Monthly Archives: August 2011

My Two Year Old Eats Octopus

Right around Sam’s first birthday, my friend Nicole recommended that I read My Two Year Old Eats Octopus. I loved it! It is all about picky eaters and what you as a parent can do to raise a “foodie.” It is a super interesting read. I loved the section on what babies eat in other countries (Gerber makes mango baby food in Mexico!) and the anecdotes and tips from professional chefs. At this age, Sam will not eat everything but he is usually pretty adventurous and we have been encouraged to keep offering him different foods, even if he doesn’t like them the first time. The other night we ordered roasted Brussels sprouts while we were out to eat. When they arrived Sam started shouting with excitement, “Brussels sprouts!!” I think our waiter was pretty surprised!

Anyway, after researching the author, Nancy Tringali Piho, I learned that she lives in the DC area! On a whim, I asked her if she would be willing to come speak at our MOMS club and she agreed! In fact, she even used to live in our neighborhood! We had a great turnout and a lively discussion. It was such a treat to get to meet her. She was an amazing speaker and it was so great to be able to ask her questions. I recommend that any of y’all with kids get this book right away. You’ll love it! And be sure to check out her blog too! http://mytwoyearoldeatsoctopus.wordpress.com/

IMG_2242

IMG_2244

IMG_2243

22 Months

Note: I would just like to say that I actually had this post done a few days ago but we were having technical difficulties loading the pictures. Luckily my IT guy worked on it all night and got it fixed!

 

I cannot believe my little baby is going to be two in just two months!! He is growing up sooo fast and we have just loved getting to see more and more of his personality. Here is what he is up to:

Physical

  • Can walk on his tiptoes.
  • Can jump. Sam can actually get off the ground with both feet at the same time.
  • Runs everywhere,
  • Can climb onto the couch.
  • Can get himself onto the little rocking toys at the playground
  • Still very cautious and tests new moves out a few times before attempting them on his own.

IMG_20110613_102456

IMG_20110725_115517

 

IMG_20110723_204552

 

Language

  • Becoming SO much easier to understand.
  • Can’t really make /k/, /r/ or /l/ sounds and says /sh/ for /s/.
  • Repeats anything and everything he hears.
  • Creates  original “sentences” (e.g. “all done mommy’s car” which means he’s ready to get out of the car!).
  • Has strung as many as 4 words together but usually uses 2-3 word sentences.
  • My absolute favorite sentence: I love you, Mommy (pronounced more like “Aw wuva mommy”).

IMG_0105

 

Cognitive

  • Obsessed with all things that go: airplanes, helicopters, bulldozers, tow trucks, big rigs, buses, etc.
  • Likes to read but has been more into physical activities lately.
  • Just learned to sort objects by color and is starting to learn the words for different colors.
  • Really likes pretending. His favorite trick is to put a bag on his shoulder and say “Bye bye, Mommy!” But he also likes to pretend almost anything is an airplane or dump truck (especially pieces of food).

IMG_0107

IMG_9657

 

Behavior

  • Wow! We are really reaching the terrible twos! Sam loves to test us and often repeats “naughty” behavior while looking right in our eyes to make sure we’ve noticed.
  • We have started doing some time-outs when appropriate. We are kind of using “Love and Logic” which basically means we always stay calm (don’t raise our voice) but try to stay consistent in giving consequences. Right now timeouts are on my lap and last about 30 seconds. Sam often does the exact same behavior once or twice right after his time-out to test us but usually stops after that.
  • Of course Sam’s behavior  isn’t all bad these days!! He loves to give us, and Henry, kisses and hugs which is pretty much the sweetest thing ever!
  • Sam is a little shy and clams up a little when meeting new people or when in a big group of people. But other times he can be a real flirt.

IMG_0101

IMG_20110610_093538

 

Sleeping and Eating

  • Naps from 1 to 3 or 4 (usually closer to 4)
  • Sleeps at night from 8:30 p.m. to 8 or 8:30 a.m.
  • Sleeps in a sleepsack while holding his smaller sleepsack that doesn’t fit him anymore. Somewhere along the way it became his lovey.
  • Sam still loves food! Ben and I always joke that about 10 bites into any meal Sam’s mood visibly improves and he gets so goofy.
  • Sam’s favorite food right now is ice cream and he talks about it constantly. In fact, as soon as we walked into Jason’s Deli today he started shouting “ice cream!!” I guess he knows the routine! He also loves bread and all fruits (current favorites are grapes and melon).

IMG_20110611_192136

IMG_20110720_193016

IMG_0113

Sam has an announcement!

Well, two announcements: 1-He is going to be a big brother and 2-He drools a lot!

But assuming most of you are more interested in the first announcement, here are all the details (I am borrowing some FAQs from my friend Merritt):

When are you due? February 8th

How far along are you? 13 weeks on Wednesday

How far apart in age will the two be? I got this question at the store on Friday!! A little presumptuous I thought since I don’t really look that pregnant yet! But in any case, they will be 2 years and 4 months apart

How are you feeling? Not that bad! I am a little tired but I think I am clearing the morning sickness stage. It hit me hard early on but has since tapered off.

Are you moving? Not unless we win the lottery, which will be difficult since we don’t play. We will have to figure out how to squeeze two kids into a tiny little room, at least for a few years.

Does Sam know? Not really. I have been telling him there is a baby in my tummy but I think he finds this more confusing that anything else.

Will you find out the gender? Of course! I can’t imagine not knowing ahead of time. We have to wait until 20 weeks, which will be sometime in mid September.

Do you have any ideas about what it is? I think it is a boy. But of course, it is really hard for me to picture it being anything else. I kind of just keep picturing Sam in there! I actually took this new test called Intelligender. It is a pee-in-a-cup test that you can buy at the drug store. It has only  been on the market for a couple of years and is still patent pending. According to them, it is 90% effective when done right. It says I am having a boy. But after I took the test I looked it up online and almost everyone said it was about as accurate as flipping a coin. We’ll see!

Do you want a boy or a girl? I want a healthy baby! I would LOVE to have a girl at some point, but we plan to have more kids so I am really happy with a boy or a girl at this point. A girl would be fun (something new) but I also think it would be really fun for Sam to have a brother.

Are you having any cravings? Yes! I am thirsty all the time (not sure that really counts as a craving). And I am really craving tomatoes with salt, pickles, and minestrone soup!

Any other questions?