We made it home from Charleston, SC, with fairly little stress... except for the small detour on 395 through DC... ugh. That was all me. Missed the exit from the HOV lanes to 495...But DJ did great, and Elektra was an angel. The only time she fussed was when she blew out a diaper and was uncomfortable. DJ fussed when he was hungry; this year we must've had enough toys on hand to keep him fairly well occupied.
Anyway, we had a wonderful time again with Damian, Jenn, Leo, Andy and Mike. We stayed at the same ocean front beach house on the Isle of Palms as last year, but this year with one more occupant! Elektra slept in a pack-n-play in our room in the corner. DJ's pack-n-play was in the walk in closet again. It was funny to listen to him wake up in the morning and start banging on the shelves like drums and also push on the french doors that separate the closet from the rest of the master bedroom. And unlike last year, I didn't need earplugs to sleep as both kids slept very well at nights.
DJ loved having Leo around, and was trying to say his name by the end of the week. It kind of sounds like E-O, but hey... it's an effort! We also think that he made more effort to speak words because Leo speaks so well. We think "ka-coo" is trashcan, "bwaba" is bottle (or his cup), "shoos off" for taking his shoes off, and the letter F is now something he points out along with the letter D (sometimes he says E).
DJ also tried to imitate Leo whenever he could. Leo would jump on the couch, and DJ would do his darndest to launch himself on to the couch. Leo would get jello legs (and not walk) and now DJ does it. That said, Leo started squealing like DJ does when he's excited, much to Damian and Jenn's chagrin.
Damian and Jenn are trying to work on Leo's manners (please, thank you, you're welcome), and Leo had plenty of opportunity to practice. One time, DJ gave back one of Leo's toys to Leo - unprompted by any of us - and Leo was so stunned that DJ gave him back one of his toys (to a 3 year old, there is no giving up a toy that you have in your possession!) that he needed to be prompted to say thank you. Leo did very well using the magic word during the week.
We went to Patriots Point again, to see the USS Yorktown. The kids walked tons of stairs. They were so tired that they neither wanted a decent lunch and both napped really hard that afternoon. It turned out to be a gorgeous day, with temps in the mid-60s.
We also took a trip to the Charleston Museum one day, and we ran errands another day. On Friday, I took DJ out to the College of Charleston's athletic fields (which are next to Patriots Point) to run out some energy. We also walked out to the beach even though it was really cold with the wind whipping off of the ocean. The day before, Steve had taken him out and shown him that it's not ice he's walking on but sand. Steve picked up a shell, scooped some sand, and let it fall out of the shell. Well, DJ picked right up on that, and insisted on picking up sand every 2 steps until they got back to the house. When I took him out the next day, I showed him a shell, and he remembered exactly what Steve had shown him (every 2 steps...). DJ also wanted to run out into the ocean, which I stopped him from doing. He stood there and watched as the waves came in, and the foam would gather at the water's edge. He's going to LOVE the beach when we go to Wrightsville in August.
Most lunches were eaten out (Chick-fil-A FTW), and most dinners were eaten in. Kudos to Andy and Steve for being our grill masters. We have learned that if you're going to light a charcoal grill on an ocean front deck and expect it to stay lit, then you need to pour 1/2 a bottle of lighter fluid on the coals. On the other hand, if you take said charcoal grill out of the main path of the wind, make sure it's not near the house's dryer else the laundry room and master bedroom smell like lighter fluid. ;-) Andy and Steve cooked marinaded london broil twice and chicken breasts once to perfection. The garlic bread, on the other hand, wasn't so garlicky... (need to add garlic next time!). The toaster settings are in minutes, not in a scale of dark to light so 5 != medium. Instead 5 = minutes... yes, Mike learned that the hard way for the rest of us when his toast came out unrecognizably black. And it can't be vacation if you don't set off the smoke alarm at least once, in our case, the morning of departure. ::snork::
Although the drive is brutal, we look forward to doing this again next year! Back to unpacking...
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
DJ words
Dj has been pointing to things and trying to name them more often without prompting. Some of the words we've heard from him lately include:
Meow, sssss (what a snake says), ney (what a horse says), sish (fish), kwaka (cracker), shoos (shoes), baby, DEEEE!!! (DJ's name), TEEE!!! (three), ock (rock), moo, ooooo (what an owl says), grrr (what a tiger, lion, and bear say), vroom (what a truck and car say), beep (what a car does, but this one is hard to elicit when you try to prompt him for it), mama, daddy, ayia (yiayia), papou, we think he said Leo's name, keys (both what's on a keyboard and the items used to unlock/start things), wawa (we think this is water), nana (banana), here-oh (here or here you go), eye, ice (current favorite word), eeaf (leaf), coo (cool or cold), bawa (bottle - which we think he means as his cup), choo choo (train), twa-ka (we think this is a new word as of today for trashcan), hi (and we think he's starting to learn how to use it correctly), and tick-toc (what a watch or clock says). At least that's all I can think of right now.
Meow, sssss (what a snake says), ney (what a horse says), sish (fish), kwaka (cracker), shoos (shoes), baby, DEEEE!!! (DJ's name), TEEE!!! (three), ock (rock), moo, ooooo (what an owl says), grrr (what a tiger, lion, and bear say), vroom (what a truck and car say), beep (what a car does, but this one is hard to elicit when you try to prompt him for it), mama, daddy, ayia (yiayia), papou, we think he said Leo's name, keys (both what's on a keyboard and the items used to unlock/start things), wawa (we think this is water), nana (banana), here-oh (here or here you go), eye, ice (current favorite word), eeaf (leaf), coo (cool or cold), bawa (bottle - which we think he means as his cup), choo choo (train), twa-ka (we think this is a new word as of today for trashcan), hi (and we think he's starting to learn how to use it correctly), and tick-toc (what a watch or clock says). At least that's all I can think of right now.
Elektra the Steamroller
It's official! Elektra is rolling over! And of course, she couldn't roll over the easy way (belly to back). Oh no. She had to go from back to belly. I was out with DJ at the Charleston Museum (first museum in the country - established 1773) while Steve stayed home with Elektra and I got a text that she'd rolled over. Sure enough, after I got home with DJ, I watched her do it with my own eyes. It's still effort for her, but clearly, we can no longer just leave her on the changing table!!
Our kids seem to reach a milestone every time they come down to Charleston!
Our kids seem to reach a milestone every time they come down to Charleston!
Friday, February 06, 2009
Posted pictures
As promised, I posted a picture of Elektra eating solids and one of her bath experience.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
Happy happy joy joy!
DJ hadn't seen Grace in a week and a half, at least. Either he was sick or she was sick or something.
Yesterday, they finally got to see each other again, and DJ made it very clear how happy he was to see her. He hung onto the gate, jumped up and down excitedly, squealed with glee, and shook his head in outright crazy happiness. Eleanor said it was really cute to see him so happy to see Grace. Clearly, he missed her.
Yesterday, they finally got to see each other again, and DJ made it very clear how happy he was to see her. He hung onto the gate, jumped up and down excitedly, squealed with glee, and shook his head in outright crazy happiness. Eleanor said it was really cute to see him so happy to see Grace. Clearly, he missed her.
Elektra's first solid food
Last night, Steve and I fed Elektra her first spoonfuls of rice cereal.
As to be expected, just about none of it stayed in, and she pushed the spoon out of her mouth with her tongue to boot. In fact, I am not convinced she swallowed any of it. But she sat in her high chair like a trooper, had pictures taken of her, and got all around messy. It was great!
I'll post pics when I download them from the camera. (edit: done!)
However, at 2am this morning, she was awake with gas. Was it from the rice cereal? Not sure. But I changed her diaper, gave her a 4 ounce bottle and just as she finished that, she had a poopy diaper. Changed her again, and found that it was quite the poopy diaper so she must've been feeling better after that. I put her back down in her crib, and she went to sleep almost immediately. I, on the other hand, was awake for at least another 20 minutes. Ugh.
As to be expected, just about none of it stayed in, and she pushed the spoon out of her mouth with her tongue to boot. In fact, I am not convinced she swallowed any of it. But she sat in her high chair like a trooper, had pictures taken of her, and got all around messy. It was great!
I'll post pics when I download them from the camera. (edit: done!)
However, at 2am this morning, she was awake with gas. Was it from the rice cereal? Not sure. But I changed her diaper, gave her a 4 ounce bottle and just as she finished that, she had a poopy diaper. Changed her again, and found that it was quite the poopy diaper so she must've been feeling better after that. I put her back down in her crib, and she went to sleep almost immediately. I, on the other hand, was awake for at least another 20 minutes. Ugh.
DJ, our little Curt Schilling
DJ has reached the Throwing Stage. He's throwing everything. Not only is he throwing everything, he's throwing things at people as well as onto the floor. Elektra has been his favorite target so far, but Grace, Steve and I have not been overlooked.
And of course, as one quickly discovers, one cannot reason with a toddler. I put him in timeout over the weekend when he hit Elektra in the head a couple times, and he thought I was playing. I used my sternest Mama Voice, and even that didn't work. Clearly, this is for attention, but I'm failing to see how, even when I'm playing with him very specifically, it's not enough attention for him not to throw things.
Yesterday, at day care, he threw something near Elektra, so I put him in my lap, told him he should say "sorry" to Elektra (he can't say that yet, but may as well start having him hear the word) and give her a kiss. Oh he didn't want to do that. It took my asking 3 times for him to finally give Elektra a kiss.
He also threw a book at Grace and konked her in the head. I took him to Eleanor's couch, sat him down, he fussed to be let go, and Grace came over to see what was the fuss. I told him, again, that he needs to say "sorry" to Grace and give her a kiss. At least the kiss to Grace was more easily extracted as I only had to ask once. ;-)
At some level, it seems like he's trying to give these things to people, but he's launching them instead of giving them. There are other times when it's clear he's doing it for attention. I'm not sure how to tackle this yet, but hopefully, we'll get through to him soon before he hurts someone.
And of course, as one quickly discovers, one cannot reason with a toddler. I put him in timeout over the weekend when he hit Elektra in the head a couple times, and he thought I was playing. I used my sternest Mama Voice, and even that didn't work. Clearly, this is for attention, but I'm failing to see how, even when I'm playing with him very specifically, it's not enough attention for him not to throw things.
Yesterday, at day care, he threw something near Elektra, so I put him in my lap, told him he should say "sorry" to Elektra (he can't say that yet, but may as well start having him hear the word) and give her a kiss. Oh he didn't want to do that. It took my asking 3 times for him to finally give Elektra a kiss.
He also threw a book at Grace and konked her in the head. I took him to Eleanor's couch, sat him down, he fussed to be let go, and Grace came over to see what was the fuss. I told him, again, that he needs to say "sorry" to Grace and give her a kiss. At least the kiss to Grace was more easily extracted as I only had to ask once. ;-)
At some level, it seems like he's trying to give these things to people, but he's launching them instead of giving them. There are other times when it's clear he's doing it for attention. I'm not sure how to tackle this yet, but hopefully, we'll get through to him soon before he hurts someone.
Humpty Dumpty...
...is now DJ.
Yesterday morning, Steve and I went into DJ's room to get him ready for day care. Steve put down the crib rail, and I turned my back to figure out what DJ was going to wear. Steve left the room to go make his coffee.
At this moment, DJ decided it would be a good idea to see how far down the outside of the crib he could reach. Sure enough, he reached... and reached... and reached... until he literally flipped over, head over heels to the floor out of the crib. I heard a boom which made me immediately turn and look, and I saw DJ on his back on the floor starting to cry.
I immediately picked him up as he's wailing, and Steve came in grinning. GRINNING! Dude! Our toddler just fell out of the crib!!!! This is no time to be grinning!!! Apparently, Steve saw the whole thing happen. DJ only fell a foot and a half, and he landed on his back, not his head. So clearly, DJ was more scared than hurt, but he let us know he wasn't happy for a good 5 minutes.
Then there was the, "You were in the room with him!" "I was picking out something for him to wear!" "Ok, no more leaving the crib rail down, though you'd think he'd have learned his lesson... maybe." HA!
By the time I got him dressed, the tears were dry and DJ was smiling and laughing. I'm sure that's not the last time he's going to fall out of the crib....
Yesterday morning, Steve and I went into DJ's room to get him ready for day care. Steve put down the crib rail, and I turned my back to figure out what DJ was going to wear. Steve left the room to go make his coffee.
At this moment, DJ decided it would be a good idea to see how far down the outside of the crib he could reach. Sure enough, he reached... and reached... and reached... until he literally flipped over, head over heels to the floor out of the crib. I heard a boom which made me immediately turn and look, and I saw DJ on his back on the floor starting to cry.
I immediately picked him up as he's wailing, and Steve came in grinning. GRINNING! Dude! Our toddler just fell out of the crib!!!! This is no time to be grinning!!! Apparently, Steve saw the whole thing happen. DJ only fell a foot and a half, and he landed on his back, not his head. So clearly, DJ was more scared than hurt, but he let us know he wasn't happy for a good 5 minutes.
Then there was the, "You were in the room with him!" "I was picking out something for him to wear!" "Ok, no more leaving the crib rail down, though you'd think he'd have learned his lesson... maybe." HA!
By the time I got him dressed, the tears were dry and DJ was smiling and laughing. I'm sure that's not the last time he's going to fall out of the crib....
Elektra's 4 month pediatrican appointment
Yesterday, I took Elektra to see her pediatrician for her 4 month appointment. She weighed in at a hefty 16 pounds 4 ounces and 25.25 inches long. That puts her in the 90-95 percentile. Interestingly, she's nearly a full pound and a quarter inch smaller than DJ was at 4 months. Yet she feels longer to me than he was.
As it turns out, she wanted no parts of the exam. She was starting to get ansy before the doctor came in, so I'm wondering if she was hungry and the exam just made it all the worse. She fussed and cried even swatted at the instrument he used to look in her ears ("Good motor skill development!" he said).
She's been cleared for solids, too. Rice cereal and the yellow vegetables until she's 6 months old.
After all that was done, she got 5 vaccines, and she really cried at the technician then. By the time we left the office, she was calm and quiet and checking out the world around her. She fell asleep in the car on the way back to Eleanor's. So was she hungry or just exhibiting her personality, no idea....!
As it turns out, she wanted no parts of the exam. She was starting to get ansy before the doctor came in, so I'm wondering if she was hungry and the exam just made it all the worse. She fussed and cried even swatted at the instrument he used to look in her ears ("Good motor skill development!" he said).
She's been cleared for solids, too. Rice cereal and the yellow vegetables until she's 6 months old.
After all that was done, she got 5 vaccines, and she really cried at the technician then. By the time we left the office, she was calm and quiet and checking out the world around her. She fell asleep in the car on the way back to Eleanor's. So was she hungry or just exhibiting her personality, no idea....!
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