Bumpie's Baby Book

Note from Namma

2010-08-10T14:05:00.000-05:00

"I cannot believe how much a mother can love her baby girl's baby. I feel sorry for anybody who isn't Alan's grandma."

The Power of Prayer

2010-07-07T15:27:00.004-05:00

Alan

You're three years old, and last night while Mom was away, you had a real faith experience.

We were walking three blocks to the store to get you a toy for a dollar. On the way we talked about lots of things. At one point you said "I want to give a kiss and a hug to the whole world." You are such a sweet heart.

After we got your toy, a Spiderman bouncy ball, and a couple of prizes from the quarter machines, we left for home. I advised you to keep the ball in your hands and not bounce it until we got home, so it wouldn't get lost. On the way home, you climbed on steps and walked atop stone edges as usual. Then you came to a patch of tiny loose pebbles and fell on the ground, slightly skinning your knees.

I had to kiss your knees to make them feel better, as usual. We continued walking and pretty quickly passed two ladies walking toward us. I asked you to straighten up and smile so you could say hi to your neighbors, and you did. One of the ladies gave you a high-five.

A block later, I looked at your hands and noticed you did not have your ball. We started looking around, and finally retraced our steps, looking everywhere for it. I suggested you pray, and I prayed for St. Anthony's help. You closed your eyes and prayed, "Dear God, please help me. I need to find my ball. And Jesus, and Mary."

I was touched by your prayer, but full of doubts as to whether we would find the ball. We looked everywhere, and by the time we reached the store again, I had concluded for us that God wished us not to find it, but that He always knows what's best for us, so we should thank Him anyway.

We entered the store, went to buy your ball again, and reached the checkout stand. In front of us were the same two nice ladies we had met earlier. We talked to them, and explained we were buying your toy again because we lost it on the way home. One of the ladies then asked me if I could describe it. I said it was a clear ball that had Spiderman in it.

She then produced it from behind her back and gave it to you Alan. Your eyes were wide, and I told you your prayer had been answered.

Outside I led you in a prayer to thank God for caring about you. I was glad I had advised you to rely on prayer, and it is always a good thing for us all to remember.

Waffie and Watchy

2010-05-03T13:37:00.002-05:00

Alan

Your kitties are Saffie and Patchy Kitty. But you like to say them as Waffie and Watchy Kitty, even though we have heard you correctly pronounce the "S" and the "P" before.

You love to talk about them and run up to Patchy and scream hello in her face. Sometimes she tolerates you and lets you pet her, and sometimes she runs!

You are almost 3 years old, and Patchy is 10 years old, and Saffie is (I think) 11 years old.

These are your cats and this is a story about your cats.

Love
Dad

Castles on the Floor

2010-03-27T09:26:00.005-05:00

Alan, you like to make castles every day. Let me explain.

To you, a castle is anything that is stacked up. So you take cups and stack them high. You stack blocks - I saw an incredible stack of blocks you made in your room on the carpet even, almost as tall as you. We call you a good builder and say you really know your castles.

Once your castle reminded me of a pagoda so I got a picture of one on my computer and every day you wanted to see the pagoda picture, which you called "goda".

Sometimes you are frustrated when your castles fall down, but we encourage you to build it back again. I know that in your life some day you will have something to do with building things.

The Rules

2010-03-25T17:26:00.002-05:00

Last week in response to some admonition from both parents concerning proper use of food stuffs, Alan rubbed his hand across the whole dinner tray as though erasing it. His comment was "I don't like rules!"

I had to burst out laughing right there, and extend my hand to him, saying I surely understand that!

Foo or Froo

2010-02-24T17:12:00.002-06:00

Alan, you became enamored of a finger play called (well, according to me) "Little Bunny Foo-Foo", though Mom knows it as "Froo-Froo." You like to ask for it by saying "Foo-Foo?" And then we get to go through it all with you, to your delight. Mom and Dad have combined their versions to accommodate a few differences. I love doing this one with you!

Love
Dad

Update on Singing

2010-02-24T16:59:00.002-06:00

Alan, you now sing many songs straight through. Among your favorites are ABC, Row row row, Twinkle twinkle (still sometimes referred to as Go-Go Hi), Old MacDonald, and Are you sleeping?

We have always thought you responded well to music, even though we don't sing and play much. (Mommy has played a little piano for you, and Dad played guitar at least once.)

In fact, it was recently Dad played Puff the magic dragon along with a CD that came with one of your books, and you often request it over and over. Once it made Mama cry, as she remembered her Daddy singing and playing it for her. She said she was sad but also happy hearing it.

Love, Dad

Christmas ornaments

2010-02-24T16:49:00.003-06:00

Alan, remembering sometime before Christmas 2009 as you approached being 2 1/2 years old, you came up with your own description of Christmas ornaments. You called them "Santa balls." I smile every time I think of your originality and inventiveness.

Love
Dad

A-B-C; uno dos tres

2009-10-30T20:23:00.003-05:00

You are 2 years and four and a half months old. Today you heard someone counting 1-3 in Spanish, it must have been on TV. Mom says you then came to her and said "Cinco. Ocho." We are suitable impressed with your memory and association with the things you've heard. We like that you join in with things too, feeling confident in yourself.

We also heard you singing ABC's right along with the characters singing them. You have the tune down, and many of the letters.

We're proud, proud, proud.

Daddy

Woefully Behind

2009-10-23T10:20:00.003-05:00

Mama and Da-ee have been very remiss in posting to this blog. We feel bad about it; somehow the busy-ness of life took over. We're awfully sorry.

Over the summer and into the autumn, you have exploded with vocabulary. Many new words and even some small sentences. In fact, today you came to me and said "Mama, I pooping. All done." But mostly, it's still single words, most of them with the first letter dropped off. For example, juice is "oooce."

You can count to 10 when walking up and down stairs.

You know these colors: red, blue, green, white, yellow, and pink. The first color you positively identified was "ye-yo."

You have even started to sing a little bit. You make up words to "Go-Go Hi" (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) and know a few words to "Row Row Row Your Boat," as well "Old MacDonald" and "Apples and Bananas."

You are also well on your way to correctly doing the sign of the cross. It's so cute to see you dip your hand into the holy water font at church and try to sign yourself.

There's lots more to share! You are quickly developing into a little boy.

Baby Vocabulary

2009-05-15T09:48:00.002-05:00

Here is a list of things you say as you approach your second birthday, and the things I think they mean:

Baba..........................bottle, milk, drink, binky
Wawa........................water, fish
Mama.......................mother
Mamai......................mother
Dada.........................father
Dadai........................father
Mummadidda.........both parents
Moi...........................more (said of substances and actions)
Yah...........................yes, I want this, give it to me
No!...........................no
Up............................up
Me...........................me (meaning you)
Gaga........................duck (from quack quack)
Ooh Ooh Ah Ah.....monkey
Puppy.....................dog
Miao.......................cat, kitty
Moo........................cow
Elmo.......................Elmo (favorite tv personality)
Chee.......................cheese
Nay.........................horse, pony (from neigh)
Ba...........................ball (with a slight "l" sound on the end)
Bow........................bowl (with a slight "l" sound on the end)
Eye.........................eye (used with every creature there is)
Sky.........................sky, ceiling
Pee pee..................private part
apple......................apple, any fruit

I am sure I am forgetting some words you say now, but perhaps Mom will post those. I look so forward to see you build on 30 or so foundational words, to explode into the hundreds of words some day. And I will always try to help you find your "voice", to help you learn how to say what you need to say, and help you make sense of the world.

Love, Dad

One small step for a baby...

2009-05-15T09:42:00.003-05:00

On Easter 2009, dear boy, you took your first step up one concrete step outside the Redemptorist abbey in Oconomowoc. You decided to do it all by yourself, and you stepped confidently up without holding on to anything. You wanted my hand to come back down, but then you went back up by yourself about ten times.

This happened while we were waiting for a Marriage Encounter group greeting.

I was very proud of my son, and always will be.

Putting It Together

2009-04-22T12:15:00.002-05:00

I still don't think Alan says all the words that an almost 2-year-old is supposed to say, at least according to all those books.

But interestingly enough, he seems to be ahead of the curve as concerns putting 2 words together to make a sentence.

I noticed it the first time a few weeks ago when he said "Moy cheeee." (More cheese.) I was astounded.

We've also caught him saying "Hi Puppeeee" or "Hi Dada" or "Hi Meeeeow."

This week, twice, I think(?) I head him say something like "Wah Dada" (I want Dada?)

Is this the beginning of something?

You CAN Be a Good Boy!

2009-03-25T16:17:00.003-05:00

There are people who say disciplining your child at age under two is pointless, or even worse - that it's cruel and mean. I contend that those are people who either a.) have no kids, b.) have rotten, ill-behaved kids, or c.) have an axe to grind with their past.

We introduced the "naughty chair" here a few weeks ago. If Alan doesn't listen to us, shrieks real loud when we say "no" to something (akin to talking back), or refuses to give us something that is dangerous, then he has to sit in the naughty chair. Which he does NOT like. He cries copious tears and begs to "uppa," which means to get up and off the chair. He only gets to come off the chair if, when asked if he will be a good boy, he answers "Ya!"

This past week, I wondered if Alan had reasoning skills at such a young, tender age - 21 months. The answer is yes!

Today, he took something out of the bedroom that he wasn't supposed to have. I told him to give it back, but as to be expected, he ran off with it into another room. I told him two or three more times to give it back, which he ignored. Finally, I said to him "Alan, put it back in the bedroom or go to the naughty chair."

You know what he did?

He turned around, toddled back into the bedroom, and put the object right back where it belonged.

I praised him and kissed him and told him what a good boy he was. And then he was rewarded with four chocolate chips.

The anti-discipline crowd is wrong. Kids this little DO have thinking skills. They can decide to do good and please others. You just have to give them the chance and be consistent.

Meet Go-Go

2009-03-24T20:02:00.002-05:00

Or it might be Gyo-Go? Either way, Alan can now "say" Glow Worm.

The Sounds of Animals

2009-03-13T17:06:00.004-05:00

In the last month, Alan can answer these questions:

1. Alan - What sound does a duck make? "Ga Ga!"

2. Alan - What sound does a kitty make? "Mee-ya"

3. Alan - What sound does a cow make? "Myooo"

4. Alan - What sound does a puppy make? "Puh-peee!" (OK, one time he said something resembling "bow wow," but it hasn't been heard again.)

Even though all the books make me think you're behind in your talking, I think this is fantastic!

UPDATE: Mid-March. Alan - What sound does a pony make? "Neee!"

New Word

2009-03-10T21:22:00.003-05:00

Alan

Today you said onion. Mom told me when I got home for dinner that you had said it many times as you watched her chop up an onion for dinner.

When we tried again in front of me you didn't say onion, but apple!

It may be that you think of small round things to eat as apples, and things that are cut up as onions.

It is great to see these understandings fall into place for you.

I love the way you say things, and treasure each word I hear from you.

Discipline

2009-03-07T19:44:00.003-06:00

Alan, today you were putting things in the kitty water and trying to pick up their food. You like to do this when you're bored I guess.

You've been told it's No enough times to establish the rule. So when several warnings did not suffice to keep you out today, I gave your tiny wrist a small slap and said No.

You were unhappy with that (no surprise) and you pointed to your wrist and looked at me.

I felt it was a communication of some kind, perhaps asking me why I did that. So I explained you were naughty so Daddy had to slap your wrist.

That must have sufficed because you soon forgot it and got back to other things. And you stayed out of the kitty bowls, so this little discipline was effective.

(For now.)

I love you so much I am willing to inflict a small bit of discomfort in order to teach you the benefits of a good and well-ordered life. There will be many more lessons, and there will always be my warm arms to come to when you need comfort.

I know what a little Bumpie feels like when he's being disciplined, and my heart is always with you, even when I need to correct you.

Apple

2009-03-07T19:39:00.003-06:00

Alan, today you dazzled me by holding up a red ball and saying "Ball" and then "Apple". You had learned apple and were saying it last week. Now it seemed to me that you were telling me by using the two words that you knew the red ball resembled an apple.

Forgive me for celebrating this little sign of the growth of your thinking and communication skills.

It was a pleasant surprise today, and I told your Mom about it right away.

Yes and No

2009-02-23T16:23:00.004-06:00

According to everything I read about toddlers of my son's age, it would seem that they all say "No!" by now, and with great frequency.

Well, not my son. Although while on vacation last week, I think I may have heard him utter it once or twice. Not 100% sure yet. This is not to say that he doesn't make his "No!" instinct unknown. He is very good at vigorously shaking his head when he doesn't want or like something.

The flip side of the coin is "Yes." We never hear about that.

But for us, we are hearing it. Alan has started to say "Yeah" or "Ya" when we ask him if he wants something.

For this, I am pleased and grateful, because it's very encouraging to have some idea or clue, no matter how small, as to what your child desires.

Pencil Portrait

2009-02-06T16:57:00.003-06:00

This week we got a wonderful portrait of you in the mail. Aunt Josephine sent us this beautiful sketch of you from a picture, Alan.

You were pleased and excited when we opened it and showed it to you.

We have it up in the living room, and when you go to bed and I am still up with your Mom, I like to look at it and smile, thinking of you asleep in your crib.

She captured the smile that is sunshine to me. Your smile will always melt me inside, son.

Daddy hopes some day you will like to draw as much as your Aunt Josephine does.

Why Play With Toys......

2009-01-29T21:05:00.001-06:00

.....when you can transport goldfish crackers back and forth, from room to room, for an hour instead?

Poop Nightmare

2009-01-27T15:18:00.007-06:00

I swear this blog isn't about poop.

Anyway, today I experienced the worst baby poop nightmare to date. Actually, given that Alan's 19 months old, we're lucky to have experienced poop explosions rarely, if at all. I know other people often have just the opposite experience.

So, without going into too much detail, the best way to deal with a poop nightmare is to just zip the child, poop and all, back into his pajamas - head for the bathroom, fill the tub with water - and then carefully extract said child covered in poop, lower him into the water, and turn a blind eye to the copious amounts of poop floating in the water.

Somehow, I feel it was "my turn" in the overall plan of the universe for it to be MY poop nightmare day. I survived!

Synapses Connect

2009-01-23T15:54:00.003-06:00

This is a picture that hangs in my son's room.

Today, I was holding Alan in my arms, showing him the picture. I said, "See, the little boy has a toy boat."

And then Alan said "Row, row, row, row."

Turn Your Back for One Minute.....

2009-01-19T13:52:00.002-06:00

.....and this is what happens to the tissue box in the living room!

Singing Old MacDonald

2009-01-16T15:18:00.004-06:00

Alan just sang, out of the blue, "Ee-i-ee-i-ee-i-ee," when he heard "Old MacDonald" on a TV program. Totally shocked me that it came out of nowhere and he knew it, without us ever working on it.

A few months ago, we could get him to sing "Row, row, row, row, row" from "Row, Row Your Boat." Although I haven't heard him do that in a long time.

Sort of Like 2-Fisted Drinking, But Different

2009-01-08T15:34:00.003-06:00

Alan just tried to continue sucking on his binky (pacifier) while also drinking milk from his bottle. As in, both items were in his mouth at the same time. He successfully did it for a minute or two, until I pointed out to him what he was doing and he started giggling.

Baby's First Haircut

2009-01-08T13:01:00.002-06:00

Well, since 9 out of 10 people (strangers) who would see my child at the store or in restaurants, etc., were asking if Alan was a girl (due to his gorgeous long, blonde hair), I decided it was finally time for his first haircut.

This video probably isn't exciting to anyone other than those who know and love Alan.

Another Poop Song

2009-01-08T11:08:00.003-06:00

Maybe we focus too much on poop?

Anyway, when Alan was first born, my husband and I, it seems, sat in bed together for weeks, just trying to sleep or feeding baby. Many times we'd watch YouTube videos on the laptop, looking for some comic relief. This was one we'd watch over and over, laughing hysterically:

(My favorite part is when the Walmart manager asks the kid if he has anything better to do than hang out in Walmart, and the kids answers, "Uh, no, not really...")

OK, I admit that this video is stupid, and the "Baby Got Back" song is stupid, too. I hated this song in college, although I'll also admit that since it's been about 15 years since it first came out, if I do hear it, I enjoy it and laugh for a few moments.

But for whatever reason, ever since watching this video during those early months of Alan's life, my husband and I have sung a variation of "Baby Got Back" to Alan EVERY DAY OF HIS LIFE, and usually way more than once a day. Here's the usual version:

You've got big poop and you cannot lie
The other babies can't deny
That when you drink the milk
It goes down like silk
But then the poop begins to fly

There's other versions, too. Most of them end with "But then the butt wipes begin to fly."

When I say we sing this to him every day, I'm not kidding. It's like a mania with us.

The Poop Song

2008-12-09T13:19:00.003-06:00

I'm sharing this here so that we don't forget about it someday.

A long time ago, probably when my son was only 3 or 4 months old, my husband started singing this made-up song to my son whenever he changed a poopy diaper:

"Oh......we......put it in a sack,
And we tied it up tight.....
Why?
Because we don't want to smell it!
We don't want to smell it!"

My son knows this song, we can tell from his smile when we sing it to him.

First Kiss

2008-12-07T15:11:00.001-06:00

We kiss our baby boy a lot. We want him to be open and affectionate as a person. But when it comes to getting a kiss from him, so far he's been stingy. (Actually I think it's more that he hasn't had the idea.)

But today when Mom was scooping him up from the bed where he was rough-housing with pillows, I saw the open mouth in response to Mommy's request for a peck. There it went, baby's first open mouth attempt at a kiss, fully intentional, planted right down on Mama's cheek.

Now I, the father, am proud and a little bit jealous!

Bumpie Enchanted by the Moon

2008-12-05T10:44:00.005-06:00

Last night, as we were walking across the parking lot of Wal-Mart, my son suddenly made a squeal and pointed up into the sky. He does this alot when he sees birds, but I was confused, seeing as it was dark out and there wouldn't be any birds.

He kept making excited noises and looking up. And then I saw that he was looking at a bright crescent moon.

It made my heart happy. He kept looking and looking, gazing up, entranced by the bright light in the sky, but not knowing what it was.

God's creation can be a whole lot more exciting than we give it credit for.

The Joy of a Cookie

2008-11-26T15:48:00.001-06:00

I gave my son his first sandwich cookie this afternoon. A cheap, generic brand vanilla sandwich cookie from Piggly Wiggly.

He's so excited, he's dancing a jig. With vanilla drool coming out of his mouth.

Bumpie Learned to Clap

2008-11-11T10:39:00.003-06:00

I know this may sound strange, that our child learned to clap at 16 months old, but he did it for the first time yesterday.

See, we never played patta-cake with him when he was little. It wasn't on purpose or anything, we just didn't do that. (Although I did sing him a patta-cake version that ended...."And put it up for sale on E-bay!")

Many times in the last few months, I've shown Bumpie clapping, but he refused to copy me. I don't know why, but who knows why babies do anything? But yesterday, I showed it to him, he did it instantly, and afterwards, we sang songs and clapped at the end of each.

Something so simple can make your heart melt.

Multi-Tasker

2008-11-06T18:15:00.005-06:00

Sunday 11/2/08 my son blew on his food for the first time. I had been showing him this for a couple weeks when he begged hot food off my plate. He did it by imitation all on his own.

Also caught him multi-tasking that day, as he set his ball-popping machine going, then turned to some other toys on the ground, all the while referring to the TV (Baby First TV) and checking the progress of the popped balls too. An executive in the making, my son.

I'm a proud father.

How a Baby Thinks

2008-11-03T11:54:00.002-06:00

Last week, Bumpie saw me put food in my mouth - I can't remember what it was, but I do recall it was something he couldn't have because of chewing/choking. He crawled over and up onto my legs, whining and crying to get some of what I was eating. I told him NO and he whined even more. Finally, I picked him up and put him on my lap, and do you know what he did? He stuck his hand into my mouth, trying to pry it open to get whatever was in my mouth out and into his mouth. I guess that everything DOES belong to baby, even if it's in someone else's mouth!

The Things Bumpie Says

2008-10-31T09:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Sesame Street came on the TV and my son got all excited and independently, out-of-the-blue, said "Melmo," meaning "Elmo." It made me really happy because he has liked Elmo (the image, stuffed animal) since his eyes could focus and differentiate on objects.

While I'm happy that he said this, when I consult all the developmental books and lists, it would seem he is "behind" on his talking. Most of me is not worried - he is a boy, after all, and he isn't surrounded by siblings and other kids all day. I tend to be "busy" most of the day, not talking to him alot.

These are the words he says thus far: Mama, Dada, and Nyum-yum (which means he is happy with what he's eating or that he wants to eat what's on our plate). Once in a great while we have heard him say "Hi." That's it for independent words that he says.

Now, he will, at times, repeat words that we ask him to say. He has tried to say "Patchy Kitty" (one of our cats) when prompted. Also, I've been trying to get him to say "out" when he wants to get out of his high chair or crib. He always responds with something that sounds like "ow." There are probably about 10 or so other words that when we ask, he makes an attempt to say. But as far as independent utterings, not much.

He DOES understand everything we're saying TO him. We know that for sure. And his use of non-verbals is sophisticated, from what I can see. It may be that he's just comfortable with where he's at and doesn't find any need to HAVE to talk.

We told our doctor of his verbal progress and he said that if within the next month or so (when he'll be 17-18 months old), he still isn't saying much beyond what he's already saying, we should bring him in for an expert evaluation. But I don't really know if I think that's necessary.

Anyway, the amazing thing is that with all the times we've said "no" to him, we've never heard him say that back to us. Isn't that the one word that all kids this age are expert with? Well, no worry, the amount of times he shakes his head back-and-forth to us, indicating his "no" through non-verbals, more than makes up for the absence of this word.

Why My Son's Nickname is "Bumpie"

2008-10-22T16:32:00.002-05:00

We have been asked this alot, and so, here's the story:

The nickname Bumpie has nothing to do with my child being bumped around or getting into accidents, etc. It has to do with a stupid habit that my husband and I got into when we were first married, which was that we faux Romanized our speaking. It started with my husband's cat, whose name is Patches. Emphasis on the "es." My cat's name is Saffie, but to make the cats seem related, we started calling her Saffis. Patches, Saffis. Get it?

OK, we took it further. We started adding "is," or more correctly, from a Roman perspective, "us," onto the ends of lots of words. "Honey, will you bring me a drinkus?" -OR- Hey, what's for dinner? Answer: Beefus. We did this to as many words as possible.

When my son was born, and we gave in to his having a pacifier, I decided that I liked the "binky" name for a pacifier, but soon it became a "binkus." Well, then we would talk baby-talk gobbeldy gook to my child, and eventually, a little sing-songy rhyme started to emerge that included some words that morphed from "binkus" into "bumpkiss," which finally evolved into Bumpie. And it just stuck.

My son knows his "other" name is Bumpie, and he answers to Bumpie just as often as he answers to his first name. And we like it that way.

My husband has a dream that someday our son will grow up to be a great football player in high school or college, and that the back of his jersey will read "Bumpie." I think it's a good dream, and I hope my son likes his nickname and doesn't mind it as he grows older.

Don't Cry Over Spilt Milk

2008-10-22T16:04:00.001-05:00

So, I admit I got the idea for this blog somewhere else. Big deal. It's a great idea, and I can tell that doing this will take a lot of guilt away on my part. And trust me, there's a LOT of guilt about this.....I am constantly torturing myself (and my husband) with the "When am I ever going to get around to working on Bumpie's scrapbook?" question/whine/lament.

See, it's just a whole lot easier for me to put in an entry here, which might take a few minutes, and then also upload a picture, rather than get all bent out of shape about how I don't have the time, space, and stamina to scrapbook everything. Yes, I'm still going to try to scrapbook. It'll happen. But in the meantime, I can preserve all kinds of memories of my son here that would never make it into a scrapbook or baby book.

AND my husband can participate. That's even better. Someday my son might be able to see and read all of this and be thrilled at the attention to detail that was paid to his development - by BOTH of his parents.

I believe that every day there is SOMETHING I want to remember about my son. Like today, as I watched him crawl around with snot running out of his nose into the graham cracker crumbs on his face. Sounds gross. But for a baby his age, that's life, and I want to remember all those moments of his life, grossly mundane as some of them are. Since I'm blogging anyway on my CheekyPinkGirl blog, it just makes sense to do this.