2010 already. This is a picture of j when we were in MI over the holidays. We had a wonderful holiday there and are finally getting things settled in the house so we can be ready for the start of the semester (next week for P, the following week for me). It's been a kind January so far; we've gotten some painting and some purging done, and things aren't terribly crazy yet, so I feel like I've been able to spend some better quality time with the guys. We've started on what I see as a new year's resolution to get more rhythm in this home for j. School--not just what happens there but also going there and back--provides structure, but we wanted some more consistency, so we're doing dinner at the same time (earlier than we had been) and getting some playspaces carved out on the main floor of the house since the basement playroom is pretty cold right now. It will be better in February and March, but now we're all sort of staying up here, only reluctantly and rapidly whizzing downstairs and up, and only when we need to get laundry.
Someone recently told me to make sure I write down these things about j before I forget, which is all too true, I know. When I go through old postings on this blog (now almost four years old), I am amazed by what I had forgotten. So in addition to the rhythm resolution, I'd like to make a resolution to record more.
j's language is improving and his vocabulary is expanding quickly. One thing he's been into lately are "bad words," the biggest of which is "stupid." He's clever, though. If he mistakenly starts to say that something is "stupid," he'll realize his mistake halfway through and say it is instead "stupendous," which he knows is not a bad word. If you say "stupid," he immediately points it out and explains that you have to "go to your room." Other "bad words" are "I don't care" and "I'll eat you up" (thank you, Maurice Sendak).
Though he's going through a stage where he likes to show a "mean face" (scrunched-up mouth and wrinkled nose), he usually does this when he's uncomfortable with a situation, not when he's angry. And the transitions from "mean-faced j" to "uber-polite j" are jarring. The other day, after my mother finshed eating at our house, he said to her, "Maybe I can help you and take your plate to the kitchen. I will do it." And he did. The expectation that she would play Legos with him for an hour probably had a lot to do with the politeness, but in general, he's good with "please" and "thank you," even when he's sobbing because you want him to do something and he doesn't want to do it ("No, thank you; waaahh... no, thank you... [sob]"). My guess is that because these are some of the first words he learned--"please" was shorthand for an entire sentence, like "Give me more pasta"--they've sort of stuck.
Someone recently told me to make sure I write down these things about j before I forget, which is all too true, I know. When I go through old postings on this blog (now almost four years old), I am amazed by what I had forgotten. So in addition to the rhythm resolution, I'd like to make a resolution to record more.
j's language is improving and his vocabulary is expanding quickly. One thing he's been into lately are "bad words," the biggest of which is "stupid." He's clever, though. If he mistakenly starts to say that something is "stupid," he'll realize his mistake halfway through and say it is instead "stupendous," which he knows is not a bad word. If you say "stupid," he immediately points it out and explains that you have to "go to your room." Other "bad words" are "I don't care" and "I'll eat you up" (thank you, Maurice Sendak).
Though he's going through a stage where he likes to show a "mean face" (scrunched-up mouth and wrinkled nose), he usually does this when he's uncomfortable with a situation, not when he's angry. And the transitions from "mean-faced j" to "uber-polite j" are jarring. The other day, after my mother finshed eating at our house, he said to her, "Maybe I can help you and take your plate to the kitchen. I will do it." And he did. The expectation that she would play Legos with him for an hour probably had a lot to do with the politeness, but in general, he's good with "please" and "thank you," even when he's sobbing because you want him to do something and he doesn't want to do it ("No, thank you; waaahh... no, thank you... [sob]"). My guess is that because these are some of the first words he learned--"please" was shorthand for an entire sentence, like "Give me more pasta"--they've sort of stuck.
2 comments:
Too funny! C and C told me that they are not allowed to say, "stupid" around J. When I asked them why, they said, "because he'll say, 'no stupid'!"
So, I'm a little worried his two wordly cousins may have had something to do with the "s" word - which is better than the other "s" word that has been know to come out of their mouths as well.
No worries... it was my fault, not theirs. Before Xmas, I told him "stupid" was a "bad word," which has gotten him to stop saying it, but unfortunately turned him into the word police. :)
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