happy birthday, Jed!

the gathering

discussing cake-eating with Grandpa

demonstrating the back-hand-maneuver for keeping food in a full mouth

opening gifts and showing Cousin Barbara the train Marmie gave him

checking out the recycling truck with cousins Katie and Maggie

official singing of happy birthday

official candle-blowing-out

finally, they are letting me eat the cake

one year ago . . .

Jed's hair still looked like this.

If you're missing his locks, you can revisit Jed's hair retrospective and the original hair cut, two of our all-time favorite posts.

5

With a special birthday around the corner, it's hard to remember what we were doing five years ago today!

at Rich and Jen's wedding, about a month before we got engaged

one of our engagement photos

taking a bow at the rehearsal

bubbles

a big weekend

With very few pictures! We were having so much fun that I just didn't snap very many shots. Thankfully, Sherry and Delana captured the Tri-Toddler meeting and I'm assuming that Lucy's birthday will be well documented!

We started our Sunday with a delicious brunch hosted by Ellie and her parents. Ellie has so many different and exciting toys (especially the coveted lawnmower and airplane) that Jed wore himself out!

We all had a great time and are already looking forward to the next get-together!

After a much-needed nap, Jed was up and at-'em for Lucy's "hometown" birthday party. We had a great, but too-brief, visit with the Rutledge-Merritt families, Jed's new best friend Jennifer (who won J's unending friendship with jelly beans), and Meredith and her family. Like Ellie, Lucy was the perfect hostess and we really enjoyed our dinner!

At Lucy's party, however, I failed to take a single picture! While we were there, Lucy (and Caroline and Henry) gave Jed a birthday present, which I knew he would LOVE, and the proof is in the picture! Jed adores his new tunnel!! Already, he has discovered that he can sit, albeit hunched over, in the middle of it and look at his books, and he's figured out that when it's time for a nap, he can scoot to the middle and make himself nearly inaccessible. Thankfully, I have several bribes that are still working for coaxing him out.

Thanks, Armijos!! I love my tunnel!

back on stage

Back in December, Jed's first appearance on stage was less than cheerful. Yesterday, he had a chance to try again with his school's end-of-the-year musical performance.

At first, it seemed like redemption might be out of reach.

But once on stage, things improved.

He looked for Daddy, found Mama, and let the sun shine in.

By the end, he felt so comfortable on stage that he decided to lay down, but he rejoined the group in time to "sing" about a bumble bee.

rainy day activities

first, an after-nap drink

then, a light warm-up with the shape sorter

followed by some heavy lifting

and dumping

and more dumping

now for some carrying

and working

followed by tractor time

my tractor plays awesome tunes

perfect for dancing

what's up here?

can we go outside yet?

helicopter, drum, tractor, blocks, paper . . . take your pick

off to the hall to play with my "choo-choo"

and finally, when we have exhausted all other avenues of entertainment, there's always silverware.

it's time to light the lights

To brighten our rainy day, the Washington Post has shared this list of six favorite peripheral Muppet characters, complete with video clips of each. Enjoy!

happy birthday, grandpa!

I love you!

drumming

Thanks for the awesome t-shirt, Aunt Theresa and Uncle Mike! (It glows in the dark!)

happy mother's day

and thank you

to all the mothers and grandmothers in our lives

jed says

Happy Birthday, Daddy! I love you!

Party like you're wearing alien antenna!!

In school news, the new playground opened today so I think Jed spent most of his morning running. He even made the playschool blog! When I picked him up, he was a sweat-drenched lava lamp and when we got home, he collected his paci and blankie, got on the sofa and yelled "ni-ni," as in night-night.

But he did find time to make a Mother's Day painting for me

and use those same skills to decorate a potted plant for me!

Too bad all my pictures are fuzzy! Sorry!

rainy monday

Rain confines us to the porch and house today, but we were starting to need some rain, and there's plenty of entertainment under the roof so we can't complain.

yes, I have given up on policing climbing

While I cleaned up from lunch, Jed worked hard, too.

I came around the corner just in time to catch the fruits of his labor.