Well, we had the best of intentions to get this blog posted right on time, but for about a week now we have been plagued by technical difficulties. Passover pun not intended! We lost many pictures and so pardon some holes in the storytelling, namely Passover. Thanks for bearing with us and checking in to see our sweet littles! Each day is so full of fun and friendship for these two, who really are besties!
And of course the outtakes..
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| Jonah took this picture of Tessa! I love it! |
Growth: Jonah weighs in at 32# and Tessa 28#. They're close in numbers, but very different in body type at this point. Jonah is skinny and petite and pointy, while Tessa has some wonderfully huggable curves.
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| Our little dancer, showing off those lovely stems |
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| Our huggable hugger hugging the polar bear |
Sleep: There has been no major change in their schedule and routine, except more often than not they read books together before going to sleep. It's so snuggly getting in Jonah's bed with both kids, Tessa on a lap and Jonah to the right, sharing some stories. He tends to have 4 or 5 books in heavy rotation which he requests for about a week before moving onto the next set. It warms our heart when he flips through "My Doctor's Bag" and gives Tessa a full checkup using the tools in the book. She listens intently as if Jonah may be some real authority figure and goes along with his plan. Then, as it's time to take Tessa to her own room, they have this routine of wild snuggles, sitting on top of one another, and calling out "top hug!" At Tessa's tuck-in, she gets her "sack and fadow" then announces "hug" and turns toward Mommy or Daddy for a tight snuggle while we sing. She has begun reciting the beginning of the lullaby and rhyme as we go. She has formally invited Knuffle Bunny into her crib, and now Knuffle is there to stay, required each night. In the morning, they have been revisiting some old favorites in addition to Octonauts, including good old Daniel Tiger and Leapfrog.
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| Top hug! |
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| More top hug! |
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| Tessa playing sleep |
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| Getting ready in the morning with her eyelash curler |
Eating: Again, no significant changes this past month besides having to explain Kosher for Passover to Jonah and why he couldn't have a bagel for breakfast. We can't believe how well they coped with having to lay off certain foods for the week! They did enjoy some foods, especially matzo ball soup (which they helped us make) and fruit slices. The kids really have a thing for dessert lately, asking for it every night.
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| For as little as this guy is, check out the size of this slice. And he polished it off! |
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| Tessa enjoying "shuty tonatoes" and blue milk. And yes those are eyes on the tomatoes. More on that later. |
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| Little T enjoying "blocky" |
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| Lady and the Tramping some spaghetti with Poppy |
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| Partners in crime. Inspecting the goods in the pantry. |
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| The kids and Mommy collected vegetable scraps and made up a broth |
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| Trusting a highly supervised Jonah with the big knife |
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| Once the broth was complete, we got to work on some matzo balls |
Personality: Jonah really loves his friends at school and looks forward to going to play with them there, as well as seeing Cooper at soccer class on Tuesdays. They can be a little wild and enjoy playing "bad guys" (which involves running around waving arms and shouting, "I'm a bad guy!") but we appreciate Jonah coming out of his shell more and more! His favorite person to play with is his precious sister, who just thinks he's just the best. Tessa is definitely ready to be 2. She has very strong feelings about some things and will have the occasional tantrum, most recently about not wanting to walk down the stairs with assistance. Her tantrums are actually sort of funny because of the dramatic nature of her "going boneless" on the floor and flapping arms wildly over things we see as minor. She loves going to Shabbat assembly on Fridays and saying, "Shabbat shamol!"
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| Sillies playing outside now that it's finally warming up. |
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| These two love going for a haircut and all the fun that comes along with it |
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| Picking a vehicle and lollipop flavor for one's haircut is essential |
On cooler, or wetter, days we sometimes hit up COSI. Jonah has his favorite things to do, like the water area, kids' play space, hot air balloons, and tennis ball launcher.
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| Tessa keeps saying she likes snakes. We wondered what would happen when she saw a real one. Yep, she loved it. |
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| It's a challenge to get them into the sub, but they love it! It reminds Jonah of Octonauts. |
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| Tessa LOVES to dress up! We loved exploring the Scioto Autobahn Park! |
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| We played at a friend's house and the kids got a little drum lesson |
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| Tessa loves wearing her "shabby shuwt" |
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| This girl could swing and swing |
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| We paid a visit to watch construction at Broad and James |
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Tessa's reaction to a butterfly at the conservatory. We never know which animals
she will love, and which will terrify her! She calls them "catapoopoo" and "bufly" |
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| Demanding independence on the stairs |
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| Tessa and her buddy Asher on the playground |
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| Playing a game of Duck Duck Goose after soccer with Cooper and the daddies |
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| Racing! |
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| Crazy boys on a Saturday night! |
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| Having a play date with Eliana and Asher |
Books: As above, they have rotations they're going through recently. Jonah has been doing My Doctor's Bag, Knuffle Bunny Too, Dragons Love Tacos (that's "Dragie Tago" to Tessa), and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late. Tessa has been requesting Dear Zoo.
Play: Jonah is still into his board games and we have gotten a few new options including Candyland, Trouble, and Hi-Ho Cherry-O. Their favorite play, however, is still with each other. The weather is getting nicer and they're enjoying playing outside. Both kids enjoy play-doh and making art; most recently Tessa wants to paint and Jonah wants to glue dried pasta to paper. We have also been starting plants from seed. We check them every morning and night and give them what they need.
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| Jonah and Cooper found the new dollhouse and Piccadilly and it had them occupied for quite some time! |
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| Nice outfit Tess! |
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| Tessa has been enjoying her Messy Art class at Piccadilly while Jonah takes his soccer class |
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| Jonah took this one! |
Milestones: Tessa is doing great with the potty! Not perfect by any means but she often requests the potty, sits on it saying "C'mon juice!" and pees/poops. Sometimes reading her potty books helps speed things along. Her speech keeps advancing as well. She told her first story this month! We had been in the bathroom and saw a rabbit in the back yard and ran out to see it, and watched it go out of the yard through the gate. Later, Tessa said, "Bunny hop away gate." She mimics almost anything we (and mostly Jonah) say. She is very proud of herself for most things, announcing, "I did it!" when she gets up the steps on the playground, puts some trash in the garbage, clears a cup from her place, or pretty much anything else. She can pronounce fairly complicated words like "afikomen" well enough that others can understand. Jonah is getting more and more confident with his reading and sounding out words. Tonight he read "open" pretty quickly. Jonah got a bicycle with training wheels and he was very quick to pick up on how to pedal, steer, and use a back-pedaling motion to come to a stop. Jonah is becoming quite the little soccer player! He is so confident and happy on the field and has become skilled at guiding the ball with only his foot, running fast, and jumping. Little miss Tess has started taking soccer on Wednesday mornings and she has taken to it like a pro! She really holds her own in the 2+ class!
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| Jonah has this bike thing down pat! Tessa got pushed along on the little tricycle. |
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| Tessa in her first soccer class! |
Events: The biggest event of the month was Passover. We had a great Seder at Mary and Greg's, then took a trip to Detroit for night two with Grandma and Grandpa. The kids had lots of fun playing. Tessa can tell you all about the afikomen, and Jonah did a good job of relating the story of Passover and telling his 5 Little Gefiltes story. They celebrated Easter with Mimi and Poppy with dying eggs and going on an egg hunt. Darby helped quite a bit!
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| This dude LOVED the parsley and bitter herb! |
On April Fool's Day, the eyes on the food in the fridge gag was a hit. The blue milk Mommy gave Jonah and the outfit Ducky was wearing did not go over well!
We took a trip to Slate Run Historical Farm. This year Tessa was less scared of the animals, and has reduced the selection from all animals to just cows and horses inside a barn.
Tessa is a big part of Mommy's work! Once a week she visits a patient and now she co-teaches a new class Mommy developed! It's called Fit Together and we get moms and their young children together to exercise, laugh, and learn.
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| Tessa looks at home on the pilates reformer! |
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| My co-teacher Tessa, demonstrating the airplane to a participant |
