Here is Evelyn saying her favorite poem. I love that she has it memorized and can recite it. She is a bit of a ham at the end... Turn up the volume on your computer to hear her better.
Monday 28 May 2007
Sunday 27 May 2007
Visit with Little Lillian-Ruth
We went and met Lillian on Saturday. She was so tiny! Her little squeaks and sounds were so quiet. She seemed to be a pretty laid-back girl. She just went with the flow. Bettina has regained much of her figure already (Good for her!) and looked great.
Evelyn basically ignored her completely.
Ethan took a look at her and tried to touch her. It reminded me of when Evelyn met Lillian's cousin B when she was first born. Evelyn tried to eat B's hand! Evelyn and B are about the same age apart as Ethan and Lillian.
Evelyn and Casey played well together. Evelyn loves saying a rhyme that Casey taught me and she said it for him too. (Round and round the garden, goes the teddy bear! One step, two steps, a tick-el-y under there!) They watched a Baby Einstein that Evelyn does not have. She remembered that Casey has this one, and has pointed it out to me several times in the Baby Einstein catalogue saying "Casey have!"
When it was time for us to leave, Casey was such a gentleman and helped Evelyn put her sandals on. It was so cute to watch him try to get the strap over her heel.
I am looking forward to seeing how much Lillian grows in the next 5 weeks. She is already well over her birth weight. We will see her again in July!
I took a little video of our visit. Turn up the volume so you can hear Lillian's little squeaks.
Evelyn basically ignored her completely.
Ethan took a look at her and tried to touch her. It reminded me of when Evelyn met Lillian's cousin B when she was first born. Evelyn tried to eat B's hand! Evelyn and B are about the same age apart as Ethan and Lillian.Evelyn and Casey played well together. Evelyn loves saying a rhyme that Casey taught me and she said it for him too. (Round and round the garden, goes the teddy bear! One step, two steps, a tick-el-y under there!) They watched a Baby Einstein that Evelyn does not have. She remembered that Casey has this one, and has pointed it out to me several times in the Baby Einstein catalogue saying "Casey have!"
When it was time for us to leave, Casey was such a gentleman and helped Evelyn put her sandals on. It was so cute to watch him try to get the strap over her heel.
I am looking forward to seeing how much Lillian grows in the next 5 weeks. She is already well over her birth weight. We will see her again in July!
I took a little video of our visit. Turn up the volume so you can hear Lillian's little squeaks.
Thursday 24 May 2007
Potty update
Okay, I know the only person who has looked at the previous two posts is K, but I want to post an update on the potty situation. (If you HAVE looked at the other posts - why didn't you leave a comment!?!?!?!)
So, Evelyn has done amazingly well. She has used the potty consistently for 1 1/2 days now. She was wet when she got up this morning, but aside from that, we are having success. Her big motivator is getting some "Dora diapers" and I made a little chart to show her when she can have one - if she uses the pot.
After we put her to bed last night, she called "sit potty!" This is a normal stalling tactic for her, so we ignored it. I heard her a few minutes later in the bathroom, then I heard her return to bed. A little later, Ryan went into the bathroom and saw that the pot from the potty was on the counter, and there was a puddle under the potty. Evelyn's PJ pants were also strewn on the floor.
She had gone in, taken her diaper off, peed, tried to empty it in the toilet - but spilled it in the process, put her diaper back on, and went back to bed. Wow!
During the day, she goes and tries to empty the potty on her own. She will tell me after she is done. I am trying to get her to tell me before she tries to empty the pot. I also put a disposable absorbant pad under the potty to collect the spilled contents.
So, we are very pleased with her. Yah for Ella! I hope this trend continues.
So, Evelyn has done amazingly well. She has used the potty consistently for 1 1/2 days now. She was wet when she got up this morning, but aside from that, we are having success. Her big motivator is getting some "Dora diapers" and I made a little chart to show her when she can have one - if she uses the pot.
After we put her to bed last night, she called "sit potty!" This is a normal stalling tactic for her, so we ignored it. I heard her a few minutes later in the bathroom, then I heard her return to bed. A little later, Ryan went into the bathroom and saw that the pot from the potty was on the counter, and there was a puddle under the potty. Evelyn's PJ pants were also strewn on the floor.
She had gone in, taken her diaper off, peed, tried to empty it in the toilet - but spilled it in the process, put her diaper back on, and went back to bed. Wow!
During the day, she goes and tries to empty the potty on her own. She will tell me after she is done. I am trying to get her to tell me before she tries to empty the pot. I also put a disposable absorbant pad under the potty to collect the spilled contents.
So, we are very pleased with her. Yah for Ella! I hope this trend continues.
Wednesday 23 May 2007
A Day at the Farm...and other stories...
Last weekend, Ryan and I set up a swing set for Evelyn. She promptly had a "Funny Video's" moment. She was swinging on her belly and slid off, then, the swing came and bonked her on the head. She started to get upset about the bonk, until Daddy said "That would have been a good 'Funny Video'!"America's Funniest Videos (AFV for short) is Evelyn's favorite show (aside from Dora the Explorer and Little Bear) and she loves to say "Doof!" while she holds her head when she sees people hurting themselves. She thinks it is hilarious.
Anyway, her attitude quickly changed with Ryan's comment. The next evening, when we were watching AFV, Evelyn expected to see herself on the show! I wish we had taken a video!
Way back in March, the students from Ryan's school danced in a nearby town. We went to support them, and Evelyn enjoyed dancing.Anyway, Ethan was presented with a hand woven Metis sash in honor of his birth and as a thank-you for the support we have given the kids. It is really beautiful and a huge honor to have been given a hand made sash. Evelyn was given a regular, commercially made one that is also nice.
I took these photo's last week (now that the weather is nice) to print as a thank-you note. Evelyn is doing a little Jig and Ethan is looking very handsome.
I also took this picture with a thank-you in mind. Auntie K-A sewed this shirt and pants for Evelyn last year. They fit now, and the shirt will probably fit next year too. I love the print of the fabric. K-A did such a meticulous and precise job of sewing the blouse. Great job K-A!
This picture is from last night. Ethan and Evelyn had a great time playing together. I will get a video collection edited and will post it shortly. I love how Ethan is looking at Evelyn with such affection and admiration. It is like he appreciates the honor of having her attention.Soon after this pic was taken, Evelyn hopped out of the box and closed it on Ethan. He went along with it for a minute or so, then decided he was not into "Hide / Seek" and did not want to be mailed anywhere right now!
This morning, we went to the Mom and Tot group again. This week it was hosted at one of the participants homes. Evelyn had a blast. She is such a leader. Even though she was younger than many of the kids, she got them all going to see the chickens. She also barreled right under the fence and started chasing them around (argh!). She enjoyed herself, but I am not sure the hens will be laying tomorrow!We also saw some baby chicks too. Ethan even got to touch one. I was afraid it might nip at his fingers, but the chick behaved, and Ethan was delighted.
There were two Llamas also. Thankfully, Evelyn respected their size and did not go barreling into their pen too!
After a lunch of fire roasted weenies, Evelyn enjoyed an ice cream cone.I like how the light worked in this picture.
Finally, after all the treats, it was time to play in the hay bales. Evelyn was in there with all the boys. She slid down the smaller piles, she threw hay in the air, she climbed the bales, and she just looked at all the swirled hay. Getting her to leave was not an easy feat! We had to play "I Got Ya" (AKA tag) to slowly herd her in the right direction. It was a fun morning, but I am beat!
We took Evelyn's soother away from her on Saturday. She is putting up less of a fuss at bed and nap times, but still protests for about 15 min before giving up. She has become an expert staller in the past week. "Cup of Water?, One More Song?, Cuddles?, Kisses!?" .... I hope that we will be back to normal in another week or so.
I let Evelyn go commando yesterday after seeing how effective it was for B's potty training. She did not pee all morning. Then, I put training pants on her for a nap (after I had her sit on the potty) and she proceeded to pee in the training pants within about 10 min of wearing them. So, I got her dried off, put a new pair on, and she had her nap. When she woke up, she had pooped in the training pants. I cleaned her up, left her bare.... nothing. Then when Ryan put her into her PJ's he noticed a wet patch on the carpet of her room. So, she had peed at some point, but, surprisingly, did not fuss about it. She really wants to have some "Dora diapers" (pull-ups) so I am using that as motivation. She will get her Dora panties when she uses the potty all the time.
I will try again this afternoon and tomorrow... We shall see!
Wednesday 16 May 2007
Stories
I have not posted in a long time. Ryan has been good to stick up some pictures for me.
I feel like I have to write about some of the cute little things from our recent life so I won't forget them. This will be a text-filled entry. I can't promise pictures ;-)
Where to start... Ethan likes to blow raspberries. Not quite as much as Evelyn did at that age, but enough. We were driving home from church on Sunday, and Ethan was looking at Evelyn and blowing away. Now, Evelyn was very offended by this and told Ethan "NO! EeFee stop!" then proceeded to cry like he had hurt her. I want to remember this because it is one of the first times they have 'fought' in the car.
We brought our kite out last week and Ryan was showing Evelyn how to fly it.
The neighbours large puppy "Pudgy" came over to play too. Evelyn and Pudgy have a love/hate relationship. She screamed when he bounded over and licked her, then tried to engage him in a game. They play well for a few minutes, then, she gets mad at him and afraid of him for no apparent reason. Anyway, she and Pudgy go off exploring together and Evelyn finds some little black round balls that she offers to Pudgy saying "Here you go, Raspberries!, Here you go, Raspberries!" "What are you holding?" I ask as I get close enough to examine the little things. You may have already guessed the identity - Deer poop. "NO! those are NOT Raspberries! Those are poop from the Deer. Do NOT touch that!" She put it down and wiped her hand on her pants "Yucky". So far, she has left the turds alone.
A little later, Pudgy came over to Ethan (who was sitting in the stroller) and gave him a few licks and basically said hello. My back was turned, but Evelyn saw Pudgy with Ethan "NO! Budgie Stop! No EeFee!" Awh! thought Ryan and I. She actually wants to protect her brother. We have such a good and caring little girl.
About 10 min later, Ethan returned the favour by starting to squak and scream when he saw Pudgy barrel towards Evelyn when her back was turned. They were not his delighted noises, so I think he was trying to warn her. How cute is that!?
Evelyn has been my ever-ready helper of late. She loves to put the groceries on the conveyor belt when we pay, she will carry things for me when we are out, she likes to put away the silverware when I unload the dishwasher, she likes to load the laundry into the washer and dryer. She has even tried to set the table a few times. I should take a picture of her efforts on that front. She puts her dirty clothes in her laundry basket, and she helped me pick up the trash that had blown into our yard over the winter. Oh she also helped me thread the plumbing snake down the bathtub drain to try to clear a clot. She also loves to help me bake cookies. This means she stands beside me while I form the dough and she eats one of the cookies while I put the others on the cookie sheet. Nothing is quite as good as cookie dough! If she keeps this up, she will be ready to move out in, say, 5 years? (kidding, but she will be well prepared to care for her own home when the time comes).
Ethan had his second round of vaccinations last week. He is just a
hair over 27" long and weighed 16 lb, 10 oz. This means he is in the 80+% for height and about the 45% for weight. He is the same height Evelyn was when she was 9 months old. He is eating 3 solid meals a day and nursing 4-5 times a day. He is doing so well with eating. I trained him to not touch the spoon and leave his hands in his lap. I am still working on the 'no raspberries when you are at the table' rule, but, he is good about it 80% of the time. Evelyn is no help here. She will blow raspberries at him - to get him to do it - so he will get in trouble. What an Imp!
We learned about a Mom and Tot playgroup in Boyle when we had Ethan vaccinated. Today, we went for the first time.
Evelyn seemed to have a good time. I think we will become regulars in the fall (they break for the summer). Next week, we are going to visit one of the participants homes. They have baby chickens and a few other animals. I think she will enjoy that. Ethan even found a playmate in a little girl who is a month older than him. They were both sitting up - unassisted - and looking at each other. The little girl was trying to grab Ethan and was swatting at him, but he took it like a gentleman. I think he was just focusing on staying upright. Today was by far the best he has sat up yet.
I have to take a second to praise Evelyn for her exceptional behavior while we were out today. She obeyed me the whole time. She did not have a single melt-down, she even left the playgroup without a fuss. She helped me hold things, she held onto the stroller while we walked, she stopped when I told her to. I am very impressed.
That is about all. I am glad I could get that all out of my brain and onto 'paper'.
I feel like I have to write about some of the cute little things from our recent life so I won't forget them. This will be a text-filled entry. I can't promise pictures ;-)
Where to start... Ethan likes to blow raspberries. Not quite as much as Evelyn did at that age, but enough. We were driving home from church on Sunday, and Ethan was looking at Evelyn and blowing away. Now, Evelyn was very offended by this and told Ethan "NO! EeFee stop!" then proceeded to cry like he had hurt her. I want to remember this because it is one of the first times they have 'fought' in the car.
We brought our kite out last week and Ryan was showing Evelyn how to fly it.
The neighbours large puppy "Pudgy" came over to play too. Evelyn and Pudgy have a love/hate relationship. She screamed when he bounded over and licked her, then tried to engage him in a game. They play well for a few minutes, then, she gets mad at him and afraid of him for no apparent reason. Anyway, she and Pudgy go off exploring together and Evelyn finds some little black round balls that she offers to Pudgy saying "Here you go, Raspberries!, Here you go, Raspberries!" "What are you holding?" I ask as I get close enough to examine the little things. You may have already guessed the identity - Deer poop. "NO! those are NOT Raspberries! Those are poop from the Deer. Do NOT touch that!" She put it down and wiped her hand on her pants "Yucky". So far, she has left the turds alone.A little later, Pudgy came over to Ethan (who was sitting in the stroller) and gave him a few licks and basically said hello. My back was turned, but Evelyn saw Pudgy with Ethan "NO! Budgie Stop! No EeFee!" Awh! thought Ryan and I. She actually wants to protect her brother. We have such a good and caring little girl.
About 10 min later, Ethan returned the favour by starting to squak and scream when he saw Pudgy barrel towards Evelyn when her back was turned. They were not his delighted noises, so I think he was trying to warn her. How cute is that!?
Evelyn has been my ever-ready helper of late. She loves to put the groceries on the conveyor belt when we pay, she will carry things for me when we are out, she likes to put away the silverware when I unload the dishwasher, she likes to load the laundry into the washer and dryer. She has even tried to set the table a few times. I should take a picture of her efforts on that front. She puts her dirty clothes in her laundry basket, and she helped me pick up the trash that had blown into our yard over the winter. Oh she also helped me thread the plumbing snake down the bathtub drain to try to clear a clot. She also loves to help me bake cookies. This means she stands beside me while I form the dough and she eats one of the cookies while I put the others on the cookie sheet. Nothing is quite as good as cookie dough! If she keeps this up, she will be ready to move out in, say, 5 years? (kidding, but she will be well prepared to care for her own home when the time comes).
Ethan had his second round of vaccinations last week. He is just a
hair over 27" long and weighed 16 lb, 10 oz. This means he is in the 80+% for height and about the 45% for weight. He is the same height Evelyn was when she was 9 months old. He is eating 3 solid meals a day and nursing 4-5 times a day. He is doing so well with eating. I trained him to not touch the spoon and leave his hands in his lap. I am still working on the 'no raspberries when you are at the table' rule, but, he is good about it 80% of the time. Evelyn is no help here. She will blow raspberries at him - to get him to do it - so he will get in trouble. What an Imp!We learned about a Mom and Tot playgroup in Boyle when we had Ethan vaccinated. Today, we went for the first time.
Evelyn seemed to have a good time. I think we will become regulars in the fall (they break for the summer). Next week, we are going to visit one of the participants homes. They have baby chickens and a few other animals. I think she will enjoy that. Ethan even found a playmate in a little girl who is a month older than him. They were both sitting up - unassisted - and looking at each other. The little girl was trying to grab Ethan and was swatting at him, but he took it like a gentleman. I think he was just focusing on staying upright. Today was by far the best he has sat up yet.I have to take a second to praise Evelyn for her exceptional behavior while we were out today. She obeyed me the whole time. She did not have a single melt-down, she even left the playgroup without a fuss. She helped me hold things, she held onto the stroller while we walked, she stopped when I told her to. I am very impressed.
That is about all. I am glad I could get that all out of my brain and onto 'paper'.
Sunday 13 May 2007
Happy Mother's Day! From Ethan and Evelyn
(Sorry, they weren't being overly co-operative and wouldn't do it together.)
Saturday 12 May 2007
A Few Pictures
Bev's been super busy (and on Facebook), so I figure I'd post a couple of pictures:
The kids are getting along just fine (even with Ethan's mohawk).
Storytime.
Two happy people.
Evelyn's first kite flying lesson.
Thankfully, it looks as though winter has finally left us for good (although there was a brief snowfall last week) and, believe it or not, I'm counting down the days until I can cut the lawn. Yes, Mom, all that griping I did when I was younger was all for not. Only now I don't get the bonus on my allowance.
The kids are getting along just fine (even with Ethan's mohawk).
Storytime.
Two happy people.
Evelyn's first kite flying lesson.
Thankfully, it looks as though winter has finally left us for good (although there was a brief snowfall last week) and, believe it or not, I'm counting down the days until I can cut the lawn. Yes, Mom, all that griping I did when I was younger was all for not. Only now I don't get the bonus on my allowance.
Tuesday 1 May 2007
Sounds of Spring
We have all been struggling with a sinus cold. Lots of crankiness, runny noses, sneezing and coughing. I think we are on the mend now though.All our snow is finally melted and the sounds of spring are filling the silence of winter. There is a little pond a few hundred meters
from our house that is home to a loud assortment of ducks, birds and frogs. We can hear them from inside our house in the evening! I took Evelyn and Ethan there yesterday and took this video clip. Turn up the sound and you will hear the cacophony that is spring!
Evelyn has been playing Doctor and Mother to her dolls lately. She is so cute with her stethoscope in her ears. She checks their ears, listens to their hearts "pa pum, pa pum" and their bellies "squish, squirt" she even checks their reflexes! Then, she moves into Mommy mode and puts them down for a nap, feeds them a bottle and takes them for walks.
I was looking at her dolls, and thought 'Ethan looks a lot like these dolls'. So, I laid him down next to the dolls and Evelyn started to 'feed' him some of her dolls bottles. She thought it was pretty neat. Ethan liked 'kissing' the dolls. He seemed to think the whole thing was pretty funny too.
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