I don't know much about development, and I try not to compare my kids to others (except to make sure something isn't WAY off). SO, this may not be so impressive on a comparison scale, but it's amazing to me to watch kids develop.
Eve still amazes me with her ability to walk in those huge high heels. Not that they're super high, but they're WAY bigger than her feet. Heck, she can even walk in my shoes with the big heavy clunky heels! Anyway, the other day she even climbed up in my chair, into my lap, and got back down without losing either one (of her smaller heels...not my huge shoes). I couldn't believe it. Especially given her height disadvantage. She still can't climb on the beds without a boost. Not because she doesn't have the skill, but because she doesn't have the height. The thing that really cracks me up about the shoes is watching her put them on. She grabs the shoe in one hand, and her foot in the other, and uses her hands to put them together. Very intentional with every move.
Eve is developing more and more of an attitude, and can definitely hold her own. We're working on that. Surely some of it is a little harbored frustration from a year and a half of having everything taken from her. We always knew John would get it some day...but she gives it to pretty much everyone. Like I said...working on it.
John amazes me for lots of reasons, but we'll stick to a few that stand out right now. I mentioned his memory before. The other day I put on his school t-shirt. He's only worn it once before. He asked me as he put it on if it was the shirt he wore to the pumpkin patch. Yep, that's the one time he wore it before. That was in October. He remembers what he wore 3 months ago!
I'm also really amazed by the skills he's picking up from the computer game he got for Christmas. It's a Thomas game that tells a story, asks questions throughout, and has games scattered in as well. The first time through he really couldn't do anything. Today was maybe the 4th or 5th time and he did almost all of it by himself...just a little verbal direction and encouragement from me. I was in the other room most of the time. He can now point and click the mouse where it needs to go (impressive since we're nearly positive he'll be a lefty), so it's good for motor skills. It also has puzzles where I've seen a huge improvement on his spacial skills (fitting pieces of track together that are the correct shape, and putting pieces of a picture in the right place to complete the picture) and problem solving. It's just crazy to me to see him doing so well on the computer! He loves it, too, so it really grabs his attention for learning (something I've never been able to do).
In all fairness, we're working on something with him too (don't want to single anyone out). Right now we're working on learning that it's OK to be angry, but we need to obey and be respectful even when we're angry. OK, really in ALL fairness...we're all working on that one :)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Random Updates
So what are the kids doing these days?
We're still working on staying in the same room. The other night John wanted to sleep in Eve's bed with her. Early evening she was crying because he had scooched his way in. I put her in the bed beside him and they did well getting to sleep. Around 1am I heard her crying again. I went in the room to find her on the floor beside the bed and John right at the edge. My best guess tells me he mistakenly rolled or moved over and pushed her out. He was completely asleep, even through her crying, so I'm sure it was a mistake, but the next morning we made the rule that he could sleep beside her bed, but not in it. Other than that bed time has worked well, but nap time is pretty shaky (or nonexistent).
Eve and John are both perfecting their walking in high heels...makes Daddy so proud :)
Eve has definitely become a hoarder and a hitter. Not quite sure what to do about this, but she hits when she's frustrated and just for fun. She thinks it's hilarious when we correct her.
John has been very excited about playing with other kids, maybe because the weather has been so cold and with colds and pink eye we've been stuck at home. Unfortunately, I think the weather has made some of his friends a little moody, and they haven't wanted to play with him. He's been so sweet showing off his toys, trying to share, and play together, and so sad to see him get rejected. I'm glad to see him making a move toward playing with other kids. I just explained that sometimes people are grumpy and they need some space. Poor kid. I think he's pretty cool.
Another addition to the Gospel according to John (Buckingham)...If you get mad, your tongue will fall out. Apparently he learned this at church last Saturday night. The lesson was on prayer. We haven't figured out the connection yet, but it's pretty funny.
Another embarrasing story I've got to record to use later. There's a weird kids show called Yo Gabba Gabba. We don't watch it because it's so weird, but the songs come on between shows sometimes. Anyway, one song repeats "there's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy". It's about eating different foods. The other day while John was in the bathroom #2 (I think he gets bored...he often plays and talks to himself) I caught him singing "there's a poopy in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy". So gross.
Two things that surprise me about them are 1. how much John is learning and his remarkable memory 2. how well Eve understands and follows directions.
We're still working on staying in the same room. The other night John wanted to sleep in Eve's bed with her. Early evening she was crying because he had scooched his way in. I put her in the bed beside him and they did well getting to sleep. Around 1am I heard her crying again. I went in the room to find her on the floor beside the bed and John right at the edge. My best guess tells me he mistakenly rolled or moved over and pushed her out. He was completely asleep, even through her crying, so I'm sure it was a mistake, but the next morning we made the rule that he could sleep beside her bed, but not in it. Other than that bed time has worked well, but nap time is pretty shaky (or nonexistent).
Eve and John are both perfecting their walking in high heels...makes Daddy so proud :)
Eve has definitely become a hoarder and a hitter. Not quite sure what to do about this, but she hits when she's frustrated and just for fun. She thinks it's hilarious when we correct her.
John has been very excited about playing with other kids, maybe because the weather has been so cold and with colds and pink eye we've been stuck at home. Unfortunately, I think the weather has made some of his friends a little moody, and they haven't wanted to play with him. He's been so sweet showing off his toys, trying to share, and play together, and so sad to see him get rejected. I'm glad to see him making a move toward playing with other kids. I just explained that sometimes people are grumpy and they need some space. Poor kid. I think he's pretty cool.
Another addition to the Gospel according to John (Buckingham)...If you get mad, your tongue will fall out. Apparently he learned this at church last Saturday night. The lesson was on prayer. We haven't figured out the connection yet, but it's pretty funny.
Another embarrasing story I've got to record to use later. There's a weird kids show called Yo Gabba Gabba. We don't watch it because it's so weird, but the songs come on between shows sometimes. Anyway, one song repeats "there's a party in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy". It's about eating different foods. The other day while John was in the bathroom #2 (I think he gets bored...he often plays and talks to himself) I caught him singing "there's a poopy in my tummy, so yummy, so yummy". So gross.
Two things that surprise me about them are 1. how much John is learning and his remarkable memory 2. how well Eve understands and follows directions.
Christmas Pictures
Finally the last batch of Christmas same time, but here's a sampling.
We had lots of fun eating...I mean decorating...gingerbread houses
This is why we don't send Christmas cards...we took a ton, and they all looked like this or worse
They were both excited Christmas Eve, just not ever at the same time
This was our special Christmas Eve "party". Yummy treats right before bed!
Getting Santa's cookies ready (and eating a few)
Christmas morning. Santa was good to us all.
The princess has gotten rather good at walking in those huge high heels...and John can now safely walk down the stairs in them :)
I'd say she's in the "hoarding" stage. She gathered all her presents together for protection.
Can you tell she loves shoes?
And of course, John enjoyed his cars
We had lots of fun eating...I mean decorating...gingerbread houses
This is why we don't send Christmas cards...we took a ton, and they all looked like this or worse
They were both excited Christmas Eve, just not ever at the same time
This was our special Christmas Eve "party". Yummy treats right before bed!
Getting Santa's cookies ready (and eating a few)
Christmas morning. Santa was good to us all.
The princess has gotten rather good at walking in those huge high heels...and John can now safely walk down the stairs in them :)
I'd say she's in the "hoarding" stage. She gathered all her presents together for protection.
Can you tell she loves shoes?
And of course, John enjoyed his carsWhat a fun time!
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Freedom!
Our newest news is that we have a new party room at Buckingham Palace. With Buck starting his own business and needing a quiet office at home, we officially turned John's bed back into a crib so he had no choice but to sleep in his big bed (or on the floor). The problem with that is that Eve has had a hard time getting to sleep for a nap. Mostly because John has been climbing in her crib and using it as a trampoline. SO, yesterday we took the front off Eve's crib to convert it to a day bed. Last night was the first night of FREEDOM (and PARTY!). I think it'll go fine...just not sure if either of them will get much sleep until the novely wears off. At least both seem to enjoy it.
Working backwards in time (and I'll post pictures as best I can later), this Monday (1/4/10) we had our ultrasound and got to see Baby Buck #3 again! Every time I've looked at how large I am, I swear there are two in there; although I've felt a decent amount of movement already, and it only feels like one. Well, it's official...I've just eaten way too many Christmas cookies. Definitely only one. Whew! I was to go on the record with this disclaimer about the ultrasound. For John and Eve we were sent to a fancy place, like a luxury salon. This was done in the doctor's office with lower tech equipment. SO, number 3, when you're wondering "Why didn't I get a video or many pictures...third one always gets the shaft!", well, we came equipped with DVDs and video tapes, but they just don't have the equipment. Not our fault. I was disappointed that we didn't get many pictures, but unlike John and Eve, this baby was moving all over the place, and we really couldn't get a good shot except a cute profile. We had decided to leave gender a surprise, but it was really tough not to look. The nurse said, "If you don't want to know, I'm about to get to that area, so don't look". It was so tempting to peek. Instead, she gave us a report of "gender - normal". At least that's good to know. Everything looked perfect and healthy, but because she kept saying to look away, we missed a lot of the ultrasound. We'll just have to wait a few more months to get a perfect view. So exciting. The only disappointment was John when he found out for sure he wasn't going to get both a baby John and a baby Eve. He still hasn't come to terms with it.
Working further back, we had a fun time ringing in the new year at a friend's party. The kids had a blast, then we came home and put them and us to bed well before the ball dropped. Well, we kept one eye open on the TV screen for good measure, but that's about all.
The week between Christmas and New Years was interesting. We had no heat in the house. We blocked off our room and had a space heater running, so we camped together for 4 nights. The first night was lots of fun...movie night, eating a picnic on the floor, camping out in Mama and Daddy's room, then spending the morning together as a family. Needless to say, the excitement wore off and we ended up spending a good bit of time at friends' and Grandma's house. John and Eve got to have a sleepover with Bella and Marco at Grandma's house and they had a ball! They really love spending time together, and it's fun to watch the cousins bond. Meanwhile we went to see a quick glimpse of Bella in the move "The Blindside". Cute movie, and neat to see her on the big screen. Just a few days prior I was standing at the sink and all of a sudden looked up to see her in a Haverty's (furniture) commercial. Neat.
Christmas was a blast. John has completely fallen into the trap of thinking Christmas is all about presents no matter how much we talk about Jesus. I don't think there's much of a way around that without taking drastic measures. It was so much fun to watch the kids, though. Christmas Eve we went to church (wound up at the second church we tried because ours had already filled up!) The kids actually did really well in the service thanks to the flashlights passed out at the very beginning. We had a little sugar snack and hot chocolate when we got home, dressed in our Christmas PJs, put out Santa's cookies, and headed to bed. John was in a big hurry to get to bed so Santa could come. He urged us to hurry as well. They were worn out, so they fell asleep pretty quickly. I didn't sleep hardly at all because I was so excited! Seriously. The kids woke up right around 7, normal time, and we headed downstairs for some mayhem. John knew exactly what to do. Eve took a while to catch on, but certainly became a champion unwrapper by the time we were through. Mom joined us for all, and it was lots of fun. Later in the day we went to Amy and Ryan's for a short while and had fun playing with cousins. Boy, Christmas is fun! We had a hard time convincing John that it was OK to take down the decorations and the trees, but we're still working on convincing him of the lights. We will soon be "those neighbors", but he loves them.
I suppose the only other thing to report is that John missed his Christmas party (I was so excited I was going to get to go) because he got pink eye. We've now passed it to almost everyone in the family along with our cold. Bummer on the Christmas party, but we had our own fun at home to make up for it.
Working backwards in time (and I'll post pictures as best I can later), this Monday (1/4/10) we had our ultrasound and got to see Baby Buck #3 again! Every time I've looked at how large I am, I swear there are two in there; although I've felt a decent amount of movement already, and it only feels like one. Well, it's official...I've just eaten way too many Christmas cookies. Definitely only one. Whew! I was to go on the record with this disclaimer about the ultrasound. For John and Eve we were sent to a fancy place, like a luxury salon. This was done in the doctor's office with lower tech equipment. SO, number 3, when you're wondering "Why didn't I get a video or many pictures...third one always gets the shaft!", well, we came equipped with DVDs and video tapes, but they just don't have the equipment. Not our fault. I was disappointed that we didn't get many pictures, but unlike John and Eve, this baby was moving all over the place, and we really couldn't get a good shot except a cute profile. We had decided to leave gender a surprise, but it was really tough not to look. The nurse said, "If you don't want to know, I'm about to get to that area, so don't look". It was so tempting to peek. Instead, she gave us a report of "gender - normal". At least that's good to know. Everything looked perfect and healthy, but because she kept saying to look away, we missed a lot of the ultrasound. We'll just have to wait a few more months to get a perfect view. So exciting. The only disappointment was John when he found out for sure he wasn't going to get both a baby John and a baby Eve. He still hasn't come to terms with it.
Working further back, we had a fun time ringing in the new year at a friend's party. The kids had a blast, then we came home and put them and us to bed well before the ball dropped. Well, we kept one eye open on the TV screen for good measure, but that's about all.
The week between Christmas and New Years was interesting. We had no heat in the house. We blocked off our room and had a space heater running, so we camped together for 4 nights. The first night was lots of fun...movie night, eating a picnic on the floor, camping out in Mama and Daddy's room, then spending the morning together as a family. Needless to say, the excitement wore off and we ended up spending a good bit of time at friends' and Grandma's house. John and Eve got to have a sleepover with Bella and Marco at Grandma's house and they had a ball! They really love spending time together, and it's fun to watch the cousins bond. Meanwhile we went to see a quick glimpse of Bella in the move "The Blindside". Cute movie, and neat to see her on the big screen. Just a few days prior I was standing at the sink and all of a sudden looked up to see her in a Haverty's (furniture) commercial. Neat.
Christmas was a blast. John has completely fallen into the trap of thinking Christmas is all about presents no matter how much we talk about Jesus. I don't think there's much of a way around that without taking drastic measures. It was so much fun to watch the kids, though. Christmas Eve we went to church (wound up at the second church we tried because ours had already filled up!) The kids actually did really well in the service thanks to the flashlights passed out at the very beginning. We had a little sugar snack and hot chocolate when we got home, dressed in our Christmas PJs, put out Santa's cookies, and headed to bed. John was in a big hurry to get to bed so Santa could come. He urged us to hurry as well. They were worn out, so they fell asleep pretty quickly. I didn't sleep hardly at all because I was so excited! Seriously. The kids woke up right around 7, normal time, and we headed downstairs for some mayhem. John knew exactly what to do. Eve took a while to catch on, but certainly became a champion unwrapper by the time we were through. Mom joined us for all, and it was lots of fun. Later in the day we went to Amy and Ryan's for a short while and had fun playing with cousins. Boy, Christmas is fun! We had a hard time convincing John that it was OK to take down the decorations and the trees, but we're still working on convincing him of the lights. We will soon be "those neighbors", but he loves them.
I suppose the only other thing to report is that John missed his Christmas party (I was so excited I was going to get to go) because he got pink eye. We've now passed it to almost everyone in the family along with our cold. Bummer on the Christmas party, but we had our own fun at home to make up for it.
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