Memorial Day Weekend in MI

For Memorial Day weekend, we stretched it a day longer and flew to MI on Friday for a wedding weekend at Granny Pat and Grandpa Jim's.  They renewed their wedding vows in style and with a big party.  Everyone had such a good time!  The kids were pretty good with all the flying and driving, and it was so nice to see so much family all at once.

Squeezing into the trunk of the rental car -- for fun!

Saturday was the party day....

Jadyn is a dancing machine!

Enjoying some fun dress up party clothes 

We were sure (well, Mommy was sure) that Joseph would take his first steps without a helping hand on this trip, but it was not to be.  Too many people there to play with and to hold him and carry him!  Plus he is such a good crawler -- his incentive to change his mode of locomotion is low.

 

The kids stayed up late and didn't sleep in like they should, so they were pretty tired.  Joseph took a good nap each day.  But every chance he got, he lobbied for a ride in one of the Gators.  He loved it!

Snoozing on Mommy

A natural at the wheel!

Jadyn and Daddy also very much enjoyed tooling around in a Gator.  (Mommy prefers riding in them when it is NOT hayfever season.)

Jadyn found time to do some crafts in Granny Pat's craft room.  Auntie Julie was a great help with these crafting projects.

And just like that, we were back home for dinner and the usual bedtime routine on Monday night.

We are grateful for the loving family that makes these fun gatherings happen.  Maybe the next one will be in Seattle at our newly renovated home.  Wouldn't that be fun?!?!

Spring in Seattle

Honestly, we've been quite busy, pretty tired, and too often under the weather to have taken LOTS of pictures over the last couple of months.  But we have taken photos occasionally, and so we can share a few from this spring in Seattle.

Finding a seat in a storage container

Playing dress up as a Viking

Cool dude in sunglasses

Joseph loves to eat!

These were taken on Mother's Day, at a playground near Green Lake.   We walked all the way around the lake (about 3 miles) as a family -- a first in a very long time for all of us.  From the photos it might look like we were the only family at the playground, but that was definitely not the case.

Waiting to go down the slide

I'm such a good climber!

Still loving time on a swing

I can swing by myself now!

It's so hard to reach the chains
on these big bucket swings!

She's so good on her skuut bike
now that we need to get her
a pedal bike this summer!

Our next post will include photos from our Memorial Day weekend trip.  Stay tuned!

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!