Nutella

Sharif (at work) sent Daddy home with some Nutella (the chocolate-hazelnut spread) for Karston on Monday, so after Karston told me that he was done with dinner this evening, I thought I would see how he felt about Nutella.

Oh my.

Yes.

Nutella is a winner.

I decided to give Karston some Nutella spread on a vanilla wafer because it seemed like a handy Nutella delivery mechanism. His vanilla wafer needed many refills! After the mess was all spread and done, the vanilla wafer was slightly soggy but intact while most of the Nutella was inside Karston. It's a real calorie wallop too! Afterwards, Karston ran around outside like a toddler on a sugar buzz, and we were glad we weren't inside with that much energy bouncing off the walls. Hopefully his full tummy will help him sleep well tonight; if not, I did find childrens Maalox at Target this weekend. We may have found that source of pure calories we've always wanted to shovel into Karston!

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First Day of Preschool

Karston went to his first day of preschool today. This preschool has a 2:1 ratio for two-year-olds to teachers! They say it makes the outings much easier. Oh, and preschool has lots of toys! Initially, Karston put his head into my neck and moaned; he's been doing that since Wednesday when he sees other people. As other toddlers showed up, he thawed out. When he saw the Thomas the Tank train set, he was ready to play without being hugged at the same time. We stuck around for a short while, but when we tried to leave, Karston gave a loud call for Da-da while I made my escape to work. So my little boy is growing up, going to preschool, spending time without his family, playing with other toddlers.

The most remarkable part is the other end of the story, when Daddy and Mary came to pick him up. When they arrived, all of the toddlers were sitting nicely in their assigned chairs at the short tables eating Cheerios. Karston's spot had his name in a purple square. He was looking down at his Cheerios and eating them. Yes, my child who doesn't eat! After about a minute he noticed he had visitors and said Da-da but continued to sit and eat along with the other docile 2 year olds. Yes, my child who will stop eating for any reason, my child who is crazy about Daddy! After several more minutes, Karston invited Daddy to join them at the table. Then they went to play with toys, but no big Daddy hug. The teachers said that there were many meltdowns this morning, and that they expect many more next week, but obviously the kids get over it. Karston seemed quite comfortable in what must be a well-disciplined setting. All of the kids looked happy and well-behaved. Those teachers definitely know some secrets to success! It'll be interesting to see how he changes.

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Dod

Over the past week, Karston has switched from calling Daddy Da-Da (with a smile) to just plain Dad (with an imperative). It's often followed by a call for his juice sippy. He pronounces it "daahhh-D" so it sounds a lot like Ajax calling Duckman "Dod."

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Okra Boy

All of the fried okra eaters I know (myself, I don't like it one bit) say that the best fried okra in town comes from the Wal-Mart deli, so we go there for Karston. This afternoon when I was checking out, the clerk Bessie said, Oh, he's the okra boy! Whenever we're near the deli counter, Karston says Okra okra okra, sometimes quite loudly, until he gets some. Since the okra is already weighed and priced, I let him eat it right away, and I pack juice so that he can wash it down. Today, Karston even told me that his okra would be hot-hot, so he would blow on it (puff, puff). Sure enough, that's what he did, even in the checkout lane when Bessie spotted him as a regular, the okra boy. Okra boy is a dubious honor, but at least Karston asks for and eats a vegetable.

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Pediatrician: Two Years

Karston went to the pediatrician this morning, and the visit was very quick (out in 40 minutes!) and easy.

Vitals are 21 pounds 4.4 ounces (still not on the CDC chart, but on a similar trajectory so the doctor says he's fine), 31.25 inches tall (also not on the chart, but much closer to the 5th percentile), and 19" head circumference (around the 25th percentile). His weight-to-length ratio is in the 10th percentile, so he is tall for his weight even though he's light. His body mass index (which applies starting at age 2) is just over the 10th percentile mark too.

One of the child development questions the doctor asked was "does he line up blocks?" and the answer was "oh my, yes!"

In other words, it was pretty boring, but for a routine checkup, that's good.

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Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

Getting Karston to eat can be challenging, but really fresh food is a good start. He ate fresh-from-the-deli fried okra this morning, after refusing day-old then several-days-old fried okra this past week. When we got back from the store, Karston ate 2/3 of an unpeeled banana after turning his nose up at the 2/3 of a banana he started eating a few days ago.

So here I was this afternoon, with most of a banana that the kid wouldn't eat, and that I didn't want to throw it out. (A lot of my cooking starts this way: better make something before it goes bad.) I found this recipe for Peanut Butter and Banana Cookies that I decided to try. However, what I had only looked like 1/2 cup of banana, so I had to modify the recipe to cut it in half. (I can't follow a recipe anyway.)

2 Tbs margarine, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter, warmed
1/2 cup bananas, mashed
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup unbleached enriched flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup Splenda
1/2 tsp baking soda

I preheated the toaster oven to 375°F, and covered the tray with tin foil. I melted the margarine (I used Blue Bonnet Light with half the fat because that's what I have) and mashed in the banana pieces. Then I stirred in the vanilla, and I couldn't resist a shake of cinnamon too (I love cinnamon). I added a scoop of peanut butter (I just guessed at a quarter cup of Smuckers Reduced Fat Natural Style). Then I sifted into the bowl the flour, sugar, splenda, and baking soda (I actually measured these ingredients). I mixed it with my immersion blender because the peanut butter was still cold and unworkable. Next time, I would warm the peanut butter with the margarine and just mix it with a fork so there are a few banana bites and a few peanut butter bites. I don't know if that will taste better, but I'd like to try it. I'll probably also try adding 1 Tbs molasses too.

I made one batch as cookies on the toaster over tray. Since that's my only toaster oven tray, I put the remaining batter in my silicone mini muffin pan (after spraying it). I baked them for 15 minutes in the toaster oven, but 12 minutes in a regular oven is probably right. I got 11 cookies from the first round and 12 mini muffins from the second round. After his nap, Karston put down one cookie and two-and-a-half mini muffins very quickly. When it's very fresh, Karston likes this recipe! Since it's a small recipe now that I could probably cut in half again, it's just right to dole out small fresh batches as long as we have a little bit of banana in the house. Which we don't, right now.

Cooking, Recipe, Toddler

Two Chocolate Doughnuts!

Most of Karston's words are much more distinct now. He used to say Ah-sha but now he says Outside. Okra (ahk-rah) and ice cream (ice cweem), two favorite foods, are more distinct now. A couple of words are still baby talk, though. He still says Ah-dah for again, and I heard Hah-dah for play recently. He still says shah-shah for chocolate.

This morning, Karston ate chocolate-covered doughnuts. The chocolate coat keeps them fresher longer, too. When he went back for seconds, the tastiest doughnuts were on the bottom, of course. Karston dug out two doughnuts, one for each hand, and looked at us with pure delight! Holding both arms out, one chocolate-covered doughnut in each hand, with a huge smile, Karston clearly said, "Two Shah-shah" before plowing food in his face.

We caught him counting to three a couple months ago. He walked up to the dishwasher, and tapped one - two - three doors past the dishwasher before opening the cabinet door to the trash can. If you're taller than the kitchen counter, the trash is in the first cabinet to the right of the sink; but if you're Karston's height, you need to count to the third cabinet door past the dishwasher. Karston really did seem to be paying attention to Sesame Street when the number of the day was two, and it seemed to soak in. He's had the concept of counting to two and three for a while, but now he knows the word for two is two! We were impressed!

Technorati Tags: Toddler

TWO

Today is Karston's second birthday!

A normal day at my mother's house already includes a lot of playing, so to make his birthday special, my mother took him to the Museum of Life and Science to play with other children. He followed a little girl, and was perfectly happy when she took away his sandbox toy. (He's very mild-mannered.)

When we got home from work, I hit the kitchen to get food ready for the horde while Karston played with his guests. We had dinner (weiners, corn-on-the-cob, and salad), and cinnamon flop as birthday cake (it's quick and tasty, so I can make it after work and eat it right away). I think we all had seconds of birthday cake, even Karston who is a picky eater! Karston was more interested in presents this year, so although he was still overwhelmed, he made it through many more presents this time.

When it got close to his bedtime, Karston walked over to everyone and said "Bye-bye" which was a real ice-breaker and party-ender. Karston had a ton of fun today, but I think he will enjoy a normal day tomorrow.

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Blocks

I know the pediatrician will ask about Karston's stacking skills at his next appointment, so I've been taking mental notes. Three months ago, he stacked our groceries four high in the cart before the non-uniform shapes made the stack fall over. On Friday, Karston stacked his wooden blocks up to eight high before he couldn't resist knocking over the stack. He is a boy, so we need some destruction too! His Daddy and his grandparents were building block towers for him to knock over Friday, and he was getting creative, as well as wound up laughing his head off. He knocked some stacks over with his hands, some with his feet, and even some by sticking his belly out.

We played with blocks this morning too. Karston made stacks up to six high, and he knocked over stacks we built. Then I walked away so he could wind himself down for his nap. He told me MORE, and made me walk him downstairs so he could bring up two more small toy cars to add to the three he has upstairs. Then he fell asleep holding his cars. Then I noticed his blocks. When I left the sunroom, his blocks were knocked over and scattered everywhere. When I next looked, his blocks were very carefully arranged in a very precise ell shape with well over 90% of the blocks with the brightly painted face up. My jaw dropped. I left this pattern intact so I could show Daddy who had the same reaction. Karston's not yet two, and he can be very precise. I know both of his parents are engineers, but this is remarkable. Blocks just came on his radar!

He also wants to make the world safe from stickers. He peeled stickers from our produce that we bought at the store this evening, asked for more to peel, and then collected all of the stickers to put in the trash. That's what I mean by precise ... things are just so ... careful patterns, and then he cleans up after himself. I never expected this from my toddler! But hey, I'm not complaining!

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Durham Bulls

Karston went to his first Durham Bulls baseball game this evening. (It was also the first time for his grandparents.) When everyone else clapped and cheered, Karston joined in. When he saw Patrick Star from SpongeBob Squarepants, a visiting mascot, he got very excited and pointed to Patwick. However, when he got close to Patrick, he curled back into my arms because Patrick, like other mascots, really is quite large when you get up close. We walked over to the next section to talk to our neighbors (and deliver baby food for Dinah, since we didn't have to rush to the airport before the game). The evening was gorgeous, the Durham Bulls won, and we just couldn't ask for a nicer, reasonably-priced, child-friendly outing!

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Class Clown

Today for lunch (and last week, too!) we went to Bandido's, a favorite Mexican restaurant, with Jen and her two daughters.

Last Monday, Karston spent the entire car trip to Bandido's talking about Da-da. Once he was in a high chair next to Nadia and across from Daddy, he only had eyes for Nadia. Pretty red-heads can do that. At this lunch, Karston showed his true colors as a class clown. He turned to Nadia, leaned in, and laughed his head off until she started laughing too. He's a real nut.

Today the kids played together before lunch. I learned that Karston doesn't get jealous when someone else gets to nurse. I really hope that preschool --it starts in mid-August!-- trains Karston to share his toys because he wasn't sure how to play with Nadia. The other mom-embarrassing incident was when Karston was teaching body parts to Tasha. He said feet while tapping his foot, and again while tapping her foot. He said hand while tapping his hand, and again while tapping her hand. On to nose. Not bad so far, and I had stopped worrying, but then he said eye and his unerring finger headed right for Tasha's eye and she doesn't know to blink or turn away like adults and pets. Luckily her mother was quick enough to prevent that disaster, but Karston needs to learn that babies, as much as he wants to hug Chris and Tasha, need extra care, like no fingers poking eyes. He didn't want to be far from Tasha, and he kept saying Baby! Hug! over and over.

This time for lunch, we had extra adults so Karston was more cuddly I'm not sure if he were shy because of more grown-up conversation or because of the larger audience, but he was a ham now and then.

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Whee?

Ever since Karston got to ride in the Corvette, front-facing in the front seat, when we walk past it in the garage, Karston pats the door, looks at us, and asks Whee? I knew he would love the Corvette at some point in his life, but I didn't know he would start this young.

Technorati Tags: Car, Toddler

Daddy's Boy

Ever since Will told Karston that the burgundy phone was for play (because it is at Will's house), Karston has used the burgundy phone in our bedroom as his phone. We had to unplug it, and leave it unplugged. This morning when Daddy had been at work about half an hour, Karston picked up that phone and had a one-sided conversation in English, not in Toddler's Tibetan! He picked up the phone and said, Hello? Hello? Da-da? Yeah, Da-da. Da-da come home!

He really loves his Daddy.

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Little Red Corvette

Old cars need to be driven regularly (or else). For short trips on pretty days, Daddy drives his 1969 Corvette convertible. (Of course it's red.) Today he took Karston along. It's Karston's first trip in the Corvette since he outgrew the infant car seat around 9 months old. And it turns out that only the infant car seat fits rear-facing in the Corvette, so Karston was facing forward for the very first time. In the front passenger's seat because there is no rear seat.

Karston spent the whole (short, two mile) trip excited, saying Whee whee whee whee whee whee! We'd say he liked the experience.

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New Skills This Month

Words:
outside (ah-shah is very popular), apple (refined, ah-pull), noooooo, ice cream sandwich (ah-sha cweee sah-wih; now you know how he's staying over 20 pounds), Meeree (Mary, my mother who takes care of him Tuesday through Thursday, sometimes mee-mee, which is fine, or mee-nee, that makes us laugh)

Karston also started combining words. For instance, after he announced he wanted to go outside this weekend, he moved on to "Dada, shoes" because he knows Daddy puts on shoes before taking him outside.

He still says Emma (our dog), kitty, chocolate (sha-sha), okra, juice (shooos), water (wa-wa), cheese (cheees), shoes, nose, eyes, ears, belly and belly button (bewee bee), mama (and ta-ta when he wants to nurse), and of course dada.

Tricks:
throwing a ball (pretty well), carrying two large balls for throwing, digging in the sand (and pouring it in Emma's food or on Emma), drawing, stacking everything in sight (groceries stacked 4 high before sliding over), kissing us when he's happy, and telling us to kiss each other

When one of us is carrying Karston, and we're close, he'll get a sly grin, put his hands to the back of our necks, push our faces together, and wait for us to kiss. When we kiss, he gets a huge delighted grin of yeah, I did that and it's great, and he giggles happily when we kiss him too. Like we keep saying, Karston is all love, all the time.

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First Shower

Karston took his first shower yesterday. When he and Daddy went to play with Emma, Karston patted the hot tub lid and said Wa wa very insistently! So we hopped in the hot tub, and he had a great time playing with water toys. Karston particularly likes the toy sailboat that Daddy got when he was very young. After the hot tub, we decided to see if he would take a shower with us. (Karston dropped some leaves in the hot tub, so we needed to rinse off leaf bits.) I held him tightly, and we all hopped in the shower. We tried a shower about a year ago, and it was a total crying failure that didn't even last a minute. This time we were very casual, stepped in the shower, and it worked! I gradually eased him into the water, with spray going farther up his back gradually and never on his face. He looked concerned for a minute, but then relaxed. We'll stick with the bath in general (he really loves playing with water toys), but it's nice to know we can all hop in the shower now.

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kunder

Karston's new concept this week is under. Monday while I was eating my lunch, Karston crawled under the wicker couch in the sunroom and fell asleep. I moved the couch so I could pick him up for the poopy diaper change he needed. Tuesday and Wednesday he played under my mother's bed. My mother replaced her tablecloth with a large bedsheet, so today Karston played under her dining room table. They played many rousing games of Where's Karston?, but every time she stuck her head under the sheet, Karston pushed her out of his fort.

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#1!

Daddy gave Karston a bath this evening while I did a fast cleanup around the house. I joined the after-bath fun of chasing a naked toddler on the bed with a towel. (Karston loves that game!) He was really fighting the diaper, so we decided to put him on the potty. We have a toiler seat reducer so that he can sit on a regular toilet without falling in. He was perfectly happy with that idea! When we first introduced sitting on the toilet a few months ago, he would sit, kick his legs, look down, poke himself, but that was it. Tonight, he looked down and ... yes! he used the toilet! He got praise and kisses from both of us! He loved that, and after his big smile, he got this look of fierce concentration, and he did it again! More kisses and praise!

So he knows how and where. I guess he just has to work on knowing in advance of the need, and telling us that. We'll see how it goes, but he's pretty good at communication. It's a small victory, but we're off to a good start! We've had the first #1 in the toilet now ... now to make it a habit!

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Jealous

This evening, our neighbor came over with her two daughters Dale and Dinah. Dale is almost three years old while Dinah is eight-and-a-half months old, so Karston is sandwiched between them in age. Since Karston loves to play with Dale and he had napped long enough, I woke him up gently while Daddy started some shrimp for dinner. Karston still wasn't happy about being up, and he asked for ta-ta (neighborly laughter), so I sat down on the kitchen floor and let him nurse. Dinah made eye contact with me, and made a loud noise! Her mom said she had made a happy sound, and I asked if she were interested in what we were doing. -Oh no, she ate before we left the house. Daddy refilled my water, and then offered Karston a peeled shrimp. (Karston likes shrimp. And crab, and tropical fruit. Good Carribean taste!). Next thing I know, Dinah crawled all the way over to her mother and asked for ... well, she did get some ideas from Karston, even if she had just eaten. Daddy knows nursing mothers get thirsty, so he brought her some water as well. For a little while, it was a three-ring circus, between thirsty women wanting water and Karston wanting more shrimp! Two of us were on the floor with our respective children, and Daddy was running to keep the circus afloat!

I really think Karston's nursing made the visiting baby jealous. Hey, if he gets some, I want some too!

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Best! Playdate! Ever!!!

I think Karston just had the most fun he's ever had in one day! His friend Will who's only seven weeks older came over for a playdate. (Yes, that really means my friend's son Will came to play over with my son. Now isn't it simpler just to say Karston's friend Will?) Will's toys have been packed for a while, so his family can move to Italy. Will and Karston played together pretty well, which is impressive for not-quite-two! I think Will really enjoyed playing with toys in a child-proofed house without adults chasing him due to the lack of child-proofing. Karston, on the other hand, was absolutely on fire! He ran. He ran in place, in circles around the couch, around the kitchen island. He laughed, he smiled, he babbled. He showed off his toys to Will. Will went over to the train and played with Legos sitting inside the tracks, sometimes putting Legos inside the caboose. Karston came over, and said Look at this! in baby, and turned the train on so it went around the tracks. Will stumbled to stand up in surprise, and wouldn't take his eyes off the train for four revolutions! Of course the adults fell around laughing at Will's surprise! Then Will's itty bitty baby brother Chris woke up while their mommy was in the bathroom (of course), so I picked him up for cuddling. Karston was very serious that he wanted to carry Chris; I wasn't going for it since (just over two months old) Chris needs to have his neck supported and Karston's a bit young for that concept. So then Karston said he wanted to hold and hug Chris, so I let him do that in my lap. Even after Karston went back to playing, he still came over to rub Chris on the back gently when he fussed. I know Karston's very loving to us, but he's our child; this is the first time I've seen him being so loving to a smaller child. Absolutely adorable. At lunch, Karston and Will discovered the fort under the table and tablecloth. More having a blast. They babbled at each other, and seemed to understand the language, what my mom called fluent Tibetan, just like twins. Then moms and two-year-old boys went in the hot tub, and that was another delight! Splash! Ball! Swim/jump between moms!

So that was five to six hours of non-stop delight today. It's really hard to describe in retrospect, but I don't think Karston's been that excitedly happy for that long before. He's a happy child except when he's not, of course, but that much high-energy happiness for that long ... well, that's something special. He's played before with others, but usually with the three-year-old girls whose moms I know. He enjoys playing with the girls, but Will ... that Will is something else! Just ask Karston!

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