The Funnies

There are a couple of comic stips that I read regularly online.  One of them is on Comics.com called Boy on a stick and Slither that usually makes me chuckle.    It's definitely not lighthearted and maybe a little cynical, but still pretty funny.    One a couple of days ago made me laugh, so I decided to post it.  Enjoy!

(There is also the official website www.boasas.com if you wish to read the older strips)

and another just because.

Doctor visit

Dade and I just got back from the Dr's, and the official numbers are in.  Dade is 24.04 lbs, and 30.5 in tall.  He is still in the 75% even though it feels like he is in the 90th for weight.   

The visit went okay because we both really like Dr. Reese, but shots are no fun.     He is a pretty brave boy though, he only cried while on the table.   As soon as I picked him up he started to calm down, and then eating a rice cake helped the rest of the way.  Before the shots I tried to demonstrate Dade's cough by running him up and down the hall, trying to tickle him, and have him jump on the table.   I felt pretty foolish since it didn't work, but she listened to his lungs anyway and didn't hear anything bad.    I'll just pay attention better to what exactly brings on his coughs, and next time maybe we can demonstrate.  

We had our Summer here last week when it got to 100 in some places.   Here is only got to ~90, but it was plenty hot.    Right now its back to normal at 72 and it's supposed to rain all week.    It's really nice not to have all the fans on anymore, and not be sweaty all the time.    

Here is the address to my youtube page with all sorts of fun videos of Dade.    Including his newest video that shows just how good he can walk.   Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/user/joylwatson 

Dades Birthday Days

Today is Dade's first birthday and I can't really believe it. It doesn't seem like it has been a year. He has gotten too big really, and he is walking all the time now. I can remember just a couple months ago having bad dreams about Dade walking because that would mean that he is growing up. I know how silly that sounds, but I promise I am trying to enjoy everything now and not just worrying about whats to come.
We had a party for him last Saturday that we invited ward friends to. We had it at the apartment complex clubhouse since our apartment is so small. We had ~20 people come and really had a lot of fun. Here are some pictures including Dade's cake that I made. I found the recipe online and I think it turned out pretty well.

Above you see Dade's cake, and below is Dade with his cake. We couldn't light any candles, but we sang him Happy Birthday.

This is the craft table that we set up for the older kids. Everything was jungle themed, and they had pictures of lions, hippos, monkeys, etc. to color and decorate.
I have to say that without Sarah I don't think that the party would have turned out as well. She may not feel that she did much, but just having her there to turn to with questions calmed me down immeasurably.
Today was pretty laid back since Michael had the car at school all day. Mostly we just played with Dade's new toys. Here is his newest cute face that Grandma Donna taught him while she was visiting. She bought this fire engine for him that goes by itself when you push the driver. He is wearing his new PJs from Grandma April which are really cute.

When Michael got home around 5 we all went to dinner at Claim Jumpers. We got a chocolate cupcake to take home since I really didn't feel like making another cake. Here is Dade enjoying his birtday treat.

Thank you to everyone who sent us cards, and called to wish Dade a happy birthday. I'm positive that if he knew what was happening he would say thank you himself.

Love to you all.
Joy, Michael and Dade

Jetty Island

I usually don't take Dade to the Church playgroup because its during his morning nap. This week they went later so I got to join them on an adventure to Jetty Island. Jetty is a man made Island just off the coast of Everett (which is ~15 min North of Lynnwood). The beach is really sandy and the water is very shallow and warm. When we got there it was low tide and the water was really far away, as you can see here.
The sand out to the water was really mushy and hard to walk in. Also, there was seaweed all over farther out. Dade didn't really like the water too much because he couldn't walk very well in the mud, also the waves kept pushing him around. My friend Tammy took this picture of Dade and I.
After the other kids came down he had fun playing with them in shallower water, and then later he enjoyed playing in the sand. The return ferries were booked solid, but the playgroup had already gotten tickets home, or else we would have been stuck on the beach for 4 1/2 hours. As it was, we were there for ~3 hours and the kids were starting to melt down. Here is a picture of Hyrum and Dade playing together, and of Dade with his favorite beach toy-Notice how close the water is now, the tide came in really fast.

I covered Dade with sunscreen, but of course stupidly did not put any on myself. Suffice it to say, I am burned pretty bad. The back of my neck is the worst since my hair is so short. Michael was nice enough to go get me some Aloe Vera and it already feels better.
All-in-all it was a really fun trip, and I'll definitely try to go back this Summer with Michael. It's especially worth it since the ferry is free.

We are now officially back in school mode in our house. Michael got an internship at a post house downtown called Clatter & Din. So far he has gotten to rearrange cupboards, get the clients lunch, and file paperwork. Hopefully within a couple of months he will actually get to sit in on meetings, or at least help in the studios. He is actually working there till late tonight at a party that Clatter & Din is having for clients. Mostly he'll be serving and cleaning up, but he will get a chance to get to know some big wigs.

My mom came to stay with Sarah and Jon's family from the 12th to the 29th, and dad came up from the 24th to the 29th. It was more fun than I can say to see them both. Dade loved his grandparents, though he was a little cautious at first. He is always shy of new people though.Mom stayed with me for a couple of days and I tried to show her my daily routine, but because Dade was so sleep deprived from being trucked around for a week, he wasn't really himself. Mom and I went to Richmond Beach with Dade and had a great time. It was cloudy that day and a little cold, but the fact that it was low tide made up for all of that. We got to see all sorts of Sea Anemones, clams, barnacles, and as we were leaving we saw a sea otter. We didn't see any live crabs, but plenty of crows looking for them. Here is mom helping Dade walk around the beach. He really liked to sit and throw rocks around, and taste them of course.
When Dad was here we all went back together with Sarah's family to play in the water. It was a really nice day and Madeline had fun splashing around. Poppy and Dade didn't like that water too much after a cruise ship went past and made really big waves. Poppy got knocked down and Dade just thought it was too loud. Here is a picture of everyone.
and here is a picture of the cruise ship that caused the huge waves.

We also all went to Snoqualmie falls, though only Michael and I actually went by the water. The rest of the family had gotten up early to work on the yard, and didn't really want to scale down huge boulders. (who knows why ;)

here is Michael getting a better view of things. We also went to the Seattle Science Center where Mom and Madeline sat on huge chairs, Michael tried to see how strong he really was, and the kids had a blast in the play area.


These pictures aren't really in order of when they happened, but the important thing is that they did. All in all it was a really great couple of weeks. And because mom said no pictures of herself here is just one more of my beautiful mother watching over baby Dade.

You may notice that I was missing from all the pictures, but that is not my fault. Being the unofficial photographer in this group, there just weren't any pictures of me. Not that I'm complaining.
Hope you enjoy the update.
Love to all
Joy
P.S. Dade now stands up in the middle of the room without using his hands, and then walks to where ever he wants to be. He doesn't always succeed, but he is getting mighty close.