Gallantry

We are visiting my family in Ohio, and of course, along with the usual hubbub that comes with the holidays, have made several appearances as "the Wonder that is Olivia... and that lady who is her mom." Especially since my family lives too far for regular visits from us.

Last night, we visited my father's sister and brother-in-law for a pre-Christmas dinner. It was really tasty (as all dinners should be), and Olivia did mighty well eating her cheesy potato casserole. I love how casseroles are staples at any large family gathering. Then she was off exploring the house, which was a great child-friendly place, with lots of non-breakable things right at her level. Hooray Aunt Jan & Uncle Ladd! She also got a peek at some of my uncle's rat snakes, which I love love love. Although Olivia was a bit startled by them. I am determined that she will not be afraid of them, since they are really so cool!

Anyhow, it took Miss Olivia a while to warm up to everyone, and of course in her case this warming up coincided with being very very tired and time to go. So as I sat around the table with my aunts & uncles and showed off Olivia's tricks (which now include animal sounds, the alphabet & reviewing the names of the people present), my parents got ready to go. Before we all departed, though, I thought that it would be nice for Olivia to have a photo of the family assembled, so that we could know who people were (I hate family gatherings where I can't remember folks' names...). I stood up from my chair and asked my mom & dad to join us for a photo. As I was arranging people, however, there was a bit of a scuffle with my dad and Olivia. I looked over and saw my dad jump up with surprising speed from the chair I had just occupied. Perplexed, I asked what had happened.

It turned out that Olivia had decided that that particular chair was Mommy's chair. And when Grampa tried to sit in it, he got an earful of "No! Mommy chair" along with a grand sweeping hand gesture indicating that if anyone tried to sit in said Mommy chair, s/he would be at the wrong end of Olivia's wrath. Then she started to cry which, of course, is the real clincher, since no one wants to be the cause of making a baby cry, even if it was unintentional. Needless to say, no one else sat in the chair for the rest of the evening which (also needless to say) was very short, since it was clearly Miss Olivia's bedtime. We scooted out of there fast before anyone else had a chance to try and usurp Mommy's things.

*Sigh*

Shoes

As a quick addendum to the previous post:

Sometimes Olivia will wake up in the middle of the night, too hot, and request that various items of clothing be removed from her person, such as a shirt or socks, and occasionally we will wake to the tune of "take dipuh off, pease."

However, the appearance of a new pair of shoes changed all that. Last night, after a long day, Miss Olivia was getting ready to go to sleep. As I was trying to take off her play clothes and put of her pajamas, I hear the request "mo shoe pease." This was repeated as I moved closer to the shoes, and while trying to take off her pants and still honor her "more shoes" wish, this request reached a rather loud note, so that, even when the jeans were successfully removed from her legs, and her feet appeared triumphantly with shoes still attached, she needed a minute to calm down. How dare her mama try to take off her shoes?

Even in the middle of the night, when everyone was deep in slumber, even the sneakiest shoe remover would be warned, at the slightest velcro pop, with a sleepy "mo shoes."

I've learned my lesson. Don't mess with the shoes.

Olivia in the Morning:

We never tried to get Olivia in the habit of sleeping by herself. Although she is taking up an increasing amount of space and often sleeps horizontally or diagonally, pushing both Liz and I to our respective edges of the bed, she makes up for the inconvenience by talking in her sleep and doing other cute things in the early morning. Here is a transcript of this morning's sleep-talking:



[with her eyes half-open] Meeeeeeeeeow . . . Meeeeeeeow. [rolls over] Gawgie. [pants and makes a soft dog barking sound]. Daw kitty (which means "Draw a kitty") [she then relaxes and falls back to sleep]

Is My Baby Holding a Grudge?

Olivia has been saying "GA-BEE" a lot more the last few days (see the previous post). It's definitely started to take on a more accusatory tone. But what's funny about it (and I don't know if I should keep laughing when she does it now or not) is that she still talks about when "SAN-SAN" (Her cousin Hassani) grabbed her a few weeks ago. Several times in the past few days she has randomly said "GA-BEE, SAN-SAN." OR "SAN-SAN, GA-BEE." Liz and I find this hilarious of course. It's as if she's still not over the emotional trauma and is still trying to tell on him. Well, to be fair, Hassani is kind of a grabby baby and he has huge beast paws for hands. I know that most babies grab a lot, because they're babies and that's what they do. But Hassani's grabbing seems somehow more intense. It's as if his massive hands act on their own, or perhaps control his mind. So besides being gouged by Hassani's massive hands, Olivia has also had some of her things (such as crayons) grabbed. In the photo below the size of his hands can't be deciphered, they are blurred since he is in the act of grabbing:

Nevertheless, I am slightly suspicious of something: Olivia is smart. How smart, I don't know. And I don't know if she's smart enough to know that we don't know how smart she is and to then conceal that intelligence for her own gain. But strange things have happened. For example, about a month ago (Olivia would've been about 17 months) Liz was counting out loud and when she got to nine, Olivia suddenly chimed in: "Ten" We both freaked for a second. Then we tested her. She could pretty much count. We would say one number and she'd say the next, all the way up to 10. Then last week I discovered she could actually go to twelve. It's as if she's toying with us. Letting little bits of her intelligence be known, but on her own time and only when she's pleased with the circumstances.

Now back to my theory: How smart is Olivia really? Because while Hassani, with his beast hands, would appear to be the bully of the relationship (if 8 month olds really do bully) it is actually Olivia who constantly takes his things. As soon as she sees him she looks for his sippy cup and takes it. She never liked the baby food that we tried to feed her, but she loves Hassani's baby food. She also likes to sit in his stroller whenever possible. The same goes for high chairs or anything else he sits or climbs in. So I'm wondering, could there be any forethought involved in these accusations? Is she trying to convince us that "SAN-SAN, GAH-BEE" so that she can gain the moral leverage to justify the confiscation of his toys, food, chairs--even perhaps his big brother Nasir whom Olivia adores?

Joking aside I am really curious about why she says that. She's just started to combine her words. She will say "CAT. MEOW." for example. Until recently we would have to prompt her, "What does a Cat say?" Or she would just use the words interchangeably and MEOW was just another word for CAT. But she seems to be sort 0f defining things in her own way now. For example if she's talking about Nasir she will say "NAH-NEE" and then she'll make a growling sound. (Nasir growls and roars a lot, because he's almost always playing some version of superhero). And the growling impression is quite accurate. Enough that when I heard it I immediately recognized it as a Nasir growl. Last week I taught her to pant like a dog because I thought Liz was getting her a dog costume (long story) so now she independently says "GAW-GEE" and then pants. And of course when she says "SAN-SAN" she now follows it with "GA-BEE". So what I can surmise is that in Olivia's mind cats meow, dogs pant, Nasir growls and Hassani grabs. But when she says it, she seems like she's actually still upset about it. Or at least aware that grabbing is a thing to be upset about.

So is my baby holding a grudge? Tonight at dinner Liz offered "What else does SAN-SAN do? Does he laugh?" And then Olivia laughed. So maybe we'll try to encourage that description in favor of the GA-BEE. Although it isn't nearly as good of a story.

Ginging and Dawbabies

Olivia's language is exploding and it's amazing to witness. The best part about it is that her words are so particular to her. What words she chooses to say and to repeat, and the way she says them--and in some cases, even making up words all together. We can see her personality beginning to take shape. Below is a sampling of some of Olivia's current vocabulary:

GING-GING (Noun) To climb on someone who is laying down (almost always mommy or daddy) and bounce on them. Usually Ginginging commences when the person to be climbed and bounced upon is already laying down, but it is sometimes initiated when said person is in a sitting position.

This word seemed to come out of nowhere. One evening Olivia just climbed on Liz's back and said, very enthusiastically, "Ginging, Ginging" as she bounced on her and laughed. We think that it is somewhat related to the English word Game.

DAW-BAY-BEE - Strawberry

Olivia first tasted Strawberries at her 1st Birthday party. They were given to her by Saman Yates. Although she liked them from the beginning, it wasn't until this summer that she began to really love them. Before that Blueberries, or "Blues" were her favorite fruits.

I-KEEM - Ice Cream

I fear I may have passed my addiction to ice cream on to my first-born. It was the first solid food that she actually was willing to eat out of a spoon. I gave it to her kind of as a test, because she would automatically refuse anything we put in front of her. Turns out she was just being selective. And who can blame her? Have you ever tried that infant rice cereal? Not good.
But the more amazing thing is that she can recognize ice cream in diverse forms. As far as we know, the first time she saw a soft serve cone was the other night when Liz and I broke down
(morally, not emotionally) and went through the McDonald's drive-through. Olivia had been silent for the past few minutes, but just as Liz passed me my vanilla cone I heard this tiny voice from the back of the car say "I-KEEM. PEE."

PEE - Please

I'm very glad that Olivia has already incorporated a polite word into her vocabulary. And she really uses it a lot, which is great. What's not so great is that when she does use it, it's ridiculously sweet and I pretty much have to comply with her wish. She really went to town on that McDonald's ice cream cone, although I did manage to salvage some for myself. When she says "PEE" she almost always brushes her hand vertically along her chest--unless she really wants something. Then she does it with two hands. This is a carry over from sign language.

PEE-PEE - Pee

Not to be confused with "PEE", "PEE-PEE" is almost always followed by:

NO - a) No b) I don't want to c) I will not d) I don't like that e) I am not happy right now

This is her most used word the last few months, by far. Here's how the conversation usually goes:

OLIVIA: (quietly) pee-pee

PARENT: Does baby have to go pee-pee?

OLIVIA: pee-pee

PARENT: (excitedly) Olivia, do you need to use the potty?

OLIVA: No.

PARENT: Yeah, we pee-pee on the potty! Come on baby, let's go sit on the potty!

OLIVIA: No.


EH-PANE - Airplane

One of Olivia's favorite inventions is the airplane. To make the sign for airplane, you extend your index and pinky fingers while tucking in your middle finger, ring finger and thumb, and hold (or glide) your hand parallel to the ground. Olivia's version of the sign, however, is a bit different. Instead of tucking her fingers in, she crosses her middle finger over her ring finger, essentially making a horizontal WEST SIDE sign. I don't know how or why she came up with that particular interpretation, but she stuck with it until very recently. Now she gets so excited about airplanes that she just waves her arms around while she says the word.

NAH-NEE - Olivia's four year old cousin, Nasir.


Olivia really loves Nasir. She talks about him a lot when he is gone and gets very excited when she sees his picture, or hears that we are going to visit him, etc. In one of her favorite books (which is all about airplanes) she decided that one of the many tiny, featureless people was Nasir. Well, I guess I shouldn't say "featurless". This person has big, black curly hair and brown skin like Nasir does, and so I think that is how it came to be. We would read through the book and at that page Olivia would point to the figure and say "GUH, GUH" (Which means cousin - this was Olivia's name for Nasir before NAH-NEE, which only came about in the last couple of weeks).





GO-GO - Any game or activity which is recognized by Olivia as an organized sport.

GO-GO-KEE-KEE - Kiki's Delivery Service

This film by Hayao Miyazaki is the only thing Olivia regularly watches on the TV. She's watched it from when she was only a few months old. I'm curious to know if she's picked up any Japanese.

OH-GAH-GAI-MEE - Usually the prayer by 'Abdu'l-Baha that begins "O God, guide me, protect me . . ." Sometimes it means the children's prayer book "O God Guide Me" which starts with that prayer.

One of the most wonderful things I've experienced as a parent thus far praying with Olivia. The other day we were reading the prayer book and after I began with "O God" she said "Gai meee, po-teh-meee" (Guide me, protect me) all on her own! She also is able to plug in words to many other prayers and Baha'i Writings, and it's just so wonderful to know that she is committing the Words of God to memory.

KAH - Caught

This is a hot new word that is getting quite a bit of use these days. It can mean slightly different things in different situations. The most common is if Olivia is actually caught underneath something or stuck in a tight space. It can also mean that something else (like one of her blocks) is "caught" in a container. And it could mean that something is stuck on her, a piece of restrictive clothing, the straps of her car seat, etc.

GAW-GEE - Doggie.

KEE-KOH - Olivia's favorite dog, Kiko, is a big, gentle Malmut belonging to our neighbor across the street.

KIN-KIN - Auntie Corinne

Though not a blood relative, Auntie Corinne has a special bond with Olivia. In fact, Olivia and Corinne share the same middle name, which is:

KAAR-MEELLL - Carmel

She says this really well, which is impressive, because it has an R before the M. She's working on her first name still, but this one is solid.

GA-BEE - Grabby, OR Grabbing

I'm still trying to figure this out, but she says it when she grabs something that Liz and/or I don't want her to grab. So I'm not sure if she's saying it because a) she is grabbing it b) she wants to grab it, but we aren't letting her c) she is accusing us of grabbing it or d) all of the above. She also used it once when her cousin Hassani (younger than her, but the same size) grabbed her and gouged her arm.

AAB-HAA - Abha

Abha is the last syllable of two sacred invocations commonly used by Baha'is: Allah'u'Abha (God is Most Glorious) and Ya Baha'u'l-Abha (O Glory of the All Glorious!). If I say, "Allah-u-" Olivia will continue: "Abha." She also recognizes the Greatest Name symbol and the Ringstone symbol and refers to both of those as "Abha". So exciting!

PAH-KEH - Pocket

For Olivia, this doesn't necessairly have to be an actual pocket built into the clothing. As long as she can plunge her hand into a space in the clothing (such as through the top of my shirt) then it's a pocket. This word is always quickly followed by:

KOIN! - Coin!

When Olivia says "Coin!" she's really excited about it. She loves to put coins in things. (Like pockets, and the Chilean Temple Fund box).



And here are some other unique names for people that will probably change as her speech develops:

BEE-uh - Her Aunt Bahiyyih
DOH-dah - Dena
GAN-GEE - Her Grandmother (Davis)
GA-MA-MA - Her Grandmother (Gordon)
kiM - Kim (hard to describe, but the vowel part is very short and the M is clipped as well. It's quite adorable)
sah-sah, too-MEH - Her cousin Hassani (Toothman is one of his nicknames)
Muh - Amia

That's all for now.

25 September - Baha'i Children's Classes

We met today at the Hinman Park (I can't for the life of me recall what its new name is), and played and then sang!

We sang a song about a tiny seed, which springs forth from the soil of God's Love by the Hand of His Bounty.

As we were singing, a little inch-worm landed in Olivia's hair, and then found its way to Amia's palm, where it was loved a little too tightly. We sang a little song about an inch-worm in tribute, hoping another one would come our way and, lo, and behold, onto Sarah's forehead sprang another inch-worm friend!

The natural world is such a wonderful way to teach children about spiritual qualities. Which is one of the reasons that I think we as a society are having a difficult time connecting with said qualities - we are so removed from the cycles of nature, and the lessons that they bring!

25 September

We met today at the Hinman Park (I can't for the life of me recall what its new name is), and played and then sang!

We sang a song about a tiny seed, which springs forth from the soil of God's Love by the Hand of His Bounty.

As we were singing, a little inch-worm landed in Olivia's hair, and then found its way to Amia's palm, where it was loved a little too tightly. We sang a little song about an inch-worm in tribute, hoping another one would come our way and, lo, and behold, onto Sarah's forehead sprang another inch-worm friend!

The natural world is such a wonderful way to teach children about spiritual qualities. Which is one of the reasons that I think we as a society are having a difficult time connecting with said qualities - we are so removed from the cycles of nature, and the lessons that they bring!

Tiny Seed lyrics - Baha'i Children's Classes

(This song encourages listener participation! The child begins as the "tiny seed" and either puts her head on the table or scrunches up into a ball on the ground.)

"I am, O my God, but a tiny seed

Which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love

And caused to spring forth
(here, the child stands up and "grows" with her arms to the sky!)

by the hand of Thy bounty!"

Tiny Seed

(This song encourages listener participation! The child begins as the "tiny seed" and either puts her head on the table or scrunches up into a ball on the ground.)

I am, O my God, but a tiny seed

Which Thou hast sown in the soil of Thy love

And caused to spring forth (here, the child stands up and "grows" with her arms to the sky!)

by the hand of Thy bounty!

The Inch-Worm Song

Part 1 (the child's part):

Inch-worm, inch-worm,
Measuring the marigolds,
You and your arithmetic,
You'll probably go far.

Inch-worm, inch-worm,
Measuring the marigolds,
Seems to me you'd stop and see
How beautiful they are.

Part 2 (the inch-worm's part):

Two and two are four,
Four and four are eight,
Eight and eight are sixteen,
Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two. (repeat)

The 2 Parts Together:

Inch-worm, inch-worm, Measuring the marigolds,
Two and two are four, Four and four are eight,

You and your arithmetic, You'll probably go far.
Eight and eight are sixteen, Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two.


Inch-worm, inch-worm, Measuring the marigolds,
Two and two are four, Four and four are eight,

Seems to me you'd stop and see How beautiful they are.
Eight and eight are sixteen, Sixteen and sixteen are thirty-two.

Love for Baha'u'llah (song lyrics)

Here is one of our favorite songs we sing in Baha'i Children's Classes:

Chorus:
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Higher, higher than a mountain,
Deeper, deeper than the ocean,
Wider, wider than an aeroplane,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Chorus:
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Softer, softer than a mousey,
Louder, louder than fireworks,
Sweeter, sweeter than ice cream,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Chorus:
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Love For Bahá'u'lláh

Chorus:
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Higher, higher than a mountain,
Deeper, deeper than the ocean,
Wider, wider than an aeroplane,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Chorus:
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Softer, softer than a mousey,
Louder, louder than fireworks,
Sweeter, sweeter than ice cream,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Chorus:
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Love For Bahá'u'lláh, sweet and wonderful,
Oh! Wonderful love!

Baha'i Children's Class Group Photo

Here we are! The first posting of the Prayers in the Park Playgroup!

We have met three times so far, on Tuesdays at 9.30 AM. The first two meetings were at Burnham Shores Park, and the third - and most recent - was at Hinman Park, 641 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL.

Here is a photo from our second meeting:


We will be posting a journal for each of our meetings, which will include to the lyrics to songs and the prayers that we share at each meeting. So look back often for more info, and we welcome any assistance that you would like to offer in terms of resources!

Group Photo

Here we are! The first posting of the Prayers in the Park Playgroup!

We have met three times so far, on Tuesdays at 9.30 AM. The first two meetings were at Burnham Shores Park, and the third - and most recent - was at Hinman Park, 641 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, IL.

Here is a photo from our second meeting:


We will be posting a journal for each of our meetings, which will include to the lyrics to songs and the prayers that we share at each meeting. So look back often for more info, and we welcome any assistance that you would like to offer in terms of resources!

Mouse-eaten dolls

Mouse-eaten dolls
Originally uploaded by lizzyq19

I ran across this photo today as I was trying to keep my mind off of sweating. It is in the 90s today and we haven't installed our air conditioner in the front room yet. We live on the top floor of a three-story walk-up in Evanston (just north of Chicago, IL) and this bad boy can really retain some heat. Our living room window faces west, and from noon on, we are baking in a dark clay brick oven. Bleck.

Anyhow, I digress. These two awesome dolls were made by my Gramma (me mum's mum) for my cousin Christina and I when we were young. I recall Gramma asking what colour we wanted the eyes and hair to be. My doll at one time had luxuriant pink locks (she's the one on the right), while her cousin was a blond, blue-eyed beauty. Sadly, that yarn was tasty to some mice, and so they decided to give our girls a trim.

So here's to the sweetest dolls ever - they have moved on into that plane where dolls roam free of their own accord, no longer bound to be manipulated by tiny hand, or bent by the will of others.

Welcome to Our 'Blog!

Welcome to our Blog - after various servers and re-invention, we have finally (most recently) settled on a family blog, which will detail our thoughts & experiences as a young family. We are members of the Baha'i Faith - the newest of the world's religions - and so this exciting world-view certainly shapes our thoughts and reactions, but this is by no means an "official" Baha'i view (for more information on the Baha'i Faith, click here).

Here's a little bit of our history:

Liz (or Mama) - studied Anthropology & Botany most recently at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (among other universities). Is a self-taught photographer & gardener (out of pots on our back porch), and the mother of a one year-old baby.

Nathan (or Da) - studied Theatre at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and currently works at the Bookstore of the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. Is a
playwright & spoken-word artist, and the father of the same one year-old baby.

Olivia - the twice aforementioned one year-old baby. Is a patient & observant child, who enjoys silly time, has a funny little arm dance, and can show you where her "button" is.

As a family, we are committed to tasty organic food, low energy consumption, and cloth diapers. But mostly we are working to establish a healthy family & community life so that when we move on, we will leave the place a little nicer than we found it.

The Old Man and the Sea...

This is my face in Alaska. It looks pretty much the same here, too.