First the Camera, Now the Stroller
This is getting ridiculous. The good news is all the boys made it back from the mall. The bad news is that no one thought to pack up the stroller. A call to the mall was futile. The other good news is that the stroller is in stock at the same bargain price the next town over. At this point, I'm planning on heading that way in the morning to replace ours. It's an excellent all-purpose stroller, and relatively easy to store in the van so it doesn't get all wet and covered with outdoor debris.

[To self] It's only $30. It's only $30.

Of course, there was also the cool stroller accessory bag too. (This, more or less). It was more of a necessity when we were using the double stroller, though. The Evenflo has a pretty good amount of storage and a place for lidded cups, so I suppose I'll survive without the bag.

Labels: Consumer goods, convenience, wheels

- posted by Lenise @ 8:23 PM |

 
That Darned English Language!
Well, Jay's at the point where he's starting to learn proper English, at least a little bit. As I mentioned, Paul's started him on beginning phonics (and he's got the LeapFrog Letter Factory video from Grandparents B towards the same end), but it's not always an easy thing to practice when your mother tongue is English (just try sounding out "practice" OR "tongue"). Granted, he's really not there yet. When he reads the letters Q U E S T and tells you, "Dat spells 'Van!'", you know he's not stumbling because of idiosyncratic spellings.

Sometimes the children seem to be halfway to speaking German, what with Jay using "mine [mein]" as his sole first person possessive pronoun, and Isaac saying "Bett!" for "Bed".

Jay's starting to get that "I" is often a better word to use than "mine", but he's not getting the irregular past tense verbs (oddly enough). He uses "sleeped", "goed", "eated" and all that, and though I correct him most of the time, I don't know where to begin to explain why!

Today we were discussing the poor behavior Isaac and Jay exhibited during an unexpectedly long wait to get the rear tires on the van replaced. After an initial statement by me to the same effect, Jay conceded, "Mine not being haive." That was too cute, since he often postpones the "ing" until too late in the sentence, and the poor kid was apparently trying to avoid correction. Maybe we should have brought the tykes up in Germany, where verbs are so much more predictably haive.

Labels: baby talk, boys, grammar, wheels

- posted by Gary @ 7:58 PM |

 
New Wheels
Well, I bought a used Sit'N'Stand. I'm less than thrilled with my purchase. It's an older model, and considerably different than the one we test-drove in Burlington. Of course, we paid less than half the best list price for the new model (less, in fact, than the seller was asking), and I can fold the stroller by myself and stow it in the van. However, it takes up all the floor space in the tailgate even when stowed on its side (it didn't look like the tailgate would close with it lying flat), there are no drink holders for parent or child, the bar on the front seat does not swing out of the way (which means lifting Isaac in), and the thing is hard to steer! I imagine (optimistically) Jay will usually still want to walk most of the time once he gets used to it, because pushing the both of them around the zoo in that stroller would get old fast. For now, he enjoys riding, which isn't too bad just around town. It sure would be nice to have a drink holder and cushioned handles, though!

Labels: wheels, whining

- posted by Gary @ 8:24 PM |

 
Out and About
I testdrove one of these babies at Baby Depot today with my boys on board. I like it. For starters, I can fold the thing up!! Folding up any of our strollers anymore has become a bit of a struggle (even the umbrella stroller seems to get stuck, daring me to get a nasty pinch- maybe we need to oil it!). Our "nice" stroller which came in our Evenflo travel system has held up quite well, really, considering the use and abuse it has gotten. If I could fold it by myself without a 15-minute contest (or longer), I'd have stored it in a car. Since I can't, it's been exposed to the elements for nearly 3 years and isn't looking so hot. For one thing, the padding in the seat has shrunk so that it won't reach the velcro which holds the top in with a 25-lb child in it. It's looking pretty beat-up, but it still works just fine. Jay can hitch a ride on the front footrest or in the basket (which can concern folks, just a little bit, particularly if they happen to be your husband and aren't aware of this capability but see you pushing a stroller with one child in it, knowing that you should have two.) Anyway, this stroller's on my mental wishlist. I might have to check back at BD to see if it goes on sale. Apparently, $120 is a good price for it, but it's a lot to pay when you've got a stroller that's working for you. I've managed pretty well with the umbrella stroller, even with a diaper bag and a bunch of shopping bags over the handles. A portable double stroller, though, would probably come in handy sometime next year.

Labels: baby 3, wheels

- posted by Gary @ 11:13 PM |