Between Birthdays

After the busy birthday week we had in mid-February, things have been pretty much business as usual for us: play dates, visits to parks, plus a minor virus or two and a few more teeth on their way to keep us on our toes....

This play date at a park with Alexa and Caitlin...

...continued at their house after some lunch.

A good time was had by all!

Jadyn is quite a prolific artist and likes to use a lot of bright colors in her work.

Very proud of her picture of Grandma Jeanne

Her favorite activities lately are spelling, writing, making cards, drawing pictures, doing puzzles, reading books and magazines, cooking in her kitchen and ours, and watching videos.  She is also very good at identifying her favorite songs on the radio during commutes to and from school.  "Mommy, turn it up!" is a common request when she hears The Lumineers, Muse, Fun, Mumford and Sons, or Adele.

Between mid-Feb and mid-March, Joseph became a lot more confident standing to play and cruising around as furniture allows.  He pulls books off the shelf and flips through a few before finding something else to do.  He can empty most of the playthings from Jadyn's kitchen quite quickly, and then checks out the utensils and dish ware by putting the pieces in his mouth.  (Just this week we're noticing a couple more teeth seem to be trying to break through -- he has 4 exposed on top, 2 more up there looking to break free, and his first 2 teeth, the only ones visible on the bottom.)  Joseph now says "bah" for ball and plays catch exceptionally well for an 11-month old; better still, he LOVES it, laughing up a storm as we pass a ball back and forth to each other.  He is also a VERY fast crawler.  You know when he's on a mission with a piece of contraband (one of Jadyn's puzzle pieces, a handful of cat food) because he tucks his head and really focuses on crawling away quickly, occasionally looking over his shoulder to see who is in pursuit.

I like to play with the remote controls

I can hold my own bottle, even when half asleep!

I slide down by myself sometimes

Keeping busy at the coffee shop

We've discovered the Seattle Gymnastics Academy, and Jadyn loves going to the Indoor Playground session.  After an hour of non-stop activity on the various bars, rings, and beams, jumping on trampolines, rolling along the Tumble Track, and jumping in the foam pit, she is usually ready for a nap.

Even Joseph enjoys himself there!

 

Joseph is an incredibly happy, easy-going, and content kid.  He's added so much fun to the family!

The joke is on Mommy for
forgetting to put a bib on me!

Plus, I'm sleeping pretty well these
days.  Finally!

We have enjoyed watching the kids find ways to play together.  Jadyn likes to hug her brother more often than he is willing to be stopped during his play to receive the affection.  Joseph loves when she gets down on the floor and crawls after him, round and round in circles in the house....

Our next post(s) should have pictures of Easter and Joseph's birthday.  Check back soon!

Happy 4th Birthday, Jadyn!

Jadyn turned 4 on February 12th.  Sorry this post is so long in coming!

With our renovation still in progress, there were no options of having a party in our living space.  Instead, about 15 of her friends joined us at The Little Gym for a party in a gymnastics studio a few days ahead of the 12th.  The staff there mixed structured activities that honored the birthday girl and unstructured time for the kids to do whatever they felt like in the play area.  The last half-hour was in the party room for cupcakes and snacks we provided.  Jadyn had a blast helping to decorate the cupcakes.

At the party, she tried out most of the equipment.  She did great walking on the balance beam, and then she jumped off the end fearlessly.

 These shots capture most of the friends that attended the party.

Here's Jadyn jumping backwards along the Tumble-Track.

And everyone helping to deflate the Tumble-Track....

During Jadyn's party, Joseph was enduring a teething fever and a stuffy nose.  He slept through most of the fun.

Post-activity snacking; clearly Jadyn enjoyed her chocolate cupcakes.

We opened most of her birthday gifts from family and friends on her actual birthday, several days later. She received lots of thoughtful and fun gifts....

The Magformer tiles are a big hit.  Joseph loved playing with the wrapping paper and bows.

Also around the birthday, Jadyn visits the pediatrician and the dentist for routine check-ups.  At the doctor's office, she got her last set of immunizations.  She was so very brave for those!  She weighed 32 pounds (25th percentile) and measured 39 inches tall (32nd percentile), passed her hearing test, and had good vision, 20/25 in both eyes.  The dentist suggested she will be a candidate for braces later, as her mouth is small and already crowded with just her baby teeth.  She does so well there, being patient for a full cleaning and enjoying all the attention! 

The following weekend, at a park, she continued the gymnastics theme from her birthday while climbing on the bleachers.

Joseph used to snooze through many of his first visits to the park, but not anymore.  He loves to swing, here by himself, but also in a parent's arms, and then, this time, he managed to squirm free to explore the playground equipment "for real" for the first time.

It was a busy but fun birthday week!  Happy Birthday to our little baby Jadyn!  What happened to our tiny little bundle?  She has grown up!  Stay tuned for more posts with photos of February and March....