Hot Hot Hot

You may have heard that Seattle has been setting records.... The highest low temperature EVER (was it 72? or 73? we forgot already -- blame it on the heat) and highest temperature EVER recorded -- 103 degrees!!! -- was set last Wednesday 7/29. It was 90 degrees in our living room that afternoon and evening, and here is little J, hanging out, rolling around on the floor, having fun in the heat. I guess, to her, it was just another day.





Seeing Abby stretched out like this makes you realize how HOT it was in the house. She's usually curled up in a tight little ball!


These photos were taken a couple of days later, as Jadyn was playing on the bathroom floor while Mom got ready for the day. The weather had broken and being in the house was bearable again. Thanks to Aunt Julie for the cute dress!

Our little boxer!

Jadyn wrapped in her bath towel reminded us of a boxer approaching the ring! She does enjoy bath time, and she's getting more baths now that the summer temperatures have been above normal for much of the month.



Another recent addition to Jadyn's corner of the bedroom is a shelf for her stuffed animals. Aren't they cute?!?!?

Another month, more fun

Jadyn turned 5 months just a few days ago, and though we don't have a weight update for you until next month, we can tell you all sorts of things she's up to these days.

Jadyn can entertain herself for 10 to 15 minutes at a time with her toys and her toes. Laying on a blanket, she'll roll from back to front and hold her head up for awhile to see things from a new angle. We think she's trying to figure out how to scoot or crawl, but her body isn't following her intentions yet, so she can get a little frustrated. Sometimes she rests on her side when she gets tired, and other times she fusses until we help her flip back over on to her back. When she gets bored with the toys around her, she sucks on her fist or grabs her toes.

The toys on her froggy chair are attached with little velcro strips, and she has overcome the strength of the velcro -- she pulls them off, chews on them for awhile, and then tosses them to the floor. Everything goes in her mouth these days, but still no teeth -- drool everywhere, of course, but no teeth surfacing that we can see. We've altered the angle of the swinging chair now that she likes to sit upright, and we attached the tray with a few toys. She likes it! We've also noticed she can hold herself more upright in her jumper, but she tends to rock back and forth or twist a little rather than jump emphatically.


Check out little J in the laundry basket -- at birth she was so tiny that she'd have rattled around in there, but now she has to bend at her knees to really fit! Jadyn is on the verge of growing out of her 3 month sized clothes, and we are transitioning into the 3-6 and 6 month sized things. The sleep sacks with the swaddle wraps that she's slept in since birth are now too small, so we have to get her used to NOT being swaddled for sleep. We usually wake to her bucking her legs in her sleep sack so that her heels thump against the mattress, and we get up to find her positioned completely differently than when we laid her down. She's always well-rested and happy in the morning; maybe this is one way she takes after her mother....


She went to her first Mariners game last week (they got pummeled that night, unfortunately), and enjoyed the visual stimulation (overstimulation?) until she crashed on our arms and we headed home.


It's summer here, and our house gets quite warm in the evening as the sun streams through the west facing windows. We've found the likes mouthing Daddy's beer bottles -- let's assume it's the cool glass she's after at her young age!

More photos from Granddaddy's and Grandmom's Visit

As promised, more pictures from the second week of the visit with Granddaddy and Grandmom.

During the second week Granddaddy Bruce and Grandmom Caroline visited us, we all enjoyed a concert at the zoo. The ZooTunes concerts are held in the summer and are very family friendly. This concert was Jadyn's first, and it was a warm day with bright sun. The performance (Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, Buddy Miller, and Shawn Colvin shared the stage) began a little after 6 and they were finished around 8. Jadyn weathered the sun and heat well, enjoyed being passed around to be entertained, and chewed on her toes as well as a toy.






The heat and wall-to-wall sunshine continued, and the next day, while dining in a pub, Daddy thought giving Jadyn a cool beer glass to suck on would be soothing to her. Jadyn liked it! She also liked being propped in the corner of the booth.


On the 4th of July, another warm and sunny day, we had a BBQ in our backyard, thankfully shaded by an apple tree by the time the gathering began. Jadyn spent quality time with her grandparents as well as relaxing on a blanket, practicing her roll over moves and reaching for the grass.





Here are a few other pictures we hope you like.

A family photo at a Seattle park

Jadyn, pensive and sleepy

Practicing sitting with the support of the Boppy pillow

We've Been Busy!

Sorry there has been such a gap in posts, but we have been busy! We had two weeks with Grandmom Caroline and Grandaddy Bruce visiting us here in Seattle, and we took TONS of pictures. Below you'll find a few from the first week. There will be more posts soon with photos from the second week of their visit.

Here are a couple of shots of Gmom and Gdaddy's first evening with Jadyn. She was very playful and everyone in the family enjoyed trying to get Jadyn to make raspberries with her tongue. She tried her best!



Jeff took some time off while Bruce and Caroline were in town, and so there were plenty of opportunities to catch Jadyn enjoying time with Daddy....


and Grandaddy....


We spent at day on the Kitsap Peninsula trying our luck at clamming. Here's Jadyn and Grandmom studying the beautiful surroundings....


and Jadyn with Mommy....


Jadyn continues to practice her raspberry skills (thanks, Jeannie and Alexa, for the Whoozit toy)


A particularly sweet moment frozen by the camera

Update: 4 months and going strong!

Jadyn turned 4 months a couple of days ago, and we celebrated with a doctor visit and some immunizations. At the doctor appointment we learned she is now 12 pounds and 23.75 inches long; she is just 'perfect' in her growth progression; she is not yet teething; and she just might be learning to manipulate us. We got some tips as to how to get her to sleep without creating bad habits that will be hard to break. We were also given the green light to start solid food if she shows interest in the food we're eating. She hasn't yet, so we'll put off the soupy mess of rice cereal dripping all of her and us until she does.

Two weekends ago we spent a couple of nights in Ocean Park, a beach community on a peninsula in the southwest corner of our state. The peninsula is nestled between the Pacific Ocean and Willapa Bay, which is known for oyster farming. Ed and Marcela were kind enough to invite us on this trip (that's Ed and Jadyn below). We did take Jadyn onto the beach while we were there, but both times she was napping, so she didn't get to experience the beach in all its glory. But the Bob stroller was great!


This weekend we were invited to a cookout on Puget Sound with some of Jeff's co-workers, and Jadyn plunged her toes into the sand for the first time. We weren't sure what she'd think of it, but once she realized she was feeling something different, she broke out in a huge smile and made cooing noises. This is a short video of her with her feet touching the sand. (We're working on getting the video rotated properly. Sorry about this kink!)



Also, this weekend we hooked up for a picnic of sorts with some friends who also have kids. There were six each of parents and kids at this gathering!!! Jadyn napped a little in Nancy's arms while the other kids rode bikes and kicked a soccer ball. Though it was overcast it wasn't too cold -- officially, summer is right around the corner!

We've got 2 more pictures to share. The first is Jadyn grabbing her toes. At 16 weeks, though she had touched them and grabbed them before, she became much more aware of her feet and interested in holding her toes and squealing in delight. It happened virtually overnight. Now she grabs her toes all the time! Second, we have Jadyn in her jumper. We were planning to install it soon and really moved on it when the doctor told us it was good for her, since she likes to stand so much, and is age-appropriate stimulation at this point. She is a little small for it, and ends up shifting to one side in the too-big seat after a few minutes. But it won't be long and she'll have this contraption all figured out. She is just so darn cute, don't you think?!?!