Ja`el's New Love

Although she still loves playing in the snow, I believe Ja`el is just as ready for warm, sunny weather as the rest of us. We had a small taste of it when we went to visit Jon's family in Boise and my sister's family in Twin Falls last week. It was clear and above 40 degrees most of the time; but, most importantly, there was no snow. So, as any self respecting North Idaho-ian would do, we spent as much time as we could outdoors. This included daily trips to the park. And this is where Ja`el fell in love. She loves the "wees" (this word, I believe, means both "swing" and "slide"). She loves playing the the sand. She loves going on walks. She simply loves being outside. Therefore you can imagen her disappointment when we came back to rainy, wet Sandpoint. Not only do we not have her "Ja`el's" here, but the parks are still covered in snow and ice. This last week back has NOT been fun. Here she is, stuck with boring ol' mom, in a place where she can only be outside for about 20 min before she is soaked and shivering. She is even waking up in the middle of the night shouting "Wee!", "walking!", and "Ja`el!". I can safely say for the both of us, we are ready for Spring.
The tube slide is her favorite.












Love this girl.

This is what happens when we leave the park. :(

So... Guese who's dumb and Who likes sledding?

So who's dumb is me.. Dad.. We've had the greatest little sledding hill literaly 25 feet from the back deck and we've never used it up untill yesterday. Yep. Pretty sad. But Jael thought that sledding was the greatest thing since... oh I don't know, nursing? Here's a few shots to try to capture the wonderfull squeals and laughter that was 45 minutes of yesterday afternoon, yet another example of why I absolutely love being a parent.

This is the It's cold face.

Riding with Mama

Sledding with Daddy.

Never Trust a Climber's Daughter

Happy New Year to me. Ja`el was eating lunch the other day and, the one second I turned my back to get a second cup of coffee, she was standing up in her high chair. I immediately told her to sit down and, as I was rushing towards her, she stumbled and tumbled onto her face on the hard wood floors. She was bleeding from her mouth and screaming bloody murder and all I could do was pray over and over for her to be okay. She settled down after about 5 min., but has some battle scars from the incident. I think that it scared me more than it scared her though. As I am beating myself up with guilt for not being there at the exact moment of need, she is standing in her high chair at dinner.--sigh--

Kissing the old year on, kissing the new year in

(Yes, another Bing quote. In our case, though, it was more like sleeping the old year on, sleeping the new year in.) So, I am sitting here, watching more snow fall and thinking “wow, is this year going to be just like last year?” (Look at the pics from last winter and you will understand that thought more.) If it is to be like last year, I would be completely happy with about 95% of that. 2008 was a GREAT year. I would like some sleep in 2009 and I would like the snow to stay below our roofline this winter, but other than that, I would be perfectly content with the prospect. Jon and I were just sitting on the couch the other day,

Jon had a very busy 2008. He had knee surgery in June and spent most of the summer in physical therapy. He went on numerous trips, including Alaska twice, Chicago, Denver, Washington DC, Green Bay, California and several trips to Boise/ Twin Falls. Work is going very well. He moved into his new office overlooking Schweitzer in Feb and they have some really exciting things planned for him in the coming year. He is currently getting his ski legs under him, although promises not to do anything too crazy at least until next month. We shall see.
2009 resolutions: Gluten/ Nightshade free for 3 months; training for a triathlon in Sept on the way to Ironman Madison 2010. Main goal is to get into the weight his body is the happiest at and then kill it with an overabundance of activities.

Ja`el had the most excitement in the family this year. She gained 5 inches and 5 pounds; cut 15 teeth (we are still waiting for that last eye tooth to pop through. Any day now); learned to sit up, crawl, walk, run, and (much to her mothers chagrin) climb (I have already found her climbing the bookshelves, her high chair and the kitchen cabinets.); began eating solids (favorite is cheese, mean beams (green beans), and apples); learned about 75 words (pretty, big ball, and Nemo) and already using 2-3 word sentences. She loves talking on the phone (the Ah-llo) praying (grabs our hands at meal time, squints her eyes and says Amen) and loves, I mean absolutely loves, her cousins Cameron and Tristan. She calls them “Ja`els” and looks for them every time we go to Mema and Papa’s house.
2009 Resolutions: Play more with her Ja`els, and sleeping more than 2 hr stretches at night (okay, so that ones MY resolution for her, but there is something to be said for the power of suggestion)
Dec 28, 2007 Dec 28, 2008

As for me, well, my 2008 was full. I got to play, sing, dance, teach and learn. I cried a lot, but I laughed more. I memorized the complete dialogue to Finding Nemo, including the menu dialogue. I lost a dear friend, met new ones and rekindled old ones. I am currently learning the art of relaxation and X country skiing in the yard at least every other day.
2009 resloutions: no projects for at least 3 months, start taking my vitamins faithfully, and try to live a life of gratitude!

Here are some more pics from this Christmas.

Happy New Year!

But Baby Its Cold Outside

I feel like I am back in Wasilla. One of the reasons I love Sandpoint so much is because it is a "milder Alaska". Its being in Alaska, without having to be all the way up in Alaska. We have beautiful mountains and lakes; rain in the summer and snow in the winter. We have everything AK has to offer (beside the PFD, of course) but its not so cold that you cannot stand yourself. No, not here; not in Sandpoint. Haha. Jon, Ja'el and I all went up to Schweitzer for the weekend. We had this amazing suite and had grand plans of X country skiing, snowshoeing, and maybe alittle tubbing. I think we spent a total of 10 minutes outside. With the temps around -15 and then about 40 mph winds to boot, it was freaking cold!! We went ahead and bundled little Munchie up Christmas Story style

and enjoyed all of 10 min before our faces were blistered by the winds and then went and gawked at new skies. Ja'el found some she wanted and tried to steal them.

I love being a Dad

So last night was awesome. I had to work a bit late but we all sat in the living room and Jael dumped all her toys on top of me and then we all played with her toys. She's learning to put things in the shaped holes for them. It's a amazing thing to watch the synapses firing and connecting in her brain and to watch learning happen right in front of me. That's all.. I love being a Dad.

How to deal with a messy eater

This was Ja`el's ideal way of getting clean after a meal.

Frankly, I like Jon's idea better.

PS go to http://www.jaxcreations.blogspot.com/ to see some pics from a recent photo shoot we had!