More Seattle Fun

WARNING!! Shawn brought it to my attention that this is a very long post with several different events. He said that next time I should blog each occasion separately but due to the lack of time, I have posted one big long post. This post is mostly for journal purposes and grandparents so feel free to spare yourself from reading all the boring details of our lives and just scroll to the bottom to see the pictures. I will take no offense :)

We have been busy with family, friends and exploring the downtown Seattle area. Jack's little personality is starting to shine forth for good and bad. Every day it seems like he gets more and more personality, which we love. Here are some recent Jack activities:

1. He loves jumping in his jumper and gets quite a lot of air. I have to put a time limit to this or else he would stay in it all day.

2. He giggles all the time! Fake and real giggles. The other day he let out a really loud burp and then he started giggling (oh no, he is a true boy). It was a proud moment for the daddy!

3. He is a great sitter, he can sit for a long time playing with his toys.

4. He has a preference for asians, I know you think I am crazy but it is true. Just ask my friend Nancy, my friend from Snoqualmie. She came to hang out with me for the day and right when she got in the car Jack went crazy. He started flirting (smiling, giggling etc) from the first time he saw her. Then we went on a walk and I put him in his stroller and he started crying (he usually loves walks, so I thought it was weird that he did not want to be in the stroller) I pulled him out and he quickly turned his head so that he could see Nancy and once he set eyes on her he started smiling again. Well, he stared and smiled at her for at least 1/2 hour as we were walking. Finally, my friend Nancy told me that Jack was making her feel a little uncomfortable :) A little awkward for my friend. Don't worry, Nancy loved him, we just thought it was so funny. I told her that he did the same thing with his little friend Lisa who is also asian and whenever he sees a girl that is asian he just goes crazy.

5. He got his first tooth (left front bottom incisor (I hope that is right). I would post a picture but it barely broke through and so you can barely see it.

6. He is starting to seriously manipulate his parents. So the other night he was crying (I think maybe from teething) but it was bad. He was awake crying off and on from 11pm to 5am. Finally at 3am we brought him into bed with us. Jack was holding Shawn's finger with his left hand and my finger with his right. He looked back and forth at us and then started giggling!!!! The little stinker! It was like a "ha, ha, ha, fooled my parents again" giggle. All Shawn and I could do from killing him was to laugh.

7. Jack is constantly moving. His favorite toys are the things that he sees his parents holding such as computers, cords, pens, cups etc. I don't know why we spend money on toys. I am nervous about his obsession with cords especially once he starts crawling.

8. Jack has tried mango, tofu with pears, asparagus, squash, and homemade rice cereal (super easy, you just grind up brown rice, and put it in boiling water--it taste quite good). So far he has liked everything except for the asparagus.

9. Jack continues to not be the best sleeper. He will occasional surprise me and sleep for 5 hours but that is very rare. He goes down every night around 6pm without a problem but from 11pm to 6am he will usually wake up several times. This whole teething process has only thrown his sleeping schedule all out of whack. I am very grateful for Shawn who takes him every morning for about 2 hours, so that I can get some sleep.

10. Jack is very stubborn and knows what he wants and when he wants it. Lately, he loves playing with his food and if I don't let him touch his food and feed himself, he starts throwing a little fit. Also, when I put him in his car seat (which he hates!) he has recently started to arch his back which makes it very difficult to put him in it. He has started to realize that the louder he cries and the more effort he puts into it the faster he gets his results as his mom feels real bad for the people around that have to listen to him. Can kids at 7 months really start to throw temper tantrums? Also, Jack makes very funny faces. When he is concentrating he puckers out his lips, which I find adorable.

A little update on Shawn: he is loving his internship and hopes that at the end of all his hard work that he will get an offer. Shawn has become a little obsessed with Amazon lately. Everything has to be from Amazon. Shawn has been running every morning with Jack along the water. We have both been enjoying our subscription to audible.com where we can listen to books on tape as we jog and walk.

I am enjoying hanging out and exploring different areas of Seattle. I am really enjoying being at home with Jack. He truly brings me so much joy! I think he is just so cute and he is constantly making me smile and laugh.

Here are some pics of our recent activities:

Play date with my old co-workers. All little boys.

Jack and Luke: begging their moms to stop taking pictures of them

My aunt Lynn came to visit with two of her kids and my aunt Daisy also came for the fun.

Eliza, Will and I at the market getting our honey sticks.

Coming home from eating gelato, it was a beautiful night.

My aunt Daisy brought her dog, Ginger, to visit. It was love at first sight. Jack loved Ginger and Ginger loved giving Jack kisses (Yuck!).

Puckering up!
The Kiss

After, typical response to a first kiss

Best Buds

Jack is starting to really move himself around. He started on his play mat on the left side of the picture and within about five minutes he has moved himself to the wall, only to find he could not go further and there were no toys and he was not sure how to get back.

On Father's Day we took a lovely walk around the water. Shawn is such a great dad. He loves to play with Jack and Jack loves him. Shawn is also very helpful to me. He takes Jack every morning for a couple of hours and if he gets home before Jack is asleep he also helps put him down. Shawn also takes Jack both weekend mornings. Yep, Jack and I LOVE him!

Jack and I went to the Aquarium with some friends. Jack was more interested in the other people than he was in the sea life.

Jack with his sitting skills:

Jack and his first time in a swing. He was cracking us up, he was very stiff with his arms up and tight and he would not look at us, he kept his head turned to watch the other swingers to figure what this was all about.

Jack's first time at the beach.

Jack in his jumper, as you can see he is getting some air!

Shawn's little brother and his wive came into town. Here is us eating ice cream again!

Fourth of July fun. We went to Shawn's brother's house for the annual BBQ and fireworks and then went and watched the big fireworks with my aunt, uncle and cousin in Bellevue. We were amazed how well Jack loved the fireworks. He sat so still and was mesmerized by the show.

Shawn's family
Jack with his cousin Kylee
All the boys
Jack loves sucking his fingers, notice how is hand is twisted.
All the cousins.