Welcome home!

Well, we made it! Closing on our new home, moving and flying out to California all within a matter of 4 days…they said it couldn’t be done, and we have proved them wrong. Ok, actually no one told us it couldn’t be done, but we were told multiple times that we were crazy to do so much. That just seems to be our way, lots of big changes at once. We really go for the gusto!

Closing on our new townhouse was very exciting! Immediately after we received our keys the movers transported all of our belongings from the condo to the townhouse. Wow, did we have a lot of stuff! It is amazing to see how much you can accumulate. And watching the movers move our large furniture up and down the stairs (three level townhouse) made us very thankful to not be doing this heavy lifting ourselves. We are slowly moving in…we still have boxes scattered about and I really want to paint. But for now we are taking things slowly and really enjoying ourselves. The biggest news is that John now has a grill on the back deck. Needless to say we have been grilling for every meal except breakfast. Yum!

Also, big news for Zion is that he now has a dog door so he can come and go as he pleases out to the back yard. He was a little skittish of the dog door at first. We would need to escort him downstairs each time he needed to go outside and push him out the door. Now, he had figured out how it all works and he will run outside on his own. He loves it!

James has his own bedroom and play corner in the family room. He seems just as happy as he was at the condo. Really all he wants is his swing and he can be happy. He is so easy to please! As a side note, when we went out to California Grandma bought James a swing so he would be comfortable during our visit! James loves his Grandma; she takes such good care of him!

One off my favorite things is that everything now has its place. Before we had a two bedroom condo, and the second bedroom was the nursery/guest bedroom/ storage unit/ office combo room. Now, we have three bedrooms plus an office in the basement. Everything truly has a place! Also, I love my new kitchen. I love it because it has a bay window that looks out to the nature preserve behind our house. It is lovely!

Ok, that’s the quick news from the Turners. I hope to post more pictures and photos from our travels soon!

Going to the redwood forest...

...and we're going to get married! Congratulations Morgan and Julia!

In true Morgan and Julia fashion, the wedding was at Memorial Park in Pescadero, California. The whole event was beautifully planned, and in true California style the weather was delightful! Some highlights of July 28th include:

1. Morgie tearing up when he saw his beautiful bride.
2. James being a sweet little angel during the ceremony.
3. The cake...A Scandinavian princess cake with lots of marzipan. Yum!
4. The fantastic weather! The sky was blue, the birds were singing...
5. Jay was officially the youngest bachelor for the garter toss. The best part was he started to cry right before Morgan tossed the garter. I think this must mean he doesn't want to leave his mommy yet!
6. Seeing my brother and new sister-in-law so happy!

Hooray Morgan and Julia! We love you two!

(Click to enlarge)

California Dreamin'

Well we made it!!! The Turner Family officially landed at the Oakland airport on Tuesday. Jay was so good on the flight. In fact he slept the majority of the time and got lots of compliments from fellow passengers. This of course made me a very proud mama. We'll see if his is just as well behaved on the flight back.

We have lots of fun planned for our week in California! The biggest event is my brothers wedding this weekend. Congratulations Morgan and Julia! Jay loves visiting with his Uncle Morgan and Aunt Julia. I will be sure to post some pictures onces we return!

My closing thought is that I miss California weather. We have been leaving the windows open and have throughly enjoyed the cool breeze! Although, I must say we feel very settled in Virginia - despite the hot/humid summers and cold winters. More on our California trip to come....

News from Lake Woebegone

I snapped some fun pictures yesterday of my guys, each with it's own little story, so here we go!

We have been busily packing for weeks now. And with the big move only days away it is really crunch time in our household. Check out this picture from yesterday evening. John and Jay are both exhausted! Jay is exhausted because yesterday he got 4 vaccine shots. Meanwhile, John is exhausted because he just packed two extra large boxes and carried them from one end of the house to the other. Whew!

Here is a better picture of John and Jay awake and smiling! Jay is wearing my favorite footed sleeper outfit! It is my favorite for a few reasons. 1) It has a zipper so it is easy on and easy off. 2) There are puppies on the feet and I think that is too darn cute! 3) It still fits. He is growing out of clothes so fast right now!!!

And a quick update on my sweet puppy Zion: He had a date last night. We debated whether or not he knew that his daddy had arranged this puppy play date with his favorite doggy girlfriend. This smile says it all! He had a great time and came home utterly exhausted and ready to sleep. In fact I bet he will be good and tired all day today!

Well, that's the news from Lake Woebegone...where the woman is strong, the man is good looking, and the child is above average.

Here we grow again!

Today was James' 2 month visit to the pediatrician, and he is steadily growing! Here are his current stats:

Height: 23.5 inches (75%)
Weight: 15 pounds (97%)
Head circumference: 16.5 centimeters (90-95%)

As you can see he is a BIG boy! I am so thankful that he is also a very happy little guy! Here he is sporting his fishy t-shirt and his cute smile.

Adventures in napping

As I mentioned in a previous blog, James has been taking his naps on his tummy. Around 2:00 he went down for his afternoon nap. I stepped out of the room to pick up the kitchen. He was making all sorts of noises, although they were all the typical grunting and cooing noises that he always makes when he goes down for a nap. After a few minutes the noises get louder, but still no crying or anything that made me rush in to check on him. After about a minute of loud noises he quieted down and I assumed he had fallen to sleep. I walked in to check on him and found that he had somehow turned himself 90 degrees and bumped into the mirror in his crib, and it had fallen on top of him. Don't worry, there is no need for alarm. Check out the pictures below:

I started laughing when I saw him. This little guy is so much fun! Don't worry, I picked the mirror off his head after taking a picture. The removal of the mirror didn't wake him up even though he had grabbed hold of one of the toys with his left hand. I had to pry it out of his sweet little hand! He is just like his daddy, he can sleep through anything!

Four years ago today...

(Click on image to view larger pictures)

Two months old!

James is two months old today! I can't believe the time has gone by so fast. Well, I should be honest. The time only began to fly by once he started sleeping through the night. Those first few weeks felt like they were moving so slowly, or perhaps I was just in a sleep deprived fog. Either way, now time is flying by!

Some highlights from the past week:

1. Jay has begun to sit in his Bumbo seat. Although at our home it is referred to as "Jay's Bimbo". With all the baby products out there with creative names, John just can't remember the proper name for this seat. It is pretty funny...I tried to help out by saying "It's like Dumbo with a B" but so far nothing has really worked.

2. We enjoyed the great outdoors at our nearby park. We were able to get a few cute pictures with Jay. He looks so much like John, especially when he is wearing his polo shirt and tan shorts. Like father like son!

I love this picture of my guys! Zion loves to get out of the house with the whole family! Here I am with my little man. I am such a proud mama.










3. Jay is really enjoying his baths recently. He looks so silly in his hooded towels because they give him a pointy head. We like to joke that it looks like the hat worn by the Pope. Also, the hooded towel in this picture mentions that there are "three little friends" however there are four creatures in the picture. Is one of these creatures not a friend?

The biggest news is last night Jay was able to make it through John's entire softball game without a big fuss. Maybe it's because daddy was playing so well and even got a run! Or perhaps it was the cool night temperatures. I think i t was the attendance of one of Jay's favorite ladies, our good friend from high school. Whatever the reason, the softball game was enjoyed by all.

Nap time!

Jay has really enjoyed sleeping for his naps on his tummy. I always am right next to him during his naps because the "back to sleep" mantra has been drilled into my head. Here he and Zion are taking a morning nap. Zion even has his little paw on Jay's leg, if you look closely you can see it. They are so cute together!

This morning Jay started to watch Zion as he was walking around. This is the first time he has really watched his puppy. He was smiling the entire time, so thankfully he is not scared of this big black animal that insists on licking his feet. Zion is smitten with Jay, and almost every day he will bring a toy to Jay so they can play. I love my boys!

A Handfull of Firsts

Happy Independence Day! Hope you all enjoyed yourselves this 4th of July. I'm sure you did something genuinely American - baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, Chevrolet - you know what I'm talking about. This past week was full of firsts for Turner family with little James.

Jay is just about 8 weeks old. Last week he had his first play date with two sweet little girls. He slept through most of his play date and then got very fussy towards the end. So we let the girls have some peace and quiet.

Last Sunday was James' first time out to a restaurant. We went out with some friends from church to Chili's - a nice loud, family-friendly establishment. Thankfully he was sweet as pie the entire time, especially when he was drinking his bottle. This little guy loves to eat!

Last weekend was also his first time going to the dog park with his puppy. He slept in the cool fresh air the entire time. Zion ran and played with the other doggies and went for a big swim in the creek. He had a blast!

Monday was his second time to watch daddy's softball game, although he behaved much the same as he did the first time. Maybe it's the sun, maybe he's hungry, or maybe he just doesn't like softball (that last one I doubt). We really couldn't figure him out, but he stopped fussing the minute the game was over. Yikes! When we got home he had his first massive projectile vomit. Wow, we hope he doesn't have too many repeats of that! Let's just say he needed a good bath after this last first.

Today we are off to his second visit to our favorite Texan's home for some smokin' bar-b-que! We are happy to report that his first visit to our friends house was great. He was super well-behaved. We're crossing our fingers for a repeat performance.