Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Jared learns "no". Alex wants pennies.
Jared learned how to communicate "no" to us. Rather than learn the word "no" like most kids, he has decided to shake his head violently to indicate no. I tried to pick him up after dinner and got the violent shaking of the head until I stepped back. He points to mom and says "eh! eh!". Translation: I don't want dad to pick me up. I want mom to pick me up.
Alex picked up some bricks out back and wanted to get paid (at a penny a brick). Of course, offered him his 39 cents as an assortment of coins, but he wanted them in all pennies. I brought out a bunch of coins and explained the difference between them, but he continued to insist on having all pennies. I suspect that with most things Alex plays with, I'll be finding pennies all over the house.
Alex picked up some bricks out back and wanted to get paid (at a penny a brick). Of course, offered him his 39 cents as an assortment of coins, but he wanted them in all pennies. I brought out a bunch of coins and explained the difference between them, but he continued to insist on having all pennies. I suspect that with most things Alex plays with, I'll be finding pennies all over the house.
Friday, November 04, 2005
Focus, Alex, Focus
Alex is so easily distracted by things that when it comes time for bed, we have to be there going through each step or it'll take him three hours to get into bed. He only has a few tasks to get ready for bed - potty, shower, brush teeth, and pajamas. He tends to lose focus soon after he goes upstairs. I'll wander upstairs to see how he's coming along and I'll find him drawing. Sometimes he'll wander downstairs naked to tell me something. Sometimes he'll be standing over the sink looking at himself make faces in the mirror while naked. If you tell him to brush his teeth, he'll wander by the sink in the bathroom and if you aren't watching him, he'll be playing with the toothbrush and the toothpaste. Sometimes, he'll just play with the water coming out of the tap.
The incredible thing is that if you tell him you're counting to 35 to accomplish the task (like getting dressed), he can complete the task easily, although he gets flustered if you speed up the count.
While he was entirely unfocused going about his bedtime activities, I decided to read some jokes. He wanted to read them, and he could, but they made no sense to him. I wonder when the sense of humor kicks in. I told him at dinner that I needed a knife to cut the bread and he handed me a butter knife. I went back into the kitchen telling him that the butter knife wouldn't cut the bread, just maim it - mom and I laughed and Alex just looked at us.
The incredible thing is that if you tell him you're counting to 35 to accomplish the task (like getting dressed), he can complete the task easily, although he gets flustered if you speed up the count.
While he was entirely unfocused going about his bedtime activities, I decided to read some jokes. He wanted to read them, and he could, but they made no sense to him. I wonder when the sense of humor kicks in. I told him at dinner that I needed a knife to cut the bread and he handed me a butter knife. I went back into the kitchen telling him that the butter knife wouldn't cut the bread, just maim it - mom and I laughed and Alex just looked at us.
Eh, eh, eh, eh
It must be nice to be a toddler who cannot form words. Point and say "eh! eh! eh! eh!" Let the parents figure it out. Since Jared's volcabulary is limited to "ba" for ball, "fa" for fan, "ca" for car, "ma" for mom, and of course, "ba ba ba ba" for belly button, anything else turns into a guessing game. At dinner, he'll point in the general direction of food and we must offer him different food items to see what it is he wants. After dinner tonight, Jared saw a grape being handed to Alex from a bowl - two seconds later, the all too common "eh! eh! eh! eh!" Of course, he wanted some and proceeded to stuff them in his mouth.
Of course, he seems to like handling the fork himself with dinner even though he's not very good at using it. Sine dinner wasn't ready yet, I handed Jared a piece of bread to tide him over and as I was handing a piece to Alex, I discovered that Jared had put the piece of bread down and was using the fork to lift the bread into his mouth. I see the logic of it, but it was too funny.
Of course, he seems to like handling the fork himself with dinner even though he's not very good at using it. Sine dinner wasn't ready yet, I handed Jared a piece of bread to tide him over and as I was handing a piece to Alex, I discovered that Jared had put the piece of bread down and was using the fork to lift the bread into his mouth. I see the logic of it, but it was too funny.
