flat stanley

Look who arrived at our house today!

All the way from North Carolina!

{throw your hands up}

Chad brought in the mail just as the girls were settling in for afternoon snack.

Flat Stanley appeared and Charlotte started asking for "guy" ... he's laminated so I handed him to my yogurt-eating two year old ... and started taking pictures (that's normal, right?) ...

 

We had to have a conversation about 

not eating our new friend from afar :)

Natalie was very intrigued by the idea of this little man traveling in an envelope.  She immediately started dreaming up adventures for him and drew him into a {story}picture.  And, yes, tutus and tiaras are typical attire around here!

Special thanks to my former 5th grade student {who is now in college studying to be a teacher} Lindsey for sending Flat Stanley to us in the NW.  First order of business ... make this little guy an umbrella and get a copy of the book from the library - Natalie wants to know his story :)

happy hearts day!

girls' day at the park

charlotte jane

singing her phone number and saving money

Hard to believe, but NHV is heading to Kindergarten in the Fall.  Like in less than seven months from now!  Don't ask me how that's possible.  So I've been somewhat interested in {slightly obsessed with} all things kindergarten.  Most recently, I've been trolling readiness checklists ... great idea, btw.  I love a list ... crossing off things she knows and highlighting skills we can work on.  Makes me feel productive and efficient, and it allows me to focus my energy on something other than crying about the fact that my baby will be going to "real" school.

One of the items on aforementioned checklists is knowing your phone number.  We don't have a home phone, and I never really thought about teaching Natalie our cell phone numbers.  But I can certainly see the benefit of her knowing that information should the need arise {major and unexpected foreshadowing here}.

I taught my four year old to sing my cell phone number to the tune of Frère Jacques.  Using the regular breaks in a phone number, sing each part twice ... like this:

425

425

123

123

4567

4567

That's my phone number.

That's my phone number.

Fast forward to about a week later.  Grammy is here for a visit, and when she's here she insists on cooking {more food than we will ever be able to consume} and buying groceries.  Natalie went with Grammy to our neighborhood market, and it was a good thing she did.  Our market has an "advantage" card, which gets you discounts on "items throughout the store."  And the card is tied to my phone number.  You see where this is going, right?  They got to the check out, and my mom realized she didn't have my card or her cell to look up my phone number.  

Natalie sang the number, which consequently saved my mom almost $13!  Way to go, NHV!

wa-wa

my cjv loves wa-wa!
she wants to drink it from daddy's cup.
she prances to the tub at the mere mention of "bath time"
she splashes in every puddle she sees (or at least she tries to)

she was drawn - like a moth to a flame - to the ferry (aka water play area) at a children's museum we visited last weekend ... see for yourself!

While it may appear that she is drinking the water (yuck!), it's actually a strainer not a bowl, so most of the water had drained out before she got it to her mouth ... at least that's what I told myself while it was happening and I was happily snapping pictures :) 

She did however manage to get soaked in a matter of about 10 minutes ... and I did not pack an extra outfit.  That's something a first-time mom would do, but not this mom-of-two ... who really should know better :)

word endings

CJV has a diagnosed expressive language delay.  We have been meeting with a speech therapist since July 2011.  Since her second birthday (two months ago already), her vocabulary and desire to communicate have really blossomed, and it's been so fun to watch her gain new words ... and try to figure out what the heck she's saying ;)

She seems to have a "thing" for word endings. 

Some words she drops the first syllable all together ... 
'cess: Having an older sister means Charlotte has been playing with prinCESSES from a very early age.  And it was one of her first words.  Not PRINcess.  Just CESS.
'cine: Due to recurring urinary tract infections, Charlotte takes an antibiotic every night.  We call it her mediCINE.  She calls it CINE and reminds us to give it to her as soon as we put on her pajamas!

She also adds endings to a lot of words ... this may be partly my fault because the extra "y" is kind of cute and often repeat it ...
ducky:  In the bathtub or in a book, Charlotte proudly announces duckY every time she sees one!  And the same goes for horseY  Ducky is almost always followed by "qak, qak."  And I love her "neigh, neigh" for horsey! 
walky:  I assume this is true of most toddlers; Charlotte is happiest when she's outside exploring, moving, ... going for a walkY. 

Despite the bike in the photos, this was not a ride. 

It was definitely a walky.

rocky:  When we go for our "walkies" around the neighborhood, Charlotte stops to pick up just about every rockY she can get her hands on.  She proudly holds it up and says, "rockY!" as if it was a brand new discovery!
sockies:  As soon as I pull on her pants, Charlotte is asking about her sockIES.  As soon as I put her in the car, she is taking off her shoes and sockIES, which makes me crazy, btw!

I just really love that we are starting to hear Charlotte's voice, and I always want to remember her sweet, still developing vocabulary!