Voicing his demands

Our dog has been on high alert lately. Really, really, extremely wound up, high alert. I think it's a combination of  re-listing the house, which results in 3 showings in one day, and a brazen little rodent invading out backyard (although I doubt he'll be sticking around after two close encounters with Stella this weekend). She's barking more than normal, and apparently even the littlest ears in our home are less than pleased. The other night we let her outside right after Carter had gone down for bedtime. Over the monitor, we heard a mini drill Sargent:

"Stella! No barking!"

Which was followed by another bark, and then another annoyed command:

"Stella! Do! you! understand! me?? I said... NO! BARKING!"

11 Months of Avery

Dear Avery,

Today you are 11 months old.

I cannot believe there’s only one month left until your first birthday. Time flies when you’re sleep deprived. It’s a good thing you are so cute because we really haven’t slept nearly enough in 11 months. (especially since you’re still sleeping in our room since you wake up your brother). One night last week you woke up at 3am, and there you were, standing up in your pack and play, smacking both hands on the bed and yelling “dada! dada! dada!” with the most adorable smile.  You’ve even spent a few nights this month playing at the wee hours of the night when the rest of us would really like to be sleeping. If you could just start sleeping better, that would be so kind of you.

Your nickname this month is Avery Monster. You are all over the place and into everything. You love all of your brother’s toys. You are obsessed with his trains, his trucks, his books, pretty much anything he’s playing with. We often have to warn him, “Carter, look out, Avery Monster is coming.” Once you reach your destination, you take over and destroy, a little bit like Godzilla. I’m sure you’re just making up for 11 months of your brother stealing your toys from you. I’m actually glad you can hold your own now, even though your brother may feel differently. He doesn’t mind too much though, your brother loves you a whole lot.

A few days before Easter you were really, really sick. You came down with a sinus infection and pink eye and you were teething all at once. You were so miserable and grumpy, but you were better just in time for our festivities. Those were not fun days for anyone, lots of whining and clinging and crying. It was just so sad to watch you so miserable, we were all relieved when you started to perk back up to your normal, cheerful self.

We had a fun Easter this month with a handful of different celebrations. In true Avery Monster fashion, you were absolutely obsessed with everyone else’s Easter eggs. Since they’re not a great toy for a baby, I didn’t give you any of your own. That did not deter you from trying to get to your brother’s stash, or your cousins’, or whatever else you could give your little hands on.

You took your first step last Friday. One, tentative, wobbly, unsupported step! You are so close to walking, but you’re a very proficient crawler so you tend to prefer that instead of even trying to walk. You are talking a lot these days, although we’re not really sure what you’re saying. A few words are more clear, specifically mama, dada, and bye-bye a few times. The past few weeks you’ve been yelling “Gob! Gob! Gob!” really loud, from the back of your throat. It’s so funny to hear such a deep growling from such a tiny, sweet girl. You love to play peek-a-boo, which you have now started initiating on your own. You use a hat or a blanket to cover your face, then laugh when you pull it away and look at us expectantly for our laughter. You are already a little comedian.

You also now know what “no” means and sometimes you listen. It is so funny to watch you pause and spin back around away from the forbidden object. Last weekend you were crawling around the corner to the dog water (of course!) and when I told you no you immediately changed directions and fled back to the playroom like you were surprised you got caught. I’m sure this obedience won’t last long, but it’s more than we ever got from your brother and it’s awfully cute. I’m sure someday very soon we’ll reminiscence about the days you used to listen to us when we told you “no” and you didn’t say it back to us, but for now we’re just embracing every sweet, innocent moment.

Much love,

Mama

Bad Ideas

As Carter continues to learn about the world around him in his own unique way, he often asks us, "Is that a good idea or a bad idea?" 90% of the time he already knows, and 95% of those he knows are bad ideas. So when we hear....

"Is thiiiiis a good idea?!?!" dissolve into high pitched squealing laughter, we don't even have to know what he's talking about to know that it is definitely not a good idea.

Another recent addition is "that's a silly thing!" Sometimes that refers to a truly silly thing, like Stella running crazed laps around the house or Avery chewing on her feet. Most of the time he uses it to describe known bad behavior. Such as:

"I was just sitting in my room and then I just jumped on my bed. That's a silly thing!"

"All my toys dumped on the ground! That's a silly thing!"

"Look! All the water jumped out of the bottle and on to my shirt! That's a silly thing!"

In the Spanish language, fault is typically assigned to the object (i.e. "the keys lost themselves"). Apparently that philosophy also applies to toddler logic.