19 Mos = Lots of Activities!

So far, with two soccer sessions in the bag, I think we can safely say that Hannah enjoys her 45+ minutes on the field, and will in time (like all the toddlers just figuring out what the heck is going on) pick up on all the games and drills over the course of the 7-week "season." Despite her speed and love of "nunning," she is usually picking up the rear during red light green light across the field. As usual, she is way more interested in watching what all the other kids (and their caretakers) are doing, and scanning the field for stray soccer balls, than paying attention to her mother beckon her "Come on, Hannah, green means go! Let's GO!!!"

Although she may not be the best at listening to direction, she is pretty good at kicking the ball around, stacking cones, and chasing after hoola hoops. It's become clear the coaches do have some actual skill-teaching in mind, even if we'll never actually play a game, so it's a trip to watch and participate in the learning. Hopefully as time goes by, Hannah will become increasingly tuned into the coach and her direction, and less consumed with ball. Then again, maybe her obsession with the ball is exactly what will make her the next Mia!

Outside of sports, she's also as crazy about music as ever. So when we stopped by a local garage sale and she kept gravitating to the Little Tikes piano/synthesizer, we knew we had to have it. I could hardly tear her away from our upstairs neighbor's (Alexandra) piano a couple weeks ago, so it was no big surprise that she had to have her own "Nano." She is so dramatic when she plays - it's like she's composing some terribly sad love song from Les Miserables. (Either that or she's been watching alot of old Alanis Morissette videos when I'm not around.) Check out the recent video (right sidebar) of her performing her latest composition...

We also took a couple different gymnastics classes (trial runs) at two local gymnasiums -- Acrosports over near the Haight, and SF Gymnastics in the Presidio. Both basically offer free gym time with parental oversight for toddlers Hannah's age, and include trampolines (Hannah's favorite), big mats, balance beams, swinging bars, etc... Based on our trial runs, I am favoring SF Gymnastics -- it's more convenient, the gymnasium is much larger, there are more instructors/structure (even though it's mostly free-form), the trampoline is large and not limited to one student at a time, and frankly, it smells better! All that said, our session yesterday at SFGym seemed to impart some kind of bug to Hannah (fitting for a program called Tumblebugs I suppose!), which kept us up most of the night, and made us skip soccer today. But still, the class was very well attended, and the director introduced herself and seemed well organized, regimented, and focused on safety. It's not to say Acrosports was a bad experience, but much looser, smaller, and parking is a challenge. So hopefully we'll be able to get into a regular morning Tumblebugs class at SFGym.

Flower Power

Orange explosion out of concrete! If you close your eyes, the color only gets brighter. Pungency fills the darkness with its distinctive orange musk... Hannah, this blog is about the normal, everyday encounters you have been experiencing each day. It is also about your Mom and Dad learning to see the world through your eyes and making every effort at being open to the fascination and wonder of the mundane and routine. Would I take this flower patch for granted before you came along? Yes, I would not have stopped to enjoy and contemplate if not for you. Since you stopped to sniff, I decided to stop and consider how much I really knew about this little orange neighbor of ours. It turns out we have a world traveller living on the block!

The eruption of color that you are checking out, Hannah, is an amber bed of Marigolds. Tagetes, as the genus is called, consists of 52 annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the daisy family. They are native to the southwestern United States, Mexico and throughout South America. Marigolds vary in size and color, from yellow to orange and from an inch to about 3 feet high. Their smell (sometimes thought to be unpleasant) varies depending on the type and the place of growth...


While you are sniffing this "common Marigold", Hannah, this flower is being grown around the world for various purposes. In Mexico, the species Tagetes lucida, known as "Pericón" is being used to prepare a sweetish, anise flavored tea, which can be used to cure stomach illnesses, or alternatively can cause hallucinations if consumed in copiously large amounts. The marigold was regarded as the flower of the dead in pre-Hispanic Mexico, parallel to the lily in Europe, and it is still widely used in the Day of the Dead celebrations. Tagetes minuta, a tall upright marigold plant with small flowers, is used as a culinary herb in Peru, Ecuador, and parts of Chile and Bolivia, where it is called by the Incan term huacatay. Huacatay paste is used to make the popular potato dish called ocopa. Having both "green" and "yellow/orange" notes, the taste and odor of fresh Tagetes minuta is like a mixture of sweet basil, tarragon, mint and citrus.

Marigold flowers are also widely cultivated in Thailand, India and Nepal.... In India, Marigold is used for upset stomachs, ulcers, menstrual problems, eye infections, inflammations, and for wound healing. The Marigold flower is is antiseptic, and if rubbed on the affected part, it brings relief in pain and swelling caused by a wasp or bee. A lotion made from the flowers is most useful for sprains and wounds and a water distilled from them is good the sore eyes. The infusion of the freshly gathered flowers is beneficial in fever. In India, Marigold flowers are mostly in demand for children ailments. Externally it is used in the treatment of alopecia (balding). Internally, it is used to treat bladder and kidney problems. No wonder then, that due to its medicinal properties, the Marigold is offered up to the Hindu ten-armed goddess of fertility, Durga, on the six-day festival of Durga Puja. Marigold garlands are used almost in every Nepalese household during the Tihar festival.

Vast quantities of intoxicating marigolds are being used right now, all over the world, in garlands and decorations for weddings, festivals, and religious celebrations. So Hannah, as you breathe deeply, eyes closed, in momentary reverence for a common orange flower bed appearing brightly along your morning walk, please know that you are in the presence of greatness - a world traveller of the highest calibre. Thank you, Hannah, for introducing us. It might not be such a coincidence after all, that your name, spelled Hana in Japanese culture, means beautiful flower.

Sidewalk Chalk

There is a place where the sidewalk ends
And before the street begins,
And there the grass grows soft and white,
And there the sun burns crimson bright,
And there the moon-bird rests from his flight
To cool in the peppermint wind.

Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black
And the dark street winds and bends.
Past the pits where the asphalt flowers grow
We shall walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And watch where the chalk-white arrows go
To the place where the sidewalk ends.

Yes we'll walk with a walk that is measured and slow,
And we'll go where the chalk-white arrows go,
For the children, they mark, and the children, they know
The place where the sidewalk ends.

Shel Silverstein

Game Face

Mom driving me to my first "soccer" session today.
$4.50 (gas)

Getting my first team uniform complete with cup (the sippy kind) and shin guards.
$35
Owning the field, hurling out my game face and exuding the 'tude.
Priceless.

Some things require practice.
For everything else... There is MasterKid.

ADVICE: 18 Mos, Tantrums & "Mine!"

Your 18-month-old's behavior: Tantrum triggers
by Dana Sullivan (BABYCENTER.COM)

Some days it may seem as though the littlest things set your toddler off. You serve her morning milk in the "wrong" cup and she throws it at you. Or she wants to go barefoot, even though it's raining outside, and screams her head off when you insist on putting on her boots. What's going on? Sometimes the triggers will be more obvious than others. She may be tired or angry. Or she may be frustrated by her inability to complete a task that she is determined to do, like putting a round peg in a square hole.

What you can do

Tantrums tend to occur at the worst possible time for you. It seems like when your toddler blows a fuse you're either in a hurry to get out the door in the morning, at the grocery store with half the shopping done, or in the waiting room of the doctor's office. What do these situations have in common? They are times that a typical toddler might feel emotional overload, and like she doesn't have your full attention. If you are aware of the situations that trigger tantrums, you may be able to prevent many of them with minor adjustments or a little advance planning. If you must grocery shop with your child, do it when she is well rested and fed. Carry a favorite book or stuffed animal to doctor visits — anything you can do to keep her calm will help. Also remember that the occasional tantrum is a normal byproduct of toddlerhood and development.

Other developments: Learning how to share and comfort objects

There is no "yours" in a toddler's vocabulary — everything is "mine!" So your car keys, a sibling's beloved stuffed dog, her dad's boots, the slide at the local playground — all these things are, in the eyes of an 18-month-old, hers. You can help your child understand what sharing means by praising her when she does give a toy to another child or lets another toddler go down the slide first. When reading a book or watching a video, point out examples of sharing. Try to avoid scolding her when she doesn't want to; sometimes just acknowledging how difficult sharing is will make her more willing to do so. You will have to be patient, and take comfort in the knowledge that other parents of toddlers are going through the same thing.

For a toddler, a favorite stuffed toy (in our case, Hannah's beloved "Hop Hop" - Barefoot Dreams Bunny Blankie) is a great source of comfort. She might also have some habits that soothe her — like twirling her hair, rocking, or sucking her thumb. Most children naturally outgrow these behaviors by the time they're four, so there's probably no need for you to intervene now.

Ciddydids!

Hannah, you might live in a one bedroom apartment with your parents, but that's OKAY because only blocks away you have so many fun places to go check out. Your favorite place to romp around and let off some steam is currently City Kids! You love "Ciddydids" where you go to play for an eternity with the "choo choos," then pound on the keyboard of the "nano," and then stack up a couple towers of "butteks" ALL before you even realize you have shared a little more, said a few more "dank you's" and few less "NOOOOOO!'S, met some new friends, and had lots and lots of fun. Usually, by the time you realize you have been a repeat offender and are guilty of actually sharing with someone smaller than you, it is time to go, and not push our luck! Thank you City Kids!

18 Month Check-Up

Hannah had her 18 month check-up today, which revealed a recent growth spurt! She's 33.75" tall/long, which put her in the 95th percentile, and 25 lbs 5 oz., which remained in line with her typical 75th percentile mark. She also apparently has a couple molars that are getting ready to pop through, although still just three teeth each on the bottom and top. This does not bode well for us in the sleep department - another "night terror" reared it's ugly head just last night (although this is the first in many weeks). The good news is she has generally been making it through the night, around 8pm-7+am, thanks in large part to her musical aquarium, which she'll turn on in the night to help sooth herself back to sleep. At this rate, she'll probably be drifting off to Metallica on her baby-iPod by Kindergarten (her dad's favorite sleep-inducing tunes, back in the day).

But she doesn't need Metallica to fuel her increasingly "spirited" personality. Dr. Piel warned me today that tantrums are the bastion of 18MO's, and sharing is a "3 year old" concept. This bolstered my increasing fear of my own child (she is still fun and adorable, usually...), but added a pinch of comfort, recognizing that Hannah's very low tolerance for sharing, and public outbursts of "NO!", are at least "normal," despite being embarrassing! Now if only the other kids and parents in her little world would just UNDERSTAND that, being a curious and active one-and-a-half-year-old, she really NEEDS to have everyone else's shovel, and everyone else's turn on the swing, or slide, or spinny-thing, which isn't even actually fun once you're on it apparently, but that won't stop her from going back as soon as some other kid is enjoying his/her turn on it... I mean, SERIOUSLY!...........

Here's a few shots from our day at SF's biggest sandbox, Ocean Beach, when it was blazing hot a couple weekends back. Needless to say, Hannah LOVES the sand (another thing we can't usually tear her away from without a battle). And along with that, loves to point out the moon (Goodnight Moon has become a nightly ritual these days), any passing airplanes, clouds, kites (which she mistook for moons at first). And as noted previously, her newly mastered colors - especially any blue ("Boo!") and yellow cars that might be passing by. It's pretty funny the things that kids will notice and pick out of a busy scene that we grown-ups have long since grown blind to. The best is when she's trying to show you something, or point it out on some high up shelf, and since her English isn't exactly crystal clear, it takes a while to figure out what she's talking about. But when it clicks, and you realize, Duh, of course - Cheerios! It's pretty awesome to realize that we're able to truly communicate to each other. Now if we could only convert a few more of those No's to Yes's! (In all fairness, she is really good at saying Sorry and Thank You too.)

Happy 4th of July!