Whee!

Dr. Daphne

 

Daphne recently gave Abuelita a check-up with her

doctor's kit. Some toys will always be classics!

 

Puzzles

Tyler loves to work puzzles and has gotten pretty good at it. He has some normal size puzzles and a few 48-piece floor puzzles like this dinosaur one he worked recently.

Great PawPaw

July 2009: Great PawPaw and Tyler

April 2012: Great PawPaw, Damon, Great Granny,
Daphne, Tyler, and Noah

My PawPaw (my Mom's Dad and the kids' Great PawPaw) was buried today and will be missed! Rest in Peace Donald Protzman (September 7, 1923 to January 27, 2014): www.timeformemory.com/wallace

Shark Attack

Our little streaker often takes off her pajamas while still in her crib. On this particular morning Daphne took off her pajamas after breakfast and paraded around the house in Tyler's shark slippers. When I let the kids pick out slippers to buy in the fall Daphne insisted on bunny slippers even though Tyler tried to convince her they should both get matching shark slippers. But why get your own shark slippers when you can have bunny slippers and steal your brother's shark slippers? Guess who mostly wears the shark slippers...

Love Songs

The other day in the car Tyler said, "I like this song. I like songs about love. I love you Mommy!"

So Many Best Friends

Tyler has about 10 best friends at school these days. According to his teachers he is quite popular with the boys. Apparently the other boys fight over who gets to play with Tyler, sit next to Tyler, etc. On the days Tyler is not at school apparently the other boys talk about how cool Tyler is, how fast he runs, etc. I hope it doesn't go to his head, but I am glad Tyler has made lots of "best" friends at his new school.

Kiddie Gambling

C'mon big points or instant winner

HEB grocery stores have a fun wheel-of-fortune style wheel for the kids to spin. At checkout the cashier gives us HEB Buddy Bucks, which is fake money for the wheel machine. The wheel spins and the kids get to hit a button to stop the spinning. Then they get a sticker for the amount of points they spun. You can collect all the stickers in a booklet and eventually win prizes. Tyler likes collecting the points. Daphne likes putting the points stickers on her shirt or hands. The wheel is a good incentive to get the kids to behave when they start acting up. I must say that I do miss Playland at our Fred Meyer grocery store in Oregon. Playland had a bunch of toys and a person watching the kids (age 2 - 5 only) for up to an hour while you shop. Tyler used to love going to Playland, which meant much more peaceful shopping for Mommy. Oh how I wish there was Playland for Daphne. She is at the stage where she doesn't want to ride in the cart but I can only let her run around for a little while because otherwise she grabs things from shelves or runs off. And she throws a fit when I prohibit her from doing things.

Warm Weather

We have definitely been enjoying high temperatures in the 60s and even low 70s the past few days!

Miss Manners

Yesterday while climbing on the playground Daphne burped. She sweetly told me, "Excuse me. I burped." Then when she got to the top of the slide she proudly told Abuelito, "I burped."

Animal Hands

The kids have been bringing home some super cute handprint art lately.

Daphne's little lamb (she always tears off any
art work googly eyes during the car ride home)

Daphne's elephant

Tyler's penguins on an iceberg

Potty time?

Next week Daphne moves up from the Early Preschool classroom to the Preschool classroom at school. In preparation for the move, her and 3 of her classmates have been spending time in the Preschool classroom this week. In the Preschool classroom there is no changing table and diapers are changed in the bathroom to get the kids curious about the potty. Today Daphne told her teacher, "Sit on potty!" and so twice today she actually sat on the potty. I know Daphne is still a long way from actually being ready for potty training but I am super excited that she is starting to show interest.

Feel the Love

There are plenty of times that Tyler and Daphne squabble, but sometimes they also get along pretty well and are actually sweet to one another.

Arranging magnetic letters on the easel

Sharing their watercolor books

Working a puzzle together

Working

Daphne sat down at my desk, started tapping
on keys, and said, "I working."

I caught up on some work while Daphne was
napping. After she woke up I was finishing
something up and she patted my chair and
declared "My seat!" until I got up.

Shoe Shopping

Daphne is a natural shoe shopper! She was more than happy to help me try on shoes. First she wore the free pantyhose socks on her hands. Then she wanted them on her feet like Mommy and wanted to try on heels too.

If you're happy and you know it...

Daphne's 2-Year Well Child Visit

Daphne had her 2-year well child visit on Thursday. This was the first doctor's visit that she was freaked out about being examined. As soon as we went in the exam room her little eyes started welling up with tears and when the nurse asked me to undress Daphne she started wailing. But we got her calmed down and she got a clean bill of health. Here are the latest stats:

• Weight = 28.4 lb (71st percentile)
• Height = 33" (26th percentile)
• Head Circumference = 18.8" (49th percentile)

Daphne has been so busy imitating her brother this past year that the milestones have been flying by. Here is what she is up to lately:

• Chatterbox: Daphne loves to talk and we are hearing lots of phrases and more and more sentences (e.g. I want my stool). She really hasn't said her name much and is actually talking in the first person. Daphne has been learning some Spanish at school and lately when we ask her questions she replies "si" instead of "yes".
• Budding Artist: Daphne loves to color and do anything artsy! Of course she also likes to make a big mess so we have to keep an eye on her because we have caught her coloring on tables, walls, herself, etc.
• Book Aficionado: Daphne loves books and could be read to all day long. Right now she really likes the books with flaps that lift or books that have big foam or magnetic pieces that you can take in and out.
• Active: Daphne often imitates what Tyler is doing- jumping on his bed, dancing (well, she spins in circles), or just being silly. Although she tries to jump Daphne's feet don't really leave the ground yet. She runs pretty well but still trips on things. Daphne is also getting better at the stairs since we have stairs in our new house. She goes up really well and slides down on her bottom. Daphne is starting to get better at walking down the stairs while holding one of our hands or the railing.
• Explorer: Daphne is super curious and still gets into everything. She climbs pretty well and uses just about anything she can find as a stool (e.g. boxes, toys). Daphne can close doors but thankfully has not figured out how to open standard doors yet. She has figured out how to open the pantry doors so I have to put her favorite treats up high.

The day after Daphne turned 2 we took away the pacifier cold turkey. She couldn't find it when she woke up and we told her that she had lost her last one and didn't need it anyway because she was a big girl now. Daphne transitioned pretty well minus a few rough nap and bedtimes without the pacifier. After about a week she stopped asking for her "paci". We sure don't miss dealing with the pacifier!

Leaf Mountain

Most of the rest of our leaves fell off the trees at the end of December. Michael gathered a bunch into a big pile in the middle of the backyard for the kids to jump in. They had a blast and could have spent all day with the leaf pile!

Damon, Tyler, Noah, and Daphne all lined up
and ready to race to the leaf pile

 

At the Park with the Cousins

I'm still getting caught up on photos from the holidays. Here are some more photos from Bryce and Sonia's visit with the boys.

Caravan to the park

Bryce and Micah

Damon, Daphne, and Noah riding the dolphin

Sonia and Micah

Noah and Tyler

Daphne is 2!

It's hard to believe but our little Daphne turned 2 on December 27. She has grown up so much over the past year. When Daphne woke up on her birthday I told her, "Happy Birthday Daphne!" and she replied, "Cake! Cake! Cake!" Apparently cake is all we needed for a satisfied birthday girl. My dad was here the morning of Daphne's actual birthday, which was on a Friday. On Saturday we had a small family party. Daphne loved all the cupcakes and playing with her cousins.

PawPaw and Daphne

Ready for cupcakes

Hurry up already. I just want to eat my cupcake!

Noah and Tyler

Micah

Did I get a little frosting on my face?

The boys got a little restless while Daphne was opening her gifts.

It appears Tyler is on the bottom of the pile. Noah and Damon
are on tier 2 and Micah is king of the castle.

My organized girl handed me all her bows and torn
gift wrap as she went. She's a chip off the old block!

Abuelita getting her baby fix.

Sweet Tooth

Daphne has a sweet tooth. You would think this would motivate her to eat other foods but she is still learning this concept. Tonight at dinner Daphne refused to eat a single bite of her lasagna and then cried very loudly when she asked for a treat and we told her no. Tyler cleaned his plate, which is unusual, and so we let him pick some of the candy from his Christmas stocking. After trying a fruity sugary candy Tyler asked me if he could pick something else because he didn't like it. Daphne came running from across the room shrieking, "I like it! I like it! I like it!" assuming that I would automatically let her have it. This just led to more disappointment. I guess you can't blame a girl for trying!

Crime and Punishment

Yesterday Tyler threw a terrible tantrum because we took the long way to the playground at our nearby park. (Nevermind that he was riding his new scooter and when we got to the playground he spent most of the time joyfully riding his scooter back and forth on a stretch of paved pathway!) As part of his punishment today I made him trace the sentence "I am sorry." (3 pages, each with 4 traceable sentences) before I let him watch any TV. The funny thing was that Tyler was excited about practicing his handwriting. He did stop about halfway through to take a rest but happily forged on when I reminded him he could watch TV when he was done.

Christmas Day Highlights

Santa must have gotten Tyler's letter.
He brought Tyler and Daphne each a scooter.

The art easel was also a big hit on Christmas day.

Santa Abuelito

Renee, Michael, Abuelita, Tyler, Abuelito, and PawPaw
(Christmas dinner was very peaceful since Daphne was napping!)

Daphne wearing a dress that was mine when
I was her age. Michael told her that she
should always wear such prim and proper
dresses (and not to date until age 32)!

Note to Santa: Tyler says he wants a
skateboard when he turns 6 (in 2015)