The other day Laine took Linden to Fell park to play. Linden climbed up the wall all by herself for the first time, then went down the big slide on her own.
When it was time to go home, she told Laine,"I gotta go get a snack!" then bolted over to a family at the picnic table and asked them for chips. They gave her some cheese puffs. Ridiculous. Then on the way home she said, "Mommy, I can't stop eating this."
The warm weather has blown in with March, which means longer days and more opportunities to play outside. Even though it's been a relatively mild winter it still feels like we're emerging from hibernation.
Now that we've had daylight savings, the sun will set tonight at 7 p.m. It's always nice to have a couple hours of daylight after work.
Better yet, the sun won't rise until 7 a.m. which I hope will mean that Linden sleeps until then. Lately, she's been getting up before 6 a.m.
Linden has kept active even during the dark winter months. A common request is to go for a run in the evening. By this she means that she'll put on her "running shoes" then make sure we have ours. She'll go to the closet and ask me if I want my green or my blue running shoes, then affirm my choice. Once we lace up, we begin our shuttle sprint routine from the front door to the back door. Mom gets involved too by giving out high fives halfway through the sprint, sometimes calling for it up high, down low, with a spin, etc.
Monday night gymnastics is a high point for Linden each week. She regularly asks when she'll get to go to "nastics" with Miss Kelsey. On off days when I'm busy, Laine likes to take Linden to the mall where Linden runs around with other kids at the play area. For reasons unknown, Linden requests this activity by telling us that she wants to "go to the turtles." There are a few animals to play on in the area, but none of them are turtles. At least it provides an opportunity to run around and meet new friends.
We're in a good phase right now and are making the most of it. Linden is learning new words and phrases each day, which is a lot of fun. One day she said "adorable" another day "time to save the day!" It's always something new. I'm truly amazed by how she can learn a word and apply it in the right context immediately. If only we all committed our full attention to learning about our surroundings.
LB likes to watch herself on video, so we've had fun with Snapchat, which has some options to make silly selfie shots, like this one where she's driving with aviator glasses & a mustache. Videos and photos of her cousins are a favorite -- she talks about them a lot and knows them all by name, always telling us that she wants to play with them when she sees them.
Every now and then she'll surprise us by telling us she doesn't want to go to daycare, but wants to stay home instead. As soon as she gets to daycare and sees her friends though, she plays hard all day then tells us all about it.
Graham is always acting like a dinosaur, which Linden likes because she loves to be scared (something Laine & I don't really understand). Finley and Linden are often partners in crime. Dee told us a few weeks ago that Finley and Linden were both put in time out. This meant that they had to sit on two separate couches for some set amount of time. It didn't take long for Linden to sneak off the couch when Dee wasn't looking, and head to Finley. Dee overheard Linden whisper, "Come on, Finney! Let's get outta here."
Kenzie, Molly McGraw, Finley & Linden @ Molly's IWU game
It's been exciting to watch Dee's daughter, Molly McGraw, play on the IWU women's basketball team. Molly is a true athlete and an exciting player. As an added bonus, we sometimes run into Linden's friends who are also there with their parents cheering on Molly. Below, Linden and Cameron dance to the pep band at halftime.
Also new this month, she's twice eaten two bananas in a row. Something I'm not sure I've ever done. She LOVES painting her nails pink, and that color has emerged as a strong favorite. She knows her colors but admits preference to pink and sometimes purple. Grandma Twanow must be influencing her somehow.
Typical pink outfit with pink balloon
We try to take advantage of playing with other friends and their kids whenever both families have the energy and naps line up just right. Our friends Chip and Val who we ran with at IWU and live in town had a second daughter recently and we had fun meeting her while Linden and their oldest played together. And just yesterday we had our annual "roomie thanksgiving" with friends who we used to live with after college. Turns out that the event looks a bit different these days...and no longer involves us cooking...and happened in March because that was the closest we could get to November. But that's okay because what counts is getting together to reconnect and give our kids a chance to get to know one another through play. With that as a goal: mission accomplished.
February has been a very busy month for the family, so I'm behind on updating this blog. I'll post more soon, but wanted to share this video montage summary in the meantime.
A friend and coworker of mine built an ice rink in the lot next to his house last weekend. We had a smooth surface and a 28 degree day, so it was the perfect opportunity to get Linden out on the ice.
Merry Christmas from Bloomington! This year is our first Christmas in Bloomington and in our new home on 9 Ridgewood Terrace.
Laine's parents came over on Christmas Eve for a dinner of farmer's sausage and pierogies. Doc read Linden "The Big Orange Splot" and Shirls was surprised when Linden decided that the baby bassinet would make an even better spot for her to relax than her baby doll.
We spent Christmas morning opening stockings and gifts. Linden must take after me because she got up early, excited about her presents. She remained excited well through nap time and all through my parents' visit. She was a good sport though and loved showing off her new toys and command for the English language.
The Christmas road tour began on December 26th when we drove to Spring Valley to meet up with the entire Twanow clan. It was so nice to have everyone together for Christmas for the first time in a few years. I think we were all a bit surprised by how much had changed in that time. Going from two toddlers to five grandkids (three of them under three) made for lots of noise and excitement.
Food is always a key element to Twanow family gatherings and we even pulled out some successful meals with all the kids.
With Star Wars Episode 7 out this season, and Care Bears still being sold at toy stores, there were some gifts for the kids that the adults remember receiving themselves.
From Spring Valley we drove to Deerfield with the drive taking nearly twice its usual time due to some inclement weather, but that was okay since it allowed for longer naps for Linden and Laine.
This was the first Christmas that the Miller family celebrated together since Van Orion's arrival. Linden enjoyed the attention she received with fewer cousins to compete with, but also had fun showing off for Van Orion.
Van had just mastered walking earlier in the week so he was all smiles walking up and down the long hallways of his grandparents' house. He's also quite a ham during mealtime. Somehow we all found ourselves watching and laughing with him during that time. Perhaps because he has some unique jokes that would be difficult to explain in this context but affirm that he already has his own quirky sense of humor that gives him a magnetic personality.
While it wasn't a white Christmas, it was a white post-Christmas and Linden took advantage by sledding for her first time in the backyard. She loved it.
Laine and Linden drove back to Bloomington to meet up with the Brandts and Braggs on December 30th while I stayed to make good on my Christmas gift to my parents: painting the guest bathroom. It was nice to spend a little extra time with Alison, Eric and Van before driving the group of us down to Bloomington for New Year's Eve.
The kids went to bed without a fuss on the 31st, allowing us adults to catch up, which was nice since it's a difficult thing to do with a one and two year-old. I made spaghetti and sauce and Eric pan-seared some steaks while we all blew air toward the smoke detector. It was a great way to ring in 2016.
The other day Laine took Linden to Fell park to play. Linden climbed up the wall all by herself for the first time, then went down the big slide on her own.
The warm weather has blown in with March, which means longer days and more opportunities to play outside. Even though it's been a relatively mild winter it still feels like we're emerging from hibernation.
Merry Christmas from Bloomington! This year is our first Christmas in Bloomington and in our new home on 9 Ridgewood Terrace.
Laine's parents came over on Christmas Eve for a dinner of farmer's sausage and pierogies. Doc read Linden "The Big Orange Splot" and Shirls was surprised when Linden decided that the baby bassinet would make an even better spot for her to relax than her baby doll.
With Star Wars Episode 7 out this season, and Care Bears still being sold at toy stores, there were some gifts for the kids that the adults remember receiving themselves.
Van had just mastered walking earlier in the week so he was all smiles walking up and down the long hallways of his grandparents' house. He's also quite a ham during mealtime. Somehow we all found ourselves watching and laughing with him during that time. Perhaps because he has some unique jokes that would be difficult to explain in this context but affirm that he already has his own quirky sense of humor that gives him a magnetic personality.
The kids went to bed without a fuss on the 31st, allowing us adults to catch up, which was nice since it's a difficult thing to do with a one and two year-old. I made spaghetti and sauce and Eric pan-seared some steaks while we all blew air toward the smoke detector. It was a great way to ring in 2016.