Sliding Head First

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Work has been insane for both adults in this household but July 1, I deliver my manuscript ("The Soap Queen's Guide to Perfect Soapmaking") to Storey Publications and life should start getting back to a more normal routine (aka: not working daily from 7-10 just to catch up on emails) and blogging should get back on track.


Jamisen is a new devotee of the Bellingham Parks System. Thank you Bellingham taxpayers for such lovely, lovely family places to be. He learned today how to go down the slide, by himself. Of course, he is happier going head first. Since he can't keep us his core strength enough to go down on his little tooshie without falling back and hitting his head, I'm okay with this new daredevil tendency.
Jamisen is starting to walk like a little champ! Look at him, walking with one hand in Daddy's and the other hand carrying a big stick. His grandpa coined this photo, "Crawl softly, carry a bit stick." Ha! Jamisen is displaying a beautifully sweet tendency to want to share with other children. He just gives and gives (generally wood chips and pine cones) and when bullies steal his pine cones, he looks up at me, with a puzzled expression on his face and just goes merrily about finding new things to play with. It is charming.
Mealtimes are AWESOME now that Jamisen happily eats solids and actually prefers them. We just cut up a bunch of healthy food, toss it on his tray and let him control his intake. We still have to spoon feed him some things (vegetables generally) but for the most part, 2/3rds of his meal is small bites of whatever we're eating.
 

Here is a video of Mr. Jamisen chowing down on (get this!!!) halibut. HALIBUT!
 My favorite part of the video is when he's out of halibut, so he looks under the bowl to find more.
 He loves our almost daily walks and points out all the birds we see on the walk. He says "buh, buh!" and points. One of his favorite activities in the house is standing up on the windowsills (with us behind him, supporting him) and watching for birds. He takes after his Grandma Faiola with the early love of birdwatching.
 
This is my new favorite video. We have a giant ladder in our house that goes up to our wall library. Jamisen loves to use the ladder to practice his walking skills. All of his skills are just starting to develop. He's communicating (pointing, doing the 'all done' sign language sign periodically, clapping for 'yes'), starting to walk and showcasing a gentle yet determined spirit.