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.
Monday, January 15, 2007
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.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Everybody's Talking
Labels:
family
Charlotte is starting to say a couple of recognizable words. She pretty consistently says "Daddy" when I get home or when I've been in the other room for a while and return. And she also seems to say "Hiya". Her walking is getting better all the time, too. We went to the beach for pizza on Saturday and for a walk on the "boardwalk" afterward. Charlotte probably walked a quarter mile and she was having a ball. She continues to be as adorable as can be.
Audrey continues to express more and more complex thoughts. It's very fun. Some example:
We have two small water bottles that are green and shaped like crocodiles. One is almost always on Audrey's bedstand and the other is usually lost somewhere (e.g. the car). This morning they both happened to be in the kitchen, albeit on opposite sides of the room. In the middle of eating breakfast, Audrey said to me, "Oh, there's two crocodiles. I've never seen two crocodiles."
Tonight she was way overtired when she went to bed (she's been up a lot during the night for the last two nights, and hasn't napped). In her usual attempt to stall bedtime, she protested that she was hungry. We had just fed her a big bowl of oatmeal (the old standby to get something in them at bedtime when they haven't eaten much dinner), so I said, "You're OK, Audrey." She yelled back at me, "No! I'm not perfect!" Five minutes later she was asleep.
Audrey's best friend is a beanie baby named Vegas. We bought spares a long time ago, but one of the first ones is well worn and Audrey long ago christened it "Audrey Vegas". Audrey Vegas is missing an eye and has a weakening seam on his neck. The other cleaner Vegases are called "Mommy Vegas" (I think originally "Mommy's Vegas.") Only Audrey Vegas will do when Audrey is upset or going to sleep. After several close calls, we are very careful not to lose him. The other night at 3:00am Audrey called for "Daddy!" I went up and tried to sleep with her for a while, but she was really wide awake. At one point she grabbed both Vegases and did a little skit:
Audrey has also been very interested in jigsaw puzzles recently. We noticed she had a renewed interest in a small 8-piece panda puzzle she's had forever. Carol bought her a couple of 40-piece large puzzles and Audrey took to them right away. After a little frustration and some help from us, she learned how to solve them and can now do them unassisted. For Christmas, we got her another 40-piece puzzle of Cinderella that she is totally in love with. And her Aunt Carol gave her a couple of Mickey and Minnie Mouse puzzles for Christmas that she also loves.
Finally, we've been going a little crazy on Shutterfly this year. Near Audrey's first birthday we made a photo book for the grandparents that covered her first year. We just did the same for Charlotte. You can see them (and even order a copy) here if you want:
I also got three 5x7s for my desk, one of each girl and one of Carol with Charlotte. I brought them to work today, and I really love being able to look at my family all day long at work.
I have a bunch of new photos to publish on the web site, but haven't had time to edit them. I'll get them up on the site this weekend.
Audrey continues to express more and more complex thoughts. It's very fun. Some example:
We have two small water bottles that are green and shaped like crocodiles. One is almost always on Audrey's bedstand and the other is usually lost somewhere (e.g. the car). This morning they both happened to be in the kitchen, albeit on opposite sides of the room. In the middle of eating breakfast, Audrey said to me, "Oh, there's two crocodiles. I've never seen two crocodiles."
Tonight she was way overtired when she went to bed (she's been up a lot during the night for the last two nights, and hasn't napped). In her usual attempt to stall bedtime, she protested that she was hungry. We had just fed her a big bowl of oatmeal (the old standby to get something in them at bedtime when they haven't eaten much dinner), so I said, "You're OK, Audrey." She yelled back at me, "No! I'm not perfect!" Five minutes later she was asleep.
Audrey's best friend is a beanie baby named Vegas. We bought spares a long time ago, but one of the first ones is well worn and Audrey long ago christened it "Audrey Vegas". Audrey Vegas is missing an eye and has a weakening seam on his neck. The other cleaner Vegases are called "Mommy Vegas" (I think originally "Mommy's Vegas.") Only Audrey Vegas will do when Audrey is upset or going to sleep. After several close calls, we are very careful not to lose him. The other night at 3:00am Audrey called for "Daddy!" I went up and tried to sleep with her for a while, but she was really wide awake. At one point she grabbed both Vegases and did a little skit:
Mommy Vegas (with great concern): "Oh Vegas, look at your eye! Did you hurt yourself?"
Vegas (sadly): "Yes".
Mommy Vegas kisses the spot where Vegas' eye used to be.
Audrey bends Vegas's neck so it is doubled over.
Vegas: "Look at my neck. It's broken!"
Mommy Vegas: "Ohhhh."
Mommy Vegas nuzzles Vegas very sweetly.
Mommy Vegas: "It'll be OK, Vegas."
Audrey has also been very interested in jigsaw puzzles recently. We noticed she had a renewed interest in a small 8-piece panda puzzle she's had forever. Carol bought her a couple of 40-piece large puzzles and Audrey took to them right away. After a little frustration and some help from us, she learned how to solve them and can now do them unassisted. For Christmas, we got her another 40-piece puzzle of Cinderella that she is totally in love with. And her Aunt Carol gave her a couple of Mickey and Minnie Mouse puzzles for Christmas that she also loves.
Finally, we've been going a little crazy on Shutterfly this year. Near Audrey's first birthday we made a photo book for the grandparents that covered her first year. We just did the same for Charlotte. You can see them (and even order a copy) here if you want:
I also got three 5x7s for my desk, one of each girl and one of Carol with Charlotte. I brought them to work today, and I really love being able to look at my family all day long at work.
I have a bunch of new photos to publish on the web site, but haven't had time to edit them. I'll get them up on the site this weekend.
Storm of the Century
Labels:
house
We had a big windstorm in Seattle on December 14, including the highest winds recorded in more than 10 years (peaks gusts of about 70mph in Seattle). More than a million people in the area lost power. We never did, fortunately, although it flickered a lot. We did lose our cable, and therefore our TV and Internet. For 36 hours! It was horrible! :) We were the lucky ones. Some people didn't get their power back until Christmas.
I went out to get the paper in the morning. There was no paper (printing plant lost power, no paper for the first time in 54 years!) but there were a bunch of shingles in the yard. "Hmm," I thought, "those look like our shingles." We lost a patch of shingles about 3x8 feet from the house roof. I was able to make a pretty good patch with thick plastic sheet and strip material (to hold it down) that I had laying around from the garage project. Roofers in the area are quite busy, but I checked on the patch (from the attic) last night in a downpour and it was dry as a bone. I think this weekend I'll try to replace the shingles myself.
My headline, "Storm of the Century," is a comment on how breathless television news has to be every time a cloud comes by in recent years. If you believe them, every little weather system we get is "dangerous".
By the way, I bike commuted the day of the storm and rode home during its peak period. Somehow, though, my ride was during a lull. There wasn't much wind at all once I got out of downtown. However, there was plenty of rain. In one section I was riding through 6 inches of water for about 100 yards. We got over an inch of rain in an hour.
At one point in my commute I travel on a bike path that passes under a large bridge. It's dark underneath. I have a headlight, but it doesn't illuminate the ground like car headlights do. I noticed a different texture on the path and slowed a little, but soon found myself riding through a mudslide that had come down an adjacent hill across the path. It was about 6 inches of wet mud. I managed to stay up and ride through it (about 50' long). Then I scrambled around to find some cones to warn other cyclists of the danger. My bike is in serious need of a bath.
I went out to get the paper in the morning. There was no paper (printing plant lost power, no paper for the first time in 54 years!) but there were a bunch of shingles in the yard. "Hmm," I thought, "those look like our shingles." We lost a patch of shingles about 3x8 feet from the house roof. I was able to make a pretty good patch with thick plastic sheet and strip material (to hold it down) that I had laying around from the garage project. Roofers in the area are quite busy, but I checked on the patch (from the attic) last night in a downpour and it was dry as a bone. I think this weekend I'll try to replace the shingles myself.
My headline, "Storm of the Century," is a comment on how breathless television news has to be every time a cloud comes by in recent years. If you believe them, every little weather system we get is "dangerous".
By the way, I bike commuted the day of the storm and rode home during its peak period. Somehow, though, my ride was during a lull. There wasn't much wind at all once I got out of downtown. However, there was plenty of rain. In one section I was riding through 6 inches of water for about 100 yards. We got over an inch of rain in an hour.
At one point in my commute I travel on a bike path that passes under a large bridge. It's dark underneath. I have a headlight, but it doesn't illuminate the ground like car headlights do. I noticed a different texture on the path and slowed a little, but soon found myself riding through a mudslide that had come down an adjacent hill across the path. It was about 6 inches of wet mud. I managed to stay up and ride through it (about 50' long). Then I scrambled around to find some cones to warn other cyclists of the danger. My bike is in serious need of a bath.
Monday, December 4, 2006
Charlotte Turns One
Charlotte's first birthday was last Monday. We didn't have any huge celebrations since she wouldn't know any better anyway. Audrey was pretty excited about Charlotte's birthday because it meant she got to have cake. Can't blame her for that! And Audrey helped make the cupcakes.
It seems like a lot has happened since my last post. November was the rainiest month *ever* in Seattle. It seemed like it would never end. And then at the end of the month we had a little sun, then a snowstorm that paralyzed the city. It only snowed about 3 inches, but it then turned icy and cold for a few days so the ice wouldn't melt. I couldn't commute by bike for most of a week. Downtown Seattle is close to sea level but most of the neighborhoods are on hills or require going over hills to get to or from. So it was interesting to have a struggle to get out of one's neighborhood only to get downtown and be unable to tell that snow had even fallen.
Charlotte continues to improve her walking skills. She's also become quite chatty lately. And a couple of days ago she started making gestures that mean something: she'll now point at something and then at herself and speak. We're pretty sure she's saying "Please give that thing over there to me." The only problem is that we never quite know which object has caught her eye. We can give her the item we think she's pointing at, but then she'll just point in the same general direction again.
The snowstorm we had was the first one we've had since Audrey was born, I think. It was definitely the first one she ever went out and played in. She loved it. She didn't like touching the snow, though. Neighbor boys were throwing snowballs and she thought she'd join in. But as soon as her hand (bare, because she refused to wear mittens) touched the snow she had had enough of that.
Audrey has recently taken another cognitive step. We can't ever put our finger on exactly what has changed, but we've seen this many times. All of sudden something is just different about her. The night it was snowing she was up late. Carol sneaked her out of her room conspiratorially and opened the front door so Audrey could watch it snow by the streetlight. Audrey said it was beautiful. Earlier, when I asked if she wanted to go for a walk in the snow, she said "Oh, that would be perfect!" Yesterday while driving I criticized another driver. From the back seat we heard, "Daddy, that not very fair."
Immediately behind our house is Schmitz Park, a wooded city park that mainly consists of a ravine draining from our neighborhood at the top of the West Seattle ridge all the way down to Alki Beach. It's about a 15 minute walk from here to the beach via trails. Today it was cold but sunny, so we put the girls in their backpack carriers and took the walk. Then we walked along the seawall for a bit and took the bus back up the hill. Audrey declared it a "good adventure." We don't take advantage of the park nearly enough - that's only the second time we've done it in the 14 months we've lived here.
Months ago some friends turned us on to a woman who works as a part-time nanny on a flexible basis. Last week Carol called her and had her come over for an initial visit. Her name is Jessica and she's a retired Head Start teacher. She works for many families on as as-needed basis. The girls loved her, so now we're getting set up to have her come for half a day once a week. That will be a welcome break for Carol.
We've made plans to visit my parents in Palm Desert, CA in early March. We haven't taken a trip in two years, so we're really looking forward to it. If all goes as planned and Charlotte is weaned by then, Carol and I will get to go to Las Vegas for a couple of nights while the girls stay with Grandma and Grandpa.
Carol and I are constantly in awe of our good fortune. It's exhausting having two kids this young, but oh so rewarding and fun.
It seems like a lot has happened since my last post. November was the rainiest month *ever* in Seattle. It seemed like it would never end. And then at the end of the month we had a little sun, then a snowstorm that paralyzed the city. It only snowed about 3 inches, but it then turned icy and cold for a few days so the ice wouldn't melt. I couldn't commute by bike for most of a week. Downtown Seattle is close to sea level but most of the neighborhoods are on hills or require going over hills to get to or from. So it was interesting to have a struggle to get out of one's neighborhood only to get downtown and be unable to tell that snow had even fallen.
Charlotte continues to improve her walking skills. She's also become quite chatty lately. And a couple of days ago she started making gestures that mean something: she'll now point at something and then at herself and speak. We're pretty sure she's saying "Please give that thing over there to me." The only problem is that we never quite know which object has caught her eye. We can give her the item we think she's pointing at, but then she'll just point in the same general direction again.
The snowstorm we had was the first one we've had since Audrey was born, I think. It was definitely the first one she ever went out and played in. She loved it. She didn't like touching the snow, though. Neighbor boys were throwing snowballs and she thought she'd join in. But as soon as her hand (bare, because she refused to wear mittens) touched the snow she had had enough of that.
Audrey has recently taken another cognitive step. We can't ever put our finger on exactly what has changed, but we've seen this many times. All of sudden something is just different about her. The night it was snowing she was up late. Carol sneaked her out of her room conspiratorially and opened the front door so Audrey could watch it snow by the streetlight. Audrey said it was beautiful. Earlier, when I asked if she wanted to go for a walk in the snow, she said "Oh, that would be perfect!" Yesterday while driving I criticized another driver. From the back seat we heard, "Daddy, that not very fair."
Immediately behind our house is Schmitz Park, a wooded city park that mainly consists of a ravine draining from our neighborhood at the top of the West Seattle ridge all the way down to Alki Beach. It's about a 15 minute walk from here to the beach via trails. Today it was cold but sunny, so we put the girls in their backpack carriers and took the walk. Then we walked along the seawall for a bit and took the bus back up the hill. Audrey declared it a "good adventure." We don't take advantage of the park nearly enough - that's only the second time we've done it in the 14 months we've lived here.
Months ago some friends turned us on to a woman who works as a part-time nanny on a flexible basis. Last week Carol called her and had her come over for an initial visit. Her name is Jessica and she's a retired Head Start teacher. She works for many families on as as-needed basis. The girls loved her, so now we're getting set up to have her come for half a day once a week. That will be a welcome break for Carol.
We've made plans to visit my parents in Palm Desert, CA in early March. We haven't taken a trip in two years, so we're really looking forward to it. If all goes as planned and Charlotte is weaned by then, Carol and I will get to go to Las Vegas for a couple of nights while the girls stay with Grandma and Grandpa.
Carol and I are constantly in awe of our good fortune. It's exhausting having two kids this young, but oh so rewarding and fun.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)