Mark of Fridays: the long talk

Santa had no idea how much this little boy had to say! 

(Word on the street is the kid has been very good this year.)

The Two-Year Mark

Measurements: I can touch the doorknob and I’m almost too big for my bed. I’m big enough to help carry some groceries, but not tall enough to see over the counter. And, by any measure, I’m pretty darn cute. (Or so I’m told.)

Best friends: I love everyone in my family, but…if I were being honest…my best friends are books! These things are amazing! When I see a book I start to think in exclamation marks! There are books about almost everything! Did you know that?! Sometimes I don’t even need my mom and dad – I just read the books on my own!

Enemies: New foods. I prefer to stick with the staples: fruit (watermelon and cantaloupe, in particular), pizza, fries, peas and milk. I think everyone can agree that these are the best foods ever. Cake? No thanks. Ice cream? Nah. Of course, I do find it odd that Mom and Dad know about so many varieties of fries. Chicken fries, fish fries, vegetable fries…

Just found about: Numbers. I’ve pretty much mastered the alphabet, although a few of the letter don’t make sense. Why does 'eye' start with 'e'? That’s pretty confusing. And 'one' starts with an ‘o’? That’s what everyone tells me. (Dad says he still don’t understand why we need the letter ‘c’, when ‘k’ and ‘s’ pretty much cover all the same territory. But dad’s weird. I didn’t just find out about that.) But numbers are fun, too. I can pick any of them out of a lineup. As for saying them just right, well, my numbers sound like: uh, ooo, free, four, fiiiiiv, baby, lau-ra, aay, niiiine, ya-ya! I say ‘seven’ like ‘laura’ because – obviously – an upside down seven looks like and 'L' - the first letter in my Aunt Laura's name. If you can figure out why I say ‘baby’ instead of six, be sure to let my parents now. At least they laugh every time.

Not so sure about: Birthday parties. My birthday was absolutely the most fantastic social event of the season. Everybody I know showed up and had big smiles. Mom came up with lots of really cool ideas and made awesome invitations. Aunt Laura got me a special room and Kalli made me a great cake. Everyone got me really cool presents. I loved every minute of it! So, I guess I’m not so sure about: Why are we only having these things once a year?

Favorite activities: Wearing hats! On most days, I go with the simple White Sox baseball hat. Can’t go wrong - especially since I don’t yet have a Mets hat. (Must be on special order.) But sometimes I like to mix it up: cowboy hats, winter hats, pirate hats. They’re all cool. I like hats so much that I even had a hat birthday party. I figured out how to get all the adults to wear funny hats. Hilarious! My great-grandma won the Best Hat Prize. Her hat was covered in letters and even had my name on it. I must be pretty special.

I have a crush on: Words. In the last few weeks, I seem to add four new words every day. (Maybe my grandmas are sneaking them into my head.) Mom and Dad come home from work and suddenly I have a lot more to tell them. Six months ago, I knew about a dozen words and most of those could only be deciphered by my closest friends. Suddenly, I’ve realized the value of wonderful words like: play, slide, off, up, down, floor, five, more, dog, show, three, purple, stop, ball and, most all, please. Mom and Dad get me whatever I want when I use that last one. Suckers. Sometimes I just sit in my bed in the morning, counting my toes over and over and over. I probably still spell as many words as I can say – and I’m no Elaina, who can recite Hamlet’s soliloquy - but I’m getting there.

Major accomplishments: I learned to take my own shoes and socks off. I learned that I have mom and dad wrapped about my finger. (Oh yeah, and all my aunts and grandparents, too.) I rode in a boat and stayed over at my grandparent’s house. I worked with Obama on his deficit reduction plan and taught Mariano Rivera to throw that cutter. Bring on the terrific twos!

Mark of Fridays: Potato Head

Just when we start to think he's a genius...

He turns into Mr. Potatoheadhead.

Mark of "Fridays": Reading aides

The best way to read a book is with friends.

Mark: the measurements

An addendum to our earlier post:
As of his 19-month check up, Mark is 27 pounds, 3 ounces. He is 2-foot-8.
He's in the 50 percentile for height, 60th percentile for weight. And - no joke - the 90 percentile for head size.

Mark of Fridays: Meeting Mya

This past weekend, Lynne, Matt and Mark got to meet Mya - the beautiful daughter of good friends Alex and Ann.

And she's now Matt's goddaughter. Very awesome.

We had a great time.

The it-was-going-to-be-an-18-month-Mark-but-we-fell-behind-so-it's-the-19-month Mark

Measurements: I can reach a doorknob. I can see what's on the kitchen table. My belly doesn't fit too good in 18-month pants, but isn't big enough for 24-month pants. Mom and Dad say they noticed their arms are getting sore.

Best friends: Where to start? Mom and Dad, of course. Jack is funny. Grandma, Grandma, Pap-pap and BaBaBoo are awesome. Aunt Megan, Aunt Eee-Eee, Aunt Wawa and Uncle Josh are cool. Great Grandma is so much fun. Elaina, Aunt Sara and Uncle Tripp are super. Uncle Michael, Uncle Tom, Kalli, Jake, Uncle Jim, Aunt Shelly, Uncle Steve, Uncle Bill, Aunt Carol, Uncle Rick, Uncle Roger, Aunt Candy...

Enemies: Cold weather. This state I was born in is nuts. One week it's eight feet of snow. Then a few weeks later, it's sunny. One day it's 80 degrees and I can have so much fun at the park in shorts. The next day, I'm bundled up in a winter coat and knit hat. I haven't been around long, but I sure hope it's not always like this. This year is aberration, right?

Just found about: Pizza! And Cheerios! And apples! And cantaloupe! Did you know about all this stuff? You'll remember that at the One-Year Mark I barely ate anything that wasn't pureed. Well, I went to a little food therapy (yep, there is such a thing) and got a bit of confidence. Now, I'm willing to try a lot more stuff. I hate to admit, this but some of it isn't too bad.

Not so sure about: Sharing. A few times my really cool cousin, Elaina has come to visit. It's great that she's here, but I'm still not clear why she thinks she should be allowed to play with any of my toys. After all, they are my toys. And the toys she brings with her are pretty much my toys, too. And, if that wasn't bad, enough...she thinks that she can sit in my da-da's lap. What? Whhhhhy? Ahhh waaah waaaaa. Aaaarrgggh!! Sharing stinks.

Favorite activities: Going to the museum. Almost every Friday, mom, dad and I go to the DuPage Children's Museum. Just so you're not worried: it's not a museum where they display children. It's like the greatest place in the whole entire Earth. There are things that woosh, light up, snap, bang, bong, squish, smoosh, fly, shake and shine. It is really, really fun. Strangely, I also love taking a bath. Mom and dad sometimes get me to clean up my toys by promising they'll let me take a bath. I'm sure that's normal.

I have a crush on: The alphabet! Did you know that all of these letters make sounds? It's true. They're like animals, except without the fun motions. Still, they're pretty cool. I've already learned A, C, D, E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V, W, Y, and Z. I say B like M for some reason. That's a tricky one. As for Q and X, well...Q and X are useless. When I'm out walking in the neighborhood, I almost never see Q and X on any of the signs. But, if I see any of those other letters in a book, on a sign, on a t-shirt - anywhere, really - I'll announce them so everyone can hear! Now, if only I knew a number besides '9'.

Major accomplishments: I swim - not by myself, but I do love being in the water. I go to sleep all by myself. My dad used to get worn out because I needed to be held for 30-40 minutes before I would get in bed. Now, that I go right away without crying, I think he misses the snuggling. Taught Derrick Rose how to play defense. Read every book I own, 55 times.

Mark of Fridays: Your snooze, your rules

Sometimes you just can't stay awake another minute.

Mark of Fridays: Struggles in Foodville

Lynne and Matt like to eat. They eat for survival. They eat because food is tasty. They come from long lines of eaters, some of whom (most notably on the Seago side) are world-renowned for the volume of food they can cook and eat in one sitting.

So it never occurred to them that Mark might not want to eat. Or that Mark - no matter how hard they tried to sneak food into his mouth when he wasn't looking - might cry and spit and gag and simply refuse to swallow.

The problems started last June, when the pediatrician told us to stop buying baby food. She said Mark could now eat whatever we were eating, just mashed up a little. The problem was that he simply refused to eat anything that didn't come out of a jar. He wouldn't eat table food that had been mashed or even pureed. He wouldn't eat - let alone touch - a Cheerio. He wouldn't put cut-up fruit in his mouth.

When we went back to the pediatrician in September, she advised us to buy a food processor, then puree our foods into liquid form. If Mark would accept that, she advised, we could then gradually make the food chunkier until he'd willingly ingest it. But he would not accept it. Not in any degree of chunkiness. We tried other foods we thought had an acceptable texture: yogurt, cottage cheese, mashed potatoes. We dropped chunks of solid food into his Gerber jars. Nothing worked.

We grew frustrated and a little desperate. In December, the pediatrician referred us to a speech therapist for an evaluation of Mark's palate and throat. She watched Mark eat (or rather, not eat) and freak out when he was presented with new foods. She concluded that Mark was a little bit behind other kids his age in the way he was (or more accurately, was not) able to move food around in his mouth. He also gagged too easily, because he didn't have much experience eating or working with solid food. Most fundamentally, though, he was afraid of food, probably as a result of having pyloric stenosis and doing lots of upchucking as an infant. All of this sounded very bad, but we were assured that the problems were fixable.

So Mark started to work with Miss Kelly the Speech Therapist in January. They pretty much play in food. They feed all of Mark's animals. They stack up food like blocks. They carry it around the room. They give it kisses. In a food therapy session, Mark's parents would think many times: are we really paying for this?

But then Mark started having discoveries. He tried banana. Then he learned to hold onto the banana - peel and all - and take big bites out of it. He ate pieces of an apple. Then we had the Great Cantaloupe Breakthrough. He was introduced to cantaloupe for the first time in the morning, had it on the tray at lunch, and by dinner he was eating it. Matt cried a little. In the days that followed, Mark willingly tried nectarine, Nilla Wafers, yogurt, and a chocolate chip cookie. The gap between when Mark sees a new food and when he's willing to put it in his mouth are narrowing. He's starting to be a true Food Explorer. Lynne and Matt couldn't be prouder.

We still have a long way to go, but it looks like Mark is becoming less afraid of his food. We think maybe part of the solution is that we let him be in control of the new foods now: he gets to hold them and decide when to put them in his mouth. We no longer try to sneak anything in there. And there's no question that the food therapy, where he has learned to play with food in a non-threatening way, has been a game-changer.

If things continue the way they're going, by summer Mark will surely be ready for a True Eater's big challenge: Grandpa Barry's Specialty Three Meat Summer Barbecue. Hooray!

Mark of Fridays: A boy who wears many hats

Here's some photos from the most recent celebration of Hat Night at our house.

Wait. What?

You don't have a Hat Night at your house? That makes you the weirdo.
Everybody we know has a Hat Night, where they take out the box of hats and try them on.

Happy Hat Night, everyone who is not weird!

Bonus Mark pictures because we didn't post for a while

Mark of Fridays: (Fall is) slip sliding away

We almost went with another pumpkin picture, but figured it was time to break the streak!

Mark of Fridays: Birthday party

And now, after a brief delay, here are the pictures of Mark's first birthday! It was lots of fun!

For the record, Mark did not eat any of his cake. He still has a serious aversion to solid food. And although cake is a marginal solid at best, he wanted almost nothing to do with it.

On the left, you'll notice the face that he made when people tried to force him to eat. The picture on the right is his hand signal for "all done." This kid doesn't even like frosting?

Mark of Fridays: Ratzo Rizzo

This post was going to contain pictures from Mark's very excellent first birthday party, but...

....last night ...

...at 7:48 p.m. ...

...while standing in the kitchen...

...Mark took his first steps!

Well, Ok, his first wobbly, unsure, stutter-step. But still! Holy cow!

Mark is almost, pretty much, sort of, kinda walking!

(Oh, and Ratzo Rizzo? C'mon. Surely, you caught the reference.)

The One-Year Mark

Mark Hanley, at 12 months

The measurements: 22 lbs 13 oz, 28.5 inches long. That's average for kids my age, although my head's still a little larger-than-life. I'm now big enough to wear 12-month pants and 18-month shirts. Good thing baby hats don't come in sizes. Ahem.

Best Friends: Books, Jack, books, fishies (real or in books), and anyone who will hold me through my nap no matter how sweaty I get. Also: books.

Enemies: Diaper changes. I refuse to be held down!
Also: solid foods. Mom and Dad have tried and tried, but I refuse to eat real food. If they give me finger foods, I won't put them into my mouth. If they give me mushy bits of barely solid food (like bananas or watermelon), I fight to keep them out. If they sneak some in, I gag or throw up. I even chuck when they sneak bits of fruit into my baby food. Mom is checking whether they serve purees in the high school cafeteria.

Just found out about: Pretending to hit my head. I ram my head into lots of things, and do you know what I've discovered? Every time, Mom or Dad pick me up and give me a hug. So I decided to "hit my head" more often. Maybe Mom or Dad tells me not to climb up the stairs and I get mad? I'll just cry and pretend I hit my head, so they'll pick me up. Or, maybe, I get caught eating the dog's food? Grab the side of my head. Get in trouble for throwing toys on the floor in a restaurant? Cry and hold my head. Mom and Dad are fooled, every time.

I'm not so sure about: Walking. I can stand for a really long time. I've heard that the next thing I need to master is taking steps. It just seems useless and illogical when I can get around so well by crawling.

Favorite activities: Attacking people while they're sleeping. Mom taught me this trick so I could wake up Daddy on Saturday mornings. Here's how it works: I see a person I love lying still, then I crawl over to them as fast as I can and jump on them, yelling like a wild man all the while. Then they hug me while I yell and yell and yell. The problem is that I now associate hugging with yelling. Oops.

I have a crush on: Birthdays and birthday parties! Did you know that people throw you a party and buy you presents simply for getting older? What a great deal. I think I'll have a birthday every year.

Major accomplishments: So far, I can say: hi, Jack, mama, and dada. I can MOOO like a cow and smack my lips like a fishie. I can sign "all done" and let Mommy or Daddy know when I'm hurt. I can blow kisses, complete with a very dramatic MMMWWWAHHH noise. I can stand on my own. I can ride forward-facing in the car: HOORAY! And I can sort-of help put away my own toys. As long as I haven't just hit my head.

Mark in review

What a year! Matt always told himself he didn't want this blog to become just baby news. But, um, well, this kid is fascinating. He changes so much every day. (And, honestly: Matt is just giving the readers what they want.)

It's amazing that just one year ago the Naper Hanleys were only a duo, counting down the days until Baby To Be Named Later arrived.
And then, after a very long day, Mark Stewart Hanley got called up to the big leagues.
Everyone thought the squishy looking kid was adorable. (And now everyone thinks...he's much more adorable.)


At first, Mark did pretty much nothing at all. Lazy, some might say. He didn't talk. Wouldn't make eye contact. Did not walk. Couldn't drive a car. Refused to play catch. Didn't know -or care to find out - who was president. Of course, every nothing he did was fascinating.
Even with a brief return to the hospital, overall it was a wonderful year. Consider:
One year ago, Mark couldn't roll over. Then, he learned to hold his head up, then sit up, then crawl, then pull himself up. Now, he can stand. (But not quite walk...)
One year ago, Mark didn't have a name. Now, he has a favorite baseball team and a college destination.
One year ago, Mark lived alone in a tiny one-room apartment. Now, he's been to 10 states.
One year ago, the pictures of Mark were all in black and white. Now, he's been photographed 1,765,456,233 times.
One year ago, Mark had never seen another person. Now, he's surrounded by a mom, dad, grandmas, grandpas, great-grandmas, aunts, uncles, cousins, great aunts, great uncles, second cousins, third cousins, friends and a dog who hang on his every giggle.
One year ago, we thought we had a perfectly happy family. And we certainly did. And yet, we had no idea how much we were missing.
One year seems like a long time ago and it went so quickly.

Mark of Fridays: Where did I park that limo?

I always forget where I left that thing.

Also, I have no driver's license. I should check into that.

Mark of Fridays: Ahoy, I'm a stander!

I'm standing!
I'm standing!
Look at me, I'm standing! I stand! I'm a stander!

The Eleven-Month Mark

Mark Hanley, at Eleven Months

The measurements: About 22 lbs, 28.5 in. (measured with a yard stick and a home scale). Grandma Sue says I'm starting to look "average" rather than "chunky," but Mom and Dad aren't convinced.

Best Friends: Books (when Mom snapped the picture on the right, she wondered if I'm a blooming young scholar or displaying early signs of A.D.D.), tiny plastic balls, and Jack. I say "hi" to Jack constantly (even when he's not there) and chase him around the house as fast as my hands-and-knees will carry me. I can tug Jack's rope (although he often pulls me over) and play fetch with him. I can only throw his ball a few feet, but he brings it back to me nonetheless. Playing fetch makes me laugh like crazy.

Enemies: Naps! Why would I want to sleep for three hours every afternoon when I could be spending that time playing with Mommy and Jack?? Nay nay, I say. Instead, I've built some amazing Bed Sensor Technology. I might fall asleep while I'm drinking my bottle or riding in the car, but no matter how Pinocchio-without-strings my body may seem, I can sense that bed coming. As soon as my bottom (or side or belly) touches it, I wake up and start screaming like my leg has been severed. Then I start laughing and talking, ready to play again.

Just found out about: Talking. This is a skill that alternately confuses my parents and truly blows them away. So far, Mom is sure that I can say "hi" and "Jack" (dad is not so sure). But sometimes I try out some other things on them just to see if they're listening (or maybe test their faith in me). For example, the other day mom told me to stop banging on the dishwasher door while she was loading it. I sat down, and she said "thank you." I looked at her and said something that sounded a whole lot like "thank you." She was skeptical. It couldn't be, she thought. But I just might have said it. Other words I might have said: mama, dada, hello, bye.

I'm not so sure about: Standing. I can do what Dad calls a "Road Runner Stand." Road Runner (I'm told) can run over the edge of a cliff, suspended in midair, as long as he doesn't realize he's gone over the edge. I can stand by myself, without holding onto anything, as long as I don't realize I've let go. So Mom and Dad are always trying to distract me with toys or funny dances, then timing how long I can stand on my sea legs.

Favorite activities: Crawling, swimming, reading books about animals, pulling grass out by the roots, going to the zoo, singing songs (or at least doing the gestures while Mommy sings), being tickled, tapping people on the shoulder and waiting for them to turn around.

I have a crush on: My Auntie Laura! She just moved from Florida to Illinois so she could spend more time with me! I am so excited to get to see her and play with her whenever I want!

Major accomplishments: Saying my first words, standing on my own, learning to "blow kisses" (although it looks like I'm slapping myself in the mouth), cutting my two front teeth, using the sign for "all done" when I'm finished eating, and--Mommy's favorite--understanding the word "no." When I start to climb up the stairs, she says "no" and I sit down. When I try to put the dog's food in my mouth, she says "no" and I stop. At music class, another boy kept crawling out of the room and down the hall, forcing his mommy to chase him. On the third try, I started to hightail it out of the room behind him. But Mommy said "no," and I stopped. I sat in the doorway for his other two escape attempts, just shaking my head "no" and thinking, "Didn't you hear my Mommy say no?" All of the other mommies in the room agreed: I am a very, very good boy.

Mark of Fridays: Moving pictures

By all accounts, and according to the best scientific testing available, Mark is a pretty cute kid. We have photos that can prove it. But, occasionally, photos just don't show off his full range of skills.
So, it's time to an old friend the mix: video. And now that Mark actually has a mobile skill set, it's worth watching.