The writings of Raymond and Kandace Brigleb, in Portland, Oregon
© The Brigleb Family Blog 2010
Zoë seems to be picking up words more and more quickly all the time. Here’s what we’ve heard from her so far… and what we think they mean, if it’s not already clear!
Babu. Ball or bubble
Baba. Bottle, or Mommy
Mama
Dada. Daddy
Yay. Happy
La la la la la. Part of song
Ya ya. Grandma, roughly
Bye bye.
Hi!
Dis. This
Dat. That, also cat
Duck.
Doze. Nose
Uh-oh!
Nigh-nigh. Goodnight
Num num. Yum
Baby.
Puppy.
Notably absent: please, thank you, sir.
Zoë is speeding up with her mad linguistic skills. She’s currently obsessed with saying bye-bye (ba-bayeeeeee) which shouldn’t be confused with another favorite, ba-ba. She’s also learned her first body part, nose, or in Zoë speak, doooose. This is always accompanied by a point at your nose (careful lest that finger end up straight up your nostril – she gets a tiny baby thrill out of that).
Saturdays are big days around here. No work or school, so we get to hang out family style and enjoy lovely Portland. We spent this morning at the park (check out the slide video here) and then this afternoon swimming. Zoë’s swimming teacher said that she’s such a good swimmer that “she’s going to go a long way.” Future Olympian, anyone! Here we are working on our back floats.
We got back from the coast today. Grandma B was so nice to watch her overnight for us!
We went for a walk around the block, and this is a short video of Kandace and Zoë playing together and walking. Zoë walked for much of the time around the big block.
Our little girl is 10 months old now! Where in the world did the time go? It is just amazing how well she is walking around. And climbing stairs. Oh, how she does love climbing stairs.
Zoë’s first week of school went well. What a relief! We got lots of reports of each day. I’m amazed at how well the teachers already know her – her schedule, her stubbornness (only as it relates to eating), her cuddliness. However, all exposure to other kids left her feeling ill and she had to call in sick yesterday. Poor baby. She spent the morning cuddling with Grandma and Grandpa and the rest of the day on Mommy’s lap (we watched The Painted Veil together, what a lovely film).
Luckily, by this morning, she was feeling much better. She was walking around, playing with her kitties, and flipping through books. Spending the day with Grandma B today and, hopefully, visiting GG on her birthday tomorrow.
Zoë had her first day of school yesterday (this is a picture of her walking into the entrance). She was there for 3 hours and was sleeping soundly when I arrived to pick her up. We got a full report about her day later on…
Zoë had a great morning – and a stellar first day. She got a little sad at times but was comforted by holding, or by distracting. There wasn’t ever a time when she cried for a long time, or because distraught. It was more like low grade complaining. But most of the time, she was happy and exploring work both inside and outside. She really likes being outside and is very curious and interested in all her classmates.
Low grade complaining. Ha! Sounds like her parents. She slept all the way home. She was so happy to see Grandma and Grandpa waiting for her at home that she work up and played for quite a while before settling into a long nap. Ray and I celebrated the successful day with an amazing dinner at Cafe Catagna. Zoë opted for dinner with the grandparents and a bath.
Her new school is All Roads, a lovely little infant/toddler Montessori classroom (they have some pictures up on Flickr, but Z isn’t in them yet).
Because we know that children under three years of age are in what Montessori referred to as a sensitive period for movement, language, and order, our environment is prepared to meet these developmental needs of the young child. We know that the youngest child is a tactile learner, an active learner, and as Montessori educators, we prepare ourselves as well as the environment for the special task of assisting the child in their self construction. Children are a product of what they find in their environment – and so we prepare our environment with the highest quality materials.
She already seems to adore her teachers and has a number of little friends that greet her each morning.
Before going to bed, Zoë loves to play on her pillow. She can do this for a half hour, she just loves it!
If you haven’t seen Zoë in the last month, you are in for quite a surprise. She is sprouting up so quickly, getting pretty solid on her feet, and coming up with all sorts of new words. Her newest favorite is mummummum (translation: yum), which is always repeated around mealtimes and when she has filled her mouth with snack treats.
It is warming up ever so slightly in Portland these days and Zoë is loving the park down the street. She can actually sit in the swing on her own, which is a big improvement from the one parent holding, one parent pushing gig we had just last fall.
And, as Grandma Brigleb notes, we’d better keep that gate closed now…
