December Fun, Part 3

We arrived in the Baltimore area on Christmas Day to spend quality time with Jeff's family.  The flight was easy and quick, the weather was sunny and clear, and the company was so happy to see all of us.  Joseph enjoyed the tree at Grandaddy and MomMom's place, and Jadyn embraced another round of holiday gift-giving.

 
The next morning was gray and cold with snow.  Jadyn really wanted to go outside to make a snowman.  But two weary parents were slow to get going, and by the time we all went out, it was just warm enough for rain, with wet, slushy snow on the ground.  Jadyn and Jeff did what they could, while Jenny tried to keep Joseph from getting too wet.

 

 

Then a very short, friendly snowball fight ensued. ;-)

Joseph enjoyed trying to get into suitcases and other storage bins he encountered on the trip.

The local grocery store had a perfect cart for the kids.  Jadyn loved being the driver!

Plus there was lots of time spent with family....

Loving being up high!

With Uncle Steve

Jeff, Joseph, and 99 year old Grandmom Vera

Reading a book with MomMom

What a nice Christmas trip!  Everyone did well on the long, non-stop flight across the country, and we slid back into Seattle life as 2012 ended.  Hope you all had as amazing a year as we did in 2012.  Happy New Year!

December Fun, Part 2

The first leg of the 2012 Christmas trip brought Jenny and the kids to Cleveland a few days ahead of Jeff, who finished out the workweek before heading East.  The red-eye flight with the kids went really well, though those 4 hours were the only sleep that Jadyn would get that night, because once she got to Grandma Jeanne's house, she was all play, play, play with her grandma!  Joseph traveled great, as well as a 8.5 month old could, and his appetite and diaper rash both turned around once his second tooth emerged upon his Ohio arrival.  Until his daddy arrived, Joseph checked out carefully each new person joining a gathering -- he really noticed that Jeff was "missing."  Both kids warmed up to people they so rarely see very quickly, so lots of fun was had by all.

Jadyn enjoyed tearing into all of her wrapped packages, and really got into the whole Christmas hoop-la this year, singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "Jingle Bells," and watching classic Christmas movies on TV.  With so many grandparents, aunts, and uncles around, we took tons of photos, and here are a few.

Joseph trying to climb Grandma's stairs

These were new warm snow boots she
opened a bit early out of necessity.

Playing with toys from Mommy's
childhood

Isn't Grandma great to have saved
so many fun toys?!?!

Joseph with Grandpa Jim

Joseph with Grandma Jeanne

With his 90-year-old Great
Grandma Hall

 

Jadyn and Noelle (third cousins) in their new dress up clothes!

Joseph got very excited to practice his standing skills on sturdy, wrapped packages.  He was screeching with joy when this photo was taken!

After an overindulgence of love, food, and presents, we departed on Christmas Day for the Baltimore portion of the trip.  See the Part 3 post for more fun photos!

December Fun, Part 1

December was crazy busy, which is why it has taken us until now to try to catch up with posting.  Fall quarter ended for Jenny the first week of December, and then it became the usual mad dash to prepare for holiday travels and gift-giving.  Before we left Seattle, we did get to enjoy the holiday lights at the Zoo, a trip to the climbing gym to celebrate a friend's birthday, and a small dinner party that included some cookie decorating.  Fun stuff!

Jadyn and Daddy on the carousel at Wild Lights at the Zoo

Jadyn's  new solar system puzzle

All done!

Climbing up

About as high as she could make herself go

Decorating cookies

She loved every minute

Joseph's health improved in December, but his killer diaper rash continued, as his first tooth broke through right as he turned 8 months old with another to come a few weeks later.  We may have used more diaper rash cream on this poor guy from mid-November to mid-December than we did on Jadyn her entire first year.  Ouch!  But otherwise, Joseph is pretty much all smiles, commando-crawling and trying to stand.  He can hold himself in a sitting position pretty well now, loves his baths, and enjoys all sorts of fun on the floor -- toys, Jadyn's puzzles, wrapping paper....

He really loves the water, and he barely
fits in his baby bathtub these days!

Looking super cute in pjs Jadyn wore
during her first Christmas season

 

The kids continue to enjoy each other immensely.  Jadyn is almost too aggressive with hugging him; even though he's bigger now, she forgets he's still a baby.  They make each other laugh so much!  What a blessing they are to us....