Time of the signs

Dexter's almost reached the 14-month mark, and while he's still not walking, he has started using baby sign language! So far we've only seen two: "dog" and "more." The dog sign is cute, but for him to be able to communicate "more" is a big boon for all of us. Just like when we were using signs with Henry, I'm amazed at how quickly and easily he picks them up. It's not like we sit in front of him with flash cards or anything. We just do the sign while saying the word (or pointing at a dog, cat, etc), and he takes it from there. If we lived in Vancouver we could join my cousin Barb's Baby Sign class and learn a lot more. But even without a class, it's a really valuable and rewarding thing to learn together.

He also clearly understands a lot of what we say to him, and reacts appropriately. For example, if I say, "Dexter, do you want to have a bath?" he immediately drops what he's doing, takes off down the hall, climbs the stairs and crawls directly to the bath tub. He loves playing with a ball and will even play a game of "catch" if someone says, "throw me the ball!" It makes me wonder if he'll end up being a bit more sporty than Henry, who loves to run around but shows no real inclination to pick up a bat, stick, glove or any other piece of equipment that would make it into a game. But I know it's way too early to tell. I vaguely remember Henry having fun playing catch before dinosaurs and video games took over his imagination. So, who knows.

Speaking of vague memories, I'm proud of the fact that I've kept up this blog for 3 years now, even if my posting pace has dropped off considerably in recent months. We're getting to the point where I can dig through the archives and find posts about Henry that were written when he was about the same age as Dexter is now. It's fun to look back not just to compare the two boys, but to realize just how much Henry has changed. For example, check out this update from September, 2005. It's hard to believe that the toddler in that post who called both his parents "Mu-ma" now rattles off the seven-syllable names of extinct sea reptiles without stumbling. I just wish I'd started the blog a year earlier and captured moments from his first year for posterity. Oh well--can't change that, but looking back gives me incentive to keep posting at least a couple times a month, even though I often feel too tired or busy to make it a priority. Thanks for reading!

School days begin

After endless weeks of "gradual entry," Junior kindergarten finally (finally!) started full time on Monday. So far, so good. Henry is very used to going to "school", and he has a couple friends in his class, so the transition was low on drama. Everything he's said about it so far has been positive, and he was excited to bring a book home from the library in his groovy new dino backpack.

He's also returned home every day with a new form for us to read and sign, a notice asking for volunteers for various committees, and/or a list of foods banned from the school. So I think it's safe to say that Tom and I have started school, too.

The Cottage! The Cottage!

Sorry for the delay in my usually blistering blog-updating pace, but we were at The Cottage. Yes, The Cottage. Us!

Our neighbors invited us and the other families on our block with small children to spend Sunday at their The Cottage, which is on a lake about an hour west of here. In all seriousness, it was a ton of fun. Henry got to go for a canoe ride, which he loved. He also had a blast on the trampoline. The kids got along well, and the ratio of grownups to children was favorable enough for the former to relax and enjoy a sunny, laid-back day on the water's edge. Even I went for a canoe ride! We capped off the day with a marshmallow roast around the campfire before heading back to the city.

And that wasn't our only road trip of the weekend. On Saturday we made a return visit to Henry's new favorite place on earth, Prehistoric World. This is a distinctly old-school roadside attraction where you pay money to walk around on some guy's property and look at the life-size statues of dinosaurs he built out of concrete. The owner is obviously a grown-up dino enthusiast who figured out how to generate some income from his favorably situated property. (Henry is already putting together his business plan for a Prehistoric World of his own. Look for it in 2030.) Surprisingly, it was Dexter who really loved the statues. Henry thought they were okay.

What really enthralled him was the Dino Dig Pit, which is a big sandbox laced with faux fossils you discover as you're digging around. Henry went completely apeshit for this. I can understand why. He spends most of his free playtime outdoors "digging for fossils" and pretending that the stones and sticks he finds are dinosaur parts. But the game's getting old for him. On several occasions he's express his frustration with "pretend fossils," asking why he never finds REAL fossils. (It's really getting to him -- lately he's been taking our hammer to a large rock in our garden in the hopes that eventually it will yield a velociraptor fossil if he just keeps smashing it.) So he just loved digging through the sand and uncovering these true-to-life dino parts.

So, it was a busy long weekend with a lot of time spent in the car, but totally worthwhile. Unfortunately I forgot to bring my camera to The Cottage, but my neighbor was taking pictures, so maybe I'll be able to post a few shots later.