Sean at Eleven Months

[ Versión en español abajo ]

Sean turned eleven months old on Monday and is busier than ever. By my measurements he didn't get any taller in the last month and only gained three-tenths of a pound, so here's hoping I’m off. He’s tall, skinny, eats well, and is so busy he burns off most of the calories. He cut his fourth tooth (second on top) shortly after turning ten months old so now has chipmunk choppers. We seem to be in a holding pattern there for the time being.

Cute eleven-month-old on the go

This week Graham was in Southern California again for work, so we took the opportunity to do a little sleep training with Sean. (No reason both parents have to lose sleep over it.) It's still early in the process, but I'm optimistic that solid nights of sleep may be in our future. After an hour of crying the first night and 15 minutes the second, he slept solidly from 7:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. Yay, Sean!! The last two nights he stirred a little but went right back to sleep. Here’s hoping...

Focused boy (you can tell by the tongue) with ridiculous eyelashes

He loves school, and comes home happy and tired. He wasn't wild about the drop off initially, but no longer cries when I leave. I forgot to share his school application picture in the last blog post – he was so fascinated by the camera it’s a very serious shot for him.

"I didn't do it, Officer..."

Sean is increasingly more verbal, and actually says several words with intent now:

• Dada
• Mama
• Claire ("Deh")
• Kitty ("Keeeey!"]
• Ball ("Bah")
• Banana ("Nana") [Sorry, Nana.]
• I'm ready to eat and that looks tasty ("Mamamamamamama" with hands opening and closing)

The shrieking lessened for a bit, but has picked up again around mealtimes, I think mainly from frustration that he can’t tell me what he wants. (And apparently I’m not the best guesser.) "Oh, you wanted to hold the container, not eat what's in it. Of course. How silly of me." We’ll get there...

Chatty pants

Claire has her own playlist on Spotify of her favorite songs, and Sean loves to dance and clap along to it. (He came home from his first week at school clapping – I'm guessing they do that a lot.) He will also wave when he feels like it, give five (regular and high), and give long-distance high fives, which is useful over Skype.

Happy Clapper Boy

A few recent videos for your amusement:

• Sean Heads for the Fridge – I mentioned this last month. It's not QUITE as fascinating anymore, but sure was for a while...
• Kitty on the Head Game with Claire – the kids make up all sorts of games these days – I love watching them play together.
• Sean Claps and Dances – grooving to Claire's playlist.
• Monkey Under the Stairs Game – Sean invented this game all by himself. No matter where the monkey is, it must immediately be put under the stairs as quickly as possible. All sorts of fun...

We’re starting to work on self-feeding with a spoon. Here’s a little series I call, "Sean vs. the Yogurt":

"Spoons are overrated, Mom..."

A few more highlights of Sean at eleven months:

His eyes are staying blue, and MAN, what a blue! (Thanks, Dad!)

He loves technology – phones, the iPad, computers, cameras… I keep getting ultra-close-up shots of him because as soon as I pull out a camera he comes running

He still ADORES Bailey – she’s learning to keep her distance

I put him in shoes for the first time the other day so he could practice walking outside – he wasn't a big fan... Crawling is much faster

Claire note:

Miss Claire lost her second tooth! As Sean gets them, she loses them. Nice balance. Although both permanent teeth are already coming in, so that won’t last long. She lost it at school and didn't realize when it fell out. Luckily, el Ratón Pérez found it, knew it was hers, and left her two 500 colones coins anyway.

Gap-smiled girl

She also came home yesterday having won an award for "Sincerity," the character trait of the month. We're very proud of her!

En español:

Sean cumplió once meses el lunes y está más ocupado que nunca. De mis mediciones, no creció en el mes pasado y solamente añadió 140g, entonces espero que yo sea equivocada. Él es alto, flaco, y tan ocupado que se quema la mayor parte de las calorías. Tiene su cuarto diente (el segundo en la parte superior) inmediatamente después de cumplir diez meses, entonces ahora tiene los dientes de una ardilla. Parece que no van a salir más dientes ahorita.

Esta semana Graham estuvo en el sur de California para trabajar, entonces Sean y yo nos aprovechamos de la oportunidad para un poco entrenamiento de dormir. (No hay razón que ambos padres debe perder el sueño para eso.) Ahora es temprano en el proceso, pero me siento optimista que vamos a tener noches con más sueño en nuestro futuro. La primera noche él gritó por una hora y la segunda por 15 minutos – después de eso él durmió profundamente hasta 7:00 p.m. a las 5:00 a.m. ¡Yay, Sean! Las dos últimas noches se movió un poco, pero fue directamente de nuevo a dormir. Aquí está la esperanza...

A él le encanta su escuela, y regresa muy feliz y cansado cada día. A él no le gustó cuando yo salía inicialmente, pero ahora no grita cuando salgo. Se me olvidó compartir su foto para matricular en su escuela – él estaba tan fascinado con la cámara que es una foto muy seria para él.

Sean es cada vez más verbal, y realmente dice algunas palabras con intento ahora:

• Daddy [Papi] (“Dada”)
• Mama
• Claire ("Deh")
• Kitty [Gatita] ("Keeeey!"]
• Ball [Bola] ("Bah")
• Banana [Banano] ("Nana") [Disculpe, Nana.]
• Estoy listo para comer y la parece bien ("Mamamamamamama" con manos que se abran y se cierran)

El gritando fue mejor por un rato, pero regresó con fuerza cuando está comiendo, creo que por la mayoría porque es muy frustrante que no puede decirme que quiere. (Y aparentemente no soy la mejor adivinadora.) "Oh, te quería el contenedor, no la comida. Por supuesto. Que tonta de yo." Vamos a llegar allá...

Claire tiene su propia playlist con Spotify de sus canciones favoritas, y a Sean le encanta bailar y aplaudir de la música. (Él regresaba de su primera semana de escuela aplaudiendo – supongo que lo hagan mucho.) También él da saludos cuando tiene ganas, da cinco (regular y alto), y da cinco con largas distancias, que es muy útil con Skype.

Algunos videos para su entretenimiento:

• Sean Va por la Refri – mencioné este video el mes pasado. No es TAN fascinando que era, pero por un rato fue fantástico.
• El Juego de Gatito en la Cabeza con Claire – los niños hacen todos tipos de juegos esos días – me encanta ver a ellos cuando juegan juntos.
• Sean Aplauda y Baila – bailando del playlist de Claire.
• Mono Debajo de los Grados – Sean inventó ese juego su propio mismo. No importa dónde está el mono, inmediatamente necesita estar debajo de los grados lo más pronto posible. Tan divertido...

Estamos empezando trabajar de auto-alimentando con un cuchara. Arriba están algunas fotos que llamo "Sean contra el yogur."

Sus ojos definitivamente son azules. (¡Gracias, Papi!)

A él le encanta toda la tecnología: los teléfonos, las computadoras, el iPad, las cámaras… Tengo muchas fotos muy cerca de Sean porque cuando uso mi cámara él me acercó.

Todavía a él le FASCINA a Bailey – ella está aprendiendo de mantener una buena distancia.

Yo lo pone en zapatos por primera vez el otro día para practicar caminando afuera – a él no le gusta mucho. Gateando está más rápido...

Una nota sobre Claire:

¡Señorita Claire se perdió su segundo diente! Ambos tienen los dientes permanentes ahora. Lo perdió en la escuela y ella no se dio cuenta que se cayó. Por suerte, el Ratón Pérez lo encontró, sabía que fue de ella, y le dio dos monedas de 500 colones de todos modos.

También ella regresó ayer de escuela con un premio para "Sinceridad," el valor de mes. ¡Estamos muy orgullosos de ella!

A Trip to LA, a Lost Tooth, and a New School

[ Versión en español abajo ]

We spent last week in Los Angeles – Graham had some work meetings in Southern California and the kids and I got to tag along. We had such a fantastic time visiting friends – we hadn't been there since Claire was almost two. Full pictures are online here, but here are a few:

Hanging out with the Kings at the park - the big girls became fast friends quickly and wanted to see each other every day 

Aris and TJ made a delicious lunch for us, and Sean met his first dog, Mookie - Sean was also Mookie's first baby... I think Sean liked Mookie more than Mookie liked Sean - Sean squealed with delight every time he came near

We had brunch with the Jordans - so good to see them!

My sweet kids on the trolley at the Grove - they both loved it

Lunch with the Joneses - more instant friends!

While we were there, Claire lost her first tooth. She was very excited, because the Tooth Fairy came. In Costa Rica (and other Spanish-speaking countries), kids are visited by Ratoncito Pérez, a.k.a. the Tooth Mouse. Next time… When it finally came out we were at an ice cream shop, and the owner gave her a free pint of ice cream so she can remember that ice cream is bad for your teeth. Very sweet! (No pun intended...)

Her permanent tooth is already starting to come in, which apparently means (in her words) that, "I'm a big girl now!"

The day after we got back, Sean started his first day of school at Yimboré, the early childhood center Claire went to when we first got here. He's so busy these days that it's hard to give him the stimulation he needs while we're both working from home, and we want him to have interactions with more people, especially in Spanish. He was a bit unsure at first and still isn't a fan of being dropped off, but he enjoys his time there and comes home very tired but happy, which is a good sign. They made us Smileboxes of his first day and first week (you can download the pictures if you click the link and hit save, FYI):

Sean's first day of school in his uniform 

 Smilebox from his first day (online here)

Smilebox from his first week (online here) (he's a little squinty from being outside and from adjusting to a later nap time)

En español:

Pasamos la semana pasada en Los Angeles – Graham tenía citas en el sur de California y los niños y yo acompañamos a él. Teníamos un tiempo fantástico – no hemos visitado LA desde Claire tenía casi dos años. Todas las fotos están aquí, pero unas pocas están arriba.

Cuando estamos allá, se cayó el primer diente de Claire. Ella fue muy emocionada, porque la Hada de los Dientes llegó. En Costa Rica (y otros países españoles), los niños están visitado por Ratoncito Pérez, alias el ratón de los dientes. Próxima vez... Cuando el diente finalmente salió estuvimos en una tienda de helado, y el dueño le dio a Claire una pinta de helado para recordar que helado es malo para sus dientes. ¡Muy amable!

Cuando regresamos, Sean empezó escuela en Yimboré, el maternal donde Claire asistía cuando tenía tres años. Él es ocupadísimo estos días y es muy difícil para estimularle a él suficiente cuando estamos trabajando en casa. También, queremos que él vaya a conocer más personas, especialmente algunas quienes hablan español. Él no fue tan seguro cuando nosotros fuimos, pero a él le gusta su tiempo allá mucho y regresa cansado pero feliz, que es una buena indicación de su día. Ellos nos dan Smileboxes de su primer día y su primera semana (hacer clics arriba para verlos).

The Tob, by Claire

Claire doesn't have school today (it's Juan Santamaría Day, don't cha know) and spent part of the morning drawing a picture. She suddenly started telling me all sorts of different facts about the animal she drew, so I had to write them down. I thought you might like to see her creation - I'm biased but I thought it was pretty fabulous. Here it is, in her own words:

The Tob

by Claire Forman, age 5½

April 11, 2013

A Tob is kind of like a lion, but wider. The Tob is the biggest and the tallest animal in the world – bigger than an elephant and bigger than the widest whale. It’s even taller than a monster. Bears are afraid of the Tob because it’s scary and bigger than bears. It says "RAWR!" really loud and can wake up a person. A Tob can be as scary as a ghost.

The Tob is mostly found in the United States, but also in Costa Rica, Europe, and some parts of Canada. Almost all Tobs are girls, but there are a few boy Tobs in Costa Rica.

The Tob is the most poisonous animal – more than the poison dart frog. It is bright red with a blue head and yellow legs, and has purple spots on its legs, which are chicken pox. Its legs have dark blue bumps, and it has sharp, sharp orange claws. It also has long, long hair. It has sharp teeth with hair on them. It has a special kind of top, so it can fly. Kind of like a ladybug, but big and scary. The Tob has fire in its claws and a special kind of skin – kind of like people skin. Some Tobs have navy blue hairs that some people can see, but most people can’t, kind of on its heart. It kind of has little butterfly things (antennae) on its top. It has eyelashes if it’s a girl. This one is a girl. I've seen a boy but don't know how to draw it.

Tobs eat dead bugs: dead spiders, dead ants, dead butterflies, dead bees, dead ladybugs, and some kind of beetles. Those are all the insects that they eat. But they don’t actually eat butterflies. The other kind of insect is worms. And they even eat baby bunnies. So any time a baby bunny sees a Tob it hides in its school.

For some reason her friend Chiara is riding on the back - I didn't ask why.