We just started doing time outs with R.
So far they have only happened on two occasions after she'd started flinging food off her high chair during a meal. We've found that when we look at her sternly and say "No!" she thinks it's hilarious.
She doesn't think time outs are hilarious, though. We do them following the advice of our pediatrician, where we hold her in our laps facing the wall, don't look at her at all, and keep her there for about a minute.
So far I don't know how effective they are as a deterrent but we've only done 2 so far.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Words, words, and more words
R is at the point where she will repeat a word even after only hearing it once. We've been having tons of fun asking her to say names of different family members and she is learning what feels like hundreds of new words (and signs!) every day. I broke down and bought her Richard Scarry's Best Word Book Ever and we've had tons of fun talking through the pictures and pointing at things and saying what they are.
But.
The downside to this, of course, is that I can no longer say words that I don't want her to repeat. The other day I was getting her out of the car and trying to pick up a couple of bags and a blanket and my keys, all of which were hard to get while holding a squirmy R, and I said, "Crap, crap, crap" kind of under my breath. The next thing I know, she's saying, "Cap, cap!"
Oops.
She's also picking up words and pronunciations that J and I use around the house and aren't directly saying to her. For instance, I often call J from the other room-- Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaay-meeee. I'm not yelling, but I'm saying his name and stretching it out. Yesterday I was holding R and out of the blue she goes, "Jaaaaay-meee! Jaaaaaaaaaaay-meee!" exactly like I do when I'm calling for him.
She's also become very wily, using her words for all kinds of stalling purposes when she doesn't want to do something. For example, a month or so ago she suddenly decided that post-bath was the perfect time to have a snack, and she insists on it, so forcibly that it's not worth the struggle to try and put her to sleep without it, so just about every night we go downstairs and she has a few O's right before being laid down to bed. She now will say, "O's! O's! O's!" or "downstairs! downstairs! downstairs!" anytime she doesn't want to sleep. Or sometimes it's "diaper! diaper! diaper!" even if she doesn't need a diaper change or has just had one. Or "play! play! play!"
She's putting some phrases together but mostly it's still single words, or clusters of words-- like when she says potty, she almost always says poo-poo or pee-pee too, but not as a sentence. More like, "potty!" and then a little later, "poo-poo!" as if she's just remembered that word.
But.
The downside to this, of course, is that I can no longer say words that I don't want her to repeat. The other day I was getting her out of the car and trying to pick up a couple of bags and a blanket and my keys, all of which were hard to get while holding a squirmy R, and I said, "Crap, crap, crap" kind of under my breath. The next thing I know, she's saying, "Cap, cap!"
Oops.
She's also picking up words and pronunciations that J and I use around the house and aren't directly saying to her. For instance, I often call J from the other room-- Jaaaaaaaaaaaaaay-meeee. I'm not yelling, but I'm saying his name and stretching it out. Yesterday I was holding R and out of the blue she goes, "Jaaaaay-meee! Jaaaaaaaaaaay-meee!" exactly like I do when I'm calling for him.
She's also become very wily, using her words for all kinds of stalling purposes when she doesn't want to do something. For example, a month or so ago she suddenly decided that post-bath was the perfect time to have a snack, and she insists on it, so forcibly that it's not worth the struggle to try and put her to sleep without it, so just about every night we go downstairs and she has a few O's right before being laid down to bed. She now will say, "O's! O's! O's!" or "downstairs! downstairs! downstairs!" anytime she doesn't want to sleep. Or sometimes it's "diaper! diaper! diaper!" even if she doesn't need a diaper change or has just had one. Or "play! play! play!"
She's putting some phrases together but mostly it's still single words, or clusters of words-- like when she says potty, she almost always says poo-poo or pee-pee too, but not as a sentence. More like, "potty!" and then a little later, "poo-poo!" as if she's just remembered that word.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The best laid plans of mice and men
This weekend so far has been a little rough. R had her doctor's appointment on Wednesday and came down the next day with a cough. J and I weren't too worried until she threw up twice. Then I came down with the flu, which sucked a lot.
It was such a disappointment to get sick right now because it threw a wrench in our plans to travel up to visit Grammie and Grampie and get to see Little Frog, who, we hear, is about to start walking on her own!!! They grow up so fast! I can hardly believe that our gorgeous little baby niece is turning into a toddler already.
But the good news is that I'm definitely recovered and R, while still coughing, is generally happy and playful, so we think she's on the upswing as well, too.
It was such a disappointment to get sick right now because it threw a wrench in our plans to travel up to visit Grammie and Grampie and get to see Little Frog, who, we hear, is about to start walking on her own!!! They grow up so fast! I can hardly believe that our gorgeous little baby niece is turning into a toddler already.
But the good news is that I'm definitely recovered and R, while still coughing, is generally happy and playful, so we think she's on the upswing as well, too.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
50-25
For her last two doctor's appointments, R has been 50th percentile for height and 25th for weight. Yesterday she got her latest round of vaccinations and was 32" long and 23 lbs on the scale. She also got her last flu shot-- yay! She cried a lot but recovered quickly, thank goodness.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Hot
In this video, R is careful when feeding Linny, a stuffed guinea pig she got for Christmas from Grandma and Grandpa, to be sure the food isn't too hot for Linny to handle.
(be sure to note the new "purrfect" plate from Great-Aunt K and Rapunzel!)
(be sure to note the new "purrfect" plate from Great-Aunt K and Rapunzel!)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Favorite Holiday Photos: Delaware, Part 2
I just couldn't resist adding two more pictures.
First, Grammie and Grampie got R a plasma car for Christmas. These things are awesome. They require no pedaling or any motorized source. Simply by twisting the steering wheel, the car moves. They can hold people up to 200 lbs, so all of us can join in on the fun with R. J and I first discovered them in a teacher supply/toy store right around the corner from our house in Texas and had to buy one for our nephew G for his first Christmas. Grammie and Grampie tried them out at the store when they visited us and loved them, too, so they got one for R. Here she is trying it out for the first time. Unfortunately, our house doesn't have a lot of wide open flat floor space so the car's hard to use in the house, but we'll definitely find more places for her to use it come warmer weather!
I mentioned in my 19 month letter how much R likes wheeling around her babies in the new strollers she got for Christmas. I neglected to mention how much she also likes riding in them herself. They're really not designed for children to ride in them, so DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, and we don't let her do this when we are playing with her and the strollers. However, Grampie has a hard time saying no to R (after all, what are grandparents for, if not giving in to indulgences now and again?), and he gave her a few turns around the kitchen and dining room in the stroller. Despite the look on her face, she is loving this. When I tried to take her out of it she howled until we let her get back in for a few more minutes.
Maybe it would even be fair to say this was the Christmas of the stroller, because J and I got a jogging stroller that Grammie and Grampie found at a consignment store (thank you!!!) and R also loves that stroller. It's like her chariot-- she loves to be wheeled around in it.
First, Grammie and Grampie got R a plasma car for Christmas. These things are awesome. They require no pedaling or any motorized source. Simply by twisting the steering wheel, the car moves. They can hold people up to 200 lbs, so all of us can join in on the fun with R. J and I first discovered them in a teacher supply/toy store right around the corner from our house in Texas and had to buy one for our nephew G for his first Christmas. Grammie and Grampie tried them out at the store when they visited us and loved them, too, so they got one for R. Here she is trying it out for the first time. Unfortunately, our house doesn't have a lot of wide open flat floor space so the car's hard to use in the house, but we'll definitely find more places for her to use it come warmer weather!
I mentioned in my 19 month letter how much R likes wheeling around her babies in the new strollers she got for Christmas. I neglected to mention how much she also likes riding in them herself. They're really not designed for children to ride in them, so DON'T TRY THIS AT HOME, and we don't let her do this when we are playing with her and the strollers. However, Grampie has a hard time saying no to R (after all, what are grandparents for, if not giving in to indulgences now and again?), and he gave her a few turns around the kitchen and dining room in the stroller. Despite the look on her face, she is loving this. When I tried to take her out of it she howled until we let her get back in for a few more minutes.
Maybe it would even be fair to say this was the Christmas of the stroller, because J and I got a jogging stroller that Grammie and Grampie found at a consignment store (thank you!!!) and R also loves that stroller. It's like her chariot-- she loves to be wheeled around in it.
Monday, January 12, 2009
19 months
Dear R,
At 19 months, you are continuing to expand your vocabulary with new words and signs daily. One of our favorite books these days is one we've checked out from the library, Maisy's Amazing Big Book of Words. You love looking at all the pictures and learning words for them. You also love that the book has flaps on a lot of the pages that you can open and look underneath.
You babble and talk all the time around people you're familiar with but get shy around strangers-- you tend to watch them for a bit before warming up to them and then chattering as always. The other day when Great-Aunt K and Rapunzel visited, you fell in love with Great-Aunt K and spent a good bit of time working on your bead maze with Great-Aunt K while J, Rapunzel, and I visited a bit in the other room.
You got a new doll from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas, as well as two strollers--one from Grammie and Grampie and one from Grandma and Grandpa, both of which you use on a regular basis around and around our living room. You love to put your dolls in and out of the stroller and wheel them everywhere.
You've started getting very interested in the toilet and diaper changes. You ask us to give you new diapers all the time-- just about anytime you lay flat on your back you say, "diaper, diaper" and then when we say, "do you need a new diaper, R?" you look very serious as you nod your head up and down. When you're poopy, you walk up to us and say "Poop" while pointing to your butt. It's kind of nice to have you announcing it to us instead of having to figure it out with our noses.
You frequently lay your dolls on their backs on the floor and say "diaper, diaper, diaper" over and over again very insistently. I use whatever cloth may be laying around-- sometimes laundry that's being folded, other times cloth wipes or napkins-- to make a makeshift diaper for your dolls. You then take whatever "diaper" I've made on and off repeatedly.
You got a new potty and have been practicing sitting on it, even though you're not very excited about it yet. We've been focusing on telling you what it is and having you learn to sit on it and relax. You always pee before your bath, and that's when we've been trying to teach you how to pee while sitting on the potty. Thus far you've preferred to pee directly on the bathroom floor, though or right after you get in the bath.
We're looking forward to discovering more new words and having more adventures in potty training in the months ahead!
Love,
Mama
At 19 months, you are continuing to expand your vocabulary with new words and signs daily. One of our favorite books these days is one we've checked out from the library, Maisy's Amazing Big Book of Words. You love looking at all the pictures and learning words for them. You also love that the book has flaps on a lot of the pages that you can open and look underneath.
You babble and talk all the time around people you're familiar with but get shy around strangers-- you tend to watch them for a bit before warming up to them and then chattering as always. The other day when Great-Aunt K and Rapunzel visited, you fell in love with Great-Aunt K and spent a good bit of time working on your bead maze with Great-Aunt K while J, Rapunzel, and I visited a bit in the other room.
You got a new doll from Grandma and Grandpa for Christmas, as well as two strollers--one from Grammie and Grampie and one from Grandma and Grandpa, both of which you use on a regular basis around and around our living room. You love to put your dolls in and out of the stroller and wheel them everywhere.
You've started getting very interested in the toilet and diaper changes. You ask us to give you new diapers all the time-- just about anytime you lay flat on your back you say, "diaper, diaper" and then when we say, "do you need a new diaper, R?" you look very serious as you nod your head up and down. When you're poopy, you walk up to us and say "Poop" while pointing to your butt. It's kind of nice to have you announcing it to us instead of having to figure it out with our noses.
You frequently lay your dolls on their backs on the floor and say "diaper, diaper, diaper" over and over again very insistently. I use whatever cloth may be laying around-- sometimes laundry that's being folded, other times cloth wipes or napkins-- to make a makeshift diaper for your dolls. You then take whatever "diaper" I've made on and off repeatedly.
You got a new potty and have been practicing sitting on it, even though you're not very excited about it yet. We've been focusing on telling you what it is and having you learn to sit on it and relax. You always pee before your bath, and that's when we've been trying to teach you how to pee while sitting on the potty. Thus far you've preferred to pee directly on the bathroom floor, though or right after you get in the bath.
We're looking forward to discovering more new words and having more adventures in potty training in the months ahead!
Love,
Mama
Favorite Holiday Photos: Delaware (Finally!)
At long last, here are my favorite gems from Grammie and Grampie's visit to Delaware and our first Christmas at home with family besides just the two of us there! (Yes, last year, R was with us, but J and I opened gifts by ourselves while she was sleeping, so it wasn't quite the same).
R loves having Grammie and Grampie read to her. The book they're looking at in this picture was one of her favorites this year-- it's a Christmas in Connecticut book that J's great-uncle gave me the first time I went to Connecticut for Christmas with his family. It has lots of pictures of snow, various holiday celebrations around Connecticut, wreaths on doors, and festively decorated homes. She especially enjoyed saying "Tee! Tee!" every time there was a pine tree or a Christmas tree in a picture.
On Christmas morning, she got up and saw all of her presents. She really wasn't quite sure what to do with them all at first, but she seemed to really enjoy her chair. Here she is looking at her new stroller all wrapped up-- it was the first thing she unwrapped, and as you can see in the next picture, she immediately wanted to play with it!
I just love those antlers!
This is just after she's pulled everything out of her stocking-- other than the house and the chair, everything we gave R fit into her stocking. She got the hang of the click-clackers right away, although she's not particularly rhythmic with them yet.
When I found out Grammie and Grampie were going to come, I baked a few additional kinds of cookies-- sugar, peanut blossoms (with squares of vegan chocolate substituted for the Hershey's kisses), and applesauce bread. Grammie brought these delicious vegan bars-- a layer of graham cracker with other assorted grains (oatmeal, stuff like that) topped with a layer of melted chocolate, with a peanut butter drizzle on top. J loved them. And then a few traditions from J's side of the family: clementines and mixed nuts in a bowl.
Grammie and Grampie with their favorite gifts: M&Ms and a magazine about various opportunities for making money. J's dad got a real kick out of reading this magazine while visiting us.
R loves having Grammie and Grampie read to her. The book they're looking at in this picture was one of her favorites this year-- it's a Christmas in Connecticut book that J's great-uncle gave me the first time I went to Connecticut for Christmas with his family. It has lots of pictures of snow, various holiday celebrations around Connecticut, wreaths on doors, and festively decorated homes. She especially enjoyed saying "Tee! Tee!" every time there was a pine tree or a Christmas tree in a picture.
On Christmas morning, she got up and saw all of her presents. She really wasn't quite sure what to do with them all at first, but she seemed to really enjoy her chair. Here she is looking at her new stroller all wrapped up-- it was the first thing she unwrapped, and as you can see in the next picture, she immediately wanted to play with it!
I just love those antlers!
This is just after she's pulled everything out of her stocking-- other than the house and the chair, everything we gave R fit into her stocking. She got the hang of the click-clackers right away, although she's not particularly rhythmic with them yet.
When I found out Grammie and Grampie were going to come, I baked a few additional kinds of cookies-- sugar, peanut blossoms (with squares of vegan chocolate substituted for the Hershey's kisses), and applesauce bread. Grammie brought these delicious vegan bars-- a layer of graham cracker with other assorted grains (oatmeal, stuff like that) topped with a layer of melted chocolate, with a peanut butter drizzle on top. J loved them. And then a few traditions from J's side of the family: clementines and mixed nuts in a bowl.
Grammie and Grampie with their favorite gifts: M&Ms and a magazine about various opportunities for making money. J's dad got a real kick out of reading this magazine while visiting us.
Favorite Holiday Photos: Ohio (Part 2)
Here are more of my favorite holiday photos--this time taken from Surf & Cali's camera.
I love this shot of me and Li'l Tyke. Reminds you of how little they are--and how quickly they aren't so little anymore!
My family has a weakness for smokies from the market--and it looks like Li'l Tyke has caught the bug, too!
It wasn't always easy to get both cousins together-- R would sometimes get very angry if J or I was holding Li'l Tyke (even if the other one was holding her!), but other times, all she would do is demand to be held too. Here are some photos of a few times that happened. Isn't the cuteness just unbearable?
I think R liked her presents, don't you?
I love this shot of me and Li'l Tyke. Reminds you of how little they are--and how quickly they aren't so little anymore!
My family has a weakness for smokies from the market--and it looks like Li'l Tyke has caught the bug, too!
It wasn't always easy to get both cousins together-- R would sometimes get very angry if J or I was holding Li'l Tyke (even if the other one was holding her!), but other times, all she would do is demand to be held too. Here are some photos of a few times that happened. Isn't the cuteness just unbearable?
I think R liked her presents, don't you?
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Hush Little Baby
Two books we've been reading--and loving-- recently.
Hush, Little Baby by Brian Pinkney.
The first day we checked this book out from the library, R had me read this book to her 10 or 15 times in a row (I genuinely lost track.) Every time we got to the last page, she would sign and say "more, more, more" until I started reading again from the beginning. The pictures are wonderful-- lively, vibrant, and lots of fun to look at.
She also loves a different Hush Little Baby book-- this one written by Sylvia Long.
It's a board book Grandma and Grandpa gave her shortly after she was born, and J and I have sung this version of the song to her hundreds and hundreds of times before putting her to bed. She often pulls this book off of the shelf in her bedroom and requests it as her before-bed story. This version has mama showing her little baby different things around their house and backyard--appreciating the evening sky, a falling star, the crickets' song, worn teddy bear, and warm quilt, among others. The pictures are so sweet, and R loves to point out the hummingbird and lightning bug when they appear in the book.
Hush, Little Baby by Brian Pinkney.
The first day we checked this book out from the library, R had me read this book to her 10 or 15 times in a row (I genuinely lost track.) Every time we got to the last page, she would sign and say "more, more, more" until I started reading again from the beginning. The pictures are wonderful-- lively, vibrant, and lots of fun to look at.She also loves a different Hush Little Baby book-- this one written by Sylvia Long.
It's a board book Grandma and Grandpa gave her shortly after she was born, and J and I have sung this version of the song to her hundreds and hundreds of times before putting her to bed. She often pulls this book off of the shelf in her bedroom and requests it as her before-bed story. This version has mama showing her little baby different things around their house and backyard--appreciating the evening sky, a falling star, the crickets' song, worn teddy bear, and warm quilt, among others. The pictures are so sweet, and R loves to point out the hummingbird and lightning bug when they appear in the book.
Ow, Ouw, Ouch, Ooch!
Grammie and Grampie gave R a "Muppets" CD for Christmas. It's got a lot of the classic songs that Kermit et al have sung. But it also has a number of cute, strange, and random bits from the show and movies. One such song has only one word for lyrics: "Ow." When R hears this song come on, she joins in the singing: "Ow, ow, ow, ow. Ow, ow, ow. . . OW." The other night at dinner she spontaneously broke into song. The video doesn't capture the best moments of her singing, but you get the idea. It's hard to make out because she also has a mouthful of grape.
(For the curious, on the CD the track is called "The Amazing Marvin Suggs and His Muppaphone Play 'Lady of Spain'.")
Forks
R's gotten very interested in eating utensils lately. She sometimes insists on having her own spoon in the morning while eating cereal. Unfortunately, because we always feed her hot cereal-- either Cream of Wheat or oatmeal-- we can't let her try eating it on her own. But sometimes I give her her own spoon and we trade off-- her giving me her empty spoon in exchange for the one loaded with cooled-down cereal that I hand her to feed herself.
In this video she's eating grapes with a fork. She tries to eat lots of things with her fork, not always successfully. But she's definitely got the hang of grapes and forks. This is great fun for her--and even more fun now that her Great Aunt K and Rapunzel gave her her own set of pink "purrfect" dishes (plate, bowl, cup, spoon, and fork) to use. I'm sure they will be appearing in mealtime pictures very soon!
In this video she's eating grapes with a fork. She tries to eat lots of things with her fork, not always successfully. But she's definitely got the hang of grapes and forks. This is great fun for her--and even more fun now that her Great Aunt K and Rapunzel gave her her own set of pink "purrfect" dishes (plate, bowl, cup, spoon, and fork) to use. I'm sure they will be appearing in mealtime pictures very soon!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Buh-bulls
R loves bubbles.
She loves them in the bath.
She loves them when she washes her hands and sees bubbles in the sink.
She loves them when there are bubbles in a drink-- like soda or just water that has a bubble in it.
And, on the suggestion of my friend M, we bought R bubbles for her Christmas stocking. She loves them. She points to the container and says "buh-bull, buh-bull" whenever she notices it.
I haven't actually looked up the correct sign for bubbles yet, but R signs it like she is washing her hands, for what is probably an obvious reason. I should look up the correct sign, but so far we haven't had a lot of luck correcting some of her incorrect signs.
She loves them in the bath.
She loves them when she washes her hands and sees bubbles in the sink.
She loves them when there are bubbles in a drink-- like soda or just water that has a bubble in it.
And, on the suggestion of my friend M, we bought R bubbles for her Christmas stocking. She loves them. She points to the container and says "buh-bull, buh-bull" whenever she notices it.
I haven't actually looked up the correct sign for bubbles yet, but R signs it like she is washing her hands, for what is probably an obvious reason. I should look up the correct sign, but so far we haven't had a lot of luck correcting some of her incorrect signs.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Favorite Holiday Photos: Delaware
coming soon! have to switch computers and it's getting awfully late tonight. Look for updates!
Favorite Holiday Photos: Ohio
In no particular order, here are some favorite family pictures from our Ohio trip.
My mom, Cali, Li'l Tyke, R, and my dad--just a nice picture of them all.
I absolutely love this picture of Surf and my father making Li'l Tyke laugh. The entire time we were there, we kept trying to come up with things that would get him to just laugh and laugh. What usually worked was finding some phrase that you could say repeatedly, and loudly, right to his face. "Merry Christmas!" worked very well, as did "Yes, sir!" and "There you are!" and "Calm down!" among others.
In this picture, R is "smiling". She squints her eyes shut like this when she's trying to really smile. (Kind of like our other nephew G used to smile with what I sometimes call the "Beast" smile.)
This next picture was taken the night Surf and Cali arrived. Surf was checking out my parents' tree and laughing at all the old ornaments. A lot of them are actually ornaments we kids made at school. The one he's holding has a picture of Geg on it in these too-short blue sweatpants and a teenage mutant ninja turtles long-sleeve t-shirt, on a paper cup covered in tin foil and hung with a pipe cleaner. Remember those elementary school arts and crafts? My parents still have them and hang them on their tree every year, when most parents probably threw those things out the minute they came home from school. Note, too, the angel at the top of the tree. She is wearing a knitted hat that used to be a christmas ornament in the colors of a high school my dad used to coach at. It got put on the angel's head when the last strands of her hair finally fell off.
Ok, in terms of picture quality this one isn't the best, but I love that my dad looks like he is really talking on a plastic green phone.
AND MORE TO COME...
My mom, Cali, Li'l Tyke, R, and my dad--just a nice picture of them all.
I absolutely love this picture of Surf and my father making Li'l Tyke laugh. The entire time we were there, we kept trying to come up with things that would get him to just laugh and laugh. What usually worked was finding some phrase that you could say repeatedly, and loudly, right to his face. "Merry Christmas!" worked very well, as did "Yes, sir!" and "There you are!" and "Calm down!" among others.
In this picture, R is "smiling". She squints her eyes shut like this when she's trying to really smile. (Kind of like our other nephew G used to smile with what I sometimes call the "Beast" smile.)
This next picture was taken the night Surf and Cali arrived. Surf was checking out my parents' tree and laughing at all the old ornaments. A lot of them are actually ornaments we kids made at school. The one he's holding has a picture of Geg on it in these too-short blue sweatpants and a teenage mutant ninja turtles long-sleeve t-shirt, on a paper cup covered in tin foil and hung with a pipe cleaner. Remember those elementary school arts and crafts? My parents still have them and hang them on their tree every year, when most parents probably threw those things out the minute they came home from school. Note, too, the angel at the top of the tree. She is wearing a knitted hat that used to be a christmas ornament in the colors of a high school my dad used to coach at. It got put on the angel's head when the last strands of her hair finally fell off.
Ok, in terms of picture quality this one isn't the best, but I love that my dad looks like he is really talking on a plastic green phone.
AND MORE TO COME...
Li'l Tyke's Baptism
On Dec. 28, our sweet nephew, Li'l Tyke, got baptized at my parents' church in Ohio. J and I were the proud godparents. It was a beautiful ceremony and Li'l Tyke was perfect--he was awake and happy during the ceremony and promptly fell asleep in his grandmother's arms for the rest of the service and pictures afterwards.
What was also really special was that a lot of Cali's family--she has Ohio roots too, despite having never actually lived there--were able to come, as well as my aunt and uncle and cousin. It was really nice to see Cali's family, most of whom we hadn't seen since Surf and Cali got married in 2005.
We also had a great time catching up with my aunt and uncle and cousin-- we laughed a lot about WiiFit and got to hear some pretty amazing stories about my other cousin's experiences in South America with the Peace Corps.
Classic Family Pictures
With a family as large as mine growing up, it was generally impossible to get a photo where everyone was smiling, and invariably, someone made a funny face, wasn't looking, or got caught blinking. We got more than our share of those "classic family pictures" in Ohio.
Here are my two favorites:
Here are my two favorites:
Bye-Oh
My mom says that my grandmother used to sing this song to her kids when they were small, and that she sang it to us when we were little: "Bye-oh, bye-oh, bye-oh . . . bye-oh, bye-oh, bye-oh" (and on and on).
She sang it to R a bunch of times over Christmas.
R now sings it to herself to sleep. J can hear her over the monitor talking/singing "bye-oh, bye-oh, bye-oh" and when I hold her just before laying her down to sleep, she often starts singing it.
It is the cutest thing ever.
She sang it to R a bunch of times over Christmas.
R now sings it to herself to sleep. J can hear her over the monitor talking/singing "bye-oh, bye-oh, bye-oh" and when I hold her just before laying her down to sleep, she often starts singing it.
It is the cutest thing ever.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
A Tale of Two Sutherbaum Christmases
The three of us got to celebrate Christmas twice this year-- first on the 21st with J's parents, who came down to our house to open gifts and watch R enjoy her new doll house for the first time, and then on the actual holiday with my parents in Ohio.
The best gift of all, of course, was all the time we got to spend with our families. It was amazing to get to share with Grammie and Grampie all of the things R is doing right now, and to watch her enjoy spending time with them-- reading books, playing games, horsing around on the floor. And we felt really blessed to be able to get away and have a nice 10-day visit with the Ohio family, including our new nephew Li'l Tyke, and to watch R interacting with her aunt Cali and uncles Surf and Geg. I've already mentioned on here how well she got on with Geg, but she really ate up all the attention she got from everyone, especially from Grandma and Grandpa, who nearly spoiled her rotten during the time we were there. (But of course, what else are grandparents for?)
And now for some photos. First, here's the promised updated stocking picture, with Grammie and Grampie's names on the stockings, and a new snowman decorating the "boring" stocking. Then a photo of R seeing her presents for the first time and of all of us enjoying breakfast and opening presents at the dining room table.
And then here are a few photos from the holiday at my parents' house. The gifts and boxes were out of control! We had so much fun opening presents and drinking Christmas Tea Punch and eating all the absolutely amazing food that my mother cooks. The first photo is from Christmas Eve, during our sibling/cousin gift exchange, and then the others are from Christmas morning, when we opened gifts from Santa and my parents.
Cousins!
The best gift of all, of course, was all the time we got to spend with our families. It was amazing to get to share with Grammie and Grampie all of the things R is doing right now, and to watch her enjoy spending time with them-- reading books, playing games, horsing around on the floor. And we felt really blessed to be able to get away and have a nice 10-day visit with the Ohio family, including our new nephew Li'l Tyke, and to watch R interacting with her aunt Cali and uncles Surf and Geg. I've already mentioned on here how well she got on with Geg, but she really ate up all the attention she got from everyone, especially from Grandma and Grandpa, who nearly spoiled her rotten during the time we were there. (But of course, what else are grandparents for?)
And now for some photos. First, here's the promised updated stocking picture, with Grammie and Grampie's names on the stockings, and a new snowman decorating the "boring" stocking. Then a photo of R seeing her presents for the first time and of all of us enjoying breakfast and opening presents at the dining room table.
And then here are a few photos from the holiday at my parents' house. The gifts and boxes were out of control! We had so much fun opening presents and drinking Christmas Tea Punch and eating all the absolutely amazing food that my mother cooks. The first photo is from Christmas Eve, during our sibling/cousin gift exchange, and then the others are from Christmas morning, when we opened gifts from Santa and my parents.
Cousins!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Old Home Videos
I've got a huge backlog of things to post, so be prepared for a whole slew of Christmas photos and posts once I get my pictures up online.
But first, I wanted to write about some old home videos we watched. My grandmother made a wonderful gift of putting old tapes that one of my aunts took at several different family get togethers on a couple of DVDs for us, and during our visit to my parents' for the Christmas holiday, we watched them together.
They were hilarious!
Some highlights:
During a Christmas get together at my aunt and uncle's house, you see my mother sitting on a couch when all of a sudden there's a bunch of thumping from upstairs. She yells upstairs, "LOCAAAAAL HEROOOOO! NO JUMPING!" After she yells, she looks back around the room at the other guests then starts and looks up again and says, "Oh, nice ceiling."
At this same family gathering, the cousins are all opening presents. My mother is wandering around helping clean up wrapping paper and asking us kids what we got. She comes to me and picks up a pink sweatshirt and holds it up to me and says, "Oh, who did you get this from?" I look straight at her and yell my cousins' names in her face.
Local Hero was kind of the star of the videos. While A spent a lot of time running up to the camera and making faces, it was Local Hero who was always doing something that would just CRACK US UP.
The two funniest moments were captured during video of a summer get together at my parents' old house. Local Hero was probably 4 or 5 at the time.
In the first episode, the camera walks into the play room, where a bunch of the cousins are hanging out and playing with all the toys. Local Hero is stuffing a plastic hot dog in my youngest cousin's face (he's probably 2) and then grinning to the camera and saying, "He likes it! He likes it!" It is freaking hysterical.
In the other moment-- remember, Local Hero is only like 4 at the time-- an older cousin is playing basketball with my brother A. This cousin is about a year older than Local Hero, and a year or so younger than A. Local Hero just jumps in the fray, shouting, "You're a terrible basketball player, Cousin! That was a horrible shot! You're terrible!" And then A gets the ball and Local Hero almost tackles him trying to steal it from him.
We about died laughing watching these videos, and all week we kept quoting or repeating these scenes. So hilarious. If I can figure out how to get clips from a DVD onto this blog, I'll see if I can't add actual video.
But first, I wanted to write about some old home videos we watched. My grandmother made a wonderful gift of putting old tapes that one of my aunts took at several different family get togethers on a couple of DVDs for us, and during our visit to my parents' for the Christmas holiday, we watched them together.
They were hilarious!
Some highlights:
During a Christmas get together at my aunt and uncle's house, you see my mother sitting on a couch when all of a sudden there's a bunch of thumping from upstairs. She yells upstairs, "LOCAAAAAL HEROOOOO! NO JUMPING!" After she yells, she looks back around the room at the other guests then starts and looks up again and says, "Oh, nice ceiling."
At this same family gathering, the cousins are all opening presents. My mother is wandering around helping clean up wrapping paper and asking us kids what we got. She comes to me and picks up a pink sweatshirt and holds it up to me and says, "Oh, who did you get this from?" I look straight at her and yell my cousins' names in her face.
Local Hero was kind of the star of the videos. While A spent a lot of time running up to the camera and making faces, it was Local Hero who was always doing something that would just CRACK US UP.
The two funniest moments were captured during video of a summer get together at my parents' old house. Local Hero was probably 4 or 5 at the time.
In the first episode, the camera walks into the play room, where a bunch of the cousins are hanging out and playing with all the toys. Local Hero is stuffing a plastic hot dog in my youngest cousin's face (he's probably 2) and then grinning to the camera and saying, "He likes it! He likes it!" It is freaking hysterical.
In the other moment-- remember, Local Hero is only like 4 at the time-- an older cousin is playing basketball with my brother A. This cousin is about a year older than Local Hero, and a year or so younger than A. Local Hero just jumps in the fray, shouting, "You're a terrible basketball player, Cousin! That was a horrible shot! You're terrible!" And then A gets the ball and Local Hero almost tackles him trying to steal it from him.
We about died laughing watching these videos, and all week we kept quoting or repeating these scenes. So hilarious. If I can figure out how to get clips from a DVD onto this blog, I'll see if I can't add actual video.
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