We learn from our children.
That's what everyone says. I think of this statement, and I think that it must be spoken from the mouths of old people, those who have children that have flourished into eloquent and productive adults, ripe with success and achievement.
But today, I learned from mine.
He is 18 months old, almost 19. We went to the zoo this afternoon, just to let him run around and play on his own terms with me just following him around, eager to point out the various animals that he would find himself face to face with.
It was hot. I mean, it's only February, and it was the kind of hot where you need to go seek out some ice cold water for your little guy to drink because you're actually worried about whether or not he could become dehydrated. Hot.
After our animal-gazing, we returned to the fountain, where we always begin and end our zoo adventures. He did his usual, walking around the fountain, pointing to the birds and expressing surprise that the music comes from the big speakers in the concrete pillars. And then there was a little girl who had hurt her little toe. She came to sit next to us with two ladies, one sitting next to her and the other kneeling in front of her, both tending to her little bleeding toe.
My NCS, such a careful observer, spotted their trouble from the speaker nearest them. He watched them all as he circled around them, moving closer to his Mommy... I'm sure he may have been slightly uncomfortable from the little girl's tears. My sweet NCS didn't know what to do, so he did the only thing he could think of: he kissed the lady nearest him, complete with an "mmmm...." lead-in. What a sweetheart!
I've thought about this several times today, and I am always touched by how cute my boy is and how sweet he is. But now I realize that I have finally joined the ranks of those who can state that they have learned from their children.
NCS has taught me that people always need hugs. And kisses. And it may not always be the most obvious of people. Sometimes the caregivers of the world need a little something extra from us.
Goodness knows he's already given it to me, a thousand times over.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
blah blah blog
There is some silence in my life. Not much, but some. Like for two minutes after NCS falls asleep, before I leave him to go get a few things done while he naps. During those few moments of quiet, I think about what I would like to write in my blog or in my journal. Now that I am here in front of my keyboard, those thoughts have eluded me.
I just read Eat, Pray, Love (no underline tool here?). It was a fabulous book, and I plan on rereading it soon. Only a few pages into it, I called L. to ask if she had read it. "Twice," she said. "I'm trying to model my life after it." Puhleeze. My dear friend, L. has found her life in a mess of trouble, to put it extremely lightly. I think she has lost her marbles. Well, the ones she had left after her husband sucked all of the life out of her figurative bag of marbles.
NCS and I have been very busy. First there was Thanksgiving, then all the readying-for and the arrival of Christmas. And my dear husband had a cold for almost a month. Now we're back in the swing of things, and we are booked. We still have music class one day a week, at least two playdates a week. Where does all the time go? Oh yeah, that's right! A good chunk of it is spent with me trying to get him to sleep!
I'll try to be better about collecting my thoughts instead of just catching them in what closely resembles a butterfly net.
Things I think about:
trying to formulate a financial plan to be able to have another baby, not likely
trying to formulate a financial plan to be able to have another baby before I retire, not likely
trying to encourage NCS to speak instead of signing everything
will NCS be accepted to preschool for the summer session?
where will NCS go to preschool if he isn't accepted into our first choice school?
should I find a church to attend with NCS?
if so, what denomination?
when should I try to go back to school?
when I do, what should I major in? where would I attend? how will I find the time?
why is my business so slow?
if NCS gets into preschool, can I find a job to coincide with those hours?
won't I miss him so desperately when he goes to school? is that the beginning of the end of our baby time together? will he stop needing me as much?
if NCS goes to school, will he eat?
what color should I paint the garage?
I just read Eat, Pray, Love (no underline tool here?). It was a fabulous book, and I plan on rereading it soon. Only a few pages into it, I called L. to ask if she had read it. "Twice," she said. "I'm trying to model my life after it." Puhleeze. My dear friend, L. has found her life in a mess of trouble, to put it extremely lightly. I think she has lost her marbles. Well, the ones she had left after her husband sucked all of the life out of her figurative bag of marbles.
NCS and I have been very busy. First there was Thanksgiving, then all the readying-for and the arrival of Christmas. And my dear husband had a cold for almost a month. Now we're back in the swing of things, and we are booked. We still have music class one day a week, at least two playdates a week. Where does all the time go? Oh yeah, that's right! A good chunk of it is spent with me trying to get him to sleep!
I'll try to be better about collecting my thoughts instead of just catching them in what closely resembles a butterfly net.
Things I think about:
trying to formulate a financial plan to be able to have another baby, not likely
trying to formulate a financial plan to be able to have another baby before I retire, not likely
trying to encourage NCS to speak instead of signing everything
will NCS be accepted to preschool for the summer session?
where will NCS go to preschool if he isn't accepted into our first choice school?
should I find a church to attend with NCS?
if so, what denomination?
when should I try to go back to school?
when I do, what should I major in? where would I attend? how will I find the time?
why is my business so slow?
if NCS gets into preschool, can I find a job to coincide with those hours?
won't I miss him so desperately when he goes to school? is that the beginning of the end of our baby time together? will he stop needing me as much?
if NCS goes to school, will he eat?
what color should I paint the garage?
Friday, December 28, 2007
17 Months
So, here we are. One step forward, and two steps back.
NCS doesn't really like to speak so much anymore; instead, he signs. He signs "milk," "more," "please," "thank you," "all done," "eat," "ball," "baby," "bird," and "water." He only verbalizes "Mama," "Dada," "Braaaa" (meaning Meow), "Mmmmmmm" (meaning Moooooo), and he makes a sound for monkey and pig (a grunting-type clearing of the throat). He has recently started singing, a.k.a. yelling at the top of his lungs during a song.
He is a sweetheart. He stops in the middle of menial tasks just to kiss his mommy. He blows kisses to almost everyone he leaves. He shakes almost every hand in greeting. He asks "please," and he says "thank you," though he must be reminded.
We had a playdate today with his BFF, JFK, whose first name is Jackson. During their visit, NCS was calling JFK in the sing-song voice that the Mommies use... "Jack-son." I had him repeat it many, many times today. He even got super excited tonight during his bath when I asked him to call JFK. He thought JFK was here to visit, and he was even trying to jump out of the tub to go find him, squealing with excitement!
I am still struggling with weaning. It brings such comfort to NCS, it destroys to me to think of depriving him of that. I am marginally concerned about the nutritional aspects of weaning, but I'm sure that he would eat more food if he needed to. I'm not so sure that he would drink more fluids from a cup. Time will tell.
NCS doesn't really like to speak so much anymore; instead, he signs. He signs "milk," "more," "please," "thank you," "all done," "eat," "ball," "baby," "bird," and "water." He only verbalizes "Mama," "Dada," "Braaaa" (meaning Meow), "Mmmmmmm" (meaning Moooooo), and he makes a sound for monkey and pig (a grunting-type clearing of the throat). He has recently started singing, a.k.a. yelling at the top of his lungs during a song.
He is a sweetheart. He stops in the middle of menial tasks just to kiss his mommy. He blows kisses to almost everyone he leaves. He shakes almost every hand in greeting. He asks "please," and he says "thank you," though he must be reminded.
We had a playdate today with his BFF, JFK, whose first name is Jackson. During their visit, NCS was calling JFK in the sing-song voice that the Mommies use... "Jack-son." I had him repeat it many, many times today. He even got super excited tonight during his bath when I asked him to call JFK. He thought JFK was here to visit, and he was even trying to jump out of the tub to go find him, squealing with excitement!
I am still struggling with weaning. It brings such comfort to NCS, it destroys to me to think of depriving him of that. I am marginally concerned about the nutritional aspects of weaning, but I'm sure that he would eat more food if he needed to. I'm not so sure that he would drink more fluids from a cup. Time will tell.
Friday, October 26, 2007
16 months
The last time I blogged about the state of the little man that is NCS was 11 months ago. I can't believe how fast time flies. I read recently that "time is every mother's enemy," how true that is. I want to cry just thinking about it.
NCS is growing and learning like crazy. He is such a wonderful, sweet, even polite little boy, it melts me. Of course, he has developed a habit of hitting his Mommy (Where did that come from?!?) that I am trying to nip in the bud, though I don't know if I'm going about it correctly. One thing I have removed from his repertoire is giving High Fives. Instead, we have taught him to shake hands, and when he shakes his Mommy's hand, he kisses it afterwards. Ha!
He still isn't speaking so much. He says "Mama," "Dada," "Braaaa," (meaning 'Meow'), he pants like a puppy when you ask him what a puppy says, says "Mmmmmmmm..." when you ask him what a cow says, and I think he tried to say ball yesterday, sounding like "ba..." What he absolutely, positively does say, hundreds of times a day is "hmmm?" Maybe that's just his way of verbalizing whatever it is he's thinking, and I'm sure it sounds like "milk" or "please" or "bath" to him, but he just sounds very inquisitive to us.
Over the last week or so, he has really gotten the hang of sleeping all night. I am so absolutely happy about this, I just want to dance around like a crazy person. It's so funny how the human -- or mother's -- brain works. I can barely remember what it felt like to not sleep.
Oh, and we have entered the beginning phase of weaning. Yikes.
NCS is growing and learning like crazy. He is such a wonderful, sweet, even polite little boy, it melts me. Of course, he has developed a habit of hitting his Mommy (Where did that come from?!?) that I am trying to nip in the bud, though I don't know if I'm going about it correctly. One thing I have removed from his repertoire is giving High Fives. Instead, we have taught him to shake hands, and when he shakes his Mommy's hand, he kisses it afterwards. Ha!
He still isn't speaking so much. He says "Mama," "Dada," "Braaaa," (meaning 'Meow'), he pants like a puppy when you ask him what a puppy says, says "Mmmmmmmm..." when you ask him what a cow says, and I think he tried to say ball yesterday, sounding like "ba..." What he absolutely, positively does say, hundreds of times a day is "hmmm?" Maybe that's just his way of verbalizing whatever it is he's thinking, and I'm sure it sounds like "milk" or "please" or "bath" to him, but he just sounds very inquisitive to us.
Over the last week or so, he has really gotten the hang of sleeping all night. I am so absolutely happy about this, I just want to dance around like a crazy person. It's so funny how the human -- or mother's -- brain works. I can barely remember what it felt like to not sleep.
Oh, and we have entered the beginning phase of weaning. Yikes.
Music Together
NCS and I are taking a music class, called Music Together.
Anytime he hears music, he has to stop and dance. He'll just be walking through the room and hear something in the background, maybe the music to a commercial, and just stops to dance. He started doing this a few months ago, when he was a little less coordinated. At that time, if he felt that he really needed to devote all of his energy to the dance, he sat down so he wouldn't fall down mid-groove.
Since he seems to be so happy when dancing, I went in search of a music class for us to participate in. The only thing that I could readily find online was Gymboree, as they offer a music class for children. I was then referred to Music Together by another Mommy. I called both of the program centers to speak to the teacher, and I must say that I was blown away by the enthusiasm of Miss Beth, the Music Together instructor.
We scheduled trial sessions for both programs, just to try them each out.
Without being too negative, I will just say that the Gymboree center closest to our home did not have their stuff together. It was their first music class in a while, and it really showed. The instructor couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, bless her heart, and for a music class, there was a lot of uncomfortable silences. I certainly hope that their program improves.
Our first day in Music Together, NCS wasn't too terribly interested in the class activities. I'm sure he was happy to hear that Miss Beth could actually sing, but first on his mind was simply exploring his new surroundings and testing its boundaries. (Actually, he did that at both classes.) He really only wanted OUT. But the music was nice, and the other children were having fun.
I was a little worried that my child never seemed to want to participate in any sort of organized activities, and I could clearly see for the first time how strong-willed he really is. It appears that I have a free thinker on my hands... yikes!
So today was our second class, and it was amazing for me to see the difference in his comfort level. He didn't stay in the circle of children the entire time, but he certainly checked it out. He didn't linger around the outer periphery of the room this time, he ventured a little closer in towards the center of the room, but he was dancing and jumping and laughing from where he stood. Several times, he went to sit in Miss Beth's lap and gave her hugs. What a sweet boy!
There is a little girl in his class named Samantha that he really likes. They gravitate towards each other, heading off into a corner to play and just blowing off the Mommies. He even gave her his Teva to chew on, learning to share already.
Anytime he hears music, he has to stop and dance. He'll just be walking through the room and hear something in the background, maybe the music to a commercial, and just stops to dance. He started doing this a few months ago, when he was a little less coordinated. At that time, if he felt that he really needed to devote all of his energy to the dance, he sat down so he wouldn't fall down mid-groove.
Since he seems to be so happy when dancing, I went in search of a music class for us to participate in. The only thing that I could readily find online was Gymboree, as they offer a music class for children. I was then referred to Music Together by another Mommy. I called both of the program centers to speak to the teacher, and I must say that I was blown away by the enthusiasm of Miss Beth, the Music Together instructor.
We scheduled trial sessions for both programs, just to try them each out.
Without being too negative, I will just say that the Gymboree center closest to our home did not have their stuff together. It was their first music class in a while, and it really showed. The instructor couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, bless her heart, and for a music class, there was a lot of uncomfortable silences. I certainly hope that their program improves.
Our first day in Music Together, NCS wasn't too terribly interested in the class activities. I'm sure he was happy to hear that Miss Beth could actually sing, but first on his mind was simply exploring his new surroundings and testing its boundaries. (Actually, he did that at both classes.) He really only wanted OUT. But the music was nice, and the other children were having fun.
I was a little worried that my child never seemed to want to participate in any sort of organized activities, and I could clearly see for the first time how strong-willed he really is. It appears that I have a free thinker on my hands... yikes!
So today was our second class, and it was amazing for me to see the difference in his comfort level. He didn't stay in the circle of children the entire time, but he certainly checked it out. He didn't linger around the outer periphery of the room this time, he ventured a little closer in towards the center of the room, but he was dancing and jumping and laughing from where he stood. Several times, he went to sit in Miss Beth's lap and gave her hugs. What a sweet boy!
There is a little girl in his class named Samantha that he really likes. They gravitate towards each other, heading off into a corner to play and just blowing off the Mommies. He even gave her his Teva to chew on, learning to share already.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Mommy Wars?
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20121799/site/newsweek/?gt1=10252
I guess I knew that this was a cultural phenomenon. It has definitely affected me and my fellow Mommies, but I hadn't really given it much thought. I have had to disassociate myself from a Toxic Mommy or two.
I'll expound later.
NCS is crying for a nap.
I guess I knew that this was a cultural phenomenon. It has definitely affected me and my fellow Mommies, but I hadn't really given it much thought. I have had to disassociate myself from a Toxic Mommy or two.
I'll expound later.
NCS is crying for a nap.
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Naps
NCS is taking a nap. Nothing sensational, but he hates to nap.
He's developing by leaps and bounds, especially in the arena of sleep. Last week, he kind of began sleeping through the night. I say "kind of" because I guess it's all in how you define "through the night." I have read that when talking about a baby, "through the night" means five or more consecutive hours. To me, "through the night" means from the time Mommy goes to sleep until the time Mommy wakes up.
I have been nursing him to sleep around 8ish, letting him sleep in our bed until 11ish, then putting him in his pack & play, which is in our room. He may whimper a few times during the night, and I respond by turning on his womb-sound-making teddy bear. He then wakes up (crying) around 5ish, and I nurse him in my bed. We then go back to sleep until 7ish. Not too shabby, I think.
Last night didn't exactly follow that pattern, but I think that he is definitely making progress.
With these new sleeping skills that he's developing, I had expected to be more rested at this point. I am still waking up every hour or two during the night, in anticipation of him needing me. Well, it seems that he doesn't.
I am planning a trip to California later this month. This is a big part of my motivation to get him to sleep without nursing all night. He's going to stay home with his Daddy, and I want their solo time to pass happily and uneventfully.
He's developing by leaps and bounds, especially in the arena of sleep. Last week, he kind of began sleeping through the night. I say "kind of" because I guess it's all in how you define "through the night." I have read that when talking about a baby, "through the night" means five or more consecutive hours. To me, "through the night" means from the time Mommy goes to sleep until the time Mommy wakes up.
I have been nursing him to sleep around 8ish, letting him sleep in our bed until 11ish, then putting him in his pack & play, which is in our room. He may whimper a few times during the night, and I respond by turning on his womb-sound-making teddy bear. He then wakes up (crying) around 5ish, and I nurse him in my bed. We then go back to sleep until 7ish. Not too shabby, I think.
Last night didn't exactly follow that pattern, but I think that he is definitely making progress.
With these new sleeping skills that he's developing, I had expected to be more rested at this point. I am still waking up every hour or two during the night, in anticipation of him needing me. Well, it seems that he doesn't.
I am planning a trip to California later this month. This is a big part of my motivation to get him to sleep without nursing all night. He's going to stay home with his Daddy, and I want their solo time to pass happily and uneventfully.
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