Flowers and Springtime in Ohio

Hi everyone,
Sorry it has been so long since we have posted. The winter has broke here in Ohio and with temps reaching 60 degrees, we are outside meeting the play demands of our kiddos. Speaking of the now 15 month old Jackson and 4-months-from THREE (what???) Eleanor, they are super. Say what you will about being only 17 months a part in age, but they are so damn cute. Jack follows Nora around and she helps him a lot. They beam smiles at each other and love to be around one another. It's just sweet. Here they are attempting a nap:

And, look at our girl, so tall! And she is counting objects everywhere and doing things like taking a slice of pizza and announcing, "It's a triangle!" Uh--yeah, it is! I would put her at 85% potty trained, getting through most nights fine, but poopin the first thing upon going outside. Change in temperature? That's my theory. Her teachers report all good things from her, being sweet and helpful and making good choices, all of that stuff you hope you'll hear. Here is quote from one of her teacher notes, " I wanted you both to know that Nora was absolutely wonderful this week at school! She's been extra helpful, very polite (e.g., during snack times), and generally just a pleasure to be around. :)"

Asserting her independence has been the name of the game lately though, with some great outcomes and some frustrating (refusing to get in her carseat, despite the desperate attempts by her parents to rationalize with her) times as well. Ah, three!


Here are both kids enjoying a Gymboree birthday party, rapt with the teachers musical ability and chance to use moroccos.
And speaking of birthdays, Nora with her friend Collin--it was his 2nd birthday party.

Lastly, a picture of our happy boy. Believe it or not, after 8 - 9 months of having exactly 8 teeth, the kid is getting EIGHT more simultaneously--all flanking is existing 8. We go to the pediatrician today to get his well child check up so I'll have height, weight and head size to share later. He is growing a lot though, seems bigger to me. Losing the baby fat and looking so much like a little boy instead of a baby. He is a sweet little thing and talking!!! I swear he mimics everything we say and is pretty close, but has added woof woof, up, and his own name to the list of words he can say. Yay!

And, a shameless fund raising plus. The little school Nora attends is having an online fund raiser. It's a pretty easy thing to do for those of us who will buy flowers for our gardens anyway. It ends April 2, but you can order flowers from any where in the US and they will be delivered to your house. All the proceeds will go to help ICC gather supplies for our garden.

http://www.flowerpowerfundraising.com/campaign?campaign_id=1438

Snow and Such

If you don't live here or haven't heard, Columbus has had three snow storms over the last two weeks. The kiddos are loving the snow and both love to shovel. Here is Jack ready to go. He has grown really attached to the shovels and throws quite a fit when we pass them by on our way out the door. I hope he is this willing to shovel when he is a teenager.


After one of the first storms Eleanor and I made some "baby snowmen". We check on them everyday, although the small baby has been almost completely covered up by the recent snow falls.


Playtime in the sink to get cleaned up.

Here is Jackson playing with mama.

My ladies after a hard day of playing.

EKG quotes

So, it's already February. here is Eleanor with her Dad, who has become her favorite playmate. "Come play with me Dad" "Lay down Dad, you sick. I feed you soup!" "Let's go upstairs"
So, our girl is talking a lot. Here are a few of our favorite quotes as of late:
"I having a rough time"(when she woke up sick one night)
"You're fun, dad."
"Need more bottle, Jack?"
"I love your shirt." (after saying I love you, she always ends with this gem)
"You have a good day, mommy?"
"I like noodles!"
"You not feel well? I make you soup."
"You wanna hold my hand, Jack?"
"I missed you soooo much!"
"Okaaay Mom"

Jackson too is talking a lot. The only words we can make out are Dada, Mama and ball, all of the same first words Nora Kate said. He is also walking like a champ. He often takes walks around the three first floor rooms, in a circle, over and over. He also follows Mama and Mookie and Eleanor and Daddy around. he has also discovered that he can get just about anything he wants by screeching in a very loud, very high pitched yell. It makes the hair stand up on your neck. But, his kisses more than make up for the occasional screech.

We have all been battling colds, but Nora has it the worst. You'll have that in Ohio Februaries (today's high was in the low twenties). More snow tomorrow (just another 4 - 8 inches, so not bad). Its not hard to tolerate the snow when it is February because we'll have maybe 1 or 2 more snows and then it will be Spring! But, Nora loves shoveling snow with her dad and they built two baby snowmen (well, a "mama and baby snowman" according to Nora) this weekend, which are super cute. Here's a picture of the kids "reading."

Yesterday, Nora went to her friend Collin's birthday part at Gymboree Play & Music, which was FUN! Bubbles, parachutes, maracas, and so much more! Great idea for a kids birthday party and I am sure we will get to have many more of these kinds of days. Jack loved it too, which was very fun to watch.


And one more picture for Grandma! I have more, but can I find them?
Life has been busy, but we're having fun. No movement on our house, but it's back on the market at a lower price, so we'll see.

Xmas pictures (finally)

Here are some pictures from Christmas morning we have finally gotten around to posting. As you can see the kids had a great time and were naturally spoiled rotten by generous family and friends.


"Ball!"


In other news Jackson has been walking for a few weeks and is getting pretty steady on his feet. Eleanor is becoming quite a big girl and loves to take care of her brother and make him laugh. We will have a more detailed update on how amazingly advanced and smart the kids are in the near future.

More B-day Pictures

We hope everyone is having a great Holiday season. The kids made out like bandits and it looks like a toy store exploded in our living room. We will have some pictures of Xmas day madness up soon. But here are some pictures from Jackson's birthday party at the Pollocks. He got a cool winter hat from Grandpa and Charlotte. He likes it so much he will actually keep it on his head for more than 3 seconds unlike his other hats.


The nice thing about multiple birthday celebrations is multiple times to get your hands dirty eating cake.

Sister likes multiple chances at cake as well.

Our happy guy with his new train.

Jackson Caulfield is 1!

Our baby is now a year old! We celebrated with a very small (Geoff, Nora, & I) birthday party, split a frosted brownie and opened gifts party last night. Jack loved icing and seemed to like his presents.

From the "party" a proud big sister shares in the celebrating! "Jack's a big boy now?" she asked after singing him a very sweet Happy Birthday song. Well, sort of....

At the pediatrician this morning, he weighed in at 28 pounds, 12 ounces (above 97th percentile, although Doc O'Brien said, "Well, he is getting closer to the line" meaning he is not so far above the highest percentile; 30 inches long (60th percentile) and has a head in the 95th percentile ("big brains run in our family," I said proudly). Look at that smile...


We also got the news that our dear friends Troy & Kathleen Carlson welcomes their brand new baby girl, Amelia "Millie" Jean Carlson into the world literally as we sucked the icing off our brownie. Congratulations and December 15 is a great day to be born!

So, despite a hectic past few weeks at work which included a FIVE day trip to DC for me (Geoff rocks for being at home with the kids that whole time alone), Christmas is on its way. My mom will be here in a week *yay* and we actually got our real live (is there any other kind, really?) tree this weekend. To that end, Nora Kate found the stockings and promptly put them on her feet. Right on girl, you wear those stockings!

And, after putting up the leaning tree, we promptly put a fence around it to keep the baby hands away from it and the ornaments we love. But here they are admiring the lights....
This is going to be one very fun Christmas. And, our cards are coming! Really. They might be late, but they are coming. Happy Holidays to everyone who reads the blog. Remember to enjoy the solstice!

Two Toddlers

Our babies love being cuddled, tickled, and loved on. Eleanor is very fond of saying "Mama (or Daddy) has two babies" (her emphasis)! Well, they are developing so quickly, we really have to admit they are no longer babies. But, as my Mama still calls me, Geoff and I will probably always call them our babies. So, our two toddlers are remarkable and smart!



Here is an update of their amazing talents:

Jackson (11 months old)

• Claps his hands when someone says "Yay" or "Good job!"
• Does some of the motions for "Itsy Bitsy Spider"
• Goes and gets books and opens them up to read
• Walks with support
• Crawls at lightening speed!
• Pushes the shapes into the shape sorter
• Wants to feed himself at every meal
• Giving big kisses
• Puts his hands on top of his head when his teacher says "Head!"
• Waves bye-bye

Nora Kate (28 months old)

• Sings the ABC's--pretty right on, although L,M,N,O,P are a bit jumbled (very cute)
  
• Jumps with her two feet together (yay!)
  
• Runs a lot and LOVES the game Tag
  
• Hums lullabies to anyone going to sleep
• Talks and cares for her baby dolls
• Loves the zoo and asks ("zoo now") to go there almost every day.
  
• Talks in complete sentences
• Understands and anticipates others' needs ("This would be easier for Mama if the light was on" and she turns on the light or asks, "Mama, do you need some?" for cheese, butter, any sauce, seconds for food. "Daddy, you need a blanket" or "Daddy needs water" as she runs to get a bottle of water)

So, there they are. It's almost Jack's birthday and his Grandma is coming for a visit! We are battling illnesses, but in good spirits. Our Christmas picture is done, so look forward to getting those within the next few weeks. The Babies Grove may be renamed....weigh in. Anyone have ideas for this blogs name? The Grove Gang?