June 2008

Some highlights, in random order.


We braved the cold water in the Kearneys' pool, and the results were blue lips and big smiles all around. It truly is amazing how quickly AZ pool water turns to bath-temp water once it hits 100 around here! A week later (picture #2), all the pools in town were already approaching too-hot-to-swim temps!

OK, so even in the middle of summer, with my thermostat set at a very economical and warm temperature, I still freeze! This is J cuddled up in the blanket my grandmother made for me. He wants to be just like mom. Awww.

On that note, Grandma recently taught me how to crochet and the headband on J is my first attempt. It isn't really anything except a strip made of leftover yarn, but he loved having it on and wanted to show it off. The best part was him scooting as close to Scout as possible (with Scout trying to scoot away as fast as possible) then saying "Cheese!!" with his biggest grin and scrunched up eyes.

Chris' Tiger Woods golf game for the XBOX has a cool feature that lets you upload your face and it will digitally create a copy of it for your in-game character. We wanted to try to get J's face on the game since he loves to play with Chris. These were the shots we got (none of them will work on the game) after bribing him with bites of a Milano cookie. The hardest part is that after years (literally) of teaching him to smile at the camera, the program requires you to have a straight face. Try explaining that to a 2 year old! Actually, if you are in need of a giggle, have someone try to take your picture while you keep a straight face! I couldn't do it!

A Little Confused

I think he misunderstood the memo that said "All kids eventually climb OUT of their cribs"!


The pink one is what he was after. If you enlarge it, you can see how sweaty he got climbing in and out!

May 2008

We went to Pei Wei one night and J couldn't help but flirt with the lady at the next table. He must have spent at least 20 minutes making all sorts of faces at her and showing off. She must have been a Grandma because she loved the attention and Chris and I loved that we got to have an uninterrupted conversation with each other!



We went to Makutu's Island for a Mom's Group recently and J was not content to play on the little kid stuff. He wanted UP! (for the uninitated it is a warehouse with 2 and 3 story tall slides and tunnels, etc) Since he is small and they are tall, I got to go too. Yea. Now, I like neither heights nor small spaces, but up I went anyway. This is one of the tamer slides we went on and thankfully only stair climbing was needed to reach the top.



I have been clipping my "bangs" back for a couple of days in a row and J wanted to be just like me when he found this paper clip. This one definitely goes in the wedding slide show.



We were at my MIL's and went to play tennis. You guys all know I am usually prepared for any contingency, but this one caught me off guard. It was COLD in MAY in ARIZONA! So here is J, in my MIL's sweater, his PJ pants and a T shirt. I think he was as displeased with the look of the ensemble as I was! :) However, it didn't stop any of the fun and he now says "WHAP!" when we pass the tennis courts.



I got his bouncer out to loan to a friend and J snuck in a quick bounce. How did he get so big so fast!?



His new thing is sending Daddy emails at work. Chris usually writes a sweet note back, too. I have a couple of softies in my house.



This is the best way to spend a lazy afternoon if you don't have a pool. Those are Chris's feet.

Our new kitten has a friend

Our little girl, Smudges, came home on Saturday and so far all is well. She chases down Tiger, hisses at Scout and generally thinks she is the queen of the household. She is also a table-scrap beggar so I'm sure she will put on weight quickly. It is almost midnight and she is up climbing my chair (and me!) just to see if she can. She quickly scaled the baby gate enclosing her in the office so it is time for plan B. She is a sweetheart though and everything a kitten should be. If your kids are bored one day, call me. Smudges would love the entertainment!


Jonathan did much better at holding her this time. Last time, he kept squishing her as he held her out in front of him.

Enjoying the car ride home together. She cried so loud when we had her in the carrier. It was pitiful!

Ahhh, I love my new bed. Too bad it comes with all these strings attached! ;)

Sleeping after a long day's play. She is really tiny, only 1lb 14 oz! The pillow next to her is a standard 12x12!

I will post pics of our recent trips to CA and CO in the next week or so!

New Family Member

We are adopting a kitten from a friend of my brother's and we finally met her this weekend. She is absolutely adorable and so so so tiny! Her name is Smudges. She is only about 5 weeks old so we won't get her until the end of June, but I really wanted to take her home the minute I saw her. We will have to work on Jonathan's kitten holding skills though -- he likes to squeeze just a little too hard.

Can you believe how huge those DVDs and electrical outlet look next to her!

Zoo and New Skills

We haven't been up to much, besides staying cool (it hit 110 yesterday). I thought I was fairly up to date with my pictures, but here are some I missed over the last month.

We are finally all healthy again! J had a cold that turned into a double ear infection and he thoughtfully passed it on to me. Isn't that sweet? Luckily, Chris managed to escape the wrath of this superbug, so at least there was someone around to provide food and water! He was so stuffy, we propped him up on our pillows and let him rest there for an hour or two. The poor guy was so wiped out, he didn't even move once!



J has taken to shoes lately: mine, Chris's or his, anything is fine. He actually has a good eye for matching most of the time and has often brought me the right pair of shoes without being asked!





We did the zoo for possibly the last time until it cools off, and J is finally big enough to play in the treehouse over the water. He has always looked longingly at it and I think it did not disappoint him. As one of the only boys in our group, he was quite the ladies man! :)

Bye bye zoo! Hello pool! Grandma and Grandpa took him swimming for the first time this year, braving the still cold water. It took about 15 minutes to adjust, but the lure of the ball being in the water was too much to resist for both J and his Grandpa Greg!

This is what happens to your child's head when all you focus on is his adorable face as you snap the photo!



Just J and Dad reading the Sports section together on a Sunday morning. Awww, so cute. ;)



J decided to help us shop for the new kitten we are adopting at the end of June, but the cart was a little harder to turn than he anticipated.



J-Man helping Daddy in the garden, using his own tools for the first time.



Jonathan loves drawing and especially loves copying our drawings. Unfortunately, neither Chris nor I are artists, in even the loosest kindergarten sense of the word! So our "drawings" are words and photographs. To that end, Jonathan has started making his own approximations of several letters and faces. These photos show what he drew and what he told Chris each one was as he did it. Surprisingly, to his adoring parents at least, some of them resemble what he said they were, slightly. Well at least they do if you tilt your head and squint while looking through a pair of those special 3D glasses. Click on them to see the drawings in detail.

ATTENTION: NON-JONATHAN PHOTO COMING!
This is Scout at his Doggy Training School Graduation. Isn't he cute? He is very well behaved now and can even stay home alone inside for several hours without wreaking havoc on our house!

Singing

Jonathan has really taken an interest in music over the past few days. His new favorite is filling in the animals, sounds and e-i-e-i-o for Old MacDonald. He can also fill in lots of different sounds for The Wheels on the Bus. His favorite is "wipers go swish swish swish". Anyway, just thought I'd share how cute he is!

I've also learned he does not do well in new places without a friend. We went to the splash park nearby and he did not want to get wet until he met a little girl and played ball with her for awhile. Then when she splashed in the puddles he did, too. However, he looked really cute in his swim outfit and was definitely the most covered up kid there!





When my parents were in town, we went miniature golfing. Surprisingly he stayed interested through the 16th hole. He was in charge of putting all of the balls the last 3 feet into the hole, and he was adamant that only one ball could be in the hole at a time. He would sink one, then go to sink another, see the first one and chuck it as far as he could away from the hole. Also, his ball color had to match his club color at all times, so each ball he putted meant a new club.



This is my dad and J and the new "b" my grandmother knitted him. He took to it instantly as it was made with love by the same grandma who made his original (large) favorite blanket. This one is small enough to be portable. I guess being the grandmother to 27 and mother to 10 means she really really knows what goes into a perfect baby blanket. He LOVES his "b"s and no others will do!




We went to Cracker Barrel for Chris's grandma's birthday and J fell in love with this caterpillar. I wish I'd known how much he was going to love rocking-- not 6 weeks ago I passed up the cutest rocker for less than $20 because he wasn't interested in it at all!!



A family picture with my brother. After 25 shots or so we finally got this one and it just shows that J really is almost 2! Ironically, he willingly posed with me for the test shots 15 minutes before my bro arrived, cheesing for the camera and everything!