A Month in the Life

Since I am fairly sure that I am the only one who looks at this blog, I don't feel too bad about slacking on it. However, I do like to have posts written in a timely manner so that I can later include fun details in the kids' memory books.

As stated in a post on our main blog, we have a zoo membership. We went twice during October. The second time, I got video of Violet watching the polar bear. Eddie was convinced that the animals could break through the plexiglass in their enclosures, so he didn't want to get up close to any windows. Violet wasn't phased by it, though.

In the past month, Eddie did a lot of fun things at school. The class took a field trip to the pumpkin patch. Violet and I went, too, and it was a lot of fun. Eddie got a pumpkin to bring home to decorate, which he took back to school. Eddie elected to cover his pumpkin in "creepy crawly" stickers and googly eyes. It was pretty awesome, so of course, I neglected to take a photo. But he did bring this picture home from school last week:

Every time I see it, I laugh.

Dave and I spent a week in Oregon right before Halloween. When we got home, I put the finishing touches on the kids' costumes. Violet was a mermaid, wearing a costume of my own design. Her biggest issue was walking in the tail, so after visiting Dave's office earlier in the day, I had to make some modifications before trick-or-treating. Then she only went to one house and spent the rest of the evening playing with sticks and rocks.

I am fairly confident that this is the coolest thing I've ever made.

Eddie was Spiderman, something he has been planning for months. Lucky for us, he really wanted to be bright red and blue Spiderman, not the new darker one. We got his costume for free from his cousins. We bought him a mask but he said it made him too sweaty and didn't end up wearing it very much.

I love his muscles.

Now that Halloween is over, I have been plotting all the projects I need to do before Christmas. I have been spending a lot of time sewing, so the kids entertain themselves. Today, we played tea party and the kids thought it was great. After Violet's nap, she gathered up her tea set and had her own tea party with Jessie.

"Want some cu-cake? Yum yum yum."

Baby Genius

I am convinced that we have a baby genius on our hands. Violet talks so much it amazes me every day.  She is not quite 18 months old, but she recently started using sentences. I read that 3 word sentences don't usually start until closer to 2 years old. Usually her sentences are just to ask or tell me where someone went (i.e., "Daddy go stairs" or "Eddie go potty"). Then this morning, she surprised me by holding out her empty cup and saying quite clearly, "Want some milk."

She also loves to sing and tries to remember the words to songs. Her favorite song is "Winnie the Pooh." She leaves out all the words in the middle, but she will sing "ee ah pooh, ee ah pooh, illy illy oh bear!"

Our Nerdy Kids

As stated in previous posts, our kids are weird. Since we have a dearth of posts these days, I am once again posting random pictures of our kids in all their nerdy glory. Here is Eddie when he wanted to be a bunny the other morning:

At least he had a healthy breakfast... sort of.

And here is Violet refusing to pose for a picture because she wanted the camera too much:

Violet is growing up so fast! She learns a new word pretty much every day. Our current favorites are scooter (which sounds like "screw you") and her rendition of the Batman theme song ("da da da da Batbees!").

Well Check-Ups

Since Violet is now 15 months old and Eddie just turned 4, they both got to have check-ups today. This is the first time that I have taken them both to be examined at the same time and it was a little bit ridiculous. Violet has been sick for the last few days, so she was very clingy and angry. Eddie was a champ (besides refusing to wear a gown) right up until I told him he had to get a shot, then he became hysterical until we were on our way home. I think all the nurses felt a little sorry for me as I exited the office with two screaming children in tow.

Eddie weighed in at 36 pounds and measured 41 inches tall. That puts him about average for his age. Violet weighed 22 pounds and measured 33 inches, which puts her in the 98th percentile for height and the 37th for weight. I imagine that her weight was affected by not keeping any food down for two days this week.

Thanks to Violet's mood, she refused to demonstrate her advanced speaking skills. According to the doctor, kids her age should be able to say at least 4-5 words. Violet can say at least 20 different words and phrases. Our favorite one these days is "why did you do that?" which she learned from Eddie. She also learned how to say "Jesus" this week.

Violet loves babies. Here she is petting her cousin Ellie.

Eddie still cracks up the pediatrician every time. Luckily she wasn't amused when he told her that he just likes macaroni and cheese. She gave him a stern talking-to about how he needs to try different colored foods and instructed me to give him healthy options and let him choose. Then if he chooses not to eat, that is his choice and he doesn't get anything else. She said it will probably be a rough month, but then he should get better about it, and I have high hopes that improving his nutrition will also improve his mood.

Eddie, Sarah, and Trevor

Mater & The Ghostlight Live Blog

Today, Eddie's friends Luca and Stella came to play after school. When I picked them all up, their teacher informed me that they were all out of control today and wished me luck. After they ate lunch, the kids wanted to watch Mater and the Ghostlight. They watched it twice and on the second viewing, I decided to live blog everything they said. It was a little ridiculous, but you can see for yourself:

S: Ah! Ghostlight!
L: That's a ghostlight.
E: There's Mater.
S: It's just a ghostlight.
E: And the ghostlight just comes back and scares Mater.
E: Watch this.
S: AAAHHHH!
E: (singing) Big blue sky waiting' right behind….
S: Hundred? Hundred?
E: Watch this. Watch this guys. Watch this Luca & Stella.
(laughter)
S: That's funny
E: We were crying.
L: Yeah
E: But then we laughed.
S: Yeah
E: Laugh crying!
L: (whisper) The ghostlight
E: That's only sheriff.
S: I just want to see the ghostlight. It's scary.
E: And he says a story about the ghostlight, too.
S: Uh oh.
E: What is it?
S: I don't know.
E: What's a silvus?
S: No, Mater's scared.
L: Mater's scared.
E: Mater's scared.
E: There's Sheriff on the back of the other Sheriff. And they call him Stanley and Lizzie.
S: Is he scared?
E: Uh huh
S: What's he scared of?
E: The ghost light!

L: Where?
E: Look at him now.
L: Look at him.
S: He just cracked!
S: And this must be the ghost light.
E: It's kind of short.
S: Ah!
L: Ah!
(laughter)
E: A TIRE! Giant tires for the screaming banshee.
(laughter)
S: THE GHOST LIGHT!
L: No, that's a bee.
E: It's only a fly.
S: But then here comes the real ghost light.
All: GASP!
E: It's the real ghost light!
S: I see it.
E: THE GHOST LIGHT!
All: AHHHH!
L: The ghost light was McQueen?
E: No.
(laughter)
E: Did you see that?
S: Yeah, it's funny.
All: (sound effects)
S: That's funny.
L: Look at that.
E: He said a telephone!
All: (singing)

As you can see, Eddie and Stella never stop talking, but they sure do have fun together.

Eddie

Every once in a while, I suddenly realize how big Eddie is getting. He is almost four years old! That completely baffles me. This year, he has been going to a preschool in our neighborhood and he has loved it. He knows all his letters and is working on writing now. I have seen him write his name once or twice, and then yesterday one of the papers he brought home from school had this at the top:

I especially love his "E" with an extra line or two thrown in. This morning, we got out his workbook and he worked on tracing some letters for a few minutes. 

Eddie is becoming a lot more independent lately. I am so excited and proud when I see him learning and trying new things. Just yesterday, I sent him by himself to see if one of his friends wanted to play. I watched him out the window as he strutted across the grass, tried to open the neighbor's door, then knocked for two minutes solid before giving up and coming back. He is a smart and funny boy and even though he drives us completely crazy sometimes, we couldn't live without him.

14 Months Old

Today, Violet is 14 months old. She makes us smile every day with her silly personality and her amazing dancing skills. She loves other kids. She wants to play with Eddie and his friends, but can't quite keep up yet. She loves babies, too, and treats them like they are dolls.

I am sad to say that she still only has one tooth. We keep hoping that she'll get several all at once, and I know she has two that are close to coming through, but they are taking a ridiculously long time! The biggest issue with all this teething (with no actual teeth) is that she has stopped eating very much. We are a little worried that her diet will soon resemble her brother's.

She continues to learn a lot and wants to be just like everyone else. Thanks to all our colds during the winter, she now likes to pretend to blow her nose. She also like to pretend to eat imaginary food. She loves to be read to and has learned a lot of new words over the last couple of months. Here are the ones we can identify so far:

Here go - One of Violet's favorite games these days is to hand something to someone else and say "here go." Then if you hand something to her, she says "here go." And then when she wants something, she reaches for it and yells "HERE GO!"


Cheese - Violet has always been a good eater (until quite recently) and she especially likes cheese. If she sees cheese or if someone mentions cheese, she starts chanting "cheese. cheese. cheese."


Shoes - Violet loves her shoes. When she wants to go somewhere, she will find her shoes and bring them to me and keep bugging me until I put them on her. She will also bring everyone else's shoes to them, too.


Book - Violet loves books. In addition to pulling movies out of our drawers, she loves to pull the books off the shelf. Then she'll bring them to one of us and say "kuh, kuh!" and then whack us with the book until we read it to her. Believe me, getting hit in the eye with the corner of The Cat in the Hat is an unpleasant experience.


Touch - I suppose Violet has heard the words "don't touch" too many times and that is where she got this one. I'm not sure if she is asking permission when she says "touch" or if she is just announcing her intentions.


No - Pretty much any question you ask Violet, she will answer "no" and shake her head. But she uses it regardless of whether she means no or yes. That gets a little confusing.


Peek-a-boo - Violet has always been a big fan of playing peek-a-boo, but now she has a book with flaps that says "peek-a-boo" under each one. She loves it and has started saying "kee-koo."


Farrah - For Christmas, Violet got a doll from her Grandma. When I asked Eddie what we should name her doll, he responded "Violet!" I said we couldn't name her Violet because we already have a Violet. So then he said, "Sarah!" But I wouldn't allow that either because the kids have a cousin named Sarah. So he settled on Farrah. Now Violet can say the doll's name... although she might be saying "Sarah." It's difficult to tell.

Violet can also say: Mmm, Hello, Let's go, Jacket, Car, Cup, and Fish.

Eddie's Best Friends

Eddie absolutely loves his friends, Luca and Stella. They have been friends for longer than they can remember and they go to the same preschool this year. This morning, Luca and Stella got to come over to play before I took them all to school. They get pretty crazy together, but luckily are to the age where they can play without constant supervision. Here is how I found Eddie and Stella at one point this morning:

Reading The Little Mermaid

The other great thing about having them so close is that we often trade babysitting. The other night after leaving Luca and Stella's house, Eddie told me "Luca is my best friend." And when I asked about Stella, he replied, "I just love her." I hope they stay friends forever!

Ramble On

Eddie talks so much that his voice is kinda like white noise to us at this point. Of course, every so often he says something so ridiculously absurd that we have to take notice and laugh. Here are a few choice exchanges:

Eddie: We should build a nest for some birds down there (in a storm drain).
Dave: But the holes are too small for a bird to fit through.
Eddie: We could try it. Let me call some birds… BIRDS!

Eddie: How come we only got two kids?
Kristen: You think we need another one?
Eddie: Yeah, we're gonna have a baby boy… next week.
Dave: Wow, that's fast.
Eddie: His name is gonna be Jordan Conflutes.

Eddie: Tangled is a long movie.
Kristen: Not as long as McQueen.
Eddie: He doesn't sing! 'Cause he's just a car, you remember?

Eddie: We should get a dog.
Dave: Aren't you scared of dogs?
Eddie: (Pause) Well, we could just build him his own bedroom in the hallway and close the door.
Kristen: We just won't get a dog.
Eddie: I just need one so it could lick me.

Eddie: We're going to fly up to space!
Kristen: Will we go to the moon?
Eddie: No, that's not real! We'll go to the next Earth… Africa!

Eddie: What's Goofy? Is he is a dog?
Dave: Yeah.
Eddie: He's not really a dog. Pluto's a dog.

Kids Books We Love

We love the library! We visit at least once a week. I love wandering down the aisles and choosing books based on their cover. I have found some great books that way.  Lately I have been thinking of trying to get some of my own writing published, so I have been researching various children's book publishers and reading their titles.

The children and I sometimes have very different standards when it comes to books. Eddie tends to favor books featuring his favorite TV characters, regardless of the quality of the writing. Violet tends to like books with crisp, colorful illustrations. I appreciate clever stories with interesting illustrations.

Here are some of our favorite children's books that we have discovered over the last few months:

Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
by Sherri Duskey Rinker & Tom Lichtenheld

Eddie absolutely loves this book, and so do I. The illustrations are great and the text has great rhythm and rhyme. I love reading kids' books that are easy to read aloud without stumbling over awkward near-rhymes. I especially love this book because it is a great bedtime story for kids who love tractors and trucks. It seems like most kids' books involving tractors are boring, but not this one. Eddie and I highly recommend it!

A Dog is a Dog
by Stephen Shaskan

This book caught us all by surprise. When I checked it out as part of my research, I certainly didn't expect to like it as much as I do. It is so simple, but so entertaining. The first time I read this book to the children, Eddie and I both laughed out loud. It is still great on repeat readings and Violet loves to look at the pictures. I hope to see more by this author in the future.



Learning to Ski With Mr. Magee
by Chris Van Dusen

Here is another book that has great rhymes. I appreciate children's authors who don't try to dumb their writing down for kids. This book uses the word "succulent" and it totally works. The illustrations are amazing, the story is funny, and we all love this book. Van Dusen has written other "Mr. Magee" books as well. We have also read A Camping Spree with Mr. Magee and Down to the Sea with Mr. Magee, both of which were good, but not as good as this one. I also just read The Circus Ship by this author and thought it was great as well.



The Princess and the Pig
by Jonathan Emmett & Poly Bernatene

These days, I am always searching for good books for girls. I especially like books that teach kids positive values and that it is okay if things don't work out quite the way you think they should. This one definitely fits the bill. It is a story of mistaken identity as a princess and a pig switch places. I love that in the end the princess is happier not being a princess. The illustrations are a lot of fun, too.

There's Nothing Like a Puffin
by Sue Soltis & Bob Kolar

Violet absolutely loved this book. I didn't find it terribly interesting, but the illustrations are simple, but wonderful. The other thing I like about the book is that it teaches kids about comparing and contrasting. And reading it to Eddie led us to learning all about puffins on the internet.