Will’s Phrases

I keep a running list of these and keep forgetting to post them. By the time I remember to do it, he doesn’t say them anymore! But there’s even more reason to keep on top of it.

• Dull-bozer = Bulldozer. What’s fun about this one is that he’ll correct us if we say it the right way.
• For awhile all we would hear for answers to questions was “I no ro” (I don’t know). It was infuriating at the time, but he’s moved on to “why” now, so there’s that.
• Instead of saying that he was “stacking” things, Will would “cover” them. So two books needed to be covered, not stacked.
• If you ask Will a question, he’ll often answer in a complete sentence. “What’s you’re favorite color?” “My favorite color is red”.
• Will can’t wake up until the sun is up, so every morning he has to check and make sure if “the sky is on”. At night, “the sky is off”.
• Sometimes in the midst of a tense moment or shortly after, we hear that “something is happening” or “something happened”. It means that there was something too much for him to process or explain accurately.
• Will identifies every letter of his name as being “for” him. M is for me! A is for me! I is for me! His “reading skill” for this level of preschool is name identification, but it can mean that every time he sees the letters from his name he thinks it says “William Buch” even if it just says “Will” but it’s pretty cute when he spots his name in a safety warning “this gate will not prevent injury”.

Of course the best phrase ever (sappy mom moment ahead) is hearing Will say (mostly to Becca), “I love you very much”. Well that and “I love carrots soooo much. They’re delicious.” Don’t let that fool you into thinking he’ll eat more than one baby carrot, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Becca Turns One

At 1, Becca is adventurous (not dangerous, daring!) and enthusiastic (she loves to clap and laugh and get right into things). She’s a mover and a shaker. Her favorite things include balls, spoons, and bows. Her favorite foods are meat, cereal, crackers, and avocados (or whatever things she doesn’t have enough teeth to chew that Will is getting to eat without her).

We celebrated her birthday at home with cupcakes, and then Grandmommy, Auntie Christine & Riley visited later in the week and we went to Busch Gardens. Becca got a whole bunch of teeth all at once and was in pain for a few days so she probably didn’t enjoy her birthday week all that much, but she liked her new clothes, balls, and dolly. As of last week, also, she’s officially walking more than crawling – she had been taking a couple steps at a time, but now she lurches across rooms to get from place to place and only crawls if she falls down and it’s going to be faster anyway.

Hey wait, who’s day is this?

She can say:
mama
dada
ball
bow
bubble
night-night
bye-bye
dog

Becca, 9 months on

I’m pretty sure all parents feel like their kids are growing up too fast, but there’s a point where your little tiny baby all of a sudden has opinions and starts trying to do things on her own and you’re all like whaaaa? Where did that come from?

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Becca started scooting right at 6 months and making it clear where she wanted to go and what she wanted to do. Between 8 and 9 months she got up on her knees and picked up some speed, and started pulling to standing. We call her danger baby because she’ll stand up next to anything, never mind how stable, and often let go. Thankfully she’s stabilized a little bit and also learned to plop down instead of falling backwards quite so much. She’s started climbing a bit, although she hasn’t had full opportunities to show us that skill. The other day I caught her climbing up on the dishwasher door and also doing a pull-up to stand on it.

Just when I thought my kitchen days were over because she wanted to be cruising around getting into everything, she learned to eat puffs and sit in her high chair or bouncy seat snacking for a little bit. She’s got very little interest in pureed baby food – that would involve someone else feeding her with a spoon, and who wants that? She’ll eat it from a pouch, or feed herself thankyouverymuch. She wants to eat exactly what we’re eating, and is a big fan of meat, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, and bread (probably because Will is basically a vegetarian). She likes to chew on green vegetables (her first favorites were snap peas as teethers) and loves black beans, rice, and pasta. I’m slowly getting used to the fact that there’s another mouth to feed at the table and she won’t be happy at meal time unless she has her own full serving.

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She’s not a cuddler because she’s always on the move, but that makes it even more special when she lays her head on your chest for a split second. She’ll still hang out in the carrier, especially if she’s not feeling well, but that may be because the eagle eye view helps her know what’s going on.

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She wants to play with all of Will’s big-boy toys, and I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s joining in on all of the fun.

Funny Things Will says Wrong

• Carpet = Grass
• Elephant = “Phana”
• Store = Story = Library. As in “Dada went store story library right back”. He must think Carl has a lot of fun without him.
• All sweets are chocolate. E.g.: shamrock shake, dried dates. 

Will, right about now

Will’s at such a fun age right now – he’s moved beyond the “copy everything we say” stage to where we’re starting to get an insight on what he’s thinking about. The first time I can really think of was at Christmas when he started saying “Grandma” and when we went to Christmas town and he couldn’t stop talking about the penguins and horses. Now he’s starting to tell stories: “One time, little pigs built house”. 

A lot of Will’s language in play centers around trains and the things he’s heard in Thomas shows and books. If something is under a table or the couch, it is “under the tunnel”. Trigger’s kennel? A tunnel. Will told me a detailed story the other night about how Gordon (the train) had gone down “the tunnel in the toilet”. (He had not, thank goodness). We don’t have any Thomas tracks yet, but that just means everything is a track. And because in the show there are “troublesome trucks”, Will often talks about “troublesome tracks”. The car that James pulls behind him is called baby James number 5. Thomas is “Thomas the tank engine number 1”.

Will has learned his letters, and it’s kind of snuck up on me that he knows them now. He may not say them when you ask, but if you listen when he’s playing on his own he’ll accurately identify the letters on the alphabet train or you’ll hear him say under his breath “DEFGH”. We haven’t done anything with lowercase, but he’s figuring them out. I had to remind myself this morning that when he was spelling out “Dinos.u…” that he couldn’t really spell, that he was just pointing out the letters he knew. Most things are identified first by their colors. “Mama! Purple jacket!” Who knows how high he can count – we’ve heard up to 13, but I think he can probably go higher, and he can identify them by sight up to 10. It’s really just the start of all he’ll learn!

Becca at 6 Months

Here’s Becca at six months: smiley, wanting to be a part of the party, yelling if she feels like she isn’t, babbling along. Scooting her way across the room, especially if there’s paper that can go in her mouth or a toy that her brother has that looks more fun than what she’s playing with. Loving Trigger, and all the people in the house. Not a great napper, loves to be held until she’s ready to wriggle away. No time to sit still. A pretty good sleeper, unless of course she’s not feeling well or going through a growth spurt. Eats only when she’s hungry, which is probably why she’s so skinny (but tall!). Starting to look more like her daddy when she smiles. Capturing all of our hearts.

Fancy Pants

I wanted to just post this photo without an explanation, but doesn’t it look like those crazy Vogue fashion shoots where they’ve got the model in the middle of a farmyard in her $40,000 gown? Kind of like sending your toddler in velvet pants and a ruffly white shirt to run in your muddy backyard, right?

These are the things I want to remember

Will turned 2 a couple weeks ago, and he’s definitely progressing along. Words that used to be one syllable are turning into 2: banana used to be “ba” but now it’s “ba-na”. Thomas used to be ‘s-Ta (it’s Thomas!) and now is Tms (but Toby is a very clear To-by and Gordon is the cutest Gow-don). Sometimes compound consonants get mixed up – spoon is poonce. He loves books, puzzles, and coloring, but also running laps around the downstairs of our house, or having Carl push him down the hallway on a cart upstairs, yelling 1-2-3 Go! He’s a huge fan of dinosaurs and can say Rex & Tops (for triceratops) and is trying to say a few others (and some are in a language all his own).

(this picture is about the kid, not the mess!)
If he’s feeling sad he’ll say “carry” so someone will pick him up, or point at my shoulder and say “that one” if he wants a hug, especially if I’m holding Becca. He likes to point out that something is broken, or if something needs to be put on. He still likes helping by emptying the dishwasher, cleaning the lint trap, getting the dustpan and sweeping. He wants to get his own bowl and spoon, pour his own milk, and cut his own cheese (with help). He’s learning his colors and will sometimes count to 6 or 8, but we’re not allowed to sing the alphabet song anymore. He likes to point out O’s and 0’s as circles in books, and can say his shapes when he’s playing with the shape sorter. He moved into his big boy bed over the weekend, and has done really well so far, but we go get him as soon as he wakes up and haven’t put any toys in his room so there’s no temptation to get out of bed. The next step will be to get Becca in the crib overnight.

Becca continues to surprise me with how different she is from Will (even though my favorite line when I was trying to figure out what would work with Will was that every baby is different! and it’s my advice to other people! but it’s true!). Will would nurse for super long sessions, and would never choose to end on his own and would only nurse to sleep. Becca nurses for 10 minutes (more if she’s super hungry) and won’t eat if she’s full or if she’s distracted, and will go to sleep by just being rocked or even if she’s laid down in her bed if she’s had enough to eat during the day. She doesn’t like bottles but when she’s hunger striking I don’t walk into the door to a screaming baby (which doesn’t mean she hasn’t been fussy during the day) – it’s like she’s just resigned herself to the fact that I’m gone and she’s not going to eat. She’ll just get kind of sleepy instead. Our secret to getting her to eat hasn’t been any particular bottle, but giving her a little bit of formula as a last resort. Not my first choice by any means, but it’s just enough to get her kickstarted after a long weekend or a particularly stubborn day, and makes sure she’s not going hungry or getting dehydrated, and that I’m not having to get up all through the night to make sure she’s fed.
Before the long weekend she was even sleeping longer than I was. She’s long and lean, and loves to kick and coo. She’s started buzzing her lips, which Will then imitates so it’s like they’re having a conversation. He also goes up to her and says “hi, baby” in a high voice which just melts my heart.

What it’s like with 2 (so far)

I realized one day that instead of being completely afraid of leaving the house with both kids by myself, that I had intentionally done it to add some structure and an activity to our day. I just need to occasionally remind myself that I don’t need to be afraid of a toddler meltdown in public – Will is a fun kid to hang out with and do things with, as long as he’s not hungry, tired, or sick. And if those three things are checked off and the baby has been fed, off we can go! We don’t have that many things firmly scheduled into our weeks, though, and there are plenty of days we entertain ourselves at home. We are so blessed to have both of our children and I’m glad that I’ve had this time to spend with them at home.

Two presents me with a fun new logistical problem – which kid to get out of and put in the car first. And to remember to communicate with Will what I’m doing in the parking lot. At the grocery store we park next to the cart corral so I can load him up in the cart and he can sit there while I’m putting the baby in her carrier and vice versa when it’s time to leave. Thankfully he’s gotten good about holding hands walking across the parking lot. Our double stroller doesn’t have an infant seat, so either he’s walking, riding in a cart, or riding in the wagon to the neighborhood park.

The stairs are the biggest challenge at home, because Will isn’t old enough to be left on one level while I take care of something in another part of the house. Sometimes his naptime (or baby naptime) is when I find myself dashing up and down the stairs to get everything put away that I need to. As soon as I get Becca to sleep after lunch I suggest to Will that “it’s time to go upstairs” (code for naptime) and he gladly goes. More often than not, though, I come back down to find her eyes open and we spend some time snuggling before I can do what I have planned, so I’ll spend some time resting on the couch and by the time I’m ready to get up she’s awake again. It’s ok, though, because I usually get enough sleep at night that I’m not depending on that time for a nap myself, and since about the third week I’ve been able to get a shower in the morning before Will gets up.

Will runs to Becca’s bed saying, “Baby!” every time he wakes up or goes by, and will push her swing saying “whee!”. He does wake her up sometimes, but it’s all part of daily life and she gets enough sleep overall. Eventually we’ll move her toward naps in another room, but for now she stays with us. He’s not jealous towards her, but when my lap is free he does need quality attention from me, and will sometimes crawl up in my lap or next to me on the couch while I’m nursing.

Trigger has responded to the addition to the family by acting out because he’s not getting enough attention, poor guy. He used to be good about boundaries around food – not counter surfing or eating off of Will’s table before he was permitted, but I guess he feels like he has to fend for himself now. He does like the cooler weather now, but likes us to be out in the yard with him. He’s good with the baby, though, as long as we can keep him from licking her face.

 

Becca at 2 months

Becca is such an easy-going baby so far, and growing like a weed! We’re switching pediatricians so we don’t have her official stats yet, but she’s outgrowing the length on her 0-3 month pants already, although she’s skinny so the elastic waists don’t exactly stay up.

She’s generally a good sleeper, and even some of the times when she wakes up in the night she’s not screaming or crying, but just starts cooing and talking. I still get up to try to nurse or rock her back to sleep because I’m not up for a conversation at that time of night, but the noises are so happy to hear! She’ll talk to us while she’s sitting in her bouncy seat in the kitchen or living room, too, just to feel like a part of the action, I’m sure.

She’s still enough of a newborn that there are some days when she doesn’t nap very well at all, followed by days when I have to wake her up from her naps because it’s time to eat. Being the second kid, though, she’s got to go with the flow, which she does pretty well. If we go somewhere in the morning I try to wait until after she falls asleep for her nap and she’ll sleep in her carrier (I’m using the baby k’tan now and it’s working really well, although she doesn’t really like being in it when she’s awake). It’s one thing to say that every baby is different, but it’s funny experiencing how they actually are! Will always wanted to nurse to sleep, and while I still try that, there are times when I try to nurse her and she refuses because she’s tired, not hungry. There are also times when I lay her in her bed and she opens her eyes to look at me and then closes them to go to sleep – it’s so weird having a good sleeper! I have to keep that in mind the few nights (like last night) when we spend a lot of time awake and get up early.

We’re so glad that Becca has made us a family of four and we’re glad to have her here for the last 2 months. It seems hard to believe it’s been that long already, but it’s also hard to remember what it was like before she was here!