Action videos: Naked noodles

It's time to see the little guy in action again. We haven't posted a video in a long while. Check out these two from earlier this month.

You've got to have the sound turned up these days, because Soren's talking!

First, we have Soren slurping spaghetti ribbon noodles. Note that I have removed his shirt -- indeed, all his clothes -- to avoid the tomato sauce stains that would be sure to accrue. He calls "noodles" "NOO-eees," and his other utterance is to repeat that his "Nannie" made the noodles (and sent them home with us after a visit the day before). Oh, he does repeat "Num!" at the end. It's 42 heartwarming seconds long.



Second, we have Soren in another stage of undress making a stack of old VHS tapes that is taller than he is. In the process of re-arranging our basement into the beginnings of a playroom/music room, we had to unpack and repack the lower drawer of this wardrobe where Jeff stubbornly keeps a hundred or more tapes of his all-time favorite movies ("When Harry Met Sally") and TV series ("Red Dwarf"). Ann and Bill were helping, so you hear their voices. Can you make out Soren's one-word reply to his grandma's question? All in 17 precious seconds.

Our piano man

Soren isn't talking much yet (with his voice -- he uses 35 signs, however!), but he is usually quite clear in his communication.

Here, for example, he wants to play the piano. Grannie boosts him onto the bench. He gets into the rhythm with a sway and a smile. And with a flourish, adds a low bass note -- he is currently fascinated with the left end of the keyboard. The high notes on the right don't hold much thrall for him.

Yes, that's a clear "Mommy" you hear at the beginning, and from then it's 21 seconds of our Piano Man.

(This video is from the new camera and should be much better quality. Hope the file size isn't too cumbersome.)

Pea-shooter

I've always smiled at the bumper sticker that promotes "Whirled Peas" instead of "World Peace." Now that I am teaching an infant to eat peas, I can guess that a mother thought up the phrase.

Soren is still eating solid foods "recreationally" (is how I think of it), but does enjoy his dinnertime meal, which is when I bring out the peas. Last, or else he won't eat anything else beforehand.

The last weekend in June, Soren discovered he could feed himself from the little pieces of food on his tray. Before that, he was just moving them around. Perhaps this revelation coincided with the perfection of his pincer grip; I'm not sure. So many developmental changes are happening for Soren right now, it's impossible to keep track of them all.

So enjoy this 21-second video clip of Soren in pea heaven, shot July 9. I watched it a couple of times before I noticed that the first pea he eats is breathed out as he goes for pea #2. Watch carefully and you'll see it land at far right. Ha!

Soren on trapset

The following 27-second video demonstrates the musical and life skill we are teaching Soren. We have read that boys who have drumming as a physical outlet experience less stress and aggression. And he can accompany us in our living-room music jams.

Soren's "trapset" consists of his bodhran drum and a cowbell. Little does he know that when he's ready, there's his dad's full drumset in storage the basement, waiting for him! (Jeff plays a very boring role in this video, as he sits on the floor beside his son, paying bills.)

Soren bouncing on the bed

Er, make that bouncing in the bed. Here's a short video (25 seconds) shot on May 22, of Soren amusing himself just after waking up from a nice nap in his hammock bed. That, and letting me know he's ready to be picked up!

Walkscore & Score! He's walking

Well, sort of. Soren's walking all over the place if he has grown-up hands to steady him.

This short video was shot nearly a month ago, on April 27, and today he's cruising even faster, with surer little feet. But still needing balance assistance. He isn't quite crawling yet, either, although he can fling himself from a sitting position forward onto his belly if he needs to reach something a few feet away. And once prone, he can slide forward or back a foot or so, but we daren't call him mobile because we know that's still coming!

Anyway, this video reminded me of a cool website I wanted to share: www.walkscore.com.

You type in your address and an algorithm calculates the walkability of your home by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc., from Google Maps. It's not perfect--it thinks a nearby doctor's office is our nearest "drug store," when there's one actually right across the street from our neighborhood food market--but I appreciate that it includes a pub and a bookstore in its scoring criteria.

Happily for Soren's future on foot, The Roost scores 92 points of 100, making it "A Walkers' Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car." Well, we own a car, but most days it doesn't leave our driveway. Today, as an example, Soren and I walked downtown to meet Jeff for lunch, then we walked to our library for baby story hour, then we walked around the neighborhoods with a friend (while both our babies napped).

Score your own home, and walk on!

Floor hockey with a canning ring

Taken 2-1/2 weeks ago, this video shows one of the ways Soren is sportingly amused by our tile floor. He doubtless will be less amused by our choice of floor coverings once he starts walking and taking the inevitable tumbles!

And, yes, the blue blob in the background is the inelegant but functional playpen we have installed in our kitchen. We can't open the fridge door fully if the dishwasher door is open, and vice versa. Sigh.

Happy Valentine's!

"Aww, Mom, no kissing in public!" Sheesh, it IS Valentine's weekend, I just can't help it.
Thanks to Auntie Nora for mailing us this cute "LoveBug" shirt for the holiday. Alas, it's already so small I don't think he'll be wearing it again.
As you can see, Soren is now sitting up well enough on his own that we feel confident perching him on the edge of the picnic table and stepping away (although hovering close by!).
Love to all from Soren, and check out the video to see our little man in action this past week. Can anyone elucidate us as to why he's champing his mouth the way he is?

Soren's sitting up

Wowie-kazowie, Soren's made a huge developmental leap: he can sit up (pretty much) on his own now! In just the past few days, he has made great improvements in his balance.

We started sitting-up practice holding him, of course, then graduated to the surrounding- pillow-fort. This weekend we pared that down to a Boppy pillow (as seen in this video, shot Jan. 25), and today he sat up unaided on the rug, with throw pillows surrounding him on three sides in case he flopped over, but not actually supporting his weight. What a difference this seems to make in his view of the world!

Here Jeff "plays ball" with Soren, a game Soren interrupts by trying to mouth Dad's knee (showing us he's getting hungry). You may also notice Soren blinking and flinching when the ball comes near his face -- an unfortunate (but remembered) reaction from me squeezing blasts of air from the ball onto his face two days earlier. Jeff's mumblings reference this event. Sorry, Soren, I won't do that again!