A Post Dedicated to Michelle

Quite some time ago, for a baby shower my co-workers threw for me when I was pregnant with Michael, I received a wonderful gift-bag full of books (an appropriate gift from Michelle, with an MA in Information Sciences who is quite the expert Librarian!).


In this bag of books was a title I knew was a classic.

But I never knew how precious it would become.

Of course, it's about the Moon, which Michael loves, so it was sure to be a hit.

But, inspired by Michelle sharing how much her adorable little girl, Rosalie, loved this book, reminded me that I need to remind Michael that he has it.

Since we showed it to him again, Michael cannot put the book down.

He's obsessed with it.

It's the first thing he wants in the morning (after the light being on, and wanting to know where Mamoo is), it's what he wants to read before naps and bedtime....and, he walks around the apartment, book in hand, saying "Ee-Ah Moon!" (Ee-Ah, meaning, "Goodnight", I guess).

Michael will even be caught walking into his room, picking up the book, and lying on a pillow on his back reading it to himself.

He wants to read the book again and again...and enjoys when I lay next to him on his pillow to read it.

Michael LOVES this book.

He knows many of the words and says them along with me, especially the part about "the quiet old lady whispering hush" which he turns to me and says "Hush" in a whisper everytime.

Amazingly, it is no longer the moon that has his attention, but many other things, like the house, which he notices has its light on.

The red balloon gets frequently mentioned too.

The fireplace is his big obsession now.

Michael has always liked us to read books to him, starting from a young age with Good Puppy, but to see him always want to enter this realm of the "great green room" and see the wheels turn in his head, almost as if he is in that room, looking around imagining what it would be like to live there....it's so cool.

Thank you, Michelle!!!!! Not only for the book, but for sharing Rosalie's love for the book, reminding me what a classic this is! You rock!! :)

Michael-isms

Michael is just bursting with funny things he says and does.

The funnies that comes to mind is:

"Mommy...chair...down!"

Michael was eating his dinner, I was busy in the kitchen and trying to pick up the apartment before Michael Sr. got home, and Michael wanted me to stop bustling and sit down like I normally do and join him for dinner. He pointed to my chair and said: "Mommy...chair...down!"

"Back!"
Michael is all about putting things "back" where they belong. Even his beloved pacifier (pa-fire, as he calls it) he knows doesn't come out of his crib. When he's ready to get down out of his crib, he'll hand me his pacifier and say "Back" for me to put it in its little bin.

Also, if I'm cleaning his meal dishes, and some food fell from the plate onto his try, he'll pick it up and hand it to me to throw away "Back!" he'll exclaim as he hands me a morsel of food.

"Please!"
For several weeks, Michael used the phrase "Ga-ga!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" to indicate he wanted something. I use so many exclamation voice, because he got SO demanding with it. It was so harsh, rude, and impatient sounding and he would repeat it over and over again until he got what he wanted: "Ga-ga! Ga-ga! Ga-(with a loud whine and pout) GAH!!!!!"

Ooh...this was torture on my nerves!

Even though we had been trying to teach him "please" we never got him to say it, so finally, I just said to myself: this kid can say a lot of words...he can say the word please...and from now on, he will!"

So I asked him, "Can you say the word please?" and he said it...and from that point on, "please" is now a fixture in his vocabulary.

Yes, I still have to remind him, but the coolest thing ever is when I don't have to remind him. When he wants the lights on, he will say "On please" instead of his normal bark: "On!" Ah...it sounds so nice.

This isn't to say the please won't ever turn into a demand. I am aware that it may, but as of now, he really is learning to be polite.

"Gi-im!"

This one is really sweet. Whenever he hears Matthew wake up from a nap he wants me to go "get him." This started because when we would hear Matthew cry, I would tell Michael, "Oh, Mamoo! We should go get him!" And oh, the way he says it is so cute...he is so concerned for him!


I know there are more and I'll do my best to update them as they come!

I Can Do It!

Michael is getting into a "I can do it myself!" age.



It's fun to watch him try to accomplish tasks.




Even when he asks for help, he wants me to help him do it...not do it for him (in this case, press a button to get the sirens to sound and lights to light up).


"Hup, Hup!"

He tries and tries....






and eventually he gets it.




And beams with pride!

Still the Same Me

Mamoo in the Afternoon

A Badge of Boyhood?

While Michael, to date, has nothing on the rambunctious Campbell kids, what with their broken bones...

...but he did get a good scrape on his face by walking down a concrete step without my help.



It's like a Charlie Chapman mustache :(

He bore it well enough and didn't cry too much and hasn't complained about it since. Here's to the first of many badges of boyhood...thankfully it wasn't bad.

Eat At Joe's*

* This makes me think of the Mighty Wind song, Old Joe's place: "Just look for the busted neon sign that flashes E A Oh's"





I love Trader Joes. Several months ago, a Trader Joe's opened up nearby and I really saw this as receiving an extra special dose of God's favor.

Trader Joe's really has a magical quality to it.

For example, there always seems to be a parking spot open right in the front whenever I go. Like someone saves it for me, welcoming me to the even more magical realm of delicious foods, exotic flavors and reasonable prices inside.

Everything in Trader Joe's seems to be good, even if I don't normally like it.

I think I'm not the only one who feels this way.

You see, Michael quickly learned that just around the corner from the bread section is the all-important SAMPLE section of Trader Joe's, and he makes it clear that we should always go and check it out.

And no matter what is being served at the sample station, Michael will love it. LOVE IT.

I don't know if it's eating food somewhere other than home, if it's the little paper plates, or if it's because of the Trader Joe's magic food dust that they sprinkle on it, Michael cannot get enough of whatever is being served. Sometimes they serve things I have given him before and he didn't like it at home, but likes it there.

Other times, I buy whatever product he loved so much and make it for him at home, thinking it is tried and true, only to hear his very determined (though, I do have to say, polite-sounding) "Noooo".

Going with the theory that he likes it when the food is served differently, I do know that if I am snacking on something during the day, outside of his mealtime, he will incessantly bother me to try some and love whatever it is, but as soon as I dish some up for him and serve it to him like a "real" meal, he is no longer interested.

I do think, though, no matter what is the cause, the next time Michael goes through a "picky streak" with his eating (he's been actually doing really well lately), I am going to go strike a deal with the Trader Joe's people and just get them to serve him a meal I prepared beforehand at home from behind the sample window...one little paper plate at a time!