Tamlin...
Is sleeping on the top bunk bed and loving it.
Has mastered pedaling his two-wheeler with the training wheels and using the hand brakes.
Is working on making the swing go on his own, but loves being pushed high.
Loves going in the water and will jump into the deep end with Daddy. (He's thinks he wants to jump from the dive board, but backs down).
Recognizes a few words on sight, "Truck", "Car", "Dinosaur" and "Stop"
Can do some simple addition
Has started doing chores: Put dirty clothes in hamper, hanging jammies on hook, putting dirty dishes in sink, shredding paper.
Loves playing games with others on the iPad
Sayings include: "One more game", "I wasn't talking to you", "I love you", "What are we going to do today?","Let's go see the cousins","I'm going to see the neighbors", "Hey, Mom...I've got something to tell you","Can I play on the iPad?"
Often wants to play with whatever Jude is playing with
Jude...
Has figured out how to climb the ladder to the top bunk, but can't get down again.
Loves to ride in the wagon on walks.
Adores swinging and has learned to lean his head back and laugh like a maniac (thanks to brother).
Can kick when on his belly in the water
Is starting to put words together, such as adjectives and nouns like "Big Car"
Knows his body parts
Knows that he is JuJu or Jude (exclaims this and pats belly)
Will count to ten on his own, but tends to repeat three and five and forget six and seven.
Recognizes many letters, including M, O, F, T, I, H, E
Has figured out how to push the kitchen chairs around to climb up to the counters
Has figured out that he can swing on the galvanizes clothes bar in the upstairs cubbies.
Amazes me with how his much his brain is thinking...such as walking on a fallen tree on the beach and hooting like a monkey, then saying "JuJu, Monkey"
Often wants to play with whatever Tamlin is playing with
Probably a few others that I'll think of soon...
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Potty training update
We are back to the potty training Jude...
And we are "mostly" successful!
He will say "potty", sometimes before he needs to go...but sometimes just as he starts. We are rewarding the early acknowledgements and consoling the misses. The rewards are M&Ms and stickers, so we get "Pee!" followed by "M!" shouted loudly from the toilet. For going number 2 in the potty (mostly misses currently), he gets a prize airplane.
He is still in a pull-up diaper for the night, but he does say dry a good portion of the time. I've been bold and placing him in underwear during the day...Brian is not quite as brave and often gives him pull-ups. But, we have cleaned and placed all the cloth diapers away. No more diapers!
Jude has certainly come to understand that he can control his pee and is fascinated in watching it come out. He is the thinker compared to his brother. I'm just so proud of him hitting this milestone!
Of course Tamlin is the helpful big brother. He is often asking Jude if he has to go potty...but he knows that if Jude is successful on the potty, he gets a M&M too :-)
And we are "mostly" successful!
He will say "potty", sometimes before he needs to go...but sometimes just as he starts. We are rewarding the early acknowledgements and consoling the misses. The rewards are M&Ms and stickers, so we get "Pee!" followed by "M!" shouted loudly from the toilet. For going number 2 in the potty (mostly misses currently), he gets a prize airplane.
He is still in a pull-up diaper for the night, but he does say dry a good portion of the time. I've been bold and placing him in underwear during the day...Brian is not quite as brave and often gives him pull-ups. But, we have cleaned and placed all the cloth diapers away. No more diapers!
Jude has certainly come to understand that he can control his pee and is fascinated in watching it come out. He is the thinker compared to his brother. I'm just so proud of him hitting this milestone!
Of course Tamlin is the helpful big brother. He is often asking Jude if he has to go potty...but he knows that if Jude is successful on the potty, he gets a M&M too :-)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Jude's talking
Jude is becoming a chatterbox...or at least a mockingbird. He is saying so many words now...and even counting!
He counts one, two, three, four, four, four, five, six. He'll count up to twelve, but only by repeating after someone. It is so cute. He recognizes several letters now too. Just like Tam, the first letter he could point out was "O" and then "N" (which is also "M").
The funny thing is he has a Minnesota accent, I swear...his "oh" soon is long sounding. I think he sounds just like the aliens on sesame street.
Jude's favorite words of late are No, Jude, Out or Side for outside, shoes, monster, binky, cookie...Cookie is said quite frequently 'cause he has such a sweet tooth.
He counts one, two, three, four, four, four, five, six. He'll count up to twelve, but only by repeating after someone. It is so cute. He recognizes several letters now too. Just like Tam, the first letter he could point out was "O" and then "N" (which is also "M").
The funny thing is he has a Minnesota accent, I swear...his "oh" soon is long sounding. I think he sounds just like the aliens on sesame street.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Robots
Here the empty laundry baskets turned them into robots.
They bopped around and into each other for nearly 30minutes :-)
All the while giggling like maniacs!
There is definitely some perks to having the laundry room on the same floor as the bedrooms...
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Finding a church
How can finding a home to worship be so difficult?
I have been comensing my looking on-line, scouting local churches by demonination, beliefs, and music programs. I have learned that if any congregation complains that they aren't growing with members, they certainly should up date their website! Make sure the site at least include when your service(s) start and where parking is located. From what I can gather, Vermilion is mostly Lutheran, Baptist, and Congregational. I'm not sure my own beliefs align with any of these denominations.
We tried a Methodist church a few weeks ago. Our first impression was that it was so small! Both the church and the congregation were small. There also was no nursery available in the summer and no handbells. We liked that they were using some of the more modern music, but were concerned about the size. I also noticed that they were locking / unlocking the doors to the sanctuary for everyone. I was disturbed that they felt the need to lock people in while worshiping...it was a bit odd.
We tried an Episcapal Church this week...well, we attempted to attend the church. We got there and it took two passes to figure out which parkinglot belonged to the church and not nearby businesses. And then when we tried to go in, the church was locked! We had the right time (and that time was on the sign out front) but no one was there...absolutely no one. I have no idea why a congregtion just decided not to hold service that morning.
We had a passed another church on the way to the episcapal church so we back-tracked to that one. I didn't recognize the symbol on the sign so I don't know what denomination it was. Again, I couldn't figure out where to park...and we didn't know what time the service was! There was a huge lack of signage.
At this point, I was getting fustrated and the boys were getting restless. I headed north towards home and said we would stop at the Presbyterian church (PCUSA) if it was holding service currently. It was and we were only a smidge late. But, no nursery so the boys had to sit with us through service. This was a bigger church than the Methodist, but at a glance, fairly traditional (no contemporary service/ or hymnal). We did talk with the leader of the choir, who practically begged Brian to join, and he did mention that they bring in quite a bit of theatrical music when they can. They did have handbells (3.5 octavies). However, their language was still very patricarical and not inclusive, which was have become very used to with our last churches. We liked the musical prospects, but were quite concerned about the lack of kids and young people.
So what is left? There is another Presbyterian church west of us that I want to try. Brian suggested asking the cousins where they worship (at least we'll know there are kids).
I have been comensing my looking on-line, scouting local churches by demonination, beliefs, and music programs. I have learned that if any congregation complains that they aren't growing with members, they certainly should up date their website! Make sure the site at least include when your service(s) start and where parking is located. From what I can gather, Vermilion is mostly Lutheran, Baptist, and Congregational. I'm not sure my own beliefs align with any of these denominations.
We tried a Methodist church a few weeks ago. Our first impression was that it was so small! Both the church and the congregation were small. There also was no nursery available in the summer and no handbells. We liked that they were using some of the more modern music, but were concerned about the size. I also noticed that they were locking / unlocking the doors to the sanctuary for everyone. I was disturbed that they felt the need to lock people in while worshiping...it was a bit odd.
We tried an Episcapal Church this week...well, we attempted to attend the church. We got there and it took two passes to figure out which parkinglot belonged to the church and not nearby businesses. And then when we tried to go in, the church was locked! We had the right time (and that time was on the sign out front) but no one was there...absolutely no one. I have no idea why a congregtion just decided not to hold service that morning.
We had a passed another church on the way to the episcapal church so we back-tracked to that one. I didn't recognize the symbol on the sign so I don't know what denomination it was. Again, I couldn't figure out where to park...and we didn't know what time the service was! There was a huge lack of signage.
At this point, I was getting fustrated and the boys were getting restless. I headed north towards home and said we would stop at the Presbyterian church (PCUSA) if it was holding service currently. It was and we were only a smidge late. But, no nursery so the boys had to sit with us through service. This was a bigger church than the Methodist, but at a glance, fairly traditional (no contemporary service/ or hymnal). We did talk with the leader of the choir, who practically begged Brian to join, and he did mention that they bring in quite a bit of theatrical music when they can. They did have handbells (3.5 octavies). However, their language was still very patricarical and not inclusive, which was have become very used to with our last churches. We liked the musical prospects, but were quite concerned about the lack of kids and young people.
So what is left? There is another Presbyterian church west of us that I want to try. Brian suggested asking the cousins where they worship (at least we'll know there are kids).
Potty Training up-date
Well...we gave up.
Jude is stubborn and potty training while a four year old is running around too is insane.
We put him back in diapers this past month.
However... I think we are ready to start again.
During this break from PT, Jude has become way more vocal and can readily say diaper, potty, and pee. Now, he often will say potty right after he pees in his diaper. We also picked up a travel potty on sale so that we have a spare one in the car.
We picked up pull-up diapers tonight at the store and are practicing pulling them up and down. So, perhaps, this week, we will attempt no diapers.
Keeping our fingers crossed that our little dude can become a big boy dude!
Jude is stubborn and potty training while a four year old is running around too is insane.
We put him back in diapers this past month.
However... I think we are ready to start again.
During this break from PT, Jude has become way more vocal and can readily say diaper, potty, and pee. Now, he often will say potty right after he pees in his diaper. We also picked up a travel potty on sale so that we have a spare one in the car.
We picked up pull-up diapers tonight at the store and are practicing pulling them up and down. So, perhaps, this week, we will attempt no diapers.
Keeping our fingers crossed that our little dude can become a big boy dude!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)