Walking at 13 Months and 3 Year old Birthday

Dear Hannah and Nathan, 

We had a super exciting week. Hannah started walking around on Thursday and now realizes that she can get from one place to another much faster on foot than on hands and knees. The first time you took a few more steps than your usual 3-4 steps happened when you were holding on to a toy and you wanted to bring it to me to show me. You walked over, more focused on showing me the toy and when I got excited about how far you walked, you realized it and tried to do it again. Ever since then, you've been confident enough to take more steps. 

And suddenly shoes and socks have been very interesting to you. I guess it makes sense, you are walking, so you want something on your feet to help protect them. I often see you trying to put on Nathan's shoes.

After a year of sitting on the sidelines and watching everyone else have fun, you are finally free to play! There is pretty much nothing stopping you now. You can walk, climb, scoot, crawl- the world is your playground!  

 And Nathan, you celebrated your 3rd birthday this weekend with a few of your best friends and neighbors. Of course I forget to charge the camera and left the phone in the car, so I am so thankful that our friend Vivian snapped a few pictures for us.

(By the way, if you are reading this and didn't get invited, don't be offended, we still like you. You probably attended Hannah's party and since that just happened a few weeks ago, we didn't think it was cool to have people attend another Havlir party back to back)

 Most of the time you played in the pretend area and avoided the jumpy houses. The fans still freak you out a bit, but towards the end, we all went into a small house and you actually had fun jumping with Hannah and a few of your friends.

 On Sunday, we went to another birthday party. This one was pretty cool because it was at a farm. You spent a lot of time eating, we looked at a few animals, and you explored the fort that was there for awhile. Nathan, you really liked watching the goats, and Hannah, you were really enamored by the chickens.

We went in for your 3 year check up and you did great, partly because you went in knowing that you would not have to get any shots. You pretty much told anyone who would listen to you that you were not getting a shot today. Hannah, on the other hand, had to get blood drawn again to make sure hemoglobin levels are ok. The doc's office just called and things are great. 

Well, birthday parties, walking, and doctors visits have been consuming our time this week. We have a few more parties to attend, grandparents to host, so it'll be awhile until things slow down once again. Who knew the lives of 3 and 1 year olds could be so busy! 

Oh, one more thing. Nathan, the other day you stumbled upon Mommy and Daddy's secret stash of games for adults and begged to play. Before I told you "No," I remembered the time I found my parents' secret stash of games and just really wanted to play "Battleship." only to have my spirit crushed when I was denied due to my lack of experience and reading skills. So, instead of denying your interest in games, I decided to play a modified version of Carcasonne, where we just pick up pieces and try to fit them in the right spot. After a few turns, you picked it right up. Maybe next year, you will be able to handle farm stealing...

Well, that's it for now. Until next week!

Love, 

Mommy