snacks and being able to run around a bit, I honestly think the highlight of J's trip was the PB&J sandwich (another first) that I brought along for his lunch.  Oh well - we all had a good time and enjoyed being out in the sun, and we're looking forward to making another trip when J's a little older.

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day.  The rest are here.

TGIF

Even though it was only a four day work week and many people are out of the office, the days have passed slowly and I've been thrown off all week with the holiday landing smack in the middle. With this forecast, all I can say is TGIF! 

I'm looking forward to a warm and sunny weekend spent outdoors - at the zoo, and in our backyard.  Yay!

Welcome to Seattle, summer!

"Buh-bye!"

Jackson's been talking more and more all week and I've loved every second of it.  He's started telling Corey "bye-eee" at daycare drop-off and saying "hi-eee!" to me when I pick him up.  He's even started to to say hi and bye to our neighbors when we see them as we get the mail.   And just yesterday, "bye-eee" turned into "buh-bye".  His little voice is just too cute.

Here's a video of him in one of the built-in cabinets this a.m.

Things I Love

These days, Jackson is learning so much, so quickly!  Here are a few of his recent/new developments, which I just LOVE:

• His very gentle (open mouth) kisses on our cheeks when we ask for them. Though our faces get very wet and slobbery, it's the cutest thing in the world and we don't mind a bit.
• All his words: hi ("hi-eeeee"), bye ("bye-eeee"), uh oh, no, yeah, bath time ("ba tim"), dada, banana ("nana"), ball ('ba-yeee"), more.  He even uses them at the approprite time, most of the time.
• The way he signs (and says) "more" and points to what he wants when he's eating.
• His big hugs/tackles.
• How he enjoys taking his dirty clothes upstairs and putting them in his hamper with little to no direction.  He'll also help put away his toys, or other things that we need "help" putting away.
• How he understands a lot of what we ask him and can point to many things when asked, even though he may not be able to actually say the right word yet.
• The way he'll find any bag available (laptop bag, backpack, diaper bag) and will drag it towards the garage door while saying "bye-eee".  So freakin' cute!
• The only time he's still and actually wants to cuddle is when he's tired, right before bed.  After he's all ready for bed, we turn his lights off and rock and sing to him for a few minutes while he snuggles right up and nearly falls asleep in our arms within seconds.  It's my favorite time of the day.

I seriously cannot get enough of this kid.

J in his first Hard Rock (Las Vegas) t-shirt, courtesy of my parents.

Viva Las Vegas

I returned home yesterday from my Vegas trip with my family, celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday.  We had a great time, even if I did miss my boys and wish they were there with us.

The weather couldn't have been better - sunny and 100+ degrees - so this pale Seattlite thoroughly enjoyed some daily sun bathing. We also enjoyed tons of yummy food, including lunch at Holsteins (highly recommended!), dinners at MGM's Studio Cafe and Grand Wok, lots of froyo, and margarita popsicles poolside.

We got in some gambling and this high roller won $30 on a Sex and the City machine, which pretty much made my day.  Not quite the $250 my uncle won on another machine, but I'll take it.

We also saw Terry Fator at the Mirage and had an absolute blast.  I didn't know what to expect but he was very funy and entertaining, and had a great voice to boot.  Another highly recommended option if you find yourself in Vegas anytime soon (Gossetts & Reeders - I'm talking to you). 

But I'd say the biggest highlight of the trip was an unplanned party bus trip back to the MGM after the Terry Fator show.  We were in the taxi line, which was moving slowly and some limo drivers kept offering to take us back without a wait.  We finally agreed only to find out that the limo was actually a 25-seater party bus for my family of eight. I'm not sure what was more hysterical - the fact that I was on a party bus with my family, including my grandma or the fact that my dad, uncle and brother actually danced on the stripper pole.  Lots of laughs were had, that's for sure.

Here are some photos taken throughout the weekend.

Fun with glasses at the gift store; gotta love the jumbo slots; also gotta love a jumbo shoe (@ the Cosmopolitan)

 Loved the inside of the Cosmopolitan - very swanky (and not smokey)!

 My mom, grandma and uncle on the party bus.

Party bus fun.

Corey and Jackson had a great time together, and it sounds like J was on his best behavior.  J was
quite the eater for his daddy - he tried and decided he loved mac & cheese (something I've tried to get him to eat numerous times), he enjoyed some McD's fries, and of course, his daily banana (which even called 'nana' for the first time when asking for more!).

Corey sent me tons of text updates and included lots of pictures and videos of our man in action.  Here's a sampling of what I received.  I sure love this kid!