A Few Goodmans: July 2015

Jonah is loving being 4, and Tessa is definitely ready to be 2! We have been encountering one technical glitch after another, so please excuse how late we are here.

Growth: Jonah had his 4-year visit with Dr. Koesters this month and officially weighs in at 33 pounds and is 39 3/4 inches tall. He's definitely growing well! No official numbers for Tessa yet; we'll get those in August. She's definitely getting taller and leaner, though!

Sleep: The kids are still doing fairly well overnight from 9 to 7 for Jonah and 8 or 8:30 (or even later!) for Tessa. She's had a few rough nights with teething but has done fairly well with it. Naps are steady though Jonah has had a few days where he just could not find his sleep at naptime. He still needs one so we work hard to get him to sleep! The kids share book time in Jonah's bed most often, and then Tessa rocks and sings along with (usually) Mommy on "Twinkle" and then Jonah now likes to have a snuggle (also usually Mommy). He gives the warmest snuggles his skinny little body can give and expresses his love while we talk and rest cheek-to-cheek. Daddy is very patient and understanding with their requests for Mommy tuck-ins.

"swimming" in the bath

Learning to blow bubbles in the water

Tessie spike!

Jonah spike!

They love a towel hug after bath

Grandma guest reading

Aunt Alana guest reading

Pajama party with the Savage girls!

Morning TV time. Usually T isn't up in time for this, but when she is, Jonah loves it. She likes Daniel Tiger best.

Eating: The kids still eat pretty much anything, though we've had a few hairy meals where they've refused to eat some food items and get a little rambunctious. Particular recent favorites include sugar snap peas (Tessa can't get enough!), sushi, almost anything from a food truck, and, of course, popsicles.

This boy and his pretzel!

Blanket dining and dancing at the Main Event in Bexley

Our CSA delivery has started up for the season and the kids delight in checking the basket weekly!

The kids and Mommy went strawberry picking for the first time with MOMS Club. Mmm!

And we snacked on many of the berries, but we also made ice cream

We've been picnicking when we get the chance and the weather is nice

Jonah has fallen in love with the fire pole at the playground.

We love Food Truck Thursdays at The Commons!

Studying the butter in the microwave!

The boy. The Nigiri. The Love.

Personality: Jonah is still a very sweet and caring 4-year-old for the most part but still gets a little rough with Tessa at times. One of our favorite things he does is before we tuck him in he snuggles us in bed and says the most wonderful things. "Mommy, do you love me on the outside and on the inside? Do you love my kidneys?" He has made some new friends at camp this summer and has really found his confidence. He ended his year in the Fish room at the JCC and has already done 3 camps this summer! We are so proud of how happy he is with these new settings and new people. Tessa is still as goofy as ever. She has a winning smile and can get us to do almost anything for her! She is, as above, definitely ready to be 2, still throwing the odd tantrum when she doesn't get her way. She does a pretty good job of expressing herself outside of tantrums. We have taken to calling them "T-storms," an idea we got from Mimi. Most of the time, she's goofy and pleasant.

Last day in the Fish Room with his teacher for the last 2 years, Marie
(Side note, I think he has fit in that outfit for both of those years)

Jonah's teacher in the Fish Room, Michelle

One last bench picture as a 3/4 Preschooler and preschooler-to-be

The kids wrapped up a great year at Wendy's gymnastics. They've both had Mrs. Jill at different times

Both kids built strong muscles in the block pit this year!

Jonah really worked on his soccer skills at Locker Soccer Academy this year. He loved having Cooper in his class!

This summer, Jonah is trying T Ball for the first time. He is confident in what he's doing and is among the few who are really listening to the coach and trying to learn.

Miss T makes a great T ball fan

Jonah has been throwing right and batting left. We will see what sticks.

Jonah's first camp this summer was Bugs, Bats, and Butterflies at the Franklin Park Conservatory. He came home educating us about flying insects and mammals and telling stories about what he saw and did. The counselors said he seemed very comfortable and happy there!

Can't believe he A: made the craft, and B: is WEARING it! He tells us tales of camp the whole drive home. We are so lucky!

Next up, Jonah attended Camp Ora at the JCC. He has done JCC camp prior summers, but this one is somewhat different. They are really outside playing the whole day. He comes home singing camp songs and tells us of the progress he has made that day in his swim lessons. He finally went under for the first time!

Music show!

Tessa comes with me to visit a friend/former patient while Jonah is in school, but with the year over, he gets to come along too! The kids got a lesson in air hockey and are big fans!

This sweet thing loves the reformer

Someone got too much watermelon on her!

Both kids enjoy some messy art from time to time. Grandpa is giving them a color lesson.

This is my dress-up kid!

Tessa started the summer only wanting to ride "the car seat" on the carousel...

But by June she got on the horse! And again! And again! And again!

This sweet boy loves his garbage day!

Tessa and Alton are seriously best buddies. She gives him some mega hugs and snuggles. And he seems to genuinely enjoy them!

We've had a lot of rain. A lot.

With Jonah in camp at the Conservatory, Tessie and I took to the butterfly exhibit within and explored. She likes the koi pond and is not at all scared of butterflies.

Books: There's been a fairly steady rotation before bedtime and naptime. No specific/new emergent favorites recently, however.

Play: Outdoor play is a big favorite. The kids got a new water toy that they love using out in the yard. They will spend hours riding around their bikes, playing in the minivan, and drawing with sidewalk chalk. We've had a number of good trips to the playground. Tessa is working on her climbing and is advancing quite a it. Jonah will play with other kids at the playground as well. Last week an older boy (7 or 8) asked if he wanted to play tag, and he just jumped right in with them! He loves his Legos and will take apart and reassemble his sets repeatedly.

That boy and those garbage trucks

We practiced pitching a tent

Game time with Grandma and Grandpa

Don't we all use a dustbuster in the buff?

Tending the garden

Tessa loves going on a walk to look for trucks!

This is the puddle the kids have staked as "our puddle"

Tessa is about to leave her dear Bev and Mary at the JCC babysitting room when she decides to test my umbrella

Tessa is "fixing" Jonah's tricycle, which has now become more or less hers. She can't quite peddle but wants to.

Milestones: Tessa continues to improve her speech, pretty much on a daily basis. We're never sure what will come out of her mouth! Speaking of her mouth, she is still teething and has almost all 4 of her 2-year molars in fully.

Jonah's friend Zoe invited him to her birthday party. He used to be scared to sit at a table with friends but was happy to partake in a group craft with the other kids.

Baby's first selfie? Is that a milestone?

Events

We took a nice trip to the zoo and Jonah rode a pony for the first time. Tessa wanted to badly to as well, but got scared at the last minute

We took a trip up to Sandusky and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge, which has an indoor water park, and then to Cedar Point. They were both comfortable in the water with the exception of Tessa wanting to do a slide only on a lap but was not allowed. They loved the rides and did great without even napping. Tessa nodded off in the stroller for probably less than an hour.

Every time the giant bucket dumped, Tessa said "Weeee!...that's funny" which of course made Jonah laugh too

We love Slate Run Historical Farm. We have gone several times already this year and love seeing the animals grow up. Tessa is less scared of the animals each time!

We took the kids to the St. Catherine's Fun Fest for the first time. It was nothing to compare with Cedar Point, but in walking distance so there's that!

We had a nice visit from Grandma and Grandpa! The kids love playing with them.

For Poppy's birthday, we went to see a Columbus Clippers game! This year, for the first time, Jonah is really into the game itself in addition to all of the other fun things that you can do at Huntington Park, like little rides and games.

Tessa got this toy baseball that Daddy caught and was determined to kick it like a soccer ball all the way around the ballpark and back to the parking lot! She's really quite good!

We celebrated Father's Day and Miss T wore her moustaches!

We took a spin around the Columbus Arts Fest and took cover from the rain at Milestone for Jonah's favorite: calamari!

We love COSI! Jonah has a little routine he always likes to run through when we go. This particular day it was pretty darn busy, but we still had fun!