Before I forget them, I wanted to log that my two favorite words from Henry that he misprounouces are "Gymagic" for gymnastics and "Pispatula" for pistachios.
My favorite current word from Molly is "doorbell." Such a NYC kid! When she doesn't want to go to bed she points at the door of her bedroom and says "dooooor" in a very deep voice. She alternates that with "boooooook" if she thinks I am trying to skip her pre-bed reading time.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
The Dynamic Duo
Henry is always doing things that I tell him not to. He is not naughty, just fairly mischievous. Today I caught Molly chewing a piece of gum that he gave her. She of course refused to give it back without a fight.
She spilled milk on he floor today and he insisted on smearing it around with his bare foot. After landing in time-out, he explained that he "was just trying to help. He thought it would work. He thought he had a paper towel on his foot."
Molly has a little friend named Finn. Every time he sees her, he gets a huge grin on his face. He says "Hiiiiii" and goes in for a hug. She has now started sticking her arm straight out to ward off the oncoming hug. She is a tough one!
At school this morning, the mom in charge was reading the kids a few books. After the first couple of pages Henry tuned out and started to play with Molly. At the end of the book she said "Who wants to hear another story?" Henry piped up in his best chipper voice "Me!" It was hilarious to see him working her like a little politician.
She spilled milk on he floor today and he insisted on smearing it around with his bare foot. After landing in time-out, he explained that he "was just trying to help. He thought it would work. He thought he had a paper towel on his foot."
Molly has a little friend named Finn. Every time he sees her, he gets a huge grin on his face. He says "Hiiiiii" and goes in for a hug. She has now started sticking her arm straight out to ward off the oncoming hug. She is a tough one!
At school this morning, the mom in charge was reading the kids a few books. After the first couple of pages Henry tuned out and started to play with Molly. At the end of the book she said "Who wants to hear another story?" Henry piped up in his best chipper voice "Me!" It was hilarious to see him working her like a little politician.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Ummm, no thanks!
Henry has a plastic pizza that goes with his toy kitchen. He was offering me a slice recently and told me what was on it...based on what it actually looked like this is what he said "Do you want some pepperoni pizza...with uhhh lollipops and uhhh blueberries?"
For your information it was mushrooms and very small round looking olives. I have to say, I don't blame the poor kid. Definitely not a realistic looking interpretation.
For your information it was mushrooms and very small round looking olives. I have to say, I don't blame the poor kid. Definitely not a realistic looking interpretation.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Fun Stuff
One of my favorite things about having a three year old is that they can say a lot but they still mess things up.
For example, when ever Henry is talking about the past he says "last night." I told him a song was stuck in my head and he asked me later if I wanted to know what song was "stuck in his hair." He calls our living room the "Libning room."
One of my favorite things about having a one year old is that they really don't talk yet :) Cute enough to be sitting at lunch peering at a picture of Adam and says "Dadeeeee" over and over but not eloquent enough to be sassy.
For example, when ever Henry is talking about the past he says "last night." I told him a song was stuck in my head and he asked me later if I wanted to know what song was "stuck in his hair." He calls our living room the "Libning room."
One of my favorite things about having a one year old is that they really don't talk yet :) Cute enough to be sitting at lunch peering at a picture of Adam and says "Dadeeeee" over and over but not eloquent enough to be sassy.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
January Update
- Late news bulletin, but I received my first ever macaroni necklace a few weeks back. So sweet it almost brought me to tears! It was Italy day at our little co-op school and the boys worked very intently on their necklaces. Henry insisted on me leaving the room at the end so that he could properly present it to me. He has me wear it almost daily; he finds it and says "Mommy, don't forget your beautiful necklace!"
- Henry has a future as a motivational speaker. I have recently overheard him telling Molly to "just keep trying" and "just do your best Molly." He also told me, "Keep trying Mommy, that is how you'll get better." Cracks me up. When he wants to do something, he tells me "Let me do it Mom, I'm good at that." Whether he has ever done it before does not matter.
- Henry's power of observation are absolutely incredible. He notices the slightest possible change wherever we go. The new parking attendant at our garage. That one of the apartments across our street now had green curtains. New wardrobe items. I could go on and on, these are just ones that come to mind right now.
- Henry is starting to show an interest in letters. The two that he knows now and can pick out whenever he sees them are "B" and "W". He also knows that "M" looks like "W" upside down and that Molly and Mom begin with an M. We haven't focused on letters at all yet, so I am very pleased that he is picking it up on his own without being drilled. He can also write the letter "H" pretty accurately.
- Henry is doing really well at school. He participates in every activity and is very excited to see his friends each time. He is also quite the peacemaker and disciplinarian. If he sees that someone isn't participating, he always goes to find them and ask them to join. He is also very sensitive to anyone being left out.
- Molly is able to walk very well now, but she still choses not to do it very often. She would rather crawl, she is much faster that way. The funny thing is that she has incredible balance when she wants to dance. She does the most hilarious bouncing deep knee bend to the music and really loves to dance.
- Molly's word update: No, mama, daddy, Henry, dog, duck, door, shoe, brush (her teeth), night night, cheese, coin, book, Roen (her friend). She has more but I can't think of them right now.
- Molly understands absolutely everything and can respond to questions and commands accurately. Do you want something to eat? Do you want something to drink? Do you need your diaper changed? Go get another book for me to read to you. It's time to take a bath, brush your teeth. Can you give me a kiss? She loves to shake her head no to that one just to be funny.
Friday, January 01, 2010
I'm Stumped!
I consider myself to be someone of above-average intelligence, but certain parts of motherhood really stump me. I like to bring the kids fun places, but doing it by myself during the week definitely presents a challenge at times. For your entertainment, I will share with you a recent outing.
I took the kids to the train show at the NY Botanical Garden on Thursday. There was snow pouring from the sky, but nothing motivates you to hustle the kids onto the slushy highway like non-refundable tickets. I got them into their coats, hats, gloves, boots, packed the bag and walked them to the garage. Of course our car would not start because our garage cannot remember to remove the key everytime which kills our battery. Finally, I got the kids strapped in and away we went. Molly of course decided to forgo her morning nap in the car and scream at the top of her lungs the entire way. Nothing improves your concentration more on an icy highway than your child screaming like the Exorcist in the back seat.
But, we made it there for our appointed timeslot. You could not bring strollers, so I brought the front carrier for Molly. I anticipated a crowd and/or lots of rules, so I did not bring our large backpack. We got there and it was too hard to squeeze Molly in her snow suit over my coat into the carrier so I just carried her. It ended up being a long, cold walk but we eventually made it. Henry, despite being cold, does not see this as a motivating factor to speed it up and stop kicking every bit of snow. We arrived and there was no coat check. I was trying to figure out the logistics of holding three coats, sets of gloves, hats, a small diaper bag, a non-walking baby and keep track of a wandering three year old.
We managed through the exhibit and enjoyed seeing it. Henry then declared himself STARVING right after so we bundled back up to find the cafe outside. While holding Molly and wrangling Henry who insisted on touching everything, I grabbed: an orange juice, a bagel, 4 containers of butter, a large fruit cup and a uncrustable PB&J. After paying, I added straws, a cup, knife, forks and napkins to this teetering pile. Dropped it all onto a table, got Molly a high chair, took off my coat, Henry's coat, Molly's snow suit, buttered the bagel, poured the juice, cut the fruit, opened the sandwich..."PEE!" Huh? He didn't just say that right? Henry, you didn't just say you have to go to the bathroom did you? "PEE! I need to go pee!"
As I surveyed the table I think I muttered "You've got to be kidding me." Upon further investigation I saw that the only bathroom was outside, about 25 snowy yards away. Forget about it kid. I am not cleaning up all of this uneaten food, getting everyone re-dressed and walking back outside for you to void 1 tsp of fluid. I am willing to risk it here. I instructed him to "Hold it" which he took quite literally. I told him in my best hostage negotiator voice that he needed to wait a few minutes. He bravely soldiered on and made it through his meal.
We bundled back up and hustled over to the bathroom. All three of us squeezed into the tiny bathroom and I attempted to help Henry with Molly strapped to my chest. She of course couldn't be left out so she screamed and swung her fists wildly. I decided to seize the moment as well since I really could not remember the last time I had used the facilities (days? weeks?) and got to pee with Molly strapped to my chest and Henry trying to open the door.
I will spare you the rest of the boring details of our journey, but we all took a nice long nap when we got home. I'm sure my twitch will subside eventually.
I took the kids to the train show at the NY Botanical Garden on Thursday. There was snow pouring from the sky, but nothing motivates you to hustle the kids onto the slushy highway like non-refundable tickets. I got them into their coats, hats, gloves, boots, packed the bag and walked them to the garage. Of course our car would not start because our garage cannot remember to remove the key everytime which kills our battery. Finally, I got the kids strapped in and away we went. Molly of course decided to forgo her morning nap in the car and scream at the top of her lungs the entire way. Nothing improves your concentration more on an icy highway than your child screaming like the Exorcist in the back seat.
But, we made it there for our appointed timeslot. You could not bring strollers, so I brought the front carrier for Molly. I anticipated a crowd and/or lots of rules, so I did not bring our large backpack. We got there and it was too hard to squeeze Molly in her snow suit over my coat into the carrier so I just carried her. It ended up being a long, cold walk but we eventually made it. Henry, despite being cold, does not see this as a motivating factor to speed it up and stop kicking every bit of snow. We arrived and there was no coat check. I was trying to figure out the logistics of holding three coats, sets of gloves, hats, a small diaper bag, a non-walking baby and keep track of a wandering three year old.
We managed through the exhibit and enjoyed seeing it. Henry then declared himself STARVING right after so we bundled back up to find the cafe outside. While holding Molly and wrangling Henry who insisted on touching everything, I grabbed: an orange juice, a bagel, 4 containers of butter, a large fruit cup and a uncrustable PB&J. After paying, I added straws, a cup, knife, forks and napkins to this teetering pile. Dropped it all onto a table, got Molly a high chair, took off my coat, Henry's coat, Molly's snow suit, buttered the bagel, poured the juice, cut the fruit, opened the sandwich..."PEE!" Huh? He didn't just say that right? Henry, you didn't just say you have to go to the bathroom did you? "PEE! I need to go pee!"
As I surveyed the table I think I muttered "You've got to be kidding me." Upon further investigation I saw that the only bathroom was outside, about 25 snowy yards away. Forget about it kid. I am not cleaning up all of this uneaten food, getting everyone re-dressed and walking back outside for you to void 1 tsp of fluid. I am willing to risk it here. I instructed him to "Hold it" which he took quite literally. I told him in my best hostage negotiator voice that he needed to wait a few minutes. He bravely soldiered on and made it through his meal.
We bundled back up and hustled over to the bathroom. All three of us squeezed into the tiny bathroom and I attempted to help Henry with Molly strapped to my chest. She of course couldn't be left out so she screamed and swung her fists wildly. I decided to seize the moment as well since I really could not remember the last time I had used the facilities (days? weeks?) and got to pee with Molly strapped to my chest and Henry trying to open the door.
I will spare you the rest of the boring details of our journey, but we all took a nice long nap when we got home. I'm sure my twitch will subside eventually.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
My Littlest Reader
Molly loves to read. No, I mean she reallllly loves to read and does it much of the day. She has been interested in books for most of her short life, but it is only recently that I realized how much. Now, she has learned how to crawl with one hand and hold a book in the other hand like a crutch. She hobbles across the floor, banging the book as she goes. It is really cute but kind of sad how determined she is. When she finally gets to you, after much exertion, you'd better read to her. Even if you are in the middle of cooking or showering or whatever. Or else. She will shreik and cry until you cave. And you don't get to read the book once or twice. She will demand (by smacking you with the book and shreiking some more) that you read it to her again and again and again. And again.
If you read her the wrong book, she won't suffer through it. She will shove it out of your hands and gesture like a little old lady at the fruit market until you figure out which one she wants. She even has a few of them memorized. She makes some appropriate noises and pokes herself in the belly at the end of one book because she knows it refers to her. I have tried to entice Henry to read to her to take some of the load off of me. He will do it a tiny bit, but he knows he has me over a barrel on the subject and I think is holding out for better terms. I recently gave him a quarter to read to her and he only gave a half-hearted effort before walking away. I guess I need to raise my offer.
I love to read, so having a little reader on my hands thrills me. But, it is hard work for the time being!
If you read her the wrong book, she won't suffer through it. She will shove it out of your hands and gesture like a little old lady at the fruit market until you figure out which one she wants. She even has a few of them memorized. She makes some appropriate noises and pokes herself in the belly at the end of one book because she knows it refers to her. I have tried to entice Henry to read to her to take some of the load off of me. He will do it a tiny bit, but he knows he has me over a barrel on the subject and I think is holding out for better terms. I recently gave him a quarter to read to her and he only gave a half-hearted effort before walking away. I guess I need to raise my offer.
I love to read, so having a little reader on my hands thrills me. But, it is hard work for the time being!
Monday, December 28, 2009
December Update
Sorry for the lack of recent posts. We have been very busy with Molly's birthday, her birthday party extravaganza (and I don't use that word lightly, she can thank her father who is slightly insane), shopping, my mom visiting, Christmas and all of the merriment surrounding this time of year.
What is new with Molly?
1) She is a freakishly good talker. She said "yes" and "no" (verbally) in answer to questions more than once today. She knows crazy words like "watch." Her vocabulary astounds me very single day, she definitely gives credence to the theory that girls speak faster than boys. Wowza.
2) Yesterday, she let go of the couch on her own accord and took a few steps for the first time. All prior steps have come from me letting go of her and coaxing her to walk. What was she spontaneously motivated by yesterday? The goody bag that she was given at a birthday party. I think she thought Henry was going to start raiding it if she didn't get a move on stat.
3) She has developed this high-pitched, extremely loud (and annoying scream) that she belts out when she a) doesn't get what she wants b) when she wants to get Henry in trouble c) when Henry gets to close to her d) when I leave her alone and she doesn't want me to leave.
4) She still has not slept through the night. Ever. Although luckily she has gotten through her recent phase of waking every 30 minutes all night long. What a nightmare that was. She must be sleeping longer stretches because I am starting to have dreams again for the first time in a year. You don't realize you weren't having them until you start having them again.
5) She despises milk. She spits it back out at me whenever I try to make her drink it. Weaning her should be a lot if fun. She only wants to drink juice or water (other than nursing).
6) Thanks to her Aunt Heather and her recent birthday, she is very well dressed. I went through her clothing recently to cull out anything that was a) ugly b) didn't fit c) out of season. Even after this big purge I stopped counting at 27 pairs of pants that currently fit her. She is going to have to step up the wardrobe changes during the day I think!
7) She got a baby doll from my mother for Christmas. She loves to hold it, feed it a bottle and hug it. I find this behavior shocking for some reason. She is totally hamming it up when she hugs the baby by the way because she knows we eat it up.
What is new with Henry?
1) Over all, he is extremely well behaved for a three year old. We have had to threaten a visit to the pediatrician recently however because he refuses to listen. And then when we finally get his attention he sighs and says "OK OK" like a surly teenager.
2) He has become a crazy dancer and "shakes his tail" (his words) constantly. He even has a few breakdancing moves that he likes to bust out.
What is new with Molly?
1) She is a freakishly good talker. She said "yes" and "no" (verbally) in answer to questions more than once today. She knows crazy words like "watch." Her vocabulary astounds me very single day, she definitely gives credence to the theory that girls speak faster than boys. Wowza.
2) Yesterday, she let go of the couch on her own accord and took a few steps for the first time. All prior steps have come from me letting go of her and coaxing her to walk. What was she spontaneously motivated by yesterday? The goody bag that she was given at a birthday party. I think she thought Henry was going to start raiding it if she didn't get a move on stat.
3) She has developed this high-pitched, extremely loud (and annoying scream) that she belts out when she a) doesn't get what she wants b) when she wants to get Henry in trouble c) when Henry gets to close to her d) when I leave her alone and she doesn't want me to leave.
4) She still has not slept through the night. Ever. Although luckily she has gotten through her recent phase of waking every 30 minutes all night long. What a nightmare that was. She must be sleeping longer stretches because I am starting to have dreams again for the first time in a year. You don't realize you weren't having them until you start having them again.
5) She despises milk. She spits it back out at me whenever I try to make her drink it. Weaning her should be a lot if fun. She only wants to drink juice or water (other than nursing).
6) Thanks to her Aunt Heather and her recent birthday, she is very well dressed. I went through her clothing recently to cull out anything that was a) ugly b) didn't fit c) out of season. Even after this big purge I stopped counting at 27 pairs of pants that currently fit her. She is going to have to step up the wardrobe changes during the day I think!
7) She got a baby doll from my mother for Christmas. She loves to hold it, feed it a bottle and hug it. I find this behavior shocking for some reason. She is totally hamming it up when she hugs the baby by the way because she knows we eat it up.
What is new with Henry?
1) Over all, he is extremely well behaved for a three year old. We have had to threaten a visit to the pediatrician recently however because he refuses to listen. And then when we finally get his attention he sighs and says "OK OK" like a surly teenager.
2) He has become a crazy dancer and "shakes his tail" (his words) constantly. He even has a few breakdancing moves that he likes to bust out.
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Happy Birthday Molly!
Dear Molly,
You turned one year old today. I can't believe a year has passed since your birth. You are just a little baby in my mind. One year ago ago we didn't even know if you were a boy or a girl, what you looked like or what your name would be. Yet now I cannot imagine our life without you in it.
Your sweet disposition, sense of fun and mischievous nature has brought such happiness to our home. We already knew that we loved being parents, but the big surprise is how much Henry loves being a brother. He tortures you all day yet he follows you around like a puppy. He yells at you for touching his toys yet as soon as you crawl away to something else he is begging you to come back. He is always trying to kiss and hug you despite your protests. The two of you are very close, you are like the little Dynamic Duo.
You are so easy to love. You ask for so little from us, you only want to be included. You reward me with so many beautiful smiles and belly laughs every day. You are very verbal for your age, I am surprised every day by new words you say. Yesterday you said "Skittle" while we were making gingerbread houses. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, how else would you let me know you wanted one?
Every day reveals a new and more wonderful layer of your personality. Although I am sad that you are growing up so fast, I love seeing who you are and what kind of person you will be. I love being your mom and am so glad to have you as my daughter.
Happy Birthday sweet girl!
You turned one year old today. I can't believe a year has passed since your birth. You are just a little baby in my mind. One year ago ago we didn't even know if you were a boy or a girl, what you looked like or what your name would be. Yet now I cannot imagine our life without you in it.
Your sweet disposition, sense of fun and mischievous nature has brought such happiness to our home. We already knew that we loved being parents, but the big surprise is how much Henry loves being a brother. He tortures you all day yet he follows you around like a puppy. He yells at you for touching his toys yet as soon as you crawl away to something else he is begging you to come back. He is always trying to kiss and hug you despite your protests. The two of you are very close, you are like the little Dynamic Duo.
You are so easy to love. You ask for so little from us, you only want to be included. You reward me with so many beautiful smiles and belly laughs every day. You are very verbal for your age, I am surprised every day by new words you say. Yesterday you said "Skittle" while we were making gingerbread houses. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, how else would you let me know you wanted one?
Every day reveals a new and more wonderful layer of your personality. Although I am sad that you are growing up so fast, I love seeing who you are and what kind of person you will be. I love being your mom and am so glad to have you as my daughter.
Happy Birthday sweet girl!
Thursday, December 03, 2009
So, Who Has the Potty Mouth?
Henry loves the "Oh David" series of books. David is a little boy who is always doing naughty things and getting in trouble. He was "reading" to himself recently and was on the page where David accidentally throws a ball and breaks the window. This is what I overheard Henry reading aloud: "David says Oh Dammit!"
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