first sentences?

up until today, i haven't really heard mo say any two-word combinations. while i was changing him out of his elmo pajamas this morning, he pointed to elmo on his shirt and said, "elmo, hi! elmo, hi!" then, as i was unbuttoning it, he said, "elmo, bye! elmo, bye!" 

it was pretty stinking adorable.

lovelove,

me!

momma!

moses has been saying "momma" almost compulsively these days, but i still love hearing it.

actually, yesterday, for the first time, he climbed on a couch and patted the seat next to him and said, "momma," inviting me to sit down. it was the best thing i've experienced in a long time. we snuggled and read a book he picked out. i love that little guy!

lovelove,
me

random thoughts about our little guy

today i found out that moses knows the words "pants" and "shirt." who knew. it'll be amazing when he starts to say all these words that he knows!

i'd been meaning to mention that since a couple of weeks ago, he's been able to chew raw fruit and veggies (like apples and sweet peppers) better. this probably coincided with all the molars. anyhow, i'm so excited to have someone in my family to enjoy salads with me one day soon.

the other day, i told mosey that it was time for a bath. he ran into the living room, so i thought he was disobeying, but i just repeated, "mosey, it's time to take a bath." he picked up his book, which made me think he was really disobeying, but then i just repeated it again. he took his book and walked it into his bedroom, put it back on his bookshelf, and then promptly made his way to the bathroom! he was cleaning up his things before moving on to the next thing! what?? of course, i understand that this may not last, but wow, this child is really unbelievable.

in other news, today, i was at work, reading a wiki page on relational aggression. when i got toward the bottom of the page, i read this definition of "victim defenders":

Victim-defenders are individuals who stand up for the victim. They are usually popular among their peers, although occasionally rejected and victimized adolescents take on the defender’s role. Defenders like to befriend other defenders and usually belong to the smallest social network of all other previously mentioned groups. Defenders have both advanced moral competence and high level of compassion. They also score high on the theory of mind tests. They are usually very morally engaged, have a high sense of responsibility, and self-efficacy. They are also good at emotion regulation.

it made me tear up, thinking about momo in this crazy world we live in, and hoping/praying that one day he can grow up to be a victim-defender.

lovelove,

helly

listen, mommy!

i think if he could, he would tell me, "listen, mommy!" i was rushing us off to the car this morning, and as we trotted down the sidewalk, mosey stopped in his tracks to point and tell me silently (in sign), "bird, bird, bird." and sure enough, there was a chorus of birds and geese and all kinds of activity in the trees. i was shocked that i didn't hear any of it until he pointed them out. it was nice to stop and listen for a bit.

and you know what? we weren't any later for daycare and work than we normally are.

incidentally, he also signs "bird" when he hears a siren. they must sound similar to him.

i cannot wait for that kid to be able to tell us what's on his mind. he is such a joy!

lovelove,
me

tantrums and pretending

i would like to share with you this hilarious tumblr called reasons my son is crying. i believe it helped me with our own son's tantrum tonight, because if you can't laugh on the inside while it's happening, it's quite possible to injure said-child during his insane meltdowns. tonight it was because he wanted to hold on to his book when it was time to say goodbye to it. i actually would have probably let him keep it, but he started having an attitude about it, which means to me that it was a teaching time. teaching what, you may ask. well, we have a counselor friend who told us that the two most important things we must teach our children are that (1) we love them always and (2) we will always win. i focused on number 2 and then went to number 1. it was as successful as i could have hoped with a 1.5 year old.

after that mini-drama, mo and i read a story together a couple of times. afterward, he flipped through the book quietly on his own for a bit and then started pretend-picking some bees off the page and pretend-eating them. i asked if i could have some too, and he joyfully pretend-picked some more off and pretend-fed them to me. it made my heart so full and proud. this sweet and tender child is going to be a great big brother.  :O) 

also, i'd been meaning to tell you, he's been getting his 7th and 8th molars since a week or so ago. i tried to keep track of when he was getting his teeth, but these molars seriously seemed to all spring up at around the same time! ouch!

lovelove,

helen

mo-neh

mo-neh. this is moses's new best friend's name for him. kavi is just a few months older. kavi's mom and i are old college buds, and in fact, this year, we're coming on the anniversary date where we'll have been friends for more of our lives than we haven't been friends. i don't know if that makes sense, but whatever, it's a significantly long amount of time. :O)

anyway, so moses and kavi had such a good time this weekend. lots of running, toys, eating... and tons and tons of belly laughing. we tried to get them to nap in the same room, but they cracked each other up with peek-a-boo action over the crib bumper for about 5 to 10 minutes. when we split them up, moses cried his little eyes out.

they hugged each other, fed each other, chased each other... i could watch them play all day. great friends.

thanks for visiting, and we miss you!

mo-neh and kavi on a pretend choo choo train, i think

not immunizing your child??

shane and i were out on a date one evening a little while back, and we decided to go get some frozen yogurt. we ran into a friendly couple out with their toddler and struck up a conversation. they told us about how they're unconventional in their approach to parenting, and somehow bridged the way to tell us about how they don't immunize their child.

let me say it again, in case you missed it, they don't immunize their child!! 

they talked about some website and that they knew someone who had had an immunization injury (which, what is that, anyway), and how they have a hard time finding doctors who will work with them, blah blah blah. i was just too stunned to even say a word!

when we left, shane said that we should have told them that they were talking to a nurse and someone who works at the CDC. ha. yeah, were were not about to buy what they were selling. sheesh. 

nevermind the fact that diseases like polio, measles, mumps, whooping cough (all these terrible diseases!) still exist and this child could actually get any of these at any time, really (and essentially is required to call 911 anytime she's ill because it actually could be a [vaccine-preventable] life-threatening and highly-contagious illness)... what on earth is she going to do when she needs to go to school or travel anywhere outside of the United States?? these parents are basically limiting her entire life by believing conspiracy theories about vaccines. i am somehow outraged. at both the parents and the rumors and conspiracy theorists. stunned with outrage.

i told my friend at work, and she told me how she got pertussis in high school, missed a month of classes, and had a really terrible time of it. even a decade later, she actually still reacts viscerally to the notion that someone would avoid getting a vaccine. 

if you're my friend and you're reading this and you are one of those that have avoided vaccines for your child, i'm officially mad at you. call me so we can talk it out.

and then go and vaccinate your child. it's like the very least you can do for her future. 

lovelove,

helen