Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Friday, February 20, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Friday, February 13, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
A long overdue update!
The new year has already provided with so many milestones and exciting developments that we decided we needed to take the time to document. The 2009 version of a ‘baby book’. Warning, this is a long one :)
Henry went from taking a few steps at a time to speed walking. He can squat and pick things up and balance longer than Joey and I ever could. He’s VERY into climbing. He loves to make a bee line for the stairs when we are in the kitchen. He gets half way up and looks back to make sure we are there to follow him...it has become quite a fun game for him. He also loves to climb on chairs, and Mary’s step stool in the bathroom to reach the sink. He’s obsessed with pushing buttons...whatever he can get his hands on – he knows how to unlock my iPhone and rearrange the icons (something I haven’t figured out how to do myself). He loves the TV remote and knows to point it toward the television. We have to hide the Wii remotes. Henry is constantly ‘talking’. Between the jabber and pointing we seem to understand his wants and needs. Joey and I have been amazed at how much he understands. Not sure the word ‘no’ registers, but he clearly responds to simple tasks and questions. The communication between Henry and Mary continues to amaze us. And don’t even get us started on the love between these two. Henry lights up when Mary walks in the room. Mary will not go to bed, go to school, or anywhere for that matter without kissing and hugging her ‘little bro bro’. Joey and I have definitely slipped a notch on her list of important people. Henry and Mary have a special bond that we are so happy to watch evolve.
Let’s see a few more Henry updates...he has 12 teeth and counting...he eats EVERYTHING we put in front of him. Favorite foods are sweet potatoes, strawberries, blueberries, bananas, oatmeal, greens (yes, greens, spinach, peas, limas, edamame), black eyed peas, TLC crackers dipped in hummus...seriously...meatballs, yogurt, and the list goes on. He learned to blow out a candle on his first birthday and has since been obsessed with them. Whenever he sees a candle, even those that are not lit, he goes over and starts to blow. Yes, candle is another one of those words that he knows. At the mere mention of the word, he starts to blow even if one is not in sight. We think that we may have two musicians in the family. Henry dances when he hears music (especially that from a live band) and turns anything that he can into drums. We have been in a nice sleeping cycle lately...though, I’m hesitant to write about this because I don’t want to jinx it! Henry goes down about 7:30 every night and only wakes once, with a little help to find the paci he’s out again until 7ish. Mary is definitely the early riser in our house – 6ish is pretty much the norm every day of the week!
And now for a little Mary time...our baby will soon be 5. Wow. All of those people who said “children grow so fast, enjoy every day” were absolutely right! Mary continues to amaze us with her wit, her precise attention to detail, her amazing visual memory (like remembering how to get places that she’s been only once before, or reminding us what she wore on random days, or remembering something that she saw once in a book). We are constantly challenged to answer her questions. Today, I was asked why she could see the moon during the day, what is the atmosphere, why do volcanos explode, how are they created, and how do rockets get into space...I wish I had paid more attention in my science classes! She and Joey also had a talk about going to space camp and learning to be an astronaut. This new interest in going into space is balanced with the constant talk of becoming a rock star. Yes, rock star, like Hannah Montana, though she hasn’t actually heard Hannah Montana’s music (as far as we know!), amazing the influence of peers, especially those with older siblings. Mary has taken the first step in learning how to become a rock star by beginning piano lessons. We’ve been on a waiting list since last summer for Suzanne, one of the teachers at Mary’s school. After getting to know Mary in chorus and seeing her enthusiasm and love for music, Suzanne called as soon as she had an opening for piano lessons this January (a much coveted opportunity among Northwoods parents). Mary is teaching us as she learns. She seems to have some natural ability (yes this just may be proud parents talking, as we cannot tell middle C from D, E or F for that matter). Suzanne said that she has been hesitant to start children too early, but after Mary’s second lesson, we got a note saying “she’s ready!” and yesterday a note that said “Isn’t it amazing to see those little fingers play a song!” We are grateful to our friends Jennifer and Colin who loaned us their digital piano as they needed to make room for a new addition to their family. We think that it may be time to start saving for a “real” piano for Mary. Though the digital sounds like an acoustic piano and has weighted keys, Mary reminds us that it is not a “REAL” piano, ahhh the demands of an almost 5 year old ;-) In her school work, Mary is spending time learning to read and the basics of addition, multiplication – when it’s something that applies to her life (like figuring out how old she will be when Henry is 2, or how to read a recipe), she is extremely interested. If we said, let’s sit down and practice reading this book, or started quizzing her on some random math question, she would probably reply “I’m not so interested in doing that right now.” A mind of her own, yes. Very bright, yes. She has taken a liking to Barbies and loves exploring all of my old Barbies in Nino’s basement. Now I’m really wishing that I had taken the time to store them properly, but a little mildew here and there doesn’t bother Mary...Let’s see, oh yes...Mary is excited to begin another season of soccer with “Coach Daddy” and she is constantly asking to do ballet. We don’t want to over-schedule, so we’re trying to do one activity at a time...maybe we can find a summer ballet camp.
And on that note, the laptop battery is ready to be recharged so we will close for now.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Lost my helper...
Lost my helper...
Originally uploaded by widenerfamily
I did have a helper for chocolate chip cookie making today, but then playhousedisney.com won out in the end.