Going on Safari!

Today we went on a spontaneous trip to the Lazy 5 Ranch, a local "safari"! We drove along a trail through wandering exotic animals whom we could feed from our car. John absolutely loved it. The joy on his face was so delightful for us. We took various videos, but John always stopped his hooting and animal noises when we were recording.

We were too nervous to open the windows for the aggressive ostriches:

Herds of pigs roamed everywhere:



There were many species of deer-like animals:


The watering hold was full of water buffalo, including one who had nothing but his nostrils poking above the water:


I have a fondness for buffalo because of my mother's side of the family coming from Nebraska:

We were not allowed to feed the water buffalo and long-horn cattle, so I was a little nervous when this cow with scary-looking horns came so close to us:
Llama:

Giraffe:
Here you can see that Mama was pretty nervous about the zebra (and, really, any animal trying to get into the window on her side of the vehicle):

After driving through the trail, we parked and walked through a little zoo. Among these adorable lemurs was a mama nursing her three tiny babies:
A beautiful moat of a coy pond surrounded the lemur island:
We all saw our first porcupine in the flesh. "Pine-pine!"
Camels:

News: Stem Cells in Breast Milk

One of Katherine's Public Service Announcements . . .

I was thrilled to learn at my LLL meeting yesterday that breast milk has been discovered to contain stem cells. If my understanding is correct, there are two kinds of stem cells: the most basic kind which can develop into anything and the slightly more mature stem cells which can develop into fewer things. Amazingly, it is the most basic kind of stem cells that are found in good old breast milk. All the scientists had to do to harvest the cells was have lactating women pump some milk: easy as pie and essentially free. There are many popular articles on the subject online (see here and here) and I will post a link to the original scientific study if I can find it. [EDIT: I have been given a pdf version of the study, which does not seem to be available publicly online. If anyone wants it, email me and I can email you the pdf.]

Now scientists are wondering what is the purpose of having such powerful stem cells in the milk which babies will drink. What happens when stem cells coat the digestive system of babies? Are stem cells one of the previously undiscovered ingredients in breast milk that "act to close up the leaky mucosal lining of the newborn, making it relatively impermeable to unwanted pathogens and other potentially harmful agents"?

Newborns have an open gut. When babies lose their "virgin gut" by being fed or even supplemented with formula, pathogens and proteins which babies cannot yet digest (because they lack the enzymes) can penetrate the intestinal walls, leading to digestive distress and a potential of a lifetime of food allergies. (Read The Case for the Virgin Gut here.) Perhaps these stem cells are one of the ways breast milk protects babies from these troubles.

I'll never get over wondering at God's perfect design!

Whee!

A couple of days ago, John discovered spinning. You know: the way a child spins in circles until he is dizzy and collapses. As he discovered how fun it is to spin, he began calling out "wheee! wheee!" We don't know where he learned to say that! Last night I caught some video of him spinning, although you can barely hear him saying "whee" and it's not as enthusiastic as at other times. (And, yes, John was going diaper-free as part of becoming aware of his bodily functions and learning when to use the potty.)

Bigger Every Day

John enjoys coloring on the kids' menus at restaurants. It provides a nice distraction, even if it does still require vigilance on our part to prevent him from coloring on the table or eating the crayons.
John's feet are now big enough that I was able to buy him "man socks" to wear to Mass and other dress-up occasions instead of white baby socks. They are so cute, I can hardly stand it.

Requiscat in Pace Oliver the Brave

Unbeknownst to each other, Chris and I each uploaded posts to the blog about Oliver's death at 2:37 p.m.! We'll leave them both posted.



Today we say farewell to Oliver the Brave, who passed away this morning. Our best indication is that Oliver's failing health was due to many hard years of service in defence of our home.

We salute you Oliver the Brave.

Rest In Peace Oliver the Kitty

Unbeknownst to each other, Chris and I each uploaded posts to the blog about Oliver's death at 2:37 p.m.! We'll leave them both posted.

Rest In Peace Oliver!
Photo taken 4-14-08.

Today our 6-year-old cat Oliver died very suddenly in front of us from being in seemingly good health. The veterinarian thinks Oliver died of a sudden lack of oxygen, essentially a pulmonary event, possibly secondary to a cardiac condition such as cardiomyopathy.

I've had Oliver since I found him as a lost feral kitten in my dad's backyard. He always maintained a neurosis from his feral days, needing affectionate reassurance often. We will miss him. John especially will miss him as he played with Oliver daily and now has no kitty to play with because crotchety old Missy will not allow it.

Communication

Today I thought it would be fun and interesting to try to tally the signs and words John uses. I poked around online to learn what was average (and John is nice and average). I was amazed to see that the average 18-month-old speaks 5-20 words, but the average 24-month-old speaks 150-300 words! That explains why I sense a cognitive explosion in John right now. Often he opens the page to a book and asks me for the labels for every picture he sees, even though he can't repeat back the words yet.

John Francis at 18 months old

Signs he uses now (21):

BABY
BLOWING NOSE [accompanied by sound “fffff”]
BRUSHING TEETH
CRYING [somebody else is crying]
DOWN
EAT
FLOWER / PLANT
HELLO / BYE-BYE
I HEAR SOMETHING
MORE
MUSIC [same sign he uses for TELEVISION]
NO [means “you are telling me no,” does not mean “I am telling you no”]
OWIE [another sign for emotional hurt]
OWIE [one sign for physical owie]
PHONE
POTTY [noun, verb]
PRAY
SIGN OF THE CROSS [at this point, he only does the Father on the forehead or temple]
WASHING HANDS
WATER
WHERE / ALL GONE

Words he uses now (25):

Nouns
Ba [sound sheep makes]
Baba [baby]
Cluck cluck [sound chicken makes]
Cop cop [helicopter]
Dada
Diaper
Duck
Mama
Meow [sound cat makes]
Moo [sound cow makes]
Neigh [sound horse makes]
No [nose, does not mean he is saying “no”]
Oh? [hello, telephone]
Ohn ohn [oink, sound pig makes]
Pine pine [porcupine]
Shhhhhh [sound water makes, usually indicating a hose spraying water]
Thhhbbbt [coffee, trash]
Vroom [vehicles, keys]
Woof [sound dog makes]

Verbs
Down [using it as a verb, to go down the stairs]
Jump

Exclamations
No no no [in imitation of another person saying “no,” does not mean he is saying “no”]
Uh-oh
Wow
Yum

Pine-pine

Yesterday we enjoyed a surprise visit from John's godmother Loretta and one of her seven children as they were passing through our city!
We think the way John calls porcupines "pine-pine" is so cute that we tried to videotape it. Here are the disappointing results:

I hit the "stop" button and said, "Never mind, John knows we're filming." John replied with an enthusiastic, "pine-pine!" Just now while uploading this video, I showed it to him and he must have shouted, "pine-pine!" half a dozen times.

Also, as of this morning, John is now calling a helicopter a "cop-cop."

John has never shown much interest in stuffed animals, but in the last week has been playing with a green frog given to him last Christmas. He immediately called the frog, "meow." Normally John is right on and if he says "meow," he sees a cat, but this time I really thought he was off his rocker. For days I corrected him, telling him it was a frog. Finally I noticed a tag on the frog's bottom with the logo for the maker of the toy: a cat! So, now we've dubbed him "Meow the frog."

Tidbits

John is saying a new word: "pine-pine" for porcupine. We find it extremely endearing.



John has been relatively cooperative about having his nails clipped until recently. I found a tactic that seems to be helping: I ask him which nail I should clip next and make the decision an exciting game. It's working for now.



Yesterday I ordered this interesting timer that visually shows time disappearing. I have ideas to use this in various ways with John (e.g., "you can play until the timer stops"). Stay tuned for a report.



Click here and here for some amazing photos of what our gestating baby should look like now at 17 weeks. Almost halfway done!

Little Explorer

The braciole turned out well on Father's Day. We happened to have eaten out for lunch after Mass, so had leftover pasta (six-cheese penne . . . yum!), which meant I didn't make any fresh pasta. I also got some fresh canoli from the bakery for dessert to continue the Italian theme.
My 11-year-old cat Missy is more crotchety than ever and seems to feel pain when she jumps. She won't jump over most baby gates any more, so we took pity on her and cut a hole in the baby gate that leads to the cats' lair (the bathroom containing their water, food bowls, and litter box). John immediately figured out how to get through the hole; he finds it easiest to go through feet-first. Oh well. At least I delayed him this long and now maybe he's at an age more teachable so that he'll stay out of the litter box.
I know other babies learn how to climb up things much earlier, but John finally has some motivation to do so. He likes to push his red car to the scene of the crime, climb onto the car's seat, then climb onto a chair, then get into something. From this chair, he can change the thermostat settings (which I just noticed is set at 100 degrees--no wonder it is so danged hot), move a light switch, and open my desk drawers.

Off topic: A big congratulations to my dear friend Elaine who had a successful VBA2C on Sunday night, giving birth without intervention to a healthy baby girl, and was home from the hospital a fast 12 hours later! We are thrilled for Elaine and her family!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to Chris! I am blessed to have such a daddy for my children! And Happy Father's Day to my dad, my stepdad, and Chris' dad!

And speaking of feet, I found something important yesterday. I was scouring boxes and closets for more extraneous stuff to donate away before we move into our new home when I came across some purses. I almost dumped the junk-like contents of one purse into the trash but decided to look through it. It turns out that was the purse I carried the very last time I carried a purse instead of a diaper bag: when I went to the hospital to give birth to John! Inside it were John's newborn footprints, which I've been looking for since we came home from the hospital. What a fun treat! They went straight into his baby book.

John is learning how to climb to reach enticing objects. He now stands on the arm of the armchair and stretches his hands two bookshelves up to reach the television remote controls in their hiding place. And he climbs onto this little table (which sits there to block the electrical outlet) in order to get into Mama's desk drawers (caught in the act, below).

I'm amazed at John's language comprehension, although I think it's perfectly normal for his age. A couple of days ago I dropped some laundry on the way to the washer. It occurred to me that maybe I could get my short son to bend over for me so his pregnant mama doesn't have to do it. I said, "Honey, please get me that pillow case and bring it to me." John turned back, saw it, ran to get it, and gave it to me! Not only can I tell him to "get me your book about fish," but I can tell him some specific titles, such as, "Get me Moo, Ba, La," or "Get me I Love You Through and Through." This age has serious challenges, but it is a fun time too.

Wish me success . . . I am cooking braciole, per request, for Chris' dinner tonight. I did the assembly last night, and this morning before church will put the rolls into sauce to cook all day.

Artwork

Photos of John working on Father's Day artwork: Unfortunately, I don't let him color often because the project always concludes with a tantrum because John is so insistent on coloring the furniture. If he is coloring, I have to sit with him the entire time, speaking on an endless loop of, "Color only on the paper. Do not color on furniture," then physically redirecting him at every single endless attempt. Ultimately, I always have to confiscate the crayons, which results in a giant tantrum.

Imagination. This morning I saw John using his graham cracker coated in peanut butter as a car. He was driving it all over the kitchen counter saying, "vroom! vroom!"

MORE. My friend Janeane's daughter learned MORE as her first sign, I think, when she was under a year old. John has had so much trouble learning that one, I thought because it was abstract. I always encouraged him to ask for MORE servings of food, but that didn't work. Now I think my problem was motivation. John is a picky eater. But he is a fiend for vestibular stimulation. This is the baby who from newborn to age ten months (when he learned how to walk) didn't let me stop moving or sit down ever. A few days ago, we were spinning him in an office chair and I asked him to sign for MORE. Suddenly, John got it! He kept signing for MORE MORE MORE! He's been using MORE ever since, including for food and television. Proper motivation was all he needed.

Discerning Palate. Yesterday I hatched the brilliant scheme to trick John into eating banana. The boy loves peanut butter, so I mashed some banana and mixed it about 40% banana, 60% PB, then spread it on a cracker. John did not see me preparing the concoction, nor did it look different than usual. But he took one bite, then began crying and handing the cracker back to me, not calming down until I took the cracker away. And we've discovered that the way to ensure he will refuse to eat any of our ice cream--which he usually loves--is to buy any fruit flavor, such as strawberry ice cream. I'm amazed that he will revolt at a fruit flavor even of a fruit he's never tried or seen before. How does he know? Is he allergic to fructose? What is it?! (People have pointed out that vegetables and protein are more important than fruit and I do know that. I just have a mild obsession with fruit because John's hatred of it is so senseless. What kid doesn't like fruit?)

Home Safe

We are home from a nice weekend in Atlanta. I enjoyed attending my friend's baby shower and a Catholic home schooling conference. Chris got many tasks done concerning getting our house sold; if all continues to flow smoothly, we will close escrow in a week! Praise God!


Here are videos of John running outside and doing one of his favorite activities: snapping a buckle (he has not learned how to unsnap):

We enjoyed dinner out at an Italian restaurant. Surprisingly, John rejected his plain angel hair with butter to eat half my serving of fettuccine alfredo. I know that most kids love fettuccine alfredo (which isn't exactly healthy), but John still tends to avoid sauces and wet foods, so I was pleased.

And here is a dark video of John coloring. He usually holds a writing implement like an adult instead of with his fist, which is interesting.



I finally found a Catholic bible appropriate for an under-2 toddler. This one has flaps to lift, which greatly intrigue John these days. Look at that concentration! I love how John grabs a book, finds a quiet place to sit (propped against the couch or on a bed against pillows), and "reads" to himself.

The drive home was not nearly as pleasant as the drive to Atlanta. John was in fussy, whiny form. Now he's at a difficult age when he's just plain bored and knows how to behave to alleviate his boredom (e.g., drop his water cup into the back of the SUV, then cry for his water when the only way we can get it is to pull over but who wants to be so cruel as to deny one's toddler water during a heat wave?). If we let him suffer with his boredom, we get to enjoy a lot of whining and crying on the drive home. It's not a ton of fun.

Barack Obama's Mad World

It's an Obama-Nation!!
[WARNING GRAPHIC]

Atlanta Visit

We are in Atlanta for the weekend. John did great on the drive down, napping and mostly being quiet when he was awake. Praise God!
We came down so I could surprise my dear friend Elaine at her mother's night out/baby shower and then attend a Catholic home schooling conference this Saturday. Below is beautiful Elaine, 39 weeks' pregnant, with some gorgeous socks a friend knitted (matching baby-and-mama socks).

I left John at home (at the in laws') with Chris for the evening, my first major evening outing without John. I really enjoyed myself and John did fine until he became tired for bedtime. Then he began to melt down. Meanwhile, I was trapped at the very enjoyable party because we got one restaurant bill, which we divided, specifically by order, among 11 women. The whole bill process took an hour to organize. The lesson I learned is to carry cash so I can leave at a moment's notice, paying and walking out. I got home at 10:30, an hour and a half after John was ready to sleep, so he was weeping by then. So sad! Despite the trauma, I really enjoyed having my first evening to myself in eighteen months!

The Pool and Sneakers

Yesterday I took John to the apartment pool for the first time of the season, wearing a cute swim outfit his Grandmom bought him. Unlike last summer when John was too young to know better, this time he was very cautious about the water. He would sit on the edge, bottom dry with feet in the water. I got him down one step farther and he didn't like that. Then he'd run around outside the pool before we'd try again. The only time he was laughing was when we found a volleyball: he sat on the edge of the pool and I stood in the water eight inches away from him and we tossed the ball back and forth. I couldn't take any good photos because I was always having to keep one hand on John, lest he run right into the pool.

Happy Monthday to John! He is eighteen months old today. I bought him his first sneakers a few days ago and, not expecting much success, put them on him today. He just stood up and began running around like an expert.

I had a customer no-service experience today at the Staples store behind our apartment. I walked in and scanned my eyes through the big store looking for the section containing CDs. I walked half the store before asking an associate for help. The woman was chewing gum as she worked. "Excuse me, ma'am? Where can I find the paper slipcovers for CDs?"

" With the CDs."

"And where would those be?"

"Across the store." I looked across the warehouse-sized store. The associated sighed audibly and said, "I'll show you."

After that I went to the shipping center and asked for help from someone else. "Excuse me, ma'am? Is this where I ship packages?"

"Yes."

"Is it self-service?"

"Yes."

"Well, I might need your help because I've never done it before."

"It's really self-explanatory." And then she walked away. So I went through the computer screens, typing in all the data for my three packages. Then it called for a password, so I called to the woman for help. She paged another associate and the original gum-chewing woman came over. She then informed me that they ship only through UPS and UPS does not ship to P.O. Boxes, for which two of my packages were destined. I wondered inside how a sophisticated computer program could not have informed me of that when I typed in P.O. Box addresses. Then the third package was going to cost $10 at UPS instead of $2.87 at USPS, so I took all three packages with me and left. What an experience!

In other news, yesterday I let John watch his potty video several times, then I turned everything off. I accidentally left the remote controls within reach. John found them, turned on the television with one remote, turned on the stereo with another remote, and pushed play so the potty video began playing. It was downright eerie.

"Boom! Boom!"

John has reached the age when he intently pays attention to what is showing on the television, so Chris and I have reached the point when we have to start limiting what we watch. This is just one more area--mundane though it may seem--where parenthood is going to make us better people because of the self-sacrifice we have to (should) make. No fun.

A few nights ago we were watching "The Incredibles," thinking nothing of it. Suddenly the spider-like robot leapt onto the screen, John shrieked, and then he began crying and saying, "boom! boom!" We tried fast-forwarding through the scene, but there were too many upcoming robot scenes and we abandoned the effort to watch the movie. That night when we went to bed, as soon as I turned off the lights, John began crying vigorously and saying, "boom! boom!" Even though I was right there comforting him, it took me almost an hour of his crying before he would fall asleep. Then last night John awoke suddenly in the middle of the night screaming, then continued crying and saying, "boom! boom!"

It seems that our sweet and slow-to-adapt little boy might be particularly sensitive about images on television. He hasn't had many opportunities to become scared because Chris and I don't watch scary movies or television. So, we'll be starting to limit our quantity and quality of television that we watch.

In other news, I found that Target (Archer Farms) makes wonderful all-natural fruit leather and fruit bars. Sadly John declared them "thbbbttt!" along with Horizon chocolate milk. However, this morning I diligently prepared another sippy cup of the chocolate milk and left it sitting out. In the early afternoon when John didn't know I was looking, I caught him taking a long, delicious drink of the milk and not spitting it out. Ha!

"Once Upon a Potty" DVD

Upon recommendation of a friend, we recently bought John a DVD about learning to use the potty. John loves his new DVD and its "Potty Song." If we would let him watch it endlessly, he would. This morning when he woke up, he immediately began gesturing wildly to watch his potty DVD. Did I mention that he loves it? And did I mention also that now Chris and I cannot get the Potty Song out of our heads?

John sitting transfixed while watching the potty DVD:

Sometimes John is so mesmerized by the subject matter that we can't pull his attention away:

Other times John dances wildly with joy (he's not smiling in this video, though). Here you can see him spinning until the spinning becomes just too much!

Obviously, we don't know the full effects of this video in the long run. So far, I'd recommend it as being very positive and encouraging with no shaming. The words used are basic and ones we think are appropriate for toddlers. On Amazon, I see some parents critical of the video because the children in it are obviously under two years old and why would they be potty training? But for those of us who have toddlers this age showing so much interest in the potty already, the video showing "babies" is a positive trait.