The girl

Aviva is now 16 months old. I should really say a year and a half. Her clothes' labels often say "3-6 months" but they fit her. She is seeming more and more like a girl to me, and less of a baby. She has 4 teeth now. She likes to eat granola but I don't know how she's chewing it with her only-four teeth that are all in the front. But she really likes it and points to it and grunts that she wants more.

One tooth just came through, so she has four now, but last week I was telling Noah that she has three, and he pointed to three fingers. He said "one and two makes three." I was very impressed with the math genius he demonstrated.

She has been doing a few signs, for "food" and for "more." And the other day, she wanted a drink, so she went to the drawer and got a cup and gave it to Josh.

She really does not like showers or the swimming pool. We went last weekend and she really hated it. But from there we went to the garden, and she played with the hose and the dirty and the mud and the muddy water very happily for a very long time. She was sooo muddy and we had to take off her clothes and hose her down. But she really liked it. 

why?

Lately, Noah is all about "why?" He really asks about EVERYTHING. Here are some examples (he doesn't use pronouns, really, so he talks about himself as Noah, and me as "Mama".)

Noah: What day is today?
Me: Today is Wednesday.
Noah: Why is today Wednesday?
Me: Well, tomorrow is Thursday, and all day long it will be Wednesday. It will be Wednesday until we wake up tomorrow.
Noah: Why?
Me: That's how it goes.
Noah: why that how it goes?
Me: Just because.
Noah: Why just because?
Me: I can't answer. (that's his tact, to say that when he doesn't know the answer)
Noah: Why Mama can't answer?

or

We're passing someone in the street and I say hi.
Noah: Why Mama say hi?

or

I say goodbye to someone.
Noah: Why Mama say bye?

or

I eat a bite of some good food.
Noah: Mama like it? Why Mama like it?

or

I eat a bite of something I don't like.
Noah: Why Mama don't like it?

Argh! I guess it's good that he is curious and wants to know. But it is a little crazy-making.

kids are trying out wearing undies

the kid is stubborn

some good things:

• noah can count things, correctly. probably up to 8 or something. (not just counting for counting sake, but counting things - one number matching one thing)
• he knows his colors
• he read aviva a story tonight
• he likes to give her goodnight kisses
• when she was crying tonight, he pet her to make her feel better, and told her "it's okay, aviva."
• he lets me cut his nails now, as long as i hold the clipper at the right angle

some other things:

• he's very headstrong. or strong-willed. or stubborn. and mad sometimes. example: he had a popsicle, made from smoothies that he helped make (he dropped the fruit into the blender and pressed the buttons). he was eating his popsicle and really liked it. he told me to take a bite. i took a bite. i liked it, so i took another bite. he got mad and so sad and cried and wanted the bite back. i ended up giving him another popsicle, and i finished his original popsicle. he wanted me to take a bite of the new one. i didn't/wouldn't, so he got very mad. mad because first i ate a bite, and then mad because i didn't eat a bite. then he said he didn't want it anymore, because it was too cold, and he likes his popsicles warm.
• for breakfast the other day, he had a bowl of blueberries and a bowl of yogurt and a bowl of oatmeal, just the way he wanted. he finished some of it, and asked for more. but he asked in a whiny way and josh wanted him to ask nicely and say please. he asked nicely but wouldn't say please. josh said he could have more as soon as he said please. he said he wouldn't say please, but he wanted more blueberries. without saying please, he didn't get any. then he ate his oatmeal and wanted more. josh said he could have more oatmeal if he said please. and he could have more blueberries too... he decided he didn't want blueberries or oatmeal enough to say please.
• last night before dinner, i told noah he had to clean up his toys before having dinner. when he refused, i said we could do it together. he told me he wasn't going to do it, and i should do it alone. i said no but we could do it together. he kept saying he wasn't going to clean. we said he could have dinner after he helps clean up, but if he doesn't clean, he can't have dinner. he could just have breakfast in the morning. so that's what he did. he didn't have dinner. aviva and i ate dinner (josh was gone) and he ate some crumbs on the floor. ! but no dinner. but he was fine with that, apparently. we brushed his teeth and did the whole nighttime routine and he went to bed normally and everything. slept through the night, and had breakfast as normal. 
• then again tonight, before dinner, i said we had to clean up before we ate. i said i would do it with him and he still refused. what he had to put away was: a piece of paper and 5 pencils. that's all. i even bargained with him - i told him he could do one or the other. put the paper in the recycling OR hand me the pencils. nope. so he skipped dinner again tonight. i think that's the end of this rule for now. no more making him clean up before dinner.

aviva is learning to stand! alone!

5 seconds here, 10 seconds there, and 30 seconds the other day!

egheh

aviva is now 17 pounds. she's getting bigger and that's good. not talking yet except "egheh" and "ehzeh". but she's using two baby signs! she's using (sometimes) the sign for "more" and "food." and she definitely points to things she wants, and makes it clear when she doesn't want something, by pushing it away. and lots of little sounds that are expressive.

she gets kisses from noah sometimes, and when he kisses her belly and kind of scratches or rubs her belly, she laughs. she is more and more a little GIRL and becoming less of a BABY.

that said, she eats mostly with her hands when we're not feeding her. she likes to play with spoons and throw them down or bang with them, but i'm not sure how much she really uses a spoon functionally. but she does get points for eating oatmeal and yogurt with her hands -- that is not an easy thing to do.

lola rosa lettuce

"lola rosa lettuce" is very difficult to say when you can't say the letters L or R. at noah's school, they picked some and were preparing it and he brought some home, and he liked to talk about it. it sounded like "wowowowo wetuce."

he has a funny pronunciation of a lot of words:
california = calya fonya
why = woy
time = toyme
camera = camia
purple = poypuh
people = poypuh
on = owen
I = oy
my pie = moy poy
time = toyme
mama = mo-ah ma
moynut = minute

josh has been telling him a story about Goa, a little boy who lives in Berkeley California. he has a sister named Gaviva. this story has different parts, depending on the situations we are in. sometimes Goa is the boy who doesn't want to put on his pajamas, and sometimes he's the boy who doesn't want to change his diaper... this story has been a really good way of 1) distracting noah while we put on pajamas or change his diaper and 2) explaining why we do things. Goa's dad (in the story) always explains WHY Goa has to get dressed now or can't carry water around the house. also, when he starts, josh asks noah, "do you want to hear about Goa and why HE had to get dressed after breakfast?" and noah always says yes. and then josh says, "well there was a boy named Goa, and he lived in..." and noah says "bookwee calyafonya!" or sometimes just "bookwee".

something else that has been happening a lot lately is that noah needs things to be done a certain way. and if it's not that exact way, he gets very very very angry. this spoon for taking the yogurt out of the container, and that spoon for noah to use. pour the juice first, no a little more, and then the water. no no no not like that. he sometimes gets so upset about it not being the right way that he will cry so hard and not be able to talk.

the other night we went to a birthday party of another kid. noah was sitting in josh's lap at the time the cake was served. absentmindedly, josh took a bite of noah's cake. THAT WAS A MISTAKE. noah got SO mad.

the next day, josh said, "noah, remember yesterday when i took a bite of your cake by accident? and you were very mad?" and noah said "like caps for sale and to the monkeys." there's a book called caps for sale that we read sometimes, about a man who gets so mad at a group of monkeys who steal his hat. he stamps his feet and shakes his finger at them and throws down his cap because he's so mad. it was interesting (to me) that noah associated his feeling to the one in the book. anyway.

fast asleep

tool box, tool belt + tools. it is important to wear goggles when measuring

for noah's birthday yesterday (he is three!!!!), dorian dropped off a card and some cheese for him in the morning. that was very nice. it also had a green shiny bow on it, which was just as popular. josh made a birthday quesadilla for noah with the cheese, and he liked that very much. 

something else that has been happening - random acts of meanness. the other night i was tucking him in, all cozy and comfy. kisses and pets and the blanket is just right, and his stuffed giraffe is all cozy. he's smiling too and all is good. and then all of a sudden he hits me. or other times he's playing so nicely and concentrating and all is good and then all of a sudden he throws something hard (that he knows isn't okay)... or he'll hurt aviva. the other day he was pushing the stroller instead of riding in it (and i was wearing aviva). we're on the sidewalk on college avenue. he suddenly pushes the stroller down the curb into the street. luckily it didn't get hit by a car... ay ay ay.