Jaiden's Summer Milestones!!

We left for the beach on June 30th and returned on September 7th! That is a little over two months ... however, a baby can accomplish so many milestones in that short period of time!

Drum roll please ......

Jaiden was only rolling over in June and by September he was SPEED crawling! Not only is he crawling but he can pull himself up on furniture and cruise from couch to coffee table to couch!

Jaiden learned how to CLIMB stairs!! He tries to climb down, headfirst (OH NO!!)

Jaiden was still playing on his mat, grabbing at toys back in June. By July, he pulled down the mat and managed to use his strength to pull the toys off the mat! Needless to say he outgrew the mat before August!

Jaiden loved being in his tent while at the beach back in June and July. By August, he crawled out of the tent in a matter of minutes to explore the beach! By September, he crawled down to the ocean (with no fear of the water) and puts his face in the saltwater. He also digs and enjoys EATING the sand as well! He is ALL over the beach, not sitting still for one minute!

Jaiden had six teeth in June and by the time we left in September he had eight teeth!

Jaiden's summer hats and shorts no longer fit ... he is officially in 12month clothing!!

Jaiden's hair was brown in June and by the time we left in September it is getting lighter and lighter ... almost a strawberry blonde!! Hey, at least he is starting to get more and more hair ... although I think it is going to be a curly mess!

Jaiden sure has found his voice this summer! Not only does he love to scream but he also says 'AHHH!!!' He will say it soft and then someone will say it back to him and it will progressively get louder and louder!! By the end of August, he learned how to say 'BaBa.' Not that he knows that it means but he says it a lot!

One of my absolute FAVORITE things that Jaiden does is when he gets excited he huffs and puffs like a dog and speed crawls over to whatever it is that causes his excitement! Lately, when I am crawling on the ground when him and crawl faster and faster and say his name it causes his to crawl faster and faster and huff and puff! At that point he drops to the ground and starts hysterically laughing into the carpet!! I finally got it on video, so I will upload a video soon!

I am sure I am forgetting something, but that is a lot of changes in such a short period of time!! I feel so blessed that I am able to be home with his and experience all of these 'firsts!' I know I will go back to work soon, but I will cherish the time I had with him!!

Goodbye sweet summer ... and I can only imagine what milestones we will see over the fall!!

Love,
Dada & Mama J

End of Summer

And what a summer it has been!! We have been so lucky to spend all but one week at the beach house this summer. This upcoming week will mark the 8th heat wave of the summer with over fifty 90+ days, AT THE BEACH!! Usually it is considerably cooler at the beach with the sea breeze, but this summer has just been oppressive heat and humidity. It sometimes limited the amount of time Jaiden spent outdoors. But we still sweated it out and went for a beach walk almost every day! I can remember in the beginning on the summer Jaiden was content playing in his tent with all of his toys. By the end of the summer he wanted out of that tent so he could crawl all over. He became such a speed crawler that sitting down at the beach became a thing of the past. He no longer played with his toys and enjoyed playing with and eating the sand! We would bring our chairs up to the ocean and he would stand there waiting for the BIG waves to get his all wet!! We would sit by the water for hours and Jaiden would just jump and jump!! Being at the beach really tired him out, which I LOVED!! And that meant he was going to take a GREAT afternoon nap.

Let me give you a summary of our BIG, exciting summer at the beach! We had TWO beach engagements this summer -- myself on July 2nd and my sister on August 21st! We had a BIG Birthday party for J, Gerry and myself. Forth of July weekend cousin Nikki and Casey drove up from Florida and got to spend the week with us. Every weekend was jam packed with visitors!! J's friends, Jason, Seth, Pete and Rachel came to hangout at the beach. My college friends, Tiff & Lea came down as well one weekend. Jaiden's godfather and Aunt Rachel came down to visit over Birthday weekend and Rachel did a second time when Jamie was away! My friends from home, Katie & Kelly came down so we could go to the Food Network's Food and Wine Festival (which was somewhat of a disappointment, but still a fun day with friends.) J & I were able to get out and explore the wonderful restaurants that Atlantic City had to offer, as well as Brigantine.

After reading this summary I hope you can understand that we had a VERY busy summer and that is why I had very little time to blog!! We are now back in WD, but will be going back to the beach one more time for Labor Day weekend with J's brother and some friends.

However, this is my week to get all of us organized for the Fall!! We have some exciting things happening ... from football games, baseball games, family vacations, first times at the zoo and amusement parks and celebrating Jaiden's 1st Birthday in November!! First up, we are taking a family vacation to Charleston, SC at the end of September to visit friends and family!

Love,
Dada & Mama J