Learning to walk!

Here I come, daddy!

Jayden has been taking steps now and then from something to one of us. But just Friday (11 mo, 6 days old), he started really walking on his own. I say "walking" because he was already so good. He'd walk 2-4 yards (meters) from one thing to another without falling.

Very first steps on real motion!!! Warning: this is a pretty long video clip. If you have just a few seconds, the first 5 seconds is the best! Double click on the play button (arrow).

Within 2 days, he was walking so much better! (Sorry, you can't see a picture on this video clip, but the play button is still there on the bottom left-hand side.

CALIFORNIA - Cousin Phil's wedding

Laguna Beach, California. Gorgeous place!

My mom, Jayden, and me...

New experiences for Jayden!

Feeding the pigeons: he loved kicking his legs and seeing the birds all fly away!

And getting his feet wet in the cold Pacific Ocean in February!
3 Cousins together (with my cousin Joe)

Uncle Rex and Aunt Carolyn

Playing with Aunt Carolyn....

The "Mission": place of the wedding, and a really romantic structure reminiscent of the "old-world".

Doors of the wedding chapel

Dan and Elaine, our fabulous host and hostess while in California. I even learned to play a new game, Crokinole. It's native to Canada, where Dan comes from originally. What a fun game!

Being dressed up for a wedding is not fun for everybody: Jayden spent his whole time trying to get his shoes off!

Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Rex, at the wedding.

Uncle Ed and Aunt Anita, the groom's father and mother.

"Here comes the bride"....

Philip and Kim, happy pair!

Snapshots: month 11

My little baby is growing up too fast! Nearly 1 year old and he won't be a baby anymore...

Coming on the double! He hears me coming up the stairs and he comes "running", so to speak. For those of you who haven't seen our place, this is not a jail mesh (!!!)--this is fencing to keep him from falling down between the rails!

"Hi! Good to see you again!"

Playing hide and go seek--he loves it!

Ready to "help" Mommy unpack!

Here we go...another session of tornado style unloading of all our goods!

"Oh, I see something....What's that??"

"Let's go check it out!" (...crawling over without delay!).

"Oh, what a find! All Daddy's drill tools. Yum!!! What I always wanted, Mom!"

What a place to live...

Wow, we feel so blessed! The exquisite scenery, clean air, the peace and total quiet. We are on the top of the world!


Living out the middle of nowhere, being at an elevation of 9,000 feet with snow & ice on the roads, coyotes & mountain lions wandering around the house, etc!

Just walking up and down the stairs gives you an aerobic workout. BUT! You should see the stars at night!!!!!!! WOW!

HOWEVER! The move proved to be more than we'd bargained for! Up a steep hill with a heavily-loaded Uhaul truck that was NOT 4-wheel drive and didn't have snow tires!

Even with chains on the back wheels of the Uhaul, the only way we made it up was with a lot of prayers and "Big Red" (the 30-year old family Ford truck that helped pull it up the hill). We also put some sand on the steepest part of the road to aid traction.

I was standing on the bank cheering "Go, Big Red, Go!" and constantly offering up prayer for some angel-push!

So much wonderful help! Thanks everybody!

Snapshots: month 10

Merry Christmas! ("HA-HA!") I'm not sure what was so funny?!

"Wow! My first Christmas is quite the deal!...

First I'm told not to touch, then I'm told that I must touch and open. Then I can't touch the paper anymore (I think they're afraid I'm going to eat it, I don't know why!) Weird people!!"


"I think I'd rather be a present myself, sitting in a box being rocked back and forth!"

Learning to eat bananas....

"Hi, Mom!"

"I can't see it, I can't see it!"

"Got it off, whew, I'm so proud of myself!"

PLAY THIS VIDEO "Bedtime fun and games" by double-clicking on the arrow button in the bottom, left-hand corner.