chopsticks!

He loves noodles. Looooooves. And found out the other week that he could eat them really well with chopsticks. I taught him the slurping part. The chopsticks? No idea where he picked that one up. Hehe I just had to share.

Have a great long weekend!

something (not) said

Court over at Kaiya's Laughter Heals wrote about her daughter's language acquisition a few days ago. It's something we had talked about before (chatting on the phone while we ran after the bustling toddlers) and something that has been on my mind and weighing on my shoulders for too long.

Diego isn't talking yet. At least not much verbally that is. He's 19 months old and has 4 (or 5 if you believe MOO is a word) verbal words and, oh, dozens of non-verbal and sign language words he uses regularly. He's understands everything. He can point to every single item in his many books, heck he can even pull the book I ask for off the shelf. He plays pretend with his toy animals and can feed himself with a fork and spoon. He's climbing up and can almost go down stairs without my help (with my heart in my mouth every time!). And I say these things because feel defensive and mother-bear-ish. But I also need to hear these things, to ingest them and let them strengthen my belief in his abilities.

And the belief in my own abilities as a Mom. Because deep down I think that's what really hurts. Feeling like I've somehow, unknowingly, let D down. So I'm going to focus on the positives. Otherwise I start to dwell on all that I could have done "better," "faster," "with flashcards."

If anyone else if struggling with this, here's a chart I found online that helped put things in perspective. Yes, D is behind on the talking, but he's ahead on so much more. Hope it helps you, too.

(D. looking at me like I'm crazy.)

To D:

You won't remember this day. The light shinning too bright and brilliant through the trees. The cool grass we lay on while we sang The Itsy Bitsty Spider. And you won't remember how you got up and then hugged me, laying on top of me while I kept singing the ABCs and This Old Man, your head on my heart and your heart beating so near. I wish you would, because I will try and remember that feeling forever, of you resting on me and me resting, too, singing in the afternoon.

Easter egg fun

There were the eggs, "hiding" in the bushes and brightly littering the ground. Here was his bucket, since the basket couldn't be found. And there was D, literally pushing the door open and grabbing eggs off the ground like they were calling out to him. Maybe I should have hidden them in a less obvious place. But, seriously, he walked around like he had been collecting Easter eggs for years, gathered them all together and put them all in his basket, signed "All Done" and motioned for us to open the door so we could all go inside. Three minutes, tops. He found one or two M&Ms in one egg and then opened all of them for the others, enjoying every single nibble. I think he enjoyed himself.

this and that

For a few months now I've been secretly (and not so secretly) worried that Diego would NEVER TALK. I'm sure Moms of two, three, and fifteen year olds are looking at me like I'm crazy since they can't get their kids to shut up. He's just 17 months old, he's learning sign language and English and some Spanish, blah blah blah.
Besides, I know Diego pretty well by now, enough to say that he is a cautious, quiet kind of kid (so far) and was doing quite well with sign language, thank you very much. But being the Mom I am, I worry. I worried about the lack of language, but marveled at how much he knew and understood, and then worried again about why he wouldn't talk. Was I not pushing him enough? We read at least 10 books a day (sometimes again and again and if I have to read Little White Fish one more time I might explode) and I talk constantly. Well, maybe not Constantly. A girl has to pee in peace, you know.
I had all these checkmarks in my head about "what I was doing RIGHT" and how it still wasn't "working." He was happy babbling and pointing and signing away. And I couldn't see that he was fine. He is fine. The last two days he's finally said something besides babbling, Mama or Daddy. This and That. The boy picks the two words he can use for EVERYTHING. Therefore, no other words necessary. He's either the most lazy talker ever or a genius. I think I'll go for verbally efficient.

my doppleganger

I was having a tough evening, and I think D was, too. We haven't been sleeping well, and D has this last bit of a cold that won't go away, and he may be growing an extra foot or so. Maybe just some teeth. Who knows? But we have both been tired and fussy. We were chilling, and by chilling I mean I was sitting and eating my last few bites of dinner while he ran around grabbing random things off the bookshelves. Like pinecones. And Jim's banjo. He sat in front of me at one point and started pointing to a DVD on the floor (which he had put there) and then pointed to me. And again and again. Like he thought the girl on the cover was me! Which is cute because I look nothing like Mandy Moore. Made my day.

Toddlers and Airplanes

These are just a few tips and things I've learned about flying with toddlers. Our trip? One day, two flights, one lay over, one Momma, one toddler, and an enormous bag of Just-In-Case.

What I PACKED:
-diapers, wipes, pad
-extra change of clothes for the toddler
-extra shirt for Mom
-medicine for toddler
-mini magna doodle
-stacking cups
-doll and dog duo
-four board books
-paper and crayons
-three blocks
-talking, electronic, Winnie the Pooh book
-small car
-camera
-Kindle
-wallet
-magazine
-LOTS OF SNACKS

What we actually USED:
-straws to peel open from the Star Bucks I stopped at for the much needed vanilla latte
-cups from the plane beverage service, two empty ones
-the inflight magazine, which D tore into strips and then put into...
-the barf bag
-our neighbors were the BEST entertainment for him.
-the sky train at DFW, (Dallas Ft. Worth Airport) which we rode to get to our terminal
-the snacks were helpful, but with such a long layover we actually had time to get lunch at DFW and he wasn't interested in them on the plane. Go figure.

What I LEARNED:
-I always pack too much.
-Next time I'm not going to pack as many toys.
-Or books.
-Seriously!
-Or if I do, I know now that they're probably not going to be used.

Tips:
-Get the airport early enough to walk through security, pull of all clothing, including the toddler's shoes (because they could be a weapon!! EGADS.), squish the stroller, flatten the enormous carry-on bag, drop at least four toys, and then put in all back on and open on the other side.
-Don't take toys that roll.
-Find a coffee/tea/bevie of your choice, a croissant for the kids, and sit at a window to look at the plane. This was Diego's favorite activity pre-boarding.
-We also made it a point to run around as much as possible to tire him out, with hopes that he would sleep on the flight. It doesn't hurt to show everyone waiting in line that at least you tried. :)
-But if he does cry, and they will, forget about everyone else on the plane. They can deal with a little cry. You just focus on what's important. Remember, you'll never see these people again. Sad and true.
-Besides, every time we fly we've been surrounded by supportive people on their way to see babies or are missing babies of their own. Even the kids around us have been especially helpful in distracting and playing with D, which is trully a blessing.
-Be open to help from strangers.
-Have fun.
-And when it's not fun, when your baby has puked all over you and you have no other clothes to change into and you still have one more flight ahead of you...just keep going. It could always be worse. And by worse I'm thinking of you, Jon and Kate plus 8, and your 5+ hours wait on the tarmac waiting for better weather with all kids tired and exhausted. You guys rock.

Happy flying!

first kisses

Diego had his first kiss at the playground the other day. There he was, enjoying the first rung on the red ladder, sun shining down, when this adorable (cute-cute-cuuuute) little girl with a bob came up and out of no where gave him a hug and a kiss. He was nonplussed. I think that's the word for it. He was surprised, I think, but I didn't see him push her away so he must have enjoyed himself. Especially when she came back to give him yet another hug. On her way back to her Dad she said, quite proud of herself, "I gave him a kiss!" Not knowing that this was his first. The most important! And Diego? Was he swooning? Was he chasing her down to get her name? Haha No. He had already turned back to the ladder, trying to get up on that second rung.

I'm sure we've all had that first and all-too forgetable kiss when we were toddlers. But what about other first kisses? Not going to ask for stories, but it's just nice to remember all the embarassing and wonderful first kisses, don't you think?

life as baking

I was in a huge baking mood last week, wanting to get some goodies ready for Valentine's Day, and decided to make marshmallows and a pie of Jim's choice. (He chose Pecan Pie, he IS a Texan boy at heart after all.) The marshmallows were just a whim. So last Friday Diego and I set up a chair along the counter, some bowls, the standing mixer and all of the ingredients and we poured and mixed and whisked and got powdered sugar over EVERYTHING. I think he had fun. And now, when he sees the egg carton in the fridge he points, OOO!, and throws his hand down like he's cracking an egg. Which he now helps me do in the mornings when I make his eggs. That was enough of a mess so I thought I would wait for time alone, while D napped, to make the pie.

While making the crust and the filling I couldn't help but feel like the worry of the day was melting away as I stirred in the pecans and eggs and sugar. The vanilla is almost always the last step, and it's always one of my favorites. I love that sweet heady scent. I want to take all of those feelings and use them in the rest of my life. I often feel like I'm too hard on myself, tense and stumbling along life, cursing myself for not knowing exactly what I am doing and going to do. But when I bake, mistakes come and go, I learn from them and go on, mixing and turning over fillings, pie crusts or cookies. There are good scents, good work, and good treats at the end.

And they were delicious. Best pie to date. Not sure what I'm going to do with the remaining marshmallows. You're all welcome to come over for some hot chocolate. :)

busy busy busy

If you don't hear from me in a week, please send search dogs, gorgeous firefighters, a basket of kittens, and some brownies. I have this huge paper I have to research and write. Am a huge nerd, as made obvious by the fact that I actually felt giddy for my time away yesterday to run around the library, pulling books off the shelves, taking notes and making blurry black and white copies. Am coming to some bad conclusions about the race situation here in Orange County, but shall push on before jumping on them.

ps. If I had time I would write about how D hurt his finger when I was away, giddy and studying away at the library, and then, according to Jim, walked around the apartment looking for me and then fell asleep. I would also write about how, upon awakening, he looked up and saw me and then looked down and touched his finger and then showed it to me. I kissed it and we talked about what had happened. That was all. Fingers all better now.

puddles and pine cones

It's hard to see part of your heart walk around outside of your body, but there he goes, walking through puddles and trying to walk down stairs. He might reach up to hold my hand, and I'll hold it firmly and gently and love the warmth that comes from the fluttering that is toddlerhood. Then he lets go and tries to run, stepping on crinkly leaves and finding pine cones on the grass. For now he wants me to be there, close enough to show me the treasures he finds and help him if he wants help. And I am here.

incommunicato?

I've been working on using sign language with Diego for a few months now and I think he's really getting the hang of it. But for some reason he'll just pick one sign and that will be his catch-all sign for everything and anything. Yesterday's sign was "Eat." He wanted the door open, "eat? eat?" He dropped his sippy cup, "eat!" He handed me a book to read, "eat-eat-eat." Today's sign? Please.

But it all makes me think-what if we hadn't started sign language? Would he be talking now? He understands what we're saying, for the most part. But he hardly ever says "mama" or "dada" or, well, anything. And in comes the Mommy Guilt to make me think that I obviously haven't talked to him enough and that's why he doesn't talk and he won't start talking until he's 5 and his social skills will take a beating and kids will make fun of him and then he'll have to be an emo kid when he's older because of all the angst. Oh, the angst.

isn't he cuuuuuuuuuute?

This was Diego on Halloween, visiting Jim at work. My favorite part is when he pauses, turns back around, looks at me, and the resumes stomping around. The tail swish just kills me.




He's officially a toddler. Having tantrums and signing words (though he just signs "please" for everything he wants. Opening boxes? Food? The cat? At least he's polite? hahaha) He's definitely bigger and stronger than ever.

Me? It's November, people! Days away from Thanksgiving and no turkey in sight. No plans, either. Which is fantastic. Last year, in a bout of insanity, I decided I would make a full meal by myself and somehow be able to take care of the six week old boob monster. Yeah. THAT went well. This year I can say I've grown as a Mom and now realize that I don't have to. So there. :P