First crop of the season

Today we picked strawberries for the first time this season.  We had about 10 ripe berries and Jack ate quite a few of those before we could get them inside to wash them off.  I really didn't mind that he was eating the dirty fruit, but I didn't enjoy that he popped most of them in his mouth without allowing us to take off the stems first.  Yup, he ate the whole strawberry:  dirt, berry, stem, and all.

Trouble

Jack is much more mobile now, and when I'm not paying attention, he makes a quick mess!  This is what happened when I tried to take a shower last week:

Playtime

Jack has recently gotten two new toys to keep his hands busy:  Playdough and Stamps.

He loves his new stamps, but as you can see here, he's much more interested in the tape that he found:

New Playdough is so much fun!

Jack loves to play, but he also really enjoys cleaning up!

Easter 2012

This is the first year that we've spent Easter Sunday at our church, New City Presbyterian Church. We all drove together and Jack and I got to watch the band practice before the service.  He enjoyed watching Jacob play is bass on the stage, but really loved listening to the drummer play.

We had an Easter egg hunt immediately after the service:

Trying to patiently wait for the hunt to begin

Searching for eggs

After church, we headed to two Easter parties - one for each side of the family.  Here's our 2012 Easter picture:

Jack:  17 months.  Baby Samad: 24 weeks

A boy and his bike

Jack loves to ride his bike!  He's just started to figure out how to make it move forwards and backwards, but isn't quite sure how to steer yet.  When he runs into a chair or the wall, the bike turns and he goes in that new direction.  He's content with that -- for now!

Backin' up -- Beep Beep!

Last month we had it outside a lot and he rolled down the front sidewalk:

Lately he's been driving around the kitchen while I cook.  He goes from drawer to drawer and opens every cabinet that he can reach. I guess he's at a new height on the bike and can reach things he wasn't able to before!  He creates messes all over the kitchen:  ugh!  But, he's having a good time and it keeps him busy while I'm cooking.  

He also likes to tow around his toys:

Play time with our buddy Jeremiah

Anyone want to guess where we went today???  We took our 5th trip to the zoo in as many weeks!  I promise we do many other fun activities.  I need to start bringing my camera to those, too!

Today we got to go with our friends Erin and Jeremiah Lyons.  Jack's Nana got us a  Gold Pass to the Cincinnati Zoo, so we can always bring a friend for free.  It's always nice to go with friends, and I am so thankful that Nana gave us such a generous gift!

Unfortunately, we didn't get to see very many animals today.  Erin, I promise we can go back soon!  We did get to ride the train, see the tulips, and play on the playground.

Here are some of my favorites from today:

Look what I found!

Determination

Almost there!

I made it through!