I'm a geek....I love technology. It was only natural to use technology in raising Natali.
Natali has been around the Ipad since she was born. Kelli and I used an App called BabyGeek to track Natali's diapers and feeding for the first few months. Natali has been playing with the Ipad herself since she was 4-5 months old.
Over the last month Natali as REALLY gotten into the Ipad. How much so? "Ipad, Ipad, Ipad!" is spoken by her daily.
Kelli and I each have a folder labeled "Natali" on each one of our Ipads. Natali knows how to find her folder, open it and then open each app.
Natali knows how to turn the Ipad around if it opens in the wrong orientation. She knows how to exit an app and she is REALLY good at swiping. The Ipad is very toddler friendly.
I tried to get her to use the HP Touchpad I bought for her that I loaded Android onto. Nope. She has a few apps....not into it.
The Ipad 3 comes out this week...or soon anyway. I plan on buying one (I can expense it since I can use it in the cockpit at work!) and give Natali my old Ipad. Yeah....that's right I'm giving an Ipad to an 18 month old. Kelli agrees though as she's tired of sharing her own Ipad.
Since the last post we all traveled to California for a wedding. Natali's grandma bought her a new butterfly dress and shoes. Natali has several butterflies on her walls and it's one of the many words she has mastered. She looked very cute.
[nggallery id=51]
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Monday, February 20, 2012
Accidental learning
Natali has been using an Ipad since she was 4 or 5 months old. Back then it was just tapping and swiping. None on purpose.
Around 7 months she was pretty good at tapping. She played one game called "Itsy Bitsy HD" for months. It was simple and fun.
Over time she has become more and more comfortable with the Ipad. She knows how to close apps, swipe to different pages of apps and the most important thing is...she knows which folder has "her"apps.
Kelli and I each have Ipads. We have some of the same apps in the "Natali" folder. There are some differences. I have an Elmo learning game Natali loves and an app called iTot Cards, which is a flash card game.
Natali has been using iTot Cards for about 3 weeks off and on. iTot Cards has flash cards for letters, numbers, shapes, food and more. Natali has been using (thanks to my helping) the food flash cards the most. As she swipes a photo of an item appears and a female voice says what it is.
Most of the time Natali is zipping through the cards quickly. I thought for sure she was just playing....until yesterday.
Natali was sitting on my lap playing with the Ipad. She opened the iTot Cards app and then I clicked on food. She then swiped to a card, turned to me and said ""Pasta". I looked down and saw it was indeed pasta. She swiped to other cards and said the following words ; Cherry, Carrot, Bread, Chocolate (not great pronunciation though), Banana, Salad, Sandwich, Ice Cream, Cereal, Orange, Juice, Apple, Milk, Pizza Peas, and Egg. She stopped at each card and turned to me before saying the word. I was stunned. She really was learning.
I spend 10-15 minutes a week looking for new apps for her. I read reviews online and try out an app or two if they have a free version in addition to a paid version.
I wish more apps were both Android and iOs (Apple) as the tablet I bought for her (HP Touchpad running Cyanogendmod) is Android. There are a few great apps, but few of the exact same apps.
Maybe the Easter Bunny will buy her a Ipod Touch?
Around 7 months she was pretty good at tapping. She played one game called "Itsy Bitsy HD" for months. It was simple and fun.
Over time she has become more and more comfortable with the Ipad. She knows how to close apps, swipe to different pages of apps and the most important thing is...she knows which folder has "her"apps.
Kelli and I each have Ipads. We have some of the same apps in the "Natali" folder. There are some differences. I have an Elmo learning game Natali loves and an app called iTot Cards, which is a flash card game.
Natali has been using iTot Cards for about 3 weeks off and on. iTot Cards has flash cards for letters, numbers, shapes, food and more. Natali has been using (thanks to my helping) the food flash cards the most. As she swipes a photo of an item appears and a female voice says what it is.
Most of the time Natali is zipping through the cards quickly. I thought for sure she was just playing....until yesterday.
Natali was sitting on my lap playing with the Ipad. She opened the iTot Cards app and then I clicked on food. She then swiped to a card, turned to me and said ""Pasta". I looked down and saw it was indeed pasta. She swiped to other cards and said the following words ; Cherry, Carrot, Bread, Chocolate (not great pronunciation though), Banana, Salad, Sandwich, Ice Cream, Cereal, Orange, Juice, Apple, Milk, Pizza Peas, and Egg. She stopped at each card and turned to me before saying the word. I was stunned. She really was learning.
I spend 10-15 minutes a week looking for new apps for her. I read reviews online and try out an app or two if they have a free version in addition to a paid version.
I wish more apps were both Android and iOs (Apple) as the tablet I bought for her (HP Touchpad running Cyanogendmod) is Android. There are a few great apps, but few of the exact same apps.
Maybe the Easter Bunny will buy her a Ipod Touch?
Sick , but happy
Natali got sick at school last week. We think Hand, foot and mouth disease.
The first day was horrible. Fevers and a nearly inconsolable child.
Now she is just a little cranky. We only see one sore on her tongue and a small bump on each palm.
What always makes her happy is the park. We took a quick trip to a city park yesterday.
Natali loves too swing and was bothered they were all being used when we arrived. Thankfully it wasn't too long of a wait.
[nggallery id=48]
The first day was horrible. Fevers and a nearly inconsolable child.
Now she is just a little cranky. We only see one sore on her tongue and a small bump on each palm.
What always makes her happy is the park. We took a quick trip to a city park yesterday.
Natali loves too swing and was bothered they were all being used when we arrived. Thankfully it wasn't too long of a wait.
[nggallery id=48]
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
A 2nd child?
Darren says all the time that Natali will be our only child. He seems pretty adamant about it, but I remember once upon a time he was adamant that we weren't having any children at all. Look how that turned out? It took us 3 years and a couple of miscarriages to get Natali, and I am so happy that we didn't give up. Natali is such a good kid. We are very lucky to have her. When we first had her I was totally on board with having just 1 child, but as she gets older my mind has started to change. I really would like to have 1 more. That being said, I definitely want to wait until Natali is older. I have thought about it and I think the ideal time would be sometime in 2014. Of course, then I consider our finances and how much even part-time daycare costs and wonder how other families manage. We make a very comfortable living right now and adding another daycare payment plus baby expenses would push it a bit. I really don't think we would seriously consider it unless Darren were already a captain with a much larger salary, but that could change too. All of this would of course be dependent on Darren changing his mind. If he doesn't then Natali will be an only child and I will be fine with that too. I am happy just to have her. It's not an issue I will push too hard on because I would hate for Darren to just give in and not really want it. He is aware of my feelings on this matter, so we will just wait and see what happens down the road. I do remember how much I hated being pregnant, but Natali was absolutely worth every uncomfortable minute of my pregnancy. I think any other child we have would be just as great. I have 3 siblings and am constantly reminded about how glad I am to have them all in my life. I would like Natali to have that experience too. However, if she is an only child I am comforted by the fact that she has such wonderful cousins that we are able to see on a regular basis. Hopefully they will continue to be close as they age.
On another note, Natali had her 18 month check up yesterday. She is 25.6 pounds and 33.5 inches. I have been comparing her stats from this check up and her 15 month one to my stats at the same ages and they are almost exactly the same. I find it interesting that for now she seems to be on track to be exactly my height when she grows up. I am 5'3". We'll see if she continues on the same track or maybe gets a bit taller than me. I will be totally happy if she is at least my height. Any shorter is too short. :)
On another note, Natali had her 18 month check up yesterday. She is 25.6 pounds and 33.5 inches. I have been comparing her stats from this check up and her 15 month one to my stats at the same ages and they are almost exactly the same. I find it interesting that for now she seems to be on track to be exactly my height when she grows up. I am 5'3". We'll see if she continues on the same track or maybe gets a bit taller than me. I will be totally happy if she is at least my height. Any shorter is too short. :)
Thursday, February 9, 2012
No more tears!
The older Natali gets...the less she cries. She isn't cry free. Natali has started throwing tantrums every now and then. I letter her cry herself out. It's somewhat funny as she will stand up...walk around the room crying...get distracted...stop crying...then walk back toward me crying again.
She has stopped crying altogether though whenever she is ready to leave her crib. Instead she just calls me.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" she beckons...over and over again. It's cute...and much less annoying than crying.
We are 100% sure Natali is right handed...for now anyway. She is like most of the world...and unlike Kelli who is left handed.
Natali is pretty good at feeding herself with a spoon. She is at the point now where it's either her way or she's not eating. Thankfully I bought some plastic overall shirts from Ikea to protect her clothes.
Most of her teeth are in. We had a very easy time teething. Very little crying or mood swings.
She still enjoys reading. I've memorized most of the books in her collection so we stopped by Half Price Books this morning. It's kinda funny the only books I buy are for her...all my recent purchases for myself are digital.
[nggallery id=47]
She has stopped crying altogether though whenever she is ready to leave her crib. Instead she just calls me.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" she beckons...over and over again. It's cute...and much less annoying than crying.
We are 100% sure Natali is right handed...for now anyway. She is like most of the world...and unlike Kelli who is left handed.
Natali is pretty good at feeding herself with a spoon. She is at the point now where it's either her way or she's not eating. Thankfully I bought some plastic overall shirts from Ikea to protect her clothes.
Most of her teeth are in. We had a very easy time teething. Very little crying or mood swings.
She still enjoys reading. I've memorized most of the books in her collection so we stopped by Half Price Books this morning. It's kinda funny the only books I buy are for her...all my recent purchases for myself are digital.
[nggallery id=47]
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Natali on TV
The photo is a few months old. This ran last week on the Dallas news.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_jx-qqXMCs
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_jx-qqXMCs
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Travelling to Hawaii with a toddler
We survived Hawaii!
First...any parent contemplating holding their toddler (2 and under don't technically need a seat) for a flight more than 2 hours....you're nuts. Don't "hope" for an empty seat either. Flights are very full these days (again I work for an airline)....not likely.
The flight out had 25 open seats...which were promptly filled by non-revenue (employee/employee guest) passengers.
Natali and Kelli had seats together on the 2 side (the plane was 2-3-2). I had an aisle seat a few rows up. They had real tickets, I was a non-revenue passenger.
On the flight out Natali wasn't happy. We thought she would sleep as it was her nap time. Nah.
Kelli installed the child seat to be forward facing. Natali , despite my best attempts at keeping her a baby, has been growing. Her feet can now touch the seat infront of her. Once the person infront of her leaned back..it was on.
Kelli fought with this issue for a while and became quite frustrated. About an hour into the flight I offered to swap seats. Kelli was very grateful. I then sat down...examined the issue...and turned Natali's car seat sideways with her legs facing me. Problem solved...for now. For the next flight it could be an issue. I think I might discuss with Kelli using the CARES harness for Natali and checking the car seat. The CARES harness will keep Natali further from the seat in front of her while securing her to the seat. We'd likely have to practice using it at home to get her used to it.
Once in Maui everything was good. Natali adjusted to all the family members in the house quite quickly. At it's peak there were 16 other people in the house besides us including 3 of Natalis' cousins.
There is/was an ongoing naming system with grandmothers in my family. Growing up I had a great great grandmother named "fat mama". My great grandmother was "mama eerie". My grandmother was "mama dear". My mother passed away before getting her "mama" name.
Natali has always been very good with my mother in law. While in Hawaii Natali really bonded with her. Natali calls Kelli "mommy". She began calling my mother in law, "mama". Natali says them very distinctly. I'm hoping for "mama yankee" but will settle for "mama peggy" or "mama richmond" or even just "mama".
Natali was very adamant about being held by "mama"....just about all the time. She was very insistent when any of her cousins was near "mama".
After a full week in Maui it was time to come home. Once again they had real tickets...I was non-revenue.
We left on a Wednesday. Normally a slower travel day. The flight was overfull. I had to non-rev to Honolulu on Hawaiian airlines (free for me as a pilot) and then grab a seat on a flight from there home. Natali and Kelli of course went straight home.
Lucky for Kelli Natali was tired and slept most of the flight (it helped it was an overnight flight).
Finally...photos from the trip. My mother in law rented an amazing house for the week. The house was named Prince of Polynesia....fancy doesn't even begin to describe it.
[nggallery id=46]
First...any parent contemplating holding their toddler (2 and under don't technically need a seat) for a flight more than 2 hours....you're nuts. Don't "hope" for an empty seat either. Flights are very full these days (again I work for an airline)....not likely.
The flight out had 25 open seats...which were promptly filled by non-revenue (employee/employee guest) passengers.
Natali and Kelli had seats together on the 2 side (the plane was 2-3-2). I had an aisle seat a few rows up. They had real tickets, I was a non-revenue passenger.
On the flight out Natali wasn't happy. We thought she would sleep as it was her nap time. Nah.
Kelli installed the child seat to be forward facing. Natali , despite my best attempts at keeping her a baby, has been growing. Her feet can now touch the seat infront of her. Once the person infront of her leaned back..it was on.
Kelli fought with this issue for a while and became quite frustrated. About an hour into the flight I offered to swap seats. Kelli was very grateful. I then sat down...examined the issue...and turned Natali's car seat sideways with her legs facing me. Problem solved...for now. For the next flight it could be an issue. I think I might discuss with Kelli using the CARES harness for Natali and checking the car seat. The CARES harness will keep Natali further from the seat in front of her while securing her to the seat. We'd likely have to practice using it at home to get her used to it.
Once in Maui everything was good. Natali adjusted to all the family members in the house quite quickly. At it's peak there were 16 other people in the house besides us including 3 of Natalis' cousins.
There is/was an ongoing naming system with grandmothers in my family. Growing up I had a great great grandmother named "fat mama". My great grandmother was "mama eerie". My grandmother was "mama dear". My mother passed away before getting her "mama" name.
Natali has always been very good with my mother in law. While in Hawaii Natali really bonded with her. Natali calls Kelli "mommy". She began calling my mother in law, "mama". Natali says them very distinctly. I'm hoping for "mama yankee" but will settle for "mama peggy" or "mama richmond" or even just "mama".
Natali was very adamant about being held by "mama"....just about all the time. She was very insistent when any of her cousins was near "mama".
After a full week in Maui it was time to come home. Once again they had real tickets...I was non-revenue.
We left on a Wednesday. Normally a slower travel day. The flight was overfull. I had to non-rev to Honolulu on Hawaiian airlines (free for me as a pilot) and then grab a seat on a flight from there home. Natali and Kelli of course went straight home.
Lucky for Kelli Natali was tired and slept most of the flight (it helped it was an overnight flight).
Finally...photos from the trip. My mother in law rented an amazing house for the week. The house was named Prince of Polynesia....fancy doesn't even begin to describe it.
[nggallery id=46]
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