This would all be fine and dandy if Elena's birthday fell on January 26th... but it doesn't. Elena was born on the 25th. Ummm, oops? I'm sure other moms forget their children's birthdays all the time, right?... (crickets chirping).
Monday, July 27, 2009
Something's Wrong With Me
You know, I started writing the below post much earlier than yesterday, but I patiently waited until the 26th to publish it. Yesterday, the 26th, I sat down to finish and publish the post, but double checked the day's date just to make sure I had it right... "Yep, the 26th!"
Sunday, July 26, 2009
3.5 Years
Our sweet little girl is 3 1/2 today! When I first titled this post, I put 2.5 years... it's just hard for me to remember that she's as old as she is! Here is the latest and greatest on our big girl, Elena.
Over a year ago she started stuttering. It progressively got worse, but over the last six months it began to get better and now she rarely does it.
She loves Evan's company, and enjoys teaching and praising him; but she can get extremely frustrated with him when he doesn't live up to her expectations for a playmate.
The girl is pretty fearless. She'd love to run away from me in a store if I'd let her; and the bigger the ride or slide, the better.
The story of Jesus' death and resurrection really resonated with her. She hasn't yet grasped why Jesus had to die, but I'm happy that the story was told so well and with so many visual aids this summer at VBS.
Elena loves her friends, and is thrilled whenever she hears that she will get to play with them.
Speaking of friends, she one day started talking in the car about Cassie; Cassie this and Cassie that. This imaginary friend continues to occasionally pop up, at which point Elena will play very nicely with her in her room.
Elena is excited about the baby in mommy's tummy. She goes up to me and says, "Oooooh Mommy, your tummy is getting bigger and bigger and BIGGER! Then she tells me after dinner when her tummy is really full, that she also has a baby in her tummy.
Her imaginary play usually involves one of three themes; VBS/Sunday school, Birthday Parties, and HEB shopping trips. When she plays Sunday school she will talk in her "teacher-like" voice about different Bible stories. The funny thing is hearing the story she tells. One went something like, "Once upon a time, Jesus and Moses lived in a kingdom...." Hmmm...
At bedtime, she will occasionally run through her routine script of, "I go to Costo, Sea world, I see froggie in a box, I see bug, I love you", but it is very rare at this point.
We're working on reading. At this point she'll sound out all the letters in the word, but needs me to mesh them together.
She can "write" her name, but I'm probably the only one that recognizes the E-L-E-N-A at this point.
We're still thinking she's a lefty.
She will dance her heart out, especially if she has on a ruffled skirt. At this point I would describe her style of dance as... violent.
She loves stickers, shoes, girly dresses, puzzles, bubbles, sunglasses, and anything Disney princess themed.
We are extremely thankful for her life; and are praying for her salvation, for her to always be secure in our love, and for a teachable spirit.
Monday, July 20, 2009
It Was Bound to Happen at Some Point
I mean, what girl hasn't done this in her childhood? Why, just last week I was picking up my kids from the gym nursery and overheard a mother moaning about her daughter performing this very act. I'm talking about the DIY haircut.
Yes, tonight was the night where inspiration met opportunity for Elena, and she cut away at her locks with all the diligence a 3 year old possesses.
She had been in bed, quiet I might add, for about an hour. Then out of the blue I hear, "Mommy come see!" I was shocked that she was awake, but more shocked to walk in and see this pile of hair on the floor.
The ironic thing is that I had been looking for these "child-safe" scissors today and could not find them anywhere. Elena later explained to me that they were in her purse *Ahh of course, her purse...*
I know, I know, you're wanting to see a picture of the haircut. We felt that it would send mixed messages if we were asking her to pose with her new do, while simultaneously scolding her for her choices, so that picture will have to wait. (Thankfully, she mainly got the back top layer so it's not extremely noticeable)
May all your crayons be washable and your scissors hidden. Good-night!
Evan (and Laney) Wuz Here
Our kids have been very territorial lately... and a little "street". The ruffians keep tagging our furniture! I need to put a call into our councilwoman to report this outbreak of vandalism.
Look at that innocent resident - crazed by the destruction taking place all around him.
So the backstory here is that Evan started painting the side of our couch with a blue crayon just hours before we left town on Thursday. Elena finished the job with red and pink crayons a few hours after our return home. The funny thing was that when Evan first saw Elena's addition to his work, he furrowed his brow and said, "Oh NO!", like he was truly upset someone had ruined his masterpiece. Anyways, I thought it was funny, but I'm also grasping for humor in this situation.
Monday, July 13, 2009
18 Weeks - It's a...
BOY!
But don't take our word for it, you can see for yourself.
Here, he's basically sitting on the camera.
And a profile shot - isn't he handsome :) ?
The overall report was very good; something we don't take for granted.
Thank you Lord, for our baby boy!
Ouch!
Take a good look at that last picture of Elena in the previous post, because it might be awhile before her little forehead is no longer black and blue. Tonight she was sitting at our kitchen table near the windows. I had stepped out of the kitchen, but was now coming back in. As I crossed the threshold I saw her falling head first from her chair and nailing the corner of the windowsill with her head. It took me no more than two seconds to get to her, but by the time I picked her up she had an enormous goose egg forming.
She is not happy about me putting an ice pack on her head.
Now, a couple hours after the fall, her bump has gone down and she is quite her chipper self.
We are so thankful that the corner missed her eye. Thank you Lord!
Accessorizing
We picked up some hair accessories for Elena today. She proudly put them all on and then asked, "Am I lovely?" Oh yes Elena, you are beautiful!!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
Let's Play Ball!
Evan walked out of his room this afternoon geared up for some baseball; hat on, bat in one hand, and a nerf football (close enough) in the other. For about the last 3 hours he's gone around the house chasing these nerf football with the bat. We've got to get him a t-ball set!
You're mine ball!
Nice follow through
And it's out of the park!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
21 Months
Happy 1.75th Birthday Evan! Here's a list of some of the things that make Evan, Evan.
It's a short jump from disappointment to despair with Evan. I mean, he can really lose it, and of course it's always at the most inopportune time.
He makes hilarious exaggerated expressions. For instance, the excitement/surprise of hearing the garage door open shoots his eyebrows up to his hairline while his jaw hits the floor.
If there is music, the little man will dance. He also claps and says, "yay" at the end of any song.
He has become very attached to a particular blanket, or "an-ket!" When we put him in his crib he asks for it, hugs it as it comes towards him, collapses on top of it, and then he's out for the night.
He is a champ during nap time and bedtime. You won't hear a single protest.
Loves vehicles but primarily really BIG trucks.
Loves balls. He will hold as many as he can get in his arms and just happily walk around the house.
He has a ridiculously high and shrill scream. He can do it out of pure joy, or utter despair, but are ears are always left ringing.
"Baseball!" It's his word for all televised sports.
He loves to watch sporting events with Daddy (well, you know as long as the attention span of a one year old will allow). He mimics Ben's every expression, the "YEAH!", the fist pump, the "Oh Man!", and the "Go Go Go!" Yes, Ben is very aware that he has someone watching his every move/mood.
He can get really jealous of Mommy's lap. He does not like Elena in it one bit. Oh Buddy, just wait till you really have to share Mommy!
He's recognizing a few letters. Elena already knew them by this age, so I feel a little guilty that I have not worked with him like I did with Elena. But starting now, we are going to get serious about our letter learning (so take that guilt!)
He can be super sweet and enthusiastic with his salutations. Running up to his peers to say hello, and giving hugs as they leave.
He's a very picky eater at this point. But I'm not too worried. Elena was/is picky too, but now we can make her eat her food *evil laugh*.
No he is not the laid back baby he once was, but we are in love with this little boy, and are so thankful for God's hand of protection being on him.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
A List of Favorites
I think the best way to find out about resources for raising kids is through word of mouth. So I'm spreading the word on some of my favorite tools (for the most part these are educational tools) that I've come across so far. Most of these have come from friends (i.e. many of you), so Thank You!!!
Leap Frog - Letter Factory dvd
It's a short 30 minute video where the little frog, Tad tours a factory where each letter is learning how to say it's sound. If your child can learn to recognize a cow and learn what it says, they can learn letters! It's amazing how fast they soak it up. Based on personal (albeit limited) experience, 20 months seems like a good time to start. Also, having magnetic or foam letters for them to play with helps immerse them into the letter world.
Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons
We haven't used it yet, but I've heard only GREAT things about it. One of my friends' daughters really struggled with learning to read in school. Her mom went through this book with her, and voila!, by the end of it she was a reader and loved to do so! I think I'm going to ask for this book for Christmas.
Preschool Chore Chart
This website has great stuff, but I especially liked this chart. You can customize it, and it's free to download.
Starfall
Talk to any teacher and they will know about this website. There are all kinds of things here, but most of the activities focus on learning letters and how to read. Your child needs to be able to handle a mouse to navigate the site, so Elena's just starting to be able to enjoy it.
ColorMountain
Free coloring pages! But what sets this site apart from other coloring page sites is that once you select the image, you can print it out in coloring page form or you can create an activity page (page for practicing counting, writing letters, and plenty more) with the image in one quadrant of the page.
More Free Coloring Pages
Blattman's List
Something to think about, elementary schools often have a list of teachers favorite links posted on their schools website. Blattman Elementary has a good list, but I think we'll be waiting until elementary school to explore most of these.
Local Calendar of Kids Events
If you live in a major city, you should be able to find a daily list of kid friendly events. I was pretty surprised at how many free events are out there for kids!
Sunday, July 5, 2009
4th of July
What a fun 4th of July we've had! In the afternoon we went over to the Kadanes for a "Red, White, and Tacky Party" (dress in your tackiest Americana clothing.) Ben and I sorta ran away with the "tacky" part, and showed up in some pretty embarrassing outfits (especially Ben's), but we had a blast doing it!
I'm not sure if you can really appreciate from this picture just how awkwardly short Ben's shorts were!
Later that evening we took the kids over to the Japanese Tea Garden to watch fireworks. Rather than pay to enter the Tea Gardens :), we parked offsite, then hiked up to the top of a bluff that overlooked where the paying viewers sat. It was just the four of us up there and it made for a really sweet family time. The fireworks were wonderfully close and surprisingly not too loud. The kids LOVED them, and we are convinced we will be doing it again next year.
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