Highlights from Winter '14, Jadyn turns 5

This winter in Seattle was milder than the rest of the country's winter, for sure, and after our first Christmas season at home, we settled back into business as usual.  Sort of.  After the New Year rang in, one by one, we all got colds.  Jenny's escalated to bronchitis, and then Jeff had his hernia surgically repaired.  As could be expected, we hunkered down and limped along, and so there are fewer than usual pictures for winter.  Here are a few cute ones we did manage to take.

With a couple of friends on a Monday holiday morning spent at Woodland Park Zoo

Playing drums next door

Cute new sweater and hat!

Joseph enjoying Jadyn's new poncho

In case you can't tell, the kids get along remarkably well most of the time.  Joseph adores his big sister and tries to do nearly everything she does, even if he is clearly under-sized or under-capable for the task.  Jadyn can be an amazingly protective big sister, and we suspect that Jadyn has been a very positive influence on Joseph's love of books and art.

This winter we did watch more football than usual, with the Seahawks run to the Super Bowl and all.  Joseph learned to chant "Go Seahawks" with us, and he associates green and blue together as Seahawks colors.  ;-)

On the morning of Jadyn's birthday party, the kids woke to some wet snow that had fallen overnight.  They quickly dressed for making a snowman.  Unfortunately, there wasn't really enough snow for the endeavor, the temperature increased above freezing quickly, and the snowman never got completed or photographed.  No matter!  The kids had fun.

 

Jadyn's 5th birthday party was at the Inflatable Fun Zone at Arena Sports in Magnuson Park.  Taking pictures of kids who are jumping up and down on "bouncy" equipment is challenging to say the least!

 

A good time was had by all, and everyone loved the cake, made to Miss Jadyn's specifications by Mommy with some help from Jadyn herself.  One of the best parts of all the February birthdays we celebrated this year is that Joseph picked up the Happy Birthday song quickly, and he loves shouting it out frequently, especially when we mention anything that has to do with a birthday.  Happy Birthday, strong, independent, smart, and sweet Little Miss J!  We all love you so, so much!

Holidays Catch-Up, Part 2

This year we spent Christmas in Seattle, our first with the kids.  We got a Christmas tree, and one evening we all pitched in to decorate it.

Jeff's parents came out to visit us for about a week at Christmas-time, and the kids loved all the extra attention from their grandparents.  Their presence definitely helped make the holiday feel special!

While we don't make a big fuss about Santa, Jadyn picked up quite a bit of Santa information at school from her friends and just from living and breathing in the U.S.  She had Joseph saying "Santa" before the big day.  They both were excited about Christmas morning.  Here's Joseph brushing his teeth on Christmas Eve, and Jadyn reading a note from Santa first thing on Christmas morning.

There were many, many presents to open, and it turned into an all-day affair, with breaks for coffee (for the adults), a big brunch, and Joseph's nap.  Here are a few photos of the kids opening gifts and playing with new toys.

The new set of play-doh was a huge hit for both kids.  They played well on their own with this for a good 45 minutes to an hour after all the gifts had been opened.  At bed time, they both looked a little zombie-ish, staring at the TV, Joseph in a new set of pjs, and Jadyn in her new robe.

The fun continued in the ensuing days, with puzzles and playing in Jadyn's new rain boots.

We had great fun all Christmas week, including a trip to Wild Lights at the Zoo with our dear friend and neighbor Cleo -- what a cute photo with the Otter!

And just before we bid farewell to 2013, Joseph got his first haircut.  It was time.  His curls were so cute -- for about 12 hours after a fresh washing, and then they started to look pretty shaggy.  He didn't cry at all, but he didn't really sit still for it, either.  Jenny took Jadyn and Joseph for trim together, so they both began the new year lookin' sharp!

Hope your 2014 is off to a great start!  We're heading into birthday season, so stay tuned for more fun photos, coming soon.

Holidays Catch-Up, Part 1

We are very behind in updating everyone with our escapades!

Thanksgiving was spent as usual, in Denver with friends.  Joseph enjoyed the sandbox outside, and Jadyn and her Denver friend Maxine were pretty inseparable.  Below you'll find them doing a craft project and dressed up for all the company on Thanksgiving Day.

 

Per usual, the 19.5 month old was not interested in napping or sleeping on anyone else's schedule, and he got a head cold to boot.  He was happy, though, to nap in Mommy's arms or to sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed at night.  That was a fun habit to break when we returned!

Here is Joseph fully awake and rested.  And the next day we road-tripped to Boulder.  After lunch out and a stint at a park, we enjoyed the view, briefly, from Flagstaff mountain.

A great time was had by all, and we are grateful to our hosts Joe and Deva who put up with our chaos every year.  Hopefully they will make a trip to Seattle to see us in 2014.

Back at home, you can see Jadyn is hard at work building cities and helping in the kitchen.

 

Just after Thanksgiving she started playing soccer in a Lil' Kickers class, which she thoroughly enjoys.  She also LOVED helping decorate the house for Christmas.  For the first year in our new house, and only the second Christmas Jeff and Jenny have ever spent in Seattle since moving there in the mid-90's, it was a real treat to be able to get all kinds of Christmas decor out of boxes and enjoy the season at home.

What is Joseph up to in late 2013?  His interest in books is incredible.  He loves paging through books on his own, and he often brings books to us so we can read to him -- he will do this at most any time of the day, if he wants to be read to.  Before bedtime, he sits through 4 or 5 books easily.

Shortly after returning from our Thanksgiving trip, he decided it was time to climb out of his crib, which began two difficult weeks of trying to keep him in his bed at bedtime and overnight.  Oh, life with a precocious toddler!  Here is his crib freshly converted to a toddler bed.

And there is no shortage of walks outside, even in the gray, cool weather.  Jadyn looks so grown up, posing by this tree that we walk past on our Saturday morning pilgrimage to Lighthouse Roasters coffee shop.  And while the kids do squabble now and then, they really do get along quite well most of the time.  Joseph adores his big sister, and we think that Jadyn is really starting to appreciate the playmate that is always there for her.

Christmas pictures are coming next!

Fall Fun

The days have been getting shorter and colder.  What's new with us?  Well….

Joseph turned 18 months in early October, and he transitioned to the next toddler room at school.  It took him a couple of weeks to feel at home there, but it has been a very positive change.  His teachers have noticed his interest in and skills with kicking and throwing balls outside on the playground.  They also tell us he really likes all the art activities they do and that he can stay engaged with the activity for 10-15 minutes, which is apparently a long time for a child his age.  Interesting!  We've noticed that the recurring episodes of diarrhea have gone on hiatus, and he has much less diaper rash, too.  (It's the same food in all classrooms as school, so either the older kids have given him fewer GI bugs or his system has matured in some way!)  He seems to have growth spurts that are noticeable if you look at the percentiles the doctor's office gives for his length and weight, but overall he was about 25th percentile at 31.5 inches tall and 23 pounds at his 18-month appointment.  This fall, Joseph has become a better sleeper, and occasionally there are some nights that the parents are woken only by the cats.  Wow, what a difference better sleep makes!

Lately, Jadyn is very into reading, writing, drawing, crafts, active play, dancing, gymnastics, and watching videos of all kinds.  Going to the library and reading books is a huge hit in our house.  Jadyn's skills have taken off and she is reading books all by herself.  One day in early October she surprised us all by pulling The Giving Tree off the shelf and reading the whole thing out loud.

She also reads many books to her brother.  When he is in the right mood he will sit next to her for the duration.

Other times, he prefers to page through books on his own, looking for familiar things.  For awhile, he was hyper-focused on finding ducks -- he would bring us on every book we have with a duck in it and point at them emphatically and scream, "DUCK!"  Then his fixation was the moon.  Now he's into naming all kinds of animals, especially elephants, and all kinds of motorized vehicles, especially trucks, in our home library.

Joseph likes to play with various items from the kitchen: the beaters from the hand-held mixer, plastic storage containers, and here, you see him with a small electronic juicer.  This thing can keep him busy for 10-15 minutes straight.

 

The kids still play in the small-sized kitchen set they have (though Jadyn would prefer to cook with Mom and Dad in the real kitchen).  Sometimes they cook us a whole meal and serve it at the table for us.  Other times they play hide-and-seek in the play refrigerator.  Jadyn still fits inside!  And Joseph loves "discovering" her there, though it's not much of a shocker, because he watches her get into position.

 

And what would a baby blogpost be without the requisite playing-at-the-park photos?  Joseph loves swings as much as Jadyn does.

Also this fall, we bid a final farewell to Jenny's condo.  Jadyn was pretty sad about new people taking ownership of what she still considers a home to her, so we visited it often during the time it was on the market.  Here she is enjoying the front steps one last time on a sunny day.

With cooler weather, the kids are rediscovering toys they haven't played with in awhile, and as kids do, they come up with interesting games to play.  I'm not sure where this "train" was going, but she had fun putting it together.

Halloween was great fun, and we had several dress rehearsals, some even with make-up!  These photos turned out nicer than any of the ones we took on Halloween night.

 

We've also enjoyed the zoo this fall, and Jadyn is finally old enough to "do" pretty much the whole thing.  She requests certain animals to see, and later at home, with a map, she circles all the exhibits we visited.  Joseph can now name some of the animals he sees, play on the tractor in the Family Farm area, and ride on the carousel with his big sister.  He tries to walk everywhere like his big sister, but a couple of hours of all that stimulation wears him out.

 

 

Thanks to Grandma Jeanne for the carousel rides pass!

Our next post should include Thanksgiving photos.  Hope you enjoy the rest of the fall!