Hi, no pictures to post today but I did want to post an update. We went running and Eliana did all sorts of cute things but neither of us had our cameras. This past weekend Eliana tried on her Halloween costume (and we took some pictures), but we aren't ready to reveal her Halloween look yet!
Eliana's language skills continue to expand. She had a cold on Friday, and kept telling us how her "nose running" and how she wanted a tissue. She has a great ear, so when we meet people and tell her their names, she'll say them back. Today she met (or re-met) Jaycee (another baby in a jogging stroller), Lynne (Mommy's running partner, who was having a stoop sale) and our neighbor Melissa. Each time, she said their names either right away or after a few minutes.
The most novel thing that happened today was that Eliana had a conversation with a stranger! We were standing in front of the Italian food store tonight waiting for Abba, and Mommy started up a conversation with a man holding his brown dog in front of the store. So the man asked Eliana, "do you have a dog?" She thought about it for a minute, and said, "Yes." Then the man asked, "What's your dog's name?" and Eliana said, "Shiloh." Of course we have conversations with her all the time, but it was new for her to be able to "converse" with someone on the street.
Eliana's vocabulary is gaining depth: she knows "shoes" and also "boots." She knows "eating" (from her book about the kitchen) but also "mixing" and "cracking." She knows "quiet" and "loud." She even said, "coffee" last week. I guess we talk about it a lot around here!
I don't think I've mentioned her "mine" phase yet. Eliana is in a "mine" stage, probably spurred on by the large amount of time that she spends with her older (22 mos) friend Lucy. At our house, she will grab a toy or book, and say, "mine!" This happens many times a day. We are calm about it, I say, "let me know when you're ready to share it," and then ask her in a few minutes if she wants to read the book or do the activity together. (It's not as if I was scheming about how to get a chance to use her shape sorter :-) ) Sometimes if she's in a playful mood, I'll hug her and say, "mine, mine!" This usually makes her laugh.
Another she does now is say "Mommy's turn," or "Eli's turn." So when she gets frustrated or need help, she'll say that it's my turn! I am always willing to take my turn.
Eliana is very concerned about Shiloh's hair on the floor. Since Shiloh is a short-haired dog, she sheds a lot of hair. So Eliana sees the hair, gets concerned, and goes to get the broom and start sweeping! (I mentioned in a previous post that she was working hard...) The broom is about 3x her size (although the thought of getting her a Montessori toddler-sized broom has crossed my mind) and it's difficult for her to control it, so it's "Mommy's turn" after not too long. In any event, our floors are cleaner than ever.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Rosh Hashanah
Again a lot of stuff happening over here and not so much time to blog it. It's been over a week since I last wrote.
Let's see..first, we got a jogging stroller!
It is a Bob Revolution, which is known for being a good jogging stroller, with shock absorbers, big wheels and everything! After taking it out for an hour, I wondered why we didn't get one a long time ago. It's a smoother ride than our umbrella stroller, plus the whole family can go out running--Mommy and Abba put on their running shoes, and Eliana hangs on to a cup of cheerios and gets to enjoy the ride.
We took Eliana to the Tot Rosh Hashanah service at Beth Elohim, our local Brooklyn synagogue. There were over 200 people there with their toddlers--it was unbelievable. We ran into a bunch of friends and neighbors, which was a lot of fun.
Eliana walked the last leg of the trip home:
She's getting a lot sturdier on her feet, although she did fall over a few times...she was pretty excited about walking on the sidewalk!
Then we went out to Long Island to have lunch at the Feinsteins with our extended family. We arrived a few minutes early, so had some time to take a walk in a nearby meadow:
What a cutie! Anyway we did eventually go inside. Eliana started off a little shy, but warmed up after not too long and starting exploring every corner of the house...there was a lot to explore, and I think she got almost every room:
In addition to the artwork (which Eliana couldn't appreciate but did try to touch and/or put in her mouth), there was a terrific playroom. Eliana found the play kitchen, opened all of the cabinets, and was ready to make us lunch. And then she found the stroller, also pictured above.
Guess they know something about toys in this family!
Eliana didn't last too long at the meal. We brought a few books, which kept her at the table a few minutes longer:
But the best part was "horsing around" with our family. Eliana grabbed cousin Carol's purse, put it over her arm, and said, "Bye bye!"...charming everyone. Then she took it off her purse and proceeded to examine the contents:
I told Carol that I was worried that Eliana might inadvertently call Japan on her cell phone, but she didn't seem too concerned.
We had fun and enjoyed laughing with our little girlie. I spent so much time chasing after her that never got to finish two different conversations, but we did laugh. Hopefully I'll continue the conversations the Yom Kippur break fast next week.
Eliana's language skills continue to stretch. She knows so many words, we're continually surprised and impressed. She is now talking about in opposites: up and down, quiet and loud, and some others. We hear her counting "one, two, three" and saying the beginning of the alphabet song. She is also putting words into phrases and sentences: "Why Shiloh barking?" "Shoes off."
As we were leaving the Feinsteins, I said to her, say "thank you," to our cousin Josh Levine for playing the accordion. She said "thank you" as she does often. Then I said "Thank you for the music," and she repeated "Thank you for music." She has a great ear and also seems to understand A LOT of what we're saying now.
Oh, and she's started to tell us to "sit down, Mommy!" "sit down, Abba!" many times a day. It might sound bossy coming from an older child, but when she says it, it's so cute that we just smile...and sit down. :-)
Let's see..first, we got a jogging stroller!
It is a Bob Revolution, which is known for being a good jogging stroller, with shock absorbers, big wheels and everything! After taking it out for an hour, I wondered why we didn't get one a long time ago. It's a smoother ride than our umbrella stroller, plus the whole family can go out running--Mommy and Abba put on their running shoes, and Eliana hangs on to a cup of cheerios and gets to enjoy the ride.
We took Eliana to the Tot Rosh Hashanah service at Beth Elohim, our local Brooklyn synagogue. There were over 200 people there with their toddlers--it was unbelievable. We ran into a bunch of friends and neighbors, which was a lot of fun.
Eliana walked the last leg of the trip home:
She's getting a lot sturdier on her feet, although she did fall over a few times...she was pretty excited about walking on the sidewalk!
Then we went out to Long Island to have lunch at the Feinsteins with our extended family. We arrived a few minutes early, so had some time to take a walk in a nearby meadow:
What a cutie! Anyway we did eventually go inside. Eliana started off a little shy, but warmed up after not too long and starting exploring every corner of the house...there was a lot to explore, and I think she got almost every room:
In addition to the artwork (which Eliana couldn't appreciate but did try to touch and/or put in her mouth), there was a terrific playroom. Eliana found the play kitchen, opened all of the cabinets, and was ready to make us lunch. And then she found the stroller, also pictured above.
Guess they know something about toys in this family!
Eliana didn't last too long at the meal. We brought a few books, which kept her at the table a few minutes longer:
But the best part was "horsing around" with our family. Eliana grabbed cousin Carol's purse, put it over her arm, and said, "Bye bye!"...charming everyone. Then she took it off her purse and proceeded to examine the contents:
I told Carol that I was worried that Eliana might inadvertently call Japan on her cell phone, but she didn't seem too concerned.
We had fun and enjoyed laughing with our little girlie. I spent so much time chasing after her that never got to finish two different conversations, but we did laugh. Hopefully I'll continue the conversations the Yom Kippur break fast next week.
Eliana's language skills continue to stretch. She knows so many words, we're continually surprised and impressed. She is now talking about in opposites: up and down, quiet and loud, and some others. We hear her counting "one, two, three" and saying the beginning of the alphabet song. She is also putting words into phrases and sentences: "Why Shiloh barking?" "Shoes off."
As we were leaving the Feinsteins, I said to her, say "thank you," to our cousin Josh Levine for playing the accordion. She said "thank you" as she does often. Then I said "Thank you for the music," and she repeated "Thank you for music." She has a great ear and also seems to understand A LOT of what we're saying now.
Oh, and she's started to tell us to "sit down, Mommy!" "sit down, Abba!" many times a day. It might sound bossy coming from an older child, but when she says it, it's so cute that we just smile...and sit down. :-)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Working on It
Eliana has been working overtime around here, at being a toddler!
Seriously, Eliana has developed an interest in being part of the household and doing all of the things we do. She's not too proud to clean the floors, and has expressed interest in sweeping also! We let her know that she's exempt from chores until at least age 2.
She's even trying to carry a baby on her back: Last week when Marty was away, we went over to our neighbor's house for a playdate. Eliana was fascinated with the baby in the backpack, a little like the backpack that she often travels in on mommy's back.
We missed getting a picture of the baby on her back..she wore the baby on her back for a little while, but the baby was a little big for her.
One thing that Eliana has gotten into is mixing. Mostly she just stirs her plastic spoon around her plastic cup, but when we make eggs, we let her do some beating:
What happens after this photo is that Eliana tries to eat the raw egg...we keep telling her that you have to cook it, but she's so interested in putting everything into her mouth. We're looking forward to doing some basic cooking with her in a few months.
As mentioned before, our little girlie has gotten into numbers and counting a bit. We try to incorporate math into the routine. For example, Eliana LOVES cranberries and asks for them every morning as she's having breakfast. Now we ask her, "how many do you want?" This morning she said, "five. " We gave her five, she ate them, then she said, "More please." So we asked again how many she wanted, she said, "five" again. We counted out 5 more cranberries onto the tray. "More please." Again, she said she wanted 5. So she got 5 more, for a total of 15 cranberries, and we had to stop the math lesson to prevent a stomach ache.
Eliana is also very interested in the mechanisms of things. I tried to capture something that I see her doing a lot these days, opening and closing the "seatbelt" on her high chair. She likes to close it, then asks us to open it, then she closes it again...
But lest you think we never got out, we were out a lot this past weekend. On Sunday, Eliana had swimming lessons, then came back for a nap. In the afternoon we went to the park, and then took her to get new shoes (she's size 4.5 now!) , then to frozen yogurt. Eliana was pretty into that frozen yogurt:
Remind us to order a larger size next time.
Eliana is pretty delicious these days, continuing to surprise us with all of the wonderful things she does. We'll share more soon.
Seriously, Eliana has developed an interest in being part of the household and doing all of the things we do. She's not too proud to clean the floors, and has expressed interest in sweeping also! We let her know that she's exempt from chores until at least age 2.
She's even trying to carry a baby on her back: Last week when Marty was away, we went over to our neighbor's house for a playdate. Eliana was fascinated with the baby in the backpack, a little like the backpack that she often travels in on mommy's back.
We missed getting a picture of the baby on her back..she wore the baby on her back for a little while, but the baby was a little big for her.
One thing that Eliana has gotten into is mixing. Mostly she just stirs her plastic spoon around her plastic cup, but when we make eggs, we let her do some beating:
What happens after this photo is that Eliana tries to eat the raw egg...we keep telling her that you have to cook it, but she's so interested in putting everything into her mouth. We're looking forward to doing some basic cooking with her in a few months.
As mentioned before, our little girlie has gotten into numbers and counting a bit. We try to incorporate math into the routine. For example, Eliana LOVES cranberries and asks for them every morning as she's having breakfast. Now we ask her, "how many do you want?" This morning she said, "five. " We gave her five, she ate them, then she said, "More please." So we asked again how many she wanted, she said, "five" again. We counted out 5 more cranberries onto the tray. "More please." Again, she said she wanted 5. So she got 5 more, for a total of 15 cranberries, and we had to stop the math lesson to prevent a stomach ache.
Eliana is also very interested in the mechanisms of things. I tried to capture something that I see her doing a lot these days, opening and closing the "seatbelt" on her high chair. She likes to close it, then asks us to open it, then she closes it again...
But lest you think we never got out, we were out a lot this past weekend. On Sunday, Eliana had swimming lessons, then came back for a nap. In the afternoon we went to the park, and then took her to get new shoes (she's size 4.5 now!) , then to frozen yogurt. Eliana was pretty into that frozen yogurt:
Remind us to order a larger size next time.
Eliana is pretty delicious these days, continuing to surprise us with all of the wonderful things she does. We'll share more soon.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Comings and goings
It's September and things have been picking up so it has been harder to find time for blogging. Not to mention that Marty was away for the past 5 days and it was all I could do to get the dishes washed and toys put away by the end of the day. Anyway now he's back so I'll take a moment or two to post an update.
Nene and Bampi were here last weekend on their way to Italy. We had fun!
On Monday Nene and Bampi took over all babysitting responsibilities for the day. They took you outside to play and aparently you had a great time.
Bampi and Nene stayed in the building, in the garden apartment of our neighbors Melissa and Aaron, who were on the honeymoon. The thing is, now you think that Bampi and Nene live there! We went by yesterday to welcome them home, and when we knocked on the door, you said, "Nene?" I had to explain that Nene and Bampi were there only temporarily...
On Sunday we went to the Wassermans for brunch. They gave you the Pat the Bunny book, which you love and have read 5x a day since then.
You even did some dancing on Nene's feet, although it took you a while to get the whole foot coordination thing.
We are so enjoying watching and experiencing the new things you do every day. Over the past few days you've been humming the alphabet song! Marty says that you have the rhythm but not the tune, but I hear the tune too. You're putting a lot more words together into 2 or 3 word sentences. For example, we went on a walk the other day and you said, "Hat off.." or you'll say, "Fix it!" Today I think I heard you say, "Why Shiloh bark?" You have also started doing some counting, "one..two.." You know a lot of the numbers, I've heard you say them at different times although not in order together.
Last Tuesday Nene and Bampi left for Italy, and Marty left the same day for LA. When you got home from the babysitter, you asked, "Abba?" So I said that Abba had gone on an airplane. Then you asked, "Nene?" and I had to say that Nene had gone on an airplane. Then you asked, "Bampi?" and I felt like the bearer of bad news to say that Bampi had gone on an airplane too. Anyway as I said at the beginning, the good news is that Marty got back last night, so our little family is together again.
Nene and Bampi were here last weekend on their way to Italy. We had fun!
On Monday Nene and Bampi took over all babysitting responsibilities for the day. They took you outside to play and aparently you had a great time.
Bampi and Nene stayed in the building, in the garden apartment of our neighbors Melissa and Aaron, who were on the honeymoon. The thing is, now you think that Bampi and Nene live there! We went by yesterday to welcome them home, and when we knocked on the door, you said, "Nene?" I had to explain that Nene and Bampi were there only temporarily...
On Sunday we went to the Wassermans for brunch. They gave you the Pat the Bunny book, which you love and have read 5x a day since then.
You even did some dancing on Nene's feet, although it took you a while to get the whole foot coordination thing.
We are so enjoying watching and experiencing the new things you do every day. Over the past few days you've been humming the alphabet song! Marty says that you have the rhythm but not the tune, but I hear the tune too. You're putting a lot more words together into 2 or 3 word sentences. For example, we went on a walk the other day and you said, "Hat off.." or you'll say, "Fix it!" Today I think I heard you say, "Why Shiloh bark?" You have also started doing some counting, "one..two.." You know a lot of the numbers, I've heard you say them at different times although not in order together.
Last Tuesday Nene and Bampi left for Italy, and Marty left the same day for LA. When you got home from the babysitter, you asked, "Abba?" So I said that Abba had gone on an airplane. Then you asked, "Nene?" and I had to say that Nene had gone on an airplane. Then you asked, "Bampi?" and I felt like the bearer of bad news to say that Bampi had gone on an airplane too. Anyway as I said at the beginning, the good news is that Marty got back last night, so our little family is together again.
Monday, September 1, 2008
Labor Day
Yes, you love the swing! For some reason it was making you giggle, even more than usual. We went with it, and giggled along.
This weekend we hung out in the neighborhood; it was great to have the bonus day to spend as a family. On Saturday we picked up our CSA vegetables and I whipped up some summer minestrone soup at the end of the day. Also our street was closed for a block party with a waterslide for the kids and some shared food for the adults. You helped us meet some neighbors by "borrowing" a toy from a few different stoops--you borrowed a ball from one house and a stroller from another. Don't worry, we returned all of it.
On Sunday we went to a farmer's market, and then took you out to the Park towards the end of the day. And today we looked for a picnic that our friends had invited to...amidst the thousands of people sunning and relaxing in picnic park, we didn't find them. Good news was you didn't seem to mind as long as we had grapes for you and you could meet some nearby babies and try their toys.
We walked home; you actually walked about two blocks on your own. You get pretty focused on the goal, "Home, home!" On the way home we ran into little Lozen and her parents Mara and Tracy, who were in our birthing class. You said hello, but kept walking towards home.
We got home and briefly stopped by the next-door neighbors BBQ. We couldn't stay, since you would have knocked over the beer bottles and other stuff. But you did get to meet their cat, who you were pretty excited about. Oh, and another neighbor has a little pug puppy that you met today too. But you haven't really learned to defend yourself, so the pug puppy almost chewed on your nose. We're working on teaching you how to get along with many different creatures, lots to learn.
This weekend we hung out in the neighborhood; it was great to have the bonus day to spend as a family. On Saturday we picked up our CSA vegetables and I whipped up some summer minestrone soup at the end of the day. Also our street was closed for a block party with a waterslide for the kids and some shared food for the adults. You helped us meet some neighbors by "borrowing" a toy from a few different stoops--you borrowed a ball from one house and a stroller from another. Don't worry, we returned all of it.
On Sunday we went to a farmer's market, and then took you out to the Park towards the end of the day. And today we looked for a picnic that our friends had invited to...amidst the thousands of people sunning and relaxing in picnic park, we didn't find them. Good news was you didn't seem to mind as long as we had grapes for you and you could meet some nearby babies and try their toys.
We walked home; you actually walked about two blocks on your own. You get pretty focused on the goal, "Home, home!" On the way home we ran into little Lozen and her parents Mara and Tracy, who were in our birthing class. You said hello, but kept walking towards home.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Eliana & her stroller
This is actually from last week, out at the Tot Lot in Prospect Park. You're so proud of your stroller! It might be good if you were a little less attached, but I suppose that comes in time.
You had a fever from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon so we have been doing much more holding you than photographing you. Looks like you're getting in 4 teeth, which explains the fever. Anyway, it's Tuesday and your fever broke yesterday and you seem to be in a better mood now.
Tonight you did something that amazed me. Sometimes when I need you to wait for something, I'll say, "Eliana, it's going to be just a minute." And lately you've been repeating back, "Minute."
Tonight, you were in the bath and your bath was winding down...we put away all the toys, drained all of the water, and it was time to get out, but you didn't want to get out.
So you looked at me and said, "minute..." I couldn't believe it, I haven't heard you say "minute" on your own (only repeating it back), much less use it in that way. Wow!
I hear you say so many new words these days. Yesterday you looked at our camera and said, "camera!" On the walk with Emily, Alison & Mark, you were saying something we couldn't understand, then we realized you were saying, "C'mon!" back to us. Recently you've also been saying, "Whose x?" e.g. "Whose shoes?"
You had a fever from Sunday afternoon to Monday afternoon so we have been doing much more holding you than photographing you. Looks like you're getting in 4 teeth, which explains the fever. Anyway, it's Tuesday and your fever broke yesterday and you seem to be in a better mood now.
Tonight you did something that amazed me. Sometimes when I need you to wait for something, I'll say, "Eliana, it's going to be just a minute." And lately you've been repeating back, "Minute."
Tonight, you were in the bath and your bath was winding down...we put away all the toys, drained all of the water, and it was time to get out, but you didn't want to get out.
So you looked at me and said, "minute..." I couldn't believe it, I haven't heard you say "minute" on your own (only repeating it back), much less use it in that way. Wow!
I hear you say so many new words these days. Yesterday you looked at our camera and said, "camera!" On the walk with Emily, Alison & Mark, you were saying something we couldn't understand, then we realized you were saying, "C'mon!" back to us. Recently you've also been saying, "Whose x?" e.g. "Whose shoes?"
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Playground patrol
Yesterday we went into Manhattan & met up with Mark, Emily & little Alison for a playdate. Alison is almost a year old and loves to crawl so she has those same knee calluses that you had for months. As you can see, you were thrilled to get out and walk! Right around this time, Alison wanted to crawl home, but had to be carried. You told her to just be patient, it won't be long before she's burning up the pavement too!
We even got a pretty good picture of our family, taken by Mark. It is not so easy to take your picture these days, since you don't stop moving long. Many times by the time I snap the camera, you've already moved out of the frame.
What's challenging these days is figuring out how to handle the complex interpersonal dynamics of the playground. As we ran around the Madison Square Park playground, a slightly younger girl eyed your rice cracker, grabbed it out of your hands, and put it in her mouth while her mother looked on with interest. :-) What we've been thinking about is how to teach you to be more assertive. Possibly because you do a babysitter share with an older, bigger girl, you generally are willing to let other kids take stuff away.
Second, what seems challenging is figuring out how to intervene in a way that keeps everyone's dignity. On Friday, we brought your toy stroller to the playground. All of the toddlers wanted to push it around, but you're pretty attached to your stroller at this point also. So a little thirteen- month-old grabbed and didn't want to give it back...meanwhile you were getting very upset (even though you had been happily playing on the slide a moment before.) How can we teach you (and ourselves) not to worry too much about our stuff, but to build relationships in a ways that's respectful? Very challenging, we're learning as much as you are.
We even got a pretty good picture of our family, taken by Mark. It is not so easy to take your picture these days, since you don't stop moving long. Many times by the time I snap the camera, you've already moved out of the frame.
What's challenging these days is figuring out how to handle the complex interpersonal dynamics of the playground. As we ran around the Madison Square Park playground, a slightly younger girl eyed your rice cracker, grabbed it out of your hands, and put it in her mouth while her mother looked on with interest. :-) What we've been thinking about is how to teach you to be more assertive. Possibly because you do a babysitter share with an older, bigger girl, you generally are willing to let other kids take stuff away.
Second, what seems challenging is figuring out how to intervene in a way that keeps everyone's dignity. On Friday, we brought your toy stroller to the playground. All of the toddlers wanted to push it around, but you're pretty attached to your stroller at this point also. So a little thirteen- month-old grabbed and didn't want to give it back...meanwhile you were getting very upset (even though you had been happily playing on the slide a moment before.) How can we teach you (and ourselves) not to worry too much about our stuff, but to build relationships in a ways that's respectful? Very challenging, we're learning as much as you are.
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