Birds, Bears and Escape Plans

We had quite a fun and busy weekend! We fed the birds:

 

 We played with (stuffed) bears:

  

We got a brand new life vest:

  

We drove a boat:

  

We golfed at a private home (even Mr. Jamisen, who mostly picked up and threw the balls, which was much more efficient than Mommy's wild swinging):  

We laughed a lot at or possibly with Daddy (video; must click through to blog):

  

We visited Mommy's office and tried to play in the fountain:  

We went to one park:

  

And practiced our running skills:

  

We went grocery shopping and I helped a lot!

  

We planned our escape. Clearly, I am thwarted by no fault of my own. Once I grow a bit more, I shall prevail.

  

We went to another park and drove tractors:

  

 We tried to master the swing but really, the little girl next to us was way more fascinating. Yes, I am wearing a sweater in July. I don't know why you'd even point that out. We live in Washington where it rains 94% of the time. Duh.:

  

After I played on the tractor and the swing, I had a great time exploring the Lynden Park which is basically like the Disneyland of parks (not that I know what Disneyland is, given that I've never seen TV):

  

 I slept great all weekend! Mom and Dad seem pretty exhausted though. I really need to convince them to get on my nap schedule.

First Kiss!

 

 Just running with the boys. No big deal. (reality: taking one really big step. not running at all.) Someone brought raspberries for her child. Jamisen swooped in and ate his fill! He was so raspberry-covered by the end that I had to get him almost naked to put him in his car seat.



 

He did get his first kiss from another little boy - three in fact! Jamisen did tire of this affection and pushed him away on the fourth overture.

 

Here is a cute video of Jamisen and Daddy playing a fun version of hide'n'seek and generally having a good time. Make sure to click through to the blog to see it (it won't display in email):

 

Grandpa. Geit.

 

Grandpa as a willing pack mule. Mush! Mush!

Park Time with Baby

Jamisen wanted to four-wheel up EVERYTHING including this fun obstacle, the ropes.
Grandma and Jamisen bonded. She got a prized 'forehead bump' from him too.
More beach photos:
 
Four-wheeling over rocks - if it was a rock, he wanted to go over it.
He was happy and delighted to be out in nature, with the opportunity to get dirty and run a bit (well, toddle a bit).
 
 Jamisen is obsessed with raspberries, obsessed with them (!). He loves to share them, which is a problem only in that I don't like raspberries. But, I want to encourage sharing so I happily accept his loving sharing.
 

Seaweed and Sand

Grandma and Grandpa Faiola came up to visit this weekend. We did our traditional early morning hike both days. Grandpa really loved packing Jamisen for almost 2 miles up the trail. Grandpa proved to be quite a warrior, with nary a complaint over the 25-pound-weight on his shoulders.  

 Jamisen was delighted to use his newfound walking abilities (7 days and counting since he started walking!) on the beach. He looks like he's running but he's mostly just tottering to find his balance:  

Proving he is all boy, he wanted to go straight into the water.  

 Jamisen tried to share some of his newfound treasures with me (sand dollar encrusted with seaweed). It was slimy and gross. I'll do a lot for my son but pretending to eat that harvested sea cuisine is not one of them.

  

 Grandma continues to be charmed by Mr. Jamisen and for the record, preferred Grandpa's neck instead of the Baby Bjorn ride.

  

When Grandma and Grandpa visit, we've developed a routine for Saturdays that involves a trip to Farmer's Market. I love this photo because of how oddly we all match. Also, are Jamisen's shorts not the cutest ever? He looks like he's ready to go golfing! You can't tell but he's got baby-sized Crocs on.

Baby is Walking

It's official! We have a walker on our hands. Go Jamisen! It literally just happened - one day, he was barely balancing and teetering by balancing himself on random pieces of furniture and the next, he literally took off at a fast walk and went from the kitchen to the living room in a flash. Behold, 17 seconds of Jamisen's apparent genius showing through:




With this newfound walking ability came a desire to also walk up and down stairs (with major assistance from Mom and Dad). We have decided a baby gate on the top of the stairs to our home is a necessity. That kid is out the house door and trying to make a run for it onto the street faster than you can say 'Boo!'

 

I cooked up a storm this weekend - Banana Quinoa Spelt Pancakes for breakfast and Farro Green Pea and Onion for lunch (with a little Parmesan, Coconut Oil and Butter). I cooked the Farro in Chicken Broth to help warm up the ancient grain.  

Jamisen loved it - especially the Spelt Pancakes. We took off on a hike the second Jamisen finished breakfast. Jamisen played on the beach, climbed the rocks and generally was delighted to explore his surroundings. He got a little sandy, so sandy that I found tons of sand in his diaper before his nap. Lucky boy got two baths today. Happy, busy weekend!

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July, or Independence Day! We had planned a Fourth of July party at our home for some friends to watch the awesome Bellingham city fireworks - until we realized that they started at 10 p.m. Obviously, that's a dumb idea. One clear indication that you have a baby in your home is the desire to get to bed before midnight. Or, it means that we're getting old. Either way, no party.

 So, our new plan is that Chris and I are doing an afternoon date (that's a lie or perhaps just an optimistic euphemism; we've hired a baby sitter so we can get 3 hours to clean the garage and 1 hour for a date afternoon. We are a barrel of fun!). Rest assured, my goal is for Jamisen to be wearing his bow tie onesie all day.  Judging from his expression below, I'm not quite positive that's in the stars (ha ha, stars?! Get it!? Punny!).

We're hoping for some baby park time (Jamisen loves the park) and some serious craft time. Look for crafting photos later today. We had a great time eating blueberries and eggs this morning and then jetted out for a quick hike to the beach before morning nap time.

Supposedly, eating gets and stays messy for a while now. The ants seem to have taken up permanent residence in our kitchen floorboards in hopes that this is true. I am certain this is not a statement on my housecleaning abilities but the opportunistic nature of ants.

We feel so lucky and blessed to have a sunny, rain-free day (according to the weatherman!) and we're trying to take advantage of every second of it. In fact, Chris is out swimming (in a wetsuit; it's still super cold) Lake Padden right now. He's swimming with his new bromance, Bryan, who is the one that encouraged him to run the marathon last year. Now, they're aiming for a triathlon.

  

 Jamisen loves to climb and explore now that he's getting mobile and we're delighted to help him. And by "we", I mostly mean Chris since I'm too busy documenting every precious moment via camera. Note to self: Try to live in the moment better.

As soon as he's up from his morning nap, I have a really fun craft project planned. At least, in my mind it's fun. It could just be a messy red, white and blue shaving cream disaster (see, you're intrigued, aren't you?). Check back for photos later.

Update: The foam project was a disaster.

 Well, not really a disaster. Jamisen was just not as interested as I thought he would be in dying shaving foam with food coloring. I thought he would like the color and texture. He instead was absolutely delighted with stacking the food coloring bottles.






And then Daddy showed up with a surprise - a sandbox! I lost Jamisen to the allure of the empty sandbox instantly. Literally, the little man threw down his food coloring bottles and faster than a giant spider in a horror movie, crawled over and into the sandbox.

When it was filled with sand, there was no getting him out. He's sleeping now and I hope he stays that way through the fireworks in an hour. Happy Fourth of July!