Monday, April 23, 2012
It's a Jungle Out There
When you're only 33" tall, Nana's garden is practically a jungle.
Here we see a wall of vines, perfect for Little Man to valiantly fight his way through using his stick...er, mighty sword to reach the other side and rescue Small Dog, who is obviously trapped there on her comfy rug and NEEDS assistance.
High above Little Man looms the Birdie Motel 6. This is a fascinating object for Little Man, as it is on the biggest stick ever and birds shoot out of it and make him laugh. Not a day goes by that he doesn't give it a good shake, just in case.
The Jungle is full of colorful and fascinating objects like these. Are they funny looking plants? They're coming out of the ground, they might be. Much research has been done to figure out what these are--poking with sticks, a good tap with a broom, even the occasional venture off the sidewalk to touch and feel. At press time, Little Man is still unsure of the exact purpose of these baubles, but they are pretty awesome.
Sometimes plants grow in pots. And the pots are filled with dirt. So why shouldn't they be filled with other stuff, too? Like sand from the sandbox and water from the water table and small sticks and bits of leaves and...
Rocks! Glorious rocks that are excellent for putting in planters (see above) as well as pushing through the fence, collecting in pockets and throwing.
Oh, and for putting in here.
Transportation is a must-have when exploring the jungle. Little Man favors this rugged, off-roading push car. This compact model is also good for picking up and carrying around when bumps in the road are too big to drive over.
Lastly, it's always good to have a friend out in the jungle--you never know when you're going to need someone who has got your back. Little Man would like to introduce you to Nelson the Jungle Gnome. He doesn't say much, but he knows everything that goes on in the jungle. And he doesn't complain at all when Little Man colors on his face with sidewalk chalk.
Friday, April 20, 2012
An Excellent Addition to a Vocabulary
Really, I shouldn't be surprised about the next word that Little Man mastered after the all-purpose uh-oh. It's a perfectly natural evolution: what goes better with "uh-oh" than "stuck?"
Little Man is getting a lot of mileage out of this word, which popped into usage last week. He gets stuck: in between the train table and the entertainment center, under the table retrieving his car, in his high chair when he's done eating and Mommy isn't moving fast enough. His books and movies are full of things that get stuck: Pooh in Rabbit's front door, Piglet against Owl's window, Tigger in a tree, Goofy in a bush. Stuck, stuck, stuck. And anything that is out of Little Man's reach is stuck as well.
"Uh-oh," he greeted me this morning in his crib when I walked into his bedroom. He gestured wildly to his beloved Pooh book, which was still in the rocking chair where we had read it the night before. "Uh-oh uh-oh uh-oh! Pooh sssssTUCK"
Turns out, "stuck" is an excellent and useful addition to a one-year-old's vocabularly, and never fails to get the point across.
Little Man is getting a lot of mileage out of this word, which popped into usage last week. He gets stuck: in between the train table and the entertainment center, under the table retrieving his car, in his high chair when he's done eating and Mommy isn't moving fast enough. His books and movies are full of things that get stuck: Pooh in Rabbit's front door, Piglet against Owl's window, Tigger in a tree, Goofy in a bush. Stuck, stuck, stuck. And anything that is out of Little Man's reach is stuck as well.
"Uh-oh," he greeted me this morning in his crib when I walked into his bedroom. He gestured wildly to his beloved Pooh book, which was still in the rocking chair where we had read it the night before. "Uh-oh uh-oh uh-oh! Pooh sssssTUCK"
Turns out, "stuck" is an excellent and useful addition to a one-year-old's vocabularly, and never fails to get the point across.
Friday, April 13, 2012
Comfort Food
We've been doing well with our transitions. We went smoothly from 2 naps to 1 nap last summer, we progressed from a bedtim routine that included a nighttime bottle and being rocked to sleep to one that included books,a few snuggles and Little Man being put down awake to doze off on his own, and we went from bottles to sippie cups so seamlessly that I was sure there had to be a catch.
There was.
In December, during the broken leg debacle, we began hearing requests for "ba-ba". Since we wanted Little Man to be acknowledged for vocalization, we handed over the bottle. In the few months since then, we've completely ditched the sippies in favor of the baby bottles, although he will drink out of a grown-up water bottle and his "Mickey straw cup".
Husband and I are not of the parenting school that panics when a kid regresses a bit, nor of the school that feels it neccesary to remove the bottle as a comfort item. And that's what it is--comfort. We do watch hs liquid intake so it doesn't affect his meals, and we have started to offer a little love and snuggles when Little Man requests his "ba-ba" at odd times of the day. Sometimes, this works and he is distracted. Other times persistence wins out. And sometimes, his requests are downright funny.
Just the other day we were all sitting on the couch, Little Man sandwiched between his parents, reading.
"Husband," I said. "Would you like a drink?"
"Ba-ba," said Little Man, without missing a beat and without looking up from his book. Husband and I cracked up.
Who can say no to that?
There was.
In December, during the broken leg debacle, we began hearing requests for "ba-ba". Since we wanted Little Man to be acknowledged for vocalization, we handed over the bottle. In the few months since then, we've completely ditched the sippies in favor of the baby bottles, although he will drink out of a grown-up water bottle and his "Mickey straw cup".
Husband and I are not of the parenting school that panics when a kid regresses a bit, nor of the school that feels it neccesary to remove the bottle as a comfort item. And that's what it is--comfort. We do watch hs liquid intake so it doesn't affect his meals, and we have started to offer a little love and snuggles when Little Man requests his "ba-ba" at odd times of the day. Sometimes, this works and he is distracted. Other times persistence wins out. And sometimes, his requests are downright funny.
Just the other day we were all sitting on the couch, Little Man sandwiched between his parents, reading.
"Husband," I said. "Would you like a drink?"
"Ba-ba," said Little Man, without missing a beat and without looking up from his book. Husband and I cracked up.
Who can say no to that?
Monday, April 9, 2012
The All Purpose Uh-Oh
Little Man's favorite word by far is "uh-oh". He used it sparingly at first, only in real emergencies, like when his car rolled under the couch.
In the past few weeks, Little Man has gained confidence with his favorite word. It is now the all purpose uh-oh, two tiny words that can be used in all sorts of situations:
--The real uh-oh: when something is actually wrong. Like yesterday when he woke up from his nap and his foot was stuck in his crib bars. Definitely an uh-oh.
--The "it was an accident" uh-oh: when he does something he knows he's not supposed to and is trying to make it look like an accident. Like when he flings his train across the room, looks at us with big innocent eyes and says "uh-oh!"
--The pre-emptive uh-oh: used when something he enjoys is coming to an end. During the last five minutes of his favorite Pooh Bear movie, he keeps up a constant stream of "uh-ohs" so that I can be poised and ready to restart it as soon as the credits start rolling.
--The "I am done making my mess and now it needs to be cleaned up" uh-oh: used when he does things like drag his (full) bottle of milk around the living room to make a little path. Once he has been over his train table, on the couch, and through his ball pit and tent, he uses this particular uh-oh to announce to me that a clean up is required.
--The "lets see how fast Mommy can move" uh-oh: because all of these uh-ohs sound the same, it is difficult for me to identify the serverity of the uh-oh situtation if I am in another room. Little Man knows this, and uses it to his advantage. So if he is bored, or would like to be read a book, or just wants to say hi, this particular brand of uh-oh is employed. Because he knows that I will come running to make sure everything is okay. I think it might be safe to say that the word "mama" has effectively been replaced with "uh-oh." It has a faster response time.
Uh-oh.
In the past few weeks, Little Man has gained confidence with his favorite word. It is now the all purpose uh-oh, two tiny words that can be used in all sorts of situations:
--The real uh-oh: when something is actually wrong. Like yesterday when he woke up from his nap and his foot was stuck in his crib bars. Definitely an uh-oh.
--The "it was an accident" uh-oh: when he does something he knows he's not supposed to and is trying to make it look like an accident. Like when he flings his train across the room, looks at us with big innocent eyes and says "uh-oh!"
--The pre-emptive uh-oh: used when something he enjoys is coming to an end. During the last five minutes of his favorite Pooh Bear movie, he keeps up a constant stream of "uh-ohs" so that I can be poised and ready to restart it as soon as the credits start rolling.
--The "I am done making my mess and now it needs to be cleaned up" uh-oh: used when he does things like drag his (full) bottle of milk around the living room to make a little path. Once he has been over his train table, on the couch, and through his ball pit and tent, he uses this particular uh-oh to announce to me that a clean up is required.
--The "lets see how fast Mommy can move" uh-oh: because all of these uh-ohs sound the same, it is difficult for me to identify the serverity of the uh-oh situtation if I am in another room. Little Man knows this, and uses it to his advantage. So if he is bored, or would like to be read a book, or just wants to say hi, this particular brand of uh-oh is employed. Because he knows that I will come running to make sure everything is okay. I think it might be safe to say that the word "mama" has effectively been replaced with "uh-oh." It has a faster response time.
Uh-oh.
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Mud, Glorious Mud
He still doesn't like to get his hands dirty.
His feet, however, seem to be a different story.
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