Meet My Girls

Lately I haven't been able to help myself. I have been perusing old photos from the last few years. I have noticed a few things. One, my husband and I have moved a lot. Two, my body has gone through many changes between two pregnancies and weight gain and loss. Three, my girls are growing up fast.

My daughter Lorelei is three. I can't tell you that enough, but I really think it's my way of coping with her growing up. Soon she'll be graduating high school and heading off to college (if mom has a say in it).

She has always been very talkative and very smart. She knew all of her colors by 18 months and could say them fairly clearly. I remember attending a family members birthday which of course had all sorts of balloons. Another member of the family asked her what the colors were after I expressed how smart she was. The member of the family was so astonished that she did in fact know all of her colors.

Potty training as you might know is a different story all together. She just doesn't want anything to do with it. We're doing very well now with consistency and no accidents except for no. 2. I also have to be the one to send her to the bathroom after a few hours have gone by, but this is progress.

Learning has always come fairly easily to her. She knows half of her letters and can use my iPod and her Leapster better than I can. She loves using her computer to learn and find her letters as well as doing a large three foot floor puzzle with all of her letters. It took her a while to get used to the idea of recognizing symbols, but she really likes it now that she has the hang of it.

She also is very athletic and great at dancing, and choreographing for that matter. She is always showing someone a new dance move or song. She can jump around this house and twirl like a ballerina with the best of them. I actually can't wait to get her into a dance class one of these days.

Sensitivity is something that comes fairly easily to her as well. Lorelei likes "reading" to Hannah, but some days it's all about not sharing and "get her away, " but she is very nice and sensitive to her little sister from feeding her, helping her up and down, dancing with her and telling her when she's done a good job.

Hannah is almost 14 months now and is a little fire cracker. She does everything on her own, from climbing, running, getting into things and stealing her big sisters big girl underwear to try and put them on.

She absolutely adores her big sister and tries to say and do what she does. She loves every toy her sister loves and loves being on her bed. Lorelei is also the first one to get a kiss at the end of the night when Hannah is heading to bed.

Cuddling isn't to be forgotten as it is one of Hannah's favorite things. She hugs and cuddles our immediate family a lot, especially mom and sister. She enjoys sitting on my lap when I read stories to the girls and running up to hug her sister when she doesn't know it's coming. Daddy is the one that can get her to sit still believe it or not.

She absolutely loves the water and beach too. She would walk right into the water and keep going if I let her (that is if there aren't big waves coming her way.) She even loves splashing and spinning in the pool.

Hannah is trying to copy all kinds of words and knows a bunch by heart as well. Hannah says:

Bo for Bones (our dog)

Daw for Dog

Mom for Mom

Da for Dad

Or-I for Lorelei

None or Done for Done

Yum mum um for Yummy

Booh for Book

Boo for Boo

Ba for Ball

Ank U for Thank you

Pea for Please

She says so many partial words I can't even post them all, and she even nods yes when you ask her a question. Granted it's to any question, but she knows when she's being asked something.

My girls are growing fast and will be in school in no time. I have noticed a lot of people home schooling now-a-days and I'm not sure how they do it. Maybe with more space and patience than I have. I love watching my girls grow and I hope you enjoy hearing some facts about my girls as well.

Let's Talk: Kids and Technology

My generation I'm sure has heard a lot of jokes growing up about how we knew more about computers than our parents did. I'm sure some of us are still hearing the same old jokes, but now it's moved onto the next generation. My kids generation.

My mother came over today to play with the girls. We were having a great time playing with blocks and other games when I thought to show my mother pictures. Now I'm not sure how everyone else does it, but I'm sure a large portion of us mostly have their pictures on file instead of in albums. I edit the pictures and almost never print them. There doesn't really seem to be many reasons to print them these days.

The cycle is 1) Take way more pictures than necessary 2) Have way too many pictures to edit in a timely fashion 3) e-mail, Facebook, blog etc. When no. 3 comes, there are a few exceptions like my parents who do not do anything online. They have a computer mind you, but wouldn't know how to navigate Facebook if it meant their life.

Now, back on point. It came picture time at my house and I had to use the restroom. Between my mother and daughter who do you think I put in charge of showing pictures? My three year old daughter. She jumped up there and started navigating her way through pictures like nothing else mattered.

My mother almost in shock watched as I excused myself to the restroom. The shift has changed. It's not only my three year old out lapping my mother with technology know-how, but me. Between the many v-tech systems the girl has, navigating pictures on our desk top and even using my iPod she just about has me beat. It takes me longer to figure something out than her.

I was always picked on as a kid because I grew up in the calculator generation. Using it for tests instead of long hand. Using spell check and having the thesaurus at my fingertips made me lazy, but I do believe my kids technology will benefit them in the long run. The technology now teaches kids instead of doing it for them. Sure, the spell check and the calculator do still exist and are there to help them when they became of age, but v-tech teaches them to see things, think, understand, explore.

Here's a bit from CBS News' website:

(CBS) Teens aren't the only ones who need limits on media use. Pediatricians and researchers warn that parents need to set strict guidelines about how much time their younger children spend using televisions and computers — even if the programs are educational. And they say toddlers and screens shouldn't mix at all.

After a study published in the Journal of Pediatrics linked television watching by toddlers between 1 and 3 with subsequent attention problems including ADD, the American Academy of Pediatrics now recommends that children under 3 should not spend any time at all in front a computer or television. For those 3 and up, they suggest no more than two hours of screen time per day for non-homework activities, even if it's educational.

I am all for technology, but in moderation just as a good piece of chocolate or sucker needs to be monitored and controlled in the amounts of intake. The occasional sucker is fun and puts a cute little smile on their face, but suckers all day will rot their teeth and leave them plump and tired just the same as too much technology will leave them lazy, mentally exhausted and plump from lack of exercise let alone missing out on what life has to offer.