We have been "working on" the letter B for several weeks- not that it takes JoElle that long to learn it, that took a few minutes, I just had too much going on with me. But today we finally learned to write B and b.
Some things covered today:
-practicing writing JoElle, the last e is a challenge for her
-writing B and b
-discussing the difference between b and d: b is a line then a circle, d is a circle then a line
-read the word "birthday" and the two words that comprise the word "birth" and "day"
- JoElle traced the B's and b's, then colored the B and b and the bee
- B makes the "buh" sound
This only takes us 10-15 minutes at the most.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Monday, September 15, 2008
Alexa lately: 6 1/2 months old
Lately Alexa has started to whimper for me. If anyone else is holding her, even Daddy, and she sees me somewhere or walk by her or through the room, she whines. It's cute and funny.
She also whines for whatever she wants. For instance, if she wants a drink of what you are drinking or a bite of your food, she whimpers like a little puppy!
Alexa still calms down when we turn the "Backyardigans" on t.v. She loves that show! She likes to play in JoElle's room (which will one day be her room too, when she can walk and sleep in the toddler bed). We let her play with the Little People toys, like the bus and the kids that go with it. She loves playing in JoElle's room!
She is working on her pincher grip, using her thumb and her forefinger to pick up food. She is pretty close to mastering it. It sure does make it easier for her to feed herself! She is not interested in pureed baby food, the only thing she will eat that is even similar to baby food is organic brown rice cereal. She used to love pureed organinc zuchini, blueberries, bananas and sometimes carrots and parsnips. Now she would rather eat anything we are eating!
Recently, Alexa ate organic mac and cheese with me which I added ground beef and salsa too. It was a little spicy, but she doesn't mind! She didn't get much of a tummy ache (as far as we know, she is lactose intolerant like JoElle was and Daddy still is, she is still on lactose free formula), she had some gas, but nothing serious. Also lately, she ate Panda Express with JoElle and me, she ate Orange Chicken, which is quite spicy, and she was fine.
JoElle loves to eat spicy food, she asks to go pick up hot wings all the time, she loves them from Wingstop and she doesn't use ranch. She eats the original hot wings, which are quite hot! JoElle also likes to eat jalapenos and other peppers by themselves.
As for bedtime, JoElle does not want to sleep, she gave up naps right after she turned 1, it has always been a struggle since then to get her to bed by 9:00, even when she had to wake up to go to daycare when I was working. Now, we are lucky if she is in bed by 10, sometimes it is more like 11 or midnight. She has so much energy, she could go on 5-6 hours of sleep and be fine, no crankiness or anything. This is how I was when I was young, too. I remember being in elementary school, as young as Kindergarten, and staying up until 2-3 a.m. reading or watching t.v. while everyone else in the house slept, including my mom!
JoElle still wakes up by 8 a.m. or earlier, full of energy and ready for the day to begin! She is not cranky when she is tired, only when she is hungry does she get cranky, just like me :) Lately, we have found JoElle falls asleep best if she is laying with me or Daddy. She will typically fall right to sleep and then we can put her in her bed for the rest of the night, I think a lot of it is security, she feels safe next to us.
As for Alexa, she is a great sleeper really, she typically takes 2-3 naps a day, she is up around 8:30-9:00 a.m. and is ready for another nap by 10-10:30 a.m. She takes another nap in the afternoon, this time is not very predictable unless we are driving in the car, then she will surely sleep! Sometimes she takes another nap around 4-6 p.m., usually not very long, maybe an hour. As for bedtime, she gets fussy and fidgety somewhere around 8-9 p.m. and she will either fall asleep as I or Daddy holds her, or she won't stay still so I put her down in her crib awake, giver her a blanket and turn on her mobile, then rush out of the room before she can look back for me and start crying! This works really well, she usually grins really big when I put her in her bed and she loves blankets. She sometimes cries a little bit as she gets comfortable, then she will find her fingers to suck and turn onto her tummy and fall asleep.
Lately, she cries when I lay her down, so I start rubbing her side under her arms and she giggles like crazy instead of crying because she is so ticklish!! It is really cute.
She also whines for whatever she wants. For instance, if she wants a drink of what you are drinking or a bite of your food, she whimpers like a little puppy!
Alexa still calms down when we turn the "Backyardigans" on t.v. She loves that show! She likes to play in JoElle's room (which will one day be her room too, when she can walk and sleep in the toddler bed). We let her play with the Little People toys, like the bus and the kids that go with it. She loves playing in JoElle's room!
She is working on her pincher grip, using her thumb and her forefinger to pick up food. She is pretty close to mastering it. It sure does make it easier for her to feed herself! She is not interested in pureed baby food, the only thing she will eat that is even similar to baby food is organic brown rice cereal. She used to love pureed organinc zuchini, blueberries, bananas and sometimes carrots and parsnips. Now she would rather eat anything we are eating!
Recently, Alexa ate organic mac and cheese with me which I added ground beef and salsa too. It was a little spicy, but she doesn't mind! She didn't get much of a tummy ache (as far as we know, she is lactose intolerant like JoElle was and Daddy still is, she is still on lactose free formula), she had some gas, but nothing serious. Also lately, she ate Panda Express with JoElle and me, she ate Orange Chicken, which is quite spicy, and she was fine.
JoElle loves to eat spicy food, she asks to go pick up hot wings all the time, she loves them from Wingstop and she doesn't use ranch. She eats the original hot wings, which are quite hot! JoElle also likes to eat jalapenos and other peppers by themselves.
As for bedtime, JoElle does not want to sleep, she gave up naps right after she turned 1, it has always been a struggle since then to get her to bed by 9:00, even when she had to wake up to go to daycare when I was working. Now, we are lucky if she is in bed by 10, sometimes it is more like 11 or midnight. She has so much energy, she could go on 5-6 hours of sleep and be fine, no crankiness or anything. This is how I was when I was young, too. I remember being in elementary school, as young as Kindergarten, and staying up until 2-3 a.m. reading or watching t.v. while everyone else in the house slept, including my mom!
JoElle still wakes up by 8 a.m. or earlier, full of energy and ready for the day to begin! She is not cranky when she is tired, only when she is hungry does she get cranky, just like me :) Lately, we have found JoElle falls asleep best if she is laying with me or Daddy. She will typically fall right to sleep and then we can put her in her bed for the rest of the night, I think a lot of it is security, she feels safe next to us.
As for Alexa, she is a great sleeper really, she typically takes 2-3 naps a day, she is up around 8:30-9:00 a.m. and is ready for another nap by 10-10:30 a.m. She takes another nap in the afternoon, this time is not very predictable unless we are driving in the car, then she will surely sleep! Sometimes she takes another nap around 4-6 p.m., usually not very long, maybe an hour. As for bedtime, she gets fussy and fidgety somewhere around 8-9 p.m. and she will either fall asleep as I or Daddy holds her, or she won't stay still so I put her down in her crib awake, giver her a blanket and turn on her mobile, then rush out of the room before she can look back for me and start crying! This works really well, she usually grins really big when I put her in her bed and she loves blankets. She sometimes cries a little bit as she gets comfortable, then she will find her fingers to suck and turn onto her tummy and fall asleep.
Lately, she cries when I lay her down, so I start rubbing her side under her arms and she giggles like crazy instead of crying because she is so ticklish!! It is really cute.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
So close to crawling and pulling up!
Alexa is so very close to crawling! She is constantly rocking back and forth on all fours, "crawling" backwards, and a few days ago, she started to put one knee forward, and at other times, but the other knew a little forward.
While on all fours, she also lifts her knees off of the ground like she is in some sort of plank yoga pose, then she starts to scoot her hand back towards her feet and she tries to stand up. Our only guess is that she is trying to pull up/ stand up on her own. Alexa is pretty good at holding on to her stationary activity center or the ottoman by herself.
She is so great at rolling every which way that last week she was literally all over the living room floor. She gravitates toward the t.v. (I found her under the t.v. armoire chewing on JoElle's Leap Frog computer cord, or to my dad's recliner. She can get back and forth around the room rather fast. What is extremely funny is when I turn Backyardigans on, as soon as she hears them singing their opening song, she stops whatever she is doing, twists, contorts, cranes her neck and arches her back, whatever it takes to see them! She also calms down when waiting for a bottle to be cleaned and made if we turn this on for her. JoElle loves to watch it too, it's a very cute show.
While on all fours, she also lifts her knees off of the ground like she is in some sort of plank yoga pose, then she starts to scoot her hand back towards her feet and she tries to stand up. Our only guess is that she is trying to pull up/ stand up on her own. Alexa is pretty good at holding on to her stationary activity center or the ottoman by herself.
She is so great at rolling every which way that last week she was literally all over the living room floor. She gravitates toward the t.v. (I found her under the t.v. armoire chewing on JoElle's Leap Frog computer cord, or to my dad's recliner. She can get back and forth around the room rather fast. What is extremely funny is when I turn Backyardigans on, as soon as she hears them singing their opening song, she stops whatever she is doing, twists, contorts, cranes her neck and arches her back, whatever it takes to see them! She also calms down when waiting for a bottle to be cleaned and made if we turn this on for her. JoElle loves to watch it too, it's a very cute show.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Alexa's 6 month checkup
Alexa now weighs 18 lbs 12 oz (90 percentile for weight, meaning she is bigger than 90 percent of girls her age) and is 26 inches long (which is 75 percentile for height.)
Her head remains consistently small at 25 percentile. She got a sleuth of shots, as always, she cried a lot when the nurse was sticking her, 3 injections plus one oral vaccine. But this time, when I picked her up, she immediately stopped crying! Overall, Alexa is doing great!
She mostly wears 12-18 month old clothes :) Alexa is a pretty good eater, she enjoys the food that I make her, such as organic blueberries, papaya, zuchini; but even more so, she loves table food! She is happy with anything she can get her hands on, literally. One of her favorite things to eat is paper, such as JoElle's artwork, computer paper, envelopes and mail, oh yeah can't forget receipts! Alexa has my receipts in her mouth just as soon as they hand them to me at any store. The other day at McDonald's, Alexa was chomping away at the receipt and the person working there pointed out that she was eating the receipt, I responded with a polite, yes I know, she likes to eat paper. The lady looked at me as if I were a little strange, all the while I am thinking how strange she is, who cares if she eats the receipt anyways? More fiber I've heard.
Alexa loves to chomp on bread, chips, fries, she ate black-eyed peas recently, can't forget bananas, she enjoys the crust of pizza, we let her have some chocolate birthday cake from JoElle's birthday party for her baby and her girl monster (one of her imaginary friends). Last week, she ate Orange Chicken from Panda Express, even though it is a bit spicy!
Her head remains consistently small at 25 percentile. She got a sleuth of shots, as always, she cried a lot when the nurse was sticking her, 3 injections plus one oral vaccine. But this time, when I picked her up, she immediately stopped crying! Overall, Alexa is doing great!
She mostly wears 12-18 month old clothes :) Alexa is a pretty good eater, she enjoys the food that I make her, such as organic blueberries, papaya, zuchini; but even more so, she loves table food! She is happy with anything she can get her hands on, literally. One of her favorite things to eat is paper, such as JoElle's artwork, computer paper, envelopes and mail, oh yeah can't forget receipts! Alexa has my receipts in her mouth just as soon as they hand them to me at any store. The other day at McDonald's, Alexa was chomping away at the receipt and the person working there pointed out that she was eating the receipt, I responded with a polite, yes I know, she likes to eat paper. The lady looked at me as if I were a little strange, all the while I am thinking how strange she is, who cares if she eats the receipt anyways? More fiber I've heard.
Alexa loves to chomp on bread, chips, fries, she ate black-eyed peas recently, can't forget bananas, she enjoys the crust of pizza, we let her have some chocolate birthday cake from JoElle's birthday party for her baby and her girl monster (one of her imaginary friends). Last week, she ate Orange Chicken from Panda Express, even though it is a bit spicy!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Alexa: 6 months old and learning so much!
September 3rd, 2008: Her 3rd tooth broke through today, the top right front tooth.
September 2nd, 2008: she learned how to get to a sitting position from all fours!
September 1, 2008: Alexa started waving bye-bye with her right hand at JoElle riding her bike!
September 2nd, 2008: she learned how to get to a sitting position from all fours!
September 1, 2008: Alexa started waving bye-bye with her right hand at JoElle riding her bike!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Letter A: First week of "learning" our ABC's (and more...)
The Letter A: Big A, Little a, What begins with A?
Apple, alligator, ant, armadillo
Some of our activities:
-colored pictures of each word above
-learned to read each word
-talked about the different sounds that A makes
-hung the words on the wall along with our drawings
-began constructio nof our Word Wall
-learned to write big A and little a
-learned to spell JoElle's name out loud
-learned to write JoElle's name
Apple, alligator, ant, armadillo
Some of our activities:
-colored pictures of each word above
-learned to read each word
-talked about the different sounds that A makes
-hung the words on the wall along with our drawings
-began constructio nof our Word Wall
-learned to write big A and little a
-learned to spell JoElle's name out loud
-learned to write JoElle's name
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Several posts...
August 28, 2008 Alexa's 6 month checkup
Alexa now weighs 18lbs 12 oz (90 percentile for weight) and is 26 inches long (75 percentil for heighth). Her head remains consistently small at 256 percentile. She got a sleuth of shots; she is doing great!
August 31, 2008 Alexa learned to wave bye-bye!
Week of August 18th- JoElle learned to spell her name
I finally have the time, energry and patience to really teach JoElle- so I decided to teach her how to spell her name (out loud). She has recognized her name in writing for the past two years or so, it only took a few days for her to learn to spell it. She is also learning how to spell Alexa's name.
JoElle loves to watch Superwhy on t.v., we watch it together and learn different letters, words, and sounds the letters make. It is really great for learning how to read. She also enjoys the PBS Sprout website- she is on it at least twice a day playing (i.e. learning). She is getting to be a pro at the internet and computer. She can pull up Internet Explorer, minimize and mazimize screens, go back to previous pages, X out of windows, pull up her blog, my blog and PBS Sprout's site, move the icons around on our desktop, pull up and type in Word and Excel, pull up and paint using the Paint program, type her password for her e-mail address sign-in, pull up Christian videos on You Tube..and much more!!
August 24, 2005 Alexa is 6 months old - rolling to her tummy
Alexa learned a lot today! She learned to roll from her back to her tummy (she was trying to get closer to her sister!)
Also, she started rocking back and forth on all fours- she is close to crawling! Uh oh, we are in for some trouble soon- there's so much for her to get into!!!
One last thing- Alexa started blowing raspberries with all her drool (she is teething again- the top twop front teeth are trying to come in).
August 24, 2005
We all went to church together since JoElle was asking to go to big church and Alexa is super fussy with everyone else this week from teething. We participated in big church in the cry room and Nana joined us.
April 22, 2008 Alexa's 8 week (2 month) check up
8 week checkup- Alexa weighed 11 lbs 2 oz and was 24 inches long - 75% for both height and weight; her head is tiny, 25 percentile- she has gained almost 4 lbs since birth and grown 4 inches!
JoElle at 8 weeks was 11 lbs 9 oz and 23.5 inches- but she started out bigger- 9 lbs and 20.25 at birth compared to Alexa's 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches at birth!
August 3 rd, 2008 Alexa: 5 months
Alexa finally learned how to sit up on her own, unassisted! Also, she has really discovered and can reach her feet. She loves to smile at us and show of her cute pearly teeth! She also loves to talk really loudly, giggle at JoElle and anyone else who is silly in front of her!
July 19, 2008 - Alexa is almost 5 months old
Alexa's first tooth, the bottom left, popped in today! Then, two days later, her next teeth popped through her gums, the bottom right. She also ate pureed blueberries for the first time and loves them!
6-15-05 Father's Day
Happy Father's Day to Daddy- from JoElle, Alexa and Megan We love you :)
Alexa started rolling onto her side from her back today; she loves to pull her legs up to her chest, too. Alexa is very interested in the t.v. - she loves to watch certain programs such as the Wiggles, football games, basketball games, and some other action-packed shows. She would rather we put her down on the floor or in her swing or bouncer to watch t.v. than to hold her.
Alexa loves to "talk" to Daddy and to objects, like the t.v. She loves her Daddy!
Alexa now weighs 18lbs 12 oz (90 percentile for weight) and is 26 inches long (75 percentil for heighth). Her head remains consistently small at 256 percentile. She got a sleuth of shots; she is doing great!
August 31, 2008 Alexa learned to wave bye-bye!
Week of August 18th- JoElle learned to spell her name
I finally have the time, energry and patience to really teach JoElle- so I decided to teach her how to spell her name (out loud). She has recognized her name in writing for the past two years or so, it only took a few days for her to learn to spell it. She is also learning how to spell Alexa's name.
JoElle loves to watch Superwhy on t.v., we watch it together and learn different letters, words, and sounds the letters make. It is really great for learning how to read. She also enjoys the PBS Sprout website- she is on it at least twice a day playing (i.e. learning). She is getting to be a pro at the internet and computer. She can pull up Internet Explorer, minimize and mazimize screens, go back to previous pages, X out of windows, pull up her blog, my blog and PBS Sprout's site, move the icons around on our desktop, pull up and type in Word and Excel, pull up and paint using the Paint program, type her password for her e-mail address sign-in, pull up Christian videos on You Tube..and much more!!
August 24, 2005 Alexa is 6 months old - rolling to her tummy
Alexa learned a lot today! She learned to roll from her back to her tummy (she was trying to get closer to her sister!)
Also, she started rocking back and forth on all fours- she is close to crawling! Uh oh, we are in for some trouble soon- there's so much for her to get into!!!
One last thing- Alexa started blowing raspberries with all her drool (she is teething again- the top twop front teeth are trying to come in).
August 24, 2005
We all went to church together since JoElle was asking to go to big church and Alexa is super fussy with everyone else this week from teething. We participated in big church in the cry room and Nana joined us.
April 22, 2008 Alexa's 8 week (2 month) check up
8 week checkup- Alexa weighed 11 lbs 2 oz and was 24 inches long - 75% for both height and weight; her head is tiny, 25 percentile- she has gained almost 4 lbs since birth and grown 4 inches!
JoElle at 8 weeks was 11 lbs 9 oz and 23.5 inches- but she started out bigger- 9 lbs and 20.25 at birth compared to Alexa's 7 lbs 5 oz and 19 inches at birth!
August 3 rd, 2008 Alexa: 5 months
Alexa finally learned how to sit up on her own, unassisted! Also, she has really discovered and can reach her feet. She loves to smile at us and show of her cute pearly teeth! She also loves to talk really loudly, giggle at JoElle and anyone else who is silly in front of her!
July 19, 2008 - Alexa is almost 5 months old
Alexa's first tooth, the bottom left, popped in today! Then, two days later, her next teeth popped through her gums, the bottom right. She also ate pureed blueberries for the first time and loves them!
6-15-05 Father's Day
Happy Father's Day to Daddy- from JoElle, Alexa and Megan We love you :)
Alexa started rolling onto her side from her back today; she loves to pull her legs up to her chest, too. Alexa is very interested in the t.v. - she loves to watch certain programs such as the Wiggles, football games, basketball games, and some other action-packed shows. She would rather we put her down on the floor or in her swing or bouncer to watch t.v. than to hold her.
Alexa loves to "talk" to Daddy and to objects, like the t.v. She loves her Daddy!
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