Soccer Skills

Copying Dan, he really does try to kick the ball. We had to get him a smaller ball because he falls a lot trying to kick the big one. He often steps on the ball when trying to kick it and that knocks him off balance quite a bit.

Also, he dove toward the porch and a slight miscalculation lead to his first bloody nose. I thought he had hit is lip, but that's not what bled, so I guess I was wrong.

 Hello my pine-cone friend! You taste wonderful.

 

Curly Top?

We're not sure what kind of hair texture Jackson will end up with. If you comb it after his bath it is pretty straight with slight wave, but if you don't comb it, it turns into this.

We'll have to wait and see what his hair wants to do. He also has an ambiguous color to his hair. Sometimes it's light brown, other times I see it turning more blonde, and in the sun there is definite red that comes out. Either way, he's very special to us!

Feeding Frenzy!

The O's got loose! I wonder who dumped them out? He's actually trying to put them back in the bowl in the 2nd picture. He succeeded with about 4, then ate them.

 Sometimes he stuffs

 Doing some down-dog in his pile.

Monterey Getaway

Our first overnight away without Jackson! What a big step. My parents came to our place to watch him for the weekend while we celebrated our anniversary in Monterey and Carmel. He was a perfect angel for Grandma and Papa, much better than he is for me (probably because he got 24 hours of non-stop play and attention). I actually missed him a lot more than I thought I would. I couldn't stop thinking about how he wasn't with us, even though I knew he was doing so well at home.

I'm glad it was only one night to start with. We did have a great time, got sunburned, had 3 whole restaurant meals with no one throwing food, and slept through the night just fine. Here are some photo highlights.

 Every time we go to Monterey it is the most gorgeous day, even though I know it's foggy there a lot. We always get lucky!

 Our after-lunch dessert from the French bakery, eaten beach-side! Lemon and chocolate selections? Yes please.

 Happy after eating cake.

 We rented bikes and went along the coast for some miles. My favorite kind of riding...flat open bike trail with an incredible view. Still got a soar bottom though.

 Taking it all in. After this we had a WONDERFUL dinner planned by Dan at a Medditerian place in Carmel. It was so not the kind of place to take a baby. Yummy food, free dessert, and a serenade from the cooks and one enthusiastic matradee.

First Swimming Pool

I didn't realize how nervous babies get in a swimming pool. We hung out at our friends Michelle and Noah's pool and it was our first time in a big pool. Jackson was really clingy to me and nervous about the water. We are going to have to get him familiar with this so we can enjoy a lot more swimming in this hot weather.

Back to Happy Hollow

We had our second visit to Happy Hallow and it was much nicer since we went on a Tuesday and there weren't a million big kids running everywhere like last time. Jackson really got take his time and enjoyed meeting this goat. He seems to really like animals and is not timid around them.

 Luckily it was a mellow goat, not the kind that try to eat your shirt or jump up on you. Or maybe it, like me, had no energy because it felt like it was 100 deg outside. Also, this gesture Jackson does with his hand out is his new thing. He does it with both hands when he's excited, like when you put a blueberry in front of him. It almost looks like he's shrugging and saying, "What am I supposed to do now?"

 Very brave!

 Checking out the miniature horse with his friend Grace.

 Watching the capybaras swim. What an amazing rodent!

 He doesn't like to come in and out of the stroller. Once he's out he wants to run free, or be held, which gets complicated when I'm handing his stroller and all our stuff and trying to carry him when he poops out. That why I'm trying to convince him that the stroller is such awesome place to sit.

Laundry Day

 He kept getting stuck inside the basket, but he kept climbing back in all the same. The boy knows what he wants to do, even if it repeatedly gets him into a tight spot.

For Krystal

Just wanted to show you how Jack is liking "Eddie the Elephant" these days. (Maybe these belong on the FKN drive :) )

Pool Time!

Using our new pirate pool for the first time. Jackson insisted on "helping" me blow it up in the living room, meaning he wanted to hold the pump the whole time. This complicated things.

After some drama, we ended up outside and happy.

 Hanging out on the edge.

 He wanted to roam around, but found the gravely rocks too rough for his bare feet.

 

 

 Cool dude!