Wednesday, December 5, 2007
the boys are playing together
In the last couple of weeks, Jack and Shannon have started playing together. I love it!! Shannon will talk to Jack and show him toys. Or, he will hide behind a chair and try to get Jack to follow him. Sometimes Shannon experiments a little with hurting Jack, but most of the time, he just plays with him. I would say that on some days, they play together for close to an hour over the course of the day. Of course, this may change when Jack is able to assert himself more. We'll see.
smart kid
In the space of about 15 minutes this morning, Shannon surprised me with something he had apparently learned.
--I purchased the LeapFrog Fridge phonics system for him to help him learn the alphabet. I just gave it to him this morning. You place a letter on the machine and it will sing a song for each letter. All that is included in each song is this: "E says eh, and E says ee. Every letter makes a sound, and E says eh and ee." (Of course, the letter and sounds change with each letter.) So, we're picking up all the letters. He picks up the lowercase letter "e." He says, "elephant" and makes the sound of an elephant. The LeapFrog system does not tell him this. So, I'm guessing he remembers it from about 2 or months ago when he spent a couple days at my friend Jennifer's house. She was spending a week on each letter with the kids, and I'm pretty sure they did the letter e. Anyway, I was still amazed that he knew it.
--I am currently borrowing Beethoven's Wig from the library. It takes several classical pieces and puts funny lyrics to them. The first 11 tracks are with the lyrics. The second 11 tracks are the same pieces without the lyrics. Anyway, he was listening to it during breakfast this morning, and we had gotten to the lyric-free tracks. We were listening to Mozart's Eine Kliene Nachtmusik and Shannon says "music at night!!" Then comes Offenbach's Can Can, and Shannon says "I can!"
--I purchased the LeapFrog Fridge phonics system for him to help him learn the alphabet. I just gave it to him this morning. You place a letter on the machine and it will sing a song for each letter. All that is included in each song is this: "E says eh, and E says ee. Every letter makes a sound, and E says eh and ee." (Of course, the letter and sounds change with each letter.) So, we're picking up all the letters. He picks up the lowercase letter "e." He says, "elephant" and makes the sound of an elephant. The LeapFrog system does not tell him this. So, I'm guessing he remembers it from about 2 or months ago when he spent a couple days at my friend Jennifer's house. She was spending a week on each letter with the kids, and I'm pretty sure they did the letter e. Anyway, I was still amazed that he knew it.
--I am currently borrowing Beethoven's Wig from the library. It takes several classical pieces and puts funny lyrics to them. The first 11 tracks are with the lyrics. The second 11 tracks are the same pieces without the lyrics. Anyway, he was listening to it during breakfast this morning, and we had gotten to the lyric-free tracks. We were listening to Mozart's Eine Kliene Nachtmusik and Shannon says "music at night!!" Then comes Offenbach's Can Can, and Shannon says "I can!"
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving
Happy Thanksgiving to all from us!!
(Shannon translation: "Happy Thanksgiving, Turkey")
May God bless you in the year to come!
(Shannon translation: "Happy Thanksgiving, Turkey")
May God bless you in the year to come!
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
updates
Jack is now mobile. I had previously said that Shannon crawled 10 days shy of six months. It was actually 10 days shy of seven months, because it was September. Anyway, Shannon went straight from non-mobility to full left-right crawling. Jack is doing an army-crawl (for a couple weeks now), and he is really fast. It is so funny to watch him. He pulls and leads with his left elbow and follows up with the right hand. Oh, and he hasn't had any stranger-fear lately. It was really just that one Sunday. So, it was either just a very short phase, or (more likely) he wasn't feeling well.
Jack also had his six-month check this past Monday. He weighs 18 pounds, 12 ounces (50%-75%) and is 28 inches long (90%).
Here's a little treasure for his mother. When I come home on the days that I work, as soon as he sees me, he responds with such urgency. Last night, he was sitting happily in his high chair. He was looking up at Sean, who was trying to gesture that I had arrived home. He had a big grin on his face. As soon as he caught sight of me, he started rocking back and forth in his chair, arms outstretched, and whimpering/half-crying like it had been years since we last saw each other. (Although, I suppose in his short little life, 12 hours is like years.) Then, he gets in my arms and just smashes his face into mine, trying to get as close as possible, with a little sigh like the world is now set to right.
Shannon's reaction is a little different. It makes me laugh, because he is so excited when he greets papa, mama, grandpa, and grandma. But, after the initial, "Mama's home!!" he immediately moves on. Most of the time, he's not even that interested in a hug. When I come home on Tuesdays & Thursdays, he rejoices in my homecoming, then moves directly to requesting supper.
Shannon's vocabulary is growing and growing. It's so fun to begin to hear the things that go on in his head. Recently, I started getting books on CD from the library. He loves to listen to them. And, I taught him how to change the CD, so he loves doing that too. I've also been letting him listen to one at the beginning of his nap and bedtime. It makes him pretty quiet most of the time. Like last night, for example. After I read stories to him, he rolled onto his side and laid quietly while The Princess and the Pea got started.
Well, I'm planning to make a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. I think this will be my third turkey, and I've done it a little differently every year. My first year, I just did a pepper/molasses rub under the skin. Last year I did the same rub and a brine (not in that order). This year, I'm doing Martha Stewart's roasted brined turkey. I'm trying some more unusual sides (a broccoli/parmesan/garlic puree & mashed sweet potatoes w/ coconut milk, pure maple syrup, and Thai curry). We'll also have a cornbread & sausage stuffing. For dessert, I'm making gingerbread cheesecake. My parents and my brother and his family will be joining us. We'll see how it all turns out.
Here's a news flash: It's snowing!! And, it's accumulating, although, only on the grass.
Jack also had his six-month check this past Monday. He weighs 18 pounds, 12 ounces (50%-75%) and is 28 inches long (90%).
Here's a little treasure for his mother. When I come home on the days that I work, as soon as he sees me, he responds with such urgency. Last night, he was sitting happily in his high chair. He was looking up at Sean, who was trying to gesture that I had arrived home. He had a big grin on his face. As soon as he caught sight of me, he started rocking back and forth in his chair, arms outstretched, and whimpering/half-crying like it had been years since we last saw each other. (Although, I suppose in his short little life, 12 hours is like years.) Then, he gets in my arms and just smashes his face into mine, trying to get as close as possible, with a little sigh like the world is now set to right.
Shannon's reaction is a little different. It makes me laugh, because he is so excited when he greets papa, mama, grandpa, and grandma. But, after the initial, "Mama's home!!" he immediately moves on. Most of the time, he's not even that interested in a hug. When I come home on Tuesdays & Thursdays, he rejoices in my homecoming, then moves directly to requesting supper.
Shannon's vocabulary is growing and growing. It's so fun to begin to hear the things that go on in his head. Recently, I started getting books on CD from the library. He loves to listen to them. And, I taught him how to change the CD, so he loves doing that too. I've also been letting him listen to one at the beginning of his nap and bedtime. It makes him pretty quiet most of the time. Like last night, for example. After I read stories to him, he rolled onto his side and laid quietly while The Princess and the Pea got started.
Well, I'm planning to make a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. I think this will be my third turkey, and I've done it a little differently every year. My first year, I just did a pepper/molasses rub under the skin. Last year I did the same rub and a brine (not in that order). This year, I'm doing Martha Stewart's roasted brined turkey. I'm trying some more unusual sides (a broccoli/parmesan/garlic puree & mashed sweet potatoes w/ coconut milk, pure maple syrup, and Thai curry). We'll also have a cornbread & sausage stuffing. For dessert, I'm making gingerbread cheesecake. My parents and my brother and his family will be joining us. We'll see how it all turns out.
Here's a news flash: It's snowing!! And, it's accumulating, although, only on the grass.
Friday, November 2, 2007
new blog feature
I've added a feature at the right that lists books Shannon enjoys. He's always been an interesting kid, in that he loves both running wildly around the room and sitting quietly reading books (and better yet, being read to) for long periods of time. And, I am blessed to live very near the downtown branch of our library, which includes a drive-thru window. So, I hunt for good book ideas on the internet; request them through the library's website, and drive-thru the pick-up window when they're ready. It makes it very easy to go to the library with a 2 1/2 year-old and a 6-month-old. No fits when we have to leave the computers alone or go home. And, I'm always distracted when trying to search for books, because I have to keep track of Shannon at the same time. :)
Anyway, I thought other mothers-of-two-year-olds might find the recommendations helpful. (And, let me know if you have a similar list, as I'm always looking for ideas.)
Anyway, I thought other mothers-of-two-year-olds might find the recommendations helpful. (And, let me know if you have a similar list, as I'm always looking for ideas.)
Monday, October 29, 2007
brotherly love
I tried to get a couple photos of the boys together. I wasn't able to get them both smiling at the same time. But, they're still pretty cute.
Notice how Shannon is both kissing Jack and nearly strangling him?
Jack is thinking: Mom, are you sure I'm safe here?
Now, Shannon is thinking: Mom, are we done yet?
Notice how Shannon is both kissing Jack and nearly strangling him?
Jack is thinking: Mom, are you sure I'm safe here?
Now, Shannon is thinking: Mom, are we done yet?
new bike
Early last summer, I purchased a bike for Shannon at a garage sale--$5. Last night, we finally took him out to try it. First, we had to get a helmet. (If I had had my head on straight, I would have gotten a helmet at the same garage sale because they had some. But I was ten days away from giving birth to an almost eleven pound baby and not thinking quite straight.) After we picked up the helmet, we went to a park. We were both expecting that Shannon would have to do a little work before taking off. No, he just took off.
He only struggled with the brakes. On his tricycle, he is able to peddle backwards or forwards. On his bike, peddling backwards initiates the brakes. So, depending on the position of the peddles, he would need a little push to get started. But, that was all we were allowed to do. Once he got started, he would put his hand out and say, "no! shannon do it!"
After a little while on the bike, we played in the park for awhile. Sean chased Shannon around, and I swung on the swings with Jack. Shannon also got to try out the digger. It might have been a little big for him, but that didn't stop him from trying.
And, Shannon really enjoys wearing his new helmet--all the time. Here he is eating breakfast. At least if he falls of the stool, we won't need to worry about a head injury.
He only struggled with the brakes. On his tricycle, he is able to peddle backwards or forwards. On his bike, peddling backwards initiates the brakes. So, depending on the position of the peddles, he would need a little push to get started. But, that was all we were allowed to do. Once he got started, he would put his hand out and say, "no! shannon do it!"
After a little while on the bike, we played in the park for awhile. Sean chased Shannon around, and I swung on the swings with Jack. Shannon also got to try out the digger. It might have been a little big for him, but that didn't stop him from trying.
And, Shannon really enjoys wearing his new helmet--all the time. Here he is eating breakfast. At least if he falls of the stool, we won't need to worry about a head injury.
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