Category Archives: Big Sister Ezri

The giggles

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This talking Dalek plush we received for Hanukkah gives Ivan the giggles.
He laughs with glee as it says, “Exterminate! Exterminate! You are an enemy of the Daleks. You must be destroyed.”

The tickle-and-fun Elmo that Ezri got at a garage sale makes him cry every time.
Elmo giggles and says, “that tickles.” Ivan cries and points at Elmo.

Ezri was quick to notice on the back of the package that we “need” to get the red Dalek and the other blue one that were pictured.  I had to tell her that “the other blue one” was a Tardis.

Ivan believes he can do anything Ezri can do.

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Ivan believes that he can do anything his big sister can. And he’s ready to try.

Yesterday at the park, Ezri was on the swings. Ivan was in the baby swing and was getting fussy. He pointed at the empty big kid swing next to Ezri. Eric held him on the swing and his smile got huge. He wanted to swing in the swings Ezri uses. It did not matter that he would fall out if an adult did not hold him there.

Here he is on Ezri’s stepstool helping with the dishes.
He loves climbing and he loves climbing this stepstool because Ezri uses it all the time. If she can climb it, so can he.

Ezri was picking grape tomatoes from our garden and eating them.
Ivan crawled over and into the dirt and picked a green tomato and proceeded to eat it.
If Ezri can do it, so can he.

Ezri was throwing the target ball of our bocce set.

If Ezri can do it, Ivan wants to. Here’s his attempt.

Here are Ezri and Ivan working on a crayon project together. Ivan was actually holding crayons and making marks. He is smart and talented and as the second kid is trying things earlier than our first did.  There are two reasons for that.  This first is that we already have the things for a toddler in the house like crayons, sippy cups and stepstools.  The second is that he has Ezri as his example of what is possible.  Seeing me do something does not convince Ivan he can do it.  But if Ezri can do something or eat something, Ivan wants to as well.

This crayon project time fell apart when Ivan started eating the green crayon and Ezri got upset about the possible loss.  The green crayon still works with teeth marks.

Celebrating being one year old!

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Ivan ate some of his cupcake, but he did not smash it or make it a mess. He just poked at it and had a little bit. He watched his sister have some before he did. If Ezri eats it, it must be all right.

The cupcake really had nothing on the Chinese takeout sole fish dish with ginger and scallions. Ivan was all about eating that fish. Here he is having some leftovers. He does not have a happy face, this is because I am messing around with a camera when my prime parenting directive should be getting the fish into his mouth more quickly.

This is a poor photo of Ivan doing “cheers.” Ivan loves clinking his sippy cup or baby bottle against your wine glass. He even makes a “Cha” sound when you say cheers. The only trouble is he can be a little rough on the banging leading to blurry photography and fear of broken glassware.

What did Ivan get for his birthday?

I bought him a clearance rack dog toy. It came with three squeaky balls and a frisbee. He loves it.  He may have a future as a juggler.

Grandma Liz decorated an empty tissue box and filled it with interesting fabric scraps. He loves emptying it and, occasionally, refilling it and exploring the textures.

Ezri gave him hugs (and tackles) – similar actions in her world.

Eric bought him a bus and airplane for his “Little People” superheroes at the Salvation Army. The “Little People” toys have the major advantage that Ezri really likes to play with them too and Ivan likes whatever big sister is playing with and “Little People” are not breakable or choking hazards like so many of Ezri’s current favorite toys. So, the siblings can happily play together. Nice that since Ezri wants to play with these things that belong to Ivan – it makes her understand that they share with each other it isn’t just her who gets asked to do the sharing.

Ivan squeaking his new squeaky eggs.

As a family we took a trip to get him a birthday balloon. Ezri wanted to get the 3 foot tall balloon shaped like the number one. I convinced her that it’d be easier for Ivan to play with a balloon that was not bigger than him. After careful consideration of a pink, sparkly balloon with the breast cancer ribbon logo on it – we went for a Sesame Street themed balloon that said Happy 1st Birthday. Ezri accepted that the pink sparkly balloon was not for birthdays – though I am not sure my explanation of cancer was adequate.

It’s been a busy year. Ivan has done a lot of growing and I must say he has my favorite laugh in all the world. Happy birthday, Ivan.

Water play in the kitchen

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Ivan has outgrown his infant bathtub and now bathes in the big tub, but his old bath tub is a great indoor splash pond.
Ezri got out her plastic fish and fishing polls. She added water to the pool and a nearby bowl (the small pool). When the fish got hungry, I let Ezri feed them cheerios. Ivan enjoyed fish tossing, water splashing and eating soggy cheerios. This worked well for siblings to play together which was really nice to see.

Ivan has decided he can ask for whatever Ezri is eating by banging the table.  Last week he tried and really enjoyed macaroni and cheese.  Hard-boiled egg was not as much his thing.  He likes oyster crackers and cheerios.  Yogurt remains his favorite food.  Last week I had this idea I could get a yogurt parfait and then feed him baby food while Ezri was in class.  He looked at me pointed at the yogurt and pushed the baby food onto the floor.  Sometimes it is hard to figure out what Ivan is trying to tell me.  Other times it is clear.  We shared the yogurt parfait.

Ivan at 9 months with monkey-monkey for scale

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Ivan just had his in&out day on June 2.  That being the day he’s been out in the world for 9 months or the same amount of time he spent gestating inside me.

I wanted to take a photo with monkey-monkey for scale, but Ezri insisted on being in the photo too.

His shirt says “bees knees,” but, really, look at those rolly polly baby thighs. I love them.

I kept trying for a decent shot of the group on the floor.  They had fun rolling around and laughing, but not so much with the quality photos.
Here’s Sushi looking up as if to say, “Really, you’re trying to photograph this?”

Ivan is spending more time up in crawl position. He’s even gone forward or back just a little bit before going down to his stomach.

His favorite position is standing. He cannot stand unassisted. He has the leg strength, but nowhere near the balance for solo standing. Ivan has learned how to avoid being put down on his bottom or laid down by bracing his legs in standing position. This is how he demands that you hold him standing since your other option is to drop him from standing position. Clever little guy!  Then he will happily bounce on his legs while your job is to keep him from going down hard.