2nd stop - Seattle

The second stop on Jaydon's grand tour of the US was Seattle. We don't have any family in Seattle but it's a required lay-over when going to Alaska and wonderful city to spend a week in so my parents and brother (sorry Mike we didn't get any pics of you) volunteered to take a trip up to see us.We rented a condo in downtown 1 block for Pikes Market. The view was spectacular and we enjoyed all the wonderful restaurants and touristy things to do like the aquarium and art museum. We had beautiful weather the whole trip (not a single drop of rain) and spent one day taking the ferry to Banbridge island. This is a view of the city from the ferry. Both Grandma and Grandpa got to have some quality time with Jaydon enjoying the sun. Grandpa's and Jaydon having a chat.
Seattle also ended up being a great place to meet up with some old college friends. We saw Tim (who was best man at our wedding) and his wife Carolyn. And one of my old college roommates Michelle and her 2 wonderful kids Annika and Cole. We had no idea the week in Seattle would be so busy but we had a great time... and I think Jaydon enjoyed it too.

1st Stop - North Pole, Alaska

Jaydon had his first trip to the states. And all things considered happened to be a very good flyer. Conveniently he had a knack of sleeping during take-off and landing or sitting quietly enjoying a bottle.

He even put up with the ridiculous seat belt Qatar Airways made him wear.
After landing in Houston direct from Doha (a 16 hr flight) we had a day of rest before flying to Fairbanks. While in Fairbanks Jaydon got to meet a whole bunch of his family. He really liked hanging out with Aunt Melissa (Steve's sister). He also discovered how much fun cousins are who are closer to his size. Karlee was very good at telling Jaydon stories and helping her brother Trevor hold Jaydon.
No visit to North Pole Alaska is complete without a visit to Santa's house.
Unfortunately, Santa was still recuperating from last Christmas. Apparently he doesn't go back on duty until after Memorial day so Jaydon has to settle for sitting on Dad's lap in Santa's chair. Next stop was Alaska land where we found this unique sculpture of a salmon...I don't think they actually get quite that big. Then it was time to sit back, relax and enjoy the sunshine. Jaydon really enjoyed the cool breeze and got so excited when we took him out for walks. Before leaving he had to have one more cuddle with cousin Karlee.

1st trip to US

Jaydon is ready for his 1st trip to the US. He was so excited that he jumped right into the suitcase and packed himself. The part I enjoyed the most about getting ready for this trip was watching Mariah try to pack. Baby clothes are small and all, but really, there is only so much that you can fit in a suitcase. It took some persuading to convince her that we didn't need six outfits per day for the entire month we are on the road. I had a good laugh, and received a good beating for it too....

Here is a good photo of Jaydon being adorable in and out of the bath tub. He really loves his baths, but I think he loves hanging out in the towel afterwords more. Jaydon and I went for another swim at the pool. He was hoping to see some hot chicks sunbathing so he got all dressed up. Too bad for him it was night time so there wasn't much scenery for him. This frustration luckily passed as soon as he remembered how much he enjoyed swimming.

You can always count on him for a laugh about such things after the moment has passed. What a stud.

Camo

You may remember from the baby shower that Jaydon got a camo outfit.
Well it finally fits (and is almost too small for him) so Jaydon and daddy put on a fashion show.
Not many opportunities to wear mossy oak forest camo in the middle of the desert so we had to make due with the tree in the front yard. It also went well with his fishing hat, now he just needs a couple fly fishing lures to complete the hat.

These are couple other cute photos we had on the camera from various times when Jaydon was showing off and being a ham. He's learned how to laugh out loud and can get both Steve and I cracking up with his giggling sessions.He's also practicing his flirty eyes look that daddy taught him so he can be sure to get all the girls soon.

1st Swim

Jaydon took his first dip in the pool, escorted by his dad.

He wasn't too sure at first but got into it once he realized how much fun splashing is.

Now every time we give him a bath he makes extra sure to splash everyone involved.

I guess we should of known that he'd take to the water being an Aquarius and all.

Too bad the photographer didn't get any of the smiles he had...he really did enjoy it.

1st Passport

Jaydon is now a fully documented US citizen. He finally got his passport and can now travel back to the states to meet the rest of his family.

The process to get his passport was rather lengthy, which wasn't helped by all of Steve's business trips during Jaydon's first couple months. 1st the hospital where we had him notified the state hospital of his birth. The state hospital then contacts the Ministry of Interior to create his birth certificate. Once we had the birth certificate we had to fill out the US govt forms to get a SS#, report his birth abroad and to apply for the passport. Finally, we had to go to the embassy to finalize the paperwork and swear that everything we were submitting was true.

Of course part of getting a passport is getting the official picture taken. Rules are that eyes must be open and only the baby must be in the picture - so no hands of the parents can creep into the shot. Jaydon was of course fast asleep when we went to the photographer, it took about 5 minutes to get him awake enough to take the picture...and this is what will be on all his official documents until he is 5 yrs old. If that doesn't make a border patrol officer smile then I don't know what will...
The final bit of paperwork was obtaining his RP (resident permit) so he can come back in the country with us. Interestingly they issued it to Jaydon Stephen Randall Connor. So basically dropped Jaydon's middle name and put Steve's name in. I'm not sure if this was intentional or a mistake but the good thing is it finally all done!

Grandma Connor comes for a visit

Jaydon got to meet his Grandma Connor. She came to visit for about 10 days here in Doha. We didn't get many pics of her stay even though we did something almost everyday. Jaydon got a lot of practice being in his car seat, going to new places and seeing new people.

Before she left everyone got dressed up for Friday brunch at the Ritz. Conveniently it was also Easter weekend so the brunch was extra nice.
Jaydon also got a chance to get dressed up and wear one of his new outfits from Grandma Forte. The hat didn't last long but was cute all the same. I think this is the 1st real family picture we've had of the 3 of us. Jaydon put on his tough guy face for it.

More fun stuff...

My co-worker from Canada picked Jaydon up some moccasins on his last trip home.

They're very cute but a little big at this time. We couldn't resist the pic op with them.

Another very cool gift Jaydon received was this monogrammed blanket.

It has his name in English on one side and Arabic on the other. Loved this picture - booger and all.
Finally went out to sushi for the 1st time since Jaydon came around. Got a few good mommy/baby pics before heading out since mommy actually showered and threw on a little make-up before a night on the town.

Elephant Game

Steve bought Jaydon a neat elephant toy that vibrates when you pull the string. Jaydon loved it and the spent hours playing this game with Steve.

I also learned that when you take videos on the camera you can't really rotate the frame like you do a picture so the cinematography is pretty poor. I'll get better at this video thing as we go. Also this was taken when Jaydon was getting over his eye infection so his eyeballs are still a little red and swollen - he's fine now, just wanted to make sure no one was too worried when watching the video.