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Week 177: Solids, Liquids, and Whys June 18, 2007
For once, I actually have a significant milestone to report here. Mandy started "solid" food this week. I put "solid" in quotes because the rice cereal she was treated to is about as solid as water. She was dubious at first, but quickly figured things out and started slurping with enthusiasm. As with every other baby I've seen fed, Mandy exhibited the miraculous ability to have more food leak out the side of her mouth than actually goes in. Some contentious white washing of the story aside, I think this must be how Jesus did the fishes and loaves thing.
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It's also kind of sad, though. The accompanying changing out of a kitchen chair for the old high chair marked the passing of an era. Mandy is beginning the transition from baby to little girl, and when it's over we (probably) won't have a baby of our own any more. Also, my notes from the last time we moved a child to solid food say that we can expect the poops to change dramatically. For the worse.
This weekend was Father's Day again, for which Geralyn let me buy a TiVo Series 3 DVR (glee!) and play World of Warcraft for the better part of the weekend. And then she threw in a bag full of The Simpsons themed office supplies from the Dollar Spot at Target. So this geeky dad is happy. We also went to a pool party at Ger's cousin's place, where Samantha once again displayed her wanton disregard for the dangers of water when gathered in large quantities. Fortunately we strapped many buoyant things to her little frame and she made it through the day unharmed.
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Speaking of Sam (as I often do), her use of her favorite question of "why" is something I've mentioned before, but in recent weeks it's really become obsessive. She asks "why" about everything, so brief declarative statements often turn into exercises in hair-pulling frustration. Like this:
"Okay, I'm going to drain the water, Sammy."
"Why?"
"Because it's time to get out of the bath."
"Why?"
"Because it's late."
"Why?"
"Because time is traveling in a constnant, linear fashion."
"Why?"
"Because you're not traveling anywhere near the speed of light. Or maybe it's because I'm not. I can never remember. I'm not a theoretical physicist."
"Why?"
"Sammy! Get out of the freaking tub!"
To combat these kinds of pedantic Q&A sessions, we started implementing what I call a "One Why Rule." Sam gets one honest and clear answer to her first "Why?" but then subsequent questions are answered by my clamping my hands over my ears and yelling "ONEWHYRULE! ONEWHYRULE!" at the ceiling. It has proven surprisingly effective.
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Comments (6) |
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File under:
Parenting
Tags: Amanda, Parenting, Samantha
Comments
Posted by Patti on June 19, 2007 7:21 AM:
Faves from this set of pics: I can't decide between the shot of Sam down the cool psychedelic tube slide or Mandy asleep with her thumb in her mouth. If the thumb in mouth pose while decorated by attractive background fabrics wasn't adorable enough, the long nails that give an impression of a baby French manicure add to my own private amusement.
I'm gonna take a good note of that ONEWHYRULE tactic. Maybe because I have a boy, I won't need it as much, but you never know.
Posted by Jamie on June 19, 2007 7:31 AM:
Heh, I think the long nails are less because of fashion and more because Ger once accidentally cut one of Mandy's (wriggling) fingertips while trying to clip them. She's understandably reluctant to repeat that so Mandy goes a bit longer between trims now.
Posted by Patti on June 19, 2007 9:41 AM:
Oh, I didn't actually think there was a purpose behind the nails, especially not fashion... but the unintended impression struck me as amusing. I, too, was nervous about cutting the boy's nails for the longest time. Branden, however, was a fan of the bite-em-off method. *Shrug* looked weird when he was doing it, but it did get the job done (and, bonus, I didn't have to do it).
Posted by bethany on June 19, 2007 8:49 PM:
When Annalie is repeatedly asking "Why?" I'll answer a couple of times, and then say, "Why do YOU think?" And usually she'll either already know the answer, or she will say some crazy thing that's hilarious. Try it with Sammy sometime, it might be entertaining!
Posted by Jamie on June 20, 2007 8:17 AM:
Yeah, I've tried that before, with varying degrees of success. Often I just get "I don't know," which serves as a kind of speed bump for the conversation before she gets back to asking "why." But sometimes she does surprise me by answering.
Posted by bethany on June 20, 2007 2:36 PM:
Yeah, I get "I don't know," from Annalie sometimes, too, depending on how tired she is. But I figure even if she only gives an answer half the time, that's about a zillion times fewer I have to answer the question, "Why?"