Read It and Weep!

Blake isn't a big talker. When he was a few months old he started babbling and made every possible sound and then even tried saying sunflower as his first word (came out sounding more like "safla", but close enough). Then he lost all interest in trying to talk and obviously it got us worried.

For a while we were worried that he might've had hearing problems, but soon enough we had plenty of evidence that Blake can understand many words. He especially likes to be asked to point out animals either in pictures or from his collection of animal figurines. He can tell the difference between cheetah and leopard instantly while even I sometimes have to stop to think for a second which is which.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I tried the Glenn Doman Teach Your Baby to Read program. Blake enjoyed seeing the big cards with words and hear me read them out loud for him, but I was never sure how much of it he actually understood. A little over a week ago I decided to quiz him for the first time with the body parts cards and to my surprise he pointed out cards perfectly. I would name a card and he would point at it with confidence. The most amazing part was seeing his reaction to his own achievement. Every time he got a word right his eyes would light up and he'd turn around and hug me in excitement.

So my son isn't talking yet, but he can read over 50+ cards (most of them were taught to him only this passing week). I can happily recommend the Glenn Doman method to any other parent with children under six. Get his book on Amazon. It's a facsinating easy read and even better: it actually works!

I created four groups of cards so far: Animals, colours, body parts and a general group with words from Blake's world (daddy, papa, Blake, our dogs, etc.). I simply took cheap flash cards we had lying around and cello-taped on top of them the words I printed myself.

Here's a video proof showing Blake's mastery over the animals cards. He's going to be two and five months in four days.

--Mickey

FCKH8

Thanks to Facebook I was introduced to this fantastic little ad against prop 8.

Here's the uncensored version:

If you're offended by the F word (seriously?) or watching it in a public place/work there's also this bleeped version:

It's unapologetic, foul mouthed and in-your-face. It's angry and raw and I love it for it. An entire group of people had their basic human rights stripped away when proposition hate passed and the time for tip-toeing and playing nice is over. Discriminated minorities shouldn't beg for equality, they should fight for it tooth and nail. 

Some people might be offended by the repeated use of the F word in this clip, especially when they come out of the mouths of young children. But really, it's only a word. People should be far more offended by seeing groups of people being discriminated against and oppressed.

Check out their website. 

--Mickey

Prison Blake

Cots are wonderful because they keep our little ones safe inside- is what we tell ourselves. The real selling point of those things is the fact that once we stick our little angels in it, they can't get out. They might scream their heads off, but they can't get out.

Does sound a bit evil and unfair, doesn't it? At two years and four months Blake has decided to fight for his toddler rights and developed a burning hatred for his cot. Why wouldn't he? Would you like to be thrown into a cage at the end of every day and sometimes at nap time when the only time you can get out is when your evil captors decide it is?

Blake's dislike of the bed turned into sheer loathing. The other night he stood in his bed, screaming harder than I ever heard him do before and he even managed to almost fling on leg over and jump out. So we could've waited a bit to see if he'd manage to jump out and land on his head, but instead we decided to expedite the purchase of a toddler bed.

Which toddler bed we were going to go for was a no brainer. It was really about which Tomas the Tank Engine bed we were going to go for. Miron found a reasonable one on the Internet and we ordered it.

Blake's last night in the cot was business as usual. He woke up twice in the middle of the night and wailed for a few minutes at the time. I felt bad, but I knew that this was the end of an era. From the next night it was going to be us who were going to suffer through the nights as now nothing is going to stop Blake from getting out of Bed and coming to ours whenever he wants to. Revenge is sweet.

Taking the old cot apart and assembling the new bed was easier than I thought. Blake was delighted to discover the big new toy in the corner of his room, but he was still quite suspicious of it. It took him awhile to realize it was the kind of bed he can get in and out of on his own.

The first night Blake just kept wandering around the house, even after I went to Bed. He somehow managed to get his hands on his iPod Touch and decided it was a good idea to watch Spongebob right next to my sleeping face. I remember vaguely eventually picking him up to sleep with me. The next night he fell asleep in our bed again, but I was awake enough to take him to his Thomas Bed. Now the question was, was he going to sleep through the night or wake up in a few hours and come to us? The good news is, he slept in it all night without any incident. At around nine I heard footsteps and Blake came into my study half-asleep and clutching Mr. Slug. Cute overload first thing in the morning. 

Later in the day he even jumped into bed and bounced around a little. His bed is no longer a prison, it's a fun place. So only two nights and we're already in the right direction.

It's the end of an era. I'm not really going to miss the cot. I miss Blake as a younger baby, but that boat has already sailed and keeping him in a cot isn't going to change that.

 

--Mickey