almost there

Today we celebrated Jackson turning 11 months old. That's right...his first birthday is almost here! Life feels like it's in fast-forward at the rate this little boy is growing! In honor of the special day, the local grocer gave Jackson a big, red balloon which he tried to use as a teething toy. Unsuccessfully, I might add. Thankfully none of his 9 teeth punctured the balloon.Of course, he continues to tug at our heartstrings with his facial expressions and nonsensical chatter. Even with getting his first cold and fever this past week, he's still been a delight and has given us plenty of cause to laugh.
These days his favorite things to say are "Dada" and "Ooooooooooo." Yea, even though he and I are good buddies, he's pretty much deleted the "Mama" phrase from his vocabulary. I'm trying not to take it personally. He has a new-found fondness for swinging in the park swings - an event that always evokes a belly laugh. He's gotten super confident in his walking abilities - maybe a little too confident since he doesn't look down at the ground at all which often results in tripping over his toys, or our feet. The toilet paper roll is still a huge attraction and we have to be QUICK to catch him because he seems to have sensors that go off if the bathroom door is left open even a small crack!

I know I've said it before, but taking the Watch Me Grow photo gets more difficult with each passing month and now that Jackson's walking stride is pretty much perfected, it's a full-on chase that ensues if I'm trying to capture a specific photo. See what I mean...Here are some photo highlights from Jackson's tenth month.

An Epic Easter

This was my third Easter here in Washington and it was undoubtedly unforgettable from the start. For one, it was the first Easter morning where Dan and I got to wake up and spend Easter morning with our son. Getting him dressed up for the occasion was fun - although, putting clothes on our little squirmy worm always involve a bit of a chase as he scrambles from one toy to the next and today was no exception. Here he is sporting the Tom Cruise look from Risky Business.Jackson enjoyed his first Easter basket with goodies from Grandma Jean & Mommy, but he wasn't the only one who got Easter treats. In keeping with our tradition, Dan also got to go on an Easter egg hunt throughout our apartment for chocolate treats and accompanying love notes.This was also my third Easter service here in Washington as a member at Mars Hill Church and all I can say is WOW! This year Mars Hill rented Qwest Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks, and all of the MH campuses met together for the first time in years. An astonishing 17,500 people braved the rainy weather to come worship our risen Lord and Savior at the stadium in what turned out to be the largest church service in the history of the Northwest.While Jackson slept in Dan's arms, Pastor Mark preached a powerful and clear presentation of the Gospel message in answer to the question "Who is Jesus?" and more than 680 people descended the stadium steps to be baptized right there on the football field in one of 20 baptism pools. The epic event made headlines and was highlighted by our local news as well as CNN. It truly was amazing to be there amid so many thousands, united in worship to the living God. My favorite part was when we all joined in singing How Great is Our God. It was truly moving.

The rest of the day was spent with family at Mom & Dad Blankenship's house in Tacoma. Jackson was happy to be greeted with more Easter treats from Grandma Jan, including a small, foam ball that looks like a globe. It wasn't long before our teething kid had bit a chunk out of Africa.Today and every day we celebrate the truth that our Savior Jesus Christ is alive. He is indeed risen from the dead and He is alive! All praise be to our God and King! Happy Easter from The Blankenships!

Easter egg hunt

Okay so I know Jackson is only 10 months old but I couldn't resist dressing him up in his old man Easter outfit and taking him to the park for a not-so-hidden Easter egg hunt. In all honesty, he'd prefer to just stuff handfuls of freshly cut grass into his mouth but I did convince him to take at least some interest in the brightly colored eggs scattered across the lawn.

I think the photos speak for themselves.
This one is my favorite photo of the day.

hole in one

things that make you say ooooooooh!

There are fun things. Silly things. Boring things. Sad things. Crazy things. And then there are things that make you go ooooooooooh!

Cama Beach

We just got back from our second annual retreat weekend with our home group from Mars Hill Church. It was our second year at Cama Beach State Park on Camano Island and it was just as great as our first year, although quite different this time around. We've had a number of babies born since our last cabin excursion and with all of the little babies and sleepy parents it was lights out by 9 o'clock this year.
Now by lights out, I don't necessarily mean we got sleep. The first night was rough to say the very least and almost no one among our 4 cabins got rest, thanks to my own insomnia and all of the babies waking repeatedly for one reason or another. But praise God the second night was much better!It was a great weekend of fellowship, relaxing, hiking, tossing horseshoes, and cooking up yummy meals together. It wasn't a warm weekend but it was truly beautiful and we couldn't help but feel God's presence out there next to the water. There were no whale sightings this year, although we did see a seal, a bunny, and quite a few bald eagles.
Jackson enjoyed his time with his friends and hanging out on the beach with Mommy & Daddy. The seashells were a big hit, of course.
Here are some photo highlights from the trip:As great as the weekend was, it's always nice to get back to home sweet home. Jackson was obviously psyched to back home and back to couch time with his daddy.

the chase

Cooper the Dog vs. Jackson (with a little help from Daddy).