from heidi

Gus has been talking in long paragraphs lately– with lots of tangents. He often starts a sentence and it’s clear he doesn’t know yet how it’s going to end– he just wants to talk to prolong the moment. I love these dialogues because it’s really a peek into his brain about how he thinks and what word associations he has already built. Last night I went up to check on Gus because he was having a hard time falling asleep and this is the conversation we had (all done in a very sad voice/low whine):

Gus: Mama, I was calling for you because I was really, really sad. And I said, Mama! Mama! Mama! And you didn’t come and so I called, Help! Help! I need help! I need help…to find my living room.  My living room…is where my mommy and me live.  My dining room is where I dine. My bedroom is where I sleep.

Heidi: What about your kitchen?

Gus: My kitchen is where I ki…my kitchen is where I cook. Mama, I need a massage.

Heidi: Okay, buddy. I’ll rub your back.

Gus: And my neck, and my shoulders, and my legs.

Heidi: Okay. I’ll rub your back, neck, and shoulders and legs, then I’m going downstairs to move the laundry and I’ll be back in two minutes to check on you [none of which is true by the way, I always come up with vague excuses to go otherwise he will beg for me to stay-- past excuses include other invented household chores, brushing my teeth, getting my watch, turning off things like the stove or the radio, and often something having to do with Jasper the cat].

On this Thanksgiving, Heidi and I are of course most thankful for our little guy. He brings such joy into our lives. His smile and his imagination are pure cuteness. He has also been saying the funniest things:

* He has really been into letters and while I am reading to him, he will sometimes ask where the word I just said is on the page. We were reading a book that is written all in lower case letters and I spelled out the word “three”. He asked where the “e” was on the page. I pointed to it and he looked up at me with a puzzled look and said “That’s a different type of e”. Our letter magnets are all upper case so I told him that it was a little e, a lower case e which is different from an upper case E. “That’s a young e,” he informed me. He has been calling all lower case e’s “young e’s” since.

* Gus is on the verge of no longer needing a nap, but we are stuck in limbo land, where if he doesn’t take a nap he goes to sleep at 7pm but if he does take a nap, he will stay awake in bed until 9:30pm or so. A week or so ago, he was fussing in his bed. I walked in and he said, “I can’t do this papa. I can’t do this”. I tried really hard to stifle my laugh. He was so earnest and distraught about the whole thing. A couple of nights ago, I entered his room while he was fussing and he told me between sobs, “Something’s just not right here, papa”. I have no idea where he picks these things up.

from heidi

Gus has been sick since Halloween. One illness merging into a new illness before we can really recover.  The downside is that we haven’t been able to go to school or see any of our friends.  The upside is that we are getting very creative about our play!

Today’s rainy day activity was to make a new track for some trains that don’t fit on our standard tracks. We got the wrong gauge trains in a box of assorted trains and tracks from one of Joe’s colleagues. Gus requested we make them a track (he thinks I can make anything in my craft room!), so I got out a piece of long paper and started drawing the track according to his specific directions. In case you can’t read my scribble or decipher my poor illustrations the track goes “past the rain, around the pond, over the bridge, thru the forest, down the hill, up the hill, thru the mountain, into the snow, onto the turntable, onto a siding and out of the way, and into the shed”

Details

from heidi

Gus wanted to be a “steam engine” for Halloween so Joe and I got crafty and turned a box into a train. Not surprisingly, we started this at 9:30 on a Thursday night. We didn’t have blue paint, so we made a green Percy. Surprisingly, Gus wanted to wear it!

Here are a few photos of us in costume. There are lots more from other friends (including the whole family as train engineers), but these will have to do until those can be collected. Here is also a cute (and short) video of Gus in partial costume (jammies and the box).

Gus and I had several parties to attend throughout the day and were well worn out by the time it started to get dark so I decided to skip the trick-or-treating for another year. Gus really doesn’t know what candy is anyways, nor would he say boo to a stranger in a costume. Besides, Joe had to go to a conference and we can’t have his first trick-or-treat without dad. We handed out the candy with some neighbors– someone has to stay home to do it!

Here are a couple of recent random photos of Gus playing with his food and play dough.  In addition to asking about time all the time, he is also asking me what letter words start with, “Mama, what does mechanic start with?” I help him sound it out and he names other words he knows that start with the letter– so smart!

Gus has recently become really interested in (digital) clocks. He is constantly asking, “What time is it Papa?”. He is quickly learning to read the numbers left to right (which is not actually intuitive for all those Hebrew, Arabic, and Chinese readers out there). He is also quickly learning numbers greater than 10. Sometimes 36 is sixty three, but it is increasingly thirty six. It is extremely exciting when the clock changes as we are watching it (which it usually does because Gus waits for the big moment every time- “What time is it going to be, Papa?”, sometimes for five consecutive minutes).

It is possible that Santa will bring him a watch this year. Or we might use said watch as a bribe to get this potty train moving! It’s time!

Gus took Heidi’s cell phone this morning and said into it, “I’m just calling to see if you want to go out to dinner tonight. OK. Bye.”

Papa: “Let’s put on our new robot jammies buddy!”
Gus: “OK!”
Pause.
Gus: “I’m afraid of robots”
Papa: “Well, they will probably take over the world one day”
Gus: “Yeah”

from Heidi

All summer we have been working on getting a co-op of seven parents and children for a playgroup/pre-school for Gus.  Stewart’s family generously donated their basement space and with one last push this weekend, we finally finished all the logistics of schedules, decorating and furniture, etc. Today was the first official day of “school” (aka Sprouts/playschool/pre-school/the co-op). Gus was super-excited, but also I think he didn’t totally know what it really meant. Nonetheless, it’s been a great bribe all week, “Do you want to go to school? Yes? Then we need to [insert activity here].”

School runs Tues/Thurs from 9-1. Since we rotate which two parents are working, I don’t actually have to work until October.  Though I wasn’t worried that Gus would cry when I left or anything, I was worried about how he’d manage with all the noise and chaos of seven toddlers in a room.  When I returned a few minutes early, I took a peek inside and was surprised at how quiet it was.  The majority of the kids were participating in a story.  I overheard Luke ask the kids, “What kind of sound does a cat make?” To my surprise, there was a chorus of “Meow!” Amazing. When it was time for pick-up, Gus told me about his day– playing trains, reading books, playing outside, snack-time.  So cool!  On the car ride home he said he wanted to go back to school.

Meanwhile, I was able to run several kid-free errands, including taking the time at the store to really decide what I wanted to get (versus what I can find quickly that seems somewhat acceptable), and then I had lunch with a friend.  Anyways, I’ve posted a number of super cute photos of the school (I sewed all the cute curtains, pillows, and art smocks for the school) and Gus posing for his first day.

We went camping with the Guster for the first time (ex-utero, that is) and he LOVED it. His favorite activity, he informed us after returning, was throwing rocks in the river. As the person who accompanied him on frequent trips to the river, kneeling in mud for 30 minutes at a stretch, I can vouch for that. The campsite was beautiful (actually probably the best campsite we have ever had).  Our tent was literally 30 feet from a rushing river that lulled us to sleep every night. We went on a bunch of hikes, Gus had his first s’more, and we saw cool bugs and beautiful scenery. It was a grand time. Then Heidi and Gus traveled down to California to visit Heidi’s parents in Santa Rosa. Heidi’s sister Amy and her younger daughter Zoe were there as well so Gus got some quality time with his two-year old cousin.

In the meantime, Gus has also developed some new skills. The other day, I turned around and saw that he had arranged the letter magnets on the fridge into his name. It was unbelievable.  He is really starting to get into letters and their sounds. He is also quite the puzzler. He has advanced right past the wooden puzzles and has been doing 30 piece real puzzles- like, that fit together to make a real picture. It is insane to watch him do this.

It turns out that much of Gus’s amazing skills can be traced back to his (obsessive) love of Thomas the Tank Engine, I almost hate to admit.  The puzzles he is doing are Thomas, of course. He learned his colors early because he knew that Thomas is blue, Percy is green, James is red, etc (really, I could go on and on). He learned his numbers this way as well (Thomas is #1, Edward is #2, Henry is #3, I think I’ll stop there). And, he is learning his letters this way. He knows that Thomas starts with T.  He is starting to put this together with other words. A week ago, I asked him what letter his friend Jonah’s name starts with. Gus said, “Jah, Jah, Jonah. Jah, Jah, James. It starts with J!”. I think I cried. I couldn’t believe he could put spelling together like that… at age 2. As much as I cannot stand you Thomas, thank you for your contribution to my son’s development. (Now stop being so mean to the other engines).

Our other big news is that Gus is starting  school next week. We are part of a group of seven families that have gotten together to form a co-op preschool that Gus will attend two mornings per week. More details on that coming up. And another massive photo dump should be happening any day now.

It turns out that Heidi and I are terrible bloggers. Or at least infrequent bloggers.

We started this whole bloggin’ business while Gus was in the NICU to give updates to our friends and family in an efficient manner. As the story of Gus’s entrance to the world played out, we realized that Gus may want to read about his early years at some point so we decided to keep it up for him. It also became surprisingly therapeutic to share our parental joys and triumphs (and hint at our occasional frustrations and despair) with the two people that continued to read the blog. Although it has been pretty enjoyable, it sometimes feels like a chore- definitely more fun than taking out the garbage, but also a bigger time investment.

We have been trying to be Zen about the blog- sit down when the inspiration hits us and not think of it as a commitment. What we didn’t really factor into our plan was how crazy life is with a toddler. The posts have become more and more spread out as Gus gets busier and busier (and demands more and more of our attention). I imagine when he is in high school, all Heidi and I will do is blog- about how our precious son doesn’t want to spend any time with us any more.