I wish I had kept all of our "packing lists" from when Sam was a baby. Before each trip we took, we'd take almost a whole day just making a list of stuff to bring for Sam. (In the early days, I'd start the list a week ahead of time and I'd be adding things each day until we left.) We always set aside an entire day to pack.
We still make a list, but it's so much shorter now. It still changes every time, though. At first, we needed to bring dozens of baby washcloths and burp cloths, but as that need fell away, we started needing to bring baby food, spoons and bowls. Now we don't need to bring baby food, but we do need Sam's toothbrush and toddler toothpaste. Depending on where we are going, we might bring diapers for the entire trip, or we might plan to buy some at our destination. In the past, we always had to bring Sam's "white noise machine" which she only recently gave up, plus a CD player and CD's, and the baby monitor. Sometimes we might need the car seat, sometimes a stroller, and we always need the Pack 'n Play, except when we go to Adam's parents' house, where they have one waiting for her. Most of the time we bring some children's Iboprofen, but we used to bring her whole "medical kit" which included her baby nail clippers, an aspirator, and a thermometer. I can't even remember all the stuff we used to need to bring along, but I remember that it would fill a whole sheet of paper. Now, it's down to half a page.
Her needs change so quickly. I think it would be fun to have a history of all the "stuff" of babyhood, and a record of how it evolved.
Maybe next time...
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
The Sam Update - Thirty Four Months Old
Only 2 more months until Samantha is 3 years old! I'm going to have to start thinking about what to do for her birthday
I have a feeling we've entered the talking phase. I mean, the nonstop,
endless, unbearably-cute-and-irritating-at-the-same-time, talking phase. Sam has always given us her lovely soliloquies, but now she is interested in conversations. This kind of thing happens a dozen times a day:
MOMMY?
Yes?
MOMMY? I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE GO PWAYGWOUND.
We'll go to the playground after your snack.
MOMMY?
Yes?
MOMMY? I LIKE JUICE.
You have juice in front of you.
MOMMY? I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE, SOMETHING ELSE.
This is your snack in front of you.
MOMMY? I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE CANDY.
Oh.
MOMMY?
What is it, sweetie?
MOMMY, LOOK! LOOK, EYES, NOSE, MOUTH [she's made a face on the plate with her food]
That's a face!
MOMMY? WHAT DOING?
We're having a snack.
MOMMY? MISS E. [her teacher] SQUIRT SHOES WITH WATER. CRIED. MOMMY COME LATER. AFTER NAP.
Oh, Miss E. squirted your shoes with water during water play? Did you like that?
NO. SHOOK ME.
You were scared.
YES. MOMMY?
Yes?
MOMMY? TELL LIDA-BAYDA STORY.
I'm sorry, Sam, but I can't tell you a story while I'm eating. My mouth is busy chewing.
MOMMY?
MOMMY?
MOMMY?
Yes, Sam.
MOMMY? ALL DONE SNACK.
Ok, let's clean up.
NO! NO CLEAN UP. MOMMY? I LIKE SOMETHING ELSE. I LIKE PWAYGWOUND. I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE, WAAAAAAAA!
We seem to be losing a lot of the cute mispronunciations lately. If I correct her, she can say most words properly, although she still uses her baby words most of the time. I tried to note as many of them as I could before they disappear altogether:
Pwaygwound (playground)
An bote (both - she always says "and" along with "both")
Shook (scratch)
Shook (scared - I can tell the difference between scratch and scared because with scared she usually does the sign language along with the word)
Membo (remember)
Danky (thank you)
Pudy (put)
Read-ee (read)
Oh-gee (orange)
Hebicopa (helicopter)
Adi-gayda (alligator)
PB (TV)
Bit (bib)
Lida bayda (little bear)
Downshush (downstairs)
Amee-yo (animal)
Sam-bup (stand up)
Seep (sleep)
Back-see-ball (basketball)
What we're getting in exchange is Samantha's new, made-up language. She mostly speaks it to the cat and it sounds something like, CHA-MOW-WOW. MI-MI-MOW-A. HA-HEE-NA-HEE-NA. MUSH. A-WEE-AH. GOI-A-BOO-BOO. She loves that cat so much we should have known she'd find a way to speak his language.
I've asked Sam a couple of times if she would like a baby brother or sister and she says yes, but I don't think she really knows what it means. I've heard that many children her age start asking for a brother or sister and I would have expected it from Sam by now since she loves babies so much. She's definitely the nurturing type and I know she'll be interested in a baby, but I also know that she likes to be the center of attention and the transition will be hard.
As I've been writing this, Sam has come over a few times and asked to be picked up. I explain to her that I can't pick her up while I'm writing and that this is her time to play by herself. If she seems lost, I'll ask her if she needs help finding something to do. She usually says no and walks off, but if she doesn't find something she'll be right back again saying, MOMMY PLEASE PICK UP. But the last time, she went to her bookshelf and I heard her "reading." When she was done, she said, MOMMY, READ BOOK SELF! (She can't really read it, but she is working on it, as I'll write about in a future post.) Sam made a lot of strides in her independence this month. She can get up and down from her booster seat at the dinner table, she can climb in and out of her car seat, and many other physical things, but mostly, she just continues to find new ways to amuse herself. And us.
I have a feeling we've entered the talking phase. I mean, the nonstop,
endless, unbearably-cute-and-irritating-at-the-same-time, talking phase. Sam has always given us her lovely soliloquies, but now she is interested in conversations. This kind of thing happens a dozen times a day:MOMMY?
Yes?
MOMMY? I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE GO PWAYGWOUND.
We'll go to the playground after your snack.
MOMMY?
Yes?
MOMMY? I LIKE JUICE.
You have juice in front of you.
MOMMY? I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE, SOMETHING ELSE.
This is your snack in front of you.
MOMMY? I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE CANDY.
Oh.
MOMMY?
What is it, sweetie?
MOMMY, LOOK! LOOK, EYES, NOSE, MOUTH [she's made a face on the plate with her food]
That's a face!
MOMMY? WHAT DOING?
We're having a snack.
MOMMY? MISS E. [her teacher] SQUIRT SHOES WITH WATER. CRIED. MOMMY COME LATER. AFTER NAP.
Oh, Miss E. squirted your shoes with water during water play? Did you like that?
NO. SHOOK ME.
You were scared.
YES. MOMMY?
Yes?
MOMMY? TELL LIDA-BAYDA STORY.
I'm sorry, Sam, but I can't tell you a story while I'm eating. My mouth is busy chewing.
MOMMY?
MOMMY?
MOMMY?
Yes, Sam.
MOMMY? ALL DONE SNACK.
Ok, let's clean up.
NO! NO CLEAN UP. MOMMY? I LIKE SOMETHING ELSE. I LIKE PWAYGWOUND. I LIKE, I LIKE, I LIKE, WAAAAAAAA!
We seem to be losing a lot of the cute mispronunciations lately. If I correct her, she can say most words properly, although she still uses her baby words most of the time. I tried to note as many of them as I could before they disappear altogether:
Pwaygwound (playground)
An bote (both - she always says "and" along with "both")
Shook (scratch)
Shook (scared - I can tell the difference between scratch and scared because with scared she usually does the sign language along with the word)
Membo (remember)
Danky (thank you)
Pudy (put)
Read-ee (read)
Oh-gee (orange)
Hebicopa (helicopter)
Adi-gayda (alligator)
PB (TV)
Bit (bib)
Lida bayda (little bear)
Downshush (downstairs)
Amee-yo (animal)
Sam-bup (stand up)
Seep (sleep)
Back-see-ball (basketball)
What we're getting in exchange is Samantha's new, made-up language. She mostly speaks it to the cat and it sounds something like, CHA-MOW-WOW. MI-MI-MOW-A. HA-HEE-NA-HEE-NA. MUSH. A-WEE-AH. GOI-A-BOO-BOO. She loves that cat so much we should have known she'd find a way to speak his language.
I've asked Sam a couple of times if she would like a baby brother or sister and she says yes, but I don't think she really knows what it means. I've heard that many children her age start asking for a brother or sister and I would have expected it from Sam by now since she loves babies so much. She's definitely the nurturing type and I know she'll be interested in a baby, but I also know that she likes to be the center of attention and the transition will be hard.
As I've been writing this, Sam has come over a few times and asked to be picked up. I explain to her that I can't pick her up while I'm writing and that this is her time to play by herself. If she seems lost, I'll ask her if she needs help finding something to do. She usually says no and walks off, but if she doesn't find something she'll be right back again saying, MOMMY PLEASE PICK UP. But the last time, she went to her bookshelf and I heard her "reading." When she was done, she said, MOMMY, READ BOOK SELF! (She can't really read it, but she is working on it, as I'll write about in a future post.) Sam made a lot of strides in her independence this month. She can get up and down from her booster seat at the dinner table, she can climb in and out of her car seat, and many other physical things, but mostly, she just continues to find new ways to amuse herself. And us.
Monday, July 6, 2009
IOU
I have so much to blog about that words are coming out of my ears, but we just got back from our little trip to North Carolina and I'm trying to catch up on laundry and grocery shopping and all that fun stuff. I have some good stories to share from our trip, a really great product recommendation, and a Sam Update for y'all, so stay tuned. In the meantime, in case you missed it, you can relieve your boredom by catching up on last week's Objectivist Round Up which was hosted by none other than Rational Jenn.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Confessions
Forgive me, Internet, for I have sinned. It has been 6 days since my last confession.
I committed the host's cardinal sin of allowing not 1, but 2 bathrooms to run out of toilet paper during our party last weekend. I didn't even have tissues as backup.
I committed the host's cardinal sin of allowing not 1, but 2 bathrooms to run out of toilet paper during our party last weekend. I didn't even have tissues as backup.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Children, Parents, and Power Struggles
I recently finished listening to Susan Crawford's Children, Parents, and Power Struggles lectures. Susan runs a parenting e-mail list that I subscribe to called the Rational Parenting List, and these lectures were given at the 2004 Objectivist Summer Conference.
This course was a great complement to my other reading on parenting. Much of the material Susan covers is similar to what you would find in my favorite How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. I'd definitely put Susan in the Positive Discipline camp, although I don't think she uses that term. She does give the best explanation of "consequences" that I've heard. I'm paraphrasing, but she says that choices have consequences, and that consequences are logically related to the choice. Further, natural consequences are the ones that follow automatically, while logical consequences are the ones that parents impose, but which attempt to maintain that connection between action and consequence. So, a natural consequence of a child's forgetting to take his lunch to school would be that he would go without that meal. A logical consequence of a child's not coming home on time would be for the parent to disallow him going out for a period of time, the connection being that the child can not be trusted. I liked this distinction because I think it will help me work on consequences. I now can always ask myself: Is there a sufficient natural consequence for this behavior? If not, do I need to impose a logical consequence? It's occurring to me as I write this that the need for logical consequences probably arises mostly in connection with social requirements. It's analogous to the difference between the laws of physics and the laws of man. I'll have to think about that more - it's just a germ of an idea.
I did find the course to be somewhat disorganized. I'm not good at listening without taking notes and I listened to this in the car over a few weeks, so that didn't help. But Susan's outline shows that what she's really doing is covering a range of discrete issues in the context of power struggles. Here are just a few topics that she covers:
What I found very helpful was that she gives so many examples and concrete suggestions. She often lists off a dozen or more specific ways you can deal with a particular issue. The presentation can be dry because of this, but I feel like many of those ideas are lurking around in my subconscious now, ready to be pulled out when the moment arises. I suspect I'm going to listen to this course every couple of years just to restock my toolbox.
You can purchase the course from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. I do recommend it, especially if you have more time to listen than to read, or if you are an auditory learner. If you're interested in signing up for the mailing list (for a small yearly fee), you can send an e-mail to rplist at aol dot com. If I recall, Susan does allow a trial membership.
This course was a great complement to my other reading on parenting. Much of the material Susan covers is similar to what you would find in my favorite How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk. I'd definitely put Susan in the Positive Discipline camp, although I don't think she uses that term. She does give the best explanation of "consequences" that I've heard. I'm paraphrasing, but she says that choices have consequences, and that consequences are logically related to the choice. Further, natural consequences are the ones that follow automatically, while logical consequences are the ones that parents impose, but which attempt to maintain that connection between action and consequence. So, a natural consequence of a child's forgetting to take his lunch to school would be that he would go without that meal. A logical consequence of a child's not coming home on time would be for the parent to disallow him going out for a period of time, the connection being that the child can not be trusted. I liked this distinction because I think it will help me work on consequences. I now can always ask myself: Is there a sufficient natural consequence for this behavior? If not, do I need to impose a logical consequence? It's occurring to me as I write this that the need for logical consequences probably arises mostly in connection with social requirements. It's analogous to the difference between the laws of physics and the laws of man. I'll have to think about that more - it's just a germ of an idea.
I did find the course to be somewhat disorganized. I'm not good at listening without taking notes and I listened to this in the car over a few weeks, so that didn't help. But Susan's outline shows that what she's really doing is covering a range of discrete issues in the context of power struggles. Here are just a few topics that she covers:
- Time Outs
- Picky Eaters
- Tattling
- Procrastination
- Honesty
What I found very helpful was that she gives so many examples and concrete suggestions. She often lists off a dozen or more specific ways you can deal with a particular issue. The presentation can be dry because of this, but I feel like many of those ideas are lurking around in my subconscious now, ready to be pulled out when the moment arises. I suspect I'm going to listen to this course every couple of years just to restock my toolbox.
You can purchase the course from the Ayn Rand Bookstore. I do recommend it, especially if you have more time to listen than to read, or if you are an auditory learner. If you're interested in signing up for the mailing list (for a small yearly fee), you can send an e-mail to rplist at aol dot com. If I recall, Susan does allow a trial membership.
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