Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Playing Favorites

Arthur is playing favorites. Although he will answer questions like, "What does a cat say?" with "'ow'', when I ask them (and "aw aw" for crows and "wack wack" for ducks), he will not say (and sign) when he's "All Done" with a meal. Which he will for Mark. He also seems to be eating more for Mark in the evenings.

WIcked baby.

Arthur does like to wrestle with me, and continues to ask me to catch him as he falls backwards.

He's also expressing so much interest in the Macintosh that today we checked out the book, "Arthur's Computer Disaster" from the library. For a library encore, Arthur climbed three flights of stairs.

In the physical development department, we've started measuring him and he's grown about a half inch in the last week. I'll have official numbers for his height and weight after the next wellness doctor visit, which isn't for a month or so.

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

And the award goes to...

Help! I'm raising a thespian!

Today, my finger got caught in the gap between a table top and its hinged leaf. Since this is the table with the electric keyboard on it that Arthur can play with, I wanted to show him that he could pontentially pinch his fingers. I pointed to the gap, put my finger between the wood planks, and said, "ouch."

Arthur upstaged me. After copying me and saying ouch, he moved to placing his fingers in the space between the tabletop and the table leaf and then holding up his finger and wailing like it had really pinched him. At first, I thought it had (until he smiled a 'got you' smile).

I guess I should learn not to mime.

On the color front, Arthur managed to correctly identify a white and a red bunny toy at Scarey Reading Hour. I was throroughly surprised, because given yesterday's performance, I expected him to shrug 'jenne se qua.' I held up the plastic toys and said, "Arthur, this is the red one and this is the white one; this is the red one and this is the white one. Which one is the red one?" He managed to choose the correct color three times before he got bored and went over to play with the Library's network sockets. Choosing the correct colors counts double, because he did it in front of other parents of 1 to 2 year olds.

Monday, October 02, 2006

Arthur Update

I can see that I need to re-read the books I have on child development. I continue to be confounded at things like
  • why Arthur can point to a picture of a cat in the middle of a bunch of other animals, but he shrugs his shoulders (the sign for "I don't know") when I ask him which of two blocks is the red one
  • why Arthur's favorite key on the electronic keyboard is the one that turns the red power LED on and off (and on and off and on and off and on and off...)
  • Why Arthur will got close to an electrical socket, say "no," shake his head, and then touch the socket anyway
  • why lights, which presumably he's never touched, are 'hotch', which places them in the same category as stoves, fires, pictures of fires, and freshly prepared oatmeal.


Jenn, a Montessori teacher, explained to me that differentiating colors is an advanced concept. I had already used colors in the fractions flashcards I made for Arthur.

At least I understand why Arthur smacked the lap harp with a colored block from a musical toy -- the musical toy makes music when you smack blocks into it, so all musical instruments must be played that way. Luckily, Arthur hasn't smacked my Dad's baby grand piano with a colored block (yet).

I've also learned (a little too late) that I shouldn't have started a pushing game with Arthur. He'd stand, I'd have one arm behind him, and then I'd push him backwards. Then he'd arch his back and look at everything upside down. He thought this was the funniest thing ever and I think I must have initiated theatrical faints for about twenty minutes. Now when he comes up to us we have to be ready for him to collapse backwards.

Oh, and I guess it's time to start the therapy fund. At one point in our house's past, someone drilled small holes into the floor and snaked coaxial cable into the living room, probably for cable TV. For the past month, Arthur has gone over to where the cables were hidden, pushed aside the furniture hiding them, and stuck the cable terminal into his mouth. I'm pretty sure The Fearful Parent Magazine would have something to say about that. I usually say, "Not for Arthur" and make him put the furniture back.

Anyway, yesterday evening Mark, Arthur and I were arranging living room furniture so that it had less of that warehouse feel. Arthur started playing with the cables. I went to the toolbox, got some tin snips, and -- snip! -- no more cables. Just little empty holes in the floors. The look of betrayal wasn't quite as bad as the one last year when Arthur realized the fries on my plate were going to go over his head and into my mouth -- but it was close. This evening he was still looking for the missing cables.