Squidbits (belated)
CRAP. I wrote this up two weeks ago and forgot to post it. Well, here you go. I am a crappy blogger.
Seeing as how it is Mother's Day, I should probably come up with a Squidbits post. I'm only, hmmm, two weeks overdue, after all. It's just, the post I might have written two weeks ago is not the post I want to write today. We went to Illinois with a baby who had just started to walk a bit and was unusually squirmy and chatty. We came back with a toddler.
It was just that sudden. A week and a half and there was a visible, a palpable difference. We went with a baby. We came back with a toddler. When did it happen? When he learned to point at things he wanted? When he started walking more than he crawled? When he started crying angrily when thwarted? I'm not sure.
Squid with a sculpture in Millennium Park
We are now officially behind on the childproofing. A toddler can reach drawers and knobs that a crawling child can't, and we haven't installed the latches on the less-dangerous cabinets. It is not uncommon to find the Tupperware in the living room, or the shampoo in the hallway. He has also developed a penchant for putting things away, though not with any sense of how/when/why the wider world thinks it is right to do so. He spent fifteen minutes one day putting a small plastic doll in a box, shaking the box until the doll fell out, and then putting it back in. That was a month ago. Since then he has stashed all his Easter eggs in an empty Kleenex box, put his socks in the pantry, hidden his toothbrush amongst his toys, and developed a fixation with Ziploc bags. On the plane, he pulled the window open and shut, open and shut for a quarter of an hour.
Playing near Lola's pond with friend F.
He makes up his own games now - headbutting is a favorite, or grabbing a telephone and putting it to my ear to make me talk. Funny faces make him laugh, and hand-motion songs (the itsy-bitsy spider, etc.) fascinate him. He can clap and point and wave bye-bye, though he does none of those consistently when prompted. When you say, "How big is Baby Squid?" he'll raise his hands over his head to show you that he is "Sooooo big!" And of course, my favorite, for the pure joy involved - the dancing you saw a few months ago in his pimp turtle music video has become more coordinated, with less head-banging and more clapping, and some full body sways and jumping. We were watching The Blues Brothers last week and he started laughing and dancing during the musical numbers. Baby's got rhythm, and he loves music. We sing and dance almost every day.
He'll bring me books to read, and sometimes even sit still through multiple repetitions. He turns the pages (as long as I carefully release one at a time to spring up for turning) and pays attention to the pictures, pointing at things he wants to talk about. He tunes into screens, too, and I've given up on not letting him see television until he's two - not only does he get to watch it at daycare (the only thing I dislike about his otherwise amazing daycare), Himself likes to occasionally watch The Daily Show while the Squid's awake, and I sometimes put on a nature documentary in the background; I find it soothing, myself, and sometimes we can talk about the animals onscreen and what they are doing if he seems interested. We're still fairly sparing - I think he probably sees TV a few times a week at most - but I'm a little surprised at myself for not being bothered more about it.
Squid's first sushi! A maki in each fist - and he wants to share with you.
He is so much fun, now. This is my favorite time yet; still no tantrums or wilful disobedience (though believe you me, I can see it coming fast) and yet so much laughter and curiosity! Still no words, but lots of baby songs and babble and expression. He's mobile without being so fast I can't keep up with him, and interested and interactive without being constantly demanding. It's awesome. And I swear he gets cuter every day. I was looking at him the other day and just marvelling that this amazing little person is, in some way, mine.
I kiss him all the time, and I'm starting to realize that this is a limited window as well. Some day I won't be able to give him kisses as much as I want. Some day he won't want me to pick him up. Some day I won't be able to squeeze his wide little thighs or just touch his cheek because he's so amazing and I want to. Little by little, we will develop reserve, grow apart in this respect, separate out personal space. And that's okay - I also won't be crawled over all the time, or have to tote around a 24-pound weight on one hip while doing everything one-handed, and I won't really miss that. There are losses and gains to each new step. But I'm getting my kisses and cuddles in while I can. They feed my heart, and I am storing up as much as I can against the long cold winter of Growing Up.
Squid and mama with the shiny jellybean sculpture in Millennium Park
It was a big month, and not just because it was *cough* six weeks long. We had two plane rides, two train rides, car trips, new people to meet, museums to go to, baby's first sushi, babysitters, playmates, aunts, uncles, second cousins, grandparents, colds and sniffles, baby's first ice cream, baby's first cake, llama feeding, parties, zoo trips, hikes, parks, petting cats, petting dogs, reading books, dancing, babbling, and walking, walking everywhere. No wonder he crashes out at 8 p.m. every night. It's exhausting, being the Squid.
Seeing as how it is Mother's Day, I should probably come up with a Squidbits post. I'm only, hmmm, two weeks overdue, after all. It's just, the post I might have written two weeks ago is not the post I want to write today. We went to Illinois with a baby who had just started to walk a bit and was unusually squirmy and chatty. We came back with a toddler.
It was just that sudden. A week and a half and there was a visible, a palpable difference. We went with a baby. We came back with a toddler. When did it happen? When he learned to point at things he wanted? When he started walking more than he crawled? When he started crying angrily when thwarted? I'm not sure.
Squid with a sculpture in Millennium Park
We are now officially behind on the childproofing. A toddler can reach drawers and knobs that a crawling child can't, and we haven't installed the latches on the less-dangerous cabinets. It is not uncommon to find the Tupperware in the living room, or the shampoo in the hallway. He has also developed a penchant for putting things away, though not with any sense of how/when/why the wider world thinks it is right to do so. He spent fifteen minutes one day putting a small plastic doll in a box, shaking the box until the doll fell out, and then putting it back in. That was a month ago. Since then he has stashed all his Easter eggs in an empty Kleenex box, put his socks in the pantry, hidden his toothbrush amongst his toys, and developed a fixation with Ziploc bags. On the plane, he pulled the window open and shut, open and shut for a quarter of an hour.
Playing near Lola's pond with friend F.
He makes up his own games now - headbutting is a favorite, or grabbing a telephone and putting it to my ear to make me talk. Funny faces make him laugh, and hand-motion songs (the itsy-bitsy spider, etc.) fascinate him. He can clap and point and wave bye-bye, though he does none of those consistently when prompted. When you say, "How big is Baby Squid?" he'll raise his hands over his head to show you that he is "Sooooo big!" And of course, my favorite, for the pure joy involved - the dancing you saw a few months ago in his pimp turtle music video has become more coordinated, with less head-banging and more clapping, and some full body sways and jumping. We were watching The Blues Brothers last week and he started laughing and dancing during the musical numbers. Baby's got rhythm, and he loves music. We sing and dance almost every day.
He'll bring me books to read, and sometimes even sit still through multiple repetitions. He turns the pages (as long as I carefully release one at a time to spring up for turning) and pays attention to the pictures, pointing at things he wants to talk about. He tunes into screens, too, and I've given up on not letting him see television until he's two - not only does he get to watch it at daycare (the only thing I dislike about his otherwise amazing daycare), Himself likes to occasionally watch The Daily Show while the Squid's awake, and I sometimes put on a nature documentary in the background; I find it soothing, myself, and sometimes we can talk about the animals onscreen and what they are doing if he seems interested. We're still fairly sparing - I think he probably sees TV a few times a week at most - but I'm a little surprised at myself for not being bothered more about it.
Squid's first sushi! A maki in each fist - and he wants to share with you.
He is so much fun, now. This is my favorite time yet; still no tantrums or wilful disobedience (though believe you me, I can see it coming fast) and yet so much laughter and curiosity! Still no words, but lots of baby songs and babble and expression. He's mobile without being so fast I can't keep up with him, and interested and interactive without being constantly demanding. It's awesome. And I swear he gets cuter every day. I was looking at him the other day and just marvelling that this amazing little person is, in some way, mine.
I kiss him all the time, and I'm starting to realize that this is a limited window as well. Some day I won't be able to give him kisses as much as I want. Some day he won't want me to pick him up. Some day I won't be able to squeeze his wide little thighs or just touch his cheek because he's so amazing and I want to. Little by little, we will develop reserve, grow apart in this respect, separate out personal space. And that's okay - I also won't be crawled over all the time, or have to tote around a 24-pound weight on one hip while doing everything one-handed, and I won't really miss that. There are losses and gains to each new step. But I'm getting my kisses and cuddles in while I can. They feed my heart, and I am storing up as much as I can against the long cold winter of Growing Up.
Squid and mama with the shiny jellybean sculpture in Millennium Park
It was a big month, and not just because it was *cough* six weeks long. We had two plane rides, two train rides, car trips, new people to meet, museums to go to, baby's first sushi, babysitters, playmates, aunts, uncles, second cousins, grandparents, colds and sniffles, baby's first ice cream, baby's first cake, llama feeding, parties, zoo trips, hikes, parks, petting cats, petting dogs, reading books, dancing, babbling, and walking, walking everywhere. No wonder he crashes out at 8 p.m. every night. It's exhausting, being the Squid.
posted by The Stute Fish at 23:41
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