Favorite moments of the past week

One morning, shortly after waking up, Talia began to fuss. Over the baby monitor I heard Benjamin begin to sing in a soft, sweet voice. I think he was trying to comfort her. :)
__________________

Benjamin has been obsessed with counting lately. He is even learning to count backwards. One morning he was counting backwards, mostly to himself. "10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." After a moment he added: "BEEEEEP!" (I think the microwave is his inspiration.)
__________________

For dinner one evening Talia was eating small pieces of thin-sliced turkey. Noticing she was having difficulty picking them up, Seth began to feed her with his own fingers. Evidently she liked that; she began to pick up other finger foods from her tray and, pulling Seth's hand toward her, deposit them in his palm for him to put in her mouth!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

Talia, at almost 11 months old, is a distinct joy to all of us here in the Rodriquez household. Even Benjamin exuberantly shouts, "Ya Ya!" when she and I come to retrieve him from his bed after his afternoon nap.

I recently read that babies Talia's age are "dedicated wriggler[s] and squirmer[s]." This would certainly describe our baby girl. Her feet, especially, are in constant motion, whether in her crib, bath, or highchair. She vocalizes quite a bit, as well. She shouts to attract attention, screams in anger, and babbles loudly and tunefully in long strings of syllables. And what a delightful laugh!

Tali is not yet among the majority of babies her age who are utilizing some method or another of deliberate movement to change location. She's just not interested in crawling, whatsoever! She will happily sit for quite some time, exactly where you leave her. We have, however, as of yesterday, reached another long-awaited milestone. Tali now has two newly-cut bottom front teeth (her first)!

Books are among her favorite play things. She adores sitting, surrounded by a mountain of board books, turning pages, which may or may not be right-side-up. She also loves her new baby dolls and wiggles like a puppy dog whenever I bring one out for her to play with. They are often the recipients of repeated wide-mouthed, wet kisses.

We are experiencing a bit of good ol' sibling rivalry already. Talia always wants what Benjamin has (even if she has a pile of 6 sitting right next to her) and whenever I sit her down to play, suddenly everything is Benjamin's "special" possession. Any book she wants is his most treasured book, any toy is suddenly the object of his most focused attention. Most of the time, though, they are making each other laugh, squeal, and shriek. Either that or they are blowing spirited raspberries at one another.

Assorted Stories

For Christmas, Benjamin received a new Baby Einstein movie about animals: Baby Noah. (For those of you who are outside the Baby Einstein culture, each DVD has a theme and is named Baby _____, appropriately. For example: the video about the sun, moon, stars, and planets is called "Baby Galileo.")

One evening, while we were watching this "movie" (or "mwee," as Benjamin calls it), I was thinking about how enamored Benjamin had become with the story of Baby Jesus ("Baby Sus") during the Christmas season. He had learned the Christmas story so well, it dawned on me that it would be fun to teach him other stories in the same way, focusing on one per month. And why not start with Noah? So I began to point out all the references to Noah in the movie (artwork, toys, and cartoons depicting the ark.) Later, just as we had with the "Baby Jesus" story, we found the Noah story in his children's Bible and read it to him before bed.

The next morning Benjamin brought his Bible to me. Opening it he handed it to me, just as he had when he wanted me to find "Baby Sus," and implored, "Baby Noah?"
______________________

On another occasion Benjamin was sitting with his Bible, flipping pages and looking at the pictures. "Uh oh," I heard him say. Curious, I looked up. The picture on the page showed John the Baptist baptizing Jesus. Jesus was in the water, with only his head showing, clearly dripping wet. Benjamin was pointing to the dripping head. "Uh oh," he repeated with a concerned look. (Did he think Jesus had fallen in?)
_______________________

One afternoon last week the kids were playing in the living room while I was doing dishes in the adjoining kitchen. Unfortunately, Benjamin has been known to push his (immobile) sister, knocking her over backwards, so I was keeping a fairly close eye on them. I heard Talia protest and stepped back to see what was bothering her. Benjamin was standing close to where she was sitting and was clearly "in her space," but was not touching her. She wailed again and then, looking up at him with furrowed eyebrows, she very deliberately threw herself backwards and started wailing loudly! Had I not seen it, I never would have believed it. Wow.
_______________________

Benjamin recently marched into his bedroom, where I was changing Talia's diaper, and announced, "Potty!" Not understanding I told him, "Yes, I'm changing Talia's diaper." "Potty," he repeated, indicating I had not understood his intent. "Ben. Potty!" Oh my! I was not at all prepared for that one! (We don't have any of the appropriate potty training equipment yet.) "You want to sit on the potty?," I asked him. "Ben! Potty!," he joyously repeated. So we went. He didn't do anything except sit there, but he was so pleased with himself. He hasn't asked since and we had already decided, with his personality, we are not going to push it. Still, I think a new phase may be just around the corner. Oh my.
_______________________

If you're not laughing yet, this one will do it:

Last night the kids were having a hard time settling down to go to sleep. Benjamin would screech loudly, making Talia screech and babble, which would get them both laughing. We have been working to curb this kind of bedtime delay lately and so I was keeping a close ear on the situation. I removed Benjamin from the room for discipline and explained very clearly that there was to be no talking, no laughing, no screaming. He was to lay down and close his eyes because it was time to go to sleep. The expectations were clear and Benjamin confirmed his understanding. Looking into my eyes he said earnestly, "obey Mama."

I placed him back in his bed and closed the door. Almost immediately I heard him screech and laugh, getting Talia started again. This cycle repeated itself several times. I was amazed at the seriousness with which he would repeat, "obey Mama," only to turn around and immediately disobey again! I was beginning to get frustrated!

In my frustration I pulled out one of those pointless phrases parents use on their kids: "How many more times am I going to have to discipline you?" Benjamin answered in a small voice, "Three."

I think we have a live-wire on our hands!

Last night as I was finishing my preparations for dinner, Seth was playing with the kids in the living room. Talia, after enduring her nightly training in crawling and standing, was grouchy--and fussing loudly to prove it. A few minutes later I realized Seth and Benjamin had gone off to the kids' room to engage in some manly activity (wrestling, by the sound of it) and Talia was playing quietly in the living room. Very quietly. I decided she had probably just been bothered by all the noise the boys were making and, as it they had removed themselves from the immediate vicinity, she was content.

I should insert here that early in Benjamin's life I learned that extraordinary quiet was nothing to worry about. In almost every case it meant that he was reading a book or engaged elsewhere in harmless play. In only one case, to my recollection, has "too quiet" ended in disaster. And so I have gotten used to this interpretation, I suppose. I may have to re-train myself.

In a few minutes Seth returned to the living room. I heard him come down the hall and then I heard him stop. "Oh my goodness, Baby Girl!" I turned from the stove to look into the living room. This is what I saw:

Our family game, and other Tali-isms

Talia has invented a family game. (This was actually a couple of months ago, but I never blogged about it...and it's so cute!) The game goes like this: We're all sitting at the dinner table and Tali raises both hands straight above her head. She looks around expectantly. Everyone is supposed to drop everything to copy her. Then with a pleased expression she looks around as if to say, "look what I did!"

Another game my little girl loves is peek-a-boo. She likes it best when she initiates it. Often when I am changing her diaper both hands will grasp the "flap" of her onesie, which is pulled up around her middle, and pull it up over her face. Then with great flourish and an expectant grin she pulls it down again. "Peek-a-boo!" I say. She responds with wildly flailing arms and a belly laugh that melts me every time! This little girl is definitely a social creature.

I am also happy to report that Talia has officially uttered her first word. And of course it is..."Daddy!" We have suspected that she knew what "da-da" meant for a few weeks now, but no conclusive proof. She would sometimes say it when Seth came in the room or when she heard his voice, but not always. But yesterday I was holding her and talking to Seth on the phone. When I hung up I said, "That was your Daddy, baby girl. He's coming home soon." She reached out for the phone and said, "Da-ee." I tested her, "are you saying Daddy?" She grinned. "Da-ee." I called Seth back and put him on speaker phone. "Do you want to talk to your Daddy?" She started kicking wildly and reaching out for the phone. "Da-ee. Da-ee. Da-ee." I think she knows her Daddy! Lest anyone feel sorry for me (remember Benjamin didn't say "Mama" until he was 17 months old!), Tali does at least babble the "ma-ma" sounds (which Benjamin never did) so I'm confident that it won't take 17 months this time around.

We're still working on crawling and teeth. We do occasionally get a token backward scoot and I can now see two faint little white lines on her gums where her teeth will presumably sprout one day. For now I'm just happy she can't get to the Christmas tree where she would certainly gum any and all ornaments within reach to a soggy death.

More Benjaminisms

Benjamin's newest favorite game: he pops out from behind some visual barrier between you and him and exclaims, "There he is!" (A variation on the above: When he pops out he yells, "I see you!")

Now this one I don't quite get. Frequently when in the kitchen Benjamin will hide himself underneath the kitchen table. Once hidden he repeats, "Uh-oh...uh-oh...uh-oh"...ad nauseum and nothing you say can persuade him that there is nothing, in fact, to be uh-ohing about. I'm still puzzling....

I sympathize with a fellow parent of a toddler who recently posted on their blog about the trouble they are having with getting said toddler to respond in the affirmative. Benjamin also rarely says, "yes." This sits in the middle of my "bothers me" meter; it's not a terribly disturbing trend, but the thing that baffles and yes, frustrates me, is when he answers no and means yes. It happened today.
Me: "Do you want some applesauce?"
Benjamin: (very politely and earnestly) "No tank-tu"
I, foolishly assuming no meant no, and turning to open the fridge, was met with much loud wailing and violent pushing of nearby objects. Hmm. Evidently "no tank-tu" sometimes means "yes, please."

News Flash!

We received a letter in the mail late last week. It began as follows, "Dear Seth, I am pleased to notify you that you have successfully passed your Graduate Comprehensive Examinations...." (!) I just wanted to let you all in on the happy news. That light (at the end of the tunnel) is looking brighter and brighter! Thanks for all the encouragement and prayers.