Observing the monkeys

A few fieldwork notes on the kids.


The Twins:

Context: they're a few months past 1yo; neither talks, although both sometimes do baby talk; B2 can now walk for a few steps; B1 is **finally** pulling himself up to a standing position -- sometimes -- but generally seems content to crawl.

2/11/09 -- B1 picked up a toy cell phone, put it against his cheek (with one end over his ear, the other near his mouth), and said, “Ah-dah? Yah. Dah.” Interesting, given that they don’t yet talk, how much they understand and are modeling.

2/16/09 -- B2 points t.v. remote at the t.v. and tries pushing buttons while looking at t.v.; seems to know that it’s supposed to do something.

2/16/09 -- Noticed that B2 can now steer his wheeled walk-behind walker before running in to obstcaltes; two days ago, he didn’t – he just ran in to things.

2/16 – B2 can chin himself up on the high chair tray, actually got his feet off the ground!


The Girl (4yo):

2/15/09 -- She bought a Valentine's Day surplus heart person (pink fuzzy heart, with a smiley face, and arms and legs) with her alloance money. Originally, the heart person had no name, but is a boy. 2/16/09 – is named “Sylvia”, but is a boy.

2/16/09 – “You know” (she tends to start conversations or observations with “you know”), “my mommy has something in the bedroom that changes numbers in the morning and in the night.” Turns out it's her description of the digital clock-radio on the nightstand. Very poetic; I've added it to my list of possible song lyrics.

(3/22/09) This morning, B2 had somehow got ahold of the DVD remote, and had changed the language setting on The Girl’s Dora the Explorer DVD. The Girl told my wife that “Dora is using the wrong voice” – meaning, she was speaking a different language (although it was a different voice actor, as well). Interesting, as I didn’t know she knew the word “voice” – which is a rather abstract concept if you had to directly explain it to a four year old.


--GG