Upon turning into my parents' neighborhood: "Look, mommy. There's the white fence. That's how we know we're in grandma and grandpa's neighborhood. I'm smart. Isn't I?"
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Friday, April 20, 2012
It's a doctor's kit!*
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| Listening to my heart. |
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
O-yeh and turkey samiches: An update on the kids
Emmeline had her fifteen-month appointment at the doctor's office on Friday. She is doing great, just as I thought, and got back to her normal growth curve after falling well below it at one year (probably because of her surgery and subsequent illnesses). She's now 21 lbs., 14 oz. (55th percentile), 31 inches (70th percentile), and has a head circumference of 17 3/4" (35th percentile). Dr. Rauth could clearly tell from her time in the room that Emmeline is very active. I assured her that she's getting plenty of protein (I've never seen another kid this age like meat so much!), though fruits and vegetables are a struggle (we're still giving her pouches of baby food with fruit and vegetable purees to make up for this). She's communicating so well these days. It's really amazing to see. Oliver's speech developed more slowly, in part because of his hearing problems, but with Emme it's much more than just words. She really is trying to tell us things, using a combination of baby sign language, pointing, and grunting/fussing/words. For example, when she wants picked up, she'll say the word "up" with her arms in the air and push up on her toes. When she's in her room and tired, she'll sign for sleep and then point to her crib. Yesterday (when she was home with a low, but too-high-for-daycare fever), she pointed to the tupperware of cookies, signed for food, and then threw a tantrum when I said "no."
And that is the other way Emmeline communicates -- with tantrums. They aren't elaborate. They don't last long. But she gets mad easily and isn't afraid to show it. She stomps her feet, falls on the floor, cries and throws her head back, and when something is in reach (like her cup), throws it. She gets over it fairly quickly, but our ignoring it has thus far not dissuaded her from throwing the tantrum to begin with. It's been clear since early on that she is a strong-willed child with very specific wants. It seems like she's going to use any tactic available to get them. Here's hoping we all survive her toddler years.
And she is getting some real words, too. She says "ball" very clearly and uses it for different kinds of balls. She's starting to get "book" and tries "dog" and "shoes," but it's only the beginning sound. She also seems to be trying to say Oliver's name. The word (sound?) comes out at different times, so I don't know if it's used exclusively for him, but there does seem to be a connection. About a week ago I went to pick her up from daycare, and when she saw me out in the courtyard, she immediately stood up, turned towards the door to Oliver's room, pointed, and said in kind of a singsongy voice, "O-yeh." She didn't want picked up; she wanted to go get her brother from the playground, where he usually is when it's time to go home. If I take her to the car without him there, she'll point at his empty seat with a look of concern on her face and say, "O-yeh?" Yesterday afternoon, when we left to go get him from daycare, I told her we were going to get Oliver from school. She kept going to the stairs and pointing up them saying his name. I guess she thought he was in his room. So I don't know for sure if she's really attempting his name, but she definitely knows him as a person now and wants to know where he is, too.
Oliver is really into Emmeline these days, too. He fusses if he doesn't get to eat breakfast with her (because he's spent, I don't know, twenty minutes upstairs putting his clothes on -- or not -- and so missed the chance to join his hungry-as-soon-as-she-wakes-up little sister). He fusses if they have to take baths separately. At bedtime, he gives her a hug and a kiss. They make each other laugh in the car. They really, actually like each other. I don't say that to mean they always get along and will have this relationship forever. But they're finally at the age that there's some kind of legitimate attachment to one another, from both sides. And it's fun to see them together. Oliver has always liked to sing, and now Emme really responds to either one of us singing a song she knows. Favorites include: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (she'll start trying to do the hand motions) and Ring-around-the-Rosie (only she doesn't realize you're supposed to hold hands and just turns in a circle herself). Oliver will also do the alphabet song for her, and she obligingly claps when he's done. It's adorable.
Oliver's language has also otherwise developed. He likes to try out new words -- with lots of inflection. Like when he told me Emme was making a complete mess with her milk one day. Or recently he's talked about he likes gerdening with Grammy Kay. This weekend they planted some azaleas, and he has a very unique pronunciation for this word. On Sunday evening, I asked him if he wanted to anything else to eat. He thought for a moment and then said, "Do you have any more of those turkey samiches?" (since we'd had them for lunch). Ollie's general knowledge of letters and sounds has gotten better. He can pretty consistently identify the beginning sounds of words now and I think would do well with some basic phonics instruction. He can count and does simple math "problems" with Wes using food items or fingers to help him add and subtract. His hand-eye coordination is improving, though it's not clear whether it will end up closer to mine (broken nose from a softball) or Wes's (semi-pro baseball player). The thing that I will never totally get over, though, is his memory. It is sharp. He has on more than one occasion corrected (politely) something I said, talked about an obscure incident from months past, or made connections between seemingly small details in two very dissimilar situations. Whereas Emme seems "bright" in her communication, Oliver's smarts stand out the most in how his mind operates to remember things and put them together.
Without question, I am loving this time watching the kids develop. The un-fun things -- Oliver's unbelievably slow-moving nature, Emme's demanding one -- are but small blips on the fun we have most days. I'm really looking forward to this summer, when I'll have more time to spend with them and, in the words of Bravo, just watch what happens next.
And that is the other way Emmeline communicates -- with tantrums. They aren't elaborate. They don't last long. But she gets mad easily and isn't afraid to show it. She stomps her feet, falls on the floor, cries and throws her head back, and when something is in reach (like her cup), throws it. She gets over it fairly quickly, but our ignoring it has thus far not dissuaded her from throwing the tantrum to begin with. It's been clear since early on that she is a strong-willed child with very specific wants. It seems like she's going to use any tactic available to get them. Here's hoping we all survive her toddler years.
And she is getting some real words, too. She says "ball" very clearly and uses it for different kinds of balls. She's starting to get "book" and tries "dog" and "shoes," but it's only the beginning sound. She also seems to be trying to say Oliver's name. The word (sound?) comes out at different times, so I don't know if it's used exclusively for him, but there does seem to be a connection. About a week ago I went to pick her up from daycare, and when she saw me out in the courtyard, she immediately stood up, turned towards the door to Oliver's room, pointed, and said in kind of a singsongy voice, "O-yeh." She didn't want picked up; she wanted to go get her brother from the playground, where he usually is when it's time to go home. If I take her to the car without him there, she'll point at his empty seat with a look of concern on her face and say, "O-yeh?" Yesterday afternoon, when we left to go get him from daycare, I told her we were going to get Oliver from school. She kept going to the stairs and pointing up them saying his name. I guess she thought he was in his room. So I don't know for sure if she's really attempting his name, but she definitely knows him as a person now and wants to know where he is, too.
Oliver is really into Emmeline these days, too. He fusses if he doesn't get to eat breakfast with her (because he's spent, I don't know, twenty minutes upstairs putting his clothes on -- or not -- and so missed the chance to join his hungry-as-soon-as-she-wakes-up little sister). He fusses if they have to take baths separately. At bedtime, he gives her a hug and a kiss. They make each other laugh in the car. They really, actually like each other. I don't say that to mean they always get along and will have this relationship forever. But they're finally at the age that there's some kind of legitimate attachment to one another, from both sides. And it's fun to see them together. Oliver has always liked to sing, and now Emme really responds to either one of us singing a song she knows. Favorites include: The Itsy-Bitsy Spider (she'll start trying to do the hand motions) and Ring-around-the-Rosie (only she doesn't realize you're supposed to hold hands and just turns in a circle herself). Oliver will also do the alphabet song for her, and she obligingly claps when he's done. It's adorable.
Oliver's language has also otherwise developed. He likes to try out new words -- with lots of inflection. Like when he told me Emme was making a complete mess with her milk one day. Or recently he's talked about he likes gerdening with Grammy Kay. This weekend they planted some azaleas, and he has a very unique pronunciation for this word. On Sunday evening, I asked him if he wanted to anything else to eat. He thought for a moment and then said, "Do you have any more of those turkey samiches?" (since we'd had them for lunch). Ollie's general knowledge of letters and sounds has gotten better. He can pretty consistently identify the beginning sounds of words now and I think would do well with some basic phonics instruction. He can count and does simple math "problems" with Wes using food items or fingers to help him add and subtract. His hand-eye coordination is improving, though it's not clear whether it will end up closer to mine (broken nose from a softball) or Wes's (semi-pro baseball player). The thing that I will never totally get over, though, is his memory. It is sharp. He has on more than one occasion corrected (politely) something I said, talked about an obscure incident from months past, or made connections between seemingly small details in two very dissimilar situations. Whereas Emme seems "bright" in her communication, Oliver's smarts stand out the most in how his mind operates to remember things and put them together.
Without question, I am loving this time watching the kids develop. The un-fun things -- Oliver's unbelievably slow-moving nature, Emme's demanding one -- are but small blips on the fun we have most days. I'm really looking forward to this summer, when I'll have more time to spend with them and, in the words of Bravo, just watch what happens next.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Crash
On Sunday, we put him down for a nap again. He seemed to fall asleep for a little while, but then we heard banging upstairs. Wes changed a poopy Pull-Up (yes, still a challenge) and tried to get Oliver to sleep in our bed downstairs. Wes fell asleep, Oliver did not, and after a short while, they were both up again.
Wes sat on the couch watching a movie while Oliver played in the living room. At some point, Ollie sat down on the couch and, according to Wes, actually fell asleep while claiming he wasn't tired. He slept for almost two hours.
I'm not sure what else to do other than what we're already trying -- consistent nap times on the weekend, even if he doesn't sleep. Multiple opportunities to rest, even when he protests. Early bedtimes if he doesn't nap soundly. I do wish he would rest on Saturdays, as no nap often means that "mommy time" on Sundays is less fun. But at least this week I got a rare glimpse of big, little boy soundly sleeping.
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