smith family news

Oh wait, I have a blog?

2011-07-05T18:07:00.002-05:00

Well I bet you thought I was never coming back! Turns out I have had less time lately, or really what I think happened was Christmas and then... I never looked back! Anyway, I thought, hey, oh yeah, I was writing on our blog to keep folks updated on what we're doing. So I'll just continue doing that if you don't mind!

Let's see. We just took a weeklong vacation to Emerald Isle, North Carolina to hang out on the beach. We did some playing on the beach. We also did a lot of taking care of our boys. Young kids need a lot of taking care of, especially on "vacation", so it wasn't exceptionally relaxing during the day, but after they went to bed in the evening, Scott and I did enjoy some time on the spacious front porch of the house we rented and lounging around inside in the air conditioning. We also took turns taking walks down to the beach which was great to do too. I love the ocean and could walk on the beach for hours!

Wren just started a new preschool - this is a Montessori preschool and it's a change for us because Wren is there for longer. Last year he was at school for 2.5 hours on Tues and Thurs and this summer is now going for 4 hours on Tues, Wed, Thurs, and then in the fall will be there 5.5 hours five days a week! So that will be a lot more. But there is honestly such a difference in this kid already just going there for three weeks. He does a lot more things for himself and seems more confident and responsible, and like something has "clicked" in his brain. I was just attributing it to his age but then we went on vacation and he has been whiny and back to his old bouncing around and then today he went back to school and when I picked him up, he was great again! For the rest of the day! So... I guess it is school! Wonderful!

Erik is 14 months old today. He just started walking a couple of weeks ago and now is practically walking all the time and barely crawling. He's officially a toddler! Although we still call him "Baby Erik". Wren calls him that a lot so it rubs off on us. Erik loves dogs and pants (the dog sign in baby signs) whenever he sees them or thinks about them. He does it in the car when we pull onto our street because he's thinking about our neighbors' dogs! He looks so happy when he does it. It's super cute. Erik has a very sweet disposition and seems to love interacting with people. He and Wren love to play together and got up to some serious shenanigans in the backseat on our two day there and back car drive to North Carolina. It's really fun watching them be brothers together.

Christmas cards coming soon!

2010-12-02T19:38:00.004-05:00

I've used Shutterfly before to order prints for my photos, but not for anything else. This year we're making a photo card for our Christmas card. I have always enjoyed sending "real" cards but last year I was thinking it would be fun to try a photo card so I didn't buy any Christmas cards after Christmas like I usually do. I forgot about that and was searching around for my cards for this year and then I remembered -- photo card!

So even though I feel like everyone sees enough photos of us online because of my photo albums and videos and such, we’ll give the old photo card a try. I always like receiving them. A friend mentioned that her cards end up you-know-where in January, but I keep a photo album (now on our second one) around, the kind that just has the cellophane that peels off and the sticky pages, to put photo cards and random school pictures and things in that people send us. Then we have a photo album to look at of friends and family! It ends up being pretty random and there’s not much organization, but it’s an easy way to put photos somewhere where we’ll see them again and keep track of the odd-sized things we have.

Erik

2010-12-01T23:00:00.002-05:00

At a few days before being seven months old, Erik can sit and scoot/tummy crawl and it's pretty fun! He has his two bottom teeth in and maybe the top ones will come in soon. He's still not sleeping through the night. He's super interested in Wren and already likes to play with Wren's toys. Erik loves to be carried in the sling for a little while. He flaps his arms down on his tummy to say he wants to be picked up. I think he understands when I say "Wren" or "Daddy" -- he looks to the right person. He's eating some solids -- apples, squash, peas, pumpkin, banana, rice cereal, teething biscuits so far. Pears, peaches, and apricots are next up.

'scuse me!

2010-11-09T09:36:00.002-05:00

I was just looking at some videos from last summer and it was amazing to hear Wren talk! It's like he had his own language then. Good thing I was translating on the video because otherwise I don't think I would have remembered what those words meant!

Now Wren can say anything! It's true that at some point language just explodes. Maybe it's more noticeable in boys than in girls, I don't know. But it is neat to talk with Wren.

We have been teaching Wren to say "excuse me" when he wants to say something while Mommy or Daddy is talking to someone, and he's gotten the hang out it for the most part, but it's pretty funny that he also thinks it's appropriate to say "'SCUSE ME!!!" to my face when I'm talking to HIM. So when he wants me to shut up and quit talking so he can say something, he just starts yelling, "'SCUSE ME!" Pretty silly.

Wren also says things like "that's a good idea" because we say it a lot. He likes to add words like "also" to his sentences and that makes them interesting.

We've been pointing out emotions to him a lot (I took a class on emotion coaching your kids) and have a piece of paper on the fridge with a lot of "feeling faces" showing many different emotions and Wren really has been into it. We've talked about the different faces and he studies them and asks what they are.

When I'm mad, he tells me he wants me to be happy and will go to the fridge and show me the face he wants me to have (the happy face or the calm face). He also is always saying "I feel a little bit sad" whenever we want him to do something that he doesn't want to do (at three and half years old, that is everything!).

Right now Wren has a cold and ear infection and on our way from the doctor's office to the pharmacy, he was talking about how he was going to get a Dum-Dum lollipop there, and he said, "I'm a little bit happy AND a little bit sick". :)

late fall

2010-11-08T13:44:00.003-05:00

The birds are back! Every fall this huge flock of birds comes through here and spend a couple of days flying near our house and lands in the yard and on nearby trees and rooftops, covering everything. I don't know what kind of birds they are or where they're coming from or where they're going, but I enjoy witnessing their migration.

This morning we made a visit to our doctor's office, and along with pottying and getting stickers and having appointments for at least two family members, we tend to make ourselves at home! Erik had his six month appointment and is doing well. Still in the 95th percentile for height but dropped down a little bit in the weight percentile. He's still a big boy - just an ounce away from 19 pounds. He got his vaccinations and did not even cry for the first shot! Then after the next ones he only cried for about 10 seconds. We were amazed!

Dr. Brian also took a look at Wren because he's been coughing and waking crying at night (unlike him) and yesterday after a nap (also unusual at this point) while Scott was holding Wren, he fell asleep in his arms. That NEVER happens! So Wren does have an ear infection in one ear and Dr. Brian said he was surprised his other ear wasn't bothering him just as much because it was full of fluid too. So hopefully the amoxicillin will get Wren back to feeling better really soon!

Thanksgiving is only two and a half weeks away! Seems strange. We'll be putting up our Christmas tree the day or two after so my mom can join in on the tradition while she's here. So that means in three weeks we'll have a Christmas tree! Seems a bit early to me at this point, but it will be worth it to decorate it with my mom.

All of this is trivial when you consider that today... Scott mailed his book to the publisher! Scott has been working days, nights, and weekends for months to turn his book in on time to meet the deadline of the fourth year review committee for tenure, and he's finally at a point where he took a day off! Wowie! It was so great to have my husband back on Sunday. We haven't had a day like that for so long, it's ridiculous. And Scott feels good about his book, so we're happy. Well I'm happy. I think Scott is in shock. But I think it's safe to say that we're excited to move on!

erik's first solid foods

2010-10-27T20:14:00.004-05:00

The other day we fed Erik some rice cereal and he loved it! So he started solids at 24 weeks.

We had him sit in the high chair with us at a few meals first and he got to hold a soft spoon and bang around a baby sippy cup for a while (which we laughed at, then lo and behold Wren decided to do that with his cup too, so funny, yeah right). Then we fed Erik the cereal (with yummy breastmilk of course) and he got down to business. I think he's been ready for some weeks but we've just been putting it off because well, you know -- it's a mess, another thing to try to fit in at mealtime, and it'll make Erik's diapers stinky. But the boy wants to eat. He also liked a teething biscuit (Wren has to have one too) but couldn't hold on to it very well yet.

Tonight we fed him some applesauce too and he didn't just gobble it down right away like the "cereal", but he started to after he had a bunch of cereal and then we fed him more applesauce. He was starting to think, "oh yeah, this is the stuff!" So funny, he already opens his mouth wide when the spoon is coming and this is only the third night we've fed him! He knows just what to do.

ok Mommy, ready for my very first food!

teething biscuits, yum
Wren was really into it

all set with Daddy! (feeding #2)

firefighting

2010-10-24T15:00:00.002-05:00

I keep not posting because I think it has to be some great post about everything because I haven't been writing on here anymore. I usually make it a point not to mention that I haven't written in a while, but really -- it's been like we don't even have this blog anymore! I won't apologize, I'll just write. :)

It's Halloween coming up already! Wren keeps asking me "is Halloween up yet Mommy? Is Halloween up?" It's because we say, "Halloween is coming up" so that's what he wonders. Funny! Hard to explain how there is a season for a holiday and the holiday is on an exact day.

We have a firefighter costume for Wren, which he has not put on yet. I put the word "yet" on the end of that sentence very hopefully. He is vehement about not putting it on. But the reason he gives is that "it's for Halloween" so ... we'll see. But Wren has spent much of his waking (and non-waking) hours pretending to be a firefighter these past three weeks. We have visited the fire stations' open houses and read several books we own and have checked out from the library. Wren takes various objects from all over the house and that is his firefighting "gear". He is really interested in fire extinguishers, hydrants, smoke detectors, alarms, you name it. He also really enjoys a Fireman Sam DVD. He's never really been super interested in one thing before to the exclusion of all else. I doubt this will last very long, but it's fun/tiresome/interesting for now.

rough times

2010-09-16T14:30:00.003-05:00

Okay, this explains how I feel right now and why I haven't really been posting. Thank you, Moxie. And thank you, Jessica, for sharing with me.

http://www.askmoxie.org/2010/09/self-care-during-the-bad-stages.html

today

2010-08-09T15:16:00.003-05:00

I gotta remember Blogger puts the pictures on the post in the opposite order than I choose them! Silly Blogger.

The first two pics are of Wren at the same age Erik is now (13/14 weeks).

The next pics are from today. Erik was reminding me of Wren with his giraffe!

Our neighbors totally providing Wren with hours of entertainment this morning. Awesome! Looking forward to more of this in days to come. Wren is watching a backhoe (?) at work.

3 months old and 39.5 months old

2010-08-05T07:38:00.003-05:00

Today Erik is 3 months old! Can't believe the day I gave birth to him was that long ago already.

And Wren is 39 and a half months old. :) This past week, some kind of pretending switch turned on in Wren and he is making his little people and stuffed animals and things talk to each other and is creating all these scenarios and playing with Scott's old Fisher-Price castle and stuff. It's amazing and cool!

P.S., is anyone reading this out there? Comment if you are!

activity mat antics

2010-08-01T20:06:00.004-05:00

Erik is so funny! He takes a little 20 - 30 minute nap every evening around 8:00 p.m. on his activity mat. Any other time he sleeps in his crib but he seems to like to take this snooze here in the family room.

Is there a baby in this room?

The other day I was cleaning in the kitchen and heard Erik talking a lot and saw that he found himself in the mirror! There is a mirror on the underside of the little turtle and Erik was just jabbering away!

12 weeks old

2010-07-28T20:30:00.003-05:00

erik is 12 weeks old today! he smiles a lot and just started to laugh some. he loves watching (and listening to) his brother wren. he likes to take a 20 minute nap in the evening. he is soft and sweet after he nurses. it hurts his tummy for me to eat dairy or gluten, so i don't. yesterday he slept all day; today not so much. he takes a pacifier. his pacifiers have bugs or frogs or turtles on them. sometimes i think erik looks like a little turtle or a little bug. i love his feet - they seem wide like wren's. he's starting to squirm around to a different place when he's been sleeping - may be sideways in his crib when we come in to get him. he has almost always been able to hold his head up and stand on his feet. he looks around really well during tummy time, when we remember to have him do it. he is very calm and watchful during his bath or when i wash his hair in the sink. we love our little boy erik!

daily routine

2010-07-27T20:16:00.002-05:00

Hi! We have been in a routine of getting through each day for a while now -- the fog of newborn time was probably a month, then less foggy for another month. The past month I have felt more "with it".

Wren seems to do a great job with his little brother. He is gentle and does not bother Erik or even pay all that much attention to him. It's good if I can spend some time alone with Wren each day.

We've gotten into a bit of a routine lately: Scott takes care of Wren and Erik in the morning until either 9 or 10, then I get up and take over while Scott goes to work. Erik has fallen into a bit of a routine with his napping lately -- seems to usually sleep for a couple of hours around lunchtime, which lets me take both of them out to a park or playdate or errand and be able to focus on Wren, then come home and we have a little bit later lunch and then Wren can play before naptime. Sometimes Erik will stay sleeping in his car seat when we get home and I can prepare and eat lunch with Wren and even get him down for his nap. Then I might have a few minutes to myself before Erik wakes up and I can nurse him and spend some time with him, then try to take a nap while he naps again. Scott comes home and we all play and eat and it quickly becomes bath and bedtime for Wren, then Scott works for a couple of hours while I am with Erik or getting some chores done, then bedtime -- this past week Erik has slept in his crib and done great - a few nights he's slept 5 hours then 3 hours -- big news! So great for me to get a little more sleep! Let's hope it continues!! Anyway, then it's time to do it all over again the next day...

making photos more private

2010-07-17T19:48:00.002-05:00

Hi! I'm making our Picasa albums more private. If you haven't received an invitation to see them in your email and you would like to be able to continue to see our photos, send me an email or comment here to let me know! I'm not sure who all looks at them so wasn't sure who all to send invitations to (or maybe I don't have your email address).

soup pot revisited

2010-07-16T21:55:00.002-05:00

Erik in the soup pot! He is 10 weeks; same age as Wren was in the pot. :)

Wren in the soup pot today at 39 months:

Wren in the soup pot back when he was just 10 weeks:

announcing erik!

2010-05-16T10:46:00.002-05:00

erik alexander

born on may 5, 2010

at 5:35 a.m.

7 lb 12 oz

21 inches long

welcome, erik!

2010-03-04T14:52:00.001-05:00

wren's new baby doll

2010-02-20T19:58:00.004-05:00

Wren has been into babies lately. I mentioned this. He's been playing with a doll he has at home and also with a "baby" at preschool. But on Friday I took him to a CEA playgroup and there were some dolls there and I witnessed how much Wren liked playing with dolls a little more complex than the one he has, so when we left, we made a special trip to Target so Wren could pick out a baby doll to bring home. He wanted one that makes sounds and also with eyes that open and close. Unfortunately we didn't find one with eyes that work! But we did find a baby wearing blue clothes (not pink -- this is kind of hard to do!) who makes sounds and Wren is just so happy with him. He couldn't wait to get home to take his baby out of the box and has been carrying the baby around, often with his other baby ("both babies!") giving it a bath, giving it drinks and "snacks", pretending to change its diaper. He says, "oh, baby crying" and imitates the three sounds it makes. The look on Wren's face when he looks at this baby doll is precious. Earlier this week I took a couple of photos of Wren with some art he made at preschool, and yesterday he asked me to take a picture of him holding his baby. Right now the baby is sitting in a special spot right next to Wren's bed while Wren sleeps. Precious.

snowy day

2010-02-06T10:25:00.002-05:00

Today is the big mid-atlantic snowstorm (the second one of the season??) and we have about a foot of snow! Maybe even 14 inches. Crazy! It snowed all night. It's the most snow we've seen since we've lived here. And what better to do on a snowy day than upload Christmas videos, right? I'm putting them on YouTube right now (see the link on the right). Enjoy!

time is flying

2010-01-31T20:47:00.002-05:00

I have been looking back at photos and I can't believe how fast time is flying by -- those first pictures I have of Wren making sugar cookies with his little apron on, standing on the stool at the kitchen counter was a YEAR ago! It doesn't feel like it at all. And Wren is looking so much like a little boy to me now, but when he was a baby, and just a year ago, those look like him also! It's just... Wren!

talking about baby

2010-01-26T21:41:00.003-05:00

We've been talking about our new baby coming and Wren has been thinking about his little brother lately! He got out his doll recently and the other day I was walking by his door at naptime and heard him "taking care" of the baby -- giving him a blanket and asking him if he wanted to wear overalls, and giving him pats. Very sweet! He's taken to piling all his blankets on the doll and saying the doll is sleeping under there (which is kind of funny because Wren still won't use a blanket himself! Has never shown an interest in being under one at all!), which he won't be able to do with the real baby!

Now we can see our baby move a little bit from the outside of my tummy, and last night I was laying in bed and we were trying to show Wren the baby moving, and he didn't see him moving, but all of a sudden says, "go get Wren's baby!" and runs to his room, returning with his doll. He put his doll under my shirt and was saying "hi" to the baby, and saying "baby say HI Wren!" then he'd pull the baby out like it was peek-a-boo and say "oh hi!" I made the doll "kick" him through my shirt and he really liked that. Wren talked about putting a blanket under my shirt with the baby too, and wanted to put him in my bra. We pretended the baby came out and cried and wanted to "eat" with Mommy. I think Wren thought this was all very interesting and a good visual for what his little brother might be like!

I have a pamphlet from La Leche League that has a photo of a mom nursing her baby and Wren is interested in looking at that. We talked about how babies don't have teeth yet so they can't eat food like Wren eats (Wren has actually brought this up several times when he sees a baby or doll -- "no teeth" and then shows me his) so they eat "special milk" Mommy makes. I think we need to call it "baby milk" because then Wren looked thoughtful and said he wanted to "eat Mommy's special milk" and was pulling at my shirt. Should be interesting to see what he thinks! He is around babies nursing sometimes so that idea is not foreign to him, and I think he remembers nursing himself somewhat. I just started checking out a couple of books from the library about the new baby coming and one about breastfeeding.

Also today when I picked Wren up from preschool, he was holding a doll that he wanted to take home with him -- he has mentioned to me a baby with a yellow blanket and today I got to see her. He showed me where the "baby" sleeps and how he wraps her up in this yellow blanket they have there. He sat down in a little rocking chair and held that baby with the blanket and did not want to leave. So sweet! Apparently Wren discovered that this doll cries and no one had ever even heard her do that before! He showed me how the baby "makes a sound" today too. As Scott says, leave it to Wren to find out how something works!

wren smith: the interview

2010-01-15T14:21:00.002-05:00

wordless thursday :)

2009-12-10T15:22:00.000-05:00

talking, sounds, leafblowers

2009-11-30T13:49:00.005-05:00

Lately Wren has been speaking in sentences and adding things to the end like "okay?" and "right?" and using phrases like "that's better", which we think is really fun and cute.

He is really into Christmas trees and the lights and pointing out Santas he sees around town. He likes to shake his jingle bells and ring a silver bell we have. He loves music and making sounds and saying he's "making music". He has been asking me "what's that sound?" or just "sound?" about 100 times a day.

Wren is also still into cords. He has a small ball of yarn (after having to roll up a regular sized ball of yarn and untangling etc I realized a much smaller size would do) that he loves to carry around and unroll and pretend it's a vacuum or cord or whatever. Many days the yarn is totally wrapped around our house twice (circular area through the kitchen, entryway, dining room) after he puts it on his shopping cart and walks around with it. His "brown cords" is a bootlace that he pretends to "plug it in" in different crevices around the house. He wants to get his hands on our different charger cords and computer cords and we just don't let him anymore. He likes to carry around a pair of earbud headphones "heedbops" and then "plugs them in" our heating vents. He also likes to use all cords to pretend he's vacuuming. It's all very exciting. :)

Another favorite thing to pretend is "leafblower". He uses his toy trimmer outside, a bubble shooter, a bath toy, sticks, and even a certain body part (just once!) to pretend he's using a leafblower. He is very interested in seeing them around town. He likes the noise they make and the way the leaves blow up in the air is funny to him. Of course, we don't have any leaves in our yard so no raking or anything going on here. We have to keep our eyes peeled while we drive or walk around.

When we got our Christmas tree, he liked the chain saw they had to cut off the bottom branches. He keeps mentioning that now too: "people have saw" and "saw make a sound".

This is all for now. Just thought I'd get a November post in before it became December. ;) What's going on with you?

october!

2009-10-11T08:33:00.002-05:00

I just put up several videos that you can access by clicking on the link to the right and put up new photos too (in Sept and Oct albums).

Wren is going to be a train engineer for Halloween and we ordered him a wooden train whistle to go with his costume. When I opened the whistle from the package, Wren was in the other room and I blowed the whistle several times before he came in -- you should have seen the look on his face! I know he thought there was a real train in the kitchen. He walked in slowly and had this look of awe on his face. It was so precious. I hated to burst his bubble by showing him it was just a whistle and not an entire train pulling up at the patio! But he really likes the whistle and thinks it's super cool.

new bed, revised

2009-09-03T19:26:00.002-05:00

Ha ha, my last post was pretty optimistic about the new bed... Wren just wants to play this running out to get us game and then running back and laying on the bed and it's just silly and goes on and on and on and then we put him in his pack n play and he falls asleep immediately. We are thinking we'll probably just put him to sleep in the pack n play for a while until he gets the idea he'd like to actually SLEEP in the bed, or at least lay down for more than 5 seconds.

We did say "bye bye crib" a couple of days ago and Wren got to "help" with the screwdriver and the toolbox and he has been mentioning "more crib?" not meaning that he wants to sleep in it, but that he wants to do more of taking it down. The boy loves projects! We'll have to take apart another fan or something soon...

new bed

2009-08-29T09:04:00.003-05:00

This morning Scott and Wren just left for a little music class that they go to. It's a nice thing for Scott to have some Daddy time with Wren and I can have some alone time at home on a Saturday morning! It's a good thing to do over the winter especially. We're just starting it up again after the summer.

There is a big county fair here this week called the Grange Fair that has been going on for more than 100 years. It's an encampment fair, so that means there is a neighborhood of tents that gets set up and people stay all week! The tent spots have been passed down from generation to generation and there is a long waiting list for anyone new to get a spot (they never will!). Last year Wren and I went one day to the fair with a friend, and we'll probably go one day next week. I wanted to go yesterday for the baked goods auction, but it was pouring down rain and Wren was napping, so... that didn't happen. Let's keep our fingers crossed I'll make next year's auction! :)

A few days ago Wren flipped right out of his crib, over the rail while he was laughing -- I was standing there right with him! It scared me half to death. He landed on his face and he had blood in his mouth and was screaming and his neck bent back at a bad-looking angle. He was totally fine, though. Just a little cut in his mouth where his lip meets his gum and his nose is all scuffed up now. We took him to the doctor and had him all checked over and the dr said he looked great. Wren recovered after 5 or 10 minutes but really it took me a few hours to recover! It was so scary looking. And Scott had some scary moments in his office too because when it happened, Wren and I were talking on the phone with him! I had to hang up quickly and call him back.

So anyway, we put together a little toddler bed we bought for him a while back and tried to get him to sleep in it yesterday at naptime and at bedtime but he was more into getting up and playing so we eventually put him in the crib (and he fell right asleep), but we're going to have to stick with it and get him to sleep in his bed. It's a cute little bed and Wren thinks it's the greatest thing since sliced bread. He was pretty funny during naptime -- he'd lay quietly for a few minutes and then I'd hear him thumping around and doing things and I'd open the door and he'd run back to his bed, lay down with his fingers in his mouth, and say "all done!" while pointing to the floor, like he was 'all done playing out of bed'. I'd tell him to lay down and go to sleep and look at him as I'd close the door and he was watching me like he was just going to jump up as soon as I closed the door. It was pretty silly. Funny to think that he thinks I have no idea he's up when he's making all kinds of noise in there with his toys! At night he kept playing peek-a-boo out his door with Daddy and just thought it was hilarious. We'll see when he settles down to actually use the bed! I do think he's doing pretty well though because at least Wren does get the idea that he's supposed to lay down and sleep on it.

late summer

2009-08-09T20:51:00.003-05:00

It seems weird that it's August already and we're looking ahead towards Scott's third year at Penn State and the fall routine starting again soon. Scott is working a lot on writing and I have been doing things at home, like washing the dishes and playing with Wren! I am still really glad I am able to be home with Wren and don't have to work right now. I'm never bored, but sometimes I feel restless being at home a lot!

Wren continues to talk so much, putting three and more words together and coming up with his own ways of saying things. He's starting to be able to tell us colors, shapes and sizes correctly without any prompting! It is pretty neat. He usually notices the color yellow ("hello") and when he asks what color something is, he holds it up and says, "hello?" meaning, "what color is this?" But sometimes he calls other things the right colors on his own. He's starting to use the phrase "lots of" correctly -- today I was cooking some corn and freezing it and he said "lots of corn!" "hello corn!" and "little corn!" for a small cob. It's just really neat to see him come up with these statements. He is very observant and notices any new thing that is moved from one place to another.

I posted a new video of Wren blowing some bubbles and laughing a lot. It's to the right on the "recently added" videos area. Also there are new pictures of our latest fun escapades. This summer has been kind of cool and rainy so we've been doing some different projects at home and in the kitchen. Looking forward to my dad visiting this week and taking a little day trip to Strasburg, Pennsylvania to ride a train and check out the train museum!

talking and pretending

2009-06-26T20:09:00.005-05:00

Now I said in the last post that Wren's talking is really taking off, but now it really is a lot more! I can't believe how fast Wren is changing -- I was looking at the last post and he seems a lot different to me already. It's amazing!

We went on our trip to Missouri for about two weeks and we've been back for two weeks already. Wren has been cranky and hard to deal with since we've been back, and has just seemed his happy usual self today and yesterday afternoon. He's been frustrating to deal with! He slept a lot when we first got back and then he hasn't wanted to sit down to eat and has just wanted milk all the time and it was starting to drive me crazy. I hope that he is back on the right track now. He'll get on the right track then we'll go to the beach and I hope that he'll not be so hard again when we return from that trip, but I don't know. Oh well! But he loved the car rides (mostly) and he would say "big truck!" and "more big truck!" a lot and enjoyed the tunnels we went through and asked for more... since we've been home Wren has been asking to go "bye bye" ALL the time, then cries when we pull up to our house! He just wants to drive around and look at all the vehicles and doesn't want to be at a destination. I think that might be getting better too in the last couple of days so that would be good. It's been making me a little bit bonkers! (Even though I think his new interest in different types of vehicles and things is cool).

Wren has a new parking garage from his granddad that he very much loves. "Garage" is one word that Wren has a made-up word for, which sounds like "hah-hahm". Another favorite item is "fan" which he calls "bye". Here's a picture of him with some of his favorite things right now: garage, fan, and milk.

This morning Wren was cute because I was making pancakes and he "helped" -- I told him I was going to put some lemon juice in the milk and I turned around to cut the lemon, and when I turned back around I found he had added his own lemon!

But anyway, Wren is saying tons of words. It's funny to think that I was just writing a "Wren dictionary" and now that would just be too much. He says a lot of things we ask him to repeat, lots of things in silly ways (like elevator is elalador or something like that and helicopter is helidado or something -- I can't even think what exactly it is or how he says these things even though he says them all the time. I'll have to make sure to make more videos!). He says things now and I'm not sure what he's saying, or he's saying it without context and I have to think about where I've heard him say that before.

We ate snowcones a couple of times in St Louis and Wren liked them and asks for them now (we make little ones with a little ice shaver machine from Wegman's) and his word for that is funny. Something like "gah-go". Hard to type out these spellings. Anyway, for more about our trip, see our photos!

Wren is starting to pretend a lot more too. He pretends to make "juice" in the bathtub by putting a baby washcloth in a cup with water, was pretending to fill his cups with more water from the faucet (when the faucet was off), is pretending to fly Superman and Care Bears like Superman, go grocery shopping, leave with a bag like Daddy, shave, put on deodorant (by lifting up his shirt, which I think is hilarious -- he's watching ALL the time!), scan items at the grocery store (just today for the first time with a new cash register, which he loved!), probably many other things I'm not thinking of. It's very neat!

videos

2009-05-23T09:16:00.002-05:00

Wren loves to talk about electronic kitchen gadgets -- blender, food processor, juicer, coffee bean grinder. He loves the loud noises! He also likes to stand on the stool to "help".

Wren talks to Daddy on the phone. His first noise means the "heat pump", which he is totally preoccupied with, and then he says "whee", talking about playing I guess, and I don't know what else he's talking about... but he is starting to have conversations lately on the phone. His talking is really taking off.

new concepts

2009-05-17T19:23:00.003-05:00

Wren has been interested in the concept of "back" as in "putting something back" lately. He wants to put a toy "back" where he found it before we go downstairs, or is concerned about me putting something back when I'm "all done". It's cute -- it doesn't really translate into a help of putting things away like it sounds like it might! It's fun to hear Wren say "back" and run around doing something. Wren has been saying "Mommy back" or "Daddy back" too.

Wren update and general news

2009-05-16T08:06:00.006-05:00

At his two year appointment, Wren measured 39 inches tall and weighed 33 lbs and 4 oz. He is a tall boy for his age! Looking a lot like his daddy, I might add, too!

Wren is on the fast track to lots of changes! He's saying new words and doing new things every day now. He's repeating things a lot more when we say, "Say ____", which he didn't do very much before. He's singing and saying words that he normally signs. In just the last few days he's started saying "cracker", "book", "milk", "shoe", "more", "eat", "all gone" and "thank you" -- all things he's consistently signed for. I'm not used to him looking at me and saying "cracker?" and I'm thinking, "what is he saying? What does he want?" just because I'm not used to hearing that word!

For a few weeks, Wren was really into labeling things either "Mommy" or "Daddy" -- when we would fold laundry, Wren would point to Daddy's shirt and say "Daddy!" or in the kitchen he would point to a coffee mug that I usually use and say "Mommy!" One day Wren pointed to the candy dish and said "Daddy!" which I thought was pretty funny. :)

A few weeks ago, Wren was going through a cranky stage that wasn't very fun, and then we discovered he had a double ear infection! He'd never had an ear infection before so we didn't know what to look for exactly, and he hadn't had a cold or sickness beforehand so we didn't think of it. He was waking a little in the night and touched his ear a few times and had some wax in his ear -- these are the things that led me to think of his ears. And telling a friend about him waking in the night and her saying, "maybe it's an ear infection" ! :) He started acting much happier after he started taking his amoxicillin.

My parents both visited us in the past few weeks -- Wren calls them "Ha-ma" and "Daddat" -- his interpretations of "Grandma" and "Granddad". They joined us for our regular activities and we had a fun time. Wren really enjoys visitors! He thinks about them down in the guest room as soon as he wakes up in the morning and talks about them after they leave.

Wren likes reading! Now he will sit with us in the blue comfy chair and read books over and over again! We've been waiting for this. It's pretty neat. Before now, he was going through a stage of either not wanting to read, or giving us a book and wanting us to read it while he ran around and played and glanced at the book occasionally. The books he's been into are: If You Were a Penguin by Minor, Please Baby Please by Spike Lee, In Our House by Anne Rockwell, At the Beach by Anne Rockwell, and Water, Water by Eloise Greenfield. We like to snuggle with him while we read. Wren is starting to point to things in the books and want to know the names for them -- he also is doing this in general now too, and then trying to say the word himself. It seems like a real turning point!

Also -- how could I forget? Wren has been wanting MOMMY lately! The last couple of weeks he wants Mommy to get him out of his crib, down from his chair after a meal, etc, etc ... it's pretty annoying but not a huge deal. He seems to already be moving out of wanting me as much as he did. But Wren whines and cries when things don't go his way, and wants Mommy. We have been counting him (as described in the 1-2-3 Magic book) and giving him time-outs in his pack 'n play for two minutes and it seems to help with his behavior (and our frustration).

Scott finished his school semester and now can go in to his office and work on things that he needs to get done for himself -- research, book writing, articles -- instead of preparing to teach class all the time. Very exciting! He has to mow our lawn a lot (one of Wren's favorite new phrases: "lawn mower") and we have both been doing a little work in the yard -- planting and planning. I am looking forward to our summer share starting with our CSA and to the farmers' markets being open soon. We'll eat lots of fresh food this summer and enjoy some meals outside -- we just put the umbrella out on the patio.

We're planning a trip to Missouri this summer and a trip to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware -- we can't wait! I'm sure this summer will go fast. It's hard to believe how much time flies ever since Wren has been born. And you say it just gets faster?

Drop us a line and tell us what's going on with you. We miss all our friends from South Bend (and everywhere else!) and family too. Wish we could see you more in our everyday lives! Love you!

wren dictionary

2009-04-05T08:34:00.009-05:00

meens = mittens
doo = stool
dahsssh = music/guitar/anything that remotely resembles music
dee dee = CD or DVD
mah-MY = mail
dah-DIE = Spider-man (Spidey)
hello = phone
bye = fan
on = light
down = stairs (or "let's go up or down", wherever we are not; or get me out of the crib!)
off = blender or hand mixer or food processor
ah - ummmm = vacuum
mmm = whatever electronic item he's talking about
ahwahwah = heater thing outside people's houses :)
dah = cord (laptop cord he likes to play around with)
deeya = tortilla
(clicks tongue) = soda can
choo choo = train
deessh = diaper/diaper change
(blowing nose sound) = kleenex
ah-choo = sneeze or cough
nigh' nigh' = sleeping or goodnight
hup = help
aow (like "meow" without the "m") = cat
nani = banana
ah-WAT = ??? Wren says this all the time lately. we think it's "all right"
whee = park/slide/swing/play
mnn mnn = barking = dog

Words Wren regularly says:
ball
bowl
wolf
ring
all done
juice (also means toothpaste)
cookie
dirt
pizza
Mommy
Daddy
Nittany (our neighbor's dog)
on
off
towel (also means napkin; Wren wants his hands cleaned off)
hi
bye
puppy
baby (sounds like beebee)
(plus a bunch more we're not thinking of right now)

Songs Wren requests:
dee-dum dahsssh
me-me dahsssh
ruff-ruff dahsssh

Things we swear we have heard Wren say (only once!)
duck
glasses
fluffy
grumpy

Wren does a lot of signs for different things. Most often:
more
cracker
eat
thank you (he is starting to do this more often and in more situations, like Daddy getting him up from crib)
milk
all gone (can also mean "trash can")
brushing teeth (with sound effects)

helping with snickerdoodles

2009-03-28T13:12:00.001-05:00

pizza

2009-03-28T12:45:00.001-05:00

leaning back

2009-03-28T10:59:00.000-05:00

These next two videos are from February.

peanut butter sandwich

2009-03-28T10:57:00.000-05:00

breakfast conversation

2009-03-17T12:33:00.001-05:00

signs of spring

2009-03-10T08:25:00.004-05:00

I planted bulbs in the fall and they are starting to come up! I'm so excited. I planted crocus, daffodils, tulips, Grecian windflowers, hyacinths, and grape hyacinths. Also, a kind neighbor gave us coral bells and miniature iris from her garden (originally from her mother's garden).

two words together

2009-03-09T09:25:00.004-05:00

Wren seems to be changing really fast lately -- just saying more words and he's been putting two words together a lot these past couple of weeks:

Hi Daddy

Bye Bye Mommy

Guk Down (Guk is his awesome word for Monica, and down means downstairs or he wants to go upstairs -- "down" is kind of Wren's word for stairs and to go upstairs if he's down, and downstairs if he's up)

Rat "Drink" (sign for drink) (we have a mouse/rat puppet checked out from the library and he likes us to play with him with it and he likes to give it drinks)

Hi "ow" (hi Lacey, "ow" being "meow" meaning "cat")

Anyway, lots of translating going on around here. Wren has his own language it seems.

Monica stayed with us this past week and it's been awesome -- so good to see her and sit around and look at all her photos and hear stories of her travels. We ate lots of good food and took some walks and played with Wren. Pretty low key but pretty fun.

Wren has a fever and a cold right now, starting yesterday. He should be napping in his crib but is doing something else, I think. I'll be checking on him in a minute here.

This week is spring break for us and Scott is planning on doing many things in his office that do NOT include prepping for class or office hours. :) We're just hoping Wren won't be sick the whole week so we can do some fun things like go to the Waffle Shop and also not all wake up several times a night.

It thunderstormed here some last night and rained all day yesterday. The couple of days before that were unseasonably warm (but not as warm as it was in St. Louis!). I am listening to workers build a house across the street and thinking about eating a snack and/or drinking some tea. What are you doing?

feeling better

2009-02-21T14:38:00.002-05:00

Okay, Scott and I got the flu too but now we're feeling better, and I think Wren is on his way to feeling better too. Thanks for the well wishes!

sick day

2009-02-19T13:47:00.002-05:00

Wren is sick right now and it's sad. It's the first time he's had the stomach flu. He's been sick since Tuesday night. Scott and I are okay so far; hopefully we won't get it too. I can't wait until Wren feels better!

sweet slumber

2009-02-11T20:10:00.003-05:00

kazoo

2009-01-31T12:16:00.000-05:00

Wren figured out how to play a kazoo this morning and ran around playing it and laughing. It was fun!

winter vegetables

2009-01-28T22:34:00.005-05:00

Are you wondering what I did with all those veggies we got yesterday? We had a yummy supper -- eggs cooked with spinach, onion, garlic, mushrooms. I then chopped up just about everything and put it in a pot to make some winter root soup!

a house built in a day

2009-01-28T22:24:00.006-05:00

Here are some photos of the house down the street. And no, our house wasn't made this way. :)

everyday things

2009-01-27T14:06:00.003-05:00

Today is a winter day with some snow on the ground, but we can see a lot of grass showing through. We woke up around 6:30 a.m. (well, Scott woke up earlier to the sound of his alarm) to the sound of trucks arriving on our street to start the day of building not just one, but two houses! There have been many dump trucks along to unload dirt all around the foundations. They are actually putting together the house on the corner -- it's like the rooms are pre-fabricated and are put on like blocks. I saw the kitchen complete with island and cabinets go in, then the front of the house with the stairs going up. Now they are putting the second block on the upstairs. It's interesting!

I'm surprised Wren is sleeping through this for his nap today. Yesterday Wren didn't end up falling asleep for his nap, and I thought it could have been because of the construction noise, so today I tried putting him down in a room on the back of the house in the pack 'n play with a fan on for white noise, but that didn't work. I thought he was going to sleep there because he kept doing the sleep sign as I put the pack 'n play together and was trying to climb in before I was even ready! But when it became apparent I was actually going to leave him there to sleep and take his nap, he was not happy! But he went right to sleep in his crib, sweet boy. Now it's two hours later and I'm starting to hear some sounds of waking.

Scott went this morning to work in his office for a few hours before teaching his two classes. This semester he is teaching on Tuesday and Thursday and is teaching History of the English Language, and also a course he created called the Northern World. Maybe one day he will log in and write here, telling you a couple of interesting facts about his life! :)

This morning Wren and I went to the library for a program called Toddler Learning Center, which runs once a week for five weeks. We play with about ten other toddlers and parents in a room with lots of fun toys and then clean up and sit in a circle with dixie cups of Cheerios and water for a snack while listening to the librarian read a short story and we do a short song together, like the Itsy Bitsy Spider. This was our second week and it was fun! Wren and I got there a little bit early so we could check out some books first. Wren did a good job both weeks playing and having fun. He's tired by the end of it and sits nicely on my lap, enjoying his snack. During the program, Wren likes to climb on a small slide thing and push a little stroller around and sit at the little picnic table they have. He also likes to point out the CD player and the "Dee Dees" (CDs) and listen to music. His friends Xavier, Henry, Sophia, and Jeffrey are also in the group, so it's nice for us mommies to get to hang out too.

Wren was pushing other kids for a little while, but it seems like that is getting better. He didn't push at all last week, and today he pushed a couple of times, but only when another friend got right up on him in his way (instead of running over and pushing as hard as he could, which is what he was doing before).

At home, Wren's favorite things to do have been pushing his play vacuum cleaner, giving his baby doll a "drink" and having us put on his little doll hat, finding hats of his own to put on himself and his stuffed animals, asking for snacks at the pantry (he likes raisins, Kashi heart to heart cereal, goldfish, craisins, um... cookies of course, and anything else he can get his hands on!), looking at lights (especially our new lamp in the family room which we bought yesterday), playing with a little play veterinarian kit -- a carrier with a dog and some other things inside.

There is a stethoscope that Wren likes to take out and he sits up on our comfy chair in the family room and has me get right in front of him and we put it on him and he holds it to his chest and I say "thump thump, thump thump, thump thump" and he gets a sweet smile. It's really cute! And he's getting into putting some things away -- yesterday he put all the objects back into the carrier and put the carrier in the cabinet before we went upstairs to take a nap. Then he noticed the little can of dog food still on the floor and said, "uh oh!" and took out the carrier and put it back in... but then didn't want to put it away after all... oh well!

Wren also likes to have his hands free of mess while he's eating, so if he gets stuff on them we wipe it off. Wren likes to get the dishrag or napkin from us and "clean" the table in front of him and down below his booster seat on the chair.

He's still been into books and it's so sweet when he picks out a book to read with me or Daddy and backs up until he hits our legs then sits on our laps on the floor. It's a nice time to snuggle, which Wren doesn't ordinarily do.

It's been tough changing Wren's diaper lately. He just doesn't want to lay there. When Wren is frustrated, he pushes at our face and pulls my hair or throws toys or food and it's not nice. He has had a couple of "time-outs" for throwing larger items (laundry basket, diaper box) over the banister upstairs.

Tonight we're supposed to get a few inches of snow mixed with ice and sleet, so we'll see how that actually turns out. Some days lately have been really really cold!

I went ice skating the other night with two friends, which was really fun! I've been taking pilates at the YMCA, but haven't been getting there at other times to work out as much as I would like to. I've been reading a little bit more lately -- I read the Twilight books, which were fun! I also just read the Crosswicks Journals by Madeleine L'Engle, who is the author of A Wrinkle in Time (and LOTS of other books). I'm looking forward to reading President Barack Obama's Dreams From My Father.

We're still getting a share from a local farm; we signed up for the winter share and we're glad we did. We split a box with another family every two weeks (it's every week in the summer) and today in our box we'll have potatoes, carrots, radishes, rutabaga, turnips, cabbage, onions, celeriac, rosemary, chervil, and salad greens. It is interesting to find recipes and ways to use the different veggies! We have two cookbooks that are good for using with local veggies: Simply in Season and From Asparagus to Zucchini. We also will get eggs, grapefruit, and mushrooms today. Wow!

Time to change the laundry and play with Wren this afternoon. Scott's coming home at 5 today instead of his usual 4. I guess I'll start thinking about dinner soon!

Love,

Emily

making cookies on the coldest day of the year

2009-01-17T10:31:00.005-05:00

Yesterday Wren and I made cookies together, and we had such a fun time! We hadn't done that before. I have carried him in the sling while I make things and let him stir, but he hadn't stood with me and been so involved with the process before. He really enjoyed it. I just posted a lot of photos of him helping on our web album. It looks like I was taking pictures the whole time, but I wasn't -- he really stood there for a long time!

cookies in the oven

2009-01-17T09:51:00.002-05:00

I was baking cookies in the oven and Wren came up and looked in the oven -- he didn't know I was watching and I could see him thinking. Then he said, "No!" Then he said, "Hot!" THEN he opened a kitchen drawer, took out an oven mitt, put it on, and was proceeding to go to the oven to get out those cookies!

vacuum cleaner

2009-01-10T20:37:00.003-05:00

Wren is fascinated by our vacuum cleaner and other electronic things that make humming noises -- Wren hums, "mmmmm". When we go out, he notices vacuum cleaners in places I wouldn't normally notice, like in the back room (!!) of the toy store and at the gymnastics center.

Here's a video of Wren playing with his own vacuum cleaner for the first time:

happy feet

2009-01-06T14:02:00.000-05:00

watching high quality videos

2008-12-30T22:15:00.003-05:00

Just so you know, if you want to watch videos in YouTube in high quality, there is a little link on the right hand bottom side of the video that says "watch in high quality" you can click on -- our videos will look nice and clear if you watch them that way! (I think this is just if you go to the YouTube page)

If you have an account with YouTube, you can go into "Account" and click on "Playback Settings" on the left side to make it default to the high quality mode.

You can also click on an icon in the bottom right corner to make the video full screen.

Happy watching!

talking and sliding

2008-12-28T18:19:00.003-05:00

So cute -- tonight when we were putting Wren to bed we were looking at a board book with babies doing sign language and he was not only doing some signs, but saying the words when I asked him "what is that?" He can say "ball" and "hat" (sounds like AHt) and "baby". At the end of the book all the different pictures are on the same page and he pointed to the doll and said "that's a baby"!! So that was cool! And he loves the hair dryer and calls it the "ah wawa" or just "wawa". Very silly boy. And he just rediscovered the phone charger for the car and says "hello" over and over when he wants it, and uses it to pretend he's on the phone.

Today we went with our friends Joy and Keira and Eamon to Spring Creek Park and Keira and Wren had a lot of fun walking around on the bit of snow that was left and sliding around on the wet ice around the park. Wren watches Keira and likes to do what she's doing. He thought slipping on the ice was fun! But then he got all wet and cold and he didn't like that part as much. He cried some at the end, but more because we were leaving rather than because he was cold -- I think he wanted to slide around on the ice more. Keira had fun splashing around in the puddles, too. We have fun hanging out with them!

christmas videos

2008-12-26T14:07:00.003-05:00

We had a fun, relaxing Christmas full of opening Wren's presents and eating tasty food. We just hung around all day and didn't do too much.

There are six videos from Christmas Day for you to watch! You can see them on our YouTube page.

I hope you had a good holiday too. Thanks for being such good friends and family.

playing around

2008-12-25T21:58:00.001-05:00

Here's another video from Christmas Eve!

Wren enjoys boxes just as much as presents...

Merry Christmas Eve!

2008-12-24T22:37:00.002-05:00

In State College, the fire department helps Santa make the rounds early on Christmas Eve night.

Wren likes to yell at Daddy (or talk very loudly, we'll say) out the window when he sees him outside. Today was icy and Scott was out fooling around with the driveway.

things I have said today

2008-12-17T11:36:00.002-05:00

Lacey says "no"

be careful with that guitar!

let's flush your poopies

don't take off all the tape

don't take off all the toilet paper

no, not the presents!

no, not the painting on the wall!

sit down on your bottom

don't throw your milk

did I mention Lacey says "NO"!

five minutes at our house today

2008-12-09T21:42:00.002-05:00

Wren checks out the Christmas tree with lights while eating a snickerdoodle cookie. He's "talking" and saying some words.

pats

2008-12-09T21:37:00.003-05:00

I wanted to mention "pats" -- Wren has been more affectionate lately and he gives us hugs and kisses (but Daddy's beard tickles!) and also likes to come up behind us while we're sitting on the floor to pat our backs. Then sometimes he hugs us from behind too. It's really cute! I've seen him giving stuffed animals and the light-up Santa "pats." In this video I'm putting on here in a minute he also is giving himself pats, which is a new one to me! So sweet.

talking, Thanksgiving, general update

2008-12-08T08:33:00.006-05:00

Well it's December and it's really cold here. Yesterday it was around 15 degrees and with the wind chill I'm sure it was colder. And what did we do? Got our Christmas tree! Either Scott or I have been sick since Thanksgiving and we felt like we needed to get it. So I was planning on taking a cute picture of us all with our tree outside, but it was so cold we didn't take one! We basically took the first tree we saw and got the heck out of there!

Here are the two pictures we did take. Harner Farm has some really cute little houses that Wren loves to explore:

Wren has been "talking" a lot more lately. He is very conversational sounding, especially when he first gets up in the morning. He has a lot to say! He sounds like he's saying things, but who knows what he's saying! :) He has been saying some words that we can understand, like:

Mama

Dada

down

on (always wanting lamps and things on -- we have been putting up some Christmas decorations -- a ceramic Christmas tree and a fiber-optic Santa. He wants these "on"!)

hello

bye

hi (he says "hi" over and over with big smiles when he's glad to see us)

'nana for banana (or sometimes "sha-nana")

wiwi for kiwi, which he just started doing, which is pretty hilarious!

all done (a favorite while I'm clipping Wren's nails or changing his diaper, as if it will make it true)

still says DAH! for done (with meals)

lately Wren has been "stretching" when he's done with his meal too -- arms above head and he says really loud "ahhhhhhhh!"

FFOP! which means "flop!" as in "when I'm tired, down I flop!" from a song on his Music Together CD

kind of says duck and quack

says "meee" for "moo"

baa for sheep

he's made a barking sound for a long time

"wheeee!" when he's thinking about playing at the park, usually when slides or swings are involved. Wren also says this when we drive down the big hill by our house. :)

"get down!" -- I almost forgot this. How could I forget? He does it all the time ... when he's standing on a chair or something else (CD player, table, walking toy...) that he knows he shouldn't be standing on. He says it until we look at him and then get down. We put his little chairs in the basement because he kept standing on them and he could see them through the cat door from upstairs so would sit in the kitchen looking down there going "get down! get down!"

in general Wren will imitate more sounds and words when we ask him to "say _____"

Okay there's more but I'm not thinking of them right now. For a couple of weeks, Wren was kind of cranky and he only wanted milk to drink and wasn't eating much of anything else. It wasn't very fun for any of us! But by being more consistent about when he can have milk (with meals) and how much (just one sippy), it worked itself out and Wren quit demanding milk all the time. He still wasn't eating much, but then Thanksgiving came, along with lots of family and lots of snacks, and that seems to have ended that little phase! :)

We had both our moms, Wren's Aunt Lori and Uncle Kirk with cousins Tyler and Anna, and Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rod for a few days around Thanksgiving. We played a lot of Mario Kart on the Wii, some Ticket to Ride and Sequence, ate tasty food (including snack mix that Wren really liked to eat, coming to the table to get each piece one-by-one from Gramma Dixie. Wren also discovered raisins this week -- yum!), and just had fun hanging out. It snowed just enough for Anna and Tyler to make a snowman and for it to feel cozy inside the house. Wren LOVED having his cousins and family around. He was just fascinated by Anna and Tyler and they really liked playing with him too. We are going to go visit them in Mississippi for a little bit at Christmastime so that is going to be awesome.

Wren can run now and can be very fast! He has little "work" boots like his dad and loves to wear them. He is good about coming to put on his shoes and other gear when it's time to go out (but Mommy still has trouble with those mittens), and he is very patient about coming in the door and waiting while Mommy takes it all off again. It's very sweet how Wren lifts one foot so I can take off his shoe, then the other... then off he goes!

Wren really likes to carry around some electronic items when he's upstairs -- Mommy's hair dryer, a charging cord, and especially the cord to Daddy's shaver. He was very into the hair dryer, and now the shaver cord seems to be the favorite: he pretends it is a phone, so when he sees it laying around wherever he left it last, he says, "hello! hello!" and runs over to it. It's very silly. His phone conversations (with the cord, one of his play phones, or our old cell phones) go like this: "hello! bludhueuus sjefiodiujlkj bjjudhdhallj ... BYE!" :)

Wren still likes the bath a lot and starts yawning as soon as he gets in. He likes to line up some ducks and push them off the side so Mommy or Daddy can put them back in for him. He likes to use the washcloth to "wash" his face (just putting it up to his face near his mouth) and he will use dry cloths to wash his toys' faces out of the bath. He is getting into filling a bath cup from the faucet and pouring it out.

Wren can point to several body parts, his own and Mommy and Daddy's: ears, eyes, nose, mouth, bellybutton (especially fun), a certain part in the diaper area (an interest sometimes in the bath), and he's starting to learn hands, feet, and stomach.

Wren is really enjoying pull toys right now and likes to dump things out, and stack up blocks. He loves to bring us books and sit in our laps while we read. He responds to things on the pages and that's really fun. He's still doing a lot of signing which is very nice for understanding what he's thinking. Wren is definitely understanding a lot of what we're saying, and probably lots more than we even know.

Wren Watches President Obama

2008-11-05T08:34:00.004-05:00

We are proud to say that Barack Obama will be the first president of the United States that Wren will remember.

Wren watches Obama's Acceptance Speech. What a wonderful day!

fall weather and new developments

2008-10-27T11:23:00.002-05:00

Just today, Wren has been singing the Superman theme song, which he always does, but today it is discernible! I can tell that that's the song he's singing! It's amazing. He's starting to try to say some words and is making more conversational babble than he used to. It's really cool! He has been in a great mood this morning and that is fun. We took a walk in the windy cool weather and saw squirrels and saw leaves flying through the air. Wren imitated me doing the squirrel sign. He also did the "cold" sign today at lunch on his own initiative -- he was eating some fruit salad that had been in the fridge so it was colder than just the fruit chopped up. It was really cute.

Wren is going to be Superman for Halloween, in case you're wondering! He has some pajamas that will work perfectly. We also have a sound greeting card that plays the Superman theme song that we can use along with his costume. Thank you, Wolfe girls for sending Wren his Superman birthday card -- we are actually currently on the THIRD card because as you probably have experienced yourselves, the battery tends to wear out with repeated playing. :)

Wren's latest antics

2008-10-14T07:27:00.003-05:00

Wren has been imitating sounds a lot: he hums when he opens the closet where the vacuum cleaner is kept, he hums and blows (the sign for "hot") when he looks at Mommy's hair dryer, when Mommy honks her horn at crazy drivers he makes a honking noise, he imitates all the beepings that happen in the kitchen. He also notices us blow our noses and sometimes wants a Kleenex so he can hold it up to his nose and make the noise with his mouth. It's pretty funny!

Wren started saying "Mama" just this last week! Yesterday he started saying a word for "cookie" (sounds like "gok"). Have I mentioned he has a word for Spiderman? "Dah-diiiii!" He has Spiderman decals in his room and also has Spidey stuff all around so he says that pretty often. He also says a word "Mom-iiiiii" when we pull up into our garage, like a "we're home!" kind of word. I know these seem like "mommy" and "daddy" but they really sound pretty different from "mama" and "daddy" he uses when talking about us.

He has been doing the "music" sign a lot at home and in the car, if the music is off. He wants to listen! He does it in between songs too. Also he goes to a music class with his daddy and is always paying attention to their CD player (it's the same as ours, which he's always been fascinated with) and the teacher's guitar case (also likes his daddy's!).

Wren is starting to be a little more shy -- when I set him down at the park to run and play on the playground, a lot of times now he holds on to my legs or cries at my feet until I pick him up for a little bit. We usually swing first as a good transition while Wren gets used to the idea of being at the park. As soon as he sees or starts thinking about the park, he starts saying "wheeee!" in his stroller or car seat -- thinking about the fun he's going to have on the swings and slides!

Wren is also starting to think about toilets. Which makes ME think about toilets! We may have to get toilet locks but this just started, so we'll have to see. He likes to flush, open the lid and look in there, put his hand (or whatever object is in his hand) in the water... also when he knows I'm going to be busy doing something for 30 seconds or longer he takes off for the nearest bathroom... hmmm.

My mom is coming to visit today! We are really looking forward to having her stay and get to hang out with Wren and have fun. We'll just do regular stuff around here and try to visit some parks. It is absolutely beautiful around here right now -- the colors really just popped in the last couple of weeks, although this year there is more gold and rust than last year's yellow and crimson -- we barely had any rain this summer.

bookshelf mischief

2008-10-10T10:46:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I was in the other room for about five minutes.

Wren plays basketball

2008-10-10T10:44:00.001-05:00

Our neighbor handed down this basketball hoop and Wren knew exactly what to do with it without me even showing him!

trying on boots

2008-10-10T10:43:00.002-05:00

walking in the park

2008-09-28T20:28:00.000-05:00

playing around

2008-09-28T19:50:00.002-05:00

new glasses!

2008-09-25T10:10:00.001-05:00

going on september

2008-09-15T08:20:00.005-05:00

Well, the weeks seem to be going by very quickly! It's hard to believe it's Monday (and well into September!) already.

It's strange, but Wren is kind of going back to two naps a day instead of one. I'm not sure why or which is the more usual for him. It makes it a little hard to plan! But the thing I'm finding the most important with having Wren is being flexible -- ready to change plans at the drop of a hat and not looking back.

I am watching our neighborhood groundhog eat one of our neighbor's tomatoes. He has been a busy critter lately with all their tomatoes! We have a great view of his garden paradise from our kitchen table.

muffin mess

2008-09-12T09:53:00.003-05:00

This morning I held Wren in the sling and he helped me make muffins -- he was very interested in what we were doing with the mixing and breaking the eggs and putting the batter in the pans! We made rhubarb oat little mini loaves and mini muffins, and banana chocolate chip muffins and mini muffins. Wren enjoyed eating the rhubarb right out of the oven. MmmmMMMmmm.

I also had to document the huge mess we made in the kitchen while making these. Wren has many items to play with on the bottom of the pantry, and recently he's been able to reach the entire bottom shelf, too, so I've had a little shifting around to do. I think Wren likes to move things around in the kitchen alongside me.

patio time

2008-09-08T09:28:00.001-05:00

Wren is really enjoying going outside lately. When we're in the kitchen, he often does the help sign for me to open the door and for us to go outside.

wren's first chocolate chip cookie!

2008-09-08T09:11:00.003-05:00

Like father, like son!

learning how to use a spoon

2008-09-07T18:00:00.001-05:00

baby boppin'

2008-09-07T14:01:00.003-05:00

Wren and Xavier play in Wren's crib!

new semester and new toddler

2008-09-07T13:34:00.007-05:00

In the past few days, Wren has been teething with his first molars. He also has a cold (which I have now, too). He is also a toddler (??)! How did this happen? Anyway, he has bursts (or long, extended periods) of crankiness and he careens around the house doing things he shouldn't be doing, like standing on chairs or throwing things over the railing or starting the washer or whatever while shaking his head "no" and being generally disagreeable. So that's not very fun! I hope his molars come in soon because his swollen gums look painful.

We're all getting used to the routine of the new school year and continuing to chip away at little projects around the house and getting things set up. I've been enjoying drinking coffee, reading, and playing Super Mario Galaxy when I'm not running around with Wren and doing chores. What have you been doing?

mmmm drop!

2008-08-19T19:16:00.001-05:00

signing

2008-08-19T11:14:00.003-05:00

We are so excited because in the past few days, Wren has been doing a lot more signs!

Signs he's known for a while:
eat
drink (made up his own)
more
cat
done

Signs he's only seen a few times and has been doing now:
banana
cracker
bath
sleep
help
shoe
book
sock
hat

I'm going to try video him doing some of them!

summer's end?

2008-08-17T12:51:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe it's already the end of the summer -- Scott will start teaching in a week. We've been busy this last month: Scott went to a conference in Cambridge (UK) and then we took a trip to Missouri to visit family and friends. Scott stayed for a week and then drove a truck back to PA with some furniture and boxes from his dad's house, and Wren and I stayed a week longer and flew back with my dad. My dad stayed with us for a week and we had fun and did some projects around the house. Now we're just kind of hanging around and Scott is finishing some summer projects and preparing for the fall semester. Wren has moved into more of a toddler schedule where he takes one nap after lunch, and I hear him waking up now. I hope you've all been having a good summer and are ready for the fall!

walking on campus

2008-08-16T20:49:00.003-05:00

opening the shades

2008-08-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

wren is walking!

2008-08-03T20:25:00.002-05:00

Wren has been walking a lot. He is really fast now and is just all over the place. This video was taken a month ago, on June 29.

waking up and going to sleep

2008-07-15T14:24:00.002-05:00

wren walks backwards

2008-07-15T08:58:00.006-05:00

Wren has been walking backwards sometimes! The first time was last week while Jen and Xavier and I were playing in Wren's room and he was opening and closing his door. He looked at us and laughed and started backing out of the room. He had a cute look on his face like he realized he was doing something cool and he kept doing it. Since then, he's done it a few more times when he goes up to something then wants to go back the other way. I think he's been practicing this skill without knowing it while he closes doors, holding on to the handle.

wren explores

2008-07-02T13:47:00.003-05:00

Wren explores the new furniture. Can you tell he's really walking now?

new furniture!

2008-07-02T13:37:00.005-05:00

Today our family room couch and chairs were delivered! It's so exciting!

We also put up vertical blinds in the kitchen and curtains in the den.

14 months

2008-06-24T08:18:00.002-05:00

Somehow Wren is now 14 months old and is acting more and more like a little boy rather than a baby. He's really started walking in the two weeks we've been back from Colorado (for Rachel and Ryan's wedding). I think he's been in a transition stage because his naps have been different and he's been more whiny -- he is getting more of an idea of what he wants to do now, rather than just going along with what I set up for him! But I think he's starting to settle down from this transition and is being more his easygoing self the last couple of days. Some of it too was probably because Scott wasn't here, so things were different.

Last week Scott was in Missouri because his Uncle Butch died, which is very sad. We are going to miss him, and we are sad that Wren will never know him or Scott's dad either. But we can tell him about how fun they were and about all the silly things they liked to do.

Wren has also learned how to make the "eat" sign this past week! It is very exciting because we have been doing that sign with him for many months, and now he actually uses it to tell us when he's hungry! It's so cool to have Wren communicate with us!

Wren has been enjoying the fresh food of the season -- lots of strawberries and asparagus! We have also been making strawberry smoothies and he LOVES them. He slurps them down.

Wren also got his first haircut last week! He looks really good. He didn't fuss during the cut and just squirmed to see what was happening and played with the comb and a clip. There are pictures posted on our album page!

Wren made a little joke with me -- he was playing with my barrettes and when he put them to his mouth, I said "no, not for eating" and he smiled at me and made the "eat" sign like "hee hee, I'm going to eat your barrettes"! It was really cool. I think he has a sense of humor.

Other things Wren is doing now:
Just had his 8th tooth break through (four on top, four on bottom)
Waving HI and BYE a lot more, with more understanding
Saying words that sound like "daddy" "hi" "eat" "cat" "glasses" "drink" "light"
Saying a universal word "dat!" that means everything
Being a real squirmer when it comes to diaper changing time
Walking, walking, walking around!

first steps and first words

2008-05-19T07:38:00.007-05:00

I realize I've been slowing down on the blog posts, but you know -- we've been busy! :) Today Wren is 13 months old. He has been doing lots of exciting things! He took his first steps and says his first words!!! The word Wren says the most is "light". His little voice is so sweet saying "light" all the time -- there are lights everywhere and he likes to point this out! It doesn't matter if they're off or on, inside or outside, Wren likes to notice them. He had been saying "dat" for a week or so when he saw lights -- especially the porch light. He has been perfecting his pronunciation though and now gets it right most of the time. He enjoys it when we hold him up to the light switches and then he flips them and looks all around to see what turned on or off.

Wren also has made noises like "hi" and "kitty" but those words aren't very clear. His word "light" is his most clear first word, we would say. He also knows how to say "cat"!

Wren took his first steps at the Harris Branch Library! Yay! We just took a trip last week -- Scott went the International Congress of Medieval Studies conference in Kalamazoo and presented a paper and Wren and I stayed in South Bend and visited lots of friends. On Thursday, May 8 we were having fun with our friends at Harris and Wren took his first two steps while playing with Daddy! Then I came over and got to see him take one more step. He looked very excited (both Wren and Daddy)! He hasn't taken any more yet, but he's looked like he was going to a few times.

Wren received an awesome birthday card from the Wolfe family that plays the Superman theme when you open it and he loves it! He tries to sing along with the theme! It's very cute. We've noticed him kind of singing along with some songs on his other favorite toys, too.

We all had a great trip last week. It was wonderful to see our friends! Thanks for having us, everyone! And it felt a little like we were "home" again, being in the 'Bend, so it was funny to drive back "home" to PA.

Since we've been back, we've been working on transitioning Wren to just eating table foods, rather than baby food. Last night we went to Perkins and Wren ate a whole grilled cheese sandwich, a serving of mashed potatoes, plus a little bit of broccoli, asparagus and tomatoes. He loves to eat!

Scott, Wren and I are busy this week finishing things up at our apartment, doing scholarly work and working on some home projects before we are off to Colorado for Rachel and Ryan's wedding. It is going to be an awesome time! What are you up to?

birthdays and elephants

2008-04-22T18:48:00.006-05:00

We are settling into our new house now -- tons of things to do and seemingly not that much time to do it in. We are enjoying the spring flowers blooming in our neighborhood and all the leaves coming out on the trees (finally!). Wren just turned ONE YEAR OLD on Saturday, April 19! It is very exciting and hard to believe it's already been a year since he was born. Both grandmas came to visit for the occasion (and the occasion of somebody's 30th birthday!) and got to witness Wren walking with his push toy for the first time and also use a straw for the first several times. Wren had a cold this week so we postponed his birthday party, but we still sang to him and gave him his own cake on the day of his birthday. He really loved the cake and ate a lot of it -- it was serious business, getting all those handfuls of cake and icing into his mouth!

Today Wren and I voted in the Pennsylvania primary. It was an exciting occasion!

Also today there was a parade of elephants and horses that went through town. The circus is in town and the elephants had to be unloaded a few miles from the venue. Wren and I tried to see them earlier in the day, but it turned out they were running a few hours late, so I went back later after Wren was asleep. Lots of folks were out -- it was like the Fourth of July!

things wren is doing at 11 months

2008-03-21T20:46:00.003-05:00

waves hello and goodbye (sometimes!)
likes to use a fork and to feed himself
turns the pages in his board books (but still doesn't look at them for very long!)
"talks" more
presses the garage door button
crawls really fast
stands without holding on (sometimes)
nurses twice a day
naps twice a day
misses you

remembering ...

2008-03-07T22:27:00.002-05:00

leap day house

2008-02-29T21:38:00.000-05:00

We celebrated leap year by buying a new house today! Hooray!

my bologna has a first name...

2008-02-22T12:40:00.002-05:00

happy 10 months!

2008-02-19T10:46:00.004-05:00

It's hard for us to believe that Wren is 10 months old already, but he is. He is loving to close doors, play with tubes and bottles (like his tube of diaper rash cream), crawl around, and pull up on things. He's started to reach higher -- his eyes travel all around now when he's standing; he's looking for other places to explore. We'll see if he's a climber! He crawled up about five steps yesterday. Wren can just stretch and get his fingers on the top of the sink in his bathroom and then he does a super power grunt like he's going to pull himself up there by his fingertips! He still likes to crawl in to the bathroom naked and watch his bath fill. Wren's favorite bath toys are cups. He takes mighty drinks from his sippy cups, throwing his head back and slurping the water down. We watch the garbage truck empty the dumpster twice a week, and catch the recycling truck when we can. Wren does not like to have his face wiped off, and he likes to be distracted while you change his diaper. He loves playing with toys in his crib and especially enjoys the music from his busybox. I have the music playing in my head all day! He goes after Lacey with much gusto, and Lacey is getting very worried and now hisses at Wren when he gets close (but she doesn't run away). Wren had his first "jello" (did you know you can make "jello" just by adding gelatin to juice?) and was intrigued by it. He has taken just a few steps along things, starting to "cruise" a bit, especially if you put something he's interested in just a foot or so away from where he's standing. We love it when he'll hold still long enough to read a book or to cuddle, but it doesn't happen often! Wren has been carrying things while he crawls around, like a piece of paper, a bookmark, a diaper, a sock... He likes Mommy to crawl after him and "get him" -- he crawls a little way then stops and waits! And he'll crawl after Mommy to "get her", too. Right this moment he is sleeping like a precious angel in his crib. We love you, Wren!

happy valentine's day!

2008-02-14T15:34:00.004-05:00

Wren enjoyed his first Valentine's Day party today!

I did too -- it was fun to hang out.

Thank you, everyone, for Wren's first valentines!

We all had a lot of fun opening them!

little piggy

2008-02-06T22:33:00.000-05:00

Wren is so silly. He really likes cheese now that he has had more, and today while I was tearing little pieces off for him, he reached and grabbed the slice out of my hand and shoved half the slice in his mouth and ate it! He is really making a mess and flinging things around now. Wren is very curious about the bowl and the spoon and wants to feed himself, which doesn't always work out too well.

Wren was also enjoying gumming and sucking on my apple today. This kept him occupied for 20 minutes (which is a very long time in baby-time!).

video mania

2008-02-04T18:30:00.000-05:00

Hi! I'm catching up with our videos here. I know I should space them out more, but I'll just have more to put up later, so why not overload you with videos now? These are all from the past month or so.

The first one is of Wren in the bath. He started playing with this little turtle and likes to touch it to different things. Lately he has been sleeping with it in his crib. Or should I say, "in" his crib -- usually when we come in it's on the floor. One day I peeked in after he woke from his nap and saw him dropping it on the mattress over and over, kind of bouncing it. He was having LOTS of fun!

Wren likes to offer whatever large food item he has to us as we feed him. He thinks it's funny when we pretend to eat it!

He loves to feel the strings while Daddy plays the guitar.

We think Wren thinks he's a kitty! He likes the soft feeling on his face; it's kind of ticklish.

new videos and american cheese

2008-02-04T12:52:00.001-05:00

Wren is so cute! We all know this, but I just thought I'd say so again. :) We just got back from the store, where Wren enjoyed his first free piece of cheese. I fed him little bits of the American cheese, and he really liked it. When we got home, he couldn't get them into his mouth fast enough! So now the question is, which animal shape will he like the best? ;)

Here are some new videos! The first one is just a little bit of Wren playing in his room. He is getting pretty good with doors and drawers and cabinets. He also really likes to play with balls!

Wren loves to hang out in this corner where we have our little radio. The other day he got quite a surprise when he leaned on the volume and it quickly turned all the way up! He cried for a long time, poor guy. It didn't scare him away, though. Wren is starting to figure out what different buttons do. There is a tape player in the radio, and we think he knows which button is the eject button.

Speaking of figuring things out ...

9 month check up

2008-01-30T16:53:00.001-05:00

~photo by Jen Black

We just had Wren's 9 month check up and he now weighs 20 pounds 14 ounces, and is 29 and 5/8 inches tall. He has two teeth in. He is doing great!

smith family news

Oh wait, I have a blog?

Christmas cards coming soon!

Erik

'scuse me!

late fall

erik's first solid foods

firefighting

rough times

today

3 months old and 39.5 months old

activity mat antics

12 weeks old

daily routine

making photos more private

soup pot revisited

announcing erik!

wren's new baby doll

snowy day

time is flying

talking about baby

wren smith: the interview

wordless thursday :)

talking, sounds, leafblowers

october!

new bed, revised

new bed

late summer

talking and pretending

videos

new concepts

Wren update and general news

wren dictionary

helping with snickerdoodles

pizza

leaning back

peanut butter sandwich

breakfast conversation

signs of spring

two words together

feeling better

sick day

sweet slumber

kazoo

winter vegetables

a house built in a day

everyday things

making cookies on the coldest day of the year

cookies in the oven

vacuum cleaner

more Christmas videos

happy feet

watching high quality videos

talking and sliding

christmas videos

playing around

Merry Christmas Eve!

things I have said today

five minutes at our house today

pats

talking, Thanksgiving, general update

Wren Watches President Obama

fall weather and new developments

Wren's latest antics

bookshelf mischief

Wren plays basketball

trying on boots

walking in the park

playing around

new glasses!

going on september

muffin mess

patio time

wren's first chocolate chip cookie!

learning how to use a spoon

baby boppin'

new semester and new toddler

mmmm drop!

signing

summer's end?