About Us
We are Kris, Kristina, Annika and James. This is our family blog.

Pictures

E-mail
Archives
My Friends
Other Great Sites
Credits
Design: Blogfrocks
Photo: inertia stock x.chng
Powered by Blogger
 
Thursday, March 01, 2007
 
One of the hard parts of parenting is seeing the traits you dislike in yourself coming out in your children. Growing up I was rather timid, sometimes shy unless I really knew the people I was with. My mom used to say that it was hard for me to make friends but once I did, they were my friends for life. And she was right. Growing up, if you put me in a room with a group of people, I would immediately become a wallflower. I'd rather have people come talk to me then seek out others. And while I've grown out of this to some extent, I haven't entirely. And I see this timidness, this shyness in Annika. Last Friday we went to play time at our community center. On Mondays and Fridays, for $1 per child, you can come play in the gym from 10-11:30am. You can bring balls, trikes, trucks, etc. to play with or use their toys. Last Friday was the first time we had gone. We arrived about 10:20am or so and the gym was already full of kids. We walked in and Annika immediatey shrunk back to Kris and I. She stayed pretty close to Kris and I and didn't really play with any of the kids. Every once in a while she would stalk a kid until they dropped whatever toy they were playing with and then take it when they were done. I sometimes wish Annika was more outgoing in situations like this. But then I think that I turned out okay so I have to believe that she will too.

Yesterday we went to story time at the library. Kris and I thought it was really well done, educational, interactive, fun and perfect for toddlers and preschool children. I think we'll incorporate it into our weekly routine as long as it lasts. What I really liked though was after story time when Annika started playing with a couple kids while Kris and I chatted with another parent. Annika walked up to two girls standing in a corner, made friends and before I knew it they were chasing each other back and forth across the room in some sort of racing game (run across the room, hit the wall with your hand, run back across the room, repeat). And Annika was laughing and smiling and having a great time. When those girls had to go, she started playing chase with Sam, whose mom we were talking to. She didn't like it when Sam actually touched her but I thought it was great that she was playing with him. Maybe she was more outgoing yesterday because the group and room was much smaller. Maybe Friday she was just overwhelmed. Either way, I need to stop worrying so much. She's great and figuring things out just fine.

And she is as smart as they come. She has a pretty good memory and is now reciting books and songs back to us on a daily basis. She really likes her Mr. Brown Can Moo Dr. Seuss book and walks around the house reciting it. She does the same thing with the Doodlebop theme song. There are other books that we read quite a bit that she can "read" back to us. And she's started pretending quite a bit lately too. Sometimes I'm DeeDee, she's Moe and Daddy's Rooney (Doodlebops, don't ya know). Other times two of her stuffed animals are Woody and Buzz (Toy Story) and other times she's baking me a cake or making me eggs in her kitchen.

And she's funny too! Yesterday I was teasing Kris about his sarcastic nature and he said "I'm a ray of sunshine." Annika looked at him and deadpanned "Ha, ha" right at him. Kris and I laughed forever at that. How does she know to say that?

Okay, enough bragging about Annika. Let's talk about James for a bit. He's not too entertaining at this point. He pretty much just eat, sleep and poops still. He's doing pretty well at night, usually eating every three hours. Last night he got up at 4am and didn't go back to sleep until 5:30am though. He was content to just stare at me instead. And even though he is adorable and I could stare back at him for hours, 5am is just not a good time. He has mastered one skill though that Annika couldn't do for months and months. He can fall asleep on his own. I know it sounds like such a little thing but really, this is huge. With Annika you had to rock or bounce her until she went to sleep. And she would always wake up when you put her down no matter how deeply she was sleeping or how carefully you did it. That's why she took naps in her bouncy seat or swing a lot as an infant. And that's why we ended up co-sleeping for a long time. But James, he I can feed and put down and if he's full, has a dry diaper and is comfortable, he will fall asleep on his own. How great is that! And he's a pretty calm baby. No fussy periods of the day yet. Once again if he's not hungry and his diaper is dry, he's a pretty mellow baby. He'll just sit and look around. That is, until his big sister comes and squishes him (like a bug! - that's a new phrase around here). Annika loves to give him kisses and hugs and just generally get in his space and he doesn't always like it. She loves to hold him though and that he tolerates pretty well, as long as she doesn't squish him.

Posted by Kristina at 3/01/2007 09:28:00 PM



Comments: Post a Comment

Links to this post:

<\$BlogItemBacklinkCreate\$>

 
      Photo Copyright © inertia stock x.chng
Webset Copyright © Blogfrocks