Mariella started walking again, and it seems like it's going to stick this time. Go Mariella!
Here she is walking to Daddy and back to Mommy, and even gets around the big brother obstacle!
With all the attention Mariella got, Jacob wanted to show off his walking skills too.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
What are those kids up to?
I haven't done a very good job of keeping up on what our kids are like right now. Let's take a little peek into what makes them tick.
Jacob is almost 3 1/2 years old, and he is just a goof ball. This age is so fun (as much as it is challenging and frustrating) because he's added layers to his play. We don't just drive cars and trains around, we make up adventures for them. He doesn't just bang pans around on top of his play stove--we have an elaborate game of making a shopping list, setting up a "grocery store" where he picks up his needed items, cooking a meal in his kitchen, and then serving it in 5-course fashion. Then, of course, dishes need to be washed in his sink. Pretending is big. Many days, he informs us that he is not Jacob. He might be a puppy, a baby dinosaur, or Mariella. And when he is Mariella, she is Jacob. It can make for some very confusing conversations! He's very good at staying in character.
He does silly little dances. It's too great to even describe, but he gets the pointer fingers going and hops or runs in place. Sometimes he'll run around in a circle. Usually we dance together, but I've heard him playing music and bouncing around in his room while he's supposed to be napping.
He makes up songs. Sometimes they are his own words (or nonsensical words) and tunes, but most often he makes up his own words to real songs. I think this is a pretty amazing skill for a little kid. One of my absolute favorite songs of his is the Bob the Builder song, which instead of singing "Bob the Builder, can we fix it?" he started singing, "Chicken nuggets - 1-2-12." Another variation is to put Mariella into the song. He also thinks counting out of order is hilarious, and if you ask him how many he wants of something, he always says 12. He sings to Mariella when she gets upset, like during diaper changes or getting into her car seat. It works every time.
He can spell his name, but can't yet write any letters. He really wants to learn, though, and when he puts his mind to something, it happens pretty quickly! His drawing is evolving from just scribbles. To us, it still doesn't usually resemble anything, but he always knows what his drawings are. Sometimes, he just draws first and figures it out later--his doodles will look like a certain letter or number and he recognizes that.
One of the most fun things about Jacob is watching his love for his sister grow. She gets into all of his stuff, and he picks on her, but she is his favorite person in the world. He likes to show her how to play with things, and is very encouraging to her. As I mentioned before, he loves to sing to her, and is a great help in getting her to hold still during a diaper change or while being dressed. No one makes her laugh like Jacob can, and he can do it with a silly dance or "eating" her belly. Sometimes his attempts to wrestle with her make me nervous, but she just smiles and giggles and Jacob is pretty good about letting her go when she's ready.
Of course, it's not easy all the time. He has pretty typical 3-year-old difficulties, frustrations, and tantrums. It's probably just better not to record them for posterity. We'll probably remember a lot of them anyway! It really is amazing to see how he's grown up, obviously from birth, but even over the past year.
Jacob is almost 3 1/2 years old, and he is just a goof ball. This age is so fun (as much as it is challenging and frustrating) because he's added layers to his play. We don't just drive cars and trains around, we make up adventures for them. He doesn't just bang pans around on top of his play stove--we have an elaborate game of making a shopping list, setting up a "grocery store" where he picks up his needed items, cooking a meal in his kitchen, and then serving it in 5-course fashion. Then, of course, dishes need to be washed in his sink. Pretending is big. Many days, he informs us that he is not Jacob. He might be a puppy, a baby dinosaur, or Mariella. And when he is Mariella, she is Jacob. It can make for some very confusing conversations! He's very good at staying in character.
He does silly little dances. It's too great to even describe, but he gets the pointer fingers going and hops or runs in place. Sometimes he'll run around in a circle. Usually we dance together, but I've heard him playing music and bouncing around in his room while he's supposed to be napping.
He makes up songs. Sometimes they are his own words (or nonsensical words) and tunes, but most often he makes up his own words to real songs. I think this is a pretty amazing skill for a little kid. One of my absolute favorite songs of his is the Bob the Builder song, which instead of singing "Bob the Builder, can we fix it?" he started singing, "Chicken nuggets - 1-2-12." Another variation is to put Mariella into the song. He also thinks counting out of order is hilarious, and if you ask him how many he wants of something, he always says 12. He sings to Mariella when she gets upset, like during diaper changes or getting into her car seat. It works every time.
He can spell his name, but can't yet write any letters. He really wants to learn, though, and when he puts his mind to something, it happens pretty quickly! His drawing is evolving from just scribbles. To us, it still doesn't usually resemble anything, but he always knows what his drawings are. Sometimes, he just draws first and figures it out later--his doodles will look like a certain letter or number and he recognizes that.
One of the most fun things about Jacob is watching his love for his sister grow. She gets into all of his stuff, and he picks on her, but she is his favorite person in the world. He likes to show her how to play with things, and is very encouraging to her. As I mentioned before, he loves to sing to her, and is a great help in getting her to hold still during a diaper change or while being dressed. No one makes her laugh like Jacob can, and he can do it with a silly dance or "eating" her belly. Sometimes his attempts to wrestle with her make me nervous, but she just smiles and giggles and Jacob is pretty good about letting her go when she's ready.
Of course, it's not easy all the time. He has pretty typical 3-year-old difficulties, frustrations, and tantrums. It's probably just better not to record them for posterity. We'll probably remember a lot of them anyway! It really is amazing to see how he's grown up, obviously from birth, but even over the past year.
Continued: Mariella
Mariella is almost 11 months old, and even though she is her own girl, it is very obvious whose sister she is.
She is happy, funny, curious, clever, and stubborn. The world is hers to explore right now, and she does just that. Anything that is new or interesting catches her eye right away, and requires immediate investigation. Depending on what it is, she might poke it, shake it, knock it over, bang it on something else, or taste it. Or all of the above. She'll look at us questioningly, and then break into a giant smile as she decides to fling it to the floor. If said interesting object is removed from her grasp, she often decides to fling herself to the floor.
Walking is starting to come along again. Being sick has really thrown her off, and it seems like she needed to regain some balance and strength. But she is starting to take a step or two again before falling down. Her appetite has really increased. A month ago, we were commenting how she eats like a bird. We know younger babies who ate three times as much as she did. But now, she is like a bottomless pit. She can eat most table foods, but she likes chunky baby foods too. This is a fun age, where she will eat just about anything so we can get a variety of foods into her. I remember how quickly that stage went away with Jacob, so we are enjoying this while it lasts.
She dances. This is one of our favorite things. Any time she hears music, or even if you just sing to her, she will either bounce up and down or sway side to side. She's done this for several months, but it just gets cuter as she gets older. Her mouth is always open wide when she's happy or excited. She loves to hang upside down. She'll throw herself back while in your arms, and when you pull her back up, she immediately does it again.
She loves to pull things out. I have a cabinet with plastic bowls and one with food that she's allowed to play in, and it doesn't take her long to have everything pulled out. Laundry baskets get emptied with great satisfaction. She throws the clothing as though she knows she's done this five times already (I put it back in as soon as she's not looking). She'll grab at the wipes when her diaper is being changed. She's almost gotten to the toilet paper in the bathroom, but I caught her just in time. She had her stinker grin plastered on already.
She loves her big brother. Her eyes will light up for Mommy and Daddy, but only Jacob gets the lit eyes and a "Sha sha," which we are pretty sure is her attempt to say her brother's name. She tries her hardest to play with him, even when he makes it tough. She puts up with his pushing and overly rough play, just because she loves being close to him. She climbs on the play slide in our basement with the hope that he will come over and slide with her. She watches his every move, taking notes for future reference. We are in trouble.
We are really enjoying the experience of having a little girl, and if there is anything I forgot I will add it when we take her 11 month pictures next week.
She is happy, funny, curious, clever, and stubborn. The world is hers to explore right now, and she does just that. Anything that is new or interesting catches her eye right away, and requires immediate investigation. Depending on what it is, she might poke it, shake it, knock it over, bang it on something else, or taste it. Or all of the above. She'll look at us questioningly, and then break into a giant smile as she decides to fling it to the floor. If said interesting object is removed from her grasp, she often decides to fling herself to the floor.
Walking is starting to come along again. Being sick has really thrown her off, and it seems like she needed to regain some balance and strength. But she is starting to take a step or two again before falling down. Her appetite has really increased. A month ago, we were commenting how she eats like a bird. We know younger babies who ate three times as much as she did. But now, she is like a bottomless pit. She can eat most table foods, but she likes chunky baby foods too. This is a fun age, where she will eat just about anything so we can get a variety of foods into her. I remember how quickly that stage went away with Jacob, so we are enjoying this while it lasts.
She dances. This is one of our favorite things. Any time she hears music, or even if you just sing to her, she will either bounce up and down or sway side to side. She's done this for several months, but it just gets cuter as she gets older. Her mouth is always open wide when she's happy or excited. She loves to hang upside down. She'll throw herself back while in your arms, and when you pull her back up, she immediately does it again.
She loves to pull things out. I have a cabinet with plastic bowls and one with food that she's allowed to play in, and it doesn't take her long to have everything pulled out. Laundry baskets get emptied with great satisfaction. She throws the clothing as though she knows she's done this five times already (I put it back in as soon as she's not looking). She'll grab at the wipes when her diaper is being changed. She's almost gotten to the toilet paper in the bathroom, but I caught her just in time. She had her stinker grin plastered on already.
She loves her big brother. Her eyes will light up for Mommy and Daddy, but only Jacob gets the lit eyes and a "Sha sha," which we are pretty sure is her attempt to say her brother's name. She tries her hardest to play with him, even when he makes it tough. She puts up with his pushing and overly rough play, just because she loves being close to him. She climbs on the play slide in our basement with the hope that he will come over and slide with her. She watches his every move, taking notes for future reference. We are in trouble.
We are really enjoying the experience of having a little girl, and if there is anything I forgot I will add it when we take her 11 month pictures next week.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
10 Months Old
I've been way behind on here, partly due to trying to get organized after Christmas and partly due to Mariella having one cold after another, culminating in an ear infection. We finally took her in to get checked last Sunday, and once she got some antibiotics, she returned to her sunny self pretty quickly. I'll take her in for a check up next week to make sure she's all clear.
That's been Mariella's biggest excitement so far this month. It seems like the ear infection threw off her plans to start walking, but she's back to walking with assistance. Jacob likes to help her walk, and she almost can't keep her balance with the gigantic smile on her face when they walk together.
10 months, 10 days old (I waited until we could get some smiles)
It's hard to sit still these days, especially on a rocking chair
She threw her puppy in the air, and it fell on the floor
Mommy found the puppy!
Are you sure the puppy isn't under the cushion?
This was the very last picture, as Mariella decided it was a good idea to stand up on a rocking chair
That's been Mariella's biggest excitement so far this month. It seems like the ear infection threw off her plans to start walking, but she's back to walking with assistance. Jacob likes to help her walk, and she almost can't keep her balance with the gigantic smile on her face when they walk together.
10 months, 10 days old (I waited until we could get some smiles)
It's hard to sit still these days, especially on a rocking chair
She threw her puppy in the air, and it fell on the floor
Mommy found the puppy!
Are you sure the puppy isn't under the cushion?
This was the very last picture, as Mariella decided it was a good idea to stand up on a rocking chair
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