Monday, March 31, 2014
Walking
There you have it, folks -- the first video to capture Laurel walking! [Note: I don't know why the video is a plain black box with no preview thumbnail, but if you click "play" it will work!]
Her very first step came on Thursday, six days ago, but she was utterly unsteady, launching herself on faith alone and falling immediately afterward, and I was sure it would be weeks before she actually began to walk. But she added an additional lurching step or two on Sunday, moving quickly to get them in before she fell, and by Monday she began to show some improvement.
The speed of this development surprised our whole family. After all, Laurel had only begun to stand on her own a few days before she attempted walking -- even on Monday, Isaac was still marveling at the sight of Laurel standing there, let alone walking!
Yesterday Laurel walked just a little bit better, and she didn't have to rush to get in three steps before falling. Unfortunately her attempts were still infrequent enough that I couldn't catch it on video.
Today, however, she figured out how to stop walking without losing her balance. That means she can often take a step or two, pause to steady herself, and then continue walking. The longest stretch she walked today was only five feet, so walking is far from a reliable source of transportation -- if she wants to go somewhere in particular, she crawls.
But most exciting is that she tries walking over and over again -- which meant it was easy to catch her on video!
Percentile
Laurel had her 15-month well-baby exam on Tuesday (although she is actually 15 and three-quarters months). She is healthy and developing normally, I am grateful to report.
You may recall that at her 12-month well-baby exam we discovered Laurel's weight percentile had continued to "fall off the curve," which caused some discussion. Well, it fell even more! Over the course of the last 12 months her weight percentile has dropped 50 points, steadily decreasing at each well-baby exam: 60%, 45%, 40%, 25%, 20%, and now 10%.
Here are her numbers (which can also be viewed at her Trixie Tracker measurements page):
Even though a child's weight gain is supposed to remain fairly steady, the doctor did not seem concerned about Laurel's decline. He noted that genetics are at work, because Isaac is also tall and slim (although at the same age Isaac was actually at the 45th percentile). The doctor thought Laurel's slenderness had something to do with her being breast-fed (although Isaac was too) and that she would plump up when she was weaned. Finally, he pointed out that because she is breast-fed, she is getting plenty of the right fats for her brain development.
So we'll just keep doing what we're doing: offering Laurel good stuff to eat, letting her eat as much of it as she wants, and breast-feeding her until she decides to stop.
- - - - -
Since Laurel is under 20 pounds, by law she still rides rear-facing in her carseat. We waited until Isaac was 24 pounds before we switched his seat around; by then he was 15 months old, the same age as Laurel now, but he was two inches taller and his legs were starting to seem cramped.
However, recent recommendations claim that because the rear-facing position is five times safer, you should keep your child's seat rear-facing as long as possible. Is anyone actually following this recommendation? With Laurel's current carseat, this means in theory she could ride rear-facing until she weighs 35 pounds! Isaac didn't weigh that much on his fourth birthday!
You may recall that at her 12-month well-baby exam we discovered Laurel's weight percentile had continued to "fall off the curve," which caused some discussion. Well, it fell even more! Over the course of the last 12 months her weight percentile has dropped 50 points, steadily decreasing at each well-baby exam: 60%, 45%, 40%, 25%, 20%, and now 10%.
Here are her numbers (which can also be viewed at her Trixie Tracker measurements page):
Height: 31 inches (70th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds, 14 ounces (10th percentile)
Even though a child's weight gain is supposed to remain fairly steady, the doctor did not seem concerned about Laurel's decline. He noted that genetics are at work, because Isaac is also tall and slim (although at the same age Isaac was actually at the 45th percentile). The doctor thought Laurel's slenderness had something to do with her being breast-fed (although Isaac was too) and that she would plump up when she was weaned. Finally, he pointed out that because she is breast-fed, she is getting plenty of the right fats for her brain development.
So we'll just keep doing what we're doing: offering Laurel good stuff to eat, letting her eat as much of it as she wants, and breast-feeding her until she decides to stop.
- - - - -
Since Laurel is under 20 pounds, by law she still rides rear-facing in her carseat. We waited until Isaac was 24 pounds before we switched his seat around; by then he was 15 months old, the same age as Laurel now, but he was two inches taller and his legs were starting to seem cramped.
However, recent recommendations claim that because the rear-facing position is five times safer, you should keep your child's seat rear-facing as long as possible. Is anyone actually following this recommendation? With Laurel's current carseat, this means in theory she could ride rear-facing until she weighs 35 pounds! Isaac didn't weigh that much on his fourth birthday!
Weeds
I've been busy lately: children, painting, gardening. Lots of gardening. Early May is the time of year that our garden begins to look spectacular, with flowers everywhere. Also there are weeds everywhere.
I've made an heroic effort to keep the weeds under control, but it takes more than one person to hand-weed three-quarters of an acre. A few weeks ago Isaac and I were sitting on top of our hillside after pulling some especially tall weeds, and I asked him, "Are we ever going to get all the weeds pulled?"
"No," Isaac said. "There just isn't enough time." I nodded in agreement. Then he added thoughtfully, "Well, you don't have enough time. I might, though, since I'm younger than you."
Yes, one lifetime isn't enough, and it is the limit of my own mortality that will prevent me from ever completing the task of weeding my yard. I'll have to pass the task on to the next generation.
- - - - -
I think this is one of the first few times Isaac has discussed my eventual death; he didn't seem worried about his assumption that I would die before him.
It's still quite an abstract concept to him, thankfully. Tonight at dinner he said, "Why don't they make compost out of dead people?"
I've made an heroic effort to keep the weeds under control, but it takes more than one person to hand-weed three-quarters of an acre. A few weeks ago Isaac and I were sitting on top of our hillside after pulling some especially tall weeds, and I asked him, "Are we ever going to get all the weeds pulled?"
"No," Isaac said. "There just isn't enough time." I nodded in agreement. Then he added thoughtfully, "Well, you don't have enough time. I might, though, since I'm younger than you."
Yes, one lifetime isn't enough, and it is the limit of my own mortality that will prevent me from ever completing the task of weeding my yard. I'll have to pass the task on to the next generation.
- - - - -
I think this is one of the first few times Isaac has discussed my eventual death; he didn't seem worried about his assumption that I would die before him.
It's still quite an abstract concept to him, thankfully. Tonight at dinner he said, "Why don't they make compost out of dead people?"
Developmental kindergarten
Have you been wondering about Isaac's plans for the fall? As you may recall, he will turn five years old on September 6, right after the start of the school year. In California children may start kindergarten as long as they turn five by December 2, so he made the cut-off with three months to spare -- in theory.
But in practice, as you may recall from my previous discussion, in our area most children (especially boys) who were born in the fall delay starting kindergarten.
And so will Isaac. In the fall he will attend the developmental kindergarten offered by his preschool, a program just for five-year-olds that meets Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There are 20 children and two teachers in the classroom; unusually, and to our pleased surprise, nearly half the students will be girls. The current year's class has only four girls! The stated emphasis of the program is social and emotional growth, and although the children are expected to participate in one or two teacher-led activities each day, much of the day is still self-directed and play-based. Academics are integrated into fun activities, and the children are encouraged to pursue topics of their own choosing.
As I mentioned earlier, we had registered Isaac for public kindergarten although we were not certain whether we would send him. Our school district assesses each incoming kindergartener in person, mostly to help the teachers determine the skill level and temperament of each child so they can balance their classes. We watched as Isaac met with both the kindergarten teachers at our local elementary school for about half an hour. They interviewed him (in a fun way) to determine his level of knowledge (does he know his letters, colors, numbers?), motor skills (can he throw a ball, jump on one foot, hold a pencil?), and social and emotional temperament (can he talk to a teacher, tell a story, stay focused during the interview?). They also checked to see if he could read and write yet, which he could not -- although we observed a few children at the assessment who could!
The teachers were moving ahead with Isaac's enrollment in kindergarten in the fall, but when I asked their opinion on whether we should wait, they answered "probably." They had a few reasons, but the one that meant the most to us was one we had observed ourselves during the interview: Isaac didn't maintain focus. He was very interested in talking to the teachers at first, but as the interview continued he grew distracted, especially when they began asking him questions he couldn't answer. In fact, once he started to lose interest in the interview I noticed him answering "I don't know" even to questions he could answer, like identifying lower-case letters.
We have never thought of him as a distractible or overactive child, and in fact we have always been impressed with his attention span! But in a busy classroom setting, especially when he was expected to focus on topics not of his choosing, we certainly observed his attention drift away. I don't think this is unusual for a four-year-old, and certainly he will gain additional ability to focus by fall, but perhaps it would be better for him to remain in an environment where he is encouraged to learn by pursuing the things that truly interest him.
For better or for worse, the modern kindergarten is rigorous and fast-paced, and to keep up with it, Isaac will need to pay attention -- even when he doesn't like the subject being studied! (That was my problem with algebra.) So if the kindergarten teachers themselves think he'll benefit from waiting another year, then we'll take their advice.
But in practice, as you may recall from my previous discussion, in our area most children (especially boys) who were born in the fall delay starting kindergarten.
And so will Isaac. In the fall he will attend the developmental kindergarten offered by his preschool, a program just for five-year-olds that meets Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to noon. There are 20 children and two teachers in the classroom; unusually, and to our pleased surprise, nearly half the students will be girls. The current year's class has only four girls! The stated emphasis of the program is social and emotional growth, and although the children are expected to participate in one or two teacher-led activities each day, much of the day is still self-directed and play-based. Academics are integrated into fun activities, and the children are encouraged to pursue topics of their own choosing.
As I mentioned earlier, we had registered Isaac for public kindergarten although we were not certain whether we would send him. Our school district assesses each incoming kindergartener in person, mostly to help the teachers determine the skill level and temperament of each child so they can balance their classes. We watched as Isaac met with both the kindergarten teachers at our local elementary school for about half an hour. They interviewed him (in a fun way) to determine his level of knowledge (does he know his letters, colors, numbers?), motor skills (can he throw a ball, jump on one foot, hold a pencil?), and social and emotional temperament (can he talk to a teacher, tell a story, stay focused during the interview?). They also checked to see if he could read and write yet, which he could not -- although we observed a few children at the assessment who could!
The teachers were moving ahead with Isaac's enrollment in kindergarten in the fall, but when I asked their opinion on whether we should wait, they answered "probably." They had a few reasons, but the one that meant the most to us was one we had observed ourselves during the interview: Isaac didn't maintain focus. He was very interested in talking to the teachers at first, but as the interview continued he grew distracted, especially when they began asking him questions he couldn't answer. In fact, once he started to lose interest in the interview I noticed him answering "I don't know" even to questions he could answer, like identifying lower-case letters.
We have never thought of him as a distractible or overactive child, and in fact we have always been impressed with his attention span! But in a busy classroom setting, especially when he was expected to focus on topics not of his choosing, we certainly observed his attention drift away. I don't think this is unusual for a four-year-old, and certainly he will gain additional ability to focus by fall, but perhaps it would be better for him to remain in an environment where he is encouraged to learn by pursuing the things that truly interest him.
For better or for worse, the modern kindergarten is rigorous and fast-paced, and to keep up with it, Isaac will need to pay attention -- even when he doesn't like the subject being studied! (That was my problem with algebra.) So if the kindergarten teachers themselves think he'll benefit from waiting another year, then we'll take their advice.
Sibling playtime
I haven't written much about the interaction between Isaac and Laurel. They have always gotten along very well; for the past few months their main problem has been Isaac restraining Laurel by hugging her too hard, in part because he is very affectionate and in part because he enjoys seeing her shriek as she tries to get loose.
Anyway, over the last week Isaac has been truly playing with Laurel. This requires great compromise and accommodation on his part, because she doesn't really know how to play with someone yet. Despite their three-and-a-half year age difference, he has invented several games they can play together -- without me! One game is called "collection," where they push a doll stroller around the room and fill it with stuff they find lying around. Today he gave her a bucket that he had filled with what he knew would be her favorite items: a doll, a cup, and a stuffed dog. Another game is called "explorer," which is similar to follow-the-leader except that Laurel doesn't understand she is sometimes supposed to follow Isaac. But he is willing to change the rules as the circumstances demand; in fact, I hear him talking to her about it, saying things like, "Oh, you want me to follow you? Okay, we'll crawl down the hall!" He really tries to find a way to stay engaged with her.
In addition to being generous and patient while inventing games and then relinquishing control over them, Isaac has been generous with his playthings, and he hands most of his things over as soon as Laurel expresses an interest. This is a new development, and not one I expect to last!
So while I was tucking Isaac into bed tonight, I told him how happy I was to see them playing together lately.
He had also noticed the change. In fact, he mentioned a conversation we had had when Laurel was quite small, when he had been disappointed that the new baby wasn't much of a playmate: "Remember when I wished we had two big kids instead of a big kid and a baby? Well, now I'm glad we have a baby! I wouldn't even mind if we had another baby. Laurel and I could teach the new baby the rules of our games."
Then he said, "I love her so much."
And as if that wasn't enough, after that he said, "My favorite person in the world to play with is you, and Dad, and Laurel."
- - - - -
For most of Laurel's life, Isaac used me as an intermediary when it came to sibling communication. Now he talks directly to her, even when I'm not in the room, and he seems to be satisfied with the responses he gets. He adapts his language for her -- not baby talk, but slower and simplified -- and he asks her questions she loves to answer, like "Where are the owls?" (Her answer: "Out!")
- - - - -
And does Laurel like to play with Isaac? Oh yes! For short periods of time, anyway, and then she wants to move on to something else. She is only 16 months old, after all.
Anyway, over the last week Isaac has been truly playing with Laurel. This requires great compromise and accommodation on his part, because she doesn't really know how to play with someone yet. Despite their three-and-a-half year age difference, he has invented several games they can play together -- without me! One game is called "collection," where they push a doll stroller around the room and fill it with stuff they find lying around. Today he gave her a bucket that he had filled with what he knew would be her favorite items: a doll, a cup, and a stuffed dog. Another game is called "explorer," which is similar to follow-the-leader except that Laurel doesn't understand she is sometimes supposed to follow Isaac. But he is willing to change the rules as the circumstances demand; in fact, I hear him talking to her about it, saying things like, "Oh, you want me to follow you? Okay, we'll crawl down the hall!" He really tries to find a way to stay engaged with her.
In addition to being generous and patient while inventing games and then relinquishing control over them, Isaac has been generous with his playthings, and he hands most of his things over as soon as Laurel expresses an interest. This is a new development, and not one I expect to last!
So while I was tucking Isaac into bed tonight, I told him how happy I was to see them playing together lately.
He had also noticed the change. In fact, he mentioned a conversation we had had when Laurel was quite small, when he had been disappointed that the new baby wasn't much of a playmate: "Remember when I wished we had two big kids instead of a big kid and a baby? Well, now I'm glad we have a baby! I wouldn't even mind if we had another baby. Laurel and I could teach the new baby the rules of our games."
Then he said, "I love her so much."
And as if that wasn't enough, after that he said, "My favorite person in the world to play with is you, and Dad, and Laurel."
- - - - -
For most of Laurel's life, Isaac used me as an intermediary when it came to sibling communication. Now he talks directly to her, even when I'm not in the room, and he seems to be satisfied with the responses he gets. He adapts his language for her -- not baby talk, but slower and simplified -- and he asks her questions she loves to answer, like "Where are the owls?" (Her answer: "Out!")
- - - - -
And does Laurel like to play with Isaac? Oh yes! For short periods of time, anyway, and then she wants to move on to something else. She is only 16 months old, after all.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Yosemite
Craig's church had its annual Yosemite retreat last weekend, and this year the whole family got to go! Last year, you may recall, we decided that four-month-old Laurel was too young for camping in the rain, so Craig and Isaac went to Yosemite while Laurel and I stayed home. As it turned out, this year Laurel was still a bit too young to camp in the cold; she didn't sleep well at night, and so neither did we.
But daytime was fun! Here is my family on a log by the Merced River, which ran right past our campground. Don't be alarmed by the hoods. The weather was sunny all weekend, but it started to rain just as we were getting ready to leave.
New links
Perhaps you haven't made a close study of my blog's sidebar, but way down at the bottom is a list I call "Sites I visit." Tonight I updated the list to include even more of the sites I visit; I added five new links, all to blogs. And because I have a theme going here, every one of my linked sites is baby-related (although in real life I do spend time in other areas of the Internet, like Facebook).
One of the sites, Girl on Girl Action, didn't start out as a baby-related blog; in fact, when I first began reading it, it was about screenwriting (mostly), a topic I didn't think I had much interest in. But Elana (whom I have never met, by the way) was so funny, I would have read her blog no matter what the topic was. So imagine my excitement when she unexpectedly got pregnant! It was an awesome crossover, as if my favorite character from one TV show just showed up on another of my favorite shows (if I watched television, that is).
Then imagine my horror when Elana unexpectedly almost died of eclampsia. (She and the baby are fine now, by the way.)
Additionally, Elana and her husband Seth write about their baby (and about health insurance, his serving in the military, and other topics) at another blog I've linked to, Fighting Commies for Health Insurance! Like Elana's first blog, it's very funny, as well as being analytical and insightful.
Anyway, if you're looking for baby blogs on the Internet, you have many choices. But I hope you'll always come back and visit me here.
One of the sites, Girl on Girl Action, didn't start out as a baby-related blog; in fact, when I first began reading it, it was about screenwriting (mostly), a topic I didn't think I had much interest in. But Elana (whom I have never met, by the way) was so funny, I would have read her blog no matter what the topic was. So imagine my excitement when she unexpectedly got pregnant! It was an awesome crossover, as if my favorite character from one TV show just showed up on another of my favorite shows (if I watched television, that is).
Then imagine my horror when Elana unexpectedly almost died of eclampsia. (She and the baby are fine now, by the way.)
Additionally, Elana and her husband Seth write about their baby (and about health insurance, his serving in the military, and other topics) at another blog I've linked to, Fighting Commies for Health Insurance! Like Elana's first blog, it's very funny, as well as being analytical and insightful.
Anyway, if you're looking for baby blogs on the Internet, you have many choices. But I hope you'll always come back and visit me here.
New pictures
Well, I'm several months behind, but I finally uploaded the last nine or ten pictures from February. This photo, taken February 15, is an example of the new pictures you'll find in the album on the sidebar: Laurel examining the guitar during a visit to my parents' house.They keep making changes to the Kodak Gallery website. It seems improved to me; do you like it? Sometimes I wonder if I should switch services. I think Kodak displays the photos too small, but the full-screen slideshow option is nice.
Potty
I didn't blog very specifically about Isaac's experience learning to use the toilet, I think because I wanted to spare him future embarrassment. But I can piece together a rough timetable from old blog posts: Isaac began to say the words diaper, pee, and poop when he was 16 months old; he began telling us about his dirty diapers when he was 18 months old; we bought a potty when he was 21 months old; he learned to pee on command by the time he was 23 months old; he started wearing underpants at 31 months; and he was done with daytime diapers just two weeks later.
He was two years and seven months old. That was two years and one month ago.
And exactly how did the process work? On that matter the blog remains relatively discreet. Looking back now, I remember it being easy, although a blog post written when Isaac was two years and three months old suggests otherwise: to encourage Isaac to sit on the toilet we gave him candy each and every time, whether or not any business resulted (many times he forgot to ask for the candy afterward!). Also we had a book of tractor stickers he could play with only while he was sitting on the toilet. This was so effective that we ended up getting several more sticker books to put in the bathroom, and Isaac continued to play with them long after he was toilet-trained.
I used to say that Isaac mostly taught himself to use the toilet, and I still think that's true. We utilized various methods to get him to sit on the toilet, but he did the rest himself. Did we use the candy and sticker books as bribes? Or were they incentives? I convinced myself it was okay since he got them simply for sitting there, not for performing.
Anyway, I'm reviewing this topic tonight because yesterday I got out the potty for Laurel. Good thing I refreshed my memory, too -- it turns out that Laurel is five months younger than Isaac was when we originally bought the potty for him! (Poor second child; is it pathetic to have a hand-me-down potty?) So it's probably way too soon. But I noticed her waking up with a relatively dry diaper, so I wanted to take advantage of it.
Laurel seems excited to sit on the potty, and she seems to understand that it is a little toilet just for her. But this excitement pales compared to Laurel's main thrill these days: walking. She's only been able to walk for a few weeks, so there's no way she wants to hold still long enough to pee on the potty. Yesterday morning she sat down on the potty, grinned at me, stood up to get a better look at the potty, and promptly peed on the floor.
And she's young enough that she can't be motivated by any amount of candy or stickers.
He was two years and seven months old. That was two years and one month ago.
And exactly how did the process work? On that matter the blog remains relatively discreet. Looking back now, I remember it being easy, although a blog post written when Isaac was two years and three months old suggests otherwise: to encourage Isaac to sit on the toilet we gave him candy each and every time, whether or not any business resulted (many times he forgot to ask for the candy afterward!). Also we had a book of tractor stickers he could play with only while he was sitting on the toilet. This was so effective that we ended up getting several more sticker books to put in the bathroom, and Isaac continued to play with them long after he was toilet-trained.
I used to say that Isaac mostly taught himself to use the toilet, and I still think that's true. We utilized various methods to get him to sit on the toilet, but he did the rest himself. Did we use the candy and sticker books as bribes? Or were they incentives? I convinced myself it was okay since he got them simply for sitting there, not for performing.
Anyway, I'm reviewing this topic tonight because yesterday I got out the potty for Laurel. Good thing I refreshed my memory, too -- it turns out that Laurel is five months younger than Isaac was when we originally bought the potty for him! (Poor second child; is it pathetic to have a hand-me-down potty?) So it's probably way too soon. But I noticed her waking up with a relatively dry diaper, so I wanted to take advantage of it.
Laurel seems excited to sit on the potty, and she seems to understand that it is a little toilet just for her. But this excitement pales compared to Laurel's main thrill these days: walking. She's only been able to walk for a few weeks, so there's no way she wants to hold still long enough to pee on the potty. Yesterday morning she sat down on the potty, grinned at me, stood up to get a better look at the potty, and promptly peed on the floor.
And she's young enough that she can't be motivated by any amount of candy or stickers.
Potty update
Well, even after yesterday's realization that Laurel is probably too young for toilet training, I tried again this morning. Instead of peeing on the floor, like she did on Tuesday, she sat happily on the potty for about five minutes. I was surprised that she agreed to sit still for so long! But nothing resulted.
After this we went back into her room so I could put a diaper on her, but then I remembered I needed to get something from the bathroom across the hall. So I set her in the crib for about 15 seconds.
When I came back, the crib sheet was drenched with pee, which she was exploring curiously.
Yes, it would have been far easier to simply change her diaper this morning, skipping the entire potty step. I'd rather not start my morning by doing a load of laundry, bathing a baby, and wiping down a mattress.
But is it a promising sign that she isn't waiting for a diaper to relieve herself? Or is it just coincidence? Is she at least building awareness of her bodily functions?
After this we went back into her room so I could put a diaper on her, but then I remembered I needed to get something from the bathroom across the hall. So I set her in the crib for about 15 seconds.
When I came back, the crib sheet was drenched with pee, which she was exploring curiously.
Yes, it would have been far easier to simply change her diaper this morning, skipping the entire potty step. I'd rather not start my morning by doing a load of laundry, bathing a baby, and wiping down a mattress.
But is it a promising sign that she isn't waiting for a diaper to relieve herself? Or is it just coincidence? Is she at least building awareness of her bodily functions?
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Baby names
Each year in May (around Mother's Day!) the U.S. Social Security Administration releases statistical data on the previous year's crop of baby names. We studied this data intently when naming our children, seeking to avoid names that would be "too popular." (We also used the NameVoyager, a graphical interface of the SSA data.)
None of the three names we seriously considered for Laurel could have been considered popular in an absolute* sense. In 2009, the year our baby girl was born, "Alice" was #258, "Margaret" was #187, and "Laurel" was ... well, in 2009 it wasn't in the top 1,000 at all, but it was #983 in 2008.
"Isaac," on the other hand, is a popular name. In fact, throughout my pregnancy with him in 2005, we worried that it was too popular -- worse, our instincts told us that it was due to become even more popular. I last blogged about this worry in 2007; at that time, the name Isaac had been holding steady at about #50 in the U.S. and #30 in California.
So have our worries been realized? What did the release of the 2009 data reveal? In the U.S., Isaac rose to #40, and in California, Isaac leaped to #20. Twenty! That's too popular, isn't it?
Fortunately, even though the name is getting more popular every year, I still don't know any other little Isaacs.
- - - - -
* Although "Alice" isn't technically a popular name, we worried that it was going to experience a leap in popularity that would quickly make it seem outdated, a trend whose time has passed. And this seems to be happening:
Then again, it was #10 in the 1880s.
None of the three names we seriously considered for Laurel could have been considered popular in an absolute* sense. In 2009, the year our baby girl was born, "Alice" was #258, "Margaret" was #187, and "Laurel" was ... well, in 2009 it wasn't in the top 1,000 at all, but it was #983 in 2008.
"Isaac," on the other hand, is a popular name. In fact, throughout my pregnancy with him in 2005, we worried that it was too popular -- worse, our instincts told us that it was due to become even more popular. I last blogged about this worry in 2007; at that time, the name Isaac had been holding steady at about #50 in the U.S. and #30 in California.
So have our worries been realized? What did the release of the 2009 data reveal? In the U.S., Isaac rose to #40, and in California, Isaac leaped to #20. Twenty! That's too popular, isn't it?
Fortunately, even though the name is getting more popular every year, I still don't know any other little Isaacs.
- - - - -
* Although "Alice" isn't technically a popular name, we worried that it was going to experience a leap in popularity that would quickly make it seem outdated, a trend whose time has passed. And this seems to be happening:
| 2009 | 258 |
| 2008 | 327 |
| 2007 | 347 |
| 2006 | 384 |
| 2005 | 414 |
| 2004 | 403 |
| 2003 | 431 |
| 2002 | 444 |
| 2001 | 439 |
| 2000 | 422 |
Then again, it was #10 in the 1880s.
One milestone per child, part six
Isaac: Was dropped off at a friend's house for a playdate -- yes, I left him at someone else's house to play while I went back home for two hours! Everyone enjoyed the experience thoroughly and I didn't worry about him for one second. I hope to do it again again soon.
Oh, what's that you say? Now it's my turn to have three four-year-old boys come over to my house to play? That's what I was afraid of.
Laurel: Peed in the potty.
She is very interested in sitting on the potty, and she frequently wanders into the bathroom to do so. Usually I just leave her clothed while she sits there, but I take her diaper off sometimes, especially after she wakes up in the morning and after her nap. I'm beginning to think she sort of understands what's going on, because today was the second time she started peeing in front of the potty while I was taking off her diaper! This time I was prepared, and I managed to plop her down on the potty.
She was excited to see us get so excited.
Oh, what's that you say? Now it's my turn to have three four-year-old boys come over to my house to play? That's what I was afraid of.
Laurel: Peed in the potty.
She is very interested in sitting on the potty, and she frequently wanders into the bathroom to do so. Usually I just leave her clothed while she sits there, but I take her diaper off sometimes, especially after she wakes up in the morning and after her nap. I'm beginning to think she sort of understands what's going on, because today was the second time she started peeing in front of the potty while I was taking off her diaper! This time I was prepared, and I managed to plop her down on the potty.
She was excited to see us get so excited.
Trip hazard
"Mama, we need to do something about that phone cord. It is a real trip hazard."
It was the middle of the night and I was asleep in bed. It took me a while to grasp what was happening. Isaac was standing next to me, repeating this message insistently yet politely.
Every night for the past nine or ten months, Isaac has come into his parents' bedroom, often sometime after 3:00 a.m. when we are sleeping soundly. He usually climbs into our bed without comment and falls back asleep immediately, so about half the time I don't even wake up. But a few nights ago when entering the bedroom he stumbled over a loose phone cord that crosses in front of the door, and I guess he felt he needed to address the safety issue immediately.
This says something about his personality.
When I finally woke up enough to understand what he was saying, I told him we were absolutely not going to do anything about the phone cord at the moment, but we would fix it in the morning.
But in the morning he seemed to have forgotten the topic, and I sure haven't reminded him. I guess that says something about my personality.
It was the middle of the night and I was asleep in bed. It took me a while to grasp what was happening. Isaac was standing next to me, repeating this message insistently yet politely.
Every night for the past nine or ten months, Isaac has come into his parents' bedroom, often sometime after 3:00 a.m. when we are sleeping soundly. He usually climbs into our bed without comment and falls back asleep immediately, so about half the time I don't even wake up. But a few nights ago when entering the bedroom he stumbled over a loose phone cord that crosses in front of the door, and I guess he felt he needed to address the safety issue immediately.
This says something about his personality.
When I finally woke up enough to understand what he was saying, I told him we were absolutely not going to do anything about the phone cord at the moment, but we would fix it in the morning.
But in the morning he seemed to have forgotten the topic, and I sure haven't reminded him. I guess that says something about my personality.
New words
Laurel is 16 and a half months old, and she has just added a few new words to her spoken vocabulary. Using a generous definition of what a word is, she can now say 14 or 15 words.
New words are:
And a few times recently she has patted me on the chest and said, very earnestly, "Mom." Even though I've been through this before, it still gives me a shiver of delight.
- - - - -
Without comparing my kids too closely, I think I can say it's a different experience living with a child who just isn't eager to communicate verbally. Laurel jabbers a lot these days, greeting people she meets and imitating the cadences of conversation, but she doesn't try to say individual "real" words. She understands what many words mean, but she doesn't try to say them herself, not even words for the things she absolutely adores, like dolls, cups, and dogs. I know this will change very soon, but in the meantime sometimes I'm left guessing what she is thinking.
But sometimes she doesn't need to say anything to make herself understood. Today our playgroup met at our house, and at one point Laurel let out a loud wail of complaint. All the mothers looked over at her.
"What happened?" we asked her. And wordlessly she pointed an accusatory finger at the little girl standing near her.
We laughed. And then she laughed too.
New words are:
- ball
- eye
- hat
- up
- arf (sound of the dog)
- Da-da
- hi
- hoo-hoo (sound of the owl)
- Isaac
- moon
- out
- owl
- uh-oh
And a few times recently she has patted me on the chest and said, very earnestly, "Mom." Even though I've been through this before, it still gives me a shiver of delight.
- - - - -
Without comparing my kids too closely, I think I can say it's a different experience living with a child who just isn't eager to communicate verbally. Laurel jabbers a lot these days, greeting people she meets and imitating the cadences of conversation, but she doesn't try to say individual "real" words. She understands what many words mean, but she doesn't try to say them herself, not even words for the things she absolutely adores, like dolls, cups, and dogs. I know this will change very soon, but in the meantime sometimes I'm left guessing what she is thinking.
But sometimes she doesn't need to say anything to make herself understood. Today our playgroup met at our house, and at one point Laurel let out a loud wail of complaint. All the mothers looked over at her.
"What happened?" we asked her. And wordlessly she pointed an accusatory finger at the little girl standing near her.
We laughed. And then she laughed too.
Extra time
In this photo, taken today, you see a lovely little girl who will not fall asleep.She fell asleep tonight at 10:30 p.m., and last night at 11:00 p.m.
Over the past seven nights it has taken her five and a half extra hours to fall sleep, an average of an extra 45 minutes each night. I emphasize "extra" because it is in addition to the usual time spent on her bedtime routine.
She devotes this extra time pretty much entirely to crying.
What's the problem? Some developmental stage? Traveling dad? Teeth?
If you take a close look in her mouth, you'll see the two bottom molars, which over the past month have come in simultaneously with the two top molars. But I don't think they caused her too much trouble. It's the gap between the molars and the lateral incisors that could be the problem now; her canine teeth are coming in there, and she's been chewing and drooling.
All I know is that I am ready to devote my evenings to something other than Laurel's sleep. Even being able to do the dishes or the laundry would be a treat at this point.
- - - - -
Thanks to my friend Michelle for taking the terrific photo!
Friday, March 28, 2014
Screen time
Officially Isaac is allotted 30 minutes of "screen time" each day, which applies to the television, computer, and iPod. He is careful to ration his time so he can be sure he can watch a DVD while I am putting Laurel down for her nap. I have to admit, however, that I actually encourage him to watch TV in the morning whenever he wakes up too early; this offer of extra time is pure bribery so he won't wake me up, and therefore it doesn't, as he says, "cut into" his regular screen time.
I don't know if rationing is the best way to handle the TV situation. I do believe that limits and scarcity create demand and desire, but I'm not quite ready to let Isaac gorge on as much TV as he wants. As it is, he likes to watch TV a lot, and whenever I offer up the opportunity for "extra" time, he always jumps at the chance to watch more.
And what does he watch? We have no broadcast television, so he can only watch DVDs. For many months he was devoted to the TV series "Bob the Builder," but I think he's growing a bit tired of watching the four DVDs he owns. We have also borrowed a few DVDs from the library, and Isaac has enjoyed watching the Wiggles, a kids' musical group; a TV program called "Popular Mechanics for Kids"; and variety of factual DVDs about rescue vehicles, construction, lumberjacks, and so forth.
Over the past three weeks, however, Isaac has become devoted to a DVD set of the first season of "Sesame Street." It was filmed in 1969, the year I was born! Last August, when Isaac first started watching TV, I blogged that "Sesame Street" didn't hold his interest, perhaps because the topics were too varied, the pace was too fast, and the format was inaccessible to a media novice. I still think he doesn't quite understand the show. He has watched the same episode every single day for at least a week, so I can only conclude that he is trying to work through some aspect of it.
After Laurel falls asleep I join Isaac in the spare room (that's where our television is), and I usually watch a little bit of TV with him before we go on to do something else together. So a few days ago in an attempt to get him to move past the oft-repeated episode of "Sesame Street" I offered to help him navigate to the extras menu of the DVD. That's where I found the segment about Batman.
- - - - -
I'll need to devote another post to what Isaac's preschool calls "power play," or imaginary games about heroes and villains, usually involving pretend violence. But for now I'll just say that playing Spider-Man has become popular with certain boys at Isaac's preschool, and even though it is not Isaac's favorite thing to do, he sometimes joins in. He had never seen a cartoon of a superhero before, however, and I could see the one about Batman impressed him.
The segment was entitled "Batman Crosses the Street," and it was basically a poorly-animated Public Service Announcement about the importance of using the crosswalk. (The Joker robs a bank and runs out into traffic. Batman declares that he and Robin will go down to the corner and cross where it is safe. Robin argues that the Joker will get away. The Joker is struck by a car and falls into an open manhole.)
A few hours after we watched the segment, Isaac had a number of questions about Batman. (His first question was whether Batman was a bad guy.) He was really excited to find out that the younger guy in the cartoon was an assistant who was learning how to be a superhero. Then I explained about the Batmobile, the Bat Cave, and the Bat Signal. He thought I was kidding when he heard the word "Batmobile," and it does sound a little silly when you think about it.
Then Isaac wanted to play Batman, so we divided up the parts. Isaac would be Batman, of course, and Laurel would be Robin. I was cleaning up after dinner while we were discussing our roles, so I suggested I should be Batman's butler, Alfred, because I was doing a lot of housework. Isaac didn't think that was an active enough role for me, so then I suggested I could be the police commissioner who sends up the Bat Signal. He liked that.
"Dad can be the one who works around the house," said Isaac.
I don't know if rationing is the best way to handle the TV situation. I do believe that limits and scarcity create demand and desire, but I'm not quite ready to let Isaac gorge on as much TV as he wants. As it is, he likes to watch TV a lot, and whenever I offer up the opportunity for "extra" time, he always jumps at the chance to watch more.
And what does he watch? We have no broadcast television, so he can only watch DVDs. For many months he was devoted to the TV series "Bob the Builder," but I think he's growing a bit tired of watching the four DVDs he owns. We have also borrowed a few DVDs from the library, and Isaac has enjoyed watching the Wiggles, a kids' musical group; a TV program called "Popular Mechanics for Kids"; and variety of factual DVDs about rescue vehicles, construction, lumberjacks, and so forth.
Over the past three weeks, however, Isaac has become devoted to a DVD set of the first season of "Sesame Street." It was filmed in 1969, the year I was born! Last August, when Isaac first started watching TV, I blogged that "Sesame Street" didn't hold his interest, perhaps because the topics were too varied, the pace was too fast, and the format was inaccessible to a media novice. I still think he doesn't quite understand the show. He has watched the same episode every single day for at least a week, so I can only conclude that he is trying to work through some aspect of it.
After Laurel falls asleep I join Isaac in the spare room (that's where our television is), and I usually watch a little bit of TV with him before we go on to do something else together. So a few days ago in an attempt to get him to move past the oft-repeated episode of "Sesame Street" I offered to help him navigate to the extras menu of the DVD. That's where I found the segment about Batman.
- - - - -
I'll need to devote another post to what Isaac's preschool calls "power play," or imaginary games about heroes and villains, usually involving pretend violence. But for now I'll just say that playing Spider-Man has become popular with certain boys at Isaac's preschool, and even though it is not Isaac's favorite thing to do, he sometimes joins in. He had never seen a cartoon of a superhero before, however, and I could see the one about Batman impressed him.
The segment was entitled "Batman Crosses the Street," and it was basically a poorly-animated Public Service Announcement about the importance of using the crosswalk. (The Joker robs a bank and runs out into traffic. Batman declares that he and Robin will go down to the corner and cross where it is safe. Robin argues that the Joker will get away. The Joker is struck by a car and falls into an open manhole.)
A few hours after we watched the segment, Isaac had a number of questions about Batman. (His first question was whether Batman was a bad guy.) He was really excited to find out that the younger guy in the cartoon was an assistant who was learning how to be a superhero. Then I explained about the Batmobile, the Bat Cave, and the Bat Signal. He thought I was kidding when he heard the word "Batmobile," and it does sound a little silly when you think about it.
Then Isaac wanted to play Batman, so we divided up the parts. Isaac would be Batman, of course, and Laurel would be Robin. I was cleaning up after dinner while we were discussing our roles, so I suggested I should be Batman's butler, Alfred, because I was doing a lot of housework. Isaac didn't think that was an active enough role for me, so then I suggested I could be the police commissioner who sends up the Bat Signal. He liked that.
"Dad can be the one who works around the house," said Isaac.
Beach
Today Laurel visited the beach for the first time!She liked the sand very much, but she objected to wading in the cold water.
Good night
Tonight as I was tucking Isaac into bed, Laurel climbed up on the edge of the bedframe and tried to join us, so I pulled her up the rest of the way. Realizing Isaac might not want his bedtime snuggles interrupted by his sister, I tried to make it special by telling him that Laurel really wanted to say good night to him.
He said challengingly, "But she isn't saying good night."
We both looked at Laurel. She smiled and waved "bye-bye" to Isaac with both hands.
"Give Isaac a kiss good night," I told her. She leaned over and pressed her face against his. Then she lay down next to him and made snoring noises.
That seems like "good night" to me.
He said challengingly, "But she isn't saying good night."
We both looked at Laurel. She smiled and waved "bye-bye" to Isaac with both hands.
"Give Isaac a kiss good night," I told her. She leaned over and pressed her face against his. Then she lay down next to him and made snoring noises.
That seems like "good night" to me.
17-month milestones
Laurel turned 17 months old yesterday, so it's time for a post about her new developments! (The last one was at 15 months.)
Walking:
She's still wobbly on her feet, waddling with classic toddler bow-leggedness and falling on her bottom quite frequently. She took her very first step seven weeks ago, and I would say she has been truly walking for a bit over a month, starting just before her 16-month birthday in May. It's funny how I've already forgotten she used to crawl everywhere. (Even though it wasn't that long ago she learned to crawl in the first place -- less than five months ago!) I was about to write that she still crawls sometimes, but actually I can't remember if I saw her crawl today. Maybe not! It would be the end of an era.
Climbing:
She doesn't seem to have any fear of falling from heights. She can step down from the edge of our raised patio, which is only about six inches high, but she seems to believe she can also step down actual staircases -- not to mention right off the edges of playground climbing structures a good five feet high. She still likes to climb. Today she observed her brother climbing the horizontal slats of the fence around our back yard, so she walked over and began to climb too. She requires close watching.
Eating:
She can feed herself with a spoon, although it helps if the food is moist or sticky. She made her way through a bowl of peas tonight, but as she tends to flourish the spoon of course the peas fly off. But she had great success scooping black beans from a bowl last night. She likes cutlery so much, in fact, that when she's allowed to use it she will eat even foods she doesn't much like. Often she carefully places a morsel of food in the bowl of the spoon with her fingers, then raises the spoon to her mouth. She continues her love affair with drinking from a cup. She added "cup" to her spoken vocabulary a few days ago, and it is by far the word she says most often. (She says it with no C, so it sounds exactly like "up.") It is a huge improvement over the anguished whine she used to make whenever she wanted a cup (which is whenever she sees one).
Toileting:
She had an early success with the potty, as I mentioned before. In fact, after I wrote that post there were two more instances that she peed on the potty! (And pooped, too, but that was because I rushed her there just in time.) However, then we went out of town for a few days and I dropped the routine; over the past week there has been no success. Well, she might not understand about peeing on the potty, but she does know she is supposed to clap her hands when she sits there, and she never fails to do so! (We often sing a potty-oriented version of the folk song "Clap Your Hands" while she sits there.)
Talking:
She hasn't added that many new words since my list of a few weeks ago. Well, "cup," I guess, and "shoe." Also the sound of the crow, which is "caw." Oh, and the sound of the turkey, which is a very garbled "gobble-gobble." Yes, she really, really likes birds.
Walking:
She's still wobbly on her feet, waddling with classic toddler bow-leggedness and falling on her bottom quite frequently. She took her very first step seven weeks ago, and I would say she has been truly walking for a bit over a month, starting just before her 16-month birthday in May. It's funny how I've already forgotten she used to crawl everywhere. (Even though it wasn't that long ago she learned to crawl in the first place -- less than five months ago!) I was about to write that she still crawls sometimes, but actually I can't remember if I saw her crawl today. Maybe not! It would be the end of an era.
Climbing:
She doesn't seem to have any fear of falling from heights. She can step down from the edge of our raised patio, which is only about six inches high, but she seems to believe she can also step down actual staircases -- not to mention right off the edges of playground climbing structures a good five feet high. She still likes to climb. Today she observed her brother climbing the horizontal slats of the fence around our back yard, so she walked over and began to climb too. She requires close watching.
Eating:
She can feed herself with a spoon, although it helps if the food is moist or sticky. She made her way through a bowl of peas tonight, but as she tends to flourish the spoon of course the peas fly off. But she had great success scooping black beans from a bowl last night. She likes cutlery so much, in fact, that when she's allowed to use it she will eat even foods she doesn't much like. Often she carefully places a morsel of food in the bowl of the spoon with her fingers, then raises the spoon to her mouth. She continues her love affair with drinking from a cup. She added "cup" to her spoken vocabulary a few days ago, and it is by far the word she says most often. (She says it with no C, so it sounds exactly like "up.") It is a huge improvement over the anguished whine she used to make whenever she wanted a cup (which is whenever she sees one).
Toileting:
She had an early success with the potty, as I mentioned before. In fact, after I wrote that post there were two more instances that she peed on the potty! (And pooped, too, but that was because I rushed her there just in time.) However, then we went out of town for a few days and I dropped the routine; over the past week there has been no success. Well, she might not understand about peeing on the potty, but she does know she is supposed to clap her hands when she sits there, and she never fails to do so! (We often sing a potty-oriented version of the folk song "Clap Your Hands" while she sits there.)
Talking:
She hasn't added that many new words since my list of a few weeks ago. Well, "cup," I guess, and "shoe." Also the sound of the crow, which is "caw." Oh, and the sound of the turkey, which is a very garbled "gobble-gobble." Yes, she really, really likes birds.
Audio book
"I thought this was just going to be exciting," Isaac said. "I didn't know it was going to be sad."
- - - - -
I recently mentioned Isaac's TV-viewing habits and his determination to budget his 30 minutes of daily "screen time" so he can always watch a DVD while I'm nursing Laurel down for her nap. One way he preserves his screen time is by listening to audio books during Laurel's other nursing sessions.
Why is this an issue? As Laurel is easily distracted when nursing, I always take her into her room and shut the door. (And, I must admit, this gives me a mini-break to look at the Internet. And you wondered why I was so enthusiastic about extended breast-feeding. Bad mama!) According to Laurel's Trixie Tracker, she has recently been nursing five times a day for a total of about 70 minutes. About 25 minutes of nursing is after Isaac is already in bed, but this still leaves Isaac alone on four occasions during the day, for a total of about 45 minutes.
Isaac really dislikes being shut out of Laurel's room, which I understand. And I also understand that he wants to plan activities for this time, which is why he likes to be able to count on DVDs and audio books. I suspect he finds comfort in the media's power to entertain and distract, and this is also why he wants to watch (or listen) to the same things over and over again. (Every once in a while he will look at a book, draw, or play with his toys during this time, but he almost always does so simultaneously with media consumption, lying on the floor in the spare room in front of the TV or CD player.)
- - - - -
I've gotten Isaac a number of chapter books on CD at the public library. He has listened to "The Mouse and the Motorcycle," the "My Father's Dragon" trilogy, "The Cricket in Times Square," and most recently "Betsy-Tacy."
The last title unfortunately prompted the quote from Isaac at the top of this post.
The audio book of "Betsy-Tacy" has two discs, and for about a week Isaac listened only to the first disc. (It was in the CD player in the spare room, while the second disc was out in the car.) He liked the first disc very much, and when we embarked on a long car trip, he was eager to finally listen to the second disc.
I had read the book as a child, and then again about 15 years ago, but it was only when the baby sister of one of the characters got very sick that I suddenly remembered that aspect of the plot. Uh-oh. Sure enough, in a few minutes Isaac's little voice came from the back seat of the car: "Did you hear them say that baby Bea died?"
And there we were, discussing child mortality as we drove down Interstate 880.
Isaac found the death sad, but it was sensitively handled and he dealt with it very well (much better than I did, blinking back tears as I drove along!). I was mostly glad that we were listening to the book together, and that Isaac didn't hear it for the first time all alone in the spare room.
- - - - -
I recently mentioned Isaac's TV-viewing habits and his determination to budget his 30 minutes of daily "screen time" so he can always watch a DVD while I'm nursing Laurel down for her nap. One way he preserves his screen time is by listening to audio books during Laurel's other nursing sessions.
Why is this an issue? As Laurel is easily distracted when nursing, I always take her into her room and shut the door. (And, I must admit, this gives me a mini-break to look at the Internet. And you wondered why I was so enthusiastic about extended breast-feeding. Bad mama!) According to Laurel's Trixie Tracker, she has recently been nursing five times a day for a total of about 70 minutes. About 25 minutes of nursing is after Isaac is already in bed, but this still leaves Isaac alone on four occasions during the day, for a total of about 45 minutes.
Isaac really dislikes being shut out of Laurel's room, which I understand. And I also understand that he wants to plan activities for this time, which is why he likes to be able to count on DVDs and audio books. I suspect he finds comfort in the media's power to entertain and distract, and this is also why he wants to watch (or listen) to the same things over and over again. (Every once in a while he will look at a book, draw, or play with his toys during this time, but he almost always does so simultaneously with media consumption, lying on the floor in the spare room in front of the TV or CD player.)
- - - - -
I've gotten Isaac a number of chapter books on CD at the public library. He has listened to "The Mouse and the Motorcycle," the "My Father's Dragon" trilogy, "The Cricket in Times Square," and most recently "Betsy-Tacy."
The last title unfortunately prompted the quote from Isaac at the top of this post.
The audio book of "Betsy-Tacy" has two discs, and for about a week Isaac listened only to the first disc. (It was in the CD player in the spare room, while the second disc was out in the car.) He liked the first disc very much, and when we embarked on a long car trip, he was eager to finally listen to the second disc.
I had read the book as a child, and then again about 15 years ago, but it was only when the baby sister of one of the characters got very sick that I suddenly remembered that aspect of the plot. Uh-oh. Sure enough, in a few minutes Isaac's little voice came from the back seat of the car: "Did you hear them say that baby Bea died?"
And there we were, discussing child mortality as we drove down Interstate 880.
Isaac found the death sad, but it was sensitively handled and he dealt with it very well (much better than I did, blinking back tears as I drove along!). I was mostly glad that we were listening to the book together, and that Isaac didn't hear it for the first time all alone in the spare room.
Thursday, March 27, 2014
23 words
Laurel likes to babble and vocalize, but when it comes to speaking "real" words, she is cautious. Even with the words she does know how to say, she sometimes seems doubtful. But she has added a few since my last posts on the subject, so here is an update on Laurel's vocabulary!
New words are:
- - - - -
They join existing words:
- - - - -
I've been telling her all day today: if you can pronounce the C sound in "caw" and in "car," you can pronounce it in "cup"! But so far she just laughs at me; I probably do sound ridiculous repeating "Car! Cup! Car! Cup!"
- - - - -
The word "shaw" started out as short for "strawberry," which makes it the first food she ever asked for by name. But then she had some really wonderful sweet blueberries, and now "shaw" usually means "blueberry."
- - - - -
Is a snoring noise a word? Maybe. We went to the library yesterday, and I gave Laurel a book to look at during our drive home. Then, as I was buckling Isaac into his car seat, I heard Laurel making a snoring noise. Sure enough, when I glanced at her book, it was open to a page with a photograph of a sleeping baby. She still loves to look at photographs of babies.
New words are:
- berry (pronounced "shaw," short for strawberry)
- car
- Ma (and she finally means me!)
- [snoring sound] (sound of someone sleeping)
- sock
- star
- - - - -
They join existing words:
- arf (sound of the dog)
- ball
- caw (sound of the crow)
- cup (pronounced "up")
- Da-da
- eye
- gobble (sound of the turkey)
- hat
- hi
- hoo-hoo (sound of the owl)
- Isaac
- moon
- out
- owl
- shoe
- uh-oh
- up
- - - - -
I've been telling her all day today: if you can pronounce the C sound in "caw" and in "car," you can pronounce it in "cup"! But so far she just laughs at me; I probably do sound ridiculous repeating "Car! Cup! Car! Cup!"
- - - - -
The word "shaw" started out as short for "strawberry," which makes it the first food she ever asked for by name. But then she had some really wonderful sweet blueberries, and now "shaw" usually means "blueberry."
- - - - -
Is a snoring noise a word? Maybe. We went to the library yesterday, and I gave Laurel a book to look at during our drive home. Then, as I was buckling Isaac into his car seat, I heard Laurel making a snoring noise. Sure enough, when I glanced at her book, it was open to a page with a photograph of a sleeping baby. She still loves to look at photographs of babies.
Good-bye and good times
[Note: I'm sorry the video has no thumbnail, but Blogger doesn't care about fixing this problem with their service. The video will play if you click on it, though!]
Isaac has had several special playmates over the past few years, but I don't think I've mentioned his friend Asher before.
For the last two years Asher and Isaac have gone to the same preschool, but they really only began playing together regularly in March of this year. At that point, Isaac's enthusiasm for school increased greatly, and I could tell he was elated to have a good friend he could see every day. In fact, since Asher was already best friends with a boy named Andrew, Isaac automatically became part of a trio. For months, whenever I asked what Isaac did at school, he replied, "Played with Asher and Andrew."
Even better, Asher also has a younger sister, Julia, who is about two months older than Laurel, which made for perfect playdates. Sadly for us, the other family just moved away. But to say good-bye and to remind us of the good times, I thought I'd share this video of Asher and Isaac laughing together as they played a crashing game at our house, as well as this photo of Julia and Laurel looking very serious as they shared a fire truck and a doll.
[Edited to add: By the way, Laurel is the smaller and darker one, on your right. I know Isaac was always the bigger and blonder kid, but the opposite applies for his sister!]
Happy Father's Day
Do you remember my telling you that Craig would be taking a 19-day trip this summer? Well, he did it. On May 23 he went to Japan, where he received a scientific award, spoke at a conference, and went on a lecture tour. Then he came home on June 10. We all survived! (He has another big trip coming up soon, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.)
But as soon as Craig came back from Japan he had to return to work at his own lab, plus now he also has to contribute to the staffing of 16-hour days at another lab. (Twice a year his team is able to work at this other site, which runs seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so there are always long hours and night shifts.)
And did I mention that Laurel has been sleeping poorly for the past month? First she is having trouble falling asleep at night, so she hasn't been getting to bed until 10:00 p.m. or later. But she is also having trouble sleeping through the night, which is not typical for her. She has woken up half of the nights of the last month; on nine nights she was awake for more than 30 minutes at a stretch. Obviously I handled all of this when Craig was gone, but now that he has returned home he has resumed his usual duty of late-night baby-rocking.
So to commemorate Father's Day, I wanted to thank Craig for the hard work he does at all his demanding jobs. Today he is exhausted, and he deserved the day off, but he didn't get it. He was at the lab at 4:00 a.m., got Laurel to sleep at 10:00 p.m., and instead of going to bed, he is reviewing his research even now.
It's hard work being an international scientist and a baby-soother. Thanks, honey. You're the best!
- - - - -
Here's a picture from Father's Day last year.
But as soon as Craig came back from Japan he had to return to work at his own lab, plus now he also has to contribute to the staffing of 16-hour days at another lab. (Twice a year his team is able to work at this other site, which runs seven days a week, 24 hours a day, so there are always long hours and night shifts.)
And did I mention that Laurel has been sleeping poorly for the past month? First she is having trouble falling asleep at night, so she hasn't been getting to bed until 10:00 p.m. or later. But she is also having trouble sleeping through the night, which is not typical for her. She has woken up half of the nights of the last month; on nine nights she was awake for more than 30 minutes at a stretch. Obviously I handled all of this when Craig was gone, but now that he has returned home he has resumed his usual duty of late-night baby-rocking.
So to commemorate Father's Day, I wanted to thank Craig for the hard work he does at all his demanding jobs. Today he is exhausted, and he deserved the day off, but he didn't get it. He was at the lab at 4:00 a.m., got Laurel to sleep at 10:00 p.m., and instead of going to bed, he is reviewing his research even now.
It's hard work being an international scientist and a baby-soother. Thanks, honey. You're the best!
- - - - -
Here's a picture from Father's Day last year.
Another word, another bird
Mama: What says "caw, caw"?
Laurel: Caw, caw.
Mama: Yes, what bird says "caw, caw"?
Laurel: Crow.
Laurel: Caw, caw.
Mama: Yes, what bird says "caw, caw"?
Laurel: Crow.
Summer activities
Now that summer has arrived, the kids are beginning their summer activities.
Last summer I enrolled Isaac in two summer activities: lessons in both swimming and soccer. He will not be taking soccer again this year. Not only did it make him miserable, but since then I have had a philosophical shift about enrolling my kids in sports. I grew up disliking sports in part because they were a mystery to me; I felt like I was at a disadvantage because the other kids were familiar with the rules. So with Isaac I figured that forced exposure to a sport would bring familiarity, which would eventually blossom into enjoyment, or at least into understanding of the rules. But it didn't work, and now I am ashamed that I tried to force him into something he so clearly disliked.
Life offers such a variety of fun things to learn, and no one has time to do them all! As Isaac has seldom showed interest in playing with a ball, perhaps we should just forget about team sports, and this freedom will give him time to pursue things he actually enjoys. At this point I feel like we won't enroll him in any extracurricular sporting activities unless he asks.
However, swimming is a different story, so starting on Monday, both kids will be taking swimming lessons at a local high school. Isaac seems to understand that these lessons are not optional; he might not be looking forward to it, but he isn't protesting. Laurel's lessons are actually parent-and-baby classes, so I will be in the pool with her; meanwhile Isaac will have lessons with two other kids and an instructor. We've signed up for four weeks of lessons, which are held four days a week. That's a lot of swimming! (I've gotten new swimsuits for the kids, but I guess I should check to see if mine still fits.)
In addition to the four weeks of swimming, Isaac has five weeks of summer school. Classes are held three days a week, and the first week ended today. Although it is held at Isaac's regular preschool, it is turning out to be a somewhat different experience. He has a new teacher; the class has children ranging from age three to five (during the school year the classes are age-segregated); and none of his usual friends are attending. But Isaac seems to be enjoying it, mostly because he loves his new teacher (who will also be his teacher in the fall, hooray!).
There are 40 summer school students, and about six of them are almost-five-year-old boys who, like Isaac, will be attending the school's pre-K "developmental kindergarten" program in the fall. Unfortunately they are mostly "the boys who like Star Wars," as Isaac says dismissively; they are a rowdy and close-knit group of friends who played together all last year. It is unlikely that Isaac will end up playing Star Wars with these boys, but I'm sure he will find someone who wants to play with vehicles and dig in the sandbox.
- - - - -
Besides bobbing about in the pool with me, what will Laurel be doing this summer? We're taking a break from Music Together until fall, so I'm going to make an effort to take her to the lapsit storytime at the public library, which is designed for kids under 24 months. So far we've been to one storytime this summer, and Laurel really enjoyed it. The librarian used a baby doll as a prop during one song, and I thought all the little girls in the audience, including Laurel, were going to rush her. Laurel was even inspired to say "doll" for the first time.
- - - - -
And what about me? Sadly I've had to drop my weekly painting class for the summer, as Craig's absences would make regular attendance impossible.
Last summer I enrolled Isaac in two summer activities: lessons in both swimming and soccer. He will not be taking soccer again this year. Not only did it make him miserable, but since then I have had a philosophical shift about enrolling my kids in sports. I grew up disliking sports in part because they were a mystery to me; I felt like I was at a disadvantage because the other kids were familiar with the rules. So with Isaac I figured that forced exposure to a sport would bring familiarity, which would eventually blossom into enjoyment, or at least into understanding of the rules. But it didn't work, and now I am ashamed that I tried to force him into something he so clearly disliked.
Life offers such a variety of fun things to learn, and no one has time to do them all! As Isaac has seldom showed interest in playing with a ball, perhaps we should just forget about team sports, and this freedom will give him time to pursue things he actually enjoys. At this point I feel like we won't enroll him in any extracurricular sporting activities unless he asks.
However, swimming is a different story, so starting on Monday, both kids will be taking swimming lessons at a local high school. Isaac seems to understand that these lessons are not optional; he might not be looking forward to it, but he isn't protesting. Laurel's lessons are actually parent-and-baby classes, so I will be in the pool with her; meanwhile Isaac will have lessons with two other kids and an instructor. We've signed up for four weeks of lessons, which are held four days a week. That's a lot of swimming! (I've gotten new swimsuits for the kids, but I guess I should check to see if mine still fits.)
In addition to the four weeks of swimming, Isaac has five weeks of summer school. Classes are held three days a week, and the first week ended today. Although it is held at Isaac's regular preschool, it is turning out to be a somewhat different experience. He has a new teacher; the class has children ranging from age three to five (during the school year the classes are age-segregated); and none of his usual friends are attending. But Isaac seems to be enjoying it, mostly because he loves his new teacher (who will also be his teacher in the fall, hooray!).
There are 40 summer school students, and about six of them are almost-five-year-old boys who, like Isaac, will be attending the school's pre-K "developmental kindergarten" program in the fall. Unfortunately they are mostly "the boys who like Star Wars," as Isaac says dismissively; they are a rowdy and close-knit group of friends who played together all last year. It is unlikely that Isaac will end up playing Star Wars with these boys, but I'm sure he will find someone who wants to play with vehicles and dig in the sandbox.
- - - - -
Besides bobbing about in the pool with me, what will Laurel be doing this summer? We're taking a break from Music Together until fall, so I'm going to make an effort to take her to the lapsit storytime at the public library, which is designed for kids under 24 months. So far we've been to one storytime this summer, and Laurel really enjoyed it. The librarian used a baby doll as a prop during one song, and I thought all the little girls in the audience, including Laurel, were going to rush her. Laurel was even inspired to say "doll" for the first time.
- - - - -
And what about me? Sadly I've had to drop my weekly painting class for the summer, as Craig's absences would make regular attendance impossible.
Wednesday, March 26, 2014
Powerpuff Girls
"What would you like to talk about?" Isaac asked at the dinner table last night.Craig and I were, in fact, already talking about something -- just not something of interest to Isaac.
Isaac continued. "Let me give you some options. You can talk about the Powerpuff Girls, vehicles, or ..." He paused for a moment, considering.
"... or gardening. Which is your choice?"
- - - - -
Do you remember the Powerpuff Girls? It was an animated TV series about three little girls with superpowers, very funny but certainly not intended for small children. A few days ago I impulsively suggested that Isaac watch the feature film based on the series, "The Powerpuff Girls Movie," which was also not intended for small children. It was an error on my part, I think, and after being so protective and careful about media selection I'm not sure why I slipped up, except that Isaac had been making me watch the TV special of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" with him on a daily basis and I just couldn't stand it any longer. (He was scared of the Abominable Snowman and didn't want to watch it alone.)
Although Isaac was frightened by the Powerpuff movie -- which is much more violent than I had remembered, and way scarier than the Abominable Snowman! -- he is now obsessed with it, and with the three little girls. Recently he said he loved them as much as he would his own children, and then he kissed the DVD case.
Well, he already had a budding interest in superheroes.
New words
It's only 9:00 a.m. and already Laurel has said four new words! She's picking up the pace. I feel like these words are the first few pebbles of what will shortly become an avalanche of language.
- hot
- knee
- moo
- sheep (said while pointing at a picture of a cow, however)
More new words
Didn't I predict yesterday that it was going to become an avalanche of language? She'll be 18 months old in just two weeks, and she's becoming a talker! Her pronunciation is very good; in fact, it is so good that I fear I might not be noticing the words she pronounces indistinctly. She says "sheep" just as clear as a bell. It's almost startling.
Anyway, today's new words:
After Isaac spotted a deer in our front yard this afternoon, Laurel said "deer" at least 30 times. She was very excited about it.
- - - - -
So in alphabetical order, here's the grand list of the 35 words Laurel can speak (or at least the words she has spoken, although she seems to have abandoned some of them):
As far as communication goes, it's not the world's most useful list. She can ask for a cup, at least. Do you see a common thread here? She doesn't say any verbs yet, I think; her words are mostly nouns, and only one adjective. She is interested in the outdoors; there are quite a few animal names (including birds!) and animal sounds. She doesn't say "no" or "yes." Does this reveal anything about her character?
Anyway, today's new words:
- ear
- deer
- dog
- door
- hello (always said when holding a telephone)
- sky
- tea
After Isaac spotted a deer in our front yard this afternoon, Laurel said "deer" at least 30 times. She was very excited about it.
- - - - -
So in alphabetical order, here's the grand list of the 35 words Laurel can speak (or at least the words she has spoken, although she seems to have abandoned some of them):
- arf (sound of the dog)
- ball
- berry (pronounced "shaw," short for strawberry)
- car
- caw (sound of the crow)
- cup (pronounced "up")
- Da-da
- deer
- dog
- doll
- door
- ear
- eye
- gobble (sound of the turkey)
- hat
- hello
- hi
- hoo-hoo (sound of the owl)
- hot
- Isaac
- knee
- Ma
- moo
- moon
- out
- owl
- sheep
- shoe
- sky
- [snoring sound] (sound of someone sleeping)
- sock
- star
- tea
- uh-oh
- up
As far as communication goes, it's not the world's most useful list. She can ask for a cup, at least. Do you see a common thread here? She doesn't say any verbs yet, I think; her words are mostly nouns, and only one adjective. She is interested in the outdoors; there are quite a few animal names (including birds!) and animal sounds. She doesn't say "no" or "yes." Does this reveal anything about her character?
Intervention?
Perhaps it is a sign that you are drinking too much when your 17-month-old learns to raise her sippy cup and say "Cheers!"
Summer
We're on the brink of July! How is everyone's summer going? Here you see Laurel and me on Monday, the first day of swimming lessons, back when she was still clinging to my swimsuit. She has relaxed quite a bit since then, and is really enjoying the water.So our summer is proceeding nicely, although it feels busier than I would like. We only have two summer activities, but they happen very frequently! Up until this summer Isaac hasn't had any activity scheduled on a daily basis, so I'm just now discovering it's hard for us to get out of the house to go somewhere every single day. I feel like I am never at home; I didn't even go into my own back yard until 6:00 this evening.*
Isaac's summer school is held three days a week, just like his regular preschool was, but instead of skipping days (Monday-Wednesday-Friday), summer school is three days in a row (Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday). So tomorrow will mark the third consecutive day of school, and the fourth consecutive day of swimming lessons! Having to be somewhere on time every day is starting to feel like a job.
However, we are having some relaxing times as well. Isaac and I slept outside in a tent on the summer solstice, which was lovely even if the birds did wake me up at 5:15 a.m.
- - - - -
* Today was one of those days that inspires bumper stickers like "Mom's Taxi" and "Why do they call me a stay-at-home mom when I'm always in the car?"
Craig took Isaac to school this morning before he went to work (thanks, honey!). Then at 10:00 I took Laurel to the library for storytime and then to the park; at noon I picked up Isaac after school and took him to get his hair cut; I ran errands at two shops; at 1:00 I came home for lunch and Laurel's nap; at 3:00 I went back out to the pool for swimming lessons; and then finally I got home again at 5:00 p.m.
Well, okay, maybe it doesn't sound like that much. Maybe I'm just lazy. Speaking of which, did I mention how inconvenient it is to put sunscreen on two kids on a daily basis? And am I also supposed to wash it off them every night? That's a full-time job right there.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
A conversation
Mama: "Do you want some milk?"
Laurel: "Cup." (She still pronounces it "up.")
Mama: "Do you want it in a cup or from Mama?"
Laurel: "Ma." (In case she wasn't understood, she also patted me on the chest emphatically.)
- - - - -
And she has just begun to utter short phrases:
"Sheep, baa; crow, caw."
"More cheese." (She pronounces it "mo chee.")
Laurel: "Cup." (She still pronounces it "up.")
Mama: "Do you want it in a cup or from Mama?"
Laurel: "Ma." (In case she wasn't understood, she also patted me on the chest emphatically.)
- - - - -
And she has just begun to utter short phrases:
"Sheep, baa; crow, caw."
"More cheese." (She pronounces it "mo chee.")
Still more new words
As you have no doubt noticed, I've been keeping lists of all the new words Laurel has learned to speak. About a week and a half ago I wrote a master list of the 35 words Laurel could say at that point, including seven words she had first said that very same day.
After that post, I decided I would save up a few words before posting a big list again. I didn't want this blog to get repetitive, after all. (Too late; ha ha.) So nine days ago I started keeping a private list of Laurel's new words. In the first eight days she said 28 new words, and today she said ten more words. That means she has more than doubled her spoken vocabulary in the last nine days, and can now speak 73 words. (Although there are certainly additional words I don't recognize as words yet, or words she has said to someone besides me.)
There are some useful words among them, including "no"!
- - - - -
The 28 new words:
And today's ten words:
- - - - -
Here's a little story about one of today's new words. Laurel had a shower tonight (to get off all the sunblock and chlorine from swimming lessons, sigh), and afterward while I was drying her off in the bathroom I asked her, "Do you want to walk down the hall by yourself, or do you want Mama to carry you?"
I didn't really expect an answer, so I wrapped her in the towel and picked her up.
To my surprise she pushed away from me and replied, "Me! Me! Me!"
So I set her down, and she walked down the hall to her bedroom herself.
I'm pretty sure that says something about her temperament.
After that post, I decided I would save up a few words before posting a big list again. I didn't want this blog to get repetitive, after all. (Too late; ha ha.) So nine days ago I started keeping a private list of Laurel's new words. In the first eight days she said 28 new words, and today she said ten more words. That means she has more than doubled her spoken vocabulary in the last nine days, and can now speak 73 words. (Although there are certainly additional words I don't recognize as words yet, or words she has said to someone besides me.)
There are some useful words among them, including "no"!
- - - - -
The 28 new words:
- baa
- bear
- cat
- chair
- cheers!
- cheese
- Daddy
- duck
- Erica (pronounced "Kuh")
- girl
- go (her first verb!)
- good-bye
- hair
- hush (always accompanied by finger raised to lips)
- Laurel
- meow
- more
- no
- outside
- see you (said while peeking through something)
- toe
- tractor
- yogurt
And today's ten words:
- bee
- bird
- Bob (referring to a "Bob the Builder" Lego figurine)
- book
- bread
- clock
- down
- me
- swing
- Walt
- - - - -
Here's a little story about one of today's new words. Laurel had a shower tonight (to get off all the sunblock and chlorine from swimming lessons, sigh), and afterward while I was drying her off in the bathroom I asked her, "Do you want to walk down the hall by yourself, or do you want Mama to carry you?"
I didn't really expect an answer, so I wrapped her in the towel and picked her up.
To my surprise she pushed away from me and replied, "Me! Me! Me!"
So I set her down, and she walked down the hall to her bedroom herself.
I'm pretty sure that says something about her temperament.
Second cousins
My cousin Jennifer and her family are on a cross-country road trip, and we were very happy that they were able to pay us a visit here in California. Unfortunately they were only able to stay with us for one night, as they had to leave this evening. Isaac was terribly sad to see them go. He had a wonderful time playing with Jen's three children, his second cousins. (This is not the first time he has thrived in their company.)Laurel enjoyed the kids too, although I think she liked my cousin's husband David the best! Luckily we'll be able to see them all again later this summer when we pay a trip to their fine state of Minnesota on the way to Craig's family reunion.
So in these photos you see the second cousins. From left to right: Emory, age seven; Astrid, age seven months; Laurel, age 18 months; Freya, age four and a half; and Isaac, age four and three quarters (as he likes to say).
These pictures don't do justice to the way Laurel shines as a sun-tanned beacon in a sea of milky pallor. Her skin is naturally olive, and despite my applications of sunblock, her swimming lessons are making her even more brown. She looks beautiful.
Finally, if you are one of the readers of this blog who knew my father as a teenager, don't you think Isaac's sneer in the first picture resembles him? I seem to remember seeing my dad wearing the same surly expression in a junior high school class photo.
Antibiotics
Laurel seems to be coming down with a summer cold, and her runny nose reminded me that I forgot to blog about something. Well, first of all we are fortunate that she has never been very sick, and that she has never needed to take antibiotics. Isaac has been almost as lucky, and he has only had to take antibiotics on one occasion two years ago.
Until last month, that is! In the middle of June we were visiting my parents when Isaac became ill. (As I've noted before, my parents' house is a prime location for getting sick. Why is that?) Even before our visit started, Isaac was very tired; for several days he yawned a lot and didn't play as vigorously as usual. His appetite was diminished, he had a very slight fever, and then one evening his torso broke out in a rash. He still didn't seem that sick, but when I saw the rash I realized something strange was happening. Despite Isaac's protests that his throat did not hurt, I finally got a flashlight and took a look. Sure enough, it was red and swollen.
Sore throat, fever, sandpapery rash, but no cough or congestion? My Internet diagnosis skills told me it was scarlet fever, and I was right! It sounds alarming, but thanks to modern medicine it is not usually a big deal. It's just a dramatic name for a strep throat infection that includes a rash.
So the next day we went to the nice urgent care clinic in my parents' town, the doctor swabbed Isaac's throat and did a rapid strep test, and then we picked up some antibiotics. Isaac felt better immediately.
We're planning another visit to see my parents in a few days. I wonder what illness will develop then?
Until last month, that is! In the middle of June we were visiting my parents when Isaac became ill. (As I've noted before, my parents' house is a prime location for getting sick. Why is that?) Even before our visit started, Isaac was very tired; for several days he yawned a lot and didn't play as vigorously as usual. His appetite was diminished, he had a very slight fever, and then one evening his torso broke out in a rash. He still didn't seem that sick, but when I saw the rash I realized something strange was happening. Despite Isaac's protests that his throat did not hurt, I finally got a flashlight and took a look. Sure enough, it was red and swollen.
Sore throat, fever, sandpapery rash, but no cough or congestion? My Internet diagnosis skills told me it was scarlet fever, and I was right! It sounds alarming, but thanks to modern medicine it is not usually a big deal. It's just a dramatic name for a strep throat infection that includes a rash.
So the next day we went to the nice urgent care clinic in my parents' town, the doctor swabbed Isaac's throat and did a rapid strep test, and then we picked up some antibiotics. Isaac felt better immediately.
We're planning another visit to see my parents in a few days. I wonder what illness will develop then?
Monday, March 24, 2014
Nosebleed
In recent months Isaac has become stoic about physical injury; in fact, I've been a little concerned about the extent to which he tries to hide his pain. Sometimes I can only tell he's been hurt if I notice something like a rising red welt. He had an enormous goose egg on his forehead a few months ago, and he steadfastly denied that he had hurt himself. He simply does not want comfort most of the time; he'd rather wait for the pain to subside on his own.
So I was surprised two nights ago when he began crying while rough-housing with his second cousin. We were at a family barbecue, and the two of them had been play-fighting on the lawn all evening long. Things got a little rough sometimes, but Isaac really seemed like he was enjoying the physicality, not to mention the attention from his cousin, who is two years older.
I hadn't seen the injury happen, but Isaac had an abrasion along the length of his nose and a bit of a nosebleed. He was very upset and couldn't control his tears, which was unusual. I originally attributed the severity of his response to the trauma of seeing his own blood.
But then he leveled a finger at one of my uncles, and accused him, in a voice that shook with sobs and rage, of hitting him with a chair.
Well, this simply wasn't true. In fact, after Isaac was less upset I did some judicious questioning, and he admitted that he had been the one lifting up the chair! What seemed to have happened was that Isaac and his cousin attacked my uncle, and in the melee someone's balance was lost and Isaac got his face banged into a chair. (Uncle Larry, Isaac would like to apologize for attempting to hit you with a chair.)
So as far as I can tell, Isaac's enormous upset was mostly emotional, due to his hurt feelings rather than his hurt nose. He honestly believed that my uncle had hit him with a chair in order to win the fight, and he was devastated to discover that an adult would do such a thing. Also he was full of what he thought was righteous anger!
Well, maybe this reversal will teach Isaac to be more careful with his sister, as he's usually the one whose rough play causes inadvertent injury to the weaker party. And maybe it will teach him that it's never a good idea to bring a weapon to a fight, because it might just get turned against you.
So I was surprised two nights ago when he began crying while rough-housing with his second cousin. We were at a family barbecue, and the two of them had been play-fighting on the lawn all evening long. Things got a little rough sometimes, but Isaac really seemed like he was enjoying the physicality, not to mention the attention from his cousin, who is two years older.
I hadn't seen the injury happen, but Isaac had an abrasion along the length of his nose and a bit of a nosebleed. He was very upset and couldn't control his tears, which was unusual. I originally attributed the severity of his response to the trauma of seeing his own blood.
But then he leveled a finger at one of my uncles, and accused him, in a voice that shook with sobs and rage, of hitting him with a chair.
Well, this simply wasn't true. In fact, after Isaac was less upset I did some judicious questioning, and he admitted that he had been the one lifting up the chair! What seemed to have happened was that Isaac and his cousin attacked my uncle, and in the melee someone's balance was lost and Isaac got his face banged into a chair. (Uncle Larry, Isaac would like to apologize for attempting to hit you with a chair.)
So as far as I can tell, Isaac's enormous upset was mostly emotional, due to his hurt feelings rather than his hurt nose. He honestly believed that my uncle had hit him with a chair in order to win the fight, and he was devastated to discover that an adult would do such a thing. Also he was full of what he thought was righteous anger!
Well, maybe this reversal will teach Isaac to be more careful with his sister, as he's usually the one whose rough play causes inadvertent injury to the weaker party. And maybe it will teach him that it's never a good idea to bring a weapon to a fight, because it might just get turned against you.
Cake
At the same family barbecue at my uncle's place where Isaac got his nosebleed rough-housing on the lawn, Laurel impressed me with her ever-increasing levels of comprehension. Although now that I think about it, maybe I was expecting too little from her!
We had previously been at my uncle's place for a party on Independence Day, less than two weeks earlier, so it makes sense that Laurel remembered it. But I was still surprised when she began looking for my aunt's kitten: she went to the porch where we had seen the cat on our previous visit, pointed at the surrounding flowerbeds where it had hidden from her attention, and said, "Cat! Cat! Meow."
She hunted for the cat in the bushes for a while, but eventually from across the yard I heard my aunt announce that it was time for dessert. Not wanting to miss out on the cake, I wondered how I could lure Laurel away from the possibility of finding the cat.
First I tried the direct method by asking, "Laurel, do you want some cake?"
To my surprise she immediately stopped looking for the cat and said, "Me! Me!" And she toddled off across the yard, heading straight back to the party.
I hadn't even known she understood the word "cake"!
We had previously been at my uncle's place for a party on Independence Day, less than two weeks earlier, so it makes sense that Laurel remembered it. But I was still surprised when she began looking for my aunt's kitten: she went to the porch where we had seen the cat on our previous visit, pointed at the surrounding flowerbeds where it had hidden from her attention, and said, "Cat! Cat! Meow."
She hunted for the cat in the bushes for a while, but eventually from across the yard I heard my aunt announce that it was time for dessert. Not wanting to miss out on the cake, I wondered how I could lure Laurel away from the possibility of finding the cat.
First I tried the direct method by asking, "Laurel, do you want some cake?"
To my surprise she immediately stopped looking for the cat and said, "Me! Me!" And she toddled off across the yard, heading straight back to the party.
I hadn't even known she understood the word "cake"!
Boardwalk
We went to the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk last week. This is turning out to be an annual summer tradition that pleasantly echoes my own childhood.And there were some important milestones at the Boardwalk!
First, some history. The first time Isaac went on a carnival ride was at age two, at the Santa Cruz County Fair; we rode a little train together. His first solo ride was six months later on the little cars at the Oakland Zoo. Since then he has gone on a lot of kiddie rides by himself, and even a few kiddie thrill rides (like spinning teacups) with his dad.
At the Boardwalk this year, Isaac got stuck in a rut and only wanted to go on the little kid rides for most of the afternoon. Despite my encouragement he didn't want to ride the Ferris wheel, the kiddie roller coaster, or the Cave Train. Or maybe my suggestions didn't help, because, temperamentally, along with being cautious he dislikes being told what to do.
He was having fun on the kiddie rides, but then after his relatives were already in line for Ghost Blasters he decided he wanted to ride with them after all. (I think he was intrigued that riders get to use laser guns to shoot ghosts.) As they were already at the front of the line, there was very little time for me to consider; we quickly handed him over the barricades and he climbed into the car and disappeared into the ride.
Then I was a little apprehensive. It isn't a haunted house, exactly, but it is a dark ride with ghosts and spooky stuff. He had never been on a ride like that, and I felt like I should have accompanied him the first time. But at least he was riding with my cousin's husband David and his four-year-old daughter Freya, and I knew they would take excellent care of him.
The upshot was, as you may have guessed, that Isaac loved it. It was a little scary, he said, but also silly. He got the high score for shooting the most ghosts, which he also loved.
(Lest you think he is growing too confident, on two occasions I couldn't even get him to sit on a horse on the carousel! Even after his Ghost Blasters triumph, he insisted on sitting on the bench seat on the carousel instead.)
What were the other milestones from the Boardwalk? Well, Laurel went on her very first carnival rides ever, at age 18 months. Together we rode the carousel (unlike Isaac, she sat on a horse, even though it didn't go up and down) and the semi-truck kiddie ride. She didn't whoop with glee, and she was more interested in pointing out seagulls than steering the truck, but she seemed to be having fun.
And as you can see from this photo, she rode on the kiddie boats with Isaac! Without me! After Isaac was already in the boat I put Laurel next to him on impulse, prepared to rescue her if she got upset, but it turned out she did just fine.
I don't know why any of this surprised me. Millions of children enjoy carnival rides, and mine are no exception.
Tower cranes
On a long car trip today, Isaac was talking about tower cranes. (Those are the stationary cranes they use for building really tall structures, in case you don't have a vehicle-obsessed child keeping you informed on these matters.)
I half-listened to him as we drove along. He was pretending to be one of the cranes himself, it turned out, rather than one of the operators. He talked about his work, saying he helped build skyscrapers, and that sometimes he helped restore old buildings, and that sometimes he worked with other cranes. He was on a roll; all he required from me was an occasional "Oh, yes?" and he could have talked all afternoon.
Then he said, "Tower cranes are different from people."
On the surface this seemed obvious, so I figured there must be more to it. I said, "Oh, yes?"
"Yes. With tower cranes, it's the females who wear the dark colors."
This was growing more interesting. I said, "Oh, yes?"
"Yes. It's the male tower cranes who get to wear the fancy things. Like birds."
Now it made sense. Isaac often ponders why human females get to wear brightly-colored sparkles and ruffles, while human males are stuck with more drab outfits. I guess with tower cranes (and birds), the males get the showy plumage.
- - - - -
I don't think he made an explicit connection between cranes the tool and cranes the bird, but I thought it was a rather nice one.
I half-listened to him as we drove along. He was pretending to be one of the cranes himself, it turned out, rather than one of the operators. He talked about his work, saying he helped build skyscrapers, and that sometimes he helped restore old buildings, and that sometimes he worked with other cranes. He was on a roll; all he required from me was an occasional "Oh, yes?" and he could have talked all afternoon.
Then he said, "Tower cranes are different from people."
On the surface this seemed obvious, so I figured there must be more to it. I said, "Oh, yes?"
"Yes. With tower cranes, it's the females who wear the dark colors."
This was growing more interesting. I said, "Oh, yes?"
"Yes. It's the male tower cranes who get to wear the fancy things. Like birds."
Now it made sense. Isaac often ponders why human females get to wear brightly-colored sparkles and ruffles, while human males are stuck with more drab outfits. I guess with tower cranes (and birds), the males get the showy plumage.
- - - - -
I don't think he made an explicit connection between cranes the tool and cranes the bird, but I thought it was a rather nice one.
Swimming
Let the lazy days of summer begin! Summer school is over, swimming lessons are over, and now it's time to take it easy.Actually, both kids loved swimming lessons, and it was well worth the effort of getting ourselves out the door four afternoons a week for four weeks running. Even when we hit a cold snap and had to climb out of the pool into a windy 64-degree afternoon, Isaac was thrilled even as he stood there shivering. (Full disclosure: Laurel and I sat out one of her lessons because I didn't think I could handle the cold, but Isaac went in anyway!)
Isaac learned quite a few practical things, like how to float on his own for ten seconds, and he finally graduated to Level 2! More important was that he grew increasingly confident in the water, and even when he did feel uncertainty he was still willing to push himself and work hard. He cooperated with his teacher and he tried lots of new things. He never did that with soccer last year! In fact, he was so eager to go to his swimming lessons that he took responsibility for packing our bag each day, and when we got home he unpacked the wet stuff and hung it out to dry. I was very proud of him.
Laurel learned to kick her legs and make simultaneous paddling motions with her hands, which is a lot like swimming. As you see in this photo with her father, with just a bit of support she holds herself nice and straight in the water. She is very confident and is not afraid to get her face wet -- in fact, she would benefit from a bit more fear of the water! She loves to jump into the pool, which is sort of neat and sort of terrible, so in an attempt to teach her water safety we tried to get her to wait at the side of the pool until I finished counting to three. It hasn't worked yet, because as soon as I stop physically restraining her, she leaps joyfully into the water -- and safely into my waiting arms.
I guess I'll spend the next few years checking to be sure everyone's swimming pool is securely fenced.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Mohawk
Earlier this summer we were driving in the car when Isaac spotted some teenagers walking on the sidewalk. One of them was wearing her hair in an impressive old-school Mohawk, probably more than a foot high.
"Did you see that girl's hair?" Isaac asked in pleased wonderment. "It looked just like a peacock!"
This made me happy. We live in a pretty straitlaced community, and although Isaac has seen a few alternative haircuts on his parents' friends and relatives*, he is much more likely to encounter suburban moms with tastefully straightened and highlighted locks. I was glad to see that this, his first true Mohawk, inspired appreciation rather than scorn.
I am afraid that this open-minded attitude toward personal style doesn't flourish in the affluent suburbs. It reminded me of a conversation I had with the mother of one of Isaac's friends.
A little background: the only male teacher at Isaac's school is a young jam-band hippie named Joey. He is easy-going and sweet, and beloved by the kids. For a year or so he wore his long hair in a ponytail and had a well-kept beard, but recently he cut his hair and shaved his beard. After this happened, the mother of one of Isaac's friends said to me, "I was so glad to see Joey cut his hair. He was starting to scare the children."
Without hesitation I told her I disagreed. I said I thought one of the biggest flaws of our community was its homogeneity, and I welcomed diversity of all sorts, including personal style. I said I thought it was very good for the children to see people who looked different from themselves and their families.
(Plus I don't think Joey ever scared anybody.)
Decoding personal style is tricky, and it can take years to get it right; Isaac didn't know what the Mohawk signified, only that he thought it looked interesting. However, Isaac is completely aware that there are societal expectations of dress based on things like gender and occasion (for example, females wear skirts; at dinner parties we wear nice clothes), but happily he isn't judgmental when people don't meet these expectations. I suppose this will change as he himself is subjected to other people's judgment. The other day he wore his usual mismatched pink and yellow socks, and he seemed a little embarrassed when a friend's mother (a different one!) teased him about it.
- - - - -
* And what about the haircuts of Isaac's parents themselves? Not that alternative, although not typically suburban either. Craig has worn a crewcut for the 13 years I have known him, and I currently have a pixie cut.
"Did you see that girl's hair?" Isaac asked in pleased wonderment. "It looked just like a peacock!"
This made me happy. We live in a pretty straitlaced community, and although Isaac has seen a few alternative haircuts on his parents' friends and relatives*, he is much more likely to encounter suburban moms with tastefully straightened and highlighted locks. I was glad to see that this, his first true Mohawk, inspired appreciation rather than scorn.
I am afraid that this open-minded attitude toward personal style doesn't flourish in the affluent suburbs. It reminded me of a conversation I had with the mother of one of Isaac's friends.
A little background: the only male teacher at Isaac's school is a young jam-band hippie named Joey. He is easy-going and sweet, and beloved by the kids. For a year or so he wore his long hair in a ponytail and had a well-kept beard, but recently he cut his hair and shaved his beard. After this happened, the mother of one of Isaac's friends said to me, "I was so glad to see Joey cut his hair. He was starting to scare the children."
Without hesitation I told her I disagreed. I said I thought one of the biggest flaws of our community was its homogeneity, and I welcomed diversity of all sorts, including personal style. I said I thought it was very good for the children to see people who looked different from themselves and their families.
(Plus I don't think Joey ever scared anybody.)
Decoding personal style is tricky, and it can take years to get it right; Isaac didn't know what the Mohawk signified, only that he thought it looked interesting. However, Isaac is completely aware that there are societal expectations of dress based on things like gender and occasion (for example, females wear skirts; at dinner parties we wear nice clothes), but happily he isn't judgmental when people don't meet these expectations. I suppose this will change as he himself is subjected to other people's judgment. The other day he wore his usual mismatched pink and yellow socks, and he seemed a little embarrassed when a friend's mother (a different one!) teased him about it.
- - - - -
* And what about the haircuts of Isaac's parents themselves? Not that alternative, although not typically suburban either. Craig has worn a crewcut for the 13 years I have known him, and I currently have a pixie cut.
"Opa!"
When Isaac was 18 months old, I wrote a post about his enthusiasm for his Opa, his maternal grandfather. Isaac was fond of both his Opa and Oma, but he especially wanted to talk about Opa.There must be something about my dad that appeals to the 18-month-old set, because now Laurel is doing the same thing. As she wanders throughout my parents' house, she mutters "Opa, Opa, Opa" to herself, and she squeals with delight when she finds him.
Percentile, part II
Back in my early days of parenthood, at Isaac's 18-month well-baby exam way back in spring 2007, I was slightly alarmed to learn that his weight percentile had dropped another ten points, from 45% to 35%. Since birth, Isaac's weight percentiles had been slowly yet steadily declining, although he was holding steady in height and remaining above the 90th percentile. The doctor reassured me that everything was fine, and indeed it has been.
In the three months between Isaac's 15-month and 18-month appointments, he grew an inch and a quarter and gained half a pound.
In the three months between Laurel's 15-month and 18-month appointments, she grew an eighth of an inch and lost two ounces.
Yep, she lost weight.
You may recall my post about that 15-month appointment, where I noted that over the previous 12 months Laurel's weight percentile had gradually dropped 50 points, decreasing at each well-baby exam: 60%, 45%, 40%, 25%, 20%, and then 10%. Now she is at 5%. (Do they even go below that?)
Perhaps more disturbing, her height percentile, which had always held steady, has suddenly dropped from the measurements of the past year: 75%, 80%, 75%, 75%, 70%, and now 40%.
Here are her numbers from today (which can also be viewed at her Trixie Tracker measurements page):
The doctor wanted to know if Laurel was a very picky eater (no) or if she had been ill lately (no). He wants to follow up, so he scheduled a weight-check for Laurel to be held while we're in the office for Isaac's five-year exam, which is five weeks from now. I asked him if it was unusual for a toddler to fail to gain weight, and he said that it was -- but he also emphasized that Laurel seemed physically and mentally healthy and well-developed.
Am I worried? Not much. I mean, I'll certainly be more aware of Laurel's eating habits now, but I don't think I'm going to change her diet or the way I feed her. The doctor didn't ask us to do anything different, and I trust his advice. Sure, I'm hoping she will grow a lot over the next five weeks, but she's so vibrant and energetic, and she's learning so many new things every day, that it's hard to imagine that anything is seriously wrong.
- - - - -
What looks like a failure to gain weight might actually be a recent weight loss, perhaps explained by our recent week-long visit to my parents' house where Laurel was unenthusiastic about eating strange food. And although that doesn't explain her sudden failure to increase in height, there was something weird about how she was measured at her 15-month appointment: first the nurse got 30 inches, which would mean she hadn't grown at all since her 12-month appointment, so then the doctor measured again and got 31 inches. Probably the truth lies somewhere between those two numbers.
In the three months between Isaac's 15-month and 18-month appointments, he grew an inch and a quarter and gained half a pound.
In the three months between Laurel's 15-month and 18-month appointments, she grew an eighth of an inch and lost two ounces.
Yep, she lost weight.
You may recall my post about that 15-month appointment, where I noted that over the previous 12 months Laurel's weight percentile had gradually dropped 50 points, decreasing at each well-baby exam: 60%, 45%, 40%, 25%, 20%, and then 10%. Now she is at 5%. (Do they even go below that?)
Perhaps more disturbing, her height percentile, which had always held steady, has suddenly dropped from the measurements of the past year: 75%, 80%, 75%, 75%, 70%, and now 40%.
Here are her numbers from today (which can also be viewed at her Trixie Tracker measurements page):
Height: 31 1/8 inches (40th percentile)
Weight: 19 pounds, 12 ounces (5th percentile)
The doctor wanted to know if Laurel was a very picky eater (no) or if she had been ill lately (no). He wants to follow up, so he scheduled a weight-check for Laurel to be held while we're in the office for Isaac's five-year exam, which is five weeks from now. I asked him if it was unusual for a toddler to fail to gain weight, and he said that it was -- but he also emphasized that Laurel seemed physically and mentally healthy and well-developed.
Am I worried? Not much. I mean, I'll certainly be more aware of Laurel's eating habits now, but I don't think I'm going to change her diet or the way I feed her. The doctor didn't ask us to do anything different, and I trust his advice. Sure, I'm hoping she will grow a lot over the next five weeks, but she's so vibrant and energetic, and she's learning so many new things every day, that it's hard to imagine that anything is seriously wrong.
- - - - -
What looks like a failure to gain weight might actually be a recent weight loss, perhaps explained by our recent week-long visit to my parents' house where Laurel was unenthusiastic about eating strange food. And although that doesn't explain her sudden failure to increase in height, there was something weird about how she was measured at her 15-month appointment: first the nurse got 30 inches, which would mean she hadn't grown at all since her 12-month appointment, so then the doctor measured again and got 31 inches. Probably the truth lies somewhere between those two numbers.
Gargoyle
Here is Isaac with his favorite gargoyle. Doesn't everybody have one? He also likes to build gargoyles atop his Lego buildings.
New pictures
Do you remember Easter? It was back in early April, but here is a picture from our extended family Easter party I promised to post long ago. Laurel sits with her second cousins Jett and Patrick, all born within six months of each other.Speaking of long ago, here is a link to our pictures from March, April, and May, also updated on the sidebar. It includes Easter, Yosemite, and several visits with my parents. There are pictures of Isaac and/or Laurel playing with bikes, playdough, swings, chainsaws (toy), jack-knives (real), flashlights, cows, mud, sticks, rocks, and bricks.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Catching up
We're back from vacation and it's time to get back to real life, where one of the many things I have to catch up on is my blog.
For our vacation we went from cool and foggy Northern California to hot and muggy Minnesota. We spent four days at Craig's family reunion at a lakeside resort in the northern part of Minnesota, and another four days with my cousin's family in urban Minneapolis. (We made the same trip three years ago in 2007, both the reunion and my cousin.)
Compounding my need to catch up with things, Craig was out of the country for three weeks immediately prior to our trip. He flew back from China on Thursday the 5th and we flew out to Minnesota on Friday the 6th. That was his second three-week trip of the summer, which, you may recall, included a total of 35 days spent away from home. But he's home now!
So I have a chance to get caught up, which is good because I have a lot of things to write about. How was the vacation? (Great!) How were my six weeks of single-parenting? (Not bad, actually, especially since I lowered my expectations of accomplishing anything.) How many words does Laurel say by now? (Probably 200.) Has she gained any weight? (I don't know.)
But for now I must stop, because I have another thing to catch up on: my sleep.
For our vacation we went from cool and foggy Northern California to hot and muggy Minnesota. We spent four days at Craig's family reunion at a lakeside resort in the northern part of Minnesota, and another four days with my cousin's family in urban Minneapolis. (We made the same trip three years ago in 2007, both the reunion and my cousin.)
Compounding my need to catch up with things, Craig was out of the country for three weeks immediately prior to our trip. He flew back from China on Thursday the 5th and we flew out to Minnesota on Friday the 6th. That was his second three-week trip of the summer, which, you may recall, included a total of 35 days spent away from home. But he's home now!
So I have a chance to get caught up, which is good because I have a lot of things to write about. How was the vacation? (Great!) How were my six weeks of single-parenting? (Not bad, actually, especially since I lowered my expectations of accomplishing anything.) How many words does Laurel say by now? (Probably 200.) Has she gained any weight? (I don't know.)
But for now I must stop, because I have another thing to catch up on: my sleep.
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