This past weekend I was making lunch in the kitchen and Ben stepped out onto the deck. He said "Mom! Baby deer!" and I thought "Huh? Does he see a deer and he wants Oliver to look at it?" I went to look and sure enough, there was a baby deer in our yard!! It was as big as a medium-sized dog and had the baby deer spots. We scared him and his mom and they left quickly. Ben knew what he was talking about!
We bought a potty in hopes of someday potty-training Ben. He thinks it is neat, and understands what it is, but shows no signs of really using it. We did some pretending with poop made out of play-doh and had some laughs. Then we took his diaper off and tried to convince him to at least pee in the potty. He sat down on it several times and seemed to try, but then he walked 5 feet away and peed on the floor. Who knows what that means? We've heard advice from other moms of boys to just be easy-going about it. We'll see!
Oliver is starting to smile a little more and it is the cutest thing in the world. His whole face changes. I can't believe what a good sleeper he is, and you can't believe how thankful we are! Let's hope it continues. He has a bad case of infant acne or heat rash on his face and neck and his beautifully clear skin is gone. It seems like it itches because he clumsily scratches his face all the time.
We went to Delaney's birthday pool party this past Saturday (Delaney is my boss' 3-year-old daughter). It was pretty cloudy and almost cold, even down in Westminster (what's up with this weather??), and Tim and I and the other parents were discussing the weather and the fact that it was actually nicer than having the sun blaring down and worrying about reapplying sunscreen over and over. That evening Tim and I were appalled at ourselves because Ben had a really bad sunburn on his back. Even though we were all discussing sunscreen, and we KNOW that the UV rays still come through the clouds, we neglected to put sunscreen on poor Benny and he got his first bad burn. We've failed him!
Otherwise, it was a fun party, and it sure is nice to hear the laughter of toddlers!
Ben has begun a disturbing habit of picking at scabs. I wonder how much of it is an instinct (animals pick at themselves) or if he has learned it from watching Tim and me. In any case, he has picked at a scab on the bridge of his nose until it is a horrible sore. I don't even remember what it started as, but picking has really enlarged it. Along with all his other owies, he looks like a pitiful, beaten-up little kid.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Benglish continued
Wee Creekers (Ben's daycare) = weekers
Mattux (5-yr-old boy across the street) = Maggots (this one provides endless amounts of amusement)
Lightning McQueen = Lightin Ween
Please = wease
Jump = wump
Big boy bed = boy bed
Bull dozer = bozer
Mattux (5-yr-old boy across the street) = Maggots (this one provides endless amounts of amusement)
Lightning McQueen = Lightin Ween
Please = wease
Jump = wump
Big boy bed = boy bed
Bull dozer = bozer
Thursday, June 11, 2009
And Oliver updates
Newborn things I don't want to forget:
- the range of funny noises Oliver can make - grunts, squeaks, sighs, snorts...
- the "satisfied" posture after a good feeding - legs pulled up tight, arms under the chin, head stretched back, and lips pursed in a sweet little kissable bow...
- the unique newborn cry that goes away so soon...
I was worried about the fact that Oliver should be focusing on faces and making eye contact by this time, and he seems to avoid looking at my face all the time. I know sometimes they avoid eye contact because of over-stimulation, but I thought he never looked at me. I also looked in Ben's baby book and saw that Ben's first smiles were at 6 weeks. So I grew doubly-worried that Oliver didn't seem even close to smiling or interacting at all. Tim and I got down on the floor and tried to get him to look at us, and he made perfectly good eye contact with both of us and gave us two almost-smiles. Just like when we would worry about Ben's milestones and sit down to test him, all ends up being well. I think I was always holding Oliver on the sofa, and with the bright sun coming from behind me, my face was in shadow and he couldn't really see it. We'll keep watching for a real smile and try to get photos!
- the range of funny noises Oliver can make - grunts, squeaks, sighs, snorts...
- the "satisfied" posture after a good feeding - legs pulled up tight, arms under the chin, head stretched back, and lips pursed in a sweet little kissable bow...
- the unique newborn cry that goes away so soon...
I was worried about the fact that Oliver should be focusing on faces and making eye contact by this time, and he seems to avoid looking at my face all the time. I know sometimes they avoid eye contact because of over-stimulation, but I thought he never looked at me. I also looked in Ben's baby book and saw that Ben's first smiles were at 6 weeks. So I grew doubly-worried that Oliver didn't seem even close to smiling or interacting at all. Tim and I got down on the floor and tried to get him to look at us, and he made perfectly good eye contact with both of us and gave us two almost-smiles. Just like when we would worry about Ben's milestones and sit down to test him, all ends up being well. I think I was always holding Oliver on the sofa, and with the bright sun coming from behind me, my face was in shadow and he couldn't really see it. We'll keep watching for a real smile and try to get photos!
Funny Benny
Although Ben can say many consonants, I think he gives up when there are two consonants together and just substitutes a Y or W. For example, he can say "Pippi" just fine, but the "pl" in Play-doh seems to intimidate him, so he calls it "Way-doh." Same with "please" - it is "wease." I was trying to encourage him to at least use the P and say "Pay-doh," and he was hilarious in giving me explicit instructions in return, complete with teacher-like hand motions: "No, Pay-Way-doh." I would say "No, try just Pay-doh," and he would again say, "No, Pay-WAY-doh!" Not sure how he got that, but creative, huh? It made me laugh.
Ben still thinks it is hilarious to torment the cats, just like when he loved trying to run them over with his walker when he was learning to walk. The other day he got the idea of throwing pine cones (still "co-cones") at Pippi, and we had a blast chasing her around the yard with pine cones. Daddy has much better aim than Mommy and a bit longer range than Benny, and he landed one right behind her when she wasn't paying attention. She jumped 4 feet straight up in the air and Ben and I collapsed into hysterical laughing.
A while back Ben started to love the I Spy-type of books where he looks at a picture of an object on one page and then finds the object among other things on the next page. At first he always had to put his finger on each picture, which was cute. One time I couldn't find the picture and I said "Butterfly, where are you?" and since then Ben often says, "Mom, are you?" or "Thomas, are you?" with a sing-song lilt. The "where" isn't really there.
When Tim tries to teach Ben about being careful, such as at the edge of a cliff, or on a ladder, Ben always turns it around and tells Tim to be careful. "Daddy, carepull! Carepull!"
Ben has learned his colors since starting at Wee Creekers, and he usually has a tantrum when it is time to go home. One day he said "No home!" in a matter of fact way. He's learned a couple of new mannerisms, including a really cute facial expression we'll try to capture on camera.
Since his bedroom flooded twice now and we're worried about mold, we moved him into the guest room and he has slept two nights on the double bed. We thought he'd want to sleep in his crib forever, but he seems to have adjusted just fine. We've been having lots of trouble with diapers overflowing overnight and have been trying to limit his drinks in the late evenings. If he asks for juice between dinner and bedtime, Tim tells him he can only have a little at bedtime. One night Ben then said, "Bed!" and headed towards the bedroom. He was willing to go to bed a half hour early to get juice! (and yes, we've discussed a middle-of-the-night diaper change, and concern over his seemingly-excessive thirst.)
Tim puts Ben to bed while I put Oliver to bed, and I love listening to their voices during storytime. Often I hear Ben's voice more than Daddy's, as if Ben is reading books to Tim instead of vice versa.
Ben has already reached the stage where everything is much more fun if Mom or Dad are watching, and apparently we watch much better if he asks multiple times. Last night, for example, I was trying to make dinner in the kitchen and Ben had a piece of rope and thought he had learned to jump rope (well, he was jumping and moving the rope around...). Even though I was already watching him, he had to say "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Watch!" each time he tried his jump. How endearing.
Ben still thinks it is hilarious to torment the cats, just like when he loved trying to run them over with his walker when he was learning to walk. The other day he got the idea of throwing pine cones (still "co-cones") at Pippi, and we had a blast chasing her around the yard with pine cones. Daddy has much better aim than Mommy and a bit longer range than Benny, and he landed one right behind her when she wasn't paying attention. She jumped 4 feet straight up in the air and Ben and I collapsed into hysterical laughing.
A while back Ben started to love the I Spy-type of books where he looks at a picture of an object on one page and then finds the object among other things on the next page. At first he always had to put his finger on each picture, which was cute. One time I couldn't find the picture and I said "Butterfly, where are you?" and since then Ben often says, "Mom, are you?" or "Thomas, are you?" with a sing-song lilt. The "where" isn't really there.
When Tim tries to teach Ben about being careful, such as at the edge of a cliff, or on a ladder, Ben always turns it around and tells Tim to be careful. "Daddy, carepull! Carepull!"
Ben has learned his colors since starting at Wee Creekers, and he usually has a tantrum when it is time to go home. One day he said "No home!" in a matter of fact way. He's learned a couple of new mannerisms, including a really cute facial expression we'll try to capture on camera.
Since his bedroom flooded twice now and we're worried about mold, we moved him into the guest room and he has slept two nights on the double bed. We thought he'd want to sleep in his crib forever, but he seems to have adjusted just fine. We've been having lots of trouble with diapers overflowing overnight and have been trying to limit his drinks in the late evenings. If he asks for juice between dinner and bedtime, Tim tells him he can only have a little at bedtime. One night Ben then said, "Bed!" and headed towards the bedroom. He was willing to go to bed a half hour early to get juice! (and yes, we've discussed a middle-of-the-night diaper change, and concern over his seemingly-excessive thirst.)
Tim puts Ben to bed while I put Oliver to bed, and I love listening to their voices during storytime. Often I hear Ben's voice more than Daddy's, as if Ben is reading books to Tim instead of vice versa.
Ben has already reached the stage where everything is much more fun if Mom or Dad are watching, and apparently we watch much better if he asks multiple times. Last night, for example, I was trying to make dinner in the kitchen and Ben had a piece of rope and thought he had learned to jump rope (well, he was jumping and moving the rope around...). Even though I was already watching him, he had to say "Mom! Mom! Mom! Mom! Watch!" each time he tried his jump. How endearing.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Update on Oliver
Oliver is doing well - he eats, poops, and sleeps according to his job description. He is getting pudgy and I would say he is a lot more easy-going than Ben. He definitely sleeps more than Ben!
Aunt Wende, Uncle Michael, Grammy Pat visit
Aunt Wende and Uncle Michael came from Kansas City to visit for Memorial Day weekend, and Grammy Pat drove out too. Ben really enjoyed seeing them, and loves Michael. He says his name perfectly and prefers his company. It was great to see everyone and wish all the relatives lived closer together.
Ben's new school
Ben started this week at his new daycare here in the canyon. It is called Wee Creekers and we absolutely LOVE the place!! Because Ben is close to two and a half, he was put in the preschool room instead of the toddler room, and when Tim and I saw what the preschoolers were doing, we had doubts about Ben's ability to fit in. We wanted structured activities and a more structured day, but after having Ben "run wild" at home, we didn't see how he would adapt to eating at a table, eating only his own food (not doing what I call "Helen Keller eating"), taking a nap at nap time, on a nap mat (last weekend Ben took naps in three different places, and had to be coerced and enticed), leaving toys alone after free play is over and moving to a different activity, etc. So we were anxious to hear how he did when we went to get him Monday afternoon. Perhaps they were just being nice, but the teachers said he did wonderfully. Yay Ben! They also said he is really sweet, independent and well-adjusted. He runs in happily in the mornings and doesn't want to leave in the afternoons. We feel guilty putting him in daycare when I'm on maternity leave, but at the same time, we feel that he is better off there than at home, in a lot of ways. So a little of both is a nice balance and he really seems to enjoy it. We can't wait until he can come home and tell us how his day was, what he learned and what happened.
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