This entry has been sitting in the draft box for a few days and I keep forgetting to post it...
Henry had his 15-month doctor's appointment last week (a little bit after his actual 15 month "birthday"). He now weighs 21 pounds and is 31 inches long. His pediatrician is happy with his stats as it's pretty consistent with how he's measured at his other appointments. She asked if he knew any words, which includes sign language words. He is way ahead of the curve thanks to his signing.
Just for our record when I look back at this, at this point he knows the signs for:
-more
-all done
-please
-sorry
-thank you
-bath
-toothbrush
-potty
-diaper
-moon
-sleepy
-hurt
-hat
-shoes
-socks
-dog
-bird
-duck
-fish
-book
-ball
-flag
-food
-water
-milk
-cracker/cookie
-slide
-play
-car
-bike
-airplane
He has also invented signs for:
-Lenny (Leonard Bernstein...he waves his hands/arms around like he's conducting)
-bubbles
-hot
-cold
He also says:
-Mama
-Dada
-Llama (from the book Llama, Llama Red Pajama)
-Banana (kind of)
-Ah-Ah (for monkey...as in "ooh ooh ah ah")
-PatPat/PopPop/PoutPout
-Nnnn (Ellen)
-Mima (Jemima, as in Aunt Jemima waffles)
-Tar (Guitar)
-No No (complete with finger wagging)
(Quick note about signing: I hadn't really planned on doing much beyond more, all done, food and milk but he really started loving the Baby Signing Time DVDs. He picks up the signs really quickly and seems to like learning and using them. It is really helpful from my end to know what he wants. It really cuts down on his frustration because he's able to communicate with us.)
He walks/runs everywhere and enjoys playing at the playground. He even goes down the slides by himself now (feet-first, on his stomach!). He loves books and music. He likes to wave bye-bye and blow kisses, which people find pretty cute, especially the librarians. He can be very sweet and seems to like to make people laugh. He also knows what he's not supposed to do and gets a twinkle in his eye when he does it.
We have established a "time out" corner in the house that we started using when he kept playing with the cat food and water. (It really worked!) We just started using it for when he touches Grandpa's computer. Yesterday he walked up to the computer and said "No No" while wagging his finger towards the desk. He then walked to his time out corner, sat down and said "No No" again. It was so cute and a sign that he understands that the corner is a consequence. Amazing.
It's been an amazing 15 months and it's neat to watch him learn and grow.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Moyock Fun Continues
Apparently we've been having too much fun for me to update like I usually do! (Sorry to those of you looking forward to a Top Ten Tuesday....again!)
Over the last week Henry and I have been enjoying a relaxing stay here in Moyock. We've had some fun adventures while we were here:
-visit to our friend Jane's house
-playing with Andrew on the playground
-playing with Desmond at a different playground
-lunch at some of my favorite restaurants here (including some REAL BBQ)
-visited CNU's campus to see old friends
We've also had some fun right here at home:
-coloring with crayons and painting with paint (obviously)
-playing the piano
-learning how to buzz a french horn mouthpiece
-running around the yard
-reading LOTS of books (I have even been able to get some reading done, which is something I love to do but never make time to do usually....that being said, just read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It was so very good. Go read it!)
I've also been staying with my running while I'm here. This morning I completed my first ten mile run. I did it in 1:43:27. I was really pleased with how it went despite the rain and wind! Now it seems pretty attainable to complete the half marathon in 46 days. I only have to add 3.1 miles to my run. It's pretty exciting to make this progress and feel good at the end of my runs. (Eddie flew in last night and did his long run today too....he ran 18 miles!)
We're enjoying our time here and are looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday!
Over the last week Henry and I have been enjoying a relaxing stay here in Moyock. We've had some fun adventures while we were here:
-visit to our friend Jane's house
-playing with Andrew on the playground
-playing with Desmond at a different playground
-lunch at some of my favorite restaurants here (including some REAL BBQ)
-visited CNU's campus to see old friends
We've also had some fun right here at home:
-coloring with crayons and painting with paint (obviously)
-playing the piano
-learning how to buzz a french horn mouthpiece
-running around the yard
-reading LOTS of books (I have even been able to get some reading done, which is something I love to do but never make time to do usually....that being said, just read The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. It was so very good. Go read it!)
I've also been staying with my running while I'm here. This morning I completed my first ten mile run. I did it in 1:43:27. I was really pleased with how it went despite the rain and wind! Now it seems pretty attainable to complete the half marathon in 46 days. I only have to add 3.1 miles to my run. It's pretty exciting to make this progress and feel good at the end of my runs. (Eddie flew in last night and did his long run today too....he ran 18 miles!)
We're enjoying our time here and are looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday!
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Duuuukes and Duke
Today is supposed to be Top Ten Tuesday but since I missed updating yesterday I'm going to put that off for now. Instead I'll just give an update on the last week.
On Friday morning we packed up our cars and headed south to JMU. (More on why we took two cars later.) We got to Harrisonburg in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel. Since our friends weren't getting there for a while still Eddie and Henry decided to take a dip in the hotel pool. While they did that I put on my running gear and headed out for a four mile run. Our hotel was close enough to campus that I was able to run through campus. Running on campus is a lot of fun, despite the hills. I got honked at twice! It was either a compliment or, more likely, just students being funny. I did enjoy that my run took me by the stadium where the marching band was rehearsing!
After we all got cleaned up from our activities we met up with our friends as they got into town. Rather than subjecting our little ones to a late dinner out we got Sheetz sandwiches to go and ate them in our rooms. (Sheetz is a gas station chain that has DELICIOUS made to order sandwiches.) We headed to bed relatively early (since we're old now) and rested up for Game Day.
We had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to tailgate for the game. Our usual parking lot was full so we ended up on the roof of the parking garage across the street from the Quad. We were the only ones up there for a long time, which was fun. Henry and Owen (our friends' 18 month old son) were able to run around without us worrying too much about them. Once everyone was at the tailgate there were 10 adults and 4 boys (18 months, 14 months, 6 months and 2 months). Boy, how things have changed!
The game itself wasn't all that exciting....though I wasn't paying attention much to it....oops! JMU did win but more interesting than that was catching up with friends and watching the marching band. After the game the active and alumni brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi gathered to sing the Fraternity Hymn. There were 90 of us in our circle this year, which was awesome. For anyone questioning those who choose to become involved in Greek Life in college need only look around our circle last week to see the magic of brotherhood. The group of 90, people of all ages and backgrounds, have a common bond that runs deep and is truly meaningful.
After the game we headed out to El Charro for dinner. Delicious as usual! We went back to the hotel. We hung out in one hotel room and just enjoyed being together again. We also tried a persimmon for the first time, which was a bizarre experience. Our friend bought it on a whim at Wal-Mart in the produce section. We looked it up online and saw a reference to certain varieties when unripe taste "fuzzy". We weren't sure what that meant until we took a bite of the fruit. As soon as the fruit touched your mouth it felt like all moisture had been sucked out of your mouth and it was replaced with a coating of fuzz or fur. Very hard to describe but it gave us much amusement!
On Sunday morning everyone went their separate ways back home. Eddie, Henry and I met up with another friend for breakfast and then got ready to head out. Because we were already only four hours from my parents' house we had decided that Henry and I would continue the trip south and stay until after Thanksgiving. We figured it made more sense than driving the six hours back to New Jersey only to head back down seven/eight hours to North Carolina. The trip was pretty easy and we did it without stopping.
So far our visit at my parents' house has been good. Henry's enjoying getting to run around a new house and explore new things. I completed my first 9-mile run yesterday, which was a big accomplishment for me. Suddenly 13.1 miles doesn't seem quite as daunting. Don't get me wrong, I still have quite a bit in front of me and know it won't be easy but it's certainly less intimidating than when I was struggling to do 3.1 miles and had 10 more to add.
Tonight I got to hang out with Katie to watch the Duke basketball game. It was great to just relax, eat wings and watch Coach K break the record for most wins. He's such a class act and it made me very happy to see him reach this milestone.
That's about all for now. Have a good night/day, reader!
On Friday morning we packed up our cars and headed south to JMU. (More on why we took two cars later.) We got to Harrisonburg in the late afternoon and checked into our hotel. Since our friends weren't getting there for a while still Eddie and Henry decided to take a dip in the hotel pool. While they did that I put on my running gear and headed out for a four mile run. Our hotel was close enough to campus that I was able to run through campus. Running on campus is a lot of fun, despite the hills. I got honked at twice! It was either a compliment or, more likely, just students being funny. I did enjoy that my run took me by the stadium where the marching band was rehearsing!
After we all got cleaned up from our activities we met up with our friends as they got into town. Rather than subjecting our little ones to a late dinner out we got Sheetz sandwiches to go and ate them in our rooms. (Sheetz is a gas station chain that has DELICIOUS made to order sandwiches.) We headed to bed relatively early (since we're old now) and rested up for Game Day.
We had breakfast at the hotel and then headed out to tailgate for the game. Our usual parking lot was full so we ended up on the roof of the parking garage across the street from the Quad. We were the only ones up there for a long time, which was fun. Henry and Owen (our friends' 18 month old son) were able to run around without us worrying too much about them. Once everyone was at the tailgate there were 10 adults and 4 boys (18 months, 14 months, 6 months and 2 months). Boy, how things have changed!
The game itself wasn't all that exciting....though I wasn't paying attention much to it....oops! JMU did win but more interesting than that was catching up with friends and watching the marching band. After the game the active and alumni brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi gathered to sing the Fraternity Hymn. There were 90 of us in our circle this year, which was awesome. For anyone questioning those who choose to become involved in Greek Life in college need only look around our circle last week to see the magic of brotherhood. The group of 90, people of all ages and backgrounds, have a common bond that runs deep and is truly meaningful.
After the game we headed out to El Charro for dinner. Delicious as usual! We went back to the hotel. We hung out in one hotel room and just enjoyed being together again. We also tried a persimmon for the first time, which was a bizarre experience. Our friend bought it on a whim at Wal-Mart in the produce section. We looked it up online and saw a reference to certain varieties when unripe taste "fuzzy". We weren't sure what that meant until we took a bite of the fruit. As soon as the fruit touched your mouth it felt like all moisture had been sucked out of your mouth and it was replaced with a coating of fuzz or fur. Very hard to describe but it gave us much amusement!
On Sunday morning everyone went their separate ways back home. Eddie, Henry and I met up with another friend for breakfast and then got ready to head out. Because we were already only four hours from my parents' house we had decided that Henry and I would continue the trip south and stay until after Thanksgiving. We figured it made more sense than driving the six hours back to New Jersey only to head back down seven/eight hours to North Carolina. The trip was pretty easy and we did it without stopping.
So far our visit at my parents' house has been good. Henry's enjoying getting to run around a new house and explore new things. I completed my first 9-mile run yesterday, which was a big accomplishment for me. Suddenly 13.1 miles doesn't seem quite as daunting. Don't get me wrong, I still have quite a bit in front of me and know it won't be easy but it's certainly less intimidating than when I was struggling to do 3.1 miles and had 10 more to add.
Tonight I got to hang out with Katie to watch the Duke basketball game. It was great to just relax, eat wings and watch Coach K break the record for most wins. He's such a class act and it made me very happy to see him reach this milestone.
That's about all for now. Have a good night/day, reader!
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Top Ten Tuesday: More Music!
I had a request for some more music selection so here it is for this week's Top Ten Tuesday.
This list is just of pieces that I like and not necessarily have any real personal connection or story to go with them. For the sake of getting this in on Tuesday I'm going to post with just some links on each title and refrain from commentary.
1) Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger
2) Incantation and Dance by John Barnes Chance
3) Havendance by David Holsinger
4) O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen
5) Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral by Richard Wagner
6) Winds of Nagual by Michael Colgrass
(This is just one of the movements...super fun.)
7) Danza Final (Malambo) from Estancia Dances by Alberto Ginastera
8) Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland
No list is complete without Copland and I LOVE this piece of music. I'm not sure who my favorite narrator is just yet but I stumbled on this recording (linked above) with Katharine Hepburn. Usually not a part that is usually read by a woman. Definitely not who I would pick (though I do love her) but I'll post this one for the novelty.
9) Symphonic Metamorphosis by Paul Hindemith
10) Fanfare and Allegro by Clifton Williams
This list is just of pieces that I like and not necessarily have any real personal connection or story to go with them. For the sake of getting this in on Tuesday I'm going to post with just some links on each title and refrain from commentary.
1) Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger
2) Incantation and Dance by John Barnes Chance
3) Havendance by David Holsinger
4) O Magnum Mysterium by Morten Lauridsen
5) Elsa's Procession to the Cathedral by Richard Wagner
6) Winds of Nagual by Michael Colgrass
(This is just one of the movements...super fun.)
7) Danza Final (Malambo) from Estancia Dances by Alberto Ginastera
8) Lincoln Portrait by Aaron Copland
No list is complete without Copland and I LOVE this piece of music. I'm not sure who my favorite narrator is just yet but I stumbled on this recording (linked above) with Katharine Hepburn. Usually not a part that is usually read by a woman. Definitely not who I would pick (though I do love her) but I'll post this one for the novelty.
9) Symphonic Metamorphosis by Paul Hindemith
10) Fanfare and Allegro by Clifton Williams
Monday, November 7, 2011
We've Got The Power!
Power was restored to Ridgewood last Tuesday evening. While we were thankful to have a warm house and good company (Thanks MomMom and PopPop!) during the outage it was good to get back to this house.
Since I didn't get to post Halloween pictures last week, here you go!
Henry The Octopus was even featured in The Ridgewood News on Friday. The picture is from the Halloween Parade at the library that we went to:
Over the last week we've had pretty routine days. Henry's love of reading is really blossoming. He now regularly picks out books, brings them to me and then tries to climb up on my lap. I love that he does this and I hope that he continues this!
Our new house continues to progress towards completion. It's taking longer than we thought but each day something new is done. Hardwood floors are done, kitchen cabinets are up, and furniture has been delivered. There is still plenty that needs to be finished but its really starting to look like what will be our home!
Eddie has been busy with work and reffing soccer after work. This weekend he took some time to head into NYC to support a friend running the NYC Marathon. He seemed to enjoy the experience. It's hard to believe the race had 47,000 runners. So many people!
Speaking of running, we are now 61 days from the Disney Half Marathon. My training is going well for the most part. I ran 8 miles for the first time over the weekend. I felt good during and after the run, which was exciting. I know that there will be "bad runs" down the road but for now I'm feeling good about it all. I've been keeping an online log of my runs starting with the 5K we ran on Memorial Day. Since that day I've run 142.62 miles in training. I never thought I'd be excited to watch the miles tick by but I am.
Since I didn't get to post Halloween pictures last week, here you go!
Henry The Octopus was even featured in The Ridgewood News on Friday. The picture is from the Halloween Parade at the library that we went to:
Over the last week we've had pretty routine days. Henry's love of reading is really blossoming. He now regularly picks out books, brings them to me and then tries to climb up on my lap. I love that he does this and I hope that he continues this!
Our new house continues to progress towards completion. It's taking longer than we thought but each day something new is done. Hardwood floors are done, kitchen cabinets are up, and furniture has been delivered. There is still plenty that needs to be finished but its really starting to look like what will be our home!
Eddie has been busy with work and reffing soccer after work. This weekend he took some time to head into NYC to support a friend running the NYC Marathon. He seemed to enjoy the experience. It's hard to believe the race had 47,000 runners. So many people!
Speaking of running, we are now 61 days from the Disney Half Marathon. My training is going well for the most part. I ran 8 miles for the first time over the weekend. I felt good during and after the run, which was exciting. I know that there will be "bad runs" down the road but for now I'm feeling good about it all. I've been keeping an online log of my runs starting with the 5K we ran on Memorial Day. Since that day I've run 142.62 miles in training. I never thought I'd be excited to watch the miles tick by but I am.
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