Haiku Friday #19: Talk Isn't Cheap

We're in the middle
Of a language explosion
At the Geek household.

Baby Geek, who will
Soon be sixteen months of age,
Now talks up a storm.

They're serious when they tell you that once a kid starts talking, he just doesn't stop. And sometimes it comes at a price: "Yes, that is the door. No, you drank all the juice already."

It seems like Adam learns a new word every few days now. Here's the list so far:

Words:

• KIH-tee = kitty
• Mih = Milk (or sometimes juice)
• Buh = Bread
• LA-ee = Light
• Boo = Blue
• Puh-puh = Purple
• Bah-bah = Bye-bye
• Ha = Hi
  

People:

• Mama (duh)
  
• Dada (duh)
• Mimi = his name for my mom
• Guh = Grandpere (French for grandfather), his name for my dad
  
• Teh = Tia (Spanish for aunt), his name for my sister

Sounds:

• Baa (like bad, without the 'd') = Bang
• Me = Meow
• Yow = Meow (can you tell what his favorite animal is?)
• Hoo hoo hoo = The sound a monkey makes

Signs:

• More (pointing finger into palm)
  
• Finished (palms up, hands cupped slightly, waving back and forth)
  
• "No no" (shaking pointed finger at someone -- he got that from the JCC)

Songs/Rhymes/Games:

• Points finger or taps head to request "No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed"
• Shakes pointed finger to request "No, No, No, I Will Not Let Them Go" (a Passover song)
• Does all the motions to Patty-Cake
• Does some of the motions for "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and "Mini Mac" (another JCC song)

Of course, he recognizes more words than he can say -- probably more than we are aware of. So far we only know that he understands family members that he can't pronounce yet, colors, and most of his body parts. He also understands words for his routines: mealtimes, bed, bath, etc.

Anyone out there have children of similar age and developmental stage? What cool stuff is your toddler doing lately?


For more haiku or to play along, visit A Mommy Story.

No More Sitting On My Ass

It seems like everyone has physical fitness on the brain these days.

The FLYLady (aka Marla Cilley) is right in the middle of a Body Clutter challenge on Facebook. Kristen from Motherhood Uncensored is hosting the Shredheads for the month of March. Christina of A Mommy Story is once again hosting Hot by Blogher this year -- even her husband Aaron is aiming for a goal of his own.

Independently of all this --I swear, I've been thinking about this for like a month! -- I've also been thinking more about my own health and fitness. I'm coming to the realization that although I may not need to lose weight (come on, I want some boobs to speak of), I'm waaaay out of shape. I have no muscle, no tone, and no endurance whatsoever.

My husband and I are also starting to think about planning for baby -- and pregnancy -- number two (nothing solid yet, just starting the conversation). I am not at a place where I am happy with my body -- not that I've tried very hard to fix that. And before I get pregnant again, I'd at least like to be mostly satisfied with the shape I'm in. That way it will be easier to get back to a place I like after the fact (or at least not harder).

Plus, you know, I should probably start thinking about setting a good example for my kid(s) in the matter of eating habits and staying active. So they may be motivated to do the same.

So, here goes: my two, very general goals are: A) to eat better, and B) to be more active.

As far as my eating habits go, I want to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains; and fewer simple carbohydrates. I'd like to eat when I'm hungry -- no more, no less; and eat appropriate portions for my caloric needs.

As for increased activity, I'd like to have a basic level of fitness, and then add endurance, a bit of tone, and possibly a little more strength and flexibility. Oh, and it has to be fun. I know myself by now, and I won't stick to it if it's not fun or if I can't find a way to make it fun.

So maybe I'll try some walking or jogging, swimming in a few months, maybe even basketball or something. I have three great places to work out: the Jewish Community Center, my apartment complex facility, and the Power Shack gym -- all of which are free! But they're not doing me any good if I don't go.

So tell me: are you in good shape? Do you have room for improvement? Do you have any plans for improvement, and if so, what are they?


*Remember: healthy weight loss is defined as only about 1 to 2 pounds per week. If you're fairly inactive like me, start slow and build up. Don't work the same muscle groups every day -- every other day is plenty. Most importantly, get a buddy! If you have someone going for a goal right along with you -- even if it's a different goal -- it's sooo much easier! Plus, if you have to be accountable to someone other than yourself, it's more likely you'll actually follow through.

And don't forget to stay hydrated!




Hmmm... also I can't seem to find my camera-uploader-plugger-inner-thingy. So, I will post the "before" pictures at a later point in time. After all, what's the point of planning to post "after" pictures if there's nothing to compare it to?

Haiku Friday #16: Babies!

Lately I have had
A lot of weird dreams in which
I'm pregnant again

Ev'ry time I see
A newborn baby, I get
All warm and fuzzy.

Sure, I remember
The nausea, the contractions,
The emergency

C-section... But I
Also got a beautiful
Baby boy to hold.

Yes, there were
Sleepless nights and zombie days,
Spit-up and sore boobs.

But now look what I
Have to show for it all: my
Son, my very own.

I've had some serious baby fever lately. Every time I look at a baby, all I want to do is hold it. We absolutely do not need another baby right now -- we're doing all we can to support our family of three as it is. And while some families manage really well with two children under the age of two, I'm not sure my husband and I are cut out for it.

Still, I can't help but want a new baby again. I'm not ready for two kids yet -- I still haven't accepted the changes my body has gone through seen my first pregnancy (not to mention the surgery, breastfeeding, and weaning). But I miss that feeling of waiting expectantly for something small and wonderful to make its entrance, the bonding between mommy and belly.


For more haiku, or to play along, visit Christina at A Mommy Story.

Haiku Friday #14: Babysteps

Remember this? Yeah,
Forget I said that. Or, you
Could hold me to it --

Starting with today.
I am trying my best to
Take it in small steps.

One day at a time.
Babysteps. Speaking of which,
Someone else is, too.

Taking "baby steps,"
That is. My son is cruising,
Pulling himself up.

Walking with my help.
He thinks he can stand alone,
But has no balance.

But as soon as I
Try to help, he gets annoyed,
And wants to sit down.

Sorry this is a day late, folks. Blogger's finally working for me now, though. Hopefully I won't have anymore internet problems this week....

You remember how I said my son is not interested in crawling, pulling himself up to standing, or walking? Well, apparently he is interested, providing I'm not expecting anything from him.

He got some new toys for Christmas, a few of which are about as big as he is. He'd been trying to pull himself up on them and getting stuck about halfway to standing. Now he's pulling himself up, and cruising a little too (only a few steps -- enough to get from the toy to the couch, or if he puts too much weight on the toy, scooting it across the floor a bit, enough to catch up and stand up straight again).

And the other day, I went in to get him out of bed and he was sitting up in his crib. This morning I found him the same way. Looks like the large muscle toys at the day care are paying off.

I've borrowed the word babysteps and the accompanying concept from the FLYLady. I joined her site in late December, and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it. It's the hardest thing in the world to just tell yourself not to worry about everything, to just take it one day at a time.

To learn more about her system for organizing your home and your life once and for all, visit FLYLady's site here.

Haiku Friday #13: Lucky Number 13

This is my thirteenth
Haiku Friday; I think it's
Been so far so good.

Also, my son turned
Thirteen months old on Monday
He's getting so big!

Not superstitious,
I think the number thirteen
Is lucky instead

Actually, I've always thought of thirteen as my lucky number. Life just seems to work out in weird, unusual ways for me. Often it seems things turn out the exact opposite of how I expect. So thirteen being my lucky number just works.

Haiku Fridays are a bright spot in my week. I'd like to make a point of doing them every week, just so I can have something to look forward to at the end of my work week. And I'd like to think that my readers enjoy something fun too. Might as well make it more often.

My gift for the thirteen-month anniversary of being a mom? Another step towards turning into mine -- last night while feeding my son dinner I bestowed upon him The Mothers' Curse: "Someday you're going to have a messy eater child just like you!"

To read more haiku and/or participate yourself, visit Christina at A Mommy Story.

Happy Friday, everybody!

Toddler Swearing

My son is now 13 months old. I can't even believe how fast he's growing and changing. His communication skills, epecially, are developing rapidly: he says cat, meow, roar, ho ho ho, and uh-oh (ho ho ho as in what Santa says, not a derogatory term for three women down on their luck). He knows a few signs: shaking your finger for no, opening and closing your hand for on and off (although he uses those interchangeably), and he tries to sign more, finished, and stop.

He plays peek-a-boo, either by pulling a blanket over his head, waiting for someone to say, "Where's the baby?" and then pulling it back down for the "peek-a-boo!" part, or using his hands to cover his face and then removing them. He also plays patty-cake -- his favorite part is "Roll it". He even helps a bit when he's having his diaper and clothes changed: he will hold up his legs during diaper changes and he pulls his arms through sleeves, both to put on and take off a shirt.

And recently, he learned how to swear (no, not like Mommy and Daddy do). You know what I'm talking about -- that angry babbling noise toddlers make when they're clearly trying to cuss you out.

He still has no interest in trying to walk, or even trying to crawl on all fours most of the time. He does this army-crawl/scooting thing to get himself from one end of the room to another fairly quickly, just to get to what he wants, and then he stops. And if he decides that it's too far, he won't bother.

Occasionally he's been attempting to lift his belly up, even pulling himself up on the furniture halfway to standing. But the other day I stood him up on the couch and put his sippy cup just out of reach, to see if he would try to cruise. He reached and reached and reached with his arms, but wouldn't so much as budge his feet.

I tried to encourage him, saying "Come on, you can do it!" and trying to help him move his back foot forward. But that just made him madder. He yelled, "Nyigh nyigh nyigh nyigh nyigh nyigh nyigh!" Actually, it almost sounded like he was saying nein over and over (that's German for no, if foreign languages aren't your thing).

I guess my baby's growing up. :)

Weekend

Yeah, I know -- it's Tuesday, but I felt like this was a cool enough weekend to write about. Sunday night I was busy writing the PBN post (at the last minute, as usual), and yesterday I didn't have time to write a well-thought-out post, so I just put up the meme. Sorry folks, my life outside this blog is pretty busy.

Anyway, Friday was my son's actual birth-day. As a special birthday treat, my husband brought him to the center just before lunch, where we we were having a school assembly for Shabbat with Marc, the musician who performs every Friday. This week, parents were invited to come for the assembly as well, so I thought it might be fun for my son to come. Not to mention, Clifford the Big Red Dog was the special guest. That night, we went over to my mom's house for pizza, cake, and presents from her, my dad, and my sister. Oh, and my sister taught the baby to say, "Ho, ho, ho!"

Saturday dawned bright and snowy. I was running late, but I was even more so because of the weather. Fortunately, I wasn't the only one. I got ready for the day, picked up the cake, and headed over to my parents' church. We had the party in the basement, where the kids have Sunday school every week. My mom bought some mylar balloons and I put up crepe paper. My dad helped me move the tables and chairs and set up tablecloths, the food table, and the gift table.

Almost everyone was late. But things slowly got moving, and we had a pretty typical party: food, cake and ice cream, gifts, mingling. We went to Giant Eagle for the cake, and it was a pretty decent price, and fantastic white cake (I like theirs better than others, and better than their chocolate: the white cake is almond-flavored). Plus, when you purchase a birthday cake for a child's first birthday there, they give you a free "smash cake", a 5-inch confection just for sinking a baby's face into. I have to say though (and this may be typical of any place you purchase birthday cakes from), we didn't get the plastic Winnie the Pooh toy. They wanted an additional $8 for it, but at least they told us about it when we ordered it, and gave us the option of not buying it.

Adam didn't seem to care for the cake too much -- but he loved the icing. Ice cream too, although I don't know which he liked better, since my mom was feeding him while I was running around like a chicken with my head cut off. My sister and I then cleaned him off, which took some doing, since we weren't at home where we could just plop him in the tub.

Then we opened gifts, which I think may have frustrated him. We helped him out to move it along, and every time he got a good look at a toy and decided to try to play with it through the packaging, my husband would whisk it away. He got a few clothing items, but mostly toys, which was actually a good thing. We had kind of a lack of age-appropriate toys here at home, even though Grandma's house was stocked with a toy basket full of goodies.

A little conversation later, and most all the guests started helping to clean up and leaving. My in-laws came back to our place to hang out just a little longer since they spent about 3 1/2 hours driving here and about 2 hours actually at the party. Shortly after they left I fell asleep on the living room floor, watching Adam play with his new toys.

Sunday my parents cut down their Christmas tree and we went over to help them decorate it. The baby really liked the ornaments, and got mad when we wouldn't let him touch the glass ones. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Anyone else have a good weekend? Bad weekend? Any feelings about the weekend at all?

Haiku Friday #11: One Year

One year old today
I can barely believe it
He's getting so big

Last December fifth
At two thirty-five P. M.,
He made his entrance

Almost seven pounds
Nineteen and a quarter inch
He did not start small

Now he's much bigger:
Thirty inches and almost
Twenty-four whole pounds

No longer nursing
He drinks milk from a sippy cup
And eats table food

Still "army crawling"
He doesn't pull himself up
He's not walking yet.

But he waves hello
And goodbye, and points at things
He even says, "Hi!"

One year old today
My baby's growing so fast
What will two be like?

OMG, I can't believe it! It's my son's birthday today. I've been reminiscing for a few weeks about the events that happened 365 days ago. My little baby boy is more like a toddler now.

So much has changed lately! We're completely done with breastfeeding as of 2 weeks ago (yay!), he is sleeping all night in his crib now -- most nights for 11 hours! -- and he's pointing, waving, and experimenting with words, like "cat", "hi", and "buh-bye", and sounds like "meow", "rawr", and "hoo hoo hoo" (like a monkey -- that's his favorite).

He's drinking whole milk out of a sippy cup that he sometimes holds by himself, and eating table food. He loves Gerber Puffs, Cheerios, and cheese. He's a big boy. *sniff*

Happy birthday, baby!