Overheard in the back seat on the way home from church this morning:
"Ella, no crying. You go to timeout."
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Daddy + home improvement store + work gloves = the happiest little boy ever
Yesterday Brent took a day off, and he and Ethan had a guy morning. By the time the day was over, they had gone to the auto parts store twice, home depot twice, and lowe's once. They worked on the push and riding mower (changing oil, sharpening blades, etc.) It was a little boy's dream day. (You can tell by the above pic that it was a windy day, and that I had forgotten to check the lens. Somehow it mysteriously always has a thumbprint clouding up the pictures!) Ethan was especially proud of wearing Daddy's work gloves. They also picked up a small seed kit to plant some flowers/veggies. It's been decorated with stickers, and so far survived "I shaked it!" a couple of times.
This morning we went to a local plant nursery to look at some small trees. This nursery has a couple cats roaming around, and pens with chickens, goats, and donkeys, so it was a fun excursion for all. Ella happily "bok, bok, bok, bok"ed at the chickens for quite a while, and Ethan picked out which were the "nice" chickens and goats.
Ella continues to grow more interested in standing as she realizes the increased potential for getting into things. Yesterday I found her happily cooking away...She will move her legs to walk if absolutely necessary, but usually under protest. (She yells at the walker as she moves her feet to keep from falling!)
She loves to tickle, and you can frequently hear her in the back seat squealing "sock" when she gets one off, followed closely by "tickle, tickle, tickle" as she tickles her own toes.
When Ethan announces "I'm funny!" (which happens probably once a day), Ella now says "ha!' and then laughs.
Last night we got another glimpse into the mind of a two year old and how they try to make sense of everything they're seeing. Ethan had cried out after being put to bed because a neighborhood dog was barking repeatedly. (This is a pretty common occurence, along with the several minutes of discussion in his bed before he will settle back down and go to sleep.) After telling me he heard a dog barking, he asked somewhat nervously,"Neighbors gonna take care of it?", followed by "They gonna tie that string around its belly?" Apparently this is what the dogs being walked on leashes in front of our house must look like to him!
Friday, March 6, 2009
some random fun...
Apparently Ethan has had a falling out with one of his stuffed animals. Over the past week or so, he asks at bedtime if turtle is in the bed. Turtle has been in the bed rotation (we had to set a limit of 5 at a time in the bed that he gets to choose; he was running out of room!) and had always been a favorite. But now when he asks, it's because he wants to make certain that turtle is not in the bed. As he told Brent and now repeats if asked why he doesn't want turtle in the bed, "I don't like him." (Imagine this in a two year old's most emphatic and disgusted voice.) Apparently he's concerned that turtle will try and slip back up, because he keeps checking.
Last night after their baths, Ethan looks over at Ella getting her hair brushed and says in the sweetest voice, "you look handsome, Ella! Very handsome."
This morning Brent and Ella were watching a Baby Einstein DVD (baby mcdonald). Ella LOVED it. She called all of the animals (except the cows) "doodoo!" and all of the fruits/veggies/grains "apple!"
Last night after their baths, Ethan looks over at Ella getting her hair brushed and says in the sweetest voice, "you look handsome, Ella! Very handsome."
This morning Brent and Ella were watching a Baby Einstein DVD (baby mcdonald). Ella LOVED it. She called all of the animals (except the cows) "doodoo!" and all of the fruits/veggies/grains "apple!"
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Do they have a daily word quota they're trying to meet?
Looks like we're going to have two talkers on our hands. So far Ella is saying some version that we can understand of no (which is usually nononononono), mama (which she rarely says and ONLY when she's whimpering or wailing because she's not getting what she wants), daddy, poppa, baby, ball (the girl LOVES balls), dog (she says doodoo!), up (I hear this one a LOT through the day), please, more (which she recently started signing and now uses any time she wants something), cracker, book (which she'll say as she drags book after book to you for you to read), socks, hat (you can see her putting things on her head in many pics--she loves to pretend everything is a hat), dance (I know, in a Baptist home!), and hop (one of her favorites right now...she'll say it and giggle away as she tries to get Ethan or one of us to hop for her). She's pretty good at parroting back some version of most things we say to her these days (and unfortunately sounds like a parrot on many of them). Last night she was pretty funny trying to say chicken. I honestly can not imagine what it's going to be like around here with both of them talking our ears off.
She's still not close to walking, but can do the military crawl with the best of them (and has carpet burn on her arm to show for it). She loves to do the itsy bitsy spider motions, and begs for this little piggy over and over again. She loves puzzles and has pretty good fine motor skills....she'll clap for herself as she finishes something successfully. She "sings" along with Ethan on many songs, especially the ABC's (as this is still his favorite song to sing to her). She loves to crawl/"hop" up the stairs with Ethan, so most of our trips upstairs take a while.
As Brent says, we have an eater and a sleeper, and they're both the same one! Ella likes to be unpredictable on both counts. She LOVES avocadoes, cheese, and fruit, and some days will chow down on meat. Veggies are another story. I keep serving them and trying creative ways to make them appealing, and we get some in her, but it's been a surprising challenge after having Ethan eat anything you put in front of him.
Ethan is also keeping us busy and entertained. He has become quite the attentive older brother. One night at dinner when I was telling Brent about how Ethan was protective of Ella at the library (when a little kid was trying to crawl over her, etc.) Ethan absolutely melted my heart as he announced "I'll always take care of Ella!" He is indeed very sweet with her most of the time, although her increased mobility has increased his stress level greatly. She wants to be right in the middle of anything he's doing, which is obviously a problem when you're trying to build the tallest tower ever. He has learned pretty well that hitting is not an option, but tries to grab her feet and scoot her away when I'm not looking. He also thinks it's pretty funny to watch and/or assist Ella in getting into things that he knows are not allowed (like pulling the toilet brush down off the shelf for her), and then just waiting, quietly giggling, for me to discover the naughtiness.
He loves helping to cook, helping with the dishes, loading the laundry, going to church, playing with his friends, blowing bubbles, riding his tricycle (which he is finally starting to be able to ride somewhat by himself), playing with playdoh, and coloring. Lately he frequently asks for help to "draw my name". He's also currently infatuated with the Backyardigans, and asks to watch a particular episode repeatedly. (As a side note to Ohio family, this episode is called secret mission, and he always asks for the "secret michigan"---too many times of saying beat michigan? ) At least we figured out what he's asked for; the first time he asked about it we had no context and thought he kept asking Brent for a secret mexican, which made no sense and would have been a slightly uncomfortable conversation in any public place.
He made a lady laugh in the grocery store this week when he excitedly squealed "bok choy" when I picked him some lettuce (he had helped me pick some out the week before; the excitement was all about thinking he had recognized something, as we discovered I am the only family member that likes bok choy). He and Ella then proceeded to laugh and say "bok, bok, bok" like little chickens for the next 5 minutes. Maybe this is why the most frequent things I hear from strangers are "you have your hands full" and "are they twins?" (which I still don't understand, as they are clearly not the same age---17 months difference!)
Off to try and prep dinner before I have two "helpers" for the process. As Ethan responds to a farewell of see you later, alligator.... after crocodiles! to you all.
She's still not close to walking, but can do the military crawl with the best of them (and has carpet burn on her arm to show for it). She loves to do the itsy bitsy spider motions, and begs for this little piggy over and over again. She loves puzzles and has pretty good fine motor skills....she'll clap for herself as she finishes something successfully. She "sings" along with Ethan on many songs, especially the ABC's (as this is still his favorite song to sing to her). She loves to crawl/"hop" up the stairs with Ethan, so most of our trips upstairs take a while.
As Brent says, we have an eater and a sleeper, and they're both the same one! Ella likes to be unpredictable on both counts. She LOVES avocadoes, cheese, and fruit, and some days will chow down on meat. Veggies are another story. I keep serving them and trying creative ways to make them appealing, and we get some in her, but it's been a surprising challenge after having Ethan eat anything you put in front of him.
Ethan is also keeping us busy and entertained. He has become quite the attentive older brother. One night at dinner when I was telling Brent about how Ethan was protective of Ella at the library (when a little kid was trying to crawl over her, etc.) Ethan absolutely melted my heart as he announced "I'll always take care of Ella!" He is indeed very sweet with her most of the time, although her increased mobility has increased his stress level greatly. She wants to be right in the middle of anything he's doing, which is obviously a problem when you're trying to build the tallest tower ever. He has learned pretty well that hitting is not an option, but tries to grab her feet and scoot her away when I'm not looking. He also thinks it's pretty funny to watch and/or assist Ella in getting into things that he knows are not allowed (like pulling the toilet brush down off the shelf for her), and then just waiting, quietly giggling, for me to discover the naughtiness.
He loves helping to cook, helping with the dishes, loading the laundry, going to church, playing with his friends, blowing bubbles, riding his tricycle (which he is finally starting to be able to ride somewhat by himself), playing with playdoh, and coloring. Lately he frequently asks for help to "draw my name". He's also currently infatuated with the Backyardigans, and asks to watch a particular episode repeatedly. (As a side note to Ohio family, this episode is called secret mission, and he always asks for the "secret michigan"---too many times of saying beat michigan? ) At least we figured out what he's asked for; the first time he asked about it we had no context and thought he kept asking Brent for a secret mexican, which made no sense and would have been a slightly uncomfortable conversation in any public place.
He made a lady laugh in the grocery store this week when he excitedly squealed "bok choy" when I picked him some lettuce (he had helped me pick some out the week before; the excitement was all about thinking he had recognized something, as we discovered I am the only family member that likes bok choy). He and Ella then proceeded to laugh and say "bok, bok, bok" like little chickens for the next 5 minutes. Maybe this is why the most frequent things I hear from strangers are "you have your hands full" and "are they twins?" (which I still don't understand, as they are clearly not the same age---17 months difference!)
Off to try and prep dinner before I have two "helpers" for the process. As Ethan responds to a farewell of see you later, alligator.... after crocodiles! to you all.
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