Goggles

My parents got Stan B some swimming accessories a while back which included goggles. Since we've gone to the pool a lot this summer I broke them out to see if he would use them in the water. (He puts them on but hasn't dunked his head with them on yet.) Anyhow, here he is wearing and talking about goggles. This simply cracks me up:

goggles from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Comprehension and Spelling

I'm talking about his comprehension and our (Mike and my) spelling. He understands practically everything we say. Even if he doesn't understand what he say he repeats most of what we say if he is in the right mood. Here is a conversation we may have:
Me: Hey, do you know if we have any beans?
Stan B: Beans.
Mike: I think we do.
Stan B: Do.
Me: Stanley, what would you like for dinner tonight?
Stan B: Dinner tonight.
Me: Yeah, dinner. What would you like?
Stan B: Like.
Me: Do you want something with beans in it?
Stan B: Pizza!

He usually repeats the last word we say. We can play the "Can you say..." game and he can say most any word. He has trouble with Fs and Ss now...He says his name, "Shanny" or "Shanley". He says spicy, "shicy"; cereal is "sheer-eal". I can't think of an F word right now that he has trouble saying. My mind has gone blank! But he has issues with the pronunciation of eff.

Here's a recent interaction/conversation we had with the cat, Dickie the Cat:
We were going for a walk around the block after dinner and Dickie has been joining us on occasion (!) This night she had followed us all the way down the alley but then started sniffing around someone's backyard and I wasn't sure if she was too far to find her way home so I called to her,
"Dix!"
Stan B: "Dixsh!" and smiles at me.
Me: Dickie, come!
Stan B: Dickie. Come! smiles at me.
Me: Dickles!
Stan B: "Dickulsh!" smiles at me.
Me: "Kitty!"
Stan B: "Kitty!" and smiles at me.

He repeated every name I called her. It was so funny.

We have also been spelling A LOT of words lately. I think the first word that Stan B will learn how to spell is "popsicle". Because we will say stuff like, "Did we make p-o-p-s-i-c-l-e-s for tonight?" If we said the word popsicle and we didn't have any Stan B would be saying, "Copapul? I want copapul. Copapul? Copapul?" and we would never hear the end of popsicles until he got one.

We don't spell swear words as often as you'd think. We did the other day in regards to a playground situation that perhaps I'll write about soon but other than that we simply try not to cuss (Looking back on that conversation - it was pretty hilarious with all the spelling.) We mostly spell words like b-i-c-y-c-l-e and p-a-r-k and p-o-o-l  and d-u-m-b.

Family Book

I posted about this book I had made back in December 2013. Now that he really knows many of the people in our family he really likes looking at the book. Here he is going through it after our lake trip:


family book from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

The Road Home

Our road trip home from the lake in a brief 27 seconds...I used the app Road Movies, which I love!

Headed Home from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Bye Bye, Lake!

We had a lovely time at Camp Sandpoint with the family. I requested a picture with Grandma and Grandpa before we left. I love this series of pictures, Stan B was so excited:

Here is the Bear saying bye to the Lake:

Bye Bye Lake! from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Boats

While at the lake we got to ride on lots of boats. The kayak, the row boat, the motor boat and we even got tugged along behind the motor boat.

On the row boat with Pa

On the kayak with Pa

Being tugged behind the motor boat

Pretending to drive the big boat

A Run Around the Block

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. Have I ever stated on here that the hardest job I've ever had is the present one? I've been a stay at home mom since we've moved to our new state in June and it makes posting on this blog a lot more challenging. Anyhoo. Maybe I'll write something more in depth about that if I ever get the chance. In the meantime have a look at Stan B running around the block - so different from the Walk Around the Block video. Please ignore the extremely saggy diaper. You can see that he gets into the littlest of details...this is also before all the scary running into the street business that he has partook of in the past.


Around the Block, 2 years from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Cheers

Stan B knows how to say cheers. He's even good at making eye contact when doing it. He does cheers with water, juice, milk, popsicles or sparkling cider like in the picture above. We had a 50th anniversary dinner for Mike's parents and Stan B got to drink sparkling cider for the first time and gave cheers to everyone. It was darling. "Cheersh!"

The Prettiest Place

Mike skipping rocks, Henry and the Bear

About a 20-30 (???) minute boat ride from the Grand P's retreat is a place called the Green Monarchs. It's beautiful. A rocky beach with the clearest lake water ever.

The girls and the boy.

It's the perfect spot for skipping rocks. We bring the small grill and lunch yummies and spend the day swimming, sunning and eating.

 Stan B spent most of the time nude there.

Henry on the big rock.

The water gets really deep quick so we can pull the boat fairly close to shore and you can snorkel and look at the fishies.

Carter and Henry

And the boat ride home is notorious for the youngest member of the family to pass out cold.

Here's some vid...you can hear him say, "Mama, swim!" at the end:

Swimming at the Green Monarchs from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

The Youngest

Lu is Stan B's cousin that is closest to him in age. He hung out with her the most while at the lake and I think (I think?) they both enjoyed each other's company...at least I know Stan B enjoyed Lu! She was so good at entertaining him that I forgot that she is still a child herself. For a 6 year old (I think she is 6) she was mighty patient with the Bear. She has this natural ability to stay calm when he bites (egads!) when he says, "MINEMINEMINE!!!!" I was impressed (and can learn a lot from her) and thankful that even though he had his moments that she still wanted to play with him. Thank you, Lu!
Here is a video of them running up and down the hill. Lu is playing the drum (racket) while the Bear runs around in his birthday suit.


Running Free from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Faves When Cousins Arrived

Here are some of my favorite lake pics from when after the cousins arrived:

The eldest cousins jumping in.

SO. MUCH. HAIR.

I think the power is out here. I love this pic of Grandma and three of her little ones.

Dockside

Trying to move the kayak on his own.

Stan B adores Lucy.

L's silhouette

The Grand Ps watching their 50th anniversary slideshow...the pic on the computer screen is one of their wedding pictures.

The squat

Auntie Sue's legs as she swims from out under the dock

The boys

Faerie Neighbor

We have a faerie neighbor:

She lives in a tree two houses down from us. She has a picket fence, a rock path, a window, a yellow door, a staircase, a trellis, potted plants, moss, a watering can, and porch lights. Things are moved around everytime we're there. It's either other little kids but I like to think it's the faerie moving things around...it's her place afterall! Stanley loves it and leaves crab apples and pennies for her. We noticed a nickel sitting on her path near his penny the other day. She's earning her living!

Jumping In

So, when we first got to the lake Stan B would get in the water and then quickly declare that he was "All done!". Then a couple of days in we put on his Scooby-Do life jacket and it was like night and day. He was more water friendly...of course he probably just felt safer. By the end of our trip he was an ol' pro when it came to the water. One of his favorite things to do was jump in from the dock. He even jumped in by himself (without holding anyone's hand) and he also jumped in backwards a few times. Here he is jumping in with Auntie Sue and Cousin A:
Jumping In from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Swimming

Stan B eventually took to jumping in and swimming in the lake. Here he is swimming with Auntie Sue:
Swimming from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

Drum Duet

This is an oldie but a goodie. Unfortunately Stan B's head is cut off at the end because I didn't edit it. (It's an instagram video). And, sorry so late on the post. Our entire house has come down with a stomach bug - choo choo train style. Stan B was the engine, I was the coal car and Mike is the caboose lying in bed as I type, useless. He should be 95% tomorrow. It's quick  but yucky.
Watch some drumming during healthier times:



drum duet from erin kawamata on Vimeo.

The Cousins

The Cousins! The Cousins! It was so fun to see them all together. They are all so wonderful in their each unique way and Stan B loves them all too!

From youngest to oldest: Stan B, Lucy, Henry, Carter and Abby

On the boat!

At Beyond Hope, throwing rocks into the lake.

Someone wasn't following directions...

The Lake

Here are some of the greatest hit pics of the lake before the cousins arrived:

Lake Pend O'Reille

On the adirondack post swim.

On Pirate Island

Pretty lake water

With Gramps

Laughing it up with Grandma

Picking berries

PPE deployed and ready for a boat ride

On a boat ride

Collecting bark samples

On the kayak

Walking down the trail

Contemplation