Tea for Two

Tea, Olivia?

Why, certainly, Jadon.

Jadon? This tea party is rather boring.

Let's wrestle!!

...and then Jadon tries to run away from his sister

The End. 

Slippery Fish, Slippery Fish, Swimming in the Water

My kids take to water like fish

So, for Jadon's Birthday present, Nano and Maji got him swimming lessons

He LOVED his first lesson of the summer, and looks forward to "diving under the water like a shark" every week

And then we signed up the baby fish for her first swim lessons.
The moment she got in, she started giggling and splashing.

I was so proud of her for going under water!... Plus, she totally rocked her tutu swimsuit...and she didn't float away in it like Justin said she would.

I think it pays off to have Justin do their baths several nights a week because he just dumps water over their heads. So when it came to both Jadon and Olivia's first swim lessons, they were totally comfortable going under. (I, however, cannot even watch Justin bathe the kids, and I hyperventilate in the background =))

In the end, I'm so thankful my kids have a Daddy who lovingly motivates and challenges them

We ended the day at home, and "practiced" in our swimming pool play pen with Moriah 

...and it was a place where I could do what I do best...hug, kiss, and snuggle them...and sing songs like "slippery fish" totally out of tune and with all the wrong words =)

...they seem to like it just fine.

Jadon's 3rd Birthday Party

We had a small ice cream party to celebrate our Jado turning 3!

Our best family picture...I've given up trying =)

But, at least we captured the girls' outfits, a gift from Teta Vera, and they were so stinkin' cute  (Costco sometimes has the best finds)

Jadon picked out all his Birthday decorations...there were some monster truck plates, a dinosaur piñata, and airplane party favors. What can I say? The kid has good taste. 

And since it was such a warm day, ice cream definitely hit the spot!
Right, Laila? 

Moriah sure didn't seem to mind her afternoon snack

Papa came up for the party, and even bought Jadon the bouncy house as his present, which everyone loved

And thankfully, Auntie Nina and Summer were my party helpers

...and my Olivia helpers =)

We were so thankful that several of Jadon's buddies joined us to celebrate his big 3...

Andrew, Tim,  and Henry

Hop, Henry, Huong, and Hillary

Shanny, Savy, and Eric

Pastor Chris, Calvin, Cassie, and baby in tummy =)

and Laila and Laura

And then there was the indestructible piñata. Eventually Justin had to whack it about ten times to open it, after all the kids had gotten a turn

I learned that for this age group, I didn't have to fill the piñata with a thousand things like I did as most of our little 2 or 3 year olds were happy with just a couple candies/toys. The majority of the goodies were still left on the ground =)

As if ice cream wasn't enough sugar for my child, he ended the day with a huge cupcake. 

I wish I could be 3 again!

On Jadon's actual Birthday just two days later, he wanted to go to Happy Hallow and have his face painted like a tiger

Then Nano and Summer were here to celebrate at home with us...while Moriah slept through the cake. She was still recovering from the ice cream party ;-)

You are so loved, Jado Tomato Head. 

Happy 3!

San Francisco Zoo

And for Justin's second day off work, we chose to visit the San Francisco Zoo!

We were at the beach in 80-degree weather the day before, and the next day we busted out the winter clothes to go to San Francisco. Beanies, boots, overcoats. It was fah-reezing.

But, it was worth it.

Jadon loves the Madagascar movies so we were excited to take him to see all the different animals in real life.

I think he wished he could have been closer to them, and pet them

But, he still loved being there

The lion was the FAV for everyone

And Jadon practiced his "RAWR" for us all to hear

Olivia started teething, and became super grumpy during the day

Could you tell?

But, Daddy was able to get her to sleep

And we continued to have fun 

and play the rest of the day. 

I'm so glad we had this time with Jadon, and that he got to feel spoiled.  

 He is such a patient little guy when it comes to tagging along to all the Doctor's appointments and missing out on things that we have to end up canceling due to not having Nursing coverage or some place being "germ infested."
He most definitely deserved these days!

Graduating from the 2's Class

The First Day of Preschool seemed like just yesterday.

Jadon is moving on up from the 2's class, and we are so sad he won't have his wonderful teachers, Miss Mary, Miss Erin, and Miss Kristi anymore. They were the sweetest bunch and would really "get" our silly, rambunctious, Jado Tomato Head. 

We were so looking forward to the end-of-the year graduation ceremony, but instead, Jadon and Daddy had other plans. 

While I was at a Doctor's appointment with Moriah, I get a call from Justin that Jadon fell off the slide at the park, hit his head, was bleeding everywhere, and 911 came. My heart stopped. 

But thankfully, he was okay, no concussion, and Justin took him to urgent care to get staples on the cut. 

They bandaged Jadon's head for the numbing cream, and Justin asked for a bandage for his head so that they could be...

NINJAS! 

I love these boys...
but I prefer if they stick to playing Ninjas in the safety of our own home next time
...and that it wouldn't fall on a special day like Jadon graduating from his 2's class!

Jado Tomato Head

Jadon, I haven't done an update on you in a long time. 

You have grown so much in this past year. 

You are so fun to be around...exhausting, yes, but you make things exciting anywhere you go. 

You are now 2 years and 10 months old. 

We are in the midst of potty training, which you totally get how to do, but it is happening at a very graaaduaaal pace =)

You'll be wearing your big boy undies on a regular basis soon.  I'm not worried. 

Then you might not go around telling everyone how you go "pee pee and poo poo in the potty and get a toy"...like you announced to the whole church during Kid Talk the other week. Oy.

You go at 100 miles per hour, which brings me to the title of this post. When you were little, we would always call you "Jado the Tornado." A little while after you turned 2, you thought we were saying "Jado Tomato." Then it morphed into "Jado Tomato...Head" after you discovered a Mr. Potato Head. It is officially your nickname at home, and even at preschool. You are so silly. 

You have this mischievous look in your eyes most of the time. I now know that whenever it is quiet, to ask you what you are doing...because it means you are getting into trouble...like the time when you put Desitin all over your hair...or when you touched Moriah's oxygen settings...or when you put little toys into our printer and jammed it...or when you climbed on top of the bookcase, trying to climb the fireplace...the list goes on!

You are a GREAT brother to Olivia. I love how you will give her sweet hugs, and you go from being totally rough in your play to being totally gentle with her. She idolizes you, and you know it. 

For the most part, you let her squeal with delight in your face while she hugs you and tugs at you. You are incredibly patient. 

And even though you can go head-to-head with your Ya Ya over the iPad

 You are always looking out for her, making sure she is okay. When she falls over, you run to her and ask "You ok Riah??" or you let us know that "she needs her chewy." You are so sweet...when you want to be =)

You are my little helper throughout the day, and follow me on errands or sister's Dr. appointments. You love stopping at the train at LPCH whenever we have to go (you definitely deserve this treat after all the waiting we have to do sometimes!)

You are curious, and add tons of excitement...like when you decided to put a pea up your nose at dinner one night

Our sweet Jadon, we know you are going to soar. 

We pray that you continue to be a light wherever you are.

We love you with all our hearts. We love you "bigger and bigger and bigger" as you say.