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Powered by LifeType5/6 - Jonathan is as tall as Mom!
5/7 - Faith, "Ramen numerals"
5/8 - Jeremiah, "Don't touch it." I think that's his first three word phrase.
5/9 - Jeremiah was looking at the New Bible Dictionary that has a painting of the last supper (or something like it - Jesus in the middle with a few disciples around him). I think it was rather in the syle of Rembrandt, with lots of browns and off-whites, with Jesus a bit brighter. He pointed at Jesus and said, "Scary" (sounds like geh-wy".) I never had really looked closely, but it did make him look kind of freaky...
5/9 - The girls and I went to our church's Mother-Daughter banquet. Afterwards, Joy said, "At church, I dreamed about hearts and ribbons and flowers." I replied, "How did you dream if you were awake? Were they daydreams?" She answered, very confident and matter-of-fact, "I have dreams *all* thetime."
5/18 - Joy counted to 100, only needing a prompt at 50.
5/20 - Noah said, "assumination" when he meant "assumption".
5/21 - Joy counted the odd numbers to 99.
5/25 - Joy counted the evens to 100.
5/27 - Jonathan followed the Betty Crocker biscuit recipe on his own. He mistook "shortening" for "thickening" so he used a cup of cornstarch instead of butter. The biscuits turned out surprisingly edible.
May - Jeremiah says "mung" for gum. Also, "now" for down. Other words I can't recall at the moment he also pronounces backwards.
5/28 - Amazing baby Nathaniel sleeps 8.5 hours. He consistently sleeps 6-7 hours at night. Thisis such a blessing for me.
5/28 - Jonathan likes to exclaim with an "evil" laugh. Jeremiah this time copied him, "Mwa-ha-ha-ha..." very cute.
5/29 - Jeremiah is starting to initiate going on the potty.
6/3 - Nathaniel can kick himself forward a few inches (on his belly and on his back.)
6/4 - Jeremiah recognized and named a circle.
6/4 - Nathaniel's first solid food. Jeremiah fed him some tortilla chips. Thankfully, Faith observed and called me right away. Nathaniel's gag reflex did its job and I got it out before he really choked.
6/5 - Nathaniel rolled from front to back. The first time startled him and he cried.
6/5 - Jon went to the station to do his shift chores. Faith, Joy, and Jeremiah went by themselves after him to help. They came back the first time, Faith unsure of which direction to turn at a particular cross-street. The second time, they made it successfully. And Jeremiah kept his promise to hold Faith's hand the entire time.
June - Jeremiah likes to pick flowers for me, and he always lets me know that they are from "my yard". (Because we are not allowed to pick flowers from other peoples' yards.)
6/9 - Joy washed the kitchen windows on her own initiative. She started with water, and then I showed her the window cleaner and squeegee, and she did a nice job on the windows she could reach (lower panel).
6/19 - Jonathan and Noah have a discussion with Dad-o about geography and time zones, latitude and noon.
6/20 - Faith transposed Journey By Camel from C to G. This included accidentals.
6/20 - Jeremiah counted, "one, doo, wee, doh"
Jeremiah says "way-way" to mean "this way" or "that way" or "the right way" etc.
6/20 - Jeremiah had a 12-inch ruler and went around measuring all sorts of things. Each time, he would exclaim, "Inches!"
Nathaniel has said "Hi!" several times in the right context. One time in the morning he said what sounded exactly like, "Please."
6/29 - Jeremiah climbed to the top bunk unassisted.
6/30 - Jeremiah climbed down from the top bunk unassisted.
Jeremiah consistently identifies the color blue correctly.
3/2 - I told Jeremiah I'd clean up the (play) food because he was still playing with the cars. He came up to me, gave me a big hug, and said, "Thank you" (sounds like Duh-doo). So sweet!
3/2 - Faith offered to ask Dad-o to walk them to Joyful Noise, "'Cause...I want you to have enough rest, Mommy."
Jeremiah calls Faith's headbands "crowns".
4/6 - Joy was counting, Jeremiah repeating after her. After she got to twelve, he repeated twelve and then said thirteen on his own before she did!
4/8 - Pinewood Derby. Noah won 2nd place in the kids' division. Jonathan got 5th. Jon got 3rd in the adult division.
4/17 - Faith went to ride her bike at St.Mary's parking lot all by herself.
4/22 - Dropping Jon off at airport, trying to get gas, turning wrong way on Brown Ave, all the way down to Hudson. Dunkin Donuts, directions even further south, then finally back up and at Lowe's with only Jeremiah and Nathaniel, lady at checkout "you have your hands full!"
4/23 - JPD can plug in toaster. "pug" Also, "ow-coke" = artichoke
4/24 - Noah, "I was racing myself around the car. We tied."
4/24 - Joy, about Nathaniel, "Oh! He smiled so much, I think he loves me!"
April - Jonathan makes placebo potions. The first one was for when someone gets mildly hurt outside - a poultice to rub on the hurt part to feel better quickly so you don't have to go inside to Mom. Then he made drinkable ones - water with xylitol, almond and vanilla extracts, food coloring. But then they sat around in jars too long and that phase was over. They still do the outside one, though, because it's easy to make from grass and twigs and dirt. (:
I'm very much behind on the blog. But I have kept the pocket notes safely typed up in my email. So here goes.
In June, the kids and I made a trip to Florida to visit my parents, and my sister and her kids visited, too.
6/14 - Joy, "Mommy! I saw a dinosaur!" (It was a lizard in Grandma and Dad-o's yard.)
6/15 - Joy, "Jesus die, then froze again!"
6/17 - JPD lower right lateral incisor
June - JPD give kisses
During the Florida visit, I confirmed that I am pregnant! Due on Joy's birthday. (More)
5/1 - Joy playing with even/odd dot cards. Didn't quite get the concept but sometimes was lucky, so I praised the correct answers. Then 6/2 - much more consistently correct.
5/1 - Jeremiah, watching the kids in karate class, copying them - doing punches from the "en guarde" position. Very cute!
Jeremiah claps every time someone says, "good job!"
5/2-4 - Jeremiah says, "Uh! Uh!" going "up" the stairs.
5/7 - We were walking home from karate and I saw a place in someone's yard where there was a pile of dirt spilled on the sidewalk from the landscaping. Faith was behind me and when she got to the place started yelling very excitedly for me to come see this cool thing. I'm thinking, "dirt is really that cool?" But I came anyway, and when I got there I looked closer. She was right! It was ants. A whole giant mass of ants, crawling all over one spot, looking like some spilled dirt. It was worth all her excitement! (Jonathan says to make sure to note that they were not army ants.) (More)
3/23 - I told Jeremiah the toaster was hot, and he held up his hand, palm facing, but not touching, and said, "hah".
3/25 - Jeremiah was whining about something, and Noah, to cheer him up, said, "Why cry, my pygmy fly?" It made me laugh anyway!
3/26 - JPD definitely says "hi" now, especially when people walk into the room. Grammy also taught him "high five" which is pretty fun. He said "hot" more, also. (More)
Got a bunch of spam comments and then when I was looking at posts, the boys pointed out that my last post was a month ago and I said "trip to DC goes in a separate post"... So here we go.
When we went into downtown to see the sights, we split up into smaller groups. Jonathan, having recently studied the beginning of our country, was excited to go see the original documents at the National Archives - the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the BIll of Rights. It was pretty neat to see, and we enjoyed it. But Jonathan and I think it would be pretty hard to wait in the longer lines that form during peak tourist days. Faith had decided to come with us because she wanted to be with me, but she was pretty bored by it because she has no context for it yet. (More)
2/15 - JPD walked up to me and hugged my knees. He now does this often.
2/19 - JDD quotes from The Incredibles, with an Indian flair: "This is your automated captain speaking. Would you like more samosas?"
2/24 - JDD "What's the difference between lo mein and chow mein, and why isn't there a high mein?" (More)
1/18 - JPD tongue cluck noise
1/16 - JDD riddle:
Toothless I bite,
Voiceless I mutter,
Legless I move,
Mouthless I stutter,
I am nearly indestructible,
though walls will stop me.
What Am I?
(answer at the end)
2/1 - JPD upper left 2nd incisor
2/5 - JPD point at wii, shake head "no"
2/7 - Faith experimenting with Joy to the World on piano. Playing the first sentence a few times, then backwards (up the scale) with perfect rhythm and intervals.
2/10 - JPD upper right 2nd incisor
2/12 - I reminded Joy to wash her hands when she came out of the bathroom. She replied, "I not love washing hands."
2/12 - Joy, "I made Faith a present, and Faith made I a present!"
2/12 - JPD sign please - open hand pat chest
2/14 - Faith finished RightStart A
Observed about Jeremiah: He will take a short rest on his own initiative; lying on his stomach on the floor, or relaxing on his back in a beanbag chair. It's usually not more than 30-60 seconds, but it's notable because I don't remember any of the other kids doing it.
12/4 - F putting on chapstick. Joy recalls, "Last time my lips sting. Now my lips better."
12/6 - JDD, in a growly voice, with a straw stuck in his teeth and the other end in a glass of water, "I am the savage, saber-toothed mosquito!"
12/6 - JPD upper right primary incisor
12/7 - Noah, "You can use anything for dress clothes. It just won't look as nice."
12/8 - JPD 9 steps to Mommy
by 12/19 - JPD record 11 steps, and 24 seconds standing up.
12/20 - JDD realizes that the words to Deck the Halls are not "Don we now our gray apparel."
12/23 - I'm upstairs with JPD on toilet.
Joy, "Mommy, come down here."
"Is it an emergency, or do you just want me there?"
"It emerdenee."
[I come down, naked baby on hip, wondering if the cider is boiling over, or what]
"Guy come in here."
[yikes! Don't see anyone, oh, maybe just UPS man]
Then I see our friend on the porch peering in.
I was very happy with the way Joy handled the situation. She didn't freak out when she saw someone, but she also made sure I knew it was not just a whim of hers for me to come down.
12/23 - It's all how you look at it. Joy's take: "That nice day. My 'pecial time." It was 32 and rainy as we walked to the bank. But we found a quarter in the slush, and she got a lollipop at the bank, and we looked at the water pouring into the grates, and she had her special time with Mommy.
~12/25 - JPD upper left primary incisor
1/4 - The fire in the pellet stove went down some, and I looked at the thermometer to see why. I exclaimed, "It's toasty now! Seven degrees." Jonathan doubtfully replied, "Negative seven isn't all that toasty..." Me, "No, positive seven!" JDD, "Oh! That is toasty!"
1/6 - JPD walked 21 feet.
1/11 - The boys had their first karate test. It was very interesting to watch. For the first rank up, from white to yellow, it is "only" two hours long. All testers are in the dojo together, and they do much of the same moves at first. Lots of pushups, jumping jacks, sit ups. Lots of repetition. It required concentration and endurance. It was intense, hard work. As time went along, I could see red cheeks, sweating brows. After an hour, the current white and yellow belts got to rest in the meditation position while the upper belts did more advanced work. However, after a while that turned out to be a test of endurance also. I think if I stay in that position too long, my feet fall asleep! They got a water break at the hour mark, and then a few more after that. Jonathan commented that it wasn't fair that they got more water breaks than the more advanced kids. But everyone says the test is harder the more advance you are. Jonathan's concentration and determination never wavered. Noah did the best I've ever seen him (sometimes he gets sloppy) and he only figeted towards the end. They did a great job and they earned their yellow belts! (Sorry about the picture, our camera puts orientation info in it but the blog didn't read it and I do not want to redo it.)
1/12 - JPD went down the kitchen stool steps successfully. Also that same day, he got down off the bed purposefully by scooting himself backwards, tummy down feet first until he slid off.
He is now definitely a walker. Still holding his arms up for balance.
1/17 - JPD has a pincer grasp now.
11/8 - It was gusty and the maple seeds were being blown off our big tree by the thousands. It was such an amazing sight! The little helicopters were fluttering everywhere, even swarming like a host of grasshoppers or little birds. The grand picture was the swarming, and then if you focused on one little seed, you could see it twirling and swirling up and down like a little hummingbird. It was such a neat thing to watch!
11/9 - JPD first step - JDD saw it
11/11 - JPD climbed up the stairs all the way with me behind
11/12 - JPD climbed up the stairs all the way by himself
He's done it several times with and without people behind him and he's had a few tumbles (with and without people behind him.) (More)
I'll take this opportunity, home from church with two sick kids, to post my notes.
10/19 - JDD, "Most fun things are spoiled if you HAVE to do them." I forget the context of his quote but it reminded me of my thought at the harvest supper. The middle and high school youth groups were the servers for the meal, and they did a great job and looked like they enjoyed it. But then I saw one of them asking Barbara to sign off on the community service hours and it got me thinking. I'm disappointed that the kids are required to do some number of community service hours. The requirement takes away the free service part of it and basically makes it forced unpaid labor - slavery! Now I understand that sometimes it takes persuasion or force to get you to do something at first, but then hopefully you can see what a joy it is to make people's lives better. I would think that even if you enjoyed a particular service, there is something taken away from the freedom in it to have to keep track of the hours. But at any rate, these kids are making the best of their requirement and enjoying it anyway!
10/19 - JPD rolled back to front.
10/25 - JPD 8 mo visit. 20.5 lb, 27.25"
10/26 - JPD has been saying "hi" (sounds like "ha") and waving this month, and today he said, "bye".
10/27 - Joy, "I really like my song blanket. It's really fun, with music."
10/28 - Faith counts from 900-1000. Then continued, taking 10 minutes to get to 1100, then another 40
minutes to get to 1200.
10/28 - JPD gets 2nd tooth. (bottom L incisor)
10/30 - JPD says, "da, da" for dirty diaper (Not necessarily repeated - da,da is a common word for him.)
11/2 - JPD climbs up two stairs, Faith saves him.
11/3 - JPD climbs half way up the stairway, Mom spotting. One time he sat down, one time he slipped. At the
triangle threshold, he had difficulty. After some work, decided he was done and Mom carried him up the
rest of the way.
Jeremiah has been a bit wheezy with this cold but of course it's the weekend so we can't call the doctor. Joy was coughing a lot last evening, but has not wheezed. She seems much better this morning after I let her sleep late.
9/13 - A Friday. Jonathan had been asking me if he could read Harry Potter for a while. I told him I needed to talk to Daddy about whether we thought he was ready, but I kept forgetting. The strategy that worked was asking me in Daddy's presence so I didn't have time to forget. So the decision was "yes, but you have to finish all your school and chores first." Immediately after completing those in record time, he ran to the library. Jonathan proceeded to read the first Harry Potter book in four hours. He started book four by Saturday evening. In these first two days, whenever he talked about the story, he kept calling Harry "Arthur". Daddy made him take a break from the constant reading on Sunday, but Monday (after school) he was at it again. He finished the whole series the next Saturday 9/21. So that's an average of a book a day.
9/16 - Jonathan whistles the Imperial March from Star Wars while reading Harry Potter. (More)
Faith had a blast at Star Island with Grammy and Papa.
7/25 - JDD, explaining why he likes to use a certain spoon for his breakfast cereal, "That spoon
is special to me, because Grammy gave it to me for Christmas last year."
7/28 or 29 - Joy had a cold and I gave her 1 or 2 nebulizer treatments. (Putting this in so I can
keep track because now I wish I had written in other ones.)
7/30 - Noah lost his upper right 2nd incisor.
8/3 - F: "I like brothers, I just don't like when they're annoying." (More)
Having a dad in the fire department is educational in more than just fire safety:
5/17 - Jon is called to an accident "involving motor vehicle vs. moose"
5/18 - Jonathan reads about moose and siberian tigers on wikipedia
~5 - Joy says "owee here" = outta here
5/20 - jpd 17 lb on our scale
5/20 - After bikinh home from his ipiano lesson: Noah: "Mom, I fell. The chain got off all the gears. So I put it back on. The handlebars got crooked from the wheel, too."
5/21 - We have a game on the Kindle that involves both a princess and a knight. Faith was talking about it and called it the princess game. After listening to her description, Jonathan said, "Oh, you mean the knight game?"
5/22 - I have more to say about attention spans a little later, but here is one example. Joy peeled garlic for 20 minutes while I was making dinner. (More)