Big News

Hi Sidra,
It's been a long time since the last post and it's partly because you are doing so many new things all the time that I couldn't get focused on what is the most significant thing to tell you about. I also believe that you are on the brink of being able to remember some of these things yourself. Between bike riding, climbing your dome, 'helping' dad shovel dirt on garden projects, going on walks, reading books, singing songs, trying to learn how to hold a pen or pencil and making your first letters, using your leap frog and dad's computer, jumping on your trampoline and everything else, and trying to become potty trained you usually go to bed exhausted. We like it that way. We think it's good for a kid your age to use up all the energy you've got playing and learning.

I'm wondering if you will be able to remember what happened yesterday when you get older. It was a day when you learned that you're going to have a little sister. You have known that your mom was going to have a baby, but yesterday you learned that it will be a girl. You got to go to the doctor's with us and see the ultrasound being done. Maybe it didn't make an impression on you as a big deal so that it will be one of the things you remember when you're older, but it might. You may end up remembering the big swimming pool that is filling in the back yard a little more vividly.

You are such a dynamic little individual right now. You learn things super fast and astound us with what you're aware of constantly. You know how to choose the right words, too. The other night I'm sure your real motive was being freed from your crib in order to lobby for permission to start the night in our bed. But your angle was devious. You said, or rather, wailed "I need to tinkle." Of course, your mom reacted as if it were a turning point in your potty training and once you were extracted from your 'prison' you completed the negotiation flawlessly. We have now instituted a new house rule that improves our bargaining position in these cases- you have to start(you rarely finish the night in your own bed) three nights in your crib between the times you start in our bed.

You've been in swimming lessons for the first time this week. Your swimming progress has been modest but in four classes this week you've improved tremendously in your staying with the group and listening to the teachers instructions. You are the smallest/youngest in the class and you usually get beat out for the bubbles or 'fish' retrieved from the bottom of the pool but you are making a lot of progress in finding your place in the social structure.

As can be seen in the video you are learning about bike safety and using your two wheels to explore the neighborhood. You also like to repeat some of your favorite lines from your stories.




Ok, for the viewers that couldn't decipher the 'sidra speak' in the first segment. She says "The big cars will squash you like a bug." The Fee Fi Foe Fum is from Jack and the Beanstalk.

That's all for now,
Love, aba

Growing Up Fast

Hi Sidra,
Well you've moved on from puzzles. Not that you've given them up entirely but you're not as riveted by them as you were a couple months ago.

Your new thing is the Leapfrog, which you call by that name, or 'mouse' or my 'computer.' It's a like a beginner computer. It has a keyboard and mouse, and you connect it to a TV monitor. It is set up in the guest room. A month ago when your mom got it for you you weren't too excited about it. Now you ask to do it and we've given you a limit of time whenever you play with it but you can pretty much work the whole thing on your own now.

The one software cartridge that we have is Dora the Explorer. There are some good activities included but a few are really only video game training. I guess their main function is training you to work the mouse. The only problem is that the mouse doesn't always work right, freezing on the screen a lot, and makes it difficult to navigate. There is one game were you have to click on matching items and I have seen you match them all in 48 seconds, but if the mouse worked better you could have done it in 20.

Now I really need to tell you what you did on April 10. It was Friday, and I had been away at school for a few days. When I pulled in the driveway that evening you and your mom were up the street a ways talking to some neighbors. You ran full tilt down the sidewalk yelling 'daddy, daddy, daddy!' Then you gave me the best hug ever. I'll never forget it. Thanks.

Another item in the grown up department is your toilet habits. You just spent the afternoon in what we are calling 'big girl underwear' with no accidents. They are a training pant, really just double thickness underwear, but you were pretty proud of yourself and claimed to really like them. Also, we've probably only had to change one poopy diaper in the last 2 weeks. That's mostly because we make you sit on the potty quite frequently and you don't mind sitting there quite a while if we are reading you some books. Yesterday you actually told you mom with accuracy that you needed to go. It seems like progress.

I'm going to add a video here when I get a chance. Here it is. It's not like you are really begging to ride the bike yet. We have to ask you if you want to ride it. I got probably 99% of your ride today on camera. But I am excited that you can handle it yourself a lot better now. Once you get the feel of where you can go with it you will probably take to it like you do swimming. We did that today, too, and you still have no fear and will jump in and off the stairs with abandon, even though I have to be there to pull you out. Soon you will have the same daring with the bike, i'm sure.

Love, Aba

One Day of Spring

hi sidra,

well it has been spring break but we haven't noticed too many signs of spring yet. The weather here certainly hasn't suggested that spring has arrived yet. But two days ago we got away for one day of spring play. We drove over the mountains to the east side of the divide where we found enough sun to make us a little bit pink (your mom just darkened, of course) where we missed with the sunscreen and some warm water. At Kahneetah Hot Springs resort you can usually find a little bit drier weather than here since it's on the lee side of the mountains and the hot springs makes it possible for the swimming pool to stay at about 95 degrees.
It felt tremendous to have the sun on our skin and blue sky overhead. And since the pool is so warm we didn't have to get you out of the water after a half hour because you were shaking from cold. You stayed in until you were exhausted. I think we were exhausted, too. At least I was by the time evening rolled around. Anyway, the last post I titled Daredevil but I should have saved that title for this one. You went beyond what I called daredevil behavior before. On this day, you did at least twenty laps on the slide they had at this pool. Nevermind that there was a sign next to it that said the height restriction was 48" and you are at least a foot shorter than that.
You had two little boo boos associated with the sliding. First you got your left foot up against the side of the slide, twisting you sideways so you bumped your head on the other side of the slide. I caught you before you hit the water on that one. That ended the morning session. Later, you were walking briskly on the deck and slipped into an unintended hurdler's stretch. That resulted in a scratched toe. Of course, neither of those boo boos stopped you.
Besides the slide, this pool had a shallow area that allowed you to be on your own a lot. You enjoyed jumping from the bottom of the stairs and doing a seat drop and then standing up since it was so shallow. Or you would do sort of a tumbling somersault and then get your feet under you to recover. All in all, you had a blast.
I want to tell you about a cute habit you've developed. When you want me to hang out with you, you say 'dad can shoot some baskets.' That's because your trampoline is near your small basketball hoop. So I shoot hoops with the nerf balls while you play on the trampoline and shoot a few hoops as well. So, we hang out and talk and play together and it's your way of asking me to spend time with you.
I should also say that the writing of this post was interrupted by a power outage. There were a couple of blinks and then everything was off. You were in your room alone when it happened and it scared you. I am pretty sure you're not scared of the dark, but this unexpected blackout threw you off. But we lit a few candles and read a few books and then it was time for bed anyway.




Love, aba

Daredevil

Hi Sidra,
I'm writing this on Tuesday after our trip to the swimming pool. So, whatever I write today might be superseded by your exploits at the Kaneetah hot springs pool where we are going on thursday. Anyway, you've become an incredibly brave swimmer all of a sudden. There was a spell where we were worried that you were a little timid in the water and might be a slow developing swimmer. Well you have blown that myth. Today when we got to the pool you started down the stairs and lunged into water over your head before I was even in the water. Your skills are little behind your bravery at this time so I had to get into the water pretty quick and help you out. You are pretty good with closing your mouth when under the water but not that great at kicking or stroking. You do your share of swallowing water but have your eyes open when you're under the water, too. You love to lunge into the water from the stairs and then turn and try to make it back to the stairs. You are holding your breath while doing this, and seem to understand that you need to do something to move where you want to go, but your movements aren't that coordinated so as to propel you.
Then, today near the end of our session, an older boy came along and was doing 'cannonballs' from the side. I asked you if you wanted to try that, and you said yes. Try it you did. You were launching off the side and pulling your knees up like a pro. At least you had two or three really good ones and other times you just landed on me. It was amazing to see someone your size leaping like that. It was definitely a fun experience. The swimming video on this post is from about a week ago.
The other video is staged. I asked you to spell your name for me and you did. The video makes it look like you might have had to try a few times to get it right, but the truth is that you only did two takes.
Since it's spring break, we also took a day trip to Salem on Monday. There are two photos here from that trip. We went to a place called AC Gilbert. It is a children's museum and has a lot of fun things for kids. In one picture you are on the huge rocking chair with your friend Logan who went with us. In the other one you are in the 'intestine' which was a crawl through thing filled with spiky balls and covered by the net. I got you to put your face up against the net and pose for the picture. While in Salem we also visited a carousel and rode it a couple of times.




You are a thrill a minute, and I expect it will get better and better.
Love,
Aba

Look Out American Idol

Hi Sidra,
man it seems like I should be able to get this more often than once a month. Well, you're almost three months past your birthday now. I guess I need to report some records. Not long after you suffered your burned hand, you got sick and had a pretty persistent fever. When we got home one night you pretty much went ballistic and we couldn't figure out what was up until we found out you were pretty warm. It stuck with you for several days and one night you were so hot your little feet against my back were enough to make me feel how hot you were. We measured you at 104.9F. You were cookin'! But you got through it and have been feeling pretty good since then.
I took you up to the mountain last weekend. You were excited to go, and were a real trooper while you were getting pulled around the lake in the ski trailer. But you didn't last too long sledding. I think you just had got to your limit in the cold. I learned I need to get you in to a warm place and get you some hot chocolate before we do the sledding part. We might have a chance to do it one more time before the winter's over.
You're getting to be quite a talker and singer. You like to repeat stuff we say and come up with a lot of your own stuff, too. You often say after I've said "thanks", "thanks said dad" or sometimes it's "thanks said Sidra."
I've been trying to catch you on video in one of your rants when you're not happy which goes "hold you hold you hold you hold you hold you hold you "(a phrase you can repeat like a machine gun for as long as you have breath) which means hold 'me' but by the time I can get the camera on you're over it or seeing the camera, instead of posing or acting for the camera you say 'I want to see' meaning see the camera. So, maybe we'll get lucky with that some day so we can share it with you when you're older.
In fact, we had trouble getting you to perform for the camera on these songs for the same reason, you wanting to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. Perhaps by the time you are old enough to read this American Idol will be a thing of the past and I'll have to explain the reference to you.
To close the post I have to say that daily I find myself thinking that we have hit the jackpot with you, that you have all of the best of both of us. We grow prouder of you everyday.
Love, Aba

Happy Valentine's Day

Hi Sidra,

I wish I could say that this Valentine's Day was a happy one. But that would be far from the truth. I think I managed to ruin the whole weekend. You got a nasty burn on your hand and I can say that it is my fault.
You are used to watching me make our grilled cheese sandwiches from your perch on one of the 'barstools' we sit on when eating in the kitchen. I pulled the chair up to the counter as I usually do and you climbed up to your usual vantage point. As I stepped over to the fridge to get out the cheese you bent over and put your hands on the stove as you usually do. My mistake was not connecting the hazard to the fact that your mom had just taken the teapot off that burner. You let us know right away and I rushed over to get your hand under the cold water faucet. My second mistake was misreading your body language and thinking that it was your right hand that was burned. Your mom figured that out after a minute or two and we got on the right track.
After some more cold water and tylenol you finally collapsed for a nap lasting over two hours. After you woke up we looked over the damage and decided to get a professional medical opinion on the next step in your treatment since you had blisters. We took you to the urgent care clinic and they put the bandage on with a burn ointment under it to help prevent infection.
During the visit to the clinic you impressed us as a total trooper. You barely protested and actually observed the bandaging process with considerable interest. In fact you showed off a little for the first nurse to come in to see you by saying she had a stethoscope on her neck(we prompted you to say it, you have recently got a toy doctor's kit so you know some medical vocabulary). In your first half hour with the bandage in place you did display a little frustration but quickly got over that. During the wait between the doctor's diagnosis and the nurse's treatment we told you that you were going to be seeing 'Doctor Dan, the Band Aid Man' who is a character in one of your books. Lo and behold, when the nurse came in it was a man named Dan! So our prophecy came true. When we got home your mom got that book out and read it to you.
Anyway, boy I am I sorry about this. You seem to be handling it well, but I wish I could reverse time so you didn't have to.
Love, Aba

Puzzle Queen Loves her Daddy

Hi Sidra,
Wow, it always amazes me when I finally get around to doing a new post and find out that it has been a month since the last post. But it's a lot easier to keep up with it when I'm on vacation. According to the title of the post there must be something about puzzles here. You have become quite a puzzle master. You have a set of zigsaw puzzles that has four puzzles that each have 4 pieces. They are the following mother/baby pairs of animals: Lions, Penguins, Giraffes, and alligators (or crocodiles as I don't know the difference). Those puzzles you can do by yourself in about 2 minutes. They don't even challenge you at all.
You also have some other 24 piece puzzles of Dora the explorer, Pooh, Eyeore, and Tigger. When working those, if we get the perimeter in place you can pretty much finish the rest on your own. I', always amazed because as soon as we dump the peices out you immediately have a couple pieces together before I can get them all turned face up. Your mom just bought you a about 8 more puzzles of about the same difficulty so you can keep trying new ones. They are all either Pooh family or Mickey mouse puzzles.
The other big development for you is speaking complete sentences. You are constantly suprising us with your speech, not so much with the fact that you can use a sentence, but what you are saying. For instance, in the middle of the night recently you said 'Mom, don't be sad.' Which kind of threw us because we were pretty much asleep and not showing any emotion, sad or otherwise. We figured you probably picked up the phrase in a story or video that you'd seen. You've also said more obviously motivated things like "Dad, I want another cookie" and "Sidra sleep in this bed."

Without question the best line you've ever spoken (to me) came last night. We were in the kitchen waiting for the cookies to get done. You'd had a pretty tough day, I guess, you had had a short fuse emotionally all day. So you had asked me to 'hold you and rock' and I was trying to comply with that request while standing and gently swaying. You put your head on my shoulder and then said "She loves her daddy" and of course that just made me melt. You have ways of grabbing us right by the heart and that was one of them.

By the way, while writing that last paragraph I had to stop in the middle and rock you to sleep. You had asked earlier to sleep in our bed tonight and we had turned you down. I put you in the crib and except for a couple minutes of silence you had wailed "daddy, daddy......." interupted by an occasional 'mommy' for about 10-15 minutes. I gave up and went in and got you from the crib. But, I didn't let you go in our bed because we had already said no to that I wanted to keep my word. But I put you on the twin bed right behind where I am sitting now. You were quiet and tried to sleep for about 10-15 minutes, but then asked for rocking. Now you are asleep behind me.

She Loves Her Daddy. Well, her Daddy Loves Her.
Love, aba

Happy New Year

Hi Sidra,
I have a couple of updates since the last post already. First, you have 18 teeth now. I looked in last night and found that you have two molars on the bottom just breaking through. The top ones haven't come in yet.
Second, tonight was the first night since Channuka that we lit candles. As we expected, you expected presents to be opened right after the candles were lit. You were n0t too disappointed to learn that there wouldn't be any presents opened after candles for about a year. Of course you don't yet realize how long a year is yet. It's half of your life so far!
Anyway we went out to play in the snow today and I thought I should post some pictures and video from that. It was a blue bird day compared to the other wintry days we've had in the last couple of weeks. We got about 2-3 inches of snow overnight and it was pretty clear this morning so we jumped the chance to play in the snow under somewhat sunny skies.


that's all for now,
Love, Aba

Two Years Old

Hi Sidra,
Actually you turned two a couple of days ago. Here are some vital stats from this milestone.
You weigh about 26.2 pounds. (Almost exactly the 50th percentile for your age)
You are about 33½ inches tall. (Almost exactly the 50th percentile for your age)
Your head circumference is 49.5 cm (about the 95th percentile). You have a big head!
My charts don't include the head circumference beyond two years, so we won't measure that anymore after this.
You still have at least 16 teeth, although the doctor said you had a new molar and another almost to appear, so it might be 17. You're not very cooperative when I want to look inside your mouth.

Well after 8 crazy nights of Channuka followed directly by a birthday party you sort of got conditioned to opening presents. By the last night of Channuka you paused only briefly to admire the blazing candles before declaring 'open presents.' In fact, yesterday we went to story time at the library where you showed what you knew about presents. Near the end of program the story leader mentioned that because of the snow we'd had and that some kids might not have recieved a present on the day before Christmas and they could come up and get one now. You heard him say present once and that you could come up and get one. You demonstrated your listening skill by immediately advancing to front and center to get in line for your gift.

Over the course of Channuka you got some pretty cool gifts and there are apparently a couple more that haven't arrived yet. Yesterday we got to play with some of them and some are becoming fixtures in your world. You have a stuffed Nemo which you adore and when i put you to bed last night I suggest that you hold him while you went to sleep. When you woke in the middle of the night (common) and called for Daddy, not Mommy (uncommon) I came in your room to get you you were standing up in your crib (common) but you had Nemo tucked under one arm(uncommon). Later this morning you were flopping around in our bed and your mom and I both picked you up to move you closer to the head of the bed you asked where's Nemo? So you seem to be getting attached to him. Something else you did while sleeping that was interesting is laugh. You must have been dreaming about something funny. You have talked in your sleep before, but this was the first laugh we've heard.

You also got your first bike for your birthday and we spent some time with it outside yesterday. You enjoyed it but you didn't like wearing your helmet (you never have) so we may have some work getting you to accept that. The bike is a runner, a bike without pedals which will help you practice your balance of the two wheels. Most kids are able to ride a pedal bike without training wheels after learning on a runner. It's a teeny bit too tall for you right now, but you're very close to being tall enough to take off on it.

Another gift you recieved is an adjustable basketball hoop. We finally figured out how to get it properly set up so it's at it's lowest hieght. You quickly progressed from needing your small step stool to put the ball in the hoop to being able to put it in from standing on the floor. It looks like we are going to get a lot of mileage out of that toy also.

Click here for Video of Sidra at the Hoop

It should also be noted that we all amazed at what you can say, what you remember, and what you recognize. Your uncle Ben, however, is "blown away" by nearly everything you do.

Love, Aba

Channuka

Hi Sidra,
It's the second night of Channuka, and you've been thrilled by it so far. Last year, I didn't write about it because it seemed like your first birthday was the bigger event at that time of the year. This year it's been quite a different story. In fact, last night when we were trying to go to sleep you were a complete chatterbox. You were talking about lighting candles, latkes, Channuka gelt, the shamish, happy Channuka, and of course, presents. You were just going on and on about it. Although I still have to report that while you gave much talk to latkes, you refused to eat any. I think that will change eventually.

Some of the gifts you have opened so far are: a nice set of long underwear, the Hefelump Movie DVD which you watched later, a very nice wooden Menorah with wooden candles (can be seen in one of the pictures) from your Aunt Jane and Uncle David, and a set of tinker toy type things.

Then today, since this was one of the few times you'll ever be able to use them right in the driveway, we gave you your first skis. You were luke warm about them, sort of the way you are with the sled. You are pretty much a daredevil most of the time, but sledding and skiing don't thrill you as much, I suspect because you don't have as much control as you'd like. But you will gain that control, I'm sure.

There are two pictures here that I really like. The one with you and your mom looking out the window past the Menorah just knocks my socks off. My two beautiful girls in a gorgeous pose. I really like the one of you marveling at the candles burning in your Menorah too.

Well, there are many more nights of Channuka left, and there is good chance there will be more to write about before it's over.

Love, aba

Pride of Accomplishment

Hi Sidra,
I have a couple of stories for you today. They both say something about your developing mind and personality. First, I'll tell about something that happened today. It involves the Pooh Friends as they are known by in our house. They are in the picture. They are your companions in the bathroom, which is to say they are bath playmates but also you like to have them sit on the counter and 'watch' while you are on the potty. Well, we had a road trip to Grandma's house yesterday and the Pooh friends went along. Today on your first visit to the potty you had to accept stuffed animals Hefelump and Eeyore (who is in the Pooh family but not included in the set of bath toys) because the Pooh Friends were still in the diaper bag way downstairs. That worked out without incident. Later while cleaning downstairs I thought of something that you could do to help out. (we've let you handle the swiffer since you've been able to walk, but you're less interested in it now.) I asked you to take the Pooh Friends upstairs and put them in the bathtub. You accepted the chore with glee, happy to help out. I peeked through from the hallway to see you on about the third stair and then turned back to my task. An instant later I heard what could only be you tumbling down the stairs. I rushed over to find you at the bottom. You are becoming a really good speaker but your communication still doesn't rate 100% clarity. I was able to determine that you didn't have any specific pain that was worse than being scared. After some consolation you were determined to finish the chore. I watched you all the way up the stairs this time and you did fumble the toys a couple of times but made it up to the top safely (you've only had two mishaps on the stairs that I know of so this one surprised me). Then I went back to my chore. When you returned downstairs you came and found me and said, while beaming and jumping up and down, "I did it! I did it!" You were so proud of yourself, and so was I.
The other story is from a couple of weeks ago. It's about the video that is on this post. Originally, I meant to record you saying "I love you" without any other voices on the recording. I figured I might edit out my voice and maybe on one of the 'takes' you might do better than the others. I was using my digital camera which will take 15 seconds of video at once. So as I was recording, I was watching the 15 seconds count down and that's why I keep asking you to repeat it. It turns out that what is priceless is your change in tone and body language as you respond to my repeated requests.


Also, you've become a pretty good singer. You have been heard singing with pretty good clarity Ring Around the Rosie and Rock a Bye Baby. And, when asked what you were doing today you clearly said, "Playing with Puzzle." Conversations with you are more interesting everyday.
That's all for now. Keep growing up.
Love, Aba.

Terrible Twos?

Hi Sidra,
We keep waiting for the 'terrible twos' to begin, but nothing like that is happening. We think that this may be the most exciting time of raising you. Your personality is emerging more everyday and you learn constantly. Your speech is catching up with your cognitive ability so now we know more about what you're thinking.
Of course you're not quite perfect, but we don't have many complaints. You have developed a desire to sleep in the big bed with us. The only problem with this is that we wouldn't mind watching a little grown up type television in the last hour before we fall asleep at night. You don't seem to think that our requests for you to lie still in the bed and not try to look over the pillows at the TV are serious until we actually put you in your crib. Then you realize we mean business.
Anyway, you also are making potty progress. You have pooped on the toilet twice this week and once told the girls at the sports club day care that you needed to pee. Your poops were not at your suggestion, but at our suggestion both times, but you might be about to the point of being able to say when you need to go. We did buy you some 'big girl' underwear a couple weeks ago to boost your incentive.
That was the day of your first trip up an escalator. I had to go to a bike shop that was in a Mall. Since you had to be in the car for quite a while that day, I thought we would go in the mall so you could stretch your legs a little. Well we found out that Target had an escalator and we went up and down about 6 times. They also had a little device that carried the shopping carts up and you were fascinated by that, too.
Something else you've gotten to like is typing on the computer. We set you up with Word running with really big font and you tap away at the keys. The video here shows you doing that. Now, you have to listen close because you have the sweetest little voice and only raise it when you're really distressed, but you say the following in the video: "That's O", "That's M", "Y" (which I was psyched about because earlier this morning you were saying Y was W), "There it is(about S)", "zero", "J", "that's 9", "H", and of course "Hi Babes."



That's all for now.......
love, Aba

Look out Springsteen and Dylan!

Hi Sidra,
as usual, the best times with you come unexpectedly. Today you happened to pick up the harmonica and started groovin' with it. There's not much I can say about it, the video sort of speaks for itself. I'm just glad the camera was handy and I was able to catch it.
The other video is called Big Mouth for obvious reasons. You are gaining skill with the eating utensils but your biggest (pun!) problem is reasonable payload. Again, the footage speaks for itself.




Love, Aba

Johnny Jump Up revisited

Hi Sidra,
your mom decided to recycle a plaything of yours today and see if you would still enjoy it. You can see from the video that the answer is yes. We were a little concerned that you would be too big for it but that proved not to be a problem. I thought you would be too much of a free spirit to be trapped in the doorway for very long but you stuck it out for about 20 hard minutes just as energetically as the 45 second video shows.

I saw a bumper sticker on a car yesterday that said
"100 years after you die it won't matter where you lived or what you drove, but how you raised your kids will matter." I hope your mom and I live up to that standard. I think my parents did.

Oh, I keep forgetting to include some stats. We measure you every three months, and the measuring day was last weekend. You are now 32 inches tall, and weigh about 26 pounds. In the previous 3 measurements you grew about a half inch during the three month period. This time you grew about an inch and a half. No wonder you're starting to reach things on the kitchen counter!

Noah's Birthday

Hi Sidra,
There haven't been enough posts lately due to technical difficulties and I apologize. I aim to be more regular poster in the near future.
It was your brother's birthday today (Sept 28). He would have been 3 years old. We did what we have done on his last two birthdays. We went to the cemetery to see his grave and leave some stones. Then we went to Doernbecher's Children's hospital and dropped off some gifts for the children there. We usually give gifts that we might have given Noah had he still been with us. You seem to know about Noah, but I don't think you get it yet. You know his picture and can say his name after a fashion but you really don't know how he fits into the family yet. You will. When we do this next year you will have learned more about him and eventually you will know what he means to our family.
We also did a couple of other things with you today since you don't yet understand that his birthday isn't that fun for your mom and I. I am sorry to report that whileyou are not yet two years old you know the word "mall" and said it when we turned into the parking lot. You also recognized Starbuck's and mentioned "tea" when we passed it walking into the mall. Mainly we went there to return some merchandise but it turned out to be great place for you stretch your legs. After a short warm up period you hit full speed and barely slowed down. We had to do a near trot to keep up with you. There was a play area in the mall and you spent some time in there buzzing around in circles. You made it through all the little tunnels and crawl spaces and I think the only reason we were able to get you out of there was that you sped out the exit and before you realized you were out in the open we scooped you up and didn't look back.
Next we were in a clothing store with really narrow aisles and it was a chore tracking you down. You were making cuts like a football player returning a punt for a touchdown. I was relieved to be able to stay on your trail.
Then it was the Zoo. Agian you were fearlessly bound through the crowds there. Occassionally we would corall you into the stroller but you did a lot of walking and running there, too. We saw polar bears, penguins, a beaver, fish, two eagles and some frogs. We didn't see the six week old baby elephant because the line was at least an hour long and we were only staying for two hours.
Then when we got home you went around the local berry field with Jesse(dog) and I. You usually run for most of the way around the loop and it is probably half a mile. When we returned from our lap you saw the new toy shopping cart your mom bought you and you pushed that around the house almost non stop until bedtime. You were like the energizer bunny pretty much the whole day. You were pretty tired when we got you to bed. Through all the activity you had only napped for about 20 minutes. So you deserved to be tired.
There is a missing post since the last one, about your first trip to the emergency room. I still have to get that repaired.
Love,
aba

First Visit to the Emergency Room

Hi Sidra,

I know that sounds like an ominous title, as if we’re expecting many more visits to the emergency room. Well, I’m guessing it’s not going to be the last but I’d like to see it stay below a rate of once every five years. For the record, your injury occurred on the day you became 20 months old, which coincidentally was our 4^th anniversary.

So, how did it happen? We’re not sure exactly. You twisted your ankle somehow. It may have happened when I let you down from the chair I always eat on and you frequently join me on to share whatever I’m eating. At the time I thought you were just upset about being let down, but it’s possible you’d gotten your foot caught between the chair and your desk that was nearby at the time. All we really know is that later that evening when we were in the shower, you couldn’t put any weight on your right foot. It was pretty late, so we decided to give you Tylenol and ice it, and then see how well you slept.

You slept pretty well, actually. However, the next morning when you took your first steps of the day, you cried out and recoiled again. So we iced some more while you watched a ‘Signing Times’ video and got ready to take you in to the ER. It was really the Urgent Care that we brought you to get a professional opinion. After a lot of waiting and a wrestling match with you on the x ray table it was determined that you had no fractures and you were released without restrictions. The doctor figured you could decide on your own if it was too painful to walk on. The truth is that by the time we left there you were beginning to walk on it without complaint. By the next day, you were back to full speed.

The picture here of the sticker you got to bring home will probably be the only souvenir you will have from the incident. I mean, no bruises, no cast, no bandage.

As I said at the top I hope that this kind of visit doesn’t become a habit but you are a daredevil so we may do this again someday.

Love, aba

Books, Books, Books!

Hi Sidra,

Well, my summer vacation is over. Actually I have two more days before I go back to work but it’s the weekend and it seems like Sunday will be a day of getting ready to be back on the road several days a week. Enough about me, this blog is about YOU! So, what have you been doing?

You have become a voracious reader. You absolutely love books. You will spend time looking at them on your own besides having them read to you. You have your favorites and they go in cycles but you really like seeing new books, too. One of the things you’ve been able to do lately is fill in some of the words if we pause our reading to let you do it. Your improved speaking skills are helping you do that. A couple of the books you have came with music on CD and you enjoy looking at the book and following along with the music.

I wanted to comment on one of your favorite books. Actually I should probably say one of your favorite characters. Of course you like Winnie the Pooh since your mom has encouraged that but an unlikely favorite is this kid David who is in one of the pictures here. The picture is the cover of one of the David books. We also have another book featuring David home from the library. He seems unlikely as a favorite because he’s kind of a rebel and onery. He is always getting in trouble and being told “NO” as the book title suggests. He also has some nasty looking teeth that make him look like a pretty mean dude.

I just wonder if you see him as a bit of a hero. Inasmuch as he pushes the envelope of trouble making, yet he is still loved by his parents. I wonder if you will be like David, always trying to get away with as much as possible.

You are also getting pretty good at recognizing the ten digits and in fact, the first ten counting numbers. I keep trying to get that on video but part of the problem is that you are too soft spoken and the microphone doesn’t quite pick it up. We’ll leave that for another post.

This past week we took a quick trip to Seaside and you saw the Pacific Ocean again. You really like the beach. You didn’t seem to remember the taste of sand from the last trip and had to try it again. You also swam twice in the motel pool and took two rides on a carousel.

Oh, I almost forgot. We had a three day heat wave last week and you enjoyed your wading pool in the front yard. One of the picture is of you trying to drink from the hose. We had a good laugh about it.

More soon……

Love, aba

Working Girl

Hi Sidra,

This post is just to share some cute pictures of you. Your mom got you a little work apron and you had it on the other morning. I put some tools in your hands to make it look like you were doing some ‘do it yourself’ projects. I had stuffed some things in your pockets before you came outside, too. The rattle in one of your pockets worked great, like a cowbell so I could tell where you were going.

I took you swimming yesterday and you had a great time. It was sort of nap time when we got done so you fell asleep in the bike trailer on the way home. It looked like it was going to be too hard to get you out without waking you so we let you finish your nap in the garage.

Love, Aba

Riverdance?

Sidra,

It doesn’t seem like something you’d find a Jewish girl doing. Clogging, I mean. Here’s how it came about.

Your favorite baseball team, the Red Sox, has a player (Jonathon Papelbon) who is apparently Irish because he’s been known to celebrate big wins by dancing a ‘Riverdance’ style number on the field after the big game. In order to capitalize on this someone created this dancing bear that wears a Red Sox jersey with Papelbon’s number and a Red Sox hat. If you squeeze the bear’s hand it will gyrate while playing the clogging music.

Well, you enjoy sharing a dance with the bear and that’s the subject of both videos on this post.

Love, Aba

Dancing video 1

Dancing video 2

MId Summer '08

Hi Sidra,

If I were talking to you right now you would be pretty good at answering back with a sweet ‘Hi.’ Your vocabulary is increasing daily. It is a really fun time to be with you because we can teach you about a new word almost daily. Or at least you are getting so you can say a new word almost every day.

I also want to tell you how much you lift my heart. There have been a couple of mornings recently where I’ve been up much earlier than you and your mom (that’s not uncommon) and while sitting here in front of this silly machine you’ve come in and said ‘hi.’ My heart just jumps. I am just blown away by the fact that your mother and I were able to bring such a wonderful little girl into the world. And then you smile and I just melt.

Now, having just said that you are wonderful, I have to help you maintain your modesty by letting you know that you aren’t perfect. We have been having some issues with your eating habits. You are a little bit picky. Right now I would have to say that your favorite food is hot dogs. So, we get into these battles about eating something else, like vegetables. You are pretty stubborn, and this can be pretty stressful for all of us. We get perplexed because sometimes you won’t eat things we know that you will eat other times, while we are holding the hotdog ‘hostage.’

Aside from the eating issue, you can display willfulness in other ways, too. Occasionally, you protest by acting as if you don’t hear us. I have to say, “I know that you can hear me and I know that you understand me.” Usually that solves the problem. But, once in a while you still resist complying with a request. For instance, the other day I asked you to help me restack some books that you had pulled down and we were finished reading. You were not helping and I took you up and put you in the crib where you howled for several minutes. After a while, I asked if you were ready to help me now and you said ‘yeah.’ Then we went back downstairs and you still balked a little at helping. I thought, ‘man, if she’s this tough now, what will she be like when she’s 13?’ You did help out with no further incident, but it made me uneasy.

Right now I can hear your mom reading the book ‘No, David’ to you. David is a boy that is always testing his limits and getting into trouble. Perhaps you relate to David’s dilemma and that’s why you like that book.

I am only including one picture with this post. It was actually taken about two months ago, but I really like it and I want to explain why. Your mom took it when you were at the beach seeing the ocean for the first time. Then she chose a really good frame for it and gave it to me for Father’s Day. In it, we are exploring the breakers together. You notice that we are in step with one another. I lean down to hold your hand at your level. We look out to the vast ocean that could represent our future. There's a lot out there for us to see together. While it appears that you hold my hand compliantly, I know that my grip is tight to protect you from running headlong into unknown danger. Your exuberance at the new experience brings back to me things I hadn’t noticed in a long time.

Love, aba