we had a great weekend with you, pancake. friday night we took you to round rock's rainchecked fireworks display, this time without hattie, which made everything more copacetic. we arrived at the festival, looked at the ponies, picked out some dinner (bbq sandwiches and a lemonade mm!) and sat down on our blanket to enjoy the pre-fireworks music. after we ate, your dad got up to get a drink refill and a funnel cake. the whole time he was gone you "marched" around our blanket over and over, getting so dizzy you would wobble to a stop in my arms and only stopping to clap when the orchestra finished a song.dad came back just before the fireworks began (long funnel cake line) and the three of us, at your request, laid down to watch the display. at first you were nervous but dad coaxed the firework colors out of you "red! purple! gow!" (gold) and before long you were upright and loving every second, the funnel cake didn't hurt, either. it was a GREAT night with i have to say, perfect summer evening weather. we took our time walking back to the car and bought you a rainbow glow stick/ring with our last $2. i hope i'll never forget the silhouette of you and dad in the dark field together, you haphazardly racing forward and him happy to keep up.
MAYbe best of all, since i'm so photo-happy, we left the camera home since we already had official "fourth of july" photos. this means this memory is just our to keep, exactly as we felt it. i know thats a good way to live every now and then, too :)
saturday was fun, we hit the austin vintage guitar places so dad could window shop. we made use of KFC coupons and ate dinner for just 3 dollars.
today, sunday, we hung out around the house and straightened up. we found a mouse in the glue trap i'd put out (instantly changed my mind about using those traps, too) who luckily didn't get too stuck due to a melted crayon that had also landed in the goo. your dad and i instantly knew we needed to try to set it free, so into a box the lil' mouse went. i held out a shot glass of water and it propped up on it's hind legs (the only part stuck in glue) and took adorable sniffy sips. dad held you so you could watch. i grabbed some gloves and vegetable oil and off we went to a nearby field where i easily released his little feet with oil and q-tips and off he hobbled into the thicket and up a tree. you repeated dad's praises of mom for setting the mouse free, and he told you all about the nice creek nearby for the mouse to drink from. here's to you little mouse! may you survive your first of hopefully many nights in the wilderness and promptly regain full use of your feet.
after the squeak fiasco, we got cleaned up and headed to redbud island for an evening hattie-swim. we drove through a thick rain en route, but by the time we arrived the west side of austin was clear and i pointed out a large rainbow in the sky. you looked and looked, but couldn't see it. we moved locations and i kept pointing. you borrowed my sunglasses but still "i can't see it!" finally i pointed in JUST the right spot a and a big grin filled your face. "I SEE A RAINBOW!"
your very first rainbow :)
Monday, July 19, 2010
Thursday, July 15, 2010
i blinked. it's july.
since may we have had some wonderful visitors. aunt heather z., grammie, grandpa and just last week or so, grandaddy.
in late may i made a few notes of pancake quotes they were as follows:
"thank you mom and daddy!" (chicken & mac)
"no. i'm not blowing bubbles in my milk :) not YET!"
"dad, are you drinking beers? [yes] i like to drink beers TOO!"
if one would say your speech blossomed when you were 18 months old, then over the past month (you are about to wrap up your 21st month) i would say your speech has transformed into actual conversation. nowadays when you thank us for say, mac & cheese, you also ramble elegantly on your opinions of said mac & cheese and how much you would like to eat it again in the future. your exclamations are often followed with a "because". "i love macaroni and cheese because it is tasty in my belly! tot wants macaroni and cheese too!" is a good example of one of your simple expressions.
you are so so affectionate and vocal with your gratefulness. "thank you mommy, thank you daddy, i love you so much!" "it's going to be so much fun, i can't wait!" this week your little "mmm" sound air kisses turned into a tiny pucker sound, and you actually make cheek contact often.
i can hardly think of a household object you don't know the name of. you understand and can say that you are a cheese connoisseur. your little face screws up in the cutest way as you work out "accident" - "i'm sorry stompy, it was an accident, i didn't mean to!"
you have also continued to sleep regularly since 18 months and i am ever so grateful. this week your two top eye teeth are coming in, which will complete your top teeth leaving you in need of 4 on either side of the bottom.
your play skills have also taken a turn this week. i notice you really playing with your animals and "little people", their conversation skills have developed with your own. "hello raccoon! would you like to eat some popcorns?" "thank you i love some!" "would you like to buy some strawberries?" here is five dollars. yummy!"
you are slowly overcoming your adverse reaction to slides, which you so loved early on in mobility. you are hesitant to take big physical moves (such as walking across the bridge at a playground) but once you do, you want to do so over and over.
we have started a tradeoff with silas and his mom for a few hours each week, and you are getting very attached to little silas. "'member silas? he funny. and heather? 'member silas - he hugs the flower?" today in fact, you started to cry and kept insisting you wanted to see silas. luckily we will be getting together with him and his family sat. morning.
in other news, we have some exciting changes coming up. more on that soon!
oh and we seriously tried potty training for a day and i decided that neither you nor i were ready for it. you still aren't telling us before you go in your diaper, so i guess those kai lan underwears will just have to sit in their drawer a little longer :)
in late may i made a few notes of pancake quotes they were as follows:
"thank you mom and daddy!" (chicken & mac)
"no. i'm not blowing bubbles in my milk :) not YET!"
"dad, are you drinking beers? [yes] i like to drink beers TOO!"
if one would say your speech blossomed when you were 18 months old, then over the past month (you are about to wrap up your 21st month) i would say your speech has transformed into actual conversation. nowadays when you thank us for say, mac & cheese, you also ramble elegantly on your opinions of said mac & cheese and how much you would like to eat it again in the future. your exclamations are often followed with a "because". "i love macaroni and cheese because it is tasty in my belly! tot wants macaroni and cheese too!" is a good example of one of your simple expressions.
you are so so affectionate and vocal with your gratefulness. "thank you mommy, thank you daddy, i love you so much!" "it's going to be so much fun, i can't wait!" this week your little "mmm" sound air kisses turned into a tiny pucker sound, and you actually make cheek contact often.
i can hardly think of a household object you don't know the name of. you understand and can say that you are a cheese connoisseur. your little face screws up in the cutest way as you work out "accident" - "i'm sorry stompy, it was an accident, i didn't mean to!"
you have also continued to sleep regularly since 18 months and i am ever so grateful. this week your two top eye teeth are coming in, which will complete your top teeth leaving you in need of 4 on either side of the bottom.
your play skills have also taken a turn this week. i notice you really playing with your animals and "little people", their conversation skills have developed with your own. "hello raccoon! would you like to eat some popcorns?" "thank you i love some!" "would you like to buy some strawberries?" here is five dollars. yummy!"
you are slowly overcoming your adverse reaction to slides, which you so loved early on in mobility. you are hesitant to take big physical moves (such as walking across the bridge at a playground) but once you do, you want to do so over and over.
we have started a tradeoff with silas and his mom for a few hours each week, and you are getting very attached to little silas. "'member silas? he funny. and heather? 'member silas - he hugs the flower?" today in fact, you started to cry and kept insisting you wanted to see silas. luckily we will be getting together with him and his family sat. morning.
in other news, we have some exciting changes coming up. more on that soon!
oh and we seriously tried potty training for a day and i decided that neither you nor i were ready for it. you still aren't telling us before you go in your diaper, so i guess those kai lan underwears will just have to sit in their drawer a little longer :)
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Milestones this week, you read your first word.
20 Months
Yesterday pancake, you mastered drinking from a glass! we started a day or two earlier, but you pretty much figured it out in one day. you hardly have spills and would love to run around with the glass, but we ask you to sit in your highchair.
This past Saturday after lots of excitement from the prior week's library find, Big Girl Potty, we got you your first toddler toilet! I have a hard time committing to the word "potty" in public, although of course we use it in private. Dad won a Target gift certificate at work, so it was courtesy of Apple ;) You were very excited to be a big girl like Ashley in the book, and love sitting on it and trying it out.
You continue to sleep really well. You have been getting several of your molars but at most you wake briefly in the night and go back to sleep after a minute. For at least three months now, you have been sleeping consistantly almost 12 hours at night and a 1.5 hour nap. You play for an hour or so with your "friends" in your crib before falling asleep at naptime. Sometimes you get fussy just before falling asleep and throw them all overboard.
Your knitted cat Tot has become even more imperative this past month. I won't say you're completely dependent on him/her, but you ask for Tot everywhere you go, and we better have him [?] if we're out during a crisis. Its definitely time to get some backups.
On Saturday we also found a great deal on the sand/water table I'd wanted for you, previously opened and missing the umbrella. Our backyard has plenty of shade so we were happy to find the discount! You are having so much fun with it. Saturday morning I had done a lot of gardening (mainly weeding) and we had the backyard mowed and edged so it looks great again and is a relaxing place for us all to hang out. You play with some of your Little People out there, and took to calling a blond boy "Ian". We didn't know how you came up with it until we realized Ian is the name of the brother pig in the Olivia series. Grammie gave you the first Olivia book while she was here, and you love to look at the pictures and point out "yo-yo", "bathing suit", "meatballs", etc. You really like Ian his newly named friend Emily (I helped with that one), and Farmer Girl.
Oh and when you try to say bathing suit you say "bathing soup" which in your teeny voice is super adorable.
As far as speaking, I can't even begin to sum up everything you say. You know the name of so many things and you string together complicated sentences, properly conjugating and switching many pronouns and tenses. Most of your sentences are 4-5 words long, but you will often use 7 words at a time. You know and effortlessly use extraneous words like knob. Last month when Grammie was here, she was watching you and remarked "She is so amazing". You looked at Grammie and said "Yes... I am!" I don't know much about grammer development but that to me seems like a big concept to grasp (albeit a little self centered ;) Here is a good example of your daily ramblings:
Just now you looked out the window in surprise and said "Oh! i see a see-earl [squirrel] - let's chase it! It ran away. It went to get grape."
Yesterday we used your magnetic letters to practice the word MILK. There was a segment on "World World" about it, and we practiced putting the letters together afterwards. Last night before bed, I showed you a Milk Campaign magazine ad and asked you what the word was. You looked for a second and said "Milk!" which I guess is you reading, right? So your very first word was milk.
You are very good at saying thank you and you're welcome, but you have recently developed an aversion to saying the word please at the right time, even though you are very capable and understand it. You say "I don't like it" when we prompt you. We're working on that one.
On a more grateful note, Saturday night you, Dad and I watched Mamma Mia on HBO. It's not my type of movie but was made more enjoyable by your singing and dancing. After a while you climbed on the couch, hugged Dad and said "I love you Dad". Then you climbed over to me and said "I love you Mommy". A moment later you put your arms around my neck and began to repeat "Thank you so much Mommy. Thank you so much Mommy" while you nuzzled into my shoulders. It was killer.
Yesterday pancake, you mastered drinking from a glass! we started a day or two earlier, but you pretty much figured it out in one day. you hardly have spills and would love to run around with the glass, but we ask you to sit in your highchair.
This past Saturday after lots of excitement from the prior week's library find, Big Girl Potty, we got you your first toddler toilet! I have a hard time committing to the word "potty" in public, although of course we use it in private. Dad won a Target gift certificate at work, so it was courtesy of Apple ;) You were very excited to be a big girl like Ashley in the book, and love sitting on it and trying it out.
You continue to sleep really well. You have been getting several of your molars but at most you wake briefly in the night and go back to sleep after a minute. For at least three months now, you have been sleeping consistantly almost 12 hours at night and a 1.5 hour nap. You play for an hour or so with your "friends" in your crib before falling asleep at naptime. Sometimes you get fussy just before falling asleep and throw them all overboard.
Your knitted cat Tot has become even more imperative this past month. I won't say you're completely dependent on him/her, but you ask for Tot everywhere you go, and we better have him [?] if we're out during a crisis. Its definitely time to get some backups.
On Saturday we also found a great deal on the sand/water table I'd wanted for you, previously opened and missing the umbrella. Our backyard has plenty of shade so we were happy to find the discount! You are having so much fun with it. Saturday morning I had done a lot of gardening (mainly weeding) and we had the backyard mowed and edged so it looks great again and is a relaxing place for us all to hang out. You play with some of your Little People out there, and took to calling a blond boy "Ian". We didn't know how you came up with it until we realized Ian is the name of the brother pig in the Olivia series. Grammie gave you the first Olivia book while she was here, and you love to look at the pictures and point out "yo-yo", "bathing suit", "meatballs", etc. You really like Ian his newly named friend Emily (I helped with that one), and Farmer Girl.
Oh and when you try to say bathing suit you say "bathing soup" which in your teeny voice is super adorable.
As far as speaking, I can't even begin to sum up everything you say. You know the name of so many things and you string together complicated sentences, properly conjugating and switching many pronouns and tenses. Most of your sentences are 4-5 words long, but you will often use 7 words at a time. You know and effortlessly use extraneous words like knob. Last month when Grammie was here, she was watching you and remarked "She is so amazing". You looked at Grammie and said "Yes... I am!" I don't know much about grammer development but that to me seems like a big concept to grasp (albeit a little self centered ;) Here is a good example of your daily ramblings:
Just now you looked out the window in surprise and said "Oh! i see a see-earl [squirrel] - let's chase it! It ran away. It went to get grape."
Yesterday we used your magnetic letters to practice the word MILK. There was a segment on "World World" about it, and we practiced putting the letters together afterwards. Last night before bed, I showed you a Milk Campaign magazine ad and asked you what the word was. You looked for a second and said "Milk!" which I guess is you reading, right? So your very first word was milk.
You are very good at saying thank you and you're welcome, but you have recently developed an aversion to saying the word please at the right time, even though you are very capable and understand it. You say "I don't like it" when we prompt you. We're working on that one.
On a more grateful note, Saturday night you, Dad and I watched Mamma Mia on HBO. It's not my type of movie but was made more enjoyable by your singing and dancing. After a while you climbed on the couch, hugged Dad and said "I love you Dad". Then you climbed over to me and said "I love you Mommy". A moment later you put your arms around my neck and began to repeat "Thank you so much Mommy. Thank you so much Mommy" while you nuzzled into my shoulders. It was killer.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
song time
this week you have really become interested in nursery rhymes and songs. you love pat a cake and row row row your boat and itsy bitsy spider and twinkle twinkle.
unrelated, here is video of you outside:
unrelated, here is video of you outside:
Saturday, March 13, 2010
NX35
This weekend was the Denton Texas NX35 music festival. We drove down and spent time with Eric & Carlene, Heather, Andy, Brent & Adam. It was a really great time, you couldn't stay up for Dad's set but you made it through over half of the INCREDIBLE Flaming Lips set. I remarked at the time "Its like seeing Yo Gabba Gabba live" and it turns out I was extra right, in addition to the giant balloon/balls, confetti, and dancing sun/stars the chorus people were apparently dressed in DJ Lance Rock orange jumpsuits. You loved it. Somewhere I saved the piece of confetti you grasped as they all slowly spiraled down around you. It took at least 20 minutes for all the confetti to land, it was beautiful. You loved the hula-hoopers nearby and stayed cozy in the carrier with dad for a good 40 minutes.
We left before the show ended, Minorcan needed to get setup for their own show. Dad took us back to our fancy courtyard mariott and I got us an overpriced yogurt strawberries & granola snack and we retreated to our hotelroom, your third ever. I read to you from the book we'd gotten that day, "Lets Make Rabbits", got you all calm and put you in your pack&play where you promptly screamed your head off. I had no choice but to take you out right away, I turned off all the lights in the hotel room turned the TV onto "The Cutting Edge" (i was too wound to sleep myself) and let you toss around on my bed until eventually, after an hour, you curled up and fell asleep. your first non-crib sleep since you were a newborn. I stayed conscious enough to wake anytime you moved to ensure you weren't about to fall off the bed. we aren't going to make a habit out of it, but i had a pretty good time snuggling with you :)
(ready to go home)
the last two pictures are by carlene jean death machine, 2010.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
favorite book at 17 months and 1 week
(why haven't i been doing this all along?)
your very favorite book right now is SALLY AND THE SOMETHING by george o'connor. i picked it up at half price books last week knowing your dad would read it perfectly. he does. you spend a good 40% of your day saying "BLAAHHH!" with your tongue hanging out of your mouth, just like dad does. you LOVE love this book. you love the bicycle, the frogs, the bird and squirrel, and most of all you love sally and her friend the monster, who is not at all boring. your love of this book inspired us to show you "monsters, inc" the other night, which you also enjoyed while playing with your dollhouse. i hope you always see the funny in monsters, pancake!
your very favorite book right now is SALLY AND THE SOMETHING by george o'connor. i picked it up at half price books last week knowing your dad would read it perfectly. he does. you spend a good 40% of your day saying "BLAAHHH!" with your tongue hanging out of your mouth, just like dad does. you LOVE love this book. you love the bicycle, the frogs, the bird and squirrel, and most of all you love sally and her friend the monster, who is not at all boring. your love of this book inspired us to show you "monsters, inc" the other night, which you also enjoyed while playing with your dollhouse. i hope you always see the funny in monsters, pancake!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
17 months
More thoughts of your recent activities:
This past week when you fuss for a minute and Dad and I don't respond, you will look down at the floor, sniffle, and say "SAAAaaadddd." Talk about guilt trip!
Play Video Below
I brought you to the window and you said "Snewflkes!" and I said "YES, YES! SNOWFLAKES!" both of us with wide smiles and you looked at me and said "Pancakes!" and I nodded a bit less assuredly and said "Isn't the snow pretty? SNOWFLAKES." you held my gaze steadily and said "Pancakes."
I let that sit for a moment and then asked "Do you want Pancakes for breakfast?" and you said "YEAHHHH!!!"
The New Face of Independent Thought
This is probably the best example of my ineptitude to comprehend your burgeoning independent thought. You have never asked for a breakfast item out of the blue, and it has been a while since your last pancake. The other day, after weeks of eating organic blueberries (least expensive this time of year), you spun in a circle and asked "Strawberries?" You did this a couple more times before your dad came home from work. After we'd all eaten dinner you walked into the kitchen and asked "Strawberries?" I asked Dad if he'd mentioned strawberries around you and then said to him "I wonder where she saw strawberries?" and Dad said "...Maybe she just wants strawberries." I can't explain what exactly made me thick as a goal post on this, but of course he was right, you just wanted strawberries. You hadn't seen them in the fridge, or read a book about them, or seen them on a fabric swatch. You just got an urge for them, the way I get an urge to watch "Sliding Doors", or have an egg sandwich. You really are a beautiful little person, and for all the credit I give you, and all the marveling I do about your intelligence to other people, It was really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that we have raised you thus far and sometimes you just WANT what you want.
Anyway back to the snow, I threw layers over your pjs and rushed you outside. You had fun until hattie ate your mini snowman (but looked adorable doing so, I might add, her little paws dusting up the clumpy snow). We came inside and I finally made you your pancake. (Shout out to BATTER BLASTER, a product I've loved but just realized what a secret weapon it can be to an purposely microwave-less and organically-minded mom)
After your pancakes, blueberries and cheese we went back out to the snow and had fun making a snowman until I realized just how vital gloves are to the snow-packing process. One can really only go thirty seconds to a minute on a snowball until your fingers want to cry out in pain. Being little baby fingers, yours have even less tolerance, so I have to admit our snowman was more than a little hurried. And you really wanted to eat the carrot nose. AND you started crying for "Calliou!" a show I had just exposed you to while dressing you for cold, and then callously tore you away from to go galavanting in cold ice pain. The one giggle I got from you as I stuck a stick to the snow for a mouth was happiness enough, and back we went into the warm world of pancakes and cartoons. I scooped up a handful of "clean" tree snow to bring back into the house and make Snow-in-a-Bowl which I did, guessing at my Mom's recipe, and you scarfed it down, happy as a clam again. Next time I'll make sure i've got some proper snow-fun-time clothes for you, I promise... but honestly, yesterday we thought winter was over! I wore a t shirt!
Proof of Yesterday's Sunshine:
This past week when you fuss for a minute and Dad and I don't respond, you will look down at the floor, sniffle, and say "SAAAaaadddd." Talk about guilt trip!
Play Video Below
texas snow! from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.
We woke up this morning to Central Texas snow. Everywhere, and covering everything! Ok not the roads, but absolutely everything else. We'd had a late night, so you and I slept nice and long and when I woke up and remembered the forecast, I rushed into your room and pulled open the blinds. "Look out the window - SNOW!"I brought you to the window and you said "Snewflkes!" and I said "YES, YES! SNOWFLAKES!" both of us with wide smiles and you looked at me and said "Pancakes!" and I nodded a bit less assuredly and said "Isn't the snow pretty? SNOWFLAKES." you held my gaze steadily and said "Pancakes."
I let that sit for a moment and then asked "Do you want Pancakes for breakfast?" and you said "YEAHHHH!!!"
The New Face of Independent Thought
This is probably the best example of my ineptitude to comprehend your burgeoning independent thought. You have never asked for a breakfast item out of the blue, and it has been a while since your last pancake. The other day, after weeks of eating organic blueberries (least expensive this time of year), you spun in a circle and asked "Strawberries?" You did this a couple more times before your dad came home from work. After we'd all eaten dinner you walked into the kitchen and asked "Strawberries?" I asked Dad if he'd mentioned strawberries around you and then said to him "I wonder where she saw strawberries?" and Dad said "...Maybe she just wants strawberries." I can't explain what exactly made me thick as a goal post on this, but of course he was right, you just wanted strawberries. You hadn't seen them in the fridge, or read a book about them, or seen them on a fabric swatch. You just got an urge for them, the way I get an urge to watch "Sliding Doors", or have an egg sandwich. You really are a beautiful little person, and for all the credit I give you, and all the marveling I do about your intelligence to other people, It was really hard for me to come to terms with the fact that we have raised you thus far and sometimes you just WANT what you want.
Anyway back to the snow, I threw layers over your pjs and rushed you outside. You had fun until hattie ate your mini snowman (but looked adorable doing so, I might add, her little paws dusting up the clumpy snow). We came inside and I finally made you your pancake. (Shout out to BATTER BLASTER, a product I've loved but just realized what a secret weapon it can be to an purposely microwave-less and organically-minded mom)
After your pancakes, blueberries and cheese we went back out to the snow and had fun making a snowman until I realized just how vital gloves are to the snow-packing process. One can really only go thirty seconds to a minute on a snowball until your fingers want to cry out in pain. Being little baby fingers, yours have even less tolerance, so I have to admit our snowman was more than a little hurried. And you really wanted to eat the carrot nose. AND you started crying for "Calliou!" a show I had just exposed you to while dressing you for cold, and then callously tore you away from to go galavanting in cold ice pain. The one giggle I got from you as I stuck a stick to the snow for a mouth was happiness enough, and back we went into the warm world of pancakes and cartoons. I scooped up a handful of "clean" tree snow to bring back into the house and make Snow-in-a-Bowl which I did, guessing at my Mom's recipe, and you scarfed it down, happy as a clam again. Next time I'll make sure i've got some proper snow-fun-time clothes for you, I promise... but honestly, yesterday we thought winter was over! I wore a t shirt!
Proof of Yesterday's Sunshine:
Monday, February 22, 2010
catching up thoughts
Kiss From Grammie
You had a great time mid-Feb during Grammie's visit. You had your first night away from Mom and Dad, who stayed at a fancy hotel and had fun all the while missing you very much. You and Grammie did a ton of fun things and she taught you to ask "Kiss it?" when you get a boo-boo and she was happy to comply with many kisses. You showed Grammie all your dance moves and she taught you to tap your foot.
After Grammie's visit (more on that to come, its a lot to get out) and your enthusiastic response to the simple wooden starter dollhouse and Calico Critters on display at the toy store, I decided to forego the standard Fisher Price Little People plastic dollhouse. This decision was tough because I wanted to spend the same or less than the FP house, I wanted something with lots of empty space for your chubby hands to get in the rooms and play, and it had to be very, very simple and age appropriate. I found a major steal in the Ryan's Room (a division of Small World Toys) "It's 2 Cute" wooden toddler dollhouse, discontinued at TuesdayMorning.com for LESS than most places sell the FP, but originally $149. Lucky us! It arrived in two days and you loved it right away. That first night Dad and I gave it to you, I think you played with it for two hours straight, and another three the following morning.
It comes with just enough very basic block furniture and is intended for 2+. So far I'm satisfied with the decision. You'll get to practice giving your dolls a bath and using the toilet just like the fisher Price dollhouse, but there is much more room for free play. It should last you a couple years until you're ready for something more detail-oriented... or whenever it is that kids get there developmentally. Without the household sounds (like a toilet flushing) it may take you longer to get engaged in dollhouse role-play, but I'm betting you will come around eventually. Video Below:
dollhouse from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.
While dad is at work you carry around the little wooden Dad doll and say "Hug Dad". Pretty much the cutest thing ever.
We've been listening to Dad's new album (Minorcan - Keep At Hand available now on itunes and bloodonthevinyl.com!) in the car and when I go to get you out of your seat you say "Dad... .... singing". You're very good at present tenses and all the time say things like "Plane... Flying ... Sound." When you hear an airplane soar by.
a year ago this week
you tried your first bite of solid food! its amazing to think how far you've come.
and here you are on valentine's day, eating a gummy star:
so pancake, i've fallen very behind updating your blog and i don't quite know how to catch up. here are a few happy thoughts from recent events, and expect more to come:
and here you are on valentine's day, eating a gummy star:
so pancake, i've fallen very behind updating your blog and i don't quite know how to catch up. here are a few happy thoughts from recent events, and expect more to come:
while grammie was visiting i made monkey bread for the first time and it was a mouth watering success. grammie, dad, you and myself all loved it, and altho you may think it's a weird mention for a baby blog, i hope to serve it up every christmas morning for the rest of your life so i thought the first taste deserved note. 2/15/10
on 2/20/10 we took you to the new location of sandy's shoes, otherwise known as austin's own geppetto-run toy/shoe store. over the last 17 months daniel has been your only shoe salesman and although i have to admit he's more austin hippy than renaissance wood-smith, he's kindly and knowledgeable and i prefer to think of him in old-world terms. ANYWAY it was a busy Saturday but we eventually walked out with your first sneakers! we'd spent that morning at the dog park and it was apparent your soft-soled shoes no longer fill your mountain climbing needs. you do not... and i mean do NOT like having your foot measured or strangers putting new shoes on your feet. it took a very obnoxious wall-eyed stuffed monkey to calm you down. you sure look cute though!
that night your dad and i took you for your first lobster dinner. i can't say you ate much more than the cheddar bay biscuits, but it was a really great night for your parents. both of us agreed our highly anticipated jaunt to red lobster (it's lobsterfest, of course) felt like a REAL official family outing. waiting to be seated, showing you the lobster tank, hearing you peel into laughter over the big-eyed lobster illustration on your kids' menu... it just felt like the most traditional family moment we've had with your personality in full-bloom, and it was FUN. as i'm sure you've grown accustomed, strangers gawked all over your cuteness while you played in the track-lit stones out front, ran with abandon into a table-corner trying to get to the lobster tank (dad made it better), and sat happily in your highchair eating tastes of my dinner and ignoring your own. the highlight may have been our waiter pulling two lobsters from the tank before your eyes. one of them was ferocious and rightly deserved a few more minutes of life - he curled back his tail and pinched his claws and i swear he actually hissed. you squealed and clapped at all this and cracked up when he sank back to the bottom of the tank. it was great fun, thanks for showing us such a good time.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
New Camera!
Our new family camera arrived today from Grandaddy. A Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ35 and it is wonderful! It shoots great video as well as photos, so we're in for a new memory-capturing experience.
Here are some recent milestones:
today you pointed to our uncarved and surprisingly solid, overturned halloween pumpkin and said "pumpkin! us-ide down"! which i think is a pretty big sentence for someone so little.
we got HD cable a couple weeks ago and you like to watch the pajanimals "La-La-Lullabye" song. On Jan 31st you went from singing just one line of a song (until now you would just repeat "Frossssty", or "Lal'bye" over and over) to singing the next lines too. And now if we prompt you with "La-la-lullaby" you'll finish and say "sing, sing sing m'self/lal'bye".
Along the same lines you love the Yo Gabba Gabba "Wiggle" song. you run around the livingroom singing "Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle STOP" (at which point you freeze), then "Hold STILL....!" we can prompt you to finish this song, too.
We had a great two weeks with visits from Joe & Kelly, Don, Aunt Heather and John Miller! Thank you lovely guests, you are very missed.
new camera! from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Uncle Justin's Visit
Last night while I put Christmas lights on the tree, Ryan and Justin made Pecan Pie with some of the delicious pecans sent to us from Grandma Erwin & Pop. Justin sat down on the couch to eat his slice, and Sylvie leveraged a cushion on the floor, wiggling and pulling herself all the way onto the couch and into Justin's lap. The following is a transcript of her pie-related opinions:
my
my
my
pah [pie]
pah
pah
pah
pah
num
num
nummy
nummy
yummy
yum
yum
up
up
up
up
up
down?
down?
She ends most "ups" with "down?", it's a siren-y sing-song, reminding me of those long car alarm spiels. Oh and yes, Justin shared his pie.
Time
In honor of the Minorcan show that was too cold for us to attend, Sylvie and I ate homade sugar cookies tonight on the kitchen rug. When she smooshed the last cookie half into her mouth she stood up with a (crumb-filled) devilish grin, said "bye-bye" and waved to me as she walked into the livingroom, obviously through with the whole "special daughter-mom cookie moment." I laughed uncontrollably for a good minute and hoped she wasn't getting into the tree.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Snow Day
We had a few snowflakes yesterday afternoon and I caught this picture of Sylvie with my cellphone camera. She loved it! On a side note, Justin arrived in Austin last night to stay with us for a week, we're going to have so much fun! While he and Ryan were talking last night, Sylvie walked to me, hugged my knee and said "Love" with a smile. So sweet :)
Sunday, November 29, 2009
New Express Train From Austin to the North Pole in 1.25 Hours!
I'm not sure how they do it, but all that Christmas Magic is pretty cool. After a wonderful visit from Warren and Diana, Ryan, Pancake and I boarded the North Pole Flyer Train with our friends Heather, Andy and Silas on Saturday night. We had a great time eating gingerbread men, drinking cocoa and watching the scenery go by out the open window of our vintage train car. Our car was the last to be visited by Santa with typical "baby on santa's lap" results... but in the video below you can see how patiently and politely Pancake was awaiting his arrival. She and little Silas were absolutely adorable, and I think they both had a fun time. Sylvie liked "chugga-chugga-ing" and Silas was all about pulling the imaginary engine whistle. Sylvie started to loose it at the end, but Silas maintained his composure the whole time! You can see from the pictures he is interested, but a little concerned by Sylvie's well-meaning sentiments towards him. It was a fun time for us parents too, you can get caught up on a lot of conversation en route to the North Pole.
Thank you Heather and Andy for the pictures!!! There are a few more on the flickr site, here : FLICKR
Thank you Heather and Andy for the pictures!!! There are a few more on the flickr site, here : FLICKR
VIDEO
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Grandaddy and Di-Di Visit for Thanksgiving :)
We had a great time with family and friends this Thanksgiving. We introduced Warren and Diana to the movie Elf, and the four of us survived Central Market on Thanksgiving Eve while Ryan was at work. Paula and Ronnie came for the big bird meal and we couldn't have asked for a nicer time. We feel very lucky to have such great family and friends!
Kisses from Grandaddy!
Really happy to see Di-Di again
First Pie - Paula's Family Chocolate Pie MMMMM
Really happy to see Di-Di againA beautiful hand-made gift from Aunt DJ and Grandaddy!
Table
First Pie - Paula's Family Chocolate Pie MMMMM
Reading Golden Books in the kitchen with Paula After dinner
Friday, November 20, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
World's First Ever Camera-Shy Baby
Ok, maybe not the first EVER, but in these two videos you can hear faintly what she often says with conviction!
Here I'm mainly trying to get her to say her new word, Soap.
chair talk after lunch rush from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.
Here I'm mainly trying to get her to say her new word, Soap.
night talk from jennifer anderson on Vimeo.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Guilt post; pretty pictures
I have no time to write, so instead I'll post some photo fun! I've been messing around with photoshop actions and these are some from http://coffeeteaphotography.blogspot.com/. More soon, I hope!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Libration
Pancake, you love your birthday wagon from Grammie, it's been very freeing for you. You're able to ride along with us while sitting straight up and eating snacks. Since you're so big on the upright thing, it's really been a godsend for walks. Yay!
On a side note, you stood for Dad on Monday in the garage, and tonight you stood for me too! You wobble for a second, then kind of settle into an upper leg bounce.
We had a very busy day today, we met with playgroup and "toured" the Amy's Ice Cream factory, you napped and then we got up for a doctor's appt. We then ran a couple errands and ended up at the grocery store. People in the store were especially sweet to you today and you smiled a lot. You're still very reserved at playgroup... you concentrate very hard and seem to intensely take-in all the kids and all the cool things they are able to do. It's strange to me that one day that will change, that you will be accustomed to being around other kids and not bat an eyelash. Even though we're nowhere near having another child I've been thinking a lot about whether we'll want to give you a sibling one of these days. It seems like an inconceivable decision to make, but I watch the other children with their siblings and wonder how things will turn out for you and us, brother or sister-wise.
Today I encountered one of i'm sure millions to come of moral parenting issues. You and I came to a stop at an intersection that like most intersections in Austin, was the pan-handling territory of a particularly nice looking gentleman. I smiled at him, because it felt appropriate. I never quite know how to handle eye-contact with people who are panhandling, which I'm sure is how everyone, including the panhandler, feels. I act on a case-by-case basis. Anyway, I smiled at this particular guy. He moved on, standing just behind my car seat. I could see you in the baby mirror, you were watching him intently but I'm not sure if he had seen you. I said "You can say HI sylvie", and waited to see how you would react. You scrunched your little face a bit and then held out your (currently) coveted Golden Book. It was innocent, I'm not claiming it was an act of blind social equality, but it was beautiful all the same. I know that as you grow older we'll have to teach you to be cautious and to stay away from strangers... BUT I really enjoyed this one moment, knowing you were safe and being proud for you to offer your book to this completely strange man. Chance encounters have always seemed to me to be the lifeblood of humanity... but thats a little too much to get into on a baby blog! SPEAKING of chance encounters...
I'd like to end this post with a story told to me last week in the grocery store that I haven't been able to shake from my brain. You and I were in the produce section, and a very pretty woman in her late 60's approached me and complimented you on your beauty and bird observation skills (a small brown bird was loose inside the grocery store and you were following it's every move). her hair was shoulder length and wavy grey-ish brown, and I now feel like it was held back with a scarf but she may have just been that type of woman. After chatting for a minute she told me that your hair was just a shade darker than her youngest son's when he was your age, and how he, too loved nature. Anyway, her story:
This woman and her three sons lived in Iraq during her husband's military service in the Middle East. Apparently it was a very cold first winter in Iraq, and her two-year-old son had been hearing stories of Massachusetts snow from his two older brothers, but had never seen it himself. The woman awoke one morning to falling snow covering the sand, and knew she had to pick and choose her words to the boys carefully. She woke them up, and said, "before I tell you what I'm about to tell you, you must put on your warm pants and shoes." They began to comply until the youngest, with his shoes half on realized "SNOW!" and tore down the stairs, loosing his shoes along the way. The two older boys did as they'd been told, and when they and the woman got downstairs she saw her two-year old son standing in the doorway, illuminated by the reflections of sand and snow, still in his PJs, with his arms and face raised to the sky. She told us this story, and explained that it was her very favorite memory and how beautiful the moment had been. She also mentioned that she'd always wished she were an artist and could paint that moment... but personally, I think it may be perfect kept just the way it is :)
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