Adam

Here are Adam's answers, minus the sound effects he made as he pushed his cars and fire truck around.

What is your name? ME!

How old are you? Me

When is your birthday? My pirpay (birthday)

Who is your Mommy? Mommy. My pirpay! My pirpay!

What does Mommy do? I don't know.

What does Daddy do? I don't know.

Who is your brother? E!

Who is your sister? Hannah! Hannah!

Who are your friends? Hannah

What is your favorite color? I like blue.

What is your favorite food to eat? Eat.

What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Me! (thinks I'm offering him ice cream)

What are your favorite toys to play with? My waah-truck (fire truck)

Where is your favorite place to eat? Me?

Who is your favorite person? (No answer. Me: Is it Mommy? Adam: Mm-hmm. Hannah: Is it me? Adam: Mm-hmm. Hannah: Adam likes me the best.)

Who is your best friend? Hannah

Where did Ethan come from? Balloon (Ethan is playing with a balloon.)

What is your favorite thing to do? My wah-truck da down. (Now makes his fire truck fall off the couch elaborately and crash and burn.)

What do Mommy and Daddy do after you go to bed? I don't know

Where do we go to church? Wahh-la. Go go Mommy car. Dat dat dat. (Points his finger in various directions as if showing me where to go)

Why do we go to church? I don't know.

Adam's Birthday Party

Adam is turning 2!

You are invited to a birthday party

at the playground at

Peachtree Dekalb Airport

Sunday, October 18

4 p.m.

Snacks and cake will be served

RSVP and driving directions:

Leave a comment on this post or email me (Julie). Thanks!

Signing Time with Adam and Hannah

Our favorite video series is Signing Time with Alex and Leah. OK, the kids would tell you their favorite video series is actually Thomas the Tank Engine, but deep down inside this is the one they really love. Because it's just so stinking amazing.

Early on with Hannah, around 12 months of age, I taught her a few very basic signs to help with communication and manners at the table. After watching the 10 or so Signing Time videos we have, I would estimate her sign vocabulary to be more than 200 words.

To those who wonder if teaching signs impedes language development, I say, have you met my daughter? Chatty McChatterbox! OK, I will stop with the fake Scottish nicknames now.

Here's Adam using putting his signing skills to good use: cookie acquisition.

And now using words, slightly muffled by cookies stuffed in his mouth:

Hannah wanted to show a sign too. Don't blame Alex and Leah; Daddy taught her this one!

Weekend at Grandmother's

Last weekend we went down to Grandmother and Granddad's to celebrate Grandmother's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, but she's younger than 60. And looking fabulous! We made a totally gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free dinner, including cake and chocolate ice cream:

Fun, and delicious. Deliciously fun.

Going to Peachtree City is always a treat. This is how we roll, PTC style:

We went to a neighbor's pool twice. Adam is not a big fan of swimming, but had fun with cups:

Mark and Hannah both enjoyed swimming:

Ethan and I mostly chilled out on the side.

And the kids got plenty of time in the playroom:

Which is so sweet. Check out all those vintage toys, circa 1977.

Hannah-isms and Adam-isms

Today, in one of our many what-will-we-do-next conversations

Hannah: Mommy, what are we going to do after our naps today?

Me: Mmm... we could go for a walk and maybe dip our feet in the pool.

Hannah, very politely: Any other ideas?

Recently in another what-will-we-do-next conversation

Hannah: Mommy, can we do 3 ounces of lessons today?

(Her "lessons" are workbook activities on the letters. We are currently working through one from the Target dollar bins.  She loves it!)

Just now:

Mark: Hannah, please go to the bathroom.

Hannah: Ok, Daddy! I will go pee-pee for 4 ounces.

Perhaps we should work on the proper context for "ounces".

Adam's new words, as of just today:

"Go"

"Agee-ah" (again)

"Boo-ah" (booger)

The sign for "cold"

Words he already says*:

Hi

Bye

Night-night

Daddy

Mama

Hot (with the sign, which is good because it sounds like "ahs")

"Ba-ba ba-ba" (belly-button)

"Day-ton" or "Day-day" (Ethan)

Nose, teeth, eyes

Juice

Book

Train

Car

Bus

Something like "helicopter"

Words that sound vaguely like all of the grandparent names

Mine

Signs for:

Me

Hot, cold

Milk

Please

Thank you (he is so good about this)

More

All done

I'm sorry (melt my heart, so sweet)

*There are lots of other words he has said on occasion which don't presently come to mind. These are the regulars.

This boy

... has my heart

He has captured it just like his daddy eight years ago. He has such a shy charm, a twinkle in his eye that says we share a secret joke.  He is the fairest of our kids, with porcelain skin and blond hair. He walks and runs from place to place with his arms slightly out and back and a determined, energetic step - thump, thump, thump, thump.

And Adam is a lover. When Mark walks in the door after work, Adam without fail drops whatever he is doing and runs headlong into Mark's arms (or legs) squealing "Daddeeeee!" He gives out hugs at random times. He snuggles and kisses me. He often insists on 15 minutes of cuddling after nap time.  

He plays for long stretches of time every day with his Ikea train set or looking at books. While I am nursing Ethan, he likes to run his toy cars over my legs and the couch as if they are roads and bridges. He knows lots and lots of words, but the regulars are "car-car", "train", and "Daddy". New favorites are body parts, like eyes, nose, and teeth.

Adam has adjusted well to not being the youngest. Like Hannah at this point, he already doesn't remember a time without Ethan. He is getting better about loving on Ethan "gently" but I still have to keep a very close eye on things. Good thing we have a small living space - nobody is too far from me at any given time :)

Adam's first day at home with Ethan

Adam and Ethan have fun getting to know each other.

Siblings

Pop Quiz: Can you guess who is who? 

Answer: Hannah, Ethan, Adam

He walks!

It's not really a form of transportation right now, so much as a form of entertainment (and a great way to ham it up in a crowd!)

Adam plays

I created a little play nook in our sunroom by clearing out a desk that was just taking up space (thanks to Mark for charitably allowing me to get rid of it!) and some other random odds and ends. I'm happy that we now have an area to contain the toys and books out of the way of foot traffic, Hannah loves curling up in the corner with her books and dolls, and Adam enjoys crashing whatever Hannah is doing there and looking outside the window. Here he is checking out a blustery winter day from the warmth of our apartment.

We're Back!

... And from the very edge of sanity, let me tell you! After two weeks of our family battling stomach bugs and the flu, we are finally all healthy and getting back into the regular swing of things. How we have missed getting outside into the fresh air and seeing friends!

November has had a few fun highlights. Hannah and I kicked it off with a road trip down from Virginia to test drive a minivan and visit family and friends along the way.  We missed Mark and Adam but we had a great time!

Catching our flight to Washington, DC

Hannah with her cousins Grace and Amelia in Virginia Beach

Having a blast with Sophia in Charlotte, NC

The Pregnant Mommies

Back in Atlanta, having fun with Grandmother

Hannah's imagination has taken off recently. She continues to enjoy dress-up and loves make-believe play.  I can see a compassionate and nurturing side to her personality in the way she takes care of her babies and "lambies".  Here she is tucking her baby doll into bed and saying prayers with her.

When she prays on her own it sounds something like this: "Jesus! I love you! And [help me] be polite... and loving others ... and polite ... and loving others ... and polite ... " (We did not teach her to pray this way, it truly comes from her heart!)

Fall Fun!

It's been fall party season and the kids have loved getting to play dress-up in public. Who cares that one of the parties we went to last weekend wasn't even a dress-up party? My kids didn't seem to notice they were the only ones. I love this age! Adam borrowed an adorable giraffe outfit from the Desnoyers and Hannah was a butterfly, wings courtesy of her friend Scarlotte.

Hannah kissing (biting?) Adam

I dressed up as a pregnant lady (not too convincing, I know!)

With friends Rachel and Gavin - also a giraffe!

Dana and Scarlotte

Adam at 12 Months

I've been noticing that my posts about Hannah outpace my posts about Adam 2 to 1. It's hard to resist when she's whirling about the place, dressing up, talking up a storm, and developing the social life any butterfly would be envious of. 

But don't be fooled - my little man is no longer on the sidelines, watching Hannah take center stage. He is on the move, full of giggles and curiosity with his own precious personality coming through. This post is all about you Adam - I love you!

12 Things about Adam at 12 Months

12. He is crawling - all over the place!

11. He loves to play at the window, running his cars along the ledge and watching nature

10. He is a snuggler

9. He has 6 teeth

8. and eats everything with them

7. He babbles and sings and laughs a lot

6. especially when he's rolling around on the floor with Hannah or Daddy

5. or when you kiss his tummy

4. He just dropped his morning nap and sleeps 3 hours in the afternoon - hooray!

3. He signs "all done"

2. He occasionally waves bye-bye and says "ba ba ba ba"

1. He said "mama" last week :)

Happy Birthday Adam!

Adam and Grandma. Isn't her hair great? She is so hip! And I can't believe how grown-up my little man looks!

Tonight we celebrated Adam's first birthday with his grandparents on both sides. It was so much fun! I wasn't sure I'd be up to throwing a big bash with lots of friends and activities (as much as I do love that!) and I'm SO glad we kept it simple.  It was very relaxing.  I really enjoyed the time we had together, eating spaghetti and cake, talking and watching the kids play happily with Adam's new toys.

Our camera card was full because I've been taking so many videos of the kids :) so I'll post more pictures from Tom's camera later.

Big Boy Car Seat

Adam has just upgraded from the infant carrier to the rear-facing toddler seat (Another awesome hand-me-down from Robert and Carolyn!).  As you can see, he is so excited.

Adam's First Haircut

I hated to cut off that soft, shiny down... but it was getting a little wild around his ears and neck.  Mark did an excellent (and entertaining!) job taming the mane.  Adam loved the whole experience.

Before:

After:

So handsome!

Adam at 10 months

10 Things About Adam at 10 Months

10.  He has one tooth

9.  He is trying to crawl but mostly he scoots and rolls

8.  He loves being with people, especially his family

7.  He is eating finger food (with an Olympic-sized appetite I must say)

6.  He takes 2-3 decent naps and sleeps through the night

5.  He babbles and growls

4.  When he gets a reaction to growling he does it more and laughs!

3.  He loves peek-a-boo games and tickling

2.  If he can pick it up, he will throw it

1.  Yes, he really is this happy all the time!