By the Numbers

R has started to grasp the concept of using numbers to indicate how much she likes, wants, or needs something. Some recent ones:

(In the car on the way home from day care): "I'm so hungry! I'm FIFTEEN HUNGRY!"

(At night, before bed): "Mommy, I love Daddy FIFTEEN!"

J has tried to beat her at this game by mentioning infinity but I'm not sure she grasps that quite yet.

Matzo Ball Soup: A Video Thank-You

So, my awesome friend D made me some matzo ball soup. I was super-excited to share this with R, because we have a book called Matzah Ball Soup that she really enjoys, because it's all about a girl named R who makes matzo ball soup with her grandmother and learns about her family's Passover traditions.

Without further ado, here's R enjoying the soup and sending huge thanks to D!

RUS Feeds Himself

This is nothing new, actually--RUS has been great at using utensils to feed himself for ages. But for some reason I felt like showing him off a little and took this video yesterday at dinner. He's SO GOOD at self-feeding!!



ADDED: In the comments, someone asked about whether RUS was left-handed. The answer is that we don't know yet, and I thought in the spirit of even-handedness I'd put a video up of him eating with his right hand.

Princess Pictures for Grandma!

Lately R runs away from the camera if we try to take pictures. She makes a huge frown and yells, "NO PICTURES!!" and turns her head to avoid being in the picture. But today she looked so cute, and I even did her hair in two french braids, and I really really really wanted to take pictures. So I told her Grandma really wanted us to send her some pictures of her in her princess dress (really, her Christmas dress, but who cares, we'll get as much use out of it as we can!) and could we get some pictures for Grandma??

She finally agreed, especially when I suggested taking the pictures outside. The weather has been warming up and it's been so so so pleasant. It was a little chilly (the kids probably should've had jackets on in these pics, but it wasn't so cold that I felt really bad about it or anything, plus we were only outside for maybe 5-10 minutes before we had to go inside and put coats on and get ready to go to day care).

Crunchy Flakes, Crunchy Flakes

My brothers may remember the title of this post as one of the songs we had to learn how to play out of the John W. Schaum Red Piano Book. But it also accurately refers to RUS's hair on a regular basis. The kid loves--I mean loves--to put food in his hair. Just about every meal ends when he starts taking his food and smearing and smushing it in his hair. Or pouring the last dredges of whatever was in his cup on his head. Or doing the classic baby pose with his bowl sitting upended on his head.

I can't decide if I'd rather have a kid who throws food off the high chair (like R used to do) or smears it in their hair (like RUS).

What do you think?

A Day With RUS

Yesterday while having her mid-morning snack, R announced that she wanted to call her Grammie and Grampie, so I said okay. We called, and she told them she wanted Grampie to come pick her up. They were doing work out in the yard, so we got her decked out in outdoor clothes and boots and she went over and helped Grampie build a sandbox and move around dirt in his garden.

RUS stayed at home with me--he hadn't yet had a nap, and I wanted to be sure he got a good one in. (J was at an all-day work event so he wasn't home). Because the day was downright balmy and just such a nice day for being outside, RUS and I walked down to the park. He is still unsure about walking on grass (he will stand there and fuss until I come hold his hand!) but he is a pro at walking on the sidewalk. We had a great time at the park--he loves climbing the play structure and going down the slide--and then came home and got lunch, nap, and otherwise just really had a good time together.

It was great to spend a day with him! Most of the time having two kids is great because the kids play together and they are just so cute, BUT I do feel as if I often don't have the chance to really focus on RUS the way I did on R when she was this same age.

Things he did yesterday that blew me away:

1) When helping R on the potty, I try to come up with things to keep him busy so he doesn't come in the bathroom and get his hands all over everything. I told him "Go get Old MacDonald!", referring to a tiny book that is part of a set of 5 books that look identical except they're all different titles ("This Little Piggy," "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star," etc.). I should also mention that the area in front of our living room bookshelf is continually strewn with books because RUS pulls them out and looks at them right there. So this book was buried in the mess somewhere, not right on top. He comes back within a minute (so much for "keeping him busy!") with the exact book, plus Bambi.

2) He is fearless on the park climber! I mean not daredevil fearless, but he is clearly working out how to use the climber, how to get around on it, and is really intent on figuring it out. This is in contrast to R who was much more careful and often uninterested in trying something new until she had watched someone else--another child, usually--doing it repeatedly.

3) He has learned to push chairs around to climb onto previously inaccessible areas, like our kitchen countertops and the back of the couch. We really have to keep our eyes on him at all times!

4) His two favorite books right now are Llama Llama Red Pajama, and Mama, Where Are You? He walks around saying "mama, mama, mama" asking for one of those two books, usually Mama, Where Are You?, and will read it over and over and over again. I tried hiding it the other night because I'd already read it 5 times in a row but he wasn't having any of it.

5) He is great at nodding his head yes or shaking his head no, and it is so cute. He is very clear about what he wants and does not want.

6) At one point I was folding laundry and about to take a pile of washcloths to the linen closet. As I was getting up, I said to RUS, "We're going to go have a snack but first I'm going to put these washcloths in the closet." He immediately--before I could even pick up the pile of washcloths--ran to the linen closet and began pounding on it. It's amazing to me what he picks up on and seems aware of.

7) Here's a video of the face he makes when "blowing" on his cereal or any other food that's too warm to eat right away. (This was the sixth or seventh video and he was getting a little frustrated with us, hence the crying, but you get a good shot of it right at the beginning. It's the funniest face!)

A House for a Penguin

Reading Books

J loves to read R long books at night before bed. He's read her The Hobbit three times and Alice in Wonderland at least once. I started Charlotte's Web with her, but she really prefers J reading to her for the most part. We've also started Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but she hasn't seemed to enjoy that as much as she's gotten into The Hobbit and Alice in Wonderland.

This morning, I asked her if she liked The Hobbit--I knew she did, but it had been awhile since they last finished it and I was curious what she would say. Here was her response:

"I LOVE IT!!!!! But the dragon is scary! YIKES!"

R-isms from today

(While getting dressed this morning) "Mommy, you're dragging me crazy!"

(Upon finding out J had cooked beans and rice for dinner) "Nooooooooooooo! I only like four things! Spaghetti! Macaroni and cheese! Pizza! and Candy!"

(After playing with RUS and bumping her finger). "Daddy, I hurt my finger. It's bleeding!"

J: "Okay, show me the blood."

R: "It's the red stuff" (Looks at finger). "It's bleeding on the inside!"

More Dinner Conversations with R

At dinner last night, I was making the last 3 soy nuggets for the kids. I was telling R that I would have to split one in half for RUS to see if he liked it. I told R she could have 2 and RUS could have a half. Then R pipes up with "We can both have three halfs."

My jaw dropped a bit. Of course I'd been working on some basic addition and subtraction with R, but we'd never talked about fractions or division or anything like it. I thought to myself, maybe she's just thinking through how she would split each of them up and solving the problem mentally without the nuggets themselves. It's not a hard problem, per se, but not one I would expect a 3 year old to just know how to do so quickly. Finally, my brain and mouth worked together and I asked her, "How did you know that?"

She looked up and shrugged, saying, "I guessed."

Dinner Conversation with R

R: Mommy, can I have some berry applesauce?

S: Sure, but only after you eat your dinner.

R: Noooooooooo! I want berry applesauce NOW! (cries dramatically).

S: R, you have to eat your peas and macaroni because they have important things in them that will help you grow strong. They have lots of vitamins and minerals.

R: Applesauce has Vitamin C.

S: (surprised) Yes, yes it does! How did you know that?

R: Pocha told me.

S: Pocha told you?

R: Yes.

S: How did Pocha know?

R: Just a guess.

Trader Joe's Hijinks

Oh dear. Trying to go shopping with kids is always an adventure, for me anyway. Yesterday I planned an outing because I needed to pick up office supplies, home goods (such necessities of life as toilet paper and light bulbs), and a bunch of groceries to last us hopefully a couple of weeks. I planned to go a little further away to Trader Joe's because there's a good number of frozen items we get there that help with quick, almost instant meals that require no actual cooking. R was napping, so I took RUS with me thinking I'd be back around dinner time and J would get a decent window to get some work done at home.

Made it to Office Depot and thank goodness there was a Happy Harry's (Walgreens for those who don't live in this area) right next to Office Depot, so I snagged everything I needed aside from the groceries and was feeling like a rock star. RUS was being an angel, smiling and laughing at everything and waving at all the strangers in the store.

Then we went to Trader Joe's. I am always a little nervous before I get to Trader Joe's because ours is frequently super-busy and crowded. It really wasn't too bad this time at all! I got in, got everything I needed (and a few things I probably didn't really need, too) and checked out. I was super-impressed: I'd done all of this in record time and RUS was still happy as a clam enchanting everyone with his adorableness. Then I was loading up the car, putting the groceries in the trunk. . . and

I LOCKED THE KEYS IN THE TRUNK.

The whole car was locked up so I couldn't just hit the trunk release and open the trunk.

Thank goodness for awesome Trader Joe's employees who called AAA, and when AAA couldn't do it (the guy was 75 miles away and it was going to cost $200), he called a local locksmith who came and busted into my car for me for $65. I just had to hang around Trader Joe's for about 2 hours, which you know, there could be worse things. They gave me a bottle of water while I waited (a HUGE one, so awesome) and I fed RUS dinner from their sample station (he had about five sample helpings of Eggplant Parmesan Towers, which are actually pretty good). Once the car was open, I was able to ply him with animal crackers, and he conked out before we made it all the way home.

All's well that ends well, but I'm telling you, it takes serious concentration to (a) unload groceries; (b) keep track of your keys; (c) entertain your 16-month-old; and (d) prevent your cart from moving anywhere. In the past I've loaded RUS up in the car before unloading the groceries, and that is honestly probably the smart thing to do except when the cart won't stay put and starts to roll away from the car while you're putting the baby in the car. But if I had unlocked the car itself before putting groceries in the trunk, I wouldn't have spent $65 I didn't need to spend yesterday. Sigh!

R wrote a book!

Princess Hair Party!

R loves princesses. I may or may not have mentioned that already. Anyway, one of the coolest princess things she has is a bag full of princess hair accessories that she got at our Christmas party as a belated birthday present from one of her friends. But guess who loves it the most?

Yep, RUS! When we were visiting Little Frog, RUS actually gravitated right for Little Frog's Princess Ariel vanity and started playing with the brush and other hair accessories. He especially loves the hair dryer, which actually takes batteries and has a fan that blows air. He sits there and brushes his hair while holding the hair dryer in front of his face. Makes me laugh every single time.

R Draws Her Cousins

R drew herself with her cousins the other day. Here she is with G. R is on the left, G is on the right.

  

Here she is with Little Frog. R is on the right this time, in pigtails, as she always likes to point out when showing people this picture.

RUS 16 Months

Dear RUS,

You are the most delightful little 16-month-old! We are having so much fun communicating with you: your sign language vocabulary continues to grow at a decidedly faster rate than your spoken vocabulary, but you have started saying quite a few words lately. New ones just this week include "Daiyah" and "Rhodah" -- Daiyah is a girl who used to be in your daycare class but graduated to the Toddler room around Christmas time, and Rhodah is your teacher, who you absolutely adore.

You are pretty decided on what you like to eat, and you nod your head yes or no when we put food on your high chair tray. Thankfully you're not too picky--yet!--and I think you get a fairly balanced set of meals. You walk EVERYWHERE and new developments are that you know how to open doors (NOOOOOO!) and climb on top of a lot of things you shouldn't be climbing on top of.

Your favorite thing in the whole world is reading books. I love it. I absolutely love it. It's so funny because you already know which books you want to read and which ones you don't. If I pick up a book you either nod yes or shake your head no, and if I try to read a book and you've shaken your head, you will swat it out of my hands until I find a book that you nod yes to. Your favorites seem to rotate but you've been really in love with: Five Little Monkeys; any and all of your touch-and-feel books; a pair of lift-the-flap 123 and opposite books that R received for her first birthday, I can't even describe your love for these two books; Jamberry (you love to shake your head and raise your hands when the canoe tips over and all the blueberries fall out!); Goodnight Moon, and Baby Cakes. But your absolute ultimate favorite? Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. That's the one that if anyone asked me, I could recite the entire book word-for-word.

Daddy taught you to do the wheels on the bus, and when we sing B-I-N-G-O you love to clap along. Drums are your favorite instrument, and we have to dig up R's toy drum she got from Uncle A and Aunt M for her first Christmas for you to start playing with.

You are still my little cuddlebug, and you are always walking around holding a stuffed animal on your shoulder cuddling with it. You love to have us hold you and cuddle and you take little "cuddle breaks" throughout the day to just curl up close to something or somebody and suck your thumb for a minute or two.

I love you, my sweet sweet boy,

Love,
Mama

I'm "Sick"!

So R woke up Thursday and voluntarily decided to lay down on the couch. J found her there when he got up, which is pretty unusual because typically she knocks on our bedroom door and wants us to get up with her to make breakfast. He notices she is there and calls out, "Good morning, R! C'mon, let's have some breakfast!" She doesn't move and instead says that she wants to lay there and watch a movie.

He let her watch some "Princess and the Frog." Then, a little later while I was helping her get her clothes on, she told me she was "really tired" and wanted to lay down again. At first I dismissed it as her being a little silly. And then, because she was dillydallying so much at picking out her clothes and putting them on, and because RUS had a poopy diaper, I told her I was going to go change RUS and that she had "better have her clothes on" when I got back. When I came back a few minutes later, though, she was still completely undressed, hugging her clothes, and laying on her bed. I got her dressed, but then she went over to the couch and just lay there, not even looking at anything. So we made the decision to just keep her back from school.

Good thing, because she literally did spend the whole day--until just before dinner--resting and not feeling much like doing anything. She threw up once, too.

That night, when I was reading her a story and putting her down to sleep, she says to me, "Mommy, I'm going to be sick tomorrow, too."

I said, "I don't know, you might feel better in the morning."

"No, I'm going to be sick for two days and then I'm going to feel better."

Not coincidentally, she would have gotten better just in time for the weekend.

And sure enough, she tried to pull the "I can't go to school today, I'm sick" routine again on Friday morning. I can't believe this is starting already. (For the record, she was perfectly fine and had a great day at school on Friday.)

Something We Haven't Caught on Video

I've seen other people post things their kids are doing and I remember a few times thinking to myself, "That post is so useless without a video." It's true. It's impossible to describe the things our kids do sometimes without just showing people, "Look! That!"

Unfortunately we haven't been pulling the camera out, and we almost never have it when said cute or funny things are happening.

And I just wanted to comment on one odd thing that RUS has been doing the last few days. He has been kind of throwing his head back while walking forward--it's so funny because it's not like he's doing it involuntarily or trying to get somewhere, he's just throwing his head back and taking steps while staring up at the ceiling (or somewhere in that vicinity). Of course he falls down after a step or two because his coordination isn't that good yet. But then he stands up and does it all over again!

J figured out that he might've been doing it because he was trying to walk backwards. He can walk backwards a step or two at a time! But only when he is standing with his back to R's bedroom door, it seems. It's kind of weird, actually. He throws his head back and moves his feet backwards and then grins and smiles like he is sooooo proud of himself.

I really wish we had it on video. Like I said, it's not the kind of thing you can really just describe. I'll try, but no promises.

Should I be worried?

I've mentioned before that R loves princesses. She told me last night that she dreamed she was a princess. She wants to wear sparkly dresses or princess dresses every single day. She plays with her Cinderella figurines as well as the princess dolls Santa brought her all the time.

I asked her day care teacher whether she talks about princesses at school as often as she does at home.

The answer? Yes.

I then asked if the other girls in the class were as into princesses as R is.

The answer? No. One girl is actively anti-princess and had a "Go, Diego, Go!" 4th birthday party. Three others like princesses off and on. And 2 others like princesses a lot but not as intensely as R.

Now, I know this might just be a phase. She was obsessed with Dora for awhile. And she still likes Dora but doesn't ask for Dora constantly anymore like she used to. So maybe this will pass. I just don't want her to be already fixated on "being beautiful" and things like that.

We've been talking about the importance of being healthy and strong, playing up the strong aspect from Mulan as well as the importance of working hard (Tiana and Cinderella) and being kind towards others. But that doesn't stop her from asking me 2-3 times a day whether she can wear "lipstick" (really just a touch of chapstick) and insisting on tights and dresses and skirts and looking princessy.

What do you think? Should I worry? Or should I just go with it?

Happy 33rd Birthday, J!

J turned 33 today. We had a nice quiet celebration two days ago with Grammie and Grampie and chocolate cupcakes with peanut buttercream frosting. I tried filling them using a pastry tip but the frosting was a little too thick and didn't really work well with the pastry tip. If I had softer and/or thinner frosting it would've probably worked better. Next time. The cupcakes were still yummy.

He got an Akron Zips hat, sweater, and a bunch of games and toys, including a Lego model of a Star Wars Star Destroyer that he had fun putting together the other evening.