I know some people are having problems hearing the earlier A. recordings, so I've put them up on a different hosting site. Try these out!
Pie:
Apple:
Random words:
Monday, October 20, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Language explosion
A. is having a language explosion -- picking up 2 or more words a day, and trying out new words that I suggest (although the ones that stick are the ones she picks on her own). Yesterday it was "Nana" and "Halloween" (seriously -- she skips a syllable, but it's clear what she's saying), today it was "play" and "Pooh".
The other day, her recent love of the word "pie" inspired me to make a (rather mediocre) apple pie. A. loved the pie, and said her first "app-ple" while eating it! While she was in the bath, I tried to record her saying some of her words. She got distracted by the bath toys fairly easily, but you can get an idea, at least.
In other news, I've started an herb garden around the patio that's outside of the kitchen. I have rosemary, thyme, and basil in the ground, cilantro waiting to go in, and room for one more (oregano or parsley). We'll see how they do -- I'm not the best gardener.
Also, I purchased a 10x10 space at our tiny town's sizeable craft fair on November 1st. I've been working every evening and some nap times on crafty toys, and I have 5 crayon rolls, 5 felt crowns, some number of bib clips, and most of 3 felt food picnics. I'll also be selling some balsa gliders and crayon-by-number. I don't expect to make much money, but it'll be neat to see what sells and have an excuse to hang out at the fair all day. :)
The other day, her recent love of the word "pie" inspired me to make a (rather mediocre) apple pie. A. loved the pie, and said her first "app-ple" while eating it! While she was in the bath, I tried to record her saying some of her words. She got distracted by the bath toys fairly easily, but you can get an idea, at least.
In other news, I've started an herb garden around the patio that's outside of the kitchen. I have rosemary, thyme, and basil in the ground, cilantro waiting to go in, and room for one more (oregano or parsley). We'll see how they do -- I'm not the best gardener.
Also, I purchased a 10x10 space at our tiny town's sizeable craft fair on November 1st. I've been working every evening and some nap times on crafty toys, and I have 5 crayon rolls, 5 felt crowns, some number of bib clips, and most of 3 felt food picnics. I'll also be selling some balsa gliders and crayon-by-number. I don't expect to make much money, but it'll be neat to see what sells and have an excuse to hang out at the fair all day. :)
Friday, October 10, 2008
The biggest Dee ever!
We took the morning to run down to Animal Kingdom and finally take A. on the safari ride. We got there a tad later than we'd hoped, so we didn't see a ton of animals. But we did see elephants and giraffes, among others. A. had a little antsy moment when she didn't want to sit down any more, but she otherwise seemed to enjoy it a lot, asking for "more" when we got off the truck. The elephants were her favorite, getting lots of signs.
Mostly we wandered after that, but stumbled across a meet-and-greet with Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger with a very short line. We decided to do A.'s first introduction to full-size characters, see how she'd handle it.
The queue is set up so that you can see other people meeting the characters first, and I think this is a great idea. A. got to see all three from a distance before the up-close. It did mean she got a little impatient as we got to the end, though.
She was really excited to see the characters. Up close, she was a bit shy, but pretty good. A. had been holding on to the wooden giraffe I made her the whole way through the park, and as an ice breaker Pooh took it and pretended to eat it. After that, A. gave her giraffe to each of the other characters as she met them.
We have a cute picture of A. giving Pooh a kiss on the nose. I'll try to get a version of that up soon.
And in memory of her first character meet-and-greet, we bought her an 18" Pooh bear. It's nearly as big as she is. :)
Mostly we wandered after that, but stumbled across a meet-and-greet with Pooh, Eeyore, and Tigger with a very short line. We decided to do A.'s first introduction to full-size characters, see how she'd handle it.
The queue is set up so that you can see other people meeting the characters first, and I think this is a great idea. A. got to see all three from a distance before the up-close. It did mean she got a little impatient as we got to the end, though.
She was really excited to see the characters. Up close, she was a bit shy, but pretty good. A. had been holding on to the wooden giraffe I made her the whole way through the park, and as an ice breaker Pooh took it and pretended to eat it. After that, A. gave her giraffe to each of the other characters as she met them.
We have a cute picture of A. giving Pooh a kiss on the nose. I'll try to get a version of that up soon.
And in memory of her first character meet-and-greet, we bought her an 18" Pooh bear. It's nearly as big as she is. :)
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Playhouse
Every so often, my parents get a really big box at the warehouse. They're kind enough to save these and give them to us for use as playhouses for A. They last a few months -- long enough for another box to arrive.
We got a box about a month ago, but A. wasn't too into going inside things. So we left it out, tilted on its side, and she and the cats would explore it occasionally. Gradually she got more and more interested in going inside, so we decided to commit to cutting it up.
I added a door, window, cat door (to prevent the trapped-cat problem we've had in the past -- it took weeks for A. to get near Chaos again), and roof. She loved to play in it, but it was a bit blah.
I was struck by inspiration when we were coloring in the playroom. I told A. that she was free to color on the box, and she took to that immediately. It looked like so much fun, I got in on the action. We had such a blast, bath time got pushed back to 7:30.
Here's the box. There's a half-door she can swing and the flaps are stood up so that there's standing height inside.
The front door. A lucky horseshoe over the door, her house number (0504 -- her birthday), a doorbell, and a mail slot. A. decided the house number needed to be emphasized more.
The side has various flowers, scribbles, and a lizard stuck to the side of the house.
A view through the window. TedDee is over for a visit, and her favorite household item, a phone, is ready for use.
The back wall has her computer desk. Look, she's working on a Python script! Hello, world!
Looking in the front door at the window wall. A family picture, clock, and cat snoozing in the sun. Every time A. sees the cat, she signs "cat" then lays down and pretends to snore.
We had a really good time decorating this. I can't wait until this one wears out and we can take on another!
We got a box about a month ago, but A. wasn't too into going inside things. So we left it out, tilted on its side, and she and the cats would explore it occasionally. Gradually she got more and more interested in going inside, so we decided to commit to cutting it up.
I added a door, window, cat door (to prevent the trapped-cat problem we've had in the past -- it took weeks for A. to get near Chaos again), and roof. She loved to play in it, but it was a bit blah.
I was struck by inspiration when we were coloring in the playroom. I told A. that she was free to color on the box, and she took to that immediately. It looked like so much fun, I got in on the action. We had such a blast, bath time got pushed back to 7:30.
Here's the box. There's a half-door she can swing and the flaps are stood up so that there's standing height inside.
The front door. A lucky horseshoe over the door, her house number (0504 -- her birthday), a doorbell, and a mail slot. A. decided the house number needed to be emphasized more.
The side has various flowers, scribbles, and a lizard stuck to the side of the house.
A view through the window. TedDee is over for a visit, and her favorite household item, a phone, is ready for use.
The back wall has her computer desk. Look, she's working on a Python script! Hello, world!
Looking in the front door at the window wall. A family picture, clock, and cat snoozing in the sun. Every time A. sees the cat, she signs "cat" then lays down and pretends to snore.
We had a really good time decorating this. I can't wait until this one wears out and we can take on another!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Absence
I haven't blogged in ages because we've just gone through a string of about 3 colds in a row. We finally seem to be out of it, none too soon.
I've continued to craft, as you may have seen on my Flickr stream. Felt softies, stenciled t-shirts, shopping bags made from old t-shirts, and felt food. If I go a few days without doing anything, I start to feel antsy and unproductive. This is my way of creating something, doing something with my hands. Of having something to show for the day.
I'm hoping to sell some of my creations around Christmas. There's a local festival on November 1st that I might buy a booth at, or I may try to sell through the mommy groups I'm associated with in the area.
I've got almost everything for 3 "Best Friends Picnics" filled with felt food and packaged in a small basket with picnic blanket. I might keep doing more of those, or maybe make a few "Farmer's Market Baskets" of felt food or even try some wooden toys or small dolls. I'm trying to keep things flexible so that I'm not pressuring myself and thus, feel like it's a burden. But to do enough to bring in a few extra dollars would be neat.
A. is doing well -- moving into the verbal stage quickly. She picks up a new word every few days, although her pronunciation is usually off for a few weeks. She isn't replacing her signs with words, but picking up new vocabulary and then combining signs and words. She turns 17 months tomorrow -- almost a year and a half! I can remember thinking that we'd never get here.
I've continued to craft, as you may have seen on my Flickr stream. Felt softies, stenciled t-shirts, shopping bags made from old t-shirts, and felt food. If I go a few days without doing anything, I start to feel antsy and unproductive. This is my way of creating something, doing something with my hands. Of having something to show for the day.
I'm hoping to sell some of my creations around Christmas. There's a local festival on November 1st that I might buy a booth at, or I may try to sell through the mommy groups I'm associated with in the area.
I've got almost everything for 3 "Best Friends Picnics" filled with felt food and packaged in a small basket with picnic blanket. I might keep doing more of those, or maybe make a few "Farmer's Market Baskets" of felt food or even try some wooden toys or small dolls. I'm trying to keep things flexible so that I'm not pressuring myself and thus, feel like it's a burden. But to do enough to bring in a few extra dollars would be neat.
A. is doing well -- moving into the verbal stage quickly. She picks up a new word every few days, although her pronunciation is usually off for a few weeks. She isn't replacing her signs with words, but picking up new vocabulary and then combining signs and words. She turns 17 months tomorrow -- almost a year and a half! I can remember thinking that we'd never get here.
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