We had yet another snowstorm on Tuesday. It shut down schools for a day, and left the roads icy for a couple of days. But now we're finally back to our 40 degree rainy winter weather and I was able to ride to work again on Thursday and Friday. That felt good.
The snow this time was good enough that Audrey got to build her first snowmen. She loved it, of course. Charlotte had a pretty good time in the snow, too. And they got introduced to the custom of getting cold playing in the snow and then coming in the house to warm up with hot chocolate.
Public Service Announcement: Along with apparently hundreds of other people I responded to an emergency call for blood donations last Sunday. Stocks were very low due to a lot of canceled blood drives because of weather. The center I went to processed 90 people that day - a normal day is half as many donations with twice as much staff and twice as many hours of operation. And with that donation I earned my "3 Gallon" pin. If you've never donated blood, give it a try. It's really almost painless, takes about 30 minutes total and saves lives! I was given a pint of blood about 25 years ago; it was the best medicine I have ever received. Only about 5% of Americans donate blood.
Audrey's hair was getting pretty long again. Carol took her for a haircut this morning and took off more than I expected (I like it short, but it surprised me that Carol wanted it short). We love the new look.
Charlotte has a fever today and is obviously feeling under the weather. But we're very lucky in that even when our kids feel poorly they are great sports and can still eke out a giggle now and then. Carol took a long bath with Charlotte this afternoon and that made her feel better. Charlotte appears to have a whole bunch of teeth threatening to come in all at once.
I spent my morning retrieving cars. A childhood friend passed away last summer. His mother recently sold his house and needed to get his three vehicles off the property an hour north of Seattle. I recruited a couple of friends and after some fiddling we got them all running and on the road. I got to drive home his red 1978 Corvette Stingray which is now parked in our garage until it can be sold. Nothing like a good old American muscle car.
Carol and I are taking a five-session Love and Logic course. In the first session we already learned some great tools to use with Audrey when she whines or misbehaves. The best one is so simple: when she whines we're supposed to "go brain dead" and just say, "I know" with as much empathy as we can muster. It's amazingly effective. Audrey doesn't appreciate it at all. She has already developed her own response, "Harummph!"
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Thursday, January 18, 2007
How Birthdays Work
Labels:
family
Since my sisters and I were children, our family has had a rotating music box cake stand that we use for birthday cakes. Since I'm the only one with kids, I inherited it to use with them.
Last weekend while Aunt Elizabeth was babysitting Audrey told her, "My birthday is coming soon. I will have a cake that will turn and people will sing to the cake. You can come to my party and sing to the cake."
Last weekend while Aunt Elizabeth was babysitting Audrey told her, "My birthday is coming soon. I will have a cake that will turn and people will sing to the cake. You can come to my party and sing to the cake."
Monday, January 15, 2007
Wild Winter
Labels:
family
We're just starting to thaw today from a blast of snow and cold that arrived on Wednesday evening. My bike was in the shop that day, and I picked it up at 5:30 and rode it home in the height of the snowstorm (it wasn't sticking to the pavement yet). The mile of my ride along West Marginal Way was in a bike lane containing about an inch of slush giving my feet an ice water bath. I had popsicle toes when I got home. I haven't ridden since because the streets are still icy. But today they began to thaw a little and by Tuesday we're supposed to be back to our normal rain. I miss commuting on my bike even after only two days of busing it.
I know I write a lot about what Audrey says. It's because I think the process of language acquisition is fascinating. I love observing how she assembles her mental model of the world. I'll apologize right now to Charlotte for the fact that by the time she is learning these things we might not be as fascinated.
Here are Audrey's latest:
This week Audrey loves to say, "Look what I can do!" Then she'll perform some "feat" such as gulping, winking or flailing her arms wildly. Once in a while it really is a surprising skill, like being able to jump (quite far!) from one rug to another without touching "lava".
Audrey has had a bad-sounding cough for a month now. It's not all the time, but it clearly makes her uncomfortable. At two weeks Carol called the doctor and they said if she doesn't have a fever and the cough is productive it'll just take care of itself. But Carol called again yesterday at four weeks and they said to bring her in. The doctor was a little perplexed and sent us for a chest X-ray. The X-ray was digital, so we could see it right away. I showed it to Audrey and explained about having bones in her body. I guess she wasn't ready for that, because the rest of the day she was complaining, "I don't want bones in my tummy!" Carol would pretend to remove them. Once in a while, Audrey would say, "I want my bones back in my tummy." The X-ray was clear, by the way, so we're back to waiting for the cough to run its course.
Charlotte is also learning new things. She can get herself into and out of her step stool cum picnic table. She'll even stand up on the step (she's only fallen off once). She can lower herself down from the banquette bench in the kitchen on her belly. She'll do it from the (tall) bed in her bedroom, too, but obviously we spot her for that. It's starting to appear as though she might be as fearless as Audrey. Charlotte can also make it up the stairs (also obviously only when being spotted).
Charlotte is also responding more all the time to language. If Carol says, "let's go change your diaper," Charlotte will walk into her bedroom. Same at bath time. And she'll shake her head when offered food she doesn't want. She loves to "deliver" items. She'll find Audrey's Vegas and take it to Audrey. Or she'll find one of our shoes and bring it to Carol or me.
I know I write a lot about what Audrey says. It's because I think the process of language acquisition is fascinating. I love observing how she assembles her mental model of the world. I'll apologize right now to Charlotte for the fact that by the time she is learning these things we might not be as fascinated.
Here are Audrey's latest:
This week Audrey loves to say, "Look what I can do!" Then she'll perform some "feat" such as gulping, winking or flailing her arms wildly. Once in a while it really is a surprising skill, like being able to jump (quite far!) from one rug to another without touching "lava".
Audrey has had a bad-sounding cough for a month now. It's not all the time, but it clearly makes her uncomfortable. At two weeks Carol called the doctor and they said if she doesn't have a fever and the cough is productive it'll just take care of itself. But Carol called again yesterday at four weeks and they said to bring her in. The doctor was a little perplexed and sent us for a chest X-ray. The X-ray was digital, so we could see it right away. I showed it to Audrey and explained about having bones in her body. I guess she wasn't ready for that, because the rest of the day she was complaining, "I don't want bones in my tummy!" Carol would pretend to remove them. Once in a while, Audrey would say, "I want my bones back in my tummy." The X-ray was clear, by the way, so we're back to waiting for the cough to run its course.
Charlotte is also learning new things. She can get herself into and out of her step stool cum picnic table. She'll even stand up on the step (she's only fallen off once). She can lower herself down from the banquette bench in the kitchen on her belly. She'll do it from the (tall) bed in her bedroom, too, but obviously we spot her for that. It's starting to appear as though she might be as fearless as Audrey. Charlotte can also make it up the stairs (also obviously only when being spotted).
Charlotte is also responding more all the time to language. If Carol says, "let's go change your diaper," Charlotte will walk into her bedroom. Same at bath time. And she'll shake her head when offered food she doesn't want. She loves to "deliver" items. She'll find Audrey's Vegas and take it to Audrey. Or she'll find one of our shoes and bring it to Carol or me.
Saturday, January 13, 2007
Holidays 2006
Labels:
family
Sheesh, I thought I would get this post up weeks ago. The holidays are long over now!
Audrey was old enough this year to understand Christmas. She got very excited about Santa Claus and still tells us he is going to come "tonight". She loved the lights and whenever we drove after dark she would ask us to help her look for well-lit houses. She lamented the fact they they went away after the New Year, but she's excited for them to come back next year.
Both girls had a great time decorating and enjoying the tree. They didn't even destroy it daily like we thought they might. Audrey was busy playing computer games when we took it down and was completely oblivious. It was out of the house before she noticed.
We found some great toys for the girls at Carol's favorite toy store, along with some classics like Lincoln Logs. We bought duplicates of the toys we thought might cause the biggest sibling battles. Both girls are still playing with their gifts three weeks later, so we must have chosen alright.
We spent Christmas Eve with Carol's family at Uncle Bob and Aunt Torii and cousin Alex's house. We had a great dinner with the niece and nephews. Christmas day we went to Aunt Tricia and Uncle Frank's in Puyallup for a fantastic feast.
I had two four day weekends for Christmas and New Years. It was great to spend extra time with the family. We all have a hard time when I have to go back to work after time off; we miss each other. It's a joy to come home from work on any day. Charlotte runs to me with arms outstretched and must be held by Daddy for 5 or 10 minutes. Audrey wants a quick hug and then starts pleading, "Chase me!" So we do both: I carry Charlotte and chase Audrey and tickle her when I catch her. It's a highlight of my day.
Carol and I signed up for a parenting class called "Love and Logic". It started last Sunday and there are five sessions total. For kids Audrey's age it focuses on tools for dealing with whining and for getting cooperation with things like getting dressed or eating and with sibling issues. We've been using the techniques with Audrey and they are already beginning to work. As the founders of the program say in their videos, we can view parenting as a savings account, making deposits (effort) now that pay off later, or as a credit card that we avoid dealing with now but at potentially great cost later.
Audrey was old enough this year to understand Christmas. She got very excited about Santa Claus and still tells us he is going to come "tonight". She loved the lights and whenever we drove after dark she would ask us to help her look for well-lit houses. She lamented the fact they they went away after the New Year, but she's excited for them to come back next year.
Both girls had a great time decorating and enjoying the tree. They didn't even destroy it daily like we thought they might. Audrey was busy playing computer games when we took it down and was completely oblivious. It was out of the house before she noticed.
We found some great toys for the girls at Carol's favorite toy store, along with some classics like Lincoln Logs. We bought duplicates of the toys we thought might cause the biggest sibling battles. Both girls are still playing with their gifts three weeks later, so we must have chosen alright.
We spent Christmas Eve with Carol's family at Uncle Bob and Aunt Torii and cousin Alex's house. We had a great dinner with the niece and nephews. Christmas day we went to Aunt Tricia and Uncle Frank's in Puyallup for a fantastic feast.
I had two four day weekends for Christmas and New Years. It was great to spend extra time with the family. We all have a hard time when I have to go back to work after time off; we miss each other. It's a joy to come home from work on any day. Charlotte runs to me with arms outstretched and must be held by Daddy for 5 or 10 minutes. Audrey wants a quick hug and then starts pleading, "Chase me!" So we do both: I carry Charlotte and chase Audrey and tickle her when I catch her. It's a highlight of my day.
Carol and I signed up for a parenting class called "Love and Logic". It started last Sunday and there are five sessions total. For kids Audrey's age it focuses on tools for dealing with whining and for getting cooperation with things like getting dressed or eating and with sibling issues. We've been using the techniques with Audrey and they are already beginning to work. As the founders of the program say in their videos, we can view parenting as a savings account, making deposits (effort) now that pay off later, or as a credit card that we avoid dealing with now but at potentially great cost later.
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