This is One.
stories and snippets from the frontlines of age one.
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Month 12 The Walker.
The world is a road. A highway, a freeway, an autobahn, a parkour trapeze match of endless entertainment and possibilities. There is no sitting down, no relaxing, no letting more than ten seconds elapse before checking to see if they’re a quarter mile down the road.
Child 1 (Jul 2008)
My mom, in reference to my daughter (her granddaughter): “I think she’s left-handed!”
My dad, speaking to my mom about me, in front of me: “We thought he was for the first year-and-a-half. Then we realized he was just uncoordinated.” Honestly that’s pretty funny, and this doesn’t capture his giant grin at how clever he is. 20080719
Afternoon in Portland. Family treat at Coldstone on the way back, a $5.40 coffee concoction. She watched us lick and ate her pea crisps. What a mimic: we say “Quick! Quick! I need a kiss! Now!” (and she does). Love it. 20080731
Thirteen months : The Detective
Child 1 (Aug 2008)
She is: walking all over, covering her mouth when she coughs, mimicking like a maniac, lounging on her dual animal couches, helping me collage and paint. 20080827
Has been calling my brother “Anyung.” I do not think he minds.
Child 4
Walking all over. Investigating everything. Opening drawers. Trying out new syllables daily.
Fourteen months : The Climber, the Talker
Child 1
She wants us both with her in bed. Together.
20080923
Child 4
Trying out humor. Wanting to be involved with everything and every conversation. Toddling down hallways and into rooms solo to check things out.
Big trouble sleeping without his mom close by. Panicked screaming when he wakes up and realizes he’s alone. Alone meaning that she’s more than three feet away.
Waving goodbye vigorously.
He’s figured out how to push objects, such as chairs, around so he can get to what he wants…such as access to the kitchen counter. What a pill. 20201016
Fifteen months : The Squirmer
Child 4
Active, active, active. Wants to be completely independent…but have us super close by in case he needs anything immediately.
Sixteen months : The Attacher, the Cooker, the Explorer, the Artist, the ____
Child 1
Loves looking at photo albums and pictures.
Hilarious watching her learn to drink out of a cup or glass - big gulp, lots of smacking lips and big breaths, panting, then back for more.
Has an incredible ability to sustain cry-fuss-scream. In other words, not a crying where she’s in physical or emotional pain, but whine-drone-scream that has a singular ability to make focusing on anything else almost impossible. Sometimes, it is necessary to focus on something else more than your child. One example would be when driving, especially if you’re the one driving. I’m learning to embrace the music and am working on my own cry-scream to duet along.
Child 2 -
Learning to help bake. I’ll have him sit on the counter (sorry OSHA) while I’m helping his older sister and older cousin make cookies or bread, and he’ll help measure.
Walks around with old (cordless) phones, up to his ear, carrying on conversations and listening intently, as he follows his sister and older cousins around.
Chooses to sometimes still eat with his hands and stuff food in, including spaghetti. Oftentimes he’ll hold a utensil in one hand without actually using it, and stuff food into his mouth with the other. I absolutely love the experience of him eating pasta.
Learning to draw with markers. Will sit on the floor on top of a big poster sheet and carefully draw, with different hands and assorted markers, with great focus and joy.
Loves to walk around with a pencil, muttering his new favorite word: “daw” for “draw,” while looking for paper.
Reading: loves Caldecott book Abraham Lincoln. Will toddle up carrying it for me to read with him.
Signing - thank you.
Squawking, growling. Working on “being gentle” and not hitting his older sister, even though it is also something she is also working on. Has started getting into fierce verbal arguments with her, which is also hilarious considering his (understandable) vocabulary can be measured in close to single digits.
FIRST: says “Pop Pop” (on phone, to his grandpa, 20111118)
Words: bottle
Clothes: blue pilot hat, pink blanket, green striped pajamas
Goes to bed in the 8pm-ish range. We can lay him down in crib, with his pink blanket and pacifier and gently stroking his face and head, and he’ll go to sleep fairly easily. Much, much easier than his older sibling.
Child 4
Into everything. Loves cooking, drawing. Language skills are growing by the day. Some words : waba (water), but mostly a lot of signing (please, vigorous head shaking, leading by hand to where he want s to go, etc.)
Loves trying on other people’s shoes. And pouring things from one bottle or container into another.
Seventeen months : The Temper
Child 1
Potty training. Trying on things like other people’s glasses. Admiring herself in the mirror and making all kinds of expression.
Child 2
His temper. He squawks, stomps, screeches, and occasionally flails on the floor to express his disgruntlement. So hard not to laugh. His fury is complete, but how do you get too irritated at a round little squeaking animal shaking his fist and knocking himself with his adorable little hands?
Has taken an interest in starting to pick out some of his own clothes, including outfits and ensembles of his beloved nemesis and best friend - his older sister.
Pink blanket goes most places with him.
Toys: marbles, organizing and putting things into appropriate places or containers
Teases people, often me, in ways he finds hilarious, for example, calling me “mama,” with a giant grin. I will get into arguments with him. “No, I’m NOT Mama!”
New words: “Aunty” 20111202
Can be challenging to help brush teeth.
Child 4
Starting to get a new level of jealousy, or at least control or possession over important things, such as a book or Bud mother.
Notices what other people are reading and doesn’t just want A book, wants THOSE books. So, big into the history and science books he sees me pulling out.
Eighteen months
Child 2
Follows his older sister around. Loves hanging out with her. Where she goes, he will go, or try, eventually getting there and sitting by her while she does whatever she must do.
Talking up a storm. Strings of syllables. Loves walking up my chest onto my shoulders. It’s so cute to see how much fun they are having together - dolls, dishes, tea parties, wrestling, reading…(20120117)
Child 4
Develops a screech. Not pleasant. Uses liberally to try and get what he wants.
Adding new words and syllables like crazy. Is trying to count, using his fingers, in the footsteps of his brother. 3-4-21
Still climbing everywhere. In his boots. Toy Story cowboy boots that are on him nonstop, except when he’s wearing clogs or trying on other people’s footwear.
Testing boundaries, such as trying to go up driveway to street by himself. Learning consequences of certain things, like running down driveway and tripping. So sad. 😢
Loves to wash dishes and play at sink. On step stool.
Hide and seek with his brother.
Talks about his cousin Xio and Aunty Lanessa frequently.
Nineteen months
April
Twenty months
Child 1 (March 2009)
-10.10am - Just down for nap. On our bed. Thus far: she wants to listen to Donovan. She wants to read Dr. Seuss’s “Oh Say Can You Say.” We ate strippers, toast, and peanut butter, Joe’s O’s and rice milk for breakfast. “Tickle me Dodi,” she says. I acquiesce.
9.41pm - On the animal couch, flossing, watching House, waiting for a giant render to finish. Today we’ve been listening to Donovan and Queen.
She gets so excited about the three of us playing together. Hopping, chasing, hiding, riding, tickling…20090324
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-I walked into the dining room and found her with her eyes closed and hands folded, communing privately: “Dear Gogd, thank you…Eemie* and Anyung* and…Potatohead. Big into Potatohead and robots. Cold robots. Today: lots of painting, collaging, and coloring. Listening to “I Went to the Animal Fair” on vinyl, Baby Beluga on CD, and Chinese on the telly. *Uncles Jeremy, Jonny 20090309
Twenty-one months (June)
Child 4
Drawing drawing drawing.
Screaming. In quick bursts. Loud.
A morning nap between 25-50 minutes. An afternoon nap that goes for 30 minutes, then intermission, where I pick him up and he goes back to sleep for another 20-30.
Loves reading, climbing, running, chasing, and getting into things.
“Din-din” (for Dennis Quaid). Other general use words: Pop-pop, Mormor, Tsuh-tsuh (Grandma Susie), Nahn-dah- (Granda), Bubba (oldest bro), May-may (sis), Der-Der (bro), puh-buh (peanut butter)
Twenty-two months
Child 1 (May 2009)
Jetskiing for the first time, on the river with friends. She was scared, but did it. I felt compelled to not let her go by herself. I mean, she’s not even two yet. She shared her (rare) fishie crackers, ran around posing sans clothing, and just had a splendid time sliding and wagon riding. 20090525
Twenty-three months
Child 1 (June 2009)
Wakes up around 6am. Likes to do things like examine leaves on nature walks. Also: drawing with Sharpies, napping with her grandpa, rolling super balls to the front of a sloped floor church…20090613
I looked at the sky, and the stars were popping! - watching fireworks 20090704
Day started off…terrible. An almost 2-year old going 11 rounds with me like Rocky Marciano. Angry ANGRY. About what? Hard to say. About waking up too early? What a pill. Also: “Yesterday, the stars were popping!”
Some big tantrums and/or meltdowns these days. 20090705
At 4am this morning: “Daddy, daddy, I need you!” Despite the hour: my heart. May she always have some level of need in her heart for me. 20090707
