Meet Baby Jones

As we so often do when the weather cooperates, Avery and I spend our mornings out on the porch where we have our breakfast and do some playing. He can entertain himself pretty well, mostly by doing imaginative play, so we can both be out there and enjoy the outdoors independent of one another.

This morning as I sat on the settee sipping my coffee, I observed Avery walk past the storm door a couple of times, each time slowing down as he got in front of the door. When he realized that it was his reflection that he sees, he stopped right in front of the door and started to smile. He stood there for a minute, appearing to examine his reflection from head to toe.

He then caught sight of his pajama top that had a dog on it. He did the point and grunt, first by pointing to his chest and grunting, then by pointing to the door and then grunting. He then walked over to me to proudly show me his discovery. Of course, what followed was a super-sappy moment for me. And let me tell you how compassionate this little boy of mine is: he gave me a hug when he saw tears coming down my face. Awwwww….

I told him I wasn’t sad, but rather very happy about what I just witnessed. He then started clapping :o)

I might be a tad biased, but that’s a smart lil’ puppy, I tell you.

Dear Avery -

You turned 18 months yesterday. What a relief! You keep growing and growing and with no setbacks *knock on wood* - ahhhh, I can breathe a little easier now that you’ve reached this age. You’re a little sturdier so I no longer freak out about accidentally breaking you.

At your 18-month appointment today, Dr. Dilloway said you are the picture of perfect health. You are still taller than you are heavier on the percentile scale, which is definitely much preferred than the other way around, and you are still above average in height and weight . But your weight- and height-gain have slowed down A LOT. I think you only gained 3/4 of a pound and 3/4 of an inch since July, when before then, you were averaging 1 lb/month weight gain. Well, the furrow between my brows must’ve gotten deeper as your pediatrician spoke because she quickly reassured me that this slow down is normal.

A concern I brought up at this visit is your lack of verbal communication. The only words I’ve ever heard you say are Da Da (for Dad) and Ba Ba (for Bubbles or Banana). The rest of your communication is babble or The Point and Grunt. Fortunately, as frustrating as it is sometimes to try to understand, most of your communication I am able to decipher. Eventually. I think. You’ll let me know in the future how close I am to some of these guesses.

These days, you most often point to your head and grunt. I guess it’s because some of your fondest memories involve your head somehow. There was the time waaaay back in August when you got close enough to Gibson for him to nuzzle your head. Yes, it’s been many, many weeks ago, but since that day, you’ve been pointing to your head and then grunting as if to tell and retell about the time you and Gibson bonded. Or, it could also be the time when your lolo gave you a kiss on the forehead. And still of course, the culprit could be the Dr. Seuss classic, “The Cat in the Hat“, that you simply adore. Whenever we read the book, you squeal with delight as you point to the cat’s hat, then your head, then the cat’s hat again, then your head again.

So yeah, when you do the point to your head and grunt thingy, I just pick an experience you’ve had and we just talk about it. I ask you questions, and each time you reply by repointing to your head and regrunting. Sometimes you include a really big smile or a laugh. Other times you just walk away from me and start playing with your toys. But always though, we have a great time just shooting the breeze.

And although you can only utter 2 words, you can point out about a million things. You know practically every part of the body, about 10 animals, 20 things in nature (ie. grass, leaf, moon, stars, etc.) and most household and food items. You also can follow instructions really well. Except of course when you’re having too much fun, then you just tell me no.

Your pediatrician said that because you seem to have the ability to communicate in other ways and is making some effort to verbalize, that there’s no cause for worry. She said start to be concerned when you are 2 1/2 and are still where you are now.

Let’s see, what else is going on with you? Oh, the school thing. You do really well, Aves, extra-especially when you don’t spend 3 1/2 hours out of 4 crying. This is your third week and I really thought by now that you’d be used to being in school. But noooo, I think it is getting worse. It’s become so bad now that when we approach a brown building, any brown building, you start crying and dragging your feet. Oh boy. I hope it never comes to the point when I have to toss you over my shoulders or drag you by your feet to get you inside the school. That would so not be good for my hairdo.

Love,
Mommy

P.S.
We were at Springton Manor Farm today when I asked you where my car was. Guess how you responded? Yeah, yeah, yeah, you pointed to my car and then you grunted. But you also said, Dare. Yes, you said Dare (as in There for those who aren’t as good as I in figuring out baby talk). Music to my ears, Lil’ Dude, music to my ears.

Lil’ dude is getting hip to all this school business. As soon as we walked through the front doors of his school this morning, the crying and grabbing on to my leg started. He didn’t even wait to get into his classroom this time - as soon as I opened the door, the crying began.

Avery cried all the way to his classroom. I stayed with him just until Ms. Ashley was able to pick him up and coddle him. Unlike last week when I allowed Ms. Ashley to just snatch him out of my arms, this time I put him down and allowed him to be comfortable enough to let Ms. Ashley pick him up. The Swift Snatch method (letting Ms. Ashley just pry Avery out of my arms as he clung to me) proved a horror to our household so we’re trying a gentler approach. For 2 days after the Swift Snatch, Avery became so extremely clingy. He wanted to be held by only me all the time.

In other news, it’s time to order school pictures! We received the proofs today and surprisingly, they’re more than alright. What you see on the photos is a cute little boy with a great, big smile. What you don’t see on the photos is the river that was formed from the cute little boy’s tears, the grown men and women who jumped up and down, made silly faces and made even sillier noises just to get that cute little boy to smile, and the cute little boy’s mom who kept silently chanting, “Oh please don’t get snot on your vest. Oh please.”

I’ve just dropped Avery off at school and now I’m back home faced with the arduous task of cleaning his closet. This is so draining because it takes me so long to decide which items he’s outgrown go in the “Memento Box” or the “Balikbayan Box“. Even when it seems the choice should be crystal clear, almost always I’ll waffle a few times and so then before you know it, 3 hours have passed and I’ve only managed to put away a pair of socks.

And of course there’s the super-sappy moments when I pick up an item and I reminisce about when I bought that item, the first time Avery wore it, and any special memories that are attached to it. I’m going through one of those super-sappy moments right now, actually *sniff, sniff, dab, dab*.

Sitting in front of me are a pair of size 5 babyGap sandals that look exactly like these Birkenstocks except of course they’re for boys and they have a strap that go around the back of the foot. Well, I vividly remember picking these up for Avery last September when he was only 5 months old and they were on clearance. I thought they were the most adorable sandals and even though it seemed impossible to me that Avery would grow into them by the following summer, I bought them anyway. I justified that purchase by reasoning to myself (and eventually to my baby daddy) that even if he doesn’t get to wear them in the summer, he can wear them as house shoes in the fall or something. Besides, they were less than $10 so who cares?

I also remember Melvin picking up a pair of Birkenstocks for himself that are a different style but the same color as these shoes because he said he wanted them to have sorta-matching shoes for the summer.

Well, these sandals that I thought would always be too big on Avery he wore all summer and now has outgrown. I can’t believe how quickly time has passed! My baby who just a few months ago only got around by means of stroller now runs everywhere. His tiny feet that once could only wear shoes so small that they didn’t even have an official size now wears a size 6.5. A half a size more and we’ll be shopping in the Big Kids’ section *salty tear about to trickle onto my pillow*. My lil’ baby won’t be a lil’ baby for long.

As a testament to how quickly time passes, a couple of hours have passed and now it’s time to pick up my muse from school. At least now we know which box these sandals go so I got something done besides blog.

Dear Avery -

So, you and I have survived your first couple of days of school. I was nervous, Daddy was relieved, and you, well, I told you all about going to school and stuff but I don’t think you had any clue what was coming.

The night before your big day, I felt so frenzied. At 8p, we still had a ton of stuff to do like take your Lola home (which by the way takes a total of 2.5 hours to complete and doesn’t begin until 9p so you do the math) and complete the 100-page application to your school that I felt like there was no way I was going to be going to bed at a decent hour so I can wake up and not be a crankypuss. I wanted to be genuinely pleasant on Monday so your morning is pleasant as well. But I worried this just wasn’t going to be.

Monday morning came, however, and it wasn’t as bad as I’d expected. While you were still asleep, I got up first and then showered. Before 8 am!! A rarity in our household since you were born. You then woke up and greeted me in the bathroom as I was blow-drying my hair with the loveliest, warmest smile ever. How can anyone be grumpy after being witness to that?

As I was getting you dressed, Daddy started talking to me from downstairs about making sure I took the digital AND video cameras with me to capture your first day at school. I told him that was impossible. There were just too many things for me to worry about that morning that taking photos, as hard as that was for even me to believe, was just the last thing on my very long list. That clearly wasn’t the answer Daddy wanted to hear though because without hesitation, he decided he would go in to work late so he could come with us and serve as the official documenter.

When we arrived at school, you still had no clue what was up. As usual, you were curious about everything, stopping to inspect every picture that was taped to the wall and playing with the toys in the lobby.

Your mood quickly changed, however, when we entered your classroom. All of a sudden, you couldn’t move a thing. You stood in the doorway and just observed everyone and everything. Forever.

After a few minutes of concentrated observation from your post, you finally started to venture away from the door and began to explore once again.

You even became comfortable enough with your teacher, Ms. Ashley, to approach her so you can proudly point to the dog on the puzzle tray.

Daddy and I hung around long enough to make sure you were ok in your new surroundings with all those new people. When it was time to leave, we were instructed to do so like we were removing a band-aid from a wound - swiftly and with our eyes closed. We did that, but it only took you a second to realize that we were no longer in the room. As soon as you realized we had snuck out, you let out a deafening cry.

It broke my heart to leave you and it took every bit of self-control I had not to turn back and snatch you away from your teacher. I kept silently repeating as I walked out of the school, “I’ll see you again in just 3 1/2 hours”, hoping you’ll somehow telepathically receive this message and stop your crying. Sadly, you didn’t get my message because Ms. Ashley said that you cried more than a few tears in class.

When I came to pick you up, Ms. Patti was carrying you as you guys stood by the window. You turned around when you heard the door open and almost flew out of Ms. Patti’s arms when you saw that it was me. I grabbed you from her and immediately, you started trying to tell me about your day. You started grunting while pointing to the outside, to your head, even to Ms. Ashley! It was as if you wanted to say (and as it was reported to me by Ms. Ashley) that you spent some time outside, that Ms. Jen showered you with kisses on your head, and that Ms. Ashley was the leader of the group.

Yes, I know you didn’t like being left with total strangers, but we’re only doing this now because we want you better prepared for when you really need to be in school for longer periods of time. Besides, although there were some sad moments for you, I was told that you had a great time overall, especially when you guys played outside!

Well, the day must’ve been truly exhausting for you because as soon as I put you in your carseat, you were done. I think you napped like 3 hours that day - a record for you these days.

This is the beginning of many years of schooling for you, Avery. You’ll learn so much about so many things and you’ll meet many different people. I am so excited for you and all the knowledge that you’re about to uncover through this educational journey that you’ve began.

Love,
Mommy

In one instance:
ME: “Let’s go back inside now.”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.

In another instance:
ME: “Let’s take a nap now.”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.

Yet another instance:
ME: “You want your yogurt?”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side, and then points to the bacon his father tantalizingly left on the counter.

And just this morning:
ME: “Are you ready to get out of the tub now?”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.
ME: “But there’s no more water in the tub.”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.
ME: “Aren’t you cold?”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.
ME: “How can you not be cold when I am freeeeezing?”
Avery shrugs his shoulders and turns his palms up.
ME: “Ok, well, you can stay here if you want, but I’m going to your room now, k?
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.
ME: “Aren’t you dizzy from all that shaking?”
Avery vigorously shakes his head from side to side.

And so it has begun. The hex my father put on me 21 years ago when I was 15 and I came home past my curfew, that curse has begun. My child has learned to tell me “no”.

Heaven help me.

It is an exciting time here at Jones Headquarters as Avery is preparing to begin preschool at The Goddard School on Monday! We’re going to start him off slowly, just 2 half-days a week for now, to avoid shell shock. This will be the first time he’ll be left with others besides us and his lola so we’re being gentle.

I hope his first couple of days at school won’t be as catastrophic as the time I tried to leave him at my gym’s daycare. He lasted all of 2.5 minutes in the room without me despite a very promising start. He was crying so loudly and was just so completely inconsolable that the sitter had no choice but to come get me.

Yes, yes, I know those two situations are different. At my gym’s daycare, the sitters are also the gym’s trainers/desk-minders who are chosen for the task through a little eeny, meeny, miny, moe and who probably provoke the children in their care anyway so they can say to the parents, “Oh, time to get your child because he/she is crying for you.” What do they care? To them, it’s just one less brat for them to babysit.

In stark contrast, however, we have the preschool whose staff all have received or in the process of receiving formal education in early childhood development and education. The curriculum is pretty impressive and includes math, science, arts, dance, dramatic play - even yoga! We toured the facility today and it is clean, organized and seems conducive to learning. And two other big pluses: the school is only about 15 minutes from our house AND the teacher who’ll be teaching Avery’s group takes horse-riding lessons from our neighbor, Deb! Yep, it’s a small world.

Melvin and I strongly feel that Avery is ready for this kind of learning and socialization now. I mean everyday, you can just see his hunger and determination to learn about new things. Although I think we do a great job on our own with teaching him, there’s no doubt that socialization with children in his age group will only enhance his learning.

I’m so excited for our lil’ man. Can’t hardly wait for Monday!

BTW, I don’t consider myself a good (blog) writer at all, but if this post seems especially rough, it’s because I am writing at 3:30 in the morning. Between Avery stirring, Aunt Flo flowing, the cats meowing, and the dog across the street barking, I just couldn’t maintain my sleep.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

After the umpteenth time that Avery pointed to his shirt with a giraffe on it to presumably hear me say “giraffe” for the umpteenth and one time simply for giggles, I got down to his level, took both of his hands, looked him dead in the eye and said, “Avery, for the umpteenth and one time, that’s a giraffe, ok? Ok.”

He then pointed specifically to the giraffe decal on his wall as if to say, “Like that, right?”

I gave him the biggest hug ever after that and promptly apologized for having the nerve to be impatient with him when all he wants is to learn.

Note to Self: Self, if you want to raise a really smart person like you say you do, you’ve got to put in the time and the effort, ok? Ok.

Just wanted to alert everyone that despite the inactivity, we are still very much alive :P. I’ll post new photos and news in a bit. Right now, I’m off to do wifey- and mommy-related stuff.

Kisses,
The Jones Missus

Wowza. Almost an entire month without an update! Yes, we admit we have been bad, bad bloggers. One more day and our blogger cards would surely have been revoked. But I did tell you guys that updates during the summer will be sluggish because, well, it’s summer!

Alright, so yesterday we checked out the annual Ludwig’s Corner Horse Show and Country Fair in nearby Uwchlan, PA. Avery had a wonderful time, and really so did Melvin and me, but it got waaaay too hot out there. We came totally prepared to take photos and videos, but were unready to enjoy being outdoors without suffering a heat stroke or sunburn.

I don’t know what I was thinking or had expected, but as I looked around at other parents, I felt like such a rookie! Other parents came prepared with umbrellas, hats, blankets, water, stroller - you know, stuff you need when you expect to be out in scorching heat with a toddler for an extended amount of time. But us? No. But we did have a fully-charged camera battery and a clean compact flash card for photos we couldn’t take anyway because the conditions were simply not ripe for picture-taking.

It cost $7/adult to get in. I guess that wasn’t too bad. But the food prices were simply astronomical! For example, $7 for a cold cheeseburger, $2 for a can of soda and $6 for funnel cake. $6! My lord, when it probably only costs 15 cents to make. I swear Melvin and I are in the wrong professions. Don’t be surprised if you hear that we’ve decided to sell goodies at fairs, people, because obviously, this is where the money is.

But Avery really did have tons of fun, despite my grumbling. We sat and watched a carriage exhibition and then a jumping competition, all the while he squealed and clapped his hands with delight every time he pointed out horses. He also got to ride a real live pony for about 2 minutes even though it hurt me to my heart to watch those ponies go ’round and ’round in a circle over and over and over again. What an awful way to live!

Well, gotta run. The little boy is starting to stir and I’ve yet to start a load of laundry. ’til later!