Spring Photos

We are too busy for long posts, but here are some photos from Spring 2014.

Dyeing Easter eggs...

...and then hunting for them in the backyard the next day.

Later that afternoon, we did another egg hunt with Mila in her backyard.

Molding hair spikes with the help of shampoo has not gotten old!  And is Joseph going to be a lefty?

 

Wearing underwear, though Jadyn's, and over the pants.  Progress?  Perhaps.  At least he's cute!

Enjoying Mother's Day with the Mariners and about 20K other people....

 

 Joseph having at his friend YeoJun's birthday party

 

Riding together in the stroller is a tight squeeze...

...but worth it for some fun at the park.

 

These chefs work well together in the kitchen.

 

Joseph got big enough to ride the tire swing!

Here the kids are enjoying a crisp, late-spring evening in the neighbors' backyard.

New this spring: swim lessons!  Here they are at their very first lesson.

 

And these two never tire of the swings!!!

 

Photos of our Father's Day brunch at the Boat Street Cafe followed by a stroll through the Olympic Sculpture Park.

 

 

Here's Jadyn enjoying a new play area at school and the last day of spring session of gymnastics.

 

As you can see, the kids keep us busy and on the go most of the time.  The next post will include photos from summer!

Joseph is 2!

Life is busy with two little ones -- here are some updates!

Joseph turned 2 on Friday, April 4th.  Coincidentally, we went away to visit friends on Orcas Island that same weekend.  So Joseph's birthday began with something novel -- a ferry ride!

Both kids enjoyed the ride, and as you can see, Joseph is very taken by his sister.  He copies so much of what she does as best he can.  After the unique morning and lunchtime, Joseph took a snooze while we were driving to a scenic park.  He woke up in time, though, to see some sights at the top of the mountain (Jadyn, however, did not).

Ed and Marcela were able to set up the kids with movies each evening so that we could have some adult conversation.  The kids loved being treated as extra special guests!

We brought a few gifts with us on the trip so that Joseph could enjoy his birthday properly.  Here he is enjoying a new dump truck. Interestingly, he and Jadyn quickly found that it would support him sitting in it while she pushed him around the living room.  Fun!

Joseph seemed to enjoy us singing Happy Birthday to him, and he definitely enjoyed the chocolate cupcake and ice cream for his birthday.

The weekend was to feature some rain, but it really didn't affect us much, and we found that the boots were overkill on our walk along a small strip of land to a slice of publicly accessible water.  They didn't mind, though.  Cuties!

The following weekend we had a gathering at our house to celebrate Joseph's birthday.  He helped put the sprinkles on the cupcakes before all the friends arrived.  When the whole houseful of people sang happy birthday to him, he became very serious and pensive.  Wonder what he was thinking about!

There was no question that the cupcakes met his approval.

Happy Birthday to our sweet little man!  What joy you have brought to our family!

More February and March Madness

Some documentation of our escapades from February and March….

Viewing a full moon from our kitchen window with help from Jenny's colleague and his telescope

 

 

Joseph enjoying a local park, helping in the kitchen

 

Kids at their semiannual visit to the dentist

 

Joseph all dressed up for a birthday party, making some art before leaving the house, and enjoying a party favor (super hero mask) after returning home

 

Each February, the kids' school sponsors a night at a nearby kids museum.  Jadyn and some of her friends enjoyed painting their faces all by themselves, and Joseph spent most of his time there playing at water stations.

 

And when basketball season heats up, it's good to show Mommy's favorite team some support.  Go Heels!

Jadyn ended her winter "season" of gymnastics classes with a medal, and she moved up a class level for spring.

 

You might notice Jadyn's shorter hair -- she opted for more of a bob in a recent haircut and is very happy with the shorter length.

Joseph playing outside at school, wiping up a mess at home (he really loves helping out in any way he can)

 

We got Jadyn a belt-positioning booster seat, and then we graduated Joseph to Jadyn's old seat, finally facing forward.  This photo was captured one of the first commute days with the new seating arrangement.

We've got kids very enthusiastic for reading!  Jadyn reads very well on her own; Joseph loves books (dare we say?) even more than Jadyn did at a similar age.  Most nights we read many books with the kids as part of the bedtime routine, and lately Joseph has been interested in reading a little longer in bed before he finally passes out for the night.  Sometime he even fetches more books from the shelf in the kids' room -- well after Jadyn has fallen asleep, we can hear him talking his way through books.  

Joseph is no longer "contained" in his crib at night (he climbed out at 20 months) and joins his parents in their bed in the middle of the night far too frequently.  Plus Jadyn has a newly developed fear of the dark and of monsters that may be in her room, which makes Jadyn a too frequent visitor to the parental bed as well.  So, in an effort to decrease sleep interruptions for everyone, we suggested that the kids sleep together in Jadyn's bed, and they were into it.  There is plenty of room for them both, Jadyn always takes the side with the edge, and they actually make it though the night together without waking Mom or Dad at least some of the time.  Angelic while sleeping, don't you think?

It's hard to believe, but Joseph is less than a week from his second birthday.  We'll probably have a few photos to share of that momentous occasion….  ;-)  We hope you'll check back in April!