We got Xander to play Minecraft today. It's a video game with some complex controls. In the game, you basically gather raw materials from nature and then craft them into something (food, shelter,decorations, weapons, transportation).
With a little assistance from Daddy, Xander was able to get around ok. I think that is pretty impression because it took me a few hours to figure out all the different controls.3 different directional sticks,8 buttons. Am I the only one who finds this stuff hard?
A few things about the world Xander created in Minecraft:
1) He plays in peaceful mode in which there are no monsters. I have to admit I've played with this a few times. It is very scary to go into a dark cave and run into Zombies. If I'm scared, Xander would be too. So, we turn that off.
2) His world is called "Apple". Doh! Slap in the face to the MS XBox we're playing in on.
3) He built his home underground. He got my help to fill every available surface inside his home with yellow flowering plants.
4) He found a streak of coal underneath his home and was so excited to mine it. He was doing a little dance as he mined it.
5) He's collected 3 chicken-duck eggs. I say it's a duck, but Dolphin says it clucks.
6) He has trouble figuring out how to sleep in the bed (which you do each night in the game). He ends up destroying the bed instead of sleeping in it. It's just like real life!
Saturday, June 30, 2012
More words
Aria's vocabulary continues to expand. Some of her newish words:
Nose - always accompanied by some pointing at someone's nose. She loves pointing out all body parts on babies, herself, other people.
Baa - the nose of a sheep
Ballaa - balloon
Meah-meah -the sound of a cat
No - not just shaking her head any more
Yah - yes
Ba-doh -Bad dog
Tih-tih -tickle
Ba-na - Banana is getting better
A-gah - All gone
Ack-ack - the sound of a duck
Bah-bee -Baby
Pronunciation is till pretty bad. She loves to mimic her brother. He's like a whole farm of animals in one, full of sounds!
Nose - always accompanied by some pointing at someone's nose. She loves pointing out all body parts on babies, herself, other people.
Baa - the nose of a sheep
Ballaa - balloon
Meah-meah -the sound of a cat
No - not just shaking her head any more
Yah - yes
Ba-doh -Bad dog
Tih-tih -tickle
Ba-na - Banana is getting better
A-gah - All gone
Ack-ack - the sound of a duck
Bah-bee -Baby
Pronunciation is till pretty bad. She loves to mimic her brother. He's like a whole farm of animals in one, full of sounds!
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Old pics
Xander's school has been renovating. During the renovation, they've also done a little cleaning. Xander's 2-3 year old "Transition" teacher had a whole thumb-drive worth of pictures. Here are a few.
Thursday, June 21, 2012
More math
Dolphin has been doing so well teaching Xander math. Xander can now do addition and subtraction as long as he can use his fingers.
Xander's started to learn algebra concepts from a game that Dolphin found for his Kindle, called "Dragon Blocks". The game consistent of two pages representing each side of the algebraic equation. The goal is to isolate the picture of a box on one side (i.e. solve for X). Using mathematical concepts, you eliminate the terms one by one. It's all pictorial instead of numerical, but the underlying concepts are there. As soon as Xander learns a new concept, he's an expert and finding and isolating the box.
I'm sure it will be no time at all that Xander will surpass me (especially all the math that I have forgotten due to lack of use).
Xander's started to learn algebra concepts from a game that Dolphin found for his Kindle, called "Dragon Blocks". The game consistent of two pages representing each side of the algebraic equation. The goal is to isolate the picture of a box on one side (i.e. solve for X). Using mathematical concepts, you eliminate the terms one by one. It's all pictorial instead of numerical, but the underlying concepts are there. As soon as Xander learns a new concept, he's an expert and finding and isolating the box.
I'm sure it will be no time at all that Xander will surpass me (especially all the math that I have forgotten due to lack of use).
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Some good
I don't always get the best of news when I pick up the kids from school. Sometimes there is a bag of "accident" clothes waiting for me in Aria's room, check marks on Xander's daily report, or even worse, an incident report for some injury the kids had during the day. Usually, those bad things seem to happen after a terrible work day to add insult to injury. After a particularly miserable day at work on Friday, I was relieved to hear some unsolicited good news from both the kids' teachers.
Aria's teacher told me about such a great listener that Aria is. When the teacher asks Aria to come over to change a diaper, she follows right away. She listens at story time and gets very engaged with the books. Of course, I already knew Aria was a great listener, but its nice to hear from someone else, too.
Xander's teacher then told me about how he was such a great helper. She asked if he set the dinner table at home, which he does, because he was the the kid in class who would properly help doing it. I remarked about what a great helper he was and he's since spent the whole weekend finding ways to be helpful. Granted, he's a little selective about his helpful choices, but I can tell he's proud. By the way, our secret for dinner time table setting - paper plates (no worries about breakage).
Aria's teacher told me about such a great listener that Aria is. When the teacher asks Aria to come over to change a diaper, she follows right away. She listens at story time and gets very engaged with the books. Of course, I already knew Aria was a great listener, but its nice to hear from someone else, too.
Xander's teacher then told me about how he was such a great helper. She asked if he set the dinner table at home, which he does, because he was the the kid in class who would properly help doing it. I remarked about what a great helper he was and he's since spent the whole weekend finding ways to be helpful. Granted, he's a little selective about his helpful choices, but I can tell he's proud. By the way, our secret for dinner time table setting - paper plates (no worries about breakage).
Play
Father's Day Quiz
Just as he did for Mother's Day, Xander answered a Father's Day Quiz for Dolphin this year. Here are his answers:
My daddy's name is Dolphin
My daddy is 16 years old
My daddy's favorite color is green.
My daddy likes to eat burgers.
My daddy likes to drink beer.
My daddy likes to watch science shows.
My daddy works at his office.
I know my dad loves because he gives me hugs.
My daddy is special because he loves me!
I think daddy's answers are much improved over mommy's.
My daddy's name is Dolphin
My daddy is 16 years old
My daddy's favorite color is green.
My daddy likes to eat burgers.
My daddy likes to drink beer.
My daddy likes to watch science shows.
My daddy works at his office.
I know my dad loves because he gives me hugs.
My daddy is special because he loves me!
I think daddy's answers are much improved over mommy's.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Mother of Dragons
A few weeks ago, I was SO set on a hair cut. I haven't had one since shortly before Aria was born. Back then, I had a cut that was slightly above shoulder length. So, now, I have quite a bit of hair. It's been really annoying, tons of knots, lots of brushing. The obvious solution was to get a short cut - a mom cut.
Being a mom though, I ran out of time to schedule the hair appointment. It was at the bottom of a list of a ton of other things that I didn't get all the way through.
I've since rationalized that I should keep the hair. It's all nice and thick at the bottom from begin pregnant with Aria. I should embrace it rather than fight it. After all, the "Mother of Dragons" has a heck of a lot of hair. Why not me?
So far, embracing long hair, has worked out ok. Pinterest seems to have an endless supply of braided-dos. Aria and Xander only had 1 bout of "let's pull on mommy's horsie tail". The possibility still exists that I'll get annoyed enough to finally get around to that haircut. When that happens, perhaps, there will be enough to donate for someone who has lost all of their hair.
Being a mom though, I ran out of time to schedule the hair appointment. It was at the bottom of a list of a ton of other things that I didn't get all the way through.
I've since rationalized that I should keep the hair. It's all nice and thick at the bottom from begin pregnant with Aria. I should embrace it rather than fight it. After all, the "Mother of Dragons" has a heck of a lot of hair. Why not me?
Homework
After he turns in the homework, the teachers put check marks and give him some kind of sticker. It's not graded for accuracy. Although, he did get some impressed comments for the bug drawing that he did a couple of weeks ago.
What was cool about the picture above is that I didn't need to help him do his homework. He's done enough of them now that he did it all on his own. Time for the next challenge.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Maturing
As Xander approaches 4 years told, he is maturing so many different ways. His writing skills are improving and he seems to take pleasure in doing pre-school level worksheets and puzzles. (He loves the Hi-lite puzzles, Great Grandma Margie). I hope this is a sign that he will like to do his homework in the future.
He's also become more sensitive to the feelings of others. I wouldn't exactly give him the award of most empathetic child, but he's making progress. He recently accidentally head-butted me in the lip. For some reason, it didn't hurt him a bit. When I yelped in pain, he started apologizing profusely and giving me a big hug. I'd almost say he's slightly more nurturing that me, because I usually tell him "oh, it's not that bad" when he over dramatizes an injury(If you are saying "wah" Xander, that is not really crying).
He's just started to be able to play some video games. So,of course, Dolphin is happy. Although, it's a bit frustrating to watch Xander play because his eye hand coordination is not that good. There's a lot of aimless ling walking around in circles or accidentally jumping off into cliffs. He likes to watch Dolphin play, too. Of course, so do I. Dolphin makes every video game look super easy.
He's developing a more sophisticated sense of humor. Sure, he still loves the barking spider jokes/physical comedy, but now he attempts to make plays on words. There are a few of his Shel Silverstein poems where he really "gets" the joke.
He's growing up. Sometimes, I miss baby Xander, but I really do love seeing my big boy grow up.
He's also become more sensitive to the feelings of others. I wouldn't exactly give him the award of most empathetic child, but he's making progress. He recently accidentally head-butted me in the lip. For some reason, it didn't hurt him a bit. When I yelped in pain, he started apologizing profusely and giving me a big hug. I'd almost say he's slightly more nurturing that me, because I usually tell him "oh, it's not that bad" when he over dramatizes an injury(If you are saying "wah" Xander, that is not really crying).
He's just started to be able to play some video games. So,of course, Dolphin is happy. Although, it's a bit frustrating to watch Xander play because his eye hand coordination is not that good. There's a lot of aimless ling walking around in circles or accidentally jumping off into cliffs. He likes to watch Dolphin play, too. Of course, so do I. Dolphin makes every video game look super easy.
He's developing a more sophisticated sense of humor. Sure, he still loves the barking spider jokes/physical comedy, but now he attempts to make plays on words. There are a few of his Shel Silverstein poems where he really "gets" the joke.
He's growing up. Sometimes, I miss baby Xander, but I really do love seeing my big boy grow up.
Aria's 15th month check up
This week, Aria had her15th month wellness visit with the pediatrician. As always, she was measured. She is 30" long (25-50th percentile), 22.2lbs (25-50th percentile), and has a head circumference of 47.4cm(75-90th percentile). She's leveled off in growing a little bit, but the doctor wasn't concerned because she was proportionate.
Development wise, everything is fine.She performed a little walking testing by walking across the room and giving her doctor a high five. She had enough words although per pronunciation still is not very good. I told the doctor how she is an excellent non-verbal communicator. She sleeps through the night just fine, and is entirely fine with a variety table foods. She's been pretty insistent lately on using utensils or at least having one to be like everyone else that the table.
She received 3 shots and survived enough to pick out a sticker. She also received a refill on her eczema cream. I've noticed that her eczema flairs up every time she gets some kind of illness school. Being in daycare, she gets a lot of bugs, so it seems like we use a lot of the cream. I'm hopefully though. Xander has grown out of the eczema out breaks. Hopefully, the same will happen for Aria.
Development wise, everything is fine.She performed a little walking testing by walking across the room and giving her doctor a high five. She had enough words although per pronunciation still is not very good. I told the doctor how she is an excellent non-verbal communicator. She sleeps through the night just fine, and is entirely fine with a variety table foods. She's been pretty insistent lately on using utensils or at least having one to be like everyone else that the table.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Kids' Garden update.
The kids' garden is becoming bountiful. This is one of the many baby cucumbers.
The strawberry plants keep on producing more strawberries. Although, most of them seem to be eaten before we get to enjoy them.
The eggplant produces the most beautiful purple flowers.
I really didn't think the eggplant was going to make it. However, suddenly it has taken off and we've got a little baby eggplant.
Our tomato plant is doing really well. We've got tons of baby tomatoes now. We've harvested two that were ripe like the one below. It's a really mild variety, not too tart. Of course, the texture of a fresh tomato is unbeatable. Xander gets super excited with each harvest.
So, now we have all of this yummy food...all because I wanted to keep our dog, Peanut, from jumping on the fence.
The strawberry plants keep on producing more strawberries. Although, most of them seem to be eaten before we get to enjoy them.
The eggplant produces the most beautiful purple flowers.
I really didn't think the eggplant was going to make it. However, suddenly it has taken off and we've got a little baby eggplant.
Our tomato plant is doing really well. We've got tons of baby tomatoes now. We've harvested two that were ripe like the one below. It's a really mild variety, not too tart. Of course, the texture of a fresh tomato is unbeatable. Xander gets super excited with each harvest.
So, now we have all of this yummy food...all because I wanted to keep our dog, Peanut, from jumping on the fence.
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Vampire Toddler
Our sweet little red headed Aria must be sensing the upcoming season of "True Blood" because she is growing some vampire teeth. Her cuspids (the pokey teeth) seem to be finally coming in.
Unfortunately, while the other teeth were really not that big of a deal, Aria is suffering terribly with these vampire teeth . She screamed so much at school on Monday, that she has lost her voice. While a quiet toddler sounds like a cool thing, it's really very sad and pathetic. She pretty much screams all day long unless we give her some pain reliever medication. For such a normally happy baby, it's really quite a shock to see Aria so upset.
To ease her pain, she is chewing on pretty much everything (except food). She seems like chewing on her tooth brush a lot so that's not such a bad thing. The pain seems to impact which foods she will eat. Very cold fruit, yogurt, and drinks seem to go over well. Lots of foods that she normally likes (even nursing) send her into a screaming rage.
Poor girl. I hope this passes soon.
Unfortunately, while the other teeth were really not that big of a deal, Aria is suffering terribly with these vampire teeth . She screamed so much at school on Monday, that she has lost her voice. While a quiet toddler sounds like a cool thing, it's really very sad and pathetic. She pretty much screams all day long unless we give her some pain reliever medication. For such a normally happy baby, it's really quite a shock to see Aria so upset.
To ease her pain, she is chewing on pretty much everything (except food). She seems like chewing on her tooth brush a lot so that's not such a bad thing. The pain seems to impact which foods she will eat. Very cold fruit, yogurt, and drinks seem to go over well. Lots of foods that she normally likes (even nursing) send her into a screaming rage.
Poor girl. I hope this passes soon.
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Serious Artist
Soda Water
We now have this wonderful soda water in great abundance. Both Dolphin and I love soda water. We used to drink bottled Perrier or Topo Chico, but the bottles/cans and cost are really ridiculous. Dolphin modified his beer kegerator to have a second tap for carbonated water. It's so awesome. No more wasting bottles.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)