Out of the Mouths of Our Babes

Matthew

2008-11-17T13:05:00.001-08:00

I didn't have any quotes to add from Matthew, but here he is in his cuteness...

No but(t)s about it

2008-11-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

+ Matthew sneezes. Hannah exclaims, "That was a big icicle booger!" Descriptive child!

+ Responding to some bit of disappointing news, Hannah sighed, "That's how my life goes."

+ Apologizing to Matthew, Hannah said, "I'm sorry but-" I cut her off, explaining "No buts, Hannah." She said to me, "I didn't mean 'butt' like bottom, Mommy! Just 'but'."

+ H: I really like Sasha.
Mommy: What do you like about her?
H: Her Barbies.

+ I recently praised Hannah and Matthew when they were playing well together, telling them how happy it made me to see them getting along and being kind to one another. Later, Hannah complied with some instruction I gave her then said, "I obeyed right away, Mommy! How happy does your heart feel now?" So dear, yet I don't want her to think that obedience is for the sake of Mommy's happiness... ay!

Monthly update

2008-11-06T08:50:00.001-08:00

Looks like posting once a month is all we can manage these days... so here are a few funnies from October:

- I asked Hannah if she'd like more pancakes. Her answer: "Yeah, sure, I betcha!" (I think she learned this from her paternal grandfather. Wow, didn't realize I was raising a midwesterner!)

- Hannah wrapped an afghan around her shoulders with a regal flair and demanded to Matthew, "Bow down to me!" From reading about Daniel in the Bible??? Innate imperial sense?

- After MUCH anguish, Hannah finally took a bite of the soup that we were having for dinner. She found she liked it and then explained, "I had to whine for a little bit to help it."

- One of my favorite things Matthew says these days is his affirmative response when offered something... such as, "Would you like to go upstairs and play cars?" "Love to!" and/or "Happy to!" So dear to hear him mimic me. He also answers questions about food this way: "Would you like some more hot dog?" "Happy to!"

- I started a flamenco dance class in Sept. and was telling Hannah why I was getting to leave one evening. She asked, "Do you all pretend to be flamingos?" :)

- Hannah was sick last week and wanted to go to the store for crackers when Matthew was napping. I explained that we couldn't leave him and she brightly suggested, "You could just take the monitor!"

- And more on monitors... Hannah is still convinced that you can talk and/or shout into a monitor's receiving end and the person in the transmitter's room will hear you. When going to the park, she put her babies to bed and said, "I'm gonna take my monitor. They settle down when I talk."

- Matthew got to go to work with Daddy for an hour last week since Mommy and Hannah had dentist appts and our plans for his care fell through. That hour included a trip to the cafeteria with eggs, donuts (after he'd breakfasted at home) and a stop on the toy dept. floor scoring him a dino and truck. Every day since, he asks "Where Daddy go?" When I respond, "To work", he exclaims, "Daddy work fun!"

We're back in the blogosphere...

2008-10-06T12:04:00.001-07:00

After two months of silence, we're back. I have lots of notes of things to post... here are some in random order:

From Matthew:

+ At the breakfast table eating pancakes, Matthew says, "Pretty good, Mommy, pretty good!"

+ As I was getting ready to leave for Leah's 30th bday, wearing a blouse that requires ironing no less, Matthew said, "Nice shirt, Mommy. Nice shirt!" He said the same to Shae the next morning when he came down ready for church. :)

+ Our dear sister-in-law Glad made the coolest "Memory" game for us last Christmas with the family's pictures on top. Matthew found that game in our puzzle bin, and ran into the kitchen shouting, "2 Lijahs, Mommy, 2 Lijahs!!!" (He found the pair of tiles with his cousin Elijah.)

And just in case you're wondering, yes, most of his exclamatory statements (and declaratives, too, for that matter) do follow the endearing XXX-Mommy-XXX pattern.

+ Riding in the car with the window down, Matthew begged Daddy to go faster. When his request was granted, he said, "Oh, awesome, awesome!" First time I heard that word from him!

+ Again in the car, heading west on 65th Street, Matthew quickly identified the route he takes with Daddy on some Saturday mornings, "Donee shop, donee shop?" (The Donut Connection). Sadly, we weren't headed there at that moment.

+ Several weeks ago, I tried to drink tea and inhale at the same time, resulting in an episode of choking/coughing. The kids watched from the table... amused! When I recovered, Matthew asked, "Again?"

+ In Colorado, we offered the kids fudgesicles for a treat one afternoon after naps. The next day when Matthew awoke, he said, "So hungry, Mommy, so hungry," and then looking at me hopefully, "Lollipop? Chocolate?" This happened the next two days, as well!

+ Matthew's been showing some interest in pottying. He reports all his BMs ("stinky poopy, Mommy, stinky poopy"). We were reading a story about Jesus' birth last week and the illustration showed a baby on his back, on a cloth, w/o clothes. Knowing that there's only one time Matthew finds himself in such a position, he said, "Baby Jesus stinky poopy." I'm sure He did at times!

+ Favorite Matthew-isms: strawberry = "strawbuddy", dinosaurs = "NOsaurs"

From Hannah:

+ I laughed when Hannah got out of the bath because the rubber mat's pattern was imprinted on her bottom. She strained to see it and said, "My head's not long enough like a giraffe head. I need a giraffe head to see my bottom."

+ Hannah said she was still hungry after not eating much for lunch, so I offered her what she hadn't finished: broccoli or pita. "What else is available, Mom?" she asked. Clever. Answer: nothing until these are gone. :)

+ Another pancake breakfast (I have a great recipe w/all whole wheat flour and I add a bunch of ground flax seed--let me know if you're interested :)), and I ask if Hannah would like some more. "Yeah, it sure tastes good! Thank you, Mom." Sweet, unprompted words. Rare.

+ When Matthew was playing with his "NOsaurs", Hannah quipped, "There's no 'saurs around because they all stink!" (extinct) :)

+ Listening to U2's "Miss Sarajevo" song with the glorious Pavarotti solo, Hannah exclaimed, "He's just like Scotty!" A shout out to my dear brother who loooooooves to sing like an opera star.

+ Thanks, Auntie Shawna for sharing this gem:
At a recent family gathering with the McCowens, Hannah was on the swing with her cousin Becky (4 months older). Becky said, "I love you, Hannah." Hannah's reply? "I love me, too." Seriously. Apparently, Hannah returned the love only after lots of prompting and said, "I love you, Becky, and I love me, too." Charming.

+ Hannah asked to look at the world atlas we have instead of reading stories before her nap the other day--(good sign, Dad? :)). She wanted to talk about her pretend friends and where they lived, an activity we do with her US Map puzzles and our real friends and family. She asked me to read the names of the towns/cities that she pointed to. "My friend Beebee lives in...." "Amarillo." I said. Hannah asked, "Where's rojo?" I love my girl!! She does not miss a beat.

+ At a recent tea party in Hannah's room, I brought her a piece of gum as a "hostess gift". She loved the idea of hostess gifts and since we take turns hosting these parties and bringing friends, she was ready with a gift when I was hosting. It was her "Bug Bungalow", a little mesh box for catching bugs. It had her name on a piece of masking tape since she recently took it to school. She held it out to me and said, "Here you go! It's from a garage sale." Laughing, I took it, explained that she didn't have to tell me where she got it (a bad habit of mine)... and then realized she was referring to the homemade "price tag" (masking tape, garage sale style, indeed!). Too funny. :)

My day

2008-08-04T17:42:00.001-07:00

There were also pictures of both kids with pens up their noses but those photos wouldn't load for some reason... obscene?

They are both getting over flu bugs/fevers.

July greetings

2008-07-28T11:34:00.000-07:00

Puppets: a play in two parts

2008-07-28T11:13:00.000-07:00

I'm very proud of myself for scoring this puppet theater w/ puppets for $2 at a garage sale. :) I know it was really just a gift.

Kiddos at Lake Nokomis

2008-07-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

Updates from the last month

2008-06-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

I've been terrible about keeping up with this blog, but I'm doing what I can, so here it is. I know I've missed sharing lots of bloggable moments, but these are the ones I jotted down...

+ After helping me whip cream for Grandpa's strawberry shortcake birthday cake, Hannah turned to me and said, "Thanks for letting me be your taster. I preciate that."

+ My dear husband was grocery shopping for us and grabbed a box of Target-brand cheerios, just like the list said. He accidentally grabbed the "honey nut" kind, though they're virtually identical in the store brand packaging. I only realized what they were as I was serving them to the kids... too late.
H: Are these the honey ones!!??!??
Me: They are. (nonchalant)
H: WHERE did you get them? At Grandma's house?

+ Matthew increasingly wants to be just like his big sis. She prefers to drink out of a normal cup, not a sippy cup. We still use sippy cups when dining in small spaces (on the tray of the booster chair, etc.) because of constant spills there. We let her drink most of her drink and then take the top off so she can finish it "like a big girl".

Matthew held his cup up to me the other day and demanded, "Big girl! Big girl!" He wanted me to take that top off so he could do it, too. :)

Matthew awakes... more later.

From Matthew's Mouth

2008-06-01T18:32:00.001-07:00

Our little man is talking a ton. He's a delight... when he's not whining.

The other day Matthew brought a box of ABC books to the couch where I was sitting. He handed it to me and said, "Share. Nice!" Just like I praise him when he shares with others.

Matt-Man, as dubbed by our friend Sarah Brown, is quite a flirt. He bats his eyes, tucks his chin, tilts his head and smiles. He was doing this number at breakfast the other day and Hannah said, "He just flirted at me!"

Hannah and Matthew were eager to go downstairs after breakfast but I was still cleaning up and asked them to wait. "We can go downstairs and be nice to each other," Hannah promised. I agreed to let them try it since I was almost done and she started to show Matthew how to go down the stairs on his belly, knowing he's not totally safe in socks on the wooden stairs forward. He exclaimed happily, "Idea! Idea!" Just like I tell him, "That's a good idea." Too sweet.

His most common mealtime chant: Meat!! More meat.
The boy ate 3 turkey franks on Memorial Day. 2 pieces of deer sausage (thanks, Martins!) for breakfast the other day. He is a hardcore carnivore!

Catching up...

2008-06-01T18:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun updates from Hannah:

ON CLOTHES:
To me: "I want you to wear short sleeve pants, just like me because it's so nice outside. You'd be hot, hot, hot."

Daddy comes downstairs wearing clown-like, orange and white striped warm-up pants from U of Tennessee (a joke from a colleague at work), and says, "What do you think?" Hannah: "They look good, Shae."

Emerging from her room w/last year's jacket dress, "This still fits me! The arms are like capris."

On LIFE:
- While dropping Aunt Amy off at the airport, Hannah saw a group of soldiers wearing camo. "Why are they all wearing the same outfit, Mommy?" "Because they're soldiers, honey." "Where are their swords?" (Such a good question from my sweet 3-yr-old who know soldiers from Bible stories...)

- Shae and I like to tease each other and get Hannah's input. Shae asked, "Who is sassy, Mommy or Daddy?" "Mommy!" she replied with too much confidence. "Then what is Daddy?", I asked. "He's GREAT!"

- 5:00pm whine time. Daddy's out of town. Hannah complains, "I want to eat dinner at a restaurant." I explain that we're not going to, etc., and remind her of her recent trip to McDonald's with her cousins. She retorts, "McDonald's is not a restaurant." Yes!!!! I must have done something right! :)

But then a few days later, she spies McD's while we're running errands and asks to go there. It's 3:00pm and we have groceries to buy, so I explain that we're not going to do that now. "But McDonald's is open!" She's figured out how to tell: there are cars in the parking lot.

- I'm waiting for Hannah to do her pre-nap potty try while I sit on her bed. She comes in to ask what I was doing and I say, "Picking my nose." Then I hear my own voice coming out of her mouth, "Hey, let's not say that." Pause... "You can't put 'em in your mouth."

Breakfast at Matthew's (and Lunch at Hannah's)

2008-05-16T11:03:00.000-07:00

We were hoping he'd show you his "bedroom eyes", which he flashes as he tucks his chin down and bats those lashes. Watch out, ladies! But of course, I was too late with the camera.

Here's what it's like to try to take a picture of these two...

2008-05-16T10:54:00.000-07:00

From Matthew...

2008-04-14T11:15:00.000-07:00

Happy to report that my dear second born is quite verbal, too. It must be in the genes. :) I'll have to post some of his funnier words sometime... they include peacock, share, turn, oval and again!

His antics are quite amusing, though not always verbal. We often sing our grace/prayer before meals and Matthew readies himself by folding his hands. The other day during breakfast I was toasting a second round of English muffins and singing "Do you know the muffin man?" He looked up at me mid-bite and folded his hands reverently. So dear.

From Hannah...

2008-04-14T11:08:00.000-07:00

+ Bringing me her doll with a new dress, Hannah announced, "My friend from college gave her that dress." Realizing she might think it's a place, I asked her where college was and she said, "Far away." Too funny. This is a tribute to all my FRIENDS FROM COLLEGE who send my kids such dear things.

+ To Matthew, while cutting with scissors, Hannah said: "I'm sorry, my dear. This is not for you."

+ Playing with a candle snuffer, Hannah asked, "This is for getting the burns off of candles, right, Mom?"

+ In her words: "I like getting time outs because they don't hurt my bottom."

+ When finding out that she would be with Daddy for the evening and not her favorite sitter, Grace, Hannah complained, "I don't want to stay with Daddy." When appraised of the consequence of whining (loss of a privilege, in this case), she said, cheerfully, "I changed my mind! I love Daddy."

+ At her cousins' house, Hannah had gathered all of the stuffed animals in a bag and was not willing to share. When her cousin Becky complained, Hannah said, "But I'm her guest!" Too funny. Guests DO get first dibs at our house, so she's picked something up...

Hannah funnies

2008-03-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

+ Tonight I was reading and praying with Hannah before bed. As I was praying, she bit my finger. I admonished her and told her to be quiet and listen. Her reply: "Biting is quiet." Wow. Where does that girl get her sass????

Then she proceeded to pray a long, sweet prayer and at the end said, "Are you going to write that down on your list?" Hilarious! She knows I jot down funny things she says. :)

+ After I cut up an orange like our friends the Browns do (into orange "smiles"), Hannah said, "That's really neat, Mom. I'm so glad you taught us that." She cracks me up.

+ Warning: the following is scatalogical. Hannah's been pooping during her naps in her small potty that I put in her room (she can't open the door to get to the big one during naps; it sticks). I heard her singing on her monitor, "Mommy will be so happy" over and over--I'll post the video of this! I went down to check it out and she said, "Look, Mommy! I did a broken tree poopy!", indicating the formation of her bowel movement... it did resemble a broken log. What could I say?

The Big Thaw

2008-03-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

Second attempt to post this...

Sibs in action

2008-03-11T19:17:00.000-07:00

Matthew, my helper, in action

2008-03-10T17:53:00.000-07:00

Other bloggable sayings (or at least they seemed so in the moment).

2008-03-10T17:32:00.000-07:00

+ Hannah is excited about sounds and words these days, imagine that! :) Whenever she hears too similar sounds or words she says one "starts with" the other. We're still working on all those connections.

When I offered her some honey on her toast, she said, "Hey! Honey starts with "honey", like daughter "Honey" (my pet name for her :))."

After taking our leave from some friend's house, Hannah remarked, "Bye starts with buy, like to buy things!"

+ This is from my mom's visit in January: At breakfast, my mom kindly prepared some toast for Hannah, putting jam on it. Hannah took one bite and said, "This jam tastes like butter!" Poor kids, in our house it's either butter or jam--she never knew she could have both!

+ Awaking to another snowing morning (March 5th to be exact), Hannah hung her head and said, "Now it can never be summer." We talked about the seasons and I explained that God made them to come at different times in different parts of the world. Thinking for a minute and remembering our monthly habit, she said, "Let's flip our calendars!", as if we could accelerate spring that way. If that were the case, we'd have been there for a while now!

+ Hannah noticed a woman walking down the street during breakfast last week. She asked if it was our neighbor Kathy who walks her dog all the time. It wasn't and Hannah was still curious who it was. It was a lady who works downtown and takes the bus to and from the stop at the end of our street. Having seen her with her kids at the park, Hannah asked why this mommy was going to work. I told her there were a lot of reasons that mommies work outside the home. Then came, "You don't work." I explained that my work now is to be at home with her and Matthew. She thought for a minute and then said, "Your work is our bodies!" And strangely added, "Matthew doesn't know that yet." (Maybe an echo of when I've tried to explain things to her that he doesn't understand??) What beautiful work I have.

+ Protesting after being put to bed, Hannah was calling out for me. Shae went in to see what she needed and was greeted with, "I didn't call your name." Wow. A lotta sass in that little body! All from the McCowen side, to be sure.

Nothing like self-congratulation :)

2008-02-27T06:23:00.000-08:00

Hannah's friends

2008-02-27T06:19:00.000-08:00

Fun with Aunt Amy and Uncle Adam

2008-02-27T05:02:00.000-08:00

Preschool Program :)

2008-01-30T05:15:00.000-08:00

The quality isn't great--the room was fairly dark. Hannah is wearing a dark green dress with leggings (her favorite, from Cal & Sammy!). Hannah is doing her own thing a lot of the time. Note Sammy digging for gold in the last shot (bottom right). :)

Minnesota

2008-01-27T10:22:00.000-08:00

On the way to church this morning, Hannah was pointing out forests (large groups of trees) and other things she saw outside. As we passed a lake, I asked her what that big white space was. She said, "Snow!" "Yes," I answered, "but what's under the white snow?" "Dirty snow," she said. A very likely answer here in MN!

Also at breakfast...

2008-01-27T10:21:00.001-08:00

"Can I have some fruit that I don't like with sugar on it?" (request for grapefruit)

"Where's Daddy?" (He had stayed home earlier in the week because he was sick.)
Me: He's at work today.
H: But he will get all his friends sick!

Already?

2008-01-27T10:19:00.000-08:00

At breakfast the other day, Hannah started talking and said, "At school, the kids were sitting at the table and one girl said her mom is really, really nice."

Me: Oh, that's good. What did you say, Hannah?

H: I said you were kinda nice.

What Matthew's been saying...

2008-01-20T06:06:00.000-08:00

Me(a)l-o-drama

2008-01-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

Hannah has been eschewing crusts for some time now. I don't really know what to do; I've tried the eat them if you want _________, the "they're really the best part", removing them, etc. Today, I offered some more peanut butter on her plate to dip them in with her apple. After consuming all the apple and PB, she said, "I didn't have time to eat the crusts."

During the holiday barrage of treats, Hannah was delighted at the increase in sugar in our house. As she ate a cookie with relish, I said, "You are a sugar girl!" She promptly began to sing, "Sugar girl, sugar girl, sugar all the way" to the tune of Jingle Bells.

Varying from the binary options I usually present, I offered Hannah carrots, apple or pear after she'd had some crackers for a snack. She asked for cereal. I repeated the first options and she said, "Say cereal!"

I asked Hannah what she had for snack at school last week and she said, "Clementines with crust-es!" I asked for clarification and she said, "The crust-es were the same color as the clementines." Oranges with the peel on?

Grandmothers

2008-01-14T12:00:00.000-08:00

My dear mom flew back from CO with us since Shae returned early and was traveling for work (a MILLION thanks to flight attendant Aunt Amy for buddy passes and flight benefits!!!). As Grandmom was putting Hannah down for a nap, she pretended to snore in her bed while Hannah was singing. Hannah quickly put an end to it, "Wake up, Grandmom! You have to go help my mom." Apparently, it was clear WHY Grandmom had come home with us!

Shae's dear mom came over this weekend to see us after our trip to CO. Matthew had a hard time settling down for the night and Grandma went to sing to him. Hannah and I were in the living room and here's what transpired...

H: What is Grandma going to do?
L: She is going to sing to Matthew.
H: She is very kind.
L: Yes, she is.
H: You are not.
L: Why am I not kind?
H: Because you growl at me when I do wrong things.
L: Am I kind to you most of the time?
H: Yes, but Grandma is very, VERY kind.

God bless Grandmothers!!!

Imagination

2008-01-14T11:56:00.000-08:00

As she was eating lunch, Hannah pointed to her blanket in a heap on the table.
Hannah: "I can't sleep in my blanket. People think it's a cave."
Me: "What are they thinking?" (expressed as, "Wow, how silly of them!")
Hannah, taking it literally: "A cave."

Same blanket is draped over her dresser as I walk into the room. Pointing at it, she exclaims, "My sister gave this to me!" I ask, "What's your sister's name?" She replies, "Cinderella." I thought about telling her who that would make her but she hasn't heard the story yet so I decided not to go there. :)

Elvin inspiration from the Millers

2007-12-21T17:10:00.000-08:00

Check us out...

Hey, I just made a total elf of myself. Check it out by clicking the link below.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1672984273

This elfin' greeting brought to you by OfficeMax®.

Why my son is a genius

2007-12-21T12:15:00.000-08:00

Yes, I know all parents think their kids are smart. :) This is how Matthew amazed me recently:

On the back of a board book about Good Night Baby Signs, there was a picture of a little girl who is featured in another baby sign board book (in which she is doing the sign for flower). Matthew saw the girl's picture on the back of the Good Night book and immediately started doing the sign for flower.

He has tons of signs (about 40) and loves to tell us about his world. In the middle of a tantrum about not wanting to sit in his highchair, he looked at the chair, which has fish drawn on it, he stopped whining, did the sign for fish, and returned to his tantrum immediately. :) At least signs give you a few seconds break from the insanity. :)

Grandpa did it!

2007-12-21T11:15:00.001-08:00

Grandpa stopped by early one morning this week to lend us a card table for a dinner we were hosting. We visited for a few minutes and then he headed out.

As I was getting Matthew out of his highchair, I smelled something foul and asked, "Did you do a stinky, Matthew?"

Smiling, Hannah said, "No, it was me!" I laughed.

Three seconds later, she added, "Actually, it was Grandpa."

And more belated posts

2007-12-21T11:07:00.000-08:00

+ At breakfast yesterday, Hannah says to me: "I'm getting bigger. You're getting smaller." Oh that it were true. :) Fortunately, from her perspective it is!

+ As we were waiting for some friends to come play, Hannah remembered that her girlfriend didn't have a "baby" (younger sibling). About her mother, Hannah said, "She needs to grow one in her tummy!"

+ At dinner, we ask Hannah to take 3 bites of a new food. We've talked about how she's a big girl, she's 3 now, etc. and needs to eat 3 bites. When looking at some soup she didn't want to try, she said, "Actually, I'm 2!"

+ This week there was a pajama party day at preschool but Hannah insisted on wearing a dress. "Mom, you wear dresses to parties!"

Lots of belated posts...

2007-12-03T12:15:00.000-08:00

+ Hannah said she was finished with her cereal the other day but she hadn't eaten much. I asked her if she wanted to take a few more bites and as she set it on the table, she said, "No. I'll just put it here to dry."

+ Thoughts on gender:

- "Matthew's a boy because he can't wear my skirts"

- While playing with playdough, I remark, "That's a beautiful star, Hannah." She replies, "No, it's not. It's a boy star."

- While I'm doing a workout video, "Do daddies exercise?"

- "I have a question for you. Why do men not wear clothes at night?" (Shae sleeps in his boxers!)

+ Hannah offers Matthew a toy. He pushes it away. Frustrated, she says, "He doesn't want it! I want him to want it."

+ After breakfast this morning:
Mommy: Are you all done, Hannah?
H: No. I want fridge.
Mommy: What do you want?
H: FRIDGE.
Mommy: You want something from the fridge? What do you want?
H: Yes, I want FRIDGE.
Mommy: I'm sorry, honey, I don't know what FRIDGE is.
H: You know, it's just a treat you eat when dinner is ready.

Mommy thinks to herself, racking her brain, realizes Daddy was in charge while she was shopping yesterday... remembers she made some Christmas treats.

Mommy: You mean you want fudge?
H: Yes! That's it!

Matthew Walking... or not

2007-10-19T05:04:00.000-07:00

My Big Girl

2007-10-17T13:13:00.000-07:00

I had to shower after exercising and before leaving the other day and Hannah asked to watch a video so I told her I'd take Matthew upstairs with me while I showered. She offered, "I can be his mommy downstairs!"

Yesterday, we looked out on a gray day (Mark, if you're reading this, it wasn't really that gray--the colorful fall leaves look lovely on overcast days--you'll love it here) and Hannah said, "Looks like a good day for going to school out there." She cracks me up!

BedTIME

2007-10-17T13:06:00.000-07:00

We got Hannah a clock with a big digital display and have told her that she can come out of her room when there's a 7 in the morning. It has worked wonderfully! But the clock is just a little too exciting. At first, she emerged from her room whenever she a 7, or two 7's! (1:27pm, 7:47pm, 2:07pm...)

The other night after having been in bed for a while, Shae had to go up during our small group Bible study because she was almost shouting, "There's two bees! There's 2 bees, Daddy!" Shae was a little cross and replied sternly that there were NO bees in her room, etc. Hannah insisted and he finally realized what she meant: 8:08pm. Yes, 8's do look like bees. :)

Another time this week Shae went in to try and quiet Hannah, who showed no signs of going to sleep. When he opened the door, he saw that she hadn't gotten OUT of bed (for which there is a consequence) so he told her to close her eyes. She said, "But then I can't SEE anything! I want to sleep with my eyes open so I can SEE, Daddy!" What do you say to that?

Participles and gerunds

2007-10-17T13:04:00.001-07:00

+ "I don't want to wear shoes, Mommy. I want to go barefooting!"

---------
Mommy: It's time to get ready for school, so let's clean up your crayons and paint.
Hannah: But I want to do some more arting.
---------

Funny Faces

2007-10-03T12:56:00.001-07:00

After reading a book with that title from the library, here are our funny faces...

What Matthew Has to Say These Days

2007-10-03T12:54:00.000-07:00

Literalist

2007-10-03T08:44:00.000-07:00

Trying to pass the time as we awaited our airport pick up back in Mpls, I suggested to Hannah that we count to 20. Sometimes we count off, one saying the evens the other saying the odds. I said, "I'll say 1 and you say what comes after 1."

Me: One.
Hannah: What comes after one.
Me: No, I mean you say the number that comes after One: two.
Hannah: Two.
Me: Three.
Hannah: No, actually TWO comes after One.

Accumulated funnies

2007-10-03T08:27:00.000-07:00

These are things I've jotted down from the last month:

Hannah in princess mode waving her wand says, "I made you a dress. I made you clackey shoes. I made you blonde!" (I verified the last statement... You mean a wand? "No, blonde. Like blonde hair."

When offered some delicious cuisine at dinner: "I don't want that. Give it to YOURself."

Another night at dinner my cooking fared better. Unprompted, Hannah declared, "You're a good cooker, Mommy!"

Mallards and the like

2007-09-29T05:42:00.000-07:00

While reading a word book in Spanish, Hannah was curious about who was who in the family of ducks on the page.

H: Is the mommy brown?
L: Yes, she is.
H: Is this the daddy?
L: Yes, daddies have green heads.
H: MY Daddy doesn't have a green head!
L: Daddy Mallard ducks have green heads.
H: Yeah. My Daddy doesn't have a green head.

How families grow

2007-09-29T05:40:00.001-07:00

A few hours after seeing a program about adoption on TV, Hannah reflected at lunch:

"Kids are from China, too. But I got my baby brother at my house. Actually, I got him from the hospital."

(I LOVE that she says "actually"--cracks me up!)

Powers of observation

2007-09-29T05:36:00.000-07:00

Hannah has loved her Tues/Thurs. am preschool class. She tells me the most interesting things about it. Tuesday's highlight was that one of the teachers had shiny shoes like hers. Her words:

"One of the ladies we were walking with had shiny shoes, too! They were shiny like fish."

Me: "Were they silvery?"

H: "No, fish are kind dark silver. They were light golden."

Grandma's birthday

2007-09-29T05:34:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Aunt Natalie and Grandma McCowen's birthdays this week with a family dinner. Hannah was feeling a little under the weather and was not a very cooperative eater. Finally, it was the eat a few bites of your dinner or no cake ultimatum. She thought it over and opted for no cake. She looked up and said, "Grandma, we're not going to have any cake, okay?"

Rainy cheese

2007-09-29T05:27:00.000-07:00

We've had some hilarious conversations in the last month. My favorites from this last week:

Lunchtime. I cut up cheddar cheese for Hannah and she requests "rainy cheese".
L: What kind of cheese do you want?
H: Rainy cheese.
L: I don't know what you mean, honey. What is rainy cheese?
H: You know.
L: No, I don't know.
H: Yes, you do. RAINY cheese. You know, when it thunders and there's lightning and the sky is dark. RAINY CHEESE!
L: Rainy cheese? I don't know what you mean, honey. This is the only kind of cheese we have in the house--cheddar.
H: Rainy cheese, like this (makes rain motion with hands.)
L: Do you mean grated cheese, like this? (I get out the grater. I guess it does kind of look like it's raining cheese when you do it!)
H: YES! Now you understand.

Point of view

2007-08-28T20:05:00.000-07:00

When he's bored, full or otherwise disinterested, Matthew starts rubbing his food into his hair. He had just had a shower with me the other morning and starting mashing cottage cheese into his clean hair two bites into breakfast. I groaned and Hannah laughed. I said, "It's not funny, Hannah. He needs to eat his breakfast. He just had a shower (etc.)" She said, "It looks funny to me!"

Cut out for supervisory work

2007-08-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

In preparation to move on to the next activity, I asked Hannah and her friend Daniel to pick up the toys that they had finished playing with. Daniel started helpfully and Hannah stood by without helping. I asked her to pick up and she said, "I'll be the watcher."

She busted that one out again when she was in the kitchen with me helping make a cheesecake. I asked if she wanted to help with crushing the graham cracker crumbs and she said, "No. It's your turn. I'll be the watcher."

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

2007-08-28T19:59:00.000-07:00

Matthew was fussing in his highchair before breakfast the other day and Hannah pulled her chair toward him. She said, "I'm gonna comfort him a little bit." And then she proceeded to sing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" to him. Sweet!

At nap time today, Hannah was picking her nose as I was singing to her. I improvised, "Swing low, sweet chariot, don't pick your nose..." She thought this was hilarious and we sang it over and over but she wouldn't stop picking her nose. When I asked her to stop, she said, "Well can you pick your nose and I'll sing it to you?"

Early altruism

2007-08-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

Shae brought home some (more) Target dog stuffed animals from the annual nat'l sales meeting. Before growing our collection, I suggested to Hannah that we go through her MANY stuffed animals and choose some to share with kids that don't have any. She was very receptive to the idea and immediately went to get one to share. She was kind of amazed that there are some kids who don't have toys. She said quizzically, "But Taylor Beth (neighbor friend) has toys." Then she asked, "Can we go in the car to take the toys to them?" She ended up parting with about a third of her stash. A good start.

I hope I can teach her about giving half as well as my mom taught us.

Nasal consonants

2007-08-28T19:52:00.001-07:00

As I was putting Hannah to bed last week or so, I was humming some of the words to a lullaby to her. She asked if I knew the words and I said, "I don't know all of them, but I do know the tune." She was quiet for a few moments and then said, "Jesus was in the tune!"

Then the explanation of TUNE and TOMB. :)

Fun with Gpa and Gma and Cousin Becky

2007-08-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Grandpa and Grandma McCowen took Hannah and her cousin Becky on our light rail train recently. As she told me about it, Hannah said, "We were knocking on the doors. Grandma had a good idea. We went to sit somewhere else."

Grandma filled in the cracks: apparently the girls (maybe just Hannah? :)) were pressing the emergency alarm button and the conductor came on to see if it was really an emergency or not. And I can just hear Grandma saying, "I have a good idea..." Thanks, Mom and Dad, for this special outing!!

Breakfast at Matthew's

2007-08-22T10:48:00.000-07:00

Back to the Blog: Part II

2007-08-18T09:51:00.000-07:00

+ Matthew has a new Animal board book with real photos of animals. There's a shot of a male kangaroo and Hannah exclaimed, "Look, that kangaroo is going poopy!"

+ More potty training anecdotes: Hannah has taken to saying, "Just a minute, Matthew. I need some privacy." She then closes the door and proceeds with her business.

+ After finishing her popsicle (all fruit, of course :)), Hannah's hands were sticky and Daddy advised her to lick her hands and wipe them off. She obediently licked them off and then wiped them on Daddy shorts. Nice call, Daddy. :)

+ We've been talking about table manners lately and it's definitely registering... I asked Hannah if she wanted a banana or some berries and she didn't answer.
Growing impatient, I asked again. She smiled and said, "My mouth is full, Mommy."

Back to the Blog

2007-08-15T11:58:00.000-07:00

Here we are again after a long hiatus... life doesn't seem to slow down... ever.

Anyway, we've been saving up all kinds of great sayings for you:

Big news in our house: Hannah is in underwear! From the potty training front lines:

When we went to the bathroom together, Hannah patted my thigh as I was using the potty and said, "Good job, Mommy!" Nothing like a little encouragement when on the john.

We're big into rewards with potty time and Hannah came up to me with a small toy yesterday exclaiming, "Mommy, if you go to the potty you get this!" And after I used the bathroom next, she proudly presented me with my prize.

Matthew is awake with me as I write, so I will have to write more later... his fascination with the dresser is waning.

Telling it like it is... politely

2007-07-20T14:14:00.000-07:00

After a short night, I made myself some of the fantastic coffee my sister Amy brought from Costa Rica. Taking a sip, I said, "Ahhhhhh." Hannah asked if it was too hot and why I said, "Ahhhhh". Explaining that it was delicious, special coffee from Aunt Amy, I gave her a little in a spoon. She let it dribble out of her mouth, unimpressed.

"That coffee doesn't taste very good to me."

Pretty polite assessment for a 2 1/2 yr old. I was expecting, "Yuck!" :)

Yes-No Toes

2007-07-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

Before funny and not-funny finger came yes/no toes. Meals must inspire creativity at our house because this happened at the table, too. Hannah lifted one foot from under her booster seat's tray, placed one big toe on the leg of the table and said, "This is the YES toe." And then with the other big toe, "This is the NO toe."

Me: "Hannah, would you like some cottage cheese?"

Up goes the YES toe!

Me: "How about some salsa?"

The NO toe answers.

I'll try to get this on video. It's quite amusing.

The Funny Finger

2007-07-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

At breakfast today, Hannah held up one finger and said, "This is the funny finger." Holding up a finger on the other hand, she said, "This is the not-funny finger." She proceeded to alternate holding up each of these designated fingers to cue funny or serious faces from me and herself. Hilarious! Later in the day she tried it out on Uncle Will and Grandpa, too! She cracks herself up. That's the best part.

Busted... again

2007-07-20T12:15:00.000-07:00

Having children keeps you honest.

Scenario #1: We're getting ready to go outside. I have my arms full with Matthew and 14 other things. Hannah picks up her shoes that she wore to the park in the morning.

I say: "Hannah, please don't put your shoes on in the middle of the floor because they might have sand in them."

She turns one over just to see. Sand pours out.

I say in a plaintive tone, "PLEASE, Hannah! Mommy just asked you not to put your shoes on there because I don't want sand all over the kitchen floor. I just cleaned it!"

While I'm speaking, she's pouring more sand on the floor.

I continue my pleading (never plead with a 2-yr-old)instruction while Matthew's jumping out of my arms, the water's running, I'm trying to get sunscreen on him, etc. Once I can get to Hannah, I ask her why (never ask a 2-yr-old why) she didn't listen to Mommy, etc.

She says, "Mommy, don't whine."

(*Note: parenting lesson learned--tone of voice is not an effective disciplinary tool. Actions speak louder than words. If only I didn't have my darn hands full all the time!!! It's hard to get over to her to take her to a time-out, etc., right away.)

Scenario #2: Matthew is spitting out everything I offer him for breakfast. Not a great way to start the day (not to mention that he was up at 5:48am.) In frustration, I say, "Grrrrr. I don't know what you want, Buddy!"

Hannah chides, "Don't growl at Matthew!"

Not so

2007-07-13T11:35:00.000-07:00

After a particularly messy lunch, I was cleaning up Matthew and said, "Come here, Messy Man!" Hannah objected, "He's not Messy Man! He's Buster Boy." Yes, she's right. That is one of our favorite nicknames for him. Then I started to clean her up and said, "Come here, Messy Mama." She objected again, "I'm not a 'Mama'! I don't have boobies with love-milk*!"

*Most everyone has heard our term (borrowed from our most excellent naming friends, the Browns) "love-milk". It's our way of talking about Mommy's milk, different from cow's etc.

Semantics

2007-07-01T11:30:00.000-07:00

At a recent family gathering, I heard Hannah's cousin say, "No hit, Hannah." I came over to see what was going on and I asked if she'd hit her cousin. She said, "No. I just tapped her."

Later that week, I asked Hannah not to spin with her Magna Doodle toy (hard plastic) in her hand because she could hit Matthew in the head with it. A few minutes later she was at it again and said, "I'm not spinning. I'm twirling." That's the kind of sass you get from a verbal 2-1/2-year old!

Perfectionistic procrastination

2007-07-01T11:21:00.000-07:00

A word from Mommy: Here I am *finally* and I am just going to write the few things I had jotted down this week... no more waiting until I have everything together. :) I had a long list of great sayings and I have misplaced it, alas. Since I can't find it, I won't wait any longer.

+ As we came over the top of the hill near our neighborhood park, Hannah looked down on the 4th of July carnival set up and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh!" So cute to hear those words for the first time out of her mouth.

+ When I told her some friends were coming to play, she said, "How fun is that!"

+ Mimicking me, she sat in the rocker in Matthew's room, wrapped the boppy around her, leaned back and said, "Here's the deal..."

+ I've offered Hannah some juice when working on potty training as a special treat to increase fluids, etc. She knows it's only for when we're working on the potty, though. She declined it the other morning and when I offered several hours later, she said, "Mommy, I said no."

+ We love the things she picks up on from books and games, etc. She saw some coins on the counter (2 nickels, 1 penny), and asked me, "Which one is different?" Just like the game in some of her coloring books. :) She also loves to mimic the questions I ask: "Why do you think...?"

+ Hannah is very dear to Matthew at times. He was putting some non-food object in his mouth behind my back yesterday and Hannah came up to him gently and said, "No, honey. No, honey."

More to come...

Father's Day video attempt

2007-06-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Matthew being tickled!

2007-06-16T19:43:00.001-07:00

Little Neologist

2007-06-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

I love the words Hannah makes up. Today, she said Matthew was "a little bit fusserated"--and indeed he was both fussy and frustrated.

Prayers

2007-06-08T07:36:00.000-07:00

I love to hear Hannah pray. Last week she thanked God for: "Trees...tools (who's her Daddy?)...Taylor Beth (our neighbor friend)... and the Bible."

Too cute

2007-06-08T07:35:00.001-07:00

Maybe this doesn't sound as cute when I write it down, but one of the things Hannah says that cracks me up is "sleeve shorts" instead of "short sleeves". "Can I wear sleeve shorts today, Mommy?" "It's hot outside. I need sleeve shorts."

Wow

2007-06-08T07:34:00.001-07:00

I was frustrated with Hannah's behavior the other day and she asked me if I was mad. I explained that I was frustrated and she said, "Can you sleep so you'll be happy?"

Video trial - click on middle

2007-05-30T13:26:00.001-07:00

Eloquence

2007-05-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

I offered Hannah an apple or an orange at breakfast today (out of bananas, again! This time she just asked, "Why?" when I told here there were no bananas). She pondered my offer for a minute and then said, "I was thinking of orange."

She's got the rules down

2007-05-30T13:13:00.001-07:00

I recently got some write-on placemats with numbers and letters for Hannah. I was showing her how to trace and draw with washable markers and she looked at me, concerned. She said, "We don't draw on mats. We draw on paper, Mommy." (Yes, that is the refrain we've memorized regarding marker use up to this point--We don't draw on bodies, etc., we draw on paper.)

Naming

2007-05-30T13:10:00.000-07:00

Today Hannah was sitting a few inches away from the kitchen table on a booster with a tray. She put all of her toes (currently painted pink) up against the underside of the table then hid her big toes under it. "Where's the Mommy toe?" she asked, smiling.

New and Improved--check out the video!

2007-05-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

Just click on the "play" triangle in the middle of the video, even if there's no image yet. Enjoy! And thanks, Leah, for your inspiration. You are the wind beneath my wings.

Not napping

2007-05-30T13:07:00.001-07:00

As of right now, Hannah has been in her room not napping for the last hour and a half. She is currently proclaiming, "I love Barney!" in her loud, into-the-monitor-I-know-you-can-hear-me-Mommy voice. And then she asks, "Do you love Barney, Mommy?" Barney comes on after Sesame Street. Don't ever let your child watch it. Even once. It will be with you forever.

2007-05-30T12:36:00.001-07:00

Empathy

2007-05-22T19:10:00.000-07:00

Lately, Hannah has been going into the kitchen when she's hungry and trying to help herself to something to eat. I've been trying to teach her to ask first, not to open the fridge on her own, etc. When standing with the fridge door open today, she asked why she needed to close it. I told her close it because we needed to keep the cold air in, to keep the things inside cold. She closed the door. Then opened it and peeked in, saying, "Are you guys cold in there?"

Close encounters

2007-05-21T18:31:00.000-07:00

This post is a tribute to all you second-borns and on...

To date, I have rescued Matthew from:

1. Having his eye gouged out with a meat thermometer ("What are you doing with that, Hannah!!!!???" "Poking his eye.")

2. Cranial trauma from a corn poker

3. And today: a haircut with a butter knife.

Two-year-old Theology

2007-05-21T18:25:00.000-07:00

Hannah loves to ask questions and uses it as a stalling technique when she doesn't want to go to bed, leave a place, etc. She often asks about people she sees or about people we've read about--What's his name? Where did he go? What is he doing?

Tonight she was talking about Jesus and said, "What did he do?" I returned the question and she said:

"He picked up the children." (the story of when the children come to Jesus)
"He died. And He rose again."
"He healed Bartimaeus."

Then... "Does Bartimaeus have blood on his eyes?" (the blind man that Jesus healed) I explained that no, he didn't have blood there, he was just blind, etc. She was still concerned, "Does he have bandaids on his eyes? Does he need some of MY bandaids?"

More food wonders

2007-05-20T10:47:00.000-07:00

Matthew has a very sensitive gag reflex and still has trouble with anything that's not very smooth in his mouth. He was crawling (not literally, just scooting, really) on the floor and found a little piece of food, gagged and lost his breakfast of mango and cottage cheese. Hannah saw the whole thing and exclaimed excitedly, "Shoot! It's yellow!"

Get on it!

2007-05-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

Matthew gets very excited and screeches/squawks quite loudly at times. Hannah finds this distressing and tells him, "No!", very sharply. I try to explain that he's just learning how to talk and what his voice can do. I tell her again and again that it's not her job to tell him "no". The most recent time this happened she waited a few seconds after my admonition and then asked, "Can you tell him 'no', Mama?"

Food fun

2007-05-20T10:34:00.000-07:00

Before I left for Colorado last week, I didn't have much produce in the house since I knew Shae wouldn't be eating too much in my absence. I offered Hannah an orange or an apple at breakfast. She asked for a banana. When I told her that I didn't have any bananas, she said, "WHAT?!" I think it's the first time I haven't had bananas on hand.

I baked some cookies today just before lunch and Hannah was begging for some, of course. We told her she could have one after lunch. She ate it excitedly and then asked for another. I told her she couldn't have another with her lunch but maybe later for a snack. She asked, "Is it snack time now?"

Much to my chagrin, ranch dressing is one of Hannah's favorite things. She'll eat just about anything with it. And she'll eat it off her fingers without dipping anything in it--a habit we're trying to discourage. She had carrots & dressing at lunch today and Shae said to her that he'd take it away if she ate it off her fingers. Hannah said, "Take it away." Shae looked at her to see if she meant it and she clarified, "Take the carrots away." I tried not to laugh. :)

Buzz

2007-05-09T11:41:00.000-07:00

One of the books we currently have from the library is called "Buzz". It's about all the "buzz" noises you hear during the day. One page shows Daddy shaving and I was acting it out as I read to Hannah.

She looked at me with concern and said, "You don't have those!"

"What don't I have?" I asked.

"Beards."

Taking the temperature

2007-05-07T19:52:00.000-07:00

Hannah is pretty aware of emotions and I've been trying to name them with her so she can talk about them. She's aware of mine, too. After she'd been quite testy, she looked up at me and said, "Are you happy?" That's the day she learned "frustrated". :)

Body talk

2007-05-07T19:50:00.000-07:00

Hannah and I were showering together and she was soaping my legs as I was shaving them. I said, "Mommy has long legs, doesn't she?" Her reply: "No, they're big." Thanks, Hannah.

A planner already

2007-05-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

Hannah loves to write in my planner whenever she can. I left it out on the table and came back to find her scribble all over the page. She said, "I drew my errand, Mommy!" I didn't know she knew what I wrote in there!

A bad cold

2007-05-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

As I was fixing breakfast, Hannah exclaimed proudly, "I blew a bubble! I sure did." I came into the dining room a little confused because she didn't have anything on her tray (no milk, etc.) with which to blow a bubble. I quickly saw what she meant as she smiled with a big, snotty nose....

Little parrot

2007-05-07T19:46:00.000-07:00

I called to Hannah from the living room where I was sitting with Matthew. She replied, "Just ONE minute. Be patient!"

Old McDonald

2007-05-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

One of Hannah's favorite songs is" Old McDonald Had a Farm". Recent variations include:

And on that farm he had some...

...bubbles...with a blub blub here and a blub blub there... (sung in the bath)
...eyes...with a blink blink here and a blink blink there...
... fork... with a scoop scoop here and a scoop scoop there...

Why?

2007-05-07T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hannah's new favorite word. Nough said. Should I start counting it with tic marks? lllll lllll lllll

Keeping an eye out for him

2007-05-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

Shae's been helping some friends with a house project and his back was sore the other day so he asked me to rub his shoulder. Hannah saw from across the room and exclaimed, "Don't scratch my Daddy!"

Thanks to our readers!

2007-04-25T17:21:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who read and have let me know! I'll try to keep posting, especially things that embarass Shae for Eric and Natalie.

Little eyes miss nothing

2007-04-25T17:08:00.000-07:00

Hannah was helping herself to some crackers from a box on the table and noticed on the flap of the box there was a little "+" sign among other symbols. She said, "That's a little cross. Jesus died on it." (Apparently she got the Easter story down!)

Bones in there!

2007-04-25T17:07:00.000-07:00

At lunch, Hannah held up her forearm and said, "There's bones in there!" Where does she get these things??? I asked her and she said, "I just know it."

Cut like a lamb

2007-04-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

This morning I asked Hannah if she wanted her strawberries whole or cut. (She has a high-maintenance vein from her father and sometimes cares about such things.) She said, "Cut, like a lamb." I said, "Cut like a lamb????" "Yes! Cut, like the lamb!" I then remembered that we'd been talking about shearing sheep and how the shepherd cuts off their fleecy wool... I love the connections she makes!

True

2007-04-19T10:17:00.000-07:00

Hannah and I were reading stories with some of her stuffed animals on her bed the other day and she suddenly said, "Let's just talk. Books are dangerous!" I have no idea where she got that one! But she's more right than she knows... :) Laughing a little, I asked her to elaborate and tell me why they were dangerous, what dangerous means, etc. but she just started laughing, too.

Asking too much

2007-04-19T10:15:00.000-07:00

When I ask Hannah a question and she doesn't know or remember the answer, she's started saying--in my exact tone--"Do you remember? Can YOU say it, Mommy?", just like I prompt her.