If you recall, I mentioned previously that B-Boy's teacher has worked in the daycare at my work for over 20 years. We all thought she had already seen it all.
She told me last week that B-Boy has broken some records in the room. Some I had thought, but others were a surprise.
First, a few weeks ago, B-Boy started pulling tissues out of the tissue box at school. You must understand why this is impressive... the box is attached to the wall, about the height of chair rail. His teacher said this is the first time a child has messed with the tissues. They had to turn the box sideways to deter him from messing with it.
Six months ago, I asked his teachers if they have ever had a child outgrow the cribs. "Oh no!" they said, "The cribs are large, and they have plenty of room. Most of them end up sleeping with their legs tucked under." Well, last week his teacher informed me that B-Boy is close to outgrowing the crib. She said you can BARELY fit your hand between his foot and the crib. And that is with his head touching the other side of the crib. CRAZY.
This week I went and bought B-Boy a good pair of shoes. Up to this point, I had been getting them at Target.knowing that since he wasn't walking, they were just there to get him used to wearing them. But now that he is walking, proper shoes are needed. We went to the Stride Rite store and they measured B-Boy's feet. And his shoe size broke another record for the teacher... he is now a SIX and a HALF!!!! We left with a cute pair, with sturdy, flexible soles. Now B-Boy can go out an play on the playground with the other kids in the next classroom.
I am sure there are other records, but that is all I can think of for now!
Saturday, November 20, 2010
More learning opportunities
B-Boy is learning stuff like crazy! I thought I would take a moment to update you on his progress.
I noticed that B-Boy turns his face away from the sun in the car. I am not sure when he learned that he could control that, but it is fun to watch him move his head around until the sun is not blinding him. He hates that.
He also has mastered getting in and out of his chair... you know the little red one he loves so much? He pulls himself into it now, and can also get out of it. He is mastering more and more things that HE wants to do, which is fun to watch.
He is also mimicking us more now, showing his awareness of others. We took him for a walk on Halloween, and I used his Sun-ray hat (which was just foam I cut out into a hat) to put my face through the hole. When I handed it to him, he started putting his head through the hole, giggling the entire time at his cleverness.
And then there was the day he climbed the stairs. Yep, all the way to the top! I stood at the top and Neb was behind him supervising... And just like that, he climbed up to the top. And then took off down the hall to get something fun from his room. We normally have the baby gate to restrict him going up, but thought we would see how far he would go... neither Neb nor myself believed he would go higher than halfway!
He is also walking more, we counted 22 steps taken yesterday. Baby boy is standing more on his own and wants to walk! He is doing it more and more, and doesn't seem to mind when his bottom hits the ground. Good thing, because it happens quite a bit!
B-Boy starts his new class on November 29th. He has been visiting for the last week, and we believe that playing with the bigger kids has him motivated to do more than before! We are hoping the transition goes well and will keep you posted.
I noticed that B-Boy turns his face away from the sun in the car. I am not sure when he learned that he could control that, but it is fun to watch him move his head around until the sun is not blinding him. He hates that.
He also has mastered getting in and out of his chair... you know the little red one he loves so much? He pulls himself into it now, and can also get out of it. He is mastering more and more things that HE wants to do, which is fun to watch.
He is also mimicking us more now, showing his awareness of others. We took him for a walk on Halloween, and I used his Sun-ray hat (which was just foam I cut out into a hat) to put my face through the hole. When I handed it to him, he started putting his head through the hole, giggling the entire time at his cleverness.
And then there was the day he climbed the stairs. Yep, all the way to the top! I stood at the top and Neb was behind him supervising... And just like that, he climbed up to the top. And then took off down the hall to get something fun from his room. We normally have the baby gate to restrict him going up, but thought we would see how far he would go... neither Neb nor myself believed he would go higher than halfway!
He is also walking more, we counted 22 steps taken yesterday. Baby boy is standing more on his own and wants to walk! He is doing it more and more, and doesn't seem to mind when his bottom hits the ground. Good thing, because it happens quite a bit!
B-Boy starts his new class on November 29th. He has been visiting for the last week, and we believe that playing with the bigger kids has him motivated to do more than before! We are hoping the transition goes well and will keep you posted.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Going to Baltimore
My last conference for the year is in Baltimore this week. Since I have been sick, I decided to drive. Also, my family is originally from Baltimore, so I thought there might be things I would want to do, and having a car would help me do that!
The drive was beautiful, all the trees were in spectacular color... reds, yellows and oranges dotted with an occasional green tree was a fantastic site to see! As I entered Washington, DC I was reminded of several things.
First, I saw the National Monument and the Capital from the Woodrow Wilson bridge. The sight of the Monument made me giggle, because when I was a kid my sister and I always referred to it as the big crayon. (Although it looks more like a white pencil... but who's counting?)
My Dad used to take us to DC when we were little. He loves history, and would take us to the Smithsonian. We used to love playing on the giant dinosaurs out front, stare at the GIANT blue whale hanging from the ceiling in the blue room, and to use the phone in front of the big mammoth in the entrance way.
Sadly, the dinosaurs were removed after a child fell and his father (who was a lawyer) got involved. They are now housed in the dinosaur exhibit, which is much less fun. The Mammoth is gone too, but I don't know why. The whale remains, as big as ever. There was always something cool to see at the Smithsonian.
But back to the story.
My attention was drawn to the other side of the bridge... to the newly developed National Harbor. My company's largest conference was held there in the spring of 2009, and it was the last time I drove that road. What is significant with that? I was almost 3 months pregnant with B-Boy!
Many memories of that trip came to mind, like all the food I loaded in the cooler to be sure I could have enough to eat without drawing too much attention. (We hadn't told folks yet that we were expecting!) Or the fire alarm that went off at 4am... and not being able to go back to sleep afterward! It was really neat to shift from thinking about my childhood to a time right before B-Boy arrived, to now, where he is 13 months old!
I arrived in Baltimore with little fanfare, and was shocked to see how much the Inner Harbor has changed since I was a child. But more on that later!
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
A new meaning of GA!
I mentioned in a post last month, B-Boy uses GA! quite a bit.
He would hand his pacifier to us and declare GA! which we assumed meant "I would like you to have this, but don't go to far because I want it right back!" I talked to his teachers about it, and they remarked that they hadn't noticed. Since then, they say he says GA! all the time.
Which is great, only I think that I had the meaning wrong.
This week, B-Boy started waving Bye-Bye. We have been working on it for awhile, but he is finally getting the concept of waving. I was leaving daycare with him the other day, and his teacher stopped to chat. As we parted, I said "Bye-Bye" in a singsong voice. His teacher waved, and he started waving back!!!
I took him home, and showed Neb, who was as amazed and excited as I was when B-Boy started waving. He has done it more and more since then (it's now our favorite trick), but has coupled it with an enthusiastic GA! His wave is usually a bit delayed, but if you wave and say GA! he waves immediately.
Which I hope does not mean, I am done with you... Thanks! Bye-Bye! Because the more I think about it, the more that makes sense. I hope I am thinking to much about this... because the last thing he said before he went to sleep was GA!
He would hand his pacifier to us and declare GA! which we assumed meant "I would like you to have this, but don't go to far because I want it right back!" I talked to his teachers about it, and they remarked that they hadn't noticed. Since then, they say he says GA! all the time.
Which is great, only I think that I had the meaning wrong.
This week, B-Boy started waving Bye-Bye. We have been working on it for awhile, but he is finally getting the concept of waving. I was leaving daycare with him the other day, and his teacher stopped to chat. As we parted, I said "Bye-Bye" in a singsong voice. His teacher waved, and he started waving back!!!
I took him home, and showed Neb, who was as amazed and excited as I was when B-Boy started waving. He has done it more and more since then (it's now our favorite trick), but has coupled it with an enthusiastic GA! His wave is usually a bit delayed, but if you wave and say GA! he waves immediately.
Which I hope does not mean, I am done with you... Thanks! Bye-Bye! Because the more I think about it, the more that makes sense. I hope I am thinking to much about this... because the last thing he said before he went to sleep was GA!
B-Boy is moving up!
I picked up B-Boy from daycare yesterday. One of his teachers greeted me and told me that we finally have a date for B-Boy to move to the next class.
I already knew he was at the top of the list. His class is meant for infants, and B-Boy is so much a toddler that it is not funny. He is the only boy in the class now, and L-Girl (who is three weeks older than he is) is moving up on the 15th of this month. We have known this for awhile, but have not had any word on when B-Boy would move up.
So I was really surprised to hear we had a date. He is moving up just after Thanksgiving... to the same room that KidN' is in! YAY! So he will be reunited with one of his buddies, and I hear the teacher is wonderful! He already visited the room when KidN' would visit (they don't take them cold turkey, but rather take them up there for a few hours to get used to it). So he has been in the room, has seen the teachers, and has a known friend who he has played with for 10 months.
I am really excited, because he would do well to be around the bigger kids. And, his poor teachers have a real challenge keeping the infants content, and balancing B-Boy with that. I don't know how they do it.
As excited as I am for him to be exposed to new things, I am really sad to have to say goodbye to his teachers. They have become extended family. I can ask them anything, and they give me such great (and non-judgmental) advice. They might look at some of the food I send in as strange, but they have always given it to him enthusiastically.
They love our little boy something fierce. We all will miss them terribly. But the good news is that I can always take them back for a visit... which they made me promise.
I already knew he was at the top of the list. His class is meant for infants, and B-Boy is so much a toddler that it is not funny. He is the only boy in the class now, and L-Girl (who is three weeks older than he is) is moving up on the 15th of this month. We have known this for awhile, but have not had any word on when B-Boy would move up.
So I was really surprised to hear we had a date. He is moving up just after Thanksgiving... to the same room that KidN' is in! YAY! So he will be reunited with one of his buddies, and I hear the teacher is wonderful! He already visited the room when KidN' would visit (they don't take them cold turkey, but rather take them up there for a few hours to get used to it). So he has been in the room, has seen the teachers, and has a known friend who he has played with for 10 months.
I am really excited, because he would do well to be around the bigger kids. And, his poor teachers have a real challenge keeping the infants content, and balancing B-Boy with that. I don't know how they do it.
As excited as I am for him to be exposed to new things, I am really sad to have to say goodbye to his teachers. They have become extended family. I can ask them anything, and they give me such great (and non-judgmental) advice. They might look at some of the food I send in as strange, but they have always given it to him enthusiastically.
They love our little boy something fierce. We all will miss them terribly. But the good news is that I can always take them back for a visit... which they made me promise.
Neb's Watch
When Neb committed to run in the half-marathon, he was looking for a cool new toy to help him.
That's Neb. The first thing he bought when we found out about B-Boy was a high-tech video monitor, one that could have up to 8 cameras. And it displayed in color, with infra-red technology to see at night, and yes, with the capability to be shown on our TV downstairs. He loves gadgets, and if it helps him get excited about something important, then I am all for it. (Just don't ask me how much the video thingy cost!)
So he found this watch, that had a GPS monitor in it, that would track how far and fast Neb ran. Pretty neat, especially when he was out in California with no knowledge of how far things were. Neb was sure to strap his watch on before the race and to set it as he ran past the starting line.
On Monday, he sent me an email with the data pulled from the watch. You can see the route he ran, the changes in elevation (in green), and his pace (in blue). I thought it was pretty cool, and wanted to share it with you. You can click on it to see it larger.
Did I mention how proud of him I am? The gadget must have worked, because now he is talking about doing another one in February! B-Boy and his shirt will be ready. I hope Neb is!
That's Neb. The first thing he bought when we found out about B-Boy was a high-tech video monitor, one that could have up to 8 cameras. And it displayed in color, with infra-red technology to see at night, and yes, with the capability to be shown on our TV downstairs. He loves gadgets, and if it helps him get excited about something important, then I am all for it. (Just don't ask me how much the video thingy cost!)
So he found this watch, that had a GPS monitor in it, that would track how far and fast Neb ran. Pretty neat, especially when he was out in California with no knowledge of how far things were. Neb was sure to strap his watch on before the race and to set it as he ran past the starting line.
On Monday, he sent me an email with the data pulled from the watch. You can see the route he ran, the changes in elevation (in green), and his pace (in blue). I thought it was pretty cool, and wanted to share it with you. You can click on it to see it larger.
And a more detailed view:
Did I mention how proud of him I am? The gadget must have worked, because now he is talking about doing another one in February! B-Boy and his shirt will be ready. I hope Neb is!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
An Early Morning with a Purpose
Thank goodness for the time change, seriously.
This morning came early, but thankfully because today was the time change to sleep an extra hour, it didn't come as early as it could. You see, we were up at 5am to go to something quite special. (And, no, it was not a sale!)
B-Boy even wore a special turtleneck shirt to mark the occasion. His shirt said:
Today, Neb ran in his first half marathon. Today was the City of Oaks marathon in Raleigh, and Neb committed over the summer to run in the half one. He lost about 45 pounds in the process, and ended up having to stop training a month ago. He got a bad case of planters factitious and was unable to run for the last month. So, you can understand that he was a little nervous about running 13.1 miles!!!
It started at NC State's extension campus, headed toward downtown before turning back to the State Fairgrounds. We got there about a half an hour before the race began, and Neb quickly got his stuff ready, like his mp3 player, his Gu (a really gross energy gel), his gloves and head-wrap. It was really cold (about 32 degrees when we arrived) and so those last two items were very important!
While Neb went to concentrate on the race, I got B-Boy out of the car so he could go cheer on his Daddy. Thankfully, MacFamily had given B-Boy a new coat set for his birthday, which came in handy. He had on the fleece undervest, the coat, mittens and hat. I put a blanket over his lap and feet, but in true B-Boy fashion, he kept kicking it off. (Which is exactly what he did as a little baby, he always hated having his feet constricted...) I put him in the stroller, tried to suppress a giggle, and took a photo for you. He reminds me of the kid from the movie The Christmas Story, you know, the one in the coat?
The start was very exciting- the announcer kept telling us how many minutes until the start of the race over the loudspeaker. And then, it was time to start! The runners lined up, the gun went off, and the race began! I had no idea where in the pack that Neb was, so I just kept clicking my camera whenever I saw someone in bright lime green. And then, THERE HE WAS!!!
After Neb ran by, we headed back to the car. B-Boy sang most of the way back, which made me feel better about the fact that it was so cold- he was happy. I then took him to the bagel place to warm up, and to eat some more breakfast!
B-Boy did so good eating there, and I am not sure who loves buttered Egg bagels more, B-Boy or his Daddy. Lots of people were there and asked about his nifty shirt.
After we ate, I headed out to see if I could get around the road closures to find a spot to cheer on Neb. Sadly, I had just parked when Neb went by- he saw us, but we missed him. I didn't know that at the time, so we ended up standing on the side of the road cheering folks on until I figured we missed him and headed to the finish line. (It was hard to know how fast he would go with an injured foot, and without being able to run for the last month!) It felt good to cheer for folks I did not know, they seemed to appreciate the support. We will have to do that again!
The temperature had also warmed up a bit, so B-Boy got a bit more room as the coat was replaced with a fleece jacket. But I am getting off track- back to Neb's race.
We once again just missed Neb at the finish line by MINUTES. Why? I honestly didn't think he would keep the pace he did! He finished the race in under 2 hours and 30 minutes!!! CRAZY! His pace was just over an 11 minute mile, which I think is remarkable. B-Boy wasn't sure what to make of his lime-green Daddy, but the photo is priceless.
I am so very proud of Neb. I never would have thought he would do something like this. And he killed it. (We are thankful it didn't kill him!) So you can understand why we weren't too upset about getting up so early- Daddy did it!
This morning came early, but thankfully because today was the time change to sleep an extra hour, it didn't come as early as it could. You see, we were up at 5am to go to something quite special. (And, no, it was not a sale!)
B-Boy even wore a special turtleneck shirt to mark the occasion. His shirt said:
Today, Neb ran in his first half marathon. Today was the City of Oaks marathon in Raleigh, and Neb committed over the summer to run in the half one. He lost about 45 pounds in the process, and ended up having to stop training a month ago. He got a bad case of planters factitious and was unable to run for the last month. So, you can understand that he was a little nervous about running 13.1 miles!!!
It started at NC State's extension campus, headed toward downtown before turning back to the State Fairgrounds. We got there about a half an hour before the race began, and Neb quickly got his stuff ready, like his mp3 player, his Gu (a really gross energy gel), his gloves and head-wrap. It was really cold (about 32 degrees when we arrived) and so those last two items were very important!
While Neb went to concentrate on the race, I got B-Boy out of the car so he could go cheer on his Daddy. Thankfully, MacFamily had given B-Boy a new coat set for his birthday, which came in handy. He had on the fleece undervest, the coat, mittens and hat. I put a blanket over his lap and feet, but in true B-Boy fashion, he kept kicking it off. (Which is exactly what he did as a little baby, he always hated having his feet constricted...) I put him in the stroller, tried to suppress a giggle, and took a photo for you. He reminds me of the kid from the movie The Christmas Story, you know, the one in the coat?
I can't move my arms!
The start was very exciting- the announcer kept telling us how many minutes until the start of the race over the loudspeaker. And then, it was time to start! The runners lined up, the gun went off, and the race began! I had no idea where in the pack that Neb was, so I just kept clicking my camera whenever I saw someone in bright lime green. And then, THERE HE WAS!!!
Hi Daddy, go Daddy!
After Neb ran by, we headed back to the car. B-Boy sang most of the way back, which made me feel better about the fact that it was so cold- he was happy. I then took him to the bagel place to warm up, and to eat some more breakfast!
B-Boy did so good eating there, and I am not sure who loves buttered Egg bagels more, B-Boy or his Daddy. Lots of people were there and asked about his nifty shirt.
Mmmm... I like Egg Bagels!
After we ate, I headed out to see if I could get around the road closures to find a spot to cheer on Neb. Sadly, I had just parked when Neb went by- he saw us, but we missed him. I didn't know that at the time, so we ended up standing on the side of the road cheering folks on until I figured we missed him and headed to the finish line. (It was hard to know how fast he would go with an injured foot, and without being able to run for the last month!) It felt good to cheer for folks I did not know, they seemed to appreciate the support. We will have to do that again!
The temperature had also warmed up a bit, so B-Boy got a bit more room as the coat was replaced with a fleece jacket. But I am getting off track- back to Neb's race.
Mommy, where is Daddy?
We once again just missed Neb at the finish line by MINUTES. Why? I honestly didn't think he would keep the pace he did! He finished the race in under 2 hours and 30 minutes!!! CRAZY! His pace was just over an 11 minute mile, which I think is remarkable. B-Boy wasn't sure what to make of his lime-green Daddy, but the photo is priceless.
Hey, look what I got!
Mommy, distract Daddy, I want that shiny thing!
I am so very proud of Neb. I never would have thought he would do something like this. And he killed it. (We are thankful it didn't kill him!) So you can understand why we weren't too upset about getting up so early- Daddy did it!
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