Whisking

Dad is convinced that I ask for waffles on the weekends just so I can help whisk.

2 years, 6 months & 3 months

Monthly picture time! We had to wait until after school to take our pictures because John wasn't awake by the time we left this morning.

John's been home for nearly a month with Dad now. His nap schedule is much more regular, but he sometimes needs to sneak in an extra nap after I get home from school. It's convenient that it's usually during my supper time.

John continues to get stronger, of course. He started rolling over a couple weeks ago which makes his tummy time workouts extremely short (since he just flips over onto his back). He loves to sit upright and doesn't really enjoy facing Dad's chest while in the Baby Bjorn any longer. But his neck strength isn't quite strong enough to face him forward on our regular walks quite yet. He hates getting swaddled when going down for naps and bedtime, but he doesn't cry for very long before dozing off.

Speaking of our regular walks, we head over to campus nearly every evening to walk Keillor and I'm no longer content just sitting in the stroller or the backpack. I must get out and walk! And of course I need to stop and smile at all the college students.

Funny things are coming out of my mouth on a daily basis. Last week on campus I asked Dad, "Who's that lady?" Well, it was the backside of a statue of Jesus, so Dad said, "Honey, that's actually a man. Let's go look at the front of him." The rest of the night and most of the next day I would exclaim at random times, "Jesus is a man!"

Just last night, Mom said to Dad, "Tess' Spanish vocabulary is passing mine." That's after I was walking around the house holding an empty oatmeal container while saying, "Avena!"

My physical therapy progress has plateaued a bit recently so we're backing off on regularly scheduled office visits (only once a month now), but that doesn't mean I get to relax. My physical therapist and hip doctor both want me out doing all sorts of active stuff. So I'll get to do swimming lessons again sometime soon and last weekend I got a new scooter! No pictures quite yet because Dad is typically using both hands to help me instead of grabbing the camera.

My movie count is up to four now. Over the last few weeks I've seen the Lion King and Finding Nemo (adding to Frozen and Tangled). My TV attention span is about 20 minutes so each movie lasts several nights. And I made Dad proud two nights ago when I asked to watch baseball. That earned me a big kiss!

Kickstand

John loves to sit upright, but he still needs a little help. Luckily Keillor is good at giving support.

Tipping but still happy!

Getting a little concerned.

Back up again!

Two babies

I was in charge of taking care of two babies while Dad was making supper last night!

When Dad asked what I was feeding him I replied, "Special K."

Canned peas for baby...

And canned peas for John.

Supervising Tummy Time!

Chew your food

We haven't had many videos to share lately, so here's a real quick one demonstrating something I learned in school a while back...

Sidewalk chalk

John was also very excited to be outside. He enjoyed staring up into our Ash tree...

Botanic gardens

I was off from school on Monday, so Dad took us over to the kids' garden at the botanic gardens! My favorite part was putting my feet in the water. And I didn't even get very upset when I eventually fell in. No pictures of that part since Dad was busy picking me up and drying me off.

Note for next time: Pack swimsuit.

John is crabby in this picture because he was trying to go to sleep!

Lots of areas for kids to explore.

Clothes are still dry!

More John

Just John today!

Working on tummy time!

Last week, Dad put John in tummy time and went into the kitchen to get his bottle ready. 

When Dad came back, he found Keillor lying near John to keep him company.

Buddies.

Un-swaddled after a nap, but refusing to actually wake up.

Grandma Candy

Grandma and Grandpa were here for Easter weekend and we really didn't do a good job taking pictures. But John sure enjoyed hanging out with Grandma!

Sleep technique

Dad found me like this on Monday morning...

Keeping your legs on the bed while sleeping is so overrated.

Hunt #2 and #3

We got to church a little early on Easter morning so I could participate in another egg hunt!

Focusing on all the eggs in the grass before we got started.

And while I was at church with Dad, the Easter bunny also visited our house! More eggs!

Hunt #1

Regis University hosted their annual Easter egg hunt last Saturday. It started at noon and lasted about two minutes and it was mayhem.

I enjoy opening each egg before moving on to look for others (which doesn't work well with hundreds of other kids scooping up everything in sight). Luckily, I found a spot with about 7 or 8 eggs in close proximity. 

Eggs

I was finally old enough to dye eggs this year! And I had a couple of good helpers: Grandpa Rick and Grandma Candy!

Helping Dad cook the eggs.

Focused.

My hands were quite colorful by the end, as well!