Fall Fun

The days have been getting shorter and colder.  What's new with us?  Well….

Joseph turned 18 months in early October, and he transitioned to the next toddler room at school.  It took him a couple of weeks to feel at home there, but it has been a very positive change.  His teachers have noticed his interest in and skills with kicking and throwing balls outside on the playground.  They also tell us he really likes all the art activities they do and that he can stay engaged with the activity for 10-15 minutes, which is apparently a long time for a child his age.  Interesting!  We've noticed that the recurring episodes of diarrhea have gone on hiatus, and he has much less diaper rash, too.  (It's the same food in all classrooms as school, so either the older kids have given him fewer GI bugs or his system has matured in some way!)  He seems to have growth spurts that are noticeable if you look at the percentiles the doctor's office gives for his length and weight, but overall he was about 25th percentile at 31.5 inches tall and 23 pounds at his 18-month appointment.  This fall, Joseph has become a better sleeper, and occasionally there are some nights that the parents are woken only by the cats.  Wow, what a difference better sleep makes!

Lately, Jadyn is very into reading, writing, drawing, crafts, active play, dancing, gymnastics, and watching videos of all kinds.  Going to the library and reading books is a huge hit in our house.  Jadyn's skills have taken off and she is reading books all by herself.  One day in early October she surprised us all by pulling The Giving Tree off the shelf and reading the whole thing out loud.

She also reads many books to her brother.  When he is in the right mood he will sit next to her for the duration.

Other times, he prefers to page through books on his own, looking for familiar things.  For awhile, he was hyper-focused on finding ducks -- he would bring us on every book we have with a duck in it and point at them emphatically and scream, "DUCK!"  Then his fixation was the moon.  Now he's into naming all kinds of animals, especially elephants, and all kinds of motorized vehicles, especially trucks, in our home library.

Joseph likes to play with various items from the kitchen: the beaters from the hand-held mixer, plastic storage containers, and here, you see him with a small electronic juicer.  This thing can keep him busy for 10-15 minutes straight.

 

The kids still play in the small-sized kitchen set they have (though Jadyn would prefer to cook with Mom and Dad in the real kitchen).  Sometimes they cook us a whole meal and serve it at the table for us.  Other times they play hide-and-seek in the play refrigerator.  Jadyn still fits inside!  And Joseph loves "discovering" her there, though it's not much of a shocker, because he watches her get into position.

 

And what would a baby blogpost be without the requisite playing-at-the-park photos?  Joseph loves swings as much as Jadyn does.

Also this fall, we bid a final farewell to Jenny's condo.  Jadyn was pretty sad about new people taking ownership of what she still considers a home to her, so we visited it often during the time it was on the market.  Here she is enjoying the front steps one last time on a sunny day.

With cooler weather, the kids are rediscovering toys they haven't played with in awhile, and as kids do, they come up with interesting games to play.  I'm not sure where this "train" was going, but she had fun putting it together.

Halloween was great fun, and we had several dress rehearsals, some even with make-up!  These photos turned out nicer than any of the ones we took on Halloween night.

 

We've also enjoyed the zoo this fall, and Jadyn is finally old enough to "do" pretty much the whole thing.  She requests certain animals to see, and later at home, with a map, she circles all the exhibits we visited.  Joseph can now name some of the animals he sees, play on the tractor in the Family Farm area, and ride on the carousel with his big sister.  He tries to walk everywhere like his big sister, but a couple of hours of all that stimulation wears him out.

 

 

Thanks to Grandma Jeanne for the carousel rides pass!

Our next post should include Thanksgiving photos.  Hope you enjoy the rest of the fall!

Summer Fun -- August & September

The nice summer weather continued in August, and visitors arrived!  The first family guests in our new home were Grandma Jeanne and Grandpa Frank.  They came bearing gifts, which the kids loved.

 Together we enjoyed the zoo,

as well as Pike Place Market, the Old Spaghetti Factory followed by a walk and fresh air in the Olympic Sculpture Park, and the Sunday Farmer's Market in Ballard.  Jadyn let Grandma curl her hair, and Joseph got into his usual mischief.

 

In August, we had our fill at parks, and even played in the neighborhood wading pool one afternoon.

Not having a helmet of his own doesn't stop this eager rider!  (He nabbed this bike from a neighbor.)

So much fun was had in Cleo's backyard this summer.  One day, the kids created a pull-me-in-the-sled activity, which thrilled Joseph, and, as you might expect, the sprinkler remained a steady hit when the sun was out.

By the third week of September, fall had arrived, at least temperature-wise, and so the bathing suits, shorts, tank tops, and sunscreen got tucked away.  It was a really nice summer, and it was great to be in our new house.  Check back soon for news of our fall escapades!

Summer Fun -- July

July was fun and low-key -- as low-key as settling into a new-yet-not-quite-completely-finished home can be with all the other demands of everyday life!  We love being around our neighbor friends, and the kids have joined in all the day-to-day fun seamlessly.  The Fourth of July was a typically social neighborhood event, with decent weather this year, too.  Both kids managed to stay up for the fireworks.  Joseph really liked them, keeping his eyes peeled for all the sights in the sky for the entire show.  Jadyn wore the ear protection that Jeff wears when mowing the lawn, and that helped her enjoy the fireworks without worrying about the noise.

A few days later, we joined up with neighbors and watched the Wallingford Kids' Parade together.  There was quite a bit of candy and other free goodies that get handed out by some of the outfits in the parade, and these items entertained the kids for days.

Jadyn with Mila and Cleo

Joseph watching the parade

Enjoying the parade goodies

After the parade ended, there was a festival of sorts with booths, food, and various bouncy-house attractions.  Jadyn had a blast on the long slide.

Jadyn has started a weekly gymnastics class on Saturdays, with some of her other friends, and she loves the different class activities and playing on all the equipment.

Gymnastics class is FUN

Jenny taught a couple of classes on campus for summer quarter, which was a bit of a challenge when Joseph got sick.  The office staff was fantastic, playing with Joseph while Jenny was with students, and helping him eat some lunch and then take a snooze.  Here he is napping in the conference room one day when Jenny couldn't miss her classes, yet he had been asked to stay away from his classmates.

But mostly July was low-key fun activities around the house and at school.

Practicing tying laces on Mom's running shoes

Riding a bike at school

We went for gelato one afternoon at Tutta Bella, and Jadyn got creative with the Wiki-stix.

Wiki-stix eyeglasses

One of the lowest tides of the year fell on a gray Sunday morning in July, and we made the effort to get out and investigate the beach at Carkeek Park.  Joseph rode on Daddy's back for the explorations near the water, and while Jadyn started off curious (albeit with her nose closed -- she didn't like the smell), she got cold quickly and begged to go to play in the park instead.  She tried every piece of play equipment there, and Joseph tried so hard to keep up with her.  He fell asleep within minutes of returning to the car.

Another fun and new activity this summer has been running through the sprinkler.  Jadyn loves it, and Joseph enjoys it a lot, too, though he is not quite sure what to do when water drips down his face.

Another huge hit was a bit random, a play doctor kit we checked out as part of a "backpack" of fun activities from the kids' school.  Jadyn would call us for our appointments -- she'd stand in the doorway of the room where we were, and call, "Jenny!" or "Jeff!"  All appointments included injections of some sort, regardless of the symptoms described.  Once Joseph got the hang of being treated by Dr. Jadyn, he tried to administer some medicine on his own.  Here he is putting on the stethoscope, and then moments later deciding to pet the cat.  Maybe he was playing vet rather than doctor....

One Sunday while the family went for a walk/jog at a local park, Jadyn used her skuut bike to check out some of the ramps in the skate park.  Shortly after we arrived, a free skateboarding clinic for kids got set up (they supply all equipment and safety gear -- a fantastic deal for parents!), and Jadyn was totally interested.  She got up on a board and worked on a couple of very basic skills before becoming frustrated that she wasn't allowed yet to take the board into the skate park.  But she lasted through about an hour of group instruction, which we thought was pretty good for a 4 year old and her first skateboarding experience.

And Farmers' Markets in Seattle -- what would summer be without them?!?!  There are two that we visit pretty frequently, and we often see our friend Madi there.  Here are Madi and Jadyn swinging together at the park where one of these markets are held.  They've been friends for more than three years now, and it's been so fun to watch them grow up in parallel.

August adventures, you ask?  Yes, coming soon!