10/29/10 - Harvest Festival

We had an unusual 10-day stretch of fall sunshine last week, so the family took advantage of the opportunity to revel in autumn festivities before the rain arrived.  On Friday we took the girls to the Hood River Harvest Festival in the Columbia Gorge.  

Eva and Amanda each painted their own pumpkin and then made seed pictures as Bethany enjoyed playing with a tub full of beans and seeds.   Eva tried out the bounce house, though Amanda was too nap-deprived to be interested.   They slept in the car as we drove home with our annual treats of fresh-squeezed apple cider, giant peaches and cinnamon roasted almonds.

 

Now that cold weather is here to stay, we’ve officially broken out the fall décor and put away the summer clothes.  Flannel sheets are on the beds, the candles all smell of cinnamon and spice, and our garage is once again being used as our back-up “cooler”.   I found pumpkin spice, gingerbread, and eggnog syrups at the grocery store, so we can make seasonal coffee drinks at home. 

 

Pumpkin Patch

On Saturday we went to a little family farm called Twisted Creek Ranch, driving past the enormous crowds at Liepold farms in favor of a lesser-known pumpkin patch.   Each of the girls got a bag of food to hand-feed the animals, which enthralled them.   The farm had a llama, emus, goats, pigs, chickens, horses and rabbits. 

Even Bethany got to pet a little pygmy goat as it tried to nibble the food at her feet, though she cried indignantly when it tried to sniff her face.  The girls each got to ride a pony as it was led around the field by an attendant, which was a new adventure for them (not just in a circle around a pole like they do at fairs).  

 

Daddy pulled them in a wagon through the pumpkin patch and they enjoyed a free cup of hot cocoa in the little store as Bethany played with a tic-tac-toe game made of carved wooden pieces.  There was a playground, too, though the girls were too tired at the end of our visit to make much use of it.  It was nice to have a quieter family experience, though, and we definitely plan to return next year. 

 

Eva Starts Reading

Eva read her first words yesterday!  I took 5 lower-case letters from a puzzle and rearranged them into different words so she could sound them out, like “man,” “tan,” “Sam,” “sat,” etc.   She’s known her letter sounds for awhile, but this is the first time we’ve worked with them in combination with other letters to create words.  It was fun to see the light of recognition go off in her head as she realized that changing the letters around created different words.   She was so excited and said, “I can read!   Can I read a whole book now?”   I broke out “Green Eggs & Ham” and had her read the parts she already knew, like “Sam-I-Am”.  She was so proud to show Dave her new accomplishment when he got home.

 

Eva really enjoys school.  Every morning after breakfast she asks me, “Can we do school now?”  She especially enjoys the activities, which Amanda also loves because she can join in.  On week “A is for Apple,” the curriculum gave a recipe for making homemade applesauce.  It was so easy and tasty, the girls begged to do it again (of course, my version tastes more like pie filling, LOL).   During “N is for Nest”, the listed activity was to make a birds nest craft out of twigs, grass, paper and mud.   If we’re going to make that kind of mess, I prefer it be edible, so we made Birds Nest cookies instead from Cocoa Pebbles (gluten-free), coconut and a peanut butter mixture, topped off with jelly bean eggs.  It was a big hit!

 

This week is Eva’s final reading readiness class at the library.  They’ve worked on sequencing, problem solving, sorting, textures, and other topics for the past 8 weeks, and the best part is, it’s free!  It’s been some fun one-on-one time with Mommy, though, which we both enjoyed.  Next year Amanda will be old enough for the Preschool level class, and it’ll be her turn. 

Little Lady

Amanda wants to wear dresses all the time. Even if we put her in pants, she wants a skirt for every outfit.  Since dresses are usually more of a summer thing, it was originally hard to find some warm enough, but I managed to track down several at the used children’s clothing store.  Amanda calls them her “princess dresses” and wears them at every opportunity, embellishing them with a “crown” (headband) and “glass slippers” (dress shoes).  How did I get such a girly girl?

New Toddler

Bethany is reveling in her newfound biped status, toddling around the house as quickly as her short little legs can carry her.  She still stumbles and loses her balance a lot, but she no longer prefers crawling to walking.   She’s fascinated by pushing buttons and tries to snatch the remote control whenever it’s within reach.   She also loves playing with the girls’ baby dolls, holding them to her chest and patting them on the back like a devoted little mommy. 

 

Though she’s still mostly eating baby food, Bethany wants to eat whatever she sees us eating, and gets upset if we don’t give her a taste.  She can manage things like graham crackers that soften in her mouth.  I let her try as much as I think is safe, but with only four front teeth and no molars fully emerged yet, she’s limited by the fact that she can’t chew everything she’s interested in yet. 

 

Working Out

Dave got himself a treadmill to help burn off stress when the weather makes cycling impossible.  He set it up in the garage and made himself a “man cave”.  He also has his bike set up on a trainer to ride indoors, and propped the girls’ training wheels up on blocks so they can ride their bikes right along with him.  They crank up the music and burn off all that extra energy.  It’s like a miniature spin class. 

Bribery

In the trenches of potty training, nothing seems to work so well as a well-placed bribe (mind you, we don’t use this tactic in any other arena of parenting, but this is one area that is completely up to the child and needs to be a positive experience, or it backfires).  Eva has been resisting wiping her own bottom for months, afraid of getting her hands dirty. I finally told her if she went several days in a row without mommy having to wipe her, she could have an Ariel doll.  That was apparently all she needed to hear.  A few days later we took her to buy the doll and she proudly announced to the check-out clerk, “I’m a big girl now and I wipe my own bottom!”   The clerk looked at me and said, “TMI!”  Yep, there are no secrets with kids.  Now we’re waiting for Amanda to decide that she wants that Snow White doll badly enough to give up the training pants and start using the toilet for both.

Twisted Creek Ranch Oct '10

Feeding animals, pumpkin patch, pony rides.

Painting Pumpkins Oct 2010

Hood River Harvest Festival

Bethany's 1st Month

How quickly they grow!

Bethany Walks Sept 2010

10/01/10 - Baby Steps

Ladies and gentlemen, we officially have a walker!  Bethany beat both of her sisters by taking her first wobbly steps two weeks before her first birthday (Eva and Amanda both walked at 14 months).   She still crawls the majority of the time (it’s much faster), but every day she tries to walk a little further.  Right now she’s up to about six unassisted steps before she drops.  She took her first steps on September 5th, just a few hours after we learned of Grandma’s Geri’s passing.   It was a bittersweet day, especially since one of my first reactions was, “we have to call Grandma and let her know,” followed by the sad realization that that was no longer possible. 

 

Bethany Turns 1

Bethany had her first birthday on September 19^th.   I made cupcakes (regular and gluten-free) and planned to have a little family party over lunch, but Dave got delayed at work and Amanda couldn’t delay her nap any longer, so we waited and celebrated that evening after church group.   As is tradition, I gave Bethany her own cupcake to play with, eat, or destroy to her heart’s content.  Eva and Amanda were aghast, making comments like “Bethany’s making a mess!  Why is she smashing it?  It’s in her lap!”  Amanda even ran into the next room to bring me a wet wipe.  J   Bethany seemed rather unimpressed overall, preferring to quietly play with it more than eat it (she’s really not interested in putting things in her mouth unless they feel good for her sore gums to chew on).   We let her open a present from Aunt Laura (and a little later, one from Aunt Nanci), but we’re waiting to give her our present until we celebrate a family party with Grandma and Grandpa next week. 

Home Sweet Home School

Eva has started Kindergarten, and right now is on week two of the curriculum.  Last week the letter was “S” and the science theme was “sun”.  This week the letter is “M”, and the theme is “Moon” (they introduce the letters most often used first, rather than chronologically, so that kids can start sounding out small words within a few weeks).    So far it’s been pretty successful.  Eva has learned all about light and shadows, and loves to show me how she can duplicate the process with a flashlight.  Now she’s learning how the moon reflects the sun’s light and the names of its phases.  She’s also learning how to hold her pencil properly and improve her penmanship when she writes her letters (which she already knew), and is doing basic math exercises.  We’ve also talked about how Jesus is the Light of the world, and we are supposed to reflect His love just like the moon reflects the sun’s light.  Every week has a series of worksheets, recommended activities and simple experiments, and a list of books to check out from the library which further illustrate the theme.  Amanda likes to join in, so I make photocopies of the worksheets for her to scribble on and let her help with the activities (like drawing the moon’s phases with white crayon on black construction paper). 

 

Eva’s curriculum may be pretty straightforward, but when it comes to the Journalism class I’m teaching at our local “Monday School” home school co-op, it’s a work in progress.  How much can you teach in just 8 weekly 45-minute sessions?  More than I originally thought, apparently.   I have seven students, ages 12 to 16, and figured out pretty quickly that my lesson plan wasn’t challenging enough for them, so now I’m taking one week at a time when it comes to class prep.   The first day I ended up covering two lessons: different types of media and news sources, the role of the “gatekeeper”, headlines, bylines and leads, and the  “5W’s & H” (who, what, when, where, why, & how).   The second week we talked about the difference between news and features, “hard” leads and “soft” leads, and what makes a story newsworthy (timeliness, proximity, impact, etc.).  Then I had them practice identifying elements in printed news stories and writing their own headlines, bylines and leads.  Next week I’m planning to have them look at several different versions of the same news story, and see if they can differentiate how the stories are covered based on the audience each paper or news station is trying to reach, the frequency of their publication/broadcast, the region they cover, and which elements each emphasizes as the most important points in the story, etc.   I know they’re interested in putting together their own paper, but I’ll have to see how we can do that with just my laptop and a borrowed printer. 

Tiny Dancer

I signed Eva up for beginning ballet classes on Tuesday afternoons.  It’s a good way for her to get some exercise, to learn to be aware of her body and that she can control her movements with a little practice, discipline and forethought.  At first she didn’t like it because there were a couple of more experienced girls in her class who already some of the movements, and Eva (ever the perfectionist) became quickly frustrated that she couldn’t immediately do the same.  But now she’s starting to enjoy it, and loves to show us what she’s learned when we get home (parents aren’t allowed in the class, so I just watch through the window while entertaining Amanda and Bethany). 

 

Whatever Eva learns, she immediately wants to teach Amanda so they can play it together.   When she did swim classes over the summer, I caught Eva trying to give Amanda swimming lessons in the tub, telling her to put her face in the water and blow bubbles.   Now that it’s ballet, Eva will pretend she’s the teacher and tell Amanda how to hold her feet and point her toes.  Amanda goes along with it good-naturedly for the most part, but I’ve learned to be more watchful when Eva chooses the game.   Last month she decided to play “hairdresser” and cut Amanda’s hair three days in a row.  The first day I found some of Amanda’s golden locks (and some from a toy horse) stashed with the preschool scissors in a drawer (she had done a good job and Amanda’s hair was already layered, so I didn’t notice at first).   The second day I noticed her hair was again shorter, and Eva confessed she’d found the scissors that I’d hidden.  The third day Amanda came running into my bedroom at 7:30am to yell, “Eva cutting my hair!”, and it turned out she’d found another forgotten pair of scissors in a kitchen drawer.   Now she’s only allowed to use scissors under direct supervision for school projects, and then they’re quickly confiscated.

Attachment

Eva is very imaginative and will become very absorbed in whatever she’s playing, but Amanda gets attached to specific toys for days at a time, keeping them close by her wherever she goes.  Usually it’s a set of plastic animals (mommy and baby elephant, giraffe, or zebra) or a princess doll (Cinderella, Belle), but this week it was a little folding calculator she found that she called her “computer” (apparently imitating my laptop).   She brought it with her to Eva’s ballet class and accidentally left it behind, unaware that it was gone until we were almost home.   It was near dinner time, the baby was crying, and I was pretty sure I’d seen it in the diaper bag, so I didn’t go back for it, which made Amanda really upset.  But she soon found a replacement at home and has been carrying it around ever since.  Heaven help us if we lose this one!  

 

Budding Artist

Eva is so creative.  She loves to draw, paint and color, and is constantly making pictures and cards for people she knows.   You can tell what is going on in her busy little brain by what she chooses to draw.  One day it’ll be elephants marching on parade or horses running across the page, which means she’s picturing a scene from “Dumbo” or “Spirit”.   Or a picture of her with her face underwater (swim class), or our swing set and bicycles, or a tree with a bird or squirrel in it (both make frequent appearances).   Then she’ll proudly display her handiwork and explain all the pieces in it, and tell us, “I’m going to give this to Kasey (Grandma, Nanci, etc.)!”  Then she’ll ask for an envelope and write the person’s name on it (asking for each letter…”what comes next?”). 

 

Work & Play

I haven’t been very good up until now about having the girls participate in household chores other than picking up their own toys, but I’m realizing that I lose an opportunity if I don’t teach them when they’re little and eager to help.  Eva is already to the point where she’s not always interested in helping me anymore, and it’s too much for me to try and keep up with three little mess-makers.  So now I’m doing my best to try and make the girls feel like important, contributing members of the family.   Though they’re still not good at folding, I’ve taught Eva and Amanda to put away their folded clothes in the right drawers.  I moved their plastic plates, bowls and cups to a bottom drawer so they can put away their own dishes from the dishwasher, or set their own place at the table.  They’re both learning how to sort the laundry into lights and darks, and put the hampers away.  I let Eva spoon tuna fish onto her own crackers, and proudly carry the finished plate to the table.  And I’m trying to remember to have them clean up their own spills and messes as much as they are able.  I have to be creative sometimes to think of ways they can help rather than just jump it and do it myself, but I trust that the effort will be worth it one day when they can be independent without mommy to play housemaid for them.   

 

Little Monkey

Amanda likes to climb and jump on everything, which has led Dave to nickname her “little monkey”, or “monk” for short.   A couple of weeks ago she tried to swing on the kitchen curtain and broke the curtain rod (thankfully it just popped off the wall and Dave was able to fix it. It helps to have a handyman in the family with kids around!).    Eva is getting too big for her toddler bed, so we’ve talked about getting bunk beds, but I keep putting it off.   I know Eva would be cautious and probably want to sleep on the lower bunk, but Amanda would be the first to fearlessly jump off the top and break her arm.   I joked that this winter we were going to need a rock wall or jungle gym indoors to keep the girls from climbing the furniture, but my parents gave us a small trampoline that my brother and sister had outgrown.  Perfect!   They love to jump on it, and now mommy has an alternative to offer them when they get the urge to jump on the couch or bed. 

 

Baby Games

Bethany’s favorite game right now is to throw a toy away from her and get someone to hand it back, over and over again.  Luckily for her, her sisters tend to find this exercise almost as entertaining as she does, and are usually more than willing to volunteer as retrievers.   She also likes hand us toys and wait for us to hand them back to her, like a passing game.  Since she’s started cruising around the house, there’s no shortage of things she’ll find on the floor to “pass” to us. 

 

Like the other girls, I don’t really have set nap times for Bethany, preferring to put her down whenever she seems to be getting tired.  At this point I know that’s going to be once in the morning and once in the afternoon, usually around 10am and 2pm, but it varies (especially when she’s teething).   She is the first of the girls who actually goes to sleep better if I lay her down while still awake – at least during the day.  If I try to nurse her to sleep like I did with her sisters, she gets distracted and won’t go down.  At night it’s a different story, though.  The house is quiet, her sisters are asleep, and she wants all the one-on-one mommy time she can get. 

 

Bethany has four teeth now, two up top and two on the bottom.  She also has stubborn lower molars that are half emerged but seem in no hurry to finish arriving.  With so few teeth, Bethany still eats mostly soft baby food.  She’s interested in grabbing or playing with “big people” food, but rarely does more than suck on it.  Chewing still appears to be a foreign concept, except with teethers. 

Check Ups

We’ve been without insurance for almost a year now, but thankfully have a great naturopath and pay cash for most things (like the chiropractor) anyway.   Eva needed new glasses finally, so we got her an updated exam and new prescription that should last her for another 2 years.   Thankfully Amanda and Bethany haven’t exhibited any problems in that department.

 

I took the girls to the dentist for the first time since Amanda’s root canal last year, and thankfully Amanda appeared not to remember the place at all.  She climbed right into the chair and was excited about the Snow White sunglasses they gave her to wear (against the bright lights).  She calmly allowed the hygienist to clean her teeth while I sat next to her chair with Bethany on my lap and Eva observed quietly.  She plopped down afterwards to say, “I did it all by myself!  I like going to the dentist!”

 

A couple of weeks later was Eva’s turn, and she needed two fillings.  But when I arrived, they pointed to a new sign declaring that parents were no longer permitted into the patient area.  Something to do with HIPPA and OCSA regulations.  I knew she needed the fillings and didn’t want to have to come back, so I allowed them to take Eva back without me.  Almost immediately I regretted it.  I told an assistant that Eva had never been in a dentist chair before and was afraid of loud noises (like the toilets in public restrooms).  The day before Dave had been explaining the how the doctor was going to fill holes in her teeth, and she had kept anxiously asking if the drill was loud.   I asked her to come get me if Eva seemed afraid or started crying.  She assured me that wouldn’t be necessary.  

 

Soon Eva came into the waiting room, a cotton swab in her mouth and eyes red from crying.  The dentist told me she had done well until the last ten minutes, when she started to cry because the numbness scared her and she couldn’t feel her bottom jaw.  I was kicking myself that I had allowed her to go through such a traumatic experience alone.  As a child I was terrified of the dentist (I had a lot of teeth pulled), but my parents were always allowed to be nearby, hold my hand, or sometimes even have me sit in their lap. 

 

When we got home, I called to complain at such an abrupt change of policy without notice.  They told me that it was a regulation that they hadn't been enforcing up until now, but now they had to start complying with it (maybe they got a recent inspection?). If that's true, then all the dentists in the area will be forced to do the same thing.  Supposedly it has to do with safety in case some dental tool fell and poked us, and the privacy of the patient in the next chair.   But I’m willing to brave any potential hazards for the sake of my child, and they can always take a patient into another room to discuss treatment if they want that much privacy.   These regulations are getting so ridiculous, they don't consider the unintended consequences, like a terrified little girl who doesn't understand why her mommy isn't there to tell her everything's going to be OK.  I've since tried calling HHS and OSHA, and nobody knows what I'm talking about and keeps transferring me.  Now I’m looking for whoever’s office door I need to pound on. 

 

Eva is already showing signs of overcrowding and other dental problems which, in my case, led them to pull my baby teeth (they wouldn’t come loose, forcing the adult teeth to come in behind or in front of them).   There’s no way in hell I’m going to let Eva suffer through another procedure without her mother by her side!