A fun weekend playdate

This past weekend, despite the threat of snow in some parts of the Bay Area, we were able to have an outdoor playdate with Isabella and Benjamin. Since snow did hit parts of SF very lightly and briefly, it was a bit chilly. But, the kids being kids did not seem to notice or mind.

Jamison got to try out her ball pit for the first time and happily played with the balls for a good chunk of the afternoon.



Jessica and Isabella served a picnic for everyone.



Everyone had fun playing at the sand table.



And, they all enjoyed jumping on the trampoline.

At the end of the afternoon, Jessica declared she wanted more playdates!

Jessica perfects her moves on the trampoline

With the nice weather, we have been playing outside more and more. Jessica has been perfecting her trampoline moves.

Jamison week 34

Once again, Jamison was very smiley this week.



She loves playing with her toys and likes digging in her buckets to find the perfect one.



She's become very particular about what she plays with. We've found her buried in her toy bucket multiple times, which is typically the result of digging for just the right toy.



She's also thinking about crawling. She gets up on all fours and rocks back and forth. But, so far, no forward movement. She usually gets frustrated and cries, rolls over, and gets distracted (like in this video by her sister).

She even practices her crawling in the middle of the night. She now wakes up multiple times because she puts herself into a crawling position and does not like it. We normally find her asleep, but whimpering / crying until we flip her over.

School Photos 2010/2011

Both Jessica and Jamison took school photos this school year. Jessica took her photo back in October 2010.



Jamison took her photo in February 2011.

Jamison week 33

This week, Jamison continued to want to stand in her walk-around toy. She's not doing laps just yet, but she is taking a few steps around the table.



She is also teething quite a bit and enjoys getting her hands on any toy possible so that she can chew on it.



Valentine's Day wasn't a great day for Jamison. She went back to the doctor because she had been fussy all weekend and sure enough the antibiotic did not get rid of her ear infection. So, she had to have two shots in her legs, which proved to be very painful. Depite that, Jamison still managed to smile in the afternoon. I guess it is because she loves searching through her toy baskets for the perfect toy.



And, this week marked another accomplishment. I walked in to Jamison's bedroom to find that she had sat up in the crib (while I had put her on her back). I guess it is time to lower the crib!

Freya's 4th Birthday Party

This past weekend, we took Jessica and Jamison to Jessica's friend's 4th birthday party at a ceramic studio near our house. Jessica chose a mermaid to paint.



Here is her masterpiece.



She also got her face painted.

a trip to the zoo

This past weekend, we let Jessica decide what she wanted to do for a Saturday family activity. She said that she loved going to the zoo, so off we want after dance class. When we got there, she wanted to go on the carousel first. She took a spin on the horses while Jamison watched.





Next, Jessica wanted to see the sheep and goats at the animal farm. Jamison and Jessica sat on a saddle together.



Jamison also practiced sitting by herself.



The zoo's seal was out of the water for the first time in ages. He's kind of cute!



It's evidently not a trip to the zoo if we don't stop at the park. Both of the girls had fun swinging on the swings.

Jessica at dance class

This past weekend, we took some pictures of Jessica at her ballet / tap class. Half the time, she isn't paying attention to the teacher because she likes to gaze at herself in the mirror.



Then, sometimes, she chooses to "dance".

Jamison week 32

Despite both pink eye and an ear infection (one that never seemed to go away really), Jamison was still a super happy baby this week.



She is sitting up all on her own now for long periods of time. The boppy is no longer needed for support.



In this video, Jamison demonstrates her superior balance skills.

She has also started to get up on all fours recently, although she isn't quite sure what to do and still doesn't like this position all that much. We find her practicing these baby acrobatics in the middle of the night and she ends up whimpering until we go and rescue her.



Jamison is teething, so all of her toys go into to her mouth.





She even tried to mouth the doorknob on her play house evidently. I think she realized that wasn't a really good option and was trying to tell me to get her another toy.

Jamison has also been practicing standing at the family room coffee table. She can now hold herself up for a bit of time as long as she slouches on the table.




We've also brought out the walk-around toy so that she can practice taking steps. She hasn't figured it out yet, but after playing for a few minutes on the piano, Jim and I now remember how annoying that toy was the first time around.

Valentine's Portrait-- Jessica 3.5 years, Jamison 7 months

Here are some Valentine's portraits that we took of the girls.

fun in the sun

This weekend, we had great weather. Since Jamison and I could not leave the house, we decided to enjoy the weather in the backyard. Jessica had tons of fun jumping on her trampoline.

Jamison and Jessica had fun swinging with each other too.

Princess Party at Jessica's Preschool

As part of Jessica's preschool's auction, we co-hosted a princess party for Jessica and some of her friends at her preschool. It was a dinner, movie, crafts, and dress-up party. Unfortunately, since I had pink eye, I was unable to go and Princess Daddy had to go in my place.

The party started off by reading princess books.



Then, it was on to dinner of pizza, fruit, and juice,



After dinner, it was time for princess cupcakes, which Princess Daddy slaved away all day on, and princess foam crafts.



And, then, it was time for the showing of Cinderella. All the girls gathered around to watch the movie.



Jim even set up a princess portrait area, which quickly became the focus as the girls wandered away from the movie rather quickly.




They made their way back for the popcorn snack before it was time to head home.

Jessica drums at school

Jessica's school brought in a drumming teacher today for a demonstration and the kids were allowed to play the instruments, etc. Jessica must have really enjoyed playing the blue drums because I heard all about it in the car today (when the typcial answer to "What did you do at school today?" is "nothing").

Jamison week 31

Jamison was all smiles again this week.



She is getting ready for Valentine's Day and had fun modeling one of her Valentine's Day outfits.





Jamison seems to like to play with as many toys as possible. I guess you can never have too many toys.



After bathtime the other night, Jessica decided that Jamison needed her hair dried plus lipstick. Jamison played along quite well.



Recently, Jamison has started to take more of an interest in feeding herself. She's had cheerios, peas, and cheese this week. It takes her a while, but she seems to enjoy it.

And, I should say that we are happy to have our clean-up crew (aka Mousse and Duke) ready and willing to eat the mess that Jamison provides. The floor is always spotless with them around.

This week had another big event as Jamison also started to get her first tooth (one of the front bottom ones). It hasn't come in all the way yet, but plan to say goodbye to those gummy smiles.