Spit-Up on Dad!

The greatest part about this is that I just continue filming... and Josh doesn't seem to notice or care at all :)

Don't be a Ninja!

Jade was "talking" to us--sorry it's a little dark, but she's cute none-the-less :)

The Wild Iris Year-End Celebration

Our first romantic evening (and the next morning) all to ourselves! Our night out was great--TIMEC had the Admin Christmas Party ("Year-End Celebration") in La Conner, WA on Saturday; Josh & I got a room down there for the night at the Wild Iris (a modern B&B). The party was lots of fun--delicious food (jumbo-prawn cocktail & cilanto-chicken skewers followed by prime-rib & cedar-plank salmon, washed down by free wine and cocktails) and everyone was in a great mood. It was nice to meet the "other half" of a lot of my co-workers and see them in an environment other than the office! The regional VP also mentioned we have a lot of growth coming in this area, so it will be exciting to watch (and participate!) in that development. After dinner/the party we relaxed in the jetted tub in our room and slept like a rock on the ultra-comfy bed.




Our room was BEAUTIFUL... a bit on the pricey side, but so worth it! The breakfast the next morning was just delicious and the perfect ending to a wonderful night out... thanks Diana & Jim for watching Jade for the evening (and sorry we forgot to mention she eats 5 oz, not 8!). We missed her lots even while enjoying ourselves... and Emily only cried when we first left because she didn't get to rock her baby to sleep that evening (I got over that pretty quick though!).


We hope to make this a yearly thing--or at least that we get to return to the Wild Iris again sometime soon!

The bed set-up--before flopping on it :)

Sitting area

The tub and fireplace at the foot of our bed

In the "lobby"--it was so COZY!

Before our night out...

After returning home to our baby--she missed us too!

The Ever-Present cold(s)...

Wow... happy baby! In the cute hat Dad picked out :)

Poor Jade... she can't seem to fully shake this cold she's had now for almost 2 months! She's had something on-and-off for awhile now, but right now it is the worst; she's got a sore throat which makes her cry--and the crying makes it hurt worse! It's a vicious cycle. Grandma Susan came over for and hour or so to watch Jade so I could make some dinner and Josh could lay down (he is sick too!)... funny how you can forget to eat when your baby is not feeling well! Despite all that, she is her bright, cheery self (when she is not crying)! I can't get over how blessed we are to have such a wonderful little person in our lives... but if she would stop growing now, that would be great. Next Friday she will be 4 months old--just in time for Christmas. We hope that she loves Christmas just as much as her namesake-Auntie Jade Harmony.

Happy despite her catching every germ out there!

Despite not feeling good, she managed to amaze us yet again--Jade Marie rolled over for the first time last night! In the midst of feeling yucky and crying, she smiled up at me, then just rolled from her tummy to her back (no struggling) and thought it was so great she giggled :) She did it so smoothly, it was like she has known how for awhile and had just been saving it for a special moment... what a sweet baby! She also found her thumb recently (after all this time and the Binky), and it is too cute to watch her TRY to suck her thumb! She'll get it in there and be content and then pull it out and cry; then put it back in and the cycle begins again. She's getting better at it though--cute picture below :) MOM--notice her hand on her nose, just like someone we both know used to do!



Josh and I are supposed to have a "romantic" night together tomorrow evening--the TIMEC Christmas party (or year-end celebration to be PC) is going on in La Conner, then we got a hotel room for the evening and Jade is staying with Grandma Diana. Hopefully everyone will be feeling better so we can actually enjoy ourselves!

Sucking her thumb

Sucking MOM's Thumb (and looking very intent about it)

Sucking her whole hand!

Thanksgiving, the Snowy weekend, and more!

Very overdue update! Hey--it's me we're talking about here, so of course it's late :)

Jade's very first Thanksgiving came and went with all 3 of us having a cold at one point or another! We had a big turkey dinner at Harriett's house (Susan's mom... so, my step-grandma-in-law? One of the grandmas!), and then went for dessert at Darby Estates with Diana & Jim and the Weisenburger side of the family. Both were very nice and had lots of good food, but Jade was fussy and just wanted to sleep! And I heard the joke about blending turkey and putting it in Jade's bottle just ONE too many times. Josh & I both had a nice 4-day weekend, but we each got a cold one right after the other, so we didn't do a whole lot.

Last weekend was spent at home cuddling with Jade and cleaning the house. It snowed on Friday night/Saturday, then all went away with LOTS of rain and wind on Sunday! If anyone out-of-area is reading this--yes, we are fine, no we are not flooded. Lots of people in the Seattle area are though--so send thoughts, prayers, whatever their way!

Jade got to see snow for the first time--she just stared and tried to watch certain flakes as they fell... I don't think she was too interested. She has grown so much in the 3 short months she's been alive--it's amazing! She "talks" all time now, and is very attentive and alert. We lucked out--she is really a very good baby and doesn't fuss that much, but smiles and laughs all the time. She especially likes standing on her Dad's legs and babbling and laughing with him :) I think it's funniest when she drools on his face while doing this--good stuff! Jade is also kicking and grabbing with more purpose lately--she will kick things to watch them move, and grab things to put them in her mouth (coincidentally, I've had my hair back in a ponytail a lot!). And she finally noticed Princess Ducky during bath time! Ivana said that after this last weekend, she seems like she has grown up so much--she is interacting more with the kids at daycare and her schedule is pretty good now (at home too--yay for sleeping through the night!). We think she might be starting to teethe already, but she's not fussing about it yet--thank goodness!

Now that she can hold her head steady, we got her first "chair"--the BeBe Pod. First thing she did when we sat her in it--turned to watch TV! It was pretty funny--I think she would've kept watching if I didn't move her into a different room (she was straining to turn to it when I tried to just turn her around)! It's eerie how grown-up she looks sitting in her chair.

Perhaps the greatest thing that happened this weekend--Josh quit smoking!!! We both realize that he has tried before and it's very hard for him to do, but I am just so happy he's even trying :) He's trying the nicotene gum this time (instead of just cold turkey), so maybe this'll be the thing that really helps him do it; he already has a sweet-tooth again because he can taste everything and a larger appetite... it is 3 days and counting now... YAY! GO JOSH!!!

By the way--for those of you that don't know, if you click on the pictures they will open up larger :)

The BeBe Pod - and the cutest smile ever!

Drooling, as usual

Sitting in the Pod with Mom (notice the drool on my shirt--hers, not mine)

Josh's first day of no-smoking... not exactly a happy camper!

Jade's First Portraits & the Super-Busy Weekend

Our kid is so freakin cute... she was tired and not too happy at her pictures this weekend, but as soon as she saw a flash, she was all smiles. Total diva--I love it! We got some Christmas pictures (in the ADORABLE dress that her PaPa/Grandpa Bear picked out) and a family picture... I put the tiny, pixelated copies below from the website--the best I can do without purchasing the CD for $99.99 (not gonna happen)!

Busy weekend for all of us... Friday night Susan watched Jade for us so we could go out on our first real date since she was born. We went to dinner at Applebee's and saw Beowulf (it was okay). While we were waiting for the movie to start, we stopped in to El Gitano's for a drink--perfect timing, as the owner and a small mariachi band were singing right next to us, so we were serenaded over our drinks! I couldn't understand it, but they sounded like love songs, so I thought it was romantic. We got home to a sleeping Jade and slept good for once!

We got to have a REAL date night!

Courtney, my friend from H.S., and her husband Ron came up to visit us in the Ham on Saturday. We went to lunch at Busara (where Ron attempted to eat 4-star soup--funny to watch!) and then had coffee at Starbucks. It was GREAT to see them, especially since they are moving to Atlanta soon. Jade did pretty well in both places and enjoyed hanging out with Court & Ron (she was pretty mellow though). Then we stopped by Josh's mom's place to feed Jade and catch the latest episode of Las Vegas that we missed--so good! If you're into LV and you missed it, you need to see it! Finally, we visited Josh's brother Chris and his wife Toby for dinner... and had some homemade Thai food that Chris made! It was delicious, but I think we've had our Thai-food fix for awhile :)

Smiling with Mom after her long day

Smiling with Dad after her long day

Sunday was picture day... but we couldn't just go get pictures--oh no, we had to jam-pack the weekend! I got my make-up done at the Clinique counter (I was buying moisturizer anyway--all the ladies thought Jade was "precious" and "just like a little doll!") while Josh shopped around with Jade (he is apparently a chick-magnet when carrying our daughter--women will flirt with him even if I am standing there! Not that he wasn't handsome before, but now I practically have to beat women off with a stick). Jade spit-up on my shirt (as she loves to do) and I didn't have another one, so we shopped for another black shirt (found a cute one for CHEAP!). And Josh needed a beanie because he'd got his hair cut the day before and now his head gets cold. So, long weekend short--we are broke now, but had lots of fun and got some great pictures out of it! Thank goodness we get paid weekly...

I don't know if you can see it or not, but she is drooling, and there is a small pool of drool on the mat below her--too funny!

She was pretty upset by this time, but her smile still came out with that flash!

Too freakin adorable...

The family pic that actually turned out!

We Survived the Weather...

Miss Jade seems to have received her daddy's laid-back nature... last Wednesday taking her to day care a large gust of wind blew in her face--I freaked out thinking she was freezing and going to hate it and start crying and screaming... she giggled and blew spit bubbles :)

Despite the weather, got out of the house and took her to Cornwall park to see some new things... doggies, other kids, and the frisbees flying by seemed to catch her attention the most, though not a lot really did other than mom & dad!

She has recently discovered her hands, and LOVES them! She likes to slobber all over them and try to fit her whole hand in her mouth (which she usually gags on). Josh generally worries when she does it--I just say "cause & effect sweetie--you'll figure it out soon!" Sometimes I'm the laid-back one! Needless to say, we have been going through more clothes and bibs now that she loves slobbering :) Funny how even slobber is cute on a baby!

Eating her hands at dinner... I guess she was hungry too!

Family photo in the parking lot at Cornwall

Jade & Josh "playing"

Just so cute, I had to include it...

Bellingham is the new Chicago

For those of you not living in this area, we had a CRAZY windstorm today! While the highest official Bellingham gust was only 74 MPH, we had an un-official gust of 97 MPH and Clallam Bay had an official recording of 92 MPH. I called the daycare several times today to check on Jade--the home that her child care provider lives and works out of is surrounded by TONS of tall, TALL trees. Needless to say, she is safe. I checked on Josh several times too--he was fine and getting to do a lot of NOT working :) I am still at work, but heard that power is out in several areas in Bellingham... crossing my fingers that we still have power when we get home (to an area also surrounded by tons of tall trees)!

"Power outages and gusts to 92 mph as windstorm hits region"

This picture is a gas station down the hill from WWU, I think ;)

Short Note for the Day

This has been a long week for all of us--Jade is finally starting to get on a schedule, but every time she strays from it, I get really frustrated (and tired!); then I have to remind myself she's only 2 1/2 months old--be patient! And she's doing really great sleeping for her age, so I shouldn't complain. She LOVES daycare, and smiles big everytime she sees Ivana (her childcare lady)... my heart is at ease knowing that!!! Josh had to work an extra shift on Friday, so she got to spend one extra day with Ivana... Ivana was happy too, since Jade is the only one who still likes to cuddle :)

We are going to try to get some professional pictures done this weekend--we'll see if we make it this time! Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Here are two pictures of her going to daycare in the morning:

I think she's already got attitude in this picture...
She can finally face forward in the carrier! But it looks like hard work...

Stephanie is a smart lady... with a lot more time than me!

My friend Stephanie pointed out that I should create a blog for all my friends and relatives to see pictures of whats going on in my life (okay--I know you all just want to see Jade!), so I'm going to ATTEMPT to do that :) I'm not very good at keeping things like this updated, but here we go anyhow...

Last weekend was the Childbirth class reunion--6 of the 10 babies (and their parents of course) came to meet for the first time and have a potluck dinner... I was the only one not breastfeeding! :( While I was a tiny bit jealous, I was happy and proud that the other moms were using the "natural" food for thier babies. GO BREASTFEEDING!

Here is a picture of the group - Jade is 3rd from the right:

Halloween was pretty uneventful for Jade, Josh & I--although we visited Jade's gramma up here, we mostly just dressed her up for pictures and we didn't have any trick-or-treaters! She wasn't too fond of the Chili Pepper costume, but the pictures sure turned out cute!

Jade started childcare last week, so our lives have been a bit topsy-turvy trying to get on a schedule--luckily my boss is great and doesn't bat an eye when I call to say I am running late AGAIN. Once we are a little more straightened out, I will try to keep this blog updated regularly! Til then, hopefully I'll get around to posting again this week(end)!