The Last Hurrah

Well, now that we're closing in on our last week before school starts, we've been trying to get out and enjoy the last days of the NW summer.  It's hard to believe that Matthew will be off to kindergarten in less than six days.  We will miss having him around all of the time, but he is very excited to be starting school soon.

We made a second trip to Alki Beach last week (this time with dad).  Matthew and dad had fun playing in the sand and seaweed while mommy and Jacob hung out in the shade and took a little siesta.   It was a lot of fun and made us long for a little Hawaii.

Jacob continues to grow by leaps and bounds.  He's now in 9-12 month clothing (at 5 months of age) and is bigger than our friends little guy who was born 3 months before him.  He is a giant baby.  Matthew is finding him to be a little more interesting now that he's able to respond to him and Matthew is able to make him laugh.  It's so heart-warming to see the two of them interacting and becoming brothers :)

We treated ourselves to a last minute trip to the mountains this past week.  We went to Crystal Mt. for one night and then went to Mt. Rainier and stayed in Elbe the next day.  Crystal Mt. was absolutely beautiful.  We took the gondola to the top of the mountain and were greeted with a breath-taking view of Mt. Rainier.  We could also see Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helen's from the top.

The gondola ride was very interesting for someone who has a fear of heights, but in the end it was fine.  Matthew actually thought that it was funny that I was a bit keyed up for the ride to the top :)

Yep, we're wayyyy up there.

Mt. St. Helen's

We had a new experience on this trip.  After we got to the top of the mountain.  We did a bit of hiking and found ourselves on a rustic trail that had some stunning views.  All was well until Jacob decided to have a huge blow out.  So we ended up using a big rock as our changing table and then a seat to feed him.  We joked that with all of the various outdoor activities in the NW, perhaps someone could come up with one like "high altitude baby care".  

Day two at Mt. Rainier...

We stayed in Elbe the second night and found a beach for Matthew to swim and play (on one of the last hot days in the NW).  

We found a very unique hotel in Elbe.  All of the rooms are refurbished cabooses.  Matthew was in heaven.  We told him about the hotel early in the trip and he was constantly asking "when are we going to the caboose".  The hotel restaurant was also an old dining car.  Hopefully, it will be an experience that Matthew will remember for a while.

In the caboose loft

We took a ride on the Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad the last day.  Matthew had a blast, of course, and loved seeing a real steam engine at work.

And again, mommy and Jacob fall asleep.  Matthew is doing his best sleeping mommy impression :)

The Countdown Begins

Well, we're almost three weeks out from the first day of school.  Matthew is so excited to start kindergarten.  We made a trip to the uniform store last week to stock up.  He looked so cute in his uniform.  His school backpack and lunchbox arrived last week as well and he's been using it every chance that he gets.  As for mom and dad, we're enjoying having him at home every moment that we can.

Grandpa Mike and Karen made a recent visit to see us as well.  Mom and dad thought that they were being funny when they had grandpa build the 1000+ piece Lego airplane that he bought for Matthew's birthday.  Our plan may have backfired though, as grandpa really seems to enjoy putting Legos together.  Needless to say, we now know what to get him for Christmas :)

We also went to the Lake Union boat pond while Matthew's grandparents where here.  There is a new spray park at the pond.  However, we were not prepared to have Matthew running through the water, so we improvised...

Yep, that's him running through the water in his underwear :)

This is the best pic we could get of the four of them.  It's a little tough with two wiggly kids. 

Jacob's new adventures these days include trying solid food.  He's only had a few things, but seems to really like oatmeal with bananas.  He's not too thrilled with peas, however.  We're going to try green beans this week.  So I'm sure we'll have a gassy baby on our hands.  Unlike this picture, he is one very messy eater.  He likes to take his hands and put them in his mouth, get food all over them, and then put them everywhere else (his face, his hair, the chair and on us).  

He's also taken a turn or two in what we affectionately refer to as the "circle of neglect".  He doesn't last long, but at least it gives me 5 minutes or so to empty the dishwasher or fold some laundry.

Matthew borrowed a concept from our neighbors and has made a "bucket list" of things to do before summer vacation comes to an end.  One of those was a trip to NW Trek.  It's a animal park about an hour or so from us.  We got to see lots of cool animals, some pretty close up as well.

Caribou cooling off in the lake

A juvenile caribou protecting the herd

I love summer in the NW.  So beautiful!

A couple of brown bears

One of his other things on the list was a trip to Alki Beach.  He just wanted to hang out and play in the sand.  I have to say, it was one of the most enjoyable days of the summer so far (except for parking).  We're going back next week.

Well that's all of the Taylor news for now.  Stay tuned for the big "First Day of School" post.  I had to chuckle the other day when the Weather Channel issued a heat advisory because it was going to be 90 degrees.  Yay for NW summer!