Right dere!
Very recently I've noticed Devon using short phrases. Previously she'd say one word to express what she wanted or somtimes string a couple of words together without any real grammer. Just the other day I realized that she's started to use the phrase "right there," as in, "Where is your book?" "Right dere!" She must have picked this up at Elaine's, since I don't think it's something that Walt and I use frequently. She's also picking up some real grammer; she's been pointing to my shoes and saying "Mommy's shoes," and actually using the possessive. It's really fabulous to watch this ongoing development of language (when I remember to pay enough attention to realize that it's happening, since the developments are slow and often subtle).
The other day Devon had a real treat because our friends Keri and Arne came by with their kids Mina Brigitta and Isaac. They had gotten our email about the new apartment and just decided to try an impromptu visit. Luckily we've spent just about the entire weekend working on the place, so we were (of course) in. Walt stayed back to work on the gas line (more about this shortly), but Devon and I went on a walk with them to the park and then went to have lunch. Keri and Arne have really got the kiddie process down. They brought two little strollers -- one for Devon and one for Isaac -- and a toy shopping cart for Mina. Devon just loved this toy stroller, she went off at a run pushing it down the street. It was great that they remembered to bring an extra one (and had an extra one), since all of the kids are at the age where sharing isn't really a concept they are embracing.
The great thing about these items, which Arne explained, is that they allowed us to get some momentum on our walk. Usually walking with small children can be an odyssey, sometimes taking 15 minutes or more to get down a block. I think the very young and the elderly are probably well suited to walking together. But when the kids had something to push, they were really motivated to walk (or run), and it kept their interest so we could actually make some decent time. Devon was practically running for part of the way. I immediately started looking on Craigslist for a toy stroller like this for Devon, since I think we could use the momentum trick ourselves. I did go over to City Kids to price one, but at $25 (or $45 for the deluxe one!), it just seems like something that will have a short life span, so better to get one used. I've also been trolling CL for a tricycle; Devon loves tricycles, even though she's too small to make one work right now. There's a fancy German brand, Kettler, that makes tricycles with push bars on the back -- so they can be used as a tricycle cum stroller, since you can just sit the child on it and push using the push bar. I'm trying to find one of these used, too, since they're very expensive new (and just on principle I pretty much think all children's toys should be purchased used). At any rate, Devon had a fabulous time with Mina and Isaac most of the day, and after they left on Saturday, she spent much of Sunday and Monday talking about them.
I mentioned earlier how she's really started to associate names with people; I think before names had been a relatively abstract concept, but now they're much more concrete. On Friday Aaron was here to start installing the new cabinets, and this weekend Devon kept talking about Aaron. The same with Mina and Isaac as well as her friend Layla, my mom's friend Anne's granddaughter. She also wants to visit Burke's apartment quite often, although it's usually 6:30 am when Burke isn't awake. She's started to point at his door and say, "Buk" and can also make the association with Hobie and his apartment door. I was even reading her a book the other day and she pointed to one of the children in the photos and exclaimed, "Liam, Liam!" who is a boy in her daycare. It's pretty interesting how she's embracing names with gusto.
Walt got the new stove hooked up this weekend and we cooked our first meal on it. It was a rather ridiculous affair, however, since I had to dash back and forth between Burke's apartment most of the time to use his sink and counter. It made me appreciate how important it is to have running water during cooking (and how difficult it is to cook without it -- villagers across the world, I have a lot more empathy with you now). This stove turned out to be quite complicated to install, and we realized that we didn't have a gas shut off valve, so he had to do a lot of extra work to install that. We also realized that the stove is going to be father out from the wall than recommended (long story about how we originally installed the gas which I won't go into here); Walt, getting into obsessive mode, decided to cut out the gas line and reinstall it so that the stove would be closer to the wall, which took most of today. I have to admit, though, it will look better (and this is a small kitchen, so we can use all the room we can get).
He also got the toilet installed this weekend -- I can tell you, after having to go down two flights of outdoor stairs to go the bathroom for the past week, this was a huge improvement in our standard of living. The floor of the bathroom isn't near to being level (of course), so it has been a lot of work to get the toilet level (and we've got a massive, sort of weird grout line because of it). He's working on the sink now, and if all is well, we'll have an actual working sink tomorrow. Hurrah.
The other day Devon had a real treat because our friends Keri and Arne came by with their kids Mina Brigitta and Isaac. They had gotten our email about the new apartment and just decided to try an impromptu visit. Luckily we've spent just about the entire weekend working on the place, so we were (of course) in. Walt stayed back to work on the gas line (more about this shortly), but Devon and I went on a walk with them to the park and then went to have lunch. Keri and Arne have really got the kiddie process down. They brought two little strollers -- one for Devon and one for Isaac -- and a toy shopping cart for Mina. Devon just loved this toy stroller, she went off at a run pushing it down the street. It was great that they remembered to bring an extra one (and had an extra one), since all of the kids are at the age where sharing isn't really a concept they are embracing.
The great thing about these items, which Arne explained, is that they allowed us to get some momentum on our walk. Usually walking with small children can be an odyssey, sometimes taking 15 minutes or more to get down a block. I think the very young and the elderly are probably well suited to walking together. But when the kids had something to push, they were really motivated to walk (or run), and it kept their interest so we could actually make some decent time. Devon was practically running for part of the way. I immediately started looking on Craigslist for a toy stroller like this for Devon, since I think we could use the momentum trick ourselves. I did go over to City Kids to price one, but at $25 (or $45 for the deluxe one!), it just seems like something that will have a short life span, so better to get one used. I've also been trolling CL for a tricycle; Devon loves tricycles, even though she's too small to make one work right now. There's a fancy German brand, Kettler, that makes tricycles with push bars on the back -- so they can be used as a tricycle cum stroller, since you can just sit the child on it and push using the push bar. I'm trying to find one of these used, too, since they're very expensive new (and just on principle I pretty much think all children's toys should be purchased used). At any rate, Devon had a fabulous time with Mina and Isaac most of the day, and after they left on Saturday, she spent much of Sunday and Monday talking about them.
I mentioned earlier how she's really started to associate names with people; I think before names had been a relatively abstract concept, but now they're much more concrete. On Friday Aaron was here to start installing the new cabinets, and this weekend Devon kept talking about Aaron. The same with Mina and Isaac as well as her friend Layla, my mom's friend Anne's granddaughter. She also wants to visit Burke's apartment quite often, although it's usually 6:30 am when Burke isn't awake. She's started to point at his door and say, "Buk" and can also make the association with Hobie and his apartment door. I was even reading her a book the other day and she pointed to one of the children in the photos and exclaimed, "Liam, Liam!" who is a boy in her daycare. It's pretty interesting how she's embracing names with gusto.
Walt got the new stove hooked up this weekend and we cooked our first meal on it. It was a rather ridiculous affair, however, since I had to dash back and forth between Burke's apartment most of the time to use his sink and counter. It made me appreciate how important it is to have running water during cooking (and how difficult it is to cook without it -- villagers across the world, I have a lot more empathy with you now). This stove turned out to be quite complicated to install, and we realized that we didn't have a gas shut off valve, so he had to do a lot of extra work to install that. We also realized that the stove is going to be father out from the wall than recommended (long story about how we originally installed the gas which I won't go into here); Walt, getting into obsessive mode, decided to cut out the gas line and reinstall it so that the stove would be closer to the wall, which took most of today. I have to admit, though, it will look better (and this is a small kitchen, so we can use all the room we can get).
He also got the toilet installed this weekend -- I can tell you, after having to go down two flights of outdoor stairs to go the bathroom for the past week, this was a huge improvement in our standard of living. The floor of the bathroom isn't near to being level (of course), so it has been a lot of work to get the toilet level (and we've got a massive, sort of weird grout line because of it). He's working on the sink now, and if all is well, we'll have an actual working sink tomorrow. Hurrah.
posted by Devon Szalva at
9:16 PM
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