Declan's Signs

Declan now knows 4 signs:

• More
• Milk
• Moon
• Down

And about 200 words. But it takes a LOT of expertise and context to know what he's saying. Only his mom and I can do it. He really only has about 8 or 9 consonants (e.g. pudding, puddle and pumpkin all sound the same-"puh", ditto for dad, dog and that-"dah").

He can't say "S", "G" or "F" either. So "Santa" comes out "hahn" and "Frog" comes out "aw" and "Giraffe" is "rah".

He figured out the Diaper

Declan just figured out how to remove his diaper.

We're in BIG trouble.

And no, at 16 months, he's not even close to being potty trained.

Declan's Busy Sunday.

He slept in until about 9am on Sunday 11/9/08 (usually he's up at 7am every day). Probably still tired from his late night on Friday (up crying 2am to 4am).

We had breakfast at home and then went off to the train.

We took the Red Line to Park, then switched trains and walked over to the Orange Line. Finally got off at Back Bay (my old stomping grounds, I lived in the South End from 2001 to 2003) and went up into the Copley Mall. Declan got to run around some there. He enjoyed the fountain and playing inside the Sony store (home theater demo was cool). We walked through a busy crowd (some kind of art school audition) and peered down the elevated walkway windows to the traffic below on Huntington Ave.

We crossed into the Prudential Mall and made out way over to Isis Maternity. Declan played with the toy balls on display while Tiff checked out the pictures in back. We took a picture of the picture of Declan on the wall in the men's room (our friend Christina McPherson is starting a photographer business, he is one of her "models"). Then we had lunch at the food court. Declan sampled rice, curried chicken and some veggie burger.

We walked out on to Boylston St and stopped in Starbucks. Mom & Dad got coffee, Declan got a cup of whipped cream. He fell asleep as we walked to the Common and the Carousel. Unfortunately, it was the last day it was there. Back to the Red Line at Park St, then home.

At home, he napped a little more, than came out to play on the ball fields across the street from our house with soccer balls and Frisbees. He finished up with some time at the playground, then dinner, a peek at the waxing moon, and off to bed.

All part of our diabolical plan to have our kid experience as much of the big, wide world as possible.

Rough Night

Declan had a rough night last Friday (11/7/08) and was up from 2am to 4am. He was crying and wanted to get down and play. We coaxed him back to sleep a few times, but he kept wanting to get back up again. Some of it may have been due to his shots (pain kept him up?), or else due to "Wonder Week" where kids go through developmental spurts, where they are in bad moods until they figure it all out.

Anyway, he slept past 9am both weekend mornings. He's usually up by 7:15am every day.

He has calmed down a little since then. We put another night light in his room and spent an extra 15 minutes or so calming him in his crib to make sure he's really ready to sleep. And try to tire him out during the day (actually we try for that EVERY day).

Declan's first 50 words

Ok, we may be overly proud parents. And maybe the less-than-one-syllable sounds don't really count, but here are Declan's first 50 "words" (not including a couple of bad ones he learned). Also, we realize that he uses the same sounds for a few words. Oh well. He's only 15 months so we'll give him a break

September 2008

1. Dada "dadadadada"
2. Mama "momomomomomo"
3. Ball "bahhhh?" (like a question)
4. My ball "mubahhhh"
5. Turk "tuuuuur?"
6. Daisy "dee!!" or "dazeeee"
7. Car "cahhhh?" (like a true Bostonian)
8. Tree "teeee"
9. Bottle "baba"
10. Kittie "ti"
11. Dog "do"
12. Cup "cuh"
13. Go Go (his name for his push toy) “gogo”
14. All gone “aga”
15. Shoe “shush”
16. Pudding “puh”
17. Snack “nack”
18. Water “wawa”
19. This “dis”
20. Nap “nana”
21. Remote/TV “tee”
22. Glasses “ga”
23. More “mouw” (signs as well)
24. Cereal “shi”
25. That “da”
26. Puddle “puh”
27. Fish “shish”
28. Bye “ba ba ba ba” (while waving both hands) and "biya"
29. Hi “hah!” and "ha-dere"

October 2008
30. No “nunununununu!”
31. Moon “muh”(with the sign)
32. Pumpkin “puh”
33. Mouth “muh”
34. Stick “ti”
35. Rock “ru”
36. Helicopter “hehe” or “hhhhheeeeee”
37. Pig “pi”
38. Bird “ber”
39. Mouse “muh”
40. Star “da”
41. Pob “puh” (Tiff’s Dad)
42. Jax “ax” (Tiff’s Mom)
43. Matthias “tee”
44. Coat “coh”
45. Scare Crow “co”
46. Banana “na”
47. Apple “a”
48. Door “doh”
49. Squirrel “quir”
50. Pizza “piii”
Animal noises: aaaa (sheep), neigh, aaar aaar (dog), eee eee (pig), ka ka (duck), mmmmmm (cow)

Declan's Vocabulary

Up to about 35 words now. List includes ball, bye, cup, car, cat, dog, pumpkin.

Keep in mind these are all one syllable words and if you heard it out of context, you'd never guess it. So all words that begin with "C" or "D" sound the same.

He's also got 5 or 6 animal sounds down.

What does the horse say? Neigh.
What does the cow say? Mmmmmmm

His first scrape

Declan had his first big scrape yesterday.

His ball had rolled back between his legs, he put his head down to look back and then fell flat on his face.

Poor little guy scraped up his nose, face and forehead.

But he's doing fine despite his wounds. Not really that bad. Certainly hasn't deterred him from any future adventures.

Declan's Vocabulary

So far he's got a few words down:

• Ball: sounds like Bah, or "Mah Bah" for "My Ball
• Bottle: bah bah. Sounds a lot like Ball.
• Mommy: mama. Also general call for "Help me do this"
• Turk: Our cat. sounds like "Tuh"
• Cup: cuh

As you can see, he's not so good with ending consonants.

He KNOWS a lot more words, like Outside and Park.

Number Two!

I forgot to mention....Tiffany is PREGNANT again!

We're really excited.

#2 is due in February some time. More to follow of course.

Sticks, Holes & Puddles

Declan is becoming quite the inquisitive child. His favorite activities now include holding sticks, examining holes and stomping in puddles. A bit more on each....

He loves grabbing sticks and picking them up to hold. Our street has a fair amount of trees, so any walk is interrupted by his reaching down for them. He has been told "Sticks don't come inside", but still tries. Meanwhile we have to make sure he doesn't poke himself or us in the eye. One fun activity involves putting the sticks into the aforeentioned holes.

The holes are mainly leftover from chain-link fence posts in our yard. They were sawed off at ground level and still go a few feet down (only about 2" in diameter, so he can't fall in). He likes poking the sticks in, along with his hands. One of them holds water, he splashes in that one.

Puddles are another fun activity. This summer has been rainy and so lots of puddles. Plus our basement sump pump spills water onto the driveway (as do many of our neighbors), so there is always water around.

Declan Turns One!

Declan turned One last Friday. We didn't have a party for him, as his entire life is a party right now. We did go to two other parties over the weekend (Saturday for a girl down the street who turned 4 and Sunday for a friend of Tiff's whose son turned One on Monday). So he wasn't lacking.

He loves the warm weather and gets out to play multiple times a day. My routine during the week is to have Tiff come out to the bike path with him to meet me. We all walk home together, I change at home, and take Declan out to play, with hopes of tiring him out before bedtime.

More on walking

Declan has actually taken a few steps on his own, but we aren't calling it walking just yet. He doesn't get a good start and he gets too excited before trying and ends up stumbling. But he's close.

Meanwhile this week he's off to Music Camp with Tiff (she's the director) 3 days a week. The other two days he's at our babysitter Anju's house. We were worried about him, but he has done fine. Either napped at the camp, or enjoyed playing with people. He often acts as if the entire world is here to see and serve him. Which it is to a great extent.

Declan close to walking

Just a news alert, Declan is close to walking. Now he walks all around while holding our hands. He's finally figured out the mind-blowing concept that he can move HIMSELF. Pretty heady stuff. Balance still has a way to go, but time to baby-proof so we're ready when he's motoring all over the house.

The days of plopping him on the floor and not having him move will soon be over.

Busy Mem. Day Weekend

Declan had a busy Memorial Day Weekend. Saturday just he and I (Tiff had to work) went to the Earth Fest on the Esplanade. A fun day with Dad. Tiff met us later and we walked around Back Bay. He had a minor melt-down, but quieted after Tiff used her secret trick (walk the stroller in tight circles).

Sunday we went to Drumlin Farm (run by Mass Aududon) in Lincoln. We met up with one of her friends from her Mom's group and her son and husband. Saw little piglets and lambs, and explored the farm. Declan was really amazed by the tractors. On the way home, we stopped for his first ice cream. He liked it, but was a little tentative at first. We think he'll like it more in the future once he gets used to the concept of cold food.

Monday we went to Humarock Beach in Marshfield. He got to play in the water a little bit. He's not too sure about really cold surf. Maybe later in the summer.

Declan and Swings

Declan really likes going to the park and going on the swings. Arlington is lucky enough to have a great system of little neighborhood parks, most of which have kiddie swings perfect for him. Declan can be quite serious about his play, and gets this intense look while he focuses on swinging. He also loves to watch the other "big kids" (we're talking 18 month olds) walking around and going down the slides.

His favorite thing on the swings is for me to raise my hands in his face when he comes by and say something like "High Five!" or "Zoom Zoom!" every time I push him. Of course, he's not ready for high fives yet, but he apparently likes the concept.

The little guy is getting spoiled as we now often take him out 2 or 3 times a DAY to the parks. Tiff and I never had it this good.

Declan is growing!

Well of course he is! He has turned from an infant that couldn't really interact with his world, to a littler person. He now recognizes people. He lights up when someone he knows comes in the room. "Here comes Daddy!".

His latest game is to get my nose. Tiff goes "Get Daddy's nose, Honk!" and squeezes my nose. Then Declan imitates her and grabs my nose with his goopy paws.

Meanwhile I'm going to try and be better about posting. There is certainly enough happening to post about daily.

More on Food

Declan is now eating rice cereal, oatmeal, carrots, squash, bananas and apples. I use "eat" loosely since most ends up ON him. Bids are a requirement. One thing we also found out is that the poop changes. With only breast milk, his poop literally doesn't stink. Totally different story with real food. Real Food = Real (stinky) Poop. And comes more often. Next we need a green veggie, he HATES peas. Not sure if he'll like spinach.

Declan is 7 months old today!

Declan is 7 months old today! For the first year, we're entitled to celebrate months instead of years. He's eating solid food now, if you call mushy rice cereal "solid". He coos a lot and definitely recognizes his parents. He's been on 4 plane flights already. He weighs 15 lbs and is about 27 inches tall. And we love him!

Florida Trip

Just got back from 4 days in Florida with Declan. We stayed in Hollywood (FL) Beach. Babies are actually pretty easy to travel with; they are cheap, don't complain about being dragged to museums and relatively portable. The downside is all the STUFF. Clothes, diapers, 2 strollers, a crib...you name it.

But Declan loved the warm weather and got to play in the sand and swim in the inn's pool.

Quick plug for the Inn: Hollywood By The Sea B & B. Great location, one of the few true inns in Florida and great hosts.

Decko traveled fine, except for the blowout poop 30 minutes before we landed back in Boston. Tiff and I were scrambling to get him cleaned up before we landed. Flight attendant was passing us stuff. Like a well-oiled surgical team.

Jogging Stroller Arrived!

We ordered a jogging stroller and it just arrived. It's a "Schwinn Free Wheeler". Cost about $200. There are FAR more expensive strollers out there (Bugaboo and Quinny to name a few where you can drop close to $1000). But that's for another post....

Anyway, it snowed about 6" last night so we can't test it out just yet. Tiff and I are looking forward to getting it out on the bike path. We'll probably have to set it up with lights given the short days of winter. We'll post our experiences as they come.

Everything goes in the mouth

Declan's latest (ok, for a few months now) deal is to put EVERYTHING in his mouth. His hands, toys, paper, cat's tail...you name it. Even our fingers go in there. He'll grab our fingers and stick them in, sorta gnaw on them for a while. It was a bit gross at first, but it soothes him and parents quickly learn to do anything that makes their baby feel better.

He has a tons of toys designed to be chewed, but will stick plush toys and the corner of books in his mouth.

His first instinct is always, "Cool! Let me eat it!". No matter what it is.

As he gets bigger and more curious, we're really going to have to watch this. Imagine the possibilities......

So Aware

For the first 2-3 months, babies are pretty much blobs that eat, sleep and poop. But starting around 3-4 months, they start becoming aware of the world. Declan (now 5 months old) now wants to see and know about EVERYTHING going on around him.

He doesn't want to know what's going on, as much as he wants to know WHAT ELSE is going on. Doctor at his last check-up said he wasn't happy. Because he was tired of being a baby. He wants to do stuff so badly. Play, walk, eat real good, go outside.

Down in Florida, his head was spinning at all the stuff going on. Checking out people on the beach, sea birds flying, the waves, the sunset.

We see him eyeing everything, and probably thinking...."Man, I really want to do THAT!".

Today he really wanted some of Tiff's soup. He even made chewing motions as he watched her. BTW, he has no teeth yet and is still doing 100% breast milk. But maybe it's time to introduce more foods.