Week of December 18, 2002

Owen is such a good-natured guy. This reassures us that he's getting enough sleep to manage or he'd have a much harder time getting through the day. Surely there would be more meltdowns and more unhappiness. Instead, Owen is pretty relaxed and happy to spend time with us. At daycare, he's happy with a train in his hand and kids to play with. Scott and I are often beat with our early mornings, but Owen is on the go and content unless he's really late for a nap, or it's getting close to bedtime. When we put him to bed, almost always he good-naturedly falls asleep to the sound of his Fisher Price aquarium.

I suppose I ought to have a footnote after the previous paragraph, saying "knock on wood." The reputation of toddlerhood tantrums must come from somewhere.

Owen is much more shy than he was 6 months ago (alas, poor patrons in Rao's), but he's usually pretty happy and engaged with the world around him. We try very hard to maximize the chances of his happiness, but still, I'm always amazed that we have very few tantrums and ugly moments. Am I on borrowed time with this?

Owen continues to talk, although most of what he is saying is unintelligible. We're making progress though: "Me" "Mine" and "I want that!" are all very clear, and at the top of his list. He's doing a wonderful job pointing to the right pictures when we ask him to find things in his books, so I feel confident he's on track. He's mental cogs are whirling furiously; I'm just looking forward to having a better idea of what he's telling us.

He's able to give us the most intense looks, right in the eye. I especially enjoy it when I'm not paying attention and he suddenly gets in my face, looking me right in the eye to make sure I'm focused. He's anxious to get through to us and getting more and more capable. He's also been saying "dirty!" - mostly outside, thank goodness. Hard to say it's a horror of dirt that's driving him, or a love and fascination. Perhaps he's just repeating what we say as we pull him away from the kitchen garbage and away from cigarette butts on the ground.

We're working on our body parts now, and so far, we can only get him to point to our noses and eyes. He's managed to say "eye!" which is the gratifying part of his learning. It makes up for his endless attempts to actually poke me in the eye (much less pleasurable than when he squeezes my nose). We're trying to amend this habit, along with his pulling the cats' tails. He's also shifting from saying "cat" to saying "kitty" just as often. I keep thinking of Boo and Sully in Monsters, Inc.

Other assorted happenings this week:

• When we read Mr. Brown can Moo, he imitates the knocking on the door that I do on the page of the book.
• He puts his hands in the air to imitate Scott's "Pajama Time!" antics, and he claps on cue with "Barnyard Dance."
• He likes to press his cold feet on me. I don't think he's just doing it for warmth, I think my reaction is just as pleasing to him!
• He's often trying to balance things on his head. This was very cute when he was balancing his little frog bath toy on his head in the bathtub.
• He's getting better at using his spoon. His disinterest in using it is less about ability, I think, than him wanting more control and wanting to do it his own way. Using his hands is easier. Like all of us, he prefers having mastery over things, rather than the learning.
• He's pointing in books furiously. He's noticing much more of the detail in the pictures, and pointing out things that he likes. He's making connections as well, able to pick out objects we asking him to, and noticing characters and animals that appear on many pages. He loves seeing horses in pictures.
• He's been happily walking under Scott's legs of late, but unfortunately, he's gotten tall enough that Scott has to lift his leg very high, very fast, or risk injury. Perhaps he senses the urgency, and that makes the game all the more fun.
• He's crawling onto the chairs and getting better and better at pulling himself on to them and then turning around and sitting. Getting on and getting off seems to entertain him tremendously. He looks so old, sitting in a grown up chair!
• We got him a second train, and he discovered that the magnets connect the trains to one another. He's been fascinated with this, and playing with his trains endlessly. He's going to be very happy when he gets more on Christmas from Scott's parents.
  

 

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