N. is almost 17 months old, and he's almost always a barrel of fun. He hasn't changed dramatically since I last posted, still likes throwing balls, reading books, loves playing in the park, enjoys going on walks. He's been going to the park a lot recently as it's gotten warmer, and really enjoys exploring things there. Likes to point out birds, dogs, and planes. He recently figured out how to climb onto the couch and two of the chairs, and he practices going up stairs whenever he gets the chance (obviously sometimes it's not safe/practical). I can't tell if he's doing more crying to achieve results or show he's unhappy, or just that we now know that he's pretty aware of what he's doing, so I think that he's using his crying to get what he wants-not that he's necessarily sad or in pain.
I wanted to write about how having a child has made me more sensitive to certain things. I'm sure that this has been said a million times, but I notice that I am much more emotional/tuned-in when I hear a story (usually on the radio or in a podcast) about the parent-child relationship. Sometimes these will be about losing a child, or a child going through a sickness or something like that. Before N. was born I certainly recognized the emotional pull of reports, stories like this, but I really feel it now.
This is likely normal and completely to be expected, I've just noticed a few times recently, and sometimes it even surprises me how much I'll react to certain reports or stories. I also know that I've certainly become more aware of the innocence and resulting need to protect young children. It's not that I didn't feel this way before, but I feel it more strongly and more intensely now.
Something which I didn't think about as much before, but more now as well, is that in many ways, supporting young children means supporting their parents. Supporting the parents is something that is (for some reason) unpopular among some in our society, among some politicians, but it is crystal clear to me that supporting and caring for young children means supporting the parents. It's too bad we don't do more to support parents of children from birth to kindergarten, and we're worse off as a country for not doing so.
Another thing I've been thinking about is how much more I appreciate all that my parents have done for me. I ought to tell them that more often. Part of me thinks that one of the reasons that an adult's parents are eager for grandchildren is so that their child/children will see the amount of work and sacrifice it takes to raise a child. I know that getting to see your family extended to another generation, getting to interact with a beautiful little baby but not have to change too many diapers or deal with the tantrums are some much grander motivations, but a part of me already knows that N. may never understand the feelings that Livia and I have for him until/if he ever has a child of his own.
Wednesday, May 2, 2018
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Fatherhood, part 9
N is over 16 months and learning and developing wonderfully! He is completely obsessed with balls, but also enjoys stacking blocks, the big ones and the small ones. He really enjoys going to the park, which we've been doing much more often now that spring weather is mostly here. He is understanding more and more of what we say and he's making new sounds pretty consistently, and stringing more and more sounds together at times.
Ball, bird, and airplane are his most common words, and things he always points out. He says "si" in Spanish, not always appropriately, but no doubt he'll figure it out soon. He's getting much better at not crying for very long, if at all, after he falls. He can identify eye, nose, mouth, and ears in Spanish and English, and very much enjoys poking our faces endlessly, so long and we announce each part as he pokes it. He's a pretty cheery and happy guy in general, obviously has his moods, and gets pretty ornery and demanding if nap time gets pushed back or we keep him up too long after his normal bed time (20:00/20:15). He is definitely developing his independence though, and certainly enjoys walking away from us when he can, although he'll usually stop and look back to see if we're paying attention. Although sometimes he will just go off and explore.
Sometimes he's a great eater, and almost all the food goes into his mouth and he doesn't misbehave at all. Other times he refuses it and sometimes it gets thrown on the floor. He really enjoys cheese, bananas, pears, pasta, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and avocado. Livia continues to do an astounding, marvelous job of feeding him a variety of healthy foods. She puts more effort into giving him a good diet than I would, much more effort. Not that I wouldn't try to give him healthy food; it's just that Livia really likes cooking and trying new things, and she has so much love and concern for N's health, that she whips up amazing things almost every day for him. We have recently stopped heating his milk up every time he has it, still occasionally. He still likes it, but just drinks it much, much more slowly.
The books of the last few weeks have been The Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka ABC, One, Two, Three (Boynton), this big picture book of 100 words, and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. There are plenty of others I've read him, but those seem to be the recent favorites, although he certainly changes his favorites, those have been the most frequent ones of late.
I should write more, but if I put off posting this, it probably won't get done for a while. N is such a joy to have, tonight before I put him to bed I was just holding him, as he looked at the map on his wall, getting excited about the birds, the plane, the soccer ball, and other things. He's just so beautiful, it's so exciting and emotional to watch him grow and learn. I've said it again and again, but it's a feeling I've never had before. I'm sure it's a mix of nostalgia, pride, hope, anticipation, selfishness, and so many other things, some good, some not so good, all mixed up, but it really is something different. He's just so darn adorable, innocent, cute.
Ball, bird, and airplane are his most common words, and things he always points out. He says "si" in Spanish, not always appropriately, but no doubt he'll figure it out soon. He's getting much better at not crying for very long, if at all, after he falls. He can identify eye, nose, mouth, and ears in Spanish and English, and very much enjoys poking our faces endlessly, so long and we announce each part as he pokes it. He's a pretty cheery and happy guy in general, obviously has his moods, and gets pretty ornery and demanding if nap time gets pushed back or we keep him up too long after his normal bed time (20:00/20:15). He is definitely developing his independence though, and certainly enjoys walking away from us when he can, although he'll usually stop and look back to see if we're paying attention. Although sometimes he will just go off and explore.
Sometimes he's a great eater, and almost all the food goes into his mouth and he doesn't misbehave at all. Other times he refuses it and sometimes it gets thrown on the floor. He really enjoys cheese, bananas, pears, pasta, sweet potatoes, kiwi, and avocado. Livia continues to do an astounding, marvelous job of feeding him a variety of healthy foods. She puts more effort into giving him a good diet than I would, much more effort. Not that I wouldn't try to give him healthy food; it's just that Livia really likes cooking and trying new things, and she has so much love and concern for N's health, that she whips up amazing things almost every day for him. We have recently stopped heating his milk up every time he has it, still occasionally. He still likes it, but just drinks it much, much more slowly.
The books of the last few weeks have been The Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, Very Hungry Caterpillar, Chicka Chicka ABC, One, Two, Three (Boynton), this big picture book of 100 words, and Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb. There are plenty of others I've read him, but those seem to be the recent favorites, although he certainly changes his favorites, those have been the most frequent ones of late.
I should write more, but if I put off posting this, it probably won't get done for a while. N is such a joy to have, tonight before I put him to bed I was just holding him, as he looked at the map on his wall, getting excited about the birds, the plane, the soccer ball, and other things. He's just so beautiful, it's so exciting and emotional to watch him grow and learn. I've said it again and again, but it's a feeling I've never had before. I'm sure it's a mix of nostalgia, pride, hope, anticipation, selfishness, and so many other things, some good, some not so good, all mixed up, but it really is something different. He's just so darn adorable, innocent, cute.
Thursday, February 15, 2018
Fatherhood, part 8
Recently I was talking to some friends, who are also new parents, their son was born three months after N. As I was sharing some of the things that N. likes to do, skills he's developing, my friend Hannah recommended that I write them down. So, I'm going to do that. Livia and I have not been great about keeping written records of everything N. does as he develops. She does take a lot of pictures and videos, which I really appreciate, and we do talk a lot on whatsapp about what he's doing and what's happened in his life (which is all archived) so we definitely have lots of records. Maybe we should've bought and filled out a baby book, but, well, it didn't happen. Livia did make an amazing faux-chalk board poster for his first birthday with many of his favorite things on it, which was super fun and cute.
N. is 14 months old and half way to his 15th month. His personality has really been developing recently, and while he certainly isn't talking or even close, we can have much more significant interactions. He is understanding lots of things, which is super fun to see. When we tell him it's time to eat, he walks over to his high chair, when I tell him it's time to change his diaper, he walks with me to his room, Livia has taught him to touch his mouth when she asks where it is, he makes a "mmm" sound when we ask him what sound a cow makes, and he's very good about bringing things to us if we point and ask him to. He's also recently started putting lint or other things he finds on the carpet into the trash can, and just the other day grabbed a onesie that I didn't quite throw into the laundry basket and put it in the laundry basket.
Over the past month or so, he has completely changed his attitude towards books. For a long time, he would almost escape when I would read to him, at best he'd pay attention for a page or two and then would crawl away. But recently, he has started to love books. The first books he was really into were Baby Faces and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. He still likes them, but he's moved on to other books as well. He's continued to like Moo, Baa, La La La, which was always one he seemed to like. Recently he's been really enjoying Where is Baby's Belly Button and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?. We'll play when I get home from work, and two, three, four months ago, I would chase him around, tickle him, play hide and go seek, and that would keep him entertained. Now, he'll go and grab a book, bring it to me, make his whining sound, and if I don't sit down to read quickly enough, he'll start poking me with it. He also likes to repeat books, and if I ask to read it again, he'll make a sound that sure sounds a lot like "again." He has no problem reading the same book three, four, five times in a row. It's awesome, because I hope he'll become a great reader, and it's fun to share so many books with him and see him engaged and knowing that his little brain is moving a million miles a minute to try and learn everything.
He also loves balls, enjoys throwing them, rolling them, and playing fetch. He can amuse himself for some time just pouring his balls out of one basket into another, then into another block and back to the original basket. He's developed a pretty good throw, which has come back to bite us-in that he also throws blocks and other toys, that probably don't need to go flying around the apartment, but we'll let him have some fun.
The last thing I'll mention is that he loves being ambulatory. He is quite the proficient walker these days, and loves exploring. The other day at Trader Joe's he was doing circles around one of the smaller isles, as he had been fussing a bunch, so I got him down. Livia kept on shopping and I just followed N. around as he wandered through the aisle. We had the same experience the other day at another store, he seemed to always want to go the opposite way that Livia and I were trying to go. He is a bit shy and clingy when he first is in a new place, but soon after, he's walking around wherever he can, exploring his world!
N. is 14 months old and half way to his 15th month. His personality has really been developing recently, and while he certainly isn't talking or even close, we can have much more significant interactions. He is understanding lots of things, which is super fun to see. When we tell him it's time to eat, he walks over to his high chair, when I tell him it's time to change his diaper, he walks with me to his room, Livia has taught him to touch his mouth when she asks where it is, he makes a "mmm" sound when we ask him what sound a cow makes, and he's very good about bringing things to us if we point and ask him to. He's also recently started putting lint or other things he finds on the carpet into the trash can, and just the other day grabbed a onesie that I didn't quite throw into the laundry basket and put it in the laundry basket.
Over the past month or so, he has completely changed his attitude towards books. For a long time, he would almost escape when I would read to him, at best he'd pay attention for a page or two and then would crawl away. But recently, he has started to love books. The first books he was really into were Baby Faces and Ten Little Fingers and Ten Little Toes. He still likes them, but he's moved on to other books as well. He's continued to like Moo, Baa, La La La, which was always one he seemed to like. Recently he's been really enjoying Where is Baby's Belly Button and Mr. Brown Can Moo, Can You?. We'll play when I get home from work, and two, three, four months ago, I would chase him around, tickle him, play hide and go seek, and that would keep him entertained. Now, he'll go and grab a book, bring it to me, make his whining sound, and if I don't sit down to read quickly enough, he'll start poking me with it. He also likes to repeat books, and if I ask to read it again, he'll make a sound that sure sounds a lot like "again." He has no problem reading the same book three, four, five times in a row. It's awesome, because I hope he'll become a great reader, and it's fun to share so many books with him and see him engaged and knowing that his little brain is moving a million miles a minute to try and learn everything.
He also loves balls, enjoys throwing them, rolling them, and playing fetch. He can amuse himself for some time just pouring his balls out of one basket into another, then into another block and back to the original basket. He's developed a pretty good throw, which has come back to bite us-in that he also throws blocks and other toys, that probably don't need to go flying around the apartment, but we'll let him have some fun.
The last thing I'll mention is that he loves being ambulatory. He is quite the proficient walker these days, and loves exploring. The other day at Trader Joe's he was doing circles around one of the smaller isles, as he had been fussing a bunch, so I got him down. Livia kept on shopping and I just followed N. around as he wandered through the aisle. We had the same experience the other day at another store, he seemed to always want to go the opposite way that Livia and I were trying to go. He is a bit shy and clingy when he first is in a new place, but soon after, he's walking around wherever he can, exploring his world!
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Fatherhood, part 7
I haven't posted in forever. No big excuses, but we have been busy, at times. Since the last time I have posted we have moved out of my parents' house, N. has grown four teeth, turned a year old, and started walking. I've started a new job, we received the shipment of all our stuff from Guayaquil, and with that, we've moved into an apartment in Arlington, VA. Livia and I celebrated a year of marriage.
Needless to say, much has happened in N.'s life, and in mine. He took a trip down to Guayaquil with Livia, and got to spend some quality time with his family there. He went to St. Louis with us for a wedding, and took a road trip to Indianapolis for Thanksgiving at my sister and brother-in-law's place. I wish that I would've blogged in the past eight months, because things happen fast. Well, they don't seem so fast when they happen, but now looking back it's like, whoa things have been happening fast.
One thing that is for sure, kids are definitely a big negative for the 'happy hour' industry. I'm in a different situation than when I last lived in the DC area, now married and a father. When I lived here before I was constantly hitting up happy hours, going to movies, some plays, joined a running club, and was always looking to fill my nights. Now, even if there are things going on, I tend to still look to fill my nights with playing with N. We have been able to get together, or host some of my friends from when I lived here before, so that's been very nice.
We've also tried to get out and see things around town, visiting lots of museums, and making frequent trips to the National Mall. That's been harder the past two months, as I don't like cold weather and Livia abhors it.
As I mentioned before, looking back, so many things have happened over the past eight months in N's life. On Christmas, or the day after, Livia and I looked through all the photos and videos we've taken of N over the past year, and wow, he has changed so much.
Thinking through all of his changes, a few things stand out. One is meal time, which has gone from him throwing almost everything on the floor and playing with his food to a very orderly experience (usually). He has a voracious appetite and over the past month or so has gotten great at putting almost all the food in his mouth. We have a sheet that we put underneath his high chair, and we used to have to shake and dump it every meal, and now we'll go days without picking it up. He has also gotten better about eating broccoli and toast, which early on the things that he wouldn't eat at all, and would throw every piece on the floor. He's a pro with his sippy cup and when he gets his little cup of Cheerios for a snack, he leaves just crumbs in the cup.
Honestly, I don't remember what stage of movement he was in back in May when I last posted, but he is now walking about like a champion. He seemed to have moved through the stages of walking incredibly quickly. He now can walk for 20, 30 or maybe more steps without falling, and can bend over, pick things up all while standing.
He's more vocal every day, and definitely understands things we say. He uses all sorts of different sounds to indicate different things. It has been wondrous to watch him grow and learn.
I wish I would've written more, and will try to do it more often, because wow is he changing quickly.
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