An inside day

Being stuck inside, we got creative when needing to burn some energy.  (Turn your speakers up high for this.)

Elev 830 ft 41.95 °N, 88.39 °W 

High 4 | Low -14 °F 0% Chance of Precip

A snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats and Lilly Puri

Lilly and I bundled up to retrieve Shawn from the bus stop this afternoon. I didn't realize it at the time, but there's an uncanny resemblance:
 

	Jackson

Yawn

*Yawn*

Shawn woke up around 6:30 am this morning.  This is extremely out of character, as I normally have to drag him out of bed between 8:00 - 8:30 am during the week.  I was really looking forward to sleeping in today too, of course.  So much for that dream! 

*Yawn*

He woke up once earlier in the night, but he went back to sleep pretty easily.  This time, he was wide awake and I couldn’t even talk him into snuggling for very long!  He was ready to play, wanted to get Baron from the kitchen, and resisted the notion of anything deviating from his plan.

*Yawn*

The catch – he’s definitely got a cold.  In spite of the medicine I gave him (which he loves), he spent the majority of the morning sneezing, coughing, sniffing, and dribbling all over everything.  (My efforts to teach him to cover his mouth have obviously failed tremendously.)  I made him a cub of chicken broth in a fun apple-shaped cup with a squeezie spout (like a sports bottle), to encourage him to drink plenty of fluids.  My scheme worked initially, but you can lead a toddler to a sippy, but you can’t make him drink! 

*Yawn*

Shawn played, asked “Let’s get out of here!” and “What are we going to do today?” as if he was in tip-top shape.  Yet, when I sat him on my bed to read a story (after much cajoling to get him to actually sit and not stand), the next thing I realized, he was fast asleep and snoring softly.  It was only 11:00 am.  (His normal naptime is around 1:30 or 2:00 pm.)

But, now I’m awake!

T is for Tanner, Trucks, Tunes, Toys, and Teddy Bear

It was a rough night last night.  We didn’t sleep much.  Shawn and I slept in a little, but he still woke up on his own in time for our swimming lesson.  Again Raj suggested we skip class and sleep in, but with both of us awake in time, it didn’t make much sense.  We didn’t get to the pool early enough to get in before class started, like we normally have been, but we got there just as they were taking attendance.

I wasn’t very impressed with the swimming lesson today.  We had a lot of play time (a.k.a. down time)!  The water was cold – 83F water, 85F air, which sounds warm enough, but kids’ lips were blue, chins were chattering, and limbs were shivering.  A few of us asked if temperature could be turned up, but management said no because lap swimmers complain it’s too warm to do their exercises.  So, I guess our babes will get hypothermia instead – sure, that’s reasonable!  Grrr….

Tanner’s mom asked me if we were going to sign up for the next session of classes, but I haven’t been very impressed by this one, so I don’t think so.  The only real benefit that I’ve seen from these lessons is it’s at a set time each week, which actually gets us to do it.  If we don’t have an activity scheduled and on the calendar, then we’re not likely to do it, whether it’s something in the community or a playdate.  So, saying that we can just go to the pool this summer sounds great and logical, but if we don’t actually plan it, it’s not likely to happen.  Maybe I’ll look for swimming lessons through a different group, like the park district, and see if we get anything more out of it.

When Shawn woke up from his nap, Raj and I heard him talking to himself – something about a truck and a house.  We opened the door to find him sitting in his rocking chair, reading The Little House, “I’m reading stories in the rocking chair all by MY self!”  What a character.

Shawn has been very vocal today.  He sang Baa, Baa Black Sheep while playing with his farm.  Throughout the day, he sang many other songs, some real and others made up (or perhaps medleys of a few real ones).  He can now fill in the missing words when we sing I’ve Been Working on the Railroad, Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, A Tisket, A Tasket, Frere Jaques (in English though), Humpty Dumpty, You are My Sunshine, Merrily We Roll Along, and a few others, which escape me at the moment.

Shawn’s also getting very quick at putting together his chunky puzzles.  I may need to see if there are any new ones available on Freecycle.  He never really showed much interest in the puzzles before, other than playing with the pieces individually.  I think he’s learned a little from Abby, because she loves doing puzzles and is very fast to put them together. 

Surprise!  Shawn knows the letter T.  He’s been pointing it out in different contexts all day:  on Dadda’s flavored water bottles, in his books, on the computer “buttons”… I’m not sure where this came from, but I guess we should run with it!

While Shawn was playing for a little while before going to bed, he pulled out a teddy bear and an empty plastic box that’s made to hold wipes.  He proceeded to tell us that Teddy Bear’s diaper was dirty and he needed to change it!  He laid Teddy Bear on the ground, pulled out pretend wipes from the box, lifted the bear’s legs, and told us that he was cleaning up Teddy Bear.  Raj and I just watched and giggled.  I love his imagination.

'Hel-talk-oos' in 'Ooo-neee-nee'

During breakfast, we watched airplanes coming in to land at O’Hare. Even though this happens virtually 24-7, they thought it was pretty fun to announce, “Another airplane!” when they saw a new one in the distance.  Abby kept asking for a “hel-talk-oo” (or as Shawn would say, “het-top-ter” or as I would say, “helicopter”), but we were much too late to catch the traffic copters in the air. 

After breakfast, Shawn and Abby held hands and ran around the living room saying, “Whooo wooo! Choo choo train!”  They were giggling and beaming the whole time.  These two are something else!  Later, they helped me put up Spring and Easter decorations.  We stuck window clings on the front window and mirror, poured plastic eggs into various vases and containers around the house, and hung some miniature decorations of bunnies, birds, and Easter eggs from the dining room chandelier.  They had fun checking out the new décor.

It’s deceivingly pretty outside today: crystal blue sky, hardly any clouds, bright sunshine, little/no wind – but 25 F.  It’s a bit chilly for a walk to the park today.  Rats! Looking forward to the days when we can play outside without going numb - though I’m not a big fan of heat stroke either!

This evening, just to see what would happen, I told Shawn that we live in Chicago, Illinois.  Now, we’re practicing, “Where do you live?” “Ooo-neee-nee”  If he’s ever faced with telling someone where he lives, he’ll definitely need a translator!  Too bad we don’t live somewhere easy like… Hawaii!

When I was putting Shawn down to sleep for the night, he pointed to the freckles on my cheeks.  I told him, “Those are Momma’s freckles.”  He gently tapped them a few times, then leaned in and kissed them on both cheeks!  He made the pucker sound and all!  I couldn’t help it - I almost teared up.  My sweet little man.

More Spring Cleaning

Abby stayed home again today.  So, Shawn and I did more spring cleaning and errand running.  It wasn’t exactly a fun day, but dreadfully productive!  It’s too bad it wasn’t as warm as it was on Monday though - it’s much too cold to air out the house again.  We got so busy cleaning and running errands that we accidentally missed Family Gym and Open Gym.  In fact, we got so much done, Shawn fell asleep in his car seat between two stops while we were out.  Rather than go all the way home to put him to bed (and possibly wake him in the process), I drove to the next place on our to-do list and parked while he napped.  I figured it was a perfect time to make some phone calls!  I had just enough time to catch up with Oma before Shawn woke up.  Then, off we went to cross off more jobs from our To-Do list!

A Disappointing Library Story Time

Story time at the library used the theme “Going to the Park.”  I was a little disappointed.  Not very timely, since the weather has taken a turn toward the cold and hasn’t been (and won’t be) very conducive to actually going to the park.  I wasn’t very impressed by the book selections either.   Oh, well.  Maybe next week will be better.

Ms. Nancy read:

·         Hop! Plop! By Corey Rosen Schwartz and Tali Klein
A cute story about an elephant and a mouse who are friends and try to find something they can do or play together.

·         Spot Goes to the Park by Eric Hill
Shawn and Abby like lifting the flaps in stories like this.

·         Please Play Safe by Margery Cuyler
Ugh.  A book about what not to do when playing?  Gee, sounds like fun!  It had good points like not pushing into each other and sharing, but… eck!  We won’t be checking out this book!

·         Play Ball with Me by Lynn Reiser
This was another flap book that Shawn and Abby liked.  Each page featured a specific sport’s ball and equipment and the readers guessed what sport was being hinted. 

We danced to Jumping and Counting from Jim Gill’s Irrational Anthem, though I didn’t quite get the connection to the “Going to the Park” theme…??

We also learned a couple of poems:

Outside Play
Let’s go outside and play.
The sun is shining.
It’s a beautiful day.
We’re sure to have lots of fun.
We’ll hop and skip
And jump and run!

On the Playground

Playing on the playground is a treat,

Swinging and sliding can’t be beat!

(make swinging and sliding motions with hands)

The playground is where we like to play,

We run and skip and hop each day!

The Slide

Climb up the ladder

(climb fingers up arm)

Hang on to the side

(grasp arm with fingers)

Sit down on top

(place fist on top of arm)

Then down you slide!

(slide fist down arm)

 

Even though story time was a bit disappointing, Abby provided us with plenty of entertainment throughout the day.  She was an extraordinarily garrulous little girl!  Whether she was talking specifically to me, to Shawn, or to herself, she certainly had a lot to say!  By the time she went home, she wore me out!

It's Finally Friday

Abby arrived at 7:30 this morning.  About half an hour later, we were playing and getting ready for breakfast downstairs when we heard, “A dump truck!  A dump truck!” being squealed from upstairs.  Shawn’s awake!  He was very excited to see a truck from the landscaping crew parked in the island in the center of our cul de sac.  (It was actually a pick-up truck, but who’s counting?)

At breakfast, I opened the front and back doors to let some fresh air in.  It was a bit wishful thinking though, or maybe just too early in the day.  We didn’t even finish the meal before I closed the doors again because it was too cold. 

Both kids had pants problems today!  Must not have eaten enough at breakfast!  They’d be playing and look down to see their pants on the floor.  Shawn was even running around without them for a few steps before he even noticed it.  We decided to change clothes (or at least put on different pants) before going to Gymboree – otherwise, they might have climbed right out of them!

Listening to CDs on the way to Family Gym, Abby identified Mickey Mouse’s voice each time he sang a song.  Though it was a CD of songs song by Mickey and his friends, it turns out that most of them are by Goofy.  At Gymboree, the theme of the day was ‘Construction Zone.’  The kids made ‘cement’ by putting scarves and air bags into a big barrel, they filled ‘holes in a bumpy road’ by stuffing toys into the creases of a mat, they ‘hammered and sawed a leaky roof & painted the house’ using plastic sticks on a climbing structure, they ‘fixed a clogged pipe,’ by retrieving a huge pile of scarves from a tunnel, and they ‘turned on a faucet’ by climbing through the cleared tunnel.  Later, both actually participated in Freeze!  Towards the end of class, while Abby was catching bubbles in the air, Shawn was trying to pick them up off the ground.  When that didn’t work very well for him, he switched to purposely popping them with his fingertip.  Much easier!  Of course, Abby loved dancing to the music, and Shawn danced a little on his own today.  When Gymbo (the toddler-sized clown doll mascot) came out at the end of class, both of them gave him big hugs.  There’s part of a song that gives directions of how to dance with Gymbo.  One part says Gymbo’s tired and goes to sleep, so everyone lays down on the mats and pretends to sleep.  BOTH kids did it AND BOTH jumped up when we realize that Gymbo doesn’t really want to sleep.  Usually, I have to give Shawn more than a little nudge to get him to lay down and then it takes him a while to get up again afterwards – he’s too busy watching everyone else dance along to the music.  We stuck around for a little while after class was over to play in Open Gym, but we still needed to have nap time, so we didn’t stay very long.  Neither of  the kids were quite ready to go when I was and they kept trying to go back to the equipment and play more.  Sorry, guys!  We’ll have to wait until Monday!  (I did manage to schedule a makeup session from when we missed music class to go to Kiddie Klub Lane.  We didn’t get another music class, but we have an extra gym class next week.  Next Wednesday we’ll start with music,  stay for a gym class, then come home for lunch and naps – perfect!  I think they’ll be happy to have gym after music class anyway.)

While both napped, I opened the doors again.  It was just shy of 50 F, but the fresh air was nice.  Abby woke up and Bill came to get her shortly after.  When Shawn woke up, he asked if the boys were playing games outside, like yesterday.  He also wanted to “ride the bicycle with Momma” again.  How could I resist that?  So, out we went! 

Unfortunately, the temperature must have dropped considerably by that time because by the time we got to the park (the closer of the two near us), I was already chilled.  Grant it, walking with Shawn isn’t exactly expeditious!  We stopped along the way to check out each “fy-ah hide-nt” (a.k.a. fire hydrant) and mailbox in our path, not to mention the occasional pinecone and stick too.  Plus, he had picked up a football from the garage before we left and was practicing throwing it (which looks more like holding the ball over his head and then spiking it down to the ground) at least 2 or 3 times on each block.  When we finally got to the park, he climbed the stairs and went down the big spiral slide a couple of times before I figured we better start heading back before it got much colder.  (At the rate it took us to get to the park, it very well could have been dark by the time we got home!)  Another boy at the park arrived on a small, neon green and black bike that captured Shawn’s attention.  When he and his mom were leaving the park in the same direction as our home, it was pretty easy to convince Shawn it was time for us to go, too.  We watched the neon green bike peddle ahead of us until it was out of sight, but luckily it helped keep Shawn motivated to walk forward – we even passed a fire hydrant or two without him noticing.  The combination of watching the fancy bike and my resistance to let Shawn investigate every landmark on the way made the walk home much faster.  Still, he was not happy that I rushed him inside to warm up and get ready for dinner, rather than let him play outside on his tricycle or in his Cozy Coupe car.  They will be there another (hopefully slightly warmer) day, little man.

What's Your Name? Super Hat Man!

This morning, Bill told me that Abby learned to say her first and last name over the weekend.  Though she wouldn’t answer him this morning when he asked her, I made sure to ask her throughout the day, “Abby, what’s your name?” and she’d reply, “Abby Pow-oh!” with a big smile.

Shawn decided it was so cold out today, that he needed two hats!

Too bad the second one was on backwards - it made it a little tricky to see!

Ice and then The Freeze - Brrrr!

It rained ice last night.  Everything was coated when we woke up this morning.  The trees looked like they were decorated with Christmas lights the way the sun was glimmering on their ice coated branches.  It would have been really pretty, except that the skies were an ugly grey and it was cold and wet.  When Bill came by with Abby, he said that he really had to pull on his truck door to get it to open – it was sealed shut.  News reports warned of dangerously slippery driving conditions, too.  Hmmm… not exactly motivating to haul the kids out to Open Gym today! 

Instead, we played in the basement while I got some laundry done.  The tunnel was a popular toy today, though some days it’s completely ignored.  Aside from chasing each other through it a dozen or two times, Abby and Shawn also played on it like the do the air-log at Gymboree.  In class, there’s a song called The Freeze to which the kids tap on the air log and dance until the lyrics say, “Freeze!” and we put our hands on our heads until the music starts again.  We don’t have an air-log at home, but the top of the tunnel was just as fun to tap on – and I didn’t even have music on this time!  (Shawn also discovered that it’s fun to lean on the tunnel and “melt” to the floor as it collapses under his weight.  He even started giggling, “I’m meeeellllllting!”)

After lunch and naptime, it warmed up to a balmy 33 F!  Practically t-shirt weather!  Well, maybe not, but the sky cleared to a beautiful and cloudless blue and the sun was deceivingly warm as it streamed in the windows.  For a moment, it looked a little like it was raining - but only under the trees!  In reality, it was the ice melting from the branches and dripping down, sometimes with ice chunks still intact.  It was nice to see that the roads weren’t coated anymore and, even more so,  I won’t have to scrape my windshield (or de-ice my doors) when Shawn and I deliver the business / referral cards I made to Raj’s office later this afternoon.  (I like it when Mother Nature does that kind of work for me!)

After Abby went home, Shawn and I delivered the cards to the Artistic Smiles team.  Shawn’s starting to feel much more at home there.  He knows that the front window and door are the perfect viewing stations to watch the trains at the station across the parking lot.  He also knows exactly where to find an assortment of teeth on display, which are apparently fun to play with.  He talked freely with Ms. Jeanne and Ms. Debbie, but still no luck with Mr. Tony.  Even when he did Donald Duck impressions, Mr. Tony couldn’t convince Shawn to crack a smile or anything.  Instead, Shawn would scurry over to me and shy away.  Luckily, Mr. Tony understands kids pretty well and will just keep trying whenever we come over.  One of these days, Shawn will realize he’s a really nice guy! 

We had one more exciting point of the day, just before going to bed.  I was getting Shawn changed out of his clothes from the day and had him sit on the toilet before getting into his pajamas.  He peed!  I think he got just as excited as I was!  I’m not sure if it was just good timing or if he’s starting to understand what the whole toilet-concept is all about.  Either way, YEAH!

Sleepyhead and Diva

Shawn woke every hour and a half last night.  I thought he’d sleep in a little this morning, once he finally passed out.  Nope.  He woke around 7:45 am.  This could be a long day!

We went to Gymboree for Music class.  Again, Abby participated in the Ba-Ba rhythm activity and showed that she knew how to move her stuff!  She danced, showed high and low movements, shook maracas, hit drums to beats, bounced her knees to beats, walked fast and slow...  She was on fire!

Meanwhile, Miss Elizabeth even noticed how drained Shawn appeared in class today.  He was very stand-off-ish and dazed.  There was a definite difference between his being shy and people watching versus today’s lethargy and zoned-out stance.  Poor kid.  I wish I knew how to fix whatever was going on last night!

On the way home, I played Shawn’s bedtime lullaby CD, hoping that the hum of the car and the Pavlov’s response to the CD would lull Shawn to La-La Land.  It worked – even better than I had anticipated.  Both fell asleep on the way home (around 11:30 am).  Not risking trying to transfer Shawn from his car seat to his crib, left him in the car with the garage closed, but the car window open.  He’s bundled in his winter coat and the car is still pretty warm from our drive home.  I’m in the dining room so I can hear him when he wakes up (and I can check on him through the kitchen door, too). 

Abby had no problem with me getting her from her car seat.  (I’m sure it was a relief for her neck to get out of the awkwardly bent angle she was sleeping in!)  We took off her boots and winter gear, got her baby doll, then easily went back to sleep in the pack & play.  Sweet dreams, Little Ones! 

I’m tempted to take a nap myself, but I feel like I should use this time to get some things checked off of my To Do list.  Hopefully, we’ll have an early bed time (and one that sticks this time!  …at least for a few hours… please?!)

Abby eventually woke up at 1:45 pm and Shawn slept until 2 pm.  I thought it would be fun to have some more music time, since Abby was a rock start this morning and Shawn basically zoned out the whole time and missed it!  So, I played a few songs on the harp for my miniature audience.  They both came over and stood at the base of the harp, sometimes touching the strings, sometimes just watching, sometimes playing with toys closeby.  At the end of a song, Shawn looked up, smiled, and said, “Good job, Momma!”  That’s better than any encore or standing ovation! 

Then, it was their turn:  True virtuosos in the making!

We spent the rest of the afternoon reading books…

…and watching snow plows.

I’m not sure why the library chose this week’s theme so soon, since there’s still over a week before the actual day, which includes one more story-time session… regardless, today’s theme was Valentines.  Ms. Nancy read lots of books about love, family, and making Valentines and hearts:

Valentine Cats by Jean Marzollo:  “The cats enjoy Valentine’s Day.  Cards are written, drawn, and delivered with the help of the entire group of cats.”

Sweet Hearts by Jan Carr:  “Valentines are hidden throughout the house.  It doesn’t take long before every card is discovered.”

Be Mine, Be Mine, Sweet Valentine by Sarah Weeks:  “Everyone gets their own Valentine.  Each one is different and specially selected.”

Never Too Little to Love by Jeanne Willis:  “Tin Too-Little wants to give a kiss to someone who is very tall.  He uses something to help him reach up high.”  (This one was my favorite pick of the day.)

We also danced to and acted out the song Skinnamarink.  Abby liked trying to follow Ms. Nancy’s miming.  Shawn stood and watched for most of the song.  We also did some finger play:

How Many Valentines?

Valentines, Valentines, how many do you see?

Valentines, Valentines, can you count them with me?

One for father (hold up one finger)

One for mother (hold up another finger)

One for grandparents, too (hold up another finger)

One for sister (hold up another finger)

One for brother (hold up another finger)

And here is one for you! (make a heart shape with thumbs and pointer fingers)

Five Little Valentines

One little Valentine colored pink and blue (hold up one finger)

A second one came and then there were two (hold up two fingers)

Two little Valentines clapping with glee (clap hands)

A third one came and then there were three (hold up three fingers)

Three little Valentines tapping at the door (knock three times)

A fourth one came and then there were four (hold up four fingers)

[I think I’m missing a line here – oops!]

A fifth one came and then there were five (hold up five fingers)

Five little valentines wanted to say

Have a very happy Valentine’s Day! (wiggle five fingers)

And of course, a variation of the classic:

Roses are Red

Roses are red.

Violets are blue.

Honey is sweet,

And so are you!

So, with all of that Valentine’s talk, we should be well primed for the big day… in a little over a week from now!  Hmmm...

Back to a closer holiday… I never did hear what Punxsutawney Phil decided to do yesterday, but if he was living in Chi-town, he'd be nuts not to scurry back inside!  Our streets are looking pretty good, but I know there are still many that haven't been plowed yet or only have one lane open.  Many schools and businesses are still closed.  Part of the problem is getting the plows around to all of the areas, but the other problem is where to put the snow once it's plowed.  We'll be lucky if it's all gone by Spring!

Still, I think the storm's moved on.  We were expecting more snow last night, but it never came - though it's a little hard to tell with all the snow we do have!  There's a drift at the back door that's between 5-6 feet high; meanwhile, my car in the driveway hardly had any snow on it at all.  Amazing micro-meteorology at work!  I think the final total around here was in the vicinity of 20".  With all of the variability in the drifting, I couldn't even guess what we have in our own yard.  Last night's news forecasted today's wind chill to be between -20F to -30F, though the actual temp is 12F right now. brrrrrrr......  I'm just glad we're not among the thousands who lost power!

Chicago Blizzaster, SnOMG, Snowmageddon, Snowpocalypse 2011‏

Last night, we were hit with "the Blizzard of 2011," as the news stations are calling it.  We're doing well, though we're pretty bundled up.  Watching the wind blow the snow around yesterday and last night was amazing.  The BBQ grill in our backyard is now completely buried under snow and there's a drift that goes halfway up the windows in the back of our house.  I think it must be between 5 - 6 feet high.  On the other hand, my car hardly has any snow on it at all.  (Pretty incredible micrometeorology at work here!)  I tried taking pictures last night as the blizzard was rolling in, but it was getting dark, so I couldn’t get enough to make a good time lapse series.  Still, you can see some photos from last night and then today. 

Since so much snow came so quickly, everything shut down - Lake Shore drive even closed!  Here's are two photos of cars burried and abandoned there last night:

This picture was taken on an abandoned bus that was on Lake Shore:

My attempt at time lapse photos was no where near as good as this guy's:

There are a lot of great blizzard pictures and stories.  Here are just a couple: 

http://www.chicagoweathercenter.com/photos/chi-110201-monster-snowstorm-2011-pictures,0,7403567.photogallery

http://www.nbcchicago.com/weather/stories/Blizzard-Unleashes-Winter-Fury-115047384.html

Entire towns were closing businesses and school districts, so Raj got to stay home today, too.  (That doesn't happen very often.)  I dragged the boys outside to play in the snow earlier today - sledding, snowballs, and climbing on the mounds left behind by the snow plows.  Shawn wasn’t nearly as impressed by all of the snow as we were.  I guess sledding with Mom and Dad just isn’t the same as playing in the snow with Abby.  He was less than amused by the whole experience.  He did crack a few smiles when we pushed him around in his Cozy Coupe, but with all of the ice on the road, that was a lot of work!  It was nice to come in for hot chocolate when we were done.  I think Shawn had more fun playing with our snow gear inside than he did while we were outside!  Oh, well.  We tried.  Here's the video.

We're supposed to be getting a few more inches tonight, but I think the major part of the storm finished last night.  In fact, it's actually really pretty and relatively warm out right now – as long as you’re not trying to drive anywhere!

Oh, yeah – and Happy Ground Hog Day! I have a feeling winter's going to be sticking around for some time- it's at least going to be a while for all of this snow to melt.  I'd be surprised if Punxsutawney Phil even cared to venture out to find his shadow today! 

It was just Shawn and me today. Abby had a doctor’s appointment, so she didn’t come over. We stayed home for most of the day, too. We didn’t go to Gymboree’s Open Gym since Shawn has a bit of a cold and sneezing - a lot. With all of his sneezing, we’re certainly keeping Kleenex in business! After hearing me say it all day, Shawn surprised me this afternoon when he told himself, “Bless you, Shawn!”

Shawn’s full of surprises today. He was playing in his crib while I was trying to get a few things done. All of a sudden, I heard him talking to himself. When I peeked into his room, he was using a toy noise maker as a microphone and this is what I saw... 

The funny thing is - he's never said that in class and, though I've gotten him to say it at home, it's never been without being prompted!  I may need to show Diego the video as proof that he can do it!

We went to the YMCA to register Shawn for swimming lessons that will start later in February. While we were there, we got a tour of the facility. The woman leading us around showed us the locker rooms, the pool, the child care center, and a huge room with basketball courts and exercise equipment. (She must not have been very busy because she talked a lot!) We didn’t get a full membership to the YMCA, but we did finalize Shawn’s registration. Right now, we’re the only ones signed up, but the woman assured me that they only need two students to keep the class going. I doubt that’ll be an issue and I’m excited to start our swimming lessons!

When we got home, Shawn fell fast asleep. He didn’t sleep well last night, so this was a much needed nap! While he slept, I kept my eyes on the latest weather report. It’s not looking good! There’s big snow storm in the forecast for Wednesday. I’m really hoping it holds off at least until Thursday – we have a big day planned for Wednesday! Our first German class at Language Stars (we are taking advantage of a special offer to try four classes of a second language for free) and our first Mothers & More outing for moms and tots to a place called Little Monkey Bizness are on Wednesday. Keeping my fingers crossed…

Choo-Choo and Brrrrr-brrrrr!!!!

We went to Gymboree for music and family gym classes. Hardly anyone else showed up today because of the weather. Something about a -25 F wind chill today! Hmmph – that’s not going to hold us back! (Well, to be honest, it almost did, but we thought we’d give it a try and if we decided to turn around when we got out of the garage, so be it. That didn’t happen, so we got to enjoy the luxury of having Gymboree almost to ourselves!) We bundled up until the kids could barely walk, I parked in the closest parking spot I could find, and we didn’t hang outside for any longer than necessary. After all of that, I really didn’t think the cold was as bad as the news was reporting, but I also wasn’t walking more than a few dozen feet!

The gym area was set up for a transportation theme. (It’s hard to tell what the theme is if you just go to open gym times. The ramps, tunnels, boards, slides, and foam equipment obviously change configuration, but you really can’t tell that the new set up is supposed to represent an airport, a train station, a boat, a highway, etc. unless you go to a gym class where they tell you.) Today, class started with “What’s in my big blue bag?” and Miss Elizabeth pulled out a set of toy car keys, a plush truck that rumbled its engine when you squeezed it, and a picture book that showed everything from hot air balloons to trains to boats to bicycles. (I wish I caught the name and author of that one!) Shawn and Abby loved the pictures and pointed out the various things they knew – choo choo train, truck, airplane, bicycle, balloon… They’re not as vocal as some of the slightly older kids in class, but they scooted up close to Miss Elizabeth as she read so they could get the best seats in the house! Luckily, there weren’t many other kids there to compete for the good view. After the story, Miss Elizabeth gave us a tour of the equipment. There was a choo-choo train to climb on where kids could wave through the multi-shaped windows or play with the giant wheels on the ground. They could “drive” hula-hoops on a highway made of ramps, tunnels, and boards. They could board an airplane using ramps to climb up, go through tunnels that represented the fuselage, and then slide to get down. (There were a couple other modes of transportation too, but I can’t remember them now!) Shawn was in heaven. On the way home, he announced, “I ride the choo-choo train at Gymboree!”