Jason: 17 Months of Fun

 Poor Jason.  As the fourth kid in our crazy family, he doesn't get the attention he deserves.  Here's an update on our little Jay Bird.
Personality
Jason is the most easy going, happy toddler I have ever met :)  He is so go-with-the-flow and nothing gets this boy riled up.  He's always quick with a smile and laughs constantly.  He's starting to realize that he get laughs out of us by being silly and making faces. When it's time for bed, we just say "Say goodnight Jason!" and he runs around the house waving at everyone and then climbs the stairs to bed without a peep.  He just recently got a camo blue dog Dream Lite and loves to look at the stars on his ceiling.  He still listens to ocean waves at night and for nap time.  Jason is in bed by 6:30 PM every night and wakes up around 6 AM.  He naps every day for about 2.5 hours.
Talents
Jason can make tons of animal sounds:  moo for cow, baaaaaa for sheep, "good girl" for dog (and he pats his leg like he's calling for the dog), tweet tweet for birds, howwwwww for owl, meeeeeeow for cat (and he scrunches up his face and makes a big "meow" face), and "roooooar!" for lion (with similar facial expressions).  His favorite animal by far is dogs.  He loves Willow to death and wants to pet and hug every dog we come in contact with.  His favorite stuffed animal is a taggie dog from his aunt Mary.  That dog goes everywhere with Jason and he often kisses her nose and says "good girl!" and hugs her.  He calls her good girl and Emily calls the stuffed dog "Bella" ( I have no idea where this name came from).  Jason has to sleep with the dog every night.
Margaret has been teaching Jason sign language, and he can say and sign "cold", "baby", "clean", "all done", and "more".  He recognizes and says the color blue.  It seems like he has a new skill to show off every time I pick him up!
Jason is very physical and loves to run around and play in the yard.  He's so happy to explore the neighborhood on walks (I use the term "walks" loosely since I mostly stand still while Jason pokes at sticks or rocks for 10 minutes).  He's great on the playground and loves to hold my hand while going down the slide.  

 Food
As you can above, food is not a problem for Jason!  He's loves almost everything he has tried (did not like asparagus).  He loves food that is easy to pick up (noodles, beans, banana slices, cut up meatballs, etc) but is also very good at using a fork and spoon.  He can very neatly clean out a yogurt container with a spoon and not drop a bit while eating.  Jason won't drink milk but loves yogurt smoothies and cheese, so we don't worry that he's lacking in calcium.  He says "juice" for his sippy cup no matter what's in the cup!

Sizes

• Size 4 diapers
• Size 5.5 shoes but will probably be in 6 soon
• Size 24 months clothes, and some 2T shirts
• 26 pounds!

Hanging with my Peeps

 It's been a very busy week, and all I wanted this weekend was a "lounging day".  That didn't happen Saturday (Tim took up all his fishing nets and then we got our taxes done), but Sunday was my day!  I slept in til 9 AM and when I came downstairs, the kids were on their second breakfast of the morning.  The first breakfast (at 6 AM) was waffles, but their snack at 9 AM was.....peeps!  Tim has an addiction, so every Easter, we stock up on Peeps.  Tim likes them straight out of the freezer (don't knock it til you try it) and this was Jason's first experience with a Peep (Emily is a seasoned pro and loves them just as much as her daddy does).

Delicious peeps!

And where there is food, there is Willow.  Notice the deep hug with Peep still in hand.

I'm just gonna give this ear a tug.....

Willow is very intent on the intended snack target.

Jason decided he was finished halfway through his Peep (he made that one Peep last 20 minutes) so he "shared" with Dad while Tim was snoozing on the couch.

Seriously, where is all the good stuff?  I want a Denta stick or Greenie.....these Peeps are for the birds!

We 3 Visiting Carrie & Family

 I headed out Friday morning with the usual double daycare drop-off for Jason and Emily, but instead of taking Garrett and Caroline to their respective schools, I continued on down Rt 17 towards PA.  Carrie and I planned this trip a while back, and it seemed like such fun to visit her with just the older two kids.  They had a ball getting Carrie's attention, the car ride was easier with 3 less passengers (Timmy included, though he's always a help for me!), and the little ones got to spend the weekend wearing out Daddy.  While visiting in Cranberry Township, we were treated to awesome Mexican food (hey, can I get some sour cream?!?!), had a "shop til we drop" type of afternoon, scored some great Kohl's deals, had Handel's handmade ice cream...in a snowstorm!, and got to spend time with the cousins, Barrett and Britton.
My family was also able to sit down to not one, but TWO nights of homemade dinners and I didn't have to lift a finger!  Chicken pot pie from scratch on Friday night and burgers on the grill Saturday, and Carrie even made a homemade jelly roll for dessert AND homemade whipped cream!  YUM!

"artistic expression with Britton and Caroline"

Ummmm.....what you looking at?  Ever seen a bottle of formula before?!

LOVE this decal that Carrie got for Barrett's helmet, which is coming off soon!  No more flat spot!

His head was usually staring at a phone screen and ear buds were often glued in his ears, but we enjoyed Garrett's presence.

Playing with the Wedgets

Josh and I "bonding"

Josh was showing me "Dude Perfect" videos on YouTube.  Those shots are insane!

Caroline's favorite sweater for her favorite Sadie

Sadie's Glamour Shot from the yard

Britton tried to bury eggs in the yard, but despite warmer temps, that ground was still frozen!

Aunt Kiwi made Caroline her very own quilt with all things that Caroline loves--patches of gummy bears, little Russian nesting dolls, cupcakes, narwhals, etc.!  Caroline LOVED it!

The focus of our trip was this very easy skirt-sewing project!  Caroline picked the yellow polka dot fabric and Carrie turned it into the amazing double layer skirt that Caroline loved so much she wore it to bed!

Breaking Bread

 With all of our snow days, Caroline has had the run of the kitchen this winter.  Over Thanksgiving, her Aunt Carrie showed her how to make Amish white bread.  Caroline has memorized this recipe and has made this bread for us....about 14 times!  And yes, it's "real" bread making, with yeast and warm water and rising dough and all the time-consuming/fun parts that go along with bread making without a bread maker machine.  She gets two good sized loaves out of every batch of dough and they never last more than 2 days around this place.  Thanks to Aunt Kiwi!