Havilah

Havilah Baklava. She's our little doll, such a girl, and is so ready to be big like her brother. Last time I gave you an update on John, so I thought you might enjoy hearing a bit about Hava's life.

Favorite things: graham crackers, My First Phonics Book, screaming (when she's happy and mad), wearing pretty clothes and stylish shoes, having her hair brushed, long hot showers, chocolate, and going on jogs in the jogging stroller.

Least favorite things: not getting gummy bears when John does (his reward for good work in the bathroom), being told "no," the moment when she realizes that Daddy is taking her in for her nap (though she calms down almost instantly and is asleep within minutes), the moment when she realizes bed time has arrived (ditto).

Cutest moments: I'll say "Raise your hands if you want to ___" and Hava will throw both arms up in the air. This also works for "Raise your hands if you're pretty" but not "Raise your hands if you're a boy" (see, she's cute and smart!).

Havilah is very independent. She feeds herself everything; I'm not allowed to touch her bowl, spoon, or food or else. She adores her brother and tries to copy him however she can. They have a love/fight relationship. Today I was in the other room and she bit him really hard. I could tell it was a big bite because he was crying (not getting even) and his shirt sleeve was soaking with her saliva. I told John he was fine and played the distraction card. But then, when he was getting changed for bed tonight, I found this big, red, openish wound on his arm. She broke the skin, little stinker! She's one to watch out for, for sure.

Words: Daddy, Mama, Papa, apple, bubbles, marble, ball, thank you and please (these two are understood only in context!).

Billy and I are so glad to have Havilah. She is a bright addition to our family and we love her so much!

John

It's been so long since I've given you a proper update on my firstborn. He's growing and changing in (mostly) great ways. 

His teacher and school speech therapist just gave me his second quarter "grades" and they believe he is progressing in all of his goal areas (ahem, except for singing along with the other kids...but I'm not much of a group singer either so I'm not too concerned. After all, I think most of us could make it through life without group sings...you know, if we had to). 

Although, the report card did say, "John has not yet learned how to share toys with the other children." If this were someone else's responsibility, I would laugh. Billy thinks it's quite generous that they phrased it "not yet learned." I think it's a hard thing to teach a boy who has only some words in any given sentence...and who is not used to talking in order to get his way. These days, I feel like I say "what do you say?" "Say 'please,'" or "John, boys who don't ask nicely don't get ___" ALL DAY long. yikes. But eventually, it will sink it, yes? Polite behavior, kind sharing, and thoughtfulness are just around the bend, right? A couple of weeks ago, he began saying "share" so we're moving in the right direction at least.

Yes, he started saying share! Last time I shared a count of John's words, I believe we were hovering around two dozen. I started keeping track at one point and got up to 60 words (that was a couple months into school). Now we are at hundreds. Too many to count and new words every day. It's wonderfully encouraging and I feel like the greatest weight of worry for his future has lifted off my shoulders.

Of course, John still talks like a foreigner. He pronounces words like an ESL student, like he originally spoke Chinese and is now picking up on English. So he will emphasize the wrong syllable, or substitute some sounds (r) for others (w). John is famous for shortening words into sounds; I don't know if this is speech laziness or a "shortcut" his brain/mouth are taking. All this is fairly normal for kids learning to talk, I assume. But it's exaggerated in his speech. Actually, it's both puzzling/bothersome and funny. Here are a few examples:

fooDA (food)

shon (John)

B (baby)

ha-va-wa (Havilah)

eese (cheese)

d (red)

boo (blue)

no wader (no water, as in milk)

But I'll take word fragments and word approximations over nothing any day! He's working hard on his speech and learning that he can do it (and that we aren't going to let him grow up without talking!).

Then again, some words like yellow, share, bus, home, two, or Mom come out clear as day. The point is that we're getting closer to true English speech, noticeably closer. Praise God for that!

John loves to play; he is practically obsessive about it. He says, "Mama, play home?" whenever we're running errands. As in, "Mom, let's go home so we can get back to playing!" It's literally the first word out of his mouth in the morning (either that or poo poo, meaning he wants to go sit on the toilet--which we are progressing with!) and the final teary reason that he doesn't want to go to bed. He's getting more into imaginative play lately, which is fun to see. He loves baseball, basketball (with a little hoop in the kitchen), blocks, books, puzzles, the park, riding his tricycle and scooter, "washing" the dishes, art projects, playing with Hava's babies and his stuffed animals, building train sets...ok, there isn't much that he doesn't like to do, as long as it is playing.

John's a sweet boy and we're thankful for him!

sewing fun

Here are a few projects that have been on my sewing machine in the past months...

A "wall pillow" to keep John from constantly bumping into the wall at night:

Hava's new quilt (backed with super soft cordoroy; the front pieces are 100% scrap fabric--but pretty cute, if I do say so myself):

Couch pillows, actually made from cloth napkins and placemats from World Market: (-:

John's patriotic birthday quilt:

More pillows:

Christmas "gratitude wraps" made for our moms and adult sisters (ok, and one for me--I had to practice with the pattern, you know):

I also made pajama pants, a skirt, and a few other odds and ends for Christmas, but alas, no photos. 

Do you think I'm having too much fun when I photograph my sewing projects?? Oh, and the obsession with pillows? That comes from my sewing lessons with Adrienne and the infamous pillow I made under her tutelage. For now, there are no projects in the works (unless you count the doll blankets I "make" for Hava's babies--more on that later). But I do have a few friends who may need baby blankets later in the year, so we'll see!

If this doesn't make you smile...

...you should consider taking that much needed vacation. (-:

P.S. The underwear? A good effort on John's part; a sincere hope of mine for complete potty training!