Lately all the kids seem to have songs in their heads. I often hear Luke humming that catchy little chorus from the J. Geils Band's "Centerfold." I'm not even really sure where he heard it, but once you do it's hard to get that "naa naa na na na na" out of your head.
Erin, on the other hand, puts words (ANY words) to Darth Vader's theme, "The Imperial March." Or she'll just go around the house humming/singing "dun dun dun dah da DUN dah da DUN."
Caroline's brand is more cute and less song-like. I wish I had a clip of her's too but imagine a very happy baby saying "oooooh" over and over again with a few "bbbbbbb"s and "guh"s thrown in. She's definitely the most "chatty" of any of our babies.
*Dictionary.com says an earworm is "an irritatingly catchy tune." Basically a song that gets stuck in your head, just like how you're humming like a Sith Lord now.
Showing posts with label Erin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Erin. Show all posts
Monday, January 02, 2012
Saturday, December 31, 2011
A few quick pics of the past week
Not sure I'm going to make it to midnight to ring in the new year - my eyelids are feeling heavy. Here's a quick photo recap of the last week.
Luke & Erin opening stockings on Christmas morning before church:
Caroline in her Christmas jammies (they say "My 1st Christmas):
Erin playing with one of her new horses (she got several):
Luke figuring out one of his new Lego sets - I love the hand on his chin:
Shortly after the previous picture, Luke changed into his new police officer costume, which he wore for the rest of the day. The padded chest cracks me up:
Erin playing peek-a-boo with Caroline:
Luke & Erin opening stockings on Christmas morning before church:
Caroline in her Christmas jammies (they say "My 1st Christmas):
Erin playing with one of her new horses (she got several):
Luke figuring out one of his new Lego sets - I love the hand on his chin:
Shortly after the previous picture, Luke changed into his new police officer costume, which he wore for the rest of the day. The padded chest cracks me up:
Erin playing peek-a-boo with Caroline:
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
From the funny pages
After that last post I feel something a bit more light-hearted is necessary, so here's Alec's current favorite joke:
***********
After a few "off" days, Caroline is finally doing better. I think it was a combination of a couple days of irregular naps and the fact that I got too lax in watching what I was eating and she had a little relapse of her reflux. I was really careful yesterday and today and she had some super naps. Tonight was the first night since Friday that she went down to bed without crying first for about a half hour. I know - that doesn't sound so bad but she's really spoiled us with her great sleep habits. I do think she is working on a new skill because all of a sudden she's stopped sleeping through the night. Last night she was up 3 times again, but back down easily after a quick snack. I'm thinking she'll probably start rolling over soon. Then we'll really have fun at bedtime. Never having swaddled a baby before, I'm curious what will happen once she begins to roll. Will I still be able to swaddle her or will I have to get rid of the blanket then?
She has also begun a new trick - sucking on her tongue until her lips pull in. It's pretty funny to watch but I don't have any pictures of it yet. I'll try tomorrow.
**********
Luke and Erin have been doing really well so far this week. I told them they have to have quiet rest time every day with no exceptions. Since everyone is home together all week alone time is important. They fussed with me about it, but they've been quiet in their rooms (well, one in their room and one in my room) each day for at least an hour and Erin even took a nap today. We'll see how late she falls asleep tonight, but right now it's 8:30 and they're still playing nicely.
**********
A little newsy, but I'm sure Mom will appreciate it. That's why I'm trying to do this more often anyway (since I'm so bad at using the telephone).
A man went into another house to do some work on it (much like Alec does for other folks). There was a big, scary looking dog there along with a parrot. The man treaded lightly so as not to disturb the dog, but while he worked the parrot kept saying, "Is that all you can do? Is that all you can do?" After a while the man got fed up and asked the bird, "Is that all you can say?" to which the bird replied, "Sic 'em."
***********
After a few "off" days, Caroline is finally doing better. I think it was a combination of a couple days of irregular naps and the fact that I got too lax in watching what I was eating and she had a little relapse of her reflux. I was really careful yesterday and today and she had some super naps. Tonight was the first night since Friday that she went down to bed without crying first for about a half hour. I know - that doesn't sound so bad but she's really spoiled us with her great sleep habits. I do think she is working on a new skill because all of a sudden she's stopped sleeping through the night. Last night she was up 3 times again, but back down easily after a quick snack. I'm thinking she'll probably start rolling over soon. Then we'll really have fun at bedtime. Never having swaddled a baby before, I'm curious what will happen once she begins to roll. Will I still be able to swaddle her or will I have to get rid of the blanket then?
She has also begun a new trick - sucking on her tongue until her lips pull in. It's pretty funny to watch but I don't have any pictures of it yet. I'll try tomorrow.
**********
Luke and Erin have been doing really well so far this week. I told them they have to have quiet rest time every day with no exceptions. Since everyone is home together all week alone time is important. They fussed with me about it, but they've been quiet in their rooms (well, one in their room and one in my room) each day for at least an hour and Erin even took a nap today. We'll see how late she falls asleep tonight, but right now it's 8:30 and they're still playing nicely.
**********
A little newsy, but I'm sure Mom will appreciate it. That's why I'm trying to do this more often anyway (since I'm so bad at using the telephone).
Friday, December 23, 2011
Genius? Or something else?
For some odd reason, Erin was only able to write her name backwards yesterday. Completely backwards. Mirror writing like daVinci used to use in his notebooks.
When I pointed it out to her, she couldn't do it the correct way unless she saw it first. I wonder what that says about her.
When I pointed it out to her, she couldn't do it the correct way unless she saw it first. I wonder what that says about her.
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Flubber!
*update - click here for the recipe at Carin's website
A HUGE thank you to my friend, Carin, who has inspired me in several ways over the past few days (more on that later). Today's fun idea from her was a big hit. We made Flubber! Best $3 (for borax and glue) I've spent in a long time.
A few things I overheard the last hour while they have been playing with it:
A HUGE thank you to my friend, Carin, who has inspired me in several ways over the past few days (more on that later). Today's fun idea from her was a big hit. We made Flubber! Best $3 (for borax and glue) I've spent in a long time.
A few things I overheard the last hour while they have been playing with it:
- "This is the best toy ever!" (this from the boy who has told me no less than 5 times every day for the last month what he wants for Christmas)
- "I'm pretending I'm a chemist."
- "I'm having so much fun!!"
- "pbbbblbbbppbbb" (that would be a farting sound made by blowing raspberries on the Flubber - really quite funny, but incredibly annoying after the first few times and hence banned for now)
Friday, March 18, 2011
One more step back
When Alec was removing the old garage roof, he noticed that the cinder blocks were very old and not put together properly. Properly meaning that they were held together by mortar (which by this time is very old and crumbly) but not filled or reinforced. When he built the new portion he put re-bar every few feet and filled the blocks with cement. No such stuff on the old part. Anchoring the new roof to a block would be only that - one block and a perhaps wobbly block at that.
So the past few days he has been mixing cement, climbing ladders & scaffolding, and pouring cement down into the blocks. The blocks are so old that their openings are much smaller than new blocks and he had to improvise a funnel - cut the tip off an old caution cone and turned it upside down. It works.
He's been pretty sore and tired at night lately.
At least the weather has been nice.
Meanwhile, Erin finds more places to "rest" with her multitudes of blankets and animals.
And Luke has been playing with a new Lego set that Aunt Pat sent for his birthday along with Erin's present. I think he has built, torn apart, and rebuilt the set about 5 times in the past 2 days.
So the past few days he has been mixing cement, climbing ladders & scaffolding, and pouring cement down into the blocks. The blocks are so old that their openings are much smaller than new blocks and he had to improvise a funnel - cut the tip off an old caution cone and turned it upside down. It works.
He's been pretty sore and tired at night lately.
At least the weather has been nice.
Meanwhile, Erin finds more places to "rest" with her multitudes of blankets and animals.
And Luke has been playing with a new Lego set that Aunt Pat sent for his birthday along with Erin's present. I think he has built, torn apart, and rebuilt the set about 5 times in the past 2 days.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Erin's nap spots
Lately Erin has been taking self-imposed naps during quiet rest time in the afternoon. I don't usually mind, but I try not to let her sleep too long or bedtime is a disaster. We're still trying to get used to the time change right now though, and this morning's wake up for school was difficult. Plus I've been trying to take the kids on a walk each afternoon to help my glucose numbers stay down and to enjoy the springtime a little more. She was pretty tired this afternoon and I could tell she was asleep again. I can always tell when she is asleep because it gets really quiet and she doesn't ask for a tape to be flipped (yeah, I'm still trying to find the old favorites on CD so I can use the "repeat" mode and not have to get up every 15 minutes).
Before I show you how I found her today let me preface it by saying that Erin LOVES blankets and always wants them to be spread out perfectly. It's annoying when she wakes up in the middle of the night and can't do it herself. She can't fall back to sleep if they're not just so and calls me to come help - a little bit of OCD, maybe? However, during the day time she can do it by herself just fine. With EVERY SINGLE BLANKET IN HER ROOM. Really.
She also loves little cubby holes and small spaces.
Thus said, here's where she was today:
She took out all the dolls and stuffed animals from a basket that we keep them in and then spread that ABC quilt in the bottom. Next she took her bed pillow and the pillow from the rocking chair along with her "snuggle blankie" and the burp cloth I use on the side of the chair to keep the night light from shining in her eyes at night.
PLUS, this (sorry it's turned but Blogger won't let me upload it properly):
See the 2 other mounds of blankets behind her? Those have dolls, pillows and stuffed animals under them. Very considerate, my Erin.
Here's another way I found her a few weeks ago. She and Luke had been playing with those little yellow tubes non-stop for a few days and she apparently thought it would be a good thing to take a nap in. Behind her on the bed was a whole slew of toys (including the oatmeal box drum and doll you can see).
That's her rest time box and a pillow covered up with her afghan. Not so neat about the rest of the room, but when it comes to spreading blankets she's a pro.
And I didn't take a picture of another one last week, although I wish I did. I sent Luke into her room to wake her since he is very gentle and uses a soft voice (it's pretty cute). He came back out and said, "I can't find her, Mom!" She had climbed into a VERY small doll bed (similar to a doll-sized pack & play) and completely covered her head with blankets. Because the bed was so small, she was forced to sit with her feet hanging out and put her head on her knees. She was so folded and covered up that we walked right past her at first!
Before I show you how I found her today let me preface it by saying that Erin LOVES blankets and always wants them to be spread out perfectly. It's annoying when she wakes up in the middle of the night and can't do it herself. She can't fall back to sleep if they're not just so and calls me to come help - a little bit of OCD, maybe? However, during the day time she can do it by herself just fine. With EVERY SINGLE BLANKET IN HER ROOM. Really.
She also loves little cubby holes and small spaces.
Thus said, here's where she was today:
She took out all the dolls and stuffed animals from a basket that we keep them in and then spread that ABC quilt in the bottom. Next she took her bed pillow and the pillow from the rocking chair along with her "snuggle blankie" and the burp cloth I use on the side of the chair to keep the night light from shining in her eyes at night.
PLUS, this (sorry it's turned but Blogger won't let me upload it properly):
See the 2 other mounds of blankets behind her? Those have dolls, pillows and stuffed animals under them. Very considerate, my Erin.
Here's another way I found her a few weeks ago. She and Luke had been playing with those little yellow tubes non-stop for a few days and she apparently thought it would be a good thing to take a nap in. Behind her on the bed was a whole slew of toys (including the oatmeal box drum and doll you can see).
That's her rest time box and a pillow covered up with her afghan. Not so neat about the rest of the room, but when it comes to spreading blankets she's a pro.
And I didn't take a picture of another one last week, although I wish I did. I sent Luke into her room to wake her since he is very gentle and uses a soft voice (it's pretty cute). He came back out and said, "I can't find her, Mom!" She had climbed into a VERY small doll bed (similar to a doll-sized pack & play) and completely covered her head with blankets. Because the bed was so small, she was forced to sit with her feet hanging out and put her head on her knees. She was so folded and covered up that we walked right past her at first!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Developments
Very quickly, here's a recap and a bunch of pictures of some recent developments around here.
#1) Luke's robe
I finally finished Luke's new robe. The old one was way too small and he wears it all the time. He picked out a pattern and fabric he liked then waited patiently for each to go on sale at the fabric store - took a while! I made it for him last week finally - hadn't really felt well enough to cut and sew fabric for a couple months.
He's pretty proud of it and loves how long it is. I like how long it is too since it means I won't have to make another for him for several years!
Erin felt the need to join in. See brother's "I'll humor her but only for a minute" look.
#2) Baby growth
I find it amazing how much a baby can grow and develop in just one short month. Here's the first sonogram we had on February 4:
Doesn't look like much, does it? Here's the latest from March 8:
I realize these things can be hard to see but basically the first picture is the baby's side view, the second is his/her legs (they are crossed), and the third is an arm & hand/fist (kind of looks like a wave). Since I will be 35 at delivery and am high risk because of the diabetes they did measurements and blood tests for physical deformities. Results came back yesterday: risk for Down's is 1 in over 800, risk for trisomy 18 is 1 in 10,000, heart looks fine, size is a little bigger than normal but not enough to change the due date. Sounds good to me.
#3) Garage
Alec ordered a "PODS" to be delivered on Thursday. He has it for 3 weeks and has pretty much emptied out the garage into it and the shed by now. The next step is to tear off the old roof and then put a new one on over the old and new parts of the garage together. Progress.
It was pretty nifty to watch how these things are delivered. They come on a big truck and the storage container itself has a kind of wheeled frame around it. They call it a POD-zilla. The little wheels are lowered to the ground and then the truck slowly pulls forward:
After the truck is cleared of the container, the container is lowered slowly to the ground.
Then the POD-zilla is raised enough to clear the top of the container and driven back to the truck:
Neat, huh? Alec got the biggest container he could so he could put the Model A in it. That was a feat of strength in itself. It was pouring rain to start with. He had to put a small ramp over the edge of the container. Then I got in to steer, which was impossible because it was packed to the gills with stuff. He pushed and pushed and pushed (because it isn't running) and it finally went over the edge. Then it had to go up onto a board for some extra stabilization since it's so heavy. I'll put up some more pictures later so you can see how full the container is now.
#4) Quilting
I have a whole bunch of projects that have been sitting around for a while. Maybe it's early nesting, but I've been trying to finish them up lately. The first had a deadline - a birthday quilt for the "Wrapped in Hope" project my friend Carin runs for kids who have an incarcerated parent. I chose a little girl with the same birthday as Erin so I wouldn't forget. And of course I forgot until about a month ago. Providentially I had an almost finished quilt that pretty much fit the description for this little girl. The list of interests and colors said "green, pink, dress-up, make-up, jewelry" - there isn't any jewelry or dress-up but do you think this would fit the color scheme?
Here's a shot of the back. Erin wanted to be in the picture, too since I was using her bed.
The next quilt to finish is one for Mom's cousin Linda - a zig-zag made out of mostly scraps. I initially made it to be lap sized but it needs to be 60x80 so I'm adding a whole bunch of borders out of all the leftover pieces. I think it looks pretty cool.
I'm also working on a Christmas stocking for the baby since it will already be 3 months old at Christmas. With the other kids I had almost the whole year to work on it after they were born, but now I have to work ahead. It's fun quick work at night while I put my feet up.
And of course there are always various baby blankets I'm working on for the approximately 57 other people at church who are also expecting. Well, that's a little exaggeration but it seems there's a new announcement every other week.
#5) Erin
My baby girl turned 4 yesterday! We've kind of been celebrating a little bit all week. On Tuesday we had some friends over for supper. It was Shrove Tuesday so we had the traditional pancakes. After supper we sang Happy Birthday and had cake. Not exactly the most nutritious meal, I guess, but exceptions can be made for special occasions, right?
On Thursday Luke and I made brownies and brought them to Erin's school to share with her classmates. The birthday person always gets to wear a little crown and be the leader that day. They light a little candle and sing too.
And yesterday morning we opened presents. Quite a haul.
Two were for Luke since Aunt Kelly sent his presents now - the best present ever for him. A spy gadget set & "night vision" goggles. He's been playing with them non-stop and even wore them to Target yesterday (where he promptly felt goofy & embarrassed for wearing them in public). He's been having fun setting up the motion detector in hidden places and then hearing it when we walk past.
Erin got some new furniture for her doll house and a whole bunch of new clothes. Good thing since she doesn't need more toys but she will definitely be too big for a lot of her clothes this spring and summer.
Well, that was longer than I anticipated but it's been a long time coming I guess. Probably next up will be pictures of the garage and maybe a new bunk bed in Luke's room. Time to get the 4-year-old out of the crib, don't you think?
#1) Luke's robe
I finally finished Luke's new robe. The old one was way too small and he wears it all the time. He picked out a pattern and fabric he liked then waited patiently for each to go on sale at the fabric store - took a while! I made it for him last week finally - hadn't really felt well enough to cut and sew fabric for a couple months.
He's pretty proud of it and loves how long it is. I like how long it is too since it means I won't have to make another for him for several years!
Erin felt the need to join in. See brother's "I'll humor her but only for a minute" look.
#2) Baby growth
I find it amazing how much a baby can grow and develop in just one short month. Here's the first sonogram we had on February 4:
Doesn't look like much, does it? Here's the latest from March 8:
I realize these things can be hard to see but basically the first picture is the baby's side view, the second is his/her legs (they are crossed), and the third is an arm & hand/fist (kind of looks like a wave). Since I will be 35 at delivery and am high risk because of the diabetes they did measurements and blood tests for physical deformities. Results came back yesterday: risk for Down's is 1 in over 800, risk for trisomy 18 is 1 in 10,000, heart looks fine, size is a little bigger than normal but not enough to change the due date. Sounds good to me.#3) Garage
Alec ordered a "PODS" to be delivered on Thursday. He has it for 3 weeks and has pretty much emptied out the garage into it and the shed by now. The next step is to tear off the old roof and then put a new one on over the old and new parts of the garage together. Progress.
It was pretty nifty to watch how these things are delivered. They come on a big truck and the storage container itself has a kind of wheeled frame around it. They call it a POD-zilla. The little wheels are lowered to the ground and then the truck slowly pulls forward:
After the truck is cleared of the container, the container is lowered slowly to the ground.
Then the POD-zilla is raised enough to clear the top of the container and driven back to the truck:
Neat, huh? Alec got the biggest container he could so he could put the Model A in it. That was a feat of strength in itself. It was pouring rain to start with. He had to put a small ramp over the edge of the container. Then I got in to steer, which was impossible because it was packed to the gills with stuff. He pushed and pushed and pushed (because it isn't running) and it finally went over the edge. Then it had to go up onto a board for some extra stabilization since it's so heavy. I'll put up some more pictures later so you can see how full the container is now.
#4) Quilting
I have a whole bunch of projects that have been sitting around for a while. Maybe it's early nesting, but I've been trying to finish them up lately. The first had a deadline - a birthday quilt for the "Wrapped in Hope" project my friend Carin runs for kids who have an incarcerated parent. I chose a little girl with the same birthday as Erin so I wouldn't forget. And of course I forgot until about a month ago. Providentially I had an almost finished quilt that pretty much fit the description for this little girl. The list of interests and colors said "green, pink, dress-up, make-up, jewelry" - there isn't any jewelry or dress-up but do you think this would fit the color scheme?
Here's a shot of the back. Erin wanted to be in the picture, too since I was using her bed.
The next quilt to finish is one for Mom's cousin Linda - a zig-zag made out of mostly scraps. I initially made it to be lap sized but it needs to be 60x80 so I'm adding a whole bunch of borders out of all the leftover pieces. I think it looks pretty cool.
I'm also working on a Christmas stocking for the baby since it will already be 3 months old at Christmas. With the other kids I had almost the whole year to work on it after they were born, but now I have to work ahead. It's fun quick work at night while I put my feet up.
And of course there are always various baby blankets I'm working on for the approximately 57 other people at church who are also expecting. Well, that's a little exaggeration but it seems there's a new announcement every other week.
#5) Erin
My baby girl turned 4 yesterday! We've kind of been celebrating a little bit all week. On Tuesday we had some friends over for supper. It was Shrove Tuesday so we had the traditional pancakes. After supper we sang Happy Birthday and had cake. Not exactly the most nutritious meal, I guess, but exceptions can be made for special occasions, right?
On Thursday Luke and I made brownies and brought them to Erin's school to share with her classmates. The birthday person always gets to wear a little crown and be the leader that day. They light a little candle and sing too.
And yesterday morning we opened presents. Quite a haul.
Two were for Luke since Aunt Kelly sent his presents now - the best present ever for him. A spy gadget set & "night vision" goggles. He's been playing with them non-stop and even wore them to Target yesterday (where he promptly felt goofy & embarrassed for wearing them in public). He's been having fun setting up the motion detector in hidden places and then hearing it when we walk past.
Erin got some new furniture for her doll house and a whole bunch of new clothes. Good thing since she doesn't need more toys but she will definitely be too big for a lot of her clothes this spring and summer.
Well, that was longer than I anticipated but it's been a long time coming I guess. Probably next up will be pictures of the garage and maybe a new bunk bed in Luke's room. Time to get the 4-year-old out of the crib, don't you think?
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Pre-Hawaii Christmas Pictures
I am typing this on a brand new Mac! More on that story another day.
Quick before I go to bed now, here are some pictures of the kids opening presents a couple days before we left. We decided (well, I did because it affected me most) that it would be good for the kids to have something new to occupy them with while I was trying to pack and get the house ready for us to leave for 2 weeks.
Guess who started this?
Alec & I got the kids "Pillow Pets" this year. We meant for them to come before our Florida trip so they could have them in the car, but of course they were back ordered and I didn't order them in time. They loved them anyway. Luke has a dolphin that he named Nemo (Rescue Heroes reference).
Erin got a panda. She's not very good at naming things yet so it doesn't have one.
Luke was ECSTATIC to get a whole box full of just Lego people from his grandparents, aunts & uncle. He also loved the big box of plain Legos.
Erin got a dollhouse this year from the relatives. I figured she would like another container to put stuff in and it's too big to carry around the house! It also folds closed which is a must in her small bedroom. She likes to set all the furniture up - or just line it all up on the floor.
Aunt Pat sent a box that got here before we left, too. More Legos for Luke - an oil tanker truck that he put together very quickly. I let him take it to Hawaii and was very glad I did. He and his cousin, Lexi, spent literally hours playing with Legos.
Aunt Pat found out Erin was getting the dollhouse and sent another room of furniture for it.
Another "I Spy" game. This one is called "Eagle Eye" and you have to find a picture on your card before the other players. Pretty fun and more challenging than the other ones we have.
Erin got a little play pen for her dolls, which was great because she also got an American Girl-type doll from Auntie Mary (it's the same size but made by another company). Now she has a stroller and bed when she plays with the dolls and stuffed animals.
That's it for now. There are about 90 pictures from Hawaii. I'll go through them another time and post some of the good ones.
Quick before I go to bed now, here are some pictures of the kids opening presents a couple days before we left. We decided (well, I did because it affected me most) that it would be good for the kids to have something new to occupy them with while I was trying to pack and get the house ready for us to leave for 2 weeks.
Guess who started this?
Alec & I got the kids "Pillow Pets" this year. We meant for them to come before our Florida trip so they could have them in the car, but of course they were back ordered and I didn't order them in time. They loved them anyway. Luke has a dolphin that he named Nemo (Rescue Heroes reference).
Erin got a panda. She's not very good at naming things yet so it doesn't have one.
Luke was ECSTATIC to get a whole box full of just Lego people from his grandparents, aunts & uncle. He also loved the big box of plain Legos.
Erin got a dollhouse this year from the relatives. I figured she would like another container to put stuff in and it's too big to carry around the house! It also folds closed which is a must in her small bedroom. She likes to set all the furniture up - or just line it all up on the floor.
Aunt Pat sent a box that got here before we left, too. More Legos for Luke - an oil tanker truck that he put together very quickly. I let him take it to Hawaii and was very glad I did. He and his cousin, Lexi, spent literally hours playing with Legos.
Aunt Pat found out Erin was getting the dollhouse and sent another room of furniture for it.
Another "I Spy" game. This one is called "Eagle Eye" and you have to find a picture on your card before the other players. Pretty fun and more challenging than the other ones we have.
Erin got a little play pen for her dolls, which was great because she also got an American Girl-type doll from Auntie Mary (it's the same size but made by another company). Now she has a stroller and bed when she plays with the dolls and stuffed animals.
That's it for now. There are about 90 pictures from Hawaii. I'll go through them another time and post some of the good ones.
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