Jamie Chew's Web Log: Vol. 0 No. 41

2004-08-17 24:54 (Kristen) Jamie is really getting into the idea of playing 'peek-a-boo,' or in our version, 'where's Jamie?' Part of our bedtime ritual is for him to hide his face with his towel while I put his diaper on. Then he will reveal himself when I say "Where's Jamie?" He's starting to stretch it out: he doesn't show his face immediately now, and I have to ask a few times before he suddenly throws the towel down with a triumphant laugh. He enjoys it quite a bit.

He still enjoys his baths, but for a new reason. I've been bathing him in the tub since John has been ill, and Jamie now looks forward to pre-bedtime snacks with every bath. Even Elmo and Mr. Rubber Duck don't hold the appeal that they once did. Oh well.

2004-08-18 22:57 (Kristen) If the weather is good, I'll often read a book while Jamie and I go for our daily walk. Reading while walking is a habit that I developed in high school as I would read a book while walking between classes. I got quite good at it, since high school corridors between classes are challenging and unforgiving to navigate if you have your nose in a book and aren't looking. Now I'm starting to be known for it in our neighbourhood; our neighbour, Hans, teases me about it. He thinks it amazing that I haven't run into anything or anyone yet. Ah, it's a talent.

Jamie went with me on an outing to the University of Toronto and to see Chris at Bakka. His Tai Tai and Ho Ho watched him while I visited with a friend at the Centre for Medieval Studies, which made my life easier. Apparently Jamie found a year-old girl to flirt with while I was gone, so he was fine. Jamie is getting both more independent, and more clingy. He is not upset when I'm gone, but demands extra attention when I come back, which I'm happy to provide. Michelle says that he's making sure that everyone knows that I'm *his* mummy, and that I'm his.

I'm trying to teach him that 'no' means 'don't do that!' This means staying away from the VCR, the toilet, assorted garbage cans, and places where he can take all the books off the shelves. The VCR holds the most appeal for him right now, probably because of the buttons. He's teaching me that he has a one-track mind that is getting harder to derail, probably because he's got a fine working memory now. He's also teaching me about how he feels when he is thwarted in his pursuit of the forbidden: kick kick yell yell, "put me back! What do you mean, *no*?" He has a very strong personality, and a very strong will. This could get interesting.

(John) Speaking of the toilet, Jamie figured out how to flush the toilet today, while Kristen was taking a shower. Thank goodness for Moen valves.

2004-08-19 22:38 (Kristen) Jamie and I were out of the house earlier than usual so that I could apply for a SIN number for him at the EI office and pick up a letter (Social Insurance Number and Employment Insurance, for our non-Canadian readers). This took much longer than I expected, but Jamie was an angel and slept for the hour and a half that we were there. While we were out, John met us and we bought some cherries on our walk. Cherries are currently Jamie's favourite food (trouncing even chicken curry), and John demonstrated his technique for feeding Jamie cherries while walking along with a stroller and making the least amount of possible mess. It's pretty effective.

He spent the day cruising as much as he could around the kitchen and the living room, making me think that it's time to put a door on the entertainment unit that holds the VCR and that I should buy those baby gates sooner rather than later. He adores kicking anything around the room: his ball, a tin of coasters, a blue plastic square all were acceptable tonight. He spent some quality time with Gary, and is distressingly fond of him. At least the feeling is reciprocated, which is good as Gary and Ayami don't have a Moen valve.

2004-08-20 22:09 (Kristen) I took Jamie to Centre Island with Michelle and Ross this afternoon. For those who don't live in Toronto, Centre Island is one of the islands that make up Toronto Harbour. You can take a ferry there, and many people picnic, bicycle, roller blade, swim, and stroll around the island. There is also a children's park called Centreville, which has rides, a farm, many many ducks and geese, and food. It's a summer ritual for children to go to Centreville, which is much smaller, more child-friendly, and less commercial than the big parks like Ontario Place and Canada's Wonderland. Jamie enjoyed the ferry ride (and the streetcar and subway rides too) there, and had a short nap after we got there. We ate with Ross and Michelle, before getting on the little train that goes around the park. Jamie loved the train, and oohed and bobbed as we passed the animals in the farm. He handled the tunnel very well, and was (I think) sad to get off. Then it was time to go home for dinner at Tai Tai's. A short trip, but definitely inspiration to go back.

Jamie isn't quite crawling, but is doing a wriggle forward across the floor which is almost as good. Last night, he had his bum and stomach off the ground as he swam along (slowly, with much complaining) with his front arms for a short distance. Tonight, he did the same thing without raising his bum, much like a swimmer. He was pushing with his toes, and he doesn't enjoy it one bit, but he's getting somewhere on his own, so it isn't all bad.

2004-08-21 23:54 (Kristen) Jamie slept well last night, and was full of beans when he woke up this morning. I took him for a walk around 11:30, and he ended up sleeping for an hour and a half or more. We were by the fountain at Logan and Danforth, which may have contributed to his unusually long morning nap, since the sound of running water will often keep him asleep.

We got home not long before I was due to head over to Bakka, and John took over Jamie-watching duties for the rest of the afternoon. Apparently, they went for a long walk together and John took Jamie to Treasure Island for bath books. They found two, one of which had a little squeaky car attached to it. Make that past tense: Jamie worked it off in a non-fixable fashion, although the squeaky car still makes a good bath toy. I met up with the two of them at Tai Tai's, where Jamie was industriously trying to eat everything in sight. We headed home, for a casual dinner and a night of Olympic coverage. Jamie ate a cookie in his exersaucer while I ate, which makes it the first cookie that he has completed ever. I've given him cookies before (organic, all natural ingredients, a minimum of sugar), but this is the first one that he did more than gum or play with. He's getting the idea...he rejected his tofu and veggies in favour of chicken curry and rice earlier today at lunch. He's getting more picky in what he eats, but not by much.

2004-08-22 22:06 (Kristen) I put Jamie into his backpack today to meet Lisa Kessler near Dupont and Bathurst. First we took the bus, and then the subway, and finally we took another bus to get there. He enjoyed it very much, although the backpack is too interesting for him to settle down for a nap. I'm hoping that when he's more used to it he'll consider catching a few zzzs in it. We went back to Lisa's in the late afternoon, with John, and with Jamie in his ZStreet instead of the backpack. He definitely likes the subway, and buses are always cool.

He is definitely doing his version of the crawl. He looks more like an inchworm than a classical crawler, but he is moving forward, and that's what counts. If he catches my eye, however, then he ceases to crawl and complains until I pull him into a sitting position.

(John) His cruising skills have improved dramatically this week. He's getting the idea that since all of every room is surrounded by walls, he can circumnavigate each room without adult assistance, leaning (sometimes with only one hand) on the wall. I think he must be burning humongous calories doing this too, because I can't think of any other explanation for how he can eat so much. I'm pretty sure there have been days this week when he's eaten more than I have. Granted, I'm still sick, but I think I still outweigh him by a factor of eight.

2004-08-23 21:45 (Kristen) I'm glad thatI went to bed unusually early last night (10:30) because Jamie was up with the birds this morning. I don't usually see that side of 8:00 AM, and I can't say that I'm a convert or a fan. He had a morning meal of banana and cereal, and was insistent on feeding himself. More went into his mouth than I expected, and less than I hoped. Cleanup was long.

Despite his early rising, he didn't sleep much today. We went for a walk to meet our friend Leslie for a coffee, and he slept for about 45 minutes but that was all. He slept about the same amount later in the afternoon, and was somewhat fussy. Jamie had woken up in the middle of the night, around 4:11 AM, exhibiting what I've come to think of as teething behaviour, but fortunately fell back to sleep easily. He bit me a little when nursing this afternoon, about which we had a little talk. He's about to have his top middle teeth break through, and I think that the top left is actually coming through right now. Poor lamb, but it's been easier than his eye tooth.

* For the benefit of Scrabble players, words that are not in the Scrabble dictionary are marked with an asterisk.

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