More Pictures

Above is another picture of Jay in Grandma's highchair. His two bottom teeth are fully in and the top two teeth came through the gums this past week and two more on the top on either side of the two front teeth are about to come through, too. You can just imagine how much I've been up at night "helping" Jay teethe.

Above is Aunt Mandy reading a new book to Jay

What a happy boy!

The next two pictures were taken with Great Grandma (my Mom's Mom) December 26. Jay was so-o-o good with her. He just calmly laid in her arms - hardly moved a muscle - as he listened to her talk to him. It was really sweet to witness.

And here is Jay dressed in his warm teddy bear coat Nana gave to him.

Christmas!

We just arrived home today after several great days in Eastern Washington where we experienced quite a snow storm on Christmas Eve. It was definitely a white Christmas! We had a great time with lots of family around.

I love this picture of Jay on Christmas Day morning. Notice the cute "1st Christmas" bib from Nana and PopPop.


And here is a picture montage of Jay opening his Christmas gift from Matt's Uncle Don and Aunt Judy. He loves his new fire truck book and matching toy with a soft firefighter, water bucket rattle, a fire hydrant toy that honks when you squeeze it, and a barking Dalmation dog that makes Jay smile big every time he barks.

Don't you just love that tongue?!?

Thanks Uncle Don & Aunt Judy!

More pictures to come in the days ahead!

Merry Christmas!

MERRY CHRISTMAS everyone! We're headed to Eastern Washington today - a day earlier than we had planned. There is yet another snow storm forecasted to hit later tonight and tomorrow so we decided it would be better to head over the mountain today vs. trying to do it in the midst of a snow storm.

Here is a day and a night photo taken of our "view." Our town has received 13" of snow total. Quite unusual for a town that RARELY sees snow let alone this much snow. Thankfully Matt has been able to get to and from work this week despite the compact snow and ice. Aren't the trees pretty with the inches of snow on top of each branch?

Fun Times

A second snow storm is upon us this evening, but Matt and I got out earlier today to run errands and to stock up with groceries and logs for the fireplace in case the power goes out. Aunt Traci graciously said "okay" to watching Jay while we were out and about. And, as usual, here are some pictures to show the fun Jay had today. (Cousin Sydney is in the photos.) When we got home Jay took a LONG afternoon nap.

New Pictures

PopPop and Nana recently sent us pictures of Jay from our time with them in mid-November. PopPop took great photos so I thought I'd share them all with you.

Funny expression, huh?!? I love it!

Jay on Nana's lap

Jay on Matt's sister Shawn's lap

Jay is saying "Hi" to Alex and/or Joshua (Jay's first cousins)

Bye for now, everybody!!

SNOW and a Splish Splash Bath

It started snowing around 3 or 4 a.m. this morning. I was up at 5 a.m. to nurse Jay and it was just coming down in sheets of white. And in a town that RARELY sees snow - this was quite incredible. And I was entertained around 5:15 with lightning and l-o-o-n-n-g LOUD thunder. It was quite exciting.

Here is a photo taken at about 9:00 a.m. (Matt's car is the Acura TL on the far right of the four cars.) By the time it finished snowing late this afternoon we accumulated around 12 inches! Suffice it to say, Matt didn't go to work today. In fact, they closed his office since it was so dangerous to drive there and back home. It felt like a Saturday today - it was truly wonderful having him home.

I love this picture of the snow laden tree that we look out on from our balcony deck.

To break up the day we invited Matt's sister Traci, husband Keith, and nieces Samantha and Sydney over for lunch. They braved the cold, walking and sledding the mile + to our condo for a hot lunch and fellowship. Thanks so much, you guys! That was the highlight of our day. Check out their adventure on their blog. Thanks to Traci for taking these next two photos.

This evening our tub decided to take its time to drain (as soon as we thaw out Matt will snake the drain), so I decided to give Jay a bath in the kitchen sink. I think I'll do it there from now on - it was great and Jay LOVED it! Here are pictures and a video to prove it. He really loved splashing in the water tonight and he also liked that the kitchen faucet can change its output from a stream of water to a trickle-like shower. Mom liked that she could pull out the faucet and maneuver it around his body to rinse him off well.

Sticking out his tongue is his "latest and greatest" thing
Isn't he funny??

I love this photo - he is loving his bath!
Such a happy boy!

A Second Ear Infection

Today we had a follow-up appointment with the pediatrician. We were hoping the ten day doses of amoxicillin had cleared up his double ear infection so that he could get his round of shots.

We weighed him - he is 17 lbs. .05 oz. today.

His execema is clearing up, but we bought some hydrocortisone cream at the drugstore to help it completely go away.

The bad news is that he now has a second round of an ear infection - this time it is only in his left ear. We stopped at the pharmacy so now he'll take Cefdinir (generic name is Omnicef) once a day for ten days. We have another follow-up appointment with the pediatrician on Wednesday, January 7. Hopefully then he'll be completely healthy and can get his shots.

The newest news is that his top two teeth are coming in. The top left one broke through the gum yesterday and the right one is just about to exit the gum. Finally some evidence for all the drooling, rubbing of his gums, and his crying irritability in the middle of the night.

Christmas Luncheon

This afternoon Jay and I made a trip to Seattle Pacific University (where I used to work) to visit with my former co-workers. Today happened to be the day they chose to gather for a casual salad potluck Christmas lunch and ornament gift exchange. What fun we had! Thanks, ladies, for allowing us to join and participate in your gathering. I've missed seeing and working with you every day.

Here is Jay with Hannah, his new friend who he loved and enjoyed playing with. Hannah is the daughter of Kristin, the gal who took over my job position in August. Jay is 6-1/2 months, Hannah is 3 years old. Isn't she cute??

Here is Kristin and Hannah opening their ornament gift. Notice the spread of salads on the buffet behind them. Yum! All the salads and accompaniments were so good!

Hannah and Karen

Jay and Sarah

The yummy Coldstone Creamery ice cream cake we enjoyed for dessert!

Cookie Swap

Sunday afternoon I left Jay and Dad at home for the afternoon while I enjoyed my first cookie swap party hosted by a friend from our Sunday School class. What fun that was to have some adult girl time away from baby Jay and to enjoy some yummy new cookies and recipes. Here is the photo of the Christmas cookies I brought - Amish Sugar Cookies.

Christmas Party!

This past Saturday evening we were invited to five different Christmas parties, but since they were all at the same time and were distances from each other, we had to choose just one to attend.

I forgot my camera at home, but thanks to the hosts of the party who posted the party photos online, I'm able to share them with you.

Our friends and hosts: Dave and Annie with Maggie (1+ yr) and baby boy on the way

Friends, Brian and Dixie with Ben (1+ yr) and baby girl on the way

The Moms and kiddos - SO CUTE! I love this photo.
Maggie and Ben are just a couple weeks apart, age-wise.

Friends, Mark and Suzanne

It was a Christmas gift exchange, so here is Maggie with the loot

Dad tied a bow and made Jay into a Christmas Ninja

Henry - 21 months - What a cutie!

Henry LOVED Jay and he especially loved it and would laugh when Jay would reach out and touch his cheek. (Jay's way of saying "Hi, I like you.")

Thanks so much, Dave and Annie, for another great Christmas party! What a blessing it is to know you and to call you our good friends.

Late Thanksgiving or Early Christmas?

I decided to make a late Thanksgiving or early Christmas feast today. I bought a 12 lb. frozen turkey the weekend after Thanksgiving for less than $5 and proceeded to plan the sides. After two days of brining, "Tom" (or is it Tom-ina?) the turkey went into the oven this morning thanks to some help from Matt since I was busy with Jay at times today. Three hours in the oven with basting every 30 minutes and wa-la! a beautiful golden turkey emerged.

Homemade Turkey Gravy

(I added parsley and pepper for color and seasoning)

The Feast

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

While I was busy in the kitchen one time this morning, I left Jay in his bouncy seat. When I looked over at him from the kitchen Jay had slumped down in his seat so his legs were hanging way off the end and he was swinging them up and down, up and down, and happily gurgling while doing so. I'm sure he was giving his core muscles a good workout. Notice where his "bum" is so he could obtain optimal swing. Ha!

Matt and I are enjoying a glass of Cider Ice this afternoon while Jay is napping. Matt has been so kind to me and has gone to our basement storage area and dug out all the Christmas decorations so I can work on unpacking them to display around our home. I hope to finish doing that in the next few days when I'm not busy feeding/playing/caring for Jay.

This past Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday nights I played prelude Christmas music on my violin accompanied by my good friend, Courtney, on the piano, for our church's sixteenth annual Ladies' Christmas Friendship Dinners. The church removes all the sanctuary chairs and sets the room with 44 tables of 8. The women table hostesses decorate the tables with their own tablecloths, china, centerpieces, etc. and invite 7 other friends to join them. Every night the room is set differently since there are 44 new table hostesses. The men of the church volunteer to serve the dinner (which is done family style). This year Taproot Theatre was the main entertainment. It is fun to walk around the room and view the different and beautifully decorated tables. The event was fun to do and is a great kick-off to the Christmas season.