Ethan is really enjoying pretend play these days. Today I was a tractor, polar bear, and a horse. We built tunnels, forts, and an igloo (which he calls an "eggen", so if he talks about it don't be concerned we were contributing to the delinquency of a minor by taking him to egg houses!) He cooks pasta and soups every day in his play kitchen, and uses Ella as his sous chef/taster.
He loves to play "hide an peek", but seems a little fuzzy on the concepts. Usually he tells you where to hide, or he hides in the some place repeatedly, or he hides and then comes out to chase you.
While we certainly have the end of the day pre-dinner cranky, the most consistently challenging time of the day around here is the lunch hour. Since Ethan just takes one nap, and I've mostly gotten Ella in a routine where she takes a short morning nap and then goes down shortly after Ethan for an afternoon nap, everybody is a bit tired and hungry by mid-day. (I'll raise my hand as the first in the cranky/hungry lineup.) Usually I get Ethan started on his lunch and then start feeding Ella while trying to grab some food for myself somewhere in the mix. This works if everybody is in the sweet spot of just hungry enough. If either kid is not really hungry or starving it makes everything a bit off. Today Ethan realized that I typically respond quickly when he says he's all done (so as to avoid any plates "accidentally" hitting the floor) and tried to exploit this fact when he didn't want me paying attention to Ella. The boy who cried done multiple times then lost his plate of food, and I became the woman who took food away from a child begging for it. One look at his belly will reassure any worried that he wants for food.
Ella has decided food is good again. She thinks peas are okay, really likes bananas, carrots and sweet potatoes, LOVES pears, and has repeatedly let me know that apples are clearly baby poison. Who doesn't like applesauce? In case it's not clear by the faces she makes, she usually throws in a couple gags. She's doing a lot more sitting up (longer times, but as soon as she loses her balance she can't recover) and is starting to pass objects from one hand to the other. She has a truly impressive reach and really enjoys grabbing and pulling. Ethan will frequently back up to her so she grabs his hair and then giggle repeatedly while saying "no hair Ella...no hair!"
Speaking of which, during the Olympics Ethan became fascinated by the athletes with shaved heads. He now feels the need to point out loudly "no hair! no hair!" While this hasn't yet happened while outside our house, it's probably only a matter of time.
Top phrases heard around our house:
*Hereitcomes!!!! (yelled with glee about ordinary daily events!)
*Lookit? (used whenever he wants to see anything of interest)
*Hi!! and Byebye! (used liberally; for example, he tells the water in the potty bye bye and night night)
*Putitindere (applicable in a surprising number of situations around the house)
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Nothing says exciting like a medium brown...
Cardamon, actually. Brent painted our bedroom last week/weekend. I love it, and I think the color looks great. After finishing, Brent laughed that we had looked at well over 30 paintchips to choose the perfect medium brown.
Last Thursday we took a little field trip to meet Andrea and Selina at Selina's grandparents' farm. Ethan LOVED the fact that there were chickens, roosters, ducks, dogs, cows, and horses. He and Andrea chased the ducks in the paddle boat, and he ran around the yard checking out the tractors and assorted equipment.
We've had a pretty calm week; trying to have some downtime and take care of packing for our trip to Ohio next week.
I've got many thoughts swirling around in my head these days...many recent reminders in the lives of people I care about that this life is full of joy and sorrow and laughter and tears. How glad I am to know that my God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I have many questions and far fewer answers, but I feel blessed that God has given me this moment, this family, and these opportunities to love the ones around me with everything I have (and often more than I have by the end of the day!) With that in mind, some random things (in no particular order other than as they occur to me) happening in our lives have seemed like things that might make somebody else laugh, or at least know what to pray for when they think of us! Many of them are things I am so thankful for; some are things I can at least laugh at, and all of them are gifts/challenges that just seem to come with this time in our lives:
Okay, I was just now getting to the part where I share actual kiddo stories (for those of you not enthralled by my brown walls) and Ethan woke up early from his nap. This seems right, as Ella took longer than usual to go down for her nap. Too much alone time just breeds laziness, right? I promise to get back to this soon!
Last Thursday we took a little field trip to meet Andrea and Selina at Selina's grandparents' farm. Ethan LOVED the fact that there were chickens, roosters, ducks, dogs, cows, and horses. He and Andrea chased the ducks in the paddle boat, and he ran around the yard checking out the tractors and assorted equipment.
We've had a pretty calm week; trying to have some downtime and take care of packing for our trip to Ohio next week.
I've got many thoughts swirling around in my head these days...many recent reminders in the lives of people I care about that this life is full of joy and sorrow and laughter and tears. How glad I am to know that my God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. I have many questions and far fewer answers, but I feel blessed that God has given me this moment, this family, and these opportunities to love the ones around me with everything I have (and often more than I have by the end of the day!) With that in mind, some random things (in no particular order other than as they occur to me) happening in our lives have seemed like things that might make somebody else laugh, or at least know what to pray for when they think of us! Many of them are things I am so thankful for; some are things I can at least laugh at, and all of them are gifts/challenges that just seem to come with this time in our lives:
Okay, I was just now getting to the part where I share actual kiddo stories (for those of you not enthralled by my brown walls) and Ethan woke up early from his nap. This seems right, as Ella took longer than usual to go down for her nap. Too much alone time just breeds laziness, right? I promise to get back to this soon!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
I don't think they look like weebles?
Ella had her 6 month appointment on Monday. She's 25 5/8 inches long and weighs 14 lbs, which puts her at the 48th percentile for height and 15th percentile for weight. In an amusing side note that I can only assume promises a future full of great things and many squeals when pulling on shirts, she follows in the lead of her brother and is at the 94th percentile for her head size. She was a bit fussy after the shots, and anytime the rest of the day that she would cry Ethan would look at her and say very somberly, "Ella doctor...medcin shot." He supervised from behind me the whole time, clearly wanting to protect her and yet not willing to risk any chance of getting a needle in his direction.
Lately when we read one alphabet book from the library Ethan does a where's waldo type game that took me a while to catch on; he kept saying, "mushwoom...where is it?" Even when I figured it out and told him it's a moustache, he still tells me about his poppa's mushwoom. This means when he talks about my dad, it's usually about his tractor, love of playing with water, and his mushwoom.
The kids both had fun this week with more guests....they are going to be so bored with just me next week! My sister made a trip over before her semester starts back and there was lots of giggling around the house. Brent and I got a little bit of time and made a run to Target to finish birthday shopping for Ethan. We live an exciting little life, don't we?
Lately when we read one alphabet book from the library Ethan does a where's waldo type game that took me a while to catch on; he kept saying, "mushwoom...where is it?" Even when I figured it out and told him it's a moustache, he still tells me about his poppa's mushwoom. This means when he talks about my dad, it's usually about his tractor, love of playing with water, and his mushwoom.
The kids both had fun this week with more guests....they are going to be so bored with just me next week! My sister made a trip over before her semester starts back and there was lots of giggling around the house. Brent and I got a little bit of time and made a run to Target to finish birthday shopping for Ethan. We live an exciting little life, don't we?
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Maybe they should hand out sanitizer at the door...
Brent reminded me this weekend that it's been a while since we posted. The kids and I all got a cold after the indoor playscape, so we had a few nights of unsettled sleep around here. Last week my mom came to give me a bit of a break. I did some shopping by myself, got a haircut without constantly handing somebody a distraction, and went for dinner and ice cream with Brent. It was really nice! I will admit to several times excitedly pointing out trains and dump trucks, only to realize there was nobody in the back seat to enjoy them.
Ella decided after getting her cold that she didn't like solids anymore, so we're working on getting her to eat them again. We're already seeing with both the kids what happens when two stubborn people decide to have kids together. Teen years should be fun! With the exception of when she's hungry or tired (admittedly frequent needs) she's such a good-natured baby. She absolutely loves watching Ethan play, and he's starting to enjoy interacting with her more. He's gotten quite good at bringing her toys. She's getting really good at grabbing things and manipulating them to explore, and her preferred positions are sitting up or laying on her tummy looking around. She has her 6 month well-check tomorrow, and I am a bit in disbelief of how quickly the time has gone.
Ethan had SO much fun with his Mamite. They went to the pet store, played with the train table at the bookstore, played in the fountain, etc. I think he's picked up some habits from her, however, as when driving anything (grocery cart, stroller, car, etc.) he always tells me to "turn right" (her typical choice when there is any question of directions...and she wonders why everybody but her thought the GPS was a really good Christmas present!) She also was the potty whisperer, and had Ethan using the potty a good 4-5 times per day when she was here. I wish I could say that it hasn't already become an issue that has potential for power struggles, but any of you that have dealt with pottytraining can feel our pain. Suffice it to say that he has realized the value to getting our attention quickly, postponing bedtime, and most importantly, the joy of the flush.
In a really heart-tugging development, she got Ethan to start saying "wuv you" when you tell him that you love him. Previously, he would never repeat it, and would blow kisses when you told him you loved him.
In just the last two weeks, we've seen an explosion in the amount of songs that Ethan will sing. Granted, many of these involve singing the last word or two of each line, but it's still pretty funny. A sample, and personal favorite around here, is "stinkle, stinkle....STAR...wonder...ARE...uppa uppa...HIGH....diamon....SKY" He also loves counting. He counts to 12 with no prompting, but will not say 7. Won't even repeat it after you. He's really interested in the words/concepts on and off, empty, and both lately, and uses all of them liberally in conversations. If you're around us, you will always know when the "air kish" is on or off; this is admittedly a valuable thing to know in the Texas heat, but you might be surprised how often it switches without you paying conscious attention to it. Everything in our lives gets commentary. Perhaps if I took the chance to be grateful for the everyday things in life more often, I would also feel the need to point out with glee that the air conditioner is indeed on...
Ella decided after getting her cold that she didn't like solids anymore, so we're working on getting her to eat them again. We're already seeing with both the kids what happens when two stubborn people decide to have kids together. Teen years should be fun! With the exception of when she's hungry or tired (admittedly frequent needs) she's such a good-natured baby. She absolutely loves watching Ethan play, and he's starting to enjoy interacting with her more. He's gotten quite good at bringing her toys. She's getting really good at grabbing things and manipulating them to explore, and her preferred positions are sitting up or laying on her tummy looking around. She has her 6 month well-check tomorrow, and I am a bit in disbelief of how quickly the time has gone.
Ethan had SO much fun with his Mamite. They went to the pet store, played with the train table at the bookstore, played in the fountain, etc. I think he's picked up some habits from her, however, as when driving anything (grocery cart, stroller, car, etc.) he always tells me to "turn right" (her typical choice when there is any question of directions...and she wonders why everybody but her thought the GPS was a really good Christmas present!) She also was the potty whisperer, and had Ethan using the potty a good 4-5 times per day when she was here. I wish I could say that it hasn't already become an issue that has potential for power struggles, but any of you that have dealt with pottytraining can feel our pain. Suffice it to say that he has realized the value to getting our attention quickly, postponing bedtime, and most importantly, the joy of the flush.
In a really heart-tugging development, she got Ethan to start saying "wuv you" when you tell him that you love him. Previously, he would never repeat it, and would blow kisses when you told him you loved him.
In just the last two weeks, we've seen an explosion in the amount of songs that Ethan will sing. Granted, many of these involve singing the last word or two of each line, but it's still pretty funny. A sample, and personal favorite around here, is "stinkle, stinkle....STAR...wonder...ARE...uppa uppa...HIGH....diamon....SKY" He also loves counting. He counts to 12 with no prompting, but will not say 7. Won't even repeat it after you. He's really interested in the words/concepts on and off, empty, and both lately, and uses all of them liberally in conversations. If you're around us, you will always know when the "air kish" is on or off; this is admittedly a valuable thing to know in the Texas heat, but you might be surprised how often it switches without you paying conscious attention to it. Everything in our lives gets commentary. Perhaps if I took the chance to be grateful for the everyday things in life more often, I would also feel the need to point out with glee that the air conditioner is indeed on...
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Should they hand out helmets at the door?
This week my friend and her little boy are staying/playing with us. Ethan is VERY excited by this, and Ella enjoys watching the little boys play and schreech like monkeys. It's a bit of a madhouse. We're having a lot of fun!
Today we went to an indoor playscape. Imagine trapping a hundred wild animals in a gym and giving them foam and balls to throw at each other and some equipment to jump off of and you'll have a good start at understanding the madness. The boys actually did really well and had a blast, and I only used my firm mama voice with a stranger's kid once. Ella was a bit overwhelmed but held up well. Good thing she's an easygoing one about such things.
Today we went to an indoor playscape. Imagine trapping a hundred wild animals in a gym and giving them foam and balls to throw at each other and some equipment to jump off of and you'll have a good start at understanding the madness. The boys actually did really well and had a blast, and I only used my firm mama voice with a stranger's kid once. Ella was a bit overwhelmed but held up well. Good thing she's an easygoing one about such things.
Sunday, August 3, 2008
How to cool off
It has been a very hot summer. Through the end of July we've had 38 days at 100 degrees or higher. The only way to play outside is to get wet. This video shows Ethan playing in the fountains at a local outdoor mall.
As is usual for his personality, he starts out pretty tentative but really gets into it as he warms up. On this day we also enjoyed sharing some ice cream but I was too busy trying to get my share before Ethan ate it all to capture the ice cream on video.
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