JT has conquered walking and is now very pleased to climb on things. Lately he loves getting on any of his ride-on toys. He is starting to be able to push himself backward with his toes, which he thinks is pretty cool. Here he is all geared up to ride his Harley with a new shirt from Grandpa and Grandma Cole.

We were at Crossroads park on Saturday, and JT walked over to the play area from the picnic area all by himself. Then he asked for help to get up on the motorcycle (with very clear motions and signals, but no words). He loved rocking it back and forth, and making the “zoom” sound.

We’ve started a little project… called digging up the entire front yard. Long story. Anyway, JT loves playing in the dirt (who doesn’t?) and he especially enjoys having his own shovel (aka Mom’s gardening trowel). Here he is helping Jim find the buried sprinkler head. You have to click on the second one to really appreciate the amount of dirt he managed to spread across his skin!

Since he was so dirty, we took a quick shower before dinner. JT has figured out how to pull the knob to make the overhead shower turn on (versus the bath faucet) but forgets what this means… immediate cold water sprinkling down on his head. You will notice he is not happy about this! But we got out the bath bubbles and some warmer water came through, and then he was a happy guy again. Funny.

JT loves to throw Slider’s ball for her. Jim has been working with JT to improve his throwing skills, and I caught some on tape in the back yard. Keep in mind that Slider will not drop the ball for either Jim or I without being commanded to do so… but for JT, she will stand still and let him take it right out of her mouth. What’s with that? I also got a little bit of JT walking around the yard, showing his walking skills are much improved since last week!

For the past few days, the forecast has had rain on our agenda. But each day, it seems to be sunny and warm. Today Jen and I took the boys to Downtown Bellevue to the park to play. The forecast was wrong (again), and the weather was beautiful. But as I write this, the rain has started to pour outside and I’m glad we took advantage of the great weather. I also played around with some editing before I posted these, like this first one, where the color is partially black and white.

Enjoying the wood chips (so serious)

Thinking, “How tall is this tree?”

Walking! (Someone needs a haircut…)

JT and Asher pushing the crocodile (dragon? dinosaur?) back and forth

Hey, there are two of these!

Ready, set, go!

Jen and Asher playing in the grass… so beautiful. Love that pregnant belly!

I think I forgot to mention on the blog that Jim and I celebrated our eighth anniversary in August. We had a nice dinner at home and, even though we had decided not to exchange presents this year, I got a surprise delivered to my doorstep first thing in the morning: a Kindle 2! I already love it. Here we are on our big day.

Meanwhile, JT has recovered from his TWO sinus infections and his fifth tooth has broken through… so he is feeling much better. I didn’t notice how quiet he had gotten during all that, but now he is a goofy chatterbox again. For example, here he has tackled me to the ground in the kitchen. Fuzzy, but funny.

The other day we were playing with his blocks and he built a four-block tower all by himself. Awesome!

Then he decided to crawl inside the block basket. He thought that was very funny!

JT has been doing a great job taking bites of things and chewing before swallowing. This has allowed him to try out some new things. Here he is eating cucumber spears. Yum!

Have you heard the nursery rhyme, “One shoe off and one shoe on, Deedle deedle dumpling, my son John”? It’s true at our house. All the time. Here JT has lost a shoe and stopped to get it back on. He successful getting the Velcro undone but just couldn’t get it back on his foot.

Last weekend when we got home from church, we decided to take a quick trip to Lake Wilderness to play and have a snack before JT’s afternoon nap.

My favorite from the day – what a big guy he is!

JT decided to start trying to walk on his own yesterday, and it’s been walk, walk, walk ever since. How fun! Still wobbly, he is making a big effort to conquer his feet. Here is a compilation of the last 24 hours. I think he is officially a toddler!

While we were camping, JT started asking for bites of sandwiches. (Actually, he started asking for bites of everything. Hungry man.) When we got home, I used a sandwich thin to make him his very own PBJ. Yep, loved it. Next we’ll try turkey and cheese. Yummmmm!

We spent a whole nine days at Steamboat Rock State Park on Banks Lake. This was my 26th year in a row to spend time there over the summer (and Jim’s 11th, and JT’s 2nd). The Cole kids came with us, and so did Grandpa and Grandma Cole. It was great to see the cousins playing together in the sand and on the water. Then Grandpa and Grandma Keene, who were dogsitting Slider, came for two nights too. We had so much fun!

Enjoying mid-week Mexican at La Presa

Hiking The Rock

The view from the top

Madi and JT enjoying the water

JT loved playing with Grandma’s clothespins

Yep, this is where we swim and ski… rough life, huh?

JT enjoying the boat

Stuck in the tent

Grandma, Grandpa, and JT

I have three Flip Clips from the week (although I took thirty): JT playing in the sand, driving the boat, and waterskiing. Yes, he finally skiied in the water on the beach. We did try behind the boat and he just didn’t want to hang on by himself… he went about ten feet and let go. We’re not giving up hope, though; there’s still a lot of summer left!

What a great week! The Cole kids flew home (sad), and now we’re back in the swing of things: swim lessons, laundry, and a teachers’ strike.

Hooray! The Cole Kids (aka our nephew and nieces) are visiting Washington for three whole weeks. We took some cousin pictures to commemorate the occasion. Thanks to Jim’s crazy antics, everyone was laughing!

We have been pretty busy with our hosting activities. The guests stayed with us for a few nights and have been with their grandparents the rest of the time. Preston, Madi, and Ali are all amazing with JT. They help with diaper changes, meals, and all sorts of tasks. Frankly, it’s been like having great babysitters around most of the time!

Day 1 – Spent time at Long Lake skiing and enjoying the sunshine. Here are the boys…

…and JT, sporting his new backpack from Grandma Cole.

Day 2 – went to an outdoor movie. JT fell asleep, but the rest of us laughed our way through Madagascar 2.

Day 3 – Went to the Seattle Aquarium and waterfront. So much fun!

Day 4 – Hung out at the lake, went kayaking.

Day 5 – Went to Poulsbo via Puget Sound in my parents’ boat. JT got to drive. 🙂

And later on… Jim and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary. We can’t believe it’s been eight years already, and we can’t wait for many more.

Last Sunday, we left church in the sunshine. JT got a shoulder ride since we parked so far away.

We decided to swing into Whole Foods and pick up JT’s meals for our camping trip. (No, I’m not packing homemade baby food for a week long camping trip!) Jim suggested we get lunch there since we were all hungry. And then it hit me… the first meal of my son’s life that I did not have to be a part of. Not one bit. No packing, no preparation, no nursing, no pureeing, no chopping, nothing. It was fabulous. So we got a fruit bowl and some chicken bisque for JT, and took a picture of his first ever true “eating out.”

Then JT got to push his own cart, which he loves, and pick out some food for our trip. Okay, so maybe I helped pick it out. But he did push the cart all by himself. Jim gave some assistance with steering because he kept running into displays. And since JT had already dropped a jar of pears (“Clean up, Aisle 12”), we thought we were pushing our luck. I love the employee in the background of this picture.

Then we went out to the lake so Jim could do a couple maintenance tasks on the dock and lift that we use. JT and I played in the grass.

Did you catch that part about not nursing? That’s right, JT is officially done breastfeeding. At first he was not super excited about the whole milk, but he didn’t hate it either. His pediatrician said that toddlers only need 8-12 ounces a day to get enough calcium, so that was my goal. I don’t know what in the world I was thinking! JT has two parents who each love milk. We can go through three gallons a week without even making pudding.

Sure enough, by the end of the week, JT was sucking down six ounces every meal, plus a cup at bedtime. In fact, just today I called our milk delivery man and added another half gallon to our order. Pretty soon we’re going to need a bigger porch box!

It’s true: when JT is sad or hungry, he wants his Mom. When he wants to play, however, there is one person he heads to first: DAD. Jim and JT have so much fun together.

Here they are enjoying lying on the floor on one of our hot days. Jim is teaching JT how to relax under the ceiling fan.

Enjoying some “shirts off” time…

And playing hide-and-go-seek (Jim is hiding around the corner, which is why JT is laughing.)