Hugs

We've seen many actions from Tavish that we think (read: hope) indicate some positive personality attributes ...

Graceful:

crawling perfected within hours of trying; climbing stairs with poise on the first day he pulled himself to stand; making his way downstairs smoothly after encouraging the 'backwards' thing a hand-full of times; walking with little signs of 'toddling'

Gentle:

we have never seen him actually touch another child - he points at them within close range, but never actually touches; pets any animal he gets close to very softly; often pats my back when I'm carrying him somewhere and he's resting on my shoulder

Funny:

he laughed and laughed when he fed me puffs and I finally said "no thank you" a few times (he persisted), then I gently pushed the puff away and made the sounds he does when he's finished with the food we're feeing him ... he thought it was hilarious that I was imitating him; has been known to play peak-a-boo ... okay, all kids do it - but we think it qualifies as humour ...

This blog entry is about another trait to add to the list: Affectionate

MOMENTS: Hugs All Around

Tavish has a live-in buddy that he scans the livingroom for as he makes his way down the stairs in the morning. His name is Chomper. He is a Cabbage Patch kid. I know what you're thinking: is this 1980? No, it's not ... but Chomper was certainly born in the 1980s and given his name by a boy who was quite young in the 1980s - Tom. I'm confident that Chomper's birth certificate did not issue him the name "Chomper". Tom insists otherwise. Anyway, Chomper is a friend of Tavish's now and it is very sweet. We have spotted Tavish sitting in the livingroom with Chomper giving him kisses, reading him a story, hugging him, pushing him around perched on the walker, carrying him around by the hair - you know showing him general affection in the best way a baby knows how. Oh, he will also give the high-5s and a wave too, but those are usually initiated by Chomper. Today was no different, except that I caught a bit of it on film ... now it's not in its purest form as there may have been some prompting: "Tavish, where's Chomper?", "Hi Chomper?", "Want to give Chomper a hug?", but despite this particular case of encouragement, the affection is pure and mostly given without request.

Another wonderfully unprompted show of affection was between Tavish and one of his closest buddies, Darius. It was shortly after we returned from Maine that Andrea and Darius dropped over while Tavish was napping. When Tavish awoke to join us, I put him on the floor and he stood then took a step or two. Maybe it was the excitement of seeing him walk, or simply the fact that they hadn't seen each other in a little while, but Darius walked over to Tavish and reached out to him. Andrea was right behind him to ensure there was no hitting, poking or any other baby actions of affection-gone-wrong, but Darius stepped closer and these two little buddies embraced. Tavish looked up at me for assurance, then patted Darius' back. The embrace was not fleeting either, it lasted more than a few moments. It was one of the sweetest moments I've witnessed between two children and still draws an 'awww' from my heart when I recall it.

However, what prompted me to write about this today over other days is that the hugs were being given out even more rampantly today ... to things beyond Mommy, Daddy, Darius, and Chomper. As shown in the photo above, his sippycup of water qualified for some hugs today. Huh, guess he was really thirsty ... or is just as affectionate as these actions would indicate?

Rock a "Bye" Baby

SLEEP. It's a parents single biggest concern - or at least is seems to be for the parenting team of Kath and Tom. It comes with fear (what happens if they NEVER sleep?!?), excitement (whoa, he's still sleeping?!?!), anxiety (what happens if he wakes up AGAIN?!?), irritation (why won't he just go to sleep already?!?) and then there's the odd time of pleasure ...

MOMENT: Splash, rub, read, sing, hug, "bye"

It's been a long, 16 month journey of seeking sleep. Specifically Tavish's sleep, but therefore ours as well. The first 5 months of Tavish's life he was literally tied up (swaddled) for the sake of sleep. He was pretty much the-baby-with-no-arms most of the time with some serious 'shush'ing (or hairdryer-ing ... long story) thrown in for good measure. Although it seems that the sleepy sheep must have finally won (knock on wood ... no, seriously - if you're reading this - knock on wood, please) because things seem quite good now. Until recently, he'd never been put down for a sleep of any sort without some protesting - sometimes lasting a few minutes ... sometimes up to an hour. It's been our dinner music more times than we care to count. Tonight though, tonight was an example of a 'pleasure' time regarding bedtime and sleep. It was just Tavish and I. Tom was tackling the disaster on the deck that was the aftermath of Tavish discovering that he loves rice and beans. Bath time as usual. Teeth brushing (or barely since Tavish does it himself) as usual. Then we got into the bedroom and I reintroduced an old bedtime 'routine' from the early days: massage. When Tavish was born, Fariba (our amazing midwife) encouraged giving him an olive oil massage every day. We did this religiously before bed for months and months, but like many good habits - it was slowly dropped. I've noticed lately how much Tavish enjoys having sunscreen applied to his skin, he's even brought it to me. So, out came the oil. I wasn't confident that he'd be still enough to enjoy it, but as soon as I applied some to his leg, he was still, mesmerized and relaxed. Why did we ever stop doing this?! I enjoyed it, he enjoyed it - it's all around happiness. He was even eager to have his back done so sat up when I offered. Very sweet. After it was diapering and jammie-ing as usual, then books. When I started singing, he snuggled into our hug as usual. I love these moments. Tavish is relaxed, peaceful and affectionate. I decided at the end of my songs to talk quiety with him about our day: What a great day we had together with Daddy. We went for a bike ride then to see Grandpa for lunch with Aunie Michele and Uncle Mark. You played in the water at Grandpas with Harrison and Finn. You had a nice nap when we got home. We went for a walk in the stroller and played outside on the deck before our dinner of rice and beans. What a lovely time together. Tomorrow we'll have more adventures together after a nice sleep. Good night Tavish. I love you very much and look forward to seeing you in the morning. I then hear a quiet "bu-bye". I laid Tavish in his crib and he smiles at me with another quiet "bu-bye" and a kiss (muuu-wah) blown to me. I turned on the music as I left and did not hear a peep. Just like that, our baby sleeps. Helping him to fall asleep this easily truly was a pleasure. Now it's our turn - good night, bu-bye and muuu-wah.

Self-service

In terms of food, the extent of our man's discerning considerations is: mmm, food - sure, I'll eat! Needless to say, we haven't had many struggles with Tavish on the food front so far. This has been extra great because I've been able to make food for him that is nutricious, mostly organic and readily available because I reuse the purchased babyfood jars and fill up the freezer. Handy, well - mostly handy ... until Tavish decides to feed himself.



MOMENT: My turn

Tavish has been self-serving finger food for a very long time (he had the pincer grip mastered early), but the spoon feeding thing didn't garner much interest ... until recently. We always figured that until he requests the spoon, we'd continue to feed him because it is more expedient and the longer he waits, the more dexterity he would have ... or so we hoped.The first real self-serve attempt to spoon feed himself was in Vermont on our way home from Maine - at my friend's place. That's right, not in the comfort of our own home, but rather at a place and time where it wasn't so convenient but oh so cute! He had food everywhere! It was delightful and he was so proud. Fortunately, we were staying with friends who found this new-found independent streak endearing.

Tonight was more of the same, only cuter. We could actually watch the intellectual development before our eyes. He discovered after his first spoon full that tipping the spoon was less-than productive. It was close enough that he may have tasted it - even if it all fell into his handy bib with the scoop. Hmmmm, what to do? Ah yes, first complication averted: just scoop it out of the bib! Success. I was 'helping' by holding the bowl for him until that was impeding his creative freedom. Okay, Mommy stepped aside. Tavish looked at me, looked at his empty spoon then the full bowl ... hmmmm. Then, the ah-ha moment: he picked up the bowl and turned it on it's side and voila - self-service. He worked at it for awhile and although he was technically feeding himself successfully, the arm was eventually raised (help) followed by a finger to his mouth (food) ... we had a pooped self-server! Perhaps all the extra work built up an extra appetite?

Goin' on a Bear Hunt.

MANY MOMENTS: Hunting and Grunting

Although Tavish's first birthday party had to be cancelled due to sickness (Tavish's - it was sad), Tavish received a lovely gift from his friend Celia, a book: "Going on a Bear Hunt". What a book! The paintings are lovely and the story invites lots of actions and sing-songy excitement. Over the past month, Tavish has truly developed a strong affinity for this book. It started when Grandma and Grandpa were visiting and my Mom noticed that Tavish would consistenly take this book from his shelf when she was with Tavish in his room. Interesting. No matter where she moved it to, he would look for it and pull it out. Fast forward to our trip in Maine. Yes, I'm a sucker and brought it. Anyway, this book has become the soundtrack to this holiday. It is read a minimum of 3 times a day. We've kept it up in the room we're sharing, so it's guaranteed to be read in the morning in our fake "it's good to be awake" voices. On a side note: our days have consistently started at 6am --- it's not pretty ... we don't even know what to do at that hour of the morning other than feel sorry for ourselves. It also is read once before afternoon nap and at least once more before bed time - at a minimum. There's no way you could not read it if he recognizes that it's nearby. It's completely worth it though as the joy he gets from this book is rewarding unto itself. The story comes along with sound effects, care of Tavish. For awhile now, when we see a dog we've said "there's a dog (pointed) and said 'woof'!". It makes sense that Tavish would do the same. When he sees a dog, he often points, but always says "woof" ... or in Tavish-speak "muhhhhh" in a deep, gutteral sound - truthfully, more of a grunt than anything else. Oh, there happens to be a dog on every page of the story. Yup, every page. We've also been asking Tavish questions when we read stories for a while now: "where's the bird?", "where are your toes?", "can you count the bears on chairs?" etc ... in this story, I don't have to ask about the dog very much ("muhhhhh") but I started pointing out the 'baby' in the book or asking "where's the baby?". Well, turns out this stuff is transferable. Tom was wearing Tavish in the carrier the other day when a solid 2, maybe 3 year old was pushed past us in a stroller. Clear as a bell, Tavish states to Daddy "baby" and points. Love it. It's officially added to the repertoire of 'real' words he uses regularily and was motivated by none other than "Going on a Bear Hunt". He also loves the page after the one in the book that dramatically asks: "what's that?". It reads: "It has one shiny wet nose (Tavish touches his nose). Two big fury ears (one ear gets touched). Two big googly eyes (one eye gets a poke). IT'S A BEAR! (laugh). He points at the bear then you hear "muhhhhhh" for the dog that appears to be quite startled by the bear. If you leave Tavish to his own devices and that book is nearby, he'll flip through parts of it, but he's clearly looking for that page. Every time it's read, it's like it's new entertainment for him. I've read it where the book itself acts things out (e.g: up the stairs, stumble - trip, etc), where we move him ... always funny. Huh, now that I think about it - maybe we both like "Going on a Bear Hunt" because of how ridiculous Mommy and Daddy become when they read it.

Wave Seeker

Up and at 'em on our first morning here. First adventure: the beach.





MOMENT: Water Baby

There were quite a few 'firsts' for Tavish: sand, waves and of course, salt water. Our walking protege was happy to have a hand to hold as he explored the beach. He was only distracted by the sand on his hands momentarily. Daddy taught him to brush his hands together to get rid of the sand. This was helpful ... for awhile, until Tavish 'brushed' his hands then wiped his mouth: crunch. Ah well, he was a trooper and wasn't actually upset by it at all, more curious really ... but not curious enough to do it again on purpose. He and Tom did some beach walking before we made it to the waves. What a riot! He squealed with excitement. I squealed a bit too, but that was more for the temperature shock - brrrr. Tavish and I walked along the waves, let the water flow over our feet and away. (squeal) Tom drew something into the sand to witness a wave wiping it away. (squeal) This went on for as long as we thought it was acceptable to have a baby's feet and legs in water of that temperature! There was also a tidal pool of water that provided more stimulation and contained less 'refreshing' water. He and Tom had a great time in there ... well, mostly Tavish ... Tom's was good, maybe not 'great' as salty water was often excitedly flung into his face by an exploring Tavish. (squeal) Then the inevitable happend: the stumble/trip/splash! Not full submersion, but Tavish certainly experienced his first taste of saltwater. Again, a trooper. In fact, he may have liked it ... he hasn't exactly tasted salt in the homemade food he's fed! The morning adventure was closed with yet another walk among the waves. (squeal) Eventually, amid the squeals Tavish started leading Tom away from the waves while looking over his shoulder and politely saying "bu-bye" over and over. I thought it was cute so squatted down to start yet another video taping to find Tavish's face covered with sprays of salt water. Oh, I think "bu-bye" was nice-speak for "I'm good, that was fun --- let's head for dry land". Very fun and no doubt countless more experiences yet to be had there this week too with our little wave-seeker!

The Maine Event

We are off for a week vacation to the Kennebunkport, Maine area. Mike has rented a place here for the week and TKT have joined him to 'enrich' his holiday with some official 'toddling' fun ...



MAINE MOMENT: Hit the Ground Running

Yup, Tavish literally started officially walking once his feet hit the ground in Maine. We left Stowe, Vermont this morning … no desire to walk. We made a stop to visit a cousin of Mike’s (Pat and Stevie Bedford) in New Hampshire this afternoon ... I was in and out of the conversation enjoying an assisted walk with Tavish (mostly following around Polly, their incredibly gentle yellow lab). It had been a rainy day so with the wet ground, Tavish was in Mommy’s arms while the vehicles were unpacked. Once we got settled in a bit, he just … started walking. None of that: “whoops – where did Mommy’s hand go?!” or “ahh, I can make it the two steps from here to there” this was the full deal. Big open space and he just stood up and walked away from everyone and out into the openness. He laughed. I even kneeled down and did the “come to Mommy” … you know, part ‘I’m here if you need me anytime’ and part ‘you need Mommy to be a part of this big moment, don’t you?’ … but he totally deeked me out! “No thanks Mom, I’ve got this covered”. It was amazing and wonderful. We’ve been figuring that he wouldn’t commit to taking the full leap until he was confident that he could really take off and it appears as though we figured right! He just kept going and going, walking back and forth into the room where Daddy and Grandpa were, then back to me in the kitchen … often he didn’t even go to anyone, just back and forth into those spaces. He would walk to me with his arms out for a hug, get one and be squirming to go again. Oh what glee he was experiencing! You just know that his brain is working overtime and that while he’s sleeping up there (finally, but that’s another story), he is trying to process this monumental discovery of walking. What freedom! After many round trips and squeals of delight captured on film, we realized that we needed to move on – food had to be purchased … this baby was no doubt working up a huge appetite! When we went to gather him, his hair was wet with sweat – this walking thing is hard work! Yes, our baby walks and it was, undoubtedly, the Maine event so far. It will be tough to trump this, but there is always the beach and the first taste of sand. Stay tuned!

Today

I figured I'd only 'blog' now and then but here I am again and again ... maybe it's the 'new' factor or the 'Tavish being awesome' factor? Time will tell I suppose.

DEVELOPMENT: Ba, Ba Bathtub

A few days ago, I was coming downstairs and talking to Tom who was holding the baby gate open for me. Well, Tavish made a 'crawl' for it which was odd because he typically closes it if it's left open or waits until we're with him to embark on the stairs. Anyway, up he came to me (I was only a few steps up, so maybe he felt I was 'following' him?) and was in full-steam-ahead mode. I asked if he needed a diaper change (insert sign language symbol here). He stared at me blankly. Okay .... so I said "Daddy is going to change your diaper" and up Tom came to replace my spot on the steps. Tavish was not liking this repeated reference to diaper change. So Daddy-the-trooper just let Tavish show him what he wanted once he got to the top of the stairs. He confidently crawled at full speed toward the bathroom saying "ba. ba. ba" and would stop for an instant every other crawl and tap his hands to his chest. He crawled up to the tub edge, pulled himself up to standing and beamed at his Dad: "ba. ba. ba". Oh, Tavish would like a bath, not a diaper change. For your reference, 'bath' is two hands traveling in circles on your chest in a washing motion. Apparently, Tavish is an observer of this language. Yay.

Tonight we ate out on the deck (hingsight: bad idea, it's H O T) and when Tavish was finished his meal and picked up by Tom, the "ba. ba. ba." started. Tom asked "Tavish, what would you like?" (it's our standard question designed to elicit a sign language response and have found it significantly reduces frustration all around). Tavish beamed that sparsely toothed grin and rubbed his chest with two hands "ba. ba. ba." He was right, it was bath time. Rub-a-dub-dub!