One of his favorite things to destroy is Brad's wallet or my purse by pulling everything out of it and throwing it on the ground, as evidenced by this picture:
Friday, August 06, 2010
Search & Destroy
The theme of this week was "search and destroy." Sam's favorite activity is to figure out how to pull something apart, break it, pull it off the wall, or tear it into a million pieces. It's amazing to watch the way his brain works as he vigorously pulls ALL of the pots and pans out of the cabinet. I love his determination trying to figure out how to pull the a/c deflector off the vent (he has now broken 3 of them).
One of his favorite things to destroy is Brad's wallet or my purse by pulling everything out of it and throwing it on the ground, as evidenced by this picture:
One of his favorite things to destroy is Brad's wallet or my purse by pulling everything out of it and throwing it on the ground, as evidenced by this picture:
Thursday, August 05, 2010
Sam's first time out
The last few weeks I've been struggling to deal with Sam's newfound interest in biting. However, he doesn't bite anyone else except me. While I'm relieved that he's not biting other kids, etc - it is extremely frustrating to play with him and then yelp in pain from his sharp teeth!
I've tried talking to him sternly and touching my finger to his lips and saying "NO BITING." I pull him off of me and sit him on the floor and playtime is over as soon as he bites. But, this is not really working.
A few friends suggested that we try a "time out." I wasn't sure he was old enough yet to understand it, but it was worth a shot. Last night, Brad and I were playing ball with him in the basement and he bit me twice. By the second time, I picked him up, brought him over to a corner of the room without toys, sat him down, and VERY VERY sternly said "No biting, you are in time out because you bit mommy. You have to stay here for a minute." He didn't really understand at first and tried to follow me. I brought him back over to the corner and sat him down and sternly re-explained time out.
This time, he understood and began sobbing uncontrollably. He stayed in the corner and threw himself on the ground crying hysterically (yes, he is SUCH a drama queen!). He stopped crying after about 20 seconds and then just watched me for permission to leave the corner. After 30 seconds, I told him he could leave the corner and he came over to us, looking SO sad and pitiful and gave me a kiss.
So far, no biting since then - we'll see if it worked! Fingers crossed!
In other news, our dog Lucy has learned to fetch a ball in the house. For years we've tried to teach her this, to no avail. She can fetch a tennis ball in the lake, but not on land (no idea why). But now that Sam likes to play ball with us, she decided she wants to as well. Sam threw a ball and the dog picked it up and brought it back over. He was totally blown away by this and gave us a look of "WHOA! I had no idea she could do that!" We didn't either! Clearly she was in need of some attention last night. Funny dog.
I've tried talking to him sternly and touching my finger to his lips and saying "NO BITING." I pull him off of me and sit him on the floor and playtime is over as soon as he bites. But, this is not really working.
A few friends suggested that we try a "time out." I wasn't sure he was old enough yet to understand it, but it was worth a shot. Last night, Brad and I were playing ball with him in the basement and he bit me twice. By the second time, I picked him up, brought him over to a corner of the room without toys, sat him down, and VERY VERY sternly said "No biting, you are in time out because you bit mommy. You have to stay here for a minute." He didn't really understand at first and tried to follow me. I brought him back over to the corner and sat him down and sternly re-explained time out.
This time, he understood and began sobbing uncontrollably. He stayed in the corner and threw himself on the ground crying hysterically (yes, he is SUCH a drama queen!). He stopped crying after about 20 seconds and then just watched me for permission to leave the corner. After 30 seconds, I told him he could leave the corner and he came over to us, looking SO sad and pitiful and gave me a kiss.
So far, no biting since then - we'll see if it worked! Fingers crossed!
In other news, our dog Lucy has learned to fetch a ball in the house. For years we've tried to teach her this, to no avail. She can fetch a tennis ball in the lake, but not on land (no idea why). But now that Sam likes to play ball with us, she decided she wants to as well. Sam threw a ball and the dog picked it up and brought it back over. He was totally blown away by this and gave us a look of "WHOA! I had no idea she could do that!" We didn't either! Clearly she was in need of some attention last night. Funny dog.
Wednesday, August 04, 2010
16 month physical
Sam had his physical last week - it was so nice to have a "normal" doctor's visit for a change. His 15 month physical was delayed a bit because of his bout of hand foot mouth disease and then the scary virus. So, we just did everything at 16 months. He is growing tall and skinny, just like his daddy. At 32 inches tall and 24 pounds, he was in the 65th percentile for height and 30th percentile for weight. His body is finally beginning to catch up with his huge head and his head is now measuring in the 85th percentile, rather than the 90/95th which it has been!
At the physical, the nurse always asks us questions about developmental milestones. This time she asked us if his behaviors mimic our behaviors around the house and she said, for example "like does he pretend to vacuum the carpet or dust the furniture or wash the windows?" Brad and I took one look at each other and laughed. He'd have to actually see us doing those things in order to be able to mimic them! I don't think he has ever even seen a vacuum, much less us using it! Our cleaning lady is a lifesaver and worth every penny.
But, we told the nurse, that he does pick up the phone and talk on it, he can type on the computer/blackberry, use the remote control for the tv, and cook at his toy kitchen (we do a lot of cooking at home). We all laughed. Sam definitely needs a college degree, because he does not have bright future as a janitor. :)
At the physical, the nurse always asks us questions about developmental milestones. This time she asked us if his behaviors mimic our behaviors around the house and she said, for example "like does he pretend to vacuum the carpet or dust the furniture or wash the windows?" Brad and I took one look at each other and laughed. He'd have to actually see us doing those things in order to be able to mimic them! I don't think he has ever even seen a vacuum, much less us using it! Our cleaning lady is a lifesaver and worth every penny.
But, we told the nurse, that he does pick up the phone and talk on it, he can type on the computer/blackberry, use the remote control for the tv, and cook at his toy kitchen (we do a lot of cooking at home). We all laughed. Sam definitely needs a college degree, because he does not have bright future as a janitor. :)
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