Monday, December 30, 2013
7 Month Appt
You said you want a Thea update? Okay, well, she's almost nine months old and we will tell you about her seven month doctor's appointment now. She needed to have this appointment to check her weight since she hadn't gained much between her four and six month appointments. Her weight was 13 pounds, 13 ounces so she had gained 10 ounces in a month. While still at the tenth percentile, I think babies are expected to gain about a pound each month so this was progress. Also, our doctor has emphasized two things: 1) a child's weight just needs to stabilize (whether at 10th or 50th or 90th percentile doesn't matter) 2) it seems to be a genetic thing that happens with our babies (Matthew didn't gain weight from months four and six). Thus, our doctor was not concerned about Thea's weight and said that we will check things out again at her nine month appointment which is January 13th. People have asked if we have noticed weight gain now and I think that she has because she has a cute protruding belly and like her brother eats A LOT. I believe she has grown taller too because her once long pants are now capri pants that hit her just below the knee. That said she still fits most of her three month clothes. I very much look forward to obtaining the assurance I usually receive at our doctor appointments.
Monday, December 16, 2013
Thea's first word is...
"Daddy!"
No real surprise there.
She has loved her dad in a very special way since the very beginning. The way she lights up when she sees him is equal to none other. Mike thought she looked at him and said it a couple of days ago but with babies ya never know what's legit and what's an accident (read: what would be really fun to hear). But she said it again yesterday. Mike was on speaker phone and I asked him to say hi to Thea. I then showed the phone to Thea where she could see a picture of him and when Mike said "Thea Bean!" she responded with waving hands and "Daddy!"
No real surprise there.
She has loved her dad in a very special way since the very beginning. The way she lights up when she sees him is equal to none other. Mike thought she looked at him and said it a couple of days ago but with babies ya never know what's legit and what's an accident (read: what would be really fun to hear). But she said it again yesterday. Mike was on speaker phone and I asked him to say hi to Thea. I then showed the phone to Thea where she could see a picture of him and when Mike said "Thea Bean!" she responded with waving hands and "Daddy!"
A Question of Discipline
Our eldest child has entered the "Terrible Twos". Lucky us. It is as advertised, although I imagine it has been fairly easy for us given that Matthew is still typically very well behaved. He rarely goes out of his way to misbehave, save the drawing on walls, tables and toys and the occasional punching of a four-year old stranger. The kid probably should not have been all up in Matthew's business.
The most common form of "Terrible Two" behavior from our young lad is in the form of pseudo-tantrums. They are pseudo because they rarely last more than 10 - 30 seconds, but they are tantrums because they rarely do not involve the kid's entire body going limp and ending up in a wailing lump. He tries to cry but the tears almost never come. His high school drama teacher is already concerned with his inability to commit to the moment.
So, we have started to be more active in our disciplining of him. I use the term "discipline" loosely; we aren't punishing as much as we are telling him to stop doing something (i.e., throwing handful upon handful of oatmeal on the floor), or we take away something such as Play-Doh because "it's delicious!"
The vast majority of the time, Matthew follows directions really well. In fact, this was something his preschool teacher pointed out as a strength of Matthew's during our parent-teacher conference a couple weeks ago. However, when he chooses to be done with that, well...
And when something like that happens, how do you not LAUGH?!?! Or when he shushes his mother when she firmly tells him to stop doing something. I mean, you can't get more disrespectful as a two year old that saying "shh, mommy, shh" while holding a finger to your lips as she tells you to stop dumping an entire box of Cheez-Its on the ground. But how do you stay angry and keep a straight face with that?! The answer is, you can't. Which is why you have instances such as tonight, when E was bathing Thea and Matthew ran into the bathroom, went straight to the tub, and threw a chicken bone into the water. E immediately told Matthew that "we don't throw garbage in the tub." I provided a steady hand of household leadership by laughing in the kitchen. Matthew looked at E, turned around, ran out of the bathroom, turned left and ran to watch Charlie Brown Kicks Lucy's Face And Doesn't Feel Bad, or something of the ilk.
Speaking of firm hands, you will notice in the video above that E and her brother are about five minutes past actually trying to discipline Matthew and Titus. The comedic efforts overwhelmed the parental efforts.
The most common form of "Terrible Two" behavior from our young lad is in the form of pseudo-tantrums. They are pseudo because they rarely last more than 10 - 30 seconds, but they are tantrums because they rarely do not involve the kid's entire body going limp and ending up in a wailing lump. He tries to cry but the tears almost never come. His high school drama teacher is already concerned with his inability to commit to the moment.
So, we have started to be more active in our disciplining of him. I use the term "discipline" loosely; we aren't punishing as much as we are telling him to stop doing something (i.e., throwing handful upon handful of oatmeal on the floor), or we take away something such as Play-Doh because "it's delicious!"
The vast majority of the time, Matthew follows directions really well. In fact, this was something his preschool teacher pointed out as a strength of Matthew's during our parent-teacher conference a couple weeks ago. However, when he chooses to be done with that, well...
And when something like that happens, how do you not LAUGH?!?! Or when he shushes his mother when she firmly tells him to stop doing something. I mean, you can't get more disrespectful as a two year old that saying "shh, mommy, shh" while holding a finger to your lips as she tells you to stop dumping an entire box of Cheez-Its on the ground. But how do you stay angry and keep a straight face with that?! The answer is, you can't. Which is why you have instances such as tonight, when E was bathing Thea and Matthew ran into the bathroom, went straight to the tub, and threw a chicken bone into the water. E immediately told Matthew that "we don't throw garbage in the tub." I provided a steady hand of household leadership by laughing in the kitchen. Matthew looked at E, turned around, ran out of the bathroom, turned left and ran to watch Charlie Brown Kicks Lucy's Face And Doesn't Feel Bad, or something of the ilk.
Speaking of firm hands, you will notice in the video above that E and her brother are about five minutes past actually trying to discipline Matthew and Titus. The comedic efforts overwhelmed the parental efforts.
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