I posted a while back about Monkey's speech development (or my concerns about the potential lack thereof), and thought it was time for an update...
Monkey is still a HUGE fan of the word "uh oh," although he refuses to recognize that it does NOT apply when he drops things on the floor on purpose. :-) In the past few weeks, however, he has definitely added a few new words to his vocabulary, words that are very clear and spoken with purpose, so that's encouraging.
Yes, Monkey has become a greeter, and also the guy in our house most likely to show you to the door. These days it's all about "hi!" and "bye-bye."
The "hi"s are adorable - they're usually spoken at a loud, enthusiastic volume, such as when I first go in to get him up in the morning, and you can't help but smile and shout "hi!" back...
The "bye-bye"s are pretty funny. Sometimes they're right on cue, like when I show up to pick Monkey up from day care, and he turns to his teacher, waves, and says "bye-bye," as in "it's been fun, but I'm outta here!"
Other times, they're a bit, um, rude? Like when my mother-in-law shows up, Monkey realizes that probably means that Daddy and I are going somewhere, and so he brings her her shoes and tells her "bye-bye," as in "take a hint - I'd rather hang with Mommy and Daddy, thanks." And our poor dog... Every time he goes out to do his business in the back yard, Monkey runs over to the open door, where either my husband or I is standing, and tries to slam the door, saying a loud "bye-bye" to the dog! He also says good bye to trash when he throws it away, food in the pantry and/or the fridge when he closes the door, clothes in the dryer when he's "helping" with laundry... you get the idea.
But he's also getting smart about when it's time to go bye-bye - if I so much as reacch for my coat, scarf, or purse, Monkey starts asking "bye-bye?" and trying to figure out if he gets to go along for the trip, or if he's going to be left behind. If he's lucky enough to go with us, he races to the freezer, where we keep our special treats for the dog when he has to be crated, and he loves carrying it over and throwing it in the crate, and then closing the door. He's also a huge fan of working the garage door opener, and is the first to race to the dog's crate and let him out when we get home (which sounds sweet, but is a bit less so when he promptly steals the dog's chew toy and begins to taunt him with it...)
Such a little personality - It's amazing!
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
I've got a clever one on my hands...
I'm beginning to think Monkey is a bit too smart for his own good...
Take this example from this weekend:
My mother-in-law was watching Monkey while my husband and I were out running some errands. They were playing in the family room, and Monkey would periodically go around the corner into the hallway, where we have this giant cigar-store Indian statue thing (a pre-me purchase by my husband), and would touch the statue. My mother-in-law was worried that he would knock it over and get hurt (little did she realize at the time, but that thing ways about a ton and is almost impossible to budget), so she started telling Monkey "no." Well, a simple "no" doesn't accomplish anything with Monkey anymore, so she started gently swatting him on the hand as she said it, hoping this would have more of a deterrent effect. Not so much... So on it went, with Monkey touching the statue, and Grandma telling him "no" with a little swat. Until...
Monkey reached out to touch the statue, and then, without missing a beat, held out his hand for Grandma to smack it! :-o
Needless to say, Grandma had quite a time hiding her laughter from Monkey! And I suspect we're in for a world of trouble with this little guy!
Take this example from this weekend:
My mother-in-law was watching Monkey while my husband and I were out running some errands. They were playing in the family room, and Monkey would periodically go around the corner into the hallway, where we have this giant cigar-store Indian statue thing (a pre-me purchase by my husband), and would touch the statue. My mother-in-law was worried that he would knock it over and get hurt (little did she realize at the time, but that thing ways about a ton and is almost impossible to budget), so she started telling Monkey "no." Well, a simple "no" doesn't accomplish anything with Monkey anymore, so she started gently swatting him on the hand as she said it, hoping this would have more of a deterrent effect. Not so much... So on it went, with Monkey touching the statue, and Grandma telling him "no" with a little swat. Until...
Monkey reached out to touch the statue, and then, without missing a beat, held out his hand for Grandma to smack it! :-o
Needless to say, Grandma had quite a time hiding her laughter from Monkey! And I suspect we're in for a world of trouble with this little guy!
Monday, December 8, 2008
It was fun while it lasted!
I am sorry to report that my fantasy football season is over...
I blame it on my cockiness and gloating around week 4 - it seems like that's when things started going downhill. My good, high scoring players started being totally unreliable. A few players got injured, and I had to trade them for other players, when the pickings were slim. I managed to stay in the top 4 based on my record, but, sadly, I think that's only because I got the luck of the draw each week and managed to play the few teams worse than mine!
This week was the playoffs, and I got about HALF the score of my opponent. Quite sad... And, unfortunately, unless there's a miracle tonight, my husband is about to lose as well, so we won't be sharing any prize money.
Ah, well - fun while it lasted. We'll see if I decide to give it another shot next year...
I blame it on my cockiness and gloating around week 4 - it seems like that's when things started going downhill. My good, high scoring players started being totally unreliable. A few players got injured, and I had to trade them for other players, when the pickings were slim. I managed to stay in the top 4 based on my record, but, sadly, I think that's only because I got the luck of the draw each week and managed to play the few teams worse than mine!
This week was the playoffs, and I got about HALF the score of my opponent. Quite sad... And, unfortunately, unless there's a miracle tonight, my husband is about to lose as well, so we won't be sharing any prize money.
Ah, well - fun while it lasted. We'll see if I decide to give it another shot next year...
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
My Christmas Wish... The Gift of Patience!
Anyone who knows me would NOT list patience as one of my traits. I suppose I'm not the most IMpatient person in the world, but I tend to get annoyed pretty easily - more easily than I would like.
Thus, you can imagine that I am being put to the test right now as the mother of a toddler! Moreso than at any point until now, Monkey is testing my nerves on a daily basis, and I know it's not his fault, but it's hard not to get frustrated and short with him. :-(
For starters, Monkey knows what the word "no" means, but refuses to listen to it if it is spoken just once. There's some evidence that three is the magic number, but sometimes even that doesn't seem to do the trick, and he requires physical movement in his direction to get the desired behavior. Thus, he is constantly standing on his chair, standing on his Leapfrog table (which is now legless, because of prior climbing attempts), climbing on the dog's cage, running around the dining room table, shaking the stair gates, and countless other taboo, potentially unsafe activities. I'm becoming that mommy that sounds like a broken record, saying "no," "stop," "Mommy said no," and "did you hear me?" until I'm blue in the face.
Mealtimes are still a challenge as well. If I were to list every food that Monkey will eat, he'd seem like a pretty well-rounded eater (although still with his quirks). But the thing is that I can't depend on him to eat any one of them on a given day - his appetite, likes, and dislikes seem to change on a daily, if not hourly basis, and some foods are apparently ONLY appetizing if they are served on MY plate, not his...
I think my frustration has been exacerbated a bit because we've been "off" our routine for about two weeks now. We took a trip out of town, then less than a week later had family here for Thanksgiving. We've done our best to stay close to mealtimes, naptimes, and bedtime, but I think Monkey is just plain overstimulated at this point, and we need to get back into a more consistent, less overwhelming daily routine. Sadly, that won't happen this week, as we're back on the road on Thursday. But maybe the week after that, although that's only two weeks before Christmas, and more travel.... Sigh.
So, if anyone knows where I can pick up some extra patience, it would sure come in handy over the next few weeks, months, and years!! :-)
Thus, you can imagine that I am being put to the test right now as the mother of a toddler! Moreso than at any point until now, Monkey is testing my nerves on a daily basis, and I know it's not his fault, but it's hard not to get frustrated and short with him. :-(
For starters, Monkey knows what the word "no" means, but refuses to listen to it if it is spoken just once. There's some evidence that three is the magic number, but sometimes even that doesn't seem to do the trick, and he requires physical movement in his direction to get the desired behavior. Thus, he is constantly standing on his chair, standing on his Leapfrog table (which is now legless, because of prior climbing attempts), climbing on the dog's cage, running around the dining room table, shaking the stair gates, and countless other taboo, potentially unsafe activities. I'm becoming that mommy that sounds like a broken record, saying "no," "stop," "Mommy said no," and "did you hear me?" until I'm blue in the face.
Mealtimes are still a challenge as well. If I were to list every food that Monkey will eat, he'd seem like a pretty well-rounded eater (although still with his quirks). But the thing is that I can't depend on him to eat any one of them on a given day - his appetite, likes, and dislikes seem to change on a daily, if not hourly basis, and some foods are apparently ONLY appetizing if they are served on MY plate, not his...
I think my frustration has been exacerbated a bit because we've been "off" our routine for about two weeks now. We took a trip out of town, then less than a week later had family here for Thanksgiving. We've done our best to stay close to mealtimes, naptimes, and bedtime, but I think Monkey is just plain overstimulated at this point, and we need to get back into a more consistent, less overwhelming daily routine. Sadly, that won't happen this week, as we're back on the road on Thursday. But maybe the week after that, although that's only two weeks before Christmas, and more travel.... Sigh.
So, if anyone knows where I can pick up some extra patience, it would sure come in handy over the next few weeks, months, and years!! :-)
Friday, November 14, 2008
I might need to issue a retraction...
So, you may recall a few posts ago me saying The Wiggles were magical...
I may need to change that statement. The Wiggles, in fact, may be evil. They're kind of like kiddie crack.
Case in point: Monkey has decided that he MUST have a nightly does of The Wiggles. And not just ANY video - no, it must be the SAME one. Specifically, "Toot Toot."
Now, I kind of like this video. It has a couple of catchy songs and dances, and, as I've mentioned, it does a WONDERFUL job of keeping Monkey entertained, particularly when he gets fussy. And it also stops him from racing around the house, and helps calm him down before bed.
But after having him watch it several evenings in a row, I realized we were definitely creating a habit, one I wasn't sure we wanted to develop. So I decided to put my foot down. Last night, after eating dinner and playing in the family room for a while, Monkey started pointing towards the cabinet under our TV, asking for "more" and saying "I do," which is generally his way of telling me he wants to do something. And yes, he knows full well what's inside that cabinet - it's the portable DVD player with the Wiggles in it. Geez, who knew kids would have such good memories at this age??
So I said "no," and tried to induce him to do something else - find his football, bring me a book, ride his fire truck. Nope. Monkey wanted "more," and started pointing more deliberately at the cabinet. After several more rounds of this, he was in tears, banging on the cabinet door. Oy! We ended up going round and round for about 10-15 minutes, before I FINALLY distracted him with something else before giving him a bath and putting him to bed.
The thing is, I don't think I've won the battle yet. I think he's going to do the exact same thing this afternoon or tonight, and I'm not sure what to do! It's not like The Wiggles are evil (despite my opening statements), but I want him to watch them when I say so, not every time he asks. I think it's great that he knows how to tell me what he wants, but that doesn't mean he should always get his way... So, yeah, right now The Wiggles are kind of like a drug. Maybe not crack. Something good for you, but in small doses - Tylenol, maybe??
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I still haven't formed a definitive position on the Imagination Movers!
I may need to change that statement. The Wiggles, in fact, may be evil. They're kind of like kiddie crack.
Case in point: Monkey has decided that he MUST have a nightly does of The Wiggles. And not just ANY video - no, it must be the SAME one. Specifically, "Toot Toot."
Now, I kind of like this video. It has a couple of catchy songs and dances, and, as I've mentioned, it does a WONDERFUL job of keeping Monkey entertained, particularly when he gets fussy. And it also stops him from racing around the house, and helps calm him down before bed.
But after having him watch it several evenings in a row, I realized we were definitely creating a habit, one I wasn't sure we wanted to develop. So I decided to put my foot down. Last night, after eating dinner and playing in the family room for a while, Monkey started pointing towards the cabinet under our TV, asking for "more" and saying "I do," which is generally his way of telling me he wants to do something. And yes, he knows full well what's inside that cabinet - it's the portable DVD player with the Wiggles in it. Geez, who knew kids would have such good memories at this age??
So I said "no," and tried to induce him to do something else - find his football, bring me a book, ride his fire truck. Nope. Monkey wanted "more," and started pointing more deliberately at the cabinet. After several more rounds of this, he was in tears, banging on the cabinet door. Oy! We ended up going round and round for about 10-15 minutes, before I FINALLY distracted him with something else before giving him a bath and putting him to bed.
The thing is, I don't think I've won the battle yet. I think he's going to do the exact same thing this afternoon or tonight, and I'm not sure what to do! It's not like The Wiggles are evil (despite my opening statements), but I want him to watch them when I say so, not every time he asks. I think it's great that he knows how to tell me what he wants, but that doesn't mean he should always get his way... So, yeah, right now The Wiggles are kind of like a drug. Maybe not crack. Something good for you, but in small doses - Tylenol, maybe??
Oh, and in case anyone is wondering, I still haven't formed a definitive position on the Imagination Movers!
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Blizzards and Lattes
These are my two major cravings right now.
First, a bit of background. I have been seriously dieting since Labor Day. As my 40th birthday looms ever closer, I have finally, I believe, found the resolve to lose all this extra weight that keeps finding me. I lost 60 pounds about 6 years ago, and despite swearing I would never, ever, gain it back, I regained 50 of the pounds before getting pregnant, and hit a weight during my pregnancy that I thought I would never see (but pregnancy pounds don't count, right? So I never "actually" weighed that much...)
After Monkey was born, I quickly dropped a little over half of the pregnancy weight. But a few months later, I was still 15 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. Over the next year, I yo-yo'd a bit, and managed to lose those pounds, as well as five more, but then I just sort of got stuck. Until Labor Day, when my husband and I resolved to eat healthier and drop the extra weight. (My husband, sweetheart that he is, had graciously gained some "sympathy weight" with me during my pregnancy, which, he learned to his dismay, does not drop quite as quickly and with as little effort due to the fact that he did not produce a child from his body at the end of nine months).
And it's working. My husband has lost close to 30 pounds, and I cam coming up on a 20-pound milestone, hopefully very soon. I hope to lose another 10 before year-end, and ideally another 30 (although I'll settle for 15) in the first few months of next year, before the big birthday.
But I can't say I'm entirely happy... I LOVE that my clothes are big on me, that I actually FEEL thinner, and all that good stuff. But MAN do I miss food! And that brings me to the subject of this post. Not a day goes by where I don't drive by Dairy Queen and/or Starbucks, and I can just hear those Blizzards and Lattes calling out to me, inviting me to just pull my car into the handy drive-thru lane and have a little taste. With Blizzards, it's the Oreo, Heath bar, and Reese's varieties that are calling to me. As for lattes, I'm partial to the white chocolate mocha, although it's getting to be that time of year when peppermint and peppermint white chocolate will be on the menu "for a limited time only" to make me drool.
Now, I'm doing the Weight Watchers plan, so these foods aren't totally forbidden to me. But if you know anything about WW, you know they use the "points" system, where you can only consume so many points per day (based on age, height, weight, and activity level), and once they're gone, you're out of luck (with exceptions, but I've found that the best way to lose weight is not to use those exceptions too often). In my case, I get 23 points a day. Well, my friends, a DQ Oreo Blizzard is 13 points - yep - well over half of my daily allotment. A tall white chocolate mocha isn't nearly as bad - I think 5 or 6 points? But did I mention how good it tastes with a cinnamon scone? Yeah, I think you get the picture...
And so, I now consider it a personal victory to drive past these establishments almost every day - on my way to Stroller Strides class, taking Monkey to and from preschool, traveling to and from the grocery store, Target, you name it. I'll give their real estate folks credit - they sure know how to place their stores!
First, a bit of background. I have been seriously dieting since Labor Day. As my 40th birthday looms ever closer, I have finally, I believe, found the resolve to lose all this extra weight that keeps finding me. I lost 60 pounds about 6 years ago, and despite swearing I would never, ever, gain it back, I regained 50 of the pounds before getting pregnant, and hit a weight during my pregnancy that I thought I would never see (but pregnancy pounds don't count, right? So I never "actually" weighed that much...)
After Monkey was born, I quickly dropped a little over half of the pregnancy weight. But a few months later, I was still 15 pounds above my pre-pregnancy weight. Over the next year, I yo-yo'd a bit, and managed to lose those pounds, as well as five more, but then I just sort of got stuck. Until Labor Day, when my husband and I resolved to eat healthier and drop the extra weight. (My husband, sweetheart that he is, had graciously gained some "sympathy weight" with me during my pregnancy, which, he learned to his dismay, does not drop quite as quickly and with as little effort due to the fact that he did not produce a child from his body at the end of nine months).
And it's working. My husband has lost close to 30 pounds, and I cam coming up on a 20-pound milestone, hopefully very soon. I hope to lose another 10 before year-end, and ideally another 30 (although I'll settle for 15) in the first few months of next year, before the big birthday.
But I can't say I'm entirely happy... I LOVE that my clothes are big on me, that I actually FEEL thinner, and all that good stuff. But MAN do I miss food! And that brings me to the subject of this post. Not a day goes by where I don't drive by Dairy Queen and/or Starbucks, and I can just hear those Blizzards and Lattes calling out to me, inviting me to just pull my car into the handy drive-thru lane and have a little taste. With Blizzards, it's the Oreo, Heath bar, and Reese's varieties that are calling to me. As for lattes, I'm partial to the white chocolate mocha, although it's getting to be that time of year when peppermint and peppermint white chocolate will be on the menu "for a limited time only" to make me drool.
Now, I'm doing the Weight Watchers plan, so these foods aren't totally forbidden to me. But if you know anything about WW, you know they use the "points" system, where you can only consume so many points per day (based on age, height, weight, and activity level), and once they're gone, you're out of luck (with exceptions, but I've found that the best way to lose weight is not to use those exceptions too often). In my case, I get 23 points a day. Well, my friends, a DQ Oreo Blizzard is 13 points - yep - well over half of my daily allotment. A tall white chocolate mocha isn't nearly as bad - I think 5 or 6 points? But did I mention how good it tastes with a cinnamon scone? Yeah, I think you get the picture...
And so, I now consider it a personal victory to drive past these establishments almost every day - on my way to Stroller Strides class, taking Monkey to and from preschool, traveling to and from the grocery store, Target, you name it. I'll give their real estate folks credit - they sure know how to place their stores!
Computer Overload
Maybe it's just me...
I'm new to the whole Facebook/MySpace phenomena. Sure, I'd heard of them, but I didn't see what the big deal was all about, and I didn't think that anyone I knew was using them. But eventually curiosity got the best of me, and I had to go see what it was all about...
So, I pulled together a bare-bones MySpace profile, and then basically let it sit there for a while. In the meantime, I found a bunch of on-line friends, as well as real ones, on Facebook, and I found myself checking my page constantly. It's been a cool way to check in on people, to reconnect with others, and to generally goof around. But, to be honest, some of the applications are starting to wear me down.
Today, for example, I received "good karma" from a friend of mine back home. Nice thougt - the first five times she gave it to me. Now I'm starting to feel guilty - is it rude if I don't give it back and pass it on to ten other people? Each application is starting to feel like a chain letter - I'm not being threatened with bad luck if I don't "pass it on," yet I'm constantly having to choose "skip" to move on to other things, as if my computer WANTS me to carry on the good karma/l'il green patch/gift/pumpkin patch/Christmas tree/you name it!
And then there's the matter of etiquette - how often is appropriate to post on another person's wall without seeming like a stalker? How often must one update one's status? And what is an acceptable number of pieces of flair? So many questions, so few answers...
In the meantime, I decided to revisit MySpace, as I started to hear some people express a preference for that application. I've found a few friends, but I haven't had much of a chance to dive in yet. My site is still under construction, and says very little about myself. And it contains a blog feature, presenting the question of what should go on that blog and what should go on here? Suddenly, I'm getting overwhelmed with options - bulletin boards, private messages, e-mails, text messages, blogs, Facebook, MySpace - Soon I fear I'll be spending more time trying to keep everyone adequately up-to-date on my life that I won't have time to live it!
I think I need to come up with a plan to tackle these multiple forums - a special purpose for each. And I will.... just as soon as I update my Facebook status, upload some pics to my MySpace page, check my three favorite Bulletin Boards, read a few friends' blogs, and ... what am I forgetting?? Oh yeah - WORK!
I'm new to the whole Facebook/MySpace phenomena. Sure, I'd heard of them, but I didn't see what the big deal was all about, and I didn't think that anyone I knew was using them. But eventually curiosity got the best of me, and I had to go see what it was all about...
So, I pulled together a bare-bones MySpace profile, and then basically let it sit there for a while. In the meantime, I found a bunch of on-line friends, as well as real ones, on Facebook, and I found myself checking my page constantly. It's been a cool way to check in on people, to reconnect with others, and to generally goof around. But, to be honest, some of the applications are starting to wear me down.
Today, for example, I received "good karma" from a friend of mine back home. Nice thougt - the first five times she gave it to me. Now I'm starting to feel guilty - is it rude if I don't give it back and pass it on to ten other people? Each application is starting to feel like a chain letter - I'm not being threatened with bad luck if I don't "pass it on," yet I'm constantly having to choose "skip" to move on to other things, as if my computer WANTS me to carry on the good karma/l'il green patch/gift/pumpkin patch/Christmas tree/you name it!
And then there's the matter of etiquette - how often is appropriate to post on another person's wall without seeming like a stalker? How often must one update one's status? And what is an acceptable number of pieces of flair? So many questions, so few answers...
In the meantime, I decided to revisit MySpace, as I started to hear some people express a preference for that application. I've found a few friends, but I haven't had much of a chance to dive in yet. My site is still under construction, and says very little about myself. And it contains a blog feature, presenting the question of what should go on that blog and what should go on here? Suddenly, I'm getting overwhelmed with options - bulletin boards, private messages, e-mails, text messages, blogs, Facebook, MySpace - Soon I fear I'll be spending more time trying to keep everyone adequately up-to-date on my life that I won't have time to live it!
I think I need to come up with a plan to tackle these multiple forums - a special purpose for each. And I will.... just as soon as I update my Facebook status, upload some pics to my MySpace page, check my three favorite Bulletin Boards, read a few friends' blogs, and ... what am I forgetting?? Oh yeah - WORK!
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