The V word

I taught A the proper words for body parts a couple of months ago when she and N started taking baths together. The first time we put N in the bath we had the following conversation:
A: (pointing to N’s penis) “What’s this?”
Me: N’s penis.
A: “What’s this?”
Me:”Penis”
A: “I want to touch it.”

The following day we had a similar conversation:
A: “I want to touch N’s penis”
Me: “Ummm”
A: “I touched N’s penis!” (she did…)
Me: “Yes you did”
A: “What does A have?” (touching herself)
Me: (Think! Think!) “A vagina”
Silence from A.

We’ve had the “what’s this” conversations a few more times. Today during dinner A walks into the kitchen with a diaper.
A: “I want it.”
Me: “What do you want to do with it?”
A: “Put it on my vagina.”

Okay.

Ready, steady, throw!

N is all about throwing stuff. He sits in his Bumbo seat with a box of toys in front of him and 5 minutes later all the toys are all over the room.  Dropping objects fascinate him. Books – not so much. N thinks books are good for: a) grabbing b) chewing c) throwing. Reading? Hmmm. That’s A’s thing.

Today I told A that it’s a good idea to go to sleep and not wake up at night. A’s reply: “No. I want to wake up and then go to sleep again!” Yeah.

Sitting!

N can sit. On his own. No hands. Only for a little bit. But he can do it. He couldn’t yesterday, he can today.

A very exciting day

After a difficult night, an exciting day.

1. Waffles – Yesterday A decided that she wanted waffles for dinner. We only had one strip in the freezer which she guzzled down with delight. Late last night L made a new batch of waffles. A was ecstatic this morning when I told her she could have waffles for breakfast. I don’t remember A being so excited about eating ANYTHING in the past few months.

2. Two Boos – Some of our favorite book characters are Boo and Baa. Now, I couldn’t really come up with a good description of these sheep, but this is just perfect: “Whenever Boo and Baa decide to do something, it usually gets all muddled. And they are always surprised. But in the end, it all gets straightened out, even though Boo and Baa don’t really understand how.”
This morning A asked L to put on this funny hat we have and informed him that he is Boo. A was Baa. Then L was Baa and A was Boo. By the end of the day the perfect equilibrium was achieved: Two Boos!

3. Poop in the potty – Before getting into the bath A let us know that she peed. She then agreed to sit on her potty. She kept getting up to see if there was anything in it. No such luck. Then, while in the bath, she said “poop” and was promptly whisked out by L and placed on the potty. Success.

4. Sleep – N had a perfect napping record today: 1.5 hours in the morning, 1.5 hours midday and 0.5 hour in the afternoon. He didn’t sleep all that well last night. Is it a zero sum game? I’m still waiting for sleep begets sleep.

2 teeth

N’s teeth broke through today. He has 2! I’m not quite sure I’m ready for him to use them.

The heat wave saga continues. Today L resorted to putting Betsy and Blankie in the fridge to prevent another tantrum because they were not cold enough. What will we do in the summer?

I want to shave

Sometimes A likes to shave. Today before she took a bath she asked to shave. A’s shaving consists of applying shaving cream to her body, just like soap. She sang a little song about shaving cream. Then asked for more.

5 months

N is 5 months old today. These are the things that N can do:
1. Smile
2. Laugh
3. Drool
4. Roll over from stomach to back (but he only did it once)
5. Chew on his fingers
6. Try to catch toys with his hands
7. Sit for a tiny bit supported by his hands
8. Squeal! (he loves to experiment with his newly discovered voice)
9. Grab hair and noses

Here are things that make N laugh:
1. A
2. Flying objects (like his pants when we change his diaper)
3. His dad (he cracks me up too!)

Here are the things that N can’t do (yet) (OR here are the things we wish N could do):
1. Go to sleep without crying
2. Stay asleep
3. Sleep in A’s room (see 1 & 2)

This evening A decided that we must put N in his Bumbo seat so she can give him hugs and kisses. She then proceeded to feed him with “food” from the Seder plate in her Jewish Holiday book. She kept the “bone” for her dog Blue.

Not cold enough

A is not impressed with spring. Or maybe it’s that she’s a true New Englander. Or maybe she knows something about global warming that we don’t. She recently started complaining that her dinosaurs were not “cold enough.” So we sent them for winter vacation in the freezer. It seems that they have now been banished to freeze in the darkness, as they can never seem to remain cold enough once they are let out into the free. Other objects seem to suffer from heat stroke, but we are weary. And the freezer is full.

N discovered his feet today! And he can sit on his own for a second or two, if he leans forward and supports himself with his arms. And his bottom teeth are just about to break through (but I have been saying this for a while…). This makes for a rather exciting life. Day and night.

Ma Nishtana?

On their last excursion to the Boston Public Library, L picked up some Jewish holiday themed books. He got Hooray! It’s Passover!, which is about a family having a Seder. The best feature of the book, as far as A is concerned, is that this family has cats (their number growing exponentially as you turn the pages). The book describes what you do at a Seder: Family gathers together, set the table, say the blessings over the candles, wine and matzah, tell the story of the exodus (now, how the book describes this would get my Dad on a roll, but nevermind), sing songs, eat and look for the Afikoman. It’s just what I need to insert some more info, like reciting the blessings (that A knows from Shabbat) and singing the songs. Turns out that N LOVES it when I sing Ma Nishtana. It’s his favorite song. Go figure.

Something Else

In the past couple of weeks A has asked to be referred to as Something Else. It all started when she spotted her bunny costume in the closet and asked to put it on. It was not surprising that she wanted to be called Bunny. She then insisted that she is Bunny-Cat. Or Cat-Bunny. In A’s world nothing is ever simple. When we called her A she reminded us that “this is Cat-Bunny.” And N was always a Baby (and always in Hebrew – Tinoket). Then she was Something Else. Sometimes she is an Owl-Frog. But mostly Something Else. We try to remember. It’s kind of tricky, because sometimes she is just A.