Sunday, October 30, 2011
Bobby's Sunday Summary
Well, most of the week was fairly normal. On Friday the kids went to a costume parade at a local retirement home, and each got a bag of goodies. Saturday, however, was crazy. We went to the temple because it was the only day that would work for us. It was also the day for our ward to have their Trunk or Treat party. Going down was mostly good, but coming back was very difficult. Robert was done with the car when we had an hour and a half left and was letting us all know about it. Both Susan and I were done when we finally made it home. Susan took Alice to the party while I stayed home with Robert to let him wind down. We did learn a few things about Robert from the trip. First we learned that Robert is not a huge fan of dorritos. He liked them, but was fine sharing with Alice as many as she wanted. Second Robert loves tootsiroll pops, the tootsiroll more then the pop part. After a few licks he was happy to share with Alice, at least until she bit into it and revealed the inside of it. The no one was allowed near it until it was completely consumed.
Friday, October 28, 2011
18 months and Squinting
Robert had his "well baby" checkup last week. All is well. He's 75th percentile for height and weight, 50th percentile for head circumference. His slightly smaller head and slightly larger bum (cloth dipes) make him look a lot bigger than he really is.
We were shown to the exam room and Robert suddenly used every limb to sucker himself to my chest. Octopus boy, I tell you! He screamed and cried while the aide took his measurements, then wrapped himself around me as I picked him up. The moment the aide left us alone in the room, Robert's head popped up off my shoulder and he climbed down to explore the room. He peeked into the table cabinets and found an empty space. He smiled his big grin and said, "Nigh-neen", which is to mean "hiding." I gave him an assuring nod and he climbed on in and shut the door on himself. Crazy, silly, funny boy. We played the hiding game for a few minutes until the doctor came in. She was amused at his antics, like no other kid had ever tried that before. I think it's more likely that no other parent had let the kid do it long enough for the doctor to walk in on (blush).
Robert turned into an octopus again while we went through all the preliminary questions for the visit. He was laying his head on my shoulder so quietly and so still that Dr. Beck even asked, "Did he fall asleep?" Yeah right. Crying, but resigned to the reality of the physical exam, Robert endured the prodding, peeking, and odd little lights quite well. Dr. Beck left and he hopped off my lap to go play in the cabinet again. We had a good few minutes to acclimate before the nurse came in. Robert ran over to me, but didn't do anything more until he saw her put on the gloves. That was it! He scrambled into my lap, pressed his body into my chest as hard as he could, wrapped his arms around my neck, buried his face into my shoulder, and sat perfectly motionless and silent. I imagine him thinking, "If I can just stay still, she won't see me anymore." The reality was, he never saw the first shot coming, but he was absolutely aware of the following two.
He wasn't a fan of the shots. Thankfully, the angry, throaty, unearthly screams were missing this time around. Or maybe he's just grown into them? The best part, though, was showing him the new "doggie stickers" on his thighs and telling him we were all done. He chirped, "Ah-dunn? Ah-dunn? Ah-dunn. Doggie!" as I put on his clothes. He had no more tears. He wanted no snuggles. He wanted to go. Now. Happily. And we did.
It was a good visit. I love this little character! There was another story I wanted to record here before I forgot about it:
Three mornings a week, Robert and I drive Alice to preschool. It's usually just as the sun comes over the trees and poor Robert gets a whole face full of sunshine most of the way there. It makes him sneeze and he squinches up his face shouting, "Eyes! Eyes! Eyes!" Well, last Wednesday, we turned onto the street that usually assaults Robert with sunshine and I saw him back there squinching and yelling, "Eyes! Eyes!" I burst out laughing and said, "Buddy, it's cloudy today! There's no sun in your eyes." He stopped shouting, unsquinched his eyes a little, and then looked out the window a little confused. A huge grin lit up his face and all three of us were laughing, laughing, laughing the rest of the way to preschool.
Yep, I'll keep him. Keep 'em both, actually. They're so good for me.
We were shown to the exam room and Robert suddenly used every limb to sucker himself to my chest. Octopus boy, I tell you! He screamed and cried while the aide took his measurements, then wrapped himself around me as I picked him up. The moment the aide left us alone in the room, Robert's head popped up off my shoulder and he climbed down to explore the room. He peeked into the table cabinets and found an empty space. He smiled his big grin and said, "Nigh-neen", which is to mean "hiding." I gave him an assuring nod and he climbed on in and shut the door on himself. Crazy, silly, funny boy. We played the hiding game for a few minutes until the doctor came in. She was amused at his antics, like no other kid had ever tried that before. I think it's more likely that no other parent had let the kid do it long enough for the doctor to walk in on (blush).
Robert turned into an octopus again while we went through all the preliminary questions for the visit. He was laying his head on my shoulder so quietly and so still that Dr. Beck even asked, "Did he fall asleep?" Yeah right. Crying, but resigned to the reality of the physical exam, Robert endured the prodding, peeking, and odd little lights quite well. Dr. Beck left and he hopped off my lap to go play in the cabinet again. We had a good few minutes to acclimate before the nurse came in. Robert ran over to me, but didn't do anything more until he saw her put on the gloves. That was it! He scrambled into my lap, pressed his body into my chest as hard as he could, wrapped his arms around my neck, buried his face into my shoulder, and sat perfectly motionless and silent. I imagine him thinking, "If I can just stay still, she won't see me anymore." The reality was, he never saw the first shot coming, but he was absolutely aware of the following two.
He wasn't a fan of the shots. Thankfully, the angry, throaty, unearthly screams were missing this time around. Or maybe he's just grown into them? The best part, though, was showing him the new "doggie stickers" on his thighs and telling him we were all done. He chirped, "Ah-dunn? Ah-dunn? Ah-dunn. Doggie!" as I put on his clothes. He had no more tears. He wanted no snuggles. He wanted to go. Now. Happily. And we did.
It was a good visit. I love this little character! There was another story I wanted to record here before I forgot about it:
Three mornings a week, Robert and I drive Alice to preschool. It's usually just as the sun comes over the trees and poor Robert gets a whole face full of sunshine most of the way there. It makes him sneeze and he squinches up his face shouting, "Eyes! Eyes! Eyes!" Well, last Wednesday, we turned onto the street that usually assaults Robert with sunshine and I saw him back there squinching and yelling, "Eyes! Eyes!" I burst out laughing and said, "Buddy, it's cloudy today! There's no sun in your eyes." He stopped shouting, unsquinched his eyes a little, and then looked out the window a little confused. A huge grin lit up his face and all three of us were laughing, laughing, laughing the rest of the way to preschool.
Yep, I'll keep him. Keep 'em both, actually. They're so good for me.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Bobby's Sunday Summary
Not too much new happened this past week. Well at least there were a few field trips that Susan already posted pictures and what not about, but as far as my work, and home life nothing too new has happened. I still go to work every day, stare at a computer screen for hours on end, then come home, play with Alice and Robert until it is time for them to go to bed. I have a pretty good life.
Friday, October 21, 2011
Negangard Pumpkins 2011
Wake up, Buddy, it's time to freeze your tail off at the pumpkin patch!
We picked the most freezy, windy, bitter day of the week to go choose pumpkins. If I had held off just 24 hours, it would have been blissfully sunny and quintessentially fall. Oh well. I got to use the good weather for some of my own gardening projects. I think the kids had fun despite the cold :) Thanks to the Jarvies for suggesting snow pants!
Alice picked out 8 lovely miniature gourds/squash. She turned the acorn squash into a pirate jack-o-lantern:
Then she wanted to cut a few open to see what was inside. We're drying some of the seeds to plant in our garden next year.
Buddy just keeps trying to eat the miniature squash like apples. Very disappointing for him. I purchased a few smaller pumpkins and a couple butternut squash to cook for pumpkin/squash pies, breads, cakes, and cookies. I think I'll roast them in the oven and then freeze the puree. Alice also helped me pick out a larger pumpkin for a family jack-o-lantern.
I'm still not entirely sure how to approach holiday decorating, but Halloween seems like an easy enough place to start. A jack-o-lantern and a swarm of bats sounds just about right :)
We picked the most freezy, windy, bitter day of the week to go choose pumpkins. If I had held off just 24 hours, it would have been blissfully sunny and quintessentially fall. Oh well. I got to use the good weather for some of my own gardening projects. I think the kids had fun despite the cold :) Thanks to the Jarvies for suggesting snow pants!
 |
| He's either saying "That one!" or, "Alice is WAY too close to me!" |
 |
| Freezing, freezing cold. If we hadn't had cocoa and toast for breakfast, I would have picked it for dinner :( |
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| The black spot is the eye patch next to a normal eye. The three holes in the middle are left, cheek, nose, and right cheek. Then there's the wry smile at the bottom. Only a birthday candle would fit inside :) |
Then she wanted to cut a few open to see what was inside. We're drying some of the seeds to plant in our garden next year.
Buddy just keeps trying to eat the miniature squash like apples. Very disappointing for him. I purchased a few smaller pumpkins and a couple butternut squash to cook for pumpkin/squash pies, breads, cakes, and cookies. I think I'll roast them in the oven and then freeze the puree. Alice also helped me pick out a larger pumpkin for a family jack-o-lantern.
I'm still not entirely sure how to approach holiday decorating, but Halloween seems like an easy enough place to start. A jack-o-lantern and a swarm of bats sounds just about right :)
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Tractors!
Guess where our field trip took us today?
Tractors! Front loaders, back hoes, combines, excavators, steamrollers, and articulated wheel loaders! Oh yeah, baby, we totally toured Birkey's Farm Store in Urbana. The temperature was hovering around 35F and the wind gusts were up to 25mph, but our little cluster of kids held out pretty well. The manager let us climb in and explore all kinds of heavy machinery for agriculture and construction. I wish I had known more about it so I could ask our generous and friendly tour guide more questions.
Regardless of what the awkward picture above suggests, Robert liked wandering, climbing, sitting and steering. Alice enjoyed it off and on, depending on how cold she felt at the moment. Spencer B. was at our tour guide's side, leading the way, and almost always the first one to hop onto the next big machine.
If I ever do this again, I will do it in the middle of the summer. Brrrrr.
Tractors! Front loaders, back hoes, combines, excavators, steamrollers, and articulated wheel loaders! Oh yeah, baby, we totally toured Birkey's Farm Store in Urbana. The temperature was hovering around 35F and the wind gusts were up to 25mph, but our little cluster of kids held out pretty well. The manager let us climb in and explore all kinds of heavy machinery for agriculture and construction. I wish I had known more about it so I could ask our generous and friendly tour guide more questions.
Regardless of what the awkward picture above suggests, Robert liked wandering, climbing, sitting and steering. Alice enjoyed it off and on, depending on how cold she felt at the moment. Spencer B. was at our tour guide's side, leading the way, and almost always the first one to hop onto the next big machine.
If I ever do this again, I will do it in the middle of the summer. Brrrrr.
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Bobby's Sunday Summary (God is a better computer programmer then me)
Well quite a bit has happened this week. We had the primary program at Church. This was Alice's first program. She did a wonderful job. She said her line and she sang all of the songs. Susan was very sad that she missed Alice's line, because she was changing Robert's diaper.
We raked leaves yesterday too.
But the thing the stood out to me the most was an experience I had Saturday morning. At work I work on an open source project. What that means is that several different companies, and individuals work together to create this software. What it comes down to is that there are a lot more politics involved with doing something then in other projects I have worked on. Anyways this past week I have been rather stressed out. I was given the assignment to work on adding in some security to a very complex and convoluted web site. I had some fundamental disagreements with someone else about the design of the software. I am rather new to the project so I gave in and said that I would do it the way that he wanted me to. But the software I have so far is very complicated, isn't going to work correctly without me making it even more complex, and way outside my area of expertise.
Anyways I was having lots of issues trying to get this thing to work. So I was praying about it Friday night trying to decided what I should do, and I felt that there was a third way to do it, I should just go to bed, and I would have the answer in the morning. I wasn't quite sure about it so I decided to just do it, because going to bed is something that I am actually rather good at. Anyways Saturday morning when I work up the first thing that pops into my head is a picture of a building with lots of windows. I don't understand all of how that picture led to what poped into my head, but within a few minutes I had a solution to the problem that not only solved this issue but solved several other issues that were going to be left for the next round of development. If you want the dry boring details of the design I would be happy to let anyone who actually cares about it know, but I figure most people have no desire to know about it.
We raked leaves yesterday too.
But the thing the stood out to me the most was an experience I had Saturday morning. At work I work on an open source project. What that means is that several different companies, and individuals work together to create this software. What it comes down to is that there are a lot more politics involved with doing something then in other projects I have worked on. Anyways this past week I have been rather stressed out. I was given the assignment to work on adding in some security to a very complex and convoluted web site. I had some fundamental disagreements with someone else about the design of the software. I am rather new to the project so I gave in and said that I would do it the way that he wanted me to. But the software I have so far is very complicated, isn't going to work correctly without me making it even more complex, and way outside my area of expertise.
Anyways I was having lots of issues trying to get this thing to work. So I was praying about it Friday night trying to decided what I should do, and I felt that there was a third way to do it, I should just go to bed, and I would have the answer in the morning. I wasn't quite sure about it so I decided to just do it, because going to bed is something that I am actually rather good at. Anyways Saturday morning when I work up the first thing that pops into my head is a picture of a building with lots of windows. I don't understand all of how that picture led to what poped into my head, but within a few minutes I had a solution to the problem that not only solved this issue but solved several other issues that were going to be left for the next round of development. If you want the dry boring details of the design I would be happy to let anyone who actually cares about it know, but I figure most people have no desire to know about it.
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Monday, October 10, 2011
Buddy-er than ever
Tumbling, exploring, squeezing into small places, climbing, and beckoning me to join him. Sweet Buddy. I like this age.
Fire Safety!
Crawl low through smoke. Stop, drop, and roll. Change your smoke detector batteries regularly. Take matches and lighters straight to an adult. Thank a firefighter. Weeeeeeee! Many thanks to our Urbana Firefighters for putting on a great program during Fire Safety Week and letting our little co-op preschool group come along.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Bobby's Sunday Summary
Sorry about missing this last week. I don't have a good excuse, I was just lazy.
Not too much out of the ordinary has happened these past two weeks. The biggest news is that Robert is now officially 18 months old. Today was his first official day as a member of Nursery. For some reason Susan seemed to be in a much better mood today. Who knows why?
Both Alice and Robert are doing very well, and are having lots of fun. Hopefully we will have more to write about soon.
Not too much out of the ordinary has happened these past two weeks. The biggest news is that Robert is now officially 18 months old. Today was his first official day as a member of Nursery. For some reason Susan seemed to be in a much better mood today. Who knows why?
Both Alice and Robert are doing very well, and are having lots of fun. Hopefully we will have more to write about soon.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Comprehensible...almost...at 18 months
Robert's most recent ramblings:
"mummy" = Mommy, bunny, tummy, yummy, mousie
"ruckgh" = truck
"ruckgh-uh"= tractor
"arackgh"= car (I think he's putting the "r" sound before the "k" sound)
"yeh-woh"= window, unknown thing
He's trying more words than ever. He's eating less than ever (I'm calling him "half-picky"). He's also sleeping nicely. That boy loves his blankie and pacifier. The other day, I put him "down" for a nap and he didn't make a peep for 4 hours. I'm pretty sure he was only sleeping during the middle two hours. The first hour and the last hour were "lie in bed with pacifier and pet the blankie" time. I did not complain, though I do often wonder about the upcoming pacifier famine of 2011.
Robert understands basic choices like "would you like to leave now or in two minutes", "water or milk", "walk or ride", but he's still completely clueless when it comes to "when X is done, then you can enjoy Y." I'm hoping it's just a developmental milestone on its way. We do get a good tantrum every other day, usually regarding that pesky "when X, then Y" thing. Tantrums are age-appropriate, though, and his don't seem to last very long. Whew ;)
He's persistent. When we wants to show me something, he gets right in my face and beckons me with his hand and voice, "mon, mon, mon," until I move my body. Words like, "Oh, I see" or "Yes, I'll be there in a minute" mean absolutely nothing to him. Nothing. He wants me to move my body towards him, even if it's just six inches, before he'll stop beckoning and finally show me his fantastic new skill. He also continues to ask and annoy with greater energy far longer than I can remember Alice ever attempting. His persistence pays off sometimes, too, which is why he's so good at it *d'oh*. So that's one of my parenting foci these days: assess the request, formulate my answer, vocalize my answer, and STICK to that answer. Bring on the tantrums. I can take it.
Robert is making friends. He has real names for some of them. There's I-zee, Leh-luh, Lay-luh, Meh-moh, and Bah-bo (aka Isaac, Caleb, Kayla, Spencer, and Robert). Bah-bo only lives in mirrors, by the way. I can't tell if Robert knows it's his own reflection, or if he's just heard us refer to that kid in the mirror as "Robert." Heaven knows I never call Robert by his true name :) This morning at aerobics, Robert and I-zee were playing on the stage in the curtains. Then they got down and ran between the stage and the gym doors a few times. Robert liked the running, but I-zee lost interest and started wandering off. Robert waddled over, gave I-zee his "beckoning hand in the face" routine with lots of grunting and I-zee just cocked his head a little, suddenly smiled, and reached out to hold Robert's hand. Robert yanked his hand back, shook his head "Bo!", and put his beckoning hand right back in I-zee's face. I-zee didn't feel like figuring it out, so he turned around and walked away. Robert put his hand down, saw I-zee heading for the stage again and went toddling after him. Ah, the simplicity of toddler friendships. I am impressed that Robert did not hit I-zee in this exchange. Perhaps we are making progress on that front?
Alas, I have no recent pictures of the guy to post here. He turned 18 months yesterday. I'll take an abundance of photos this weekend to make up for it ;)
"mummy" = Mommy, bunny, tummy, yummy, mousie
"ruckgh" = truck
"ruckgh-uh"= tractor
"arackgh"= car (I think he's putting the "r" sound before the "k" sound)
"yeh-woh"= window, unknown thing
He's trying more words than ever. He's eating less than ever (I'm calling him "half-picky"). He's also sleeping nicely. That boy loves his blankie and pacifier. The other day, I put him "down" for a nap and he didn't make a peep for 4 hours. I'm pretty sure he was only sleeping during the middle two hours. The first hour and the last hour were "lie in bed with pacifier and pet the blankie" time. I did not complain, though I do often wonder about the upcoming pacifier famine of 2011.
Robert understands basic choices like "would you like to leave now or in two minutes", "water or milk", "walk or ride", but he's still completely clueless when it comes to "when X is done, then you can enjoy Y." I'm hoping it's just a developmental milestone on its way. We do get a good tantrum every other day, usually regarding that pesky "when X, then Y" thing. Tantrums are age-appropriate, though, and his don't seem to last very long. Whew ;)
He's persistent. When we wants to show me something, he gets right in my face and beckons me with his hand and voice, "mon, mon, mon," until I move my body. Words like, "Oh, I see" or "Yes, I'll be there in a minute" mean absolutely nothing to him. Nothing. He wants me to move my body towards him, even if it's just six inches, before he'll stop beckoning and finally show me his fantastic new skill. He also continues to ask and annoy with greater energy far longer than I can remember Alice ever attempting. His persistence pays off sometimes, too, which is why he's so good at it *d'oh*. So that's one of my parenting foci these days: assess the request, formulate my answer, vocalize my answer, and STICK to that answer. Bring on the tantrums. I can take it.
Robert is making friends. He has real names for some of them. There's I-zee, Leh-luh, Lay-luh, Meh-moh, and Bah-bo (aka Isaac, Caleb, Kayla, Spencer, and Robert). Bah-bo only lives in mirrors, by the way. I can't tell if Robert knows it's his own reflection, or if he's just heard us refer to that kid in the mirror as "Robert." Heaven knows I never call Robert by his true name :) This morning at aerobics, Robert and I-zee were playing on the stage in the curtains. Then they got down and ran between the stage and the gym doors a few times. Robert liked the running, but I-zee lost interest and started wandering off. Robert waddled over, gave I-zee his "beckoning hand in the face" routine with lots of grunting and I-zee just cocked his head a little, suddenly smiled, and reached out to hold Robert's hand. Robert yanked his hand back, shook his head "Bo!", and put his beckoning hand right back in I-zee's face. I-zee didn't feel like figuring it out, so he turned around and walked away. Robert put his hand down, saw I-zee heading for the stage again and went toddling after him. Ah, the simplicity of toddler friendships. I am impressed that Robert did not hit I-zee in this exchange. Perhaps we are making progress on that front?
Alas, I have no recent pictures of the guy to post here. He turned 18 months yesterday. I'll take an abundance of photos this weekend to make up for it ;)
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