More Adventures

Since our last post, Jadyn has enjoyed a few fun outings. We went to a birthday party at the Children's Museum, and this was Jadyn's second visit to the museum. It was a brand new experience for her compared to when she went 3.5 months prior, as she is now so mobile and completely different activities caught her attention.

Going down the 'glacier' slide

Pressing buttons, pulling levers

Feeding ping pong balls through a maze

Sitting in the front seat of a large toy car


The Children's Museum is at the Seattle Center, and it was so beautifully sunny that day. We stopped by the International Fountain after the party. Jadyn enjoyed trying to catch the sprays of water.


Completely wiped out later that day


Last weekend we took Jadyn down to the Fremont Fair for the Solstice Parade. We were curious how long the parade would hold her attention. She was fascinated and watched nearly the entire parade!




This week it FINALLY hit the mid-70's, and on 77-degree Wednesday, Jadyn went to the zoo. The first stop was at the Humboldt penguin exhibit, where Jadyn stared and stared at these creatures and then finally said "caw", just like she says to the crows. A few minutes later, we found ourselves in front of the jaguars. The big boy jaguar was grooming himself just like our cats at home, and it didn't take Jadyn long to say "meow." Here is J by the jaguar exhibit; there really is thick glass there!


We also saw gorillas, giraffes, hippos, various exotic birds, and several different species of monkeys. After a couple of hours Jadyn was overcome by a nap. We'll return to the zoo again soon!

Later that same day, Jadyn really enjoyed playing at home. The weather shield for the stroller became a boat of sorts....


Downward dog


She likes reading her Numbers book, and when asked which page has the kitties on it, she had no trouble finding the "meows."


After she tired of toddler games, she turned on the TV (!!!) on her way to climbing up on the couch, and proceeded to spend 10 minutes shredding a paper towel she nabbed from the kitchen. At least she wasn't actually watching TV!


Jadyn's saying more and more words these days. She has added knee to her anatomy vocabulary and correctly names avocado at home, in the grocery store, and at friend's houses. Her dear friend Cleo, who lives next door, is "kee-yo" with an accent on the "yo". She also says diaper and, occasionally, poo. This week she very smartly took Daddy to see exactly where some of her diaper's contents had leaked out, which we weren't thrilled to clean up, but were very excited to see the growth in her communication skills. Mom is convinced Jadyn is trying to count, because she'll point at objects and say something that sounds like "one...two..." It's a start!

Jadyn has gotten to be quite a climber. She can get herself onto the seat of one of the kitchen chairs without any adult help (we still need to photo document this), and we have had to collapse the stroller when it is not in use after we found she could climb into it herself (and almost topple it in the act). She plays in the collapsed stroller anyway.


And bubbles.... She really likes bubbles!

Waiting for Summer to Arrive

It has yet to hit 75 in Seattle in 2010 (this sets a record), and so we are all still waiting for summer to arrive. Jadyn gets super excited about spending any time outside (she says "go" a lot to mean "let's go outside"), but it has been rainy and gray far too much in the last couple of months, and we find that we've not taken as many pictures as we usually do.

Another factor in the lack of photo documentation has been the various health issues in the house. Jadyn brought home the coxsackie virus from daycare just after Mother's Day -- that's not such a fun one. Also known as hand, foot, and mouth disease, a fever is followed by raised bumps appearing on the hands, foot, diaper area, and then inside the mouth. The mouth sores can keep little ones from eating and drinking, and we are lucky that Jadyn had a mild case and recovered fairly quickly. Unfortunately she shared this lovely virus with Dad, and he missed a whole week of work due to extensive, painful mouth sores. ;-(

After the joy of HFMD, we returned to "normal" for only a short time before Jadyn came down with a cold that worsened over Memorial Day weekend. A day with a fever had us suspecting an ear infection, which was confirmed as 2 ear infections once we could get in to see the pediatrician. The good news was the doc told us "I've seen worse ear infections on her" and we avoided antibiotics this time. But Jadyn's sleep continued to be disrupted due to several teeth emerging, coincidentally, the very same week. She now has all of her first molars, and some of the canines are dropping into place as well. Needless to say, the last four weeks have brought a lot of sleep deprivation to all the members of the household.

When Jadyn sleeps really poorly, Mom and Dad retreat to the futon in the living room in an effort to quell the disruptions for everyone. Here you'll see Jadyn parked next to the futon, exploring Dad's CPAP machine (non-surgical apnea treatment). She figured out how to turn on the CPAP machine, and then, after having seen Dad wearing it, knew to put the mask up to her mouth and nose. The air coming out of the machine made her giggle (and sent her mullet sideways)!




Last weekend Dad took Jadyn to Golden Gardens to check out the sand and bright sun. The breeze was chilly, though, and she still needed her jacket.

Tonight's dinner was take out and Jadyn liked trying fresh spring rolls for the first time. She also had a little pho soup and rice noodles. We like that she is adventurous with food!


Jadyn can name "toes," "nose," "eye," and "mouth" while pointing them out, and she also correctly identifies belly button, head, ears, and fingers when we ask her to point to them. We are also working on shoulders, elbows, and knees. She has gotten pickier at meal times, sometimes asking and signing "more" specifically for mac and cheese. She is very close to saying "avocado" correctly, though, ironically, she has refused to eat it the last few times we have offered it to her. Never a dull moment with Jadyn in the house!

Jadyn is 15!

15 months, that is. It SEEMS like she is SO much older these days, showing us more of her personality with each passing day. But first.... She had another well-baby visit at the pediatrician office, and on that day, she weighed 19 pounds, 15 ounces and was measured at 30.25 inches tall. We're told she's 10th percentile in weight and 50th percentile in both length and head circumference. Growth spurt! No wonder she no longer fits in her 9-mo sized clothes, and her 12-mo sized clothes are on their way out as well.

Over the past couple of weeks, Jadyn has continued to enjoy life in motion -- riding in/on wagons, toy cars, backpacks, swings, and our neighbor's scooter. Here's some photo documentation.

With her coffee shop buddy Madi on Mother's Day weekend


Enjoying Cleo's car for the first time




Riding Cleo's scooter with Daddy's help


On a hike with Mom and Dad in Cowiche Canyon, near Yakima


The hike's destination is wine tasting -- a porch swing makes it just fabulous!



Jadyn is still working on putting on her own shoes


Getting shoes on is the first step to requesting to go outside to play!


Jadyn's vocabulary is growing. New words recently are ball, ears, and cat. She can correctly point out noses, eyes, ears, mouths, and belly buttons on command (if she is in the mood). She mimics everything, it seems, such as wiping her nose/mouth, then disposing of the tissue in the wastebasket, putting keys "in" the door to unlock it, and brushing her hair. When she hears the phone ring, she'll put anything that resembles a phone to her ear and say something that sort of sounds like "hello." Next thing you know, she'll be calling you herself, so stick close to your phone!

A Very Long Overdue Post

We think it is very telling that our last post, nearly 2 months ago, was just after our little Jadyn began walking. It took her all of about a week to become exceptionally proficient at walking a notable distance, on different surfaces, with or without shoes on, etc. Now we spend much of our waking hours trying to keep up with her, hence the lapse in posts! Of course, working full time, maintaining a household, and seeing the world through Jadyn's eyes could keep even a superhuman busy. Hopefully, the pictures below will bring you up to speed with at least some of Jadyn's recent fun.

At the end of March, Jenny and Jadyn flew to Cleveland to surprise Grandma Jeanne for her 60th birthday. Jadyn was pretty good on the plane rides and managed the overstimulation and disruption of her schedule with little fanfare. We remind ourselves regularly how blessed we are!

With Grandma at Grandma's party

Trying to 'escape' outside at Auntie Julie's front door

Jadyn adores phones (and anything that sort of seems like it could be used as one)

Climbing the stairs at Auntie Julie's


There were lots of chances to visit with people in our short visit. Here Jadyn and Aunt Julie are reading together.

With Grandma

Exploring Grandma's collection of spices

Lunch time!

Using Grandpa Frank's phone to make a call

Learning about poinsettias with Grandma Hall


On Easter weekend, Jeff's soccer team gathered near the Mt. Baker ski resort, and the whole family enjoyed a weekend away from the city. Coincidentally, a late winter storm dumped 2 feet of snow on the mountain, and the snow was some of the best of the entire season. Both Jeff and Jenny got to ride the slopes for a bit, and Jadyn walked a few steps in snow. She didn't like the white stuff sticking to her her shoes and kept wiping it off with her hands, so the snow stroll didn't last long. Back at the cabin, Jadyn made friends with some soccer folks and played dominos.

Here's my belly button!

Hanging with Amanda

Exploring the fun of dominos


On our way back to Seattle, we took the scenic route through the Skagit Valley and found fields of tulips in bloom. Aren't the tulips gorgeous? And Jadyn is cute, too. ;-)





Now that Jadyn has accomplished the task of walking, we are noticing she is gaining more words. She says "bubble" clear as a bell, and she means it!

(You might notice the nice dinger on her forehead, a result of her first introduction to the harsh reality of tripping on the sidewalk.)

She now regularly signs and says "more" appropriately at meal times, and you can see here that she is quite a good eater. While she can use a spoon pretty well and is learning to use a fork, she generally prefers feeding herself with her fingers, as it is still more efficient that way.


Jadyn also regularly says 'door,' which is fitting, because in the last couple of months she has gotten very accomplished at closing doors, knocking on them, and in the last week or so, reaching on her tippy-toes to grab at the door knobs. As she pushes a door closed, we tell her, "watch your fingers, Jadyn," and after only a couple of minor mishaps, she has learned to pull them out of the way. She is also working very hard at learning to put socks and shoes on herself. She hasn't quite figured this out yet, but she can be occupied for 15 minutes at a time just attempting this feat. Of course, her current vocabulary includes 'shoes' (it sounds more like "soos"). She also points out noses -- hers, Mom's, Dad's, the cats' -- and says 'nose' (it sounds more like a long "no" -- the s on the end isn't always there).

Jadyn is very good at taking items out of boxes, cupboards, or drawers, spreading them around on the floor, then, sometimes, replacing them in a box, cupboard, or drawer, though not necessarily the one the items came from originally. After a trip to the grocery store, she felt the need to rearrange the 6-packs of beer bottles....

And just the other day, a small fabric box of socks from her dresser found its way on to her head. It fit perfectly, and, of course, we figured she knew that before she ever tried it on.