Johnny's Drawings

Hi everyone, we just wanted to show you how talented Johnny is...really! He drew these today for when Isaac came home from work, hehe! Get it?...

I'll be due sometime early/mid August!

Making Cookies and Taking Baths

Well we've been stuck at home all week since John is sick...he got rid of the cough (mostly) and now just has a horrible cold with lots of snot! I know, nobody really needs the details, but if I don't tell you then you won't know how bad it is! So in order to stay sane and happy, we baked cookies. (Yes, that's a highlighter in his hand, which he wouldn't let go of, and he dipped it in the dough!) We had a lot of fun, and mostly ate dough!

Johnny has started wandering the house all day asking to take a bath. He goes in to bathroom and waits in the dark for me to come run him a bath. Yesterday I found him playing with bath toys in the tub with no water! He's so funny. He still loves to draw with crayons too...or more accurately, he loves watching mommy draw things with crayons. Last night before bed, I drew some fish on his paper with an orange crayon and he pointed to it and said "cracker." Our boy is so smart, hehe!

I also wanted to let you all know that Isaac is doing well and he is healthy. Last week he was having chest pains one night and so he decided to go in for a physical. His appointment was yesterday and the doctor said everything looked great and even his blood pressure was down a bit! Wheew! We were a little worried but now we're glad to know he's healthy and there's nothing to worry about. Thanks for all your prayers about this :)

Rainy Day Activities

Well it's quite wet already, and we are having to be creative with things to do during the day that are cheap and entertain a 16 month old (like that's hard! he plays with rocks). Last week we went to Chuck E Cheese and discovered the magic of Bob the Builder. John rode that silly tractor toy about 8 times before I had to pry him out of it to let other kids ride. He discovered "money" there also; he still has a Chuck E Cheese token and some foreign change that we dug out of our money jar, which he carries around all day. He loves putting it in a cup and jingling it. So far, he calls it "mummy"! He has also discovered coloring with crayons! My industrious littly boy will sit in his high chair for 2 hours straight coloring on blank pieces of paper. It's a nice break for me during the day, yet I worry about him getting enough energy out if I let him sit still for so long. I guess he's doing what he wants though! Two mornings ago I found John standing on the kitchen table. I went into the bedroom to fold laundry, came out to check (eerie silence in the house) and there he was, standing in the middle of the table grinning at me. I just about had a heart attack and needless to say, now we always push the chairs in.

We are also very into playing in the rain. John looks so adorable in his little rain boots and long rain jacket! He LOVES stomping in puddles! Last week while we were outside he fell into a 4" deep puddle and just laid there smiling until I picked him up. He was so wet that I had to dump water out of his boots!

We all drove the other day just to take pictures for my mom of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge which was built right next to the old one. Here's some awesome pictures...can you believe we live 2 minutes from this?! Very pretty scenery up here in Washington! Oh yeah...and that's "our" mountain from the highway right by our house, Mount Rainier.

We did have an excellent Thanksgiving with Isaac's family. John had a blast running around the Stegman house chasing and being chased by Aunty Abby and Grandpa Stegman, and the food was to die for! We're still working on getting rid of the yummy leftovers that Kathy sent home with us...this afternoon was turkey Sandwiches and tonight is turkey soup with veggies, yum! John, unfortunately, finally succumbed to his oncoming cold and is quite sick. He has had a little bit of a cough and cold for about a week; now, after an exciting Thanksgiving and very unrestful night of sleep in a different place (we stayed at the Stegmans), he has Croup and a terrible cold and fever. Hopefully we dont' have to take him to the doctor, but Croup has gotten the better of John several times now, so we probably will. I don't have any of my own pictures of Thanksgiving, but as soon as I borrow some we'll post them here. See most of you soon, we're visiting CA early December!

Big Fish, Big Cat, Big Cheesy Boy

John and I went with friends to the Point Defiance Zoo last week. It was such a neat thing to do and we met some really neat people and animals! Here are some great pictures from the aquarium in the zoo, and of the amazing lion which was literally 1 foot away from our faces through the glass barrier!! John loved the animals, even though it was sooo cold. I think it was 48 degrees outside as we made our way through the zoo.

John loved the water more than the fish I think!

This guy's name was nibbles...I wouldn't want him nibbling on me!

I took the cat picture for you mom!

John has been teething a lot lately. Last week he got 3 teeth in 5 days and was a miserable wreck of a little boy. I finally figured out that Motrin is the key to everyone's happiness when John is teething, and we're much better now. Because of teething, I've been feeling in his mouth a lot and asking him to smile and show Momma his teeth, and he obliges in a very cute manner! Here's some "cheese" as he was playing today in the toddler play area at the mall.

This past week has been such a great time! My mom came to visit and we had a blast. As usual she spoiled us rotton with quilts and gifts, and we got to show her around our new town. Besides John being a pill half the time due to teething, he was still his cute little self, loving on Grandma all weekend. He loves playing with his new shape sorter set, and now knows "ircle" (circle) which Grandma Hammond taught him. He also now loves saying "I got you!" and calling people "honey". Here's just a few pictures from during the visit. I need to get more from my mom.

Okay, I couldn't get the next 4 pictures to load so I'll try again sometime soon. Have a good week everyone!