Getting Somewhere

My parents are teachers. My aunts and one uncle are teachers. Stu's Dad is a teacher. I am surrounded by teachers. Because of this I a) feel academics are very important and b) know how important the parents' roles are in helping a child succeed in school.

So I've been trying to teach Grace. Once everyday we take a little time and learn about a letter or work on our numbers. We've done a little bit of work on shapes and colours but I've felt like I was sometimes working with a wall. But things have sunk in!

Grace can now count to six all on her own and ten with some help. She can repeat all of the letters in the alphabet and the sounds that they make. She can say her alphabet on her own up to 'E' and she can identify a circle.

I know this isn't a whole lot and she has no idea what the colours are but its exciting to know that her little brain is working! Now if we could identify one colour Mommy would feel better.

When I Asked You to Spend Some Time with Your Kids, I Didn't Mean This

Yesterday while we sitting outside trying to cool off Grace noticed some mosquitoes flying around us. She's never seen them before (or remembers seeing them) and asked what they were.

Stuart replied: "There mosquitoes. Mosquitoes fly around, land on you and then they bit you. They suck out your blood and eat you. It hurts."

Grace then started to cry and jumped into Stu's arms to protect her.

Thanks dear. That's exactly what I needed, a pathological fear of mosquitoes.

Bubbles

Grace has always been a lover of bubbles. The first time she giggled was when she was three months old and Stuart blew bubbles into her face. On Saturday it was pouring rain and I was running out of things to do with the girls. After comandeering the car and taking a trip to the Dollar Store I discovered "Magic Bubbles". These are bubbles that do not pop when they land on surfaces and only break when poked.

Grace loved the bubbles. Laura on the other hand didn't enjoy having them on her face, head or body.

He's Done!

Stuart is offically done shcool! As of May 1st he passed all of his classes, wrote all of his tests and handed in all of his projects. We are no longer students. We've hit the real world now. It's kinda frightening.

Thanks Stu for working so hard!

Strange Sleepers

We've been having some troubles as of late with children sleeping. It all started after the move Grace decided that she didn't want to have a nap anymore. That's fine many children once they hit toddlerhood don't need to sleep anymore. I thought that Grace fell into this category until she started skipping her naps and staying up until 10 or 11 at night. We removed the toys from her room. It didn't help. Grace started getting out of bed and wandering the house.

We installed a gate at the top of the stairs because there is nothing more creepy then waking up and realizing your toddler is roaming the floor beneath you. However that didn't help as much as we had hoped.

Even though Laura is pushing the six month mark she still sleeps with us. We have a king size bed and Laura is a very still sleeper so its not really an issue, however people's eyes seem to widen in shock that they quickly try to hide when I mention this fact.

I realize that there are people who are very firm believers that co-habitation of a bed is not only a bad habit but very dangerous for the baby. I understand these concerns but have always had my newborns sleep with me. Grace was long gone by five months because she rolled around and kicked us too much. But I just find it too convenient to roll over when I'm half asleep and feed Laura without really waking up instead of walking all the way over to her room, feeding her and then going back to bed.

Night time is a strange time in the Watt house.

About a week ago the night terrors started. I'll be the first to admit that when I saw Homer
Simpson suffering from night terrors I thought it was hilarious. When my parents told me I used to sleep walk and try to go to school I laughed at myself. I'm hoping that someday I will be able to look back on this and laugh.

We woke up to see Grace fast asleep in the hall.

I have no idea how she managed to do this.

Five Months

It's here! It's here! My little baby is so big. I already miss my squishy little newborn that wanted to be held every moment of every day.

Laura can now:

• rolls over and over and over and over.
• smiles all of the time. I once got her to giggle but that was a one time thing.
• eats rice cereal like a big girl. She absolutely loves it and sleeps through the night when she has it for supper.
• sits with support from the couch and tripods on her own.
• shuffles around on her tummy so she's never where I left her.
• wants to be held all of the time again.
• is trying so hard to crawl that she often spends a few minutes with her bum in the air.

The bigger Laura gets the more I enjoy her and the more joy she brings to our family but I do wish, just a little bit, that she would stay my tiny baby forever.

It's been a Hot One

My goodness I don't remember there ever being a Victoria Day when I was in an outdoor pool. This Victoria Day was spent in the pool. Everyday Grace went running in at least twice a day, we spent all of our spare time out on the deck. Two days ago we even turned the air conditioning on. It's been a scorcher.

I have the biggest water baby on my hands. Everyday Grace wants to start the day with a swim and every night we have our baths in the pool. (No soap requried.) She loves the water and so do I. Laura puts up with it for our sake. Sometimes she just chills on the deck and waits for us to be done our silliness.

Lunch on the deck.

I forgot her hat in the car.