Sunday, November 27, 2011

Found on a Camera from July 22, 2011

I remember this well.  I was taking pictures of the girls, and they started asking me to take pictures of things, like their crackers.

Then Megan stood up.
She looked at me and said:
"Mommy, take a picture of my mouth!"
And she opened her mouth as wide as she could and waited.
So I did.


20 Questions -- Minus a Few

There are a handful of blogs I like to follow.  The handful changes from time to time, although some endure.  There's one I follow that posted that she asked her 3 year old 20 questions and saved the answers so she could see how her interests change over the years.

I tried to ask the girls the questions, but they weren't as cooperative.  Megan gave me a lot of "I don't know" answers, that I left out, and got tired of my questions quickly.  Kayla did better, thinking about them and saying "ummmmmm" before giving an answer.   So I didn't get 20 questions asked -- but I thought I should save the answers anyway.

  • What's your favorite color?
    • Kayla: Pink and pink.  Two pinks.  And purple, too.
    • Megan:  Blue.  And I like purple.
  • What's your favorite song?
    • Kayla:  Jesus Loves Me 
    • Megan:  Jesus Loves Me [I expected Mary Had a Little Lamb]
  • What's your favorite TV Show?
    • Kayla:  Movies [I expected Dora]
    • Megan:  Jesus Loves Me show.
      • That's not a tv show--what do you like to watch on TV?
        • Megan: Dora the Explorer
  • Who's your best friend?
    • Kayla:  Megan!
    • Megan:  Kayla and Megan!  
  • What's your favorite fruit?
    • Kayla:  Grapes! and Apple
    • Megan:  Apple
  • What's your favorite drink?
    • Kayla:  Juice
    • Megan: Juice
  • What's your favorite thing to eat?
    • Kayla:  Peanut butter sandwich
    • Megan:  Peanut butter sandwich, too
  • What's your favorite game?
    • Kayla:  Jesus Loves Me game.  [??]
    • Megan:  beans!  
      • How do you play beans?
        • Megan: You move it with your hands! [??]
  • What's your favorite animal?
    • Kayla:   Jesus Loves Me.
      • That's not an animal
        • Kayla:  kitty!
    • Megan:  Monkey
  • What's your favorite toy?
    • Kayla:  Dolly.  And red teddy 
    • Megan:  I don't know.  I like legos
  • What's your favorite book? What story?
    • Kayla:  I don't know.  Animal Big Words!
    • Megan:  I like princess stories
  • What's your favorite blanket?
    • Kayla:  my Tinkerbell one
    • Megan:  I don't know.   My froggy blanket is my favorite. [I expected pink teddy bear]
  • What are you going to be when you grow up?
    • Kayla:  A princess pirate piggy! [Pirate Piggies are characters on Dora]
    • Megan:  A Princess!   Mommy? what are you going to grow when you be up? [sic]
      • A mommy!
I guess Megan got tired of the questions.  And yes, she did mix up the words...but I knew what she meant.


Sunday, November 20, 2011

On Looking Back

So the big news that can now (finally) be revealed is Ralph and Cathy's 40th anniversary celebration, which took place this past Saturday. Most of you reading this blog were there, so I won't bother to go into too many details, but we wildly succeeded in keeping the party a surprise, and everyone seemed to have a good time. A special note of thanks to Jeff and Chris, without whose help the party would not have been possible.

More interesting to my topic, in prep for the party I scanned in most of Mom's old photos for use in a slideshow. It's been interesting to me to think about, comparing all of these familiar photos with the ones I now take of my family.



















I didn't scan every picture, but got most of them, the total ending up somewhere north of 1,100 (not counting the digital pictures Mom and Dad have taken themselves the past few years). By comparison, I've collected over 7.700 pictures of the girls in three years.



















And why wouldn't I? Digital cameras are essentially free once you make the original purchase, the only surprising thing is that the total isn't higher.














Yet another example of how technology changes our lives I suppose. I recognize a lot of these pictures from growing up, we'd occasionally look through the photo albums, but certainly not on a regular basis. Kayla and Megan see our family pictures on the TV screen saver; they're pretty decent at recognizing themselves as well. When they get a bit older they'll be able to pull them up on any one of a half dozen devices in the house. They'll find this blog, look through my Facebook, etc. How will this affect how they remember/view their childhood? Will their memories be more vivid? Will pictures lose some of their inherit value to them?


Monday, November 14, 2011

August Recap

Sometimes it's a challenge to convince the girls to go to bed.  Sometimes, they have different ideas of what they want to do at bedtime.  Like going to bed on the kitchen floor.  Or in a laundry basket.

This summer, the girls started going over to Grandma's house to play.  From our deck, I can see them in her front side yard. 
Occasionally, she lets them play on the neighbor's swing set.  They love climbing and sliding!  The doctor's office has a slide and climbing tower, so they enjoy going there.  I'm sure that will change some day, but it's nice for now!
And when it's time to come home, they can come through the yard back to our house.  They like to stand on our deck and wave to Grandma on her deck, or look out the kitchen window and wave to Grandma. 

Grandma and Mommy took the girls to a craft show.  They had a great time - - especially when the nice clown made them balloon flowers! Although getting them to stand still for a picture was a challenge:

Kayla
Megan, Kayla
Megan -- playing with her balloon??

After the craft show, we went out to lunch at T G I Fridays.  They ate chips and salsa, but Grandma told them not to take too much, or it would burn their mouths.  That began the still-repeated phrase, "too much burns my mouth" about any dip/sauce they encounter.
Kayla, Megan, sharing with Grandma
 Kayla, Megan, showing their coloring-page menu to Grandma

The girls do very well at restaurants.  They even will express their preference on what they want to eat.  Unfortunately, that doesn't necessarily mean they'll want it when it reaches the table.

Sunday, November 06, 2011

Musical Pears

I often sing little phrases to the girls, making up some silly song.  This morning I did so, while putting some pears on their breakfast plate.

Mommy : pears, pears, pears, pears -- girls are eating pears,  pears, pears, pears, pears, yummy yummy pears!

Megan:  I don't like that song, Mommy, don't sing that song.

Mommy:  You don't like mommy's song?

Megan: I don't like that song because it's hard to remember.