2010_12_21 Tuesday

Elise sat up all by herself today! She's been working on it for a few days but I witnessed a successful sit today. I even saw her flip from her belly to sitting upright. holy cow. Guess we'll be moving her crib down a notch now.

We've been giving her wooden clothes pins to play with while on the changing table, and she's decided to call them "ttttteeeees"... consistently.

We have Jonathan's parent/teacher conference today. Why am I nervous!?

2010_12_18 Saturday

The kiddos were up early today -- 7:30! -- so we managed to get to the diner and finish earlier that we typically even arrive! Then, Dave and Jonathan went off to wrestling practice while Elise and I went to Whole Foods to be fashion models. And, boy, did we score. She got a $50+ organic, free trade outfit (beanie, shirt, and pants), while I got a complete 100% organic cotton outfit (pants, tank top, sweater, and scarf). Plus, I got a free make-up job, all 100% organic hemp (?!). And, then I also got a parting gift of blue finger-less gloves. All for being there for 30 minutes or so and walking up and down their cafe area. Not bad for a day's work!!! Jonathan and Dave got there right as it was ending. Oh well.

2010_12_17 Friday

Our adventure for today landed us at the Crayola Factory. What fun! There were lots of Crayola-themed stations to do artwork, which was a neat idea, but Jonathan just isn't that into coloring yet. We did spend considerable time at their Magic Mold, a playdoh-y mush, station. I really liked their glow-in-the dark area, but he wanted to keep moving.

The upper level is also the PA Museum of Canals, which was completely kid-friendly and even more fun for Jonathan because he got to play in the water and drive a boat up a canal, through locks. They had lots of hands-on exhibits on the mules and how locks work. Dave would have really enjoyed it too!

To top the day off, Jonathan won a semester scholarship to the German School! It's 30 Saturdays from 9-12, but we're going to go for it and see how it goes. I'm really excited.

2010_12_09 Thursday

Ack, so much for my quiet, relaxing shower at 1:30PM. Elise went down for her nap with little objection. Jonathan has had a rough day, likely because he went to bed very late last night (b/c we were visiting friends). He had a hard time eating pizza for lunch (?!?!), and wasn't pleased about taking a rest/nap. He didn't need to pee. With the two of them relatively quiet, I got into the shower, and sure enough, within minutes he came running in to pee, tried to do it himself, but then peed everywhere. So, I gathered him, sobbing, up in the shower, which he definitely does not enjoy, rinsed him off, and then he hid under daddy's towel on the shower mat until I was done. Oh, to have 5 minutes of alone time....maybe in a few years....

oh right, then he managed to take a 3 hour nap afterward!!!

2010_12_07 Tuesday

Within the past couple of days, Elise has figured out how to kiss. She sort of makes a popping noise as her kiss. She's not actually blowing them to anyone; she's just kissing. It's a riot. She also won't do it on demand quite yet, but if you catch her doing it, you can solicit a couple of them!!

On top of that, she's also learning the sign for 'daddy' very quickly. That must be some remnant of our prehistoric times, an effort to keep the man around, right?! She's also pretty good with 'more,' although she may think it means 'I get another Cheerio when I slap my hands together.' She knows who Jonathan is by name. But, 'mommy' is nowhere in sight. Not even close.

Last night was St Nicklaus. Jonathan got a game called Ants in Your Pants, which he finds a hysterical title and a somewhat difficult game. It's very much like tiddlywinks. Elise got one of those wire tangles with wooden shapes that slide around. Dave got underware. And, I got a 2011 family calendar. St Nick is so wise!

2010_12_02 Thursday

On Tuesday, Jonathan had a complete melt-down at school. He hid behind my leg, wouldn't speak to anyone, and the sobbed when he realized I wasn't there any longer. The principal said he sulked for awhile but then realized everyone else was having fun and snapped out of it. So, today, en route to school, he said that he didn't need to cry at school today. He did last time but not this time. I said that everyone cries sometimes, but school was fun and we didn't need to cry there. He agreed. What a rascal.

2010_12_01 Wednesday

On the way home from Elise's Rutgers study, Jonathan chimed up from the back seat:

J2: "Mommy, there's a 't' on that building!"

J1: "yes, honey, that's a church. And, that 't' is a cross."

J2: "but, mommy, there's no 't' in church!"