23 Month Blog

Well, Yesterday marked 23 months for Everett! We were too busy celebrating Brian's 29th birthday, meeting new friends, doing yard work, etc., for me to sit down and blog, so I'll catch up today!

23 months. It's so close to two that I feel kind of weird blogging. But after two, I might stop blogging monthly (at least about developmental stuff), so I thought I would keep it up for one more month before THE BIG ONE (I mean TWO!)

It has been another big month. The biggest change is his level of awareness. He acknowledges that he understands what we're saying a lot more and responds thoughtfully. It's amazing and alarming when you realize they're absorbing everything they experience . . . and remembering it weeks later! |:

Reading last month's blog, I'm happy to report he no longer answers most questions with "no." His answers are becoming much more situationally appropriate. He also says "mine" much less often. Woo hoo! He still says it sometimes but not so much that we're frustrated by it.

Those one word answers are being replaced by things like, "No Daddy, No!" "Pweeease Mama, pweeeease!" and "Help Grama Gion, Help!" Well, at least he's being more direct?

with his new guitar

It makes me sad. He's calling his grandfathers "Grampa" more than "Baba" now. It's always sad when they drop baby words. That might be one we try to keep around.

 Magna Doodle. Great for a kid who likes to draw all the time!

Last month I wrote about how we were trying to transition from cuddling on the couch to sleep to going to sleep in his bed. I've kind of changed my outlook on that. He's started ASKING to go to sleep--and in his bed no less! ("bed time" "nigh nigh time") So I realized I won't be able to cuddle him to sleep much longer. He's going to get too big, and I want to savor this time when he's still a baby! I'd probably see this differently if he wasn't asking to go to sleep, like there wouldn't be a natural end in sight. Kind of like ending breastfeeding. He naturally cut down on it, and we were able to transition really easily to no nursing. I think it's just his personality.

We're still trying to spend more time in his room before bed, reading and relaxing. And when he does come out to the living room, he's in his bed longer and longer before he comes out again after being put down.

He seems to understand his conditions much more. He tells us when he's tired, when he wants to go outside or inside. He was such a distractable baby that when he started telling me what he wanted, I thought he was joking.

with friends Rosa and Ines

with friend Max

We helped throw a spring party on March 20th. Anna and I were going to throw a St. Patrick's party, but everyone was either sick or unexpectedly busy, so we celebrated the beginning of spring. My friends Anna, Juliette, and Stephanie (and their kids) got to meet for the first time! And I didn't take any pictures. }:

Brian got two weeks off for spring break! He spend most of the time doing yard work. He prepped for and put in a lawn. This included fixing the sprinklers, adding edging/trim, wood chips around the border, plus making the dirt flat and hospitable to grass seeds (rototilling, soil, fertilizer) but inhospitable to birds (manure). He killed ivy and weed whacked. We both did some planting (someday we'll have big bushed to shield the road!).

Everett spent a lot of time outside over Brian's break and even got to "help" when we didn't have to keep him off the lawn because of fertilizer or seeds.

yard work

It wasn't all work for Brian, he also got to visit gymnastics for the first time!

We went to a tie dye party for Everett's now two-year-old friend Eli. The Hunters were there.

Everett and Andy

bubbles!

Everett and Sadie

Sadie's tongue

And this month was Easter!

The Hunters invited us to their house for pizza and egg hunting, but Gion thought Everett needed to practice egg hunting beforehand. So we went to their house for brunch and some practice egging.

Then we went to the Hunters', and Everett was an egg hunting pro! . . .

and also an honorary Hunter/Banks cousin. 

We got to see all the grands on Easter. My parents came over to the Hunters' and had a great time watching E play, jump, and swing. 

See you next month for the second birthday post! 

22 Month Blog

22 months?!? How did this happen?! My baby is turning into a big boy! He even calls himself a big boy. Well, I've heard him say, "big boy baby," so I guess he doesn't quite understand the ramifications of this title shift.

It's been a BIG BIG BIG month for us. Not just for Everett, but he was part of it.

One of our BEST friends in the world Henry Bonifas came back from over two YEARS in Africa with The Peace Corps. Henry had never met Everett. I was actually pregnant during Henry's going away party, but only Brian and I knew at that point. He missed both our weddings and lots of Everett-related events. But he's here now, and we're trying to make up for lost time.

Even though we have yet to take a picture with him since he got back. We'll need to remedy that soon.

Also big this month, Aunt Sue came to visit! That's always very fun. My parents kept her busy, but she spent a few days over here with me just watching Everett play.

We took a trip to Carmel to visit with our friends Will and Malia who we haven't seen much since 2005! It was Malia's birthday, and they had rented a house and gathered a bunch of friends to celebrate. It was a surprise to us when we got there and all the friends there celebrating were people we knew in Santa Cruz. It was great to catch up.

Everett and I got to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium with Rachel and Baby Sadie! Rachel had left her camera there (or did John leave it?) when they went a few days earlier. Their misfortune worked out for us as Rachel asked us to come along to retrieve the camera. Luckily Anne and Dave (John's mom and her husband) had bought passes, so we got in free! Also, the drive was a fun time to chat with my BFF!

Turns out 21 months is a little young to do Monterey Bay Aquarium and truly "get" it. He enjoyed himself, but the toys and the kids were just as fun for him as the fish and penguins. And we have plenty of toys and kids down here! But I'm sure he learned quite a lot. And we got pictures!

So, developmental stuff about Everett?

He sings a lot. Itsy Bitsy Spider, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, ABC Song, Ring Around the Rosie, the cuckoo clock song from gymnastics, a few songs from Yo Gabba Gabba.

He LOVES coloring! Markers, crayons, chalk, pen. And he can entertain himself for a surprisingly long time drawing. He still needs to be reminded often to stay on the paper (or the chalkboard), but we're working on it.

He's just started being interested in movies. Sort of. Well, he likes the Toy Story movies. He calls Buzz and Woody--and all the movies they're in, actually--"Astronaut and Cowboy!"

His answer to almost every question is "no!" Even if he means "yes," he'll say "no!" And we're still dealing with "mine!" Oh well. Soon enough he'll understand we are unamused by these words. We're mostly trying to ignore them and redirect.

But he's such a lovey and cuddly boy. Especially since his recent cold, he's been asking for "paci," "nap," and "cuddles" in the middle of the day, whiny for no reason until he gets to cuddle.

He talks more and more. More phrases and sentences. Tonight, he was saying, "Daddy's eating chicken. Mommy's eating chicken. I'M eating chicken!"

We've been trying to transition from Everett being held to sleep to reading/him being partially awake when he goes in his bed. Not easy. It's definitely a regret of mine that we didn't start doing this earlier. But I used to nurse him to sleep, and holding him is so comfortable. But he needs to be able to comfort himself to sleep! Especially if he wakes at 3:00 in the morning!

He's controlling his bladder much better now. He sits on the potty seat before his shower (yes, he's taking showers) every night, and almost every time, he can make himself pee. It used to seem more like an accident.

He's been having a lot of fun playing in the yard lately. Brian built a retaining wall in the back and a planter box in the front (both are still just filled with dirt). He's been playing with his dump trucks and shovels and pails.

Some other stuff he did this month:

We had a Valentine's Party with a few good friends!

He helped start seeds with daddy.

He helped Grandma Gion with her brackets for March Madness!

Until next month!

21 Month Blog

Everett is now 21 months old!

And once again, it was a BIG month! {:

Our little chatterbox. He has HUNDREDS of words! There's just no way to count or list them. You teach him a word, and he'll remember it, sometimes a week or two later.

He says, "I love you!" At first, we would prompt him: "I" . . . "wuv" . . . "YOU!" But now he will occasionally, occasionally say "I wuv you" . . . when he's feeling lovey, I guess.

He just reasonably said "thank you" unprompted! For a week or so, he'd been saying, "please, thank you!" Sort of sing songy like they do on Yo Gabba Gabba. Then, out of the blue, I gave him a banana, and he said "thank you!" Awwww.

He's so funny when he asks for something. He'll say, "more popcorn? Yeah! OK!" He asks for more of something he hasn't had, then answers himself. So funny.

He's been singing the ABC song a lot (not completely accurate). He can identify "O's," "E's," and "K's." And he's been counting a lot. "1, 2, 4!" He counts up to ten often, and sometimes some numbers in the teens.

He's started memorizing books. We'll read Brown Bear Brown Bear, and he'll mimic the rhythm of the book with guttural sounds and say some of the words.

He's been playing more make believe. He'll "pick" food out of books and "eat it." He'll "pick" a car out of a book and "driving it."

He's been getting more empathetic. Crying when his friends cry. Crying when I say mommy has a boo boo.


He kissed me the other day and said "boo boo" . . . 'cuz I kiss his boo boos. 

He's helped me clean up once. I should have him help me more often, but it's easier just to do it myself. 


The Daily Show comes on, and Everett says, "JON!!" When the Colbert Report comes on, we hear, "Stephen! Stephen!" We watch Daily Show/Colbert Report from the internet. There was ONE commercial that was playing over and over, Jack in the Box Jumbaco. He LOVED it! He'd look at the computer and say, "Baco!" THIS is why we don't have normal cable! 

Both his "Grama Gion" and his "Baba George" had birthdays in February, also several of his close friends. He learned to say "happy birthday Grama Gion!" and "happy birthday Baba George!" These phrases were acompanied by mimed candle blowing and chatter about the cupcake that fell over at Julie Hunter's birthday party. 

He's been sleping with a baby doll (Margaret) and a stuffed animal (psychedelic blue Mickey Mouse). Seems to help him sleep. He's such a cuddle bug, but also a kicker, so it's impossible to actually sleep with him and cuddle. 


And last but not least, he had to say good-bye to possibly his favorite person in the world late last month. His Uncle Kirk went back to Thailand. Since then, he's been talking about how Uncle Kirk went away in the air plane.

Me might have to go to Thailand to visit! Everett, and the rest of us, will miss him very much.

20 Month Blog

My baby turned 20 months two days ago!!

It's so hard to get a blog up on the day when the 15th is on a weekend--especially a fun 3-day-weekend!

playing at Avila this weekend

So . . . 20 months! It's so close to two I can't even believe it! I'm sorta kinda starting to think about a party, but it's so hard for me to anticipate what he'll want to do in 4 months, I don't want to plan too much. {:

It's been another incredible month.

future Greyhound!

Beyond it being the holidays and just an action-packed season anyway, he's been growing and changing.

at the San Miguel Christmas Parade with the Hunters

He's become such a chatterbox, with intelligible and unintelligible chatter.

He learns and REMEMBERS almost all the words you say to him.

He started saying GRANDMA!! . . . well, "grama." This is a big deal, because he's been saying "baba" for grandpa for months, but he wasn't calling his grandmas anything! These ladies that mean so much to him didn't get names!

But now he's gone from calling them both "grama" to calling them both "grama kaffee." My mom is named Kathie. I guess I over-emphasized her name. Oh well. We'll get Gion covered soon. (:

helping in the kitchen!

He's been singing the ABC song! Of course he doesn't know what it means, but it was pretty amazing when he stared singing it.

He's starting to count. For example, he'll say "one shoe, two shoes" Ok, he doesn't always get the plurals right. But he'll see two cars and say, "two car!" But he'll also say "two car!" for three cars, so he's not quite there. Three is still elusive.

If you say "1, 2, 3, 4," he'll say "FIVE!" or "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9," . . . "TEN!" You can do that with some of the numbers, but he doesn't say all of them.

He likes to identify circles.

at SLO Children's Museum

He says, "ALL ABOARD!!" when he's playing with (or thinking about) trains.

Grandma Gion bought him a riding car/bike toy that has sounds and taught him to say, "Outa the way!!" Hmmm . . . {:

He says his name! And he does seem to understand it's his name.

another GORGEOUS beach day in January

Last blog I wrote about how much he was eating. Well, duh! He was about to have a growth spurt!

All of a sudden, his 12 month pants were all high waters (yes, he has short legs and a long torso like his mommy--he's been comfortable in 24 months on the top for a while).

a favorite silly face

He's still eating a lot, but not impressing us (and sort of freaking us out) at every meal.

He's still such a love bug. He gives hugs (gweeeeeze!) and kisses all the time, and he'll say "I love you," but he has to be prompted for each word.

He's so sweet and fun!

A little about sleep. We (and especially Brian) are spending more early mornings (2:00 or 3:00 on) in Everett's bed than we would like. He wakes, and the most effective thing to get him back to deep sleep is one of us staying with him, and Brian seems to be able to get better sleep than I do in E's bed, so I let him. Hopefully he will start sleeping better soon, not waking up in the middle of the night, and not needing us until actual morning.

Bedtimes have been getting better (earlier), especially on days we have playdates and he gets an early nap.