« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
June 27, 2007
16 months old
I can't believe it... not only is Eli 16 months old, my Mom had to remind me of that fact. This is my last 'legal' year of counting Eli's monthly birthday, although I would say that even Gus would benefit from the monthly distinction since so much is still changing each month.
Eli... wow. You have just exploded into this little person full of WILL and smiles. Your mornings are starting off the same: very happy. It's easy to mess up that happiness, though, if I don't meet your demands immediately. First thing, you tell me to go downstairs by signing downstairs. Now once we're in the dining room, you sign "eat" and point to the kitchen. Then once there, you point to the fridge and sign "milk". You know exactly what you want, and by God if I go to the bathroom instead of the kitchen, I will hear it.
You also like it when I tell you not to stand on the couch or chair. It actually makes you giggle. It would be infuriating if it weren't so cute. If you get hurt, by the hand of your brother or by accident, you've taken to pouting and pointing to the culprit.
You have inherited a love of books from your Grandma. While you love reading books together before bed, more often you will pick a book out and find a good place to sit for a long while.
You've also discovered throwing. I have never had so many things flung in my face, exactly on my glasses, as I have the past couple of weeks. You have an arm on you. Use it for good, my son.
My favorite is still watching you walk into daycare. You're loving the routine of kisses in the car and then turning to wave goodbye every five steps.
I am conflicted... I want you to stay my snuggle bunny, but I'm so excited to see you changing and growing.
Posted by janna at 11:20 PM | Comments (0)
June 25, 2007
Cutting out the yelling
We're done yelling... not that we were big yellers before, but when the yell ever came out, chaos ensued. Gus would become overly defensive, we would feel like crap, and whatever we were yelling about never really had a great conclusion.
We're starting to ask ourselves a lot of questions about the sudden rules we were making up, the requests that just HAD to be completed at that moment, the control of everything we were trying to maintain. We had to stop and think about the fact that Eli and Gus are people, and while there are definitely times that the kids need to do what we're telling them (for their safety or, by God, we have to get to work right now), there are usually other ways to accomplish our wishes.
Let's face it, no one responds well to being yelled at. I'm not saying we should suppress our feelings, but when Gus is in a 'moment', and we feel the yell coming on, we try to stop and quickly try to figure out how we got to this point. Does he really have to wear THAT shirt? Why can't he pick out another one? Have I really heard why he's upset? Most of the time, if we give him choices where he clearly should have them, or if we stop and repeat back to him why he's angry, he cools off... but he does have a couple of coping mechanisms for proving to us how angry he is. One is rolling back the rug in his room ['Don't clean it up, Mama...'], the other is telling me how dirty my shoes are ['Your shoes are dusty, Mama.']. I have to say his words of hurt are quite sweet.
Posted by janna at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)
June 24, 2007
No more satin blankets, onesies or burp cloths
It's over. The baby stage, for all intents and purposes, is past. I was folding laundry tonight, and came across some items that are begging to be packed away. I smiled to myself because I thought back to earlier in the day, when the lack of babyhood was apparent. Not only is Eli doing everything that Gus does, they are also playing a lot with each other. Gus and Eli basically chased each other back and forth for about 20 minutes, laughing hysterically. They were also laughing when Gus picked up and carried Eli... it was so fun that Eli kept coming back to Gus, holding his hands up in the air and looking up to Gus, just wanting one more turn. Equally cute (and frightening) was the full-on, full-body wrestling that was occurring downstairs, Eli squealing with delight.
Now I realize that my every day is going to be filled with lessons like, "Don't squeeze necks, we need them to breathe," or "Eli, you absolutely CANNOT leap off the couch into an abyss of nothing and not get hurt (his body does not freeze up with any worry or concern... he is like a dodo bird, casually walking off th edge...).
My Mom is going to have a heart attack when she sees this.
Posted by janna at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2007
My favorite things from today 06.20.07
-I walked Gus to his classroom this morning so that I could speak to the teacher. He ran in, and after a few minutes of chatting, I looked up to see him walking towards me, hand-in-hand with a little girl. When he let go of her hand for just one second, she scrambled to grab it back. Later tonight, I mentioned her, and he said, "She said I could come to her house." First girlfriend??
-We had a picnic dinner at the park tonight. After eating, Gus was pretending that he had a farm that made donuts (I think he's taking the farmer's market's donut-selling quite literally). He asked me what kind I wanted, and I asked him what he had. He said, "Plain (plane?) or Rocket Ship." I love him.
-Reading books to Eli tonight. He wants to read the same books about three or four times before feeling satisfied. He's hooked on "My Car" right now, and one line mentions people. Upon hearing that word, he started signing his version of people, which attempts to make p's with his little fingers. He's really starting to pay attention to little details. Now, if someone could just help me find a way to change the kid's diaper without him needing to stand up for it, I would appreciate it. He's got the scream and twist thing down pat.
Posted by janna at 09:46 PM | Comments (0)
June 19, 2007
Copycat
The power of an older brother is apparent in our household. Whatever Gus does, Eli is typically a mere five seconds behind. If Gus decides to stand on the couch, so does Eli. Growl at Mama? Eli copies. The mirroring is also happening after the fact, quite spontaneously.
The best example?
The other day Eli went into the bathroom by himself. John and I followed close behind, but with enough space that Eli felt he was on his own. He walked over to the toilet, lifted up the cover, then lifted up the seat. He brought his body close to the toilet, lifted up his shirt, and tried to push his diaper and shorts down.
Our jaws dropped. Could we possibly get this kid to use the toilet before the age of two??? Keep copying, Eli. We support you.
Posted by janna at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)
June 18, 2007
gustav
Posted by janna at 09:29 AM | Comments (0)
June 11, 2007
my father, the wwII pilot
This is my favorite picture of my father. I have it on our dining room wall, next to our most precious black and white family pictures. This is the picture I would always hold my school pictures up next to, always trying to figure out where he was in me. It's pretty clear... the forehead is all his, eyes... cheeks... lips. I'm not sure about the nose. But the eyes.
My Aunt Deb keeps saying that Eli looks like my dad, Bruce, and I really see it here. I always thought Eli looked like my Uncle Jim in the eyes, particularly when he smiles, but there is something here.
Posted by janna at 11:55 PM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2007
Maaa...maaahhh
Gus is totally on to me.
Since starting his new school, I have been on a mission of information gathering... who do you eat lunch with? What projects did you work on? Who are you meeting? Although I'm wishing I was a fly on the wall, Gus is not feeling so forthcoming. He finally told me a story, spontaneously, and I was asking follow-up questions. Apparently, I asked the same question twice.
Gus: Maa...maaahhh (said with total exasperation), I tell you ONE time, not TWO times. Just ONE time.
Me: Oh....did I already ask you that?
Gus: Yes!
Posted by janna at 11:45 PM | Comments (2)
June 05, 2007
Changing times
Yesterday was Gustav's first day at his new montessori school.
We woke up with a start, oversleeping our alarm by about 30 minutes. I instantly had nervous stomach, but I don't blame the oversleeping for that. I always get nervous stomach when something new is going to happen, and even though it wasn't me going to a new school, I was feeling like it was.
As we packed everything up and headed to the car, Gus says to me, "Mama, take my picture!"
Once at work, I couldn't stop telling people that it was his first day. It was just all I could think of. He was totally fine when I dropped him off... I wasn't. I'm guessing that's just the beginning of many such moments.
Posted by janna at 10:56 PM | Comments (1)
June 01, 2007
happy fifth anniversary to us!
five years ago today we stood before family and friends and started our official journey together... john, where will the next five years take us? if it's anything like the past five, i'm in for a glorious ride. love you so much.
Posted by janna at 07:41 AM | Comments (1)