Andrew always has such funny conversations with me--I wish I could remember half of what he says. (The other day, I said, more to myself than Andrew, "Andrew, I think your mom spoils you." He responded, "I spoil you, too, mommy.")
So, we've been talking a lot about the change in seasons, that Fall is when the leaves change color and fall off the tree. Apparently Andrew's a little confused about this concept, because he announced abruptly in the car the other day: "Mommy, I feel sad." (This from the kid that burst into tears while watching Little Einsteins because Leo's musical pet, Melody, left Leo on the pet train . . .)
"Why do you feel sad, Andrew?"
"Because my very best friends can't come over."
"Who are your best friends?"
"Jacob and Emi."
"And why can't they come over?"
"Because it's Fall. They'll fall!"
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Sunday, October 26, 2008
I've been tagged
I've never been tagged before . . . but here are the basic rules (as I understand them). I have to post the fourth picture in the fourth folder in my pictures folders, briefly explain the picture, and then tag some friends/family. So here goes . . .
This is an old picture, taken on our Kodak camera before it broke. (And before Andrew was born). Dan and I were in Boston visiting Cristie and her family (you can tell how old it is by looking at how little Benjamin was). I think this was the week that my nephew Jacob was born.
So there it is. I think it only fair that I tag Cristie (since she's in the picture!), Sarah, Megan Collins (not the Megan who tagged me!), and Ronni. I'd tag Justin, too, but I don't think he'd deign to respond.
This is an old picture, taken on our Kodak camera before it broke. (And before Andrew was born). Dan and I were in Boston visiting Cristie and her family (you can tell how old it is by looking at how little Benjamin was). I think this was the week that my nephew Jacob was born.
So there it is. I think it only fair that I tag Cristie (since she's in the picture!), Sarah, Megan Collins (not the Megan who tagged me!), and Ronni. I'd tag Justin, too, but I don't think he'd deign to respond.
Boo to "Boo at the Zoo"!
In some fit of insanity (I can't think how else to account for this) Dan and I decided to take our children (along with Sarah and her family) to "Boo at the Zoo." (Please, no comments from those of you who were smart enough to turn down the offer to come with us!) I suppose the start of this was a couple months ago when we went to the zoo (again with Sarah and crew) and Andrew complained about leaving so soon (although really, Dan had had about all he could handle) so we promised him we could come back. Sarah said something about Boo at the Zoo, and there you were. Andrew's been talking about it ever since--about wearing his elephant costume and getting his picture taken by the elephants (which didn't, as it turns out, happen).
The first stirrings of misgiving came as we turned onto the road where the zoo is located. I couldn't initially figure out why so many cars were parked on the side of the road--surely not all of this was traffic for the zoo? I thought there must be some other explanation. As we slowly climbed the hill (behind a long line of cars that, as it turns out, were similarly looking for a parking spot) the awful truth became more and more clear: nearly everyone in Salt Lake County (and a few from without) with small children (and even some couples without children--although I can't imagine why you would brave the hordes without the excuse of little ones) seemed to have turned out for the event. I suppose some of this must have had to do with the fact that it was a sunny 60 degree day in late October.
At any rate, we were on the cell phone with Sarah trying to decide whether or not to abort mission when we found (miraculously) a parking spot on the side of the road just at the edge of the zoo parking lot. We nabbed the spot (I had to get out to help Dan maneuver into the tiny spot) and made our slow way into the zoo, where we were immediately assailed by the sights and sounds of thousands of small children in a myriad of costumes. (My overwrought senses were not, however, so overwrought that I failed to appreciate the fact that at least my children were wearing unique costumes: no princesses or superheroes for us, if you please! [With apologies to those who have princesses and superheroes--I know we're only a few years out]). Here's our cute little menagerie:
However, our time at the zoo was extremely short-lived. It was immediately apparent that we would not be waiting in any lines for candy (the nearest line to the entrance was some fifty children long)--and you know how we all love lines--but more to the point, we called Sarah and found that they were in fact aborting mission because they couldn't find a place to park. (Sarah's comment about the crowds later was that the only thing that would have made this better was if Poppy were here to enjoy it with us!). So we took Andrew to see the elephant and the rhino, as promised, and then threaded our way back to the car (where some big SUV immediately lined up to take our spot--as if they could possibly fit! They were luckier than they deserved to be: the people in front of us returned to their car just as we were leaving.)
We had lunch at Red Robin instead of the proposed zoo outing--which was just as well, even if our service was pretty lousy. Afterwards, we returned to Sarah's house where Dan and Aaron watched kids while I dragged Sarah to Fashion Place mall, to visit the newly opened Janie and Jack store (the only one in Utah! Janie and Jack, for those of you who don't know, is the higher-end version of Gymboree, owned by the same parent company.) It was, of course, over-priced, but the clothes were beautiful and it was fun to look. We got home just in time to put our kids to bed (Andrew fell asleep in the car--while Evelyn was crying!).
Of course, our Saturday also began with a splash, with Andrew's second swim lesson. You can tell from the picture below that he's really loving it:
Actually, Andrew seems to really love his lessons--this momentary terrorized look was some kind of random blip (we don't really enjoy torturing our children). But it was too funny not to share. The smiling face below is much more typical of him. Evelyn and I watched for a little while, but then we had to go get gas for our trip up to SLC. Apparently, after we left, the teacher brought out some water noodles and told Dan he could tie one around Andrew's waist--and Andrew thought that his newly discovered independence was about the best thing since sliced bread.
This, I think, has to be my favorite picture of the kids from the week. I don't remember what I was doing, but I had propped Evelyn up on the bed and Andrew offered to "read" to her. Here is Andrew "reading" to Evelyn (actually, reciting one of his memorized books). So cute! I hope this is only the first of many such reading episodes.
The first stirrings of misgiving came as we turned onto the road where the zoo is located. I couldn't initially figure out why so many cars were parked on the side of the road--surely not all of this was traffic for the zoo? I thought there must be some other explanation. As we slowly climbed the hill (behind a long line of cars that, as it turns out, were similarly looking for a parking spot) the awful truth became more and more clear: nearly everyone in Salt Lake County (and a few from without) with small children (and even some couples without children--although I can't imagine why you would brave the hordes without the excuse of little ones) seemed to have turned out for the event. I suppose some of this must have had to do with the fact that it was a sunny 60 degree day in late October.
At any rate, we were on the cell phone with Sarah trying to decide whether or not to abort mission when we found (miraculously) a parking spot on the side of the road just at the edge of the zoo parking lot. We nabbed the spot (I had to get out to help Dan maneuver into the tiny spot) and made our slow way into the zoo, where we were immediately assailed by the sights and sounds of thousands of small children in a myriad of costumes. (My overwrought senses were not, however, so overwrought that I failed to appreciate the fact that at least my children were wearing unique costumes: no princesses or superheroes for us, if you please! [With apologies to those who have princesses and superheroes--I know we're only a few years out]). Here's our cute little menagerie:
However, our time at the zoo was extremely short-lived. It was immediately apparent that we would not be waiting in any lines for candy (the nearest line to the entrance was some fifty children long)--and you know how we all love lines--but more to the point, we called Sarah and found that they were in fact aborting mission because they couldn't find a place to park. (Sarah's comment about the crowds later was that the only thing that would have made this better was if Poppy were here to enjoy it with us!). So we took Andrew to see the elephant and the rhino, as promised, and then threaded our way back to the car (where some big SUV immediately lined up to take our spot--as if they could possibly fit! They were luckier than they deserved to be: the people in front of us returned to their car just as we were leaving.)We had lunch at Red Robin instead of the proposed zoo outing--which was just as well, even if our service was pretty lousy. Afterwards, we returned to Sarah's house where Dan and Aaron watched kids while I dragged Sarah to Fashion Place mall, to visit the newly opened Janie and Jack store (the only one in Utah! Janie and Jack, for those of you who don't know, is the higher-end version of Gymboree, owned by the same parent company.) It was, of course, over-priced, but the clothes were beautiful and it was fun to look. We got home just in time to put our kids to bed (Andrew fell asleep in the car--while Evelyn was crying!).
Of course, our Saturday also began with a splash, with Andrew's second swim lesson. You can tell from the picture below that he's really loving it:
Actually, Andrew seems to really love his lessons--this momentary terrorized look was some kind of random blip (we don't really enjoy torturing our children). But it was too funny not to share. The smiling face below is much more typical of him. Evelyn and I watched for a little while, but then we had to go get gas for our trip up to SLC. Apparently, after we left, the teacher brought out some water noodles and told Dan he could tie one around Andrew's waist--and Andrew thought that his newly discovered independence was about the best thing since sliced bread.
This, I think, has to be my favorite picture of the kids from the week. I don't remember what I was doing, but I had propped Evelyn up on the bed and Andrew offered to "read" to her. Here is Andrew "reading" to Evelyn (actually, reciting one of his memorized books). So cute! I hope this is only the first of many such reading episodes.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Magic Words?
So, Andrew picked up some wand-like stick this morning and was waving it about intent on his magic tricks. And his magic word? Not "please," not "abracadabra," not "a la Peanut Butter sandwiches" (as his dad suggested), but . . . "Africa bunnies!" (Who knows?)
We suggested abracadabra, which Andrew scorned. So Dan finally said, "why don't you say 'obfuscate'?" Andrew responded by waving his wand and shouting "Abraca-skate!"
We suggested abracadabra, which Andrew scorned. So Dan finally said, "why don't you say 'obfuscate'?" Andrew responded by waving his wand and shouting "Abraca-skate!"
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Why we love Andrew
Because he's smart and tenderhearted (when he's not being aggravating!).
To illustrate: Yesterday my mom was preparing a package for my brother Justin and his kids, and explained to Andrew that Justin was in school because he needed to learn things and get smarter so he could get a job and make money. Andrew responded, "I don't need to go to school. I'm already smart." (I wonder what that says about the rest of us?)
And then this morning, we were playing some familiar children's songs on a CD when "On Top of Spaghetti" came on. I tried to get Andrew to listen to the words. He did, and started to giggle. But then, when the meatball got stuck under a bush, he unaccountably dissolved into tears. He was feeling sad for the meatball, of all things! Funny kid.
To illustrate: Yesterday my mom was preparing a package for my brother Justin and his kids, and explained to Andrew that Justin was in school because he needed to learn things and get smarter so he could get a job and make money. Andrew responded, "I don't need to go to school. I'm already smart." (I wonder what that says about the rest of us?)
And then this morning, we were playing some familiar children's songs on a CD when "On Top of Spaghetti" came on. I tried to get Andrew to listen to the words. He did, and started to giggle. But then, when the meatball got stuck under a bush, he unaccountably dissolved into tears. He was feeling sad for the meatball, of all things! Funny kid.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Fellowwarts
The big event for this week (for me, at least), was the annual fall retreat for Writing Fellows up at Timp Lodge last night--an event that the office staff and I, in a fit of hyper creativity, decided to set in a Harry Potter theme (thus our secretary dubbed it "Fellowwarts School of Tutors and Tutory." Or something like that). Beth Hedengren, the former coordinator, was gracious enough to come back as our keynote speaker. I was reminded as she spoke that I have some pretty big shoes to fill--I don't think I'm nearly as charitable in my teaching (yet) as she was!
Anyway, I spent much of the week leading up to the retreat working on my workshop for the retreat and assembling various food items, etc., for the dinner and other activities. I had forgotten how stressful it can be to be in charge of something so big--not only were we planning on around 60+ people for dinner, simply getting everything together wasn't enough. As the coordinator, I also had to make sure we stayed on schedule, introduce new activities, move things along, etc. Although the evening was a lot of fun, I found myself fairly relieved as I drove back down Provo canyon after the evening was over. It was the first time I'd felt truly relaxed in several days.
Because the evening had a Halloween/Harry Potter theme to it, I got to truly appreciate the creativity of the students I work with. One enterprising couple came as Governor Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain (and she, at least, looked rather like Palin). Another student--who won the award for "scariest" costume--came as the economy, with a relatively simple graph on his chest showing the downward trend of recent months. Another girl, in the spirit of the evening, came as Hermoine Granger and spent at least the first part of the evening in character, down to the British accent and everything. One of my Honors 300 students (that's the class I teach) came with her fiance. Although she didn't appear to be in costume, I think she must have been, since her intended had dark circles around his eyes, unnatural pale skin that glittered, and she introduced him by saying he was "Edward." (Jeni, I thought of you when she said this!). So I presume she was Bella, from Stephanie Meyers' Twighlight series.
But what still has me puzzling, is the fact that one of the costume awards given out for the evening (I put some of the students in charge of the prizes, so I had no idea this was coming) was given for the "best Rosalyn look-alike." My TA for the Honors 300 course won this, by donning a short curly wig, a courdoroy jacket and scarf, and affixing a Penn State logo to his coat and carrying around a dictionary whose jacket cover read "My Dissertation." I'm still not sure how I feel about this! (I'm not used to being important enough to be parodied). What is still more curious: he wasn't the only one dressed as me. Another of the Writing Fellows finally came up to me as the evening was nearing its close to ask: "Have you figured out who I am yet?" Honestly, I had no idea she was even in costume--she was wearing a pretty peasant blouse and a long brown skirt, much like something I would wear. (And that, I think, was the point). She finally had to tell me she was supposed to be *me.* I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I was still (and still am) disconcerted!
Other big events of the week: Dan and I both took the van driving course at BYU so that we can be licensed to drive an 8 passenger van down to Vegas later this month. And let me tell you, it was exciting. We took the classes at different times, so I can't speak for Dan's class, but the most exciting part of my class was the big box of gingerbread cookies that our instructor "borrowed" from the office next door (and the secretary had to come back and fetch them because apparently other staff members were upset that the cookies had disappeared). We learned all sorts of useful things, like the fact that you really should wear your seat belt--apparently, just being a good driver or being afraid of wrinkling your clothes are not good excuses not to buckle up. (To be fair, there were a few useful pointers.) Anyway, now we both have licenses that are good for four years.
Saturday morning my siblings (well, except Justin, who lives too far away) and I gathered at our house to celebrate my dad's birthday. We had a pizza lunch with brownies for desert and then the kids presented my dad with presents. The best presents were from Jared's kids, who had scoured the dollar store to find them. My dad got a 60 piece Mickey Mouse puzzle from Joshua (this for a man who used to do 1000+ piece puzzles in short order) and a marshmallow ant farm (which looked disgusting) that the kids begged to try. Andrew was the only one who liked them; the other kids all spit their pieces out. And none of the adults would try them (they really did look gross).
The birthday party came on the heals of Andrew's first swim lesson--a lesson I made the mistake of mentioning to him on Friday; he subsequently brought it up every 20 or 30 minutes for the rest of the day. (We went to campus to get Dan and Andrew said, "We need to go get Daddy so that I can be ready for my school. For my swim lesson.") Anyway, he loved it (even if he was in the "baby" class--he didn't qualify for the next class up because he's not 3 yet, but Dan said he was the oldest by about a year in his class). Dan says he thinks Andrew has a crush on his instructor, since his favorite thing to do was splash her.
We thought we'd bring back my favorite Sunday activity: taking pictures of my baby in her Sunday clothes. Here she is in one of her newest outfits (the apple line from Gymboree that Bubby is using as the basis for our forthcoming family pictures). I have to say I think she looks much better in bright colors than in the pastels that are typical for newborn girls. We're still not sure what color her eyes are, other than dark.
Here's Andrew in his plastic pith helmet. The boy has a fascination with safaris (courtesy, I think, of the Little Einsteins). The other day, he told me, "Mommy, I'm going to miss you!" Curious--because we were heading home and I wasn't in any imminent danger of leaving him--I asked why. "I'm going to miss you guys when I go on safari to Africa." And again just a couple days ago, Andrew asked me when he was going on safari. I had to explain to him that he would have to be considerably older before he could go, but that hasn't noticeably dampened his enthusiasm for going on safari.
Anyway, I spent much of the week leading up to the retreat working on my workshop for the retreat and assembling various food items, etc., for the dinner and other activities. I had forgotten how stressful it can be to be in charge of something so big--not only were we planning on around 60+ people for dinner, simply getting everything together wasn't enough. As the coordinator, I also had to make sure we stayed on schedule, introduce new activities, move things along, etc. Although the evening was a lot of fun, I found myself fairly relieved as I drove back down Provo canyon after the evening was over. It was the first time I'd felt truly relaxed in several days.
Because the evening had a Halloween/Harry Potter theme to it, I got to truly appreciate the creativity of the students I work with. One enterprising couple came as Governor Sarah Palin and Senator John McCain (and she, at least, looked rather like Palin). Another student--who won the award for "scariest" costume--came as the economy, with a relatively simple graph on his chest showing the downward trend of recent months. Another girl, in the spirit of the evening, came as Hermoine Granger and spent at least the first part of the evening in character, down to the British accent and everything. One of my Honors 300 students (that's the class I teach) came with her fiance. Although she didn't appear to be in costume, I think she must have been, since her intended had dark circles around his eyes, unnatural pale skin that glittered, and she introduced him by saying he was "Edward." (Jeni, I thought of you when she said this!). So I presume she was Bella, from Stephanie Meyers' Twighlight series.
But what still has me puzzling, is the fact that one of the costume awards given out for the evening (I put some of the students in charge of the prizes, so I had no idea this was coming) was given for the "best Rosalyn look-alike." My TA for the Honors 300 course won this, by donning a short curly wig, a courdoroy jacket and scarf, and affixing a Penn State logo to his coat and carrying around a dictionary whose jacket cover read "My Dissertation." I'm still not sure how I feel about this! (I'm not used to being important enough to be parodied). What is still more curious: he wasn't the only one dressed as me. Another of the Writing Fellows finally came up to me as the evening was nearing its close to ask: "Have you figured out who I am yet?" Honestly, I had no idea she was even in costume--she was wearing a pretty peasant blouse and a long brown skirt, much like something I would wear. (And that, I think, was the point). She finally had to tell me she was supposed to be *me.* I suppose imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, but I was still (and still am) disconcerted!
Other big events of the week: Dan and I both took the van driving course at BYU so that we can be licensed to drive an 8 passenger van down to Vegas later this month. And let me tell you, it was exciting. We took the classes at different times, so I can't speak for Dan's class, but the most exciting part of my class was the big box of gingerbread cookies that our instructor "borrowed" from the office next door (and the secretary had to come back and fetch them because apparently other staff members were upset that the cookies had disappeared). We learned all sorts of useful things, like the fact that you really should wear your seat belt--apparently, just being a good driver or being afraid of wrinkling your clothes are not good excuses not to buckle up. (To be fair, there were a few useful pointers.) Anyway, now we both have licenses that are good for four years.
Saturday morning my siblings (well, except Justin, who lives too far away) and I gathered at our house to celebrate my dad's birthday. We had a pizza lunch with brownies for desert and then the kids presented my dad with presents. The best presents were from Jared's kids, who had scoured the dollar store to find them. My dad got a 60 piece Mickey Mouse puzzle from Joshua (this for a man who used to do 1000+ piece puzzles in short order) and a marshmallow ant farm (which looked disgusting) that the kids begged to try. Andrew was the only one who liked them; the other kids all spit their pieces out. And none of the adults would try them (they really did look gross).
The birthday party came on the heals of Andrew's first swim lesson--a lesson I made the mistake of mentioning to him on Friday; he subsequently brought it up every 20 or 30 minutes for the rest of the day. (We went to campus to get Dan and Andrew said, "We need to go get Daddy so that I can be ready for my school. For my swim lesson.") Anyway, he loved it (even if he was in the "baby" class--he didn't qualify for the next class up because he's not 3 yet, but Dan said he was the oldest by about a year in his class). Dan says he thinks Andrew has a crush on his instructor, since his favorite thing to do was splash her.
We thought we'd bring back my favorite Sunday activity: taking pictures of my baby in her Sunday clothes. Here she is in one of her newest outfits (the apple line from Gymboree that Bubby is using as the basis for our forthcoming family pictures). I have to say I think she looks much better in bright colors than in the pastels that are typical for newborn girls. We're still not sure what color her eyes are, other than dark.
Here's Andrew in his plastic pith helmet. The boy has a fascination with safaris (courtesy, I think, of the Little Einsteins). The other day, he told me, "Mommy, I'm going to miss you!" Curious--because we were heading home and I wasn't in any imminent danger of leaving him--I asked why. "I'm going to miss you guys when I go on safari to Africa." And again just a couple days ago, Andrew asked me when he was going on safari. I had to explain to him that he would have to be considerably older before he could go, but that hasn't noticeably dampened his enthusiasm for going on safari.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Picture blog
Since the bulk of my week was spent watching kids, grading papers, and shopping (as a reward for the diligent grading), there isn't much interesting to report that hasn't already been reported. In lieu of substance, we offer the following pictures:
A note of explanation on this one: Andrew watched his new Mickey Mouse Halloween show (where Goofy dresses up as a knight) and decided he needed to be Knight Goofy. Here is the result. (I love that he doesn't care that the hat is a cowboy hat and the boots cowboy boots--he needed boots and a hat for his costume. His "armor" is an older shirt of mine that I can't bear to give up because it's a cool copper/turqoise dual tone shirt).
Finally, for your viewing pleasure, Andrew sings what he calls, "Rock a My Baby."
A note of explanation on this one: Andrew watched his new Mickey Mouse Halloween show (where Goofy dresses up as a knight) and decided he needed to be Knight Goofy. Here is the result. (I love that he doesn't care that the hat is a cowboy hat and the boots cowboy boots--he needed boots and a hat for his costume. His "armor" is an older shirt of mine that I can't bear to give up because it's a cool copper/turqoise dual tone shirt).
Finally, for your viewing pleasure, Andrew sings what he calls, "Rock a My Baby."The best kind of joy comes in moments
There's a wonderful talk from last spring's General Conference by Elder Ballard addressed specifically to young mothers. In it, he reminds us that the joy of motherhood comes in moments. I couldn't help thinking about that this morning, as I watched my son try to make his sister laugh, as I watched Dan jiggle Evelyn's legs while she giggled delightedly, as I held my daughter and breathed in that fresh baby scent of hers (well, okay, she actually smelled a bit like sour milk from spit-up, but she's still sweet all the same) and felt her smooth cheek next to mine. At moments like this, a tight bubble of joy seems to rise in my chest and swell so that I think it must break open and split me wide. Truly, we are blessed.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Adventures in Andrewland
Andrew had a series of funny moments yesterday that reminded me why we love him so much (and why he exasperates us so much!).
Yesterday morning we decided to make banana bread with some bananas that had clearly seen better days (no one in our family will touch them once they've started browning). We added chocolate chips, because I thought Andrew would enjoy that (although apparently my dad thinks that's a waste of chocolate chips and Dan thinks its a waste of good banana bread). Of course, Andrew insisted on having a few chips of his own to sample while I mixed the batter. To my horror, I suddenly heard Andrew saying to his sister (who was in the swing in the kitchen), "Here Evelyn." I looked up from my mixing to discover that Andrew had put a chocolate chip in her mouth! Luckily, they were miniature chips, but still. Evelyn tried to suck on the chip, made a funny face, and started gagging a little, so I swept the chip out with my finger. And Andrew and I had a discussion about appropriate baby food.
A little later, once Evelyn was asleep, we headed outside because Andrew wanted to show me "something growing" in the backyard. This was the peach tree that highlighted our previous post. After he showed me the tree (which is only a little taller than he is), I asked him what he wanted to do outside. His response? "I want to watch the tree grow." (Is this like the outdoor equivalent of watching paint dry?) Needless to say, I wasn't exactly onboard with this fascinating plan for entertainment.
And finally, I discovered that Andrew's new favorite game for outdoors is tag. He squealed delightedly when I chased him. Unfortunately, he also quickly discovered an out. Any time I got close to catching him, he would sit down abruptly and announce, "I'm resting!" So basically, Andrew rested a lot and I was (almost) always it.
Yesterday morning we decided to make banana bread with some bananas that had clearly seen better days (no one in our family will touch them once they've started browning). We added chocolate chips, because I thought Andrew would enjoy that (although apparently my dad thinks that's a waste of chocolate chips and Dan thinks its a waste of good banana bread). Of course, Andrew insisted on having a few chips of his own to sample while I mixed the batter. To my horror, I suddenly heard Andrew saying to his sister (who was in the swing in the kitchen), "Here Evelyn." I looked up from my mixing to discover that Andrew had put a chocolate chip in her mouth! Luckily, they were miniature chips, but still. Evelyn tried to suck on the chip, made a funny face, and started gagging a little, so I swept the chip out with my finger. And Andrew and I had a discussion about appropriate baby food.
A little later, once Evelyn was asleep, we headed outside because Andrew wanted to show me "something growing" in the backyard. This was the peach tree that highlighted our previous post. After he showed me the tree (which is only a little taller than he is), I asked him what he wanted to do outside. His response? "I want to watch the tree grow." (Is this like the outdoor equivalent of watching paint dry?) Needless to say, I wasn't exactly onboard with this fascinating plan for entertainment.
And finally, I discovered that Andrew's new favorite game for outdoors is tag. He squealed delightedly when I chased him. Unfortunately, he also quickly discovered an out. Any time I got close to catching him, he would sit down abruptly and announce, "I'm resting!" So basically, Andrew rested a lot and I was (almost) always it.
Thursday, October 09, 2008
Too smart for his own good
Andrew seems to me to be a little young to be quibbling about word-definitions with lawyerly exactness--nevertheless, that is what he did today! My parents were planting a tree in the back yard and Andrew, with his usual gift for being in the wrong place at the wrong time, was right in the thick of things. My dad finally told Andrew to stay on the grass. So Andrew put one foot on the grass, and with his other foot, he reached as far as he could towards the hole for the tree, so he was straddling the edge of the lawn.
My dad asked, "Andrew, are your feet on the grass?"
Andrew responded with incontrovertible logic, pointing at the foot that was still touching the grass, "This foot is."
My dad asked, "Andrew, are your feet on the grass?"
Andrew responded with incontrovertible logic, pointing at the foot that was still touching the grass, "This foot is."
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Milestones
Since this week has been far to busy for me to keep any kind of accurate daily record (read: I don't remember all the details), I'll cut to the quick and just give you the highlights.
Evelyn, of course, continues to be just about as cute as she can be. She's really generally a delightfully low key baby who only cries when she's hungry or tired (and not always then). Our only complaint: we'd like it if she slept a little more (for naps, longer stretches at night).
But she did accomplish something big this week: she rolled over for the first time! I propped her on her stomach and she sort of fell over to one side and got stuck. (Her getting stuck is the only reason I have any kind of documentary evidence of this event--the video marks the actual momentous first.) After fidgeting for a while, she finally managed to flip her lower half over. And lest you think this was just a one-time fluke or fortuitous accident, she did the same thing the next morning about four times in a row. I guess she just really didn't like tummy time!
My major accomplishment of the week was finally getting my hair cut (after almost two years!). I figured that since I was getting it cut, I might as well do something drastic. I think it looks pretty good--although I'm still trying to figure out how to make it look as good as it did coming out of the salon.
As for Dan, lest you think we've forgotten him, he's also embarking on a milestone of sorts: his first applications for a real job are due next week. We wish him all possible luck!
Evelyn, of course, continues to be just about as cute as she can be. She's really generally a delightfully low key baby who only cries when she's hungry or tired (and not always then). Our only complaint: we'd like it if she slept a little more (for naps, longer stretches at night).
But she did accomplish something big this week: she rolled over for the first time! I propped her on her stomach and she sort of fell over to one side and got stuck. (Her getting stuck is the only reason I have any kind of documentary evidence of this event--the video marks the actual momentous first.) After fidgeting for a while, she finally managed to flip her lower half over. And lest you think this was just a one-time fluke or fortuitous accident, she did the same thing the next morning about four times in a row. I guess she just really didn't like tummy time!
Andrew has also been quite pro-active in achieving his goals this week. He has finally reached what can only be termed a potty-training success. In the last week, we've only had one, maybe two accidents. He was successful enough that Dan and I finally gave him the reward that he'd been promised: a Little Einstein's rocket, from which he has since been more or less inseparable. (The first day he had it, he wanted to take it with him everywhere--to the store, to bed, to the bathroom). But we're very proud of him.
My major accomplishment of the week was finally getting my hair cut (after almost two years!). I figured that since I was getting it cut, I might as well do something drastic. I think it looks pretty good--although I'm still trying to figure out how to make it look as good as it did coming out of the salon.
As for Dan, lest you think we've forgotten him, he's also embarking on a milestone of sorts: his first applications for a real job are due next week. We wish him all possible luck!
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