Our little girl...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Counting in Spanish
This video was taken back in early February by Grandpa. I am pretty sure she picked up the counting in Spanish from watching Dora. She always seems to skip over siete and sometimes she just will say ocho, nueve, diez because she likes how it sounds.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
...the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another of either the past or present without having the feelings, thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner ; also : the capacity for this
Maybe empathy might have first been evident in her reaction to others being unhappy with her actions, but last night, we had stronger proof of empathy growing as an emotion.
Each day, one of the highlights of the day... past the going to work, earning a good salary, and the adventures of a commute both ways, I get to come home, spend a little time with the little girl, maybe go get mail, possibly a bath, and sit down and read a couple books with the little girl in my lap.
Of the different books that she cycles through her favorites is one called Going on a Bear Hunt where a family goes through a variety of different outdoor terrains in their quest to find a bear. Once they find the bear, they are scared and run back through the snow, grass, forrest, etc to get back home, where they close the door and run upstairs and hide under the covers.
On the last page, it shows a bear walking away on a beach, subjectively described as dejected and alone by Bethy and I.
apparently empathy as an emotion is starting to grow with her. As
bear was going home, alone and possibly sad. Bethy, who sits opposite of us while I read(she sits in my lap facing outward) noticed that she had a sad face, which slowly turned into a frown, and continued to progress into tears and sobbing for the bear who was going home alone. Bethy tried to console her by letting her put a sticker of "backpack" into the page of the book with the bear to keep him company, but apparently to little effect.
As I sat in the next room working a little bit, I could hear the crying continue.
What are we supposed to do with these emotions? How are we supposed to teach and cultivate them? Discipline is already a very tough situation to deal with, helping her understand and experience emotions is going to be yet another interesting and fun journey.
Maybe empathy might have first been evident in her reaction to others being unhappy with her actions, but last night, we had stronger proof of empathy growing as an emotion.
Each day, one of the highlights of the day... past the going to work, earning a good salary, and the adventures of a commute both ways, I get to come home, spend a little time with the little girl, maybe go get mail, possibly a bath, and sit down and read a couple books with the little girl in my lap.
Of the different books that she cycles through her favorites is one called Going on a Bear Hunt where a family goes through a variety of different outdoor terrains in their quest to find a bear. Once they find the bear, they are scared and run back through the snow, grass, forrest, etc to get back home, where they close the door and run upstairs and hide under the covers.
On the last page, it shows a bear walking away on a beach, subjectively described as dejected and alone by Bethy and I.
apparently empathy as an emotion is starting to grow with her. As
bear was going home, alone and possibly sad. Bethy, who sits opposite of us while I read(she sits in my lap facing outward) noticed that she had a sad face, which slowly turned into a frown, and continued to progress into tears and sobbing for the bear who was going home alone. Bethy tried to console her by letting her put a sticker of "backpack" into the page of the book with the bear to keep him company, but apparently to little effect.
As I sat in the next room working a little bit, I could hear the crying continue.
What are we supposed to do with these emotions? How are we supposed to teach and cultivate them? Discipline is already a very tough situation to deal with, helping her understand and experience emotions is going to be yet another interesting and fun journey.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Day 6 - London
We will eventually finish posting these London pictures...
Day 6 was spent with just Lauren, Eric and me. We decided to take a trip along the river Thames as it is one of the ways to see the Tower Bridge. This meant we took the transit system back to Greenwich. The elevator was out at the Greenwich stop so we had to climb what felt like 8 stories worth of stairs with the stroller. It didn't help that the people (family of about 10 people) in front of us were walking slow and wouldn't move out of the way.
We did not stop at the bridge to see the Tower of London and the crown jewels. It was pretty windy on the boat making it feel colder than it really was outside. So Eric and Lauren would go into the cabin area to get warm and also to run around. We got off the boat in the Westminster area. We then walked around and saw Big Ben, parliament, westminster abbey, 10 Downing, Horse Calvary Guard, St. James Park,
We then walked up to Chinatown and had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. After dinner we walked to Covent Garden and just walked around for a little bit.
Whew, what a long day.
On the pier waiting to board our boat.
"Oh there's Mommy! Run, run, run!"
Helping Mommy push the stroller over to Daddy.
Yep that is tower bridge in the background.
Me and Mommy and Tower Bridge.
Day 6 was spent with just Lauren, Eric and me. We decided to take a trip along the river Thames as it is one of the ways to see the Tower Bridge. This meant we took the transit system back to Greenwich. The elevator was out at the Greenwich stop so we had to climb what felt like 8 stories worth of stairs with the stroller. It didn't help that the people (family of about 10 people) in front of us were walking slow and wouldn't move out of the way.
We did not stop at the bridge to see the Tower of London and the crown jewels. It was pretty windy on the boat making it feel colder than it really was outside. So Eric and Lauren would go into the cabin area to get warm and also to run around. We got off the boat in the Westminster area. We then walked around and saw Big Ben, parliament, westminster abbey, 10 Downing, Horse Calvary Guard, St. James Park,
We then walked up to Chinatown and had dinner with Grandma and Grandpa. After dinner we walked to Covent Garden and just walked around for a little bit.
Whew, what a long day.
On the pier waiting to board our boat.
"Oh there's Mommy! Run, run, run!"
Helping Mommy push the stroller over to Daddy.
Yep that is tower bridge in the background.
Me and Mommy and Tower Bridge.
Me and Mommy and Big Ben.
The family and Big Ben.
Me and Mommy and Westminster Abbey way in the background.
Time for a nap!
10 Downing. Alas no visitors to gawk at from here.
The horse guard.
Lauren was asleep for the majority of the stops but she had seen some of this the day before with Grandma and Grandpa.
On the way to Buckingham Palace we saw signs for a playground so we followed them through St. James Park. Here is what we saw:
Eric was laughing at the fact all he saw was these rocks...
Lauren's hat
Here Lauren is running on the "lights".
We were in Covent Garden and she needed to burn off some energy after dinner so she was running back and forth between Daddy and me on the lights. She had a great time just running around.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Thursday early AM
So it's not a huge secret that Bethy gets the lion's share of exposure and interaction with Lauren. And one of those items has always been putting Lauren down for bed and naps....
Early Thursday morning... I believe in the 1:30AM timeframe, our little girl woke up, stood at the bar of the crib and called out for daddy.... After the first 15-20 minutes, I went in and tried to console her, check to see if she was wet or pooped...to little avail, as 15 minutes later Bethy attempted the same.
After another 10 minutes or so it was decided that I go back in, and see if I could get her to go back to sleep.
It's a crib... and although I have seen bethy crawl in and cuddle with Lauren in the past, it was an experience I was quite unfamiliar with. I layed her down, and situated her so that there was room for me, and she more than willingly layed down as well. It took probably about 10 minutes for her breathing to return to normal and for her eyes to start to close.....
For all the different experiences in the last 20 months, from changing diapers, rash, and disciplining on one end of the spectrum, this, is by faaarrrr the easiest part of having a little one. It may be a little cramped, it may not be the most comfortable, but knowing that your little one is consoled simply by the fact that you are there, and wants to take a nap, is easy pie.
Of course, Lauren knows the deal.... she falls asleep, and mom(or in this case dad) escapes. She has little tricks to try and prevent this.... a hand that is always outstreched, a toe that is always touching something. These are the obstacles that gently(remember, we're trying to get her to go to sleep) need to be moved so that later escape is as easy as possible.
In my world of work where there are timelines, and updates, this situation would be equated more to milestones, of which each milestone was marked by Suo Gan playing in the background on continuous loop.
In essence, I tried to escape a couple times, of which bethy seems to do with ease in the evening. a couple times during the first 40 minutes, unsuccessfully, and then once after another hour, also unsuccessful. Each time I would get into various stages of sitting up, where she would wake up and start to fuss. I would ask her "do you want me to hold you?" responded by a "yes." During subsequent attempts to crawl out would result in "hold you! hold you!" pleas.
Eventually I did crawl out, as Bethy decided to take the last shift towards morning, but either way, it was another great experience in being a dad.
Sleep tight little girl, daddy will come and hold you.
Early Thursday morning... I believe in the 1:30AM timeframe, our little girl woke up, stood at the bar of the crib and called out for daddy.... After the first 15-20 minutes, I went in and tried to console her, check to see if she was wet or pooped...to little avail, as 15 minutes later Bethy attempted the same.
After another 10 minutes or so it was decided that I go back in, and see if I could get her to go back to sleep.
It's a crib... and although I have seen bethy crawl in and cuddle with Lauren in the past, it was an experience I was quite unfamiliar with. I layed her down, and situated her so that there was room for me, and she more than willingly layed down as well. It took probably about 10 minutes for her breathing to return to normal and for her eyes to start to close.....
For all the different experiences in the last 20 months, from changing diapers, rash, and disciplining on one end of the spectrum, this, is by faaarrrr the easiest part of having a little one. It may be a little cramped, it may not be the most comfortable, but knowing that your little one is consoled simply by the fact that you are there, and wants to take a nap, is easy pie.
Of course, Lauren knows the deal.... she falls asleep, and mom(or in this case dad) escapes. She has little tricks to try and prevent this.... a hand that is always outstreched, a toe that is always touching something. These are the obstacles that gently(remember, we're trying to get her to go to sleep) need to be moved so that later escape is as easy as possible.
In my world of work where there are timelines, and updates, this situation would be equated more to milestones, of which each milestone was marked by Suo Gan playing in the background on continuous loop.
In essence, I tried to escape a couple times, of which bethy seems to do with ease in the evening. a couple times during the first 40 minutes, unsuccessfully, and then once after another hour, also unsuccessful. Each time I would get into various stages of sitting up, where she would wake up and start to fuss. I would ask her "do you want me to hold you?" responded by a "yes." During subsequent attempts to crawl out would result in "hold you! hold you!" pleas.
Eventually I did crawl out, as Bethy decided to take the last shift towards morning, but either way, it was another great experience in being a dad.
Sleep tight little girl, daddy will come and hold you.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
My little monkey
This little clip was before our trip to London but I didn't get a chance to post it. She had a lot of energy the day we brought her to the park so we let her climb.
This clip was after many tries of going up. But as with many things that she does, she was pretty confident of making it up to the top.
Peering through the bars at Mommy.
She looks so little on this slide.
Making a funny face at Mommy.
This clip was after many tries of going up. But as with many things that she does, she was pretty confident of making it up to the top.
Peering through the bars at Mommy.
She looks so little on this slide.
Making a funny face at Mommy.Monday, March 9, 2009
Who's toys are these anyways?
Uncle Kenny is in town so we had a family dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house. While we were waiting for the dinner to be ready Grandpa brought out some toys that Lauren plays with when she is over there. They belonged to the boys a long time ago but Lauren inherited them.
Uncle Greg was out with Lauren playing and Uncle Kenny saw them through the sliding door and said "Hey those are the cool toys" and proceeded to go outside. Then Eric saw them playing with the toys and proceeded to go outside too. It was very amusing to hear them talk about their toys so fondly and how each of them worked etc. As you can see below I am not quite sure who enjoys those toys more.
Uncle Greg was out with Lauren playing and Uncle Kenny saw them through the sliding door and said "Hey those are the cool toys" and proceeded to go outside. Then Eric saw them playing with the toys and proceeded to go outside too. It was very amusing to hear them talk about their toys so fondly and how each of them worked etc. As you can see below I am not quite sure who enjoys those toys more.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Day 5 - London
Another day without Daddy so we did more Lauren things. We went to have lunch at a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown which is near Leicester Square. We then walked through Trafalgar Square and down Whitehall Avenue to see the Prime Minister's residence, The Horse Guards, Big Ben and Parliament.
We can now show Lauren a picture of Big Ben and ask her what it is. She will respond "Ben". We then ask her where she saw Big Ben and she will respond "London". She is so funny when she does this. She might not remember this trip when she is much older but I try to show her pictures and remind her of the things we did when we were there.
We briefly stopped by St. James Park before getting back on the tube and going to South Kensington to see how busy the Science Museum was. The Science Museum was pretty busy with kids but we did find some exhibits that were not as interesting to younger kids. The history of ships exhibit was not busy and it had these displays where you could press a button to see how the pistons or paddles or whatever the engine was comprised of work. We then headed back over to Harrod's for Lauren to play again and walked across the Hyde Park back to our rooms. We did a lot of walking on this trip I would say probably 6 miles a day and Lauren was pretty good about sitting in her stroller for all that time.
We can now show Lauren a picture of Big Ben and ask her what it is. She will respond "Ben". We then ask her where she saw Big Ben and she will respond "London". She is so funny when she does this. She might not remember this trip when she is much older but I try to show her pictures and remind her of the things we did when we were there.
We briefly stopped by St. James Park before getting back on the tube and going to South Kensington to see how busy the Science Museum was. The Science Museum was pretty busy with kids but we did find some exhibits that were not as interesting to younger kids. The history of ships exhibit was not busy and it had these displays where you could press a button to see how the pistons or paddles or whatever the engine was comprised of work. We then headed back over to Harrod's for Lauren to play again and walked across the Hyde Park back to our rooms. We did a lot of walking on this trip I would say probably 6 miles a day and Lauren was pretty good about sitting in her stroller for all that time.
At St. James park looking at the flowers.
Lauren is actually looking at the camera!! What a cute little face.
Climbing and pointing at Grandpa.
Running around the plastic exhibit at the Science Museum. She had a blast running through these things with Grandpa.
After Daddy came home from work we went out again to Harrod's where Lauren was giving out hugs to all the stuffed animals.
Day 4 - London
Eric had to work on this day so we went out and did things I thought Lauren might enjoy. We went to the Natural History Museum, Harrod's and walked back through Hyde Park again. What we didn't know until we got to the museum was that the children in London had the week off for some winter break. The museum was packed with children and adults. It probably would have been more enjoyable with less people but we managed to get through the dinosaur exhibit and the whale exhibit. Grandma even saved us a bench in the museum so we could sit and have lunch.
We also stopped by the Albert & Victoria museum but Lauren slept through the time we were there.
Here we are waiting in the long line to get in to see the dinosaur exhibit.
Oooh Grandpa's walkie talkie.
Part of one of the dinosaur bones on exhibit. The architecture of the building was pretty neat too.
We finally got in and Lauren is looking at one of the dinosaurs through the holes.
The yellow circles were actually cylinders that had plant life on the bottom. All the plant life looked the same to me, but Lauren had to check out each one.
Here we are at the crowded life size whale exhibit. This exhibit also had other life size animals so one could compare the sizes. I think there was a giraffe and an elephant. I think Lauren is more interested in Grandpa's walkie talkie.
Ah some breathing room to take a pic without any other people in it!
After a long day, she got to have a bath!
Thanks again Auntie Jenni for the beautiful blue sweater Lauren wore.
We also stopped by the Albert & Victoria museum but Lauren slept through the time we were there.
Here we are waiting in the long line to get in to see the dinosaur exhibit.
Oooh Grandpa's walkie talkie.
Part of one of the dinosaur bones on exhibit. The architecture of the building was pretty neat too.
We finally got in and Lauren is looking at one of the dinosaurs through the holes.
The yellow circles were actually cylinders that had plant life on the bottom. All the plant life looked the same to me, but Lauren had to check out each one.
Here we are at the crowded life size whale exhibit. This exhibit also had other life size animals so one could compare the sizes. I think there was a giraffe and an elephant. I think Lauren is more interested in Grandpa's walkie talkie.
Ah some breathing room to take a pic without any other people in it!
After a long day, she got to have a bath!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Day 3 - London
Eric did not have to work on Monday so we had another full day with Daddy in London. We went to the National Gallery, Trafalgar Square then walked over to Covent Garden area and had Fish and Chips for lunch. We then took the tube back over to South Kensington to visit Harrod's. After Harrod's we took a walk through Hyde Park back to our rooms.
Lauren, Daddy and Mommy posing with one of the Lion's in Trafalgar Square.
Lauren pointing at Grandpa's walkie talkie.
Daddy is the only one looking at the camera. I don't remember what Lauren was pointing at.
The only pic we were allowed to take in the National Gallery. Lauren is looking out at Trafalgar Square.
More map studying as Lauren takes a nap at Covent Garden.
Napping. She took a long one this time. Mommy and Daddy got a chance to look around at the shops in Covent Garden.
Playing with Daddy at Harrod's.
More playing at Harrod's. We would visit this store for her to play many more times.
Taking a break in Hyde Park to feed Lauren some fish and chips.
Walking through Hyde Park along the water.
Mommy, Lauren And Grandma standing in Trafalgar square outside of the National Gallery.
Lauren, Daddy and Mommy posing with one of the Lion's in Trafalgar Square.
Lauren pointing at Grandpa's walkie talkie.
The only pic we were allowed to take in the National Gallery. Lauren is looking out at Trafalgar Square.
More map studying as Lauren takes a nap at Covent Garden.
Napping. She took a long one this time. Mommy and Daddy got a chance to look around at the shops in Covent Garden.
Playing with Daddy at Harrod's.
More playing at Harrod's. We would visit this store for her to play many more times.
Taking a break in Hyde Park to feed Lauren some fish and chips.
Walking through Hyde Park along the water.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Some Backyard Work
This is in the middle of the London posts but I couldn't resist posting this picture.
We have had a lot of rain the past few days so Lauren hasn't gotten to go outside. Today was a clear day so Grandpa decided to mow the lawn. Of course Lauren thought she could help out.
We have had a lot of rain the past few days so Lauren hasn't gotten to go outside. Today was a clear day so Grandpa decided to mow the lawn. Of course Lauren thought she could help out.
Day 2 - London
We decided to go down to Greenwich on our first full day in London. It was our first experience in the underground tube system. To get to Greenwich we took the tube and then took an overground rail. The underground tube system has maintenence on the weekends we did not have a direct route to the overground rail. We had to transfer and do a bit of walking in the stations. We were amazed at how far you had to walk in these underground tunnels to get to another line. If you are familiar with the lines we took Bakerloo line at the Paddington Station and transfered at the Waterloo station to the Jubilee line and then the DLR. With our handy oyster card in hand we were ready to tackle this trip. The other thing to note is that not all the stations in London are wheelchair/stroller accessible so we had to trek the stroller up and down stairs and escalators. Thanks Grandma and Granpa for all your help and guidance on this trip!
In Greenwich we walked up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Prime Meridian.
Daddy and the sleeping Lauren. The observatory is up the hill behind them.
One of the few pictures we have of Grandma and Grandpa. Lauren is still asleep in the stroller.
Grumpy face... not really, she was just waking up from a nap.
Here we are at the zero Meridian.
Daddy shows off Lauren and her pink gloves!
Lauren showing Mommy the steeple, a real one this time, not one made with her fingers.
Yay, Lauren gets to run around on the grass as Daddy keeps a close eye on her.
After eating a late lunch and a little rest back at the hotels we headed back out to Leicester Square. We had a quick bite to eat there and then walked over to Covent Garden where we had a pasty as another snack.
Grandma makes sure Lauren is nice and warm as Grandpa and I look over a map.
Walking through the Covent Garden area.
The Cornwall Pasty shop was open so Grandpa bought one to try.
Back in our room playing in the curtains.
This was a remnant picture from Day 1 but I didn't post it. We are eating yummy churros with a chocolate dipping sauce. Lauren liked the churros.
In Greenwich we walked up to the Royal Observatory and saw the Prime Meridian.
Daddy and the sleeping Lauren. The observatory is up the hill behind them.
One of the few pictures we have of Grandma and Grandpa. Lauren is still asleep in the stroller.
Grumpy face... not really, she was just waking up from a nap.
Here we are at the zero Meridian.
Daddy shows off Lauren and her pink gloves!
Lauren showing Mommy the steeple, a real one this time, not one made with her fingers.
Yay, Lauren gets to run around on the grass as Daddy keeps a close eye on her.
After eating a late lunch and a little rest back at the hotels we headed back out to Leicester Square. We had a quick bite to eat there and then walked over to Covent Garden where we had a pasty as another snack.
Grandma makes sure Lauren is nice and warm as Grandpa and I look over a map.
Walking through the Covent Garden area.
The Cornwall Pasty shop was open so Grandpa bought one to try.
Back in our room playing in the curtains.
This was a remnant picture from Day 1 but I didn't post it. We are eating yummy churros with a chocolate dipping sauce. Lauren liked the churros.
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