Running Shoes

We were recently at the Nike Outlet, where Michael bought new running shoes. While Michael tried on shoes, Tyler, Daphne, and I looked at the kids shoes on sale since Tyler's current sneakers are almost too small. We found some spiffy black sneakers with white trim and design. Tyler calls them his running shoes and says that he wants to go running with Daddy. He wore his new shoes to daycare this week. Tyler's teacher told us that all morning every time a parent came in to drop off their kid(s), Tyler would hold out one of his feet and wait for the parent to comment. After they told him, "Nice shoes!" or "Awesome shoes!" Tyler would tell them "They're for running" in a very matter-of-fact tone.

Velcro that!

While I love the ease of velcro, it is no match for Daphne! I can't tell you how many times a day she pulls off her bib or her shoes. Daphne likes to take off her shoes and socks and then put them in her mouth.

Play Park

Captain Tyler and Captain Calvin navigating the seas
in their "boat". Tyler told me that they caught crabs and
fish for us to eat. If only Tyler really ate seafood!

Lilith, Lourdes, and Sandie

Christopher getting his basketball fill

Look out! There is a new sheriff in town!
And she's a sweetie...

What a Diva!

Diva or temperamental 3-1/2 year old? The two are probably synonymous! Tyler’s tantrums had seemed to get better but lately he has been temperamental again. He hasn’t really been wanting to nap (even though we think he needs it) so the last few days we haven’t pushed the issue. However, the last two days Tyler has had a meltdown around 4 pm. On Friday he fell asleep while getting a consoling hug from me and then yesterday he fell asleep while crying mid-tantrum on the floor.

Tantrum-induced nap

The diva showed his demanding side yesterday when we were getting family portraits taken. Tyler was sulking because Michael and I got to sit on stools (sized for adults) with the kids on our lap. Then when the photographer broke out a cute little bench for Tyler and Daphne to do a sibling pose, Tyler refused to sit on the bench and kept whining about how he wanted to sit on a stool. The photographer kindly obliged and Michael held Daphne next to Tyler; however, I think the photos would have turned out better on the bench!

The Wanderer

Lyrics from Dion song:

They call me the wanderer

Yeah, the wanderer

I roam around, around, around

 

Daphne has gotten increasingly more brazen about exploring the house. The other day she was playing happily in her room while I put away laundry. I left for a minute to go to the bathroom and when I came back she was gone. I didn't see her nearby in the hallway or my bedroom. That fast baby had crawled all the way down the hallway, through the kitchen, and to the living room where Michael and Tyler were!

Soccer

Tyler had his last soccer class of the season last weekend. The field has been wet the past few classes, but last week they finally played in the rain towards the end of class. The kids thought the rain was great!

Practicing taking shots on goal

Taking a turn as goalie for the mustard team

Covered in mud! The photo doesn't do
justice of the mud from the knees down,
all over the hands, and by his eye.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Sleeping Beauty

If you look close you can see teeth coming in.
This is a welcome change to knocking them out!

Raise your hands if you are a sweetheart!

I don't know if Daphne is going through a growth spurt or what but she has been sleeping a ton lately. She is usually tuckered out by Thursday night because she doesn't sleep much at daycare anymore because little miss social butterfly doesn't want to miss all the action. However, this past Friday she napped for 7 hours! She did take an hour nap in the morning, which I woke her from for an outing, and later she slept 20 minutes or so at play park. Then she napped from 1:15 to 8:15. And she still went to bed at 10:15! I went in after she had been napping about 4 or 5 hours, left the door open with the hall light on, checked to make sure she was breathing, and even stroked her hair and rubbed her back and she didn't even stir. Since then she has taken 4-hour naps in the middle of the day! It must be nice to be a baby!

Fall Leaves

Daphne was amused to watch Michael and Tyler gathering leaves in the back yard. There are hand prints and drool marks all over our sliding doors. Tyler was very excited to be Daddy's big helper and Michael said that he actually was a big help. Tyler helped raked leaves into piles and used a pair of "rake hands" to put the leaves into yard debris bags.

Tackle Daddy

Lots of giggling ensues when Tyler and
Daphne decide to gang up on Michael!

Daphne Developments

Every time I blink Daphne seems to be doing something new:

• Babbling: Daphne has added consonants to her babbling repertoire. She frequently likes to say da-da-da. Michael is basking in the glow that Dada is her first word but I say it doesn't count until she specifically calls him Dada or refers to him as Dada.
• Waving: She has started opening and closing her hand in response when she is waved to.
• Speed Crawling: That baby sure is fast! When Daphne really wants to get somewhere or senses we are about to pick her up to distract her from something, she turns on the burners!
• Reaching: We often think that items are out of reach but Daphne manages to pull up and get to them one way or another. She is also able to bend down and pick items up off the floor while standing and holding onto something with one hand.
• Playing with the Big Kids: Daphne absolutely adores Tyler! He is starting to get frustrated that she is constantly getting into his toys but he also likes to play with her and make her giggle. When other big kids are at the house she wants to be in on the action too.
• Splashing: Daphne has started using her hands to splash water in the bathtub. Last night she started a splashing war with Tyler and kept giggling throughout.
• Trouble: Even though we are constantly moving Daphne away from the entertainment center, she will crawl over to it, pull herself up, open a cabinet, and look directly at us and smile. Little rascal!

Tyler's Art Work

Although a simple drawing, Tyler told us that the 4 green
vertical lines represent Mommy, Daddy, Tyler, & Daphne.
That makes this the first picture he has drawn of our family.

Tyler has been enjoying art projects at school for a while now. One day last week he brought home three drawings and told us that one was for his buddies Calvin and Christopher, one was for Daphne, and one was for us. What a sweetie!

Whoop!

Watching the Aggies beat No. 1 Alabama yesterday.  ; )

Never again!

Lately whenever Tyler gets mad at us for telling him he can't do something or disciplining him he tells us, "I'm never going to play with you again!" Thankfully 3-year olds don't follow through on empty threats.

Teeth

Daphne has 6 teeth growing in right now: 4 on top and 2 on bottom! They all broke through the gums within the last few weeks and are slowly making their way in. Of course Daphne is still gnawing on anything she can get a hold of. The other day she managed to wiggle her feet out of the shopping cart leg holes and twisted around towards the rear of the cart and she kept chewing on the metal shopping cart. Crazy girl!

Where is Daphne?

(sung to the tune of Frere Jacques)

Where is Daphne?
Where is Daphne?
There you are!
There you are!
You opened up a drawer
and another cabinet door...
There you are!
There you are!

Daphne has taken over Tyler's drawer in the kitchen.
I took out all the itty bitty choking hazards (misc.
toys, party favors, stickers, etc.). Now there's just old
food containers and tins in there for her to play with.

Daphne loves the dishwasher. I have to unload
the bottom drawer before she realizes I have the
dishwasher open.

Daphne has become fairly adept at opening drawers and cabinets. She got really frustrated the other day because she couldn't open the cabinet doors under the kitchen sink because we have child locks on those.

Napping

Crashed out on the couch after telling me he didn't need a nap

About to gnaw on her crib rail

I have never had the kids on a regimented napping schedule but generally try to work them into the day. Tyler is at an age where many kids give up napping altogether. However, I think Tyler still needs a nap because otherwise he gets really grouchy or he starts nodding off right before dinner. Tyler is constantly telling us that he doesn't need a nap. I can't tell you how many times I have read him a few books and then kept him company in bed and he has fallen asleep pretty easily in minutes. This often puts me to sleep too! Eventually I know Tyler will give up napping and I think we will resort to an hour of quiet time daily for everyone's sanity.

Daphne pretty much just takes 2 naps a day now but the duration is anyone's guess. At daycare Daphne doesn't want to miss out on the social experience and so she only takes about two half-hour naps. Then she comes home exhausted and is often ready for bed in the middle of dinner. She also doesn't nap while out and about like she did as an infant. She'll fall asleep in her car seat but as soon as she senses we are out of the car she is wide awake. Of course when she is sleeping in her crib Daphne will often take naps in the 2 - 4 hour range. So unpredictable! When we get really lucky Daphne's afternoon nap coincides with Tyler's nap.

When I Get Bigger

On the way to daycare one morning this week we had to turn around and go back to the house because I forgot Daphne's bottles in the fridge. Tyler said matter-of-factly, "When I get bigger and drive to school, I don't forget Daphne's bottles."

Entertain Me

Tyler is always asking us, "What are we going to do today?" or "What are we doing tomorrow?" He gets disappointed when I tell him we are going to do laundry, clean the house, run errands, go to the grocery store, etc. Tyler seems to think we are supposed to entertain him constantly!

Truckin'

Daphne hasn't actually figured out how to ride the truck yet,
but she does sit on it pretty well once you put her on. She
mostly likes to push the buttons to make the truck noises.

Daphne seems to like trucks and cars, which is a good thing since Tyler seems to have about a million of them!

Trick or Treat!

We went trick-or-treating in Multnomah Village, which is perfect for the little ones. The businesses all hand out candy in the late afternoon. We were home by dinner and the kids were in bed on time. It rained most of the day and by some miracle it let up right as we met up with our friends. On the rainy drive there Tyler told Michael, " I think we should go trick-or-treating indoors!" Definitely not a die-hard!

Lilith, Tyler, Calvin, Christopher, and Daphne

Lourdes and Renee

Daphne was so worn out from being at daycare all day,
she sat pretty still in her stroller and just took in all the activity.

Tyler opted not to wear his mask, which
was good since I don't think he could see
very well through the mesh over the eyes.

Huang family

Hurtado family

Tuck family

Harvest Fair

We went to a Harvest Fair the weekend before Halloween. Tyler had a blast! He loved playing all the old school games. And he closed down the fair on the bouncy slide. He pretty much went on the slide repeatedly once we found it and did not stop until the shut it down for the night.

A spider for Spiderman

Too hot indoors for her giraffe costume,
so we dressed Daphne as a park ranger instead.

Tyler played all the preschool games- ring toss,
bing bag toss, fishing for treats, lollipop tree, etc.