Memorial Day Hike on Weir Hill

Today we took a hike up Weir Hill and through the trails around Lake Cochichewick. I hadn't intended to travel as far as we did, but Zach and Lexi absolutely loved it, so we just kept moving. Lexi walked the entire way - about three miles!! - (with only about three quick piggy back rides), and even Zach did a good deal of hiking. The weather was perfect, and the kids were perfect. Zach eventually got a little grumpy so hitched a ride for the second half, and ultimately took his nap while we hiked. Lexi and I enjoyed exploring all of the nature around us - chipmunks, bugs, birch bark and acorns, and Ahren was the resident photographer as always.

Once we returned home from our great hike we enjoyed a nice lunch out on the new deck. This has been a really nice, relaxing weekend. It's been a long time since we ignored our "to do" list and just plain had fun all weekend long...but it was long overdue. Smile all around at the Lippman house.

Some Quick "Funnies"

Before Facebook, if something funny happened I would quickly post it to the blog. But, now I've gotten lazy and often post it to facebook and ignore my blog. In the past few weeks there have been a couple of funny things that I thought I would re-post here:

Zach peed on the potty last night...at 17 months old. Oh my! (Story behind the post...the night before, we were getting ready for a bath and Lexi told me that Zach needed to use the potty. I sat him up there and he smiled at me. I decided he was all done and put him in the tub where he immediately peed. So, the next night we tried again, and sure enough...he peed in the potty! It hasn't happened since, but it sure was funny.)

Putting Lexi to bed tonight - Me: "Goodnight Lexi, I love you. Thank you for being such a wonderful little girl." Lexi: "I'm picking my nose."

Zach pooped on the bath mat right before getting into the tub tonight. How did I discover said poop?? By stepping in it. Fun times in the Lippman house tonight!

Swimming and Reading

I've been having some technical difficulties which have prevented me from uploading some great videos into my web album...so, for now you're just going to have to imagine my awesome children. :)
Swimming:
Zach has now begun swimming lessons with Lexi. On Thursday nights the whole family heads over to the local YMCA. Zach and I head into the water first for his lesson, while Daddy and Lexi watch. Then, when Zach is all done, Daddy takes him home while Lexi and I stay for her lesson. Zach's first impression of swimming lessons was not favorable...he spent most of the lesson clinging to me and sobbing. But after four lessons he is much happier, and now occasionally even laughs during class! His favorite part of each class is when the teacher brings out the basket of balls, and he can throw them out at his sister. The goal right now is just to get him used to being in the water, and being in class. So far, all is going well.
Lexi is now a super swimmer. She has decided she does not need the bubble at all anymore, and has become far more confident in the water. She challenges herself in every class, and can now swim half way across the pool before asking for a break. Sometimes her head goes completely under the water and it doesn't phase her at all. What an amazing improvement! This is the last class we'll be able to take as a Mommy and Me...so I'm not sure what we'll do after. Hopefully we'll get lots of time to swim together at the pond this year, so that by the fall she'll be ready to try a class all alone.
Reading:
Holy moly we have a reader! Lexi has been working on a little bit of reading for about a year now. I've tried very hard not to push her too much because she really loves to read, and I want it to be fun for her. But recently I noticed that she was sounding out some really big words, so I mentioned to her teachers that they may want to work on that with her more. Within a week she came home and read every single book of her early reader series! She's now quickly sounding out words like "splish" and "marsh" (from a book about a duck who gets stuck in the muck), and breezes past "sight" words like "the", "in", "and", etc. It's very exciting to listen to your baby reading, and she is so proud of herself. In the fall she'll be going into the "Older Learners" classroom at school, and I think she's really going to excel there.
There's lots of exciting stuff happening in the Lippman household. Hopefully I'll be able to get things back up and running soon, so that I can share all the excitement.

Breaking the Rules

Yes, I'm going to do it...watch out - here I go. Before this blog I wrote little notes to Lexi in a notebook. I have a note that I wrote to her at 17 months old listing all the words that she could say. I know, it's wrong, but I *must* compare this list to what Zach is saying at 17 months...so I'm doing it. Just try to stop me. I'm sure Fadia will yell at me later. :)

Zach's Words (as I can recall them) at 17 months:
ball
cat
catch
ouch
hi
bye bye
car
truck
uh oh
yes
no
signs "more"
signs and says "all done"
juice
uppy
cheese
gigi
poppy
daddy
sounds like "betsy" for "Lexi"
mama (only when he's crying)
eye
nose
hat
head
(Will point to ear, toes, feet, fingers, hands, cheek)
bubble
tree
dog
woof
choo choo (for train)
okay
duck
baa baa
hot
if I say "one" he says "two"

And Lexi at 17 months:
Dada
Poppy
Gigi
Baby
Yaya (Fadia)
Tom
eye
tet (French for eye)
shoes
pants
shirt
socks
cat
woof (dog)
duck
fox
turtle
baa (sheep)
up
down
help
okay
all done
no ("ah...no!")
yah
bowl
apple
banana
cheese
spoon
juice
hot
more
chair
jacket
hat
bear
uh oh
touch
poop
hi
bye bye
please
thank you
cheek
bird
Elmo
Big Bird
three
tap
fish
cracker
sauce
ball
truck
Wheeee!
beep beep
crash
stars

So, yes...Lexi had more words than Zach does, but I am still impressed with how many words he uses now. Just like with Lexi, new ones seem to crop up every day, and it's so fun to hear him talking.

Mother's Day 2010

Dear Lexi and Zachary,

Today is Mother's Day, a day when we are supposed to appreciate and give thanks for the mothers in our lives. But for me, Mother's Day also makes me appreciate you, my angels, for making me a Mommy. I say it often, and mean it with all of my heart - you two are the best two children on this earth. Nothing makes me happier than watching you two play together - giggling and even screaming with delight. You greet each other with huge grins and hugs each morning, and wave goodbye and blow kisses to each other every time one of you leaves. You are good to each other - you love each other, and that makes my heart leap with joy.

Lexi, you're four and a half and you remind me of that every day. At such a young age you are so smart and so mature. You have truly become one of my very best friends, and I look forward to every minute we get to spend together. Each morning when we drive out to your "temporary" preschool together we point out the things we enjoy seeing on our drive - a pair of swans at Stevie's Pond, The Killer Bees Sign, Erin, Kat and Meggie's house, and finally the horses on Salem Street. Often we discuss the beautiful flowers growing in people's yards and whether or not they are our favorite colors. These are some of the best moments of my day - just you and me appreciating the view around us. No matter how hectic our morning was, this is always a relaxing and joyful drive.

Zachary, at 17 months you have started to become a little boy. You still love to hug and snuggle like my baby, but after awhile you say, "all done" and hop down to play. I so enjoy watching you explore your world, trying new things and figuring stuff out. You imitate everything your sister does and will do anything for a laugh. These days you seem to be learning at least ten new things each day and sometimes I can't believe the things you can already say, do and understand. You love dancing, and often on hectic days I will put some music on just to watch you boggie all around. Like your sister you are just as happy as a clam - always content to do whatever everyone else is doing, and you bring such joy to my life.

Yesterday morning the three of us sat on the rug in the living room playing with some foam blocks. We were trying to juggle, throwing them so high that they hit the ceiling and then trying to catch them, throwing a handful at me to see how many I could catch at once (only one), and then seeing how many we could balance on Zachy's head at one time (three). It was probably twenty minutes of pure laughter. It's moments like those that make me feel so lucky and so loved.

Lexi and Zachary, I love you both more than I ever could have imagined would be possible. Thank you so much for making me the luckiest mommy alive.

Love,
Mama