Jade's First Big Boo-Boo - Step-Stool -1, Jade - 0

It looks a lot worse than it really was...

About a month ago now, Miss Jade decided she wanted a toy that was between the two steps of a step-stool--of course she had to put her head between the steps to try to get it. She got her head stuck, and coudln't be pushed through to get out. She had to be pulled out the way she went in (similar to a kid getting their head stuck between the slats on a stairway railing... ring any bells, Mom?), and of course she didn't understand and fought against that. So, the end result was a Mike-Tyson-look for about a week. But, as you can see below, she was all smiles and back to her normal self after an ice-pack, some cuddles, and a good nap.

Josh and I however, the verdict is still out if we have recovered :)

Jade Marie is ONE!

Jade had a GREAT time at her very first birthday party... she was happy and playful and LOVED her cake :) (I loved making her cake, but I got it out of my system--next year it's a Costco cake!) We all got extremely lucky with the weather--the only nice day in the last 2 weeks. She also got really into opening her presents--much more than I thought she would. She loved seeing each new toy and trying a bit of it out, or grabbing her new clothes out of my hands while I tried to hold them up to show everyone. But favorite of all were all her new books--go figure! Thank you everyone for coming (or being there in spirit) and all of the great gifts--she loves them all!
I've posted a few cute pics, and a slide show of the rest. enjoy!

PS--Aunt Jan, check-out Jade on the Elefun Rocker in the slide show--too cute!

Just little ol' Jader...

She's so stinkin cute it's ridiculous... I'd say she can't be our kid (we certainly are not as cute... ) but she still looks just like us :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Vacation, Finally :)

I won't write as much as I normally might... our very first family vacation earlier this year (March 2008) was GREAT! Josh & I got some alone time at a FABULOUS resort in Galveston for our anniversary, and we got to spend lots of time with Jade and my side of the family in Texas (my parents and my sister). Also, my brother Chad came down (he lives in CA) as a surprise when we arrived--it was great to see him, and he LOVED meeting and playing with Jade (not to mention shopping for and buying her ridiculously cute outfits)! Jade did fairly well on the plane trip(s) and slept for the most part... although I got a "lap-full" on the last leg of the trip (I won't go into details... but it was stinky and wet!) and she got pretty fussy having to sit in our laps the whole time. Can't say I blame her!

All-in-all, it was a fun, WARM trip--thanks to everyone who helped out (my parents with the cost, anyone who watched and helped with the animals, Carol for helping me cover things at work, and anyone else I missed!).

Checkin out the fishies at the Zoo
Jade & Josh popping out of a mole-hole at the Zoo
The elephant family!
Two Funny birds I saw...
Reading with Grammie & Papa--Dr. Seuss of course!

Here is a slideshow of all of our pictures... WAY too many to post here!!! But if you like any of them and want to see the full-size picture, just click on it in the slideshow.

Jade's Jumperoo

Jade Marie luvs her Rainforest Jumperoo... here are some pics of her in it last weekend. Oh--and a cute smile picture, just because. Enjoy!

Proving the experts wrong at the ripe old age of 9 months...

I read a lot of "milestone" emails regarding normal baby/child development. I've come to realize that Jade is pretty much the standard for all of these experts--she does almost EVERYTHING development & growth-wise according to normal milestones. Ivana (the daycare care-giver) decided she is the baby they make growth & development charts based on. It is eerily comforting.
Except teething & socializing.

TEETHING--experts say "many babies may be finally getting their first teeth finally. Some babies may not get any teefers until around their first birthday". Jade now has FIVE teeth--2 top, 3 bottom. She has more teeth than any baby I know her age. Which tells me one things... like her Mom, she loves good yummy fruit that requires teeth to eat :) Maybe I am projecting...

SOCIALIZING--experts say "babies don't really interact, play with, or actively seek out the company of other babies. They are much more interested in toys & Mommy or Daddy". Despite the fact that I have read that several times, I think it's total crap!!! Jade LOVES playing with other kids, especially other babies. And, as you can see below, she's not the only one! I have a video of these two crawling around together that I will try to get posted today or tomorrow--it's sickeningly cute.

Little boy in the picture is a friend of the family's son; he is about 14 months old. Jade is already interested in shoes... his.

She enjoys this toy, but she's good at sharing... and knowing where the camera is at all times
This is her looking for a get-away path, while he charms the others to distract ;)

The Pictures...

Still missing some cute ones from the old camera, but some of these are from just yesterday (cowboy-slippers, diaper & dad shots)! I can't believe how big she is getting, so quickly--almost one year... there will be more pictures to follow in posts tomorrow, but for now--ENJOY!


Jade Marie chooses the funniest places to take a nap...

Sorry, No Pictures yet!

Just wanted to give everyone a little update...

We got a new camera last week (pretty sweet deal @ Costco if anyone is looking to buy!), so I will bring it in tomorrow & post some new pics. We're still looking for the cord to the old camera, as I have some cute pics on there I don't want to lose... we'll see how it goes :)

Last night it rained so much I thought our house might float away with us in it. I realize that is actually happening to people in other areas and I'm not trying to be funny--we live next to a lake & I really was worried! I kept checking on Jade (the rain was pretty loud), but she slept just as soundly as her Mom does... and just as spawled out! She had her head tucked in the corner, laying on her side, with one leg up on her blanket and her foot in between the slats of her crib. I put her foot back in (thought maybe that was an accident and she fell asleep with it stuck that way?), but it was back between the slats this morning... she cracks me up.

Jade had her 9-month check-up a couple of weeks ago--happy & healthy, as usual! I'll put more about her growth & development in the next post, with the pictures.

XOXO--love to all!

A few long over-due pics...

Thanks Jess for most of these pictures (except the funny dessert photo--that was on vacation in Tay-haus at the Red Lobster). It was great visiting with you!

Hope these pictures will hold off the wolves while I search for the cord that connects my computer to my camera :)

The vacation is over...

Obviously, we've been back from vacation for some time now :) I wish I were writing to say that there are great pictures attached... but, alas, I am still editing them! Soon... until then, in the words of Jerry, "Take care of yourselves... and each other."

Vacation!!!

We're on vacation right now... in Texas. We spent yesterday, our first anniversary, at a lush resort (mostly at the swim-up bar) soaking up the rays and finished off the morning with in-room massages. Yeah, it's pretty sweet and we are living like royalty :)

We're getting to spend lots of time with my family and Jade is having tons of fun (and getting lots of attention).

I don't miss work :)

Happy Birthday, Joshua!!!

Okay, so Josh's birthday was on FRIDAY... but I didn't get around to posting on Friday :)

Birthday was... bittersweet. He got to spend some time in the morning with Jade, just hanging out. Then he dropped her off at daycare so we could get ready for the long day/night ahead of us.
Josh's stepmom's best-friend had a son, Scott, who passed away rather suddenly on Monday. We attended the services that afternoon; it was really quite a nice service, and some very brave friends and family shared some great stories. Scott was a pretty cool guy who unfortunately lost his battle with muscular dystrophy at a young age. Here is a link to his obit: http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?I=LS000105549705X. Anyone with the means who is interested, donations to either Make-a-Wish or Muscular Dystrophy Association are welcome--hopefully we can find a cure or make someone with the disease's day a little brighter!

After that, we put on our happy face and headed over to the Silver Reef Casino, where the Whatcom County Corrections officers were having an event. Josh's parents treated us to tickets (Jim is a corrections officer), which included a DELICIOUS buffet dinner (the almond-stuffed chicken was amazing!) and a show put-on by the Upfront Theater. Those that don't know--the Upfront is an improv group that Ryan Stiles (the tall funny guy from the Drew Carrey show) started in Bellingham. If anyone will be up this way and wants to see a show: http://www.theupfront.com/default.asp They are awesome, and the show was HILARIOUS--no Ryan Stiles though! Of course Josh was pulled-up on stage, but (unfortunately) he didn't have to do anything embarassing :)
Then we finished-off our night out with a little bit of gambling (which Chris had to show us how to do--no worries that either of us will become gambling addicts anytime soon!). I broke even, but Josh won $50 bucks (ok, $35 when you consider what he paid-in)!!! That's huge money to both of us, who've never gambled before, especially playing the penny slots. He instantly pulled his card from the machine and said "lets go cash out!"
So we topped-off the night by picking up our sleeping beauty from daycare (Ivana agreed to watch her for the evening for free--what a great lady!) and went home to cuddle and go to sleep :)

All-in-all, it was a great birthday for Josh, and he doesn't look a day over 25 (he's only 28) ;)

LOVE YOU, JOSHY-WA!

Sitting up

Showing off her new ability...

6-Month (almost 7) Portraits

So we waited until Miss Jade could sit-up on her own... which happened to be closer to 7-months than 6. The pictures are still cute! She actually was not in the greatest of moods, and the photographer kind of sucked, but we got some good ones anyway :)


Oh--and thanks to TIMEC (and the Sears giftcards they always give out), we ended up only paying $23 for everything--score!


And you may notice a trend--sucking her thumb!!!

Enjoy.

This "series" of shots were not that great--our "photographers" suggestion!

Best Easter pic

With little Lambie She looks EXACTLY like my baby pics here!

Best Tub pic--so cute!
Hmm... sucking her thumb?
I think she put the duck in her mouth after this...
Oh my gosh--sucking her thumb again! She must have strong muscles though...
CUTE