Our Everyday Joys of Week 49

Dear Hailey, 

Every day your actions become more purposeful. You are starting to be quite the thrill seeker as you love being pushed high on the swing and you also love being thrown up high at the pool. 

Joy: Swinging

You are pulling up to stand every moment you get and you are quite the squirmy wormy during diaper changes. Singing a song to you is the only way I can get you to lay still long enough for me to finish the job. You are starting to understand, "No, no no" and will imitate us by shaking your head side to side when you hear "No, no, no." For now it's absolutely adorable.

Joy: Mouth Exploration

You have picked up writing. You now know that pencils, markers, and crayons are writing utensils.

Joy: Writing (mimicking older kids)

Hannah's gymnastics coach suggested that I put you in a box with a marker. You had a blast, just scribbling away. Oop, I thought those markers were washable...

Joy: Scribbling

Joy: Scribbling inside a box

I finally got around to taking your 11 month photos. Here's a series of photos that show just how active you have become. 

Joy: Taking Pictures

Dear Nathan, 

You are now really enjoying kindergarten. You seem to be really excited about the technology aspects of school and you love sharing the new songs that you learn in school with us. 

For the most part, you are making new friends at school, but the same kid who has been bothering you, continues to bother you. I'm encouraging you to use your words to tell him "Stop it!" when he bothers you. This idea seemed pretty foreign to you when I we were role playing, but then when I looked through your folder tonight, that was one of your weekly objectives! We'll be having a little talk tomorrow to try to connect the dots. 

It's definitely nice having older kids around the house. You seem to be pulling your weight more these days. You are good at cleaning up your toys after playing with them, you do your chores without complaining, and you help out with little jobs around the house. I'm glad to have you on the team. 

Joy: Being Useful and Helpful

So two days ago, I sat down to play mario kart with you. Uhhh, you are getting really good! You even beat me and I was trying my best!

Joy: Beating Mom at Mario Kart

Well, this seems to be the season for birthday parties. It seems like we have at least 1 birthday party each week this month. I accidentally wrote down the wrong time for one of the parties, so you guys missed doing the craft and then you got to take it home to work on it. I'm excited to see how it turns out.

Joy: Crafting Together

Dear Hannah, 

You went to a girly nail party and got your nails done for the first time at a salon. You were a bit apprehensive at first, but overall you enjoyed the experience. I was just a bit disappointed about how quickly the polish fell off. One didn't even last until the car ride home and by the next day, all the polish had come off. Maybe you kids are just so active that polish comes off so quickly. 

Joy: Getting sparkly nails

Joy: Sitting under a fancy blue light

On Sunday evening, we went out for dinner and while everyone in the family ordered Pho, you decided that you wanted sushi and ordered a shrimp roll, which you devoured yourself.

Joy: Shrimp Sushi

You continue to love to help (except when asked to clean up toys) and enjoy doing things alongside me. You have started going to school 4 mornings a week and I'm really tempted to keep you home one more day so I can really enjoy spending more time with you; however, you say you really love gymnastics, so I want to keep you in that program.

I just realized how awesome your fine motor skills are. You do great with tweezers, and you are very careful when sewing.

Joy: "Weeding" Vinyl

Daddy is going to take the rest of his paternity leave days next week, so let's see what exciting things happen then.

Until next week,
Love,
Mommy