This morning I was checking my email. Linda was on the futon w/a book. She will open a book, and start reading to herself. Too cute. Anyway, I turned to watch her. The book she was reading was about shapes. I saw her point to a circle and say circle. Well of course I made the biggest deal in the world. She got so excited. Then I pointed to a triangle and I said what is that? Of course she said circle, and got all excited again. I calmed her down and said it was a triangle. She repeated me. I pointed to a star and asked her what that was and she said star. I knew she knew circle for a while, but she had never just looked at one, pointed to it and said circle before.
After her nap we went and picked up Miss Mary. Then we drove down to the beach. Linda doesn't like the sand and ocean, but she really enjoys the boardwalk. We talked about all the different things we were seeing (ocean, sand, railing, bicycles, strollers, dogs, hotels, etc). She was particularly taken by the HUGE (34ft I think) of King Neptune. On that statue there are also fish, dolphins, turtles, octopus, starfish, lobster. So we talked about that too. She like to put her fingers in the lobster's pinchers.
After the beach we headed over to Fazoli's. We met Missy and Mike there for dinner. Linda enjoyed that, mainly b/c it involved food.
She is sound asleep now, so I'm going to head off to bed.
Thursday, May 31, 2007
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Linda a Prodigy?
Today was a good day. Linda woke up at about 7:30. We made scrambled eggs and salmon sausage for breakfast. She also had some strawberries. It is so funny to hear a 14 month old say strawberry. Most of the time now she says it right.
We went to Mount Trashmore's Kid Cove. Linda had not been there since she first started walking. It is a pretty neat place. It is a huge wooden playground. There are a lot of little tunnels and things to explore. Linda took right off like she owned the place. She went up and down the stairs and all over. She enjoyed it a lot.
After her nap we went to Red Wing park. This is a nice park also, and closer to our house. They have a nice wooded area w/some playground equipment. This will be very nice in the heat of the summer. Linda walked over to the swing and said swing please. She is talking so good that many times I'll have her repeat a sentence after me. So I said Linda let's use your big girl words. She repeated "Mama, may I get up in the swing please." The lady swinging her little boy asked how old she was. She said wow she is talking really good. I said yeah, she is a girl, and girls like to talk. A few min later Linda was off the swing and walked up to the lady and hugged her legs. Linda was looking down at the lady's shoes. I asked Linda what color the shoes were. She said pink. The shoes were actually blue. Even though Linda got it wrong this lady was so impressed. Linda then correctly gave the color of her dress (it was yellow). I had her repeat some of her other colors. The lady said, what is she some kind of prodigy or something? I think she was serious. I didn't even have her repeat her 18 (she added tweet for a bird) animal sounds, or her 17 body parts, or her alphabet! Linda was swinging and looked up and saw some birds. She said "bird. Tweet" and then did the sign for bird. She will actually name the correct name of some of her animals, instead of seeing them and making the animal sound. I think that is amazing.
Linda was taking a bath. She takes her bath in her little bathtub in our bathroom. There is a window near by. Tom was outside working on the pool (which is fixed!!! it just needed to be backwashed). I called out to him. Next thing I know Linda is saying "Tooooooom" it was so cute.
I guess that is all for today. Tomorrow is a new day of learning for Linda. I'm so glad she likes to learn. I can't get over how smart she is.
We went to Mount Trashmore's Kid Cove. Linda had not been there since she first started walking. It is a pretty neat place. It is a huge wooden playground. There are a lot of little tunnels and things to explore. Linda took right off like she owned the place. She went up and down the stairs and all over. She enjoyed it a lot.
After her nap we went to Red Wing park. This is a nice park also, and closer to our house. They have a nice wooded area w/some playground equipment. This will be very nice in the heat of the summer. Linda walked over to the swing and said swing please. She is talking so good that many times I'll have her repeat a sentence after me. So I said Linda let's use your big girl words. She repeated "Mama, may I get up in the swing please." The lady swinging her little boy asked how old she was. She said wow she is talking really good. I said yeah, she is a girl, and girls like to talk. A few min later Linda was off the swing and walked up to the lady and hugged her legs. Linda was looking down at the lady's shoes. I asked Linda what color the shoes were. She said pink. The shoes were actually blue. Even though Linda got it wrong this lady was so impressed. Linda then correctly gave the color of her dress (it was yellow). I had her repeat some of her other colors. The lady said, what is she some kind of prodigy or something? I think she was serious. I didn't even have her repeat her 18 (she added tweet for a bird) animal sounds, or her 17 body parts, or her alphabet! Linda was swinging and looked up and saw some birds. She said "bird. Tweet" and then did the sign for bird. She will actually name the correct name of some of her animals, instead of seeing them and making the animal sound. I think that is amazing.
Linda was taking a bath. She takes her bath in her little bathtub in our bathroom. There is a window near by. Tom was outside working on the pool (which is fixed!!! it just needed to be backwashed). I called out to him. Next thing I know Linda is saying "Tooooooom" it was so cute.
I guess that is all for today. Tomorrow is a new day of learning for Linda. I'm so glad she likes to learn. I can't get over how smart she is.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
First Blood
Well, our Memorial Day weekend was pretty nice. Tom tried to open the pool and found out it was messed up, again. So that stunk. We went to a BBQ at our neighbor Judy, Paul and Emmas house. Emma took her first steps while we were there. Very exciting. Then Aunt Lynn came over and visited for a few minutes. Then came the injury. It was time to clean up the yard and go inside. I took Linda by the hand and led her to a toy I wanted her to clean up. She took a step when I let go, didn't have her hands under her, and fell. She smacked her face on the concrete. It sounded really bad. I knew it hurt really bad too, just from the way it sounded. Normally I don't pick her up when she gets injured. I just wait and see if she needs me. Well I grabbed her fast this time. I knew she was hurting bad. I put her on my shoulder and asked Tom to look and see if there was any blood. He said "oh yeah, it's bleeding a lot." It was coming from her mouth. I had Tom grab a towel, and we put it up to her mouth. The amazing thing is this child stopped crying after about 45 seconds. I can't believe how tough she is. I asked Tom if her teeth were chipped/missing. He said he thought a tooth was chipped. Turns out it was just the blood in her mouth covering up the tooth. It was funny to see her taste her blood. She made a face. Finally we have found something she doesn't like to eat?? So it was all over pretty quick. She has a small mark on her chin. Her lip looks fine. It's amazing how fast they heal. One of my other friends has a small child too. When her kid falls, she has her say "I'm tough." I started doing that w/Linda. I think that is a cute idea. Most of the time I just ignore her or clap for her when she gets hurt. Her legs are all sorts of scratched up and boo boos all over. She never cries about them. Maybe she knows I'd ignore her anyway.
Monday, May 28, 2007
Memorial Day Weekend
Linda visited the Strawberry Festival for the 2nd time. We went to see the parade. She was quite interested in most of the parade. The weather was beautiful. Grandpa came w/us, so Linda was very happy about that.
We went to dinner on Sat night at Subway. On the way to dinner I sat in the back seat. Linda had a full day and was acting sleepy. We didn't want her to fall asleep, so I sat back there. We were working on family member's names. She says Collin, but doesn't say it w/the Ls very well. Same thing w/Kelly. She says Tim pretty good. Then I said to Tom I don't think we have had her say Deb. So I told her to say Deb. The Ds and Bs are easier sounds to make. She said Deb perfectly. Then I said I bet she can say Debbie too. She said Debbie so cute. So we called Aunt Deb and Linda said Debbie over and over, which of course thrilled Aunt Deb.
This morning I was changing Linda's diaper and she reached up and grabbed her feet. She then moved to her toes and said toes. It was too cute. Another cute thing she is doing is reading to herself. I don't remember if I put that in a previous blog or not. She grabs a book, sits down and starts mumble jumble real fast. Then if she sees something she knows in the middle of her mumble jumble she'll say that word. This morning there is a book that says "do ladybugs have square spots? NO, ladybugs have round spots. Do cats have round ears? NO cats have triangle shaped ears. Do cars have star shaped wheels? NO, cars always have round wheels." She sat down opened the book and said "NOOOO" It was so cute.
Tom just took her to go downstairs and have breakfast. He is going to feed her some strawberries. He just asked her if she wanted strawberries. She said strawberry. It is so cute to hear her. Sometimes when she says strawberry it is only two syllables.
Looks like we are going to have to ease her into the pool. A few weeks ago we went to Norfolk Botanical Gardens. They have a children's garden w/a water area there. She was playing in the water, and it came up and nailed her in the face. Ever since then, she won't go near water. We went to a BBQ last night and they had a pool. I sat down w/her and let her feet dangle. She didn't start screaming, but she was trying to keep her feet out of the pool. So we have our work cut out for us.
I hope everyone's Holly-day weekend was a good one.
We went to dinner on Sat night at Subway. On the way to dinner I sat in the back seat. Linda had a full day and was acting sleepy. We didn't want her to fall asleep, so I sat back there. We were working on family member's names. She says Collin, but doesn't say it w/the Ls very well. Same thing w/Kelly. She says Tim pretty good. Then I said to Tom I don't think we have had her say Deb. So I told her to say Deb. The Ds and Bs are easier sounds to make. She said Deb perfectly. Then I said I bet she can say Debbie too. She said Debbie so cute. So we called Aunt Deb and Linda said Debbie over and over, which of course thrilled Aunt Deb.
This morning I was changing Linda's diaper and she reached up and grabbed her feet. She then moved to her toes and said toes. It was too cute. Another cute thing she is doing is reading to herself. I don't remember if I put that in a previous blog or not. She grabs a book, sits down and starts mumble jumble real fast. Then if she sees something she knows in the middle of her mumble jumble she'll say that word. This morning there is a book that says "do ladybugs have square spots? NO, ladybugs have round spots. Do cats have round ears? NO cats have triangle shaped ears. Do cars have star shaped wheels? NO, cars always have round wheels." She sat down opened the book and said "NOOOO" It was so cute.
Tom just took her to go downstairs and have breakfast. He is going to feed her some strawberries. He just asked her if she wanted strawberries. She said strawberry. It is so cute to hear her. Sometimes when she says strawberry it is only two syllables.
Looks like we are going to have to ease her into the pool. A few weeks ago we went to Norfolk Botanical Gardens. They have a children's garden w/a water area there. She was playing in the water, and it came up and nailed her in the face. Ever since then, she won't go near water. We went to a BBQ last night and they had a pool. I sat down w/her and let her feet dangle. She didn't start screaming, but she was trying to keep her feet out of the pool. So we have our work cut out for us.
I hope everyone's Holly-day weekend was a good one.
Friday, May 25, 2007
A Day at the Park
Linda got up around 7:30 this morning. We called our friend Liz to meet us at the park. Before we leave the house now she always wants to say bye to Toby and Copper and give them both hugs and kisses. She can really say Toby and Copper well now. I'm glad we got "CoCo" on tape. As we were pulling up to the park, Linda looked out the window and could see the playground. She said "park, park, weeeeeeee, slide, swing, park" very excitedly. It was so cute. She is getting so much better at climbing the playground equip. She says she wants to slide, but once it comes time to slide, she doesn't seem to want to all the time. I brought my iPod, a ball, and bubbles. I told Linda we were going to do bubbles and she signed and said "bubbles". Well the bubble jar didn't give me a want, so that was a bust. We got home around 11:30. She ate lunch and went down for a nap.
When she got up, we called Miss Mary and asked her if she would like to meet us at another park. We stopped into Chic Fila for early dinner and then headed to the park. When we pulled into the park, she again said "park." We were there quite a long time. The weather was so nice.
We came home and played outside for about 25 min before we got ready for bed. Apparently Linda had enough of being outside the entire day. She walked up to the front door and said "side." She wanted to go inside. I complied b/c it was bedtime. I did tell her that when it is nice out we are outside, and the only reason we are going inside is it is bedtime (not that she understood any of that).
We had a snack right before bedtime. I was cutting some veggies up for her to eat. She was sitting at the table and I was standing at the counter. I hear her say "foot down". I turn around and she has her feet on the table. She had that look. She is getting to be a little stinker. I'm trying to keep her attitude in check. So far so good for the most part, but you can tell she is entering that stage.
When she got up, we called Miss Mary and asked her if she would like to meet us at another park. We stopped into Chic Fila for early dinner and then headed to the park. When we pulled into the park, she again said "park." We were there quite a long time. The weather was so nice.
We came home and played outside for about 25 min before we got ready for bed. Apparently Linda had enough of being outside the entire day. She walked up to the front door and said "side." She wanted to go inside. I complied b/c it was bedtime. I did tell her that when it is nice out we are outside, and the only reason we are going inside is it is bedtime (not that she understood any of that).
We had a snack right before bedtime. I was cutting some veggies up for her to eat. She was sitting at the table and I was standing at the counter. I hear her say "foot down". I turn around and she has her feet on the table. She had that look. She is getting to be a little stinker. I'm trying to keep her attitude in check. So far so good for the most part, but you can tell she is entering that stage.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
My Little Sportster
Today was a beautiful day in Virginia Beach. Linda got up around 7am. We had our playgroup date at the park today. It was "balls and bubbles." Linda brought her soccer ball. We got her a soccer ball b/c the child will kick any ball she sees. She kicked all the balls today too, even the tennis balls. She also enjoyed the bubbles, but not as much as the balls.
While at the park there were some ladies w/the group Stroller Strides. They are an exercising group. There were three ladies hopping across the parking lot on one leg. I looked over at Linda and she was attempting to hop. It is amazing how much she copies everything. I think they learn a lot from copying.
Alice, our three year old neighbor, came over this evening to play. I got the tee ball set out that Tom got for Linda. Alice was having a blast hitting the balls. Linda would go get the balls she hit and put it back on the tee for Alice. Alice was done playing and started playing on the slide. The bat was about 15 ft from the tee. Linda started walking over to the tee. I told her to get the bat. She kind of looked at me like she didn't know what I wanted. I told her to turn around. She turned around. I told her to go get the yellow bat. It is neat that she is learning her colors. Even though she didn't know what a bat was (she knows now, and says it) she knew the color yellow and knew I wanted her to get that and bring it to me. Alice then asked me to get another toy for her. When I turned around, I saw Linda putting the ball on the tee. She then bent down, picked up the bat, and hit the ball w/the bat. Not only did she hit the ball and not just the tee part, but she held the bat the right way! It was so cute. That bat is about as big as she is. She is so smart. She knew just how to do it after watching Alice.
One of her favorite activities is playing w/sidewalk chalk (which of course Daddy bought her some). When she was 11 months old, she took a piece of sidewalk chalk and started making marks on the sidewalk. I was amazed she was doing this at that age. Then I realized she must have seen one of the other kids doing it so she started to do it. It is kind of scary, b/c you really need to watch what you do and say around her.
Speaking of what you say, my next door neighbor Judy came home after being gone all day. She went over to get her 12 month old daughter Emma. I said to Linda, "Look at Emma. She is so happy to see her mom." Linda immediately said "happy." So I repeated the word happy several times and she said happy. Her little voice is so cute.
Well I guess that is all for today. American Idol finale is on. I probably watch the last ten minutes of it to see who won. Go Jordan!
While at the park there were some ladies w/the group Stroller Strides. They are an exercising group. There were three ladies hopping across the parking lot on one leg. I looked over at Linda and she was attempting to hop. It is amazing how much she copies everything. I think they learn a lot from copying.
Alice, our three year old neighbor, came over this evening to play. I got the tee ball set out that Tom got for Linda. Alice was having a blast hitting the balls. Linda would go get the balls she hit and put it back on the tee for Alice. Alice was done playing and started playing on the slide. The bat was about 15 ft from the tee. Linda started walking over to the tee. I told her to get the bat. She kind of looked at me like she didn't know what I wanted. I told her to turn around. She turned around. I told her to go get the yellow bat. It is neat that she is learning her colors. Even though she didn't know what a bat was (she knows now, and says it) she knew the color yellow and knew I wanted her to get that and bring it to me. Alice then asked me to get another toy for her. When I turned around, I saw Linda putting the ball on the tee. She then bent down, picked up the bat, and hit the ball w/the bat. Not only did she hit the ball and not just the tee part, but she held the bat the right way! It was so cute. That bat is about as big as she is. She is so smart. She knew just how to do it after watching Alice.
One of her favorite activities is playing w/sidewalk chalk (which of course Daddy bought her some). When she was 11 months old, she took a piece of sidewalk chalk and started making marks on the sidewalk. I was amazed she was doing this at that age. Then I realized she must have seen one of the other kids doing it so she started to do it. It is kind of scary, b/c you really need to watch what you do and say around her.
Speaking of what you say, my next door neighbor Judy came home after being gone all day. She went over to get her 12 month old daughter Emma. I said to Linda, "Look at Emma. She is so happy to see her mom." Linda immediately said "happy." So I repeated the word happy several times and she said happy. Her little voice is so cute.
Well I guess that is all for today. American Idol finale is on. I probably watch the last ten minutes of it to see who won. Go Jordan!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
The Walesby girls and Aunt Shannon's
Today all three of the Walesby girls came over to help me clean and do yard work. They wanted to watch Linda so they took turns. They couldn't get over how cute Linda was. Of course Linda let them know where her elbow was several times by pointing to it and saying "elbow."
After I dropped them off at their house, and checked out their awesome pop up camper, we headed over to Aunt Shannon's house. Linda hadn't seen the kids in a while. She quickly learned to say "CiCi" (Sierra's nickname) and "Chey" (Cheaynn's nickname). She said "ette" for Garrette and she didn't even attempt to say Aunt Shannon. Cheyann got some bubbles out to blow for Jack the dog and for Linda. Linda quickly said "bubbles" and signed it too.
Shannon's friend Rhonda came over for a few minutes before we left. I hadn't seen Rhonda since before I was pregnant. Sierra said Linda can do a bunch of animal sounds. So the animal sound parade began. As of today, Linda can make the animal noises for owl, sheep, cow, dog, cat, bee, coyote, goose, duck, horse, turkey, chicken, rooster, goat, pig, monkey, and walrus (Ok, I know you all are wondering what a walrus says. Well listen to the Beatles song "I am the Walrus" and you will learn the walrus says "coo coo ca choo"). She also knows what a train and a car says. Then Sierra said Linda can show you her elbow. So the body part parade began. As of today, Linda can identify hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, chin, shoulders, tummy, belly button, elbow (her favorite), wrist, hand, fingers, knees, feet, and toes.
I guess that is about all for now. Linda is almost ready for bed.
After I dropped them off at their house, and checked out their awesome pop up camper, we headed over to Aunt Shannon's house. Linda hadn't seen the kids in a while. She quickly learned to say "CiCi" (Sierra's nickname) and "Chey" (Cheaynn's nickname). She said "ette" for Garrette and she didn't even attempt to say Aunt Shannon. Cheyann got some bubbles out to blow for Jack the dog and for Linda. Linda quickly said "bubbles" and signed it too.
Shannon's friend Rhonda came over for a few minutes before we left. I hadn't seen Rhonda since before I was pregnant. Sierra said Linda can do a bunch of animal sounds. So the animal sound parade began. As of today, Linda can make the animal noises for owl, sheep, cow, dog, cat, bee, coyote, goose, duck, horse, turkey, chicken, rooster, goat, pig, monkey, and walrus (Ok, I know you all are wondering what a walrus says. Well listen to the Beatles song "I am the Walrus" and you will learn the walrus says "coo coo ca choo"). She also knows what a train and a car says. Then Sierra said Linda can show you her elbow. So the body part parade began. As of today, Linda can identify hair, ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, tongue, chin, shoulders, tummy, belly button, elbow (her favorite), wrist, hand, fingers, knees, feet, and toes.
I guess that is about all for now. Linda is almost ready for bed.
Monday, May 21, 2007
New Words
Well, this is my very first time using this thing. Tom (daddy) and Deb (aunt) told me I should get on here and blog! So here I am. If you don't want to hear how great my kid is, well you should stop reading this and all future blogs now.
So this evening, Tom and I were discussing home schooling. I commented that there are homeschool sports teams. Tom said, "Yeah but I bet they get their butt kicked." All of a sudden we hear Linda as she is walking into the garage saying, "butt kick, butt kick, butt kick." Tom said, "Wow, I'm glad I didn't say what I was going to say."
The child repeats everything. She is quite the little talker. More on that later. It's 9:30pm now, and I'm pooped.
So this evening, Tom and I were discussing home schooling. I commented that there are homeschool sports teams. Tom said, "Yeah but I bet they get their butt kicked." All of a sudden we hear Linda as she is walking into the garage saying, "butt kick, butt kick, butt kick." Tom said, "Wow, I'm glad I didn't say what I was going to say."
The child repeats everything. She is quite the little talker. More on that later. It's 9:30pm now, and I'm pooped.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)