Now About That Pot O Gold…
I had delusions of grandeur when planning our Leprechaun trap. I had an elaborate setup planned that would drop a basket on the lil’ bugger when he took the bait. Alas, due to our busy schedule, it was not to be. We wound up making a makeshift version of the trap out of an overturned box propped up with a wooden spoon and a string. Not quite as exciting, but Haley enjoyed it. Haley came downstairs in the morning to find the trap triggered. When she excitedly looked underneath, she found some candy and a note in green glitter ink that said, “Better luck next year! Happy St Patrick’s Day!” Maybe next year I’ll have time to build the elaborate trap with her.
In other update news, with Easter still a week away, we’ve already had TWO egg hunts. Saturday was a large one held at a nearby park for local residents. This was immediately followed on Sunday with a smaller one that some of the mothers (including Nicole) put together for the neighborhood kids. Once AGAIN, we have a ton of candy in our house. Haley had a great time. Zoe… might be too young for this yet. She was more interested in the swings and slides at the park than she was in the egg hunt.
Haley is starting to recognize and read words. For example, we’ll write “RED” on a piece of paper and ask her to read it. She’ll carefully sound it out until it makes a word she is familiar with. When she gets it, her face LIGHTS up! She gets really excited! “Ruh… Ehhh… Duh. Ruh… Ehhh… Duh. Red… Red! Like the color!!!!” As incentive, we’re giving her a penny per word she gets.
In addition to the new words she is learning to read, we’ve started reading some more complex books to her. We’re currently reading Roald Dahl’s children’s classic Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. She was a little daunted at first by its 150-page length, but now that we’re halfway through, she LOVES it! When Charlie doesn’t get the golden ticket on his first few tries, Haley was visibly crestfallen. Her excitement when he finally does find the ticket was amazing and infectious. I’ve read the book before and seen both movie adaptations and I still can’t help but be caught up in her VERY emotional responses to what is happening in the story. (Wait until she sees that the Easter bunny left a real Wonka chocolate bar in her basket!)
Zoe’s advances are equally amazing. She has a favorite song that she can sing some of. The song is by a children’s singer named Laurie Berkner and is called “Moon, Moon, Moon.” She also has an amazing grasp of concepts for someone so little. She can take the few words she knows and effectively tell us what she wants. For example, the other day I went outside to put the trash out, she pointed to her feet and said “shuuz” (shoes), then she mimed putting a coat on and said “on”, then she pointed to the door and said “Dada… door”, then she toddled over to the door and said “ausahid” (outside). Put it all together – I want to put on my shoes and coat and go outside with Daddy. She has also started using “This”, “That”, and “Iwansum” (I want some) pretty frequently.
On a final note… none of you are strangers to the fact that we have a LOT of stuffed toys in our home. Zoe has picked a favorite that we now need to cart around with us everywhere and make sure is in her crib at bedtime. Is it one of her new Easter bunnies? No. Perhaps one of the expensive Build-A-Bear animals in her toychest? Nope. Her favorite stuffed toy is… Cookie Monster. Haley’s old, beat-up, matted, Cookie Monster that she carried everywhere when she was a year old. Zoe even does the same thing with her voice that Haley used to do where she makes it rough and gravelly in an imitation of Cookie Monster. We are really getting our money’s worth out of that toy.
In other update news, with Easter still a week away, we’ve already had TWO egg hunts. Saturday was a large one held at a nearby park for local residents. This was immediately followed on Sunday with a smaller one that some of the mothers (including Nicole) put together for the neighborhood kids. Once AGAIN, we have a ton of candy in our house. Haley had a great time. Zoe… might be too young for this yet. She was more interested in the swings and slides at the park than she was in the egg hunt.
Haley is starting to recognize and read words. For example, we’ll write “RED” on a piece of paper and ask her to read it. She’ll carefully sound it out until it makes a word she is familiar with. When she gets it, her face LIGHTS up! She gets really excited! “Ruh… Ehhh… Duh. Ruh… Ehhh… Duh. Red… Red! Like the color!!!!” As incentive, we’re giving her a penny per word she gets.
In addition to the new words she is learning to read, we’ve started reading some more complex books to her. We’re currently reading Roald Dahl’s children’s classic Charlie And The Chocolate Factory. She was a little daunted at first by its 150-page length, but now that we’re halfway through, she LOVES it! When Charlie doesn’t get the golden ticket on his first few tries, Haley was visibly crestfallen. Her excitement when he finally does find the ticket was amazing and infectious. I’ve read the book before and seen both movie adaptations and I still can’t help but be caught up in her VERY emotional responses to what is happening in the story. (Wait until she sees that the Easter bunny left a real Wonka chocolate bar in her basket!)
Zoe’s advances are equally amazing. She has a favorite song that she can sing some of. The song is by a children’s singer named Laurie Berkner and is called “Moon, Moon, Moon.” She also has an amazing grasp of concepts for someone so little. She can take the few words she knows and effectively tell us what she wants. For example, the other day I went outside to put the trash out, she pointed to her feet and said “shuuz” (shoes), then she mimed putting a coat on and said “on”, then she pointed to the door and said “Dada… door”, then she toddled over to the door and said “ausahid” (outside). Put it all together – I want to put on my shoes and coat and go outside with Daddy. She has also started using “This”, “That”, and “Iwansum” (I want some) pretty frequently.
On a final note… none of you are strangers to the fact that we have a LOT of stuffed toys in our home. Zoe has picked a favorite that we now need to cart around with us everywhere and make sure is in her crib at bedtime. Is it one of her new Easter bunnies? No. Perhaps one of the expensive Build-A-Bear animals in her toychest? Nope. Her favorite stuffed toy is… Cookie Monster. Haley’s old, beat-up, matted, Cookie Monster that she carried everywhere when she was a year old. Zoe even does the same thing with her voice that Haley used to do where she makes it rough and gravelly in an imitation of Cookie Monster. We are really getting our money’s worth out of that toy.
posted by Haley and Zoe @ 5:04 PM
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