Posted in Happiness, tagged motherhood, music on October 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Hello friends,
No, I have not fallen off the face of the earth, but close: shifting naps, insomnia and teething have taken a vicious toll on my writing time. So until I get myself and the baby figured out, please read this this lovely blog post by my old pal Chris King about a musical event I’ll be performing in. And about which I’m very excited, between moments of nascent tantrums and sleepy stumbles to Target.
Xoxo,
Mama Dean
Posted in Daily Life, Growth & Development, Happiness, tagged babies, childhood, children, humor, motherhood, toddlers on September 12, 2013| 1 Comment »
Me: Say “please.”
Baboo: “bees!”
Me: Say “pee.”
Baboo: “bee!”
Me: Say “daddy.”
Baboo: “dah-DAY!”
Me: Say “yes.”
Baboo: “yesh!”
Me: Say “house.”
Baboo: “housh!”
Me: Say “ice.”
Baboo: “eyesh!”
Me: Say “kitten.”
Baboo: “nyow-nyow!”
Posted in Happiness, Milestones, tagged babies, babyhood, childhood, motherhood on September 12, 2013| Leave a Comment »
You are 19 months old.
You have somehow learned that this symbol means “trash”:
You have been collecting new words: nice, trash (which was “dash” and is now “tash”), Elmo (much to Mama’s chagrin), go, pop, boom, help, pee, beep, please, eat, on, in, baby. Not that these words sound exactly like they’re supposed to…
You now eat bananas like a normal person (previously Mama fed them to you on a spoon because you either refused to touch them, or smushed them and then complained about your banana-covered hands).
You adore your Daddy more and more as time goes on, running to see if he’s home after every nap and sticking as close as possible to him when he’s home. If you see a picture with a man and a baby, you call the man Daddy.
You occasionally get into a temper, usually when you’re tired. And it’s not really a temper so much as a very pathetic display of tears and sadness over a profound disappointment such as the kitchen gate being closed when you’d prefer to roam the entire first floor.
You sometimes take Mama by the hand to lead her to an activity you’d Iike her to participate in. Usually it involves a book. With kittens. Because…
You love, love, love kittens. Love them. When you see a dog you make your kitten noise. So it’s really cool for you that Grammie bought you a book that actually meows.
You enjoy play dates for the most part, though you tend to hang back a bit and remain puzzled by the concept of sharing.
You have become adept at going though play tunnels.
You love to “help” Mama sweep.
You will sometimes stamp your foot if you’re not getting something you want. We have absolutely no idea where you learned this charming little behavior. Seriously. Mama hasn’t stamped her foot since she was enduring the third fitting for her wedding dress.
You eschew all vegetables except carrots, sweet potatoes and the stems of broccoli.
You know what toilets are for, and you ask Mama if she needs to “bee” every time you see one. If she does, you enjoy getting paper for her, and you try to flush it while she’s still doing her business.
You can go up and down the steps of the jungle gym all by yourself. You can also get into and out of your little chair by yourself. You tend to throw your arms in the air and squeal whenever you get out of the chair successfully. Mama may have taught you that part.
You love to put on one of Mama’s or Daddy’s shoes and clomp around in it.
You said “no!” when you saw the needle for your flu shot, but you didn’t even cry afterwards.
You are 19 months old, and you are edging gently into Toddlerville.
Posted in Happiness, Milestones, tagged babies, babyhood, children, motherhood, parenthood on July 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »
You are 17 months old.
You have a new toy:
You somehow know that the sound of an almost-empty ketchup bottle “farting” is funny.
You say “brr” when something is cold.
You had your first skinned knee last week.
You will sometimes put your hands on your hips and stick your belly out and look at Mama and start laughing.
You dip one index finger ever so daintily in something you want to taste and then bring it slowly up to your mouth. Your Grammie taught you this.
You’ve been doing this for a while, but: You will take someone’s hand and move it to indicate what you want them to do.
You’ve been introduced to a baby pool, and you’re getting along famously. But so far you mostly like to play with the hose (and drink from it).
You shake your head “no” to book after book when it’s time to read before a nap or bedtime. This is why there are messy stacks of books on the ottoman in your room, and a few on the floor.
You have absolutely zero fear of the garbage truck.
Your favorite kitchen toys at the moment are a tiny Tupperware container and a springform pan, but you still have great affection for the strainers.
You speed to the dishwasher to help Mama unload it, and you’re tall enough to reach things on the top rack.
You find the vacuum cleaner to be highly amusing and are desperate to touch it when it’s on.
You are more of a parrot every day, and this is why your next word may be “sugar.”
You spent 20 minutes playing with an empty 2-liter soda bottle the other day.
You’ve tried to go to sleep standing up a couple of times, once when Grammie was taking care of you. Boy, was she confused!
You can go down the stairs by sliding on your belly (feet first).
You have discovered slides, and giggle the best possible giggle when going down them. Then you try to climb back up them.
You can step up a small step if you’re holding Mama’s hand.
You still have no interest in ice cream or cake.
You are all about graham crackers.
You are not all about using a spoon, preferring instead to dip the wrong end in your yogurt.
You are 17 months old, and you seem to be teething again which is just ridiculous but whatever, we’ll work with it…
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness, tagged Blogging, gratitude on July 9, 2013| 3 Comments »
Dear Lady I Met at the Schnucks Deli Counter the Other Day:
You delighted me by telling me you follow my blog. That’s the first time I’ve had the pleasure of hearing that from a stranger. You further delighted me by saying you recognized me by my glasses. (I assumed my hair was my trademark — guess I need to rethink that.)
Here’s the thing: I was so fuzzed up with stunned happiness that I think I forgot to say thank you. And now I’m mortified by my lapse of manners.
So thanks, Deli Counter Lady! Thank you for following and reading my blog when you must be very busy with your sweet baby girl. Thank you for speaking up. Thank you for making me feel great and causing my husband to give me a high-five.
And one question, since I’m terribly curious: How did you find my blog?
Thanks again,
H
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness, Milestones, tagged babies, childhood, growing up, milestones, motherhood, parenthood on May 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »
You are 16 months old.
Your favorite food is anything with peanut butter on it.
Your favorite toy (see photo above) is Mama’s least favorite because all it does is squawk out one of two songs when the button is pushed. Fortunately, Elmo gets tired and needs naps rather frequently.
You will eat banana from a spoon, but if we offer you chunks of it, you either squish it or ask for the peel so you can put it back.
You offer your bottle to Ned (your bedtime buddy) after every meal.
You make an “ah” noise after you take a drink of water. Almost every time.
You think Mama’s farts come from her shoes.
You have begun to say “hi” to other kids. When a shy, overtired preschooler ignored your greeting you followed him, hopefully saying “hi” over and over.
You like to scribble on paper, and you like to turn the paper over to scribble on the other side.
You like Mama to sing the songs on your music table. You indicate this by starting a song and turning to stare at her.
You are enraptured by ants and will throw yourself flat on the floor to watch and follow them.
You think running away when Mama says, “Please come here” is a very funny thing to do.
You squawk when refused something you want, such as for the dishwasher to be opened.
You fling your arms skyward and grab your head when asked, “How big is Baboo?”
You can reach the water dispenser on the fridge. And so we are thankful that we can lock it.
You’ve had another bad round of teething lately, waking up at night and skipping naps. You seem to be working on your upper canines now that your lower ones are in.
You have begun to ask for the same book to be read to you over and over. Lately you’ve been doing this with “The Snowy Day.”
You have begun to refuse certain books, most recently “Clap Your Hands,” which was your chosen “repeat” book a few days ago.
You now give Mama leg hugs.
You gave Daddy a kiss on Father’s Day when he asked for one.
You’ve had your first few trips to a playground and seem amazed and delighted by all the space. The first time, you spent about 10 minutes holding Mama’s finger and eating Cheerios, then you followed her when she got up to throw something away. And then you spotted the water fountain and headed straight for it.
You love to entertain us with silly sounds. There’s one thing you do with your lower lip that we didn’t teach you — and can’t figure out how to duplicate.
You are 16 months old, and you’re more fun every day.
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness, tagged bath, humor, parenthood on May 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »
This stuff is super-gentle on sensitive baby skin, smells heavenly, and produces bubbles galore — and it works like a dream on overtired and cranky parents.
Or maybe that was the port.
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness, tagged babies, babyhood, childhood, milestones, motherhood, parenting on April 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »
You are 14 months old.
You have eight teeth. One of them is a molar, and we did not enjoy nursing you through its eruption, which took for freakin’ ever. Naturally, its mate is now coming up on the other side of your lower jaw.
You are still uninterested in walking, though you often stand like a rock and will take a few steps now and then.
You like to look at books after your morning bottle. Your current favorites are “Runaway Bunny” and “Dear Zoo.” “Goodnight Moon” continues to hold your interest too — you’ve recently begun pointing at the little house and the young mouse.
You don’t know that you can get up from being flat on your back; you’ll just hold your arms out to be helped up and kick your legs, like a beetle that’s been flipped over. This is fine, because we still change your diaper on a changing table that’s four feet off the ground.
You have begun to say “ma,” meaning “more.” “No” still comes out as “nah” or “neh” or “nnnnneeeehhhhhhh.” Your other new words are “uh” and “moo,” a/k/a “up” and “moon.”
You hug other babies, your baby dolls, your Grammie, and your stuffed animals with joyful abandon. You hug us, too, mostly at the end of the day when you’re very tired.
You try to put Cheerios in your nose and eyes when you’re tired. You do this while smiling at us.
You make a kissing noise in imitation of Mama and Daddy, but you don’t try to kiss us yet.
You enjoy bath time thoroughly, though you increasingly try to stand up in the tub despite Mama explaining this is not a good idea and gently sitting your butt back down over and over.
You recently blew your Daddy’s mind when he asked where the red dragon was, and you promptly crossed the room to fetch it.
You can turn light switches on and off, and lunge for them whenever you see one. You cackle every time you flip the switch regardless of whether you can see the lights it controls.
You like to share Mama’s apples with her, and will wipe her face as you pass the apple back and forth.
You go after forbidden things with astonishing focus when you are tired.
You are becoming a much more adept imitator of gesture and speech.
You are now over 30 inches tall, but it’s hard to tell exactly how tall you are because you wiggle so much.
You can locate your eyes, ears, nose, mouth, fingers, toes and diaper. Sometimes you get a little confused when we ask where your mouth is.
You adore playing peek-a-boo with towels, large bowl lids, and whatever else is handy.
You are 14 months old, and you dazzle us every day.
Posted in Daily Life, Happiness, tagged babies, childhood, children, family, motherhood on April 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Every so often one of us will say we need to get this or that cute thing on video, but there are a lot of non-videoable things I want to remember. And no, I don’t care if non-videoable isn’t a word.
Here’s the list so far:
– The baby’s foot working against my leg as he takes his bottle.
– Milk breath.
– The sparky light in his eyes when he hears a new or interesting noise.
– The weight of his body against me when he’s completely relaxed — I don’t know how, but it weighs more than he weighs.
– The dainty ballet of his hand when he carefully picks something up or takes something from me.
– The smell of his neck.
– The thrilled, thrilling energy that pours out of him when he’s really excited.
– The rainbows that shoot out his butt during every diaper change.
Okay, kidding about that last one. But it still amazes me to see how perfect and beautiful his little body is.
Posted in Growth & Development, Happiness, Milestones, tagged babies, babyhood, child rearing, childhood, motherhood on April 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »
Shortly after the baby took his first steps, I was asked if I’d gotten it on video. I hadn’t.
I still haven’t, partly because he’s not doing a lot of repeat performances, and partly because I don’t want to miss it. Also, he often takes a few steps as he hurls himself towards me. Kind of hard to film that without assistance.
I’ve often heard it said that the act of observing an event changes it. The video corollary is that by recording something, you’re removing yourself from it, even if only by a degree. And right now, I want to be as close as possible to big moments. There’s plenty of time to get his early stumble-steps recorded.
And besides, I’m not sure the video camera is charged.
My journey to becoming a dietitian and other cool stuff
Living The Road Less Travelled
Mama-Come-Lately 