What's that?

Lily is using a number of phrases, and seems to pull a new one out of the hat every day lately, but none is more refreshing or (at times) more confusing than this one...."What's that?"

What's refreshing is that you realize how inquisitive her mind is.   I'm sure she wondered about the sounds she was hearing and things she saw before, but now she can ask about it.   It's because of this that I really treasure the question and want to give her as in depth an answer as is possible.

What's confusing is figuring out what 'that' is.  She'll repeat the question when (I assume) she doesn't get an adequate explanation.   So, a typical conversation goes like this:

L:  What's that?
M:  A car
L:  What's that?
M:  A car driving by
L:  What's that?

M:  Do you mean the sound?

L:  Uh huh

M:  A car driving on the road outside of the house
L:  What's that?
M:  Remember when you looked out the window and saw cars driving on the road outside the house?   There is another car driving by right now.

Health and babies

Cindy and I have both committed to leading healthy lifestyles, if only to be good examples for the kids.   This isn't easy, in a super-sized, high fructose corn syrup world.  We are also never lacking for a reason to skip a workout or activity, especially when you have a newborn.   The good thing is that we've done a pretty good job since Nate arrived.  

I have done well by maintaining regular trips to Lifetime.  I have this big advantage in health, given that I didn't deliver two kids in the last 23 months.   Still, I started sitting on a ball at work this week....it forces me to sit upright and really does work out the abs & back (the 'core', as they are now called).   The only problem I have had has been all the comments/jokes from co-workers, in my male dominated workplace.    I also joined a hockey league this week - something I haven't done in a few years.

Cindy has done even better.  She was going to the gym regularly before Nate arrived, and has been even more consistent since.  She went back to weekly work outs with her friend.   She has also been a big force in making us eat better and eat at home more often.

We can't go to the gym together till Nate is old enough to use the daycare, which is a couple months away.    What we can do is work out at home and we've done that twice in the last week - a practice we'd both like to continue.  

Even Lily and Nate are in on the action.   Lily will likely start her first soccer league in June.   Nate likes to work out his neck muscles and does regular tummy time workouts without complaining (unlike Lily at the same age).

Nate's First Doctors Appointment

All's well, even if he is still a very little guy.

• 21 Inches (25th percentile)
• 8lb 6oz (good weight gain)
• Head size in the 50th percentile

Big day of doing nothing

Nate is one month old today, and Lily used the potty successfully, twice.  Other than the anniversary and big event - none of use have left the house.   This is the laziest day in a long time.

Lily's accomplishment is kind of impressive.   She's a few weeks from 2 years old, and this is something she has been close to getting right for a while.   It just all came together today.   I wonder if it wouldn't have happened sooner if we were with her more, and she wasn't in daycare.    Not that this is a big concern, because it's still early and we are still a little ways from dropping diapers.

More Pooh

Malcolm Gladwell's book, the Tipping Point*, explores how Blue's Clues (a popular childrens television program) perfected the art of keeping a child's attention.  Blues Clues improved on shows like Sesame Street by intentionally doing NOTHING that could confuse children, like use metaphors or use pop culture references that would go over their head.   It works by avoiding anything that would give the child the time to turn their head and be 'distracted' by play.   This new and improved Children's show was also designed for repetition - for the same show to be viewed every day for a week straight, allowing the child to understand more about each 'clue' with each viewing.   


The part about securing a child's full & undivided attention makes me feel all the better in greatly restricting our kid's access to TV, since the value of play is immense, and any benefit to TV is left undocumented, at best.   The part about repetition makes sense on the other hand, and seems valuable in other applications, like reading books.   It's something I've now observed, first hand.


Lily's favorite book, at the moment, is 'Pooh Loves You'.  We often read it multiple times a day.  Over the last few months we have read it more times than I could count.   It is now to the point that I have memorized the entire book, from cover to cover.   This book has no plot or even a discernible theme, but offers a rather blunt force character development by explaining Pooh's various loves (sleeping, running, honey, et al).   She loves it.   


She still laughs at the one climactic build up in the book ('Pooh loves to run and jump and then......[next page].....he loves to run and jump again!'), even after what's surely around 100 re-reads.   Actually, she didn't recognize this climactic build-up on the first reading or probably even the 10th - this was something she was able to garner through re-reading.   With each pass she was able to identify more of the characters, more situations, and more of the items in Pooh's environment.   


With each pass through the book, I also try to convey new concepts or ask her to identify new objects on the page.    So, some times I point to each word as I read it, to show how what I say relates to these foreign symbols (the words & letters) on each page.   Another time I ask her to point out the white flowers or to find all the bees.   I do this, in part, for my own sanity, but it's mainly to challenger her.   


There will definitely come a time, probably not that far off, where this Pooh book will get overly simple, but it's remarkable how much knowledge was learned, or at least reinforced, from reading it.   Until then, I actually look forward to her nightly request - 'more pooh'.


*...I'm not 100% sure it was actually the Tipping Point where this was read.   I may have confused it with another book, but the Tipping Point is a great book (& Gladwell a great author) nonetheless.  

A Fun April Day

Lily, Nathan and I had fun together today. Lily did not have daycare and I wanted to do some type of activity with them since the weather was nice.

The original plan was to go to the Detroit Zoo. Instead, we met Tom for lunch since we were going to be out that way. After maneuvering to get both kids fed, dressed and out of the house with packed diaper bags, I lost confidence that I would be able to handle them both at the Zoo!

Our day was fun anyway. After a yummy lunch at Coney Island, Lily held my hand as we walked through downtown Royal Oak. She was such a trooper! Of course, Nate slept the whole way.

I could tell she was tired out from the walk, and Lily fell asleep pretty much as soon as we got back in the car. I've been through a couple of naptime nightmare scenarios recently, and cowardly decided to drive around a little longer so she could sleep in the car.

Our next stop was the park in Rochester by Paint Creek Trail. We watched ducks on the pond, and Lily played on the swings and play structure. She was noticeably more confident climbing around this time, although she was still shy when another mom asked her name!

After we stopped off at home for dinner, I took Lily with me to Lifetime Fitness. She played in the child care center while I got my hair cut.

What an awesome day! Kids are so much fun!

But...I am exhausted!!! LOL

Playing different games

I found some 'sorting' related toys for Lily, since she seemed to really be drawn to the activity.   My favorite is the simple one pictured to the right.   It has proven very effective at teaching colors and shapes, and will likely do the same for counting.

What I found fascinating is that while sorting the items, she likes to deliberately get them wrong to observe my reaction.   She can solve the 'puzzle' without too much trouble at this point, but will often place a piece wrong, and then immediately look to my face to scan for a reaction.

It's as if we are both playing different games.   Mine being one of colors and shapes and hers being colors, shapes AND how other people work.

Out walking my dead rabbit

There was a dead rabbit on our driveway this morning.   It was unlikely the dog had anything to do with it -- it looked like a death by natural causes, or maybe the little bunny just ate something it shouldn't have.  So, I took an old hockey stick and carried the rabbit out to the garbage can.  Thankfully, it was garbage day.

While I was walking down the street to the garbage can, a vehicle drove by.  The lady driving saw me there, with a dead rabbit on the end of  a hockey stick.

Now, I'd like to assume that she just figured I had found this dead rabbit on the driveway and was taking it to the garbage can, but some part of me wonders if she didn't just assume I was a crazy person.    It was about seven in the morning and I had a hockey stick, which looks off-kilter to begin with.   Add in the dead rabbit, and it turns an absurd situation into something a little more scary.

Mom's hour out

I had my first period of time alone with both kids last night.   Cindy went out with her friend to dinner and I was at home watching a toddler and a newborn.  Things went relatively smooth with very little fussing, just one time out and no major disasters.   It was only 2 to 3 hours, but we managed to fit in a trip to the park, two bottles, some pizza and rereading the same page in a book ('a tisket, a tasket') at least 10 times.

It made me think back to my first alone time with Lily.   It was just one newborn, but it was a hellish.   She basically screamed at me from the moment she realized mom was not there to the time mom got back.   Things sure have changed.   I'm more experienced with babies, more patient with kids in general and know some tricks to calm everything down.  It also helps to have the most docile and mellow newborn - Nate.   Not to mention, I'm now Lily's favorite person.  When I watched Lily as an infant she grouped everyone other than Cindy, including me, as 'not mom'.

Alone time with Lily

Lily and I had a blast together yesterday. We went to the park by Paint Creek trail in Rochester. Her favorite park was watching the ducks swim around the little pond there. It was a gorgeous day, around 70 degrees and sunny out. After the park, I took her for a treat at Panera where we shared a strawberry smoothie and a chocolate chip cookie.

It still feels odd to me to not celebrate the Easter holiday. I definitely don't want to do the Easter bunny thing for the kids, but it's hard because everyone, even my non-religious friends, do it. It will be hard knowing that my kids will be left out and not fit in. Hopefully that will build character and make them stronger in their convictions.

Anyway, Lily is doing more and more cute things every day. She suddenly loves her blanket, which she calls "nite-nite" (how adorable!), and carries it everywhere.

She also loves her Winnie the Pooh book, so much so that she snuggles up to the book when she goes to sleep at night.

Most of all, she loves her little brother. Whenever she sees him, she greets him with a friendly "Hi Nate!" using a babytalk type of inflection. She kisses his little head and gives him hugs by leaning her head against his. And her newest thing is hugging him and saying "heart". I'm not sure what that means, but I would guess it is her way of saying she loves him. So precious.

After yesterday's trip out with her, I realized how important it will be to spend quality time alone with my girl. She is growing up so fast already. I want to make sure to enjoy her now and through each phase of her development, and I also want to build our relationship so she knows she can trust me and I will always be here for her.

Mommy/Daughter Time

We have been dividing the workload cleanly across the two kids - so Mom does almost everything for Nate while I take care of Lily.   This is obviously not the best way to do things, even if it's only for a period of time.   This is why we set some blocks away for Mommy/Daughter time.   The  look of shock and befuddlement when Lily realized it was Mom that was taking her to the park and not Daddy, confirmed any doubts we might have had.

So, they just went off to the park and whatever else can still be done on the Feast of Ishtar (Easter).  This leaves me here with Low-Maintenance Nate.   I'd like to call this Daddy-Son time, but he's still just a bud.   He's cute and likes bright things, shiny things or colors that contrast, but his personality is still tucked away for a later day.  I try to make the waking minutes interesting, but mainly I'm here to hold bottles and burp.

Grammar Lessons from a Toddler

Lily's vocabulary and language skills have been improving by the hour lately.   She can make rough sentences ('Lily go up there', 'where daddy go') and copies not just words, but phrases ('uhmmm.....no', which is said without a lick of satire).   

The hard part as a parent here is to avoid using her vocabulary and phrasing.   It's very cute when she calls her brother 'Nay-Nay' or confirm her wishes with proper English, after she asks in a similar war - 'Lily up there?' (in the high chair).  It's funny to hear this stuff, but sometimes the raw nature of her word usage makes at least as much sense as the typical 'adult' usage.

Languages are constantly evolving, even if that has slowed down with the advent of documented grammar.  This makes me wonder how many changes in language came from children, passed on to parents.  This could be the source when things are simplified or extraneous words are merged, melded or detached.

An Active Nightlife

The first week and a half went pretty well, Nate would go in his crib and sleep for hours straight.   Things started to devolve the last couple nights.   Now he gets restless the moment his back touches the crib, and that slowly works into a cry - a demand to be picked up.  

Things are compounded with our girl, who had the luxury of rarely ever having to sleep in a crib her first year.   She hears her brother, or us trying to comfort him, and wakes up.   She is also learning to live without walls on her bed, and fell out for the second time last night (after 3 nights).   I know she fell  out because that's where I found her sleeping this morning - on the floor.

So, the house is pretty active all night long.   I couldn't count the number of times I was up just last night to comfort or rock or negotiate with Cindy to do the work.