Ussins

Photograph by Tia.

I took these pictures yesterday, the last of which is Mago with his “aquarium”.

Last Friday I was working in the yard for maybe 4 hours, and finally came in and Mago had put on Clifford’s puppy days DVD all by himself. I rested in bed and when Clifford put painted paw marks all over his owner’s shirt, ‘painting’ her shirt giving her a great idea for her friend’s birthday party, Mago giggled delightedly. I then told him we could go buy shirts to paint. We’ve done that, and he painted with sparkly paint on a green shirt, using stencils: a crab, a seahorse, a fish, and waves and smears.

Alex’s addition: A week or so ago in church Tia showed crayon drawing to Nem-nem, with a large red crayon. I think that was Nem-nem’s first seeing crayon coloring? As she watched the crayon leave the first broad marks on a page, she smiled.

We took these pictures two days ago - well, Tia took most of them. I took the closeups of Tia with Nem-nem and the front view one of Mago on a swing. In many of the ones where Mago and Nem-nem are sitting on a rock looking forward (over a pond and at ducks you don’t see), they are signing “duck”, or “bird”.

Tia sent me this IM on behalf of Mago:

Yesterday morning Nem-nem spotted a fat robin on the front lawn and pointed to it. (Tia notices birds too. We’ll be driving on the freeway and she’ll tell me there was a hawk or some other bird of prey - and it’s past too soon and I don’t see it.) I pointed to the bird also, said “Bird” and signed it to her, by moving my fingers like a bird’s beak. (I forgot the beak goes on your chin when you sign this.) Nem-nem tried to say the word:

Abd. AAbd. Aadb.

- and imitated the sign. A while later from downstairs she ventured upstairs (I stayed behind her to keep her safe) and to the front door, to go back outside. I picked her up and we waited in the front yard. She signed bird - she wants to see it again. In a long while the bird emerged from the bushes again, hunting for worms. “Aabd, aabd” she repeated and signed. We watched it listen to the ground and then peck - finally it tugged a really big worm with a lot of tugs out of the ground and chewed it apart in pecks until swallowing it whole and flying off to prevent an arriving bluejay from stealing it.

I hope those last grisly details really helped you appreciate this whole entry more.

Tia reports that Nem-nem picked a tissue up the other day, held it to her face and blew several times - just blowing, not any effective nose-blowing - just imitating.

This morning I was listening to the finale music for the film SIGNS (a very favorite film, also featuring this very favorite music), and Mago asked me what it was. I told him it was from a scary movie with aliens where the people are in danger, but they (SPOILER if you haven’t seen it!) show

Naturally, he said he wants to see the film, and I told him I’ll let him.. in many years. But I held him tight as the music progressed, as if we were endangered (as the music so well conveys).

In a while Nem-nem awoke and I sat with her and listened to the same music continuing. Mago looked at her admiringly and said:

Heh. She’s scared of the aliens. She’s like, I want to see the scary aliens!

I don’t know where he picked up that idiom, but it tickles me. He’s three years old on Monday.

Mago wanted to draw the aliens (which I explained to him are scary pretend monsters), and he did so. Here are three drawings of them. These are done with his left hand - he’s a southpaw like his dad - and like his uncle who shares his middle (real) name

You can right-click (on Windows - I dunno fer Mac, sorry) to see an option to view in a new window - larger. I don’t know why the first isn’t showing as large as the others - I like the first best.

A week or so ago Mago said, despondently:

“I’m not cute anymore, because I’m not a baby.”

I think this is jealousy of the attentions his new little sister is getting? But he’s how old, and saying this? (Two and a half years). And besides in my fatherly opinion this isn’t true, but besides all that, it doesn’t matter.. I hoped this wouldn’t happen. It’s bolstered by so many people he meets (especially old ladies) so emphatically saying in his company “He’s so cute!” There’s a place for it, I’d just hope not to excess. It can become (quite unintended - nobody wishes for this), the token of affection, status. No, you gotta love any kid just because they’re a kid. I’m pretty confident he’s confident enough of himself that having to be cute (to meet that demand) won’t need to be a focus, but.. how do you counter this? A few times since hearing this I’ve tried to tell him - a two-and-a-half year old! - that cuteness doesn’t matter, all that matters is trying to be good, and you are good (but, even though it doesn’t matter, you are cute to me).. it doesn’t seem to get across. Maybe a matter of time.

The affection of old ladies must be a lot more persuasive.

Tonight I went in to say goodnight to him after Tia put him to bed (and I had been watching Nem-nem), and when I walked in he said in tones speaking of a smile I couldn’t see in the dark:

“I need a hug and a hug.”

Okay. I’ll comply. As I did, he looked up in the very dim light to a picture of Jesus on the wall: (this one - link - incidentally, that one affected me more as a kid than any other painting of Jesus)

Mago: And Jesus loves them, and he’s treating them kindly. And he’s here.. and he’s showing them.. a dinosaur museum.

Me: Yes, that sounds like something Jesus would do, doesn’t it? [reader: please don’t think I don’t mean this. I do. Okay, maybe not necessarily like that link..]

Mago: And.. he’s showing them a museum and it has T-Rexes.

Tia just told me they sang “Jesus said love everyone, treat them kindly too..” for bed time.

I’ve overhauled this blog as of this entry - converted it over to the WordPress blogging platform, with a new design I found and modified. Like it? Older image galleries aren’t working at the moment - they’ll be fixed.

This last June 17th, Father’s day, our second baby, a daughter, was born at 4:35 AM. Happy Father’s Day to me

The arrangements for and the delivery of this second baby were much easier than for our first - which I thought the midwife astutely referred to as the Pioneer - though still grueling and exhausting. We’ve named this baby (my decision less pathetically lethargic than for our first) but refer to her on the internet by a pseudonym. In a bit here is blather about that, her particular date of birth, and Mago’s first interactions with and comments about her, but first a photo slide show taken the day she was born, courtesy Picasa Web Albums, photos taken by an uncle, and also by Tia’s stepmom.

At this blog we call her by a pseudonym. First, “Nem-nem”, which is whimsical nonsense. Second “Naemh”, Irish and pronounced “Neve”, which I expect to confuse, fine for a blog. In Irish mythology (I’ve only just read this), Naemh is the princess of the land of promise (as Niamh, though my sister who served a mission in Ireland informs me there are many little girls over there with names spelled Naemh). I’d wanted “Niam”, Irish for “Bright” in addition to all this before “Nem-nem”, and further nicely confusing as it sounds just like you’d mispronounce Niamh/Naemh, but Tia doesn’t like it.

So her pseudonym here is Nem-nem Naemh. Why the Irish pseudonyms - our firstborn as Mago Elf Liam (Gaelic: Great Elf William)? A tradition of Irish blood on one of my mother’s lines, Mago being born on St. Patrick’s day, and his cousin also born on that date, and..

Now our second baby here, Nem-nem Naemh, shares her birthday with a cousin who has a quintessentially Irish name, who was born six years ago - also on Father’s day. And on the same day of the month as Nem-nem’s older brother born on St. Patrick’s day, the 17th, and his cousin also.. there you go.

The 17th day of the month is also shared with one of Nem-nem’s uncles, and her great-grandfather, and.. I think some others I forget

And on top of all this a cousin - second cousin - was born on this very same day and year that little Nem-nem was.

I was going to do this this entry, but for lack of time, some videos I’ve promised will be posted in a future entry.

Mago has been very eager to meet his sister for a long time since before she was born. He would talk to her through mommy’s tummy, and long since adopted a mistaken reference to her as “FisterBruver”, or Sister-Brother. Since her birth I’ve had an inkling he may use this as a description of their relationship, as he said a day or two after her birth that “Now I’m a FisterBruver.” But it’s clearly also a title, and I suppose especially for her. And he also fondly calls her by her real name.

The first Mago came into the hospital room where mommy was holding Nem-nem, he was very enthusiastically but gently all over her, calling her FisterBruver, softly caressing her head with his hands, and wishing to kiss her, which we couldn’t let him because he had a croup cough. We got a mask for him so he could be close to her, as you see in the slides and video. I don’t recall all he said but one of the first things he said, when I took him a bit away from Nem-nem and held him, was:

“I love that baby.”

Also, speaking to Tia:

“Did she come out of your tummy? Is she going to go back in? Can I go back into your tummy?”

This is no indication at all that he doesn’t want Nem-nem here - though Tia has noticed he’s been more ardently seeking attention as an apparently permanent change since her birth. It’s simple curiosity. A verbose 2-year old informing us of the wonderful ideas that go through his head figuring out how things work.

I had meant to amend this previous entry with a comment after my brother wisely cautioned that you can’t take a kid’s feelings too seriously - indeed that’s true. Sometimes when Mago sadly or sourly insists on something that cannot be, I throw him a loop - he’ll say “Yes!” - I say “No!” - and back and forth “Yes!” - “No!” - “Yes!” - “No!” - “Yes!” - then I suddenly exclaim “Yes!” and he willfully exclaims the opposite, “No!” - not what he wants - and realizes he’s been hoodwinked and laughs. I’m sure many parents have discovered this fun trick.

You may note in the photos that Nem-nem has a lot of dense, short, dark brown or black hair at birth.

She is strong. She lifts her head right up if you hold her on your shoulder. She’d flop right out of your arms if you didn’t hold her close and tight. Her legs are very difficult to raise up from the pinned bend she keeps them in when you change her diaper.

She has Billy Reuben (is this how you spell the affliction? - ah ha ha! I just looked it up. It’s bilirubin - but I’ll keep that), that fairly common yellowing of infant skin from.. too many red blood cells? - which count went up for several days, but which today went into a decline. Thank heaven. Mago did not enjoy being in a light box to combat it for weeks, and we didn’t enjoy inflicting that on him.

A gripe you can skip if you wish - show

I think she’s a beautiful, mild baby. I’m surprised how distinct and new but inexplicably, unsurprisingly familiar she is. The unknown novelties of having a baby aren’t as impressive, but she still is. My first impressions are that her cry and voice sound a whole lot like Mago as an infant, but gentler. .. I only recall her howling so far when given a needle shot (not unexpected) and when bathed. She does not like baths. It seems to be horrific for her. I think sometimes her sounds of alarm reflect Tia when she’s surprised or uneasy.

Today (or Saturday as I started writing this :p - hey, it’s her one week anniversary three hours after I click “publish”) I enjoyed my first moments with her where she didn’t seem hungry or otherwise distracted, just holding her as she was awake, and she seemed to be really taking in my face and just watching me talk to her.

As for us, we’re lacking sleep but happy.