Date Today

Matt and I left Jay with his Aunt Traci, Uncle Keith, and Cousins Samantha and Sydney and enjoyed a great and much needed date today.

Matt and I made a quick stop at Walmart for a few errand items, then ate lunch at Claimjumper Restaurant, did a little bit of window shopping at Southcenter Mall, and took in a matinee showing of the movie Fireproof.

Meanwhile Jay had a great time playing with his aunt, uncle, and cousins and enjoyed the beautiful day we had today with a walk in his stroller. He is still a little small to take a ride in his stroller without the car seat, but because of the straps, he stayed securely in the seat and he seemed to really enjoy being able to look out and see things. Here are a couple photos to prove his outing today. And he even took a cat nap on the way back to the house. (Thanks for the photos Traci!)

4 Months Old

Yes, Jay is officially 4 months old! He was 16 weeks old on Monday. I thought 'ya'll might enjoy more pictures of the guy 'cause really that is why you are watching this blog, right?

Here are a couple photos to compare. The top one was taken in the recliner on July 11. The bottom photo was taken today.

Since he was doing so well in the recliner for today's photo, I decided to make it into a photo shoot. He started out serious and I was able to get him to gradually give me a big smile. I love how generous he is in giving smiles to strangers, to family members, and especially to Mom and Dad.

And the finale for today - a video of Jay doing his "getting sleepy" talk. I turned the camera vertical and recorded the talking session, so it looks like you'll have to slightly turn your head if you want to watch it. Really it was all about capturing the sound, so give it a listen.

Matt's Weekend

As promised, here is a brief report on what Matt accomplished this weekend while Jay and I were in Eastern Washington...



He tiled the backsplash in our kitchen! Hooray! He decided this weekend was perfect for accomplishing this project so Jay didn't have to endure the sound of the tile cutter and I didn't have to endure the project mess in the kitchen. Isn't that thoughtful and wonderful of him? He sure is a terrific husband!

We had our kitchen re-faced in April this year (we hired a contractor and had the cupboard boxes painted white and new cupboard doors made and installed; we took off the old countertop and had the granite countertop installed; and we took down the track light fixture and had 6 can lights installed). That was SO worth the money - the refacing project was finished in two weeks and the kitchen was back to working order before baby Jay was born. To save some money we decided to install the backsplash ourselves.

So wa-la! Our kitchen is finished...that is, until we install new wood floors and purchase a new refrigerator - but that is down the road a bit.

Over the River and Through the Woods...

Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house we go...

That's the tune I've been singing this weekend! Yes, we went to Grandma Amy's house in Ritzville! Here is a photo of Jay before we left on Friday, September 19.

Karen, my really good friend who I used to work with at SPU for nearly 6 years, came with us. What a BLESSING she is to me, to my family, and to everyone she meets. Truly, she is just the greatest and I feel so blessed that she is a very close friend of mine. I've missed seeing her every day so it was really good to reconnect and to spend such quality time with her this weekend. She came to Ritzville with me in June 2007. I hope we can make this an annual thing - and if it happens more often than that - even better!

We left around 4:30 p.m. Friday. Jay woke up from his nap just before we left so Karen kindly sat in the back seat with Jay and held his bottle while he ate and then she entertained him until we came to Ellensburg. We pulled off the interstate around 6:30 p.m. to get a bite to eat for dinner, a restroom break, and I changed Jay's diaper. We were back on the road around 7:15 p.m. Jay was entertained and fed once again by Karen. He then fell to sleep, but just 30 minutes into his normal 1+ hour nap he woke up (around 8:00 p.m.). We were on the west side of Moses Lake when he started crying. And he cried, and cried, and cried. Nothing Karen or I tried seemed to settle him. We even pulled over at an exit and thought maybe he needed his diaper changed (turns out it wasn't very wet at all). We both needed a restroom break (thanks to our drinks during dinner) so we stopped one more time at a rest area about 20 minutes from Ritzville. Karen and I took turns holding Jay. He stopped crying the minute we took him out of his car seat so we were able to easily calm him down. We had just another 30 minutes to go before we'd be at Grandma's front door, so away we went. Not 2 minutes into our drive Jay started crying/screaming again. UGH!

Let me tell you, that was the LONGEST hour in the car. It is NOT FUN to travel with a screaming/crying baby in a cramped space. We surmised that Jay didn't like waking up in the pitch black darkness and being strapped in his car seat to boot. Thankfully future road trips we have planned are all in the daylight hours. And true to theory of day vs. night road trips, today's trip back home this afternoon was wonderful - he ate and then slept the remaining 2-1/2 hours. He woke up as we pulled off the freeway less than 10 minutes from home with a couple remaining hours left of daylight to our day.

We had a fun, relaxing weekend. We didn't do much - just hung out at the house and visited family and went to church this morning. Below are a few photos I took yesterday.

Karen and Jay

Jay's Great Aunt Joan
(Jay LOVES to stand)

Jay's Great Grandma Alma

I didn't take a photo of Jay with Grandma Amy or Great Grandma Dorothy on this trip home - oops!

A note on Great Grandma Alma (my Dad's Mom) - she is 94 and is doing wonderful. She lives in Ritzville in the terrific assisted living facility there. Currently the only thing she is "fighting" is severe arthritis (therefore the arm brace). When we arrived for our visit with her she was enjoying a game of BINGO with the folks there. What fun!

A note on Great Grandma Dorothy (my Mom's Mom) - she is 85 and is doing good, too. She lives with my Mom (my Mom is her caregiver) and has been a brittle diabetic for many, many years. The diabetes has taken its toll on her eyesight (she just sees blobs - she can't see fine details anymore) so you have to tell her who you are, but her hearing is just fine and her personality is still there. She's a crack up.

We are certainly COUNTING OUR BLESSINGS having them in our lives. Both of them are the best grandmas a person could ever hope for and we love them SO MUCH!! It seems we'll be able to make a trip home to Ritzville once a month through the end of the year for one reason or another. Hooray!

And what did Matt do this weekend without Jay and me? I'll be posting again soon to answer that question...

Our Little Peanut

Our little peanut is growing up! Matt and I were just commenting the other day - he is no longer a little newborn babe - he is a fun to be with baby, soon-to-be toddler. But we won't talk about his soon coming toddler days - those days will be here soon enough. Here are a few photos of Jay this week.

The photo above was taken this past Saturday afternoon, September 13. Doesn't he have the life? Completely comfortable napping on the Boppy having just finished another meal.


The above photos are of Jay late this morning after waking up from his nap. I laid him down parallel to the yellow bumper at the top of the photos, and this is what I saw when I looked in on him - a happy baby who had moved himself perpendicular. He woke up with four sneezes in a row and then I heard happy babbling. What a character!

Fun Days

Jay and I have been visiting friends this week and enjoying this beautiful weather in the evenings!

Tuesday morning we visited Mrs. Eaton (the President's wife at Seattle Pacific Univ), stopped by the office where I used to work to see co-workers, and then visited an old neighbor of ours where we used to live on Queen Anne hill. I then made a batch of poppy seed bread that afternoon followed by dinner and a terrific evening walk with Jay and Matt.

Today Jay and I ran some errands in the morning followed by lunch with former co-workers of mine when I worked at Families Northwest (10 years ago - time certainly goes quickly). This afternoon Jay didn't nap well, but I was still able to accomplish making a batch of zucchini bread. Matt quickly told me he loved coming home to that "home-y" smell of bread baking. Unfortunately for him he won't get any since I'm bringing the zucchini bread to women's bible study next Tuesday evening. And the poppy seed bread is for Sunday School class treats this coming Sunday.

Tomorrow I hope to mix up a batch of pear bread for Sunday School (for variety). It is a nice project to accomplish in the afternoon - I enjoy baking.

I think Jay must be in a good growth spurt right now. Monday he slept most the day away. Tuesday he wanted to eat at 3:00 a.m. and this morning he wanted to eat at 4:00 a.m. (when his normal is 6:00 a.m.) Today he has been awake and has wanted to eat the majority of the day (every 2 hours or so vs. wanting to eat every 3 hours). Currently, however, he is sleeping. I'll be waking him up soon for his final feeding of the day and then back to bed. Oh, the sleeping boy is waking up! I better get this posted!

Beautiful Day

First off, Jay had a good appointment with the cardiologist on Wednesday afternoon. His EKG came back normal (they do an EKG test on him every time we see Dr. Seslar) and since we haven't caught Jay in a SVT episode, we'll keep him on the same dosage of medication every 8 hours. Things are status quo - we'll continue to monitor his heart rate and hope it stays normal. As he continues to grow in weight and heighth he will wean himself off the medication. We'll have another follow-up appointment with Dr. Seslar in January 2009 when Jay is 7 mo. old. At that time, if there are no episodes between now and then, there is a strong possibility we'll stop administering the medication then.

Today Jay and I met up with some girlfriends and walked around Greenlake in Seattle. What a beautiful day for a walk and good conversation! Thanks Katie (with Audrey who was born May 23) and Emilie (with Elorie born in February)! Katie's friend Anna was in town from Chicago (she took the photo). So good to see and catch up with you, too!

Here is a sweet picture of Katie's daughter, Audrey, when she was 1 month old. Perhaps Jay's future girlfriend?? Well, at least for sure his future girl friend.

New Things

Jay is amazing us with his latest "tricks." He continues to be more alert and engaging during his wake times.

On Sunday afternoon we were watching a football game on tv. He is so hilarious! He gets all excited and starts talking up a storm when the game is in action. When a commercial comes on he looks away from the tv and is bored (like most of us are), but when the game comes back on, he stares at the tv again and does excited squeals of delight when the guys make a play. Here is a photo of Jay watching the game on Sunday.


He found his feet this week! He started touching/grabbing his toes and feet late last week and continues to do it. He especially enjoys doing it on the changing table. He is typically a happy boy on the changing table - he loves to flail his arms and legs in excitement. Here are a couple photos of him touching his toes. The first one I had the light on, so it isn't the best photo because of that, but it captured his cute smile, so I couldn't resist posting it.


This afternoon we go to see Dr. Seslar, the cardiologist, for a follow-up appointment regarding his SVT. Jay hasn't experienced any fast heart-beat episodes that Matt or I have caught/heard, so it should be a status quo appointment with the doctor. I continue to administer his liquid beta-blocker medication every 8 hours via syringe. I'm thinking the doctor will tell us to continue with the same dosage (less than 1/4 tsp). Perhaps the doctor will even discuss with me when we might stop administering the medication (possibly as early as when he is 6 mo. old). We'll see...

Jay and I try to get out for a walk most every day. The September days are beautiful. We're trying to capture as much of the good weather as possible before the rain returns.

Blessings to all of you until next time...

Mindy

Labor Day Weekend

Friday, August 29, Matt, Jay, and I left Cannon Beach around 10:00 a.m. We made it to The Dalles, OR around 1:00 where we stopped for a bite to eat, to change Jay's diaper, and to stretch our legs. We then continued on toward Grandma Amy's with a very quick stop in the Tri-Cities, WA just to fill the car with gas. By 5:00 p.m. we arrived at Grandma Amy's. HOORAY!

Grandma Amy greeting Jay
(she hadn't seen him for two months)

Jay doing his "classic" stretch for Grandma

Great Grandma (my Mom's Mom) with Jay

Saturday, August 30 my Mom, Matt, Jay, and I drove into town to visit Great Grandma (my Dad's Mom - see July 11 post) and then to my Aunt Donna's house. Aunt Donna is bravely fighting bone cancer and is looking/doing much better (PTL!). Here is a photo of her with Jay.

Aunt Donna had this cute little wicker rocker in her living room that we just couldn't resist using for an impromptu photo session with Jay sitting in it. He was the perfect size. Here is the result.

Jay, Matt, and I headed back home Sunday afternoon, August 31. Before we left, we couldn't resist a photo of Jay in the bouncy seat Sunday morning.

Cannon Beach Week

We arrived home from vacation Sunday night, August 31, and quickly discovered our modem died on us while we were gone. We didn't get the new modem until Thursday. So sorry for the delay in getting another post up.

So many great things have happened since my last post!

I'll first start with a recap of our Cannon Beach week. I was able to post a few photos while there in Oregon, but here is a full run-down.

Saturday, August 23

Leave home in AM

Visit with Randy, Kynda, and family in Kelso over lunch

Arrive at Cannon Beach Conference Center for dinner

Dinner on August 23 (Cousin Alex looking at camera)

Sunday, August 24

Cousins Joshua and Alex with Jay

Beautiful, sweet Cousin Samantha

Aunt Shawn and Jay

Tuesday, August 26

Uncle Keith and Jay

Dad Matt and Jay
(Mom Mindy LOVES this photo of her guys!)

Nana and Jay

Wednesday, August 27

PopPop and Jay

Mom, Dad, and Jay walking to Haystack Rock

The walk there really tuckered Jay out... (ha!)

A cute photo of Jay on PopPop's lap

The Family

Matt's sister Traci's family on the far left

PopPop and Nana (Jim and Carol)

Our Family

Matt's sister Shawn's family on the far right

Another favorite photo of mine of our family

Thursday, August 28

Birthday Celebration for Traci & Shawn

Jay Lazin' w/Mom

A Campfire on the Beach =

SMORES with the family

Friday, August 29

Sad, but true - our vacation at Cannon Beach came to an end Friday morning. Before 10:00 a.m. Jay enjoyed a story with Cousin Sydney and a nap with/on Nana.