So firstly, today William turns 15 months. Hurray!
We've been having an awful lot of fun telling him to do things and watching him comply.
Like he'll give hugs and kisses on demand.
And when asked "Where's ____?" (mama, dada, Ella, etc), he does a pretty swell job pointing us out!
Same with some animals in books. Heh :)
And today I finally noticed that William really is communicating despite the limited gestures and whine/grunts. I know that sounds silly, but honestly most of the time I am so distracted with other things, I sort of write off his behavior as tired/hungry/etc. But today, when I really tuned in, it saved him the usual frustration and we had a very smooth morning together. Namely, in regards to this construction on our street that's been going on for a couple of weeks now. He gestured/noised to me about it so clearly that it was like he was literally saying "no, not indoors...yes, outdoors...more!!" using a combo of head movements, baby sign, pointing, and vocalizations.
This got me thinking how people might consider me a "present mother" because I can stay at home with the kids and don't just stick them in front of screens or something...but sometimes it's crazy how "not present" I can be at the same time. My interactions with William as described above, for example.
So I am going to really try to not multi-task, which thereby makes me "there and yet not there", and really listen...especially to poor little William. He's "saying" so much, and I want to show him that what he has to say matters!!
Phew!
So now that I've made that vow, I'd like to share with you our little day:
 |
| So many primary colors~! |
Ella Rose had a preschool friend over for what felt like most of the day, and yet didn't feel long enough :)
Betty Plum is a sweet little gal who plays so well with Ella Rose. They played dress-up, taking on the roles of princesses, mermaids, cats, and doctors. We also set up the tent in the park again and lunched as well as read books there. It was the perfect day for it too -- somewhat cooler, definitely cloudy.
It was a nice day. :)
 |
| Everybody say hiiiii~! |
So yeah, that's my Tuesday, and I look forward to a good rest of the week too.
Hope you enjoyed the day and are enjoying your kids too.
Take care and until next time, Happy William & Playdates!!
Chrissy, you are not perfect! And that is perfectly fine. The fact that you care about your actions, reflect upon them, realize you are imperfect, and try to fix them means you are a present parent. There are parents who could give a crap. You can't be there and aware 24/7, that's too much pressure! Plus he has to try his hardest to get your attention!
ReplyDeleteHappy 15th month! This was the age that signing made communicating with Grace's growing brain and slower vocabulary easier. She could say more, please, water, food, milk, play. Those things were all essential to her :D. And I remember just forgetting about the chores for days and days to watch her play, because I thought the chores will be there forever and our kids will be grown in the blink of an eye!