Hot Fun in the Summertime

Wow! Has it really been over 2 months since I last posted?? So sorry! As you know, life has been pretty crazy these days with our future being very unsettled until recently. We have, however been able to spend lots of time outside enjoying the beautiful Colorado summer. This summer seems to be the nicest we've had since living here, and the kids have been loving it! We enjoy different parks during the day, and often get to go for a family walk or find another park in the evening. We've also been able to have playgroup at our house every Thursday to take advantage of the large backyard. One day Truett and Brecken picked an opportune time while both moms were busy indoors, to take a dip in the pool. They had fun bringing every toy they saw into the pool with them.

Last weekend we went to visit my Aunt Julie and Truett had his first and hopefully last experience with calling the ambulance without our knowledge. To reinforce his behavior, he was given several stickers and a cool "Junior Firefighter" tattoo. He feels like pretty hot stuff.

Jayne is getting stronger and more active every day. Each day I think she's about to start crawling, but she still hasn't acheived forward motion. She can do push ups, rock back and forth on her knees, move sideways and backwards, and can sit up on her own from a laying down position.

She's really good at scooting on her back, too, which often leaves her hair in a rats nest when she gets up from a nap. I just have to laugh.
Jayne's also getting much more expression...the one below is one of her favorites.

Eating and being merry

Here are a couple of fun videos from last week. A week ago, Jayne started eating rice cereal. We have captured her first attempt at real food. It was a slow go at first, but she's gotten the hang of it and is a great little eater now.

Truett once again wanted to keep Jayne happy during dinner prep. I just love these times.

Happy Birthday Truett

This has been a fun week for Truett. He's not really sure what a birthday is, but he's sure he likes it. We decided we'd give him his big present a couple days early since the weather was supposed to be bad on his actual birthday. He got a tricycle, which he calls his "car", and he likes trying to figure it out. Here's a video of his first try.

On his birthday, we met some friends, the Paynes, at McDonalds for his favorite, chicken mcnuggets, then headed over to their house for cake.

Apparently his favorite gift was his Thomas the Train set. He can usually be found walking around this train table, pushing his little engines and box cars. He has slept with Thomas in his hand for the past two nights, and carries him around wherever he goes.

Below is a fun video of Jayne. She's so happy most of the time!

Love

This is how I like life to be while I'm cooking dinner.

After a 2 week war with the common cold and a trip to Pagosa Springs, we are now all healthy again and back to our active lives. Today we put Truett on his little bike for the first time. Both legs are about 1/2 inch too short, but he had fun getting on it, anyway, and trying to pedal. We decided after today that we will be getting him a tricycle for his birthday (nobody tell).

Jayne is starting to enjoy the outdoors, too, now that she's not bundled as much as before. I can't wait for the warm days soon to come when we can take some long stroller walks with the kids.

Unfortunately, most of our time is spent indoors playing. I am so thankful that the kids enjoy each other, even though Jayne doesn't interact much. Below is a video of Truett just hanging out it Jayne's crib...she loves it when he jumps around and makes the bed bounce. Please no lectures on jumping on the bed....try spending a winter in Fraser, first.

Here's Jayne just minding her own business, while Truett showered her with his blanket and toys.

Yesterday, Truett discovered that he could twirl strings. Evidently his tongue is a very important part in this skill.

Balmy 20 Degrees

Everything is relative, I guess. Today was sunny and somewhat warm on the back porch (the thermometer read 20 degrees). My Colorado born boy couldn't get enough of the outdoors this balmy afternoon.

Jayne, on the other hand, hasn't really experienced the outdoors in her lifetime, so she is quite content in her little gym on the floor.

Sibling Fun

Just thought you'd want to see some of what the kids enjoy doing these days. Jayne pretty much enjoys anything. She's really starting to focus on things and will reach out to touch the toys on her mobiles. She really likes this chair because she can sit upright and see everything that's going on.

She really likes it when Truett comes around. He makes her smile more than anyone else in the family.
Here is a picture of him trying to put his fist in her mouth...I guess he figures, if she likes hers so much, surely she will like his, too. I'm sure a good mother would stop it, but she thinks it's quite fun!
Truett can often be found wearing a hat. I think he's impressed that he can put it on himself, so anytime he finds one lying around, he likes to wear it awhile. He also enjoys playing with his football. He can't really throw or catch it, but he likes it nonetheless.

Time Lapse Camera

You remember in science class when you would watch things quickly grow by using the time-lapse camera? Well , you get to experience that again. I realized (after a few verbal promptings) that I haven't updated this blog in 4 month. So Truett's going to look a little older and we now have Jayne, who's almost 3 months old! Instead of trying to catch up on the past 4 months, I'm just going to let you know what's going on now.

We welcomed Jayne to the family on Nov. 18th and she was warmly greeted by her brother Truett when we brought her home on the 20th. He still adores her and can't wait until she's old enough to actually play with him. He takes every opportunity he can to lay beside her or show her her toys in her little gym.

She is such a laid back baby...rarely cries and is more than happy to be toted around from place to place.

She is currently in the spastic phase of baby, where she's trying to figure out how her arms and legs move. She is pretty fun to watch when she really gets going.

Then there's Truett. I'm starting to think spastic is not a phase for him, but a way of life. In December a new Rec Center was built a few miles from our home, so we spend lots of snowy days indoors splashing around. Truett has no fear and would stay there for hours if I would let him.

In fact, a couple weeks ago, he came to me all ready to go (see picture below) and asked if we could go "wee", which means swimming.

Another day he thought it would be fun to walk in Dad's snow boots. He never successfully moved his feet, but it made a cute picture.

As you can see, my life is very easy right now. I pretty much just sit around eating bon-bons. But next time I want to take a break from that, I'll try to put up some more frequent posts.