Here she is walking with the wagon, a couple weeks ago:
And here she is Wednesday evening, walking with NO WAGON:
And here's a random funny thing: we have these Quercetti tubes that Sam links into funky horns. She's clearly figured out what they're 'for', and crawls around hooting into one (looking like she's about to go snorkeling):
I haven't yet captured any of Sam's bike riding. We put the pedals on his bike about 3 weeks ago and he pedaled off gleefully, and has barely looked back since. No training wheels. The pedal-less balance bike approach has another house full of converts.
In the car today, driving back from Manchester, NH (where we met a friend and her lovely family for a picnic and park date): Mom, there's something I'm concerned about.
me: Really, Sam? what's that?
Sam: I'm concerned that if we have the windows open in the back, Bean will throw a toy out the window. I don't think we should have the windows open in the back of the car. I'm concerned about that.
(I failed to share his concern. We moved on.)
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Saturday, July 3, 2010
end of June Bean
She's not quite walking, but she's pushing a wagon around. And she LOVES it:
(video to follow soon.)
Polka dot pajamas!
(video to follow soon.)
Polka dot pajamas!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
misclassifications and career goals
Sam has revised his career goals. He now wants to work in a prison, or maybe be a kind of bounty hunter (a concept he learned from a Star Wars book (!)), but not someone who hurts people, instead someone who teaches them not to do bad things so they can be out of jail.
And today, in the closing circle on the last day of class, they were going around being reminded of the hopes and dreams they'd written down for the year on the first day of school. Sam's was that he hoped there would be lots of bugs in the classroom. There had been! They talked for a minute about the various bugs they'd had, including one whose classification they weren't sure about. “I think it was a daddy long legs, which is a bug that looks like a spider, but it’s not a spider. It’s like some things that we think are vegetables are really fruits? Daddy long legs are not really spiders, but people think that they’re spiders.”
We've all been dealing with Fifth Disease or some other virus-- Sam at least had the characteristic rash, though no other clear symptoms, but the rest of us have just felt exhausted and generally ill, Stephanie included; Frida's been especially sick, with a fever the past 3 nights. Non-stop nursing... it's been like having a newborn all over again. (And hopefully not a preview of the first year of daycare, with its parade of parasites.) Aunt Liz visited and hung out with us in our dysfunctional sleep deprived states; the last time she was here, F. was a newborn, and we were similarly dysfunctional. Hopefully that won't be the case the next time she comes, to celebrate the arrival of Aunt Sara and Uncle Dan's new baby later this summer!
And today, in the closing circle on the last day of class, they were going around being reminded of the hopes and dreams they'd written down for the year on the first day of school. Sam's was that he hoped there would be lots of bugs in the classroom. There had been! They talked for a minute about the various bugs they'd had, including one whose classification they weren't sure about. “I think it was a daddy long legs, which is a bug that looks like a spider, but it’s not a spider. It’s like some things that we think are vegetables are really fruits? Daddy long legs are not really spiders, but people think that they’re spiders.”
We've all been dealing with Fifth Disease or some other virus-- Sam at least had the characteristic rash, though no other clear symptoms, but the rest of us have just felt exhausted and generally ill, Stephanie included; Frida's been especially sick, with a fever the past 3 nights. Non-stop nursing... it's been like having a newborn all over again. (And hopefully not a preview of the first year of daycare, with its parade of parasites.) Aunt Liz visited and hung out with us in our dysfunctional sleep deprived states; the last time she was here, F. was a newborn, and we were similarly dysfunctional. Hopefully that won't be the case the next time she comes, to celebrate the arrival of Aunt Sara and Uncle Dan's new baby later this summer!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
10 months!
Frida is 10 months old today!
I just found Sam's baby book. (It's actually just a fabric-covered diary-type book, but I recorded much of his first year in it, before I started blogging.) Sam at 10 months was surprisingly similar to Frida at 10 months, including in ways I had mis-remembered. Frida is, and Sam was:
- cross-crawling (both started around 9 months), cruising, occasional hands-free standing.
- getting into everything.
- eating cheerios, cheese, avocados, and little bits of lots of other stuff (cooked veggies, raw fruit, bread, crackers, meat, fish), vastly preferring self-feeding to being spoon-fed, and needing to be distracted to be fed via spoon.
- drinking water from a sippy cup and dropping it on the floor all the time.
- hating being strapped into anything, including stroller and booster seat.
- loving going anywhere in the ergo.
- loving being held by Daddy and dancing around.
- maybe having a recognizable word or two.
- clearly recognizing a few words.
- loving their babysitters.
- playing peek-a-boo.
- holding my fingers (wrists, in F's case) to clap my hands.
- co-sleeping at night.
- playing solo for surprising lengths of time.
- describable as determined, energetic, extraverted, inquisitive, and expressive.
Frida probably has a couple more signs/gestures (all done, bye-bye, hi), and appears much less interested in books than Sam was. She seems to sleep better once she finally falls to sleep in the evening, and she naps more during the day, but then Frida doesn't have the option of sleeping in as long as Sam did because she is often woken when we have to get up to bring Sam to school (except on weekends when, come to think of it, she naps considerably less). Sam had 2 bottom teeth and was working on the top four incisors all at once; Frida has one bottom incisor and is working on the second. There are differences, of course, but in terms of milestone-ish behaviors? I'm really struck by the similarities. Of course, Sam weighed about 1.5 times what Frida does (-: And I think her talent for quickly ripping up books and popping bits of them into her mouth is unique to her.
Frida at 10 months is charming and exploratory; she's determined and feisty and fun-loving. She is a master at wiggling out of straps (especially restaurant high chairs), and shows signs of being a climber. She has to be given lots of chances to eat, because she often gets bored of eating after a few bites or a quick nurse (and, as noted, she's tiny). She adores her daddy, wants her mommy when she's tired and wants to snuggle, loves her nanny, and thinks her brother is the funniest, coolest, most amazing person on the planet. And she has a great chortling sound that she makes when she's up to something (like last night, when she crawled from the living room through the dining room, under the length of the dining table to where Daddy, visible to her only as a pair of legs and feet, was sitting paying bills, chortling all the way until she reached him and pulled herself up on his legs). She is a sweet little Bean and much loved!
Omi left this afternoon, having visiting for a few days. As always, there are many improvements, small and large, all around our home; notably, our garden is looking much more beautiful and cared-for. As I was leaving to drive Sam to school this morning, he was saying goodbye to her, and said, "Omi, I like you because you're so kind. But I also don't like you because you're a woman, not like me. I like Opa because he's a man, like me. But I also don't like him because he plays tricks on me." Hm, ok, well, glad that's all clear.
I just found Sam's baby book. (It's actually just a fabric-covered diary-type book, but I recorded much of his first year in it, before I started blogging.) Sam at 10 months was surprisingly similar to Frida at 10 months, including in ways I had mis-remembered. Frida is, and Sam was:
- cross-crawling (both started around 9 months), cruising, occasional hands-free standing.
- getting into everything.
- eating cheerios, cheese, avocados, and little bits of lots of other stuff (cooked veggies, raw fruit, bread, crackers, meat, fish), vastly preferring self-feeding to being spoon-fed, and needing to be distracted to be fed via spoon.
- drinking water from a sippy cup and dropping it on the floor all the time.
- hating being strapped into anything, including stroller and booster seat.
- loving going anywhere in the ergo.
- loving being held by Daddy and dancing around.
- maybe having a recognizable word or two.
- clearly recognizing a few words.
- loving their babysitters.
- playing peek-a-boo.
- holding my fingers (wrists, in F's case) to clap my hands.
- co-sleeping at night.
- playing solo for surprising lengths of time.
- describable as determined, energetic, extraverted, inquisitive, and expressive.
Frida probably has a couple more signs/gestures (all done, bye-bye, hi), and appears much less interested in books than Sam was. She seems to sleep better once she finally falls to sleep in the evening, and she naps more during the day, but then Frida doesn't have the option of sleeping in as long as Sam did because she is often woken when we have to get up to bring Sam to school (except on weekends when, come to think of it, she naps considerably less). Sam had 2 bottom teeth and was working on the top four incisors all at once; Frida has one bottom incisor and is working on the second. There are differences, of course, but in terms of milestone-ish behaviors? I'm really struck by the similarities. Of course, Sam weighed about 1.5 times what Frida does (-: And I think her talent for quickly ripping up books and popping bits of them into her mouth is unique to her.
Frida at 10 months is charming and exploratory; she's determined and feisty and fun-loving. She is a master at wiggling out of straps (especially restaurant high chairs), and shows signs of being a climber. She has to be given lots of chances to eat, because she often gets bored of eating after a few bites or a quick nurse (and, as noted, she's tiny). She adores her daddy, wants her mommy when she's tired and wants to snuggle, loves her nanny, and thinks her brother is the funniest, coolest, most amazing person on the planet. And she has a great chortling sound that she makes when she's up to something (like last night, when she crawled from the living room through the dining room, under the length of the dining table to where Daddy, visible to her only as a pair of legs and feet, was sitting paying bills, chortling all the way until she reached him and pulled herself up on his legs). She is a sweet little Bean and much loved!
Omi left this afternoon, having visiting for a few days. As always, there are many improvements, small and large, all around our home; notably, our garden is looking much more beautiful and cared-for. As I was leaving to drive Sam to school this morning, he was saying goodbye to her, and said, "Omi, I like you because you're so kind. But I also don't like you because you're a woman, not like me. I like Opa because he's a man, like me. But I also don't like him because he plays tricks on me." Hm, ok, well, glad that's all clear.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
early June pics
Hey, it's a triceratops!
Oh wait, it's a boy! newly shorn!
Frida is into everything. Sam works to protect his "desk" (she can't yet open the drawers, so we keep everything she shouldn't get to in them):
He loves to roll around with her on the floor. Sometimes she loves it too:
After a few too many books lost their covers (bits of which were quickly despatched to F's mouth) we put up another gate:
On a hot day, Frida, water cup in hand, discovered another cup she'd dropped during dinner an hour or so previously. One water cup is good; two is better!
Frida loves baths!
and still tries to stand up in the bath:
Frida is ready for the World Cup:
Oh wait, it's a boy! newly shorn!
Frida is into everything. Sam works to protect his "desk" (she can't yet open the drawers, so we keep everything she shouldn't get to in them):
He loves to roll around with her on the floor. Sometimes she loves it too:
After a few too many books lost their covers (bits of which were quickly despatched to F's mouth) we put up another gate:
On a hot day, Frida, water cup in hand, discovered another cup she'd dropped during dinner an hour or so previously. One water cup is good; two is better!
Frida loves baths!
and still tries to stand up in the bath:
Frida is ready for the World Cup:
Thursday, June 10, 2010
colors
In the car yesterday:
Sam: What do colors look like not in the light and not in the dark?
me: ???
Sam: (repeats question 3 or 4 more times)
me: You mean, like, if it's just a little bit light?
Sam: I just want to know what colors look like when it's not light and not dark. I want to experience what that's like.
I still can't tell exactly what he's talking about. I think maybe the fact that colors are perceived differently in different illumination (and some related awareness that color is therefore not as simple as it initially appears). We talked about this a little bit. One of my favorite quotes, from Wm. Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."
Sam: What do colors look like not in the light and not in the dark?
me: ???
Sam: (repeats question 3 or 4 more times)
me: You mean, like, if it's just a little bit light?
Sam: I just want to know what colors look like when it's not light and not dark. I want to experience what that's like.
I still can't tell exactly what he's talking about. I think maybe the fact that colors are perceived differently in different illumination (and some related awareness that color is therefore not as simple as it initially appears). We talked about this a little bit. One of my favorite quotes, from Wm. Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, infinite."
Thursday, June 3, 2010
bits and pieces (and a tooth!)
Sam has been saving the donation portion of his allowance (he gets 4 quarters and decides how to apportion them) for a school event for "people with broken hearts" (jump-rope-a-thon) It took me a little while to figure out that this meant people with heart defects necessitating surgeries etc. But since none of the paperwork we get from school ever specified the date, I never figured out when this was, so we missed it. Oops (bad mama!). Sam can't jump rope anyway, so I guess we'll just focus on next year.
The four of us drove an hour north to Portsmouth NH last Friday afternoon for a quick overnight-- we desperately needed a little break, but there weren't any free weekends with J. in town until the very end of June. We did a bit of outlet shopping in Kittery (Maine) and did a bit of hiking at a state park (more wandering than hiking, but it was a beautiful day, and we saw a garter snake and lots of interesting bugs, explored some tidepools, saw a lighthouse and a big ship being tugged into the port, and checked out a nice science center). We found two great little funky restaurants in Portsmouth, one for dinner and the other for lunch. In a less-relaxing turn, Beanie screamed for most of the ride home. She quieted as soon as we took her out of the carseat, but then started again the instant we eased her back in. Yikes. She's been protesting the carseat loudly ever since we got back, though she'd been fine with it for weeks before. Aaand: today I felt the unmistakable ridge of a tooth that's finally broken through-- her first! So presumably it was bugging her just enough that any other annoyance pushed her over the edge. We decided not to bring the camera, so there are no pics of the trip, and then we *did* bring it to a wedding the next day and forgot it there. But! it's just been found, so there will be pics of other stuff soon, including Frida's new favorite trick of pushing/pulling up to standing and then letting go and balancing with her arms out surfer-style for a second or two before plopping down and starting over.
J. left again on Tuesday for a short-ish trip (back tomorrow). In his absence, the kids have been collaborating with each other on middle-of-the-night antics: two nights ago Frida woke to nurse at 2-- not unusual, and she and I both usually go back to sleep in a couple of minutes. But Sam woke up at the same time, called to me from his room and proceeded to tell me in detail about his bad dream, and Frida hearing his voice woke fully (because he is still the Most Exciting Thing in the World) and then they were both awake for the next hour. This morning Sam woke and came into our bed at 6:30 (also not unusual) but again Frida heard him and was WIDE AWAKE and though this might be a normal wake-up time for a lot of people it's a full hour earlier than we usually get up. I got her back to sleep shortly before the alarm went off. Yaaaahhhh. Clearly I need to get to bed earlier.
On Saturday, we're throwing a baby shower for J's bro and SIL; Grandma and Grandpa are in town for the occasion. Sam was *very* excited to see them and barely ate dinner, telling them breathlessly about everything going on in his life. The party should be fun-- we're decorating onesies and having lots of good food.
J's gone again most of next week, then Omi is coming to visit for a few days (with promises to rescue our garden from its sorry neglected state); then Aunt Liz is coming to visit, then J goes again for three days. Whew! Lots of excitement. And then Sam is done with school for the year, and nobody is traveling anywhere for a little while, and we can start having that lazy summer that people talk about.
The four of us drove an hour north to Portsmouth NH last Friday afternoon for a quick overnight-- we desperately needed a little break, but there weren't any free weekends with J. in town until the very end of June. We did a bit of outlet shopping in Kittery (Maine) and did a bit of hiking at a state park (more wandering than hiking, but it was a beautiful day, and we saw a garter snake and lots of interesting bugs, explored some tidepools, saw a lighthouse and a big ship being tugged into the port, and checked out a nice science center). We found two great little funky restaurants in Portsmouth, one for dinner and the other for lunch. In a less-relaxing turn, Beanie screamed for most of the ride home. She quieted as soon as we took her out of the carseat, but then started again the instant we eased her back in. Yikes. She's been protesting the carseat loudly ever since we got back, though she'd been fine with it for weeks before. Aaand: today I felt the unmistakable ridge of a tooth that's finally broken through-- her first! So presumably it was bugging her just enough that any other annoyance pushed her over the edge. We decided not to bring the camera, so there are no pics of the trip, and then we *did* bring it to a wedding the next day and forgot it there. But! it's just been found, so there will be pics of other stuff soon, including Frida's new favorite trick of pushing/pulling up to standing and then letting go and balancing with her arms out surfer-style for a second or two before plopping down and starting over.
J. left again on Tuesday for a short-ish trip (back tomorrow). In his absence, the kids have been collaborating with each other on middle-of-the-night antics: two nights ago Frida woke to nurse at 2-- not unusual, and she and I both usually go back to sleep in a couple of minutes. But Sam woke up at the same time, called to me from his room and proceeded to tell me in detail about his bad dream, and Frida hearing his voice woke fully (because he is still the Most Exciting Thing in the World) and then they were both awake for the next hour. This morning Sam woke and came into our bed at 6:30 (also not unusual) but again Frida heard him and was WIDE AWAKE and though this might be a normal wake-up time for a lot of people it's a full hour earlier than we usually get up. I got her back to sleep shortly before the alarm went off. Yaaaahhhh. Clearly I need to get to bed earlier.
On Saturday, we're throwing a baby shower for J's bro and SIL; Grandma and Grandpa are in town for the occasion. Sam was *very* excited to see them and barely ate dinner, telling them breathlessly about everything going on in his life. The party should be fun-- we're decorating onesies and having lots of good food.
J's gone again most of next week, then Omi is coming to visit for a few days (with promises to rescue our garden from its sorry neglected state); then Aunt Liz is coming to visit, then J goes again for three days. Whew! Lots of excitement. And then Sam is done with school for the year, and nobody is traveling anywhere for a little while, and we can start having that lazy summer that people talk about.
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