A few stories that have made me smile in the past few days:
1. Jacob & Molly: Mama, mama
Me: Where's your mama?
Jacob & Molly: (in unison, nodding solemnly) Nap, nap
Me: No, no, your mama's at work. She's not sleeping.
Jacob: (shaking head) Nap
Molly: (scrunching up eyes, putting head down on groun) Nap
2. The kids haven't had so much as a sniffle in over two months, despite hanging out with lots of snot-nosed kids and visiting lots of flu-infested homes. I'm guessing that a contributing factor to their strengthened immune systems has to be the amount of fruit ingested. Case in point. Yesterday for afternoon snack they shared a banana and five oranges. Then, an hour later they had three quarters of a honeydew melon and an obscene number of peach slices. They were still begging for more at the end, but I finally stopped out of fear that they would contract whatever the opposite of scurvy might be.
3. Jacob can't stop talking about Papa (Kate's dad). Ever since Christmas, whenever we see a pick-up truck, he says Papa. When we read about a garbage can or a stringed instrument, he says Papa. We phoned Papa yesterday and afterwards, Jacob was bubbling over with excitement, saying Papa, truck, garbage, Papa. So, I tried to capture it on video, with the usual result of him ignoring my direction and Molly feeling sorry for me and helping me out a little.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Tips
As promised, here's the second in a series of parenting tips:
Tips for New Parents Who Know Even Less Than I Do - #2
I've heard lots of pregnant parents-to-be talking about trying to learn the words to lullabies. This is wasted effort for two reasons: 1) lullabies are scary and usually involve babies falling out of trees, or people dying while babies sleep; and, 2) they don't work.
Three songs that put our kids to sleep unfailingly are songs that any sports fan already knows:
1) Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kate, who knows the words to every song ever written, still chose this one every night when the kids were babies. Money-back guarantee on this one.
2) Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole - when you're so tired that you can't manage any other words
3) Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye - has the added bonus of feeling like your team is winning, which is often not the case when parenting young, sleepless babies.
And here's a photo of the kids in their fancy, new chairs:
Tips for New Parents Who Know Even Less Than I Do - #2
I've heard lots of pregnant parents-to-be talking about trying to learn the words to lullabies. This is wasted effort for two reasons: 1) lullabies are scary and usually involve babies falling out of trees, or people dying while babies sleep; and, 2) they don't work.
Three songs that put our kids to sleep unfailingly are songs that any sports fan already knows:
1) Take Me Out to the Ballgame - Kate, who knows the words to every song ever written, still chose this one every night when the kids were babies. Money-back guarantee on this one.
2) Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole - when you're so tired that you can't manage any other words
3) Na Na, Na Na Na Na, Hey Hey, Goodbye - has the added bonus of feeling like your team is winning, which is often not the case when parenting young, sleepless babies.
And here's a photo of the kids in their fancy, new chairs:
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Videos - Napping and Mozart
Molly's new favourite game is pretending to nap. I like this video because (a) it shows how tight she closes her eyes when she's fake-napping, and (b) it shows how she's not a performing monkey and she's quite happy to ignore requests for repeat demonstrations.
And, as Mozart month draws to a close in our household (part of Kate's ongoing efforts to educate her neanderthal husband, kindly disguised as an effort to enrich the lives of our toddlers), here's a video of Jacob enjoying some opera (and feeling quite attached to the sticker on his chest that he got at gymnastics).
And, as Mozart month draws to a close in our household (part of Kate's ongoing efforts to educate her neanderthal husband, kindly disguised as an effort to enrich the lives of our toddlers), here's a video of Jacob enjoying some opera (and feeling quite attached to the sticker on his chest that he got at gymnastics).
Oscar Night
We got in just under the wire - as of last night we've now seen all of the Oscar-nominated movies (in the big categories anyway). Anyone who says they don't make good movies anymore, wasn't paying attention this year.
I keep changing the order, but I think this is my top ten films of 2008:
1. The Visitor
2. Rachel Getting Married
3. The Reader
4. Happy Go-Lucky
5. Frost-Nixon
6. Doubt
7. Frozen River
8. The Wrestler
9. Milk
10. Starting Out In the Evening
I really enjoyed the likely Oscar winner, Slumdog Millionaire, but it's not even in my top ten. My quibbles were a tacked-on romance, unbelievable torture scene, and no real character development due to the method of storytelling.
Dark Knight was as good a superhero movie as you're going to see, but it's not top 10 either.
So, the Academy did pretty well with it's nominations. The only real stinker nominated for Best Picture/Director/Screenplays is Benjamin Button, which was a vacuous vanity piece for Brad Pitt with no story whatsoever. Kate still refuses to criticize the film because "Brad just gets better and better looking for two straight hours". So, we'll give it the makeup award. I don't get the fuss over either In Bruges or Wall-E, but the other films are all great.
For Best Actor, I think Jenkins' and Langella's performances were deeper, but you can't beat Rourke's comeback story. I can't wait for his acceptance speech. Anne Hathaway shocked me with her amazing performance (we just saw Rachel Getting Married so I may still be skewed), but I thought Streep and Winslet were great too (although being a part of Mamma Mia and Revolutionary Road, respectively, should almost disqualify them from winning for their better movies!).
The worst well-reviewed movies of the year (besides Benjamin Button) were Revolutionary Road (horrible over-acting by DiCaprio and a really over-wrought script) and Gran Torino (Eastwood's one-trick pony has finally been beaten to death - the most painful dialogue of the year, and racist too). So, kudos to the Academy for largely ignoring those two.
I keep changing the order, but I think this is my top ten films of 2008:
1. The Visitor
2. Rachel Getting Married
3. The Reader
4. Happy Go-Lucky
5. Frost-Nixon
6. Doubt
7. Frozen River
8. The Wrestler
9. Milk
10. Starting Out In the Evening
I really enjoyed the likely Oscar winner, Slumdog Millionaire, but it's not even in my top ten. My quibbles were a tacked-on romance, unbelievable torture scene, and no real character development due to the method of storytelling.
Dark Knight was as good a superhero movie as you're going to see, but it's not top 10 either.
So, the Academy did pretty well with it's nominations. The only real stinker nominated for Best Picture/Director/Screenplays is Benjamin Button, which was a vacuous vanity piece for Brad Pitt with no story whatsoever. Kate still refuses to criticize the film because "Brad just gets better and better looking for two straight hours". So, we'll give it the makeup award. I don't get the fuss over either In Bruges or Wall-E, but the other films are all great.
For Best Actor, I think Jenkins' and Langella's performances were deeper, but you can't beat Rourke's comeback story. I can't wait for his acceptance speech. Anne Hathaway shocked me with her amazing performance (we just saw Rachel Getting Married so I may still be skewed), but I thought Streep and Winslet were great too (although being a part of Mamma Mia and Revolutionary Road, respectively, should almost disqualify them from winning for their better movies!).
The worst well-reviewed movies of the year (besides Benjamin Button) were Revolutionary Road (horrible over-acting by DiCaprio and a really over-wrought script) and Gran Torino (Eastwood's one-trick pony has finally been beaten to death - the most painful dialogue of the year, and racist too). So, kudos to the Academy for largely ignoring those two.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Secret Twin Language
Now that the kids are talking, I get asked a lot about whether they have a "secret language". Apparently this idea is a bit of a myth. Twin language, or idioglossia tends to occur when one twin has speech difficulties. The stronger twin will mimic the struggling twin and as a result it will sound like a made-up language.
So, Molly and Jacob don't have a secret language, but their language development is pretty interesting. Even though their personalities and aptitudes seem very different, their words and phrases are remarkably similar. I can't think of any examples of them using different words or pronunciations for the same object. If one has a word and pronunciation correct (hi, bye, ball, run, owl, wheel, etc.) then so does the other. If one is mis-pronouncing, then the other uses the exact same mis-pronunciation (bik for book, eee-yow for miaow, dappy for diaper). And occasionally, one will use the "wrong" word for something and the other immediately adopts it too (any means driver, cruck is a pick-up truck). So, they seem to be learning language from each other at the same time as they are learning from us.
Ben visited us this weekend and built us a new computer (complete with a beautiful, 22" monitor), which means I'm able to upload photos again. So here are a few from the last week or so.
- starting to practise potty-training
- shoveling again
- Molly's toothy grin
- Playing with (or at least under) the new easel. Jacob once again proves impervious to head bonks and Molly continues to be his #1 fan.
So, Molly and Jacob don't have a secret language, but their language development is pretty interesting. Even though their personalities and aptitudes seem very different, their words and phrases are remarkably similar. I can't think of any examples of them using different words or pronunciations for the same object. If one has a word and pronunciation correct (hi, bye, ball, run, owl, wheel, etc.) then so does the other. If one is mis-pronouncing, then the other uses the exact same mis-pronunciation (bik for book, eee-yow for miaow, dappy for diaper). And occasionally, one will use the "wrong" word for something and the other immediately adopts it too (any means driver, cruck is a pick-up truck). So, they seem to be learning language from each other at the same time as they are learning from us.
Ben visited us this weekend and built us a new computer (complete with a beautiful, 22" monitor), which means I'm able to upload photos again. So here are a few from the last week or so.
- starting to practise potty-training
- shoveling again
- Molly's toothy grin
- Playing with (or at least under) the new easel. Jacob once again proves impervious to head bonks and Molly continues to be his #1 fan.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
My Boy's Wicked Smart
Me: We really need to vacuum your room.
Jacob: Nooooo! (look of abject fear at mention of the dreaded vacuum)
Me: It's really messy in here.
Jacob: All done. All done. All done.
Me: It's not all done. We really need to vacuum.
Jacob: Broom. Broom.
Me: (Laughing) You want me to use the broom instead.
Jacob: (Nodding vigourously) Sweep! Sweep!
Jacob: Nooooo! (look of abject fear at mention of the dreaded vacuum)
Me: It's really messy in here.
Jacob: All done. All done. All done.
Me: It's not all done. We really need to vacuum.
Jacob: Broom. Broom.
Me: (Laughing) You want me to use the broom instead.
Jacob: (Nodding vigourously) Sweep! Sweep!
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Montreal Photos
Here are a bunch of photos (thanks mom) from our Montreal trip on the weekend.
- Molly and her big cousin Erin.
- Jacob's obsession with household chores continues (a chip off the old block)
- How could life be better? A bottle, her favourite dog and Erin to keep her company
- It is my life work to prevent Molly from ever wanting to be a princess, but if she does ever end up a royal at least I can rest assured that she will be a haughty one.
- Not quite in focus, but Molly doesn't always allow her joyful enthusiasm to be captured on camera
- The big twins reading to the little twins. Almost every day someone will ask me if Molly & Jacob are identical, or how can I possibly tell them apart. I usually think it's ridiculous, but in this shot, where their expressions are so similar, I can see it.
- Trying on their big cousins' snowsuits. I'll have to try to remember to juxtapose this photo with the one four years from now of them wearing them for real. By the way, the other thing people comment on is the twins' height. Everyone has an opinion about who's taller, who's growing faster, etc. In this photo, Molly appears bigger. I do think she's had a growth spurt but she's still slightly shorter than Jacob.
- Molly and Reindeer Jacob going for a trundle in Terra Cotta park.
- Birthday cake served after the twins have bathed and put on their pj's. Only at Grammy's.
- Not to bury the lead, but these have to be two of my favourite photos ever (bias acknowledged)
- Molly and her big cousin Erin.
- Jacob's obsession with household chores continues (a chip off the old block)
- How could life be better? A bottle, her favourite dog and Erin to keep her company
- It is my life work to prevent Molly from ever wanting to be a princess, but if she does ever end up a royal at least I can rest assured that she will be a haughty one.
- Not quite in focus, but Molly doesn't always allow her joyful enthusiasm to be captured on camera
- The big twins reading to the little twins. Almost every day someone will ask me if Molly & Jacob are identical, or how can I possibly tell them apart. I usually think it's ridiculous, but in this shot, where their expressions are so similar, I can see it.
- Trying on their big cousins' snowsuits. I'll have to try to remember to juxtapose this photo with the one four years from now of them wearing them for real. By the way, the other thing people comment on is the twins' height. Everyone has an opinion about who's taller, who's growing faster, etc. In this photo, Molly appears bigger. I do think she's had a growth spurt but she's still slightly shorter than Jacob.
- Molly and Reindeer Jacob going for a trundle in Terra Cotta park.
- Birthday cake served after the twins have bathed and put on their pj's. Only at Grammy's.
- Not to bury the lead, but these have to be two of my favourite photos ever (bias acknowledged)
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Another Twin Joke
They think this one is hilarious.
Me: Here's your pasta - eat your lunch.
Jacob: Hot! (touches the food, appears pained). Nooo!!! (laughs uproariously)
Molly: Hat! (touches her head, where her hat would be). Nooo!!! (they both laugh uncontrollably)
We have friends (SJ & Will) in BC who are pregnant with their first. Rumour has it that SJ is a periodic hazelblog checker and that she has requested more child-rearing tips in her hour of need. The best piece of advice I received before the twins were born was to never listen to advice from anyone whose kids are more than six months older than your own, because those parents have completely forgotten what it's like. So, that disqualifies me from helping out new parents (even if I did have anything useful to impart). However, I think I will launch a new blog feature, entitled Tips For New Parents Who Know Even Less Than I Do
Tips For New Parents Who Know Even Less Than I Do - #1
Beware of Melissa & Doug. If you haven't heard of them, don't hit this link. We have enough hand-me-down toys to last the twins until they're 18, but we (read: Kate) have fallen under the lure of "real", "wooden", "educational" toys. And now we send half of our disposable income to M&D every month.
Me: Here's your pasta - eat your lunch.
Jacob: Hot! (touches the food, appears pained). Nooo!!! (laughs uproariously)
Molly: Hat! (touches her head, where her hat would be). Nooo!!! (they both laugh uncontrollably)
We have friends (SJ & Will) in BC who are pregnant with their first. Rumour has it that SJ is a periodic hazelblog checker and that she has requested more child-rearing tips in her hour of need. The best piece of advice I received before the twins were born was to never listen to advice from anyone whose kids are more than six months older than your own, because those parents have completely forgotten what it's like. So, that disqualifies me from helping out new parents (even if I did have anything useful to impart). However, I think I will launch a new blog feature, entitled Tips For New Parents Who Know Even Less Than I Do
Tips For New Parents Who Know Even Less Than I Do - #1
Beware of Melissa & Doug. If you haven't heard of them, don't hit this link. We have enough hand-me-down toys to last the twins until they're 18, but we (read: Kate) have fallen under the lure of "real", "wooden", "educational" toys. And now we send half of our disposable income to M&D every month.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
No photos but a few stories
I've just about recovered from the emotional trauma of Roger's Aussie Open defeat (and his subsequent blubbering). For future slams, either he hires a coach to try to come up with a new strategy for beating Rafa, or he has to hope that Murray/Djok/Verdasco/Other knocks off Nadal before the final. I'm still convinced that he will top 14 majors though.
I'm having trouble up-loading photos right now, so here's a wordy update instead:
Drove to Barrie yesterday to get a Jacob-sized broom and dustpan (his latest obsession). I guess someone in the family should be concerned about the messy state of the house. On the way home, we sang Old McDonald to ward off protests from the peanut gallery. For each verse, we asked Molly what animal he had on his farm and she answered: dog, dog, banana, dog.
We've started "gymnastics" every Wednesday morning. Mostly it involves running around indoors, which is great on days like today when it's too cold for outdoor fun. Molly likes sitting on the trampoline while I jump up and down. Jacob prefers chasing a rolling hoop and watching the big kids climbing. The instructor said she couldn't believe how un-shy the kids are. Molly has definitely come out of her shell with strangers in the past few months.
Jacob still seems a little starstruck from the weekend - we had a fun visit from Sophie, Seb and their parents. There was lots of kissing and hugging amongst Sophie and the twins, and Sophie really enjoyed feeding Jacob his meals with a spoon. Hopefully I can get my hands on a photo.
We're off to Montreal tomorrow evening for a long weekend. Will try to post from there.
I'm having trouble up-loading photos right now, so here's a wordy update instead:
Drove to Barrie yesterday to get a Jacob-sized broom and dustpan (his latest obsession). I guess someone in the family should be concerned about the messy state of the house. On the way home, we sang Old McDonald to ward off protests from the peanut gallery. For each verse, we asked Molly what animal he had on his farm and she answered: dog, dog, banana, dog.
We've started "gymnastics" every Wednesday morning. Mostly it involves running around indoors, which is great on days like today when it's too cold for outdoor fun. Molly likes sitting on the trampoline while I jump up and down. Jacob prefers chasing a rolling hoop and watching the big kids climbing. The instructor said she couldn't believe how un-shy the kids are. Molly has definitely come out of her shell with strangers in the past few months.
Jacob still seems a little starstruck from the weekend - we had a fun visit from Sophie, Seb and their parents. There was lots of kissing and hugging amongst Sophie and the twins, and Sophie really enjoyed feeding Jacob his meals with a spoon. Hopefully I can get my hands on a photo.
We're off to Montreal tomorrow evening for a long weekend. Will try to post from there.
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