Fun at the Mall!

Yes, that is Jake sitting on the right hand side in the picture. He perched on the mailbox and acted like a life guard, making sure people were going down the slide properly.

Mari likes going down backwards.

This Elmo was a much better experience than the Ernie experience at the library (posted below). If I look like I am on crack it is because I am (well not real crack, but lots of prescription medication). The kids and I have been sick in cycles so that it seems that at least one of us is sick at any given time. I am headed back to the doctor tomorrow because I think Jake has at least one ear infection (he is runing 102 fever and says his ear hurts). We seem to have allergies or something else that is causing long term congestion and then it settles into some sort of infection. Mari and I have both had bronchitis recently. Mari is teething (molars) as well so that doesn't help her congestion. It is no fun being sick and I am hoping that we get to the source of the allergy(ies) so that the suffering will end soon. I am also really busy with school and so maybe if I can catch a break I can actually post a longer update. The kids are at such cute stages (I think that must be all stages though) and I can't believe how fast they are growing up!

Looking like her Mama!

Most people we encounter comment on how much Mari looks like me. In this picture I can really tell (compared to my baby pictures around the same age).

Big blue eyes.

If you click on the picture above (which should open a larger version) you can see the yellow ring around the pupils of Mari's eyes. Supposedly her eyes will stay blue since at a year old they were still blue, but just recently these yellow rings have developed. I have blue eyes with yellow flecks in them (my mom has blue with yellow rings-I think) just like Gran Mclean's eyes, but mine did not develop the yellow flecks until I was older (at least 7 years old). If you look closely you can also see the irritation on her face from were she landed on her face--casualty of walking, and probably a few other things like some left over lunch, but hey we were playing outside. Also, I do not normally let her eat my camera strap, but it was the only way I found to get a good shot of her eyes,

Outside enjoying the nice weather.

Jake was showing me how the bark is peeling on the birch tree.

Mari "playing' with Daisy Dog.

Yes, she is chewing on the top rung of the ladder, and all that purple stuff is sidewalk chalk that she and Jake are trying to 'color' the slide with. Below is Jake's finished bird house waiting on a tenant.

She was running around outside enjoying her new found freedom.

Mari can almost climb the slide completely by herself.

Jake actually enjoys pushing Mari in the swing and he is very good at it and very safe about it. I was worried he would get smacked by the swing but he pays close attention and moves out of the way. He is such a clever boy and the best big brother ever! As you can see, Mari loved having him push her.

Below is Mari with most of her teeth showing. She also has one molar and is hard at work on two more molars currently. She is still missing one of her front teeth as well as she only has three of the four top front ones.

Sippy Cup

Here she is looking like her Daddy in this picture (well minus the pink pjs).
and there she goes...

A trip to the indoor play area at the mall.

This place is even more fun now that Mari is walking!

A trip to the library.

We went to the library to meet "Ernie". Jake and Mari both colored a rubber duckie to enter in a contest.
Below, you can see why I put "Ernie" in quotations. Jake and Mari won some bath finger paint and got to get their picture taken with "Ernie"

Eating crayons

While Jake painted his bird house, Mari tried out her new toddler crayons (my inlaws got her some bath ones that are pictured in another blog below).
Unfortunately she likes to eat the crayons and paper. Notice the green tooth and guess what color she likes best.

We did manage to distract her with salt free pretzels, until she gave us her "I'm done" face below.

Jake paints a bird house.

Jake got a bird house from Nana and Papoo for Christmas (among other things) and he was very excited because he got to paint it. The wine is James's not Jakes, we had just finished dinner and I didn't notice it in the picture until after I took all the pictures.

I did intentionally take this picture of the wine glass because I was so proud that Jake did not get paint on anything but the bird house and the brush, but James got paint on this glass.

Later I will post a picture of the completely finished product, but I think he did really well for a three year old.

Talking on the phone.

Little Miss Mari

Where is Mari?
Below is why they call small children anklebiters!

Mari loves her Daddy!

Baby in a bag!

I forget what we were packing or unpacking for or from, but Mari climbed in and James partially zipped her up and picked her up. She thought it was hilarious!