Sunday, January 24, 2016

Meet My Dinosaurs - and My Brother


We have two boys. Two boys who are completely opposite in absolutely every way you could possibility imagine: sleeping habits, eating habits, one is very much introverted and the other --- well, he is best described as a "cartoon character". We mean the latter as a term of endearment, we promise. Neither child can greet you without making you smile but for completely opposing reasons. The oldest is an old soul who melts your heart and the youngest will have you curled in a ball of laughter grinning ear-to-ear. Being around a child that makes you laugh like that, melts your heart in a new way. We are blessed. We probably sound like any proud parents but, seriously, take a moment to pause and reflect on your child or children's personality and those little pieces that make them unique - and, you are sure to find some peace and something new to smile about.

Through this, our boys - the brothers - are best, best friends. We think you can see this through their play. They can go hours works collaboratively - complimentary - on special projects. And, here is a quick shot of that. In this video our oldest introduces you, proudly, to his younger brother. Enjoy!



Friday, January 22, 2016

A Wish from Santa

In July, our 3 year old spontaneously told us that he was going to ask Santa for a pirate ship. Sure enough, over the next 6 months, this wish continued. On December 25th, watch to see what was received.


Thursday, January 21, 2016

Why We Joined You Tube


After months (nearly 10 of them) of our 5 year old continuously expressing interest in making his own videos and posting them to You Tube, in December 2015 we opted in. In doing so, we stumbled onto some remarkable benefits -  most significantly - supporting our child's speech development. In watching the video you may hear him repeat a phrase when he realizes he is being very quiet and/or not enunciating his words (aka opening his mouths when he speaks). Creating the videos allows him to listen back and see if he thinks others are understanding him. The support through him seeing comments and "thumbs up" reminds him of the importance of clarity and annunciation. 

Watch/LISTEN here for his first video... even just for a few seconds:




And, watch/LISTEN here just a few weeks later:


His confidence and speech development astounds us!  Do you notice a difference?

Creating the videos has also become something for us to do as a family with both children having tremendous fun creating and watching! When life gets so chaotic, it can be difficult to find time to pause and connect as a unit. Making a video has become just that. Whether it is capturing a moment to share with family and friends or for us to be able to look back on years down the road - the public community and support of the "You Tube community" enables some accountability and excitably in this new endeavor.

Thanks for checking out our blog and taking the time to read about the first chapter of our You Tube story. Please subscribe to our channel and see how the story unfolds!

*** 6 MONTH UPDATE: Here is a video in May that he did entirely on his own. The progress continues:



Best regards,
Kids' Fun - a channel connecting and celebrating family as our children lay the foundation. xo

Wednesday, January 20, 2016