I keep forgetting to mention that Gavin's birthday raised at least $125 for the North American Bear Center. That's three $25 donations from people we know and at least two $25 donations in Gavin's name from folks who are otherwise anonymous. So thanks, everyone, for making our Bear's birthday good for bears.
On Saturday our parent club had a group birthday party for all of the babies since they were all born around the same time (one of the babies, for example, is two days older than Gavin, while there's another who is one hour older than Gavin). Stacy and I are the only same-sex parents in the bunch. This hasn't been an issue at all. In fact, everyone's been nothing but kind and gracious to us. But at the party when the babies were all splashing around in kiddie pools in the backyard (we forgot Gavin's swim trunks but one of the parents was kind enough to give us an extra swim diaper) Stacy went inside to get something leaving me as Gavin's only parent outside. Of course he started crying as if he'd been abandoned. I tried to comfort him by assuring him that Mommy was coming right back, but it didn't really help. It was kind of embarrassing, actually, and made me really self-conscious. As if Gavin was making sure everyone knew I wasn't his real mom. I know this isn't true and that it's totally developmentally appropriate for a one-year-old to prefer one parent over the other and that eventually this will change. But it stings a little, I won't lie.
This past week or so has been full-speed-ahead learning for Gavin. For one thing, Gavin said "diaper" two mornings in a row this week. I was changing him and I said, "We have to change your diaper," and he responded with something that sounded an awful lot like, "Die-pah" that matched the inflection I'd just used. He also said what Stacy thinks is "glasses," because every morning after he nurses she lets him play with her glasses case, which he always takes from the nightstand next to the bed. I am sad to report that the glasses case broke this morning. It no longer stays shut and just flops open at the hinges. Perhaps it was just hanging on long enough to hear Gavin say its name. Or part of its name, anyway. "Dog" is still, by far, his favorite word.
Today I handed Gavin a postcard for some business that was on the couch and I said, "Can you give this to Mommy?" Stacy was sitting on the other side of the living room (this room is really small, so saying "other side of the room" is really misleading as far as distance goes, but he did have to walk 5 steps or so). I pointed at her and for the first time he just turned around and walked over holding the card out to her. I had him do it again this evening with a tiny twig he'd snapped off of a clematis in the back yard. I didn't want him to have it so I suggested he give it to Stacy. And sure enough he went trucking over to her with a big smile on his face presenting his gift.
I also learned tonight that he knows the word "penis" because he was having more balls-out playtime in the yard and, with the help of the garden hose (from which he drinks and practically water boards himself), he'd made a bit of a muddy mess on the patio. That muddy mess inevitably transferred to various parts of his body, including his penis. I looked at him and said, "You have dirt everywhere! Even your penis," and he looked at me and then grabbed himself and looked down. I thought that might have been a coincidence since, truth be told, he's a hands-on kind of guy, so I said it again a short time later and got the same result. The same is true for his toes. Over the past two days in the car I've said something to him about his toes. Often I can see his feet in the baby rearview mirror. He's often shoeless in the car so I'll say something like, "I see toes," and the last few times I did this he grabbed at his toes.
Also today he fished one of his sandals out of his diaper bag, brought it over to Stacy and, while seated, lifted his foot like he wanted her to put it on. Aunt Laura retrieved his other sandal out of the diaper bag and he took that one to Stacy, too, trying to lift one leg off the ground while he was still standing. Less steady than the previous method, but he got the point across.
Speaking of Aunt Laura, she came over the morning right as he was getting up from his morning nap. Stacy brought him into the hallway in his teddy bear sleep sack and when he saw Laura he smiled, then he reached for her. She lifted him from Stacy's arms and Gavin wrapped his arms around Laura's neck and nuzzled his head in for a hug. It was adorable. He's still in the (developmentally appropriate, I know) stage where he prefers Stacy, but here he was giving his aunt a very deliberate hug, which required physical removal from Stacy. Maybe Laura's hair gel, which left Gavin smelling faintly of patchouli (it was actually, I believe, Aveda), contains some kind of baby pheromones. And if so, I should start using it.
If you give him a comb or brush he attempts to comb or brush his hair. He really likes the little orange and white baby brush and comb that came with one of his grooming kits, but he'll use mine, too. Sometimes he holds the brush from the bristle end or uses it backwards so that the back of the brush or comb is sliding along his head instead of actually combing/brushing his hair. But he has the right idea.
Sippy cups are no longer a problem. He has two different kinds. One you have to tip up to get water and one you have to not tip up to get water since it has a straw. He now has the hang of both kinds and when he isn't flinging them off of his highchair tray (one of Henri's least favorite Gavin predilections), he drinks like an H2Oholic.
The hose in the backyard is another favorite drinking water source. This evening he drank so much water from the hose I'm surprised his diaper didn't explode in the middle of the night. It is not his most graceful hydration method. Most of the time it's pretty much like he's waterboarding himself.
If you tell Gavin to go get a book of of his bookshelf he does and then he'll bring it to you to read to him. He's also started putting books back on his shelf on his own accord and toys back in his toy bins. This is not consistent, however, and he's still very adept at trashing our house (today Laura tripped over the salad spinner bowl, which was in the middle of the living room because obviously Stacy and I keep it there). But this picking up thing is definitely a good start.
Stacy and I tried to make a list of words we're sure he knows even if he doesn't say most of them yet. We've come up with: dog, cat (he imitates the cat's meow. He also is the cat's meow, obviously), mama, Mommy, Mama D, diaper, penis, toes, glasses, milk, book, monkey, kiss, Henri, meow, bucket (he loves buckets. Seriously loves them), no (though he doesn't always heed this directive you can tell he understands because he looks at you and gets this certain facial expression that's a cross between shy and smirking. And then he'll usually go ahead and do whatever it is he was going to do in the first place unless he's physically removed from the situation), come here, Gavin, drink, and more that I can't think of right now.
Oh, and this is super depressing.
Yes. My "hair gel" is Aveda scented.
ReplyDelete