Werewolves in London

Last fall K brought this home for es.  I think he picked it up on a trip, maybe in an airport.  It dances while someone (I don't know if it is the original performer) sings "Werewolves in London," a song popular in the late 70's.  Though es played with the wolf at first, it was relegated to the shelf after the batteries ran down.  Recently ec pointed to it and in an effort to reward him for asking for something I put fresh batteries in it.  Now ec points to it and carries it around, sometimes dancing along to the music.  He hasn't yet learned to press on the left foot to start the song, but I suppose he will before long.

Remember these lace-up cards?

One thing es does with the little horse is tie her small Princess Sophia doll on then pretend the doll is riding the horse.  She doesn't usually put the lace through the holes to make patterns; perhaps that's just too tame!  Her brother likes to put the string in his mouth, but he does seem to like the bear, whether it's the color or shape or face or lightness--who knows.  This is another toy I'm glad I saved.  Yet to come out of the closet are Mr. Potato Head and Lincoln Logs.  Trying to find things that are safe for both children can be challenging.

Our own little ET

A couple of years ago K's mom gave es a piece of rayon, red with turtles on gold waves and fringe on each end, which she bought on a trip to Hawaii, I believe.  It seemed a bit odd to me, and es didn't play with it at first.  But now it is used almost every day as Elsa's cape or the queen bee's cape, as I've written before.  Even ec plays with it.  He likes for me to put it over his head, then he walks around.  The fabric is sheerer than it looks, and he can see through it enough to avoid walking into things.  When K saw him yesterday, he laughed and said he was just like ET.

Pink high heels

These cute little shoes, a gift from Grandma Jonnie, seem to make es feel like a princess.  She wears them with her red and white polka dot Minnie Mouse dress and with her pink fairy dress.  When my friend Carolyn visited last week, es took off the shoes to show her the princesses on the inner liner.

Both children have runny noses.  It's not so bad for es since she can blow her nose now.  But ec can't yet, so I keep tissue in my pocket and every few minutes wipe away the river of green.  E used the baby vac on him late this morning but soon the river returned.  He's back in bed now after being up only a couple of hours after his morning nap.  Usually he's awake three hours or longer before his afternoon nap.  Oh, wait.  I think I hear him.  Maybe he wasn't ready for another nap after all, despite his big yawns.

His first tablet

For his first birthday, ec received his first electronic tablet, the FisherPrice device seen here.  It is about the same size as my iPad with these 28 alphabet buttons to press and three levels of activities.  The child can't do much, but when he presses a button a voice tells him the letter, what the picture is and may play a little tune.  Lights flash around the outer rim.  Levels 2 and 3 are slightly more advanced.  But you should see ec's face.  "Where's your tablet?"  He runs to get it, then returns with a smile, holding it in his hands.  After all, Mom, Dad, and Grandma all have digital devices they use.  Why shouldn't he?  His sister is becoming adept at using a phone and my iPad; she knows how to scroll, stop a video, and more.  I'm sure ec will be equally comfortable at an early age.

Queen bee

We enjoy reading the Magic School Bus books.  I think we've read eight now.  One recent favorite describes life inside a beehive.  I have mentioned before how es likes to act out stories; this book led to her being the queen bee complete with tiara and cape.  I got to be a worker bee and dutifully followed her around the room.  A few days later I brought over an old National Geographic with an article describing how a lighthouse in North Carolina was moved, and then we found an article about insects with a picture of a queen ant.  The magazine also contained an article about the aftermath of the Mt St Helen's eruption, which led to exploration of volcanoes.  She remembered seeing a volcano in her Where's Waldo book and showed it to me.  Granted, it was cartoon-like, but it was indeed a volcano.

By the way, this is my 400th post on the blog, in almost exactly three years.

Lighthouses

A couple of weeks ago es and I started talking about lighthouses, perhaps because she heard her mom mention fog horns and one thing leads to another then another.  I looked for a short YouTube video and found one about the Eddystone lighthouse, the first one ever built miles off the coast, in this case about fourteen miles off Plymouth, England.  The original structure was built about 1699 but was destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703; thousands of people died, chimneys and structures collapsed, flooding devastated London.  The next lighthouse lasted longer but burned, apparently due to a spark from the candle.  The third one endured many years, till the rock it stood on began to erode and the building developed cracks.  Now the fourth lighthouse stands on a different rock in the group.

I have been just as fascinated by this lighthouse as es, watching a couple of videos with her, talking about storms (no, Alameda doesn't have tornadoes or hurricanes), fire (such as the Oakland hills fire and my childhood home burning), flooding.  She soaks up information like a sponge; I have to be careful what I say.  The other day I found a book at the library about the Little Red Lighthouse on the Hudson River under the George Washington Bridge, which we've read several times and today saw a video tour of the now-closed lighthouse.

We may decry the time people spend in front of their devices, but what fun this exploration of lighthouses has been!  I imagine es will remember the Eddystone story for a long time.