Scream 2

Captivated by the goats

The cutest profile

Just 6 short months after the release of the initial blockbuster hit and just in time for the Halloween season, director and creator Brody Warren has released a highly anticipated (albeit unwelcomed) sequel to the original Scream.  Unlike most horror sequels, this newly refined version puts the original to shame.  Perhaps it’s the objective force behind this October’s performance that outshines the – in retrospect – rather dull, undefined, and unmotivated original.  In an intense effort to communicate and emote, our little monkey has learned the art of delivery, consistency, and sheer volume.  As fear gripping, teeth gritting spectators, Beau and I await with bated breath, as we internally chant, “this too shall pass, this too shall pass.”

Caught ya!

We recognize that while this phase is truly testing our patience, it is also in many ways a milestone.  At the risk of sounding overly hopeful, we believe it’s fair to expect that right around the corner of these constant shrills will come distinct speech.  And perhaps surpassing overly hopeful to purely ridiculous expectations, we also believe that with the ability to fluently communicate, the screaming will stop.

In the meantime, we are experiencing some of our first pangs of parental pride as we witness Brody’s ability to understand virtually everything we say to him.  In addition, he has learned a handful of ways besides screaming to reciprocate the communicating. 

The groom and bride-to-be

A couple of months ago, my dear friend Jessie spoke to me about the helpfulness of teaching her daughter Ava how to sign to communicate.  No stranger to the concept, I had originally decided not to bother because I had trepidations about it inhibiting speech.  Eventually it got to the point where it was clear the stage between apprehension of language, to verbalizing language is a rather difficult, tense, and stressful stage for all parties. I decided it might not be a bad idea to teach him a couple of signs.

At first we didn’t know if it was working, but I kept hearing Jessie’s voice in the back of my head telling me, “just be consistent and it will work.”  So at every meal, while feeding Brodes, when he started to whine and point at his food clearly indicating he wanted more, I would ask him, “Would you like more Brody?”  I would sign the gesture for “more” every time I spoke the word, and then say, “Can you say, yes please,” while nodding my head.  In addition, when Brody made it clear he was finished eating by his usual performance of gracefully taking his food piece by piece and throwing it on the ground (much to our dog Mina’s glee), I would say, “all done?” and gesture the all done sign.

Our little farmer

One day to our surprise and delight, he did it on his own.  I was in the kitchen preparing dinner when he came marching in, pointing at the food and softly whining.  I looked down at him and asked him if he wanted a snack.  He nodded “yes,” and I proudly gave him a piece of cheese.  He stammered out of the kitchen only to return about a minute later, softly whining again only this time, he was signing the “more” gesture.  I quickly called Beau over to show him and we startled Brody as we enthusiastically applauded his accomplishment.  That very same night, he gestured “all done” when he was finished eating, and Beau and I spent the night reminiscing about those moments as we realized just how much he understands. 

Along with more, and all done, he knows only to nod yes, or shake his head no.  I wish we had taught him more and perhaps it’s not too late, but in the meantime we are happy to know we have some form of communicating beyond us running around him in circles playing the guessing game while he screams.  He does consistently say “mama” and “dada,” and there has been a very valiant effort at saying “banana,” but we are still awaiting more.

Maze and Boo

It’s hard not to stress out about the fact that I am seeing other people’s children speaking more already at Brody’s age, or some children only a few months older already speaking fluently.  However, most of these children are girls and I am told there is a vast difference in speech development among girls and boys.  I am also told that so long as it is clear he understands what we are saying, there is nothing to worry about. 

Besides his screaming and speech development, other new Brody-isms emerging here at Chez Warren are:

1.     Spinning in circles until he falls over laughing;

2.     Offering just about any toy or piece of food to our dog Mina;

3.     Spinning in circles and gasping for breath laughing while Mina spins in circles chasing her tail at the same time;

4.     Climbing up the slide at the playground;

5.     Understanding that (and being obsessed with) certain things are hot and if he points at them mama and dada will say, “hot Brody, hot, ouch, daaaangerous Brody, hot;”

6.     As well as doing his closed mouth versions of animal noises (kitty, lion, froggy, and cow).

Our Little Vertical Primate

Climbing is the word this week! The couch, his highchair, in and out of the bathtub, onto and off of our bed and anywhere his mama would rather he not attempt to climb on his own. When I first found out I was pregnant I joined the BEST website for preggo-ladies and mothers: babycenter.com. Every week since pregnancy, I receive an email newsletter covering all the “whos, whats, and where you should bes” about both in utero and post delivery development.

Usually, this site is spot-on with their updates so I wasn’t surprised last week when the update title read: “The Climber.” It wasn’t too long before receiving that email that Brody started showing a keen interest in climbing onto things and I had to kick my Safety Mom superpowers into high gear. I laughed as I read that week’s newsletter as it described how a toddler’s inhibitions are null and void at this stage of life, and in fact he has absolutely no intuitive fear of being hurt. It also touched on the fact that as a young toddler his desire to climb is inherent of his primate ancestry. Through evolution our species created and substantiated life in a horizontal world, thus leaving us no reason to go vertical if not needed. It might be interesting to ponder the idea that our now thriving sense of fear and lack of need to move vertically go hand in hand. I digress…

As autumn begins to cast her cool winds and golden tones, I have to diligently remind myself to enjoy this time of year without dwelling on the impending torturous months when winter bestows its arctic temperatures upon us. I worry about the way-too-cold-for-outside days and how I will keep my little monkey entertained and active. This week while the rain poured, I decided to venture to the mall play area just to take a look-see. Brody was in love.

In the center of this area sits a soft rubber tree trunk clad with slides, steps for climbing, and a tunnel through the middle and underneath. Not only did this play area satisfy his intense and undying desire to climb, but he also learned the thrill of sliding. I have never in my life heard a laugh so pure of joy and delight as the squealing laugh his belly emanates every time he slides down that slide.

At this stage, Brody is now learning to socialize to an extent. Without words, he can only use his eyes and his smile, and let me tell you, I don’t know a girl out there that doesn’t fall immediately in love with him when he flashes his “smizing” big baby browns. My heart warmed as I watched him study and reach out to two other little boys his age, and I could see the glee on his face as he realized these boys were his size. Still very much an independent player, he was definitely interested which is a huge development from his days of no interest at all.

As he learns to socialize, it’s so endearing to see the things he does to mimic what he’s seeing in us. For a while now, he will pick up any pseudo-phone-shaped object and put it to his ear as if he’s answering a very important business call. Recently, these business calls must have become extremely intense and critical as his newest gesture to go along with placing the object at his ear is nodding his head up and down and mumbling as if he’s conversing. It’s hard to explain in writing, but if you imagine the sound Charlie Brown’s teacher made in every Charlie Brown movie, it’s almost identical to that. He never opens his mouth; he keeps his perfect little lips closed, and just mumbles and nods. We crack up as we imagine that through his adorable baby browns, we don’t articulate when we speak.

Everyday with Brody is entertaining and the speed at which he learns things from us is astounding. He now gives us kisses, plays peek-a-boo with us and his toys, plays patty-cake with all of the hand gestures (thank you Aunt Betty aka “Bea Bea!”), and as of this morning, knows how to blow kisses. I suppose now is a good time to start editing our usual gab just to be safe. I cringe to think what might come out of his mouth when his Charlie-Brown-teacher voice becomes fully articulate.

Weekly Changes

A few weeks ago I poured my frustrations into this blog about weaning. This week I am happy to announce we are officially, 100% weaned! While this is one of those "breathe-a-sigh-of-relief" accomplishments, I must admit it comes with a tad of remorse. Like every little milestone Brody meets, I yearned and pined over meeting this one, and yet when it was finally achieved my heart hung heavy for a moment as I realized this meant he was that much less of a baby, and that much more of a big boy.

Most of you know I have a history of lower back problems. I have diligently been working on strengthening my core this year in an effort to minimize the chances of an “episode.” Unfortunately I fear lately I was a bit over zealous and managed to overdo it. Needless to say, I strained my lower back and ended up in another one of those all too familiar incapacitated states. After three days of trying to ignore it and hoping it would heal on its own, I finally broke down and went to the ER. I was in SO. MUCH. PAIN. While I am still ironing out the style and degree of my efforts to remedy this cycle, in the meantime I was prescribed a fabulous cocktail of painkillers, and restricted to no lifting objects above ten pounds for two weeks. Brody weighs 27 lbs.

So with this diagnosis, Beau and both Grandmas stepped up to help out. I was confined to a reclined position most of last week, and honestly, bored. The meds made me sleepy and much of that week is a blur for me. However, because the Grandmas were in charge of Brody’s nap schedule, he learned how to nap without nursing! Although I technically was not supposed to lift him for another week, I was feeling so much better from all the rest and came back to caring for him full-time again last week. So now my little big boy is no longer nursing to nap, and I am a happy sad mama thoroughly amazed at how quickly things change for a rapidly developing toddler.

The best part of this stage in Brody’s life is watching his emerging personality. His latest obsessions leave us giggling at how silly and nonsensicle they are. For example, Brody is completely enamored with chairs. It’s a hilarious sight to witness the moment his eyes land on a chair and his tunnel vision ensues. Upon discovery, he immediately moves in his regular drunken-sailor stammer to the chair and begins the redundant (but somehow entertaining) process of pushing the chair over, then picking it back up, then pushing it over, then picking it back up…etc. Occasionally after the chair has hit the ground, he likes to climb onto the back of the chair and bounce up and down while squealing at his success.

Another odd obsession Brody has taken a liking to is clothes. In particular, Beau’s shirts. He absolutely loves to take Dada’s shirt from the hamper and walk around shaking it up and down while singing in delight. I can’t quite wrap my brain around this obsession of his. The chairs I get: he likes the sound of the chairs hitting the ground; the pride that comes with knocking over such a big object; he finds contentment in the routine of the process. But the clothes? I just don’t get it. Nonetheless, it’s absolutely adorable and somehow keeps him entertained for a ridiculously long time.

Now, Beau and I are NOT two people who ever outwardly seek the opportunity to dance. Ever. Neither are we the type of people to randomly dance around the house, not together, not alone. It’s just not us. But within the last three weeks, Brody has started dancing on his own and it is beyond delightful. I am completely amazed by the fact that this is something that was seemingly organic in its discovery and fruition. One day, with music on in the background, I noticed Brody stop what he was doing, and start bending his chubby little legs and bouncing to the rhythm of the song. What cracks Beau and I up is his taste in music. He won’t stop and dance to just anything, but if certain songs come on, he can’t help himself! His latest favorites are “California Girls” by Katy Perry, and “Not Afraid” by Eminem.

Brody is not yet speaking coherently but his babbling is insurmountable. He understands most of what we say to him, but we have yet to get him to speak back. Most people tell us not to stress about this and to in fact enjoy it because once he starts talking, we will miss the days when he didn’t talk. We are excited to hear him voice his feelings simply because it’s another way for us to get to know him better. Unfortunately I think his best known word from us is “no.” Anytime he starts doing something he knows he’s not supposed to do (i.e. pushing buttons on the television, playing with the computer, etc.), just as quickly as he starts the forbidden task, he also starts to shake his head “no.” It’s wonderfully cute, especially when I notice him doing it when he’s not aware I’m watching, but it also kind of makes me sad to think that he is so accustomed to hearing it from us. I initially didn’t want to teach him “no” and was going to seek out a detach and distract method of discipline, but unfortunately our son is the MOST tenacious, persistent little bugger. There is no doubt if there is something Brody wants, he will go to all lengths to get it.

With every little step away from babyhood and into toddlerville, my heart breaks and swells with pride all together. I am so excited to see the little man Brody is becoming and eager to learn more about him as his sweet little personality continues to emerge. However, as we part from all things baby, I can’t help but dwell on how quickly it all went by and I often start thinking about how easily remedied my yearning for more babyhood can be. In due time…