Haircut!

Just a quick post before things get really crazy heading into the Christmas holiday....

Jadyn helped Mommy, Jeannie, and Alexa make cookies a couple of weekends ago. Because she was at Alexa's house, exploring all of Alexa's toys was way more interesting than rolling sugar cookie dough and cutting shapes in the dough. But she did manage to press out a few cookies as part of the fun. Isn't she cute in an apron?


We finally decided it was time to give Jadyn's mullet a rest. So we spent a few minutes in a salon close to home to tidy things up. She did really well, and we have some keepsake locks to enclose in her baby journal. She still has curls, but they are closer to the nape of her neck now.




Our next post will include photos from Christmas visits with family. Stay tuned!

And We Gave Thanks

Our Thanksgiving trip to Denver was a smashing success! Jadyn was a pleasant airplane passenger and got along famously with her new friends, Enzo and Maxine. She played a little Nerf football with the Enzo and friends on Thanksgiving, shrieking with delight when she was able to scoop up a fumble and run it across the room for a touchdown. We even had her spiking the ball after a score! Maxine's room was a treasure trove of fun things to explore, and she was most interested in hitting play on Maxine's CD player, so she could dance to Jackson 5's Greatest Hits. A kitchen drawer of cups and straws was also worth checking out.

Who could resist riding the big stuffed animals? Not these girls!

The Thanksgiving feast was fantastic, as usual.

The next day we went for a hike at Bluff Lake.



We also visited with former neighbors who now live in Boulder. One room in their house was set up for various gymnastic like activities, which Jadyn enjoyed immensely.




Thanks to our hosts for a great vacation -- we escaped the freezing temperatures and snow in Seattle for bright sun and lots of love and friendship! Jadyn used the opportunity to expand her vocabulary each day, push her physical limits trying to keep up with the older kids, and explore her unique sense of style.

Hope your Thanksgiving was just as bright!

Snow bunny!

A recently acquired puffy snow suit came in handy for today's cold and snowy weather. School closed early so Mommy and Jadyn were back home before dark, and Jadyn was fascinated with the snow.


Here are a few shots from the tub, where Mom and Dad enjoyed sculpting her hair with suds. She doesn't much like the hair rinsing part of this cleansing ritual, but she doesn't mind the washing.


Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! We'll post some fun photos of our holiday soon.

21 months!

It's hard to believe little "babyj" is now 21 months old. She's so big and tall, super strong and coordinated, and very chatty. She now counts to 12, can put on her own pants (most of the way), socks (one foot is easier than the other for her), and shoes (though they are often on the wrong feet). She has figured out a neat way to put her own coat on, and we think she picked this up at school (because neither Mom nor Dad has demonstrated this for her): she lays the unzippered coat down on the floor, sticks her arms in the sleeves, then flips the coat up over her head. Sometimes this results in the coat being on upside down, but we're working on that. Creative and clever! We like it!

She says things like "where Abby go?" when looking for the more elusive of our two cats, "no like it" when she is trying a new food that she's not thrilled about, and "not working" when a pencil's tip is so worn down it won't write anymore. She has very clear understanding and use of words like help, stuck, mine, and she says "My turn!" and "I hold it!" many times a day. She loves to sing "Wheels on the Bus" and "Baby Beluga" and other songs that they teach hand motions for at school. In the evenings, when she is more clingy and wants to be held up where all the action is, she sometimes points to the stereo and says "Dance!" So that's what we do!

Here are some photos of Jadyn enjoying her sleeping bag. The weather is perfect now for crawling into it and snuggling up. Thanks to Granny Pat and Grandpa Jim for this warm and fuzzy gift!




And we finally caught this with the camera -- Jadyn likes to stick her foot in our pants pockets when we hold her. Adorable!

Happy Halloween!

We hope you all had a Happy Halloween! Here are some shots of Jadyn's second Halloween holiday.

In the afternoon, we went to a trick or treat event sponsored by shops in our neighborhood. Even with a two-hour nap, Jadyn woke up pouty, and she had to be convinced that being a ladybug for a few hours was going to be fun. Needless to say, it took awhile for her to warm up to the camera! It was easy for her, though, to follow the lead of the throngs around her -- she carried a bag, stopped at each store, took an item from a bowl, and then dropped it into her bag like a champ. Mom and Dad didn't dress up per se, but we did wear wigs to get in the spirit.





On our way home, we chatted with a neighbor finishing up some yard work. Jadyn enjoyed a friendly cat and offered to help with pruning.





After a spell at home to wait for darkness, Jadyn went trick-or-treating on our street. She seemed tired but when asked if she wanted to go home, she'd look to another house and say "more!" She loved going up neighbors' steps and knocking on doors. She would take a candy or two, drop it in her bag, and then start back down the steps to the next house. Once back home, she enjoyed poring over her loot, even rearranging it for display.



Then she wanted to wear our wigs.



Here's a great shot from last weekend, playing with the twins Emma and Kaylin in their 'foam pit."


This past week or so has been full of firsts for Jadyn, the aforementioned 'foam pit,' real trick-or-treating, and, unfortunately the flu. You'll all be glad that we did not photo document that event! It was short-lived, but it wore her out (as well as her parents), and we're looking forward to her appetite returning in full force. Illness aside, her vocabulary continues to grow: without prompting she has named 'dark' vs. 'light' rooms in the house; she has begun counting as she ascends steps, "one...two...three stairs"; and regularly requests help getting into things she probably shouldn't with "open, Daddy, open!" We're looking forward to the upcoming holiday season, with her new awareness and vocabulary!

More Great Photos

Slowly but surely, we're catching up on sharing Jadyn's moments of fun. Here's more....

We have found the parental bed is big fun for Little J. When the sheets are being changed, she likes to dance on the bed to disrupt the process, and throws herself down on the sheets and pillows and waits for us to "get" her.



After the bright spring and summer, she FINALLY agreed to try on some 'sunglasses' one evening in late-September. She is very aware that both her parents wear glasses, and this pair she definitively calls her own: "Jadyn's glasses". These shots were taken with Monkey, one of her new best friends.



On a whim, Daddy swung a pillow at Jadyn, and she LOVED it. Now he'll ask: "Do you want me to beat you with a pillow?" and she'll say, "Yeah!" and run for the couch and lie waiting for the fun. Sometimes when she is a little tired and overreacting to a perceived monumental injustice (such as not being allowed to stand on the coffee table or climb the coffee cart, or being forced to wear shoes to go outside -- oh, the horrors!), a walloping with a pillow is a fantastically effective "reset button."

Signing for more!



She has not tired of shoes. At all. Not one bit. She reorganizes them regularly, in neatly aligned pairs.


She knows which are Mommy's, which are Daddy's, and which are Jadyn's, and regularly informs us of these facts. And she is getting very good at walking in footwear much bigger than her typical size.

In Mom's slippers

Jadyn is getting closer to dressing herself completely. Here she is trying on some new pjs.


It's been months since she has worn zip-up fleece pjs, and we think she forgot all about them. The zipper confuses her a little, and she calls such nightwear a "coat." Makes sense if you think about it!

The potty generates a lot of interest these days. She enjoys practicing: putting the seat adapter in place, climbing up on to the toilet, sitting, using toilet tissue, and flushing. We'll be excited to report when things progress beyond the practicing stage.




Other cute shots: wearing Mommy's winter hat, offering Daddy some corn (the last of the season), and wearing Daddy's bike helmet while riding in the house.




On the last sunny weekend of the year (with a La Nina winter in store, we're being realistic), we went to a corn maze and pumpkin patch with our neighbors. Jadyn had lots of fun!


After tripping on a corn stalk, she wants her dirty hands wiped off!

A great pumpkin


Jadyn's world is expanding quickly these days, and her vocabulary grows daily. We've recently heard her request "my turn" when she wants something we have, and just today we heard her count to five. She has learned at school to say "stop" when she is not happy with someone else's behavior. She says "Bopf!" -- way cute!!! She sings the tune of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star/ABC's and some of the words of each, often mixed into the same song (which is super adorable). Our cats, who were both called Abby for a long time, are now correctly distinguished (though Cosmo is "Mah-co" -- also super adorable). Occasionally we hear short sentences, such as "Mah-co, wanna snack?" when she is feeding Cosmo his dinner, and "Mommy sit, Daddy sit" when she wants us next to her, at dinner time or when it's time to read books. Suddenly we've realized our 6 pound miracle is a 20+ pound manager, and we couldn't be prouder.