Snoring and Belly Laughs...

This first video is kind of boring...although Phil and I love it and I thought the grandparents might, too. It's just a few seconds of J-Man snoring while sacked out in the car after our hike. We had to pull into a parking lot to sit and let him sleep a little longer. I couldn't believe that he stayed asleep even when we slowed down, turned, and shut the car off! He was tuckered out.



Here are some great belly laughs. Phil was playing with J - hiding around a corner and then popping out to surprise him. He LOVED it!! I had to get it on video.

Definitely Don't Miss That Humidity...

Boy, we love this Oregon weather (so far)! We've had such nice days lately and have been trying to spend time outside to enjoy them. We went to a beautiful park in town the other day and Phil spent some time walking with Jackson in the grass. I had to take pictures - the two of them together were so sweet.




Up in the mountains on the way to our nearest "city" we always see signs for hiking trails, so we thought we'd try one of them out this past Monday. We wanted to find one that was relatively flat and went through the woods, and this one was perfect. It actually took us a while to figure out how to get to the trail, but it was worth it. Jackson started out in his Ergo backpack that he used to love, but he didn't have anything for it that day. I do feel a little bad for him when he's in it b/c he can't see in front of him. That would bug me, too.


So good Daddy Phil put him on his shoulders for most of the hike. He absolutely loves being on Dad's shoulders, so he was a happy camper from then on out. I guess we need to break down and get a real baby carrier backpack that sits up higher so he can see over the top of Phil's head.


We took Hank with us and he had a great time, too. He's such a good dog. Here he is in Lake of the Woods enjoying a water break. The lake is so beautiful and the water was surprisingly warm.


We passed a huge tree on our way home. Even Jackson was impressed...


Okay, here's a sight you don't see very often - J sleeping in his car seat. He started out screaming at us for a few minutes, then I sang some songs to him (which Phil enjoyed, I'm sure) and he finally gave in and conked out. I'm really not a good singer, but J loves to hear it. Some favorites right now are "Wheels on the Bus", "If You're Happy and You Know It", You Are My Sunshine", "Jesus Loves Me" (I googled this one and memorized the four verses - I didn't even know there were four verses), and "My Cherie Amour" (by Stevie Wonder - if I ever wanted to be on American Idol, this is what I'd try out with - just kidding, of course - it's really bad). :)

Phil and Jackson get to spend some quality man time together this weekend as I get to go to Bend with some other Moms for a girls' trip! I'm so exicted! Real shopping, real restaurants, and a spa day! Yay! I'm so blessed that I have such a wonderful husband who takes such great care of our baby. Thank you, Phil!

Fun With Utensils...

Tonight we experimented with giving Little Man a plastic spoon to let him figure out how to feed himself. He didn't quite get it, but he made us laugh! He has yet to make himself throw up, but continues push the limit...

Happenings...

We took Jackson to get his first professional haircut the other day. As you can see, he really needed it...

Whoa! Shaggy and fuzzy!

Phil insisted that we go to a barbershop rather than my salon, so we went to the most manly shop in town. They had animal heads and pictures of hunters and their dead animals all over the walls. The barber was very patient and did a good job. Phil was a little put out that we had to pay the same price as an adult haircut ($11) even though it only took about 5 minutes, but what are you going to do?



This first shave freaked me out a bit... I told the barber I didn't want it shaved, but he went pretty short in the back. It turned out okay, though.


The cell phone only worked as a diversion for a little bit....


Happy in the car afterwards with his Tootsie Roll reward from the barber... what a cutie.


I found this elephant rocker at an antique store today... it was a good price and I thought it was really cute. J doesn't have a rocker at all, and I think he likes this one. His feet barely touch so he can't rock himself yet, but hopefully he'll be able to soon. Please excuse the cord mess in the background - Phil is getting ready to install in-wall speakers and has been messing with all of the electronic equipment. Usually those cords are nicely hidden.




Phil and I check on J every night before we got to bed, and every night we find him in a different postition. Last night when we walked in the room, this is what we saw. No wonder he doesn't like sleeping in the car seat - he needs to sprawl...


We thought he looked so cute that we decided to risk waking him up with the camera flash. He stayed asleep, though!

One last thing... this is now what happens when I turn my back for a few minutes. Someone has figured out how fun toilet paper can be. I have to be sure to remember to keep the bathroom doors closed. At least he isn't playing in the toilet water or something. :)

First Steps!!

Hooray! Jackson has finally taken some steps on his own!! He's been cruising around all over the place while holding on to furniture, but has just started walking a bit by himself. How exciting! These videos are really short b/c he doesn't take many steps before sitting or falling down, but you can at least get a glimpse! Every day he gets a little bit better. It's so amazing. :)






Oh, and today I went to my first MOPS (Mothers of Pre-Schoolers) meeting at a church we've been going to in town. I have several friends in other places that are members of MOPS, and they've all spoken really highly of it. There were a bunch of fun women there and I'm really looking forward to being a member of this group. Jackson was in the nursery for about an hour and a half and did great!

And sweet Phil just made me a s'more...yum! What a great day! :)

Just Like Dad...

I thought these pictures were just too cute. Phil was trying to fix something in the dishwasher last night and Jackson was very intrigued. He loves the dishwasher as it is (he runs (or bear-crawls at light speed) from wherever he is in the house whenever he hears me open it) and with Dad down there on the floor it made the DW even more special. I think he really looks like he's trying to help!




Tonight Phil was playing on the floor with J and since Phil's superpower is the ability to sleep anywhere, anytime (what I wouldn't give for that power), he fell asleep on the floor. Jackson crawled over to him once and touched his face and back to see what was up and then crawled a few feet forward, layed down, and started sucking his thumb! It seemed like he wanted to do just what Dad was doing! I absolutely love this picture...

He heard me taking a picture and had to flash me a smile. If you look closely (you can click on the picture to see it bigger) you can see the beginnings of a smile behind his fist! :) Oh, how I love my guys...

Daddy's Home!!

Phil made it home safely from Australia yesterday - yay!! I couldn't believe he actually got home on the day he was supposed to. Even he said that this was one of the smoothest flights home he's ever had. Everyone made it! J and I got to meet him out at the jet to welcome him home. We're so glad everyone is back safe and sound!!

Fair Fun

This past Saturday we went to tiny Tulelake, California for the Tulelake/Butte Valley Fair. Supposedly this is the best fair in the area, so I was looking forward to it. It did not disappoint! We had a great day full of corn dogs, Alaskan pig racing, merry-go-rounds, sheep, pigs, and cows, and kettle corn. It was free to get into the fair and free to park, and the grounds were really clean. Jackson didn't nap the whole day (except for about 20 minutes in the car on the way home), but he was still very pleasant to be around for most of the day!

Here's J awaiting the starting bell for the All-Alaskan pig races. It was the cutest thing.... these little piglets wearing racing bibs come out, load into the starting gates, and at the sound of the bell take off around the track. I think there was food waiting for them at the end of the track and boy, did they ever move quickly to get to it! I don't know how I missed these cuties when I lived in Alaska. BTW - the whole time these races were going on I was thinking about how Heidi would have given these pigs a run for their money. She would have looked so hilarious running around the track with them, but would have fit in quite well, I think. ;)


There was a huge 500-pound mama pig and about 10 piglets in one of the animal barns. She was just laying there like she was dead (once again, I thought of Heidi) and all of these little piggies were crawling around and over her and nursing from her. One of the piglets was clearly the runt and I was SO tempted to reach my hand in there and scoop him/her up. He/she could for sure have been my Wilbur from Charlotte's Web. I love pigs!!

And here's our merry-go-round experience in pictures. J was a little unsure about it, but he didn't really cry - he just whined a little bit at times (as you can see from this picture)...


I was trying to get him to hold on, even though the germ-phobe in me was screaming, "NOOOOO! Don't touch that filthy pole!!"


About halfway through the ride, I had to hold him for a bit - he was a little scared, I think...


But then he got right back on the horse...


The thing moved pretty fast and I was actually getting a little queasy toward the end... maybe J was, too...


Obviously a little grumpy and glad to be off, but I still think he's ready for Gus, Dad!

How Much Do I Love This Boy??

To the moon and back! ;) I swear, I could just eat him up!! I thought it would be really tough taking care of J by myself while Phil was gone for two weeks, but it has actually been fun! I love being with him every day. I even miss him at night after he's gone to bed. Don't get me wrong, the first few hours by myself after he's gone to bed are glorious, but then I start to miss him. We've been finding things to do almost every day, which has been fun. Today I even had him miss his morning nap so that we could go to a Moms' Club meeting and then to the park. He did great! He got a little grumpy at times, but was really good for the most part. I was hoping that he would take a really long nap this afternoon, but it was only about an hour and 45 minutes (which I guess is not necessarily short). We've been going to the park to swing almost every day, are going to the library and dinner at a friend's house tomorrow, and to a fair on Saturday! We do miss Daddy, though, and are really ready for him to get home.

Jackson loves this blanket. He really loves any blanket, but especially this one. Whenever he sees it he immediately grabs it, buries his head in it, and laughs! I had just washed it and was folding laundry to put away and he grabbed it and started rolling around on the floor with it. It was really cute.





J is so happy now whenever he wakes up. Very different from his Mommy. I can hear him in his room just squealing and laughing and rolling around in his crib. He loves to walk around the edge of the crib and then fall down and bounce on the mattress. He also loves to play this game with me where he'll stick the blanket through the crib slats and want me to pull it through. He cracks up! Then he sticks his little hand back through the slats and I hand him a piece of the blanket and he pulls it back through, falls on it, and cracks up again! We end up doing this over and over b/c we both love it! :) In this picture he's handing it over the railing, but you get the idea...


We played outside for a little bit this evening...


Hank is getting a little more used to J. Here he is awaiting a belly rub that never came... :(


Here's J in mid-spin on his bottom...


Having some fun in the grass...