Playing in the Waves

Jumpin' and jammin'

Wanted to share a couple of videos...The first one is at Bounce gymnastics on a long trampoline with a couple of friends from daycare....he couldn't get enough of running and jumping on this thing.  The second is Justin singing and playing "guitar"...for the last couple of weeks he's been using his toy rake, badminton racket, and even air (as in air-guitar), and as this video shows... now his duck push-toy, as guitars.   (We predict that his Uncle Sam will be quite pleased! :)

May 2009

What a great May we've had! We finally got to go on our much anticipated trip to Mt. St. Helens to meet up with Debra and Kent, who drove down from Vancouver BC.  We stayed in a great cabin, saw some gorgeous views on hikes, played games and of course had a microbrew or two.  Way too short of a visit, but we're psyched that we get to see them again in a couple weeks at the coast!

On Memorial Day we went to Chad and Amanda's for a BBQ, and with the exception of a little sand incident :) it was really nice and mellow.  And last weekend we took Justin to his friend Mira's birthday party at Bounce Gymastics, which was loads of fun.  Justin had a blast on the trampolines and running under the parachute...we will definitely be looking into a potential birthday party for him there one day.  That place is very cool.

It's been in the 80's here lately, so we broke out the pool last weekend and Justin had a great time banging cups together and splashing around.  

Okay grandparents get ready:  J's added some new words to his vocabulary this month, which have been pretty exciting for us to hear! :)  There are some words that do double duty; for instance,  he says "up" and raises his arms up at us (today he said "Mama up" ),  but he also says "ep", which means  "help", so can be tricky to differentiate. And then to really keep us  on our toes, he points to basketball hoops and says "op".    I think I mentioned in the last post that when someone says "gorilla" he pounds on his chest and says 'aaaaaa', but now he does the same thing when he sees an "umbrella".  We just laugh...one day he'll figure it out....

He also says "mo" (more) and "mo muh"  (more milk).  But the funniest one has been "mon-mow", which means lawnmower, but now is also the word for motorcycle (I guess they are both pretty loud).  He loves pointing to both types of "mon-mow's" while we're in the car, as well as spotting/pointing/naming  trucks (aka "tuh"). 

Below is a slideshow of the photos from the past month.  Stay tuned for photos from June, we've got the coast trip coming up and then back east with Josh's parents at the beach and Allentown..can't wait! (although, you must know by now you won't really see any of those photos until July :)

I don't want to forget....

.....the things that have been making us smile lately. I've been meaning to write a "memory blog" for a while...so here goes! :)

One of my favorite things are Justin's hugs. He puts his head on my shoulders, arms around me and squeezes, and says "mmmmmm.....mmmmmum." One of those hugs can literally make my day go from blah to top-of-the-world in a split second. :)

One of Justin's favorite things to do is matching objects. He loves to look in books and then point to objects in the room that are the same. He's also fascinated by playing with/looking at his new basketball hoop and pointing at the 'big kid's hoop' across the street. And I'm happy to say that his strong dislike of the bike helmet quickly changed into running into the garage, pointing at his helmet and then pointing at his head, as if to say, "helmet on...let's go!"

It's been so much fun to hear Justin trying out more words and animal sounds. When he sees trains he says "too too", when he sees dogs he sticks his tongue out and pants, ducks apparently say "ca ca ca", and cats say 'ow'. At daycare they taught him that gorillas beat on their chest and say 'uhhhhhh' (he smacks himself in the belly though) and lions, tigers and bears all say "rar!" We've also heard an occasional 'tang oo" for thank you (mimicking us though), and "too" or "shhhoo" for shoe. My all-time favorite....."ama" and "mama"....pure music to my ears. Justin's all time favorite, however, is "NO", which he says exceptionally clear. :)

J's also been dancing to music by turning in circles and jumping and clapping, and then clapping at the end of songs. I'll have to get that on video soon and post it....it's pretty darn funny.

He started waving a couple months ago and now loves to wave goodbye to his bathtub, the house as we're leaving it, and to his friends at daycare (though seemingly prefers to wave to people once their backs are turned :). Other things I want to remember: "fish face", and bringing books to us to read and turning around/backing up into our laps.

I keep trying to remember to live in the moment and soak it all in... I can't believe how fast life is going...but each stage he gets to is amazing, and we are loving watching him get excited about learning new things!

Thanks to Barbara for the wonderful photo above...she got some great ones while she, Pete, Nancy, Jon, Sam and Sandy were here for Passover...which was so much fun and we're hoping will be an annual event!! :) I will include some more of her photos in a slide show below, as well as one with fun pics from the last couple of weeks!

Fun stuff with [Baby] J

Lately we've been trying out some new activities with Justin...he doesn't have a very long attention span coloring with crayons and sidewalk chalk, but at least he doesn't try to eat them!  The bike ride has been the most fun....the toddler seat we ordered arrived last Friday and we got to try it out  Saturday.  He loved it...lots of smiling and giggling, and he kept waving at me when I rode beside them.  He's not that into the helmet (I'm putting it mildly...he hates the helmet..especially when we're trying to put it on him) but he'll get used to it eventually! :)

The slideshow shows a little bit of everything, and the video is of the bike ride.  Enjoy! 

Oregon adventures

Hello all!  We are finishing up Spring Break today...it's been a great week.  While uploading some photos of our skiing/tubing adventure from last Friday, I realized we had quite a few photos that I'd never shared, so included them into a slideshow here.  You will see photos of Josh and his dad Pete on a McKenzie fly fishing/raft trip they took together last October 08, a hike with Justin back in September 08 (yikes) and January 09, photos of Justin with Bill and Sue in Bend Feb 09, and a Science Factory trip in Feb 09.  We had a special guest named Flat Stanley with us on our snow adventure this week....our niece Kristin is doing a project for school in St. Petersburg Florida, and the goal is to see all the places Flat Stanley travels...we got him some great ski gear and seemed to have a blast!

Justin turned 15 months old this week, but you'd think he was 2 since his new favorite word is seemingly "NO".  Last week his favorite thing to say was "Ball Thro-o-o-o-w"; this week, it's "Mama NO-o-o-o!"  (He hadn't said "Mama" for months, but apparently decided to bring it back with some attitude attached! :)  Accompanying his 'no' is a decisive shoving motion with his hand, as if to say, get away from me NOW.  We seriously didn't think this stuff started until two (but everyone is assuring us it's very normal! :)

Here's some photos taken over the last couple of week, including lots from a playdate with Lucas and 'mommy Jeanie', and a couple photos from hiking in Bend with Sue (and Bill).  There's also a couple of Justin in his rocking chair reading...he loves books and he loves that rocking chair!  

And last but not least, here's a clip from last week of "Thro-o-o-w" and "uh-oh!" 

Yesterday was Justin's 14 month old 'birthday', and he took the most steps he'd ever taken.....that is until today!  He walked across the room at daycare, and kept walking all around when we got home!  Here's a clip of it....he's completely tickled by it (as are we :)!

 

I leave you with a photo of Justin from last night .... that smile is truly the brightest part of our day :)

Well happy belated New Year!  We got back to Eugene on Jan 1st after a great vacation in Florida, and we are missing family and sun like you wouldn't believe.  :)  We had so much fun there....first we were in the Tampa area visiting my parents and brother, sis-in-law and niece and nephew for Christmas.  We were outside every day....taking walks, going to the park, seeing manatees, and grilling out amazing meals.  Josh and I also got to go canoeing down the Hillsborough River while my parents watched Justin...we saw alligators and great blue herons and family after family of turtles.  We also went to Ybor City to the famous Columbia Restaurant so Josh could try authentic Cuban food....delicousness.

Justin loved playing with his cousins, Kristin and Alex, and vice versa.  They were so good with him, and he was completely enamoured.  And big news....he took his first steps there!  He took about 5 steps one day, and a couple more another, and he's had a few more since we've been back.  He's still a 'kneewalker' though, which is his preferred mode of transportation and pretty funny to watch. (I've been having trouble embedding You tube onto this site, but when I figure it out, I'll add of clip of him doing this :)

On the 30th, we drove to Boca Raton to celebrate Channukah with Josh's Grandmom who has a condo on the beach, and his parents drove down from PA to meet us! We lounged at the beach, Justin got to watch shuffleboard for the first time (and wowser was he excited! :), and Grandmom made a fantastic dinner of brisket and latkes one night....and the next night we ate fantastic seafood at a great outdoor restaurant.  We had champagne and got to see fireworks over the water on New Year's Eve, but went to bed early in order to catch the 'way-too-early-flight' the next morning.  

The visit was way too short, and it gets harder and harder to leave family each time we have to do so. Not to mention that being outside and warm every day was absolutely heavenly, and made me realize how much I really miss it.  Se la vie....

 Check out the slideshow of photos from the trip (thanks to both my dad and Barbara for sharing some of their photos as well! :) Hope everyone is having a great start to their New Year!

Woke up this morning to several inches of snow....no work or school today!  Justin, Josh and I took a little walk this morning, and then Justin got his first taste of playing in the snow!  

The week started with Justin's (who, by the way, we are now calling "Destructo-Man"...because he destroys everything in his path) 1-year well-baby check-up.  Here's his latest stats:

Height:  30.5" (71st percentile)

Weight: 23 lbs 6 oz  (58th percentile)

Head Circ: 18.25 " (48.5th percentile)

We got the go-ahead to reduce formula and try milk and eggs, as well as turn the car seat around face forward (but we're going to wait on the car seat just a little bit longer! J He's done well with mixing half formula/half whole milk…..we are relieved because we thought he wouldn't be able to handle regular milk due to possible lactose intolerance….but so far so good!

 Justin has been signing "more" like crazy this week.  Earlier in the week we were reading a book Jessica and Graham got him for his birthday, and at the end of the story, he signed 'more', so I read it again!  It was really, really cool.  He's also done it when I've asked him if he wants a bath.  It's neat that he is communicating with more than pointing and crying….it's got to make him feel good too!

 Friday night we had a scare…..after eating some mashed potatoes, he began making horrible high-pitched wheezing sounds.  I thought he was having an allergic reaction so called 911….the paramedics came and after listening to his heart said they heard rattling in the right lung.  They figured that he inhaled some of the potatoes and we should follow up with a phone call to his doctor (they also said worse-case scenario he may have to get his lungs suctioned…which would have been horrible).  After the medics left, we called the doctor.  The triage nurse called us back and demanded that we take him to the ER immediately.  So we drove to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and they got him in immediately. We got great news…he checked out fine via x-ray and other vitals----they said it must have worked itself out at some point.  While we were waiting for the doctor, they gave Justin a mini-baby-hospital-gown which he kept pulling up over his head playing peek-a-boo with random nurses….he was really hamming it up.  So not the best evening, but we were definitely relieved at the outcome!

 Saturday night we went to Chad and Amanda's for their annual Channukah party (early this year!)….Amanda's mom and dad come into town and her mom makes a FEAST!  We had latkes and Justin had his first taste of brisket which he loved…here's a photo!

 

Some fun moments at the party:  Justin climbed down some stairs backwards…it was a first for him to get down by himself.  He also had fun playing with his buddy Lucas….they passed a ball back and forth a few times and we were cheering them on…it was so cool!  They also played the piano side by side and waved around a jump rope together…but the best was when Lucas gave Justin a hug and Justin gave him a kiss on the cheek….I wish I had gotten a picture!  (fyi….a "kiss" from Justin is when he opens his mouth and basically slobbers on you).   Here's a couple photos of them: 

This is our last week in Eugene and then we take off for Florida for Christmas with my parents and brother and his family, and then a quick trip over to Boca to visit Grandmom and Josh's parents.  I'll make sure to post photos when we get back from our trip…in the meantime….here's a photo from a couple weeks ago….Justin is all bundled up while watching his dad play lacrosse (# 41!)  Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah to all!  J

 

Mr. 15 Months Old

Justin turned 15 months old this week, but you'd think he was 2 since his new favorite word is seemingly "NO".  Last week his favorite thing to say was "Ball Thro-o-o-o-w"; this week, it's "Mama NO-o-o-o!"  (He hadn't said "Mama" for months, but apparently decided to bring it back with some attitude attached! :)  Accompanying his 'no' is a decisive shoving motion with his hand, as if to say, get away from me NOW.  We seriously didn't think this stuff started until two (but everyone is assuring us it's very normal! :)

Here's some photos taken over the last couple of week, including lots from a playdate with Lucas and 'mommy Jeanie', and a couple photos from hiking in Bend with Sue (and Bill).  There's also a couple of Justin in his rocking chair reading...he loves books and he loves that rocking chair!  

And last but not least, here's a clip from last week of "Thro-o-o-w" and "uh-oh!" 

Happy Walking Guy!

Yesterday was Justin's 14 month old 'birthday', and he took the most steps he'd ever taken.....that is until today!  He walked across the room at daycare, and kept walking all around when we got home!  Here's a clip of it....he's completely tickled by it (as are we :)!

 

I leave you with a photo of Justin from last night .... that smile is truly the brightest part of our day :)

January 2009

Well happy belated New Year!  We got back to Eugene on Jan 1st after a great vacation in Florida, and we are missing family and sun like you wouldn't believe.  :)  We had so much fun there....first we were in the Tampa area visiting my parents and brother, sis-in-law and niece and nephew for Christmas.  We were outside every day....taking walks, going to the park, seeing manatees, and grilling out amazing meals.  Josh and I also got to go canoeing down the Hillsborough River while my parents watched Justin...we saw alligators and great blue herons and family after family of turtles.  We also went to Ybor City to the famous Columbia Restaurant so Josh could try authentic Cuban food....delicousness.

Justin loved playing with his cousins, Kristin and Alex, and vice versa.  They were so good with him, and he was completely enamoured.  And big news....he took his first steps there!  He took about 5 steps one day, and a couple more another, and he's had a few more since we've been back.  He's still a 'kneewalker' though, which is his preferred mode of transportation and pretty funny to watch. (I've been having trouble embedding You tube onto this site, but when I figure it out, I'll add of clip of him doing this :)

On the 30th, we drove to Boca Raton to celebrate Channukah with Josh's Grandmom who has a condo on the beach, and his parents drove down from PA to meet us! We lounged at the beach, Justin got to watch shuffleboard for the first time (and wowser was he excited! :), and Grandmom made a fantastic dinner of brisket and latkes one night....and the next night we ate fantastic seafood at a great outdoor restaurant.  We had champagne and got to see fireworks over the water on New Year's Eve, but went to bed early in order to catch the 'way-too-early-flight' the next morning.  

The visit was way too short, and it gets harder and harder to leave family each time we have to do so. Not to mention that being outside and warm every day was absolutely heavenly, and made me realize how much I really miss it.  Se la vie....

 Check out the slideshow of photos from the trip (thanks to both my dad and Barbara for sharing some of their photos as well! :) Hope everyone is having a great start to their New Year!

Snow Day!

Woke up this morning to several inches of snow....no work or school today!  Justin, Josh and I took a little walk this morning, and then Justin got his first taste of playing in the snow!  

Wacky Week

The week started with Justin's (who, by the way, we are now calling "Destructo-Man"...because he destroys everything in his path) 1-year well-baby check-up.  Here's his latest stats:

Height:  30.5" (71st percentile)

Weight: 23 lbs 6 oz  (58th percentile)

Head Circ: 18.25 " (48.5th percentile)

We got the go-ahead to reduce formula and try milk and eggs, as well as turn the car seat around face forward (but we're going to wait on the car seat just a little bit longer! J He's done well with mixing half formula/half whole milk…..we are relieved because we thought he wouldn't be able to handle regular milk due to possible lactose intolerance….but so far so good!

 Justin has been signing "more" like crazy this week.  Earlier in the week we were reading a book Jessica and Graham got him for his birthday, and at the end of the story, he signed 'more', so I read it again!  It was really, really cool.  He's also done it when I've asked him if he wants a bath.  It's neat that he is communicating with more than pointing and crying….it's got to make him feel good too!

 Friday night we had a scare…..after eating some mashed potatoes, he began making horrible high-pitched wheezing sounds.  I thought he was having an allergic reaction so called 911….the paramedics came and after listening to his heart said they heard rattling in the right lung.  They figured that he inhaled some of the potatoes and we should follow up with a phone call to his doctor (they also said worse-case scenario he may have to get his lungs suctioned…which would have been horrible).  After the medics left, we called the doctor.  The triage nurse called us back and demanded that we take him to the ER immediately.  So we drove to McKenzie-Willamette Hospital and they got him in immediately. We got great news…he checked out fine via x-ray and other vitals----they said it must have worked itself out at some point.  While we were waiting for the doctor, they gave Justin a mini-baby-hospital-gown which he kept pulling up over his head playing peek-a-boo with random nurses….he was really hamming it up.  So not the best evening, but we were definitely relieved at the outcome!

 Saturday night we went to Chad and Amanda's for their annual Channukah party (early this year!)….Amanda's mom and dad come into town and her mom makes a FEAST!  We had latkes and Justin had his first taste of brisket which he loved…here's a photo!

 

Some fun moments at the party:  Justin climbed down some stairs backwards…it was a first for him to get down by himself.  He also had fun playing with his buddy Lucas….they passed a ball back and forth a few times and we were cheering them on…it was so cool!  They also played the piano side by side and waved around a jump rope together…but the best was when Lucas gave Justin a hug and Justin gave him a kiss on the cheek….I wish I had gotten a picture!  (fyi….a "kiss" from Justin is when he opens his mouth and basically slobbers on you).   Here's a couple photos of them: 

This is our last week in Eugene and then we take off for Florida for Christmas with my parents and brother and his family, and then a quick trip over to Boca to visit Grandmom and Josh's parents.  I'll make sure to post photos when we get back from our trip…in the meantime….here's a photo from a couple weeks ago….Justin is all bundled up while watching his dad play lacrosse (# 41!)  Merry Christmas and Happy Channukah to all!  J