Shout Hooray!

Yesterday we celebrated Jared's birthday. It has been a blustery mess outside lately so we stayed inside and watched the storm. Jared and Jack were fascinated by it!

Here's how you celebrate Jared's big day.

1. Decorate the house (thanks Shuana for sending the supplies)

2. Open gifts (no pictures... Jared thinks he's too old to take pictures while opening gifts)

3. Cook him his favorite dinner as of late (Chicken and CousCous)

4. Watch BYU basketball and be grateful they win

5. Indulge in brownie sundaes

6. Watch Jack entertain himself by exploring everything through his mouth

It was a cozy evening indoors and we both commented on how fun it was. Obviously we don't get storms very often in San Diego.

Happy Birthday, J. Another one down and an eternity more to go!

Christmas in the Northwest

Bonus points for all you who listened to KLSY every Christmas and remember the song Christmas in the Northwest:)

This year we spent Christmas with my family in Puyallup. We had a great time eating and lounging around. I noticed in the majority of Jack's photos from the holidays he looks like he is very full and just vegging. Aren't the holidays great:)

We did get Jack out and about for the most part... dragging him to look at the new Lexus that Jared is dreaming about, the mall, many relatives' houses, and a ferry ride to Seattle to get some fish and chips.

Oh and I can't forget, getting together with family also means lots of card playing. We're getting Jack started early.

O Holy Night

Having a baby boy around Christmas puts you as prime candidates for being in the nativity. Last week Jack made his acting debut as baby Jesus (and so did Jared & I). I was a bit nervous he would be a crying baby Jesus, but he understood the importance of his role and was a perfect angel through the whole scene.

We will not be moving to LA....

Go BYU

Jack is happiest when watching BYU with his dad and giggles the loudest when cheering on the cougars. I caught a little bit of his giggle on video. This was the second or third BYU chant so he was loosing a little steam. I'll get another video next time we dress him up in his cougar attire:)

The Weather Outside is Frightful!

Well the weather in Idaho was quite cold, but we sure enjoyed our time in Pocatello visiting all of the Taylors. Jack wasn't sure what to think of that cold air at first... we had to bundle him up just to get to the car. He would try to uncover his face to feel the cold air but then it took his breath away so he liked to stay nestled under the covers.




While at Grandma's, Jack gave some of his best grins, laughs, and coos. He loved all the attention!




And his cousins showed him so much love too:)





It was wonderful to spend Thanksgiving with family. We count our blessings every day and appreciate all the love and support we receive from friends and family:)


... and it was nice to land in San Diego with blue skies and 65 degree weather! Ahhh... sunny Southern California! We won't be here for Christmas, but any one is welcome to come thaw out in January!

What? Babies cry?

Jack is really starting to settle into life, and we couldn't be more thrilled. For awhile there we thought we might have a colicky baby (but then we believe anything we read on the internet). One night during a "Jack Attack" Jared stumbled across a website selling the best gripe water out there for colic ... so he bought four bottles and had them overnighted. Below is a picture of what the stuff looks like.

Needless to say to all parents the stuff really doesn't work. And we now realize our little man doesn't have colic; he's just a baby and has fussy periods. Fortunately for us though his fussiness is starting to go away and that sweet little boy we brought home from the hospital is returning, and we are adjusting very well to our new lives.

Blessing Day

At six weeks we blessed Jack. It was a special weekend with grandparents, Aunt Aimee, Uncle Jason, and cousin Avery to share in the memory. Jack was a perfect angel and was quiet for the whole blessing ... except for a couple of sneezes:)

We've really enjoyed having Jack in our home and each day is getting easier understanding what his needs are. Last night he even surprised us with sleeping all through the night (7 hours). We hope he keeps this up!

To view all of Jack's pics, you can visit our Picasa web album of Jack, http://picasaweb.google.com/johnsonkristina/JackTaylor?feat=directlink.