We spent Thanksgiving in Appleton, WI with our cousins. Eddie had a blast playing with all of Sophia's toys. Sophie, on the other hand, was not so enthused by Eddie's presence and every time he tried to socialize with her, she would just run away. The item he seemed to play with the most was her baby doll stroller and bottles - this was to Gramps' dismay as he proclaimed "don't let him play with dolls!" But I just asserted that we want him to grow up to be a good daddy...and even more so, to be a good big brother when the time comes. He reacquainted himself with the toy turkey which made him smile again this year. And he liked being held by tall cousin Johnny. The rest of the weekend we enjoyed the nice weather and spent a lot of time outdoors, watching the ducks and helping Nonni plant tulip bulbs. Inside the house Eddie perfected his skills of going down several stairs and getting off of a bed by himself. Cousin Noah and his parents came up to visit for only a day because he was sick with a fever.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 21, 2009
15 for 15
Eddie turned 15 months this week. Becoming more and more of a toddler every day. Trip to the doctor for a check-up went well. He now weighs 21 lbs. 9 ozs., still in the 25th percentile, and is 31 and 3/4 inches, 75th percentile for height. I thought I'd do something a tad different this month and just share 15 great new things about him:
15. His tumbling. He loves to roll around on the floor, and loves it even more if you join him for a tumble. He also does that bent-over-looking-through-his-legs position that makes it look as if he is about to do a somersault.
14. His new found love for Marty. Sometimes he just walks up to her and strokes her coat so gently. Sometimes he grabs at her face and she licks him back. He also likes to feed her directly from his hand.
13. His ability to share. He loves to share his food with us, feed us by placing the food directly in our mouths or in our hands. He can also hand over objects if you ask for them, although he mostly just does a psyche and gestures to hand you the object but then never lets go of it. He smiles. He is so proud of himself.
12. Books. I swear the kid is crazy about his books and is very independent about reading these days. He carries his books into little corners of the house and sits there and flips through pages. Board books, big kid books, mommy's books, magazines, really anything and everything legible he wants to get ahold of.
11. Pens. He always wants to have a pen if he sees one or after seeing me use one. And then he will motion around on the floor that he is "writing." Maybe he will be a writer like his Grandma and Aunt.
10. Putting on shoes. He is not able to do it yet but he makes attempts and it is so cute. He often tries to put on my shoes too.
9. Blankie and Kiki. He has two of the same blankie - I bought a second one to have in case something happened to the first one and to have for when I need to wash the other one. Well he found the second blankie right away and so now he has two blankies and he loves them. He carries them everywhere - luckily though he dosesn't need to have them, as in we don't bring it with us outside of the house, but he is so happy when he has one. Kiki did go on an excursion this week though. I brought her to the doctor's office this week to give to him after he got his shots and he was so happy. He nuzzles his little face in the blankie and will often lie on the floor with it as if going to sleep. If you ask "where is blankie?" he will go find one. I named the second one Kiki because he repeats "kkkk" when he sees his blankie/s.
8. His independence. I love how he can just play and play and occupy himself without needing intervention. And how he loves to figure things out on his own. Like walking - he never went through that phase where the parent holds the kid's hands as they walk between their legs. He just did it himself. Now he is trying to step up and down and once again, he doesn't want our help at all. Sometimes I get a little jealous when I see other kids his age holding their parents' hands; he won't, I think because he isn't used to it because we let him walk by himself.
7. His dancing. There is something innate within humans to dance to music, right? Because it seems like all/most babies love to dance when they hear music. It is a pretty amazing thing. That an infant ear can detect sound and designate what is music and what is not. Eddie dances to everything from Beethoven to Johnny Cash to our own attempts to sing or hum or make music on the piano. He dances when I play a Kuhlau Sonatina and a tune like She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain...can't wait for Christmas music soon!
6. Gimmie five. His dad taught him how to do this.
5. His patience. His dad says that he got his focus and patience from his mom. It is evident with this magnetic puzzle he got from his friend Niah for his birthday. He can take the net, which has a string and a small magnet attached to it, and pull up the puzzle pieces from their small magnet center; it is something that takes precision and a whole lot of patience for a baby. And Eddie can do it. Another thing that impressed me the other day was he had a chapstick and was trying to set it on top of the garbage can and it kept rolling off. After it happened twice he figured out how to set the chapstick down ever so gingerly so as to make it stay put.
4. His new found love of cuddling. Along with his tumbling skills, Eddie now has become a total cuddler. If you sit on the floor he will run over to you and climb all over you and then hug you and sit in your lap. These are some of my favorite moments of the day.
3. Belly button. His favorite body part. Likes to find mine and poke at it.
2. Apples. His favorite food of the moment. He sees them in a bowl on the table and points to them and whines until I cut off a wedge and give it to him. He probably eats 2 whole apples a day.
1. Understanding. Even though he isn't saying much, all just babble and garble still, Eddie understands a lot. When I ask "do you want to go downstairs?" he will walk over to the stairs. When I say "do you want to play piano"" He will walk over to the piano and start hitting the keys. If I say "Let's go for a walk" he will go to the door and try to open it, or grab Marty's leash. Although I anxiously await for the day when he is able to verbally communicate back to me, I am content now that he is comprehending most of what we are saying.
15. His tumbling. He loves to roll around on the floor, and loves it even more if you join him for a tumble. He also does that bent-over-looking-through-his-legs position that makes it look as if he is about to do a somersault.
14. His new found love for Marty. Sometimes he just walks up to her and strokes her coat so gently. Sometimes he grabs at her face and she licks him back. He also likes to feed her directly from his hand.
13. His ability to share. He loves to share his food with us, feed us by placing the food directly in our mouths or in our hands. He can also hand over objects if you ask for them, although he mostly just does a psyche and gestures to hand you the object but then never lets go of it. He smiles. He is so proud of himself.
12. Books. I swear the kid is crazy about his books and is very independent about reading these days. He carries his books into little corners of the house and sits there and flips through pages. Board books, big kid books, mommy's books, magazines, really anything and everything legible he wants to get ahold of.
11. Pens. He always wants to have a pen if he sees one or after seeing me use one. And then he will motion around on the floor that he is "writing." Maybe he will be a writer like his Grandma and Aunt.
10. Putting on shoes. He is not able to do it yet but he makes attempts and it is so cute. He often tries to put on my shoes too.
9. Blankie and Kiki. He has two of the same blankie - I bought a second one to have in case something happened to the first one and to have for when I need to wash the other one. Well he found the second blankie right away and so now he has two blankies and he loves them. He carries them everywhere - luckily though he dosesn't need to have them, as in we don't bring it with us outside of the house, but he is so happy when he has one. Kiki did go on an excursion this week though. I brought her to the doctor's office this week to give to him after he got his shots and he was so happy. He nuzzles his little face in the blankie and will often lie on the floor with it as if going to sleep. If you ask "where is blankie?" he will go find one. I named the second one Kiki because he repeats "kkkk" when he sees his blankie/s.
8. His independence. I love how he can just play and play and occupy himself without needing intervention. And how he loves to figure things out on his own. Like walking - he never went through that phase where the parent holds the kid's hands as they walk between their legs. He just did it himself. Now he is trying to step up and down and once again, he doesn't want our help at all. Sometimes I get a little jealous when I see other kids his age holding their parents' hands; he won't, I think because he isn't used to it because we let him walk by himself.
7. His dancing. There is something innate within humans to dance to music, right? Because it seems like all/most babies love to dance when they hear music. It is a pretty amazing thing. That an infant ear can detect sound and designate what is music and what is not. Eddie dances to everything from Beethoven to Johnny Cash to our own attempts to sing or hum or make music on the piano. He dances when I play a Kuhlau Sonatina and a tune like She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain...can't wait for Christmas music soon!
6. Gimmie five. His dad taught him how to do this.
5. His patience. His dad says that he got his focus and patience from his mom. It is evident with this magnetic puzzle he got from his friend Niah for his birthday. He can take the net, which has a string and a small magnet attached to it, and pull up the puzzle pieces from their small magnet center; it is something that takes precision and a whole lot of patience for a baby. And Eddie can do it. Another thing that impressed me the other day was he had a chapstick and was trying to set it on top of the garbage can and it kept rolling off. After it happened twice he figured out how to set the chapstick down ever so gingerly so as to make it stay put.
4. His new found love of cuddling. Along with his tumbling skills, Eddie now has become a total cuddler. If you sit on the floor he will run over to you and climb all over you and then hug you and sit in your lap. These are some of my favorite moments of the day.
3. Belly button. His favorite body part. Likes to find mine and poke at it.
2. Apples. His favorite food of the moment. He sees them in a bowl on the table and points to them and whines until I cut off a wedge and give it to him. He probably eats 2 whole apples a day.
1. Understanding. Even though he isn't saying much, all just babble and garble still, Eddie understands a lot. When I ask "do you want to go downstairs?" he will walk over to the stairs. When I say "do you want to play piano"" He will walk over to the piano and start hitting the keys. If I say "Let's go for a walk" he will go to the door and try to open it, or grab Marty's leash. Although I anxiously await for the day when he is able to verbally communicate back to me, I am content now that he is comprehending most of what we are saying.
Friday, November 20, 2009
nightmare on sesame street
Eddie doesn't watch tv. The tv is really only on during the weekends when Daddy is around and we limit the intake to sports, often changing back over to our xmradio music station when the commercials get going. But since it is the 40th anniversary, and since it was such a major part of my own childhood, I decided to let Eddie watch a bit of Sesame Street yesterday. I turned it on while he was still in his high chair, finishing up breakfast. The first skit was a take on 'High School Musical' - a bunch of muppets singing 'Pre-School Musical' and the sight of all these creatures bobbing up and down and squealing in high-pitched tones literally made Eddie cry. The next skit was with this new character whose name I think is Murray - a big red floppy hyper thing that interacts with people on the street. I have to say that the whole skit made my own head spin. It felt like the producers were on crack or heavy doses of caffeine. The pace was just so fast, so loud, so in-your-face. It made me realize that this is what our society, in particular, our youth, are all about - fast-paced hyperness. Scary. Luckily the next skit was with Bert & Ernie and had a familiar banter and slow, yet up-beat tune. Eddie was memorized and a few times pointed at the screen saying his noise of the moment: "kkkkk." But again as it switched into high-gear with Elmo's World, he started to whine and was then relived as I changed the channel back to classical music. Ahhh. Then he went back to Eddie's World and played with his toys on the door mat, rubbing his feet along its rigid surfaces. He is very tactile, very hands-on, and I so I think the overload of visual stimuli is something he is not ready for. And me either. I guess I am a classicist - Sesame Street to me is the dopey, friendly waddle of Big Bird, the humorous funk of Oscar the Grouch and soothing sounds like 'C' is for Cookie and 'Rubber Duckie.' Today's viewing was more reminiscent of a video game or thriller movie, in terms of its pace and cantor. It undoubtedly disturbed Eddie because I put him down for a nap shortly thereafter and what should have been a nice solid 2 hr. sleep was instead a quick 20 minutes that culminated with full-blown screaming, which is not usually the way he wakes up. I thought maybe he hurt himself up there. Nope, he was fine. He must have just had a nightmare on sesame street.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
the cup, revised
Back in September I shared my sippy cup woes with our blog readers. Well, I am happy to announce that Eddie has successfully been drinking from ALL of his various sippy cups for almost a month now. Throughout the day I fill one of the spill-proof ones with water and leave it somewhere where Eddie can reach it, usually on a bar stool. He finds it, of course, and totes it all around the house that by the end of the day I cannot ever seem to find it. Then during meals I use the Take-n-Toss cups and fill them with milk. He is still not drinking the milk as much as water. And then he always has a sippy cup in the car and seems to drink it while we ride. I guess the reason I feel it is so relevant to talk about the cup is because Eddie never drank from a bottle, and is still breastfed four times a day, so I have worried that he would be dehydrated if I didn't present him with the boob. Even something as simple as drinking, needs to be taught to a baby...so I have realized. Once again, I am glad that he is capable of drinking. Even if it now means he is drinking his bath water too.
Above is a photo of Eddie just being one of the guys, "drinking" with his Uncle Will.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
repetito est mater studiorum
Literally translated as 'repetition is the mother of learning', or more loosely, the more you repeat something, the more you master it. This phrase was iterated by my high school Latin teacher on numerous occasions, specifically before exams to encourage us to memorize conjugations but also randomly as this sort of wise, life lesson sort of advice. I am reminded of it today because I feel no where is this more apparent than in observing a toddler learn. Eddie has been mastering new skills daily, it seems, and he does so by repeating things, sometimes so much he seems compulsive or obsessive. Today he was working on stepping up and down. He wisely has chosen to master this skill in our shower where there is a ledge that is about 6 inches high before entering the shower. So he holds onto the shower door and steps up onto this ledge and steps down into the shower. He then turns around and goes out of the shower. And he repeats this over and over again until distracted by something new. Up until this point any time he encountered a change in elevation, per se, he would stoop down and crawl over the barrier or step, but now he is trying to stay on two feet and actually step up and down. It sounds simple to an adult but it is an arduous task for a baby and quite amazing to watch it in progress.
He also surprised me the other day by finally starting to show genuine interest in blocks beyond throwing and banging them, when he actually stacked them on top of each other. I have been showing him this for months but his only interest in blocks is knocking them down; I keep thinking, what is it about boys that is so destructive? But just the other day he carried five of his alphabet blocks into the bathroom and placed them onto the black and white tile floor and started stacking and un-stacking them. I was so proud. I just stood there for awhile watching with a big grin on my face, and then of course, applauded his efforts. Interesting, it seems like our bathroom is his sort of learning tank.
He is really into moving objects and will take items from one place to another, often from one room to another and then place them on the floor and walk away and then go back and repeat this. I guess this is object permanence learning. The funny thing is when he tries to do this with snacks. I am trying to teach him that if he leaves food on the floor, Marty will eat it. He still seems baffled when the little Bunny Grahams are not on the door mat where he left them.
He also surprised me the other day by finally starting to show genuine interest in blocks beyond throwing and banging them, when he actually stacked them on top of each other. I have been showing him this for months but his only interest in blocks is knocking them down; I keep thinking, what is it about boys that is so destructive? But just the other day he carried five of his alphabet blocks into the bathroom and placed them onto the black and white tile floor and started stacking and un-stacking them. I was so proud. I just stood there for awhile watching with a big grin on my face, and then of course, applauded his efforts. Interesting, it seems like our bathroom is his sort of learning tank.
He is really into moving objects and will take items from one place to another, often from one room to another and then place them on the floor and walk away and then go back and repeat this. I guess this is object permanence learning. The funny thing is when he tries to do this with snacks. I am trying to teach him that if he leaves food on the floor, Marty will eat it. He still seems baffled when the little Bunny Grahams are not on the door mat where he left them.
Monday, November 2, 2009
lots o' leaves
for my birthday my loving husband got me a new camera...here are some fall shots with the new gear...and now using Flickr to upload photos instead of Picasa. I figured out the problem - had to make all the photos 'public.' The order is random so you will see scenes from a park in Chicago, from our home and also from our weekend at Nonni and Gramps:
it's a great pumpkin...
Charlie Brown!
We decided to capitalize on Eddie's baldness and dress him as Charlie Brown this year, a simple costume that entailed a $3 shirt which I painted the zig-zag black stripe on and rescuing my old Snoppy doll from my parents' basement and giving him a thorough bath. We didn't take Eddie out Trick-or-Treating officially since there is really no point when he can't walk up steps yet and the candy would go to waste, but he undoubtedly enjoyed the day as he raced to the door every time the bell rang and literally assisted in handing out candy to the kids. His Dad took him to a friend's party briefly - perhaps it would have been for longer but our guy came down with a slight cold on Thursday night so we had to take it easy this weekend. Uncle Will was here for the festivities and we all took turns holding back the barking Marty and opening the door with the candy basket in hand. Our neighborhood gets really into the festivities. The street is blocked off to deter any cars. Every house is decorated with lights, spooky decor and pumpkins. All the adults dress up too - our favorite was our neighbor Bob dressed as a woman - as they walk their kids around and tote a plastic cup filled with libations. And happy to see that many seem to make their kid's costumes. The most popular costume for boys seemed to be Thomas the Train, something all the parents tell me that Eddie will undeniably get into . For girls I saw some characters from our own childhood, including Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake and a Smurf. Cousin Noah came over for awhile and visited. It won't be long before the boys will be out there together racing from door to door!
We decided to capitalize on Eddie's baldness and dress him as Charlie Brown this year, a simple costume that entailed a $3 shirt which I painted the zig-zag black stripe on and rescuing my old Snoppy doll from my parents' basement and giving him a thorough bath. We didn't take Eddie out Trick-or-Treating officially since there is really no point when he can't walk up steps yet and the candy would go to waste, but he undoubtedly enjoyed the day as he raced to the door every time the bell rang and literally assisted in handing out candy to the kids. His Dad took him to a friend's party briefly - perhaps it would have been for longer but our guy came down with a slight cold on Thursday night so we had to take it easy this weekend. Uncle Will was here for the festivities and we all took turns holding back the barking Marty and opening the door with the candy basket in hand. Our neighborhood gets really into the festivities. The street is blocked off to deter any cars. Every house is decorated with lights, spooky decor and pumpkins. All the adults dress up too - our favorite was our neighbor Bob dressed as a woman - as they walk their kids around and tote a plastic cup filled with libations. And happy to see that many seem to make their kid's costumes. The most popular costume for boys seemed to be Thomas the Train, something all the parents tell me that Eddie will undeniably get into . For girls I saw some characters from our own childhood, including Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake and a Smurf. Cousin Noah came over for awhile and visited. It won't be long before the boys will be out there together racing from door to door!
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