Unbelievable!!
This family actually had a quiet civilized dinner where all four of us sat quietly and ate for like 20 MINUTES!!! No complaints, no crying, no obnoxious noises... We're still reeling from the experience. Steve estimates first time in 3 1/2 years.
Cheers!
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Minutes...
This week Zoe discovered that I am "Mama" - or at least she has decided to show off to the world that I am HER MAMA. Previously those two syllables were reserved for times when she was in the care of others and it was no longer an acceptable situation. Or if I was too busy getting lunch to give her what she REALLY WANTED, AND NOW!! - ARE YOU DENSE LADY???!!! Now she proudly announces to one an all, and for no apparent reason, 'Mama' and pats me or points or hugs or kisses. It is the most fabulous feeling in the world.
I think Zoe's latest agenda is to add one word per week. Yes Zoe has agenda's. The first was to SIT UP - that took a while and required the purchasing of a bouncy chair. A bouncy chair - something that with Liam I thought was totally pointless and couldn't fathom a situation in which it would be a necessity (also - he was too damn heavy for the things). Enter Zoe, who would scream bloody murder until she was tilted up and could survey the world around her. So, bouncy chair. She sat up on her own at about 5 and a half months; the day of her first Sears portrait and the day before I had to face the world all alone without the help of another adult AND A BROKEN RIGHT ARM! Good timing growly girl!
Zoe's next agenda was to crawl. She had been perfectly content with sitting and playing for weeks and then one day we were over at Andrea's for coffee and all the other babies there were crawling! The next day, the VERY next day, she decided she had to crawl too. No longer was she content to sit and play. No longer could I leave her alone with a pile of toys while I did the dishes. For the next few weeks she took every available chance trying to get from sitting to all fours and beyond. This meant a lot of face-plants and screaming bloody murder. I remember saying things to my mom (Nana) on the phone like "no that's not a cat fight, it's Zoe talking..."
Walking was an agenda like no other. Zoe decided one day in August (at 8+ months or so) that she would walk. Just that, walk. Nevermind the fact that she had only just mastered crawling less than two months before and hadn't even tried 'cruising' yet, let alone 'standing'. She would use us to get standing and then flap her arms until we let go of her hands insisting she didn't need our help anymore. The results were predictable. It took a little less than a week to convince her that maybe she had to LEARN to walk. It took a few more weeks to convince her that 'cruising' was a good way to practice - she was pretty sure that she just needed to set off across the room enough times and she'd get it. Eventually she got used to the mommy/daddy-walking unit and used us to get most places. But it was in November - the month before her 1st birthday - when she REALLY got down to business. I mean she had an AGENDA remember?
NOVEMBER: Liam had finally started going to bed without a fight and doing so at a decent time. Zoe LOVED staying up after his bedtime and having all the toys AND Mommy and Daddy to herself. It was a perfect time to practice this whole 'walking' business. ‘Practicing’ consisted of Zoe careening gleefully between Steve and I for 5 or 6 steps, throwing her arms up in the air and squealing before crashing into one of us in a fit of giggles. It was ridiculous and she loved it. By December she was practicing taking steps on her own out from whatever she was cruising along. Usually one or two steps at a time. It was the week of her first birthday that she decided that walking was easy - “now I just need to figure out this STANDING business.” Yes Zoe could walk, even run, BEFORE SHE COULD STAND ON HER OWN. I often commented that the only thing holding Zoe back from actually walking was her own enthusiasm. It was the week after her first birthday that she put the whole package together.
Since then she has been busy teething and dealing with all the fun stuff cold-season has to offer, but now that it’s spring I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she sets out her next agenda. My bets are on communication. She has had a few words for a while: ‘teddy’, ‘Woody’, ‘buzz’, (yes TOY STORY is popular in our household) ‘bear’, ‘numnumnumnum’. But lately she has added quite distinctly “Daddy” and “baby” - and of course, “Mama.” Today I think she decided to call the swing ‘Wee-wee’... It’s truly remarkable the range and complexity of issues one can communicate with only a few simple words and gestures. See how far you can get with merely nodding, head-shaking, clapping, pointing, pushing, crying, stomping, plus ‘mama’, ‘daddy’, ‘baby’, ‘woody’, ‘buzz’, ‘woof-woof’... Ok, maybe that only works that well when you are two and a half feet tall. But try going to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language (much) instead – same thing, trust me, it’s AMAZING!!
So Zoe, whatever you decide to take on as you latest AGENDA, I’ll be there to hold your hand (or not – you can be stubborn about your independence) and help you to achieve your goals as best I can. In the meantime I’m just going to bask in the glorious and heart-warming wonder of being your ‘Mama.’
Love Mama
I think Zoe's latest agenda is to add one word per week. Yes Zoe has agenda's. The first was to SIT UP - that took a while and required the purchasing of a bouncy chair. A bouncy chair - something that with Liam I thought was totally pointless and couldn't fathom a situation in which it would be a necessity (also - he was too damn heavy for the things). Enter Zoe, who would scream bloody murder until she was tilted up and could survey the world around her. So, bouncy chair. She sat up on her own at about 5 and a half months; the day of her first Sears portrait and the day before I had to face the world all alone without the help of another adult AND A BROKEN RIGHT ARM! Good timing growly girl!
Zoe's next agenda was to crawl. She had been perfectly content with sitting and playing for weeks and then one day we were over at Andrea's for coffee and all the other babies there were crawling! The next day, the VERY next day, she decided she had to crawl too. No longer was she content to sit and play. No longer could I leave her alone with a pile of toys while I did the dishes. For the next few weeks she took every available chance trying to get from sitting to all fours and beyond. This meant a lot of face-plants and screaming bloody murder. I remember saying things to my mom (Nana) on the phone like "no that's not a cat fight, it's Zoe talking..."
Walking was an agenda like no other. Zoe decided one day in August (at 8+ months or so) that she would walk. Just that, walk. Nevermind the fact that she had only just mastered crawling less than two months before and hadn't even tried 'cruising' yet, let alone 'standing'. She would use us to get standing and then flap her arms until we let go of her hands insisting she didn't need our help anymore. The results were predictable. It took a little less than a week to convince her that maybe she had to LEARN to walk. It took a few more weeks to convince her that 'cruising' was a good way to practice - she was pretty sure that she just needed to set off across the room enough times and she'd get it. Eventually she got used to the mommy/daddy-walking unit and used us to get most places. But it was in November - the month before her 1st birthday - when she REALLY got down to business. I mean she had an AGENDA remember?
NOVEMBER: Liam had finally started going to bed without a fight and doing so at a decent time. Zoe LOVED staying up after his bedtime and having all the toys AND Mommy and Daddy to herself. It was a perfect time to practice this whole 'walking' business. ‘Practicing’ consisted of Zoe careening gleefully between Steve and I for 5 or 6 steps, throwing her arms up in the air and squealing before crashing into one of us in a fit of giggles. It was ridiculous and she loved it. By December she was practicing taking steps on her own out from whatever she was cruising along. Usually one or two steps at a time. It was the week of her first birthday that she decided that walking was easy - “now I just need to figure out this STANDING business.” Yes Zoe could walk, even run, BEFORE SHE COULD STAND ON HER OWN. I often commented that the only thing holding Zoe back from actually walking was her own enthusiasm. It was the week after her first birthday that she put the whole package together.
Since then she has been busy teething and dealing with all the fun stuff cold-season has to offer, but now that it’s spring I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before she sets out her next agenda. My bets are on communication. She has had a few words for a while: ‘teddy’, ‘Woody’, ‘buzz’, (yes TOY STORY is popular in our household) ‘bear’, ‘numnumnumnum’. But lately she has added quite distinctly “Daddy” and “baby” - and of course, “Mama.” Today I think she decided to call the swing ‘Wee-wee’... It’s truly remarkable the range and complexity of issues one can communicate with only a few simple words and gestures. See how far you can get with merely nodding, head-shaking, clapping, pointing, pushing, crying, stomping, plus ‘mama’, ‘daddy’, ‘baby’, ‘woody’, ‘buzz’, ‘woof-woof’... Ok, maybe that only works that well when you are two and a half feet tall. But try going to a foreign country where you don’t speak the language (much) instead – same thing, trust me, it’s AMAZING!!
So Zoe, whatever you decide to take on as you latest AGENDA, I’ll be there to hold your hand (or not – you can be stubborn about your independence) and help you to achieve your goals as best I can. In the meantime I’m just going to bask in the glorious and heart-warming wonder of being your ‘Mama.’
Love Mama
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Monday, March 07, 2005
Oh My!
I don't know if I'll be using this Blog much but maybe, just maybe I'll overcome my nervousness about exposing so much of my inner thoughts.
Only time will tell!
Only time will tell!
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