A Few "Graduations"

Graduation season is upon us! It's a time of year for celebrating growth and marking changes. Thankfully, our family is still years away from having any kind of official graduation ceremony. However, as Jaden and Cody draw ever nearer to their 1st birthday, they continue to grow and change, "graduating" on to new and bigger things.

With the coming of more regular spring-like weather, Jaden and Cody have graduated away from their winter hats into these newer ones.

Jaden

Cody

Mommy & Daddy most enjoy our jogging stroller for outdoor walks, but this narrower stroller is perfect for shopping and other errands. Mommy was very sad to let go of her super-convenient Snap 'n Go stroller! Since the twin in the back always had to sit with his legs bent to his chest, however, we knew it was time to say good-bye to convenience and graduate up to our new garage-sale find stroller.

Sorry, Jaden, for not noticing your backwards hat!

Cody, taking in the warm sunshine

Probably the biggest "graduation" was moving out of our infant car seats into convertible ones. Our growing boys love the extra room! Mommy & Daddy LOVED the fact that our community has monthly services to help parents check & install their car seats for free. Hooray for a fast & easy, no-hassle install!

Doesn't Cody look like his Uncle Andrew in this picture??

Jaden getting used to his new ride

For better or worse, we have also graduated on to more together-playtime. Better-- the boys can keep themselves occupied for longer periods, and we often hear lots of giggles. Worse-- We're already seeing a lot more pushing, shoving, tackling, etc., and both boys now become REALLY upset when their brother steals away their chosen toy-for-the-moment. Cody particularly loves to steal something away from Jaden and then literally RUN into the other room. Ha! Here they are, team-pushing their rider across the floor.

These next two video clips show Cody giving his brother a ride! Yes, we realize we still need to work on his steering...

Jaden has become our little reader! Frequently, he will sit down next to a book or two and flip through the pages, one by one.

Finally, both boys are making lots of progress with their walking! They now love to carry anything (from books to toys to couch cushions) along with them as they walk around the house. These days, it's not uncommon for us to find socks from the bedroom by the front door or a sippy cup in the bathroom. This video shows you the boys' growing confidence with walking, as well as one of their new favorite play sites, pounding on the kitchen garbage can!

Our little boys continue to grow and grow! We've been trying for some time to capture a good picture of their mouthful of teeth. This picture of Jaden is the best we could get for now. Both boys officially have 4 up top and 3 on bottom.

Other funny/interesting Jaden & Cody stories:

With Cody more often being the toy-stealer, Jaden has learned that he has to be proactive. Sometimes, we'll find him carrying multiple pacifiers around, just in case one gets taken away!

We've mentioned before that our boys love playing on the piano. Lately, their method of playing has been so funny to watch. What a lot it tells us about their personalities! Cody loves to pound on the keys, putting his whole self into making the loudest sound possible, often even getting on his tiptoes to do so. That's our all-in, charismatic little guy! Jaden, on the other hand, frequently approaches the piano keys gently as he calmly and softly plays us a little tune. He's most often our gentle, "take time to think about it" little man. (Sorry the video is sideways. Enjoy!)

We absolutely LOVE watching our boys graduate into new things and are excited for the many more changes yet to come!