Musings on life, parenting, Jesus, and more...

We took our annual trip to the San Juan Islands last weekend. This year we had two new attendees... of course our beautiful Jenica came with us and Rob's little sister Amy was able to come along as well. We had a great time exploring the island and relaxing in our little cabin.

Jenica had her best doctor's appointment yet - her 9 month check-up. What made it so great, you ask? Well, she didn't have to get any shots. She's still in the 25th percentile for weight, but has jumped to the 75th percentile for height. Maybe she'll be tall like her daddy after all :) The doctor said the reason her weight is still low is probably due to all her energy. She's all over the place these days burning off most of the food she's eating. She's right on track as far as all the other developmental milestones are concerned and is just overall a happy and healthy baby!

Jenica has become quite the little explorer these days. Since she can now pull herself up on just about anything, the living room has become a whole new playground for her. And it's so cute to come in after nap time and find her standing in her crib waiting to get out. She seems happier than ever with all the sunshine and her daddy and I got her her very own swimming pool for the back yard, which she loves! She attended her first parade on Saturday night - the Starlight Parade in Portland...part of the Rose Festival festivities and really enjoyed all the marching bands. Sorry I haven't been updating this very often. I'll try to do better! As usual, your comments always motivate me that people are actually reading these :)

So I just had to share my embarrassing moment of the day so you could maybe get a few laughs at my expense. I certainly chuckled when I got back from a whole afternoon of shopping, only to look in the mirror and realize that I had put my sweater on inside out. Just goes to show that when you have a baby, sometimes you forget about everything else. Hopefully everyone was too busy looking at how cute she was to realize my fashion faux pas, but somehow I doubt that. Oh well!

Happy Birthday Auntie Joi! We can't wait to see you in just a couple of weeks! Wish you could have been at the beach with us, but we were thinking of you. I wanted to pose better for this picture but I fell asleep on mom's back. I was just soooo tired from all the fun I had playing in the sand. Love you lots! ~Jena

Before I was a Mom - I slept as late as I wanted on the weekends and never worried about how late I got into bed. I had time to shower and fix my hair every day. Before I was a Mom - When I organized my house, it stayed that way. I never worried about choking hazards or poisonous house plants. Before I was a Mom - I had never been puked on - pooped on - spit up on - chewed on, or peed on. Before I was a Mom - I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep. Before I was a Mom - I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my lif...