Happy One Year Old Jadon!

The Lord has blessed us with a year of Jadon. And it has been a good year! He has been healthy - except for one ear infection - he has been growing and walking and talking, doing all the things that little babies do at his age! He - so far - has taken only one big tumble, and that was off the edge of our bed. I am sure there are many more to come and we will take them one at a time please.


We had a party for him (see the link on the right) amidst the rain/snow/hail mix of this really weird Portland weather. But I guess it goes with all the bumper stickers that we see that ask us to "Keep Portland Weird". But there was plenty of warm cheer and celebration amongst friends. It was the first time Jadon had a chance to entertain a lot of friends on his home turf and it took him a while to warm up to the company, but he ended up being a good sport and the life of the party.

Jadon's almost One Year Old Part 2

Wow! In the one year that Jadon has been with us he has mastered so much.



1. Learning how to suck
2. Smiling
3. Lifting his head
4. Reaching towards objects
5. Sitting up on his own
6. Vocalizing
7. Put his toes in his mouth
8. Scooting
9. Play peek-a-boo
10. Rolling over
11. Waving "bye"
12. Standing and balancing
13. Holding his own bottle
14. Eat mushy foods
15. Chew foods with texture
16. Climb up and down the stairs
17. Point
What an amazing learning curve Jadon is on! He is an inspiration to his mom to remember not to continue to move forward and not be content with stasis. New skills and knowledge can be taught and accomplished. After all, who knows what God has planned and I need to be ready to serve.

Diaper Changing Adventures Part 2

Jadon calmed downed for the camera

Jadon's almost One Year Old

As Jadon approaches one year of age, we would like to provide some guidance for family and friends who would like to bless Jadon. We would like to provide him with tools that build his imagination and allow him to regulate himself. Therefore, toys that enable this are non-descript, realistic props, general blocks, storybooks (board books) and toys that can be used in many ways. Please contact us with questions and we will be happy to guide you.

The following article from National Public Radio has renewed our interest in this approach. Some research suggests that imaginative play trains kids to manage themselves and have self control. This self regulation, as the article calls it, is supposed to be great indicator of long term success as well.
There is a proverb: "Train up a child in the way he should go,even when he is old he will not depart from it."
That's our goal!
Old Fashion Play Builds Serious Skills

A Day in the Park

The Lord blessed us with a beautiful "drop dead gorgeous" day here in Portland and we took advantage of it! We had so much fun, Will and Jadon are still napping! To view more photos of our beautiful day, click on the link to the right.

Happy Valentines Day

Standing - Talking - Walking - Scooting