Walking at the park

Yesterday, after some work with Joy's mom, Jacob stated pedaling this tricycle too! I'm so proud of them and really darn advanced!! Go them!!

Joy ordered her and I pedometers last week and they came on Saturday. Since then, we have been doing a lot of walking. We've been taking the boys to the metro parks and letting them walk on the paths. They have been enjoying the freedom of walking. Only holding hands when bikes come by or anything looks remotely dangerous. At some points they were holding each other's hands.

We have seen deer, birds, bugs, frogs, fish, and turtles on our walks. It's been really fun showing them to the boys and seeing them so interested in them. They were really excited about the frogs we saw at the Nature Realm.

I've been doing a new approach to bedtime. It includes not bringing my phone in when I put them to bed. When they were getting wild while I was trying to put them to bed, I stated playing movies on my phone to get them to settle. Instead, I've been trying to read to them. Letting them have books. We have also been "talking" about the day.

One hot topic we have been talking about was the train we saw at the park. They love trains!!

Forgot to mention, on the same night we saw the train, we all enjoyed laying down and rolling down a hill. We got so dizzy!! The boys loved it! Was so much fun!!



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St Patrick's Day Parade

Last Saturday, we hit up the Saint Patrick's Day parade in Akron. I'm not sure why they have it a week earlier than the actual holiday. Maybe they don't want to have the parade with drunk people stumbling about.

We let the boys walk this time holding hands to the parade. They really love their freedom and they do hold hands for the most part. They liked looking at the shops along the way. However, we still picked them up when we crossed the street.

Jacob was not too happy being picked up to cross the street. Joy had his hand in the beginning and picked him up across the first street. I had Jasper, who didn't mind.

The second street we had to cross, I had to pick up Jacob. He was really not happy about it. After we crossed, I put him down but he wanted to go back to cross the street again. I had to pick him up again and he freaked out. I tried several more attempts to put him down but I ended up just picking him up.

He freaked till the police cars and fire engines past in the parade. He had a blast waving back at the police officers and firemen. He also loved the matching bands.

I was able to put Jacob down at that point. He and Jasper both got to grab candy that was being thrown from the parade. Jacob grabbed the candy for me to put in my pocket and Jasper threw the candy back! So funny!!

We ended up leaving the parade early though. It was really cold! Jacob was fine for a little bit of the walk but I had I pick him up again which caused him to freak. A little boy walked up to us and said "maybe this will make him feel better" and tried to give him an American Flag. Jacob wasn't interested but Jasper was. He walked back with Joy's hand and the flag in the other.

We brought a camera and a video camera but we did get any pictures.

While this was a more difficult event, I'm glad we all did it. The boys really enjoyed the parade, waving, the candy, matching bands, and police cars. When we got home, we all had a tootsie roll.



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Parks!

Sunday we met my parents at the Ira trailhead in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It had been a month since they've seen the boys and they were itchin' to see them.

The boys were really good in the wagon as we walked to the farmer's market. My parents got us iced tea and lemon aid.

We shared with the boys who did their new found joy of spitting out anything they suck up from a straw. They did drink some though. Jasper seemed to like my lemonade.










Monday night we went to the concert in the park. The boys had a much better reaction this time. We got them both to clap their hands and dance (shake and wave arms) a bit in their wagon.

The band was Calypso Gypsies. They played island music and had a steel drummer. The band was much better than the last one we saw. The boys liked them a lot better.








Jasper was intent on watching while Jacob was watching the little girl seated behind us.

Yesterday, we headed back to the park to let them play and run around in the field. First we headed to the playground where we swung them on the swings and held them as they went down the slide.









The big difference this time was that the boys can now walk. We set them free and let them roam around the playground (with one of us intently staying with them.) They followed other kids around and beat on the slide like a drum.








We then headed over to the field and once we got them to stop walking back to the playground they loved walking up and down the hills.

Eventually Jacob found a tree that he was really fascinated with. Jasper joined him and a bit of "I'm gonna get'chew" game.

We came home and put Tangled on, a new favorite movie of theirs. And eventually went to bed and stayed asleep all night!


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losing shyness and kido watching

Last Saturday, we attended a birthday party for my nephew Jimmy. The last time we had a big family get together was during Christmas and it took awhile for the boys to warm up to everyone. Even last time they saw my parents, it took awhile for Jacob to warm up to them.

We entered and the boys were a little attached to us at first. Jasper noticed my people sitting on the floor and he crawled off to sit with them. He sat with his legs spread and looked around like he was being a part of the group. It was really neat to watch him mingle.

After Jacob noticed Jasper was on his own, he just started walking around the room. He spent the majority of the time walking and discovering.

At one point my sister was taking pictures of him and she would call him to look at the camera and he would open his mouth. He was acting for the camera.

The boys enjoyed being with Jimmy, who turned 9. They wanted to play with his soccer ball and baseballs that he got.

We shared cake and ice cream with them. They both loved it. You know their our boys for their love of ice cream. They had cookies and cream for the first time.

In a couple weeks now, the boys will be celebrating a birthday of their own! I can't believe they are turning one!!!!

It is really crazy how fast time flys by. You really need to enjoy every minute because it will be over.

Both boys are walking so good now. They only seem to crawl now when they want to get somewhere fast.

Last night, we went to the park. We put shoes on them for the first time.

There were a lot of soccer games and a softball game going on at the park. The park was more busy than usual. So there were a lot of kids on the playground.

We put the boys in the swings but they were more interested in watching the kids at the park. Joy thought that would give them to courage to walking but they mostly stood still and watched.

Jasper had his first "I don't want to leave" freak out. He cried when we put him back into the wagon and he took awhile for him to be ok.

When we got back we let them play in the back yard. Jasper went back to crawling and Jacob stood still for awhile until they both chased the cat.

Walk to us, you can do it!

Joy and I have been trying harder to get the boys to start walking. Joy read about clapping and making them want to come to you while they are standing.

Jacob is getting really close. He works his right foot really well. He is able to make a step with it. However, his left foot is keeping him back. He uses his left to lean on but when he tries to move it, he falls on his butt. He gets really excited if you take both his hand and hold them so he can walk. He talk giant steps filled with laughter.

Jasper surprised us when we weren't looking by doing same thing one day by Jacob's crib. When we try to get him to walk to us by clapping or showing him something he wants, he'll just get down on the ground and crawl over to us.

Both boys will look for anything they can to hold on to walk to us. If you're holding your hand out, they'll try to grab on.

I really think they'll be walking in no time. I would imagine in the next few weeks if not sooner.

The Buzzards of Hinkley?

Saturday, we traveled to Hinkley, Ohio. They were supposed to have buzzards in their metro park. They have a festival for it. We went a day before to avoid the festival crowd. However, we didn't see any buzzards. We walked to the area where they were supposed to be and watched but no luck.

The park there is really nice though! They have a path that is perfect for the stroller. It's hilly so there is a good work-out involved. Plus they have a neat dam.

It was too cold to take the boys out for long. We step up the stroller to walk but the wind was too cold so we didn't even bother getting the boys out of the car.

After we left we stopped at one of our favorite thrift stores. I looked for records and old recoding equipment but had no luck. Joy found shorts, pants, and a skirt.

The boys enjoyed being carted around the store. They both loved holding their hands out and feeling all the clothes.