The Bean is Five Years Old!

Today The Bean is five years old!

FIVE. Can you believe it?

This kid. He has been trying to act very grown up lately, "practicing for when I am five", he says. I think he thinks it will make us happy and proud --he is very much a people pleaser-- and it does, but it also makes me want to squeeze him and kiss him all over and toss him up into the air and tickle him and read him a million books while he still enjoys it all.  

So, where to begin with our Bean? He really is a complex little person. The past few months have been kind of hard. There were some mixed emotions as he was about start school, and sadly he doesn't seem to be enjoying it as much as we had hoped he would. After the initial adjustment, he seemed happy. In October he was upset for a while because he wanted to be seen as a girl and he felt the other students weren't accepting of that. His teachers were very open and responsive though, and I felt like we had resolved things (meaning, he knew he could be whoever he wanted and the other students were seemingly understanding of that). Then in late November he got a cold, I kept him home for a half day, and after that he did not want to go back. As in crying at drop off many mornings a week, sulking, telling us he was sad/lonely/had a bad day at school etc. I talked to his teachers about it in passing before the break, but they assured me he seemed happy and engaged at school. It's been a bit of a mixed bag since school started up again last week, so I think we're going to ask for a meeting. As his pediatrician said at his well-check this week, he should be happy at school.

So, mood wise, I'd have to say he's been a bit glum, but not all the time. He still has many moments where he is happy and playful and full of giggles and jokes and jumping around. It's very hard as his parent to navigate this. While it's fine to feel sad, I would like to get to the root of it and make it more of an emotion that he only feels on occasion than something he's feeling on a regular basis.

Academically he seems to be doing very well. He comes home reciting many songs and rhymes he is learning at school. He LOOOOOVES visual art and his art teacher (though he is awfully hard on himself when his pictures don't turn out the way he would like). Phys. Ed. of course, is much enjoyed. He's counting to 100, doing some basic arithmetic. And his reading has taken off. I mean, shockingly so. I know he's among the eldest of the JKs, but even still, his ability is pretty remarkable. He can pretty much read any story book from our shelves. He stuggles with unfamiliar words and will still guess at things rather than really sound them out, but for a just-turned-five year old I'm thoroughly impressed. He is also showing an interest in writing and can often be found carrying around a notebook and pencil. He regularly proclaims his love of his teachers and several of his classmates, but does not see, to have a "best buddy" in the class.

For a while now he has been interested in distinguishing between "good" and "bad" (both people and behaviours). I get fairly regular reports over who in his class has misbehaved that day --fortunately he thrives on positive attention and tells me he is "never bad" at school. Before Christmas he became more concerned than we would have liked about whether his behaviour was "good" and what Santa would think. A bit heartbreaking when he would do something like spill a drink and ask right away whether Santa would be upset with him.

As I mentioned already, he is really a people pleaser which makes him pretty cooperative overall. He's been doing a lot that shows his growing independence --getting ready in the mornings, bathing himself and washing his own hair, wanting to help prepare snacks, tidying up after himself and his sister. He glows when given praise. It's a good thing, but we're also aware that it's something that could be taken advantage of. So far there haven't been any issues, but when he talks about friends telling him to do things, we're always a bit more alert than we might be if he weren't so eager to do what others ask/tell him to do.

Somewhat related, he is also very aware of other's expectations and preferences. He often refers to himself and Jen as the boys in the family and will occasionally call her dad. She never makes a big deal out of it, but one day asked why he never calls me dad. He told her it was because he didn't think I would like it if he did.

He loves girls. He especially loves older girls. If they're 10 or 11 and have long blonde hair, I would almost guarantee that he will be talking about them for days.

He's starting to ask more involved questions about why things are the way they are and how things work. He got some really interesting science kits and books along with a set of Magic School Bus DVDs for gifts recently, and I'm sure they'll spark more questions and investigations.

He loves rocket ships, robots and knights. He's just getting into more superheroes (his exposure is pretty limited). Board games are starting to be a semi-regularly requested activity --Camelot Jr. and Jenga are two recent favourites.

Mostly he loves being active. Skatergirl and Scootergirl continue to be two of his alter egos. He is always running, leaping, flipping... He zooms around on his bicycle, practices on his skateboard (doing all the coolest tricks in his mind, I am sure), and just got a very awesome scooter from his Grandma and Grandpa and a (kid's/intro) snowboard from my cousin and her son for his birthday. He took gymnastics lessons this fall which he will be continuing through the winter. While he is developing his skills, I have to say that his body awareness and control is pretty remarkable. He listens carefully to his coach's instructions and really does his best to do things the way they describe.

He still loves music. Living room dance parties have continued. Back in May I got to take him to his frist Whitehorse concert which he was just thrilled about. The lucky, lucky boy got a shout out from Luke Doucet during the encore and his requested song played, even though it was a song they haven't played live in nearly a decade. His new favourite band is Van Morrison. His favourite song: Gloria.

He still loves being read to and will choose tried-and-true favourites from the shelves before bed each night. He has recently shown an interest in the Magic Tree House series of books. We've read a couple and he got a few more for Christmas and Birthday gifts, so I imagine we'll be starting those soon. He and Sprout will pretend to be the characters from the story and go on adventures in our apartment.

He's really started experimenting with different phrases.  "Give me a break" "Get over it" "You're killing me" and  "I'm dead" are a few that come to mind. He also uses the phrase "You're sweating my paws!" which we're not really sure where he picked up but seems to mean he can't believe what you're saying.

Not much has changed for him in terms of his gastro health. We have had him off of dairy forever now, and it does seem to help, as does having him on a regular dose of fibre, but still there are issues. He does not have Celiac disease and we are not moving forward with a test for Crohns. We suspect he has IBS, as it runs in the family. It's a hard thing to diagnose, as it is really a diagnosis of exclusion. We go back for another specialist appointment in the spring.

His food preferences are about the same, but we're starting to insist that he take a few bites of the things Jen and I are having for dinner. He has a good appetite. He usually has two breakfasts -cereal, toast, cream of wheat, etc. I pack him a hardy lunch and it usually comes back about 3/4 eaten, though he's getting pickier about what he will eat at school. He eats his dinner (and a small dessert) nightly will follow it up with some cheese crackers and often a fruit. We wonder where he puts it all and fear for the teenage years!

He is currently in a growth spurt. He gets thicker looking in the trunk and then shoots up. He had his well check last week, but I forgot to ask for his stats. I know his somewhere in the 10th-25th percentile for both height and weight. A bit of a peanut. I think that's just him. He's consistently in size 4 tops now and moving into more size 4 pants because the 3s are just getting too short. He has tiny hands and feet. About the same size as Sprouts, who is nearly two years younger. His shoe size is a 7.5/8. Sometime mid-November he decided he wanted a haircut, so after months of growing it out he got a super-cute undercut, which we rarely style. Ha!

And while the past few months have had their difficult moments, when he is happy he just shines. The way his eyes light up and his smile radiates is contageous. While I am always happy to be his Mama, I can think of little that makes me feel happier than seeing him in these moments. I love him with my whole self. My baby.

Four and a Half

Sorry to those of you who got the "draft" update.  Stupid Blogger.  Not only ate my post, but posted a draft.  *Grumble*  Please pretend you didn't see that and enjoy this rewritten version.

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...and now we are the parents of a four and a half year old!

The Bean at four and a half is a kid with big ideas and strong opinions who does not like to be told what to do.  He is active and playful and articulate and loving.  Being his parent is a joy and a challenge.  

There is no doubt that language continues to be an area of strength for The Bean.  He is incredibly articulate and has quite a sophisticated vocabulary.  He loves playing with new words.  He also loves making up words, telling us what they mean, and using them in conversation.  

Recently he has started reading, which is just amazing. He's got a good number of sight words (Dolch) and can figure out most CVC words which means that beginning readers are the perfect level for him right now.  Surprisingly, he also seems to be reading some longer/more obscure words. I'm not sure if he's actually reading or just figuring out what things say given the context.  The word "office" comes to mind (a Microsoft Office ad on the computer).  I can't think of others, but it happens fairly frequently.  

Of course, he continues to love books.  He'll happily sit and listen to someone read for as long as they're willing to read to him.  He's also quite content to sit and browse through books on his own.  Journey and Quest have are wordless picture books that have become fast favourites.  He also loves the eeBoo storytelling cards that we picked up for him and Sprout.  Jen is really good at "playing" these with him.

He is very social. He will strike up a conversation with just about anyone. He always has something he wants to share or discuss. He can be a little shy around people he doesn't know, but it doesn't usually take him long to warm up. He's started to take a real interest in his friends and often asks about them and wants us to make plans to get together, whereas before we initiated most of the meet-ups. He seems to gravitate towards older children and girls. It's particularly infatuated with a former student of mine who we've become family friends with. If you ask him who he loves, he always names her first. I should mention that she's nearly three times his age, lives in Chicago and he last saw her in April. *Sigh* I have a feeling this will be the first in a long line of crushes.  

In addition to liking girls, he has been saying fairly consistently for the past six months or so that he wants to be a girl. We're not really sure what to make of it. When we ask him why, he says that "girls are cool" and that he doesn't like being the only one who is different in our family.  We assure him that plenty of boys are cool too, and that we are all different from each other and what makes him different makes him special to us, but that we love him no matter what. He's worn "girl clothes" out a few times and has been pretty instant about growing his hair long like Rapunzel's.  (He wants to be able to stand on the balcony and let it down so our guests can climb up it.) We're trying to be respectful of his wishes and provide guidance. 

He loves pretend play and dressing up. His knight costume is a favourite, especially the sword. Captain America also gets a lot of wear. The biggest pretend play games are "babies" and "school" ...and sometimes "babies go to school." This type of imaginative play definitely wins out over any toys. There really aren't many toys he's very interested in.  Magnatiles got a good bit of attention for a while, but he even seems to be taking a break from those recently. If couch cushions count as toys, those might be his favourite.   

He's incredibly active. His climbing is just crazy. The way he manipulates his body is amazing to watch and he really seems fearless with regards to heights. He also loves to spin, jump, slide, run, splash and ride his bike and scooter. He's becoming much more confident in the water and will submerge his head (briefly) again. He can handle his two-wheeler (with training wheels) quite well. We've been spending lots of time at parks, splash pads and pools. He's been asking to go back to gymnastics, so I'm hoping to get him into a program again this fall.  

He loves music. Recently I've been blown away by his ability to remember both tunes and lyrics to new songs. He's been singing a lot and requests particular CDs to sing along and dance to. His current favourite is his "Welcome to Kindergarten" CD.  

He is SO pumped to be going to school in the fall.  I think he's going to love it. He's completely ready socially and I think the academics will be great for him too.  He's very curious about a number of things -language and geography standing out among them. His fine motor skills are low, pencil grip and penmanship in particular. He can write his name and draw stick people and other basic things, but doesn't seem to have much of an interest in art (though we've noticed he likes to paint objects rather than paper) and has to be encouraged to do any type of writing.  He does enjoy mazes and some kindergarten activity books.  

We're going to have to work on establishing a morning routine. While he loves being out, getting him out the door can be a challenge. He doesn't like having to get dressed or brush his teeth. He also just likes to lounge around and play. He'll get ready quickly when motivated by a fun activity or people he wants to see, but I imagine once the novelty of going to school wears off that we're going to have a bit of a challenge.  

I also anticipate that he's going to miss Sprout. They've become quite close. They get along well about 90% of the time.  The other 10% Sprout doesn't do what The Bean is telling her to and he gets upset. It is the sweetest thing to watch him "look out" for her, though we've noticed that he seems to feel responsible for her and seems to have some anxiety about that in certain situations, so we've been trying to reassure him that Mama and Mommy (or another adult we trust when we're not around) will take care of Sprout and that he doesn't have to worry.  

We've been trying to work on difficult behaviour.  Being bossy. Getting upset when things don't go his way. Being defiant. Blaming others. He's halfway to giving up naps, and he's definitely more difficult the afternoons when he hasn't slept. We also notice a difference when his stomach is bothering him. Difficult behaviours are best managed with lots of one-on-one attention and very calm and patient responses. It's hard sometimes though. Except for the rare occasion we've cut out all TV, movies, tablet and phone. It was becoming a battle every time it was time to turn the device off and just not worthwhile.   

He's still having tummy troubles.  Going completely off dairy has certainly helped and he is doing much better when we're giving him his daily fibre supplement (which we've been bad about since summer began)  I still feel like there's something more going on.  I think we may have him go through full allergy testing. At this point I just want to know what's going on and solve the problems once and for all.  

Despite the  digestive issues, he has been growing.  That said, he is still a peanut.  He's about 40.5in and 33 or 34lbs. He's moving into some 4T clothes, but mostly for length. He can still wear 18m shorts! Made-to-fit pants are a lifesaver. If given a choice, he would wear PJs all day, everyday.  "Zips" (fleece one piece jammies) are his favourite. Even in the 100 degree humidity we've been having. Aside from PJs he goes for cozy sweat pants and superhero t-shirts.   

He's picky about food but will try new things. He eats a lot of cereal and bread.  Nuts are also a favourite. He's so-so with fruits and veggies, meaning that he sticks to the ones he likes. We always swore we wouldn't make a separate meal for the kids, but: Famous Last Words. Otherwise we'd be eating a lot of chicken fingers and macaroni and cheese.

The past (four years and) six months have definitely been busy. There's been a lot of change in our lives and a lot to navigate with those changes. The Bean is a more sensitive kid than I sometimes realize and he definitely wears his heart on his sleeve. As always he's teaching me how to be a better Mama. How to listen and watch and have patience and be gentle but also how to live in the moment and not take things too seriously and smile more and love openly. This kid. My heart. 

Sprout is Nineteen Months Old!

Today Sprout is nineteen months old!

Maybe I say this every month, but this past month has really flown by.  After the last update I thought it would be a good idea to write some of the changes in Sprout's development down as I noticed them.  I was a bit neglectful... six bullet points is as far as I got.  Of course, there have been many other changes.  I will do my best to remember and make note of them here...

-Perhaps one of the biggest changes is that Sprout is now spending (most of) her nights in a crib in the kids' room.  This feels life-changing.  And while I miss having my baby right beside me during the nights, the truth is that I think we are both/all sleeping better now.  I felt like I was never falling into a proper sleep, always listening to her toss and turn and wondering if she was going to wake up and want to nurse, or be held, or whatever.  After spending a few days away in a hotel, we were able to test out how the kids did sharing a room.  Sprout's nighttime cries didn't seem to wake up her brother, so rather spontaneously (if you can call something you've waited over a year to do spontaneous) we decided to put her in the crib in the kids room at home.  She was really tired the first night, so it went really well... she didn't wake up until 5:30am, at which point I brought her into our room and I nursed and cuddled her until a more reasonable wake-up time.  Since then she's been waking once or twice before we go to bed, but settling back down fairly easily, and then waking up any time after 4am to join me in our room.  She still naps in our room because she's a frequent nap waker and I really, really don't want her disturbing her brother's naps.  That time is too precious to me.

-As I mentioned, we went away for a few nights.  Jen's parents treated us to a stay at an indoor water park out their way.  It was very fun and solidified Sprout's love of the water.  She may have said "splash" more than she said "mama" while we were there, and that is a lot.  ;) 

-She's continued to add new words and sounds into her vocabulary.  Ball, man man (for Spiderman), hop, and cluck come to mind.  She's also started putting two words together, sometimes three even.  No examples are jumping to mind immediately, but things like "more milk" and "hot blow" (the food is hot, blow on it) and "baby in" (put the doll in the stroller) come to mind. 

-She definitely knows her own mind.  She often requests "help" or "hand" when she wants you to do something.  As I think I mentioned last month, "no" is another big word.  "Mm Hm" is her usual affirmative response.  And when you ask her a question, she will adorably tap her chin and say "Hmmm."  I have no idea where she picked it up, but I love it. 

-I said about her knowing her own mind --two notes in that regard
1) She really wants to figure out this potty thing.  Often when I take off her diaper she will go sit on the potty.  She likes to stay naked on the bottom and run back and forth to it, sitting for a few minutes, then getting up to play.  She gets quite upset when I try to put a diaper on her in this situation.  However, she has yet to have a "successful" potty trip and really is not aware that she has to pee until it is happening /has happened.
2) She is determined to dress herself.  This can be such a battle when I am trying to get us out somewhere, but mostly I am trying to just let her figure it out or help her to the degree which she deems acceptable.  The result is often waist in the leg hole of her shorts, things on backwards, etc.  but she's one and a half and we're at home, so what does it matter?  Right?

-Like her brother, she's been getting really into dancing to music.  It's pretty adorable as she tries to copy many of his "moves."  We took her to a couple of live shows this past week and she had such a good time running around and dancing. 

-She can jump!  She actually gets airborne for a half a second.  She loves it.  She's also taken to leaping onto the couch from our ottoman.  I'm just waiting for a crash.  Hopefully we can avoid any ER visits.  

-She is still totally obsessed with her babies.  

-She also LOVES airplanes.  She'll point and bounce and call out "pane! pane! up! fi!" when she sees one.  Which is often.  We live relatively close to an airport.

-Her favourite books are Welcome Summer and other touch and feels, Zoe's Snowy/Windy/Sunny/Rainy Day, The Carrot Seed, and Hop on Pop which she calls Hop Pop.  She listens to a lot of The Bean's longer books since I read to both of them together before naps, but she seems to prefer the books meant for younger ones.  Which makes sense, but I still find notable.

-She is both a shy, snugglebug and an outgoing silly billy.  I had to use the above photo for this month's update because it shows what a goofball she can be.  She has the best, best smiles, but mostly saves them for those she's the most comfortable with.  She's also a big joker.  We get a kick out of her.

-I know many of you don't know her name, or her many nicknames, but she will point to herself and say her name, and she will also call herself "B", which is a part of one her nick names... the one The Bean most often calls her.  I think it's adorable.  (Of course, I think about 95% of what she does is adorable, so maybe I'm not the best person to comment on this!)

-She is still a frequent nurser.  It's been a while now that she just nurses before going to sleep or when she wakes up, but she sometimes asks in between those times.  Often I distract her, occasionally I nurse her.  I'm so, so happy to have this relationship with her.  It's exhausting, but it is also so nice to be able to hold her and stare at her and feel her little body relax as her breath changes and she calms down and falls to sleep.  It's a privilege.  Though I sometimes think that it would be nice for my body to be my own again, and to get a full night's sleep would be oh so amazing, I am not wishing away these moments. 

-Food is about the same.  Sometimes she's a bit finicky.  I think she gets pretty significant pain with teething, and although I haven't noticed any new teeth trying to push their way through, I wouldn't be surprised if sometimes when she doesn't want to eat if it's because she's in pain.  Again, knowing that she'll nurse and get the nutrients and calories she needs makes me much less concerned about missed meals.

I think that's pretty good for now.  Hopefully I keep up on all the progress over this current month a little better than I have been.  Mostly she continues to be a loving, silly, joyful little bug.  It's so wonderful to be her family.

Sprout is Nine Months Old!

 Today Sprout is nine months old!

This is coming in a few days late.  Our little girl has been sick (fever, upset stomach) and not sleeping well the past few days.  We're all tired and hoping Sprout is back to her usual sunshine self soon.

This has been a big month for Sprout!  Lots of new things to report on, so I'll get right to it...

-At her 9 month well baby appointment yesterday she weighed in at a whopping 21.9 lbs and 28.9 in.  The pediatrician said that's about the 90th percentile on both counts.  Big girl!  (But nicely balanced in terms of length and weight.)

-No big change in clothing sizes.  Mostly 12m stuff, depending on the brand.  I recently pulled out some fall clothes and even crocheted her a cute new toque.  Yay for woolly baby goodness!

-Barring the past few days while she's been sick, we're into a pretty routine routine.  Up between 6 and 7am, napping from about 8 or 9am until about 10 or 11am, awake for another three hours, and then another shorter nap, and awake until bedtime around 7 or 8pm.  Still awake to nurse frequently overnight, though we have had a few longer stretches earlier in the night, which is wonderful when I actually make it to be early.

-She is consistently eating solids (pureed) every day at dinner.  Meats seem to be her favourite, followed by vegetables and then fruits.  Rice cereal is a no-go, which I'm fine with.  I am trying to add lunch in there as a second meal, but it's been hit or miss so far.

-It seems she's decided that crawling is no longer good enough for her and that she must be standing all.the.time.  She figured out how to pull herself up and within a matter of days started (unsteadily) cruising around.  She also figured out how to crawl "properly," but still does the army crawl about 50% of the time.

-Jen thought I was crazy, but a few weeks ago I swear she said her first word: "Up."  I will usually say "up" before picking her up, and she started repeating it back to me.  I got her to do it for Jen, who at first thought it was a coincidence, but now agrees that she's repeating it back to us.  I think she is also trying to say Mama (for real this time) and it's quite clear that she understand the sign for "milk" as when I'm getting her ready for a nap or bed and she's fussing, when I say and sign "milk" (as in, you'll be getting milk soon") she stops fussing and it often appears she tries to sign it back.  She has also started waving hi and bye and will air kiss, if you air kiss her.  (So cute!)

-She mimics a lot of behaviour --head shaking (especially when we say "no" or "silly", clapping (she waves her arms), bouncing (she will emphatically bounce in her Jolly Jumper if we jump up and down), smiling, etc.

-I've gotten a lot better about reading to her before naps and bedtime, and these days touch-and-feel books are her favourite.  We have one called Farm and she really likes the faux-fur sheepdog page and when we "woof" at her.

-She doesn't seem to have a preference for any given toy right now, aside from things she can pull up on and things she can chew on.

-She loves music and dancing in Mama or Mommy's arms.  Family dance parties have become a fairly regular occurrence.

-Ever the second child, she is usually content to be in the same room as the action, but lets her big brother demand most of the attention.  And goodness does she love that boy.  As he does her. (Though she also gets startled by him quite easily.)

-Still no teeth, though her hand is in her mouth all the time, as evidenced by her monthly photo.

So, a lot of changes this month, and surely a lot to come in the months ahead.  Our love for her grows more quickly than she does.

The Bean at Two and Half Years Old

This post is awesomely overdue.  I had every intention to post on the day The Bean turned two and a half, and though we had started the update, that day came and went.  And then we were away.  And, well, it just hasn't happened until now.  Hope it doesn't cause him any great trauma. ;)

So...

Jen and I have both been noticing so many new things that The Bean is doing these days, but of course, now that we're sitting down to record them it's hard to remember them all, so rather than being completely comprehensive, this is just a snapshot of what The Bean is up to at two and half years old.  (With actually snapshots from the past month, mostly taken on our trip to PA, you know, in case I don't get to that update.)

-The Bean is still a little peanut.  He weighs somewhere around 25lbs and we're not really sure how tall he is.  He usually wears 24 month shirts and 18 month shorts, but today, for example, he was wearing a 9 month swim suit.  It's not a concern, he's just a short and slender guy.

-His favourite shirt right now is his octopus shirt.  He maintains that it is a scary octopus.  We can mostly get away with sticking him in an outfit of our choosing, but he does now have some opinions on what he does and doesn't want to wear.

-Another thing he's been wearing is underwear!  He's doing a great job with potty training.  He is able to "hold it" for a couple of hours and sometimes remembers to go without a reminder.  He's even been waking dry from time to time, which makes us think about when a good time to ditch the nap and nighttime diaper will be.  We're not quite there with BMs yet.

-The big boy has also started sleeping in a toddler bed.  The transition has been going really well.  We've kept our usual routines around bedtime, which helps and the crib is there as an option (and also a consequence for getting out of the toddler bed).  He'll sometimes ask us to lie down with him for a little while before leaving the room, but that's okay.

-The past few months especially we've received many complements on how well The Bean expresses himself.  It's hard for me to remember what's typical for a two and half year old, but he does seem to have a pretty good vocabulary and is usually quite confident speaking to people.  He will greet people and introduce himself.  He can clearly express his likes and dislikes.  He loves to sing and has just recently started making up songs and stories, which is both adorable and hilarious.  He tells knock knock jokes.  (His favourite right now is knock knock." "Who's there?" "Hank." "Hank who?"  "You're welcome!")  And with a reminder to say it as a question, he will rephrase his demands.  

-He loves to run and jump and climb.  He is pretty fearless.  Fortunately we haven't had many big falls (just one tumble down the stairs about gave me a heart attack).  He loves playing outside and going to the park, especially the "big park" which is about a ten or fifteen minute walk from our house, as opposed to the "little park" which is right outside our front door.

-He is also very into vehicles.  Emergency and construction vehicles to be more precise.  (Oh, and motorcycles.  Let's not forget those!  And trains.  To be safe, let's just say all vehicles.)  They were building a house a few blocks from his daycare and every morning we would have to circle the block at least three times for him to see the digger.

-I already mentioned the singing, but he also loves playing instruments as well as listening to music.  He can identify guitar, violins, pianos and drums when listening to music.  He also recognizes all kinds of instruments.  It's pretty impressive.

-I wouldn't say he's particularly into visual art, but he does seem to enjoy play-doh, painting, colouring and stickers, so maybe he's more into it than I would be inclined to acknowledge.  He loves it when people draw things for him.  Trains and rocketships are both high on the request list.

-Bathtime is pretty popular.  He likes to "play toys" in the bathtub.  He hates having his hair washed.

-He's kept up with his swimming lessons and is doing really well with them, but like in the bathtub, does not like getting his head/hair wet.  He can now kick his legs and "pull" his arms.  He blows bubbles.  All the games and songs they play as a part of the class are played in the bathtub at home and sung pretty much all the time.  We're taking a break from swimming lessons over the summer, but will start back up in September.

-He also just finished a session of gymnastics classes.  It was a city-run program and not really super-high on the instructive level, but he enjoyed playing around on the equipment.  Jen and I saw a big improvement in his balance on the beam in particular.  He seemed to enjoy the "monkey bars" and playing "What Time is it Mr. Wolf?" the most.   

-Though we limit it to a great degree, The Bean does watch some TV (both at home and at daycare).  His favourite shows are Blue's Clues, Dora, SuperWhy and Octonauts.

-He also really likes Spiderman.  I don't think he's ever seen it as a show, but they have Spidey action figures at daycare and apparently they are a hit with all the kids there.  (The daycare provider said she had to go out and get multiple Spidermen since all the kids wanted the same toy.)  When he was teeny tiny Grandma and Grandpa gave him some Spiderman PJs and a costume, which he is really enjoying getting use out of now.

-Daycare is going great.  In addition to loving the provider, her family, and all the kids there, we can also see that he is learning a lot.  He pretty much can recite the entire alphabet, recognizes most letters, can count to ten accurately and to 20 with some assistance, knows his colours, the days of the week, etc. etc.  It's a ways off, but I am sure he's going to be super well-prepared for kindergarten.

-He still loves books.  Oliver Jeffer's is a favourite author (his books Lost and Found and How to Catch a Star, in particular).  We've moved towards reading some longer story books versus quick little ones.  I love it when he gets really into it and will just sit on our lap and listen and look at the pictures and talk about it.   I also love it when he goes over and picks books out himself to look at.  He's even started memorizing a few and listening to him "read" is pretty awesome.

-Perhaps even better is listening to him read to his little sister.  I love our Bean in this big brother role.  He reads to her and sings to her and tickles her tummy.  He just lights up when he sees her in the morning, and the admiration is definitely mutual.  Recently there's been a little pulling of toys away from her while she's playing and the like, but it's understandable and (so far) fairly easily dealt with.  

-In true two and a half year old fashion, he can get quite fussed up when something his not going his way.  He's prone the the odd tantrum and some whining, especially when he's hungry or tired.  We've got a fairly low tolerance for it.  Hitting results in a time out.  Mostly we try to talk to him about what's bothering him and/or distract him.  I won't miss it when he outgrows this.  (That happens by three, right? ;) )

-Again acting like a typical two and a half year old, he has become The Pickiest Eater.  Mostly this means he ends up eating the same few things day after day.  Toast and apple sauce for breakfast.  Peanut butter, hummus, sometimes pasta, a hard boiled egg, hot dogs and chicken fingers for lunch and dinner.  Granola bars, soy yogurt, grapes, watermelon, banana, raisins, crackers, rice cakes for snacks.  The occasional cookie or popsicle for a treat.  (He loves treats.)  He also loves cheese, but we've taken him off all animal dairy as he was having some tummy issues.  I suppose he could be pickier, but we're working with a pretty limited menu these days.

-Sleeping is pretty good.  He goes down between 7:30 and 8:00pm most evenings and sleeps until somewhere between 6:00 and 7:00am.  He naps in the afternoon.  Usually just a short time at daycare (an hour or two) but on the weekends will sometimes sleep for four hours or so depending on how tired out his is from our morning activities.  We sometimes even need to wake him up from his nap to ensure that he'll be tired enough before bedtime.

Having a two and a half year old is wonderful and challenging.  He will sometimes say "I frus-trated!" and sometimes I tell him I am too.  The spontaneous "I love yous" and sweet giggles are sure to last longer in our memories than the imagine of him crying at the bottom of the stairs because it's time to come in for dinner.   Parenting this little guy is such a privilege.  We're lucky to be his moms.

Catching Up

Sorry for the radio silence this week the past week or so.  Things were really busy and now I'm having such that awful rib/back pain that just about everything seems impossible.  Anyway, I'm hoping things get back on track soon.

Here's a few things I've been thinking about lately:

• Last Thursday I met up with a parent of one of my students from last year.  She is a super-lovely woman and I adored her daughter.  Anyway, she asked how I was filling my days now that I'm not teaching.  I replied that the days just seem to fill up and pass by quickly.  Which they do.  I find it quite surprising actually.  I meet up with family and friends and go for walks more often.  I do a lot of piddly things around the house.  And yes, I'm definitely spending more time online --browsing, reading, commenting.   It makes me wonder how we got everything done when Jen and I were both working and thinking I should have something more to show for all this extra time.  Yet, with two months until Sprout's arrival, it doesn't seem like an ideal time to start something new.  So, I thought I might try taking on something small.  I contacted the local elementary school to see if they would like a volunteer once a week or so.  Still no word back.  I think I'd really enjoy it if they do seem receptive to the idea though. 

• Inspired, in part, by rlg's post about reconnecting with her partner, Jen and I decide that once a week we will forego watching television and listen to a podcast our favourite radio program, This American Life, instead.  It's still media-consumption, but it feels different than watching a TV show.

• The Bean continues to amaze us with his language explosion.  I know everyone must be sick of hearing about it, but he is adding multiple new words and phrases every day.  It just blows my mind.  He has also started singing which I think it one of the cutest things ever. 

• The other big Bean update is that we have stopped giving him a pacifier.  It's been close to a week now, and is going fairly well.  He didn't used cry (usually) when we put him down for a nap or bedtime, and he is now, but it only lasts a few minutes before he settles.  We had discussed how to approach this, particularly with the new baby coming, for a while and were undecided on what to do, then one night Jen just said, "I'm not giving him a Nuk tonight", and that's been it.  We've read warnings about them interfering with speech and orthodontia and wanted him off them completely by age two.  Looks like it'll work out.  Hopefully by the time Sprout is using them (if she uses them) he won't be interested anymore. 

I guess that's about it for now.  Tomorrow some photos from our visit to the pumpkin patch!

Twenty Months Old!

Today The Bean is twenty months old! 

This little guy is becoming evermore the toddler these days.  I have to say, it amazes me.

-Most days The Bean wakes up happy and chatters in his crib until we come in and get him.  There were a few mornings this month when the chattering began earlier than I would have liked, but with the nights lasting a little longer, I'm hoping to see more of a trend towards, say a 6:30am wake up.  One thing that I'm finding just lovely is that he'll now rest his head on my shoulder and give me a hug when I get him up from his crib.  So sweet. 

-More than just chattering, he really is talking.  Sometimes we have no idea what he is saying, but more and more we're able to pick out words and figure out bits and pieces of what he has to tell us.  He's begun to repeat words and short sentences.  He says "please" and "thank you" ("ga goo").  He started a thing where he was calling us both "Mommy!" but we're trying to get him back on track with distinguishing us as mommy and mama.  (Grandma and Grandpa both seem to be "Gan-pa" too, so it's not just us he generalizes for.) 

-We continue with a laid-back approach to potty learning.  After dinner we'll often ask if he wants to pee pee on the potty and when he says yes (most nights) he will try to go either on the toilet or on his little potty.  I'd say most nights that he tries he does a little pee.  We praise him like crazy and he seems pretty pleased with himself.  He hasn't pooped on the potty, but will tell us "poo poo" when his diaper is dirty so he definitely has some awareness.  His daycare provider is on board with this, but she says though he'll sit on the potty there, nothing has happened.  Maybe it's too distracting with the other kids around? 

-He also likes to asks us to turn on music by saying "I dance?" and to get out of his stroller by saying "I run."  He never ever seems to say "I walk" or "I sit". 

-He seems to have been really into his books this month.  Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin has been a huge hit.  He loves saying "Nooo!" when asked if the pumpkin is where they are looking.  We have a book called Fingers and Toes that he's really been enjoying too.  He's getting quite good at naming body parts.  Each Peach, Pear, Plum and books about vehicles have also been popular. 

-A woman in our building drives a school bus, and watching her get it ready in the mornings has become a part of our routine, as it was back in June.  While out there he waves and blows kisses to all the people walking down the sidewalk on their way to the subway.  Our little charmer. 

-He seems to be happy playing independently with me or Jen nearby more than he has been before.  I can fold and put away his diapers while he has his train, or trucks, or picnic basket, etc. 

-Balls continue to be a very popular toy.  He is quite good at kicking (he can aim!  Better than me!!) and is working on throwing.  I think it'll be a while before he's able to catch though.  He LOVES it when we throw a ball high up in the air. 

-We've also started doing some drawing with him.  I had an empty notebook and we'll sometimes give it to him in his highchair with a couple of crayons or washable markers and he'll scribble a bit.  He's quite good at getting the lids on and off the markers independently. 

-In addition to all the words he's been saying, he continues to impress us with his understanding.  I can't think of too many specific examples right now.  Lots of "Please give this to mommy." or "Can you get your ___?"  Jen insists that he favours me and was asking him if Mama was his favourite the other day.  He said no.  So I asked if Mommy was his favourite.  No again.  So Jen asked if Mo was his favourite.  An emphatic "Yes!"  Go figure.  We just wish he would stop trying to kick her. 

-My absolute favourite moment this month was when I asked him if he loved Mommy and he nodded his head said "I luf" and then I asked him if he loved Mama and again he nodded and said "I luf."  My heart just melted. 

We "luf" you too little boy. 

Nineteen Months Old!

Today The Bean is nineteen months old!

 

Our bouncing baby boy continues to keep us busy!

 

-He really is bouncing now.  It seems to be his newest dance move.  He's also into adding "splits" which mostly ends with him falling down on his bum.  Sometimes he'll say ouch, but he usually gets right back up and starts dancing some more.  He's taken to going over to the radio and saying "dance" so we'll turn it on for him.

 

-Always active, he has become very bold in his movements.  He has little hesitation on stairs, slides, and climbers.  We have to keep a close eye on him at the park. 

 

-We were seeing a real downward trend with his eating at mealtimes.  He was refusing food and even throwing it and his utensils from his chair.  Very frustrating.  So, we made a few changes.  He is only allowed to eat in his highcair now and we are trying to limit the number of snacks he is getting between meals.  It seems to be helping. 

 

-He is down to one nap per day.  At home he'll sleep for 2-3 hours, but at daycare it's usually only 1-2.  I wish he'd go longer there, but I'm sure the noise from the other children and their schedule make that difficult. 

 

-He is picking up on new words daily as well as starting to repeat some of the words that we say.  He chatters constantly.  "No!" seems to be a favourite word.  He can be very emphatic when using it, and sometimes he really means what he says, whereas other times it seems like a little bit of a joke. 

 

-He is also understanding SO MUCH.  He will follow multi-step directions.  It's amazing when we ask him to do something and he actually does it! 

 

-His picnic basket, teapot and baby stroller have been his favourite toys this month.  Unfortunately the baby stroller is showing some signs of wear as he decided he would like to sit in it.  It is clearly not designed to hold 20+lbs. 

 

We've been having a great summer with lots of extra time together.  We're lucky mommies to have this little boy in our lives. 

 

Eighteen Months Old!

Today The Bean is eighteen months old!

It's hard to believe that our baby is already one and a half.  I'm amazed at all the changes in our little guy, especially when looking back at his last "milestone" monthaversary when he turned one. 

Here are some things he's been doing the past month or so:

-He now feeds himself quite adeptly with a spoon.  He also loves forks, but we limit his access to them as I'm afraid he'll stab himself.  His breakfast most days is a bowl of applesauce and some toast, and he'll do most of the bowl of applesauce on his own.  He has trouble scraping out the little bits at the end and also seems to get frustrated when he's really hungry and wants to eat more quickly.  He also regularly feeds himself yogurt out of a bowl and likes to do baby food from a jar, but we don't like him handling the glass containers.  One more reason I should get back to making more of his baby foods.

-I feel like he's started to put a lot of non-food items (most notably stones) into his mouth lately.  We're not sure the reason, maybe teething, but we are trying to discourage it. 

-He's had a lot of practice going up and down stairs at Grandma and Grandpa's for the past ten days or and has gotten very good at it.  (He was quite good at it already, but he's definitley honed his skills.)  He likes to walk up and down the stairs, rather than crawl, but still needs some assistance (a hand or railing) to do so.  He also usually likes to go foot-over-foot rather than step both feet onto the same stair. 
-He still LOVES to dance.  He got a monster truck that plays music from Jen's grandparents and Jen taught him how to air guitar.  It's pretty frickin' adorable.  He also figured out how Grandma's radio works and will point to the remote to request music so he can dance.  Spinning counter-clockwise is still his signature "move".
-Cars continue to be a favourite toy.  Jen's parents have a few matchbox cars and he's been zooming them around all week.  Grandma even bought him a few to take home at the store today.  He's such a spoiled little boy. 
-He's also had a lot of fun the past little bit throwing golfballs around the yard and chasing them.  I think he likes how they bounce.
-Peek-a-boo/ Hide-and-seek and Chase are still favourite games to play. 

-We noticed him doing this before our trip, but since we've been on our own schedule, it's obvious that he is ready to move from two naps a day to one longer nap.  He's typically up around 6:00am, and ready to go back down around 9:30am and will nap for three hours or so.  He often seems more tired/cranky in the afternoon so sometimes we'll put him down for another nap around 4:00pm, but this usually ends up being more of a short "quiet time", which seems to improve him mood.  He's not a kid who knows how to slow down, so a mama/mommy-imposed quiet time is probably not a bad thing for him at this point. 

-His language reallys seems to be exploding lately and it seems like he's picking up new words every day, often repeating a word that has just been said to him.  He started saying "Mo" (our cat's name) and "Go" when he's playing cars.  He's also started saying "eye" and "ear" and is beginnging to identify some body parts when we ask him where they are.  He seems to point to his mouth when we ask him where his nose is, but can find other people's noses and the noses of various characters in books.  He's also using the few signs he knows (like "all done" and "more") in new contexts, which I think shows how clever he is.  His jibber jabber is sounding more and more like actual words and I swear there are times when he's saying a sentence because the sounds sound so much like words and what it sounds like makes sense in context.  Honestly, I'm not quite sure what to make of those instances.  He definitely has said his first two word sentences, pointing to my glasses on the table and saying "Mama's glasses".

-This month also brought a long bought of illness and his first visit to the ER.  He came down with some diarrhea a few weeks ago.  At first we thought it was some squash we gave him to eat, then when it didn't clear up we wondered if he was teething.  About a week into it he got a fever.  At that point we were in PA.  His eating and drinking went off (it had previously been fine) and we started to get concerned, so we took him to the ER.  This was right in the middle of a heat wave and the doctor seemed mildly concerned that he would become dehydrated, but in the end decided against IV fluids (which we were grateful for).  He was diagnosed with a stomach virus and we were told to keep pushing the fluids.  While we were there we also picked up an antibiotic for an infected hangnail that seemed to be getting worse rather than better.   The hangnail is almost cleared up now, as are the stomach issues.  The fever broke the next day and his appetite is back to normal.  Now we have to get his eating back on track because he was getting some pretty junky stuff from Grandma and Grandpa to begin with and then that really went downhill when he got sick and we just wanted him to eat something.

-At the ER visit they took his weight, as of last week he was 21lbs, 5oz.
-We bought a potty and I am considering starting a very relaxed introduction to potty training.  He seems somewhat aware of when he has to go and I've read that 12-18 months is a sensitive period for this, so I thought we would try it out.  It would be pretty awesome if he were able to use the potty, at least during the days, before the baby got here, but I'm not ready to do full-on potty training yet. 
-He is super-interactive, but will also play very nicely on his own for short periods of time.  He has the absolute best laugh, brightest eyes and sweetest smile.  As I mentioned last month, temper-tantrums have begun, but we are usually able to ignore them or distract him and they end fairly quickly.  I'm hoping the language explosion will help him express his needs/wants more and reduce some of the tantrumy behaviour. 

We love this little guy to pieces and are enjoying as more and more of his personality shows.  He is affectionate, and fun-loving, and clever and willful.  We are so lucky to have him as our child.