Mom Remembers

As Soren neared 18 months old, my mom kept calling to ask me how many words he was saying. Apparently, by 18 months, toddlers should have a vocabulary of 20 words. So I started keeping a list of words I had heard him use (in an understandable context) on at least two separate occasions. And sure enough, Soren acquired his twentieth word the day before he hit the 18 month mark. It's nice to know he's completely normal. These are the first 20 words he used regularly and correctly: * boom! * box * car * clothes * cookie * Dad * duck * geese * hi * hot * juice * no * please * shirt * shoes * snake * sock * stick * thank you * yeah!

Soren is good at saying "please". He has trouble saying "thank you". Soren is good at going up the stairs. He has trouble coming down. Soren is good at sleeping through the night. He has trouble taking naps. Soren is good at keeping his toys in the tub. He has trouble keeping the water in too. Soren is good at identifying ducks. He has trouble feeding them. Soren is good at waiting resignedly. He has trouble waiting quietly. Soren is good at staying in one place. He has trouble staying in one position. Soren is good at drinking from an open cup. He has trouble setting it down right-side up. Soren is good at identifying food. He has trouble identifying what is not food. Soren is good at adapting to new people and places. He has trouble adapting to a new timetable.

I went in for ultrasound #2 today. A good friend watched Soren so Scott and I could visit the technician in peace. I swung by Scott's office to pick him up and we headed to the clinic, him in his suit and tie and I in my jeans and oversized tee. It was a different technician this time and he got straight to business. He got a clear shot up between the legs straight off and imparted the all-important news: It's a boy! Then he puttered around, looking at the brain and making sure everything was ok (which was the excuse given so we could come back). And everything is ok! The doctor said there is no reason to expect that our next son won't be as intelligent and good-looking as our first. Hooray! Two healthy sons! I know it does't have the same implications today as it did back then, but I can't help but think about what a winning streak this would have been for a medieval wife. It's too bad I wasn't born back then so I could enjoy the (completely undeserved) pr...

Soren has learned two new words this past week: "soos" (shoes) and "duht" (duck). These words serve a very different purpose from all the other words that he knows --and I hope they are the beginning of a trend! All of his other words are very expressive. He uses them to tell us how he is feeling or what he wants. In his previous lexicon, there were words to convey happiness ("hi"), amusement ("aht" and "doh"), desire ("juz" and "eee"), or abject misery ("nono" and "mama"). But these new words he uses simply for the joy of naming something. With pride, he points out birds at the park and says "duht". He gets just as much pleasure out of holding aloft his toy duck at home. He also identifies his toy penguin as a "duht". I think that's rather clever since we didn't teach him that at all. And whenever we put his shoes on or take them off, he repeats over and over (while ki...

This post is a lot more about my feeelings (as Audrey would say) than I usually discuss in this blog but it needs to be written. It probably doesn't need to be written for any of my readers; perhaps it only needs to be written for me. It's about my experiences with Soren as a new baby and the valuable truth I want to remember when I have another new baby. A lot of my friends are pregnant with their first child right now and so this spring has been the baby shower season for me. Baby showers are a great opportunity to give gifts and advice, so I've been thinking a lot about the gadgetry I was most grateful for and the knowledge I wish I'd had when Soren was born. Picking out a baby shower gift is easy. Scott and I knew immediately what material possession made having a baby 10xs easier: our sling. We went without diapers and bottles and didn't use our bassinet or stroller for months. But we would never have survived the first week without the sling we carried So...

aht - "Watch out! I'm throwing stuff!" buh - "book" doh - "Hey, look! I just knocked those blocks down!" dops - "Whispering is fun." hi - "Hello, you. I am so happy to see you!" juz - "I'd like some fluid in a sippy cup." mamamama - "I am very unhappy." nonononono - "It's so frustrating when you won't do what I want you to." rrrrr - "I am pretending to drive this car." ssssss - "Look! It's a snake!" tsz tsz tsz - "Please read Caps for Sale to me!" uh-oh - "Well that turned out differently than I expected." wasat - "Give me the word for that thing I am pointing at."

It's long overdue but this is my official blogger announcement: the Duede family is expecting again! I'm pregnant and excited to welcome Baby #2 in late August. In connection with this announcement, I will be changing pretty much everything about this website, including the address. When I switch to the new site in a couple of days, you will be able to find updates on my children--plural children!--at www.momremembers.blogspot.com. I will also be making available a back-log of posts I have written and kept private for the past few months. You can find them in the archives, although I imagine they will pop up on your readers, too, as soon as I publish them. Eek! Isn't this exciting?