Happy 1st Birthday, Joseph!

The week of Joseph's birthday included Easter.  In the morning we did an outside egg hunt with the eggs we dyed, as it was super bright and sunny and unseasonably warm on Easter this year, and then we packed up some snacks and sandwiches and headed for Discovery Park.  The weather was so great that we were outside for hours, taking a long walk from a parking lot down to the water.  The tide was WAY out -- it was a particularly low, low tide -- and so Jadyn got to look for crabs and other creatures.  Joseph enjoyed sand for the first time, and we all got some vitamin D.

 

 

Joseph's actual birthday fell on a Thursday, so he had a full day at school before the usual evening routine mid-week of dinner and a bath.  After that we opened a few presents.  Jadyn was really helpful with the gifts, tearing off all the paper and trying out all the new toys, showing him how they work.  He liked the new toys, and the parents really appreciated the new clothes he received, too.  Thanks to everyone who was so generous with him!

 

 

With little notice, Joseph began the transition from the infant room to the first toddler room at the very end of March.  So the first week of April, heading into his first birthday, he had his first full week in T1.  He did surprisingly well drinking from a cup with no lid (they give the kids just a swallow or two of milk in a cup and refill only after they finish their first serving), and he loved all the new activities and experiences, especially playing outside twice a day.  He is exhausted most evenings with all the new things there are to learn in his new classroom!  Here you see Joseph at the breakfast table at the end of his first week in the new classroom.  He is a very good eater these days.

Then, on Sunday, we had a birthday gathering of friends to celebrate Joseph's first year.

Clear evidence he enjoyed his first experience with cupcakes!

Kind and thoughtful friends from school got Joseph this pirate ship push toy for his birthday.  Joseph LOVES pushing Jadyn around on it, and he also likes to take a ride on it.  His feet don't quite reach the ground when he sits on it, so for now he needs some help from a parent or sister.  Steering is also a bit of a mystery....  Fun times!

 

Then the annual birthday check-up with the doctor....  We did that a few days after his birthday.  Dr. N did find an ear infection, so we went another round of antibiotics for that.  His growth numbers were good: 15th percentile in weight, 25th percentile in length, and 30th percentile in head circumference.  And he passed his anemia test, yay!

Happy Birthday, the first of many wonderful celebrations we'll have with you, dear Joseph!

Look at these two -- we love you both so much!

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....