Brrrr

Cold weather has settled in for the end of February. Here's Jadyn bundled up for a stroller ride and frolic at the park with Mommy. It was sunny but brisk!

On Presidents' Day, Jadyn stopped in at the zoo to see the penguins, flamingos, gorillas, hippos, and giraffes. She also explored a play area for kids that she has never seen before, and she enjoyed crawling through a turtle shell there.

And here she is playing in her new kitchen before bedtime. Thanks so much, Grandpa Jim and Granny Pat!


As chilly as February can be, she has taken to going sans pants in the evenings. Not sure where she picked this up, because Mom and Dad have not been modeling this for her -- seriously, we haven't! But you've gotta love a girl with her own unique sense of style!

Two years ago today she was about 7 pounds and slept A LOT. Hard to believe that she was ever that small!

Happy Birthday, Jadyn!

Our little miracle is now 2! We had a fabulous birthday weekend with the birthday girl. The previous evening, we had been working on some butterfly party favors for her birthday party....

...so her first request of the day was to wear her butterfly shirt. Then we began her birthday in earnest by opening some gifts that had arrived in the mail.

Jadyn liked the Valentines' gorilla

and LOVED the '101 Things to Make and Do with Googly Eyes' craft book.

After a trip to the coffee shop, there was lots of time to play at home while Mom and Dad prepared for Jadyn's birthday party, set for the next morning. One of Jadyn's Christmas gifts, a kitchen set, arrived just days before her birthday, and she spends lots of time in her kitchen, rearranging all of her kitchen gear amongst the icebox, the sink, and the range. She likes to make eggs, waffles, and cookies in her kitchen, and she uses the salt and pepper shakers that came with the range to season all the food she cooks. Here she is with Daddy later that evening. She's gotten so tall, and she is still so cute!

The next morning we were up and at 'em, ready for some friends to come over to party with us. Jadyn wore a pretty new dress, and worked on some puzzles while we waited for guests to arrive. (She's gotten quite good at these 9-piece puzzles in the 2 weeks we've worked on them with her.)

Here's Jadyn reading books with Zoe

And enjoying the birthday song

And blowing out candles

And eating cake with Dominic

Jadyn likes her new farm animals puzzle from Dave -- as a piece fits into place, the animal makes its sound!

In this photo, Jadyn is happily eating a piece of chocolate that Cleo shared with her. If you look closely, you will see that she has the tell-tale smear on her upper lip and the back of her hand.

After walking up the street for dinner at Tutta Bella and then dashing home in the rain, Jadyn ended her birthday weekend with Caspar Babypants videos before snuggling into bed for the night. She has taken to sleeping on a book as a pillow -- we're hoping this foretells a life-long love of reading!

Happy Birthday, Little Miss J! We love you!

This Is Fun!

Jadyn is stringing words together in new and exciting ways each day. Last week, when she was counting, she invented her own number: "...sixteen...seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...tenteen..." She is a quick study of small vs. big, light vs. dark, dirty vs. clean, etc. She repeatedly reminds us that penguins, flamingos, hippos, giraffes, and peacocks live at the zoo (she remember all of these from a recent visit). She is very interested in using the salt shaker and pepper grinder (even on an empty plate -- she's still not making the connection that they flavor food). She is also singing a number of different songs, without prompting, and has even helped to create an original verse of "Wheels on the Bus": "Jadyn on the bus goes toot, toot, toot; toot, toot, toot; toot, toot, toot...." Jadyn has a huge fascination with the Metro buses we see around while commuting. Mom is teaching her to say "articulated bus" for those double-long buses with the accordion-like joint. She says it like "ta-tick-oo-late-uh" -- good stuff! She has also learned "see you later, alligator," probably from her classmates, and it sounds, well, sort of like that, but not really. It *is* super-cute, we assure you.

Here are a few recent photos.

Playing with a defunct cell phone and its ear bud

Wearing Mrs. Potato Head's earrings

Jadyn's idea of playing with her toys is spreading them everywhere and then jumping on the couch


Another 'puzzle night' gathering at one of Jenny's colleague's homes: Jadyn played in the cats' tunnel toy


Wearing her bike helmet, some bloomers that match one of her dresses, and a new cozy sweater, at the kitchen counter while Mommy prepares dinner

Enjoying the activities at the Kids Fair, including a live Caspar Babypants concert!




Maybe those 2-yr molars *are* about to break through.... Next post should have some birthday pictures -- check back soon! ;-)