Friday, January 25, 2008

blackeyedpea_1


blackeyedpea_1
Originally uploaded by doctorlizardo
The poor little thing. It was ouchy, but he got over it pretty quickly. It looks worse with every passing day.

Right now he has the contents of the spice drawer scattered about the office, muttering to himself "Ohwow, ohwow, pahdiz [spices]!"

Our little chef.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Playin' With Sticks


DSCF0158
Originally uploaded by doctorlizardo
Winter is fun!

Nutshell Update

Limelet practices running in the living room now, between the door and the sofa.  He loves going outside and is very upset on days when it's too cold to go anywhere (like recently).  The library helps to fill this gap, as he can run in the children's section and meet other children, as well as dance to kid's music.  I hear that he particularly loved playing with ribbons on sticks that the playgroup ladies brought.
 
He grew out of his little leather slipper-shoes in about three months--I thought he'd be going to the next size in, say, March or April, but instead had to get them out just this past weekend.  I don't understand what clothing size he wears.  He seems to be in between baby and kid, and sizes don't match up to his actual body.  I had a heck of a time getting him some new socks yesterday.  His feet are way too big for baby or even toddler socks, but too small for boy socks.  He is wearing size M boy socks now, which are too big, but the size S ones were too small.
 
And pants?  Don't even get me started.  Baby sizes are out of the question now.  Yet he's too wide and also too short for toddler sizes, so what does that mean?  I know there's less diaper accommodation and toddlers are slimmer than babies, but come on.  There's got to be something that's in between.  He grew out of his 2T pants width-wise within, like, a week, but they are still about 4" too long for him.  I can't imagine how long the 3Ts would be on him.
 
At least we have something to put on his feet for a little while longer.  He loves the little blue-and-red airplanes on his bigger shoes and brings them over so I'll put them on him.  He's getting a lot more directive, and tries to get us to fix things or open them or otherwise help him with them in some way. 
 
He's also gotten more frustrated lately--he seems to want to do more things than he can, and is very frustrated when he can't make something do what he thinks it should (like opening the pepper grinder) or when he can't have something he sees (like the knives).  I think that when he starts talking more it will help the frustration somewhat, as now I get the impression that he believes we just don't understand what he wants when we won't give him something, or can't open it or whatever.  Maybe then when we explain that the pepper grinder doesn't open, he'll be okay with it.
 
Limelet now sleeps more soundly at night--it started very suddenly four nights before my dissertation defense.  He still stirs and wants to nurse in his sleep, but it's only a few times a night and takes longer for the first stirring to occur.  Last night he slept in his little sidecar cot from 9:30pm until 1:30am, and overall he only stirred twice in the night.  Whew!  (Who knew this would take 16 months? Not me.) 
 
The only potential drawback is that he may simultaneously be changing from needing two naps in the daytime to needing only one.  That doesn't sound like a problem, but the routine doesn't just snap into place automatically.  And when his sleep routine is upset at all, he's very, very cranky.  So today I got a call from TheLimey explaining that Limelet has been cranky and wanted his nap all morning, but just couldn't quite fall asleep, so it took him about four tries over a period of nearly three hours.  It's grueling (for us) to repeatedly try to put him to sleep, I'll tell you what.
 
As for nighttime, I added more pre-bed relaxation time to Limelet's bedtime routine.  Between bathtime and bedtime, he eats his whole-grain gruel and has a cup of warm milk (as before) and I play a CD of classical guitar music with the lights dimmed.  He's started sitting (relatively) still in my lap for a reading or two of Goodnight Moon now, too.  He even brought it over last night for me to read to him when I was doing something else.  We couldn't be prouder, of course.
 
He's becoming so interactive, and always understands more of what's going on than we think he does.
 
I confess that he has now been exposed to Teletubbies, and he loves it.  I don't even know when the actual show is on PBS--he's just seen bits of it on YouTube.  Mainly the intro, which he dances to, and the ending, to which he replies "ba ba" as the Tubbies all say their goodbyes.  So he doesn't really have TV programs per se, but he sure gets excited about that Tubbies intro, and tries to get me to play it if I so much as look at my computer when I'm carrying him.  We have to be careful not to actually say the word Teletubbies or hum the infernally catchy theme music, or he'll be desperate to watch it right then.

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

laundry_2


laundry_2
Originally uploaded by doctorlizardo
New Year's at the laundry. He likes the open spaces where he can run around and kick his little ball.