Here are some videos of the entertaining things these kids have been doing.
The first one is Mariella being crazy with a blanket.
This one shows what a speedster she is at her tummy crawl.
This one has no picture (we were in the hallway and it was dark). It was after Jacob went to bed. Tom had been teaching him this earlier in the day. He did this for about 5 minutes, over and over.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Mariella's Exercise Program
Mariella sure has been a busy girl lately. She's become a very speedy crawler, and is working on some new moves. Also, unrelated to these new moves, tooth #4 popped through today. These new teeth will still take awhile to be fully in, because they're big, but they're visible and sharp! Now on to the workout:
Start with some easy push-ups. Use a mouth weight for extra resistance.
And down...
Up again...
Good job! Now take a short rest before we get to the tricky stuff.
Hold this pose for as long as you can. Feel the burn!
Leg lifts! Cross one leg over the other.
Now get up on all fours, and keep that belly off the ground!
OK, good workout! Now let's stretch a little for a cool down.
Rock a little on your knees
And finally, rock a little on the piano. Do it all again tomorrow!
Start with some easy push-ups. Use a mouth weight for extra resistance.
And down...
Up again...
Good job! Now take a short rest before we get to the tricky stuff.
Hold this pose for as long as you can. Feel the burn!
Leg lifts! Cross one leg over the other.
Now get up on all fours, and keep that belly off the ground!
OK, good workout! Now let's stretch a little for a cool down.
Rock a little on your knees
And finally, rock a little on the piano. Do it all again tomorrow!Three
Sept. 27
Vikings: 3 wins
Mariella: 3 teeth
It was a race to the finish for her top teeth. They have both been making their way for a couple of months, and one finally broke through yesterday. My prediction is that tooth #4 will be in by the weekend.
I just noticed that it's been quite awhile since I added pictures of Mariella. I have a backlog, of course, and I'll try to get some on here soon. Maybe if they both nap at the same time today, I can get that done.
Vikings: 3 wins
Mariella: 3 teeth
It was a race to the finish for her top teeth. They have both been making their way for a couple of months, and one finally broke through yesterday. My prediction is that tooth #4 will be in by the weekend.
I just noticed that it's been quite awhile since I added pictures of Mariella. I have a backlog, of course, and I'll try to get some on here soon. Maybe if they both nap at the same time today, I can get that done.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Enjoying the last days of summer
Here I am once again, playing catch up. Happy Fall, everyone!
Since summer decided to hop around this year, we did our best to enjoy the warm days when they were here. We spent more time in the water during September than we did in July, I think. These pictures are from the 13th, when it was in the 80s in the afternoon and we decided to get Jacob to the local "pool." It's actually better than a pool. It's a park full of shallow water features and fountains, it's free, and Jacob can play around in and out of the water without an adult being right next to him--a very important point, because I could take him by myself, whereas an actual pool would make that difficult, since Mariella would be with us, too. On this particular day, Tom was there, but most of the time I've taken the kids myself.
Climbing, as always, is a favorite activity. I'm amazed that Jacob is usually one of the only kids that wears water shoes. I've never seen an injury there, but I have to imagine Jacob would end up with stubbed toes and a cracked skull without them!
Running and splashing in the water is another favorite activity.
Climbing down carefully...
...and running again
Stepping on the water to stop the spray is fun, and even better when you can spray Mommy and Mariella, who are standing on land watching you play!
He always wants to play in the sprinklers, but doesn't want to get close enough to actually get wet.
More climbing. Sometimes I wonder what types of activities he'll be into when he's older. Extreme rock climbing? Kayaking?
He climbed this wall without using the footholds (those triangle thingys). He grabbed the wet ledge and pulled himself up. Maybe his shoes have superglue on the bottoms.
Since summer decided to hop around this year, we did our best to enjoy the warm days when they were here. We spent more time in the water during September than we did in July, I think. These pictures are from the 13th, when it was in the 80s in the afternoon and we decided to get Jacob to the local "pool." It's actually better than a pool. It's a park full of shallow water features and fountains, it's free, and Jacob can play around in and out of the water without an adult being right next to him--a very important point, because I could take him by myself, whereas an actual pool would make that difficult, since Mariella would be with us, too. On this particular day, Tom was there, but most of the time I've taken the kids myself.
Climbing, as always, is a favorite activity. I'm amazed that Jacob is usually one of the only kids that wears water shoes. I've never seen an injury there, but I have to imagine Jacob would end up with stubbed toes and a cracked skull without them!
Running and splashing in the water is another favorite activity.
Climbing down carefully...
...and running again
Stepping on the water to stop the spray is fun, and even better when you can spray Mommy and Mariella, who are standing on land watching you play!
He always wants to play in the sprinklers, but doesn't want to get close enough to actually get wet.
More climbing. Sometimes I wonder what types of activities he'll be into when he's older. Extreme rock climbing? Kayaking?
He climbed this wall without using the footholds (those triangle thingys). He grabbed the wet ledge and pulled himself up. Maybe his shoes have superglue on the bottoms. Sunday, September 13, 2009
New Gophers Stadium
Warning: there are no pictures of the kids in this post. Just letting you know. :)
On Saturday, Tom and I went to the very first game in the new Gophers stadium, which is really named TCF Bank Stadium, but we are not corporate shills in this blog. It was a lot of fun, because 1) it was not the Metrodome; 2) everything was shiny and new; 3) the Gophers won; and 4) it actually felt like a college football game.
There are some kinks to work out. My favorite memory of the game will always be that the concession stands ran out of a lot of their food around halftime. We went searching for a snack with a little time left in the 1st quarter, stood in a couple of different lines that didn't move, and finally got back to our seats 5 minutes before halftime, having settled on a kiosk with a short line that was selling chips and pop. They somehow got us to part with a few of our limbs, but we were pretty hungry. I also flagged down a guy selling mini donuts, because chips and pop are not a complete dinner. Other people around us were saying that they were out of burgers, hot dogs, pretzels, and ice cream. I guess they weren't expecting 50,000 people to show up or something. One other rumor I've heard that is unconfirmed by us (since we never reached the front of the line) but comes from several sources is that there were no cash registers. I hope they use our mini donut money to purchase a couple of them for future games.
All in all, a really fun night out for us! Oh, and Mariella apparently drank a little bit from a bottle. Yay for her!
Tom standing in front of the stadium. We really like the arched windows.
This was the view we had standing in line at our gate. There were probably a couple hundred people lined up at each gate, and the line stretched around the stadium. It took forever to get inside. Notice the time on the scoreboard says 5:32. We got to our seats at 5:55, just as the Air Force flyover took place.
Another view from the outside
Yet another shot from outside the gate, and yes it did feel like we were in the woods. We had no idea it would be such a journey!
Finally, we made it to our gate. Here is the street side of the big scoreboard.
Look at all the maroon and gold. We had a good view from the 15 yard line. Even if we were almost at the top. The field was a lot closer than it looks in this picture. Tom had taken his binoculars along, but he didn't use them once.
Getting ready for pregame, and a shot of the student section. That last bit did fill in eventually. The student gate line was even longer than ours.
A view of the big scoreboard, and part of the campus in the distance.
Us! Just to prove that we went somewhere without the kids!
Another shot of the really lovely scoreboard
First play on offense
First points scored at the new stadium. A field goal isn't very exciting, but at least the Gophers scored first.
I had planned on taking a picture of the first touchdown celebration. Unfortunately, it didn't appear the Gophers would score a touchdown and I had the camera put away. So, here they are lining up for the point-after. Woo hoo!
Taking a knee at the end of the game
The players celebrating with the fans, and the goal posts coming down. They took the final score down before I got a picture, but it was 20-13. Gophers win!
On Saturday, Tom and I went to the very first game in the new Gophers stadium, which is really named TCF Bank Stadium, but we are not corporate shills in this blog. It was a lot of fun, because 1) it was not the Metrodome; 2) everything was shiny and new; 3) the Gophers won; and 4) it actually felt like a college football game.
There are some kinks to work out. My favorite memory of the game will always be that the concession stands ran out of a lot of their food around halftime. We went searching for a snack with a little time left in the 1st quarter, stood in a couple of different lines that didn't move, and finally got back to our seats 5 minutes before halftime, having settled on a kiosk with a short line that was selling chips and pop. They somehow got us to part with a few of our limbs, but we were pretty hungry. I also flagged down a guy selling mini donuts, because chips and pop are not a complete dinner. Other people around us were saying that they were out of burgers, hot dogs, pretzels, and ice cream. I guess they weren't expecting 50,000 people to show up or something. One other rumor I've heard that is unconfirmed by us (since we never reached the front of the line) but comes from several sources is that there were no cash registers. I hope they use our mini donut money to purchase a couple of them for future games.
All in all, a really fun night out for us! Oh, and Mariella apparently drank a little bit from a bottle. Yay for her!
Tom standing in front of the stadium. We really like the arched windows.
This was the view we had standing in line at our gate. There were probably a couple hundred people lined up at each gate, and the line stretched around the stadium. It took forever to get inside. Notice the time on the scoreboard says 5:32. We got to our seats at 5:55, just as the Air Force flyover took place.
Another view from the outside
Yet another shot from outside the gate, and yes it did feel like we were in the woods. We had no idea it would be such a journey!
Finally, we made it to our gate. Here is the street side of the big scoreboard.
Look at all the maroon and gold. We had a good view from the 15 yard line. Even if we were almost at the top. The field was a lot closer than it looks in this picture. Tom had taken his binoculars along, but he didn't use them once.
Getting ready for pregame, and a shot of the student section. That last bit did fill in eventually. The student gate line was even longer than ours.
A view of the big scoreboard, and part of the campus in the distance.
Us! Just to prove that we went somewhere without the kids!
Another shot of the really lovely scoreboard
First play on offense
First points scored at the new stadium. A field goal isn't very exciting, but at least the Gophers scored first.
I had planned on taking a picture of the first touchdown celebration. Unfortunately, it didn't appear the Gophers would score a touchdown and I had the camera put away. So, here they are lining up for the point-after. Woo hoo!
Taking a knee at the end of the game
The players celebrating with the fans, and the goal posts coming down. They took the final score down before I got a picture, but it was 20-13. Gophers win! Friday, September 11, 2009
One Big Happy Check-Up
As the birthdays fell, I was lucky enough to be able to take both kids to their check-ups at the same time. This was good because it was convenient, but not so good because it required me to keep both kids happy for a lot longer time. And for my efforts, I was rewarded with taking home two kids who were not so happy with me for allowing them to be stuck with a needle.
Jacob had his 3-year visit, which is much more involved than his previous ones. In addition to height and weight, they took his blood pressure, checked his knee reflexes, and attempted to give him a vision exam. I say attempted, because he didn't really want to participate. He liked the first part, which involved him finding letters on a card that matched the poster on the wall. The second part required covering one eye, which he did not like at all. We tried a few things to get him to go along with it, but I sensed some tears brewing, so we stopped. Bottom line: he can see. Whether that is with one or both eyes, we'll find out next year. :) The doctor knowingly made a big deal about Jacob being (mostly) potty trained. For those who haven't heard the news, Jacob has enough of a grasp on things to wear underwear all the time, with the exception of sleeping. This development came about right after his birthday festivities wrapped up. I guess he decided being 3 is a big deal!
When I was filling out the "skill" sheet, it became very obvious to me that Jacob has made great strides with his verbal skills in the past year. We already knew that, since we live with him, but seeing it on paper really emphasizes it. He was slightly below his age level last year in verbal, and now he is slightly above. I attribute that in part to his renewed love of books. He can't get enough, especially since he's discovered that we can get a million books about trucks at the library.
For those who like the stats, Jacob weighs 34 lbs. (75th %ile) and is 38.5 in. tall (also 75 %ile). He's very proportionate! He was also the lucky recipient of the flu shot. I figured I might as well have him get it while we were there instead of going back later this fall. For his pain and suffering, he got to pick a sticker, and we found one with Lightning on it (watch Cars if you don't know who I'm talking about).
As for Mariella, she's staying consistent and doing great! She can sit up and scoot around anywhere. She's really working on this hands and knees thing, and enjoys rocking. You can see the wheels turning in her head, trying to figure out what to do while she's up there. For now, she's very happy to crawl on her belly. You can surround her with her own toys, but she'll crawl right over them to get to something of Jacob's--or anything made of paper or cardboard that she's not allowed to have. She also likes books, but not for the same reason that Jacob does! It's funny, she'll eat paper but is not terribly interested in baby food. I have to believe the baby food is at least a little better in flavor, but I guess she doesn't agree. She does like sweet potatoes, but the other ones we've tried--rice cereal and pears--not so much.
Her top front teeth are inching ever closer to making their appearance. Between those teeth and learning to crawl, it's amazing that she's sleeping as well as she is. She's struggling a little with naps, but her night sleep is...acceptable. Generally she is still waking for 2 feedings during the night, and I suspect part of that is because she sometimes goes longer during the day when we're out and about. Maybe that will change this winter, when we'll likely be home more.
Here are Mariella's measurements: 17 lbs. 12 oz. (80 %ile) and 27.25 in. long (95 %ile). Her head is a measly 25 %ile, which is fine, but I think it's interesting because she looks "normal" instead of having that very large head that many kids have. I think Jacob's head was always on the small side too. And finally, Mariella got the same 3 shots that she's had at each visit, along with a flu shot. I felt really bad making her get so many at once, but at least it was only one new one. She has to go back in a month for a booster.
So that's it! One busy morning.
Jacob had his 3-year visit, which is much more involved than his previous ones. In addition to height and weight, they took his blood pressure, checked his knee reflexes, and attempted to give him a vision exam. I say attempted, because he didn't really want to participate. He liked the first part, which involved him finding letters on a card that matched the poster on the wall. The second part required covering one eye, which he did not like at all. We tried a few things to get him to go along with it, but I sensed some tears brewing, so we stopped. Bottom line: he can see. Whether that is with one or both eyes, we'll find out next year. :) The doctor knowingly made a big deal about Jacob being (mostly) potty trained. For those who haven't heard the news, Jacob has enough of a grasp on things to wear underwear all the time, with the exception of sleeping. This development came about right after his birthday festivities wrapped up. I guess he decided being 3 is a big deal!
When I was filling out the "skill" sheet, it became very obvious to me that Jacob has made great strides with his verbal skills in the past year. We already knew that, since we live with him, but seeing it on paper really emphasizes it. He was slightly below his age level last year in verbal, and now he is slightly above. I attribute that in part to his renewed love of books. He can't get enough, especially since he's discovered that we can get a million books about trucks at the library.
For those who like the stats, Jacob weighs 34 lbs. (75th %ile) and is 38.5 in. tall (also 75 %ile). He's very proportionate! He was also the lucky recipient of the flu shot. I figured I might as well have him get it while we were there instead of going back later this fall. For his pain and suffering, he got to pick a sticker, and we found one with Lightning on it (watch Cars if you don't know who I'm talking about).
As for Mariella, she's staying consistent and doing great! She can sit up and scoot around anywhere. She's really working on this hands and knees thing, and enjoys rocking. You can see the wheels turning in her head, trying to figure out what to do while she's up there. For now, she's very happy to crawl on her belly. You can surround her with her own toys, but she'll crawl right over them to get to something of Jacob's--or anything made of paper or cardboard that she's not allowed to have. She also likes books, but not for the same reason that Jacob does! It's funny, she'll eat paper but is not terribly interested in baby food. I have to believe the baby food is at least a little better in flavor, but I guess she doesn't agree. She does like sweet potatoes, but the other ones we've tried--rice cereal and pears--not so much.
Her top front teeth are inching ever closer to making their appearance. Between those teeth and learning to crawl, it's amazing that she's sleeping as well as she is. She's struggling a little with naps, but her night sleep is...acceptable. Generally she is still waking for 2 feedings during the night, and I suspect part of that is because she sometimes goes longer during the day when we're out and about. Maybe that will change this winter, when we'll likely be home more.
Here are Mariella's measurements: 17 lbs. 12 oz. (80 %ile) and 27.25 in. long (95 %ile). Her head is a measly 25 %ile, which is fine, but I think it's interesting because she looks "normal" instead of having that very large head that many kids have. I think Jacob's head was always on the small side too. And finally, Mariella got the same 3 shots that she's had at each visit, along with a flu shot. I felt really bad making her get so many at once, but at least it was only one new one. She has to go back in a month for a booster.
So that's it! One busy morning.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
6 Months Old
She's 6 months old already? That's half a year! It just doesn't seem possible. Here are some pictures from today. Notice how she is sitting up by herself! She's getting it, but she still doesn't understand that she has to keep herself from flopping over. She either tips over or puts her chest flat on the floor. It's a very impressive stretch move. She did really well in the chair though.
We're still trying to figure out what color her eyes are. They aren't light like Tom's and Jacob's are, but they aren't completely brown either. I think they are a dark hazel. That would be a pretty cool color if they stay this way.
We're still trying to figure out what color her eyes are. They aren't light like Tom's and Jacob's are, but they aren't completely brown either. I think they are a dark hazel. That would be a pretty cool color if they stay this way. In other news: she is really trying to figure out this crawling business. She's using her legs a lot more when she's on her tummy, and can even get up on her hands and knees but doesn't know what to do from there. AND we got out the high chair so she can join us all at the dinner table, which has made her much more agreeable to eating some baby food. The past 2 nights, she has eaten a small amount of sweet potatoes. She seems OK with them.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
You Don't Say
With this, I am finally caught up with my backlog of camera contents. This is from a few weeks ago. Mariella was in a particularly chatty mood. She's really into experimenting with her voice lately, especially loud screechy sounds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
