Daley Ponderings

2/2 - Noah and I walked past the food pantry on distribution day, and saw a friend of ours heading there. He asked if she was donating food and I explained that she was receiving food.  He wondered why she needed to get food from the food pantry, and we had a good discussion about the various reasons someone may need it.  Our friend is an older single lady on a fixed income.  I also brought up the idea that sometimes people make poor spending choices and that's why they don't have money for food. He picked right up on that, talking about people buying cigarettes instead of food. I also emphasized that it's good to have compassion for people even when they don't make the same choices we do, and try to help them make good choices if they're willing.  And also how it's good to make sure kids get enough food even if their parents are irresponsible with money.  It was a good discussion.

2/2 – Nathaniel came downstairs with help. He sat down facing forward and carefully scooted himself down each step.

2/3 – Nathaniel did the first four steps down holding my hand, all the rest all by himself. He was cautious careful and kind of wobbly. He was very proud and satisfied! That same evening he did the whole stairs all by himself!

2/3 - Noah came in holding a very small piece of fuzz and exclaimed, "With my microscope, I can see tons of colors in this piece of stuff!"  He then examined lots of other things with the microscope.

2/6 - Jeremiah, eating a hard-boiled egg, "Look, Mom! A sun!" Me, "Yes! That's called the yolk." Jeremiah, "You call it 'yolk', I call it 'sun'."

2/10 – Nathaniel wiped my nose with Kleenex.

2/11 - Nathaniel can open the microwave door.  He'll be playing somewhere in the kitchen, hear the beep and jump up and run to the microwave and open the door.  So now we have to be on top of that, because usually the stuff inside is very hot!  He also likes to open the door before it's done.

2/11 - Nathaniel was kicking a bottle around the kitchen like a soccer player.

2/11 - Nathaniel said "hello" with a clear 'l' sound.  He copied me several times that day but has not said it again since.

2/11 - Joy remarked to me, "You can't count by zeroes.  Zero...zero...zero...zero..."

2/12 - I took the baby gate down because Nathaniel wouldn't come down without me, but just stood there at the top and yelled.

But, 2/14, he decided to just step down into thin air and fell down to the landing. So the gate went up again.

This is our major birthday month, Jon turning 39, Jeremiah 3, Nathaniel 1, and Joy 5.  We had our traditional big party for Jon, and a record number of pizzas were consumed (8).  Jeremiah and Nathaniel just had Grammy and Papa over for small family celebrations. But Joy had a girls-only party, which was overall fun, but I like whole family parties better.

Jonathan has started being mistaken on the phone for Jon.  He is thrilled with this development.

2/16 - Joy, remarking about three people on a see-saw, "It's a three-saw, because, one here, one there, and one there."

2/17 - I picked up Nathaniel and hugged him and said, "Oh, my baby!"  He answered, "Oh, my mom."

2/21 - Overheard, Noah to Jonathan, "I'm allergic to dizziness, so count me out."

2/21 - Jeremiah practices screwing in a knob on the microphone stand in the cry room at church.

2/22 - Noah can whistle!

2/24 - You know you're a mechanical engineer when your one year old slams his bowl into yours and even though it doesn't break, you can see in your mind's eye the microscopic stress lines forming.

2/28 - Nathaniel practices putting a cap on a pen.

1/4 - JPD, breaking off celery stalk, "Wow! Big whacker!  Bad guy come in our house, me whack him!"

1/4 - NPD signing "more"

1/5 - Joy, holding necklace, "I made it symmetrical, with yellow in the middle."

1/7 - NPD said, "amen" after we did at dinner.  This has happened a few times now.

Jeremiah says, "gacky bame" which means "exactly the same".

1/8 - JPD, "mine toes-es" (and nearly all other plurals end with -es also.)

1/11 - NPD signed "more" and said, "mo"

1/12 - NHD adding up prices quickly at Goodwill

1/13 - Noah called 1/12, "one dozenth"

1/14 - Faith progressing quickly in skiing.  Her instructor said she should go to level 5 next lesson.

1/14 - NPD, wandering around, looking this way and that, "Where?  Where? Where? ..."

1/15 - JPD, "2, 8, 9, 1, buckle my shoe!"

1/16 - This week, Nathaniel has started making this whine that sounds just like a power router digging into wood.

1/17 - Joy, "knock knock."  "who's there?"  "carrot" "carrot who?" "carrot you" "carrot who??" "carrot you and your mother!"

1/18 - JPD balance on one foot, spinning also

Also, knee...knee...knee...knee...knee...carrot...carrot you glad I didn't say knee again?"

1/20 - Jeremiah, "Does this one [points to his left nipple] have juice, Mommy?"

Jeremiah, "Sho yucky"

1/24 - NPD can stack two jars.

1/28 – Jeremiah, "I like it! Thank you, Mom, making dinner."

1/28 – Nathaniel said "ba" as he pointed to a ping-pong ball

1/30 – Nathaniel might be a lefty too.  Still up in the air, though.

1/31 – Jeremiah, "Potty in your closet, Mom."  Me, "What?  There's a potty in my closet?" Jeremiah, "Yeah." Me, "No, there isn't." Jeremiah, grinning, "Me so goofy, Mommy!"

1/31 – Jeremiah knows how to get to the bank. We went on a very long walk. He directed where we would go.  At the front door of the bank, I showed him the sign that said it was closed on Sunday. So then we went to the back door of the bank. Then we went to the Methodist Church. We checked to see if Mediterrano restaurant was open but it was also closed. We watched two cars getting washed at the gas station. We went down to the other gas station and then up and around the side roads and visited Papa at his house and then we walked home.  Later that week, when we visited the bank again, Jeremiah pointed out the sign that said it was open.

11/2 - Jeremiah, "Aunt Prudence gave us this one."  perfect grammar

11/3 - Jonathan, "Mom, did you know that if you take the 'c' out of 'record' and add 'er' at the end, it becomes 'reorder'?"

11/3 - Jeremiah, walking backwards with finger in front of his face, "Me try to pick [scab], but me go 'way."

11/3 - Nathaniel recognizes his name.  Jeremiah calls from the other room, "Nan-el!".  He turns and crawls to Jeremiah.

11/3 - Nathaniel says, "Guh-guh-guh"

11/5 - NPD sticks his hand in oatmeal fresh from microwave. I rushed him to the sink for cold water right away, but blisters still formed in between fingers and on his wrist.

11/5 - NPD upper left 2nd incisor

Noah's favorite hobby - opening presents (More)

9/2 - NPD definitely pulling up (on bathtub) - see Mom's post of Maggie P.

9/2 - NPD, "ma-ma-ma" "na-na-na"  JDD is convinced it means "Mom"

9/2 - Joy, "2+3 is 5. [pause] I learned that in bed."  Subsequently also taughtherself other addition facts.

9/2 - Joy making bracelet with paper and tape. She pointed out to me, "I made the tape not so it would hurt you." She had made sure to place the sticky side facing away from the skin!

9/3 - Joy and JPD get their own bath.

9/4 - Joy figured out 2+4=6 at breakfast.

9/6 - JPD, "I doved under water, no." (Means "I didn't dive underwater.")

9/8 - Me, "Tomorrow, NPD has a dr appt."  JPD, ruefully remembering the doctor's office, "Lady poked me." Me,"Yes. Yes, she did." JPD, "Why?"

9/9 - Our kids like to count how many American flags they see on the way to karate (and other destinations.)  Joy, " 'Merican flag!".  JPD, "Merry gag!" (More)

7/6 - Noah is building a paperboard New England village.

7/6 - Jeremiah opened the cupboard under the kitchen sink with the TotLok. He was so proud of himself.  "There we go.  Open!"  (sounds like "deh-do. Opih!") He closed it and opened it several times, each time repeating his words with delight.  The very first thing he did with his newly opened cupboard was to take out the dishwasher detergent, squeeze the correct amounts into the two cups in the dishwasher door, close the little detergent door, and put the detergent back in the cupboard.  I'm sure he would have also started the dishwasher had I not been there to tell him it wasn't full enough yet.

7/7 - Nathaniel was doing pushups (hands and toes only on the ground) and Joy was counting them.  At one point, she said, "Six! You just have four more to go!"  And that session, he did twelve total (but that was, of course, after he got to her expected ten first.)

7/13 - Jeremiah had on the Jango Fett helmet and Nathaniel was getting worried. But then Jeremiah lifted the helmet and said, "Me, Nan'el!" and he was happy again.

7/21 – Joy, holding NPD, “You are my best sweetie ever.”

7/29 – JPD, “Open this door, please.”

7/31 – brass/organ hymn CD in car. Ryan, “It's like Grammy's church, but in the car!”

7/31 – same trip. Ryan, “Look! A wooden table in the middle of nowhere!” Joy, “My Dad goes there!” (No. Weare)

JPD answered how old he is correctly, at Shaw's before NY trip – and many times since.

On our Daley vacation in the Finger Lakes in New York, there was this great old-fashioned playground with merry-go-rounds, a big tall slide, and metal jungle gyms.  It was great fun!

8/8 – Joy wants to marry NPD

8/15 -  living history event in Hillsboro (not sure what I was going to say about this except that we went to it)

8/1 – NPD roll back to front, maybe the day before also

8/1 – JPD potty training day

8/7 – NPD on back, with soccerball. Dropped to right, rolled over to reach it.

NPD sitting if propped

8/18 - NPD crawl to sit

8/30 - Jeremiah was interested as usual when it was time to take communion at church.  I explained a little, and his reaction was very similar to the disciples' in Jesus' day: "Eat body, gucky."  "Eat blood, gucky."

5/6 - 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. (:

1/25 - Joy, about ready to dance, "Mommy, if you don't see this show, you won't see it again, EVER!"

A good reminder to be present in the moment!  I turned away from the  computer and gave her my attention and I watched her beautiful solo dance show.

1/29 - Reading with Noah about archaeology and the Stone and Iron Ages. Then he asks, "So... People who lived in the ice age used tools made of ice?"

2/1 - Jeremiah can say the names of his siblings: Jza-nee, No-ee, Thay, Jzoe. I'm not quite sure how to spell the "j" sound.  It's a soft one, without the "d" at the beginning.

2/3 - Jon was writing the alphabet for Jeremiah, having him repeat each letter name.  After each of J, K, and L, Jeremiah said, "LMNOP!"

2/20 - Jeremiah calls Nathaniel "Nan-el"  By 2/22 it becomes "Naniel".  (and then later goes back to Nan-el, and still is January 2016)

~2/18 - Joy was playing with her animals by herself.  We overheard her telling one, "Don't keep crying, or Daddy will have to come talk to you..."

2/23 - Jeremiah got out three socks from his drawer.  I said, "How many feet do you have?"  He looked down, and said, "Uh, Uh, Ee!" (That is, one, two, three!) Well, then, I guess he needed three socks after all!

2/27 - Jeremiah put on his shirt, sweater, and pants all by himself.

12/26 - Daley Christmas.  Baby cousin G gets a pretty dress.  People exclaim over it. Big brother C says, "I'm not impressed."

12/28 - C, "Dad, [cousin] O says 'ellow' for 'yellow'".
Ben, "That's ok, bud."
C, "It's not ok with me."

12/30 - Joy counts to 30.

1/5 - Jeremiah gets pinworms.  All family takes medicine, except Heather takes homeopathic remedy given by midwife.

1/10 - JDD, "It's Satur-awesome-day!"

1/10 - Jeremiah, picks up a tomato, exclaims, "Mah-now!".

1/10 - Jeremiah recognizes pictures of cousins, "Viv-a!", "Ow-ee!"  Also, "No-ee!" and a very close rendition of "Joy".

January sometime - Jeremiah loves oatmeal, "eh-moo"

1/20 - Joy counts to 40

1/20 - Joy, "Zucchini climbed the sycamore tree."

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.

 (More)