Archive for October 2011
Thursday Night – 10/13/2011
For longer than I can remember, I’ve heard that being a parent changes you. It’s true and it isn’t a surprise. What has been a surprise has been how it has changed me. I sort of expected that it’d be something large and dramatic, but it isn’t like that at all. I’ve always been rather reflective, but it seems to be magnified now that I have Eli. He is a joy in every sense of the word. I’m sorry that we waited as long as we did to have him.
Elijah continues to grow into a bigger and bigger person every day.
At his 24 month checkup (2 years for those that are keeping score), the doctor said that he’s was in the 50th percentile for a 30 month old. Not too bad for a boy that came out 2 months early.
His vocabulary is progressing famously. Before his 24 month appointment, Martha was concerned that he was babbling, but not making words. The day before the doctor’s appointment, he, out of the blue became a chatterbox making words and sounds for lots and lots of things.
The words come out in rather interesting ways. “Please” comes out “Pa-Chee.” In the past week, we started to develop sentences of 2 words.
A favorite word and thing to recognize is “plane.” He sees or hears them and he’ll point it out to you.
A close second is “train.”
Other favorites include star, car, blanket, and kitty. Though, there are many more.
We went to Walt Disney Wold in Florida in September and Eli loved all the characters. We were wondering if he’d shy away from them, but our fears were unfounded.
He’s pretty fearless. Sometimes he’ll be unsure of things, but loud noises don’t bother him. He loved the fireworks. “More” was a common word while they were going off. Several balloons popped in his presence, and they didn’t phase him.
Eli is also and explorer. At Disney, he wasn’t fond of hand-holding, but, in the past week or so, that’s changed. He’ll now ask for a hand if he needs an assist on the stairs. He’ll come and get Martha or myself and take us by the hand if he needs something.
Bedtime is sometimes an issue, but less so if we wear him out with some extra exercise. I’ve got a Nintendo 3DS that, when I play, he likes to sit in my lap and watch. (I turn the 3D effect off. It doesn’t do much for me.)
When we read, he still prefers books that have flaps that reveal things.
The only real concern has been night terrors. They were much more pronounced for a while with him waking up crying/screaming several times a night. Lately, it might be once or twice a night, but not every night. Sometimes, I’ve had to wake him up and ask him questions about words he knows and loves. “Is there a train?” “What color is the car?” “Is there a star?” That seems to calm him and he falls back asleep quickly.
I’ve been reading (among other books) Brain Rules for Baby by John Medina. (He’s a Seattle resident and works at the University of Washington.) Fabulous book!
http://brainrules.net/brain-rules-for-baby
Also on my reading list is Ellen Galinsky’s Mind in the Making: The Seven Essential Life Skills Every Child Needs. http://mindinthemaking.org/learn_more/about_the_book/
That’s what I’ve got for now. Sorry for the huge lag in updates. The career change has really taken up my time. I’ll work at being better.
Until next time, share the love!
