Pictures with Santa

This year's ward party included a fun photo opportunity with Santa Claus himself. As soon as the jolly, old man entered the room, Jonathan (worried) scrambled up into my arms, and Amelia burst into tears. Hold me, she sobbed. While Jimmy conversed freely with Santa Claus, the two younger kids clung desperately to me. Even after seeing the candy cane that Jimmy got, they were not convinced that Santa was a nice man. Eventually, a girl came along and gave Jonathan a candy cane. While he ate the candy, I stuck him on Santa's lap for a picture. As long as he had the candy cane, he didn't care what happened to him. Amelia did not like to be the only one with out a candy cane. She timidly approached Santa for a candy cane and consented to have her picture taken with him.

New Word List for Jonathan

As Jonathan grows, so does his vocabulary. It is still very limited (it should take off around 18 months) but it includes some really cute words. Like his sister, he seems to learn words in bunches of 5 or 6. The previous bunch and the current bunch do not overlap. He also whispers when he says words with the exception of MO! (more) he knows that one very well and is not shy to say it.
Here's his 14 month word list:
cookie: perfect ennunciation. He said it for the first time to Betsy Mollenhauer, a cousin.
ding dong: perfect ennunciation. He says this when we come up to the front door and he wants to ring the door bell.
MO!: more
sha: shoe
fa fa: this means dog and is the sound that dogs make, according to Jonathan.
ba: ball
bu: bus
ticko ticko: tickle tickle. He holds up his feet after a diaper change for "tickle tickle."
There may be a few more, but these are the most common for this bunch of words. I am excited to see what he learns next.

Waiting for the Other Sock to Drop

Last night, Jimmy and I were playing a game on the old NES. Jonathan wanted to sit on my lap, but only for a few seconds at a time. One time that he sat on my lap, I noticed that he was wearing only one sock. I played with the toes on his right foot, and I asked him, "Jonathan, where's your other sock?" I tugged the sock on his left foot to show him what I meant. Not surprisingly, he got up and walked away, as he had already done countless times. I didn't think anything of it and went back to saving the princess.

A few minutes Jonathan came back, held a sock up to my face, and said "Taa!," which I think was supposed to be "Tada!" It was the match for the sock he was already wearing! I know he understands some of what we say, but that he understood my question about the sock and went and found it is amazing (and cute) for his age!

Christmas Cards

Our Christmas cards need a little explaination this year. We went to a Christmas card making workshop at the Clara Barton National Historic Site in Glen Echo, Maryland. (Clara Barton was born on Christmas and annually sent out more than 500 cards) For the cards, everyone was to dress up in historic costume (turn of the century) get their picture taken, and then use that to create a card. So we started searching through the costumes. I found something. Gary found something. Amelia settled on a pink women's blouse (none of the kids stuff was pink, and that's all she wanted.) Jonathan was oblivious to the event and wore a hat and vest. Jimmy had a tantrum and wouldn't cooperate. So we took the picture without him. Then it was time to go make the cards. Amelia wouldn't take her costume off and give it to the next girl. She had a tantrum. Then Jimmy started whining because he wasn't in the picture. SO he took one by himself wearing a hat. We left. We got a copy of the one of the 4 of us. They didn't give us the one of Jimmy.

You will be getting a card (not hand made) with the picture of the 4 of us and Jimmy's school picture. Maybe next year, we'll all get in a picture together.

Later, I found a picture of Jimmy standing in a George Washington cutout (taken at Valley Forge last summer.) If I had been on the ball, I would have sent out that one with the card, so at least we would all be in costumes even if we were not in the same picture. Here is the picture of Jimmy for you all to enjoy.

Salad Anyone?

A few days ago, the kids and I were enjoying vegetable sticks with salad dressing for a snack. As Jonathan doesn't really have enough teeth to chew carrots, I gave him an alternate snack (crackers.) He whined about that, so I gave him a plate with a little salad dressing and a celery stick and a carrot stick. (so he didn't feel left out) He threw the carrot and the celery over the side of the high chair tray and eagerly picked up the plate and licked the salad dressing off!

Sinter Claus

A few days ago, Amelia was eatting breakfast and she said "Today I am going to say my "ar's. gRits. suckeR. wRapper. Hey everything has ar's in it!"
Suckers and wrappers are not usually served for breakfast. They were from "Sinter Claus" someone Jimmy learned about in kindergarten. In Africa, they put their shoes outside for Sinter Claus to come and fill with candy. Jimmy immediately came home from school and stuck his "shoes" outside (paper cut out shoes they made in school.) He checked on them all day, to see what would happen. I thought that this was a Christmas only thing, but Jimmy insisted that it was everyday. He took this so seriously, I took pity on him and put a few suckers in the shoes in the night. In the morning, he woke up early, went outside and collected his shoes with candy inside. I thought he would be happy at that. He came in, dumped out the candy, and stuck the shoes back outside. Mercifully, the "shoes" blew away that afternoon and that was the end of that.

Cheaters Never Prosper

Jimmy and Amelia were having a race to put on shoes today. Amelia got done first because she didn't use socks. "I won, I won!" she cried. "No you didn't! You didn't use socks. Cheaters never prosper!" Jimmy called back. "Ha Ha I prospered!" Amelia taunted. And then back and forth over whether or not she actually was actually prosperous. I thought it was a pretty funny arguement. I guess you had to be there.

What is fragile?

Amelia asked me what fragile means. I asked Jimmy to explain (to see what he would say) he said:
Fragile means it can be broken easliy. Like bricks or rocks or chains. Everything in the world is fragile to me.

We are Thankful for Hats

Jimmy celebrated Thanksgiving in school today. Doesn't he look cute in his Indian get up?
Amelia also wore a hat today. She likes to wear this shower cap. She calls it her "red wig."
Jonathan loves to root around in other people's dressers and put on their clothes. Here he is in the baby cape that Gary was blessed in almost 30 years ago!

Halloween

I know it's a little late, but here is a picture of our kids from Halloween. Starting from left to right, there is Spiderman, a mermaid, and a pirate whose costume fell apart. That's an eye patch around his neck (his hook and hat are in his bucket) The kids enjoyed the church trunk or treat, but the neighborhood trick or treating was a little too scary for Amelia. After ringing most doorbells, we could hear the sound of dogs barking. This was enough to send Amelia screaming and running away. Maybe next year she'll be used to dogs. Then again, maybe next year she'll choose to stay home.

(To get your own Ariel hair, mix 1 packet red kool aid with a free sample packet of conditioner and apply to wet hair. Leave in as long as you can and then rinse. Wash hair with toothpaste to remove all color)

I also included a picture of Jonathan in his carseat, taken that night. You might get the idea that he has crossed eyes... but he doesn't! It happens to be extra skin growing in the bottom corners of his eyes. We are assured that he will grow into his skin.

The Natural History Museum

Last weekend we had beautiful weather so we decided to have an adventure in Washington DC. After some discussion we decided on the Natural History Museum followed by a walk along the National Mall.

The Natural History museum houses many great artifacts including dinosaur bones and the Hope Diamond. We did not see those first. We started in the basement with the "Birds of Washington DC" exhibit. The kids were really animated and pointed at all of the birds (they were taxidermied.) They exclaimed over the owls and hummingbirds especially. I really enjoyed seeing a bald eagle. Did you ever notice how it's feathers grow down its legs, looking like bird pants? I thought that was pretty funny. The kids loved the ducks and the turkey too. Jonathan kept trying to say bird (bwa) and Jimmy and Amelia were amazed to see real birds so close. As we turned the last corner, we came upon a pair of large, white swans, in a glass case. They were at waist height for adults, so the children could not see them. Gary lifted each kids up, starting with Amelia to get a better look. As soon as she saw the bird, she let out blood curdling scream! It was genuine terror! She shook and sobbed she tried to get away. She was inconsolible at the sight of these swans. Neither Gary nor I could see what the problem was. She was fine for every other bird on display, but those swans really set her off.

After that, we went to the gems and mineral halls. Nothing could be scary there. ANd nothing was scary there. We all oohed and aahed over the beautiful rocks and minerals, spending more time on the mineral displays then on the gems set in jewelry.

Then we went to go and see the reptile skeletons and the insect zoo. All of the bones were neatly arranged and very sterile however they gave Amelia the willies. Gary and I enjoyed the turtle skeletons. Jimmy like seeing the graphs that demonstrated bone growth and develpment.

In the Insect Zoo, Gary got to hold a large grass hopper. I asked if he would hold the kissing cockroach next and he laughed at me. It turns out I had heard wrong. It was a HISSING cockroach. We passed it by and headed to the dinosaur area. We all got a thrill out of seeing real, life size dinosaur fossils. Jimmy got the biggest thrill out of (drum roll please) the computer kiosk. He couldn't get enough of the computer display and had to be dragged away to look at the actual dinosaur bones. Once he noticed those, he thought they were pretty neat. Especially the t-rex. Amelia liked the baby dinosaurs.

We ended the day on the National Mall, with a short walk to the Washington Monument. It looked beautiful against the setting sun.

Want to know when Jesus will come?

We have a famous super hero in residence. He came home with Jimmy from kindergarten on the first day of school. He wears the same clothes as Jimmy and he looks just like Jimmy. However, his family of 7 brothers was killed in a car wreck and he was forced to join our family. His name is "Crismon Shedds." Crismon Shedds' super power is that he was born knowing everything. He's not around all the time, but sometimes he puts in an "appearance."

Last night, during dinner I made a joke about the millenium (don't ask, it was political) which lead to the discussion of what the millenium is. We explainned how Jesus will come and it will be wonderful, but no one knows when it will happen. Not even the prophet or angels in heaven know when it will happen. "oh yeah?" says Jimmy "Just ask Crismon Shedds!"

UPDATE: more info on Crismon Shedds.

Chore chart

I decided it was time to pass off some of the housework to the kids. I never make it through my list at the end of the day. I found a chore chart maker online and each week, I sit down with the kids and review what needs to be done. They then choose 2 things they are willing to take over for the week. Jimmy hangs his up and takes it very seriously. He vacuumed under the table for a week. He washed the windows. He said 2 things was not enough and he chose more. He chose hard jobs and did them well. He gets upset if someone else tries to do HIS job. I am grateful for his hardwork; I think when he is older he will accuse me of making him my slave!

Burning Lipstick

A few nights ago, I made "wild black bean soup" for dinner. It had 1/2c picante sauce in it, so it really packed a punch. It had a nice flavor, but it left a lot of heat in the mouth, in particular the lips. I liked it (with some hesitations, I could only finish half a bowl before I couldn't take the heat.) Amelia liked it. She ate a few bites and requested water. She ate a few more bites and requested water. She ate a few more bites and had a glass of water. She drank 5 larges glasses of water and then said "this soup is like burning lipstick!"

Copy cat!

Gary asked the children who wanted to say the bedtime prayer and Jonathan's hand was up first. "MA!" he shouted, in near perfect imitation of Jimmy and Amelia. He had no idea what he was volunteering for, or even that he was volunteering for anything. He just knew that when someone says "who wants to say the prayer" you are supposed to raise your hand and shout "ME!"
We tried an experiment: over the next few minutes, Gary asked at random "who wants to say the prayer?" and every time, Jonathan's hand flew up in the air and he shouted "MA!"

I guess it won't be long now before he can take a turn for real.

Jonny's Word List

As a former student of speech pathology, I really enjoy keeping word lists of my children's first words for the second year of life. (where the language development really takes off)
Jonathan turned one last week and he added his first word (other than Mama and Dada) After we dropped Jimmy off for the bus, he waved and said "bye bye"
So here is a list of the current words he says and uses spontaniously;
Mama
Dada
bye bye
done (da)
more (ma!)
amen (men)
Amelia (ni-ya)

He babbles a lot using sentences of made up words. He even pauses for me to respond. He can't wait to communicate!

Seeing Red

Jimmy and Amelia don't really see eye to eye on most things lately. Most apparently clothing. He loves camoflague and she loves pink. She loves dresses and tights and he only wears denim, jogging suits, and t shirts. One could say that she is a "girly girl" and he is a "boyly boy" (I can't think of the real word at this time) But they both agree on the color red. He loves wearing red jogging suits with red shirts (no collars or buttons please!) she loves wearing red dresses. The more glitter the better. (she has one that was covered with glittery dots, but the glitter has long sinced washed off) In fact, she reminds me of Ginger Grant (the red head from Gilligan's Island) sometimes. Very pretty, very formal, and overdressed for most occasions!

Happy Birthday Jonny

Wednesday marked Jonathan's first birthday. The kids enjoyed "painting" on the sidewalk with brushes and water pitchers and exploring the paths around our community. That evening, Jonny coated himself with cake and ice cream. It was a peppermint flavored snake cake (he chose the flavor.) He really gets a kick out of snakes and thoroughly enjoyed eating one to celebrate his first year of life.
His birthday present was a singing rocking horse, which we did not have wrapping paper for. We covered it with a large blanket and hid it in a corner. That was not enough to fool Jonny. First thing in the morning, I found him with head and shoulders under the blanket, dancing to the music of the horse!

New house photos

This is our living room. We haven't gotten it "just right" We are still pushing things around.

Note the ride on toys on the balcony. The kids love to play there.
This is the kids bedroom. We painted it green, to be like the room from "good night moon" We even found a moon shaped lamp.
This is the play room. If you turn right, there is a play kitchen and baby dolls. If you turn left there is a tool bench, pirate ship and a racecar eating dinosaur.















Here are some pictures of our new place. We really like it here.

MOVE!

Last week, we moved into our new home. It is a 3 level condo. Jimmy says that his favorite part is the balcony. He can often be found hanging out on the balcony, where he and Amelia pull doughnuts (that's all there's room for) with "their wheels" (trike and scooter.)

We only have 5 boxes to unpack (unfortunately the "bonus boxes" that have a little bit of everything!) and are happy to be settling in. Pictures and details to follow eventually! (thanks for your patience)