Moved Out

We haven't mentioned it on the blog yet, but we are moving.  We have an offer on our dream home, but its a short sale.  We do not have the keys to the new house, since the short sale process is anything but short.  Since we have an offer on another house we had to sell ours.  So a few days after we had started the short sale process we found some fantastic realtors (a pair of super smart people) and put the Brier house on the market.  We did not expect the sale of the Brier home to be so quick, but after 4 days on the market it was sold.  We found some temporary housing while we wait through the short sale process.
So today was the official move out day.  We packed, patched walls, cleaned, and packed some more the entire day.  PJ stayed at a friends house, which made this mega work day so much easier.  I am going to miss this house.  Neither of us really expected to leave, especially not just 3 years after we bought it.  The house we are hoping to move into is perfect and the circumstances were too perfectly aligned that we think the move is right, even if unexpected.  We will miss all the great upgrades we made to the house to make the house our home.  We will miss the patio we were working on with my parents the same weekend we found out that we were becoming a family of 3.  I am going to miss PJ's first room.  We spent a lot of time in their feeding, book reading, naming the items on his alphabet wall, singing, diaper changing, soothing PJ through his first sickness and the list goes on.  We will also miss the perfect shed Poppy, Uncle Troy and Ry built right after PJ was born.  All three of them designed and built the shed, with final completion taking less than a week.  I can't I remember much of that time, but I know it turned out awesome!

The front of the Brier house.  

The living room, which went through the biggest transformation.  New fireplaces, new windows, new flooring, new paint color and removal of some odd painted picture frames on the long walls.  

This patio space used to be about a 2 foot wide dirt/wood chipped path.  We pushed back the dirt, put in the retaining wall, which resulted in so much more usable backyard space.

This corner of the yard used to be one big weed covered unusable dirt hill.

The perfect shed, Hammell-Younkin designed to match the house.

PJ's Room

18 Months

Today PJ is exactly 18 months.  2 years ago I was in New Zealand jumpseating with Air New Zealand,just barely into my second trimester of pregnancy.  How times have changed.  Today I rushed home from hosting Air New Zealand in the engineering cab.  Funniest part for me was that it was the same pilot today as I had met two years ago.  Still super supportive of being a family person and a career woman.  I am so grateful to be working in my position where I can do both.  In the past 18 months I have learned a lot about being a working momma, and some days are definitely easier than other days, but could not be happier.  At the end of a long day I get to go to daycare and pick up my son who 9 times out of 10 is thrilled to see me. PJ lights up and comes running towards me with so much enthusiasm I have teared up a time or two.  The 1 time out of 10 that I do not get my little boy running toward sme is when he is into snacktime or playtime outside on the slide.  At first I was offended and definitely embarassed as PJ screamed the whole way to the car, "NOOOOOOOOOOO".  But I truly am happy to know he has interests already; food and playtime that he finds enjoyable to him. 
As I reflect on the last 18 months, the main emotions I feel are joy, excitement, and a little fear.  Joy that we have made it this far, and we are still smiling; ready to welcome a second baby to our family.  Excitement for what is to come, since its been so much fun and challenging so far.  A little fear that I am not enjoying enough of the now. 
So to enjoy the now let me tell you what has been happening with PJ this month...
My all time favorite new happening is that PJ is sharing his kisses beyond Cheyenne.  Thats right Momma and Daddy get kisses too! PJ kisses on our request and most recently on his own he offers them up.  He even gets frusturated with you and denies them, which I actually love just as much.  He is finding his voice.  Some days his voice hurts my feelings, since hearing "No. No. No." and "Mine. Mine. Mine" over and over again for long bouts of time is trying, but thats part of being a mom, right? 
Speaking of finding his voice, PJ is saying a lot more words, some we know and some we can't yet identify. Lucky for us PJ repeats enough times that we will get the unidentifiable words eventually.  As for the words we do recognize, the favorite for Ry is Dada.  yep he is finally calling Ry, Dada.  G-ma and Poppy also have names, no longer do they have to share Momma.  PJ calles G-Ma, Eeeeee and Poppy, Bubba.  I am not sure where Bubba came from since PJ determined Bubba while we were in Seattle and not with Poppy.  Poppy does call him Bubba a lot, but do you think he actually remembers that?  Either way its pretty cute whenever he is frusturated with me because he doesn't understand or when we are in the car, he calls to be over and over again.  "Eeeeeeeeee, Gruck (Truck), and Bubba, Gractor."  To which I respond, "yep G-ma loves you and drives a tractor, Poppy loves you and drives a tractor." Then we talk about all his family that loves him, Satanley, Aunt Sammi, Uncle Troy, Ome, Granpa Dave, etc. 
This month PJ loves his animal sounds.  He also loves pointing to things in books and around him and identifying them with his word.  He likes to tell me everything is hot, even when its not hot, but may at one time have been hot or he thinks could be hot.  Until recently this was adorable, its starting to take a little more patience from me.  Not only is he telling me things are hot even when they are not, he is starting to test them. Which is good that he is starting to hear me say nope, the door is not hot.  But he is also starting to test me when I say something is actually hot.  The meaning of the word has been lost a bit.
Funny boy.  I love having a toddler.  Next week we are going to Hawaii on our first family vacation.  I can't wait for him to swim and play in the sand.  There will be lots of good stories to share!

School Pictures

Got PJ's daycare photos today.  No actual smile, but still so dang cute.  Which one do you like most?

Timeout Square

PJ is starting to hit out of frustration and lack of words. We have started timeouts. At first we would pick him up and run him to the crib. At about day 3, PJ has started thinking it is fun to go to the crib. So, now we have a more immediate location, a square blanket close to wherever we are at. It's been really funny seeing PJ try to take control of timeout. I managed to get one photo, from at least 20 visits to the square!

Haircut

PJ got his first professional haircut today!  I was out on my way to China for another business trip, so Ryan took PJ on his own to the barber.  I think Ry deserves major kudos for not only being willing to go by himself but that PJ stayed in the chair happily throughout the whole event!  The hairstylist gave PJ a calculator to keep him busy, which seemed to work, it was obviously not her first rodeo. 

 

First sitting in the chair, about to get started

Getting the top cut.  Look at at how good he sits still.

The back is now getting trimmed.
Note the calculator that distracted PJ for the whole haircut.

Almost done, using the calculator as a phone. 



17 Months

PJ is 17 months today and I am 20 weeks along with his baby brother.  Wow!  When I was 20 weeks along with PJ I had no idea the next two years would go by so fast and that I would need a blog to write it all down to remember.  This month has been fun.  We had awesome weather to get PJ outdoors, where he is still at his happiest and now he is trying to talk a lot more so we spend a lot of time identifying whatever he points to, while he tries to repeat us.

PJ's latest vocab consists of lots more sounds and babling with a few more specific words.  The specific words we hear a lot are doggo, truck (sounds more like 'ruck' and it is used to identify all cars, trucks and tractors), ball, uh-oh (which sounds more like 'oh?'), owe when he bumps his head, airplane sounds whenever he sees an airplane, bus, bird, milk, Dada, Poppy and Momma.  PJ calls me Momma and generally saves the whiniest tone of the word for me, he also calls Ry, Poppy and G-Ma, Momma.  They all get the most happy excited version.  Also sometimes when we are reading about tractors he points to the tractors and says 'Momma!', which I reply, 'yes Poppy has a tractor', in which PJ then nods and seems pleased that I understood what he said.  If you tell PJ to go give Daddy, Poppy or G-Ma something, he will identify the person correctly, but we all get the name Momma.  So although PJ can say Poppy and Dada, he has yet to use them to properly identify his two favorite people.  We continue to look at pictures daily and identify all of our family memebers, but for now, we are all Momma. 

PJ is getting taller, finally wearing 18 months clothes, although some of the pants we have are too big around the waist eventhough they are long enough.  Such is the life of being a Hammell/Younkin. 

PJ is big into climbing this month as well as getting down by jumping.  Super frightening for mom, but brings him such glee.  He loves his ride-on toy, which we keep outside, so inside he has created all of his trucks, small and large as ride on toys.  Its pretty funny seeing him test out which toy will work best to hold his weight and scoot around on.  We also had a lot more dance parties this month.  PJ loves music and always has, but lately he has been requesting the  music to be on and he likes to just move with it while he plays. Although PJ walks very well and at times will seem very independent; he stills requires we carry him a lot of places when we are out.  I may need to encourage more walking as he is starting to get heavier, but I do enjoy the cuddles andsoon he won't want to be carried at all.

So as another month has passed, PJ continues to improve on his already learned skills, and continues to remind us that whatever we are used to is old news. 

Wow 17 months already!

PJ can Jump...

Today when I picked up PJ from school, his teacher said that he learned to jump from one of his classmates.  Apparently he and Gigi woke up from their naps early so the teacher put them in the hallway to be noisy.  Well the two spent the next 10 minutes alternating between trying to jump and giggling at each other.   Leah, the teacher, said that when we got home I should ask him to show me how to jump. 
So when we got to Amy's parents house, which is where we had dinner tonight, PJ was being super silly going from one couch to the next throwing his body.  A perfect time to try jumping.  So I got PJ's attention and said "PJ can you show me how you jump?"  PJ got this great big smile on his face got into jumping squat position and then straightened his legs, which resulted in thrusting his hips.  He did not get off the ground, but he sure loved trying.  We got it on video. 

16 Months!

PJ is just nearly 16 months old!  He will be exactly 16 months on Wednesday, but I will be out of town on business and will likely not have time to write a complete enough entry about how awesome PJ has grown in the last month.  Besides I can get Ry's help tonight to remember everything.

• Food 
• PJ is now hungry all the time.  The beginning of the 15 month mark he had a lot of teeth coming in and that meant little interest in food, but PJ has made up for in the second half of the month.  He eats everything and is always ready for his next snack/meal.  PJ has two big breakfasts,one at home and one at daycare, and the eating continues steadily for the rest of the day.  
• Feeding himself with real utensils.  We discovered at about 15.5 months that PJ will eat a lot more if you let him do it, which may be another reason he is eating so much more.  We are pretty much done feeding him; we just help when absolutely neccessary. 
• When food is hot, he now knows he needs to blow on the food.  His blowing is not effective but its very adorable.
• Talking
• He says Doggo, Momma(for both me and Ry), Ha aka Hot (while putting out his hand in the STOP position), Oh (the second half of Uh-Oh), Wow!, Whoa, Up (but only in a whisper) and then the rest of the time he just tries out a lot of different sounds like last month.  Ry swears he says All Done, which sounds more like Ah Dun, but its faint to me.
• NO has entered his vocab list.  Sometimes he just says the word to say the word, other times he means No.  So far its been more cute, than defiant, but we know that will change soon.
• When we are reading to him, he loves to make the animal sounds that we make, and everyone in awhile he will try to repeat a word or two that we read. 
• PJ loves music, he dances (sways his head back and forth) to certain songs.  Since it seems he likes certain songs over others, we play those a little more frequently, which he has started to sing to sometimes.  No comprehensive words, but you can tell he is trying.  HIs favorite song this month is 'Ho Hey' by The Lumineers. 
• Motor Skills
• PJ is starting to sort shapes with his airplane toy that has different slots for different shapes.  He gets the circle the best, but will put in effort for the other three shapes, with 50-50 success.  He loves putting things into things.  PJ will test if his toy will fit into a tupperware, and then the tupperware into a truck.  He is always testing the size of things. 
• PJ isputting things away if you ask.  Its not 100% success rate, but we appreciate teh help. 
• Walking
• PJ is now walking himself to the car from daycare, a huge success.  Its hard to have a little boy that walks but prefers to be carried, especially as I become more and more pregnant.  This started just at the end of last week, lets hope it continues with Daddy while Momma is out of town. 
• Going up and down curbs, and steps is not an obstacle at all anymore.  PJ takes the steps so quickly I find myself holding my breath that he may fall, so far he does great.  In fact he is now taking is riding toys down the few stairs off the deck in the backyard.  A true daredevil.
• Giggling
• PJ has always laughed but in this last month, tickling is hilarious and surprise jump outs from behind a corner get PJ laughing hard.  PJ has officially started trying to make us laugh and is overall more entertained with life.  He loves being chased, and chasing us.  Bouncing balls, Cheyenne, and sitting on his truck toys also get big laughs.  Ry says its the increase in food intake.  Full belly equals happy baby.
• Tantrums
• They happen but not that frequent.  When PJ gets upset he throws up his hands and takes some steps backwards.  Its hard to not laugh.  The tantrums don't last long, especially with the perfect distraction, like 10 seconds time lapse.  Just when you think you should try to console PJ, he is already over it. 

15 Months Old!

Yesterday marked 15 months 'young' for PJ.  I am having a hard time believing its mid-August already, although we have done a pretty good job of getting out and enjoying the summer.  PJ loves to be outside, this is not a new fact, but now that he can walk he has been trying really hard to get the door to the deck open to get himself outside.  He really enjoys playing on the deck and throwing the ball for his puppy.  We moved Poppy's cart outside and that has provided countless hours of entertainment.  I have actually been able to prepare an entire meal while PJ wheeled the cart from one end of the deck to the other and then repeated.  I would say his most favorite activities this month have been when he is outside.
The latest highlights that have come with a month of growth are as follows:

• No more spilled milk! 
• PJ used to throw his milk cup after every sip he took from it.  Of course it took me several frustrating meals before I tried calmly saying "PJ please put that cup right here on the table when you are done drinking." You will not believe it!  PJ actually put the cup exactly where I said on the table and didn't throw the milk.  We have a 98% success rate with this method which is much cleaner and much less stressful at mealtimes.  No discipline was really needed; turns out PJ just wanted to understand his what was right, not what was wrong.  I think I learned more from this development than PJ did!
• A lot more sign language
• Pj had already mastered 'more' but now he is starting to sign 'eat', 'milk', and most recently 'please'.  The joy of sign language is that there is a lot less yelling and screaming from PJ and more adamant 'hand waving'.  This change keeps things much more calm while Momma "slowly" pours more milk for PJ, or Daddy takes a full minute to slice a banana. 
• Mastering stairs and using furniture/hands/railings
• PJ has definitely figured out stairs, especially going up.  As for safely going down on his own, he has figured out that he can go down anything on his bottom and be safe.  Although, safe is barely an interest for PJ.  He is always trying to figure out how to do things like Mom and Dad without having to modify.  So he has also put together there are railings and things on the stairs, or Momma's hand that can be of use to him in getting what he wants.  Its only a matter of time before he realizes a stool can get him higher, or using the cabinets could get him closer to the counter. 
• Stacking toys with pegs
• Uncle Troy and Aunt Sami got PJ a toy for Christmas that up until this month PJ has had little interest in, but now its the best!  We spent over 30 minutes (eons in toddler time) taking the pegged circles, squares, and octagons off the peg and then back on.  This has been a fun evening activity as we get quiet for bed and start to slow down for the night. 
• More babbling
• PJ is still not saying too many words beyond what I had listed last month, but he sures tries to say a lot more sounds.  Yesterday he babbled for the entire drive home from hiking (about a 60 minute drive).  PJ seems to pick up  repeating sign language a little quicker than repeating words.  I know PJ is comprehending everything we say and share with him, but for now just sounds and pointing in return.  I am not in any rush to hear him speak, but I am looking forward to hearing the words he decides to use first.  He hears so much from us, that it will be fun to see what he thinks is worth repeating. 
• Hiking 
• PJ loves it!  When we get his pack out the night before to get all prepared PJ will try to climb in it and is very interested in everything we put into the bag.  When we are out hiking he loves to be able to drink out of Dad's camelbak while he is still in the pack.  He babbles, points and wants to know everything he is seeing.  We have been on quite a few hikes this summer and so far not a single hike has resulted in a meltdown.  I am sure that its possible and we will have sour experience, but so far its been a great time for the whole family. 
• Mealtime
• At daycare PJ gets a real spoon and fork and is getting pretty good wielding them during mealtime.  This month he has mastered eating on his own.  Its still quite messy and we still help make sure all of the meal goes in his month, but PJ is more in control.  In fact if you give him food straight to his mouth he may or may not take it, but if you put the same type of food on his plate he is 90% more likely to eat it.  Cheese and meat are still not a big part of PJ's diet, but we keep trying.  PJ's favorite food this month are rasberries!  He will eat an entire quart in one sitting. 

San Juan Island Visit

Today was a GREAT day.  We set off for Paine Field Airport around 9am.  By 10am we were in the air headed to San Juan Island, specifically Roche Harbor Airport.  The flight was beautiful.  PJ sat in my lap while Ry did all the important stuff, which meant there weren't really free hands to snap pictures.  So instead you will have to picture perfectly blue skies, with a bit of low fog between some of the islands, and a sweet little boy who sat so perfectly in Momma's lap.  The first half of the flight PJ sat looking out the window and just taking it all in.  Then the second half of the flight PJ got a little antsy so I pulled out some cheerios.  PJ ate some cheerios and then created a little game where I would pour a few cheerios into my hand and then he would grab one at a time and put them back in the container, eating the last one each time.  He had so much fun with this game, that he was distracted for the rest of the flight.  When we landed, we walked down to Roche Harbor and met up with some friends, Scott, Eva, Jona(PJ's age), Eva's sister, and two new friends.  We all grabbed some sandwich fixings and headed to Lime Kiln State Park to have a picnic and hopefully see some Orca Whales. 
We had a lovely lunch and the entire time we ate there were Orca Whales breeching, blowing water, and showing off their dorsel fins all right in front of us.  What an incredible lunch!  Apparently the last week there had not been a single sighting which made us seeing them today that much sweeter!  After the Orca Whales headed south out of view and we wrapped up our lunch we went for a little hike to a lighthouse and then on to the park's namesake - a lime kiln.  It was nice little walk along the southwest side of the island along the water, a great view of the Olympic Peninsula and Victoria Island.  PJ walked for about a half mile along the trail all by himself, before looking for a ride from one of us.  I wish I had captured Ry's face at how proud he was of PJ when he told me how far he walked. 
Instead here is the only picture we got which was of the lighthouse at the park.  After our hike we headed back to the airport for our flight home.  On our way home we flew over the area where we had seen the whales earlier to see if we could see anything from the air.  With just the right light on the water both of us were actually able to see the whales!  A most perfect day to visit friends and to take a flight. 

PJ with his buddy at lunch

Lighthouse at Lime Kiln Park, Victoria Island is in the background.

Successful Spoon Eating

PJ had a delicious dinner tonight. The meal was extra tasty because he ate 90% all by himself!

 

 

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14 Months Old

PJ one day old

Today PJ is 14 months old.  Just 14 months ago he was so tiny and 100% dependent on us.  We know that PJ is still very dependent on us but wow he is a busy little boy that tries to do nearly everything on his own.  PJ is beyond just walking; now he runs, claps while he walks, carries heavy things from place to place, and overall is quite busy.  He has recently started to do a lot more squatting and investigating.  This movement is my favorite at the moment but hard to catch on camera because he moves onto the next thing to investigate so quickly. 

The biggest milestones since PJ turned 13 months is communication.  He understands nearly everything we say.  For instance if you say go grab your shoes he will go and bring you his shoes.  He won't always take the most direct route back, but I am just trying to prove to you all that he understands. 

PJ points to EVERYTHING and says "uh-uh".  The caveman pointing started last month, but this month he is much more insistent that you say what he is pointing to and seems quite content when you say what is being pointed at. 

So not only is PJ understanding us more, but he is trying to say his own words more.  Some days he will jabber on in his own babytalk and other days he is very quiet.  We seem to hear his cute little voice when its just the three of us.  When there are a lot of people around he just takes it all in.  You can tell by his furrowed eyebrows that he is not missing a trick when we are out in public, but he waits to share what he thinks about the world until its just us.  Although he jabbers a lot in babytalk he only says a few words, Doggy being the newest.  He points to Cheyenne and in his most happiest of tones says "Dogg-y", with quite a high pitch "y".  Otherwise PJ's only other two actual words are Momma and Daddy, but not that often.

PJ has started to recognize airplanes and birds, which makes his daddy oh so happy.  Whenever he hears an airplane PJ looks up, while pointing and says "Bah".  If you don't acknowledge that he has seen an airplane, he will start to repeat "Bah, Bah" with much more insistence.  Ry loves this new skill! 

The last big change since last month is that PJ is now in the toddler room.  No more infant room for him!  We will save the details of the toddler room for another day but know that the move came at a perfect time.  Just last week we noticed that he was getting quite bored in the infant room and he was way more fussy when we came to pick him up.  He has only been in his new room one day so it will be a few days before we can note a difference. 

13 Month Milestones

PJ turned 13 months yesterday, so now its time to roundup what changed in the Younk-O-Fun household since PJ turned one year old. 

• PJ is walking, and trying out faster speeds.  He does great walking from rug to hard wood floor, but if he runs the surface transition often causes him to trip.  When PJ falls 9 times out of 10 he pops right back up and keeps going. 
• The more independent PJ gets, exploring beyond our arms; the more he comes back to be in our arms.  This past month we have really enjoyed letting him go explore and to just be available to him when he turns around and comes running back in for a hug.  The biggest, proudest smiles radiate from both us and him during these moments.
• PJ is not saying any full words beyond Dada and Moma yet.  He has put the sound 'ruff' in association with Cheyenne.  The "ruff' sound is pretty cute because PJ puts emphasis on the 'f' sound, sometimes repeating just 'fff'.   
• PJ is having more tantrums.  Since he isn't saying much he can't articulate what he wants so there is a lot of body and head throwing when something doesn't go his way.  He has a lot of demands, and it will be fun (i.e. patience testing) to hear those demands become words.  For now this new milestone can test the patience for each other, since neither knows for sure what PJ wants.  Luckily we are getting better at not rushing through things when PJ gets this way.  The best solution is to sit on the floor with him until he calms down.  Most of the time the tantrums start because we have diverted our attention away from him.  So we try to keep that focus when we can and we try to talk through why he doesn't have our attention when something, like dinner making, has to be done.
• PJ high-fives, thanks to daddy. This is really fun to watch because he lights up.  Someone says "high-five" and then PJ will look at you, put up his hand and wait for you to slap it.  After you have slapped his hand a few times then he will try and high five you.  I love watching the cause and effect being processed.
• PJ tries to blow kisses back after you blow some at him. Sometimes he just slaps his face.  Other times when he puts his hand to his mouth he sticks out his tongue, which then distracts him from blowing a kiss, to instead licking his hand.  But really he is trying to blow a kiss.  Last night he even starting making the kissing sound.
• PJ is sitting still long enough to get through a story or two before bedtime.  Sometimes we will spend the whole story time on one picture with PJ pointing and grunting like a cave man.  He expects you to tell him what it is that he is pointing to in the book.  Other time he lets you read the whole book as he listens and watches intently. 

What is going to change in this next month?

PJ is 13 Months Today!

Monthly we have shared on this blog PJ's latest milestones summary.  Today on his month-versary lets talk about how having a 13 month old has changed PJ's parents.

• We talk about poop A LOT.  We had dogs before having PJ, so the topic of poop was already pretty high.  With PJ in our lives now, we have actually worried about the smell, color, consistency and frequency to a whole other level.  In fact a recent conversation right after K walked into our home from a long day at work, was not "How was your day?" and it was not "How did PJ do at daycare?"  Instead the number one must know about the day was "Did he poop yet?"  When K answered "No"; Ry looked visibily disappointed and sad for PJ. 
• Our day starts a lot earlier than before we had PJ join our family and our evenings are considered exciting if we make it to 9pm.
• Laughter, we laugh a lot more.  Things like eating pickles are hilarious when a 13 month old does it.  
• We are slowing down our movements.  PJ is moving quickly from one activity to the other and we try to sit and watch and be his "rock".  The slower we move and make time to just be with him, the happier he seems.  This has all caused a shift in perspective. Living more intentional, less worried about stuff. More focused on relationships.  At first it was about being great parents, but now its about all relationships and where do we need to slow down and be more intentional, enjoy more. 
• Deeper understanding of love, daily, sometimes hourly we are showered with reminders of love and how true and sweet love is with a 13 month old.
• Closer to God.  God has gifted us the opportunity to be PJ's father and mother.  We are so thankful that we work daily to be better Christians, which has in turn improved our relationship.
• My heart literally aches when I hear news about neglect to children in any form.  This sort of news was never something I liked hearing, but now I feel extra protective.  I can not fathom harming my child in any form.  In fact letting him cry is a battle I constantly work out in my head, what makes him stronger and a bettter human and what may be harming him.  The latest story in the Seattle news is of a woman leaving her sleeping toddler in a car to go get gas, and when she returned he was goen and to this day not been found.  The worst part of the story is that she is not cooperative at all in finding her son.  I feel a huge urge to rush to PJ and give him a hug whenever I hear or think about this sort of news. 

Thats the list today.  A few things have changed to say the least and it all just happened.

Thanks for all YOUR support.

First Frozen Yogurt

We got some frozen yogurt for dessert tonight. PJ got his first taste and loved it. Sharing the treat with him meant Katie got one bite to his every two. Not only did Katie get less but when Katie selfishly took a bite, PJ would intently watch with a slight annoyance on his face!

One Year Old Check Up

PJ had his one year doctor appointment today and apparently we have a normal baby boy. Yes, we knew that he is normal, but its reassuring to hear it from PJ's doctor.
PJ weighed in at 21 pounds and 4 ounces, his head circumference is 46 cm, and his length is 30.25 inches. PJ's ears, heart, skin, etc all checked perfectly healthy. Developmentally, PJ is exceeding in the physical ability expected for his age, his fine motor skills are on par but his verbal is a little slow. We are not worried, PJ will formulate words when he is ready and judging from all his facial expressions he will have more than plenty to say!

First Haircut

For PJ's birthday, he got a haircut from Poppy.  He now looks like a toddler.  Just by trimming off a few curls in the back and the 'wings' on the side of his head, he looks like a little boy and not a baby anymore.

PJ's wild hair "gelled' with suncscreen, before the haircut.

Snip Snip

Hanging in Momma's arms so still

Took the time to investigate his hands, doesn't even notice Poppy.

PJ by the Month

In honor of PJ turning one, here are just 12 pictures, looking back at the last year.  It was hard to pick just one photo for each month but a fun way to show his growth. 

May 27th, 2011 - Sleepy monkey boy  on G-Ma's shoulder

June 4th, 2011 - PJ's first flight

July 2th, 2011 - PJ's first visit to the CA beach house

August 4th, 2011 - Tummy time on the kitchen counter



September 4th, 2011 - Tummy time on the kitchen counter

October 4th, 2011 - Tummy time on the kitchen counter for the last time because rolling over has started.  October was the month of PJ's tongue hanging out all the time.

November 4th, 2011 - Sitting up unassisted using Poppy for falling protection

December 2nd, 2011 - Being silly with a plastic bowl, lots of smiles



January 13th, 2012 - Sitting up, right after this picutre PJ pulled himself up to standing and then tried going over the arm of the chair.  Putting PJ down does not mean he will stay in that spot anymore.



March 4th, 2012 - Pulling up on things is old news, cruising along furniture is the new thing, even figured out how to use the vacuum to cruise.

April 7th, 2012 - Assisted walking at the zoo

May 12th, 2012 - PJ's birthday present from Uncle Troy and Aunt Sammi, he knew exactly how to get on it with no coaching from any of us. 

PJ is One Year Old!

Happy Birthday PJ!  Your parents love you so so so much!

May 12, 2011 1am in the morning

Seems appropriate to show a video of PJ since sitting still is not what one year olds do, thats for babies.

This weekend we headed south to Medford, Oregon to see the G-Rents, Yipee!  We even have plans to see Uncle Troy and Aunt Sammi two days in a row, should be good times! 
The weather for PJ's birthday today was totally perfect.  We had a little party this afternoon, so this morning we lazed around, decorated PJ's birthday cake, and watched G-Ma and Amanda make a delicious lunch.
For most of the day, PJ wore his birthday suit and diaper due to the hot weather and lots of playing in water buckets and with hoses.
Todd, Dave, Rachel, Amanda, G-Rents, Uncle Troy and Aunt Sammi all cam over to the G-Rent's place to celebrate PJ's 1st birthday.  he loved the company, the gifts, and most importantly he seemed to enjoy his barnyard cake made with loving hands.
Monday I will post pictures we tookwith our real camera once we get the chance to download them to our computer.
-K

Last Bottle

Tonight we gave PJ his last bottle.  With his one year birthday being tomorrow, we have decide to go to the sippy cup.  As of right now we are not planning to give up formula, but we will let PJ make that final decision.

I am going to miss PJ lounging back with his arms behind his hand, truly relaxed in my arms.