Jonathan is almost 1.5 years old! He is just growing so fast! Just recently by paying more attention I have noticed he truly understands what I say, and even chooses to do as I say...sometimes. My elder sister who has two children of her own says this is the beginning of the sweetest age, from 1.5 to 3.5 years, children are simply cute! With parts of words and a lot of body language, Jonathan is communicating clearly and is most definitely simply cute!
Growing up means he needs to move up a class in kindergarten. He was probably ready to move on a few months ago already, because he was already walking at 13 months, but he had such a good friend in kindergarten his age, and it was clear both boys loved each other so much, that I did not want to move Jonathan to a new class and separate them. After wards the other boys parents moved, and he left, but because of the spring holidays here in Israel I was advised to leave the boy in the current class, and now he just got stuck in it because I was doubting into which class he fits and if he should move at all so close to the year's end. The doubts for me were very great! I know he is just 1.5 year old and this is most certainly not the kind of decision that will decide his course in life (after all this is not university...) and still it was very difficult for me to decide what was the best timing. This lack of proportion in energy investment in a decision is probably due to the fact that Jonathan is my first child. I am sure with the next one it will not be so difficult.
My boss likes to say that with is first child every time the pacifier was dropped on the floor his wife washed it with hot water before giving it back t the baby, the second child saw the pacifier washed only with tap water (cold), with the third child his wife only wiped the pacifier, and with the fourth she did not even do that, maybe blow on it, or just let the kid pick it up from the floor alone!
My elder sister, who has two children of ages 8 and 6 also says she was much more easy going with the second child (e.g. she could go to the toilet even though she was alone with the baby...)
Finally I have decided!Although it is almost the end of the year, I decided to move him up anyway. He will ave two months in an interim group and then I hope he will be ready to move to the new class with children his age. Although I am worried that the transfer may not work out well, I believe that children are resilient and that he will thrive, after all with older children I hope he will make further steps towards talking and other development signs. I want the best for Jonathan and being with children his age and not with babies will surely promote him in the right direction.
Jonathan is growing older and more daring, he climes chairs and grabs things in ever higher places. He has recently taken to the gas stove. He likes to take out the cooking plates. This kind of action along with the fact that my kitchen is very old has prompted me to renovate the kitchen! This is going to be quite a project and I have no idea how I will manage with a 1.5 year old and a renovation all in the same apartment, but as I have mentioned before, children are resilient. Jonathan is sure to survive the ordeal, it is myself that I am worried about...
In my disparate attempt to keep Jonathan away from the stove, I brought a wooden door that is supposedly meant to keep children out of rooms (usually used for staircases in homes that have a stair case and a baby, I also this contraption used for dogs). My husband saw the door and started laughing! He said that Jonathan already opens a similar door in the kindergarten (meant to keep the kids out of the kitchen too). The kindergarten teacher confirmed this. Although I never saw Jonathan open the door, it is clear that this is NOT what will keep him form any kitchen! And he seems to just love kitchens! Also when visiting my mother he always goes to the kitchen.
Another favorite room is the location of the television. I think his love for the kitchen and the TV room is based on the fact that both rooms offer a verity of electric items that have buttons! Jonathan just loves pressing all kinds of buttons and causing havoc doing so!
His motoric development is, I believe, advanced. He performs really delicate actions, like eating egg with a fork. He even gets one of the fork teeth into the whole of rounded “wheel” shaped pasta! In the bath tub he knows how to pt in the cork that stops the water, and the hole is small. He can do so with both hands and still I detect a difference. He likes to perform large actions, like taking things, with his right had, but the delicate actions, like sticking small circle stickers onto a drawing (he has recently discovered the world of colour pens and will draw on anything, including the floor, the table, the wall and even his own stomach!) are made with the left had. So he will take a spoon with his right hand, change to the left and then try and eat with it.
I am discovering new words all the time. As he shakes his head to signal no, he also clearly says the Hebrew word for no (which is LO). He says “baba” and waves his had, for bye bye. And he says “tada” which is very similar to TODA, thank you in Hebrew. He uses the true musical tone all adults use in Israel for thanking children. He imitates sounds I make when watching a DVD and imitates certain places in the tape correctly (saying “wawawa” for a miaowing of a cat, always at the right time when the cat appears on the TV screen). He says “dur dur” for ball (CADUR in Hebrew) and “kuku” for a peekaboo game. He also seems to show signs of a thinking process, with correct deductions! He connects my bag and keys to leaving the house and will go to the door what I pick them up, if I put on his sandals he will also sometimes go to the door, understanding that he needs the sandals for going out. The kindergarten teacher asks him to bring certain animals to her and he brings the correct ones that she mentions.
All these wonderful things are happening all at once. An explosion of development which I am sure will only be strengthened by the challenge of being with children his age! I just hope that he will not be intimidated by kids who are his age or a bit older after he has spent almost 6 months with children who are all smaller than he is physically and are also younger is age. But as I mentioned before, children are resilient and besides the new kindergarten is just around the corner, so we can walk there... and Jonathan is still in the age that he prefers to walk (and not be driven around...) Ah! The freshness of youth!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Cleaning
Jonathan is a good boy! Always wanting to tidy up and return things to their place. Naturally he likes to help when cleaning too, last week he finally got the chance to do so...
He takes my glasses and then tried to put them back on my face (poking me in the eye in the process) and he takes of his socks and then wants to put them back on, but as soon as I put them on, he takes them off again! He also throws toys and then collects them, putting things in boxes and moving the boxes around, placing them in order is a special beloved occupation. Even the kindergarten teacher says he likes to tidy up!
I was cleaning the house and Jonathan absolutely anted to help! So he grabbed the broom and would not let me have it. The result was that I ended us sweeping the house with a short broom that I brought for Jonathan as a toy and he was walking about with the adult broom and helping me...
He takes my glasses and then tried to put them back on my face (poking me in the eye in the process) and he takes of his socks and then wants to put them back on, but as soon as I put them on, he takes them off again! He also throws toys and then collects them, putting things in boxes and moving the boxes around, placing them in order is a special beloved occupation. Even the kindergarten teacher says he likes to tidy up!
I was cleaning the house and Jonathan absolutely anted to help! So he grabbed the broom and would not let me have it. The result was that I ended us sweeping the house with a short broom that I brought for Jonathan as a toy and he was walking about with the adult broom and helping me...
Buttonitis (Kaftoritis)
My mother always says there are children with a talent for buttons and switches (the so called “Kaftoritis” children, from the word “Kaftor”, which means button in Hebrew) and children who don't/ There are children that are naturally interested in anything that can be pressed, turning a light on, and there are children who are not. Jonathan belongs to the first group.
He is truly talented when it comes to the remote control, the computer mouse and the TV switch. Turning on the light is a special treat for him too. A true Buttonitis (English for Kaftoritis, the same principle...) child will do almost anything to get to a button or a switch. Switching on the stereo in my husbands room is a staple for Jonathan, and suddenly there is loud music in the house. The has also learned to turn on the TV long ago, and to control the volume buttons. At my mother's house its the dishwasher that was his first victim, and recently he has also discovered the stereo there too, inside a cabinet! Even after a few weeks absence, as soon as we get to my mother's house he goes either to the stereo cabinet or to the other cupboard with the keys he loves so much!
He has always known how to hold the remote control, and has always delighted himself when something suddenly changed when he pressed the buttons on it. He even knows how to point it to the TV and obviously understands there is some sort of connection between he remote and the TV. He still however does not really get any results with the remote, but that is a matter of time only, and he has another solution to that problem, as you will read later. The computer mouse is a favorite, and he has the correct grip as if born with it! He even clicks it correctly and loves to move it about and see the arrow wriggle on the screen. The computer itself is also a much loved object! As the laptop is on a table and he cannot reach it when alone, he stands on the floor and uses the mouse and thus enjoys it even when not able to press the keys. He loves the phone because when you press the buttons it makes funny sounds, mobile phones have also lighted display screens! Cool! He has registered that one puts an apparatus with buttons to one's ear and talks to it, and thus even a pocket calculator becomes a phone is Jonathan's able hands. He mimics the phoning position to perfection!
Jonathan is however becoming even more clever in his button passion. Like a true Buttonitis child he improves his methods and thus can get to even more switches. He has recently learned o climb on his chair. So he pushes the chair about the house to a desired location, then climbs and stands on it and so he is tall enough to reach even the higher light switches in the house! Much to his delight! He uses the same system to get to the microwave and to the satellite control unit – which means now that he not only can turn the TV on, he now can also change channels! We have been raising things higher to avoid his reaching them, but we really cannot go much higher anymore and when he stands on a chair he is truly tall! After delighting as parents in his advanced climbing abilities we now have to start setting restrictions so he will not be impossible to control!
One day we found him on the living room table, on her table was a stool and Jonathan was standing on it! My husband almost had a heart attack! We try to show him when climbing objects is good (like to climb a chair and SIT on it, not stand on it, so he can eat with adults near the big table). For Jonathan a whole new world has become available, for us a parents, a whole new task or setting its limits.
He is truly talented when it comes to the remote control, the computer mouse and the TV switch. Turning on the light is a special treat for him too. A true Buttonitis (English for Kaftoritis, the same principle...) child will do almost anything to get to a button or a switch. Switching on the stereo in my husbands room is a staple for Jonathan, and suddenly there is loud music in the house. The has also learned to turn on the TV long ago, and to control the volume buttons. At my mother's house its the dishwasher that was his first victim, and recently he has also discovered the stereo there too, inside a cabinet! Even after a few weeks absence, as soon as we get to my mother's house he goes either to the stereo cabinet or to the other cupboard with the keys he loves so much!
He has always known how to hold the remote control, and has always delighted himself when something suddenly changed when he pressed the buttons on it. He even knows how to point it to the TV and obviously understands there is some sort of connection between he remote and the TV. He still however does not really get any results with the remote, but that is a matter of time only, and he has another solution to that problem, as you will read later. The computer mouse is a favorite, and he has the correct grip as if born with it! He even clicks it correctly and loves to move it about and see the arrow wriggle on the screen. The computer itself is also a much loved object! As the laptop is on a table and he cannot reach it when alone, he stands on the floor and uses the mouse and thus enjoys it even when not able to press the keys. He loves the phone because when you press the buttons it makes funny sounds, mobile phones have also lighted display screens! Cool! He has registered that one puts an apparatus with buttons to one's ear and talks to it, and thus even a pocket calculator becomes a phone is Jonathan's able hands. He mimics the phoning position to perfection!
Jonathan is however becoming even more clever in his button passion. Like a true Buttonitis child he improves his methods and thus can get to even more switches. He has recently learned o climb on his chair. So he pushes the chair about the house to a desired location, then climbs and stands on it and so he is tall enough to reach even the higher light switches in the house! Much to his delight! He uses the same system to get to the microwave and to the satellite control unit – which means now that he not only can turn the TV on, he now can also change channels! We have been raising things higher to avoid his reaching them, but we really cannot go much higher anymore and when he stands on a chair he is truly tall! After delighting as parents in his advanced climbing abilities we now have to start setting restrictions so he will not be impossible to control!
One day we found him on the living room table, on her table was a stool and Jonathan was standing on it! My husband almost had a heart attack! We try to show him when climbing objects is good (like to climb a chair and SIT on it, not stand on it, so he can eat with adults near the big table). For Jonathan a whole new world has become available, for us a parents, a whole new task or setting its limits.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Advancement by Imitation
Jonathan continues to learn by observation, imitating mommy in everything possible. Sometimes the result is almost girly, but hey! Mommy is after all, a girl! But Jonathan is boy enough, showing athletic tendencies by homing in on his climbing skills...
Jonathan likes mommy's hair clip. Such a wonderful piece of plastic! It opens and snaps shut, making a fun click noise. Mommy likes to tickle Jonathan with it too, what fun! The love of the clip was a sure way to imitating mommy's use of it, and so, one Saturday morning, Jonathan took the clip and tried to put it on his hair. Other such imitation learning include trying to put his shirt over his head (and also trying to put his ants over his head, after all both are his clothes...), putting mommy's shirt over his head with success and then getting annoyed at the long piece of fabric that seems stuck to his body. His love for removing fabrics and placing them on his had includes tearing his bedsheets off his bed in the kindergarten so he can cover his head with them - and so I made a special cover for his mattress with a zipper. This morning he also removed his sheets at home for the first time (putting blankets on his head and walking with it covering him is already a routine action, right along with emptying his fabric diaper drawer and the towels closet in the bathroom). His love for fabrics, hair clips and glasses (he loves to remove my glasses from my face and then try to put them back on) sometimes truly worries me as too girly, but this worry does not last long when one sees him running about!
Independence steps include repeated trials to drink out of a cup (a skill only practiced when he is in the bath tub, as mommy really cannot stand for liquid being freely poured around the house), trying to take the plate from mommy and to carry it alone to his little “table” in the kitchen, while pouring out half the contents on the way (the “table” - Jonathan has a stool that serves as his own eating corner in the kitchen) and blowing on his fried egg to cool it down (just like mommy does – did I mention he learns by observation?). He also likes to pick up food with a spoon. Despite his very limited success in this action there is always a little bit to lick off the spoon anyway – so he is rewarded, and so he tries again and again, smearing his clothes, face and hands – generally just making a big mess of himself and around himself. When Jonathan is finished with his food he spits it out, making a lot of extra noise in the process, so I will not miss his point! I AM DONE! Thank you! In this protest action he is a lot like me, because when I was a baby and finished my meal, I would just throw the plait away, along with the remaining contents. And my mother had to clean up (she quickly changed to plastic plates...).
Further advancements include climbing down and up the stairs alone standing up and using the fence on the staircase! YES! He can go up now as well, no more crawling up the stairs. Climbing chairs and standing up on them to reach things and climbing the living room table is also occurring already – and so our “grown up” stuff needs to rise even more (our life style keeps rising...). He also likes to throw himself on pillows – he either does that on mommy and daddy's big bed (big soft German cushions make the experience extra fun!) or in the living room, on his big cushion (actually a large cushion for animals that I brought for him and where he has often drank his bottle ever since he was born). He still cannot climb onto our bed, so he walks to our bedroom and asks with his hands to be picked up onto it, by “drumming” his hands on the bed. After he is up he stand up on the bed, plays with switching the light on and off and then eventually throws himself on the pillows. Despite the wild action he never falls off the bed and seams to know exactly where the edge is and how to get off. I rarely have to catch him to prevent a fall (unless he is to distracted having fun... then I do need to watch over him).
I wonder how soon he will learn to climb onto our bed! Even more worrying is how soon will he be able to climb out of his own bed! He is already trying it, lifting his knee... I guess this will determine when we will have to pass him onto a bigger boy's bed.
The only field n which he is making no advancement is getting rid of his running nose and coughs. He is just so full of snot! The doctor says this is just so until the age of 8 years! I do not get worried is he has no fever, or if he can breath at night. If he becomes “to full” I give him inhalation treatments, and then scream my lungs out to calm him down by clowning and entertaining through the treatment ( and then I need the inhalation...). Despite a running nose and in the last few days diarrhea, he is a happy active child! And definitely boyish and mischievous enough!
Jonathan likes mommy's hair clip. Such a wonderful piece of plastic! It opens and snaps shut, making a fun click noise. Mommy likes to tickle Jonathan with it too, what fun! The love of the clip was a sure way to imitating mommy's use of it, and so, one Saturday morning, Jonathan took the clip and tried to put it on his hair. Other such imitation learning include trying to put his shirt over his head (and also trying to put his ants over his head, after all both are his clothes...), putting mommy's shirt over his head with success and then getting annoyed at the long piece of fabric that seems stuck to his body. His love for removing fabrics and placing them on his had includes tearing his bedsheets off his bed in the kindergarten so he can cover his head with them - and so I made a special cover for his mattress with a zipper. This morning he also removed his sheets at home for the first time (putting blankets on his head and walking with it covering him is already a routine action, right along with emptying his fabric diaper drawer and the towels closet in the bathroom). His love for fabrics, hair clips and glasses (he loves to remove my glasses from my face and then try to put them back on) sometimes truly worries me as too girly, but this worry does not last long when one sees him running about!
Independence steps include repeated trials to drink out of a cup (a skill only practiced when he is in the bath tub, as mommy really cannot stand for liquid being freely poured around the house), trying to take the plate from mommy and to carry it alone to his little “table” in the kitchen, while pouring out half the contents on the way (the “table” - Jonathan has a stool that serves as his own eating corner in the kitchen) and blowing on his fried egg to cool it down (just like mommy does – did I mention he learns by observation?). He also likes to pick up food with a spoon. Despite his very limited success in this action there is always a little bit to lick off the spoon anyway – so he is rewarded, and so he tries again and again, smearing his clothes, face and hands – generally just making a big mess of himself and around himself. When Jonathan is finished with his food he spits it out, making a lot of extra noise in the process, so I will not miss his point! I AM DONE! Thank you! In this protest action he is a lot like me, because when I was a baby and finished my meal, I would just throw the plait away, along with the remaining contents. And my mother had to clean up (she quickly changed to plastic plates...).
Further advancements include climbing down and up the stairs alone standing up and using the fence on the staircase! YES! He can go up now as well, no more crawling up the stairs. Climbing chairs and standing up on them to reach things and climbing the living room table is also occurring already – and so our “grown up” stuff needs to rise even more (our life style keeps rising...). He also likes to throw himself on pillows – he either does that on mommy and daddy's big bed (big soft German cushions make the experience extra fun!) or in the living room, on his big cushion (actually a large cushion for animals that I brought for him and where he has often drank his bottle ever since he was born). He still cannot climb onto our bed, so he walks to our bedroom and asks with his hands to be picked up onto it, by “drumming” his hands on the bed. After he is up he stand up on the bed, plays with switching the light on and off and then eventually throws himself on the pillows. Despite the wild action he never falls off the bed and seams to know exactly where the edge is and how to get off. I rarely have to catch him to prevent a fall (unless he is to distracted having fun... then I do need to watch over him).
I wonder how soon he will learn to climb onto our bed! Even more worrying is how soon will he be able to climb out of his own bed! He is already trying it, lifting his knee... I guess this will determine when we will have to pass him onto a bigger boy's bed.
The only field n which he is making no advancement is getting rid of his running nose and coughs. He is just so full of snot! The doctor says this is just so until the age of 8 years! I do not get worried is he has no fever, or if he can breath at night. If he becomes “to full” I give him inhalation treatments, and then scream my lungs out to calm him down by clowning and entertaining through the treatment ( and then I need the inhalation...). Despite a running nose and in the last few days diarrhea, he is a happy active child! And definitely boyish and mischievous enough!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Purim
Jonathan was dressed up as a lion for the Israeli Purim holiday. He was very sweet and did not seam to mind being dressed up in a strange suit with an extra heavy lions head hood. But a 4th photo shooting session in the afternoon annoyed him well enough!
I guess I sympathize, after all he was chased with cameras the whole day. I dressed him up in the morning and then took some pictures (he was willing to let me photograph him without reaching out for my camera only when I let him have another camera in his hands – thank god we have a camera gone bad that is still interesting enough for him because he can turn it on and off and it makes sounds during the process, it even activates the flash! Wow!). Hey, he even let me scribble some whiskers on his face without protest. Soooooo cute!
Then I brought him to the kindergarten dressed and the care takers said that the photographer will only come at ten and the toddlers get their breakfast first(at 1 year and 3 months, Jonathan is no longer a baby – as he walks he is definitely a toddler). So we took the costume off. The make up remained.
At 10 the care takers dressed him up and the photographer chased him around with a camera the second time that day. This time to keep him busy, then gave him a clown doll! The results were very cute, even though the make up got ruined bu then.
After his afternoon nap, the care takers decided to take some more pictures with the digital camera that they have in the kindergarten (parents get an album at the end of each year – very nice idea I think). They renewed the make up for this purpose. So by now this was the third photo shooting and the second time his face was drawn upon.
In the afternoon I picked him up and he was make up free and in normal clothes. Still I felt I had not gotten enough pictures with my cute lion and so I dressed him up again (4th time he had to put that ridiculous costume on), drew the whiskers again – this time under protest and therefore with not so nice results (3rd make up session) and drew some on my face too, and tried to take pictures again (4th photo shooting session). By now, he had had enough and was not so cooperative. The “gone bad” camera helped a little, but there was no getting him to smile and he expressed his protest in absolutely refusing to be held close for a cute photograph. We got some nice ones anyway and then freed him at last from the costume and wiped his face clean for the last time that day. At the end of the day, after a nice scrambles egg supper and a bath he just “dropped dead” in bed. Sleeping immediately – it had indeed been a a hard day!
(Makes you understand why actors and models are paid well for their work – its not only talent and looks, its also some pretty hard work! Posing all day!).
I guess I sympathize, after all he was chased with cameras the whole day. I dressed him up in the morning and then took some pictures (he was willing to let me photograph him without reaching out for my camera only when I let him have another camera in his hands – thank god we have a camera gone bad that is still interesting enough for him because he can turn it on and off and it makes sounds during the process, it even activates the flash! Wow!). Hey, he even let me scribble some whiskers on his face without protest. Soooooo cute!
Then I brought him to the kindergarten dressed and the care takers said that the photographer will only come at ten and the toddlers get their breakfast first(at 1 year and 3 months, Jonathan is no longer a baby – as he walks he is definitely a toddler). So we took the costume off. The make up remained.
At 10 the care takers dressed him up and the photographer chased him around with a camera the second time that day. This time to keep him busy, then gave him a clown doll! The results were very cute, even though the make up got ruined bu then.
After his afternoon nap, the care takers decided to take some more pictures with the digital camera that they have in the kindergarten (parents get an album at the end of each year – very nice idea I think). They renewed the make up for this purpose. So by now this was the third photo shooting and the second time his face was drawn upon.
In the afternoon I picked him up and he was make up free and in normal clothes. Still I felt I had not gotten enough pictures with my cute lion and so I dressed him up again (4th time he had to put that ridiculous costume on), drew the whiskers again – this time under protest and therefore with not so nice results (3rd make up session) and drew some on my face too, and tried to take pictures again (4th photo shooting session). By now, he had had enough and was not so cooperative. The “gone bad” camera helped a little, but there was no getting him to smile and he expressed his protest in absolutely refusing to be held close for a cute photograph. We got some nice ones anyway and then freed him at last from the costume and wiped his face clean for the last time that day. At the end of the day, after a nice scrambles egg supper and a bath he just “dropped dead” in bed. Sleeping immediately – it had indeed been a a hard day!
(Makes you understand why actors and models are paid well for their work – its not only talent and looks, its also some pretty hard work! Posing all day!).
When a baby develops a personality
It is fascinating to watch Jonathan and see in his doings how his brain works. And sometimes I get to watch a quantum leap – as his thoughts are put together into action. A mother does not always get to see her baby's first steps, especially a working mom misses a lot of steps forward, so when I do get to behold an advancement, the pleasure is all the greater. My baby is now a walking toddler, with wishes and opinions – and I even understand some of his thought trails. As he develops a personality, all that remains for me to do is dote on him, facinated.
First steps are always delightful, as Jonathan began to walk more securely, we decided it was time for shoes. We took him shopping and brought him some nice sports shoes with Velcro strips. They are too big for him, because we were thinking a bit long term, but still they are not so big and he uses them now with pleasure. The first time I put them on for him he got up and walked in extra bog steps, looking at his feet and clearly questioning the addition his body just received. After a little while I let him g out and down the stair with the shoes. He seamed not to understand why his feet had gotten longer and continued to be clumsy and he struggled his way down the stairs. Jonathan is however a flexible and easy going type and by the time he was down the stairs he accepted the new strange things covering his feet and started walking faster with them. A few more days and he was a sure on his feet with shoes as without. He still sometimes struggles with the fact that the shoes make his feet longer, especially when going down the stairs and not managing to place his feet next to one another as he would wish, but he manages well enough.
Jonathan never really liked to go down the stairs like all babies do, that is bottom first. He skipped that stage and went straight to the phase of going down the stairway standing. At first he did this holding my hands, all my efforts to show him the railings were fruitless for a while, then one day he accepted my suggestion that he hold the railings near the stairs, and not me and every day he became surer in his steps down the stairs, clearly enjoying his independence. So much that I began to fear he will be too sure climbing down stairs that do not have a railing. But children are resilient, and Jonathan is no different. In our apartment house the railing is perfect for him, but near the post and also at my parents' house there is no rail. Having notices this problem, Jonathan simply went down the stairs without the rials bottom first – showing me that he can solve problems as they occur.
A nice thinking connection presented itself wen Jonathan used a wall and not a rail to go down the stairs in his kindergarten. The next quantum leap regarding stair climbing happened yesterday. Jonathan was going downstairs holding onto the rial as always, when he decided suddenly to change direction and for the first time he started climbing up the stair using the rail (until then he crawled up the stairs on his hands and knees). He tried a few stairs and then returned to going down, following me. He repeated this also later in the day and I expect that soon he will no longer crawl up the stairs at all.
Jonathan is getting bolder and has now started climbing the stairs placing his foot and not his knee on the higher stair. This climbing action also present itself when he tries to climb the sofa. He raises his knee high up and tries to place his foot on the sofa. With this tactic he has already managed to climb our living room table – pushing himself up, lying on his tummy and raising his knee high up and placing it on the table and crawling up. His father left him in the living room playing with the emote control as always and when he came back a moment later the boy was sitting ON the table!
Jonathan is also developing his expression skills and his able to express his wished better. He had however decided to call me “aba” which means daddy in Hebrew. There is a joke in Internet in Israel that goes like this. We mothers carry our babies for 9 months, loose sleep in their first few month of life, (mothers sleep less than fathers) breast feed them and put ourselves second to our children etc. Etc. and yet their first word is usually “aba” and all they keep saying is “'aba” - daddy. I think this would also work for other languages – daddy in English or pap in German and French. The sounds of B, P and D are easier that M – so babies say daddy long before hey say mommy. My frustration at being called “aba” is however greater, as it is clear that Jonathan can say the sound of M. he uses “mam mam” for food. Lately he also uses “na na” for food,and I believe this comes or the word banana – he gets lot of banana served because its healthy and easy to manage – the two guidelines for every mom – easy and still not bad for your kid. Fruit serve for me as sweet treats for Jonathan, and bananas and strawberry are his favorites.
He uses his body in his communication efforts. Pointing to things that interest him, lifting his arms to ask to be picked up and throwing himself on the floor in a tantrum when he is not pleased (usually when I forbid him to use the computer...or when I decide to put him back in his stroller after allowing his to roam). Jonathan is a curious baby and always reaching out to touch things and discover them. He will also offer me an object once he is finished researching it. Or he might just throw it on the floor if he losses interest. He claps his hands to congratulate himself on his achievements, looking at me and asking for my approval as well, I immediately comply and clap hands too! (This happens especially in the bath tub – Jonathan has leaned to put in the water stopper and then he looks up and claps – proud of his achievement – and proud he can be, it takes some motoric fineness to get that stopper in place).
He can also be very opinionated – Jonathan reacts with a small laugh when he sees his bottle, signaling that he would like to have it, even before reaching with his hands for it. He wails his complaint when I put a diaper on him – he clearly likes his freedom – he would prefer some wind between his legs..fresh air – just like he loves to freely walk all over the house or run forward in the street or a shopping mall. Pitty he is not potty trained yet – I am sure he would be more comfortable and I would save heaps of money on diapers... but the time will come soon enough.
That he is clever and a thinking child is also clear in the way he communicates a warning to me. If he is no longer hungry he will show me this by turning his head away, or playing with his food (if he is hungry he eats – no fooling around) and if I insist to try to feed some more (which like any “polish” mom I usually do – just to make sure he has had enough and does not want more) he spits it out. As he grows older, the spitting action becomes more of a protest and is hence more dramatic and a lot more dirty. Jonathan is a social easter, always coming to share when others eat. Today at a family dinner he even sat nicely on a plastic “growup” chair, clearly enjoying the food and the company and remaining sweetlyin his place for quite a while.
He was sick in the last two days and cranky. Since Jonathan is never cranky – I knew instantly that he is sick. (we have tenant at the moment and he says Jonathan is amazing because you never hear him cry – and once he heard him cry two days ago- our tenant asked immediately is Jonathan is sick). Did I mention that he warns me when something is wrong? Jonathan knew he was going to throw up, so he shook his head refusing to swallow medicine (he never refuses oral medicine unless he is about to throw up). Then he starts to cry and then to cough – giving me ample time to understand that he is about to throw up. I learned to understand these signs and this way was ready with a fabric diaper when he eventually did throw up – this way, only the diaper and my clothes got hit – not the chair I was sitting in holding Jonathan and not the floor – minimal damage! Its really sweet that he tries to communicate that something is wrong, and that he always does it in the same manner – so that eventually even I got the message.
He has his own language and the tones he uses are varied. Just listening to his language you can see that he is picking up the tones from adults. Jonathan is showing sensitivity to sound also in the fact that he clearly enjoys music. When my brother in law plays the piano at my parents' house, the boy sits on the carpet listening, truly fascinated. Music generating toys are Jonathan favorites and he loves it when I sing to him – either fun songs (with hand movements) during the day or calming lullaby songs at night are always welcome. He discovers his mouth again and again, making new sounds – today it was sticking his tongue out and spitting, making a sound like a motorcycle. I truly think he enjoys the sounds he produces and the process of producing them too. I enjoy watching him do it and reward him by repeating his sounds, and so today we were quite a motorcycle band for a while...PrrrPrrr Prrr Prrrrrrrrr
First steps are always delightful, as Jonathan began to walk more securely, we decided it was time for shoes. We took him shopping and brought him some nice sports shoes with Velcro strips. They are too big for him, because we were thinking a bit long term, but still they are not so big and he uses them now with pleasure. The first time I put them on for him he got up and walked in extra bog steps, looking at his feet and clearly questioning the addition his body just received. After a little while I let him g out and down the stair with the shoes. He seamed not to understand why his feet had gotten longer and continued to be clumsy and he struggled his way down the stairs. Jonathan is however a flexible and easy going type and by the time he was down the stairs he accepted the new strange things covering his feet and started walking faster with them. A few more days and he was a sure on his feet with shoes as without. He still sometimes struggles with the fact that the shoes make his feet longer, especially when going down the stairs and not managing to place his feet next to one another as he would wish, but he manages well enough.
Jonathan never really liked to go down the stairs like all babies do, that is bottom first. He skipped that stage and went straight to the phase of going down the stairway standing. At first he did this holding my hands, all my efforts to show him the railings were fruitless for a while, then one day he accepted my suggestion that he hold the railings near the stairs, and not me and every day he became surer in his steps down the stairs, clearly enjoying his independence. So much that I began to fear he will be too sure climbing down stairs that do not have a railing. But children are resilient, and Jonathan is no different. In our apartment house the railing is perfect for him, but near the post and also at my parents' house there is no rail. Having notices this problem, Jonathan simply went down the stairs without the rials bottom first – showing me that he can solve problems as they occur.
A nice thinking connection presented itself wen Jonathan used a wall and not a rail to go down the stairs in his kindergarten. The next quantum leap regarding stair climbing happened yesterday. Jonathan was going downstairs holding onto the rial as always, when he decided suddenly to change direction and for the first time he started climbing up the stair using the rail (until then he crawled up the stairs on his hands and knees). He tried a few stairs and then returned to going down, following me. He repeated this also later in the day and I expect that soon he will no longer crawl up the stairs at all.
Jonathan is getting bolder and has now started climbing the stairs placing his foot and not his knee on the higher stair. This climbing action also present itself when he tries to climb the sofa. He raises his knee high up and tries to place his foot on the sofa. With this tactic he has already managed to climb our living room table – pushing himself up, lying on his tummy and raising his knee high up and placing it on the table and crawling up. His father left him in the living room playing with the emote control as always and when he came back a moment later the boy was sitting ON the table!
Jonathan is also developing his expression skills and his able to express his wished better. He had however decided to call me “aba” which means daddy in Hebrew. There is a joke in Internet in Israel that goes like this. We mothers carry our babies for 9 months, loose sleep in their first few month of life, (mothers sleep less than fathers) breast feed them and put ourselves second to our children etc. Etc. and yet their first word is usually “aba” and all they keep saying is “'aba” - daddy. I think this would also work for other languages – daddy in English or pap in German and French. The sounds of B, P and D are easier that M – so babies say daddy long before hey say mommy. My frustration at being called “aba” is however greater, as it is clear that Jonathan can say the sound of M. he uses “mam mam” for food. Lately he also uses “na na” for food,and I believe this comes or the word banana – he gets lot of banana served because its healthy and easy to manage – the two guidelines for every mom – easy and still not bad for your kid. Fruit serve for me as sweet treats for Jonathan, and bananas and strawberry are his favorites.
He uses his body in his communication efforts. Pointing to things that interest him, lifting his arms to ask to be picked up and throwing himself on the floor in a tantrum when he is not pleased (usually when I forbid him to use the computer...or when I decide to put him back in his stroller after allowing his to roam). Jonathan is a curious baby and always reaching out to touch things and discover them. He will also offer me an object once he is finished researching it. Or he might just throw it on the floor if he losses interest. He claps his hands to congratulate himself on his achievements, looking at me and asking for my approval as well, I immediately comply and clap hands too! (This happens especially in the bath tub – Jonathan has leaned to put in the water stopper and then he looks up and claps – proud of his achievement – and proud he can be, it takes some motoric fineness to get that stopper in place).
He can also be very opinionated – Jonathan reacts with a small laugh when he sees his bottle, signaling that he would like to have it, even before reaching with his hands for it. He wails his complaint when I put a diaper on him – he clearly likes his freedom – he would prefer some wind between his legs..fresh air – just like he loves to freely walk all over the house or run forward in the street or a shopping mall. Pitty he is not potty trained yet – I am sure he would be more comfortable and I would save heaps of money on diapers... but the time will come soon enough.
That he is clever and a thinking child is also clear in the way he communicates a warning to me. If he is no longer hungry he will show me this by turning his head away, or playing with his food (if he is hungry he eats – no fooling around) and if I insist to try to feed some more (which like any “polish” mom I usually do – just to make sure he has had enough and does not want more) he spits it out. As he grows older, the spitting action becomes more of a protest and is hence more dramatic and a lot more dirty. Jonathan is a social easter, always coming to share when others eat. Today at a family dinner he even sat nicely on a plastic “growup” chair, clearly enjoying the food and the company and remaining sweetlyin his place for quite a while.
He was sick in the last two days and cranky. Since Jonathan is never cranky – I knew instantly that he is sick. (we have tenant at the moment and he says Jonathan is amazing because you never hear him cry – and once he heard him cry two days ago- our tenant asked immediately is Jonathan is sick). Did I mention that he warns me when something is wrong? Jonathan knew he was going to throw up, so he shook his head refusing to swallow medicine (he never refuses oral medicine unless he is about to throw up). Then he starts to cry and then to cough – giving me ample time to understand that he is about to throw up. I learned to understand these signs and this way was ready with a fabric diaper when he eventually did throw up – this way, only the diaper and my clothes got hit – not the chair I was sitting in holding Jonathan and not the floor – minimal damage! Its really sweet that he tries to communicate that something is wrong, and that he always does it in the same manner – so that eventually even I got the message.
He has his own language and the tones he uses are varied. Just listening to his language you can see that he is picking up the tones from adults. Jonathan is showing sensitivity to sound also in the fact that he clearly enjoys music. When my brother in law plays the piano at my parents' house, the boy sits on the carpet listening, truly fascinated. Music generating toys are Jonathan favorites and he loves it when I sing to him – either fun songs (with hand movements) during the day or calming lullaby songs at night are always welcome. He discovers his mouth again and again, making new sounds – today it was sticking his tongue out and spitting, making a sound like a motorcycle. I truly think he enjoys the sounds he produces and the process of producing them too. I enjoy watching him do it and reward him by repeating his sounds, and so today we were quite a motorcycle band for a while...PrrrPrrr Prrr Prrrrrrrrr
Friday, March 6, 2009
Bed Bottle Holder, Cool Tip
A bottle holder – anyone can make it, and if the baby learns o use it its a really cool thing to have.
Here is a useful tip I gt off a colleague at work who is also a mom: Make a bottle holder for your child's bed using an old pair of jeans. The legs go under the mattress and the waist is tied to the bed/pen. The pockets serve as cells for the bottles, and should be big enough to enable your child to also return the empty bottle to the holder (rather than throwing it out of the bed in protest of the fat that you again left him alone in the dark so he could do this strange thing called “sleep”). This also prevents milk from a full bottle from dropping on the mattress. Now all that remains is to tech your little treasure to actually use the new contraption... Hoping that the youth will learn to take his nightly drink form the holder (in which mommy placed a bottle at an earlier and normal hour) rather than calling at 3 am for me to make it and bring it to him is a bit too much, isn't it?
Here is a useful tip I gt off a colleague at work who is also a mom: Make a bottle holder for your child's bed using an old pair of jeans. The legs go under the mattress and the waist is tied to the bed/pen. The pockets serve as cells for the bottles, and should be big enough to enable your child to also return the empty bottle to the holder (rather than throwing it out of the bed in protest of the fat that you again left him alone in the dark so he could do this strange thing called “sleep”). This also prevents milk from a full bottle from dropping on the mattress. Now all that remains is to tech your little treasure to actually use the new contraption... Hoping that the youth will learn to take his nightly drink form the holder (in which mommy placed a bottle at an earlier and normal hour) rather than calling at 3 am for me to make it and bring it to him is a bit too much, isn't it?
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