Category Archives: Melody

About our middle child

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Hockey

The girls went to the hockey game tonight with Mom and Dad. It made quite an impression.

Jay says says that when Natasha sees something she wants to do that’s she’s not big enough for, she’ll pick an age at which to do it.
For example, tonight after we picked her up she was talking about how big the hokey players are, and how she can’t skate with them yet.

“When I’m 14?” she said, “When I’m 14, can I play hockey?” I asked if that was the ave Uncle Mark said she needed to be. “No.” Fourteen is just a good age? “Yes.”

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Then Melody needed a diaper change, but refused the new one. So she managed to keep her pants dry the whole time she was there, making a couple trips to the bathroom. She knows what to do–when she’s motivated. But I suppose that’s where her sister started too.

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See what happens when you teach children new words?

They use them.

“Melody needs to lift up her countenance,” Natasha said matter-of-factly this morning.
Melody’s current M.O. is to dissolve in cries and screams when she’s scolded for misbehavior. It’s gotten real old really fast.

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I made sure I used the same phrase on Natasha the next time I had occasion to. I don’t want her to think she’s… better than her sister, as if Melody needs to do something she (Natasha) doesn’t.

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Christmas Ornaments, 2006

Growing up each of us kids received an ornament at Christmas, usually representing something significant that had happened or changed. When each of us left home, Mom gave us our bucket of ornaments for our own tree.

I’ve started a similar collection (at least, so far I’ve managed a representative “first Christmas” ornament for each of them– I say representative because only one actually says “first Christmas”) but I don’t at this point expect to send them with my children when they leave.

Sarah and I, looking at our baby books, asked Mom when we were going to get them. “You don’t,” she said. “I made them for me.”

In the same way, I’ll still put the kids’ initials on each ornament, and have their stories connected to each (which I intend to expand on below). But I think those will be more for dividing them up after I don’t need them anymore.

Christmas Ornaments 2006

Elisha’s first Christmas: Mama bear packing baby bear on her back. This baby we were given an Ergo baby carrier, and have used it a lot. Other than being green, the bear pack looks a lot like ours.

Melody: A black bear sitting at the bottom of a crescent moon. For quite a while now she has had an “eagle eye” for any moon– partial or full– in the sky or a picture or ad, and immediately begins singing her “I see the moon” song.

Natasha: A bear on its tummy reading an open book. Both my girls love books, but this year Natasha began “reading” to her dolls, sister and brother (I got this great series of Natasha “reading” Prince Caspian to a fussy Elisha to settle him down.)

She has also made it abundantly clear she’s ready to learn in earnest. At this point, though, I think I will wait the 3-weeks until her 4th Birthday. Things aren’t likely to slow down much before then (what with Christmas dinner here, the floor being pulled out and a new one in, and Jay heading back to work on the 3rd.)

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Movies

Well, we’ve still got a long ways to go before we have as many movies as books, but we’ve still managed to accumulate a nice collection.

I spent part of the morning organizing them, and the girls were just all over me–hovering. I can’t decide if the word I’m looking for is unnerving or annoying. They just wouldn’t go off and play while I had the movies out.

I have this picture of Tilly (the dog I grew up with) watching my dad and his hunting partner butcher and package a moose on our dining room table. She knew she had no rights or access to the meat on the table, but the whole time she sat, slightly forward, tightly coiled: if anything dropped it was not going to hit the floor.

That’s the best illustration I have for what happened today. The girls already had their little movie for the morning, and knew they wouldn’t get another one, but they continued to ask for and hold the movies (They asked names of people on the covers, stacked them in little pile like blocks, told me I couldn’t put stickers on them).

I was labeling the movies. We’ve “flubbed” quite a bit up till now, assuming a lack of awareness that is no longer applicable. So I wanted to go through and thoughtfully decide what ages I think a kid needs to be before they watch each of these things. Continue reading →

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Short hair

The girls cut their own hair Monday. So now they both have reallyreally short cuts.

This only leaves me with any length in the house– Jay got his hair cut on Saturday. Very short. Jay thinks we might try putting a group pix here on the blog until he gets the next album up. We’ll see if that happens… I do most of my blogging from my computer, and I’ve never tried downloading pix here.

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I’m doing well on my novel. Over 41,000 words collected so far. If you want to see more about that though you’ll have to visit that category of Untangling Tales, since that’s where I’ve been doing any writing about it.

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Jay got his Snow Machine today

He was so excited, and took the day off to get stuff ready, and is now on his way to drive it for the first time out by Derek’s place.

I’m thankful the temp’s closer to zero. It was -20 earlier this week, but only -2 last I checked. We had all four brothers here this afternoon, as Jay put the skis back on the machine. Natasha pulled on her boots so she could be out with them watching.

Both girls have enjoyed the stream of activity going through today. An hour after the youngest three brothers left this morning Rachel came by to eat her lunch with us, and we got to talk a bit. Then she returned to work and, again within the hour, Isaac returned, this time with Derek.

Natasha’s been really into this Eyewitness book about skeletons, so she pulled it out as soon as she saw her wider audience, and, while at first she was asking Uncle D to read with her (explain the pictures), she ended up doing most of the explaining.

It was more than a little gratifying to see how much she retained from our time reading together. I overheard her explaining shark teeth, and talking matter-of-factly about the big teeth on the lion skull.

“Those are for he tears out big chunks of ham.” Ham is currently her generic for meat.

Melody was enjoying pulling the earflaps down on Uncle Isaac’s hat. Kept her entertained for a good 5-10 minutes.

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Potluck Sunday

At our church we have a potluck the first Sunday of each month.

Elisha will be six months old this week, and for the first time since before he was born I brought something substantial and homemade. (I was very proud of myself).

Natasha asked that morning (yesterday) what I was making food for.
“For the potluck,” I told her.
“Mom,” she said (in the voice she uses when I tell her carrots are purple), “It’s potluck: the foods at the church today!”

So we talked about where the food comes from. Reminded me how long it’s been since I participated in the bringing.

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After eating, a number of the men went out and started a pretty impressive fire to burn the brush that’s been cleared as part of the building project over the last however long. It had been announced in advance, and the kids were encouraged to go roast marshmallows and stuff.

I was inside talking with one of the other women when Jay brought Melody in. Her bare hands were *red* from the cold and they, along with her face and the front of her coat, were sticky with marshmallow guts. Continue reading →

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We’re growing up.

We’ve been wading through the living room for more than a week now, so last night I sat down before bed and made a schedule outlining what would get done today.

I got all the clothes folded, a load of dishes run, the cabinet doors washed and bread made.

The girls each put away their own clothes (Melody and I shared a “carrying” lesson: one hand on top, one on the bottom, watch where you’re going and don’t get side-tracked), they worked together to empty the dishwasher (I’d already put away what they can’t reach), and rag-mopped the kitchen floor with me.

It was a very productive day. All those things needed very much to be done, but since none of those things was clearing a space (living room floor, kitchen counter) it didn’t feel like we’d gotten done as much as we did.

Elisha woke right after they went down, so he/we worked on his sitting up. He wants it *so* bad!

We had dinner with the Weisensels, and it was nice not to cook after working all day. Elisha sat in Thomas’s highchair and just loved it. the sides are high enough that he can pull himself back up to sitting even if he falls over.

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Victory! (We think…)

Natasha hasn’t had an “accident” in over a week, is entirely self-sufficient in the bathroom, and is (proudly) wearing panties today.

Grandma Florie came home last night, and she and Natasha picked out some colorful new underwear, first stop from the airport.

We are all very pleased.

Melody wanted some of the “Curious George” character panties, but not enough to be interested at all in using the potty. One funny thing, though. Last Tuesday she wanted candy enough that she went and used the potty all by herself. So we know she knows how. She just isn’t interested yet.

If her older sister is any indication, though (and I think it’s fair to assume that), if I “don’t care” long enough with her, it will only be she who is potty training, not both of us. Which, honestly, is more my style.

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I have such nice kids.

Melody was such a sweet helper last night.

Elisha has begun actually playing with things: Attempting to grasp, hold and gnarl whatever is in reach. During a family movie last night he played with a colorful squishy block quite contentedly—until it fell. Then he became quite distressed.

Melody realized what had happened and (pitching her high young voice even higher) she gave it back to him with comforting words.

This repeated several times. He wasn’t dropping it on purpose (I don’t think he’s old enough yet to know that game), since he was so obviously still learning how to hold. I had a new appreciation for the unflagging attention of toddlers.

Those who complain about short attention-spans in young children are only sharing/aware of half-truths. What they aught to say is that the child does not stay interested long enough in what the adult wants to do.

If allowed to pick their own activity/book/song their attention span for that one activity almost invariably lasts longer than the adult’s. (We have a “sanity rule” that each book can be read a maximum of three-times in a row. We invoke it almost daily.)

At Elisha’s doctor appt Wednesday (he had a skin infection, we got some ointment for it) we waited an *insane* amount of time, and if I’d remembered to count I would have learned the girls’ actual attention-span for a number of songs and rhymes I usually leave behind after 3 or 4 repetitions.

Side note: Elisha weighed in at 15lbs, 0oz, on Wednesday. On Thursday (his scheduled 4-month appt and shots), barely a week before, he was 14lbs, 5 oz. Can we say, Good-Eater! ?