Hello, Goodbye
The last month has involved a lot of comings and goings for Bobby. In the middle of June, we said good-bye to Aunti Em and Uncle Peter, and cousins Amos and Etta, who left for their big adventure to New Hampshire. It feels really weird knowing they no longer live right down the road. However, it will be great to see them and to check out their new digs when we go to visit in August. We managed a brief visit with Uncle Peter when he swung back through town last week, but he was pretty busy.
On the same day in June, Daddy left for a week-long trip to India. Bobby & I managed pretty well on our own, thanks to Jude's help. I definitely gained new respect for single parents.
The hardest goodbye of all, though, is yet to come. Bobby's beloved nanny Jude is moving back to Montana next week. She's been taking care of Bobby since he was three months old -- nearly 16 months. We totally support her decision, which gives her a great educational opportunity and lets her be back near her family. But it's going to be so hard to say goodbye to her. Bobby adores her and they have such a great time together -- I keep realizing that even though he will have other teachers and baby-sitters in the future, he'll never again have quite the special bond he has with Jude. And for me and Roger, it's been such a huge comfort to know that we have someone we can completely trust looking after him.
The big "hello" in his life is that he's starting a new daycare tomorrow! We found a wonderful school about a mile from our house -- Bobby will be with other one and two year olds, and can eventually graduate to the pre-school. Tomorrow he and I will be visiting for a few hours ... over the next week he'll spend more time there in the morning, working his way up to half days & then spending the afternoons with Jude. By next week hopefully he'll be ready to spend the whole day there. It's very exciting that he'll get to spend time with other kids. We know it will be a huge transition for him, but we think he'll have a great time once he gets acclimated.
In the midst of all these changes, he's been growing and learning new things every day! While he doesn't say any recognizable words, he makes distinct sounds -- in particular he barks every time he sees a dog. He also says "ma" when he's asked what sound a cow makes. He's a great little mimic. The other day I had given him some mac and cheese in a bowl. When he finished his lunch, he picked up the bowl and held it up to his face. I had seen him do that before and couldn't figure out what he was doing. Then suddenly it dawned on me that he sees me do that every morning -- I finish my cereal and then drink the milk out of the bowl. He just concluded that when we finish our food, we hold our bowl up to our face. Of course.
We keep hoping that sooner or later he's going to get tired of climbing the stairs, but it doesn't seem to be happening. He likes up; he likes down. He likes practicing different ways of going up and down (crawling, holding onto our hands, holding the railing, holding the wall). He'll even try hands-free if it's just one step, but that hasn't really been working out so well for him. He can't stand being confined to the living room any more -- he wants to be out and exploring. We finally started teaching him that it's not polite to grab us by the shirt when he wants to go somewhere -- now he comes over, reaches for my shirt, thinks for a second, and then grabs my hand and leads me off on an exploratory mission. Since we're trying to reinforce this behavior (much preferable to being grabbed by the shirt-front) we end up having to go wherever he wants.
About a week ago we took Bobby out on our sailboat for the first time this year. He's been out on a few rented sailboats but this was his first trip in our boat since he's been independently mobile. He did a great job. He loved the seaplanes on Lake Union -- roared like an engine every time one took off or landed. He liked moving around the boat and particularly liked drinking water out of a 2 liter bottle (this is a new form of entertainment). The best part was that Daddy had the foresight to build a slide right into the boat! Sure enough, the centerboard trunk slants down on the perfect angle for sliding, and the varnish makes it nice and slippy.
Mom
The last month has involved a lot of comings and goings for Bobby. In the middle of June, we said good-bye to Aunti Em and Uncle Peter, and cousins Amos and Etta, who left for their big adventure to New Hampshire. It feels really weird knowing they no longer live right down the road. However, it will be great to see them and to check out their new digs when we go to visit in August. We managed a brief visit with Uncle Peter when he swung back through town last week, but he was pretty busy.
On the same day in June, Daddy left for a week-long trip to India. Bobby & I managed pretty well on our own, thanks to Jude's help. I definitely gained new respect for single parents.
The hardest goodbye of all, though, is yet to come. Bobby's beloved nanny Jude is moving back to Montana next week. She's been taking care of Bobby since he was three months old -- nearly 16 months. We totally support her decision, which gives her a great educational opportunity and lets her be back near her family. But it's going to be so hard to say goodbye to her. Bobby adores her and they have such a great time together -- I keep realizing that even though he will have other teachers and baby-sitters in the future, he'll never again have quite the special bond he has with Jude. And for me and Roger, it's been such a huge comfort to know that we have someone we can completely trust looking after him.
The big "hello" in his life is that he's starting a new daycare tomorrow! We found a wonderful school about a mile from our house -- Bobby will be with other one and two year olds, and can eventually graduate to the pre-school. Tomorrow he and I will be visiting for a few hours ... over the next week he'll spend more time there in the morning, working his way up to half days & then spending the afternoons with Jude. By next week hopefully he'll be ready to spend the whole day there. It's very exciting that he'll get to spend time with other kids. We know it will be a huge transition for him, but we think he'll have a great time once he gets acclimated.
In the midst of all these changes, he's been growing and learning new things every day! While he doesn't say any recognizable words, he makes distinct sounds -- in particular he barks every time he sees a dog. He also says "ma" when he's asked what sound a cow makes. He's a great little mimic. The other day I had given him some mac and cheese in a bowl. When he finished his lunch, he picked up the bowl and held it up to his face. I had seen him do that before and couldn't figure out what he was doing. Then suddenly it dawned on me that he sees me do that every morning -- I finish my cereal and then drink the milk out of the bowl. He just concluded that when we finish our food, we hold our bowl up to our face. Of course.
We keep hoping that sooner or later he's going to get tired of climbing the stairs, but it doesn't seem to be happening. He likes up; he likes down. He likes practicing different ways of going up and down (crawling, holding onto our hands, holding the railing, holding the wall). He'll even try hands-free if it's just one step, but that hasn't really been working out so well for him. He can't stand being confined to the living room any more -- he wants to be out and exploring. We finally started teaching him that it's not polite to grab us by the shirt when he wants to go somewhere -- now he comes over, reaches for my shirt, thinks for a second, and then grabs my hand and leads me off on an exploratory mission. Since we're trying to reinforce this behavior (much preferable to being grabbed by the shirt-front) we end up having to go wherever he wants.
About a week ago we took Bobby out on our sailboat for the first time this year. He's been out on a few rented sailboats but this was his first trip in our boat since he's been independently mobile. He did a great job. He loved the seaplanes on Lake Union -- roared like an engine every time one took off or landed. He liked moving around the boat and particularly liked drinking water out of a 2 liter bottle (this is a new form of entertainment). The best part was that Daddy had the foresight to build a slide right into the boat! Sure enough, the centerboard trunk slants down on the perfect angle for sliding, and the varnish makes it nice and slippy.
Mom
posted by Katy Mathias at
9:54 PM
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