Most of it, anyway. Stephan entertained Joseph last Saturday while I did the final preparations for the garden and did some planting between threats of rain. I did more planting Monday and what’s left needs to wait anyway. Already there are sprouts everywhere! Of weeds, that is . . . I’ve learned my lesson to always get every bit of a dandelion plant OUT because what they say is true: every little bit of chopped up root will start growing a new dandelion shoot. I spent a lot of time digging them up before planting, and got at least a barrel full of roots! I’m thankful I didn’t have time to finish prepping the soil right a way so it gave time for me to see the fruits of the dandelion’s labors and take care of some of the problem before planting. It’s interesting that the problem is only in one half of the garden, and that’s where I first started turning over the earth. I didn’t know what I was doing, so I just turned it all over and left it, but as time went on I decided to pull out the weeds since turning the earth exposed them anyway, so I did that to the other half of the garden and it’s almost weed free! I told you I didn’t know what I was doing . . .
So, we’ll see what happens to my seeds! I’m excited and am still having fun, but I can’t help being very aware that I really don’t know what I’m doing. What’s in the garden you ask? I have three strips about a meter wide and 4 ½ meters long. The back strip is a collection of flowers (scattered from one packet). The front two are veggies: zucchini, kohlrabi, Swiss chard, cherry tomatoes (yet to be transplanted), lettuce, carrots, spring onion, beans (not planted yet), and corn. I really hope the corn works out. I love fresh corn and you can only buy it here already torn open!
In the developmental news, yesterday in the pool Joseph found a ball interesting enough that he practiced climbing out of the pool by himself a number of times. I can now say he’s expert at it, knowing he has to turn around and lower himself down feet first. I can also safely say that he knows how to reliably use the same technique to get down off of the bed and of furniture. He’s still not interested in standing or walking, though. I also caught him putting the stars of the star pyramid back on the column today. He seems quite pleased with himself, as am I!
May 10th Joseph was standing at the coffee table when he took both hands off to clap for me. He stood a few seconds before he realized what he was doing. He still doesn’t like to stand alone and only does it if he’s tricked or surprised into it.
May 15th while at the pool with Daddy Joseph crawled to where there’s a slide in the kiddy pool area and at the top he turned out and slid down backwards on hands and knees.
May 16th he crawled up and down a whole flight of stairs all by himself.
Joseph now consistently holds our hands when we pray together before meals.
May 18th I think Joseph signed potty while in his high chair. He went when I put him on, so maybe it was real. He can now get off the pot without tipping it over all by himself (though sometimes he doesn’t work).
May 20th Joseph was standing holding on to a ruler I was also holding on to. I let go and he stood for quite a few seconds while I praised him. It seemed to be the first time he knew he was standing alone. He still isn’t very interested in it though. I’m not sure why I’m so excited about him walking, but ever new skill is just so exciting!
Today I let go of his hand and he took one step forward before falling. It doesn’t count so much because it’s my encouragement and not his interest, but I just can’t help myself . . .
I’ve been making more of a point to read recently, and “The Plug-In Drug” happened to be the book of choice. I found it an encouragement to keep on limiting my computer time and focus on getting “real” things done. I know computer work is real work too, but it tends to suck and suck and suck and give diminishing returns on investment and I hate that feeling. Of course the book is mostly talking about TV, but author Maire Winn says the same goes for all electronic media. She has many insightful things to say, but is not bashing people with TV’s or people who like the time they spend with electronic media. In her conclusion she writes
“Television’s attraction is so powerful precisely because it gratifies the passive side of human nature that everyone is endowed with in differing degrees. Thus an important step toward a more satisfying family life is to become aware of this passive pull, to assess its power, and to consciously struggle against it. For most parents this requires a true dedication to the family over all personal pursuits, and a firm resolve to make their children’s childhood a rich and distinctive experience, one that will serve as a resource for the rest of their lives.” (Page 298)
Covey would call the passive pull our draw to “quadrant IV” activities: those that are not important and not urgent, but we often find ourselves there because we’re exhausted and need a break.
I see in much of her urging more support for my desire to homeschool. That is how I envision making our “children’s childhood a rich and distinctive experience.” This is probably the furthest thing from Winn’s mind, but that’s the power of books and ideas. You never know where people will take them.
One such implicit endorsement for homeschooling occurs when she describes the importance of free-time in a child’s life.
Last Thursday Joseph turned ten months. I can’t decide if that’s long or short and I certainly can’t remember when he suddenly took off learning everything. I made some notes on these days:
April 30th Joseph opened a metal pencil case by himself. He climbed up two flights of stairs up to the top of our building, and quickly. He added a fourth word to his spoken vocabulary, at least I was fairly sure of it. (Mama, Papa and “nein” being the first three).
May 1st Joseph worked his way backwards down three stairs. He also played peek-a-boo with himself in a floor-length mirror. He stood up close to the edge and rocked to the side to “hide” and rocked back to show himself in the mirror. So cute!
May 3rd Joseph carefully stepped into one of his toy boxes (only about five inches tall) and squatted down. I thought it was cute until I thought maybe he could be peeing. I checked and sure enough, the damage was done. It seems he’s pretending to be a cat. Maybe I should clean out the potty and leave it in his reach and see if he’ll crawl over and squat on it himself when he needs to go.
We also started communicating with sings. I’ve been spotty introducing signs, but today he figured out that clapping his hands means “more.” It’s fun playing with him because I can use the “more” idea in a variety of situations, but then again he has a desire for more that tries my patience! He loves anticipation games like “this little piggy” and the like and will ask for more and more and more.
And it’s official. There is no doubt that Joseph added “dots” as his fourth spoken word. He asks me to show him the dots by saying “da” with the air stopped at the end (so it’s not “dah”). If I show him the dots he will say “da” and if I ask him while he’s playing “Joseph, would you like to see your dots?” he’ll stop what he’s doing and say “da!” After I help him do his summersaults he’ll look up at me and say “da” since often we look at dots after doing summersaults. Somehow this really amazes me, but it’s clear as day! Lest everything sound perfect, it seems to us that he hardly looks at the dots. He loves them, but he often looks at me or at stuff around us. I imagine when he looks at me he’s still taking it in, but otherwise it seems hard to believe. Well, at least it’s easy, doesn’t take much time, it’s clearly enjoyable and it taught him a word!
