Monday, February 11, 2013
swim lessons!!!!!!
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| Whitney holding "egg". They figured out how to unzip the bottom of the pillows and pull out the stuffing from the couches. For some reason they really like the feel of it. Thank heavens it's also easy to stuff back in and they got over liking it really fast. |
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| Tucker with Meow-meow |
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| Meow-meow watching Tucker lick the brownie bowl clean |
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| Playing shopping cart with their blankets in their chairs. The rings were the groceries |
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| Look closely. Tucker with"meow-meow shoes" on |
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| Getting Thing1and Thing 2 nicely situated |
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| Talking to the "fish" in the water. The swim instructor was having them practice blowing bubbles before getting their face wet. |
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| Swim instructor helping Tucker to remember to kid. Whitney is on the other side of the red head from Tucker. They love swimming around on this thing |
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| First day floating on their back with the help of the swim instructor. This is Whitney. She really liked it and was very relaxed and happy in the water |
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| Tucker floating. He hated this. Very stiff in the water and fighting putting his ears in the whole time |
The reason I think Whitney is catching on to my excitement is because we got a book from the library that talks about a kid taking swim lessons. She asked to read the "book about swim lessons". We also happened to have had a book about the dentist in the house before they went to the dentist. They got toys at the dentist. Every so often Tucker will say "thank you for the dentist" in his prayers, he had so much fun. I think Whitney is hoping for toys after swim lessons, too, but the pool will probably be cool enough. And the fact they get to have their suits on.
Joy school totally made Tucker's week this week. They had a day where they brought their favorite toy for show and tell. Tucker brought Dump Truck. Good thing he did. They also used rulers in their lesson to measure things. Awesome!!! But he wasn't excited so much about the measuring part as a ruler is a portable speed bump for his Dump Truck. When I picked him up, he was not about to let go of that ruler. The other kid's mom saw how much he loved it and said he could keep it. Even better!! When he got home, he carted Dump Truck all around the house rolling it over his portable speed bump in all sorts of locations. In the middle of the room, next to the wall, next to the window, etc. No longer does he have to be in a door jam. Oh no. He can even bring it downstairs while Whitney is playing uh-oh pillows. Although Whitney had to make that connection for him. When we got home, he only wanted to play Dump Truck and Bump-Bump in the hall, but Whitney wanted to go downstairs to play uh-oh pillows. Tucker said " I don't want to. I want to play Truck and Bump-bump". Whitney said "oh." and paused for awhile. Then she said, " There is a bump-bump downstairs, Tucker!" He said "Oh! There's a bump-bump downstairs? Ok." and followed her down. She is learning the art of convincing someone.
She practiced that art on me today. She was drawing pictures when I said that it was time to go to the park. She wasn't done drawing on all of her papers, so she said "I will go to the park in 2 minutes after I'm done drawing." Hmmm. My negotiation skills are no longer working in my favor. Whitney, by the way, doesn't like to be cold, so going to the park right now is very low on her list.
Another negotiation tactic of mine that may lost its effectiveness is Gunny. For any of you familiar with Gunny Sack through Joy school, this will be a review, but basically he cries if he can't eat toys to fill up his tummy. Gunny is a real thing for Whitney. There is a song about him and he is a reality in our house. Mention Gunny and she is cleans up very quickly. Tucker, on the other hand, gets that Gunny really is Mommy and doesn't like to play along. That is, unless it is in his favor. The other night I was pretending to make Gunny cry because Whitney was cleaning up her part, but Tucker wasn't cleaning up. Whitney was trying to get Tucker to clean up his toys and even told him to clean up so Gunny wouldn't eat the toys. Tucker told her he didn't want to clean up and that he wanted Gunny to be happy with a full tummy of toys. The problem is, that logic is flawless in all other situations. We talk about helping others feel happy all the rest of the time. But I think Tucker likes Gunny after all because Whitney ends up cleaning up all of his toys because she doesn't want Tucker's toys taken away by Gunny. Either way, Tucker doesn't usually have to clean up. I'm still working on my strategy with Tucker.
Another thing in Joy School that Tucker loves is the joy school rule song. In our last lesson, there were several songs I needed to download to get ready for the day. One of them was this rule song. When Tucker heard it start, he paused to say to me "Oh yeah! That's a good one!" Made me laugh.
This past week while I was at clogging, Tucker and Whitney were playing with the dress up pile at the person's house. I heard loud, hysterical laughing over the music and peeked over to see a cute thing. I wish I had my camera, but no. We were dancing to a semi-country song and they had cowboy hats on, one with a red star and one with a blue star. They were so cute! The reason they had been laughing so hard is because they figured out how to let the hat slide over their face, but the hat didn't fall to the ground due to the string that looped behind their ears. Absolutely hilarious, right?
Another time I wish I had my camera was when they were totally falling asleep in the car shopping cart together. They were leaning their heads together. I knew they had totally fallen asleep when I kept passing strangers and they had this "oh look how cute" smile on their face. So I would wait for the stranger to pass until I rudely awoke Whitney and Tucker. My strategy to keep them awake was to have Tucker push the cart and Whitney get the food. Worked better with Tucker than with Whitney.
Tucker is getting better at pushing the shopping cart around. He manuevers it quite well as long as he can see me to follow me. Whitney is patient in letting him push her around. They worked as a team to get the groceries and then pay for them. Tucker was trying to scan non-existant barcodes on produce. I had to teach him how to use the self check out with produce, too. He kind of got the weighing thing. He is already adept at using the barcodes to scan. All that practice of scanning the books at the library is paying off. And he's been watching me go shopping for too long, now. Whitney thinks self check outs are funny. She always exclaims "This one has no man!" and laughs.
This past week we went to the doctor for the ultrasound that is detailed enough to tell what kind of kid. They say it's a boy. I'm not too convinced. I don't think Jim is either. We'll see, I guess. It's just that it was so obvious with Tucker, but not this one. Mom, maybe there is still hope for you to have another granddaughter. I think Whitney is a little bit disappointed and Tucker may be excited. Whitney stopped talking about the baby and my stomach in general these past three days. Kind of ignored the stomach, in fact. Tucker, on the other hand has been much more careful to take care of my tummy, something he has never verbalized as of yet until this week.
In preparation for swim lessons I got flip flops for the pool this week. Because, of course, they are selling them in the stores. For once I agreed on when they had things for sell at the right season. For indoor swim lessons, right? I let them pick which flip flops they wanted. It was a little hard for me to do that with Whitney because there was only one style I liked with the girl ones. But she picked that one anyway. Should have known. The tread was the only one solid pink. They are Hello Kitty ones. Tucker picked Mickey Mouse ones. They like them so much, they want to wear them all the time. I finally told them they could wear them in the house and to swim lessons only because it is too cold outside. That is somewhat of a satisfactory answer. It just gives Whitney yet another reason to not play outside.
The part that is funny is that Whitney picked out cat ones. Grandma in the Attic sent Tucker and Whitney stuffed animals for their birthdays. She sent a dog and a cat. Tucker loves the cat. It is his new stuffed animal that he plays with all the time. The stuffed cat's name is Meow-meow. Perfect. Whitney picked out meow-meow flip flops. They must be his. Whitney put up a fight the first time Tucker wanted to wear her flip flops around the house. But then, for some loving and kind reason, she decided to tell Tucker it's ok for him to wear her flip flops. Once she said that, he did not remove them, but wore them all day around the house. They are named meow-meow shoes and are played with in the same loving manner as Meow-meow herself. He also has been heard to call them his dancing shoes. I think it is because they are made of hard plastic, so they make noise throughout the house. But, he seems to have picked up on boy/girl rules a bit. When it is time for swim lessons, he makes no fuss but puts on his Mickey ones right away.
I'm not sure how much Whitney likes swim lessons. The first day I would have said she loved them, but then the second time, she repeatedly asked not to go to swim lessons. I think she hated how cold she got. They are all shivering violently by the end of the half hour. I think it is because they are standing in the pool, but not swimming vigerously like the rest of the swim classes. Getting out only makes it worse. The second time I had a better, warmer system set up and they didn't seem to be as bothered by the cold as long. We'll see what the comments are next time.
The reason I thought she loved it was her relaxed body language in the pool. She seemed to really grasp how to move the way the instructor was telling her. Tucker was very stiff. I wasn't sure if he was afraid or didn't want to get his ears wet. Weirdo. It's one of the things he hates in the bath, getting his ears wet. When she got home from the first lesson, she gave me all sorts of play by play of how they moved their arms and how they talked to the fish in the water. She also repeats stuff the teacher showed her.
Here's another description of a video I wish I had captured. Tucker was at the bottom of the stairs and Thing 2 was "singing" to Tucker. Whitney had Thing 2 leaning over the bannister, moving him and singing ABC's at the top of her lungs to Tucker at the bottom of the stairs. It was entertaining to watch.
Tucker had a great time this week playing with an older kid. This kid is 4, almost five. Tucker loved his ideas of games. First he showed Tucker all his knowledge of static electricity with a balloon on his head, the wall, etc. Then he played keeping the balloon off the floor with Tucker. Tucker loved it. Then they were chasing each other. Tucker also loved "playing smash". The other kid rolled our exercise ball over Tucker's back while Tucker was laying on his stomach on the floor. Looked scary to me, but they weren't being too rough and had a grand time of it. See. Tucker just needs another boy to rough house with. The two of them didn't bother Whitney at all during all this play.
Tucker's favorite thing that happened to him today was feeding the cat. I brought him with me to visit a friend for a bit who has a cat. They let him feed the cat cat treats. Tucker loved that. Earlier in the day Tucker had been feeding Meow-meow chips before he fed himself the chips.
Web camming with my mom today was pretty fun. Whitney was apparently very excited to tell Grandma about her heart pencil and her sun smiley face pen that has a cap with a necklace. It is what she got from the dentist this week. Whitney had two cavities on the front of her teeth. She went to the dentist to get them removed and filled and did it no problem. It took them all of 1/2 hour. The dentist was so impressed with how well Whitney did, they told her she could have two prizes out of the treasure box. I was shocked, too. She does better than Mommy. I was also very relieved they didn't have to give her a shot to get those cavities out. That would have been hard for me to watch.
Jim made it back from being stuck in New York. His flight was delayed 24 hours due to the storm and his co-workers that he was supposed to meet with didn't come into the office Friday due to the city shutting down that afternoon. I have a really hard time feeling sorry for him, though. He pretty much didn't leave his hotel room for a couple of days. But he still managed to see multiple movies. He easily named 5 off the top of his head. Plus a broadway show. Plus all the sleep in time, dinners alone in restaurants with food not prepared by his truly. I just looked at him and kept my mouth shut about all that. I'd have to say I've never done that in my life and I've definitely never done it in the last three years. No further comments.
He said he was bored and I definitely believe him in that respect. He's not a fan of talking, let alone talking on the phone for long periods of time. Or about random things. He was so bored he called and talked to me 3 times in two days. Part of one of our conversations was him giving me a short play by play of what he saw from his hotel window. A couple of car crashes he witnessed from way up high and lots of police flashing lights from all the other wrecks around town.
When he got back today, he let Tucker and Whitney play splash with him. What this entailed was Tucker and Whitney standing on the arm of the chair and jumping between Jim's legs at the shin level with a blanket stretched over his shins like the top of the water. At the very end of their last swim lesson they got to stand on the edge of the pool and jump into the water. The teacher let their head bob underneath for a bit so they could get used to the feel of jumping in water. They must have loved it, because they incorporated it into their play.
Another thing they incorporated into their play is how they have been taught to look down when water is splashing over their head while water is being poured over their head. Whitney lets Tucker wash her hair while practicing this skill. So awesome. There are much fewer bathtub fights, a side benefit of swim lessons I hadn't anticipated.
At Joy school they also had Scrabble cheese its. Very, very popular with Tucker. Similar in taste to gold fish, but each one has a letter he yells out and pronounces the sound. It takes him longer to eat them, so he finished about the same time as Whitney.
He also grasped the concept of the date on that particular day. He still goes around the house saying January 28th. It's always January 28th. When I correct him, he'll sometimes change it to January 29th or just say oh. February must be really hard to say or something. Whitney grasps the weather. She likes to look out the car windows and tell me all the different types of weather she sees.
Whitney showed her eye for color and patterns in joy school. She was given a blank paper and cut out shapes to put on the paper like a drawing she was shown in a book. Copied that in no time, kind of like a puzzle.
They like to play snail. This entails crawling in the bottom of the bar stools and then crawling around the floor, half in and half out of the bottom of the bar stool while the bar stool comes along with them. Jim asked who taught them that. That's just an inventive three year old for you. Another game they like to play is "stinky diaper" They put these small pillows between their knees while lying on their back. One of them "checks" the other to see if this diaper is stinky or clean. Ongoing differentiation between big kids and babies.
Tucker really likes this red maternity shirt I have. He wants me to wear it every day he wears red. He wears red most days. I don't particularly like that shirt right now. It is one of those tent shirts meant for the last 2-3 months when you are really big and it makes me look that big now. No thanks. But one day I humored him and wore it when we didn't go in public anywhere. He was so amused with it matching his Thing 2 shirt. He said, "Mom, are you thing 1?" But then he got confused because Whitney is Thing 1, so he decided I was thing 3. Whatever. The reason I'm wearing it is because of a Thing 3, so it works. But then he also liked to tell me that day "Stop Mom Stop! Your shirt is red!" from the Go dog Go book, just changing the wording a bit. Made me laugh.
One day they really liked practicing their drawing skills. Tucker can easily trace his hand and his foot. He doesn't like marker on his hand, so when he uses a marker these outlines are really big but with crayon, it's pretty close to the real deal. He also likes to trace my hand, which takes the whole sheet of paper since he is careful not to get marker on me. Then he asks if I want my name on it. He does a squiggly line when I say yes. Whitney doesn't mind the marker so much. Tucker can write a T. He also does the up and down, small, in a line, for his "writing your name" which is something I remember doing when I was little for words. Whitney likes to spell out Papa. It sounds like this " P-A-PA, Papa!" but sometimes it's "A-P-A-P Papa!" In joy school they wrote the word Dad on paper a bunch. The teacher did it for them, then they kind of traced it, but it is on the refridgerator. Tucker likes to look up at it and sound out all the words.
One heavenly thing that Whitney did this past week is figure out how to put on her own seat belt. Tucker has been doing this for many months. He is very fast at it now. Now I need to wait for Whitney to figure it out. But I still love it because I can open the door in the parking lot and let them in, then shut it and jump in the car myself, instead of standing in the rain for forever until Whitney crawls in and sits down in her seat to buckle her in. I love it, love it, love it!!!! First her shoes, then her carseat! Now it only takes us 10 minutes to get out the door and driving.
They were invited to a Valentine's Day party. The mom was brillant and did a simple but cute craft that involved something mechanical as well as artsy. She pre cut some construction hearts. They were supposed to hole punch them themselves to string them up as a garland. They could decorate them with the heart confetti the hole punch made, or put other sized hearts on by using a glue stick. Tucker was all about that hole punch. I showed him one and he did the rest. Amazingly he also grasped the concept of where to put the holes to string up the hearts and did them in the right places. Whitney did great putting on her own glue and confetti hearts. Then they decorated one cookie. No prob. Pros from all the cupcakes they made for their birthdays.
Tucker loves to help with the neighbor's newspaper. I don't know what I'm going to tell him when her husband comes home in 3 weeks from the care center. I think it will work out because he usually gets it early in the morning. He can even put it in the spot she has upstairs without help and likes to do it by himself. Our other neighbor had a grandbaby born recently, so we grabbed her newspaper for a few days and put it in her garage. She has a manual door that Tucker likes to help with. Ever since we did her newspaper a few days, he thinks he's supposed to pick up all the newspapers in the neighborhood. Very cute helper big kid.
They have often played Give-Mommy-Food with their toys. This week they had pieces to Trivial Pursuit in their hands and were feeding me grapes, cheese, crackers, etc. Then they said, Here, Mom, have some fruit snacks! Whitney then exclaimed, "we're the home teachers!" I got a good laugh out of that because our home teacher brings fruit snacks over every time for after the lesson. They have to listen to the lesson then they get some. I think it worked, though, because last night they repeated some of the lesson back to me in their play because they were paying attention. Yes. It's a great idea. I also am still motivated by treats, too.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
I'm not a baby! I'm a big kid!
The title to this post has been the story of my week. Every time someone calls them babies, they politely correct the person. Tucker even did it to Mina when she called him a baby in Spanish. He corrected her in English.
Lots of the things they have done this week have kind of proved that they are no longer babies. Whitney purposely drew Q's all over her pink hair picture. Her pink hair picture included filling the entire page full of bright pink ink with her marker. Aunt B would be proud.
Tucker drew T's all over his paper. After he traced his own foot. It was a pretty impressive tracing job. Then he asked me to trace his hand, but I got marker on his hand. He told me I wasn't careful and that wasn't good. He also drew a D, but that might have been by accident, because he pointed out the D like he was surprised, didn't draw anymore, and made it into a banana
I would also have to say that potty training has finally taken. Whitney has not had an accident in a really long time. She also goes herself most of the time when we are at home. Every time she does this, she likes to comment on how she is a big girl.
They can put their own shoes and socks on. That is so, so heavenly.
One of the cutest things was their first dental appointment. The dentist told me usually they start with "happy visits" around age 3. This usually means seeing the equipment work, taking a quick peek at their teeth for a screen and that's about it. But not Tucker and Whitney. They tolerated a regular dental visit. None of us could believe it. The dental team let them climb up in the chair together. Then, they gave them each a pair of sunglasses for the light. They both loved that. They followed directions of "open your mouth" and "look over here" the whole time. Whitney especially loved the chocolate toothpaste and Tucker wasn't complaining about that either. Tucker, naturally loved the buttons for the chair. They didn't seem to mind the polisher, although there were a few giggles about how tickly it was. They let the technicians probe and floss their teeth. The toy box after and the cool new toothpaste along with their OWN tube of toothpaste sealed the deal. They were so cute that even the dentist thought so. She took a picture of them. Whitney was so excited about her new toothbrush, she wanted to use it two more times that day before bed.
This week Jim was sick, the worst of it when he was in Japan. Whitney told me that it was because he didn't wash his hands when he got home from work. Every night since he's been back, she makes him wash his hands when he walks in the door, something I make them do when we get back from being in public for that reason. Jim complies. Who wouldn't when you have little Whitney mommy ordering you around.
It has been cold and foggy here. So much so that the moisture from the fog has frozen on all the trees like snow. Today it melted and it sounded like melting snow outside, not just frost. All the ground under trees was soaking wet. Whitney pointed out to me that it rained, but how does it rain only under trees?
Tucker has only been able to stand about 1/2 hour of play outside. Yesterday he withstood 45 mintues. Whitney didn't. We stopped at a park and went on some of the walking paths. We turned around to go back to the car once Whitney started to comment on the cold. The branches over the stream had 1/2 inch of ice encased about. Looked cool, but way too cold. We also found a stream that was "orange for Tucker" to throw rocks in.
We found something else they like about the dark. I needed to go to the neighbors after dark. Tucker and Whitney brought their lanterns with them. Boy! Was that a fun adventure!!! They loved walking across the street and to the mailbox with those things!
Whitney has been very excited about her new scarf. She likes to go downstairs and play "uh-oh pillow" and ask me to work on her scarf at the same time. They added the couch cushions to the outdoor patio cushions to play "uh-oh pillow". Now they can cover almost all of the floor space downstairs with pillows. They also pretend they are lily pads or train tracks. Tucker likes to "fall off the tracks" in between the pillows and Whitney pulls him up on to the tracks.
The other thing they like to play is "rest time". Rest time is something they do in Joy School and they've incorporated into their play time. They have covered the treadmill with a blanket and lay under it like it's their bed and have rest time. Rest time only lasts about 10 seconds before "it's over" Or they turn off the lights. It cracks me up.
I like to explain to Tucker and Whitney what we are going to do each day. They seem to protest less if they know exactly what we are going to do, especially during errand running. So this week I said that Mommy's friends were going to come over for a party (a book club) after dinner. Whitney got really excited about that. She really wanted to make more lanterns for the party. Once everyone came over, she got more and more wound up and excited. She liked having the people there and wanted to know when I was going to eat.
Tucker loves to find numbers and letters wherever he goes. Whenever we are out, he is reading off numbers or sounding out letters he sees around. It is pretty stinkin' cute to me.
The other thing that melts my heart is how patient Tucker is with little kids. Twice this week 15 or so month old kids have tried to pull his hair or ear. Both parents stopped their kid and told them to be soft and gentle. So basically Tucker has gotten his head petted. What cracks me up is how much Tucker loves it. He has this look on his face of feeling loved. He turns away from them so they don't poke him in the eye, but he will let them be soft and gentle as long as they like.
I think I forgot to write about the last day B was here. We went to get frozen yogurt. Yum! We brought home the spoons, one pink one for Whitney and one green one for Tucker. Whitney wanted to go home and eat "warm yogurt" after the frozen yogurt. I think she means regular yogurt. Either way, yogurt is sooooooo yummy.
On the way home we went to the park to just be outside. We lasted all of 40 minutes. I think B complained about the cold more than Whitney did. It might have been cold. The pond was mostly frozen. One poor duck walked all the way over to us on that frozen pond. Slipped the whole way. It was so pathetic. It was one time this non- animal lover felt a need to have food to give that poor duck.
B also came with me for an OB appointment. Since I've only had twins, and OB appointment to me means you always have an ultrasound. Not so. I was a little bummed because it would have been fun to have B see the kid, but when you only have one, they just listen for a heart rate and know that if they can still hear it, the kid is still alive. And of course they have to measure just how big you are getting. But this was also a little rewarding for me. B had made a few comments about how big my belly was for only 4 months. I agree. I was surprised how fast the belly popped out this time, but whatever. No need for comments on how big I already am. But then, when I got on the scale, she said "That's it?!" Like, how could you weigh so little when you look so big and swollen. So all in all, it was fun to have her with me.
B also finished up the scrapbooking that I hadn't done in 2 years. While she did that, she played cheesy tacos with Tucker and Whitney. They stacked up couch pillows and cushions and laid on top for the cheese.
When we took her to the airport, Tucker asked her for a hug and kiss. Whitney allowed her to kiss and hug her when Aunt B asked.
Getting home we got back to real life. It was a dry day and the garbage was empty, so we loaded branches into the green waste. Whitney put a bunch in the can while Tucker was the poop look out so Whitney and Mommy didn't accidently step in any. Since being pregnant, I have put Jim on poop scooping duty.
Tucker also helped me mop. He can squeeze out the mop pretty well in addition to pushing it around the house. This new skill caused him to exclaim "I'm a big helper boy!" Yes you are, Tucker.
Then they acted out all sorts of activities that happened while Aunt B was around. I heard them saying various things during their play. Like putting on high heels, a bracelet, and a skirt and saying "We're going teaching!" I went visiting teaching while B watched them on Sunday. I also heard them saying "What happened to the airport? They are painting it!" A comb, I guess of bringing B to the airport and us painting my room. During a dry moment, we went outside and Whitney painted the toes of a bunch of rocks.
Whitney is getting a feel for time. When Jim left for Japan, we talked about how it was dark where Papa is and light where we are. So that means Papa is sleeping when we are awake and we are awake while Papa is sleeping. Whitney can tell me all that on her own. She also recited the order of holidays. First Valentine's day, then Papa's birthday, then Mommy's then my birthday again when I turn four! Just summing up the year.
Tank, Dump Truck and Thomas are regulars in visiting stores or other places, in addition to Meow-meow. Tucker usually is the one that insists on bringing them in the car with us. He even put Thing 2 and Thomas in the bed of the dump truck and then brought dump truck to bring the neighbor her newspaper.
Tucker now notices newspapers at all houses. If there is a newspaper in someone's driveway, it must be for our neighbor and we need to stop to go get it. It took a bit for it to sink in that not all newspapers are for our neighbor.
We went to the craft store the other day. We are working on some pretty cool stuff for Daysforgirls. It's a humanitarian project that helps girls in Kenya get a better education. I can't remember if the website is .org or .net or .com, but one of them works. It's pretty easy to help out. Anyway, we were getting fabric for that project and Tucker and Whitney were singing I Am Like a Star Shining Brightly at the top of their lungs together as we looked at fabric. The lady at the desk asked them for another duet, but they declined.
Whitney likes to play penguinita. She sits on my feet, usually when I'm cooking or waiting for something
I had to cut Whitney and Tucker's toenails this week. I really had to put a lot of effort to convince them this was necessary. When I was actually cutting them Tucker said "Not the blue!" and Whitney said almost the same thing. "not the pink!" They were worried I was going to cut off all the nail polish off their toes. There are small flecks left. Next time I might have to paint more on to keep the nails trimmed.
Last Saturday she had a lot of stuff to play with me. She gave me a pretend paper and said "Here's your ticket", like we were going on a train ride. She also asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, go to the snow or go on a train ride. When they were painting the shower, I peeked in to check on things and she said "go paint your room, Mom!"
Now when we go shopping and there are small shopping carts, Tucker has a job. He is extremely good at it. He can steer the shopping cart really well. He can get those things manuevered around all sorts of obsticles, knowing how to back up and turn the right amounts. The only problem is he can't see in front. I have to direct him around objects directly in front. I wasn't paying attention at first, thinking he could see my head and follow me, but he accidently ran right into an older woman's hips. Good thing she was good natured and had good balance!
Lots of the things they have done this week have kind of proved that they are no longer babies. Whitney purposely drew Q's all over her pink hair picture. Her pink hair picture included filling the entire page full of bright pink ink with her marker. Aunt B would be proud.
Tucker drew T's all over his paper. After he traced his own foot. It was a pretty impressive tracing job. Then he asked me to trace his hand, but I got marker on his hand. He told me I wasn't careful and that wasn't good. He also drew a D, but that might have been by accident, because he pointed out the D like he was surprised, didn't draw anymore, and made it into a banana
I would also have to say that potty training has finally taken. Whitney has not had an accident in a really long time. She also goes herself most of the time when we are at home. Every time she does this, she likes to comment on how she is a big girl.
They can put their own shoes and socks on. That is so, so heavenly.
One of the cutest things was their first dental appointment. The dentist told me usually they start with "happy visits" around age 3. This usually means seeing the equipment work, taking a quick peek at their teeth for a screen and that's about it. But not Tucker and Whitney. They tolerated a regular dental visit. None of us could believe it. The dental team let them climb up in the chair together. Then, they gave them each a pair of sunglasses for the light. They both loved that. They followed directions of "open your mouth" and "look over here" the whole time. Whitney especially loved the chocolate toothpaste and Tucker wasn't complaining about that either. Tucker, naturally loved the buttons for the chair. They didn't seem to mind the polisher, although there were a few giggles about how tickly it was. They let the technicians probe and floss their teeth. The toy box after and the cool new toothpaste along with their OWN tube of toothpaste sealed the deal. They were so cute that even the dentist thought so. She took a picture of them. Whitney was so excited about her new toothbrush, she wanted to use it two more times that day before bed.
This week Jim was sick, the worst of it when he was in Japan. Whitney told me that it was because he didn't wash his hands when he got home from work. Every night since he's been back, she makes him wash his hands when he walks in the door, something I make them do when we get back from being in public for that reason. Jim complies. Who wouldn't when you have little Whitney mommy ordering you around.
It has been cold and foggy here. So much so that the moisture from the fog has frozen on all the trees like snow. Today it melted and it sounded like melting snow outside, not just frost. All the ground under trees was soaking wet. Whitney pointed out to me that it rained, but how does it rain only under trees?
Tucker has only been able to stand about 1/2 hour of play outside. Yesterday he withstood 45 mintues. Whitney didn't. We stopped at a park and went on some of the walking paths. We turned around to go back to the car once Whitney started to comment on the cold. The branches over the stream had 1/2 inch of ice encased about. Looked cool, but way too cold. We also found a stream that was "orange for Tucker" to throw rocks in.
We found something else they like about the dark. I needed to go to the neighbors after dark. Tucker and Whitney brought their lanterns with them. Boy! Was that a fun adventure!!! They loved walking across the street and to the mailbox with those things!
Whitney has been very excited about her new scarf. She likes to go downstairs and play "uh-oh pillow" and ask me to work on her scarf at the same time. They added the couch cushions to the outdoor patio cushions to play "uh-oh pillow". Now they can cover almost all of the floor space downstairs with pillows. They also pretend they are lily pads or train tracks. Tucker likes to "fall off the tracks" in between the pillows and Whitney pulls him up on to the tracks.
The other thing they like to play is "rest time". Rest time is something they do in Joy School and they've incorporated into their play time. They have covered the treadmill with a blanket and lay under it like it's their bed and have rest time. Rest time only lasts about 10 seconds before "it's over" Or they turn off the lights. It cracks me up.
I like to explain to Tucker and Whitney what we are going to do each day. They seem to protest less if they know exactly what we are going to do, especially during errand running. So this week I said that Mommy's friends were going to come over for a party (a book club) after dinner. Whitney got really excited about that. She really wanted to make more lanterns for the party. Once everyone came over, she got more and more wound up and excited. She liked having the people there and wanted to know when I was going to eat.
Tucker loves to find numbers and letters wherever he goes. Whenever we are out, he is reading off numbers or sounding out letters he sees around. It is pretty stinkin' cute to me.
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| Whitney with the flowers she "planted" |
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| Whitney's baked creation Muffins with sprinkles |
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| Tucker's biscuits he made with the pillows and blankets. He asked to have his picture taken with it while sleeping |
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| Tucker's collection of important toys |
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| A pic from when my sister was here. Tucker following the exercise video and Whitney getting her yoga mat situated |
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| Very intent on painting the shower |
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| Painting the shower |
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| Playing rest time on the treadmill |
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| Whitney dumping out her "paint" while painting the shower |
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| Daddy and Whitney |
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| Tucker and Daddy |
I think I forgot to write about the last day B was here. We went to get frozen yogurt. Yum! We brought home the spoons, one pink one for Whitney and one green one for Tucker. Whitney wanted to go home and eat "warm yogurt" after the frozen yogurt. I think she means regular yogurt. Either way, yogurt is sooooooo yummy.
On the way home we went to the park to just be outside. We lasted all of 40 minutes. I think B complained about the cold more than Whitney did. It might have been cold. The pond was mostly frozen. One poor duck walked all the way over to us on that frozen pond. Slipped the whole way. It was so pathetic. It was one time this non- animal lover felt a need to have food to give that poor duck.
B also came with me for an OB appointment. Since I've only had twins, and OB appointment to me means you always have an ultrasound. Not so. I was a little bummed because it would have been fun to have B see the kid, but when you only have one, they just listen for a heart rate and know that if they can still hear it, the kid is still alive. And of course they have to measure just how big you are getting. But this was also a little rewarding for me. B had made a few comments about how big my belly was for only 4 months. I agree. I was surprised how fast the belly popped out this time, but whatever. No need for comments on how big I already am. But then, when I got on the scale, she said "That's it?!" Like, how could you weigh so little when you look so big and swollen. So all in all, it was fun to have her with me.
B also finished up the scrapbooking that I hadn't done in 2 years. While she did that, she played cheesy tacos with Tucker and Whitney. They stacked up couch pillows and cushions and laid on top for the cheese.
When we took her to the airport, Tucker asked her for a hug and kiss. Whitney allowed her to kiss and hug her when Aunt B asked.
Getting home we got back to real life. It was a dry day and the garbage was empty, so we loaded branches into the green waste. Whitney put a bunch in the can while Tucker was the poop look out so Whitney and Mommy didn't accidently step in any. Since being pregnant, I have put Jim on poop scooping duty.
Tucker also helped me mop. He can squeeze out the mop pretty well in addition to pushing it around the house. This new skill caused him to exclaim "I'm a big helper boy!" Yes you are, Tucker.
Then they acted out all sorts of activities that happened while Aunt B was around. I heard them saying various things during their play. Like putting on high heels, a bracelet, and a skirt and saying "We're going teaching!" I went visiting teaching while B watched them on Sunday. I also heard them saying "What happened to the airport? They are painting it!" A comb, I guess of bringing B to the airport and us painting my room. During a dry moment, we went outside and Whitney painted the toes of a bunch of rocks.
Whitney is getting a feel for time. When Jim left for Japan, we talked about how it was dark where Papa is and light where we are. So that means Papa is sleeping when we are awake and we are awake while Papa is sleeping. Whitney can tell me all that on her own. She also recited the order of holidays. First Valentine's day, then Papa's birthday, then Mommy's then my birthday again when I turn four! Just summing up the year.
Tank, Dump Truck and Thomas are regulars in visiting stores or other places, in addition to Meow-meow. Tucker usually is the one that insists on bringing them in the car with us. He even put Thing 2 and Thomas in the bed of the dump truck and then brought dump truck to bring the neighbor her newspaper.
Tucker now notices newspapers at all houses. If there is a newspaper in someone's driveway, it must be for our neighbor and we need to stop to go get it. It took a bit for it to sink in that not all newspapers are for our neighbor.
We went to the craft store the other day. We are working on some pretty cool stuff for Daysforgirls. It's a humanitarian project that helps girls in Kenya get a better education. I can't remember if the website is .org or .net or .com, but one of them works. It's pretty easy to help out. Anyway, we were getting fabric for that project and Tucker and Whitney were singing I Am Like a Star Shining Brightly at the top of their lungs together as we looked at fabric. The lady at the desk asked them for another duet, but they declined.
Whitney likes to play penguinita. She sits on my feet, usually when I'm cooking or waiting for something
I had to cut Whitney and Tucker's toenails this week. I really had to put a lot of effort to convince them this was necessary. When I was actually cutting them Tucker said "Not the blue!" and Whitney said almost the same thing. "not the pink!" They were worried I was going to cut off all the nail polish off their toes. There are small flecks left. Next time I might have to paint more on to keep the nails trimmed.
Last Saturday she had a lot of stuff to play with me. She gave me a pretend paper and said "Here's your ticket", like we were going on a train ride. She also asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, go to the snow or go on a train ride. When they were painting the shower, I peeked in to check on things and she said "go paint your room, Mom!"
Now when we go shopping and there are small shopping carts, Tucker has a job. He is extremely good at it. He can steer the shopping cart really well. He can get those things manuevered around all sorts of obsticles, knowing how to back up and turn the right amounts. The only problem is he can't see in front. I have to direct him around objects directly in front. I wasn't paying attention at first, thinking he could see my head and follow me, but he accidently ran right into an older woman's hips. Good thing she was good natured and had good balance!
Monday, January 14, 2013
Aunt B
We've had a lot of fun with Aunt B. Whitney could hardly wait for her to get here. I told her Aunt B was coming to help her make her birthday, so once Aunt B was here, Whitney was ready to get started. She even mentioned it to a mom of one of her playmates on her own. This mom asked me when I got back from a bathroom break with Tucker if Whitney's birthday was soon. I guess that was what Whitney was telling her. Then Whitney proceeded to launch into the whole story of how when Aunt B comes, Aunt B will help her make her birthday and then go home.
Last week Tucker and Whitney had a lesson on reverence in church. Something about talking quietly. It had the opposite affect this week in church. Tucker yelled "the A says aahh!" really loud once and they were both meowing a bit loudly in between using their regular voices the rest of the time. But they were playing nicely and not laughing hysterically, so I guess maybe it did work.
Tucker had a blast playing potato sack, luggage, drag the luggage, hammock and horsie with Aunt B. Mommy doesn't play that wild. Even Aunt B commented on how her neck and back hurt a bit after. Aunt B put her legs up as a bridge and invented toll bridge. She told Whitney it would cost 2 cookies. Whitney looked at her, like, are you serious. Then went in the kitchen and got 2 cookies for her. B said just kidding.
We've been laughing at the silly stuff they say. Whitney was having a fit about something in the bathroom. I think Tucker flushed the potty for her and she wanted to do it. She was on the floor screaming. She had been screaming a bunch today. Really tired, I guess. I could tell she was just having a fit and consolation was not going to work, so I left her in there to cry it out. Tucker kept opening and shutting the door. Each time he opened the door he would check on her and say "are you done screaming? No? Ok." and shut the door again. Then he started trying to help her by saying, "Whitney, pull up your panties" or "Whitney do you want Meow, Meow?" He said everything in such a sweet voice, showing his concern for her. But it cracks me up because he is just parroting what I say to them.
When we got home from church, Aunt B was baking double choco chip cookies. yum! Fastest they've changed their clothes and washed their hands after church, a requirement to help Aunt B. But I had made them a grilled cheese sandwich to eat for lunch. Aunt B asked Tucker if he had room for a grilled cheese sandwich after eating half a cantelope. He said no. But then she asked if he had room for a cookie and he said yes. Hmmmm... That didn't even pass the auntie test. He didn't get a cookie, until later.
We had a lot of fun together celebrating. We went to the potsticker place for lunch and Daddy got them smoothies (real ones that have sugar in them) to go with the meal. We also rode the escalators and the light rail together, just for fun. We ended with fried food, Tucker's request, including french "cries" (fries). The cupcakes were a hit. They ate the T's and W's covered in sprinkles off first after blowing out candles. We also played "aliens" with the lights off with glow sticks around their necks.
While Jim and I were trying to coordinate something during the day, his phone cut out during me calling him and I thought he had screened my call. I said "Did you just screen my call?" out loud and heard them saying the exact same thing..... over and over and over. But then they switched topis. There was a seagull on top of a light, doing what seagulls do best. Pooping. So I said the seagull was pooping. Then every seagull was pooping....
When Tucker opened presents earlier, he picked one up and starting pulling off the tape saying, "This one has a band-aid" One of his presents was a calculator. When he pulled it out, he said "Oh! it's a phone!" After I showed him how some of it works, he started saying "number 1, number 2, number 3, etc" as he pressed each key and saw how the numbers came up on the calculator. But then he got a bit frustrated with the division key. He kept pressing it, but nothing happened!
We wrapped up a bunch of glow sticks, all individually. On his second gift of that, Tucker felt the package and said "It's a blow stick (what he calls glow sticks)" before opening it. Already learning the art of knowing what's in the package.
When we rode light rail, we saw some pigeons on the opposite railway while at a stop. Tucker and Whitney were very concerned for those pigeons. They were telling the pigeons to be careful and fly away so they wouldn't get squished. They were quite relieved when some of them flew away, but kept track of the remaining ones until they all flew away. Later on the trip the train rocked back and forth on the track and it was bumpy. So Jim made the comment that we were "squishing birds" Lovely. They kept repeating that for every bump along the way. "...We're squishing birds!......"
When they were decorating cupcakes in preparation, we kind of had some issues with the coloring of the frosting. Finally B gave up trying to get the frosting red. It looked like a darker pink, not red. So she just re-taught Tucker the definition of the color red. He totally went for it. Then they had a great time putting on sprinkles. And eating the ones that fell on the counter.
Aunt B got me started on painting my room. I finally got the paint for the samples I put on the wall 2 years ago. When we went to get paint, Tucker lugged one of the bags out. He had to work a bit to lift it off the ground, but didn't seem to be concerned about holding the bag. One of the 5 items was a quart of paint. No problem, in addition to the other awkward items in the bag.
She also did my scrapbooking since the big kids turned 1. 2 projects I've been dragging my feet on for 2 years.
In general, it has been lovely to have another adult in the house for five days. And even better that it was a woman. When she left, I noticed the toilet paper roll had been replaced. The sheets were folded. During her visit I went to go do the dishes or some other chore like laundry, and find it was already done. Ha! It was lovely!
Whitney does not like that her name is Brittany. The few times I called her Brittany, Whitney corrected me in a mad voice that her name is WHIT-ney. Whatever. I just stuck to B or Aunt B most of the time.
They made party lanterns, an idea Whitney got out of a library book. She loved making those things with Aunt B. They made some before our outing to the ping pong place and some when they got back, but Whitney would have preferred to have stayed home. It was hard for me to get her out to the car, because she wanted to stay inside to make more lanterns. On our drive home, she was reviewing the order of errands and emphasizing when we got home, she could make more lanterns. She was also ready to go home a lot sooner than Tucker, reminding us on the way out that she was ready also to make more lanterns.
When we went to the ping pong ball place, they were both disappointed that the balls labeled 1 and 2 were not available to chase through the pipes. I finally told them they were taking a bath. So every time they couldn't find the ball they were looking for, Tucker would say it was in the bath. They finally decided on 42 and 10, since there was a 1 and a 2 in there. Tucker had ball 42 and Whitney 10. Aunt B had 46. Tucker and Aunt B played together for awhile and Tucker looked for her ball, too, when it went back into the "ocean" Every time he would exclaim the number written on the ball.
When Whitney woke up on her birthday, she remembered. While going potty, she commented on how she was big because she was three and Tucker was still little.
Whitney told me going to bed on her birthday that she was excited for me to make her scarf so she could wear it and not be cold near the pot sticker place. True. It is very drafty outside that restaurant's doors.
They still quote a bunch from books, which crack me up. When we drive around town, Whitney and Tucker both often say Stop, Mommy stop the light is red. Then when the light changes, Go Mommy go it's green ahead, straight out of Go Dog Go book. Tucker also randomly says Oh dear! What a shame, What a shame, from Cat in the Hat.
While cooking dinner this week, they played train and car and shopping cart with their plastic white chairs on their side. I got lots of conversation about parking the car in the parking lot, then going in and using the shopping cart to put some favorite items in it. Yogurt, cheese, cupcakes, cookies...
One morning this week Tucker woke up saying Bash the burrito and laughing hysterically. Whatever, but he woke up happy as usual. This day Tucker was so polite and kind to Whitney. He was hammering at his work bench and glanced behind him to tell Whitney "Careful! I'm working!". Then he hammered a bit, stopped and looked back at Whitney again saying "thank you for watching me", just how I did with them when I was using the Saws-all outside.
Whitney invented pushing their blankets in their soft chairs, calling them strollers. Then they parked their strollers and started eating with their blankets. Whitney said "This restaurant is really good!" She really likes good food. And going out to eat. But I also think she is missing summer because they played that they went to the beach and put on their swimsuits.
Whitney wanted to make a tent and instructed me on the kind of tent she wanted. But then Tucker wanted to play with her creation. When the tent was made, Tucker came over and said "Wow! Cool! A tent!" in such an excited voice (how does he know the word cool and to use it so well in context?) that made me laugh.
Monday we decided to make cookies. Whitney was having a great time participating in making cookies this week. I was trying to finish something else, but she really wanted to get started on the cookies, so I started talking her through getting out all the ingredients. She was really good at it. All I had to do was ask her to get out another ingredient, and she knew where it was. She also was able to start the safe steps. To soften the butter, she put the bowl on the stool and pushed the stool over to the microwave and put the bowl in. Now I know she has even better helping skills. Tucker ran over the receipe book with Tank.
Ryan. To answer your question about when I would stop calling the babies babies. It's now. They don't let me call them babies, because they are big kids now.
Last week Tucker and Whitney had a lesson on reverence in church. Something about talking quietly. It had the opposite affect this week in church. Tucker yelled "the A says aahh!" really loud once and they were both meowing a bit loudly in between using their regular voices the rest of the time. But they were playing nicely and not laughing hysterically, so I guess maybe it did work.
Tucker had a blast playing potato sack, luggage, drag the luggage, hammock and horsie with Aunt B. Mommy doesn't play that wild. Even Aunt B commented on how her neck and back hurt a bit after. Aunt B put her legs up as a bridge and invented toll bridge. She told Whitney it would cost 2 cookies. Whitney looked at her, like, are you serious. Then went in the kitchen and got 2 cookies for her. B said just kidding.
We've been laughing at the silly stuff they say. Whitney was having a fit about something in the bathroom. I think Tucker flushed the potty for her and she wanted to do it. She was on the floor screaming. She had been screaming a bunch today. Really tired, I guess. I could tell she was just having a fit and consolation was not going to work, so I left her in there to cry it out. Tucker kept opening and shutting the door. Each time he opened the door he would check on her and say "are you done screaming? No? Ok." and shut the door again. Then he started trying to help her by saying, "Whitney, pull up your panties" or "Whitney do you want Meow, Meow?" He said everything in such a sweet voice, showing his concern for her. But it cracks me up because he is just parroting what I say to them.
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| Tucker reading with a Joy school buddy curious george |
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| Whitney's pedi |
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| Tucker receiving his balloons from Grandma |
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| Tucker's blue for Tucker pedi |
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| Mommy with her big kids |
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| Tucker being cute trying to give Whitney a hug and Whitney wants nothing to do with it. |
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| Aunt B will let him hug her! |
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| "This one has a band-aid |
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| Cupcake and sprinkle prep |
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| After bath snuggle |
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| With "phone" |
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| Tucker showing his chocolate hands. He loved eating his b-day candy bar for morning snack |
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| The only one who wanted to take a family pic was Mommy |
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| We're cute. Whitney keeps biting her lip. It has created a third lip, not a juice mustache Jim calls her a clown |
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| Papa had to blow on each bite |
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| so yummy! |
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| riding with aunt B |
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| Tucker was so excited he blew out the candles. he kept saying I did it! The next time he got a cupcake, he wanted candles to blow out again |
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| Finished product |
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| Whi |
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| on the train with Daddy |
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| Whitney clutching her ticket |
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| More Mommy and Whitney |
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| If anyone doubts Tucker looks like my family, take a peek at this photo. These guys definitely look related |
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| Tucker adding glow sticks to lanterns all by himself |
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| Whitney and happy about birthday cupcake |
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| So excited about cherry on top of cupcake |
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| Putting on lotion |
We had a lot of fun together celebrating. We went to the potsticker place for lunch and Daddy got them smoothies (real ones that have sugar in them) to go with the meal. We also rode the escalators and the light rail together, just for fun. We ended with fried food, Tucker's request, including french "cries" (fries). The cupcakes were a hit. They ate the T's and W's covered in sprinkles off first after blowing out candles. We also played "aliens" with the lights off with glow sticks around their necks.
While Jim and I were trying to coordinate something during the day, his phone cut out during me calling him and I thought he had screened my call. I said "Did you just screen my call?" out loud and heard them saying the exact same thing..... over and over and over. But then they switched topis. There was a seagull on top of a light, doing what seagulls do best. Pooping. So I said the seagull was pooping. Then every seagull was pooping....
When Tucker opened presents earlier, he picked one up and starting pulling off the tape saying, "This one has a band-aid" One of his presents was a calculator. When he pulled it out, he said "Oh! it's a phone!" After I showed him how some of it works, he started saying "number 1, number 2, number 3, etc" as he pressed each key and saw how the numbers came up on the calculator. But then he got a bit frustrated with the division key. He kept pressing it, but nothing happened!
We wrapped up a bunch of glow sticks, all individually. On his second gift of that, Tucker felt the package and said "It's a blow stick (what he calls glow sticks)" before opening it. Already learning the art of knowing what's in the package.
When we rode light rail, we saw some pigeons on the opposite railway while at a stop. Tucker and Whitney were very concerned for those pigeons. They were telling the pigeons to be careful and fly away so they wouldn't get squished. They were quite relieved when some of them flew away, but kept track of the remaining ones until they all flew away. Later on the trip the train rocked back and forth on the track and it was bumpy. So Jim made the comment that we were "squishing birds" Lovely. They kept repeating that for every bump along the way. "...We're squishing birds!......"
When they were decorating cupcakes in preparation, we kind of had some issues with the coloring of the frosting. Finally B gave up trying to get the frosting red. It looked like a darker pink, not red. So she just re-taught Tucker the definition of the color red. He totally went for it. Then they had a great time putting on sprinkles. And eating the ones that fell on the counter.
Aunt B got me started on painting my room. I finally got the paint for the samples I put on the wall 2 years ago. When we went to get paint, Tucker lugged one of the bags out. He had to work a bit to lift it off the ground, but didn't seem to be concerned about holding the bag. One of the 5 items was a quart of paint. No problem, in addition to the other awkward items in the bag.
She also did my scrapbooking since the big kids turned 1. 2 projects I've been dragging my feet on for 2 years.
In general, it has been lovely to have another adult in the house for five days. And even better that it was a woman. When she left, I noticed the toilet paper roll had been replaced. The sheets were folded. During her visit I went to go do the dishes or some other chore like laundry, and find it was already done. Ha! It was lovely!
Whitney does not like that her name is Brittany. The few times I called her Brittany, Whitney corrected me in a mad voice that her name is WHIT-ney. Whatever. I just stuck to B or Aunt B most of the time.
They made party lanterns, an idea Whitney got out of a library book. She loved making those things with Aunt B. They made some before our outing to the ping pong place and some when they got back, but Whitney would have preferred to have stayed home. It was hard for me to get her out to the car, because she wanted to stay inside to make more lanterns. On our drive home, she was reviewing the order of errands and emphasizing when we got home, she could make more lanterns. She was also ready to go home a lot sooner than Tucker, reminding us on the way out that she was ready also to make more lanterns.
When we went to the ping pong ball place, they were both disappointed that the balls labeled 1 and 2 were not available to chase through the pipes. I finally told them they were taking a bath. So every time they couldn't find the ball they were looking for, Tucker would say it was in the bath. They finally decided on 42 and 10, since there was a 1 and a 2 in there. Tucker had ball 42 and Whitney 10. Aunt B had 46. Tucker and Aunt B played together for awhile and Tucker looked for her ball, too, when it went back into the "ocean" Every time he would exclaim the number written on the ball.
When Whitney woke up on her birthday, she remembered. While going potty, she commented on how she was big because she was three and Tucker was still little.
Whitney told me going to bed on her birthday that she was excited for me to make her scarf so she could wear it and not be cold near the pot sticker place. True. It is very drafty outside that restaurant's doors.
They still quote a bunch from books, which crack me up. When we drive around town, Whitney and Tucker both often say Stop, Mommy stop the light is red. Then when the light changes, Go Mommy go it's green ahead, straight out of Go Dog Go book. Tucker also randomly says Oh dear! What a shame, What a shame, from Cat in the Hat.
While cooking dinner this week, they played train and car and shopping cart with their plastic white chairs on their side. I got lots of conversation about parking the car in the parking lot, then going in and using the shopping cart to put some favorite items in it. Yogurt, cheese, cupcakes, cookies...
One morning this week Tucker woke up saying Bash the burrito and laughing hysterically. Whatever, but he woke up happy as usual. This day Tucker was so polite and kind to Whitney. He was hammering at his work bench and glanced behind him to tell Whitney "Careful! I'm working!". Then he hammered a bit, stopped and looked back at Whitney again saying "thank you for watching me", just how I did with them when I was using the Saws-all outside.
Whitney invented pushing their blankets in their soft chairs, calling them strollers. Then they parked their strollers and started eating with their blankets. Whitney said "This restaurant is really good!" She really likes good food. And going out to eat. But I also think she is missing summer because they played that they went to the beach and put on their swimsuits.
Whitney wanted to make a tent and instructed me on the kind of tent she wanted. But then Tucker wanted to play with her creation. When the tent was made, Tucker came over and said "Wow! Cool! A tent!" in such an excited voice (how does he know the word cool and to use it so well in context?) that made me laugh.
Monday we decided to make cookies. Whitney was having a great time participating in making cookies this week. I was trying to finish something else, but she really wanted to get started on the cookies, so I started talking her through getting out all the ingredients. She was really good at it. All I had to do was ask her to get out another ingredient, and she knew where it was. She also was able to start the safe steps. To soften the butter, she put the bowl on the stool and pushed the stool over to the microwave and put the bowl in. Now I know she has even better helping skills. Tucker ran over the receipe book with Tank.
Ryan. To answer your question about when I would stop calling the babies babies. It's now. They don't let me call them babies, because they are big kids now.
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