My Baby's A Genius: August 2010 - Part 2

And on to this month's amazing skills (at 25-26 months old), which were each a surprise to me as they came...

Reading 0, 1, and 10.

In response to the question "What shape is this?" he can identify and say circle, square, trapezoid, pentagon, hexagon, octagon, oval, parallelogram, diamond, heart, and sometimes rectangle. He seems to have a little trouble with triangle.

Counting from 1 to 10 in Spanish (well, I got the camera turned on at 3), then from 1 to 10 in Mandarin Chinese:


Counting from 1 to 10 in French (I got the camera turned on by 2 this time):


Singing his ABCs (click to view at Photobucket):


And the skill that amazes people wherever we go:


Last weekend, we were walking down a street and he was excitedly calling out cars as they drove by at 35 miles an hour!

His current repertoire includes 15 cars. Do you know each of these?

A Month in Our Life: July 2010

This month (at 24-25 months) my baby did some very surprising things!

• One day while watching two bicyclists whiz past, he said his first sentence: "Other one guy helmet on; other one guy no helmet."
• One day while playing in the office, he looked up at our client and counted 1-5 in Spanish.
• One day in the grocery store, I asked him to help me put pea pods in the produce bag, and as he dropped them in he counted them 1-10 (well, minus 9).
• Counting backwards from 5-0.
• "W X Y Z" (you've gotta start somewhere - might as well start at the end).
  

He also started picking out his own clothes and dressing himself.

But even more exciting: We are moving into our own place the beginning of August!!! After 20 1/2 months of living with other people, we will finally be on our own again as a family. Thank you and good buy to Erika, Ticha, and Andy.

Wearing Erika's climbing gear:


Wearing Ticha's high heels and purse:


Wearing Andy's oxygen:

And to finish, a sampling of some of our fun summer activities:

Saturday morning exploring some of Denver's grittier neighborhoods:


Saturday afternoon at the pop jet fountain:

Sunday afternoon at the park:

Makeshift playground anywhere we go:

Climbing toys at the park:

Climbing ladders at the office:

Climbing trees at home:

Typical weekday morning fun with sidewalk chalk and a little car:

Typical weekend fun with the neighbors' dogs:

And the highlight of every week: Tuesday mornings with the lawnmower guys, who landscape some few houses a block away. (Listen for "Turn on weed wacker.")

Making Up For Lost Time: June 2010

June marked:

A visit from Grandma and a mini vacation to Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs


My baby's 2nd haircut


My baby's 2nd birthday (celebrated early in Colorado Springs)


Halfway through June, I borrowed a camera from a friend, and a week later my mom gave me a new camera as an early birthday present. After 4 1/2 months of no pictures, I'm trying to make up for lost time...

June 14 - n*k*d time in the car seat


June 15 - afternoon visit to Kieth's daddy's barber shop


June 16 - showing off strong abs


June 17 - a favorite spot at Whole Foods


June 18 - an afternoon visit with Murphy at the pawn shop


June 19 - konked out in the car


June 20 - exploring tunnels at Glen Eyrie


June 21 - exploring Native American cliff dwellings


June 22 - exploring Old Colorado City


June 23 - baby and Grandma at the Glen Eyrie Castle


June 24 - wearing a potty hat


June 25 - watering flowers with Ticha


June 26 - morning-after-birthday breakfast


June 27 - fun with mud at the park


June 28 - racing our new vacuum cleaner to the office


June 29 - sound asleep


June 30 - hide and seek in the office safe


And a few Mamatoto pictures:

A Month in Our Life: April 2010

Still no money for a new camera to replace the one that was stolen, so here are a few notes from April:

• Both bottom two-year molars came in
  
• First four-syllable word: dandelion
• First three-word phrase: mama blue car
• Other three-word phrases: dirty blue car, dirty gray car
  
• His term for fish in a fish tank: agua birdie
• My baby has quite a lot of upper body strength. He can pull himself up onto a high chair and climb the side of our bookshelf.
• My baby is still obsessed about keeping things clean. If he spots a tiny crumb (so small that I have to get on my hands and knees to even see it), he either picks it up and puts it in the basura (trash can) or cries out "blue on, blue on" (referring to the blue vacuum cleaner at the office). He would vacuum all day if he could. Unfortunately, the office vacuum cleaners are too loud to run when our landlord has clients in the office, so we only get to vacuum after they leave at night.
• My baby is also concerned with putting things away in their proper place. If we are in a grocery store parking lot and he spies an abandoned shopping cart, he doesn't rest until we have pushed all the out-of-place shopping carts back where they belong!
• OH DEAR! My baby picked up this phrase from the adorable book Sheep in a Jeep. He says it often - up to 5 times a minute. It's quite catchy: I now say it, our roommates now say it, people at church now say it, people at the office now say it. Amazing how influential a baby can be!
  

A Month in Our Life: March 2010

Still no camera! So here is a few brief "journal entries" to memorialize fun things that happened this month.

The last thing we do before leaving the office every night is to put our toys and books into baskets. One night a client came in right before closing time and stayed about 1 1/2 hours, so by the time she was gone my baby was over-tired and definitely ready for bed, and the room was a disaster . I bent down to put a few things in my bag, and when I stood up the entire room was perfectly clean! My baby walked over to me and started to pull the bag towards the door. He may not be able to tell me with words that he's ready to go, but his communication skills are impeccable.

Our first year in Denver, we lived with my brother's wife's parents, affectionately termed Oma and Opa. We didn't see them much after moving out last November, but recently started going to their church and so now see them at least once a week. The first Sunday we saw them at church, my baby was so overjoyed he couldn't stop saying Oma and Opa. He woke up and went to sleep saying Oma and Opa! And now every time we drive into the church parking lot, he starts saying Oma Opa Oma Opa. I guess he misses them!

New skills this month include walking up and down stairs without holding on to anything, walking on his heels, and walking backwards.

My spare time has turned a bit crazy. The end of last month, God graciously brought me a sizable contract with an attorney. Each night I complete what I need to do for my own clients, then work at least two hours for him. I try and make it into the attorney's office at least once a week, plus I organize/clean house for a friend one morning a week and babysit at church two to three times a week. Beginning mid-April, I will be cutting my hours at the office down from six days a week to five. But at the same time I will be starting studies for a three-year Master Herbalist course, as well as training to be a La Leche League leader. I'm excited about each new opportunity, but am not sure exactly when I will have time to sleep, much less blog!