The new baby: September 2009 Archives

I'm a nervous wreck.

I feel like it's only a matter of time before my daredevil Mr. Noah breaks a bone or needs stitches.

He's constantly climbing on things -- chairs, tables, stools, couches -- and then dangling precariously at the edges. Or, worse yet, he leaps off of them just for the half-second thrill of the fall.

I don't remember Sam doing this. Or maybe I've just blocked it from my memory.

And because he's growing so fast right now (thank goodness!), he's klutzy beyond belief. He's forever tripping or banging his head into walls or smacking the top of his head on the edge of our table, which he used to be able to walk beneath, or pulling open a drawer and slamming it into his nose or ...

I'm tired just picturing it.

Right now, he's got a bruise on his forehead, a bruise and abrasion on his cheekbone (he fell off a small stool onto the edge of a step in our house over the weekend), bruises on his knees and shins, and finger bruises on his upper arms from us having to grab him over and over again to keep him from falling.

We're not beating him, I swear. He just looks like it.

Is this a boy thing? Is it just that some kids are more daring than others? Will I feel this way until he's in his 20s???

I'm pretty certain Noah's a friggin' genius.

Why do I think this? Other than the fact that he's already saying really hard words like "washcloth" and "Spongebob"?

Because he likes to line up similar things in exact rows.

His favorite is plastic bottles of soap and shampoo in the bathroom. He gets them, one at a time, out of the basket we keep them in, and he carries them to the edge of the tub or the sink. Then, he turns them sideways, slides them gently until they're just touching each other, then taps and bumps them until they're in a straight line.

He's so focused when he does this. So intent. So serious. So exacting. So adorable.

See what I mean? Pure genius.

I was certain Sam was a genius about this age, too, because she could tell you what sounds 10 animals made (cow, horse, sheep, pig, cat, dog, mouse, monkey, snake and elephant).

I think we all get caught up at some point in how fast our kids learn new things that we just can't believe they're already doing whatever thing it is that's amazing us.

Why is your kid a genius?

Noah's learning lots of new words lately.

I love that he says "Dee doh" for "thank you" and "peez" for "please" (actually, it's always more like: "peez peez peez peez peez peez peez peez peez peez peez???")

He says "Yinya" for Linda, his sitter. And "eat" when he's hungry. And "bobble" when he's thirsty (even if he wants a sippy cup).

But my two new favorites: "What?" and "why?"

Here are examples:
Me (in one of the rooms upstairs): "Noah!"
Noah (in one of the other rooms): "What!"

or

Me: "Hey Mr. Stinky Pants, let's go upstairs and change your diaper."
Noah (heading for the stairs): "Why?"

He doesn't actually need a response yet to either of them, but the words sound so funny in his little baby voice that I just crack up.

Anything your kids saying right now that makes you laugh?