Garden d'Lights - Botanical Garden Light Display

Last night I loaded the boys in the car and took them over to see the botanical garden light display. I had heard great things about it and I was eager to check it out and introduce Jay and David to the beauty of Christmas lights (over half a million in this display). I wasn't disappointed! The only disappointment was that Dad Matt couldn't join us. He needed to stay home and nurse his migraine headache (boo hoo!). I took these pictures so that we could tell and show Dad all about it, so I thought I'd share these pictures with all of you, too!

Above: Notice the slug on the left (including his slime trail) - a garden in the Seattle area wouldn't be a garden without one!

Below: It is a light "waterfall" with fish jumping

David is 6 months old!

My baby turned 6 months old on Sunday, December 12!

David's Stats:
Weight: 17 lbs, 11.5 oz. (50th-75th percentile)
Length/Height: 27" (75th percentile)
Head Circumference: 17-1/4 (50th percentile)

If you want to compare, see my blog entry on how big Jay was at this age. (In short, David is heavier than Jay was, but they seem to be about the same height and have about the same head size.)

David has a rash on his front and back, but I quickly learned it was a slight case of eczema and a little 1% hydrocortisone and Eucerin will cure it right up. (Jay had the same thing at his age. It must be related to the cold winter months - cold outside, warm dry heat inside.)

At his check-up he received more vaccine immunizations - DTaP (diphtheria tetanus & pertussis), HiB (haemophilus influenzae type b), PCV (pneumococcal conjugate vaccine), IPV (inactivated polio vaccine), and the Rotavirus. That equaled up to be 2 shots in his leg and one oral (liquid) dose. He was a trooper!

Here are some latest happenings with David:

• Sits by himself


• 7th tooth coming in (4 on top, 2 and a 3rd coming on the bottom)


• Started crawling!! 2 weeks ago (quite proficiently for only 6 months)


• Enjoys tummy time play time


• Thinks his brother is AWESOME


• Gives terrific open mouth kisses


• Loves playing peek-a-boo


• Laughs, screeches, babbles, and coos

And just to prove how great David is getting around, here is a video I took of David yesterday while Jay was napping.

David is developmentally ahead in the teeth and crawling categories when I look back and compare the two boys. As many second-born kids do, I think David will keep Jay on his toes!!

Christmas Picture Outakes

This year's picture won't win any prizes, but it was the best in the bunch...below is SUCCESS!!

Thanksgiving 2010

We spent Thanksgiving with my Mom and her side of the family (her sisters and brother and their families). We timed our travel perfectly and avoided the blizzard conditions.

Nothing says "home" to me like snow on the ground outside and a warm, cozy, beautiful fire in the fireplace - the first of the season. Jay enjoyed "helping" Grandma bring up the fire brick and the logs. I like this first photo as it looks like Jay is trying to give David a high-five.

The next morning Matt took Jay outside to experience the "no" in Jay's words (he's means snow). It was near 0 degrees F out, so it was plenty nippy.

What is better than coming in out of the cold to a nice warm mug of hot chocolate?

Here are some pictures of the snow drifts in my Mom's back yard looking out her kitchen window.

Thanksgiving Day was spent with aunts, uncles, cousins, and their kids. Around 40 of us (out of around 70 of us) gathered in Mom's church's basement for the afternoon to enjoy our Thanksgiving meal potluck and family share time.

Here is a picture of three of Jay and David's second cousins - Lara, Korie, and Julia. Aren't they adorable?

And here are some pictures of Matt feeding baby David his squash and applesauce.

My sister graciously took this family photo of us Thanksgiving morning.

And I'll finish this post with a picture of my Mom's siblings. This was the first holiday celebrated without Grandma Dorothy. We missed her, but basked in the love and bond we share as a family.

Picture: Aunt Beth (top left), Uncle Ray, Aunt Joan, Aunt Mary Kaye (bottom left), and Mom Amy

It was a terrific meal, we had a good time of sharing and fellowship, and the evening was topped off by an after-party gathering at my Mom's house. We'll gather again like this for Thanksgiving 2012.

November Together

(December 13)

It is about time I get back to blogging, isn't it? Life got busy, we were sick with cold bugs for several weeks, then life was full again...you all know how it goes.

Here are some pictures I took in November of the boys playing together early one morning.

Friend Katie wrote this in an email back on November 9th. I've included some of my musings from that day following Katie's email quote:

"Audrey has some stickers for Jay. And when I asked her if we should give some to Baby David, too, she said that David should not have any yet because he's too little, but when he gets a little older and grows up he can have some." :)

Once again Matt and I are amazed at Audrey's verbal and relational understanding. I can't get Jay to say "soup" (I fixed that for his lunch today) let alone talk about relationship stuff. Instead of saying "soup" he just likes to make a slurping sound (I've learned the slurping sound could be for "soup" or for "drink of water").

As I write this, though, I'm remembering Jay being so proud of himself learning that if he climbed up on a chair, he could then from that lean/jump over to the nearby couch and tumble over/across it. And today he loved being able to jump on top of four items he placed strategically on the floor. I used it as an opportunity to teach him counting as he jumped from one thing to the next. He loves conquering new physical challenges.

It is so funny to compare the two 2 yr olds knowing they are just operating as God designed them. :)

As I mentioned in my opening paragrah, we were under the weather for a time, but the crazy part of it is that Jay didn't act the least bit sick. As you might have figured out from my above paragraph, Jay continued to be as active as ever. No "down time" for sickness around here - no matter how you feel! :)

I was so grateful for the 2 hours of nap time I was able to utilize several days. Jay and David often take their long afternoon naps at the same time -- 1 to 3ish. I do my best to try and catch some extra zzz's at least a portion of that time in order to help me fight off sick bugs.

Over Veterans Day weekend we enjoyed an unexpected blessing - having my Mom here (a last minute terrific surprise). Here are some photos from our quality time together.

This next photo of Jay is a favorite of mine. Jay took off his socks and my Mom played with him and put them on his ears to make him look like a puppy. He thought it was GREAT!My Mom is a MASTER at putting baby David to sleep. She can do it so quickly and easily. We couldn't resist taking a picture of sweet David sleeping in his bassinet.

And here is a funny, sweet photo of David after I had finished dressing him for the day. Yes, he stands quite well with just a little bit of support needed. He's growing up so fast!Friday of Veterans Day weekend we took the boys to the play area at the local mall. It is fun to watch Jay climb, slide, jump and play. On Saturday, sis Molly met up with us (Mom, me and baby David) and we ventured off for some girl time shopping at the outlet mall in Auburn. Jay stayed home and had a good time with Dad. We three gals had a BLAST together. We figured it had been a good 15 years or so since the three of us had gone clothes shopping together like that. Nothing beats having some good girl opinions as you try on clothes! Below is a photo of David taking a nap. All our shopping wore him out! Ha! (Not really - he just took his normal nap.)

We stopped half-way through and grabbed a bite of lunch at a nearby Wendy's. David did terrific playing with his toys and a plastic spoon.

Sunday after church brother Scott and his wife Mandy, my sister Molly and her husband Scott, Mom, and my little fam all gathered here at my place for a pre-Thanksgiving family gathering. The camera didn't get used, unfortunately, but it was wonderful. I'm still cherishing the moments we enjoyed together.