Jackson was a little camera shy today but he's learning lots of new sounds to make. His favorite is "goo" but he has plenty of other things to say.
Friday, July 30, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
grandma & grandpa blankenship
Tonight Grandma & Grandpa Blankenship came to get their Jackson fix and we took a few cute photos of them with their grandson. He's getting to be pretty social now in his old age (tomorrow he'll be 2 months old already). He was awake for most of their visit, cooing and kicking and punching away.
Too much bouncing on Grandpa's knee induces spit up.
Thanks for visiting, Grandma & Grandpa! Come again soon!
Too much bouncing on Grandpa's knee induces spit up.
Thanks for visiting, Grandma & Grandpa! Come again soon!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
port townsend
Summer in Washington is too beautiful to let a weekend go to waste so we make the most of beautiful, sunny days around here. This past weekend we took a day trip to Port Townsend along with our sweet friend Bethany (who I used to babysit, believe it or not). Located on the Olympic Peninsula (that funky little corner in the upper left-hand corner of Washington for those of you who aren't locals), Port Townsend is home to Fort Worden State Park where we spent most of the day sunning on the beach and wandering the old fort. This is also where Officer and A Gentleman was filmed, although I have yet to see that movie myself.
The beach was absolutely perfect. Without a cloud in the sky, we enjoyed the fact that the sun was hot and the breeze was cool while we ate our picnic lunch. We tried as hard as we could to keep Jackson out of the sun but he continuously kicked his blanket off so he could feel the warmth of the sun on his chubby legs.
Here he is in Daddy's shade.
After lunch, we all took a walk down to the lighthouse. Last time we were there, we spotted a whale just off shore. This year, no such luck but it was still a beautiful walk. You can see Mt. Baker just beyond the lighthouse.
Walking up the sand dune, all we could see was blue sky.
Bethany and I dared to test the temperature of the water. Let's just say that there's NO WAY we'd be swimming in that water any time soon.
We watched cruise ships and sail boats course along the Puget Sound while the Cascade Mountains loomed in the distance.
Our walk led up the cliff at North Beach to the old army fort circa 1902. Fort Worden, along with Fort Casey and Fort Flagler, was constructed back in the day as part of what they called the "Triangle of Fire." The forts were built to protect the Puget Sound from any possible sea invasion. 
I'll bet the army didn't even know they had built-in changing tables in their blueprints! I like to call them "ye olde changing tables" myself.
We had fun wandering through the tunnels, staircases, and ladders of the old fort.
There was a beautiful view of the Sound from atop the fort.
Daddy & Jackson inside the fort.
Family fort photo fun. Fabulous!
Bethany and I found the old fort jailhouse.
Looking through the trees and across the Sound, we had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier 120 plus miles away.
All of our hiking around built up our appetite so we headed into downtown Port Townsend to sample our friend Ben's favorite pizza at Waterfront Pizza. According to their menu they use 150-year-old starter to make their pizza dough. Sounds kinda weird to me, but the pizza was yummy!
It was a great day and we can't wait to go back to Port Townsend again.
The beach was absolutely perfect. Without a cloud in the sky, we enjoyed the fact that the sun was hot and the breeze was cool while we ate our picnic lunch. We tried as hard as we could to keep Jackson out of the sun but he continuously kicked his blanket off so he could feel the warmth of the sun on his chubby legs.
Here he is in Daddy's shade.
After lunch, we all took a walk down to the lighthouse. Last time we were there, we spotted a whale just off shore. This year, no such luck but it was still a beautiful walk. You can see Mt. Baker just beyond the lighthouse.
Walking up the sand dune, all we could see was blue sky.
Bethany and I dared to test the temperature of the water. Let's just say that there's NO WAY we'd be swimming in that water any time soon.
We watched cruise ships and sail boats course along the Puget Sound while the Cascade Mountains loomed in the distance.
Our walk led up the cliff at North Beach to the old army fort circa 1902. Fort Worden, along with Fort Casey and Fort Flagler, was constructed back in the day as part of what they called the "Triangle of Fire." The forts were built to protect the Puget Sound from any possible sea invasion. 
I'll bet the army didn't even know they had built-in changing tables in their blueprints! I like to call them "ye olde changing tables" myself.
We had fun wandering through the tunnels, staircases, and ladders of the old fort.
There was a beautiful view of the Sound from atop the fort.
Daddy & Jackson inside the fort.
Family fort photo fun. Fabulous!
Bethany and I found the old fort jailhouse.
Looking through the trees and across the Sound, we had a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier 120 plus miles away.
All of our hiking around built up our appetite so we headed into downtown Port Townsend to sample our friend Ben's favorite pizza at Waterfront Pizza. According to their menu they use 150-year-old starter to make their pizza dough. Sounds kinda weird to me, but the pizza was yummy!
It was a great day and we can't wait to go back to Port Townsend again.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
so close
Jackson is getting bigger and bigger. He's almost able to reach the toys on his bouncy chair now. Here he is trying so hard in vain to reach. CAUTION: Watch out for spit bubbles.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
baby massage class
Today Jackson had his first baby massage class. And no, for you wise guys, that doesn't mean he was learning how to give his mommy a massage! (I wish.)
Our friend Cindy is becoming certified in Infancy Massage and needed a few guinea pigs a.k.a. new moms and babies to work with. My friends Stephanie and Lindsey and I stepped up to the plate along with our little ones. For the next five weeks the girls are meeting weekly at our apartment for an hour of instruction on how to melt our babies' tiny bodies with our soothing massage skills.
Lindsey's little Kaci Jean was out with teething issues this week so our first class was a party of 2 with little Gabriel and Jackson. They pretty much loved it. (Who wouldn't?)
Gabriel was top of his class. He was fully alert and cooing throughout the entire hour.
Jackson, on the other hand, fell asleep during class and then was annoyed with me after I woke him up.
After class was over, we had two very happy and relaxed babies!
Us mommies got the royal treatment too. Cindy brought delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies that were amazing!
I can't wait for next week's class.
Our friend Cindy is becoming certified in Infancy Massage and needed a few guinea pigs a.k.a. new moms and babies to work with. My friends Stephanie and Lindsey and I stepped up to the plate along with our little ones. For the next five weeks the girls are meeting weekly at our apartment for an hour of instruction on how to melt our babies' tiny bodies with our soothing massage skills.Lindsey's little Kaci Jean was out with teething issues this week so our first class was a party of 2 with little Gabriel and Jackson. They pretty much loved it. (Who wouldn't?)
Gabriel was top of his class. He was fully alert and cooing throughout the entire hour.
Jackson, on the other hand, fell asleep during class and then was annoyed with me after I woke him up.
After class was over, we had two very happy and relaxed babies!Us mommies got the royal treatment too. Cindy brought delicious homemade chocolate chip cookies that were amazing!
I can't wait for next week's class.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
all dressed up
Jackson wasn't too happy once Daddy told him that he was wearing a dress to bed. It's not REALLY a dress, Jackson. Don't worry.
holiday hike
8 adults. 1 baby. 2 dogs. 2 waterfalls. 1 beautiful day. These are the ingredients of an excellent holiday hike.
Each month our home group tries to organize an outing or event. This month it was Glory who did the organizing and the event was a hike to Twin Falls in you'll never guess...Twin Falls State Park. Go figure, right?
It was Jackson's first hike and he managed pretty well seated comfortably in his ErgoBaby carrier. He only cried at the top of his lungs a few times, spending the majority of the hike catching Z's against my chest.
The hike was beautiful as we followed the trail through lush, moss-covered forest and moderate switch-backs to the Lower and Upper Twin Falls on the South Fork Snoqualmie River. Here is most of the crew on an open section of the trail.
A mid-hike snack break.
Our tiny hiking buddy.
A view of the 150-foot Lower Twin Falls from the overlook.
Dan, Jackson & me enjoying the view.
Jess, Jackson & me.
Zoe the dog.
Each month our home group tries to organize an outing or event. This month it was Glory who did the organizing and the event was a hike to Twin Falls in you'll never guess...Twin Falls State Park. Go figure, right?
It was Jackson's first hike and he managed pretty well seated comfortably in his ErgoBaby carrier. He only cried at the top of his lungs a few times, spending the majority of the hike catching Z's against my chest.The hike was beautiful as we followed the trail through lush, moss-covered forest and moderate switch-backs to the Lower and Upper Twin Falls on the South Fork Snoqualmie River. Here is most of the crew on an open section of the trail.
A mid-hike snack break.
Our tiny hiking buddy.
A view of the 150-foot Lower Twin Falls from the overlook.
Dan, Jackson & me enjoying the view.
Jess, Jackson & me.
Zoe the dog.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
smalltown USA
There are many perks to living in a small town like Edmonds. Well, maybe the town isn't so small but we live in the downtown part of it which consists of a Main Street with a one screen movie theater so that qualifies as small-town if you ask me.
One thing I like about small-town living is that we get to walk everywhere. We can walk to the bakery, the theater, the post office, our gym, our friends' houses, the grocery store, some yummy restaurants, the Farmer's market, the local pub, the park, the library, Starbucks, or to the waterfront to watch the sunset.
Another thing I like is that we have events. This Fourth of July was our first time to experience the annual Independence Day parade in Edmonds. Last year we were gone hiking so we missed out on the merriment and chaos that overtakes our sleepy downtown in a sea of red, white, blue, and happy.
I'm pretty sure we exceeded the maximum capacity of people in downtown Edmonds for this event. Clearly, this is THE event of the year here. I guess I should've guessed it was such when I saw that people had lined up their lawn chairs and staked our their viewing spots the morning beforehand. Having no lawn chairs or staked out spots of our own, we pushed and shoved our way along the crowded sidewalks to join our friends the Grants and the Schaeffers who had secured a corner on some prime viewing property.
The festivities began with the Children's Parade in which every walking child within a five mile radius was walking and all children too young to walk were pulled, pushed, or dragged in wagons, strollers, or other modes of transportation decorated in all the red, white, & blue patriotic decor imaginable.
Next came THE parade. We watched fire trucks, vintage cars, Shriners, colonial minutemen, bagpipers, politicians, marching bands, cheerleaders, pirates, clowns and even Storm Troopers parade through downtown. Most of them threw assorted candy at us (or to us), which the kids and Dan enjoyed. Some handed out little rubber balls. The more health conscious participants handed out water bottles and samples of sunscreen and hand sanitizer.
The loot. 
We cheered and clapped and waved tiny American flags while Jackson tried to sleep amid the blasts of tubas, honking firetruck horns, bagpipe tunes, and other various LOUD noises. It was a fun day.
One thing I like about small-town living is that we get to walk everywhere. We can walk to the bakery, the theater, the post office, our gym, our friends' houses, the grocery store, some yummy restaurants, the Farmer's market, the local pub, the park, the library, Starbucks, or to the waterfront to watch the sunset.Another thing I like is that we have events. This Fourth of July was our first time to experience the annual Independence Day parade in Edmonds. Last year we were gone hiking so we missed out on the merriment and chaos that overtakes our sleepy downtown in a sea of red, white, blue, and happy.
I'm pretty sure we exceeded the maximum capacity of people in downtown Edmonds for this event. Clearly, this is THE event of the year here. I guess I should've guessed it was such when I saw that people had lined up their lawn chairs and staked our their viewing spots the morning beforehand. Having no lawn chairs or staked out spots of our own, we pushed and shoved our way along the crowded sidewalks to join our friends the Grants and the Schaeffers who had secured a corner on some prime viewing property.
The festivities began with the Children's Parade in which every walking child within a five mile radius was walking and all children too young to walk were pulled, pushed, or dragged in wagons, strollers, or other modes of transportation decorated in all the red, white, & blue patriotic decor imaginable.
Next came THE parade. We watched fire trucks, vintage cars, Shriners, colonial minutemen, bagpipers, politicians, marching bands, cheerleaders, pirates, clowns and even Storm Troopers parade through downtown. Most of them threw assorted candy at us (or to us), which the kids and Dan enjoyed. Some handed out little rubber balls. The more health conscious participants handed out water bottles and samples of sunscreen and hand sanitizer.
The loot. 
We cheered and clapped and waved tiny American flags while Jackson tried to sleep amid the blasts of tubas, honking firetruck horns, bagpipe tunes, and other various LOUD noises. It was a fun day.
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