Today you had your last gymnastics lesson. Like most sessions, you only participated in the jumping parts (trampoline, foam pit) and refused to do the obstacle course part. Mommy and I decided to enroll you in swimming lessons now instead of another round of gymnastics.
We also drove up to the mountains later and had a final cross-country ski day. You were a great sport, as always, when you’re in the Chariot, probably because we provide you with goldfish crackers, milk, and copious snacks to keep you quiet and happy.
It is staggering how quickly you are growing into a little girl. Our conversations now involve lots of “Why,” but you are also contributing to the exchange with your own one-liners. Here’s you singing your own version of Ba Ba Black Sheep with Mommy:
Nana and PopPop visited last week. They hung out with you on Friday. You and Nana baked a chocolate cake. Then, over the weekend, we went to the Dog Show and Pacific Science Center. You delighted and exhausted them with your energy.
I’ve collected some of the conversations we have with you, some of which are 100% gibberish, others are very witty and observant. One of our favorites is the only joke you know so far. It is supposed to go
Me: “Knock Knock?”
You: “Who’s There?”
Me: “Interrupting Cow”
You: “Interrupting Cow Wh….” (then, the jokester interrupts) “MOOOOOOO!”
but you don’t really get the humor in it yet, so you just say, “Knock Knock MOOO!” without letting anyone bid with you for the joke. It’s fun.
Here’s another conversation you and I had after school eating a snack at the table with Clementine under the table:
You: “You have hair here, Dada?” (Looking at my facial hair)
Me: “I do have hair here.” (stroking my beard)
You: “You no have hair here, Dada.” (Touching the top of my head)
Me: “You’re right, I don’t have hair here.”
You: Boo have hair?
Me: “I don’t know….let’s look.” (we both look under the table, then you look back at me with wide eyes)
You: “No…Boo have lots of hair.”
Other one-liners from you lately:
“I want to go up the stairs by myself, Daddy.”
“Can I eat your crust, Daddy?”
“Wanna come play with me now, Mommy?”
“Thank you for sharing with me, Mommy.”
“I dropped my stick in the purple flowers.” (this one was a surprise…an 8-word sentence!)
Here’s a morning exchange I overheard you and Mommy have while getting ready for work and school.
Mommy: “What do you want to wear today, little girl?”
You: “Jammies!”
Mommy: “How about no?”
You: (emphatically yelling) “How about YES!?”
This about sums up your morning reluctance to dress and get ready. It is probably Mommy’s least favorable time with you. It isn’t that you dislike mornings (you often wake up singing your ABCs), you just really enjoy wearning your pajamas.
Here’s more footage of our lives in short clips…..the 1 Second Everyday video for March.
Life with you these days is fairly predictable, in that you’ll throw a fit at least twice a day. You’ll see from the 1 Second videos from February that you’re in your terrible twos. There is no pattern to what will set you off it seems. You’re in a big Mommy stage right now- not wanting me to be near you, wanting only Mommy to read your books or dress you or put you in your crib. Sometimes, you and I are playing well and then you’ll suddenly turn on me and not want to have anything to do with me.
You are potty trained! It happened so quickly and accident-free; Mommy and I are so pleased. It started with peeing on the potty, which required singing “Let it Go” from Disney’s Frozen. There was a span when you required us to play you the videos of Let it Go, For the First Time in Forever, Fixer Upper, and Love is an Open Door over and over until you were done on the potty. We also rewarded you with chocolate chips – 1 chocolate chip for peeing and 2 for pooping. Now, when we’re at home, you demand books to be read to you while on the potty. You finish quicker, and you forget about the chocolate chips. On special occasions, you get a Sean the Sheep or Mickey Mouse video.
You’ve got so many words now, the most frequent of them is “Why?” It is exhausting.
This weekend, when Nana and Poppop were here, you were sitting in your kitchen chair and asked, “What’s in my bum,” when you sat on the belt buckle.
On the couch, you exclaimed, “There’s a tunnel in my pants.” You must have exerted yourself at gymnastics to tear the stitching in your tights- sure enough- there was a hole where the panels connected.
When we’re at the dinner table together, you often ask, “How day, Mommy?”
You pretend to read, picking up books and, in a serious tone, randomly saying words….”One two, tree, Colorado, binky purple, Mommy, Boo, Tuesday, Kobeshau, Delfina, apple pie.”
Kobeshau. This word is uttered by you often, yet we have no idea what it means or where it came from. Kobeshau and “Colowado” are now Crosby-only words that continue to puzzle us. As I’m typing it in the computer, it is underlined in red dots because it isn’t recognized and there are no replacements. When I google it, there are no suggestions. We try to ask you what Kobeshau means, but then you use it when you respond to us. Is it your imaginary friend? Is it a spice that you sprinkle on the food we give you to help it taste better?
Here’s a conversation with you that involves Kobeshau.
Mommy’s favorite word from you these days is to-later. “No Mommy; I’ll do it “to-later.”
Here’s an audio from March 2016 – you’re 29 months – we’re looking at a sticker book.
Here are the last two months of 1 Second Everyday videos. We got some skiing in along with meals with friends and spontaneous outbursts of tears from you. There’s also a few shots of R2-D2, the tickling monster, some potty training memories, and the funeral for binky purple, which developed a hole and had to be laid to rest in the garbage can in January. You were very upset.
January 2016
February 2016
I want to tell you about a good book I just finished, A Thousand Hills to Heaven by Josh Ruxin. The author became interested in developing world service when he was in high school, when he visited famine-ravaged Ethiopia. He and his wife moved to Rwanda in 2004, 20 years after the genocide, where nearly a quarter of a million people were violently killed by Rwandan Hutus because of they were the enemy Tutse. Josh tells of his experiences working to create a Millennium Village, where efforts are concentrated to improve infrastructure and self-sufficiency for residents through NGO funds, in a poor area of Kegali, Rwanda.
When the 100-day genocide began on April 6, 1994, I was finishing my senior year in college and my last collegiate track season. I did not know that mobs were busting down doors of their own neighbors and brutally killing them, or setting up brutal checkpoints to exterminate those who were targeted. This topic is not fun to learn more about, but I’ve been suddenly fascinated with it since a guy who lived through the genocide visited our school and I read Josh Ruxin’s book. I hope something like this is never repeated.
Here is the YEAR 2015 in 1 Second Everyday.
I had a series of dreams this week that occurred in three key locations of my life. The first dream took place at the Watseka High School gym. I was playing basketball and had some mad skills, stealing the ball easily from the opponent and shooting and rebounding easily. A day later, I was on the Millikin campus in a RV camper that was in between some of the signature red-brick buildings. The ground started to shake and rumble, and an earthquake split open the earth, toppling the camper on its side. My friends and I in the camper were shaken up and bruised and cut, but we were all ok. I was the first one to be able to open up the door (which was now facing the sky), get out, and survey the damage. The third dream was here in Seattle. We were in our new house sitting on the couch. We heard some noises in the back yard and saw some kids stealing our grill accessories. Mommy told me to go after them, so I clambered outside without shoes or socks on in pursuit of the miscreants. They had enough of a head start to cross the busy street before I could follow them, so I had to wait for the light. When the light turned green, I tried to run, but could only spin my leg-wheels and was not able to make any ground on them. By the time I got through the intersection, they were out of sight and I wasn’t confident that I even knew where they had gone.
In the news these days is the 2016 presidential primary runs with Trump, Rubio, Kasich and Clinton and Sanders. I can’t remember a time when the Republican party has been more divided and the country more polarized – it is frightening. The Seattle dig has continued to tunnel a new state route 99, there looks like a cease fire to the fighting in Syria might be close, and Britian will vote whether to secede from the European Union in June.
We got word that the Great-Grandmas (97 and 98 years old) will be making another trip to Seattle this summer!
It’s time to go to work. I hear you murmuring. Love, Daddy
The January 7, 2016 Freakonomics Podcast was titled, “The True Story of the Gender Pay Gap.” It began with several similar quotes from recognizable names in the media, stating that women make “78 cents for every dollar that a man makes.”
Freakonomics looked a little deeper into this statistic and found some interesting conclusions. It is true that, long ago, businesses/bosses were upfront racist or sexist in their treatment of employees, but that overt unfair treatment is not as prevalent today. What, then, is to blame? Where is the smoking gun? Are men inherently sexist and that alone has suppressed women’s role so much that they earn just 78% of what men earn in the same job?
It isn’t that simple. Much of this podcast was a chat with Claudia Goldin, Harvard Economics professor. She stated how many of the jobs that women have taken have more “temporal flexibility,” which are jobs that don’t have the rigid time requirements, which result in lower total wages when compared to less flexible jobs. There is also a natural occupational segregation in our society, where men and women self-select certain jobs because of that flexibility, which leads to underrepresentation of genders in many occupations. Goldin said that, when you compare a man and a woman both fresh out of graduate school and equally brilliant, if they both take the same job, their salaries will be nearly the same. What changes, however, is a decade later when the woman has a baby and chooses to take a job that has more temporal flexibility, that choice comes with a consequence, which is typically a job that pays less money.
Stephen Dubner, the podcast author, asked Goldin if there was anything that could be done to equal the field for men and women in our society. Goldin said that the best legislation that could be enacted is a change in the school system and the paternity leave for men. She said that, when schools let kids out at 3pm, some parent is going to have to make a sacrifice (usually in their jobs) to be there for the kids. That has usually been the female.
I thought this was an interesting look at the social justice issue of gender equality that was worth summarizing. Here’s the podcast
You often say that word, “Colorado,” in your discussions with me and Mommy, but we have no idea what it means. I don’t think it is about the state of Colorado, and I don’t think it is a blending of “cold water,” so it continues to perplex us as you continue to say it.
You also are taunting us lately….saying “Don’t chase me Daddy,” as you invite me to come after you. When we tickle you, you comeback with, “Don’t touch me.” Mommy put you in your place when you told her that. “I can touch you if I want to…I gave birth to you,” Mommy told you.
It is the new year 2016, and now the Sunday before we have to go back to work, work, and daycare. Here is a steamy link of what’s happening in our little world since last post.
Your 2nd Birthday Party was a hit! You requested a flamingo cake and Mommy and Gaga baked and decorated it.
I love this picture of you and Nana and Mommy.
Poppop helps you with your book before the Flamingo party.
What’s in the news these days: The presidents of China and Taiwan, after 4? years, are sitting down to talk about getting along after the Chinese Civil War Mao Tse Dong and Chiang Kai Shek. There continue to be police brutality episodes around the country, most recently in Chicago, where a young boy and older neighbor lady were killed. People are calling for Mayor Raum Emmanuel’s resignation. There seem to be terrorist attack reports more often, with Paris in December and a radicalized husband and wife pair in San Bernadeno, CA a few weeks ago. The Islamic State, or ISIS, is claiming to be the perpetrators behind these. Reading the paper is depressing.
What you’re doing these days…..You are in a possessive phase lately. When we’re out in public, you like to tell people that we are “My Mommy,” “My Daddy,” or “My Boo.” Your bedtime now is about 8pm, so Mommy and I usually start our dinner before you go to bed. Typically, one of us is cooking in the kitchen and the other parent entertains you, but you sometimes run into the kitchen and ask whoever is cooking to carry you. I love hearing, “Daddy Carry?” even though the timing is not propitious. Your quotes are becoming more conversational and longer. “I need more milk.” Your use and knowledge of words seems to be exploding, with constant three-word questions like “Mommy walk Boo?” or “Daddy watch football?” A few weeks ago you asked Mommy, “Mas cheese por favor.”
You pee pee in the potty now most mornings. To prompt you, we sing “Let it Go” from Frozen. You also love the snowman song and almost know all the words. Here are other things you enjoy doing…..Drinking the bath water, going to daycare to see Luz and Delfina, and Soyla, saying “knock knock…..Mooo!” as your first knock knock joke, tickling me and Mommy with the monster puppet, giving Boo her kibble, watching Sean the Sheep episodes on our iPads, building castles with your blocks, and going on Magic Carpet rides around the kitchen.
Aunt Lee and Uncle Jeff visited Seattle for a few days over Thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving (and Poppop’s birthday) in DC.
Back in Crescent City, IL you played a lot with your cousins and Gaga and Grandpa. One morning, after you had been playing intensely with Kali, Annika, and Alden, you disappeared for a little while. When Mommy went to find you, you had put yourself down for a nap.
We all made a visit to see Great Grandma Dorothy in Pontiac.
Three days before New Years, we went to Suncadia for a mini-vacation in the mountains. It is very important for Mommy and me to have you enjoy snow, so we try to set up the experience with as much hype and hot chocolate (and marshmallows) afterwards as we can. Though you don’t enjoy your hat, you seemed to enjoy the snow.
I was proud to finally finish decorating your bedroom with kites. There is one final touch needed, your handprint on the blue kite. You have not wanted to help with that yet.
Here is my 1 Second Everyday video for the YEAR 2015. I’m very angry at my iPhone for kaputting on January 16th last year, so I don’t have the very beginning of the year, but the rest is here and it is fantastic. I tagged everyone I could who was in these videos on fb, and now it has over 1.5K views! Having these summary shots, mostly of you, remind me how fast you are growing, and how much I love our family.
This entry is soooo behind. How to wrap up everything you’ve done since the summer…it’s impossible. Let’s go month by month. I’ll give you the hilights, then a wrap up of what you’re doing at the end of this post.
Here is our July 2015 via 1 Second Everyday Video. I’ve included short descriptions for this month to help remember…
July 1 Hilary and Linda came over; Hilary helped me with knee rehab exercises, July 2-5 at Whidbey for the 4th, including blowing bubbles with Uncle Lynn and rolling in the parade along Shore Ave, July 6 storytime at the Greenlake Bookstore, July 7th swimming lessons at Ballard Pool, 8th a view of our sandals and my big toes which I was trying to rid of a small fungus using Listerine, July 9-12 Nana and PopPop visit and take you to the park, the Ballard Salmon festival, where you danced all by yourself in front of the mainstage, a night where you were babysit and Mommy and I went to see the Indigo Girls at the Zoo Tunes, 13, 15, and 16 and 17 my CS4HS (Computer Science for High School) class at the University of Washington (I enjoyed riding my bike there every day), July 14th having Marcus and AP over for dinner, July 18th dancing with Mommy, July 19th a summer cookout at Mommy’s coworkers house, July 20th swinging at the local park, July 21 bouncing up and down with two binkies in your mouth, July 22 tumbling and moving at Christine’s Nurturing Pathways class, July 23 Auntie Nu visits, July 24 in Aurora, CO for the Grandmasters Ultimate Frisbee National Championships, July 25 dinner with cousin and Jon and Amy in Aurora, July 26 the last game and a teammate’s baby, July 27 you and me downtown at the Columbia Tower, July 28 Nurturing Pathways class playing Magic Carpet, July 29 your first haircut at Beachcomber Kids, July 30 me at a Redmond cafe while you’re at Sharon’s, July 31 spending time with Gaga and Grandpa on their visit.
August 2015
August was awesome, as usual. Mommy and I spent our first day, together, alone, while you and Gaga and Grandpa stayed in Seattle. Mommy and I relived our first date activity by kayaking in Vashon Island. In the August 2015 1 Second Everyday video below, August 9th is a clip of you revealing you Tender Juicy Baby Belly. You contine to be in the 99% percentile for height and weight, and I believe, if there was such a category, you’d be in that same percentile for juicy belly. It has become a joke among Mommy and you and I to “show us your tender juicy baby belly.” You can’t say that much yet all at once, so you just call it, “Juicy.” Sometimes, when we ask to see it, you play shy and just reveal a little bit to us, then run away and give chase. It is charming and so juicy. We promise to stop paying attention to it when you get older and self-conscious 🙂
You and I spent much of August together, since I was still on teacher summer and you didn’t have daycare yet. We enjoyed seeing the Garbage Truck arrive and dump the bins into it’s large, green machine. We even got the guy to honk the horn early in the morning (August 11th on the video). We took an August 17-21 trip back to Illinois and Indiana, where you jumped and screamed with Kali, Annika, and Alden, and had some more time with Gaga and Grandpa. We finished out August on the video by doing laundry at home.
Hanging out at the pool in Chelan, WA.
You spent a lot of time having tea parties in the pool and wearing you green easy float.
Mommy and me at Sandra and Todd’s wedding.
Great Grandma Dorothy and Martha visit Seattle on their way to the Peterson Pizza Party; August 22, 2015.
You and Grammy Dorothy at the Pizza Party.
The August 2015 1 Second Everyday Video
September 2015
September started out with the first day of school for both of us! We are both starting out at new schools, which has been a great change for both of us. Being closer to home cuts our commute considerably, and I have found that my workload is less, meaning I can stress less and create and play more with you! Labor Day was late this year, so school had started already before you and me and Mommy set out for Cape Disappointment State Park at the very southwestern part of Washington State. This was our first camping trip as a family so we only booked the campsite for two nights, not knowing how tent camping with you would be like. You did great, staying cozy in your mini-tent in our Kindgom 4 glamping tent. Mommy organized sumptuous meals for us, and we spent time playing on the beach, hiking up to the lighthouse, and exploring Long Beach. We are set on returning next summer and fall!
September doesn’t have as many adventures like the summer did, but we’ve settled into a good routine in the mornings. You and I don’t have to leave as early, and our trip to daycare is just about 10 minutes! You seem to like your maestras, Luz and Delfina, although you still cry when I drop you off to start the day.
Our first family camping trip! Cape Disappointment State Park over Labor Day Weekend 2015.
Here’s what you are doing these days:
You sometimes tuck your animals (Brown Bear, Pink Bear, Courdoroy, and Spot the Dog) in at night before you go to sleep. One night, Mommy and I saw that you had supplied each of them with a binky and nestled them all under your blanket.
Your tender juicy baby belly.
So many of the things we do with you, you want to do, “Self.” Putting on your socks, eating mac and cheese, walking up and down the stairs while holding on to the rail, and pushing the Bob. You like to be independent, and eventually ask for, “Help,” if you’d like it. Time has flown by; I remember when we had to feed you pouches and spoonfuls of Gerber mushed carrots, swabbing your mouth because you didn’t even know you had hands. Now, those hands do so much for you.
Great Grammy Dorothy turned 97 in the end of September! It is extraordinary; she is still functioning well for her age. You and I called her to wish her a happy birthday; she was watching the Cubs play in the division series.
Here is you and Mommy having a conversation about all of the words you can say…July 2015
I love how you seek attention from me….”Daddy, carry?” or “Daddy, play!” You go and get a book from your shelf then bring it to me and lead me to the couch so we can read it together. You’re enjoying longer books now, and even pointing out places in the reading that you remember from last time, or colors or things you recognize that we’ve never discussed before. You seem to not miss anything. That’s why, when I want to have some juice, I open the refrigerator door and take a swig for myself while not letting you see. It’s hard to do…..we try not to let you have too much juice, you are too sweet already.
So much to report, I’ll try to cram it all in. You are sleeping now…you’ve switched to one nap a day in the summer that starts about 10:30 and lasts for at least 2 hours. Can I get it all in and post what’s new?
It is the end of July now. School has ended and summer is in full swing. You and I hang out together most days, with swimming and movement classes on Tuesdays, visits to the library and walks with Clementine, and quite a few family visits to break up the monotony. I got a new teaching job much closer to home and we have a new daycare for you to meet friends and spend your working hours of the day. It was a chore to find these new places for us, but they worked out and I’m excited to be teaching somewhere new and excited that you’ll be learning a new language!
Here is a sound bite from you at 19 months…two months ago….with all your words.
It is so fun communicating with you now. You ask one-word questions and make one-word statements like “Mommy?” and “Boo?” and “Noo?” (your Aunt Anita just visited). About every word we speak to you, you try to repeat, even tough ones like “inconceivable” and “helicopter.” The most adorable pronunciation from you these days is “smoothie.” When it comes out of your mouth so soft but with such courage, it sounds like “hoo hee.” We fix hoo hees for you very often, hiding spinach, kale, and greens for your nutrition.
You like to jump on your bed and have us sing the Monkey song…..5 little monkeys jumping on the bed, one fell off and bumped her head, Momma called the doctor and the doctor said…no more monkeys jumping on the bed. Now you even fall and act like you are bumping your head. You really like to jump on OUR bed which is a lot larger and more springy. You like to hide under the covers and surprise us with your toothy grin.
You and I play the binky games when you are in your crib. I stand several feet away in an athletic stance, ready to catch the binkys you launch from the crib. When I catch one, it is a point for me, but when a binky hits the ground, you earn a point. Both our skills have increased since we’ve been playing. You have now taken TWO binkys at a time and throw them. I am only able to catch one of them usually.
For the Memorial Day weekend we visited Suncadia, just a 60 minute trip over the mountains in Cle Elum. On the way there, Mommy was feeding you Ritz crackers. While driving, we were amazed at how much you were eating, “more, more” coming from your the back seat often. But when our car trip ended, we found a large mound of crumpled Ritz in your car seat. You did like the crackers, but you enjoyed crushing them more than eating them.
You have a fun spontaneous side to you. On walks, you just start walking backwards. At our latest vacation in Mexico, you liked to go into downward dog in the lobby. And you still love to dance. You stormed the stage on Amateur Performer Night in Mexico, and you cut a rug at the Ballard Seafood Festival mainstage when Nana and PopPop were here. You now like to hide under covers, pillows, and encourage me and Mommy to hide with you.
Mommy had to carry you off the stage in Mexico.
On our Mexico vacation, it was hard to get you to eat anything but watermelon and chicken nuggets. One evening, Mommy came back with ice cream for us, but since you hadn’t eaten anything yet and really wanted the ice cream, she sternly stated, “No ice cream until you finish your pizza.” Mommy jokes that we are now in the running for Parents of the Year for that quote.
Here is my 1 Second Everyday Video for May
And here is June…
In the news this summer….today is the 70th anniversary of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan…..there are wildfires in California and Washington, our nation is struggling with the plentiful police brutality stories, but we celebrated in June when the Supreme Court voted 5-4 to legalize same-sex marriage in the US! Tonight, the top 10 candidates who are vying for the GOP nomination participate in the first debate, with Donald Trump leading the polls so far.
It has been another great summer, and there is still more time to enjoy. You are asleep now, but when you get up we will have to call your Nana because today is her birthday!
Lately, since you’ve been coughing and sneezing often, Mommy and I have tried to get you to cover your mouth. You listen to us and do it, but only after you send your sneezes across the room. One time, when I asked you to cover your mouth, you put your hand over my mouth and coughed!
The Peabody Chronicles has been stranded on the side of the interweb for a while. I had a student teacher second semester which kept me a little busier, and in April I was working hard to make a presentation at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics National Conference in Boston. My presentation was, “Keeping Students Engaged: Math in Art, Technology, and History,” and it was a great success. The room I was assigned had a capacity of 165 people, but when my presentation was about to start, there were over 190! The staff at the Boston Convention Center had to ask people to find another presentation. I was flattered. The presentation was great…I took attendees through the units I teach in M.A.T.H. class, including The Golden Ratio, Math and Music, Origami, Tessellations, Rubik’s Cube, and Fractals. I had many people compliment me after the presentation, as well as follow me on twitter and e-mail me with questions. I had been preparing for NCTM for a long time and was very happy it went well.
While in Boston, I did as much as I could since it was my own little solo vacation. I love you, but flying with you is not easy, so I felt so lucky to be able to take a nap, watch a movie, read a book, or just stare out the window without having to hold and entertain you. After my presentation, I met Brandon, a friend of Nichole’s, who showed me around the Isabella Gardner Museum. I also saw the Leonardo da Vinci exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, a Red Sox game at Fenway Park, as well as taking the T to Cambridge, the North End (to Mike’s Pastry), and a walk along the entire Freedom Trail.
Here’s a blog from one of my attendees at NCTM. I’m mentioned in her post. Go to “NCTM Conference Thoughts” and check out the April 18th post. NCTM Conference Thoughts
A cah pahked at Hahvahd Yahd
Math Educators Night at Fenway Park.
The packed venue for my Math in Art, Technology, and History presentation.
A Leonardo da Vinci sketch of the existence of ugliness and beauty together.
the inner courtyard of the Gardner Museum.
Nichole’s friend, Brandon.
In April, you’ve added words like “turtle,” “water,” and “bubbles.” You have started to play on your own a little more, like putting on finger puppets and talking to them. Your most used words are “Mama,” “Dada,” and “milk.” You love being held upside down or spun around on the floors, saying “Yeah,” every time Mommy or I stop moving you and you don’t want it to end.
Here’s my 1 Second Everyday video month of April, which includes a special April 10th Chewbacca howl by Andy Robertson, along with you on the ultimate frisbee field, my 3rd period AP Statistics class selfie, and, like most months, walking Clementine.
You’ve been having a rough time the last week. You had a case of pinkeye along with a cold and at least two new molars coming through. Here is your pooping pose lately…you seek comfort and support under the table between two of the chairs. Sometimes, you play peek a boo with us from under the table while you’re doing your business. At the time when this picture was taken, however, doing your business did not leave you in a playful mood.
Your vocabulary has expanded. You try to mimic all the words Mommy and I say to you. You try to harumphhhhh like an elephant when we see one in your picture books, and last night you even howled like a wolf when I showed you how. Words like “Boo,” “PopPop,” “Mama,” “Bye Bye,” and “night night” are your mainstays, but you’ve also added “DaDa,” “Nana,” “shoes,” and Mommy taught you where your tummy, elbow, nose, eyes, and knees are.
Nathan and Avery visited over President’s Day.
One Friday evening, we all went to the Barking Dog Alehouse and Saloon. On the walk home, you wanted to walk by yourself, so Mommy stood by you to guide you over the curbs. We all started singing, and then we started stomping to the words of the song. When we added clapping, I forgot that I was pushing the stroller, and it rolled down a steep driveway and met with a “BANG,” in someone’s garage door. The lady in the house looked out the kitchen window as I was pulling the stroller from the incline….I waved innocently to her to let her know we were all ok. But she must have been suspicious because she sent her husband out the front door to investigate. By the time he made his way outside, Mommy and you were the closer to him, so Mommy apologetically told him, “Sorry. “My husband lost control of the stroller.”
I am so thrilled how you instantly start to sway and bounce whenever music is played. Yesterday we went to your first concert….Caspar Babypants. Caspar was up on the small stage playing his guitar and singing while dozens of toddlers bounced in the mosh pit in front of him. We put you on the fringe of the mayhem, but you were a bit too young to enjoy it and bounce like you do to most music. Instead you watched all the kids singing and being silly.
Here’s my 1 Second Everyday video for January and February of 2015. Since I got a new phone on January 16th, however, I am missing the first 15 days of January, which is aggravating. I want ALL of those seconds together because it is so fun to see what you’re up to. I will recapture and fuse those lost seconds by the end of the year.
Spring Break this year was an eventful visit to Washington, D.C. Nana an Poppop hosted us AND Grammy and Grandpa Chuckles for four days at their place. While you were with Nana and Poppop, Grammy, Chuckles, and I toured the U.S. Capitol building, took a bus tour of the city, and saw Man of La Mancha (and dinner at Central) downtown. We took you with us to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum and a walk around the Tidal Basin where the Cherry Blossom Festival was underway. Your grandparents got along very well and were thrilled (and exhausted) by you, charming them with your shrieks and endless jabbering. For me, it was a great break, getting away from school and seeing DC, even though Mommy had to stay home and work. She got to rest and spend some time on her own….one night for dinner she had a bowl of cereal and a beer!
I’ve been working hard preparing for my presentation at the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics in Boston. I present in four days, something I’ve been looking forward to and preparing to do for a long time. This will be a solo trip for me. I’ll miss you and Mommy, but I can’t wait to get on that plane and read, sleep, watch a movie, all by myself.
CAMP, your doings are less like a baby and more like a toddler and little girl. It’s fun.
We went to a neighbor’s Robbie Burns Night on January 25th to celebrate the life and works of the famous Scottish Poet. You tried haggis and had several spoonfuls of it. Then, when the bagpiper came, you stood in the middle of the room, just feet from the wailing piper, and danced. The guests were impressed.
On President’s Day, your cousins Nate and Avery visited. Grammy and Grandpa were also there, so we spent the day coloring, hiding in a box and giving rides in the box, and playing at the park sandbox.
Grammy and Grandpa helped us out with unpacking boxes in our new house and taking care of you when Mommy and I had to work. Grandpa installed three baby gates to keep you safe from the stairs. They taught you what the drill says…..”Zzzzzzzzz.” They also know that Mommy and I weren’t making things up when we told them to keep you away from the dog food!
When we have the opportunity to all eat together, you like participating in the “Cheers” clinking of our glasses. And when we say something is, “hot,” you purse your lips and blow to cool it off.
What I enjoy the most about you right now is your dancing. When any music is on, you stand and sway back and forth, doing the baby dance. That doesn’t mean you are limited in your moves, though. If you are in your chair eating, sometimes you just swing your one arm to the music while you eat mac and cheese or yogurt with the other arm. You love to dance.
It is the year 2015, the year where Back to the Future II was set, when it was released in 1989. Marty McFly used a hoverboard, and the flux capacitor to travel to the future to save his future self, family, and girlfriend. I loved that movie.
To ring in the new year, we drove to Mt. Baker to stay in an airbnb place in Glacier, WA that Mommy’s friend Rachel found. The intent was to get some good skiing, but because you aren’t a skiier yet, our 3 days mostly were spent entertaining you. On New Year’s Day, though, Mommy went downhill and I took you for a nordic ski trek to try out the new ski attachment for your Chariot. I set you up in your puffy jacket, mittens, hat, and Cheerios and you seemed to like the ride. At one point you were humming, then you eventually fell asleep. Mommy and I are sad we won’t be able to ski as much this year either, but sometime soon we’ll take you with us and you can try skiing and sledding.
Christmas 2014 in Crescent City was busy. Last year, you and cousin Alden were immoble. We could just sit you next to each other and watch you flail your arms and legs around. This year, if we looked away for a second, you both could be in the bathroom pulling out all the toilet paper or looking into drawers in the kitchen.
I am proud to release the 2014 One Second Every Day video. The 1 Second Everyday phenomenon has been a big inspiration to me and a healthy manageable habit for my chronicling addiction. You are a big part of it, little sameech.
What you’re doing these days…..You walked on your own to the market today. The curbs were difficult, but you can amble pretty quickly for a 15-month old. You love to feed Clementine, and Clementine is grateful, though you occasionally flop a cheese stick in front of her and then pull it away and eat it yourself. Last week, in your investigative tours through the house, you kept going to Boo’s dog bowl and trying to eat some kibble. I finally let you do it and you ate three!
You know where some of your favorite foods are now. You go to the pantry door and reach inside for the dried strawberries. Then you whine when we try to replace them with some other food. Mommy and I shouldn’t be to dissatisfied; you are a good eater. Your PEPS friend Noam (you planted a kiss on him the last PEPS brunch at our house) will ONLY EAT MEAT! His parents are frustrated. You eat sausage, celery, yogurt, string cheese, bananas, peanut butter, mac and cheese, peaches……and if we want to get some greens in you, we make a smoothie.
It is the end of the semester at school now. Tomorrow is the last day of finals. I have both AP Statistics tests to give; students are e-mailing me now with last-minute assignment grade requests and questions on stats topics. It is a stressful time for Mommy and me right now because we are moving to the new house in less than 10 days and we need to pack, arrange painters and window washers in the old house, and specialists to help with cable and the set up of utilities in the new house. We are fortunate, though; it is a fantastic place. More on the new house later.
The Seattle Seahawks are in the Super Bowl, again! Mommy went with cousin Christy to one of the playoff games when they beat Carolina to advance to the NFC championships. When she came home, the next day she gave you a haircut.
