Tuesday, May 25, 2010

He gets it honest...

For those who don't know what the title of this post means, it's what my family says when describing a trait that has obviously been passed down from family (or kinfolk, as my dad says). I also want to start by saying that I KNOW you shouldn't plop your kid in front of the tv and call it a babysitter. And I don't. The few times I've tried it (in desperation, mind you) by renting a sesame street or curious george video from the library, he has been completely uninterested or even a little freaked out. He'll watch the screen for 15 seconds and then go find a book, or a ball, or destroy something.

But Elliott LOVES the remote control. And since the power button is bright red, he usually figures out how to turn on the tv pretty quickly. Today it was on channel four, but he pushed buttons and it quickly became fuzz. Then he managed to land on PBS, and there is a nature program on about animals in Madagascar. He is enthralled, standing in front of the tv staring up at the lizards and lemurs and whipping around every so often, like he's asking me "Are you seeing this?!"

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Why my floors SHOULD be cleaner

I mean, who else in the world thinks a broom looks like a really cool toy? I've had to start hiding them.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Ol' Crazy Eyes

Spending the day outdoors does something strange to us.
Makes us see the world a little differently.

Puts a little sparkle in our eyes.Lets us all wear rose colored glasses. Or cardboard novelty ones from the dollar bin at Target.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Friday, May 14, 2010

Super baby!

The balloon helps him fly.

I've never been great at sharing.

A few weeks ago I made a fantastic discovery at our local market- Biscotti Brothers Chocolate dipped almond biscotti. Along with my morning cup of coffee it is a piece of heaven. So yummy. I can't resist picking up a package if I go over there for a couple of onions or a gallon of milk. So this morning I had one with my coffee, and then went about checking my email and the weather while Elliott toddled around playing with his toys (which are scattered from corner to corner). After a few minutes I noticed how quiet he had gotten (never a good sign) and looked over to find him sitting under the kitchen table, gnawing on my gourmet biscotti like there was no tomorrow. Chocolate was smeared around his mouth, and he had shut out the rest of the world. That's how I eat it too.

So I go over and pry my treats out of his chubby, grubby little fists and put them safely out of his reach. He wasn't happy about that, but I wasn't too happy about sharing. I mean, because the almonds in it could be a choking hazard, not because I am stingy.

Yeah, choking hazard. Gimme those.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

mommy brain

I used to have dreams all the time when I was younger about getting on the school bus and suddenly discovering I had forgotten to wear shoes, or looking down in one of my classes and noticing I was still in pajamas. I'd have to forage through the lost and found and piece together some ridiculous outfit from the lost and forgotten articles of my classmates. And I was always as embarrassed as if I had shown up completely naked.

Fast forward to last Friday, when my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were visiting us. I had been excited all week to go see the movie Babies, and there was a showing that allowed you to bring your kids along at 1pm. I made sure Elliott had his morning nap, ate lunch, and had plenty of distractions in case he became a hooligan halfway during the movie. We were going to try to cram lunch in before the movie, so we scurried out the door and headed for the movies.

After parking and visiting the ATM, I started to notice how nice and cosy my feet felt as I walked toward the restaurant. This is not a typical realization for me, because I have always felt like cuteness and price trumped comfort and at this point I am usually kicking myself for not wearing sensible sneakers. Slowly it dawned on me that I had not made a good shoe choice. I was still wearing my shearling lined house slippers. Granted they have a good sole on the bottom, but that isn't the point. I had on makeup, my hair was done, I was wearing cute clothes, and I still had on my houseshoes. I felt like a goofball, but sadly I did not learn my lesson so well. On the way to Elliott's doctor appointment yesterday, I had to turn around halfway down our street to go put on real shoes.

I'm not sure I'll be able to leave the house if we have another baby, for fear that I'll wind up naked at the grocery store, or in a bath towel for a play date.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Progress...finally!

So I've said before how we have been trying to teach Elliott some baby sign language and how the results had been slow going. For a while I had to interpret banging on the table and waving while saying DA! for everything, and I was starting to get skeptical that we were going to have any success at all communicating with Elliott.

Three weeks ago I decided to tag along with my friend Leonore and her son, Jaafar, to check out the infant signing class. If nothing else, I could ask the lady what to do about all of the banging my table was quietly suffering through. So we went, and I asked lots of questions. She told me to encourage him when he used his hands, but continue to show the correct signs. She showed us how to sign on books, or on toys, and get his attention to incorporate signs better. I left feeling pretty good, and determined that we would get this thing.

That night, I fed Elliott dinner, and when I asked him if he wanted more, he slammed his hands on the high chair tray like usual. So I showed him the right sign with his own hands, and then with mine, and asked him to show me more by tapping on his hands. And what do you know? He did it. VICTORY!

So we started to work in other signs. He repeats some of them, and others he ignores or grunts instead of using them. But he's totally catching on! Last week the teacher told us to sign "Stop" instead of saying no all the time, because they start to tune out no if it is all they hear. So after Elliott threw his lunch on the floor for the fifth time, I signed and said "STOP". And he tried to make the sign, and actually said Stop! Well, Stah! That counts though. Don't tell me it doesn't. IT DOES.

So now, we have 6 or 7 signs he will make fairly consistently. The signs for bedtime, more, brush teeth, eat, and diaper change. Mostly he will only do them with some prompting, but it's pretty exciting to watch. And maybe now I won't have to try to translate grunts.