The Art of Language

I find this time in a childs life to be so exciting - 21 months. Kate's language development over the past several weeks has been so significant. She used to talk nonsense nonstop now she just talks nonstop. She is so proud of herself when she can identify everyone and everything at the dinner table, cup, daddy, reilly, plate, mommy, hot dog (although the hot dog was really chicken)! She even burped tonight at the table, said "scuse me" and followed that with "I fluffed". She has so many words right now, regardles of what they mean she likes to share them with all of us. We love listening to her try to express herself - it's extraordinary.

How's this: Kate talks so much, she's laying in bed talking in her sleep right now!

Pee Queen

Yup, that's me. If I'm not cleaning up spilled milk or juice I'm cleaning up PEE! My little buddy gets so relaxed sometimes the only thing that wakes him is when he pee's in his pants. It just so happens he's often on the couch or the living room chair. UGH... that frustrates me. We are going to need new furniture by the time these guys are in school.

I suppose with most Mom's I'm getting pretty good at the stages of cleaning:
1. blot the spill/leakage with an absorbent towel as much as possible
2. get a wet cloth and scrub the area
3. spray on the toddler cleaning solution
4. wait 5 minutes
5. wipe again
6. spray with febreeze if necessary

Knock Knock

Who's there
Boo
Boo Who
Why are you sad?

Knock Knock
Who's there
Orange
Orange Who
Orange you glad I didn't say boo?

Those are Reilly's renditions of the latest knock knock jokes. He's getting better. :-)

Poor Nandi

Poor Nandi... she spent Christmas week with our friends the Dudevoirs and she was spoiled rotten. Two teenage kids who wanted to play with her and run with her and walk with her all week long and a Mom who made her homemade organic dog treats and a Dad who just admired a "boy and his dog" to.......... children tripping over her, landing on her, pulling her tail, hugging her too tight and being told to "lie down" everytime she lays under the highchair for that last scrap of food that might fall her way. I think she is reconsidering her family options... good thing she can't speak. Although her eyes tell the whole story - thank goodness she still thinks Shad's her husband.

Mean things Kids Say

Everytime I say something to Reilly that he does not want to hear I get the "YOU ARE MEAN" speech. Tonight I told him he couldn't have dessert because he said he didn't feel well, so I offered him a banana. His response: "You are NOT my best friend."

I think I'm beginning to learn that I need to get a thick skin. Kids are going to say things that they don't mean or realize how much they are hurting someone else's feelings. It brings back "fond" memories of when I said things to my parents that were similar in tone... ugh. I don't like this trait of a four-year old.

I just need to sleep one more day

and then it's four more days until Christmas.

Kate's new things...

So she can communicate quite well between her words and her signs. She's actually quite bossy. And if you say no, she comes back with "Why?" She's learning all too quickly.

Kate loves hats - she wants to take them off and put them on all the time. Kate loves shoes and wants to take them off and put them all the time. Kate loves showing everyone her belly. (funny how that is a toddler thing, not too many women would do that now)Kate loves antagonizing Reilly. She has figured out how to push his buttons already.

Tonight, after she had been in bed for about 45 minutes she began to cry and then should my name. I went in to check on her and she had thrown the blankets and the stuffed animal out of her bed and she was stuck in her sleeper (pajamas). She had figured out how to undo the snap and unzip down to her belly. Somehow she had her arms pinned behind her and her sleeper half on and half off. No wonder she was crying. Poor thing.

Everything she does just makes Shad and I smile. She is really a funny little girl and the more her personality develops the more traits we see in her... can't wait till she's a teenager. Ha Ha.

Question of the Day

Is Elmo a boy or girl?

I followed that question with a series of questions including, well, how would we know? His solution was to go online to pbskids.org on elmo's world.

I never wonder why I went to the seminar at the Waldorf school on the effects of media on children under 10. He doesn't even watch tv that much - yet he absorbed that tidbit!!!!

Liar Liar Pants on Fire

So it happened yesterday, Reilly was having lunch. He had two beverages going - the last sip of my juice, which he always requests, and a small water bottle with gatorade and water. He asked me if he could pour the juices together, I said no. (in the past when he has taken on this science experiment of mixing liquids, I am always mopping the floor OR he doesn't drink either of them he just plays and he doesn't eat his lunch either) So, this time it was an emphatic "no". I then went upstairs to get some stuff together because we were heading out shortly to go shopping.

When I came down, I noticed that my one remaining sip had reproduced into a half bottle while I was upstairs. The following two minutes went like this:

"Reilly, did you pour the bottles together?"
"No"
"How did this get half full, are you sure you didn't do it"
"No"
"Reilly, are you lying to me"
"No, I didn't do it"
"Are you sure"
"I didn't do it"
Well, I knew there were NO other option, Kate was asleep and Nandi and Shad were out running. I looked around the room and aside from the randomly dispersed Santa and friends, there was no on else in the house.
"Reilly, I think that you might be lying, why don't you go sit on the step and think about it"
Minutes pass...
"Reilly, do you want to tell me what might have happened"
"No"
More minutes pass...
"Reilly, are you ready to talk about it now?"
"Yes"
We return to the intact scene of the crime.
"Mom, it was magic, one bottle did pour to the other bottle and it was magic. Really, it was."
I felt I should encourage his imagination here... even just for my benefit of hearing a creative story.
"Really?? How did that happen"
"Well, there was this witch, not a bad witch but a good one, and she did it"
"What did she look like"
"I don't know she was invisible"
"How did she do it?"
"I don't know I was invisible"
"What else happened?"
"That was all, she just mixed the juices and then she was invisible"
Hmmmmmmmm, I do believe his story is a bit suspect, but clever nonetheless.
Later when Nicole was in the car, I said "Reilly, tell Nicole what happened today with the juice"

His reply "Mom, maybe I did it."

The choir began to sing.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....

Glue and Glitter

At school today I used glue and then I used glitter in my project. I'm really good at glue and glitter, did you know that?

The new man of the house!

Reilly has been the new man of the house since Daddy is away. I asked him if he wanted to grab me a soda from the garage - his response was: "I think I can want to." I asked him if he would check to see if the dog had food and water, he left me and came back later and said "can you help me lift Nandi's water?" He had put the bowl in the bathroom sink and filled it. He offered to call and order the pizza. He offered to go to the store to buy waffles and chips. :-) - my influence, not Shad's. AND he has figured out that some of our cuisine is not to be shared with Dad.

Reilly and I even tried to dig out the septic tank today with Grandpa Nannies supervision. (we didn't find the tank though)

Exercising with Children

Literally...see for yourself!

Strep hits home

Reilly has been miserable for a few days now. He was diagnosed with strep throat which apparently is "going around". He is also totally congested and doesn't know what to do with the pressure in his head - Shad thought of steaming up the bathroom, adding a humidifier, radio and some blankets might do the trick. It sure did!

Kate is Screaming Downstairs...

Shad: Reilly, what happened to Kate?
Reilly: I put her on the naughty step because I had to.

Poor Kate - she has two Dad's already.

My Cheetah Girl

She's got it all over Disney's Cheetah Girls - don't you think?

What to do...

Reilly: Mom, when my guts get full, I take my finger and clean them out.
Mom: Show me what you mean.
Reilly takes his finger and wipes above his teeth and next to his cheek.
Mom: Those are gums, not guts.
Reilly: I thought I couldn't have gum till I'm ten.

No More Rhyming, I Mean It...

Anybody Want a Peanut?
Our version of a rhyme-

Hey Mrs Dunn
I'm all Done
Reilly's version of a rhyme-

When we tried to get him to respond by saying "No more rhyming, I mean it (again)- His reply was "Anybody want a peanut butter pretzel?"

We don't think he grasps the concept yet.

Stair Luge

If you ever wondered why I am Mother of the Year - now you'll know.

Increasing Vocabulary

We have noticed over the course of the week that Kate's vocabulary has increased significantly, just today she said door, rain, light, and water. She does a faux whistle for the dog that is so cute.