January Scene

It’s one of those scenes you want to burn into your mind and remember forever. The sun has set, taking everything from gray to deep blue. The snow blanketing the yard and roofs catches the last bits of light. The cold blueness contrasts with the warm lights shining brightly inside the house. Jack entertains himself with dominoes at the big table. DeeDee rolls in her bed and antagonizes Dexter. Music softly plays. A steaming pot bubbles on the stove while a candle sputters and crackles. I sit at the kitchen table with a hot mug of tea and squeeze in a few pages from a good book. Waiting for Daddy so we can eat together.

Nonstop Questioning Preschooler

How about a Charlie update. Oh where to begin? He’s four and a half and amazing, but you already know that. He’s also constantly on the move and pushing boundaries. I didn’t realize it would start so soon. 

Charlie can do lots of things. He can somersault, balance on one foot, hop on one foot, skip, run fast to impress others, break-dance, throw pretty well, tell right from left, count to 100 with some help, make up stories, write most letters and numbers, and write his name. Whew!

He knows our city and state, Gam Gam and Papa’s town, and Granddad and Granny’s state.

I see his imagination at work when he plays with an imaginary Katelin (his cousin) in his room or has an imaginary conversation with Granny/Granddad on the phone. He likes to pretend and play Store and Restaurant. 

He loves attention and entertaining others. Knock knock jokes are still a big hit, as well as his original joke creations.

His memory is just incredible. There’s nothing more to say about this. He remembers every.thing.

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?  (Dramatic reenactment of 30 seconds with Charlie.)

He likes to watch Billy the Exterminator (or “sterminator”) with Daddy and thinks it would be neat to get some spiked gloves like Billy.

He has recently shown more interest in PBS shows like Word World, Super Why, Sid the Science Kid, etc.

He’s working on telling time and days of the week.

He’s very passionate and has a bit of a temper. We’ve resorted to using an incentive chart to remind him to share, play nice, not yell, stay at the dinner table, brush teeth, get ready for bed, stay in his room at night, etc. It works most days.

Moving, Grooving, Talking Toddler

I remember blogging each time Charlie had a doctor check-up. I’d faithfully record his height, weight, percentiles, and developmental milestones. Poor Baby Jack hasn’t had much of that! I do keep all of his measurements and things from the doctor, so maybe one day I’ll post them. Maybe.

At almost 17 months, Jack is quite a character. He loves to talk, climb, dance, and RUN! His favorite toys are remotes, phones, and anything with buttons. He can whistle, jump with both feet, and throw/kick a ball. He follows directions: put back, go get, and go to. He often hooks a bag or purse over his arm, waves bye bye, and goes to the door. He also likes to blow on his food to cool it off. Even yogurt because you just never know. 

Here are some “words” that Jack says and their English equivalents:
djiss               cheese
ish                  shirt
dada               turkey, empty, daddy, cracker
dish                fish, juice
oosh               shoes
da                   dog, plane, down, drink
bop bop          apple, diaper
ba                   bird, boat
ha                   hot (when he sees fire, the grill, smoke, steam)
ah                   eye, ice
neh neh          nose

Jack also points to facial features on command, but he’s more interested in yours than his. He also loves to walk around in my flip flops and will wear hats as available.        

Thanks Learning Channel!

Sometimes Charlie gets up before Jack and me, and he watches TV in the living room until we get up. He usually watches Nick Jr. or PBS Sprout, but this morning it was something different...

Charlie: Mama, I watched a show about babies. They got the babies out of people. With tools.

Mama: Oh yeah? That's neat. (hoping that he hasn't seen anything too traumatic)

 

And later that morning:
 

Charlie: When they got those babies out of the people, they were so cute. They kind of got the blood off of them. The dads and mudders held those babies. Then some other show came on.