reanbean

Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall (Giveaway)

I realize that nursery rhymes are not everyone’s cup of tea, but I actually don’t mind them. Which is good because Buba and Tiny are really into them right now. They know several dozen of them at this point (from books and CDs) and even have some favorites- Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Ba Ba Black Sheep, and The Grand Old Duke of York, just to name a few. Besides the fact that they’re short and simple, and therefore easy for Tiny and Buba to learn, we also like the fact that it’s easy for us to incorporate the bits of sign language we know while singing them.

A while back, I was thinking about introducing my kids to a few children’s television programs, but shortly after, I found that my kids were just as entertained by their CD of nursery rhymes. I can put the music on in the kitchen and they’ll sit on the floor acting out the rhymes or dancing with their baby dolls to the music. This activity easily buys me 20-30 minutes of time to prepare a meal, clean up the kitchen, or even just enjoy my own breakfast or lunch in peace (which means that we are still TV free). And the best part is, not only do they find these rhymes entertaining, but these nursery rhymes are actually helping them build early literacy skills.

We have several different nursery rhyme CDs, but the current favorite is Humpty Who? that come with a book (with the same title) by Jennifer Griffin. And we’d love to send you and your little one(s) a copy too!

To enter to win your own copy of the book and CD Humpty Who? all you have to do is one (or all) of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your child’s (or your) favorite nursery rhyme.

2. Leave another comment on this post telling me what other children’s CDs your kids enjoy listening to. (Yes, I enjoy the nursery rhymes, but I’d like them to have exposure to other genres of music too!)

3. Mention my giveaway in your own blog post (be sure to provide a link to this giveaway post), and then post the link to your blog as another comment on this post.

All comments must be left on this post to be eligible to win a copy of Humpty Who?, and all entries must be posted by 9pm (Eastern Stanard Time) on Tuesday, May 4th. Thanks for entering and good luck!

23 Months Old

Dear Tiny and Buba,

It’s hard to believe that it’s been two months since my last toddler update. The past couple of months have been filled with lots of learning, growing, and experiencing new things.

The thing that amazes me the most these days is listening to you sing. You both have learned to sing quite a collection of songs (including The Wheels on the Bus, If You’re Happy and You Know It, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Itsy Bitsy Spider, Row, Row, Row Your Boat, and more!). Although it’s not uncommon for either of you to burst into song while playing or riding in the minivan, I still find myself pausing to pay extra attention to your sweet, little voices. I especially love listening to you sing our version of My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean. I’ve been singing it to you guys since you were infants, singing your own names instead of Bonnie, and now you are singing it yourselves. You insert each other’s names, Mommy, Daddy, Grammy, and Paw Paw and laugh and laugh as you sing. You also love to sing the songs you’ve learned through Early Intervention (Hiding Hiding and All the Little Ducks), as well as a song we made up at home (Bye-Bye Mr. Cry).

You’ve both discovered the fun of pretend play. You like to use the Laugh & Learn Learning Home as you pretend to go off to work in the white car (our Corolla).You come to me and give me kisses as you announce that you are going to work. Then you wave bye-bye as you crawl through the door of the house and close it behind you. But only moments later, you burst through the door announcing that you are home and then the fun begins all over again.

The play kitchen you received as a Christmas present has also provided hours of fun. You both love to prepare meals with the plastic food and bring them to me for a tasting. The smiles on your faces when I say, “Yum! Yum!” are just priceless. And you love to use the phone from the play kitchen to call relatives and friends to chat about your day. You say, “Hello? Mmmhmmm, Mmmhmmm. Sit down and read books. Love you! B-bye!”

We’ve had several fun adventures at new places these last couple of months. We bought a multi-pass at a toddler gym, and you both enjoy climbing, running, and jumping in this playspace just for toddlers.

You also had a ton of fun at the gymnastics birthday party for your friends, and you especially enjoyed running and bouncing on the long trampoline and jumping into the pool of foam blocks.

Tiny, you are all about asserting your independence these days. You want to dress yourself, put on your own socks and shoes, and put away the toys you’ve claimed as yours. This can sometimes be a problem if we need any of these tasks to be done quickly, but your determination served us very well during our potty training weekend. At 22.5 months old, you decided, “No more diapers.” We devoted an entire weekend to helping you learn to use the potty, but you pretty much had it down in 5.5 hours. And it’s been smooth sailing ever since. What can I say? When you’re ready, you’re ready.

And finally, it is probably your language development that has continued to wow me the most. You’re constantly rehearsing and repeating the new words and phrases that you hear, and it’s usually not until I hear you say them that I realize you were listening when I thought you were ignoring me. And although we don’t have 100% accuracy, you’re getting pretty good at remembering events from our days and telling Daddy about the things we’ve done when we sit down for dinner. I know he enjoys this part of the evening very much.

Buba, you continue to make tons and tons of progress with both gross and fine motor skills. Although I don’t like to see it, you are building lots of strength as you practice climbing up and down our couches. You love to climb so much now, that we decided to move our Kangaroo Climber into the living room so you and Tiny would have something inside that is appropriate to climb. This climber keeps you busy for hours each day. You love to climb the steps on the outside of one side, and you climb through the big, round opening on the opposite side while hoisting yourself up to the platform at the top of the slide.

And your fine motor skill have improved dramatically. Just a few months ago, the Busy Poppin’ Pals toy was a major source of frustration. You wanted to make all those animals pop up, but you were only able to get the panda by pushing the big button in. Now you can slide, flip, turn, or push to make all the animals come up. It is so nice to watch you enjoy playing with that toy. And I love, love, love to hear you sing. You pick up new songs after hearing them just once, and I know if we could find a sing-along that lasted all day, you’d be in heaven.

It’s hard to believe that you’ll be turning two in just two more weeks (March 7th). The old expression is definitely true: The days are long, but the years are short.

Love you!

Mommy

No Climbing

Maybe it’s because it wasn’t allowed, or perhaps it’s because my guys are such peanuts, but Tiny and Buba weren’t into climbing when all their friends started doing it. Sometime in the fall, they both attempted to climb up on the couch, but I pulled them off and told them, “No climbing.” When they tried again, I put them in time out, and that was pretty much the end of the climbing attempts…

until the holiday break.

T was home for a little over a week, and even though he knew that I didn’t allow climbing, he let Tiny and Buba climb up on the chair and couches. I explained to him that my biggest fear wasn’t the climbing up, it was the falling off. Although he was with them when they were climbing, I can’t always be there when I’m solo parenting to make sure they’re being safe. And I’d rather forbid the climbing than have to deal with nasty spills off the couch.

But it was too late. The damage was done, and there was no longer anything I could do to keep Tiny and Buba from climbing on (and falling off) the furniture. A few times I removed the chair and put in in a room that was gated off, and after I caught them jumping on the couch, I penned them in the kitchen. But those were not great solutions. So, we came up with a better one…

No, you’re not seeing things. That is, in fact a Kangaroo Climber in our living room. It used to be in our front yard,

but T and I agreed that Tiny and Buba really needed to be allowed to climb something in the house. So Tuesday night, T brought it inside and cleaned it off. Buba and Tiny were instantly into it. And they’ve spent the better part of the last three days playing with the climber.

Over the summer,  it took a lot for Buba and Tiny to hoist themselves up the the platform at the top of the slide. But now they can do it with seemingly little effort. And while there is obviously still a risk of falling, I’m just not as worried about it when they’re on the climber. They’re holding on with their hands and gripping with their feet, rather than just bopping around on squishy cushions. They’ve had a couple of minor spills, but they’re falling with more control.

And since we brought the climber inside, there has been significantly less climbing on the furniture- maybe 5% of what there used to be. I’m not thrilled to have the climber in the living room, but spring will be here soon enough, and then the climber will go back out into the yard. Until then, they’re happy, so I’m happy.

21 months old

This past month has been one of amazing growth. Tiny and Buba, you’ve both been experimenting more with language and have recently said things that made me stop dead in my tracks, wondering when my babies became so grown up. I’d become so used to teaching you each word, helping you practice it over and over, that I was surprised to hear such things as, “Big truck all dirty!” from Buba and “Daddy coming home soon.” from Tiny. Instead of communicating with just one or two words, you are now putting together words and phrases to express what you see and hear. Buba tells me, “Birdie tweet tweet!” and “I see Mommy!” while Tiny reports, “Pokey eating dinner.” and “Doggy barking. Woof! Woof!” Some days it seems like non-stop narration from the moment you wake up until it’s time for bed.

And you’re starting to learn and point out the colors of things you see, like purple cup and green bowl. I’m not quite sure when or how this got started, but it’s now another form of entertainment when we are out and about. If you start to get fussy in the stroller I just point to something and ask what color it is. You both think this is a great new game.

I’ve also been very impressed with all the things you can do. You both continue to learn new signs (including bear and friend), and you love copying the gestures you see when we sing songs a the library (including The Itsy Bitsy Spider and If You’re Happy And You Know It). You’ve both recently become pros at working the shape sorter on the Laugh & Learn Leaning Home. This task, that had previously been very challenging and the source of great frustration, now almost appears to be too easy. And it seems you mastered this skill in just the blink of an eye. One day you couldn’t, and the next day you could. I clapped and cheered for both of you when you fit all four shapes into their rightful places, and you beamed and giggled with pride.

You are getting much better at helping, and it is so nice that I am no longer cleaning all the toys by myself. You attempt to sing the clean up song (Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere…) when we clean up toys before mealtimes. You are best at getting your bedroom toys into the toy bin, but are getting better at putting your toys in the proper places in the room used to be our living room. And you love, love, LOVE when I let you help put the groceries away. As soon as I bring the first bags into the kitchen you both run in and Tiny starts saying and signing help. You race each other to empty the bags, and you hand me each thing you pull out so I can put it away. When the last bag is empty, you smile and shout, “All done! All done!” as you run back to the living room to play with your toys.

My dear, sweet Buba, you have grown so much in the last few weeks. You are communicating much more and much better, which means less screeching and screaming. You still love to spend quite moments playing on your own, but have also become more interested in playing with Tiny. You’ll see her doing something silly and join right in- this includes walking around with a rectangular bin on your head and laying on your back on the kitchen floor so you can bang your heels on the dishwasher.

You like to make up  your own songs (Noni, noni, ah, ah, ah) and get so excited when I sing them back to you. And I love the precious little kisses you give me when I find the time to sit down on the floor with you. They remind me why it’s necessary to put off housework every now and then.

Sweet baby girl, you watch everything I do and want to do it too. Lately, you want to clean all the time. You have your own little wash cloths and you walk around the house saying, “Mess, mess, mess!” as you wipe the cloth across cabinets and window sills.

You’re becoming more and more independent each day, and get angry with me when I try to help or do something for you. I am no longer allowed to take off your coat or hat (unless I feel like listening to you scream). And as soon as you get your own hat and coat off, you rush to help your brother. You can be a little bossy with Buba (“No, no, no Brabra!), but there is no doubt that you love him very much. When he wakes up unhappy from a nap, you rush to get his koala and give him a kiss on the cheek. You know just what he needs to feel happy again.

You love music and have recently started to sing parts of The Itsy Bitsy Spider, The ABCs, The Wheels on the Bus, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat on your own. I love to hear your sweet, little voice and know that it won’t be long before you’ve learned an entire song.

I am greatly enjoying the Christmas season this year, as you’re both watching and learning about the holiday traditions I cherish. I can’t wait to see your faces on Christmas morning.

Love you!

Mommy

My Tiny Talking Parrot

My conversation with Tiny this morning…

T: Mommy! Read book? Read book?

r: Wait, Tiny. You need to put on clothes first (she’s standing before me in just her diaper and a onesie).

T: Put clothes. Put clothes.

r: Take this shirt and these pants. They’re so pretty!

T: Peedy! Peedy!

r: Let Mama help (as I see her attempting to put her shirt on upside down).

T: Help! Help!

r: It’s a little big, so let’s roll up the sleeves.

T: Too big? Too big?

r: Yes, Tiny. Just a little too big.

T: Too big! Too big!

r: (once Tiny is all dressed) There you go!

T: Darwego! All done!

r: Yes, all done.

T: Peedy! Peedy!

r: Yes, you’re very pretty.

T: Mommy! Read book? Read book?

r: Okay, Tiny. Go get your book…

Hi, Santa Claus!

Today, Tiny and Buba went to see Santa Claus at the mall. We’ve been talking about Santa Claus, reading books about Santa Claus, and singing songs about Santa Claus in hopes of getting the kids excited and not scared about getting their picture taken with Santa.

This morning, I showed them the picture from last year. ”See,” I said pointing at the very authentic looking Santa. “That’s Santa Claus. And there’s baby Tiny and baby Buba sitting on Santa’s lap.”

Tiny shrieked, “Hi, Santa Claus!”

I explained that we would go to the mall and they would sit on Santa’s lap and get their pictures taken. “Sit, sit.” Tiny repeated, letting me know that she understood.

When we got into the minivan to head down to the mall, I asked the kids, “Where are we going?”

“Santa Claus! Santa Claus!” they chorused from their seats.

“And what will you do when you see him?” I asked.

“Hi, Santa Claus!” Tiny replied. “Sit, sit.”

They seemed genuinely excited, and that excitement lasted all the way up until we were standing right in front of Santa. Buba stared with curiosity, so  I thought he might be okay. But Tiny was scared. “No, no, no, no, no,” she shouted, stomping her little feet and pulling me down the ramp.

“It’s Santa Claus,” I tried to explain, but Tiny had already made up her mind. I was just about to walk them away, when Santa encouraged me to let Buba try sitting on his lap. Buba went willingly, but cried as soon as Santa had a hold of him. I grabbed Tiny, and we sat on the bench next to Santa. Tiny was really going nuts now. Even sitting on my lap, she was fighting to get away. I wanted to get her out of there, but Santa encouraged me to give them both a minute (there was no one waiting in line). Tiny and Buba did calm down a bit, but the photo is certainly not one that I’ll be sharing.

Of course, the second we started to leave, Tiny turned back and waved her little hand saying, “Bye-bye, Santa Claus! Bye!” And she continued to talk on and on about Santa Claus as we made our way back through the mall.

Say Cheese!

When we took Tiny and Buba to get their holiday pictures taken last November, it was a bit of a disaster. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and I had chosen that day for two important reasons: 1) T had the afternoon off, so he was able to accompany us. 2) It was a Wednesday, and so the weekday buy one get one free deal was applicable. However, the portrait studio waiting room was packed with kids and parents. We had a 4pm appointment (because they were napping 1-3pm), but waited over half an hour to be called into the studio. Tiny and Buba were about 8.5 months old, and early evening was not a good time for them. The more we waited, the more nervous I became. They kept it together really well while we waited. But, of course, once we actually got to the picture taking part, they fell apart. The photographer took about 8 pictures and then sent us on our way. I didn’t really love any of the photos, but these pictures were going to be the only gifts we were giving to family and friends. And there was no time to make another appointment, so I was stuck. I picked the best of the bunch, placed our order, and left unhappy.

We went back to the same studio for Buba and Tiny’s 12 month and 15 month portraits (because except for the holiday photo shoot, we’d always had a good experience). While we got much better pictures those times, T and I both agreed that the experience was most similar to a workout at a gym. Because now Tiny and Buba were mobile. So not only did we have to try to get them to look at the camera and smile by shaking toys and making silly sounds and faces, but we also had to keep them from escaping. All this in a tiny, little room that was about 100 degrees. We were all dripping with sweat by the time we left.

I kept all of this in mind as I prepared for our holiday photo portraits this year. I made our appointment on a Saturday (so we lost out on the buy one get one free deal) and booked the very first appointment of the day (so no line, no waiting). Up until this point, we’d only had Buba and Tiny photographed (mostly because I was self-conscious about my postpartum figure), but this time I decided that I’d like to try a family portrait as well. So, T and I dressed for pictures too, and I tried to keep all of our clothing as lightweight as possible to keep us from melting under the heat of all the lights. I had no idea how Tiny and Buba (now 20.5 months old) would behave, but I tried to prepare them that morning, telling them that they would have to sit down and smile (say cheese!) while they got their pictures taken. Tiny repeated the directions all morning, “Sit! Cheese!”

I have to say, this photo session could not have gone better. The photographer was the best one we’ve had since Buba and Tiny were infants. She got them smiling and laughing by making faces and noises, clapping and saying Yay!, and giving them balls to throw to her and then pretending to be so excited by their great throwing abilities. We had also brought along Santa Bear to help bring out the smiles, and he managed to make his way into a few of our photos as well.

I’m not really sure what mad the difference this time- the kids being older? the fantastic photographer? the timing of our appointment? my prep work at home? Perhaps all of it, perhaps none of it. But at least this year I’m really excited to give out our photos as gifts. Let the holiday season begin!

20 months old

Rachel over at Motherhood.Squared writes the most beautiful updates about her twins. This is my first attempt at following in her footsteps.

The last three months have gone by so quickly. It seems we’ve fallen into a nice groove, and our days flow by rather smoothly. Each day is much the same as the one before, but also very different, because you both are learning and growing so much every day.

At the 18 month well visit, you both measured 31 inches tall. Tiny weighed in at 18 pounds, 11 ounces, and Buba weighed 20 pounds, 14 ounces. The pediatrician’s only concern was about Buba’s head size. It seems Buba’s head circumference had not grown since the 15 month check up, and the doctor wrote up orders for us to have his head x-rayed at Children’s Hospital to be sure the head bones were still capable of growing. Of course, everything came back a-okay, but having your head x-rayed was not at all a positive experience. So, we took you out to lunch at Friendly’s to try to make up for it. You gobbled up the hot dog and orange slices we ordered for you and still had room for black raspberry ice cream at the end.

Several days later, you both came down with your first stomach bugs. Buba was the first, and Tiny followed just one day later. For a week, I tried to shower you with TLC while trying desperately to get you to drink the Pedialyte. These were not fun days, but you both handled yourselves very well, and even managed to appear in very good spirits between bouts of sickness. Although we couldn’t get out and about in our usual fashion, you enjoyed walks around the neighborhood and playing in the front yard.

On the more typical days, we try to get out for at least one field trip. Some days, we go to the library for storytime,  to the local playground, or to a friend’s house for a playdate, but often we just run errands. You know many of the day employees at Stop and Shop, Ace Hardware, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Target, the bank, and the post office. You say hi and bye and smile and play peekaboo, and you love all the attention you get while we shop.

At home, you play and laugh together (although there are plenty of moments when you don’t get along), and I love to watch you spin yourselves dizzy. You like to wear hats and stand up on your riding toys, even though it’s not allowed. And you both love to walk around the house wearing various objects – an empty book box, one of Mommy’s old slippers, your trick-or-treat bag- on one foot. You are very active, as most toddlers are, but you also enjoy sitting down with your ever growing collection of books.

This fall we enjoyed many new activities with you. We had lots of fun apple picking and eating apples as we went along. You loved the juicy honeycrips we picked, as well as the cider donuts we bought before going home. The following weekend, we picked pumpkins, and you both had a great time carrying the little ones around. But the best part seemed to be watching the tractor plow the field. You both yelled, “Tractor! Tractor!” as it went up and down the field.

Then came Halloween- your first one going out in costumes. The costumes I bought at the twin sale were quite big, but we made them work. You wore them to a party at the senior center and for trick-or-treating in the center of a neighboring town and around our neighborhood. You had so much fun collecting candy in your bags, and everyone thought you were so cute.

Tiny, you know all the routines in our day and are quick to let me know if I forget to do something or change how something is done. You watch everything we do, and want to do as much as possible on your own. In the morning, you wait by the dresser as I pick out your clothes, and quickly snatch them from me while running off to try to dress yourself. Sometimes you come very close to getting your shirt on properly. You insist on wiping your own tears and runny nose, crying “titu (tissue)!” until we get one for you. You seem to learn new words and signs every day, and love to repeat words and phrases you hear us use frequently. You are headstrong, independent, and you want to do what you want to do. But you are good at following directions, especially when we are out in public. Buba can get away with nothing under your watchful eyes. I hear your piercing screech or loud “no-no-no” if he even thinks of doing something naughty. But when he is sad, you are so very comforting, bringing him his stuffed koala and giving him kisses to make him feel better. You show great affection for Monkey, Panda, Meow (a gray cat) and Cookie (a mouse wearing red overalls), and love to sit them down so you can read to them.

Buba, you are so loving and playful. When we go out to a storytime or playgroup, you think nothing about plopping yourself down in another mom’s lap or tilting your sweet little face up to give a kiss on the cheek. At home you love to hide behind your crib or under the kitchen table and call “Mommy!” repeatedly until I come and find you. When I ask you to come to me so I can put on your jacket or put you in your high chair, you turn and run in the opposite direction and laugh and laugh as I run after you. At 15 months, you spoke fewer than three words, but now your vocabulary is so extensive that I’ve lost count. When you say something that you find funny, real (bye-bye Poofty (Poofty being our cat Pokey)) or nonsense (ma-ma-ma mu-mo), you say it over and over, giggling in between. For a long time, you were more than willing to give into Tiny’s demands for toys in your possession. But now you are more assertive, standing your ground and holding on tightly. You are even so bold as to try to take toys from Tiny! You are getting better about playing with other kids, but still love to go off into a corner to play with the wire and bead toy or sit with a stack of books. You enjoy kisses and cuddles from Quack Quack (the big yellow duck), Meow (the cat), and Koala. And you especially love playing with “baby bida (baby spider)” who sings the ABC’s while you dance.

It is so much fun to see what loving, smart, funny kids you are becoming. Your laughter and smiles warm my heart, and I am so proud to be your mother.

Love you!

Mommy