Pictures

As the boy grows so must the toy bin

Party in E's crib.
(No, he doesn't sleep with all this company. His friends came to visit when we were trying to wake the boy up after a 3 hour nap)

"No Daddy, please don't make me get near that man in red!"
I guess we won't be getting a Santa picture this year.

Checking in and checking up

 

We had little E's 15 month checkup today. All went well; the little boy is healthy and on track developmentally.

He likes his new doctor; he objected to her leaving room at the end of the appointment. "No" he said and even fussed a bit when the door shut behind her. But then I asked him if he thought she was nice and he replied "no". Pretty much everything is "no" these days.

I had planned to mentioned that our boy has not quite been himself lately. He's been crankier than normal, had some sleeping issues and has been very picky food-wise in the past week or so.

She wouldn't have believed me.

E was the sweetest, most cooperative little charmer at his appointment. Only smiles during the poking and prodding. He sat still and played peek-a-boo while we talked. He even turned his ear to the doctor when she asked to look in it.

Luckily he brought his good humor home and was well behaved and entertaining all evening. Lucky especially since the Mav is out of town again so I was flying solo.

The only blemish on his record for the day was dinner. Spaghetti and meatballs and a side of mixed vegetables.

He ate the peas out of the vegetables.

He put the spaghetti in his hair.

That was dinner.

I'm at a loss for what to feed this kid. It doesn't help that it turns out he's a little peanut of a 15 month old. The doctor, not yet having E's medical history, asked if he'd always been small. Not really, we said, about average height-wise and a little on the slim side. Today, at 20lbs 5 oz and 30.5 inches little E is indeed little; just 25% for height and a mere 3% for weight. Most likely he's just settling into his proper growth curve; there are certainly some small genes floating around in his pool. Still, it makes his minimal food and milk intake a bit worrisome.

He's certainly got enough energy these days though. No worries there.

The picture above is from a few weeks ago. I haven't got enough energy to track down the camera cord to get the new pictures. Maybe tomorrow.

Guess Who?

What's cooking?

Chef E really puts himself into his work. Or his wok. (sorry, couldn't resist).

He did this all himself. Those pots and the lid were all on the pot rack when he came to help me in the kitchen.

To entertain the boy while his lunch time pumpkin noodle soup cooked we explored the spice cabinet. I got down several spices and let E test them out. I'd put a small amount in my palm and encourage E to take a sniff (he completely does not get the idea of smelling something yet). Then he'd get a taste, either on his or my finger tip. He liked them all; coriander, cumin, cinnamon, all spice, tarragon, thyme, paprika, marjoram (I don't even know why we have marjoram or when we used it last).

The boy latched on the jar of tarragon and played with it (thankfully, he can't get it open yet) until lunch was ready. Once in his chair, he motioned for me to help him open the jar. I did, and sprinkled some on his tray. He ate it and asked for more.

This is the kid who didn't eat the chicken nuggets on his first trip to McDonalds. The kid who turns up his nose at cheese. The child who only eats pasta if it's served with peas. Tarragon, though, can't get enough of that.

My darling dissident

E's still under the weather so we've been home most of the week. I did decide to keep our appointment at the infant cognition lab since his energy was at full tilt and there wouldn't be other kids (and parents) around to be bothered by little E's drippy, rattly, coughing appearance.

We bundled up and headed out. I picked him up to carry him to the car and as we approached it he pointed away from the car and toward the route we walk to the park. I told him we were going in the car. He said "no no no".

This was the first time he's ever said "no" and meant it (and boy did he mean it).

Maybe it's his cold, maybe it's his French ancestry, but he says "no" in the most adorable nasal manner. To come close to recreating it you really have to press your tongue to the roof of your mouth and purse your lips as you peal off the "n" sound.

I convinced him we were actually going in the car despite his protests.

One of the studies at the lab had E handling a variety of objects. Once each phase of the study was complete the researcher asked E to handle the object back. Rather surprisingly, he cooperated immediately.

Except for one object.

The researcher asked for the object. E said "no". In a moment of parental weakness I admit that I laughed.

E has learned to disagree, and more importantly, how to express it. I predict this gets less funny in ... 3, 2, 1 ...

Little E has also learned to say cheese. Ham goes so well with cheese, don't you think?

Uh Oh!

The Mav taught little E to say "Uh Oh."

Mostly he says it randomly and often.

He is learning that his new word has meaning and context.

It is unbelievably funny.

Somehow his fork ends up hitting the floor. "Uh oh".

Those big blue eyes. That little "O" shaped mouth. Looking for approval; "did I use the word right Mom?" "I just dropped my fork so we could practice communicating". That's why I didn't teach him that word.

Little E is under the weather and spent some time watching a movie in his Daddy's lap this evening while I prepared dinner. The movie, a hit from the first since it features his beloved "fee-shees", captures E attention and restores his good humor.

He is apparently also getting the story, somewhat. The movie is "Finding Nemo" and in it, the Daddy fish emphatically issues a command to the little boy fish along the lines of "come here right now!". The little boy fish does not listen. "Uh oh" says little E.

The Mav laughed heartily.

Little E lost a strategic advantage however. Now I know that when I tell him to "come here" and he ignores it, he knows what he's doing.

Uh oh.

Baby, It's Cold Outside!

As I write this, my weather.com status bar says it is sunny and 70 degrees out. It also says it is November 5th.

The cruel thing crashed at the peak of Indian summer and sits there taunting me. Really it is 31 degrees, but the windchill makes it feel like a delightful 21 degrees.

E is handling the weather about-face stoically so far. A cold has kept him from noticing that we're not playing outside. He offers no protest to being dressed up in cold weather garb. (To be honest he did strongly object to the mittens his first time out in the cold, so I let him go mitten free at first. Within 2 minutes he was "uncomfortable", I slipped the mittens on and haven't had a complaint about them since).

In the above picture, E was suited up for a trip around the neighborhood. We needed to stop at the post office and the bakery. The walk was brisk. The sites were surreal. An historic building just a few blocks from us and located between the post office and the bakery burned and collapsed that morning. You can see what we saw (and didn't see) here. Utter, horrible, destruction. (Luckily, the building was empty and no one was hurt).

I know that for some of you, the weather has been cold for awhile. So for you, and now for us, here are warm and happy thoughts from little E (pictured outside at the zoo just a week ago).

15 Months Old

Yesterday was an exciting and historic occasion. It was E's 15 month birthday. (I think some other stuff may have happened too but I don't think you visit this blog to learn about current events).

I had a hard time narrowing down the picture choices from E's 15 month photo shoot. That kid really knows how to work it for the camera.

E at 15 months is every bit as delightful as the pictures indicate. When we picked him up from school today one of his teachers told us that they all think E is a perfect child, so easy going, happy, laid back. A bit over simplified, but pretty much true. (They haven't witnessed what happens if you try to take away the crayons he's trying to eat ...).

At 15 months little E
-loves playing outside, especially on playground equipment
-is fascinated by bugs, especially the abundant pseudo lady bugs
-is starting to sit for "real" books; Go Dog Go seems to be a favorite, it is by far the longest book he listens to in its entirety.
-loves to be chased though he usually stops in his tracks because being "gotten" is the best part.
-really likes to be tickled. signs "more" if you stop too soon. leans into a chin tickle kind of like a cat.
-gives great big mouth to mouth sloppy wet kisses
-signs "help me" instead of fussing most of the time when frustrated
-is a very strong climber but likes to climb stairs just like adults; one foot per stair. his stride is too small for this so he ends up nearly horizontal by the top of the staircase (hard to describe this procedure in words ...)
-greatly enjoyed his first peanut butter and jelly sandwich yesterday
-shakes his head and laughs in response to being told "no"
-knows that trying to play with the outlets gets Mommy to tell him "no" and pick him up.
-finds it hilarious when the cat scratches around in the litter box.
-enjoys mimicking things he finds funny, like shoe-ears (i.e. putting a shoe on your ear).
-sang in his stroller while I voted
-loves fishies; crackers, stickers, stuffed animals, fishsticks. Not salmon though. Not for dinner.
-likes to swing. it took him awhile to come around but now he loves it.
-loves anything animated on the computer.
-loves bath time
-ok, he really loves just about everything. Especially the cat.