Wordless Wednesday

We recently returned from three weeks visiting family in the US (such a great trip!). On the way back, Gus got a chance to play airplane while waiting for our plane at Chicago (not international terminal--that is just rubbish. Termnals 2/3 are excellent, though.) We were lucky we arrived so early to the airport, as Gus played in the kids' area for a good hour and could have gone on longer. It was perfect preparation for our overnight flight (i.e. it wore him out!)

Gus and Pa in the play airplane

 

Gus and Mama flying a helicopter

working very hard to move the luggage from the cargo hold to the "bus"

the airplane. you could also pilot the plane, go up in the control tower, weight the luggage, and more!
Thank you O'Hare and the Children's Museum of Chicago for the great space to play!

Happy New Year!  (It's still January, so I can still say that, right?)

A Non-Craft

I love the idea of crafts, but I have never been very good at transforming ideas into action. So I do not do crafts with Gus nearly as much as I would like. (I think I need to get a book. I don't really come up with my own ideas, and the internet is generally too overwhelming for this sort of thing!) However, I did see this on Pinterest the other week and thought it was easy enough that even I could do it! And I made it even easier, for good measure ;)

Gus with his bus

You can't see the bus too well in the picture, but basically all I did was draw a big bus on a blank piece of paper. I had originally planned to print one off the internet, like this one, but I thought it would be quicker just to draw it. My drawing wasn't spectacular, bus Gus knew it was a bus, and that was all that mattered. I just made sure that the bus took up as much of the page as possible, then drew two rows of windows, to make it a double-decker.

Next, we grabbed a stack of magazines and started tearing / cutting out pictures of people and animals to go on our bus. The plan was to glue or tape them in the windows of the bus, as if the passengers were looking out the windows. But Gus wasn't that fussed about this being a realistic representation, so we just pasted them wherever.

The thing I loved about this activity was that it was super-simple, but the pay-off for this bus-loving boy was huge! He loved this bus. For the rest of the day, and even a few days after, he kept saying "Look at your [my] bus!" and including it in our play, as can be seen by the animals in the above picture looking at the bus.  I think children really enjoy being able to create things, especially those that they see every day. Now, not every child is bus-mad like mine, but I think this would also work really well with a picture of a house or airplane or castle or something like that.

Happy (non-)crafting!

Gus says...

There are so many things going on right now that I just do not want to forget. You know those moments where you just wished you had a video camera to record the thing that just happened? (And since I lost my new camera only 4 months after I got it, I don't have any video camera. sad face). I guess written records will have to do.

Gus loves to make funny faces and do jokes at the moment. For about a week, at every diaper change he would say "Change your diaper on the chair? Change your diaper on the ceiling? Change your diaper on the moon?!" He would just laugh and laugh after every one. (Okay, we would laugh, too.) This week he likes to be Gus Pie, and Jon, myself, or one of the stuffed animals gobbles him up. He'll ask the toy "Would you like...an orange? No! Would you like...an apple? No! Would you like...a lemon? No! Would you like...Gus Pie?"

Gus making his (blurry) funny face

About a week or so ago we started playing dragons with him. We look for dragons around the house, or Jon or I puts a green blanket over our head to pretend to be a dragon. He has picked up from us to say "Listen out!" (covering his ear with his hand as he listens), to which we respond with a roaaar! (He became interested in dragons through the book When the Dragons Came, which is an excellent book. Gus can pretty much recite the whole thing, as well!)

Gus's favourite toys at the moment are buses and cars and trains.We like to make little towns out of blocks that the buses can drive to and drop the passengers off at. But apparently (I did not know this) buses can also have good conversations with each other. And trains are as good a friend as any doll. Case in point: we are getting our kitchen remodeled, so I was clearing out the cupboards. I had put one of the boxes full of stuff in front of the sink, and it was the perfect height for Gus to step on to and reach the sink and the few items in it. So he sits the digger next to him, and for the next 20 or 30 minutes, I hear "Would you like a drink digger? Good drink, digger. Digger finished the drink. Gus like a drink, too." as he concocts "drinks" and "snacks" for himself and the digger!

Gus, his digger, and his towers

A few words he has been testing out recently:

• actually. "Shop is that way, actually." (I turned right out of the park to go round the lake to the shop. Apparently Gus wanted to turn left and go the slightly longer way.)
• some. "Some cats like to be stroked." (after I told him we couldn't pet a strange cat, since I didn't know if it liked to be stroked)
• might. "Pa might mend it when he gets home." (I don't think he totally understands the meaning of might, and often uses it to mean will.)
• Practising negatives. "Somebody is not in the park" when the park is empty. Or, after we get on the bus and he notices the driver's hat "Some drivers have no hat on." Definitely getting his meaning across, even if the constructions are slightly different than I would do!

What's New with Gus

I've been really enjoying watching Gus interact with others recently. He can be really shy and quiet, but once he decides a person is his friend, watch out, because he will not leave them alone!  We had a bunch of Jon and my friends over the other week, and Gus immediate latched on to our friend Gary. Poor Gary was trying to talk to people, and Gus just kept bringing him books, saying "Okay! Okay!" (his way of indicating that he wants to be read to). Luckily, Gary got a reprieve when the one other child showed up--Gus immediately made a beeline for Imogen. He brought her pretty much every toy in the house, trying to get her to play with him, which was sweet, but rather overwhelming for Imogen!

Gus is still at the stage where he doesn't actually play too much with other children. He loves to be with older children and copy them best he can, but when we meet up with other children Gus's age, they don't really play together too much. He is actually more likely to try and get one of the other parents to play with / read to him. He does love getting together with his friends, though, and he talks about them for days after seeing them. One day, his friend Luke was over at our house, and Gus just snuck up behind him to give him a great big hug! I think Luke was a bit taken aback, because when Gus tried to hug him a second time, he refused with a bit of a push. I tried to explain to Gus that, actually, you can't just go and hug a person like that with no warning or consent, and Luke was kind of within his rights to defend his own personal space. But I'm not sure Gus got it. We'll keep working on that one.

Another thing Gus loves at the moment is babies. I mean, really, who doesn't? Luke from the story above actually has a new baby brother. Gus wasn't quite sure the first time I held the new baby, but ever since then, has really loved him. One day he asked to hold the baby and ended up sitting on the couch with baby on his lap for 15 minutes. Then he asked me to put the baby on the floor and proceeded to bring baby Tom all of his own favourite toys. Of course, large plastic buses aren't ideal for a newborn, but his heart was definitely in the right place.

Since quite a few people that we know have either just had or are expecting new babies, we asked Gus the other week what he would think about a new baby in our house. (Not by way of an announcement, just to see what he would say!) He thought that would be pretty cool, actually, and has even said he would share his milk with a new baby. He brought it up completely out of the blue a few days later, that he wants a new baby in our house. Later, when I was nursing Gus before bed, Jon asked him again if he would share his milk. Gus said, "Yeah. New baby have that milk" (i.e., the side he was not currently using). Very clever solution for that, Gus!

In other news, Gus is getting really into climbing all of a sudden. This week at the park, he has started climbing on the really big climbing frame. He can't get very far--yet!--but I love watching him work out where to go next and how to move his body. I am pretty chill about it at the moment, since he doesn't get more than a couple feet off the ground, but I might have to work at keeping calm as he learns to climb higher!

Gus also love love loves singing. his favourite song is The Wheels on the Bus (and has been for some time). We sing it together sometimes, but more often, I hear him singing it to himself. And he always does the "all day long" part REALLY LOUDLY! He also likes to sing This is the Way the Ladies Ride. This is a good song for smaller babies, because you can sit them on your lap and bounce them up and down--gently for the way the ladies ride, a bit more boisterous-ly for the gentlemen, then side to side for the farmer, who then falls in the ditch. Gus likes to sit on the arm of the couch and sing and bounce himself. When he gets to the falls in the ditch part, he throws himself onto the couch (or more often, my lap as I sit on the couch), laughing and generally having a whale of a time.

Stories about Gus

Jon and I took Gus to the "tiny park" near our house the other day. We call it the tiny park because it only has two swings, a slide, and a little monkey bars / climbing thing. But that is perfectly fine for our Gus, as he usually spends most of our time there on the swing. We were pushing Gus in the swing, Jon in front and myself in back, as per Gus's instructions, while he shouts out "Gus go high. Gus go bigger high. Gus go SUPER HIGH!"  By this time, I already had to lift my arms above my head to push him, so I think any higher and he would have been over the crossbar ;)

We were in the US visiting family for 3 wonderful weeks in July. We all had a great time seeing everyone, and Gus especially loved playing with his cousins. He of course had a special fondness / adoration for his cousin Ben, who is 3 years old. One night, he chased Ben for ages, round and round and round the house, trying to give him hugs. And, of course, knocking him over and falling right on top of him when he did manage to catch him!

We were lucky enough to be able to take Gus to the Olympics this month. We saw the women's trampolining qualification round and finals. We had told him ahead of time what we were going to do, so he kept talking about going to the 'Lympics to, in his words, "see people". An accurate description, to be sure, although maybe not as detailed as one might expect.

He did seem to enjoy it, though. Once there, he realised that the people were "jumping up and down and spinning!!" (He always said it in a very excited fashion--probably it would be more accurate to add a few more exclamation marks, actually.) We were very high up in the arena, though, so I was getting pretty nervous as he tried to run around in front of the empty seats next to us. I wasn't too disappointed when Gus fell asleep in my lap after the first round and slept through the whole finals! That way, he got to experience it, and then I got to actually see some of the competition, rather than just worrying about him the whole time!

And of course, the best part of his whole day was that we got to ride on "big green bus! And big choo choo train! And little choo choo train!"

We also watched a lot of Olympics on the television. I figured I can justify having the TV on for hours each day for two weeks every 4 years. We taught him to say both Go GB! and U-S-A! and now when we turn the TV on, Gus asks "Watch GB?"  He especially liked watching "Tom [Daley] jump in water." And the horses, but I couldn't keep the dressage on for more than a few minutes, even for Gus.  

We also spent a week in France with Jon's family. The house we were staying in had grape vines on the back patio, and we were allowed to eat any of the fruit there. Gus loved it. He got quite good at only picking the purple ones, although he did also enjoy picking unripe ones to throw to the birds. Oh well, I'm sure they appreciated it.

***

  As you can see, we have been pretty busy these last couple of months. Glad to be getting back into the swing of our normal routine, though, and hope that will extend to the blog as well! 

A Survey, as answered by Gus

Peter (and his Mommy) over at Working to be Worthy posted this survey, and Gus thought he would play along too. It's not a bad way to spend an evening. Hope you enjoy!  
(also--writing from the point of view of your child: cute or annoying? When I was reading Liana's, I thought it was cute, but writing this just seemed rather twee. Oh well)


~*THE BASICS*~
Your Name- Gus
Nicknames- Gussy, Gus-Gus
Birthday- November 10

~*HAVE YOU??*~
Been kissed? everyday by my Mama
Eaten an entire box of Oreos? we don't really have Oreos here in England (I mean, you can get them, but they are not Britain's favourite biscuit), and my mama almost never buys cookies anyway, so no.
Been on stage? Not as a performer, but I did climb up onto the dais during the vows at Uncle Tim and Aunt Becky's wedding. Mama was a bit mortified, but I don't think the happy couple minded too much. 
Seen the Eiffel tower? never. I have been to France, but not Paris.

~*FAVORITES*~
Shampoo: Earth Friendly Baby bath gel goes in the tub to make bubbles, although I really only use water on my hair--all the cool kids are doing no 'poo!
Color: orange
Band: any that sings The Wheels on the Bus on youtube
Commercial: I do not appreciate it when ads come on before my WotB videos. Not even the really cute (according to Mama) Google+ father's day one with the newborn baby pictures.

~*YOUR FRIENDS*~
Do you have a crush on someone? I share my love out equally
Do you have a best friend? Luke and Hattie and I are pretty tight
Who do you go to the mall with the most? Mama, but she usually just takes me there to do errands (although she does let me ride the mechanical bus and digger while we are there!)
Who have you known the longest of your friends?  Well, I met Hattie and Luke on the same day. Mama's cousin Isabelle is my birthday buddy, though, so we have a pretty special connection there, even though we don't get to see each other too often.
Whose parents do you know the best? I always get excited when we are going to see Claire and Anna (mums to Hattie and Luke, respectively) 
Who are you jealous of? I'm not really the jealous type. I do like to push Hattie's blocks cart around and around her house, though--definitely wish I had one of those at home!
What is your usual quote? "Mama come too!"

~*IN THE LAST 24 HOURS HAVE YOU*~
Cried? Oh yes. I wanted to go for a walk, and Mama said that I had to have a clean diaper before we could go. I was not impressed.
Eaten fluf? I was pretty sure it was a breadcrumb that I picked up off the floor, but Mama was not convinced. 
Helped someone? I love to help with the vacuuming and laundry, but we didn't have much of a chance to do that today.
Cut your hair? I do not like to have my hair cut. So no. 
Gone for a run? We went to the garden centre today, and I had a fantastic time running back and forth with Grandma and Grandpa, looking at all the animal garden statues.
Been kissed? Many times, by some of my favourite people (i.e. parent AND grandparents)
Said “I love you”? When we were going to bed tonight, Pa said "I love you very much", and I replied "Love very much". 
Written a letter? No, I'm not really much of a writer. 
Hugged someone? As above with the kissing.
Been Scared? No, I always have someone around who is big and strong who loves me and looks out for me.

~*WHENS THE LAST TIME YOU*~
Showered? I take baths, mostly, but it's been a few days now. Mama and Pa can never seem to remember when bath-day rolls around!
What are you wearing right now? T-shirt and diaper for bed.
Are you tired? Shattered.
Are you hungry? Not really--I had plenty of milk at bedtime.
Are you talking to someone online? No. Mama misplaced the webcam, so no skyping for me at the moment.

What's new with Gus

Gosh, I do not know why it has been so long since I last wrote anything here. I do know, however, that every day I spend not writing makes it harder to write an update on what Gus is up to these days. So, I am going to take 10 minutes and write what I can by way of update. Let's go!

Gus is such a chatterbox. He really does talk nonstop. He is always surprising me by picking up new little phrases and things. Yesterday, we were watching youtube videos of The Wheels on the Bus (he loves this so much), and I asked him which vid was his favourite. He just answered, "Don't know." I thought to myself, when did you start sounding like such a grown-up person?!  I also love it when you ask him something and he responds no, like that was the most ridiculous question in the world, and obviously the answer is no. He is just so funny.

Cars and trucks and buses have overtaken animals as his favourite thing, I think. Buses in particular seem to be well-loved, and he gets very excited by the idea of Jon riding the "big green bus" home from work. Similarly, his favourite book at the moment is Richard Scary's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. Which he identifies by name. This book can keep him busy for ages. There are so many pictures in the book, and each one tells a little story. And he narrates every. single. one.  Luckily, I don't always have to read it with him. There is one page with a massive pile-up, and the other day I was in the next room from Gus while he was reading, and I just heard him say "Oh no! Two cars fall down!"

His pronunciation of various sounds and words is getting much better, which makes me a bit sad. The word shoes actually sounds the way it is meant to be pronounced, rather than being a string of sounds that could not be replicated by anyone else. And I heard him use the word chicken instead of cluck-cluck a couple of times this week. Oh, they do grow up fast!  And I don't take nearly enough videos of him talking!

He's also started doing the actions that go along with songs, such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Wind the Bobbin Up. He is quite a shy little guy, though, and you can especially see that when we go to somewhere like Rhyme Time at the library. At home, he shouts instructions about which song or verse to sing next and does actions and is generally really engaged when we sing songs together. When we are in a group, though, he just sits quietly on my lap, hardly even smiling, just watching all the other kids and their parents. He does seem to enjoy it, but I guess he likes to observe more than jump into the middle of things. Not too much unlike his Mama, actually.

Wow, that actually took 20 minutes, and I feel like I've only touched the surface!  I'll leave you with some pictures from this month.

Another favourite pasttime. I am definitely not complaining!

A vintage bus show. Gus was in Heaven!! (even if it doesn't look it by his expression)

Wading in the Princess Diana Memorial Fountain in London

Looking out the front door at the truck and cars

Painting

Multitasking--vacuuming the back yard while on the phone

Lifting weights with Pa

Driving a fire truck. Why can I never get a picture of him smiling?!