the OTHER mother

Carrie Paints

PLAY Power

Carrie has had pneumonia (again!) all week, and she refuses to take her antibiotics.  She is improving, according to Dr. Alex, but it's been a long week. We've watched too much television in Grrrlville.
Nevertheless I've been exciting to hear and read these great news stories about the power of creative play. 

Variations on a Theme

Pearl has made dozens of drawings of this type.  They're all different combinations of dinosaur families protecting and waiting for their eggs to hatch.  Maybe those of you who guessed she wants a baby brother know more than we do!

The Genius of Toddlers

To me the most amazing, inspiring thing about toddlers is that they can have so much fun without spending any money, just playing with the stuff that's already there.  A car with the doors open becomes a jungle gym.  A ditch is a roller coaster.  Pots and pans are quickly transformed into hats and shoes.  It's pretty wonderful.

What Carrie Wants

We were telling Carrie that her birthday is a few weeks away. She will be 2 years old. I asked her what she wanted for her birthday.  Without contemplating her options for even a second, she said, "I want Pearl!"

Question of the Day: Little Linus

Holy Attachment, Batman!

Does your kiddo have a security blanket or precious idol--I mean object--that she cannot live without?  What does one do when the rip in said object of affection grows and grows?  Are we in big trouble?

H E L L O

Carrie can talk.  Lately she's adding new words like crazy.  Her pronunciation is--shall we say--her own.  Here is a guide for those of you who want to talk like our girl.

beach = ahhhh beat

what's this? = waaaah deece?

chute = shoes

schnhack = snack

hell pearl = help me (she thinks she is Pearl?)

box = blocks

peanut butter = blaaah blah blaaah blah

The Artists of Summer

Both girls are into art on their own terms this summer.  The first two are watercolors by Carrie (age 20 months).

As you might expect, at age 40 months, Pearl's work is more representational.  First we have a mommy stegosaurus with her baby riding on her back.  The dot on the ground is an egg.

The other two pieces are what Pearl calls story maps.  As she draws the map, she tells the story.  I must confess, I don't always understand these stories, but it's cool to watch and listen as the tale unravels.
One of these is a dinosaur egg which she referred to as "the world."  Maybe Marcia will explain the last one in the comment section.  (Hint, hint, honey.)

Quotable Carrie

I haven't mentioned language acquisition lately. It feels slow to me, but I am probably being unreasonable and impatient.  Carrie has started saying what I will generously call "sentences."  Here are a few examples:

Where go? = Where did she go?

Go go = I want to go outside

No go = I don't want to go

No way = I really don't want to go

I don't mean to brag, but there is also her impressively complex nearly intellectual sentence:

I want a graham cracker.

(photo by Mieke)

My Next Post

Here a new bullet list of what's going on with us.

• Carrie has adjusted quickly to nursery school.  She doesn't cry when she's dropped off.  She seems to have assumed a leadership role of sorts.  For example, she refuses to paint with her fingers.  A brush is a must.  All her classmates have followed suit. 
• She likes to play peekaboo with her blue blankie.  She likes to be turned upside down, but only temporarily.  She tickles herself, tosses back her head, and laughs.
• Carrie likes to climb up the foot of her parents bed and use the remote control to turn on the television.  Carrie is a television addict.  She will watch absolutely anything, even static.
• She enjoys doing things that she knows are forbidden.  Throwing food onto the floor, drinking soapy bathtub water, stealing Mommy or Baba's glasses from their faces--these are the true pleasures of life.

• Pearl can identify most of the letters of the alphabet, and she is learning to write her name. 
• Her love of stories and storytelling continues to grow stronger. She dumps out all of her cars/trains/dinosaurs/farm animals, and uses them to create elaborate tales.
• Her favorite new book this month is The Different Dragon.
• Pearl loves climbing and running and playing in the park.  Today she and her friend Miles were pretending to be brother and sister.  She told me, "We even fell down together!"

• This month Marcia and I have embarked on vegetarianism.  So far, it's going well. Our guidebook is Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman.
• I'm growing herbs in clay pots on our back steps.
• Marcia has been doing video editing with her students.  Here's one example.
• Marcia and I have an anniversary coming up, and we're brainstorming about how we want to celebrate it. 

Your turn.  What's up with you?

Art by Pearl

The week in review.... The first one is Alex, Pearl, and Carrie, who is holding a huge balloon.   The second one is a rocket ship.  The third one is Carrie studying a fossil.  (Carrie is the one with the two strands of hair.) The last one is a picture of Mommy and Baba. Notice how Pearl has written our names above the drawings so that you can tell who's who.

Carrie's New Wave

Yes, this little girl is making her mark(s).

The Carrie Papers

We were asked to write up a brief profile for Carrie's nursery school so that her teacher would know a little more about her.  Here goes.

Carrie (16 months old) likes to climb, dance, laugh, and tease.  She can say a few words, such as: no, uh-oh, whoah, Mama, and graham cracker.  She can sign a few signs: more, help, and book.  She can find her belly button most of the time. 

Carrie likes playing with stuffed animals and a cabbage patch doll.  She kisses them and cares for them. Like Linus in the Peanuts comic, she is strongly attached to her blue blanket.  Her favorite characters on television are the Teletubbies and Elmo. 

The daily routines are reassuring to Carrie.  She loves that she knows what comes next throughout the day.  When it's bath time, she runs to the tub and waits with glee!  Her favorite toys are a rocking horse, a game called Cariboo, and an ipod (with speakers, of course).  She's the family DJ. She has a few friends her age--Lila, Cosmo, and Eric--whom she seems very fond of. When they come to visit, she gets very upset when they have to go back to their own homes. 

Jojo Goes Picasso

I love watching what young kids do with markers and plain white paper. This is Carrie's first work in more than one color.

I've Got the Bullets

• No excuses.  Just writing.  Writing it down.
• Somehow last week I twisted my ankle but forgot that I'd done it.  Instead I kept thinking that my shoes hurt my feet.  I kept thinking, I'm going to have to get rid of these shoes that don't fit me.  Then another pair.  Then another. Then Marcia said, "Aren't those bruises on your ankle?" 
• Hmmmm. I thought about it.  The next day I finally remembered what I had done.  Tripped on a curb while walking back to me office after an interview with a reporter.  A heating pad and alleve (twice daily) are helping the situation.  I guess I can move those shoes back into the closet.
• We saw two good movies on NetFlix, WordPlay and Little Miss Sunshine.
• Carrie loves her lovies, a blue blanket and a teddy bear.  Pearl has never had one or wanted one, but she understands that they are important to Carrie.  When Carrie cries, she provides one of these comforting "friends" to her sister.  I wonder why some kids have this need and others don't. Or maybe they (we?) all have this need but find a variety of ways to satisfy it? 
• I cooked for the week ahead.  All simple foods--yams, lentil soup, brown rice. 
• Katie has finally posted photos of the little cricket.  Welcome to the world, little guy.
• I'm learning the words to some of the Land Before Time songs, including "Friends for Dinner."
• Things I'm looking forward to: Marcia's birthday and a trip to the beach.

  

Dinosaurs

Trains have lost their luster in Pearl's vivid imagination.  The former train table is now roamed and ruled by her prehistoric friends.

These days Pearl is obsessed with the Land Before Time video series.  Each of us has a new dinosaur persona every day.  The only person who gets the same character each time is Carrie.  She is always Ducky.

I wonder what it is about dinosaurs that captivates so many young children? 

Overcoming Baldness?

I don't know if you can see it clearly in this photo, but at the base of Carrie's head she's got a fringe of curls.  Sometimes, in honor of this new look, we call her Frasier.  Maybe he's our donor.  Nah!  We have a KD (known donor).  So we know that the donor is NOT Kelsey Grammer.  Glad to have cleared the air on that oh-so-common misconception.

These days Carrie is filled with feelings.  Lacking the words to express these feelings (her primary word is still "uh-oh," she plays "charades."  One description of her performances might be "Method Acting Goes Kamikaze." You would have to see it to believe.  I hate to say it but: Carrie is getting scary.

School - A Pearl's Eye View

Today was Pearl's last day of preschool until 2007.  She got to meet Santa Claus.  I asked if he wore a red suit.  She said, "No, he wore CHRISTMAS clothes."  She said she liked Santa but would not sit on his lap.  She told him she had been a "great" girl.

Pearl made this drawing for her teachers.  We included copies in their holiday cards.  The paper was so large, that it took me two scans to fit it all in one document. 

Pearl Vision

You can see things developing in Pearl's artwork this month.  I'm not sure what to make of these, but I really love looking at the pictures.

She's starting drawing people lately.  They all resemble whirling dervishes to me.  Pearl identified her classmates, and Marcia has labeled them for us.  Obviously the one with the curly hair is Pearl.

At school they have been talking about the Thanksgiving holiday, and so Pearl took it upon herself to draw us a cornucopia.  How old was I when I learned that word?  Please don't ask.

And in the last-but-not-least category, I must welcome Baby Carrie into art world.  She has started making pictures too.  Most are located on her body and probably shouldn't be scanned, but here is a rare and noteworthy work on paper.

In Lieu of Words

In lieu of words, Carrie (age 11 months) uses pointing, grunting, squealing, throwing objects, throwing herself, and wailing. The play is the thing.

Words.  Who needs them?

Carrie at 11 Months

Carrie is assembling a real personality.  She still isn't walking, but she takes a few steps every now and then, just to get sine hoorahs and extra special attention. She stands up and can keep her balance for a short spell. 

Carrie has a number of points on which she will not budge.  She will only eat food that the rest of us are eating.  No *baby* food for this little baby.   She can say "uh oh" with enthusiasm but no sense of the context.  She can also say something similar to our names: Mamamamama, Bababababa, Pull (for Pearl), and Kit (for kitty cat Riah). 

She has no interest in Baby Einstein or television of any kind.  She loves all music and dances with her head.  Here, for your discerning eye, are photos of Carrie and Pearl, both eleven months old.

Tree House

Today I filled in the blanks on one of those little gizmos on a parenting website that claims it can accurately predict how tall your child will be.  I found out that Pearl will be 6' 3" by the time she's 18. 

All I have to say on this subject is that if she makes the WNBA, I hope she'll remember her moms with a pair of season tickets.