Jo's 1st swim lesson

Daddy and Jo in the pool

Keep paddling - they worked on paddling and kicking in the water. Johanna let Tom hold her with one hand, but she gripped onto his hand tightly.

They had little toys for each kid. She practiced reaching for her toy in the water. I was proud that she tried all different things since she hasn't been in a big pool too many times.

Jumping in the pool - weeee

Johanna wasn't quite sure about jumping into the pool, so Tom helped her. Ready, set, go...

Kick, kick, kick

Opening Presents

Johanna sitting with her presents from Tom and I.

Wow! A snap-n-style doggy.

Jo opening her new potty book.

Daddy bought her a vacuum for her birthday, since she enjoys it when we vacuum.

Chow Time!

For Jo's party the theme was "Dogs!" They were everywhere - her cake, stuffed animals, and of course her favorite dog - Jake!

Eating a little dinner with her cousin Orrin and friend Johnathan.

Yolanda and Aunt Jane Orrin and John playing in the bouncy house. It kept them entertained the whole party!

I baked a cake from scratch - yes with flour and all the rest. No box. It was pretty good for a 1st try. Johanna even helped. She was in charge of pouring in the ingredients and supervising. Not to mention a little taste testing. The day of the party, Tom went to work making it into a dog shape and decorating the cake. I think he really has a nak for this kind of thing. Maybe he will start a side business in his spare time - Johanna immediately wanted to get a taste of her cake. We had to hold her back before the entire cake was hers.

Johanna couldn't smile with a mouth full of cake, not even for a second.

Singing Happy Birthday to Jo. Tom even made a dog bone for her dog cake. She sampled that too! She wasn't too happy about us singing and started to cry a little. But maybe it was because we took the cake away too.

Blowing out the candles with Daddy.

Dig in!

Finger licking good!

Our friends Matt and Kris

Cousin Brandon and Uncle Mike watching over the puppy chow and dog bone brownies.

Getting a little smooch from Grandpa Gaumond.

They have become good buddies over the last month.

Emma, Zach, and Orrin on an adventure in the tent.

Aunt Jane and Johanna

Saying good night to Grandpa Ketelbetoer.

Thank you everyone for coming and sharing in our special day. Johanna appreciates all the gifts and fun she had with friends and family.

Happy 2nd Birthday Johanna!

We had a 2nd Birthday party with our family and some close friends. Food, fun, and presents!

Johanna was interested for about 2 minutes in the present opening process and then slowly started army crawling away from Tom. She turned back every few minutes to check out the progress.

Hey dad, what do you have back there?

After Lilly decided she wanted to help, Jo thought it might be a good idea to open presents. Jake can help too!

Jo and I posing for a quick pic.

Such a cutie - I love those curls.

Jake, what do you think about all these people and presents?

Oh, you are so funny!

Johanna recieved an adorable purse from Matt and Kris. She loved it. She even sweet talked Grandpa Gaumond into a dollar for her purse.

We got a little doggy for our friends who came - Elizabeth was picking hers out. Steve and Elizabeth - she loved her new little puppy.

Jean reading with Lilly.

Jo checking out her new See-n-Say with Grandma Gaumond.

Messy Fun

Our friends Steve, Val, and Elizabeth gave Johanna some finger paints, crayons, paper, and a smock for Christmas. Johanna tried it out today. At first she wanted to get her smock off, but then once the paint was out, she was ready.

Eating finger paint - yuk! She tired a little, didn't like it. So she decided to eat some more. I don't quite get her thinking on this subject.

Hand you have tricked me!

Johanna Paints

For Christmas Santa brought Johanna a paint with water book. We tried it out for the first time and she loved it. I couldn't believe she liked it, since she tends to avoid coloring with crayons and markers.

She got the hang of dipping her paint brush in the water quickly. Jo wanted to take the little bowl, but we didn't want a spill.