Lily had her first dance recital this past weekend. We packed her backpack full of necessities, but there is one thing she asked that we NOT take - a pull up diaper. It's not something she really uses anymore, but it was in the bag from a long time ago. She didn't want it in the bag at the recital for fear that other kid's there might see it.
Then today when she woke up I asked what she wanted for breakfast, and she said "one minute, I'm going to put on lipstick (chapstick) before breakfast".
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Words, music and mechanical inclinations
In the last few weeks we've watched as Nate's vocabulary has exploded. It started with two word combos, but he'll often take on even longer phrases. Even his teachers have noted how much more vocal he has become.
He also loves to sing and is instantly drawn to music. His dancing is almost too good, in my opinion. He's spent a little too much time watching his sister's along with other adjacent dance classes. Let's just say that every time I see him shake his hips, I feel the urgent need to bring him to a hockey rink.
The other thing we see is a mechanical inclination. He likes to take things apart - removing the canister on the vacuum, parts of his crib or even copy machines. Once he figures something out he can repeat the action easily....and he often does just that. When he determined how to remove the canister on the vacuum, he was back ripping it off the moment you turned away from him. Take your eyes off him for a minute and in no time, there he is, dragging the canister across the kitchen floor.
He also loves to sing and is instantly drawn to music. His dancing is almost too good, in my opinion. He's spent a little too much time watching his sister's along with other adjacent dance classes. Let's just say that every time I see him shake his hips, I feel the urgent need to bring him to a hockey rink.
The other thing we see is a mechanical inclination. He likes to take things apart - removing the canister on the vacuum, parts of his crib or even copy machines. Once he figures something out he can repeat the action easily....and he often does just that. When he determined how to remove the canister on the vacuum, he was back ripping it off the moment you turned away from him. Take your eyes off him for a minute and in no time, there he is, dragging the canister across the kitchen floor.
Friday, December 9, 2011
What's for Lunch?
We get to pack the kid's lunches for the new school. I took on the task and looked at it as a great opportunity to improve their nutrition.
In the beginning I was filled with optimism. Carrots, celery and a variety of healthy sandwiches. I did my research - switching from Albacore Tuna to Chunk Light, for example, since it has less mercury.
Then I learned that kids eat what kid's will eat. You can only have so many returned Tuna fish sandwiches and packages of mini carrots before giving up. You might be able to talk them into trying new stuff at home, but what they eat out of a bag at school is up to them.
So now every lunch is pretty much a mix of the following (and the odds that it's mostly eaten before getting home):
Sunflower seed (peanut butter alternative) & preserve sandwich. (90%)
Clif Z-Bar (75%)
Crackers & Cheese packets (75%)
Mozzarella cheese stick (70%)
Apple Sauce squeezer (70%)
Organic Grapes - cut up into safe bites (70%)
Organic Apples - sliced up (25%)
Mini box of raisins (2%)
Carrot or celery sticks (0%)
Tuna Fish sandwich (0%)
In the beginning I was filled with optimism. Carrots, celery and a variety of healthy sandwiches. I did my research - switching from Albacore Tuna to Chunk Light, for example, since it has less mercury.
Then I learned that kids eat what kid's will eat. You can only have so many returned Tuna fish sandwiches and packages of mini carrots before giving up. You might be able to talk them into trying new stuff at home, but what they eat out of a bag at school is up to them.
So now every lunch is pretty much a mix of the following (and the odds that it's mostly eaten before getting home):
Sunflower seed (peanut butter alternative) & preserve sandwich. (90%)
Clif Z-Bar (75%)
Crackers & Cheese packets (75%)
Mozzarella cheese stick (70%)
Apple Sauce squeezer (70%)
Organic Grapes - cut up into safe bites (70%)
Organic Apples - sliced up (25%)
Mini box of raisins (2%)
Carrot or celery sticks (0%)
Tuna Fish sandwich (0%)
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Little Tommy
My sisters swear that I was a very active toddler. I was constantly in motion and perpetually bruised from falls. Well, apparently Nate got my genes in this regard.
At home he's a whirlwind. He does what he wants until you stop him, and before you have time to clean up the mess he has moved on to the next thing. In school he's worse. We watch him on the web cam climbing tables, dumping out boxes and generally not doing what he's supposed to. Cindy and I regularly apologize to his teachers. Hopefully it's his age, and we'll laugh about all this when he's 3. Hopefully.
One of his favorite things right now is to walk behind, pat my back and say 'bag bag rad'. Piggy back rides. I run him from one side of the house to the other, and then do the same for his sister.
At home he's a whirlwind. He does what he wants until you stop him, and before you have time to clean up the mess he has moved on to the next thing. In school he's worse. We watch him on the web cam climbing tables, dumping out boxes and generally not doing what he's supposed to. Cindy and I regularly apologize to his teachers. Hopefully it's his age, and we'll laugh about all this when he's 3. Hopefully.
One of his favorite things right now is to walk behind, pat my back and say 'bag bag rad'. Piggy back rides. I run him from one side of the house to the other, and then do the same for his sister.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Watching Babies
Lily doesn't like to watch television. Even the best cartoons from Pixar and Disney fail to hold her interest. At school they show a movie every Friday afternoon, and her teachers know to give her a desk activity to keep her occupied. Our one trip to the movie theater ended before the film.
But then we found Babies. This is a documentary about 4 babies from different parts of the world. It doesn't have a narrator, but offers a visual narrative of their lives from birth to walking. I put this on, and Lily watched it from beginning to end.
She's asked to watch it again multiple times in the week and a half since. Instead I sit with her and cruise YouTube clips of babies laughing, babbling, crawling, etc. I'll put the movie on again, but I don't want her to get in the mindset of watching television daily or even as a regular activity.
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