Goodnight Moon

This has become one of Paige's favorite books. She often pulls it out for me to read to her. She points at the two little kittens and says "meow meow". When I read the line about "the quiet old lady whispering hush," she repeats "hush hush."

Last night, when we got out of the car, the moon was bright and high in the sky already. Paige pointed to it and asked "dat? dat?" her way of saying she wants to know what that is. I explained that it was the moon, like in her book. We read the book again when we got ready for bed last night. I hope this is only our first chance to integrate what she learns in books with the real world!

Gratuitous cute photo included below.

Chatterbox

Paige has been babbling for many months now, and most of the time, her inflection and rhythms mirror actual speech. We just have no idea what she's saying. Lately, she's adding high-pitched screeches and squeals to the mix, mainly when she is not getting her way. No, squealing will not get you more time in the bathtub or get you out of the carseat any sooner, but thanks for trying!

Her mastery of language now includes pig noises (snorts really) and cat noises (meow meow which sounds more like "mel mel") whenever a pig or cat appears in one of her books or on the CD with Old MacDonald Had a Farm. We have one book with both a pig and cat in it, and she provides background noise all the way through!

Another accomplishment is using the sign for "more" much more frequently. We get less pointing and grunting (and jumping and squirming) at the table, and more pointing and signing instead. She is becoming a pleasant table guest, and I think even Emily Post would be proud. Did I mention she loves her veggies, too?!

Hamming it up for the camera

Steve caught Paige on video on his phone - here are some fun clips. They do have sound although video quality is not quite as good as the regular camera. Still, they are worth watching! Enjoy!

In this movie, Paige is sitting in her booster seat. First she does her chicken move, then she plays along while mom sings Itsy Bitsy Spider. Watch those little fingers trying to make a spider!

In this movie, Paige models a hat, checks herself out in the mirror, and plays a little peek-a-boo with dad.

Words

Just a quick post to list all the words Paige knows so far: mama, dada, Hannah, up, hot, help, night-night, bye-bye, ba ba (bottle), all done, dat (that), dis (this), ahpen (open), boom. She often signs "more" especially for cheese, cheerios, and blueberry muffins. She's learning all the time-- amazing what a sponge her little mind is!

2007 Holidays

What a whirlwind the last month has been! We went out to lunch on Christmas Eve at Jury's as a family, then attended mass at 4:30 to watch the older kids at Holy Trinity act out the Christmas story. We each opened one gift at home.


Christmas morning started early (as every morning does with our resident rooster). We opened our gifts and enjoyed a quiet day at home. Paige got caught up in the bows, ribbons, and brightly-colored paper, so that it took her over half an hour to open her loot! We made our own delicious Christmas dinner of ham, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and home-made fudge for dessert.


We welcomed friends from Tampa, as well as local friends, for a gathering on Dec 26. The kids ranged from 6 weeks to 2 1/2 years and got along wonderfully. We enjoyed hosting and hope it's the first of many parties we'll have in our new home.


We traveled to Ohio to see family after Christmas. Paige loved playing with her cousins, and the grandparents just ate up all the energy running around!