Jessie turns 2!

Jessie turned 2 on April 17th, 2010.

We celebrated her Birthday with some friends at the little gym. I think she enjoyed running around with her friends. My friends were nice enough to snap some pictures. Here is a link to Jennifer's Nathan's will be coming soon

http://picasaweb.google.com/jodoin/JessieBDay41710?feat=directlink

Jessie is talking a bunch these days. She is becoming quite a communicator. She sometimes acts like a 2 yr old, but for the most part she is very sweet. Jessie adores her sister, she follows her around and mimics what her big sister is doing. She always makes sure that Jamie has what she has, she's very giving.

We adore her more everyday. Happy Birthday Jessie!

That's my big girl!

Jamie has a great spirit for adventure. I love that about her. This weekend our friend Nathan treated us to jumping and indoor sky diving for his Birthday. Kids where invited and I knew Jamie would love it. Jamie had a great time, we all did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k-It8x7bLk

It's Spring!

Jessie's first haircut!

Season of pleasant weather, pretty blooms.. and allergies. I am so far behind on this blog it's not even funny. I think part of the reason is I feel like I need to have pictures to go along with the story.. so if I don't have pictures than I tend not to post. It is my spring time resolution to get more pictures!

The kids and what they've been up to.. Jamie: Jamie is a ball full of energy as always. School is going well, she has lots of friends and evidently has displayed a lot of leadership skills (that's good and bad). We have been working on math flash cards because it all goes so fast it's hard to keep up (especially since mom and daughter are pretty tired by end of day). Yesterday Jamie came home with sheets of multiplication flash cards.. My mouth dropped.. we're in first grade.. will we be learning calculus next year? ( I shouldn't joke, they just might). Anyway.. Jamie feels like it might be time to take a break from soccer in favor of an art class. I guess I'll let her make that call. Jamie also does Yoga and loves it! We recently passed a the next level in swim class and we are now working on back stoke, exciting! Jamie is approaching 7 this Summer and is getting taller. She is a great big sister (90% of the time)

This winter Jamie put on skis for the first time. No Fear! Her ski instructor was such a cool guy and quickly acclimated to the spirit of Jamie. He was able to recognize that you can't control her but you can steer her. She is a great little skier and has no qualms about hitting the blue diamond slopes. (There is still much to learn though)

Jessie: Jessie of course is not a thing like her sister. Though, she just adores her sister and looks for her and wants to be around her often. Jessie is a little mama. Jessie is always telling Jamie not to forget her backpack, sit down and eat, sit down and let me brush your hair, go to bed.. etc. It cracks us up. She asks Jamie if she would like a drink and hands her things she knows she would like. She is super sweet. Her talking has just taken off.. I can't believe all the things she says (more on that for her 2 yr post). Jessie is a happy independent little kid. She does way more things for her self than Jamie ever cared to. She eats with silverware no problem, handles a regular cup with ease, and says please and thank you for everything (like I said.. not at all like her sister ; )

more pictures coming soon... (ish)

Lil' Sharkie

Well, I don't know if anyone remembers my post from July, but in one of them I talked about seeing the dentist. Jamie's dentist warned me that the way her teeth where growing in, they wouldn't necessarily push the baby teeth out of the way. (kind of like a shark) A couple of days ago Jamie says "look mom, I have a tooth coming in". I look in her mouth and sure enough.. there is her adult tooth parked behind the baby, with no wiggly baby teeth in sight. (big sigh for me)

So, last night we go to see the dentist and he confirms the baby tooth isn't going to come out on its own. I asked Jamie if she's ready for the tooth fairy to pay a visit and she nods. So with a little Nitrous Oxide and Novocaine.. out came Jamie's baby tooth. She was completely un-traumatized and happy to have her tooth out to look at.

I was sad for a moment that Jamie would miss the right of passage for kids to have wiggly teeth.. but we still have many more teeth to go, so hopefully the rest will do what they are supposed to.

P.S the tooth fairy came and she was pretty happy about it

Jessie turns 18 months

Last Saturday (the 17th) Jessie turned 18 months. Not really sure what to say about it.. it's hard to see the changes when you see her everyday. She had her Dr. appointment. I don't have the data (Jeff took her) but she was 75-90 for height, 50 for weight and I think 50 for head. I think that's pretty standard for her, though I think she's a little tall on this round.

I think she has a couple more hairs on her head... but we still have a long way to go.

Talking? Everyday she knows a new word and chooses more and more to use words instead of grunts. I think it's really going to pick up pace now. She talks incessantly in what sounds like Chinese. It's kind of cute. Though, I'm sure when I have Jamie and her talking at me non stop, it may not be so cute.

some captured momments

Jamie reading to Jessie.

When all you have is your phone..... Jessie was cracking me up running around with a chicken in her mouth.

Long Weekend

Well, our weekend was action packed. I'm pretty sure they all are and I usually don't bother to blog about it, but today I will. Ok, so I'm not going to go over every detail of who I hung out with or where I ate but I'll hit some highlights.

Saturday Jamie had a play date at our house. I think it went ok, we took them too the park when I thought they could use some get out of the house time. Jamie wowed me on the monkey bars. It wasn't that long ago that she couldn't do it all and now she is quite good.

Sunday we took the kids to Vasona park to ride the train. Both kids enjoyed themselves. I don't think Jessie really understood she was on a train, but she is always up for a ride outside.

While we where at vasona it reminded me how much I enjoyed our bike rides through the park, which inspired me... So, while Jessie napped I took Jamie shopping for a ride a long bike. It is a bike for kids that attaches to the parent bike. Jamie loved it (to my surprise). I feel more comfortable with Jeff riding the parent bike, but it fits best on mine. hmm..

When we where at the bike shop we happened to be next to the dive shop so we stopped in. We wanted to get Jamie snorkel gear for our upcoming trip over winter break, so we picked some up. Later that day we all went to swim at my moms so Jamie could try out her snorkel gear. It couldn't have gone much better. She had a lot of fun and wasn't at all detoured when she would swallow some water. Every time we swim at my mom's she gets much more comfortable with the pool. She's doing a great job swimming everywhere.

Monday the girls and I took the training wheel off of Jamie's bike. For some reason Jessie was pretty insistent that she take part in this (see picture below). I also took the pedals off her bike. The whole ordeal of teaching Jamie how to ride a bike seemed overwhelming. Especially when she hasn't ridden it that much. So, I figure I'd lower the seat, take the pedals off and let her push herself a long and practice balancing. I think it was a good idea. After she seems to have gotten that down, I'll put back on the pedals and give that a try.

The weekend was busy as always, didn't even get to the laundry...

p.s Happy Anniversary Jeffrey! 8 years....

Family Picture

We finally took a family picture. I've been wanting one with all four of us for a long time. (I borrowed this picture from the site that let's you buy more, that's why it has a water mark on it.)

Testing 1.. 2... 3..

I was giving the new phone's camera a test this weekend... I was then planning on downloading the pics directly to my blog. Well, I think technology hates me.. Anyway, I did it the long way and here are a couple pics I took.

p.s Jessie is laughing not crying

forgot to mention...

Jessie's favorite words are ok, and no. Evidently she also says not ok.

Jessie is ...one year plus 4 months... 16 months!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged. It's hard when you're in the thick of it to notice new things.

So, what is Jessie doing now? Well, she is running around quite proficiently. She still likes to sing and does that daily. In the past she would use a word and then who knows if you will ever hear it again. For the most part that is still true but she is using her words with more frequency now. She also seems to be taking directives better now. For example, sit down to drink your milk. Some words that she uses... banana, apple, Stella (her friend in class), bye-bye, hello, hi, ba ba (cup), ma (more), mil (milk), na na (night night), 1-2-3 (more on that later) Well.. we're getting there, more every day. She blows kisses, which I think is cute.

Jessie is doing well in her class. I think she thinks she is one of the teachers. She pats the other kids to try and get them to nap. She returns any dropped blankets or binkies to their rightful owner. She wipes down all the toys. She also takes good care of her babies (toys). Jessie will be going on to the next class at the end of this month. She can feed herself (sort of), talks a little, does role play (which is supposed to be good for her age). I forget all the criteria... but she's ready.

How, could I forget... she loves to go outside! She stands at the door like a dog and makes noises that she wants to go out (all the time).

She also loves to swim! I can not believe how much she likes to swim. All the parents in her swim class are jealous. She doesn't really kick or do her arms to much, but she loves to float on her back (rare) and she loves to go under water. In class they say.. 1-2-3 big breath eyes in and then they dunk them. Jessie gladly puts her own face in the water. Yesterday we where at my moms pool and she kept saying, ma ma (more more) un-oo-ee (1-2-3). It was a hoot, she couldn't get enough. Jamie was really coming into her own too. She was getting comfortable in the deep end and swam the width of the pool. We have two little fishes.

Jamie starts first grade in 2 weeks. On top of her regular curriculum of writing, reading, history, math, drama, music, art, and PE.. they will also be adding computers and spanish. We'll see how it goes!

Fireworks!

I think I have pretty much seen fireworks every year since I was little. I look forward to it every year and it's kind of a big deal for me. So, this year would be no different. For the second year in a row we saw fireworks in cupertino. It's a good environment for little kids. We had a great time and even though it was way past there bed time the girls stayed in good spirits. Jamie jumped up and down during the fireworks and Jessie clapped and oohed and ahhed with me. When the finally came Jessie was giggling. They loved it!

Smartie Pants

Is it to soon for my kid to be surpassing my knowledge? ; ) I think I really underestimate Jamie sometimes. Maybe I already mentioned this one, but awhile ago Jamie and I where looking at a toy she got. It was a toy of Amelia Earhart. I was trying to explain to Jamie who she was. I started saying she was the first women to .... stalling to make sure I get my facts right. Jamie then says, she was the first women to fly solo across the Atlantic. (my reply) Right, what you said. Well, just the other day Jamie and I where looking at the different state quarters and we're looking at Mt. Rushmore. I'm trying to think how to explain it. Jamie then says, oh, I know these presidents. These are the presidents that the artist Borglum carved in to the mountain. (my reply) Uhhh.. right, what you said, and this is just Kindergarten, no telling how she will school me in first grade.

banana?

Every once in awhile I hear utterances from Jessie that sound a lot like specific words. She seems so close to talking, but she won't do it on command, only when she feels like it. She loves signing too, you can tell when she is signing row row your boat, you can tell when she is signing her ABCs and this morning I heard her sing ee-I-ee-I-oh. Anyway.. I'm never sure where she is going with her language, she seems to have a lot to say about something. However, this morning she used a word on purpose to communicate with me, which made me very excited! We where in the kitchen this morning and I was packing up lunches for the day, Jessie came over to me and reached to be lifted up. I picked her up and she asked banana? It was so clear.. I expected it to come out nana..but she asked banana? I asked her, do you want a banana? She nodded yes vigorously. Sadly, we had just run out. It was really neat though for me to have a 2 sided communication with her. I guess I'm easy to impress ; )

We have a new Dentist!

I was taking Jamie to a pediatric dentist that I loved, but I had to let him go because he wasn't in network with Jeff's insurance. It took me about a year but I finnaly found a pediatric dentist that is on our plan. Yesterday was our first appointment with him. He is great! He is so very nice and really took time with us and asked us lots of questions to get a picture of our lives. Jamie left happy (which she doesn't usually deal well with dentist appointment). No cavities, yeah! Jamie even brushed and flossed last night and this morning with no complaints (for the first time ever) (usually I have to hog tie her).

Jessie had her first dentist appointment. She was not so excited but it was good. I learned that she is not predisposed to having cavities. Some kids can have up to 8 by the time they are 2, if they have this issue.

I also learned that Jamie's adult teeth are coming from the side instead of from below (kind of like a shark) so she made need help getting her teeth out once they become loose. Kind of strange, huh?

Anyway... I highly recommend him!! Yahya H Radwan DDS INC

Cute (isms)

Yesterday Jessie and I ran some errands in Target. Jessie sat in the front of the cart and I handed her the items and she threw them in to the basket of the cart. It was very cute and we exchanged high fives after each item.

I had a couple of items... mommy brain has set in and I can't remember at the moment. I'll add more when I remember.

On a side note... Jessie is mimicking more word sounds, she will be talking in no time.

Officially Walking!

I think I can say now that Jessie is officially walking. For the past few weeks she has been able to take a couple steps, but nowwww, she walks all day. She is so proud of herself and of course she is impossible to hold because she wants to go down and walk. I'm trying to get her used to shoes because most place aren't very good for bare little feet. I can tell though, that switching her back and forth between shoes and bare feet throws her off a little. I'm sure she will get it in no time. Sometimes she holds her hand out for you to hold her hand it's cute, but she does it because she can walk faster that way. Not so cute.. sometimes she doesn't want to walk the direction you want her too and she throws a big fit about it.

Little Organizer

Lately I've been quite tickled with Jessie's sense of organization. For example, yesterday she pulled some items off the entertainment center. I figured her only intention was to throw them off the entertainment center. However, I gave her a second and she placed them all back in a neat little row. On other occasions she takes out leggos from the box just for the joy of putting them away. Jessie went in to Jamie's room and put all the blocks away that Jamie had laying around. I feel like tying an apron to her and handing her a broom and dust pan (just kidding). It's not just cleaning up though, you can tell that she is trying to group things. She picks up a crayon in Jamie's room and she looks to grab more of the same and she just stands there with a handful of crayons. This morning, I had one of her nail clippers sitting on the diaper changing dresser, she noticed a second one had fallen off (some time ago) and she picks it up and placed it with the one that was sitting on top. I showed how pleased I was and she seemed quite pleased too. I hope it lasts (but not in an OCD way or anything). I think Jamie went through a phase like that.

Daddy's little girl

I've heard of such a thing, but I never expected to experience it. Afterall I carried them, I birthed them, I nursed them and I get up when they cry in the middle of the night. I've suspected this might be the case, but felt it was pretty well confirmed as I watched Jeff carrying Jessie and she smiled at me from over his shoulder. When he comes home she is eager to greet him. When he leaves she makes sure to get her good bye hug. They really seem to get each other. I witnessed them playing quite contently discussing the finer points of Legos. He would build something and she would take it apart. Not in a demolition sort of way but a meticulous disconnect of each piece. Jeff is also able to sooth her, sometimes even better than me. Yep, it's hard to say... though I'm very happy for them... she is her Daddy's girl.

Jessie's 1 yr Dr. Appt.

Well, we have a healthy baby. She was very cute with the dr. Unfortunately, our favorite nurse was to busy to do the shots. Jessie was pretty unhappy with the experience and cried. She calmed down after I hugged her though. She watched the nurse walk out with big tears rolling down her cheeks. When we left she fell asleep in the car. I guess it was exhausting, that and the fact that she woke up at 6:30 in the morning.

Drum roll please.... and the stats are.....30 in. tall (75-90%) 46.4 head circumference (75-90%) and weight was 21 lbs and 11oz (50-75%).