linus updates

critical thinking

2011-10-18T19:44:00.003-04:00

INT. our car approaching the Connecticut River.Linus: What will happen if our car went into the water?_: That wouldn't be so good; we would probably sink.L: But our windows are not open._: What do you think would happen?L: We would float on the water._: And how about if we opened the windows?L: Then the water would come into our car and we would sink.

game changer

2011-10-11T11:21:00.002-04:00

i must not forget this milestone. i remember wondering when this day would come, having the good fortune, as mama, of enduring much love/comfort-induced abuse.

linus: "he-ey mama, i love you."

mama: "i love you too, linus, so so much. you make me feel so good when you tell me that!"

linus: "i love you thiiiiiiiiiiis much." stretching arms out as wide as they go.

alternate response

linus: "i love all the people in the world i ever seen."

mama: "you should tell all the people that when you see them."

linus: "ok."

take the L train

2011-07-28T11:10:00.000-04:00

never want these days to end

2011-07-21T11:21:00.004-04:00

a linus songbook, part 1

2011-06-06T16:51:00.000-04:00

The Itsy Bitsy Spider:
The itsy bitsy spader went up the water spout
Down came derain and washed the spader out
Up came the sun and dried up all derain
And the itsy bitsy spader went up the water spout again
Hey!

A, B, C:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G
H, I, K, A,
L O men O P.
Q, R, S,
T, U, V,
W, X, Y and Z,
Next time non't you sing with me?

more extremely human qualities

2011-06-06T16:16:00.000-04:00

The jokes have definitely evolved. The latest thing is "when I was a baby, I couldn't say [word]; I said [slight mutation of word]." It's wild. Child exhibits great interest in what it's like to be a baby; has started talking about what it would be like to have another baby in the family.

The other thing that will be funny when he's older is that he'll wake up at 5:30am and announce "I'm ready to get up," then negate any and every factual statement we make (it's too early, nobody in the neighborhood is up yet, it's not breakfast time yet, the night isn't over yet, we still need to sleep, etc.).

The other other thing is that he's really into counterfactuals and uses the subjunctive mood correctly. "If that thing were too big, it would fall down." He also uses "lay" and "lie" appropriately.

Also let's always remember that "the itsy bitsy spider" sounds like "the itsy bitsy spader."

i'm tired of this.

2010-10-27T15:53:00.002-04:00

our family has been sick for the past week or so. whether linus is actually sick, i am not sure, but he has responded to the sickness of his parents as a new two-year-old might. he was overdue for a nap this afternoon, walking around the kitchen, being destructive. i, of course, not at my parenting best, may have snatched a pan out of his hand and yelled "no" in his ear at the sound of metal crashing against metal. my limit came after he reached down my shirt in a rather rough manner than hit me in the face. needless to say, i allowed him to be sad on the floor for a few moments after that.

i picked him up to sit on my lap and, rubbing his eyes, he said, "i'm tired of this." i said, "i know, honey. i'm tired of this too. what should we do instead?" pause. "have milk." "have milk in bed?" "yeah."

snooze.

pretend papa

2010-09-20T14:21:00.001-04:00

we had a guest at lunch today: pretend papa.

pretend papa ate corn out of linus's soup, ate the pumpkin on the table, sat on the couch, and read stories to linus.

first response to the question, "who loves linus?": angie.

unexpected responses

2010-08-25T21:57:00.003-04:00

When asked what he would like to have for lunch today, upon waking up from his nap, he replied, "Hot sauce."

After a good 15 minutes of nursing before bed, without saying much at all, Linus pops off the boob to say, "I love you." Nurse nurse. "Made Papa sad." Nurse Nurse. "Broke water can." Nurse nurse nurse.

Better.

2010-07-26T22:28:00.003-04:00

Linus has been having a hard time lately. He gets frustrated easily when he can't communicate effectively, he gets mad when he's not allowed to have or do what he wants, and only wants to eat dairy products (or tortilla chips dipped in dairy products, or sugary dairy products scooped with tortilla chips). Papa has also been working towards a deadline for the past couple of weeks and has been unavailable for meeting Linus's every playtime need.

The other day, I can't remember which, was going as most of our days have been going lately. Linus was following me around making unreasonable requests and getting extremely upset when alternatives were offered. Something happened, I can't remember exactly what, and he got mad, crying and flailing, accepting no comfort. When something happens, we generally talk about it. I empathize and validate and he does or does not agree that I really care about his well being. I must have said to him, "You are so mad about that. You are having such a hard time, my love." Time passed and we were getting in the car. I was buckling him into his car seat (but not the chest buckle! that one's for linus!), when he said to me, "Not so mad now. Better." It took me a while to process what he had told me, but when I realized that he had taken the time to check in with himself, think about it, then report back to me how he was feeling, I melted. Melted. My one-and-three-quarters-year-old remembered that he was sad, realized he felt better, and told his mother about it.

Emotional genius.

linus's favorite video

2010-07-21T10:31:00.000-04:00

"hydroplaning at more than 140 km/h, miramar argentina"

colors

2010-06-21T12:06:00.000-04:00

this morning linus surprised me by spontaneously identifying my shirt as yellow. or more like "lllelllow." i think he's got the hang of blue too. i'm playing it cool, as usual.

the potty situation

2010-06-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

until further notice, if you see linus using the potty by himself, DO NOT SAY OR DO ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. no congratulations, no gold star stickers, nothing like that -- it's totally a workaday thing to use the toilet. we go about our business while he goes about his.

yesterday at breakfast

2010-06-10T09:55:00.002-04:00

i am checking my email over a bowl of oatmeal. i don't think linus can see the iphone on which i am checking the email.

linus: "papa! no ipod!"

it's going to be a long childhood.

today's developments

2010-06-06T22:56:00.000-04:00

learned to use a drinking straw
made a joke pronunciation of "elephant" ("efeladladladladla")
expressed preferences about animals at the zoo (most favored: fish; lions)
first big-box wholesale experience
first "kid's meal" (it was free)

multi-word phrases

2010-05-25T15:50:00.000-04:00

other phrases we've heard:

"beach bag"
"wash (long pause) hands"
"papa, sit"
"i want some geek" (grapes)
"pie book" (referring to this book)
"up (pause) stairs"
"downthere"

names and taxonomies

2010-05-25T15:47:00.002-04:00

linus learned the name of a friend's neighbor's cat just before they moved away (taking their cat with them). the cat's name is mufasa. linus says "moofascia bao."

possessive adjective & a number

2010-05-01T19:09:00.002-04:00

"my water." "two cups."

proceeding apace

2010-03-14T20:53:00.000-04:00

more walking

2010-03-11T01:02:00.000-05:00

more and more walking. it seems to be becoming his default. we will miss the crawling.

tonight he picked up a book and walked around looking for grandma L saying "gapa? book."

nearly walking

2010-02-22T23:05:00.002-05:00

still experimenting with walking! still doing it in fits and starts.

2010-02-18T08:59:00.001-05:00

in other news, he can say "water" and "book" and he enjoys spelling along with me. "bee oh oh kay."

it's where the goodness collects

2010-02-16T23:53:00.003-05:00

we're told linus ate lots of sauteed beef liver with reduced sherry during his visit to the barry household this afternoon.

important development

2010-02-08T21:30:00.001-05:00

he hugs!

generalizations

2010-02-08T08:59:00.003-05:00

four-legged animals: "woof woof."
stuff in a bowl in the kitchen: "dough."
women: "amy."

bye!

2010-02-03T12:14:00.003-05:00

latest thing: linus consistently says "bye" to the bath, his kitchen doorway swing, people, places, et cetera. especially to his kitchen doorway swing, which he loves but only in small doses.

bock bock

2010-01-21T22:33:00.003-05:00

i picked linus up from t&t's house this evening and he clucked at me (they have chickens). he associates chickens ("bock bock") and eggs ("eggies"). he said "moon" all the way from the porch door to the car.

late night living room scene

2010-01-21T21:05:00.003-05:00

circa 3:45am, having just had a diaper change, nursing in the living room, linus is quiet for a long time. from the bedroom it looks as though he's asleep. then:

"dark."

several beats. "snow."

several beats. "moon."

early morning scene

2010-01-21T21:01:00.002-05:00

circa 4:45am.

having just been danced back to sleep after a diaper change, linus is sawing logs with his cheek on the sheepskin.

evidently dreaming about dogs. hauls self up on hands, says "woof woof woof!" crawls over to mama to resume sleep.

evening scene

2010-01-19T21:14:00.001-05:00

sitting at the table, naked from the waist down while a diaper rash heals, grownup-sized oven mitts on both hands, trying to drink from a small water bottle.

yes we can!

2009-12-12T17:04:00.000-05:00

climbing and talking

2009-11-29T23:13:00.004-05:00

many advances in speech. yesterday he started saying "okeh" in response to "OK." he also likes to roar at the eric carle brown bear postcard that hangs above his changing pad — quiet roars that sound more like throat-clearing but will doubtless get louder and more acute. speaking of loudness, he screams just to hear himself do it, so we try not to react, but it's cute. i'm convinced that he says "it's dark" when we point out the window at night. no progress yet on "ball"/"balloon" disambiguation. he calls for me when he doesn't know where i am and wants to find me. he also (nonverbally) asks for help with matryoshka dolls when he's having trouble separating tops from bottoms — just hands them to me and expects them to be handed back in two pieces.

he likes to draw on paper! who knew. all kinds of doodles.

all of our work on descending/dismounting backwards has paid off because he climbs and unclimbs stairs with enthusiasm and an appropriate amount of caution. it's a sight to see him peer down a flight of stairs and then determinedly turn himself around to descend feet first. the same extends to playground equipment, although he may be developing some hubris that will unavoidably lead to some tumbles from too-high platforms.

finally, photos. we had a lovely thanksgiving in great barrington, massachusetts with joey and alana and many friends. alana took several family photos that are (1) fantastic and (2) embarrassingly some of the first we have. they're on my flickr feed.

advances

2009-11-12T22:23:00.001-05:00

1. stands freely (if only in jest)
2. says "obama" -- not sure why.

no no nonono no no

2009-10-07T15:14:00.002-04:00

Repeatable experiment:

Us: Hey Linus, do three singing pigs say "La La La"?

Him: Nononononono.

crawling updates

2009-08-19T16:19:00.004-04:00

as you might expect, linus's crawling has improved dramatically since the last post/video. straight lines and curves pose little challenge, and he is experimenting with clambering over obstacles such as fan legs and fathers. when he finds himself in a fit of pique in his room, he crawls into the kitchen or bathroom to seek an adult. he enjoys grass and creeping thyme.

in other news, he pulls himself to a standing position every time the opportunity arises. beds, legs, tables, chairs, dressers, strollers, hampers -- all yesterday.

crawling progress

2009-07-27T20:30:00.006-04:00

Last thursday Linus crawled for the first time in earnest (toward an iPhone on a hardwood floor). The following video from yesterday shows his mastery, after only 72 hours, of diverse terrain (cheap IKEA rug) and of identifying Apple products toward which to crawl (MacBook on the floor).

And just now he chased me around as I swept the kitchen floor along a sigmoid path.

he crawls!

2009-07-24T15:52:00.003-04:00

I was at the library yesterday when LF, on a hardwood floor downtown, crawled several feet to get Kate's iPhone. I don't know the details; M should write a post about them. But we're calling it for the afternoon of July 23, 2009.

This morning (and yesterday evening) everyone was trying to make him crawl again: placing objects just out of his reach, enticing him with spinning tops, et cetera. No repeat performance yet. It's possible he forgot what he did to locomote so effectively. Here's what he does instead: lean forward, smack his hands on the floor, start moving one hand in front of the other, drag his hindquarters forward, get frustrated, sit back up.

recent fun involving drinkware

2009-07-16T22:15:00.003-04:00

we're not sure why he does this.

grilling season is on

2009-07-11T22:50:00.002-04:00

we are admittedly a little late to the game, but: we got a grill. thanks, mom and dad!

games, etc.

2009-07-11T14:49:00.003-04:00

With the abatement of such distractions as ear infections and roseola comes a resurgence in such personality-building activities as games, eating and crawling practice. Mama can no longer drink a glass of water without a rogue hand being thrust down into the glass even before she can take it away from her mouth. Linus also enjoys throwing things with great enthusiasm and waiting for spectators to participate in the fun, rinse, repeat. Alas, we do not have a picture of this. Experimenting with foods has also resumed, today's subjects being a couple blueberries and a raspberry. The jury is still out. And finally, he has mastered the backwards crawl and picking himself up from a belly position to sitting. More to follow.

strawberry picking

2009-07-02T22:02:00.002-04:00

16 quarts, ~3 hours.

biting and pulling up

2009-06-29T21:09:00.002-04:00

today linus continued his self-study in motility. the subject area today was the bathroom. why the bathroom? well, in this sweaty weather, mama has to stay well-hydrated. that also means frequent bathroom use. one of linus's favorite toys lives in the bathroom as well. it's one of those (sort of scary, i think) contraptions that allows one to turn a knob or push a button and out pops a little disney character. yikes! anyhow, linus loves it and remains occupied by it's mysteries long after i've finished my task in the bathroom. so... i occupy my own self working in the kitchen until he finishes his baby work in the bathroom. incidentally, the epic of teething continues as well. he bites everything, and hard. toys, clothes, furniture, skin, nipples... this makes for frustration all around and our afternoons and evenings have been quite trying. normal sleeping and waking patterns are thrown off and the slightest of inconveniences turn into BIG PROBLEMS. while i am aware that i have a very easy child, frustration tolerance has clearly diminished with age and teeth. back to the bathroom. so, i'm puttering away in the kitchen and turn around to see my sweet little boy with his fingers wedged between the toilet seat and the lid getting ready to chomp down on some porcelain. ack!!!! where's the lysol?! i like germs, but i do have limits.

pulling up to standing

2009-06-24T22:41:00.000-04:00

we put linus in a hamper full of warm dry clothes, as we often do, and he pulled himself up to a standing position to reach into the dryer. happy with his achievement, he enthusiastically pulled himself up in the hamper several more times after we brought him upstairs. unfortunately, an 18-pound baby leaning on the wall of a hamper is not a recipe for stability, so we had to move him to the floor. he tried to stand up at least once using his dresser drawers as handholds.

also, we think we witnessed, at dinnertime, his first attempts to crunch food with his incisors. so far he has crunched snap pea pods and cereal O's. he is getting better at putting desiderata directly into his mouth on the first attempt.