All smiles!

I finally caught Jay's sweet smile on the camera. Every time he smiles I just melt....it's going to be hard to say no to this little charmer! There are lots more smiling pictures on our picasa picture page (link under our favorite websites).

Zion was very interested in Jay today - possibly because of all the smiling Jay was doing. I am not sure what caused this increased interest, but Zion really wanted to interact with Jay. He kept checking on him in his swing, and he would follow me around the house when I was carrying him. Then, this afternoon he brought his favorite toy over to Jay as if trying to get him to play. Unfortunately for Zion, the slobbery purple toy was of no interest to Jay. These two are going to be best friends soon!

ADDENDUM 7/30/2007
Today Jay was really all smiles and we were able to catch a little bit of footage. To view Jay's video click here.

The next ramblin' wreck

Here is Jay in his Georgia Tech bib. His daddy promises that he can go to any college that he wants, but we all know John is hoping Jay follows in his daddy's footsteps. Regardless, he has a college saving plan already in the works. 7 weeks old and already getting ready for college, goodness the time just flies by!

The Bird

So imagine this... it's a hot and humid summer afternoon. I was taking the dog and baby on a walk around the park. The park is empty, which is not surprising because it's noon and sweltering. Zion is running happily on the retractable leash, without a care in the world. Sweet baby boy is snoozing in his stroller. As we walk along the trail, I hear a noise from the trees... squawk, squawk.

We keep walking and the noise follows... squawk, squawk. Zion seems interested in finding the source of the strange noise and keeps glancing up. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see the bird beginning to dive bomb us! Zion stands on his two hind legs as if to greet the bird. SQUAWK!!! The bird descends - aimed directly at Zion.

At this point I am ready to run for my life, as I am having a scary flashback to an Alfred Hitchcock movie. The birds are coming! The birds are coming!

Zion cowers as the bird grazes him with his wing (at least, I don't think he wounded him), and comes running to me for protection, looking as if he would hide under the stroller if he could. We all briskly walk as far away from the squawking bird as possible. Zion continues to look up as we walk away - as not to be surprised by future attackers. He is even scared of walking under trees now!

We manage to make it home with a sigh of relief. We're safe.... but not sure when we'll venture into the scary, scary park again.

Fun on the National Mall

Yesterday we had an "Open House" at our condo, so off we went for a picnic on the national mall. We attempted to pack a picnic, but really didn't have any lunch-worthy food in the house, so instead we "ran for the border" and got some Taco Bell. As we were going through the drive-thru I asked John to buy Zion a taco because he was being such a good dog. John laughed at me but did order an additional taco for the dog. So off we went with lunch in hand, a sleeping baby, and our 50 pound dog. We were ready to have some fun!

As a quick side note, Zion is stuck sitting in the front seat because I am still riding in the back seat with James. Zion does not like to ride in the front seat because he has yet to find a way to sit comfortably.

Next we reach the mall and realize that there is a festival celebrating children of the world. This is great for all the festival goers, but bad for us because we can't find a place to park. Zion at this point has determined our destination (he loves coming to the mall) and was starting to whine in anticipation. Well, we continued to circle looking for a parking spot and Zion's whining just started to intensify. Thankfully, Jay was still asleep so we only had one whiny boy in the car. In a moment of frustration, John looked at Zion and said "Zion, I am going to eat your taco". Well, Zion didn't really understand John's threat of eating his taco, and he continued to whine. Finally, we drove up to the Capital and parked. It was better to get everyone out of the car and walk a little further then to continue circling.

As you can see from the pictures below, Zion did eventually get his taco. He loved it!


Jay and I walking around the grassy area. He really didn't want to sit still!
Here is John giving Jay his bottle (notice Jay's shorts - Daddy's favorite). We had a fun time, but were ready to return to our air-conditioned condo!

Confessions from a blog stalker

I'll admit it, I have really gotten into this blogging thing. About a year ago I started reading my friends blogs. It was something fun to do on my lunch break. Not to mention that I loved to read about the adoption process of my college roommate. Her children are beautiful!

Then one day I had some down time and I started clicking on some of my friends "favorite blogs" links and found even more blogs that I wanted to follow. So I check my friends blogs, but I also check the blogs of the friends of my friends. Essentially I follow the lives of complete strangers. So there you have it, my confession that I am a blogaholic.

A special shout out goes to the McClure Family (the sister of one of my good friends here in DC) and the Colorado Heldts (the sister-in-law of a college roommate) for keeping up such awesome blogs!

I only hope that I can keep up this blog with the enthusiasm of those that have gone before me!

Growing Like a Weed

This past week we noticed that James had two red spots - one on his head, the other on his neck. And of course, as new concerned parents do, we took Jay to the pediatrician. The spots are normal birth marks, and no cause for alarm - but the interesting part is... Jay is 13lbs. 2oz. at 6 weeks old! Holy smokes he's growing fast.

It's a blast to see him changing more and more each day. Just recently he's started to track objects with his eyes, smile occasionally, make eye contact, take naps in his crib and scoot across the crib on his tummy by pushing off mommy's hand.

Until a few days ago, I was mostly focused on how well he was sleeping (well ok, I was focused on how well I was sleeping). But a co-worker reminded me that infants change so fast; I really should just enjoy this time. And now with a change in perspective, I'm loving every minute.

Getting started!

With the birth of our baby boy, I think it is finally time for us to join the blogging world! Welcome to the Turner Family blog!



Here is a picture of Jay - he is now 6 weeks old!