Twenty-Seven Months

The twos are an interesting time.  Some days I know exactly why they call them the "terrible twos," and some days I love them.  Yes, this age can be challenging, but it is also fun.  Cooper and I are communicating!  He's talking more and more every day and, while I can't always understand what he is saying, we're making progress.  He's learning so fast too!  It amazes me from day to day what he has picked up.

He's big into music right now.  He loves the keyboard he got for Christmas, and is also interested in other types of instruments.  (The mini drum set is at a drum store, and the man with the guitar is a friend at church.)

Interestingly, he seems to love written music too.  I have four hymnals that he gets out nearly every day and carries around, opening them up to various pages or sometimes bringing them to me, wanting me to sing a song or play it on his keyboard.  His favorite hymn is "Good Christian Men Rejoice."  I have never known that to be ANYBODY's favorite hymn, but I guess that's what makes us all unique!  He learned it on one of his videos.

I haven't taken too many pictures this month because he REFUSES to smile for, or even look at, the camera.  Oh well.

As for the rest of us, we're plugging along.  I'm always glad when we're through January; it's my least favorite month.  February at least brings some hope of springtime, though, I'll have to say, we've had a pretty mild winter so far.  I'm kind of bummed because we didn't have any real snow last year or this year, so Cooper has never gotten to play in it before.  We may have some yet, though.  I'm holding out hope for ONE good one.  That's all.  I'll be done after that.

I had the flu a couple of weeks ago, but other than that (and Don's little incident in December), we've all stayed pretty healthy so far.  Hopefully that trend will continue.

All in all, we're doing well.  Life is good, and we have much to be thankful for.

Kindle Fire

I am behind the times.  I admit it.  And I don’t care all that much, but I at least want to be able to communicate with people and know what they are talking about.  And until recently, I didn’t even know what an “app” was.

So, we had a little extra money, and I decided I would step up a bit.  Not all the way to a Smart Phone or an I-Pad, but a tablet of some sort.  I did a survey on Facebook asking which one I should buy for the money I had ($200 or less) and the response was unanimous: Kindle Fire.

I wasn’t sure how much I would use it.  But at least I could learn what an app was.

So I got one.  And I like it.  I’m still learning what all I can do.  I never thought I would want one to read books on, but it IS nice to be able to check books out from the library from the comfort of my home, without dragging a 2-year-old in and out just to go pick one up.  There are a lot of free books available from Amazon too.  The disadvantages are that you can’t share them with anyone else without giving up your Kindle while they read it, and I think my eyes get tired a little faster than from reading a book.  A good thing, though, is that I can lie in bed and read in the dark without disturbing Don (perhaps that's what's hurting my eyes?).

I can use it as a computer, though it’s not quite as easy to navigate as my laptop.  I can check my e-mail or Facebook or look anything up on the Internet, but, of course, it doesn’t have a keyboard.  You have to peck at the one that appears on the screen, which is kind of a pain.  Also, the screen is significantly smaller, but if you turn it sideways, the images get a little larger.  It is much easier to transport than my laptop, though, so I will probably take it with me when I travel.

Cooper has practically taken it over.  I have found a number of fun and educational things he can do on it, such as “coloring” (with his finger), playing a piano keyboard or drums, and some age-appropriate games, so it’s a good thing to take with me when I will need to entertain him (doctor’s waiting rooms, etc.)

I had to learn the difference between “3G” and “Wi-Fi.”  3G means you can use it anywhere but have to pay a monthly fee, like with a Smart Phone and some tablets, but Wi-Fi, which is what a Kindle Fire is, means you have to have a wireless Internet connection, so I can’t access the Internet everywhere.  However, the books and many of the other things get downloaded, so I don’t need an Internet connection to use them after I initially install them.

I kind of wanted it to have a camera so I could Skype on it.  Some tablets do, but alas, Kindle Fire does not.  Oh well.  I have one on my laptop which I have never even used anyway.

Two accessories I am glad I purchased are a cover for it and a charger.  It just comes with a cord that you have to hook up to another computer, but for a little extra you can get a charger you can plug into the wall.  I have to charge it every 1-2 days, depending on how much I use it.

So, all-in-all, I’d say if, like me, you just want to join the 21^st Century, it’s a good place to start.  I think it’s something I’ll use more and more, as I learn more of its capabilities.  I believe it was a worthwhile purchase.  And most importantly, now I know what an app is.