Bridget and Baby

Every day Bridget will get a baby out and carry it around giving it hugs.  She usually will pick one out of the many that is her favorite.  She is over her cold and it is so nice that she's busy playing and trying to keep up with big sister.  Of course her favorite place to be is outside and the one day we got a little rain she stood at the back door yelling and pointing outside.  Today I just let her roam outside and found she doesn't look back and walked right up to Julie's house.  That was a treat as it was her first time on the bouncer and Jillian joined her.  She was laughing continually.  

Volleyball Game

Jillian and Bridget got to go to Ridgefield for Tierney and Macee's volleyball game.  Bridget was so good and sat and watched all the action.  Jillian had a great time playing with Rielee the whole time.  They probably couldn't tell who won but the Rockets won in three.

Busy Girls

              Bridget is feeling so much better and she looked so cute in her ponytails after her bath.  Toys are no longer fun as the baskets look much more interesting.  Her reach is so much longer that things on the counters aren't safe anymore.

     Jillian is sitting with her garage sale loot.  Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot of toys at the 3 garage sales but she managed to find some treasures.  She really liked the nestling Easter boxes and got creative and stood on two of them and used them for stilts by skating around the floor.

Training Bike

The last couple days Jillian has been focused on riding everything especially her balance bike.  She has steadily gotten a little faster each time.  See the tongue out for concentration.  Usually she lines all the riding things up and does each one by one.

It was cute last night as she announced she had a show for Papa and I.  She was all dressed up in her pretend clothes and did a little song and dance.  When she finished we clapped so she did a little bow.

Bridget's 1st Birthday

Today was Bridget's big day ... she turned 1-year-old!

She had been feeling pretty miserable the past couple weeks. We actually took her into the SWMC clinic to see a doctor yesterday, because Grannie and Papa were worried about her fever and cough. The doctor said she probably had a virus, and it would take a while to get over. Luckily, she was just now starting to feel a whole lot better. In fact, she took about a 3-hour nap this morning, so she was in good form for her party.

Bridget had lots of guests for her party, including Grannie and Papa, Auntie Greta, Cousins Meagan and Adam, Zach, the whole Johnson family, Cousin Tierney, the entire Paul family, Aunt Lynne, Cindy and Scott, Cousin Michelle and Jayden, and neighbors Jack and Peggy. She had a great time seeing everyone, though she was a little shy at times. She tried her best to keep up with the older kids as they ran around.

Everyone sang the happy birthday song to Bridget, and Jillian helped to blow out the candles. When it was time to eat the cake, we stripped Bridget down to her diapers and placed a plate of cake in front of her. Oddly enough, she really had little interest in eating it. Instead, she just picked it up and dropped it on the table, and eventually turned the plate upside down so rest of the cake fell onto her lap. It looks like she doesn't have a sweet tooth (much like her big sister).

Bridget received many wonderful presents, and she got into playing with all of them. The big kids also thought the presents were pretty cool, since they played with them constantly. By the end of the party, Bridget was wearing down and ready for some downtime after so much excitement. It was a very nice and happy birthday day!

Bridget and Puppy

While Jillian is at pre-school Bridget and Sophie get to play together.  The problem is that Bridget likes to give the puppy her toys, the toys that Sophie is not supposed to chew on.  Then Bridget wants it back and it turns into a tug-o-war with Sophie.  Today was the first time that Bridget was brave enough to try to pick up Sophie.  She bent down and cradled the puppy in her arms just like Jillian but she had trouble standing back up so I put the puppy in her arms to carry.  Sophie has a lot of patience at times.

Pre-School Update I

Pre-school according to Jillian:

• Daddy : "What happened today at pre-school?"
• Jillian : "Kids were not listening."
• Daddy : "Then what happened?"
• Jillian : "The teacher told them to listen. But I stayed on my square. A girl left, and the teacher had to get her."
• Daddy : "What else did you do today?"
• Jillian : "I was thirsty, but I didn't want to drink milk, so the teacher gave me water."
• Daddy : "And what did you learn today?"
• Jillian : "Nothing."

For the record, they learned about Manners at pre-school. When asked, Jillian remembered some of it.

Copy Cat

Bridget has watched her big sister Jillian look at many books ... opening them up, turning pages and looking at the pictures. So, Bridget decided to do the same thing. She grabbed a book out of Jillian's room, went into the hallway and sat down with it, and began turning pages. Then, she tried to eat the book.

Colds

First Jillian had a cold that lasted for a couple of days then Bridget came down with it.  The last couple of days she's had trouble sleeping and just wanted held most of the day.  This is one time though when she saw the empty bin on the floor and found she could climb in and sit so that was a lot of fun and entertainment. I put a blanket in her car seat so she finally could take a pretty good nap with her head higher.

1st Day Preschool

Jillian was ready to head for preschool.  When she got there she walked right in and headed for the toys, meanwhile some children were crying or holding on to their parents.  She didn't even notice because all the toys were new to her. 

When I picked her up I asked what she had learned today.  Mostly she told me they learned how to play and how to put things away.  Very important at 3 years old.  She said she made two new friends but didn't know their names.  The good thing is that she is eager to return.

Pre-School Orientation

Tonight, we all went to Calvary Community Church for Jillian's pre-school orientation. Jillian was very excited to go, and she wore her new sparkle-light shoes. This picture is of her standing in front of the doorway to the pre-school.

We met the teacher and the aides, and then Jillian and Bridget got to play in the classroom for a while, checking out all the cool stuff. It looks like there are about 11 kids in the 3-year-old classroom, and most of them are girls. Then, we went to another room to make Jillian's birthday crown out of construction paper. After a parent meeting while the teacher read a story to the kids, we headed home ... Jillian was asking us when she gets to go back.

Jillian and Sophie

Sophie is a very tolerant puppy as she gets dressed up pretty, with Jillian also getting on some headbands.  Jillian is doing a good job learning to be gentle with Sophie and also taking her for walks on the leash.  The walks are great as Sophie will nap with Jillian for a couple hours after they make the big loop around all the driveways.  After a long walk Jillian will realize that Sophie needs a drink and ask me to get her one.  It's great as she now recognizes an other's needs.