Avery
We have been working with him in learning to tie his
shoes. Our first idea was to cover a box
with paper, punch holes in the top, and then we strung a shoe lace though the
holes to resemble the top of a shoe.
Similarly, we tried the same thing with a paper plate. Avery figured out how to tie his first knot
by chanting “criss, cross, applesauce, around and through the hole”. However, the “bunny ear” loops were hard for
his little hands to coordinate. Next, we
tried slipping the bunny ear loops through hex nuts to keep them in place so
that he could simply repeat the process of tying a knot using the bunny
ears. After he caught on using the hex
nuts, he surprised us one morning by tying his shoe all by himself without them
– (9/13/12)!
Avery’s sense of humor is developing. He shows a great interest in making people
laugh and telling jokes (that make sense to him anyways).
“It blinks my eyes!” – phrase Avery uses to describe
something sour
Avery’s preschool teacher let us know that he made her laugh
one day. They were coloring a picture of
Father Abraham, and Avery told her that he gave him “ogre feet”.
(criticized my driving) – “Ahhhhh! Mom!
When you turn, it’s like a merry-go-round!”
He tells me that he makes “tunnels” in his whipped yogurt.
Clint and Avery have several similarities. Clint has a competitive nature, and he has
told me that he was extremely competitive as a kid. Avery seems to show signs of this as well. For example, at breakfast, he was talking
about his flashlight that he takes to bed with him. He was comparing his flashlight to his
daddy’s and asked if his was bigger.
Clint humored him and told him yes.
Avery persisted by asking “Daddy, do you think my flashlight can win?”
“ice bolts” – icicles
“Did you know that you got juice in your nose?” – Avery,
being sick, was describing a running nose.
Aileen
Our family was having our photo taken for the church
directory, and Aileen spit up all over the black drop cloth the photographer
was using. Luckily, the bathroom had
paper towels we could use to clean most of it up.
She loves being outside!
Oftentimes, it is the best trick we try to calm her down. Sometimes, if we walk by a window, she will
fuss if we don’t take her outdoors.
Ever since she was born, Aileen is (as her birth nurse first
put it) “an aggressive eater”.
She is showing a more active, playful side. Although she cannot crawl yet, she will roll
all around the living room. If we sit
her up, she can stay upright for a short while until toppling over to reach
something.
Her curiosity has certainly blossomed motivating her to grab
at anything within her reach. The
pincher grasp is not quite fully developed, but she is using it somewhat to
pick up small yogurt melts. By now,
Aileen easily transfers a toy (or two!) from one hand to the other. If we try to take a toy away from her, she
vocally objects.
Avery must help her learn how to interact with others. He is her constant source of entertainment,
and she loves to respond and be his ever captive audience! Besides grunting, she coos, smiles, gurgles
and playfully interacts with us a lot of the day. When Aileen was first born, I thought she was
going to have a more reserved and quiet temperament. Now, I’m not so sure. She is still teaching us who she is and
revealing more of her sweet personality as she is more developed to express it. Aileen doesn’t mind receiving attention from
others, but she does get upset if she is away from her mommy for too long.
