13 months!
I have exactly zero time to post this, so I'm writing it over lunch while I wolf down leftover pizza. Baby is doing great! We are walking full time now - mostly without incident, although we did have a traumatic face plant last night resulting in a lip injury and a not small amount of blood, yikes! She has 30 words (if you include animal noises, which are indeed used in context and reliably as a surrogate for the actual animal name) and maybe 20 signs. Adorably, she has some words that she'll only speak (mama, dada), others that she'll only sign (milk, more, please), and some that she always says and signs simultaneously (help, bath). I suppose it's a little like being bilingual!
We are in the beginning stages of true toddler-dom, complete with toddler tantrums. We had our first public tantrum meltdown this weekend at the zoo, which included flinging herself on the ground while screaming and kicking. I had to try very hard not to laugh. The trigger? Mama wouldn't let her push kids out of the way who were trying to see the caiman, which had the misfortune of being strategically placed next to the stairs Maya wanted to climb ad nauseum. Maya is also starting to tell her first lies, which I am unsure how to handle. There is no question that 1) she think it's a game, and 2) her goal is deception, sometimes to acquire things she wants (Me: "Are you going to drink from the cup, rather than dump it on the ground? You can't have it if you're going to dump it. Do you want to drink?" Maya: "Yeah!" Me: "Are you sure? Drink? (includes sign)" Maya: "Yeah!!!" ---> Promptly dumps cup on floor with maniacal giggle, watching me shrewdly the whole time to gauge my reaction) and sometimes to watch me be tricked (Me: "Are you ready to get out of the bath? All done (includes sign)?" Maya: "Yeah!" (arms outstretched up to me, excited look on face) Me: "Ok, let's go!" (leans down to get her) Maya: with another maniacal giggle, launches herself across the tub and refuses to be caught. Rinse, repeat, and on and on). It definitely feels mischievous and not malicious, so I can't be too worried :) But I don't want this to be a game, and my usual MO is to just not engage and find a way around it. For example, now I don't even ask her if she wants out of the tub until all the water is gone and she looks kind of cold. I feel very unsure if this is the right response, but we are certainly not at the point where I can reason with her about why it's good to tell the truth. She's also started to be too rough with other kids, stealing toys from them and even a bit of hitting. I feel like a broken record with all the "gentle" and "let's share" and showing her what she can do instead of just telling her no. I know this is all normal, but I'm still struggling with it. It's all fascinating and horrifying all at once.
On the good side, she still such a bright, happy, and curious little girl. Her hair is getting longer which makes her really not look like a baby anymore, she loves to smile, and she's pretty charming. She still loves her swimming lessons, and she has started to do so, so much dancing! Crayons are a big hit, and we've begun to let her "help" prepare dinner with us, strapping her into her secondary high chair attached to the kitchen island and giving her a butter knife and some vegetables. We are super into "helping," both us helping Maya and Maya helping us. With this last snowfall, we did some (downhill!) sledding, which I think she enjoyed. All in all, we are doing great!
Ok, I'm more than out of time, so I have to go. Lots of exciting analyses going on right now work-wise, never enough hours in the day to work on them!
Here are a few photos - including one from Aunt Wendy's wedding last month. Boy, do husband and I look like two very tired new parents!!! And if you've ever wondered if the African savannah animals come out in the snow when they live in North Country zoos, the answer is: indeed, they do!
We are in the beginning stages of true toddler-dom, complete with toddler tantrums. We had our first public tantrum meltdown this weekend at the zoo, which included flinging herself on the ground while screaming and kicking. I had to try very hard not to laugh. The trigger? Mama wouldn't let her push kids out of the way who were trying to see the caiman, which had the misfortune of being strategically placed next to the stairs Maya wanted to climb ad nauseum. Maya is also starting to tell her first lies, which I am unsure how to handle. There is no question that 1) she think it's a game, and 2) her goal is deception, sometimes to acquire things she wants (Me: "Are you going to drink from the cup, rather than dump it on the ground? You can't have it if you're going to dump it. Do you want to drink?" Maya: "Yeah!" Me: "Are you sure? Drink? (includes sign)" Maya: "Yeah!!!" ---> Promptly dumps cup on floor with maniacal giggle, watching me shrewdly the whole time to gauge my reaction) and sometimes to watch me be tricked (Me: "Are you ready to get out of the bath? All done (includes sign)?" Maya: "Yeah!" (arms outstretched up to me, excited look on face) Me: "Ok, let's go!" (leans down to get her) Maya: with another maniacal giggle, launches herself across the tub and refuses to be caught. Rinse, repeat, and on and on). It definitely feels mischievous and not malicious, so I can't be too worried :) But I don't want this to be a game, and my usual MO is to just not engage and find a way around it. For example, now I don't even ask her if she wants out of the tub until all the water is gone and she looks kind of cold. I feel very unsure if this is the right response, but we are certainly not at the point where I can reason with her about why it's good to tell the truth. She's also started to be too rough with other kids, stealing toys from them and even a bit of hitting. I feel like a broken record with all the "gentle" and "let's share" and showing her what she can do instead of just telling her no. I know this is all normal, but I'm still struggling with it. It's all fascinating and horrifying all at once.
On the good side, she still such a bright, happy, and curious little girl. Her hair is getting longer which makes her really not look like a baby anymore, she loves to smile, and she's pretty charming. She still loves her swimming lessons, and she has started to do so, so much dancing! Crayons are a big hit, and we've begun to let her "help" prepare dinner with us, strapping her into her secondary high chair attached to the kitchen island and giving her a butter knife and some vegetables. We are super into "helping," both us helping Maya and Maya helping us. With this last snowfall, we did some (downhill!) sledding, which I think she enjoyed. All in all, we are doing great!
Ok, I'm more than out of time, so I have to go. Lots of exciting analyses going on right now work-wise, never enough hours in the day to work on them!
Here are a few photos - including one from Aunt Wendy's wedding last month. Boy, do husband and I look like two very tired new parents!!! And if you've ever wondered if the African savannah animals come out in the snow when they live in North Country zoos, the answer is: indeed, they do!
 |
| P.S. This photo was taken *after* she dumped an entire plate of red sauce pasta all over dress #1 at dinner, requiring a full hose down and outfit change in the bathroom. This is dress #2. |
It's adorable for your 'backup' dress! And YAY for exciting analyses. Reading this, I realise that there's a lot of this stuff that we did with Penelope but not with Eli, like letting him help with dinner. Oh well, sorry second child!!
ReplyDelete