And the first thing I think about writing is her love of Elmo. It is deep and intense and pretty comical. Just about any conversation you have with her will end with her inquiring or demanding Elmo in some way. In fact, although she won't say Joaquin, Lola, or Nate, she's got Elmo, Abby, and Ernie down! Other words for her include animal noises like moo, baa, sss, snorting (for pig), oof (for a dog), meow; bubbles, no, hey, bye-bye, mama, daddy, Bailey, choo-choo, nose, pee pee, pooh pooh, and Pooh as in Winnie. She identifies all her body parts and likes to pretend to go to the bathroom. She also likes to play with stuffed animals, which is also new for us (maybe a girl thing?). She gets up on their toddler bed, surrounds herself with all of them, and then starts playing and talking to them all.
My mom observed that although Rhiannon doesn't have as much language as Joaquin had at this age, in many ways she seems more mature than Joaquin did. Maybe it's because she's such a mover? It's hard to put a finger on what's different here, but I agree. She definitely completely understands and there is something about her character that makes you think...she is processing in a less naive way? It's this thread that runs through the determined way she says no, her opinions on her clothes, and her fearlessness in exploring on her own. Whereas Joaquin's language always gave him the air of 2 going on 40, Rhiannon's determination gives her the air of 1 going on 18.
Our little love gets stopped in the street so people can comment on how beautiful her eyes are...happy year and a half, love...
Monday, January 28, 2013
Friday, January 4, 2013
Christmas and the new year
Joaquin's Christmas list-this is the first formal list we have written and also our first letter to Santa Claus:
Trampoline
Robot
Toy gun
Digger
Toy airplane that flies
Box of super heroes
Blue bicycle (he has a red one, but red is not his favorite color)
Pogo stick
Periscope
Joaquin's Christmas list for Rhiannon:
Elmo
We also did our first visit to Santa at a Victorian Christmas celebration at the Banning house. Santa is in a sleigh and you could climb up with him and take a picture. We didn't get that far, but Joaquin did manage to ask for his robot while standing below on the ground.
I had a week and a half off between Christmas and the new year and although Gideon had to work on the eves and New Year's day, it was the most family together time we've had in a long time. We also had some scheduling problems with Gideon's family celebrations, which caused us to have a smaller group in our home instead. That had its advantages and disadvantages as Joaquin is finally enjoying being around bigger groups and hanging out with his family, so sad that we missed that, but it also required alot less 'schedule' and travel and that was nice.
This year, we went to the Mission Inn with its 9M lights, saw ice sculptures in Long Beach, and headed up to Frazier Park for an overnight in the snow. The snow was largely a big hit with Joaquin and Gideon making a snowman, all of us throwing snowballs, Rhiannon trying to eat her first batch and staying in a cozy cabin for the night. It was also a reminder of how picky Joaquin has gotten with his clothing and day 2 of his activities were totally shot as he could not find anything acceptably warm and soft for the day. Joaquin has only grown about an inch in the past year while his feet continue to grow, which means growth spurt coming up for me, and I dread the clothing and shoe conversations that will likely come with it.
2012 was a great, if not hectic, year for us. My new job offers us growth opportunity that we could have never accomplished in our previous situation. It definitely felt like a new era with our transition into a 4 person family, a rebalancing of parental roles and responsibilities, new professional opportunities, and beginning our search for what Joaquin's grade school years will look like. 2013 promises more change and is such an unknown right now depending on our housing and school...major disruption or a continued ease into our 'new' pattern?
Trampoline
Robot
Toy gun
Digger
Toy airplane that flies
Box of super heroes
Blue bicycle (he has a red one, but red is not his favorite color)
Pogo stick
Periscope
Joaquin's Christmas list for Rhiannon:
Elmo
We also did our first visit to Santa at a Victorian Christmas celebration at the Banning house. Santa is in a sleigh and you could climb up with him and take a picture. We didn't get that far, but Joaquin did manage to ask for his robot while standing below on the ground.
I had a week and a half off between Christmas and the new year and although Gideon had to work on the eves and New Year's day, it was the most family together time we've had in a long time. We also had some scheduling problems with Gideon's family celebrations, which caused us to have a smaller group in our home instead. That had its advantages and disadvantages as Joaquin is finally enjoying being around bigger groups and hanging out with his family, so sad that we missed that, but it also required alot less 'schedule' and travel and that was nice.
This year, we went to the Mission Inn with its 9M lights, saw ice sculptures in Long Beach, and headed up to Frazier Park for an overnight in the snow. The snow was largely a big hit with Joaquin and Gideon making a snowman, all of us throwing snowballs, Rhiannon trying to eat her first batch and staying in a cozy cabin for the night. It was also a reminder of how picky Joaquin has gotten with his clothing and day 2 of his activities were totally shot as he could not find anything acceptably warm and soft for the day. Joaquin has only grown about an inch in the past year while his feet continue to grow, which means growth spurt coming up for me, and I dread the clothing and shoe conversations that will likely come with it.
2012 was a great, if not hectic, year for us. My new job offers us growth opportunity that we could have never accomplished in our previous situation. It definitely felt like a new era with our transition into a 4 person family, a rebalancing of parental roles and responsibilities, new professional opportunities, and beginning our search for what Joaquin's grade school years will look like. 2013 promises more change and is such an unknown right now depending on our housing and school...major disruption or a continued ease into our 'new' pattern?
Rhiannon 16 to 17 months
This was a big month for Rhiannon. Her new words were ipad and teetay (Tagalog for penis). Ipad is always followed by a request for Elmo while teetay is just something she thinks is hilarious. I guess penis humor works no matter what the gender. She has also started to speak in simple sentences and has reached 'full' understanding where we can ask her to do things like bring me your shoes, etc. She can point to all body parts, has mastered stairs both up and down, and can climb up on just about anything at this point. Nods yes, but says no and the way she says it is super cute and indicative of her personality...while she uses it alot-both to say no and as a way to make jokes because we laugh at her cuteness in saying it-she says it in the sweetest, most girlish way, lifting her chin, raising her eyebrows and in a sweet, higher pitched voice, "no."
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)