MacHaffie Kids

Reading

May 31, 2007

Andy is learning to read. I was reading Dick and Jane, and we turned to a new page. Andy said “See baby go”, which was the title page we were looking at. That’s understandable–he recognizes the picture and knows which words go with that picture.

So we turn the page. Andy looks at the words, points to a sentence, and says “See baby go”, which is what the sentence he was pointing at said. Andy has also started joining in on a couple of the letters in the alphabet song.

Both boys are starting to recognize some letters. “T” they mostly have down. “O” they can usually get. Other letters are more hit-and-miss.

Both boys recognize “John Deere”, but they might be reacting to the fact that the words are on a green tractor. We might have to experiment and see if they can recognize the words by themselves.

At Gymboree last week, we pretended that we were in a fire station. The boys really enjoyed that. They climbed a ladder, went down the fire slide, and had a good time. They are very helpful at Gymboree. Owen invented a game last night–he started rolling balls down one of the ramps and the teacher brought over a tunnel. They loved rolling the balls down the tunnel. Abby and Auntie Jill joined us last night as well.

At lunch the other day, we said, “What do you want for lunch, Owen?” Earlier he had been saying hamburger. This time he said, “Ice cream”.

New words: Conas ta tu (Irish for “how are you”), hamburger, cheeseburger, pancakes, ice cream, dessert, onion, condo, new house (as in Mimi and Papa’s new house), telehandler, grapple, concrete.

Andy said a seven-word sentence: Andy Owen go Mimi Papa new house. He’s also said “Andy sit drive Mimi Papa car”. I found a video of the Japanese maglev train online. Andy likes to watch that video.

Pictures

Owen flying

Owen playing with a stethoscope

Boys waiting for a haircut with Grammie and Grampie

Boys riding the train at Gymboree
Boys riding the cart at Gymboree

Andy flying

Andy getting a haircut

Dozer Days

May 20, 2007

Well, I missed Dozer Days yesterday, but apparently everyone else had a good time. (I went to an Irish Language day instead.) The boys got to climb inside a fire truck. Nancy said it was a pumper truck–is that the kind that Tim drives? They also saw diggers and skid steer loaders.

The boys now recognize many of the machines in the “C is for Construction” book. Some of the ones they recognize are: telehandler, grapple, quarry truck, and skid steer loader.

The boys are starting to learn the alphabet. I spelled out m-i-l-k the other day and Andy said “milk!” Andy consistently recognizes “T”, at least in the C is for Construction book. Both boys are recognizing “O” for Owen. Sometimes they get “M” for Mimi and “P” for Papa.

The boys will sign occasionally, as well. And if you ask them for the sign for something, they will usually do it if they know it.

The boys are talking even more than they were a couple of weeks ago. And where we used to see one sentence (sometimes two in a row), now we’re seeing like twenty (well, three to five, anyway).

New words: screwdriver (not new, but I don’t think I’ve recorded it yet), “go maith” (Irish for “doing well”–”taim go maith” means “I’m doing well”), tie (as in “tie shoes”), buckle, unbuckle, unlock, potato (very clear now), blankie (instead of bo-bo, which is what they used to call it), bear (teddy bear), “just try me” (Andy said it because Nancy told him to–he said it perfectly!), bunny, and funny. I’m sure I’m missing some.

If we give them a chance, the boys will: unlock the door (if the deadbolt isn’t locked), open the door, step outside, ring the doorbell, close the door, unlock the van, open the driver’s door and unlock the rest of the doors, open their doors, and climb into the van. Then they proceed to either climb in the driver’s seat or run to the back of the van, so that’s where we end the game. They don’t always get to do all of the steps, but they usually do at least a couple of the steps.

Owen is learning to put on clothes. Unfortunately, it also means he’s learning to take them off. Owen has managed to put on: a shirt, a pair of pants, boots, and some velcro shoes all by himself. Not all at the same time, but he’s getting there.

Andy can put on his boots by himself and is working on shirts and pants.

The boys have helped us build a couple of container boxes for growing plants. We (all four of us) have planted strawberries in one box and potatoes in the other. The boys help us water the boxes and the blueberries (which they also helped plant). When it’s time, we will have the boys help us pick everything so they can see where the food comes from.

Pictures
Andy jumping with daddy helping

Andy looking back

Andy preparing to jump

Boys with buckets

Boys playing with Grammie and their new loader

Owen and daddy after jumping

Owen and Grampie climbing

Owen crawling through a tunnel

Garden Store

May 6, 2007

The boys really like going to garden stores. We’ve been to several now. The pictures this time are from The Garden Corner. We’ve only been there a couple of times, but we were driving along the main road that goes to the Garden Corner, and the boys pointed off towards the turn-off and said “Garden Corner”.

We went to another garden store and the boys insisted on pulling one of the wagons (which they kept calling a “tractor”–must be because it was green). Six months ago the boys weren’t big enough to pull the wagon–now they are. We put a couple of plants on the wagon, and the boys looked at each other and ran over to one of the tables with plants on it. Two proud little heads came bobbing back, hidden behind the gallon containers of grapes. They looked very pleased with themselves as they deposited their plants on the wagon and took off running for two more. I was laughing too hard to stop them.

The boys keep getting bigger. I can remember when the boys could first reach the very edge of the china hutch by standing on tiptoes. Yesterday, I noticed that Owen is almost tall enough to rest his chin on it! Andy is within half an inch of outgrowing his carseat. Then it will be booster seats, which actually makes it much easier to let the boys ride in different cars. Owen isn’t far behind Andy.

New words: backyard, backpack, backhoe (all used correctly!), strawberry compote, maybe, shovel, gloves, school bus, airport fire engine, and fire chief’s car (Tim should be proud of those last two!)

Their sentences keep getting more complex. Owie managed a two sentence construct: “Mommy, more milk. Owen come in with you.” Andy managed a seven-word sentence: “Andy sit drive-drive Mimi and Papa’s car.”

We went to another Home Depot workshop yesterday for the boys. The enjoy doing things. This time we built two little three-pot herb gardens. The other night Andy fell asleep early, so we took Owen out front and started weeding. He was a big help–he had the only trowel between the three of us, so he got to dig out the harder weeds. He also carried the bucket over to be dumped into the big recycling bin.

Pictures

Owen and daddy working on the computer