In anticipation of Baby Z's two year check up, I have been faithfully chronicling the words that Baby Z can currently say. From what I read, from 2-3 years old a child will have between 50 and 300 words. It's probably obsessive, but I want to be completely accurate when I talk to the doctor about it. The list is 30 words long right now. And I am counting things that don't sound quite right, but are close and he uses them consistently. He seems to favor sound effects mostly- my favorite being "doh," as in Homer Simpson, which I admit I say quite often.
I think Baby Z is on the later end of speech development, but perhaps only slightly so for boys. But it's not hard to see that within a year he will have A LOT more words (well within the range I noted above). Anyway, for peace of mind, I'm going to talk to the doctor about it. He shows lots of understanding and communicates well with signs and the words he does have. I don't think I would want to intervene in any way until after 2 1/2 years old, if we didn't see continued improvement. So far, there has been steady growth but I just want to keep an eye on it, you know. I have friends who've told me their boys started suddenly speaking in full sentences after the age of two. I have talked myself out of the idea that he will wake up the day of his birthday and say, "Good morning, Mama. Cereal, please?" However, recently I've noticed he is trying more sounds and imitating what I say occasionally (usually when it is a moment that will push my patience, such as when I say, "Get down, now," in the full Mother voice. Then Baby Z decides it's a good time to say "now.").
Who can understand the wonders of an individual child's development. Why did Baby Z start walking at 15 months with near perfection, hardly a spill or fall. And why does he now say "ush" for hush, as in "the little old lady whispering hush," when he has never said "ball" or "baby." Hm. Well, he is his own little person and I'll just keep encouraging him to try new sounds and words. If speech development followed interests, his next word would be "trash" or "lawn mower" or "sprinkler."
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
Baby Z at the Zoo
I can't believe it's been over a week since I last posted. What the heck have I been doing? It's been busy and it keeps up through Christmas. I'm glad; I like the days to go by quickly.
Baby Z and I went to the zoo last week. It's a small zoo not too far away and I planned to spend about an hour or so. I though the monkeys would be a huge hit, but it turns out that the animal Baby Z liked best was the llama:
Besides that, he loved pointing out the sprinklers and lights. And there was a play area where he could practice his "up" and "do" (down) skills. There was a hill built over this tunnel he could run up and over:
Baby Z did pretty well at obeying and following directions, but it was challenging to corral him, keep up with the stroller, lift him up to see animals, etc. It's definitely easier if you have two parents there. However, I'm trying to work on Baby Z's obedience outdoors because before too long I'm just going to have even more to handle.
P.S. This is what happens when you blog while Baby Z is not down for his nap yet:
Baby Z and I went to the zoo last week. It's a small zoo not too far away and I planned to spend about an hour or so. I though the monkeys would be a huge hit, but it turns out that the animal Baby Z liked best was the llama:
Besides that, he loved pointing out the sprinklers and lights. And there was a play area where he could practice his "up" and "do" (down) skills. There was a hill built over this tunnel he could run up and over:
Baby Z did pretty well at obeying and following directions, but it was challenging to corral him, keep up with the stroller, lift him up to see animals, etc. It's definitely easier if you have two parents there. However, I'm trying to work on Baby Z's obedience outdoors because before too long I'm just going to have even more to handle.
P.S. This is what happens when you blog while Baby Z is not down for his nap yet:
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Garden Brunch Shower
The baby shower for Auntie J was a HUGE success! The decorations turned out as cute as I had imagined and all the Aunties brought along excellent, yummy food. Auntie J got showered and showered with gifts and love. Here are some pictures:
Set up, with Baby Z a little grumpy about all the unusual activity. John whisked him away shortly after this:
I pasted paper butterflies and birds on the paper lanterns (big and small) and we hung those from the patio cover. For tables, I covered cardboard boxes with white paper and then a pretty colored paper on top like a kind of tablecloth (you can see one in the distance in the second picture). Then, we hung a clothesline of cute onesies on the far end of the patio above what became the gift table. All of these things in fresh shades of green, blue and chocolate brown.
The game was a Name that Baby Tune kind of game, where I played a montage of 11 children's songs. Not only did they have to identify the song, they had to remember them. They couldn't start writing the songs down until the music had stopped. I tried this at another shower and it was perhaps a bit too challenging, so this time I cut down the number of songs. However, I'm proud to say that it is probably the hardest baby shower game ever! Wahahaa!
Besides the game, all the ladies gave great advice while Auntie J opened their present (this was Auntie J's idea, which if you knew her you wouldn't be the least surprised at that). The ladies also wrote in a little journal for J to have and continue her own thoughts on being a Mommy.
Afterwards, a whirlwind of ladies helped with clean up and the whole thing was disassembled in about 30 minutes. It was an amazing show of female harmony and teamwork. Someone commented on how women just know what needs to get done and handle it. By the time I got back inside, my kitchen was even cleaner than when we started the day!
So, all in all, it was so much fun and I had such a good time doing it all. I'll write more later about the awesome womanly fellowship that continued after the shower.
Set up, with Baby Z a little grumpy about all the unusual activity. John whisked him away shortly after this:
I pasted paper butterflies and birds on the paper lanterns (big and small) and we hung those from the patio cover. For tables, I covered cardboard boxes with white paper and then a pretty colored paper on top like a kind of tablecloth (you can see one in the distance in the second picture). Then, we hung a clothesline of cute onesies on the far end of the patio above what became the gift table. All of these things in fresh shades of green, blue and chocolate brown.
The game was a Name that Baby Tune kind of game, where I played a montage of 11 children's songs. Not only did they have to identify the song, they had to remember them. They couldn't start writing the songs down until the music had stopped. I tried this at another shower and it was perhaps a bit too challenging, so this time I cut down the number of songs. However, I'm proud to say that it is probably the hardest baby shower game ever! Wahahaa!
Besides the game, all the ladies gave great advice while Auntie J opened their present (this was Auntie J's idea, which if you knew her you wouldn't be the least surprised at that). The ladies also wrote in a little journal for J to have and continue her own thoughts on being a Mommy.
Afterwards, a whirlwind of ladies helped with clean up and the whole thing was disassembled in about 30 minutes. It was an amazing show of female harmony and teamwork. Someone commented on how women just know what needs to get done and handle it. By the time I got back inside, my kitchen was even cleaner than when we started the day!
So, all in all, it was so much fun and I had such a good time doing it all. I'll write more later about the awesome womanly fellowship that continued after the shower.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Girly Fun This Weekend
This weekend is full of girl fun. On Saturday, we're having a baby shower for my best friend J (AKA Auntie J) at my house. I've been working steadily for months working on getting our backyard in shape (it's a "garden brunch") and planning for everything. It's finally here and I'm so excited! Then, after the shower, we're having a slumber party with a small group of us to catch up and hang out. My four best friends since junior high will all be here (Auntie K doesn't live in town) and we'll do all our favorites for slumber parties, such as making pazookie (for those not familiar with the BJ's restaurant dessert: huge chocolate chip cookie spread on a pan with vanilla ice cream, eaten right out of the pan) and talking late enough into the night until Auntie K is the first to fall asleep.
Happy Weekend to everyone!
Happy Weekend to everyone!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Basking in the Girl Glow
It's amazing how much peace and settling came with finding out we're having a girl. I'm SO EXTREMELY thankful. It really was my heart's desire and I prayed for it. Of course, God absolutely owes me nothing, so I was setting myself up to be thankful for God's plans for our family, no matter what they were. And now, I'm just so thankful for God's blessing to me (and of course John and Baby Z, although they didn't have as strong as a preference).
Now that I know there's a Baby Girl (no longer BNT) in there, I'm feeling that special connectedness I had with Baby Z. Those private moments when she wiggles around and no one knows except me and her. I call her Baby Girl and think about all of the important things I need to teach her, just like my Mom taught me. I think about whether she'll be a little tom-boyish (like I was) or a girly-girl. I wonder if she'll be adventurous and if she'll like books. Will she look more like John than Baby Z does? Will she get my green eyes? So far, the ultrasound shows an upper lip just like Baby Z (and me) but with a little more of a button nose than Baby Z had in his ultrasounds.
The biggest thing, though, is will she turn out to be a woman of the Lord who is my daughter and also a friend? My Mom is definitely my friend now and I dream of having that with my daughter one day. It makes me tear up just to say "my daughter." (But, wow, these girly hormones really are something. Smile. At least I'm not having to contain rages leaning toward physical violence like I was when I carried Baby Z. No wonder men are crazy with all that testosterone swimming around. Hee.)
Anyway, praise God for His goodness. And thank you all for your nice comments and well-wishing.
Now that I know there's a Baby Girl (no longer BNT) in there, I'm feeling that special connectedness I had with Baby Z. Those private moments when she wiggles around and no one knows except me and her. I call her Baby Girl and think about all of the important things I need to teach her, just like my Mom taught me. I think about whether she'll be a little tom-boyish (like I was) or a girly-girl. I wonder if she'll be adventurous and if she'll like books. Will she look more like John than Baby Z does? Will she get my green eyes? So far, the ultrasound shows an upper lip just like Baby Z (and me) but with a little more of a button nose than Baby Z had in his ultrasounds.
The biggest thing, though, is will she turn out to be a woman of the Lord who is my daughter and also a friend? My Mom is definitely my friend now and I dream of having that with my daughter one day. It makes me tear up just to say "my daughter." (But, wow, these girly hormones really are something. Smile. At least I'm not having to contain rages leaning toward physical violence like I was when I carried Baby Z. No wonder men are crazy with all that testosterone swimming around. Hee.)
Anyway, praise God for His goodness. And thank you all for your nice comments and well-wishing.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Today's the Day!
At exactly 19 1/2 weeks (the soonest second this ultrasound place allows) I'm going to get the "anatomy" ultrasound for Baby Number Two. I am so excited and anxious to make sure everything is okay and to see if BNT is a boy or girl. So, in about two hours, assuming BNT cooperates, we'll know whether we need to find a boy name or a girl name. Since I'm currently drawing a blank on both, hopefully today will knock a few ideas loose.
I'll update later today on the news.
*************************************************
Update: 1:25pm PT
IT'S A GIRL!!! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Now that it's a reality, I can really show how much I wanted a girl. I am so excited! Here are the pics: one of her lady bits (look for white lines) and one of her adorable profile.
I'll update later today on the news.
*************************************************
Update: 1:25pm PT
IT'S A GIRL!!! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Now that it's a reality, I can really show how much I wanted a girl. I am so excited! Here are the pics: one of her lady bits (look for white lines) and one of her adorable profile.
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