Posts tagged - walking

Mushroom’s milestones

Posted on: September 12, 2012, in: , , , ,

Last month, I met up with a couple of friends from my university days who I haven’t seem for ages. Between us we now have four children with one on the way (not me!). We were chatting about milestones reached and the difference between boys and girls (it seems, at least among my friends, that girls do everything faster). I noticed that my friends had written some of their children’s milestones in diaries after the baby books had run out of space. I of course have this blog, which is great, but after talking to my friends I realised there’s quite a lot I don’t record because it might be a bit boring to read. So, this post is for future Mushroom and may be a bit boring. If you do find it interesting, great! If not, come back soon and I’ll have something more interesting for you to read. Probably.

A while ago, I wrote a post which included a list of Mushroom’s most annoying achievements. I do like a good list, so I’m going to start with – in no particular order – what Mushroom can do now (at 17 months):

  • Walk, run. He can run away too fast for my liking!
  • Open and close doors. He’s fond of slamming the door on me as I chase him around the house to change his nappy
  • Blow a whistle
  • Climb up and down stairs (he prefers to climb up. Not so keen on coming down)
  • Turn a light switch (or any switch) on and off
  • Point to (most) named body parts. If he’s in the mood
  • Can wipe his own nose. At last. He needs a little help sometimes though
  • Drinks from an open cup. Not when we’re out
  • Shows empathy – comforts another child when upset (well, he tries to)
  • Follow simple (and some more complex) instructions. E.g. ‘Get Daddy’s socks from the floor and put them in the laundry basket please.’ Handy, that one.
  • Talk. A bit. Kind of (see below)
  • Sleep through the night. When he feels like it (7pm – 4/5am). This is MASSIVE for us.

And Mushroom’s current vocabulary – that is, words I recognise other than Mummy – Mameee – and Daddy – Dada) includes:

  • Banana – Nana
  • Doggy – Doddy, or ‘woof, woof!’
  • No – Naah
  • Bird – Baaa
  • Baby – Baba
  • Juice – Jeees (sounds a lot like shoes)
  • Shoes – Sheees (sounds a lot like juice)
  • Cheese – Sheees (although given the context he might just be asking for more juice)
  • Hat – Ah! Ah! (pats head. That’s how I worked out it means hat).

I have tried to put these in the order he started saying them. He also says a shortened version of his own name, which is considerably easier to say than Mushroom. Let’s say he calls himself ‘Mush.’ He also addresses all other children by his name. Unless he’s calling them baby.

He’s particularly interested in (in no particular order):

  • Music and dancing (I have written about this before. It’s not new)
  • Aeroplanes
  • Animals
  • Bikes, motorbikes
  • Cleaning. He likes sweeping, hoovering and wiping things with baby wipes
  • People. He loves watching people. He also likes to cuddle older children and coddle younger ones
  • Scooters. He’s always trying to steal these off other children!
  • Anything dangerous (usually some kind of tool) that Daddy has left lying around.

I’m sure there’s more but I’m just writing what I can think of today. What milestones has your child reached recently? I’m especially interested in things you hadn’t thought of before today!

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Dear Mushroom… Remembering your firsts

Posted on: June 29, 2012, in: , , , , , ,

Dear Mushroom,

I thought it was about time I addressed you personally…

When I started this blog a few months ago, its main purpose was to record your milestones so that one day, when you ask  ‘What were my first words?’ or ‘how old was I when I took my first steps?’ I can actually give you an accurate answer. Also, it might be kind of cool to read a whole blog that’s basically dedicated to you. Or not. That’s why I have protected your privacy and will continue to do so, at least until you can tell me how you feel about it all.

This week, you started walking. I mean, you took your first, hesitant, extremely wobbly, steps a few weeks ago but yesterday you started walking confidently, without being prompted – as in ‘Walk to Mummy/Daddy/Auntie – go on! Just two steps! Yay *claps* well done!!’ – The first time you just stood up by the sofa and walked right across the whole to the kitchen. And back. You looked pretty pleased with yourself. Later the same day, you bravely took a walk outside the house, stopping to stroke the neighbours dogs on your travels. This was also a first – you’ve not had much contact with animals apart from the odd trip to the farm but you showed no fear, just a burning curiosity. It was as if you had to know what the fur felt like. I think, from your expression, you were pleasantly surprised. Without being told, you were incredibly gentle and I was proud of you.

This big first – the walking I mean, rather than the dog stroking – got me thinking. I had a baby book bought for me when you were born in which I recorded all your milestones up to a year – first smile, first attempts at crawling, etc.  I will be adding in your first steps of course but what about the first time you sleep through the night (I’m told this will happen at some point)? The first time you speak a full, comprehensible sentence? You already talk a lot – recognisable words so far apart from Mumum (Not ‘Mummy’ or ‘Mama.’ I like that it’s different) and Daddy are Woof, ‘nana (banana) and Uh Oh but the rest is still babble to me. You look so earnest though, I wish I could understand and relieve your increasing frustration and I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. Well, all these things and more I will record here, for you to read at some point in the future.

For now, I just wanted to record your first steps and tell you how excited I am about all the growing you’ve done, and have yet to do. You bring so much joy into my life and I’m sure you will continue to do so.

Lots of Love,

‘Mumum’

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Get up stand up

Posted on: May 20, 2012, in: , , ,

Mushroom has started to let go…

For months now, he has been standing holding on – to the furniture, to my hands, to the wall… Just this week, he has started to let go. For just a few seconds to begin with but he now stands for longer periods with increasing confidence. Each time he stands for any length, he claps himself. I do love the way he celebrates his achievements even when he’s the only one there (or so he thinks).

Here at Mushroom Mansions (ha!) we are all very excited by this new development. Now that he is gaining confidence, and balance, we know it won’t be too much longer before he will start walking unaided. He has been cruising around the furniture and walking holding on for a while now so its only a matter of time…

While all these new skills are great, and of course inevitable – after all, children do tend to grow up – it does make me a bit nostalgic for his babyhood. I was warned, when he was younger and I was eager for him to start eating, crawling, walking and talking, that I should enjoy this time. ‘They don’t stay babies for long!’ was something I heard, and still hear, often. Only I didn’t really get it until now. Now, as Mushroom is starting to look and act more like a little boy and less like a baby, I am hanging on to those things about him that remain babyish, for want of a better word. His pre bathtime bottle – which he still insists I hold, our late night cuddles… These have taken on a new importance now that I realise it won’t be long before he grows out of these and I’ll miss them.

I know all the things Mushroom grows out of will be replaced by exciting new ones that I will become just as fond of but for now, I am going to make sure I enjoy the rest of his babyhood as much as possible. Before he really does ‘let go.’

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Mushrooms perspective

Posted on: May 19, 2012, in: , ,

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Today Mushroom and I went for a walk round the block. Just from our house to the corner shop – usually a five minute dash to pick up milk, with him in the buggy. Now that he’s almost walking, however, I thought it would be a nice short walk for him to practice letting go of my hands.

So, we set off after snack time on this ‘short’ walk. His little hands in mine, walking at what I consider to be quite a reasonable pace, considering. At the end of our road he stopped ‘De?’ He asked, pointing at the floor. For some reason part of the road he was pointing at had been replaced by bricks. Until today, I hadn’t even noticed it was different. A little further along he stopped again ‘Mumum?’ he asked again, pointing at a stray leaf. ‘That looks like it came off a rose bush.’ I said, looking around for one and not finding any. I tried to move on – but Mushroom wasn’t having it ‘De! De!’ He shouted, pointing above his head, just behind us. There was the rose bush. Fiery yellow and red streaked roses were just opening. They were beautiful, and I had just walked straight past it. I lifted Mushroom up so he could take a closer look. He grinned up at me and chatted away. I’ve no idea what he was saying but he was happy.

For the rest of our walk I paid more attention to his questions (considering he has yet to say more than a couple of – barely recognisable – words, he already asks a LOT of questions) and tried to answer them as best I could…

‘That’s a tree. Do you want to touch it?’ He did.
‘A feather, it comes from a bird.’
‘Wow, what a big bird.’ It was massive, and I only noticed it when Mushroom pointed it out.

The five minute walk took us about 40 minutes in the end and I forgot what I went to the shop for but it didn’t matter. Walking with Mushroom, instead of pushing him around in his buggy, made me really stop and look at the world. He made me pay attention, something I’ve been forgetting to do lately.

I think sometimes, its possible to get so wrapped up in teaching our children things – how to walk and talk, to eat nicely, to say please and thank you – that we forget to appreciate what they can teach us.

What have you learned from your children this week…?

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