more teeth

Spencer's four molars are in various stages of breaking through. Compared to the little ones in front, these seem absolutely huge. And our poor guy has been feeling the pain on and off for the last few weeks. (Not to mention new incidental problems like biting his tongue while eating.) These past several days have been particularly bad with teething pain. How sad is it when your baby looks over at the tube of baby orajel and cries "me'cine! me'cine!"

great weather

Our fabulous April weather in Houston continues. Spencer and I went to Collins Park this morning for our monthly meet up group with other signing babies and toddlers (and their parents.) I expressed my frustration about the lack of financial commitment for the upcoming workshop on Monday. Lots of people have called/emailed they plan to come but haven't "sealed the deal." I just hung up the phone with a kind man in Colorado who paid for his son and daughter-in-law to attend. He saw the article in Life Magazine that ran in late February and had called me back then to find out how soon they could sign up! With one exception, everyone who I have talked to on this topic has nothing but positive things to say, believes in the documented benefits, etc., but I guess the word is just slower to spread here in Texas, compared to the area around theBaby Signs home office in northern California. When our signing toddler group broke up, Spencer and I hung around and ate a picnic lunch in the sunshine at the top of the hill. He tried to follow me as I ran up and down, but he decided that going down was too steep for him. So he turned around to put his hands on the ground, backed down on all fours for a few steps, stood up and tried to walk forwards, before deciding he needed to turn around and bend down to use his hands again. It was too funny for words. Some pictures from today have been added to the new April album.

happy day!

Today has been fabulous. Jim and I just got home from having a delicious dinner out at Ruggles for an impromtu celebration on a job very well done! For me, it capped off some great Spencer & mommy time as we enjoyed a picnic lunch with friends at the Oil Ranch. Here are some pictures from today.

oc'gon

Another one of Spencer's favorite objects to identify is "octagon." And he is delighted that we pass several [stop signs] driving to and from school each day.

Hot and Cold

These are two of Spencer's new favorite signs and words. He's got the concepts down, and can generalize quite well that many different objects (besides food) can be hot or cold. When he enters a tub of warm water he'll say "hot hot" and make his baby sign by blowing out through his mouth. Or, yesterday when wandering barefoot at home, he came across the cool tile, pulled his arms in to his chest and shivered and said "BRRRRR!" Very, very cute.

April in Houston

Today was a reminder of just how perfect April can be in Houston - temps right around 70, bright blue skies with no clouds, and ridiculous amounts of sunshine. I felt a bit guilty dropping Spencer at childwatch while I started the day with Pilates, but I knew we had big plans in store so it was ok. Afterwards we wandered over to the fields to the annual YMCA Healthy Kids Day, and our Y sure seemed to do it up right. Spencer was most pleased by the abundance of balloons, and demonstrated his newly learned sign for 'train' when we rode on it with other moms and kids around the field. Then off to Brenham. Last year I never made this trip when Spencer was little, a bit worried about driving around aimlessly with an infant. But this year I was armed with specific info from other mommies about "prime spots" for flower pictures. Unfortunately, armpit-high wildflowers made Spencer less than pleased, but I kept snapping away. We even stopped in at Blue Bell Creamery - I failed to deliver on my promise to Spencer that we were going to see cows, but I think sharing my ice cream made up for it! Here are more than a few pictures from a gorgeous day in Houston/Brenham.

weekend o' Spencer

I did make it to pilates class again on Saturday, but by 10:30am, the weekend was all about Spencer. We brought him to play at Collins Park and a picnic lunch on Saturday, and yesterday we enjoyed the cooler temps and gusty winds at the Zoo. He was a little more interested in the animals than our last trip three months ago, making lots of spontaneous signs when he spied animals he recognized. But I wasn't quite sure what to tell him about animals not found in his books - like meerkats and okapi. Smiling at the ocelots, Spencer proudly signed "cat" and I could only enthusiastically reply "that's right!" He had a blast in the petting zoo, toddling around holding a brush and gently brushing each goat he came across. At home, we let him brush his own hair at each morning, so he has gotten very good at it. And did try to use the animal brush on his hair once or twice, thank goodness he was wearing a hat!

And I had no idea that Jim had been working on numbers with Spencer. I was absolutely speechless when I heard them read a counting book together and Spencer knew SEVEN numbers between one and ten! I was floored. He is still missing "one," and no matter how many times we try to prompt him to repeat the word when we say "one" he always quickly responds "TWO!"

A few more pics from the weekend have been added on to the end of the now huge March album.

Purim Rocks

Tonight we went to celebrate Purim at temple and Spencer had an absolute blast! I was pleased that Spencer's belly was able to still (barely) fit into his Elvis costume from Halloween. Mistaken identity plays a major role in the story of Esther which is read on Purim, and traditionally everyone wears costumes to temple. As before, Spencer delighted many folks, and was even cuter this time around as he was able to walk and dance, looking extra cool sporting his sneakers with flashing lights mom brought earlier this month. While reading the story of Purim, every time the name of villan Haman is mentioned, it is drowned out with graggers (noisemakers.) On the car ride down, we practiced by saying "Haman - BOOOOOO" and Spencer thought this was a fabulous new game. When it came time to read the story and Haman's name was mentioned, the noise from the congregation would cause Spencer to jump with surprise (every time!) and then immediately break into a huge smile and laugh and try to figure out how to twirl his gragger to join in the noise-making. After the reading was the traditional Purim play, which is a re-telling of the story with some fun! Our temple seems to always do it up right! Past years have included themes such as The Beatles, Grease, and even Harry Potter. This year it was done with characters of Shrek, including a whole new slew of unique songs. Afterwards we enjoyed Hamantaschen, and Spencer zonked out in the car on the ride home. Tonight was the first time since he was tiny that he stayed up later than 8:00... we'll see when he wakes up in the morning! A few pics from this evening have been added to the end of the Purim photo album.

'mips

That's more or less how Spencer pronouces the word "grapes." And he says it very deliberately, making sure to get the "ps" sound just right. Currently, grapes are one of his favorite foods, and he delights in naming each handful as it makes its way from plate to mouth. Last Friday, Jim and I picked up Spencer after school together. While heading down busy 1960, Spencer started saying "mips, mips, mips." Grapes? Grapes?? Sounds like he's saying grapes?? Why the heck is he saying that?? "Car," or "truck," or "flower" is what we usually hear during car rides. Then, with great understanding and an even bigger grin, I spied the Olive Garden restaurant across the road - with a giant bunch of grapes on the logo above the entrance! Spencer wins again!

Family Sunday

Today we took Spencer to the Purim Carnival at our temple. Purim is a fun holiday and I think it's safe to say he had a great time. As challenging as it is to have a baby that only takes one tiny nap a day, at least it doesn't prevent us from getting out an doing stuff, as he can take an entire nap on the car ride to get inside the loop, which just isn't that far. Although, the flip side is that he has an early bedtime, which forces us to eat dinner at 6:00pm, which can make for an early evening with friends! The holiday itself is later in the week, and (right now at least) I'm planning on going with Spencer, and staying until he annouces that he's ready to go. Here are some pics from the Purim Carnival.

weekend again

Things have been super-busy here this week, I can't believe it's already over. Spencer delights himself with his communication skills and sometimes enters a zone where he has to say or sign everything he sees. This can make for a very drawn out meal time as he repeats the sign for banana before every single bite.

I'm gearing up to hold my first few Baby Signs® Parent Workshops within the next month. It's very exciting and a bit nerveracking too.

spring time is here

The weather this weekend was just too fabulous to not spend as much time as possible outside. We brought Spencer to Meyer Park yesterday morning and again this morning, and later this afternoon we checked out the St. Patrick's Day Parade on F.M. 1960. A year ago the loud noises would have freaked Spencer out, but today he took it all in stride and proudly wore the beads thrown from the floats (I ate the candy!) We were a bit camera happy this weekend - here are a whole bunch of pics.

Zzzz

So, after catching a whopping 15 minute nap on Wednesday, Spencer slept nearly 14 HOURS that evening. Holy cow!

This weather has been so darn nice. Yesterday at school they moved a little table outside so the infants could enjoy their afternoon snack dining al fresco. How fabulous!

cat nap

Spencer took one nap at school today, and it lasted for 15 minutes. They tried to coax him back down, but no success. They tried again later in the afternoon, and again no success. So, this evening Spencer ate his dinner at 5:30, took his bath at 6:15 and was sound asleep by 6:45pm. We'll see how long he sleeps in the morning...

overachieving toddlers

Tonight I spoke on the phone with my fabulous friend Tracy who relayed an awesome story. Tracy's friend was picking up her 21 month old daughter, Maia, from day care when another toddler came over, pointed at Maia and exclaimed "baby!" Maia stared back at her friend, who was wearing a cute t-shirt that said "cotton" on the front and excitedly responded "C-O-T-T-O-N!"

Not nearly as impressive: today we learned at Spencer's 15 month check up that he continues to track in the 80%-85% in both height and weight. We are excited to learn that the next well-baby visit has no shots! Yeah! Although, our nurse was great and Spencer was a champ today.

grandma

Mom was in town for a long weekend to visit us, and most importantly to spend time with Spencer. On Thursday we went to see animals at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. As you can see from our pictures, he was in heaven being so close to the animals at the petting zoo. Since when are kangaroos part of petting zoos?? Spencer was thrilled because he knew what they were, and had not been previously familiar with llama or deer. He also did not recognize black sheep, or black pigs which he does recognize when they are white/pink. But kangaroos were a big hit, as he bounced his torso and kept repeating " 'op 'op 'op!" ("Hop hop hop!")

keep on signing

Today I received a completed application from someone looking to get certified as an instructor teaching Baby Signs Programs, an email from someone else requesting an application to become certified, and an interview request with a weekly newspaper located outside of Beaumont. Holy cow. And I haven't even taught my first class yet! I have a presence on the world wide web at www.babysignsbybonnie.com but all of the traffic, for now at least, comes to me from folks entering a zip code on www.babysigns.com. I think I have almost all of the essentials for starting a new business completed. Just need to keep reviewing class material and get something scheduled!

more babies

I forgot to blog congratulations on Friday as Rebecca welcomed her third son, Elijah River Miller, into the world.

busy times

It's been a very busy few days since Tuesday's post. I'm happy to report some items I have now checked off the "start up my new business to do list" include: decided on company name, filed DBA, opened business bank account, established EIN with the IRS, registed domain name, set up email account, designed a website and found a (back up) place to host a Parent Workshop. Still open items include: secure a better (i.e. free) location to hold classes, get TX sales tax permit, order business cards, advertise class info and brush up on material. At least those are of most immediate priority!

Last night Jim & Spencer went to a birthday party for JB's three year old son Jack at the Children's Museum. In keeping up with the 'big kids' there, Spencer got to do a lot of activities outside of the Tot*Spot, including getting soaked head to toe by dumping a bucket of water on himself in the water play zone outside. Meanwhile, I was way up in The Woodlands as a volunteer judge for SCI://TECH science fair. It does give you some great feelings to see how 7th graders can put together an depth experiement: formulating a hyposthesis, designing the test set up, collecting data, analyzing data and drawing out results and conclusions. My assigned category to judge was health & medicine, and I loved to ask the kids what prompted them to pursue their particular project. One girl's experiement was to figure out which drink (water, coke, caffeine-free coke, or gatorade) would send you running to the bathroom the quickest, because she and her family were never able to make it through an entire movie without a break! Or the boy who conducted a taste test because he wanted to show his mom how cigarettes were deadening her taste buds. Or the girl who wanted to find the most effective antacid on the market because her mom suffered heartburn when pregnant with a younger sibling. Despite all of the publicity about the overall decline of excellence in the technology sector of our country, it was very encouraging to see what the minds of tomorrow will bring.

That was quick!

I just got my first phone call from a stranger who saw the Baby Signs segment on Good Morning America and got my name from the Baby Signs website. She just can't wait to get started signing with her 13 month old daughter and want to know when I'll be offering Sign, Say & Play classes. Ack!!