A universal sign

1.5 years old

Wow - today marks Logan's 1.5 birthday! I can't believe he's already 18 months old. He's continuing to babble and throw in semi-recognizable words in between. Some of the new words he's picked up over the last month are: "fish", "cracker", "buh-bye", "boy", "girl", "shoes", "there", "cookie", "belly", "eye", "nose", "more", "night night", and "mine".


Last month he started pointing to his crib when he wanted to go to bed. Now he's actually saying "night night" as well. He's also starting to vocalize some of his previous signed-only words, the main one being "more". It's cool because he hasn't dropped his signing, he just says "more" at the same time that he signs it. :)


He's gotten very good at identifying CARS!


and BALLS! (would ya look at that milk belly?!?)


and saying BUH-BYE to pretty much anything that's moving away from him. He also likes to remind you where his (and your) belly, eyes, ears and of course, we all know this one well, nose are.

Oh, and let's not forget his favorite red furry friend, Elmo. It's not a new word but it's definitely his favorite (or, at least, ties with car and ball for most used). In fact, just this morning, when he woke up, he greeted me with a sleepy smile and, not a "Good mornin' Mama!" or a "Hi Daddy!" No no no.

Instead, his first word of the day had to be, in a very sweet and innocent voice, "Melmo?" (and when I proceeded to change his diaper first, before obeying his command and flipping on the TV, he started screaming "Melmo! Melmo! Melmo!"


The "Melmo" demands aren't too bad. However, the MINE! are a totally different story. Because, you know, everything is MINE! (I'm sooo glad his school taught him how to say mine.)

The food you're eating is MINE! The toy he's playing with is MINE! The toy you're playing with is MINE! The toy that another kid is looking at is MINE! The chair you're sitting in is MINE!

Jon and I have seriously looked him square in the eyes and said, Look kid, you better just forget this MINE! shit. Everything in this house is Mommy and Daddy's. Ain't nothin' yours yet.

But alas, you know how that discussion goes.

Lots of grins and more MINE MINE MINE!

At least he's not biting?

He has started to count (or at least mimic counting), likes to wear our shoes and clomp around in them, is known to sit quietly for 4 minutes flipping through his books, and LOVES to bend over, butt straight in the air, trying to turn a somersault (he can't quite do it by himself, but absolutely loves it when you help him and can't get enough).


But what makes me swell with pride most of all, is sharing with you how our love has picked up the habit of saying "tank u" for everything. Whether he's saying thank you for something you've given him, or thank you for something he's giving you, he's got it down pat. It's the most precious, adorable habit in the world and almost makes up for the nasty MINE! phase that we can't wait to move past.

I said almost.

17 months old

Logan has really turned a corner in speaking this last month which, for me, has been a fantastic delight. I knew once he had picked up "UH-OH" and began repeating it incessantly throughout the day, that his vocabulary would explode soon thereafter.

And I was right!

Some of the new words he's picked up and now uses pretty regularly are: juice ("ooce"), bottle ("baba"), please ("yeah" or "yeese"), thank you ("tank u"), Elmo ("ehmo"), ball ("ba"), book ("boog"), dog ("awg"), car ("gah"), balloon ("buhbuh" - or else he's saying bubble, who knows). :)

You'll notice none of these words are the words he signs for - and there is a reason for that. He still signs for "more", "milk", "help", etc. When we have tried asking him to say those words, he repeats the sign again and again as if to say: I ALREADY SAID IT! Why do you keep asking me to repeat myself?? Just hand me the damn bottle already.

So, I decided to start asking him to speak other NEW words instead. We actually started with please and thank you since I figured it can never be too early to teach the kid some manners, and that tactic proved successful. Once he started vocalizing those two words, and saw our pleased reaction, he started using more and more words with each new day. It's been super great - and we never get tired of hearing him try out yet another new word on us. :)

It's fascinating watching him grow up before our very own eyes.

Logan has also picked up a lot of speed in the last few weeks. The pitter-patter of little feet running through the house is a constant and when it's not, I'm always on the lookout for trouble that our little one has gotten himself into. He has not yet mastered jumping, but tries every chance he gets, usually stomping on top of a toy or teetering at the edge of some piece of furniture, ready to take the leap of faith.

He's still crazy about throwing anything he can get his hands onto, although now he's also interested in swinging his hands (like a golf club or bat) to hit objects (usually balls) with, and watch them soar across the room. And because that's not enough, he's recently learned how to kick, running and kicking balls at the same time, clear across an entire field front lawn! :)

Even though he is quite the tumbler, and loves to rough house with Daddy (every night before bedtime, they roll around on this huge body pillow), he is also extremely affectionate, and continues to wave hi, bye and blow kisses (even if they are sometimes open-mouthed).

He has recently become much more aware of going to the bathroom. He recognizes when he's pooping or has just finished, grabbing his crotch or tapping his diaper to let you know. And, when asked if he's just pooped or peed and needs his diaper changed? he'll tap/grab his crotch again and nod yes.

This particular development took us completely by surprise, since I didn't expect to start potty training until he was much older (I've heard/read that boys take a lot longer and usually don't start potty training until much later) and, none of the teachers at school have been teaching him or practicing the signs with him. Instead, he's just picked it up all on his own! We have yet to set him up with a little potty or pull-ups to begin practicing at home, but we'll be doing that pretty soon since it's such an exciting step forward for our growing boy. :)

Logan has really come into his own; becoming much more curious, independent (combing his own hair, brushing his own teeth and putting on his own sunscreen or lotion are just a few of his favorite things) and feisty (I have NO idea where he gets it from). Add to that his huge increase in communication and I would say that overall, I've liked this age the best so far.

Showing off a Mother's Day necklace Logan made for me at school.

Still, there are some parts of it that will leave any mother a bit empty hearted. Since, now that our big boy can do things on his own, he has started to go to bed without a bottle (still rare, but it has been known to happen) and almost always points to his crib when he's done with his bottle and ready to be laid down to fall asleep.

Which is sad for us since it wasn't too long ago that he couldn't fall asleep on his own, needing to rest his head on our chest, shoulder or cuddle in our arms before going down for the night. And those times are definitely something that we both (already) look back fondly upon.

The smile's great but we've still gotta work on him blinking during a flash. ;-)

15 months old

The big one-five. This last month has gone by in such a blur I really don't know what to post about!

Logan had his 15 month check-up today - and he did GREAT as usual. He's had an enormous growth spurt these last few months, and is now 33" tall (95%!). He's gained just under two pounds weighing in at 23 lbs, 10 oz (50%) and his head circumference is 48 cm (75%) round.

Other than the minor cold he's still getting over, he checked out just fine. Dr. Safir was impressed with Logan's strength and muscle tone, as usual, and said we've got a very inquisitive feisty smart little kid on our hands.

I commented at one point that he's not without his faults - a real pain in the ass many a time - and Dr. Safir just looked at me and said "Bree, I'd have to wonder if he was really your kid, if he weren't just a little bit of a pain in the ass"

Ha! What a smart ass (Dr. Safir was actually my own pediatrician, so it goes without saying he knows me, and my entire family, very very well).

He also teased me when I lamented that as much sign language as Logan is picking up, he still doesn't speak too many words. At that, Dr. Safir stopped cold and said "Oh crap, that's right Bree, I forgot to tell you your son has brain damage".

Yes, this is the sort of doctor we have (and love). You can imagine how many more sarcastic jokes and comments there are when Jon is in the room with me!

In any case, he said to stop worrying so much since Logan clearly understands us just fine, he's just taking his own sweet time with speaking (he told me it's not until 2.5-3 yrs old that you'd want to be concerned).

Logan also got a big cocktail shot - full of DTaP (Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis), HIB (Meningitis) and IPV (Polio) all in one. But, our little trooper didn't even bat an eye. He literally squinched up his nose and lips when Dr. Safir gave him the shot and then, as Dr. Safir and I looked on, waiting for the outburst, Logan just looked at him like, "WHAT, IS THAT ALL YOU'VE GOT??" And proceeded to rip off the band-aid that Dr. Safir had quickly stuck to his arm and stuck it back on Dr. Safir's face instead.

Classic.

It was a proud Mama Bree moment.

(Climbing up his chair to reach the toys we've put on top of the speaker box)

Logan is still signing up a storm - the newest words he's mastered since last month are milk, eat/hungry, and help. Help is actually a biggie for him - and thank goodness he's learning to ask for help, because he's such a temperamental little guy with a very short fuse. However, imagine his frustration when he spent the night at Zafu and Zabuton's this last weekend, signing for 'help' over and over again, only they had no idea what the heck he was signing. :)

(Logan signing 'help' since he couldn't quite reach the toys)

And, within the last week or so, he has started saying "Hi" as he waves hello to anyone that comes by, or when he pokes his head out from playing peek-a-boo, or my favorite, when he wakes up in the morning (we hear this teeny voice coming from behind his closed door saying "hi hi hi hi hi hi hi" over and over again).

Today, Miss Kim gave us the big news that even though there are a couple other kids that are older than Logan, she thinks he'll be moving up to the next class before them. He's just extremely mature for his age, has already been on the toddler schedule for some time, listens and obeys the teachers quite a bit (I know, I don't believe her either), and most importantly, seems to finally be getting a tad bit bored of his class. I'm done with this joint Mom. Time to move on.

It's both exciting and depressing news. I've been Miss Kim's biggest cheerleader and really hate the idea of losing her. On the other hand, I can't be selfish and hold my son back just because of a teacher. There are plenty of other good ones, and more importantly, Logan's development isn't going to slow down and we want to make sure he's always stimulated and excited at school each day. The good news is, once he moves into the next class (later next month), they'll begin potty training!

And man oh man. If that isn't a carrot to move parents along, I don't know what is.

A late night talk with my son

We were first woken up by our sickly diabetic cat puking up all over our bedspread at 4:00am in the morning. Lovely, isn't it?

After changing the bedspread and cleaning up the floor and Logan's tent (which was on the floor near my side of the bed, where I essentially threw Sanka the minute I heard her gagging on top of me), we settled back into our deep sleep - only to then be woken by little Logan next.

*sigh*

Jon covered the first shift - feeding him a bottle and putting him back to bed pretty quickly. But at 5:00am, he woke up crying again and wasn't able to fall back to sleep himself. So, I took this shift, and went in to pick him up and console him. I didn't arm myself with a bottle because I thought, he JUST had an entire bottle of warm milk like 20 minutes ago, he couldn't possibly need any more.

Boy was I wrong. And what's more, my crying son let me know.

He kept signing "more" to me in between his sobs and then pointing to the (closed) door of his room. I asked him, more? You want more of what? And he furiously nodded "yes", tears streaming down his face.

I thought, well what could he possibly want more of? He's just tired and upset and needs to sleep, as I dismissed the signs and continued to rock and cuddle with him.

He PUSHED me away and signed "more" again, much more deliberately. I thought, well, he just had a bottle, perhaps he wants more milk? So, I asked him, are you hungry? He nods an emphatic "yes" and then signs "hungry" followed by "more" and additional head nods.

I was amazed at how much he was communicating with me, even in the most distressful situation it seemed. I called out to Jon to get me another bottle, and wouldn't you know it, that's exactly what Logan needed. He polished the bottle off and then snuggled back into my arms, totally content and singing to himself as I rocked him in the dark (and not waking up on his own in the morning until we came in to get him ready for school!).

I was still in disbelief at what had just taken place - exactly *how* much Logan was growing up and communicating on his own. It's truly amazing.

And, who knew? Listening to your baby and watching for the signs is all you really need to succeed at this parenting thing.

14 months old

I literally had to stop and think for a minute before titling this post.

Let's see..... 12 + January equals 13, + February equals 14.

14 months old!

*sigh*

Why is it parents track kids' ages in months for like 28 months or something? Can we move onto the years marker yet?

And yet, I'm going to make you read about all the fun changes in Logan we've noticed over this past month anyway. So there.

Actually - we've noticed quite a bit. This past month has been momentous for us, mostly because, it feels like Logan has really "grown up". There are so many new things he's picked up that FEEL like they should belong to a 3 yr old toddler and yet our little kid works at them, his mind clicking away at rapid speeds, no problem.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, his school has moved him onto the toddler schedule. He's transitioned to one nap a day, and has taken to feeding himself with a fork or spoon as much as possible. And, if you forget to give him his fork, he'll make do spearing his cheese cubes with his pretzel sticks instead.

Good luck feeding him on your own - it's a constant struggle as he gets pissed off that you are trying to sneak a piece of pasta in his mouth without HIM putting that piece of pasta in his mouth. He'll mush it in his mouth, contemplating if it's worth eating, and usually spit it out. Then he'll look down at the same mushed up pasta piece on his tray and proceed to spear it with his fork AND THEN - yes, you guessed it - put it in his mouth to eat.

It can drive the most patient person insane.

So just imagine how Jon and I are doing right now.

He has picked up his walking speed a fair number of clicks - to the point that, I have to double check to make sure his classroom door is closed and not wide open when picking him up for the evening. It's happened on more than one occasion where I'll be packing up his stuff only to find he's bolted out the door and down the hallway. He's not yet running, but he's definitely quick and nimble on the feet now.

But, I think the biggest marker of him "growing up" for us, has been the incredible improvements with his fine motor skills. It's amazing to watch his little brain spin while his teeny hands work at solving the mystery that is Mom's water bottle cap. And within minutes he has figured out how to screw the cap on and off, entertaining himself for some time while on Mama's lap. He's quick to untie his shoes - even when I've double-knotted them! He even tries to put his shoes back on once they are off, but of course, gets very frustrated because he can't.

And, his favorite of all time, are his buckles. He helps me buckle himself into his stroller, his car seat, the airplane seat, his high chair. Unfortunately, he isn't strong enough (nor quite figured it out I don't think) that he needs to pinch the clasp together to release the buckle - so he gets extremely annoyed when the buckle won't release by just pulling apart the two ends. Although, it's probably better he doesn't figure out how to undo the buckles for now anyway.

To us, all of these developments feel so much more advanced than a 14 month old should be doing. Yet, he still doesn't talk or utter much of any word at all to be honest (except for perhaps "dog", "dada" and "mama"), so it just goes to show, what you read online is totally true (every baby truly is different and develops at their own pace). ;-)

Even though Logan hasn't started talking yet, he still is a very social and communicative little kid. Just the other night when we were having dinner with the Jodoins and Chouns, Jenn and I noticed Logan and Robert playing "footsie" underneath the table. And afterward, the two buds ran around exploring, hugging, chattering and overall interested in one another and what each was doing. It's great to see that sort of social activity from Logan - and luckily, we observe his outgoing nature in any sort of setting, day after day.

As for his communicative style - though he doesn't speak much at all, he gestures in volumes. He throws his hands up in the air or out to anyone he is interested in greeting. He'll rub his hands together when I get the lotion out, to help me lather him up. But more than anything else, he's really taken to signing lately, and because he's picking it up so quickly, we're trying to encourage it at home even more.

The three main signs he uses the most are 'goodbye', 'more' and 'all done' - but he's also learning 'yes', 'no', and just today, 'hat' (they were playing a game at school where they were trying on several different hats). He also understands 'up', 'down' and 'help' - although he's still having trouble doing those signs (inevitably, if he has trouble, everything becomes 'more' to him) :) And, I'm also working on the sign for 'dog' since he seems to know the word well, and once he gets that down, I think I'll focus on 'cat' next (since, at this point, he thinks all furry animals are 'dogs').

But best of all, Jon has taught him the word 'kiss' - so that our cutie pie will lean in with pursed lips close to our face to peck us on the cheek.

What more could you ask for?

Sleepover

Saturday night my parents did us a HUGE favor by watching Logan so that Jon and I could steal away for some much needed couples time, and a full nights rest. After the crazy past couple of weeks I really welcomed the downtime. It was awesome!!

We actually had a pretty late night since we didn't plan it very well :) But, we still managed to have a scrumptious dinner at our favorite Ethiopian restaurant (Zeni) and then caught a movie afterward (Taken). The movie was really good and I'd highly recommend it. I think it was even more entertaining now that we're parents - both Jon and I were rooting for the Dad big time (played by Liam Neeson) and practically jumped out of our chairs cheering anytime he'd kick a bad guys' ass. What can I say, I'm a sucker for the action flicks.

Unfortunately for my parents, Logan wasn't the easy-go-lucky kiddo that he usually is during his sleepovers - and woke them up not once, but twice, in the middle of the night. :( I felt awful - and it is exactly the reason why I don't like having him sleep over!!

Anyway, my parents were really great spirits about it (thanks mom and dad!!) and enjoyed hanging out with their grandson, at least -- during the waking daylight hours. ;-)

Zabuton took a few pictures of Logan's stay yesterday morning - take a look! (click on the pic for more)


The weekend now behind us, Logan had a really great day at school and impressed his teachers with the new signing he has picked up. Daddy, on the other hand, went home early for the day - as it seems he's now caught the stomach bug that I had last week (at least, we think it's probably the same one).

And with that said, I'm logging off early to take care of my other baby. :(

13 months old

Yesterday Logan turned 13 months old. It doesn't feel like such a big milestone since the big one last month. Still, I thought I'd post a short blog on the recent developments of our little star (with a handful of pics I was able to s-l-o-w-l-y upload via our wireless card).

Of course, the biggie has been his progress on the walking front. I'm still amazed at how quickly babies will go from one day not knowing how to do something at all, to the next day, sitting up, getting up on all fours, crawling, standing, cruising and now walking. Though he took his first steps a little over a month ago, his walking has really blossomed just this past week. He favors walking from toy to toy, couch to couch, person to person in most instances. He'll still crawl - but it's usually when he's impatient and wants to get somewhere really fast, or he has fallen down and is just tired. :) Generally though, even after falling, I'll notice he will stand back up to try again. What a determined little trooper we have!

In addition to walking - he's also learned this neat little trick of crawling backwards (which is HILARIOUS if you've never seen it before). He generally does this when he sees you coming for him and wants to get away. :)

Our monkey is quite the climber - pretty much anything that looks scalable, he'll try. Luckily, he's kept to places like the hearth, which isn't too far of a drop if he falls. However, next to the hearth is Lola's crate which I did find him climbing up onto one morning.

The crate is no longer next to the hearth.

Logan's always been one for feeding himself, even since the early days. He gets very frustrated when I spoon feed him, since he can't do it himself. Lately, his teacher Kim has started letting him eat with his spoon at preschool. She usually does this toward the end of his meals after she's fed him the majority of his lunch, since it becomes quite a mess the minute he takes over the driving. He definitely understands the concept, though he's still struggling with the coordination. :)

Along with the self feeding comes the straw. He's a master at the sippy cup, but is still always more interested in Jon's or my glasses at the dinner table. So, while at Marine World, Jon gave him a few sips of his soda, through the GIGANTIC boba-sized straw. It was like turning on a hose to the poor guy. :)

Since then, we've gone small, introducing him to smaller sized straws and kid sized cups (usually when we go out to eat). And, he loves it. A few times he'll suck too hard and you see a fountain of juice or water spilling down his front, but he's quickly caught on and can't get enough. Now the only trouble is not letting him think he can just grab at the straw whenever he wants!

His dexterity is getting better at other things. He's very familiar with opening the safety gate to the laundry room now. Jon jumped out of his chair the other morning, running to "catch" him (he thought Logan was going to fall once the gate swung open). I had forgotten to tell him that Logan's been doing that for awhile now. ;-) Luckily, Logan's only interested in getting into the laundry room when I am in there. Otherwise he has no interest. Still, we're going to have to start using the actual lock on the gate soon I think.

Lately, he's been trying really hard to figure out how to click belts closed (or open) on his high chair, car seat, stroller, etc. It drives him crazy that he can't figure out how (or has the strength) to do it.

And finally, another small achievement the other day that really made my heart swell. After dinner I made the sign for "all done" since I recently learned that Kim uses baby sign language with him (and her other kids) throughout the day. This isn't a requirement at the preschool, in fact she's the only teacher I know that does it in Logan's classroom (you'll remember I thought I'd take up signing with Logan myself but never really got into it like I had hoped). So, I can't tell you how much I love having her as Logan's teacher! :)

Anyway, when it seemed like Logan was finally done with his meal (adamantly throwing food down on the floor is usually a sign, right?), I made the sign for "all done?" and what do you know.

He signed "all done" back. :)

American Sign Language

I just purchased the "Sign with your Baby" starter kit (with book, demonstrational DVD, and quick reference guide) as well as some flash cards, which just arrived from good ol' Amazon today. I've heard good things about signing with your baby -- so I'm going to give it a try. It would be awesome if we could communicate with Logan before he begins to talk -- I can only imagine it's going to make life that much more fun and interesting (not to mention less frustrating for Logan *and* us!!)

Most sites recommend starting sign language with your baby at 6 months since they generally start having better control over their hands.... but other sites say you can really start as soon as you want, since they can learn/understand the signs, even before they can actually do them themselves. So, in some ways I feel I'm already behind the 8-ball on this one, but since we haven't yet hit his 6 month birthday, I'm still within the "zone" to start. ;-)

Anyhoo, I can't wait! I've already flipped thru some of the cards and book and it seems a lot more intuitive than I was expecting. It'll be exciting to learn another language and teach Logan to "talk" at the same time... :)