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

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.)

--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!

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

October 08

--in october we finally started getting some cooler weather…granted one day we’re wearing layers and the next we’re wearing shorts. i love the crisp cool air of fall, so i’d prefer it to just stay around 60.
--grandma, grandpa, and devlin came to visit the first weekend of october. we went a place called “hunt club farms.” we played in the petting zoo, rode some rides, aidan jumped in the moon-walk, and we went on a hayride. the kids really loved it, and the grandparents loved seeing them having fun. we also went to see “sesame street live.” they were doing shows for military families for free on base. i thought aidan would like it the most, and sierra might be freaked out. aidan did love it, but sierra really got into it. she didn’t know what the creatures on stage were, but she thought they were great! she was dancing and laughing, and couldn’t take her eyes off of them. really fun!
--we had a dentist appointment this month too. it was aidan’s third, and sierra’s first. she screamed her head off when we laid her back in the chair. it was a couple weeks after her visit with the doctor, and the last time she was put in that position she got four shots…so needless to say, she fought us and screamed, thinking she was getting more shots. poor thing.

--we had a great time on halloween…except for billy being sick. so i got the kids all done up and we took a trek around the neighborhood. both of the kiddos racked up in the candy department. (i had to take out all the milk duds first thing, cause everyone knows they’re bad for you, right, but just happen to be my favorite…so i had to be the good mommy and consume all the really bad milk duds!) anyhow, sierra was the cutest little mouse EVER! she charmed tons of candy out of our neighbors…she ended up with more candy than aidan, i think. she thought it was tons of fun grabbing candy out of everyone’s bowls. aidan was the too-cool buzz lightyear. we opted for the cheaper suit from target (with the french pronunciation) rather than the disney store, which had real lights and wings, and i think even a helmet. anyhow, instead i made aidan some wings out of cardboard and clothes hangars. he didn’t know the difference, and even thought they were cooler cause mommy made them. he was a proud buzz, and told everyone who he was. last year aidan freaked out anytime someone was wearing a mask. he didn’t do that this year. he’d look carefully to make sure it was really not a monster, and then he was okay. he did get scared one time though. one guy had his head in a big pumpkin and was sitting on the porch swing like a stuffed scarecrow. the bowl of candy was next to him. aidan went up to get his candy and when he reached into the bowl, the guy moved his hand toward aidan. aidan jumped like crazy! even though it scared him, i couldn’t help but laugh. he skipped candy at that house, because he never got a piece when he got scared, and he wouldn’t go back. even days later when we were walking past that house, he was still trying to figure out why that man had scared him. i tried to explain that that’s part of what halloween is…being scary.

--sierra is a total mimic. she tries to say anything she hears, she’s really trying to communicate now. she understands EVERYTHING we say to her, it’s just up to her whether or not she cooperates with our wishes. she’s all over the place. she’s climbing on tabletops, up bookshelves, everywhere. she doesn’t do it just to do it (which is good), she does it to get something up there…which means we have to watch what we leave lying around. she goes after the bowl of halloween candy on the dining room table, daddy’s keys on the kitchen table, mommy’s blinking clock on the entertainment center, it’s always something. she falls constantly, just running around the house, though rarely cries about it. once at volleyball, she wiped out in front of some people. they all jumped and i could hear the intake of breath. i just watched her get up and move on, and they looked at me, like “wow…she’s tough.” i said, “yeah, she gets tackled by her brother at last fifty time a day, so unless she’s going to fall off a table or down the stairs or something, i don’t really worry about it.” she even climbed out of her crib one morning and dropped down to the floor. normally in the mornings, she wakes up and sings, or talks to aidan, or plays with her babies…she rarely cries. so when i hear a big thud and a scream, i of course go running. she’s on her hands and knees screaming at the carpet. i think she was more scared than hurt, because she was fine as soon as i scooped her up.
--she knows lots of her body parts now. she can point out her eyes, nose, ears, hair, toes, hands, belly button, and when someone says “potty,” she either runs to the potty or pulls on her diaper.
--her latest vocabulary additions include:
* a growl or a quack = any animal sound…bark, ribbit, roar, whatever
* “opp” = up
* “daw” = dog
* “hot” = hot
* “hat” = hat
* “nana” = almost any food…used to be banana, but now it’s just FOOD!
* “opp-ee” = apple
* “ah- may” = amen
* “ah-dah” = all done
* “chew” = shoe
* “ehh-rah” = sierra

--aidan is a talker as well. he must tell me EVERY SINGLE thought that enters his head. i hear, “mom-meeeeeee, …..” ALL DAY LONG. he’s either telling me some random thought, telling me what crazy thing sierra is doing, telling me what i’m supposed to say back to him (“say, ‘good job, aidan!’”), or arguing with me. seems i’m constantly defending my decisions with him. i’m working on different approaches to the arguing and fibbing…we’ll see what works. cause he’s really such a good boy! :)
--some of the things aidan says these days are pretty funny. i can tell he hears a phrase somewhere, and tries it out. some of them are used in the complete wrong places, and some are just impolite. some examples:
* “i’m a little nervous” (going to take a bath)
* “actually” and “otherwise” (used in the wrong context)
* “we’ll never make it” (going down to breakfast)
* “penis breath” (heard it on E.T. (which is one of his new favorite movies) and never said it again)
* “we don’t live on earth. earth is in space. you’re funny, mommy!” (i’ve got nothing to say to that one…it’s just cute, cause that is a hard concept to grasp.)
--he’s super excited about starting school next semester. i’ve been doing lots of research on the pre-schools around here, and we just sent in his registration for january . we’ve been telling him that he can start when he’s four, and he tells everyone that he’s “going to school when i’m four...in january.” i wanted to keep him close as long as possible, but he wants to go to school, and i think it’ll be some good exposure for him. we enrolled him in holy spirit catholic pre-school (the three-year-old class) for three half days a week from january through may. then he’ll do five half days in the four-year-old class starting next september…and be ready for (half day) kindergarten the next year.
--they grow up waaaaaayy to fast!

Sept 2008

--we had a few visitors in setpember. grammy and poppy came for several days. their visit overlapped with our friends mike and leslie, who came down for the winefest. we had a great (and hot) time at the winefest again this time. the kids came with us and played well. also, in september, i started my fall volleyball season. i play every monday night in a women’s league. we’re really good, and are in first place again this season.

--aidan is still my good boy, but has switched from my “do whatever mommy says” baby boy to a very argumentative little boy. he argues with me a lot, stops listening, acts like he’s deaf, and if he doesn’t get his way he becomes a rag doll…either that or he kicks and screams. he has also started fibbing a little, exaggerating a lot, and playing dumb when i ask him what happened or what he did. i suppose it’s what’s called “age appropriate,” and it's not all the time, however it’s horribly frustrating. i find myself trying to convince him to obey, and that doesn’t work, and that just makes me even more frustrated. vicious cycle, i suppose…and hopefully just a phase he’ll outgrow shortly. i mean, i can’t realistically believe he’ll never argue or lie or disobey me once he’s outgrown it, but at least maybe he’ll start listening to me a bit more.
--he’s also become a little tattle-tail. “sierra ripped it.” “sierra is going up the stairs.” “sierra is taking off her shirt.” “sierra's hands are in the potty.” “sierra is standing on the table.” granted, those are (mostly) things i need to be aware of. however he also tells me when she pulled his hair, or took his toy, or whatever. it’s kinda funny most of the time...though sometimes it sends me running!
--he’s now telling me these days that he wants a son named aidan. a son AND a brother named aidan. i told him if he has a brother one day, he won’t be named aidan, but one day when he’s grown up he can name his son that. “mommy, when i am a fro-nup, i can? i can’t wait.”
--he told me about one of his dreams. he said that god turned him into a butterfly. i said that sounded nice, but he said, “but i don’t want to be a butterfly. i just want to stay a boy.” how sweet.
--sierra had her 15month checkup. she got several shots, which she absolutely hated. she screamed bloody murder, and tried to get away. the nurse said she’s really strong…which i already knew. her height is 32” (85th percentile) and her weight is 21#15oz (back up to 40th percentile.)

--she helps me get her undressed, and sometimes does it herself. i’ll come in her room in the morning, and she has her shirt and/or pants halfway off, or all the way off. once she even got her diaper off! she has continued getting up on everything. she climbs on tables and she climbs up and slides down the slide. she’s started sniffing…flowers and feet (when prompted). she then says, “ahhh…see-eee!” which means, “aw, stinky!”
--she has her own language these days. a bunch of babbles, that must mean something to her. it’s really cute. i remember aidan going through that, though i think it happened later than 16months. some of her current sayings include:
* “day-do” = thank you
* “day-dee” or “a-dee” = aidan
* “ha-dough” = hello
* “pee-boo” = peek-a-boo
* “boo!” = boo!
* “ahh…see-ee!” = aw, stinky!
* “ya-you” = i love you
* “uh-hhh” = up (with arms held up)
* “eeez!” = cheese (with the squishy-face for the camera)
* “chew” = shoe

August 08

--paragraph one: sierra is a total ham! (i wonder who she got that from???) see exhibits A through F:

--more about sierra…she LOVES shoes. she calls them “ooosh,” and brings them to me when she finds some, brings me the one that fell off, goes to get them when i tell her to go get her shoes. she even tries to wear other people’s shoes. she put on aidan’s shoes and got pretty good getting around in them.

--she is now mommy's little helper. she likes to help me in the kitchen or doing laundry. she carries things for me, and she runs to get her corn-popper to vacuum when i vacuum.
--she’s pretty good at following directions, assuming she wants to obey. she knows exactly what i’m saying, though she may or may not comply. she runs to the door when i say “let’s go” or “wanna go?” she gets her shoes when i ask, and will “put that back” (for the most part) when i tell her to. however, she doesn’t always like to “get down” when i ask. she will slyly look at me, and back and forth between me and whatever she’s trying to climb on. she runs to her chair, and even starts chomping when i ask if she wants to eat. she heads for the stairs and goes to the bathroom when i tell her that it’s bathtime. (i'm right behind her on the stairs, in case anyone's worried...) she waves bye-bye and blows kisses when it’s “time for night-night.” she stops wacking what she’s hitting when i tell her “gentle” and will pet my arm, aidan, herself, the babydoll, whatever. and she knows where her eyes and nose and ears are. of course she prefers to poke or grab mine over hers though.
--her latest vocabulary advances include:
* “ahh-dee” = aidan (progress from “ahh-eee”)
* “uh-oh” = uh-oh (progress from “uh-uh”)
* “if” = fish
* “ack” = quack

* "baw" = ball
* “a-nana” = banana

* "mum-mee" = mommy
* “wa-zum?” = want some?
* “ah-jiz!” = there she is!
* “uh-uh-uh-uhhhh” = nah-uh-uh-uh (and wags her finger at me)
--when she hears the door, she runs to it and yells “da-da!!” billy’s been working on the staircase a lot lately, and one day we came home and i put something on the stairs for billy. sierra pointed to the steps and said, “da-da!!” she’s been a bit clingy lately too. she passed the snuggly baby stage and went into the “i have too much energy and too much to explore to sit still” stage. she’s still in that stage to some degree, but she also likes to sit still and read a book, play with blocks, or just sit in my lap. and she still likes to do whatever it is that aidan does. she follows him around and tries to copy him.

--aidan has been playing a lot of sports lately. we went miniature golfing with our friends mike and kristin. aidan wasn’t quite as good as last time (no holes in one) or as crazy as last time (no balls lost). nearly every day we have to play at least one sport in the backyard. he’s getting really good at several. he now has good form in basketball and makes at least half of his shots…granted they’re on his small goal, and he has his mark that he stands on (better to have him stand still in a spot to work on form,) but he’s doing great! he’s also catching and throwing a football…has a pretty good spiral too! of course, he has to wear his jets helmet whenever he plays football, and runs all over the place. we play catch, and he’s getting good with his glove. he can also hit off a pitch (or tee, though his tee is now too short for him.) and we’ve been working on his throwing form too. his new favorite movie (that we can see on demand) is everyone’s hero about babe ruth’s bat, darlin'. he got some cute sayings from the movie, and watches it in full garb (hat and glove)!!

--we’ve been working on pre-reading and pre-writing skills. he knows the alphabet song, though he’ll mess up occasionally, and i don’t think he ever got “l-m-n-o-p” just right anyway. he also knows 20 of the letters by sight, and can tell me words that start with the letter for many of them. he also knows several of what are called “sight words” (words that don’t really follow the rules, and new readers just have to memorize them.) we have a dvd of them. he knew 4 of about 20 by the end of the dvd, and 9 the next day, before we even watched the show! he can also recognize his numbers, though 7 and 9 give him trouble. i have him read me the digital clock to practice. i also got him some workbooks to work on tracing lines and following a path with his pencil. he concentrates really hard, and gets excited (and stickers) when he does well.

--we went to the beach a couple times this month. one time was with our friends mariah, sameer and their kids (asha and yogi), and carne. aidan and asha had a great time in the sand, sitting in the water, running from the water, and playing in the waves. sierra is fearless at the beach. she goes straight for the water. aidan was always a sand baby, though he’s getting used to the water now that we go often.

--aidan’s latest phrases include:
* “can i watch aidan’s show about animals?” (every morning/afternoon of every day!)
* “i want to go to ella’s house. ella is my best friend.”
* “asha is my girlfriend.”
* “i want a brother.” (daily for about a few weeks after our friend and (not-for-long) neighbor sandra had gabriel. still says it though not contstantly. i told him to ask daddy, and maybe god will give us a brother or sister sometime next year…)
* “i keep my eye on the ball!” (from everyone’s hero)
* “i just keep swinging!” (from everyone’s hero)
* “rock on!” (goes with a high-five when he does something “awesome!”)
* “cut it out, mommy!” (from everyone’s hero…minus the mommy part)
* “this is no time to panic!” (from toy story)
* “this is darlin’, cause i’m babe ruth.” (playing baseball after everyone’s hero)
--we had a few friends travel down from jersey to visit. mike and kristin came down for the weekend. we went to the beach and played miniature golf. at the beach, i actually ran into a former college volleyball teammate that was in a beach volleyball tournament the day we were on the beach. billy’s friends rob and justin came down for labor day weekend. we had a good time with them, and had a pre-labor day bbq while they were in town.
--i went to a brad paisley (country singer…for you non-fans) with my friend shadra. we had great seats, and she had some friends who got us vip passes. one of them was the nephew of brad paisley’s stage manager. so we got to go on the tour bus, and backstage and see all the equipment. it was bad scheduling that we didn’t get to see brad himself after the concert. they had a two week break from touring starting after the va beach concert, so he took off right after the show. usually he’d be up for hanging out…oh well. still the concert was awesome, and we had a great time!

--billy knows where his next job will be. we were told he'd have to do a tour in either iraq or afghanistan before he could get a ship or another shore billet. however that is not the case. he will be going to the u.s.s. cook (http://www.cook.navy.mil/) next summer, as the SUPPO (supply officer). he leaves acu-2 in april, and has several weeks of schools, and then reports to the ship in june. the ship is out of norfolk so we don't have to move, though his commute will be a bit more. and they do deploy a lot, so he'll be gone several months of the year, but at least he's not in the sand with a weapon!! (that's my take, anyhow...)