--may was busy, but not. billy was gone pretty much the entire month, until memorial weekend. we did, however, drive down to athens, ga, to see him for a long weekend. it was cool to be back in athens, which is where we got married, and wander the town. it is very walkable, and we love the main drag of shops and restaurants. it was great to see billy, though the kids didn’t understand why we couldn’t go back (another 9hours) to see him the next day after we got back!
--i read a book called outliers, about successful people. it was very interesting, but what i took from it concerned the way americans learn math, versus aisan cultures. because of the counting system used, the typical american four-year-old can only count to 15, while the japanese/chinese/etc four-year-old can count to 40. that basically means that by age four we americans are already behind in math…and it just compounds throughout the rest of the school years. didn’t really like that, so the next day i asked aidan to count as high as he could. he got to 15. who wants to be “average” anyway? so during our long morning walk, we memorized one through 20, using our weird counting verbiage. the next day we went to 30. he did great once he figured out the pattern…and the day after that, he went to 40. so, (after six months of pre-school, where aidan maintained his average-ness,) in three days, we had aidan all caught up with the asian four-year-olds! ;)
--more aidan progress: he used to have trouble singing along with something (tv/radio/me). the words he knew, he’d say at his pace, no matter how far behind the real melody he got. now, he hums the words he misses along with the song, and sings the parts he can with it. it’s pretty funny to listen to…but at least he’s keeping up!
--sierra’s vocabulary is incredible. she talks all the time, and it’s pretty clear what she’s saying most of the time. it’s rare that i have absolutely no idea what she’s saying. her latest sentences include:
* “ha fun, day-dee, otay?” = have fun, aidan, okay? (when we’d take him to school)
* “where day-dee dough?” = where’d aidan go?
* “i go aaaa-go ni-night!!!” = i’m going night-night in my diego (dora) sheets!!!
* “hurry, hurry, ess dough!” = hurry, hurry , let’s go!
* “ahh-mow home, mama!” = almost home, mama! (as soon as we’re on our street)
* “one, free, one, free” = 1, 3, 1, 3 (her counting practice)
--for the past few months, she has been potty-training herself. i’m not pushing it, and i’d actually prefer that she wait, but i’m not deterring it either. i just know in a month or so, we’re going to be doing lots of driving…road trips south and north…and i’m not sure i want to hear “i potty, mommy,” and stop all the time to avoid an accident. so, i’m keeping her in diapers, but taking her when she wants to go. she rarely lets me change her pants without first letting her sit on the potty. she always goes before her bath, and she tells me when she’s already gone, sometimes even before she goes. i’m just letting her do it if she wants to, but there’s no pressure to get out of diapers…i’ll start “training” her after august.
--when billy came home, we had friends (rob and justin) come down again for the long weekend. we went to a pool party, where aidan swam around the pool in a life jacket (cause after a day at the beach, nobody wanted to get in with him), and even jumped off the diving board. we thought he might get scared, cry or something, but he jumped off before anyone was ready with the camera! he obviously did it over and over after that.
--that same weekend, we had our own memorial weekend party. invited nearly everyone we know…cause, yeah, we go all out! started at 2pm and went until nearly 2am…cause, yeah, we go all out!! not everyone came of course, but those that did, i’m pretty sure they had a good time. and as we went nearly 12hours, not everyone was there the whole time or all at once…so it worked out. it was lots of food, friends, and fun.
--the next weekend, as “hotel hunt” had officially opened for the season, more friends (mike and leslie) came down. we had another great weekend at the beach, mini-golfing, a concert on the beach, and with another mini-gathering of our regulars! more food, friends, and fun!!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Friday, May 8, 2009
April 2009
--april’s showers bring may flowers, right?? well, we definitely had some showers, but we just sort of skipped the nice weather and went straight to 90degree temps. granted, that’s cooled down a bit (along with some more rain), but i don’t remember actually having spring. even without the weather, we went ahead with easter and spring school performances. we also drove down to athens, georgia, to see billy. he is down there for five weeks before reporting to his new ship in june. we had a good time touring around athens again…lots of fun shops and restaurants. (and billy is doing well in his class…as expected!)
--aidan’s class had an easter party. they had an easter egg hunt and then bunny-inspired snacks. siblings were invited, and sierra enjoyed being totally overstimulated by the classroom…and of course the cookies. after snack-time, there was a little time left before school let out, so the kids came back to the classroom and sang all the songs they’ve learned this year. aidan really likes going to school…he talks about the things he does, counts and knows his colors in spanish, sings songs (ALL THE TIME), and asks if today is a school day.
--his class also put on a show for all the whole school and parents. it was a prayer service, and the three-year-old class did the singing. it was really cute. some of the kids got really into it…mostly the girls, and some of them were really out of it. one girl was running up and down the stairs of the chapel, and one boy was hitting himself in the head. i got it all on film too, it’s great! after the first song ended, sierra screamed, “YAY!!” all the parents thought that was funny.
--the easter bunny left some goodies for the kiddies, and an indoor egg hunt. both of them were having a ball finding eggs. and they just looked adorable in their easter outfits…got some great pics!
--here are a few of the fun things aidan talks about these days. the second one, we were driving home from athens (a 9hour drive), and he spouted off this crazy story…what an imaginiation! i grabbed my pad and tried to write what i remembered down, then asked him to tell it to me again. he did and (it was exactly the same and) i filled in the gaps in what i wrote down.
* “why does my teacher love me?” (she loves all children.) “but she doesn’t know everybody’s name!”
* “sometimes sun booms into my land at the right spot in the fence, and a door comes in my backyard that takes me to a land with wolves, a unicorn, and trolls, talking sheeps, and tiny indians on my nose. i have a pet komodo dragon that helps me hide from the trolls and i ride on the unicorn. he runs because he doesn’t have wings. the trolls are faster than me, are really bigger than me, but i can defeat them. they won’t be dead, i just push them back under the bridge, but they will come back. all the animals and the tiny indians watch me defeat the trolls.” crazy, huh?
--sierra’s still all over the place. she’s constantly getting on top of a table, climbing stairs, opening doors, climbing out of bed, throwing things in the sink, taking things out of the garbage, picking flowers, singing songs and dancing, calling everything purple, and sitting (or standing) on the arm of the couch.
--latest verbal accomplishments include:
* “um ear, day-dee, ess dough” = come here, aidan, let’s go!
* “i shoe on, mama, ah white” = i want shoes on, mama, alright?
* “ree” = green
* “boo” = blue
* “pup-pul” = purple
* “horry, day-dee” = sorry, aidan
* “rarah” = sierra
* “shoe on, mama, pea” = please put my shoe on, mama
* “i go run” = (what she says as she runs in circles trying to make herself dizzy)
* “ha-huh” = ah-huh (as in ‘yes’)
* “hep me” = help me
* "wah-chow" / "buum" / "pah-chew" = her fighting noises ('buum' = boom)
* “ahh don duice peas, mama” = my juice is all gone, can i have more please, mama :)
--aidan’s class had an easter party. they had an easter egg hunt and then bunny-inspired snacks. siblings were invited, and sierra enjoyed being totally overstimulated by the classroom…and of course the cookies. after snack-time, there was a little time left before school let out, so the kids came back to the classroom and sang all the songs they’ve learned this year. aidan really likes going to school…he talks about the things he does, counts and knows his colors in spanish, sings songs (ALL THE TIME), and asks if today is a school day.
--his class also put on a show for all the whole school and parents. it was a prayer service, and the three-year-old class did the singing. it was really cute. some of the kids got really into it…mostly the girls, and some of them were really out of it. one girl was running up and down the stairs of the chapel, and one boy was hitting himself in the head. i got it all on film too, it’s great! after the first song ended, sierra screamed, “YAY!!” all the parents thought that was funny.
--the easter bunny left some goodies for the kiddies, and an indoor egg hunt. both of them were having a ball finding eggs. and they just looked adorable in their easter outfits…got some great pics!
--here are a few of the fun things aidan talks about these days. the second one, we were driving home from athens (a 9hour drive), and he spouted off this crazy story…what an imaginiation! i grabbed my pad and tried to write what i remembered down, then asked him to tell it to me again. he did and (it was exactly the same and) i filled in the gaps in what i wrote down.
* “why does my teacher love me?” (she loves all children.) “but she doesn’t know everybody’s name!”
* “sometimes sun booms into my land at the right spot in the fence, and a door comes in my backyard that takes me to a land with wolves, a unicorn, and trolls, talking sheeps, and tiny indians on my nose. i have a pet komodo dragon that helps me hide from the trolls and i ride on the unicorn. he runs because he doesn’t have wings. the trolls are faster than me, are really bigger than me, but i can defeat them. they won’t be dead, i just push them back under the bridge, but they will come back. all the animals and the tiny indians watch me defeat the trolls.” crazy, huh?
--sierra’s still all over the place. she’s constantly getting on top of a table, climbing stairs, opening doors, climbing out of bed, throwing things in the sink, taking things out of the garbage, picking flowers, singing songs and dancing, calling everything purple, and sitting (or standing) on the arm of the couch.
--latest verbal accomplishments include:
* “um ear, day-dee, ess dough” = come here, aidan, let’s go!
* “i shoe on, mama, ah white” = i want shoes on, mama, alright?
* “ree” = green
* “boo” = blue
* “pup-pul” = purple
* “horry, day-dee” = sorry, aidan
* “rarah” = sierra
* “shoe on, mama, pea” = please put my shoe on, mama
* “i go run” = (what she says as she runs in circles trying to make herself dizzy)
* “ha-huh” = ah-huh (as in ‘yes’)
* “hep me” = help me
* "wah-chow" / "buum" / "pah-chew" = her fighting noises ('buum' = boom)
* “ahh don duice peas, mama” = my juice is all gone, can i have more please, mama :)
Monday, April 6, 2009
March 2009
--march was pretty full. we had grandma and grandpa visit, then went north and visited grandma and grandpa, and grammy and poppy. billy had his major supply inspection and after passing with flying colors (again), was farewell’d from his shore command (acu2), and is now prepping for his ship tour (uss cook). while we were in yankee-town, i went on a yoga retreat for a few days, and billy and the kids went to the museum of natural history and spent time with grandparents.
--grandma and grandpa enjoyed taking aidan to school and picking him up while they were in town. aidan LOVES school…he asks nearly every day if it’s a school day. he brings home projects he does in school and even sometimes brings home instructions for us to do a project together. (help with homework starts pretty early!) to celebrate dr. seuss’s birthday, we picked out a favorite book and designed a book cover for them to display in the front hall of school. aidan chose the tooth book, and his idea for the cover was “a clown doing juggling balls.” not sure where that came from, but that’s what we made, and aidan said his teacher liked when he talked about his cover.
--aidan has been talking about his dreams lately. he’ll come out of nowhere with these conversations, too, so it’s kinda random, but they’re interesting. “i had dreams about animals and mans. i turned into a butterfly. a man maked me turn.” / “why do i have dreams? (god tells you a story while you sleep.) what does that mean?” / “there were animals and spiders in my room. (did you like your dreams?) yes ma’am, i saw a hippo.”
--billy aced his smc (supply management certification: major supply inspection). each command has one every two years, so since he was at this command for three years, he actually had to go through two of them. last time, he got a 95.5%. his score was the highest on the waterfront that year, and also the highest acu2 had in recorded history. this year he got the same score. he’s somewhat worried about his new ship, which only passed theirs at an 81%, because it means he’ll probably have his work cut out for him, in addition to learning and being in charge of more aspects of the supply department at a command that will be underway at times. i tell him that’s why they selected him to go to that ship…who else could get it done, and have them in “ship-shape”?? :)
--the yoga retreat was interesting. it was at sivananda ahsram in woodbourne, ny, in the catskills mountains. (http://www.sivananda.org/ranch/index.html) it was still a little barren since spring hadn’t really sprung by then, but the views were still awesome. i was supposed to go with leah (billy’s sister) but she had to fly to seattle that week for work, so i had to go by myself. still it was nice. i LOVED the yoga part…we did two hours in the morning and two in the evening. part of it was breathing exercises. and it wasn’t sweaty yoga…more relaxing. and i gained some major flexibility while i was there and even got into poses and headstands i didn’t know i could do…so that was really cool. the food there was good, but it was mostly vegan, though they did have a few “just” vegetarian dishes. now i could never be a vegan, but the veggie meals were creative and surprisingly filling. (we only ate twice a day.) we also meditated and chanted twice a day, once at 6am and once at 8pm. their meditation was something i wasn’t used to. i meditate, and have tried the “real” meditating, but could never get into it. but when i read meditation made easy, i realized i had been meditating for years. i don’t follow the strict protocol of “cross-legged position, eyes closed, no movement, focus on OM, and empty the mind.” i’m all about zoning out with my cup of tea and think or not think. so anyway, this was different…and hard to get into, cause you feel like if you scratch your leg you’re going to disturb someone else. and have you ever noticed how loud swallowing sounds when you’re in a silent room full of other people, or that the urge to move is directly related to the amount of movement you’re supposed to be doing? plus, i’d inevitably get the loud stomach rumble going on. still, it was interesting, a lesson in “control,” and i did get better at it. i was eventually able to sit completely still for thirty minutes (in the dark without falling asleep), though i couldn’t OM that long. the chanting…that was a completely different thing. it wasn’t monotone, which i was grateful for. it was more like singing…singing in a strange language though (sanskrit). the part i didn’t like was that it was a bit too hindu for my taste. invoking deities and the shrine to krishna…not really my thing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna). plus, the most experience i had in saying those kinds of words came from karate kid, when daniel picks up the floor sanders (“sand da floor”) and bangs them together singing “hare krishna, hare krishna.” the hindu part was about the only aspect of the ashram life i didn’t really like. i even liked the karma yoga…selfless work to “help” out. we had kitchen duty after meals, and i spent hours in the garden with paul, the old guy who’s been there for years and years. overall, it was a cool place, and i enjoyed my time there, and met some cool people. i’d like to do another yoga reatreat one day, though i doubt it’ll be at an ashram…maybe more like an intense yoga spa or something. ;)
--sierra…what to say. besides the vocab advances which will come below, here’s what i wrote down this month about her. we’re definitely in the anal stage…she’s all about the potty. wants to sit, tries to go, has gone a few times, and she even tries when she’s not on the potty…to not-fun results. she de-robes when she’s in the bed, stripping down to nothing and then proceeds to pee and/or poop on her pillow. needless to say, they (and the mattress) are waterproofed and sheets are washed much more often than i’d like to! she tells me when her diaper is dirty and tries to take it off herself, so i really have to pay attention to what she’s saying.
--she’s also a dipper lately. in addition to the normal dipping of fries in ketchup, she dips green beans in salad dressing and even dips salmon in ketchup. i would be grossed out a bit, but whatever helps her eat her non-favorite foods i’m all for!
--latest sayings:
* “ah-da man” = spiderman
* “ess dough” = let’s go
* “yay eat!” = yay eat!
* “ha dirday” = happy birthday
* “bom-pah” = grandpa
* “ram-mah” = grandma
* “yay eat nack” = yay eat snack
* “hey dopp!” = hey stop!
* “dough dabba dabby” = yo gabba gabba (still the only show she’ll sit and watch…though she’ll sit longer for whatever’s on if there is a big bowl of popcorn in her lap!)
* “i faw, mommy” = i fall, mommy
* “yuck” = yuck
* “hi, baby…nummy (slurp)” = hi, baby (feeds with bottle)
* “shear, eat” = please share what you’re eating
* “teak-ah” = tickle
* “ear tum” = hear i come (hide and seek)
* “mear, day-dee/dog” = come here, aidan/dog
* “dip” = dip
* “yook, day-dee” = look, aidan
* “i sit” = i’m sitting
* sings songs (constantly) and on command…she sings all songs to the “twinkle twinkle” tune. most words are the same every time she sings it, though she may start with “row row” (for “row row your boat”), and throw in “haaa dirday” (for “happy birthday to you”) and you can even tell when she’s saying “star” and “how i.”
--grandma and grandpa enjoyed taking aidan to school and picking him up while they were in town. aidan LOVES school…he asks nearly every day if it’s a school day. he brings home projects he does in school and even sometimes brings home instructions for us to do a project together. (help with homework starts pretty early!) to celebrate dr. seuss’s birthday, we picked out a favorite book and designed a book cover for them to display in the front hall of school. aidan chose the tooth book, and his idea for the cover was “a clown doing juggling balls.” not sure where that came from, but that’s what we made, and aidan said his teacher liked when he talked about his cover.
--aidan has been talking about his dreams lately. he’ll come out of nowhere with these conversations, too, so it’s kinda random, but they’re interesting. “i had dreams about animals and mans. i turned into a butterfly. a man maked me turn.” / “why do i have dreams? (god tells you a story while you sleep.) what does that mean?” / “there were animals and spiders in my room. (did you like your dreams?) yes ma’am, i saw a hippo.”
--billy aced his smc (supply management certification: major supply inspection). each command has one every two years, so since he was at this command for three years, he actually had to go through two of them. last time, he got a 95.5%. his score was the highest on the waterfront that year, and also the highest acu2 had in recorded history. this year he got the same score. he’s somewhat worried about his new ship, which only passed theirs at an 81%, because it means he’ll probably have his work cut out for him, in addition to learning and being in charge of more aspects of the supply department at a command that will be underway at times. i tell him that’s why they selected him to go to that ship…who else could get it done, and have them in “ship-shape”?? :)
--the yoga retreat was interesting. it was at sivananda ahsram in woodbourne, ny, in the catskills mountains. (http://www.sivananda.org/ranch/index.html) it was still a little barren since spring hadn’t really sprung by then, but the views were still awesome. i was supposed to go with leah (billy’s sister) but she had to fly to seattle that week for work, so i had to go by myself. still it was nice. i LOVED the yoga part…we did two hours in the morning and two in the evening. part of it was breathing exercises. and it wasn’t sweaty yoga…more relaxing. and i gained some major flexibility while i was there and even got into poses and headstands i didn’t know i could do…so that was really cool. the food there was good, but it was mostly vegan, though they did have a few “just” vegetarian dishes. now i could never be a vegan, but the veggie meals were creative and surprisingly filling. (we only ate twice a day.) we also meditated and chanted twice a day, once at 6am and once at 8pm. their meditation was something i wasn’t used to. i meditate, and have tried the “real” meditating, but could never get into it. but when i read meditation made easy, i realized i had been meditating for years. i don’t follow the strict protocol of “cross-legged position, eyes closed, no movement, focus on OM, and empty the mind.” i’m all about zoning out with my cup of tea and think or not think. so anyway, this was different…and hard to get into, cause you feel like if you scratch your leg you’re going to disturb someone else. and have you ever noticed how loud swallowing sounds when you’re in a silent room full of other people, or that the urge to move is directly related to the amount of movement you’re supposed to be doing? plus, i’d inevitably get the loud stomach rumble going on. still, it was interesting, a lesson in “control,” and i did get better at it. i was eventually able to sit completely still for thirty minutes (in the dark without falling asleep), though i couldn’t OM that long. the chanting…that was a completely different thing. it wasn’t monotone, which i was grateful for. it was more like singing…singing in a strange language though (sanskrit). the part i didn’t like was that it was a bit too hindu for my taste. invoking deities and the shrine to krishna…not really my thing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna). plus, the most experience i had in saying those kinds of words came from karate kid, when daniel picks up the floor sanders (“sand da floor”) and bangs them together singing “hare krishna, hare krishna.” the hindu part was about the only aspect of the ashram life i didn’t really like. i even liked the karma yoga…selfless work to “help” out. we had kitchen duty after meals, and i spent hours in the garden with paul, the old guy who’s been there for years and years. overall, it was a cool place, and i enjoyed my time there, and met some cool people. i’d like to do another yoga reatreat one day, though i doubt it’ll be at an ashram…maybe more like an intense yoga spa or something. ;)
--sierra…what to say. besides the vocab advances which will come below, here’s what i wrote down this month about her. we’re definitely in the anal stage…she’s all about the potty. wants to sit, tries to go, has gone a few times, and she even tries when she’s not on the potty…to not-fun results. she de-robes when she’s in the bed, stripping down to nothing and then proceeds to pee and/or poop on her pillow. needless to say, they (and the mattress) are waterproofed and sheets are washed much more often than i’d like to! she tells me when her diaper is dirty and tries to take it off herself, so i really have to pay attention to what she’s saying.
--she’s also a dipper lately. in addition to the normal dipping of fries in ketchup, she dips green beans in salad dressing and even dips salmon in ketchup. i would be grossed out a bit, but whatever helps her eat her non-favorite foods i’m all for!
--latest sayings:
* “ah-da man” = spiderman
* “ess dough” = let’s go
* “yay eat!” = yay eat!
* “ha dirday” = happy birthday
* “bom-pah” = grandpa
* “ram-mah” = grandma
* “yay eat nack” = yay eat snack
* “hey dopp!” = hey stop!
* “dough dabba dabby” = yo gabba gabba (still the only show she’ll sit and watch…though she’ll sit longer for whatever’s on if there is a big bowl of popcorn in her lap!)
* “i faw, mommy” = i fall, mommy
* “yuck” = yuck
* “hi, baby…nummy (slurp)” = hi, baby (feeds with bottle)
* “shear, eat” = please share what you’re eating
* “teak-ah” = tickle
* “ear tum” = hear i come (hide and seek)
* “mear, day-dee/dog” = come here, aidan/dog
* “dip” = dip
* “yook, day-dee” = look, aidan
* “i sit” = i’m sitting
* sings songs (constantly) and on command…she sings all songs to the “twinkle twinkle” tune. most words are the same every time she sings it, though she may start with “row row” (for “row row your boat”), and throw in “haaa dirday” (for “happy birthday to you”) and you can even tell when she’s saying “star” and “how i.”
Thursday, March 12, 2009
February 2009
--in february, we actually had several days where it was warm enough to play outside…the kiddies loved their new outside toys we were able to pull out. we also had some friends visit and went visiting ourselves.
--great peoples shannon and jesse with kids jarah, isaac, and baby#3 were in town for a few days, stopping over for jesse’s schooling, on the way to moving to california. we had a few fun days with them, including playing at home, the mall, and at chuck-e-cheese for birthdays. (we met sandra with ella and gabriel at the mall for lunch, time in the playroom, and a ride on the carousel.) it was cute to see the kids together again…they were always such good friends. and really, if i believed in arranged marriages, we could be family one day! :)
--i took the kids with me to my sister’s house in blacksburg (va tech) for a weekend to visit emily, my mom, and my aunt joan. we had a good time catching up and playing and watching movies and eating yummy food.
--by the end of the month, i had sierra back in a crib…the toddler bed didn’t last long! every morning if i didn’t get into their room in time, or at naptime if she didn’t go to sleep right away, she’d destroy the room. she’d take every single baby wipe out of the package and “clean” the floor with it, after dumping all the diapers out. she’d unload all the books off of the bookshelves. she’d empty out every single piece of clothing from their chests. so, instead of dealing with that daily (or even twice daily), i put the rails back up on her bed. i guess she forgot she knew how to climb out, cause she hasn’t tried to get out again.
--sierra likes to keep aidan company during time-out. she runs over and sits by him while he’s in trouble. (she’s been spending some time of her own in time-out…she gets in trouble when she does something on purpose that she knows she’s not supposed to…usually right after being told to stop.) she also likes to “read” these days. she obviously loves to be read to, but she likes to read by herself too. she doesn’t just look at pictures, which she does do while she names what she sees, but she likes to sit and tell the story in sierra-language. it’s really cute.
--speaking of sierra-language:
* “i’m ow” = time out
* “bye-bye, dada” = bye-bye, dada
* “no day-doo, mommeee” = no thank you, mommy
* “wa-wa” = water
* “ett-toe” = echo
* “dough dabba!” = yo gabba gabba (the ONLY show she will sit through)
--aidan is a chatter-box and a half these days. he talks about anything and everything…and he sometimes gets so excited that he can’t get what’s going on in his head out of his mouth, that he usually has to start over a few times. his memory is impressive however (when he WANTS to remember, that is). he’s learned the real names of several dinosaurs…he’s progressed from land before time names like “long neck” to knowing the difference between a brachiosaurus and seismosaurus.
--and he talks about space daily…he’s going to be an astronaut when he grows up. he has stopped saying “when i grow up” and now says “when i’m an astronaut.” he asked me the other day, “are asteroids from the mysterious beyond in outer space? (i guess.) and will people run if they boom to earth? (i assume so.) i will not run fast enough, you will have to hold me, right?” how funny is that!
--he comes home from school with even more to say. several things, we’ve talked about before at home, but it seems he either remembers (or pays attention to) it more coming from a teacher, or he enjoys whatever situations he’s learning in that he really learns it. the hardest topics to answer questions about are the religious ones. for one thing, i’m not totally sure how it’s being explained to him, but i try to get the idea simplified down enough that i hope i’m helping and not confusing him. some things he’s said/asked are:
* “jesus died on the cross, and at easter he will be alive again.”
* “why did jesus die on a cross?”
* “sharing, is serving jesus.”
--sierra likes to keep aidan company during time-out. she runs over and sits by him while he’s in trouble. (she’s been spending some time of her own in time-out…she gets in trouble when she does something on purpose that she knows she’s not supposed to…usually right after being told to stop.) she also likes to “read” these days. she obviously loves to be read to, but she likes to read by herself too. she doesn’t just look at pictures, which she does do while she names what she sees, but she likes to sit and tell the story in sierra-language. it’s really cute.
--speaking of sierra-language:
* “i’m ow” = time out
* “bye-bye, dada” = bye-bye, dada
* “no day-doo, mommeee” = no thank you, mommy
* “wa-wa” = water
* “ett-toe” = echo
* “dough dabba!” = yo gabba gabba (the ONLY show she will sit through)
--aidan is a chatter-box and a half these days. he talks about anything and everything…and he sometimes gets so excited that he can’t get what’s going on in his head out of his mouth, that he usually has to start over a few times. his memory is impressive however (when he WANTS to remember, that is). he’s learned the real names of several dinosaurs…he’s progressed from land before time names like “long neck” to knowing the difference between a brachiosaurus and seismosaurus.
--and he talks about space daily…he’s going to be an astronaut when he grows up. he has stopped saying “when i grow up” and now says “when i’m an astronaut.” he asked me the other day, “are asteroids from the mysterious beyond in outer space? (i guess.) and will people run if they boom to earth? (i assume so.) i will not run fast enough, you will have to hold me, right?” how funny is that!
--he comes home from school with even more to say. several things, we’ve talked about before at home, but it seems he either remembers (or pays attention to) it more coming from a teacher, or he enjoys whatever situations he’s learning in that he really learns it. the hardest topics to answer questions about are the religious ones. for one thing, i’m not totally sure how it’s being explained to him, but i try to get the idea simplified down enough that i hope i’m helping and not confusing him. some things he’s said/asked are:
* “jesus died on the cross, and at easter he will be alive again.”
* “why did jesus die on a cross?”
* “sharing, is serving jesus.”
* “if god came to my house, i would give him a hug.”
Thursday, February 5, 2009
January 2009
--we had a good beginning to the year…had more good times and good company, even a party or two. 
--threw billy a surprise party for his 30th birthday. a week before his birthday, my brother and his wife (nicholas and stephanie) came to see us. he and i planned their visit as a cover for billy’s party…that way billy couldn’t plan anything else for that week. i invited all of billy’s friends and family from up north, and planned a whale-watching trip for us. granted, our group on the boat ended up being somewhat small and we didn’t see any whales (they see more in february and march), but it was still lots of fun and billy was totally blind-sided. he wasn’t looking forward to the whale trip too much, and i really didn’t expect him to be, but i told him it was already arranged and that nick was looking forward to it. so we bundle up and get on the boat. billy walks in the inside deck and sits down looking around. nick and steph and i are looking around waiting for him to notice somebody familiar. at that point, only his friend alaina and her boyfriend eric were on the boat (from our group at least). at least two minutes go by, and he looked over and went, “oh my god. what??? you come to virginia beach and don’t even call me?!?!” after we gave hugs and did the introductions, his sisters came up behind him. he was so shocked, i really thought he wanted to cry. it was really funny. after a couple hours of cold seascapes and views of va beach, we went back to our house. steph and i had set up a little in preparation for surprise-phase-two. billy’s mom and stepdad were at our house while we were on the boat, setting up the house and cooking. by the time we get there, the house is decorated, they’re hiding in the bathroom, and our local friends were starting to show up. so again, billy was totally surprised…three times…and the party was a hit. he can’t understand how everybody kept it from him, though he was getting annoyed that nobody wanted to commit to coming to see him for his birthday, or anytime around that time. i had everyone say they’d come later in the spring or couldn’t make it until february or something…and he was actually getting upset. of course, later on he can see how it made sense…and other things too, made more sense in hindsight. like why did i make a million and a half cookies when just two people were coming to visit? or why was i making bags and bags of salad…i mean, sure stephanie is a vegetarian, but really, that was a lot of salad? or why was i so adamant about him not staying up so late the night before a whale-watching trip??? good job, everybody…thanks for helping me make a special day for billy! :) 
--aidan is now four years old. we had a small celebration for him here at home, with cake and gifts and games. when his little friend jarah comes in february, we’re going to go back to chuck-e-cheese. her birthday is about two weeks after aidan’s and we’ve spent the last two birthdays at chuck-e-cheese with her family. aidan thinks that’s where birthdays happen…when he started thinking about having a birthday a few months ago and then going to school, whenever he mentioned either one he’d say, “when i get four on january fourth, at chuck-e-cheese’s, i will go to school.” every single time! 
--and he did go to school the day after his birthday…he jumped into the spring semester at holy spirit catholic pre-school, in the three-year-old class. he was so excited to go, and to wear his backpack. when we were waiting outside there was a little boy named aden…he heard someone talk to him and said, “i am aidan too…how do you like my backpack…it’s camouflage.” then they talked about riley’s spiderman backpack. when the teacher opened the door, he ran in without saying ‘goodbye.’ never looked back, i thought, ‘so that’s that’ and took sierra home for nap time. (he goes three days a week in the afternoons.) he came back talking a mile a minute. he’s made some little friends and brings home a work of art nearly every day. they even had a pajama and pizza party to celebrate the letter ‘p.’
--besides coming home with colds and/or pink eye, aidan has also started calling people names. they’re not bad names, just names…most of the time they don’t make any sense. i don’t know if it’s from school or if it’s just his age. either way, it’s annoying.
--at aidan’s doctor checkup, he’s now 45” tall and 46pounds…still about 95% in both.
--whenever we go to the grocery store, aidan strikes up a conversation with the friendly lady who checks us out. 99% of the time it’s the same lady, and she usually gives him a quarter for a “prize” from the machines by the doors. and because he talks about the same thing every time, she remembers what he wants to be when he grows up…but i also hear her talking to other people and she seems to have regulars that she remembers. anyhow, he says this nearly every time: “i wanna be an astronaut when i grow up. i will have a rocket and go into outer space to defeat the aliens. i will see asteroids. the sun is the biggest star.” (no, it’s the closest.) “the sun is the closest star.”
--i love his conversations lately. one day he was talking about being a grow-up…how he’s “going to be bigger than my dad when i’m a frow-nup. jarah doesn’t know that word.” ha! total stream of consciousness! because last time we saw jarah, like six months ago, they were talking in bed and talking about, well, the same thing actually. jarah couldn’t understand aidan’s pronunciation of grown-up…and he remembered that! another example i wrote down: “mommy, what happened to the dinosaurs to make them into dinosaur bones? was it an asteroid? (maybe) it was lava. lava is from volcanoes a long long time ago. (we still have volcanoes.) but lava is like hot water that makes the dinosaurs into bones.”
--i always thought i had a wonderfully sweet little boy, who obeys and tries to please. i know i still do, but really…four is worse than three, which was worse than the “terrible” twos. at least for us. his deliberate lying and defiance is so much worse than the toddler battle of wills. cause toddlers are little, they have obeying for different reasons. one is they can’t contain that real and true NEED to move around and explore…like sierra’s doing lately. another reason is a legitimate communication barrier…either they don’t understand or they can’t explain. so it’s not really their fault…to me, it’s not willful disobedience. but with aidan i feel like it’s a constant deliberate battle, with major meltdowns, name-calling (granted they don’t make sense, and usually aren’t even real words, but the meaning is clear), arguing, and whining. i’m sure it’s normal and age-appropriate and he’ll grow out of it…but for now it’s so unbelievably frustrating. he flat out lies to my face about things i watch him do or not do…about all kinds of things; whether he washed his hands, whether he pushed sierra down, whatever. and if he thinks he got away with it because i didn’t actually see him, because all i heard was a whack and then a scream, but can tell what happened, he says “but you didn’t see me.” like that makes it okay, or that he didn’t really do it if i didn’t really see it. we’re constantly explaining rules these days, he spends a lot of time in his bed, and he has started taking naps again…until he can act like a big boy, he doesn’t get big-boy-privileges.
--in addition to aidan and billy’s birthdays…we also celebrated our five year anniversary and a trip to the emergency room. sierra had her thumb in the crack of the screen door when billy closed it. she did scream and cry, but billy thought he must have broken her thumb, so we trek it over to the ER for xrays. turns out it wasn’t broken, just the skin, though it looked pretty squished…and i’m sure it hurt cause she wouldn’t use it or let us touch it for a long time. anyhow, we got a cool xray to put in her baby book…and now each of my kids have made the trip, so we’re two for two!
--in addition to her being everywhere in her need for mobility and putting fingers where they shouldn’t be, she also started consistently climbing (read, falling) out of her crib. she’d toddle into my room in the early morning (if she got her room door open), which scared me…cause she’s still not great going down stairs, and she’s never on the floor alone upstairs without being contained in a bedroom, so we didn’t have a gate up. so, instead of having her fall and break a bone, i took the side of the crib down converting it into a toddler bed and installed a gate at the top of the stairs. there are days when i have to put her in bed several times for her nap, but for the most part, she’s good at going to bed…just like aidan was. he used to sit in bed after he woke up until i came to get him or told him to get up…for months he did that. not sierra though…she’s banging on the door every morning if she can’t get it open! :)
--she likes to do things she’s not supposed to, but she waits for you to watch her do it…i don’t know, maybe she likes that thrill. either way, she goes right up to whatever she’s not supposed to touch, puts her hand out, and waits for you to see her do it. as soon as you look, she’ll go ahead and reach with this look like, “what are you going to do now?” it’s either that, or she stops before doing it and tells herself, “ahh-uh-uh-uh-uhhhh” or “no no no.”
--she has started mothering her babydolls. she got a stroller for christmas, and also a crib/highchair and bottle. she covers her babies with blankets (which she calls “nigh-nights”), usually smothering them, rocks and feeds them, and takes them for rides. she’s a cute little mommy.
--latest vocabulary accomplishments are:
* “air a-dee??” = where’s aidan? (asks every day after dropping him off at school)
* “pitty” = pretty
* “air-pay” = airplane (whenever she sees or hears one)
* “hay-uh” = hair
* “shaw” = shark
* “saw” = soar (dinosaur)
* “aye-dough” = diego
* “yeah” = yeah / yes
* “yay!” = yay!
* “yeah pea” = yes, please
* “opp-orn” = popcorn
* “nigh-night” = night night / blanket
* “yow-yow” = meow / cat
* “shoe” = fish (progression from “if” to “ish,” and now it’s “shoe”??)
* “dop” = stop
--threw billy a surprise party for his 30th birthday. a week before his birthday, my brother and his wife (nicholas and stephanie) came to see us. he and i planned their visit as a cover for billy’s party…that way billy couldn’t plan anything else for that week. i invited all of billy’s friends and family from up north, and planned a whale-watching trip for us. granted, our group on the boat ended up being somewhat small and we didn’t see any whales (they see more in february and march), but it was still lots of fun and billy was totally blind-sided. he wasn’t looking forward to the whale trip too much, and i really didn’t expect him to be, but i told him it was already arranged and that nick was looking forward to it. so we bundle up and get on the boat. billy walks in the inside deck and sits down looking around. nick and steph and i are looking around waiting for him to notice somebody familiar. at that point, only his friend alaina and her boyfriend eric were on the boat (from our group at least). at least two minutes go by, and he looked over and went, “oh my god. what??? you come to virginia beach and don’t even call me?!?!” after we gave hugs and did the introductions, his sisters came up behind him. he was so shocked, i really thought he wanted to cry. it was really funny. after a couple hours of cold seascapes and views of va beach, we went back to our house. steph and i had set up a little in preparation for surprise-phase-two. billy’s mom and stepdad were at our house while we were on the boat, setting up the house and cooking. by the time we get there, the house is decorated, they’re hiding in the bathroom, and our local friends were starting to show up. so again, billy was totally surprised…three times…and the party was a hit. he can’t understand how everybody kept it from him, though he was getting annoyed that nobody wanted to commit to coming to see him for his birthday, or anytime around that time. i had everyone say they’d come later in the spring or couldn’t make it until february or something…and he was actually getting upset. of course, later on he can see how it made sense…and other things too, made more sense in hindsight. like why did i make a million and a half cookies when just two people were coming to visit? or why was i making bags and bags of salad…i mean, sure stephanie is a vegetarian, but really, that was a lot of salad? or why was i so adamant about him not staying up so late the night before a whale-watching trip??? good job, everybody…thanks for helping me make a special day for billy! :) --aidan is now four years old. we had a small celebration for him here at home, with cake and gifts and games. when his little friend jarah comes in february, we’re going to go back to chuck-e-cheese. her birthday is about two weeks after aidan’s and we’ve spent the last two birthdays at chuck-e-cheese with her family. aidan thinks that’s where birthdays happen…when he started thinking about having a birthday a few months ago and then going to school, whenever he mentioned either one he’d say, “when i get four on january fourth, at chuck-e-cheese’s, i will go to school.” every single time! --and he did go to school the day after his birthday…he jumped into the spring semester at holy spirit catholic pre-school, in the three-year-old class. he was so excited to go, and to wear his backpack. when we were waiting outside there was a little boy named aden…he heard someone talk to him and said, “i am aidan too…how do you like my backpack…it’s camouflage.” then they talked about riley’s spiderman backpack. when the teacher opened the door, he ran in without saying ‘goodbye.’ never looked back, i thought, ‘so that’s that’ and took sierra home for nap time. (he goes three days a week in the afternoons.) he came back talking a mile a minute. he’s made some little friends and brings home a work of art nearly every day. they even had a pajama and pizza party to celebrate the letter ‘p.’--besides coming home with colds and/or pink eye, aidan has also started calling people names. they’re not bad names, just names…most of the time they don’t make any sense. i don’t know if it’s from school or if it’s just his age. either way, it’s annoying.
--at aidan’s doctor checkup, he’s now 45” tall and 46pounds…still about 95% in both.
--whenever we go to the grocery store, aidan strikes up a conversation with the friendly lady who checks us out. 99% of the time it’s the same lady, and she usually gives him a quarter for a “prize” from the machines by the doors. and because he talks about the same thing every time, she remembers what he wants to be when he grows up…but i also hear her talking to other people and she seems to have regulars that she remembers. anyhow, he says this nearly every time: “i wanna be an astronaut when i grow up. i will have a rocket and go into outer space to defeat the aliens. i will see asteroids. the sun is the biggest star.” (no, it’s the closest.) “the sun is the closest star.”
--i love his conversations lately. one day he was talking about being a grow-up…how he’s “going to be bigger than my dad when i’m a frow-nup. jarah doesn’t know that word.” ha! total stream of consciousness! because last time we saw jarah, like six months ago, they were talking in bed and talking about, well, the same thing actually. jarah couldn’t understand aidan’s pronunciation of grown-up…and he remembered that! another example i wrote down: “mommy, what happened to the dinosaurs to make them into dinosaur bones? was it an asteroid? (maybe) it was lava. lava is from volcanoes a long long time ago. (we still have volcanoes.) but lava is like hot water that makes the dinosaurs into bones.”--i always thought i had a wonderfully sweet little boy, who obeys and tries to please. i know i still do, but really…four is worse than three, which was worse than the “terrible” twos. at least for us. his deliberate lying and defiance is so much worse than the toddler battle of wills. cause toddlers are little, they have obeying for different reasons. one is they can’t contain that real and true NEED to move around and explore…like sierra’s doing lately. another reason is a legitimate communication barrier…either they don’t understand or they can’t explain. so it’s not really their fault…to me, it’s not willful disobedience. but with aidan i feel like it’s a constant deliberate battle, with major meltdowns, name-calling (granted they don’t make sense, and usually aren’t even real words, but the meaning is clear), arguing, and whining. i’m sure it’s normal and age-appropriate and he’ll grow out of it…but for now it’s so unbelievably frustrating. he flat out lies to my face about things i watch him do or not do…about all kinds of things; whether he washed his hands, whether he pushed sierra down, whatever. and if he thinks he got away with it because i didn’t actually see him, because all i heard was a whack and then a scream, but can tell what happened, he says “but you didn’t see me.” like that makes it okay, or that he didn’t really do it if i didn’t really see it. we’re constantly explaining rules these days, he spends a lot of time in his bed, and he has started taking naps again…until he can act like a big boy, he doesn’t get big-boy-privileges.
--in addition to aidan and billy’s birthdays…we also celebrated our five year anniversary and a trip to the emergency room. sierra had her thumb in the crack of the screen door when billy closed it. she did scream and cry, but billy thought he must have broken her thumb, so we trek it over to the ER for xrays. turns out it wasn’t broken, just the skin, though it looked pretty squished…and i’m sure it hurt cause she wouldn’t use it or let us touch it for a long time. anyhow, we got a cool xray to put in her baby book…and now each of my kids have made the trip, so we’re two for two!
--in addition to her being everywhere in her need for mobility and putting fingers where they shouldn’t be, she also started consistently climbing (read, falling) out of her crib. she’d toddle into my room in the early morning (if she got her room door open), which scared me…cause she’s still not great going down stairs, and she’s never on the floor alone upstairs without being contained in a bedroom, so we didn’t have a gate up. so, instead of having her fall and break a bone, i took the side of the crib down converting it into a toddler bed and installed a gate at the top of the stairs. there are days when i have to put her in bed several times for her nap, but for the most part, she’s good at going to bed…just like aidan was. he used to sit in bed after he woke up until i came to get him or told him to get up…for months he did that. not sierra though…she’s banging on the door every morning if she can’t get it open! :)--she likes to do things she’s not supposed to, but she waits for you to watch her do it…i don’t know, maybe she likes that thrill. either way, she goes right up to whatever she’s not supposed to touch, puts her hand out, and waits for you to see her do it. as soon as you look, she’ll go ahead and reach with this look like, “what are you going to do now?” it’s either that, or she stops before doing it and tells herself, “ahh-uh-uh-uh-uhhhh” or “no no no.”
--she has started mothering her babydolls. she got a stroller for christmas, and also a crib/highchair and bottle. she covers her babies with blankets (which she calls “nigh-nights”), usually smothering them, rocks and feeds them, and takes them for rides. she’s a cute little mommy.--latest vocabulary accomplishments are:
* “air a-dee??” = where’s aidan? (asks every day after dropping him off at school)
* “pitty” = pretty
* “air-pay” = airplane (whenever she sees or hears one)
* “hay-uh” = hair
* “shaw” = shark
* “saw” = soar (dinosaur)
* “aye-dough” = diego
* “yeah” = yeah / yes
* “yay!” = yay!
* “yeah pea” = yes, please
* “opp-orn” = popcorn
* “nigh-night” = night night / blanket
* “yow-yow” = meow / cat
* “shoe” = fish (progression from “if” to “ish,” and now it’s “shoe”??)
* “dop” = stop
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Dec 2008
--lots of goings on this month. lots of packing and driving, and lots of gift-opening…and we had a blast doing it all!
--for several weeks before christmas, aidan was saying, “christmas will never get here.” it actually came early to the hunt house, at least santa did, but aidan had to wait…impatiently. he spent the time helping me decorate, watching christmas shows (dvr rocks!) and singing christmas carols. he learned a few, though he made a few cute mistakes.
--kiddos liked their santa claus…actually all of us did. aidan’s main gifts were “a bike with two wheels, a dinosaur transformer, roller skates, and ‘chutes and ladders’.” (he spouts that out whenever anyone asks him.) sierra's main gifts were a teeter-totter and a baby stroller, and they each got books and a stuffed animal, along with other smaller stuff. billy and i also got beach cruiser bikes from santa, so now we can all ride as a family (with both kids in our bike trailer, or sierra in the kid’s chair and aidan on his new bike.)
--for several weeks before christmas, aidan was saying, “christmas will never get here.” it actually came early to the hunt house, at least santa did, but aidan had to wait…impatiently. he spent the time helping me decorate, watching christmas shows (dvr rocks!) and singing christmas carols. he learned a few, though he made a few cute mistakes.
--kiddos liked their santa claus…actually all of us did. aidan’s main gifts were “a bike with two wheels, a dinosaur transformer, roller skates, and ‘chutes and ladders’.” (he spouts that out whenever anyone asks him.) sierra's main gifts were a teeter-totter and a baby stroller, and they each got books and a stuffed animal, along with other smaller stuff. billy and i also got beach cruiser bikes from santa, so now we can all ride as a family (with both kids in our bike trailer, or sierra in the kid’s chair and aidan on his new bike.)
--we did our santa early since we went to nj/ny for christmas. we knew we’d have enough trouble getting everything from three sets of grandparents and aunts home in our car, without hauling santa stuff around too. man, were we right too…we had to use the roof rack, and we still had stuff packed under the kids feet and in the back so that i couldn’t even see out the back windshield! craziness!!! and now, i’ve spent days unpacking!
--we did have a good time up north with the yankees. it was a whirlwind though, because we were only up there six days and went to see three sets of family members. we spent christmas eve with billy’s dad and family. had a good (italian) dinner with them and fun with gifts, though i forgot my camera…sorry. we spent christmas day with billy’s mom and family. more food more gifts and more fun. it was even a white christmas too! i’ve only seen two of those in my life…one of which was in hattiesburg, mississippi, of all places! we spent saturday with my dad on long island for, again, more food more gifts and more fun. i know this isn’t very descriptive, sorry. it really became such a blur that i missed the specifics, but had a ball in the process. i do know aidan and sierra loved playing with their cousin riley, and all of us (and my sister) enjoyed finally meeting my dad’s fiance’s son andrew and his girlfriend.
--aidan now knows how to write his name. he knows his letters and he’s been spelling it for a while without reading it. however, getting him to draw anything more than a straight line or a circle was a major process. for whatever reason, one day he figured out how to write a few letters. granted, they’re not perfect, but he drew some from memory and some he copied what we wrote, progressing up to writing his name, mine, and billy’s. the day after that, he wrote his name all by himself, without looking at anything. then he wrote billy’s name from memory! he also improved his ‘n’ with the help of my friend shadra. now every time he writes an ‘n,’ he says, “up, down, up.” how cute is that?
--sierra is growing and changing daily. she adds a word a day it seems…or at least trys out a new word every day, whether or not she uses it again the next day. her latest phrases that she does use consistently include:
* “pee-pee” = pee-pee (or) poo-poo
* “jew” = juice
* “opp-ee” = apple
* “A – D – I “ = (“spells” like she hears aidan saying over and over…usually pointing to her cup with her name on it.)
* “mo” = more
* “tuh-tee” = cookie
* “ buht” = book
* “pay” = pray (as she clasps her hands)
* “mew” = moo
* “sow” = cow
* “ba-pa” = backpack (said over and over, like in “dora the explorer”)
* “eh-mo” = elmo
* “pa-pa” = poppy (or) paw-paw
* “ah-me” = grammy
* “bach” = back
* “jew peas” = juice please
* “mo peas” = more please
* “no, mom-meee” = no, mommy
* “doe tay-too” = no, thank you
--she also likes to sit on her potty. she goes in there whenever anyone else goes, or whenever the door is open, so i try to keep it closed because she also likes to unroll the toilet paper. at least she doesn’t shred it like aidan used to! she also goes to sit on her potty when she’s gone in her diaper, but that’s a step in the right direction for potty training, so that’s good. many times she’ll even scream out “pee-pee” as she runs in there.
--sierra like to “help” mommy. she goes to get her shoes when it’s time to leave. she likes to (try to) dress and undress herself. she puts wet clothes (or dirty clothes from the basket on the floor) into the dryer. she also puts dishes in the sink. she reaches as high as she can and drops her cup or any other dish she finds in the sink…of course we must make sure only non-breakable ones are left in her reach…and sometimes she puts in more things than dishes. one day i found a potato in there that she pulled out of the basket.
--and another thing she does is this fake laugh. she bursts out laughing and gets in your face to make you laugh too. or she plays peek-a-boo and cracks herself up…pretty funny.
--we went to the doctor for sierra’s 18month check-up. she’s 22.5 pounds and 33 inches…which is about 25% and 85% respectively. long and lean!
Monday, December 22, 2008
Nov 08
--aidan is already trying to decide what costume he’s going to wear for next halloween. he’s gone through ideas such as “black spiderman,” a moose, and has settled (for now) on a “long neck” dinosaur.
--lately, aidan has been saying over and over, “christmas will never come.” he has become a gimme-whiner. he sees stuff on tv, and either says, “maybe santa claus will bring me _____,” or “we’ll get one one day,” or “i wish i had one of those,” or “that looks pretty cool, mommy.”
--aside from the “i want, i want, i want” things going on, we had a good month that was almost arguement-free. he doesn’t always listen to what i’m saying, and he still trys to get what he wants, but it’s not so much of a struggle. he’s not lying so much either, though he will run away when he knows he did something wrong, like knocking over sierra or spilling something. and when he does argue, he’ll (usually) say, “no, i don’t want to,” gets a look and obeys, and then tells me he’s mad at me. “i’m mad at you, mommy,” is something i hear a lot these days. usually i respond with, “that’s okay, you can be mad at me, but you still have to do what i say.” sometimes he tells me, “that makes me sad,” to which i usually say something like, “i’m sorry you’re sad, but you still have to obey.”
--aidan has a cup with his name on it that he uses for meals. he has learned his letters from books and shows, and likes to spell out his name while at the dinner table. one day in the car, he spit out “A-I-D-A-N.” we had to call all the grandparents and let aidan spell his name for them. he was very proud of himself!
--we all flew down to mobile, alabama, for thanksgiving. the plane rides were not bad at all. the kids were super good, read their books, played with some toys, and talked. but still we’d get looks. it really bothered me, cause it wasn’t like they were crying or anything, they weren’t whining (much) or even loud. i’d like to see them contain two kids as well as we did traveling all day. oh well.
--we had a great time in mobile. lots of visiting and relaxing with family. we went to my grandparents’ house one day before thanksgiving so we could spend as much time with them without the chaos of a huge family gathering. we spent most of the day outside, letting the kids play on the swing or with the cats and dog, while we watched and chatted. we went back there for thanksgiving day, but were just a few of nearly 40 people. we had most of my mom’s side of the family there, including all five great-grandchildren (aidan is the oldest it was about 65-70 degrees, so we spent most of the day outside. there was lots of laughing, playing, swinging (young and old), and eating all day long. aidan said the blessing before we ate (and ate and ate…) he was so cute. he had been getting good at it, so i thought it be fun to let him try. he didn’t miss a beat! he remembered every word, and didn’t get nervous at all! (he didn’t get the un-bashfulness from me!)
--one night billy, emily, and i went out with our cousins. it had been YEARS since we’d all been together. granted, we were still missing some of us, (i’m number 4 of 25 grandkids (6 came when one of their parents married into the family)) but we had a good group there. five cousins and three spouses went out one night. had a few drinks and played some pool, but mostly we just talked and caught up. it was really great!
--aidan helped pops walk the dog (“keeper”) every night. they’d be gone for a while, and he felt very important, especially when he got to be dragged by her all by himself! chuck (my stepdad, aka “pops”) came back one night with this: aidan heard a dog howling somewhere nearby, and said he heard a wolf. chuck said it was probably just a dog, there aren’t any wolves around. aidan said, “well, a wolf is a dog. and so is a fox and a coyote!” chuck said he was impressed 1) that he knew that, and 2) that he came back with it so quickly. that’s my animal-lover!! another night, chuck said aidan just burst out with, “i love you, pops.” he does that sometimes…he can’t contain it, and has to tell you at some random time and place how he feels about you. really sweet.
--something else he said while we were down there was, “it’s not in my mouth, it’s in my nose.” i’m not totally sure what that was in reference to…i want to say a straw, but i can’t really remember. i just jotted the phrase down to make sure i got it right. still, pretty funny…whether it was a straw or his finger…
--while we were down south, we also went to see christmas lights. there’s a place like a botanical gardens nearby, and every year they add more and more lights. we went last year when we were down, and aidan remembered specific themes he wanted to see again. (he has a great memory. he can remember what kind of cookies my mom made 11months ago, yet has trouble remembering to turn off the bathroom light…go figure.) anyhow, they both had a ball. sierra was much more into it this year. she rode in the stroller most of the time, and kept saying, “ooooh!” or she’d say something in sierra-language and point all excited. too fun.
--seirra’s goings-on this month are just vocab updates. (she loved playing with her cousins, with the animals, with her grandparents and great-grandparents and great-aunts and uncles, of course, but i don’t really have any specific stories…sorry.
* “ah-do” = bless you (after a sneeze)
* “nack” = snack
* “ma-ow” = mouth
* “bat” = back
* “ hi-eee” = hi (says it to EVERYONE…walking through the parking lot, in church)
* “ha-wo” = hello (will say it all day on the phone, so long as nobody’s there)
* “pee”= please
* “shoe” = shoe
* “num-num-nummy” = please feed me something yummy
* “now” = no
* “bup” = cup
* “up” = up
* “tee-tah” = tick tock (nursery rhyme she LOVES)
* “seat” = sit
* “ah-sah” = outside
* “ha” = hair
* “eye” = eye
* “my-ee” = mine
--lately, aidan has been saying over and over, “christmas will never come.” he has become a gimme-whiner. he sees stuff on tv, and either says, “maybe santa claus will bring me _____,” or “we’ll get one one day,” or “i wish i had one of those,” or “that looks pretty cool, mommy.”
--aside from the “i want, i want, i want” things going on, we had a good month that was almost arguement-free. he doesn’t always listen to what i’m saying, and he still trys to get what he wants, but it’s not so much of a struggle. he’s not lying so much either, though he will run away when he knows he did something wrong, like knocking over sierra or spilling something. and when he does argue, he’ll (usually) say, “no, i don’t want to,” gets a look and obeys, and then tells me he’s mad at me. “i’m mad at you, mommy,” is something i hear a lot these days. usually i respond with, “that’s okay, you can be mad at me, but you still have to do what i say.” sometimes he tells me, “that makes me sad,” to which i usually say something like, “i’m sorry you’re sad, but you still have to obey.”
--aidan has a cup with his name on it that he uses for meals. he has learned his letters from books and shows, and likes to spell out his name while at the dinner table. one day in the car, he spit out “A-I-D-A-N.” we had to call all the grandparents and let aidan spell his name for them. he was very proud of himself!
--we all flew down to mobile, alabama, for thanksgiving. the plane rides were not bad at all. the kids were super good, read their books, played with some toys, and talked. but still we’d get looks. it really bothered me, cause it wasn’t like they were crying or anything, they weren’t whining (much) or even loud. i’d like to see them contain two kids as well as we did traveling all day. oh well.
--we had a great time in mobile. lots of visiting and relaxing with family. we went to my grandparents’ house one day before thanksgiving so we could spend as much time with them without the chaos of a huge family gathering. we spent most of the day outside, letting the kids play on the swing or with the cats and dog, while we watched and chatted. we went back there for thanksgiving day, but were just a few of nearly 40 people. we had most of my mom’s side of the family there, including all five great-grandchildren (aidan is the oldest it was about 65-70 degrees, so we spent most of the day outside. there was lots of laughing, playing, swinging (young and old), and eating all day long. aidan said the blessing before we ate (and ate and ate…) he was so cute. he had been getting good at it, so i thought it be fun to let him try. he didn’t miss a beat! he remembered every word, and didn’t get nervous at all! (he didn’t get the un-bashfulness from me!)
--one night billy, emily, and i went out with our cousins. it had been YEARS since we’d all been together. granted, we were still missing some of us, (i’m number 4 of 25 grandkids (6 came when one of their parents married into the family)) but we had a good group there. five cousins and three spouses went out one night. had a few drinks and played some pool, but mostly we just talked and caught up. it was really great!
--aidan helped pops walk the dog (“keeper”) every night. they’d be gone for a while, and he felt very important, especially when he got to be dragged by her all by himself! chuck (my stepdad, aka “pops”) came back one night with this: aidan heard a dog howling somewhere nearby, and said he heard a wolf. chuck said it was probably just a dog, there aren’t any wolves around. aidan said, “well, a wolf is a dog. and so is a fox and a coyote!” chuck said he was impressed 1) that he knew that, and 2) that he came back with it so quickly. that’s my animal-lover!! another night, chuck said aidan just burst out with, “i love you, pops.” he does that sometimes…he can’t contain it, and has to tell you at some random time and place how he feels about you. really sweet.
--something else he said while we were down there was, “it’s not in my mouth, it’s in my nose.” i’m not totally sure what that was in reference to…i want to say a straw, but i can’t really remember. i just jotted the phrase down to make sure i got it right. still, pretty funny…whether it was a straw or his finger…
--while we were down south, we also went to see christmas lights. there’s a place like a botanical gardens nearby, and every year they add more and more lights. we went last year when we were down, and aidan remembered specific themes he wanted to see again. (he has a great memory. he can remember what kind of cookies my mom made 11months ago, yet has trouble remembering to turn off the bathroom light…go figure.) anyhow, they both had a ball. sierra was much more into it this year. she rode in the stroller most of the time, and kept saying, “ooooh!” or she’d say something in sierra-language and point all excited. too fun.
--seirra’s goings-on this month are just vocab updates. (she loved playing with her cousins, with the animals, with her grandparents and great-grandparents and great-aunts and uncles, of course, but i don’t really have any specific stories…sorry.
* “ah-do” = bless you (after a sneeze)
* “nack” = snack
* “ma-ow” = mouth
* “bat” = back
* “ hi-eee” = hi (says it to EVERYONE…walking through the parking lot, in church)
* “ha-wo” = hello (will say it all day on the phone, so long as nobody’s there)
* “pee”= please
* “shoe” = shoe
* “num-num-nummy” = please feed me something yummy
* “now” = no
* “bup” = cup
* “up” = up
* “tee-tah” = tick tock (nursery rhyme she LOVES)
* “seat” = sit
* “ah-sah” = outside
* “ha” = hair
* “eye” = eye
* “my-ee” = mine
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