Jane had her 18 month pediatrician appointment today. She is doing fantastic, both physically and developmentally.
Her new stats:
Height: 35-1/2" (over 100th percentile)
Weight: 27 lbs. 1 oz. (92nd percentile)
Of course, her height is still off the charts. To put it in perspective, Noah's 18-month stats showed that he was about the same weight but more than an inch shorter! About a month ago, I started getting worried that she'd end up being 6'4" or something, so I looked up growth charts and found that it's much more likely that she'll be around 5'10". So far, she is definitely on track to reach that height. I think she may be very statuesque when she grows up.
Monday, September 12, 2011
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Ten Years Ago
Everyone remembers where they were on 9/11/01. Everyone remembers when they first heard about airplanes flying into skyscrapers. Everyone remembers the horror of seeing the images on TV--the flaming buildings; the horror of the collapses; the billowing dust and ash and debris; and ghostly humans emerging from the area covered completely in pale ash, with only their eyes gleaming a different color from their otherwise completely gray selves.
Where were you when you heard?
I was sitting in traffic on Hwy 290. On my way to class at Rice, I flipped on talk radio and heard this extraordinary report about some dramatic events in New York. At first, I thought it was just a gimmicky talk radio stunt. It took me several minutes to realize it was real. I went on to Dr. Ellenzweig's ENG 2010 class (British Literature: Chaucer to 1800) and walked in late. About half the class was at their desks, and the other latecomers were sitting on the floor near the door, so that's where I took a seat. Dr. E was asking us how we felt about the towers being hit. Although I liked and respected her, I began to urgently want to get to a news channel to see what was going on and wanted her to let us go, already. And after a few minutes, someone raised their hand and suggested just that, and she readily let us leave.
I went straight to Nathan's dorm room. He and his roommates were there on that old blue check couch, watching events unfold on TV. Shortly after I got there, one of the buildings collapsed. I felt glued to the TV in horror and watched for an hour or more, at least. I remember one specific image that was repeated over and over on the news: a businessman in a suit and tie, carrying his briefcase, completely covered in dust, wandering in a discombobulated and confused fashion. One of Nathan's roommates said, "Why do they keep showing this?" And I replied, "Because that's the perfect image of what the terrorists wanted. American capitalism confused, half destroyed, wandering in a wasteland." It was a very poignant image that is still crisply cut in my mind.
The rest of the day is a blur, but I clearly remember those two or three hours on the morning of 9/11.
On Facebook today, I asked where people were when they heard about the 9/11 attacks, and the answers were so interesting; slices of everyday life that were joltingly interrupted by major national events.
So here's another forum. I'd like to hear your story, too. If you'd like, leave a comment and recount your memory of that day ten years ago.
God bless America!
Where were you when you heard?
I was sitting in traffic on Hwy 290. On my way to class at Rice, I flipped on talk radio and heard this extraordinary report about some dramatic events in New York. At first, I thought it was just a gimmicky talk radio stunt. It took me several minutes to realize it was real. I went on to Dr. Ellenzweig's ENG 2010 class (British Literature: Chaucer to 1800) and walked in late. About half the class was at their desks, and the other latecomers were sitting on the floor near the door, so that's where I took a seat. Dr. E was asking us how we felt about the towers being hit. Although I liked and respected her, I began to urgently want to get to a news channel to see what was going on and wanted her to let us go, already. And after a few minutes, someone raised their hand and suggested just that, and she readily let us leave.
I went straight to Nathan's dorm room. He and his roommates were there on that old blue check couch, watching events unfold on TV. Shortly after I got there, one of the buildings collapsed. I felt glued to the TV in horror and watched for an hour or more, at least. I remember one specific image that was repeated over and over on the news: a businessman in a suit and tie, carrying his briefcase, completely covered in dust, wandering in a discombobulated and confused fashion. One of Nathan's roommates said, "Why do they keep showing this?" And I replied, "Because that's the perfect image of what the terrorists wanted. American capitalism confused, half destroyed, wandering in a wasteland." It was a very poignant image that is still crisply cut in my mind.
The rest of the day is a blur, but I clearly remember those two or three hours on the morning of 9/11.
On Facebook today, I asked where people were when they heard about the 9/11 attacks, and the answers were so interesting; slices of everyday life that were joltingly interrupted by major national events.
So here's another forum. I'd like to hear your story, too. If you'd like, leave a comment and recount your memory of that day ten years ago.
God bless America!
Friday, September 2, 2011
Important Lessons
Every so often, I feel a special little glow of satisfaction when I feel like I've really gotten through and taught an important lesson to Noah. I would count my parenting years as a success if I can shape his heart in a godly way. But any mother would tell you that most of your instruction tends to deal with the external, right-now issues that are happening at any given moment, and the things that tend to come out of my mouth at times like those are "Be kind," "No hitting!" "Come here," "You must obey Mommy," etc. Those are all appropriate lessons at the time, but lately I've been trying to make sure I also take the time to thoughtfully present other, deeper concepts to Noah, moving from things like gentleness, politeness, and sharing to deeper heart matters like self-control and contentment.
Lately, there have been a couple of little lessons at our house when I felt like I found a way for him to really grasp a deeper concept. One of them he got right away; the other is a work in progress.
-----
Example 1:
Yesterday, as we got in the car, Noah proudly announced, "Mommy! I told my hand, 'I'm the boss of you!'" I did not know what he was talking about at first. But then I remembered a conversation from the day before when I told him to say just that.
You see, Noah has a problem with sticking his finger into . . . well, an orifice in his face. Ha! I don't know how to say it nicely. But you know what I mean. It's a yucky habit. And we've talked about that a lot. Finally, instead of saying, "Stop picking" for the four thousandth time, I said, "Noah, the next time you see your hand coming up to your face, you just look at your hand and say, 'No, hand! I'm the boss of you, hand! You can't do that!' Because you are in control of your hand, Noah, and you can make it do what you want. That's called self-control." So we joked about it a little and practiced saying, "I'm the boss of you, hand!"
And, shockingly, it worked! Now, I know that instruction is always going to work better with Noah if he is 1.) cajoled into it or 2.) feels some ownership of it, but I am just not always creative enough to come up with a way to teach him every last issue with those things in mind. But this "I'm the boss of you" business really hit the nail on the head for him. I hope it sticks, because self-control is a major issue for anyone, but especially a three year old!
-----
Example 2:
There have been a few times lately when Noah has gotten very upset because he couldn't have something. Today, for example, he got upset while we were driving because I told him that, no, we could not stop and get some chicken nuggets. Or sometimes he'll be sad that it's getting dark and it's too late to go to the park. Then there's the ubiquitous toddler/preschooler experience of wanting the toy that the other kid has. And sometimes he gets upset because he didn't get more of something that was a surprise, anyway. For example, if he gets a handful of M&M's as a special surprise, you can bet that he will complain that I won't give him more once he has eaten all he's got. So one day, I got fed up with it and said, "Noah, if you can learn to be happy with what you've got, you'll be a lot smarter than a lot of grown-ups." And, y'all, you know that is the truth!
So far, this lesson hasn't really stuck. But considering that I'm not always content with what I've got, I am not expecting really high marks on this issue from a three year old. And, yes, I know that what I said was born out of exasperation and doesn't really espouse the "ownership" and "cajoling" concepts I mentioned earlier, so this lesson probably needs some work. But I do have to tell you that as a little girl, I probably would have totally jumped on anything that made me smarter than a grown-up, so if Noah is anything like me (and he definitely is), then it might click for him in the end, after all.
-----
So, all you parents out there, I'd love to hear from you. Have you found a way to explain a deep concept to your kids that was successful? Do you have a turn of phrase that seems to click with them? Or have you thought of a lesson that taught them something important? Or, to both the parent and the non-parent readers--do you remember a lesson that clicked for you when your parents did a certain thing or said it a certain way? I'm interested in what you all have to say.
Lately, there have been a couple of little lessons at our house when I felt like I found a way for him to really grasp a deeper concept. One of them he got right away; the other is a work in progress.
-----
Example 1:
Yesterday, as we got in the car, Noah proudly announced, "Mommy! I told my hand, 'I'm the boss of you!'" I did not know what he was talking about at first. But then I remembered a conversation from the day before when I told him to say just that.
You see, Noah has a problem with sticking his finger into . . . well, an orifice in his face. Ha! I don't know how to say it nicely. But you know what I mean. It's a yucky habit. And we've talked about that a lot. Finally, instead of saying, "Stop picking" for the four thousandth time, I said, "Noah, the next time you see your hand coming up to your face, you just look at your hand and say, 'No, hand! I'm the boss of you, hand! You can't do that!' Because you are in control of your hand, Noah, and you can make it do what you want. That's called self-control." So we joked about it a little and practiced saying, "I'm the boss of you, hand!"
And, shockingly, it worked! Now, I know that instruction is always going to work better with Noah if he is 1.) cajoled into it or 2.) feels some ownership of it, but I am just not always creative enough to come up with a way to teach him every last issue with those things in mind. But this "I'm the boss of you" business really hit the nail on the head for him. I hope it sticks, because self-control is a major issue for anyone, but especially a three year old!
-----
Example 2:
There have been a few times lately when Noah has gotten very upset because he couldn't have something. Today, for example, he got upset while we were driving because I told him that, no, we could not stop and get some chicken nuggets. Or sometimes he'll be sad that it's getting dark and it's too late to go to the park. Then there's the ubiquitous toddler/preschooler experience of wanting the toy that the other kid has. And sometimes he gets upset because he didn't get more of something that was a surprise, anyway. For example, if he gets a handful of M&M's as a special surprise, you can bet that he will complain that I won't give him more once he has eaten all he's got. So one day, I got fed up with it and said, "Noah, if you can learn to be happy with what you've got, you'll be a lot smarter than a lot of grown-ups." And, y'all, you know that is the truth!
So far, this lesson hasn't really stuck. But considering that I'm not always content with what I've got, I am not expecting really high marks on this issue from a three year old. And, yes, I know that what I said was born out of exasperation and doesn't really espouse the "ownership" and "cajoling" concepts I mentioned earlier, so this lesson probably needs some work. But I do have to tell you that as a little girl, I probably would have totally jumped on anything that made me smarter than a grown-up, so if Noah is anything like me (and he definitely is), then it might click for him in the end, after all.
-----
So, all you parents out there, I'd love to hear from you. Have you found a way to explain a deep concept to your kids that was successful? Do you have a turn of phrase that seems to click with them? Or have you thought of a lesson that taught them something important? Or, to both the parent and the non-parent readers--do you remember a lesson that clicked for you when your parents did a certain thing or said it a certain way? I'm interested in what you all have to say.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
109
Well, y'all, it has been hot here in Texas. (Not that this is a shocking statement, since anyone who reads this blog either lives here or generally watches the news.) We're in a severe drought, and the dryness and heat are perpetuating one another, which means it is just getting hotter and hotter.
It had dripped right off.
It's August--the hottest month, anyway--and it has come on full force. We set a record last Saturday: the high was 109F. The last time it was that hot was during the first week of classes at Rice in 2000. Nathan's roommate had skipped breakfast, given blood that morning, and walked clear across campus to our college for lunch, then fainted in the lunch line and knocked his head on a table on the way down. For as long as I've known him, he has always been in good shape, but even he couldn't hold up to being out in that heat after skipping breakfast and giving blood.
Every place in Texas is hot, but I think good old Wichita Falls (near the Oklahoma border) set a major record with the number of triple-digit days they had in a row--I don't know how many it's been now, but I do know that as of mid-August, it was at least 80. I watched a little clip of their local forecast, and the meteorologist said that when all is said and done, their average daily temperature for the entire summer will probably be around 105.5F. Excuse me?! That is nuts! That's the worst account of heat I've heard, but other Texas cities have had it bad, too: Dallas had at least 40 consecutive triple-digit days, and Houston has beaten its previous record with 24. Given that 30 of the 31 days this month alone were 100+, Houston has also easily set (and continues to add to) a record total number of triple-digit days. This is the worst one-year drought on record for Houston. My garden didn't really stand a chance.
You know what's funny, though? For a girl who does not like the heat, I've been doing okay. In fact, I was out running errands the other day when it was 109, and I didn't know it was that hot. Sure, walking out of Target feels like walking into an oven, but it is actually not as oppressive as most summers in Houston. I was about to start thinking that perhaps some elemental change had happened to me (I've always abhorred August in Houston) when I realized that the reason it feels a little more bearable is because it's not humid.
And there you have it. The Upside.
My car thermometer on Sunday:
A ridiculous happenstance: the rubber on the handle that you grip when you open the back of our minivan has been getting softer and softer in the heat this summer. The other day, I walked out to the car and saw this:
It had dripped right off.
It's August--the hottest month, anyway--and it has come on full force. We set a record last Saturday: the high was 109F. The last time it was that hot was during the first week of classes at Rice in 2000. Nathan's roommate had skipped breakfast, given blood that morning, and walked clear across campus to our college for lunch, then fainted in the lunch line and knocked his head on a table on the way down. For as long as I've known him, he has always been in good shape, but even he couldn't hold up to being out in that heat after skipping breakfast and giving blood.
Every place in Texas is hot, but I think good old Wichita Falls (near the Oklahoma border) set a major record with the number of triple-digit days they had in a row--I don't know how many it's been now, but I do know that as of mid-August, it was at least 80. I watched a little clip of their local forecast, and the meteorologist said that when all is said and done, their average daily temperature for the entire summer will probably be around 105.5F. Excuse me?! That is nuts! That's the worst account of heat I've heard, but other Texas cities have had it bad, too: Dallas had at least 40 consecutive triple-digit days, and Houston has beaten its previous record with 24. Given that 30 of the 31 days this month alone were 100+, Houston has also easily set (and continues to add to) a record total number of triple-digit days. This is the worst one-year drought on record for Houston. My garden didn't really stand a chance.
You know what's funny, though? For a girl who does not like the heat, I've been doing okay. In fact, I was out running errands the other day when it was 109, and I didn't know it was that hot. Sure, walking out of Target feels like walking into an oven, but it is actually not as oppressive as most summers in Houston. I was about to start thinking that perhaps some elemental change had happened to me (I've always abhorred August in Houston) when I realized that the reason it feels a little more bearable is because it's not humid.
And there you have it. The Upside.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Jane Lately
Oh my. Dearest Jane. She is a handful these days. We are experiencing a burst of curiosity and exploration from this girl, and it is leading her into some interesting territory. And by "interesting," I really mean "dangerous," "annoying," and "messy."
For example, before 9am yesterday, the girl had found the drawer where I keep the crayons and colored on one of the dining room chairs, dragged an open bag of flour halfway across the house, and climbed one level up on the pantry shelves and was hanging precariously until I rescued her. And she was delighted with each transgression. This morning, she dumped out a bag of pasta onto the pantry floor (the pantry, by the way, is her favorite room), pulled out the stickers and made extensive use of them, pulled all the spoons out of the silverware drawer and dumped them all on the floor, and did some beautiful artwork on her legs with a marker that Nathan and I thought was out of reach--and almost all of that was accomplished while I was in the shower.
I would just like to take a moment to point out that my active little boy never did these things. Only my sweet little girl.
She is still a girly girl, though. She loves dresses, shoes, purses, and jewelry. She still loves to give kisses, and her teddy bear is always by her side in bed and just after she wakes up.
As I discovered (and should have known beforehand), a bath does not get Vaseline out of hair, because Vaseline is not water soluble. It took a couple of days for it to work itself out.
For example, before 9am yesterday, the girl had found the drawer where I keep the crayons and colored on one of the dining room chairs, dragged an open bag of flour halfway across the house, and climbed one level up on the pantry shelves and was hanging precariously until I rescued her. And she was delighted with each transgression. This morning, she dumped out a bag of pasta onto the pantry floor (the pantry, by the way, is her favorite room), pulled out the stickers and made extensive use of them, pulled all the spoons out of the silverware drawer and dumped them all on the floor, and did some beautiful artwork on her legs with a marker that Nathan and I thought was out of reach--and almost all of that was accomplished while I was in the shower.
I would just like to take a moment to point out that my active little boy never did these things. Only my sweet little girl.
She is still a girly girl, though. She loves dresses, shoes, purses, and jewelry. She still loves to give kisses, and her teddy bear is always by her side in bed and just after she wakes up.
Here are two pictures of the Vaseline Incident, which occurred about a week ago. She rubbed half a jar of Vaseline into her hair.
As I discovered (and should have known beforehand), a bath does not get Vaseline out of hair, because Vaseline is not water soluble. It took a couple of days for it to work itself out.
Janey loves stickers.
A trip to the snow cone stand.
Jane's new camera smile.
Another exhibition of the camera smile.
Did you see my bow? I just now have enough hair for one!
We love that Jane Elisabeth, but she sure is a handful these days!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Noah Lately
Some things Noah has said over the last couple of days:
He is still hilarious and highly energetic. He is entirely potty trained, but he still tries to get some of the old rewards out of it. At the moment, he is trying to get me to take him to go get a donut. He is the slowest eater in the family and is consistently left at the table with two thirds of his dinner left after the rest of us have gotten up. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he is easily distracted during meal times, but the truth is that he has always been a very slow eater. He loves Curious George and Phineas & Ferb. And he loves movies, which he has started narrating all the way through as he watches them--I think it's that toddler/preschooler fondness for reiterating familiar stories. Lately, he has discovered an intense fascination with Play Doh, which is wonderful. I like that we have finally found something that captures his attention for more than ten minutes at a time.
Silliness!
We sure do love that Noah Thomas!
- "Look! A water mountain!" (fountain)
- "Noah, did you get a haircut?" "No, not this year."
- To me: "You a Momster!"
- To no one in particular: "Hey! Get out of my mind!"
He is still hilarious and highly energetic. He is entirely potty trained, but he still tries to get some of the old rewards out of it. At the moment, he is trying to get me to take him to go get a donut. He is the slowest eater in the family and is consistently left at the table with two thirds of his dinner left after the rest of us have gotten up. A lot of it has to do with the fact that he is easily distracted during meal times, but the truth is that he has always been a very slow eater. He loves Curious George and Phineas & Ferb. And he loves movies, which he has started narrating all the way through as he watches them--I think it's that toddler/preschooler fondness for reiterating familiar stories. Lately, he has discovered an intense fascination with Play Doh, which is wonderful. I like that we have finally found something that captures his attention for more than ten minutes at a time.
And he is ever a ham!
Here he is standing like a flamingo, making a . . . flamingo face?
Here he is standing like a flamingo, making a . . . flamingo face?
Silliness!
We sure do love that Noah Thomas!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)