Jeremy's Triathlon

On Saturday, Jeremy completed the Issaquah Sprint Triathlon for the second year in a row. Fortunately, the lake water was a little warmer this year for the swim and the weather was just as beautiful! He felt a lot better about his swim this year and was able to come in a little faster on all 3 events.

Cole and I were proud fans!

And here he is at the finish.... beating his previous time by 4 minutes! Congratulations Jeremy!

Playtime with Papa & Gigi

We had such a nice visit with Jeremy's parents in town. Colden was pretty spoiled with attention, especially from Papa who didn't tire of playing all kinds of silly games. One of Colden's favorites was swinging like a monkey.

There was lots of playtime with the Leap Frog table, books and building mega blocks towers for Cole to knock down with his bull dozer.

Thanks for traveling here to see us! I was especially thankful that we weren't the one's traveling home last night as Cole was exhausted from his fun weekend!

Playing at Gasworks Park

Papa and Gigi are visiting for Memorial Day weekend. We have been treated to amazing May weather in Seattle, so we spent the morning at the Ballard Locks, watching boats go out into the Puget Sound, and Gasworks Park overlooking Lake Union. Papa and Daddy flew kites while Mommy, Gigi and Cole played on a blanket nearby.

Cole Can Pull Up

We keep some of Cole's bigger toys on the fireplace ledge when they are not in use... Cole has spotted them and now he can get them himself. He did this at least 5 times in a row today... very determined!

Trouble on the Horizon

I thought that Colden may never crawl because his army crawl is very efficient. Judging by this picture, I'm thinking its likely that he will crawl soon!

New Baby Cousin

That's right... Cole has a new baby cousin. It turns out that my obsession with violet gifts for this baby was right on! We are dying to see pictures of Brenna Renee Long!

Congratulations Christina, Brett, Josh and Matt! We can't wait to see you and meet Brenna next month!

If You're Happy and You Know It...

I've always stuck with the usual verses like "clap your hands" or "stomp your feet"... but children are so much more creative ;) apparently you can "slap your feet" or whatever it is that Grace is doing... she just kept saying "happy.. happy" and it was so cute... had to catch it on video!

Good thing that I cut the video when I did... we don't need to show anything PG-13 on our blog!

Pasta Making

A month or so ago, Gail read an article in the newspaper about homemade ricotta cheese and decided to try making her own. It turned out fabulous, but I was disappointed to hear that she didn't make fresh pasta to serve with it... so, we were inspired to have a cooking day together and make dinner for the guys!

I had our 'work stations' set up when Gail arrived for her pasta making lesson. She made traditional egg pasta and I made spinach pasta (adding the spinach was a first for me). We used her wonderful homemade ricotta to make a simple cheese filling for the spinach pasta and added a little italian chicken sausage and parsley to make a filling for the egg pasta.

With the extra pasta dough, we made fettuccine which was especially beautiful with the spinach dough.

A simple tomato sauce is all that we needed to serve our fresh pasta... it turned out so pretty with the bright green and yellow together in the serving dish.

Both pastas were fabulous and our company was even better. What a fun day!

Playing Cars

Cole just loves to play with his cars and truck on the wood floors. He can sometimes let go and watch the car go zooming accross the room, but mostly he just winds them up and pushes them back and forth... so cute.

Playtime with Kat

Katarina is our 'babysitter in training'. She has been coming to play with Cole since he was 5 months old. They spend most of their time together playing with toys and reading books. However, we make sure to practice diaper changes and bottle feedings too.

We love our days when Kat comes to play!

8 Months

Another month flew by! Looking at him today, its hard to believe that he was ever a little bundle that did nothing but eat and sleep. He is still very laid back and always happy, but quite a bit busier these days! Jeremy and I enjoyed each of those days with him when he just slept in his swaddle and now as explores and tests.

His newest move is trying to pull himself up. Yesterday, he found the bottom step and thought that it looked scalable, but he doesn't quite get his knees under himself. It won't be long!

Last week, I had my Kitchen Aid plugged into the island outlet that is reachable when he is in his walker. While I was standing there to guard it and try to prevent interest, it was inevitable that we would practice the meaning of 'No'. After several No's and removing him from the temptation, he continued to come right back... so I tried the little slap on his hand with a firm 'No No' which illicited a giggle. He is his father's son.

I had the joy of buying Cole some toys this month... a first for mommy! First, a ball, then another ball (because cousin Lydia ate our ball and I realized Cole would soon do the same), then his first real boy toy... a bull dozer! Its a cute mega blocks dozer with some blocks that he also loves.

He doesn't have a height and weight check this month... fortunately, he has slowed down on the weight gain which has given my back a break. He doesn't seem to have slowed in stretching taller though. Dad is proud! He definitely exceeds the limits for an infant car seat, so we have officially retired it this month.
A few favorites:

• Food - sweet potatoes (homemade please!)
• Song - The Lord's Army (with motions and extra animation)
• Book - it's a toss up between Puppy Love (with an extra mention of Madison) and his 'Who Loves Baby?' photo book which gets lots of screams and giggles!
• Babble - da da da