Latest news

It's been a busy couple of months, but all is well! Miran is:

--speaking in complete, fully grammatical sentences 95% of the time
--going to school two mornings a week and loving it!
--very interested in diggers, street sweepers, and as always, books
--singing in tune much of the time
--with very minimal guidance, able to draw a rudimentary face, with eyes, ears, nose, and mouth

He's doing well, eating well, sleeping well, growing well, learning well . . . great kid!

Hurricane! (well, tropical storm really)

We were totally prepared -- food, water, flashlights, duct taped windows, you name it. We camped out in our living room, away from the street-facing windows in the bedrooms.

It got windy. It got rainy. We went to bed, expecting to wake up to a fierce storm -- but alas, by morning it was nothing more, really, than a very blustery day. Still, we stayed indoors for the rest of the day (just to be safe), and Miran handled himself really well considering how stir-crazy he must have been. This morning, we went to the park and were glad to see very little major damage (though lots of branches and leaves strewn everywhere).

So, Miran has now lived through his first earthquake AND his first hurricane -- all in one week. And I don't think he noticed either of them!

Earthquake!

He had just fallen asleep in my arms when it happened, so he missed it. But Mama definitely felt it -- the chair we were in started rocking/bouncing all by itself, out of nowhere. Simultaneously, a picture fell off the wall in the living room. I wasn't sure whether it was an earthquake or a ghost. Little Miran slept right through it.

stats

32.5 lbs. -- 80th%ile
39 inches -- 97+%ile
perfectly healthy

What's New

Miran speaks consistently in full, grammatically-correct sentences, with pronouns, prepositions, past, present, and future tense, etc. He has also begun to respond in the affirmative, saying, "I do" and "yeah!"/"yes!" when he wants whatever it is you are proposing (for the longest time, in this instance, he would simply repeat what you said.)

Potty training: He uses the potty with no problem if he is in the house and bottomless, but if he's in a diaper or underwear, he won't yet ask to go. We're working on this.

Random: He has become obsessed with baseball, of all things. He wants to play and/or to watch, all the time. He's actually pretty good at pitching the ball!

At the playground

overheard today

Mama: Standing up on the bed is dangerous. The bed is high, and if you fall from a high place, you can really hurt yourself.
Miran (matter-of-factly): So, we don't do that.

Miran: Praying mantis [a little toy] is crying!
Mama: Why is he crying?
Miran: 'Cause it wants his daddy.

Miran (explaining his actions while playing with Lego): Building a tower. Put a flower on it. Put a window on it. Little man go in the house. Little man come out of the house. Little man climbing on top of the chimney. Hello, Man! And go up the steps and go into the house. Going home. People going home. Man is going home. Tired and sleepy. Man is tired and sleepy. Cup full of water. Here, Man. Open the door. Wake up, Man!

weaned

It's been a week and a half since we nursed, and though he still asks occasionally, we are definitely weaned. We had a good two-year-plus run, though! Miran says, "Big boys don't need to nurse!"

I was just thinking there have been so many changes in the last few months. He's gone from a crib to a toddler bed. He's gotten rid of the pacifier. He is pretty much completely potty trained when at home (but still wears a diaper when he sleeps and when we go outside). In the last week or so, he's started drinking consistently from a regular cup instead of a sippy.

evolving

Miran's language is really evolving, to where many of his utterances are completely grammatically correct. He has recently begun to use pronouns on a consistent basis, too.

For example, me yesterday: Where did you get those new shoes?
Miran: From the store!

or

Miran: I want a cookie! (seeing picture of cookie in book)
Me: We don't have any cookies.
Miran: I want one!

or

Miran: I want a dustpan.
Me: Well, the dustpan is dirty, but why don't you use this (cardboard) and pretend it's a dustpan?
Miran: I want a REAL dustpan.

or

Miran: Daddy, clap your feet!

In other news . . . we have only nursed once (briefly) in the last four days . . . so I think we're pretty much weaned. Sad. The time is right, but it makes me feel sad. And it makes Miran sad, too, though he's handling it well.

Miran can read!

Well at least he recognizes and can name every letter of the alphabet... apparently. We had no idea he knew all that until just now when we were asking him what the letters were in random order.

Tall Towers

Miran, looking at a building in midtown this evening: "Ooh, tall tower! Don't knock it over!"

Earlier, on the subway, a little girl sat next to Miran and asked about the boo-boo on his nose. When Kieryn explained that he had fallen in the playground, the girl reached over and, in a gesture of sympathy, took Miran's hand. He turned to Kieryn and said with excitement, "She's holding my hand!"

Miran has started manipulation: pretending to have pooed his diaper, for example, as an excuse to get out of bed. So it begins . . .

Overheard this morning . . .

Miran (from crib): "Daddy! Mama! Blanket fell off! Blanket fell off!"

Miran (from crib): "Want cup, want cup of water!"
Mama: "Where is your cup?"
Miran (pointing at cup on floor): "I threw it. I threw it over there."

(Daddy throws clean diaper wipe in the garbage.)
Miran (fussy): "Want it! Hold it!"
Mama: "Why did Daddy throw it away, Miran?"
Miran (resigned): "Put it in mouth." ("I was putting it in my mouth.")

He's 2!

Miran has turned 2. He's a bright, verbal, curious, active, healthy little boy. Recently:
--His imagination is taking off. He picks up an airplane and pretends to fly it around the living room. He drops his stuffed animals and then pretends that they are crying (but of course they stop when he he kisses their boo-boos). He even sometimes asks me to nurse his stuffed panda! (He asks Daddy to do that, too. Yeah, no.)
--He is using the potty more and more.
--He is *just* starting to be able to sing some notes on pitch.
--As of about a week ago, he no longer uses a pacifier at naptime or bedtime! All gone!
--He has been having a little separation anxiety regarding Mama, but also learning about trust and the idea that Mama will always come back.
--He has started stuttering! But from everything we've read, it's normal at this age and resolves on its own. It may even indicate a big linguistic/cognitive leap.

General Update

The other day, Miran pointed at my nose and said, "Mama have nose." He then pointed at his own nose and said, "Miran have nose." There was a pause, and then a thoughtful, "Both have nose!"

Miran is so grown. He just got a haircut, and now he really looks like a little boy. He is almost done with the pacifier (only uses it occasionally at night but no longer always asks for it). We're also down to nursing only once a day (at bedtime), though on weekends we sometimes nurse a little more. He is starting to use the potty regularly and, for the past couple of days, has made three or four pees in the potty per day (plus one poo!). His incentive? He loves to go and dump the potty and flush the toilet. He is ALL ABOUT flushing the toilet.

The preschool process is over, and Miran is enrolled at a local preschool that has a 2's class only twice a week (just a few hours a week total). There was another school that we truly loved, but sadly it was not meant to be for this year. In the meantime, the school he will be attending was a very close second choice, and we are delighted. I have heard great things about it, and by all accounts it should be a wonderful experience for him. I think he is so ready for some structured social time and learning how to function in a group.

Checkup at the Pediatrician

Miran had his (long overdue) check-up today and got a clean bill of health. He is growing well and has no issues to speak of -- we are blessed, indeed. His latest stats:

37 inches tall -- above the 97th percentile for his age
30 lbs., 3 oz. -- 80th percentile for his age

A big boy!

oops!

Somehow the last post about preschools for Miran got deleted -- K must have pressed something while he was trying to edit. Oh well, it was a short post and basically just said that we have applied to preschool for Miran and are now awaiting the official "result" -- optimistic about being accepted but aware that preschool admission (like everything else in Manhattan) is competitive. At any rate, it's exciting because we think Miran is so ready for school and for more interaction with other kids. We think he will love it.

Miran "Meriwether" Phipps

Miran "Meriwether" Phipps, famous explorer of the Great Wilderness West of Claremont Avenue.

Sentences of the Day

"I see birdie flying."
"I hear hoover outside." (a motor hum could be heard)
"Daddy cooking. Make food. Food everywhere. Yum yum!"