Monday, March 26, 2012
Even babies get nostalgic
Friday, March 9, 2012
18 Months - Help!
Welcome March and the spring that's coming with it. It was over 60 degrees two days ago. Then we wake up this morning and there was snow on the ground. Definitely a Michigan spring.
We're officially half way thru our second year of parenting. B and I are having a lot of fun with our little person. It's really nice to be able to communicate. It makes the experience much more fulfilling.
She has been very keen to "help" recently. She'll notice one of us do some household chore and come running. She exclaim "help"! Translated...it's meaning is "I want to help you!". She is very serious about this endeavor. And most of the time will see it thru. It's been very sweet and kind to watch this need to contribute blossom.
She also exhibits moments of real humanness. The other day we were playing peekaboo with a dishtowel and as the towel was removed from my head, hair swept into my face. She ever so gingerly leaned forward and very carefully brushed the hair off my forehead. Or this morning, she came walking out of her bedroom with a small beenie baby dog. As I inquired about the furry friend, her little hand gently stroked the "fur" on it's back.
Her imaginative play really started this week. There's a series of Fischer-Price toys called "Little People". She received the school bus with three plastic characters as a bday gift. One evening a couple of days ago, she pulled the bus to the middle of her bedroom, shook the plastic figures out and then one by one made them walk to the bus. Once at the door of the bus, each one was catapulted thru the door into the bus while Ellie exclaimed "up". Translated, she was saying "walk up the stairs into the bus".
As for all the other activities. She's much picker about food. She'll happily eat fruit, yogurt, and PB&J for all meals, all the time. We insist that dinner is filled with meats and veggies that the "family" are eating. Doesn't go over real well. So we agree to disagree...variety is important.
I'm sure she's grown but I think she looks a lot like last month. Although her baby chubbiness is slowly going away. Her legs are slimming out and have almost lost their chubby rolls around the thigh. Her baby belly can still be big and round in a way that only baby bellies can be. I'll miss it when it's gone.
She still tries new words here and there. Today's new word was "heart". I've decided that babies come with very heavy accents. Her words make perfect sense to me...most of the time. But I find most other people have a hard time figuring out what she's saying.
Happy Spring!
We're officially half way thru our second year of parenting. B and I are having a lot of fun with our little person. It's really nice to be able to communicate. It makes the experience much more fulfilling.
She has been very keen to "help" recently. She'll notice one of us do some household chore and come running. She exclaim "help"! Translated...it's meaning is "I want to help you!". She is very serious about this endeavor. And most of the time will see it thru. It's been very sweet and kind to watch this need to contribute blossom.
She also exhibits moments of real humanness. The other day we were playing peekaboo with a dishtowel and as the towel was removed from my head, hair swept into my face. She ever so gingerly leaned forward and very carefully brushed the hair off my forehead. Or this morning, she came walking out of her bedroom with a small beenie baby dog. As I inquired about the furry friend, her little hand gently stroked the "fur" on it's back.
Her imaginative play really started this week. There's a series of Fischer-Price toys called "Little People". She received the school bus with three plastic characters as a bday gift. One evening a couple of days ago, she pulled the bus to the middle of her bedroom, shook the plastic figures out and then one by one made them walk to the bus. Once at the door of the bus, each one was catapulted thru the door into the bus while Ellie exclaimed "up". Translated, she was saying "walk up the stairs into the bus".
As for all the other activities. She's much picker about food. She'll happily eat fruit, yogurt, and PB&J for all meals, all the time. We insist that dinner is filled with meats and veggies that the "family" are eating. Doesn't go over real well. So we agree to disagree...variety is important.
I'm sure she's grown but I think she looks a lot like last month. Although her baby chubbiness is slowly going away. Her legs are slimming out and have almost lost their chubby rolls around the thigh. Her baby belly can still be big and round in a way that only baby bellies can be. I'll miss it when it's gone.
She still tries new words here and there. Today's new word was "heart". I've decided that babies come with very heavy accents. Her words make perfect sense to me...most of the time. But I find most other people have a hard time figuring out what she's saying.
Happy Spring!
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Saturday Sounds
Ellie's been collecting sounds over the last few months. Recently she added a cat's meow to the list. But honestly, it sounds like a pained cat...we think she's picking just the "owww" of the me-owwww.
Before it actually becomes a meow, we wanted to capture and share. As a bonus, you'll get to hear 3 of her other favorites....lion, elephant and dog.
Before it actually becomes a meow, we wanted to capture and share. As a bonus, you'll get to hear 3 of her other favorites....lion, elephant and dog.
Friday, February 10, 2012
17 Months
Here we are again. Time for the monthly update. Let's see... big things for this month. 4 more teeth (all her "eye" teeth) broke through. So she's up to 16 teeth. Looks like a full set now. Her hair is loonnnngggg, like past her shoulders now.
Our first full month of ear tubes and we (the parents) love them! They have been wonderful and have given her a month without any ear infections. We hope this trend continues.
She's starting to remember little actions we show her. I ask her "How old are you?" She holds up her little pointer finger and says one. Papa Weitzel taught her the "Home Alone" face. So now when you ask, she'll go "ahhhhh" as she holds her face. I think what's most interesting about all this is that long term memory is coming on line. We might not do these tricks for days or weeks but she remembers what to do when prompted.
You can also see language comprehension really taking off. As we sing songs or read books, she'll act out words she recognizes. Like the word train. She'll make a "Choo-Choo"/engineer pulling the whistle gesture if she hears either the word or reference to train. She's also connecting to the characters in her favorite books. She know who's who and knows the sequence of the story. Her current favorites include: Story County, Bear's House, I Like it When, Eric Carle books (Brown bear, Brown Bear, Hungry Little Caterpillar, etc)
Language comes and goes. There will be days or weeks when she's trying new words and speaking clearly. Then all of a sudden it's like that system takes a break or something. The words seem less pronounced and she struggles with anything new. That's the kind of week we seem to having this week.
I have to say that I have had a successful month parenting a toddler. I have worked on showing more calm and patience with her fits and tantrums. I have also started to out smart her. I know she is seeking more independence and self reliance. So I have try to think of ways of giving it to her while maintaining the Alpha status between the two of us. For example, she has been very vocal and determined to decide what she eats. So rather than asking her what she's interested in, I pick out 2 things I'd be more than happy with her having and letting her decide. She gets to make a decision and I still oversee her menus. Go me! This parenting stuff isn't always very intuitive so I get excited by my parenting victories :)
Ellie's loves her dry-erase board!
Our first full month of ear tubes and we (the parents) love them! They have been wonderful and have given her a month without any ear infections. We hope this trend continues.
She's starting to remember little actions we show her. I ask her "How old are you?" She holds up her little pointer finger and says one. Papa Weitzel taught her the "Home Alone" face. So now when you ask, she'll go "ahhhhh" as she holds her face. I think what's most interesting about all this is that long term memory is coming on line. We might not do these tricks for days or weeks but she remembers what to do when prompted.
You can also see language comprehension really taking off. As we sing songs or read books, she'll act out words she recognizes. Like the word train. She'll make a "Choo-Choo"/engineer pulling the whistle gesture if she hears either the word or reference to train. She's also connecting to the characters in her favorite books. She know who's who and knows the sequence of the story. Her current favorites include: Story County, Bear's House, I Like it When, Eric Carle books (Brown bear, Brown Bear, Hungry Little Caterpillar, etc)
Language comes and goes. There will be days or weeks when she's trying new words and speaking clearly. Then all of a sudden it's like that system takes a break or something. The words seem less pronounced and she struggles with anything new. That's the kind of week we seem to having this week.
I have to say that I have had a successful month parenting a toddler. I have worked on showing more calm and patience with her fits and tantrums. I have also started to out smart her. I know she is seeking more independence and self reliance. So I have try to think of ways of giving it to her while maintaining the Alpha status between the two of us. For example, she has been very vocal and determined to decide what she eats. So rather than asking her what she's interested in, I pick out 2 things I'd be more than happy with her having and letting her decide. She gets to make a decision and I still oversee her menus. Go me! This parenting stuff isn't always very intuitive so I get excited by my parenting victories :)
Ellie's loves her dry-erase board!
Monday, February 6, 2012
Flinging Mom's Good Intentions
Picking Ellie up from school/daycare is always an interesting event.
We go through the initial euphoric excitment to be reunited. We hug, she shows me things in her classroom, we wash hands and then head for the car. As we walk the hallway from her side of the school to the front enterence, the euphoria starts to wear off and we begin to realize that it's been a long day for both of us.
It's become an expected routine to have a snack on the car ride home (which is about 10-15mins). First starting with a bottle of milk in the early months, to now something little like an applesauce crusher or some yogurt drops/puffs/animal crackers. (Ellie always seems starved on her school days although the teachers assure me she eats her full portions. So I figure it's just all the activity she's getting. Or just the anticipation of an established routine at this point). Either way, I faithly ensure I don't leave the house without something in hand to provide.
Ellie crushed this Mom's good intentions last Thursday though. We get in the car, she gets buckled into her car seat, I pour some puffs into a little bowl and proudly present them to her. She looks at me, she looks at the puffs and flings them towards the nearest door. As silly as it may be, I was hurt. She could have just shook her head and given her "noooo" like most other times. But to so coldly throw something I put effort into making sure she has on a regularly basis was just mean. It was like my love and good intentions were being flung.
A battle of wills ensued.
She wanted something else. I felt strongly that such behavior should not be rewarded in any way. So needless to say, it was a long car ride home. She whined and fake cried. I ignored (as best I could). Thank goodness Braden was home to receive both of us. It gave us some time apart and allowed for a reset.
Ahhhh... the joys of parenting a little human with 17 months of life experience.
We go through the initial euphoric excitment to be reunited. We hug, she shows me things in her classroom, we wash hands and then head for the car. As we walk the hallway from her side of the school to the front enterence, the euphoria starts to wear off and we begin to realize that it's been a long day for both of us.
It's become an expected routine to have a snack on the car ride home (which is about 10-15mins). First starting with a bottle of milk in the early months, to now something little like an applesauce crusher or some yogurt drops/puffs/animal crackers. (Ellie always seems starved on her school days although the teachers assure me she eats her full portions. So I figure it's just all the activity she's getting. Or just the anticipation of an established routine at this point). Either way, I faithly ensure I don't leave the house without something in hand to provide.
Ellie crushed this Mom's good intentions last Thursday though. We get in the car, she gets buckled into her car seat, I pour some puffs into a little bowl and proudly present them to her. She looks at me, she looks at the puffs and flings them towards the nearest door. As silly as it may be, I was hurt. She could have just shook her head and given her "noooo" like most other times. But to so coldly throw something I put effort into making sure she has on a regularly basis was just mean. It was like my love and good intentions were being flung.
A battle of wills ensued.
She wanted something else. I felt strongly that such behavior should not be rewarded in any way. So needless to say, it was a long car ride home. She whined and fake cried. I ignored (as best I could). Thank goodness Braden was home to receive both of us. It gave us some time apart and allowed for a reset.
Ahhhh... the joys of parenting a little human with 17 months of life experience.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Vroom
Ellie loves matchbox cars! Like loves them...she loves making them speed around the kitchen and especially likes using car sounds to propel them forward. We discovered this love visiting cousin Christian and his well stocked collection. So for Christmas, she received a handful of them and has been enjoying her cars ever since.
Note: Although Ellie's attempted stunt at the end of the video doesn't go as planned, I'm happy to report she's ok.
Note: Although Ellie's attempted stunt at the end of the video doesn't go as planned, I'm happy to report she's ok.
Friday, January 13, 2012
L-E!
Ellie started to say her name yesterday. It comes out in a cheerleading kind of way...give me a "L"!...give me an "E"...what do you have? LE! Ellie!!
So we say "What's your name?" And she responds "LE"!
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
16 Months - A couple days late
Oops... or as Ellie would say aaaa-ps...we're couple days late on our 16 month post. Ear tubes were successfully inserted last week followed by a yucky round of GI flu for all of us over the weekend. So I think all's forgiven :)
I would say the most notable change in the last month was language development and comprehension. We are now a family that can use a combination of words, sounds, gestures and pointing to communicate our needs and wants!
We've added duck, hop (aka frog), yuck, woof (aka dog), off (aka open, on, close), YES!, no-ooo, grapes, cheese, moo (aka cow) to the list of spoken words that english speaking people would comprehend. Amazingly, like any other foreign language there are words Ellie will say over and over in the exact same way that make perfect sense to her. But unfortunately, having never learned Ellie-speak we remain clueless as to the meaning.
We don't have sentences yet. But I would imagine those are coming soon.
As for motor skills, they all seem to be going thru a fine tuning process. Nothing shocking. Everything just seems so much more polished than when new acquired.
She continues on her tall baby trend. She's officially in 24 month clothes. Wears size 6 shoes. Is 33, almost 34 inches tall (98% percentile for height) and weighs 26-27lbs (90% percentile for weight). Her hair is still getting lighter. And her eyes have reached a pretty hazel (to match her Dad's).
For some other awesome pictures of Ellie, visit Aunt Amber's facebook page Schiavone Photography: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.363776240305124.112809.199760370040046&type=1
I would say the most notable change in the last month was language development and comprehension. We are now a family that can use a combination of words, sounds, gestures and pointing to communicate our needs and wants!
We've added duck, hop (aka frog), yuck, woof (aka dog), off (aka open, on, close), YES!, no-ooo, grapes, cheese, moo (aka cow) to the list of spoken words that english speaking people would comprehend. Amazingly, like any other foreign language there are words Ellie will say over and over in the exact same way that make perfect sense to her. But unfortunately, having never learned Ellie-speak we remain clueless as to the meaning.
We don't have sentences yet. But I would imagine those are coming soon.
As for motor skills, they all seem to be going thru a fine tuning process. Nothing shocking. Everything just seems so much more polished than when new acquired.
She continues on her tall baby trend. She's officially in 24 month clothes. Wears size 6 shoes. Is 33, almost 34 inches tall (98% percentile for height) and weighs 26-27lbs (90% percentile for weight). Her hair is still getting lighter. And her eyes have reached a pretty hazel (to match her Dad's).
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Monday, January 2, 2012
Welcome 2012 - First Post
Braden's taken Ellie back to the doctors this afternoon. We've been dealing with, in my opinion, a never ending ear infection(s) since October. Fortunately, it never seems to be both ears but there's been an infection in one of the ears since it started 3 months ago. She scheduled to get tubes in 2 days. So we're being uber cautious and trying to get rid of as much fluid from the ears as possible.
Ellie has been a trouper though. She very rarely complains. It's just the subtle things that let us know something is not right.
On top of the ears, she's also getting more teeth. She has twelve currently, so I think these are the last 4 coming in. Again, we're lucky/she's lucky that teething doesn't seem to bother her too much. She still plays and eats normally.
Christmas and New Years were filled with lots of family this year. We were with family every day except one during the last 10 days. Ellie enjoyed unwrapping gifts. Riiipppp. One small of piece of wrapping paper would be then be handed to the nearest person. The little hand reaching back to the rest of the pretty paper. Ripppp. Another piece removed and personally presented to the nearest person. This process would continue until the entire layer of wrapping paper was peeled off. The concept of the actual present didn't seem all that special. There was no jumping for joy. But she certainly seemed to appreciate having new things to explore and discover.
Here's a quick video from Christmas morning
Ellie has been a trouper though. She very rarely complains. It's just the subtle things that let us know something is not right.
On top of the ears, she's also getting more teeth. She has twelve currently, so I think these are the last 4 coming in. Again, we're lucky/she's lucky that teething doesn't seem to bother her too much. She still plays and eats normally.
Christmas and New Years were filled with lots of family this year. We were with family every day except one during the last 10 days. Ellie enjoyed unwrapping gifts. Riiipppp. One small of piece of wrapping paper would be then be handed to the nearest person. The little hand reaching back to the rest of the pretty paper. Ripppp. Another piece removed and personally presented to the nearest person. This process would continue until the entire layer of wrapping paper was peeled off. The concept of the actual present didn't seem all that special. There was no jumping for joy. But she certainly seemed to appreciate having new things to explore and discover.
Here's a quick video from Christmas morning
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Friday, December 23, 2011
Ho, Ho, Ho
Ellie and I went to "look" at Santa today. She really doesn't know who the "Big Guy" is yet, nor does she probably care. I would imagine that he would be pretty scary though. A strange person, dressed in very odd looking clothing and wanting to hold children. Aren't these all things we teach our children not to be attracted to? :)
So any how, went ventured early this morning to the local mall, followed the arrows pointing towards the Santa area, and found ol' Saint Nick. He was amongst a briar patch of big, stuffed animals. I took Ellie out of the stroller and pointed towards the jolly fellow. Her reaction?
She looked every which way except his. She was far more excited about all the animals. "Duck, duck" she kept squealing while looking at the life sized stuffed swans.
Although her world doesn't include the man in the red suit, I was excited for her. Soon enough, she'll come to see him as the bringer of good, magical things. And we'll have a renewed sense of all the goodness in the world.
So, this Mom, is looking forward to next year...already!
So any how, went ventured early this morning to the local mall, followed the arrows pointing towards the Santa area, and found ol' Saint Nick. He was amongst a briar patch of big, stuffed animals. I took Ellie out of the stroller and pointed towards the jolly fellow. Her reaction?
She looked every which way except his. She was far more excited about all the animals. "Duck, duck" she kept squealing while looking at the life sized stuffed swans.
Although her world doesn't include the man in the red suit, I was excited for her. Soon enough, she'll come to see him as the bringer of good, magical things. And we'll have a renewed sense of all the goodness in the world.
So, this Mom, is looking forward to next year...already!
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
15 Months
Another month went zooming by. I wish I posted more. I think about it almost all the time. Like "oh that would be good to post" or "that's a great video for the blog". I guess being an engineer at heart, I can't say writing is my most favorite thing to do. :)
Let's see...some of the fun things this past month. For Thanksgiving we headed to Philadelphia to visit the Hartman's. In California, they were our Thanksgiving family. Then we moved and then they moved. But traditions seem to continue on and we traveled over the holiday weekend to spend time with them and all our wonderful friends (Russ, Sean, Mary, David and Rachel).
Maybe it was being around big kids or that we finally got rid of a long standing ear infection. What ever it was, Ellie's words blossomed over that weekend. She started to say "Hi" to everyone. And was clearly saying "steps" (there were many in the house).
Ever since, she's been on a word kick. Although they aren't perfectly clear, she says: hide, off, hat, hear, whoa, help, eggs, hot, more. And she tries repeating lots of other words. And she hears everything. Even when you don't think she's listening, she is.
She's also mastered stairs. In previous months, going up was the easy part. Going down was often sketchy. She always seemed like she was on a tightrope just about to tip over. In the last week, she's mastered the ability to slither down stars on her belly. It's with much confidence and speed.
We also had our first snowfall. Ellie happily played in the white stuff. She just likes being outdoors really. So she doesn't seem to mind the change of seasons. She seems to appreciate the "new stuff" that comes along with each one.
Daycare/Preschool is another joy in Ellie's expanding universe. She's now flowing with their established routines and seeming to enjoy the structure. She only goes 2 days/week so it's taken awhile for all of us to get settled. Their day goes something like: large group time, snack, outside, family group time, lunch, nap, snack, and outside. This helps me too. I've been trying to be more structured about our days together too.
We love her school. The teachers are wonderful and sooo patient. Everyday she's there, they do something fun and messy. I'm so grateful for their explorations. I don't think I'm be brave enough to do some of the things they do in a home environment. Like food colored ice cub painting. Playing with oatmeal, rice, beans, etc. Fingerpainting that ends up everywhere.
Well it's almost bath/bed time. To part, here's a fun video of the first snow last week.
Let's see...some of the fun things this past month. For Thanksgiving we headed to Philadelphia to visit the Hartman's. In California, they were our Thanksgiving family. Then we moved and then they moved. But traditions seem to continue on and we traveled over the holiday weekend to spend time with them and all our wonderful friends (Russ, Sean, Mary, David and Rachel).
Maybe it was being around big kids or that we finally got rid of a long standing ear infection. What ever it was, Ellie's words blossomed over that weekend. She started to say "Hi" to everyone. And was clearly saying "steps" (there were many in the house).
Ever since, she's been on a word kick. Although they aren't perfectly clear, she says: hide, off, hat, hear, whoa, help, eggs, hot, more. And she tries repeating lots of other words. And she hears everything. Even when you don't think she's listening, she is.
She's also mastered stairs. In previous months, going up was the easy part. Going down was often sketchy. She always seemed like she was on a tightrope just about to tip over. In the last week, she's mastered the ability to slither down stars on her belly. It's with much confidence and speed.
We also had our first snowfall. Ellie happily played in the white stuff. She just likes being outdoors really. So she doesn't seem to mind the change of seasons. She seems to appreciate the "new stuff" that comes along with each one.
Daycare/Preschool is another joy in Ellie's expanding universe. She's now flowing with their established routines and seeming to enjoy the structure. She only goes 2 days/week so it's taken awhile for all of us to get settled. Their day goes something like: large group time, snack, outside, family group time, lunch, nap, snack, and outside. This helps me too. I've been trying to be more structured about our days together too.
We love her school. The teachers are wonderful and sooo patient. Everyday she's there, they do something fun and messy. I'm so grateful for their explorations. I don't think I'm be brave enough to do some of the things they do in a home environment. Like food colored ice cub painting. Playing with oatmeal, rice, beans, etc. Fingerpainting that ends up everywhere.
Well it's almost bath/bed time. To part, here's a fun video of the first snow last week.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Stationery card
Calendar Year New Year's Card
View this season's most popular holiday card designs here.
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Monday, November 7, 2011
Movie Monday - Happy 14 months
Ellie's a very active 14 months (today!). Here's a sneak peak of how our mornings go.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Ain't fall great
Today mom and dad took on the leaves. It is great living in a wooded area but every fall we literally get buried.
This is my first year as part of the clean-up crew. . . And I have to say, it is pretty fun.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
The Best Part of Fall
Today I got to go to the cider mill. Dad tells me it is a right of passage for anyone who lives in michigan. I have to say that Cider and Doughnuts may be my new favorite meal.
I have to say though that I like being outside as much as the doughnuts ~ which is a lot!!!! Did you see how pretty the leaves are?
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ellie's Pumpkin
Setting the stage for the video. Ellie's school/daycare invited us to join them on Monday for their pumpkin day. They dotted the garden with pumpkins (think easter eggs but using pumpkins instead) that the kids then could go find. Once chosen, said pumpkin was painted a rainbow of colors.
Also attached is the finished product proudly displayed on the porch ready for Halloween.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Nom, Nom, Nom
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