Building with Daddy

Helping Mommy in the Kitchen

Counting

She takes a little coercing . . .

Day of Opposites

It seems Vanessa is practicing opposites this morning:

She continued to go over to her mommy to ask "Inside?" She was asking her mommy to go inside her playhouse (pictures of playhouse were previously posted in September or October). Her mommy made it over and joined her for a chat about a few of the stuffed animals in the house. Vanessa also took the time to point out most of the features on her mommy's face before getting up and walking out of the play house while saying over and over "Outside? See ya. Bye-bye."

Then while finishing breakfast with some water, Vanessa practiced opening and closing the lid to her straw cup while saying repeatedly "Open. Close."

Maybe later today we'll talk more about hot/cold, up/down, in/out . . .

Agapē

This was the last Valentine my grandmother was able to give me (Vicky). I think it's from '98. I love that it's from a collection she obviously had for many years -- that was often the case. Valentines were the most bare cards my grandmother sent. This card happened to be labeled "Victoria" (as seen in pic) and the back is signed "From - MAM-MAW and PAP-PAW LUMBARD." As if she needed to clarify Lumbard . . . but she always did . . . :)

My MAM-MAW's love was the richest in human form I've known thus far . . . and I can't imagine finding another to compare. She had a contagious, sometimes uncontrollable laugh. She was soft and warm. She hummed the most beautiful melodies, even during times of sorrow . . . She was modest. She loved EVERYONE! She was so enviably patient . . . :) I could find no flaw in her, and that was so comforting . . . and she was unbelievably humble . . . she had a high level of unavowed self confidence that made one realize she didn't need reassurance from any human because she completely relied on God for every ounce. Oh how I admire her spirit . . . examples of her character are what I strive to be . . . (but I realize I often fall short . . .)

Below is an example of a card my grandmother would send most often (which happens to be the last Christmas card she was able to give me.) She would spend lots of time and energy writing wonderful words of hope and encouragement, built around her strong and unwavering faith and her love for us. I'm sure she penciled in the evening she would spend preparing and addressing the card. She would then maticulously place appropriately themed stickers all over the envelope. I'm still tickled by her thoughtfulness, especially when I come across examples of it . . .
Her underlines and traceovers were definitely to emphasize her message to you . . . :)

My grandmother obviously holds a special place in my heart, as I know each of her grandchildren undoubtedly held their own unique place in hers. For now Vanessa alone holds her parents' in way only a child can:

Windy City

Are you sure this isn't the Windy City? Lately we haven't seen many cows as we travel in and around Columbus but we sure have seen the effects of high winds over the last several months. Opening the play room windows allowed us to sieze the opportunity to explore gusts as they began to move through yesterday afternoon. The warmer temps made it extra enjoyable.

We lost power at around 10:30 last night . Fortunately it was restored by this afternoon.

Diaper Challenge

To succeed... you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you. - Tony Dorsett

In this case it happens to be putting on a diaper! I'm sure she'll continue to work on this challenge as long as it takes to learn how to unfold the attachment tabs and fix the diaper in place, because it seems that was the only thing she couldn't quite master. She's quite the eager learner! Thankfully in this instance Vanessa was satisfied making her attempt over her sleeper. :)

Vanessa is looking for a good place to practice:

How about using one of my chairs . . . oh right . . . Mommy moved them to the kitchen after telling me repeatedly to put my bottom down . . .

The following pictures are in the order in which they were taken:

Oh . . . who cares about this stinkin' diaper . . . I'm done . . .

1.5 Years

Here we are with Vanessa turning eighteen months today. She’s a little girl now . . . no longer a baby . . . but she is our baby and always will be . . .

Vanessa is doing so much these days. It’s hard to believe. She has lots of words. Her new thing lately as we put her down for a nap is to wave and say “See ya. Bye-Bye.” She also does this when she finds Mommy’s purse and carries it around. It makes sense that it’s amazing to watch her go through this imitation stage, especially since it’s her mommy that she naturally imitates the most. (And by the way -- she’s been exploring her nose a little more with her finger – she’s not imitating her mommy!)

Her favorite show is Blue’s Clues and she’ll ask to watch it several times a day, especially when she’s tired. She’s mastering the dance moves and likes to try and sing along. For the moment it seems her favorite color is also blue. She’ll sometimes point out blue things and say “Blue?” We assure her when she’s correct. :)

Vanessa likes to help wipe things down with a cloth or paper towel. She washes herself in the bathtub and when she's finished eating or getting messy. (A big person sometimes needs to do a final wipe or cleaning because it can be hard to twist and turn her little hands and fingers in a way to get all the dirt or mess. Vanessa doesn’t seem to be offended by the extra help. :) She tries to dress and undress herself. She’ll often tell us when we need to change her soiled diaper.
(In the next few days look for a sequence of pictures of Vanessa trying really hard to change her own diaper. We think we might be entering the window for potty training . . . but it seems too soon! But a good thing I guess . . . )

And she loves music. She’ll play various musical toys and sing or hum along. She has an attachment to the piano and likes to give recitals. It seems she may have a musical ear. She plays notes and tries to match her humming or singing to them. She does quite well. Vanessa also likes to sing her ABCs and is able to enunciate the sounds of several letters. She enjoys various songs and finger plays and can do several motions for most of them. She’ll also tell you when she wants to dance and listen to music.

She likes to count. She points to objects and usually says “Du, two, tee, du, du, sick, du, two . . .” Her mother is amazed to watch early mathematical concepts beginning to develop . . . and this wasn’t the first example, but we’ll spare our blog readers of an analysis. :)

Shamefully for her parents she can say the words Coca Cola or “Cold Coke.” Her father loves Coke and her mother needs her fix at least once a day, too. So we’ll sometimes let Vanessa carry a cold unopened can just so she can feel like a big person . . . and so we can have a good laugh. She pretends she’s taking a drink and then imitates her father by going “Ah . . .” It’s cute but we don’t want to encourage drinking soda. :)

She loves to share her milk with her stuffed animals and dolls. And she’s very good at playing mommy. She’s more into building with blocks! And her love for reading is still huge!

We think Vanessa is transitioning to one nap. Sometimes she needs two. Sometimes she skips napping altogether. And some days she takes one really long one. We might figure it out by the time we enroll her in kindergarten.

Speaking of sleeping . . . today I (Mommy) went to get her from her crib and she put her foot up on the railing and was beginning to pull herself up and over. She’s been working at this for a long time now but her petiteness has prevented success. She’s had a hard time finding a good spot to anchor at least one foot before using her strong arms to pull up. She’s amazingly flexible, so today the leg she was able to anchor was almost pointed straight up, barely allowing her tiny toes to grip the railing. So as you might guess, we’re trying to plan a good time to convert the crib to a toddler bed. That will surely involve many restless nights and days of putting her back in bed over and over.

Vanessa’s energy, although it can be exhausting, is truly a pleasurable experience. Her inquisitive nature and expressions almost always lead to amazement. This blog allows for us to share our amazement, although we never intend to boast, and to document her milestones. We’re so appreciative for your interest in her life and the strong encouragement we receive to share.

M-PaPa's

Vanessa’s mommy and daddy were treated with tickets to the Columbus Blue Jackets game on Friday, so that meant a sleepover at Grandma and Grandpa’s, and it was long overdue for the little munchkin! Vanessa slept over this last August during a big family reunion, but before that, it had been just over a year since her last sleepover, so she was extra excited, as were her grandparents!!!! (And no, her mommy doesn’t intentionally hog Vanessa, and her grandparents spend lots of time with her. . .) :)

I had no doubt, but it was extra comforting to return to pick up Vanessa and see her so content. She apparently snuggled her way to sleep with Grandma, something she basically never does at home – she loves her crib, which isn’t all bad, but it makes for fewer moments of cuddling since Vanessa walks up and basically says when she’s sleepy and wants to go upstairs.

Vanessa’s time with Grandma and Grandpa was full of all kinds of exciting stuff! I’m sure there are some things I’m not privy to -- because it is my belief that every grandchild deserves a few secrets to share with their grandparents (e.g. one day enjoying brownies and chocolate milk for breakfast) -- however, Grandma and Grandpa did share some things about their visit:

Grandma let Vanessa play her grand piano!

Grandma and Vanessa put on their Snoopy jammies to watch Charlie Brown. (The jammies were a birthday gift to Grandma. Cousin Celia and Vanessa have a matching set.)

Vanessa also watched her favorite show with Grandpa!

She enjoyed playing outside with Jimi!

And of course, she read lots of books.

After returning home, we asked her more about her visit. Did you play with Jimi? “Yes. Doggie. Doggie.” Did you have fun with Grandma and Grandpa? “Yes. M-PaPa.”