 (Click on the pic to see the video.) I did not play with trains as a child, and was not much of a Lego builder either. Creating structures is not my strong point. But then I had a boy who loves trains, and sometimes needs help getting the tracks to join up into a circle. And so I've built a lot of tracks over the past year, and I'm getting better and better. (We've also bought a lot of new tracks, including some specialized pieces, which make the whole thing more fun and interesting.) Seb and I made this track setup together, and I'm just amazed at how well all the junctions actually work! |
| From February 2011 |
Thursday, February 24, 2011
hidden talents
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
money
Sebastian has very recently started to grasp the idea of money. We have always talked to him about money, of course, telling him that he can't eat food at the grocery store until we pay money for it, and explaining that we have to work to earn money to pay for everything. But it didn't seem to make much of an impression.
But then, he got six dollars from Great-aunt Adele for Valentine's Day. He was thrilled. He put the money in his piggy bank. And then he asked if he could buy the car Flo (Cars movie-character) with his money. We said yes, and he was super excited - starting putting on his shoes and jacket to head out the door immediately. We took him to Target, and while we couldn't find Flo, we did find a bright-yellow sports car that he really liked, and he got to buy it.
He then started to seem pretty interested in money - wanted to know how he could get more. So we started talking about an allowance, to be given once a week, if he was a good boy. He didn't say much, and we weren't sure he'd understood. But after about a week, he asked if he'd been a good boy and if he could have some more money. I gave him three dollars, which he took with great glee and stuffed into his piggy bank.
And then came today's swimming lesson, his third one. He really did not want to go. He dawdled, and cried, and told us he didn't want to swim, and looked fair to having an enormous tantrum at the Y. So I told him I'd give him a dollar for entering the room and joining the class, and another dollar for every time he went into the water. He thought that was pretty cool, and left.
I'm four dollars poorer tonight, and I have a sinking sensation that I might have unleashed a scheme I will soon regret. Ah, well.
But then, he got six dollars from Great-aunt Adele for Valentine's Day. He was thrilled. He put the money in his piggy bank. And then he asked if he could buy the car Flo (Cars movie-character) with his money. We said yes, and he was super excited - starting putting on his shoes and jacket to head out the door immediately. We took him to Target, and while we couldn't find Flo, we did find a bright-yellow sports car that he really liked, and he got to buy it.
He then started to seem pretty interested in money - wanted to know how he could get more. So we started talking about an allowance, to be given once a week, if he was a good boy. He didn't say much, and we weren't sure he'd understood. But after about a week, he asked if he'd been a good boy and if he could have some more money. I gave him three dollars, which he took with great glee and stuffed into his piggy bank.
And then came today's swimming lesson, his third one. He really did not want to go. He dawdled, and cried, and told us he didn't want to swim, and looked fair to having an enormous tantrum at the Y. So I told him I'd give him a dollar for entering the room and joining the class, and another dollar for every time he went into the water. He thought that was pretty cool, and left.
I'm four dollars poorer tonight, and I have a sinking sensation that I might have unleashed a scheme I will soon regret. Ah, well.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
playing games
This winter - cold and snowy as it has been - has been a season of games around here. Sebastian is now old enough to play and enjoy all kinds of games, and it's been fun for me and Steve to rediscover them as well. We've got Chutes & Ladders and Boggle Jr. - classics - as well as our favorite Busytown board game. We've got really fun wooden sets to play Memory and Dominoes, both transportation-themed. And in the last week, we've introduced card games - Go Fish, Old Maid, and Crazy Eights. Sebastian is really into all of them. Perhaps it's just a guaranteed way to get a parent's attention, as we can't insist that he play by himself.
Monday, February 14, 2011
comparing Liesl and Sebastian
Many people have told me that Liesl looks remarkably like Sebastian. It's hard for me to say. Of course, I've also heard that she looks exactly like me, and also like Steve, so I always take such comments with a grain of salt. But for fun, here are some side-by-side photos of Liesl and Seb, taken around the same age.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
bright eyes
Our girl is increasingly aware and interested in things - she especially loves watching us eat and drink - and she's starting to use her hands in an intentional way. This afternoon, she laughed for the first time - I was tickling her and laughing, and she giggled so sweetly. Steve and I were happily both in the room, and so charmed.
She continues to sleep for more time than I would have dreamed of - 12 hours at night, and around 4 hours during the day. Looking back at the (extremely obsessive) records I kept from when Sebastian was a baby, he never slept more than 12 hours a day in total. On the other hand, he fell asleep whenever he was in the car, and anytime he was in a stroller or baby Bjorn, and she is pickier about her environment. She likes our bed or her crib, and she likes it to be dark, and her favorite sleeping position is snuggled up next to me on her side. But overall she is a good sleeper, and we are not complaining!
She continues to sleep for more time than I would have dreamed of - 12 hours at night, and around 4 hours during the day. Looking back at the (extremely obsessive) records I kept from when Sebastian was a baby, he never slept more than 12 hours a day in total. On the other hand, he fell asleep whenever he was in the car, and anytime he was in a stroller or baby Bjorn, and she is pickier about her environment. She likes our bed or her crib, and she likes it to be dark, and her favorite sleeping position is snuggled up next to me on her side. But overall she is a good sleeper, and we are not complaining!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Liesl's beautiful quilt
My aunt Martha Avery made a beautiful quilt for Liesl. Pictures below. Thank you!!!
Monday, January 31, 2011
parent-teacher conference
I met with Sebastian's teacher Carina this morning. She had no concerns - said he was doing everything he was supposed to be doing physically and developmentally. His only fault is apparently an unwillingness to stand up for himself when another child takes away his toys. He'll tell the teachers, but avoids direct confrontation. (Clearly taking after Steve, not me.) He is always cheery, plays with everyone, and likes to show other children how to do things. But the funniest moment of the meeting came when Carina said that he never acted up or got upset or had meltdowns. I asked, incredulously, "He never has a tantrum?!" And she said, "No, does he have them at home? What does he do?" That cracked me up. She hasn't ever even seen a Sebastian tantrum. He saves them all for us, his lucky mommy and daddy.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
expanding palate
Despite our best efforts, there was a long period there when Sebastian's food intake was not ideal. He ate simple carbs - bread, pasta, rice, cereal - and some fruits (apples, berries, bananas) and meats (ham, sausage, fish sticks), and truly remarkable quantities of eggs and cheese. No vegetables. He refused to eat things like hummus, guacamole, yogurt, and edamame, which we thought were easy. When he was very young, he ate everything, and since I made most of his baby food, he had a terrifically varied diet. So we kept cooking our regular food and offering it to him, and hoping.
He has gotten steadily more adventurous over the last four months or so, but this past month has seen some absolutely tremendous strides in his willingness to try new vegetables and cuisines. He has eaten zucchini, green beans, carrots, eggplant, brussels sprouts, spinach, edamame, and cantaloupe. We ordered Indian food for ourselves and he astonished us by eating lamb curry, lentil/spinach pattie, and the samosas. We went out for Korean food and he ate jap chae noodles, bi bim bap, scallion pancakes, pork dumplings, and bulgogi. I made a sweet potato, carrot, and white bean casserole with garam masala, and he ate that too! We are giddy with glee, and planning to visit all kinds of fun restaurants with him now. :)
He has gotten steadily more adventurous over the last four months or so, but this past month has seen some absolutely tremendous strides in his willingness to try new vegetables and cuisines. He has eaten zucchini, green beans, carrots, eggplant, brussels sprouts, spinach, edamame, and cantaloupe. We ordered Indian food for ourselves and he astonished us by eating lamb curry, lentil/spinach pattie, and the samosas. We went out for Korean food and he ate jap chae noodles, bi bim bap, scallion pancakes, pork dumplings, and bulgogi. I made a sweet potato, carrot, and white bean casserole with garam masala, and he ate that too! We are giddy with glee, and planning to visit all kinds of fun restaurants with him now. :)
Thursday, January 27, 2011
two children (man to man coverage)
When we had one child, it felt like a lot. Now that we have two, I'm remembering those days with some nostalgia. Any time we have only Liesl, especially if it's the two of us at home with her, it seems really really easy. And now that Sebastian is sleeping through the night, napping easily, and potty-trained, well... But of course, the problem is that you don't realize how easy one child is until you have two, and then it's too late - there's no way to go back to having just one. :)
Steve has been unusually busy with work this month. He's had to work through both of the last two weekends and quite late on many nights. He tries to be home for dinner/bath/bed and then continue working from home, but he hasn't been able to always manage it. I find it exhausting to look after both kids all day long - the back and forth between them, making sure both are fed, well-napped, diaper-changed/potty-visited, and entertained. Oh, and that I manage to do some basic house things, like make meals and clean up the kitchen, and basic self-care, like brush my teeth and have a shower. But bedtime is particularly difficult, as Liesl needs her bedtime routine a bit before Seb, and she needs things to be quiet and dark as she nurses to sleep. He's been pretty good about playing quietly by himself in the living room while I sit in the bedroom with her for half an hour, but it sometimes feels like a delicate juggling act.
Starting in the new year, we cut back Sebastian's day care hours to three days a week. I'm on unpaid leave until June and we need to save some money, and the theory is that it'll be fun for us to hang out together a bit more than we usually can. We've had so many snow days so far this year that he wouldn't ever have made it there five days a week anyway, but it has meant that January has featured a lot of days with me in charge of two children. I'm steadily getting better at dividing my attention and retaining my sense of humor, but it's definitely been a learning process. Sebastian has also gotten better at playing by himself and recognizing when I need to do something else before taking care of him, although that too is a work in progress.
On one of the first days we stayed home together, Liesl had a doctor's appointment. Sebastian was very well behaved in the waiting room and in the doctor's office room, mostly because both were well equipped with trucks. But then, just as I was trying to talk with Dr. Jane, Liesl decided she was cold and hungry and started crying. And then Sebastian tugged on my sleeve to tell me he needed to go pee. So I interrupted the doctor to take Seb to the bathroom (Liesl still determinedly crying in my arms). He peed, we flushed, we came back to the room and I continued speaking with the doctor. Then it was time for vaccination shots - four of them. The nurse finished and Liesl was howling (and naked, of course), and I was trying to nurse her (so I was half-naked), and then Sebastian tugs on my shirt and tells me he needs to go poop. So we walk out into the waiting area - half of us half-dressed, and Liesl alternately wailing and suckling - and I deposit Seb on the toilet seat. I tell him to come back to the room when he's done. Which he does, but of course, he can't wipe himself, and it turns out he couldn't reach the flush button or the sink. Yucky. We returned home at 11:30, and I told Sebastian it was nap time (thank goodness he can't read clocks quite yet, as nap time is actually 1), and collapsed onto the couch with an exhausted baby girl. My brain felt like it had short-circuited.
Steve has been unusually busy with work this month. He's had to work through both of the last two weekends and quite late on many nights. He tries to be home for dinner/bath/bed and then continue working from home, but he hasn't been able to always manage it. I find it exhausting to look after both kids all day long - the back and forth between them, making sure both are fed, well-napped, diaper-changed/potty-visited, and entertained. Oh, and that I manage to do some basic house things, like make meals and clean up the kitchen, and basic self-care, like brush my teeth and have a shower. But bedtime is particularly difficult, as Liesl needs her bedtime routine a bit before Seb, and she needs things to be quiet and dark as she nurses to sleep. He's been pretty good about playing quietly by himself in the living room while I sit in the bedroom with her for half an hour, but it sometimes feels like a delicate juggling act.
Starting in the new year, we cut back Sebastian's day care hours to three days a week. I'm on unpaid leave until June and we need to save some money, and the theory is that it'll be fun for us to hang out together a bit more than we usually can. We've had so many snow days so far this year that he wouldn't ever have made it there five days a week anyway, but it has meant that January has featured a lot of days with me in charge of two children. I'm steadily getting better at dividing my attention and retaining my sense of humor, but it's definitely been a learning process. Sebastian has also gotten better at playing by himself and recognizing when I need to do something else before taking care of him, although that too is a work in progress.
On one of the first days we stayed home together, Liesl had a doctor's appointment. Sebastian was very well behaved in the waiting room and in the doctor's office room, mostly because both were well equipped with trucks. But then, just as I was trying to talk with Dr. Jane, Liesl decided she was cold and hungry and started crying. And then Sebastian tugged on my sleeve to tell me he needed to go pee. So I interrupted the doctor to take Seb to the bathroom (Liesl still determinedly crying in my arms). He peed, we flushed, we came back to the room and I continued speaking with the doctor. Then it was time for vaccination shots - four of them. The nurse finished and Liesl was howling (and naked, of course), and I was trying to nurse her (so I was half-naked), and then Sebastian tugs on my shirt and tells me he needs to go poop. So we walk out into the waiting area - half of us half-dressed, and Liesl alternately wailing and suckling - and I deposit Seb on the toilet seat. I tell him to come back to the room when he's done. Which he does, but of course, he can't wipe himself, and it turns out he couldn't reach the flush button or the sink. Yucky. We returned home at 11:30, and I told Sebastian it was nap time (thank goodness he can't read clocks quite yet, as nap time is actually 1), and collapsed onto the couch with an exhausted baby girl. My brain felt like it had short-circuited.
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