Aaron's Wild Ride

I took a few minutes this evening to make a video of Aaron's riding on Saturday.  Enjoy!

Claire reading Green Eggs and Ham

Let me take a moment here to just gush over my middle child.  We were always so amazed by how smart Aaron is, how early he read, learned math, etc.  But Claire is learning these things even earlier!  I honestly think it's because she's watching Aaron, and she figures whatever he can do, she can do (better!). 

She is an amazing reader.  At 4 1/2, she's been reading for several months, and she's moving to level 2 books right now.  She can just fly through the level 1 books, hardly stumbling at all.  She loves to read, and the library is one of her favorite places to go.  We get literally 40 or so books at a time. 

She also loves to listen to audio books.  I have heard this helps make better readers, and I believe it.  She loves to listen to Junie B. Jones and Magic Tree House books.  She listens for literally hours almost every day.  She retreats to her room, puts on an audio book on her CD player, and plays back there for hours if we don't have any place to be.  It's quite amazing.  (We get the audio books at the library, too!)

Green Eggs and Ham is one of her favorite books, and it is one we own.  I wanted to remember her sweet reading voice so I videoed it tonight (forgetting how LONG that book is!).  At first she didn't know I was videoing, or if she did she didn't let on, but then once she knew the camera was there she was excited.  As soon as she was finished, she said, "Now I want to watch the video."  Sweet girl.  :-)

Now, if you have the patience, you can watch almost 10 minutes of Green Eggs and Ham.  It'll be about the cutest 10 minutes you'll spend today.

2nd Tooth Pulled

Aaron's 2nd tooth has been pretty wiggly, and Friday afternoon he got it in his head that he would pull it with a piece of dental floss tied to the tooth and a door knob.  I made him wait until Daddy got home to help with this project, and here's how it turned out...

Nativity playtime

We interrupt this bloggie catch-up time to bring you some late breaking action!

Tonight we got out our Christmas decorations.  One of our most treasured items is the crocheted nativity set that Mammaw Taylor made for us. 

Just before bedtime, Claire retreated over to the nativity and started playing quietly.  Chris motioned for me to listen, and I started watching her play.  She was completely unaware that we were listening, and after several minutes I finally got out the video camera. 

When I started watching, she had all the characters lined up, taking turns looking at baby Jesus in his cradle, and saying "Awww, look how cute" and other such sentiments.  Then the characters started taking turns holding Jesus, and the little shepherd boy got in trouble for almost dropping the baby. 

That's where the video starts!  The angel flies Mary to the scene and she gives the shepherd boy a stern warning about never picking up a baby.  I captured over 8 minutes of video as the play unfolded, and there are some really funny parts!  I hope you can hear it well, as Claire had some really funny things to say.  I was filming over the back of the couch and she never knew I was there!

One of my favorite parts is about 2/3 in when the kings were about to hold the baby and the shepherd boy was really wanting to.  His sheep went over to ask to hold the baby, and Joseph told him no.  The shepherd boy said, "Aww, Beary. I don't get to hold him either!"  (That sheep does kinda look like a polar bear, doesn't it?)

Enjoy these few moments of total sweetness!  (You may want to view it at YouTube...on my screen the video is chopped off on the right and I'm not sure how to fix that!)

*Wink*

Hannah is so super sweet right now we could all just eat her up.  She learned how to "wink" and loves to do it, because she knows it makes us laugh and smile at her.

Hannah's dancing

I love plugging my video camera up and seeing what videos I've taken that I've never bothered to pull off much less put on my blog to share!

I found this one from late August when Hannah had just started walking.  We were listening to Ross King's song "Juicebox" (VERY cute CD!) and Hannah had started dancing.  (She could have sung "pants on the ground" with her saggy pants on!  LOL!) 

Proverbs 16:24

As a big kid, Aaron is now in the big kid choir at church.  They actually do longer productions during Sunday night church a few times a year.  Tonight was his first performance, and he actually had a line to say!  He had volunteered to say a verse, and his was Proverbs 16:24:  "Kind words are like honey; sweet to the soul and healthy for the body."  He told me he didn't volunteer to be in the skit because he didn't think his brain was quite big enough to learn all those words.  We told him his brain is plenty big but he certainly doesn't have to do a skit if he doesn't want to! 

I was proud of my wiggly boy when he said his verse tonight, and he was quite proud too!

You're a Grand Ol' Flag

Aaron is learning a new song in music class at school, and he has been singing it all weekend.  It's a catchy little tune that is now stuck in my head! 

Claire pretends to play a violin off to the side while Aaron entertains with his song and motions.  I love these kids!!

And we have some steps!

Hannah is 14 1/2 months old, and I can FINALLY say she's taken her first steps!  Last night she took a few, and tonight I got her to do some more.  We have to bribe her to try...otherwise she'd rather crawl.  Even tonight she had much more confidence and balance than last night, so maybe in a few days she'll get the hang of this walking thing!

Swimming lessons

The week Chris was gone to Nicaragua, the kids had swimming lessons! I scheduled their lessons so Claire was in a class with Connor, and Aaron was in a class with Sydney, so I could coordinate drop-off/pick-up with my friend Stacy. After the first day, Mrs. Melissa said Aaron wasn't quite ready for the level 2 class, so he went back to the beginner class with Claire and Connor. Last summer he just didn't get to practice swimming very much because I had just had Hannah and we had no place to swim.

But this summer he really got it! He's doing great in the water this summer. Claire is comfortable enough, but is not really pushing herself to do too much. I think it will really click for her later this summer or next year.

On the last day of the week-long lessons, the parents got to go back to see what the kids had learned. It was actually a bit cloudy and breezy that day, so the kids were freezing!


They enjoyed a fun ride as a reward for doing so well!




And here's a montage of the video clips I got. They each had to practice swimming to Mrs. Melissa from the steps, and then jumping in and swimming. Aaron is so funny when he swims--his body is bent and his little bottom is up in the air!

Hannah's First Signs

We've been showing Hannah some of the basic baby signs since before she was 6 months old. In the last couple of months I have gotten more consistent with it because it seemed she understood what I meant when I did the signs. And now, at 11 months old, she has started doing several of the signs herself!

Her first sign was "bathtime". That sign is rubbing your belly up and down (like you're washing yourself). She has been doing that one for at least a couple of months, maybe longer. She actually says "bathtime" when she does the sign. When I repeat "bathtime" back to her, she giggles and grins and is so proud.

The other top signs we've been working on are food related! Our sign for "nurse" is actually the sign for "milk", which is squeezing your hand open and closed (like milking a cow). I would show her that sign just before and during a nursing session. I knew she was understanding it when she started getting excited when I would simply do the sign without saying a word! (Usually I do say the word along with the sign so she will eventually learn to speak it.)

The other sign she has learned is "eat". I remember it was just a couple of weeks ago when she did this sign unprompted. She was fussy, and Mammaw had already fed her some lunch, and I had nursed her. I thought she was getting tired so I put her down for an early nap. After a few minutes she was still fussing, so I went to get her out of her bed, and she immediately did the "eat" sign when I picked her up. She wanted more lunch! Problem solved! The sign for "eat" is bringing your fingers of your fist to your mouth, like you're finger-feeding yourself. It's really easy for babies to do.

We're still working on "more", which for us is pointing your index finger into your opposite palm. (Some people do that sign differently but we just do what we learned when Aaron was a baby. He actually did it by pointing his thumb into his opposite palm, and it was so cute!) I've been showing her the "banana" sign for a while too. She knows what both of those mean but hasn't done them herself yet.

I love teaching my babies sign language! It is like a window into their brain, and it reduces frustration. I can see the pride and joy on her face when she is understood, and I'm sure that does wonders for her attitude and self-confidence!

Hannah's version of the crawl

It's hard to know exactly what date Hannah started crawling. It has happened so gradually, and she is still not really doing a traditional hands and knees crawl, although she's getting close. She definitely gets around a room, and into whatever she's not supposed to be into. Her crawl started out with her scooting along on her face while she reached forward for something. Now she does more of an inch worm thing, bringing her chest up and propelling herself forward with her legs, then letting her chest fall back down. It's really funny to watch!

A few days ago when I heard her wake up in the morning, I went into her room and she was sitting in her crib! A couple of nights ago she did it again, while I wasn't in the room...I came back in and she was sitting up. Today I finally saw her do it...over and over. When I put her in her bed tonight, I laid her on her tummy as usual, and she just sat up and grinned at me. I'll get video of that soon!

In the meantime, here is a little montage of her "crawl". The first part was early in April, and the last part was just a few days ago.

Hannah's *gasp*!

Hannah started doing the funniest thing today. She learned how to gasp! I think she must have gotten that from her dramatic brother and sister. I took several videos and pulled the clips of her gasping out and made a little movie. Enjoy!

Every Little Things She Does...

Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic!

Hannah thinks everything Claire does is hilarious. She has the cutest belly laugh that comes out from time to time when Claire is entertaining her. I heard it from the other room a couple of times recently and grabbed the video camera to capture the moment.

I've titled this one "Here's Your Pennies" because that is what Claire kept saying to Hannah. I think she was playing some game with her where Hannah was supposed to buy something from her store so she was giving her some pretend pennies and Hannah found it hysterical!

Hannah gets to know Robosapien

This deserves a post in itself. Aaron's new robot is REALLY cool. His name is Robosapien. Hannah's reaction to him is absolutely hilarious. Chris and I just roll laughing every time we watch this video.

Her faces say "What on earth?" and "Dad, are you aware this thing is walking toward me?" and "Is this normal?" and "I was just trying to be friendly!"

Christmas Eve...then Christmas Day!

One of our Christmas Eve traditions is to attend the candlelight service at church with Chris's family. This year it was pouring down rain when we got there, so Chris dropped us at the door and stayed in the parking lot with the umbrella helping others to the building. Which was great, except by the time he got into the sanctuary, the row where I was sitting had filled up and he couldn't get in to sit with us. So it was me vs. all 3 kids, who were rowdy from a day of playing with new toys at Mimi and Pa's. Claire had her Barbie and little puppies, and she would not stop making them talk and walk along the back of the pew. Aaron was wallowing all over the place and Hannah was very fussy. At one point I had to get up to change a dirty diaper--I had to get up from the middle of the pew, the middle of the section--basically where I was disrupting the entire service.

I got back in time for communion, which was hilarious because I didn't even have an extra hand to hold my cup of juice and bread. So I put it in the pew rack in front of us, and told Aaron to please keep his feet away from it. Not a minute later he had already forgotten what I said and proceeded to crush my communion cup with his tennis shoe, causing juice to spill out. Luckily I had a burp cloth ready so I caught most of it. I turned to Christi and she said, "This is like a Griswold Christmas service." Ha!

On the way home I had to laugh when Chris said, "That was a nice service." Sure, maybe for you! It really was nice, I just wish I could have enjoyed it. They sang lots of great Christmas carols, had various Scripture readings and an encouraging message by one of our pastors, and then the communion. Next year I'll make sure to sit in the back pew with my husband close by.

We got home and the kids set out cookies for Santa and were in bed by 7:30.


They were so exhausted from the day's activities it didn't take any time for them to fall fast asleep!

Christmas morning they were up at 6:40, which was pretty good for them! Aaron's hair cracked me up--he had been sleeping hard! He had a mohawk all day.


I videoed them discovering Santa's gifts.

And Santa left a letter!

Santa brought Aaron a remote-control robot, and Claire got the Ahchoo Baby she wanted so badly. They got lots of stuff in their stockings. Aaron got his own set of bungee cords, a Diego jump rope, some craft sticks, and lots of other stuff, and Claire was excited about everything in hers--an Ariel notebook, a Dora placemat (just like Allie's!), a glittery puzzle, a toothbrush, some princess stickeers, an Ariel jump rope, and lots of other stuff.



Shortly after stockings were emptied they wanted to open presents under the tree. Aaron got Mouse Trap, some Tonka books, and a Lego set. Claire got Guess Who, some Dora books, and some new dollhouse furniture. They got a Tag reading system as a joint gift.





I got a nice soft robe, a cute apron (with a kid-sized one for Claire), and The Pioneer Woman Cookbook. Chris got a camo hoodie, a new camera (so he can take it hunting), and a couple of new books.

After we opened gifts, Hannah woke up and got to explore her new Busy Ball Popper from Santa.




Mimi and Pa stopped by to see the new gifts, and even sampled some of my homemade cinnamon rolls.




Then my mom came over, and we spent the rest of the day COOKING! I loved it. We made Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon recipe, because we were both inspired after watching Julia and Julia on DVD. It has lots of steps, but it's not very labor intensive, so we just enjoyed our time in the kitchen.


Mmmm...veggies!


The stew coming together!


My cute new apron!


My uncle and his family came to our house for Christmas this year. We ate our meal (with no dessert because I got so caught up in the main dish and sides that I totally forgot to line up a dessert! It was okay because we didn't need it!)

They brought MORE presents.




And look what Granny got for Claire!


My aunt knitted Hannah a new hat! Isn't it precious?


My uncle with Hannah.


About 8:00 that night I felt like surely it was 10:00 already. What a long, but fun-filled day! We still have one family gathering to go...

The zip line

A few months ago, Chris scored 3 spools of metal cable from work--they were going to throw it away so he brought him home. He didn't have any immediate plans for it, but then his wheels started turning. He and his dad concocted a plan to build a zip line through the woods at his parents' house. His dad is also building an enormous tree house to go along with this. He has plans for a firepole, a rock wall, rustic wood siding, a porch with cedar railing, and lots of other fun stuff. I can't wait to see the finished product. The kids are going to enjoy the treehouse for many many years!

Back to the zip line...last weekend Chris spent the day out there working on it, and I was shocked when he called late in the day and told me it was done! He and his dad had already tested it, and they were hooking up his mom for a ride!

The next day after Sunday naps, we headed out to try it. First Chris demonstrated how to ride it with just the handlebars. This is just for the grownups.



Aaron could hardly wait for his turn. We harnessed him up...



...and he climbed the ladder. The ladder is temporary until the treehouse platform is built. You can see the 4 steel beams that make the perimeter of the playhouse.


Aaron was a bit hesitant at first. He really wanted to do it but he was scared to let go.



When he finally did he had so much fun! I didn't get to video the 1st run, but I did get his 2nd run on video! He freaked out because he turned backwards during the run so he couldn't see where he was headed. I think Chris is going to work that out.

Then it was my turn. Do you know that ladder is TALL?




I insisted on using the harness, as I didn't want to break my leg or anything. It really is fun!


I also turned backwards, which made the end interesting. Pa was at the end to stop me from running into the tree where the zip line ends. They still have some finishing touches to make on the ride...such as a better way to STOP! But for now it's alot of fun! Aaron rode it about 8 times that day and can't wait to try it more!

Animated Hannah

Hannah is getting more animated with every passing day. She has really found her voice and she likes to "talk" alot! She is staying awake longer during the day, and getting into a nice nap routine. She likes to play peek-a-boo and the hokey pokey. I just love her little laugh!

Hannah smiling and cooing

Hannah is getting quite animated. She particularly loves laying on her changing table--I almost always get smiles and coos when she is in a fresh diaper and looking at me. She's started doing some little laughs too. I could just eat her up! I took some video of her this evening. The kids were wild in the background and at one point Aaron was quoting scripture to Claire, which really cracked me up. They were being really sweet to Hannah at times, and it just melts my heart!

Hannah is 2 months old!

Where has the time gone? I certainly didn't sleep it away, but it's been a blur!

Hannah has changed so much in just two short months. She's so much chubbier (but still a little baby!), and she is developing her own little routine. She's alot more predictable these days, so it's easier to know what is wrong with her when she cries. She also sleeps so much better these days. She goes to bed sometime between 9 and 10:30, and wakes up anywhere from 3:30 to 5, eats, and goes right back to sleep until 7 or 8. It's great! I vaguely remember Claire doing this, and it all kinda fell apart when she was 4 months old and started waking up during the night again...but I'm hoping Hannah does better. She still sleeps alot during the day.

People always tell us how much she looks like Chris. I definitely see it in some of her expressions--in the first part of this video you'll see one of them--raising one eyebrow! It is so funny! I also captured a couple of quick smiles, and the first time she grabbed something--the cord to my video camera!