Day with Woods

Despite the early morning heat, Woods was once again a trooper and we played outside for about 45 minutes. As usual he wanted to swing a long time, ran in and out of the sprinkler, screeching, and, of course looked for any sign of insect life. Up on the deck, he bathed ‘bathtub baby’ for less than a minute before unceremoniously launching her from the water and dumping the entire tub onto himself.

He wore the engineer cap around the house, and for the first time, was the ‘leader’ when playing train.

Great-Grandmother came to visit, and the biggest thrill for her was combing his hair and getting to see the famous minuscule catapult grasshopper video. Woods seemed aware she was watching it as a newbie, and he would look at her, point and laugh, for effect. So smart!

He was a chatterbox today, linking two sentences frequently, and with a slight pause, two more. We only read three books today, and he jumped out of my lap several times to go through the motions of the action on the page. (In Puppies Are Like That, he played both the cat and the puppy who was running away).

Doesn’t he have a great sense of humor for 20 months? Really sharp; and, today when I posed questions such as, “Do birds wear shoes?”, he would laugh if he thought it preposterous, instead of giving his precious ‘K!’.

And, as the cell phone photo documented, he placed the cicada exoskeleton into the crib.

Day with Woods

First things, first. Woods heard the trash truck approaching, so we went in and got two cool bottles of water and waited beneath the oak tree. He was so excited and kept saying, "Dump!" They kindly honked the horn of the truck again, and Woods waved and then blew kisses to them as they exited. Brant, trash trucks and workers were high on your list at a young age, too.

Then, we headed to the backyard to play in the heat. He soared happily in the swing, closing his eyes the cute way he does. Then, I turned on the water and gave him the hose to fill the bird bath and play with in the yard. He was content to be wet, cool and in charge of the hose.

I set up a collection of bells on a plastic tray and they were a HIT. He liked finding the clapper in each, and learning how each operates. He enjoyed hearing the sound of several bells at once.

Woods wore the engineer cap a lot, even when the train was in the station, and enjoyed catching a glimpse of himself in the bathroom mirror as the 'train' went by. He played with the ambulance, repeatedly pushing the siren (which Blakeley could not).

He ate a big lunch of soup, fresh cantaloupe and a bran muffin ('Muffin man!'), and after reading books went down for a 3 hour nap. I am so happy he feels comfortable in the bed here. Thank you for letting him play today.

Baby Woods, proud owner of a live grasshopper!

My photos pale in comparison to how cute he is, and how excited he was over 'Hopper'! And, don't you love HRH, feigning strong interest in grasshopper?

 

Adventure with Blakeley

On this hot day it was wonderful to strip down to panties, don a smock and paint. (Only one of us actually stripped down to panties…). Using tempera paints and liquid starch, Blakeley stirred, poured and mixed each color, dazzled by the alchemy that is green, arising from blue and yellow, etc. Before her were various types of brushes, sponges and corks and she experimented and was lost in her own little world. So fun to watch!

She also spent a lot of time in play with the farm today. She regularly calls out that it is time for one meal or another and arranges the ‘workers’ in lines to take turns eating at the lone table. Surveying animal groups, she sets up pens, has a man climb the ladder to check the contents of the feed silo (invariably, empty!) and then directs tractors out to harvest corn or cut grass for hay. One of the best props is the large top to a Crown Royal bottle. It is used as a water vessel, is turned upright as a haystack, and today it became a water well. In our imagination, distant thunder was heard and she quickly moved her animals to shelter in advance of the rain. She learned to erect lean-to’s and thoughtfully overturned a plastic tub to cover the tractors and other equipment.

She expressed great excitement about going to the circus with her Mommy and Daddy tomorrow, and I hope you have a wonderful time!

Day with Woods

Somehow, I did not catch the best shot of the day, as Woods proudly walked around wearing his new boots and the fur-lined aviator cap. He was in such a happy mood, and so receptive to any and all ideas. Even in this historic record breaking heat he enjoyed swinging and working the perimeter of the yard in search of cicadas.

When Woods heard the trash truck coming down the street, we quickly grabbed two bottles of water from the refrigerator and went outside. We waited in the shade of the oak tree and he watched as the cans were hoisted and emptied by the arms of the truck. Woods would lift his arm and exclaim, "Dump it!" The men sounded the horn for him as they drove away from our driveway.

He played with the farm set and I must comment that, exactly as did Blakeley, he selects the one female ("Lady") to drive the tractor. I am proud they recognize the myriad talents of the women in the family.

In the photos where he is sitting on the stairs, he is enjoying a lemonade with crushed ice. He focused on jostling the cup to hear the ice move in the cup.

I continue to be amazed how Woods assesses the selection of books presented to him before his nap. "Okay! or No." For many months he has comprehended that he has a choice and enjoys stating his preference between books. Smart!

Thank you for letting him play today. Hope you and HRH enjoyed the one on one she needs with you, too.

Pizza party

An adventure with Blakeley

When she arrived I grabbed the camera to send Great Grandad photos of her wearing one of his many gifts. He prints out photos of the children and proudly places them on the wall of his office. Dinosaur Train Rummikub was in surprise box today. She placed Stegosaurus on the table and carefully placed each Stegosaurus card at his feet.

We headed straight to the Hello Kitty store in the Mall and she was absolutely the best 3 year old I have shopped with in my life. She 'oohed and aahed' and, 'oh, Gigi!' constantly, but her little hands rarely picked

things off of the shelf. We narrowed our favorites (many!) and exited the store with the Hello Kitty lunch box, a fruit / sandwich container and hairbrush. As I told you, except for the L. A. boutique prices of all, I would have purchased the Hello Kitty iPhone 4 cover for you!

Our lunch was an interesting test of wills. I headed for the exit, planning to eat at home, but she begged to eat at the Mall. We marched through the craziness of the Food Court and stopped at Chick Fil A. She was adamant that was a no-go. The Chinese place had an appealing Panda logo, steamed rice, plain chicken and simply prepared vegetables. She was pleased, and after we stood in a long line and got to the table she glowered, refusing to touch the food. I cheerfully ate my lunch, keeping bites of chicken, rice and veggies in front of her. I had to wave the white flag when a family arrived near us and each child was grasping a Chick Fil A bag. We purchased a kids meal and she ate like there was no tomorrow. I told her that even adults change their mind and her body was happy to have such a good lunch.

We rode the escalators, up and down, up and down, and the elevator. She is so smart; asking what makes the elevator go up, and because it is open configuration, she was able to watch the piston beneath push it up into the air and lower it.

She found a shiny penny on the ground, and we went to Lamme's to let her buy one candy with her money. She selected a chocolate, of course, and loved the white bag with the lamb on it.

Playing 'opposites' in the car was really fun. She could quickly provide an opposite and also begin a new concept offering challenge words to me. Empty/ full. Loud / quiet. Wet / dry. It went on and on.

Can't wait to hear what she leverages to wear to Preschool. As she was changing back into the clothes she wore here, I voiced that this would be a comfortable outfit to wear to school. To sit in circle and play on the

playground. She firmly told me no, she would not wear it to school, and her teacher would look at it and say it was not a pretty outfit. Hold on, Sarah!

Day with Woods

I already sent you the cutest photo of the day. Woods would sit with the aviator cap, crossed ankle, and work to attach the strap to the buckle. So smart! When I took him to the mirror to view baby and hat, he did his precious, shy thing and tucked himself into my neck. 

Popper was pulled around the house, and he likes to watch the ‘pistons’ rise and fall. When it rolls on to carpet, he begins to go with a back and forth motion. Not sure if using a vacuum or a mower.

At one point this morning, he brought his face close to mine and, as if with sudden inspiration, exclaimed, “Computer!”. I knew where this was headed, and we did watch his grasshopper video. Later, we watched a new one with a spider and a fly and he wiggled down to retrieve both grasshopper and ladybug, returning to hold them in the air to watch this video. This was funnier than the video, itself!

Woods had a great time peeling a banana. When he pulled off a string and popped it into his mouth, it was quickly handed to me.

He was a creative block builder this morning, and easily stacked a single tower of 8, using wood and transparent blocks. The only snafu was when he added the triangular prism and could not stack onto it.

Our baby physics time with aluminum foil was such fun to watch. He observed it is shiny, that it moves when blown by the ceiling fan, can change its shape (he thought it was funny to wear a foil ‘shoe’), and observed it did not bounce when dropped. Wasn’t Blakeley sweet accepting her gift of a foil ball from her brother?

As you knew he would, he requested a ‘tickle’ when I put him down for nap. So sweet. That is both a Tankersley and a Hilgers / Miller gene kicking in!