Your Baby Can Read

I will have to admit I was (very) skeptical when I saw these advertisements on TV...and maybe this series would be better named "Your Baby Can Memorize Words"...(or at least as far as we have gotten in the series, it is about memorizing words they see and not yet learning letter sounds), but since we received this as a gift we figured - why not?! and decided to give it a whirl.

We started with the very first "Starter" DVD in the series and the instructions say to have your baby watch it twice a day for a month, then whether or not they are identifying words, continue to the next DVD in the series, and occasionally go back to the older ones as a refresher. There are flashcards to test what your baby is learning.

We watched the first DVD for 3 weeks, but only once a day instead of two. For some reason the boys love it. They ask me when they wake up from nap, "TV? BABIES?!" There is something about watching babies, little kids and animals do stuff that is fascinating to this age group.

Tonight after dinner I decided to break out the flashcards for the first time (isn't that what everyone does on a Saturday night?) The flashcards have printed words on one side of the card and picture to depict what the word is on the other side of the card. If they do not get the word right by saying it out loud or doing the action themselves, you can flip it around and show them the picture on the back while you say aloud what the word on the card is.

I was more than a little shocked when they started reading words right off the flashcards! Ethan was the first and he read "Hi" and "Dog" then Mason took a turn and he got "Arms Up" and "Clap" (they said these words out loud instead of just doing the actions). And so on, getting more than half of the words from the flashcards right!

We are starting to work on letter sounds because phonics will help them read new words on their own, but I don't think being able to identify a variety of words, even if memorized, is a terrible thing.

So, to the Your Baby Can Read creator...I am sorry that I doubted you. Are you sure there isn't some sort of hypnotic component to your DVD series that makes my kids want to watch the same DVD over and over and over again? Of course I guess I could ask the same about the Disney/Pixar people who went and made the Cars movie, with which we are equally obsessed.

As of today I guess I can say that My Babies Can Read! (well...sort of...) :)

Play Room Table

When we picked up the kitchen table and chairs at Ikea we also picked up another very small (and yay for cheap!) table and chairs set for the play room. It serves as a reading table, a table on which to roll the cars and trucks around, a table to play with blocks and other toys...it's possibilities appear to be endless. And the most favorite thing to do with this table and chairs set?...carry the chairs back and forth from the living room to the play room. You know, the one thing we ask them not to do. That's always the most favorite game to play!

Table For Two

We picked up a small table and chairs for the kitchen for arts and crafts and we decided we should test it out once in a while for meals. We figured pizza night would be the best test-run. If anything would keep them in their seats, it would be pizza.




It was a good thought, but they still climbed on and off their chairs several times, so if pizza doesn't keep them focused and in their seats, we definitely need to spend a little more time in our booster seats at the big table. But it was fun to try it out!

Trucks...

...we like 'em.

Ice Cream Cone

Tati got the boys' their first ice cream at the mall a few days after their 1st birthday (as soon as they were able to have cow's milk). They have enjoyed their share of ice cream throughout this past year, but have not yet had the fun of an actual cone.

I happened to have some extra cake cones lying around, so I decided to see what they would think of ice cream in a cone...well, as you can see it went over VERY well... (if only vegetables disappeared this quickly...)


Now you see it...







Now you don't!






Going...




Going...




Going...




Gone!



After Mason finished his cone he exclaimed (in the most tragic and pathetic voice)..."Ice Cream Cone?!! What HAPPP-PENED?!!" Since I had taken these photos, I sat down with him and showed him on the digital camera..."Here you are eating your ice cream cone...here you are eating more of your ice cream cone and really enjoying it...here you are finishing up your ice cream cone...and now it's all gone...THAT my friend, is what happened." I think he actually got the concept, but definitely seemed to think that was too harsh of a reality. The next morning as I was making breakfast he came up to me and asked for an ice cream cone...I think he must have been dreaming about them. That boy forgets nothing. We had cupcakes 2 weeks ago and he asks for a cupcake every day. (and no, we did not have an ice cream cone for breakfast, nor do we eat cupcakes everyday) :)

V-Day Cards

Grandma and Grandpa sent the boys Valentine's Day cards and this is the first time that they really seem to be taking an interest in cards. They love holding them and carrying them around and having us read them out loud.

Thank You For Our Quilts!

We wanted to post a special thank you to Grandma's friend who took the time to make us these very nice quilts. And here is a picture of us with our quilts! I posted early photos where the quilts can be seen but the boys were sick. Here they are much happier and have a lot less snot on their faces. :)

Thank you Mrs. B!