The 100m splash and dash:
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Toddler Etiquette
Attention toddlers! Not sure how to handle certain situations? Baffled about the easiest way to get things done? Here are some tips to help you out, from your resident expert Samuel:
1. If you are unable to get a tiny part of a toy truck to stay up or down, you could politely ask your mom for help. OR you could scream and flail your body around and say "YOU do it Mommy!"
2. If you are given the option of wearing red shorts or blue shorts, you could thoughtfully consider the choices and then pick one. OR you could scream "no shorts! I want to be naken (naked)" and then run down the hall with no shorts on.
3. When your mom gives you a 2-minute warning before bed, that is THE best time to suggest some long activity like watching an entire movie, or taking the playdough out. When your parents don't like your suggestion, scream and flail your body around until they are forced to pick you up and carry you upstairs.
4. Limit the number of foods you eat to 5 or less. It's really fun for your parents to think of new interesting things to serve you, and then watch you say "blehhhh" (or "no thank you" if you are feeling particularly polite) and then end up giving you yogurt for dinner, and your new interesting food to Bella.
5. When you see your toddler girlfriend at school or church (after you have been asking nonstop if she will be there), the best way to get her attention is to roll around on the floor like a dog.
6. The only time you should suggest sitting on the potty yourself is after your parents say it's time to get out of the bathtub and go to bed. Your mom and dad will never figure out that you are just stalling. Try to get an M&M every time, too, even if you don't actually pee in the potty.
7. People don't like to use the bathroom by themselves. They might tell you they do, but ignore them. If you see a bathroom door closed and know someone is in there, bang on the door as hard as you can and demand to be let in. Once you are let in, grab anything sharp and dangerous you see and claim it for your own. Offer your parents M&Ms if they have successfully used the potty. If they decline, graciously say that you'll eat the M&M for them.
8. If there is some kind of expensive shiny object on the table, do everything you can to get it. If your mom moves it up to a higher spot, get a chair and try to reach it. Once you get it, press all the buttons as fast as you can, before it gets taken away. Then scream "MY ________" (fill in the blank here with camera, computer, field journal, cell phone, etc...) over and over.
9. The best time to play in your parents' bed is after it has been made in the morning. Just ignore your mom as she tries to put the blankets back on the bed. It's more fun to throw them on the floor multiple times and then jump on them. This is especially fun when morning starts at 5:30 am.
10. If you try to tell someone something and they do not understand your unique toddler speech, you could politely repeat yourself. OR you could say the same exact thing, but LOUDER and ANGRIER, while stomping your feet on the floor. If you had a Hawaiian shirt and multiple cameras around your neck you could pass as a mini tourist.
11. Fixate on one TV show or movie. Refuse suggestions of anything else to watch, even if your parents get something really good from the library for you. The optimal number of times to watch the movie Cars is 2 million. Only when everyone in your house, including the dog, knows all the lines of the movie is it time for something different.
1. If you are unable to get a tiny part of a toy truck to stay up or down, you could politely ask your mom for help. OR you could scream and flail your body around and say "YOU do it Mommy!"
2. If you are given the option of wearing red shorts or blue shorts, you could thoughtfully consider the choices and then pick one. OR you could scream "no shorts! I want to be naken (naked)" and then run down the hall with no shorts on.
3. When your mom gives you a 2-minute warning before bed, that is THE best time to suggest some long activity like watching an entire movie, or taking the playdough out. When your parents don't like your suggestion, scream and flail your body around until they are forced to pick you up and carry you upstairs.
4. Limit the number of foods you eat to 5 or less. It's really fun for your parents to think of new interesting things to serve you, and then watch you say "blehhhh" (or "no thank you" if you are feeling particularly polite) and then end up giving you yogurt for dinner, and your new interesting food to Bella.
5. When you see your toddler girlfriend at school or church (after you have been asking nonstop if she will be there), the best way to get her attention is to roll around on the floor like a dog.
6. The only time you should suggest sitting on the potty yourself is after your parents say it's time to get out of the bathtub and go to bed. Your mom and dad will never figure out that you are just stalling. Try to get an M&M every time, too, even if you don't actually pee in the potty.
7. People don't like to use the bathroom by themselves. They might tell you they do, but ignore them. If you see a bathroom door closed and know someone is in there, bang on the door as hard as you can and demand to be let in. Once you are let in, grab anything sharp and dangerous you see and claim it for your own. Offer your parents M&Ms if they have successfully used the potty. If they decline, graciously say that you'll eat the M&M for them.
8. If there is some kind of expensive shiny object on the table, do everything you can to get it. If your mom moves it up to a higher spot, get a chair and try to reach it. Once you get it, press all the buttons as fast as you can, before it gets taken away. Then scream "MY ________" (fill in the blank here with camera, computer, field journal, cell phone, etc...) over and over.
9. The best time to play in your parents' bed is after it has been made in the morning. Just ignore your mom as she tries to put the blankets back on the bed. It's more fun to throw them on the floor multiple times and then jump on them. This is especially fun when morning starts at 5:30 am.
10. If you try to tell someone something and they do not understand your unique toddler speech, you could politely repeat yourself. OR you could say the same exact thing, but LOUDER and ANGRIER, while stomping your feet on the floor. If you had a Hawaiian shirt and multiple cameras around your neck you could pass as a mini tourist.
11. Fixate on one TV show or movie. Refuse suggestions of anything else to watch, even if your parents get something really good from the library for you. The optimal number of times to watch the movie Cars is 2 million. Only when everyone in your house, including the dog, knows all the lines of the movie is it time for something different.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Salt Art
I found a great website called No Time for Flashcards that has all kinds of fun, inexpensive things to do with kids. One of the things they talked about was salt art. I've done this before at fairs with colored sand, and the salt was just as easy. Basically you just spoon some colored salt into a container, then tap it flat, then add another color, and do the same thing.
Samuel had a great time filling up containers with different colored salt (and if you look carefully, you can find Lightning McQueen enjoying salt art, too.)
Here are his finished creations:
Samuel had a great time filling up containers with different colored salt (and if you look carefully, you can find Lightning McQueen enjoying salt art, too.)
Here are his finished creations:
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Breakfast
Hey all you kids out there...in the mood for a new breakfast treat? You should try jelly toast dipped in a fabulous new condiment - "green wemmonade" and "yellow wemmonade".
Tips for enjoying your breakfast to the fullest:
1. Eat at 5:30 am. It's fun to eat when it's dark out, plus getting up at 5:45 is SO last week.
2. Insist you like the green wemmonade on toast even when you make faces that clearly indicate otherwise.
3. Never, under any circumstances, admit that this condiment might actually be called lemon juice or lime juice. If your mom tries to tell you otherwise, just scream "NO! It's green wemmonade!"
4. The crazier your hair, the better your food will taste.
Tips for enjoying your breakfast to the fullest:
1. Eat at 5:30 am. It's fun to eat when it's dark out, plus getting up at 5:45 is SO last week.
2. Insist you like the green wemmonade on toast even when you make faces that clearly indicate otherwise.
3. Never, under any circumstances, admit that this condiment might actually be called lemon juice or lime juice. If your mom tries to tell you otherwise, just scream "NO! It's green wemmonade!"
4. The crazier your hair, the better your food will taste.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Updates
We've been busy the last few weeks here. Samuel was baptized at our church (I know most people do this when their kids are babies, but because of the move here, we held off until now.) Ernie's Uncle Irv and Aunt Roseanne are Samuel's godparents, and they came all the way from FL for the baptism (thanks guys!) Here's a picture of us at the church:
Samuel did great during the short ceremony, and even said to Pastor Stan "tank you for gibbin me that water on my head."
Samuel loved having 2 extra adults around the house that weekend, so he could order all 4 of us around to do his bidding. Lately I've noticed he actually seems to be better behaved when there are adult guests over, instead of adults with kids for playdates. Maybe the adults aren't threats to his toys or something, like other kids are. Or maybe it's just a stage. Who knows. Anyway, here he is making one of his subjects push him on the swings:
Ernie finished the box/storage chest he has been working on, and it's now in our kitchen. Roseanne helped me sew a cushion for the top of it, and some pillow covers for our living room from the same fabric. While I consider myself a crafty person, sewing is something I don't have that much experience with. Something about it is always a little intimidating to me (and the whole figuring out how much fabric you're going to need and sewing the right sides together thing throws me.) But, thanks to Roseanne, the bench cushion and the pillows came out great:
Ernie is off on a business trip right now. Before he left he gave Samuel a matchbox car that looks like Lightning McQueen (from the movie Cars). Samuel LOVES it. He has barely let it out of his sight the past few days, including when he sleeps at night. Usually if he wakes up in the night, he'll cry "my mommy...my mommy" or "my daddy...my daddy," but the past 2 nights he has woken up crying "li queen...li queen" because the car has fallen off the bed, or gotten stuck under his pillow and he can't find it. Lightning McQueen must eat breakfast with us, sit on the edge of the sink at bath time, go on the swings with us, etc... I think I had better buy a back-up car just in case anything happens to this one.
Two final things to share: 1) this morning at breakfast Samuel was putting something in his mouth and he happened to sneeze at the same time. He didn't get his hand out of his mouth fast enough, and he was very upset. He said "hey! mommy! my mouth bite me!" and 2) later on when he sneezed again, I asked him if he needed a kleenex and he said "that's okay, I just wipe my nose here." Here being my brand new bench cushion. Ugh.
Samuel did great during the short ceremony, and even said to Pastor Stan "tank you for gibbin me that water on my head."
Samuel loved having 2 extra adults around the house that weekend, so he could order all 4 of us around to do his bidding. Lately I've noticed he actually seems to be better behaved when there are adult guests over, instead of adults with kids for playdates. Maybe the adults aren't threats to his toys or something, like other kids are. Or maybe it's just a stage. Who knows. Anyway, here he is making one of his subjects push him on the swings:
Ernie finished the box/storage chest he has been working on, and it's now in our kitchen. Roseanne helped me sew a cushion for the top of it, and some pillow covers for our living room from the same fabric. While I consider myself a crafty person, sewing is something I don't have that much experience with. Something about it is always a little intimidating to me (and the whole figuring out how much fabric you're going to need and sewing the right sides together thing throws me.) But, thanks to Roseanne, the bench cushion and the pillows came out great:
Ernie is off on a business trip right now. Before he left he gave Samuel a matchbox car that looks like Lightning McQueen (from the movie Cars). Samuel LOVES it. He has barely let it out of his sight the past few days, including when he sleeps at night. Usually if he wakes up in the night, he'll cry "my mommy...my mommy" or "my daddy...my daddy," but the past 2 nights he has woken up crying "li queen...li queen" because the car has fallen off the bed, or gotten stuck under his pillow and he can't find it. Lightning McQueen must eat breakfast with us, sit on the edge of the sink at bath time, go on the swings with us, etc... I think I had better buy a back-up car just in case anything happens to this one.
Two final things to share: 1) this morning at breakfast Samuel was putting something in his mouth and he happened to sneeze at the same time. He didn't get his hand out of his mouth fast enough, and he was very upset. He said "hey! mommy! my mouth bite me!" and 2) later on when he sneezed again, I asked him if he needed a kleenex and he said "that's okay, I just wipe my nose here." Here being my brand new bench cushion. Ugh.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Things in Threes
Three things Samuel loves to do lately:
1. swing
2. play with the hose
3. play in the sandbox
Three things he does not love to do lately:
1. practice sitting on the potty
2. eat any vegetable
3. come inside after playing
Three TV shows he can't get enough of:
1. Mickey Mouse
2. Dora
3. Little Einsteins
Three TV shows Ernie and I are thoroughly sick of:
1. Mickey Mouse
2. Dora
3. Little Einsteins
Three things Samuel ate for breakfast this morning:
1. shredded cheese
2. yogurt
3. sour cream
(apparently he is a fan of dairy products)
Three traits he most certainly did not inherit from me:
1. car recognition*
2. the difference between an excavator, bulldozer, and loader
3. a love of condiments
(*note about #1 above - Ernie always talks to me about people and identifies them by their cars. As in "you know those people who live down the street and drive the (insert technical car name here) I usually have no idea what he is talking about unless he clarifies with "you know, the BLUE car", but Samuel already (at 2!) knows which kids are at school by seeing their cars in the parking lot.
Three books that must be read each night before bed:
1. Merry Christmas Mouse (who says you can't celebrate Christmas in July?)
2. I Spy Cars and Trucks
3. Harold and the Purple Crayon
Three items that must be in bed with Samuel before he'll go to sleep:
1. blue blanket
2. yellow blanket
3. as many matchbox cars as he can get away with
Three phrases I never thought would come out of my mouth:
1. take the batteries out of your mouth
2. you may not have chips for breakfast
3. we don't eat things that are already in the garbage
Three times he has woken up this past week:
1. 5:45 am
2. 5:46 am
3. 5:47 am
Three art projects he loves:
1. any kind of painting
2. gluing uncooked noodles to paper
3. playdough
Three manners he is working on:
1. covering up after EVERY sneeze
2. saying "excuse me" when adults are talking
3. saying "no thank you" instead of "bleeehhhhh"
Three foods he would eat non-stop, if we let him
1. chips
2. chocolate pudding
3. granola bars
If you're in the market for a vacation the involves getting up super early, getting covered with glue/sand/water/dirt/paint, reading certain books one zillion times in a row, and more dairy products than you know what to do with, stop on by!
1. swing
2. play with the hose
3. play in the sandbox
Three things he does not love to do lately:
1. practice sitting on the potty
2. eat any vegetable
3. come inside after playing
Three TV shows he can't get enough of:
1. Mickey Mouse
2. Dora
3. Little Einsteins
Three TV shows Ernie and I are thoroughly sick of:
1. Mickey Mouse
2. Dora
3. Little Einsteins
Three things Samuel ate for breakfast this morning:
1. shredded cheese
2. yogurt
3. sour cream
(apparently he is a fan of dairy products)
Three traits he most certainly did not inherit from me:
1. car recognition*
2. the difference between an excavator, bulldozer, and loader
3. a love of condiments
(*note about #1 above - Ernie always talks to me about people and identifies them by their cars. As in "you know those people who live down the street and drive the (insert technical car name here) I usually have no idea what he is talking about unless he clarifies with "you know, the BLUE car", but Samuel already (at 2!) knows which kids are at school by seeing their cars in the parking lot.
Three books that must be read each night before bed:
1. Merry Christmas Mouse (who says you can't celebrate Christmas in July?)
2. I Spy Cars and Trucks
3. Harold and the Purple Crayon
Three items that must be in bed with Samuel before he'll go to sleep:
1. blue blanket
2. yellow blanket
3. as many matchbox cars as he can get away with
Three phrases I never thought would come out of my mouth:
1. take the batteries out of your mouth
2. you may not have chips for breakfast
3. we don't eat things that are already in the garbage
Three times he has woken up this past week:
1. 5:45 am
2. 5:46 am
3. 5:47 am
Three art projects he loves:
1. any kind of painting
2. gluing uncooked noodles to paper
3. playdough
Three manners he is working on:
1. covering up after EVERY sneeze
2. saying "excuse me" when adults are talking
3. saying "no thank you" instead of "bleeehhhhh"
Three foods he would eat non-stop, if we let him
1. chips
2. chocolate pudding
3. granola bars
If you're in the market for a vacation the involves getting up super early, getting covered with glue/sand/water/dirt/paint, reading certain books one zillion times in a row, and more dairy products than you know what to do with, stop on by!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
New York Trip
We are back from our trip to NY for our family get-together. I was really nervous about how Samuel would do in the car for that long (660 miles each way) but he did a fantastic job. I think this was because 1) we rented a car for the trip that got better gas mileage than our Jeep (and was way more comfortable to ride in) and 2) we bought a portable DVD player and he got to watch some movies when he got tired of playing with toys.
The car we rented was called an HHR. It was great to take on such a long trip.
Here are some pictures from our trip. Some of the kids playing miniature golf:
This red ball made ice cream after you rolled it around for awhile:
Ernie playing basketball with Kevin:
Olivia (or Liam's mini-me as we called her):
Samuel with Gran and Papa Michael:
Samuel and me:
We had a great time getting to see everyone. Samuel had fun playing with all the kids, all the toys, and eating his weight in potato chips. He also did a really great job sleeping in a big bed in the hotel room (we made a barrier of pillows all around him). Our first major road trip was a success!
The car we rented was called an HHR. It was great to take on such a long trip.
Here are some pictures from our trip. Some of the kids playing miniature golf:
This red ball made ice cream after you rolled it around for awhile:
Ernie playing basketball with Kevin:
Olivia (or Liam's mini-me as we called her):
Samuel with Gran and Papa Michael:
Samuel and me:
We had a great time getting to see everyone. Samuel had fun playing with all the kids, all the toys, and eating his weight in potato chips. He also did a really great job sleeping in a big bed in the hotel room (we made a barrier of pillows all around him). Our first major road trip was a success!
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