Need a baby sitter?....

...cuz we've got one!



He can't sit by himself for very long. Only about a minute until he topples over to one side, or on his back. He's not so happy being on his back anymore. Always up! up! up!

And a few more pictures for your enjoyment! We like to take pictures of Michael particularly when we like his outfit. This is a cute Nike athletic wear! So Adorable!



And He's always looking for something new to suck on, so why not try some celery? We're planning on starting on baby cereals next week! Another milestone.



Thanks for all your kind, supportive comments on the previous post~much appreciated.

Smart Daddy

Richard impresses me so much. He's done really well at thinking ahead and getting all of his homework done on time. He also makes sure he does more than requested. If the teacher wants 10 concepts, he gives them 20. He is so amazing. And this letter proves it.

Nothing Cuter than a Sleeping Baby

Jayden

First of all, Happy Birthday Mom!

Next, Richard and I went and saw the new Batman movie last week. A well-thought out movie. Really good. I highly recommend it. 

This picture is for the baby lovers. I love it when this boy just falls asleep! He's been fighting naps very well this week, and gets very whiny. I think he gets the whining after me--definitely not the 'fighting the naps' part though.

Our little guy just turned 5 months old. Most of the time I think to myself, "5 Months! You're growing so fast! Where is time going?" However, on this 5 month birthday I felt a little different. "Only 5 months old?"

In such a small amount of time, I feel such a connection to Michael. I am with him everyday. I feed him. I hold him. I comfort him. I play with him. I change him. I bathe him. I clothe him. 

Continually, I have been able to see his great, yet seemingly simple developments. I rejoice over the moments when he smiles, and laughs. I was so excited when he began to grab at toys, respond to the books that I read to him, and rolling over! 

Specifically, on this particular 5 month birthday I reflected on baby Jayden.  Jayden's mom, Amy, was my piano teacher as a youth, and my neighbor. I remember when Amy announced that she was going to have a baby girl, and she was planning on naming her Jayden. I thought it was the cutest name. At piano lessons, if I did well I would get to choose a sticker to put on my folder. So each week, I would choose an alphabet sticker, and eventually spelled out 

J-A-Y-D-E-N. 

I remember going over to see her after she was born, and playing with her as she was growing. I remember one specific babysitting moment when Jayden was crying a lot and I couldn't calm her down. I held her. I rocked her. I tried to feed her a bottle that I wasn't quite sure if I had prepared correctly. To me the situation was stressful!

Crying baby=Horrible babysitter! (Little did I know then, huh?) 

One day, I came home from school for lunch, surprised when my mom asked me if I would stay home for the rest of the day and watch my younger brother, Philip. She called me later from the hospital where she was with Amy and her family. I was devastated, and very shocked when she told me they were there for Jayden. This was the first time I had heard of SIDS. (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). 

Jayden was only 7 months old.

I was watching Michael sleep as I reflected on this moment. I feel grateful for everyday that he wakes up. I feel an overwhelming amount of love for him. I also had a deeper understanding and empathy for the pain and sorrow Amy must have felt on that tragic day. 

If I could feel this way towards Michael in just a mere 5 months, how many more feelings could just 2 months add?  Jayden wasn't just a small baby whom Amy didn't get to know and watch grow up. She knew her baby and she loved her baby, just like I love mine. 

 

Park Pictures

So Richard and I discovered that we live really close to a beach. Not within walking distance, but within a very short drive! Pretty crazy, fun eh? So one lovely afternoon we planned to go there and have a picnic. Unfortunately, when we got there, it was extremely busy and parking was atrocious. So, we decided to take a raincheck and visit the beach another day. Instead, we went to a nearby park, and enjoyed the shade.

I also swung with Michael for a while, and then put him in the baby swing by himself.

"I'm not so sure about this."

"Do I really have to stay in this thing?"

"Oh boy."

"I'll just suck my thumb 'til it's over."

And then, of course, daddy agreed to take some pictures because I've just gotta have them for these scrapbook & blog moments.
I really LOVE these moments where we get out together in the sunshine!

Creative Memories

I have this awesome opportunity to be an online host for Creative Memories scrapbook site for the last 1/2 of this month. This is a very informal invitation to everyone--technically I would email this out, but blogging seems to get the word out just as easily. If you want to look through any of their supplies, gizmos, and gadgets just go to this site:
www.mycmsite.com/smile


The links at the bottom of the page will take you through the website.
Have fun!

Grover

My family went to Grover with the Heiss family. I love Grover. We nearly double the population when we go to visit. :) I love the hikes, the parks, the games, the squirrels, and the camping. Anyway, apparently while they were there last week, there were some "flash floods" that caused some red, dirty water. Here are some pictures my mom sent to me.

We've Got Ourselves a Screamer

This is what I've been hearing all morning

Like a 3 year old with scissors

This little guy likes to have his fingers in his mouth.

So call me a 3 year old with scissors, because this morning I decided that I wanted a haircut. So, I acted on this spontaneous thought, pulled out the scissors, and snipped away. I only made one pretty ugly mistake....which will definitely be the reason why one side of my hair will always be tucked behind my ear, until it grows out a little bit. I decided to stop after that, because I figured if I tried to fix it, it would possibly get much worse.

And last of all: Can you believe how much Richard has contributed to this blog lately? I am amazed. You should all leave him a comment under his posts, because getting comments makes him super happy. :)

Been having a think?

THe other day while working, a client wrote "Been having a think." That is exactly what they wrote in the box that tells me what to change on their logo. I didn't quite know what they meant exactly by that. I think they need to take a communications class or something. I just thought it was funny and wanted to share it.

On a better note baby did the cutest thing in sacrament today. As we sang the intermediate hymn, baby started singing along. He just made tons of cute noises. As soon as the song was over he stopped singing. He was a little off note, but with lessons he could be the next American Idol! Just kidding, but it was so cute.

You can't throw your window out the xbox!

Diana and I sat down this afternoon and were writing out some goals for the coming month. She has this bad habit of biting her nails. She also loves back massages. The Challenge: If she can go 3 days in row without biting her finger nails then I give her a back massage. She agreed and we wrote out a silly contract and signed it. Then I was joking with her and said that in the "fine-print" of the contract she would have to give me a back rub every time she bit her nails. Of course this did not fly with her. So she says "Honey, I can't change over night like you can't throw your window out the xbox!" Then we both just busted up laughing. Encourage my wife to not bite her nails, even though she is the only one who gets the back massage.

Patty Cake Patty Cake Baker Mom

Jessie and I both signed up to take a 3 day cake decorating class at a local community college. Gosh, I'm gonna miss her when she leaves. Today was our first day and we had so much fun. We learned about different tools, and proper frosting, and then practiced with two different tips. I was a messy froster. My cardboard circle got a lot of frosting on it as well.
Here's my "piece" of art.



My pictures are really fuzzy--bummer.

Bath Time

Too Cute--I just have to share







I love it, because he's now good enough to hold his head up while he lays on his tummy. So bath time has become even MORE fun!

Independence Day

I don't feel like reordering this pictures in the order in which they were taken.
This is Jessie and Ryan who celebrated the 4th of July with us. I say "celebrate" rather lightly though, because it didn't feel like a traditional "4th of July" to me--until 10pm when the fireworks were going off. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I miss waking up super early to get a spot at the parade, and watching the balloons, and the bbqs (although the Cheesecake factory was pretty darn good too.)

This is us chillin' on a hill waiting for the fireworks (for 4 hours...yeah, I don't have much more to say about that). We were deaf by the end of the 4 hours because the music was WAY too loud. But I will stop pessimising there. 

Fireworks-look much better in real life, wouldn't you agree?

Mama Sea Otter and her two babies basking in the sun. So cute! And finally--just a picture to prove we live in Seattle. 

Graphic Stylization

I was on this ride of enjoying learning about WWII so I used that as inspiration for this Graphic piece.


For this project I wanted to show a kick butt graphic using Halo as a theme. To bad I didn't do this for the actual release of the game.

The whole class taught me other ways of doing graphics, rather than just overlapping pictures and layering them. I have been trying to use the things I learned when I do my work on logos and it has been wonderful to have this extra tool in my belt.

Iron Chef

Alright all you aspiring chefs, wives, or anyone who cooks, I need your expertise. I have quite a few ingredients in my house that I haven't really touched, mostly because I don't know what to make with them. So I've listed a few of these items below-read through them.

Small White Beans, Black Beans, Red Kidney Beans. All of these beans are dry by the way.
Mango Chutney (I used this once, but haven't touched it since. Ideas?)
Yellow Corn Meal (Something besides just plain cornbread)
Dry Ranch Dressing Packets

Please share your recipes and ideas with me!

I Love My Baby