So I did look up the signs for train and boat. Seth disagrees with the sign for train, which I pointed out that it wasn't really up for debate. Like, we can't just change hundreds of years of vocabulary because we don't like the way a word sounds.
While I was looking up those signs I found a few others that were helpful including the one for poop. It did seem helpful. Like it would be amazing if he could tell me that he'd gone potty instead of waiting for the disgusting odor to waft up to four or so feet above his little bum.
I started doing the sign when I would change him or check his diaper. Every single time he responds with a giggle. Seriously. It's like he's been hard wired to think the word poop is funny. Is my boy really a second-grader?
I showed him other new signs. Didn't even crack a smile. And then again this morning, I made the sign for poop, and the guy giggles. I guess I'll get used to it. If I remember my own childhood well enough, I think I'll be laughed at a lot more in the coming years!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Do you hear what I hear?
Planes, phones and remote controls. These are things that excite my little man.
He still doesn't say much in the way of real words, but listen up, he's not without a voice. He babbles and babbles as he plays, sometimes mixing in a "MA! MA! MA!" or "DA!DA!DA!" However, he's yet to shout those words in any attempt to talk to us or get our attention.
Still, I chat away with him. Narrating our grocery store outing as if I were a tour guide at Disneyland. Lucky for me, I shop during the day when all the shoppers are either seniors or moms like me. Today I heard three other shoppers who absolutely loved the little man's smile. Gush. Me, too.
So with me talking all the time, he's absolutely picked up on simple directions. He doesn't always carry them out, but I know he hears them. He's learning to throw away his diaper, put dirty clothes in the laundry, and, his favorite, throw his rubber duckies in the bath tub.
And, as if I needed another reason to think my son is smart, he is picking up a new sign or two a day. I started doing sign language months ago with simple signs like "more" and "milk." I looked at blank stares and quiet hands for so long that I'd nearly given up on it. And then, a little more than a week ago, he very clearly (and unprompted) gave me the sign for more. It's a little wonky, but I know what he's asking. He now tells me he wants more milk or more toast at breakfast. He also knows how to sign light, airplane and all done.
For several weeks he's been pointing at his ear when he hears something. It started with airplanes. When we'd be out walking or in the yard and a plane would fly by (for those of you who don't know, we live fairly close to a large, commercial airport and a small, private one, so we see lots of planes) I would point to it, and say: "I see it with my eyes, and I hear it with my ears," pointing at the body parts.
Well, he was paying attention! Now, the phone rings -- points to his ear. Wiley barks -- points to his ear. An airplane flies overhead, and he points to his ear. The last is amazing. Amazing because we can be in the house, doing our thing, and I won't notice it. Then, he'll point to his ear, and I pause for a second, and, yes, I also hear that airplane.
We also live close to a port, so we hear ship horns and trains pretty regularly, too. He points to his ear for those as well, and I'm scrambling to learn the signs for train and boat!
The other day, after laying him down for a nap, I was in the kitchen by myself, and I heard a plane fly overhead. I smiled as I imagined the little boy in his bed, sucking on a binky and snuggling with the frog his Nana gave him and a bear his Grandma gave him, upstairs pointing to his ear.
He still doesn't say much in the way of real words, but listen up, he's not without a voice. He babbles and babbles as he plays, sometimes mixing in a "MA! MA! MA!" or "DA!DA!DA!" However, he's yet to shout those words in any attempt to talk to us or get our attention.
Still, I chat away with him. Narrating our grocery store outing as if I were a tour guide at Disneyland. Lucky for me, I shop during the day when all the shoppers are either seniors or moms like me. Today I heard three other shoppers who absolutely loved the little man's smile. Gush. Me, too.
So with me talking all the time, he's absolutely picked up on simple directions. He doesn't always carry them out, but I know he hears them. He's learning to throw away his diaper, put dirty clothes in the laundry, and, his favorite, throw his rubber duckies in the bath tub.
And, as if I needed another reason to think my son is smart, he is picking up a new sign or two a day. I started doing sign language months ago with simple signs like "more" and "milk." I looked at blank stares and quiet hands for so long that I'd nearly given up on it. And then, a little more than a week ago, he very clearly (and unprompted) gave me the sign for more. It's a little wonky, but I know what he's asking. He now tells me he wants more milk or more toast at breakfast. He also knows how to sign light, airplane and all done.
For several weeks he's been pointing at his ear when he hears something. It started with airplanes. When we'd be out walking or in the yard and a plane would fly by (for those of you who don't know, we live fairly close to a large, commercial airport and a small, private one, so we see lots of planes) I would point to it, and say: "I see it with my eyes, and I hear it with my ears," pointing at the body parts.
Well, he was paying attention! Now, the phone rings -- points to his ear. Wiley barks -- points to his ear. An airplane flies overhead, and he points to his ear. The last is amazing. Amazing because we can be in the house, doing our thing, and I won't notice it. Then, he'll point to his ear, and I pause for a second, and, yes, I also hear that airplane.
We also live close to a port, so we hear ship horns and trains pretty regularly, too. He points to his ear for those as well, and I'm scrambling to learn the signs for train and boat!
The other day, after laying him down for a nap, I was in the kitchen by myself, and I heard a plane fly overhead. I smiled as I imagined the little boy in his bed, sucking on a binky and snuggling with the frog his Nana gave him and a bear his Grandma gave him, upstairs pointing to his ear.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
The numbers
- 6+ Times today I went down the stairs on my bottom, hoping Jasper will pick up on the sit and scoot method.
- 4 Times I got on my hands and knees wipe up the kitchen floor.
- 2 Towels were ruined with blood stains after Jasper took a spill in the kitchen and busted his lip.
- 7 Blocks away from home on a walk when the freezing rain started coming down.
- 3 Changes of clothes for the monkey today.
- 1 Rain boot does no good. Wish Jasper got that same memo.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The things I do
Just a couple of notes from the day since I don't ever have time for a real post:
- Had to take Wiley to the vet today, and naturally that means I take Wiley and Jasper to the vet. After a nearly two hour visit, Jasper's patience was wearing thin. So as I am talking with the vet (who is very nice but has no children of her own) I am holding Jasper and letting him stuff Goldfish Crackers into my mouth. I take a bite, look him in the eye, chew, say "mmm" and "thank-you." It takes me a few moments to realize that normal people don't have adult conversations while being force fed by their toddler.
- When I leave she's nice and asks if I need a hand with the dog and the kid and all the paperwork she sent me home with. I thank her and say no. Deep inside I am screaming, "Yes! Come home with me!"
- My umbrella stroller had a recall, so I went to fill out the online form to get the part to make the fix. Of course, they want the ID number on the thing. (They call it the VIN number, but doesn't the V stand for vehicle?) I go to drag it out of the car in the rain and spend five minutes standing in the driveway searching for the number. It's a damn 21-digit number, how hard can that be to hide, I'm wondering? I finally bring it in, go back to the den, look a the picture once again where they are telling me it's at, go back to the stroller, turn it upside down and finally find the stinking number. Why are things so hard? It wasn't where the picture showed.
- Had to clean out my freezer this morning to make room for my turkey. While Seth will love it that I threw away some things, it reminded me when I think I'm out of yeast, I should dig harder because there's probably another package in there somewhere. Same goes for nuts. Geez, you'd think I was about to open a bakery or candy shop around here with all those nuts and yeast! Another important reminder of how handy labeled items are in the freezer. A ton of zip-top bags with no dates is a nightmare.
- We are so damn gate happy around here now that I feel like I'm back in middle school running the hurdles in my own house. This is probably a better work out then I got when I was on the track team -- I kid you not, we actually jumped bushes because we had no hurdles for practice. We didn't even have a track! Note to self when researching schools: see if they not only have the extra curricular activities but the equipment that goes with them as well.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Oh yes he can
Three times in recent days I have been reminded how much Jasper is growing. Yes, I do mean growth in the physical sense. He's outgrowing clothes and bumping his head on things he used to breeze right underneath. But he's also growing as in getting smart.
Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all my-kid-is-so-smart on you. He is making amazing gains, but he's stopped doing other things like saying bye-bye or mama. But about him being smart, I can't believe the kid's memory. It seems he remembers every mischievous thing he's done just so he can try it once more!
He figured out how to open the last cabinet untouched in the kitchen, a narrow pull-out spice rack. I don't use it for spices, but for measuring cups, salts, vinegars and few other odds and ends. He now has the perfect wiggle and pull down to get the thing open. And while cooking dinner recently, I looked down and found him covered in corn starch. Perhaps handy for thickening drool, it seemed to do little else but make me laugh. And make a mess.
Then just yesterday we were playing with bristle blocks when I got very engrossed in my bristle block house I was building. Several minutes go by before I notice that Jasper has moved on to another activity: stamps!
He managed to grab the ink pad for a stamp I'd been using. It was sitting on top of the desk in territory he'd never touched before, leading me to believe it was a safe place. Nope. His hands were black and he was sitting on the dark brown rug. I cannot believe he didn't manage to touch anything. I panicked, threw down my bristle blocks, picked him and ran to the sink. After a good scrub, he only had a faint shadow of ink in the creases of his fingers and under his nails.
The last great thing may seem small, but it's actually turning out to be a huge help for me. I can ask him to find his sippy cup, and off he'll go. Most of the time if he doesn't actually find it, he'll lead me to it. If you've ever found a stray sippy cup full of last week's milk, you know why this is handy.
So, it's safe to say that he's got me hopping. That's about it from here. And a cute Halloween pic for the road.
Don't worry, I'm not gonna go all my-kid-is-so-smart on you. He is making amazing gains, but he's stopped doing other things like saying bye-bye or mama. But about him being smart, I can't believe the kid's memory. It seems he remembers every mischievous thing he's done just so he can try it once more!
He figured out how to open the last cabinet untouched in the kitchen, a narrow pull-out spice rack. I don't use it for spices, but for measuring cups, salts, vinegars and few other odds and ends. He now has the perfect wiggle and pull down to get the thing open. And while cooking dinner recently, I looked down and found him covered in corn starch. Perhaps handy for thickening drool, it seemed to do little else but make me laugh. And make a mess.
Then just yesterday we were playing with bristle blocks when I got very engrossed in my bristle block house I was building. Several minutes go by before I notice that Jasper has moved on to another activity: stamps!
He managed to grab the ink pad for a stamp I'd been using. It was sitting on top of the desk in territory he'd never touched before, leading me to believe it was a safe place. Nope. His hands were black and he was sitting on the dark brown rug. I cannot believe he didn't manage to touch anything. I panicked, threw down my bristle blocks, picked him and ran to the sink. After a good scrub, he only had a faint shadow of ink in the creases of his fingers and under his nails.
The last great thing may seem small, but it's actually turning out to be a huge help for me. I can ask him to find his sippy cup, and off he'll go. Most of the time if he doesn't actually find it, he'll lead me to it. If you've ever found a stray sippy cup full of last week's milk, you know why this is handy.
So, it's safe to say that he's got me hopping. That's about it from here. And a cute Halloween pic for the road.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
