Jasmin's shoe and foot fettish

Jasmin has always liked shoes.
She accepted the shoe without much difficulty the moment the contraption was presented to her when she was just 1 year old. Walking happily in her new red Elephanten shoes  - the first shoe her Oma (German grandma) brought her.

She signals clearly when she wants to leave the house by trying to put on her shoes, or having someone assist her is putting them on, and then running to the door. She says "NANAY" which is a near should to the Hebrew word for shoes, as she goes to get them, sitting on her stool and awaiting for assistance is being properly fitted with her shoes. She brings each person the correct shoe form them to put on before leaving the house - and I do not mean only family (people and shoes that are regularly there - like mom, dad and Jonathan) but also guests, babysitters, cousins vising once a year from Germany and grandmas.

When we come into the house, she also knows where to put the shoes away. She places her shoes along with Jonathan's on the shelf near the door. Mommy's shoes are located in her room (and grandmas shoes are placed there too - when she visits, they are alike in style and size), daddy's  shoes are on the shelf in his study. When we were visiting my husbands parents in Germany, Jasmin was quick to learn the shoe habits (and general order) of the house and placed her newly purchased shoes right above the slippers of her German grandma - on a stool in the kitchen. This is a different place from other shoes; those recently worn can be found at the entrance and all the others in the various rooms.

Shoes were always a signal in our home. When Jonathan, Jasmins elder brother, was little he insisted that people take off their shoes, in order to ensure that they will indeed stay. Jasmin showed the same tendency at first, but she quickly moved to the other extreme, paying attention to shoes when the time comes to leave the house. If I intend to leave without her and she accepts this -she will wave her arm and say a musical "bye"...but if she wants to come along regardless of my intentions, she runs for her shoes! She even tries to put them on, her motoric is not great and she is not yet successful but she can open the Velcro shutters...its a start...

Different body organs have always interested Jasmin, but its her feet she loves best! Pointing at mommy's breasts or grandmas nose is fun, as is waving her arms and singing about fingers,  but having mommy blow on her feet is a real treat! Jasmin will ye down in her bed and signal her wish by making a blowing sound "ppppfffff" and pulling her feet up closer to me. alternatively she says "AWA" and holds her feet and hand up for kissing. Feet kissing is a game we play every night, just before she goes to sleep. Just the other day she was playing with my mother and she fell. Thus she received a kiss on her arm from my mother, to relieve her pain. Jasmin promptly handed my mother her other arm, for more kisses...

Jasmin The Singer

Jasmin is showing her first melodious tendencies. Although it would not seam that she is as musical as her elder brother, it is obvious that Jasmin lies to sing and dance to the music. She has already sung and hummed and imitated dancing from routines she has learned in kindergarten, hiding her arms behind her back or lifting up her hands...all suitable to works of a nursery rhyme when she was 1.5 years old. preferring to play with toys that make music is obvious from day one! She also falls asleep to a music box.

But yesterday she made a musical quantum leap. While sitting in the car ,as my husband was driving home to the music of Tory Amos, Jasmin started humming along to the critical point in the song in which Tory sings a higher pitch of "ooh-hoo!" Only think, my husband hat laughing fit in the middle of the street, and all because of Jasmin's oh so cute "ooh-hoo"s. As soon as he got home, he hurries to play the Tory Amos track again, so he could demonstrate,Jasmin's newest trick to me. We thus ended up as the "ooh-hoo"-ing trio, among smiles and other encouraging sounds, Jasmin sang along with Mum and Dad, and not to forget right on time with Tory...

Its been a while since I wrote a post...

Ideas I have collected in the past months, and that will serve as the base for this blog.
(in Hebrew)

יסמין מביאה משפכים כדי להשקות צמחים עם יעל (בלי מים)

יסמין נותנת נשיקה עם היד וגם עם השפתיים ומתעניינת בשערות החזה של אבא, בפופיק של אמא ושל עצמה וגם באיברי מין של בנות...

יסמין עושה פו כי אני עושה תרגילי נשימה עם יונתן

DONE-I think I wrote this already...ha ha

יסמין מביאה משפך ומשקה כי יעל משקה על אמת

יסמין אומרת לא, הופה, אפצי, או-לא

סבתא אומרת שהיא יודעת גם איפה אף ואומרת אף

מראים לה והיא לומדת; פותחת דלתות, עושה פו לאוכל ונושפת מהאף

לפני זה עשתה תנועת קינוח אף עם ממחטה אבל פו עם הפה בשביל האפקט הקולי הנכון

אוהבת לשחק תופסת ומסירות

מביאה דברים שמבקשים

יסמין יודעת שנועלים נעליים לפני שיוצאים מהבית ושאצא לוקחת תיק אז אמא הולכת- ויסמין רצה מיד לדלת כי היא רוצה לבוא גם

יסמין נועלת נעליים או לפחות מנסה, התנועות נכונות המוטוריקה לא משהו, אפילו את הסקוצ היא פותחת

DONE-I think I wrote this already...ha ha

יסמין הולכת להביא  צלוחית מהמגירה ואז נגשת למקרר

בוחרת מאכל ואז שמים לה בצלוחית והיא מרוצה ואוכלת

ואם זה לא קורה יש לנוזפת הקטנה גם מה להגיד...ועל זה אומרים בגרמנית - הטון הוא שעושה את המוזיקה

DONE-I think I wrote this already...ha ha

בלוג

מי ים ליסמין זה טעים

יסמין לוקחת צלוחית ומושיטה יד למגירת כפיות ואז הולכת למקרר ומבקשת לפתוח ואז בוחרת את מה שהיא רוצה לאכול

יסמין רוקעת ברגליים כשהיא מתרגזת והטון נוזף

יסמין מאמצת סדרים חדשים בגרמניה במהירות הבזק לומדת איפה הפח ומחכה הרגלים של סבתא סיבילה

יסמין מוזגת לעצמה מים לבקבוק מטפטוף של מזגן והיא זכרה שזה שם אחרי חודש העדרות וגם את המכונה של חטיפים היא זוכרת

יסמין אורזת בגדים וצעצועים וספרים בשקית , אומרת ביי ועושה שלום עם היד ויוצאת מהבית, או לפחות מנסה לפתוח הדלת, לא ניסיתי לעקב אחריה ולראות איך זה מתפתח

יסמין יושבת בשרותים ועושה פששש עם הפה, להגיד ליפי היא גם יודעת, אבל בסוף בורח לה ברצפה ולא באסלה

שלבי טרום גמילה

יסמין מראה לסבתא איפה כואב ביד ומקבלת נשיקה, ואז מושיטה שוב את היד כדי לקבל עוד אחת

יסמין משחקת לפני השינה, אווה ומושיטה יד או רגל וככה מקבלת עוד נשיקה באיבר המושט

יסמין יודעת לקחת צלחת מהארון, עורכת לעצמה ולאמא את השולחן, יודעת להביא כפית,ואוי ואבוי אם לא אעשה שימוש בצלחת שהיא הביאה לי

From an email to a friend

יסמין ממש מקסימונית, היא רואה משהו ומיד מבצעת

היא פשוט יודעת הכל

כבר עורכת לנו שולחן ושמה צלחות לכולם

צריכה לטעום ולעשות כל מה שמישהו אחר עושה לידה

נוסעת על בימבות ותלת אופנים למינהם (בלי פדאלים) ממש כמו נהגת שודים במהירות וחרקה , וגם רוורס

רק פדאלים עוד לא כי הרגליים עוד לא ארוכות דיין

בקיצור, הסטרי

מתחילה גם להביע עצמה במצלולים יחידים, אבל התנועות והדרך שלה עם שפת הגוף זה מדהים!

בקיצור, אוצר

All this is accumulated in two months...got lots to write about...

Aping and Speech

Jasmin is beginning to talk. If we were not sure at the beginning if she is getting it (the idea of verbal communication) by now it is clear and she has established her first word too! Jasmin continues to ape the world that surrounds her and learns at astounding speed. And the  more she knows, the more opinionated she becomes.

Jasmin’s first clear sound was mumumum. I was not sure if she  meant mommy or mmmm…delicious. Or maybe the combination of “mommy feed me mmm delicious food”. Jasmin eats well! She eats everything! Aparticular joy to her grandfather… The second sound she repeated was “TSE”. I thought it was a mimic of the words “Et Ze” which mean THIS in Hebrew, but I must admit I am not sure. By the time Jasmin made her third clear sound, I was sure. She says “Hoppa”. She uses this sound like her kindergarten teachers to representan action (like jumping or falling on her but) or satisfaction. She also clearly laughs (her bigger brother often makes her laugh, and she likes a good swing in the park too). As her fourth sound she combines a clear “LO” (the Hebrew word for NO) with a shake of the head or a lifting of her shoulder. There is no mistaking the meaning. So “no” counts as her first word (it was her big brother’s second).

Her second word is “ATSCHEEE” which is a mimic for a sneezing sound. All Israeli kids know the song about the b8unny who forgot to close the door and got a cold and started sneezing… la la la APCHI!, la la la APCHI! Jasmin loves this song and asks for me to sing it by saying “ATSCHEEE”. Her elder brother Jonathan also did this. In fact they reversed the order of the words. Jonathan said Apchi first and LO later, Jasmin said LO first and ATSCHEE as a second word. Or maybe it was her third when one counts her amazement sound of “WOW!” as a word.  One day she was looking at magazines sitting next to granny and when a colorful image of fans came up she exclaimed “WOW” and showed my mother the page. Jasmin loves to read! She carried books and magazines with her and turns the pages. Scribbling with a pencil (than k God)in the books is another favorite pastime. My mother has claimed before that Jasmin can say “AF” (nose in Hebrew), I first saw it last weekend when instead of the usual sneeze in the song, Jasmin pointed to her nose and said “AF! So we have four words until now.

Her fifth word is ABA! The Hebrew word for daddy. She is calling for my husband when he is no home. Jasmin is clearly a daddy’s girl. She likes to take part in all activities, so today; when dad and Jonathan were cooking together she joined them in the kitchen. When I took her away to bed, she clearly combines “LO mama”, telling me she did not wish to go away with me (does mama count as her sixth word?).

 Jasmin is definitely getting more opinionated. The “music” of her babbling tells me when she is not happy. In German there is a sating “the tone makes the music”, meaning that the music behind our conversation transports the true meaning of our words. Recently she started biting me (picked it up in kindergarten probably), and got scolded heavily for it, so now clever little bugger that she is, she starts to bring her mouth closer to my shoulder, but closes it at the last minute. This is a great example of the fast learning Jasmin can do! Such intelligence! Ah, I am enjoying a “proud mom” moment as I write these lines (despite the fact that my daughter did bite me a few times).

Jasmin’s verbal speech development is not impairing her other learning. She continues to mimic the world t an astounding pace. Last weekend we had friend come to visit from Germany and they wanted to go to the beach. In preparation they put on tan lotion. Jasmin immediately began to “crème” her own legs after the fashion of our guests. She likes to stand on Jonathan’s high stool in the bathroom and brush her teeth. She is no longer satisfied with her own baby tooth brush but prefers that of Jonathan (or second best, mommy’s toothbrush) –I can only assume the small remains of toothpaste (which she can probably taste on the brushes) are the root of this preference (because usually she is very possessive of her own stuff). She shoves the brush into her mouth and mimics the brushing motion. I showed her only once how to brush her front teeth and that’s it! She was brushing correctly! She even imitates a spitting sound to represent washing her mouth (sadly she still spits after if it’s from a cup, so we cannot truly start her on properly brushing her teeth).

Jasmin also tries to put on her own shoes. She can open the Velcro that holds the shoes and her motoric actions are on a continuous improvement, I am sure she will soon be truly able to put them on! If she sees me take up my bag or keys, she knows I am about to leave and she runs for the door. Jasmin brings her shoes to me every morning of her own accord; she knows that part of getting ready in the morning means to put them on. On Saturdays she can bring her shoes to me as a sign that she wants to go out (despite the Israeli summer heat, which is already upon us!) just like dogs bring their owners their leash (dog lovers will claim dog psychology is very like that of a child, and that canines are as much a part of the family). Just the other week, Jasmin saw her cousin watering the plants in grandma’s home. So she ran to the storage room and got her own watering pot (empty) and started to follow her cousin and “water” the plants as well. A week later, the first thing she did when arriving at grandmas was to go get the watering pot and “water” the plats once more.

By now she is tall enough to reach items on our dining table, climb grown up chairs; she can even open the front door of the house! She can blow soap bubbles, blow to cool her food and make a blowing sound with her mouth when mimicking the action of blowing her nose. I was doing some breathing exercises with Jonathan to help him calm down and Jasmin immediately joined with some breathing of her own. She blows me a kiss to say goodbye when I take her to kindergarten in the morning and kisses daddy on the lips when encouraged. Exploring her own naval and mommy’s is her first curious “lets research my body” activity, right there with trying to clean herself with a wet wipe when I change her diaper. In the bathtub today she clearly mimicked older kids wiping themselves after a visit to the toilet, and then washed her head with her hands so proficiently that I began to think of purchasing a bathing sponge for her to use.

At the advanced age of 1 years and five months it is clear that Jasmin understands what is being said to her, and she will even do as she is asked at times (bring me stuff when I ask). She likes to play catch with mommy chasing her (she  loves to hear me stomping my feet, this knowing I am on her heels) and she likes to chase after balls and then pick them up and throw them. Jasmin has even taken recently to kicking a ball and running after her, her granddaddy (who has a history as a teenage football player) will be mighty proud!

A fast driver, even her bodice says so, and has a suitable baby car design to go along!

Moving on to more serious vehicles (she climbed on her own at Jonathan’s kindergarten)

The bodice says “my grand-dad is crazy about me” and I do believe they both are…

Swinging siblings!

Nothing like a good swing ride to while away a very hot afternoon!

A Quick Learner

Jasmin needs to see something only once to grasp it. She then sets immediately to trying to imitate what she has seen and usually masters the skill rather easily. If she does not, it can only be said that she is just 1 year and 2.5 months old. Her experimentation at skills is a delight all the same.

It is clear to see that Jasmin understands her world instinctively. She simply gets the way things function. She needs little trial and error to get it right. There are many examples. She was able to attach a magnet to the fridge and getting the right side so that the magnet indeed attaches and does not fall, on the first trail. No other cousin or sibling has achieved this so fast. We have a Smurf magnet puzzle on our fridge, Jasmin likes to pull the pieces off and then put them back on the fridge. All toddlers in Israel have these puzzles and like to pull of the pieces and re-attach them. But only Jasmin used the fold of her shirt as a pocket for the pieces she removed, like storage. Although she is not old enough to put the puzzle together, she is already trying to do so.

With more simple puzzles it is clear she understands the concept of attaching two pieces together to create an image. We have the Fisher price box with a lid with shaped holes (circle, square, and triangle) and she immediately copied me after I showed her once that the shapes fit in the holes. With a similar toy She tries to push all shapes into the square (into which they all do fit), but if I show her another shape (try to push the triangle into the triangle sweetie…) she will immediately do as I suggest.

It is clear she understands what she is being told. I asked her to return a magnet that fell of Jonathans score board of good deeds and she immediately picked it up and returned it to its place. When I asked Jonathan one morning to get dressed, Jasmin started pulling at his shirt. Ever since she saw me sitting on the balcony, she wants to open up a resting chair when we go out there. She even knows one reads a magazine in the restroom (I saw her try, while sitting on a stool in the toilet aside her brother…) Did I already mention she is just 15 months old?

When visiting the neighbor from across the hall she knows where the cookies are in the kitchen and points clearly in their direction to request a treat. At home she points every morning to the cornflakes box on the top of the fridge, thus asking daily for her breakfast. When she sees me pick up my bag, she knows I am leaving and asks to be picked up and taken along (or protests in tears when I do not comply). When we go out to kindergarten every morning, she knows to take her small bag, and even takes that of Jonathan as well…

My mother showed Jasmin how to ride a toddler’s bumper car (so called Bimba in Israel) and she was immediately off! My mother set her astride the contraption and she was pumping legs and driving off in no time at all, never once bumping into walls as she took turns and corners. It took a day of practicing to climb and sit on the car by herself without being assisted. On the second day she was speeding through grand mama’s garden as if she was born to drive! A professional by all baby standards, and that in just a day and a half.

My parents came over to babysit Jasmin this evening and my father used the opportunity to repair a sliding door for me. In the process of doing so he was obliged to use Jasmin’s wooden stool. She came to look out for her property. Every time the stool stood free (or my father…) Jasmin sat on it. My father would then take it and use it, and when it was free again, Jasmin would sit again. Then she watched as her granddad hammered and screwed and she immediately needed his tools to try the hammering and screwdriver twisting herself. My mother calls Jasmin the professor, because it is so clear that she really does know everything…

On her way! Unterwegs!