Dear Vinny,
On Friday, we went out to dinner with my boss and his family again. You have been out with them before, and charmed their entire family. Friday night was no exception. You were flirting like it was going out of style. We gave you a plateful of fruit, which you ate with great aplomb and cuteness. One thing I noticed at dinner was that you were able to use the straw in my glass to suck the water from the glass into your mouth, which is something you hadn't really done before. Previously you just chewed the straw.
On Saturday, we went over to Tia and Uncle's house. You were really happy to see Tia. You and I sat with her while Daddy and Uncle Furry went to get Sho. You enjoyed playing with Fox, Tia and Uncle's little dog, especially when she was chewing on her chewtoy and you were trying to pull it away. You liked the pizza for dinner except that somehow, the crust was too hard for you to chew so you would spit it out. You also enjoyed cleaning out Tia's tupperware cabinet and sitting in it while pulling the last of it out of there. But eventually you got very tired and it was time to go home.
This morning, the three of us went out for breakfast. We ordered you a cinnamon roll and a glass of milk. You drank all the milk from the glass using a straw, just like I knew you could. You also ate the majority of the cinnamon roll. You did all of this while flirting with just about everybody in the room. You have an amazing amount of charisma.
After that, we went to the Children's Museum of Oak Ridge. Aunt Laura and Aunt Rachel and their families chipped in to give us a family membership to the museum for Christmas. This was the first time we got a chance to go there. I think you liked it. They have a room with lots of train toys and model train exhibits. You enjoyed the toys and you pointed and stared at some of the model trains. While we were there, we saw your friend Amelia and her family at the museum. It is a good place for kids to go, and we'll definitely go back again.
Love,
Mommy
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Monday, January 21, 2008
Fruit Fanatic
Dear Vinny,
You absolutely adore fruit. If you see a whole apple within arm's reach, you will grab it and start chomping down on it, skin and all. You also love pears and grapes.
Last week, grapes were really expensive, so we decided to introduce you to strawberries (which were, weirdly, cheaper per pound than grapes). You are now a huge fan of strawberries too.
I don't think there's been a single fruit that you have tried and have not liked. We gave you a piece of lemon to try once, and you were fine with it. Most kids' mouths pucker at the sour taste, but it did not faze you in the least.
You also enjoy cooked carrots quite a bit. We give you peas and carrots sometimes, and you eat a couple of peas but all the carrots. Another food that we've recently introduced you to is pizza. You definitely enjoy pizza too, although we have to make sure that it's not too hot for your mouth.
We've let you feed yourself non-finger foods, with mixed success. You ate some brown rice with pork marengo sauce on it with modest success. You really liked the flavor so you made an effort to use your spoon (concave side downward or clutched in your hand, of course), and some of it made it into your mouth. But there have been other things you haven't been so crazy about. No matter your eating habits though, we are crazy about you!
Love,
Mommy
You absolutely adore fruit. If you see a whole apple within arm's reach, you will grab it and start chomping down on it, skin and all. You also love pears and grapes.
Last week, grapes were really expensive, so we decided to introduce you to strawberries (which were, weirdly, cheaper per pound than grapes). You are now a huge fan of strawberries too.
I don't think there's been a single fruit that you have tried and have not liked. We gave you a piece of lemon to try once, and you were fine with it. Most kids' mouths pucker at the sour taste, but it did not faze you in the least.
You also enjoy cooked carrots quite a bit. We give you peas and carrots sometimes, and you eat a couple of peas but all the carrots. Another food that we've recently introduced you to is pizza. You definitely enjoy pizza too, although we have to make sure that it's not too hot for your mouth.
We've let you feed yourself non-finger foods, with mixed success. You ate some brown rice with pork marengo sauce on it with modest success. You really liked the flavor so you made an effort to use your spoon (concave side downward or clutched in your hand, of course), and some of it made it into your mouth. But there have been other things you haven't been so crazy about. No matter your eating habits though, we are crazy about you!
Love,
Mommy
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Bouncy Chair
Dear Vinny,
Daddy bought you a bouncy chair, to encourage you to make some walking motions and strengthen your legs, as the doctor suggested. It has kind of a tropical theme to it, complete with frogs and tropical birds. You enjoy bouncing up and down in it sometimes, although you prefer being free and unconstrained and crawling around.
You can walk just fine if you're holding onto Mommy or Daddy, it's just that you have no desire to walk upright by yourself. But your time will come, and when it does, you will be walking as if you'd always known how.
Love,
Mommy
Daddy bought you a bouncy chair, to encourage you to make some walking motions and strengthen your legs, as the doctor suggested. It has kind of a tropical theme to it, complete with frogs and tropical birds. You enjoy bouncing up and down in it sometimes, although you prefer being free and unconstrained and crawling around.
You can walk just fine if you're holding onto Mommy or Daddy, it's just that you have no desire to walk upright by yourself. But your time will come, and when it does, you will be walking as if you'd always known how.
Love,
Mommy
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Fifteen Months!
Dear Vinny,
On Saturday, you turned fifteen months old. You are growing bigger every day. Today we took you to the doctor for your 15-month checkup. You were 24 lbs, 1 oz, and 35-1/4" tall. They say that children reach half their adult height by the time they are two years old. So I am thinking you are going to be one big boy!
You got some shots at the doctor's office, this time in the arms, and they hurt a lot and made you mad. That is completely understandable, but they were pretty important shots so I'm glad you had them. I would hate for you to get measles or chicken pox.
We've been trying to teach you some more words. So far we've been successful with teaching you to say "up." The thing is, you seem to think that "up" just means "change in elevation," because sometimes you say "up" when you want us to let you back down. This is similar to your use of the sign "more," which to you, just means "food."
You're not walking yet, but I think it's just that you're not motivated to walk. Why walk, when you could crawl? After all, once you get there, it's no big deal to just stand up. The doctor gave us some ideas on how to encourage you to walk.
You are a big fan of music. There are certain songs that just make you "rock out." One of those is "Old MacDonald," as played by your toy animal transport truck. You push the button, the music begins, and you start shaking your arms and jumping up and down on your knees. Another song you like is the one that plays when you push the right button on your Thomas the Tank Engine book. You have a very similar reaction to that music.
I guess it is natural that you would enjoy music so much, seeing as both of your parents enjoy it too. We also enjoy watching you enjoy music!
Love,
Mommy
On Saturday, you turned fifteen months old. You are growing bigger every day. Today we took you to the doctor for your 15-month checkup. You were 24 lbs, 1 oz, and 35-1/4" tall. They say that children reach half their adult height by the time they are two years old. So I am thinking you are going to be one big boy!
You got some shots at the doctor's office, this time in the arms, and they hurt a lot and made you mad. That is completely understandable, but they were pretty important shots so I'm glad you had them. I would hate for you to get measles or chicken pox.
We've been trying to teach you some more words. So far we've been successful with teaching you to say "up." The thing is, you seem to think that "up" just means "change in elevation," because sometimes you say "up" when you want us to let you back down. This is similar to your use of the sign "more," which to you, just means "food."
You're not walking yet, but I think it's just that you're not motivated to walk. Why walk, when you could crawl? After all, once you get there, it's no big deal to just stand up. The doctor gave us some ideas on how to encourage you to walk.
You are a big fan of music. There are certain songs that just make you "rock out." One of those is "Old MacDonald," as played by your toy animal transport truck. You push the button, the music begins, and you start shaking your arms and jumping up and down on your knees. Another song you like is the one that plays when you push the right button on your Thomas the Tank Engine book. You have a very similar reaction to that music.
I guess it is natural that you would enjoy music so much, seeing as both of your parents enjoy it too. We also enjoy watching you enjoy music!
Love,
Mommy
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
Happy New Year!
Dear Vinny,
Happy New Year! We had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa, who came down to see you this past weekend. They came on Saturday and they left this morning. You enjoyed spending time with your grandparents. They brought you a gigantic present: a slide and swing set, that is just your size. It can be used inside or outside, depending on our preferences. We have it in the living room.
You don't seem to understand what the slide is all about, but you like the swing a lot. You also enjoy standing on the platform above the slide, where there's a captain's wheel that you can spin around.
On Sunday, we all went on a trip to Cherokee, North Carolina. You were a very good sport about traveling in the car for so long. We went to the museum there, and you enjoyed it at first but you got a little bit impatient by the end. That evening, on our way home, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant, and we ordered you a sweet potato but you weren't very interested in letting us feed it to you. You are becoming more independent and you like to do things on your own.
On Monday, you enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't do much of anything, just enjoyed each other's company. One thing we did do is take a walk in the park, along the trail beside the lake. Grandpa carried you in the backpack baby carrier. I think he got a little tired by the end!
Every night that he was here, Grandpa put you to bed. I think he really enjoyed getting a chance to sing to you and rock you in the rocking chair. I know that I enjoy doing that too. I know that Grandma and Grandpa had a really good time with you, and are looking forward to seeing you again!
Love,
Mommy
Happy New Year! We had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa, who came down to see you this past weekend. They came on Saturday and they left this morning. You enjoyed spending time with your grandparents. They brought you a gigantic present: a slide and swing set, that is just your size. It can be used inside or outside, depending on our preferences. We have it in the living room.
You don't seem to understand what the slide is all about, but you like the swing a lot. You also enjoy standing on the platform above the slide, where there's a captain's wheel that you can spin around.
On Sunday, we all went on a trip to Cherokee, North Carolina. You were a very good sport about traveling in the car for so long. We went to the museum there, and you enjoyed it at first but you got a little bit impatient by the end. That evening, on our way home, we stopped for dinner at a restaurant, and we ordered you a sweet potato but you weren't very interested in letting us feed it to you. You are becoming more independent and you like to do things on your own.
On Monday, you enjoyed spending the day with Grandma and Grandpa. We didn't do much of anything, just enjoyed each other's company. One thing we did do is take a walk in the park, along the trail beside the lake. Grandpa carried you in the backpack baby carrier. I think he got a little tired by the end!
Every night that he was here, Grandpa put you to bed. I think he really enjoyed getting a chance to sing to you and rock you in the rocking chair. I know that I enjoy doing that too. I know that Grandma and Grandpa had a really good time with you, and are looking forward to seeing you again!
Love,
Mommy
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