I Love Kid Words

Of all the amazing, watching your child grow up miracles, watching the acquisition language has got to be tops. It is so dang funny, confusing, serious, and most of all poetic.

Some examples, listed by kid:

Noa:

"Bee-yuu ta ta!" is what she says when I put her down for sleep and am leaving the room. Ta ta!?

"wurtz" is a fork. "mommy wurtz" is mommies fork, of course.

"Piyoun" or "piyouny" is a spoon.

"phone, have it." is pretty obvious.

"Read it to me.", with surprisingly great pronunciation!

"wall-ries" are flowers, said very matter of factly, like of course wall-ries are flowers, I don't even need to explain it to you.

"Tea-mutz" is bengal spice tea in milk, her all time favorite.

"ma-lee-lai" is familia, the most delicious musli cereal ever.

"ba-li-ta" is blanket.

Isaac:

I was trying to get the dirt about what happens at his new preschool. He's not super into kids his own age, so I asked him if he talks to the teacher very much. He said, "Not really, but when I hurt somebody I do." So I, trying to sound cooler than I felt, asked him, "Did you hurt anyone today?" He answered, "No, not that I'm aware of." (!!!)

I was trying to sneak a putty knife into the kitchen to clean something sticky off of the floor. I was sort of trying to hide it from Isaac because I thought he would want to talk about it or want it or just be difficult about it. He was doing something else and glanced over at me. "Mom, why to you have a putty knife in your hand?" So I answered, "Well, I was going to clean that sticky goop off the floor with it. And how do you know the word putty knife?" He then told me, "I just know it instinctually"

We were grating apple for our morning familia, and Isaac wanted to help. After grating for a while, he looked inside and said, "There are big bucks, big trucks of apple swimming around in the cheese grater." 

We were talking about how our aquarium membership ran out. I told him it was only good for a year, and that ended a week ago. He didn't say anything for a while, and then asked, "Where do all the years go when they get finished, like where are they stored?" 

This one is totally weird: Isaac was talking about a 5 ear punch out. I wanted an explanation. "A 5 ear punchout is a person who has 5 ears and you go into the person's house and you punch out the air and then you go back out of the person's house and punch back in the air

A dinosaur punch out is a school where you learn about dinosaurs if you want to learn about them."

I am definitely going to keep that in mind!

She walks!

Maybe looking so cute helped her to walk solo??

Isaac and Noa and I went to watch trains after coop camp today. Noa was wearing lots of sunscreen and a hat and I felt proud of my careful mommying. Then in a stroke of wonderful luck, my former yoga student Joan, who lives right there, and who I never see, walked out of her house. And even luckier, she's a baby physical therapist!

I told her I was ever so slightly concerned that Noa was taking a while to walk. She reassured me that Noa is perfect, just very very flexible. She did one little test on her foot, then put her down.

Two seconds later Noa took a step toward me, UNASSISTED! I told Joan that she must have put some baby PT spell on Noa. But I was really happy about it. So proud!

The Wonderfully Babbling Baby

My whole face is smiling!!!

Jeremy thinks this photo is too fierce, but I love it. I love the smile that Noa has that is so enormous, it changes her whole face into smiles, eye smiles, nose smile, I think her ears are even smiling.

Noa is saying some pretty fierce things lately, to go along with her smile. She now says "waa-luu" for water, "woof" for doggies, or other animals that look like doggies. And oh boy, does she ever love doggies. She asks for "woof?" as soon as we get outside. She calls Goose "Doose", or "Doose-a" when she is being especially loving. She asks for Goose sometimes when she first wakes up. Like she's in her crib and I reach down to get her and as I lift her up she says, "Doose!?" She crawls around after Goose, and if Goose walks away from her she says, "uh-oh doose"

In her own language there is lots of "wee-waa", and "pee-paa", and "buuring, burring." Her smile gets like the photo above if I say any of that.

Just to wax on a bit more about how awesome Noa is, she is insanely loving, diving into my lap and snuggling, diving into Isaac's lap when I'm trying to read to them at night, and asking for daddy at least 3 times a day when he's at work.

She's also vicious and pulls Isaac's hair like crazy, and scratches all of our faces.

What a bundle of a little girl. We love you Noa!

I changed my mind!

My friends who don't have gmail accounts haven't been able to look at this anymore, and that feels sad. So I am becoming public again, but not to search engines, and only devoted to all things Isaac and Noa.
Thank you for bearing with me :)

New Words Noa!

Yeah, I'm a big girl who sits in a rocking chair!

I feel like the popcorn is starting to pop!
Today I asked Isaac if he wanted to take a bath with Noa and she said, "Beth? Beth? Beth!?" Noa really really loves baths, so it's no surprise that bath, or beth, would be one of her first words, but it makes me so happy to hear it. She also says "Wa" for water, "Mommeee, Dadeeee, this?, that?", and of course "Nooooo"

Such A Little Big Guy

Escorting his friend Harper home from the playground

We were sitting at the kitchen table when Isaac said, "I'd like to go to outer space if the price comes down!"

I found out later that he and Jeremy had been discussing Virgin Atlantic's plan to take civilians to outer space and that it would be expensive. Though when he started whining and crying about wanting a sweet snack, I reassured myself that he wasn't actually 43 1/2, only 3 1/2.

Some of my mommy friends say he's already like a dad. And a friend from Fort Greene said he totally looks like his friend Roger. He says he's a chrysalis, in between the caterpillars and butterflies at his little preschool.

Bathing Beauties!

Oh, they had a good time!

There is nothing like a messy wet baby-head!

Noa has been enjoying playing with her friend Asha, visiting all the way from lovely Ireland! They both really enjoyed splashing.

Noa is showing off some new words for our friends:

Hi! (That's a major one, with hand-waving)
Bye! (Also with waving)
Mommeeee (usually in distress)
Daaaiii, or Daadii (usually with excitement and happiness)
He-yo (with her little hand on her ear, like she's talking on the phone)
and just today, Maisy!, For Maisy mouse, of the beautiful books by Lucy Cousins.

Oh, she's growin' up!!

Hello momsnack!

Dear friends,

I've started a new blog, and I'd be tickled if you would visit me over there. The URL is www.momsnack.co 
Momsnack is a blog about food and stuff, with an emphasis on the food :)

I've been feeling a little confused over here with how much to make public and how much to make private, so I've organized myself to turn this into more of a baby book for Isaac and Noa with more pictures and (sometimes stressed out) mommy-thoughts, and to make momsnack more public, with lots of recipes and project ideas. There will still be lovely photos, just not quite so Isaac and Noa centered. The kiddos are even are going to get secret names!

Anyway, in a little bit, I am going to make this website password necessary, so if you would like the password, please write me, or leave a comment and I will send it to you.

Big hugs,
Eva

Playing Pretend

Playing worker

Isaac has been wanting to act out a childbirth scenario every night before he goes to sleep. His inspiration was a video that Jeremy's brother took when Isaac was one day old and I was in an excited happy tizzy about Isaac's entry into the world. In the video I tell a story about how during some of my most intense labor, Jeremy happened to be making a sandwich. He would make it for a while, and then when I needed him, he would come and stand in front of me. I would grab his legs with all the strength in me and he would rub my back. That was going ok, until a contraction started and he told me, "Sorry sweetie, I have avacado on my hands and I need to wash it off first." I yelled back, "I don't care!!!!! I NEED YOU!!!"

That's what Isaac likes to act out, except that I don't grab his legs. Our "pretend" ends with me giving birth, and handing the baby to him to admire. He then takes the baby with him into his sleeping bag and tells me, "It's okay mommy. I'll give him milk and Bengal Spice [tea]"

The thing is, childbirth is just one small aspect of playing pretend. He used to have his own imaginary friends, and still does - the funniest lately is bad guy "Dufuserny", but now he has made me the human embodiment of many of his dearest. I am now Madlenka, a little girl who inexplicably drives and cooks dinner. I'm her friend Cleopatra, who has many of her same advanced qualities. I'm Doctor B., who puts casts on both his legs before breakfast(!). I'm sleeping beauty, and I'm mommy. Often with the exception of the doctor, who "spends a lot of time at her office.", I'm all of them at once and have conversations with myself.

"Hi little boy!", "Hi!" "Who are you!?", "I dunno anymore!"

The Kid Can Argue!

I need no colorful land

I bought Isaac some watercolor paper today thinking that while Noa napped he could paint. He's been asking to paint a lot lately. We got all set up and he painted a green shape in the bottom corner of the paper. I said I thought it looked like a turtle. He said, "No, it's a building."

I said ok, and went to go get Noa from her nap. 5 minutes later he told me he was all finished. I asked about the rest of the blank white paper, and he said, "I switched, now it's a turtle" I suggested that he paint the ocean around the turtle, and he said, "No, this is a dry-land turtle". So I suggested he draw the dry land, and he answered, "The dry land is white." Couldn't say anything more to that!

Go Isaac!

Funny Old Picture!

Isaac LOVED holding the very little Noa on his lap.

Happy Birthday Noa!!

She's ONE!!!

Noa is on the right in the orange slippers

Noa's big bro helped with the candle blowing out part of her sweet party.

She got to do the cake eating all by herself!

And boy oh boy, that made her very happy!

We love you Noa!!

What Isaac Said ~

"Oh Noa! You're a credit to the scrapyard!"

Did I say that!?

I'm thinking to make this a series.
Stay tuned!

A Glimpse Into the Toddler Future

Isaac gave Noa the best nick-name ever this morning while we ate yogurt and applesauce. "Pomelet!" I asked, "What is a Pomelet?" He answered with a big smile, "A Pomelet is a little squirmy aroundy girl. Noa is a Pomelet!"

The Pomelet is moving! Not crawling, but the nuttiest, most flexible way of getting around I have ever seen. She sits in the center splits, and then leans forward and either moves somewhere by moving onto her belly and swimming her legs, or she stays in the splits and bends one knee back and then then the other one to kick herself forward. If she's on her belly and wants to sit up again, she just does the splits and rolls through the center and up to sit. She looks like a mini ballerina, or a contortionist. It's nuts.

Just warming up.

Noa has moved us into new territory, territory I had forgotten about! In the living room, I spaced out for a minute, and when I turned back, Noa had unplugged our little lamp from the electric socket. She looked very proud with the little cord tight in her mini-fist. Later in Isaac's room when I was getting him into his pajamas, she found his little potty and took it apart. Yuck.

I'm in!

I realize that today is only the beginning. She's just starting on her mobile exploration of this world. I'm happy but scared. I need way more eyes and arms. Some sort of super powers too would be super helpful.

Little Teething Girl

Noa cried after I put her down so I went in to check and her cheeks were this pink! I've learned that happens when babies teethe. There's just so much blood flowing into their cheeks to help those little teeth along, or at least that is how I like to imagine it.

I'll post a picture of the finished smile soon!

How Does It Feel to be an Older Parent?

This is what the flight attendant on jetblue asked Jeremy on his way to take Isaac to the potty.
I just couldn't keep this to myself! Sure they gave us unlimited bags of snacks, but where were their manners!?

Raya Brass Band

A girl and her band

This is Raya and the band that was named after her. They are both now 5 years old!
As per her momma's request and as a condition for naming the band after her, they agreed to play for her birthday every year.

Lucky Rayas! And lucky us!

Does mothering equal waitressing?

*Where it all goes down!

You're on your feet, running around, all day, being nice to (little) people. And then when that blessed moment comes when they go to bed and your shift is "over", it isn't really. You have sidework: Load the dishwasher, wash the pots, the highchair, the floor under the highchair, the table top, the bibs. Switch the laundry, or start the laundry, or fold the laundry, or all of it. And then the cat box. Always the cat box! Plus the baby potties that weren't emptied before. Yick.

Ok, enough complaining!

Onward!

I do love them btw, all the way to the stars, and that helps.

*photo credit - Lena Corwin. She made my workplace look so darn nice!

Three Year Old Poetry

The poet, trying to smile on command.

Yesterday as he ate his snack, messily, as usual,

Hey Mamaa? There are tears of lime yogurt dropping down my face.

This morning, talking about the crust he had pulled off his toast, after I talked about wringing out a towel,

We've got to wring this dead branch of toast.

The other day as he was giving me a strong hug,

I have this machine, vmmmmm! And I'm machining you into love.

Also on the love theme, this time about his little sister,

I'm going to knock Noa into love.

And while I was trying to get him to "add" his pee-pee to the potty,

How about I add myself to you for a hug?

First Word Alert!

Yep, I said it.

Noa was sitting in her highchair today and threw her green spoon overboard. That in itself is very much par for the lunch course, but today she added a new dimension to the experience: She said, "Uh-oh!' and kept on saying it until I picked up the spoon!