I haven't written anything on here in a while. Brian came home on the 11th of May (2 days before my birthday/Mother's Day)... and he had to go back to Iraq on the 27th. He was here two weeks. It wasn't really long enough, but enjoyed having him home.
While he was here, we:
- Went to Heidi's 18-month well-baby check-up together (Heidi only had to get one shot this time and didn't even cry!)
- Bought a new tv
- Picked strawberries in the front yard
- Went to the PX and the commissary
- Bought a weed eater
- Brian cut the grass
- Brian showed me how to use the weed eater (if I want to use it while he's gone)
- Watched a few movies
- Colored with Heidi and her crayons (she calls them "colors" though)
- Went out to eat a couple of times
- Ordered pizza a couple of times
- Ate some popcorn
- Walked
- Went to church
- Went to IKEA
- Bought Heidi a potty chair
- Read books to Heidi
- Brian put up a new antenna for the tv
- Brian put up a gate on our porch to the backyard (from the house across the street)
- And just spent time together
Heidi's vocabulary has grown a lot too since he came to visit. Some of her new words/phrases include:
- Covers (meaning blanket, which she had started using before he got here) - monkey
- chicken (ti-ten)
- ice cream
- cream (has been saying this since before Brian got here, but don't think I have added it to any word lists yet)
- crab
- hippopotamus (was saying "po-mus" before Brian got here)
- shark
- fork (shurk)
- snail (nail)
- nail (like a finger or toe nail)
- popcorn (po-corn)
- egg/s (not sure if I put this on an older list or not, but has been saying this a while)
- tower (she builds towers with blocks)
- yes
My mind is going blank at the moment... so can't think of anything else. She has been saying a lot of new words and phrases though.
We also recently got some new Signing Time dvd's. Just from watching the dvd's recently, she has picked up the signs for:
- crab
- snail
- pizza
- popcorn
- flower
- bird
- baby
- ball
- strawberry
- shoes
- mom
- dad
- I think she was already doing the sign for fish, but if not, she does that one now too
Brian ordered our new tv online. It was cheaper than at Sears. Plus, the shipping was free... and it even has a longer warranty. It is So Nice! It is a 37 inch HGTV with a wide screen. It is the biggest tv that we could fit into the entertainment center that Brian built back when he lived in Enterprise before we got married. He built it at the arts and crafts center on post. Some days after his flight school classes, he would go over to the arts and crafts building and work on it for a couple of hours. It took a long time to build. He didn't even have a plan to help him build it. We had gone to several furniture stores and he had taken some measurements of a few that we had seen that we had liked. Then, he went back to his house and made a picture of what he was wanting it to look like. He has also built some other things, including: a pink dinosaur piggy bank for Heidi's room, a cabinet with a stained glass window, a fish tank top, and a baby crib that will eventually change into a toddler bed/double bed.... all without buying any plans.
Brian's Arrival From Iraq:
Before we went to pick Brian up at the airport, I had been telling Heidi that Daddy was going to be coming home. I am not sure if she really understood what I was telling her, since it had been 7 months since he had been here.
At the airport, she seemed a little leery of him at first when he walked up to us. He kept saying "Hi Heidi... Hello." She just gave him a little bit of a confused look. It kind of looked like she may have been thinking, are you really my dad? We look at pictures and videos of him every day... and talk about him every day... and have been since the day he left on October the 3rd.
After about a minute, Brian opened his black backpack and told Heidi that he had a surprise for her inside. She reached inside and pulled out a little teddy bear that had a blue pull-over with a Scottish flag on it. Brian had stopped over in Scotland and had gotten it for her. She smiled and leaned in for him to give her a kiss. Brian had the biggest smile. It was really nice to have him home. Heidi seemed okay with him after that, but it took a couple of days before he was allowed to get her out of bed. She still wanted Mommy to pick her up and get her out of bed when she woke from a nap or in the morning. After a couple of days, though, she became pretty close to him. She even let him put her to bed once or twice, which he hasn't EVER been able to do.... even before he left for Iraq.
Brian has also gotten me a couple of really cute magnets from Scotland.
Soon after we got home, Heidi went outside to pick some of our Strawberries with her Daddy.
I made a list (above) of some of the things that we did while Brian was here. It would just take too long to describe in detail everything that we did over the two weeks he was here.
One night, we had picked up a pizza to eat and someone from Brian's family had called while we were eating. I think Heidi was sitting between us while we were eating. While Brian was on the phone.. I am not sure... she may have ended up sitting on his lap... but she had already eaten her small piece of pizza (except the crust)... and she picked Brian's piece of pizza up and at most of his piece too! She really liked her pizza.
Another night, I had gotten Heidi ready for bed and she back out into the living room to say goodnight to Daddy and give him a kiss. She saw he was eating popcorn and immediately started saying "po-corn... po-corn." She was also doing the sign for it (which she learned from watching Signing Time). I didn't even practice this sign with her. I had never even made popcorn the whole time Brian had been deployed. She knew what it was though and wanted some! I didn't really know if it was okay for her to have yet, so I bit off parts of some pieces and just gave her the soft, round parts to try. Before I knew it, she had grabbed a few pieces and shoved them into her mouth. She chewed them up okay and seemed fine, so we let her eat a few pieces on her own... and then I took her back to go to bed. The next couple of nights before we put her to bed, she kept asking for popcorn. She just seemed to expect that we would have it. We had run out, so we went to the commissary to get some. That night when she was in the bathtub getting ready for bed, I asked her if she wanted a surprise before she went to bed. She then said "po-corn... po-corn" and gave me the sign for popcorn! She is a smart little girl. We did give her popcorn, and then she finished getting ready for bed.
The night before Brian left, we ordered pizza and had popcorn for dessert. I think mainly because Brian wanted to see Heidi enjoy her pizza and popcorn again before he left.
I think Brian thought it was funny how she said "covers" a lot. If someone was sitting on the couch, sometimes she would bring a blanket over to cover that person up and say "covers." I guess she calls blankets "covers" because when I put her into bed, I usually say "Okay Heidi, if you lay down I will cover you up" or "I'm going to put your covers on you now." She does sat "blanket" too, but just usually calls them covers. I think she was saying that before Brian got here. Brian seemed to think it was pretty funny.
Dropping Brian off at the airport was really sad. His flight was flying out at 10:30am on Sunday May 27th. When Brian told Heidi, "Okay, I have to go now Heidi, bye-bye..." I picked her up and she put her head on me and got upset... she started crying. She knew bye-bye meant that he was going away again. We stayed and watched him go through the security checkpoint and left when we couldn't see him anymore. On the way out of the airport, Heidi saw that I had some tears and said "hurt" and did the sign for hurt. I guess she was wondering if I was hurt. She gave me a Big Hug. I am usually the one asking her for a hug... but she just hugged me on her own that time. Then, we went home for a few minutes and then to church at 11am.
Brian's time at home went by too quickly! It seems like he was hardly here. I talked to him online today. I think it was about 3 or 4am his time. He was having problems sleeping. They are 9 hours ahead of us, so he is probably still trying to adjust to the time change.
Now, it is Saturday (almost a week later). Heidi has asked where Daddy is several times this past week. A few times, she has even gotten upset and started crying when I tell her that he had to go away. I usually tell her that he will be back, though, because I don't want her to think he is gone permanently... but that he will just be gone a long time. I know that she probably doesn't understand that part of it though. She just knows that he isn't here.
One day, we were playing with some wooden blocks. She built a tower of about 4 blocks and said "Heidi's tower." Then, she handed me another block and said "Mommy's" ... handed me another and said "Daddy's" and then handed me another and said "Mommy's" and then she may have added a couple more to Daddy's tower. Anyway, we had made a tower for Heidi, Mommy, and Daddy. She does things like this sometimes... I guess to show that she is still thinking about him.
Sometimes in the morning if Heidi wakes up before I want to get out of bed, I just put her in bed with me until I am ready to wake up (especially if she wake up at 6am or so). The first couple of mornings after Brian left, Heidi pointed to Brian's side of the bed and said "Daddy's."
A few nights after he left, Heidi was in the bathtub getting ready for bed. She asked me where Daddy was again, saying "Daddy" and doing a sign to ask where. She got a little upset and started crying again this time.
A couple of days ago, we got a surprise in the mail. While Brian was waiting in the Dallas airport for his next flight that would take him on to Kuwait, he had spent some time in the USO. He had made a dvd of himself in the USO reading room reading 3 books to Heidi. He read a cute little book about a bunny rabbit and his friends, a book about an imaginitive little bear, and a Barbie book. We already had the bear book, but the USO sent us the dvd of Brian reading and the two other books. Brian picked the books out. The bunny book was really cute and he knows that Heidi LOVES Barbie. The FedEx truck had gotten here JUST in time too! It was right before Heidi's nap time. I put the dvd in for us to watch, and at the end, Brian said goodnight to Heidi and gave her kisses. Then, Heidi went to take her nap. When I first turned the dvd on, Heidi saw Brian and said "Daddy" and pointed to him. She put her head down and started crying!!! It was kind of sad. I picked her up and put her on my lap and hugged her. At the end, she said "Bye-bye Daddy." I guess she knew it was time for her nap.
Oh, the USO also (along with Disney) put together a kids fun night here on post last Friday night. Heidi and I went and everyone who walked in got 2 free Disney dvd's. We didn't get to choose them. I was really wanting Mary Poppins. I had seen a couple of people with that one. They said that they couldn't let anyone choose because there was a long line and they were just trying to get people in. We ended up with Pocahontas and Freaky Friday (the newer one with Lindsay Lohan). I was glad we got Pocahontas, and we already had the older version of Freaky Friday (with Jodie Foster), so I think we got some pretty good ones.
Today, we went to IKEA in Round Rock again with Rael (a friend of mine). She had never been and wanted to go. It was nice to get out today. It was so hot today though! I didn't get much while I was there today. I got Heidi a cheap, plastic piggy bank that she picked up while we were walking around. She kind of attached herself to it. She kept looking at it and saying "pig" and smiling. A lady walked by and saw Heidi's big smile while she was hugging her pig and the lady laughed. It was really cute the way she looked up at me after she hugged her pig... and she just had the biggest smile, so I got it for her. It is late, so I am going to bed for now.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Scared Sign, Telling Me to Sit, Identifies Orange
Last night, Heidi slept all night without waking up... or at least without waking me up! Sometimes she does wake up in the middle of the night. I hear her turn on her musical bird thing or her butterfly that plays music (both are on the side of her crib). Then, she usually just goes back to sleep. Last night, I put her to bed at about 8pm and she slept until about 8am. It was so nice to have a night of uninterrupted sleep!
Lately, whenever she says "toes," she doesn't just say "toes." Instead, she usually calls them "wee wee toes," like from the This Little Piggy toe game.
Heidi has been telling me to come sit next to her on the couch sometimes lately... especially if she is watching a movie and she wants to cuddle and/or have some milk. She tells me "a-sit... a-sit" and pats the place next to her on the couch.
Oh, she also does the "scared" sign now. We learned that one from watching a Signing Time dvd. Also, we were watching The Little Mermaid the other day and when the shark was chasing after Ariel and the fish, I kept telling Heidi that it was scary... and did the scared sign (she copied me, usually only uses one hand to do it instead of two, though). Then, later when we were looking at a book about fish... I did the scared sign and was telling her that the sharks and whales were scary (she copied me again doing the sign with just one hand). When we went to run the car through the carwash yesterday evening, Heidi was scared of the shooting water and all of the equipment in the carwash. I could tell by her facial expression and her body language (she was kind of turning to the side and making a scared face). When I asked her if she was scared of the water, she showed me the scared sign. Today before nap time, we were looking at a few books, as we usually do. One of the books I had picked out was a book about frogs. They were real frogs, not cartoon frogs. There were big frogs, little frogs, pond frogs, tree frogs, hopping frogs, etc. Well, I don't think she liked this book. She kept trying to close the book and not look at the pages. She also gave me the scared sign. I guess frogs scare her!
We watched Frosty the Snowman today (Heidi's choice). There is a little girl named Karen in the cartoon that cries a couple of times. When Karen started crying one time in the movie, I said "She's sad." I have been trying to show Heidi when I am sad by fake crying lately.... like if she does something that might hurt my feelings (ie- tear down my block tower or refuse to give me a kiss). Well, the next time Karen started crying in the cartoon, I really think Heidi said "She's sad" or "She sad." I asked her to say that again... and she said it again. I am pretty sure that is what she was saying. I was a little surprised that she had picked that up so quickly.
Also, yesterday while we were watching The Little Mermaid, the evil sea witch was singing a song (I think it was around the time she took Ariel's voice away) and in part of the song she was singing something about a "poor unfortunate sooooouuul." Heidi starting singing with her... and was singing "sooouuul" with the sea witch.
Yesterday, I saw Heidi sitting on the couch pretending to feed her baby doll. I am not sure if I asked her what she was doing, but she told me "Baby said milk." I am pretty sure she said those words. I was shocked at that too. It is really hard to believe, I think, that an almost 18-month-old can be picking up So Much! Everyday I am amazed at what she is learning.
The other day, Heidi learned to correctly identify the color black. Now, she also can identify the color orange too! When we were drawing/coloring today, I was telling her each color name and drawing a picture with each color and then asked her which color was orange. She picked the correct one. Then I asked her a couple of times later, and she got it right again. Then, when I put her pajamas on her... I asked her what color was on her pajamas. There is a lot of orange and an orange strip down the front that I was pointing to. She said orange... so I think I can say that she is correctly identifying the color orange now too.
Here's a list of even more words I have noticed her saying now:
zebra (szeeper)
snowman (no-man or mo-man)
cow
seal
girl (gir)
orange (ongzh or onzses)
bread (has been saying this for a long time)
mermaid (manand)
slide (side)
paper (pee-poo or pa-poo)
yucky
oh yucky
sit
bug
I guess looking back at this blog entry, It looks like we watch a lot of tv/movies. I don't think it is really that bad to watch SOME tv. I think she is learning some things from watching the shows that we watch. We talk about things that are going on in the shows (I guess I talk about what's going on), but I think she is learning from some of what we talk about. She has learned how to sign "scared" (along with other signs)... learning about animals... learning about emotions/feelings... and is learning more about language.
Lately, whenever she says "toes," she doesn't just say "toes." Instead, she usually calls them "wee wee toes," like from the This Little Piggy toe game.
Heidi has been telling me to come sit next to her on the couch sometimes lately... especially if she is watching a movie and she wants to cuddle and/or have some milk. She tells me "a-sit... a-sit" and pats the place next to her on the couch.
Oh, she also does the "scared" sign now. We learned that one from watching a Signing Time dvd. Also, we were watching The Little Mermaid the other day and when the shark was chasing after Ariel and the fish, I kept telling Heidi that it was scary... and did the scared sign (she copied me, usually only uses one hand to do it instead of two, though). Then, later when we were looking at a book about fish... I did the scared sign and was telling her that the sharks and whales were scary (she copied me again doing the sign with just one hand). When we went to run the car through the carwash yesterday evening, Heidi was scared of the shooting water and all of the equipment in the carwash. I could tell by her facial expression and her body language (she was kind of turning to the side and making a scared face). When I asked her if she was scared of the water, she showed me the scared sign. Today before nap time, we were looking at a few books, as we usually do. One of the books I had picked out was a book about frogs. They were real frogs, not cartoon frogs. There were big frogs, little frogs, pond frogs, tree frogs, hopping frogs, etc. Well, I don't think she liked this book. She kept trying to close the book and not look at the pages. She also gave me the scared sign. I guess frogs scare her!
We watched Frosty the Snowman today (Heidi's choice). There is a little girl named Karen in the cartoon that cries a couple of times. When Karen started crying one time in the movie, I said "She's sad." I have been trying to show Heidi when I am sad by fake crying lately.... like if she does something that might hurt my feelings (ie- tear down my block tower or refuse to give me a kiss). Well, the next time Karen started crying in the cartoon, I really think Heidi said "She's sad" or "She sad." I asked her to say that again... and she said it again. I am pretty sure that is what she was saying. I was a little surprised that she had picked that up so quickly.
Also, yesterday while we were watching The Little Mermaid, the evil sea witch was singing a song (I think it was around the time she took Ariel's voice away) and in part of the song she was singing something about a "poor unfortunate sooooouuul." Heidi starting singing with her... and was singing "sooouuul" with the sea witch.
Yesterday, I saw Heidi sitting on the couch pretending to feed her baby doll. I am not sure if I asked her what she was doing, but she told me "Baby said milk." I am pretty sure she said those words. I was shocked at that too. It is really hard to believe, I think, that an almost 18-month-old can be picking up So Much! Everyday I am amazed at what she is learning.
The other day, Heidi learned to correctly identify the color black. Now, she also can identify the color orange too! When we were drawing/coloring today, I was telling her each color name and drawing a picture with each color and then asked her which color was orange. She picked the correct one. Then I asked her a couple of times later, and she got it right again. Then, when I put her pajamas on her... I asked her what color was on her pajamas. There is a lot of orange and an orange strip down the front that I was pointing to. She said orange... so I think I can say that she is correctly identifying the color orange now too.
Here's a list of even more words I have noticed her saying now:
zebra (szeeper)
snowman (no-man or mo-man)
cow
seal
girl (gir)
orange (ongzh or onzses)
bread (has been saying this for a long time)
mermaid (manand)
slide (side)
paper (pee-poo or pa-poo)
yucky
oh yucky
sit
bug
I guess looking back at this blog entry, It looks like we watch a lot of tv/movies. I don't think it is really that bad to watch SOME tv. I think she is learning some things from watching the shows that we watch. We talk about things that are going on in the shows (I guess I talk about what's going on), but I think she is learning from some of what we talk about. She has learned how to sign "scared" (along with other signs)... learning about animals... learning about emotions/feelings... and is learning more about language.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Heidi Knows Black & Cooking Sign Now
Our day started off today at 5:05am. Heidi woke up and didn't want to go back to sleep, even though it was still dark outside. I put her in bed with me, turned the tv on, and let her play with her babies while I tried to rest a few more minutes, but that didn't last for very long.
Brian sent me an email a couple of days ago saying that he was going down to Kuwait. Now, I guess he is waiting for a flight home from there. I hope he doesn't have to wait too long for a flight. Maybe he will be home tomorrow or the next day. I have been keeping my cell phone with me at all times in case he calls to tell me he is in Dallas... and is about to fly into Killeen. Then, Heidi and I can go pick him up and have him back for a little while.
I cut the grass today (front and back). Heidi was actually pretty good while I was working on the yard today. I brought out her sit-n-spin, her popcorn popper toy, her sippy cup, and a little school bell for her to play with. Sometimes, she follows me around while I am cutting the grass. Sometimes, she will play with her toys. A couple of times, I had to move her away because she was wanting to touch the lawn mover while I was using it.
Tomorrow, we are going to go to the PX to get Brian some gummi candies... just to have something special that he likes for him when he gets in. They have the cola gummis, the frog gummis, the vitamin gummis, and the licorice ones that he likes. Oh, today we also went to the commissary to get some things for him that he likes... that I just haven't been buying since he left, like: diet cream soda, grape soda, chips and salsa, peanuts, cottage cheese, the cheese that they have in star and moon shapes (easy for putting on crackers), and orange juice.
Also, whenever Heidi sees me cooking now, she says "cook" and does the sign for cooking. When she plays with her play pots and pans, she calls her pots and pans "cook" .... or maybe she is telling me that she is going to cook too, not sure.
Today, Heidi kept saying "colors... colors... colors" to me, when I finally figured out what she was wanting. She wanted her Crayons! After I got her crayons out, I was drawing on some computer paper with her. I drew a red heart, an orange circle, a green triangle, a yellow square, a black diamond, and a blue cloud. I pointed to each color and told her the name of the color and the shape. I have never told her the name for black before (or at least I don't remember telling her). After I told her the names, I asked her to find the color yellow... and she found the right color. Then, I asked her to find black, and she found it and said "black!" She had some trouble with the other colors. I guess the other colors are usually all yellow to her. I asked her a couple of times later to find black for me, and she did, so I think she knows the color black now. I guess because it is so dark and a little different.
Heidi's vocabulary continues to grow everyday. Here are a few more words I have noticed her using:
door
cook (and also does the sign for cooking)*
stars
moon
colors
black
lemon (sounds more like "lem"... and then she usually says "yummy yummy")
keys (has been saying this for a long time, just haven't added it to any lists)
rainbow (has been saying this for a while)
king (there is a king in a book that we have been looking at)
*Oh, and the word "strawberries" has definitely changed from "stubbies" to "staw-bies" now. She wants to go outside and pick strawberries every day! Today, we didn't pick any. I told her we needed to wait. I want to make sure there are several good ones for when Brian gets home, so they can go out and pick them together.
Brian sent me an email a couple of days ago saying that he was going down to Kuwait. Now, I guess he is waiting for a flight home from there. I hope he doesn't have to wait too long for a flight. Maybe he will be home tomorrow or the next day. I have been keeping my cell phone with me at all times in case he calls to tell me he is in Dallas... and is about to fly into Killeen. Then, Heidi and I can go pick him up and have him back for a little while.
I cut the grass today (front and back). Heidi was actually pretty good while I was working on the yard today. I brought out her sit-n-spin, her popcorn popper toy, her sippy cup, and a little school bell for her to play with. Sometimes, she follows me around while I am cutting the grass. Sometimes, she will play with her toys. A couple of times, I had to move her away because she was wanting to touch the lawn mover while I was using it.
Tomorrow, we are going to go to the PX to get Brian some gummi candies... just to have something special that he likes for him when he gets in. They have the cola gummis, the frog gummis, the vitamin gummis, and the licorice ones that he likes. Oh, today we also went to the commissary to get some things for him that he likes... that I just haven't been buying since he left, like: diet cream soda, grape soda, chips and salsa, peanuts, cottage cheese, the cheese that they have in star and moon shapes (easy for putting on crackers), and orange juice.
Also, whenever Heidi sees me cooking now, she says "cook" and does the sign for cooking. When she plays with her play pots and pans, she calls her pots and pans "cook" .... or maybe she is telling me that she is going to cook too, not sure.
Today, Heidi kept saying "colors... colors... colors" to me, when I finally figured out what she was wanting. She wanted her Crayons! After I got her crayons out, I was drawing on some computer paper with her. I drew a red heart, an orange circle, a green triangle, a yellow square, a black diamond, and a blue cloud. I pointed to each color and told her the name of the color and the shape. I have never told her the name for black before (or at least I don't remember telling her). After I told her the names, I asked her to find the color yellow... and she found the right color. Then, I asked her to find black, and she found it and said "black!" She had some trouble with the other colors. I guess the other colors are usually all yellow to her. I asked her a couple of times later to find black for me, and she did, so I think she knows the color black now. I guess because it is so dark and a little different.
Heidi's vocabulary continues to grow everyday. Here are a few more words I have noticed her using:
door
cook (and also does the sign for cooking)*
stars
moon
colors
black
lemon (sounds more like "lem"... and then she usually says "yummy yummy")
keys (has been saying this for a long time, just haven't added it to any lists)
rainbow (has been saying this for a while)
king (there is a king in a book that we have been looking at)
*Oh, and the word "strawberries" has definitely changed from "stubbies" to "staw-bies" now. She wants to go outside and pick strawberries every day! Today, we didn't pick any. I told her we needed to wait. I want to make sure there are several good ones for when Brian gets home, so they can go out and pick them together.
Saturday, May 5, 2007
Garage Sale Day
Our day started off at 5:15 am, when Heidi woke up crying and didn't want to go back to sleep.
On post today, Wainwright Heights (our neighborhood) and Patton Park were having neighborhood garage sales, so we went. We left at about 8am. When I was getting ready to put Heidi in her car seat, I remembered that I had left her sippy cup in the kitchen, so I ran back in to get it really quick. When I came back out to the car, Heidi was in the driver's seat playing like she was driving the car. She looked so happy to be up there in the driver's seat! She still has about 15 years before she can do that yet.
It was sooo humid while we were out today. It was probably only in the 80's, but we were sweating a lot while we were out this morning because it was So Humid. I'm not looking forward to the summer, when it will be hot (and get into the 100's) and humid.
While going to garage sales, we got: a Huge trash bag full of toddler-size legos, about 6 books, a Little Tikes cube slide, and a little telephone that Heidi has been having fun playing with since I gave it to her in the car. It has a little phone book with animals on each page. She likes turning the pages and naming the animals (horse, cat, pig, cat, etc). When you pick up the phone, a voice says hello... and when you hang it up, it says good-bye. A voice also says the numbers when you press on them. Heidi repeats the numbers sometimes after she hears the phone say the number name. I think the phone was a good purchase... and it was only 50 cents!!!
I talked to Brian again today on the internet. I guess he is about ready to come home. While I was talking to him, a FedEx truck came to the house and dropped off two 19" computer monitors!!! We have two older computer monitors that are maybe 13" (not sure). That was a surprise! We have a few other packages here that Brian has had sent to the house. We will wait until he gets here to open them up. I think one or two of them are for my birthday/Mother's Day, which is next Sunday. He should be here for my birthday. YAY!
I would like to get a surprise or two for him too, but I have no idea of what to get him and don't want to waste money on something he won't want.
I want to get a rubbermaid plastic container to store the legos. We went to Wal-mart, the PX, and then to Target tonight looking for one, but I can't find the one that I want. I want the kind with the flaps on top, so I won't have to worry about a lid. I also think it would be nice because Heidi could open and close it herself... and maybe even put the legos away into the container all by herself. I did get a couple of smaller containers today, though, that were the rubbermaid brand with the flaps that open.
I think Heidi needs a bookshelf for her room. She has so many books now, but no book shelf. I saw a couple when I was at IKEA that I thought would be okay. I think Brian thinks we need to get something that is a little better quality though. We talked about her needing a bookshelf today.
Lately, she has been wanting to look at a color book that we have and name all of the pictures before she goes down for a nap or down to sleep at night. She has fun naming things like the pumpkin, the leaves, the truck, the bird, the rainbow, etc. She doesn't really identify colors yet.
Friday, May 4, 2007
Washing Off Her Tongue
Tonight when Heidi was in the bathtub, I asked her to wash off her face with her washcloth. She did, but didn't get her mouth area very well, which was pretty messy, so I told her to wash off her mouth. She took her washcloth and wiped off her tongue. I thought it was pretty cute. I guess her tongue is part of her mouth.
Also, today when I was getting clothes out of the laundry cupboard in the bathroom, I noticed two pair of Heidi's shoes were mixed in with the clothes. I thought maybe I had accidentally thrown them in there with her clothes when I was cleaning up after one of her baths or something. Tonight, when I took her clothes off to put her in the bath, I saw her go put her clothes in the door/flap to the dirty clothes cupboard. Not only did she put her dress in there that she wore today, she also put her little pink shoes in! I guess that's how her two pairs of shoes ended up in there. It is nice that she is trying to help keep things picked up!
Heidi has been doing the "be right back" sign that I kind of made up on my own and saying "back" a lot lately. Instead of waving bye with your whole hand, you just wave bye with one finger and say I'll "be right back." Heidi tells me "back... back" and does the sign whenever she is leaving me to go get a book... or to go down the hallway... or to go into her bedroom to get another toy out... etc. She has just been using it a LOT the last few days. It is really cute when she does it. I didn't know what the real sign for this was, so I just made one up a while back... and she picked it up.
We've been going outside every evening and picking strawberries. Yesterday, we picked 8 (I had one and she had the rest). Today, we picked 6. Every day, more are ripe... and every day, it looks like the birds have eaten more of them too. A couple of them have gotten Pretty Big! Most of them are usually a little smaller than the ones you normally see in the grocery store. We don't use any kind of miracle grow products or chemicals. They are bigger this year than they were last year. Maybe the older the plants are, the bigger the fruit they produce... I don't know.
I have been talking to Brian just about every day on the computer. I usually see him online in yahoo messenger sometime afternoon (before he goes to sleep)... and then at night after 9pm or so (when he is just waking up). It is nice that he has the internet in his room this time, so we can talk a lot more often than the last time he deployed. I think we will probably be getting a new tv when he gets home. He has been shopping and comparing prices online a lot lately. I guess we are going to get a 37 inch one. That is as big as our entertainment center will fit.
Every day, I notice Heidi using more words. Here are some of the newer ones that I have noticed her saying:
truck (tuk)
orange (orses)
rabbit (rabbese)
pants (pats)
jeans (deens)
clothes (cose)
dress (I think she says "dess")
bread
egg
sit
pig
cat
bee (can also make the buzzing sound)
sheep (she used to only saw "baaa" when she saw a sheep)
home (says it and does the sign)
house
ham (she's been saying this for a long time.... says haaaaam and hom)
medicine (men) (she was recently on antibiotics for 10 days)
towel
stars (can't remember how she says it)
moon
bowl (has been saying this for a long while)
strawberries (stubbies or staw-bies)
Diaper (used to say duppa)(now says dupper)
"be right back" (says "back" and does the sign)
I am sure there are some others that I just can't think of right now.
Also says some color names (like yellow "ye-yo," red "re," blue "boo," but is not correctly identifying them yet). If you ask her what color something is, she will usually say "yellow."
Also says some letter names, like: A, E, M, B. Can sometimes point to the right letter when I ask her to on the fridge (I only have these letters on the fridge) but often doesn't pick the right one. She can pretty much say most of the letters if you ask her to repeat you.
Also, today when I was getting clothes out of the laundry cupboard in the bathroom, I noticed two pair of Heidi's shoes were mixed in with the clothes. I thought maybe I had accidentally thrown them in there with her clothes when I was cleaning up after one of her baths or something. Tonight, when I took her clothes off to put her in the bath, I saw her go put her clothes in the door/flap to the dirty clothes cupboard. Not only did she put her dress in there that she wore today, she also put her little pink shoes in! I guess that's how her two pairs of shoes ended up in there. It is nice that she is trying to help keep things picked up!
Heidi has been doing the "be right back" sign that I kind of made up on my own and saying "back" a lot lately. Instead of waving bye with your whole hand, you just wave bye with one finger and say I'll "be right back." Heidi tells me "back... back" and does the sign whenever she is leaving me to go get a book... or to go down the hallway... or to go into her bedroom to get another toy out... etc. She has just been using it a LOT the last few days. It is really cute when she does it. I didn't know what the real sign for this was, so I just made one up a while back... and she picked it up.
We've been going outside every evening and picking strawberries. Yesterday, we picked 8 (I had one and she had the rest). Today, we picked 6. Every day, more are ripe... and every day, it looks like the birds have eaten more of them too. A couple of them have gotten Pretty Big! Most of them are usually a little smaller than the ones you normally see in the grocery store. We don't use any kind of miracle grow products or chemicals. They are bigger this year than they were last year. Maybe the older the plants are, the bigger the fruit they produce... I don't know.
I have been talking to Brian just about every day on the computer. I usually see him online in yahoo messenger sometime afternoon (before he goes to sleep)... and then at night after 9pm or so (when he is just waking up). It is nice that he has the internet in his room this time, so we can talk a lot more often than the last time he deployed. I think we will probably be getting a new tv when he gets home. He has been shopping and comparing prices online a lot lately. I guess we are going to get a 37 inch one. That is as big as our entertainment center will fit.
Every day, I notice Heidi using more words. Here are some of the newer ones that I have noticed her saying:
truck (tuk)
orange (orses)
rabbit (rabbese)
pants (pats)
jeans (deens)
clothes (cose)
dress (I think she says "dess")
bread
egg
sit
pig
cat
bee (can also make the buzzing sound)
sheep (she used to only saw "baaa" when she saw a sheep)
home (says it and does the sign)
house
ham (she's been saying this for a long time.... says haaaaam and hom)
medicine (men) (she was recently on antibiotics for 10 days)
towel
stars (can't remember how she says it)
moon
bowl (has been saying this for a long while)
strawberries (stubbies or staw-bies)
Diaper (used to say duppa)(now says dupper)
"be right back" (says "back" and does the sign)
I am sure there are some others that I just can't think of right now.
Also says some color names (like yellow "ye-yo," red "re," blue "boo," but is not correctly identifying them yet). If you ask her what color something is, she will usually say "yellow."
Also says some letter names, like: A, E, M, B. Can sometimes point to the right letter when I ask her to on the fridge (I only have these letters on the fridge) but often doesn't pick the right one. She can pretty much say most of the letters if you ask her to repeat you.
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
"Stubbies"
This afternoon, I had a volunteer luncheon to go to. I got another volunteer award for being involved with the Family Readiness Group (I'm the leader for Brian's company). They had free child care provided, so Heidi was able to go play with some other kids around her age while I was at the luncheon. She looked like she was having fun when I went back in to pick her up.
As soon as we got home and got out of the car, Heidi kept saying "Stubbies... Stubbies." Then as soon as I set her down, she ran over to our flower box in the front of the house where most of our strawberry plants are. She picked a few more strawberries and we went in to wash them off so she could eat them. She really enjoys her strawberries!
As soon as we got home and got out of the car, Heidi kept saying "Stubbies... Stubbies." Then as soon as I set her down, she ran over to our flower box in the front of the house where most of our strawberry plants are. She picked a few more strawberries and we went in to wash them off so she could eat them. She really enjoys her strawberries!
Oh, she is getting better at saying broccoli now... it used to sound more like "bra-bee," but now it sounds more like "brok-lee."
Tonight, when I was getting ready to put her into bed, she had a little dinosaur in her hand and she said "dinosaur" pretty clearly. It seems like just about everyday now, she says another new word.
Heidi's Strawberries
Last spring, Brian planted a bunch of strawberry plants in our front and back yard (also some raspberry and blueberry plants). Right now, these plants have some really ripe, bright red strawberries that are ready to be picked.
Today, when Heidi and I were out in the front yard, she was over by the flower box with the strawberry plants pointing down at them saying "strawberries." Then, she bent down and picked one from one of the plants. I told her that we needed to go inside and wash it off before she could eat it, so we did that... and when she put this strawberry in her mouth, her eyes and her face just lit up with the Biggest Smile! I know that she really likes strawberries, but I think she was even more excited to be eating one that SHE picked from a REAL plant! I guess this was a good science lesson for her too, so she knows that they come from plants... not just the refridgerator.
I think we need to put a fake crow out there or something to keep the birds away. I saw where a bird had eaten two of the strawberries.
As soon as she finished eating her strawberry, she rushed back outside to get another one. I found two other really ripes ones for her to eat (not all of them are ready to be picked yet). Her face lit up when she ate the second two strawberries too!
Today, when Heidi and I were out in the front yard, she was over by the flower box with the strawberry plants pointing down at them saying "strawberries." Then, she bent down and picked one from one of the plants. I told her that we needed to go inside and wash it off before she could eat it, so we did that... and when she put this strawberry in her mouth, her eyes and her face just lit up with the Biggest Smile! I know that she really likes strawberries, but I think she was even more excited to be eating one that SHE picked from a REAL plant! I guess this was a good science lesson for her too, so she knows that they come from plants... not just the refridgerator.
I think we need to put a fake crow out there or something to keep the birds away. I saw where a bird had eaten two of the strawberries.
As soon as she finished eating her strawberry, she rushed back outside to get another one. I found two other really ripes ones for her to eat (not all of them are ready to be picked yet). Her face lit up when she ate the second two strawberries too!
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