I am somewhat amazed at how difficult seemingly simple decisions can be, specifically, shopping decisions. I’ve already politicized grocery shopping to the point where I sometimes feel I need online access in the aisles to remember what is healthy and/or ethical to purchase. Toy shopping is proving no easier. The difference is that while I […]
Category Archive for 'Jessica'
I’m afraid we are losing Simon to the thrall of the internal combustion engine. What in the world could be as magnificent, as the car, the truck, the plane, or–above all-the bus? If Simon had any idea how often Matt and I rode the bus during our eight years in San Francisco, he might never […]
Tonight Simon had a play date with his friend Sophie, the very lovely and lively two-and-a-half-year-old daughter of friends. Simon is just now getting old enough to play with another child, and Sophie is just now getting old enough to adjust her level of play for a younger toddler. The two of them shared a […]
We might just have a Southpaw on our hands. Matt and I have noticed for several months that Simon prefers to throw with his left hand. In fact, if we hand him a ball in his right hand or he catches a ball in his right hand, he will usually transfer it to his left […]
Geriatric Motherhood: The Sequel
Posted in Jessica on May 29th, 2008
OK, now I’m getting my feelings hurt. In my last post about geriatric motherhood, I reported my discovery that I have developed a vestibular balance disorder. I wasn’t too bothered about it because, as I wrote then, giving up swinging seemed a small thing. I’ve laughed at or blown off some other signs of aging, […]
Following the advice of our First Steps physical therapist, we are trying to get Simon to spend more time playing on his feet. To quote Amy, we’re moving Simon’s world up off of the floor. To this end, we’ve moved a train table into our living room and put many of Simon’s toys on it, […]
About eight months ago, I got my first clue that Simon might benefit from spending more time around other babies and toddlers. We were visiting friends in Boston, their daughter was in a “mine” phase, and Simon had no idea what to do when she took a toy from him other than suck in his […]
We’re hearing a lot of this in our house these days. Most of the time, though, it’s funnier than it is annoying, possibly because Simon is so enthralled with the word that he says it to mean many, many things. Consider these uses: “No-o-o?” (slow, with intonation up at end, vowel halfway between an “o” […]
Not in this house, anyway. Simon’s budding vocabulary is increasingly lyrical, filled as it is with metonymy* and metaphor. Consider, for example, the ball. Simon learned the word in association with the balls we play with in the house and outside. Soon after, he recognized balls in picture books, and learned to point and say […]
…Is imitation of course. Simon has begun to mimic our activities more often lately, and the results can be hilarious. Example A: Last Tuesday I replaced the batteries in the Pooh Train, as the song it plays was getting a bit draggy and Simon can’t/won’t cruise behind it without musical accompaniment. (Evie compares this to […]