18 months and counting

Rooke turned 18 months today! We officially have a one-and-a-half-year-old son. Wow. Has it really been that long already?! We are CRAZY about this little guy and had a great time celebrating his "half-birthday" today.

We started the morning off with pancakes and berries we bought at the Farmer's Market yesterday. What a treat!

A little morning reading . . .

After naps (meaning we all took one!), we headed to Rainier's first birthday party and had fun hanging out with friends (young and old). Seeing as how it wasn't Rooke's first birthday, I didn't see the need to let him eat the cake himself. He enjoyed it nonetheless!

"Do I have anything on my face?"

After the party, we headed to the Chinatown Summer Festival. We went last year and have decided it will be an annual family event as long as we live in Seattle. This is just one of the many sights that immediately took us back to life in China. Who else knows how to craft carrots and peppers into palm trees?!

I LOVE bubble tea, and even though I almost can't stand to pay $3 for one (that much money would buy me at least 20 at my favorite stand in our China city), I was looking forward to my treat all day!

Watching food being prepared while we waited for our bowl of noodles to share . . .

You would have thought he was Made in China the way he ate those noodles! =)

I like Rooke's man-dress better than mine.

Who Needs 4 Anyway?

I really don't know how he learned to count past three, but he did, and we finally caught it on video! Just to clarify, we were eating blueberry pancakes (using blueberries we picked yesterday!), not Aubyn's raspberries. Rooke was still thinking about Canada and Aunty Auby's yummy berries.

Eating is Better than Swimming

I mixed a little Caesar dressing with his yogurt for him to "dip dip" his veggies in. He worked hard to get every last drop!

Picking raspberries at Aunty Auby's house. Rooke learned quickly that the red ones taste better than the white ones!

He loved them!

Rooke is an observer. He takes in his surroundings before jumping in. This day was no different.

Unfortunately, he wasn't a fan of the pool at first, but slowly got used to it. We'll keep trying!

Happy Father's Day . . .

In keeping with tradition, Ryan received his Father's Day book in the Daddy Bag! Rooke loves his dad. He talks about "Dada" all day long, things that every phone call is from his daddy, and says "HI Dada!" about fifty times after Ryan gets home from work. It's beautiful to watch my husband be an incredible father.

Rooke recently received a present as well. He was wearing his new shirt this afternoon while helping me play the guitar.

Here's a better look at the shirt . . .

In case you didn't get it from the t-shirt . . . we are blessed to be pregnant with Payne baby #2! I am due at the end of December. Yay!

Snoqualmie Falls

We took Ryan's mom to Snoqualmie for a wonderful breakfast at Salish Lodge and then a little hike to see the falls.

He loved collecting the leaves and rocks

Rooke surprised us with how much walking and climbing he had the energy for.

He melts my heart with those blue eyes

Back at home . . . wearing only a diaper, Ryan bundled him up to stay warm!

We like having Grammy Deb here!

Grandparents are so much fun!

Rooke has been in grandparent heaven this month. After a visit from Kaye-K and Big Daddy, Grammy Deb is here for a week to play!

Breakfast at Pike Place Market

This video is from my mom's camera. Rooke thought it was funny to wear the hat over his eyes. Make sure to watch it a second time to see my dad's face! (no children were harmed in the making of this video)

Farm and Beach Friend Fun

Last week, we met James and Jessie at Carkeek Park to enjoy the nice weather on the beach. The boys had a great time digging and were thrilled that four trains passed by while we were there!

Rooke decided that brushing his hands together to get the sand off wasn't working, so he went for the lick-it-off approach.

Earlier this week, we met several friends at a farm for some toddler fun. James is leading some of the bunch to the turnips.

Rooke was not at all interested in the "pick-of-the-day": turnips. I can't blame him. Turnips?! Go here to see what I did with them.

Enough of this turnip stuff. Let's go check out the animals!

My son wouldn't have anything to do with a turnip, but will stick his fingers in an alpaca's mouth. Go figure.

And our most recent fun, friend outing was this morning. We met the Hurts at Madison Park!

Totally content to dig

Is he cute or what?!

More Melon Please

I think he likes it . . .

A Visit from London

My parents were able to squeeze in some time with us while they were in the U.S. for some training. What a treat!

We spent one afternoon on the beach at a local park. Rooke found this abandoned truck that made his day/week!

Doing a little shopping . . . Rooke was a great helper!

We went up to Canada to spend time with the McTaggarts, too. We certainly missed having my brother and his wife there, but it was still good to have so much family together at once!

One of Rooke's new words is "ice cream". I wonder why.

"This is my dad. He's super cool."

Big Daddy and his grand kids. I think Rooke was giving Evelynn a kiss and got tickled?! I love both of their faces.

Fun Family Weekend

Words can't describe how wonderful it is to spend an entire weekend with Ryan. No studying. No resumes. No spending Saturday at the school library. Just getting to hang out as a family.

We started Saturday with a trip to Ikea. You should have seen my face when Ryan made the suggestion. I love that place! Among a few other things, we came home with a new little train set for Rooke. He loves it!

After a nap, we headed downtown to the Chinese Arts & Culture Festival. It wasn't quite what we were expecting. Let's just say that the highlight of our twenty minutes there was this adult choir singing "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from the Lion King. Seriously.

So we headed back outside to play in the water.

This was right before he let go of my hand and slipped. Good thing I had a bag of old onsies in the car for Good Will!

This view is just one of the many reasons I love living in Seattle.

Playing after church on Sunday. I was trying to fix the printer. Rooke was trying to pin-point all my blemishes.

He did a pretty good job.