| Gale's profileGale's Garden of Verses ...PhotosBlogLists |  Tools  Help |
|
March 31 Ente Foos or Duck Feet and other funny thingsSo Olivia is doing much better with her German than Matt and I are but that is to be expected. And she is really trying to be a big girl. We try not to focus on saying you're a big girl but instead try to encourage her to do it all by herself. I am amazed at what she can do. Really she is more than ready to be potty trained but I am not going to do that 2 weeks before the baby comes. She can get herself dressed. About a month ago we had some friends over for dinner and cards and Matt said half in jest (because it was late and we were tired and didn't want to argue with a toddler) okay Olivia now go get your pjs on. About 10 minutes later she came out with her pjs on. The shirt was on backwards and the pants were twisted but she did it all by herself. We were so shocked. It is so great when they can dress themselves. Of course now we are dealing with her undressing herself but that is the fun of it for toddlers, isn't it?
Olivia also has this little Hello Kitty hat that has a cat on the front of it. She loves to wear it but is always careful to feel the stiching in the front to make sure the cat is on the front. I think it is funny how exact she wants to be. She has also been able to get her shoes on all by herself for quite some time now but often times they end up on the wrong feet. We often just let it go or fix it later when we are ready to leave because we want to encourage her to keep trying. But at the Kita that she goes to they told her that she had Ente Foos meaning Duck Feet or rather that she has her shoes on the wrong feet. For the past week or so she has been very serious about not having Ente Foos and she tells us all the time. Hey is this Ente Foos? I think that is the cutest little expression. I have to say that sometimes I find German to have such perfect and exact little phrases. It is a very precise language. Hard to learn but so malliable because you put several words together and create your own word with a very exact meaning. Anyways I think it is great how much she is learning. Now if her mommy could just get it all straight her head! Ah I will. I know more than I realize and I just got some new interactive software that I can use on my own time to learn even more. (OF course time will be non-existent with the baby but I somehow have it in my head that i will be able to at least hear the German and read it a little here and there). November 20 I upset and other emotionsOlivia is two. She is textbook two in a lot of ways. She has had all kinds of temper tantrums and when she asks for something and i say no she seems to think I don't understand her and says it over and over. I tell her Olivia I understand what you are asking but the answer is no. She says no and nine (yeah we can get it in two languages) back. Sometimes this results in well a full blown temper tantrum. I try to devert her attention from whatever it is she can't have but when that doesn't work there is sometimes a meltdown. Okay time out. I admit it sometimes I think I need time out because I get so frustrated. And you you know what she said to me the other day? I upset mommy. I upset. Man on man. She wanted to bash the couch with my salad tongs. I didn't want her to do that (can't imagine why). I said Olivia please stop. Olivia stop now, She threw the salad tongs at me and I said Olivia that upsets mommy you are now going in time out. So yeah she is just telling me the same thing I tell her. And well it is good she can tell me she is upset. I want her to be able to communicate but does it have to be such a fight?
So yeah. Two years old. Yep. I sometimes feel bad for her. I mean she can tell us things but we aren't sure what she really understands. Like last night we were looking at baby pictures and at pictures of some other babies/toddlers she used to play with. She said she missed those kids. I don't know if she really understands that or if she heard me and Matt saying we missed people. I think she does get is somewhat because she said she missed me today at the Kita (the childcare place she goes in the morning).
Oh and there are other confusing things that happen. We are trying to prepare her for a sibling. She doesn't fully understand it. I mean how can she? But anyways we were showing her baby pictures and a few videos of her when she was a little newborn. She was all wrapped up in a blanket in one picture. Well when we were getting her down for bed last night, she insisted I wrap her in a blanket like a baby. She hates to have covers on, so after I put the covers on her, she thrashed and yelled. The poor thing is confused. Then she said hold you mommy. Hold you (meaning hold me mommy). I did. I held her until she fell asleep because she was so worked up. She kept saying she was scared and hold me. I guess we will work through these things but well I never realized how confusing emotions are to a toddler. Makes sense. I mean emotions are confusing to most of us adults too, aren't they?! September 16 Well if I can't watch TV, maybe my doll can?Ah Olivia. She is a little negotiator. Every day as often as she can Olivia asks if she can watch Dora, her favorite kid tv show. We only let her watch that one show once in a while. Of course now she wants to watch it all the time. And when I feel she has seen enough I say no. So Olivia will say, maybe Iya watch Dora. I say no. Then she says maybe Daddy watch Dora? I say if mommy says no, Daddy says no. Then Olivia pulls her ultimate in negotiating skill, working all sides of the issue, exploring all possibilities and says well maybe Bitty Baby (her doll) watch Dora? To this I try with all my heart to not laugh or give in because it is rather cute but I tell her No Olivia. If you can't watch Dora then Bitty Baby can't watch Dora either. Ah kids. They learn so young how to negotiate. I have to give her props. That is a good one. She truly explored all options. August 21 Playing BashfulOlivia is experimenting with different facial expressions lately and so far she really likes to play bashful. She turns her head to the side and bows her head while batting her eyelashes. I don't know where she gets this stuff but it is pretty cute. There are days when she puffs her chest out and struts a little bit like Matt and days when she seems so much like a little girl. We still try to give her both dolls and trucks but it is interesting to see how much she changes and what she picks up from both us and other kids.
Olivia is also talking like crazy. The other day she said: "toast is ready mommy." It was very clear. She is also parotting everything we say so I have to be sure to keep myself in line better. In case you didn't know, I can be a bit dramatic and well, I might slip up a little every once in a while and say something that little ones should not repeat. I am learning to be so much more patient and not lose my cool when things spill or when Olivia decided as all kids do to draw on the wall. I must say though meditation and deep breaths are sometimes an absolute must for me. May 23 The first time Olivia said I love youToddlerhood is challenging--there is no doubt about that. But there are three words that really make all the difference in the world: I love you. Olivia told me she loved me a few weeks ago and those three words melted away all the of my frustration.
Olivia didn't verbally say I love you, she signed it. Two weeks ago she was having a doozie of a day--not wanting to go outside, wanting to go outside, not wanting shoes, wanting to put her own shoes on, and other sort of things. Days like these I pray for 6 o'clock to come so Matt can take his lovely daughter away from here for a while. Nap time came and Olivia refused to sleep. I thought I was going to melt down and have my own toddler-sized temper-tantrum. Most of the time I can just put her in her crib and she signs and talks to herself until she falls asleep. I can't stand letting her cry too much...I just can't do it. On this particular day I actually had to sing her to sleep (I haven't done that in a long, long time) and right before she drifted off, I signed "I love you" to her. She signed it back. I won't forget that day. It was the first time I felt like I was a human mom with a human child living in an amazing world. My child loves me. Of course I was pretty sure she did but until that day, I never got confirmation. I love you too Olivia, with all my heart, and every day more and more. (Now if she would just sleep for me!) :) May 18 More cookies pees and how the princess turned into a trollOlivia said her first sentence two days ago. I was very proud. Of course now that she can say "Mommy more cookies pees (please)" doesn't mean I can give them to her every time. Oh the lessons of toddlerhood are hard ones. She didn't like it one bit when I didn't keep giving her cookies. She has had a lot of full out temper tantrums recently and when I refused to give her more and more cookies she kept saying more cookies please louder and louder while stomping her feet. I guess even Olivia suffers from the same assumption we all make every once in a while...if someone didn't do as you requested the first time then you must need to say it louder. Oh lord help me. Give me strength. It is funny the first few times but of course I tried not to smirk or laugh. By the tenth time it is not so funny anymore and it takes a lot of restraint to not loose my temper. Last night she even said "Mommy, Daddy, eat now." That's a good one. I don't respond well to threats so she spent a few minutes saying Iya eat now and stomping her feet. Love her. I do. I love her but well, I am afraid I go a bit deaf when I have someone yelling ridiculous commands at me. Even Matt was a bit shocked by this new and oh so lovely display of emotions...he couldn't believe his princess turned into a troll. I am trying with all my might not to respond to the temper tantrums and I assure you I am pretty stubborn myself and won't be giving in anytime soon. April 28 Around and around and around she goes. Where she stops nobody knows!Ah the English language is a funny thing. I am realizing that more and more as I deal with trying to learn a new language while helping little Olivia learn ours. Oh she is the cutest thing. I sing this song sometimes to well, deal with the start of a silly temper tantrum and basically stall nuclear meltdowns. I sing: "Around and around and around she goes. Where she stops nobody knows." Then little Olivia turns around and around and ends by putting her finger on her nose. Get it? Nose and knows sound exactly the same. Why the language would have two words sound the same but differ only because of their spellings is rather confusing but when she puts her hand on her nose, it cracks me up every time.
Olivia is still signing like crazy. She talks too but if she knows the ASL sign then she does that first. Recently we have been reading this really cute book called The Little Mouse, the Red, Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear and I showed her the sign for mouse. So now Olivia wants to use it all the time and the other day poor Matt had no idea what she was trying to say when she was pointing at her nose, grabbing at the computer mouse and then saying Iya. She was trying to tell Matt that she wants to play with the mouse and the sign for mouse is, yes, you've guessed it, a tap on the side of the nose. Mouse for computer= the little furry creature. Of course it does. And therefore they should both be the same sign. So these are the words and oddities that make our language so strange. We have words that have nothing to do with one another but they sound the same and we use the same word for two different things. So yes, I can understand how odd it must be to learn all these things, which makes me wonder how odd I must sound and all the mistakes I must make when I try to speak German. I cringe to even think about it but still I must keep trying. Throw the pride out the door and try to think and act like a kid. They have no fears and aren't shy. This is what I must do in order to survive here. And so I will. April 19 I do it myself mommy!How an 18-month-old gets dressed is a lesson in patience. Olivia has been trying to snap the button on her jeans shut for about 20 minutes. Fortunately we aren't going anywhere so I don't really care if she wants to try and do it herself. Well, that is not entirely true. There is definitely a part of me that wants to just snap it closed. It is difficult to watch her trying to do it over and over...
There are other things now that Olivia does when we are getting ready to go out the door that really do want to make me scream and pull my hair out. She has been untying her shoe laces. I tie them and then turn around two seconds later only to find that she has pulled the laces halfway out. I have even tried double knotting them but that is no match for her. We have a second pair of boots with zippers. Those are her favorite because she can unzip them and put them on her own feet. It is great except the poor thing trips a bit because somehow they always seem to end up on the wrong feet and well, do I let her walk around that way or not? I mean it can't be all that comfortable.
Oh yes and let's not forget the take-my-diaper-off routine Olivia has. Even onesies don't always stop that from happening now. She has figured out how to unsnap her onsies. Yeah! And she did the lovely experiment of putting her hands in her diaper to see what was in there. I was a bit horified that she was making a move to eat her own poop. Oh I know this is a bit crude to talk about but let's be honest. No matter how smart we think our kids are I guess most of them try it at least once or so I am told. Yes, I know, it is all part of her learning but sometimes or at least once, I would like to get out the door in less than an hour and not have to fight about it while she says "I do it myself mommy!" (No she isn't quite capable of saying it in those words exactly. Instead, what she says is "Iya, Iya, Iya!" and then she points at herself. Apparently "Iya" is the name Olivia has chosen for herself. I was wondering what she might pick...) December 18 Daddy, more snow please!A few weeks ago Matt took Olivia outside to show her that it was snowing, something that usually happens once a year. Olivia giggled and pointed at the snow and said in sign language cold rain, more cold rain and then giggled as she held her hand out to catch the snowflakes.
The next day Olivia put her mitten on (just one and it was barely on her hand), grabbed her boots, and then pointed at the door. It was clear that she wanted to go outside so Matt was kind enough to oblige. When they got out there Olivia signed cold rain and shrugged her shoulders. Matt told her that the snow had melted. Unfortunately this did not satisfy Olivia so she signed more please over and over. I can see why some people get the god complex from there kids. Afteralll it is completely logical that if we can turn lights on and off in the house that we should also be able to make it snow. Poor thing. If only we could control the weather! August 05 Olivia is starting to walkOn August 1, 2005 (I have to write the date here or I might forget--still trying to recover from months of sleep deprivation.), Olivia took her first six steps towards her daddy and then turned around and took a few more steps toward me. It has begun. We are so very proud of her. But I must say with the new steps comes new falls.
This morning Olivia was very excited and wanted to show her dad again how much of a big girl she was and so she took a shaky step toward the coffee table, slipped, and hit her head. The poor thing has a bruise above her right eye. I cringe to think that this is only the beginning of bumps and falls. But I guess that is part of growing.
And oh she is talking and pointing at EVERYTHING. Soon she will say her first words. In fact we swear we have already heard her say a few but it is not completely clear yet. A few weeks ago Julia (the woman who comes to observe her) and I thought we heard Olivia say flower or more like "bowah" as she pointed at the flowers on Julia's socks but she hasn't repeated it since. Then when Matt's mom was here last week, we thought for sure she said backpack or more like "bahpah" as she pointed at the backpack that Matt takes her for walks in, which she absolutely loves. Also, last night Matt and I heard her say belly (unfortunately for me--and I cringe a little with embarrassment here--she pointed at my belly when she said it). Belly was the clearest word so far but I hate to count it given the circumstances (Come on, who wants to admit that one?! Yes, I am still trying to work that "baby fat" off.). So very soon she will be talking, walking, and starting to assert her will even more. Oh and thank the gods she is starting to sleep through the night again (don't want to say that too loud for fear it might change again). So here we come toddlerhood! Welcome to freedom babe! ;) July 03 Hey mom, look, no hands!Nine months ago I was wondering what I was going to do to calm the little cries of a newborn. Now I am wondering what I am going to do when she actually figures out that she can in fact walk. And I wonder, is she going to just stand up and run out the door? Sometimes I think she will.
Last week I turned my head for one second and when I turned around there was this proud little giggle coming from Olivia. She just stood up in the middle of the floor, didn't need anything to help her up. She was just standing there smiling intently at me. <Hey, mom, look, no hands!>
A strange thing is happening. I feel this tremendous sense of pride at her advancements and yet at the same time, I miss the little baby that wanted to be held, cuddled, and cooed. My heart breaks sometimes when I realize that we are close to toddlerhood. That there will be a day when she doesn't like that I said no and says, I hate you mommy as she pushes me away. I know it is part of her learning that she has will and that she has to do that to figure out how she fits in the world. I know all of this and yet, I want to just pick her up and never let her go.
I love her so much with so much intensity that I can't imagine my life before her. I have never loved another being as much as I love her. It is a scary and intense feeling to know that I am a mom. My mother-in-law once told me that if you love someone, then you have to be willing to let them go. As a mom, I am going to have to learn to let things go, even to let Olivia go. And so she will go. She is so very, very close to walking that I am sure that in the next week, even this very day, I will turn my back, she will giggle, and I will see her walking towards me. I am going to cherish that moment--her first step to being on her own. March 08 Olivia's latest tricksOlivia is doing great. In fact by all means she is thriving. I can't believe she is already 5 months. Time goes by so fast. I was just looking at the videos and all the pics we have of her. Granted she is very photographed but I am glad we have the record. I am a sentimental fool. I even find letting go of favorite outfits she has outgrown to be a little sad. And the thought of her not wanting to sleep next to me breaks my heart but I know some day that will come. Last week Olivia accomplished sitting up on her own and now is an old pro at it. Last week she would fall over but by the end of the week she figured out how to fall a certain way so that she would end up on her belly as she fell (instead of hitting her head, which mader her rather upset). Olivia also had her first solid food (very watery rice cereal) and has been eating a little every night now a few hours before bed. She is doing great. She still gets overstimilutated and makes this grunting noise that Matt and I are a little concerned about. But really she is doing wonderfully and I am once again a very proud mom! February 18 The mark on Olivia's chinI won't be the first mom to say this nor the last but I just have to get it off my chest. I am so tired of people asking me about the mark on Olivia's chin. It showed up 3 weeks after she was born and has been one of the first things people ask about ever sense it reared its ugly head. Here is the deal: if it doesn't go away, we will zap it. Okay? What really frustrates me is why people feel they need to focus so much attention on it and on looks in general. Yes, I know that is the way of the world. But I don't like it. No sam I do-NOT Like it. Do I want my child to be good looking? Well this might shock some people out there but no, not particularly. I want her to be so much more than that! It scares me that at 4 and 1/2 months people already focus too much on how she looks and not enough on her brain development. I want Olivia to have self-confidence and there is no doubt that looks help with that but that is not the mother of all things and it shouldn't be. I would be a hypocrite if I said that I myself don't occasionally try out the latest billion-dollar beauty scam of anti-aging creams and blemish zappers. But it truly scares me that in our culture there is so much placed on how you look, how you dress, what you own, and so many other superficial things. Yes, in a world where I can look over and tell (yes, because the pants are too low-cut) that the nine-year-old girl sitting across from me is wearing a thong, I really and truly hope that by the time Olivia reaches that age she won't even know what a thong is. So in the meantime I am going to combat the beauty frenzy with brains and love, love, love and hope that by the time it is an issue, she will have the self-confidence to not care about that stuff! (Granted I know how naive I am being but let me just try and believe that we will start focusing on girls' intelligence rather than beauty. P-L-E-A-S-E give me that!) Update on OliviaOlivia had her check-up yesterday. She is 15 lbs 5 ounces. 25 and 1/2 inches long (already you can tell she is going to be tall like her dad). Olivia is in the 80th percentile for her height and 90th percentile for her weight. Already Olivia is outgrowing her 6-9 month clothes but I am convinced the baby clothes market is a total scam. Seems like the clothes never fit when they say they should. Olivia's tricks to date are: she can roll from her back to her belly; she can sit up for about 10 seconds by herself and for much longer in her boppy pillow; she laughs, giggles, blows bubbles, gurgles, coos, and talks, talks, talks; and she loves to play and squeal with delight. We read books all the time but she gets a bit overstimulated at times when she wants to both eat the book and turn the page at the same time. (Of course I am a very proud mom) |
|
|
