Category: Updates

Curie March 2013. “Hotdog!” Curie turned 18 months in March and at her appointment she measured 30 inches in height and a little over 18 pounds in weight. Still a peanut, but  getting taller! Curie now has 10 teeth with her lower molars coming in, she will eat almost anything including the beef jerky that Albert gave her. Curie has fallen in love with meatballs, which started at Ikea (though there was no horsemeat involved), but progressed to these cool meatball packs for toddlers that we can bring on trips. She loves to eat soup with a spoon, noodles with chopsticks, and brisket with a fork.

Curie’s biggest excitement was to get a push car for walks. Curie has always hated the stroller and because she is so small we would usually just carry her, but after seeing a push car in the park we got her one (not the pink one) and it is her favorite toy. You should watch her work the steering wheel, on a real car we would all have whiplash. We haven’t used the stroller since.

Curie is getting very independent, and tells us when she pees and poops, so we bought her a potty where she likes to sit and read the potty book. Potty training is a while away but it is good to know she likes to sit on it. She also got a little Mickey rolling bag for travel that you see kids drag in the airport. She loves it and any bag she can carry on the crook of her elbow.

Curie’s other favorite thing is the slide. Big slides, little slides she loves them, the strange thing though is that she has become afraid of swings, which she used to love.

This month we went to the zoo, had deer in our backyard, and drove up to Massachusetts for Easter and the Children’s Museum. Our favorite things recently? Curie likes to clean and mop things up. Most often she misses the mess and rubs the towel on a dry spot. She wears the kitchen mitts and chases us around the house. She pats the floor for you to lie down, sometimes two people at a time (if you are inches off, she will pat the floor again), and makes sure you are taking your nap – she will put you head down if you lift it, she will pat you on the back to sooth you (though she pats hard) and then she will check to see if your diaper needs changing. Diaper checking includes lifting your shirt, tugging your pant’s and sniffing to see if you have “bee” or “yuck.” How cute is that?

Curie February 2013. We already posted a number of pictures for the month, but we would be remiss if we did not document what Curie has been up to. We started counting to see if she had 50 words, as that would be around when her language would explode, but as we did she kept picking up new words including Ah-ma for Albert’s grandmother and Ah-gong for his grandfather. She continues to say “up-down” a lot, which we need to video – for when we are old and want to remember. So we are counting words well past 50, not all articulate mind you, but she can pull together words and concepts which is pretty mind-blowing as first time parents. Her favorite thing recently though is to say “Oh no!” Something that Albert always says around her, and “Wow!” Though more like “Wau!” Which is something Erin always says around her. She can make a lot of animal sounds on command and loves her books. She still does not watch TV, but she loves “Mau” on the iPad (Mouse, as in Mickey Mouse). The iPad is the new TV, we suppose, so we will need to limit that.

We saw both sets of grandparents this month, Erin’s birthday, went to Disneyworld for Curie’s first time, saw Bernard, Agnes and their family, met Emilie, Taylor and Eric’s newest baby (and Livi too). Curie was 4 pounds 7 ounces when she was born, she was full-term and healthy, but very small. Emilie was 4 pounds and 11 ounces, and when we visited she seemed impossibly small. Curie must have been the same size, but it is almost unfathomable to remember her that way (yes, Albert takes pictures every day and have just have to look). Erin was teary-eyed holding Emilie and we realized that is why every parent and grandparent who held Curie had this look of nostalgic love on their face. We held Curie, and were grateful all over again. So when we are on travel and away, or simply at work and have a moment, even though it is just temporary, it is all right to miss our children isn’t it?

Curie January 2013. I remember when Bernard would get behind in his month updates for the twins and I would get frustrated waiting to read the update, well, now I can relate these days as it is the 13th already and I am only now getting to January. Here is a summary of what happened: Curie stayed up until 1:00 AM for New Year’s. She got two upper molars without too much pain. She talks a lot more, and even more in February. She can make the animal sounds of a cow and a cat, but for dog she simply pants because that is what a girl at school with a dog says when you ask “what does a dog say?” Very cute. She continues to love the guitar (“tar”) and piano, and turns up her hands for “I don’t know?”

She loves the game up and down which she learned in school and anytime she goes up or down she will say so. She learned to say “please” and “thank you” at school, and started climbing and jumping off of furniture. The thing that we found remarkable in January was that she learned to unload the dishwasher including big plates and trays. She hasn’t broken a dish yet. Oh, and she loves to make waffles in the toaster oven.

We went to the botanical gardens, the museum of natural history, went on a nature walk at Huntley Meadows with her first cousin once removed (look it up) Helen (okay don’t look it up Helen is Albert’s cousin), and went to the service day at the art colony (at the reformatory) on MLK Day.

This month’s notable milestone is that Curie got her big girl bed (and full length mirror which is 3 feet tall – and covers a hole in the drywall that Albert made). She has hated her crib since she was an infant. Erin and Albert also got a bigger bed, and we finally put up our photos on the walls using mostly canvas enlargements. Someone commented that the house becomes a home when you put up decorations.

Here is the thought of the month: Writing “my daughter brings me joy” gave Albert more likes on Facebook than most of the photos he has posted. And though Curie is getting a bigger vocabulary, the best conversations are the nonsensical ones that Albert and Curie have for more than 5 minutes at a time.

 

 

Curie December 2012. So we were planning on putting this great picture of the family up that Steve took over the weekend and we realized that we never made a collage for December. With the holiday card, we totally forgot. So, here we are.

We took Julie and Steve to Philadelphia for a quick trip, but Curie got very sick and we ended up staying in for much of it; we posted on how traumatic it was for us to give her medicine. We are happy to say that she has recovered with no worse for wear.

We were supposed to go up to see Erin’s family, but with Julie and her mom not being able to travel, we ended up having the holidays at our house and having Erin’s father down for the holiday. We went to Manassass Battlefield, which, if you have never been to a Civil War battlefield, is pretty cool. Curie, of course, made out like a bandit for the holiday with a monogrammed couch, a play tree house, a work bench (to off-set the kitchen), and a digital camera.

Curie has been practicing words when she hears them. When you say a word, she will whisper it after you but not be willing to say it aloud -“iPad,” “app,” “okay,” “strawberry” she whispers – and you say “What? Say that again?” And she just smiles at you.

When she plays, she, will now physically place your hands on her toys to have you play with her. She loves stickers, and guitars, and pianos. The crazy thing is that she holds a pen properly and loves to write or pretend to write -she will fill pages of writing in a sitting. She loves sitting at a desk and pretending to talk on the phone. She will pick up food with either fork or chopsticks, but will use her hands if she is hungry. The funniest thing, recently, is that she likes to take pictures with our little camera, she points it at herself, gives a photo grin and takes her picture. We will have to post a collage soon. The camera is inches from her face.

Parents love to tell us, not to worry, that though fleeting, every age is great, and so far we have to agree. A woman recently told us to cherish every moment, because when they are 19 and you want a hug, or want to hug them, they are not as likely to give it to you. So we hug Curie when we can, and give her muchas smoochas every night. Muchas smoochas? If you are not a parent, its best not to ask.