Indoor & Outdoor fun

After what seems like several weeks of rain, cold weather, and even some snow, the sun came out the past few days and the temperatures warmed just a bit. We played outside more than we have in awhile.

Whenever the weather gets nice, Rubs (aka Smokey's) BBQ is a fun restaurant trip because of the large backyard picnic area there, perfect for burning off a delicious meal of BBQ. Yesterday when we went, Jack experienced the fun firsthand, both tasting (and loving) the mac 'n cheese and then exploring the outback .






Thursday during our walk we stopped at the park. The kids basked in the sunlight on the swings.


Jack was in heaven with all the new delicious wood-chips to taste.


On the walk home Clara always likes to check the creek for fish over the "little bridge".


Jack waits patiently in the stroller for the ride to resume.


When not running around outside, the kids find plenty of ways to exercise in the house. Clara was talking a mile a minute while as she said "practicing" (still not sure for what); she actually quieted down a bit when the camera came out.


We've been watching a lot of Sesame Street lately. When watching this video, all I could think of was "...that's Jeekbo's world!"

Bathapolooza

Jack continues to get more and more comfortable in the bath tub and as a result is more and more a part of the action rather than just sitting back and letting Clara have all the fun. I heard the shrieks and squeals of delight the other night and had to go in to take a peek...

Weekend in SoBoVa

We spent a very enjoyable President's day weekend at Memo & Augs house. The kids had fun (re)exploring their house.

On Saturday we woke up to snow! So Clara had a blast traipsing around the yard in the Winter Wonderland.










Meanwhile Jeekbo stayed inside in the warmth, literally as his favorite place to go was the hearth.




Stopping for a brief minute, he enjoyed some cuddle time with Memo. Much to her chagrin he was much less happy to sit contently in her arms this visit than previously. The boy wants to be on the move.








In from the cold and enjoying some afternoon sun.




Jack enjoyed exploring every nook and cranny of Memo's house, getting into everything. Here he is playing a little hide & seek with Pop-pop.


Jack has seen his sister many a time pick up a book "to read". This seemed to be his first attempt, though he's having some trouble getting the book open.


Jack was very excited by Clara's bear "Ted" coming to life and dancing for him.


Last but not least, it wouldn't be Memo's without blue hair pictures.

Jack claps

Yay, he finally got the hang of it!

Crawling around the house

Today was a rainy day so by the end of the night we were digging deep for entertainment. Here are a series of videos exhibiting the "chase the tractor" game devised by Clara. As you can see Jack's crawling has really taken off. You should see him move when the bathroom door is open and unguarded.

January Wrap-Up

Since it took me most of the month of January to post about Christmas, it seems only fitting that I'm recapping January, the second of February (Happy Groundhog Day btw!). Below is a collection of photos of the kids over the past month.

Jack perfected pulling up over Christmas and upon returning home, we broke out the musical table with which he has really enjoyed playing.


Also more often than not, now that Jack is sitting up steadily, bath time is a shared ritual which both kids really enjoy.


See, you put the fishies in your mouth.


Yeah, you got the hang of it.


January brought some very cold weather to our parts. Of course that didn't stop us from going on our afternoon walks. Clara discovered ice. And looked forward to stomping and throwing sticks on it.


She's also been picking up "sticks for Syd". You should see some of the logs she tried to drag with her.


Jack tried to stay warm under the blankets.


Clara has officially been wearing undies or "unds" as she has dubbed them for a month and has done a fantastic job of going on the potty. Here I think she just wanted to check in with the changing table. As you can see, it was about time she stopped using it.


Lucy came down to visit before her classes started up again. She and Clara were hiding in the cave under Jack's crib.


Jack unaware of the monsters lurking below.


All dressed up with no place to go.


Getting psyched up for the Patriots Divisional playoff game. We won't talk about the result.


Mmm, delicious dinner.


Jack playing fetch.


Sydney playing Super-fort


After all the trouble of getting a Christmas card picture, now Clara wants me to take their picture whenever we go out to the front walk. You'll see there are several of these.




One of Jeekbo's first opportunities to play outside and explore on the ground.


Tired out.


Also since he's been crawling, its been pretty cold, so our front door stays shut most of the time. Several times though when I've run out to the car for whatever reason and left the door open, Jeekers immediately crawls over to stare out the window and then Clara joins him to greet me.






Clara and her friend Carmen taking time out from playing for a little snack.


Bee-boppin' with Daddy.




The fashion show around our house never stops...






Jack and I headed to Chapel Hill to watch the Hoos dominate the Heels. He looks so grown up in his baseball cap.




Determined to reach the toy


Clara was so excited to learn that the Teets has double cart in which she and Jack can ride together. They had a blast driving around the store.


Early morning cuddle time in which I absolutely couldn't keep my eyes open because of the brightness of the flash.