Getting to know our 'hood

In an attempt to make our morning nap time easier I have resorted to taking Justin out for little walks in the hopes that he will burn off lots of energy and sleep for longer than his usual 30 minutes. That hasn't happened although it does take him a shorter time to fall asleep. So is it optimism or stubbornness that makes me persist with these walks? Actually it's neither, it's just become an opportunity for Justin to explore his surroundings, gain a little independence and improve his gross motor and fine motor skills. And I get a little exercise too, nothing like a good workout chasing Justin out of the neighbour's gardens, or blocking him from walking too near to the road or carrying him up the hill because he's just too tired that he plops down on the spot and refuses to move. On our little excursions around the block, Justin loves collecting sticks, picking up pebbles and tasting them, pointing to birds, planes and helicopters, staring at cats trying to work up the courage to touch them, chasing after birds that happen to be walking around and opening and closing other people's gates. The grand finale being collecting our post and rummaging through our neighbour's post boxes. 

This past Saturday, BG popped in and offered to take Justin to the playground in an attempt to spend some one-on-one quality time with his nephew while I ran some errands and Row studied. Justin loves going to the playground and we always go to the one down the road from us so he was super excited to get out the house....until he noticed that neither Row nor I were going with. When I got home, BG said that they didn't even stay 5 minutes at the playground as Justin was so distraught and miserable that he couldn't even play....but he knew how to get home and even remembered to check the postbox!

Collecting a stick before our walk

Checking the post box

Hmmm, stones....what should I do with these?

Justin has a turtle twilight lamp in his room that projects the stars and moon. One night before bedtime, I put the lamp on and showed him the stars which he loved. He even started saying "star"! Justin definitely understands and tries to follow instructions (when it suits him). Just this morning, we taught him to get a nappy from his chest of drawers for his morning nappy change and bring it to our room. If he has his dummy in his mouth and he's going to have a snack or a meal, I tell him to put his dummy on the couch or on my bed and he'll do it. If he's sucking it in the car, he now knows to take the dummy out before he gets out of the car. We're trying to get him into the habit of packing his toys away when he's done and sometimes he'll do it when we tell him to, if there isn't something else grabbing his attention. 

It still blows my mind how quickly they grow and develop and seeing their little personalities emerging. Justin can be quite the clown, just like his dad! But, like father like son, their little antics put a smile on my face!

If you're happy and you know it

Chatter chatter chatter

The months seem to be whizzing by! Justin is learning so many new things at an incredible pace, or so it seems to us. He is very vocal (ie loud) and verbal (ie baby talk), no new words as yet although every time he says "dada", Row's heart melts. Justin is trying his very best though to imitate and copy us when we say things, like the past few nights we've been steaming up the bathroom before his bath and we point at the steam by the lights and show him that you can't touch it but you can see it and we tell him that it's "steam". Tonight, before we had run his bath he took my hand and took me to the bathroom and started pointing at the lights and trying to say "steam". His communication skills are coming along, making his needs, likes and dislikes known to us; he definitely understands that shaking his head means "NO!" which he does quite often, like if he's had enough to eat and I ask if he would like more, he'll shake his head. Row asked Justin for his dummy and he got a very definite head shaking. We think he's also trying to say "No" because lately he's been saying "na, na, na"... oh boy, just waiting for the day he says it loudly and clearly. On occasion, like when there's strawberries involved, he'll try say "More" when asked if he would like another strawberry. He's also been trying to say "here" and "there" and seems to understand the difference. Whenever Justin sees a dog, he tries to say "wowo" and he'll say "mmmoo" when he says a cow. He also knows what sound an owl makes so when he sees an owl, he'll say "hoo hoo".

It is so amazing to see their language skills develop and they really do soak things up like sponges. We'll really have to watch what we say and more importantly, how we say it!

Proud momma and pappa

Who would've thunk that parents of babies that go to day care would have parent teacher meetings! Actually our meeting was set for last Friday but because Justin was sick and didn't go to day care, our meeting was canceled so we had a quick chat this morning when I dropped Justin off. The teacher makes a portfolio for each child and this contains observations, objectives, outcomes and photographs and even a little bit or artwork. I think this portfolio will be nice for Justin to look through when he's older and it's nice for us now even, to see how he has grown and developed. It's nice to hear that Justin is settled at day care and has made friends, formed bonds with his teachers and is open to new challenges and discoveries, let's hope this stays with him for life! As first time parents, each new thing that our baby has learned is amazing to us and Row and I were reading and re-reading Justin's portfolio, pouring over each observation, soaking in the details of each experience and basking in the pride that this is our son. Even though Justin is the little being that's doing all this hard work, I feel like Row and I deserve a pat on our backs!

Justin, we love you so much and you've made us so proud!