Where did the year go? My babies are growing up so fast!
Tamlin is turning five years old in just a week or so!
What has my little man Tamlin been up to lately?
* Loving going to library to pick our books on trucks, Thomas the train engine, Star Wars, and trains.
* Interested in Ninja Turtles...I can't believe they brought this cartoon back from my childhood! He calls them "Injas."
* I Spy books, Pictureka, and other finding games are still big hits.
* Loves playing games and watching movies on my iPad or on his Leap-pad. At least I can get him to play educational fun games as well as pointless games like "Plants vs. Zombies"
* Awesome at riding his bike with training wheels and using the hand breaks.
* Surprises me with his kickin' problem solving skills. We were setting up hotwheels track and I told him we needed something to support the track. He comes back with a tunnel from the train bin that works perfectly. After a few attempts of cars down the track, he then concludes we need another one for stability. Great job.
* Basic math knowledge. Thanks to PBS, Tamlin has surprised me several times with his ability to add and subtract simple problems.
*Working on sight words. Of course, T-R-U-C-K is still his favorite word, but thanks to computer apps, he is starting to recognize other common words too: No, Stop, Tam, Car, Yes, Or
* Went through a growth spurt this summer and is now in size 5 clothes (not 5T, especially for shirts), though he feet are still about 10 / 10.5 shoes.
Favorite phrases:
"Something caught my eye", "Aw, Man!", "Let's do that next week" but meaning tomorrow
What about my awesome little Jude?
He is growing up quickly to, especially with his big brother Tamlin as a role model. Jude is constantly copying Tamlin and often wants whatever he has. Jude has a stubborn streak and certainly wants what he wants RIGHT NOW. He certainly has the tendency to repeat himself over and over again until you acknowledge whatever he is trying to say.
* Loves to point out the moon up in the sky, especially if it is a full moon. Twinkly stars are pointed out too.
*Nearly successful with potting training. He has managed to get most poops in there, but we still have nighttime to train. Yeah, little man!
* Absolutely loves bath time. He'll splash around in the tub playing with cups, cars, and fishing hook for forever, either by himself or with brother. He's fairly good at washing up, or at lease washing his belly, hands, and front part of his head.
* Needs to sleep with a different toy each week. Last week it was wooden trains, prior to that was a huge plastic spider, prior to that was an airplane. Tonight, he is sleeping with plastic construction digger trucks. Strangely, Monster isn't the favorite anymore and sometimes he is even found neglected on the floor next to the bed.
* Very good at recognizing letters, mostly uppercase. "M", "I", "T", and "H" are favorite ones to point out on signs or in books.
* Loves counting. One, Two, Three, Five, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten...is often the way it goes. However, some days he does get it right all the way to ten.
*Favorite color is orange, though he has started to point out blue and grey as well. However, orange is often the guess for red or yellow or purple.
*He still loves to play with the wooden trains and the GeoTrax (though pushing the trains, not using the remotes). Airplanes are also still hits, especially if the propeller turns.
* Reading and snuggle time at night is wonderful. He is still a cuddler and likes to be in our laps, especially listening to stories. His favorite books are about dinosaurs, trucks, and I spy books.
*Even though it is November, we are still going outside as often as we can. Both boys love the outdoors. Jude has just started to get the hand of the blue plasma car and is quite enjoying it. We have a little slope of a hill along the road in front of our house, and we have just realized that you can pick up a bit of speed riding down it toward the corner. When we are out there, we'll tell Jude "Feet up." He then picks his feet up onto the plasma car and glides down the hill, or awaits a push from me or Tamlin. He isn't as sure about going too fast... it seems his need for speed isn't quite as great as Tam's was at that age. The other favorite outdoor activity is swinging...this gets such big smiles and laughs of delight!
Favorite phrases:
"Super" anything, as in "Super dark", "Super sad", "Super fast"
"No" to anything, such as "No bedtime", "No dinner", "No potty"
"Please", "Thank you" and "You're welcome"; he knows these phrases are needed to get attention and things that you want. He says them so sweetly too.
"Share, Tamlin", said frequently throughout the day
"Go outside. Shoes on." He loves going outside to play.
