Kids Update September 2008
This month, Rosie is 38 months old, and Sam just turned 14 months old.
Rosie is still on imagination overdrive - playing pretend and making up words and games and songs all the time. She really loves playing games, her favorites are playing “I spy” in the car, candyland, chase and kiss (everytime Joe asks her for a kiss, she takes off running and giggling and turns it into a game), she pretends I’m the baby and she is the mommy and she reads me books and puts me to bed, she puts her dolls to bed and we have to be very quiet and tiptoe when they are sleeping. She loves to tell me about the 10 babies she will have and how she will nurse them all
She has finally stopped resisting so much at bedtime, and we have a new fun bedtime routine. After she is in bed, she always needs something, usually water, so I leave her room to go get her water, and when I come back, she is hiding under the blanket giggling loudly. I have to say “gee, where did Rosie go?” as she continues laughing and then I have to look for her for a few minutes and in the end I lie on the bed and exclaim how lumpy the blanket is, then I finally find her and she is happy and goes to sleep pretty peacefully.
Rosie went rollerskating for the first time with her friend and loved it. She had really great balance for her first time on skates. It will be a good activity for wintertime when it is too cold to go outside. And it was nice to see that the roller skating rink decor from my youth has stayed intact.
She loves to play with her blocks and build towers,
and she loves trying to write and make letters. She is getting pretty good, she can almost write her name legibly. I have noticed, in the last month, she has mellowed out a bit. She is not so defiant, and quick to whine and complain about something, she is more patient and sweet. She still has her moments, but it is not like it was last month. I think the difference is that I have been more patient with her and I have been playing more with her and giving her more responsibility. So far, it seems to be working to make her more agreeable and less bratty.
About half of Rosie’s friends started pre-school this week, and we are still undecided about if/when/where to send her. I know she would love to meet new kids and have fun activities and learn new things and have some special time away from her brother (and mom and dad). And, honestly I would love to have a little break from her a couple days a week - especially since she is not napping anymore. But, we really don’t have ANY extra money right now and I don’t want to send her someplace that is just a glorified daycare, just to send her someplace. So, we are still calling places and trying to decide what to do.
Sammy has been a handful lately - needing a lot of attention and wanting to constantly explore and get into things. Plus he is still screaming this mind-numbing piercing scream when frustrated (or tired). My sister nicknamed him baby pterodactyl. He is also throwing more mild tantrums now, stomping his feet and either abruptly sitting or lying on the ground and pouting. He hasn’t really learned many more new words, still just a handful of things that he says - but he has really been pointing at everything and I can tell that he wants to learn words.
He is eating more, and will take the matter into his own hands when hungry and he will climb up on kitchen table and help himself to a banana, biting right into it - peel and all. He has been sleeping great, usually only waking once during the night to nurse - sometimes as late as 4-5am. Now, if I could just get myself to bed before midnight, I would be getting some great sleep!
He loves to dance and shake his head when he hears music. This video is from when we went to the Michigan State Fair and Alice Cooper was playing and you could hear his music while riding the rides.
He is at the great age where everything is so new and fun and exciting. He is almost always smiling (when not screaming) and seems so pleased with his new discoveries. He just figured out the Curious George jack-in-the-box the other day:
The weather here is just starting to get cool in the mornings and evenings, you can feel the chill in the air that tells you fall is just around the corner. I love this weather, sunny and nice during the day, and a little cool at night when you open your windows. I am going to try to make sure we play outside a lot in the next few weeks, because I know that I will turn around and there will be snow and I will wish I could just send the kids outside to play. Though, I did hit the new Salvation Army thrift near my house and got the kids fully prepared with winter jackets, snowpants, gloves, hats, etc. The only thing I need is boots for Sammy and we will be set for the cold weather.
Speaking of playing outside, here’s a little video of the kids playing outside on the playset Gigi got for their birthdays.
And a few last photos of the kids enjoying the summer:
