I was having a bad day when I went to go pick up Emmy today. Nothing specific, just down in the dumps.
While loading her into her car seat, she was talking about Daddy, and starting to fuss, so I asked her if she could count to five. She did. I told her how proud I was and that she was very smart. Then I stepped back to shut her car door.
And she said, "I love you." I almost missed it.
So, I leaned back in, and told her, "I love you, too," and gave her a kiss.
Now I need a tissue for a completely different reason.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Full Sentences. Just Not in Front of Mom and Dad
When I pick Emmy up, I always try to talk to her teacher, and sometimes one of the other teachers will stop me to tell me a story. Last week, I got two.
One teacher told me that Emmy was playing in the gym, standing with her head leaned on her shoulder and having a conversation on a pretend phone. Most of it was Emmy's standard toddler jabber (no real words) but then she stopped and said, "I said no!" into her pretend phone. (I wonder where she got that...)
Then, on Thursday, Ms. Debbie, her usual teacher, told me an even better story. Debbie is very used to Emmy's pretend talk/jabber, i.e. her imitation of what talking sounds like. On Thursday, however, Debbie told the kids to start cleaning up, which is what they do when it's time to move on to a new activity. Emmy walked over to her and asked, "Debbie, where we go now?" She spoke slowly and carefully, enunciating each word. So, Debbie stopped and told her, "We're going outside." And Emmy, who clearly loves outside time, turned to the little boys in her class and said, "Boys. Now."
So, all weekend, Tom and I asked her questions and tried to make conversation with her, but all we got were one-word answers. No sentences for us.
On the other hand, she will sing for us (or rather, in our presence). She sings Twinkle twinkle, little star. (Her version is a little truncated) And there's this song that Destiny's Child sang on Sesame Street that has a line that repeats. (I've got a new way to walk (walk, walk)). So, if you sing the first part, "I've got a new way to walk," she'll say, "walk walk." Oh my goodness, is that adorable. I'll have to get a video of it, but Emmy has a tendency to go silent when she notices the camera pointed in her direction.
One teacher told me that Emmy was playing in the gym, standing with her head leaned on her shoulder and having a conversation on a pretend phone. Most of it was Emmy's standard toddler jabber (no real words) but then she stopped and said, "I said no!" into her pretend phone. (I wonder where she got that...)
Then, on Thursday, Ms. Debbie, her usual teacher, told me an even better story. Debbie is very used to Emmy's pretend talk/jabber, i.e. her imitation of what talking sounds like. On Thursday, however, Debbie told the kids to start cleaning up, which is what they do when it's time to move on to a new activity. Emmy walked over to her and asked, "Debbie, where we go now?" She spoke slowly and carefully, enunciating each word. So, Debbie stopped and told her, "We're going outside." And Emmy, who clearly loves outside time, turned to the little boys in her class and said, "Boys. Now."
So, all weekend, Tom and I asked her questions and tried to make conversation with her, but all we got were one-word answers. No sentences for us.
On the other hand, she will sing for us (or rather, in our presence). She sings Twinkle twinkle, little star. (Her version is a little truncated) And there's this song that Destiny's Child sang on Sesame Street that has a line that repeats. (I've got a new way to walk (walk, walk)). So, if you sing the first part, "I've got a new way to walk," she'll say, "walk walk." Oh my goodness, is that adorable. I'll have to get a video of it, but Emmy has a tendency to go silent when she notices the camera pointed in her direction.
Monday, October 10, 2011
I love you!
Emmy said "I love you" this weekend!
Now, I'm pretty certain she doesn't know what it means, but she knows that when she says it, it makes Mama and Daddy really happy. Mama might have jumped up and down when Emmy said it the first time. Mama might also have yelled to Daddy in the other room, "She just said 'I love you!'"
Emmy has recently gotten really good at parroting what she hears. So, after naptime on Sunday, I was changing her diaper, and I asked her, "Can you say, 'I love you?'" And she repeated it.
So, while waiting for Tom to come (he's really good about coming when I yell that Emmy just did something because he doesn't want to miss her doing anything amazing-- which, yes, does imply that he is less quick to respond when I am yelling to him to come about something that is not related to Emmy.) I asked her to say "I love you, Daddy," and she happily obliged.
And Tom just happened to walk in at that moment, so he got to hear it.
She said it a few more times throughout the day, but only when prompted-- but it's only a matter of time until she says it of her own accord. And that will be another jump up and down day.
Now, I'm pretty certain she doesn't know what it means, but she knows that when she says it, it makes Mama and Daddy really happy. Mama might have jumped up and down when Emmy said it the first time. Mama might also have yelled to Daddy in the other room, "She just said 'I love you!'"
Emmy has recently gotten really good at parroting what she hears. So, after naptime on Sunday, I was changing her diaper, and I asked her, "Can you say, 'I love you?'" And she repeated it.
So, while waiting for Tom to come (he's really good about coming when I yell that Emmy just did something because he doesn't want to miss her doing anything amazing-- which, yes, does imply that he is less quick to respond when I am yelling to him to come about something that is not related to Emmy.) I asked her to say "I love you, Daddy," and she happily obliged.
And Tom just happened to walk in at that moment, so he got to hear it.
She said it a few more times throughout the day, but only when prompted-- but it's only a matter of time until she says it of her own accord. And that will be another jump up and down day.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Emmy and Consequences
So, Tom and I have decided that we won't be taking Emmy to any restaurants again (unless there is a very VERY compelling reason to do so) until she better understands consequences.
Right now, we're at a stage where consequences don't mean much. That's totally normal, and I'm aware of that. But an almost-two-year-old without any understanding of consequences or "punishment" is really difficult to control in settings where you can't allow them to have free-rein.
At home, we're fine, because all the things that Emmy can't touch are out of her reach or put away. But when we're out, there are totally different sets of rules and Emmy just doesn't understand that yet.
The other night (and this is not the first time its happened, but it serves to illustrate the point) we were out at a Mexican restaurant. Emmy was in a booster seat (so no straps to keep her in the seat) and she was squirmy, screechy, and as always, messy.
She kept standing up to look into the booth behind us, and I kept making her sit back down in the seat. Finally, I sat her down, and put my arm over her lap to hold her in the seat. She pushed my arm away --and then-- she swiped her arm across the table, slinging salsa all over (including mama's shirt sleeve).
I snatched her up out of the seat, and walked to the front of the restaurant and then took her outside. I sat her down and asked, "Do you want to go home?" (This is the chosen punishment for not behaving while we're out)
She looked at me, nodded, and said, "Okay."
And that was the moment when it hit home that she doesn't understand consequences. It doesn't matter to her if we're out or at home. She gets fed regardless. And though I think she understands that mama is disappointed when she misbehaves, she doesn't really have much concept about what behavior is acceptable vs. unacceptable, especially when considered acceptable at home and not at a restaurant (or grocery store, etc.).
So, I took her back to the table and we got through dinner, and when we got home, we decided that, for now, we'll avoid restaurants like the plague. Which, I imagine, won't upset too many restaurant staff who have to clean up the disaster under the table after we leave.
Right now, we're at a stage where consequences don't mean much. That's totally normal, and I'm aware of that. But an almost-two-year-old without any understanding of consequences or "punishment" is really difficult to control in settings where you can't allow them to have free-rein.
At home, we're fine, because all the things that Emmy can't touch are out of her reach or put away. But when we're out, there are totally different sets of rules and Emmy just doesn't understand that yet.
The other night (and this is not the first time its happened, but it serves to illustrate the point) we were out at a Mexican restaurant. Emmy was in a booster seat (so no straps to keep her in the seat) and she was squirmy, screechy, and as always, messy.
She kept standing up to look into the booth behind us, and I kept making her sit back down in the seat. Finally, I sat her down, and put my arm over her lap to hold her in the seat. She pushed my arm away --and then-- she swiped her arm across the table, slinging salsa all over (including mama's shirt sleeve).
I snatched her up out of the seat, and walked to the front of the restaurant and then took her outside. I sat her down and asked, "Do you want to go home?" (This is the chosen punishment for not behaving while we're out)
She looked at me, nodded, and said, "Okay."
And that was the moment when it hit home that she doesn't understand consequences. It doesn't matter to her if we're out or at home. She gets fed regardless. And though I think she understands that mama is disappointed when she misbehaves, she doesn't really have much concept about what behavior is acceptable vs. unacceptable, especially when considered acceptable at home and not at a restaurant (or grocery store, etc.).
So, I took her back to the table and we got through dinner, and when we got home, we decided that, for now, we'll avoid restaurants like the plague. Which, I imagine, won't upset too many restaurant staff who have to clean up the disaster under the table after we leave.
Plans for the Rest of the Year
Things are going pretty well for the Watson household. I started a new job (same employer, new position) on August 1st and Tom started a new job (entirely new employer) in September. We are (happily) adjusting to our promotions. The downside of the changes are that Tom is working farther away from the house, and I've become salaried, so Emmy is spending a little more time at daycare, which leaves me with a lot of guilt.
I'm pretty sure at some point, one of the *very helpful* articles distributed by one of the daycares that I was, at some point in the process, investigating, said that children who spend more than (I can't remember the actual number, but I think it was ten) hours in a daycare setting have trouble with bonding, or behavior or something that was absolutely terrifying at the time. So, we're right at the ten hour threshold, and I am experiencing a lot of guilt.
*(The asterisks indicate my sarcasm)
That being said, it's really nice to suddenly find ourselves with leftover money in the monthly budget, and by the way, I'm really proud of us, however much that sounds like personal horn tooting.
I also just completed a 5k in a personal best time (we don't need to talk about what that time actually was, just that it was my personal best). Tom and I have signed up for a half marathon in November, and even though I'm not up to running it, I'm still proud that I am voluntarily planning to walk/jog/occasionally run 13.1 miles that day. We also both recently did the Warrior Dash, a 5k with obstacles!, a mud pit! and fire!, and that went really well for both of us. I don't mind saying that my time for that was 59 minutes, which sounds terrible for a 5k, but seems pretty good considering all the obstacles included in the 5k.
I have also decided to participate in NaNoWriMo again this year. As a reminder, NaNo is a personal pledge to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I got to around 35,000 words last year before illness and Thanksgiving overcame my intentions. If I achieve my goal and complete my novel, my reward to myself is a pair of boots at Land's End I've been eyeing. (I don't know how to spell eyeing and the spell check says it is wrong. Eye-ing? Eying? Neither of those look right).
I will be offering to host Thanksgiving dinner again this year, so I have that menu to plan and prepare and after that, I have Emmy's second birthday party to plan. Then there's Christmas, which isn't a big deal, right?
And that's my rough plan for the rest of the year.
I'm pretty sure at some point, one of the *very helpful* articles distributed by one of the daycares that I was, at some point in the process, investigating, said that children who spend more than (I can't remember the actual number, but I think it was ten) hours in a daycare setting have trouble with bonding, or behavior or something that was absolutely terrifying at the time. So, we're right at the ten hour threshold, and I am experiencing a lot of guilt.
*(The asterisks indicate my sarcasm)
That being said, it's really nice to suddenly find ourselves with leftover money in the monthly budget, and by the way, I'm really proud of us, however much that sounds like personal horn tooting.
I also just completed a 5k in a personal best time (we don't need to talk about what that time actually was, just that it was my personal best). Tom and I have signed up for a half marathon in November, and even though I'm not up to running it, I'm still proud that I am voluntarily planning to walk/jog/occasionally run 13.1 miles that day. We also both recently did the Warrior Dash, a 5k with obstacles!, a mud pit! and fire!, and that went really well for both of us. I don't mind saying that my time for that was 59 minutes, which sounds terrible for a 5k, but seems pretty good considering all the obstacles included in the 5k.
I have also decided to participate in NaNoWriMo again this year. As a reminder, NaNo is a personal pledge to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November. I got to around 35,000 words last year before illness and Thanksgiving overcame my intentions. If I achieve my goal and complete my novel, my reward to myself is a pair of boots at Land's End I've been eyeing. (I don't know how to spell eyeing and the spell check says it is wrong. Eye-ing? Eying? Neither of those look right).
I will be offering to host Thanksgiving dinner again this year, so I have that menu to plan and prepare and after that, I have Emmy's second birthday party to plan. Then there's Christmas, which isn't a big deal, right?
And that's my rough plan for the rest of the year.
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