Sunday, January 31, 2010
Bobby's Sunday Summary
This week was a very say at home week for us. Susan is having a bit of a nesting phase. Not too much happened because of it. It was a nice week, just not too exciting.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Developmental Milestone!
Alice has moved from scribbling to the absolutely age-appropriate "preschematic stage" of drawing. How exciting! I remember learning about this in my psychology and child development courses. I've been secretly watching her drawings, waiting for the day she'd make this discovery on her own. Here it is:
I drew the tub with Alice and Zurg inside, Alice filled in the faces. Then, out of the blue, she draws Mommy on the left...a circle with legs and a face! The next day, I ask her to draw Daddy (just to see how consistent this new trend is) and she does it again! He's on the right. People were only faces or scribbles before!
I marvel at how her brain and body are developing in ways that can't be taught. It just takes time to get there. I'm convinced this kind of learning/development continues long past adulthood. There are things I understand now as a spouse and mom that I never could have understood as an undergrad. There are things I know I won't fully understand until I'm much older still. Kinda cool.
I drew the tub with Alice and Zurg inside, Alice filled in the faces. Then, out of the blue, she draws Mommy on the left...a circle with legs and a face! The next day, I ask her to draw Daddy (just to see how consistent this new trend is) and she does it again! He's on the right. People were only faces or scribbles before!
I marvel at how her brain and body are developing in ways that can't be taught. It just takes time to get there. I'm convinced this kind of learning/development continues long past adulthood. There are things I understand now as a spouse and mom that I never could have understood as an undergrad. There are things I know I won't fully understand until I'm much older still. Kinda cool.
Bathroom Fun
Alice asked to have quiet time in the bathroom. She was giving Baby Cow a bath in the sink. She's played in there for hours before with no horrible messes or wasted toilet paper or flushing incidents, so I agreed. When it got quiet, I found this:
She had moved everything out from under the sink to make a little "house" and soon fell asleep on the rug.
In other bathroom misadventures, she tried to wear the stool like a robot costume (an idea she picked up at Katie and Anila's house) and couldn't get up:
She had moved everything out from under the sink to make a little "house" and soon fell asleep on the rug.
In other bathroom misadventures, she tried to wear the stool like a robot costume (an idea she picked up at Katie and Anila's house) and couldn't get up:
Sewing Projects
I dabble in the fabric arts when the fancy hits, most often in that grey, dreary time just after Christmas and right before gardening season starts in February. I've embroidered, darned socks, and dreamed up fabric books in the past. This year, however, I was inspired by my recent interest in all things "green" and this little gem of a book entitled "Handmade Home" by Amanda Blake Soule. Here are the results:
Furoshiki (pronounced f'-ROHSH-kee)
These are squares of fabric that you can use to wrap gifts and carry items. They are Japanese in origin and dang cool to use. The Japanese Minister of Ecology even designed her own furoshiki this year to encourage citizens to use this eco-friendly wrap instead of plastic bags and disposable wrappings. Here's a nifty pdf she developed to illustrate the cloth's versatility. Here's another good site for wrapping techniques.
It's a very simple sewing project once you get the hang of mitered corners. It took me a few tries. These furoshiki are about 35 inches on a side, so they can handle some pretty big items. I made them out of a couple king-sized pillowcases and an amazing tie-dye-patterned cloth shower curtain (thanks, Bybees!). If I'm lucky enough to remember your birthday this year, you may receive a gift wrapped in one of these sweet puppies:
Changing Pad/Burp Cloth
On the same sort of gift-giving theme, I was looking for something handmade that I could give as a baby shower gift. First and foremost, the item must be useful for every child. Then it should be reusable, washable, and created from renewable resources or repurposed materials (if possible). My friend used to make snazzy washcloth bibs for baby shower gifts, but I can't start doing that until everyone else who's known this friend has moved out of the ward ;)
Enter the changing pad/burp cloth idea. Every baby poops, right? With Alice, I found myself changing diapers a lot away from my changing table. Whether it was on the living room floor, on a car seat, or spread out on a disgusting bathroom floor at some random rest stop, I was in need of a clean space to lay my baby down. I love, love, love the portable changing pads you can get at baby stores, but they are pricey and usually foam-filled plastic. You can't exactly throw them in the washing machine (*sigh* I've tried) to clean them after that nasty changing experience on the bathroom floor. Not only that, but the trifold design always ended up putting the cruddy floor schmutz right onto your "clean" changing surface as soon as you folded it up again. So here's my attempt at a portable, washable clean surface you can take with you in the diaper bag:
I used flannel fabric remnants and unbleached cotton muslin for the surfaces. The remnants were different sizes, so the finished products ranged in size from 12 to 18 inches wide and 18 to 24 inches long. Fold it in half (thus keeping the clean surface clean), then roll it up tight and tie it off. Throw it in the wash whenever you like. If you don't need a changing pad, it can also be used as a burp cloth or play space. Just don't look too closely at my stitching. I'm still an amateur, after all.
Cloth napkins
I want to use fewer paper products. It saves money, saves resources, and saves garbage. Paper napkins and paper towels are not recyclable, so I thought I'd cut those out first. Well, it turns out we don't use paper napkins and paper towels very often. We're mostly washcloth and dishtowel folks around here. Still, I do use paper napkins when people come over to eat, or when Bobby makes ribs, so I thought I'd have these on-hand for those "special occasions":
I cut up a "vintage" fitted queen-size sheet and put these 2-ply puppies together. They're about 10 inches square. They're not the most absorbent napkins (*sigh*) due to the wrinkle-free nature of the fabric, but I just can't see myself ironing napkins on a regular basis (waste of time!). I figure our dishtowels and washcloths can handle the big spills. These guys are the polite, mouth-wiping, finger-cleansing, catch-crumbs-on-your-lap, hide-peas-from-your-mama kind of napkins. We'll see how they handle BBQ.
On a related note, toilet paper and facial tissues also happen to be non-recyclable paper products. We happen to use a LOT of them at our house. If I want to dent our paper consumption, I should hit those first, right? Wrong. No way. I'm looking for sustainable changes, not sacrificial changes. I'm not comfortable washing adult excrement from fabric. Nor am I keen on getting a raw, bloody nose with every cold (i.e. we are an exclusively Puffs Plus with Lotion household). One day, I might be so bold as to attempt composting our used facial tissues, but toilet paper will always remain a flushable product in our home.
Baby Sling
I can't show you this project yet. I made it, but I don't know how to use it. Silly, huh? Does anyone know how to wear a baby? Slings come in all shapes and sizes and forms. This one is a big O. Ms. Soule informs me in her book that I should learn how to use it from an experienced baby-wearer, but everyone wears a different kind of sling! I've figured out the basics with a couple of Alice's baby dolls, but how does it work with a live, wiggly baby?
Furoshiki (pronounced f'-ROHSH-kee)
These are squares of fabric that you can use to wrap gifts and carry items. They are Japanese in origin and dang cool to use. The Japanese Minister of Ecology even designed her own furoshiki this year to encourage citizens to use this eco-friendly wrap instead of plastic bags and disposable wrappings. Here's a nifty pdf she developed to illustrate the cloth's versatility. Here's another good site for wrapping techniques.
It's a very simple sewing project once you get the hang of mitered corners. It took me a few tries. These furoshiki are about 35 inches on a side, so they can handle some pretty big items. I made them out of a couple king-sized pillowcases and an amazing tie-dye-patterned cloth shower curtain (thanks, Bybees!). If I'm lucky enough to remember your birthday this year, you may receive a gift wrapped in one of these sweet puppies:
Changing Pad/Burp Cloth
On the same sort of gift-giving theme, I was looking for something handmade that I could give as a baby shower gift. First and foremost, the item must be useful for every child. Then it should be reusable, washable, and created from renewable resources or repurposed materials (if possible). My friend used to make snazzy washcloth bibs for baby shower gifts, but I can't start doing that until everyone else who's known this friend has moved out of the ward ;)
Enter the changing pad/burp cloth idea. Every baby poops, right? With Alice, I found myself changing diapers a lot away from my changing table. Whether it was on the living room floor, on a car seat, or spread out on a disgusting bathroom floor at some random rest stop, I was in need of a clean space to lay my baby down. I love, love, love the portable changing pads you can get at baby stores, but they are pricey and usually foam-filled plastic. You can't exactly throw them in the washing machine (*sigh* I've tried) to clean them after that nasty changing experience on the bathroom floor. Not only that, but the trifold design always ended up putting the cruddy floor schmutz right onto your "clean" changing surface as soon as you folded it up again. So here's my attempt at a portable, washable clean surface you can take with you in the diaper bag:
I used flannel fabric remnants and unbleached cotton muslin for the surfaces. The remnants were different sizes, so the finished products ranged in size from 12 to 18 inches wide and 18 to 24 inches long. Fold it in half (thus keeping the clean surface clean), then roll it up tight and tie it off. Throw it in the wash whenever you like. If you don't need a changing pad, it can also be used as a burp cloth or play space. Just don't look too closely at my stitching. I'm still an amateur, after all.
Cloth napkins
I want to use fewer paper products. It saves money, saves resources, and saves garbage. Paper napkins and paper towels are not recyclable, so I thought I'd cut those out first. Well, it turns out we don't use paper napkins and paper towels very often. We're mostly washcloth and dishtowel folks around here. Still, I do use paper napkins when people come over to eat, or when Bobby makes ribs, so I thought I'd have these on-hand for those "special occasions":
I cut up a "vintage" fitted queen-size sheet and put these 2-ply puppies together. They're about 10 inches square. They're not the most absorbent napkins (*sigh*) due to the wrinkle-free nature of the fabric, but I just can't see myself ironing napkins on a regular basis (waste of time!). I figure our dishtowels and washcloths can handle the big spills. These guys are the polite, mouth-wiping, finger-cleansing, catch-crumbs-on-your-lap, hide-peas-from-your-mama kind of napkins. We'll see how they handle BBQ.
On a related note, toilet paper and facial tissues also happen to be non-recyclable paper products. We happen to use a LOT of them at our house. If I want to dent our paper consumption, I should hit those first, right? Wrong. No way. I'm looking for sustainable changes, not sacrificial changes. I'm not comfortable washing adult excrement from fabric. Nor am I keen on getting a raw, bloody nose with every cold (i.e. we are an exclusively Puffs Plus with Lotion household). One day, I might be so bold as to attempt composting our used facial tissues, but toilet paper will always remain a flushable product in our home.
Baby Sling
I can't show you this project yet. I made it, but I don't know how to use it. Silly, huh? Does anyone know how to wear a baby? Slings come in all shapes and sizes and forms. This one is a big O. Ms. Soule informs me in her book that I should learn how to use it from an experienced baby-wearer, but everyone wears a different kind of sling! I've figured out the basics with a couple of Alice's baby dolls, but how does it work with a live, wiggly baby?
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Bobby's Sunday Summary
This week felt like a fairly typical week again. Alice played a lot with her friends. She made several art projects. Mostly gluing random things to paper, and some coloring.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
A Story, by Alice
(Transcribed from an oral telling in December 2009 while we were driving down to Houston for New Year's)
Agga fell down and bonked his head. Waaaaa!
He want his mommy Zucka. His daddy French Frump.
Mommy said, "You need your daddy."
"What's wrong?"
"I bonked my head on the grass."
"How you fell?"
"My head bonks very, very, very hard."
Fence trapped Agga and mom and dad in the house.
They live in Onessa.
They wanted to be trapped and they laughed and stood on their heads.
Agga made a clicking noise and everyone was surprised. Lots of fwooms and all surprised.
And a ship said, "I'll blow you both away." He's wind.
Outa said, "You can drink anytime you want from my soda. You not blow my friends. They mine and I want them!"
"Okay" and dropped them on the ground.
THE END
Agga fell down and bonked his head. Waaaaa!
He want his mommy Zucka. His daddy French Frump.
Mommy said, "You need your daddy."
"What's wrong?"
"I bonked my head on the grass."
"How you fell?"
"My head bonks very, very, very hard."
Fence trapped Agga and mom and dad in the house.
They live in Onessa.
They wanted to be trapped and they laughed and stood on their heads.
Agga made a clicking noise and everyone was surprised. Lots of fwooms and all surprised.
And a ship said, "I'll blow you both away." He's wind.
Outa said, "You can drink anytime you want from my soda. You not blow my friends. They mine and I want them!"
"Okay" and dropped them on the ground.
THE END
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Columbus, OH
We spent this last weekend in Columbus, OH, visiting our friends and former neighbors the Palmers. Bobby had MLK Jr.'s Birthday off. Alice took to the girls instantly and had all sorts of fun all weekend. Sheesh, this girl needs siblings. Bobby and I also had a great time relaxing and talking with our friends late into the night, seeing a few sights, and eating delicious food for every meal. Wow. True to form, however, I was a timid photographer and constantly plagued with "low battery" issues. Grrrr. We did manage to snap a few picts during our visit to the Children's Museum (COSI) and a living historical farm, though, so that's what I'll share.
Friday night, we drove the 5 hours to Columbus. Not bad. Alice watched movies and fell asleep during the trip. Almost any trip seems like a short little hop after 18 hours in the car to Houston :) Saturday morning, we had a hot breakfast and played until the Palmers' nephew and niece arrived to join us at the Children's Museum. The girls taught Alice to play hide and seek in a couple nifty closets. In the picture below, they're all hiding on the top shelf on the closet right by the attic entry point. Alice is "still hiding."
We went to the Children's Museum where we all got in free on our family passes (thanks to grandmas and grandpas from BOTH families for that treat).
Then after the museum, we drove a little ways to a living historical farm. Year-round, people work this farm as they would have in 1890 raising crops, keeping livestock, preserving food, and living all that homesteader joy. I'd LOVE to work in a place like that, if only to learn the art. Here's the root cellar I drooled over *sigh*:
After the farm, we come home to clean all the animal poop off our shoes ;) and relax in the evening. Alice took a long and hilarious bath with Anila, then went to bed. We adults stayed up playing games and chatting. Kemily even had some outgrown clothes I could look through for Alice and Zurg.
Sunday, we relaxed in the morning and went to church with the Palmers in the afternoon. Alice was determined to hate their Nursery class, but Bobby stayed with her a little while. She clung to him and whined. They were about to leave when the teacher brought out a guitar and invited Alice to join them for Singing Time. Alice hopped off of Bobby and became her bubbly, extroverted self again. She had a great time the rest of church.
Monday morning, we let the girls play together a few more hours before loading the car and heading back to Illinois. We got home in the evening in time for dinner, some unpacking time, and a regular bedtime for the exhausted babe. I should have gone to bed on time, too, but I let my mind wander online and ended up with fifty new projects I want to try.
Overall, a delightful trip. Relaxing and fun. Casual. Easy-going. Comfortable. Just like the Palmers themselves.
Friday night, we drove the 5 hours to Columbus. Not bad. Alice watched movies and fell asleep during the trip. Almost any trip seems like a short little hop after 18 hours in the car to Houston :) Saturday morning, we had a hot breakfast and played until the Palmers' nephew and niece arrived to join us at the Children's Museum. The girls taught Alice to play hide and seek in a couple nifty closets. In the picture below, they're all hiding on the top shelf on the closet right by the attic entry point. Alice is "still hiding."
We went to the Children's Museum where we all got in free on our family passes (thanks to grandmas and grandpas from BOTH families for that treat).
Alice got really excited about this exhibit in particular:
Then after the museum, we drove a little ways to a living historical farm. Year-round, people work this farm as they would have in 1890 raising crops, keeping livestock, preserving food, and living all that homesteader joy. I'd LOVE to work in a place like that, if only to learn the art. Here's the root cellar I drooled over *sigh*:
We got there at feeding time, which was fun for all the kids, even if one little blondie was too shy/timid/worried to throw hay to a monstrous work horse.
Seed corn for the next year:
After the farm, we come home to clean all the animal poop off our shoes ;) and relax in the evening. Alice took a long and hilarious bath with Anila, then went to bed. We adults stayed up playing games and chatting. Kemily even had some outgrown clothes I could look through for Alice and Zurg.
Sunday, we relaxed in the morning and went to church with the Palmers in the afternoon. Alice was determined to hate their Nursery class, but Bobby stayed with her a little while. She clung to him and whined. They were about to leave when the teacher brought out a guitar and invited Alice to join them for Singing Time. Alice hopped off of Bobby and became her bubbly, extroverted self again. She had a great time the rest of church.
Monday morning, we let the girls play together a few more hours before loading the car and heading back to Illinois. We got home in the evening in time for dinner, some unpacking time, and a regular bedtime for the exhausted babe. I should have gone to bed on time, too, but I let my mind wander online and ended up with fifty new projects I want to try.
Overall, a delightful trip. Relaxing and fun. Casual. Easy-going. Comfortable. Just like the Palmers themselves.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Bobby's Sunday Summary
This past week has been a bit stressful, but not too bad. A big project that I have been working on is coming due. We are very close to being done so it is not too bad, but any time a project is due it gets to be stressful.
We do have a good story though. Alice has been having nightmares lately. She saw an article in the childrend's friend about how a child was having nightmares prayed to heavenly father about it and stopped having bad dreams. Alice tried it and almost every morning she now says that Heavenly Father took her bad dreams away. We even suspect that she is having dreams where Heavenly Father takes the scary things in her dreams and, puts holes in them, scares them away or throws them in the trash. She has been telling us stories about it.
We do have a good story though. Alice has been having nightmares lately. She saw an article in the childrend's friend about how a child was having nightmares prayed to heavenly father about it and stopped having bad dreams. Alice tried it and almost every morning she now says that Heavenly Father took her bad dreams away. We even suspect that she is having dreams where Heavenly Father takes the scary things in her dreams and, puts holes in them, scares them away or throws them in the trash. She has been telling us stories about it.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Bobby's Sunday Summary
Well, Susan already posted most of what has happened this week. This week was fairly laid back. We did have a couple inches of snow and Alice loved, in fact still loves playing in it. Other then that it has been a very calm week.
Fairy Dress Dancing
My sister gave Alice a frilly fairy dress for Christmas. It has since become Alice's favorite dancing outfit and she wears it at some point most days of the week. When she wants to be a dancing princess or a ballerina, she wears only the dress. When she wants to be a fairy flying frantically about the house, she'll throw on the wings. Check it out.
In the following clip, she's showing off her slow dance moves. Just groovin' to her own music. Sorry, it's a bit long:
In the next clip, she's displaying some of her higher energy moves. Please excuse the state of the house. As I mentioned before, we had spent almost all week at home. This was our third day indoors, so we had to pull out some of the more creative play items to occupy our time: haircutting/hairdoing materials in the hallway, art projects in the living room, my sewing machine (pictures of THOSE projects coming soon), and heaps of play things all over her room.
And the final clip is our energetic fairy. It appears she got tired of the paparazzi following her around:
In the following clip, she's showing off her slow dance moves. Just groovin' to her own music. Sorry, it's a bit long:
In the next clip, she's displaying some of her higher energy moves. Please excuse the state of the house. As I mentioned before, we had spent almost all week at home. This was our third day indoors, so we had to pull out some of the more creative play items to occupy our time: haircutting/hairdoing materials in the hallway, art projects in the living room, my sewing machine (pictures of THOSE projects coming soon), and heaps of play things all over her room.
And the final clip is our energetic fairy. It appears she got tired of the paparazzi following her around:
First Snow Angels
It was a snowy, blowy, cold week this week. Alice and I spent most of it at home for various reasons. The biggest reason, however, was that I usually need time to myself and my home after a long trip away with lots of friends/family. Alice also seemed to be dealing with night terrors this week that woke us all up several times a night, so I was more tired than usual and feeling a bit reclusive. She was thrilled to see so much snow, though, and even convinced my grumpy, reclusive self to show her how snow angels are made.
Alice tromping through the snow in our backyard, almost knee-deep. Thank goodness for snow pants, but we still haven't procured snow boots for the babe. Poor little girl got some minor frostbite on her ankles after 30 minutes of snow play. Yikes!
Alice is walking by my snow angel here. Almost too bright to see it.
Alice admiring her own snow angel. I showed her how to do it once, then she wanted to do it again and again. I don't know how she could endure the cold so long.
Alice admiring her own snow angel. I showed her how to do it once, then she wanted to do it again and again. I don't know how she could endure the cold so long.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Pictures from Houston
As promised, here are pictures from our New Year's trip to Houston. It was a very relaxing and fun trip. Alice had so much fun playing with her cousins that she hardly played with me at all. It was a great break, but in the end I found myself making excuses to join her for "quiet time" just to get my daily dose of Alice...even if we were both asleep for it.
Alice chillin' in the back seat while we drive to Houston. The fact that I don't have anything remarkable to say about those 18 hours is a testament to how easy-going this babe really can be.
We arrived late on Saturday night, spent all day Sunday together at home, then headed out to the Houston Zoo on Monday. Here's everyone in the back seats. Lara and I got to have numerous deep and meaningful conversations in the front seat while Bobby entertained the crew. Nice guy.
Riding the carousel at the zoo. Alice picked a lion and Sam rode right next to her on a couple baby chimps. Every time they looped by me, Sam would screech something hilarious to Alice and she'd bust a gut laughing.
Can you see what she's wearing? My sister Erin gave Alice this amazingly dainty and frilly purple fairy dress for Christmas. It's essentially a leotard with a soft tutu attached. She wore it all Christmas Day. We brought it to Houston in case the girls wanted to dress up at some point. Well, Alice was playing in her dress that morning before we went to the river. Instead of
Love and Logic-ing our way through a full change of clothes, Bobby and I just asked her to throw on some pants and a sweatshirt over it. I think it's actually a pretty cute outfit.
It looks like Alice is pestering Mary with her fishing rod, but I think she's trying to share it.
Swinging at the river, at home, in the park, and wherever she could.
New Year's Eve, all the kids stayed up until midnight. Here, Sarah is showing Alice the Curious George website with lots of video content and games. They were glued to the educational screen for at least an hour while the adults worked on a puzzle and read news online.
New Year's Day, we worked in the yard. Jon constructed a new compost bin while the rest of us trimmed hedges, raked leaves, and played on the swing set. Alice liked having a little rake of her own and she loved sharing it with everyone, "You tan use my wake if you wan' to. Dat's otay."
Alice chillin' in the back seat while we drive to Houston. The fact that I don't have anything remarkable to say about those 18 hours is a testament to how easy-going this babe really can be.
We arrived late on Saturday night, spent all day Sunday together at home, then headed out to the Houston Zoo on Monday. Here's everyone in the back seats. Lara and I got to have numerous deep and meaningful conversations in the front seat while Bobby entertained the crew. Nice guy.
Riding the carousel at the zoo. Alice picked a lion and Sam rode right next to her on a couple baby chimps. Every time they looped by me, Sam would screech something hilarious to Alice and she'd bust a gut laughing.
Alice loved the gopher hole hideout!
Snuggling in Daddy's coat. The weather was peachy compared to your typical Illinois December, but it was still a bit chilly to be playing outside. Alice discovered the joy of a well-timed snuggle to prolong her outdoor play time.
Family self-portrait. If only Alice were looking at the camera instead of the zookeeper show *sigh*
She liked the idea of this hippo eating her. She played here for almost 10 minutes.
Brushing the goats in the petting zoo. Kids like the zoo, but LITTLE kids like the playgrounds and farm animals at the zoo.
Alice piloting a ferry boat with the assistance of her cousin Mary.
Alice and her buddy Mary. Alice warmed up to ALL of her cousins pretty quickly. She took turns sleeping in each of their rooms, actually, which was a surprise relief to Bobby and me. We haven't slept in the same room as Alice for a long time and we had forgotten how noisy of a sleeper she is (i.e. snoring, grunting, sleep-talking, tossing and turning, high-pitched whine-breathing, and the occasional midnight potty trip). I'm glad her sleeping habits didn't bother her cousins in the slightest.
At the beginning of the day, she was terrified of the animal statues. By the end of the day, she was mauling them like a pro.
Tuesday, we took a trip to "Jumpin' Joey's" which is an indoor inflatable park. Alice was instantly comfortable there and eager to try EVERYTHING. I was amazed at the stunts she would try on her own. It's a fuzzy picture, but you can tell what she's feeling.
Sam showing Alice how to climb in the pirate ship. Alice really grew up on this trip. She had her cousins showing her all sorts of things and she grew more confident of herself every day.
Alice rolling around in a pretend pool. This was in the toddler section. It bored her cousins to tears, but Alice kept returning to this funny little pool/tub and would pretend she was swimming. As she got more physically tired, her play became more story-based and more imaginary.
Case in point: After an hour of running and sliding and climbing, she suddenly darts to this pretend car and drives it for 15 minutes. It was a fire truck, an ice cream truck, and finally a money truck before her cousins could finally persuade her to play somewhere else. She deflected their offers with polite confidence, though, which amazed me in two ways (i.e. social grace AND self-assurance? Can she really be MY daughter?!)
Fun, fun, fun, fun cousins!
"Fishing" at the river with a pine cone on a string.
Snuggling in Daddy's coat. The weather was peachy compared to your typical Illinois December, but it was still a bit chilly to be playing outside. Alice discovered the joy of a well-timed snuggle to prolong her outdoor play time.
Family self-portrait. If only Alice were looking at the camera instead of the zookeeper show *sigh*
She liked the idea of this hippo eating her. She played here for almost 10 minutes.
Brushing the goats in the petting zoo. Kids like the zoo, but LITTLE kids like the playgrounds and farm animals at the zoo.
Alice piloting a ferry boat with the assistance of her cousin Mary.
Alice and her buddy Mary. Alice warmed up to ALL of her cousins pretty quickly. She took turns sleeping in each of their rooms, actually, which was a surprise relief to Bobby and me. We haven't slept in the same room as Alice for a long time and we had forgotten how noisy of a sleeper she is (i.e. snoring, grunting, sleep-talking, tossing and turning, high-pitched whine-breathing, and the occasional midnight potty trip). I'm glad her sleeping habits didn't bother her cousins in the slightest.
At the beginning of the day, she was terrified of the animal statues. By the end of the day, she was mauling them like a pro.
Tuesday, we took a trip to "Jumpin' Joey's" which is an indoor inflatable park. Alice was instantly comfortable there and eager to try EVERYTHING. I was amazed at the stunts she would try on her own. It's a fuzzy picture, but you can tell what she's feeling.
Sam showing Alice how to climb in the pirate ship. Alice really grew up on this trip. She had her cousins showing her all sorts of things and she grew more confident of herself every day.
Alice rolling around in a pretend pool. This was in the toddler section. It bored her cousins to tears, but Alice kept returning to this funny little pool/tub and would pretend she was swimming. As she got more physically tired, her play became more story-based and more imaginary.
Case in point: After an hour of running and sliding and climbing, she suddenly darts to this pretend car and drives it for 15 minutes. It was a fire truck, an ice cream truck, and finally a money truck before her cousins could finally persuade her to play somewhere else. She deflected their offers with polite confidence, though, which amazed me in two ways (i.e. social grace AND self-assurance? Can she really be MY daughter?!)
Fun, fun, fun, fun cousins!
"Fishing" at the river with a pine cone on a string.
Can you see what she's wearing? My sister Erin gave Alice this amazingly dainty and frilly purple fairy dress for Christmas. It's essentially a leotard with a soft tutu attached. She wore it all Christmas Day. We brought it to Houston in case the girls wanted to dress up at some point. Well, Alice was playing in her dress that morning before we went to the river. Instead of
Love and Logic-ing our way through a full change of clothes, Bobby and I just asked her to throw on some pants and a sweatshirt over it. I think it's actually a pretty cute outfit.
It looks like Alice is pestering Mary with her fishing rod, but I think she's trying to share it.
Swinging at the river, at home, in the park, and wherever she could.
New Year's Eve, all the kids stayed up until midnight. Here, Sarah is showing Alice the Curious George website with lots of video content and games. They were glued to the educational screen for at least an hour while the adults worked on a puzzle and read news online.
New Year's Day, we worked in the yard. Jon constructed a new compost bin while the rest of us trimmed hedges, raked leaves, and played on the swing set. Alice liked having a little rake of her own and she loved sharing it with everyone, "You tan use my wake if you wan' to. Dat's otay."
And of course, there were many, many things that we DIDN'T take pictures of. I don't even know where to begin summing up all the rest. I doubt I could do it justice anyway :)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Bobby's Sunday Summary
This week we spent in Houston TX. We left the day after Christmas and just got back yesterday. Don't worry we have pictures and will be posting more details soon. I just don't have time right now to give it full justice. I can, however, tell you that driving 2,140 miles, in 2 18-hour days to get there and back, is not a lot of fun. Alice, however was an angle for most of it, and behaved amazingly well. Like I said more details will be coming soon, once we can put things back in order a bit more.
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