November 2004
Here it is a week into December, and I'm just getting this written. One of these months I'll finally get on the ball. But probably you'll just have to get used to it. It was a busy end to the month.
Phoebe is really starting to get into some mischief. She's starting to try opening doors, buckle herself into her high chair and Ellen's booster, and she plays with the faucets and drain plug during bath time making it very difficult for me to get the actual washing done. She imitates just about anything that Ellen does, so when Ellen pours a bucket of water on her head, Phoebe pours one on hers too. She's already talking, we just aren't sure what she's saying all the time. She definitely knows what she wants though, and she's not afraid to tell you. She's trying to say more words though. Her favorite is "No", of course, but she can nod "yes" when she does want something. She can say "dot", "yes", "green", "spoon", "fork", "socks", "fish" and "kitty". Phoebe's also getting a handle on her colors. She knows green and red even if she can't say them well. If she's holding 2 balls, and you ask which one is which color, she holds up the correct one. We've been working on her use of the fork. She's doing pretty well with it, but unfortunately, we don't have one that's child sized, so it's a little more difficult for her. But when she and Ellen play together using their little plastic flatware, she does favor the fork. It's really fun watching her do imaginative play with Ellen or even by herself. She likes to make lunch or dinner at the picnic table. She makes little "shh" sounds when she pours water or syrup or whatever on things. She also likes flying around. She makes the same whooshing sound when she runs around some times to pretend she's flying.
Ellen is still reading a lot. I can't even relate the number of books she tears through. She likes all kinds, and she'll ask us to read them over and over again. She really listens to them too. She'll ask questions about things she doesn't understand, and use words and phrases out of them that you wouldn't expect. She's also learning how to identify the beginning letters of words by sounding them out. She can do sounds at any point of the word too. She figured out the letters that make up banana just the other day by sounding it out. She was able to spell cat with her magnet letters at the end of the month. She's also good at rhyming (even better than Fezik from The Princess Bride) She's really amazing. As an added bonus, her pull-ups are getting dryer and dryer during naps (most naps they are completely dry) and bedtimes. She still has the occasional accident, but she goes and takes care of things on her own almost all of the time.
Up until the end of the month, we didn't do a whole lot on the weekends. Mostly errands and such. However, there was a Saturday where it was cold, but sunny, so we went to the Oregon Zoo. We bundled Phoebe up in a fleece snow suit, and Ellen was bundled up in heavy sweat pants and her warm coat. Both were wearing their new mittens. We put them both in the wagon for the first time. Phoebe did a great job of staying in her seat. We got there early enough (again) that we were able to watch the Elephants getting a bath. Ellen loves watching the elephants. We saw all the females inside (they keep them separated from the males): Pet, Rose, Shine, and Chendra. We also got to see the bat cage get cleaned and new food put out. The weather was so nice that weekend that I even got 30 miles in on the bike even though it sprinkled on me a bit and even with temps in the 40's.
Finally, for Thanksgiving we were invited over to Phoebe's Godmother's parents house for dinner. We were invited over there last year as well. It was a good time with lots of good food. We provided chocolate-peanut butter pie, pumpkin pie, green bean casserole, and mashed yams. All that was added to turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce (both from can and home made), roles, baked squash, and home-made stuffing. Phoebe and Ellen both enjoyed the canned cranberries. Phoebe liked the turkey more than Ellen did, but both ate it. The green beans are always a hit with them. Ellen then performed a few Thanksgiving songs that she learned from school and from Jada.
It's funny seeing how different and same the girls are. Phoebe is definitely more of a risk taker. She isn't afraid of the vacuum as Ellen was at this age, and she'll actually leave the couch while the vacuum is on. Though, there are times when she gets shaky around Savannah for no apparent reason. She's developing quite a little temper as we trudge towards her terrible two's which seem to be giving a jump start along with the outgrowing of most of Ellen's winter time outfits that she wore at her age. We are, indeed, living in interesting times.
Journal Entry: December 5, 2004