Spring has sprung!

With more daylight hours, we're finding little J waking a little earlier in the morning, and we have also begun to realize that she is much more fun to be with if she gets to spend more time outside. So spring has definitely sprung, and she's learning the names of spring flowers like daffodils and tulips. She is also able to identify several different kinds of birds we see around the neighborhood.

Jadyn has tired of her puzzles (they are now pretty easy for her -- we need to get some new ones) and has taken to climbing. At the end of March, after climbing out of her crib 3 nights in a row, we took off a side and she is now in what we call a big girl bed. She hasn't fallen out too often, and there are a few mornings where she played contently in her room for a bit after waking while Mommy and Daddy dozed through the din. Nice! Here is Jadyn enjoying her big girl bed the first evening she could climb into it by herself.

She often falls asleep with books nearby. This night, we left the room with her reading this book, and it appears she got tired and just dropped it.

(One night we checked on her found she had fallen asleep with a book open across her face -- !!! -- but were unable to capture it before she stirred, and the image was forever lost. We'll keep trying!)

Here she is climbing on a ladder. Who knew she was particularly adept at climbing ladders? We had to pull back hard to keep her from going up any further, as she had every intention to ascend to the very top, fearlessly!


Jadyn is also intrigued by new experiences around the house. A cracked fastener required we install a new toilet seat, and she was ready to pitch in immediately.



Drawing with pens and pencils is another favorite activity. She makes pretty good circles now as well as designs with broad sweeping strokes; then she also concentrates to make smaller, controlled scrawls and declares, "This is Jadyn's name!" Do you agree from these photos that she is probably right-handed?




Huge theme over the past couple of months: "I do it all myself!" She prefers to dress herself (when she is good and ready, mind you!) with clothes she chooses herself. We have plenty of evidence of her unique sense of style.


Most days, she is cute most of the time. The occasional age-appropriate tantrum is easier to overlook when she smiles like this!


With family coming to visit next week, there will be more photos posted again soon. Stay tuned!

Puzzle Mania!

Jadyn's latest obsession is puzzles. She has a set of 6 9-piece puzzles and a 24-piece puzzle that she assembles regularly and quite quickly now. She can do all 7, one right after the other, in less than a half hour when she is really focused.




She also really likes playing with Mrs. Potato Head.

She is a big fan of the book Clap Your Hands, and a line in the book is "Tell me your name. How old are you?" She answers, "Jadyn....I'm two!" Here she is snacking on some numeral 2 butter cookies from Larry and Kathy. She really liked these!


Since our last post, we have seen the pediatrician for Jadyn's 2-year check-up, and she is in excellent health. We now know that two of her last set of molars have broken through in the last few weeks and that she is 25 pounds (25-50th percentile) and 34 inches tall (50-75th percentile). No wonder that she is no longer amongst the smallest in her class and that she is growing out of her 18-month sized clothes! We were also assured that her penchant for "no", constant quest for independence, and valiant attempts to manipulate us are age-appropriate and normal. So we are settling in with a strong-willed 2-year-old, who is soaking up new words, songs, experiences like a sponge and melting our hearts daily. How frustrated can you remain with a little stinker as cute as this?

Brrrr

Cold weather has settled in for the end of February. Here's Jadyn bundled up for a stroller ride and frolic at the park with Mommy. It was sunny but brisk!

On Presidents' Day, Jadyn stopped in at the zoo to see the penguins, flamingos, gorillas, hippos, and giraffes. She also explored a play area for kids that she has never seen before, and she enjoyed crawling through a turtle shell there.

And here she is playing in her new kitchen before bedtime. Thanks so much, Grandpa Jim and Granny Pat!


As chilly as February can be, she has taken to going sans pants in the evenings. Not sure where she picked this up, because Mom and Dad have not been modeling this for her -- seriously, we haven't! But you've gotta love a girl with her own unique sense of style!

Two years ago today she was about 7 pounds and slept A LOT. Hard to believe that she was ever that small!

Happy Birthday, Jadyn!

Our little miracle is now 2! We had a fabulous birthday weekend with the birthday girl. The previous evening, we had been working on some butterfly party favors for her birthday party....

...so her first request of the day was to wear her butterfly shirt. Then we began her birthday in earnest by opening some gifts that had arrived in the mail.

Jadyn liked the Valentines' gorilla

and LOVED the '101 Things to Make and Do with Googly Eyes' craft book.

After a trip to the coffee shop, there was lots of time to play at home while Mom and Dad prepared for Jadyn's birthday party, set for the next morning. One of Jadyn's Christmas gifts, a kitchen set, arrived just days before her birthday, and she spends lots of time in her kitchen, rearranging all of her kitchen gear amongst the icebox, the sink, and the range. She likes to make eggs, waffles, and cookies in her kitchen, and she uses the salt and pepper shakers that came with the range to season all the food she cooks. Here she is with Daddy later that evening. She's gotten so tall, and she is still so cute!

The next morning we were up and at 'em, ready for some friends to come over to party with us. Jadyn wore a pretty new dress, and worked on some puzzles while we waited for guests to arrive. (She's gotten quite good at these 9-piece puzzles in the 2 weeks we've worked on them with her.)

Here's Jadyn reading books with Zoe

And enjoying the birthday song

And blowing out candles

And eating cake with Dominic

Jadyn likes her new farm animals puzzle from Dave -- as a piece fits into place, the animal makes its sound!

In this photo, Jadyn is happily eating a piece of chocolate that Cleo shared with her. If you look closely, you will see that she has the tell-tale smear on her upper lip and the back of her hand.

After walking up the street for dinner at Tutta Bella and then dashing home in the rain, Jadyn ended her birthday weekend with Caspar Babypants videos before snuggling into bed for the night. She has taken to sleeping on a book as a pillow -- we're hoping this foretells a life-long love of reading!

Happy Birthday, Little Miss J! We love you!

This Is Fun!

Jadyn is stringing words together in new and exciting ways each day. Last week, when she was counting, she invented her own number: "...sixteen...seventeen...eighteen...nineteen...tenteen..." She is a quick study of small vs. big, light vs. dark, dirty vs. clean, etc. She repeatedly reminds us that penguins, flamingos, hippos, giraffes, and peacocks live at the zoo (she remember all of these from a recent visit). She is very interested in using the salt shaker and pepper grinder (even on an empty plate -- she's still not making the connection that they flavor food). She is also singing a number of different songs, without prompting, and has even helped to create an original verse of "Wheels on the Bus": "Jadyn on the bus goes toot, toot, toot; toot, toot, toot; toot, toot, toot...." Jadyn has a huge fascination with the Metro buses we see around while commuting. Mom is teaching her to say "articulated bus" for those double-long buses with the accordion-like joint. She says it like "ta-tick-oo-late-uh" -- good stuff! She has also learned "see you later, alligator," probably from her classmates, and it sounds, well, sort of like that, but not really. It *is* super-cute, we assure you.

Here are a few recent photos.

Playing with a defunct cell phone and its ear bud

Wearing Mrs. Potato Head's earrings

Jadyn's idea of playing with her toys is spreading them everywhere and then jumping on the couch


Another 'puzzle night' gathering at one of Jenny's colleague's homes: Jadyn played in the cats' tunnel toy


Wearing her bike helmet, some bloomers that match one of her dresses, and a new cozy sweater, at the kitchen counter while Mommy prepares dinner

Enjoying the activities at the Kids Fair, including a live Caspar Babypants concert!




Maybe those 2-yr molars *are* about to break through.... Next post should have some birthday pictures -- check back soon! ;-)

Happy New Year!

Back at home after our long trip with family, even though she loved all the excitement and new experiences, Jadyn was super happy to get back into her usual routine. During her first day back at school, she told her teachers and classmates that she had been on an airplane as part of her vacation, and she reportedly grinned from ear to ear during outside play time.

The next day was a school and work holiday for everyone, so we hit our usual local coffeeshop. It was crisp but dry, and Jadyn couldn't wait to get in the backpack for the walk over, sporting her new monkey hat. Immediately, though, she looked a little sleepy. (Jet lag is hard on adults and kids alike!)



Once we arrived at our destination, she perked right up, as she had friends all around. She was content to hang out for more than an hour, probably close to a record for her. She now requests "scone" by name, because that's what she's been sharing with Mommy on these outings for more than a year now!

Dave and his iPhone are always huge hits!


Then on New Year's Eve, we hosted a small group of neighbors for New Year's fun. Jadyn and Cleo had their first impromptu sleepover, with Cleo bunking in a sleeping bag on the floor next to Jadyn's crib. Both little ladies got a pretty good night's sleep, and the New Year began with a waffle breakfast and artsy fun with colored pencils and stickers.




There were plenty of gifts back in Seattle, too, which we opened on New Year's Day.

Magnetic letters from MomMom and Granddaddy


MomMom and Granddaddy also gave Jadyn her own lotion, so she doesn't have to use Mommy's all the time anymore.

These pretty packages contained super fun presents that Jadyn never knew existed!


An ice cream play set!



A cookie play set, too! Thanks for these gifts, Uncle Jason, Aunt Crissy, and Bryanna!

She didn't waste a minute heading to the oven to put these in. (Rest assured that the oven is completely OFF here.)






Another much loved gift is a CD of the Jackson 5's greatest hits, another great gift from MomMom and Granddaddy. She requests it nearly nightly, and in general loves to dance. As you can tell, it's hard to catch her enthusiasm for grooving with a still photo.




Hope you are having a rocking new year so far! Jadyn surprises us nearly everyday with something she has never said before. For example, we heard her warn Cosmo just yesterday, after he jumped upon a bookshelf, "Cosmo, that's not safe!" There is little wonder where she learned that line, ha ha! Stay tuned for more events and adventures from the world according to Jadyn....