look-a-likes

So when you look at our children, usually you can tell they're related.  When we had Talitha, we realized just how much alike our children are.  I finally got a minute to use the computer to compose a picture of all three children at about the same age in the same bouncer, so their angles are the same.  By putting them side-by-side you can see how similar they are, but if you really study the picture you can see some slight differences, other than hair.  They all have the same little nose, mouth, chin, and eyes.  The girls' faces are a little more oblong than Nathanael's, and their hair-lines are a little different (though all were born with dark hair that turned, or is turning blonde).  It has been fun to see how different in personality Hannah differs from Nathanael, even though she looked so much like him in the beginning.

Now that Hannah is 16 months old and we look back at Nathanael at the same age they are pretty similar still.  Hannah's face still has that cute baby roundness to it, and her eyes are blue rather than his brown.  Also we are letting our girl's hair grow out rather than cutting it.  Their dimples are in different places, Nathanael's are near his chin and Hannah has a fun one under her right eye.  Their cow-licks are in the same places too, but with Hannah's hair growing out you can hardly tell.  Here's a picture of both of them at 15 months.

My dad is better than Handy Manny

As Nathanael played in the back yard he found an old kick ball that had been popped and was all dry-rotted out.  He brought it to Forest and said he needed to fix it.  Seeing that it was truly a dead ball, Forest calmly explained that it was too broken, the hole was too big and the ball was all dried up and Daddy couldn't fix it.  So, Nathanael thought for a moment and said, "I know, we can take it to Handy Manny and he can use his tools to fix it!"  Forest explained that he couldn't fix it either. To which Nathanael replied, "Handy Manny can fix anything, we should take it to him." Forest then calmly explained that sometimes things just wear out and no one can fix them and that not even Handy Manny has the tools to fix the ball. Nathanael though a moment, and said, "no, Handy Manny has all the tools." To which Forest replied, "no Buddy, I have more tools than Handy Manny." Now Forest felt the need to prove himself to his son.  

He asked, "What tools does Handy Manny have?"

Nathanael answered, "He has a hammer"

"How many hammers does he have?"

"One hammer"

"Come look at this, Bud" and Forest takes him into the garage to the hammer drawer--filled with hammers of all kinds.

"Wow, that's a lot of hammers!"

"What else does Handy Manny have?"

"Um, a screwdriver"

"Look at this." and he opens the screwdriver drawer bursting with screwdrivers of all types.

"Wow, that's a lot of screwdrivers!"

"Does Handy Manny have a tape measure?"

"Yeah, he does"

"Here, look at this Bud"  and he opens the drawer filled with tape measures of all lengths and types.

"Yeah, Handy Manny only has one tape measure"

"What else does Handy Manny have, does he have a wrench?"

"Oh, yah, yah, he does."

"Look in this drawer" and he opens the drawer of wrenches.

"Wow, that's a lot of wrenches, can I have that little one?"

As Nathanael comes bursting through the door to the house, he proclaims to Laura, "Daddy has more tools than Handy Manny.  Look at this wrench!"  Then he went off to play.  The kickball is now forgotten and Daddy is better than Handy Manny.  (For those of you who don't know, Handy Manny is a cartoon handyman that has about 7 hand tools that he uses to fix everything.)

Zoo!

Last Saturday was a beautiful day for the first time in quite a while.  We decided to take a trip to the zoo.  Talitha wasn't too impressed--she just slept in the sling most of the day.  Nathanael enjoyed seeing the various animals and really liked playing at the playground, of course.  

This was Hannah's first trip that she could really enjoy it.  She liked getting to see the giraffe up close.  She growled when she saw the lions.  The monkeys were hilarious to her, swinging and climbing with their ropes and trees.  The tiger was lying right up against the glass and Nathanael and Hannah both got to see it up close.  We can hardly wait till summer and the splash park opens up for even more fun!

Reading

Nathanael likes to read.  A friend told Laura about starfall.com a website with great phonics and reading games for preschoolers.  It also has great printables and we printed out one of their short books.  When Nathanael focuses he can really read the book!   A lot of the time he will make up the story by looking at the pictures, but some of the time, with help focusing on the words, he can read the whole book about Zac the rat.  He is getting good at tracing letters too.  He still loves doing "schoolwork" and is constantly asking to do it, either on the computer or at his makeshift desk in the study--a folding chair and TV tray.  Sometimes he'll be patient enough to "read" a picture book to Hannah, but she doesn't turn the pages fast enough.  He likes to "read" to Talitha, who doesn't care that he is making up the story and doesn't mind that she can't see the pictures.

15-month check

Well, Hannah is also growing!  She has gained 2 inches since her one-year appointment.  We think she'll have a long torso though since all her pants have to be folded at the cuffs so she's not tripping all over herself trying to walk.  Poor girl got 3 shots today, but took them well and even was able to smile at the nurse afterward.  She never holds a grudge.  The doctor did feel bad for her getting 8 new teeth all at the same time and said it's wonderful that she talks so much--even if it is only Laura who understands her.  Her latest hilarious thing is to point to Forest's egg-shaped alarm clock and plead "bucka, bucka, buckaaa" (sounds like a hen's cluck).  After he gives it to her, she makes it light up and says "dit!" for "did it" and hands it back.  Then she repeats the clucking to change the color of the light.