Alex at 26 Months
Another month has slipped right by...
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Jun 20, 2007
Alex is getting back into the routine with daycare. I think he misses it when he doesn't go. I asked him who is his best friend and he told me Kshitij is. They make Mothers' and Fathers' Day gifts in his class, but he is not yet excited about the fact that he made and gave a gift.
More on sleeping:
I was pretty apprehensive about how things were going to go on Tuesday, my first day home alone with Alex since all this sleep resistance started. But it wasn't too bad. We went to the park, came home for juice and cookie, had a diaper change, read some books. Then when I said it was naptime, Alex said he wanted to play with his blocks.
I told him he could, and then get up in his bed when he got sleepy. I said, I'll fix up your blanket for you, but if you want to get in bed (offered choice of where to sleep) now, I'll cover you up and sing a song. He climbed into bed, I put on blankets and sang 2 songs then left. He stayed in bed (I assume) and fussed off and on, not the
insane tantrum of the other night, for about 10 minutes and all's quiet now.
Alex was really cooperative all day. Maybe he heard me say I'd go back to work if the tantrums kept up (kidding - but, I really did say that!).
Last night's bedtime wasn't too too bad, but we learned, when Alex woke us up this morning by walking into our bedroom, that he can now open his door even with the knob cover on. So, now what??
For the past few nights I had been leaving the room early and letting Scott finish putting Alex to bed, since his clinginess and tantrums seem to be directed at me. For tonight's bedtime I stayed in the room, and Alex fussed a long time so Scott had to go back and settle him down. Oh well, it's all still better than some of the stories I hear and read.
Jun 22, 2007
Alex "smiling" after a messy treat |
Here's something I just remembered to note. A week or so ago, Alex and I were working or playing in the yard and Alex said, "Mommy, do pops!" I said, "Do pops??", not sure if that was really what he was saying. He was insistent. I had no idea what he was talking about. Then, he started walking along the fence line touching the grass and plants. Aha! He meant, touch the little weeds that pop their seeds out, like he was doing with EMaw during her visit. Sadly, all the "pops" were finished for the season.
Yesterday's nap was terrible, a repeat of last Friday's. Last night Scott had to spend some extra time settling Alex down. Tonight, Scott extricated himself early to get to the gym and I am happy to report that we had minimal fussing at bedtime.
Alex is becoming aware of how other people feel, and I guess of how he feels too. He talks about being happy and asks if things make Mommy happy. I'm not sure he really gets it, but it's a start on a whole new concept for him.
Yesterday, Alex and I went to visit Dana and baby Caleb. I was holding Caleb and talking the way anyone does to a 2-month-old. I was trying to get a smile from Caleb, when I noticed Alex making the face he makes when you tell him to smile and was trying to get my attention. I can see why photographers invented "Say cheese!" I think Alex was a little jealous but he didn't really act it, he was just behaving as though I were talking to him instead of Caleb.
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Jun 26, 2007
Scott Adds:
I wanted to write this before I forgot it because I think it's pretty
cool. About a month ago Alex and I were sitting at the kitchen table
and looking out the window to the backyard. A fly landed on the table
outside and Alex noticed it. He asked me "Daddy, who's that guy?" and
pointed at the fly. I, of course, said "Alex, that's a fly" but
it was both funny and interesting that he said "who" instead of
"what". I think it's cool that he is learning what things are alive
and what things are inanimate objects. He also knows that plants are
alive and we take care of them, I think.
Jun 29, 2007
Alex says really cute things. He's getting to be so observant! Every time we get in the car, he tells me to buckle my seat belt. If he leaves the room, he says "I'll be right back" (this is what I always have said to him, ever since he was little teeny). Today he spilled cereal on the floor and went under the table to get it -- he told me
each time that he'd be right back! If he is doing anything involving tools, even imaginary ones, he says he's a "worker man" sometimes followed by "and daddy, and mommy" if we're all doing something together.
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Alex can spend an hour playing with his multitude of trucks. He drives each one across the bench cushion, the train table, the sofa, whatever, then proudly announces, "my trucks all in a line". Then he moves them back to the other side of whatever the "road" is. I think the repetition relaxes him, so I will encourage this at bedtime. I also encourage it when I am tired and just want to read a magazine!
I take Alex to the gym with me. There's a playroom there and he seems to like it most of the time. As we go through, I tell him how people are getting exercise. For quite some time now, whenever Alex sees someone running or on a bike, he says, "that guy getting exercise."
They can be running for the bus, running from the police, it doesn't matter. The other day when I turned on the tv for Alex to watch his (overly sweet) Teletubbies, the satellite was on the Spike channel, showing something like ultimate fighting. I am trying as fast as I can to get his show on so he doesn't see these two guys wailing on each other, and Alex says, "those guys getting exercise?" I'm like, yes sweetie, they're getting exercise. Then one guy takes down the opponent and starts pounding him, and I am cringing because I just know Alex is going to try this at daycare. What does he do? Says, "that guy fell down!" He was totally nonplussed. And, here's your educational tidbit for the day -- I looked up nonplussed and was amazed to learn that I had the meaning all wrong -- here's what it really means: USAGE In standard English nonplussed means surprised and confused. A new meaning, not disconcerted; unperturbed, has developed recently in North American English, probably on the assumption that the prefix non- must have a negative meaning; this is not yet accepted as standard usage. (from http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/nonplussed?view=uk)
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Coming out of
the play house |
Naptimes and sleeping have been bad recently but are on the mend. Alex has gotten more used to his toddler bed and has slept through the night for the past few nights. Naptime is still an issue, but this Thursday I decided I wasn't napping in his room with him no matter what. I think he slept on the bench cushion next to his bed (in case he rolls out), on his knees with his head on his bed. He woke up several times during the nap and that's where he was when I went in to get him. Trying to not let naptime slide until late helps, but we'll see how things go over the weekend.
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We went to IKEA last weekend and got a lot of cool stuff for Alex's
room. Notice the new bookshelves and the giant leaf over his bed. We
also got some hangy black things for the corners which are now filled
with stuffed animals and some new storage bins next to the desk.
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Jun 30, 2007
Sometimes Alex does things just to be funny, which itself is a
developmental achievement. The other night he decided to push around
his lawnmower using his tummy instead of his hands. Then he would
laugh about it and do it again. He was so funny looking, like you
would walk if you were trying to demonstrate an old man walking with
his pants pulled way up. This morning Alex pointed out a bird on the
fence. I told him it was a robin. "A Baskin Robbin?" he asked. He
thought that was funny too.
Scott Adds:
One thing developmentally that I've noticed about Alex is that he is
just starting to play games with words. The "Baskin Robbin" story
above, for example. He also seems to use the word "Neena-Nana" as an
adjective to describe anything imaginary or to make a joke. He got
that word from a lullaby that we sing to him going to bed. Another
thing he does with words is say "Uh-huh... no" or "no... uh-huh"
when you ask him a yes/no question.
Today we went over to a co-worker's kid's birthday party and Alex
had fun. He played with a truck in the dirt for a while and played
on a toy boat. Then he made a huge mess eating two cupcakes. He
also spent some time playing with other kids (there were a ton of
kids his age there)... which is a new development for him.
Jul 3, 2007
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Today at the gym when I went to get Alex, he had found every vehicle in the place and had parked them all. He announced -- you guessed it -- "these trucks all in a line!"
We had a good day. We went to Noah's Bagels ("the bagel store") for breakfast for me, snack for Alex, then to Peter Kirk Park then to the gym. On the way home as we drove by McD's Alex said he wanted to eat lunch there so I figured, why not. I said, we could do that, to which Alex replied "Do it!" (a little phrase from the Starsky and Hutch movie that Alex picked up from his Aunt Karen -- you have to hear the inflection!). What he really wanted was to play in the play area, but I made him nibble a little chicken first.
Scott came home early so instead of another trip to the park, Scott fixed up our failed solar fountain kit (that's another, non-Alex story) so that Alex could play with it in a dishpan or tomorrow probably in the inflatable pool. Alex played with the tools Dana and Aaron gave him for his birthday, transporting rocks from where we had the patio removed into the big wheel barrow.
The evening ended with a walk to Baskin Robbins. Chocolate seems to be a favorite!
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Looking very earnest
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Jul 9, 2007
 Alex patiently awaiting a cupcake
at Enrique's party |
We spent the 4th of July at Don and Dang's with a bunch of friends. Alex had a good time running around with Nick Zapata.
We had told him he could see the fireworks if he took a good nap that day. He didn't really take a great nap, but we had
built it up so much by then we had to follow through. We tried staying at the Anderson's late enough that we could
go to the fireworks then come home, but Alex was getting tired. We headed home, and realized that we could watch on TV
and to him, it would still be staying up late to see them. When we got home, around 9:00 I think, the east coast fireworks
were televised so we still managed to get him to bed around 10:00. I don't think he was too impressed...
On Saturday, Alex went to Enrique's birthday party. The 4 little boys there were all 2, within just a few months of
each other. Alex got compliments on his stair climbing and talking. He told Dave "boo-ya" and "do it". I really like that
Alex will play with our friends (it does take a little time to warm up). He plays ok with other kids but still needs
guidance on what to do.
The other morning as I was getting in the shower, Alex surprised us by saying he wanted to take a shower too.
So he did! I thought he wouldn't really do it. Tonight, after playing in the park with Scott during my soccer
game, Alex was a big mess. I asked if he would rather shower with me or take a bath, and he opted for the
shower. I had him rinse my hair with the sprayer, so maybe he will let me wash his hair in there next time and we can get
past the battle that it usually is.
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Alex is quite the negotiator and has been since he learned to talk. Very early in the talking, we'd have a conversation
like this:
We'll read one more book, then bed.
Two books.
One book.
Three books.
For awhile, I thought he knew how to count, but when I quizzed him, he couldn't tell me that three is more than two. Anyway,
we still have that conversation, plus now he has added "little bit" for things -- "my door a little bit open?",
drive the car "just a little bit", etc. Also, in my efforts to be consistent about deadlines for things, I have started
to look at the clock. I have told him about the clock and how it tells how many minutes have passed (really, I'm
putting the onus on the clock and not me, that it's bedtime!), so now Alex will say, "two more minutes" for
everything he wants to keep doing. I just can't win!
Jul 15, 2007
We got Alex some new shoes today. We learned from experience that he really only needs one pair of shoes at a time -- he got Thomas shoes and car shoes (from the movie Cars, not that he would know, but they have wheels molded into the sides and light up when he walks) for his birthday. He liked the train shoes but then fixed on the car shoes and won't wear anything else. He was just like this with his snow boots I bought him, wore them everywhere regardless of the weather or temperature. But, since he is outgrowing both his current pairs, we got him some sandals and some slip-on shoes for rainy days. We'll see if he wears them both or not. He already said he didn't like them (once we got home), but Scott thinks it was a ploy to go back to the mall.
Alex's imagination continues to grow (I expect him to start outright telling fibs any day now). He makes up stories that we don't understand and sets up play scenarios, mostly involving fixing things with imaginary tools. He especially likes to work in the garage, where he climbs the ladder, fixes something on top, then comes down for a different tool. One day at Safeway we were driving the car shopping cart and he kept climbing out to fix the wheels and the only way I could get him back in was to tell him we had to take it for a test drive. I can see already that I am going to have to dust off my imagination to keep one step ahead of this boy!
Bedtimes and nap times remain a struggle, but at least Alex is generally sleeping well once he goes to sleep. This morning, Scott had to settle him at around 6:30, but then we all slept in until 9.
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