Violin

Beckett's riddle for tonight:

Beckett: Mommy, I am thinking of something that you put on your chin, it has a case and you tune it.

(Hint: Look at the title of the post.)

Summer Trips

Beckett, Cassie, Alden and I went to the Oakland Zoo last week. Beckett was a bit apprehensive beforehand, at first saying he didn't want to go (he seemed to be a bit scared of the tiger). We gradually convinced him that it would be fun, and he said to a stranger at the pool, "I'm going to the zoo tomorrow!" and then added tentatively, "The tiger's not going to eat me up."

But Beckett had fun at the zoo. This week, we went with his preschool on a field trip to the Felton Fire Station. Beckett and the other kids seemed awed by all the fire engine, but unlike some of his classmates, Beckett was not at all shy about trying on the fire jacket.

Riddles

At Beckett's school, the teacher has a riddle bag. The kids get to take it home and hide something in it. The parents and kids write down three clues to what is in the bag. The next morning, the teacher shares the clues and the other kids guess what's there. When it was Beckett's turn he put in a toy dinosaur. These were his clues: They're big. They're not real anymore. They say, "Roar".

Now Beckett is really into riddles. He loves to tell them and hear them. This was the conversation this morning as Beckett opened the fridge.

Beckett: Mommy I want a snack.

Me: Let's wait till lunch time.

Beckett: I want something that's green and in a jar.

Later that day...

Beckett: Dad, I want to drink something that's white.

His other language skills are coming along too. After lunch today he said, "I will put my dishes away very carefully, Mommy. Yes, I will."

In other news, Alden is doing great. He just smiles and laughs all the time. We've discovered a sibling similarity. Alden loves to hear silly words. Beckett's favorite was "couch". He just cracked up whenever he heard it. Alden seems to prefer "pistachio". He also loves to look at Beckett and I am sure he recognizes him.

PS: In case you didn't get Beckett's riddle, he was asking for 1. Pickles and 2. Milk ; )

Alden and Beckett, July 2008

Bumbo Seat and Enjoying "Nature"

Here Alden is enjoying the Bumbo seat (honestly, Alden has more chairs than anyone else in the house including bouncy, swing, bumbo, and car seat). Beckett hams it up in my Firecracker 10k Tee-Shirt (not meant to be a shameless plug.

















Also (John is going to kill me...) Beckett got a lesson in outdoor elimination. Notice the coppertone bum? So cute.

Latest MRI results

Beckett's last MRI showed that his tumor was completely stable, which is great news. Trish (NP at Lucile Packard Neurooncology) said that she and Dr. Fisher wanted to wait to remove his port until the next MRI, mostly because Beckett has trouble with anesthesia and it would be a real drag if we had to take the port out and then immediately put it back in. Unfortunately, that means Beckett's port has to get flushed monthly, and he hates, as he says, to "do his port."

We're still just a little bit concerned about his lag in gross motor skills-- he still can't jump, and he doesn't really run, at least not very fast. One thing that is really helping is that Cassie is taking him to the pool almost every night, and he is coming along quite nicely with his swimming. He can kick and "scoop," although not really at the same time too well, and he does need to be held afloat. Still, he will jump into the pool, which is a huge step forward.

Family Planning for Toddlers

Beckett has been asking where everything came from. He even asks perfect strangers where they got their stuff. Like in the park yesterday he asked another kid's dad where he got his shirt and then reported back to me, "His shirt come from Goodwill store."

So after a day of him asking where everything was from this was the scene:

Beckett: Where'd (fill in the blank) come from?

Me: I don't know. Where do babies come from?

Dad (aghast): Honey!

Beckett: Babies come from bassinettes!