Dear Vinny,
You have been scribbling on paper for quite some time. You sent Granny a "signed" Easter card before you were able to sit up on your own, and for every holiday and birthday since, you've signed cards. You also love to draw on paper, the floor, whatever you can make a mark on.
But until last week, as far as we knew, it was just scribbles. But then, you drew something and told me what it was: an airplane. Amazing!
Your favorite artistic subject of late has been thunder and lightning. You also love to draw the moon (still one of your favorite things), and you've drawn pictures of Mama and Daddy as well. None of them look quite like what you're intending (yet) but in time they will. You are an accomplished artist already.
Love,
Mama
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Toddler Tunes
Dear Vinny,
You are one big music fan. This is at least in part because your parents are musically inclined.
But in addition to being predisposed to enjoy music, we've exposed you to a lot of music in the 22 months since you were born. (You might argue that we exposed you to a lot of music in utero, too.)
When I put you to bed, I always sing at least one song to you. Every night, we read (sing) Down by the Bay, which you absolutely adore, and then I sing "Can't Help Falling in Love." Despite my voice's bad reputation (my singing was once mistaken for the sound of someone being strangled by a snake), you seem to enjoy it. Personally, I think that I may not have the best voice tone, but thanks to my perfect pitch, I'm never off-key.
You love Jack's Big Music Show, and from that show you and Daddy learned about the renowned children's singer/songwriter Laurie Berkner. Daddy bought a couple of Laurie Berkner CDs and put them on his iPod. You can't get enough Laurie Berkner. Your favorites include "I'm a Mess," "Under a Shady Tree" (which you refer to as "Twee"), and "Running Down the Hill" ("I-I-I-Wunning" -- from the lyrics).
You've always been fascinated by the piano. In February, we got it tuned, and you watched the piano tuner intently. When the man tested his tuning by playing, you had to sit next to him and watch, and cried when it was time for the piano tuner to leave.
You love to play the piano too. You will actually sit on the piano bench and play for several minutes, which is remarkable, given the attention span of a toddler. You do more than just pound on the keys; you sometimes appear to be picking out a tune of some sort. And when you find a sound that you like, you repeat it before moving on to something else.
Something that's been interesting to watch is your musical development. You don't really sing yet -- you haven't figured out how to make your voice change pitch -- but you definitely can distinguish singing from speaking. You also seem to have tunes going through his head: you'll break out with "I-I-I-Wunning...daaaw Hiw" (for example), even when you haven't heard the song for quite some time.
You sometimes sing along with music -- you especially enjoy singing along with the "Jack's Big Music Show" theme song. It is incredibly cute to hear. You know to lengthen or shorten syllables with the rhythm, but like I said, you haven't figured out how to change the pitch of your voice yet. You also clap to the rhythm of songs, and dance too. It is so cute when you dance. You jump but you haven't figured out how to get completely off the ground, so it's more like springing up to your tip-toes and back down.
In a few years, I would like for you to take piano lessons, because one thing I regret is that for all the musical talent and skill that I have, I don't know how to play the piano. I'm looking forward to the further development of your musical talents!
Love,
Mama
You are one big music fan. This is at least in part because your parents are musically inclined.
But in addition to being predisposed to enjoy music, we've exposed you to a lot of music in the 22 months since you were born. (You might argue that we exposed you to a lot of music in utero, too.)
When I put you to bed, I always sing at least one song to you. Every night, we read (sing) Down by the Bay, which you absolutely adore, and then I sing "Can't Help Falling in Love." Despite my voice's bad reputation (my singing was once mistaken for the sound of someone being strangled by a snake), you seem to enjoy it. Personally, I think that I may not have the best voice tone, but thanks to my perfect pitch, I'm never off-key.
You love Jack's Big Music Show, and from that show you and Daddy learned about the renowned children's singer/songwriter Laurie Berkner. Daddy bought a couple of Laurie Berkner CDs and put them on his iPod. You can't get enough Laurie Berkner. Your favorites include "I'm a Mess," "Under a Shady Tree" (which you refer to as "Twee"), and "Running Down the Hill" ("I-I-I-Wunning" -- from the lyrics).
You've always been fascinated by the piano. In February, we got it tuned, and you watched the piano tuner intently. When the man tested his tuning by playing, you had to sit next to him and watch, and cried when it was time for the piano tuner to leave.
You love to play the piano too. You will actually sit on the piano bench and play for several minutes, which is remarkable, given the attention span of a toddler. You do more than just pound on the keys; you sometimes appear to be picking out a tune of some sort. And when you find a sound that you like, you repeat it before moving on to something else.
Something that's been interesting to watch is your musical development. You don't really sing yet -- you haven't figured out how to make your voice change pitch -- but you definitely can distinguish singing from speaking. You also seem to have tunes going through his head: you'll break out with "I-I-I-Wunning...daaaw Hiw" (for example), even when you haven't heard the song for quite some time.
You sometimes sing along with music -- you especially enjoy singing along with the "Jack's Big Music Show" theme song. It is incredibly cute to hear. You know to lengthen or shorten syllables with the rhythm, but like I said, you haven't figured out how to change the pitch of your voice yet. You also clap to the rhythm of songs, and dance too. It is so cute when you dance. You jump but you haven't figured out how to get completely off the ground, so it's more like springing up to your tip-toes and back down.
In a few years, I would like for you to take piano lessons, because one thing I regret is that for all the musical talent and skill that I have, I don't know how to play the piano. I'm looking forward to the further development of your musical talents!
Love,
Mama
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Mother-Son Afternoon Excursion
Dear Vinny,
I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon at the children's museum with you. Daddy was feeling a bit under-the-weather, so I took you out for a fun mother-son afternoon.
We hadn't taken you to the museum in a while. In fact, the last time you were there, you weren't walking yet, so you didn't get as much out of it then as you did yesterday.
We started in the train room, where you could have easily spent the entire afternoon. There are lots of toy trains to play with there, and you were shouting "TRAINS!" with excitement. After at least twenty minutes, I was able to lure you to the next exciting room, the child-sized dollhouse. You enjoyed playing in the kitchen of the dollhouse but didn't try to go upstairs. Unlike the last time we were there, there were no other children in the room so you had the run of it to yourself. Then we went to the rainforest room, where you enjoyed running on the boardwalk and opening and closing the doors of the "research station." Another room you really loved was the bird room, where, if you go up on this deck, there are bird's nests under glass on the floor. You really loved pushing the buttons and turning on the recessed lamps in the floor, illuminating the nests. We must have done that approximately 8,423,986 times. But I could tell you really enjoyed it so that made it worth it.
It is readily apparent to me that you love two things above all else: wheels and lights. The wheels on the train toys were what made them so awesome. In another exhibit, there was an old-timey wheelchair and you studiously examined and tried out the wheels on the wheelchair. And I tried to get you to look at the plants and animals in the rainforest room, but you were more interested in checking out the lighting system. I taught you the word "nest" from the aforementioned bird room, but it's entirely possible that you think it means recessed lighting.
Altogether we spent about four hours at the museum. We took one short break to eat some goldfish crackers and drink some milk, but otherwise, the whole time was spent in the museum. You really had a great time and we'll have to take you back there again very soon.
Love,
Mama
I spent a wonderful Saturday afternoon at the children's museum with you. Daddy was feeling a bit under-the-weather, so I took you out for a fun mother-son afternoon.
We hadn't taken you to the museum in a while. In fact, the last time you were there, you weren't walking yet, so you didn't get as much out of it then as you did yesterday.
We started in the train room, where you could have easily spent the entire afternoon. There are lots of toy trains to play with there, and you were shouting "TRAINS!" with excitement. After at least twenty minutes, I was able to lure you to the next exciting room, the child-sized dollhouse. You enjoyed playing in the kitchen of the dollhouse but didn't try to go upstairs. Unlike the last time we were there, there were no other children in the room so you had the run of it to yourself. Then we went to the rainforest room, where you enjoyed running on the boardwalk and opening and closing the doors of the "research station." Another room you really loved was the bird room, where, if you go up on this deck, there are bird's nests under glass on the floor. You really loved pushing the buttons and turning on the recessed lamps in the floor, illuminating the nests. We must have done that approximately 8,423,986 times. But I could tell you really enjoyed it so that made it worth it.
It is readily apparent to me that you love two things above all else: wheels and lights. The wheels on the train toys were what made them so awesome. In another exhibit, there was an old-timey wheelchair and you studiously examined and tried out the wheels on the wheelchair. And I tried to get you to look at the plants and animals in the rainforest room, but you were more interested in checking out the lighting system. I taught you the word "nest" from the aforementioned bird room, but it's entirely possible that you think it means recessed lighting.
Altogether we spent about four hours at the museum. We took one short break to eat some goldfish crackers and drink some milk, but otherwise, the whole time was spent in the museum. You really had a great time and we'll have to take you back there again very soon.
Love,
Mama
Saturday, August 02, 2008
Words, Letters, and Numbers
Dear Vinny,
You have been saying more and more interesting sentences. Just yesterday you said to Daddy, "Open trash door, I throw away trash." When you're hungry, you'll say (for example), "Want some yogurt-toast" (that's toast with yogurt instead of jam).
You've also learned how to turn doorknobs, which means that you can leave your room if you'renot tired enough to take a nap. (Or you could, until we installed the child-proofing on the doorknob inside your room.)
You're getting a lot better at feeding yourself. You get more than half the food in your mouth when you feeds yourself, which I call a success. But you do enjoy rubbing the yogurt (for example) into the tablecloth or your clothes when it drips or misses your mouth.
You can recognize all the letters of the alphabet. You don't know the order yet but we've been practicing the alphabet song with you. You also know your numbers, although again you don't quite have the order down. I like to count things with you. For example, we'll be playing with a truck and I'll ask, "How many wheels?" You'll usually "count" the wheels, although the wheels are actually a means to an end. The goal of counting, in your opinion, is to get to ten (or sometimes, twenty). It doesn't really matter if you skip a few numbers or go out of order. Once you get to the target number, you celebrate. So usually, the reply to "How many wheels?" goes something like this:
"One, two, four, five, seven, eight, ten, yay!"
Close enough.
Love,
Mama
You have been saying more and more interesting sentences. Just yesterday you said to Daddy, "Open trash door, I throw away trash." When you're hungry, you'll say (for example), "Want some yogurt-toast" (that's toast with yogurt instead of jam).
You've also learned how to turn doorknobs, which means that you can leave your room if you'renot tired enough to take a nap. (Or you could, until we installed the child-proofing on the doorknob inside your room.)
You're getting a lot better at feeding yourself. You get more than half the food in your mouth when you feeds yourself, which I call a success. But you do enjoy rubbing the yogurt (for example) into the tablecloth or your clothes when it drips or misses your mouth.
You can recognize all the letters of the alphabet. You don't know the order yet but we've been practicing the alphabet song with you. You also know your numbers, although again you don't quite have the order down. I like to count things with you. For example, we'll be playing with a truck and I'll ask, "How many wheels?" You'll usually "count" the wheels, although the wheels are actually a means to an end. The goal of counting, in your opinion, is to get to ten (or sometimes, twenty). It doesn't really matter if you skip a few numbers or go out of order. Once you get to the target number, you celebrate. So usually, the reply to "How many wheels?" goes something like this:
"One, two, four, five, seven, eight, ten, yay!"
Close enough.
Love,
Mama
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