The Antics of Dana and Dylan

March festivities

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 05:34:00 +0000

March is always a festive month in our family because our two babies celebrate their birthdays in March. This time, it's even more special because Dana is graduating from Kindergarten and she's the Top 3 in her class.

Here are pictures of her with her medal and toga :)

It's rather funny because we never expected her to get any honors. We know she's always fourth in class but we never pressured her to be number one. For us, just let her learn at her own pace and let her enjoy the activities in school. We want her to look back at her first stab at school and remember it with excitement and enjoyment.

She made a lot of friends, she participated in a lot of school activities, improved well with her penmanship and math skills. There's so much that she did! Oh and don't forget the Educational Field Trip, the Christmas Presentation and the Family Day activities.

On the other hand, Dylan didn't have much to be happy about because about a week after his birthday, he slipped on the stairs and cracked his head open. It needed about 4 stitches to close. It was frightening to see so much blood but that's to be expected from a head wound. It was harder to watch him getting stitched up because you know he's in pain and you want to take away the pain but you can't. What's funny is, after getting all stitched up and he's done crying his lungs out, it was like nothing happened! He was smiling at the nurses and chatting with the doctor like there's no bandage on his head! hahahah It took about a week to heal, with much cleaning and re-dressing going on. Actually, he was in pain not from the stitches but from the hair getting stuck on the bandages LOL

To cap off March's festivities, we all went to Subic for some family bonding time.

Hectic February

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:09:00 +0000

It's been a couple of weeks since Dylan started his speech therapy sessions. We are all adjusting with the new schedule but so far we're doing okay.

One highlight this February is our trip to Subic in celebration of Patrick's birthday and of course, Valentine's Day. We spent three days and 2 nights at the Bayfront Hotel. Naturally, you can't have a trip without doing some educational and fun activity for the kids. It's not just about relaxing but also learning something and remembering places that have enriched you. So, we took the kids to the Ocean Adventure Park which is roughly an hour's drive from Subic Central. Here, they came face to face with dolphins, seals and other wildlife. The kids really had a great time and so did we. Even at our age we're learning something new too :)

In school, Dana had her first Family Day activity and as a Kindergarten student she and her family were required to wear yellow shirts to better represent the grade level :) She had so much fun participating in the games. She volunteered for the sack race but halfway through the course she got her feet tangled up and skidded on the ground. There were a lot of food kiosks as well so she and Dylan had fun trying out the different offerings :)

Another important event in February was our friends' Star Wars Wedding. Patrick and I met Oneal and Rej through the Star Wars Philippines group and share with them our love of Star Wars. Oneal is in fact Dana's godfather :) We were really excited to attend their wedding because it's Star Wars inspired (of course!) and it's a privilege to be invited to take part in their union :) Unfortunately, we didn't make it till the end because Dana became sick while at the reception (probably from fatigue) and we had to leave early.

Happy New Year kids!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 06:54:00 +0000

It's the New Year now - 2010... sounds like something from a science fiction movie, huh? Well, the kids are doing okay, except that both kids got sick LOL Dylan with an ear infection and Dana with the usual cough associated with the stink of fireworks hehehehe

Dylan is starting his speech therapy this year to keep him up to speed with his speech. If you didn't know, at almost 4 years old, Dylan still has yet to complete 4-5 word sentences. For now, he is still stuck on 2-3 words and his articulation isn't that great. This is not surprising since Patrick's brother, Stevie and my sister Sharon also had trouble with their speech when they were kids. If I'm not mistaken they both only started speaking at age 5. Now, there's speech therapy for kids like Dylan but oh it's so expensive. Each session lasts an hour and costs P500. Dylan has to have two sessions a week. But we can see some improvement already which is good. It's also to prepare him for preschool.

Another milestone in Dylan's life is his sleeping on his new bed by himself. Before he shared the bed with me and Patrick. Now, he's in the same bedroom with his Ate Den and Ate Dana but they each have their own beds. It's such a relief to be able to sleep peacefully now hahaha Also, he has started undressing and dressing by himself! He's really on a roll now! :D

Dana is still doing good in school. She has also stopped wetting her bed (at last!). And to celebrate we bought her a cake hahahaha Oh and when we went on that trip to Clark, she also taught herself to swim! LOL Imagine that! hahahaha

I'm sure there's more to come and more in store for them in the coming months.. so stay tuned! :D

3 months of catching up!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:04:00 +0000

Hi there!

It's been a long time since I've updated my kids' blogs and I've been truly remiss in posting as I saw that the last post I did was in August. Well, here's 3 months worth of kids' activities to share with you. Let's do it by month hehehe

End of August - The kids and the rest of the family spent a weekend in Tagaytay, staying at the Days Hotel Inn and then heading over to Enchanted Kingdom for some entertainment (courtesy of Patrick's job!). Here's a picture of them enjoying horseback riding. Den and I had an amazing time riding the zipline. It was also fun playing with bubbles in the jac uzzi. We have so many pictures at Enchanted Kingdom so you'll just have to bear with this.

September - A whole slew of events happened in September too. First, we all traveled to Subic because of Patrick's work. Patrick was test-driving a Honda City car as well as attending a car-related event there. We stayed at the Bayfront Subic Hotel and though it isn't obvious in the pictures, Dana ended up being very sick during the trip.

Another event, this time a major catastrophe for Metro Manila, was Typhoon Ondoy and the deluge that it brought many affected cities. This was the worst flooding we've ever experienced and even Stanley our car got flooded up to the flooring. But that's already a godsend considering other cars and houses ended up being buried in mud and flood waters, and some people's cars even ended up getting washed up somewhere else because of the raging waters. Look at the water level mark on the house.. If the cars remained in the garage, they'd be buried too!

October - The highlight for the month is the kids' having a blast at their cousins' Lance and Hannah's double birthday party. The party itself was initially postponed because the venue was flooded due to Ondoy. Stevie and Toni were able to secure a spot in Jollibee, fortunately and the kids had a great time!

November - Though we didn't actually go anywhere exciting this month, we did get to test drive Stanley's younger sibling, the 2010 Subaru Legacy Station Wagon! This is one cool car, cool enough that Dana even branded her Sally!!! If I had the money, I'd definitely buy this car, but nothing can and will replace Stanley ! :D

December - Well, naturally, you'd expect to see Christmas pictures here and you won't be disappointed. But, you'll also see pictures of Dana's first Christmas presentation in school! woohoo.. they were singing and dancing to "Kumukutikutitap!" and being a proud parent, I have to say, Dana was really great at it! :D

On to Christmas pictures: This year, the kids had a lot of toys because I got crazy at the toy sales that we went to. Imagine 70% off on most of the toys that the kids liked, man, it was hilarious!! LOL Oh and we also went to Clark and stayed at the Lohas resort (again!) this time with my sister Sharon and her family. Originally, the plan was to go there with our grandmother who's visiting from the States. Unfortunately, the series of out of town trips took their toll and she got sick with pneumonia so that when it was our turn to be with her, she couldn't make it but we still had to go through with the plans because the hotel has been paid for in advance.

All in all, it's been a good year for us.. Lots of opportunities for the whole family to travel and enjoy being alive and together as a family. It was also a blessing that my grandmother was able to come and visit because she also wanted to see her great grandkids and that's a privilege in itself. Den also turned 18 this year so that's also a milestone in her life. We are really blessed!!

Ice Skating in Mall of Asia

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 03:55:00 +0000

For many years, I've always been intrigued by what it feels to ice skate. I had that curiosity when they first launched the ice skating rink in Megamall and then now in Mall of Asia they have it too.

But old age has caught up with me LOL yeah, my knees aren't what they used to be and I've left it to the kids to enjoy the feeling and I just spent the time looking at them from the sidelines. We were lucky to get free tickets to ice skating, though you still have to pay for the ice skates rental so Dana, Den, Ate Mel and Den's friend Uyeh took advantage and went ice skating last August 21.

As luck would have it, nobody in the group has even skated in their lives before and there were some hilarious moments on the ice LOL Dana was very excited and she loved being on the ice. I promised her that next time, we'll hire an instructor and I'll skate with her waaah!!! hahahaha

Here are some pics :

Dana's First Educational Field Trip

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 02:56:00 +0000

August 11, 2009 - Dana went on her first educational outbound experience (otherwise known as The Field Trip) with her classmates and schoolmates. Patrick went with her as a chaperone LOL

Their first stop was at the Fun Farm in Canlubang Laguna where they got to enjoy a little bit of horseback riding, riding a wagon being pulled by a carabao, a little fishing and petting some rabbits and hamsters. Needless to say, when she came home the chatter was non-stop and she even brought home 2 gold fish as pets, a fish bowl and accessories. Here are some of the pictures from the trip:

There was even a rope course that the kids needed to climb. Fortunately for Dana, she's used to to doing these things. She just came from Enchanted Kingdom where she kept going up and down the ropes in the playground. Some of her other classmates couldn't even finish the course! She went through it three times much to the amazement of her very own teacher and the facilitators of the trip!! hahaha

For more pictures, just click here.

Dana had lice.. uggh..

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 23:39:00 +0000

okay so that caught your attention I bet hahaha even though it sounded gross, it deserved to be in the blog because it's still a milestone in my child's life hahahaha especially after that last post about new firsts hahahha

Before we realized that she really had lice, I saw her scratching her head like there's no tomorrow. I figured she was all sweaty from riding her bike that that was the reason why she was itchy. And then, when her babysitter was combing through her hair after her bath, she mentioned that Dana indeed had lice and there were so many of them LOL

I immediately told the babysitter to remove as much as she can and instructed Patrick to buy medicinal shampoo to stop the lice from multiplying.

It took 2 days for us to get rid of all the lice and some of them have hatched too. We then went to Dana's favorite hair salon and had her hair cut. It was all good timing because school was about to start. Here'a a picture of Dana with her new lice-free hair :)

New Kids' Firsts

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 07:16:00 +0000

This year is going to be a milestone for Dana. It will be the year where she'll first start to go to school. I know, some of you may think that she's starting late considering some kids are in toddler school as early as 1 year old. Well, I wanted to enjoy my kids and want them to stay kids for as long as they can hahaha that's why it's only now that she's going to school. But hey, for someone who hasn't been to school, Dana knows a heck of a lot!! In fact, during her entrance exam, she scored the highest compared to those who already had formal education. Just because she's at home doesn't mean she doesn't learn. I guess she's just very bright and she takes instructions well. But I may have been a good teacher too hahahaha That's a testament to my mom!!!

So, we've been busy preparing for her first day of school. Buying school supplies has made me teary-eyed, believe it or not! There'll be an orientation on June 8 so we can't wait :) We're all excited ! :)

Dylan too has a his own firsts. Just last Saturday, he watched his first movie at the cinemas! It was Night at the Museum 2 and he loved it. he was so noisy inside the theater but only because he was reacting to the scenes. It was a good thing that the people around us were understanding hahahaha

But my gosh, theater tickets are way too expensive. Can you imagine one ticket costs P170?!!! I remember when tickets cost P40 and you can watch the movie over and over again. If you need to go out and buy something to eat, you can have the guard stamp your hand hhahahha and then you can come back hahahaha

The kids also had the first out of town trip when we went to Island Cove and Clark just this month. The details are in the other blog, as well as the pictures :) But one thing I can say, these kids know how to enjoy a good out of town trip :)

Can't wait for more firsts!! :)

Kids' New Toys

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 07:43:00 +0000

Just wanted to share a few photos of the kids and their new toys :)

Here's Dana with her new bike which we bought a couple of days ago. Naturally, she wanted a Lightning McQueen one so when we saw one in the exact size for her we bought it already :) Needless to say she was jumping up and down with joy :)

With Dylan, it wasn't so much as the toys but the toy shelf where I arranged the toys in LOL Before, the toys were in a huge bin where you have to dig through it to find them. What happens is that only the toys that are on top of the heap end up being played with.

When we saw these shelves in Shopwise Cubao on sale, buy 1 take 1, we decided to buy them. They're pretty cheap and they're light blue so they fit in with the room color scheme :) I still have yet to assemble 1 more for Dana's books which I need to make space for.. that's a whole new room renovation plan there! LOL

In fact, Dana wants her room red!! and she's waiting until we fix the windows in the room which she shares with her Ate Den so she can help paint it too :) I just don't know if Ate Den wants red too hahaha maybe we'll have to divide the room hahahha

What's new with the kids?

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 05:59:00 +0000

Obviously, I've been missing out on updating my kids' blogs. So many things happening at home what with the house repairs ongoing, getting a new nanny, a job interview and Patrick's new job to boot!

Well, the kids are adjusting well to the new nanny, Bing, although when we were talking about that subject with Dana, she refused to have one. I guess she thought that I won't be there to take care of her. When Bing arrived though, Dana was very explorative with her, at first shy, then she was showing Bing her toys, her stuff which meant that she's okay with her :) Dylan was shy too but then he adjusted well too.

When I went to my job interview with Patrick, that was the first time we left the kids alone in the house. Fortunately, Den didn't have school at that time so Bing wasn't totally alone with the kids. Dylan spent a long time crying (which was to be expected). When we arrived, he immediately run to my side and hugged me tight.. he really missed me (aww). Dana was not too bothered when I left because she knew I'll be back anyway. We brought books for them and Krispy Kreme donuts :)

One other milestone for Dana was when we moved rooms to accommodate Bing. Dana and Den now share a bedroom. Dylan rooms with me and Patrick :) When I moved furniture around, we installed the ladder for the kids' double bed. Dana was fearful of climbing it but Dylan had no fear from it. When Dana saw that Dylan could do it, she found strength in doing it by herself too :) My kids are growing up so fast :)

Now she considers their bedroom as the "Girls' Room" since she's sharing it with Ate Den. She's just waiting for me to paint the room red when we've also replaced the window in their room :)

A Merry Christmas to Everyone!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:31:00 +0000

I've been remiss in updating my kids' blog, mostly because I've written about them in my other blog hahaha

But I hope this makes up for it during this Christmas season :)

Love ya all! From Dana and Dylan

How many words can your child speak?

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 03:50:00 +0000

While browsing and blog hopping, I dropped by Toni's blog and saw her post about the kids' pedia mentioning the number of words a child needs to know or say by the time he's 2/12. So that got me thinking.. how many words does Dylan know? I know he's a little behind compared to his sister, Dana, since at 2, Dana can already speak in sentences.

So, I listed down the words that Dylan knows or can say:
1. daddy
2. mama
3. ate (older sister)
4. ga-ga (grandma/grandpa)
5. kiss
6. dog
7. bear
8. cat
9. rat
10. mouse
11. horse
12. bird
13. tiger
14. coke
15. bread
16. milk
17. shoes
18. eat
19. food
20. please
21. night
22. down
23. out
24. go
25. sleep
26. car
27. yeah/yes
28. no
29. book
30. write
31. ballpen
32. color
33. pooh
34. wee-wee
35. poop (sorry!)
36. bath (take a bath)
37. diapy (for diaper)
38. cook
39. chair
40. couch
41. watch
42. elmo
43. mumble (the penguin from happy feet)
44. blue (from blue’s clues)
45. panda (kung fu panda)
46. Park (Jurassic Park)
47. Dora (the explorer)
48. Boots
49. Ragnarok (not the whole word, of course!)
50. Doraemon

So I guess Dylan is still okay, although I would like him to be able to speak in sentences already with clear words .. but kids learn at their own pace so it's just a matter of time :)

What a busy weekend!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 09:10:00 +0000

Last Friday, October 10, we all went to Dana's Ninong Carlo's house in Project 4 because Tita Gigi (his mom) was celebrating her birthday. It's been such a long time since we were there that we decided to go even though it was a bit late, 8pm :)

Upon arriving, Kalila was at the door and she shrieked in happy surprise! :) We were all welcomed like family (which we were - one big extended family). It was a great time to catch up and Johann even went back to his house just to get the kids' last year's Christmas gifts which only shows you how long we haven't seen each other hahaha

The food was great, the company superb what more can you ask for? :) We went home at around 1am, which was really late but we all had a great time :) Can't wait to do it all over again hahaha

And then on Sunday, there was another birthday party at the compound. It was Sean's 7th birthday so free food! haha

Stevie also dropped by that time to pick up his share of the money that Dad and Tita Flor sent. He stayed a while and we watched Iron Man on DVD. We were like Johann too because we remembered that we haven't given Lance's last year's Christmas gift too :) We keep forgetting, getting old, can't help it :P

A day at the Manila Zoo

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 04:17:00 +0000

These are pictures taken during our trip to the Manila Zoo last September 20, 2008. The kids had a great time, especially when they saw the Tiger walking about, the Hippo out of the pool, the ostrich feeding :)

The kids also had a great time playing on the slides. It was Dylan's first time so he was kinda leery but then he couldn't stop when he got the hang of it LOL poor Patrick, it was his job to put Dylan on top of the slide and my job to catch him at the bottom hahahaha

We went for some groceries at the nearby mall after :)

A tiring but fun day :)

Potty Training Update

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 06:23:00 +0000

I think I posted a few weeks ago about Dylan starting his potty training. So far, it's really going well. Right now, he's able to tell me that he needs to go and starts going to the bathroom when he sees me following him. He starts removing his briefs before I even turn on the lights so it's pretty funny...

Of course, there are times when he'll have an accident which is still understandable but so far it's more hits than misses :) And even when he's wearing a diaper, he still tells us that he wants to go :) When we tell him that it's okay to go in his diaper, he kinda expects a wet puddle to form on the floor.

One time, he had an accident and I wasn't aware of it. When he called my attention to it, he had already put a rag on the wet spot LOL Ain't that brilliant! woohoo! hahahha

Just wanted to share LOL

A Visit to the new Save More Supermarket

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 08:42:00 +0000

Okay, so the new Save More Supermarket in Nagtahan has been open since August 28 but we didn't want to join the hordes of people that trooped to the store just to get freebies :) We have been going there for most of our supplies and dinner haha because they also have food stalls that are considerably cheap...

I'm glad that we have the convenience of walking to it, it's about 10 minutes from us (hey it's close but with kids walking with you, it does take a longer time!) :)

And if we have a number of bags to carry, we ride a pedicab or tricycle for P20.

It's still cheaper than when we went to SM Sta. Mesa because we usually had to take a taxi from there if we have a lot of bags and that would cost roughly P80-P100 depending on the traffic. The only difference is that SM Sta. Mesa also has shops and a food court but hey, if you want that, you can always go there maybe on a different day :)

So here are the kids in the shopping cart when we went to buy their milks and some ingredients for dinner!

Tadeo Bonding Time

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 01:12:00 +0000

Last September 6, we (except Ate Den who had a class on that day)all went to Uncle Stevie and Auntie Toni's house to get our share of the BB box that Patrick's Dad and stepmom sent. It was a good time to let the cousins bond and leave the grown-ups some time to catch up on things :) Dimples, Jeric and Rhys were also there so it was like a mini-family reunion!

The kids played around, watched TV and basically just enjoyed themselves. Dylan was a little scared to play with his cousins Lance and Rhys but he soon got the hang of it. Dana was really the big sister as she would instruct the kids on how to play and scold them if they're doing something wrong :)

There were a lot of stuff that the kids got. Dana has a ton of clothes which she, together with Dylan, wore to the mall yesterday. They both got some toys and for Dana were some pencils and barrettes for her hair! :) The ViewMaster, Disney Flashlight and Ball Gun were a hit with them too.

So to their Lolo Angel and Lola Flor a big thank you and lots of kisses for all these wonderful stuff! mwahh!!

Dylan's haircut escapade

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 03:32:00 +0000

View Album

Get your own

Last August 24, Dylan had his hair cut at the local barber shop. We couldn't afford to bring him to their usual hair salon at the Mall because it was more than what our budget could afford hehehe so we decided to take him to a nearby local barber shop and prayed that his hair doesn't get messed up too much LOL

We weren't disappointed. The barber was very patient and it took a long time because he was very meticulous. It's a good thing and a bad thing because taking too long meant Dylan was getting impatient. When he got impatient, I had to stay near him and so I ended up with most of his hair LOL But at least, I knew that we were getting our money's worth hahaha and at least there's no worry about his ears getting chopped off LOL

So just take a look at the little slideshow I included in this post for the before and after pictures.

After, we went directly across the street for some yummy puto and kutchinta :)

Dana's Artwork #2

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 03:30:00 +0000

I just wanted to share one of Dana's coloring pages with you. :) Her style is so different, like she's not content using only one color (what's the fun in that?!) hahaha I guess it really shows her personality.. she likes colors and she likes them in a riot!

I used to stick with one color or two and just filled in the outline more being careful of not going out of the line than anything else.. :) I wasn't really talented in that area hahaha

So, I wonder where she gets this from.. her dad? hehehe

Great Work, Dana!!

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 11:08:00 +0000

So, Dana and I often try to do new things. The other day, we thought of doing some artwork and this is what we ended up with:

From Blogger Pictures

I helped her with cutting the heart shapes but all the rest was done by her. I'm so proud of her. She has a lot of drawings at home, 3 notebooks full of them, so it's kinda hard to document all of them :)

Here's another one of her accomplishments, a bit of writing:

From Blogger Pictures

This is great, right? :)

Milestone for Dylan! woohoo

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 08:13:00 +0000

Okay I know that some of you might find this offensive but I'm a proud Mama so bear with me LOL

Dylan made his first poop in the toilet today! LOL

It's easy to see when he needs to poop because he lies down on the floor with his butt up so I just picked him up, took him to the bathroom and sat him on the toilet seat.. within seconds, voila! he did it! hahahhaa

I'm one proud Mama... LOL

Cooking with the Kids

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 01:28:00 +0000

I have found out that kids will eat more if they take part in the preparation process. It stimulates their imagination as well as they learn practical things about nutrition, about the stuff that they eat, the names of the vegetables (yes they eat veggies!) and best of all, it's a bonding moment between moms and their babies :)

Recently, we had a 3-day weekend. We cleaned the house, the microwave, the dish drainer and Dana and I cleaned the carpet :) She had her own soap and brush and she had fun doing it :)

Patrick and I experimented with some recipes to make eating interesting. I found that I can make chicken nuggets out of the canned chicken breasts that my mom sent before. I dipped them in egg and rolled them in Italian breading (it's just bread crumbs with Italian seasoning). Dana also helped out and she loved rolling the chicken in the breading mixture :) Dylan of course was sneaking and eating some of the chicken flakes that were on the plate :)

We also made a dipping sauce out of cream, ginger, garlic, leeks which (we found out) that you can use with any type of fried food and still tastes yummy :)

We also made a simple pasta dish made with cream (yet again!), garlic, parmesan cheese and bacon bits :)

The kids loved it and so did the adults hahahah our stomachs were stuffed!

Jurassic Park and Dylan

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 11:18:00 +0000

The past few days, I've been very harassed writing my articles. The kids were very demanding and I ended up staying up late to meet my deadlines.

So I thought what can I do to keep them occupied. Dylan used to be satisfied with his Elmo DVD's but lately he wasn't contented with them. I guess he got tired of Elmo. I thought that maybe he would like to watch Jurassic Park because there's a show on TV called Prehistoric Park that he enjoys so much - he becomes animated, entertained and so lively when he watches it :)

So I put in our Jurassic Park DVD and let him watch it. Little did I know that it would become his favorite movie.. And it didn't stop at the first movie.. He watched Jurassic Park 2 and 3 too.. over and over again.. for a couple of days we were having Jurassic Park marathons at home. And what's funny is that, when he wants to watch it, he says "Park!" and points at the player LOL

The Gift of Reading

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 10:50:00 +0000

I'm pleased to announce that Dana is really reading now! Ever since she was able to recognize letters (At 2 she already knew them by heart, not just from memorizing the ABC song but from recognition) we've been learning how to write them and only lately did we start the rudiments of reading.

I know that some parents use flashcards and other tools to teach their kids. I did that when I was teaching her to learn the alphabet. It also helped that we had alphabet puzzlemats that I stuck to our wall which made learning fun and easy :) Why did I stick puzzle floor mats on the wall, you ask? Our bed is beside the wall. If the kids play on the bed and they bounce sometimes they bump their heads on the wall. So to prevent any hard bumps, I stuck these letter puzzlemats to the wall to cushion the blows :) you don't know how many times my kids have bumped on these mats LOL

Anyway, back to Dana's reading. I taught her the sounds of the letters through song.. Watching a lot of Sesame Street helped and is a good source of ideas for me too, seeing as how I was also raised by Sesame Street :) When I felt that she knew the sounds, we moved on to putting the sounds together.. but we did it mentally, right before we slept.. it's like our nightly ritual. she would write the words in the air which also helped in practicing her writing skills.

So fast forward to yesterday where we read a book together. It was raining very hard and there was thunder and lightning so we turned off the PC and the TV. To keep them occupied, I made them choose a book to read. I was reading it at first and then little by little, I would ask her to read the words.. Imagine my surprise when she read the word "Grandma" by herself!! It was such a good sign that my Mom was watching us!!! For her first "long" word to be "Grandma"...

She didn't notice that she was already reading the book by herself.. The book was "But no elephants" by Jerry Smath (if you were wondering)...

I'm so proud of my daughter!!

Where have we been?

noreply@blogger.com (Rachel P) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 02:59:00 +0000

If you're wondering where we've been.. the answer is nowhere! hahaha we've all just been staying at home and there's really nothing interesting happening to us so I didn't want to bore you with nothing-ness!

Oh but we've recently watched "The Karate Kid" movies and it's such fun seeing your kids appreciate them as much as we did when we were young :) Nothing beats "Wax On, Wax Off!"

It's too bad though that Dylan is a bit sick today. I think it's asthma again, it runs in the family.. It's a good thing that there's such a thing as nebulizers that make it easier to handle attacks.