Monday, January 27, 2014
Monday, January 13, 2014
Christmas was a bit late this year
"Thank you, Oma & Opa!"
We
are very protective of the special stools that are ONLY FOR SITTING. Lilly
likes to use hers as a drum, but Shawn is more traditional with his. We
tried counting the rings in the little chestnut box/lid, but ended up admiring
it instead. Raj got excited about his hand powered radio/light/gadget charger.
He & Shawn practiced using the flashlight around the house right away. I
learned my lesson a few years ago to always check my stocking - whatdya know?
More fancy jewels! :) Now that we have a yard, we'll definitely need some
tutelage to start a garden with all the seeds you gave us...
Monday, December 9, 2013
Exploration & Adventure
Today we went on a Mom & Tot outing with Mothers & More to
Exploration Adventure at Odyssey Fun World. Because our outing was
during the school day, the building was a little tricky to find, and it
was bitterly cold and snowy out, our group was the only people in the
entire place! We barely even saw any employees! (And we didn't need to
pay for it to be a private party!) It was great! (Story with pictures)
“The Exploration Adventure is a 4-story tall, soft-play structure designed for children between 1 - 10 years of age. Each structure is unique; however, they all encompass traditional ball pits, slides, tunnels, mazes, and more!"
Shawn said, "It was too fun! I couldn't stop playing in it!" His favorite parts were the ball pits, a motorcycle ride (that I didn't get tokens for, but he pretended anyway), and going way up high to the top of the towers. Shawn even helped "rescue" a few of the younger kids who got stuck in the high structures and couldn't figure out how to get back down. Afterwards, he proudly announced "Mission accomplished!" Shawn and some of the other preschool aged boys even had fun playing in the baby area, which wasn't supposed to be for big kids, but as long as there weren't any babies using the area, we said it was okay. There was a tree house and creatures like dinosaurs, a frog, and an alligator to climb on. Lilly had fun exploring a ball pit and the babies' area, too.
Our Mothers & More friends had to leave to get older siblings from school, for nap times, or simply because they had been there long enough. So Shawn, Lilly, and I were the only ones left. Though I kept trying to talk Shawn into leaving to get a snack, he was having too much fun playing! I thought it was a bit eerie to be the only ones in the entire play center, but I will admit it was also nice not to have to compete with anyone for space or listen to the extra noise.
It was a fun day!
But why isn't Shawn tired?!?!?
“The Exploration Adventure is a 4-story tall, soft-play structure designed for children between 1 - 10 years of age. Each structure is unique; however, they all encompass traditional ball pits, slides, tunnels, mazes, and more!"
Shawn said, "It was too fun! I couldn't stop playing in it!" His favorite parts were the ball pits, a motorcycle ride (that I didn't get tokens for, but he pretended anyway), and going way up high to the top of the towers. Shawn even helped "rescue" a few of the younger kids who got stuck in the high structures and couldn't figure out how to get back down. Afterwards, he proudly announced "Mission accomplished!" Shawn and some of the other preschool aged boys even had fun playing in the baby area, which wasn't supposed to be for big kids, but as long as there weren't any babies using the area, we said it was okay. There was a tree house and creatures like dinosaurs, a frog, and an alligator to climb on. Lilly had fun exploring a ball pit and the babies' area, too.
Our Mothers & More friends had to leave to get older siblings from school, for nap times, or simply because they had been there long enough. So Shawn, Lilly, and I were the only ones left. Though I kept trying to talk Shawn into leaving to get a snack, he was having too much fun playing! I thought it was a bit eerie to be the only ones in the entire play center, but I will admit it was also nice not to have to compete with anyone for space or listen to the extra noise.
It was a fun day!
But why isn't Shawn tired?!?!?
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Pajama Day
Pajama Day! We stayed in today - even Raj. We spent a lot of time packing, but took plenty of breaks, too.
While eating green beans at dinner, it really looked like Lilly modified her 'more' sign already. Yesterday, it was simply a clap, but today she used closed fists. It's much closer to the actual sign. She might be getting it!
High 26°F, low 15°F
Windchill in the mid-teens most of the day
3.1" snow accumulation
Snow fell gradually all day. Though flurries were in the air earlier, it actually began to stick around noon and accumulated until around 9 pm. We thought about going out to play in it, but... maybe tomorrow...
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| Lilly and her friend |
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| Shawn and his friend from Mom's college days |
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| Lilly would rather stand than crawl |
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| She's ready to drive |
While eating green beans at dinner, it really looked like Lilly modified her 'more' sign already. Yesterday, it was simply a clap, but today she used closed fists. It's much closer to the actual sign. She might be getting it!
High 26°F, low 15°F
Windchill in the mid-teens most of the day
3.1" snow accumulation
Snow fell gradually all day. Though flurries were in the air earlier, it actually began to stick around noon and accumulated until around 9 pm. We thought about going out to play in it, but... maybe tomorrow...
Saturday, December 7, 2013
Party, raisins, and restaurant manners
Shawn was able to get himself dressed before Lilly and I were, so he was able to have screen time while I got ready. He thought that was a pretty cool perk. I wonder if it will stick...
Abby's 5th birthday party was this afternoon at Pump It Up in Schaumburg, an indoor bounce house center. Yesterday and this morning, Shawn was concerned and commented that he didn't want her to be 5. I didn't an explanation out of him, but I think he wants them to always be the same age & doesn't like the idea of her not being 4 with him anymore. But, that's just a guess.
Shawn had a great time though the inflatable contraptions make me more than a bit nervous. There were a handful of minor collisions among the kiddy party-ers, but no injuries that'll be visible tomorrow. (Phew!) Shawn jumped, climbed, slid... and most importantly, burned energy. Perhaps he should've saved a little for the rest of the day, but the setting sun shining in his eyes on the way home just knocked him out.
While he napped, Raj had some IDA business to take care of and Lilly and I were anxious to eat. (A late lunch of cake & ice cream, while tasty, wasn't very filling!) I love that Lilly can eat table food without needing it to be liquified first. I still test her/my limits with bite sizes & textures, but I love the food experimentation stage. Anyway, I started her with raisins that I cut... not much larger than a few molecules - they ARE choking hazards! But she handled them with grace and loved them, so I conceded to slightly larger slivers.
Before long, I was giving her carefully selected WHOLE raisins (under a very cautious eye). I've been trying to use the sign language signs for 'more' and 'all done' any time we eat. Lilly seems to understand what 'all done' means because when I see her turn away from food and I say/make the sign, she gets reeeeally excited. It's still hard to tell if she tries to sign it herself because her arms move so much when she's excited. (If she likes something a lot, her arms flail and her fingers wiggle and she clearly is NOT done!)
Today, she seemed to understand 'more.' I think she tried to sign it to me by clapping. But, clapping is also a new skill that's about a week or two old, so she might have just been excited about the sweet raisins and clapping. Hard to tell.
I hadn't noticed her nice pincer grasp until today! (I always mispronounce it as 'pincher grasp.') I'm sure the sticky raisins helped, but there was definitely a difference in her success when she used her index finger & thumb vs a raisin sticking to the palm of her hand. She'd get frustrated when they'd stick to her hand and she'd give up on them faster when they were harder to coordinate to her mouth.
I love watching her figure these things out.
Shawn woke up refreshed and we played around until Raj got home.
When Raj came home, we went out to La Hacienda for dinner. (I was in the mood for Mexican food.) We've had to have a few talks with Shawn regarding appropriate restaurant behavior lately (ie not laying down in the booth, etc.). After our last meal out, I mentioned how people used to stop by our table to compliment how nicely he behaved - and it happened often! Yet, nothing like that has happened for a while. He was able to identify that his behavior probably hasn't been all that remarkable when we've gone out lately. I made sure to point out that we don't expect compliments every time we go out - sometimes people might not be able to stop or might just think it to themselves. Plus, people don't generally give compliments for things that are expected. Daddy and I don't get compliments on our behavior because it's just expected that we know how to act. If we weren't acting like we should, somebody, like the manager, might come over to talk to us instead! I think our talk made an impact because I briefly mentioned it tonight when he started to sway and he quickly straightened up. No one stopped by our table with compliments, but the waiter did bring out fried plantains for 3, rather than just 2 for us to share. (We told Shawn he must have earned his own.) Plus, since it didn't take us an eternity to get through dinner, we even had time to watch Toy Story 2 before bed. Another perk Shawn thought was pretty cool.
Abby's 5th birthday party was this afternoon at Pump It Up in Schaumburg, an indoor bounce house center. Yesterday and this morning, Shawn was concerned and commented that he didn't want her to be 5. I didn't an explanation out of him, but I think he wants them to always be the same age & doesn't like the idea of her not being 4 with him anymore. But, that's just a guess.
Shawn had a great time though the inflatable contraptions make me more than a bit nervous. There were a handful of minor collisions among the kiddy party-ers, but no injuries that'll be visible tomorrow. (Phew!) Shawn jumped, climbed, slid... and most importantly, burned energy. Perhaps he should've saved a little for the rest of the day, but the setting sun shining in his eyes on the way home just knocked him out.
While he napped, Raj had some IDA business to take care of and Lilly and I were anxious to eat. (A late lunch of cake & ice cream, while tasty, wasn't very filling!) I love that Lilly can eat table food without needing it to be liquified first. I still test her/my limits with bite sizes & textures, but I love the food experimentation stage. Anyway, I started her with raisins that I cut... not much larger than a few molecules - they ARE choking hazards! But she handled them with grace and loved them, so I conceded to slightly larger slivers.
Before long, I was giving her carefully selected WHOLE raisins (under a very cautious eye). I've been trying to use the sign language signs for 'more' and 'all done' any time we eat. Lilly seems to understand what 'all done' means because when I see her turn away from food and I say/make the sign, she gets reeeeally excited. It's still hard to tell if she tries to sign it herself because her arms move so much when she's excited. (If she likes something a lot, her arms flail and her fingers wiggle and she clearly is NOT done!)
Today, she seemed to understand 'more.' I think she tried to sign it to me by clapping. But, clapping is also a new skill that's about a week or two old, so she might have just been excited about the sweet raisins and clapping. Hard to tell.
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| Monkey Toes |
Shawn woke up refreshed and we played around until Raj got home.
When Raj came home, we went out to La Hacienda for dinner. (I was in the mood for Mexican food.) We've had to have a few talks with Shawn regarding appropriate restaurant behavior lately (ie not laying down in the booth, etc.). After our last meal out, I mentioned how people used to stop by our table to compliment how nicely he behaved - and it happened often! Yet, nothing like that has happened for a while. He was able to identify that his behavior probably hasn't been all that remarkable when we've gone out lately. I made sure to point out that we don't expect compliments every time we go out - sometimes people might not be able to stop or might just think it to themselves. Plus, people don't generally give compliments for things that are expected. Daddy and I don't get compliments on our behavior because it's just expected that we know how to act. If we weren't acting like we should, somebody, like the manager, might come over to talk to us instead! I think our talk made an impact because I briefly mentioned it tonight when he started to sway and he quickly straightened up. No one stopped by our table with compliments, but the waiter did bring out fried plantains for 3, rather than just 2 for us to share. (We told Shawn he must have earned his own.) Plus, since it didn't take us an eternity to get through dinner, we even had time to watch Toy Story 2 before bed. Another perk Shawn thought was pretty cool.
Monday, November 25, 2013
Lilly is On.The.Move
Lilly gets (Baron's) toy.
She cracks me up. Her eyes (& brows) are always so expressive. I've been using the sign for "all done" after meals, but her hands move so much, it's going to be hard to tell when she actually uses it! Clearly, she's not meaning "all done" during the video! (Turning her face into the side of her chair is a much more clear sign.)
She cracks me up. Her eyes (& brows) are always so expressive. I've been using the sign for "all done" after meals, but her hands move so much, it's going to be hard to tell when she actually uses it! Clearly, she's not meaning "all done" during the video! (Turning her face into the side of her chair is a much more clear sign.)
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