You may have heard the rumors… last week, Seattle recorded the hottest day ever. It was 103 degrees at SeaTac Airport, but it hit 113 in my car. Here’s proof that it got really, really hot:

The Keenes stayed cool. First, we have air conditioning in our house. Second, we have ceiling fans in all the bedrooms. So we have no room to complain about heat. In fact, we kind of like it!

Here’s how we spent the hottest day. JT had swim lessons and Jim had to work, so I got to take him instead.

After swim lessons, JT and I drove up to Wiley’s Ski Shop in south Seattle. It is quite possibly the best ski shop anywhere, and it’s where we get most of our gear. Jim and my skis both had loose screws, which is dangerous, so I took them in to get repaired. This was JT’s first visit to Wiley’s. You can see he is not handling the non-a/c store very well. 🙂

A little advertising for Wiley’s… since they fixed our skis for free, in under twenty minutes, on the hottest day on record, and sent me on my way with a smile!

On the way home, I scoured our town for a kiddie pool. (Yeah, so I’m a little behind the curve.) I went to five stores and got the last one. Ha! Since our deck is covered, it is a perfect spot to lounge without getting burned.

Our very favorite place to ski is Long Lake. Recently, we’ve been able to spend some time there. Our kind friends, the Robertsons, let us use their dock, lawn, and bathrooms… so it’s pretty much a great deal. Here JT is playing in an inflatable pool in the front yard.

JT’s sun hat flew out of the boat, and he doesn’t really like his sunglasses. But it was so bright outside and he was in the sun while we were skiing, so Grandma Cole helped him stay covered up. Too funny!

After a long two days of boating, JT was ready for a long nap. Grandpa Cole and Grandpa Keene hung out with him in the grass while Jim, Michelle, and I took one last ski run. JT fell asleep in the shade right after his snack.

On the way home, Jim smelled a familiar smell in the car… so we pulled off the highway for a diaper change. Then we realized there was a Dairy Queen right there in the parking lot (lucky us)… and then we realized it was awfully close to JT’s dinner time, considering he kept signing “more” to us. So Jim walked over to Starbucks and got JT a milk and then walked to DQ and got us some ice cream treats. Here JT is with his first ever Starbucks experience… whole milk in a cup.

Finding the straw…

I realized that I didn’t post anything about JT’s one year old checkup. He is a healthy boy, as we suspected. He is continuing along the same growth pattern he has had his whole life: tall, trim, big head. Go figure. Before the doctor came in, JT and Jim had some fun on the doctor chair.

We spent the night at Grandpa and Grandma Keene’s house in between our two days on the lake. They found this great tractor for JT that makes a rumbling sound when you sit in it. JT has figured out how to make the sound by leaning on the seat and he loves it.

Finally, we had a nice playdate with the Hollander kids this week. They had a wonderful time in the sandbox and in the pool. They were on their best behavior for the camera… splash, splash, splash!

We got professional pictures taken for JT’s first birthday, and we are very happy with how they turned out. If you’d like to check out the whole album, click here. If you’d like to check out our photographer’s website, click here. We highly recommend her!

We had the best time having a party for JT’s first birthday at the beach. We invited JT’s grandparents, aunts and uncles, and friends for a barbecue. The kids got to play on the beach and on the big toys, and we all ate burgers and cupcakes and had a wonderful afternoon.

This week, my friend Emrie and I loaded the kids in her minivan and drove down to Enumclaw for the King County Fair. It was so much fun! Here are Eli, Sadie, and JT ready to go…

Today began with me singing “Happy Birthday” to JT after I heard him waking up. You can tell that he needs a little time to wake up in the morning, just like me.

After breakfast, JT and I went grocery shopping. When we came home, Jim was up and JT got to blow out his birthday candle in his cereal.

We tried to get him to wear a birthday hat, but he didn’t like the elastic around his ears.

Next, JT got to open a couple presents from us. Between the new car seat and the water ski, he didn’t get much more today! He spied them sitting on the coffee table and crawled right over and pulled the smaller one off. He must have known they were for him. 🙂

The first package had two cool new t-shirts. You can tell JT is impressed. This look says, “Um, okay, these are nice. Next?”

Ah, here are the toys! JT got a Little People Farm Set. He was thrilled to play with the different parts and by the end of the day he was stacking them together quite nicely.

Off we went to swim lessons, where JT practiced jumping in from the side, swimming under water, blowing bubbles, and much more.

Then Jim headed to work and JT and I had a playdate with our friends from swimming. Emi and her mom Carrie are lots of fun! They even brought JT a birthday present. Here he is opening his new puzzle.

Emi brought JT a juice box to have with his snack. He had never had one before, but he liked it right away.

“Okay, Moms, snack is over. Let’s hit the beach!”

JT was so exhausted by his big day that he fell asleep in the stroller on the way back to the car. He slept through getting moved into his car seat, driving home, getting moved into his crib, and then for another hour!

Then we had a normal, quiet little evening at home. Big Day (2) is on Sunday, when we have JT’s big birthday bash – a barbecue on the beach! (I didn’t mean to have that much alliteration, either.)

First of all, I won a patio set. Seriously. I referred my secretary’s daughter to Jim’s chiropractor. I got a free 60 minute massage (yesssss!) and got entered in a drawing to win a patio set. And then I won! I had no idea. A guy at Jim’s work told him that we won after he saw our name on the board at the office, where he happens to go as well. How’s that for strange? We love it!

I let JT try out his new snack cup while we were shopping last week. It’s the kind that doesn’t easily spill, but he can get the crackers out. He loved it. He spent the whole shopping trip laughing and getting into his cup. About half the crackers made it to his mouth, and the other half landed on the floor. Sorry, Fred Meyer…

We had to kill some time in Tukwila the other day, so we went to Joann’s and picked out some fabric for a gift I’m making someone. JT and I had lunch on the bench outside the store before we went home.

JT’s water ski arrived last week! We’ve been practicing in the house, and finally made it outside. I will get video when I can. JT is just starting to stand while holding on to the handle without Jim or me holding his hand, too. He is beginning to think it is fun, which is great!

We had a family photo shoot in honor of JT’s first birthday with our friend and photographer, Sarah. (Visit her website here.) Here Sarah is trying to keep up with JT as he motors across the play structure. I can’t wait to post the pictures!

So we’ve had this play mat since before JT was born, and he doesn’t really play with it anymore. The other day, I was eating lunch and needed JT to keep himself occupied while I scarfed my sandwich. I showed him the musical fish, which I’ve shown him about a million times but not for the past few months… and he could do it by himself.

I got this Tonka truck at the JBF sale this past spring, and JT has been working on pushing it around the house. Good walking practice!

And last, who doesn’t love Washington berry season? Yummmm. I froze some strawberries since I’m a rule follower and JT doesn’t get to try them until he is officially one year old. But raspberries are okay, and so he got to eat some of those this week.

Lately JT has had several chances to hang out with friends, new and old.

Hallie is only six weeks younger than JT. They got to eat side-by-side and share toys. JT especially liked Hallie’s play phone. He doesn’t have one at our house, but he does have one at Grandma Cole’s. (Jim said, “Let’s keep it that way!”) Hallie did not appreciate JT tackling her. We apologized and told JT that he is only allowed to do that to bigger kids, like Asher and Cole.

Speaking of Asher… the Shucks came out in the boat for dinner with us this week. The boys waited patiently in the canoe while we were loading the boat. (Gosh, it looks like that is dangerous, doesn’t it? Did I mention that the canoe is sitting on the dock, not in the water?)

JT also got to meet his second cousin Gideon for the first time. Gideon is about five months old. He had a great time kicking JT, who thought it was sooooo funny. Gideon is practicing sitting up by himself, so JT was very helpful and handed him a toy or two while they were playing. We did have to remind him about the tackling rule, however.

Anybody else want to come play? 🙂

Happy Fourth of July! I am feeling especially grateful to live in this great country this year. I am reading Life and Death in Shanghai, an autobiography about Nein Chang’s extraordinary survival of imprisonment in Communist China during the 1960s. It is an excellent book. (I admit it, I was reading it while I’m waiting for these pictures to upload!) So I’ve been thinking about how very blessed I am to live in a place where I don’t have to fear the government, and I have so many freedoms that I take for granted. Anyway…

We started our holiday weekend with a float trip in the boat on Friday. JT wore his patriotic swim trunks and got to swim in the lake with Jim.

He was very excited to see a duck paddle over to our boat. I think it was looking for food. Jim and I wouldn’t share our sandwiches, and it eventually paddled away.

We had a great time enjoying the sunshine and warm weather as a family before Jim had to leave for work.

On Saturday, we took a walk down to our neighborhood park before Jim had to go to work. Jim helped JT work on his muscles to impress the girls by doing pull-ups.

JT got to play in some of the kiddie toys that were set up for our neighborhood barbecue while we were there. It’s nice to be the only one playing with the balls!

After JT’s afternoon nap, he and I joined our neighborhood barbecue. There was a ton of great food and we had a nice time hanging out with our wonderful neighbors. Here JT is waiting patiently in a chair while I get his dinner out of the stroller.

And my favorite picture, of course… the one our neighbor Kelly snapped while JT was holding his flag. (Kelly’s husband took one at the same time on his cell phone and sent it to Jim so he could be a part of the moment. 🙂 ) What a great day!