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!