Sat 21 Jan 2012
All this last week, we got lots and lots of snow. Therefore, we got to play lots in the snow! We made two snowmen – the one in the front yard was named “Nam Nam,” and the one in the backyard was named “Lam Lam.” I pulled Seth around on a black garbage bag “sled.” But probably Seth’s favorite activity was simply eating the snow.
modelling Mama’s favorite thrift find of 2011 – a practically new snowsuit for $4.99!
Sat 21 Jan 2012
Posted by blog under open adoption, pictures, visit
No Comments
January brought a visit from Aria! We went to the children’s museum, the Seattle aquarium, visited our wonderful counselor from the adoption agency, and hosted both sets of grandparents for meals. Other than that, it was just “play play play snacks snacks play play…” (as Seth likes to say when you ask how he spends his days). It was such a wonderful visit.
playing Santa
(We’ve been playing Santa for about a month straight. This version of it was to hide gifts – crayons & such – inside play dough and then cut it out with scissors to open the present.)
playing Wrecking Ball
at the aquarium
two amazing people
Sat 21 Jan 2012
Posted by Betsy under Holidays & celebrations, pictures
No Comments
Forgive us as we play catch up with blogging – a lot has happened in the past month…
Seth turned 3 on Christmas Eve! We ended up having a nice, chill day. I had asked Seth about a week earlier, what kind of cake he would like for his birthday. I would have bet $5 that his answer was going to be chocolate cake, which was great because I was going to make a chocolate-banana cake with nutella frosting. But instead, he said wanted “carrot cake with chocolate frosting and toffee decorations.” Oh. Okay. So Todd and Seth spent most of the morning making his cake, which actually tasted pretty great.
smashing the toffee bar with a hammer
blowing out the candles
Then Ole and his family came over for a pot pie lunch and some playing. We then headed to the park for a little hike in the woods and a little zip line action:
After attending the family Christmas Eve service, it was back home for a dinner of hot dogs.
Can’t you see I’m trying to eat some cake here?
Mon 26 Dec 2011
Posted by blog under life with Seth, video
1 Comment
Here’s a Christmas present for you from our newly-three(!), Raffi-obsessed, budding musician:
Sun 25 Dec 2011
Posted by blog under Holidays & celebrations, Uncategorized
1 Comment
Names, by Carl Sandburg
There is only one horse of the earth
and his name is All Horses.
There is only one bird in the air
and his name is All Wings.
There is only one fish in the sea
and his name is All Fins.
There is only one man in the world
and his name is All Men.
There is only one woman in the world
and her name is All Women.
There is only one child in the world
and the child’s name is All Children.
There is only one Maker in the world
and His children cover the earth
and they are named All God’s Children.
Mon 31 Oct 2011
Posted by blog under Holidays & celebrations, pictures
1 Comment
This year we went to a local shopping center for their trick or treating, and even got to meet up with E and her family for a bit. When approaching the people outside their businesses for candy, Seth would either say nothing, say “trick or treating” or “me want some candy.” And after every stop, he would want to eat the candy he had just gotten. He probably ate about 10 pieces, and we brought home another 10. We then went to “the spider restaurant” for dinner, and he cracked us up with his sugar-high silliness.
Fri 14 Oct 2011
Posted by blog under life with Seth
Comments Off
Seth is at that sticky age where he’s only napping every few days. I haven’t quite figured out the flow of it, which is hard. And on the days he doesn’t nap, we had been doing “quiet time,” which was even harder. It is important for both him and me to have some down time, so I was trying to have him stay in his room (while I stayed in my room), doing anything quiet – reading, playing, resting… But it was hardly “quiet,” didn’t end up being down time for either of us, and was really bumming us both out. I may be speaking too soon, but yesterday, we changed three things:
1) I halved the time I expected it to last
2) I renamed it “siesta,” hopefully to get out from any negative feelings associated with quiet time
3) I set up my 14 year old discman with headphones and a Raffi CD
and it was super successful! Seth was REALLY into simply sitting on the floor listening to the music; at one point I thought he might be asleep, he had been quiet for so long! Nap/quiet time has been a months-long struggle for us, so I will be so pumped if this is how it goes every day.
Tue 20 Sep 2011
Posted by Todd under life with Seth
Comments Off
I came home from work a little early on Friday, and had about 2 hours to play with Seth before it was time for dinner. During that short window of time, our couch cushions were:
His imagination is awe-inspiring, fun to collaborate with, and exhausting to try to keep up with. I hope it never slows down.
Mon 19 Sep 2011
Posted by blog under conversations with Seth, silly
Comments Off
We were playing “Baby stuck in a bubble”, based on Bubble Trouble yesterday, when we had this conversation:
Seth, pulling out his screwdriver and sorta poking me with it: me check if you’re hurt
Betsy: hmm, what is that tool called?
S: the check-if-you’re-hurt tool
S, getting out his wrench and waving that around me: now me see if you’re hurt
B: what is that tool called?
S: the see-if-you’re hurt tool
Seth waves a piece of wood with screws hanging off it, around my head
B: now what is that tool called?
S: the spinning-around-your-head tool….now say, ‘Who is this handsome guy?’
B: (laughs uncontrollably)
Tue 13 Sep 2011
Posted by Todd under Uncategorized
1 Comment
It’s becoming increasingly exhausting to have any sort of conversation when Seth is around.
Why?
Because he’s constantly asking “Why?” to everything we say.
Why?
Because that’s what kids his age do.
Why?
Because as a baby, he spent his time learning what things were by touching and putting them in his mouth. As a young toddler, he spent his time testing out the laws of physics and causality by dropping things and repeating the same movements over and over again. And now as a two year old, he’s spending his time exploring the concepts and rules that make those things happen. And the only way he can learn those concepts is through asking. So we try our best to give him good answers he can understand.
Why?
Because this is an important part of his intellectual growth, and we don’t want to discourage his curiosity in the world by refusing to answer or talking over his head.
Why?
Because the most interesting grown-ups in the world are the ones who are still curious. But it’s definitely exhausting for us to answer that many questions.
Why?
Because the questions often end up in some pretty abstract territory, and it can be difficult finding ways to explain why laws exist, why God loves him, or why the grass grows in terms that a child can understand.
Why?
Why what?
Why?
Are you just saying “Why?” out of habit?
Why?
Well, Seth seems to do a lot of that, too. Seth doesn’t like playing quietly, either by himself or with a parent next to him – he always wants to have a constant stream of conversation and chatter from the moment he wakes up until he falls asleep at night. So he keeps asking “Why?” just as a way to fill space.
Why?
Hey, how about we make up a story about Huckle Cat instead of more “Why?” questions?
Talk Huckle! Talk Huckle please!
