Nic's wave

Nic has learned how to wave!

New Cousin Levi

My dad and Drew went to visit the newest cousin on the Johnson side this morning. Levi Charlie was born a little over a week ago. Congratulations Jake, Liz and Cooper!

Nine Month Stats

Nic continues to be as skinny as ever, but he has be on that path since he was born. Believe it or not, we just make skinny kids. At this check up he weighed in at 16 pounds 15 ounces and measured 29 inches. His weight is in the 5% and his height is in the 75%! Man, if I could be in the same boat, I'd be THRILLED! Good thing they don't make growth scales for adults with percentages on them. I'm ALL about the percentages as you special ed teachers can empathize with. Since his visit, he's tried ground turkey, cheese, and eggs and loved them all. There isn't too much that he'll spit out. He is still in love with green beans, but he enjoys cauliflower, mashed potatoes (what well respecting person doesn't LOVE mashed potatoes, come on!), carrots, avocado, many different fruits, rice, orzo, and lentils.

As you've seen in some of the videos, Nic has changed significantly in the last two months. He is now mobile, can communicate with his hands, and talks constantly. Nora and Nic have created ways of talking back and forth with one another. Nic vocalizes a high pitch and Nora responds with the same pitch, or Nic makes a quiet grunting noise and Nora repeats the same sound. This banter can go on for a few minutes. I hear it in the car or even when they are in two different rooms of the house. It is fascinating and just damn cute!

Nic learns how to sign "more"

Bath Time Fun

Army Crawl Followed by a Lick

At the Park with Grandma

Nic and Grandma went on a little stroll yesterday morning while I slept off the wisdom tooth pain. They went to our neighborhood park that is on Cottage Lake. It sure looks like Nic had a good time!

Camping with Grandma

This weekend we went camping with Grandma, who arrived here late Friday night. We stayed at a new spot called Denny Creek, in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest just a couple of miles away from Snoqualmie Pass.

Saturday was a cloudy day, and we knew that there was a pretty good chance of rain, but just after lunch we got a beautiful blast of sunshine and decided to go for it anyway.

The kids are getting pretty adept at camping after our last excursion to Oregon with Uncle Eric. While we were setting up, Nora helped me keep track of the tent stakes. Nic was content to watch us from the confines of his Pack-and-Play. Our dinner Saturday night consisted of classic camping fare with a slight variation: I forgot to pack the graham crackers. We were forced to improvise on the recipe and discovered a delicious (and gluten free!) substitute: putting chocolate and raspberries inside a roasted marshmallow. Yummy!!

The next morning we packed up our soggy tents (the rain had finally caught up to us) and headed out on the trail to Franklin Falls. It was an easy hike along Denny Creek to a beautiful waterfall. We could see the westbound lanes of I-90 on a bridge far above us. The water in the river was crystal clear.

We made a couple of stops on the way home...first at the Snoqualmie Brewery for some fantastic sandwiches (and beer!), and then a roadside stand where we got a great price on some locally-grown peaches and nectarines. April made a salsa out of the peaches for dinner tonight which was fantastic.

We're hoping to squeeze in one more camping trip this season before the weather and our schedules become too crazy.

Nic Giggling

Nora "jumps on it"!

At the zoo with Kristian

Will it happen soon?

Nic has been pulling his knees up and almost under himself for the past couple of days. He sure looks happy in this picture! I think he's ready...I'm just not sure if I am :-)

Favorite Pastime

Golden Garden Park

Nic enjoyed his first sand experience,














Nora and Uncle Eric made a sand castle,














and Nic got some lovin' on the beach!

Big Boy Sleeper!

Nic is officially falling asleep on his own without the Miracle Blanket! Jessica was right...babies that sleep through the night will continue to do so with or without swaddling.

Oregon

Oregon

Trip to Oregon with Uncle Eric

We spent the last few days hiking through the Columbia River Gorge, Portland, and the Oregon Coast with Uncle Eric and his friends. We saw some incredible scenery...lots of waterfalls, beautiful mountains, acres of hop plants (ok...maybe beauty truly is in the eye of the beholder), and a spectacular sunset over the Pacific at Nehalem Bay.

Nora impressed all of us with her stamina...she made it through almost 2 miles of hiking on the first day completely on her own feet.

Lots of great pictures...more will be posted soon.

Big HUGE Fishies

Jay and Brian were extremely proud of their catch!









Look at those bass!










And the best part? Eating them, of course!

Company Picnic

On Sunday we went to the Microsoft Company Picnic, which is held every year at a farm near North Bend. It's not really accurate to call it a "picnic" anymore, since the event is now attended by tens of thousands of people over three days. It's more like a carnival.

This was our first year at the picnic. April and I were stunned by the sheer scale of the event. The site is easily over 100 acres, with an incredible view of Mount Si. There was a huge variety of activities for the kiddos, everything from pony rides and a mountain bike trail to a dozen of those inflatable bouncy structures. There was even a circus tent where a group of clowns and trapeze artists put on a show every couple of hours.

The food court was incredible too...in addition to the traditional carnival fare, they served yakisoba noodles, a variety of curries, ribs, vegan hamburger patties, kosher and halal food, and even protein shakes from the health club for those who wanted to stick to their diets.

Needless to say, Nora was in heaven. She ran from one ride to the next, and became quite proficient at taking her sandals off so that she could dive into the bouncy inflatable thingys with reckless abandon.

The only ride that disturbed me was the inflatable crocodile, where the kids crawl into the croc's mouth, through its throat, bounce around on the inside, and then get pooped out the back of the beast. I'm not sure what the attraction was but Nora seemed to love it.

Nora and April also rode the tilt-a-whirl. April told Nora a story about the time that her, Auntie Pea and Uncle Drew rode the tilt-a-whirl at the Jones County Fair...and Auntie Pea puked all over both of them. They had to be hosed down at the site and walked home soaking wet. As Nora and April spun around on the ride, Nora looked up and said "Mommy, I'm not going to puke on you! Look!" True to her word, Nora held it together.

She's already looking forward to next year's picnic.