Life with a toddler

It's been a while since I've done an official Baby Jane update. In fact, I don't think I've done a proper one since I migrated over from the old site! Time flies.

So, what is Baby Jane (now Toddler Jane, I guess) up to these days? Basically, it can be summed up in three areas: Movement, Language Acquisition, and Playtime.

Movement: Baby Jane's been walking for a while now, and has definitely perfected the art. She is a very physical kid. She walks, tries to run, twirls, dances, tiptoes, and climbs. Oh, does she climb. So far, the climbing has been mostly limited to chairs, stairs, and the dishwasher (and in and out of the car), but as she gains confidence, I'm sure this will change. She loves to push things (why ride in the stroller when you can push the stroller? never mind that it goes in circles, mostly...) and tackle people, particularly me. She loves to play hide-and-seek and ring around the rosie, and to give people and animals kisses and/or zerberts.

Language Acquisition. It's almost like a switch was turned on in Baby Jane's head shortly after her first birthday; since then, she's been learning and using new words and signs at a fast and furious clip. It feels like there's a new word or sign every day---it's not quite that often, but she definitely learns and uses (or indicates that she understands) several new words and/or signs a week. She's been imitating our words for a while, but is now at the point where she'll hear a word, repeat it a few times, and then will start using it on her own. So far the signs and words are independent of each other, for the most part: i.e., she'll either use the sign or say the word, but rarely do both. The exception is "more": she always says and signs it at the same time. (maybe for emphasis?) ("Up" is another exception.) She "talks" to us all the time, but she'll also just as happily "talk" to her toys or to herself....and she's started singing to herself, too, which is really very cute. What I'm most amazed about, though, is how much she understands. In a sense, we can carry on conversations with her: we'll ask something, or say something, and she responds in an appropriate way. This means that finally, FINALLY, we can figure out what she wants! (Whether we give it to her is another story, which leads to a fourth area: Asserting Her Independence. But that's material for another post.) Which really makes the parenting thing a whole bunch easier! No more fruitless guessing!

Playtime: Baby Jane loves to play! She's really into fitting things together: puzzles, blocks, stacking cups, shapes. She loves "reading" and being read to, although these days she'll often close the book halfway through and declare "all done!", then go put the book away. After studiously ignoring her stuffed animals and dolls for a good year, she has finally discovered the fun in them. Ditto with trucks and cars. Anything is a toy at this stage: silverware from the dishwasher, the laundry, keys, cell phones, garbage, ... She is a little scientist, trying to figure out how things work and/or fit together, which is really neat to watch.

I have to say that I'm really enjoying this phase of her life. She's interactive, sociable, somewhat predictable, much more independent in a sense, and engaged. She's much less dependent on me: we're down to 2 short nursings a day (morning and bedtime). Most of all, she's a little person now, with her own personality, her own sense of humor, her own thoughts and ideas. She's a fun kid (most days), a neat kid, and a thoroughly lovable kid.

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Zerberts? I always knew those as raspberries, alternate spelling razz-berries.

I have a 19-month-old nephew right now who's doing that word thing. He's into repeating things 3 times. You can ask him to point to anybody and he can do it. One cute thing is that something new he likes but doesn't know the name to has a built-in substitute until he's told the real word:

"Bapeeee! Bapee, bappee."

I know, I'm having so much fun with Bean right now too. It's really neat watching the wheels turn as she learns new things. What signs are you using with Baby Jane? Bean has about a dozen, but I feel like she would definitely pick up more pretty easily if I could think of useful signs to teach her.

Oh, and she also signs and says "more". It's definitely for emphasis.

Aerik, I always thought the difference between the two was that raspberries are done without skin contact---i.e., you're basically blowing saliva bubbles in the air, whereas with zerberts there is skin contact. Maybe it's a regional thing?? I like your nephew's substitute word thing---that is very cute!

ScienceMama, most of our signs have to do with animals, food, and actions---that seems to be what she's most interested in. :) I highly recommend the Baby Signing Time DVDs---we borrowed them from a friend and Baby Jane *looooves* them. (She even goes around the house signing "Baby, baby, baby baby baby" to the tune of the theme music and doing the "signing" sign at the same time. And every time we turn on the TV, she starts doing the "signing" sign, too.)

That should be singing to the tune of the theme music, not signing. Although I have seen her do the "baby" sign a few times.

Oh man, my first nephew was discovered to be almost completely deaf due to raging ear infections about this time, and they both have tubes in their ears because of it. The doctors say they should be screaming.

I should've been teaching them signs. I feel like such a shit now.

Anyhoo, according to the link, the zerbert is with skin contact, aka a raspberry. What adult just blows bubbles in the air? How is that supposed to tickle?

But if just making a fart sound with your lips constitutes an activity, then yes, we've got that down, too. Just the other day we were playing tag with it in the car. He'd do it, then I'd turn around looking shocked, pause, then give one back and turn around. Hilarity for all, and he never tires of it.

That's the kind of game I play with this one when there's no toys around because, well, he's a biter.

Sounds like Baby Jane and Minnow would have a ball together. It's amazing how fast they progress!