Young, our NYC friend, took this lovely picture of SDS last night. Clearly a talented photographer. If you live near NYC and have children, you need to have Young take your child(ren)'s portrait.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Portrait of Stella Dot
Young, our NYC friend, took this lovely picture of SDS last night. Clearly a talented photographer. If you live near NYC and have children, you need to have Young take your child(ren)'s portrait.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Friday, December 18, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Holiday Cheer for All*
*In this context, "all" is defined by those who celebrate Christmas and/or Hannukah.
Enjoy.
SDS Sings Christmas
A Brief Lesson About Hannukah
Enjoy.
SDS Sings Christmas
A Brief Lesson About Hannukah
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Christmas and Pee-Pee
Christmas and pee-pee really have nothing to do with each other except that tonight Stella Dot peed in her pants just before I wrote this Christmas entry. She typically returns home after daycare in the evening, goes into the privacy of her bedroom and takes her "morning constitutional," then we change her out of diapers and into panties for the rest of the evening until we put on jammies and a diaper again before bedtime. This has been our habit for the past two or three months. Well, tonight the diaper-to-panty change occurred earlier and the panty-to-diaper switchback happened later than normal. I was trying to force her into peeing on the toilet. Well, she did it NEXT to the toilet. Which is pretty good, I'd say.
The sad thing was that she was HORRIBLY embarrassed. As many of you know, Lemmy is diabetic and, unfortunately, the past year hasn't been easy on our hardwood floors. Stella Dot knows that we are disappointed in Lemmy when he pees on the floor and assumed, I think, that we would feel the same about her peeing on the floor. Obviously, I tried to comfort her and tell her how proud I was that she tried to pee in the toilet and all. But, she was extremely upset. It made me a bit upset -- she is as sensitive as I am, I think, and it bums me out that she'll have to deal with that her whole life. I guess there are some positives to being sensitive, like crying when you want to be cool in front of your boss, people telling you that you are over-reacting, and feeling like a sissy when you want to seem tough. Oh, wait...ANYWAY, when I see her act the way she acted tonight ("Stella Dot, I'm so proud of you!" "No! You're not!") it makes me sad.
Anyway, we're taking a bath now to clean up the pee-pee and we'll start the whole process over tomorrow. WOO. hoo....
Christmas. Well, the celebrations have begun and I've got the pictures and videos to prove it. Grant took Stella Dot to the Christmas parade a few weeks ago where she saw Santa Claus and now SHE LOVES SANTA CLAUS. We went to a pancake breakfast with Janet and Maddie a week or so ago and saw Santa Claus again. This Santa was the BEST Santa ever, by the way. And, I can prove it because the same Mr. Claus appears in this video produced by UNC hospitals:
http://unchealthcare.org/site/
He seems to be in good health for the big day, which is good.
Stella Dot is ready, too. We're going to NYC for the holidays and we've promised her snow, ice skating, giant trees, Grandma and Grandpa, and Santa Claus. No pressure. The plan is to pack up the tree (aluminum) and bring it with us and surprise her on Xmas day with a tree and presents and her stocking. She's so into it all (loves to sing Rudolph and Santa Claus is Coming to Town), turning on the tree lights, and looking for Christmas lights as we drive home at night. It has been so much fun to experience the holidays though her eyes. I just don't want to experience the holidays through any other body parts like last year (Grant's appendix & Christmas Eve in Washington, DC.)
(She's actually singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" right now!)
Anyway, I totally get why the holidays are so fun for the parents. The lies, though, get pretty extensive and complicated. Elves? North Pole? Old man creeping around on the roof? I'm not sure I'll be able to maintain the same intensity when it comes to birds and bees, tooth fairies, and our youthful experimentation with . . . um, let's say "soda pop."
Ah well. Pictures. And Videos.
A little family portrait in front of the tree.
Stella Dot and Grant at the Christmas parade. (Watch the video below.)
Jelly face.
OMG, Dad. This parade is so boooooring. (Actually, she loved it.)
Stella Dot and her newest baby. Today she told me she loves "housekeeping" at school (a play space in her classroom) because that's where the "babies" are kept.
Maddie and Stella Dot hammin' it up at the pre-pageant festivities.
Noah makes a new friend at the Christmas pageant. (Watch the video below for more pageantry.)
Mason gives the pageant a thumbs up!
Noah, Stella Dot, and Maddie enjoy post-pageant refreshments.
Maddie.
Video #1 - Raleigh Christmas Parade
Video #2 to follow as soon as Blogger settles itself down.
The sad thing was that she was HORRIBLY embarrassed. As many of you know, Lemmy is diabetic and, unfortunately, the past year hasn't been easy on our hardwood floors. Stella Dot knows that we are disappointed in Lemmy when he pees on the floor and assumed, I think, that we would feel the same about her peeing on the floor. Obviously, I tried to comfort her and tell her how proud I was that she tried to pee in the toilet and all. But, she was extremely upset. It made me a bit upset -- she is as sensitive as I am, I think, and it bums me out that she'll have to deal with that her whole life. I guess there are some positives to being sensitive, like crying when you want to be cool in front of your boss, people telling you that you are over-reacting, and feeling like a sissy when you want to seem tough. Oh, wait...ANYWAY, when I see her act the way she acted tonight ("Stella Dot, I'm so proud of you!" "No! You're not!") it makes me sad.
Anyway, we're taking a bath now to clean up the pee-pee and we'll start the whole process over tomorrow. WOO. hoo....
Christmas. Well, the celebrations have begun and I've got the pictures and videos to prove it. Grant took Stella Dot to the Christmas parade a few weeks ago where she saw Santa Claus and now SHE LOVES SANTA CLAUS. We went to a pancake breakfast with Janet and Maddie a week or so ago and saw Santa Claus again. This Santa was the BEST Santa ever, by the way. And, I can prove it because the same Mr. Claus appears in this video produced by UNC hospitals:
http://unchealthcare.org/site/
He seems to be in good health for the big day, which is good.
Stella Dot is ready, too. We're going to NYC for the holidays and we've promised her snow, ice skating, giant trees, Grandma and Grandpa, and Santa Claus. No pressure. The plan is to pack up the tree (aluminum) and bring it with us and surprise her on Xmas day with a tree and presents and her stocking. She's so into it all (loves to sing Rudolph and Santa Claus is Coming to Town), turning on the tree lights, and looking for Christmas lights as we drive home at night. It has been so much fun to experience the holidays though her eyes. I just don't want to experience the holidays through any other body parts like last year (Grant's appendix & Christmas Eve in Washington, DC.)
(She's actually singing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" right now!)
Anyway, I totally get why the holidays are so fun for the parents. The lies, though, get pretty extensive and complicated. Elves? North Pole? Old man creeping around on the roof? I'm not sure I'll be able to maintain the same intensity when it comes to birds and bees, tooth fairies, and our youthful experimentation with . . . um, let's say "soda pop."
Ah well. Pictures. And Videos.
A little family portrait in front of the tree. 
Stella Dot and Grant at the Christmas parade. (Watch the video below.)Jelly face.OMG, Dad. This parade is so boooooring. (Actually, she loved it.)Stella Dot and her newest baby. Today she told me she loves "housekeeping" at school (a play space in her classroom) because that's where the "babies" are kept. Maddie and Stella Dot hammin' it up at the pre-pageant festivities.Noah makes a new friend at the Christmas pageant. (Watch the video below for more pageantry.)Mason gives the pageant a thumbs up!Noah, Stella Dot, and Maddie enjoy post-pageant refreshments.Maddie.Video #1 - Raleigh Christmas Parade
Video #2 to follow as soon as Blogger settles itself down.
Sunday, December 06, 2009
Tuesday, December 01, 2009
Sneak Peek at Holiday card photos
Just a couple...and not the ones you'll see on the Holiday card.
Taken November 2009 by Sarah Rice Scott.
Taken November 2009 by Sarah Rice Scott.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
What does Letter start with?
Stella Dot has been asking a lot of questions recently. She loves to play this game where she asks what letter some word starts with, as in "What letter does 'dog' start with?" She recognizes all of the capital letters by sight (although she mixes up M and W and U and V) and seems to be obsessed with finding the letters in signs, being told what written texts say, and, as I mentioned, knowing what letter words start with.
In the car the questions will be constant: "What does car start with?" "What does sky start with?" "What does road start with?" "What does Lake Johnson start with?" (In answer to the last one, she will often say, "L. Just like Lemmy!")
My answer is always to first repeat the word and then sound out the first letter. Then, she tells me the letter. So, the conversation goes like this:
SDS: What does road start with?
Me: Road. Rah-Rah, Road.
SDS: R! (Although it is sometimes "W" -- she seems to mix up these two sounds.)
She tries to do harder ones, too.
SDS: What does car start with?
Me: Car. Cah-Cah, Car.
SDS: Kee!
Me: Close! C isn't pronounced the way it sounds. Car starts with C.
This back and forth can go on for 10 minutes, always prompted by her. I do not force this on her -- she always initiates. And she gets the sound right about 80% of the time.
Anyway, this morning on the way to "school," after playing this game for a few minutes and sounding out the letter G, Stella Dot went silent for about 30 seconds. Then, she said from her car seat in the back, "The letter C and the letter G look sort of the same."
My jaw just about dropped. Where is this coming from? She'll be 2 and a half in 3 weeks! Anyone wanna take bets on when she actually starts reading? I'm pretty flabbergasted by the whole thing, but I am also beaming with great pride.
My mother says that I taught myself to read at three. I don't really know how that is possible, except that she probably read to me every day of my life and for the nine months prior to my birth (with my older brother sitting on her lap). So, I guess SDS could be taking after me in this regard. Which is nice, since her temperament, coloring, fine hair, and high Buddha belly seem to take after her father.
In the car the questions will be constant: "What does car start with?" "What does sky start with?" "What does road start with?" "What does Lake Johnson start with?" (In answer to the last one, she will often say, "L. Just like Lemmy!")
My answer is always to first repeat the word and then sound out the first letter. Then, she tells me the letter. So, the conversation goes like this:
SDS: What does road start with?
Me: Road. Rah-Rah, Road.
SDS: R! (Although it is sometimes "W" -- she seems to mix up these two sounds.)
She tries to do harder ones, too.
SDS: What does car start with?
Me: Car. Cah-Cah, Car.
SDS: Kee!
Me: Close! C isn't pronounced the way it sounds. Car starts with C.
This back and forth can go on for 10 minutes, always prompted by her. I do not force this on her -- she always initiates. And she gets the sound right about 80% of the time.
Anyway, this morning on the way to "school," after playing this game for a few minutes and sounding out the letter G, Stella Dot went silent for about 30 seconds. Then, she said from her car seat in the back, "The letter C and the letter G look sort of the same."
My jaw just about dropped. Where is this coming from? She'll be 2 and a half in 3 weeks! Anyone wanna take bets on when she actually starts reading? I'm pretty flabbergasted by the whole thing, but I am also beaming with great pride.
My mother says that I taught myself to read at three. I don't really know how that is possible, except that she probably read to me every day of my life and for the nine months prior to my birth (with my older brother sitting on her lap). So, I guess SDS could be taking after me in this regard. Which is nice, since her temperament, coloring, fine hair, and high Buddha belly seem to take after her father.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Lemmy
A conversation Stella Dot and I just had:
Me: Does Lemmy have long hair or short hair?
SDS: Short.
Me: Is he brown or black?
SDS: Brown.
Me: Is he a Poodle or a hound?
SDS: Poodle.
Me: Does he have curly hair or straight?
SDS pauses. Then she says, "Just Right. Just like baby bear's porridge."
(She thought I asked, "curly or 'just right?'" which apparently, sounds a lot like "straight."
Funny.
Me: Does Lemmy have long hair or short hair?
SDS: Short.
Me: Is he brown or black?
SDS: Brown.
Me: Is he a Poodle or a hound?
SDS: Poodle.
Me: Does he have curly hair or straight?
SDS pauses. Then she says, "Just Right. Just like baby bear's porridge."
(She thought I asked, "curly or 'just right?'" which apparently, sounds a lot like "straight."
Funny.
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
3 short stories
(1) Blueberries
"Mommy, where do these blueberries come from?"
"Um, Stella Dot, I don't know."
"From the rainforest."
(2) Ball?
SDS: "What letter does 'ball' start with?"
Me: "Buh-buh-buh. What letter is that?"
SDS: "B?"
(3) Black!
SDS, as we're leaving the house last night: "OH!" (really loud)
Me: "What's the matter?"
SDS: "All the trees are BLACK!"
"Mommy, where do these blueberries come from?"
"Um, Stella Dot, I don't know."
"From the rainforest."
(2) Ball?
SDS: "What letter does 'ball' start with?"
Me: "Buh-buh-buh. What letter is that?"
SDS: "B?"
(3) Black!
SDS, as we're leaving the house last night: "OH!" (really loud)
Me: "What's the matter?"
SDS: "All the trees are BLACK!"
Thursday, November 05, 2009
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Friday, October 30, 2009
Halloween Parade, Revisited
It's choppy, it's jumpy, but it's what we've got. It's the Country Sunshine Halloween Parade Extravaganza and Sing-Along, 2009, for your viewing pleasure.
video
video
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